Cambridge Primary Sample Test
For use with curriculum published in
September 2020
English Paper 2
Insert
Stage 6
English_S6_02_INS/4RP
© UCLES 2020
2
Text for Section A, an extract from ‘Flambards’ by K. M. Peyton.
Christina Parsons, a teenage orphan, has been sent to live with her Uncle
Russell. The house is called Flambards. In this text, Christina arrives at
Flambards to find that her cousin William has been in an accident.
***
‘This is Flambards, miss.’
Some big chestnut trees lined the long drive: a great heap of rotted leaves lay
tumbled below, with burst conkers* all over the gravel, their shells shrivelled like
little brown oranges. The man stopped the horse in front of the door, and helped
Christina down. Nobody seemed to be waiting for her.
5
‘I’ll’ carry your trunk into the hall, miss. Go in. The door will be open.’
Christina crossed the porch which was full of muddy boots, and anxiously pushed
opened the door. She found herself in a big, cold hall. A thin, worn looking
woman, obviously a servant, was coming through a doorway on one side to greet
her, and in the doorway on the other side a man on crutches appeared suddenly,
giving Christina a start.
10
‘Is it William?’ he said. Seeing Christina, he added, ‘Oh, no, it’s you.’
‘It’s Miss Christina, sir’ said the woman.
‘Yes, well – see to her,’ the man said shortly – very rudely, Christina thought.
She looked at him curiously, having heard so much of Uncle Russell, and found
him not unlike she had imagined: a big, but shrunken-looking man, with heavy
shoulders and long, spindly legs, he was wrinkled, with a flattened, broken nose
and very fierce eyes. I shall keep out of his way, she thought, but said politely,
‘How do you do, Uncle’, but he took no notice.
15
‘Tell me when William comes,’ Russell said to the woman, but the man, coming
in with Christina’s trunk said, ‘The carriage is coming up the drive now, sir, and
Dr Porter’s right behind.’
20
Through the open door the scrunch of several lots of hooves could be heard. The
woman said quickly to Christina, ‘I’ll see you in a minute, miss. Everything’s
happening at once, Mister William’s had an accident.’
Christina shrank back as everyone went to the door. The thin-faced servant
turned and said, ‘Come along, I’ll show you to your room.’ She pointed down the
corridor, ‘That’s your room. Last door on the left.’
Christina walked down the corridor and opened the door. At first glance it looked
© UCLES 2020
E/S5/INSERT/02
25
3
charming, much prettier and bigger than any room she had ever been given
before. However, on closer inspection, it was shabby. The wallpaper, a close
design of pink and brown flowers was faded, the washstand china was chipped,
and the patchwork quilt all coming apart. The general effect, though, was pretty
and homely, with a big window looking out over the garden. There was plenty of
furniture, a big wardrobe, a dressing table and a carpet on the floor. Her trunk
stood at the foot of the bed. She opened it and started to put her things away,
leaving out a navy blue dress to change into for dinner. She did not fancy going
down to Uncle Russell. She took as long as she could about washing and
changing, and became painfully aware that she was very hungry indeed. She
had no alternative but to go downstairs.
Glossary
a conker: a kind of nut
© UCLES 2020
E/S6/INSERT/02
30
35
40
4
BLANK PAGE
© K M Peyton; Flambards; Oxford University Press; 1967.
Copyright © UCLES, 2020
Cambridge Assessment International Education is part of the Cambridge Assessment Group. Cambridge Assessment is the brand name of the University of
Cambridge Local Examinations Syndicate (UCLES), which itself is a department of the University of Cambridge.
Permission to reproduce items where third-party owned material protected by copyright is included has been sought and cleared where possible. Every
reasonable effort has been made by the publisher (UCLES) to trace copyright holders, but if any items requiring clearance have unwittingly been included, the
publisher will be pleased to make amends at the earliest possible opportunity.
© UCLES 2020
E/S6/INSERT/02