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Railway10160 PDF
Railway10160 PDF
Nesbit
Questions, activities and language work
As you read the story you might find some words that are new to
you. If you cannot work out what they mean from reading the
story, look them up in a dictionary. Keep a list of them, with an
explanation.
2. Write down three negative things about their new home ‘Three Chimneys’.
Language work
• villa ______________________________________________________
2. Complete the simile from the first chapter: ‘As white as a ___________________’
3. Can you think of two more similes you know that use colours?
4. Match the words in the columns to make five compound nouns used in the first
chapter. The first one has been done for you.
some way
home times
door laces
birth step
boot day
rail work
3. What did they do for the rest of the morning after breakfast?
4. Why does Bobbie think that the train is like a dragon? (Hint: it is an old-fashioned
steam engine.)
5. Why did the Station Master let them off for taking the coal? (Tick any you think are
right.)
Language work
6. Copy out the first two sentences on page 12, from ‘They slid’ to ‘signals’.
Underline the adjectives.
7. Re-write the description, replacing at least three adjectives with antonyms (words
with opposite meaning – for example hard/soft). If you get stuck, use a thesaurus
to help you.
1. Which one of these would not be a good reason to pull the communication cord on
the train?
5. Write the letter you think the mother might have sent to the old gentleman
thanking him for his kindness.
Language work
The children call the night train the Fearsome Fly by Night. This is an example of
alliteration (words close together that have the same starting sounds).
Can you make up one or two other names for the night train using alliteration?
Language work
4. Find three examples in this chapter of direct speech (hint: look for the speech
marks) where the writer has used the verb said. Re-write the sentences replacing
said with a different, suitable verb.
Language work
These past tense verbs from this chapter are called irregular verbs (because they are
not made by adding ed to the verb in the present tense).
Can you write the present tense form next to each one? The first one has been done
for you.
Past Present
wrote
thought
had
grew
led
was
fell
made
stood
took
began
For valour
1. The writer tells us why she likes Roberta. Think of a person you like very much and
write 3 or 4 sentences about them. Try to describe their good qualities.
2. How long did it take the old gentleman to find Mr Sczepansky’s family?
3. Why did Bobbie race Phyllis to the gate? Was it because… (Tick any you think are
right.)
2. Do you think her mother should have told the children what had happened to their
father? Explain your answer.
3. Either
a) Use the information on pages 35 and 38 to write the headline and first
paragraph of the newspaper report that Bobbie saw.
Or
b) Write the letter she might have written to the old gentleman. Remember to
end it with the sentences given on pg 38.
Language work
These words can be joined together into a shortened form (called contractions). The
contraction will need an apostrophe. For each set of words, write the contraction
and be careful to put the apostrophe in the right place. The first one has been done
for you.
If you have done this correctly, you should be able to find the contractions in this
chapter. Check your answers!
2. How did Peter know that one boy was still in the tunnel?
3. How where the children able to see once they went into the dark tunnel?
Language work
Complete these complex sentences, basing your answers on the events of this
chapter. Remember to put the comma in the right place!
• Scrambling,
• Panting,
2. Why did their mother think they had brought a dog home?
5. Do you think Bobbie and the old gentleman were right to keep the secret from her
mother? Explain your answer.
Language work
1. This is old-fashioned slang. Write down two other slang words that mean the
same as ‘ripping’ but that are more up-to-date.
2. Find out 3 more examples of older slang words that have gone out of fashion.
What have they been replaced by? (Hint: try asking parents, carers or
grandparents… or even your teacher!)
3. Give the last chapter a new, better title and explain why you think your new title is
a good one.
4. What do we still want to know? Write down two questions that you still want
answered at the end of the story.
Language work
1. Find and copy out three sentences that use exclamation marks. (Try to choose
one from the beginning of the chapter, one from the middle and one nearer the
end.)
2. Next to each one, write down why the exclamation mark is there – what feeling is
being expressed?