CAMBRIDGE PRIMARY ENGLISH 5 DIAGNOSTIC CHECK ANSWERS

Diagnostic check answers

The tests and answers have been written by the authors. These may not fully reflect the
approach of Cambridge Assessment International Education.

Part 1: Non-fiction
Reading
1 Any two of: it is a biography, information with dates and facts;
organised into sections with headings; about a real, historical event;
formal language; an objective account. [2]
2 Informal [1]
3 (9 March) 1934: Born, 1960: Chosen to be a cosmonaut, (12 April)
1961: Launched into space, (27 March) 1968: Died [2]
4 a Past tense [1]
b It is a description of someone’s life and what they did in the past,
it is a historical account. [1]
5 Cosmonaut, a Russian astronaut. Someone who trains to go into space. [1]
6 Intense. He had to train very hard to prepare for this job. There is a lot
of hard work and training needed to be ready to travel into space. [2]
7 Any phrase (a group of words without a verb): In school, After school,
On 12 April 1961, because of these skills, In 1960, At the end of the orbit [2]
Any clause (a group of words with a finite verb so could be a sentence):
Yuri Gagarin was born in Klushino; He enjoyed being a fighter pilot;
life was difficult.
8 cosmic – cosmonaut – cosmos [1]
9 excel – to do very well
accomplish – to succeed at something, to get something right [2]

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 CAMBRIDGE PRIMARY ENGLISH 5 DIAGNOSTIC CHECK ANSWERS

Writing
Learners use information to write a personal account of an event.
Content [5]
Spelling [2]
Text structure and organisation [2]
Punctuation and grammar [3]
Sentence structure [3]

Diagnostic check answers have been written by the author(s). This may not fully
reflect the approach of Cambridge Assessment International Education.

Part 2: Fiction
Reading
1 Any two of: fish do not talk to each other; fish cannot hear or
understand what humans say; fish cannot make plans like they did. [2]
2 Scared should be ticked. [1]
3 Learners’ own answers but should include that he is worried
about being caught. [1]
4 a Each one is to add emphasis. [1]
b Think Fast does not like to worry in advance. He is still relaxed so his
words are not said with emphasis. [1]
5 Any three of: Ahead; Fast; tonight; lazily; now; long; quickly; up; safely [1]
6 Any of: in a pond; One day; down the river; into the water; in the fish market [1]
7 He was going to throw the nets into the water to catch fish. [1]
8 Learners’ own answers but must include that he quickly pretended
to be dead so the fisherman would not want him. [1]
9 Learners’ own answers. Must include that if you know something
will happen, you need to make a plan to avoid it in advance or be
ready to think quickly when it happens – don’t just wait and see. [1]

Cambridge Primary English Stage 5 – Burt & Ridgard © Cambridge University Press 2021 2
 CAMBRIDGE PRIMARY ENGLISH 5 DIAGNOSTIC CHECK ANSWERS

10 Their names reflected their actions: Plan Ahead planned ahead and
swam away; Think Fast thought fast when he was caught and pretended
to be dead; and Wait and See waited and saw, and then found himself
in the fish market as a result. Give one mark for each fish explanation. [3]
11 Fable/traditional tale should be ticked. [1]

Writing
Learners rewrite a story in a different context.
Content: new characters, setting and plot [5]
Spelling [2]
Text structure and organisation [2]
Dialogue, punctuation and grammar [3]
Sentence structure [3]

Diagnostic check answers have been written by the authors. They may not fully
reflect the approach of Cambridge Assessment International Education.

Cambridge Primary English Stage 5 – Burt & Ridgard © Cambridge University Press 2021 3