English

Stage 6

Paper 1 Non-fiction 2022

Cambridge Primary Progression Test
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3126_01_INS_2RP
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Text A

Gerald Durrell was a famous naturalist. As a child, he collected lots of different

animals. Kokino, a local fisherman, liked to help him. In this autobiographical
account, Gerald tells us about one very exciting day.

One morning, I was looking through a pile of seaweed and Kokino came over to
help me. There was the usual assortment of squids the size of a matchbox, crabs
and tiny fish. Suddenly, Kokino picked something out of tangled seaweed and
held it out to me. I could hardly believe my eyes, for it was a seahorse*. Browny-
green, it lay on Kokino’s hand, gasping, with its tail coiling and uncoiling 5
frantically.

Hurriedly, I snatched it from him and plunged it into a jar which was full of sea
water. To my delight it righted itself*, its tiny fins fluttering. Feverishly, I scrabbled
through the rest of the weed. I was soon rewarded, for in a few minutes, I had six
seahorses in the jar. 10

Thrilled by my good luck, I raced back to our villa. I knew that the oxygen in the
jar would not last long and, if I wanted to keep them alive, I would have to move
quickly. Carrying an aquarium*, I ran down to the sea again, filled the bottom with
sand and dashed back to the villa with it; then I had to run down to the sea again
three times with buckets to fill it up with the required amount of water. I began to 15
wonder whether the seahorses were worth all this trouble.

But as soon as I tipped them into the aquarium, I knew that they were. I had
anchored a small, twiggy branch in the sand, and as the seahorses plopped out
of the jar they righted themselves and then they sped round and round the
aquarium, their fins moving so fast that you could not see them. After that, they 20
all made for the branch, wrapped their tails round it lovingly, and stood there
gravely at attention. The seahorses were an instant success with all the family.
Even Larry used to watch them zooming and bobbing around their tank.

*Glossary
seahorse – a small fish that swims in an upright position and has a head like a horse
righted itself – turned the right way up
aquarium – a glass tank for keeping fish

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Text B

The Children’s Guide to Nature-watching

Urban environment

Towns and cities can be great places for watching wildlife. In some places, they
are even better than the surrounding countryside because parks, gardens and
waste ground provide a range of habitats that may no longer exist elsewhere in
the area.

In general, if you are looking for wildlife in towns and cities, try to find the oldest, 5
untidiest places. Neat, modern places have less wildlife. Lakes in city parks, and
rivers running through towns, are great for birds, and you may even see
dragonflies, ducks or frogs there.

Buildings

Some urban wildlife, from nesting sparrows to bats and sometimes even
hedgehogs, depends on buildings. Some birds may roost in towns in winter 10
because it’s warmer there than in the countryside. Tall buildings can also provide
nesting sites for birds of prey, kestrels for instance, and seemingly empty corners
of building sites can have all sorts of insects and wild flowers. Even cracks in
pavements or walls will be colonised by wild flowers. Don't think of them as just
weeds – they are a valuable food source for many insects. 15

Enjoy life

The key for the urban wildlife watcher is just to keep your eyes open. And when
you spot something, try to find out a bit about it and enjoy it for its own sake. It’s
alive, it’s here and it’s fascinating!

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