Section A: Reading

Read this passage from A Wish for Wings by Robert Swindells and then answer the questions in the
question paper.

‘Lo Grandad.’

‘Oh it’s you, Jenna. Come on in then.’ The old man turned and shuffled along the dim hallway.

Jenna shut the door in the sun’s face and followed, wondering how soon she could leave
without seeming rude. The house had a smell she’d never noticed when Grandma was alive.
‘Now then.’ His smile was watery as he nodded towards a rumpled armchair. ‘Sit down while I 5
put the kettle on. You’ll have a cup of tea, won’t you?’

Jenna nodded. ‘Yes, thanks, Grandad.’ She didn’t want tea, she wanted to be out of this sad
house, but a cup and saucer would give her hands something to do while she told him about
Nerja.

While Grandad rattled and clinked in the kitchen, she gazed around the room. It had all the 10
same things in it that it had had before Grandma died but it was different in a number of ways.
The cushions weren’t plumped for one thing. There were bits all over the rug and dust lay
thickly in a splash of sunlight on the sideboard*, which had a beaker on it with streaks where
coffee had dribbled down. Grandma would’ve had a fit if she’d found a beaker on her teak
sideboard. 15

‘Here we are then.’ He stooped stiffly to put the tray on the low coffee table. ‘Milk and sugar
isn’t it?’

‘Milk,’ said Jenna, ‘no sugar, thanks.’

‘Right.’ He poured tea, gave her hers, and sat down with his. ‘Nice holiday?’ His tone
suggested an effort to be polite, rather than genuine interest. 20

Jenna nodded. ‘Terrific, thanks. Nine days of sunshine, not a cloud in the sky.’

‘Very nice. What was the name of the place again?’

‘Nerja.’

‘Oh, yes. Costa del Sol, isn’t it?’

‘Yes.’ 25

He nodded, sipped his tea and lapsed into the silence she’d dreaded, staring at the rug.

‘We went on an excursion, Grandad. To Granada.’

‘Huh?’ He looked up, frowning. ‘Oh, Granada, you say. Famous, that. Old song about it.’ For a
ghastly moment she thought he was going to sing, but he resumed his rug gazing.
‘One night this giant creepy-crawly flew through our window. A cicada, size of a sparrow.’ 30

‘Hmmm.’ Without looking up, the old man nodded. ‘We’d things like that in Palestine, Jenna.
Lads used to put them on bits of string, fly them like kites.’

‘Talking of flying, Grandad, I want to fly.’

‘Eh?’ His head came up. ‘How d’you mean, fly?’

‘I mean, be a pilot. Airline captain.’ 35

‘Ah.’ He lifted his cup and drank, studying her over the rim. ‘What brought this on, Jenna?’

She shrugged. ‘I’ve always wanted to fly, Grandad, but it was listening to the captain on the
flight home that put airliners into my head.’

‘I see. Told your mum, have you?’

‘Yes.’ 40

‘And?’

Jenna pulled a face. ‘A passing fancy, she calls it. Dad thinks so too, and as for Ned...’

Grandad arched his brow. ‘What about Ned?’

‘Oh, you know what Ned’s like, Grandad. Says nobody’d fly with a captain admiring herself in
the mirror instead of keeping a lookout − stuff like that.’ 45

‘Ha!’ The old man set down his cup hard enough to slop tea in his saucer. ‘I bet he’s never
heard of Amy Johnson then.’

Jenna looked at him. For the first time in months there was a light in her grandfather’s eyes.
For the first time in months he seemed to be interested in what she was saying. She pressed
on. ‘I’ve never heard of her either, Grandad. Who is she?’ 50

‘Was,’ the old man corrected. ‘Who was she? More tea, lovey?’

‘No thanks. Amy Johnson?’

‘Yes. Amy Johnson was a pilot, Jenna, back in the thirties when flying was still a bit of a
novelty. I was younger than you are now, and Amy was my hero. Heroine, I suppose I should
say. D’you know what a biplane is?’ 55

‘No.’

‘No, well you don’t see ‘em much now. A biplane’s got two sets of wings, one above the other,
with struts between.’
‘Oh, yes.’ Jenna nodded. ‘I know what you mean. I’ve seen ’em in movies, they had them in
World War One, right?’ 60

‘That’s right, Jenna. They were flimsy, all wood and canvas, and in 1930 Amy Johnson flew
one all the way to Australia. She was the first woman to make that flight solo and the papers
were full of her for weeks. I went to the pictures and saw her on a newsreel, landing at
Darwin.’

Jenna heard the break in her Grandfather’s voice and saw tears in his eyes, but it wasn’t like 65
last time. She’d read about people crying with happiness and it seemed daft to her, but
something like that was happening to Grandad as he talked about his heroine.

Glossary

*sideboard – a piece of dining room furniture with drawers and shelves

 Section A: Reading For
Teacher's
Use
Read the passage in the INSERT and then answer these questions.
1 Where is Jenna?
Underline the correct answer.

in her house in her grandad’s house

in her grandad’s office in a hotel

[1]

2 How does Jenna feel about where she is at the beginning of the passage?
Write one phrase in your own words.

Give a quotation from the passage to support your answer.

[2]

3 The writer opens the text with a contraction – ‘Lo’ instead of Hello (Line 1). Why does the
4 writer go on to use so many contractions in the dialogue?

[1]

4 The writer uses language to show Grandad was busy in the kitchen.
Give a quotation from the passage to support this.

How are the words effective?

[2]
5 In what way is the house different without Grandma? Write one example. For
Teacher's
Use
[1]

6 Why does the writer use short sentences in the early part of the dialogue between Jenna
and Grandad?

[1]

7 Grandad’s mood changes halfway through the passage.

(a) What topic do they talk about that changes his mood?

[1]

(b) What is the first thing he does that shows his change of mood?

[1]

(c) His questions on page 3 of the passage show his change of mood. In what way are
they different to the questions he asks on page 2?

[1]

8 Jenna’s family do not take her ambition to become a pilot seriously. Which of these
attitudes are suggested in the passage?
Tick (✓) two boxes.

She doesn’t have perfect eyesight.

She doesn’t know who Amy Johnson is.

She isn’t clever enough to fly a plane.

She will eventually grow out of the idea.

She would be more interested in her appearance than the job.

[2]

9 What is the effect the writer intends by using the three full stops in ‘and as for Ned...’?
(Line 42)

[1]
10 How does the writer show that Grandad is annoyed by Ned’s comments? For
Teacher's
Use
[1]

11 Why does the writer use the words ‘pressed on’ (Line 49) in the passage?
Tick (✓) one box.

Jenna doesn’t want to seem ignorant.

Jenna is in a hurry to leave.

Jenna realises that Grandad is keen to talk.

Jenna wants more tea.

[1]

12 Grandad tells Jenna about biplanes. Find words in the passage which mean:

(a) supports [1]

(b) not strong. [1]

12 Jenna thinks she understands how her Grandad feels at the end of the passage, but she is
not sure. Write a phrase which shows that she is not sure.

[1]

14 The conversation develops between Grandad and Jenna. Number the stages 1 to 4 in the
order they are spoken about. The first one has been done for you.

Girls are not expected to be airline pilots.

Nerja 1

Cicada

Grandad remembers Amy Johnson.

[1]