Reading comprehension, Year 7: plot, novels and feelings

A flashback

提示Films often blur the screen before one.

为什么Writers use it to supply the past at the moment it matters most, such as revealing why a character fears water just as they reach the river.

Chronological order

提示It comes from the Greek word for time.

为什么Retelling a story in this order, whatever order the writer used, is a good check that you have followed the plot.

Finding the letter

提示Two words in the second sentence move the clock backwards.

为什么'Hours earlier' and the verb 'had found' both signal a step back in time. The story tells the effect first and the cause second.

The unlocked gate let the dog escape

提示Ask what the earlier slip made possible.

为什么Plots are chains of cause and effect. A small detail planted early often turns out to be the cause of a later event.

Reread the last page or two

提示Go back a little before going forwards.

为什么A short reread reminds you where the characters are and what they want. It costs a minute and saves a confused chapter.

The protagonist

提示The word comes from Greek drama, where it meant the first actor.

为什么In a long novel, the protagonist's aims and problems are the thread that ties the chapters together. Keeping hold of that thread helps you keep hold of the plot.

A subplot

提示Think of a smaller story tucked beneath the big one.

为什么Novels have room for more than one thread. A subplot often follows a minor character and usually joins up with the main story before the end.

Summing up what just happened in a sentence or two

提示If you could not tell a friend, you have not got it yet.

为什么A summary of a sentence or two forces you to pick out what mattered. Strung together, the summaries become the plot of the whole book.

Guilty or ashamed

提示Think about why you might avoid someone's eyes.

为什么Hidden hands and a lowered gaze are the body language of someone who wants not to be seen. The writer trusts the reader to infer the feeling.

No — her actions show she is upset

提示Compare the words with the body language.

为什么When speech and behaviour disagree, readers believe the behaviour. The gap between the two is where the real feeling is found.

Anger

提示Notice the force he uses.

为什么Dad says nothing, but the force does the talking. 'So hard the cutlery jumped' is the evidence you would quote.

Evidence from the text

提示A claim on its own is only half an answer.

为什么An inference is a claim, and a claim needs support. 'Jay is ashamed because he stares at the floor' is an answer; 'Jay is ashamed' is only half of one.