Read five original taster questions, explore the explanations and decide whether this style of practice suits your learner.
What you are previewing: questions from the free mixed-subject taster, not extracts from a paid paper. They illustrate the question and explanation style; they do not establish the difficulty of a full paper.
Our English and verbal-reasoning papers practise first-round skills; Maths papers are MCQ adaptations for second-round mathematical skills. These are independent subject papers, not complete round-one or round-two simulations. Non-verbal reasoning and assessed written English are not included. Each paper’s timer is our stated practice setting.
A thunderclap rolled through the rehearsal room. At our first rehearsal I had ducked under the table; today I merely lifted my script away from the rattling cups. On the staircase, Len was shaking a thin sheet of metal. A painted forest might fool an audience’s eyes, but our radio play had only sounds with which to build its world.
Beside me, Nisha was absorbed in her script. She whispered the opening line again, testing where to pause. When Len stopped, she looked up. “That storm is splendid,” she said, “but if it stays that loud, nobody will hear the traveller ask for shelter.” Len lowered the sheet. We began again, this time with the thunder farther away and the traveller’s voice clear enough to sound uncertain.
What best explains the narrator’s different reaction to the thunder at this rehearsal?
Choose one answer.
AThe narrator now recognises how the thunder sound is produced.
BNisha has already asked Len to reduce the sound before the narrator reacts.
CLen has moved to a different room since the first rehearsal.
DThe narrator has been told that this scene no longer contains a storm.
EThe narrator is so focused on the script that the thunder goes unnoticed.
Show answer and explanation
A: The narrator now recognises how the thunder sound is produced.
The narrator contrasts ducking at the first rehearsal with calmly moving the script today, then identifies Len shaking a metal sheet. This supports familiarity with the effect. The rattling cups show the sound is still noticeable.
English · Reading: vocabulary in context
Behind the sound
A thunderclap rolled through the rehearsal room. At our first rehearsal I had ducked under the table; today I merely lifted my script away from the rattling cups. On the staircase, Len was shaking a thin sheet of metal. A painted forest might fool an audience’s eyes, but our radio play had only sounds with which to build its world.
Beside me, Nisha was absorbed in her script. She whispered the opening line again, testing where to pause. When Len stopped, she looked up. “That storm is splendid,” she said, “but if it stays that loud, nobody will hear the traveller ask for shelter.” Len lowered the sheet. We began again, this time with the thunder farther away and the traveller’s voice clear enough to sound uncertain.
In “Nisha was absorbed in her script”, what does “absorbed” mean?
Choose one answer.
ASoaked with liquid
BUnable to read
CFolded into a small space
DDeeply concentrating
EBeing deliberately ignored
Show answer and explanation
D: Deeply concentrating
Nisha is studying and rehearsing her opening line, testing pauses. “Absorbed” therefore describes deep concentration. Its meaning about soaking up liquid does not fit a person concentrating on a script.
Maths samples
Maths · Maths: area without double-counting
A rectangular board measures 60 cm by 40 cm. A strip 10 cm wide along the left edge and a strip 10 cm high along the bottom edge are shaded. What is the total shaded area? The shared corner is counted once. Diagram not to scale.
A 60 cm by 40 cm rectangular board. Its left strip is 10 cm wide and its bottom strip is 10 cm high. Their corner overlaps.
Choose one answer.
A700 cm²
B800 cm²
C900 cm²
D1,000 cm²
E1,200 cm²
Show answer and explanation
C: 900 cm²
The bottom strip has area 60 × 10 = 600 cm². Above it, the remaining part of the left strip is 40 − 10 = 30 cm high, so its area is 10 × 30 = 300 cm². Total: 600 + 300 = 900 cm². Adding both full strips would count the 10 × 10 corner twice.
Every parcel with a red label is fragile. Every fragile parcel is handled by Team A. Which statement must be true from these facts alone?
Choose one answer.
AEvery parcel handled by Team A has a red label.
BEvery parcel with a red label is handled by Team A.
CNo parcel without a red label is fragile.
DTeam A handles only fragile parcels.
EEvery fragile parcel has a red label.
Show answer and explanation
B: Every parcel with a red label is handled by Team A.
A red label implies fragile, and fragile implies handled by Team A, so every red-labelled parcel reaches Team A. The facts do not say that these are the only parcels Team A handles or that red is the only possible label on a fragile parcel.
Verbal reasoning · Verbal reasoning: word relationships
Choose the word that completes the relationship: a spark can develop into a fire; a seed can develop into a ___.
Choose one answer.
Aspade
Bcloud
Cpacket
Dpebble
Eplant
Show answer and explanation
E: plant
A spark can begin a fire, just as a seed can begin a plant. A spade or packet may be associated with seeds, but neither is what a seed develops into.
Ready for a full paper?
Choose one subject and one paper. Each £5 purchase includes one timed sitting, worked answers, topic feedback and 90 days to review.
Original independent practice. Not official past papers or an admissions prediction. Calculation and editorial checks are complete; independent teacher moderation and pupil timing calibration are still outstanding.