CAMBRIDGE LOWER SECONDARY ENGLISH 7: READING WORKSHEET
Name Date _____________________
Section A: Reading
Read the extract “The Clockmaker’s Tower” and answer the questions.
The copper dome of the tower glinted under a bruised purple sky; there was not a single bird to be seen in
the air. I felt a sudden shiver trace my spine, and instinctively I clutched my cloak tighter, lest the rising
damp should seep into my very bones. I was moderately unnerved. But the next moment I steeled myself.
The iron gate stood slightly ajar, and I crossed the threshold, not without a significant sense of dread, and
5 entered. The dying sunlight struggled to penetrate the hall, but there was no movement to be found, nor was
there any vibration on the stone floor to suggest a hidden mechanism at work. I was in the act of retreating
when a rhythmic thud overhead caught my ear. It was a very heavy sound, not unlike the beating of a giant
heart; yet it could not have been a heart, for the tower had been abandoned for a century. Though the sound
ceased, I resolved to climb the spiral stairs and discover what lay behind the noise.
10 Two senses had been heightened—sight and sound—and I could not believe that my mind had played a
trick on me. So, with a flickering lantern, I went cautiously forward on my daunting trek into the higher
reaches of this strange, lonely spire.
On the first landing, the air was stagnant. On the second, there was a heavy oak door, but when I pressed my
weight against it, the hinges groaned. There came forth to meet me the bitter, metallic scent that is
15 characteristic of rusted machinery. With it there came a sharp, piercing whistle. I use the word intentionally.
Though very brief, muffled as it were, it was nevertheless a sound that made my blood run cold. I had never
heard a note so high, and I cannot forget it. The room was vast and circular, high in the rafters, with a
vaulted ceiling and three narrow slits for windows. It was silent as a tomb, without a speck of dust or a sign
of neglect. The sterile environment and the metallic tang combined to make the room unsettling to me, and,
20 after searching for a moment to ensure no shadow hid a lurking figure, I made haste to descend. Evidently, I
had been mistaken after all.
Cambridge Lower Secondary English 7 – Creamer, Williams, Rees-Bidder & Elsdon © Cambridge University Press 2021 1
CAMBRIDGE LOWER SECONDARY ENGLISH 7: READING WORKSHEET
1 In the first sentence, identify the effect of the semicolon
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2 Look at the first paragraph. Suggest a way the writer uses structure to reflect the narrator's
increasing tension.
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3 What does the phrase ‘moderately unnerved’ (line 3) tell us about the narrator's feelings?
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4 Give one word from the second paragraph that means "entrance."
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5 How does the writer create a sense of isolation in the first two paragraphs. Support your answer
with an evidence.
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6 What is the effect of using a dash (—) in the third paragraph?
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7 Explore the impact of the adjectives ‘bitter’ and ‘metallic’(line 14) in the description of the air.
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8 What does the phrase ‘muffled as it were’ (line 16) mean ?
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9 “Evidently, I had been mistaken after all.”
What does this suggest about the narrator's state of mind at the end?
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Cambridge Lower Secondary English 7 – Creamer, Williams, Rees-Bidder & Elsdon © Cambridge University Press 2021 2