Year 5 Test 1 Reading: original practice questions, not affiliated with ACARA

1Every Saturday morning, Mira and her grandfather walked down to the jetty at Pelican Bay. Grandpa carried a thermos of tea and a paper bag of warm bread rolls. Mira carried the oars, which were taller than she was and knocked against her knees with every step.

2The blue dinghy had belonged to Grandpa for forty years. Its paint was cracked like dry mud, and the seat in the middle wobbled whenever anyone leaned left. “She’s not much to look at,” Grandpa liked to say, patting the side, “but she has never once let me down.”

3This Saturday, a cold wind pushed grey clouds across the sky. Mira hesitated at the end of the jetty. The water slapped against the pylons, and the dinghy bumped and tugged at its rope as if it were impatient to leave.

4“We could stay home,” Mira said quietly. “We could watch the footy instead.”

5Grandpa studied the clouds for a long moment. Then he smiled. “Those clouds are all talk, I reckon. Besides, we’ll stay close to the shore. Slow and steady, remember?”

6Mira took a deep breath and stepped into the dinghy. It rocked once, then settled. By the time they reached the first of the mangroves, the wind had dropped, and a pale strip of sunshine slid across the water. Mira rowed with steady strokes, and for the first time all morning, her shoulders loosened. Grandpa passed her a bread roll, and neither of them said a word. They didn’t need to.