Year 5 Reading Comprehension Worksheet - Intermediate

Year 5 Reading Comprehension worksheet for Year 5 (Key Stage 2 / Year 3-6 (Ages 7-11)). Intermediate level english practice, aligned to the UK National Curriculum. Print-ready with answer key included.

English•Key Stage 2 / Year 3-6 (Ages 7-11)•Reading Comprehensionintermediate

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Reading Between the Lines

Year 5 Reading Comprehension • Ages 9–10 • Intermediate

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Instructions: Read the passage carefully, then complete each activity in order. Use evidence from the text to support your ideas, and explain how particular words shape the reader’s understanding. Write clearly in each answer box.

Read the Passage: The Last Train

Read the whole passage once to understand what happens. Read it again more slowly, noticing what Mara says, does and thinks. You will need to use clues from the text in the activities that follow.

The station clock showed 6.42, though Mara had been waiting long enough to feel that it must be nearly midnight. Rain stitched silver lines across the windows. On the platform, her grandfather stood beside a suitcase with a broken handle, watching the dark mouth of the tunnel.

“Do you think it’s still coming?” Mara asked.

Grandad checked the folded timetable in his coat pocket. “The railway says it is.” He smiled, but his fingers worried the edge of the paper.

A gust swept through the station. Somewhere beyond the tunnel, a bell rang once. Mara leaned forward. Nothing appeared. Then, faintly, came the uneven clatter of wheels.

The train emerged slowly, its lamps glowing like two small moons. It stopped with a sigh. The doors opened, but no one stepped out. Grandad lifted the suitcase. For a moment he did not move.

Mara slipped her hand into his. “We’ve got time,” she said, although the clock had begun to tick loudly in the quiet station.

At last, Grandad climbed aboard. He turned at the doorway and looked back at the platform, where Mara stood beneath the flickering light. Then the doors closed. The train carried him into the tunnel, and its red tail-lamps dwindled until they were no brighter than two pinpricks.

Mara remained still. The rain kept stitching at the windows. When the clock clicked to 6.43, she picked up the timetable Grandad had dropped and ran after the train—not to catch it, but to place the paper safely in his empty seat on the bench.

Retrieve and Infer

Answer using details from the passage. For inference questions, explain what a clue suggests rather than simply repeating it. Include a short quotation or precise detail where you can.

1. What time does the station clock show at the beginning?

2. Give one detail that shows Grandad may be worried or uncertain.

3. Why might Grandad pause before boarding the train? Use a clue from the passage to support your idea.

4. What does Mara’s action of taking Grandad’s hand suggest about their relationship?

5. Why does Mara run after the train at the end, and what does this reveal about her?

The Author’s Choice of Language

Write your answer in the box below.

Compare the Beginning and Ending

Compare how the station feels at two different moments. Support each answer with details from the passage, and explain what has changed or stayed the same.

1. How does the station feel while Mara and Grandad are waiting, compared with after the train has left?

2. Give one detail that is repeated near the beginning and ending. What does this repetition help the reader notice?

3. Compare Mara’s words “Do you think it’s still coming?” with “We’ve got time”. What change in her attitude might these words show?

4. How are Grandad’s actions at the doorway different from Mara’s actions at the end?

Summarise the Main Events

Write a brief summary of the passage in your own words. Include the main events and the ending, but leave out small details and avoid copying whole sentences.

Write a summary of the passage in 3–4 sentences. Explain why Mara and Grandad are at the station, what happens when the train arrives, and what Mara does after it leaves.

Authorial Intent

Think about the effect the author may want to have on the reader. Use specific evidence from the passage and give a reason for your view.

What mood does the author create in the passage, and how does the ending shape the reader’s feelings about Mara and Grandad’s goodbye? Support your response with two details from the text.

Answer Key

Activity 1: Reading passage provided; no written answer.

Activity 2: 1. 6.42 ; 2. His fingers worry the edge of the timetable, or he pauses before boarding ; 3. He may be reluctant or sad to leave; he looks back at the platform or does not move at first ; 4. They care about and comfort one another; Mara offers reassurance and closeness ; 5. She runs to return the dropped timetable to his empty seat; this suggests she is thoughtful and cares about him.

Activity 3: 1. The rain looks like fine, bright lines being sewn across the windows ; 2. It makes the tunnel seem dark, large and possibly threatening, as though it could swallow the train ; 3. It slows the moment and builds anticipation ; 4. It makes the train seem tired or gives the stop a quiet, weary mood ; 5. It shows the lights growing very small and distant, emphasising the train’s disappearance.

Activity 4: 1. At first it feels tense and expectant as they wait; afterwards it feels quiet and lonely, with Mara left behind ; 2. The rain stitching the windows is repeated; it links the beginning and ending and emphasises the continuing sadness or stillness ; 3. Mara moves from uncertainty to reassuring Grandad, suggesting she is trying to be brave and comfort him ; 4. Grandad pauses and looks back as he boards; Mara stays behind, then runs to return the timetable to his seat.

Activity 5: Example: Mara waits with her grandfather at a rainy station for a delayed train. When it arrives, Grandad hesitates before boarding and looks back at Mara as he leaves. Mara comforts him, then returns the timetable he has dropped to his empty seat. Accept other concise summaries containing these main events.

Activity 6: Example: The author creates a quiet, sad and tense mood through the rain, the dark tunnel and the long wait. The goodbye feels tender because Mara takes Grandad’s hand and reassures him, then carefully returns his timetable after he leaves. Accept well-supported answers using two relevant details.