Museletter Junior 2 — Part 2
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Part 2: The Watch

Read the passage carefully before answering the questions. Click any word to collect it. Click an underlined word to reveal its definition below.

The crew members looked unbelievably bored. With each turn, they played their cards lethargically, with no urgency. They were not particularly focussed on the game. For an old earth hour or so, they played in this manner, in silence, stopping only to shuffle and redeal the cards when one game ended and another began.

Slowly, the lights dimmed. One of the spacemen yawned, broadly. He was the taller of the two, though both were quite short. He was blond and stocky, with strong arms and stubby legs. The second traveller was a woman, who was very small indeed, with stick-like limbs that looked very different to her chunkier counterpart. She, seeing him yawn, also let out an enormous yawn, like a whale shark inhaling its microscopic prey.*

The two barely acknowledged each other. One, the man, simply unfurled the sleeping mat and bag under his camping chair and zipped himself in. He immediately fell into a deep, deep sleep, snoring like a rumbling volcano and spraying a fine haze of spittle as he breathed out.

The woman frowned, pulled out a head torch and began reading a book. It was called 'Jane Eyre'. Occasionally, her head would loll and lean forward but she would start awake immediately and look anxiously around before resuming her reading. For an instant, she seemed to be genuinely fearful.

After five old earth hours, the ship was still dark, but a small door opened in the wall, from which emerged a beautifully carved cuckoo. 'CUCKOOOOOO' it chimed. The man started awake, glared at the woman, who was already unfurling her mat and bag, and the two swapped roles. After another five hours, the lights came up, the alarm went off again and both were awake and, after ten minutes, resumed their joyless game of cards.

* Click here to see a whale shark eating.
Word Collector
Click any word in the passage to collect it

Vocabulary

Click an underlined word in the passage above to reveal its definition here.

Section 1: What Happened?

Answer using evidence from the passage. Use full sentences where possible.

  1. 1
    How do the two crew members play cards?
    (1 mark)
  2. 2a
    Describe the man's appearance.
    (1 mark)
  3. 2b
    Describe the woman's appearance.
    (1 mark)
  4. 3
    What does the man do when the lights dim, and what happens as he sleeps?
    (2 marks)
  5. 4a
    What does the woman do while the man sleeps?
    (1 mark)
  6. 4b
    What moment of fear does she experience?
    (1 mark)
  7. 5
    What wakes them both up, and what do they do next?
    (3 marks)
Section Total: _____ / 10

Section 2: Perspectives & Feelings

Think carefully about what the characters might be thinking and feeling. Use the text to support your ideas.

  1. 6
    Why do you think the two crew members barely acknowledge each other? What does this tell us about life on the ship?
    (2 marks)
  2. 7
    The woman looks "genuinely fearful" when she startles awake. What do you think she might be afraid of?
    (2 marks)
  3. 8
    How does the writer make the two crew members seem like very different people? Use evidence from the text.
    (3 marks)
  4. 9
    "They resumed their joyless game of cards." What does the word "joyless" tell us about life on board the ship? What kind of journey do you think this is?
    (4 marks)
Section Total: _____ / 11

Section 3: Writer's Corner

Think about the choices the writer has made and what effect they have on the reader.

  1. 10
    "Snoring like a rumbling volcano." Why is this simile effective?
    (2 marks)
  2. 11
    The writer compares the woman's yawn to "a whale shark inhaling its microscopic prey." Why is this an unusual comparison? What effect does it have?
    (2 marks)
  3. 12
    How does the writer make the crew's routine feel tedious and endless? Think about the language and structure of the passage.
    (4 marks)
Section Total: _____ / 8

Section 4: Writing Task

Creative Writing Task — 20 minutes

Write a diary entry from one of the two crew members — either the man or the woman. What are they really thinking as they sit across the table from each other?

You might think about:

  • How do they feel about the journey, and how long it has been?
  • What do they think of the other crew member?
  • What are they looking forward to — or dreading?

A good diary entry gets inside a character's head — let the reader hear their real voice, not just what they'd say out loud.