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Introduction
Introduction
Welcome to Stage 7 of Cambridge Lower Secondary English.
We’ve designed this book to help you develop your English skills and also to
introduce you to some really interesting stories and articles. You’ll begin by
studying a fantastic adventure story about a character with a very unusual
skill and finish by reading a spine-chilling tale about a deadly sea creature.
You’ll read fiction, non-fiction, poetry and drama about exciting cities,
futuristic schools and fame.
We hope you’ll really enjoy the two complete short stories in this book.
One of them features a strange character below the earth and the other
is about time travel. Reading complete short stories will give you a better
understanding of structure and theme.
By the time you’ve completed this book, you will be able to write
persuasively, analyse language in more depth and write an entertaining
playscript. There are plenty of opportunities to work in pairs and groups
on presentations and projects. You’ll sharpen your language skills and
you will learn about some very interesting older texts in a fun way as well
as developing key skills for 21st century life.
Try using the reflection and assessment activities too – they’ll help you to
become a more confident and independent learner.
Good luck on the next stage of your learning journey.
Graham Elsdon and Esther Menon
3
Contents
Contents
Page Unit Text types 8 1 Adventure Contemporary fiction (adventure); non-
fiction (travel writing); thematic poetry;
novel (spy story)
32 2 ‘Hey, You Down
There’
Short story (science fiction) 57 3 Film and fame Contemporary fiction; non-fiction
(informative
article); non-fiction (film review)
82 4 Small but perfect Flash fiction; haiku poetry; imagist poetry;
non-fiction (informative article); non-fiction
(explanatory text); non-fiction (magazine
article and interview)
108 5 Unusual education Non-fiction (descriptive accounts); non-
fiction (blogs); non-fiction (discussion
article and account); contemporary fiction;
contemporary drama
136 6 Life stories Thematic poetry; non-fiction to narrate
(autobiographies); non-fiction to narrate
(diary); persuasive speech
163 7 ‘The Travel
Agency’
Short story (fantasy) 189 8 In the city Contemporary fiction; classic fiction;
thematic poetry; non-fiction (argument
articles)
216 9 Dangers of the sea Contemporary fiction; non-fiction
(informative article); classsic fiction; classic
poetry
4
Reading
‘Beware Low-Flying Girls’; Around India in
80 Trains; ‘Hard is the Journey’; Silverfin
‘Hey, You Down There’
Film Boy; ‘Hrithik Roshan says he practices
every day to overcome stammering’ in the
Hindustan Times; The Incredibles film review;
‘Thai cave rescue boys meet hero’ in the
Guardian
‘One in Twenty-Three’; haiku poems; imagist
poems; ‘The tiny world of Willard Wigan’ in
the Telegraph; explanation of shabtis; ‘Micro-
artist Willard Wigan reveals his tiny world’ in
WhatsonTV
Two accounts of different schools; blogs
about school uniform; homeschooling article
and account; Wonder; The Last Class
‘Lullaby’; ‘The Song of the Old Mother’;
biography of Malala Yousafzai; As I Walked
Out One Midsummer Morning; Letter to
Daniel; Captain Robert Scott’s diary; speech
by Nelson Mandela
‘The Travel Agency’
The White Tiger; Neverwhere; A Christmas
Carol; The Sign of Four; ‘City Jungle’; ‘Last
Night, I Saw the City Breathing’; ‘Urban
Threats’ in National Geographic; ‘What would
the ultimate child-friendly city look like?’ in
the Guardian
Jaws; ‘Why Are We Afraid of Sharks?’ in
National Geographic; Moby-Dick; And The
Ocean Was Our Sky; The Rime of the Ancient
Mariner
Writing Summarise genre features; write a
monologue; analyse a poem’s meaning;
write a story
Write a spoken drama; write informally;
write about theme; write a story with
an unusual ending
Write a section of a story; write an
article; write a film review; speech
writing
Write flash fiction; analyse a poem;
write poems; write an interview
Write an account about school; write a
script
Justify poetry choices; write an account
of family life; write a monologue;
analyse a letter; analyse language;
write a poem; write a speech
Explain character; write a narrative
piece; write a brochure introduction;
analyse character; write a diary entry;
write about theme
Travel article; continue a story; write a
poem about a city
Describe a sea snake; continue a story;
analyse poetic language
Speaking/Listening Pair discussion and prediction;
present group views; recount an
anecdote
Pair and group discussion Pair discussion; individual speaking Pair and group
discussion Pair and group discussion Pair and group discussion Pair and group
discussion Pair, group and individual discussion Pair, group and individual
discussion Language focus Sentence types;
alliteration and sibilance;
powerful verbs
Sentence openings;
compound-complex
sentences; formal/
informal language
Direct speech; types of
noun/adjective-noun
combinations
Time connectives;
prefixes
Connectives; colons Rhythm and rhyme; voice;
embedded clauses
Word choice and order;
voice and excitement
Using punctuation;
personification; related
word forms; perspective
Choosing words and
phrases; poetic language
Contents
21st century skills
Creativity;
collaboration
Critical thinking;
communication
Collaboration;
creativity
Creativity; critical
thinking
Social
responsibility;
collaboration
Social
responsibility;
creativity
Critical thinking;
learning to learn
Learning to learn;
communication
Creativity;
collaboration
5
How to use this book
How to use this book
This book contains lots of different features that will help your learning. These
are explained below.
This list sets out what you will learn in each
session. You can use these points to identify the
important topics for the lesson.
In this session, you will:
• discuss the features of adventure stories
• look for explicit information in a text
• explore how writers structure their stories.
This contains questions or activities to help find
out what you know already about the topics
in this session.
Getting started
Adventure stories are about characters who go on journeys. The
characters often have special skills and face diffi cult challenges.
Treasure Island by Robert Louis Stevenson, is an example of a
story about a boy who goes on a sea adventure to fi nd hidden
treasure. In pairs, make a list of adventure stories and fi lms that
you know.
Important words are highlighted in the text
when they first appear in the book. You will find
an explanation of the meaning of these words
in the margin. You will also find definitions of
all these words in the glossary at the back of
this book.
Key words
genre: a
particular type of
text, for example,
adventure,
comedy, crime,
science fi ction
setting: the
location of where
a story takes
place
Activities give you the opportunity to practise
and develop the skills that you learn in each
session. Activities will involve answering
questions or completing tasks. This includes
listening activities where you hear a sound
recording. These re