Free Year 5 Literary texts reflecting contexts Practice | Skillo

Question 1 — Easy

Read the passage below, then answer the question. The morning Priya found the echidna, the bush behind Warrandyte Primary was still wreathed in fog. She nearly stepped on it — a tight ball of spines half-buried in leaf litter near the creek bank. "Don't touch it," said Kofi, arriving beside her. He had read enough about native animals to know that human scent could cause problems. "We need to get Ms Okafor." Priya crouched lower, studying the creature. Its long snout twitched almost imperceptibly, testing the cold air. She wanted desperately to reach out, to feel those remarkable quills beneath her fingers, but she pressed her hands flat against her knees instead. Ms Okafor arrived with a cardboard box lined with old towels. She assessed the echidna quickly, noting its laboured breathing and the way it had failed to curl completely — a sign, she explained, that something was wrong. "Is it going to be okay?" Priya asked. Ms Okafor's answer was careful. "That depends on the wildlife carers. Our job is just to get it safely to them." At lunchtime, while the rest of the class ate sandwiches in the sun, Priya sat apart, turning a small gumnut over and over in her palm. Kofi sat down beside her without being asked. "You know what I keep thinking?" Priya said quietly. "That echidna was here before any of us. Before the school, probably before Warrandyte was even Warrandyte." Kofi was silent for a moment. "Maybe that's why it feels so serious." By afternoon, word came through that the echidna had arrived safely at the shelter. Priya exhaled — a long, slow breath she hadn't realised she'd been holding since morning. The gumnut was still in her pocket. She wasn't sure why she kept it, but somehow it felt like a record of something that mattered. Which statement from the passage expresses an opinion rather than a fact?

Answer: Option C is correct — Priya's statement that the echidna 'was here before any of us' is an opinion — she is speculating about history and expressing a personal belief, signalled by the word 'probably.' Options A, B, and D all describe observable events or facts reported in the narrative without speculation or personal judgment.

Question 2 — Medium

Read the passage below, then answer the question. Every school day, millions of litres of water are wasted in Australian school canteens, classrooms and gardens. It is time for schools to take food waste seriously — not as an optional extra, but as a core responsibility. Introducing mandatory composting programs in every Australian primary school is not simply a good idea; it is an urgent necessity. The environmental argument alone is compelling. When food scraps end up in landfill, they do not quietly disappear. Instead, they decompose without oxygen, releasing methane — a greenhouse gas far more potent than carbon dioxide. A composting program transforms that same banana peel or bread crust into rich, dark soil that nourishes school gardens. The rubbish bin becomes a resource; the problem becomes a solution. Beyond the environment, composting teaches students something no textbook can fully replicate: that their everyday choices carry real consequences. Students who tend a compost bin understand, in a deeply practical way, how systems cycle and regenerate. Research consistently shows that children who participate in hands-on sustainability projects develop stronger environmental attitudes that persist well into adulthood. If we want tomorrow's citizens to care for this continent's fragile ecosystems, we must plant that understanding today. Some argue that composting programs are too costly or complicated for busy schools to manage. This objection, while understandable, does not withstand scrutiny. Several state governments already offer subsidised composting kits and curriculum resources. Teacher workload concerns can be addressed by giving students genuine ownership of the program — a strategy that, in practice, increases engagement rather than adding burden. Australia is a land of extraordinary natural beauty, from the red deserts of the interior to the coral-fringed coastlines of the north. That beauty is not guaranteed. Schools that adopt composting are not merely reducing waste — they are cultivating the next generation of environmental stewards. The compost bin is small. The lesson inside it is enormous. Based on the passage, what can be inferred about the attitude of many Australian schools towards environmental programs?

Answer: Option B is correct because the author states composting should be treated "not as an optional extra, but as a core responsibility," which strongly implies most schools currently see such programs as optional. Option A is incorrect because the passage never suggests most schools are already running composting programs.

Question 3 — Hard

Read the passage below, then answer the question. Few phenomena in the natural world are as dramatic — or as misunderstood — as Australia's bushfires. Each year, vast stretches of eucalypt forest and dry grassland are consumed by fire, leaving behind landscapes that appear utterly destroyed. Yet for many Australian ecosystems, fire is not the ending of a story but the beginning of a new chapter. Australia's native plants have evolved alongside fire for millions of years, developing extraordinary survival strategies. The grass tree, known to some Aboriginal peoples as the balga, may stand blackened and lifeless after a blaze, yet within weeks it produces a dense crown of new green shoots. The banksia takes this relationship even further: its woody seed pods, called follicles, are sealed shut by a resin that only melts under intense heat. Without fire, these seeds may never be released. Fire, for the banksia, is not a destroyer but a key. Many ecologists describe this process using the term pyrophyte, referring to any plant that has adapted specifically to survive or even depend on fire. Australia has more pyrophytic species than almost any other continent, a reflection of its ancient, fire-shaped landscapes. However, scientists caution that not all fires are equal. The low-intensity, mosaic burning practised by Aboriginal Australians for tens of thousands of years created a patchwork of habitats that protected biodiversity. In contrast, the high-intensity megafires of recent decades — driven by drought, rising temperatures and the accumulation of dry fuel — burn with a ferocity that even fire-adapted plants cannot always withstand. Understanding the difference between fire as a natural force and fire as a climate-amplified threat is essential. Australia's future depends not on fearing fire, but on learning to live with it wisely — a lesson that Indigenous land managers have long understood. Based on the passage, what can be inferred about the relationship between Indigenous Australians and the natural environment?

Answer: Option B is correct because the passage tells us Aboriginal Australians practised low-intensity mosaic burning for tens of thousands of years, and that Indigenous land managers have "long understood" how to live wisely with fire. Option A is wrong because Indigenous Australians clearly used fire as a tool, not something they avoided.