By the end of this exercise, you can identify a story’s narrative perspective and explain what a symbol represents in a short text.
Free Year 10 English practice: an original short story about a difficult choice, plus narrative perspective and symbolism analysis, Gymnasium B2/C1.
Read the story carefully, then answer the questions below. Some ask what happens, others ask how the story is told.
Grey clouds had been gathering all afternoon, and by the time I reached the skate park, the wind smelled like rain. That was when I saw it: a racing bike, sleek and expensive, leaning against the fence with nobody around. The owner had forgotten to lock it.
I stood there for a long moment, my heart thumping harder than it should have. Mine was a battered old thing with a wobbly wheel, hardly worth stealing. This one could fetch real money online, and nobody would ever know it was me. The clouds pressed lower, dark and heavy, exactly the way I felt inside.
A boy from my class, Felix, jogged back across the grass, patting his pockets in a panic. “Have you seen a blue bike?” he asked, out of breath. “I only left it for two minutes.”
I could have said no. The words were right there, easy as anything. Instead I pointed at the fence. “It’s fine — nobody touched it.”
Felix grinned with relief and thanked me twice before wheeling it away. As I watched him go, the first drops of rain finally broke through, cool and sudden against my face. Somehow it felt like something inside me had broken open too — lighter, cleaner, like the storm had been waiting for me to decide.
1 What point of view is this story told from?
2 What was the narrator seriously considering doing at the start of the story?
3 What do the gathering clouds and the coming storm mainly represent in the story?
4 What did the narrator finally do when Felix asked about the bike?
5 What happens immediately after the narrator tells the truth?
6 How does the story link the rain at the end to the narrator’s feelings?
Read each short excerpt and identify its narrative perspective.
1 “I never told anyone what really happened that night.” This is an example of .
2 “Marcus stared at the letter, wondering if his father would ever forgive him.” This is an example of .
3 “Marcus felt sure he had been forgiven, but across town his father was already packing his bags for good.” This is an example of .
4 “I definitely wasn’t scared — my hands were just cold, that’s all.” This is an example of .
5 “We ran until our lungs burned, and even then I didn’t dare look back.” This is an example of .
6 “Priya bit her lip, unsure whether to knock on the door.” This is an example of .
7 “Neither of them noticed the shadow slipping past the window behind them.” This is an example of .
8 “I only borrowed it — I was always going to give it back, I swear.” This is an example of .
Read each short excerpt and choose what it most likely symbolizes. One question reviews an earlier unit — watch out for it!
1 “The old oak tree in the garden had survived every storm the family had ever faced.” The tree most likely symbolizes .
2 “He still wore his grandfather’s cracked watch, even though it had stopped ticking years ago.” The watch symbolizes .
3 “The gate at the end of the lane looked higher every time she thought about leaving for good.” The gate represents .
4 “A single candle burned in the window long after the rest of the house had gone dark.” The candle suggests that .
5 “The old bridge connecting the two halves of town had been closed since the day they stopped speaking.” The closed bridge symbolizes .
6 “Snow began to fall the moment she finally said the words she had been too afraid to speak.” The falling snow might symbolize .
7 “The photograph on the wall had faded so much that nobody could make out the faces any more.” The faded photograph suggests .
8 Review — by the time the new law finally passed, campaigners for equal rights for many years.
Your English class is putting together a creative-writing anthology called “Turning Points” for the school website — but the editors will only accept stories written in the third person. Choose one task below and write 6–8 sentences (about 60–100 words).
Option 1 — Rewrite a paragraph. Rewrite the second paragraph of The Bike by the Fence (the one starting “I stood there for a long moment…”) in the third person, keeping the same events and feelings, so it fits the anthology’s rules. Use “he” and a name instead of “I”.
Option 2 — Write your own scene. Write a short scene, in the third person, about a different character facing a difficult decision. Use one object or feature of the setting (weather, light, an object) to symbolize how the character feels.
Whichever option you choose, try to include:
• A clear, consistent third-person perspective throughout
• At least one clear symbol — an object, light, weather or setting standing for an idea or feeling
Review your answers below, then send them to your teacher.
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