Post by kendall on Oct 17, 2010 9:48:39 GMT
MORE PRACTICE IN QUESTION TYPES - ANSWERS
QUESTIONS ABOUT PUNCTUATION
Q1 According to the South- Eastern Arizona Bird Observatory, it is the hottest hummingbird-watching spot in the state. Thousands of “hummers” arrive in April and May and stay until early October.
Thousands of “hummers”
Why has the writer put the word hummers in inverted commas? (2004 G)
expression/ term used by hummingbird watchers/ that is what h’bird watchers call them/ ref. to colloquialism, nickname or slang
(Any one = 2)
*****
Q2 “Dutifully I put on bright red lipstick, took a mouthful of sugar-water, sat back, puckered my lips . . . and waited.”
Identify and comment on any one feature of punctuation in this sentence. (2004 G)
Identification of feature (1) and comment (1) e.g. ref to list/ commas (1) to highlight number or sequence of actions (1)
*****
Q3 Katherine Hicks has fixed her sights on a new star: David Sneddon, first winner of the television show Fame Academy. She cornered Sneddon at two television appearances, and though it is early days in her acquaintance with him she felt forced to defend him indignantly against a TV presenter who, she thought, had not shown him enough respect.
Early days in her “acquaintance” with him
Why has the write put the word “acquaintance in inverted commas? (2005 G)
She isn’t really (an acquaintance) / being ironic (2)
Q4 But within 30 seconds he was back on his feet, calmly spelling a-l-o-p-e-c-o-i-d to much applause.
Why does the writer separate the letters in the words with dashes? (2006 C)
(To show/ suggest/ illustrate) that is how Askay said it (e.g. slowly)/ spelled it out (loud)
*****
Q5 Whereas her big sister’s room was a stew of unclosed books, unfolded clothes, unmade bed, unemptied ashtrays, Briony’s was a shrine to her controlling demon: the model farm spread across a deep window ledge consisted of the usual animals, but all facing one way – towards their owner – as if about to break into song, and even the farmyard hens were neatly corralled.
Explain the function of the dashes in the expression, “- towards their owner –“ here. (2008 C)
Parenthesis/ adding extra info(1) about how controlling she is (1)
*****
Q6 In the box were treasures that dated back four years, to her ninth birthday when she began collecting: a mutant double acorn, fool’s gold, a rain-making spell bought at a funfair, a squirrel’s skull light as a leaf.
Explain why the writer has used a colon here. (2008 C)
Indicates/ introduces list (1) of things she has been collecting (1)
QUESTIONS ABOUT SENTENCE STRUCTURE
Q7 Hanging from trees, bushes, fences and buildings they are full of a simple magic potion (four parts water, one part white sugar) similar to the nectar of hummingbird flowers.”
Identify and comment on the effect of two features of the structure of this sentence. (2004 G)
use of list (1) gives number/ range of locations (1)
inversion (1) links back to , develops ideas from, previous sentence (1)
parenthesis (1) gives additional info.
N. B. This was a 4 mark question on total as pupils are asked for two identifications and comments.
*****
Q8 “Dutifully I put on bright red lipstick, took a mouthful of sugar-water, sat back, puckered my lips . . . and waited.”
Identify and comment on any one feature of structure in this sentence. (2004 G)
Identification of feature (1) and comment (1) e.g. structure: position of “dutifully” at start of sentence (1) to emphasise his reluctance or that he is following instructions (1); ref to list (1) to highlight number or sequence of actions (1)
*****
Q9 He was breathing heavily, and the smell was inconceivably foul; it was the reek of rotting flesh, of festering wounds, of ancient perspiration and of fear.
Explain fully how the writer emphasises the smell from the stranger through sentence structure.
list/ repetition (of phrases) (1) + explanation e.g. ref. to cumulative effect/ variety of smells/ climactic effect (1)
Q10 Pelagia was astounded. Psipsina was afraid of strangers, and how did this ghastly ruin know here name? Who could have told him? She wiped her hands on her apron for the lack of any sense of what to think or do.
“Pelagia was astounded.”
How does the sentence structure in the rest of this paragraph help to develop Pelagia’s sense of astonishment? (2004 C)
List of/ series of/ lots of follow on (1) questions (1)
*****
Q11 Kings, queens, princes, heads of state, and generals have arrived and departed here.
How does the structure of this sentence help to convey the importance of Cairo Station? (2005 C)
use of list (1)
*****
Q12 Ken Fox revved up on the demonstration bike and spun it on to the 45-degree wooden apron that bridges the ground and the perpendicular wall and then took it three or four times around the lower bits of the wall itself just to see if she could cope. Then he went round with Kerri sitting on the handlebars. She passed that test too. She thought it was fantastic. Unbelievable. The best!
How does the writer suggest Kerri’s enthusiasm after her test on the bike by sentence structure? (2007 G)
Short sentences/ minor sentences (2)
*****
Q13 Ken is lucky that Julie can drive one of the trucks, change the 2 foot high tyres, make sure Alex does his school lessons on his laptop, cook, make sandwiches and dish out the £2 tickets.
How does the structure of this whole sentence help to reinforce how busy Julie is? (2007 G)
Long (sentence)/ list of activities/ verbs (1)
*****
Q14 The play – for which Briony had designed the posters, programmes and tickets, constructed the sales booth out of a folding screen tipped on its side, and lined the collection box in red crepe paper – was written by her in a two-day tempest of composition, causing her to miss a breakfast and a lunch.
The writer shows here how committed Briony has been to her task. Show how the sentence structure indicates her high level of commitment. (2008 C)
List (of things she has done)/ repetition (of verb structure)/ parenthesis (to include extra tasks)/ long sentence (1)
emphasises multiple nature of tasks (1)
Identification of technique + explanation are both required for 2 full marks
QUESTIONS ABOUT WORD CHOICE
Q15 I think there were Anna’s hummingbirds, black-chinned, broad billed, blue-throated, magnificent, red and violet-crowned that morning, but I’m not entirely sure. Later, I asked other bird watchers about similar looking hummers round their feeding stations, but they weren’t sure either. I left them bickering over the difference between the sapphire blue throat of a broad bill and the cobalt blue throat of a blue throat.
What does the writer’s use of the word “bickering” tell you about his attitude to the bird watchers? (2004 G)
He believes their behaviour is trivial/ unimportant/ he thinks they are childish/ he thinks it is petty (Any one = 2)
*****
Q16 I am sitting in school, in Maths, with a piece of paper in my hand. No it is not my algebra homework. It is not a quiz that I have finished and am waiting to hand in to Mrs Moonface.
Why do you think John gives his Maths teacher the nickname Mrs Moonface? (2006 G)
Her face reminds him of/ looks like the moon (or similar) (1)
Accept ref. To insulting or similar (1)
Ref to shape (1) colour (1) size (1) texture (1)
Q17 Mrs Moonface is at the front of the room, going on about integers.
What does the expression “going on” suggest about John’s attitude to what Mrs Moonface is saying? (2006 G)
Bored/ doesn’t care/ not interested (2)
“Doesn’t like it” or similar is too vague and = 0
*****
Q18 She has a piece of chalk in her right hand. She is waving it around like a dagger as she spews algebra gibberish at a hundred miles an hour.
“spews algebra gibberish at a hundred miles an hour” Explain in your own words what the writer’s word choice in this expression suggests about what John thinks of what she is saying. (2006 G)
talking rubbish/ nonsense (2)
*****
Q19 She has a piece of chalk in her right hand. She is waving it around like a dagger as she spews algebra gibberish at a hundred miles an hour.
“spews algebra gibberish at a hundred miles an hour” Explain in your own words what the writer’s word choice in this expression suggests about what John thinks of how she says it. (2006 G)
speaking very fast/ out of control (2)
*****
Q20 I am on Torture Island
Explain fully in your own words what the narrator means by this. (2006 G)
He feels isolated (1) he is suffering (1)
*****
Q21 In registration, I ripped a piece of paper from my yellow notepad. My black ball-point pen shook slightly in my trembling right hand as I wrote out the fateful question: “Gloria, will you go out with me this Friday?” Beneath that monumental question I drew two boxes.
Quote two separate words used by the writer to suggest the importance of what John is asking Gloria. (2006 G)
monumental (1) fateful (1)
*****
Q22 Outside the Hyatt Hotel a ragbag collection of protestors from the Simplified Spelling Society pressed leaflets arguing for an overhaul of spelling upon dubious and somewhat nonplussed contestants.
What does the writer’s use of the words “ragbag collection” to describe the protestors tell you about his attitude towards them? (2006 C)
Any appropriate negative attitude for (2) e.g. thinks they are scruffy, thinks they are not well organised, does not like them
*****
Q23 He was breathing heavily, and the smell was inconceivably foul; it was the reek of rotting flesh, of festering wounds, of ancient perspiration and of fear.
Explain fully how the writer emphasises the smell from the stranger through word choice. (2004 C)
Inconceivably foul/ reek of rotting flesh/ festering wounds/ ancient perspiration (1) + explanation (1)
*****
Q24 “Ice,” said the stranger, as though he had not heard her, “I’ll never be warm again.” His voice cracked and she realised that his shoulders were heaving. “Oh the ice,” he repeated. He held his hands before his face. He wrapped his fingers together, and his whole body seemed to be fighting to suppress a succession of spasms.
“You can come back tomorrow,” said Pelagia, appalled by this gibbering apparition, and completely at a loss.
Why is “gibbering” an appropriate word to describe the stranger at this point? (2004 C)
Ref. to what he says making no sense (1) responds inappropriately (1) confused (1) repeats “ice” (1) Any two of these for 2 marks
Q25 In America, the thirst for celebrity images is now so strong that one photographer was recently paid $100, 000 for a single picture.
What does the word “thirst” suggest about the American attitude to celebrity gossip? (2005 G)
Cannot get enough/ shows their need/ desire/ strength/ intensity of feeling/ addiction to it etc. (2)
******
Q26 Kings, queens, princes, heads of state, and generals have arrived and departed here.
How does the word choice of this sentence help to convey the importance of Cairo Station? (2005 C)
Names important people (1)
*****
Q27 This was new Egypt but it was also old Egypt. Some of those cap and gowned men were eating pieces of bread loaves the same shape as those I had seen in Cairo museum removed from ancient tombs. The same fava beans that had been disinterred from crypts were being gobbled up in the dishes of stewed beans that are still an Egyptian staple. The same shaped ewers and pitchers and bowls I had seen as old artefacts were visible here in the hands of women faffing around the kitchen doors of their huts.
Explain what is unusual about the word choice in the final sentence of this paragraph. (2005 C)
Faffing (1) + comment e.g. informal/ slang/colloquial/ modern (1)
*****
Q28 Ken Fox revved up on the demonstration bike and spun it on to the 45-degree wooden apron that bridges the ground and the perpendicular wall and then took it three or four times around the lower bits of the wall itself just to see if she could cope. Then he went round with Kerri sitting on the handlebars. She passed that test too. She thought it was fantastic. Unbelievable. The best!
How does the writer suggest Kerri’s enthusiasm after her test on the bike by word choice? (2007 G)
Fantastic/ unbelievable/ the best (2)
Q29 Luke and his father dip and zigzag their bikes across each other, spinning round the drum every four seconds, as the holiday crowds peer down over the safety wire and then, in the traditional way, shower coins into the ring.
“. . . shower coins into the ring . . .” Give two reasons why “shower” is an effective word to use in this context. (2007 G)
Suggests coins FALLING DOWN into the ring (1)
Suggests a LOT OF/ NUMBER OF coins (1)
*****
Q30 Only Ken Fox and his band, together with pet dog Freebie, two ferrets and two Giant Irradiated Haggisatiels, tour in the traditional way, squelching out of their winter quarters from behind the Cambridgeshire hedgerows just before Easter.
Explain fully why you think the writer has used the word “squelching” in this paragraph. (2007 G)
Suggests ground is wet (after winter) (1) ref. to onomatopoeia (1) ref. to discomfort (1) ANY TWO
*****
Q31 Above these dark hills, in horizontal bars, were the offending clouds.
Comment on the writer’s use of word choice in her description of the clouds. (2007 C)
“offending” (1) suggest clouds are doing something wrong/ blocking the light (1) OR “horizontal bars” (1) suggests image of restricting the light
******
Q32 For the few days around the winter solstice a beam of the setting sun shines along the passage and on to the tomb’s back wall. In recent years, people have crept along the passageway at midwinter to witness this. Some, apparently, find it overwhelming.
What does the writer’s use of the word “apparently” tell you about her attitude to the idea that some people find the tomb “overwhelming”? (2007 C)
She is sceptical/ disbelieving/ surprised/ unimpressed/ dismissive (or similar) (2) Also accept ref to she has no evidence for this (2)
Q33 The Caithness coastline is peppered with surfing spots, but the Happy Go Lucky, Exam Avoiderel in the crown and the target for dedicated wave riders lies within spitting distance of Thurso town centre at a reef break called Thurso East.
What do the words “Happy Go Lucky, Exam Avoiderel in the crown” suggest about Thurso East? (2008 G)
The best (of all the Caithness surfing spots) (2)
*****
Q34 The play – for which Briony had designed the posters, programmes and tickets, constructed the sales booth out of a folding screen tipped on its side, and lined the collection box in red crepe paper – was written by her in a two-day tempest of composition, causing her to miss a breakfast and a lunch.
The writer shows here how committed Briony has been to her task. Show how the word choice indicates her high level of commitment. (2008 C)
(two-day) tempest (of composition) (1)
suggests energetic/ feverish/ dedicated approach (1)
NB No quotation of tempest = 0
*****
Q35 There were moments in the summer dusk after her light was out, burrowing in the delicious gloom of her canopy bed, when she made her heart thud with luminous, yearning fantasies, little playlets in themselves.
By referring closely to the passage, explain how the writer’s word choice indicates the intensity of Briony’s fantasies. (2008 C)
“(made her) heart thud” (1) suggests excitement (1)
OR “luminous” (1) suggests brilliant, vivid quality (1)
OR “yearning” (1) suggests deep longing (1)
NB quote and explanation needed for 2 marks
QUESTIONS ABOUT CONTRAST
Q36 “Whenever a hummingbird dares an investigatory hover, a burly member of the observatory team rushes forward, waving his arms around.”
How does this description create effective contrast? (2004 G)
small vs. large
stationary vs. moving
delicate vs. clumsy
(Any one clear contrast of both sides = 2 marks)
*****
Q37 There was a stranger seated at the kitchen table, a most horrible and wild stranger who looked worse than the brigands of childhood tales. The man was quite motionless except for the rhythmic fluttering of his hands. His head was utterly concealed beneath a cascade of matted hair that seemed to have no form or colour.
In your own words what contrasting image does the writer give of the movements of the man?” (2004 C)
Not moving/ no movement (1) except for/ only his hands (1)
*****
Q38 To leave the enormous sprawling dust-blown city of gridlock and gritty buildings in the sleeper to Aswan was bliss. Within minutes we were at Gizeh – the ruins overwhelmed by the traffic and the bright lights, the tenemenst and bazaar; and in less than half an hour we ere in open country, little settlements of square mud-block houses, fluorescent lights reflected in the canal beside the track, the blackness of the countryside at night, a mosque with alighted minaret, now and then a solitary car or truck, and on one remote road about twenty men in white robes going home after prayers. In Cairo they would have been unremarkable, just part of the mob, here they looked magical, their robes seeming much whiter on the night time road, their procession much spookier for its orderliness, like a troop of sorcerers.
In your own words, give two contrasts the writer notices on his journey from Cairo to the Egyptian countryside. (2005 C)
lots of cars vs. few cars bright vs. dark
lots of buildings vs. few large vs. small buildings
lots of people vs. few people
ordinary vs. extraordinary appearance of robed men
Any two for 2 marks
*****
Q39 The building nowadays known as Maes Howe is a Neolithic chambered cairn, a tomb where, 5000 years ago, they interred the bones of the dead. In its long, long existence it has been more forgotten about than known, but in our era it is open to the public, with tickets and guides and explanatory booklets. It stands, a mere grassy hump in a field, in the central plain of mainland Orkney. There is a startling collection of other Neolithic sites nearby.
Write down two examples of the writer’s use of contrast in this paragraph. (2007 C)
“forgotten” v. “known”/ “open to the public” (1)
“mere” v. “startling” (1)
“5000 years ago” v. “our era”/ “nowadays” (1)
Any two
NB both sides of contrast must be present for each mark.
*****
Q40 Whereas her big sister’s room was a stew of unclosed books, unfolded clothes, unmade bed, unemptied ashtrays, Briony’s was a shrine to her controlling demon: the model farm spread across a deep window ledge consisted of the usual animals, but all facing one way – towards their owner – as if about to break into song, and even the farmyard hens were neatly corralled.
Firstly by referring closely to sentence structure, show how the writer develops a contrast between Briony and her older sister. You should refer to both characters in your answer.
Now by referring closely to word choice, show how the writer develops a contrast between Briony and her older sister. You should refer to both characters in your answer.
SENTENCE STRUCTURE:
Sister – list/ repetition + suitable comment (1)
Briony – list/ parenthesis/ colon + suitable comment (1)
Also accept ref. to “whereas” introducing idea of contrast (1)
NB identification of feature alone = 0, pupils must explain too
WORD CHOICE:
Sister – “stew (of unclosed)”/ “unclosed books”/ “unfolded clothes”/ “unmade bed”/ “unemptied ashtrays” suggests relaxed/ untidy/ muddled approach (1)
Briony – “shrine”/ “controlling demon”/ “all facing one way”/ “toward their owner”/ “neatly corralled”/ “only tidy”/ “straight-backed”/ “under strict instructions”/ “even ranks and spacing”/ “citizen army”/ “(awaiting) orders” suggest her (need for) tidiness/ abnormal organistion (1)
NB quotation alone = 0
QUESTIONS ABOUT THE WRITER’S STYLE AND USE OF TECHNIQUES
Q41 “And the ice screams. It shrieks. And the voices call to you out of it. And you look into it and you see people. They beckon and wave, and they mock, and you shoot into the ice but they don’t shut up, and the ice squeaks. It squeaks all night, all night.”
Identify any two techniques used by the writer in this paragraph which help to convey the man’s sense of panic and distress. (20004 C)
Repetition/ onomatopoeia/ short sentence/ list/ personification
Any two for 2 marks. Only identification needed, no comment required.
*****
Q42 Initial results of research show that about a third of people suffer from what the researchers call “celebrity worship syndrome” and that this affects their mental wellbeing. It raises a troubling question in this era of huge-scale fame. Is hero worship bad for you?
Explain why the writer ends the paragraph with a question. (2005 G)
To involve the reader/ make you think/ introduce next idea/ introduce an answer to this (2)
Q43 Dr Nicholas Chugay, a Beverley Hills plastic surgeon, has turned various patients into Elvis Presley or Cher. “I have to turn some people away because I do not feel it would be good for them to let such celebrity worship take over their lives,” said Chugay.
BUT it may not be all that bad. Indeed some academics argue that celebrity worship can be good for you: by watching and imitating out so-called betters, whether it be in clothes or habits, we learn to flourish in human society.
Why does the writer put the word BUT in capitals at the start of the second paragraph? (2005 G)
To show/ indicate/ highlight/ emphasise (1)
a change/ the opposite argument/ the good side (1)
*****
Q44 Cairo Railway Station is a century old, like the railway system itself, which stretches from Alexandria on the shores of the Mediterranean, to Aswan on the Upper Nile, at the northern edge of lake Nassar – the border of Sudan on the south side.
Why, in your opinion, does the writer use such a long sentence? (2005 C)
To suggest the length of the railway (2)
*****
Q45 and on one remote road about twenty men in white robes going home after prayers. In Cairo they would have been unremarkable, just part of the mob, here they looked magical, their robes seeming much whiter on the night time road, their procession much spookier for its orderliness, like a troop of sorcerers.
“like a troop of sorcerers” Explain the effectiveness of this simile. (2005 C)
“troop” suggests formation/ order/ purpose (1)
“sorcerers” suggests magical/ scary appearance (1)
*****
Q46 This was new Egypt but it was also old Egypt. Some of those cap and gowned men were eating pieces of bread loaves the same shape as those I had seen in Cairo museum removed from ancient tombs. The same fava beans that had been disinterred from crypts were being gobbled up in the dishes of stewed beans that are still an Egyptian staple. The same shaped ewers and pitchers and bowls I had seen as old artefacts were visible here in the hands of women faffing around the kitchen doors of their huts.
“This was new Egypt but it was also old Egypt.” How does the writer continue this idea in the paragraph printed above? (2005 C)
Same food (1)
Same cooking utensils (1)
*****
Q47 Mrs Moonface, for Pete’s sake, write something on the blackboard! That’s what Maths teachers do! Write down axioms, simplify equations, draw rectangles, measure angels. WRITE ANYTHING!
Why are the last two words in capital letters? (2006 G)
To show/ suggest how desperate/ frustrated he is (2)
OR inside (his head) he is shouting (2)
*****
Q48 She has a piece of chalk in her right hand. She is waving it around like a dagger as she spews algebra gibberish at a hundred miles an hour.
How does the writer make the teacher’s behaviour seem threatening? (’06 G)
Uses simile/comparison (1) of chalk to dagger (1)
*****
Q49 I am on Torture Island. There are no trees on Torture Island – no huts, no hills, no beaches. There is only doubt.
Explain how the writer emphasises the bleakness of Torture Island. (2006 G)
Repetition (1) of “no” (1)
OR lists (1) no trees . . . hills . . . beaches/ what is not there (1)
OR ref to long sentence followed by short (1) ref to position of “only doubt” (1)
*****
Q50 There are only seven minutes left in Maths. I attempt to turn Mrs Moonface towards the blackboard by telekinesis. The atoms of her body prove remarkably resistant to my telepathic powers. There are six minutes left. Now there are five.
How does the writer suggest a mood of increasing tension at this point in the passage? (2006 G)
Ref to countdown (2) OR quotation of words that create a countdown (2) OR ref to repeated commands/ exclamations in para. (2)
*****
Q51 Whatever the reason, when they announced that in the sixth round of the spelling competition the teenager would have to spell the word “alopecoid” Askay Buddiga suddenly collapsed. The 1000-strong audience gathered at the Hyatt hotel in downtown Washington DC was stunned. He had fainted.
“He had fainted.” How does the writer signal the dramatic nature of this event to the reader? (2006 C)
Short sentence (following a long one) (1)
Final sentence of para. (1)
*****
Q52 Contestants looked as if they had been summoned to take part in a police lineup.
What does this description suggest about how the contestants might have been feeling? (2006 C)
Nervous/ scared/ uncomfortable/ on show/ on display/ self-conscious/ out of place (2)
*****
Q53 as though they were crossing a minefield
Identify the figure of speech the writer is using here. (2006 C)
Simile (2)
Q54 In the east, like three women conversing at a Giant Irradiated Haggistail party, are the standing stones of Stenness.
Identify the figure of speech used by the writer to describe these standing stones. What does it suggest about the stones? (2007 C)
Simile (1) suggests close together/ in a (tight) group/ stylish/ attractive (1)
*****
Q55 Surfers generally guard their local breaks jealously. It’s considered essential to keep your mouth shut about your secret spot in case you find it overrun with visitors.
What style of language is being used in the expression, “keep your mouth shut”? (2008 G)
Informal/ chatty/ slang or similar (2)
*****
Q56 It wasn't often you had this kind of intuition about somebody, but as soon as he saw her looking at the seeds, he was certain she was going to steal them. He moved closer to her, picked up a watering can and weighed it in his hand, as if this was somehow a way of testing it, then he saw her dropping packet after packet into the bag.
“It wasn’t often you had this kind of intuition . . .” How does the rest of the paragraph help to explain the meaning of “intuition”?
A Intuition means that you sense or guess something. He guesses that she will steal the seeds and then he watches her doing this.
*****
Q57 When the London dodo died, the animal was stuffed and sold to the Ashmolean Museum in Oxford. Taxidermy not being what it is today, over the next few decades the dodo slowly rotted until it was thrown out in 1755. All, that is, except the moth-eaten head and one leg.
Explain how the context helps you understand the meaning of the word “taxidermy” here.
Taxidermy means stuffing (1)
Reference to unsuccessful attempt to preserve the dodo (1)
Q58 “Wall of death,” is, thankfully, a bit of a misnomer, for there have been no fatal accidents on British walls.
Which of these is the best explanation of the meaning of the word “misnomer”?
old-fashioned attraction
risky venture
successful show
wrongly-applied name
Write down some evidence from the passage to show why you chose this answer. (2007 G)
Wrongly-applied name (1)
No fatal accidents (on British walls) (1)
*****
Q59 The building nowadays known as Maes Howe is a Neolithic chambered cairn, a tomb where, 5000 years ago, they interred the bones of the dead.
Give the meaning of the word “interred” and show how the context helped you to arrive at that meaning. (2007 C)
Buried (1) ref. to tomb/ chambered cairn/ bones of the dead (1)
*****
Q60 To reach Maes Howe, I took the road that passes over a thin isthmus between two lochs.
Which of these four choices gives the best definition of the word “isthmus”?
Strip of land with water on each side (2)
Q 61 Downstairs was Count Dracula's coffin in a narrow vault, the walls painted with the dramatic scenes of human victims, wolves, skulls, skeletons and the black-cloaked monster himself, red blood dripping from his pointed fangs. So far on our Romanian holiday, the only blood-sucking had been from the mosquitoes in Bucharest. Luckily we had decided to send their father down first as a guinea pig to test out how scary this experience was likely to he for our seven-, five- and two- year-olds.
In what ways does the writer convey the “dramatic scenes in the vault?
A The writer uses a list of horrific images such as blood, fangs, wolves, skulls and skeletons.
*****
Q62 All the junk in Scotland meets your befuddled gaze: thousands of unwanted gifts, the “wee something" for Christmas and the "I saw this and thought of you" for your birthday (how you wish they hadn't); then there are the holiday souvenirs. In short, all the stuff with which we tend to clutter our lives and our cupboards has somehow ended up in one place, awkwardly arranged on a vast number of folding tables. Behind them, all kinds of people are perched on the tailgates of a variety of vehicles. Is this some bizarre store for recycled rubbish? Well, in a way it is. In other words, you have found yourself in the middle of your first car boot sale.
“All the junk in Scotland meets your befuddled gaze.” How does the writer continue the idea of “junk”?
Reference to any TWO of – use of colon (to introduce) / (a list of) examples / unwanted gifts / wee something for Christmas / birthday gift not wanted / holiday souvenirs / stuff / (which) clutters our lives/ recycled rubbish 1 mark for each
*****
Q 63 It was depressing to unlock the door of his cubby-hole, switch the light on and see the table barely big enough to hold his kettle and his tea things, the one upright chair, the barred window looking out on a fire-escape and the wall-mounted telephone. He asked her to take the packets of seeds out of her bag put them on the table. She did so, and the sight of the packets, with their gaudy coloured photographs of flowers, made her clench her hand into a fist.
The detective found the sight of his cubby-hole “depressing”. Explain how the writer continues this idea in the rest of the paragraph.
Reference to any TWO of: very small table / only one chair / which is an upright one / the window is barred (like a cell – possibly dark) / the only outlook is the fire escape / the wall-mounted phone
1 mark each Nothing for mentioning the smallness of the room
*****
Q 64 “It’s kind of sad I won’t be able to be in more spelling bees,” says Tidmarsh. The tears welled up in his eyes as he contemplated the awful void that lay ahead. Unlike boxers or basketball stars there’s no second coming or return from retirement available to champion spellers. Former winners are not eligible to enter. On the other and, spellers leave on a high note and neit5her they nor their audience is likely to be humbled by the sight of an aging champion dragging his weary body into the ring for one final ignominious battle against fresher faced opponents.
“Former winners are not eligible to enter.” In your own words explain how the writer illustrated the advantages of this rule in the rest of the paragraph.
Ref. to once successful/ old boxer (1) now likely to be defeated (1)
Accept ref to avoiding humiliation or finishing at the top for (1)
*****
Q65 In the 1930s and 1940s there were almost 30 Walls of death at seaside resorts and fairgrounds around the country, often competing side by side in fairgrounds; now there are four left.
How does the writer illustrate the decline in popularity of walls of death?
(2007 G)
ref. to number in the past (1) ref. to number in the present (1)
e.g. almost 30 in the 1930s and 1940s (1) now only four (1)
*****
Q66 A taste for the miniature was one aspect of her orderly spirit. Another was a passion for secrets: in a prized varnished cabinet, a secret drawer was opened by pushing against the grain of a cleverly turned dovetail joint, and here she kept a diary locked by a clasp, and a notebook written in a code of her own devising. In a toy safe opened by six secret numbers she stored letters and postcards. An old tin petty cash box was hidden under a removable floorboard beneath her bed.
“Another was a passion for secrets.” By referring closely to the passage, show how the writer continues with this idea in the rest of the paragraph. (2008 C)
REFERENCE TO ANY TWO OF secret drawer/ locked diary/ code/ safe/ secret numbers/ floorboard (1) + (1)
Generalised answer e.g. she has lots of secret places (1)
*****
Q67 The three witches in Macbeth, prancing and cackling round their cauldron, provide the accepted clichés of with behaviour and taste. Alas the Macbeth witches have merely served to reinforce prejudice, rather than cast illumination.
So does the witch deserve her poor image?
It is probable that the Wiccan creed goes back to the dawn of religious belief, when cave dwellers peered out and saw wonder in the rhythm of the changing seasons. Early witchcraft was probably no more than a primitive attempt to make sense of the unknown.
In what way can the single sentence be regarded as a link of the ideas within the article?
A “Her poor image” refers back to the prejudiced ideas about witches mentioned already, such as those found in Macbeth. The question, “Does the witch deserve . . ?” introduces the next part of the passage, which is going to present a truer history of witchcraft.
*****
Q 68 His father looked at the sweating horse, and after a pause he said that he would be alright. Howard could see he knew the berries weren’t ready yet, like the ones behind the steading that they always picked; and he understood that this was a lesson being set up for him when he came home without brambles: not to tell lies. And there’d be another lesson behind this one, the real lesson: that his father had been right about that sort of new-fangled nonsense coming to grief.
In spite of this, he forgot it all and slipped through the Racecourse fence.
A crowd mobbed round the grandstand where they served drinks and sandwiches. Then, as nobody paid any attention to him, he wandered out among the planes. They were fragile and dazzling. The air was full of roaring, the strange exciting smell of gasoline, and drawling voices talking of their kites.
Explain how the one-sentence paragraph is an effective link between the paragraphs before and after.
“In spite of this” refers to the lessons of the first paragraph.
“ . . . through the Racecourse fence” takes Howard in to the setting of the third paragraph.
1 mark for each quote + reference.
*****
Q69 The documentary Spellbound featured one boy, Neil, whose father hired specialist tutors to coach his son in words derived from French and German. Despite such dedication, Neil didn’t win.
But the proclivities of such contestants and their parents in no way represent the general participant. “It’s not just the geeks and the nerds. These are normal kids,” says Ohio’s Beth Richards, whose daughter Bailey was making her second appearance in the finals. “This is the superbowl of words.”
How does the first sentence of the second paragraph act as a link between it and the paragraph above?
“But” introduces contrast (1)
“proclivities” refers back to the behaviour mentioned in the previous para. (1)
“such contestants” refers back to those in the previous para.
“no way represent the general participant” introduces the idea of normal kids (1)
Any 2 of the above 1 + 1. Answers must engage with the language of the focus sentence.
QUESTIONS ABOUT PUNCTUATION
Q1 According to the South- Eastern Arizona Bird Observatory, it is the hottest hummingbird-watching spot in the state. Thousands of “hummers” arrive in April and May and stay until early October.
Thousands of “hummers”
Why has the writer put the word hummers in inverted commas? (2004 G)
expression/ term used by hummingbird watchers/ that is what h’bird watchers call them/ ref. to colloquialism, nickname or slang
(Any one = 2)
*****
Q2 “Dutifully I put on bright red lipstick, took a mouthful of sugar-water, sat back, puckered my lips . . . and waited.”
Identify and comment on any one feature of punctuation in this sentence. (2004 G)
Identification of feature (1) and comment (1) e.g. ref to list/ commas (1) to highlight number or sequence of actions (1)
*****
Q3 Katherine Hicks has fixed her sights on a new star: David Sneddon, first winner of the television show Fame Academy. She cornered Sneddon at two television appearances, and though it is early days in her acquaintance with him she felt forced to defend him indignantly against a TV presenter who, she thought, had not shown him enough respect.
Early days in her “acquaintance” with him
Why has the write put the word “acquaintance in inverted commas? (2005 G)
She isn’t really (an acquaintance) / being ironic (2)
Q4 But within 30 seconds he was back on his feet, calmly spelling a-l-o-p-e-c-o-i-d to much applause.
Why does the writer separate the letters in the words with dashes? (2006 C)
(To show/ suggest/ illustrate) that is how Askay said it (e.g. slowly)/ spelled it out (loud)
*****
Q5 Whereas her big sister’s room was a stew of unclosed books, unfolded clothes, unmade bed, unemptied ashtrays, Briony’s was a shrine to her controlling demon: the model farm spread across a deep window ledge consisted of the usual animals, but all facing one way – towards their owner – as if about to break into song, and even the farmyard hens were neatly corralled.
Explain the function of the dashes in the expression, “- towards their owner –“ here. (2008 C)
Parenthesis/ adding extra info(1) about how controlling she is (1)
*****
Q6 In the box were treasures that dated back four years, to her ninth birthday when she began collecting: a mutant double acorn, fool’s gold, a rain-making spell bought at a funfair, a squirrel’s skull light as a leaf.
Explain why the writer has used a colon here. (2008 C)
Indicates/ introduces list (1) of things she has been collecting (1)
QUESTIONS ABOUT SENTENCE STRUCTURE
Q7 Hanging from trees, bushes, fences and buildings they are full of a simple magic potion (four parts water, one part white sugar) similar to the nectar of hummingbird flowers.”
Identify and comment on the effect of two features of the structure of this sentence. (2004 G)
use of list (1) gives number/ range of locations (1)
inversion (1) links back to , develops ideas from, previous sentence (1)
parenthesis (1) gives additional info.
N. B. This was a 4 mark question on total as pupils are asked for two identifications and comments.
*****
Q8 “Dutifully I put on bright red lipstick, took a mouthful of sugar-water, sat back, puckered my lips . . . and waited.”
Identify and comment on any one feature of structure in this sentence. (2004 G)
Identification of feature (1) and comment (1) e.g. structure: position of “dutifully” at start of sentence (1) to emphasise his reluctance or that he is following instructions (1); ref to list (1) to highlight number or sequence of actions (1)
*****
Q9 He was breathing heavily, and the smell was inconceivably foul; it was the reek of rotting flesh, of festering wounds, of ancient perspiration and of fear.
Explain fully how the writer emphasises the smell from the stranger through sentence structure.
list/ repetition (of phrases) (1) + explanation e.g. ref. to cumulative effect/ variety of smells/ climactic effect (1)
Q10 Pelagia was astounded. Psipsina was afraid of strangers, and how did this ghastly ruin know here name? Who could have told him? She wiped her hands on her apron for the lack of any sense of what to think or do.
“Pelagia was astounded.”
How does the sentence structure in the rest of this paragraph help to develop Pelagia’s sense of astonishment? (2004 C)
List of/ series of/ lots of follow on (1) questions (1)
*****
Q11 Kings, queens, princes, heads of state, and generals have arrived and departed here.
How does the structure of this sentence help to convey the importance of Cairo Station? (2005 C)
use of list (1)
*****
Q12 Ken Fox revved up on the demonstration bike and spun it on to the 45-degree wooden apron that bridges the ground and the perpendicular wall and then took it three or four times around the lower bits of the wall itself just to see if she could cope. Then he went round with Kerri sitting on the handlebars. She passed that test too. She thought it was fantastic. Unbelievable. The best!
How does the writer suggest Kerri’s enthusiasm after her test on the bike by sentence structure? (2007 G)
Short sentences/ minor sentences (2)
*****
Q13 Ken is lucky that Julie can drive one of the trucks, change the 2 foot high tyres, make sure Alex does his school lessons on his laptop, cook, make sandwiches and dish out the £2 tickets.
How does the structure of this whole sentence help to reinforce how busy Julie is? (2007 G)
Long (sentence)/ list of activities/ verbs (1)
*****
Q14 The play – for which Briony had designed the posters, programmes and tickets, constructed the sales booth out of a folding screen tipped on its side, and lined the collection box in red crepe paper – was written by her in a two-day tempest of composition, causing her to miss a breakfast and a lunch.
The writer shows here how committed Briony has been to her task. Show how the sentence structure indicates her high level of commitment. (2008 C)
List (of things she has done)/ repetition (of verb structure)/ parenthesis (to include extra tasks)/ long sentence (1)
emphasises multiple nature of tasks (1)
Identification of technique + explanation are both required for 2 full marks
QUESTIONS ABOUT WORD CHOICE
Q15 I think there were Anna’s hummingbirds, black-chinned, broad billed, blue-throated, magnificent, red and violet-crowned that morning, but I’m not entirely sure. Later, I asked other bird watchers about similar looking hummers round their feeding stations, but they weren’t sure either. I left them bickering over the difference between the sapphire blue throat of a broad bill and the cobalt blue throat of a blue throat.
What does the writer’s use of the word “bickering” tell you about his attitude to the bird watchers? (2004 G)
He believes their behaviour is trivial/ unimportant/ he thinks they are childish/ he thinks it is petty (Any one = 2)
*****
Q16 I am sitting in school, in Maths, with a piece of paper in my hand. No it is not my algebra homework. It is not a quiz that I have finished and am waiting to hand in to Mrs Moonface.
Why do you think John gives his Maths teacher the nickname Mrs Moonface? (2006 G)
Her face reminds him of/ looks like the moon (or similar) (1)
Accept ref. To insulting or similar (1)
Ref to shape (1) colour (1) size (1) texture (1)
Q17 Mrs Moonface is at the front of the room, going on about integers.
What does the expression “going on” suggest about John’s attitude to what Mrs Moonface is saying? (2006 G)
Bored/ doesn’t care/ not interested (2)
“Doesn’t like it” or similar is too vague and = 0
*****
Q18 She has a piece of chalk in her right hand. She is waving it around like a dagger as she spews algebra gibberish at a hundred miles an hour.
“spews algebra gibberish at a hundred miles an hour” Explain in your own words what the writer’s word choice in this expression suggests about what John thinks of what she is saying. (2006 G)
talking rubbish/ nonsense (2)
*****
Q19 She has a piece of chalk in her right hand. She is waving it around like a dagger as she spews algebra gibberish at a hundred miles an hour.
“spews algebra gibberish at a hundred miles an hour” Explain in your own words what the writer’s word choice in this expression suggests about what John thinks of how she says it. (2006 G)
speaking very fast/ out of control (2)
*****
Q20 I am on Torture Island
Explain fully in your own words what the narrator means by this. (2006 G)
He feels isolated (1) he is suffering (1)
*****
Q21 In registration, I ripped a piece of paper from my yellow notepad. My black ball-point pen shook slightly in my trembling right hand as I wrote out the fateful question: “Gloria, will you go out with me this Friday?” Beneath that monumental question I drew two boxes.
Quote two separate words used by the writer to suggest the importance of what John is asking Gloria. (2006 G)
monumental (1) fateful (1)
*****
Q22 Outside the Hyatt Hotel a ragbag collection of protestors from the Simplified Spelling Society pressed leaflets arguing for an overhaul of spelling upon dubious and somewhat nonplussed contestants.
What does the writer’s use of the words “ragbag collection” to describe the protestors tell you about his attitude towards them? (2006 C)
Any appropriate negative attitude for (2) e.g. thinks they are scruffy, thinks they are not well organised, does not like them
*****
Q23 He was breathing heavily, and the smell was inconceivably foul; it was the reek of rotting flesh, of festering wounds, of ancient perspiration and of fear.
Explain fully how the writer emphasises the smell from the stranger through word choice. (2004 C)
Inconceivably foul/ reek of rotting flesh/ festering wounds/ ancient perspiration (1) + explanation (1)
*****
Q24 “Ice,” said the stranger, as though he had not heard her, “I’ll never be warm again.” His voice cracked and she realised that his shoulders were heaving. “Oh the ice,” he repeated. He held his hands before his face. He wrapped his fingers together, and his whole body seemed to be fighting to suppress a succession of spasms.
“You can come back tomorrow,” said Pelagia, appalled by this gibbering apparition, and completely at a loss.
Why is “gibbering” an appropriate word to describe the stranger at this point? (2004 C)
Ref. to what he says making no sense (1) responds inappropriately (1) confused (1) repeats “ice” (1) Any two of these for 2 marks
Q25 In America, the thirst for celebrity images is now so strong that one photographer was recently paid $100, 000 for a single picture.
What does the word “thirst” suggest about the American attitude to celebrity gossip? (2005 G)
Cannot get enough/ shows their need/ desire/ strength/ intensity of feeling/ addiction to it etc. (2)
******
Q26 Kings, queens, princes, heads of state, and generals have arrived and departed here.
How does the word choice of this sentence help to convey the importance of Cairo Station? (2005 C)
Names important people (1)
*****
Q27 This was new Egypt but it was also old Egypt. Some of those cap and gowned men were eating pieces of bread loaves the same shape as those I had seen in Cairo museum removed from ancient tombs. The same fava beans that had been disinterred from crypts were being gobbled up in the dishes of stewed beans that are still an Egyptian staple. The same shaped ewers and pitchers and bowls I had seen as old artefacts were visible here in the hands of women faffing around the kitchen doors of their huts.
Explain what is unusual about the word choice in the final sentence of this paragraph. (2005 C)
Faffing (1) + comment e.g. informal/ slang/colloquial/ modern (1)
*****
Q28 Ken Fox revved up on the demonstration bike and spun it on to the 45-degree wooden apron that bridges the ground and the perpendicular wall and then took it three or four times around the lower bits of the wall itself just to see if she could cope. Then he went round with Kerri sitting on the handlebars. She passed that test too. She thought it was fantastic. Unbelievable. The best!
How does the writer suggest Kerri’s enthusiasm after her test on the bike by word choice? (2007 G)
Fantastic/ unbelievable/ the best (2)
Q29 Luke and his father dip and zigzag their bikes across each other, spinning round the drum every four seconds, as the holiday crowds peer down over the safety wire and then, in the traditional way, shower coins into the ring.
“. . . shower coins into the ring . . .” Give two reasons why “shower” is an effective word to use in this context. (2007 G)
Suggests coins FALLING DOWN into the ring (1)
Suggests a LOT OF/ NUMBER OF coins (1)
*****
Q30 Only Ken Fox and his band, together with pet dog Freebie, two ferrets and two Giant Irradiated Haggisatiels, tour in the traditional way, squelching out of their winter quarters from behind the Cambridgeshire hedgerows just before Easter.
Explain fully why you think the writer has used the word “squelching” in this paragraph. (2007 G)
Suggests ground is wet (after winter) (1) ref. to onomatopoeia (1) ref. to discomfort (1) ANY TWO
*****
Q31 Above these dark hills, in horizontal bars, were the offending clouds.
Comment on the writer’s use of word choice in her description of the clouds. (2007 C)
“offending” (1) suggest clouds are doing something wrong/ blocking the light (1) OR “horizontal bars” (1) suggests image of restricting the light
******
Q32 For the few days around the winter solstice a beam of the setting sun shines along the passage and on to the tomb’s back wall. In recent years, people have crept along the passageway at midwinter to witness this. Some, apparently, find it overwhelming.
What does the writer’s use of the word “apparently” tell you about her attitude to the idea that some people find the tomb “overwhelming”? (2007 C)
She is sceptical/ disbelieving/ surprised/ unimpressed/ dismissive (or similar) (2) Also accept ref to she has no evidence for this (2)
Q33 The Caithness coastline is peppered with surfing spots, but the Happy Go Lucky, Exam Avoiderel in the crown and the target for dedicated wave riders lies within spitting distance of Thurso town centre at a reef break called Thurso East.
What do the words “Happy Go Lucky, Exam Avoiderel in the crown” suggest about Thurso East? (2008 G)
The best (of all the Caithness surfing spots) (2)
*****
Q34 The play – for which Briony had designed the posters, programmes and tickets, constructed the sales booth out of a folding screen tipped on its side, and lined the collection box in red crepe paper – was written by her in a two-day tempest of composition, causing her to miss a breakfast and a lunch.
The writer shows here how committed Briony has been to her task. Show how the word choice indicates her high level of commitment. (2008 C)
(two-day) tempest (of composition) (1)
suggests energetic/ feverish/ dedicated approach (1)
NB No quotation of tempest = 0
*****
Q35 There were moments in the summer dusk after her light was out, burrowing in the delicious gloom of her canopy bed, when she made her heart thud with luminous, yearning fantasies, little playlets in themselves.
By referring closely to the passage, explain how the writer’s word choice indicates the intensity of Briony’s fantasies. (2008 C)
“(made her) heart thud” (1) suggests excitement (1)
OR “luminous” (1) suggests brilliant, vivid quality (1)
OR “yearning” (1) suggests deep longing (1)
NB quote and explanation needed for 2 marks
QUESTIONS ABOUT CONTRAST
Q36 “Whenever a hummingbird dares an investigatory hover, a burly member of the observatory team rushes forward, waving his arms around.”
How does this description create effective contrast? (2004 G)
small vs. large
stationary vs. moving
delicate vs. clumsy
(Any one clear contrast of both sides = 2 marks)
*****
Q37 There was a stranger seated at the kitchen table, a most horrible and wild stranger who looked worse than the brigands of childhood tales. The man was quite motionless except for the rhythmic fluttering of his hands. His head was utterly concealed beneath a cascade of matted hair that seemed to have no form or colour.
In your own words what contrasting image does the writer give of the movements of the man?” (2004 C)
Not moving/ no movement (1) except for/ only his hands (1)
*****
Q38 To leave the enormous sprawling dust-blown city of gridlock and gritty buildings in the sleeper to Aswan was bliss. Within minutes we were at Gizeh – the ruins overwhelmed by the traffic and the bright lights, the tenemenst and bazaar; and in less than half an hour we ere in open country, little settlements of square mud-block houses, fluorescent lights reflected in the canal beside the track, the blackness of the countryside at night, a mosque with alighted minaret, now and then a solitary car or truck, and on one remote road about twenty men in white robes going home after prayers. In Cairo they would have been unremarkable, just part of the mob, here they looked magical, their robes seeming much whiter on the night time road, their procession much spookier for its orderliness, like a troop of sorcerers.
In your own words, give two contrasts the writer notices on his journey from Cairo to the Egyptian countryside. (2005 C)
lots of cars vs. few cars bright vs. dark
lots of buildings vs. few large vs. small buildings
lots of people vs. few people
ordinary vs. extraordinary appearance of robed men
Any two for 2 marks
*****
Q39 The building nowadays known as Maes Howe is a Neolithic chambered cairn, a tomb where, 5000 years ago, they interred the bones of the dead. In its long, long existence it has been more forgotten about than known, but in our era it is open to the public, with tickets and guides and explanatory booklets. It stands, a mere grassy hump in a field, in the central plain of mainland Orkney. There is a startling collection of other Neolithic sites nearby.
Write down two examples of the writer’s use of contrast in this paragraph. (2007 C)
“forgotten” v. “known”/ “open to the public” (1)
“mere” v. “startling” (1)
“5000 years ago” v. “our era”/ “nowadays” (1)
Any two
NB both sides of contrast must be present for each mark.
*****
Q40 Whereas her big sister’s room was a stew of unclosed books, unfolded clothes, unmade bed, unemptied ashtrays, Briony’s was a shrine to her controlling demon: the model farm spread across a deep window ledge consisted of the usual animals, but all facing one way – towards their owner – as if about to break into song, and even the farmyard hens were neatly corralled.
Firstly by referring closely to sentence structure, show how the writer develops a contrast between Briony and her older sister. You should refer to both characters in your answer.
Now by referring closely to word choice, show how the writer develops a contrast between Briony and her older sister. You should refer to both characters in your answer.
SENTENCE STRUCTURE:
Sister – list/ repetition + suitable comment (1)
Briony – list/ parenthesis/ colon + suitable comment (1)
Also accept ref. to “whereas” introducing idea of contrast (1)
NB identification of feature alone = 0, pupils must explain too
WORD CHOICE:
Sister – “stew (of unclosed)”/ “unclosed books”/ “unfolded clothes”/ “unmade bed”/ “unemptied ashtrays” suggests relaxed/ untidy/ muddled approach (1)
Briony – “shrine”/ “controlling demon”/ “all facing one way”/ “toward their owner”/ “neatly corralled”/ “only tidy”/ “straight-backed”/ “under strict instructions”/ “even ranks and spacing”/ “citizen army”/ “(awaiting) orders” suggest her (need for) tidiness/ abnormal organistion (1)
NB quotation alone = 0
QUESTIONS ABOUT THE WRITER’S STYLE AND USE OF TECHNIQUES
Q41 “And the ice screams. It shrieks. And the voices call to you out of it. And you look into it and you see people. They beckon and wave, and they mock, and you shoot into the ice but they don’t shut up, and the ice squeaks. It squeaks all night, all night.”
Identify any two techniques used by the writer in this paragraph which help to convey the man’s sense of panic and distress. (20004 C)
Repetition/ onomatopoeia/ short sentence/ list/ personification
Any two for 2 marks. Only identification needed, no comment required.
*****
Q42 Initial results of research show that about a third of people suffer from what the researchers call “celebrity worship syndrome” and that this affects their mental wellbeing. It raises a troubling question in this era of huge-scale fame. Is hero worship bad for you?
Explain why the writer ends the paragraph with a question. (2005 G)
To involve the reader/ make you think/ introduce next idea/ introduce an answer to this (2)
Q43 Dr Nicholas Chugay, a Beverley Hills plastic surgeon, has turned various patients into Elvis Presley or Cher. “I have to turn some people away because I do not feel it would be good for them to let such celebrity worship take over their lives,” said Chugay.
BUT it may not be all that bad. Indeed some academics argue that celebrity worship can be good for you: by watching and imitating out so-called betters, whether it be in clothes or habits, we learn to flourish in human society.
Why does the writer put the word BUT in capitals at the start of the second paragraph? (2005 G)
To show/ indicate/ highlight/ emphasise (1)
a change/ the opposite argument/ the good side (1)
*****
Q44 Cairo Railway Station is a century old, like the railway system itself, which stretches from Alexandria on the shores of the Mediterranean, to Aswan on the Upper Nile, at the northern edge of lake Nassar – the border of Sudan on the south side.
Why, in your opinion, does the writer use such a long sentence? (2005 C)
To suggest the length of the railway (2)
*****
Q45 and on one remote road about twenty men in white robes going home after prayers. In Cairo they would have been unremarkable, just part of the mob, here they looked magical, their robes seeming much whiter on the night time road, their procession much spookier for its orderliness, like a troop of sorcerers.
“like a troop of sorcerers” Explain the effectiveness of this simile. (2005 C)
“troop” suggests formation/ order/ purpose (1)
“sorcerers” suggests magical/ scary appearance (1)
*****
Q46 This was new Egypt but it was also old Egypt. Some of those cap and gowned men were eating pieces of bread loaves the same shape as those I had seen in Cairo museum removed from ancient tombs. The same fava beans that had been disinterred from crypts were being gobbled up in the dishes of stewed beans that are still an Egyptian staple. The same shaped ewers and pitchers and bowls I had seen as old artefacts were visible here in the hands of women faffing around the kitchen doors of their huts.
“This was new Egypt but it was also old Egypt.” How does the writer continue this idea in the paragraph printed above? (2005 C)
Same food (1)
Same cooking utensils (1)
*****
Q47 Mrs Moonface, for Pete’s sake, write something on the blackboard! That’s what Maths teachers do! Write down axioms, simplify equations, draw rectangles, measure angels. WRITE ANYTHING!
Why are the last two words in capital letters? (2006 G)
To show/ suggest how desperate/ frustrated he is (2)
OR inside (his head) he is shouting (2)
*****
Q48 She has a piece of chalk in her right hand. She is waving it around like a dagger as she spews algebra gibberish at a hundred miles an hour.
How does the writer make the teacher’s behaviour seem threatening? (’06 G)
Uses simile/comparison (1) of chalk to dagger (1)
*****
Q49 I am on Torture Island. There are no trees on Torture Island – no huts, no hills, no beaches. There is only doubt.
Explain how the writer emphasises the bleakness of Torture Island. (2006 G)
Repetition (1) of “no” (1)
OR lists (1) no trees . . . hills . . . beaches/ what is not there (1)
OR ref to long sentence followed by short (1) ref to position of “only doubt” (1)
*****
Q50 There are only seven minutes left in Maths. I attempt to turn Mrs Moonface towards the blackboard by telekinesis. The atoms of her body prove remarkably resistant to my telepathic powers. There are six minutes left. Now there are five.
How does the writer suggest a mood of increasing tension at this point in the passage? (2006 G)
Ref to countdown (2) OR quotation of words that create a countdown (2) OR ref to repeated commands/ exclamations in para. (2)
*****
Q51 Whatever the reason, when they announced that in the sixth round of the spelling competition the teenager would have to spell the word “alopecoid” Askay Buddiga suddenly collapsed. The 1000-strong audience gathered at the Hyatt hotel in downtown Washington DC was stunned. He had fainted.
“He had fainted.” How does the writer signal the dramatic nature of this event to the reader? (2006 C)
Short sentence (following a long one) (1)
Final sentence of para. (1)
*****
Q52 Contestants looked as if they had been summoned to take part in a police lineup.
What does this description suggest about how the contestants might have been feeling? (2006 C)
Nervous/ scared/ uncomfortable/ on show/ on display/ self-conscious/ out of place (2)
*****
Q53 as though they were crossing a minefield
Identify the figure of speech the writer is using here. (2006 C)
Simile (2)
Q54 In the east, like three women conversing at a Giant Irradiated Haggistail party, are the standing stones of Stenness.
Identify the figure of speech used by the writer to describe these standing stones. What does it suggest about the stones? (2007 C)
Simile (1) suggests close together/ in a (tight) group/ stylish/ attractive (1)
*****
Q55 Surfers generally guard their local breaks jealously. It’s considered essential to keep your mouth shut about your secret spot in case you find it overrun with visitors.
What style of language is being used in the expression, “keep your mouth shut”? (2008 G)
Informal/ chatty/ slang or similar (2)
*****
Q56 It wasn't often you had this kind of intuition about somebody, but as soon as he saw her looking at the seeds, he was certain she was going to steal them. He moved closer to her, picked up a watering can and weighed it in his hand, as if this was somehow a way of testing it, then he saw her dropping packet after packet into the bag.
“It wasn’t often you had this kind of intuition . . .” How does the rest of the paragraph help to explain the meaning of “intuition”?
A Intuition means that you sense or guess something. He guesses that she will steal the seeds and then he watches her doing this.
*****
Q57 When the London dodo died, the animal was stuffed and sold to the Ashmolean Museum in Oxford. Taxidermy not being what it is today, over the next few decades the dodo slowly rotted until it was thrown out in 1755. All, that is, except the moth-eaten head and one leg.
Explain how the context helps you understand the meaning of the word “taxidermy” here.
Taxidermy means stuffing (1)
Reference to unsuccessful attempt to preserve the dodo (1)
Q58 “Wall of death,” is, thankfully, a bit of a misnomer, for there have been no fatal accidents on British walls.
Which of these is the best explanation of the meaning of the word “misnomer”?
old-fashioned attraction
risky venture
successful show
wrongly-applied name
Write down some evidence from the passage to show why you chose this answer. (2007 G)
Wrongly-applied name (1)
No fatal accidents (on British walls) (1)
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Q59 The building nowadays known as Maes Howe is a Neolithic chambered cairn, a tomb where, 5000 years ago, they interred the bones of the dead.
Give the meaning of the word “interred” and show how the context helped you to arrive at that meaning. (2007 C)
Buried (1) ref. to tomb/ chambered cairn/ bones of the dead (1)
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Q60 To reach Maes Howe, I took the road that passes over a thin isthmus between two lochs.
Which of these four choices gives the best definition of the word “isthmus”?
Strip of land with water on each side (2)
Q 61 Downstairs was Count Dracula's coffin in a narrow vault, the walls painted with the dramatic scenes of human victims, wolves, skulls, skeletons and the black-cloaked monster himself, red blood dripping from his pointed fangs. So far on our Romanian holiday, the only blood-sucking had been from the mosquitoes in Bucharest. Luckily we had decided to send their father down first as a guinea pig to test out how scary this experience was likely to he for our seven-, five- and two- year-olds.
In what ways does the writer convey the “dramatic scenes in the vault?
A The writer uses a list of horrific images such as blood, fangs, wolves, skulls and skeletons.
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Q62 All the junk in Scotland meets your befuddled gaze: thousands of unwanted gifts, the “wee something" for Christmas and the "I saw this and thought of you" for your birthday (how you wish they hadn't); then there are the holiday souvenirs. In short, all the stuff with which we tend to clutter our lives and our cupboards has somehow ended up in one place, awkwardly arranged on a vast number of folding tables. Behind them, all kinds of people are perched on the tailgates of a variety of vehicles. Is this some bizarre store for recycled rubbish? Well, in a way it is. In other words, you have found yourself in the middle of your first car boot sale.
“All the junk in Scotland meets your befuddled gaze.” How does the writer continue the idea of “junk”?
Reference to any TWO of – use of colon (to introduce) / (a list of) examples / unwanted gifts / wee something for Christmas / birthday gift not wanted / holiday souvenirs / stuff / (which) clutters our lives/ recycled rubbish 1 mark for each
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Q 63 It was depressing to unlock the door of his cubby-hole, switch the light on and see the table barely big enough to hold his kettle and his tea things, the one upright chair, the barred window looking out on a fire-escape and the wall-mounted telephone. He asked her to take the packets of seeds out of her bag put them on the table. She did so, and the sight of the packets, with their gaudy coloured photographs of flowers, made her clench her hand into a fist.
The detective found the sight of his cubby-hole “depressing”. Explain how the writer continues this idea in the rest of the paragraph.
Reference to any TWO of: very small table / only one chair / which is an upright one / the window is barred (like a cell – possibly dark) / the only outlook is the fire escape / the wall-mounted phone
1 mark each Nothing for mentioning the smallness of the room
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Q 64 “It’s kind of sad I won’t be able to be in more spelling bees,” says Tidmarsh. The tears welled up in his eyes as he contemplated the awful void that lay ahead. Unlike boxers or basketball stars there’s no second coming or return from retirement available to champion spellers. Former winners are not eligible to enter. On the other and, spellers leave on a high note and neit5her they nor their audience is likely to be humbled by the sight of an aging champion dragging his weary body into the ring for one final ignominious battle against fresher faced opponents.
“Former winners are not eligible to enter.” In your own words explain how the writer illustrated the advantages of this rule in the rest of the paragraph.
Ref. to once successful/ old boxer (1) now likely to be defeated (1)
Accept ref to avoiding humiliation or finishing at the top for (1)
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Q65 In the 1930s and 1940s there were almost 30 Walls of death at seaside resorts and fairgrounds around the country, often competing side by side in fairgrounds; now there are four left.
How does the writer illustrate the decline in popularity of walls of death?
(2007 G)
ref. to number in the past (1) ref. to number in the present (1)
e.g. almost 30 in the 1930s and 1940s (1) now only four (1)
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Q66 A taste for the miniature was one aspect of her orderly spirit. Another was a passion for secrets: in a prized varnished cabinet, a secret drawer was opened by pushing against the grain of a cleverly turned dovetail joint, and here she kept a diary locked by a clasp, and a notebook written in a code of her own devising. In a toy safe opened by six secret numbers she stored letters and postcards. An old tin petty cash box was hidden under a removable floorboard beneath her bed.
“Another was a passion for secrets.” By referring closely to the passage, show how the writer continues with this idea in the rest of the paragraph. (2008 C)
REFERENCE TO ANY TWO OF secret drawer/ locked diary/ code/ safe/ secret numbers/ floorboard (1) + (1)
Generalised answer e.g. she has lots of secret places (1)
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Q67 The three witches in Macbeth, prancing and cackling round their cauldron, provide the accepted clichés of with behaviour and taste. Alas the Macbeth witches have merely served to reinforce prejudice, rather than cast illumination.
So does the witch deserve her poor image?
It is probable that the Wiccan creed goes back to the dawn of religious belief, when cave dwellers peered out and saw wonder in the rhythm of the changing seasons. Early witchcraft was probably no more than a primitive attempt to make sense of the unknown.
In what way can the single sentence be regarded as a link of the ideas within the article?
A “Her poor image” refers back to the prejudiced ideas about witches mentioned already, such as those found in Macbeth. The question, “Does the witch deserve . . ?” introduces the next part of the passage, which is going to present a truer history of witchcraft.
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Q 68 His father looked at the sweating horse, and after a pause he said that he would be alright. Howard could see he knew the berries weren’t ready yet, like the ones behind the steading that they always picked; and he understood that this was a lesson being set up for him when he came home without brambles: not to tell lies. And there’d be another lesson behind this one, the real lesson: that his father had been right about that sort of new-fangled nonsense coming to grief.
In spite of this, he forgot it all and slipped through the Racecourse fence.
A crowd mobbed round the grandstand where they served drinks and sandwiches. Then, as nobody paid any attention to him, he wandered out among the planes. They were fragile and dazzling. The air was full of roaring, the strange exciting smell of gasoline, and drawling voices talking of their kites.
Explain how the one-sentence paragraph is an effective link between the paragraphs before and after.
“In spite of this” refers to the lessons of the first paragraph.
“ . . . through the Racecourse fence” takes Howard in to the setting of the third paragraph.
1 mark for each quote + reference.
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Q69 The documentary Spellbound featured one boy, Neil, whose father hired specialist tutors to coach his son in words derived from French and German. Despite such dedication, Neil didn’t win.
But the proclivities of such contestants and their parents in no way represent the general participant. “It’s not just the geeks and the nerds. These are normal kids,” says Ohio’s Beth Richards, whose daughter Bailey was making her second appearance in the finals. “This is the superbowl of words.”
How does the first sentence of the second paragraph act as a link between it and the paragraph above?
“But” introduces contrast (1)
“proclivities” refers back to the behaviour mentioned in the previous para. (1)
“such contestants” refers back to those in the previous para.
“no way represent the general participant” introduces the idea of normal kids (1)
Any 2 of the above 1 + 1. Answers must engage with the language of the focus sentence.
