Mock Exam Paper – Higher Tier – January 2012
Candidate X’s script.
Section A: Reading
Question 1
South East England has less rainfall than other areas of England; as a result this area has less water
per head than some nations in the Middle East and Africa. Apart from getting less rainfall in the
South East than in some parts of the Mediterranean this is also the most heavily populated area of
the UK.
The situation will deteriorate further as a result of the high number of homes erected in the area as
well as the increase of global warming during the next 70 years.
Flooding exacerbates the situation as flood defences have been neglected. As the South East get
drier other areas will be flooded, there has already been an increase in the flooding, costing billions
of pounds in insurance. Changing the stipe of home built as well as ensuring essential services like
hospitals and railways can run without any further damage.
The “thirteen hours” is the most factual piece of information in the headine. Most people would
realise that this sounds like an impressive time to complete the channel. The dash between 13 and
one indicate to the reader something important is to follow. IN this case that it was one
extraordinary swim. Although extraordinary is quite a long word to use in a headline, it impresses
upon the reader how impressive it is. The headline also plays with umbers ‘four’ ‘13’ and then ‘one’.
The fact that the one comes after the dash shows that though numerically small this symbolises s a
magnificent feat, a man with no limbs crossing the channel, a task that has daunted some
experienced and fully mobile athletes.
The numbers idea is picked up in the sub-heading, “1 year after losing al his limbs.” This li also
provides some background, we now know this man’s name, ;Philippe Croizon, which makes it more
personal, the time lapse since he lost his limbs and finally, “one…..swim” is further explained as
Croizon “crosses channel.” The reader realises now why this swim is so ‘extraordinary’, it is the
Channel.
The picture below the heading and sub-heading focuses close up on the swimmer, we can see at
least one eye clearly, and the snorkel and then rather clearly that he has only a short stub where his
arm should be. All three of these devices, heading, sub-heading and picture, serve to summarise
Phillippe Croizon’s story. When we read the text we discover how he lost his limbs, his preparation
for the swim and how he almost did not make it. In short the text elaborates with more detail about
the simmer’s personality and preparation 0 it give us the detail we are interested in after being
hooked in by the headline and picture. So these are effective in ‘hooking’ the reader and the text it
slowly gives me further information – but I could also not read the acute test – or just ski it – as the
headline and pictures gives me the essential information the reader needs.
Question 3 – Source 3 Ferry across the lake, an extract from a non-fiction book.
Explain some of the thoughts and feelings Ondaatje has about his experience of Lake Victoria.
In the first paragraph there is a distinct feeling that the author is thinking about both the present
and the past. He describes their location and what he can see, the ‘vibrant African city’ of Mwanza
that is clearly growing and busy, he comments that it “seemed to grow even as we watched” so he is
conscious of it being a living city today but he is also aware of the lake as being much older and that
it has played a role “in the great explorations of the past” so Ondaatje recognises the sense of
history of the lake as an important landmark for previous travellers.
The second paragraph likewise makes it clear that he is overcome by the beauty of nature, it is an
“idyllic spot” next to the lake and he spends time describing the sounds of the birds and the beauty
of the sunrise and the sound of the lake. His senses are informing his feelings, what he sees, hears an
experiences are all very positive and he claims it would “be a good way to start every morning.”
As he describes their wait to catch the ferry to cross the lake the words he uses show he is no longer
in control of the situation, they have to rely on the local system which does not stick to time and
there is doubt that they will even get on and the idyllic spot changes to the discomfort of the day
getting “hotter and hotter” which is in contrast to the positive picture of getting up early in the
morning. The description of conditions on the ferry shows they are suffering discomfort that gets
worse, “hot as hell – and getting hotter.” But worse than the discomfort he feels is his knowledge
that a similar ferry had gone down a year or so earlier with loss of life. Ondaatje’s anxiety is shown in
that he realises there is no system of controlling the amount of weight taken on by the ferry and that
it is also an old ferry, “decrepit” is his word to describe it. So the thought of this past tragedy and the
disorganisation he is witnessing causes him to worry and to feel anxious.
In the final paragraph he describes the sound and movement of the ferry; again he is impressed by
what he can see of nature but there is also a sense of disbelief that the heavily laden ferry is
managing to move. When he sees the crowd waiting to board on the other side he realises that this
crossing is a regular recurrence every day for the locals and that they are continuing to use it in spite
of any concerns about safety; he will be looking at the safety aspect from the point of view of
somebody used to a culture of stringent health and safety rules, that is why he is clearly feeling
anxious and worried while the locals take the situation in their stride.
(12 minutes: 506 words.)
Question 4: Now refer to Source 3, Ferry across the lake, and compare it with Source 1 or 2 –
compare the two texts.
Comparing Source 3, Ferry across the lake, and Source 2, The Channel swimmer.
Source 2 is a newspaper report so the headline and sub headline aim to draw in the reader. The use
of numbers, “Four”, “13”, “one” ad “16” all contribute to telling us something about the man,
Phillipe Croizon, and his swim across the channel. The picture gives the reader a further insight into
his feat, showing him in the water, his stub of an arm and the snorkel he had to use. The headlines
an picture give us a summary of the story before even reading the detailed article.
As source 3 is from a non-fiction book the author has much more time to set the scene and give us a
sense of place. The author is impressed by the liveliness and growth of the “vibrant African city” but
also by the beauty of nature around him and he can describe the detail such as the “water
hyacinths” but also how impressive the lake is, “a huge and beautiful expanse of water.” But he also
goes further, he assumes that his reader will be aware of the lake’s history and the mention it gets in
the writing of explorers from the past. He personifies the lake, as if a person that has taken a “role”
in the “great explorations of the past.” There is room for this personal speculation in a book about
your travels.
In the newspaper article we get a feel for the character of the Frenchman as there are plenty of
quotations about his decision to swim the channel. The picture is that of somebody who is making
the most of life and wants to be positive, he felt the swim would prove ‘that I am still alive’ and he
also wanted to ‘set an example’ and to show anybody else who has suffered that ‘you also have to
fight.’ The language used to describe him have connotations of being positive and being brave; he as
set himself “a series of challenges”; he “overcame” his handicap and he wanted to show the swim
was “do-able” and that he is prepared to “fight.” The image the article therefore presents of the
Frenchman is of somebody, brave, plucky, a role-model and to be admired.
In Ondaatje’s piece his admiration of nature and the beauty of the area next to the lake comes
across in his choice of words like “idyllic spot” and “wonderful way to wake up” as well as
descriptions of the “glimmers of golden light” of the sunrise, both of these phrases uses alliteration
to emphasise the description as they type of description of an ideal beautiful holiday destination.
The author also describes what he perceives through his senses, the screeching of the fish eagles’
“mocking cry” and ibis bird making its “hideous shriek” – both sounds like exotic sounds - but also
the soothing “lapping” of the lake.
Ondaatje’s writing is there to entertain the audience but also to help we imagine what it is like – he
lists all the different vehicles on the ferry and then a dash before adding people. This helps us to
imagine how packed the ferry was not only with heavy transport but a crowd of people and how
colourful they are because of “brilliantly coloured clothing:” The colon prepares us for another list,
the types of clothes and the range of bright colours. This paragraph not only describes the crowed
ferry effectively, the day got “hotter and hotter” in the previous paragraph and now, amidst the
crowd they are caught in it becomes “as hot as hell.” This exaggeration works well and there is a
dash followed by “and getting hotter” which effectively communicates to the reader how hot it must
have been.
In the newspaper article there is not the space for such detailed description, in fact we don’t get
much of a picture of how the actual swim went and how he felt while doing it, the readers are told
by his direct quotes how he felt afterwards, “happy” and clearly elated. There is information about
what he had to help him – “a snorkel”, and “prosthetic legs with built-in flippers” as well as problems
with a support vessel. The information is more in line with what we expect of newspaper articles,
telling us who, what, where, when and how something happened.
In Source 3 the writer wants to engage the reader over a period of time with his writing. We can
infer that he becomes anxious and worried as he knows that a similar ferry had sunk with loss of life,
“people were killed” is a stark reminder of this. His rhetorical question “how do they gauge the
weight?” shows his worry that the ferry will sink because of being overloaded and the connotation
of words like “decrepit old ferry” makes it clear that he is not confident that it is in the best of
condition to survive the trip without mishap.
Ondaatje’s piece is more nuanced as the description allows us to picture the scene as well as infer
the writer’s enjoyment of experiencing the lake but also his anxieties about safety while the
newspaper article is imparting information with a bias of admiration for a man who has achieved
something remarkable in spite of physical handicap. The purpose of the two pieces is different – the
newspaper article is giving information while the travel writing is trying to share the author’s
personal experience and we are seeing the scene from his perspective.
(904 words – the question is worth 16 marks, the same amount of marks as Q 2 & 3)
Section B: Writing – No. 5 A letter to your local newspaper.
Sir,
As a teenager living in the Waterloo area I would like to point out that although the area provides
leisure facilities there is still much that can be done to improve these for young people and families. It
is easy to criticise young people and accuse them of “hanging round street corners” but you need to
look at it from a young person’s perspective.
Most of the facilities round Waterloo costs money. The Imax cinema for example charges more than
other cinemas, if a family of one adult and two children go to see a film during the school holiday this
outing will cost £40! Adult tickets are £16 and children under 16 pay £12 each. In the current
economic climate this is a large sum of money for any family. Why not run half price shows for
children and one supervising adult during school holidays that start at 10am? I am sure so many
tickets will be sold it will make these shows worthwhile.
The only free activity for youngsters on the South Bank is the skate board park underneath the Royal
Festival Hall. The decorated murals encourage tourists to take picture. Why not include other areas
on the South Bank for skate boarders? What about having some champions to come in to
demonstrate some skate boarding tricks during school holidays? Or encouraging students to run their
own informal competitions?
I recently learnt that the Royal Festival Hall is run as a charity and that the area is open to all but this
is not publicised. As a teenager I feel intimidated going in, I am not sure if I am meant to be there. It
would be useful if more was done to make us aware of this and if there were more exhibitions in the
open areas that are of interest to young people.
Art is one of my GCSE subjects but the Hayward Gallery has a high entry fee. Why not introduce a
free one hour pass valid from Monday to Friday so that school students can visit exhibits after school
and take their time to see only a few works at a time. After all, if young people are not encouraged to
take an interest in art where will tomorrow’s audience come from?
I think local leisure facility organisers and owners should work with local schools to have a local
council of school students to advise them on how local facilities can be improved and have special
activities for young people and families, some of them free, so that local people feel they have a part
to play in the local area.
Yours faithfully,
Johnny Bloggs.
(442 words – 26 minutes)
English and Media Centre e-Magazine
Opinion Column.
Every week we invite a Sixth form student to write a column about a typical saying that they find
annoying and that seems to be believed by everybody! This week it is Joe Bloggs from London
Nautical school who gets exercised about the following comment:
“Life is too easy for young people today. They lack challenges and don’t have to fight for
anything.”
Have you heard this before? Or words to that effect? Of course you have. Every parent, politician and
press commentator push this line. But have you noticed something? They all have one thing in
common – they are all OLD.
Yes – once they have crossed a certain midlife line things change. Suddenly everybody who dares to
be young has no backbone, can’t work as hard as people used to, have no morals, can’t spell and
can’t say more than ‘duh’ when asked for their opinion.
Well dear readers, I would like to set things right. Although loads of young people went out to make
a stand against the raising of tuition fees, all those who had a FREE university education condemned
them for making a stand. Applications for universities have gone down this year – could it be because
young people feel that owing thousands of pounds with no job is not a responsible position to be in?
Which brings me to the job market – there is nothing easy about unemployment. The majority of
unemployed people currently are youngsters between 18 and 24. And the Government has clever
accounting systems in order to avoid admitting how many young people cannot find a job. It is not
only young people with no qualifications that struggle to find a job – skilled young people and some
with university degrees are finding it impossible to find work.
We have not even considered accommodation. Where are we supposed to live? If you have no job
you cannot leave your parents’ home – even if you want to and they want to – you cannot afford rent
and no landlord will consider you if you have no income.
Still think we have it easy? Still think we have no challenges? Still think we have no fight in us?
(17 minutes – 368 words.)