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CIE iGCSE English Language Revision and Skills Booklet

ExtendedIn this booklet, there are 23 tasks, one for each day between now and the exam. Each task is designed to remind you what you have to do in order to be successful in your exam on 5th May or to practise the skills you need in that exam. Beside each task number, the Q in brackets will indicate which question the knowledge or skills relate to. Beside that, there will also be an indication of how much time you should spend on each task; do not spend more time than specified – but also, don’t spend significantly less!

Try to complete all tasks before 5th May; this will act as your English revision.

Written by @lindsayjskinner

Task One (Q2) 25 minutes

Read the text below and highlight four powerful words or phrases that describe Magne’s power.

Explain how each word or phrase selected is used effectively in the context. Write about 200 words. Up to 10 marks are available for the content of your answer.

(Tips: explore the implications of individual words – make inferences – and explore the effect they have on the reader and the atmosphere of the passage.)

In this passage, the writer recounts his visit to a gorilla sanctuary in the Republic of Congo where he met an adult male gorilla named Magne.

At that moment, Magne’s knuckles arrived on my thighs, followed by his big black man-like feet, as his hands moved up to grip my shoulders.

‘Good boy,’ I said, made stupid by the weight, the solidity of him, the rank musk of his bristly chest- hair. I put both hands up and pushed with all my strength against the surge of muscle; without effort he pressed closer, brought his shiny black face close up to mine and opened his mouth. I was conscious of two upper canines, as big as marlin spikes, a pink cavern and tongue, grinders, spit, a smell as sweet as cow’s breath; and then he bit my ears, carefully, first one side and then the other, growling maniacally the while, a growl which varied in pitch and tempo, as though he were engaged in a very fast, aggrieved conversation with himself.

Satisfied that he had improved my manners and taught me not to stare, Magne paused and looked about his kingdom.

Task Two (Q3) 35 minutes

Using the text above, make ten bullet points about what you learn about Magne the orangutan.

Once you have written your bullet points, write a summary of what you learn about Magne from the passage. Use your own words as far as possible.

(Tips: do not write your summary as a narrative; simply summarise what you have learned. Do not write an introduction; just start with your first piece of information. Finally, remember that if you copy, you’ll receive NO MARKS and a PENALTY!)


Task Three (Q1 and 3) 20 minutes

Take each of the sections of text below and rewrite them in your own words.

(Tips: you should aim to change the words in the original but also to reorder the words. Remember, not all words can be changed but that is okay as long as you change most of them.)

a) Tawny owls never actually call the famous owl ‘twit twoo’. In actual fact, the female bird calls ‘twit’ as a mating call and the ‘twoo’ is a response from her male counterpart.

b) Motocross is an off-road motorcycle sport where participants ride their bikes across areas of mud, often competing to win a race.

c) The scorpion slowly turned around until it was facing us, its tail curling up as if it was ready to attack, readying its poison.

d) Outside of the concert, hundreds of teenage girls waited for the band to emerge, each one screaming and waving their arms in the air excitedly.

e) The hummus, which is made by blending together chickpeas and tahini together, is served in bowls which people dip their food into, often bread or raw vegetables.

Task Four (Q1 and 3) 45 minutes

Turn the words below into spider diagrams by writing as many synonyms around them as you can.

(Tips: synonym means words that have the same or very similar meaning so don’t use words that are too far away from the original meaning. You can use a small phrase as well as just a single word.)

Joy ran crush happy dirty crowded

Loved hated shocked walked smile apartment


Task Five (Q2) 35 minutes

Read the descriptions of a) the moor, in paragraph one, and b) the cat/beast, in paragraph two. Select four powerful words or phrases from each description and explain how each word or phrase selected is used effectively in the context. Write about 200 to 300 words. Up to 10 marks are available for the content of your answer.

(Tips: ensure that you only select words and phrases that relate the topics in the question. Ensure you focus on the effect of individual words.)

The Beast of Bodmin Moor

Nicole Panteli is a journalist for a weekly local newspaper. They send her to the large, remote and wild area of countryside where she lived as a child, to find out more about the so-called big cat which is preying on local sheep.

Nicole was lost. It was easy to lose one’s way on the moor, especially on a November afternoon when the light was thickening and the landscape stretched the same unvariegated grey in all directions. She drove along a narrow, empty road, looking for a road sign or any building which might contain an inhabitant to give her directions. A fleeting, shadowy movement by the roadside reminded her of the tales of the Beast of Bodmin Moor which had fascinated her as a child. She remembered being told that a vicious predator had killed large numbers of sheep.

As she rounded the next bend, thinking about these things, she saw a startlingly large, black feline cross the road with an unhurried, sinuous, fluid movement. Its thick, sinewy shoulders suggested massive strength and speed, like that of engine pistons. As it passed, it turned to stare at her and its great, yellow, black-slitted orbs were caught in the headlights. She noticed its pricked, tufted ears and its short, coarse, raven-black coat before it turned, raising and waving its curved snake of a tail as if making a victory salute. The spectral vision dissolved into the bushes, leaving her with a thumping heart and the feeling that she had witnessed a supernatural manifestation.

Task Six (Q1) 40 minutes

Imagine you are Nicole. Write the opening of her article where she describes the following:

a) the purpose of her visit to the moor

b) her encounter with the beast

Begin your article with the following: I had always been told that Bodmin moor held a secret… Use your own words as far as possible.

(Tip: don’t forget to develop ideas, adding in reasonable inferences, not just


retelling the story.)

Task Seven (Q3) 10 minutes

Reorder the actions you should take in order to complete question three.

• Read the passage• Prioritise the points you’ve highlighted to 15 clear points• Write your 15 bullet points• Check you don’t have two points in one bullet• Highlight and number the points in the passage• Write your summary• Check that your bullet points all relate to the question• Read the question• Check you have no repetitions in your bullet points• Check that your summary has no lifted material• Highlight the topic of the question

Task Eight (Q3) 25 minutes

Read an example students written summary below. The candidate has lifted material throughout and included a pointless introduction and conclusion. They would receive no marks and a penalty.

Rewrite the summary in your own words and remove the pointless introduction and conclusion.

In the passage, it describes what happened with the protest and how the police responded. The first thing I learned was that, on the date of the protest, the police increased their presence with the target of not only of observing the demonstration but of keeping control of the situation too. They maintained a strong and peaceful presence throughout the three hour protest and this meant that the demonstration was free from any trouble.

Before the protest, the police cordoned off sections of the road so that protesters could only follow the agreed route and the cordoned off areas were guarded by police on horses.

After the demonstration, the Chief of Police held a briefing to state that the protest had gone smoothly and that they had only made two arrests and that there were no causalities as a result of the event.

The demonstration was a sign of how strongly the residents feel about the proposed use of fracking in their area and 5000 local residents turned out, holding signs that read, ‘Frack-off!’ and ‘No fracking way!’. That is all that the passage tells me about the protest.


Task Nine (Q1) 25 minutes

Reread the passage about the beast of Bodmin moor below.

The Beast of Bodmin Moor

Nicole Panteli is a journalist for a weekly local newspaper. They send her to the large, remote and wild area of countryside where she lived as a child, to find out more about the so-called big cat which is preying on local sheep.

Nicole was lost. It was easy to lose one’s way on the moor, especially on a November afternoon when the light was thickening and the landscape stretched the same unvariegated grey in all directions. She drove along a narrow, empty road, looking for a road sign or any building which might contain an inhabitant to give her directions. A fleeting, shadowy movement by the roadside reminded her of the tales of the Beast of Bodmin Moor which had fascinated her as a child. She remembered being told that a vicious predator had killed large numbers of sheep.

As she rounded the next bend, thinking about these things, she saw a startlingly large, black feline cross the road with an unhurried, sinuous, fluid movement. Its thick, sinewy shoulders suggested massive strength and speed, like that of engine pistons. As it passed, it turned to stare at her and its great, yellow, black-slitted orbs were caught in the headlights. She noticed its pricked, tufted ears and its short, coarse, raven-black coat before it turned, raising and waving its curved snake of a tail as if making a victory salute. The spectral vision dissolved into the bushes, leaving her with a thumping heart and the feeling that she had witnessed a supernatural manifestation.

Based on what you have learned from the text, which of the following could Nicole be thinking or feeling about the future? (Select as many as you think apply.)

a) The beast of Bodmin moor will continue to attack wildlife

b) Nobody will believe that she saw the beast

c) People will tell her that she saw a large domestic cat and not the beast

d) She does not want to visit the moor again

e) Afraid that the beast is dangerous

For each thought or feeling you agreed was realistic, write an explanation of why she would be thinking or feeling it. You must include references to what happens in the text but try to write in your own words as far as possible.

(Tips: try to find evidence from the text that supports each thought or feeling. Use that information to explain what she is feeling and thinking and why.)


Task Ten (Q3) 45 minutes

Write 15 bullet points about what you learn about Hippy John from the passage.

Next, write a summary of what you have learned about Hippy John from the passage. Include all of your bullet points. Write in your own words as far as possible.

TRAVELLING THE TRACKS - LIFE AS A HOBO IN NORTH AMERICA

'Hobo' is the name which is given to people in the United States of America who, in other countries, might be called 'tramps' or 'vagrants'. They spend their time travelling across the country, hitching rides on freight trains. Jack Kotwinsky had turned his back on an ordinary life and had chosen instead to live the life of a hobo, a life on the road. He adopted the name 'Hippy John' and that is how everyone knew him. Unlike many others who dropped out of society, Hippy John never returned to mainstream American life. Instead he spent two decades as a hobo.

When he was young and agile he used to run alongside slow-moving trains, leap for ladders on the side of carriages and then swing inside to the safety of a box-car, one of the big trucks which carried freight all over the country. As age caught up with him, he boarded trains in the rail yards where they were stored between journeys, sometimes even helped by friendly security guards. In his twenty year itinerary he travelled along most of the rail tracks that criss-cross the United States. He had few possessions apart from a pack containing food, cigarettes and railroad maps. His favourite routes were in the northern states, where he remembers lying under the stars in open box-cars on warm nights while the train snaked through mountain passes so narrow that he could reach out and touch the rock.

His existence was lonely and sometimes, to relieve the loneliness, he would take trips with other hobos. They shared food and drink and told each other stories of their lives, united by a shared sense of freedom and a desire for anonymity. Where they had come from or why they were living in this way were things which they wouldn't tell anyone. It was by no means a perfect life, but, as the years passed, Hippy John could imagine no other.

Hippy John is not a full-time hobo any more and the closest he comes to his old life is that, each year, he goes to the hobo convention which is held in an Iowan cornfield to celebrate hobo life in America. He has a little stall, a table under a tree, and he sells home-made jewellery, harmonicas, books of railroad maps, but he doesn't really do much trade.

Other hobos are like him. Adman used to be a hobo but he became an advertising agent and now lives with his wife and children in a lakeside home in Minnesota. He still takes off for a couple of months a year to hop trains because he says it is in his soul. There are also a number of young hobos, men in their twenties, who think that the hobo life sounds interesting and fun. Hippy John is happy to see them as they are the ones who will buy the maps and things from his stall.


They are also continuing a tradition that dates back to the nineteenth century, when southern farmers returned from the Civil War to find their homes and town in ruins. Homeless and impoverished, they took the only jobs that were available, building the first railroad tracks. Since they had been farmers, they were called 'hoe-boys' and later hobos. Many of them never settled again but instead spent their lives travelling the railtracks they had built.

'You have to do it to understand why it gets into your blood,' Hippy John says. It's freedom from the rules everyone else has to obey. He took to the tracks round about the time of the anti-Vietnam War movement, when riding the rails had acquired a mythology all of its own and hobos were seen as rebels living their lives in the best tradition of pioneer America where everyone was seeking their own freedom.

Task Eleven (Q3) 45 minutes

Referring to the passage above, imagine you are a young hobo in your twenties who is visiting the hobo convention. You spend some time talking to Hippy John and Adman about your plans and ask them about their lives and opinions.

Write the words of your conversation.

Include the following topics:

• What the life of a hobo is like

• Why they have chosen this lifestyle

• Their thoughts and feelings about the future

You should base your ideas on what you have read in the passage, but do not copy from it.

Task Twelve (Q1 and 3) 15 minutes

Rewrite the following paragraph in your own words.

(Tips: you will need to change the words in the paragraph but also the order of the words. Don’t forget that there are some words, such a Civil War, that you don’t need to change.)

They are also continuing a tradition that dates back to the nineteenth century, when southern farmers returned from the Civil War to find their homes and town in ruins. Homeless and impoverished, they took the only jobs that were available, building the first railroad tracks. Since they had been farmers, they were called 'hoe-boys' and later hobos. Many of them never settled again but instead spent their lives travelling the railtracks they had built.


Task Thirteen (Q1 and 3) 15 minutes

Turn the words below into spider diagrams by writing as many synonyms around them as you can.

(Tip: synonym means words that have the same or very similar meaning so don’t use words that are too far away from the original meaning. You can use a small phrase as well as just a single word.)

thought felt said friend quick boring

Task Fourteen (Q3) 45 minutes

Read the passage and write 15 bullet points about what you learn about what happened that day.

Using your 15 bullet points, write a summary of what happened that day. As far as possible, write in your own words.

It was Arvind's birthday. In the afternoon there would be a cake and a party, but it would be like other birthdays, and Arvind was eleven. So in the morning, he collected his friends, Jimmy and Paudeni, and they set off to the forest that lay on the hillside in a huge half-moon behind the village.

When they reached the first few trees they stopped, listening to the sounds of the birds and searching for the rare striped butterflies that Arvind's uncle had told them about. They cried out to test the echo and then became savages, rushing carelessly into the forest and battering the undergrowth with sticks.

Eventually they reached a clearing. Jimmy said he was hungry and they started to devour the birthday food they had brought. Arvind pulled out a packet from his bag. "Look," he said, "I've brought some chicken. We'll make a fire and cook it." He pulled out some matches. "Get some sticks, Jimmy. Make a big pile. Everything's dry; it'll burn like crazy."

Paudeni looked worried. "My Mum says never ever start a fire in a forest, specially this year because it hasn't rained and because of the winds. She says you don't know what fire can do until you've experienced it. She says people who know always dig a big circle round a fire because it can't burn through the soil. She says–"

"Rubbish, there's no danger," interrupted Arvind, with the authority of a boy on his eleventh birthday. "I know what I'm doing." Jimmy returned carrying a great armful of sticks and made a castle out of them. Arvind struck a match and the fire was alive.

His satisfaction was short-lived. The dry wood exploded into a sheet of threatening flame and, from nowhere, a breeze began to blow. The children watched, horrified, as the fire spread like scuttling mice into the surrounding undergrowth. They never


realised that everything was tinder dry. They had never seen how quickly a fire could start to devour all the twigs and the dead leaves that had lain undisturbed on the forest floor.

"Quick! Stop it!" screamed Paudeni. But how could they? The fire spread in too many directions at once. If they managed to stop one of its tentacles, two more would have spread beyond their reach. The boys rushed back and forth, stamping pointlessly on the flames and then, after a short while, just looked on in a sort of awful fascination.

"Look!" shouted Jimmy. The fire had reached the trees at the sides of the clearing and was shooting upwards, devouring ancient, dead ivy and dry bark. In no time the sounds of the forest were drowned by frightening explosions. Birds and animals rushed for safety as their homes and feeding areas were engulfed in flame. The speed and magnitude of such destruction were beyond the boys' imagination.

They ran for their lives, trying to find a way out of the terrible, burning forest.

It was the only story in the newspaper the next day. There were interviews with the villagers, recounting their fears as the fire had threatened their homes before the wind miraculously changed. The forest lay in ruins, a minor ecological disaster, threatening the village with floods and landslides when the rains eventually returned. And poor Arvind lay in a hospital bed, his face scarred for life by the sudden sheet of flame that had risen up without warning to challenge his last steps to safety.

Task Fourteen (Q2) 20 minutes

Reread paragraphs 5 – 7 of Arvind’s story. Select four powerful words or phrases that describe the fire and explain how the writer has used these to create effects.

(Tips: Focus on the image the writer is trying to create and the atmosphere attached to it. If you identify literary devices (e.g. a metaphor), ensure you explain its effect and the image it helps to create.)

Task Fifteen (Q1) 45 minutes

Imagine that you are Arvind. Write his journal for the day after the fire. Include the following:

• How the fire started• How the fire spread• His thoughts and feelings about the situation and the future

Use your own words as far as possible but base your ideas on the original passage.

(Tips: including details, such as names, will get you marks. Don’t forget, the passage doesn’t tell you much about the future so you have to infer what Arvind could reasonably be thinking and feeling based on what you have read and then justify why he thinks or feels it by referring back to events from the passage.)


Task Sixteen (Q3) 45 minutes

Write 15 bullet points about what you learn about the restaurants in Lebanon.

Using your bullet points, write a summary of what you learn about the restaurants in Lebanon. Use your own words as far as possible.

(Tips: check that all of your bullet points relate specifically to the topic in the question. Don’t write one word bullet points; they need to be clear and concise. Ensure that you double-check your summary for lifted material because if you copy, you will receive no marks for your summary and a penalty on your bullet points.)

Entering the American Zone

UNTIL eighteen months ago, the cliff-top restaurant Nasr was the king of the coast. Its many customers ate succulent kebabs and fish while watching the waves of the Mediterranean crash against the rocks below. Now it has been taken over by an American fast food chain serving good ol' burgers. Across the street, Kentucky Fried Chicken and Baskin Robbins vie with Hardees to attract junk-food eaters.

The opening of McDonald's this year with its valet parking and planned twelve branches nationwide has been heralded by teenagers as the 'coming of civilisation'. No other city in the world can boast two Hard Rock Cafes - one American and one Canadian. Bar hoppers can get a thrill at Henry J Bean's and Planet Hollywood. And just in case customers forget they are entering the American zone, waiters in many of the shops speak only English and entertain their charges by dancing to the music of 'Greased Lightning'.

As older Lebanese look on doubtfully at the invaders, teenagers and those in their early twenties seem to be having a ball. 'Finally,' one girl said to me, 'we can live like normal people.'

I nodded. A few years ago, I admit that I was just as happy when I heard an American chain was opening up and just as amused to have Lebanese waiters take my orders in English. In time, however, Henry J Bean's has lost its appeal.

The long-established, cluttered watering- hole that is Chez Andre, tucked out of sight off bustling Hamra Street, seems much more comfortable, although it's just a long bar with some old chairs strewn around. The corners are dominated by old timers carefully observing who's entering or leaving. Most are well into their fifties. Some are poets, some are journalists and others are politicians — airing their views to whoever will listen.

Starbucks Cafe may be nice and dandy, but I prefer sipping my tea - made with real mint - at Kahwit Rawda on the seafront. Surrounded by trees and shabby tables, I can allow my thoughts to drift as I stare at the open sea. On Sundays, families take advantage of the open-air area, one of the few in Beirut, to let their children romp


around. My parents tell me that the city once had many such places. This is the only one left and rumours are already circulating that a businessman is trying to purchase it to develop the land.

But nobody could ever convince Francois Bassil to sell his little restaurant, called Le Chef. Set among a cluster of old buildings on Gemaizeh Street, the restaurant was opened in 1967 and to this day serves the same homemade dishes - a different one each day. The room barely fits 30 people and all have a full view of Bassil as he prepares his mouth-watering food. For the equivalent of about seven dollars, customers can expect a delicious meal. Bassil's son Charbel knows each and every customer by name and makes a point of memorising the names of newcomers, whom he welcomes courteously in his white apron.

'Once I meet people, I never forget them,' Charbel told me as he served rice and chicken. No drumsticks, however. He knows that I don't like them and takes the personal initiative of serving me only white meat. 'We're the only typical Beirut restaurant left in the city,' he says proudly. 'A lot of people like the old ways and don't want to change so they come to us.'

All I can say is that it's a pity we can't bid Burger King goodbye and welcome in another Le Chef.

Task Seventeen (Q3) 35 minutes

Read the summary that a student below has written. You should underline all of the places where they have written something that you think they should not have included.

Focus on the following things:

• Lifted material

• Material not related to the question

• Introduction

• Personal comments

• Unnecessary explanation/comment

• Writing in the wrong form

• Repeated points

• Conclusion

Once you have identified the errors, edit their summary so that the errors are removed and it would hit the mark scheme.


From the passage, I learned that restaurants in Lebanon are changing. Traditional restaurants used to serve succulent kebabs and fish whilst the customers watched the waves of the Mediterranean crash against the rocks below. However, these restaurants have now closed down, replaced with American restaurants and fast food chains. These new restaurants, including Kentucky Fried Chicken and Haskins, sell burgers and fast food. They will be doing this because American chains are taking over a lot of the world now because America have so much money and you can’t escape it. In some of the new restaurants, like the Hard Rock Café, the waiters interact using English and they dance to Greased Lightening which is a bit over the top for a restaurant. However, some traditional Lebanese restaurants are still running, for example, Le Chef. This restaurant is small (it only fits about 30 people!) and it is run by a father and son pair, Bassil and Charbel. Their food is cheap at only seven dollars and it is homemade. The dishes change each day and they are delicious whereas in the American restaurants, they just jell burgers. The owners of Le Chef remember the customers’ names and they are determined not to sell their restaurant because a lot of people like the old ways and don't want to change so they want to go there.

Task Eighteen (Q2) 30 minutes

Reread the descriptions of a) the attractions of the traditional eating establishments in Beirut (paragraph seven) and b) the experiences offered by the ‘new’ eating establishments (paragraph two).

Pick four powerful words or phrases from each paragraph and explain how the writer has used them to create effects.

(Tips: Make sure you pick the most effective language choices, rather than the simplest or easiest. Also, make sure that each choice refers to the topic in the question.)

Task Nineteen (Q1) 25 minutes

Imagine that you are Bassil, the restaurant owner from the passage. What might you be thinking and feeling about the future of your restaurants and Lebanon? Bullet point 5 potential different feelings or thoughts he could have.

Once you have bullet pointed the thoughts and feelings, write an explanation of each one as if you are him, explaining why you think and feel what you do, linking it back to the passage.

(Tip: Ensure you explain why he is feeling or thinking what he is and link it back to details or events in the passage.)


Task Twenty (Q1, 2 and 3) 30 minutes

You need to have a game-plan for how you are going to tackle the exam so the following questions are designed to test how well you know the exam and whether you’ve got a good enough plan for each question. Answer all of the questions below and if you get stuck with one, ask your teacher to talk it through with you so that by the time you’re in the exam hall, you don’t have any questions or worries.

a) How long is the exam?

b) How many questions are there in the exam?

c) How long should you spend on each question?

d) Which order should you do the questions in?

e) What will question one ask you to do?

f) What will question two ask you to do?

g) What will question three ask you to do?

h) What’s the first thing you’re going to do for question one?

i) Make a bullet pointed list of what you need to do in question one.

j) What’s the first thing you’re going to do for question two?

k) Make a bullet pointed list of what you need to do in question two.

l) What’s the first thing you’re going to do for question three?

m)Make a bullet pointed list of what you need to do in question three.

n) Name two common errors students make in question one.

o) Name two common errors students make in question two.

p) Name two common errors students make in question three.

q) What is your biggest boundary to success in the exam?

r) How are you going to address that boundary in the next couple of days?

Task Twenty-One (Q1) 45 minutes

This passage is an account from a journalist, Connor James, of his visit to Bangkok.


At first sight it looks a thoroughly modern city, just like the rest of them you might think. After all, wherever you go, the names on the signs and the shops reflect the spread of globalisation, McDonald's, Lipton's Tea, Body Shop. And here, as you enter yet another shopping mall built on the site of what used to be a line of little family-owned shops, you will see the same familiar evidence of multinational firms and large stores that have taken over.

They reflect the needs of the people to be up-to-date and fashionable, to make them feel that they are members of a world-wide club. After all, the internet and international television do just that.

But new and old still co-exist. I came here on the super-modern, super-clean and efficient elevated tramway. It was a different world up there, gliding effortlessly above the traditional snarlups for which Bangkok is so notorious. Below it was all noise and pollution. The tuk- tuks, the little three-wheeled taxis that give the city some of its charm, still darted in and out of the traffic. I wondered how long it would be before all of this changed, just as the view of the city has changed.

The huge concrete piers that support the elevated tramway take up nearly all that the eye can see. An old man stands staring at the line of white Y-shaped giants that gradually diminishes into the distance. He was born here and, for him, everything seems to have changed. In the gaps between the impressive modernity of the new glass and bright-fronted commercial buildings stand the occasional graceful houses of a now-forgotten past. The style is artistic and the stone and brick construction solid and long-lasting. Next to these the old man sees the houses of the poor, a sad shanty village, incongruous and persistently a sign of both past and present in this area of money and highlife.

The old life is still there, but it is tucked in between the giants of the new millennium. From the river there is a new skyline of big towers vying with each other for the title of tallest. I am reminded of an aged mouth with teeth set at random and gaps of varied size between. Not a pretty sight.

At ground level, in one of the gaps, I come across an old Thai house, now a restaurant, selling delightful, traditional food. In another, there is a market, thronged with people, open well into the night. The merchandise may have changed over the years, but the atmosphere and the ways of selling and buying remain the same. The uniformity of the street is suddenly brought to life by a magnificent golden shrine that no-one may develop or modernise.

I leave this opulence and wander away from the Centre, down a busy road out of the capital, and find commercial life as it must have been for generations. Outside the little shops there are mobile mini-kitchens offering delicious savoury foods and creating mouth-watering smells for all to share. And past me ride the impossible cyclists laden with huge loads of sticks and baskets, trusting their progress to luck.

It is a time of change, the new marching relentlessly on, the old remaining stubbornly part of the life of the city. It is the old that gives the place atmosphere. It


may be inefficient and occasionally shabby, but let it die and Bangkok will become remarkably like many other cities the world over.

Imagine that you are the journalist, Connor James. Upon returning home, you write an article about your time in Bangkok. In your article, you should cover the following topics:

• Traditional Bangkok

• Modern Bangkok

• Your thoughts and feelings about the future of Bangkok

Begin your article with the words, ‘Bangkok really is a city of change…’ Use your own words as far as possible. Write about 250 to 350 words.

Up to 15 marks are available for the content of your answer, and up to 5 marks for the quality of your writing.Task Twenty-Two (Q2) 30 minutes

Re-read the descriptions of:

(a) the transport in paragraph 3, beginning ‘But new and old still...’

(b) the buildings in paragraph 4, beginning ‘The huge concrete piers...’.

Select four powerful words or phrases from each paragraph. Your choices should include imagery. Explain how each word or phrase selected is used effectively in the context.

Write about 200 to 300 words.

Up to 10 marks are available for the content of your answer.

Task Twenty-Three (Q3) 45 minutes

Carefully reread the passage and then answer Question 3(a) and (b).

Question 3

Answer the questions in the order set.

(a) Notes

What do you learn about Bangkok from the passage?


Write your answer using short notes.

You do not need to use your own words.

Up to 15 marks are available for the content of your answer.

(b) Summary

Now use your notes to write a summary of what the passage tells you about Bangkok.

You must use continuous writing (not note form) and use your own words as far as possible.

Your summary should include all 15 of your points in Question 3(a) and must be 200 to 250 words.

Up to 5 marks are available for the quality of your writing.


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