Insert
The source that follows is:
- Source A: 19th-century prose fiction
- The Time Machine by H. G. Wells
An extract from a work first published in 1895.
This extract is from H. G. Wells's The Time Machine, as the Time Traveller keeps watch, reflects on the Morlocks and Eloi with horror and pity, and plans to arm himself, make fire, and find refuge at the Palace of Green Porcelain.
Source A
1 “Through that long night I held my mind off the Morlocks as well as I could, and whiled away the time by trying to fancy I could find signs of the old constellations in the new confusion. The sky kept very
6 clear, except for a hazy cloud or so. No doubt I dozed at times. Then, as my vigil wore on, came a faintness in the eastward sky, like the reflection of some colourless fire,
11 and the old moon rose, thin and peaked and white. And close behind, and overtaking it, and overflowing it, the dawn came, pale at first, and then growing pink and warm. No
16 Morlocks had approached us. Indeed, I had seen none upon the hill that night. And in the confidence of renewed day it almost seemed to me that my fear had been unreasonable. I stood up and found my foot
21 with the loose heel swollen at the ankle and painful under the heel; so I sat down again, took off my shoes, and flung them away. “I awakened Weena, and we went down into the wood, now green and pleasant instead of black and
26 forbidding. We found some fruit wherewith to break our fast. We soon met others of the dainty ones, laughing and dancing in the sunlight as though there was no such thing in nature as
31 the night. And then I thought once more of the meat that I had seen. I felt assured now of what it was, and from the bottom of my heart I pitied this last feeble rill from the great flood of
36 humanity. Clearly, at some time in the Long-Ago of human decay the Morlocks’ food had run short. Possibly they had lived on rats and such-like vermin. Even now
41 man is far less discriminating and exclusive in his food than he was—far less than any monkey. His prejudice against human flesh is no deep-seated instinct. And so these inhuman sons of men——! I tried to
46 look at the thing in a scientific spirit. After all, they were less human and more remote than our cannibal ancestors of three or four thousand years ago. And the intelligence
51 that would have made this state of things a torment had gone. Why should I trouble myself? These Eloi were mere fatted cattle, which the ant-like Morlocks preserved and
56 preyed upon—probably saw to the breeding of. And there was Weena dancing at my side! “Then I tried to preserve myself from the horror that was coming upon me, by regarding it as a rigorous punishment of human
61 selfishness. Man had been content to live in ease and delight upon the labours of his fellow-man, had taken Necessity as his watchword and excuse, and in the fullness of time Necessity had come home to him. I even tried a
66 Carlyle-like scorn of this wretched aristocracy in decay. But this attitude of mind was impossible. However great their intellectual degradation, the Eloi had kept
71 too much of the human form not to claim my sympathy, and to make me perforce a sharer in their degradation and their Fear. “I had at that time very vague ideas as to the course I should pursue. My first was to secure some safe place
76 of refuge, and to make myself such arms of metal or stone as I could contrive. That necessity was immediate. In the next place, I hoped to procure some means of fire, so
81 that I should have the weapon of a torch at hand, for nothing, I knew, would be more efficient against these Morlocks. Then I wanted to arrange some contrivance to break open the doors of bronze under the
86 White Sphinx. I had in mind a battering ram. I had a persuasion that if I could enter those doors and carry a blaze of light before me I should discover the Time Machine
91 and escape. I could not imagine the Morlocks were strong enough to move it far away. Weena I had resolved to bring with me to our own time. And turning such schemes over in my mind I
96 pursued our way towards the building which my fancy had chosen as our dwelling. XI. The Palace of Green Porcelain “I found the Palace of Green Porcelain, when we approached it about
101 noon, deserted and falling into ruin.
Questions
Instructions
- Answer all questions.
- Use black ink or black ball point pen.
- Fill in the boxes on this page.
- You must answer the questions in the spaces provided.
- Do not write outside the box around each page or on blank pages.
- Do all rough work in this book. Cross through any work you do not want to be marked.
- You must refer to the insert booklet provided.
- You must not use a dictionary.
Information
- The marks for questions are shown in brackets.
- Time allowed: 1 hour 45 minutes
- The maximum mark for this paper is 80.
- There are 40 marks for Section A and 40 marks for Section B.
- You are reminded of the need for good English and clear presentation in your answers.
- You will be assessed on the quality of your reading in Section A.
- You will be assessed on the quality of your writing in Section B.
Advice
- You are advised to spend about 15 minutes reading through the source and all five questions you have to answer.
- You should make sure you leave sufficient time to check your answers.
Section A: Reading
Answer all questions in this section. You are advised to spend about 45 minutes on this section.
This extract from H. G. Wells' The Time Machine follows the Time Traveller through a long night, the coming of dawn, and his plans with Weena.
Question 1
Read again the first part of the source, from lines 1 to 5.
Answer all parts of this question.
Choose one answer for each question.
1.1 What did the narrator avoid thinking about?
- the Morlocks
- the constellations
- the confusion
[1 mark]
1.2 How does the narrator occupy himself while trying not to think about the Morlocks during the long night?
- The narrator looks for familiar star patterns in the sky.
- The narrator passes the night asleep.
- The narrator confronts the Morlocks to drive them away.
[1 mark]
1.3 During the long night, what does the Time Traveller try to keep his thoughts away from?
- the Morlocks
- hunger
- the cold
[1 mark]
1.4 What did the narrator try to find?
- signs of the old constellations
- signs of the Morlocks
- signs of the new confusion
[1 mark]
Question 2
Look in detail at this extract, from lines 1 to 102 of the source:
1 “Through that long night I held my mind off the Morlocks as well as I could, and whiled away the time by trying to fancy I could find signs of the old constellations in the new confusion. The sky kept very
6 clear, except for a hazy cloud or so. No doubt I dozed at times. Then, as my vigil wore on, came a faintness in the eastward sky, like the reflection of some colourless fire,
11 and the old moon rose, thin and peaked and white. And close behind, and overtaking it, and overflowing it, the dawn came, pale at first, and then growing pink and warm. No
16 Morlocks had approached us. Indeed, I had seen none upon the hill that night. And in the confidence of renewed day it almost seemed to me that my fear had been unreasonable. I stood up and found my foot
21 with the loose heel swollen at the ankle and painful under the heel; so I sat down again, took off my shoes, and flung them away. “I awakened Weena, and we went down into the wood, now green and pleasant instead of black and
26 forbidding. We found some fruit wherewith to break our fast. We soon met others of the dainty ones, laughing and dancing in the sunlight as though there was no such thing in nature as
31 the night. And then I thought once more of the meat that I had seen. I felt assured now of what it was, and from the bottom of my heart I pitied this last feeble rill from the great flood of
36 humanity. Clearly, at some time in the Long-Ago of human decay the Morlocks’ food had run short. Possibly they had lived on rats and such-like vermin. Even now
41 man is far less discriminating and exclusive in his food than he was—far less than any monkey. His prejudice against human flesh is no deep-seated instinct. And so these inhuman sons of men——! I tried to
46 look at the thing in a scientific spirit. After all, they were less human and more remote than our cannibal ancestors of three or four thousand years ago. And the intelligence
51 that would have made this state of things a torment had gone. Why should I trouble myself? These Eloi were mere fatted cattle, which the ant-like Morlocks preserved and
56 preyed upon—probably saw to the breeding of. And there was Weena dancing at my side! “Then I tried to preserve myself from the horror that was coming upon me, by regarding it as a rigorous punishment of human
61 selfishness. Man had been content to live in ease and delight upon the labours of his fellow-man, had taken Necessity as his watchword and excuse, and in the fullness of time Necessity had come home to him. I even tried a
66 Carlyle-like scorn of this wretched aristocracy in decay. But this attitude of mind was impossible. However great their intellectual degradation, the Eloi had kept
71 too much of the human form not to claim my sympathy, and to make me perforce a sharer in their degradation and their Fear. “I had at that time very vague ideas as to the course I should pursue. My first was to secure some safe place
76 of refuge, and to make myself such arms of metal or stone as I could contrive. That necessity was immediate. In the next place, I hoped to procure some means of fire, so
81 that I should have the weapon of a torch at hand, for nothing, I knew, would be more efficient against these Morlocks. Then I wanted to arrange some contrivance to break open the doors of bronze under the
86 White Sphinx. I had in mind a battering ram. I had a persuasion that if I could enter those doors and carry a blaze of light before me I should discover the Time Machine
91 and escape. I could not imagine the Morlocks were strong enough to move it far away. Weena I had resolved to bring with me to our own time. And turning such schemes over in my mind I
96 pursued our way towards the building which my fancy had chosen as our dwelling. XI. The Palace of Green Porcelain “I found the Palace of Green Porcelain, when we approached it about
101 noon, deserted and falling into ruin.
How does the writer use language here to describe the changing sky and the coming of dawn? You could include the writer's choice of:
- words and phrases
- language features and techniques
- sentence forms.
[8 marks]
Question 3
You now need to think about the structure of the source as a whole. This text is from the middle of a novel.
How has the writer structured the text to create a sense of sympathy?
You could write about:
- how sympathy deepens by the end of the source
- how the writer uses structure to create an effect
- the writer's use of any other structural features, such as changes in mood, tone or perspective.
[8 marks]
Question 4
For this question focus on the second part of the source, from line 16 to the end.
In this part of the source, where the narrator calls the Eloi 'fatted cattle', it could appear he is being cold and scientific. The writer suggests he is actually trying to protect himself from the horror of the situation.
To what extent do you agree and/or disagree with this statement?
In your response, you could:
- consider your impressions of the narrator's attempt to seem cold and scientific
- comment on the methods the writer uses to suggest his true feelings of horror
- support your response with references to the text.
[20 marks]
Question 5
For a time capsule to be opened in 2125, you are contributing a short piece that captures a moment in the natural world.
Choose one of the options below for your entry.
-
Option A: Describe a misty river valley at dawn from your imagination. You may choose to use the picture provided for ideas:
-
Option B: Write the opening of a story about a year when the seasons reversed.
(24 marks for content and organisation, 16 marks for technical accuracy)
[40 marks]