Insert
The source that follows is:
- Source A: 19th-century prose fiction
- A Tale of Two Cities by Charles Dickens
An extract from a work first published in 1859.
This extract is taken from A Tale of Two Cities, introducing Monsieur and Madame Defarge in their Paris wine shop. Dickens depicts their controlled watchfulness and coded signals as they assess two strangers amid talk of poverty, hinting at secrecy, solidarity, and simmering unrest.
Source A
1 “Put it on, put it on,” said the other. “Call wine, wine; and finish there.” With that advice, he wiped his soiled hand upon the joker’s dress, such as it was--quite deliberately, as having dirtied the hand on
6 his account; and then recrossed the road and entered the wine-shop. This wine-shop keeper was a bull-necked, martial-looking man of thirty, and he should have been of a hot temperament, for, although it was a
11 bitter day, he wore no coat, but carried one slung over his shoulder. His shirt-sleeves were rolled up, too, and his brown arms were bare to the elbows. Neither did he wear anything more on his head than his own
16 crisply-curling short dark hair. He was a dark man altogether, with good eyes and a good bold breadth between them. Good-humoured looking on the whole, but implacable-looking, too; evidently a man of a strong
21 resolution and a set purpose; a man not desirable to be met, rushing down a narrow pass with a gulf on either side, for nothing would turn the man. Madame Defarge, his wife, sat in the shop behind the counter as he
26 came in. Madame Defarge was a stout woman of about his own age, with a watchful eye that seldom seemed to look at anything, a large hand heavily ringed, a steady face,
31 strong features, and great composure of manner. There was a character about Madame Defarge, from which one might have predicated that she did not often make mistakes against herself
36 in any of the reckonings over which she presided. Madame Defarge being sensitive to cold, was wrapped in fur, and had a quantity of bright shawl twined about her head, though not to the
41 concealment of her large earrings. Her knitting was before her, but she had laid it down to pick her teeth with a toothpick. Thus engaged, with her right elbow supported
46 by her left hand, Madame Defarge said nothing when her lord came in, but coughed just one grain of cough. This, in combination with the lifting of her darkly defined eyebrows over her toothpick by the breadth of a
51 line, suggested to her husband that he would do well to look round the shop among the customers, for any new customer who had dropped in while he stepped over the way. The wine-shop keeper accordingly rolled his eyes about, until
56 they rested upon an elderly gentleman and a young lady, who were seated in a corner. Other company were there: two playing cards, two playing dominoes,
61 three standing by the counter lengthening out a short supply of wine. As he passed behind the counter, he took notice that the elderly gentleman said in a look to the young lady, “This is our man.”
66 “What the devil do you do in that galley there?” said Monsieur Defarge to himself; “I don’t know you.”
71 But, he feigned not to notice the two strangers, and fell into discourse with the triumvirate of customers who were drinking at the counter. “How goes it, Jacques?” said one of these three to Monsieur Defarge. “Is all the spilt wine
76 swallowed?” “Every drop, Jacques,” answered Monsieur Defarge. When this interchange of Christian name was effected, Madame Defarge, picking her teeth with her
81 toothpick, coughed another grain of cough, and raised her eyebrows by the breadth of another line. “It is not often,” said the second of the three, addressing Monsieur Defarge, “that many of these miserable beasts know the
86 taste of wine, or of anything but black bread and death. Is it not so, Jacques?” “It is so, Jacques,” Monsieur Defarge returned. At this second interchange of
91 the Christian name, Madame Defarge, still using her toothpick with profound composure, coughed another grain of cough, and raised her eyebrows by the breadth of another line. The last of the three now said his say, as he put
96 down his empty drinking vessel and smacked his lips. “Ah! So much the worse! A bitter taste it is that such poor cattle always have in their mouths, and hard lives they live, Jacques. Am I
101 right, Jacques?” “You are right, Jacques,” was the response of Monsieur Defarge. This third interchange of the Christian name was completed at the moment when Madame
106 Defarge put her toothpick by, kept her eyebrows up, and slightly rustled in her seat.
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.
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 How old was the wine-shop keeper?
- thirty
- forty
- twenty
[1 mark]
1.2 What did the wine-shop keeper carry slung over his shoulder?
- a coat
- a bag
- a cloak
[1 mark]
1.3 How were the wine-shop keeper’s shirt-sleeves?
- rolled up
- rolled down
- buttoned up
[1 mark]
1.4 How far were the wine-shop keeper’s arms bare?
- to the elbows
- to the shoulders
- to the wrists
[1 mark]
Question 2
Look in detail at this extract, from lines 21 to 35 of the source:
21 resolution and a set purpose; a man not desirable to be met, rushing down a narrow pass with a gulf on either side, for nothing would turn the man. Madame Defarge, his wife, sat in the shop behind the counter as he
26 came in. Madame Defarge was a stout woman of about his own age, with a watchful eye that seldom seemed to look at anything, a large hand heavily ringed, a steady face,
31 strong features, and great composure of manner. There was a character about Madame Defarge, from which one might have predicated that she did not often make mistakes against herself
How does the writer use language here to present Madame Defarge and her influence in the wine-shop? 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 beginning of a novel.
How has the writer structured the text to create a sense of intrigue?
You could write about:
- how intrigue builds throughout 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, Madame Defarge is very still, only making small signals like a single cough. The writer suggests that this quietness shows she is secretly powerful and controls everything her husband does.
To what extent do you agree and/or disagree with this statement?
In your response, you could:
- consider your impressions of Madame Defarge and her quiet authority
- comment on the methods the writer uses to portray her control through small gestures
- support your response with references to the text.
[20 marks]
Question 5
During Sports Week, your college magazine is inviting creative pieces from students.
Choose one of the options below for your entry.
-
Option A: Describe a penalty shoot-out from your imagination. You may choose to use the picture provided for ideas:
-
Option B: Write the opening of a story about a missing trophy.
(24 marks for content and organisation, 16 marks for technical accuracy)
[40 marks]