Insert
The source that follows is:
- Source A: 19th-century prose fiction
- Great Expectations by Charles Dickens
An extract from a work first published in 1861.
This extract is from Great Expectations by Charles Dickens: early in the novel, Pip returns to the marshes to bring food and a file to an escaped convict, who eats hungrily and listens for pursuit as Pip watches in fear and pity.
Source A
1 I was soon at the Battery after that, and there was the right man,—hugging himself and limping to and fro, as if he had never all night left off hugging and limping,—waiting for me. He was awfully
6 cold, to be sure. I half expected to see him drop down before my face and die of deadly cold. His eyes looked so awfully hungry too, that when I handed him the file and he laid it down on the
11 grass, it occurred to me he would have tried to eat it, if he had not seen my bundle. He did not turn me upside down this time to get at what I had, but left me right side upwards while I opened the bundle and emptied my
16 pockets. “What’s in the bottle, boy?” said he. “Brandy,” said I.
21 He was already handing mincemeat down his throat in the most curious manner,—more like a man who was putting it away somewhere in a violent hurry, than a man who was eating it,—but he left off to take some of
26 the liquor. He shivered all the while so violently, that it was quite as much as he could do to keep the neck of the bottle between his teeth, without biting it off.
31 “I think you have got the ague,” said I. “I’m much of your opinion, boy,” said he.
36 “It’s bad about here,” I told him. “You’ve been lying out on the meshes, and they’re dreadful aguish. Rheumatic too.” “I’ll eat my breakfast afore they’re the death of me,” said he. “I’d do
41 that, if I was going to be strung up to that there gallows as there is over there, directly afterwards. I’ll beat the shivers so far, I’ll bet you.”
46 He was gobbling mincemeat, meatbone, bread, cheese, and pork pie, all at once: staring distrustfully while he did so at the mist all round us, and often
51 stopping—even stopping his jaws—to listen. Some real or fancied sound, some clink upon the river or breathing of beast upon the marsh, now gave him a start, and he said, suddenly,—
56 “You’re not a deceiving imp? You brought no one with you?” “No, sir! No!”
61 “Nor giv’ no one the office to follow you?” “No!” “Well,” said he, “I believe you. You’d be but a fierce young hound
66 indeed, if at your time of life you could help to hunt a wretched warmint hunted as near death and dunghill as this poor wretched warmint is!”
71 Something clicked in his throat as if he had works in him like a clock, and was going to strike. And he smeared his ragged rough sleeve over his eyes.
76 Pitying his desolation, and watching him as he gradually settled down upon the pie, I made bold to say, “I am glad you enjoy it.”
81 “Did you speak?” “I said I was glad you enjoyed it.” “Thankee, my boy. I do.”
86 I had often watched a large dog of ours eating his food; and I now noticed a decided similarity between the dog’s way of eating, and the man’s. The man
91 took strong sharp sudden bites, just like the dog. He swallowed, or rather snapped up, every mouthful, too soon and too fast; and he looked sideways here and there while he ate, as if he thought
96 there was danger in every direction of somebody’s coming to take the pie away. He was altogether too unsettled in his mind over it, to appreciate it comfortably I thought, or to have anybody
101 to dine with him, without making a chop with his jaws at the visitor. In all of which particulars he was very like the dog.
106 “I am afraid you won’t leave any of it for him,” said I, timidly; after a silence during which I had hesitated as to the politeness of making the remark. “There’s no more to be got where that came from.” It was
111 the certainty of this fact that impelled me to offer the hint. “Leave any for him? Who’s him?” said my friend, stopping in his crunching of
116 pie-crust. “The young man. That you spoke of. That was hid with you.” “Oh ah!” he returned, with something like a gruff laugh. “Him? Yes,
121 yes! He don’t want no wittles.”
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 Where did the speaker arrive?
- the Battery
- the churchyard
- the riverbank
[1 mark]
1.2 How is the man behaving when the narrator arrives?
- Holding himself tightly and hobbling back and forth
- Striding confidently up and down with long, even steps
- Pacing slowly in circles with hands in pockets
[1 mark]
1.3 How long does it seem the man had not stopped hugging and limping?
- all night
- all day
- all morning
[1 mark]
1.4 Who was the man waiting for?
- the narrator
- another man
- a prison guard
[1 mark]
Question 2
Look in detail at this extract, from lines 6 to 15 of the source:
6 cold, to be sure. I half expected to see him drop down before my face and die of deadly cold. His eyes looked so awfully hungry too, that when I handed him the file and he laid it down on the
11 grass, it occurred to me he would have tried to eat it, if he had not seen my bundle. He did not turn me upside down this time to get at what I had, but left me right side upwards while I opened the bundle and emptied my
How does the writer use language here to show the man’s suffering and the narrator’s reactions? 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 unease?
You could write about:
- how unease intensifies 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 46 to the end.
In this part of the source, where the man is compared to a dog, his eating seems wild and desperate. The writer suggests that he is more like a scared, hunted animal than a dangerous criminal.
To what extent do you agree and/or disagree with this statement?
In your response, you could:
- consider your impressions of the man's desperate and animal-like behaviour
- comment on the methods the writer uses to portray the man like a hunted animal
- support your response with references to the text.
[20 marks]
Question 5
For the town’s annual walking festival, organisers are collecting short creative pieces for a trail guide.
Choose one of the options below for your entry.
-
Option A: Describe a hidden path in a wood from your imagination. You may choose to use the picture provided for ideas:
-
Option B: Write the opening of a story about a place that no longer appears on any map.
(24 marks for content and organisation, 16 marks for technical accuracy)
[40 marks]