Insert
The source that follows is:
- Source A: 19th-century prose fiction
- The Bet by Anton Chekhov
An extract from a work first published in 1889.
This extract is taken from The Bet by Anton Chekhov (1889), where a banker and a young lawyer enter a life-altering wager about solitary confinement, revealing tensions around greed, pride, and the value of human life, and the profound psychological effects of prolonged isolation.
Source A
1 Hermann paid no attention to this incident. A few moments afterwards he heard the door of his ante-room open. Hermann thought that it was his orderly, drunk as usual,
6 returning from some nocturnal expedition, but presently he heard footsteps that were unknown to him: somebody was walking softly over the floor in slippers. The door opened, and a woman dressed in white, entered the room.
11 Hermann mistook her for his old nurse, and wondered what could bring her there at that hour of the night. But the white woman glided rapidly across the room and stood before him--and Hermann
16 recognised the Countess! "I have come to you against my wish," she said in a firm voice: "but I have been ordered to grant your request. Three, seven, ace, will win for you if played in succession, but
21 only on these conditions: that you do not play more than one card in twenty- four hours, and that you never play again during the rest of your life. I forgive you my death,
26 on condition that you marry my companion, Lizaveta Ivanovna." With these words she turned round very quietly, walked with a shuffling gait
31 towards the door and disappeared. Hermann heard the street-door open and shut, and again he saw some one look in at him through the window. For a long time Hermann could not recover himself. He then rose up and
36 entered the next room. His orderly was lying asleep upon the floor, and he had much difficulty in waking him. The orderly was drunk as usual, and no information could be
41 obtained from him. The street-door was locked. Hermann returned to his room, lit his candle, and wrote down all the details of his vision. VI
46 Two fixed ideas can no more exist together in the moral world than two bodies can occupy one and the same place in the physical world. "Three, seven, ace," soon drove out of Hermann's mind the thought of the dead Countess. "Three,
51 seven, ace," were perpetually running through his head and continually being repeated by his lips. If he saw a young girl, he would say: "How slender she is! quite like the three
56 of hearts." If anybody asked: "What is the time?" he would reply: "Five minutes to seven." Every stout man that he saw reminded him of the ace. "Three, seven, ace" haunted him in his sleep, and assumed all
61 possible shapes. The threes bloomed before him in the forms of magnificent flowers, the sevens were represented by Gothic portals, and the aces became transformed into gigantic spiders. One thought
66 alone occupied his whole mind-- to make a profitable use of the secret which he had purchased so dearly. He thought of applying for a furlough so as to travel abroad. He wanted to go to
71 Paris and tempt fortune in some of the public gambling-houses that abounded there. Chance spared him all this trouble. There was in Moscow a society of rich gamesters, presided over by the celebrated Chekalinsky, who had passed
76 all his life at the card-table and had amassed millions, accepting bills of exchange for his winnings and paying his losses in ready money. His long experience secured for
81 him the confidence of his companions, and his open house, his famous cook, and his agreeable and fascinating manners gained for him the respect of the public. He came to St. Petersburg. The young men of the
86 capital flocked to his rooms, forgetting balls for cards, and preferring the emotions of faro to the seductions of flirting. Narumov conducted Hermann to Chekalinsky's residence. They passed through a suite of magnificent rooms,
91 filled with attentive domestics. The place was crowded. Generals and Privy Counsellors were playing at whist; young men were lolling carelessly upon the velvet-covered sofas, eating ices and smoking pipes. In the
96 drawing-room, at the head of a long table, around which were assembled about a score of players, sat the master of the house keeping the bank. He was a man of about
101 sixty years of age, of a very dignified appearance; his head was covered with silvery-white hair; his full, florid countenance expressed good-nature, and his eyes twinkled with a
106 perpetual smile. Narumov introduced Hermann to him.
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 A few moments later, what did Hermann hear open?
- the door of Hermann's ante-room
- a window in Hermann's bedroom
- the garden gate outside Hermann's house
[1 mark]
1.2 Whom did Hermann think it was when the door opened?
- Hermann's orderly, drunk as usual
- Hermann's orderly, tired as usual
- Hermann's orderly, late as usual
[1 mark]
1.3 Which room is mentioned?
- the ante-room
- the kitchen
- the bedroom
[1 mark]
1.4 After hearing the ante-room door open, whom does Hermann think is coming in?
- Hermann's orderly
- A stranger
- A friend arriving to visit
[1 mark]
Question 2
Look in detail at this extract, from lines 1 to 15 of the source:
1 Hermann paid no attention to this incident. A few moments afterwards he heard the door of his ante-room open. Hermann thought that it was his orderly, drunk as usual,
6 returning from some nocturnal expedition, but presently he heard footsteps that were unknown to him: somebody was walking softly over the floor in slippers. The door opened, and a woman dressed in white, entered the room.
11 Hermann mistook her for his old nurse, and wondered what could bring her there at that hour of the night. But the white woman glided rapidly across the room and stood before him--and Hermann
How does the writer use language here to create suspense and mystery about the visitor? 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 story.
How has the writer structured the text to create a sense of fascination?
You could write about:
- how fascination 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, the description of the grand rooms and respectable guests makes the gambling house seem safe. The writer suggests that this respectable appearance is just a way to hide the real dangers of gambling.
To what extent do you agree and/or disagree with this statement?
In your response, you could:
- consider your impressions of the gambling house and its respectable guests
- comment on the methods the writer uses to suggest the dangers of gambling
- support your response with references to the text.
[20 marks]
Question 5
A magazine for young travellers wants creative articles for a special feature.
Choose one of the options below for your entry.
-
Option A: Describe a coach station late at night from your imagination. You may choose to use the picture provided for ideas:
-
Option B: Write the opening of a story about a journey to bring a rescued animal home.
(24 marks for content and organisation, 16 marks for technical accuracy)
[40 marks]