Insert
The source that follows is:
- Source A: 19th-century prose fiction
- The Little Mermaid by Hans Christian Andersen
An extract from a work first published in 1837.
This extract is taken from Hans Christian Andersen's tale The Snow Man, where a Snow Man, watched by a chained yard dog, grows obsessed with the warmth of a stove beyond a window, introducing themes of longing, temptation, and the dangerous pull of comfort.
Source A
1 Then the Snow Man looked, and saw a bright polished thing with a brass knob, and fire gleaming from the lower part of it. The sight of this gave the Snow Man a strange sensation; it was very odd, he knew not what it meant, and he could not account for it. But there are people who are not men of snow who understand what the feeling is. "And why did you leave her?" asked the Snow
6 Man, for it seemed to him that the stove must be of the female sex. "How could you give up such a comfortable place?" "I was obliged to," replied the yard dog. "They turned me out of doors and chained me up here. I had bitten the youngest of my master's sons in the leg,
11 because he kicked away the bone I was gnawing. 'Bone for bone,' I thought. But they were very angry, and since that time I have been fastened to a chain and have lost my voice. Don't you hear how hoarse I am? Away, away! I can't talk like other dogs any more. Away, away! That was the end of it all."
16 But the Snow Man was no longer listening. He was looking into the housekeeper's room on the lower story, where the stove, which was about the same size as the Snow Man himself, stood on its four iron legs. "What a strange crackling I feel within me," he said. "Shall I ever get in there? It is an innocent wish, and innocent wishes are sure to be fulfilled. I must go
21 in there and lean against her, even if I have to break the window." "You must never go in there," said the yard dog, "for if you approach the stove, you will melt away, away."
26 "I might as well go," said the Snow Man, "for I think I am breaking up as it is." During the whole day the Snow Man stood looking in through the window, and in the twilight hour the room became still more inviting, for from the stove came
31 a gentle glow, not like the sun or the moon; it was only the kind of radiance that can come from a stove when it has been well fed. When the door of the stove was opened, the flames darted out of its mouth,--as is customary with all stoves,--and the light of the flames fell with a ruddy gleam directly on the face and breast of the Snow Man. "I can endure it no longer," said he.
36 "How beautiful it looks when it stretches out its tongue!" The night was long, but it did not appear so to the Snow Man, who stood there enjoying his own reflections and crackling with the cold. In the morning the window-panes of the housekeeper's room were covered with ice. They were the
41 most beautiful ice flowers any Snow Man could desire, but they concealed the stove. These window-panes would not thaw, and he could see nothing of the stove, which he pictured to himself as if it had been a beautiful human being. The snow crackled and the wind whistled around him; it was just the kind of frosty weather a Snow Man ought to enjoy thoroughly. But he did not enjoy it.
46 How, indeed, could he enjoy anything when he was so stove-sick? "That is a terrible disease for a Snow Man to have," said the yard dog. "I have suffered from it myself, but I got over it. Away, away!" he barked, and then added, "The weather is going to change."
51 The weather did change. It began to thaw, and as the warmth increased, the Snow Man decreased. He said nothing and made no complaint, which is a sure sign.
56 One morning he broke and sank down altogether; and behold! where he had stood, something that looked like a broomstick remained sticking up in the ground. It was the pole round which the boys had built him. "Ah, now I understand why he had such a great longing for the stove," said the
61 yard dog. "Why, there's the shovel that is used for cleaning out the stove, fastened to the pole. The Snow Man had a stove scraper in his body; that was what moved him so. But it is all over now. Away, away!"
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 What metal is the knob on the bright polished thing made of?
- brass
- iron
- silver
[1 mark]
1.2 From which part of the bright polished thing was the fire gleaming?
- the lower part
- the upper part
- the middle part
[1 mark]
1.3 According to the narrator, who understands the Snow Man's strange sensation on seeing the stove?
- People who are not men of snow
- Only the Snow Man
- The stove
[1 mark]
1.4 What did the Snow Man assume about the stove?
- The stove was of the female sex
- The stove was merely a decorative object
- The stove was cold and lifeless
[1 mark]
Question 2
Look in detail at this extract, from lines 26 to 40 of the source:
26 "I might as well go," said the Snow Man, "for I think I am breaking up as it is." During the whole day the Snow Man stood looking in through the window, and in the twilight hour the room became still more inviting, for from the stove came
31 a gentle glow, not like the sun or the moon; it was only the kind of radiance that can come from a stove when it has been well fed. When the door of the stove was opened, the flames darted out of its mouth,--as is customary with all stoves,--and the light of the flames fell with a ruddy gleam directly on the face and breast of the Snow Man. "I can endure it no longer," said he.
36 "How beautiful it looks when it stretches out its tongue!" The night was long, but it did not appear so to the Snow Man, who stood there enjoying his own reflections and crackling with the cold. In the morning the window-panes of the housekeeper's room were covered with ice. They were the
How does the writer use language in this section to show the strength of the Snow Man’s desire and the attraction of the stove? 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 end of a story.
How has the writer structured the text to create a sense of yearning?
You could write about:
- how yearning intensifies from beginning to end
- 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 26 to the end.
In this part of the source, where we find out about the stove scraper, the tragic ending suddenly makes sense. The writer suggests that the Snow Man was drawn to the stove because of what was hidden inside him.
To what extent do you agree and/or disagree with this statement?
In your response, you could:
- consider your impressions of the Snow Man's longing for the stove
- comment on the methods the writer uses to present the revelation about the stove scraper
- support your response with references to the text.
[20 marks]
Question 5
A website for backpackers is holding a competition for short creative pieces.
Choose one of the options below for your entry.
-
Option A: Describe waiting by the side of a lonely road from your imagination. You may choose to use the picture provided for ideas:
-
Option B: Write the opening of a story about an unexpected encounter.
(24 marks for content and organisation, 16 marks for technical accuracy)
[40 marks]