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UK GCSE NOV 2006 : Higher Tier, English Paper 1

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General Certificate of Secondary Education 2006 Paper 1 Higher Tier G2903 English [G2903] TUESDAY 30 MAY, AFTERNOON TIME 2 hours. INSTRUCTIONS TO CANDIDATES Write your Centre Number and Candidate Number on the Answer Booklet provided. Answer all four questions. Answer the three questions in Section A and the one question in Section B. Spend one hour on Section A and one hour on Section B. INFORMATION FOR CANDIDATES The total mark for this paper is 60. Figures in brackets printed down the right-hand side of pages indicate the marks awarded to each question or part question. G291H6 789 Section A This section tests reading skills. Spend about 15 minutes reading the passage carefully. Answer all three questions. Robby has fallen out with his mother who has remarried and gone to live in the nearby town. He now lives with his great-uncle Eamon Wade at Cloghercree House where he helps him on the rundown family farm. Robby has recently heard that Michael Razor McCabe, a dangerous prisoner, is on the loose. This man, who used to be a friend of Robby s great-uncle Eamon, is thought to be heading for Cloghercree. As Robby turned down the side street towards the shopping centre, his argument with his great-uncle, Eamon Wade, filled his thoughts. All that stuff about going to England . . . Even as he d blurted it out, he d known it was crazy. At seventeen, he d nothing in his pockets and no qualifications. He headed for the music shop. Actually, he had thirty pounds of birthday money from his mother; he hadn t refused that he couldn t afford to. Eamon gave him the odd fiver now and again. He always made a big deal out of it even though he, Robby, did most of the work round the place. A sudden desire to see his mum swept over him. It d been three months now since he d been in his mother s new home. When he arrived at his mother s, it was mid-afternoon and no car in the driveway. He kept ringing the bell long after he realised that his mum had probably gone to the office. Eventually, he went round the house, through a timber arch twined with flowering clematis and into the back garden. Perfectly trimmed grass, not a weed in sight; neat rockeries, a little pond with a miniature fountain. Beyond his reflection in the patio doors, he saw the tidy clutter of the life that his mother and stepfather had made for themselves. Two colourful coffee mugs, with matching coasters, on a long pine table; a glossy magazine left open on a wicker chair; a pair of newly polished football boots arranged neatly on a sheet of newspaper drying in the sun. Robby tried the handle. It was locked. What are you up to? An elderly man with wispy, white hair was peering at him shortsightedly over the hedge. Get out of there or I ll call the police! Robby picked up a handful of pebbles from the rockery and let fly. From behind the hedge came a yelp and, as the man shouted for his wife to ring the police, Robby made good his escape. Angry with himself, he headed out of town, back to Cloghercree. * * * * * * * * 789 2 10 15 20 * At the brow of the rising road stood the cracked pillars of the farm entrance. The long evening lay before him like another hill to be climbed. He was sorry he hadn t gone back to the music store. At least then he might have had something new to listen to on his Walkman. The fact that he was so late not to speak of what had happened earlier between them would have Eamon s blood pressure shooting sky-high by now. Robby turned in at the entrance and saw a police car making its bumpy way down the lane from the house. More trouble. He half-expected to see Eamon scowling at him from the G291H6 5 25 30 back seat. The white Sierra slowed as it approached. The only occupant looked at Robby as though he were some particularly repellent specimen in a zoo. Robby didn t react and the car accelerated past him with a screech of wheels and a cloud of dust. The large house, standing sideways on to the road, was dwarfed by the giant crescent of oak and beech trees surrounding it. The swaying trees were reflected in the tall windows of Cloghercree House like distant memories in reminiscing eyes. Robby looked across the overgrown croquet* lawn and remembered tripping over long-abandoned hoops buried in the grass. Along the chimney block that jutted out from the gable wall, a long, snaking crack widened in the greenish-grey plaster. Rising two storeys above a basement whose brickedup windows seemed to emerge half-formed from the ground, the place had a sunken appearance. It looked into the trees with an air of empty pride, as if recalling a past that had been more glorious before the Wades arrived. Robby went through the arch in the redbrick wall to the rear of the house. The cobbles of the yard were buried under layers of straw, cow-dung and weeds. This soft covering absorbed the sound of his footsteps, which was useful on those rare occasions when he stayed out late, invariably alone, at the cinema or one of the local nightspots. The back door stood open and, inside, Eamon sat in his usual place by the fire, relentlessly poking away at the coals. For all his efforts, the ancient, thick-walled house remained icily cold even on summer days. At fifty-eight, Eamon Wade had made an old man of himself. His hair, never washed or brushed, was a mouldering off-white, like an ancient tuft of sheep s wool caught on a barbed-wire fence. The sour look on his face was unchanging. Lost in thoughts of the past, he was isolated by a bitterness that pervaded his every word and gesture. Not a single cup had been removed from the kitchen table since Robby had left. The mess turned his stomach and he headed for the door to the hallway. Did you eat? Eamon asked, in his familiar hurt tone. I had a burger and chips. The door moved heavily on its hinges. Like all the doors in the ancient house, it was worthy of any prison. More than I had, Eamon said. He came again. The policeman. Snottery little pup that was here earlier. Robby leaned against the doorway. The cold draught from the hallway, which was always dark, chilled. What did he want? Well, he wasn t selling raffle tickets, was he? Eamon muttered. Looking for Michael Razor McCabe, Mr Wade. We know he s a mate of yours from the old days, Mr Wade. His great-uncle did a passable impression of the slow, deliberate speech of the local sergeant. I told him he d be better off searching those dirty hippies and their stuff. Hippies? Where? Robby asked, faking disinterest. On the back road. Pulled in during the day. Only for them blasted peelers coming round here day and night, I d have fired a few shots over those mangy hippie heads of theirs. They d soon be hopping away out of here after that! I might just do it yet, before they start nicking stuff left, right and centre. We don t have anything worth stealing, Robby said. He took a step into the hallway. Even as a child, he d been filled with dread in that night-shadowy, cavernous space. Since he d come to live in the house, two years before, the haunting dream had begun and the impression of disturbed spirits had returned. Robby? Eamon, standing stiffly, picked up the walking stick he d fashioned himself after his leg had been shattered sixteen years ago. He followed Robby to the foot of the stairs, his stick knocking sharply on the tiled floor. 35 40 45 50 55 60 65 70 75 (*a summer game played on grass with hoops, mallets and a hard ball) G291H6 789 3 [Turn over I m going up to listen to some music. I know, but . . . there s something I wanted to say . . . An apology? From his great-uncle? Hardly likely. No, it was something else. Halfway up the steps, Robby paused, his expression hard with resentment. I wanted to say that maybe . . . maybe you should call in to your mother. She s fierce anxious about you. I bet she is, Robby answered evenly, but he was taken aback. She is, now. In fairness. What does she want? To tell me something, is it? He looked closely at Eamon for some sign. They re moving away, aren t they? Eamon seemed genuinely surprised at the suggestion. No, she s only anxious you mightn t be talking to her, maybe. Never worried you before, Robby snapped back. Even with the stick, Eamon could never stand in one position for very long. He held on to the carved wooden banister. His mood was darkening, as though he too was ill at ease in the ghostly air of the hallway. Look, I m fed up making excuses for you. Out here morning, noon and night, looking for you . . . your mother and your stepfather. They were here today then? No, but I don t want them around the place. Not now. Right. Not now. Why would that be because Razor McCabe might be along any minute. Yeah? I told you, Robby, he won t come near us. I ve seen to it that everyone knows that we are being hassled by the peelers. Well, there s no problem, then, is there? And you don t have to make excuses either. Just tell Mum to push off. Choking on his words, Robby climbed the stairs into the greater darkness above. As he crossed the landing and out of Eamon s view, his great-uncle shouted upwards into the vault-like recesses. For God s sake, Robby will you keep them away from here! If if, by some chance . . . McCabe There s a fierce bitterness there, Robby. Razor could lose the head altogether if he saw . . . Robby peered down into the well of the murky hallway. His great-uncle s face looked misshapen and unreal, as though painted by some mediaeval artist capturing the agonies of Hell. Adapted from Silent Stones by Mark O Sullivan. G291H6 789 4 80 85 90 95 100 105 110 1 Spend about 10 minutes on this question. Use evidence from the whole passage to support your answer. What do you learn about Eamon Wade? 2 [8] Spend about 15 minutes on this question. Use evidence from lines 9 54 to support your answer. How has the writer created a contrast between the home of Robby s mother and the old house at Cloghercree? [10] 3 Spend about 20 minutes on this question. Use evidence from the whole passage to support your answer. In the passage the writer has created a growing sense of tension and unease. How has this been achieved? In your answer you should write about how the writer: portrays what happens from Robby s point of view presents characters and their relationships uses words and phrases. G291H6 789 5 [12] [Turn over Section B This section tests writing skills: to review, analyse and comment. Write in a way that suits this type of task. To answer this question effectively, you should aim to write at least two sides. Leave enough time to re-read your work so that you can make any changes you feel are necessary. 4 Consider the following statement and the issues it raises: Anyone under 18 should not be allowed into places where alcohol is on sale. The opinions below raise a series of points about this topic. The examiner wants you to review the points that you consider to be important, along with ideas of your own. Analyse these in an extended piece of writing. You are expected to include your own comments and conclusions. There are many very young teenagers getting into pubs and clubs. You do not have to drink alcohol just because you are on licensed premises. You can see drunken, young teenagers staggering out of pubs any night of the week. There is nowhere else to go for a good night out with your mates. THIS IS THE END OF THE QUESTION PAPER G291H6 789 6 [30] Permission to reproduce all copyright material has been applied for. In some cases, efforts to contact copyright holders may have been unsuccessful and CCEA will be happy to rectify any omissions of acknowledgement in future if notified. S 7/05 20000 302507(83)

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