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UK GCSE MAY 2008 : Higher Tier, English Paper 1

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General Certificate of Secondary Education 2008 Paper 1 Higher Tier G2903 English [G2903] TUESDAY 3 JUNE, MORNING 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. G291H8 3245 Section A This section tests reading skills. Spend about 15 minutes reading the passage carefully. Answer all three questions. On Thursday over breakfast Molly told her grandson that she d managed to get a new school for him: It s a day school, she informed him. No boarding this time. You ll be able to come home in the evenings so that I can keep an eye on you. We re going down this morning to meet the Principal, and if you so much as blink I ll have your guts for garters ... Longingly, Hennessy watched Grandpa make his usual escape, but for him there was no way of avoiding what was in store. He was slightly surprised that Molly had managed to fix him up with a new school so quickly, especially if his reputation had gone before him. Maybe it was a reform school for young criminals? In the Volkswagen, they drove down the North Circular Road, through Fairview and out along the coast road. It was another beautiful spring day, with the sun high up in a cloudless sky and a pleasant blare of heat radiating in through the windscreen. Hennessy s heart was still a wintry landscape, however, with forebodings of what was to come needling at him. And the sight of the grey stone buildings of the school when they turned in did nothing to warm his thoughts. The cement yard was paper-littered and uneven and the bicycle shed was barricaded by iron bars that gave it the ominous look of a prison. The main door had been defaced by some spray-painted graffiti and a fat individual in a flat cap was laboriously attempting to remove it. He was using a metal brush that left deep channels in the wood and the mess he was making looked worse than the graffiti. Just as they came to the door, a bell sounded stridently and they were immediately engulfed in a horde of pushing and shoving boys. At least Hennessy at first thought they were all boys, but then he noticed that a number of the laughing and swearing figures were undoubtedly girls. As they were all dressed in exactly the same fashion runners, jeans and sweaters it was easy to understand his mistake. When the tide receded, Hennessy, Molly and the man with the brush were left cowering up against the wall. The man s bucket had been kicked over and a stream of soapy water was snaking its way forlornly towards the gutter. The man let out a burst of foul language which, if directed at the door, would have burned the graffiti off it in one go. Then he noticed Molly, touched his cap and rolled his eyes to the heavens. I don t blame you, Molly told him. They re like wild animals. And I ve got another one of their like here for you to put up with. They both gazed at Hennessy: Molly despairingly, the man with loathing. Under their scrutiny he shifted uneasily from foot to foot, thinking how unfair it was that he should get the blame for something he d no hand or part in. He was tempted to give the bucket an almighty kick, seeing as he was already being charged with knocking it over in the first place. Still nursing his grievance, he was ushered in the door and along a paint-peeling corridor to the Principal s office. Mr House, the Principal, turned out to be a small man wearing glasses and a shabby tweed suit. The most striking thing about him was his crown topper*: it sat on the top of his head, chestnut brown and gleaming, while the rest of the vegetation at the sides and at the back was badger-grey and liberally decorated with dandruff. 5 10 15 20 25 30 35 40 *a cheap and obvious wig. G291H8 3245 2 [Turn over He avoided looking at Hennessy while he talked to Molly: Yes, we have a place for the boy ... in Form 4C, he muttered. Only possible because one of their number left to take up a position as an apprentice butcher. A trial period, you understand. Mr House s eyes took on a faraway look as though he was visualising his ex-student attacking a side of beef. Yes, Molly prompted him. Ah, now what was I saying? Oh yes, we reserve the right of course to change our minds if he doesn t fit in ... Which? I beg your pardon? The apprentice butcher or my grandson? Molly asked, with a touch of exasperation. Looking confused, Mr House said, Well, whatever ... Would he be capable of taking the Intermediate Certificate at the end of the present year? That would be in his favour. Well, would you? Molly said, giving Hennessy a nudge. Yes ... What? Sure, of course ... But Hennessy had switched off and was much more interested in what he could see outside the Principal s office. In the yard knots of students were standing about, laughing and talking. Trailing out from a number of the huddled groups he could see the tell-tale wisps of smoke that betrayed the puffing of clandestine cigarettes*. A girl with red hair was standing in profile talking to three or four boys who were smirking at whatever she was saying. As he watched, the girl turned and looked in the window at him, catching his eye. She had a round, cheeky face with a turned-up nose and, in the front, her hair was streaked bright orange. She was wearing a black leather jacket, and a gold-coloured stud in her left ear lobe caught the sun. She looked tough and completely unlike the girls that his sister Alice sometimes brought to the house on the North Circular Road at holiday time. Now, as he watched, she grinned at him, then made a rude, two-fingered gesture and Hennessy immediately felt his black mood begin to lift. Maybe this school wouldn t be such a pain in the gable-end after all. Suddenly he became aware that the two people in the room with him were looking expectantly in his direction and he realised that he must have been asked a question. Sorry, he said, grinning, I didn t quite ... Oh you ... Molly said, and for a moment he half expected her to make another swing at him with her handbag. Mr House here has been wondering about books, she went on, and I ve asked him for a list. You ve probably got most of them already ... Probably. Molly turned back to Mr House. We re very grateful to you for taking him in, she said. And at such short notice. Now I can write to his mother, my poor daughter, out in Africa and put her mind at rest. She ll be so pleased ... I don t know about that, Hennessy thought, looking out the window again to where the red-haired girl now had her tongue stuck out and her eyes crossed. But even if his mother mightn t be too happy about his new place of education, he himself felt a ripple of anticipation. Things were definitely looking up. 45 50 55 60 65 70 75 80 (Adapted from Hennessy by Vincent Banville) * smoking cigarettes while trying to avoid being seen. G291H8 3245 3 [Turn over 1 Spend about 10 minutes on this question. Use evidence from lines 9 27 to support your answer. How has the writer s use of descriptive details helped to create a negative atmosphere? 2 Spend about 15 minutes on this question. Use evidence from the whole passage to support your answer. What do you learn about Hennessy? 3 [8] [10] Spend about 20 minutes on this question. Use evidence from the whole passage to support your answer. How has the writer created an interesting story that holds the reader s attention? You should consider how: the events are seen from Hennessy s viewpoint the writer uses words and phrases. G291H8 3245 4 [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: For the sake of the environment, leave the car at home and use public transport. The opinions listed below raise a series of points about transport and the environment. 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. Public transport costs a fortune and it s never on time. Using public transport is one way we can all help with the problem of climate change. Public transport is fine if you live in a town but what about those of us who live in the country? Public transport is a safer and more relaxing way to travel compared to driving. Remember to include your own ideas, comments and conclusions. [30] THIS IS THE END OF THE QUESTION PAPER G291H8 3245 5 [Turn over 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 11/06 529-027-1 [Turn over

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