GCSE English Paper 2. Specimen 2

SourceA-21stCenturynon-fiction

ElizabethDayhasbeensent toreportonthe2005 GlastonburyFestival1foraSundaynewspaper.

Arewe having funyet?

Antonisstandingknee-deepin tea-colouredwater. Heiscoveredinaslippery layerofdark- brown mud, likeagleamingotter emergingfromariver-bed.Theoccasional emptybottleof Somersetciderwaftspasthis legs, carriedawaybythecurrent. "I mean," hesays,witha

broadsmileandastrange,staringlookinhisdilatedeyes,"whereelsebut Glastonburywouldyou

5findall this?"

Hesweepshisarminagrandiosearc, encompassingasceneofnear- total devastation. Inonefield, aseriesof tentshaslost its mooringsin

a recent thunderstorm andisfloatingdown thehillside. Thetentsare beingchasedbyagroupofshivering, half-nakedpeoplewholooklike

10thesurvivorsofaterriblenatural disaster.

WhenIwas toldthatTheSundayTelegraphwassending meto experience Glastonburyfor thefirst time, my initial reactionwasoneof undilutedhorror. Still, I thought, at least theweatherwasgood. Englandwasin thegripofaheat wave.

15Butthentherainscame:sixhoursofuninterrupted thunderstorm in theearlyhoursofFridaymorning.WhenI arrivedlater that day, there wasapolitedrizzle.Byyesterday, therainhadgivenwaytoan overcastsky, thecolour ofexhaledcigarettesmoke. Themud, however,remained,andtheonlywaytogetaround the900-acresite

20was-likeAnton- toresignoneselftogettingverydirty indeed.

Everythingelse mighthavebeendamp,but thecrowd remained impressivelygood-humoured throughout. "It'sa verysafe,family-friendlyatmosphere,"saysEdThaw,amusicstudentfrom London. “Thisismysixth timeatGlastonburyandI'veneverhadany trouble." Indeed, onmy trainto CastleCary, thecarriagesarecrammedwithwell-spokendegree studentssippingPimms2and

25makingpolitechit-chat.

Theactsfor 2005includedColdplay,ElvisCostelloand theAmericanrockbandTheKillers,who brought atouchof salubriousness totheproceedingsbyperformingintuxedo3jacketsandglitter.

But Glastonburyhasstill managedtopreserveahealthydegreeofwackiness. IntheLost

Vaguenessarea,a1950s-stylediner comescompletewithfancy-dressrock 'n' roll dancers

30andaconstantstreamof Elvissongs.TheChapel ofLoveandLoathinghasadiscjockey boothdisguisedasachurchorgan. Apparently,couplescanget marriedhere.Outside,a manwearingahugepinkAfro-wig4is twirling roundandroundinbarefeet. "What happened toyourshoes?" I ask.

"Theygotwashedawaywith mytent,"hesays, cheerily.

35Bizarrely,everyoneseemstobehavingabrilliant timeandtherearebroadgrinswhereverI

look. Infact,it'salmostnice, thisGlastonburything.

1GlastonburyFestival–afamouspop-musicfestivalheldinthesummerinSomerset

2Pimms–apinkalcoholicdrink,oftendrunk withicein thesummer

3tuxedo–ablackor white,formaljacket,usuallywornintheevening

4afro-wig–acurlywigwitharoundedshape

SourceB –19thCenturynon-fictionanextractfrom GreenwichFairby CharlesDickens.

Greenwich Fair:WhereDickens lethishair down

CharlesDickensiswritingin1839aboutafairinLondonwhichwasapopularannual eventhe enjoyed.

TheroadtoGreenwichduring thewholeofEaster Monday isinastateofperpetual bustleandnoise. Cabs,hackney-coaches1,‘shay’ carts2,coal-waggons,stages,omnibuses3,donkey-chaises2- all crammedwithpeople, roll alongat theirutmost speed.Thedust fliesinclouds, ginger-beer corksgo offinvolleys,thebalconyofeverypublic-houseiscrowded

5withpeoplesmokinganddrinking, halftheprivatehouses areturnedintotea-shops, fiddlesareingreat request, every littlefruit-shopdisplaysitsstall of giltgingerbreadandpenny toys;horseswon’t goon, andwheelswill comeoff. Ladies scream withfrightateveryfreshconcussionandservants,

10whohavegotaholidayfor theday, makethemostof their time. Everybody isanxious toget onandtobeatthefair, or

in thepark, assoonaspossible.

Thechiefplaceofresort in thedaytime,after thepublic-houses,isthepark,inwhich the principal amusement is todragyoungladiesupthesteephill whichleads totheObservatory4,

15and thendrag themdownagainat the verytopof their speed,greatlytothederangement of theircurlsandbonnet-caps,andmuchtotheedificationoflookers-onfrom below. ‘Kissin the Ring5,’and‘ThreadingmyGrandmother’sNeedle5,’too, aresportswhich receive their full share ofpatronage.

Five minutes’ walkingbringsyou tothefair itself; ascenecalculatedtoawaken verydifferent

20feelings.Theentranceisoccupiedoneither sidebythevendorsof gingerbreadandtoys: thestalls aregaily lightedup, themost attractivegoodsprofuselydisposed,andun-bonneted youngladies

induceyou topurchasehalfapoundofthereal spicenuts,ofwhich the majorityof theregular fair- goerscarryapoundor twoasapresent supply,tiedupinacottonpocket-handkerchief. Occasionallyyoupassadeal6table,onwhichareexposedpennyworthsof pickledsalmon (fennel7

25included),inlittlewhitesaucers: oysters,withshellsaslargeascheese-plates, andseveral specimensofaspeciesofsnailfloatinginasomewhatbilious-lookinggreenliquid.

Imagineyourselfinanextremelydensecrowd,whichswingsyou toandfro,andinandout, and everywaybuttherightone;addtothisthescreamsofwomen, theshoutsofboys, theclangingof gongs, thefiringofpistols, theringingofbells, thebellowingsofspeaking-trumpets, the squeakingof

30pennydittos8,thenoiseofadozenbands, with threedrums ineach,all playingdifferent tunesatthe sametime, thehallooingofshowmen, andanoccasional roarfrom thewild-beast shows;and you

areintheverycentreandheartof thefair.

Thisimmensebooth, with thelargestageinfront, sobrightly illuminatedwithlamps, andpotsof burningfat, is‘Richardson’s,’ whereyouhaveamelodrama(with threemurdersandaghost), a

35pantomime, acomicsong,anoverture,andsomeincidental music,all doneinfive-and-twenty minutes.

‘Justa-going tobegin!Praycomefor’erd,comefor’erd,’ exclaimsthemanin thecountryman’sdress, for theseventiethtime:andpeopleforcetheir wayup thesteps incrowds. Thebandsuddenlystrikes upandtheleading tragicactress,andthegentlemanwhoenactsthe‘swell’ in thepantomime, footit

40toperfection.‘All in tobegin,’shoutsthemanager,whennomorepeoplecanbeinducedto‘come for’erd,’ andawayrushtheleading membersof thecompanytodothefirstpiece.

1hackneycoaches–ahorse-drawncarriagefor hire

2shaycarts/2donkeychaises–alightweight, openhorse-drawncarriage

3omnibuses–alarge(inthiscasehorse-drawn)busforpublictransport

4Observatory–Greenwichis thelocationofafamousastronomical observatorysituatedontopofa hill

5Kiss in theRing/5Threading my Grandmother’sNeedle–traditional children’sgames

6deal–asoftwood timbersuchaspine

7fennel –anedibleplantwithananiseedflavour

8pennydittos–(presumably)short piecesof music/songs

SectionA

Answerall question(s)inthissection.

Youareadvisedtospendabout 45minutesonthissection.

Readagainthefirst part ofsourceA,lines1to14.

  1. ChoosefourstatementsbelowwhichareTRUE.

•Shade theboxesoftheones thatyouthinkaretrue

•Chooseamaximumof fourstatements.

A / Antonisstandinginwater, coveredinmud.
B / Antonisbeingcarriedawaybythecurrent.
C / Glastonbury isasceneofnear-total devastation.
D / Themooringsof thetentsarefloatingdown thehillside.
E / Thewriterisshiveringandcaught inathunderstorm.
F / Half-nakedpeoplearerunningafter their tents.
G / At first, thewriter wasnotpleasedtobesent toGlastonbury.
H / Thewriterwasnot surprised tofinditwaswetand muddy.
  1. Youneedtorefer tosourceAandsourceBfor thisquestion:

Thethingstoseeanddoat GlastonburyFestival andGreenwichFairaredifferent.

Usedetailsfrombothsourcestowriteasummaryofthedifferences. [8 marks]

  1. Younowneed toreferonlytosourceB, Dickens’descriptionofthefair itself(from line 19 to theend).

HowdoesDickensuselanguagetomakeyou, the reader,feel part of thefair? [12 marks]

  1. For thisquestion,youneed torefer tothewholeofsourceAtogetherwith thewhole of sourceB.

Comparehowthewritershaveconveyed theirdifferent viewsandexperiencesofthe festival andfair theydescribe.

Inyouranswer, youcould:

•comparetheirdifferentviewsandexperiences

•comparethemethodstheyuse toconveythoseviewsandexperiences

•support yourideaswithquotationsfrom bothtexts. [16 marks]

SectionB: Writing

Youareadvisedtospendabout 45minutesonthissection.

Writeinfull sentences.

Youareremindedoftheneed toplanyouranswer.

Youshouldleaveenough timetocheckyourworkat theend.

  1. ‘Festivalsandfairsshouldbebanned. Theyencouragebadbehaviourandare disruptive tolocal communities.’

Writealetter to yourlocal newspaperinwhichyouarguefororagainst this statement.

[40 marks: 24marksfor contentandorganisation16 marksfor technical accuracy)]