Insert
The source that follows is:
- Source A: 20th-century prose fiction
- Youth by Joseph Conrad
An extract from a work first published in 1902.
This extract is from Joseph Conrad's Youth. A young mariner recalls a blazing, shattered ship, the crew’s stubborn labour among wreckage, and a steamer’s offer of help, capturing the peril, grit, and heady thrill of seafaring tested by sudden disaster.
Source A
1 “Yes; that was the first thing we did--trim the yards of that wreck! No one was killed, or even disabled, but everyone was more or less hurt. You should have seen them! Some were in rags, with black faces, like coal-heavers, like sweeps, and had bullet heads that seemed closely cropped, but were in fact singed to the skin. Others, of the watch below, awakened by being shot out
6 from their collapsing bunks, shivered incessantly, and kept on groaning even as we went about our work. But they all worked. That crew of Liverpool hard cases had in them the right stuff. It’s my experience they always have. It is the sea that gives it--the vastness, the loneliness surrounding their dark stolid souls. Ah! Well! we stumbled, we crept, we fell, we barked our shins on
11 the wreckage, we hauled. The masts stood, but we did not know how much they might be charred down below. It was nearly calm, but a long swell ran from the west and made her roll. They might go at any moment. We looked at them with apprehension. One could not foresee which way they would fall.
16 “Then we retreated aft and looked about us. The deck was a tangle of planks on edge, of planks on end, of splinters, of ruined woodwork. The masts rose from that chaos like big trees above a matted undergrowth. The interstices of that mass of wreckage were full of something whitish, sluggish, stirring--of something that was like a greasy fog. The smoke of the invisible fire was
21 coming up again, was trailing, like a poisonous thick mist in some valley choked with dead wood. Already lazy wisps were beginning to curl upwards amongst the mass of splinters. Here and there a piece of timber, stuck upright, resembled a post. Half of a fife-rail had been shot through the foresail, and the sky made a patch of glorious blue in the ignobly soiled
26 canvas. A portion of several boards holding together had fallen across the rail, and one end protruded overboard, like a gangway leading upon nothing, like a gangway leading over the deep sea, leading to death--as if inviting us to walk the plank at once and be done with our ridiculous troubles. And still the air, the sky--a ghost, something invisible was hailing the ship.
31 “Someone had the sense to look over, and there was the helmsman, who had impulsively jumped overboard, anxious to come back. He yelled and swam lustily like a merman, keeping up with the ship. We threw him a rope, and presently he stood amongst us streaming with water and very crestfallen. The captain had
36 surrendered the wheel, and apart, elbow on rail and chin in hand, gazed at the sea wistfully. We asked ourselves, What next? I thought, Now, this is something like. This is great. I wonder what will happen. O youth! “Suddenly Mahon sighted a steamer far astern. Captain Beard said, ‘We may do
41 something with her yet.’ We hoisted two flags, which said in the international language of the sea, ‘On fire. Want immediate assistance.’ The steamer grew bigger rapidly, and by-and-by spoke with two flags on her foremast, ‘I am coming to your assistance.’
46 “In half an hour she was abreast, to windward, within hail, and rolling slightly, with her engines stopped. We lost our composure, and yelled all together with excitement, ‘We’ve been blown up.’ A man in a white helmet, on the bridge, cried, ‘Yes! All right! all right!’ and he nodded his head, and smiled, and made soothing motions with his hand as though at a lot of
51 frightened children. One of the boats dropped in the water, and walked towards us upon the sea with her long oars. Four Calashes pulled a swinging stroke. This was my first sight of Malay seamen. I’ve known them since, but what struck me then was their unconcern: they came alongside, and even the bowman standing up and holding to our main-chains with the boat-hook did not deign to
56 lift his head for a glance. I thought people who had been blown up deserved more attention. “A little man, dry like a chip and agile like a monkey, clambered up. It was the mate of the steamer. He gave one look, and cried, ‘O boys--you had better
61 quit.’ “We were silent. He talked apart with the captain for a time,--seemed to argue with him. Then they went away together to the steamer.
66 “When our skipper came back we learned that the steamer was the Sommerville, Captain Nash, from West Australia to Singapore via Batavia with mails, and that the agreement was she should tow us to Anjer or Batavia, if possible, where we could extinguish the fire by scuttling, and then proceed on our voyage--to Bankok! The old man seemed excited. ‘We will do it yet,’ he said to
71 Mahon, fiercely. He shook his fist at the sky. Nobody else said a word.”
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 was the first thing the narrator says the crew did?
- trim the yards of that wreck
- lower the boats to the water
- set the sails for more speed
[1 mark]
1.2 What does the narrator say about injuries among the crew?
- no one was killed or disabled, but everyone was more or less hurt
- several were killed, and many more were seriously injured
- many were disabled, though a few escaped without any hurt
[1 mark]
1.3 How does the narrator describe some of the crew’s faces?
- black faces, like coal-heavers, like sweeps
- clean faces, like officers, like gentlemen
- red faces, like drinkers, like revellers
[1 mark]
1.4 According to the narrator, how were others of the watch below awakened?
- by being shot out
- by being shaken awake
- by the bell being rung
[1 mark]
Question 2
Look in detail at this extract, from lines 1 to 15 of the source:
1 “Yes; that was the first thing we did--trim the yards of that wreck! No one was killed, or even disabled, but everyone was more or less hurt. You should have seen them! Some were in rags, with black faces, like coal-heavers, like sweeps, and had bullet heads that seemed closely cropped, but were in fact singed to the skin. Others, of the watch below, awakened by being shot out
6 from their collapsing bunks, shivered incessantly, and kept on groaning even as we went about our work. But they all worked. That crew of Liverpool hard cases had in them the right stuff. It’s my experience they always have. It is the sea that gives it--the vastness, the loneliness surrounding their dark stolid souls. Ah! Well! we stumbled, we crept, we fell, we barked our shins on
11 the wreckage, we hauled. The masts stood, but we did not know how much they might be charred down below. It was nearly calm, but a long swell ran from the west and made her roll. They might go at any moment. We looked at them with apprehension. One could not foresee which way they would fall.
How does the writer use language here to show the crew’s suffering and the danger on board? 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 hope?
You could write about:
- how hope increases by the end of 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 16 to the end.
In this part of the source, it is strange when the narrator says the disaster is "great". The writer suggests his youth makes him see the terrifying event as an exciting adventure.
To what extent do you agree and/or disagree with this statement?
In your response, you could:
- consider your impressions of the narrator and his reaction to the disaster
- comment on the methods the writer uses to present his youthful perspective
- support your response with references to the text.
[20 marks]
Question 5
Your English class has been set a creative writing task inspired by the city's past and present.
Choose one of the options below for your entry.
-
Option A: Describe a Victorian street market from your imagination. You may choose to use the picture provided for ideas:
-
Option B: Write the opening of a story about arriving in a big city for the first time.
(24 marks for content and organisation, 16 marks for technical accuracy)
[40 marks]