Insert
The source that follows is:
- Source A: 20th-century prose fiction
- The Country of the Blind by H. G. Wells
An extract from a work first published in 1904.
This extract is taken from a story by H. G. Wells where Wedderburn’s housekeeper finds him ensnared by a strange orchid in the hothouse. Her frantic struggle against its clinging tendrils highlights curiosity, danger, and the allure of the exotic.
Source A
1 At half-past four his cousin made the tea, according to their invariable custom. But Wedderburn did not come in for his tea. "He is worshipping that horrid orchid," she told herself, and waited ten minutes. "His watch must have stopped. I will go and call him."
6 She went straight to the hothouse, and, opening the door, called his name. There was no reply. She noticed that the air was very close, and loaded with an intense perfume. Then she saw something lying on the bricks between the hot-water pipes.
11 For a minute, perhaps, she stood motionless. He was lying, face upward, at the foot of the strange orchid. The tentacle- like aerial rootlets no longer swayed freely in the air, but were crowded
16 together, a tangle of grey ropes, and stretched tight, with their ends closely applied to his chin and neck and hands. She did not understand. Then she saw from under one of the exultant tentacles upon his cheek there trickled a little thread of blood.
21 With an inarticulate cry she ran towards him, and tried to pull him away from the leech-like suckers. She snapped two of these tentacles, and their sap dripped red.
26 Then the overpowering scent of the blossom began to make her head reel. How they clung to him! She tore at the tough ropes, and he and the white inflorescence swam about her. She felt she was fainting, knew she must not. She left him and hastily opened the nearest door, and, after she had panted for a moment in the fresh air, she had a brilliant inspiration. She caught up
31 a flower-pot and smashed in the windows at the end of the greenhouse. Then she re-entered. She tugged now with renewed strength at Wedderburn's motionless body, and brought the strange orchid crashing to the floor. It still clung with the grimmest tenacity to its victim. In a frenzy, she lugged it and him into the open air.
36 Then she thought of tearing through the sucker rootlets one by one, and in another minute she had released him and was dragging him away from the horror. He was white and bleeding from a dozen circular patches.
41 The odd-job man was coming up the garden, amazed at the smashing of glass, and saw her emerge, hauling the inanimate body with red-stained hands. For a moment he thought impossible things.
46 "Bring some water!" she cried, and her voice dispelled his fancies. When, with unnatural alacrity, he returned with the water, he found her weeping with excitement, and with Wedderburn's head upon her knee, wiping the blood from his face.
51 "What's the matter?" said Wedderburn, opening his eyes feebly, and closing them again at once. "Go and tell Annie to come out here to me, and then go for Dr. Haddon at once," she said to the odd-job man so soon as he brought the water; and added,
56 seeing he hesitated, "I will tell you all about it when you come back." Presently Wedderburn opened his eyes again, and, seeing that he was troubled by the puzzle of his position, she explained to him, "You fainted in the hothouse."
61 "And the orchid?" "I will see to that," she said.
66 Wedderburn had lost a good deal of blood, but beyond that he had suffered no very great injury. They gave him brandy mixed with some pink extract of meat, and carried him upstairs to bed. His housekeeper told her incredible story in fragments to Dr. Haddon. "Come to the orchid-house and see," she said.
71 The cold outer air was blowing in through the open door, and the sickly perfume was almost dispelled. Most of the torn aerial rootlets lay already withered amidst a number of dark stains upon the bricks. The stem of the inflorescence was broken by the fall of the plant, and the flowers were growing limp and brown at the edges of the petals. The doctor stooped towards
76 it, then saw that one of the aerial rootlets still stirred feebly, and hesitated. The next morning the strange orchid still lay there, black now and putrescent. The door banged intermittently in the morning breeze, and all the array of
81 Wedderburn's orchids was shrivelled and prostrate. But Wedderburn himself was bright and garrulous upstairs in the glory of his strange adventure.
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 At what time was the tea made?
- Half-past four
- Four o'clock
- Half-past five
[1 mark]
1.2 At what time did Wedderburn's cousin make the tea?
- Half past four
- Four o'clock
- Quarter to five
[1 mark]
1.3 How long did the cousin wait?
- Ten minutes
- Five minutes
- Fifteen minutes
[1 mark]
1.4 What does Wedderburn’s cousin believe explains Wedderburn’s failure to come for tea?
- That Wedderburn is preoccupied with the orchid and that Wedderburn’s watch has stopped.
- That Wedderburn has already eaten elsewhere and will skip tea.
- That Wedderburn has gone out to visit a neighbour and will be late.
[1 mark]
Question 2
Look in detail at this extract, from lines 6 to 10 of the source:
6 She went straight to the hothouse, and, opening the door, called his name. There was no reply. She noticed that the air was very close, and loaded with an intense perfume. Then she saw something lying on the bricks between the hot-water pipes.
How does the writer use language here to create tension and describe the hothouse and Wedderburn’s condition? 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 urgency?
You could write about:
- how urgency shifts throughout 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, where Wedderburn is recovering at the end, he seems happy rather than scared. The writer suggests that having a strange and exciting story to tell was more important to him than his own safety.
To what extent do you agree and/or disagree with this statement?
In your response, you could:
- consider your impressions of Wedderburn and his strange adventure
- comment on the methods the writer uses to portray his recovery
- support your response with references to the text.
[20 marks]
Question 5
A city's public transport network is creating a digital gallery for its travel app and is seeking short creative pieces from young writers.
Choose one of the options below for your entry.
-
Option A: Describe a charging hub for electric vehicles from your imagination. You may choose to use the picture provided for ideas:
-
Option B: Write the opening of a story about a helpful piece of technology that starts to malfunction.
(24 marks for content and organisation, 16 marks for technical accuracy)
[40 marks]