A Game of Polo with a Headless Goat

Question 1

‘the lads’

Answer 1

-informal language creates a more personal tone and fits with the humorous nature of the story

Question 2

‘Wacky Races’

Answer 2

The reference to a kids television programme put emphasis on how ridiculous and different it is

Question 3

‘But will you try and get to the front?’

Answer 3

-Direct speech to make it seems as if reader is there - more engaging
-She’s there for a purpose/she’s brave

Question 4

‘We waited for eternity’

Answer 4

-use of hyperbolic language elongates time, creating a sense of anticipation

Question 5

‘I was beginning to lose faith in it’s happening, but the lads remained confident’

Answer 5

-Contrast of behaviour between her and the lads
-Makes more realistic

Question 6

‘vehicles roaring’

Answer 6

-Onomatopoeia creates a vivid picture of the scene

Question 7

‘Yaqoob revved up the engine’

Answer 7

-prominent ‘v’ sound makes the scene more vivid as it creates sound

Question 8

‘horn tooting, bells ringing, and the special rattles’

Answer 8

-triplet emphasises the excitement and the descriptions of sounds creates vivid imagery

Question 9

‘(like maracas, a metal container filled with dried beans)’

Answer 9

-brackets change the tone informing the reader, while the comparison to something familiar allows the reader to understand

Question 10

‘perched on lorries’

Answer 10

-parallel to the ‘jockeys perched’, demonstrating the similarity of the donkey rance and the race of the crowds to get to the event

Question 11

‘This was Formula One without rules’

Answer 11

-comparison to a familiar event allows the reader to create a better understanding of her experience, it also emphasises the speed and danger of the event

Question 12

‘perfect place’

Answer 12

-Plosive - excited that she’ll get a good shot of the racing

Question 13

‘This was Formula One without rules … and common sense’

Answer 13

-Triadic metaphor

Question 14

‘It was survival of the fittest’

Answer 14

-reference to Charles Darwin, which the reader will understand, this exaggeration brings across a comical tone

Question 15

‘Our young driver … an effective horn’

Answer 15

-The chaotic structure represents the chaotic driving

Question 16

’- for it was a main road -‘

Answer 16

-use of parenthesis changes the tone of the passage by adding more information, while the use of longer sentences helps to create the sense that there is a lot going on at once

Question 17

‘The race was over’

Answer 17

-Short sentence - draws attention to race.
-short dramatic nature of this sentence highlights how suddenly the race was over, providing contrasting atmospheres, creating tension and drama

Question 18

‘Voices were raised, fists were out and tempers rising’

Answer 18

The use of the triplet adds chaos to this manic event

Question 19

‘swallowed up by the crowd’

Answer 19

-metaphor put emphasis on the huge size of the crowd, while the use of personification gives a slight sense of danger as the crowd moves as a whole in an almost animalistic manner