Part 1

Question 1

Explorer’s Daughter

Answer 1

Themes: Ethics of hunting, respect for natural world, hardships in the Artic
- The writer shows sympathy towards the narwhal by describing nature
- Herbert presents hunting as a necessity
- The writer experiences conflict between her head and her heart

Question 2

Explorers or boys messing about?

Answer 2

Theme: Social responsibility, consequences of reckless behaviour
- The men are portrayed as naughty children (the writer elicits humor but also anger. “bottoms kicked”)
- The dramatic description of the disaster shocks the reader
- Irony is used to mock the men
- The reader is informed about the cost of the rescue. (This makes the reader feel indignant since the cost feels personal)
- Facts are used to show objectiveness

Question 3

Between a rock and a hard place

Answer 3

Themes: Danger, fear
- Ralston uses expert language to show the reader he is qualified
- The writer uses long sentences to build tension
- The writer slows down to highlight the following event (“time dilates”)

Question 4

Young and dyslexic

Answer 4

Themes: Ignorance, struggle, dyslexia
- Zephaniah’s use of colloquial language allows him to get close to the reader
- Pronouns / Quotes are used to create a connection with the reader
- The writer flicks between tenses. (Past to connect with the reader, present to make it relevant)
- Short/Accessible paragraph for dyslexic people

Question 5

H is for Hawk

Answer 5

• The writer creates tension with short sentences. Mimics her (fast) heart rate
• Creates a sense of danger and beauty towards the first hawk with metaphors. “Fallen angel”. “Angel” = purity / divine grace. “Fallen” = descent from grace. => “Fallen angel” = awe-inspiring but dangerous. Also, Father died so connotations of grief and loss.
• Longer sentences with more complex syntax are used to convey the author’s emotional response to seeing the hawk for the first time. Convey both surprise and wonder

Question 6

Chinese Cinderella

Answer 6

Themes: Family, rejection
- The writer shows a lack of confidence with her father
- The writer presents her relationship with her father as cold and distant (chauffeur)
- Adeline’s reluctance to leave school evokes sympathy

Question 7

From Beyond the Sky and Earth: A Journey into Bhutan

Answer 7

Themes: Travel, nature
- Zeppa focuses on mundane items to show indifference (“instant coffee”)
- The writer shows determination to get to Bhutan (“took five different flights”)
- Long complex sentences slow down the pace to reflect her boredom and unimpressed view on the reader.
- Zeppa’s journey takes her through a personal transformation, as she grows more and more fascinated with Bhutan.

Question 8

A game of polo with a headless goat

Answer 8

Themes: Danger, culture difference
- The race is compared to “Wacky races”. (chaotic and silly)
- Levine creates a sense of place by describing the actions of the locals / description of traffic
- Imagery is used to portray the race as potentially dangerous.

Question 9

Danger of a single story

Answer 9

• Sets credentials to gain trust of the reader
• Attributes negative feeling to misleading information
• Thinks education is essential
• Use annecdotes to make it relevant and make the audience question itself
• Shares her story altruisticly

Question 10

Passage to Africa

Answer 10

• Alagiah thinks that journalism is horrible
• The writer believes the smile has impacted him deeply (repetition of “smile”)
• Use short sentences for impact
• Feels guilt for how he acted. “craving for a drug”