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Pita panicked. There was nothing he could do. He was trapped. Trapped with hundreds of others.
The monster had come and was slowly, surely dragging them from the deep. He swam through
the excited crowd to try the bottom. Then he tried the top again. The great monster had encircled
them completely. There were millions of holes in its great hands, but none large enough. If only
they were a little larger. Pita tried to push himself through one of the holes again. He squeezed
and squeezed. Great tails lashed around him. Not only he but against his eyes. If only his head
could get through. He pushed again, hard, and the pain quivered through his body.

There was nothing he could do. He heard the breakers roaring above now. That meant they were
nearing the shore. Pita whipped his tail in fury. The monster was gradually closing its hands.
There were cries now above the surface. Below, the monster grated on sand. The shore! They
had reached the shore! Frantically, Pita flung himself against one of the tiny holes. He gave a cry
as the scales tore from his back - then a cry of joy. He was free! Free!

He lunged forward below the surface. Down he sped, rejoicing in his tinyness. If he was only a
little bigger, he would have been dying on the shore now. The fateful shore! There had been
those who had actually come back from that world. This was one of the great mysteries. But
some said they had been there, and had talked of that awesome place.

There was no more blood now. Down he swam. Deep, deep until the sound of the breakers was
only a bitter memory, and the sea was not sandy but blue and clear, and until, far, far away in the
distance, green with fern and the tender moss, he saw the rocks of home.


a) To whom or what does 'he' refer? G


u

 

a) 'He' refers to the fish or Pita


b) What effect is the author trying to create by using short sentences in the passage? G

u

 

b) The writer is trying to create suspense/tension/fast-moving action.


c) State ONE word which could describe Pita's feelings when he realised, There were millions of
holes ... but none large enough. G


c) Alarm/anxiety/frustration/desperation.


d) Why does the author repeat 'squeezed' in line 6? G


u

 

d) The word is repeated to show the tremendous effort the fish is making in its bid to escape.


e) Who or what does the 'monster' refer to? G


u

 

e) The 'monster' is the net


f) Why does the writer use 'fateful' to describe the shore? G

u

 

f) The word is used because that is where the fate of the fish was decided/where death took
place.


g) Why does Pita utter a cry of joy? G

u

 

g) Pita utters a cry of joy as he was now free.


h) Why was 'the sound of the breakers' a bitter memory?
G


u

 

h) It was the sound of the place where he would have died.

You can find the original question here.

£




 
 



 
 
 

 






  
 
My child-eyes cried for chocolate treats
And sticky sweets
'Twill rot yu' teet'!

Tinkly silver wrapper hides

5 Germs
Worms
Decay
How can a child-eye see?

This child-heart cried for mid-teen love

10 A blow, a shove
Study yuh' book!
Leather jacket
Football boots
Are not the most sought-after truths
15 How can a child-heart know?
So watch the young-girl-heart take wing!
Watch her groove
And watch her swing
 She's old enough
20 She's strong and tough
She'll see beneath the silver wrapper
Beneath the flashy football boots
She'll find the great sought-after truth
That child-eye tears are not as sad
25 And child-heart pain is not as bad
As grown-up tears and grown-up pain
Oh Christ, what do we have to gain
From growing up
For throwing up
30 Our childlike ways
For dim
Disastrous
Grown-up days.

ÿ
ÿ


(a)(i)Who is likely to have said the following lines:

'Twill rot yu' teet'! (line 3) and Study yu' book! (line 11) (ii)What effect is the writer trying to
create by using them? G

u

 

(a) The words would have been spoken by an adult, possibly a parent.


(b) In what ways is the content of the first two stanzas (lines 1 - 15) similar?
G


u

 

(b) The content of the first two stanzas is similar in that they show the views/concerns of the
adult with regard to the child. Also, both stanzas offer guidance from the adult.


(c) Why does the poet refer to leather jacket (line 12) and ;football boots (line 13)? G


u

 

(c) The poet refers to leather jackets and football boots, items which we associate with the male,
to indicate that these attract teenage girls.


(d) Comment on the poet's choice of the following words:

(i)Tinkly G



(ii)dim (line 31) G

u

 

d)(i) Tinkly is an example of the figurative device, ono- matopoeia; hence it appeals to the sense
of hearing. Children will be attracted to the sound of the paper.
(ii) Through the use of dim, the poet maintains the contrast between childhood and adulthood,
innocence and experience.


(e) What do the following lines,

She'll see beneath the silver wrapper

Beneath the flashy football boots ... (lines 21 - 22) tell us about the young girl?
G


u

 

(e) The lines tell us that the young girl realises later on in life that things are not what they seem
to be. She would arrive at this position because of her maturity and experience.


(f)What is suggested by the poet in the last seven lines (lines 27 - 33) of the poem? G


u

 

(f) The poet is saying that it is difficult for anyone to see why adulthood, with all its problems,
should be preferred to childhood.

—


-





 




 
 

 





Quiet and the night came early and Leonard sat there feeling a flicker of restlessness. He
needed his books, a radio perhaps, he wasn't sure why he had been delaying going into Kingston
to fetch his things. The pattern he had established of working on the house had completely
absorbed him, but, he thought, stretching lazily, it was time to make the trip into town. He would
go there the next day, get it over with. If he went like that, mid-week, there would be nobody
there. He could simply pick up his two boxes and leave the key with the next-door neighbour. He
would not have to face his parents and their angry comments, the small guilt-making jabs, 'after
all they had done', giving up his job, 'such good prospects', to hide himself away 'in the depths of
beyond', as they put it. And, of course, he could not explain. He could not say that the prospect
of working to buy things did not interest him, of drifting into a marriage, much like theirs, did
not interest him. It was all sound, solid, and it frightened him, the years stretching ahead, known
even before they had happened. He wanted to make something very simple, very different, for
himself. He could not explain because they were so proud of having lived out Grandma Miriam's
dream, to be educated, professionals, a far remove from Grandpa Sam, travelling in on the
country bus with his country talk and his bag of yams.
a) Why was Leonard feeling a flicker of restlessness (line 2)? G£


b) What does the phrase get it over with (line 12) tell us about Leonard's reaction to the idea of
the trip into town? G£


c) How did Leonard decide to avoid his parents? G£


d) How did Leonard's parents feel about his chosen lifestyle? G£


e) What was Grandma Miriam's ambition for her children? Gc


f) What does the last sentence suggest about Grandma Miriam's' reaction to the lifestyle of
Grandpa Sam? G£


 

cc


You can find the origninal question here






 
 



 

 

 







The hawk slipped out of the pine, and rose in the sunlit air:
Steady and still he poised: his shadow slept on the grass:
And the bird's song sickened and sank: she cowered with furtive stare,
Dumb, till the quivering dimness should flicker and shift and pass.
Suddenly down he dropped: she heard the hiss of his wing,
Fled with a scream of terror: oh, would she had dared to rest.
For the hawk at eve was full, and there was no bird to sing,
And over the heather drifted the down from a bleeding breast.

ÿ
!" 

(a) Briefly state what happens in the poem. G£


(b) What does the following tell you about the bird? she cowered with furtive stare... G£


(c) Explain what is meant by ;the quivering dimness.
G£


(d) Comment on the poet's use of each of the following:

(i) slipped
(ii) drifted G

(e) Name one sense to which this poem appeals and quote a word or phrase in support of your
choice. G£


(f) Identify a figure of speech and comment on its effectiveness. G£