Reading Comprehension

From a short story about an allotment: Every Saturday Mr Okafor arrived at the allotment before the gates were unlocked, and every Saturday he waited on the bench outside with a flask of sweet tea balanced on his knee. This week the bench was empty. By ten o'clock Ruth had watered his runner beans as well as her own, telling herself it was only because the soil was dry. At eleven she found herself standing at the gate, looking up the road towards the bus stop, her hand shading her eyes.

According to the extract, what did Mr Okafor usually do before the allotment gates were unlocked?

• AHe watered Ruth's runner beans as well as his own beans
• BHe stood at the gate looking up the road to the bus stop
• CHe waited on the bench outside with his flask of tea✓
• DHe walked up the road to meet Ruth from the bus stop

Answer: The first sentence states that 'every Saturday he waited on the bench outside with a flask of sweet tea'. It is Ruth, not Mr Okafor, who waters both plots and later stands at the gate looking towards the bus stop, so those details belong to the wrong character.

From a short story about an allotment: Every Saturday Mr Okafor arrived at the allotment before the gates were unlocked, and every Saturday he waited on the bench outside with a flask of sweet tea balanced on his knee. This week the bench was empty. By ten o'clock Ruth had watered his runner beans as well as her own, telling herself it was only because the soil was dry. At eleven she found herself standing at the gate, looking up the road towards the bus stop, her hand shading her eyes.

What can you infer about Ruth's feelings from the last two sentences of the extract?

• AShe is annoyed that she has been left to water his runner beans for him
• BShe is worried about Mr Okafor although she will not admit it to herself✓
• CShe is relieved to have the allotment to herself for the whole morning
• DShe is waiting for a bus that will take her home from the allotment early

Answer: Ruth 'telling herself' the watering was only because the soil was dry shows she is hiding her real motive from herself, and standing at the gate shading her eyes shows she is anxiously watching for him. Nothing suggests annoyance: she waters his beans willingly, and her watching the road is for him, not for a bus home.

A student writes: 'The writer says the street was silent except for the dripping gutters, which suggests that everyone has left.' Which reading skill is the student using?

• ARetrieval: copying information stated in the text
• BInference: drawing a conclusion from textual clues✓
• CSummary: retelling the main events in the right order
• DEvaluation: judging how well the writer succeeds

Answer: The text never says everyone has left; the student works it out from the clue of the silence and gutters, which is inference. Retrieval would only repeat what is stated directly.

From a letter written in 1853 by Samuel Pryce, an emigrant sailing to Australia. (The writer and the letter are invented.) We are now in our ninth week at sea, and I confess I had not imagined the ocean could be so tiresome. The ship's biscuit is hard enough to break a tooth, and the water, which was sweet when we left Plymouth, now tastes of the barrel. Yet I would not have you think me downcast. The children of the steerage have made a school of the deck, and every evening a Welsh carpenter leads us in hymns until the very sailors stop to listen.

According to Samuel Pryce, what has happened to the drinking water since the ship left Plymouth?

• AIt has run out and is shared with the sailors
• BIt has turned too salty for the children to drink
• CIt now tastes of the barrel that it is stored in✓
• DIt is boiled each evening before the hymns

Answer: Pryce writes that the water 'was sweet when we left Plymouth' but 'now tastes of the barrel'. He mentions the sailors and the hymns, but never says the water has run out, turned salty or is boiled.

From a letter written in 1853 by Samuel Pryce, an emigrant sailing to Australia. (The writer and the letter are invented.) We are now in our ninth week at sea, and I confess I had not imagined the ocean could be so tiresome. The ship's biscuit is hard enough to break a tooth, and the water, which was sweet when we left Plymouth, now tastes of the barrel. Yet I would not have you think me downcast. The children of the steerage have made a school of the deck, and every evening a Welsh carpenter leads us in hymns until the very sailors stop to listen.

What impression does Samuel Pryce want to give the reader of his letter about his state of mind?

• AHe regrets emigrating and is planning to sail home from Australia
• BHe is frightened of the sailors and keeps away from the open deck
• CHe is ill from the poor food and is close to giving up all hope
• DHe is finding the voyage dull but is determined to stay cheerful✓

Answer: He admits the ocean is 'tiresome' but then says 'I would not have you think me downcast' and turns to cheerful details such as the deck school and the hymns. The complaint about the biscuit is about discomfort, not illness, and the turn with 'Yet' directly rules out despair.

From a twenty-first-century magazine article about swifts: Swifts spend almost their entire lives in the air. They eat, drink and even sleep on the wing, landing only to nest. Each May they return to Britain from Africa, often to the very same gap under the very same roof. That loyalty is now their problem. When old buildings are renovated, those gaps are sealed, and a bird that has flown thousands of miles arrives to find that its home has vanished.

Which statement about swifts is directly supported by the extract?

• AThey spend the winter months nesting in Africa
• BThey often return to the same gap each May✓
• CThey land each night to sleep under house roofs
• DThey have stopped coming to Britain each May

Answer: The article says that each May they return 'often to the very same gap under the very same roof'. It says they sleep 'on the wing' and land 'only to nest', so landing to sleep under roofs contradicts the text, and Africa is where they come from, not where they are said to nest.

From a twenty-first-century magazine article about swifts: Swifts spend almost their entire lives in the air. They eat, drink and even sleep on the wing, landing only to nest. Each May they return to Britain from Africa, often to the very same gap under the very same roof. That loyalty is now their problem. When old buildings are renovated, those gaps are sealed, and a bird that has flown thousands of miles arrives to find that its home has vanished.

Why does the writer call the swifts' loyalty to one nest site 'their problem'?

• ABecause swifts fight other birds every spring for the same few gaps under the roofs
• BBecause sealed gaps in renovated buildings leave birds nowhere to nest✓
• CBecause flying back to one place each year makes the journey from Africa much longer
• DBecause homeowners dislike the noise the birds make in the gaps under their roofs

Answer: The next sentence explains the problem: when buildings are renovated 'those gaps are sealed', so a returning bird 'arrives to find that its home has vanished'. The extract says nothing about fighting, a longer journey or complaints from homeowners.

From a short story about a job interview: The receptionist said Mr Hale would be 'just a few minutes'. That was forty minutes ago. Dev had read the company's mission statement on the wall three times, and could now recite it without looking. He straightened his tie, then loosened it again, then checked his phone for the fifth time, although nobody had any reason to call him. When the door finally opened, he stood up so quickly that his folder slid off his knee and fanned his certificates across the carpet.

How long has Dev been waiting when the extract begins to describe him?

• AAbout forty minutes✓
• BJust a few minutes
• CAlmost five minutes
• DWell over two hours

Answer: 'That was forty minutes ago' tells us how long has passed since the receptionist spoke. 'Just a few minutes' is what the receptionist promised, not how long Dev has actually waited.

From a short story about a job interview: The receptionist said Mr Hale would be 'just a few minutes'. That was forty minutes ago. Dev had read the company's mission statement on the wall three times, and could now recite it without looking. He straightened his tie, then loosened it again, then checked his phone for the fifth time, although nobody had any reason to call him. When the door finally opened, he stood up so quickly that his folder slid off his knee and fanned his certificates across the carpet.

What do Dev's actions with his tie and his phone suggest about him?

• AHe is expecting an urgent call from an employer
• BHe is nervous and cannot keep still while he waits✓
• CHe is bored and has stopped caring about the interview
• DHe is too hot because the room has no window

Answer: Fiddling with his tie and repeatedly checking a phone when 'nobody had any reason to call him' are restless, anxious habits, confirmed when he leaps up so fast his folder falls. The text rules out an expected call, and his eager leap up shows he still cares about the interview.

Which of these sentences from a travel article is an opinion rather than a fact?

• AThe museum opens at ten o'clock daily
• BThe café serves the best cake in Yorkshire✓
• CThe museum was built in 1884 as a corn exchange
• DEntry to the museum costs £8 per adult

Answer: 'The best cake' is a personal judgement that cannot be proved. Opening times, a building date and a price can all be checked, so they are facts.

From a twenty-first-century restaurant review: The Lantern has had a makeover, and not before time. Gone are the sticky carpets and the jukebox that only played 1987; in their place are scrubbed oak tables and a chalkboard menu that changes daily. The food is a revelation. My lamb was tender enough to cut with a spoon, though the chips beside it were pale and limp. Service was friendly but slow: we waited half an hour for dessert, by which time the table next to us had given up and gone home.

Which of these does the reviewer criticise?

• AThe chalkboard menu that changes every day
• BThe scrubbed oak tables in the new dining room
• CThe pale and limp chips served with the lamb✓
• DThe friendliness of the staff who served them

Answer: The reviewer praises the lamb 'though the chips beside it were pale and limp', which is a criticism. The menu and tables are presented as improvements, and the service is called 'friendly'; only its slowness is criticised.

A football club's own website describes a 3–0 defeat as 'a spirited display against tough opponents on a difficult pitch'. What does this description show?

• AThe report is objective and fully balanced
• BThe report is biased in favour of the club✓
• CThe report summarises the match statistics
• DThe report is ironic and mocks the club

Answer: The words 'spirited', 'tough' and 'difficult' put a heavy defeat in the most favourable light for the club's own fans, which is bias. A balanced report would mention the 3–0 scoreline plainly, and nothing suggests the writer is mocking the club.

From a twenty-first-century restaurant review: The Lantern has had a makeover, and not before time. Gone are the sticky carpets and the jukebox that only played 1987; in their place are scrubbed oak tables and a chalkboard menu that changes daily. The food is a revelation. My lamb was tender enough to cut with a spoon, though the chips beside it were pale and limp. Service was friendly but slow: we waited half an hour for dessert, by which time the table next to us had given up and gone home.

What is the reviewer's overall view of The Lantern?

• ANegative because the makeover has spoiled the character of the old pub
• BPositive about the food and new look but critical of the slow service✓
• CPositive about the service but disappointed by the main course served
• DMixed because the food was cold and the old jukebox has been removed

Answer: The reviewer calls the food 'a revelation' and welcomes the makeover ('not before time'), but complains of a half-hour wait for dessert. The removal of the sticky carpets and jukebox is welcomed, not mourned, and the lamb is praised.

From a travel account written in 1846 by Margaret Elton, describing her first railway journey. (The writer is invented.) I had been warned that the speed would make me faint, and I own that for the first mile I held my mother's arm very tightly. But by the time we had passed the second village I had quite forgotten my fears. The hedges flew by like green ribbons, the cows lifted their heads in astonishment, and a whole town, steeple and all, was gone before I could count its chimneys. I can only compare it to flying, though I have never flown.

What does Margaret Elton say she had been warned about before the journey?

• AThat the cows by the line would be frightened by it
• BThat the speed of the train would make her faint✓
• CThat her mother would be too nervous to travel
• DThat the town would pass before she could see it

Answer: The first sentence states 'I had been warned that the speed would make me faint'. The astonished cows and the town that vanished are things she describes during the journey, not warnings she received beforehand.

From a travel account written in 1846 by Margaret Elton, describing her first railway journey. (The writer is invented.) I had been warned that the speed would make me faint, and I own that for the first mile I held my mother's arm very tightly. But by the time we had passed the second village I had quite forgotten my fears. The hedges flew by like green ribbons, the cows lifted their heads in astonishment, and a whole town, steeple and all, was gone before I could count its chimneys. I can only compare it to flying, though I have never flown.

How do Margaret Elton's feelings change during the journey?

• AShe moves from excitement at the start to boredom and tiredness
• BShe moves from calmness at the start to fear for her mother
• CShe moves from curiosity at the start to anger at the noise
• DShe moves from nervousness at the start to delight and wonder✓

Answer: At first she 'held my mother's arm very tightly', showing nerves, but 'But by the time we had passed the second village I had quite forgotten my fears', and the joyful images and comparison to flying show wonder. She was not calm at the start, and she never mentions noise.

From a speech given at a community awards evening: Five years ago, you could not have paddled in this river without a tetanus jab. Shopping trolleys rusted in the shallows. The council called it 'beyond saving'. Then a group of twelve volunteers, most of them retired, started turning up every Sunday with gloves and bin bags. They have since pulled out four tonnes of rubbish. Last summer, for the first time in living memory, otters were filmed under the old mill bridge. So when someone tells you that one small group cannot change anything, point them here.

According to the speaker, what did the council once say about the river?

• AThat it needed more volunteers
• BThat it was beyond saving✓
• CThat otters had come back to it
• DThat it was safe for paddling

Answer: The speaker quotes the council directly: 'The council called it ‘beyond saving’'. The otters were filmed later, after the clean-up, and the speech says that paddling used to be unsafe.

From a speech given at a community awards evening: Five years ago, you could not have paddled in this river without a tetanus jab. Shopping trolleys rusted in the shallows. The council called it 'beyond saving'. Then a group of twelve volunteers, most of them retired, started turning up every Sunday with gloves and bin bags. They have since pulled out four tonnes of rubbish. Last summer, for the first time in living memory, otters were filmed under the old mill bridge. So when someone tells you that one small group cannot change anything, point them here.

What is the main point the speaker wants the audience to take from the volunteers' story?

• AA small group of determined people can bring about real change✓
• BThe council should pay for the river clean-up instead of volunteers
• CRetired people have far more free time than younger volunteers
• DOtters are the clearest sign that a river is free of pollution

Answer: The final sentence states the point: when someone says 'one small group cannot change anything, point them here'. The details about the volunteers' age and the otters support that message; they are not the message itself.

From a twenty-first-century blog post: I failed my first driving test at the age of forty-one, in front of a seventeen-year-old who passed his in the same car the same morning. He was very kind about it. He even said 'unlucky', which somehow made it worse. My instructor, Pat, has the patience of a saint and the reflexes of a cat; she has used her dual-control brake on me more times than either of us will admit. I have my second test on Thursday. I have not told my mother.

Which of these statements is true according to the blog post?

• AThe writer passed the test at the second attempt
• BThe writer's mother is coming to watch the second test
• CThe writer failed the test on the morning a teenager passed✓
• DThe writer's instructor failed her own first test at forty-one

Answer: The writer failed 'in front of a seventeen-year-old who passed his in the same car the same morning'. The second test is still to come on Thursday, and the writer has 'not told' their mother about it, so she is not coming to watch.

From a twenty-first-century blog post: I failed my first driving test at the age of forty-one, in front of a seventeen-year-old who passed his in the same car the same morning. He was very kind about it. He even said 'unlucky', which somehow made it worse. My instructor, Pat, has the patience of a saint and the reflexes of a cat; she has used her dual-control brake on me more times than either of us will admit. I have my second test on Thursday. I have not told my mother.

What does the writer suggest about the teenager saying 'unlucky'?

• AHe was mocking the writer on purpose for failing at forty-one
• BHis comment comforted the writer, who soon forgot about failing
• CHe thought the examiner had been unfair to the older driver
• DHis kindness made the writer feel even more ashamed of failing✓

Answer: The writer says the teenager 'was very kind about it' and that 'unlucky' 'somehow made it worse': sympathy from a much younger driver deepened the embarrassment. Calling him kind rules out deliberate mockery, and 'made it worse' rules out comfort.

From a short story set at a street market: By six o'clock Tomasz had already unloaded forty crates from the van, and his fingers were too cold to undo the knots in the tarpaulin. His father did it for him without a word. Around them the market was waking up: shutters rattling, a radio crackling into life, the fish man swearing at the gulls. Tomasz yawned so widely his jaw clicked. In three hours he would be sitting in a maths exam, and he had not opened his revision guide since Tuesday.

What has Tomasz done by six o'clock?

• AHe has finished revising for his maths exam
• BHe has unloaded forty crates from the van✓
• CHe has untied the knots in the tarpaulin
• DHe has helped the fish man chase the gulls

Answer: The first sentence states he 'had already unloaded forty crates from the van'. His fingers were too cold for the knots, so his father untied them, and he has not opened his revision guide since Tuesday.

A campaigner asks an audience, 'Do we really want our children breathing this air?' What is this technique and its usual purpose?

• AA direct question the speaker wants answered aloud by listeners
• BA rhetorical question that steers listeners towards a view✓
• CAn imperative sentence that commands listeners to take action
• DAn interrogative asking listeners for factual information

Answer: No answer is expected because the answer ('no') is obvious, so the question steers the audience towards agreeing. It is phrased as a question, not a command.

From a short story set at a street market: By six o'clock Tomasz had already unloaded forty crates from the van, and his fingers were too cold to undo the knots in the tarpaulin. His father did it for him without a word. Around them the market was waking up: shutters rattling, a radio crackling into life, the fish man swearing at the gulls. Tomasz yawned so widely his jaw clicked. In three hours he would be sitting in a maths exam, and he had not opened his revision guide since Tuesday.

What does the extract suggest about Tomasz's situation?

• AHe has been excluded from school and now works on the stall full time
• BHe prefers working at the market because he has always disliked maths
• CHis father expects him to miss the exam so that he can run the stall
• DHis work on the stall leaves little time or energy for school✓

Answer: He has worked since before six, is exhausted ('yawned so widely his jaw clicked') and has an exam in three hours that he has not revised for since Tuesday. The exam shows he is still at school, and nothing says he dislikes maths or that his father wants him to miss it.

From a twenty-first-century local newspaper article: The community fridge outside St Barnabas Hall looks like any other: white, slightly dented, humming quietly. But anyone can take food from it, and nobody has to explain why. Local shops and cafés fill it with surplus bread, fruit and sandwiches at the end of each day. Organiser Ana Ribeiro says it saves around 200 kilograms of food from the bin every week. 'Some people are struggling,' she says. 'Some just hate waste. The fridge doesn't ask which one you are.'

According to the article, who puts food into the community fridge?

• AFamilies who are struggling and want to share their shopping
• BLocal shops and cafés with surplus food at the end of a day✓
• CVolunteers who buy fresh food each morning from the market
• DThe church hall, which cooks hot meals for it every week

Answer: The article states that 'Local shops and cafés fill it with surplus bread, fruit and sandwiches at the end of each day'. Struggling families are mentioned as people who may take food, not give it, and the hall is only where the fridge stands.

An article arguing for a four-day school week says: 'Critics claim parents would struggle with childcare. Yet many schools could run clubs on the fifth day.' What is the writer doing?

• ATelling a personal anecdote to win sympathy
• BRaising and rebutting a counterargument✓
• CUsing a statistic to prove the main argument
• DSummarising the conclusion of the whole article

Answer: The writer states the critics' objection and then answers it with 'Yet…', which is how a counterargument is acknowledged and rebutted. No figures or personal story are given.

From a twenty-first-century local newspaper article: The community fridge outside St Barnabas Hall looks like any other: white, slightly dented, humming quietly. But anyone can take food from it, and nobody has to explain why. Local shops and cafés fill it with surplus bread, fruit and sandwiches at the end of each day. Organiser Ana Ribeiro says it saves around 200 kilograms of food from the bin every week. 'Some people are struggling,' she says. 'Some just hate waste. The fridge doesn't ask which one you are.'

What does Ana Ribeiro's comment 'The fridge doesn't ask which one you are' suggest?

• AAna Ribeiro would like users to sign in before they take any of the food
• BThe fridge is mainly intended for people who hate to see food wasted
• CMost of the people who use the fridge are struggling to afford food
• DPeople who use the fridge are not judged or asked about their reasons✓

Answer: The comment echoes the earlier point that 'nobody has to explain why': whether you are struggling or just hate waste, you are not asked. She names both groups equally, so neither 'mainly' reading is supported, and a sign-in would contradict her point.

From a letter written in 1880 by Jane Whitlock, a village schoolmistress, to her sister. (The writer is invented.) Attendance has been very poor this fortnight, for the potatoes are being lifted and every child over eight is wanted in the fields. Little Albert Crane came on Monday with his boots tied on with string, and fell asleep over his slate before ten o'clock. I had not the heart to wake him. The Inspector visits in March, and I fear he will find us sadly behind; but I cannot make the farmers value reading above potatoes, and I am not sure I blame the mothers.

According to the letter, why has attendance at the school been poor?

• AThe Inspector has closed the school until his visit in March
• BMany children have no boots and cannot walk to school
• CChildren over eight are needed in the fields for potatoes✓
• DThe farmers have forbidden their children to read

Answer: Jane Whitlock writes that 'the potatoes are being lifted and every child over eight is wanted in the fields'. The Inspector is still to visit, Albert's string-tied boots are one child's detail, and the farmers do not value reading but are not said to forbid it.

From a letter written in 1880 by Jane Whitlock, a village schoolmistress, to her sister. (The writer is invented.) Attendance has been very poor this fortnight, for the potatoes are being lifted and every child over eight is wanted in the fields. Little Albert Crane came on Monday with his boots tied on with string, and fell asleep over his slate before ten o'clock. I had not the heart to wake him. The Inspector visits in March, and I fear he will find us sadly behind; but I cannot make the farmers value reading above potatoes, and I am not sure I blame the mothers.

What does the comment 'I am not sure I blame the mothers' suggest about Jane Whitlock?

• AShe sees that poor families need their children's help✓
• BShe thinks the mothers are lazy for keeping their children at home
• CShe believes the mothers have complained about her to the Inspector
• DShe blames the mothers far more than the farmers for the absences

Answer: Details such as boots 'tied on with string' and children 'wanted in the fields' show the families' poverty; her hesitation to blame the mothers shows sympathy for their need. Calling them lazy, or blaming them most, reverses what she says.

From a short story: 'I'm fine,' his father said, as he always did. 'Don't you worry about me.' In the background Sam could hear the television, turned up far too loud, and something else: a tap left running. 'Have you eaten today, Dad?' A pause. 'I had something earlier. Toast, I think.' Sam looked at the calendar on the fridge, at the weekend circled in red, still eleven days away. 'I'll come up Saturday,' he said. 'This Saturday.'

What does the extract suggest about why Sam decides to visit 'This Saturday'?

• AHis father has asked him to come up sooner to fix the running tap
• BClues during the call make him worried his father is not coping alone✓
• CHe has forgotten that he had already planned a visit for that weekend
• DHe wants to watch a television programme with his father at the weekend

Answer: The loud television, the tap 'left running' and the uncertain 'Toast, I think' quietly suggest his father is struggling, despite 'I'm fine'. Sam has not forgotten the planned visit: he looks at it circled on the calendar and brings it forward. His father asks for nothing.

From a short story: 'I'm fine,' his father said, as he always did. 'Don't you worry about me.' In the background Sam could hear the television, turned up far too loud, and something else: a tap left running. 'Have you eaten today, Dad?' A pause. 'I had something earlier. Toast, I think.' Sam looked at the calendar on the fridge, at the weekend circled in red, still eleven days away. 'I'll come up Saturday,' he said. 'This Saturday.'

When had Sam originally planned to visit his father?

• AOn the circled weekend, eleven days away✓
• BOn the Saturday of that week, as his father had asked
• CEarlier that day, before his father made himself toast
• DThe following month, once his father was feeling better

Answer: Sam looks at 'the weekend circled in red, still eleven days away', which is the visit he originally planned. 'This Saturday' is his new decision, and his father never asks him to come.

From a twenty-first-century magazine article about a lighthouse: When the last keeper left Carrick Point lighthouse in 1991, he locked the door, posted the key to the lighthouse authority and caught the afternoon ferry. The light has been automatic ever since, switched on and off by a sensor that never sleeps and never complains. For almost two centuries before that, keepers worked in shifts of three, polishing the lens, winding the clockwork and writing up the weather every four hours. The logbooks survive. Most entries are about wind. A few are about loneliness.

According to the article, what did the keepers do every four hours?

• AThey wound up the sensor
• BThey caught the ferry home
• CThey posted their reports
• DThey wrote up the weather✓

Answer: The article lists the keepers' duties and says they wrote up 'the weather every four hours'. The sensor replaced the keepers in 1991, and the ferry and posted key relate to the last keeper leaving.

A fire station burns down because its own smoke alarms had been switched off. Which term best describes this situation?

• AForeshadowing
• BSituational irony✓
• CPathetic fallacy
• DHyperbole

Answer: Situational irony is when the outcome is the opposite of what we would expect: a fire station, of all places, should be protected from fire. Pathetic fallacy concerns weather or nature reflecting mood.

From a twenty-first-century magazine article about a lighthouse: When the last keeper left Carrick Point lighthouse in 1991, he locked the door, posted the key to the lighthouse authority and caught the afternoon ferry. The light has been automatic ever since, switched on and off by a sensor that never sleeps and never complains. For almost two centuries before that, keepers worked in shifts of three, polishing the lens, winding the clockwork and writing up the weather every four hours. The logbooks survive. Most entries are about wind. A few are about loneliness.

What do the final two sentences, 'Most entries are about wind. A few are about loneliness.', suggest?

• AKeepers were too busy recording weather to write about their feelings
• BThe logbooks are unreliable because the keepers exaggerated the wind
• CKeepers' lives were mostly routine work but could also be isolating✓
• DMost of the keepers left the job early because they felt so lonely

Answer: Most entries record routine weather, but 'a few' reveal personal feelings, hinting at how isolated the work could be. The fact that some entries are about loneliness contradicts the idea that keepers never wrote about feelings, and 'a few' does not suggest that most keepers left.

From a twenty-first-century letter of complaint: Dear Sir or Madam, On 3 March I ordered a 'luxury' garden bench from your website. It arrived on 29 March, three weeks later than promised, in a box that had clearly been opened. Two of the bolts were missing and one leg was cracked. I have phoned your helpline four times. On each occasion I was told someone would call me back within 24 hours. Nobody has. I would now like a full refund, including delivery, within fourteen days.

Which problem with the bench does the writer mention?

• AOne of its legs was cracked when it arrived✓
• BIt was delivered to the wrong house address
• CIt was a different colour from the picture
• DIt came without any assembly instructions

Answer: The writer states that 'Two of the bolts were missing and one leg was cracked'. The address, colour and instructions are never mentioned.

From a twenty-first-century letter of complaint: Dear Sir or Madam, On 3 March I ordered a 'luxury' garden bench from your website. It arrived on 29 March, three weeks later than promised, in a box that had clearly been opened. Two of the bolts were missing and one leg was cracked. I have phoned your helpline four times. On each occasion I was told someone would call me back within 24 hours. Nobody has. I would now like a full refund, including delivery, within fourteen days.

What can you infer about the writer from the short sentence 'Nobody has.'?

• AThey have decided to keep the bench and repair it themselves
• BThey have not yet tried to contact the company by telephone
• CThey expect the company to call them back within the next day
• DTheir patience has run out after a series of broken promises✓

Answer: Coming after four calls and repeated promises of a call-back, the blunt two-word sentence shows frustration, and the writer goes on to demand a full refund. The writer has phoned 'four times', and the demand for a refund rules out keeping and repairing the bench.

From a twenty-first-century travel blog: Everyone told us Edinburgh in November would be grey, and everyone was right. It rained on the castle, it rained on the Royal Mile, and it rained, with real enthusiasm, on the open-top bus we had foolishly booked in advance. And yet I would go back tomorrow. We ducked into a tiny café where the owner lent us towels, we found a second-hand bookshop with a sleeping cat in the window, and we discovered that whisky tastes better when your socks are wet.

Which statement best sums up the writer's experience of the trip?

• AThe rain caused problems but led to pleasures that made it worthwhile✓
• BThe trip was spoiled by rain, and the writer regrets booking it for November
• CThe trip was enjoyable because the forecast rain held off for most of the stay
• DThe writer enjoyed the open-top bus tour more than any of the shops or cafés

Answer: The writer admits it rained everywhere, then turns with 'And yet I would go back tomorrow' and lists pleasures the rain led to, such as the towels and the bookshop. 'I would go back' rules out regret, and the bus was 'foolishly booked' in the rain.