English: Reading & Inference

Read the extract: "Mara checked the time again and pulled her coat tighter. The bus was twenty minutes late, the rain had found the gap between her scarf and her collar, and the woman beside her had begun, for the third time, to explain how much better the buses used to be." What can be inferred about Mara's feelings?

• AShe is relieved that the bus is finally arriving
• BShe is enjoying a conversation with a stranger
• CShe is angry with the woman for being rude
• DShe is cold and increasingly impatient✓

Answer: Checking the time 'again', pulling her coat tighter and the rain getting in all point to discomfort and impatience, while 'for the third time' suggests the conversation is wearing on her rather than being enjoyed. Nothing says the bus has arrived or that the woman is rude.

Read the extract: "Mara checked the time again and pulled her coat tighter. The bus was twenty minutes late, the rain had found the gap between her scarf and her collar, and the woman beside her had begun, for the third time, to explain how much better the buses used to be." Which word or phrase most clearly shows the writer's attitude to the woman's remarks?

• Afor the third time✓
• Btwenty minutes late
• Cpulled her coat tighter
• Dhow much better the buses used to be

Answer: 'For the third time' is the writer's comment on the repetition, signalling that the remarks have become tiresome. The other phrases describe the weather, the delay and the content of what the woman said, not the writer's attitude to it.

Read the extract from a charity leaflet: "Every week, our volunteers deliver more than 2,000 hot meals to people who would otherwise go without. We don't do it for thanks. We do it because nobody in this town should have to choose between heating and eating." What is the main purpose of this extract?

• ATo instruct volunteers on how to deliver meals
• BTo describe the town's weather and housing
• CTo entertain the reader with a story about a meal
• DTo persuade the reader to support the charity's work✓

Answer: The leaflet uses emotive language ('go without', 'heating and eating') and a direct, first-person appeal to win the reader's support; it is persuasive writing. It gives no instructions, describes no housing and tells no story.

Read the extract from a charity leaflet: "Every week, our volunteers deliver more than 2,000 hot meals to people who would otherwise go without. We don't do it for thanks. We do it because nobody in this town should have to choose between heating and eating." The phrase 'choose between heating and eating' is an example of which technique?

• AA statistic used as evidence
• BRhyme used for emphasis✓
• CA simile comparing two things
• DA rhetorical question

Answer: 'Heating and eating' rhymes, making the phrase memorable and emphasising the stark choice. There is no 'like' or 'as' comparison, no number in that phrase, and no question is asked.

A writer describes a derelict factory as 'a cathedral of rust'. What effect does this metaphor create?

• AIt tells the reader that the factory is still in use
• BIt shows that the building is small and unimportant
• CIt gives the ruined building a sense of grandeur and reverence despite its decay✓
• DIt suggests the factory has since been converted into a place of worship for the local community

Answer: Calling the factory a 'cathedral' lends it scale, awe and a kind of sacredness, while 'of rust' keeps the reader aware of its decay; the tension between the two is the point of the metaphor. It is not a literal description of a church, and nothing suggests smallness or that the factory still operates.

In a newspaper article the writer states: 'Naturally, the council denied everything.' What does the word 'naturally' suggest?

• AThat the council's denial was based on nature
• BThat the denial was made in a calm and natural way
• CThat the writer agrees with the council's position
• DThat the writer expected the denial and is sceptical of it✓

Answer: 'Naturally' here is ironic: it implies the denial was predictable and invites the reader to doubt it. It does not describe the manner of the denial or endorse it.

Read the extract: "By the time the last of the market stalls had been packed away, the square belonged to the pigeons again. Elena sat on the bench she had sat on every Saturday for thirty years and did not, for once, open her book. Across the square the bakery had a new sign; the old one had been there since her wedding." What does the writer suggest about Elena's mood?

• AShe is excited about the bakery's new sign and wants to go and look at it closely
• BShe is bored because she has finished her book and has nothing else to read on the bench
• CShe is angry that the market closed early before she had the chance to buy anything
• DShe is reflective and perhaps a little melancholy about change✓

Answer: Sitting without opening her book 'for once', the thirty-year habit, and the new sign replacing the one that dated from her wedding all point to reflection on time passing. Nothing suggests anger, excitement or boredom.

Read the extract: "By the time the last of the market stalls had been packed away, the square belonged to the pigeons again. Elena sat on the bench she had sat on every Saturday for thirty years and did not, for once, open her book. Across the square the bakery had a new sign; the old one had been there since her wedding." Which detail tells the reader that Elena's routine is long established?

• A'the last of the market stalls'
• B'the bakery had a new sign'
• C'the square belonged to the pigeons again' after the stalls went
• D'she had sat on every Saturday for thirty years'✓

Answer: The phrase about thirty years of Saturdays states the length of the routine directly. The pigeons, the sign and the stalls describe the scene rather than her habits.

Read the extract: "By the time the last of the market stalls had been packed away, the square belonged to the pigeons again. Elena sat on the bench she had sat on every Saturday for thirty years and did not, for once, open her book. Across the square the bakery had a new sign; the old one had been there since her wedding." What is the effect of the phrase 'the square belonged to the pigeons again'?

• AIt tells the reader that the market is held in the evening
• BIt indicates that the council has given the square over to a wildlife charity to look after the birds
• CIt suggests the pigeons are a nuisance that the market traders usually keep away from the square
• DIt shows the square returning to its quiet, ordinary state once the people have gone✓

Answer: 'Belonged ... again' personifies the pigeons as the square's usual occupants, reclaiming it as the human bustle fades — a quiet, emptying image. It is not literal ownership and says nothing about nuisance or timing.

Read the extract from a review: "The restaurant's new menu is ambitious, and ambition is not the same as success. The scallops arrived beautifully plated and stone cold; the bread, which the waiter described at length, was excellent. If the kitchen can match its ideas with its execution, this will be a place worth crossing town for." What is the reviewer's overall verdict?

• AOverpriced and pretentious throughout, from the menu to the waiter's descriptions of the bread
• BPoor, with nothing to recommend it
• CExcellent in every respect and already worth a long journey across town to eat there
• DPromising but inconsistent, with real potential if the execution improves✓

Answer: The reviewer balances a cold main dish against excellent bread and ends with a conditional: it will be worth the journey 'if' execution catches up with ambition. That is promise with reservations, not a rave or a pan.

Read the extract from a review: "The restaurant's new menu is ambitious, and ambition is not the same as success. The scallops arrived beautifully plated and stone cold; the bread, which the waiter described at length, was excellent. If the kitchen can match its ideas with its execution, this will be a place worth crossing town for." Which phrase is used ironically?

• A'the new menu is ambitious'
• B'beautifully plated and stone cold'✓
• C'worth crossing town for'
• D'the bread ... was excellent'

Answer: Praising the plating and then adding 'stone cold' undercuts the compliment — the irony is that appearance was prioritised over the dish itself. The other phrases are meant straightforwardly.

Read the extract from a review: "The restaurant's new menu is ambitious, and ambition is not the same as success. The scallops arrived beautifully plated and stone cold; the bread, which the waiter described at length, was excellent. If the kitchen can match its ideas with its execution, this will be a place worth crossing town for." What does the reviewer imply about the waiter?

• AHe was rude to the customers
• BHe cooked the bread himself
• CHe talked about the bread more than was necessary✓
• DHe served the scallops late deliberately so that they would be cold

Answer: 'Described at length' is a dry way of saying the waiter went on about the bread; the implication is gentle mockery of over-elaborate service, not rudeness or any role in the cooking.