Checkpoint 9 - English Paper 1 & 2 - April & October 2023

Cambridge Lower Secondary Checkpoint

ENGLISH 0861/01
Paper 1 Non-fiction October 2023
1 hour 10 minutes
You must answer on the question paper.
You will need: Insert (enclosed)
INSTRUCTIONS
• Answer all questions.
• Use a black or dark blue pen.
• Write your name, centre number and candidate number in the boxes at the top of the page.
• Write your answer to each question in the space provided.
• Do not use an erasable pen or correction fluid.
• Do not write on any bar codes.
INFORMATION
• The total mark for this paper is 50.
• The number of marks for each question or part question is shown in brackets [ ].
• The insert contains the reading passages.
This document has 8 pages.
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Section A: Reading
Spend 30 minutes on this section.
Read Text A, in the insert, and then answer Questions 1–6.
1 Look at the first paragraph (lines 3–5).
(a) What type of sentence is the first sentence? Tick () one box.
a simple sentence
a complex sentence
a compound sentence
a compound-complex sentence
[1]
(b) The reader’s understanding of the second and third sentences relies on the first sentence.
How?
[1]
2 Look at the second paragraph (lines 6–9). The writer begins three of the sentences with a
prepositional phrase.
Explain the effect this has.
[2]
3 Look at the third paragraph (lines 10–13).
(a) Give one phrase that means ‘at the same time as’.
[1]
(b) What is the effect of the sequence of nouns walk ... canter... gallop?
[1]
(c) How does the writer engage the reader in this paragraph?
[1]
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4 Look at the fourth paragraph (lines 14–19).
(a) Why might the reader expect to see the fourth paragraph at the beginning of the text?
[1]
(b) Why has the writer chosen to insert the fourth paragraph at this point in the text?
Tick () one box.
The writer
thinks that the reader already knows what foley is.
is about to introduce the reader to a different technique.
wants to explain how sound effects in films are recorded.
has finished giving an example of what a foley artist does.
[1]
(c) One of the themes of the text is sound.

Give two onomatopoeic nouns that demonstrate this.
•
[2]
5 Look at the fifth paragraph (lines 20–27).
(a) The idea of lots of different footsteps (lines 17–18) is repeated in the fifth paragraph.
Give a phrase in the fifth paragraph that repeats that idea.
[1]
(b) The writer asks a question and answers it.

What is the writer’s opinion of the answer?
[1]
6 Why is Barnaby Smyth happy when an audience is unaware of his work?
[1]
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Read Text B, in the insert, and then answer Questions 7–12.

What does Ashley tell the reader about herself? Tick () one box.
She only screams when she is frightened.
She changed the way she screamed as an actor.
She screams automatically at some things.
She got her first job only because of her scream.
[1]
8 Ashley uses the phrase a quieter life.

Why does that phrase seem surprising?
[1]
9 What is Ashley referring to when she uses the word peak?
[1]
10 Look at the last paragraph (lines 18–20).

What does Ashley emphasise by using a simple sentence?
[1]
11 Look at Text A and Text B. Foley artists and scream artists both add sounds to films at the same
stage of production.
Explain two other things that a foley artist and a scream artist have in common.
•
[2]
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12 Look at the second, third and fourth paragraphs (lines 6–17).
(a) Complete the table below using information from these paragraphs.
The type of work Ashley used

to do
The work Ashley does now
At what point in the making of

a film Ashley does her job
Something Ashley needs to

know to do her job
One reason why Ashley’s job

is necessary
One example of Ashley’s

work
[3]
(b) Summarise what it means to be a scream artist, using information from the table. Use up to
50 words.
[2]

6
Section B: Writing
13 You have been asked to write an article for your school magazine about a new skill that you have
been developing either in school or outside of school.
You should think about:
• what the skill is and how you have been developing it

• where and when you use the skill
• how you could develop the skill further in future.
Space for your plan:
Write your article on the next page. [25 marks]
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8
Permission to reproduce items where third-party owned material protected by copyright is included has been sought and cleared where possible. Every
reasonable effort has been made by the publisher (UCLES) to trace copyright holders, but if any items requiring clearance have unwittingly been included, the
publisher will be pleased to make amends at the earliest possible opportunity.
To avoid the issue of disclosure of answer-related information to candidates, all copyright acknowledgements are reproduced online in the Cambridge
Assessment International Education Copyright Acknowledgements Booklet. This is produced for each series of examinations and is freely available to download
at www.cambridgeinternational.org after the live examination series.
Cambridge Assessment International Education is part of Cambridge Assessment. Cambridge Assessment is the brand name of the University of Cambridge
Local Examinations Syndicate (UCLES), which is a department of the University of Cambridge.
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ENGLISH 0861/01
Paper 1 Non-fiction October 2023
INSERT 1 hour 10 minutes
INFORMATION

• This insert contains the reading passages.

• You may annotate this insert and use the blank spaces for planning. Do not write your answers on
the insert.
This document has 4 pages. Any blank pages are indicated.
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Text A
Inside the world of foley artists
It’s Monday morning and, in an ordinary-looking building that was previously a laundry, a man
named Barnaby Smyth is trying to sound like a horse. Trying and succeeding remarkably well.
Not neighing or whinnying, just making the sound of hooves on the ground. 5
On a big screen on the wall of a windowless room is the moving image of an armoured knight
astride a white warhorse. Barnaby squats in front of the screen, staring intently at it. In front of
him on the floor is a square of compacted earth with a microphone pointed at it. In each hand,
Barnaby holds a small metal rod wrapped in tape.
On the screen, the knight turns his white horse and moves off; Barnaby hits the earth with his 10
rods exactly in sync with the hooves, first at an accelerating walk, then a little stumble into a
canter before settling into a rhythmic gallop. If you were here, watching the screen and ignoring
Barnaby, you would believe you really were hearing a heavy horse galloping away.
Welcome to the weird and rather wonderful world of foley. Named after Jack Donovan Foley,
who pioneered many of the techniques in the 1920s, foley is the name given to the art of adding 15
everyday sound effects to film or television after filming – incidental sounds such as the squeak
of a chair, bottles chinking in a fridge door or the swish of clothes. And footsteps, lots of different
footsteps, both human and non-human. Foley ‘steers the narrative, where to look, how to feel,’
Smyth says.
The room is an odd mix: part hi-tech modern recording studio, part junk shop. There are trays 20
and trolleys of bottles and glasses for chinking and rattling, and there are shoes, shelf upon
shelf, hundreds of them. There are banks of drawers labelled ‘medical’, ‘belts’, ‘sports’, ‘police’,
‘bones’, ‘makeup’, ‘gloves’. Barnaby shows me how he makes the sound of a pigeon flying
away by flapping a pair of leather gloves together. There are crates filled with different kinds of
ground to walk on: leaves, bark, forest soil, mossy soil. Smyth shows me how to make the noise 25
of a boot on snow by twisting a pillowcase full of cornflour. You want scrunchier, more compact
snow? Just add salt.
As for the viewing public, they are mostly unaware that foley even exists; that there are people
like Barnaby Smyth out there. That’s okay with Smyth: ‘Not to be noticed is really the biggest
compliment we can have.’ 30
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Text B
My scream is famous
An actor called Ashley Peldon discusses her career.
If I see a bug, I will scream. I’ll shriek when I’m scared or startled. It’s just so natural, it comes
right out. This ability to scream played a huge part in getting my first acting jobs. 5
By my twenties, I’d done more than 40 films and TV series. In search of a quieter life, in the late
2000s I made a shift from being an on-camera performer to a post-production voiceover actor. I
was lucky to get parts where I was able to really use and play with my voice a lot, and
screaming became something that I was known for.
As a scream artist you have to know the subtle differences between screams and determine 10
whether they should peak at certain points or remain steady for a very long time. I have to think:
‘Okay, the character is scared here, but are they scared because their life is in danger or are
they just startled?’ Those screams will sound very different.
We are like stunt people, doing the hard stuff that could be damaging to an actor’s voice or is
out of their range. When the dinosaurs are attacking in the 2015 Jurassic World movie, my 15
screams are in that sequence. I saw that the characters were grabbing at their hair, falling and
then getting up, so I tried to match that and create all of the energy and movement in the sound.
Thanks to my unique career, I probably scream more on average than the normal person would.
There’s something really relaxing about it. When I’m not working, I take care of my voice, but I
did lose it once by getting a little too excited on the rides at an amusement park with my kids. 20
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ENGLISH 0861/02
Paper 2 Fiction October 2023
1 hour 10 minutes
INSTRUCTIONS
INFORMATION
10_0861_02/3RP
2
Section A: Reading
Read the Text in the insert and then answer Questions 1–9.
1 Look at lines 4–6.

Give one phrase that tells the reader who the imperiled heiress is.
[1]
(a) Why does the writer use capital letters in the phrases the Peach of Toll and the Perfectest
Peony? Tick () one box.
to show that the words are spoken in a loud voice
to draw the reader’s attention to the alliteration
to show that they are Beamabeth’s official titles
to emphasise the importance the speaker gives them
[1]
(b) Explain what they did (line 11) refers to.
[2]
(a) What does the first sentence tell the reader about the streets?
[1]
(b) Explain why the writer chooses the word catalogue.
[2]
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(a) What time of day is it?
[1]
(b) What meaning does Clent intend by using the word poor?
[1]
(c) Mosca corrects Clent.

Give one word in Clent’s reply that shows he acknowledges her correction.
[1]
(d) Explain what the phrase lemon juice running through your veins tells the reader about
Mosca’s feelings.
[2]

The footmen behave arrogantly towards Clent and Mosca.
Give two pieces of evidence from the text that tell the reader this.
•
[2]

Explain one way the writer uses sentence structure to add detail to the description of Beamabeth.
Support your explanation with a quotation.
[2]

4
7 Look at lines 51–56. Beamabeth’s words explain something that is mentioned earlier in the text.
What is it? Tick () one box.
the tone of the voice that Mosca hears in her head
the footman’s expression when he invites the visitors in
the way Clent speaks to the footmen who open the door
the length of time it takes Clent and Mosca to reach the castle
[1]
8 Look at lines 57–63. Clent respects Beamabeth’s high social status.

Explain two ways that he shows this. Support each explanation with evidence from the text.
First explanation:
Evidence:
Second explanation:
Evidence:
[4]
9 Look at the whole text.

Which of these statements do you agree with more? Tick () one box.
Mosca was jealous of Beamabeth before she met her.
Mosca changed her opinion of Beamabeth after she met her.
Give two reasons for your choice. Support each reason with evidence from the text.
First reason:
Evidence:
Second reason:
Evidence:
[4]
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Section B: Writing
10 You have decided to enter a writing competition in an online magazine. Write a story with the title
‘The Message’. Your story should be about one or more characters who must deliver an
important message to someone face to face.
You should think about:
• what the message is and who the characters who deliver it are
• who the message is for and why it is important
• the journey the characters make to deliver their message.
Write your story on the next page. [25 marks]

6
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ENGLISH 0861/02
Paper 2 Fiction October 2023
INFORMATION


the insert.
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Text for Section A, an extract from ‘Twilight Robbery’ (known as ‘Fly Trap’ in the US) by Frances
Hardinge.
Clent, Mosca and her pet goose called Saracen have travelled to a town called Toll.
***
After finding an inn, Clent, Mosca and Saracen set off to track down the imperiled heiress.
Fortunately, this proved to be relatively easy. The mere mention of ‘the mayor’s daughter’ 5
brought gleaming smiles to the faces of the guards at the Clock Tower.
‘Ah, you’ll mean his adopted daughter, Miss Beamabeth Marlebourne! Oh, we all know of her,
thank you, sir. She’s the Peach of Toll, the Perfectest Peony. Mayor Marlebourne’s family live in
the old judge’s lodgings, up in the castle courtyard. Ask anyone as you go, they’ll all know
where to send you.’ 10
And indeed they did.
‘Ah, you’re going to speak with Miss Marlebourne? Then I envy you, sir, for she is the finest
sight within Toll’s walls.’
‘Miss Beamabeth Marlebourne? Sweetest creature on ten toes. Smile like a spring day. Yes,
just take this alley to the end…’ 15
Toll was a hill town, and all its streets knew it. By the time Clent and Mosca reached the central
plaza, Mosca was out of breath, and completely, utterly out of patience with the catalogue of
Beamabeth Marlebourne’s charms. Every time Beamabeth’s name was mentioned, faces lit up
as though reflecting some distant radiance.
By the time they reached the castle grounds, the sun was dipping towards the horizon. The 20
judge’s house was attached to the inside of the castle’s perimeter wall and built of the same
bristling grey flint.
‘At last.’ Clent halted at the oaken door and pulled down the frayed hem of his waistcoat. ‘Now,
child, let us bring warning to this poor–’
‘Rich,’ corrected Mosca. 25
‘To this affluent but imperiled girl,’ finished Clent. ‘And do try not to scowl as if you have lemon
juice running through your veins, child.’
Mosca settled for stony instead of bitter as Clent rapped the knocker. A few moments later the
door opened to reveal two footmen in mustard-coloured livery.
Both footmen subtly craned their necks to read the designs on Clent’s name brooch before 30
deciding how stiffly and respectfully to hold themselves. Mosca and the impatiently champing
Saracen merited only the briefest, most disdainful slither of a glance.
‘I am Eponymous Clent,’ Clent declared with aplomb, ‘and I need to speak with Miss
Beamabeth Marlebourne on a Matter of the Gravest Urgency and Gravity.’ Mosca ground her
teeth as both footmen went quite cross-eyed with adoration at the mention of Beamabeth, and 35
then one of them ran inside with the message. In a few moments he returned, surprise lifting his
eyebrows so high that they were lost in his wig.
‘Miss Beamabeth will see you, sir.’
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It’s just the name they’re all in love with, said the bitter, stinging voice in Mosca’s head. But it’ll
be all right. You’ll see her, and she’ll have a squint, and a voice like a peeled gull. 40
The guard led them along a short hall into a comfortable-looking reception room. A young
woman in a green silk dress rose as they entered.
Beamabeth Marlebourne was about sixteen, Mosca realized. Somehow, despite the mention of
suitors, she had been half expecting to see someone younger, a girl her own age. Beamabeth
had honey-colored hair that had been trained into a shimmering mass of ringlets, but she 45
managed to look natural rather than tortured. Her skin was creamy pale, with two pretty little
coffee-coloured freckles just at the corner of one of her dark gold eyebrows. Her blue eyes were
large and well spaced, her brow small, her nose short, and her chin daintily pointed in a fashion
that made her look a bit like a kitten. She smiled, and her eyebrows rose as if the pleasure of
seeing them was almost painful. Her expression was as open as a flower. 50
It was hopeless. She was flawless. She was a sunbeam. Mosca gave up and got on with hating
her.
‘It is very late for visitors,’ said Beamabeth, as she looked the new arrivals up and down, her
voice soft and carrying more of the local accent than Mosca had expected from anyone in a silk
dress. Her tone made her words sound more like an apology than a criticism. ‘Usually Father 55
likes to have the house locked up from an hour before dusk till an hour after dawn.’
‘Rest assured, ma’am, when you understand the urgency–’
‘Would you like to sit down?’ Beamabeth interrupted Clent without apparently realizing she was
doing so. Clent and Mosca obediently sat, Mosca keeping a tight hold on Saracen’s leash in
case anything in this elegant room appeared edible. 60
‘Miss Marlebourne, I must come to the point, and I hope you will forgive me if my tidings distress
you. You are, I fear, the target of an odious and felonious scheme. In short, there is a plan afoot
to kidnap you…’
DO NOT WRITE IN THIS SPACE
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ENGLISH 0861/01
Paper 1 Non-fiction April 2023
1 hour 10 minutes
INSTRUCTIONS
INFORMATION
05_0861_01/4RP
2
Section A: Reading
Read Text A, an article from a cycling magazine, in the insert, and then answer Questions 1–6.
(a) Why is the park called Park Güell?
[1]
(b) The original plan for the park was very different from the park that Gaudí created.
Complete the table below to show the differences.
The original plan What Gaudí created
a housing estate
worked with natural elements
[2]
2 Look at the second paragraph (lines 10–15).
(a) Which phrase brings the reader’s attention back from the past to the present?
[1]
(b) What effect does the writer create by using the word adorned?
[1]
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3 Look at the third paragraph (lines 16–23).
(a) The writer creates an image of the pathways being like water.
How? Support your answer with a quotation.
Explanation:
Quotation:
[2]
(b) The writer uses personal pronouns in the third paragraph.

What effect does this have on the reader?
[1]
(c) Look at the last sentence of the third paragraph (lines 21–23). Extra information is given in
two ways: with brackets and with commas.
Why is some extra information given in commas? Tick () one box.
The information given in commas
explains previous information.
repeats something previously mentioned.
separates independent clauses.
gives an example of something previously mentioned.
[1]
(d) Why is some extra information given in brackets?
[1]
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4 Look at the fourth paragraph (lines 24–28).
(a) The writer refers to being prepared.

What do you need to do to be prepared to visit the park? Give one quotation from the text to
support your answer.
Explanation:
Quotation:
[2]
(b) Why does the writer use imperatives in this paragraph? Tick () one box.
to warn
to advise
to add impact
to explain details
[1]
5 The text is structured to make the information accessible to the reader.

Match the main topic to each paragraph. One has been done for you.
First paragraph Specific entrance details
Second paragraph Description of main attractions
Third paragraph Practical guidance for visitors
Fourth paragraph Overview of the park
Fifth paragraph History of the park

[3]
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6 In the first paragraph of the text, the writer describes Park Güell as whimsical. Do you think the
park is whimsical? Tick () one box.
Yes
No
Explain your answer. Support your explanation with one quotation from the text.
Explanation:
Quotation:
[2]
Read Text B, in the insert, and answer Questions 7–9.

Find one two-word phrase that means ‘hidden’.
[1]
8 Look at the second paragraph (lines 12–16).

Find one three-word phrase that means ‘become in need of restoration’.
[1]

6
9 (a) You are part of a group planning to create a pocket park in your area. You have been asked
to make some notes about pocket parks. Use the text to complete the information in the table
below.
Notes about pocket parks
Which areas are

used for the •
parks?
Who creates the

parks? •
What are the

possible • somewhere to eat lunch
purposes of the
parks?
•
What are the

possible •
problems?
What are the

advantages to the •
environment?
[3]
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(b) Write a summary of up to 40 words about what benefits a pocket park could bring to a local
area. Use four or five points from your notes.
[2]

8
Section B: Writing
10 Pocket parks are one way that local communities can improve the environment in towns and
cities.
What could improve the environment of your area? Write an article for your school’s magazine
explaining how this could be done.
You may want to think about:
• different types of pollution

• recreation facilities
• transportation.
Write your article on the next page. [25 marks]
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ENGLISH 0861/01
Paper 1 Non-fiction April 2023
INFORMATION


the insert.
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Text A
Park Güell
Antoni Gaudí is one of Spain’s most famous artists. The park he created, Park Güell, in
Barcelona is one of the most visited attractions in Spain. It is as whimsical1 as a park can get.
Initially, the park was meant to be a housing estate for the rich, commissioned by a wealthy 5
nobleman, Count Güell. He hired Gaudí to design the project, but it eventually folded due to the
land’s incompatible conditions for building. Despite this, Gaudí continued and the housing
estate became a garden park. Gaudí modelled these gardens on ones he had seen in England,
building around the natural elements of the land instead of destroying them.
Today’s park covers 170 000 square metres of space, full of everyday park features with a twist 10
that is characteristically Gaudí. For example, instead of numerous benches spread throughout
the park, visitors are greeted with one long, wavy stone bench adorned with vibrant mosaics
and magnificent views of the ocean. And instead of drab administrative buildings, the welcome
centres (which contain park souvenirs and learning materials on Gaudí and the park) look like
buildings you’d see in Dr Seuss’s children’s books. 15
You can also find plenty of picturesque pathways that weave along verdant vegetation, down
cascading tiled staircases and through jagged stone columns and tunnels. While you’re here,
don’t miss the chance to see the Sala Hipóstila. Located right at the entrance, the Sala Hipóstila
was originally intended to be a market hall. Today it serves to do nothing more than dazzle
visitors with its stately stone columns and beautiful mosaic works, which you’ll find dotted all 20
over the ceiling. Other popular attractions include Turó de les Tres Creus (Hill of the Three
Crosses), a lookout point, situated in the south-western part of the park with impressive views of
the city.
Park Güell is a lovely place to spend a day in Barcelona. Take time to explore the trails Park
Güell has to offer, but make sure you come prepared. Being built on a hill, trails feature steep 25
inclines and unpaved pathways. And keep in mind that since this is one of Barcelona’s most
popular attractions, there will always be crowds. In fact, only 2.4 per cent of Barcelona residents
visit the park. The vast majority of the visitors are national and international tourists.
Park Güell is open every day; hours vary depending on the season. Tickets are 7 euros (around
$8) online and 8 euros (about $9.50) at the park. To avoid the disappointment of not being able 30
to visit the park on the day you want to, make sure you book your ticket in advance online. For
more information, visit Park Güell’s website.
Glossary
1
whimsical: playful, light-hearted, quirky
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Text B
Pocket parks
Pocket parks, also known as miniparks, are urban open spaces on a very small scale. Usually
only the size of a tennis court or smaller, pocket parks can be tucked into and scattered
throughout the urban fabric, where they serve the immediate local population. These diminutive 5
parks act as scaled-down neighbourhood parks, but still often try to meet a variety of needs.
Functions can include small community event space, play areas for children, spaces for meeting
friends or taking lunch breaks. However, because space is restricted and user needs are both
diverse and vary throughout the day, conflicts can sometimes arise between different groups.
Thus, in organising pocket parks, designers must often work out a delicate balancing act so that 10
all groups can use the space in peaceful co-existence.
One of the unique and exciting characteristics of pocket parks is that they may be created out of
waste ground or otherwise forgotten spaces. Many pocket parks are the result of community
groups or private entities reclaiming these spaces for the benefit of the local neighbourhood.
Unfortunately, they are sometimes easier to create than to maintain, because without 15
community support, use and maintenance, they may fall into disrepair.
Although the ecological functions of pocket parks are limited because of their size and location,
greenery within them can still help the environment. They regulate microclimates and present
opportunities for increasing the number of permeable surfaces. Pocket parks throughout the
urban environment also have the potential to benefit the ecology of cities. This is because 20
people who have parks within walking distance are less likely to drive far away for the same
facilities, thereby reducing traffic and pollution.
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ENGLISH 0861/02
Paper 2 Fiction April 2023
1 hour 10 minutes
INSTRUCTIONS
INFORMATION
• The insert contains the reading passage.
This document has 8 pages.
05_0861_02/4RP
2
Section A: Reading
Read the Text in the insert and then answer Questions 1–10.
1 The writer uses a literary technique to describe David Baptiste’s appearance.
(a) What literary technique does the writer use? Tick () one box.
hyperbole
sibilance
metaphor
simile
[1]
(b) How does the language help the reader’s understanding of Baptiste’s appearance?
[1]
(a) David Baptiste often went out as early as possible ... (lines 11–12).
Find two more quotations from the text that tell the reader that it is still early morning when
Baptiste goes fishing.
•
[2]
(b) Find a word that shows that the sun is ‘all powerful’.
[1]
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3
3 Look at lines 11–22. The writer uses sentence length to show a change of pace of the narrative.
Give two ways the writer does this and explain how each way reflects what is happening in the
text.
First way:
First explanation:
Second way:
Second explanation:
[4]
4 The writer tells the reader that Baptiste sees a merwoman.

Find one other detail about her appearance that tells the reader she is a creature that lives in
water.
[1]
5 Baptiste sits for a long time in anticipation.

How does the writer structure the text to show the passing of time? Give two ways.
•
[2]

4
(a) The writer compares the poui trees to bombs of sulphur.

What effect does this have? Give two ideas.
•
[2]
(b) Which adverbial phrase marks the beginning of Baptiste’s fascination with the mermaid?
[1]
(c) Which two literary techniques does the writer use to emphasise the wide range of emotions
Baptiste is feeling? Tick () two boxes.
pun
assonance
paradox
oxymoron
personification
[2]
7 Why do you think Baptiste chooses not to tell his aunt what he has seen? Explain your answer
and support your answer with evidence from the text.
Explanation:
Evidence:
[2]
8 The mermaid eventually comes back to Baptiste.

Explain what is different about the way they react to each other in the second encounter. Give
two ideas.
•
[2]
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5
9 The writer uses non-standard grammar in the last paragraph.

Explain what is non-standard about the grammar and give one example from the text to support
your answer.
Explanation:
Example:
[2]
10 Baptiste is obviously fascinated by the mermaid.

Do you think the mermaid feels the same way about Baptiste? Give two pieces of evidence from
the text to support your answer.
Yes
No
First piece of evidence:
Second piece of evidence:

[2]

6
Section B: Writing
11 You are on holiday when you meet someone you have not seen for a long time. Write an email to
your best friend at home describing the meeting.
Think about:
• why you know the person

• how you felt when you saw the person
• what happened next.
Write your email on the next page. [25 marks]
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7

8
© UCLES 2023 0861/02/A/M/23

ENGLISH 0861/02
Paper 2 Fiction April 2023
INFORMATION

• This insert contains the reading passage.

the insert.
05_0861_02/2RP
2
Text for Section A, an extract from The Mermaid of Black Conch by Monique Roffey
David Baptiste, now an old man, is remembering when he met a mermaid while out fishing in
the Caribbean Sea.
***
David Baptiste’s dreads1 are grey and his body wizened to twigs of hard black coral, but there
are still a few people around St Constance who remember him as a young man and his part in 5
the events of 1976, when those men from Florida came to fish for marlin and instead pulled a
mermaid out of the sea. It happened in April, after the leatherbacks2 had started to migrate.
Some say she arrived with them. Others said they’d seen her before, those who’d fished far out.
But most people agreed that she would never have been caught at all if the two of them hadn’t
been carrying on some kind of flirty behaviour. 10
Black Conch water’s nice first thing in the morning. David Baptiste often went out as early as
possible trying to beat the other fishermen to a good catch of king fish or red snapper. He would
head to jagged rocks, taking with him his guitar, which he didn’t play too well, an old beat-up
thing his cousin, Nicer Country, had given him. He would drop anchor near those rocks, lash the
rudder, and strum to himself while the white, neon disc of the sun appeared on the horizon, 15
pushing itself up, rising slow slow, omnipotent into the silver-blue sky.
David was strumming his guitar and singing to himself when she first raised her barnacled,
seaweed-clotted head from the flat, grey sea, its stark hues of turquoise not yet stirred. Plain so,
the mermaid popped up and watched him for some time before he glanced around and caught
sight of her. 20
She ducked back under the sea. Quick quick, he put down his guitar and peered hard. It wasn’t
full daylight yet. He rubbed his eyes, as if to make them see better.
‘Avyy,’ he called across the water. ‘Dou dou. Come. Come, nuh.’
He put his hand on his heart because it was leaping around inside his chest. His stomach
trembled with fear and wonder because he knew what he’d seen. A woman. Right there, in the 25
water. A red-skinned woman, not black, not African. Not a blue woman, either, blue like a fish.
Red. Or anyway, her top half was red. He had seen her shoulders, her head, and her long black
hair like ropes, all sea mossy and jook up with anemone and conch shell. A merwoman. He
stared at the spot of her appearance for some time. He shook himself and gazed hard at the
sea, waiting for her to pop back up. 30
‘Come back,’ he shouted into the deep greyness. The mermaid had held her head up high
above the waves, and he’d seen a certain expression on her face, like she’d been studying him.
He waited.
But nothing happened. Not that day.
It was April, time of the leatherback migration south to Black Conch waters, time of dry season, 35
of poui trees exploding in the hills, yellow and pink, like bombs of sulphur, the time when the
flamboyant begin to bloom. From that moment, when that red-skinned woman rose and
disappeared as if to tease him, David ached to see her again. He felt a bitter sweet melancholy,
a soft caress to his spirit. He felt a sharp stabbing sensation, right there in the flat between his
ribs, in his solar plexus. 40
‘Come back, nuh,’ he said, soft and gentlemanlike. Something had happened. She had risen
© UCLES 2023 0861/02/INSERT/A/M/23

3
from the waves, chosen him, a humble fisherman.
‘Come, nuh, dou dou,’ he pleaded, this time softer still, as if to lure her. But the water had
settled back flat.
Next morning, David went to the exact spot by the jagged rocks and waited for several hours 45
and saw nothing. Day after, the same thing. Four days he went out to those rocks in his
pirogue3. He cut the engine, threw out the anchor, and waited. He told no one what he had
seen. He avoided Ce-ce’s parlour, the property of his kind-hearted, bigmouthed aunt. He
avoided his cousins in St Constance. He went home to his small house on the hill, the house
he’d built himself, surrounding banana trees, where he lived with Harvey, his pothound. 50
Then, day five, around 6 o’clock, he was strumming his guitar, humming a hymn, when the
mermaid showed herself again.
This time she splashed the water with one hand and made a sound like a bird squeak. When he
looked up he didn’t frighten so bad, even though his belly clenched tight and every fibre in his
body froze. He stayed still and watched her good. She was floating port side of his boat, cool, 55
like a regular woman on a raft, except there was no raft. The mermaid with long black hair and
big, shining eyes, was taking a long suspicious look at him. She cocked her head, and it was
only then David realised she was watching his guitar. Slow slow, so as not to make her
disappear again, he picked it up and began to strum and hum a tune, quietly.
Glossary
1
dreads: a type of hairstyle
2
leatherback: a type of turtle
3
pirogue: a type of canoe
DO NOT WRITE IN THIS SPACE
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4
BLANK PAGE
© UCLES 2023 0861/02/INSERT/A/M/23

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Cambridge Lower Secondary Checkpoint

You must answer on the question paper.

You will need: Insert (enclosed)

This document has 8 pages.

Spend 30 minutes on this section.

Read Text A, in the insert, and then answer Questions 1–6.

1 Look at the first paragraph (lines 3–5).

3 Look at the third paragraph (lines 10–13).

© UCLES 2023 0861/01/O/N/23

4 Look at the fourth paragraph (lines 14–19).

thinks that the reader already knows what foley is.

is about to introduce the reader to a different technique.

wants to explain how sound effects in films are recorded.

has finished giving an example of what a foley artist does.

(c) One of the themes of the text is sound.

5 Look at the fifth paragraph (lines 20–27).

(b) The writer asks a question and answers it.

6 Why is Barnaby Smyth happy when an audience is unaware of his work?

© UCLES 2023 0861/01/O/N/23 [Turn over

Read Text B, in the insert, and then answer Questions 7–12.

7 Look at the first paragraph (lines 4–5).

She only screams when she is frightened.

She changed the way she screamed as an actor.

She screams automatically at some things.

She got her first job only because of her scream.

8 Ashley uses the phrase a quieter life.

9 What is Ashley referring to when she uses the word peak?

10 Look at the last paragraph (lines 18–20).

© UCLES 2023 0861/01/O/N/23

12 Look at the second, third and fourth paragraphs (lines 6–17).

The type of work Ashley used

The work Ashley does now

At what point in the making of

Something Ashley needs to

One reason why Ashley’s job

One example of Ashley’s

© UCLES 2023 0861/01/O/N/23 [Turn over

Spend 30 minutes on this section.

You should think about:

• what the skill is and how you have been developing it

Space for your plan:

Write your article on the next page. [25 marks]

© UCLES 2023 0861/01/O/N/23

© UCLES 2023 0861/01/O/N/23 [Turn over

© UCLES 2023 0861/01/O/N/23

• This insert contains the reading passages.

This document has 4 pages. Any blank pages are indicated.

Inside the world of foley artists

© UCLES 2023 0861/01/INSERT/O/N/23

An actor called Ashley Peldon discusses her career.

© UCLES 2023 0861/01/INSERT/O/N/23

© UCLES 2023 0861/01/INSERT/O/N/23

You must answer on the question paper.

You will need: Insert (enclosed)

This document has 8 pages. Any blank pages are indicated.

Spend 30 minutes on this section.

1 Look at lines 4–6.

2 Look at lines 7–15.

to show that the words are spoken in a loud voice

to draw the reader’s attention to the alliteration