1.

Choose one of the following images:

a. Fame, as she implied, freezes you in one frame.
b. He treats himself as a logo.
c. But for those whose fame is built on personality, one crack brings the
edifice crashing down.
Explain what your chosen image means and analyse its effect

2. Explain what is meant by the expression benign neglect, and explain what is
surprising about this expression
3. In the expression straight-A, violin-playing, tennis-champ, superkids the
writer tries to achieve a humorous, mocking tone. Explain with reference to
her use of language how successful you think she has been in achieving this
tone.
4. Look at these lines where the writer develops the idea of her family being
hard up.
So we were fed, we were clothed, we were loved, and we had all the
books we could read. But there was not the expectation of having
every wish granted, as there is now, and that is the best thing that my
parents could ever have given us.
I remember only once going to a restaurant in the UK. It was a
motorway caf on the A303. My father told us, wincing as he looked at
the laminated text, with its stomach-churning pictograms, that we
could have the spag bol. From the childrens menu.We had a TV, but
as we lived in Belgium there was nothing to watch apart from two
American sitcoms, which came on only once a week.
My parents were so hard up that when we went to England for
holidays on the family farm on Exmoormainly spent wooding for
winter fuel on rainswept hillsidesmy father would invariably book
cheap overnight ferry crossings from the Continent. He would never
shell out for a cabin, despite the 1am or 3am departure slots. Instead,
he would tell us to go to sleep in the back of the car, parked in the
lower deck, where we would eventually pass out from suffocation or
diesel fumes.
We never had friends round for playdates. Keeping children busy
and happy was not a parental priority. If we were bored, that was our
own fault. In fact, there was nothing to do for weeks on end except
rake leaves (my father once made us spend a whole half-term raking
leaves) and read on our beds. Occasionally my mother would shout
up the stairs: Stop reading! Imagine that now, when children are on
their laptops in their rooms, looking at . . . I dont even want to imagine
Show fully how examples of the writers use of such features of language as
word choice or sentence structure helps to convey her ideas effectively.

1 For three marks, candidates should state the comparison and show how it is linked
to the example used in the passage. This would be considered a full analysis.
Freeze-frame = a still from a moving image/photograph
Logo = brand name
Crashing edifice = a falling structure
For example:
Fame is compared to a photograph which cannot be changed. This shows how
difficult it would be for JK Rowling to change her career path.
2 benign (eg kind / caring/ compassionate/ well - meant) (1)
neglect (eg ignoring/leaving alone/not paying attention to, but synonym should not
have critical connotation) (1);
(idea of)paradox/oxymoron/ contrast(1)
Accept tough love for (2) as condensed answer paraphrasing both adjectives
Accept for (1) reference to contrast in the writers life
3 Candidates may comment on expression of
Diversity
High achievement
Preternatural quality (Preter = beyond, outwith the limits of)
Hyphenation
The effect of a list
One mark may be awarded to answers which are more vaguely or poorly expressed.
Negative comment, eg on stereotyping of high achievers, should be rewarded.
Pattern is selection of feature or extract (1) comment (1)
4
Word choice
only once suggests rarity of eating out
motorway caf implies moderately-priced venue
wincing suggests pained reaction to perceived expense
wincing or stomach-churning suggests repellent nature of comestibles
spag bol suggests cheap option
From the children's menu suggests limitation of choice
mainly spent wooding for winter fuel suggests lack of facilities/choice/spartan
nature of activity
on rainswept hillsides suggests spartan nature of activity
(father would invariably book)cheap (overnight ferry crossings) suggests thrift
/ parsimony
He would never shell out for a cabin suggests thrift/ parsimony
there was nothing to do for weeks on end except rake leaves suggests lack of
facilities/choice/spartan nature of activity
Sentence structure
(idea of) minor sentence or brevity of From the children's menu complements idea
of lack of choice/adds emphasis
(idea of parenthetical) insertion of mainly spent wooding for winter fuel on
rainswept hillsides illustrates/develops/ exemplifies idea of lack of facilities/choice