O-LevelEnglish LanguageReading for Meaning1123/12 · May/June 2024 · Q116 Marks

Read Text A, Where it all began, in the insert and answer Question 1 and Question 2.

(a)In paragraph 1, what did the writer enjoy the most about moving the ice blocks the first time he did this?[1]
(b)Using your own words, explain what the text means by 'I neglected my other duties.' (line 4)[2]
(c)In paragraph 3, how did the writer feel at first about being in the ice house? Give two details from the text to support your answer. writer's feeling details[3]
(d)Explain what the writer was thinking when he leant against the door and it 'surprisingly swung open'. (lines 13–14)[1]
(e)From paragraph 5, identify two techniques used by the palace kitchen cooks that the writer thought could be useful to improve the flavour of the ices he is making with Ahmad. • •[2]
(f)Give two reasons why the secrets of ice had remained 'known to few'. (line 22)[2]
(g)(i)In paragraph 7, the writer asked Ahmad what the ices they made tasted like. (i) What reason did the writer give Ahmad for wanting to know?[1]
(g)(ii)(ii) Suggest the real reason the writer was asking about the taste of the ices.[1]
(h)Explain using your own words the writer's different feelings and opinions about Ahmad while he was working for him. Give three details from anywhere in the text to support your answer.[3]

Mark scheme

Marking points from the official mark scheme (May/June 2024). The mark or mark type is shown in brackets.

[1] (a) (best of all) shooting / aiming them at the (kitchen) wall // watching them shatter (into jewel-like shards) / break into small pieces
[2] (b) did not do / ignored / failed to complete / forgot; his jobs / his tasks / what he was supposed to do
[3] (c) Reward any sense of feeling satisfaction or relief or enjoyment however expressed: (quite) liked being in there / pleased (with himself) / happy (1); Details: '(in pleasant) contrast to the stifling heat (outside)' / it's (too) hot outside; 'congratulating myself on avoiding the task of cleaning (up)' / thinks he has escaped cleaning (up) (2)
[1] (d) didn't expect the door to move (so easily) // the door was closed / shut // he was locked in / was stuck in there
[2] (e) pureed fruits / pureeing fruits (to intensify the flavours); extracting perfumes of flowers (to flavour creams and liqueurs)
[2] (f) (secrets) are passed down within two families // (secrets) are not revealed to others outside two families; not all / only a few (of the secrets) are in the notebooks / written // (most of the secrets) are in Ahmad's head
[1] (g)(i) he will understand better how to make them (if he knows how they are meant to taste) // he will know how to improve them
[1] (g)(ii) wants to taste them // he is curious // he is tempted by the ice / the syrup (of small / sweet oranges)
[3] (h) The writer: is surprised initially / unsure at the start: [detail: expected Ahmad to show ‘displeasure [his] ill-discipline warranted']; (realises) he is strict / (learns to be) nervous / scared of him: [detail: punishes him 'closing the door tight shut' / it was 'two years before I dared to ask what the ices tasted like']; (thinks) he is proud / boastful: [detail: ‘We are engineers (not cooks)' / 'Cooking is women's business.' / he considers himself an ‘entertainer']; (thinks) he's mocking / dismissive / makes him feel inferior: [detail: 'He was taunting me... he knew I could not read' / 'he waved me away'/ the rich 'waste so much expense on something that melts to nothing']; (considers him to be) lacking in curiosity / unimaginative / rigid: [detail: ‘had no desire to question' the rules / ‘What does it matter? Stir the mixture clockwise' / 'It's not one of the flavours - look in the book' / rejects other techniques ‘waves him away']; (feels) resentment / dislike: [detail: I was simply a work horse' / 'He was taunting me: he knew I could not read']; (thinks) he is cruel / unfeeling / (feels) he treats him badly: [detail: 'I was simply a workhorse' / 'he shared his knowledge' and 'taught me what he knew, not because he wanted to share his secrets, but because he wanted to share the labour' / 'He was taunting me' / 'Come with me,' he said without expression']