O-LevelEnglish LanguageReading for Meaning1123/11 · Oct/Nov 2025 · Q116 Marks

Read Text A, The circus train, in the insert and answer Question 1 and Question 2.

(a)From paragraph 1, identify one sound that suggests that a train is coming before the engine comes into sight.[1]
(b)Using your own words, explain what the text means by 'scanning desperately'. (lines 8–9)[2]
(c)(i)In paragraph 3, Jacob is asked a question that confuses him. What is the question?[1]
(c)(ii)Why is Jacob confused by the question?[1]
(d)Explain why Jacob says 'I feel like a mouse being bounced between two cats.' (line 40)[1]
(e)In paragraph 4, what is Uncle Al's impression of Jacob before he finds out that Jacob studied veterinary sciences? Give two details from the text to support your answer. Uncle Al's impression of Jacob details[3]
(f)Explain what Camel and Uncle Al are thinking when they 'exchange glances.' (line 50)[2]
(g)From paragraph 5, give two physical signs that indicate that the giraffe is ill.[2]
(h)Explain using your own words Jacob's different feelings about the circus train and everything and everyone it carries. Give three details from anywhere in the text to support your answer.[3]

Mark scheme

Marking points from the official mark scheme (Oct/Nov 2025). The mark or mark type is shown in brackets.

[1] (track) rattles (faintly)
[1] (warning) whistle (shrieks)
[1] ('scanning') looking / searching (for) / trying to find / checking / observing
[1] ('desperately') urgently / madly / anxiously / eagerly / really wants to find something / in great need of / a matter of life or death
[1] You like circuses?
[1] he has not noticed / did not know that he is on a circus train / he thought it was just a normal train
[1] Because the question is unusual / seems out of place / random / unexpected (to him)
[1] (he feels) threatened / intimidated / he may be in danger // is powerless / scared / vulnerable / overwhelmed / trapped
[1] they are in control / imposing / predatory
[1] the men / they are having fun (at his expense) / are playing with / teasing him
[1] (Impression) (he thinks) Jacob knows nothing relevant / is useless / young / privileged
[1] (Impression) ridicules / looks down on him // is sarcastic / sneering / unimpressed / judgemental
[1] (Detail) 'just looking for adventure' // ‘Mr College Boy'
[1] (Detail) 'smirking' / '(clearly) amused'
[1] (Detail) 'Study something useful?' / thinks he will not have studied anything useful
[1] (Detail) '(eyes gleam in) mockery'
[1] he is almost a (real) vet // close to being qualified // studied veterinary science
[1] he is educated / has knowledge / skills / experience
[1] he could be useful to them / was what they needed // he could treat the giraffe / circus animals
[1] they had misjudged him
[1] pus (flowing) down / in (her long) nasal (passage) / nostrils / nose // (he swabs out her) infected nostrils
[1] she is too weak to move // she does not move / is still
[1] (Feeling: shocked/surprised/amazed/overwhelmed/stunned) and (Detail: 'a massive engine explodes' / the loud sound of the train / 'passing so close, I'm hit by a wall of wind' / 'sudden sight, sound and stink (are too much)' / 'stunned' / 'Kid, don't tell me you didn't notice')
[1] (Feeling: confused/clueless/puzzled) and (Detail: '(what look) oddly like telephone poles' / 'Kid, don't tell me you didn't notice' / 'Notice what?' / 'I must look puzzled' / 'I blink at him')
[1] (Feeling: hopeful/relief/the train offers escape, a better life) and (Detail: 'it's travelling towards civilisation and food')
[1] (Feeling: determined/committed/positive/confident/comfortable/belonging) and (Detail: 'I cling tightly' / 'I pull myself upwards with everything I've got' / 'Too late,' I say. 'I'm staying' / 'come on, kid')
[1] (Feeling: scared/worried/anxious/trapped/vulnerable/uncomfortable/under pressure/intimidated/inferior) and (Detail: 'There's no dismounting without going under' / 'Two men are staring at me' / 'stumble backwards' / 'scanning desperately' / 'I scramble to my feet' / 'there's nowhere to go' / 'eyes gleam in mockery' / 'I feel like a mouse being bounced between two cats')
[1] (Feeling: amused by Uncle Al) and (Detail: 'steps forward theatrically' / 'showman written all over him' / 'ridiculously curled moustache')
[1] (Feeling: pity/empathy/sad/concern for the giraffe // a responsibility to treat her) and (Detail: 'pus flowing down' / 'She seems sad, imprisoned here' / 'she's too weak to move' / 'swab out her infected nostrils' / 'swaddle her throat with a soft cloth')
[1] (Feeling: curious) and (Detail: 'peer inside through small hole')
[1] (Feeling: admiration/impressed/awe/amazed/excited/mesmerised/enjoyment/fascination/enthusiasm/happy) and (Detail: 'the most elegant creature I've seen' / 'eyes are huge dark, beautiful' / 'the tent is massive' / 'like the deck and mast of a pirate sailboat' / 'packed solid, glowing and pulsing' / 'an enormous beast, the colour of storm clouds' / 'She's gargantuan' / 'I'm staying')