Cambridge Past Paper Questions
Browse 23,045questions from 25 years of O-Level & A-Level exams. Click any question to practice.
A wise counsellor. Naive and gullible. Which of these is nearer to your view of Shakespeare's portrayal of Gonzalo? Support your ideas with details...
You are Caliban at the end of the play. Prospero has just sent you to his cell. Write your thoughts.
Read this extract, and then answer the question that follows it: Jack: I have lost both my parents. Lady Bracknell: To lose one parent, Mr. Worthin...
Explore two moments in the play in which Wilde surprises the audience. (Do not use the passage printed in Question 10.)
You are Lady Bracknell travelling to the Manor House in Hertfordshire. Write your thoughts.
Read this extract from The Lady of Shalott, and then answer the question that follows it: A bow-shot from her bower-eaves, He rode between the barl...
How does Tennyson movingly convey his changing feelings about the death of Hallam to you in any two of the extracts that you have studied from In M...
How does Tennyson's use of rhythm and sound add to your enjoyment of Mariana and Maud (from 'Dead, long dead,' to 'Is enough to drive one mad')? Su...
Read this poem, and then answer the question that follows it: The Planners They plan. They build. All spaces are gridded, filled with permutations ...
Explore the ways in which Norman MacCaig memorably depicts the relationship between man and nature in Summer Farm.
How does the poet effectively make use of the sonnet form in either The Cockroach (by Kevin Halligan) or Sonnet Composed Upon Westminster Bridge (b...
Read this extract, and then answer the question that follows it: Heathcliff was hard to discover, at first – If he were careless, and uncared for, ...
What do you think Nelly Dean contributes to the impact of the novel? Support your ideas with details from Brontë's writing.
You are Edgar Linton on your death bed. You have just heard that Catherine, your daughter, has married Linton Heathcliff. Write your thoughts.
Read this extract, and then answer the question that follows it: Smiling brightly I held two cobs out while my stomach rolled itself into tight, ne...
In what ways does Dangarembga make you feel that Lucia is an admirable character? Support your ideas with details from the novel.
You are Nyasha. You have just met your cousins for the first time since your return from England with your family. Write your thoughts.
Read this extract, and then answer the question that follows it: Aruna scolded him, ‘Don't you ever get the house painted, Papa? Look how the walls...
How does Desai strikingly portray differences between family life in India and family life in the USA? Support your ideas by close reference to the...
You are Mrs Patton at the end of the novel. Arun has just left the house after giving you the gifts from his parents. Write your thoughts.
Read this extract, and then answer the question that follows it: Now he traced the outline of his face and drew in the fantastic costume. He smiled...
To what extent do you think Desai makes fun of the way people behave towards gurus and holy men? Support your ideas with details from the writing.
You are Pinky. You have just seen Hungry Hop caught in the army's net. Write your thoughts.
Read this extract, and then answer the question that follows it: Across the courtesy bay the white palaces of fashionable East Egg glittered along ...
Nick says of himself that he is 'one of the few honest people' that he has ever known. Does Fitzgerald convince you of Nick's honesty? Support your...
You are Daisy. You are in the car with Gatsby just after the accident with Myrtle. Write your thoughts.
Read this extract from The Destructors, and then answer the question that follows it: On Sunday morning all were punctual except Blackie, even Mike...
Explore the ways in which Hardy makes you sympathise with the mother and Sam in The Son's Veto.
You are Leila (in Her First Ball). You are lying in bed and remembering your first ball. Write your thoughts.
Read this extract, and then answer the question that follows it: Ann: You're not so dumb, Joe. Content removed due to copyright restrictions. Ke...
How far do you think Miller suggests that Kate Keller is a bad mother and a bad wife? Support your ideas with details from the writing.
You are Chris. Ann Deever is coming to stay. Write your thoughts.
Read this extract, and then answer the question that follows it: Cassius: Why, now, blow wind, swell billow, and swim bark! The storm is up, and a...
Brutus says ‘Antony is but a limb of Caesar'. How does Shakespeare make it clear to you that there is more to Antony than Brutus thinks? Support yo...
You are Portia. You have just sent Lucius to the Capitol to find out what is happening. Write your thoughts.
Read this extract, and then answer the question that follows it: Ferdinand: Where should this music be? I'th' air or th'earth? Ariel: It sounds no...
Do you feel that justice has been done by the end of the play? Support your ideas with details from Shakespeare's writing.
You are Trinculo. Caliban has been persuading you and Stephano to kill Prospero and take over the island. You hear some mysterious music, and set o...
Read this extract, and then answer the question that follows it: Merriman: The dog-cart is at the door, sir. [Algernon looks appealingly at Cecil...
How does Wilde make the way Jack Worthing has to live his life so comically complicated? Support your ideas with details from the writing.
You are Gwendolen. You are being taken home by your mother after she has rejected Jack Worthing as a possible son-in-law. Write your thoughts.
Read this poem, and then answer the question that follows it: The Convergence of the Twain (Lines on the loss of the ‘Titanic') I In a solitude o...
Explore the ways in which Hardy portrays hopeless love in The Pine Planters.
How does Hardy make the situations of either Drummer Hodge in Drummer Hodge or the people in No Buyers: A Street Scene so moving?
Read this poem, and then answer the question that follows it: The City Planners Cruising these residential Sunday streets in dry August sunlight:...
How does Edwin Muir vividly convey memories of childhood in Horses?
Explore the ways in which the poets use words and phrases to create striking effects in Pied Beauty (by Gerard Manley Hopkins) and A Birthday (by C...
Read this extract, and then answer the question that follows it: Yes, I was very irritable on that occasion, the occasion of my uncle's return, wh...
How does Dangarembga vividly convey similarities between Tambu and Nyasha? Support your ideas with details from the writing.
You are Jeremiah. Babamukuru has just praised you for mending the thatch over the kitchen. Write your thoughts.