Cambridge Past Paper Questions

You are Babamukuru. Maiguru has just left your home following the quarrel over Tambu's punishment. Write your thoughts.

Read this extract, and then answer the question that follows it: She fumbles her way back to the veranda and the swing and sits with MamaPapa, star...

'A life full of disappointment'. Do you think this is a fair description of Uma's life? Support your answer with details from Desai's writing.

You are Arun. You are on your way back to the dorm at the end of the novel. Write your thoughts.

Read this extract, and then answer the question that follows it: At precisely this time in the army cantonment area, the lights were blazing from t...

Explore in detail two moments in the novel where for you Desai most effectively makes self- important people seem ridiculous. (Do not use the extra...

You are Sampath. You have just been thrown out of Mr. D.P.S.'s house after your striptease. Write your thoughts.

Read this extract, and then answer the question that follows it: The door opened, and a thick-set, heavy-looking young man entered, with the flushe...

Explore two moments in the novel which Eliot makes particularly amusing for you.

You are Nancy. You are preparing for bed after the party at the Red House. Write your thoughts.

Read this extract, and then answer the question that follows it: 'I'm going to swim,' he said later. They had eaten tomatoes and biscuits for break...

What does Hill make you feel about Mr Hooper's attitudes towards his son and towards Kingshaw? Support your ideas with details from the writing.

You are Hooper. From your window you are watching Kingshaw early in the morning attempting to run away. Write your thoughts.

Read this extract from The Rain Horse (by Ted Hughes), and then answer the question that follows it: Over to his right a thin, black horse was runn...

How does the writer vividly convey what it is like for someone to live in a completely unfamiliar country in either At Hiruharama (by Penelope Fitz...

You are Randolph in The Son's Veto. Your mother has just died. Write your thoughts.

THOMAS HARDY: from Selected Poems Remember to support your ideas with details from the writing. Explore the ways in which Hardy creates strong fe...

Read this poem, and then answer the question that follows it: No Buyers A STREET SCENE A load of brushes and baskets and cradles and chairs Labo...

from JO PHILLIPS ed: Poems Deep & Dangerous Remember to support your ideas with details from the writing. Read this poem, and then answer the que...

How does Jennings movingly convey her feelings about her parents to you in One Flesh? One Flesh Lying apart now, each in a separate bed, He with ...

SONGS OF OURSELVES: from Part 4 Remember to support your ideas with details from the writing. Read this poem, and then answer the question that f...

Explore the ways in which Halligan uses words and images vividly in The Cockroach. The Cockroach I watched a giant cockroach start to pace, Skirt...

JANE AUSTEN: Northanger Abbey Remember to support your ideas with details from the writing. Read this extract, and then answer the question that ...

Who does Austen's writing persuade you is the villain of the novel – and why?

TSITSI DANGAREMBGA: Nervous Conditions Remember to support your ideas with details from the writing. Read the following extract, and then answer ...

To what extent does Dangarembga's writing make you feel that Tambu loses something of value by trying to gain an education?

ANITA DESAI: Fasting, Feasting Remember to support your ideas with details from the writing. Read this extract, and then answer the question that...

How does Desai's writing make Anamika so memorable and significant in the novel?

HELEN DUNMORE: The Siege Remember to support your ideas with details from the writing. Read this extract, and then answer the question that follo...

What does Dunmore's writing make you feel about the way the Russian Government affects the lives of two of the following characters in the novel? ...

GEORGE ELIOT: Silas Marner Remember to support your ideas with details from the writing. Read this extract, and then answer the question that fol...

How does Eliot vividly portray Silas's loneliness before Eppie comes into his life?

SUSAN HILL: I'm the King of the Castle Remember to support your ideas with details from the writing. Read this extract, and then answer the quest...

How does Hill's writing powerfully show that Kingshaw is an easy target for Hooper's tormenting?

ROBERT LOUIS STEVENSON: The Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde Remember to support your ideas with details from the writing. Read this extract...

Explore one moment in the novel where Stevenson's writing makes you feel particularly shocked. Do not use the extract printed in Question 19 in yo...

from Stories of Ourselves Remember to support your ideas with details from the writing. Read this extract from My Greatest Ambition (by Morris Lu...

Explore the ways in which Graham Greene makes the story The Destructors both disturbing and amusing for you.

ARTHUR MILLER: All My Sons Remember to support your ideas with details from the text. Read this extract, and then answer the question that follows ...

What makes Miller's portrayal of the relationship between Steve and George Deever such a powerful part of the play?

J.B. PRIESTLEY: An Inspector Calls Remember to support your ideas with details from the text. Read this extract, and then answer the question that ...

Explore the ways in which Priestley creates such a memorable portrait of Eva Smith, despite the fact that she never appears in the play. Do not use...

Explore the ways in which Shakespeare makes false appearances so significant in the play.

Explore the ways in which Shakespeare strikingly portrays similarities between Oberon and Theseus.

‘In The Tempest good clearly triumphs over evil.' Explore the ways in which Shakespeare vividly conveys this to you.

Cecily is described as 'a sweet, simple, innocent girl' by Jack. How far does Wilde make you agree with this description?

Read these poems, and then answer the question that follows them: 'I Look Into My Glass' I look into my glass, And view my wasting skin, And say, ...

Explore the ways in which Hardy movingly conveys the grief of the speaker in The Voice. The Voice Woman much missed, how you call to me, call to m...

Read this poem, and then answer the question that follows it: The Gift After the accident, the hospital, they brought me aching home mouth pumped ...