Uri didn't know a slight difference to her could cause this trouble until the day she was told about force marriage. Living in a Syrian town, Salma, she was a kind, polite, happy-go-lucky 22 year old. The only difference was that she loved a girl and in the hope of her parents support and their permission, she told her parents about it. Unlike what she was expecting,  her mom fainted and Uri was locked up in her room.

Droplets of sweat started to fall and she tried to open the window but it wouldn't surrender. She kept on walking around her room, trying to settle everything in her mind. However, the more she thought about it, the more complicated it got. She found her pillow soaked up with her tears and noticed that she was crying. She was confused, hatred grew on her parents, but mostly to herself. With growling stomach and desert like throat, she spent 3 days in her unventilated room and right before she was going to faint, her parents came into her room and told her to shower and get ready to go out.

She was so happy, thinking they're going out to meet her girlfriend, but that happiness didn't last for long. She overheard her parents talking about arranged marriage with a 12 years older man and that it's going to take place in 3 days. She was so shocked and didn't want to believe the reality since she had no idea about this. The arrangement had been made even before she was born, in exchange with money to pay for her family's loans. She was frozen there for few seconds but quickly started thinking about her plans. The first part of the plan that had to happen as soon as possible was to get out of this house and she knew that the family of the groom will definitely look for her so she needed to go to a place where they can't find her in a short period of time.

She jumped out of her window with all her savings, not giving attention to the risk, but to save her life from being stuck with someone who she doesn't want. The first place that came across her mind was the UK, as she heard that it is a very opened country. Without hesitation, she left a text message to her girlfriend, saying she's going to find a way to solve this problem and booked the earliest flight ticket available.

At the same time, in Iraq, another girl called Mia was trying hard to save her life, too. She was from a Christian family, and she was very religious as she had been suffering from a disease called haemophilia. It didn't have any cure and she was devastated, but after she heard a miraculous news from her neighbour that her cancer was cured after going to the church everyday and after completing the lent, church was like everything to her. It was a stray of hope to her and she started thinking the only cure is the god.

Mia's family was spending sweet, relaxing, comfortable time together until a group of Muslim extremists came and kidnapped them in a split second. They were tied up and were locked in a room. When the guard went out, Mia found out that her rope wasn't tied tight enough. She untied it and untied other family members' as well. Luckily, the guard forgot to lock the gate, so they could get out. They were excited and happy that they could escape, but everything changed when the guards came back. They were shooting at them, and Mia's family was trying to climb up the wall. 'Bang', her mother fell, 'bang', her brother fell, and it was only her and her dad who managed to climb up the wall. The only thing they had left was to jump down the wall, and there was another gun shot, and she saw her dad falling down, in a slow motion. She felt her heart breaking down, but she had no choice, but to run away as far as she could.

She hid behind the trees in the forest near that place, and luckily, the kidnappers ran the other way to chase her. She ran to a bank, took out all her money and without any hesitation, she went straight to the airport. As she has seen a movie about a nun in UK and her dream was to be a nun, she booked for the nearest flight to the UK.

The airport was where Mia and Uri met. Coincidently, they sat next to each other. As it was a long trip, they had long conversations and when they found out that they were in a similar situation, they decided to stay together. They got really close in that short period of time since they shared similar concerns, and it was their first time talking to someone who actually understood them. Mia, especially appreciated meeting her and considered Mia as her family as she didn't have any family members left. Uri was the only person who Mia could depend on.

They reached the UK safely and they were sent to the homes made for refugees. They got on a bus to go to that place, and heard a woman screaming saying her purse disappeared. Mia and Uri could feel all eyes were on them, when they don't even know how it looks like. They insisted, but soon, the police came they were sent to the police station.          

They asked Mia and Uri about the incident, but they couldn't answer as they weren't the culprits. After few hours, they were sent back as there was no evidence that represented them as criminals. After these vicissitudes, they finally reached the refugee camp and they were briefed about how to claim asylum in the UK and they thought their lives would be smooth after it without knowing what's coming for them. They were happy even though there were rats running around and spider webs every corner, just because they weren't in their country.

When the sun rose again in that filthy room, they went to the embassy to sign for the asylum. There was an immense line starting from the entrance reaching the next building. They spent the whole day waiting, and when it was their turn, they were told to go back since the embassy was closing. They were disappointed, but stayed positive as it was their first time there.

Their way back felt different to what they saw in the morning. The trees were swaying leaving huge gloomy shadows, the sound of bird chirping also sounded dismal, and they could hear some footsteps chasing after them. They tried to run to a place with more people and started running. However, just when they started running, a hand pulled them. They started screaming and tried to run away from him, but was taken away to a quiet road where no one passed by.

As there was a ray of light, they could check the person's face, and Uri couldn't close her mouth in shock because the person was the fiance of Uri, who she ran away from. She never thought she would meet him again and was hoping not to. Mia was confused since she didn't know him, but was able to find out easily by looking at Uri's expressions and went closer to Uri.

Sami, the name of Uri's unwanted fiance left Salma to get Uri back 1 week after Uri left. People were talking about how incompetence he was, losing his own fiance. He couldn't stand his pride getting hurt and promised himself and his parents that he was going to get Uri back, hoping that would restore people's respect towards him. He was irritated when it was not easy to find Uri and was ready to do anything if she wouldn't listen to his commands. He predicted that Uri would go to the embassy and waited there for few days and luckily found her on the second day of his stake out. He was full equipped with weapons to threaten her incase she didn't  want to go back with him.

Only a weird loud laugh of Sami resonated and two girls were shaking in fear, Mia just rubbing her rosary. Sami was so happy that he finally found her and he will be respected again. He tried to drag Uri away from Mia and reported that she had to go back with him, but Uri resisted, and Mia pulled Uri back. That caused Sami's anger. He began to shout that she had to go back to Salma, and she doesn't have any choice, no matter how hard she tried. Uri would have just followed him if she was like how she was in the past, but it wasn't the old Uri anymore. She screamed saying that she's never going to go back and this triggered the disaster. Sami was so annoyed and he took out a small blade and threatened Uri to come with him. He swung the blade and heard Uri scream, but saw Mia lying on the ground. Unstoppable blood started to flow from Mia's neck and it was worse since she had hemophilia. Sami was flustered and immediately ran away.

Uri didn't know what to do and it was Mia who tried to calm her down. Mia thanked Uri for being the first ever friend to accept her as she is, not caring about her religion. She also added that she doesn't regret what she did because she wouldn't mind sacrificing herself for her best friend. Her last words were ' I hope you can achieve what you want to do and be without any turbulence, have a great life so that when we meet again, I can thank you for achieving my dream. Your dream is my dream, so make sure you achieve it. Thank you so much and love you..'

Uri couldn't stop crying until a photographer called Josh came and asked her what was wrong. He was a photographer who took photos of the sky at night. He was taking beautiful view of the night sky like any other day, and heard some people quarrelling and crying. He was curious and approached to a young girl who was crying. He was shocked to find a girl lying down bleeding, and immediately called an ambulance.

Unfortunately, it was too late to save Mia. She couldn't even have a proper funeral since she didn't have any money nor she had friends that could come and sorrow. Mia was buried silently with her rosary that she always carried with her and her luggage which was mostly books and bibles. Josh came to her burial and was willing to help Uri. It was a quiet, sad burial with Uri's cries echoing.

With Josh's help, Uri managed to report this case to the police, giving the photo that Josh took as the evidence. Since she wasn't the citizen, they could only           and said that the case is going to be sent back to her hometown if she can't redeem her asylum in a month. Uri was devastated, but Josh had an idea. Since Uri always kept her diary and wrote everything down, he thought posting it on a portal site will raise awareness for claiming asylum and the situation these days.

Luckily, Josh had a lot of followers and the news was spread quickly and people sorrowed Mia's death and soon, Mia's grave was full with flowers that were given by the visitors. This story went into the Catholic Diocesan of London and Mia and her family were given the title of martyr.



                                                                                                           

How likely is it for an ex-criminal, a homosexual and a Middle East immigrant to live in a same area, same building? Well, in the rural part of Haviland, Ohio, an ex-criminal called James, a homosexual called Jasper and a girl from the Middle East called Amira were living in a same apartment. Amira and Jasper got to know each other from work and Jasper and James were just neighbours until an incident happened.

Making a mistake of stealing at the age of 15 because of peer pressure, James had to be locked up in a prison for 4 years. The memories and education for those 4 years are gone. He had to suffer from not knowing certain things which his classmates did, when he went to high school. He was bullied at school, no teachers would listen to him. There was an incident where a student lost ten dollars, and of course, he was the first one to be blamed. Although there was no proof and he had an alibi, nobody, absolutely no one would believe him. Even later when they found out that the student misplaced her money, they wouldn’t apologise, but think that was a right thing to do. No matter how hard he tried to blend into these society, the society kept on rejecting him, repelling him. He didn’t know what else he could do anymore and thought of something which a person should never consider. He went to the top of a tall building at 6 am and made up his mind. Just then, Jasper was passing by the building and found him. Jasper was afraid of losing a person's life in front of him and quickly ran up the stairs to save him. He tried to convince him by saying all the important and happy moments of life James will lose if he just let go of his life, but this didn't work of James. Instead, James asked Jasper if he could listen to his story and started telling him about what he had to suffer. The fact that there was someone to listen to him made James forget about dying and James and Jasper became best friends.

Let them in

A criminal usually can’t get into the society easily because of people’s attention towards them. People make their own judgements whether it’s correct or not. Whatever happens, they get the blame, and not many people try to listen to them.

This is what James has to go through everyday. Making a mistake of stealing at the age of 15 because of peer pressure, he had to be locked up in a prison for 4 years. The memories and education for those 4 years are gone. He had to suffer from not knowing certain things which his classmates did, when he went to high school. He was bullied at school, no teachers would listen to him. There was an incident where a student lost ten dollars, and of course, he was the first one to be blamed. Although there was no proof and he had an alibi, nobody, absolutely no one would believe him. Even later when they found out that the student misplaced her money, they wouldn’t apologise, but think that was a right thing to do. No matter how hard he tried to blend into these society, the society kept on rejecting him, repelling him.

 He didn’t know what else he could do anymore and thought of something which a person should never consider. He went to the top of a tall building at 6am and made up his mind. Just then, a flyer landed on his head. He picked it up and started reading it. It was written, 'A shelter for all hurt spirits: ASHS, every Tuesday 7am, City Square’. This gave him a little hope to continue staying alive and decided to attend that meeting as it was about an hour later.

At the same time, there were few other people who got this flyer by chance. An immigrant from Congo, named Ray, spotted this flyer on the way back from work. His job was a delivery man and it was the first job he got in 5 years. Other employers wouldn't accept him just because he's from a poorer country. The happiness of him getting a job didn't last for even a day. When he went for his first delivery, the recipient didn't want to receive it just because he was an immigrant. Who said that racism was over? He had to experience the bitterness of being an immigrant everyday. At first, he tried to be positive and be happy that he had a job, but now, he has reached the point where he himself look down on him and he had no confidence at all.

Susan was just like any other people, but she had one thing that was different. Unlike other people , she liked people of the same sex. It was hard for people to notice because they just thought Susan was really friendly and liked to hang out with her friends. This made Susan harder since they all considered her as a friend and didn't consider how she treats them specially weird. Hence, when she confessed about her love, they looked at her like a monster and she started losing all her friends. Exaggerated facts travelled like wildfire. She lost all her hope and had no inspiration or motivation to continue the life, but just staying alive as days pass by. She was desperate to look for a reason to be alive.

The last invitation flyer of ASHS went to a girl called Lacey who was disabled. She couldn't hear properly. There were some who helped her but the majority of her classmates made fun of her because her pronunciation wasn't clear and she could't respond to them even when they were talking behind her back. Lacey was still a cheerful girl whose role model was Helen Keller, but after her mother passed away, she had to go through great sorrow and couldn't recover from it even now, after 5 years. She got bullied and she was always alone, isolated from the world. She just blames herself for being disabled.

AT 7a.m, on a Tuesday, Susan, Lacey, Ray, and James got together in front of City Square building. They found themselves holding the same flyer and immediately knew they were in a similar condition. A man came out of the door welcoming them and took them to a room. Surprisingly, he knew all the members; their name, personality, background, and everything. He was named Jacob and he was a social worker. Because all of the members had experienced the help of a social worker and it didn't really help them, they were willing to go back home before he introduced himself.

Pip was sent to London and taught how to be a gentleman to get the expectations given to him. He loved a girl called Estella. Estella was from a rich family, so he tried his best to behave and be well mannered as the sponsor who sent him to London and wanted him to get educated will only leave him his inheritance. Pip was a naive boy and he worked hard to get Estella's love more than trying to get the money. He met Herbert who was a friend and a teacher at the same time. He was very helpful and Pip liked hanging out with him. When Joe wanted to come and visit Pip, Pip was unpleasant about it as he wasn't a well mannered man. By looking at this, we can conclude that he changed and started to be disdainful of people who were not in high class even when he was one before.





Herbert told Pip to think about loving Estella one more time as Pip was going to be unhappy because of the difference between them. Estella was well educated and there was barely any hope for him. But Pip couldn't stop liking her. Estella had so many admirers and Pip would get jealous of them right away.


He found out that the one who was sponsoring him and was willing to give him inheritance was the man who Pip helped before, the criminal. He was very shocked about it and he was disgusted of him. Why would he be disgusted? I know he's a criminal but if it wasn't that man, Pip wouldn't be having this gentleman-like life and wouldn't have a chance to experience all these. But at the same time, not losing his kind character, he also helped him hide and didn't want him to be arrested and hanged.  The prisoner's name was Magwitch and he wasn't the actual criminal, but was blamed for it because his friend betrayed him.

0500/01/M/J/2003

11) a) write a summary of the character and attitudes of Giovanetta's father and what he thinks about his daughter.

Giovanetta's dad, Mr Torti is a caring person especially towards his daughter even though he likes to grumble a lot when Giovanetta does something that gets on his nerves. He always would be on her side no matter what. He handles his car very carefully calling it is very precious and he never let Giovanetta drive it, saying young people drive too fast.


b) After having fun with her friends, she got on her car confidently. As she continued her journey, she was confused as her father had been always with her. However, she kept on driving in a high speed, listening to her favourite song instead of the boring news that her father loved. Suddenly, she felt herself flying in the air. She tried to get control of the car, but due to the high speed, the car was own its own, crushing into bushes and branches. At that moment, she remembered how this car was so important to Mr Torti, but even before finishing thinking about it, the car landed in a field which was silent and was alluring. She recalled her father's wild tempers and right after sitting down in the passenger's seat, she fell into deep sleep.

Green Team Challenge

Head teacher(myself): Let's consider what these students have said. I must let the GTC know today which finalist we have chosen.

Deputy headteacher: I have looked through their profiles, but it was not easy to decide on. They all have their own strengths and weakness.

Head teacher: All right, let's have a look together.

Deputy headteacher: The first candidate is Marissa. She is a hard working, sporty student with good communication skills. She also likes solving problems which is required for this challenge. She likes being outdoors, so she should be able to adapt to the surrounding easily. What do you think? The second student is Didier who is very confident with his muscles and he seems to be extremely sporty, with map reading skills. He also manages football team and is handy with a hammer, but I personally do not want to choose him as our school's representative.

Deputy headteacher: Why do you think so? He has all the skills needed for survival like using tools and map reading and he is also exceedingly good in sports. I would choose this student. He looks like a person that can help others as well.

Head teacher: I partially agree with you, but when you look at how they speak or write, you can predict their characters. As you can see, the way he puts his words is very impolite. He thinks of himself as a  strong muscular man. I mean, it is good to have confidence in oneself, but he is a narcist. He would most likely look down on others during this team challenge and it is not going to be a good reputation of our school.

Deputy headteacher: I see, I get your point. He might not be the best choice. Let's move on to the third candidate now. Her name is Kim and she likes to think she's an all round achiever. She keeps fit by doing sports and she completed her lifesaving badges in swimming. She has also won a prize at the National Science Fair and she loves inventing which can help in solving problems. She was also the part of the Student Counselling Service for over a year.

Head teacher: She sounds sensible and she matches the requirement. We should decide on the finalist between Marissa and Kim.

Deputy headteacher: I suggest choosing Kim. She is well mannered and she is an intelligent girl.

Head teacher: I agree with you, by looking at her profile, she looks humble, honest and responsible as well. She can also work with others which is the most important part in teamwork and as she is the eldest, she would know how to care others. She would also be able to communicate well and take in information. So, our final decision is Kim and would you please let her know about it?

Deputy headteacher: Sure, I will inform her by the end of this week.

Great Expectations

Summary of first 20 pages of 'Great Expectations'

A boy named Philip used to call himself pip because that was the only way he could pronounce his name as a young boy. He introduced his name as Pip and others started calling him Pip as well. His parents were both dead and he lived with his sister. He liked going to the churchyard to see his parents' grave and used to sit there for quite some time. One day, he went to the churchyard as usual and found one odd, fierce man. He threatened Pip to bring food and files from the blacksmith, which was Pip's brother in law or else he would cut Pip's throat out. As a young boy, Pip feared him and ran back to his house. Like the man told him, Pip stole some food from the kitchen hoping he wouldn't get caught because they had a lot of food since it was Christmas. Without his sister noticing, he managed to take the file and food to the man in the churchyard. 


The next morning, when the family was having breakfast, Pip's sister drank the brandy that was refilled by Pip after taking some for the man, and started jumping around. What Pip thought was water wasn't actually water but Pip's brother in law, Joe's medicine. Pip was extremely nervous that they might find out what he has done the night before, but they moved on and started looking for meat pie. Again, Pip was at the edge of his toes because he stole it too. Luckily, police officers came in asking if they had seen two convicts. The family was curious about it, so without looking for the pie, they went to find the convicts. The officers and the family managed to catch them and one of the convicts, who had received food from Pip the night before, confessed that he had taken some food from the blacksmith's house. That way, Pip could get over with the situation, without the family knowing that he was the one who stole food to give out to convicts. 

Do you know any elderly that you talk to? Nowadays, the elderly and teenagers have conflict in themselves, misunderstanding each other, without talking to each other. There is a new scheme for both teenagers and elderlies to get to know and learn from each other. This is definitely beneficial for both of them.

I read this article on the internet about Roberta and Samuel who entered this scheme. They both claimed the scheme was very helpful and it was a meaningful time for them. Roberta got more involved in activities throughout the scheme. Before, she was afraid to go out and talk to teenagers because of their appearance. But now, she is not afraid at all and she got rid of the fear she had towards new technology. She plays game console and she learnt how to use the laptop computer. She also had changes in her motto. She now thinks that trying new things is important because keep procrastinating does not help and you don't know when the chance is going to come again. The scheme also brought her old hobbies back. Looking at Samuel, her teenager pair, she took out her paintbox again and started painting. She's not afraid of meeting new people anymore. She visits Samuel's family often and she even cooks for them. She is more energetic and lively now than before she tried the scheme.

Samuel, teenager who participated in this scheme claimed that he learnt precious skills and memorable experience throughout this scheme. He has learnt what a person could achieve in life, how old people are interesting with full of stories to tell you and also learnt how to do banking. By helping Roberta, he learnt how to manage money and to deal with bank statements and bills. Roberta also made it interesting for Samuel to visit art galleries and museums by telling her own story. Before then, he never liked going to these places. Apart from learning and gaining experience, he also had fun and pleasure talking to Roberta. He is very satisfied with this scheme.

By spending time with the elderly, you can gain experience. By talking to them, you can get the most precious advices, experiences that they suffered from and not make the same mistake. These advices and experiences are not comparable with money. These are things that you can not buy, but learn from experience. However, by asking elderly, you don't have to waste your time suffering the same mistake that they made. This will help you become a more discipline and successful person. You can also learn skills like banking skills by helping them. This will help you later when you have to manage your own money instead of losing the money because you didn't know how to manage them. You can also learn about stories in the past which will help you in history. You will be able to have more knowledge which will be a benefit now or even later when you go to college.

The new scheme is time worthy and you can gain a lot of essential skills and knowledge which will help you in the future and in studying. You will also get to know how to treat old people which will definitely help you in life.

Have you ever tried playing games? Games have become an important part of our lives, especially for  teenagers. While there are many individuals supporting games, there are people opposing to this idea, most of them, student's parents or teachers. They both have valid reasons for their opinions.

Students who said games are beneficial claimed that games make them think more creatively which helps them in studies as well. Games like strategy games require your brain to think and figure the opposition's tactic so that you can protect your realm, as well as attacking more efficiently, assuming their strategy. This wakes your brain up and keeps it busy in order to win a game. Some spend more than 4 hours in one game to protect their realm.

However, because games are designed to be addictive, people spend a lot of time in front of computers without using their time for health purposes like exercising. Sitting in front of the computer damages your eyesight. No matter which screen protector you are using, light from computers damage your eyes gradually. Not only affecting your eyes, playing games affects your eating habits which might cause you to be obese or to suffer from malnutrition from not eating correct food. When you play games, you are so focused in the game that you don't want to ruin that moment by eating, so you tend to crave fast food or snacks which are not consisted of balanced nutrition.

On the other hand, playing games unable you to meet people and socialise. Nowadays, most of the teenagers play computer games and it's their way of 'socialising' when they play games in the same server. They also chat online while playing games and team games also require team work, so people can also learn teamwork and leadership skills through games. You can learn important skills as well as having fun and experiencing pleasure, through games.

On the contrary, games keep individuals isolated from real world. What happens in games are not real. For example, you can keep your pets and families in the game, but does it happen in real life? No, it doesn't. If you start playing games at a young age, you might find it hard to differentiate the society in real life and in the game. This might cause a person to be violent as they can kill people in the game and be rewarded. However, in real life, you go to prison. There are many cases where game addicts murdered human in real life, thinking it is inside a game.

Games can be useful and be helpful to certain people. It will be beneficial for individuals regarding that they manage their time properly and don't play it for a long time. However, it is very difficult task to manage oneself especially when it is very addictive. So we should try to stop ourselves from being addicted to games. Set alarm when you start playing game, so that you don't exceed the amount of time you planned to spend, don't be harsh on yourself and let your body rest at certain times.

Have you ever wondered.....

Have you ever wondered how retailers(shops) like Target and Tesco send you coupons that you really need? Are they magicians? How did they figure this out! The truth was.... when you make membership card of that shop, they collect your personal information like name, age and gender. Every time you use the card, what you bought will be recorded down and will be saved to their data. They figure out what you'll need and what your interests are and recommend you products that you might like by sending you coupons. There was an incident where a sixteen year old girl was pregnant and even before she told her parents about it, she started getting coupons for diapers and products that a pregnant women might buy. When her parents found out about this, they went to complain to Target about getting these coupons. Few weeks later, she told her parents and her parents had to apologise to Target. It is very interesting but we always need to be careful in handling our personal information as they can be used in crimes and other negative purposes. 

English past paper 2010

Dear Zach,

I just had my amazing day at a gorilla sanctuary and I thought it would be a good idea to tell you what happened, so that you can visit here next time. It was a whole new experience seeing gorillas right in front of my eyes. They were so adorable and interesting.

The first chimp I saw was named Max and he was wearing a nappy. Have you ever imagined a gorilla wearing a nappy? For me, it was unexpected, so I was so amused by the first sight. What's more is that they are intelligent, so they can communicate with people. Max was really curious about everything and we could see the trust between him and Mark, who he stays with all the time. Chimps are just like babies. They play with children's toys, cling onto people and love being hugged. They are full of emotions. They get jealous when their caretaker takes care of other chimps and they love getting the attention. Oh, did you know that chimps don't go bald when chimpanzees do?

I met two people there and they were Mark, who I mentioned before and Madame Yvette. They were both working in the gorilla sanctuary, and they were both passionate and open minded. We could see that they care a lot for their chimps, looking at how they treat chimps just like their own babies. However, they were different at times. Mark was rather calm and quiet when Madame Yvette was bright and active. They were both great at care taking the chimps.

While I was having a great time in the sanctuary, I heard a depressing news. They told me that hunters kill the mother chimp and take away the baby to sell it as a pet to villagers. It is rare for the baby chimp to be rescued and sent to the sanctuary and even if they do, they arrive in bad physical wounds and their stomachs are full of earth they consumed due to the dearth of food. Because these chimps are sensitive, the babies who experience the mothers' death, are traumatised and can even lead to them dying of grief, refusing to eat. There were twenty-seven rescued chimps but only four are still alive. The sanctuary needs our help to provide better care and cure for the chimps including food supply and medical supply. I have entered my name for being the constant volunteer and I am planning to make donations overtime. Don't you want to join me? It is going to be an enormous help for the baby like chimps and caring care takers.

Just consider what I suggested and I will be waiting for your answer! See you soon!

Love,
Lary

First language English past paper

Interview with Signor

Interviewer: Some people say you are an eccentric man whose behaviour is odd at times. Are they right?

Signor: I guess some people can take it that way, but I don't think my behaviour is odd. It's just what a great conductor should do. We need to have fixed rules and I'm just following my daily routines. I get so frustrated whenever something stops me from continuing what I want to do. I mean, we all have our own daily routines right? We can go to high class restaurants to eat curry and enjoy riding our limousine, don't we? For me, I get bored of the perfection and wealth and I need my ears to get used to the noises before concerts, so I take a taxi despite the inconvenience. I don't see how that is eccentric. If that is, that means all the people around the world are weird. I can't stand my plans or my daily routines being ruined. That is just being organised, isn't it? I can't find anything wrong in this.

Interviewer: Oh, I see. As you always stick to your plans, how did today's concert go? I heard that there was an unexpected happening that took place. Can you explain about that?

Signor: It wasn't a big problem for me, it was just a mistake caused by a new time keeper. It wasn't my fault, the time keeper told me the time late, so I didn't have any time to get ready and be prepared just like I normally do before I conduct a stage. Just like any other great conductors, I need to prepare for myself to be prefect as I always do.

Interviewer: Oh, I'm sorry if it disturbed you. Anyway, why do you like conducting? 

Signor: I have always loved music since I was a little kid and I always liked leading others and helping them get in the right way. As a young boy, I wanted to be a general but as I grew up, I was in love with the music and decided that I want to live my life with melody and rhythms, and I found this interesting profession called conductor which is somehow like general of a musical concert. I think I have a good leadership and I manage my feelings quite decently. I also love entertaining people. The performers also love me, and I love being a small part of a magnificent team.

Interviewer: So, it can count as you achieving your past dreams! I have the last question for you. Since you have worked as a conductor for a long time, do you think that the time has come for you to retire from conducting?

Signor: No, not at all! The more experience you have, the better you conduct. If I can, I wouldn't mind dying working as a conductor. Why would you want to stop it when so many people come to look at your concerts and they praise you, give you all the attention and more? I love getting the attention I get because I am the most important person in the music hall. If I retire, I think I will die of depression from not getting what I want and what I want to do. I know I have a lot of money and I am successful, but now, it's not my goal to earn money or experience, but interact with people and keep on being famous. I love the fame given to me. That is the most precious thing I could ask for in my whole life. 

Interviewer: Okay, Mr. Signor, thank you for your passionate interview and your amazing answers!

Signor: No problem. It has been a great honour to be interviewed.

Interviewer: It has been a pleasure to interview you and thank you so much for your time. I appreciate it very much. 



Corrections are in blue.

First Language English

Paper 1 Reading and writing (Core)

0500/11

2. Your class is planning a trip to Europe and will be staying near Efteling.You have written to your cousin  who lives in the area asking for details about the park and if it would be suitable place for your class to visit. Write the letter your cousin sends in reply. 

Dear Sarah,

I just checked your letter and you are wondering if Efteling is a suitable place for your class to visit, right? You should definitely consider visiting Efteling! As you know, I stay right next to Efteling and I have seen a lot of people going there, so it is certainly a tourist attraction.

I, myself have been to Efteling and it is an eccentric theme park! There are talking litter bins and a lot of creative creations which will catch your attention. It is not as artificial as other theme parks because of the wood and flowers surrounding it. The rides are not only for the kids but some of them are even thrilling for adults as well, so I guess children your age will enjoy riding them.

If you're planning to stay in Efteling for a night, I recommend hotel Golden Tulip Efteling as it provides its own entrance to the park which makes it more convenient and less time consuming. The rooms are also large and comfortable which are suitable for group trips.

If your trip is in winter, you can enjoy the huge ice rink which is safely designed and your friends who don't like skating can also spend their time cozily with hot drinks in 'apres-ski' bar. There is also an indoor winter wonderland which provides a lot of activities like snowball throwing stalls and snow slides.

At night, you will be amused by the spectacular sight of lightings and festivals by musicians and entertainers. It is opened until 8, so you can have fun without being chased by time. Rain is not a problem in Efteling as there are a lot to do under cover.

On the other side, the decorations and some rides might be a bit childish for you if you want an educational trip. It would be more to the fun side than learning something. But, I think its worth the time and you should relax and have some exciting memories with your friends, so I'm happy to recommend this theme park to you.

Anyway, take care and let's meet up anytime soon! I hope you can have the best trip with your friends!

Love,
Ye Un

English past paper

First Language English

Paper 1 Reading Passage (Core)

1. h) Parents would particularly like the fact that Efteling is less artificial than other theme parks, there are clever details like talking litter bins which keep children interested and also teach them that rubbish should go in the bin. There is also a comfortable hotel where they can stay with large playing area and because of its own entrance to the park, guests can get some priorities for some rides. It is also a place where they can take their children during winter time with huge, safe, indoor skating rink with bars where parents can have hot drinks while waiting for their children. Efteling also provides good value of money because it stays open until 8pm, which is enough time for enjoying the rides in the park. There is plenty to do under cover in case it rains, so rain wouldn't be a problem in enjoying the theme park.

First Language English for Cambridge IGCSE

pg. 76-79

What is the theme of the story?

It is about an old man not giving way to conservative ideas like leaving home, and taking responsibilities and young people enjoying themselves, not caring about the thoughts of older times.

What are developed and undeveloped characters in a story?

A developed character is a character whose background is told in the story and the readers can figure out the character's personality, feelings and the situation. Undeveloped character is a character whose background and personality are not told specifically, but maybe vaguely.

In this story, the old man and Alice are the developed characters and Steven and Lucy are undeveloped characters.

Who are the characters?
The old man, Alice, Steven and Lucy.

Describe the characters.

The old man is an old minded man who likes to keep things and people by his side, and doesn't want to let go of them. We can tell this by him not letting his pigeons get out of their cages and not being happy with Alice marrying a man. He is insecure about his 'possessions' leaving him. Pigeon symbolises peace and maybe his way to keep peace was by keeping them with him.

Alice, the granddaughter is very excited for her new life and wants to be with the man as long as she wants and she also wants to get married as soon as she wants. She is open minded and has totally different mind from her grandfather.

Alice's mother, Lucy is very opened as well and considers Alice's opinion than the old man's because it is Alice's choice and it's her life, so she lets Alice do what she wants to do.

Steve is also a modern, open minded person who knows what to give away and to impress the old man for the approval of the marriage.

This story shows the difference of thoughts of the young people and how people from the past thinks.

First Language English for Cambridge IGCSE

pg. 74

Before the Sun

 by Charles Mungoshi

Intense blue morning
promising early heat
and later in the afternoon,
heavy rain.


The bright chips
fly from the sharp axe
for some distance through the air,
arc,
and eternities later,
settle down in showers
on the dewy grass.


It is a big log:
but when you are fourteen
big logs
are what you want.


The wood gives off
a sweet nose-cleansing odour
which (unlike sawdust)
doesn't make one sneeze.


It sends up a thin spiral
of smoke which later straightens
and flutes out
to the distant sky: a signal
of some sort,
or a sacrificial prayer.


The wood hisses,
The sparks fly.


And when the sun
finally shows up
in the East like some
latecomer to a feast
I have got two cobs of maize
ready for it.


I tell the sun to come share
with me the roasted maize
and the sun just winks
like a grown-up.


So I go ahead, taking big
alternate bites:
one for the sun,
one for me.
This one for the sun,
this one for me:
till the cobs
are just two little skeletons
in the sun.

Analysis (my opinion) 

In the first stanza, the poet is referring blue morning to the young age and afternoon as the old age. As a young child, you dream about your future and you look forward for that, but as you grow older, you realise success is not easy to gain. You might think some experiences are useless and unimportant, but everything that you have experienced turns out to be a benefit later in the future and they help you settle down.

As a young fourteen year old,  you like to face challenges and adventure and look for difficulties instead of running away from them. After the hard challenge, you can feel the sweet sense of accomplishment and doesn't do harm to anybody unlike trying to finish a challenge the easy way or by cheating.

The achievement after sacrificing your free time and hobbies, can build up and even though it might be weak and not stable at first, later contributes to living triumphant life. It is very competitive and the latecomers don't get what they want.

The sun here might represent parents or other adult as it just watches the poet enjoy his maize instead of joining him so that he can have more. Parents try to do whatever the child wants and give them everything until nothing is left just like the two little skeletons left after finishing the maize. They give up their own time for the sake of their children. Children usually don't realise the sacrifice and just enjoy what they get just like the poet enjoying the maize which was meant for the sun.

First Language English for Cambridge IGCSE

pg. 70 -71

Writing a fictional first person account

Read the passage from 'Weep Not, Child' by Ngugi Wa Thing again and write the scene from Mwihaki's point of view. Try to write in the same style as the author, using short, simple sentences.

It was Njoroge's first day of school. He didn't know the way to his school. I had to take him there. I first met him when my brothers were bullying me. He was nice and kind to me. We went to the school. Some boys were laughing at Njoroge. I didn't like it. They made fun of him. They called him Njuka. Njoroge didn't like it. Other boys told him to carry their bags. Njoroge was kind. He carried their bags. I didn't know what Njuka meant. But I always heard people calling new comers Njuka. 

I wanted to help him. I shouted that he is my Njuka. They laughed at me. I was upset. They teased us. They said Njoroge was my husband. But he is not my husband. He is my friend. I could see Njoroge being embarrassed and I felt bad. I was very ashamed but I still stood up for my friend. After the boys left, Njoroge thanked me. The boys were scared of me because my sister Mijaka was a teacher in our school. Also, because i was the monitor of the class, I could report this to our teacher. So they feared me.

I could relate to Njoroge's feelings because the school seemed so scary when I first came.  The school was a strange place. A huge church was next to it. It looked like haunted house. It felt like the place that I should never go because it was so grand. But later I found out everyone can go there. Now, I go there every Sunday. I'm sure Njoroge found it scary at first. We don't have any church near our village. 

Teachers were really different from kindergarten teachers, so it was new to Njoroge. He said he liked the teacher. But, later when he saw her punishing a student by smacking him, he didn't like the teacher anymore. I know Njoroge hates people being hurt and he told me that she looked ugly when she was punishing that student. I really hope Njoroge will be okay with other students. I think they will stop calling Njoroge Njuka after a week. Hopefully, Njoroge will like the school and get used to the school by then. 

First Language English for Cambridge IGCSE

pg 69

Writing to inform and entertain

You have just finished your first day as a new teacher at Brook Street Ragged and Industrial School in London in 1853. Write a letter to your parents telling them about it.

Dear mom and dad,

I am just back from my first day of school as a new teacher at Brook Street Ragged and Industrial School in London! It was a confusing, exciting day and I thought it would be great to tell you my experience today!

I was revitalised by the fact that I am going to have a new jubilant experience the moment I woke up today. I tried to look benevolent, friendly and my concern was to not make any mistakes which might represent professional dearth. There were about 40 students of different ages in a class, so it was interminable to cultivate their talent. Inaugurating a class was unsettling because of insolent and boisterous children.Finally, with the help of adroit head teacher, they stopped cavorting and changed their demeanour, so I could finally start their class. I didn't want to get help from any other teacher, but I couldn't help it.

The first hour was a complete chaos because my wayward of teaching was totally different from what they used to learn. I prefer them learning from the nature, so I took them outside to draw the scenery. 

However, they didn't know how to use a pen, so I had to teach them. It is partially because it is a industrial school but the biggest reason I think is due to teachers just teaching them about the jobs, instead of letting them have their creativity. 

Some students knew more than the others did and were capable of going for a higher grade, but because the school was so small, they had no choice but to stay there. I felt truly sorry, so I decided to give them lessons after school apart from the normal lesson. Luckily, they were really co-operative and appreciated it. I am sincerely honoured to meet as kind students as my first badge and I will really work hard to guide them to a right path. 

Dad, mom, you don't have to worry about me as I'm having a great time here and enjoying the ecstatic moment. I hope my students can flourish in their learning and make me proud! I now realise how conceited and snide I was after teaching these children. I'm so sorry for what I did and I promise I will be an ardent daughter from now!!

Love,

Ye Un

First Language English for Cambridge IGCSE

pg 68

Schools in 1865 would be totally different from how we go to school now, in 2015. Almost all of the teachers would be women when for me, are mostly men. They also had a lot of students in a same room, learning different subjects and having different teachers about 5 to 6. In my class, there is only one teacher and about 20 students. They would have learnt more skills that were useful in life than actual studies. Subjects they had would be different from what I have now. They wouldn't have subjects such as drama, ict, business and cultural studies. They also wouldn't have had access to smart boards or even computers. When I imagine a school life without computers, my mind just goes blank which means everything we do involve computers and their presence makes our work easier. However, children those days wouldn't have had any problems, but just writing on their books and learning from the nature. Not many children would have attended school because back then, people needed help for work, especially for poor people.

Vocabularies for this week

Vocabularies for this week!

acrid - an acrid smell or taste is unpleasantly strong and bitter / pungent

(adj.)

puncture - making a small hole in something / pierce 

(v.) 

literally - if something is said to have literally happened, it actually happened the way it was described / exactly

(adv.)

demeanour - appearance or behaviour / manner

(n.)

cavort - leaping about in a playful and excited way / dance, skip

(v.)

emancipate - setting something free / independent

(v.)

fortuitous - something good happening just by a chance / lucky 

(adj.)

metaphorical - describing something by using images or symbols / figurative 

(adj.)

dappled - having a lot of spots on something / spotted

(adj.)

reconcile - accepting something as it is / accept

(v.)

First Language English for Cambridge IGCSE (pg.65-67)

Her first ball 

From The Garden Party, and other stories
by Katherine Mansfield 

1. What does the scene in the carriage in "Her First Ball" tell the reader about Leila? 

-  The scene in the carriage tells the reader that Leila is excited for her new experience, everything seems new and funny to her and she is really looking forward the ball. She is a bright naive girl who was so fascinated that she imagined the carriage itself as a partner who is dancing with her, with people around them which were actually light posts and trees. She found it hard to keep the excitement to herself, but she acted indifferently because other cousins have been to balls frequently. She even wanted to  keep the wrapping of her cousin's new gloves as a remembrance. 

2. Leila is very exited. Do other people feel the same way about the ball? 

- Others don't find it as exciting as Leila because for them, it was a normal thing that happens occasionally, but for Leila, it was a whole new thing as she was from countryside and she didn't have close neighbours around her.

3. Imagine you are Meg or Laurie, Leila's girl and boy cousins. You are writing your diary after the ball. Describe Leila and how she behaved at the ball. Say what you thought of the ball (you have been to many). Include your thoughts on :

>your cousin Leila

>the other people at the ball 

>the venue and its decoration

- Today's ball was not a surprise but a typical ball. Nothing was special, lightings were boring as they were the same everywhere, food was normal food that are served in any ball and even the boys weren't as good looking as I had expected. However, Leila seemed to find everything fascinating and special. It was fun looking at her because it reminded me of my first ball; it was a heaven-like new world at first.We put on our best dresses and make up and I took Leila around to get to know new people and to let her have more experience. She was so cute when she was dancing with the first man.I could see her blushing and she couldn't even make a proper eye contact with him! She got better and more used to it as time passed by, but she was still so adorable like a little baby. I should take her to more balls and let her socialise with more people from now!

First Language English for Cambridge IGCSE

pg. 63- 64


Passage B - From Bleak House, by Charles Dickens (1885)

Composed on Westminster Bridge - By William Wordsworth (1807)

Both of the passages are describing the morning of London, but with different mood and tone.



1. Copy the table below and add words and phrases from Dickens' description of London in passage B and Wordsworth's sonnet "Composed on Westminster Bridge" on page 63.

	Dickens	Wordsworth
Nouns	smoke	splendour
	death of the sun	bright, glittering sun
	mire	garment
adjectives	defiled	fair
images	waterside pollutions of a great city	the river glideth at his own sweet will
	smoke lowering down from chimney-pots	the beauty of the morning
	describes more about creatures(animals and humans)	describes about the nature and its beauty

2. Look at the words and phrases for Dickens and Wordsworth. What tone or mood does each writer create?

- Dickens tries to create a negative tone and shows the busy and polluted aspects of the city and how creatures; animals and humans are suffering from it. On the other side, Wordsworth tries to create a bright and cheerful tone and atmosphere.

First Language English for Cambridge IGCSE

pg. 64

Death of a Naturalist by Seamus Heaney(1966)

All year the flax-dam festered in the heart

Of the townland; green and heavy headed

Flax had rotted there, weighted down by huge sods.

Daily it sweltered in the punishing sun.

Bubbles gargled delicately, bluebottles

Wove a strong gauze of sound around the smell.

There were dragonflies, spotted butterflies,

But best of all was the warm thick slobber

Of frogspawn that grew like clotted water

In the shade of the banks. Here, every spring

I would fill jampotfuls of the jellied

Specks to range on window sills at home,

On shelves at school, and wait and watch until

The fattening dots burst, into nimble

Swimming tadpoles. Miss Walls would tell us how

The daddy frog was called a bullfrog

And how he croaked and how the mammy frog

Laid hundreds of little eggs and this was

Frogspawn. You could tell the weather by frogs too

For they were yellow in the sun and brown

In rain.

    Then one hot day when fields were rank

With cowdung in the grass the angry frogs

Invaded the flax-dam; I ducked through hedges

To a coarse croaking that I had not heard

Before. The air was thick with a bass chorus.

Right down the dam gross bellied frogs were cocked

On sods; their loose necks pulsed like sails. Some hopped:

The slap and plop were obscene threats. Some sat

Poised like mud grenades, their blunt heads farting.

I sickened, turned, and ran. The great slime kings

Were gathered there for vengeance and I knew

That if I dipped my hand the spawn would clutch it.

    How does Heaney convey two points of view in this poem? Explore the words and images, and think about how and why the speaker changes his opinion.

Heaney tries to convey two points of view in this poem by explaining the frog with positive, bright tone at the first and later using negative and serious tone. At first, the poet loved nature especially frogs and was amused and interested in them. 'Best of all was the warm thick slobber of frogspawn' shows that he has a positive thought towards the frogs. 'every spring I would fill jampotfuls of the jellied specks' indicates that he enjoyed playing with nature. The fact that he remembered what his teacher taught him about frogs also illustrates the idea that he was fascinated by them that he paid a lot of attention towards it. 

As the poem continues, in the second stanza, he described frogs as 'angry' which is a negative expression. He used the word 'invaded' to show that he feels the frogs shouldn't be there and he is not in favour of them anymore. 'gross', 'threats', 'sickened' creates the mood that he hates frogs. 

I think the poet changed his opinion because he found out the unpleasant nature of frogs and that didn't satisfy his expectations towards them. He felt they were disturbance to him after he changed his opinion which is totally different from the view of the previous stanza. For the first stanza, he conveys the readers that frogs are helpful and are necessary for people and how nature is beautiful. However, in the second stanza, he persuades readers that frog is a pest, unpleasant, and are unnecessary creatures. 

Vocabularies for this week

expectant - thinking something is about to happen

tangible - something that can be touched (touchable)

despair - without hope

              (hopelessness) 

repentance - feeling of sorrow and regret 

benevolent - kind and patient (caring)

jubilant - feeling or expressing great joy and excitement (triumphant)

intrigue - fascinate, making curious   (attract) 

decipher - figure out, succeed in understand (analyse)

revitalise - feeling as though you have been given a new life and energy