IGCSE (First Language) Writer’s Effects Practice 3, November 2017

 

 Passage : The Spacesuit

 

Astronaut A is based at a station in space and is sent on a mission to remove some hazardous debris which is occupying an orbit path.

 

When Satellite Control called me, I was in the observation bubble – the glass-domed office that juts out from the axis of the space station like the hubcap of a wheel. Only a few yards away I could see the construction teams performing their slow-motion ballet as they put the station together like a giant jigsaw puzzle. And beyond them, four hundred kilometres below, was the blue-green glory of the full Earth, floating against the ravelled star clouds.

 

‘Astronaut A here,’ I answered. ‘What’s the trouble?’

 

‘Our radar’s showing some metallic debris three kilometres away, almost stationary, about five degrees west of Sirius. Someone needs to go out and haul it aboard; get it out of orbit.’

 

Hastily, I clambered into my spacesuit. Our suits are really baby spaceships, just big enough to hold one person. They are cheerfully coloured stubby cylinders, about two metres long, and fitted with softly chattering, low-powered propulsion jets. Their accordion sleeves at the upper end fit with hospitable snugness around an astronaut’s arms and the gentle contours of the helmet’s visor finish the feeling that you are being looked after by a responsible friend.

 

Inside, I switched on the power and checked the gauges on the tiny instrument panel. All my needles were well in the safety zone, so I lowered the transparent hemisphere over my head and sealed myself in. For a short trip like this, I did not bother to check the suit’s internal lockers, which were used to carry food and special equipment for extended missions. The conveyor belt decanted me into the air lock. Then the pumps brought the pressure down to zero, the outer door opened, and the last traces of air swept me out into the stars, turning me very slowly head over heels.

 

I was now an independent planet – a little world of my own. I was sealed up in a tiny mobile cylinder, with a superb view of the entire universe, but I had practically no freedom of movement inside the suit. The padded seat and safety harness prevented me from turning around, though I could reach all the controls and lockers with my hands or feet.

 

In space the great enemy is the Sun, which can blast you to blindness in seconds. Very cautiously, I switched the helmet’s external sunshade to automatic, so that whichever way the suit gyrated, my eyes would be shielded.

 

Presently, I found my target, a bright fleck of silver whose metallic glint distinguished it clearly from the surrounding stars. I stamped on the jet control pedal and felt the mild surge of acceleration as the low-powered rockets set me moving away from the station. After ten seconds of steady thrust, I cut off the drive. It would take me five minutes to coast the rest of the way, and not much longer to return with my salvage.

 

And it was at that moment that I knew that something was horribly wrong!

 

It is never completely silent inside a spacesuit: you can always hear the gentle hiss of oxygen, the faint whirr of fans and motors, the susurration of your own breathing. These sounds are the unnoticed background of life in space, for you are aware of them only when they change.

 

They had changed now. To them had been added a sound which I could not identify. It was an intermittent, muffled thudding, sometimes accompanied by a scraping noise.

                         

I froze instantly, holding my breath and trying to locate the alien sound with my ears. The meters on the control board gave no clues; all the needles were rock-steady on their scales; no flickering red lights warned of impending disaster.

 

Three things had gone wrong at once. The oxygen regulator had run wild and sent the pressure soaring; the safety valve had failed to blow, and a faulty joint had given way.

 

Blind panic meant that it took me several attempts before I could press the right button and switch my transmitter to the emergency wavelength. ‘Station!’ I gasped. ‘I’m in trouble…’.

 

I never finished; they say my yell wrecked the microphone.

 

I must have lunged forward despite the safety harness and smashed against the upper ledge of the control panel. When the rescue squad reached me a few minutes later, I was unconscious, with an angry bruise across my forehead. Coming to my senses an hour later, I saw our medical staff gathered round my bed.

 

Question

 

 

Re-read the descriptions of:

 

•         the space station and what Astronaut A saw in paragraph 1, beginning ‘When Satellite Control called me…’

 

•         the spacesuit in paragraph 4, beginning ‘Hastily, I clambered into my spacesuit…’.

 

Select four powerful words or phrases from each paragraph. Your choices should include imagery.

 

Explain how each word or phrase is used effectively in the context.

 

Write about 200 to 300 words.

 

Format:

 

a)

 

First paragraph (short):    Opening Thesis

 

Mainbody:            (May be) one or two paragraphs to explain the effects of three selected  words or phrases.

 

b)

 

First paragraph (short):    Opening Thesis

 

Mainbody:            (May be) one or two paragraphs to explain the effects of three selected  words or phrases.

 

 

.

Suggested  answers (You must use paragraphs):

 

the space station and what Astronaut A saw in paragraph 1, beginning ‘When Satellite Control called me…’
Opening thesis	The general effect is of a sense of calm and wonder created by the experience of being in outer space.

 

 

observation bubble: spherical, transparent, relatively thin, floating, separate, fragile, beautiful

 

glass-domed office: half-sphere of glass, offers incredible open view of universe

 

(like the) hubcap of a wheel (image): circular shape attached to the space station, often silver/gleaming, protection

 

 

performing their slow-motion ballet (image): floating, zero gravity, elegant, smooth, fluid, co-ordinated, choreographed movements of dancers

 

(like a) giant jigsaw-puzzle (image): station is under construction; many pieces which all have to fit perfectly/ precisely, painstaking, careful, complicated

 

 

blue-green glory (of the full Earth): sea and land on earth seen from Space, grandeur, idealised, heavenly picture, unpolluted earth

 

 

floating against the ravelled star clouds: Earth shown in contrast to star clusters that move in and out of each other, weightless, suspended, gentle movement; stars appear entangled, moving around each other; beautiful, ethereal

 

 

 

the spacesuit in paragraph 4, beginning ‘Hastily, I clambered into my spacesuit…’.
Opening thesis	The general effect is a reassuring, friendly one. Astronauts associate the space-suit with pleasurable, comfortable and safe missions.

 

 

baby space-ships: very small but have the technology of a much bigger craft,

 

innocence, harmlessness, vulnerable

 

cheerfully-coloured: bright, primary colours, playful, unthreatening

 

stubby cylinders: short, chunky, fat tube -shapes, appealing, endearing

 

softly-chattering (image): gentle noises of the propulsion jets, reassuring, friendly voices, companionship

 

 

accordion sleeves (image): compress and expand like the musical instrument, flexible, soft, moveable, in harmony with their wearer’s movements

 

hospitable snugness: a comfortable fit, protection, friendliness

 

gentle contours: smooth, curved, safe, unthreatening

 

 

(being looked after by a) responsible friend : someone you trust, can rely on to take care of you, keep you safe, not expect to let you down