Comprehension Practice 4 (March, 2019: IGCSE FLE)

 

Passage A: The unexpected at Delphi
In the following passage the narrator describes the experience of leading a tour group around the
ancient Greek site of Delphi.
I took a look at my students and wondered if we should cancel the day trip to Delphi. We had
been touring for seven days non-stop with every morning an early one; the students were visibly
exhausted. Today I was tempted to give us all a break. We had already visited many of the ancient
sites of Greece and Rome and we still had a week to go. Surely, we could skip Delphi, a site I was	5
only vaguely familiar with, without causing undue harm to the students’ education? I knew they
had wished for more time to hang out in the city, and the three-hour drive each way to Delphi and
back sounded gruelling.
‘Could we just stay here today?’ I asked our guide, careful to stay out of earshot of the students.
‘Sure.’ He frowned. ‘But I think you should go.’
I didn’t want to disappoint him. ‘OK, then,’ I said, ‘We’re going.’ After all, it seemed unfair to deny	10
the interested ones in the group the trek to Delphi.
‘It’ll be fine,’ I said, trying to convince myself as well as the students. ‘You can sleep on the bus.’
***
When we first began to explore the site at Delphi, I realised I had become captivated by the place
and strangely protective of it. There was a power here, although I couldn’t tell what it was. Divine?	15
Man-made? Geological?
Certainly, the sheer majesty of Mount Parnassus was striking. I stopped and gazed down the
winding Sacred Way below me. With the mountain at my back and the valley below, I understood
utterly how the ancients had believed this was the centre of the world. I watched the students on
the path spiralling above me, feeling in awe of the timeless magnificence of the surroundings.
We walked on. There wasn’t much talking any more. It was as if everyone recognised the	20
significance of the place.
At the top of the site, a small path opened out to an enormous stadium – the site of the Pythian
Games, which rivalled only the Olympic Games in importance for the Ancient Greeks. The stadium
was flanked on both sides by benches carved out of stone. We stood and stared, overwhelmed	25
by its size and the fact that it had stood there for 2500 years. No one spoke. It was all more, much
more, than we’d expected.
We made our way back down. I stopped at the bottom of the Sacred Way and waited for our
group. I still couldn’t put my finger on what I was feeling. I only knew that this place had existed
for thousands of years and that for all these years, others had known about it and I was grateful	30
to have seen it. And to think I almost hadn’t come. I was hot and parched and covered in ancient
dust. Yet, I felt at home and strangely at ease.
And I realised that this is Delphi’s power. There is something shockingly simple about the place.
It is, at its core, elemental: rocks, sky and earth. A place full of mystery and revelation. I thought
back over my life and felt its connection to this place. As the students approached me on the	35
path, I turned and looked up the mountain again. This was indeed a sacred place.

Read carefully Passage A, The unexpected at Delphi, in the Reading Booklet Insert and then answer Questions 1 and 2 on this Question Paper.

 

Answer all questions using your own words as far as possible.

 

Question 1

 

(a)    Give two reasons why the writer wanted the trip to Delphi to be cancelled (paragraph 1, ‘I took a look …’).

 

• ..................................................................................................................................

 

....................................................................................................................................

 

• ..................................................................................................................................

 

............................................................................................................................. [2]

 

(b)    Using your own words, explain why the writer wanted to speak to the guide ‘out of earshot’

 

(line 8).

 

....................................................................................................................................

 

....................................................................................................................................

 

............................................................................................................................. [1]

 

(c)    Using your own words, explain the writer’s reasons for finally deciding to go on the trip to

 

Delphi (lines 8–12).

 

..................................................................................................................................

 

..................................................................................................................................

 

...............................................................................................................................[2]

 

(d)    Using your own words, explain the writer’s feelings when they first began to explore the site at Delphi (lines 13–21).

 

...................................................................................................................................

 

.................................................................................................................................

 

............................................................................................................................ [2]

 

(e)    Give two reasons why the writer found the stadium at Delphi so impressive (paragraph 9, ‘At the top …’).

 

• ................................................................................................................................

 

....................................................................................................................................

 

• ..................................................................................................................................

 

............................................................................................................................................. [2]

 

(f)     Using your own words, explain the true source of Delphi’s power (paragraph 11, ‘And I realised …’).

 

...................................................................................................................................

 

...................................................................................................................................

 

.............................................................................................................................. [2]

 

(g)    Give the meaning of the underlined words in the following three phrases as the writer uses them in the passage. Then explain how the phrases help to suggest the narrator’s thoughts and feelings about Delphi and her visit there.

 

(i)      ‘feeling in awe of the timeless magnificence of the surroundings.’ (line 19)

 

Meaning of the underlined word as the writer uses it:

 

...................................................................................................................... [1]

 

(ii)      Explanation of the whole phrase:

 

...........................................................................................................................

 

...........................................................................................................................

 

....................................................................................................................... [2]

 

(iii)      ‘It was as if everyone recognised the significance of the place.’ (lines 20–21)

 

Meaning of the underlined word as the writer uses it:

 

...................................................................................................................... [1]

 

(iv)      Explanation of the whole phrase:

 

...........................................................................................................................

 

...........................................................................................................................

 

...................................................................................................................... [2]

 

(v)      ‘We stood and stared, overwhelmed by its size’ (lines 24–25)

 

Meaning of the underlined word as the writer uses it:

 

...................................................................................................................... [1]

 

(vi)      Explanation of the whole phrase:

 

..........................................................................................................................

 

...........................................................................................................................

 

..................................................................................................................................... [2]

 

Answers

 

 

 

1(a)

Give two reasons why the writer wanted the trip to Delphi to be cancelled (paragraph 1, ‘I took a look …’).

•   had been touring for 7 days non-stop / many early mornings

•   students exhausted

•   students wanted to hang out in the city / have a break

•   gruelling drive / 3 hour drive

1(b)

Using your own words, explain why the writer wanted to speak to the guide ‘out of earshot’ (line 8).

•   she doesn’t want the students to know she’s planning to cancel the trip

Note: Don’t credit answers which simply focus on ‘hearing’ such as ‘She doesn’t want them to hear her’ but reward implicit

understanding of why she doesn’t want them to hear.

1(c)

Using your own words, explain the writer’s reasons for finally deciding to go on the trip to Delphi (lines 8–12).

•   she didn’t want to disappoint the guide (who had frowned)

•   the guide advised her to go

•   she didn’t think it fair to deny the trip to those students who wanted to go

1(d)

Using your own words, explain the writer’s feelings when they first began to explore the site at Delphi (lines 13–21).

•   she felt that the place had a power

•   felt protective of the place

•   captivated by the place

1 mark for each feeling up to a maximum of 2

Note: Reward own words that capture the essence of the points.

1(e)

Give two reasons why the writer found the stadium at Delphi so impressive (paragraph 9, ‘At the top …’).

•   its great size / it was enormous (1 mark)

•   been there over 2500 years (1 mark)

 

 

 

1(f)

Using your own words, explain the true source of Delphi’s power (paragraph 11, ‘And I realised …’).

•

Its simplicity / consisting of the most basic elements / rocks, stones, sky and earth (1 mark)

•

it gave visitors (the writer) a link to the past / an awareness of their place in human existence / it helped to explain the

mysteries of life / sacred place (1 mark)

Note: Don’t reward lifts of complete sentences. Selective lifting should be rewarded.

1(g)

Give the meaning of the underlined words in the following three phrases as the writer uses them in the passage.

to suggest the narrator’s thoughts and feelings about Delphi and her visit there.

Then explain how the phrases help

(i)   ‘awe’ (line 19): wonder / admiration / astonishment / amazement

(ii)

‘feeling in awe of the timeless magnificence of the surroundings: Reward up to 2 marks for: sense of the grandeur /

impressive / beautiful nature / / the huge impact on them / the sense that it has been there for a long time or

setting

(iii)  ‘significance’ (lines 20–21): importance / greatness / value

(iv) ‘it was as if everyone recognised the significance of the place’: Reward up to 2 marks for: sense of the shared

experience / the huge impact on them / the mystical or special qualities of the place

(v)

‘overwhelmed’ (lines 24–25): overpowered / deeply moved / deeply affected / amazed

(vi) ‘We stood and stared, overwhelmed by its size’: Reward up to 2 marks for: they are stunned into silence or immobility

/ shocked or surprised / they feel dwarfed or small in comparison / they feel a sense of

their insignificance / its massive

size.