Comprehension Practice [0500/11, Nov 2021]

 

Text A: Two lives

 

This text is taken from a longer article describing the two extreme seasons in the place where the writer lives.

 

The rains are about to begin. I am walking down the town’s central street, observing
wilted trees and feeling the dead earth crumbling against my boots. A sudden gust of
wind signals the arrival of the rains: torrential vertical sheets that sting my eyes and pit
the road like machine-gun fire, kicking up muddy shrapnel. Everyone on the street flees
in panic. I take cover under the corrugated iron awning of a shop selling groceries.	5
As the rain slams into the roof we huddle at the back of the shop, strangers thrown into
close proximity as refugees from the weather. Conversation is limited if not impossible;
we look out dimly through the downpour. Up and down the road the scene is repeated;
the whole village crouches in silence, willing the rains to stop, hoping that homes and
workplaces will not be very wet, and waiting for life to begin again.	10
The region has two lives. The first is waterlogged and still. During the long rainy season,
which lasts from June to October, everything stops. The country has precious few miles
of paved road, and the dirt tracks that knit it together rapidly become impassable. It is
a lean time, a time of hunger. Supplies dwindle, and people hold out for the first harvests
of September. Construction equipment malfunctions so building projects stop, and	15
towns and villages are cut off from the rest of the country.
The country’s second life is parched, hot and dusty. Despite the heat, the region breathes
more easily, as the communal sense of shared hardship becomes less acute. Grim
faces erased, adults share anecdotes and generously loaded bowls of fried rice with
visiting relatives, while their excited children burst out from houses and onto the streets,	20
like newly released prisoners.

 Questions

Question 1

 

(a)    Give two things that the writer is doing before the rain begins, according to the text.

[1]

 

(b)    Using your own words, explain what the text means by:

 

(i)      ‘signals the arrival’ (line 3):           [2]

 

(ii)    ‘flees in panic’ (lines 4 and 5):     [2]

 

(c)    Re-read paragraph 2 (‘As the rain begin again.’).

         Give two reasons why conversation might be ‘limited if not impossible’. [2]

 

(d)    Re-read paragraph 3 (‘The region the country.’).

         (i)      Identify two problems with the road during the rainy season.

[2]

         (ii)    Explain why life is difficult for the people of the region during the rainy season.

                                                                                                                                                             [3]

     (e)    Re-read paragraph 4 (‘The country’s second released prisoners.’).

         Using your own words, explain why the hot period is a happier time for the people of the                     region.

                                                                                                                                                              [3]

Answers

Question 1

 

(a)    

•   walking down the street

•   observing the (wilting) trees

•   feeling the (dead) earth crumble against their boots

 

(b)    (i)    

•   warns of / announces / shows / points to / indicates / tells

•   the coming / the beginning / start of

         (ii) 

•   run(s) / run away / escapes / leaves in a hurry

•   (in) fear / scared / frantic

 

(c)   

•   the sound of the rain is very loud / rain is too noisy / difficult to hear
because of rain / rain slamming into the roof
•   (the people are) strangers
•   (the people are) worried about the effects of the rain / focused on the rain /
hoping rain will end soon

 (d)   

•   there are only a few miles of paved road
•   (the dirt tracks that connect to the road / road) waterlogged / not passable /
inaccessible / get blocked

         (ii)    

•   the rain goes on for a long time / rain lasts for 4 or 5 months
•   villages and towns are cut off / can’t leave the village / roads are
Impassable
•   people get hungry / food can’t be delivered / food in short supply / have to
manage with what food they have
construction equipment doesn’t work / no construction work can be done / no
building work

(e)

•   there is more food / food can be shared with visitors
•   people can travel (to visit) / relatives can visit
•   (adults) share stories / able to socialize
•   they are no longer kept in their houses / safe to go out again / children can
play outside