English

Stage 6

Paper 2 Fiction 2023

1 hour

Additional materials: Insert

INSTRUCTIONS
 Answer all questions.
 Write your answer to each question in the space provided.
 You should pay attention to punctuation, spelling and handwriting.

INFORMATION
 The total mark for this paper is 50.
 The number of marks for each question or part question is shown in brackets [ ].
 Suggestions for how long to spend on each section are given in the booklet.

3126_02_2RP
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Section A: Reading

Spend 30 minutes on this section.

Read the Text in the insert, and answer questions 1–7.

1 Look at lines 3–14.

(a) Give one word that means held tightly.

[1]

(b) The phrase danced a shiver across the back of her neck tells us how Helena
feels in front of Mr Westcott. How does she feel?
Tick () one box.

cold

nervous

disappointed

jealous

[1]

(c) Mr Westcott’s actions are slightly frightening. Give one quotation from the text
that tells us this.

[1]

(d) Look at lines 6–8.

Give one:

Preposition:

Connective:
[2]

(e) Why is an ellipsis ( … ) used?

[1]

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2 Look at lines 15–16.

(a) Jack and Jill went up the hill. Pail of water. Snicker-squawk! is written on a
separate line. Why has the writer done this?
Give one reason.

[1]

(b) Mr Westcott’s forehead furrowed at the bird. Why is this sentence on a

separate line?
Give one reason.

[1]

3 Look at lines 17–29.

(a) The table shows what each character thinks about Orbit, the parrot.
Complete the table with the opinion or supporting quotation from the text.

The character thinks

Character Quotation from the text
that Orbit is …

i) Except he wasn’t just any old

Helena
bird

ii)
Mr Westcott just an ordinary bird

iii)
Miss Westcott funny and entertaining

Helena’s iv)
an embarrassment / a threat
father

[4]

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(b) The writer wants us to like Miss Westcott. Give two ways the writer shows that
she is a nice character.



[2]

(c) What literary technique is close-clipped an example of?

[1]

4 Look at lines 30–38.

The writer uses different words and phrases to describe the sounds that Helena
can hear from the street. Give two examples.



[2]

5 Look at the whole text up to line 38 again. This story is set many years ago.
Give two pieces of evidence from the text that show us it is set in the past.

Piece of evidence 1:

Piece of evidence 2:
[2]

6 Look at lines 39–47.

How does the writer connect the narrative of the past with the present? Give two
ways.

Way 1:

Way 2:

[2]

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7 Look at the whole text again. Explain why you think it would be good to have a
friend like Helena. Give two reasons and one piece of evidence from the text to
support each reason.

Reason 1:

Evidence 1:

Reason 2:

Evidence 2:
[4]

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Section B: Writing

Spend 30 minutes on this section.

8 The text in Section A features a girl and her bird. Write a story about a character
who has recently got a new pet.

Think about these ideas:

 What is the pet?

 How and why did the character get the pet?
 How does the pet affect the character’s lifestyle?
 Are the character’s relationships with other people affected because of the
pet?

Space for your plan:

Write your story on the next page. [25 marks]

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To avoid the issue of disclosure of answer-related information to candidates, all copyright acknowledgements are reproduced online in the Cambridge
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Cambridge Assessment International Education is part of Cambridge Assessment. Cambridge Assessment is the brand name of the University of Cambridge
Local Examinations Syndicate (UCLES), which is a department of the University of Cambridge.

© UCLES 2023 E/S6/02