English Language Paper 1, Second Specimen

SourceA:anextractfromthenovelBrightonRockbyGrahamGreene

It is 1938, inthe popular seaside resortof Brighton on a Bank Holiday1. Hale, playing the part of Kolly Kibber, works for The Daily Messenger newspapergiving out cards for prizes tothe holiday crowd. But he has something else on his mind.

Source A

BRIGHTONROCK

HALE knew, before he had been in Brighton threehours, that they meant to murder him. With his inky fingers and his bitten nails, hismannercynical and nervous, anybody could tell he didn't belong - belong to theearly summer sun, the cool Whitsun1wind off thesea, the holiday crowd.

They came in by train fromVictoria every five minutes, rocked down Queen'sRoad standing on the topsof

5the little local trams, stepped off in bewildered multitudes into fresh and glittering air: the new silver paint sparkled on the piers, the cream housesran away into the westlike a pale Victorian water-colour; a race in miniature motors, a band playing, flower gardens in bloom below the front, an aeroplaneadvertising something for the health in palevanishing clouds across thesky.

It had seemed quite easy to Hale to be lostin Brighton. Fifty thousand people besides himself were down

10for the day, and for quite awhile he gave himself uptothe good day, drinking gins and tonics whereverhis programme allowed. Forhe had to stickclosely to a programme: from ten till eleven Queen's Road and Castle Square, from eleven tilltwelve the Aquariumand Palace Pier, twelve till one the front between the

Old Ship andWest Pier, back for lunchbetween oneand two in any restaurant he chose round the Castle

Square, andafter that he had to make his way all downthe parade to West Pier and then to the stationby

15the Hove streets.

Advertised on every Messenger poster: "Kolley Kibber inBrighton today”. Inhis pocket he had a packet of cards to distribute in hidden placesalong his route: those who found them would receive ten shillings from the Messenger, but the big prize was reserved for who-ever challenged Hale in the proper form of words and with a copy of the Messenger in his hand: "Youare Mr. Kolley Kibber.I claim the Daily Messenger

20prize."

This was Hale's job to keep doing his duty until a challenger released him, in every seaside town in turn:

yesterday Southend, todayBrighton, tomorrow –

He drank his gin and tonic hastily as a clockstruckeleven, and moved out of Castle Square. Kolley Kibber always played fair, always wore the same kind ofhat as inthe photograph the Messengerprinted, was

25always on time. Yesterday in Southend he had been unchallenged: the paper liked to save its guineas2

occasionally but not too often. It was his duty today to be spotted and it was his inclination too. There were reasons why he didn't feeltoo safe inBrighton, even in a Whitsun crowd.

He leant against the rail near the Palace Pier and showed his face to thecrowd as it uncoiled endlessly past him,likea twisted piece of wire, two by two, each with an air of sober and determinedgaiety. They

30had stood all the way fromVictoria incrowded carriages,they would have to wait in queues for lunch,at midnight half asleep they would rock back intrainsanhour late to the cramped streets and the closed pubs and the weary walk home. With immense labour and immense patience they extricated fromthe long day the grain of pleasure: thissun, this music, the rattleof the miniature cars, theghost train diving between the grinning skeletons under the Aquariumpromenade,thesticks ofBrighton rock,the papersailors caps.

35Nobody paidany attention to Hale; no one seemedto be carrying a Messenger. He deposited one of his cards carefully on the top of a little basket and moved on, with his bitten nails and his inkyfingers, alone.

1Bank Holiday – an official holidaywhen banks and most offices are closed.

2 Whitsun –A Christian festival on the seventh Sunday after Easter

3Guineas – A guinea was an old form ofcurrency equivalent to just over £1

1hour45minutes

SectionA

Answerall questions inthissection.

Youareadvisedtospendabout 45minutesonthissection.

  1. Read again the first part of the source, lines 1 to 3. List four things from this part of the source about Hale. [4 marks]
  2. Lookindetail at thisextract, lines4to11ofthesource.[8 marks]

Howdoes thewriteruselanguageheretodescribeBrightononthat day?

Youcouldinclude thewriter’schoiceof:

  • wordsandphrases
  • languagefeaturesandtechniques
  • sentenceforms.

Younowneed tothinkabout thewholeof thesource.

  1. Thistextisfrom theopeningofanovel.[8 marks]

Howhas thewriter structuredthetexttointerest youasareader? Youcouldwriteabout:

•whatthewriter focusesyourattentiononat thebeginning

•howandwhythewriterchangesthisfocusasthesourcedevelops

•anyotherstructuralfeaturesthat interest you.

  1. Focus thispartofyour answeron thesecondpartof thesource,from line16tothe end.

A student, having readthissectionof thetext, said: “Thispartof thetext, explaining whatHaleisdoing, showshownervousandunsafehefeels. It remindsmeofthefirst line.” Towhatextentdo youagree?

Inyour response,youcould:

  • consideryourownimpressionsofhowHalefeels
  • evaluatehowthewritercreatesanunsafeatmosphere
  • supportyouropinionswithquotations from thetext.

SectionB: Writing

Youareadvisedtospendabout 45minutesonthissection.

Writeinfull sentences.

Youareremindedoftheneed toplanyouranswer.

Youshouldleaveenough timetocheckyourworkat theend.

  1. Yourschool or collegeisaskingstudentstocontributesomecreativewritingforits website.

Either:Writeadescriptionsuggestedbythispicture:

OrDescribeanoccasionwhenyoufelt unsureor challenged. Focusonthe thoughtsandfeelingsyouhadat that time.

[40 marks: 24 for content and organisation, 20 for technical accuracy]