Secondary 2, English, Worksheet 2, Section B, Comprehension, Passage A – tbc

There are a total of 17 questions.
Time Limit: minutes
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Completed:
a) 17 questions already input into LMS. Including sub-questions
b) categorized.
To follow up:
a) marks allocation
b) time limit
c) requires model answers and workings / explanations (if any);
d) review and determine if format /presentation is appropriate. Currently format used is:
i) Fill in the blanks (to consider if essay / open answer format is more appropriate – Q1 – Q7)
NOTE: for section B: betwen Passage A and B, they are not linked and hence, Passage B shall be setup in a separate quiz.

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Passage A

1 When I was a youth, my passions were photography and rock climbing. During a break from my first year at college I decided to attempt a technically challenging climb in England’s Peak District. There is a limestone spire in Dovedale called llam Rock that erupts from the ground like the tooth of some massive prehistoric monster. The entire route was severely overhanging to the extent that if you dropped a stone from the top, it would hit the ground some thirty feet out from the base. Of course, I wanted to photograph the climb and determined that afternoon light would be the best.

2 Together with Paul, an old school friend, we set off in my father’s car and in early afternoon sunshine made the two-mile walk up the valley, crossing the river, and meandering through woods, to the base of the rock. We started the climb. As the afternoon progressed, clouds started to obscure the sun and the beautiful light I had planned for evaporated. The climb was also much more difficult than either of us had anticipated and I now had to contend with the added burden of useless camera equipment.

3 By the time I reached the top it was already evening and the light was starting to fade. The route was strewn with equipment that climbers use for safety protection, and for two struggling students it represented several months’ allowance. There was no way gar we were going to abandon it. Paul started up. His progress was slow, and whether we liked it or not we were bound together by the rope.

4 When Paul reached me on the summit the light had almost disappeared. The only way down was the way we’d come up, using a technique known as rappelling. A rope is anchored at the top of the climb and you slide down it. In this case, the rope was hanging free – and the slide down was through thin air, not one toehold anywhere. By the time we had the rappel rope secured the light had gone completely and it was very, very dark. It was a moonless night creating a deep dense darkness with no relief, as though every glimmer of light had been sucked from the earth. The cloud cover even blocked out starlight.

5 Paul went down first, hesitatingly launching himself into the black void. Within a few seconds a cry came drifting up to me, “I’m stuck. My arm’s caught in the rope.” Somewhere Paul had read that if circulation was cut off, gangrene would set in within half an hour. I never did find out if this is true but Paul was convinced. Bouncing up and down on the rope and by now his arm had gone dead. It was a helpless situation: I was on top of the rock with no way of getting down to help, Paul had only one functioning arm, and neither of us could see a thing. Paul had absolutely no idea how close he was to the ground. Thirty minutes passed slowly, and he made a wrong move. He freed his arm and fell. Fortunately, he was only five feet above the ground! I followed even more hesitantly, and within minutes I was standing beside Paul, although I still couldn’t see him.

6 My father’s car was still two miles down the valley. What had been a pleasant country walk on the way in suddenly became a major expedition back. I almost always carried a flashlight with me – but not this night. Paul was a smoker and had a few matches with him, which helped us find our way to the path but soon they were gone. For over two hours we groped our way along the river’s edge, often on all fours, arriving at the car well after midnight. We arrived home in the early hours of the morning covered in mud, totally disheveled, to face the wrath of my father who had just been to inform the police of our disappearance – and the disappearance of his car – not necessarily in that order!