Give three details from paragraph [1] that suggest the workshop had not been used for a long time.
(Total for Question 1 is 3 marks)
2
Which word in paragraph [1] describes the underlying smell in the workshop?
A) mechanical
B) metallic
C) floral
D) sweet
(Total for Question 2 is 1 mark)
3
According to paragraph [2], how many years had Underwood & Sons been open?
(Total for Question 3 is 1 mark)
4
Look again at paragraph [1]. Explain what the simile 'cobwebs stretched between the shelves like torn lace' suggests about the workshop.
(Total for Question 4 is 2 marks)
5
Look at paragraph [1]: 'brass keys glinting like fish scales under bright lights.' Explain what this simile suggests about how Aaliyah had imagined the workshop.
(Total for Question 5 is 2 marks)
6
Explain why Aaliyah 'privately thought that clearing out a shop sounded a good deal easier than clearing out a lifetime' (paragraph [2]).
(Total for Question 6 is 2 marks)
7
In paragraph [3], the brick's mortar is described as 'crumbled to orange powder at the edges'. What does this detail suggest?
A) The brick was recently added
B) The brick had been loose for a long time
C) The brick is unusually heavy
D) The brick is a different colour to the rest
(Total for Question 7 is 1 mark)
8
According to paragraph [3], exactly where was the tin ledger found?
(Total for Question 8 is 2 marks)
9
Explain the effect of the simile 'dropping each into its own tin with a bright clatter that rang out like tiny bells' (paragraph [3]).
(Total for Question 9 is 2 marks)
10
Explain why the detail that the brick 'sat lower than the rest' (paragraph [3]) is significant to the story.
(Total for Question 10 is 2 marks)
11
Explain what the personification 'as if the ledger itself were waking from a long sleep' (paragraph [4]) suggests.
(Total for Question 11 is 2 marks)
12
According to paragraph [4], what was recorded in the ledger's very last entry?
(Total for Question 12 is 2 marks)
13
Which phrase best describes Grandad Kamal's feelings as he reads the ledger entry in paragraph [5]?
A) angry and frustrated
B) bored and indifferent
C) moved and sorrowful
D) confused and frightened
(Total for Question 13 is 1 mark)
14
Explain what Grandad Kamal's actions and words in paragraph [5] (not speaking for a long moment, then speaking more slowly) suggest about his feelings.
(Total for Question 14 is 3 marks)
15
Explain the effect of the image 'the ledger lay open on the counter between them like a wound that had finally been allowed to breathe' (paragraph [5]).
(Total for Question 15 is 3 marks)
16
Using evidence from paragraph [5], explain in your own words what happened to Thomas Adeyemi.
(Total for Question 16 is 3 marks)
17
Explain how the writer creates a sense of mystery and anticipation in paragraphs [3] and [4]. Support your answer with reference to the language and details the writer uses.
(Total for Question 17 is 6 marks)
18
Explain how the writer structures the passage as a whole to build towards the discovery of the ledger entry. Refer to at least two points in the story in your answer.
(Total for Question 18 is 5 marks)
19
Using your own words as far as possible, summarise what Aaliyah discovers at the workshop and how her grandfather reacts. Write no more than 60 words.
(Total for Question 19 is 5 marks)
20
In your opinion, how does the writer make the ending of the passage (paragraph [6]) effective? You should refer to the whole passage in your answer.
(Total for Question 20 is 8 marks)
Mark scheme · CE.E1B Reading and Comprehension (Prose): Practice Set 2
Question 1
B1 One relevant detail, e.g. keys 'tarnished' (oe)
B1 A second relevant detail, e.g. grey dust 'undisturbed for years' or cobwebs stretched between the shelves (oe)
B1 A third relevant detail, e.g. the bell 'hung crooked and mute' (oe)
Answer: Any three of: the keys hanging on the hooks are tarnished; a fine grey dust has settled undisturbed for years; cobwebs stretch between the shelves; the brass bell hangs crooked and mute and no longer rings.
Question 2
B1 B only, cao
Answer: B) metallic
Question 3
B1 Sixty-two years, cao
Answer: Sixty-two years.
Question 4
B1 Identifies the image of something delicate or once fine, now torn or damaged (oe)
B1 Developed comment, e.g. suggests long neglect or a forgotten former grandeur (oe)
Answer: The simile compares the cobwebs to torn lace, creating an image of something once delicate or fine that has since been damaged, suggesting the workshop has been abandoned and left untouched for a long period of time.
Question 5
B1 Identifies a bright, lively or glittering image (oe)
B1 Links this to a contrast with the dull, neglected reality found immediately afterwards (oe)
Answer: The simile suggests Aaliyah had pictured the workshop as bright, lively and almost dazzling, with rows of gleaming keys catching the light, which makes the dusty, silent reality she actually finds feel even more disappointing by contrast.
Question 6
B1 Recognises that sorting and boxing up keys is only a simple, physical task (oe)
B1 Links this to her grandfather having to let go of sixty-two years of memories and family history built up in the shop (oe)
Answer: She thinks this because sorting keys into trays is a simple, practical job, but her grandfather is really having to let go of sixty-two years of memories and family history built up in the shop, which is a far harder thing to do.
Question 7
B1 B only, cao
Answer: B) The brick had been loose for a long time.
Question 8
B1 Behind the loose brick in the chimney breast (oe)
B1 Tucked into a shallow recess (oe)
Answer: It was found behind the loose brick in the chimney breast, tucked into a shallow recess.
Question 9
B1 Identifies a cheerful or musical quality to the sound (oe)
B1 Comments on the effect, e.g. contrasts with the quiet, neglected setting, or makes the repetitive work feel lighter (oe)
Answer: The simile compares the sound of the keys to tiny bells, giving the repetitive sorting work a light, almost musical quality that contrasts pleasantly with the otherwise dusty, silent atmosphere of the neglected workshop.
Question 10
B1 Recognises this detail suggests the brick has been moved or disturbed before (oe)
B1 Links this to how it foreshadows or leads to the discovery of the hidden ledger (oe)
Answer: It is significant because it hints that the brick has been moved or disturbed before, which foreshadows the discovery of the hidden tin ledger tucked behind it later in the same paragraph.
Question 11
B1 Identifies the ledger is personified as sleeping or dormant (oe)
B1 Links this to the idea that it has been undisturbed for a long time, or that it adds a sense of the past being revived (oe)
Answer: By describing the ledger as waking from a long sleep, the writer personifies it as something that has been dormant for many years, suggesting it has lain undisturbed since it was hidden and giving the discovery a sense of the past being brought back to life.
Question 12
B1 A front door key made for T. Adeyemi (oe)
B1 Marked as uncollected (oe)
Answer: The last entry recorded a front door key made for T. Adeyemi, marked as uncollected.
Question 13
B1 C only, cao
Answer: C) moved and sorrowful.
Question 14
B1 Identifies hesitation or being deeply affected/moved (oe)
B1 Links this to sadness or grief connected to Thomas Adeyemi's death (oe)
B1 Comments on the weight or significance he attaches to the memory (oe)
Answer: Grandad Kamal's long pause and slower, quieter words suggest he is deeply moved and saddened by the memory of Thomas Adeyemi, and that recalling his death still carries real emotional weight for him even many decades later.
Question 15
B1 Identifies the image of a wound being exposed or raw pain being revealed (oe)
B1 Links the image to old, unresolved grief finally surfacing after being hidden away (oe)
B1 Comments on the emotional effect, e.g. suggests vulnerability or the release of a long buried sorrow (oe)
Answer: The image compares the open ledger to a wound finally allowed to breathe, suggesting that an old grief, hidden and untreated for decades, is now being exposed and confronted; it conveys the vulnerability involved in finally facing a long buried sorrow.
Question 16
B1 He was a regular customer who came in about a new lock and said he was about to be called up (oe)
B1 He asked for his new key to be kept safe until he returned to fit it himself (oe)
B1 He never returned; the family believed he was killed in Normandy, though this was never confirmed to the shop (oe)
Answer: Thomas Adeyemi ordered a new front door key just before he was called up for war service, asking for it to be kept safe until he came back to fit it himself; he never returned, and his family always believed he had been killed in Normandy, although this was never officially confirmed to the shop.
Question 17
Level 1 (1-2): Identifies language or details with little or no explanation of their effect; may rely on narrative retelling with minimal reference to the text.
Level 2 (3-4): Explains, with some development, how specific words or details (for example the low brick, the rusted ledger, the grinding sound) build mystery or anticipation, supported by relevant quotation.
Level 3 (5-6): Gives a clear, well-developed explanation of how the writer's precise choices of language and detail work together to build mystery and anticipation, integrating apt quotations fluently and showing secure understanding of the effect on the reader.
Indicative content:
the brick that 'sat lower than the rest' hints at something hidden before this is revealed
the slow, deliberate physical action ('pressed her palm flat against it and pushed') delays the reveal and builds tension
the personified 'low grinding sound' as the brick slides back dramatises the moment of discovery
the ledger's cover 'spotted with rust' and pages 'swollen with damp' hint at age and long concealment
Grandad Kamal's reaction (setting down his screwdriver, crossing the workshop 'more slowly than she had ever seen him move') signals to the reader that something important is happening
personification of the ledger 'waking from a long sleep' dramatises the moment of opening it
sensory detail (the smell of 'mildew and old ink') makes the discovery vivid and immediate
withholding the full meaning of the last entry until paragraph [5] sustains suspense
Question 18
Level 1 (1): Identifies a single structural feature (for example the opening description or the ending) with little explanation.
Level 2 (2-3): Explains, with some development, one or two ways the passage is structured to build towards the discovery, with reference to the text.
Level 3 (4-5): Gives a clear, well-supported explanation referring to at least two points across the passage (for example, the contrast between the imagined and real workshop, the narrowing focus from the whole shop to a single loose brick, the delay before the entry's meaning is revealed, and the reflective ending that connects past and present), showing secure understanding of how structure shapes the reader's experience.
Indicative content:
opens by contrasting Aaliyah's imagined, bright workshop with the neglected reality, grounding the reader before narrowing the focus
narrative focus narrows from the whole workshop, to the chimney breast, to a single low brick, guiding the reader's attention towards the discovery
the meaning of the last ledger entry is deliberately withheld until paragraph [5], after the ledger and entry have already been described, building suspense
paragraph [6] shifts from action to reflection, linking the discovery back to the wall of unclaimed keys, giving the ending a sense of resolution
the family history introduced early on (the grandfather's father cutting keys, generations working in the shop) is echoed and deepened by the ledger's revelation about Thomas Adeyemi
Question 19
B1 Aaliyah finds a loose brick while clearing the chimney breast (oe)
B1 Behind it she finds an old, rusted tin ledger (oe)
B1 The ledger's entries record decades of repair work dating back to the Second World War (oe)
B1 The last entry records an uncollected front door key for a customer, Thomas Adeyemi (oe)
B1 Her grandfather explains Adeyemi was called up during the war and never returned to collect it (oe)
B1 Grandad Kamal is visibly moved, and keeps the key rather than discarding it (oe)
Answer: While clearing the chimney breast, Aaliyah finds a loose brick hiding a rusted tin ledger. Its last entry records an uncollected front door key for a customer, Thomas Adeyemi. Grandad Kamal explains that Adeyemi was called up during the war and never returned to collect it, and, visibly moved, keeps the key rather than discarding it.
Question 20
Level 1 (1-2): Simple or surface-level response with little reference to the passage; limited personal engagement with the question.
Level 2 (3-4): Some relevant explanation with limited textual reference; makes a straightforward personal comment on why the ending is, or is not, effective.
Level 3 (5-6): Clear, developed response with relevant textual reference and some apt quotation; explains effectively how particular techniques (for example the wall of unclaimed keys, or the link between clearing the shop and confronting the past) contribute to an effective ending.
Level 4 (7-8): Perceptive, well-evaluated response with sustained and precise reference to the passage as a whole; explores subtlety in the writer's choices (for example the restraint of never confirming Adeyemi's fate, or the symbolic act of keeping the key rather than discarding it) and their effect on the reader.
Indicative content:
the wall of unclaimed keys is used symbolically to represent unresolved histories and people who never returned
the ending is deliberately restrained: readers never learn definitive confirmation of Adeyemi's death, which invites reflection
the final paragraph draws together the physical clearing of the shop with the symbolic act of keeping the key rather than discarding it, reinforcing the theme that some things cannot simply be cleared out and forgotten
the calm, reflective tone of the final paragraph contrasts with the more emotionally charged tension of paragraph [5]
Aaliyah's silent observation ('Aaliyah looked past her grandfather... She understood...') positions her, and the reader, as a witness to a private, significant moment
candidates may reasonably disagree about how satisfying the restrained ending is; credit any well-supported, thoughtful personal response, whether positive or qualified