Question 1 Comprehension: Model Answers (Cambridge International IGCSE English Language)

Question 1 Comprehension: Model Answers

Paper 1: Reading is the compulsory exam for the Cambridge IGCSE First Language English qualification, and examiners recommend that you complete the questions in the order they are set.

Question 1 is a series of compulsory short-answer questions based on Text A in your reading insert.

Question 1(a-e) model answers

Question 1(a-f) model answers

The following questions are taken from the 2027 specimen paper.

The questions are based on Text A in the source insert.

Questions 1(a) and 1(b)

Worked Example Question 1(a)

What is the other name for an Eohippus, according to paragraph 1?

[1]

Answer

• dawn horse [1]

Question 1(b)

Use your own words to explain what the text means by:

(i) 'forest dweller' (lines 4-5)

[2]

(ii) 'only faintly resembled' (line 5)

[2]

Answer

(i)

• an area with trees/a jungle/wooded place [1]
• living in/inhabited/inhabitant/occupier/reside in [1]

(ii)

• hardly/scarcely/barely/just weakly/just slightly/not much [1]
• (looked) like/appeared similar (to) [1]

Question 1(c)

Worked Example Question 1(c)

Reread paragraph 2 ('These early prototype...tame?').

Give two of the main ways in which horses were used by humans in the past.

[2]

Answer

• artistic inspiration/inspired (Stone Age) cave painters/used as subjects for art [1]
• transport [1]

Question 1(d)

Worked Example Question 1(d)

Reread paragraph 3 ('Scientists identified...proximity').

Identify two reasons why scientists researching horse domestication thought that Iberia might have been the first place where horses were tamed.

[2]

Answer

• physical proof discovered that horses lived there a long time ago/scientists found ancient samples from horses [1]
• lots of pictures of horses cave art of other domesticated animals alongside horses suggesting horses may also have been tamed at that time [1]
• detailed/life-sized pictures suggests they had opportunity to get up close - not just observed from a distance [1]

1 mark awarded for each idea, up to a maximum of 2.

Question 1(e)

Worked Example Question 1(e)

Reread paragraphs 4 and 5 ('But the archaeological...importance of horses').

(i) Explain why scientists first thought Botai was 'the most likely place' that horses were first tamed by humans.

[3]

(ii) Explain why scientists now no longer believe that modern domestic horses originated from Botai.

[3]

Answer

(i) 1 mark awarded for each idea, up to a maximum of 3.

• enormous collections of horse remains [1]
• ceramic remains suggested diet included horse milk [1]
• evidence of damaged teeth suggested horses wore mouthpieces [1]

(ii) 1 mark awarded for each idea, predominantly in own words, up to a maximum of 3.

Answers which are entirely in the words of the text will not be credited.

• no way to corroborate theory indefinitely [1]
• analysis of DNA showed Botai horses were not genetically linked to modern horses [1]
• alternative explanation for apparent damage to teeth [1]
• evidence from other places that horses were tamed [1]

Question 1(f)

Worked Example Question 1(f)

Reread paragraph 6 ('Tantalisingly...grass').

(i) Why does the writer use the word 'explosion' (line 29) rather than the word 'increase' to describe the development of horse-based transport?

[2]

(ii) Explain what the writer suggests about horses in the phrase:

'elegant, living machines, powered only by grass' (line 31).

[3]

Answer

(i) 1 mark awarded for each idea, up to a maximum of 2.

• sudden/overnight/not gradual [1]
• huge/massive [1]
• impactful/had a profound effect [1]
• increase alone doesn't indicate how much it increased [1]

(ii) 1 mark awarded for each idea, up to a maximum of 3.

• beautiful creatures [1]
• industrial strength levels [1]
• incredible to think they are fuelled naturally [1]
• environmentally sound form of transport/green form of energy — horsepower [1]

Summary

• Remember to read each sub-question carefully and highlight:

  • What you have to do (“give two examples”/”write your answer in your own words”, etc.)
  • What you have to look for in the text (the focus of the question)

• Pay attention to the number of marks awarded for each sub-question and write your answers accordingly

• Make sure you are reading the correct section of text (according to the sub-question instructions)

• If the question asks you to use your own words,most of your answer needs to be in your own words; you must not just copy and paste from the text

• These are short-answer questions, so do not waste time writing paragraphs; short sentences will do:

  • Writing more will not get you more marks — the examiner can only award the amount of marks allocated to each sub-question