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Read the extract and answer the following questions.
Extract:
She held her hand on the door as though she wanted to prevent it opening any further. Her face gave absolutely no sign of recognition. She kept staring at me in silence. Perhaps I was mistaken, I thought, perhaps it isn’t her. I had seen her only once, fleetingly, and that was years ago. It was most probable that I had rung the wrong bell. The woman let go of the door and stepped to the side. She was wearing my mother’s green knitted cardigan.
(The Address)
Question (i)
List any two sensory details present in this extract.
Answer:
Answer as written by the student:
Two sensory details present in this extract are "She held her hand on the door" and "She was wearing my mother’s green knitted cardigan".
Step-by-step explanation: 📝
- Sensory details are words or phrases that appeal to one or more of the five senses: sight, sound, smell, taste, and touch.
- To find sensory details in a text, we can look for words that describe how something looks, sounds, smells, tastes, or feels.
- In this extract, one sensory detail is "She held her hand on the door", which describes how the woman physically blocked the door from opening further. This appeals to the sense of touch and sight.
- Another sensory detail is "She was wearing my mother’s green knitted cardigan", which describes how the woman looked and what she wore. This appeals to the sense of sight and touch.
Question (ii)
Complete the sentence appropriately.
The phrase "Her face gave absolutely no sign of recognition" suggests that ____________.
Answer as written by the student:
The phrase "Her face gave absolutely no sign of recognition" suggests that she did not remember or acknowledge the narrator.
Step-by-step explanation: 📝
- To complete a sentence with an appropriate word or phrase, we need to understand the meaning and context of the sentence.
- In this case, the sentence is about the woman's reaction to seeing the narrator at her door.
- The phrase "Her face gave absolutely no sign of recognition" means that her facial expression showed no indication that she knew or recognized the narrator.
- Therefore, we need to fill in the blank with something that explains what she did not do or say to the narrator.
- Based on the extract, we can infer that she did not remember or acknowledge the narrator, because she kept staring at her in silence and did not greet her or invite her in.
- So, we can complete the sentence with "she did not remember or acknowledge the narrator".
Question (iii)
Explain any one possible inference that can be drawn from the line "It was most probable that I had rung the wrong bell".
Answer:
Answer as written by the student:
One possible inference that can be drawn from this line is that the narrator was unsure and doubtful about finding the right address or person.
Step-by-step explanation: 📝
- An inference is a logical conclusion based on evidence and reasoning from a text.
- To explain an inference, we need to provide both the evidence from the text and our reasoning behind it.
- In this case, the line "It was most probable that I had rung the wrong bell" is a statement made by the narrator about her uncertainty and confusion after seeing the woman at the door.
- The evidence from this line is that the narrator says that it was likely that she had made a mistake and pressed the wrong doorbell.
- Our reasoning behind this inference is that this statement implies that the narrator was unsure and doubtful about finding the right address or person, because she had only seen the woman once before and did not get a clear or friendly response from her.
- Therefore, we can explain our inference by saying that this line shows that the narrator was unsure and doubtful about finding the right address or person.
Question (iv)
Identify the line from the text that bears evidence to the fact that the narrator had a personal connection with the woman.
Answer:
Answer as written by the student:
The line from the text that bears evidence to the fact that the narrator had a personal connection with the woman is "She was wearing my mother’s green knitted cardigan".
Step-by-step explanation: 📝
- To identify a line from the text that supports a fact, we need to look for words or phrases that show or imply the fact.
- In this case, the fact is that the narrator had some kind of relationship or association with the woman, beyond being strangers or acquaintances.
- The line that shows this fact is "She was wearing my mother’s green knitted cardigan".
- This line implies that the woman had possession of something that belonged to the narrator's mother, and that she wore it as her own.
- This suggests that the woman had some contact or involvement with the narrator's mother or family, and that she had access to their belongings.
- Therefore, we can identify this line as the evidence for the fact.
Question (v)
What does the term 'fleetingly' indicate about the narrator's memory of the woman?
Answer:
Answer as written by the student:
The term 'fleetingly' indicates that the narrator's memory of the woman was vague and brief.
Step-by-step explanation: 📝
- To explain what a term indicates about something, we need to define the term and relate it to the context of the text.
- In this case, the term is 'fleetingly', which means lasting for a very short time or passing quickly.
- The term is used to describe how the narrator had seen the woman only once before, and that was years ago.
- This indicates that the narrator's memory of the woman was vague and brief, because she did not have a clear or lasting impression of her appearance or personality.
- Therefore, we can explain what the term indicates by saying that it shows that the narrator's memory of the woman was vague and brief.
Question (vi)
Which of the following headlines best suggests the central idea of the extract?
- (a) A Woman's Shocking Encounter with a Stranger
- (b) A Woman's Mysterious Possession of a Cardigan
- (c) A Woman's Unfriendly Response to a Visitor
- (d) A Woman's Unexpected Recognition of a Face
Answer:
Answer as written by the student:
The best headline that suggests the central idea of the extract is B. A Woman's Mysterious Possession of a Cardigan.
Step-by-step explanation: 📝
- To choose the best headline for an extract, we need to consider which one captures the main theme or message of the text.
- In this case, the extract is about a woman who opens her door to find a visitor who recognizes her and notices that she is wearing a cardigan that belonged to her mother.
- The central idea of this extract is how the woman's possession of the cardigan raises questions and suspicions about her identity and relationship with the visitor and her mother.
- The headline that best reflects this idea is B. A Woman's Mysterious Possession of a Cardigan, because it summarizes the main conflict and mystery in the extract.
- The other headlines are either too specific (A), too general (C), or too irrelevant (D) to convey the central idea of the extract.
