iGCSE Quiz on the Skills for Paper 2
- 1. iGCSE Skills Preparation Quiz How ready are you?
- 2. Round One: Can you choose the right words? He had set off at seven a.m., and by eleven had covered half the distance. Seated on a fallen tree, he unmittened his right hand, reached inside his coat and fished out a biscuit. He had barely chewed the first mouthful when his numbing fingers warned him to put his mitten on again. This he did, surprised at the bitter swiftness with which the frost had bitten. He could feel himself beginning to chill, so he leaped to his feet and ran briskly up the trail. This made him warm again, but the moisture he exhaled crusted his lips with ice crystals and formed a miniature glacier on his chin. Now and again sensation abandoned his face, and he rubbed it till it burned with the returning blood. You have two paragraphs below... Can you pick out the phrases the exam board is expecting you to comment on? Bonus Mark: can you identify the focus of the descriptions? It is impossible to build a fire wearing heavy Alaskan mittens, so Tom bared his hands, gathered a number of twigs, and knelt down to kindle his nest of fire. From a pocket he drew out his matches and a strip of thin birch bark. He separated one match from the bunch and scratched it on his trousers. The bark burst into bright flame, which he carefully fed with the smallest twigs, cherishing it with the utmost care, gently nurturing it. His feet had started to grow numb, but the fire, although a very young one, was now alive. He had set off at seven a.m., and by eleven had covered half the distance. Seated on a fallen tree, he unmittened his right hand, reached inside his coat and fished out a biscuit. He had barely chewed the first mouthful when his numbing fingers warned him to put his mitten on again. This he did, surprised at the bitter swiftness with which the frost had bitten. He could feel himself beginning to chill, so he leaped to his feet and ran briskly up the trail. This made him warm again, but the moisture he exhaled crusted his lips with ice crystals and formed a miniature glacier on his chin. Now and again sensation abandoned his face, and he rubbed it till it burned with the returning blood. It is impossible to build a fire wearing heavy Alaskan mittens, so Tom bared his hands, gathered a number of twigs, and knelt down to kindle his nest of fire. From a pocket he drew out his matches and a strip of thin birch bark. He separated one match from the bunch and scratched it on his trousers. The bark burst into bright flame, which he carefully fed with the smallest twigs, cherishing it with the utmost care, gently nurturing it. His feet had started to grow numb, but the fire, although a very young one, was now alive.
- 3. Round Two: Reasonable inference You are going to see four pictures. As a group, decide on two reasonable inferences for each one, based on what you see.
- 8. Round Three: What’s it mean again? All of these words have appeared on the iGCSE papers over the last year. Without a dictionary, can you work out what they mean… Bonus Mark: can you identify a least one synonym for each? sturdy formidable grievous counteracted. pitifullypenetrate perpendicularstunted transparentranged (over)
- 9. Round Four: Selecting the right facts Freediving pushes the human body to extremes and there is no scuba equipment involved. The water pressure gets more intense the deeper one goes, compressing lungs to the size of lemons. ‘It feels as though you have an elephant sitting on your chest,’ says Tanya. The heart slows to 15 beats per minute. During ascent the lungs expand again, and this rapid change can bring on a blackout. How deep humans can dive and survive is still a mystery to doctors and scientists, as the limits keep being pushed further. She explains that it is not only a physical achievement but a mental one. ‘The diver learns a lot about him or herself on that long, dark dive, and I think that’s where the real achievement lies, in that degree of selfdiscovery. Once you conquer something you thought was impossible, it changes your life.’ What might attract someone to free diving? Freediving pushes the human body to extremes and there is no scuba equipment involved. The water pressure gets more intense the deeper one goes, compressing lungs to the size of lemons. ‘It feels as though you have an elephant sitting on your chest,’ says Tanya. The heart slows to 15 beats per minute. During ascent the lungs expand again, and this rapid change can bring on a blackout. How deep humans can dive and survive is still a mystery to doctors and scientists, as the limits keep being pushed further. She explains that it is not only a physical achievement but a mental one. ‘The diver learns a lot about him or herself on that long, dark dive, and I think that’s where the real achievement lies, in that degree of self discovery. Once you conquer something you thought was impossible, it changes your life.’
- 10. Round Five: Convention Chaos Can you identify which genre matches which convention… and yes there’s one for each! Opening paragraph summing up WWWWW and contains interviews Writer appears to be talking to or confiding in someone, focusing on feelings and specific moments Direct address to someone, often someone well known to the writer and needs to include the subject in the text. Needs a strong sense of voice and speck directly to audience, grabbing their attention early on.
- 11. Round Six: Only the essentials… Ok, so your last challenge is a simple one. Summarise the key things to remember for each question in no more than 30 words for each question. You should link your ideas together, and include enough information to achieve a level 2 at a minimum.