Name: ________________________ Date: ____________________

Chapter 1: Descriptive Writing – The Fair at La Linea

Discussion Questions for “The Fair at La Linea” by H. G. Wells

1. The writer compares her memories of the fairs as the curate’s egg. Explain why the writer has
used this image.
Explanation: …...……………………………………………………………………………….
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Quotation:...…………………………………………………………………………………….
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2. In your own words, explain what the writer says about the clothes that she had to wear.

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3. Why do you think the writer ‘strutted a little’ as she walked?

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4. Give two examples that show the circus looked unattractive.

a)………………………………………………………………………………………………..
b) ………………………………………………………………………………………………

5. Why did any of the shows not start on time?

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6. Describe two things the writer liked and two things the writer disliked about the fair in your
own words.

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7. What impression does the writer intend to create when she describes the music “battered your
ears”?

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8. Why do you think the writer says the music played at the circus was trying to convince the
people of an imaginary joyfulness?

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9. Dashes are used as a way of introducing an explanation of an idea. Rewrite the sentence
below using dashes as substitutions. Do not change the meaning of the sentence.
There were the tiny wooden cunitas, the cradles for toddlers, that swung to and fro sedately.

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10. Read the sentence beginning: “Double drumbeat that was used, literally, to drum up trade”.
What does the phrase tell us?

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Alison/ Year 8/ English First/ Worksheet
11. What have you learnt about the food and drink that was on sale at the fair?

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12. Why did eating the potato crisps become “more hazardous with every passing day”?

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13. Find two extreme adjectives

a) that shows the size of an object. (Paragraph 3)

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b) that shows something is extremely bad. (Paragraph 5)

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14. In the final paragraph, the writer switches from using the first-person pronoun ‘I’ to using the
second-person pronoun ‘you’. What is the effect the writer intends to achieve?

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15. Find words from the extract which mean:

a) impressive: …………………………………………………………………………………

b) showy but cheap:…………………………………………………………………………...

16. Throughout the extract, the writer uses questions. Why has the writer used this technique?

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Alison/ Year 8/ English First/ Worksheet