Passage 1

In this story the author describes a journey deep into the amazon jungle where, to the surprise of
the explorers, they came across creatures which they believed no longer existed.
1. We passed very slowly through the woods, partly because Lord John acted as a scout before he
would let us advance, and partly because at every second step either one or the other of the two
professors would stop, with a cry of winder, before some flower or insect which presented him
with a new type. We may have travelled four or five kilometres, keeping to the right of the line
of a stream, when we came upon a considerable opening in the trees. A strip of brushwood led to
a tangle of rocks – in fact the whole plateau was strewn with boulders. We were walking slowly
towards these rocks, among bushes which reached our waists, when we became aware of a low
babbling and whistling sound, which filled the air with the constant clamour and appeared to
come from some spot immediately before us. Lord John held up his hand as a signal for us to
stop, and he made his way swiftly, stooping and running, to the line of the rocks. Then he stood
still as if forgetting us, so utterly hypnotised was he by what he saw. Finally he waved to us to
come on, holding up his hand as a signal for caution. His whole manner made me feel that
something wonderful but dangerous lay before us.
2. Creeping to his side, we looked over the rocks. The place into which we gazed was a pit, and
may, in the early days, have been one of the smaller volcanic blowholes of the plateau. It was
bowl-shaped, and at the bottom, some hundreds of metres from where we lay, were pools of
green–scummed stagnant water fringed with reeds. It was a weird sight in itself but its occupants
made it look like a scene from hell. The pit was the habitat and nesting ground of pterodactyls.
There were hundreds of them congregated within our view. All the bottom area around the
water’s edge was alive with the young ones. Their hideous mothers brooded upon leathery
yellowish eggs which were still to hatch. The birds looked more like reptiles than birds. The
babbling ad whistling which we had registered before had come from the mass of obscene
reptilian life. Now it was combined with a horrible odour which made us feel sick. But above,
perched sentinel-like, each upon its own stone, tall, grey, withered, sat the males. They were
absolutely motionless save for the vigilant movement of their eyes or an occasional snap of their
rat-trap breaks as dragonflies went past them. Their huge membranous wings were closed by
folding their forearms, so that they sat like gigantic old women wrapped in crinkly grey shawls,
their ferocious heads protruding above them. Large and small, not less than a thousand of these
filthy creatures lay in the hollow below us. Like penguins, they lived in colonies.
3. Our professors would gladly have stayed their ll day, so taken up were they by this rare chance to
study the life of a prehistoric age. They pointed out the bones of fish and birds pecked clean and
lying about among the rocks as proving the nature of the diet of these creatures. I heard them
congratulating each other on having cleared up the point why the fossilized remains of this flying
dragon are, even today, found in such great numbers to certain coastal areas.
4. Finally, however, Professor Challenger, intent on proving some point which his colleague
Summerlee had contested, thrust his head over the rock and neatly brought destruction upon us
all. In an instant, the nearest male gave a shrill whistling cry, and flapped its five-metre span of
 leathery wings as it soared into the air. The females and young ones huddled together beside the
water, while the whole circle of sentinels rose one after the other and sailed off into the sky. It
was a wonderful sight to see at least a hundred creatures of such enormous size and ugly
appearance swooping like swallows with such swift, shearing wing strokes above us; but we
soon realised that it was not a sight over which we could afford to linger or daydream. At first
the great brutes flew round in a large ring as if to make sure what the extent of the danger might
be, in just the same way as a great white shark would circle its would-be victims before mauling
them. Then the flight grew lower and more threatening, like modern jets zeroing in on a target.
The circle narrowed, until the birds were buzzing round and round us, the rustling flap of their
wings filling the air with a sound that made me think of an aerodrome back home on the day of
an air show.

Questions:

From Paragraph 1

1 (a) State two reasons which prevented the team from moving faster than they were doing. [2]
i) They had to wait until Lord John called them up.
ii) In addition, they were delayed by one or two of the professors who stopped to admire
flowers and insects.
(b) ‘A strip of brushwood’, what does this tell you about the shape of the brushwood? [1]
Ans: It tells that the area of brushwood was long and thin.

2 a) Write down the phrase containing three consecutive words that means the same as ‘there
were large rocks scattered about.’ [1]
Ans: Phrase which contains three consecutive words is Strewn with boulders.

b) Lord John made his way ‘stooping and running’ to the rocks. Explain in your own
words why he moved like this.
[2]
Ans: He moved in a ‘stooping and running’ way so that he would not be seen and would get
to the place as quickly as possible.
c) ‘Finally he waved to us to come on’. Explain in your own words why Lord John did not
beckon them on immediately. [2]
Ans: At first, he was too flabbergasted at what he had seen to think about waving to the
others to advance.

From Paragraph 2
3 a) ‘The explorers were gazing into a pit’. What, according to the author, could have
accounted for the existence of this pit and others like it? [1]
Ans: The pit may have been a volcanic blow-hole, i.e a hole through which gases or other
substances had escaped under pressure.
b) What do we learn from this paragraph about the size of the pit? [1]
Ans: We learned that the pit was hundreds of metres deep. Since it was bowl-shaped, it was
probably hundred of metres in diameter too.

4 a) List any two similarities between pterodactyls and ordinary birds. [2]
i) They had wings.
ii) They guarded and defended their nests.

b) The male pterodactyls were keeping watch. From the evidence in the paragraph , explain
in your own words two ways in which they did this.
[2]

Ans: The male pterodactyls were stationary in their movement. Also, they were attentive
and observant. Thus, they used their eyes to watch the intruders.

From Paragraph 3

5 What particular discovery about the pterodactyl’s diet ‘cleared up the point’ about their
fossilized remains? [1]
Ans: The discovery was related to bones of fish and birds lying among the rocks which
cleared up the point about their fossilized remains.
From Paragraph 4

6 What ‘destruction’ was brought by Professor Challenger for the rest of his team members? [1]
Ans: After he smacked his head over rock. The destruction brought by him was that the
nearest male gave a squawky whistling cry, and fluttered its five-metres long leathery
wings as it arose into the air. Ergo, the male pterodactyls soared up in the sky and started
mauling the team members.

From the whole passage

7 For each of the words below, circle the letter (A, B, C or D) which has the same meaning that the
word has in the passage.
 (a) constant (paragraph 1)

A persistent B partial C incessant D fitful [1]

(b) stagnant (paragraph 2)

A slack B putrid C vibrant D inert [1]

(c) fringed (paragraph 2)

A adorned B embellished C encompassed D deviated [1]

(d) hideous (paragraph 2)

A gruesome B reptilian C dreadful D common [1]

(e) save for (paragraph 2)

A discounting B excepting C excluding D but for [1]

7 Re-read paragraph 4, which contains sentences telling us how the writer felt.

Give:

• the meaning of each sentence as it is used in the passage

• the effect of each sentence as it is used in the passage.

(a) It was a wonderful sight to see at least a hundred creatures of such enormous size and
ugly appearance.

Meaning: Basically, in this statement the writer was trying to say that it was a
marvellos sight for him to observe. As there were huge creatures of enormous size with
their plain-looking appearance up in the welkin. Therefore, the writer was aghast to see
this sight of the amazon jungle which left an ever-lasting effect on him. At that point,
 the writer is astonished to encounter the view up in the sky where these enormous sized
creatures were fluttering around.

Effect: This sentence depicts the writer’s experience in the amazon jungle. Also, it clearly
shows that it was a realistic experience which no one can neglect. Moreover, the writer narrates
this line so beautifully that the reader could welcome itself to sense the ambience of the place
without being physically present.

[2]

(b) the rustling flap of their wings filling the air with a sound that made me think of an
aerodrome back home on the day of an air show
Meaning: This sentence depicts the swisshing flap of pterodactyls suffusing the air with
a booming sound which made the writer relive the day on which he encountered an
incredible experience. Therefore, he ruminates the day of an airshow creating jarring
noise which could silence the writer.

Effect: This sentence renders an ever-lasting effect on the reader as well as the writer
too. The sound of the pterodactyls' wings was so blaring that it reminded the writer of
an air show. Also, it shows how the writer is contrasting the pterodactyl’s squawky
sound with the aerodrome jarring noise. Thus, this statement portrays the reminiscence
which he compared with the rustling flap of the male pterodactyls.

[2]

[Total: 25]