EduEdge® Tik Tok LIVE | Paper 2 Skills

O-Level Specimen 1184 Text 3

Area of Language Focus You Will Learn How To:

▪ Read a text closely for Contextual Clues
Reading & Viewing ▪ Infer and Unpack hidden meanings
▪ Answer Comprehension Questions accurately and precisely

Let’s Discuss

• What are your thoughts about Joseph Schooling’s retirement

from competitive swimming?
• What can we learn from his journey?

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 EduEdge® Tik Tok LIVE | Paper 2 Skills
Paragraph 3
I hated doing calisthenics with the team.
Usually we did them after swimming: sit-
ups, push-ups and leg extensions
(hundreds of each). Coach counted and
we had to keep pace with him. Between
each set of repetitions, he gave us a one-
minute break, but if anyone fell off pace
or did the exercises incorrectly, he made
us start the set all over again. I wasn’t
averse to working hard; I liked the
challenge of staying on pace, but I
detested being punished for someone
else’s laziness.
#Learning Tips
Paragraph 4
When I asked Coach if I could stay in the
pool, he looked at me incredulously. I
insisted I’d be fine, desperate to convince
him. Because I kept swimming, I
constantly created body heat, and so
stayed warm. Before he could reply,
Coach distracted by uproarious laughter,
hurried towards the locker-room. I was
thrilled. I loved swimming at my own
pace, alone in my own lane, with no one
kicking water in my face, and no one
behind tapping my toes. I was a feeling of
buoyant freedom.
#Learning Tips
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Question 8
Referring to Paragraph 3, explain in your own [2]
words what the writer thinks is unfair about the
way Coach organises calisthenics.
__________________________________________
__________________________________________
__________________________________________
__________________________________________
__________________________________________
__________________________________________
__________________________________________
Question 9 (a)
Identify one word in Paragraph 4 which [1]
suggests that Coach is surprised that the writer
wants to continue swimming.
__________________________________________
__________________________________________
Question 9 (b)
Give one piece of evidence from Paragraph 4 [1]
which suggests that the writer was a slow
swimmer.
__________________________________________
__________________________________________
Page 2
 EduEdge® Tik Tok LIVE | Paper 2 Skills
Paragraph 5
Swimming into a storm was even better;
waves were rushing around me, lifting
me, and tossing me from side to side. I
felt vibrations rattle through me from the
wind howling, slamming against the
chain-link fence echoing the clanging of
warning bells. It resembled an
approaching tornado, only without the
funnel cloud.
#Learning Tips
Paragraph 5 (continued)
I wondered briefly if I should climb out of
the water. I pushed that thought away – I
was so immersed in unbridled energy
and supernatural beauty. My world was
reduced to the blur of my arms stroking
as a cold, driving rain began. The
raindrops that hit my lips tasted sweet; I
delighted in the sensations. I wanted to
see what would happen next. Huge
hailstones blasted my hands, neck, and
shoulders. I winced and tried to squeeze
into a ball, hoping it would be over soon.
The hail transformed into a heavy rain.
As I hauled my arms through the water, it
struck me that the pool was like a giant
bowl of ice porridge.
#Learning Tips
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Question 10
In Paragraph 5, the writer is swimming during a [2]
storm. Explain how the language used in this
paragraph makes the storm seem like an
aggressive person. Support your answer with
two details from Paragraph 5.
__________________________________________
__________________________________________
__________________________________________
__________________________________________
__________________________________________
__________________________________________
Question 11
The writer ‘wondered briefly’ if she should get [2]
out of the water. Find two pieces of evidence
in Paragraph 5 which explain why she stayed
in the water.
__________________________________________
__________________________________________
__________________________________________
__________________________________________
Question 12
In Paragraph 5, the writer uses the simile ‘the [1]
pool was like a giant bowl of ice porridge’.
What does the simile suggest about the
writer’s ability to move?
__________________________________________
__________________________________________
Page 3
 EduEdge® Tik Tok LIVE | Paper 2 Skills
Paragraph 6 Question 13
That day, by putting myself in a situation The writer claimed that she had had ‘the best [3]
different from everyone’s else, I had workout ever’. Explain how this claim is
experienced something unique. As I supported with reference to three pieces of
evidence from Paragraph 6.
watched the storm gather force, the
awesome power and terrible beauty of
nature became apparent to me. Being in
__________________________________________
the water during that storm made me feel
a part of the physical world, somehow __________________________________________
connected to it. I saw my mum waiting in
the car park. I climbed out of the pool and __________________________________________
floated towards her. She enveloped me in
__________________________________________
the warmth of a large towel; I sank into
the comfort of her arms as she asked, __________________________________________
‘How long have you been swimming in
this storm?’ __________________________________________

__________________________________________
‘The whole time,’ I said dreamily. ‘It was
the best workout ever.’ __________________________________________

Rubbing my back gently, she murmured, __________________________________________

‘Someday, you’re going to swim across
__________________________________________
the English Channel*.’ My heart skipped
a beat. __________________________________________

*The English Channel is a section of the Atlantic Ocean __________________________________________

that separates England from France. The distance
across the English Channel is 34 kilometres.

#Learning Tips

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