GCE O’ Level English Language Guideline for Comprehension- Passage 2 (Paper 1123/22)

By Saima Abedi

The passage 2 will be fiction that’s a narrative. It is important to read the whole passage carefully before attempting the questions. After comprehending the main ideas of the passage, questions should be read thoroughly and passage paragraph wise. Understanding the types of questions is important in this regard. Broadly there are two major types, explicit and implicit.

Explicit Questions

Literal: The answer of such question is quite obvious. Furthermore, the key word in the question directs you towards the answer.

E.g. According to the beliefs of ancient peoples, what caused earthquakes to happen?

Quotation: A single word or phrase from the passage is to be extracted. However, following instruction is very important here. A single word means single word.

E.g. Pick out and write down the single word which shows that the teacher did not believe that ancient peoples understood what caused earthquakes.

Vocabulary: Eight words will be given; only five words’ meaning ought to be written. Here, a synonym or description of that word within seven words is required. Yet the meaning should be according to the context.

E.g. Choose five of the following words. For each of them give one word or short phrase (of not more than seven words) which has the same meaning that the word has in the passage.

Implicit Questions

Inferential: The reader is expected to think about the ideas given in the passage and drive a conclusion.

E.g. Why might Rena’s mother’s smiling expression in the photograph be described as ‘inappropriate at this time’?

Your Own Words: The reader needs to look for the keywords in the passage and replace them using their synonyms. The number of marks tells the number of key words to be found.

E.g. Explain in your own words why the baby was ‘gurgling with happiness’.

Writer’s Craft: Here the reader should mention the effect the writer wants to create through his words.

E.g. Many people risked their lives by returning to their burning homes. Why does the writer describe this as ‘pathetic’?