Cambridge International AS & A Level

ENGLISH LANGUAGE 9093/12

Paper 1 Reading May/June 2023
2 hours 15 minutes

You must answer on the enclosed answer booklet.

You will need: Answer booklet (enclosed)

*4273184367*

INSTRUCTIONS
• Answer all questions.
• Follow the instructions on the front cover of the answer booklet. If you need additional answer paper,
ask the invigilator for a continuation booklet.
• Dictionaries are not allowed.

INFORMATION
• The total mark for this paper is 50.
• The number of marks for each question or part question is shown in brackets [ ].

This document has 8 pages. Any blank pages are indicated.

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Section A: Directed response

Question 1
Read the following text, which is an article about happy and healthy ageing, published in a British
newspaper.

(a) You disagree with some points in the article. Write a response to the editor, in the form of an
email, expressing your opinions. Use 150–200 words. [10]

(b) Compare your email with the article, analysing form, structure and language. [15]

Do we really have to wait until we are 82 to find peak happiness?

As you grow older, it is tempting to think that you have left your happiest days behind.

The carefree days of your youth, when anything seemed possible, are worlds away,
never to be relived.

Back then you had none of the restrictive trappings of later life – a mortgage, a job, 5
others to provide for. And, most probably, you were fit and well. You had the rest of your
life ahead.

I look back on my late teens and early twenties as the happiest years of my life so far,
when I was a student, surrounded by friends and every day was fun and full of laughs.

But my happiest days could be yet to come – and a long way off. Experts say that our 10
feelings of joy and contentment don’t peak until the age of 82.

Leading neuroscientist Daniel Levitin says that older generations are much more cheerful
than younger ones. The expert states that World Health Organisation data from 60
countries show that happiness grows with age.

He could be right. We tend to look at the past through rose coloured glasses. Come to 15
think of it, the glory days of my late teens / early twenties were also full of insecurities.

Relationship woes were never far from the surface: will he / won’t he call me? Does he
/ doesn’t he like me? Will it / won’t it last? At the time, it generated all sorts of worries.

Then there were all those exams, year after year. And body image.

I probably felt happier back then because those things were all I had to worry about. But 20
I wasn’t in any way in control of my life.

Later, as we begin to take some sort of path, come the real worries – how to make a
living. Jobs, mortgages, car loans, bills, bills, bills  And then, for many, children and
the sometimes overwhelming, scary responsibility of supporting and raising a family, of
keeping a roof over their head. 25

As Dr Levitin states in his book The Changing Mind, happiness declines in our 30s, but
it starts to pick up once you reach 54.

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I’m 59. I am certainly more settled than I was at 20 – I have a home, I have raised children
who are now more-or-less self-sufficient, and, although I am no high flyer, I have built
an enjoyable career. 30

But life still isn’t a bed of roses. I still have a mortgage, alongside an insecure job and
an uncertain future. I can’t claim my pension for another eight years. Life is still throwing
plenty of stress in my direction.

The thought of having to go through another 23 years of this before I feel complete
contentment is depressing to say the least. 35

‘You realise you’ve gotten through all these things that were stressing you out. If you
make it to 82, you know you’ve managed, you’re okay,’ says Dr Levitin.

But will 82 really put me on cloud nine? I think it’s more likely to put me in a care home.
Those over 80 in good health should count themselves lucky.

I don’t think true happiness is an age thing. Happiness is intermittent throughout life, 40
appearing in fits and starts. It is, in my experience, about the little things: food and a
decent film on Saturday nights, walks in the countryside, time with family and friends,
toasted teacake with a good cup of tea.

All these things bring pleasure.

But if we hit the ecstatic button at 82, then great. As I labour towards my eighties, I'll 45
hang onto that thought.

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Section B: Text analysis

Question 2

Read the following text, which is an extract from a travelogue describing the filming of a travel documentary
called Around the World in Eighty Days.

Analyse the text, focusing on form, structure and language. [25]

Day 22: Crossing the Arabian Sea

The boat really comes to life at first light which, as we are moving east and have not yet
adjusted our watches, comes a little earlier each day. I’m awake today at 5. The wind
has dropped and the sea is flat and calm. Over the reassuring rumble of the engine I
can hear the soft sound of singing. Pull myself up on an elbow and look towards the 5
1
bows . There is Kasim, standing motionless and in perfect silhouette, looking out to sea
and chanting. Beside him two or three others are gathering in the small foresail.

‘’ello Mi-kel!’

‘Mi-kel, Mik-el Jack-son!’

As soon as they see we’re awake someone is taken off foresail lashing and sent to 10
arrange some tea for us. One of the things this traveller has learnt is that those who
have least are prepared to give most. This crew has given up a lot for us – sleeping
space, living space and precious fresh water – without ever making us feel obligated or
tolerated. Their life is communal, they depend on each other rather than machines, and
maybe because of this their attitude to us materially overstocked and somewhat 15
stand-offish Westerners has been unfailingly generous and helpful.

The captain takes a look at the sea and removes his cap, scratches his head and shakes
it respectfully. ‘We are lucky men,’ he says. He’s rarely seen it quite as calm, and he
knows the power of the sea, for in a storm last year, his brother’s ship was sunk and
eighteen drowned. 20

The captain and his navigator sleep in the back of the wheelhouse. A new music centre
and a pair of speakers are the only luxury. The only printed books appear to be
navigational charts and almanacs. The front of the wheelhouse contains, apart from the
wheel, a compass, a clock that’s stopped, a throttle control and a bell that’s rung every
2
time the fish-line is sprung. There is also a panel of dials indicating engine RPM , water 25
temperature and oil pressure. None of these is working.

Under the wheelhouse is a fetid, windowless airless cabin which I hope we never have
to make use of. The temperature in there hovers constantly at 100 degrees, and Julian
and Ron, who have to go in to load film and change stock, emerge pounds lighter. The
3
corresponding aft cabin is full of the crew’s trunks. They are allowed one each in which 30
they can import certain items free of duty. A perk of the job.

Captain Suleyman says the Indian customs are very strict. No gold or guns.

‘Is there much smuggling?’ I ask him.

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‘Oh, plenty smuggling  in clothes,  wrist-watches  but,’ he reassures me, ‘we are
not smugglers,’ and laughs uproariously. 35

***

Midday: 92°F under the awning. We’re due south of Karachi. Looking at my map I observe
that it has taken us a day to travel between the ‘A’ and the ‘R’ of ‘Arabian Sea’.

Sunday afternoon on the Al Sharma.

Suddenly there is some sea-borne entertainment. Dahwood, at the wheel, has spotted
dolphins approaching the boat. They gather ahead of us, lazily and luxuriously rolling 40
around in the bow wave, weaving in and out, diving, backtracking, returning and always
keeping just ahead of the boat. The crew encourage them with drumbeats and whistles.
As soon as they know there’s an audience the dolphins show off shamelessly. For a
magical few minutes they stay and play. The sea is so blue and clear it is one of the
most remarkable and beautiful sights of the journey so far, rivalled a little later by the 45
raising of the huge sail.
1
bow: the front of a ship
2
RPM: revolutions per minute
3
aft: the back of a ship

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