The unlit platform
The last train had gone, leaving the platform lights reflected in empty rails. Rain stitched the darkness beyond the shelter. Every few seconds, a drop collected on the broken gutter and fell onto the metal bench: a sharp, patient knock. Imran stood beside the timetable, though he had read it twice already. Across the tracks, a vending machine hummed to itself. Its rows of bright packets seemed absurdly cheerful. He tried his sister’s number again. While it rang, he watched his reflection in the dark ticket-office window lift a phone to its ear.
Analyse how the writer uses language to make Imran seem isolated. Support your answer with evidence.
40 exam-style questions on AQA GCSE English Language 3.1 Critical reading and comprehension, covering 3.1.1 Identify and interpret themes, ideas and information, 3.1.2 Read in different ways for different purposes, 3.1.3 Draw inferences and justify with evidence, 3.1.4 Support a point of view using textual evidence, 3.1.5 Identify bias and misuse of evidence, 3.1.6 Reflect critically and evaluatively using context, 3.1.7 Recognise different responses to a text, 3.1.8 Identify the main theme or themes, 3.1.9 Summarise ideas and information from a single text, 3.1.10 Synthesise from more than one text, 3.1.11 Explain how vocabulary and grammar create impact, 3.1.12 Analyse and evaluate form and structure, and 3.1.13 Compare texts critically. Each one has a worked solution and a mark scheme showing where the marks go.