Night shift
The hospital corridor was quiet enough for Leila to hear the ice machine refill. She had been carrying the unopened letter all night. At the vending machine, she bought coffee she did not want and watched it drip into the cup. Behind a closed door, someone laughed. The ordinary sound irritated her, then embarrassed her. She folded the letter more neatly and went back to the desk. When the telephone rang, she answered in the same calm voice she had used for twelve years.
What did Leila buy, and how long had she used that calm professional voice?
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.