Before the ferry
The harbour had disappeared beneath the fog. A rope emerged from the whiteness and tightened against a ring at Tomas’s feet. Beyond it, somewhere, the ferry waited. Water slapped the wall in slow, hollow blows. He could smell diesel and hear a spoon tapping a mug, ordinary sounds detached from any visible owner. Then the horn opened its enormous throat. Tomas felt the note in his ribs before he understood it as a warning. He stepped away from the edge, although he had been standing well behind the painted line. A deckhand’s yellow sleeve appeared, followed at last by a face.
Analyse how the writer uses language to make the harbour seem unsettling. 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.