The orchard weighing table
Source A: an original contemporary non-fiction-style account.
At the community orchard's harvest day, I helped weigh apples rather than pick them. The scales stood on a level table under a shelter, and every basket was weighed empty before being filled. We wrote the variety and net weight on a label, then sent the baskets to either the storage shed or the juice press. Bruised apples could still be used for juice if they passed the organiser's check.
My neighbour arrived with a basket he had carried from the far end of the orchard. He could not remember the tree's variety, so we left that label blank until a volunteer checked the numbered tree plan. After lunch, the rain became heavy and picking stopped, although the sheltered weighing table stayed busy with baskets already collected. I left at three with a small bag of apples offered to helpers. I knew exactly how much the bag weighed and, for once, had a reason to remember the names of what I was eating.
Refer to the whole of Source A. Choose the four true statements below. Write their four letters in the answer box. Choose no more than four; if more are given, only the first four distinct letters will be marked.
| Letter | Statement |
|---|---|
| A | The narrator’s job was mainly picking apples. |
| B | Empty baskets were weighed first. |
| C | Labels recorded variety and net weight. |
| D | All bruised apples were automatically discarded. |
| E | An unknown variety was guessed immediately. |
| F | Heavy rain stopped picking after lunch. |
| G | Already collected baskets continued to be weighed. |
| H | The narrator left without any apples. |
160 exam-style questions on AQA GCSE English Language 6.2 Content, covering 6.2.1 Reading sources: non-fiction and literary non-fiction, 6.2.2 Time periods of the sources, 6.2.3 Choice of genre, and 6.2.4 Section B writing task. Each one has a worked solution and a mark scheme showing where the marks go.