Visiting the coast

Source A: a newly written contemporary non-fiction-style account.

“I reached the seaside town at noon on a Tuesday. The beach was free to enter, but the car park cost eight pounds. I had brought my own lunch and planned to stay until four. Along the promenade, signs directed visitors towards an amusement arcade, a viewing platform and a shop selling photographs of the sea. The actual sea was visible behind all three, apparently managing without a sign of its own.

The promenade glittered with instructions to enjoy myself. Music escaped from every doorway, each tune elbowing the next aside. Even the benches carried advertisements. I bought nothing and felt, absurdly, as if I were failing a test. The beach below was broad and almost empty; its quiet seemed to belong to a different town. When I finally walked down the steps, the noise thinned behind me until I could hear water drawing back through the stones.

An elderly resident told me the shops kept many local families in work. I had been ready with a neat complaint about commercialism; her remark made it less neat. Later I returned to the promenade for tea. I still disliked the shouting signs, but I could see the person washing cups behind the counter. A place can be both somebody's escape and somebody else's working day. The difficulty is remembering both while complaining about the price of parking.”

Source B: a newly written letter in a nineteenth-century voice. This is a period-voice simulation, not an archival document.

“My dear sister, I have at last visited the coast, after a journey which seemed determined to consume the greater portion of my holiday. Our lodging is a modest room above a baker's shop. From its window I can see a narrow strip of water between two roofs, and I find myself repeatedly leaving my chair to make certain it is still there. You will laugh at such behaviour, but I have known the sea chiefly from books, where it can be closed and put upon a shelf.

Yesterday we walked to the shore carrying bread and apples. There were few places to sit, and the path was rough enough to make me regret my thin boots. Yet what splendid compensation awaited us! The water spread before us with no hedge, wall or gate to establish its limit. Each approaching wave seemed to begin a sentence that the next was eager to complete. I forgot the troublesome journey and remained until the baker's son came to warn us of the rising tide.

I do not pretend that everything here is agreeable. The room is cold, and the wind has a particular talent for finding its way beneath the door. But I should dislike to have every discomfort swept away if the price were to make this place resemble every other. Tomorrow I shall take stronger boots and return. I have no wish for amusement beyond what the shore already provides.”

Refer only to the first paragraph of Source A. Select exactly FOUR true statements. Write their four letters in the answer box.

A. The visit takes place on Saturday.

B. The writer buys lunch on arrival.

C. Entering the beach costs nothing.

D. The planned departure is four o’clock.

E. The writer brings lunch.

F. Parking is free.

G. The sea is hidden from the entire promenade.

H. The visit begins at noon.