The miniature railway after rain
Text: an original contemporary personal account-style practice extract.
Overnight rain had left shallow puddles beside the miniature railway, although the rails looked clear when I opened the shed. I pushed an empty carriage towards the first bend, where it stopped with a dull knock. A pine cone was lodged in the groove beside the rail. Once I had removed it, the carriage rolled forwards without difficulty.
Further along, wet leaves covered part of the platform and the wooden seats shone with water. I swept the leaves into a bucket while another volunteer dried the seats. By the time the first passengers arrived, the clouds had lifted and the little station looked ready for them.
Read the first paragraph. Identify what stopped the empty carriage at the first bend.
834 exam-style questions on Edexcel GCSE English Language 2.3 Content: non-fiction study and transactional text types, covering 2.3.9 Write an article, 2.3.10 Write a letter, 2.3.11 Write a review, 2.3.12 Write a text for a speech, and 2.3.13 Write a section for a guide, textbook, leaflet or booklet. Each one has a worked solution and a mark scheme showing where the marks go.