Among the stored things
Text: an original contemporary workplace-account-style practice extract.
The technician took me downstairs to collect the seed packets just before the building closed. Inside the store, the air felt unexpectedly dry and cold. Steel drawers covered both walls, each labelled with a plant name, a date and a sequence of numbers. Nothing had been left unnamed. Even the yellow line on the floor had a printed notice explaining where visitors should stand.
As the technician entered a code, something clicked behind us. One of the drawer handles trembled briefly. She explained that the cooling system was changing its cycle and pulled the drawer open. Hundreds of paper envelopes stood in narrow rows. Near the back, one envelope leaned forwards, its flap raised. She pressed it closed with one finger. When she removed her hand, the flap lifted again.
“The fold has a memory,” she said, smiling. She placed a metal bar across the row and shut the drawer firmly. Her explanation was reasonable, although the word ‘memory’ seemed an odd one to leave among so many stored things.
The technician went to fetch a form. While I waited, there was a soft, dry sound to my left, like paper being drawn slowly across paper. I looked towards the drawer. Its handle was still. The sound stopped. Above it, a loose strip beside the air vent moved once and settled. I decided that this was what I had heard, but I continued watching the handle until the technician returned.
On our way out, the lights responded to our movement, brightening ahead of us. Behind us, they switched off one section at a time. The technician walked without turning round. I counted three separate clicks in the darkness, then stopped counting because the darkness appeared to be keeping pace with us. At the door, I glanced back. Every drawer was closed and properly labelled.
In this extract, the writer tries to create an atmosphere of unease.
Evaluate how successfully this is achieved. In your response, assess whether the practical explanations strengthen or weaken the unease, and justify your judgement by considering the ending. Support your views with detailed reference to the extract.
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.