The bicycle by the wall
An original fictional scene set at an invented community repair session.
The bicycle was leaning against the community hall beside a pile of objects waiting for the recycling van. Its front wheel pointed towards the wall while its handlebars twisted towards the gate. The loose chain lay in a rusty heap beneath it. To me, it looked less like a bicycle than a collection of mistakes.
A repairer carried it over to her workbench. She did not frown at the rust or the bent wheel. “The frame is sound,” she said, running her hand along the scratched metal.
For the next half-hour, she worked steadily. She straightened the wheel, cleaned the chain and tightened the brakes. Gradually, the separate, awkward parts began to look as though they belonged together.
When the owner returned, he climbed on and rode once around the car park. The scratches on the frame no longer seemed like signs of neglect. They looked like a record of all the places the bicycle had already been. Its bell gave one clear note as it passed through the gate.
How does the writer show the change in the narrator's view of the bicycle?
You should consider:
528 exam-style questions on WJEC GCSE English Language 3.1 Section A (20%) – Reading, covering 3.1.1 Understanding description, narration and exposition texts, 3.1.2 Range of continuous and non-continuous texts, 3.1.3 Short and extended response question types, and 3.1.4 Editing task at word, sentence and text level. Each one has a worked solution and a mark scheme showing where the marks go.