The first slide
Before I touched the microscope, I aligned three pencils beside my notebook, then aligned them again. I had read the instructions so often that the fold had begun to soften, yet I kept one finger on the first line while the supervisor prepared the slide. When the fibres came into focus, the rest of the laboratory seemed to withdraw. I followed each crossing thread across the field of view, recording every change in colour, and did not notice the neighbouring benches emptying until the supervisor spoke my name.
Select one phrase from before the fibres come into focus that suggests the writer is uncertain, and one phrase from after they come into focus that suggests the writer is fully absorbed in the task.
129 exam-style questions on Edexcel A IGCSE English Language 1.2.2 Reading challenging non-fiction in preparation for the unseen text. Each one has a worked solution and a mark scheme showing where the marks go.