The inspector pressed a finger against the mortar between the stones of the old boundary wall. It crumbled readily, leaving grit on her glove, and looked pale and powdery in the morning light. She marked the weakest section for repair. The wall had stood for decades, but its joints were no longer holding the stones firmly together.
From the passage, select two words or phrases that show the mortar in the wall has weakened.
232 exam-style questions on Edexcel A IGCSE English Language 1.2 Section A: Non-fiction Texts, covering 1.2.1 Focus of Section A, 1.2.2 Reading challenging non-fiction in preparation for the unseen text, 1.2.3 Reading substantial and extended texts, 1.2.4 Skills of interpretation and analysis, 1.2.5 Range of non-fiction forms, 1.2.6 Literary non-fiction text types, 1.2.7 Transient texts excluded from assessment, 1.2.8 The anthology as a supporting resource, and 1.2.9 Digital location of texts. Each one has a worked solution and a mark scheme showing where the marks go.