These are original Marlbridge practice questions, not past exam questions. The passages were written by Marlbridge for this practice. Mark points are a suggested Marlbridge rubric, not an official scoring guideline. Multiple-choice questions have four options, as in the exam.
Passage B (written by Marlbridge).
Marit had rehearsed the speech all the way up the cliff path: she would tell her father that the supply boat had been late, that the flour was damp, that she had been careful. But when she reached the lamp room he was polishing the great lens with the hem of his own coat, and he did not turn around. “You were gone long,” he said to the glass. She counted the panes. There were forty-two; there had always been forty-two. “The boat,” she began, and stopped, because the glass showed her his face, and his face was not angry but afraid, and she understood that every hour she was gone he had watched the water.
Passage C (written by Marlbridge).
Councillor Weir shook every hand in the hall, holding each one a moment longer than it wanted to be held. “I’m only thinking of the town,” he said, and glanced at the photographer. The new bench, which carried a brass plate bearing his name, stood in the rain outside, empty. When Mrs. Dray asked what it had cost, he laughed and talked for some time about the importance of seating. Mrs. Dray told her husband that evening that the councillor never met a camera he did not like.
Question 1 (multiple choice · core)
In Passage B, the father polishes the lens “with the hem of his own coat” and speaks “to the glass”. This detail most directly suggests that he
- (A) has no interest in his daughter’s explanation
- (B) is turning a worry he cannot say aloud into a routine task
- (C) wishes to punish Marit by ignoring her
- (D) believes the lens is more valuable than his coat
Answer and explanation
Answer: (B). The coat hem and the glass show a man filling his hands and his gaze with a task. The ending of the passage confirms that his real feeling is fear.
- (A) is contradicted by the final sentence: he has “watched the water” for her.
- (C) is supported by nothing in the passage; the text states his face “was not angry”.
- (D) treats “hem of his own coat” as a literal value judgement. The detail points to preoccupation, not ranking of objects.
Question 2 (multiple choice · core)
The first sentence of Passage B tells us that Marit “had rehearsed the speech all the way up the cliff path”. This most strongly reveals that Marit
- (A) enjoys public speaking
- (B) expects her father to criticise her and prepares a defence
- (C) has deliberately invented a story to deceive him
- (D) is confident that she was right to be late
Answer and explanation
Answer: (B). Rehearsing a speech of excuses (“the flour was damp, … she had been careful”) shows she expects to be challenged. This is a detail about her perspective on her father.
- (A) has no support: the speech is a defence, not a performance.
- (C) goes too far. The excuses may well be true; the text does not say they are invented.
- (D) is contradicted by the need to rehearse. Confidence would not require preparation.
Question 3 (multiple choice · core)
“She counted the panes. There were forty-two; there had always been forty-two.” The most likely function of this detail is to show Marit
- (A) steadying herself by turning to something fixed and familiar
- (B) noticing a flaw in her father’s work
- (C) preparing to leave the lighthouse for good
- (D) growing bored while she waits
Answer and explanation
Answer: (A). The repeated “forty-two … forty-two” and the phrase “there had always been” stress fixity. Counting is a way of holding steady when she feels uncertain.
- (B) is not stated; the number is described as constant.
- (C) introduces a plot event the text does not mention.
- (D) misreads her state. The tension of the scene is not boredom.
Question 4 (multiple choice · core)
Which change in Marit’s understanding does the last sentence of Passage B present?
- (A) From expecting anger to recognising fear
- (B) From trusting her father to distrusting him
- (C) From fearing the sea to feeling safe
- (D) From regret about the boat to pride in her work
Answer and explanation
Answer: (A). She came prepared for blame, and the reflected face, “not angry but afraid”, changes what she thinks he feels. Her perspective is shaped by the event and by her relationship with him.
- (B) is the reverse of what the final clause does: she understands him better, not less.
- (C) and (D) introduce feelings that the text does not mention.
Question 5 (multiple choice · core)
In Passage C, Councillor Weir “glanced at the photographer” as he says, “I’m only thinking of the town.” The glance most clearly suggests that Weir
- (A) is nervous about speaking in public
- (B) wants the town to take part in a photograph
- (C) is concerned with how his words and actions will be seen
- (D) distrusts the photographer
Answer and explanation
Answer: (C). He is claiming a public-spirited motive while looking to see who is recording it. The glance undercuts the claim and points to concern for image.
- (A) is not suggested; he is described as holding hands and laughing.
- (B) invents a wish the text does not show.
- (D) has no support. The glance is described without hostility.
Question 6 (multiple choice · stretch)
The final sentence of Passage C gives Mrs. Dray’s description of Weir to her husband. The description most directly reveals
- (A) the narrator’s neutral report of Weir’s habits
- (B) Mrs. Dray’s own view of Weir, which should be tested against his behaviour
- (C) Weir’s honest account of himself
- (D) the photographer’s opinion of Weir
Answer and explanation
Answer: (B). The line reports what Mrs. Dray said. A description from another character reveals that character’s perspective, and a reader can check it against the earlier details (the glance, the named bench). Here the earlier details support her view, but the sentence is still her view.
- (A) mistakes a reported remark for narrator commentary.
- (C) is wrong because Weir is not the speaker.
- (D) is wrong because the photographer does not speak.
Question 7 (multiple choice · stretch)
Which claim about Weir is best supported by the whole of Passage C?
- (A) Weir secretly dislikes the town’s residents.
- (B) Weir generously funded the bench and is embarrassed by publicity.
- (C) Weir is drawn to public service mainly for the recognition it brings him.
- (D) Weir is uncomfortable discussing money with strangers.
Answer and explanation
Answer: (C). The glance, the bench with his name, the handshakes held too long, and Mrs. Dray’s remark all point to a desire to be seen. A defensible claim is the one that combines several details.
- (A) is unsupported. Nothing in the passage shows dislike.
- (B) is contradicted: his name is on the plate and he enjoys the camera.
- (D) is only partly supported by the dodge about cost, but it ignores the other details, so it does not account for the passage as a whole.
Question 8 (constructed response · core)
Write two to three sentences making a claim about Weir’s motive in Passage C and supporting it with two short quotations or specific details.
Answer and explanation
Sample response. Weir’s motive appears to be public recognition, not service. He says “I’m only thinking of the town” while he “glanced at the photographer”, and the bench that “carried a brass plate bearing his name” stands “empty” in the rain, which suggests that what matters to him is the credit and not the use.
Suggested Marlbridge rubric (3 points).
| Point | Awarded for |
|---|---|
| 1 | A claim about motive or perspective, not a plot summary or bare trait label |
| 2 | Two specific, accurate details or quotations from the passage that support the claim |
| 3 | An explanation of how at least one detail supports the claim (a connecting inference, not just placement of the quotation) |
Alternative defensible claims (for example, that Weir wants approval and avoids scrutiny of costs) earn full marks if the evidence supports them.
Question 9 (constructed response · stretch)
Using at least two details from Passage B, explain how Marit’s perspective on her father changes, and name one thing that shapes her perspective.
Answer and explanation
Sample response. At the start Marit expects her father to be angry: she has “rehearsed the speech all the way up the cliff path” and prepared her excuses, which suggests she sees him as a critic whose approval she must earn. When she sees his reflected face, “not angry but afraid”, her perspective shifts. She understands that his silence and his polishing hide a fear for her, and that “every hour she was gone he had watched the water”. Her view is shaped by the relationship between them: because he speaks “to the glass” and not to her, she had read his reserve as disapproval.
Suggested Marlbridge rubric (4 points).
| Point | Awarded for |
|---|---|
| 1 | Identifies Marit’s earlier perspective (expects anger or blame) |
| 2 | Identifies her changed perspective (recognises fear and concern) |
| 3 | Uses at least two accurate details as evidence |
| 4 | Names what shapes her perspective (relationship, his behaviour, events) and explains the link |
How did you do? If you missed Questions 1 to 4, reread “The detail, inference, perspective chain” in the study guide. If you missed Questions 5 to 7, reread “Whose view is this description?”. For the written questions, compare your answer with the rubric, then check the checklist.