YEAR 11 PAPER 1 END SEMESTER 1 2021

Read Text A, and then answer Questions 1(a)–1(e) on the question paper. Text A: Project Mammoth This text is an article about a new scientific project. Of all the incredible possibilities presented by controversial new scientific techniques, perhaps the most intriguing are efforts to bring animals back from extinction. Candidates for ‘de-extinction’, as the process is known, include species like the passenger pigeon (the last one died in captivity in 1914) and the dodo (last seen in 1662). These projects are not just distant dreams. Scientists working on such projects estimate that a variation of the first new woolly mammoth (which disappeared some 4 000 years ago) may soon be born. They hope these animals will play a role in slowing or reversing the effects of climate change. The basic idea behind how it would work is that scientists would first retrieve DNA from the remains of a woolly mammoth that had been preserved for centuries in the frozen tundra1 and use that to alter the DNA of modern Asian elephants. According to scientists, the two species are so closely related that if mammoths were alive today they could successfully breed with elephants. Tweaking the Asian elephants’ DNA to more closely resemble that of their ancient relatives could mean elephants might be able to give birth to a furrier, fattier hybrid. Scientists say this work is decidedly not about creating Mammoth Park – the creature would not be a perfect copy of a mammoth anyway. The hope is that these mammoth-like Asian elephants will be more resistant to cold and will repopulate the tundra and coniferous forest in Eurasia and North America. Scientists feel that this will help to protect endangered Asian elephants and revive an ancient grassland in the tundra, which could prevent the melting of Siberia’s permafrost. The project is not without its critics who claim the idea is no more than a gimmick, seducing

scientists into thinking they are saving the world and distracting us from guaranteeing our planet’s biodiversity for future generations with promises of being able to fix mistakes later. Scientists defending the idea explain, ‘We’re just bringing DNA back from the past to improve modern survival and diversity. The Asian elephant faces threats to its existence – it’s going extinct, just like the mammoth did, and mainly because of humans. Bits of mammoth DNA can give them a better chance of survival.’ 1 tundra: a vast treeless plain in the Arctic where the subsoil is permanently frozen Read Text B, and then answer Question 1(f) on the question paper. Text B: Waking the Baby Mammoth This text is a review of a television programme called ‘Waking the Baby Mammoth’. Only a handful have been found before. But none like her. Her name is Lyuba. A one-monthold baby mammoth, she walked the tundra about 40 000 years ago, then died mysteriously. Discovered on a riverbank in Siberia, she’s the most perfectly preserved woolly mammoth ever discovered. Lyuba has mesmerised the scientific world with her arrival – creating headlines across the globe. ‘Waking the Baby Mammoth’, a new television programme, tells the tale of this single accidental discovery of a frozen baby mammoth in the Siberian tundra and how the discovery has enriched our understanding of these extinct magnificent beasts. The programme begins with the incredibly fortunate discovery of Lyuba by a reindeer herder who feared that disturbing the remains of the dead might lead to a curse. Too often with such findings, the preserved creature would be dug up and sold, leading to irreversible decomposition and the loss of a treasure trove of valuable information. However, the herder had enough foresight to contact authorities, and scientists began the careful retrieval process. Everyone wanted to know how Lyuba had died. What could she tell us about life during the Ice Age and the Earth’s

changing climate? The programme follows the scientific process and the hurdles in understanding where Lyuba came from and what she can tell us about her Pleistocene1 life. That being said, apart from specific experiments involving high-tech bone scans, tissue extraction and dental examinations, the programme does not delve too far into the intricate data. We are left wondering whether scientists will be able to extract her DNA, and what secrets that might uncover. It’s impossible to watch the work on Lyuba without sharing the anxiety the scientists must have felt to get it right. The programme succeeds brilliantly in bringing drama to a quite amazing story. We are presented with stunning 3D animations of Lyuba and her mother. In cinematic form, Lyuba is brought to life as an active furry baby mammoth, bouncing along next to scientists as they contemplate the frozen carcass’s secrets. The visuals are beautiful – light shines off the baby’s fur and her shadows dance in just the right way to really make her come alive. The programme has truly woken the baby mammoth within our minds and hearts. 1 Pleistocene: the Ice Age, which lasted over 2.5 million years and ended about 12 000 years ago Read Text C, and then answer Questions 2(a)–(d) and Question 3 on the question paper. Text C: The Gift This text is taken from a longer narrative. At this point in the story, it is the night of Natalia’s sixteenth birthday. Her grandfather, a doctor, has arrived back late at night from visiting patients. He has woken Natalia and asked her to follow him quietly through the streets of their city. We were nearing the end of our side street and I assumed the silence of our walk would be shattered by the bustle along the tramway. But when we got there, nothing, not even a single

passing car. Every window was dark. The hazy moon seemed to gather the silence up around it like a net. Not a sound: no sirens, no rats in the bins that lined the street. My grandfather stopped, looked up and down the street, then turned left. ‘It’s not far now,’ he said. I caught up with him long enough to see that he was smiling. ‘Not far to where?’ I said, out of breath, angry. I drew myself up and stopped. ‘I’m not going any further until you tell me.’ He turned to look at me, indignant. ‘Lower your voice you fool,’ he hissed. Suddenly his arms went over his head in a wide arc. ‘Can’t you feel it? No one in the world awake but us.’ And off he went again. We passed empty windows of shops that had gone out of business; lightless buildings; a beggar sleeping so soundly that I would have thought him dead if I hadn’t realised that the moment had closed around us, making everything still. Suddenly grandfather stopped ahead of me and stood, pointing into the distance, his hand shaking with excitement. ‘There,’ he said. ‘Look!’ I peered out into the street. On the other side, there was a street lamp with a dying bulb. I was opening my mouth to say ‘What?’ and then I saw it. Half a block from us, an enormous shadow was moving along the street. At first I thought it was a tram, but its shape was too organic, too lumpy, and it was going far too slowly for that, making almost no noise. It was swaying, swaying up the street with an even momentum in a rolling motion that was drawing it away from us like a tide, and every time it

rocked forward, something about it made a soft dragging sound on the rails. As we watched, the thing sucked in air and then let out a deep groan. ‘That’s an elephant!’ I said. My grandfather said nothing. His glasses had fogged up during the walk, but he wasn’t taking them off to wipe them. He took my hand; we watched the animal. Its ears were folded back against the domed, bouldered head with big-lidded eyes; the arched roll of the spine fell away into the hips; dry folds of skin shook around the shoulders and knees as it shifted its weight. It seemed to take up the whole street. It dragged its curled trunk like a fist along the ground. Several metres in front of it, holding a bag of something that must have been enormously tempting, a short young man was walking slowly backward, drawing it forward with whispers. ‘I saw them at the train station as I was coming home,’ my grandfather said. The elephant passed: slow, graceful, enchanted by the food in the young man’s hand. ‘No one will ever believe this,’ I said. My grandfather looked at me like he’d never seen me before. ‘You must be joking,’ he said. ‘Look around. Think for a moment – do you think anybody would understand? Do you think it will matter to them?’ Later that year, we would read about how some soldiers had found an elephant near death at the site of an abandoned circus; about how, despite everything, despite closure and bankruptcy, the zoo director had said, ‘Bring him in – eventually the kids will see him.’ The newspapers ran a

picture of him, standing stark-ribbed in his new pen at the zoo, an advert of better times to come, hope for the future and the end of the war. Read Text A, Project Mammoth, and then answer Questions 1(a)–(e) on this question paper. Question 1 (a) Give two examples of extinct species (other than the mammoth) according to the text. • ................................................................................................................................................ • ........................................................................................................................................... [1] (b) Using your own words, explain what the text means by: (i) ‘candidates for “de-extinction”’ (line 2): ............................................................................. ...................................................................................................................................... [2] (ii) ‘not just distant dreams.’ (line 5): ....................................................................................... ...................................................................................................................................... [2] (c) Re-read paragraph 3, (‘Scientists working on such projects … climate change.’). Give two reasons why scientists might be excited by the possible birth of a woolly mammoth. • ................................................................................................................................................ • ........................................................................................................................................... [2] (d) Re-read paragraphs 4 and 5, (‘The basic idea … Siberia’s permafrost.’). (i) Identify two main tasks that scientists will need to complete in order to breed the hybrid. • ......................................................................................................................................... • .................................................................................................................................... [2] (ii) Explain why Asian elephants were chosen for Project Mammoth. ........................................................................................................................................... ........................................................................................................................................... ...................................................................................................................................... [3] (e) Re-read paragraphs 6 and 7, (‘The project is not without ... chance of survival.’). Using your own words, explain why some people disagree with Project Mammoth. ...................................................................................................................................................

................................................................................................................................................... .............................................................................................................................................. [3] Read Text B, Waking the Baby Mammoth, and then answer Question 1(f) on this question paper. Question 1 (f) According to Text B, what made Lyuba such a remarkable and precious scientific specimen and what did scientists hope to discover by studying her? You must use continuous writing (not note form) and use your own words as far as possible. Your summary should not be more than 120 words. Up to 10 marks are available for the content of your answer and up to 5 marks for the quality of your writing.[15] [Total: 30] Read Text C, The Gift, and then answer Questions 2(a)–(d) on this question paper. Question 2 (a) Identify a word or phrase from the text which suggests the same idea as the words underlined: (i) Natalia was expecting the quietness of their walk to be broken suddenly. ...................................................................................................................................... [1] (ii) Natalia slowed herself down and made herself as tall as possible before refusing to go any further. ...................................................................................................................................... [1] (iii) Her grandfather spoke to her in a low, angry voice. ...................................................................................................................................... [1] (iv) The homeless person was fast asleep. ...................................................................................................................................... [1] (b) Using your own words, explain what the writer means by each of the words underlined: I peered out into the street. On the other side, there was a street lamp with a dying bulb.

I was opening my mouth to say ‘What?’ and then I saw it. Half a block from us, an enormous shadow was moving along the street. (i) peered .......................................................................................................................... [1] (ii) dying ............................................................................................................................ [1] (iii) enormous ..................................................................................................................... [1] (c) Use one example from the text below to explain how the writer suggests Natalia’s experiences and feelings that night. Use your own words in your explanation. I peered out into the street. On the other side, there was a street lamp with a dying bulb. I was opening my mouth to say ‘What?’ and then I saw it. Half a block from us, an enormous shadow was moving along the street. [3] (d) Re-read paragraphs 9 and 12. • Paragraph 9 begins ‘At first I thought it was a tram …’ and is about the elephant and how it was moving when Natalia first saw it. • Paragraph 12 begins ‘Its ears were folded back …’ and gives Natalia’s impression of the elephant as she watches it come towards her. Explain how the writer uses language to convey meaning and to create effect in these paragraphs. Choose three examples of words or phrases from each paragraph to support your answer. Your choices should include the use of imagery. Write about 200 to 300 words. Up to 15 marks are available for the content of your answer [15] [Total: 25]

Re-read Text C, The Gift, and then answer Question 3 on this question paper. Question 3 You are the grandfather. Some years later you are interviewed about your memories of that night for a radio programme about local history. The interviewer asks you the following three questions only: • What did you see and feel during your journeys through the city that night? • What do you remember of your granddaughter’s behaviour and reactions that night? • What were your reasons for taking your granddaughter out that night and what do you think she gained from the experience? Write the words of the interview. Base your interview on what you have read in Text C, but be careful to use your own words. Address each of the three bullet points. Begin your interview with the first question. Write about 250 to 350 words. Up to 15 marks are available for the content of your answer and up to 10 marks for the quality of your writing. [25 marks]