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UNIVERSITY OF CAMBRIDGE INTERNATIONAL EXAMINATIONS

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International General Certificate of Secondary Education

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FIRST LANGUAGE ENGLISH 0500/23
Paper 2 Reading Passages (Extended) May/June 2010
2 hours
Additional Materials: Answer Booklet/Paper
*0750117630*

READ THESE INSTRUCTIONS FIRST

If you have been given an Answer Booklet, follow the instructions on the front cover of the Booklet.
Write your Centre number, candidate number and name on all the work you hand in.
Write in dark blue or black pen.
Do not use staples, paper clips, highlighters, glue or correction fluid.

Answer all questions.

At the end of the examination, fasten all your work securely together.
The number of marks is given in brackets [ ] at the end of each question or part question.

This document consists of 5 printed pages and 3 blank pages.

DC (SM) 21129/2
© UCLES 2010 [Turn over
 2

Part 1

Read Passage A carefully, and then answer Questions 1 and 2.

Passage A

This is a fragment from an autobiography in which the writer, then aged 17, remembers a time when
new neighbours moved into the house next door.

In October, the Riveras moved out of the house next door to us. They had been like our extended family
and, as mothers said tearful goodbyes, the brood of Rivera children jostled for position on the back
seat, bodies contorting to see us for the last time. Their faces froze with panic when their mother’s car
door slammed, the engine purred, and took them out of our lives forever. We all knew it was the end of
something special, something good. Next door the now empty house shifted, groaned and settled in
the quiet night.

In the still twilight of the morning, mother woke us up with tantalising aromas of baking. There would
be a cake to give to our new neighbours. Although the sadness of the previous day lingered, there was
also a tickle of excitement about meeting new friends today.

Suddenly there was a squeal of brakes and an almighty bang exploded in the street outside. We rushed
to see what had caused it. The morning air was now thick with dark plumes of exhaust clouds blowing,
cartoon style, out of the back of a wreck of a van. An irate, hairy little man jumped out of the driver’s
seat and danced around the back of it to give it a good kick. Then he opened the passenger door to
release two lanky teenage boys dressed in faded T-shirts and dirty, torn jeans. These surly boys, their
skin seeped in the grey pallor of neglect, punched and slapped each other as they made a dash for the
empty house next door.

That day signalled the demise of peace and quiet, the ruination of one of the most pleasant and tidy
gardens in the avenue, and a rush of ‘For Sale’ notices in the vicinity.

We watched spellbound that first day as the contents of the battered van were unloaded and then
heaped into the middle of the lawn. Strangely, there were fewer items taken inside the house than
the assortment of tools and garden junk that was left outside. Although the boys looked like strangers
to a decent meal, they had been completely indulged when it came to play stations, stereo systems
with speakers the size of wardrobes, an identical pair of drum kits, amps and electric bass guitars.
They ignored our wan smiles and limp waves as we retreated back into the warmth of our home, where
it was safe and quiet, for now.

It was ominously quiet for the next couple of days. However, on the third day, in what seemed like
a dawn raid, all three were back with enough weaponry to defeat a small country. A huge cement
mixer, churning up the lawn, was accompanied by pneumatic drills, steel rods and bags of sand. The
noise was intolerable. Mother marched briskly round to ‘have a word’, only to retreat, upset and pale,
five minutes later. Over the weeks, as the drilling and noise increased, mother took to her bed, getting
up only to make us an occasional meal and to take yet another little yellow pill.

That winter we all felt trapped, twitchy with anger yet resigned without mother to take charge. Other
neighbours, who usually said ‘Hello’ or enquired about our well-being, now passed by on the other side
of the street. Our miserable faces didn’t endear us to anyone, lack of sleep held us back at school, but
the main cause of our concern was mother.

© UCLES 2010 0500/23/M/J/10

Suddenly, one Saturday in spring, we realised that there was a new sound from next door: silence.
The covers hiding the cause of the noise had gone and the true scale of the new ‘development’ was
revealed. Pride of place was a murky pond, deep and dark, with globules of cement fashioned into
lumps around its edge. From its depths a pump struggled to make the scummy surface move. The
sheer amount of gaudy, plastic, aquatic creatures surrounding, or indeed on top of the water, resembled
the fantasy lands in little children’s television programmes. Large, green alligators with lolling tongues
and distorted fangs, and lopsided fuchsia flamingos up to their knobbly knees in concrete, basked in
the early sunlight amidst tubs of plastic plants placed randomly on an uneven cement floor. As a light
wind eddied down the avenue, the ‘garden’ sang: a cacophony of high pitched whining from the manic
spinning windmills and a jangling of steel from the wind chimes.

The little children shrieked and laughed and even I realised that I was smiling. Looking around I saw
mother in her dressing gown gaping at this spectacle. As though in some zombie film, other neighbours
slowly approached, curious but then enraged. They then began talking all at once and, craning
their necks to get a better view, each became more incensed than the other until the rallying cry of
‘They have gone too far!’ was heard.

1 As a result of the dispute between neighbours, a public meeting has been called. At this meeting,
in turn, the writer’s mother and the father next door are given the chance to present their views.

The chairperson of the meeting asks the mother the following question:
“Can you explain why you and other people in the neighbourhood believe that things have
‘gone too far’?”

The chairperson of the meeting asks the father next door the following question:
“Can you explain your position and views on this matter?”

Write the words of the public meeting. Base your response on what you have read in Passage A.

Write between 1½ and 2 sides, allowing for the size of your handwriting.

Up to fifteen marks will be available for the content of your answer, and up to five marks for
the quality of your writing.
[Total: 20]

2 Re-read the descriptions of:

(a) the arrival of the new family in paragraph 3 (“Suddenly there was a squeal … house next
door.”);

(b) the new ‘garden’ in paragraph 8 (“Suddenly, one Saturday … wind chimes.”).

Select words and phrases from these descriptions, and explain how the writer has created effects
by using this language.
[Total: 10]

© UCLES 2010 0500/23/M/J/10 [Turn over

Part 2

Question 3 is based on both Passage A and Passage B.

Passage B

Marcia Gomez lives in a flat in Lima Towers, which is a housing project in Lima city, Peru. Although she
is 80 years of age, she still has enough energy to help her neighbours in many different ways, and she
holds an important position within the community.

December 4 – Lima, Peru

Problem with your pipes? Ask Marcia. Need to know when the next bingo night is? Ask Marcia.
Where’s your newspaper? Ask Marcia. At Lima Towers, Marcia Gomez, president of the residents’
association, is the definition of a good neighbour. Marcia has lived for more than seven years in this
housing complex for the elderly and those who are disabled. For much of that time, she has served as
the association president. ‘When I first came in they wanted me to run for president, but I felt I was too
new. I ran as vice president and three months later the lady who was president lost her temper and
walked out,’ Marcia says, before giving a throaty laugh and a smile.

Marcia, 80, twice widowed, has two sons, three grandsons and three great-grandchildren, and many
of them are scattered around the country and the world. ‘This is my family,’ she says, gesturing to the
residents who walk by and say hello. ‘This is a city within a city. There are 200 apartments here. If you
need to go to the doctor, the hospital, if you need something cooked, we will help you. It’s the same as
any other family, just on a bigger scale.’

Marcia serves on the executive committee of the Allen County Democratic Party and is a helper at a
local medical centre. She was a nominee for this year’s Lima-Allen Good Neighbour Award.

A few years ago, The Lima News needed a new distributor for the newspaper in the Towers and
approached the managers who recommended Marcia. Now, she and other volunteers deliver the
newspaper at 5am, up and down seven floors.

Marcia has never taken a cent from the enterprise, however. The residents’ association donates any
profit made to an activities fund for residents. This fund has recently paid for trips to shopping outlets
and to the city zoo. Last week they chartered a bus and went to a special restaurant for lunch, and
they often go on trips to museums and art galleries. The group also has a monthly movie, game and
bingo night. ‘I just want to give back to my community and help people do some things they wouldn’t
otherwise be able to do,’ Marcia says. ‘It’s a joy to do it.’

Marcia’s friend and the association secretary, Maria Angelo, exclaims, ‘Marcia is everywhere! She’s
unbelievable. She does everything. She’s a good, good friend and never lets you down.’

A little woman in stature, Marcia is always on the move. She moves quickly, showing off the laundry
room and talking about a grocery store to be open on Thursdays, and a food donation programme. She
helps with it all, and even serves as an advocate for residents when they have concerns to raise with
management. Marcia isn’t bragging, but will convince you she’s up to the job. ‘All I need are my good
strong legs and the power of speech,’ she says, laughing again.

© UCLES 2010 0500/23/M/J/10

3 Summarise:

(a) the benefits of having Marcia Gomez as your neighbour, as outlined in Passage B;

(b) the annoying aspects of living next door to the new neighbours, as described in Passage A.

Use your own words as far as possible.

You should write about 1 side in total, allowing for the size of your handwriting.

Up to fifteen marks will be available for the content of your answer, and up to five marks for
the quality of your writing.
[Total: 20]

© UCLES 2010 0500/23/M/J/10

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© UCLES 2010 0500/23/M/J/10

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© UCLES 2010 0500/23/M/J/10

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Copyright Acknowledgements:

Question 3 © Heather Rutz; Dornick, definition of good neighbor, Lima News; www.accessmylibrary.com/comsite; 4 December 2006.

Permission to reproduce items where third-party owned material protected by copyright is included has been sought and cleared where possible. Every
reasonable effort has been made by the publisher (UCLES) to trace copyright holders, but if any items requiring clearance have unwittingly been included, the
publisher will be pleased to make amends at the earliest possible opportunity.

University of Cambridge International Examinations is part of the Cambridge Assessment Group. Cambridge Assessment is the brand name of University of
Cambridge Local Examinations Syndicate (UCLES), which is itself a department of the University of Cambridge.

© UCLES 2010 0500/23/M/J/10