GCSE English Language 2.0 – Sport – Paper 1
Section A – Reading
Read Text 1 below and then answer Questions 1–3.
This extract is adapted from a mid-Victorian handbook that explains cricket’s history and the skills it requires.
The Cricket Field
The game of cricket, philosophically considered, is a standing panegyric on the English character: none but an orderly and sensible race of people would so amuse themselves. It calls into requisition all the cardinal virtues, some moralist would say. As with the Grecian games of old, the player must be sober and temperate. Patience, fortitude, and self-denial, the various bumps of order, obedience, and good-humour, with an unruffled temper, are indispensable.
For intellectual virtues we want judgment, decision, and the organ of concentrativeness — every faculty in the free use of all its limbs — and every idea in constant air and exercise. Poor, rickety, and stunted wits will never serve: the widest shoulders are of little use without a head upon them: the cricketer wants wits down to his fingers’ ends.
Read Text 2 below and then answer Questions 4-6.
This extract is adapted from an essay published in an magazine named “Athletics And Manly Sport”.
Ethics and Evolution of Boxing
HAS BOXING A REAL VALUE?
‘Both among the Greeks and Romans,’ says an eminent authority, ‘the practice of pugilism was considered essential to the education of their youth, from its manifest utility in strengthening the body, dissipating all fear, and infusing a manly courage into the system.’
The Greeks and Romans kept boxing in its proper relation to every-day life; not as a brutal exhibition of skill or strength, but as a healthy exercise to invigorate the body, expand the chest, strengthen and quicken the muscles, and render mind and body free, supple, strong, and confident.
‘There is nothing that interests me like good boxing,’ said Sir Robert Peel. ‘It asks more steadiness, self-control, ay, and manly courage, than any other exercise. You must take as well as give,—eye to eye, toe to toe, and arm to arm.’
Mr. Evelyn Denison, describing an interview with Lord Althorp, says: ‘Lord Althorp had seriously been considering whether it was not a duty that he owed to the public to go and attend every prize fight which took place, and thus to encourage the noble science to the extent of his power.’
SECTION A – Reading
Read Text 1 and answer Questions 1–3.
Q1. Identify four demands that cricket has of its players. (4 marks)
Q2. In lines paragraph , the writer tries to persuade the reader that intelligence is necessary for athletes to succeed. Evaluate how successfully this is achieved. Give three reasons for your opinion and use examples from paragraph two. (6 marks)
Q3. How does the writer use language to interest and inform the reader? You should include:
- the writer’s use of language
- the effect on the reader.
Use examples from the whole text and relevant subject terminology. (8 marks)
Read Text 2 and answer Questions 4–6.
4a. From paragraph two, identify two benefits the writer claims for boxing. (2 marks)
4b. Read this extract.
Mr. Evelyn Denison, describing an interview with Lord Althorp, says: ‘Lord Althorp had seriously been considering whether it was not a duty that he owed to the public to go and attend every prize fight which took place, and thus to encourage the noble science to the extent of his power.’
From the extract, identify two ways the writer shows that boxing is seen as honourable. (2 marks)
Q5. Read this extract.
The Greeks and Romans kept boxing in its proper relation to every-day life; not as a brutal exhibition of skill or strength, but as a healthy exercise to invigorate the body, expand the chest, strengthen and quicken the muscles, and render mind and body free, supple, strong, and confident.
‘There is nothing that interests me like good boxing,’ said Sir Robert Peel. ‘It asksmore steadiness, self-control, ay, and manly courage, than any other exercise. You must take as well as give — eye to eye, toe to toe, and arm to arm.’
In the extract, the writer tries to persuade readers that boxing promotes self-control and courage rather than brutality. Evaluate how successfully this is achieved. Give three reasons for your opinion and use examples from the extract. (6 marks)
Q6. For this question refer to the whole of Text 2.
‘In my view, this text shows that controversial sports can be justified if they appeal to men.’
Based on your evaluation of the text, how far do you agree with this opinion? Use examples from the text to support your evaluation. (12 marks)
SECTION B – Writing
Answer ONE question. You should spend about 45 minutes on this section.
EITHER
*7 Write a speech for your peer group with the title ‘Winning Isn’t The Whole Game’. A student has started the response.
Every season we chase medals, and forget the quiet victories—turning up, backing a teammate, owning a mistake. If sport is only a scoreboard, we miss what it’s for.
Continue this speech using your own ideas.
*Your response will be marked for the accurate and appropriate use of vocabulary, spelling, punctuation and grammar. (40 marks)
OR
*8 Write an article for a college newspaper with the title “Should Full-Contact Sports Be Compulsory in PE?” You should include:
- Your arguments for
- Your arguments against
- Your recommendation with a practical plan
*Your response will be marked for the accurate and appropriate use of vocabulary, spelling, punctuation and grammar. (40 marks)
Sources:
Text One: https://www.gutenberg.org/files/52022/52022-h/52022-h.htm
Text Two: https://www.gutenberg.org/cache/epub/25068/pg25068-images.html