Week 53 · English Practice Paper

Reading Passage

The First Day

Daniel felt as if he was being swallowed alive as he walked down the rowdy corridor and squinted through the thick lenses of his spectacles at the school hall beyond. The corridor was like the throat of a terrifying beast and he was sliding down it into the big belly that was the school hall.

He knew what would happen when he got there. All the new pupils, like himself, would be sitting in rows waiting for the headmaster to make his welcome address. The headmaster at St Joseph's was a towering, severe man who could strike fear into any pupil. He was not a man who would put up with any nonsense whatsoever. Daniel knew this. He knew it because when Mr Graham was not busy being headmaster, he was busy being Daniel's dad. Now, of course, his dad would be able to do both simultaneously and Daniel was sure that he would never hear the end of it from his classmates. He felt thoroughly miserable; he was never going to make any friends.

“Hello,” a voice said behind him. “You must be new too. My name's Rachael.”

The girl was stunning. She thrust her hand out confidently towards Daniel, while he gaped at her.

“Dennis!” he blurted, finally shaking her hand, “I mean... Daniel. My name's Daniel.”

“Don't you know your own name?” Rachael laughed. She didn't seem to be nervous at all.

“You're the head teacher's son, aren't you? Everyone says he's intimidating but my brother Tom, who's in the year above us, says that his bark is worse than his bite. It'll be weird for you, calling your dad 'Sir', won't it?”

“Yeah, I suppose,” Daniel mumbled. He couldn't believe his luck: Rachael wanted to be his friend. Daniel thought secondary school might not be so bad after all.

Reading Passage

Alfred, Lord Tennyson (1855) — public domain.

Adapted from 'The Brook'

By thirty hills I hurry down, Or slip between the ridges, By twenty thorps, a little town, And half a hundred bridges. Till last by Philip's farm I flow To join the brimming river, For men may come and men may go, But I go on for ever. I chatter over stony ways, In little sharps and trebles, I bubble into eddying bays, I babble on the pebbles. I chatter, chatter, as I flow To join the brimming river, For men may come and men may go, But I go on for ever. I slide by hazel covers; I move the sweet forget-me-nots That grow for happy lovers. I slip, I slide, I gloom, I glance, Among my skimming swallows; I make the netted sunbeam dance Against my sandy shallows. I murmur under moon and stars In brambly wildernesses; I linger by my shingly bars; I loiter round my cresses; And out again I curve and flow To join the brimming river, For men may come and men may go, But I go on for ever.

Reading Passage

Amalia Perez: The Mighty Mexican

Amalia Perez is one of Mexico's most celebrated sportspeople. She has dominated the Paralympic powerlifting scene for over 20 years, and is one of the best Paralympic athletes in history.

She is beloved in her native country for carrying the hopes of the nation on her shoulders, and for giving her all, both mentally and physically, in competitions all over the world. She trains four days a week and is coached by her husband, Jose Enrique Alvarado Paiz.

Perez was born in Mexico City in 1973 with congenital arthrogryposis, a disease that impairs the muscle power in her legs and affects one in every 3000 children. She began to practise sports at the age of six as part of her rehabilitation programme, and started weightlifting at age 18 when a teacher discovered that she possessed a high level of natural strength. She told an interviewer, “When I entered the sport at the national level, everyone asked me why I didn't get involved sooner since I already had the qualities of a weightlifter.”

She won her first gold medal at the Beijing Paralympics in 2008, setting a world record with a lift of 128kg. The Rio 2016 Paralympics were arguably her biggest success – she set a new world record of 130kg, and topped the podium again with her third consecutive win. At the Tokyo 2020 Paralympics, Perez achieved her fourth gold medal in the sport at the age of 48 after lifting a monumental weight of 131kg. She dedicated her medal to, “women, to the countries that believe in us, respect us and give us the space to recognise our potential and not believe in any limits.”

In her sport, she is also an activist who fights for equal opportunity, stating in 2022, “I want to open gaps, break down barriers, foster new generations and strive for international recognition for Paralympic sport.” Her dream is for the Olympic and Paralympic Games to be held jointly, “on the same date and without discrimination.”

Perez is still dominating on the world stage today – in 2021 she won the gold medal in her event at the World Para Powerlifting Championships held in Tbilisi, Georgia. Despite her long career, she shows no signs of slowing down – the world champion has already embarked on her journey to the Paris 2024 Paralympics, which would be her seventh time competing in the event.