At half past six, the first visitors gathered beside the wildlife centre's locked gate. Beyond it, the enclosures were quiet except for the soft scrape of a keeper's wheelbarrow. A handwritten sign read: EVENING WALKS FUND WINTER CARE. Mara watched a young fox retreat beneath a platform when a child called its name. The guide lowered her voice at once and asked the group to step back. Within seconds, the fox reappeared, nose lifted towards the dusk air. Mara had arrived expecting a spectacle. Instead, the most memorable moment was the one everyone agreed not to interrupt.
Text B · Opinion article
A promise at the gate
Wildlife centres should not need to turn recovery into entertainment. Even a careful crowd changes an animal's surroundings: unfamiliar footsteps, voices and scents arrive at the very time many rescued species become active. Supporters point to ticket income, but funding is only useful if the method of raising it does no harm. Centres could offer filmed keeper talks, daytime workshops and transparent donation appeals instead. A closed gate at dusk is not secrecy. It is a promise that an animal's needs come before our curiosity.
Marked quiz
Paper 1 · Comprehension
7 questions, marked with the reasoning shown. No timer.
1. What did the guide do when the child called the fox's name?
2. What can be inferred from the fox reappearing after the group stepped back?
3. Why does Text A describe the wheelbarrow's ‘soft scrape’?
4. What is the effect of the final sentence of Text A?
5. What concern do both writers recognise?
6. How do the writers' viewpoints differ?
7. Why does Text B use the short sentence ‘It is a promise’?
