Podar International School (Cambridge)

Seawoods, Nerul, Navi Mumbai

Grade - X

Name: Roll No:

Date:
Read Passage A carefully, and then answer Questions 1 on the Question Paper.

Passage A: Overcoming fear

The first jump from an aeroplane is a jittery nightmare of fear. More than likely, the act of jumping out
of a perfectly good aeroplane with a heavy parachute on one’s back generates more real fear than
anything, short of armed combat.

The teaching method in fashion when I made my first jump, almost ten years ago, involved crawling
out of an open door of an aircraft and hanging from the wingstrut. The jumpmaster calculated the
force of the wind against an airspeed of over a hundred kilometres an hour, and added in a nine-
hundred-metre drop. He shouted at the student to let go of the strut at the point where all these
variables might combine to deposit him or her in the centre of the drop zone.

On that first jump I was the second student out of the plane. A young woman went first, and when she
reluctantly let go, I saw her body hurtle down through empty space like a sack of cement. When she
let go of the strut, gravity tilted her over into an exaggerated belly flop – arms straight out and slightly
above the head, legs held just above the back – spread-eagled like a frog. She was already a tiny
speck before the static line attached to the plane pulled the parachute open for her. From far above it
looked like one of those flowers blooming in time-lapse photography in a nature documentary.

The plane circled around, and it was my turn to confront the fear of falling. The jumpmaster had
stressed the importance of holding my back arched. When the jumpmaster judged that I was in the
proper position he shouted ‘Go!’. This was a command I obeyed with extreme reluctance. The plane
disappeared overhead. I held position from the waist up, but my legs were moving at a flat-out pace. I
think, looking back on it, that my fear, ignoring the hard facts of physics, was screaming, ‘Run or you’ll
die!’

Nevertheless, I didn’t go into much of a spin. The chute opened splendidly, and I floated slowly to
earth in an utter silence punctuated only by the bass drumbeat of my heart. It didn’t matter that I’d
failed to hold position. The point of the first jump is simply doing it. The niceties come later, if the
student decides there is going to be a later. Jumping once is about defeating fear rather than
demonstrating skill, boldly breaking through the bars and escaping the confines we set for ourselves.
Afterwards, my skydiving classmates and I were giddy and ecstatic, like a group of children getting off
a roller coaster, with an excitement fuelled by a sense of accomplishment.

Some of my classmates who went on to further jumps might have been looking to recapture that first
incredible adrenaline rush – as I know I was – but this is a process of diminishing returns. As the
novice becomes accustomed to the fear, the thought process changes gradually. During the first jump
you think – ‘I know thousands have done it before, but this time it’s me, and I’m going to die.’ This
gives way to a more casual attitude – ‘Okay, some people have been injured, some have even been
killed, but I’m careful, and that’ll never happen to me.’

My experience suggests that the novice skydiver discovers, over the next few jumps, that one can
never feel again that first thrill of pure and primal fear. He or she also learns to appreciate the skill
involved in skydiving, and begins to understand that the mechanics of flying are pleasurable in
themselves. This is the reason some people become hooked on the sport. The woman I watched fall
off the strut that day nearly a decade ago has now logged over a thousand jumps.
Read carefully Passage A, Overcoming fear, in the Reading Booklet Insert and then answer
Questions 1 on this Question Paper.

Question 1

You are the jumpmaster delivering a talk to a new group of skydiving students to prepare
them for their first jump.

Write the words of your talk.

In your talk you should explain:

• what the students will do on their first jump and why

• the experience of fear and how to overcome it
• the rewards of skydiving and why they will want to repeat the experience.

Base your talk on what you have read in Passage A, but be careful to use your own words.
Address each of the three bullet points.

Begin your talk: ‘Welcome everyone. Now listen carefully…’

Write about 250 to 350 words.

Up to 15 marks are available for the content of your answer, and up to 5 marks for the
quality of your writing.

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[Total: 20]
MARK SCHEME
Responses might use the following ideas:

A1: What the students will do on their first jump and why
• will carry a parachute (det. heavy. dev. don’t touch parachute)
st nd
• jump one at a time/wait for your turn to jump (det. 1 , 2 , after circling. dev. told which order
they will jump)
• crawl out of the aeroplane door
• hold on to the wing strut
• obey commands to jump/let go (det. will shout ‘Go!’ dev. missing drop zone)
• correct position (det. arch your back. dev. stop you spinning, help control the jump)
• free-fall (det. until static line triggers parachute, spread-eagled)
• parachute opens (by itself) (det. float to the ground after parachute opens. dev. speed
decreases)

A2: The experience of fear and how to overcome it

• terror (det. nightmare, armed combat. dev. safe activity, common reaction)
• watching someone jump before you (det. tiny speck, relief when seeing parachute open)
• not wanting/hesitant to let go of the plane/follow instruction to jump (dev. just do it)
• being out of control/feeling their body flatten/go into a spin
• the speed of the descent (dev. but will slow down)
• die/be injured (dev. don’t panic, statistically safe)
• instinctive physical reactions (det. heartbeat, legs trying to run away)
• trust jumpmaster/expert (det. calculations)
• focus on the positives arising from first jump

A3: The rewards of skydiving and why they will want to repeat the experience
• chasing the initial feeling/adrenalin rush (det. diminishing returns. dev. stops eventually)
• silence/peace as they float down (dev. beauty, tranquillity, escapism)
• feeling of achievement/conquering fear (dev. empowering, personal development)
• feeling of exhilaration/happiness (det. ecstatic)
• sharing experience with other members of the group/friends (dev. select group,
rejuvenation, tell your story)
• to perfect their technique (det. appreciate/demonstrate skills. dev. to become a
jumpmaster)
• realise it’s safe (det. understand risks are low dev. become courageous/confident)
• to enjoy the sensation of flying (det. for its own sake. dev. seeing world from above)
• it’s addictive/people get hooked on the sport itself (det. over 1000 jumps dev. competitive)
© Cambridge International Examinations 2015
 PMT

Page 4 Mark Scheme Syllabus Paper

Cambridge IGCSE – October/November 2015 0500 22

Marking Criteria for Question 1

Table A, Reading:
Use the following table to give a mark out of 15 for Reading.

Band 1: The response reveals a thorough reading of the passage. Developed ideas are
13–15 sustained and well related to the passage. A wide range of ideas is applied. There is
supporting detail throughout, which is well integrated into the response, contributing to a
strong sense of purpose and approach. All three bullets are well covered. A consistent
and convincing voice is used.

Band 2: The response demonstrates a competent reading of the passage. A good range of
10–12 ideas is evident. Some ideas are developed, but the ability to sustain them may not be
consistent. There is frequent, helpful supporting detail, contributing to a clear sense of
purpose. All three bullets are covered. An appropriate voice is used.

Band 3: The passage has been read reasonably well. A range of straightforward ideas is
7–9 offered. Opportunities for development are rarely taken. Supporting detail is present but
there may be some mechanical use of the passage. There is uneven focus on the
bullets. The voice is plain.

Band 4: There is some evidence of general understanding of the main ideas, although the
4–6 response may be thin or in places lack focus on the passage or the question. Some
brief, straightforward reference to the passage is made .There may be some reliance on
lifting from the text. One of the bullets may not be addressed. The voice might be
inappropriate.

Band 5: The response is either very general, with little reference to the passage, or a
1–3 reproduction of sections of the original. Content is either insubstantial or unselective.
There is little realisation of the need to modify material from the passage.

Band 6: There is very little or no relevance to the question or to the passage.

0

© Cambridge International Examinations 2015

 PMT

Page 5 Mark Scheme Syllabus Paper

Cambridge IGCSE – October/November 2015 0500 22

Table B, Writing: Structure and order, style of language:

Use the following table to give a mark out of 5 for Writing.

Band 1 The language of the response sounds convincing and consistently appropriate. Ideas
5 are firmly expressed in a wide range of effective and/or interesting language. Structure
and sequence are sound throughout.

Band 2 Language is mostly fluent and there is clarity of expression. There is a sufficient range of
4 vocabulary to express ideas with subtlety and precision. The response is mainly well
structured and well sequenced.

Band 3 Language is clear but comparatively plain and/or factual, expressing little opinion. Ideas
3 are rarely extended, but explanations are adequate. Some sections are quite well
sequenced but there may be flaws in structure.

Band 4 There may be some awkwardness of expression and some inconsistency of style.
2 Language is too limited to express shades of meaning. There is structural weakness and
there may be some copying from the passage.

Band 5 Expression and structure lack clarity. Language is weak and undeveloped. There is very
1 little attempt to explain ideas. There may be frequent copying from the original.

Band 6 The response cannot be understood.

0