Cambridge IGCSE First Language English Response to Reading
Answers – Unit 11
1 Text 11A is about the use of a manned mechanical shark which enables researchers to get closer to real sharks
in order to film them, allowing them to discover new information which overturns some of the myths associated
with Great White sharks.
2 Text 11A: summary points:
a Trojan shark [18 points]
• submersible in the shape of a Great White
• built from steel and plastic
• 4 metres long
• created by a Hollywood prop expert
• cost of £115 000
• skin made of malleable material which simulates texture of shark skin
• hinged head allows entrance to body
• joysticks control speed and angle
• shark’s eyes are camera lenses and a third camera is positioned beneath
• American Navy invention propels shark’s tail
• moves quietly and without creating bubbles
• has a five-centimetre-thick, stainless steel skeleton
• named Troy but nicknamed Sushi
• mouth opens and closes but Trojan does not eat
• it is odourless
• it is unable to move fast
• device has enabled unprecedented opportunity to study sharks
• accepted by real sharks as a dominant female
b Real Great White sharks [15 points]
• the most ferocious marine predators
• large ones disfigured by ugly scars
• attended by pilot fish
• blamed for several deaths and attacks on swimmers and surfers every year
• have been known to attack metal cages containing divers
• considered capable of biting a small boat in half (because of film Jaws)
• the Great White remains little understood
• scientists don’t know where they breed, how long they live and how big they can grow
• the largest on record is 6.4 metres
• Great Whites can be found from Mexico to Australia
• many false perceptions about sharks
Unit 11 Of sharks and whales © Cambridge University Press 2018
Cambridge IGCSE First Language English Response to Reading
• sharks actually very timid
• Great White sharks do not attack and eat boats
• they have a smell
• they are capable of great speed
3 Text 11A: paragraph joining (there is an alternative for paragraph 15):
1 + 2 + 4 + 15
3+5+6+7
8 + 9 + 10 + 11 (+ 15)
12 + 13 + 14
16 + 17 + 18 + 19 + 20
Logically, the 20 paragraphs in Text 11A should be only five paragraphs. These paragraphs can be joined
because there is no change of time, place or topic between them. News reports and articles tend to use simple
or compound sentences for dramatic effect and simplicity of expression, as befits informative writing for a mass
readership. They also use shorter paragraphs than other genres of writing because they are purely informative and
information is more easily assimilated if it is broken up for the reader. Newspapers rely on sales achieved through
the accessibility of their layout for people who have a limited attention span, or who do not have the time or
ability to wade through dense text, so their pages must have ‘white space’. Because sub-editors cut news reports
from the bottom upwards if they are too long for the space available, the information is given in descending order
of importance. Internet articles do not use columns, which makes it even more necessary for them to use short
paragraphs, usually one per sentence, in order to create white space and make text seem accessible.
4 (Example answers)
Unsettling Great Whites is inadvisable, as they have been blamed for three deaths this year and have made
numerous attacks on swimmers and surfers, some of them even attacking the metal cages used by divers.
Perhaps because of their fearsome reputation, the Great White remains so little understood that scientists have
yet to establish where they breed, how long they live and how big they can grow, although the largest on record
is 6.4 metres.
Cousteau’s device has enabled him to study the fish with unprecedented insight, while over the last few months
he has been filming Great Whites from Mexico to Australia for American television, since his findings contradict
popular conceptions.
5 Divers are viewed as other predators by sharks, not as prey or providers of food. Very few of the many hundreds
of shark species are dangerous, and even those which are a threat are rarely seen and cause few deaths. Sharks
do not attack without warning or reason, the most common attack being mistaken identity for an injured
seal. When moving slowly and gracefully, sharks are not likely to be planning an attack, so divers are safe even
without additional protection, provided that they are not trying to entice the sharks with fish blood, in which
case they should be in a cage. [102 words]
© Cambridge University Press 2018 Unit 11 Of sharks and whales
