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SP (NH) S62475/3
© UCLES 2004
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UNIVERSITY OF CAMBRIDGE INTERNATIONAL EXAMINATIONS
General Certificate of Education Ordinary Level
ENGLISH LANGUAGE
1115/02, 1120/02
1123/02
Paper 2
May/June 2004
1 hour 30 minutes
INSERT
READ THESE INSTRUCTIONS FIRST
This insert contains the passage for comprehension.
2
1120/02/M/J/04
The passage describes how the writer, Mark, achieves his ambition of buying
an elephant and setting out on a journey with her, along with his companions,
Aditya and Salim.
‘Am I right in assuming that you want to buy an elephant?’ A voice from India
shouted down the telephone to me in Hong Kong. It was my friend Aditya. Even
through the hiss and crackle of the telephone, I could detect the disbelief in his voice
about my strange wish.
‘Yes, that’s right,’ I replied.
‘You must be mad,’ he said. ‘But I’ll see what I can do.’
Within a few days I was in India at Aditya’s house. There, waiting for me, was an
acquaintance of his, Salim, who had a deep knowledge of wildlife and, more
importantly, was an expert on elephants. ‘Orissa, the old kingdom of Kalinga,’ Salim
said, studying the map, ‘is where you should go to buy an elephant, and to begin
your journey. For centuries the rulers there reckoned part of their wealth in
elephants.’
So next morning we set off. By coincidence the director of the zoo in Orissa was on
our flight. But he gave us depressing news. He knew of no elephants for sale in
Orissa. When we touched down, my gloomy mood deepened. It was monsoon time
and an oppressive heat hung in the air. We checked into our hotel and followed the
porter to our rooms. Before we could get inside, the porter suddenly asked us if we
wanted to buy an elephant. I didn’t ask him how on earth he knew that. Aditya
whispered to me ‘Don’t forget the zoo director is staying here too. News travels fast
in hotels.’ Sure enough, the porter informed us there was a village nearby where
elephants for sale could be found. We made our way there as quickly