Read Text C, and then answer Questions 2(a)–2(d) and Question 3 on the question paper.
Text C: Into the sunrise: Cycling the World, Part 2
The narrator, Chris, is currently travelling alone through Canada. He has stopped at a visitor centre to
use their telephone and buy a map. He is about to leave, when someone approaches, pushing a small
touring bike.
I’d just met Vivian.
She ate my food; I fixed her wheel.
She was short, dressed in fluorescent yellow and barely paused for breath: ‘I ran out of water. I think I
saw a bear. My bike broke. I lost all my food.
’ Vivian’s goal, she explained, was to cycle the 3200 kilometres across Canada to raise money for a
children’s charity. She’d never ridden long distance before this trip.
Vivian and I were going in the same direction; riding together made sense. ‘I’m quite slow,’
Vivian warned. All went well, until we arrived at the first climb. Vivian stepped off her bike and pushed.
‘The hills are steep,’ she explained. I couldn’t believe it. Had she been doing this all the way? I stopped
and checked her bike. She was in completely the wrong gear.
Once in the right gear, Vivian cycled minutes only before resorting to pushing again. I went on ahead
and waited for her at the top, secretly delighted she was slower than me.
‘You really should have a mirror,’ I told her as she caught up. ‘For staying safe in traffic.’ ‘I threw it away
to save weight.’ ‘Okay.
Well you’re very bright at least.’ ‘I don’t think so,’ replied my new companion, screwing up her face. ‘No,
Vivian. I meant your high-visibility jacket – it’s bright, so at least you can be seen.’
After more walking / cycling we closed the day making camp by Lake O’Hara.
I’d found a great spot with inspirational views of snowy peaks. Vivian seemed concerned about wildlife,
particularly bears: ‘I’ve been camping on petrol station forecourts.’ ‘Are you serious?’ ‘Yes. I decided it
was safer.’ Vivian wasn’t exactly happy but began to erect her tent and unpack. I did the same,
somewhat faster, then cooked us dinner on my trusty stove.
Vivian’s stove was one of the many things she’d thrown away.
I woke next morning to wails of, ‘Nooo, my iPhone!’ and ‘Eww, a slug!’ I smiled.
She was a city girl plucked out of her comfort zone and thrust into the alternative universe of long-
distance touring.
Conquering this trip might boost Vivian’s ailing confidence, perhaps help her too to discover her
direction in life. Later that morning, as I stopped to get my map out, Vivian shot off past me. It was hours
before I caught up with her again – or rather she ‘caught up’ with me.
A pick-up truck overtook me and rolled to a stop. From the passenger seat, jumped a small bright bundle
of energy. As Vivian hauled her bike out of the truck, I greeted her, asking the obvious question. ‘I got
lost,’ she explained. Apparently, a fresh list of things had gone wrong since I’d last seen her.
She’d nearly quit, but instead found a café with WiFi (how?), arranged hosts for us in the next town
through [Link]-for-cyclists and hitched a lift in the café owner’s pick-up.
We cycled on into the National Park. Vivian remembered this was bear country – disappointingly no
bears showed themselves. And by evening we rendezvoused with our wonderful hosts who apparently
often hosted cross-Canada cyclists.
We cooked dinner to thank them. For weeks Vivian and I rode on together, following the unrelenting,
unbending highway.
The now empty green scenery had become mind-numbingly boring, but we were getting along
surprisingly well, playing my guess-the-animal game for entertainment.
Finally, we began to spot trees. At first they were sporadic, but before long grouped together, calling
themselves forests. We’d made it across the prairies.
It felt like a significant achievement. The heavily forested area we were headed into was dotted with
tempting lakes, ponds and rivers – ideal habitat for the shy creatures missing from my ‘collection’:
beavers. I said I’d like to cycle separately for the rest of the day. Vivian looked hurt. Before I could
explain, she rode off.
Read Text C, Into the sunrise: cycling the world, part 2, in the insert and then answer Questions 2(a)–
2(d) on this question paper. Question 2 Identify a word or phrase from the text which suggests the
same idea as the words underlined:
2 (a)
(i) Chris mended the broken bicycle.
................................................................................................................................ [1]
(ii) Vivian only stopped briefly when she talked.
................................................................................................................................ [1]
(iii) Vivian had adopted the solution of pushing her bicycle
along. ................................................................................................................................ [1]
(iv) Vivian and Chris met up with their hosts for the
evening. ................................................................................................................................ [1]
(b) Using your own words, explain what the writer means by each of the words underlined: After more
walking / cycling we closed the day making camp by Lake O’Hara. I’d found a great spot with
inspirational views of snowy peaks. Vivian seemed concerned about wildlife, particularly bears: ‘I’ve
been camping on petrol station forecourts.’ ‘Are you serious?’ ‘Yes. I decided it was safer.’ Vivian wasn’t
exactly happy but began to erect her tent and unpack. I did the same, somewhat faster, then cooked us
dinner on my trusty stove. Vivian’s stove was one of the many things she’d thrown away.
(i) closed .................................................................................................................... [1]
(ii) wildlife .................................................................................................................... [1]
(iii) erect ...................................................................................................................... [1]
