Higher Word-choice answers

Higher Word-choice marking key

Mark as one mark each.

Please write in correct answer if missed out or wrong.

Give a total at the end and two stars and a wish

Extract 1:

Real life:

1. ‘stress’ – D= an emotion. C= anxiety, worry, unable to cope, fear, overwhelmed. E= suggests the strain and anxiety real life conversations can cause (1)

2. ‘perilous’ – d= risky. D= extremely dangerous, life-threatening E=suggests something extremely dangerous and threatening (1)

Cyber world:

1. ‘chatting’ –d= a mode of communication. C= comfortable talking, relaxed, friendly, without thought. E=implies something warm and relaxing, a safe world (1)

2. ‘re-assuring’- D= something that gives assurance. C= giving confidence, making someone feel better, feel safe. E= connotes something calming, comforting and safe (1)

Extract 2:

1. ‘I’, ‘my’- personal pronouns. Connotations of intimacy, self, reality E= suggests the personal impact on his life

2. ‘desperate’. An emotion. Connotations of need, anxiety, extreme desire causing upset. E= perhaps an exaggerated sense of urgency, panic, distress

3. ‘loved’. An emotion. C= care, affection, intimacy, connection. E= suggests strong/deep personal attachment

4. ‘descended’. To go down. C= lower, worse, falling, failing. E= indicates the downward turn his life has taken

5. ‘near-permanent depression’ D= a state of mental-health that is almost impossible to recover from. C- illness, life-threatening, difficult to cure, E=  exaggerates dire consequences

6. ‘young (daughters)’. D= youthful female child. C= vulnerability, innocence, easily hurt/influenced, naievity. E= a slightly manipulative reference to the young as innocent / vulnerable / perhaps unsuitable representatives of future generations

7. ‘abstinence’ D= to go without C= sacrifice, strength, willpower. E=  implies a sense of personal sacrifice

Extract 3:

The teacher:

1. The word ‘zealous’. D= having or showing zeal. C= fervent, ardent, fervid, fiery, passionate, impassioned, devout, devoted. Suggests a fanatic, driven by a personal agenda.

2. ‘ever alert’- D- always watchful. C= constantly observing, overly aware, looking to find fault, monitoring, obsession. E= is mocking, suggesting the teacher is over keen to find fault.

3. The word ‘omnipresent’ D= widespread. C= ubiquitous, general, universal, worldwide, global, all-pervasive, all-present, infinite, boundless. E= an example of exaggeration that implies the teacher assumes evil is everywhere and always present.

4. ‘one look’- A single look. C= speed, hasty, quick to judge, lack of care. E= suggests action taken without thinking situation through first.

5. The word ‘hissed’. A noise. C= sinister, animalistic, hatred, cruelty. E=suggests someone spiteful, animal-like.

6 ‘clearly’ with clarity. C=intelligibly, plainly, distinctly, comprehensibly, understandably, perspicuously- shows that there was no doubt in the teacher’s mind; she was too ready to believe the worst.

The social worker:

1. The word ‘rushed’. With speed. C        hurry, dash, run, anxiety, lack of control, too fast E=speed suggests lack of thought

2. The word ‘quiz’- test. C=          interrogation, questioning, cross-examination, cross-questioning, interview, - suggests interrogative style of questioning, very intrusive and suspicious

3. ‘Once upon a time’ – the introduction to a story. C= fairytales, magic, fiction, writing, mystical worlds. E=  living in fantasy world, tone mocking. 

Extract 4:

The writer feels saddened / regretful that the elderly are no longer valued in the same way.

1. ‘passing away’ – has connotations of death (1) suggests the writer feels the loss of an important era/tradition (1)

2. ‘(whose council is) precious’ – emphasises how much emotional value the writer places on the advice and wisdom of the elderly

3. ‘This debunking was underway’ implies a certain force (1), a usurping of status and power that has taken place over a long period (1)

4. ‘no longer wanted’ – suggests rejection (1), the elderly cast aside, made useless (1)

5. ‘Excommunicated’ – has religious connotations, suggests ‘exile’ (1) of the elderly is almost sacrilegious, sinful (1)

Extract 5: (any two)1 ‘no doubt’ - brooks no argument, emphatic, definite

2.’main cause’ / ‘principle risk’ / ‘heavily implicated’ – stresses the significant role played by obesity in serious illnesses

3. ‘kills’ – murder, violence, intent, crime- emphasises that obesity is lethal/fatal but could be cured.

4. ‘biggest public health risk’ – the use of the superlative ‘biggest’ has connotations of the worst, too large- stresses that obesity is the major cause of serious health problems, affecting society at large

5. ‘heart disease’, ‘cancer’ – death, severe illness, fear- effect= mention of illnesses that are known to be fatal/life-threatening emphasises the impact

6. ‘epidemic’ –D= a widespread occurrence of an infectious disease. C= outbreak, plague etc. E= emphasises that obesity is spreading rapidly, the problem is worsening

Extract 6:

1.’away from the teacher’s eye’ and ‘traded’ – connotations of being secretive, as if exchanging goods on the black-market, suggests the children were quite defiant

2. ‘marks of rebellion’ / ‘statements of independence’ – implies the children saw eating forbidden foods as a way to revolt against adult authority,

3. ‘ever more enticing’ / ‘food plus attitude’ –  suggests that eating sweets was a means to asserting self-determination

Extract 7:

1.  ‘(too great an) intrusion on liberty’ – emphasises that government intervention is an imposition, an infringement upon peoples’ right to privacy, which is a step too far

2 ‘(society) has a legitimate interest’ – suggests that people have a perfectly valid right to make their own decisions without interference from the state  

2 ‘poking their nose in’ – dismisses the state as mere interfering busy, bodies