Insert Paper IGCSE EFL Paper 1
Duration: 120 minutes
INFORMATION
• This insert contains the reading texts.
• You may annotate this insert and use the blank spaces for planning. Do not write your answers
on the
insert.
2
Read Text A, and then answer Questions 1(a)–(e) on the question paper.
Text A: The forest elephant
Many children can identify the savannah elephant as an inhabitant of Africa
just by looking at a picture of it. However, most people are unaware that there
are two different kinds of elephant living on the same continent.
Very little is known about the other African elephant: the magnificent, intelligent and
highly
elusive forest elephant. 5
In March 2021, after their population had suddenly declined by a staggering
86%, the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) set the status
of the forest elephant to ‘critically endangered’. At the time, most people had
never heard of them, let alone taken steps to aid their preservation.
Genetic analysis has demonstrated to scientists that forest and savannah elephants
diverged 10
from their common ancestor around 5.5 million years ago. It can also be
observed that the two elephant types live separate existences and are as
genetically distinct as lions and tigers.
In common with other rainforest-dwelling mammals of Central Africa, the
forequarters of the forest elephant are lower than the hindquarters. The
resulting compact shape, along with its
dark colouring, allows the forest elephant to melt quietly into the rainforest, maybe
explaining 15
why the species has been less studied than its savannah counterpart, which
occupies more open spaces. Compared to the larger lighter-coloured savannah
elephant, the forest elephant has smaller, more rounded ears, while the
savannah elephant boasts thicker and more curved tusks.
If we care about the future of our rainforests, we should care about the conservation of the
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forest elephant. Known as the ‘mega-gardener of the forest’, the forest
elephant eats mainly fruit then disperses the seeds while it moves around,
meaning that a range of fruit trees are spread about the rainforest and kept
plentiful. They also eat small trees, thereby thinning out space for larger ones
to flourish. Large trees have high carbon absorption levels and are
very much associated with combatting climate change. Large trees also support the
existence 25
of primates and many other animals.
3
Read Text B, and then answer Question 1(f) on the question paper.
Text B: Volunteering with elephants
Text B is a young person’s account of their experience volunteering in an elephant park.
For someone like me, volunteer tourism can be an ideal first way to travel solo
into a safe and structured environment. Dedicated social media sites offered
me an opportunity to learn about the elephant park and make friends with
other volunteers in advance.
Before I started volunteering, I already knew that some elephant species were
endangered,
but I naively believed that all wild animals should be free. That’s a sweet sentiment, but
it’s 5
just not that simple. Due to poachers and loss of wildland, it is generally better
for an elephant to be in captivity than to be in the wild.
Unfortunately, some projects are unethical and frankly damaging to the
well-being of elephants. I dismissed working for one elephant orphanage, as it
was clearly focused on
lucrative tourism rather than actual conservation. Pictures on their website showed smiling
10
child visitors poking at baby elephants and perching on their backs. I had no
intention of supporting such blatant exploitation. Fortunately, I found another
elephant park that gave conservation a better image.
My first week there was mostly training, not actively helping, enabling me to realise that
short programmes are not particularly useful. The money that you pay to volunteer will
help the
15
animals, but you, the animals and the programme will get a greater benefit the
longer you stay. I met one girl who was just finishing up ten weeks’
volunteering with elephants. In my first week, we newcomers stood round
unsure about instructions, while she confidently examined a daily rota before
putting herself straight to work.
I volunteered with elephants for one month straight and it was exhilarating. We saw how
our 20
elephants had such very different personalities. For example, when tourists
came to the elephant park, they could buy fruit and vegetables to feed the
elephants. Often, one particular elephant would amble across to the humans
for food. Others in the herd were too shy to make contact, though cheekily
expected the brave member of the herd to bring back any
exciting goodies to share. 25
As time passed, we volunteers collaborated well over the daily rota and my
self-confidence soared. You get to spend so much time with these animals. I
cleaned elephant enclosures, prepared their food, observed and took notes on
their behaviour, picked up elephant dung for research (seriously!) and input
elephant data into the computer.
Our evenings and weekends were free. Fridays were a half-day. I found this a good balance.
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[Turn over
4
I used my free time to visit nearby towns and soak up the culture.
[Turn over
5
Read Text C, and then answer Questions 2(a)–(d) and Question 3 on the question paper.
Text C: River Game Reserve
The narrator, Frances, and her husband, Lawrence, own River Game Reserve. This text is about a
herd of elephants coming to live at the reserve.
Whenever Celia, the lead elephant, and her herd visit, their trunks immediately
curl up like periscopes to scan our house. They start to wonder: ‘Are they at
home? Is that appetising whiff coming from their bountiful fruit trees? Would a
daring fruit-raid be within the realms of possibility?’ Our cat finds his blissful
slumbers on the patio rudely disturbed, then the
exuberant elephant babies gleefully charge after him along the length of the wire fence
that 5
borders our garden, their bodies a gangling bundle of floppy ears and tiny swinging trunks.
Celia has a soft spot for Lawrence. It has been a long-term comfortable
friendship which, to this day, still requires regular opportunities for a gossipy
catch-up. Lawrence parks his jeep a kilometre away from the herd and waits.
Celia, catching human scent in the air, quietly
separates from the others and ambles towards him through the dense scrubland, trunk
high 10
in delighted greeting. He tells her about his day and she tells him about hers
with soft throaty rumbles and gentle trunk-tip touches.
But I need to go back a few years to when we bought River Game Reserve, a
beautiful mix of river, savannah and forest sprawled over rolling hills with an
abundance of animals.
Almost immediately, an animal welfare representative asked us to adopt a herd of
elephants. 15
We knew nothing about keeping elephants, nor had we anticipated the
significant monetary outlay required for a secure enclosure within the reserve
where elephants could stay until they adjusted to their surroundings.
But there was no one else to accommodate the herd safely, so, two weeks later in the
middle
of a night of torrential rain, three huge articulated trucks brought the elephants to us.
When 20
I saw the size of the trucks, I was hit by the full impact of what was arriving: two
adult females and three little ones under the age of ten.
Just as the trucks pulled into the game reserve, a tyre exploded, and the
vehicle tilted dangerously in the mud. My heart froze at the elephants’ terrified
trumpeting and screeching.
It wasn’t until dawn that we managed to get them into the secure enclosure. 25
They weren’t there for long.
By the next day, they’d figured out a way to get past the electric fence’s brutal
8000 volts by pushing a large tree onto it. The wires shorted and off went the
elephants, pounding northwards in the direction of their previous home. Many
villages dot the hills and valleys
around our game reserve, so this was a serious concern. 30
6
You’d think it would be easy to find a herd of elephants, but it isn’t. Animals,
big and small, instinctively know how to make themselves disappear in the
bush, and disappear they did. At first, people on foot, in cars and helicopters
couldn’t find them.
It was ten days before the herd was returned. Ten exhausting days. We survived on
adrenalin,
coffee and very little sleep. The pressure to settle them and avoid a repeat incident was
35
immense. Night after night, Lawrence stayed as close to the secure enclosure
as he dared, singing to those angry elephants, talking to them and telling them
stories until he was hoarse.
7
With tender determination and no shortage of foolhardiness, Lawrence
breached Celia’s terror of humans and gained her trust.
One afternoon he came home and literally bounced up the steps to me. ‘You won’t believe
40
what happened,’ he said. ‘Celia put her trunk through the fence and touched my hand.’
I was shocked. Celia could have slung her trunk around his body and yanked
him through the wires.
‘How did you know she wouldn’t hurt you?’
‘I could sense her mood. She isn’t angry or frightened anymore. In fact, she was telling me
45
that they’re ready to leave the secure enclosure. Tomorrow, I’m going to open it
and let them explore the rest of the reserve.’
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