+Describe 2 aspects of Hong Kong’s main railway station which led to a sense of disappointment on the part of the author. Such fantasising was instantly ended by the functional façade of Hong Kong’s main railway station……Should any of your romantic illusions have survived this far, the long ticket queue will give you a corrective experience of life in modern China. Functional façade

(Façade: a superficial appearance or illusion of something) Long ticket queue The railway station’s functional façade and long ticket

queue led to the author’s sense of disappointment

+My imagination smouldered with exotic images Smouldered to burn without flame; undergo slow or suppressed

combustion. to display repressed feelings, as of indignation, anger,

or the like: to smolder with rage.

to exist or continue in a suppressed state or without outward demonstration: Hatred smoldered beneath a polite surface.

+Exotic of foreign origin or character; not native;

introduced from abroad, but not fully naturalized or acclimatized: exotic foods; exotic plants.

strikingly unusual or strange in effect or appearance: an exotic hairstyle.

of a uniquely new or experimental nature

This means that the author’s is constantly/continuously thinking about the unique environment

+What impression of the station does the author wish to convey by referring to it as a “concrete box”?

Plain/Uninteresting/Dull/Boring

Functional

Small

+4a) He feels that the Chinese in Hong Kong are better off /wealthier / more exposed than the Chinese in China.

4b) “Deprived relations”

6) Three features – Do not need to rephrase

i. Stark high-rise apartment blocks packed together

ii. Rising hills littered with shanties half-submerged in wild undergrowth.

iii. Industrial Sprawl that obscured the view of the South China landscape.

+5) What reason does the author give for the tolerant attitude, shown by the Chinese government, towards the small traders, trafficking goods from Hong Kong to the mainlandOthers on the train are small-traders exploiting the shortages on the mainland. In the past few years, stimulating their economy, the Chinese government has turned a blind eye to such trafficking. It is the first phase in the eventual marriage between Hong Kong and the mainland……

The reason was that the Chinese government wants to stimulate their economy.

+7) The word is “hullabaloo”

8) The author thought so because he was in the longest queue he had ever seen.

Or

The author thought so because every Chinese in the queue had at least three huge bundles.

9) The word is “chaos”

10) An alternative word is “fake / forced / artificial / insincere”

+11) The distinction between them is that the First Class carriage is more luxurious than the Third Class carriage.

12) The author wants me to understand that the train was comfortable in a dowdy, old fashioned way.

ORThe author wants me to understand that the train was uncomfortable by his standards.

+What does “Big Brother” refer to?Big Brother may not be watching you but rest assured that Little Sister will be speaking to you, advising you, exhorting you……punctuated with station announcements and admirable urgings to give up spitting in public places and to keep China tidy.

“Big Brother” refers to the Chinese Government.Big Brother state: Commonly used phrase to describe a country where the ruling party holds total control.

+14) The phrase is “far more desirable than a soft pillow”.

15i) Three features that the writer found attractive are the rice fields, the mountains in the distance and the villages made of mud bricks.(One more feature: the glint of sun on the water)Glint: Quick flash of light

+What evidence is there, in the paragraph, that life was not as attractive as it seemed?The first sight of the Chinese landscape is attractive……Everywhere, gangs of human labour move earth, rock, building materials and long lengths of metal pipe, no burden too heavy to be manhandled into position. China is short of most things but rich in unskilled man-power and, one must add, as one watches them shoulder to shoulder with the workmen, womanpower……

China was short of most things but rich in unskilled manpower.

+In your own words, state how the idyllic view perceived by the author, serves to belie the life of the Chinese villagers.

……These idyllic views belie the wretched life of many villagers whose only ambition is to escape to the higher living standards of the industrial cities. Not for nothing were the victims of the Cultural Revolution sent for punishment down on the farm……

The life of the villagers are far from beautiful and relax as portrayed by the view, instead their lives are that of hardship, poverty and suffering.