Ms Butterfield’s answer to the 2008 June paper.

3a.)Lifestyle = difficult because

1. Sleeps under a waterproof sheet so gets very cold2. Has to sleep in what has he been wearing3. Has to get up very early in the morning and then has a long journey to

work4. He has to copy with changing temperatures as he is freezing at night but

then gets too hot when he has to dash for the bus 5. The heating at work makes him feel sick as he gets overheated very easily

because he is used to sleeping in the cold6. He has different clothing for different parts of the day and this can get

chaotic with bits of the clothes being left is various places. 7. He is too tired to see his friends often8. He has been ill from undercooked meat

The writer’s lifestyle is difficult because he has to sleep in the woods under a waterproof sheet and so he gets very cold and this cold is so severe that he has to sleep in what he has been wearing. After a cold night, he has to get up very early and then has a long journey to work. To make this harder, he has often become very hot as he gets on the bus because he has had to sprint for it with lots of the extra layers of clothing on! When at work, he feels sick because of the heating (he has become used to the cold) and also has difficulty in remembering where the different outfits are that he needs for the different parts of his day. He is so tired that he struggles to see his friends as often as he used to. Also, he has also been ill from undercooked meat because he just cooks it in the wild over a fire.

3b.)Things that allow Diudiu to cope with the way she lives…

1. The solar collector helps her to boil water faster2. She can sell her animal’s hair (Uses this like money to buy things)3. She has plenty of storage space4. Blankets are ready for winter – she is prepared5. She has an oven to cook in6. She uses the birds for companionship – so she doesn’t get lonely as she is

widow and has no children]7. She uses animal dung to create walls and buildings8. She enjoys her rice drink we seem to bring her pleasure (alcoholic?)

Diudiu has everything that she needs to allow her to cope with the way she lives. She can sell the hair of the animals that she rears to buy items that help her to perform simple tasks and she bought a mirrored solar collector, which will boil her water a lot faster. She has plenty of storage space within the house and is always prepared for the season ahead as she has blankets and a stove that she can use to cook food and provide heat. She clearly loves having visitors and makes the writer tea whilst explaining how she is able to find companionship in the birds that nest there. She is very resourceful and uses the animal dung to create buildings and also uses the rice to create a rice drink, which is a way that she relaxes.

Q1 (make sure to use examples in own words – really look at text)

Bullet point Ideas from textSay about her lifestyle Remote but doesn’t want to move to city

She has everything that she needs – a house with plenty of storageAbility to trade using animal hairStove - buys equipment to help her (solar collector)Loves visitorsRice drink – enjoys!

What I admire about Diudiu Plans ahead – blankets to keep her warm in winter. Dried meat and also the ability to freeze meat when she kills 4/5 sheep in winter and hangs the carcass outside (it freezes it!)Resourceful – nothing is wasted. Builds out of animal dung which she then burns as fuel in the winterPositive – has birds as company. Doesn’t allow her self to get lonely.

How this meeting has made me consider my own lifestyle and values

Have a lot of things that I don’t needSay I am bored when I am just not using my imaginationMake time for what is important – she had little but made me feel welcomeDon’t need material possessions to be happy

Interviewer: Could you start by telling the viewers a little about Diudiu’s lifestyle?

Donovan Webster: yes, of course. I think the first thing I noticed was how remote the farm was. Just imagine, it was at the end of a lake with nothing but sheep for miles. I was amazed that anyone could live such a lonely life and yet she seemed to feel that she had everything she could ever need. The house had plenty of storage space and there were plenty of cupboards and containers filled with meat and rice that would last her well into the cold months ahead. She kept camels and sheep and used their hair as currency to buy better equipment. For example, she had purchased a mirrored solar collector, which allowed her to boil water very quickly for her to drink and clean from. She also had a stove so that she could cook all year round but in the winter it lived inside to provide her with warmth. She did not have much but she was delighted to have me there as a guest and made me tea and kept me company. Of course, just as I do, she loved to relax with a drink and the rice drink she consumed was something else!

Interviewer: What did you admire most about Diudiu?Donovan Webster: There are so many tings that it is hard to say! I suppose it would probably be her resourcefulness. Nothing goes to waste. To give folks at home at example… she builds the pens for her animals out of animal dung mixed with the bricks which she then uses in the winter as fuel for her fire. Ingenious. The way she treats her livestock is also incredibly efficient as she uses their wool or hair to trade but also eats 4 or 5 sheep in the winter months. I know what you’re thinking – how does a 72 year old woman eat the sheep before it rots? She

doesn’t. She kills the sheep and then hangs them in a spot outside in winter which freezes it and she also dries the meat and stores it to help it last. She is also really positive. She is a childless widow and loves in a place in the middle of nowhere but she doesn’t allow her self to get lonely. Instead, she finds companionship in the birds that nest and sing around her. She is an inspiration.

Interviewer: How has your meeting with her made you consider your own life-style and values?

Donovan Webster: It has made me realise how trivial and greedy I am. Well, we all are really. I have so many gadgets that I simply don’t need and I think make me life easier but actually they just mean that I don’t connect with the real world. They are all gadgets that take me away from contact with people and nature. I also let myself believe that I am bored when I am not. I can see that now. I need to find things in the world that make me feel alive instead of expecting inspiration to arrive at my feet – I have had my eyes shut until now. In future, I hope to make her story better known and hopefully schools will also take an interest in how resourceful and resilient she is. She does not waste anything that she has and that is truly inspiration.

Q2Formula: X (key word in question) is described as “quote’. This means… This (technique) is effective because… This makes the reader feel… because…

a.)The countryside is described as having ‘giant sand dunes’. This means that the scenery is very dramatic. This adjective ‘giant’ is effective because it they sound so big that it is almost threatening. They make the reader feel impressed by this countryside and also makes the women living in it seem even smaller and more vulnerable.

The countryside is also described as having a lake that’s ‘glittering’ . This means that the lake is almost like a jewel and is so amazing that it is dazzling to look at. This adjective is effective because it makes the countryside sound beautiful and precious and it makes the reader that perhaps although it is describing a dried up lake there is beauty in things that we would not normally consider beautiful.

The countryside is also described as having sheep that ‘drift’ over it. This means that they move in a calm and relaxed way. This verb is effective because it almost suggests that they are moving on something that is not even land – they seem to have a magical quality to them. This makes the reader feel as if this place is a place that is harmonious and peaceful. Nothing is stressed or in a hurry.

b.) Diudiu is described as wearing ‘loose trousers and a button-front jacket’. This means that she is wearing practical clothing but is not scruffy or dirty. The adjective ‘loose’ is effective because it suggests how practical she is and the adjective ‘button front’ implies the details of her clothing and the fact that she cares what she looks like. This makes the reader feel that although she lives alone and no one normally sees what she wears she still has pride in her appearance and her life.

Diudiu is described as having ‘dark eyes sharp and quick’. This means that she does not miss anything and these adjectives are effective because they suggest that she is perceptive but also intelligent. Although she is 72 years old she does

not miss any observations about the world around her which makes the reader feel impressed by her and how bright she is. This makes her decision to live in the way she does seem an informed and deliberate decision and not simply because she is too old to move.

Diudiu is described as having a face that is a ‘map of wrinkles’. This means that there are many lines of her face. This metaphor is effective because it suggests her age but also that she has experienced many things in her life and has taken many metaphorical routes – like a map. This makes the reader feel that she is wise and her opinions on the world and how to live your life should be respected as she seems almost ageless.