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Question
Write a composition (in approximately 400 – 450 words) on the following subject.
Write an original short story that ends with the words "..….That is when they realised that sometimes, the most extraordinary stories begin with the simplest of moments."
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Solution
The Unexpected Journey
Samantha and Michael were best friends who lived in a small, quiet town. Every weekend, they loved to explore the woods behind their neighbourhood. One Saturday morning, they decided to follow a path they had never taken before. They packed some snacks, grabbed their backpacks, and set off on their adventure, excited for what they might discover.
As they walked deeper into the woods, the familiar sights and sounds of their usual trail faded away. The trees seemed taller and the forest denser. After a while, they came across an old, abandoned house. The house looked mysterious and inviting, with ivy creeping up its walls and broken windows hinting at stories of the past. Curiosity got the better of them, and they decided to take a closer look.
Inside the house, they found dusty furniture, old photographs, and shelves filled with books. Everything was covered in a thick layer of dust, and it was clear that no one had lived there for a long time. Samantha and Michael wandered from room to room, imagining what life must have been like for the people who once called this place home.
They discovered a small wooden box in the attic under a pile of old clothes. With a sense of excitement, they opened the box and found it filled with letters and a faded journal. The journal belonged to a young girl named Emily, who had lived in the house many years ago. As they read through Emily's entries, they learned about her dreams, her adventures in the woods, and her plans to explore the world.
The sun was starting to set, and they knew they needed to head back home. They carefully put everything back in the box and closed it, promising to return and read more of Emily's journal another day. On their way back, they realized they had lost track of time and the path. The forest seemed unfamiliar in the dim light. Panic started to set in, but they remembered the survival skills. They found and followed a stream, knowing it would eventually lead them back to familiar ground.
As they walked, the stars twinkled above them, and the forest came alive with the sounds of nocturnal animals. They talked about how their ordinary weekend adventure had turned into something extraordinary. They had discovered a piece of history, learned about a girl's dreams from long ago, and faced the challenge of finding their way back home.
When they finally emerged from the woods and saw the lights of their neighbourhood, they felt a sense of relief and accomplishment. They had started the day with a simple walk in the woods but ended it with an unforgettable adventure.
Sitting on Samantha's porch, sipping hot chocolate and reflecting on their day, they smiled at each other. That is when they realized that sometimes, the most extraordinary stories begin with the simplest of moments.
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(7) Granny Pheen was so rapt by Muffin’s new fate that she stopped crying. The man said he would visit Solange every so often and find out how she was faring.
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(9) Absurd as all this sounds, Granny Pheen did receive eight long letters. Isola then read them out. They were all about Muffin’s life as the French cat − Solange. She was, apparently, something of a feline musketeer. She was no idle cat, lolling about on cushions, lapping up cream – she lived through one wild adventure after another – the only cat ever to be awarded the red rosette of the Legion of Honour.
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(11) The writer had signed his letters with a grand flourish :
VERY TRULY YOURS,
O.F. O’F. W.W.
It was highly possible that Isola had inherited eight letters written by Oscar Wilde, for who else could have had such a preposterous name as Oscar Fingal O’Flahertie Willis Wilde.
Adapted from : The Guernsey Literary & Potato Peel Pie Society – By Mary Ann Shaffer & Annie Barrows
(a) (i) Given below are four words and phrases. Find the words which have a similar meaning in the passage :[4]
(1) adventurous
(2) cat-like
(3) appreciated
(4) received something on someone’s death
(ii) For each of the words given below, write a sentence of at least ten words using the same word unchanged in form, but with a different meaning from that which it carries in the passage :[4]
(1) kind (line 2)
(2) mind (line 13)
(3) still (line 15)
(4) sounds (line 26)
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(i) Where did Isola get the letters from to read at the Literary Society’s meeting?[2]
(ii) Who consoled Granny Pheen when she was heart-broken? What did he say about Muffin’s lives?[2]
(iii) What did the man say when Granny Pheen asked him how he knew about cats’ lives?[2]
(iv) According to the man, what was Muffin’s new fate?[3]
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