Question 1
Read lines 1-5 List five reasons why people would think the technicians were organised. [5]
- The technicians removed their visors before getting up
- The technicians all walk in a orderly line to see the supervisors
- The technicians are wearing white coats
- The technicians are walking quickly
- The technicians all stood up together
- The technicians walked in a chain/single file
- The technicians didn’t want to look like they were hanging back
Do not accept
- The technicians are girls/boys/girls and boys/male and female etc
- The technicians are working the cameras
- The technicians are working in a laboratory
- anything from elsewhere in the text
Question 2
How does the writer show you what kind of employer the laboratory is?
You must refer to the text to support your answer, using relevant subject terminology where appropriate. [5]
Ania marched into her chamber, and settled herself into the information seat. She wore a mask of absolute inscrutability- years of working at the laboratory had taught her to remove emotion from her face. Some of the things she had been asked to do had been unpalatable, and when she had been notified of her move into neonatal, and antenatal, she felt happy that she had clearly proven to the uploaders that she was competent, she was reliable, she was trustworthy. They were entrusting her with some of their most advanced work. Tears had no place in a laboratory. They were advancing the human race: that achievement outweighed the cost. Glossy blonde hair and dark green eyes that flickered with ambition, Ania was a model employee. They liked their technicians to be photogenic, it helped when showing foreign ministers round to promote their work. It was as if they were saying: ‘Here, look at our beautiful employees; if you engineer your unborn children, you too can have beautiful citizens, just like this.’.
- “she wore a mask? the laboratory treated people in a way that the employees didn’t want them to know the ‘real’ versions of themselves, she has to hide her true feelings/she fears discovery by the laboratory
- The laboratory asked “unpalatable? things of its employees suggests that it is corrupt/manipulative/exploitative
- “glossy blonde? “model? “photogenic? “beautiful? imply that Ania is physically attractive and that the laboratory wanted its employees to look like this- physical attributes were held in high regard- therefore shallow/vacuous/vain/preoccupied with appearance
- “she was…she was? repetition and then list of qualities “competent…reliable…trustworthy? indicates that the laboratory expects total compliance, and that it is above questioning
- “tears had no place in a laboratory? suggests that there have been tears there, and therefore what they ask people to do is horrible/unpleasant/immoral
- Powerful and influential employer if they are showing “foreign ministers? around
Question 3
How does the writer make these lines tense and dramatic?
You must refer to the text to support your answer, using relevant subject terminology. [10]
- Use of third person limited creates tension as although Ania is the main character, and we are given her view and perspective on what is happening, we don’t always know what she is thinking, and this leaves the audience wondering which causes tension
- Use of flashback/rhetorical questions to show how the loss of her mother has affected her/how much she has been effected by her disappearance, and the distrust she may have with authority, despite appearing to be a model employee
- Use of one sided dialogue- we hear Ania’s answers and the questions are implied through her words. This makes it tense as the voices are disembodied/unspoken, and creates a haunting/ghostly effect
- We hear one side of the conversation: ‘No, her mother had not told her she was going away. No, she and her mother did not argue.’ the repetition of ‘no’ conveys Ania’s frustrations at the questions, and also implies that the police are not helpful/are being obstructive
- Beginning and ending of the sentence demonstrates the links between the people Ania contacted, how widespread her mother’s circle was and still they couldn’t find her. Makes her disappearance more mystifying “her friends called the police, the police called Ania? circular structure takes us back to Ania shows how she was the centre of her mother’s world
- When Ania is trying to find her mother she becomes ‘dizzy with the truth’ this conveys how distressing Ania found the mystery of her mother’s disappearance. The construction of ‘She called her relatives, her relatives called her friends, her friends called the police, and then the police called Ania’ shows the chain which Ania was part of in finding her mother- and how it looped back round and got her nowhere
- At the beginning you believe Ania would never betray her employer, but then after the information that her mother has been abducted/gone missing, it seems as if she may potentially disobey her orders
The lights dimmed, and Ania blinked as her pupils dilated to adjust to the low light- and then in front of her, the blue screen appeared, and the presentation began. Asia’s brain switched off for the first part- nothing but recaps of the last list, and more promotion of the benefits of the work by the laboratory. Her mind wandered…what was her mother doing now? Where was she?
Ania was the last person to see her mother. It was the day after Ania was promoted to laboratory technician: Katarina had kissed Ania goodbye, and had promised her a special celebration meal. When Ania returned home all of her mother’s things had vanished. She called her relatives, her relatives called her friends, her friends called the police, and then the police called Ania. Ania repeated herself so many times that she became dizzy with the truth. No, her mother had not told her she was going away. No, she and her mother did not argue. No, she did not think her mother had simply decided to go back home to Slov Republic. No, No, No.
Question 4
How does the writer show you what Ania thinks of her employers?
You must refer to the text to support your answer, using relevant subject terminology where appropriate. [10]
- Ania gives the information her full attention, she was “alert, and sat up…concentration? she takes her work seriously and wants to please them
- The man in the video is “portentous? suggesting that she doesn’t actually respect their authority, and is sceptical/doubtful/critical of what they tell her
- His ‘obligatory’ clipboard implies that she doesn’t perceive him to be authentic, and ‘expensive’ suit reveals her critical attitude towards them, she judges them and there is a level of distrust
- Ania is fearful of her employers, and modifies her behaviour “resists the urge? she must control her reactions and suppress her feelings. This is symbolic of the way that they are keeping her prisoner in her own body, and control her as if she were a robot
- The video she is being shown is designed to manipulate her, but Ania is not effected by it, and wants to “roll her eyes?
The presentation moved onto the new list; Ania was alert, and sat up, leaning forward with concentration. The film showed an empty classroom, and a portentous man wandered into view; obligatory clipboard in one hand, and a lab coat open to show an expensive suit. The scientist began to outline the main changes to the list. As he spoke, the presentation was intercut with images of people suffering the genetic mutations that they were now able to eliminate. Ania resisted the urge to roll her eyes. ‘All the dramatics to make us comply’ she thought, ‘just give me the list and I’ll be able to get back to work.’
Question 5
‘‘In the final part of this passage, the writer encourages us to think that perhaps Ania isn’t a model employee after all.’’
To what extent do you agree with this view? [10]
You should write about:
- your thoughts and feelings about Ania as she is presented here and in the passage as a whole
- how the writer has created these thoughts and feelings
You must refer to the text to support your answer.
Ania as a model employee
- When Ania’s mother is reported as in Slov, and not coming back, Ania “had a cup of tea and threw the letter in the bin? the contrast of these mundane actions with the devastation of finding out your mum never wants to see you again could be interpreted as Ania being cold hearted and uncaring- suitable for the ‘unpalatable’ things they ask her to do
- Ania considers the videos unnecessary and that she just wants ‘to get back to work.’ implying she is happy to ‘comply’ without being persuaded it is a good idea
- Ania is able to keep ‘absolutely still’ use of superlative suggests Ania is able to exercise an extreme amount of self control, beyond that which other normal people are able to
Ania is not a model employee
- When Ania’s mother is reported as in Slov, and not coming back, Ania “had a cup of tea and threw the letter in the bin? the contrast of these mundane actions with the devastation of finding out your mum never wants to see you again could be interpreted as Ania finding the news devastating, and she does not accept it, and this is the start of her mistrust of the government/authority
- Ania has previously hacked into the government system, by including this in the flashback, the writer has delayed revealing this previous offence to then build the image of a woman who has the potential to deceive/break the rules/behave subversively
- The metaphor ‘already a seed of a plan had implanted in her brain, geminating with her growing rage.’ suggests that Ania has become so angry at the new update that she is going to use her skills to now go against what her employers want her to do
