Question 2(b) : Model Answer (Cambridge (CIE) IGCSE English Language): Revision Note

Paper 1: Reading is a compulsory exam in the Cambridge IGCSE First Language English exam and examiners recommend that you complete the questions in the order they are set.

For exams from 2027, Question 2 is split into two tasks:

• Question 2(a) — a summary task

• Question 2(b) — writer’s attitudes and opinions

The following guide will demonstrate how to answer an example of Question 2(b).

Question 2(b) model answer

The following question is taken from the 2027 specimen paper.

The question is based on Text B in the source insert.

Blake Russell was sleeping when his phone rang: one of his mares was giving birth. Russell is used to waking up for late-night deliveries, but this foal was special. It was a clone of a rare wild horse, a Takhi, a now-endangered species that once roamed central Asia. ‘I was so relieved it was breathing!’, Russell recalls.

You might be surprised that cloned animals exist – they do, but disappointingly this amazing technology has rarely been considered for endangered animals. Before that phone call, cloning had only successfully produced a single animal of any such species alongside many failed attempts. Blake’s new horse, Ollie, is the second of his kind. He’s a genetic copy of the world’s first cloned Takhi, Kurt (born two years before). Both Kurt and Ollie were made using frozen cells originally taken from a male horse decades ago. The understandably expensive process involved scientists transferring DNA from a donor cell into a hollowed-out egg from the surrogate (a domestic horse). The embryo then grew in the laboratory before being transplanted. None of the animal’s genes changed in the process, so each foal is an identical twin of the original male horse – just born at a later time.

The scientists behind this incredible effort say this second successful birth indicates cloning might someday become a viable strategy for saving endangered species, though not every species is suitable for cloning. The technology relies on having cell samples from animals – sometimes difficult to obtain.

Sandy-coloured, with large heads, Takhis are shorter than their domesticated relatives. Centuries of hunting and habitat disruption made them practically extinct. Successful reintroduction from conventional breeding programmes in zoos into the wild means today they number about 1900. Nearly all of these are descended from just 12 animals captured from native habitats, resulting in a reduced gene pool of wild horses, so scientists looked to cloning for the answer.

Opponents bleat about tampering with nature. Some claim cloning creates genetic errors. Admittedly, not all attempts at cloning have been successful and early clones of endangered animals did die young, plus, even if he remains healthy, Ollie won’t be released into the wild. But his grandchildren will – further reinforcing the need for environmental action, not distracting attention as critics argue.