Reading 2

Part 1

You are going to read an extract from a novel. For questions 1-8, choose the answer (A, B, C or D) which you think fits best according to the text. In the exam, mark your answers on the separate answer sheet.

A whole year had gone by since Tyler and I'd hung out together and I'd grown used to people reporting bad things about him. Mostly I just sighed. I'd accepted the fact that he was no longer the lad I once knew. He'd chosen the wrong kind of people to hang around with and had got into trouble. Itnew these things only too well. Still, the news that he was in hospital shook me all the same. It was Beth's brother who told me. 'Wait for me outside Whitechapel station, Ashc,' Beth had said. The pavement where I was standing (line 7) was crowded with market stalls doing brisk business. I had to keep stepping aside to let people get by. Beth was late and I kept looking at my mobile to check the time. The odd thing was that I'd been thinking about Tyler since the previous afternoon. I'd seen him while walking home from college.

He'd got out of a car about ten metres in front of me. It had taken me only a second to recognise who it was and I'd darted into the doorway of a closed shop to avoid coming face to face with him. When eventually I'd peeked out, he was standing on the pavement speaking on the phone. He had a long coat on over jeans and boots. His hair was cropped and his Face was pale. He wasn't wearing his glasses and his free hand was cutting the air as if he was making points while talking. He was looking (line 16) round but his attention was on the call. Suddenly, he brought it to an abrupt end and slipped the mobile into a pocket. He walked a couple of steps and then, to my dismay, he spotted me. He smiled and headed in my direction. I kept my face towards the glass window and studied one of the posters that had been stuck there.

'Asher he'd called. 'Oh, hi!' 'What are you up to?' he said, glancing at the poster on the shop window. 1 stumbled out some words about looking for a gig to go to. I'd no idea what my hair looked like or if I'd got a spot on my chin or if he'd noticed me earlier watching him from the shop doorway. 'Fancy a coffee?' he said. 'I've got to be somewhere,' I said, stepping out of the shop doorway and making off. 'See you, Ashc,' he'd called after me. After about twenty metres, I looked round and saw that he was in exactly the same position, staring at me. He raised his hand in a tiny wave and I turned and went on. I didn't look back again. I'd thought about him on and off during the previous evening. Now, while waiting for Beth, I thought about him again. I wondered what he was doing.

I pictured the funny brown glasses he'd worn to read with and wondered if he still read books by George Orwell. Perhaps I should have gone for that coffee, I might not get another chance to find out what he was really up to these days. Beth was very late. I pulled my coat tightly round to ward off the cold. I huffed and watched a small cloud of my breath form. We were due to go to an exhibition on twentieth-century fashion. I hadn't really wanted to go but it was important for some of Beth's coursework, and in any case she loved the clothes and had been looking forward to it all week. Afterwards we were going to go shopping. A couple of cars started hooting and there were some raised voices from a group of pedestrians who were ignoring the red man and crossing the road. I looked through the shoppers to see if I could see Beth's cheery face but there was no sign. I took my mobile out of my pocket again and stared at the screen, but again drew a blank. I wondered what to do. I was stamping my feet with the cold. Something must have happened. Beth wouldn't just leave me standing in the freezing cold for no reason. Tyler came into my mind again. That's when I saw her brother walking towards me.

1 In the first paragraph, Ashe is surprised to discover that Tyler

2 The word 'brisk' (line 7) tells us that the market stalls were

3 How did Ashe feel when she'd first seen Tyler the previous day?

4 The word 'it' in line 16 refers to

5 When Tyler finally noticed her, Ashe felt

6 After meeting Tyler the previous day, Ashe had felt

7 Why was Ashe going to an exhibition?

8 The phrase 'drew a blank' (line 39) suggests that