Question 6: Model Answer (WJEC Eduqas GCSE English Language)

Both of these texts give an account of a mining rescue.

Compare:

• What the writers tell us about what happened on the day when the miners were rescued

• How the writers try to show the drama of the day of the rescues      

                      [10]

You must use the text to support your comments and make it clear which text you are referring to.

Miners Rescued from Chilean Mine

On August 5th 2010, in the San Jose Mine in Chile, South America, 33 miners were trapped by a rock collapse deep underground. Nearly 70 days later, rescuers began to bring the trapped miners one-by-one to the surface, ending their long ordeal underground. No one in history had been trapped underground for so long and survived. Jeffrey Brown reports.

In a flawless rescue operation, 33 miners who were trapped for more than two months deep beneath the Chilean earth were raised one by one through 600 metres of solid rock. They were brought to the surface in a rescue capsule nicknamed ‘Fenix 2’ through a 28-inch wide escape shaft that had taken two months to drill.

Scenes of jubilation erupted every time a miner arrived at the surface of the San Jose Mine. As they emerged into the fresh air some cried, others prayed and wrapped their arms around their wives and children.
…

When the first survivor was brought to the surface, some onlookers sobbed, others hugged each other, chanting the name of a proud country: “Chile! Chile! Chile!” In the nearby town of Copiapo, about 3,000 people gathered in the town square, and the exuberant crowd waved Chilean flags and cheered as cars drove around the square honking their horns.

Chilean President Sebastian Pinera waited at the rescue shaft to greet and hug the men as they emerged. “Welcome to life,” President Pinera told Victor Segovia, the fifteenth miner out. It seemed no overstatement.

The last man out was a shift foreman named Luis Urzua, who had enforced tight rations of their limited food and supplies before help could arrive. Immediately after his rescue, he said, “We had strength, we had spirit, we wanted to fight, we wanted to fight for our families, and that was the greatest thing.”

Extraordinary Rescue

In Victorian times, mining accidents were frequent, often resulting in many deaths. However, this article, which appeared in a magazine called ‘The Penny Review’, tells of the successful rescue of eleven miners trapped in a collapsed mine.

On the following Sunday morning, one week from the collapse, a rumour spread that the men working in the tunnel had heard sounds from within, like the distant tapping of hammers. All now was increased activity. All rescuers were now labouring with strong hopes of saving some of their fellow-miners. By the afternoon, voices could be heard and later that day the tunnel broke through to where the miners were trapped. The news was instantly communicated to the assembled crowd above and there was a joyous burst of feeling at this announcement. Ten men and one boy were found, alive indeed, but in the very last stage of exhaustion. It appeared that the trapped miners had taken a meal with them and had caught a little water in their caps, but this was their only sustenance during the time that they were trapped.

After a short interval, they were gradually brought out, enveloped in blankets, each carried to the surface by a sturdy miner. They were instantly put into coaches and conveyed to their homes. Following this extraordinary rescue, they all ultimately recovered.

Both writers describe how the miners were successfully brought out from the mines on the day of the rescues. [Marking comment]

In the 21st-century text, Jeffrey Brown describes the rescue operation as “flawless”, as the 33 miners were raised “one by one through 600 metres of solid rock” through a 28-inch wide escape shaft in a rescue capsule nicknamed “Fenix 2”. Each time a miner appeared from the shaft, the rescuers on the surface erupted into “scenes of jubilation”. The miners themselves cried, prayed and greeted their loved ones. Onlookers “sobbed” or hugged each other, “chanting the name of a proud country”. About 3,000 people gathered in nearby Copiapo’s town square, waving Chilean flags and cheering as “cars drove around the square honking their horns”. The Chilean President also greeted and hugged the men as they emerged, and the last man out was a shift foreman named Luis Urzua. [Marking comment]

In the 19th-century text, a rumour spread that the men working in the tunnel “had heard sounds from within, like the distant tapping of hammers”. They increased their efforts, and by the afternoon “voices could be heard”. The rescuers then broke through to the trapped miners, and the news was immediately conveyed to the crowd waiting at the surface, who reacted with “a joyous burst of feeling”. Ten men and a boy were found alive but exhausted. They were gradually brought out, “enveloped in blankets” and “carried to the surface by a sturdy miner”. They were immediately taken home to recover. [Marking comment]

In the 21st-century text, Brown conveys the drama of the day by describing the reactions of the onlookers in detail, as well as the reactions in the nearby town, which conveys what a miraculous rescue this was. [Marking comment] The fact that the Chilean President was there, and his words “Welcome to life” are reported, emphasises the importance placed on the rescue being a success. Brown also uses a direct quote from the last man out, Luis Urzua, with his emotive words “we had strength, we had spirit, we wanted to fight” used to encapsulate the strength and resilience of the men who wanted so much to survive. [Marking comment]

In the 19th-century text, the writer conveys how hope of saving the men increased as the day progressed. The short sentence “all now was increased activity” suggests the rescuers knew that this was a race against time. Just like the 21st-century text, the writer describes the crowd’s reactions and their outpouring of relief, and the use of “alive indeed, but in the very last stage of exhaustion” is dramatic because it shows just how close to death the miners were. The miraculousness of the rescue is summarised by calling it an “extraordinary rescue”. [Marking comment]