Question 3 Model Answer: Letter (Cambridge (CIE) IGCSE English Language)

Model answer:

Dear Mother,

I am writing to you from my camp bed in the middle of the desert, underneath a sky sparkling with stars. There is a gentle warm breeze making the temperature most pleasant to write in, and I wanted to convey to you our adventures so far.

Our journey so far has had many enjoyable moments. We set off through the Judaean Desert in good spirits and full of high expectations, and as our car literally glided over bubbling hot asphalt we experienced the exotic novelty of being 400 metres below sea level. It was a strange feeling to think that we were travelling at the same depth as creatures of the deep. I was also curious to see the Dead Sea as I had heard so much about it, and it really did live up to expectations. Max promptly tried it out for himself, lying on top of the water like a cork while I looked on, smiling at the inevitable salt burn that would follow. After a quick dip in the River Jordan to wash off the salt crust, I chuckled as he urged me to speed away as fast as our car would allow! Crossing the Jordan by bridge does not lend itself to acceleration, although I believe Max thought that I was driving slowly on purpose.

As we crossed into Asia, I found the night journey to be not only more comfortable but stunningly beautiful. At one point we saw flocks of storks, taking a rest from their migration, the light dancing on their feathers. However, I also have to say that crossing into Asia also brought with it fresh challenges for Max and me. The terrain became steep, stony and bumpy - a definite contrast with the smooth sailing we experienced in the earlier part of our journey. The sun blazed fiercely and our car began to struggle. I began to feel anxious about whether the engine would make it, especially as I had already warned Max about the amount of weight we were carrying (although I silently knew that most of the luggage was mine, lovingly packed by you). As the thermometer hit 100 degrees, Max stopped the car as the radiator boiled and whistled. I got out the map and we considered our options, especially as we still had about 23,000km to go. Eventually, I reluctantly agreed that we needed to remove some of the weight, but hoped we could make it as far as Baghdad where we could put some of the luggage into storage, rather than throwing our luggage out into the desert!

So, after a very long day, I can now reflect somewhat on the problems I foresee for the rest of the trip and how we might have been better prepared for them. One of the biggest immediate issues is whether the car is able to make it to Baghdad; in these remote areas, it is easy to get lost, and coupled with the intense heat, we are pushing our vehicle to its limits. In addition, if we cannot locate reasonable luggage storage, I anticipate some emotional strain between me and Max, although one hopes we might be able to avoid recriminations and thus continue our trip. It may have helped if we had versed ourselves better in the local languages before our trip, or at least brought along some bilingual dictionaries, and definitely not believed everything sold to us in travel brochures! We may have started out with a sense of false optimism, but let us hope that we do not encounter too many more problems on the rest of our journey.

With warm wishes,

Helmuth