Read this article first, then answer questions 61 to 69 below.
"A good book for children should simply be a good book in its own right." These are the words of
Mollie Hunter, a well known author of books for youngsters. Born and bred near Edinburgh, Mollie has
devoted her talents to writing primarily for young people. She firmly believes that there is always and
should always be a wider audience for any good book whatever its main market. In Mollie's opinion it
is essential to make full use of language and she enjoys telling a story, which is what every writer
should be doing: "If you aren't telling a story, you're a very dead writer indeed," she says.
Molly loves telling stories. "I've told stories all my life. I had a school teacher who used to ask us what
we would like to be when we grew up and, because my family always had dogs, and I was very good at
handling them, I said I wanted to work with dogs, and the teacher always said "Nonsense Mollie dear,
you'll be a writer." So eventually I thought that this woman must have something, since she was a
good teacher - and I decided when I was nine that I would be a writer."
This childhood intention is described in her novel, A Sound of Chariots, which gives a picture both of
Mollie's ambition and her struggle towards its achievement.
Thoughts of her childhood inevitably brought thoughts of the time when her home was still a village
with buttercup meadows and strawberry fields - sadly now covered with modern houses. "I was once
taken back to see it and I felt that somebody had lain dirty hands all over my childhood. I'll never go
back," she said. "Never." "When I set one of my books in Scotland," she said, "I can recapture my
romantic feelings as a child playing in those fields, or watching the village blacksmith at work. And
that's important, because children now know so much so early that romance can't exist for them, as it
did for us."
To this day, Mollie has a lively affection for children, which is reflected in the love she has for her
writing. "When we have visitors with children the adults always say, "If you go to visit Mollie, she'll
spend more time with the children." They don't realise that children are much more interesting
company. I've heard all the adults have to say before. The children have something new."
61. What does Mollie Hunter feel about the nature of a good book?
It should not aim at a narrow audience.
It should be attractive to young readers.
It should be based on original ideas.
It should not include too much conversation.
62. In Mollie Hunter's opinion, one sign of a poor writer is:
lifeless characters
complicated ideas
the weakness of the description
the absence of a story
63. What do we learn about Mollie Hunter as a very young child?
She didn't expect to become a writer.
She didn't enjoy writing stories.
She didn't have any particular ambitions.
She didn't respect her teacher's views.
64. What does 'handling' mean in paragraph 2?
carrying
dealing with
playing with
feeding
65. What does 'its' refer to in paragraph 3?
novel
picture
ambition
struggle
66. How does Mollie feel about what has happened to her birthplace?
confused
ashamed
disappointed
surprised
67. In comparison with children of earlier years, Mollie feels that modern children are:
more intelligent
better informed
less keen to learn
less interested in fiction
68. Mollie's adult visitors generally discover that:
she is a very generous person
she is interesting company
she talks a lot about her work
she pays more attention to their children
69. What is the writer's purpose in this text?
to describe Mollie Hunter's most successful books.
to share her enjoyment of Mollie Hunter's books.
to provide information for Mollie Hunter's existing readers.
to introduce Mollie Hunter's work to a wider audience.
