IB English A Lang & Lit Paper 1 Lang & Lit Questionbank

The following extract is from the Thornfield Eco website, a sustainability consultancy based in England.

The following extract is from The National Post, a national newspaper published in Canada.

¹ state of emergency: a formal declaration by a government authority that activates special powers and resources to respond to a crisis; in B.C., it allows the province to commandeer equipment, enforce evacuations, and access federal support without normal approval processes.

² fire behaviour: the manner in which a wildfire ignites, spreads, and consumes fuel; influenced by wind, humidity, temperature, and terrain; unpredictable fire behaviour poses the greatest risk to firefighters and communities.

³ anomaly: something that deviates significantly from what is standard or expected; scientists use the term to distinguish an unusual event from a new normal pattern.

⁴ drought: a prolonged period of abnormally low rainfall leading to water shortages, dry soil, and increased fire risk; measured in Canada against long-term precipitation averages.

⁵ emissions / prescribed burning: emissions refers to greenhouse gases released into the atmosphere through human activity; prescribed burning is the controlled use of fire by land managers to reduce accumulated dry vegetation and lower the risk of uncontrolled wildfire.

The following advertisement is taken from meridianbank.co.uk, the website of Meridian Bank plc, as part of a rebranding campaign launched in 2024.

  ¹ hidden fees / savings rate / financial product: hidden fees are charges not prominently disclosed at the point of sale; a savings rate is the annual interest paid on deposited funds; a financial product is any service or instrument offered by a bank, such as a loan, mortgage, or savings account.

  ² small print: terms and conditions written in reduced font size, often containing important limitations or exclusions to the headline terms of an offer.

  ³ fossil fuel extraction / lending portfolio: the process of removing oil, gas, or coal from the ground for commercial use; a lending portfolio is the total collection of loans held by a bank.

  ⁴ net zero: a state in which the greenhouse gases emitted by an organisation are balanced by an equivalent amount removed from the atmosphere.

  ⁵ performance bonuses / FSCS / community lending: financial payments to staff linked to sales targets; FSCS (Financial Services Compensation Scheme) protects customer deposits if a bank fails; community lending refers to loans directed to local businesses and social organisations in under-resourced areas.