Secondary 2

Directed Writing Test

Maximum Allotment: [1 hour] Total Marks: [25 Marks]

Name.. Class Date..

1 Photographer Alison Wright, 45, has been locked in a day-to-day struggle for survival
since January 2000, when a bus she was riding in Laos was struck by a logging truck.
According to the medical professionals she has since consulted, she should have died
that day. Her recovery (documented in her new book Learning to Breathe, Hudson
Street Press) has defied all odds.

Read the following article and then answer Question 1.

"When the truck hit, I slammed my head hard. I know it sounds clich, but all I could see
was a bright white lightI had to ask myself if Id died. The impact instantly broke my
back, pelvis, coccyx, and ribs; my left arm plunged through the window and was
shredded to the bone; my spleen was sliced in half; my diaphragm and lungs were
punctured; my heart, stomach, and intestines tore loose and actually lodged in my
shoulder. When I came to, I looked around the bus, which was on its side, and the
endorphins kicked in. I pushed apart the seats that pinned me down and managed to
pull myself out of the bus and crawl out onto the road. Then I realized how difficult it was
to breathe, and I started to think about my situation in very matter-of-fact terms. Like, I
remember not wanting to cry and waste any water with my tears, and I checked to make
sure I had my wallet so that if I died, people could identify me. I knew that if I was going
to survive, I had to calm myself down and get my breathing under control. Id studied
Vipassana meditation and yoga for years, both of which focus on breathing techniques. I
was able to call on that experience to calm my breathing, and as a result, calm myself. I
remember looking at the bamboo moving in the wind around me and waiting for help,
just focusing on my breaths.

"I was eventually rescued that day by a passing aid worker, who drove me seven hours
to a hospital. Back home in San Francisco, though, I faced new challenges. Physically, I
had to totally rebuild my muscles, which had atrophied after four months in bed. Doctors
told me I should accept the fact that my life would never be the same. Obviously, they
didnt know me. When one told me Id never have abdominal muscles again, I worked
toward doing sit-ups. I eventually did a thousand a day. Every morning Id wake up and
put my feet on the ground and feel gratitude. When you grasp your own mortality, you
really feel a bigger force at work. I set the goal of climbing Mount Kilimanjaro, which I did
in 2004. For years, I suffered from post-traumatic stress disorder and had horrible

1
nightmares about the accident. But in 2005, I traveled back to Laos and rode the same
bus route again. I realized then what a gift it was to be thrown into adversity and come
out on the other end.

Imagine you are Alison Wright. A school of your locality has organised a Bravery Award
ceremony and the school authorities are planning to honour you with this award. You are
required to deliver a speech in which you are encouraging students to be brave in any
adverse situation and take life as a challenge.

Write what you would say to the students to persuade them so that they would be
brave and would overcome the hurdles in life with courage and determination.

You should

Explain the condition of your body after the accident and your attempts to overcome
such an adverse state.

Persuade the students to be brave and defy all odds to be successful in life.

Base your ideas on the material found in the article. You may include details and
opinions to make the speech more convincing, but these must be related to the texts
provided.

You should write between 1 and 1 , allowing for the size of your handwriting.

Begin as follows:
I am here to tell you that life upholds many challenges for us, it is up to us to fight or
accept defeat.

(Up to 10 marks will be given for the content of your answer and up to 15 marks for the
quality of your writing.)

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