Q2. Look in detail at the extract, from lines 10 to 19 of the source:
How does the writer use language here to describe the danger faced by Dorrigo and
his family? (8 marks)
'A fireball, the size of a trolley bus and as blue as gas flame, appeared as if by magic on the road and
rolled towards them. As the Ford Mercury swerved around it and straightened back up, Dorrigo found
he had no choice but to ignore the burning debris that appeared out of the smoke and hurtled at them
- sticks, branches, palings - sometimes hitting and bouncing off the car. He grunted as he worked the
column shift up and down, spinning the big steering wheel hard left and right, whitef walled tyres
squealing on bubbling black bitumen, the noise only occasionally audible in the cacophony of flame
roar and wind shriek, the weird machine gun-like cracking of branches above exploding. They came
over a rise to see a huge burning tree falling across the road a hundred yards or so in front of them.
Flames flared up high along the tree trunk as it bounced on landing, its burning crown settling in a neat
front yard to create an instant bonfire that merged into a burning house.'