Oxford Cambridge and RSA
GCSE
English Language and Literature
H474/01: Exploring non-fiction and
*1426477061*
spoken texts
A Level
INSTRUCTIONS
• Use black ink.
• Write your answer to the question in the Answer Booklet.
• Fill in the boxes on the front of the Answer Booklet.
• Answer the question.
INFORMATION
• The total mark for this paper is 32.
• The marks for the question are shown in brackets [ ].
• This document has 8 pages.
ADVICE
• Read the question carefully before you start your answer.
© OCR 2025 [601/4704/0] DC (ST/CB) 333238/4
OCR is an exempt
Charity
Turn over
Read the two text extracts and answer the question.
Text A from the anthology is an extract from George
Saunders’ speech given to graduates at Syracuse
University in 2013.
Text B is a fact sheet produced by a British company called
52 Lives: The School of Kindness in 2022. They are a
charity who aim to create a culture of kindness. They work
in primary schools and offer ‘Kindness Workshops’ which
teach children how to spread kindness. This fact sheet is
one resource they have produced to explain the science of
kindness on physical and mental health.
, 2
1 Carefully read the two texts and compare the ways in
which the speaker in Text A and the writers of Text B
use language to convey meaning.
In your answer you should analyse the impact that the
different contexts have on language use,
including for example, mode, purpose and audience.
[32]
© OCR 2025 H474/01 Jun25
, 3
Text A
So here’s something I know to be true, although it’s a little
corny, and I don’t quite know what to do with it:
What I regret most in my life are failures of kindness.
Those moments when another human being was there, in
front of me, suffering, and I responded ... sensibly.
Reservedly. Mildly.
Or, to look at it from the other end of the telescope: Who, in
your life, do you remember most fondly, with the most
undeniable feelings of warmth?
Those who were kindest to you, I bet.
It’s a little facile, maybe, and certainly hard to implement,
but I’d say, as a goal in life, you could do worse than: Try to
be kinder.
Now, the million-dollar question: What’s our problem? Why
aren’t we kinder?
Here’s what I think:
Each of us is born with a series of built-in confusions that
are probably somehow Darwinian. These are: (1) we’re
central to the universe (that is, our personal story is the
main and most interesting story, the only story, really); (2)
we’re separate from the universe (there’s US and then, out
there, all that other junk – dogs and swing-sets, and the
State of Nebraska and low-hanging clouds and, you know,
other people), and (3) we’re permanent (death is real, o.k.,
sure – for you, but not for me).
Now, we don’t really believe these things – intellectually we
know better – but we believe them viscerally, and live by
them, and they cause us to prioritize our own needs over
the needs of others, even though what we really want, in
our hearts, is to be less selfish, more aware of what’s
actually happening in the present moment, more open, and
more loving.
So, the second million-dollar question: How might we DO
this? How might we become more loving, more open, less
selfish, more present, less delusional, etc., etc?
Well, yes, good question.
Unfortunately, I only have three minutes left.
So let me just say this. There are ways. You already know
that because, in your life, there have been High Kindness
periods and Low Kindness periods, and you know what
inclined you toward the former and away from the latter.
Education is good; immersing ourselves in a work of art:
good; prayer is good; meditation’s good; a frank talk with a
© OCR 2025 H474/01 Jun25
GCSE
English Language and Literature
H474/01: Exploring non-fiction and
*1426477061*
spoken texts
A Level
INSTRUCTIONS
• Use black ink.
• Write your answer to the question in the Answer Booklet.
• Fill in the boxes on the front of the Answer Booklet.
• Answer the question.
INFORMATION
• The total mark for this paper is 32.
• The marks for the question are shown in brackets [ ].
• This document has 8 pages.
ADVICE
• Read the question carefully before you start your answer.
© OCR 2025 [601/4704/0] DC (ST/CB) 333238/4
OCR is an exempt
Charity
Turn over
Read the two text extracts and answer the question.
Text A from the anthology is an extract from George
Saunders’ speech given to graduates at Syracuse
University in 2013.
Text B is a fact sheet produced by a British company called
52 Lives: The School of Kindness in 2022. They are a
charity who aim to create a culture of kindness. They work
in primary schools and offer ‘Kindness Workshops’ which
teach children how to spread kindness. This fact sheet is
one resource they have produced to explain the science of
kindness on physical and mental health.
, 2
1 Carefully read the two texts and compare the ways in
which the speaker in Text A and the writers of Text B
use language to convey meaning.
In your answer you should analyse the impact that the
different contexts have on language use,
including for example, mode, purpose and audience.
[32]
© OCR 2025 H474/01 Jun25
, 3
Text A
So here’s something I know to be true, although it’s a little
corny, and I don’t quite know what to do with it:
What I regret most in my life are failures of kindness.
Those moments when another human being was there, in
front of me, suffering, and I responded ... sensibly.
Reservedly. Mildly.
Or, to look at it from the other end of the telescope: Who, in
your life, do you remember most fondly, with the most
undeniable feelings of warmth?
Those who were kindest to you, I bet.
It’s a little facile, maybe, and certainly hard to implement,
but I’d say, as a goal in life, you could do worse than: Try to
be kinder.
Now, the million-dollar question: What’s our problem? Why
aren’t we kinder?
Here’s what I think:
Each of us is born with a series of built-in confusions that
are probably somehow Darwinian. These are: (1) we’re
central to the universe (that is, our personal story is the
main and most interesting story, the only story, really); (2)
we’re separate from the universe (there’s US and then, out
there, all that other junk – dogs and swing-sets, and the
State of Nebraska and low-hanging clouds and, you know,
other people), and (3) we’re permanent (death is real, o.k.,
sure – for you, but not for me).
Now, we don’t really believe these things – intellectually we
know better – but we believe them viscerally, and live by
them, and they cause us to prioritize our own needs over
the needs of others, even though what we really want, in
our hearts, is to be less selfish, more aware of what’s
actually happening in the present moment, more open, and
more loving.
So, the second million-dollar question: How might we DO
this? How might we become more loving, more open, less
selfish, more present, less delusional, etc., etc?
Well, yes, good question.
Unfortunately, I only have three minutes left.
So let me just say this. There are ways. You already know
that because, in your life, there have been High Kindness
periods and Low Kindness periods, and you know what
inclined you toward the former and away from the latter.
Education is good; immersing ourselves in a work of art:
good; prayer is good; meditation’s good; a frank talk with a
© OCR 2025 H474/01 Jun25
