The lost symbol by dan brown
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Thursday, September 30, 2010
Wednesday, September 29, 2010
Term 4 Week 3 - Student Attendance Checklist Update at SHSS
28 September 2010 (Tuesday)
Many 5B students attended today's lesson although there were two to three absentees - Kaiser Lee and Sean Ong
29 September 2010 (Wednesday)
About six to eight students were absent: Sean Ong, Kaiser Lee, Sze Yan, Macric, Muhaimin Shehan and Shi Hui. So they missed out on the INFERENTIAL QUESTIONS lesson and practices in class.
Many 5B students attended today's lesson although there were two to three absentees - Kaiser Lee and Sean Ong
29 September 2010 (Wednesday)
About six to eight students were absent: Sean Ong, Kaiser Lee, Sze Yan, Macric, Muhaimin Shehan and Shi Hui. So they missed out on the INFERENTIAL QUESTIONS lesson and practices in class.
Sunday, September 26, 2010
Monday, September 20, 2010
Saturday, September 18, 2010
Friday, September 17, 2010
Thursday, September 16, 2010
Friday, September 10, 2010
ZHSS Sec 4E5N MYE 2010 Paper 2
Passage A
Paragraph 1
I was born near the Great River, in the heart of what for thousands of years had been great Bushman country. The Bushman himself as a coherent entity had already gone, but i was surrounded from birth by so many moving fragments of his race and culture that I felt him extraordinarily near. I was always meeting him afresh on the lips of livign men.
Paragraph 2
They said he was a little man, not a dwarf or pigmy, but just a little man about five feet in height. He was well, sturdily and truly made. His shoulders were broad
Paragraph 1
I was born near the Great River, in the heart of what for thousands of years had been great Bushman country. The Bushman himself as a coherent entity had already gone, but i was surrounded from birth by so many moving fragments of his race and culture that I felt him extraordinarily near. I was always meeting him afresh on the lips of livign men.
Paragraph 2
They said he was a little man, not a dwarf or pigmy, but just a little man about five feet in height. He was well, sturdily and truly made. His shoulders were broad
Thursday, September 9, 2010
SQSS Sec 4E5N MYE 2010 Paper 2
Passage A
Paragraph 1
The rapturous reception was not only indicative of the virtuosic performance by the trio, but also an affirmation to the divine sounds made possible by the instruments. Not a surprise. The cello, played by Tanja Tetzlaff, was a wonderfully mellow 1776 Guadagnini. The violin, played by her brother, Christian Tetzlaff, complemented it beautifully, but is provenance was more unexpected. It was made by a modern German luthier, Peter Greiner.
CELLO: 1776 Guadagnini
Christian Tetzlaff
German luthier, Peter Greiner
What does a luthier do?
From Passage A:
From Paragraph 1
1a. Which one word tells us that the performance was very well received? [1m]
1b. Why was the provenance "more unexpected"? [1m]
Paragraph 2
Mr. Tetzlaff plays not just one but two Greiner violins. Most string virtuosi perform on instruments made by Italian masters a few hundred years ago, and preferably by Antonio Stradivari, the greatest of them all. Mr. Telzlaff has previously played two Stradivaris. Now he plays with his Greiner more. He thinks that the best modern violin-makers offer outstanding quality in terms of performance but at a fraction of the astronomical costs.
Antonio Stradivari
From Paragraph 2
2. In your own words, explain what are the advantages of modern violins. [2m]
Paragraph 3
The past two decades have seen a renaissance of string-instrument-making by luthiers across the world. They can learn their trade at renowned violin-making schools in a number of countries. But many prefer Italy especially in Cremona, home of the most fabled of hte 16th - 18th-century violin-makers: the Amati, Guameri and Stradivari families. Also home of the Scuola Internationale di Liuteria.
From Paragraph 3
3. What does the word "renaissance" imply aobut stringed-instrument-making? [1m]
Paragraph 4
The school was founded in 1937. Since then it has produced nearly 800 graduates. Soem 300 were Italian, but most have been foreign. Some take the tradition home. But many subsequently set up shop in Cremona itself. The city has around 150 luthiers, all hoping to benefit from the city's association with the grandest names in violin-making and from the cluster effect. Good violin-makers can earn a decent living. Still, most makers are not in it for the money but because they are passionate about violins.
From paragraph 4
4. Why would graduates choose to remain in Cremona after graduation? [2m]
Paragraph 5
Peter Beare has made an instrument for Nigel Kennedy, among others. Many famous performers play modern violins alongside their old masters, not only because they are often more resistant to the rigours of air travel, but also because they may be more suitable for certain genres of music. Sometimes the musicians actually prefer them. The cellist Jacqueline du Pre played two Strads and an instrument by Matteo Goffriller, who worked in Venice 300 years ago, but towards the end of her career switched to a modern cello made in Philadelphia.
From paragraph 5
5. In your own words, explain why many performers play modern violins alongside their old violins. [2m]
Paragraph 6
The highest price yet paid for a contemporary violin, at an auction in 2003, was $130000. Even so, that record price probably had much to do with the previous owner who was none other than Issac Stern. That sort of money will go nowhere fi you want to buy a fine old violin.
Paragraph 7
That makes life particularly hard for young ambitious upstarts who harbour hopes of owning one vintage violin. Alternatively they could go to a well-established violin-maker and get a beautifully hand-crafted insrument specially made for them at a price they can afford. It will sound splendid, and few in the audience will know the difference. But most of the truly career-minded will try for an old master, by hook or by crook. Why?
Paragraph 8
An element of self-reinforcing snobbery is at work. If everyone thinks that old instruments are best, then a self-respecting virtuoso will want to play one because it is expected of him. Old instruments often have a history that addes to their allure. Stradivari became wealthy by making violins for the rich and powerful. His instruments were highly esteemed, played by teh virtuosi of their day, perhaps heard by famous composers. Only a curmudgeon could deny the romance of it all.
From paragraph 8
6. In what way was the desire to own an old violin "self-reinforcing snobbery"? [2m]
Paragraph 9
The difference may not be merely psychological. Even enthusiasts for modern instruments often concede that the finest of hte old are better than the best of the new. That may have something to do with age itself. Among the music instruments, only violins, violas and cellos last hundreds of years if well looked after. They are working antiques: desirable, collectable and most still played every day. Several hundred years off the treee has made the wood dry and light, and constant use may have changed its qualities. Perhaps in another century the finest instruments made today will also have become even better. But the best of the old Italian masters will probably still outdazzle them.
*The viola is a bowed string instrument. It is the middle voice of the violin family, between the violin and the cello.
From paragraph 9
7a. Does the author believe that old violins are better than new ones? Write down the phrase that supports your answer. [2m]
7b. Which tow consecutive words tell you that the violin is more than just an instrument? [1m]
Passage B
Paragraph 1
Some sell for more than $3.5 million. Only seven hundred of them exist, and they are stored in vaults, frequently stolen and often replicated but never replaced. The object in question? Stradivarius violins, constructed by famed violin-maker Antonio Stradivari. Treasured for its sublime acoustic properties, these exquisite instruments have spawned dozens of theories, many of them grounded in folkore, attempting to explain their legendary tone. What, exactly, is it that makes "a Strad a Strad"?
From Paragraph 1
8a. Quote the phrase that tells you Stradivarius violins are unique. [1m]
8b. "grounded in folklore" What does this suggest about the theories about Stradivarius violins? [1m]
Paragraph 2
One of the explanations offered was the exact size of the violins and ratio of the parts of the violin to each other. It was proposed that perhaps the magic lay in some perfect ratio of measurements in the peices of the violin, but instrument makers have disassembled their violins, calibrated every dimension of the pieces and replicated the measurements perfectly in new instruments, but failed to duplicate the Stradivarius magic.
Paragraph 3
Some experts suggested the varnish as a possible reason. Varnish is the stuff of legends. Many violin-makers are known to make their own and guard the recipe jealously. The varnish used on Strads could possibly contain secret lost ingredients and Stradivari took its recipe to his grave. However there were many who argued that the recipe for the varnish Stradivari used was common knowledge among violin-makers when he lived.
Paragraph 4
Perhaps the wood makes the difference. There are many competing hypotheses that sought to explain the heavenly sounds of Strads. Some people even believe Stradivari used the wood of ancient castles and cathedrals. According to them, Stradivari selected his maple and spruce from local or foreign forests and he treated it in a special, secret way. This of course we know now is not true as equally fine wood is available now, easily obtainable, and the old methods for treating it can be duplicated.
From Paragraph 4
9. The writer describes the sound produced by Strads as "heavenly". Write down the phrase used in the following paragraph that continues this idea. [1m]
Paragraph 5
According to some other experts, it could be the impossible-to-duplicate effects of aging on that marvelous wood, varnish and filter, not to mention two centuries of playing. This to them is what gives Stradivari instruments their extraordinary, unique sound; a sound that causes listeners such as poet Daniel Mark Epstein to envision "little cherubs with halos" fluttering about a Strad while it is being played. However critics were quick to point out that there are old violins that do not sound good.
Paragraph 6
"There's no objective answer," said James Lyon, a professor of music. When Stradivari was crafting violins, most musicians performed in churches and courts. Rulers and the wealthy sponsored artists to enhance their prestige. This might have added much glamour to Stradivarius violins whcih were a popular choice of the musicians.
From paragraph 6
10. In your own words, explain why would rulers and the wealthy sponsor artists. [1m]
Paragraph 7
Some chemical analyses suggest that the smooth, mellifluous tones may have resulted, in part, from an application of an oxidizing mineral such as borax, often used in Stradivari's day to prevent woodworm infestation. Dendrochronology, the study of annual growth rings in trees suggests that the wood Stradivari used grew largely during the Little Ice Age that prevailed in Europe from the mid-1400s tothe mid-1800s. Long winters and cool summers produced very dense wood with outstanding resonance qualities. The dense wood also helps the instruments stand up over hundreds of years of use.
Paragraph 8
Whatever theories that had been put forward, the mystique remains, however. Asked if putting aside teh monetary value of the instrument, he would like to have a Stradivarius to play, Lyon said, "Yes, I can't imagine anyone who wouldn't. Partly it's the history and mystique that go with them."
From paragraph 8
11. Other than the obvious monetary value, explain why Lyon would like to have a Stradivarius to play with. You must explain in your own words. [2m]
From Passage A and Passage B:
12. For each of the following words or phrases, give one word or short phrase (of not more than seven words) which has the same meaning that the word or phrase has in the passage.[5m]
From Passage A:
[a] fabled
[b] allure
From Passage B:
[c] calibrated
[d] recipe
[e] hypotheses
From Passage B
13. Using your own words as far as possible, summarise the different reasons that try to explain what makes Stradivarius violins so special including counter-arguments against the reasons.
USE THE MATERIAL IN PASSAGE A
Your summary, which must be in continuous writing (not note form), must not be more than 150 words (not counting the words given to help you to begin).
Many people have tried to explain what makes Stradivarius violins... [25m]
Paragraph 1
The rapturous reception was not only indicative of the virtuosic performance by the trio, but also an affirmation to the divine sounds made possible by the instruments. Not a surprise. The cello, played by Tanja Tetzlaff, was a wonderfully mellow 1776 Guadagnini. The violin, played by her brother, Christian Tetzlaff, complemented it beautifully, but is provenance was more unexpected. It was made by a modern German luthier, Peter Greiner.
Tanja Tetzlaff
From Passage A:
From Paragraph 1
1a. Which one word tells us that the performance was very well received? [1m]
1b. Why was the provenance "more unexpected"? [1m]
Paragraph 2
Mr. Tetzlaff plays not just one but two Greiner violins. Most string virtuosi perform on instruments made by Italian masters a few hundred years ago, and preferably by Antonio Stradivari, the greatest of them all. Mr. Telzlaff has previously played two Stradivaris. Now he plays with his Greiner more. He thinks that the best modern violin-makers offer outstanding quality in terms of performance but at a fraction of the astronomical costs.
From Paragraph 2
2. In your own words, explain what are the advantages of modern violins. [2m]
Paragraph 3
The past two decades have seen a renaissance of string-instrument-making by luthiers across the world. They can learn their trade at renowned violin-making schools in a number of countries. But many prefer Italy especially in Cremona, home of the most fabled of hte 16th - 18th-century violin-makers: the Amati, Guameri and Stradivari families. Also home of the Scuola Internationale di Liuteria.
Art of violin-making
From Paragraph 3
3. What does the word "renaissance" imply aobut stringed-instrument-making? [1m]
Paragraph 4
The school was founded in 1937. Since then it has produced nearly 800 graduates. Soem 300 were Italian, but most have been foreign. Some take the tradition home. But many subsequently set up shop in Cremona itself. The city has around 150 luthiers, all hoping to benefit from the city's association with the grandest names in violin-making and from the cluster effect. Good violin-makers can earn a decent living. Still, most makers are not in it for the money but because they are passionate about violins.
From paragraph 4
4. Why would graduates choose to remain in Cremona after graduation? [2m]
Paragraph 5
Peter Beare has made an instrument for Nigel Kennedy, among others. Many famous performers play modern violins alongside their old masters, not only because they are often more resistant to the rigours of air travel, but also because they may be more suitable for certain genres of music. Sometimes the musicians actually prefer them. The cellist Jacqueline du Pre played two Strads and an instrument by Matteo Goffriller, who worked in Venice 300 years ago, but towards the end of her career switched to a modern cello made in Philadelphia.
From paragraph 5
5. In your own words, explain why many performers play modern violins alongside their old violins. [2m]
Paragraph 6
The highest price yet paid for a contemporary violin, at an auction in 2003, was $130000. Even so, that record price probably had much to do with the previous owner who was none other than Issac Stern. That sort of money will go nowhere fi you want to buy a fine old violin.
Paragraph 7
That makes life particularly hard for young ambitious upstarts who harbour hopes of owning one vintage violin. Alternatively they could go to a well-established violin-maker and get a beautifully hand-crafted insrument specially made for them at a price they can afford. It will sound splendid, and few in the audience will know the difference. But most of the truly career-minded will try for an old master, by hook or by crook. Why?
Paragraph 8
An element of self-reinforcing snobbery is at work. If everyone thinks that old instruments are best, then a self-respecting virtuoso will want to play one because it is expected of him. Old instruments often have a history that addes to their allure. Stradivari became wealthy by making violins for the rich and powerful. His instruments were highly esteemed, played by teh virtuosi of their day, perhaps heard by famous composers. Only a curmudgeon could deny the romance of it all.
From paragraph 8
6. In what way was the desire to own an old violin "self-reinforcing snobbery"? [2m]
Paragraph 9
The difference may not be merely psychological. Even enthusiasts for modern instruments often concede that the finest of hte old are better than the best of the new. That may have something to do with age itself. Among the music instruments, only violins, violas and cellos last hundreds of years if well looked after. They are working antiques: desirable, collectable and most still played every day. Several hundred years off the treee has made the wood dry and light, and constant use may have changed its qualities. Perhaps in another century the finest instruments made today will also have become even better. But the best of the old Italian masters will probably still outdazzle them.
*The viola is a bowed string instrument. It is the middle voice of the violin family, between the violin and the cello.
From paragraph 9
7a. Does the author believe that old violins are better than new ones? Write down the phrase that supports your answer. [2m]
7b. Which tow consecutive words tell you that the violin is more than just an instrument? [1m]
Passage B
Paragraph 1
Some sell for more than $3.5 million. Only seven hundred of them exist, and they are stored in vaults, frequently stolen and often replicated but never replaced. The object in question? Stradivarius violins, constructed by famed violin-maker Antonio Stradivari. Treasured for its sublime acoustic properties, these exquisite instruments have spawned dozens of theories, many of them grounded in folkore, attempting to explain their legendary tone. What, exactly, is it that makes "a Strad a Strad"?
From Paragraph 1
8a. Quote the phrase that tells you Stradivarius violins are unique. [1m]
8b. "grounded in folklore" What does this suggest about the theories about Stradivarius violins? [1m]
Paragraph 2
One of the explanations offered was the exact size of the violins and ratio of the parts of the violin to each other. It was proposed that perhaps the magic lay in some perfect ratio of measurements in the peices of the violin, but instrument makers have disassembled their violins, calibrated every dimension of the pieces and replicated the measurements perfectly in new instruments, but failed to duplicate the Stradivarius magic.
Paragraph 3
Some experts suggested the varnish as a possible reason. Varnish is the stuff of legends. Many violin-makers are known to make their own and guard the recipe jealously. The varnish used on Strads could possibly contain secret lost ingredients and Stradivari took its recipe to his grave. However there were many who argued that the recipe for the varnish Stradivari used was common knowledge among violin-makers when he lived.
Paragraph 4
Perhaps the wood makes the difference. There are many competing hypotheses that sought to explain the heavenly sounds of Strads. Some people even believe Stradivari used the wood of ancient castles and cathedrals. According to them, Stradivari selected his maple and spruce from local or foreign forests and he treated it in a special, secret way. This of course we know now is not true as equally fine wood is available now, easily obtainable, and the old methods for treating it can be duplicated.
From Paragraph 4
9. The writer describes the sound produced by Strads as "heavenly". Write down the phrase used in the following paragraph that continues this idea. [1m]
Paragraph 5
According to some other experts, it could be the impossible-to-duplicate effects of aging on that marvelous wood, varnish and filter, not to mention two centuries of playing. This to them is what gives Stradivari instruments their extraordinary, unique sound; a sound that causes listeners such as poet Daniel Mark Epstein to envision "little cherubs with halos" fluttering about a Strad while it is being played. However critics were quick to point out that there are old violins that do not sound good.
Paragraph 6
"There's no objective answer," said James Lyon, a professor of music. When Stradivari was crafting violins, most musicians performed in churches and courts. Rulers and the wealthy sponsored artists to enhance their prestige. This might have added much glamour to Stradivarius violins whcih were a popular choice of the musicians.
From paragraph 6
10. In your own words, explain why would rulers and the wealthy sponsor artists. [1m]
Paragraph 7
Some chemical analyses suggest that the smooth, mellifluous tones may have resulted, in part, from an application of an oxidizing mineral such as borax, often used in Stradivari's day to prevent woodworm infestation. Dendrochronology, the study of annual growth rings in trees suggests that the wood Stradivari used grew largely during the Little Ice Age that prevailed in Europe from the mid-1400s tothe mid-1800s. Long winters and cool summers produced very dense wood with outstanding resonance qualities. The dense wood also helps the instruments stand up over hundreds of years of use.
Paragraph 8
Whatever theories that had been put forward, the mystique remains, however. Asked if putting aside teh monetary value of the instrument, he would like to have a Stradivarius to play, Lyon said, "Yes, I can't imagine anyone who wouldn't. Partly it's the history and mystique that go with them."
From paragraph 8
11. Other than the obvious monetary value, explain why Lyon would like to have a Stradivarius to play with. You must explain in your own words. [2m]
From Passage A and Passage B:
12. For each of the following words or phrases, give one word or short phrase (of not more than seven words) which has the same meaning that the word or phrase has in the passage.[5m]
From Passage A:
[a] fabled
[b] allure
From Passage B:
[c] calibrated
[d] recipe
[e] hypotheses
From Passage B
13. Using your own words as far as possible, summarise the different reasons that try to explain what makes Stradivarius violins so special including counter-arguments against the reasons.
USE THE MATERIAL IN PASSAGE A
Your summary, which must be in continuous writing (not note form), must not be more than 150 words (not counting the words given to help you to begin).
Many people have tried to explain what makes Stradivarius violins... [25m]
What does a "cradle snatcher" do?
A cradle snatcher - somebody / human [+] / informal expression
"Cradle snatcher" means "someone who marries or has an affair with a much younger person".
"Cradle snatcher" means "someone who marries or has an affair with a much younger person".
PEI CAI SEC 4E5N MYE 2010 Paper 2
Passage A
Paragraph 1
On 1 September 1939, Hitler's troops crossed the Polish frontier and the people of Warsaw, the Polish capital, started to dig trenches for protection against air-raids. The bombs began to fall almost immediately , but the citizens of Warsaw could hardly have anticipated that, within a week, the German armies would be at the gates of the city. By 20 September, Warsaw was completely surrounded and heavy artillery joined the bombers in pounding the city and demoralising its people. With stocks of food rapidly dwindling and water, gas and electricity supplies severely disrupted, the inhabitants could not hold out for very long, and on 28 September, an armistice was declared. Warsaw had fallen.
Adolf Hitler
Flag of the Third Reich
The fall of Warsaw
The Third Reich's Invasion of Poland
From Passage A
From Paragraph 1
1. In September 1939, Warsaw was attacked and captured by the Nazis. What were the two methods used by the Nazis to achieve this? [2m]
2. Give two reasons why the people of Warsaw surrendered. [2m]
Paragraph 2
The capital waited silently for its conquerors to enter. None feared what might follow more than the large Jewish population of the city. They had already heard terrible reports about what happened to Jews in Germany, in Austria and in Hitler's most recent conquest, Czechoslovakia. Although some tried to dismiss these reports as exaggerated, or as mere rumours, nevertheless, there was dread in their hearts.
From Paragraph 2
3. Why were the Jews fearful of hte German's arrival? [1m]
Paragraph 3
They had not long to wait before their fears were confirmed. The German army began to distribute bread and soup to the starving population - but a Jew, after queuing for hours, would often be roughly pushed aside when it came to his turn. Jewish apartments were commandeered without any warning. Bearded Jews were sometimes chased by Nazi soldiers or officials, who cut off their beards adn humiliated them in public. Young Jews were seized on the streets and taken off to do forced labour, without any explanation given. The signs were clear. While all the inhabitants of Warsaw were treated with contempt by the Germans, the Jews, in particular, were to be singled out for active persecution.
From Paragraph 3
4. Explain the phrase "their fears were confirmed". [2m]
Paragraph 4
Another alarming development was the creation of a "ghetto", or enclosed Jewish quarter. The Germans compelled the Jews to move into a severely restricted area out of which all non-Jews were moved. By November 1940, about 500000 Jews were squeezed into a district whcih had held some 145000 before the war. High walls sealed off most of the streets and guards were posted. The feared ghetto had become a reality. Rations were cut to 850 calories a day (less than half the number needed to keep an adult in reasonable health). Starvation followed for many and epidemics like typhus and cholera would carry off many more.
Paragraph 5
Not before too long, however, the Germans grew impatient. Too many Jews were still staying alive for too long. Rosenberg, a leading Nazi, had said, "The Jews are awaiting the end of the war, but they will not live to see it. They will pass from the earth before it comes." It was becoming clear to the occupying power that if these words were to apply to the Jews of Warsaw, a new strategy would have to be devised.
From Paragraph 5
5. "...a new strategy would have to be devised". What was the old strategy? [1m]
Paragraph 6
The new new strategy began to take shape in the spring and summer of 1942. In part, it took the form of terror killing. Every night, men and women were removed from their homes and shot, without any kind of trial, or even a reason being given. There was no way of predicting, therefore, who the next victims might be. Even on the streets, in daylight, Jews were beaten, robbed and murdered by teh Nazi soldiers. At the beginning of July, 110 Jews, including ten Jewish policemen, were led to an old cemetery at Praga, made to dig their own graves, and then shot. THe charge against them? Jews had recently been showing opposition to orders, while the Jewish police had not acted forcefully against smugglers and had accepted bribes.
Paragraph 7
The next phrase of the strategy was expulsion. Word filtered through the Jewish community (what was left of it) that they were going to the concentration camps. The first to be rounded up and taken away were the refugees from other cities, the prisoners, the hospital patients and the street beggars. Then began the process of supplying six thousand Jews a day for transportation. This task was first left to the Jewish police, who performed it with considerable energy and cruelty, often exceeding their target by as many as four thousand, perhaps in the mistaken belief that their zeal would earn them a reprieve from the Nazis.
From Paragraph 7
6. "...their zeal would earn them a reprieve from the Nazis". What do the underlined words in italics tell you about the Jewish police? [2m]
Paragraph 8
The police would blockade a number of houses and make the rounds of every apartment. Those without the necessary documents or insufficient money for bribes would be told to make a bundle of possessions weighing no more than fifteen kilos, and be ordered on to the waiting lorries. Meantime, in the general confusion and panic, others would hide in the cellars or try to escape by jumping from rooftop to rooftop. But they were only delaying the evil day. Perhaps the saddest of cases of all were those who gave themselves up voluntarily because they felt that death was preferable.
From Paragraph 8
7. "But they were only delaying the evil day". What did the "evil day" refer to? [1m]
PASSAGE B
Paragraph 1
To begin with, it was not the hapless victims of the Nazis who named their incomprehensible and totally unmasterable fate the "holocaust". It was the Americans who applied this artificial and highly technical term to the Nazi extermination of the European Jews. The event, if named as "mass murder" would evoke the most immediate, most powerful revulsion; yet, when it is designated a rare technical term, it has the effect of distancing the intellectual from the emotional. Thus, talking about the "holocaust" permits us to manage it intellectually where the raw facts, when given their ordinary names, would overwhelm us emotionally, because it was catastrophe beyond comprehension, beyond the limits of our imagination.
From Passage A
From Paragraph 1
8. In your own words, explain why the author said that using the term "holocaust" has the effect of distancing the intellectual from the emotional? [2m]
Paragraph 2
Even the Nazis - usually given to grossness in language and action - shied away from facing openly what they were up to and called this vile mass murder "the final solution of the Jewish problem". After all, solving a problem is an honourable enterprise, as long as we are not forced to recognise that the solution we are about to embark on consists of the completely unprovoked, vicious murder of millions of helpless men, women and children.
From Paragraph 2
9. How did calling the murder of the Jews "the final solution" make the Nazis feel less guilty? Explain in your own words. [1m]
10. Which word suggests that the author feels that the Jews were not a problem and the Nazis were to blame fully for the killing of the Jews? [1m]
Paragraph 3
Thus, artificially created technical terms fail to connect with our strongest feelings. The horror of murder is part of our most common heritage. From earliest infancy on, it arouses violent abhorrence in us. Therefore, in whatever form it appears, we should give such an act its true designation and not hide it behind polite terms created out of classical words.
Paragraph 4
The correct definition of "holocaust" is "burnt offering". By using the term "holocaust", false associations are established between the most vicious of mass murders and ancient rituals of a deeply religious nature. Calling the most callous, most brutal, most horrid, most heinous mass murder a burnt offering is a sacrilege.
From Paragraph 4
11. What does the author mean when she says that "calling the most brutal, most horrid mass murder a burnt offering is a sacrilege"? [2m]
12. Give two reasons for the Nazis' slaughter of the Jews. [2m]
13. "...their humanity destroyed". What do you think the author means by this description? [1m]
Paragraph 5
Millions of Jews were systematically slaughtered, as were untold ohter "undesirables", not for any conviction of theirs, but only because they stood in the way of the realisation of an illusion, in consequences of the Nazis' delusional belief about what was required to protect the purity of their assumed superior racial endowment, and what they thought necessary to guarantee them the living space they needed and were entitled to.
Paragraph 6
Millions - men, women and children -were processed after they had been utterly brutalised, their humanity destroyed, their clothes torn from their bodies. Naked, tehy were sorted into those who were destined to be murdered immediately, and those others who had a short-term usefulness as slave labour. But after a brief interval, they, too, were to be herded into the same gas chambers into which the others were immediately piled, there to be asphyxiated so that, in their last moments, they could not prevent themselves from fighting each other in vain for a last breath of air.
From Passages A and B
14. For each of the following, give one word or short phrase (of not more then seven wrods) which has the same meaning that the wrod or phrase has in the passage. [5m]
From Passage A
[a] contempt
[b] filtered
From Passage B
[c] hapless
[d] herded
[e] asphyxiated
From Passage A
15. Using your won words as far as possible, summarise the treatment of the Nazi soldiers towards the Jews in Warsaw and the results of the treatment.
USE ONLY THE MATERIAL FROM PARAGRAPHS 3 TO 8.
Your summary, which must be in continuous writing (not note form), must not be more than 150 words (not counting the words given to help you begin).
Begin your summary as follows:
The Jews suffered greatly under the Nazi soldiers... [25m]
Paragraph 1
On 1 September 1939, Hitler's troops crossed the Polish frontier and the people of Warsaw, the Polish capital, started to dig trenches for protection against air-raids. The bombs began to fall almost immediately , but the citizens of Warsaw could hardly have anticipated that, within a week, the German armies would be at the gates of the city. By 20 September, Warsaw was completely surrounded and heavy artillery joined the bombers in pounding the city and demoralising its people. With stocks of food rapidly dwindling and water, gas and electricity supplies severely disrupted, the inhabitants could not hold out for very long, and on 28 September, an armistice was declared. Warsaw had fallen.
From Passage A
From Paragraph 1
1. In September 1939, Warsaw was attacked and captured by the Nazis. What were the two methods used by the Nazis to achieve this? [2m]
2. Give two reasons why the people of Warsaw surrendered. [2m]
Paragraph 2
The capital waited silently for its conquerors to enter. None feared what might follow more than the large Jewish population of the city. They had already heard terrible reports about what happened to Jews in Germany, in Austria and in Hitler's most recent conquest, Czechoslovakia. Although some tried to dismiss these reports as exaggerated, or as mere rumours, nevertheless, there was dread in their hearts.
From Paragraph 2
3. Why were the Jews fearful of hte German's arrival? [1m]
Paragraph 3
They had not long to wait before their fears were confirmed. The German army began to distribute bread and soup to the starving population - but a Jew, after queuing for hours, would often be roughly pushed aside when it came to his turn. Jewish apartments were commandeered without any warning. Bearded Jews were sometimes chased by Nazi soldiers or officials, who cut off their beards adn humiliated them in public. Young Jews were seized on the streets and taken off to do forced labour, without any explanation given. The signs were clear. While all the inhabitants of Warsaw were treated with contempt by the Germans, the Jews, in particular, were to be singled out for active persecution.
From Paragraph 3
4. Explain the phrase "their fears were confirmed". [2m]
Paragraph 4
Another alarming development was the creation of a "ghetto", or enclosed Jewish quarter. The Germans compelled the Jews to move into a severely restricted area out of which all non-Jews were moved. By November 1940, about 500000 Jews were squeezed into a district whcih had held some 145000 before the war. High walls sealed off most of the streets and guards were posted. The feared ghetto had become a reality. Rations were cut to 850 calories a day (less than half the number needed to keep an adult in reasonable health). Starvation followed for many and epidemics like typhus and cholera would carry off many more.
Paragraph 5
Not before too long, however, the Germans grew impatient. Too many Jews were still staying alive for too long. Rosenberg, a leading Nazi, had said, "The Jews are awaiting the end of the war, but they will not live to see it. They will pass from the earth before it comes." It was becoming clear to the occupying power that if these words were to apply to the Jews of Warsaw, a new strategy would have to be devised.
From Paragraph 5
5. "...a new strategy would have to be devised". What was the old strategy? [1m]
Paragraph 6
The new new strategy began to take shape in the spring and summer of 1942. In part, it took the form of terror killing. Every night, men and women were removed from their homes and shot, without any kind of trial, or even a reason being given. There was no way of predicting, therefore, who the next victims might be. Even on the streets, in daylight, Jews were beaten, robbed and murdered by teh Nazi soldiers. At the beginning of July, 110 Jews, including ten Jewish policemen, were led to an old cemetery at Praga, made to dig their own graves, and then shot. THe charge against them? Jews had recently been showing opposition to orders, while the Jewish police had not acted forcefully against smugglers and had accepted bribes.
Paragraph 7
The next phrase of the strategy was expulsion. Word filtered through the Jewish community (what was left of it) that they were going to the concentration camps. The first to be rounded up and taken away were the refugees from other cities, the prisoners, the hospital patients and the street beggars. Then began the process of supplying six thousand Jews a day for transportation. This task was first left to the Jewish police, who performed it with considerable energy and cruelty, often exceeding their target by as many as four thousand, perhaps in the mistaken belief that their zeal would earn them a reprieve from the Nazis.
From Paragraph 7
6. "...their zeal would earn them a reprieve from the Nazis". What do the underlined words in italics tell you about the Jewish police? [2m]
Paragraph 8
The police would blockade a number of houses and make the rounds of every apartment. Those without the necessary documents or insufficient money for bribes would be told to make a bundle of possessions weighing no more than fifteen kilos, and be ordered on to the waiting lorries. Meantime, in the general confusion and panic, others would hide in the cellars or try to escape by jumping from rooftop to rooftop. But they were only delaying the evil day. Perhaps the saddest of cases of all were those who gave themselves up voluntarily because they felt that death was preferable.
From Paragraph 8
7. "But they were only delaying the evil day". What did the "evil day" refer to? [1m]
PASSAGE B
Paragraph 1
To begin with, it was not the hapless victims of the Nazis who named their incomprehensible and totally unmasterable fate the "holocaust". It was the Americans who applied this artificial and highly technical term to the Nazi extermination of the European Jews. The event, if named as "mass murder" would evoke the most immediate, most powerful revulsion; yet, when it is designated a rare technical term, it has the effect of distancing the intellectual from the emotional. Thus, talking about the "holocaust" permits us to manage it intellectually where the raw facts, when given their ordinary names, would overwhelm us emotionally, because it was catastrophe beyond comprehension, beyond the limits of our imagination.
From Passage A
From Paragraph 1
8. In your own words, explain why the author said that using the term "holocaust" has the effect of distancing the intellectual from the emotional? [2m]
Paragraph 2
Even the Nazis - usually given to grossness in language and action - shied away from facing openly what they were up to and called this vile mass murder "the final solution of the Jewish problem". After all, solving a problem is an honourable enterprise, as long as we are not forced to recognise that the solution we are about to embark on consists of the completely unprovoked, vicious murder of millions of helpless men, women and children.
From Paragraph 2
9. How did calling the murder of the Jews "the final solution" make the Nazis feel less guilty? Explain in your own words. [1m]
10. Which word suggests that the author feels that the Jews were not a problem and the Nazis were to blame fully for the killing of the Jews? [1m]
Paragraph 3
Thus, artificially created technical terms fail to connect with our strongest feelings. The horror of murder is part of our most common heritage. From earliest infancy on, it arouses violent abhorrence in us. Therefore, in whatever form it appears, we should give such an act its true designation and not hide it behind polite terms created out of classical words.
Paragraph 4
The correct definition of "holocaust" is "burnt offering". By using the term "holocaust", false associations are established between the most vicious of mass murders and ancient rituals of a deeply religious nature. Calling the most callous, most brutal, most horrid, most heinous mass murder a burnt offering is a sacrilege.
From Paragraph 4
11. What does the author mean when she says that "calling the most brutal, most horrid mass murder a burnt offering is a sacrilege"? [2m]
12. Give two reasons for the Nazis' slaughter of the Jews. [2m]
13. "...their humanity destroyed". What do you think the author means by this description? [1m]
Paragraph 5
Millions of Jews were systematically slaughtered, as were untold ohter "undesirables", not for any conviction of theirs, but only because they stood in the way of the realisation of an illusion, in consequences of the Nazis' delusional belief about what was required to protect the purity of their assumed superior racial endowment, and what they thought necessary to guarantee them the living space they needed and were entitled to.
Paragraph 6
Millions - men, women and children -were processed after they had been utterly brutalised, their humanity destroyed, their clothes torn from their bodies. Naked, tehy were sorted into those who were destined to be murdered immediately, and those others who had a short-term usefulness as slave labour. But after a brief interval, they, too, were to be herded into the same gas chambers into which the others were immediately piled, there to be asphyxiated so that, in their last moments, they could not prevent themselves from fighting each other in vain for a last breath of air.
From Passages A and B
14. For each of the following, give one word or short phrase (of not more then seven wrods) which has the same meaning that the wrod or phrase has in the passage. [5m]
From Passage A
[a] contempt
[b] filtered
From Passage B
[c] hapless
[d] herded
[e] asphyxiated
From Passage A
15. Using your won words as far as possible, summarise the treatment of the Nazi soldiers towards the Jews in Warsaw and the results of the treatment.
USE ONLY THE MATERIAL FROM PARAGRAPHS 3 TO 8.
Your summary, which must be in continuous writing (not note form), must not be more than 150 words (not counting the words given to help you begin).
Begin your summary as follows:
The Jews suffered greatly under the Nazi soldiers... [25m]
TMS Sec 4E5N MYE 2010 1127 Paper 2 for practice in BTT and NSP in S.H.S.S.2010
Photographs accompanying this text were taken from www.globespots.com/places.php?country=Sri%20Lanka - Kataragama Festival in Sri Lanka.
PASSAGE A
Paragraph 1
From a satellite perspective, the threat of Borneo's imminent deforestation might seem overstated. The island, slightly larger than Texas, is still half covered with trees, and in the interior highlands stand hundreds of square miles of virgin forests where amost nobody goes, save indigenous hunters, wildlife poachers, adn gaharu gatherers. Reaching some areas requires a boat trip of several days or strenuous hikes through pathless wilderness.
Paragraph 2
However, it is an entirely different story, and an increasingly desperate one, for lowland forests, the prime habitat for most of Borneo's wealth of biodiversity, including orangutans and elephants. During the past two decades, an estimated two million acres were cleared annually, an area more than half the size of Connecticut. A paper in Science magazine in 2001 - ominously titled "The End for Indonesia's Lowland Forests?" - warned of the "dire consequences of the current state of resource anarchy" and cited a study predicting that lowland forests in Indonesian Borneo could be totally destroyed by 2010. While government crackdowns have slowed illegal logging and exports, the result has simply been to delay the forecast doomsday.
From Passage A:
From Paragraphs 1 and 2:
1. Write down the single wrod that conveys the idea of having a panoramic view of a vast forest. [1m]
2. Explain fully why, the writer says the story of Borneo's lowland forests "is an entirely different story, and an increasingly desperate one". [2m]
Paragraph 3
Other factors could speed it up again. In the past twenty years, vast, single-crop plantations of oil palm have spread across Borneo to meet the demand for the versatile and highly profitable oil derived from the fruit. Palm oil is used for cooking, and in cosmetics, soap, desserts, and a seemingly endless list of other products, including biofuel. Indonesia and Malaysia provide 86 precent of the world's supply; growing conditions are perfect on Borneo for this green gold. Even as conservationists spread the news about palm oil's contribution to global deforestation - some calling for boycotting of palm oil products - Indonesia has become the world's number one producing country, with 15 million acres under cultivation, a figure that may double by 2020.
From Paragraph 3:
3. In your own words, account for the extensiveness of single oil palm plantations across Borneo [2m]
Paragraph 4
As if oil palm monoculture were not enough, Borneo possesses another resource that combines economic blessing and environmental danger: the 300-million-year-old plant material that once grew on what is now Borneo lies underground, transformed into coal. Surface mines - for gold as well as coal - spread across southern and eastern Borneo like pockmarks, displacing forest and polluting rivers with waste.
From Paragraph 4:
4. Explain in your own words what is ironic about coal. [2m]
Paragraph 5
In a world newly awakened to the dangers of climate change, Borneo has gained global attention for yet another reason: a specialised ecosystem called peat swamp forest covers around eleven percent of the island. Here, trees grow on highly organic soil built of centuries' accumulation of waterlogged plant material. Sometimes reaching a depth of sixty feet, peat soil represents a massive store of the world's carbon. Stripped of its trees and drained, tropical peat decays and releases its carbon into the atmosphere, and as it dries it becomes extremely susceptible to burning, intentional or accidental. Massive annual fires set deliberately to clear previously forested land for new oil palm plantations - and exacerbated by frequent drought - have burned out of control and filled Borneo's skies with smoke, closing airports and causing respiratory problems for millions of people, as far away as mainland Asia. Carbon released by decaying peat soil, fires, and deforestation has pushed Indonesia into third place among nations as a source of greenhouse gases, behind only heavily industrialised China and the United States.
From Paragraph 5:
5. Give two reasons why it is not surprising to have uncontrollable fires originating in Borneo's rainforests. [2m]
Paragraph 6
Time is running out for Borneo's rain forests. Conventional models offer little hope. Setting aside large areas as parks or reserves, standard practice in the U.S. and other countries, has been largely ineffective. At least on the Indonesian part of Borneo, it is undermined by inadequate funding, lack of support from local residents, and government corruption. However, many conservationists says that logging, often practised sustainably, in fact help to protect a significant portion of the island's biodiversity.
Paragraph 7
The message is complex but ulitmately clear. To protect Borneo's forests and wildlife will require rethinking old ideas, accepting new truths, and adopting new models of conservation. In the end, the fate of Borneo may be decided far from the forests, in government offices and corporate boardrooms from New York to Geneva. Because of the vast amounts of carbon tied up inthe plants and soils, the last best hope for Borneo's future may rest not on the emotional appeal of an orangutan's face, but onthe hard facts of climate change -and our own determination and ability to protect ourselves from disaster.
From Paragraph 7:
6. What is the last best hope for Borneo's forests? [1m]
PASSAGE B
Paragraph 1
Every summer, thousands of pilgrims stream into the temple complex at Kataragama, in the southeast corner of Sri Lanka, joining a fortnight-long annual festival where Buddhists (most of the majority Sinhalese), Hindus (most Tamils), Muslims and other groups celebrate and worship together - an example of how harmoniously the Sri Lankan people can co-exist.
Paragraph 2
This image is at odds with the twenty-year record of bloody conflict between the Tamil Tigers and the predominantly Sinhalese government. Promisingly, the two groups are slowly working through a peace process, began with a ceasefire agreement in February 2002. Now of course, Sri Lanka is occupied with the even greater task of healing broken hearts and communities after the recent tsunami disaster. Hopefully, the two groups will work together in a spirit of co-operation, perhaps further lessening old antagonisms.
From Paragraphs 1 and 2:
7a. Say what you understand by "This image is at odds with..." and explain why the writer finds it so. [2m]
7b. Quote an expression that suggests that the peace process would be difficult to sustain? [1m]
Paragraph 3
However, there is still an important group of people whose human rights have yet to be fully recognised - Sri Lanka's indigenous Wanniya-laeto (People of the Forest), also known as teh Veddha. I first saw the Wanniya-Iaeto at the Kataragama Festival, in August 2003.
Kataragama Festival
The People of the Forest - The Wanniya Iaeto of Sri Lanka
Here, their precedence and importance in Sri Lankan history and culture is acknowledged and they have an honoured role in the ceremonies. Dresses in red sarongs, each with an axe hooked over his shoulder, long bearded and wild haired, they are the epitome of proud, fierce warriors. However, when I was introduced to Unapana Kallua, he cheerfully invited me to stay with them at Dambana near Maduru Oya National Park. I was only able to spend two days with them, yet their warmth and the pleasure they showed in simply sitting around talking and laughing impressed me deeply, particularly given the difficulties facing their society.
From Paragraph 3:
8. What was it about the Wanniya-laeto that particularly impressed the writer during the two days that he spent with them? [1m]
Dambana near Maduru Oya National Park
Paragraph 4
Archaeological evidence suggests their Neolithic ancestors inhabited this island 1o,ooo years ago or more. By contrast, the first Sinhalese came over from India aroudn the sixth century BC and the first Tamils about the third century BC. During the Twentieth Century, in a tragic echo of native peoples in other parts of the world, the Wanniya-laeto were persuaded to give up their hunting and gathering lifestyle and integrate with the largely unsuitable mainstream agricultural economy. They were given litttle choice anyway. Huge expanses of the land they had been natural caretakers o ffor thousands of years were turned into national parks and reserves, most of which they are now forbidden to enter.
From Paragraph 4:
9a. Which two consecutive words indicate that the Wanniya-laeto would have problems adapting to the new way of life? [1m]
9b. Explain fully what the writer means by "...a tragic echo of native peoples in other parts of the world". [2m]
Paragraph 5
Some still follow the traditional way of life - and many more want to- but they have used only campaigns, not violence, to appeal for justice. Others are willingly or reluctantly adopting the mainstream Sinhalese culture adn way of life- along with problems such as alcoholism, a common side effect of such unsuccessful social assimilation.
From Paragraph 5:
10. How do we know that the attempts to integrate the Wanniya-laeto into the mainstream Sinhalese way of life have met with resistance? [1m]
Paragraph 6
Two members of the Wanniya-laeto visited the United Nations in Geneva in 1996. Uru Warige Wanniya, now the leader of the Wanniya-laeto, addressed the Working Group on Indigenous People (UNWPIP), which in turn sent a strong appeal to the Sri Lankan government to honour the rights of hte Wanniya-laeto. There have been some words of promise and minor concessions, but effectively little has changed. In 1998, the government officially allowed the Wanniya-laeto the right to hunt in certain areas, but they still risk being shot by wardens if they enter the reserves - let alone hunt. Meanwhile, illegal poaching and logging continues, often condoned by corrupt officials.
From Paragraph 6:
11. Explain how the Sri Lankan government has failed to honour the rights of the Wanniya-laeto. [1m]
Paragraph 7
The basic right of self-determination should be reason enough to give them justice. However , as with many other such groups around the world, they have valuable knowledge to offer modern society; clues to the development of ancient cultures, indigenous philosophy, knowledged of the local ecology, and more. Sustainable eco-tourism is the buzzword in Sri Lanka now, but the unjust treatment of the Wanniya-laeto blocks progress towards an enlightened environmental and human rights accord.
From Paragraph 7:
12. What valuable knowledge do the Wanniya-laeto have to "offer the modern society"?[1m]
Paragraph 8
"Butakanda, ne," Kallua lamented. ( "No elephants"). The Wanniya-laeto had hoped to show me elephants in the wild, which would have been a more appropriate setting than the tourist safari i had been on a few days earlier. Yet it had been inspiring simply to roam this remarkable landscape with the Wanniya-laeto, truly the People of the Forest.
From Passage A and Passage B:
13. For each of the following words, give one word or short phrase (of not more then seven words) which has the same meaning that the word has in the passage.
From Passage A:
[a] imminent
[b] crackdowns
From Passage B:
[c] precedence
[d] epitome
[e] condoned
From Passage A:
14. Using your own words as far as possible, summarise the factors that speed up the process of massive deforestation in Borneo and the dire consequences that arise from it.
USE ONLY THE MATERIAL IN PASSAGE A FROM PARAGRAPHS 2 TO 7.
Your summary, which must be in continuous writing (not note form), must not be longer than 150 words (not counting the words given to help you begin).
Begin your summary as follows: One of the factors that contributes to deforestation in Borneo...[25 m]
PASSAGE A
Paragraph 1
From a satellite perspective, the threat of Borneo's imminent deforestation might seem overstated. The island, slightly larger than Texas, is still half covered with trees, and in the interior highlands stand hundreds of square miles of virgin forests where amost nobody goes, save indigenous hunters, wildlife poachers, adn gaharu gatherers. Reaching some areas requires a boat trip of several days or strenuous hikes through pathless wilderness.
Paragraph 2
However, it is an entirely different story, and an increasingly desperate one, for lowland forests, the prime habitat for most of Borneo's wealth of biodiversity, including orangutans and elephants. During the past two decades, an estimated two million acres were cleared annually, an area more than half the size of Connecticut. A paper in Science magazine in 2001 - ominously titled "The End for Indonesia's Lowland Forests?" - warned of the "dire consequences of the current state of resource anarchy" and cited a study predicting that lowland forests in Indonesian Borneo could be totally destroyed by 2010. While government crackdowns have slowed illegal logging and exports, the result has simply been to delay the forecast doomsday.
From Passage A:
From Paragraphs 1 and 2:
1. Write down the single wrod that conveys the idea of having a panoramic view of a vast forest. [1m]
2. Explain fully why, the writer says the story of Borneo's lowland forests "is an entirely different story, and an increasingly desperate one". [2m]
Paragraph 3
Other factors could speed it up again. In the past twenty years, vast, single-crop plantations of oil palm have spread across Borneo to meet the demand for the versatile and highly profitable oil derived from the fruit. Palm oil is used for cooking, and in cosmetics, soap, desserts, and a seemingly endless list of other products, including biofuel. Indonesia and Malaysia provide 86 precent of the world's supply; growing conditions are perfect on Borneo for this green gold. Even as conservationists spread the news about palm oil's contribution to global deforestation - some calling for boycotting of palm oil products - Indonesia has become the world's number one producing country, with 15 million acres under cultivation, a figure that may double by 2020.
From Paragraph 3:
3. In your own words, account for the extensiveness of single oil palm plantations across Borneo [2m]
Paragraph 4
As if oil palm monoculture were not enough, Borneo possesses another resource that combines economic blessing and environmental danger: the 300-million-year-old plant material that once grew on what is now Borneo lies underground, transformed into coal. Surface mines - for gold as well as coal - spread across southern and eastern Borneo like pockmarks, displacing forest and polluting rivers with waste.
From Paragraph 4:
4. Explain in your own words what is ironic about coal. [2m]
Paragraph 5
In a world newly awakened to the dangers of climate change, Borneo has gained global attention for yet another reason: a specialised ecosystem called peat swamp forest covers around eleven percent of the island. Here, trees grow on highly organic soil built of centuries' accumulation of waterlogged plant material. Sometimes reaching a depth of sixty feet, peat soil represents a massive store of the world's carbon. Stripped of its trees and drained, tropical peat decays and releases its carbon into the atmosphere, and as it dries it becomes extremely susceptible to burning, intentional or accidental. Massive annual fires set deliberately to clear previously forested land for new oil palm plantations - and exacerbated by frequent drought - have burned out of control and filled Borneo's skies with smoke, closing airports and causing respiratory problems for millions of people, as far away as mainland Asia. Carbon released by decaying peat soil, fires, and deforestation has pushed Indonesia into third place among nations as a source of greenhouse gases, behind only heavily industrialised China and the United States.
From Paragraph 5:
5. Give two reasons why it is not surprising to have uncontrollable fires originating in Borneo's rainforests. [2m]
Paragraph 6
Time is running out for Borneo's rain forests. Conventional models offer little hope. Setting aside large areas as parks or reserves, standard practice in the U.S. and other countries, has been largely ineffective. At least on the Indonesian part of Borneo, it is undermined by inadequate funding, lack of support from local residents, and government corruption. However, many conservationists says that logging, often practised sustainably, in fact help to protect a significant portion of the island's biodiversity.
Paragraph 7
The message is complex but ulitmately clear. To protect Borneo's forests and wildlife will require rethinking old ideas, accepting new truths, and adopting new models of conservation. In the end, the fate of Borneo may be decided far from the forests, in government offices and corporate boardrooms from New York to Geneva. Because of the vast amounts of carbon tied up inthe plants and soils, the last best hope for Borneo's future may rest not on the emotional appeal of an orangutan's face, but onthe hard facts of climate change -and our own determination and ability to protect ourselves from disaster.
From Paragraph 7:
6. What is the last best hope for Borneo's forests? [1m]
PASSAGE B
Paragraph 1
Every summer, thousands of pilgrims stream into the temple complex at Kataragama, in the southeast corner of Sri Lanka, joining a fortnight-long annual festival where Buddhists (most of the majority Sinhalese), Hindus (most Tamils), Muslims and other groups celebrate and worship together - an example of how harmoniously the Sri Lankan people can co-exist.
Paragraph 2
This image is at odds with the twenty-year record of bloody conflict between the Tamil Tigers and the predominantly Sinhalese government. Promisingly, the two groups are slowly working through a peace process, began with a ceasefire agreement in February 2002. Now of course, Sri Lanka is occupied with the even greater task of healing broken hearts and communities after the recent tsunami disaster. Hopefully, the two groups will work together in a spirit of co-operation, perhaps further lessening old antagonisms.
From Paragraphs 1 and 2:
7a. Say what you understand by "This image is at odds with..." and explain why the writer finds it so. [2m]
7b. Quote an expression that suggests that the peace process would be difficult to sustain? [1m]
Paragraph 3
However, there is still an important group of people whose human rights have yet to be fully recognised - Sri Lanka's indigenous Wanniya-laeto (People of the Forest), also known as teh Veddha. I first saw the Wanniya-Iaeto at the Kataragama Festival, in August 2003.
Here, their precedence and importance in Sri Lankan history and culture is acknowledged and they have an honoured role in the ceremonies. Dresses in red sarongs, each with an axe hooked over his shoulder, long bearded and wild haired, they are the epitome of proud, fierce warriors. However, when I was introduced to Unapana Kallua, he cheerfully invited me to stay with them at Dambana near Maduru Oya National Park. I was only able to spend two days with them, yet their warmth and the pleasure they showed in simply sitting around talking and laughing impressed me deeply, particularly given the difficulties facing their society.
From Paragraph 3:
8. What was it about the Wanniya-laeto that particularly impressed the writer during the two days that he spent with them? [1m]
Paragraph 4
Archaeological evidence suggests their Neolithic ancestors inhabited this island 1o,ooo years ago or more. By contrast, the first Sinhalese came over from India aroudn the sixth century BC and the first Tamils about the third century BC. During the Twentieth Century, in a tragic echo of native peoples in other parts of the world, the Wanniya-laeto were persuaded to give up their hunting and gathering lifestyle and integrate with the largely unsuitable mainstream agricultural economy. They were given litttle choice anyway. Huge expanses of the land they had been natural caretakers o ffor thousands of years were turned into national parks and reserves, most of which they are now forbidden to enter.
From Paragraph 4:
9a. Which two consecutive words indicate that the Wanniya-laeto would have problems adapting to the new way of life? [1m]
9b. Explain fully what the writer means by "...a tragic echo of native peoples in other parts of the world". [2m]
Paragraph 5
Some still follow the traditional way of life - and many more want to- but they have used only campaigns, not violence, to appeal for justice. Others are willingly or reluctantly adopting the mainstream Sinhalese culture adn way of life- along with problems such as alcoholism, a common side effect of such unsuccessful social assimilation.
From Paragraph 5:
10. How do we know that the attempts to integrate the Wanniya-laeto into the mainstream Sinhalese way of life have met with resistance? [1m]
Paragraph 6
Two members of the Wanniya-laeto visited the United Nations in Geneva in 1996. Uru Warige Wanniya, now the leader of the Wanniya-laeto, addressed the Working Group on Indigenous People (UNWPIP), which in turn sent a strong appeal to the Sri Lankan government to honour the rights of hte Wanniya-laeto. There have been some words of promise and minor concessions, but effectively little has changed. In 1998, the government officially allowed the Wanniya-laeto the right to hunt in certain areas, but they still risk being shot by wardens if they enter the reserves - let alone hunt. Meanwhile, illegal poaching and logging continues, often condoned by corrupt officials.
From Paragraph 6:
11. Explain how the Sri Lankan government has failed to honour the rights of the Wanniya-laeto. [1m]
Paragraph 7
The basic right of self-determination should be reason enough to give them justice. However , as with many other such groups around the world, they have valuable knowledge to offer modern society; clues to the development of ancient cultures, indigenous philosophy, knowledged of the local ecology, and more. Sustainable eco-tourism is the buzzword in Sri Lanka now, but the unjust treatment of the Wanniya-laeto blocks progress towards an enlightened environmental and human rights accord.
From Paragraph 7:
12. What valuable knowledge do the Wanniya-laeto have to "offer the modern society"?[1m]
Paragraph 8
"Butakanda, ne," Kallua lamented. ( "No elephants"). The Wanniya-laeto had hoped to show me elephants in the wild, which would have been a more appropriate setting than the tourist safari i had been on a few days earlier. Yet it had been inspiring simply to roam this remarkable landscape with the Wanniya-laeto, truly the People of the Forest.
From Passage A and Passage B:
13. For each of the following words, give one word or short phrase (of not more then seven words) which has the same meaning that the word has in the passage.
From Passage A:
[a] imminent
[b] crackdowns
From Passage B:
[c] precedence
[d] epitome
[e] condoned
From Passage A:
14. Using your own words as far as possible, summarise the factors that speed up the process of massive deforestation in Borneo and the dire consequences that arise from it.
USE ONLY THE MATERIAL IN PASSAGE A FROM PARAGRAPHS 2 TO 7.
Your summary, which must be in continuous writing (not note form), must not be longer than 150 words (not counting the words given to help you begin).
Begin your summary as follows: One of the factors that contributes to deforestation in Borneo...[25 m]
Wednesday, September 8, 2010
The Kuroneko Icon
WHAT WE HAVE DONE FOR OTHERS AND THE WORLD REMAINS AND IS
IMMORTAL. albert pike
COMPULSORY SEPTEMBER HOLIDAY HOMEWORK 2010
Paragraph 1
It is safe to predict that fifty years from now, people will look back and wonder how Man ever managed his affairs on his limited planetary abode without the tools provided by the space programme. That there could ever have been a world without spacecraft will be just as difficult for them to imagine as one without telephones and airlines is for us.
From paragraph 1:
1. Write down the single word which tells us that Man faces constraints in managing his world affairs [1m]
2. What seems to be indispensable in Man’s world? [1m]
Paragraph 2
In 2025 mankind will be faced with many problems that can only be tackled successfully by a global approach. Successful solutions to these problems will require continuous monitoring and surveying of the entire Earth supported by an effective communications system capable of transmitting the large quantities of collected data and pictorial information in real time to a multitude of users in almost a hundred nations. Unmanned Earth survey and communications satellites and orbiting manned observations will form the backbone of this system.
Paragraph 3
The dominating problems of humanity during the next fifty years that will require such aid from space will arise from the collision between Man’s unrestrained and unlimited growth – both in numbers of people and their material expectations – and the grim limitations of resources the Earth can provide and of wastes it can absorb.
Paragraph 4
Some of these problems are already upon us today. The sudden shortage in fuel oil and gasoline made us shockingly aware of our dependence on resources that for too long we have taken for granted. We would be tragically mistaken if we took our present energy crisis as an isolated incident, brought about by profit-hungry oil moghuls, or as a problem of a temporary nature that will soon be resolved. We should reather accept it as a timely and deadly serious storm warning. Not only is our automotive joy ride over (a ride made possible only by a hitherto unlimited supply of cheap energy from oil), but also we will have to learn to utilize more intelligently for planet’s scarce resources in metal ores and its limited ability to produce food for its exploding population.
From paragraph 2 to 4:
3. “In 2025 mankind will be faced with many problems that can only be tackled successfully by a global approach.”
(a) In your own words, explain what “global approach” means in this context. [1m]
(b) List two of the “many problems” mankind will face. [2m]
(c) How should Man see these problems? [1m]
Paragraph 5
During the 90s, a world-wide satellite search was initiated for additional deposits of metal ores, coal, oil, shale and natural gas. Using multispectral scanners and other sophisticated optical devices, the orbital prospectors will collect picture material that, by comparison with known ore for fossil-fuel deposits, can point out promising sites for closer scrutiny by ground crews.
Paragraph 6
By the turn of the century, resource satellites will be collecting, as a matter of routine, precise global data on the local and world-wide yield of such food crops as corn, wheat, rye, barley, rice and soya-beans and of fibre crops like cotton and sisal. As a fleet of these satellites circle the Earth in their low, near-polar orbits, they will enable the data centres on the ground continually to update their crop predictions. For instance, wherever the sensors of a satellite detect a region where previously unspoiled fields had suffered from flood, drought, hailstorm or insect infestation, the “up-date” will enable the data centre to correct its previous estimate.
Paragraph 7
The same satellites will also produce a continuing record of the pattern of world-wide human habitation. Built-up urban areas, characteristically lacking the chlorophyll-signature of vegetation, will stand out like sore thumbs on the satellite-produced Earth pictures. All this quantitative information are required for a badly needed world-wide food-supply management system.
From paragraphs 5 to 7:
4. Using your own words, explain how prospecting for minerals has become more scientific. [2m]
5. What do you think world-wide food-supply management system involve? [2m]
Paragraph 8
The Earth-looking satellites have also provided Man with a deeper understanding of many of the long-term implications of his industrial civilization. For instance, they can settle the old controversy as to whether the Earth as a planet is gradually getting warmer because of the “green-house” effect created by the great amounts of carbon dioxide released into the atmosphere through Man’s massive burning of fossil fuels or whether the opposite is true, that it is actually getting colder because those same offensive smokestacks and exhaust pipes increase the average cloudiness and thus reduce the percentage of sunlight reaching the Earth’s surface.
Paragraph 9
The concern is well-founded. In the former case even a few degree’s rise in the Earth’s average temperature would suffice to melt, with a few hundred years, the ice caps and glaciers in the Arctic and Antarctic regions. As a result, the ocean level would rise about 1.5 metres, inundating all of the world’s coastal cities. In the latter case, our industrial activities might trigger another Ice Age, with equally disastrous consequences.
From paragraphs 8 and 9:
6. “The concern is well-founded.”
(a) What is “the concern” referring to? [1m]
(b) Give a phrase to replace “well-founded”. [1m]
Paragraph 10
Even open oceans can be held under continuous scrutiny. Whenever a tanker captain in 2025 thinks that he can get away with cleaning his bilges or bunker spaces on the high seas under protection of night, the satellites, detecting both the tell-tale oil slick and the ship steaming wasy from the scene, would quickly report the misdeed to the UN pollution-control branch, and the shipping company could expect to be fined for violation of world-wide treaties on environmental protection.
Paragraph 11
Atmospheric pollution could also be a subject of continuous monitoring by the ever-watchful eyes in the sky. The world-wide machinery of environmental protection would be promptly notified whenever pollution levels dangerous to human health were approached.
From paragraphs 10 and 11:
7. In your own words, explain the advantage of having satellites over open oceans. [1m]
8. Give one word or phrase to replace the adjective in the phrase “atmospheric pollution” [1m]
9(a) From both paragraphs, pick the same one word that tells us how frequent watchful eyes are kept on the oceans and the sky. [1m]
9(b) From each paragraph, pick one word that tells u s what these watchful eyes are doing. [2m]
Paragraph 12
In the communications field, satellites will bring about another revolution. The intelsat communications satellites have established a global telephone network interconnecting nearly a hundred nations. Satellites will take over a major share of domestic communication as well. In addition to telephone conversations, they can carry television programmes and facsimile service and provide direct ties between computers in different locations in support of such operations as banking or ticket reservations.
Paragraph 13
It is also safe to predict that some degree of weather control will be achieved. Think of the implications of having rainfall occur only at night or, more important in terms of meeting the world’s need for food, of being able to bring rainfall at will to areas now parched and wrecked by drought.
Paragraph 14
Many of the space operations in 2025 will become familiar events throught the advent of the reusable space shuttle, which saw its first use in 1979. The shuttle has not only drastically reduced the cost of space transportation but also opened up space for the non-astronaut. Surely, there will still be astronauts on the flight deck of the advanced space shuttle of 2025, but their role can be compared with that of the flight crew in an airliner. The passengers will be astronomers, meteorologists, environmentalists, climatologists, geologists, oil prospectors, and other Earth-resources experts. For them space flight will become the old airline routine of “coffee, tea or milk”.
Paragraph 15
By 2025, Man will also have sat foot on the planet Mars. Will he find life? Here again my crystal ball gets clouded. (There would be no fun in science and exploration if everything could be predicted. We can only speculate that we might find at least some lower forms of life there.)
From paragraphs 12 to 15:
10. In the sentence, “In the communications field, satellites will bring about another revolution”, explain why the word “revolution” is used here. [1m]
11. In your own words, explain two differences between the astronauts and non-astronauts, making clear what their roles are. [2m]
12. For each of the following words, give one word or short phrase (of not more than seven words) which has the same meaning that the word has in the passage. [5m]
(a) abode
(b) sophisticated
(c) smokestacks
(d) suffice
(e) drastically
13. Using your own words as far as possible, summarise the ways in which satellites help or will help Man solve the dominating problems of humanity and aid in communications.
USE THE MATERIAL FROM PARAGRAPHS 5 TO 12.
Your summary, which must be in continuous writing (not note form), must not be longer than 150 words (not counting the words given to help you begin).
Begin your summary as follows: As early as the 90s, satellites were used to… [25m]
It is safe to predict that fifty years from now, people will look back and wonder how Man ever managed his affairs on his limited planetary abode without the tools provided by the space programme. That there could ever have been a world without spacecraft will be just as difficult for them to imagine as one without telephones and airlines is for us.
From paragraph 1:
1. Write down the single word which tells us that Man faces constraints in managing his world affairs [1m]
2. What seems to be indispensable in Man’s world? [1m]
Paragraph 2
In 2025 mankind will be faced with many problems that can only be tackled successfully by a global approach. Successful solutions to these problems will require continuous monitoring and surveying of the entire Earth supported by an effective communications system capable of transmitting the large quantities of collected data and pictorial information in real time to a multitude of users in almost a hundred nations. Unmanned Earth survey and communications satellites and orbiting manned observations will form the backbone of this system.
Paragraph 3
The dominating problems of humanity during the next fifty years that will require such aid from space will arise from the collision between Man’s unrestrained and unlimited growth – both in numbers of people and their material expectations – and the grim limitations of resources the Earth can provide and of wastes it can absorb.
Paragraph 4
Some of these problems are already upon us today. The sudden shortage in fuel oil and gasoline made us shockingly aware of our dependence on resources that for too long we have taken for granted. We would be tragically mistaken if we took our present energy crisis as an isolated incident, brought about by profit-hungry oil moghuls, or as a problem of a temporary nature that will soon be resolved. We should reather accept it as a timely and deadly serious storm warning. Not only is our automotive joy ride over (a ride made possible only by a hitherto unlimited supply of cheap energy from oil), but also we will have to learn to utilize more intelligently for planet’s scarce resources in metal ores and its limited ability to produce food for its exploding population.
From paragraph 2 to 4:
3. “In 2025 mankind will be faced with many problems that can only be tackled successfully by a global approach.”
(a) In your own words, explain what “global approach” means in this context. [1m]
(b) List two of the “many problems” mankind will face. [2m]
(c) How should Man see these problems? [1m]
Paragraph 5
During the 90s, a world-wide satellite search was initiated for additional deposits of metal ores, coal, oil, shale and natural gas. Using multispectral scanners and other sophisticated optical devices, the orbital prospectors will collect picture material that, by comparison with known ore for fossil-fuel deposits, can point out promising sites for closer scrutiny by ground crews.
Paragraph 6
By the turn of the century, resource satellites will be collecting, as a matter of routine, precise global data on the local and world-wide yield of such food crops as corn, wheat, rye, barley, rice and soya-beans and of fibre crops like cotton and sisal. As a fleet of these satellites circle the Earth in their low, near-polar orbits, they will enable the data centres on the ground continually to update their crop predictions. For instance, wherever the sensors of a satellite detect a region where previously unspoiled fields had suffered from flood, drought, hailstorm or insect infestation, the “up-date” will enable the data centre to correct its previous estimate.
Paragraph 7
The same satellites will also produce a continuing record of the pattern of world-wide human habitation. Built-up urban areas, characteristically lacking the chlorophyll-signature of vegetation, will stand out like sore thumbs on the satellite-produced Earth pictures. All this quantitative information are required for a badly needed world-wide food-supply management system.
From paragraphs 5 to 7:
4. Using your own words, explain how prospecting for minerals has become more scientific. [2m]
5. What do you think world-wide food-supply management system involve? [2m]
Paragraph 8
The Earth-looking satellites have also provided Man with a deeper understanding of many of the long-term implications of his industrial civilization. For instance, they can settle the old controversy as to whether the Earth as a planet is gradually getting warmer because of the “green-house” effect created by the great amounts of carbon dioxide released into the atmosphere through Man’s massive burning of fossil fuels or whether the opposite is true, that it is actually getting colder because those same offensive smokestacks and exhaust pipes increase the average cloudiness and thus reduce the percentage of sunlight reaching the Earth’s surface.
Paragraph 9
The concern is well-founded. In the former case even a few degree’s rise in the Earth’s average temperature would suffice to melt, with a few hundred years, the ice caps and glaciers in the Arctic and Antarctic regions. As a result, the ocean level would rise about 1.5 metres, inundating all of the world’s coastal cities. In the latter case, our industrial activities might trigger another Ice Age, with equally disastrous consequences.
From paragraphs 8 and 9:
6. “The concern is well-founded.”
(a) What is “the concern” referring to? [1m]
(b) Give a phrase to replace “well-founded”. [1m]
Paragraph 10
Even open oceans can be held under continuous scrutiny. Whenever a tanker captain in 2025 thinks that he can get away with cleaning his bilges or bunker spaces on the high seas under protection of night, the satellites, detecting both the tell-tale oil slick and the ship steaming wasy from the scene, would quickly report the misdeed to the UN pollution-control branch, and the shipping company could expect to be fined for violation of world-wide treaties on environmental protection.
Paragraph 11
Atmospheric pollution could also be a subject of continuous monitoring by the ever-watchful eyes in the sky. The world-wide machinery of environmental protection would be promptly notified whenever pollution levels dangerous to human health were approached.
From paragraphs 10 and 11:
7. In your own words, explain the advantage of having satellites over open oceans. [1m]
8. Give one word or phrase to replace the adjective in the phrase “atmospheric pollution” [1m]
9(a) From both paragraphs, pick the same one word that tells us how frequent watchful eyes are kept on the oceans and the sky. [1m]
9(b) From each paragraph, pick one word that tells u s what these watchful eyes are doing. [2m]
Paragraph 12
In the communications field, satellites will bring about another revolution. The intelsat communications satellites have established a global telephone network interconnecting nearly a hundred nations. Satellites will take over a major share of domestic communication as well. In addition to telephone conversations, they can carry television programmes and facsimile service and provide direct ties between computers in different locations in support of such operations as banking or ticket reservations.
Paragraph 13
It is also safe to predict that some degree of weather control will be achieved. Think of the implications of having rainfall occur only at night or, more important in terms of meeting the world’s need for food, of being able to bring rainfall at will to areas now parched and wrecked by drought.
Paragraph 14
Many of the space operations in 2025 will become familiar events throught the advent of the reusable space shuttle, which saw its first use in 1979. The shuttle has not only drastically reduced the cost of space transportation but also opened up space for the non-astronaut. Surely, there will still be astronauts on the flight deck of the advanced space shuttle of 2025, but their role can be compared with that of the flight crew in an airliner. The passengers will be astronomers, meteorologists, environmentalists, climatologists, geologists, oil prospectors, and other Earth-resources experts. For them space flight will become the old airline routine of “coffee, tea or milk”.
Paragraph 15
By 2025, Man will also have sat foot on the planet Mars. Will he find life? Here again my crystal ball gets clouded. (There would be no fun in science and exploration if everything could be predicted. We can only speculate that we might find at least some lower forms of life there.)
From paragraphs 12 to 15:
10. In the sentence, “In the communications field, satellites will bring about another revolution”, explain why the word “revolution” is used here. [1m]
11. In your own words, explain two differences between the astronauts and non-astronauts, making clear what their roles are. [2m]
12. For each of the following words, give one word or short phrase (of not more than seven words) which has the same meaning that the word has in the passage. [5m]
(a) abode
(b) sophisticated
(c) smokestacks
(d) suffice
(e) drastically
13. Using your own words as far as possible, summarise the ways in which satellites help or will help Man solve the dominating problems of humanity and aid in communications.
USE THE MATERIAL FROM PARAGRAPHS 5 TO 12.
Your summary, which must be in continuous writing (not note form), must not be longer than 150 words (not counting the words given to help you begin).
Begin your summary as follows: As early as the 90s, satellites were used to… [25m]
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