- cross
- disgruntled
- exasperated
- indignant
- irritated
- miffed (informal)
- needled (informal)
- vexed
Monday, June 21, 2010
VOCABULARY WORDS - FEELINGS - SYNONYMS 10
When you are ANNOYED, the words of feeling you may used will include:
VOCABULARY WORDS - FEELINGS - SYNONYMS 9
When you are ANGRY, these words may come in useful to describe your feelings:
- enraged
- fuming
- furious
- incensed
- infuriated
- irate
- livid
- outraged
- seething
VOCABULARY WORDS - FEELINGS - SYNONYMS 8
Words to use when you are UPSET:
- dismayed
- distraught
- distressed
- disturbed
- grieved
- hurt
- pained
- shaken
- shattered
- crestfallen
VOCABULARY WORDS - FEELINGS - SYNONYMS 7
When you feel EXCITED, these are the words you may use to describe your feelings:
- eager
- enthusiastic
- feverish
- frenzied
- high (informal)
- hyper (informal)
- hysterical
- overwrought
- restless
- thrilled
- worked up
VOCABULARY WORDS - FEELINGS - SYNONYMS 6
When you are BORED, these words may be used to describe your feelings:
- apathetic
- fed up (informal)
- indifferent
- jaded
- listless
- weary
VOCABULARY WORDS - FEELINGS - SYNONYMS 5
When you are SURPRISED, these are the other words which you may used:
- amazed
- astonished
- astounded
- dumbfounded
- dumbstruck
- flabbergasted (informal)
- incredulous
- open-mouthed
- shocked
- speechless
- staggered
- startled
- stunned
- stupefied
- taken aback
- thunderstruck
VOCABULARY WORDS - FEELINGS - SYNONYMS 4
When you are CONFUSED, these are the words you may used:
- baffled
- bewildered
- dazed
- disorientated
- fazed
- flummoxed
- flustered
- muddled
- mystified
- nonplussed
- perplexed
- puzzled
VOCABULARY WORDS - FEELINGS - SYNONYMS 3
When you are WORRIED, you use these words to describe your mental state of mind:
- agitated
- anxious
- apprehensive
- concerned
- distracted
- frantic
- fretful
- nervous
- on edge
- perturbed
- tense
- troubled
- uneasy
- disturbed
VOCABULARY WORDS - FEELINGS - SYNONYMS 2
When you are sad, you are likely to describe your feelings using these words:
- blue
- dejected
- depressed
- despairing
- despondent
- doleful
- down
- forlorn
- gloomy
- glum
- grief-stricken
- heartbroken
- low
- melancholy
- miserable
- mournful
- tearful
- sorrowful
- unhappy
- wistful
VOCABULARY WORDS - FEELINGS - SYNONYMS 1
When you are HAPPY, the following words can also be used to describe your happiness:
- blissful
- cheerful
- contented
- delighted
- ecstatic
- elated
- euphoric
- glad
- jolly
- gleeful
- jubilant
- light-hearted
- optimistic
- overjoyed
- perky
- pleased
- rapturous
- thrilled
- chirpy (informal)
Tuesday, June 15, 2010
The Qualities of a Character - SOCIAL
Words to describe the SOCIAL qualities of a character:
- sociable
- friendly
- unfriendly
- unsociable
- civic-minded
- co-operative
- selfish
- selfless
- sincere
- insincere
- popular
- unpopular
- famous
- infamous
- hospitable
- congenial
- cheerful
- supportive
- worldly
- streetwise
- rude
- naughty
- debonair
- suave
- elegant
- tactful
- cordial
- diplomatic
- convivial
- encouraging
- discouraging
- merry
- contentious
- inhospitable
- crazy
- impolite
- polite
- sullen
- antagonistic
- boorish
- provincial
- brusque
- obsequious
- unpolished
- petulant
- crude
- crabby
- critical
- caustic
- grumpy
The Qualities of a Character - MORAL
Words to describe MORAL qualities of a character:
- moral
- kind
- considerate
- idealistic
- innocent
- guilty
- righteous
- truthful
- trusting
- honest
- dishonest
- honourable
- dishonourable
- loyal
- disloyal
- helpful
- unhelpful
- virtuous
- pure
- puritanical
- austere
- polite
- impolite
- respectable
- sincere
- insincere
- thoughtful
- tactful
- diplomatic
- friendly
- immoral
- cruel
- ruthless
- callous
- inconsiderate
- unprincipled
- responsible
- irresponsible
- corrupt
- vile
- deceitful
- selfish
- selfless
- scheming
- cunning
- unscrupulous
- untrustworthy
- trustworthy
- self-centred
- vulgar
- generous
- stingy
- mean
- uncouth
- superstitious
- unfriendly
The Qualities of a Character - Physical
Words to describe the PHYSICAL qualities of a character:
- strong
- weak
- handsome
- ugly
- charming
- beautiful
- pretty
- robust
- hardy
- strapping
- dainty
- delicate
- frail-looking
- manly
- chubby
- stocky
- ravishing
- adroit
- skilful
- lively
- sickly
- hideous
- healthy
- deformed
- tidy
- untidy
- presentable
- unpresentable
- graceful
- emaciated
- clumsy
- sturdy
- steady
- awkward
- grotesque
- odious
- coarse
- repulsive
- ungainly
- unkempt
- decrepit
- sporty
- flexible
Vocabulary - The Qualities of a Character - MENTAL
Words to describe MENTAL qualities
- Intelligent
- Educated
- Smart
- Clever
- Wise
- Gifted
- Talented
- Ingenious
- Brilliant
- Learned
- Scholarly
- Astute
- Competent
- Sensible
- Sensitive
- Intellectual
- Precocious
- Rational
- Irrational
- Proactive
- Creative
- Serious
- tidy
- untidy
- stupid
- dumb
- uneducated
- ignorant
- simple
- uneducated
- puerile
- obtuse
- vacuous
- narrow-minded
- open-minded
- shallow
- dull
- thoughtful
- autistic
- reasonable
- unreasonable
- incompetent
- incapable
- bigoted
- inventive
Friday, June 11, 2010
June Holiday Comprehension Homework for 5B / 4B / 4D.2010 - Distributed by Ms. Lim Soo Heng on 3 June 2010 (Thursday)
Passage A
Paragraph 1
A walk across the abandoned rail yard in Berlin’s Schoneberg district gives new meaning to the words “urban jungle”. Between a noisy commuter train line on one side and apartment blocks on the other, a carpet of rare flowers with names like ladies’ fingers and queen-devil hawkweed covers railroad ties and warehouse ruins. All sorts of endangered butterflies, spiders and bumblebees thrive, as does Europe’s northernmost breeding colony of praying mantises. Goshawks and kestrels spy for prey overhead.
From Paragraph 1
1. “…gives new meaning to the words ‘urban jungle’.”
(a) Name the place which is described as an “urban jungle”? [1 mark]
(b) Why does the writer use the phrase “new meaning” to describe it? [2 marks]
Paragraph 2
Nature has, of course, found its niches in towns and cities ever since humans built them. Pigeons and cockroaches have settled down with mankind. Escaped pets and their offspring, like the famed wild parrots of San Francisco’s Telegraph Hill, have added an exotic touch to the urban fauna. Yet for some reason many of us continue to see cities as barren or worse, spreading biological destruction wherever they sprawl.
From Paragraph 2
2.“Yet for some reason many of us continue to see cities as barren or worse, spreading biological destruction wherever they sprawl.”
What does the writer imply when he uses the words “yet” and “worse” in the sentence? [1 mark]
Paragraph 3
As they take a closer look, however, biologists in the nascent science of “urban ecology” are finding that cities are not just important habitats, but veritable hot spots of animal and plant life. “You can take any big city and find more species, more diverse habitats than in just about any national park or nature reserve,” says Josef Reichholf, professor of ornithology at Munich’s Technical University. Both in animal numbers as well as species diversity, he says, cities beat the countryside hands down.
From Paragraph 3
3(a). Quote a phrase of three consecutive words which the writer uses to inform us that big cities are habitats for nature. [1 mark]
3(b). The writer remarks that, in terms of quantity and variety of flora and fauna, “cities beat the countryside hands down”. Replace the italicized words, with another word or phrase of the same meaning. [2 marks]
Paragraph 4
Berlin, one of the best-studied cases, is home to two thirds of the 280 bird species existing in Germany, including peregrine falcons and ospreys – raptors that have disappeared from much of the country. Biologists say that urban biodiversity seems to be on the rise – as our cities become cleaner, suburbs grow greener, and more and more species learn to adapt. These findings are challenging an old piece of orthodoxy – that urbanization is the planet’s biggest environmental threat. On the contrary, it is in the open country that plants and animals have seen the most rapid decline. Agriculture, now spreading from the developed world to southern countries like Brazil, is the main culprit.
From Paragraph 4:
4.In your own words, explain why the writer says, “These findings are challenging an old piece of orthodoxy”. [2 marks]
Paragraph 5
Vast ‘monocultures” of single-strain crops maintained with powerful herbicides and insecticides, have decimated the older, more varied landscape. Many forests are now uniform tree farms supporting few species. An oversupply of fertilizers and animal waste favour fast-growing greens that crowd out the wildflowers, grasses and weeds that were once a rich habitat for insects and animals. Today biologists estimate that agriculture and forestry cause over 80 percent of explainable species deaths worldwide, versus just 15 percent caused by human settlement, pollution and sprawl.
From Paragraph 5:
5. Pick out a phrase which describes the condition forests are in after agriculture has affected them. [1 mark]
Paragraph 6
Some biologists think flora and fauna are seeking refuge in cities, and the bigger the city the better. For starters, there are fewer guns (in general) and more sources of food in heavily settled areas. More important, megacities create a mosaic of habitats and microclimates, from pond-filled gardens to industrial “brownfield” sites like those dry, hot railyards in Berlin. In London, the extremely rare redstart has seen a resurgence in abandoned factory lots and on those “green roofs” newly popular with environmentally conscious urbanites. For the birds, these spaces resemble the country meadows they can no longer find.
Paragraph 7
Established suburbs, with their old trees, underbrush and open space, attract ten times more species of butterflies than farmland, again because they more closely approximate woodsy meadows. In Britain, the magnificent stag beetle, which likes piles of rotting wood, has all but disappeared from the antiseptic countryside. In the past half-century, dozens of once-shy species of fauna have learned that city dwellers mean them no harm.
From Paragraph 7:
6. Why do you think the writer uses the word “antiseptic” to describe the countryside? [1 mark]
Paragraph 8
Cities are turning into vast laboratories for studying animal behaviour and evolution. New York, Hong Kong and London rate among the world’s richest spots for migratory waterfowl – especially now that cleaner water has brought back the fish and crustaceans on which some of them feed. Urban duck populations are already producing countless new variations in colours and plumage. Butterflies and moths that a century ago adapted to sooty factory districts by developing black pigments have, in recent years, lightened up again.
From Paragraph 8:
7. The writer describes cities as “vast laboratories”. In your own words, briefly describe two examples of animal behaviour and evolution which he has cited. [2 marks]
**********************JUNE HOLIDAY HOMEWORK ***********************
Passage B
Paragraph 1
International donors at a conference in Beijing last month pledged $1.9 billion for global efforts to control bird flu. The latest news on the spread of the disease suggest this would be money well spent. H5N1 avian flu has breached the heart of Europe, cropping up in Germany, Italy, Austria and France, among other countries. India confirmed its first outbreak of H5N1 in poultry, and began culling 500,000 birds in the western state of Maharashtra. Yet in a world where millions die every year because of diseases that could be prevented with a bit more funding, $1.9 billion is a lot of money for a virus that has so far killed fewer than 100 people. A real risk exists that a single-minded battle against a pandemic that may or may not occur soon could drain needed health resources from clear and present dangers.
From Paragraph 1:
8. “$1.9 billion is a lot of money for a virus that has so far killed fewer than 100 people.” What does the writer suggest international donors should have done instead? [1 mark]
Paragraph 2
Nowhere is that choice more stark than in Africa. Earlier this month, authorities uncovered a large bird-flu outbreak on several poultry farms in northern Nigeria, the first time H5N1 has been found on the continent; more than 140,000 chickens have so far died from the virus or been culled. Though no human cases have been discovered yet, the news that the outbreak had gone undetected for up to a month raises concerns that the virus may already be spreading under the radar to other parts of the continent. Africa has an estimated poultry population of 1.1 billion birds, many of them sharing living space with people – the same problem that enabled bird flu to cause so much damage in much of Southeast Asia. Avian-flu experts see impoverished Africa, with its inefficient governments and millions of immuno-compromised HIV infectees, as a perfect breeding ground for a pandemic.
Paragraph 2
9(a) Why is there a possibility of humans contracting the virus in Africa and Southeast Asia? [1 mark]
9(b) Give two reasons why Africa is “a perfect ground for a pandemic”. [2 marks]
Paragraph 3
Yet the sheer number of severity of Africa’s ills puts bird flu in perspective. Medical resources in Africa are cruelly finite because in Africa, an estimated of 6,600 Africans die of AIDS every day, 3,000 die of malaria and 24,000 die of hunger and poverty. As long as bird flu primarily remains a threat to birds, it just does not compare with these everyday scourges. Even South Africa, the nation best equipped to respond to bird flu, faces “a lot of other health issues” competing for resources, says Dr. Lucille Blumber, head of the epidemiology and outbreak unit at the National Institute for Communicable Diseases. International donors need to be very sure that they are not robbing from other health programmes to pay for bird-flu measures.
Paragraph 4
This does not mean the world should neglect to take prudent steps to fight bird flu – a pandemic could become the greatest health catastrophe the modern world has ever faced. Avian flu is already beginning to cause real economic pain. When infected wild birds were detected in European countries, poultry sales across the continent plummeted. The Lowy Institute of Australia estimated that a worst-case global pandemic, one even deadlier than the 1918 Spanish Flu, could kill up to 142 million people and cost the global economy $4.4 trillion.
Paragraph 5
Those are scary numbers, but they are hardly the only frightening pandemic predictions circulating these days. Two doctors in Minnesota who published a modest paper in the journal “Academic Emergency Medicine” pointed out that even in a weak pandemic, there would be far fewer mechanical ventilators than the number of desperately ill flu patients who would need them to survive. That means that the very sick or the very old would probably be denied ventilator support – even removed from the machines – in favour of those more likely to survive. The assumption that most people in the developed world have about medical care – that everything possible will be done to help the sick – would be shattered. Doctors would be left to allocate scarce resources, deciding who should live and who should die. If that happens, Africa will no longer seem so far away.
From Paragraph 5:
10. “The assumption that most people in the developed world have about medical care – that everything possible will be done to help the sick – would be shattered.”
(a) Why is there a possibility of this assumption being shattered? [2 marks]
(b) Where is it most likely to happen? [1 mark]
11. For each of the following words, give one word or phrase (of not more than seven words) which has the same meaning that the word has in the passage.
From Passage A
a. resurgence
b. approximate
From Passage B
c. breached
d. measures
e. global
12. Summary - Passaage A
Using your own words as far as possible, summarise the reasons why there are now more animals and plants in cities than in the country. [25]
USE THE MATERIAL IN PASSAGE A FROM PARAGRAPHS 4 TO 8.
Your summary, which should 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:
Plants and animals find the conditions in cities suitable for…
Paragraph 1
A walk across the abandoned rail yard in Berlin’s Schoneberg district gives new meaning to the words “urban jungle”. Between a noisy commuter train line on one side and apartment blocks on the other, a carpet of rare flowers with names like ladies’ fingers and queen-devil hawkweed covers railroad ties and warehouse ruins. All sorts of endangered butterflies, spiders and bumblebees thrive, as does Europe’s northernmost breeding colony of praying mantises. Goshawks and kestrels spy for prey overhead.
From Paragraph 1
1. “…gives new meaning to the words ‘urban jungle’.”
(a) Name the place which is described as an “urban jungle”? [1 mark]
(b) Why does the writer use the phrase “new meaning” to describe it? [2 marks]
Paragraph 2
Nature has, of course, found its niches in towns and cities ever since humans built them. Pigeons and cockroaches have settled down with mankind. Escaped pets and their offspring, like the famed wild parrots of San Francisco’s Telegraph Hill, have added an exotic touch to the urban fauna. Yet for some reason many of us continue to see cities as barren or worse, spreading biological destruction wherever they sprawl.
From Paragraph 2
2.“Yet for some reason many of us continue to see cities as barren or worse, spreading biological destruction wherever they sprawl.”
What does the writer imply when he uses the words “yet” and “worse” in the sentence? [1 mark]
Paragraph 3
As they take a closer look, however, biologists in the nascent science of “urban ecology” are finding that cities are not just important habitats, but veritable hot spots of animal and plant life. “You can take any big city and find more species, more diverse habitats than in just about any national park or nature reserve,” says Josef Reichholf, professor of ornithology at Munich’s Technical University. Both in animal numbers as well as species diversity, he says, cities beat the countryside hands down.
From Paragraph 3
3(a). Quote a phrase of three consecutive words which the writer uses to inform us that big cities are habitats for nature. [1 mark]
3(b). The writer remarks that, in terms of quantity and variety of flora and fauna, “cities beat the countryside hands down”. Replace the italicized words, with another word or phrase of the same meaning. [2 marks]
Paragraph 4
Berlin, one of the best-studied cases, is home to two thirds of the 280 bird species existing in Germany, including peregrine falcons and ospreys – raptors that have disappeared from much of the country. Biologists say that urban biodiversity seems to be on the rise – as our cities become cleaner, suburbs grow greener, and more and more species learn to adapt. These findings are challenging an old piece of orthodoxy – that urbanization is the planet’s biggest environmental threat. On the contrary, it is in the open country that plants and animals have seen the most rapid decline. Agriculture, now spreading from the developed world to southern countries like Brazil, is the main culprit.
From Paragraph 4:
4.In your own words, explain why the writer says, “These findings are challenging an old piece of orthodoxy”. [2 marks]
Paragraph 5
Vast ‘monocultures” of single-strain crops maintained with powerful herbicides and insecticides, have decimated the older, more varied landscape. Many forests are now uniform tree farms supporting few species. An oversupply of fertilizers and animal waste favour fast-growing greens that crowd out the wildflowers, grasses and weeds that were once a rich habitat for insects and animals. Today biologists estimate that agriculture and forestry cause over 80 percent of explainable species deaths worldwide, versus just 15 percent caused by human settlement, pollution and sprawl.
From Paragraph 5:
5. Pick out a phrase which describes the condition forests are in after agriculture has affected them. [1 mark]
Paragraph 6
Some biologists think flora and fauna are seeking refuge in cities, and the bigger the city the better. For starters, there are fewer guns (in general) and more sources of food in heavily settled areas. More important, megacities create a mosaic of habitats and microclimates, from pond-filled gardens to industrial “brownfield” sites like those dry, hot railyards in Berlin. In London, the extremely rare redstart has seen a resurgence in abandoned factory lots and on those “green roofs” newly popular with environmentally conscious urbanites. For the birds, these spaces resemble the country meadows they can no longer find.
Paragraph 7
Established suburbs, with their old trees, underbrush and open space, attract ten times more species of butterflies than farmland, again because they more closely approximate woodsy meadows. In Britain, the magnificent stag beetle, which likes piles of rotting wood, has all but disappeared from the antiseptic countryside. In the past half-century, dozens of once-shy species of fauna have learned that city dwellers mean them no harm.
From Paragraph 7:
6. Why do you think the writer uses the word “antiseptic” to describe the countryside? [1 mark]
Paragraph 8
Cities are turning into vast laboratories for studying animal behaviour and evolution. New York, Hong Kong and London rate among the world’s richest spots for migratory waterfowl – especially now that cleaner water has brought back the fish and crustaceans on which some of them feed. Urban duck populations are already producing countless new variations in colours and plumage. Butterflies and moths that a century ago adapted to sooty factory districts by developing black pigments have, in recent years, lightened up again.
From Paragraph 8:
7. The writer describes cities as “vast laboratories”. In your own words, briefly describe two examples of animal behaviour and evolution which he has cited. [2 marks]
**********************JUNE HOLIDAY HOMEWORK ***********************
Passage B
Paragraph 1
International donors at a conference in Beijing last month pledged $1.9 billion for global efforts to control bird flu. The latest news on the spread of the disease suggest this would be money well spent. H5N1 avian flu has breached the heart of Europe, cropping up in Germany, Italy, Austria and France, among other countries. India confirmed its first outbreak of H5N1 in poultry, and began culling 500,000 birds in the western state of Maharashtra. Yet in a world where millions die every year because of diseases that could be prevented with a bit more funding, $1.9 billion is a lot of money for a virus that has so far killed fewer than 100 people. A real risk exists that a single-minded battle against a pandemic that may or may not occur soon could drain needed health resources from clear and present dangers.
From Paragraph 1:
8. “$1.9 billion is a lot of money for a virus that has so far killed fewer than 100 people.” What does the writer suggest international donors should have done instead? [1 mark]
Paragraph 2
Nowhere is that choice more stark than in Africa. Earlier this month, authorities uncovered a large bird-flu outbreak on several poultry farms in northern Nigeria, the first time H5N1 has been found on the continent; more than 140,000 chickens have so far died from the virus or been culled. Though no human cases have been discovered yet, the news that the outbreak had gone undetected for up to a month raises concerns that the virus may already be spreading under the radar to other parts of the continent. Africa has an estimated poultry population of 1.1 billion birds, many of them sharing living space with people – the same problem that enabled bird flu to cause so much damage in much of Southeast Asia. Avian-flu experts see impoverished Africa, with its inefficient governments and millions of immuno-compromised HIV infectees, as a perfect breeding ground for a pandemic.
Paragraph 2
9(a) Why is there a possibility of humans contracting the virus in Africa and Southeast Asia? [1 mark]
9(b) Give two reasons why Africa is “a perfect ground for a pandemic”. [2 marks]
Paragraph 3
Yet the sheer number of severity of Africa’s ills puts bird flu in perspective. Medical resources in Africa are cruelly finite because in Africa, an estimated of 6,600 Africans die of AIDS every day, 3,000 die of malaria and 24,000 die of hunger and poverty. As long as bird flu primarily remains a threat to birds, it just does not compare with these everyday scourges. Even South Africa, the nation best equipped to respond to bird flu, faces “a lot of other health issues” competing for resources, says Dr. Lucille Blumber, head of the epidemiology and outbreak unit at the National Institute for Communicable Diseases. International donors need to be very sure that they are not robbing from other health programmes to pay for bird-flu measures.
Paragraph 4
This does not mean the world should neglect to take prudent steps to fight bird flu – a pandemic could become the greatest health catastrophe the modern world has ever faced. Avian flu is already beginning to cause real economic pain. When infected wild birds were detected in European countries, poultry sales across the continent plummeted. The Lowy Institute of Australia estimated that a worst-case global pandemic, one even deadlier than the 1918 Spanish Flu, could kill up to 142 million people and cost the global economy $4.4 trillion.
Paragraph 5
Those are scary numbers, but they are hardly the only frightening pandemic predictions circulating these days. Two doctors in Minnesota who published a modest paper in the journal “Academic Emergency Medicine” pointed out that even in a weak pandemic, there would be far fewer mechanical ventilators than the number of desperately ill flu patients who would need them to survive. That means that the very sick or the very old would probably be denied ventilator support – even removed from the machines – in favour of those more likely to survive. The assumption that most people in the developed world have about medical care – that everything possible will be done to help the sick – would be shattered. Doctors would be left to allocate scarce resources, deciding who should live and who should die. If that happens, Africa will no longer seem so far away.
From Paragraph 5:
10. “The assumption that most people in the developed world have about medical care – that everything possible will be done to help the sick – would be shattered.”
(a) Why is there a possibility of this assumption being shattered? [2 marks]
(b) Where is it most likely to happen? [1 mark]
11. For each of the following words, give one word or phrase (of not more than seven words) which has the same meaning that the word has in the passage.
From Passage A
a. resurgence
b. approximate
From Passage B
c. breached
d. measures
e. global
12. Summary - Passaage A
Using your own words as far as possible, summarise the reasons why there are now more animals and plants in cities than in the country. [25]
USE THE MATERIAL IN PASSAGE A FROM PARAGRAPHS 4 TO 8.
Your summary, which should 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:
Plants and animals find the conditions in cities suitable for…
Wednesday, June 9, 2010
Dunman Secondary School 2008 Passage B
Paragraph One
Many parents feel stressed when their children sit high-stakes examinations like the Primary School Leaving Examination or the O or A levels. They feel responsible for their children’s performance. Even balanced parents, who understand that their role is mainly a supportive one, feel as stressed as though they are taking the test themselves.
1. What does the word "even" imply of the author's attitude towards these balanced parents' behaviour? [1 mark]
Paragraph Two
Schools should be an ally in the grueling preparation for this major race. Unfortunately, many see their role differently. Many schools use shock scare tactics that are remarkably out of date. I am talking about the habit of many schools to set mid-year-examination papers of an unduly high level of difficulty.
2. The author recommends that schools be an "ally" to parents. What is she implying about the kind of relationship parents and schools should have? [1 mark]
3. Explain the meaning of the word, "unduly". [1 mark]
Paragraph Three
A friend who is a full-time mother and coaches her son personally was aghast when he scored just above 50 in his Mathematics paper in a mission primary school. However, the teacher assured her that it was a very good score, considering the average score across the entire school was 40-something. In other words, more than half the school failed the paper.
4. What is the meaning of the word, "aghast"? [1 mark]
5. Provide another word which has the same meaning as "average". [1 mark]
Paragraph Four
Many schools set mid-year examination papers at an unrealistically high level of difficulty, deliberately to “jolt” students and parents into a state of panic to work harder for the PSLE or O level examinations. When the preliminary examinations roll around later this year, the same pattern will repeat itself.
6. What is another word which can replace the word, "deliberately"? [1 mark]
7. Explain FULLY why the word "jolt" is in inverted commas. [1 mark]
Paragraph Five
Thousands of students will be in tears over unwonted failing grades. Thousands of parents’ stress levels will rise, fearing their children will do as badly in the PSLE or O levels, as they did for their preliminaries. I am not a pedagogist, but it seems sheer bad educational practice to deliberately set an examination paper that seeks to fail most students. That is not education; that is psychological manipulation of a rather negative and perverse nature.
8. What is the meaning of the word, "unwonted"? [1 mark]
9. What is another word which may be used to replace the word, "rather"? [1 mark]
10. What is the meaning of the phrase, "perverse nature"? [1 mark]
Paragraph Six
This practice of setting punitively difficult examinations in schools has been around for years. Schools justify it by saying that a little bit of failure spurs students to try harder. The practice results in better grades, they may argue. However, people who argue this forget the impact of repeated failure on a child’s motivation and self-esteem. Top students who score 75 instead of their customary 90 in a particularly difficult paper may indeed feel motivated to work harder to bridge the gap. But what about the impact of a repeated failure on the average child? A borderline student who fluctuates between a B and C, is likely to be pushed into a sea of red ink when confronted with an exceptionally difficult examination. Imagine the impact of getting four straight Ds in June, four months before the PSLE examinations. Demoralised, goaded by fear, the child works harder. Teachers raise the spectre of failure to urge the child to try harder. Tutors add on extra sessions.
11. Explain the meaning of the word, "justify". [1 mark]
12. Write down another word which can substitute the word, "spurs". [1 mark]
13. What is another word which has a similar meaning to the word, "customary"?
[1 mark]
14. Apart from the verb, "fluctuates", which word can be used to mean the same thing? [1 mark]
15. What is the meaning of "goaded"? [1 mark]
Paragraph Seven
My question to those principals and teachers out there blithely setting examination papers they know most students will fail in: is the child, in such a state above, in a good frame of mind to take a high-stakes national examination? Some principals and teachers who use this “fail-them” examination scare tactic will point out that it has worked for years, and raises the school’s average scores in PSLE. My retort to that is simple: Your school’s aggregate average grades may improve, but how many vulnerable children’s self-esteem have you destroyed in the process? Just as pertinently, how many children’s zest for learning have you destroyed? How many individual students ended up doing worse, not better, because of anxiety and stress?
16. Explain the meaning of "blithely". [1 mark]
17. Explain the meaning of the phrase, "a good frame of mind". [1 mark]
18. Explain the meaning of "retort". [1 mark]
19. Explain the meaning of "aggregate". [1 mark]
20. Explain the meaning of "vulnerable". [1 mark]
Paragraph Eight
The Education Ministry should monitor and discourage this perverse practice. Guidelines should spell out the difficulty level of school preparatory examinations, to align them with the actual standards of milestone examinations. Schools with large numbers of students who consistently fail mid-year and preliminary examinations, but who go on to do well at PSLE or O levels, should not be praised for their students’ “improved” results, but should instead be questioned on why their internal school examinations are so out of whack with the national ones.
21. "Monitor" means ".....................". [1 mark]
22. "Guidelines" means ".....................". [1 mark]
23. "Milestone" means "...................". [1 mark]
24. "Out of whack" means ".....................". [1 mark]
Paragraph Nine
Punitive examinations designed to fail students based on warped ideas of human motivation should have no place in Singapore’s education a system today.
25. "Warped" means "...................." [1 mark]
Many parents feel stressed when their children sit high-stakes examinations like the Primary School Leaving Examination or the O or A levels. They feel responsible for their children’s performance. Even balanced parents, who understand that their role is mainly a supportive one, feel as stressed as though they are taking the test themselves.
1. What does the word "even" imply of the author's attitude towards these balanced parents' behaviour? [1 mark]
Paragraph Two
Schools should be an ally in the grueling preparation for this major race. Unfortunately, many see their role differently. Many schools use shock scare tactics that are remarkably out of date. I am talking about the habit of many schools to set mid-year-examination papers of an unduly high level of difficulty.
2. The author recommends that schools be an "ally" to parents. What is she implying about the kind of relationship parents and schools should have? [1 mark]
3. Explain the meaning of the word, "unduly". [1 mark]
Paragraph Three
A friend who is a full-time mother and coaches her son personally was aghast when he scored just above 50 in his Mathematics paper in a mission primary school. However, the teacher assured her that it was a very good score, considering the average score across the entire school was 40-something. In other words, more than half the school failed the paper.
4. What is the meaning of the word, "aghast"? [1 mark]
5. Provide another word which has the same meaning as "average". [1 mark]
Paragraph Four
Many schools set mid-year examination papers at an unrealistically high level of difficulty, deliberately to “jolt” students and parents into a state of panic to work harder for the PSLE or O level examinations. When the preliminary examinations roll around later this year, the same pattern will repeat itself.
6. What is another word which can replace the word, "deliberately"? [1 mark]
7. Explain FULLY why the word "jolt" is in inverted commas. [1 mark]
Paragraph Five
Thousands of students will be in tears over unwonted failing grades. Thousands of parents’ stress levels will rise, fearing their children will do as badly in the PSLE or O levels, as they did for their preliminaries. I am not a pedagogist, but it seems sheer bad educational practice to deliberately set an examination paper that seeks to fail most students. That is not education; that is psychological manipulation of a rather negative and perverse nature.
8. What is the meaning of the word, "unwonted"? [1 mark]
9. What is another word which may be used to replace the word, "rather"? [1 mark]
10. What is the meaning of the phrase, "perverse nature"? [1 mark]
Paragraph Six
This practice of setting punitively difficult examinations in schools has been around for years. Schools justify it by saying that a little bit of failure spurs students to try harder. The practice results in better grades, they may argue. However, people who argue this forget the impact of repeated failure on a child’s motivation and self-esteem. Top students who score 75 instead of their customary 90 in a particularly difficult paper may indeed feel motivated to work harder to bridge the gap. But what about the impact of a repeated failure on the average child? A borderline student who fluctuates between a B and C, is likely to be pushed into a sea of red ink when confronted with an exceptionally difficult examination. Imagine the impact of getting four straight Ds in June, four months before the PSLE examinations. Demoralised, goaded by fear, the child works harder. Teachers raise the spectre of failure to urge the child to try harder. Tutors add on extra sessions.
11. Explain the meaning of the word, "justify". [1 mark]
12. Write down another word which can substitute the word, "spurs". [1 mark]
13. What is another word which has a similar meaning to the word, "customary"?
[1 mark]
14. Apart from the verb, "fluctuates", which word can be used to mean the same thing? [1 mark]
15. What is the meaning of "goaded"? [1 mark]
Paragraph Seven
My question to those principals and teachers out there blithely setting examination papers they know most students will fail in: is the child, in such a state above, in a good frame of mind to take a high-stakes national examination? Some principals and teachers who use this “fail-them” examination scare tactic will point out that it has worked for years, and raises the school’s average scores in PSLE. My retort to that is simple: Your school’s aggregate average grades may improve, but how many vulnerable children’s self-esteem have you destroyed in the process? Just as pertinently, how many children’s zest for learning have you destroyed? How many individual students ended up doing worse, not better, because of anxiety and stress?
16. Explain the meaning of "blithely". [1 mark]
17. Explain the meaning of the phrase, "a good frame of mind". [1 mark]
18. Explain the meaning of "retort". [1 mark]
19. Explain the meaning of "aggregate". [1 mark]
20. Explain the meaning of "vulnerable". [1 mark]
Paragraph Eight
The Education Ministry should monitor and discourage this perverse practice. Guidelines should spell out the difficulty level of school preparatory examinations, to align them with the actual standards of milestone examinations. Schools with large numbers of students who consistently fail mid-year and preliminary examinations, but who go on to do well at PSLE or O levels, should not be praised for their students’ “improved” results, but should instead be questioned on why their internal school examinations are so out of whack with the national ones.
21. "Monitor" means ".....................". [1 mark]
22. "Guidelines" means ".....................". [1 mark]
23. "Milestone" means "...................". [1 mark]
24. "Out of whack" means ".....................". [1 mark]
Paragraph Nine
Punitive examinations designed to fail students based on warped ideas of human motivation should have no place in Singapore’s education a system today.
25. "Warped" means "...................." [1 mark]
1189 Paper 2 for 4C.4D.2010 at SHSS Mid Year (Preliminary Examinations 1) 30 April 2010
Vocabulary
Child trash pickers of Bantar Gerbang
Paragraph 1
For the rural children of Bantar Gebang, making money from recycling plastic trash is a lifeline for their impoverished families. It is hard work in the hot sun and with site swarming with filth and stench, the conditions are less than sanitary. The trash pickers scavenge systematically for glass, plastic or paper, and anything else that can be sold for recycling. Eight hundred trucks dump their oozing cargo on rubbish heaps several storeys high every day, as hundreds of children scramble amongst themselves to scoop up what they want. They jostled for the best spots with other adult men and women. As they work, they move about warily, dodging bulldozers and the swinging arms of excavators to pick out the most valuable waste. Bantar Gebang is Jakarta’s garbage disposal dump, a sprawling 110-hectare site on the outskirts of the capital and home to six thousand rubbish collectors, all of whom survive on unwanted or used materials discarded by Jakarta’s ever-growing population.
Paragraph 1
For the rural children of Bantar Gebang, making money from recycling plastic trash is a lifeline for their impoverished families. It is hard work in the hot sun and with site swarming with filth and stench, the conditions are less than sanitary. The trash pickers scavenge systematically for glass, plastic or paper, and anything else that can be sold for recycling. Eight hundred trucks dump their oozing cargo on rubbish heaps several storeys high every day, as hundreds of children scramble amongst themselves to scoop up what they want. They jostled for the best spots with other adult men and women. As they work, they move about warily, dodging bulldozers and the swinging arms of excavators to pick out the most valuable waste. Bantar Gebang is Jakarta’s garbage disposal dump, a sprawling 110-hectare site on the outskirts of the capital and home to six thousand rubbish collectors, all of whom survive on unwanted or used materials discarded by Jakarta’s ever-growing population.
Vocabulary Short Quiz 1
1. What is the difference between "incredible" and "incredulous"?
2. What is the difference between "flammable" and "inflammable"?
3. What is the difference between "valuable" and "invaluable"?
4. What is the difference between "sympathy" and "empathy"?
5. What is the difference between "ability" and "capability"?
6. What is the difference between "bathe" and "bath"?
7. What is the difference between "breathe" and "breath"?
8. What is the difference between "breadth" and "breath"?
9. What is the difference between "confident" and "diffident"?
10. What is the difference between "puberty" and "adolescence"?
2. What is the difference between "flammable" and "inflammable"?
3. What is the difference between "valuable" and "invaluable"?
4. What is the difference between "sympathy" and "empathy"?
5. What is the difference between "ability" and "capability"?
6. What is the difference between "bathe" and "bath"?
7. What is the difference between "breathe" and "breath"?
8. What is the difference between "breadth" and "breath"?
9. What is the difference between "confident" and "diffident"?
10. What is the difference between "puberty" and "adolescence"?
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