Beatty Sec Sch 4NA Prelims 2019 Qn and Ans

1 SUBJEC T : HUMANITIES (SOCIAL STUDIES) LEVEL : 4 NORMAL ACADEMIC PAPER : 2175/01, 2176/01 DURATION : 1 HOUR 45 MINUTES SETTER : MDM ROSNIATI ZAHARUDIN DATE : 31 JULY 2019 CLASS: NAME: REG NO: INSTRUCTIONS TO CANDIDATES: 1. Do not open this booklet until you are told to do so. 2. Write your name, class and index number in the spaces provided above and on all writing paper you use. 3. Answer all parts of Question 1 from Section A. 4. Answer both parts of Question 2 from Section B. 5. You are required to hand in your answers for Section A and B separately. 6. The number of marks is given in brackets [ ] at the end of each question or part question. This paper consists of 7 printed pages (including this cover page) BEATTY SECONDARY SCHOOL PRELIMINARY EXAMINATION 2019 [Turn over]

2 SECTION A (Source-Based Case Study) Question 1 is compulsory for all candidates. 1. Exploring Citizenship and Governance Study the background Information and the sources carefully and then answer all the questions. You may use any of the sources to help you answer the questions, in addition to those sources you are told to use. In answering the questions, you should use your knowledge of the issue to help you interpret and evaluate the sources. (a) Study Source A. Why did the cartoonist draw this cartoon? Explain your answer. [5] (b) Study Source B. How useful is Source B as evidence of the quality of the MRT system in Singapore? Explain your answer. [7] (c) Study Sources C and D . How far would Source C agree with Source D? Explain your answer. [6] (d) Study Source E. Is Source E surprising in its account of the government’s response to the problems faced by the MRT? Explain your answer. [7] (e) How far do the sources in the case study show that the MRT system is meeting the transportation needs of Singaporeans? Explain your answer. [10]

3 Is the MRT system meeting the transportation needs of Singaporeans? BACKGROUND INFORMATION Read this carefully. It may help you to answer some of the questions. The MRT network was always seen as the centrepiece of Singapore’s public transportation system, given that nearly every home will be within 10 minutes of a station, in years to come. However, service disruptions to the system of late, have raised concerns among the public. In response, the Singapore authorities have taken immediate action to set things right with the Transport Minister Khaw Boon Wan saying that commuters would see vast improvements in rail reliability by 2019. Study the following sources to find out whether the MRT system can continue to meet the transportation needs of Singaporeans. Source A: A cartoon posted by a Singaporean cartoonist on his blog, 27 December 2013, in the aftermath of the Downtown Line train disruption.

4 Source B: A comparison of Singapore’s MRT with the rail service in Melbourne by an Australian who had visited Singapore on a holiday, in his blog post, 10 June 2016. Source C: An extract of an article published in a Hong Kong English-language newspaper, 21 October 2017. It was written in the aftermath of one of Singapore’s worst ever rail breakdowns on 7 October 2017. Services Singapore: Frequent service all day, every day. Peak frequency is around 2 -3 minutes. I never waited more than 5 minutes for a train, even fairly late at night. Melbourne: Every 3-20 minutes at peak, every 10-20 minutes off-peak, 20-30 minutes evenings. Wheelchairs Singapore: Platform and carriage door heights are closely aligned, so wheelchairs, prams and wheeled luggage can be easily wheeled aboard without help or ramps. Melbourne: Most platforms have a considerable gap. Harrington Humps have been installed at some stations, but most of the time the driver has to deploy a portable ramp, slowing down operations. Shutdowns Singapore: Almost no planned disruptions to train services. All works are carried out at night. The only concession to this is earlier closures and later Sunday morning starts. Melbourne: My station is closed for 3 months to remove the level crossing, and the trains will be interrupted for five weeks straight. Singapore’s MRT network, once touted as one of Asia’s best, has been dogged by major breakdowns and delays in recent years. A high-level inquiry convened after two massive breakdowns in December 2011 found the system had been plagued by years of poor maintenance and outdated equipment. The breakdowns, which occurred on two separate occasions, affected 221,000 commuters. Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong’s government has since spent hundreds of millions of dollars overhauling the network – in service since 1987 – but it continues to lag Hong Kong’s MTR and the Taipei MRT in reliability. “I think most people are just tired of all this … You don’t know when you will be stuck in the train for two hours. Give us a firm deadline. By when will you fix all the maintenance issues? When can we go back to pre-2011 standards?”, said Samuel Ng, who commutes to work on the MRT.

5 Source D: An extract of an article on Today Online, a Singapore English-language digital news provider, about the public transport in Singapore, 27 December 2017. Source E: A statement on the Facebook page of opposition party, the Workers’ Party, on 9 July 2015. The General Elections was expected to be around the corner in the same year. With public confidence in the rail network shattered by the two high-profile incidents — an unprecedented tunnel flooding and a train collision — the authorities took swift action to set things right, curtailing operating hours on weekends to speed up maintenance and renewal works. The decision was taken to cut operation hours and shut stations on weekends along parts of the East -West and North -South lines, aimed at getting th e new signaling system up and running earlier, which will increase train frequency. Transport economist Walter Theseira, said…. the decision (people’s decision on whether to give up their cars) will hinge on better MRT network coverage, shorter travel times, and accessibility to MRT stations — all benefits that new lines being built will bring, years down the road. The Thomson-East Coast MRT Line will begin service in stages from 2019, while the Cross Island Line is due to be completed around 2030. “The Workers’ Party is deeply worri ed over the 3.5 -hour disruption of train services along the entire stretch of both the North -South and East -West MRT lines on 7 July 2015. The severe inconvenience caused to an estimated quarter -of-a-million commuters during the evening rush hour makes this the most serious MRT disruption in Singapore’s history. “The latest breakdown comes on the heels of repeated assurances by both SMRT and the authorities about the improved reliability of our transport system. Yet, the number of significant train delays reached an all -time high of 12 in 2014 and stands at 8 in 2015. This is despite billions of dollars of government funds being pumped into improving the existing MRT infrastructure since 2011. [Turn over]

6 SECTION B (Structured-Response Question) Question 2 is compulsory for all candidates. 2 Living in a Diverse Society Study the extracts carefully, and then answer the questions. Extract 1 Foreign Workforce numbers, updated as of 14 March 2019 Extract 2 Today, almost 40% of Singapore’s population are foreigne