AES MYE 2022 INSERT

Name: ……………………………………………. ( ) Class: ………………….. This Insert consists of 4 printed pages including this page. [Turn over] ASSUMPTION ENGLISH SCHOOL END OF YEAR EXAMINATION 2022 SECONDARY 3 NORMAL (ACADEMIC) ENGLISH LANGUAGE (1190/02) INSERT

1190/3NA/EOY/2022 2 Section A Study the poster (Text 1) and the extract from a blog (Text 2) and answer Questions 1 – 4 in the Answer Booklet. Text 1 is taken from a campaign poster published in a local magazine. Text 2 is taken from a blog which comments on lifestyle trends. Adapted from https://pebblemag.com/magazine/living/whats-wrong-with-fast-fashion Set The Trend with Second Hand Fast fashion brands are making too many clothes and they are going to waste, but there are already enough clothes in the world to dress us, our friends and families many times over. Choosing second- hand over new gives you the chance to be original, creative and true to your own style. In a second- hand shop, there are clothes of every style, from every trend and era to choose from. Give clothes a second life, a nd style yourself the way YOU want. Fast fashion is the mass production of cheap, poor quality, disposable clothing. To give you an idea of the scale of the problem, the fashion industry churns out a gargantuan 80 billion garments a year. That is over 10 for every person on earth, and it is 400% more than it produced 20 years ago! From environmental impact to human rights abuses, fast fashion has a lot to answer for and it does not look like it is slowing down anytime soon.

1190/3NA/EOY/2022 3 Section B Text 3 The text below is about a man’s scuba-diving experience. Read it carefully and answer Questions 5 – 15 in the Answer Booklet. 1 My lungs expanded as I inhaled shallow sips of cold, dry air. My eyes widened as the sound of my shaky, rattling breaths cut through the silence. I spun in frantic circles in the dark waters. I needed to focus on something: a rock, a fish, anything to remind me that I was not alone. If I found a place to focus then I would not lose myself in this strange, underwater world. Goosebumps sprouted on my arms, not from the chill of the water, but from being unfamiliar with the world around me. 5 2 Out of the corner of my eye, I saw a cluster of dull, gray fish hiding between tendrils of algae draped across a rotting log. My sudden appearance startled them and they darted away. In their wake, a thick cloud of silt and plant particles rose, surrounding and blinding me. 10 3 In the murky commotion, I saw a figure swimming toward me. I t was my dive instructor. I made an attempt to move toward him, but I realised that trying to swim with my arms was useless. The bulky buoyancy controller and equipment strapped around me were restricting. Arms hanging limply by my side, I made my way clumsily over to the instructor by kicking my flimsy fins. 15 4 As we continued to descend slowly into the shadows , I felt a slight pressure in my ears. It was a small discomfort, but I acted as I was instructed in class only a week earlier. My bulky, gloved fingers pinched my nose, and I blew out to clear my ears. It did not help. I pushed a finger under my dive cap to free my ears and repeated the process. Nothing happened. 20 5 The pressure got worse. I squeezed my nose shut and tried again. It was not working. I could no longer see my dive instructor – he was down below, swallowed by the deep abyss. The pressure snapped to a sharp pain. Hoping to catch my instructor’s attention somehow, I yelled into the regulator and a flurry of bubbles rushed from my mouth. 25 6 I knew I had to quickly get back to the surface, but my fins would not move any faster. I could feel my strength waning as the strong undercurrent, like a thousand heavy hands, held me back. 7 As I very slowly ascended, I could see rays of hope penetr ating through the lake. I am almost there, I thought weakly before a painful frothing sound in my ears silenced my thoughts. I strained against it , against the pull of the water, and the pressure in my head. My vision was turning fuzzy, bordered by waves of black. Then, with one final, feeble kick, I stopped. 30 8 Motionless, I looked around the eerie green water that I was surrounded by. I had stopped moving, so why was the world around me spinning in circles? I felt a burning in my lungs that reminded me to breathe, but before I could do that, s omething tugged at my arm. And suddenly, like a puppet dangling from strings, I was yanked up. 35 Adapted from https://www.teenink.com/nonfiction/personal_experience/article/419994/Scuba-Diving

1190/3NA/EOY/2022 4 Section C Text 4 The text below is about the concerns surrounding microplastics. Read it carefully and answer Questions 16 – 20 in the Answer Booklet. 1 From ocean depths to mountain peaks, humans have littered the planet with tiny shards of plastic. Also known as microplastics, these are pieces of plastic less than 5mm in length, about the size of a sesame seed or smaller . The problem with microplastics is that , like plastic items of any size , they do not readily break down into harmless molecules. Plastics can take hundreds or thousands of years to decompose, and in the meantime, wreak havoc on the environment. 5 2 Now scientific studies have found that w e have absorbed these microplastics into our bodies. Despite this recent discovery, it is likely that humans have been eating, drinking and breathing in plastics for years. In 2019, a shocking report by the environmental charity World Wide Fund (WWF) estimated that people are ingesting and inhaling up to five grams of plastic per week – enough to make a credit card. 10 3 Another study reported the first traces of microplastics found in human blood. Some scientists say it is too early to draw conclusions, but there are concerns that if plastics are in the bloodstream, they could be transported to all organs . Another hypothesis is that microplastics could be responsible for certain syndromes that weaken human health. Researchers have also found microplastics in placental tissue and expressed great concern over the possible consequences on the development of the foetus. 15 4 While health studies on humans have yet to be developed, toxicity found in certain animals reinforces concerns. The small microplastics invisible to the naked eye have deleterious effects on all the animals in the marine environment and on land. The array of chemicals found in these particles have been proven to affect their growth and even reproduction. 20 5 Greater efforts are needed to prevent these substances being released into the environment. Consumers are urged to reduce the number of plastic -packaged products they buy, particularly bottles . Corporations, too, should shift to reusable packaging models. However, scientists are now pushing for more drastic solutions, such as production caps. Regardless of how much effort is made during the production or waste management phase, production volumes need to come down. 25 6 Nonetheless, one thing is clear: the problem will only grow. Almost 400 million tonnes of plastics are produced each year and this is projected to more than double by 2050. Even if all plastic production were magically stopped tomorrow, existing plastics in landfills and the environment would continue degrading into tiny fragments that are impossible to collect or clean up, constantly raising microplastic levels. 30 Adapted from https://www.straitstimes.com/world/theyre-everywhere-microplastics-in-oceans-air-and- human-body ---------- End of Insert ----------