NYGH-2017-S3-EOY-English-P2

1 Class Register Number Name 南洋女子中学校 NANYANG GIRLS' HIGH SCHOOL End-of-Year Examination 2017 Secondary Three Language Arts Paper 2 1 hour 45 mins 50 marks THURSDAY 28 SEPTEMBER 2017 1145 to 1330 hrs READ THESE INSTRUCTIONS FIRST. Answer all questions. Leave a line between answers to different questions. Begin your summary answer on a fresh sheet of paper. At the end of the examination, submit your summary answer SEPARATELY. Write your name and register number on every sheet of paper used. Write in dark blue or black ink on both sides of the answer paper. Do not use staples, paper clips, highlighters, glue or correction tape/fluid. Setters: AN and SGK This document consists of 8 printed pages, including this cover page. [Turn over]

2 Read the following passage carefully before attempting any questions. Generations at Work 1 2 3 4 5 6 When you take members of different generations, blend them together, and ask them to work side by side, you have both an opportunity and a challenge: the opportunity to engage a mix of people who bring their unique experiences and skills to an organization and the challenge of dealing with the generational differences that distinguish them. The 21st century has ushered in a new, generation-bending era in the U.S. workplace. Fifty-five year old Baby Boomers are on project teams with 22-year-old Millennials and reporting to 45-year-old GenXers while Vets, though fewer in numbers, retain positions of power and influence. Within the context of this new generational reality, dynamic change—economic, social, political — is continuously affecting individuals, organizations, and workplaces. This merging of generations is happening amid an economic climate that has changed plans and altered expectations. “We see both individuals and organizations looking to survive and to prepare for what’s next, whatever that looks like,” says Ginny Baxter, Applied Knowledge Network Lead at Herman Miller. Baby Boomers Born between 1943 and 1961, and now between 49 and 67 years old, Baby Boomers got their name from the massive increase (“boom”) in births in the United States that followed the Great Depression and World War II and peaked in the late 1950s. They hit society with huge, game-changing numbers—72 million strong. Growing up during the civil rights movement, the Vietnam War, and the fast-ascending women’s movement, Boomers witnessed radical change, social upheaval, and changing mores. “They emerged with strong beliefs in themselves and their ability to set and achieve goals,” says Patty Bergquist, Applied Knowledge Research Manager at Herman Miller. Technology has brought tremendous changes during their careers—to life in general and the workplace in particular. Two-thirds of Boomers, for example, say that laptop use during in-person meetings is distracting; less than half of Millennials agree. Having to adjust to new technologies has been a necessity and in some cases a challenge, not just the use of these technologies but the protocols of acceptable office behavior. Yet, interestingly, one recent survey found that a significant 52 percent of working adults ages 50 to 64 plan to delay their retirement. Forty-four percent of participants in another study said they will continue working either "much later" or a "little later" than age 65. That compares with 38 percent of those in their 40s and only 25 percent of workers under the 5 10 15 20 25 30 35

3 7 8 9 10 11 12 age of 40. That Boomers will be working longer shouldn't be a problem given their can-do attitude; they believe they can do anything they set their sights on, and they’re used to working hard and long hours to accomplish it. Sixty-eight percent of them feel that younger people lack the strong work ethic that they have cultivated. Thirty-two percent of GenXers feel the same way. Generation X People born between 1962 and 1977 have been defined as Generation X, a name derived from the 1991 Douglas Coupland novel Generation X: Tales of an Accelerated Culture and picked up by the media and advertisers to describe a hard-to-define target market. In the context of the novel, X represents an unknown value, a symbol of searching for an identity and not finding it. Even though Herman Miller prefers not to describe any cohort with a letter, we will use X since it’s become the prevailing term for this generation. Now between 33 and 48 years old, the 57 million GenXers in the U.S. have searched for and created a distinguishing kind of “Generation Tech” identity. “Early on, GenXers found themselves in a world where Boomers were occupying most of the important positions of employment and dramatically changing institutions everywhere,” says Katya Filippetti, Marketing Manager at Herman Miller. “This left many GenXers feeling on the outside, unsure of their futures and roles in a Boomer-dominated world.” But, like Boomers, GenXers learned to adapt and even thrive in an ever-changing world. They found that the technological savvy they had developed as the first generation to have grown up with computers and video games made them highly employable in what had seemed to be a saturated market that they were born into. “Taking advantage of continuing and dramatic shifts in technology, they’ve become digital pioneers who value the attributes that technology offers, such as adaptability, user control, and mobility,” says Filippetti. “They are the first generation that was told to explore and not ‘sit still’ in class .” Highly autonomous, GenXers value flexibility and equality at work and they want a voice in how things are done. Having seen their parents downsized after years of service, many are skeptical regarding big-company loyalty and are often attracted to smaller, less-bureaucratic businesses. At the same time, GenXers appreciate the stability that larger firms can offer as long as they can be part of empowered teams within them. For GenXers, much has changed since the days, not so long ago, when they were seen as free agents negotiating their own deals, seeking special incentives, and switching employers at a moment’s notice. Even though there may be less talk about “the war for talent,” the challenge of 40 45 50 55 60 65 70 75 80

4 13 14 15 16 17 18 winning over the best talent will be an ongoing one. GenXers who are the most agile—significantly fewer in numbers than Boomers or Millennials—will still be among those in high demand. Millennials The youngest generation in the workplace, Millennials got their name from their connection with the new millennium: The first Millennials reached adulthood in 2000-01. Sometimes called Generation Y or Generation Next, the 76 million Millennials born between 1978 and 1997 are now 13 to 32 years old, the most ethnically and racially diverse generation in U.S. history. To Millennials, technology is a given that’s thoroughly integrated into everyday life. Their ease with it allows them to move fast and efficiently, whether they’re searching the Internet, taking photographs, sending text messages, watching YouTube—all on their cell phones. Millennials have received the kind of individual attention in the classroom that Boomers didn’t. “Even more than GenXers, Millennials may expect individual feedback, reinforcement, and direction at work, just as they have received at school and often at home as well,” says Bergquist. “They believe that employers should encourage active engagement for the benefit of the whole as well as the individual.” Millennials work well in groups and look to peers for information (two-thirds of them prefer face-to-face communication ), but they are also high performers as individuals. They prefer office environments that offer ch