2014 SASS EL TYS P2 Ans

2014 O Level Paper 2 Text 1: Jane Goodall Institute The webpage is about the work of the Jane Goodall Institute in Singapore, and more specifically its youth programme. Qn 1 Candidates were asked what idea the photograph is trying to establish. The photograph shows Jane Goodall shaking hands with a chimpanzee, and is intended to illustrate the link between humans and primates. Candidates found this a challenging question; and many described what they saw without making the generalisation or conveying that they understood the reason for its presence on the page. ANS It is trying to establish the idea that humans and animals are linked. [1] Qn 2 Question 2 asked why Jane Goodall’s discovery that chimpanzees use tools was so important. The answer is found in the first paragraph. ANS It caused mankind to rethink their view of primates, and consequently other animals as well. [1] Qn 3 The great majority of candidates successfully identified the right images. Those who were unsuccessful generally tried to add the silhouette of Jane Goodall herself, which is part of the logo as a whole but not what the question asked. ANS Animal welfare -- Chimpanzee icon Natural environment – Leaf icon Human communities -- Hand icon [all 3 for 1m] Qn 4 This was the most challenging question in this section. Candidates were asked what the name of the youth programme ‘Roots & Shoots’ suggests about young people. The webpage uses the common feature of a direct quotation (here from Jane Goodall) in a side box to sharpen the point, and to answer correctly candidates needed to put that together with what was written about the programme in the third paragraph under the heading ‘Roots & Shoots’. Unsuccessful responses were often based on botanical ideas of growth and development which are not on the webpage. ANS (i) Though small like roots and shoots, young people can break through to make a huge difference. [1] (ii) Like-minded, they can advocate change through building international partnerships. [1]

Text 2: Mountain adventures The writer tells how two boys were trapped up a mountain in bad weather, but while the reader is waiting for them to be rescued, he describes another incident that had happened to himself. By pointing up both the similarities and the differences between the two incidents, the writer increases the tension and suspense. Qn 5 Generally candidates coped well with this direct question on language. The majority answered by quoting three phrases from the passage – usually the correct phrases – and adding a short explanation to each. The emphasis of the question, however, was the other way round and what was being looked for was an overall explanation of how the language conveys the thickness of the fog, with the details to support. Better answers combined separate explanations to give a convincing and sufficiently full picture. Some did not identify the correct phrases and offered instead others that were more factual and did not add to the description. ANS 1. The fog was described as 'thick as candy floss', which suggests that the fog was like a big mass of clouds, making visibility difficult. [1] 2. The phrase 'muffled the fading sun' suggests that the fog was so thick that it blocked the light from the sun which was setting. [1] 3. The phrase 'the world purpled down into absolute darkness' uses colour to describe the place fading into darkness, showing that visibility was difficult. [1] Qn 6 Candidates were directed to the relevant phrases in the third paragraph and explicitly told to use their own words. One of the phrases states clearly that it was the increasing gloom at the base of the cliff that made it difficult to see how far down it extended; there has been nothing yet about general darkness. Candidates who referred to fog had not noticed the shift to the second storyline, although it was clearly signalled at the beginning of the second paragraph. ANS (i) There were many trees and plants which blocked their view. [1] (ii) It was getting dark at the bottom – possibly the shadow cast by the cliff -- to see how far the cliff extended. [1] [Students have to paraphrase ‘vegetation’ and ‘gloom’ given in the paragraph. ] Qn 7 This was the first question that focused on the idea of a sequence of important decisions and the role of a wilderness survival manual, both of which run through both storylines. Candidates were first asked in part (i) what his decision was. This needed the candidates to be completely clear about what stage in the story has been reached, and the majority knew that the decision had been taken in the previous paragraph to rappel down the cliff. Part (ii) proved more challenging. Candidates were asked what is suggested by ‘snapping away at the edge’. Most candidates offered simply that he changed his decision; he did, but that is not what is suggested by the metaphor.

ANS (I) His decision was to rappel down the cliff with the rope. [1] [Students have to refer to the previous paragraph to derive the answer.] (ii) The writer was suddenly bothered by his decision as he realised he might not be making the right choice. [1] [The answer can be inferred from the lines after the phrase. ] Qn 8 This question was directed at the language the writer uses to describe his past actions. At the end of paragraph 4, he says that he told his companions that ‘a smart hiker never jumps into the whirling darkness of terrible depths’ and adds ‘Or words to that effect’. Candidates were asked what that final phrase suggests about the style of the language that he actually used in the preceding sentence. Only the strongest candidates recognised that the deliberately exaggerated diction and vagueness of ‘whirling darkness’ and ‘terrible depths’, combined with ‘or words to that effect’, indicate that he actually said something much blunter and more forceful. Most candidates just repeated the idea from the question that he used different words which meant the same thing, sometimes adding in explanation that he had probably forgotten exactly what he said. ANS He exaggerated his words to drive home his message in a blunt and forceful way. Qn 9 Almost all candidates paraphrased the content of the two sentences in part (i) and commented on the beauty in the first and/or the danger in the second. Only a very few saw that the contrast is based on the way the sentences are set right next to each other, with a fairly long descriptive sentence followed immediately by an abrupt, short, unadorned statement of fact. ANS (I) In the first sentence, the writer describes the scenery of a beautiful morning by writing about the rising sun and colourful flowers in a long sentence. This tone is immediately contrasted by the next short sentence which highlights the actual distance of the top of the cliff to the ground. [1] (ii) Part (ii) asked for the effect made by the contrast. Rather more candidates were successful in identifying the shock to the reader, or the emphasis on how dangerous the situation had been. Those who talked about the height of the drop or how lucky the group were to have survived were focusing too closely on the details of the story. ANS (ii) It highlights that even though the scenery was beautiful, the writer and his companions had been in a precarious position. [1]

Qn 10 At the beginning of Paragraph 6, the writer clearly signals a return to the story of the two boys, and to the themes of decision-making and the wilderness survival manual. This is a factual question. ANS The twigs were wet so they could not catch fire. [Students have to refer to the paragraph to obtain the answer.] Qn 11(a) Question 11(a) picked up the theme of decision-making. In the passage, each of the sequence of three decisions is signposted. To find all three parts of the sequence. ANS