2023 MGS EL Prelims P2 Insert

Page 2 of 6 Methodist Girls’ School English Language Paper 2 Sec 4 Preliminary Examination 2023 Section A Study the online advertisement ( Text 1 ) and the social media post ( Text 2 ) and answer Questions 1 – 4 in the Question Paper. Text 1 is taken from an online poster for the Clean Tables Campaign. Text 2 is taken from a blog. The public must do their bit to maintain cleanliness standards of hawker centres. They should clear their litter and leave nothing on the table, thereby creating a rippling effect. EVERY BIT ADDS UP. As a passionate food lover and frequent hawker centre patron, I believe it's our responsibility to maintain cleanliness for all to enjoy. By clearing our tables of any leftover food or waste, we set an example for others to follow. It's crucial to remember that cleanliness is not solely the responsibility of cleaners.

Page 3 of 6 Methodist Girls’ School English Language Paper 2 Sec 4 Preliminary Examination 2023 SECTION B Text 3 The text below describes a man who is weak and thirsty after a long journey and is desperately in need of water. Read it carefully and answer questions 5 – 14 in the Question Booklet. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 It was one of the hottest of that Spanish summer. The violence of the heat seemed to bruise the whole earth and turn its crust into a barren land. The heat was intense. There was no shade to hide in ; my walking became a plod. The merciless sun was hitting hard on my body. I began to forget what I was doing on the road at all; I walked on as though keeping a vow, till I was conscious only of the hot red dust grinding like pepper between my toes. My parched lips and throat began to ache. By mid-morning I was in a state of developing madness, possessed by pounding deliriums of thirst, my brain running and reeling through all the usual obsessions that are said to accompany the man in the desert. Fantasies of water rose up and wrapped me in the cool wet leaves, or pressed the thought of cucumber peel across my stinging eyes and filled my mouth with dripping moss. I began to drink monsoons and winter mists, to lick up the first fat drops of thunder, to lie down naked on deep-sea sponges and rub my lips against the scales of fish. I heard my mother splashing water on garden salads, the gulping gush of the garden pump and the swans’ wings beating the lake… The rest of the day was a blur. I remember seeing the spire of a church rising from the plain like the jet of a fountain. Then there was a shower of eucalyptus trees brushing against a roadside tavern and I was at a bar calling for bottles of pop. ‘No, no! You mustn’t drink. You will fall down dead.’ The woman threw up her hands at the sight of me, then turned to shout at a couple of well -dressed gentlemen eating radishes at a table in the corner. The gentlemen agreed. ‘The lady is right – you are too hot for drinking. You will drop at our feet. Just look at your face.’ The men tutted loudly and shook their heads. I could only stand there croaking, desperate with thirst. Somebody gave me some ice to suck; it hardly wet my throat. Then I was told to rest and cool off, while the men bombarded me with incessant questions: where I came from, where I was going, why I walked this distance. At my reply, the woman threw up her hands again. ‘On foot? It is not to be thought of!’ The gentlemen started an argument, spitting out radishes at each other like furious exclamations. ‘If he’s English, he’s the first walking Englishman I’ve seen,’ said one. ‘They walk all over the place,’ said the other. ‘Up and down mountainsides. Round and round the poles.’ ‘Yes, yes – but they do not walk in Spain.’ Their conversations fell on deaf ears; my water was never coming. I heard their voices fading and booming around me. My head felt feverish, tight, and bursting. Then someone was leaning over me. ‘Enough of the excremental walking. Holy Mother of God, give the young man a little drink. If he lives, and still wishes to go the city, we will take him in the car.’ The first mouthful of mineral water in my mouth felt like frosted stars. Then I was given a huge plate of ham , cheese and bread. This was followed by several 5 10 15 20 25 30 35 40

Page 4 of 6 Methodist Girls’ School English Language Paper 2 Sec 4 Preliminary Examination 2023 glasses of sherry ; a dreamy deep languor spread through my limbs. I was in heaven, and I remember no more of my benefactors, or what they said, only the drowsy glories of drinking. Later, much later, I was lifted to my feet and half-led, half carried outside. Then, stretched fast asleep in the back of the car, I was driven like a corpse to Valladolid. 45

Page 5 of 6 Methodist Girls’ School English Language Paper 2 Sec 4 Preliminary Examination 2023 SECTION C Text 4 The article below is about thrift shopping. Read it carefully and answer questions 15 – 20 in the Question Booklet. 1 2 3 4 5 Of the many trends that have risen in fashion in the past few years, thrift shopping is definitely one of the most relevant ones. Make no mistake, however, thrift shops have been around for ages. Organisations like Goodwill in the USA and Indian marketplaces like Sarojini Nagar in Delhi and New Market in Kolkata have existed for decades. It is only in this last decade though, that thrift shopping has found a fresh wave of demand. In the past, new clothes typically came into households with festivals, familial occasions or changes of seasons. However, the landscape of fashion and subsequently, people’s attitude towards it, has witnessed some change. With trends dominating the fashion scene and the coming of fast fashion, the buying of clothes moved on from simply being an occasional activity to a more frequent pursuit. Fast fashion brands and websites pounced on this opportunity by making trendy clothes available at cheap prices, and they have since enjoyed the plentiful fruits of their labour. Consumers have certainly welcomed the affordability of fast fashion with open arms. However, the sheer speed at which apparel is created and thrown away contributes to the alarming rates of textile waste. A huge percentage of the clothes being sold out in minutes ends up in landfills much quicker than they did fifty years ago, due to lower quality clothing being discarded more quickly, or people replacing their wardrobes more frequently. Besides the various forms of pollution in landfills, fast fashion factory workers are also exploited in the process. Labour is sourced at cheap rates from developing countries and the labourers are often underpaid, and exposed to toxic chemicals without proper safety measures being taken. Fast fashion may have made fashionable clothing cheaper, but at what cost? For long, thrift shopping was seen as a derogatory activity that warranted mocking. Today, with conversations on eco-consciousness and accessibility, it is fast becoming a popular choice. Thrift shopping essentially keeps clothe s and their components in circulation for a longer time. This reduces the use of finite resources to manufacture new ones and prevents various types of pollution. Moreover, even recycling textiles can require huge amounts of energy which thrift shopping li mits. While thrift shopping was a method once adopted exclusively by environmental activists, it has gradually become something trendy in itself. Today, there is almost a sense of pride when one finds a good bargain at a thrift store. Even for fashionistas who have no regard for the environment