2015 HKDSE English Language Paper 1 PARTA Vocabulary & Phrases Reading Passages Text 1 Paragraphs 1 & 2 ES ois DSE Eng Paper 1 adopted home in the pipeline geek Paragraphs 3 & 4 off the radar mutual oppression all-out manic raucous Paragraphs 5-7 stereotypes stoicism inscrutable superficial cheeky flashy Paragraphs 8-10 (be) obsessed with cynical Text 2 Title [implausible Paragraphs 1 & 2 foreign correspondent byline(s) (BER SC HGH) anonymously Hib expat {GR / BEE 820 sea TCEParagraphs 3 & 4 BGs se tng Paper canon RA indispensable RATT DHA Ba) tunnel-like eb Suggested Solutions ‘The journalist/reporter who interviews Daniel Tudor “He speaks to Charmaine Chan about his latest title” (line 3) shows that Charmaine Chan is the one who interviewed Daniel Tudor about his book A Geek in Korea. Readers can therefore infer that Charmaine Chan is an interviewer/reporter/journalist who interviews famous and outstanding people and writes stories about them. Several “The 31-year-old has since authored two books based on his adopted home and has several other volumes in the pipeline” (lines 2-3) underlines Daniel's future writing plan, The phrase “in the pipeline” means “in process”. Therefore, the quoted sentence tells us that Daniel is planning to write a few more books (several other volumes). His Career (Order 1-4) Started 3|“When I first joined The Economist [2010-2013] 1 working for | |thought, ‘Eventually, I'd like to write a book about The Korea...” (line 7) shows that Daniel joined The Economist Economist before writing books about Korea. Wrote his |4 |The thought of writing books about Korea only came| first book after Daniel had joined The Economist (line 7), so this} about Korea} |should be the last among the list of events in the} question. Became an |2|“You started, like so many other Westerners in Korea, English teaching English” (line 5) tells us how Daniel started| teacher his life in Korea. So “became an English teacher”) should come after “studied at Oxford University”. Studied at | f [Given in the question-answer book Oxford University “they” refers to (other) people, particularly Westerners, who didn’t write about Korea, Before the interviewer asked the question “Why weren’t they” (line 9), Daniel was talking about his thought to write books about Korea “because nobody else is really doing it" (line 8). As the question is asked in response to Daniel’s statement [on works about Koreal, “they” 821Es DSE Eng Paper 1 in line 9 actually refers to “nobody” in line 8, i.e. the people who could have considered writing books about Korea. D The phrase “off the radar” means “to be forgotten or ignored because someone’s attention is on something else more important.” In other words, when something is “off the radar” of someone, it means that person does NOT know about this particular thing. So the correct answer should be D (unknown). Options A, B and C are irrelevant. China “[..] and people pay attention to China now because of its huge population and market” (Jines 11-12) suggests that China is the current big story. It is referred to as “the invisible hug” as it’s the uniquely Korean way of offering warmth between people and mutual sacrifice, something that, though unseen by the naked eye, brings people closer and makes people feel connected as hugs do, “A lot of Koreans say jeong - the warmth between people and mutual sacrifice” (line 14) states what jeong means and how it is “uniquely Korean” (line 14). Daniel's remark, “It's nonsense, but Korea has words to describe these things” (line 15) implies that “these things” (jeong and han) are usually indescribable. Since jeong narrates the unique and indescribable Korean culture about human connections, which isn’t well-known at the non-Korean parts of the world, it is invisible. **Note that when we want to express the meaning of “mentioned as”, we use “referred to as”, instead of “referred as”. The idea that jeong and han is uniquely Korean. The comment of “It's nonsense.” (line 15) comes after “A lot of Koreans say jeong [...] is uniquely Korean” (line 14). So, it is a feedback on how the Koreans find jeong and han “uniquely Korean”. They drink a lot and sing raucously at traditional funerals because they believe they can temporarily forget about the sadness or oppression (han). Daniel elaborated on the concept of han: a burden, oppression or an injustice you can't correct whose cause never goes away (line 16). Then Daniel brought in the heung concept: the pure joy that helps people forget about han temporarily (lines 16-17). Binge drinking and raucous singing at traditional funerals is used as a real life example of these two concepts. (i) Difference: Sadn ind happiness both seem to be magnified. (line 22) Gi) Similarity: Expressive and open with their feelings. (lines 21-22) Daniel pointed out that Koreans do not fall into the stereotypical East5 DSE Eng Paper 1 Asian stoicism and self-control, as most Westerners thought the country would have had (lines 20-21). So the true characters of Korean, being expressive and open with their feelings, depart from the typical “inscrutable oriental” (lines 20-21) and resemble the Western culture more. However, the words “Somehow” and “seem to be” in line 22 suggest that the Korean view of sadness and happiness is not exactly as the Western view as the former “seem to be magnified” (line 22), which is where the difference between the Korean and Western cultures lies. _ He does not like K-pop since he finds it superficial and that the K-pop artists do not mean what they are writit Daniel mentioned that he liked music “played by people who mean what they are writing” (lines 27-28). He also pointed out that “there’s really good music in Korea that’s not superficial or played on the radio or TV and doesn’t go outside Korea” (lines 28-29). Based on these 2 pieces of comment, we can infer that Daniel finds the music widely played on the radio, TV (K-pop) or even outside the country not his type because it is superficial and that the people do not mean what they are writing. 3rd Line Butterfly Before Daniel said “I am friends with them” (line 31), he was talking about one of his favourite bands whose name is called 3rd Line Butterfly, saying “they're ordinary guys you can be friends with” (line 31). Since the line “I am friends with them” comes immediately after, “them” refers to the “ordinary guys” - the 3rd Line Butterfly. _ They both share the same opinion about the Gangnam district, which is superficial and flashy. In lines 32-33, Daniel pointed out that Psy made fun of Gangnam, which is superficial and flashy. () NG [Daniel just mentioned an interview with Psy (line 32). He} didn’t say if they were friends. Gi) F [Daniel raised 3rd Line Butterfly as an example of musicians who play “really good music [...] that’s not superficial or played on the radio or TV.” (line 29) Also, when talking about 3rd Line Butterfly, Daniel mentioned that “these guys are not] rich or famous; they’re ordinary guys...” (lines 30-31) With the above information, readers can deduce that the band isn’t a K-pop group. (ii) T [He mentioned that “there's really good music in Korea that’s not superficial or played on the radio and TV and doesn’t go} loutside Korea” (lines 29-30). 823 esas RR15. 16. 17. 18. 19. 21. “2015 DSE Eng Paper 1 Korean dramas When the interviewer asked Daniel about his opinion on Korean soaps, he replied saying he didn’t like the drama stuff (lines 34-35). Readers should be able to notice/infer from Daniel's reply that soap is another word for TV dramas. The best way for women to achieve status is to marry somebody, which explains why Korea isn't the best country to be a woman. Readers can infer the above conclusion based on the comment “If you're a young woman in Korea, what's the best way to become wealthy or to achieve status? Sadly, it’s to marry somebody” (lines 37-38). (i) dramas/soaps (ii) rich (iii) beautiful (iv) poor (vy) marry Danie! found them scary because they are obsessed with education and get mad when their children do not get good grades. Daniel said in the interview that “if they didn’t get an A something, their parents would get mad and the next time you saw them they'd be crying” (lines 42-43), This shows the readers why Daniel found Gangnam mothers scary. Regarding money and possessions Daniel added concrete examples of what he meant by “led awesome lives, materially”, which is that the Gangnam kids “[would] show up in these big Mercedes with bags as big as they were” (line 41). These mples show readers that the word ‘materially’ pinpoints the elevated financial status or background of the Gangnam families. is the way for Wealthy Koreans are obsessed with education since thi them to preserve their status. “Wealthy family are obsessed with education. It’s a status thing: preserve you status and show the rest of the world that you're preserving your status and your kids are doing well” (lines 43-44) shows readers the reason why Gangnam parents are obsessed with education. Daniel has become a better friend of his friends since he is more connected to people after he went to Korea Daniel pointed out the change on himself directly in lines 46-47 - “Korea made me a better friend of my friend What Daniel finds the most attractive are the idea of jeong and the feeling of being connected to people. When the interviewer asked Daniel why he chose to stay in Korea, he replied that the “jeong stuff [...] the thing that keeps me in Korea” (line 46). He also pointed out that he “always wanted this feeling of23. 26. 27. DSE Eng Paper 1 connected to people” (lines 47-48), which is hard to find in a cold and cynical society like England. These two sentences show that Daniel finds jeong and the fecling of connected to people the most attractive about Korea. The title suggests that the British society is cold and cynical. Daniel said directly that “England’s a cold society” (line 47) and that “English people [are] a bit too cynical and cold” (line 48). So “in from the cold” somehow suggests that the expat came from “the cold” society of England. The “Geek” refers to Daniel himself. The book A Geek in Korea talks about the observations of a British expat, Daniel Tudor, who's been living in Korea for years. That’s why the “Geek” refers to the writer himself. Daniel is one of the most influential yet least known foreign correspondents in South Korea. The answer can be found in the 1° sentence of paragraph | - “Daniel Tudor is one of the most influential foreign correspondents in South Korea - and one of the least known.” (lines 1-2) Michael Green In paragraph 2, Michael Green is referred to as “another influential British expat” (line 6). Since an expat is someone who lives in a foreign country, in this case, South Korea, Michael Green has definitely lived in South Korea for some time. ‘A “canon” is a list of authoritative books that are must-read for people who are interested in a particular subject matter. In paragraph 3, the writer comments, “That's a small canon, unfortunately” (line 11), and listed a few more books that are in the list of must-read books for people who want to do business or live in South Korea (lines 9-13). The writer also compared the must-read list for South Korea and North Korea, concluding that the list for the latter is far longer - which is what made the writer summarised the list for South Korea as “a small canon”. Based on the above information, readers can deduce that a “canon” is a list of authoritative/must-read books for a particular subject matter. ‘The implication is that there are more must-read books about North Korea and that people are more curious about and hence more interested in reading about North Korea than South Korea. Based on the idea that the canons are for those who are interested in a country for different reasons, readers can deduce that a longer must-read list implies a greater interest in a particular subject, i.e. North2015 DSE Eng Paper 1 Korea in this case. Also, if there is a long list of must-read books, it is reasonable to believe that there are more well-written books in the issue/subject matter. 29. Daniel’s book covers the whole waterfront of South Korean society and the new social and economic territory, including the rising role of immigrants, multicultural families and gay people. In line 5, Evan wrote that Daniel's book is “the first English-language book to cover the whole waterfront of South Korean society.” Also, in lines 15-16, it is mentioned that Daniel's work “pushes into new social and economic territory.” Both remarks highlight the new contents of Daniel's book that is unfound in Michael’s. 30. The contradiction is that the Korean view of what constitutes success remains narrow/limited/tunnel-like despite the unending quest for trendy gadgets and fashion, which brings about unlimited number of possibil 31. Daniel’s question implies that Koreans should be happier/more content because of all the impressive achievements they have accomplished. Text 2 is concluded with a (rhetorical) question Daniel asked in the past part of his book, “Why aren’t people happier with what they’ ve done? (lines 18-20) The implication of the question is that “what they’ ve done [achieved]” is impressive enough for people to feel happy/happier than they are at the moment. So readers can infer that Daniel wanted to suggest that Koreans should be happier with their accomplishments. PART BL Text 3 Vocabulary & Phrases Reading Passages Lines 1-5 reverse out (the car) collision Text 4 Paragraphs 1-3 a thing of the past obstacles take over Paragraphs 4-6 bunch up 826 Bo ARATE15 DSE Eng Paper 1 a ripple of brake lights CREO Hake fatigue Be squeeze onto BEE Paragraphs 7-10 ballpark aa fee TY fixated bib» RAE illustrative FB EaR8 Wiest definitive EDDES) quantify aut unforeseen consequences ARF FERIA induce ae tantalizing FARSI Paragraphs 11-13 a lot of hoops to leap through TEA ES MES welle pricey Eats underestimate {Sf Paragraph 16 prospect fist hampered BEI) BE Suggested Solutions 32. Anna Rossi ‘The answer can be found in line 1 - “I, Anna Rossi,...” 33. (i) This is the address of the witness. The answer can be found also in line 1 - “1, Anna Rossi, of 3 Arthur Street, Yau Ma Tei...” (ii) This is the location of the accident. ‘The accident took place in the car park that “next to the shops on Wood Road, Wan Chai” (lines 2-3). 34. collision (line 6) “Collision” means two moving objects crashing into each other. 35. (i) F Gi) C Gi) E As Anna saw the “green sports car reverse out of a car space” (line 5), the car back should be facing the aisle, ic. C. As the “silver car was driving down [going straight] the aisle” (line 4), it should be F (since F is the only one driving straight down the aisle). Anna’s car was “parked opposite where the accident happened.” (line 7); it should be E (given C is the green car). NSCS 827 LR36. 37. 38. 39. 40. 41. 42. 43, 44, FE do1s ose Eng Paper 1 No one “Both of the drivers got out of their cars. Neither of them seemed to be hurt.” (line 8) suggests that no one was injured in the accident. The driver asked for Anna’s contact details because he may need a statement from her. “Can you give me your contact details, just in case I need a statement from you?” (line 11) shows the purpose why the driver asked for the contact details of Anna. D “T noticed damage to the back left side to the green sports car” (line 16) shows that D should be the answer. 1 think the silver car is responsible for the accident as it was under speed driving by the time the accident happened. “The speed limit in the car park was 20km per hour. The silver car was travelling at about 40km per hour” (lines 14-15) shows the silver car should bear more responsibility for the accident as its driver did not follow the speed limit of the car park. B “T believe that the contents of this statement are true and correct” (line 17) is the declaration of authentic information that is commonly found in legal documents. (i) date of the accident (ii) date when the statement was made For referencing questions, readers can locate the key words in the passage to find out what they refer to. “1 December” is found in line 2 when Anna began describing the process of the accident, whereas “7" December” is found in line 19 where the statement is dated. (i) traffic jams (ii) deadly accidents “Traffic jams and deadly accidents will become a thing of the past” (lines 1-2) shows the answers to the question: the two things that will no longer happen when car drive themselves, i.c. traffic jams and deadly accidents. driving to work “Driving to work will be less stressful, [...] and let computers handle the trip” (lines 2-3) shows that the tip refers to the process of “driving to work”. computers. “Driving to work will be less stressful, [...] and let computers handle the trip” (lines 2-3) shows that the computer wil] drive the car in the future. ES45. 46. 47. 48. 49. ‘saenmtnana 45 DSE Eng Paper 1 Google “Google is developing ‘autonomous vehicles’ that are improving rapidly” (lines 4-5) shows that Google is the one developing driverless cars. Eno Center for Transportation “[A] new report by the Eno Center for Transportation...” (line 7) and “explained report co-author Daniel Fagnant” (lines 9-10) show that Daniel Fagnant works for Eno Center for Transportation as he wrote the report for this organisation. A Daniel pointed out that “self-driving cars have the potential to transform transport...” (line 9), but he added that “getting to that point won't be easy” (lines 10-11). So it isn’t easy/is difficult to transform transport, i.e. option A. Option C is opposite to the idea and is therefore wrong. Options B and D aren't mentioned and thus are irrelevant. (i) There are more [NG |*Right now, more than 30,000 people die than 30,000 car each year in the United States from crashes in the automobile crashes.” (lines 13-14) So United States each 30,000 is the number of deaths instead of| year. car crashes; the exact number of accidents} is not mentioned. (ii) Fewer people |T |*Letting robots take the wheel would would die in save lives” (line 15) suggests that the self-driving cars. death toll would fall in the world of| self-driving cars. (ii) Self-driving cars [T |“More cars could squeeze onto the road would reduce: and move more quickly” (lines 18-19) congestion. shows that self-driving cars would help} reduce congestion. (iv) Selfdriving cars |NG|The article doesn’t mention anything will be smaller. about the size of self-driving cars. @ B Gi) A Gii) D Paragraph 7 talks about the estimated amount of money saved if self-driving cars is introduced - “the country could save more than $37 billion a year” (lines 20-21) and “the benefit would rise to around $450 billion” (lines 22-23). Paragraph 8 points out the benefits are merely projections - “these are ‘ballpark, rough estimates...guesses, really.” (lines 24-25) Paragraph 9 raises a few questions about the costs of self-driving cars - “the authors also didn’t try to quantify any of the costs of self-driving vehicles.” (line 26) 829 ETD,50. St 52. 53. 54. Bs DSE Eng Paper 1 (i) more traffic cor (ii) an increase in air pollution “Maybe the vehicles will induce even more travel and congestion will get worse. Or maybe they will lead to an increase in air pollution” (lines 29-30) highlights the two potential problems brought by autonomous vehicles. B “Even if the benefits are many, self-driving vehicles have a lot of hoops to leap through.” (line 33) suggests that, despite all the advantages autonomous vehicles can potentially bring, there are many more problems yet to solve. Some of the problems research on autonomous vehicles are facing are then raised, such as “technology is still very pricey” (line 34). Therefore, the phrase suggests there is a long way to go before autonomous vehicles can work as well as people imagined, ic. option B. Cc The word “underestimate” means the estimation (of cost) could be lower than the actual price. Therefore, if “the first wave of autonomous vehicles could cost over $100,000” (lines 34-35) might be an underestimate, the actual cost would likely be more than the amount, i.e. option C. (i) The technology is pricey. (ii) The technology is yet to be fully tested in urban setting. (iii) The process of switching between robot and human to handle complicated situations may pose dangers to driving (iv) A lot of crucial questions about autonomous vehicles are still unanswered, ‘The major concerns can be found between paragraphs I and 16 - “First the technology is still very pricey” (lines 33-34), “while the technology is rapidly improving, it’s far from perfect. [...] but the cars have yet to be fully tested in urban environments” (lines 40-43), “the process of switching back and forth between robot and human could [well] make these cars less safe” (lines 47-48) and “there’s still a ton of research yet to be done about the prospect of self-driving cars.” (lines 49-50) It would be better for a person to drive the car than robot when there are complicated situations happening near the car, since early autonomous cars may not be able to handle the driving. “Early autonomous cars will likely to require their human drivers to take the wheel during especially complicated situations” (lines 45-46) suggests the likely reason why human drivers would still need to involve in driving. 83055. D The phrase “catch on” 5 DSE Eng Paper 1 means to “figure something out”, “become popular” or “snag something on something”. The article “will cars with no drivers catch on” di susses the benefits and problems that the developer of the car is facing. Based on the main ideas of the article and the meaning of the phrase, option D is the most appropriate answer. PART B2 Text 5 Vocabulary & Phrases Reading Passages Paragraph 1 triumphantly Het depraved Hf weary BENS A ARERS Paragraph 2 ponder RAE Paragraph 4 cynicism te RBS gruel HUE / Wi Paragraph 5 one-upmanship SEPM debunker HMA (SeeEGE) depriving Ae Paragraph 8 intertwining in pursuit of exuberant spectator _Paragraph 9 fetishizing depleting Paragraph 10 pander il mmsssoenroetsat: 831 LARA 4Paragraph 12 -nosed ha U ‘2015 DSE Eng Paper { alien Paragraph 13 pragmatic FRY Comments PUH-LEEZE 56. D The first sentence of paragraph | “It happens every semester” (line 1) tells the readers that the writer has had the same experience for several semesters and that he must have replied to similar questions for many times. So option D is correct. Options A and C are irrelevant to the question. whereas option B, compared with option D, does not best explain why the writer felt weary of the questions from the students. (i) Since Rousseau fell into his own criticism of being a depraved animal, the student thought he was undermining himself. Rousseau’s idea that human “who reflects is a depraved animal” is applicable to himself since the statement was made after a considerable reflection on humanity. Therefore, Rousseau, as a philosopher, himself cannot escape the criticism and became one of the depraved animals. Readers can infer the answers after they understood the key argument of Rousseau’s statement: The man who reflects is a depraved animal. (line 2) (ii) The student might feel triumphant because he/she seemed to have pointed out a mistake/contradiction committed by a renowned philosopher. At the beginning of paragraph 2, the writer wrote, “instead of trying to find mistakes in the texts...” (line 5), which tells us that the student was trying to point out the mistakes in the text he/she read. So he/she might felt triumphant because he/she had achieved his/her purpose. contradiction In paragraph 1, the common critiques from students on the philosophical texts they read, such as “Rousseau is undermining himself” (lines 1-2) and “Emerson’s call for self-reliance is in effect a call for reliance on Emerson” (line 3), are examples of seemingly self-contradictory statements of the philosophers. So the word “contradiction” best concludes the students’ criticisms. 832 ‘seat59. 60. 61. omens Os DSE Eng Paper 1 @ ¢c Gi) B The writer concluded paragraph asking “isn’t it more interesting to put ourselves in a frame of mind to find inspiration in them” (line 9). which is exactly option C. As for Emerson, the seeming contradiction created by his call for self-reliance may invite discussion on how to achieve self-reliance without shutting ourselves off from the outside world, which corresponds with option B. Option A seems irrelevant to the question. Having good critical skills The pronoun “It” in line 11 comes with the sentence “It is a sign of sophistication” and this sign of sophistication refers to having strong critical skills, which can be used as a defence against shaky or foolish arguments. So the pronoun “It” is a substitute of “having good critical sl s” (i) unproductive (ii) intelligent (iii) cynical Paragraph 3 elaborated about how having strong critical skills can become a “privilege” and a sign of sophistication (lines 11-12). Then in paragraph 4, the writer described the critical ability celebrated in university campuses as “a thin gruel” and pointed out how the ability would be of little use besides providing “the satisfaction of cynicism” (lines 15-16). Based on these ideas, readers can infer the answers for the question. (i) The writer |F In line 17, the writer wrote that “the skill at thinks that unmarking error, or simple intellectual being critical one-upmanship, is not totally without value”. has no use. Readers can deduce that the writer admitted that being critical has some values. (ii) Students T |The writer pointed out that “we may be} could learn iving students of the chance to learn as more if they s possible” (lines 20-21). In other were less rds, if students are less 1, students can! critical. seize the chance to learn as much as possible.’ ‘Therefore, the statement is correct. (iii) Students ING |The writer just mentioned that students might don’t enjoy “close themselves off from their potential to} books, music find or create meaning and directions from the} and books, music and experiments they encounter| experiments in the classroom.” (lines 23-25) He didn’t in the mention anything about whether students classroom. enjoy the books, music and experiments. 833 Ne63. 64. 65. 66. iis DSE Eng Paper 1 Cc The writer pointed out directly that students who constantly wish to display their critical prowess outside of the university would “often come at their own expense” (line 27). He went on to elaborate on the consequences of being over-critical, including “contribute to a cultural climate that has little tolerance for finding or making meaning” (line 28) and a culture that encourages cynicism “by showing that somebody else just can’t be believed” (lines 29-30). These are all examples of how critical prowess makes one accomplish little. Option B is incorrect as it’s the complete opposite of what the writer means. Options A and D are not mentioned in the paragraph, and therefore not relevant. [Summary Correction (i) Jone pursues truth, the otherlexcellence (see line 32: [...] and pursues exuberance. Since exuberant performance in pursuit; of excellence.) (ii) |the 1960s, there has been less|more (see line 33: emphasis on| emphasis on the former, inquiry [the former] has become dominant.) (i) }which” now is” synonymous|q/ with fault-finding and challenging beliefs, (iv)}Rather than being ~—_ajspectator (see line 34: The inquirer] participant, there is ajhas taken the guise of the| preference to be a competitor. |sophisticated (often _ ironic) spectator.) A The word “fetishizing” means “having an exce: commitment to something”. So option A, the obse: meaning of the word. (i) _ the fetishization of disbelief as intelligence (ii) the gradual depletion of people’s receptive capacities due to the increasingly fractured technological existence In lines 37-38, the writer pointed out the first reason - “but fetishizing disbelief as a sign of intelligence has contributed to depleting our cultural resources.” The second reason lies in line 41 - “increasingly fractured technological existence wears down our receptive capacities.” He thought the students would prefer to watch explosions, sex and gag lines.68. 69. 70. 71. 72. -DSE Eng Paper 1 Michael wrote that he “insisted that students put their devices away while watching movies that don’t immediately engage their senses with explosions sex and gag lines.” (lines 42-43) This shows that the movies Michael showed in class were different from the sensually appealing ones that students were attracted to. (i) The students thought Michael didn’t understand they could multitask “At first they see this as some old guy’s failure to grasp their skill at multitasking” (lines 43-44) shows readers what the students thought about Michael’s request in the first place. (ii) It implied that the class was completely absorbed into the movie(s) they were watching. “[...] and together we share an experience that becomes the subject of reflection, interpretation and analysis” (lines 47-48) shows how much students are absorbed into the realm of the movie(s) and the extended reflections and discussions, which made them forget about “their most superficial habits of attention”. Cc Option A is mentioned in lines 50-51 - “It is a way to open ourselves to the various forms of life...” Options B and D are mentioned in lines 53-54 - “We are not just developing techniques of problem solving; we are learning to activate potential, and often to investigate new possibilities.” By elimination, C should be the answer to the question. By blindness he means personal prejudices/our own narrow point of view. In the article, the writer expressed that the purpose of “overcoming our own blindness” (line 52) is to “try to understand an experience from another’s point of view” (lines 52-53). In other words, “blindness” refers to the established or rigid way of seeing things that should be unlearnt. (i) It might expose people to a risky insight that changes who we are. (ii) Hard-nosed critical thinking can be used to defend against the risk. For reference questions, readers can look up the key words in the specific paragraphs. “Yes, hard-nosed critical thinking is a useful tool, but it also may become a defence against the risky insight that absorption can offer” (lines 55-57) shows the answers to this question. crave The word “crave” means feeling a powerful desire for something. 83574, 76. 77. Bais DSE Eng Paper 1 (i) and (iii) Michael pointed out in the last paragraph that “it {liberal education] should be designated to take us beyond the campus to a life of ongoing, pragmatic learning...” (lines 60-61), which implies that learning should allow a certain application in post-student life. So option (i) applies. He also stated that the ultimate goal of liberal education is to “increase our capacity to understand and contribute to the world - and reshape it, and ourselves, in the process” (lines 61-62), which implies that the education is conducive to whole person development/personal development. (i) Being too critical/cynical to what they’re studying/encountering (ii) Being in a dangerous situation A The article addresses the problem of current university education, in which the author holds fast to the belief that university students being too critical is detrimental and that such kind of thinking is unproductive outside the university. Although he also points out that critical-thinking, to a certain extent, helps safeguard us against risky insight that may change who we are, he does not go into details and places much less emphasis on the advantages than the disadvantages. The former mentioned in a few words only, probably just to avoid the impression that he is too biased, without considering the good things about critical-thinking. In other words, he does not intend to show both pr and cons of the issue in question, but to express his viewpoint towards the matter and bring his audienc attention to the possible consequences if the problem persists. Therefore, option B is incorrect. Tom is agi liberal education. He thinks it doesn’t worth all the costs of student loans and more to invest in the type of education that provides little career prospect and can be accomplished by burying yourself in a nearby library with much lower costs. He thinks university education should focus on the stem programmes of science, technolog engineering and math while liberal education is just there to rip students off. Yes, she agrees. She pointed out it’s much easier for people to criticise an idea than to form one. This view agrees with Michael's point about the temptation of the seemingly high-achieving cynicism. In this sense, Laura agrees with Michael.-DSE Eng Paper 2 2015 HKDSE English Language Paper 2 PARTA Question 1 Dear Editor, Recently, an article in Young Post has triggered a discussion on whether starting school at 8 a.m. is too early for students. With regard to this issue, I am writing to explain why students feel tired and whether postponing the school start time is the solution to this problem as a fellow student. Having a heavy workload has become a norm for Hong Kong students regardless of their level of study. The work of students is no longer limited to homework assigned by teachers at school, Many of them now join a lot of extra-curricular activities and attend additional tutorial classes after school. This means that the majority of students nowadays arrive home late and have to burn the candle at both ends to finish their assignments, not to mention the time spent on preparing for the lessons on the next day. Without adequate sleep, students would be unable to focus well in lessons, especially those in the morning. A number of ways out have been proposed to curb the problem, the most prominent of which is postponing the start time of the school day to 9 a.m. I strongly support this suggestion and the reasons are two-fold. Firstly, a later start time boosts students’ learning efficiency. A 9 a.m. start means that students would have an extra hour for rest, making them less likely to fall asleep during lessons. It also enables students to be more attentive in class, atiending morning lessons is no longer a ‘torture’ to them. It is more likely that students would absorb knowledge more effectively. Secondly, postponing the school morning bell is a proposal that takes students’ biological and physical needs into account. Puberty results in a shift in the circadian rhythms that causes adolescents to get tired later at night, leading to delayed bedtime. By starting school an hour later, it is easier for students to adjust to a work-and-rest schedule that is in line with their intrinsic biological needs. Furthermore, sufficient sleep allows students to experience a lower level of stress and anxiety, thus reducing the risk of mood disorders. As a student, I perfectly understand the feeling of crawling to school like a zombie and unintentionally falling asleep during lessons when I did not have enough sleep the previous night. It is clear that starting school later has a lot of benefits not only to the learning but also to the health of students. I would therefore strongly recommend schools to allow students to attend school an 837 ‘nascar eeeBois ose Eng Paper 2 hour later. Yours faithfully, Chris Wong Word count: 425 State the purpose of writing — reflecting classmates’ opinions about PE lessons at school Para. 2 }- Elaborate on the first reason why students find PE not interesting — lack of organised teaching Para. f- Elaborate on the second reason why students find PEF lessons not interesting — lack of incentive | Transition: point out the crux of the problem and suggest} that organising new activities in PE lessons is a feasible} solution Para. and f- Suggest the first new activity — social dancii elaborate on its benefits to students the second new activity — visits to elite athlete f training centres and elaborate on its benefits to students k Express the hope that the proposal could be kindly Conclusion | considered and end the letter with formal closing Dear Ms Chan, Quite a few classmates have recently expressed their disappointment at our current PE lessons. Many of them complained they had found the lessons boring and meaningless. As the chariperson of the Class Association, I feel obliged to reflect the opinions of my fellow classmates on this issue to you Having collected opinions from our class, I found that there are two primary reasons for their negative attitude towards PE lessons. First of all, the teaching lacks organisation and fluency. Our PE teacher usually does not have a plan on which specific sports or techniques to teach in a particular 838 ARRANFezo1s vse Eng Paper 2 lesson. The teacher usually only teaches the most basic skills of a sport repeatedly and lets students practise themselves. In fact, many of us find PE lessons merely a once-in-a-week opportunity to do some workouts, whereas only few of us perceive the lessons as meaningful in actually learning how to play sports. Owing to poor planning coupled with limited teaching time, students have been unable to make progressive improvement in their physical abilities, and thus consider PE lessons quite a waste of time. Apart from that, students who are not good at sports fail to find a sense of involvment in PE lessons. This can once again be explained by the impromptu teaching of our PE teacher. Our teacher often lets us pick whatever sports we like to play for the remaining time after the warm-up. Students who are relatively more enthusiastic about sports would love such free time. Those who are physically less active, however, always find it difficult to thoroughly enjoy the lesson with the sports fanatics in class, leaving them nothing to do. Some even prefer staying at the covered playground to do revision alone. Thus, it is understandable why less active students have been bored by PE lessons. Apparently, the crux of the problem lies in the PE curriculum of our class as well as the nature of activities performed during lessons, which fail to arouse our interest in sports and physical activities. Hence, to suit the remedy to the case, it is proposed that some new activities be included in PE lessons. To start with, the school may consider introducing social dance into the PE curriculum. Currently, students at our school have limited exposure to fitness training and ball games in PE lessons, which, in my view, does not provide a comprehensive PE experience for students. With social dance lessons, students may acquire foundational dancing techniques that they may find useful in their social lives at almost no cost. More importantly, such activity encourages active engagement of students who are physically less active, which in turn creates much more fun for them in PE lessons. Physical education is not and shall never be limited to the more technical fimess training and physical exercise. It should also include a qualitative perspective for students to approach the subject in another way. To achieve this, it is suggested that the school schedule visits to elite athlete training centres, during which students can interact with elite athletes face-to-face, and understand more about the life as an elite athlete. Such kind of activity suits everyone of us as it does not require much physical competence. Rather than self-studying during PE lessons, students may then understand more about the life of a professional athlete, which could be learnt neither from textbooks nor from ordinary PE lessons. It is therefore believed that such 8392015 DSE Eng Paper 2 unique experience would enrich our Physical Education. T understand that the school would have to allocate more resources to facilitate these new activities in PE lessons. Nevertheless, | truly believe that these efforts are worth making in arousing students’ interest in Physical Education. I sincerely hope that the above suggestions could be kindly considered. I look forward to discussing the feasibility and details of the proposal with you. Thank you for your kind attention. Yours sincerely, Chui Wong Chairperson of Class Association Word count: 654 Question 3 (Drama) Outlin Exposition Describe the setting of the story; provide details (Para. 1-5) | about Grandma’ gifted voice Para. 6-13 |)- The author asked Grandma if she had a dream and] discovered that Grandma had been dreaming of| singing on the stage A sudden encounter with an advertisement gave} Grandma a chance to showcase her talents [ Grandma sang her way into the finals after rounds off audition; describe the outfit of Grandma on the final night Climax Grandma’ (Para. 19-22) | of the audience as well as the final grand prize of the} competition Falling action ||- Grandma received extensive media coverage on herp (Para. 23-27) |} winning of the talent show Resolution The author expressed admii bein:” F015 ose Eng Paper 2 You Are Never Too Old to Liye Your Dream Tt was a drowsy Saturday afternoon. I was so exhausted after working for a whole week that I still stayed in my bed when it was already 2 p.m. It was drizzling outside the window when a familiar voice singing ABBA's J Have a Dream came to my ears. I knew it was Grandma watching the TV show “The Good Old Days” — it was her favourite weekend pastime. I crawled out of my cosy bed and found my way to the living room. I saw Grandma sitting on the couch in front of the TV, immersing herself in the classic piece with her eyes half-closed, while unintentionally miming the lyrics. She noticed my entrance and slowly turned her head around. “Hey dear,” she said with her lovely voice, sweet and soft, smiling, “finally you’re up.” “Nah,” I shook my head, “I heard you sing.” “Such a beautiful song,” said Grandma, occasionally glancing back at the performer on TY, her eyes glimmering. “Very meaningful indeed.” Grandma was shy and quiet, yet she found vast pleasure in singing. She had gifted vocals - tender and modulated. 1 recalled that I only heard Grandma sing once while I was still a little kid, though I could say for sure that her voice was no inferior to singers in the limelight nowadays. I wondered if she had ever dreamt of being a singer before. “Grandma,” | asked curiously, “did you — or do you — have a dream?” She was astonished when she heard me asking about that, and turned back to the TV show, patting my arm gently and said in grief, an indescribable grief. “Of course I ‘do’. Everyone has a dream.” “When your dream shatters,” she turned to me again and continued, “something inside you dies.” “So,..what’s your dream, Grandma?” T asked. Meanwhile, two Jarks landed on a branch of a cherry tree in the garden and began to sing. Grandma looked out of the windows. “I wish I could be one of them, and sing beautiful songs to others, especially to mom and dad,” she replied. I chatted with her for the whole afternoon. She told me that she liked expressing herself through singing very much, However, objected by my great-grandparents, she never got the chance to enrol in any singing contest, nor did she ever dare to dream of becoming a singer. I felt so sorry for Grandma, for she didn’t even get a chance to sing for herself. Had Grandma 84i ORAS seeDea 15 DSE Eng Paper 2 got the opportunity to pursue her career as a singer, she must have risen to fame ina short time for her extraordinary vocal talents. “T still hope that someday.” she continued in a tone full of hope, “I can sing the most beautiful pieces out loud on stage, in the limelight, with pride; and that my parents would be so proud of me being myself.” She was staring at the TV screen even after the show had ended, as if she were the singer and that she just couldn't bear getting off the stage. Just then, out of nowhere, an advertisement was being broadcast on TV. “Have you ever dreamt of showcasing your exceptional talents to the 7-million audience in the city? Here is your chance! Our new talent show, “Hong Kong's Got Talent’, is now open for application! Join the contest now and lead yourself to the starry avenue ~ you are never too old to live your dream!” “You are never too old to live your dream...” I murmured. “Right, Grandma ~ this is your chance! It’s now or never!” The next day I applied for the contest online for Grandma. Shortly, she received an invitation for the audition, Despite her inexperience in performing in front of an audience, she managed to capture the hearts of the adjudicators with her stunning performance. After rounds of selection, Grandma successfully advanced into the finals. A week later, our family couldn't help but hold our breath so hard that we could have died from suffocation while waiting for Grandma’s grand entrance in the auditorium. The whole competition was broadcast live to the 7-million citizens sitting in front of the TV. “Next up we have the oldest competitor of the contest. Let’s welcome Mrs Angel Chan!” the emcee announced. An old lady rose up to the stage. She wore lipstick and make-up, dressed up like a British noble, in a well-matched hat and dress. She also wore the pair of sapphire earrings she liked most - I had never seen Grandma looking so elegant and attractive before. She paced to the middle of the stage and greeted everyone timidly, perhaps out of nervousness. “Hello everyone. Today I will be singing ABBA’s / Have a Dream.” As the soundtrack started, she took a deep breath to maintain composure. Just after she began, the whole arena was drawn into the wonderland by her heavenly voice - so expressive, soothing and tender that it felt like T was standing on an unending meadow, warm breezes caressing my cheeks. We 842 ea: ceeDSE Eng Paper 2 were all stirred by Grandma’s passion. Grandma’s voice was a sensation, giving us tide-like goosebumps. She was the warm evening we bathed in our dreams — close to sunset, yet still illuminating the chalky sky. “T'll cross the stream. I have a dream...” As soon as Grandma finished the last line, the whole theatre erupted into thunderous applause. Grandma, grinning from ear to ear, bowed confidently to the audience and went down the stage. ‘The prize-awarding ceremony was held a moment later. “The Champion of the 2015 Hong Kong's Got Talent, with a unanimous decision, goes to...” the emcee said in an exciting tone, while the audience had started to yell Grandma’s name. “Our respected Mrs Chan!” the emcee announced at his loudest. Surrounded by deafening applause, Grandma gracefully walked onto the stage again and received the trophy. Grandma won the standing ovation of the audience. I noticed that tears of joy started to roll down her cheek. Her dream for years had finally come true. | felt so happy for her. ‘The day after the finals, Grandma received extensive media coverage for her winning the talent show at her age. “Grandma! You've become a celebrity now! Everyone in Hong Kong is talking about you!” I told Grandma enthusiastically. She looked at the news reports about her, and gave me her signature smile. “{ don’t need to be famous,” she replied, “as long as I can share my feelings with others through singing, I am satisfied.” “Just like what the TV told us,” she added, “you are never too old to live your dream.” We looked at each other, and laughed together, under the cosy sun. You are the perfect example for that statement, I thought. Thank you so much, for inspiring me, my dear Grandma. Word count: 1126 843 aM SdWes DSE Eng Paper 2 uestion 4 (Social Issues) Outline: Introduction |- Briefly describe the tend of parents sending their I children overseas Elaborate on the first factor: rigidity of local education system Elaborate on the second factor: a ing children in] gaining competitive advantages upon graduation ; Transition — state that there are impacts on two major | stakeholders: local schools and the children themselves Explain the impacts on local schools: labelling effect, | loss of talent, subject to pressure of reform i Explain the impacts on children (a) Positive: greater exposure to different cultures, j becoming more independent (b) Negative: greater chance for deviant behaviours Concluding by stating it may be the time for the city to | review the current ideology towards education ‘The ‘Hong Kong fondness’ for sending children abroad: trend and impacts Sending children overseas for boarding school or higher education has become more and more prevalent among parents in Hong Kong. A survey in 2014 has found that almost nine in ten Hong Kong parents have considered sending their children to study overseas. While primary and secondary school students in Hong Kong enjoy 12-year free education, many parents are nevertheless willing to bear a substantially heavier financial burden in sending their children abroad. This article attempts to shed some light on the causes behind such phenomenon, as well as its impacts on local schools and the children themselves. ctors attributing to Hong Kong parents’ fondne: for sending children overseas, two are especially significant. The first driver is the rigidity of the local education system, which is known to be highly competitive and stressful. Nowadays, more and more parents in Hong Kong are not content with the system that values students solely by their academic achievements while generally neglecting their personal qualities. On the contrary, schools and institutions in other countries, particularly those in the 844 sonnet Amongst the numerous [: ed'5°DSE Eng Paper 2 West, put more focus on students’ personal development rather than just boosting students’ results. Being put off by the high-pressure environment, parents who want their children to learn in a more work-leisure balanced environment and are financially capable may choose to let their children pursue their studies overseas. Another important driver of this trend is that parents want their children to gain competitive advantages upon graduation. In Hong Kong, there is a widespread impression that overseas students are superior in language proficiency (English in particular) and have better cultural exposure and global vision. Today, some corporations still prioritise candidates who have some sort of overseas experience over local ones in their recruitment. Sending children abroad for study, hence, can be viewed as a kind of long-term investment that strategically aligns with the society’s generally priviledged impression of these students, from which they will likely derive enduring benefits in the future. For those who desire a less stressful learning enviornment and are in better financial position, overseas study certainly is an attractive alternative to local schools. Yet, the growing number of local parents seeking foreign education for their children does create some impacts on two major stakeholders — local schools and the children themselves. The impacts on local schools are, in my view, not too significant. Undoubtedly, local schools may lose some of their most talented students as more of them switch to overseas international programmes. They may also be subject to pressure in providing a more flexible and open learning environment for their students to compete with courses overse: Nevertheless, foreign schools are not, strictly speaking, direct competitors of local schools, for parents who are more financially capable are usually open to more streams of education; for instance local private schools. A majority of families that cannot afford the soaring tuition fees of these private schools still send their children to local schools. Hence, the effects on local schools. can be said to be insignificant. On the other hand, there are a myriad of influences on children who leave Hong Kong to study overseas. As they have to take care of themselves when studying abroad, they would become more mature and independent. They would also become more immersed in foreign cultures as they have to communicate with people from various backgrounds. However, a lack of parental care usually comes with a greater cost, since these children might get involved in deviant behaviours such as vandalism, alocoholism, drug abuse and premature sex. There is no universal formula of how education should work to cater to the needs of every single student in the world. There is also no absolute answer2015 DSE Eng Paper 2 to the question whether sending children abroad is good or bad to the students themselves and society as a whole. Yet, it may probably lead us to think again whether the current education system has rendered students being exam robots and overly encouraged competition among students, thus forcing those financially able out of the region to pursue their studies. Word count: 673 Provide background information concerning the issue} you are talking about i Give your stance on the issue, i.e. supporting that the} harbour front should be open for public use fe Elaborate on the first reason — citizens need moref public space Elaborate on the second reason — using harbour front} as public area is a more environmentally friendly} alternative than other means of development Elaborate on the third reason — it is not possible tof ‘relocate’ harbour front. Once it is developed wef cannot recover its original state. Summarise the rationale for taking such stance andf advocate the preservation of harbour front as openf space Dear Editor, The battle of harbour front — should it be developed or open to public? In the past decade, we have been discussing the appropriate direction of development for our harbour front. However, the public is yet to reach a consensus on how the space along the harbour can be best utilised. Some suggest transforming the harbour front into housing or commercial areas, whereas others advocate preserving it for public use. Being a supporter of the latter, | am writing to express my views on the matter and detail the arguments in favour of opening the harbour front for public use. The first reason why the harbour front should be open to public is that we need it — simple enough. Hong Kong is known to be a concrete jungle with densely packed skyscrapers here and there. Aside from the Avenue of Stars 846 Lee