Term Paper 39

Paper 1 Reading 1 of 20 - for HKDSE -

PART A
Read Text 1 and answer questions 1-21 on pages 3-7 of the Question-Answer Section for Part A. (44 marks)

Text 1
Confessions of a failed café owner

[1] Have you ever been to one of those small independent cafés that people like to call ‘cosy’ and ‘instagrammable’ – the
ones that seem to ooze charm simply by existing? The baristas there know half the customers by name. The décor is always a
bit kooky and the coffee beans typically come from far-off farms in Uganda or Peru.

[2] Owning a snazzy little café like that – a hipster café, as my kids would call it – had always been a dream of mine. It still
5 would be, in fact, had that dream not gone terribly, terribly wrong the year I came closest to achieving it. This is that story.

[3] Before you judge me for leaving my 9 to 5 to get the lowdown on cappuccinos, let me explain myself. I’d been dreaming
of running my own café since I was old enough to ask my Darth Vader action figure how he liked his tea. And my desire to

10 run my own café had zilch to do with entrepreneurship or coffee. What I really wanted was the fantasy of a never-ending tea
party, even though it would be anything but. Luckily for you, I’ve already figured that last bit out so you don’t have to.

[4] My café journey began with a short honeymoon period. For a hot second my brand new jazz café became the talk of the
15 town. The main wow factor of The Cat’s Meow, which is what I called the place, was the old-timey record player we kept at
the back. Young and old would come in to marvel at the type of gramophone that they would usually only see in old
Hollywood movies. To a smartphone-carrying public, it was quite literally the unicorn of audio machines – a turntable with a
20 horn sticking out of it – and patrons couldn’t get enough of it.

[5] For a time, it seemed like the gramophone’s rustic charm would be enough for me to do-si-do my way to the bank.
However, as the novelty began to wear off, I couldn’t earn enough money to pay all the bills. The rule of thumb in the
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restaurant business is that the rent should take up no more than a quarter of total revenue. In order to make a profit, you have
to balance the cost of rent with the cost of payroll. You also have to set aside 35% or so of your returns for the product itself.
In theory, if all goes to plan, you’ll be able to take roughly 15% of the proceeds for yourself. However, sales were a constant
struggle and I never got to that point.

[6] My first obstacle was my consumer mentality. I learnt quite quickly that I would need to raise prices as much as the
market would allow – which is a flabbergasting amount. It turns out that many cafés get away with selling an espresso with
as much as a 300 point mark-up without anyone batting an eyelid. Once you get used to ripping people off, the cash adds up
fast. I would send 20 cents’ worth of coffee beans through an espresso machine and watch that 20 cents transform into a $2
espresso. It was mind-boggling how easily this value could be increased. A dash of milk froth could turn that $2 espresso into
a $3 macchiato. A moment in the freezer could turn a $3 macchiato into a $4.50 iced macchiato.

[7] However, no amount of dastardly overcharging could make up for my biggest expense, which was payroll. To make

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 Term Paper 39
Paper 1 Reading 2 of 20 - for HKDSE -

enough money to pay the bills, cafés need to aim for at least two purchases per customer. This meant that I needed food items

on the menu and someone to cook them. Hiring qualified chefs to make the quiches and baguettes I had dreamt of proved to be
30 too costly, especially since a lot of the food would inevitably go to waste every day. In the end, my wife and I, and sometimes

our dogs, winded up working shifts at the café ourselves. We switched out croissants for foods that we could make at home:
easy-bake cookies, two-ingredient sandwiches, and sliced fruits. I thought it was a decent selection, but it was as popular as a
Brussels sprout salad at a kids’ birthday party.
35

[8] As our charming little jazz café continued to fail to make ends meet – likely in part due to my lacklustre barista skills – it
dawned on us that the only thing worse than losing money by hiring people to work at your failing café is losing your mind
40
trying to work at that café yourself. We would take turns working the front desk and prepping in the kitchen, and that helped
us substantially cut down on payroll, but it also made us miserable. It was disheartening to see in person how the jazz-themed
concept we’d been so proud of was working against us. People would spend hour upon hour listening to the gramophone
without buying anything more than a filter coffee. I was spending all hours of the day every day trying to make this jazz café
45 work with nothing to show for it. The saxophones and trumpets were beginning to sound like a sad trombone: womp, womp,
womp.

[9] After nine months of struggle, I called it quits and returned, tail between my legs, to my regular life. It was as if nothing
50
had changed. Only everything had. My dream was kaput!

[10] Over the course of those difficult nine months, I realized why 74% of cafés fail within five years of opening. It doesn’t
matter how charming your café is or how well it manages to bring the community together. At the end of the day, it’s
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extremely difficult to cover the basic running costs of a café, even when you’re overcharging. The average café owner works
unreasonably long hours trying to make their dream viable, and the longer they struggle, the more that dream turns into a
nightmare.

[11] Looking back, I am happy that I chose to wake up and smell my sorry excuse for coffee; however, I am even happier
that others in the same situation have not. The world would be worse off without its humble neighbourhood cafés – even the
failing ones. I only wish that small independent cafés could find it as easy to achieve financial security as they do lodging in
a special place in our hearts.

Comment
[12] Bella85 – I own a café myself and I know what you’re talking about. The café business is not for the faint-hearted. It is
a huge financial risk. I would recommend anyone interested in opening up a café to only go into it if you enjoy running a
business, not because you enjoy the café lifestyle. I’ve been running one for ten years now and only began making a decent
profit at the end of my third year. I recommend newbie owners focus on winning over customers and creating a solid menu.
You’ll probably be in debt by that point, but you’ll be building a loyal clientele and a reputation for good coffee. At the end
of the day, cafés are a business, and owners need to treat them as such if they want to succeed.

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Term Paper 39
Paper 1 Reading 3 of 20 - for HKDSE -

QUESTION-ANSWER SECTION
PART A
Read Text 1 and answer questions 1-21. (44 marks)

5.
Text 1What is the purpose of the phrase ‘Luckily for you’ (line 9)?
1. A. to give
Complete the asummary
conclusionbelow by choosing the best options, based on the information in paragraphs 1 and 2. (3 marks)
B. to introduce a new idea
C. to support an idea with evidence
D. to highlight a message to the reader
The author used to dream of opening up (i) . He liked them for their (ii) but this text is
6. Which
i) about
A.of thea his (iii) . is
following
restaurant the ‘unicorn of audio machines’ mentioned in line 13?
chain
A. B. a food pantry B. C. D.
C. a jazz bar
D. a café

ii) A. prices
B. food
C. charm
A B C D
D. customers

iii) A. success
B. failure
7. Find aC.
wordfamily
or phrase in paragraph 5 which has a similar meaning to ‘pleasingly simple and unpolished in appearance’.
D. music

8.
2. Complete theorsummary
Find a word phrase inofparagraph
paragraph2 5which
by writing ONE word
has a similar takentofrom
meaning that paragraphAin each blank
‘stylish’. B below.
C YourD
answers must be grammatically correct. (4 marks)

3. The
Whatauthor found that
does ‘Before yourunning a café
judge me for was easier
leaving myin9 (i)
to 5_____________ than on
to get the lowdown in reality. He knew
cappuccinos’ that
(line 6) successful caféthe
suggest about
spend
generalnoperception
more thanofa running
(ii) _____________
a café? of income on rent and around 35% on developing the (iii) _____________ .
However, he couldn’t even make enough (iv) _____________ to break even.

9. Decide whether the following statements are True, False or if the information is Not Given in paragraphs 6 and 7.
Blacken ONE circle only for each statement. A B C (3 marks)
D
4. Find one piece of evidence in paragraph 3 that supports the writer’s claim that his desire to run his own café ‘had zilch
to do with entrepreneurship or coffee’ (line 8). T F NG
i) Coffee prices in cafés are generally a bargain.
ii) The author is a terrible cook.
iii) The author and his wife ended up working at The Cat’s Meow themselves.

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* short response – vocabulary (synonyms)
Term Paper 39
Paper 1 Reading 4 of 20 - for HKDSE -

A B C D

10. Below is a summary of paragraph 7. In three of the lines there is ONE mistake. If you find a mistake, underline it and
replace the word with one that expresses the correct idea. Write the word in the box on the right. Both grammar and
spelling must be correct. In one of the lines there is no mistake; put a ‘tick’ () in the box. One has been done for you
as an example.
(5 marks)

Summary Correction
e.g. Payroll was ultimately the smallest expense of all. biggest
i) Hiring interns to make pastries was expensive,
ii) and there was never leftover food at the end of the day.
A B C D
iii) So instead of offering customers croissants, the
iv) writer made complex dishes like sandwiches and
v) pizzas, which he sold alongside the coffee.

11. i) Find the simile the writer uses to describe the food they offered in paragraph 7. (1 mark)

ii) What does the simile show about the food? (1 mark)

12. Find an example of the café falling short of the writer’s expectations mentioned in paragraph 8.
The writer thought

13. Which word best describes the author’s feelings in paragraph 9?

A. scared
B. fulfilled
C. defeated
D. desperate

14. According to paragraph 10, why do most cafés fail?

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Term Paper 39
Paper 1 Reading 5 of 20 - for HKDSE -

A B C D

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Term Paper 39
Paper 1 Reading 6 of 20 - for HKDSE -

15. What do the following phrases from paragraph 11 refer to? (2 marks)
i) ‘wake up’ (line 49)

ii) ‘smell my sorry excuse for coffee’ (line 49)

16. According to paragraph 11, what are cafés … (2 marks)

i) good at doing?

ii) bad at doing?

17. Match the correct subheadings (A-F) to the paragraphs in Text 1. Write the letter in the spaces next to the paragraph
numbers. One of them has been done for you as an example. (5 marks)

Subheading Paragraph No(s). (A-F)

A. Reasons for opening the café 1-2 C
B. Reflections on the café business 3
C. Introduction to the café dream 4-5
D. Why the writer finally decided to quit 6-7
E. Initial experience of running a café 8-9

F. Problems the writer encountered 10-11

18. What is the writer’s main purpose for writing the blog post?
A. to persuade people to support small cafés
B. to complain about the café industry
C. to promote coffee culture
D. to share his experiences

19. What does Bella85 imply when she says the café business is ‘not for the fainthearted’ (line 54)?

A B C D

(1) The writer has hopes for the use of virtual reality in treating mental health problems but
he/she thinks that it should only be used by professionals.
© Aristo Educational Press Ltd.
(1) ‘if 2023 to the right hands’ (line656)
trusted
*She
(1)does
Dr.
short Sarah
not think
response –Green
it is(line
identify a good
48) idea. (lines 44-45)
attitude (1) Martin Walsh (lines 51-52) (1) Robert Miller (line 11)
 * short response – vocabulary (antonym)

Term Paper 39
Paper 1 Reading 7 of 20 - for HKDSE -

20. What credentials does Bella85 mention? Why? (2 marks)

21. Complete the table below about how café owners should run their businesses by using a word or phrase taken from
paragraphs 6, 7 and 12 for each blank. Write no more than THREE words for each blank. (5 marks)

Subject Advice Reasoning

Food Offer (i) ________________ on the menu To make enough money to cover their
costs, cafés need to get customers to
make at least (ii) ________________
each.

(iii) ________________ prices as much as This is the industry norm and will help
Pricing
possible. you pay your bills.

Do not start a café business simply At the end of the day, a café is
Business plan
because you (iv) _________________ . (v) _________________ .

END OF PART A

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 Term Paper 39
Paper 1 Reading 8 of 20 - for HKDSE -

PART B1
Read Texts 2-3 and answer questions 22-51 on pages 10-13 of the Question-Answer Section for Part B1. (44 marks)

Text 2

How do fast food restaurants make their food?

[1] Fast food restaurants are famous for their lightning fast production times and consistent food quality. However, not many
people are aware of how big names like KFC and McDonald’s manage to serve dishes so quickly.

[2] The fast-food business first emerged when restaurants decided to capitalize on the growing popularity of cars. Early
5 drive-in restaurants were a hit with vehicle-owners, but their food preparation service took just as long as that at regular
restaurants. In fact, it was not unusual for food to have gone cold by the time it was delivered to patrons.

[3] Restauranteurs Richard and Maurice McDonald, who were owners of a drive-in, were looking for ways to expedite the
cooking process so they could make food more quickly and sell it at a reduced price. They modelled their novel food
10
preparation method, which became known as the ‘Speedee Service System’, around automobile assembly lines. This was the
revolutionary method behind the restaurant chain that would become McDonald’s.

15
[4] Previously, eateries wanting to make food quickly had needed to hire highly-skilled short-order cooks who had been
specially trained to cook food that required little to no preparation time. The Speedee method, in contrast, only required a
group of unskilled workers, and distributed a series of very small food-preparation steps between them. The kitchen was

20 redesigned to streamline the production process and increase efficiency. As opposed to providing equipment for the
preparation of many different kinds of food, the McDonald Brothers only provided the essentials required to make a small
selection of items. These essentials included a grill where the person in charge of burgers could grill several simultaneously;

25 a condiments station for the person responsible for adding the right dressings; a fryer for the individual who would be
making the French fries; and beverage machines for milkshakes and soft drinks. The McDonald brothers’ unique production
system earned them widespread acclaim and was copied by several other restaurant chains.

[5] Fast food chains today still use many of the methods that were first introduced by the McDonald brothers, but they have
also developed these methods in new ways. Fast food chains these days are known for the uniformity in appearance and taste
of the food they produce. They are able to ensure the consistency of their food thanks to the mass production process. Much
of their food is reheated frozen food that comes from a mass production factory. The factory makes sure that every dish
tastes the same by adding artificial and natural flavours to all the food. When that food makes it to a restaurant kitchen, it is
reheated. There it is cooked using specialist equipment that ensures that multiple dishes can be cooked in exactly the same
way and for the same amount of time. Many chains, for instance, use conveyer belts to send burger patties through a broiler.
The conveyer belt guarantees that each patty is cooked for exactly the same amount of time and the broiler cooks both sides
of each patty at once.

[6] Together, these procedures have made fast food what it is today: a convenient staple of modern day life.

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 Term Paper 39
Paper 1 Reading 9 of 20 - for HKDSE -

Text 3

[7] Some amazing spicy patties but a mixed bag overall

30 -- M. Riley (@MRo32)
My boyfriend and I ordered two Spicy Double Cheeseburgers, two lemon sodas, and some onion rings from Lee’s. The
delivery person arrived right on time but we were disappointed that the food was only lukewarm. It’s a shame because the
35 spicy cheeseburger patties were pretty delicious. I thought the beef was well-seasoned and the heat of the paprika and pickle
relish gave the burger lots of flavour. The onion rings, on the other hand, were less impressive. We could barely taste any
actual onion in it; it seemed to be all batter. I don’t think my experience as a whole was necessarily a bad one. The restaurant
is just nothing special.
40

[8] Above average food with good service

-- Mitt Cooper (@Janice852)
45
I think Lee’s Spicy Burgers is a fantastic takeaway restaurant! I tried their Classic Crispy Chicken Burger and 6-piece corn
nugget set lunch package today. The chicken fillet was very tender and succulent and the mayonnaise dressing went well
with the caramelized onion in the salad. It wasn’t necessarily the best burger I’ve ever eaten, but it was above average.
If you’re looking for value for money, I think this is the place for you. I was pleasantly surprised by how well thought out the
50
corn nuggets were. By themselves, they might be just a tad bland, but the sriracha dip they came with really brought out the
sweetness of the sweetcorn. The only real complaint I have about Lee’s is that they could work on the quality of their
ingredients. While the flavours were pretty good, the veggies all looked like they’d seen better days.

55
[9] Watch out for the catfish!
-- Daniel K. (@Burger_Lover1)
I was so excited to discover Lee’s yesterday. I’ve sworn off fast food restaurants, but I’m still human so I do crave burgers
from time to time. The ad I saw on the internet said that Lee’s is a family-owned takeaway business. It also claimed that their
burgers are relatively healthy and made from high-quality ingredients. However, I got an absolute shock when my order
actually arrived. The lettuce and tomatoes were all wet and languid. The chicken was super salty. It tasted like it had been
dipped in one of those supermarket seasoning powders.

[10] I decided to do a bit of sleuthing to figure out what the problem was and, lo and behold, it turns out that the food at
Lee’s Spicy Burgers is made in a fast food kitchen! So much for being a family place! Apparently many large chain
restaurants are renting out their kitchen space to smaller takeaway-only brand. These shared spaces are known as ‘ghost
kitchens’. Brands using ghost kitchens don’t do dine-ins and they make all their food in a shared kitchen. While I have no
problem with restaurants sharing kitchen space, some of the restaurants that use ghost kitchens are actually fast food chains
operating under a different name. I’m not sure if Lee’s is a fast food chain in disguise, but I’m never going to order from
them again!

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Term Paper 39
Paper 1 Reading 10 of 20 - for HKDSE -

QUESTION-ANSWER SECTION

PART B1
Read Texts 2-3 and answer questions 22-51. (44 marks)

Text 2
22. Text 2 is most likely taken from …
A. a letter.
B. a manual.
C. a proposal.
D. a magazine.

23. According to paragraph 1, what are fast food restaurants known for? A B C D

24. What caused the rise of drive-in restaurants?

25. Who invented the ‘Speedee Service System’ (line 8)?

26. What word in paragraph 3 has a similar meaning to ‘speed up’?

27. Which restaurant chain mentioned in the text uses the Speedee method?

28. Decide if the following statements are True, False or if the information is Not Given in paragraphs 3 and 4. (4 marks)

T F NG
i) The Speedee System was based on how cars were manufactured.
ii) The Speedee System required highly skilled workers.
iii) The inventors of the Speedee System were widely praised.
iv) In the short term, it was cheaper to hire a group of unskilled workers than one
short-order cook.

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Term Paper 39
Paper 1 Reading 11 of 20 - for HKDSE -

29. Which of the following are characteristic(s) of the Speedee Method? Put a ‘tick’ () next to the ones mentioned in the
text, and a ‘cross’ () next to the ones that are not mentioned. (4 marks)

A kitchen designed to improve efficiency. The use of cheap vegetables and meat.
1
Hiring highly-trained managers. Providing only essential kitchen equipment.

30. Which of the following food item is NOT mentioned in the text?
A. B. C. D.

31. What does the pronoun ‘they’ (line 19) refer to?

32. Where are most fast food items produced? A B C D

33. In paragraph 5, find a word that means ‘manmade’.

34. What does the word ‘chains’ (line 25) mean?

35. What features of the equipment used in fast food restaurants ensures the consistency of food being served? (2 marks)

36. What is the purpose of the text?

A. to analyse how the fast food industry make money
B. to inform readers of the development of fast food
C. to persuade readers to have fast food
D. to criticize the fast food industry

A B C D

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Term Paper 39
Paper 1 Reading 12 of 20 - for HKDSE -

Text 3
37. Where would you most likely find this text?
A. a food review website
B. a film review blog
C. a recipe book
D. a travel blog

38. Who did M. Riley eat with? A B C D

39. What did M. Riley order?

40. What does the word ‘lukewarm’ (line 32) mean?

A. cold
B. too hot
C. slightly warm
D. warmer than expected

41. What ingredient mentioned in paragraph 7 gave the patties their spicy taste?

42. Which food item did M. Riley … (2 marks)

i) like the most overall?

ii) dislike the most overall? A B C D

43. Who or what does ‘their’ (line 39) refer to?

44. What are two positive comments Mitt Cooper gave about the food? (3 marks)
 The burger was .
 Cooper was by the .

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Term Paper 39
Paper 1 Reading 13 of 20 - for HKDSE -

45 i) What does ‘they’d seen better days’ (line 45) mean? (1 mark)
A. The restaurant had better business before.
B. The restaurant used to have better chefs.
C. The veggies were too crispy and fresh.
D The veggies were starting to wilt.

ii) Find a remark made by Daniel K. that makes a similar comment. A B C (1Dmark)

46. What does ‘the catfish’ (line 46) refer to?

A. someone pretending to be something they are not
B. someone who is good at doing their job
C. a fish that looks like a cat
D. a fish-like cat

47. Based on the text, why do you think Daniel had ‘sworn off fast food restaurants’ (line 48)?

48. Find a word in paragraph 10 that means something similar to ‘investigating’.

A B C D

49. What is a ‘ghost kitchen’ (lines 55-56)?

50. How did Daniel feel after finding out that Lee’s Spicy Burgers was a ghost kitchen?
A. surprised and excited
B. shocked and cheated
C. disappointed and tearful
D. disappointed and vengeful

51. Below are comments made by some of the people mentioned in Text 3. Match each person with one comment. Use each
letter ONCE only. One comment is not used and you should select ‘Not Stated’. (4 marks)
Comments M. Riley Mitt Cooper Daniel K. Not stated
i) Lee’s Spicy Burgers makes the best burgers in town.  
ii) Lee’s Spicy Burgers is great for penny-pinchers.  
iii) Lee’s Spicy Burgers is misleading consumers.  
iv) The restaurant isn’t particularly good or bad.  
END OF PART B1
A B C D

END OF PART B1

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 Term Paper 39
Paper 1 Reading 14 of 20 - for HKDSE -

PART B2
Read Text 4 and answer questions 52-73 on pages 17-20 of the Question-Answer Section for Part B2. (44 marks)

Text 4

An ode to ugly fish

[1] ‘It’s repulsive-looking, isn’t it?’ says Kevin Jones as he pauses to appraise the day’s catch during an auction at Cornwall’s
Newlyn Harbour Fish Market. Paying no mind to the boxes of tuna and mackerel that attract most buyers, Jones crouches
down to inspect the outcast of the sale: a massive, beady-eyed anglerfish. The predator looks like a cross between a toad and
a stingray. With mottled green-brown skin, razor-sharp teeth, a broad, flat head, and an enormous jaw, the bizarre, scale-less
5 mer-frog has all the makings of a sea monster. Oddly enough, that’s precisely why Jones is raring to cook it.

[2] Jones, 55, works for a fine-dining establishment called Hideous. A bastion of Cornish culinary ingenuity, Hideous
specializes in cooking with ‘ugly’ (but perfectly edible) produce. Its pantry of unsightly ingredients comprises gnarled root

10 vegetables, oddly-shaped plants, and many lesser-known variants of familiar foods. The restaurant is well-known locally, for
instance, for having popularized the use of morel mushrooms and horned melons.

[3] Hideous is currently expanding its inventory of wacky ingredients to include a new kind of ‘hideous’ nosh: ‘ugly’ fish. In
15 the coming summer months, Hideous will be offering local specialities like the megrim, a drab-coloured sole with both eyes on
its left side, and international darlings like the catfish, a fish with whisker-like organs that stick out from around its mouth.
Entrees like spidercrab and toadfish might seem like creepy ugly ducklings to most people, but Hideous promises that these are
swans when it comes to flavour. What is more, these fish are very environmentally friendly.
20

[4] It is believed that eating more ugly fish could reduce fishing pressure on species that are in danger of extinction.
Reductions in the number of edible fish are usually caused by overfishing and wasteful commercial fishing practices. These
harmful modern fishing methods result in lots of unused bycatch – unwanted animals that are accidentally caught in fishing
25
nets and then thrown away. The relative abundance of ugly fish suggests that, given the chance, they could be sustainable
substitutes for endangered seafood like European eel and Chinook salmon.

[5] Among the ugly fish being touted as promising replacements for restaurant favourites is the monkeyface prickleback – a
massive, eel-shaped fish with thickset lips and beady eyes. Researchers studying it at the University of California Irvine
claim that the prickleback’s largely vegetarian diet make it an inexpensive alternative to carnivorous species that are
usually raised in fish farms. As monkeyface pricklebacks don’t require fishmeal to survive, they can be farmed more easily
and affordably than other fish. Better still, the flavour profile of their meat is delicate enough to suit most palates.

[6] Unfortunately, getting people to feel less squeamish about eating ugly fish is easier said than done. Several factors
determine whether an individual will find a fish too disgusting to eat. Research suggests that people are generally more
attracted to bright-coloured, round-bodied fish, and yellow-coloured fish are preferred above all others. On the other hand,
fish with dull colouring or unconventionally-shaped bodies are considered less aesthetically pleasing. However, whether or

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 Term Paper 39
Paper 1 Reading 15 of 20 - for HKDSE -

not one’s subjective opinion of the beauty of a fish affects one’s willingness to eat it seems to have a lot to do with culture. In

30 comparison to most English restaurant-goers, diners from other countries are more accepting of the idea of eating ugly fish.

‘Monkfish tail, for instance, is a highly sought-after luxury ingredient where I come from in France,’ explains Hideous’ head
chef, Coralie Laurent. ‘We will need to spearhead some cultural change in Cornwall if we want ugly fish to be accepted.’

35
[7] Consumer hesitation to try ugly fish likely comes from a public misconception that unattractive produce is harmful to
health. This is a shame because, more often than not, deformity and ugliness alone are not enough to indicate that a fruit or
vegetable is spoiled or hazardous. Horticulturist Matt Pivet confirms that ugly-looking foods are perfectly safe to eat so long as

40 they haven’t gone rotten. Any apparent deformities are usually a result of incomplete pollination, something that doesn’t pose
any risks to humans.

[8] Knowing the uphill battle they face when it comes to convincing guests to eat ugly fish, Hideous has created a beginner’s
45 menu for the benefit of less adventurous diners. ‘We’re using comfort foods to endear people to the idea of eating ugly fish.
These ingredients seem much less intimidating in the context of a dish that is well-loved by the community. Customers feel
like they’re eating a regular fish,’ explains sous-chef Patty Longsmith.

50
[9] By pulling ugly fish out of obscurity and onto our dinner tables, Hideous also hopes to draw attention to the
discrimination ugly fish face outside the kitchen. Sadly, fish that are considered unattractive or even simply plain are less
likely to receive conservation support. This even holds true in cases where the homely fish are more ecologically important.
For this reason, not all ugly fish are plentiful enough to be valuable replacements for dining staples.
55

[10] In fact, fish are not the only creatures that suffer due to our unrealistic beauty standards. Beauty biases have a huge
impact on the welfare of ‘ugly’ animals in general. Awareness of the wellbeing of animals that are generally perceived as
60 ‘cute’, koalas and pandas, for example, far overshadows that of uglier or less charming types of wildlife. According to a
2020 research study, invertebrates like insects and worms are 468 times less likely to receive donations than vertebrates,
irrespective of how vital they might be to the environment. More ‘cute’ or ‘charismatic’ animals are also more likely to
receive funding for conservation and research.

[11] Jones, who has a background in climate science, worries that our aesthetic prejudices could skew our conservation
priorities to the detriment of the future of the planet. Of particular concern for Jones is the possibility that overfishing will
exacerbate global warming. ‘I’m worried that the number of phytoplankton will decrease to the point where there won’t be
enough to absorb the carbon dioxide in the air,’ shares Jones. ‘Phytoplankton allow the ocean to function as a carbon sink.
Without their photosynthesizing abilities, carbon dioxide in the air would dissolve in seawater and make the ocean more
acidic. Temperatures worldwide would also rise. We need to safeguard the underwater food chain because the underwater
ecosystem helps moderate the number of phytoplankton in the water. Earth will become unliveable if it loses its aquatic
biodiversity.’

[12] Hideous hopes that increased exposure to ugly fish will help the public realize the importance of ‘uncharismatic’ marine
life. The trouble with ugly fish isn’t that they’re gruesome or unlikeable, but rather that they subvert the cookie-cutter outline

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 Term Paper 39
Paper 1 Reading 16 of 20 - for HKDSE -

of fish people have learned to expect. While drastically reducing fishing altogether might seem like the ideal solution to the
problem of overfishing, replacing some culinary favourites with more sustainable, albeit ugly, alternatives is a fine

compromise – at least for now. ‘I think reducing the stigma against ugly fish will help people be less superficial when
65 they’re choosing causes to support,’ reflects Jones. ‘In the long run, that change in mindset could make a huge difference.’

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Text 4

Term Paper 39
52. Complete the summary of paragraph 1 by writing ONE word taken from that paragraph in each blank below. Make sure
your answers are grammatically correct. (4 marks)

Paper 1 Reading 17 of tend

Kevin Jones is (i) _________________ to fish that normal (ii) _________________ would ignore, as those species 20 - for HKDSE -
to look (iii) _________________ and are not as popular as other prized finds at fish (iv) _________________ .

53. Why does the writer use the phrase ‘Oddly enough’ in line 5?
QUESTION-ANSWER SECTION

54. Find PART

a wordB2
or phrase in paragraph 1 which can be replaced by ‘is eager to’.
Read Text 4 and answer questions 52-73. (44 marks)
55. In paragraph 2, what metaphor is used to describe Hideous?

56. Complete the sentence below using information given in paragraph 2.

Hideous is well known for

57. What is the writer’s tone when they describe catfish as ‘international darlings’ (line 12)?
A. excited
B. sarcastic
C. disgusted
D. indifferent

58. Look at the word ‘these’ in line 13.

i) What does it refer to? (1 mark)

ii) What are they compared to in paragraph 3? (1 mark)

iii) Why does the writer use this metaphor? (1 mark)

A B C D

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59. Term Paper 39
Complete the following sentences using the information in paragraph 4. Make sure your answers are grammatically
correct. (3 marks)
Paper 1 Reading 18 of 20 - for HKDSE -
The number of edible fish has been falling because (i) ____________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________________________________
Eating more ugly fish benefits edible fish species as it relieves (ii) ___________________________________________
________________________________________________ as the number of ugly fish is (iii) _____________________
________________________________________________________________________________________________

60. What makes prickleback a good alternative to restaurant favourites? (2 marks)

i) ______________________________________________________________________________________________
ii) ______________________________________________________________________________________________

61. Complete the table using information from paragraphs 6 and 7. Make sure your answers are grammatically correct.
(5 marks)
Source of consumers’ hesitance Reasoning

whether a fish is considered (i) ____________________________________

Aesthetics
_____________________________________________________________

whether a fish is considered (iii) ___________________________________

(ii) _____________________
_____________________________________________________________

whether a fish is considered (v)____________________________________

(iv) _____________________
_____________________________________________________________

62. What is the cause of ‘deformities’ (line 36) in some foodstuffs?

63. What does the writer imply by saying that Hideous faces an ‘uphill battle’ (line 38)?
________________________________________________________________________________________________

64. Complete the summary of paragraph 8 by writing ONE word taken from that paragraph in each blank below. Make sure
your answers are grammatically correct. (4 marks)

In an effort to educate (i) _______________ , Hideous has put together a (ii) _______________ that uses
(iii) _______________ even less adventurous people are used to and therefore are not be (iv) _______________ by.

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Term Paper 39
Paper 1 Reading 19 of 20 - for HKDSE -

65. Find a phrase in paragraph 9 which has a similar meaning to ‘making something known’.

66. What does ‘This’ (line 44) refer to?

________________________________________________________________________________________________

67. According to paragraphs 9 and 10, looks affect issues regarding animals. Complete the table below with a word or
phrase taken from paragraph 11 in each blank. Make sure your answers are grammatically correct. (3 marks)

Issue Getting people to care about the (i) ___________________ of endangered species.

Problem with ugly fish Ugly fish face (ii) __________________ .

Problem with ‘ugly’ (iii) such as insects and worms are less protected.
animals

68. Below is a summary of paragraphs 9 and 10. In three of the lines there is ONE mistake. If you find a mistake, underline
it and replace the word with one that expresses the correct idea. Write the word in the box on the right. Both grammar
and spelling must be correct. In one of the lines there is no mistake; put a ‘tick’ () in the box. One has been done for
you as an example.
(4 marks)

Summary Correction
e.g. Ugly fish are less likely to be endangered, more
i) because they receive little conservation support.
ii) Funding usually goes to uncharismatic animals
iii) or cute animals like stonefish and pandas.
iv) Ecological importance makes some difference.

69. Jones mentions the need to ‘safeguard the underwater food chain’ (line 57). (2 marks)
i) What species does he want to safeguard? _____________________________________________________________
ii) Why is this important? ___________________________________________________________________________

70. Find a word in paragraph 11 that expresses the idea of ‘making a matter worse’.

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Term Paper 39
Paper 1 Reading 20 of 20 - for HKDSE -

© Aristo Educational Press Ltd. 2023 20