Proofreading 1 + Answers

Proofread the following passage and correct the mistakes without changing the meaning. Do not make unnecessary changes or changes to punctuation.  There is only ONE grammatical error in each numbered line.   (15 marks)

Corrections must be done as follows:

Wrong word: underline the wrong word and write the correct word above it.

(example A).

Missing word: mark the position of the missing word with a “ ^ ” and write the missing word above it. (example B)

 

e.g. A   B

crosses When social networking cross the line                   to Schools are struggling Ù set student guidelines for sites like Facebook.

1.   2.   3.   4.   5.   6.   7.   8.   9.   10.   11.   12.   13.   14.   15.

Cases of students being punished for inappropriate behaviours on   Facebook have increased in recent years, raising the question of schools   should penalise students at their activities on social networking websites.   Some students from Hong Kong International School was given demerits   after using bad languages on Facebook. In countries such as the US and   India, students have been suspended school for cyber-bullying.   A Hong Kong primary school student was punish by school authorities   because of improper acts online. The student was said have created a fake   account on Facebook and use it to scold his classmates.   In Hong Kong, some schools have clear rules about behaviour involve   bullying and harassment. For instances, according to Korean International   School’s rules, ‘Students who bully or harass others will be dealed with   promptly and seriously. This applies the use of social media like Facebook.   Social workers emphasis that Facebook is a place for students to share   their thoughts privately. Teachers should warn students before take any   disciplinary action.

 

Proofreading (15 marks)

e.g. A   B

crosses When social networking cross the line                  to Schools are struggling Ù set student guidelines for sites like Facebook.

1.     2.   3.     4.   5.   6.     7.     8.   9.     10.   11.   12.   13.   14.   15.

behaviour Cases of students being punished for inappropriate behaviours on                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                           whether Facebook have increased in recent years, raising the question of Ù schools                     for should penalise students at their activities on social networking websites.                                                                                       were Some students from Hong Kong International School was given demerits             language after using bad languages on Facebook. In countries such as the US and                             from India, students have been suspended Ù school for cyber-bullying.                                                                        punished A Hong Kong primary school student was punish by school authorities                                                                                       to because of improper acts online. The student was saidÙhave created a fake                     used account on Facebook and use it to scold his classmates.                                                                                                      involving In Hong Kong, some schools have clear rules about behaviour involve                         instance bullying and harassment. For instances, according to Korean International                                                                                                    dealt School’s rules, ‘Students who bully or harass others will be dealed with                              to promptly and seriously. This appliesÙthe use of social media like Facebook.             emphasise Social workers emphasis that Facebook is a place for students to share                                                                                         take Þ taking /they their thoughts privately. Teachers should warn students before Ù take any   disciplinary action. (1 mark should be deducted if any change has been made in this line)

 

Reading Comprehension 4 + Answers

Reading Comprehension

Read the following passage and answer the questions below.

 

(Part 1)

Your abilities to smell and taste are closely related. If you can’t smell your food, it is more difficult to recognise the taste. You may have noticed this when you have had a bad cold with a stuffed up nose.

            Your nose is your organ for smelling. Smells are mixed into the air around you. They enter your nose when you breathe.

            In the upper part of your nose, there are special smell sensors. They pick up the smells and send messages to your brain. The brain then decides what it is you are smelling.

 

(Part 2)

            Smelling can be pleasant. Sometimes smells can remind you of a person and place. For instance, have you ever smelled a particular scent and then suddenly thought about your grandmother’s house?

            Smelling can also be quite unpleasant. But this, too, is important. By smelling food you can tell if it is spoiled and not fit to eat. Besides, your sense of smell can sometimes warn you of danger. For instance, coal gas manufacturers add some sulphur compounds into coal gas. The unpleasant smell can warn you when there is a leak in the supply lines or gas appliances.

            The sense of smell tires out more quickly than your other senses. This is why you get used to some everyday smells and no longer notice them after a while.

 

(Part 3)

            Tasting is the work of your tongue. All over your tongue are tiny taste sensors called taste buds. If you look at your tongue in a mirror, you can see the small groups of taste buds. They are what give your tongue its rough appearance. Each taste bud has a small opening in it. Tiny pieces of food and drink enter this opening. There, taste sensors gather information about the taste and send messages to your brain. Your brain decides what the taste is.

            Taste buds located in different areas of your tongue recognise different tastes.

There are only four tastes that your tongue can recognise: sweet, sour, bitter and salty. All other flavours are a mixture of taste and smell. Smell can also make you feel hungry. In fact, your sense of smell is linked very closely to your sense of taste. Without your sense of smell, you would not taste food so strongly.

 

A.     Find words or phrases from the passage which mean much the same as the following.

 

1.      hard (Part 1)

2.      fragrance or perfume (Part 2)

3.      make someone aware of a possible danger or problem. (Part 2)

4.      become familiar with (Part 2)

5.      uneven (Part 3)

 

 

 

B.     Fill in the blanks with words from the passage. Change the word forms if necessary.

 

1.      I hadn’t seen her for 20 years, but I ________ her immediately. (Part 1)

2.      Under her bed they found a bag _________ with money. (Part 1)

3.      The new tax law will affect everyone, ______ those on a low income. (Part 2)

4.      We __________ at Queen’s Pier and took a coach to Stanley to have our class picnic. (Part 3)

5.      The children like chocolate-__________ ice-cream. (Part 3)

Answer:

 

 

A

 

1.      difficult

2.      (a) scent

3.      warn

4.      get used to

5.      rough

 

B

 

1.      recognised

2.      stuffed

3.      particularly

4.      gathered

5.      flavoured

  

Reading Comprehension 3 + Answers

Read the following letter and answer the questions below.

 

(Part 1)

 

Dear Paul and Carmen,

            I know this letter will come as a great surprise to you, especially when you finish reading it. Let me begin by explaining who I am. I am your poor dead father’s brother. He probably never mentioned me to you, as I was a great disappointment to the family when I was sent to prison for 5 years for robbery. However, I have spent the rest of my life working very hard, and have saved a large amount of money to give back to my family. I have been very lucky in several businesses and have made quite a large fortune. An old and honest friend of mine is looking after the money now. He lives in Quarry Bay (his address is at the end of this letter).

 

(Part 2)

            As I am too ill to come to Hong Kong, you should collect the money for the family. However, there are several problems. I have a very cruel and dishonest business partner and I now he wants to get the money. I though he might send somebody to my friend in Quarry bay and get the money by pretending to be you. So you will have to prove to my friend that you really are my nephew and niece. This is how you could do it.

            Before I left Hong Kong 20 years ago, I hid half of a small statue of Buddha near an old building in the New Territories. You have to find this statue and take it to my old friend in Quarry Bay. He has the other half. If the two halves fit together, he will give you the money. Unfortunately, I have forgotten the names of the places in the New Territories. So I’ll have to give you directions on how to get there. I once had a small map – but I have lost it. Never mind. It wasn’t a very good one anyway. If you use your intelligence and you read my instructions carefully, you ought to be able to find the statue easily. But you need to be very careful. My old partner may be watching you and he is a very dangerous man.

 

(Part 3)

            First, you go out towards a place in the Western New Territories. This place used to be a small fishing village but is now a large new town. There are two roads which go to this town: a new, wide motorway and an old, smaller road which follows the coastline. Take the older one until you are almost at the town. You will see a road on you right through a large container base and just before an army camp. Turn right and follow this road into the hills until it joins a large footpath which has the same name as one of the former governors of Hong Kong….

 

A. Find words in the passage which means the same as the following.

 

1. talked about briefly (Part 1)
2. some (Part 2)
3. appearing to be what it is not (Part 2)
4. the daughter of your brother (Part 2)
5. the strip of land which is near to the sea (Part 3)

 

 

 

 

 

B. Fill in the blanks with words from the passage. You may need to change the word forms.

 

1. Don’t ________ other people. You don’t want to be arrested by the police, do you? (Part 1)
2. An ________ person always tells the truth. (Part 1)
3. People who believe in Buddha are called _________. (Part 2)
4. My sister always _______ her umbrellas. She is very careless. (Part 2)
5. Some old people have problem with their _______. They are unable to move around easily. (Part 3)

Answer:

 

 

A.

 

1. mentioned
2. several
3. pretending
4. niece
5. coastline

 

B.

 

1. rob
2. honest
3. Buddhists
4. loses
5. joints

Reading Comprehension 2 + Answers

Reading

 

Read the text below and then answer the questions which follow.

 

The following definition is taken from the Autism Society of America: Autism is a severely incapacitating lifelong developmental disability that typically appears during the first three years of life.  It occurs in approximately 15 out of every 10,000 births and is four times more common in boys and girls.  It has been found throughout the world in families of all racial, ethnic and social backgrounds.  No known factors in the psychological environment of a child have been shown to cause autism.

 

The symptoms are caused by physical disorders of the brain.  They include:

l   Disturbances in the rate of appearance of physical, social and language skills.

l   Abnormal responses to sensations.  Any one of a combination of the senses or responses are affected: sight, hearing, touch, pain, balance, smell, taste and the way a child holds his body.

l   Speech and language are absent or delayed while specific thinking capabilities might be present.

l   Abnormal ways of relating to people, objects and events.

 

Autism occurs by itself or in association with other disorders that affect the function of the brain, such as viral infections, metabolic disturbances and epilepsy.  It is important to distinguish autism from retardation to mental disorders since diagnostic confusion may result in referral to inappropriate and ineffective treatment techniques.  The severe form of the syndrome may include extreme, self-injurious, repetitive, highly unusual and aggressive behaviour.  Special education programmes using behavioural methods have proven to be the most helpful treatment.

 

                                                                                                                        Adapted from the Autism Society of America online

 

1.      Can people recover from autism?  How is this shown in the text?

2.      Is the exact cause of autism known?  How is this implied in the text?

3.      What main part of the body is affected by autism?

4.      What are the four main symptoms of autism?  Describe them in your own words.

5.      Is autism a mental illness?  If not, then what is it?  Why should it matter whether it is or is not a mental illness?

6.      Does autism occur in varying degrees?  How is this indicated in the text?

What is the most beneficial

Answer Key

Reading

 

1.      No, they cannot.  The text calls it a “lifelong” disability.

2.      It is not known.  The text shows that autism can happen to anyone from anywhere and that the psychological environment of a child does not have an effect on it.

3.      The brain.

4.      Physical, social and language skills do not develop at the expected pace. The body’s reactions to extreme stimuli are unusual.  Mental facilities such as speech, language and thinking skills are manifested irregularly.  The autistic person may appear to exhibit eccentric behaviour.

5.      It is not a mental illness, it is a physical disorder.  Knowing that autism is not a mental illness will prevent the wrong treatment from being applied.

6.      It does.  The text indicates a severe form of it.

7.      Special education programmes employing behavioural methods.

Reading Comprehension 1 + Answers

Reading

 

Read the passage carefully and then answer the questions that follow.

 

            Since ancient times, man has learnt that he needs heat in order to survive.  By rubbing two pieces of dry wood against each other, primitive man was able to produce enough heat to start a fire.  The heat from fire enabled him to cook his food and also kept him warm on cold days.  Today, we do not need to go through the tedious process of starting a fire in the same way that early man had to .  We can now easily use a match or lighter to start a fire.  However, we still need the heat from fire to cook our food and to warm us up.

 

            What exactly is heat?  According to scientists, heat is the result of movements.  Everything around us is made up of minute particles called atoms and molecules.  These atoms and molecules are far too small to be seen by the naked eye.  However, they can be seen under a powerful microscope.  These participles are moving all the time.  They vibrate rapidly even while in a stationary position, thus causing heat to be produced.

 

            Take two pieces of metal of the same size and observe them closely.  Put one piece of metal in a cool place and put the other piece of metal in the fire.  After an hour, take a look at the two pieces of metal.  You will notice that the piece of metal that was left in the cool room has remained the same in size whereas the piece of metal that had been in the fire for an hour would have expanded in size.  If that piece of heated metal is put under a microscope, you will notice the atoms in the metal moving very rapidly further and further away from one another.  That is why when a substance is heated, it increases in size.

 

            Besides solids, expansion can also occur in liquids.  We can observe this by conducting a simple experiment.  Hold a clinical thermometer in one hand and shake it vigorously.  You will find that the mercury would have all flowed back into the bulb.  Then place the thermometer under your tongue for a few minutes.  Take the thermometer out and look at it.  You will find that the mercury in the thermometer has expanded.  The heat from your body has caused the mercury to expand.

 

            What about air?  Does it expand?  Yes, it does.  Fill a basin with hot water.  Place a flask that has a rubber stopper in its mouth into the basin of hot water.  After some time, the flask would get heated.  The air trapped inside the flask would also become heated.  The hot air inside the flask will then expand and push the rubber stopper out.  This shows that even air expands when heated.

 

            There are many ways by which man has learnt to produce heat which he needs for numerous purposes.  One way is by converting other forms of energy into heat.  The main kinds of energy are electrical, chemical and mechanical.  When you switch on an electric kettle, you are using electrical energy to make it hot.  The electricity flows through the heating coils of the kettle and makes it hot.  Chemical energy is derived when substances such as wool, coal or gas are burned.  Once these substances are heated, they are converted into chemical energy.  If you touch the tyres of a car after it has gone through a long journey, you will find that they are quite warm.  This is because the mechanical energy released during the movement of the car, has been turned into heat energy by the friction of the tyres against the road.  Whatever type of energy used produces the same result, in that heat is released.

 

 

 

 

1.      How did primitive man start a life?

2.      How can we start a fire today the easy way?

3.      How is heat formed?

4.      What are atoms and molecules?

5.      What causes a solid to expand?

6.      Why does the mercury in a thermometer rise up when heated?

7.      What are the main types of energy?

8.      Show how the movements of a car can be turned into mechanical heat energy.

Answer Key

Reading

 

1.      Primitive man started a fire by rubbing two pieces of dry wood together.

2.      We can start a fire today by lighting a match or using a lighter.

3.      Heat is formed when atoms and molecules vibrate rapidly.

4.      They are tiny particles found in all matters which are constantly moving.

5.      The atoms in a heated solid cause it to expand as they move rapidly further and further from one another.

6.      The liquid mercury expands when it is heated, thus causing it to rise up.

7.      They are electrical, chemical and mechanical energy.

8.      The movements of a car are turned into mechanical heat energy as a result of the friction caused by the tyres rubbing against the road.