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ELC 500/TEST 1/SAMPLE

PART A (15 MARKS)

Read the passage below and answer all the questions that follow.

In the summer of 1995, the district of Columbia passed a law imposing a curfew
on teenagers. The law required everyone under the age of 17 to be home by
11.00 p.m. on weekdays, midnight on weekends and to stay put until 6.00 a.m.
the next morning. It also prohibited drivers under 18 driving in the district after
midnight. Not only did the teenagers face punishment if caught in public after

curfew, their parents could be prosecuted too.

II

Curfews are just misguided anti-crime strategies. They will do nothing to make
our streets safer. It is absurd to think that any teenager who is selling drugs or
carrying a gun crimes that could lead to years in prison would rush home at
11.00 p.m. to avoid violating his or her curfew, or that this same teenager will

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not have a false identification. And certainly any crime that would be committed
after midnight can just as easily be committed earlier. In fact, more juvenile
crimes are committed right after school, between 3.00 p.m. and 6.00 p.m.

III

What curfews will do is wreak havoc with one of our most fundamental
constitutional rights the right to freedom of movement. Curfew laws punish
the innocent instead of the guilty. They put the law-abiding teenagers under
house arrest every night of the week, not because they have done anything
wrong but because of the crimes committed by others. Curfews criminalise

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ELC 500/TEST 1/SAMPLE

normal and otherwise lawful behavior, like standing on street corners or going
for an early morning run. They usurp the rights of parents to raise their children

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as they think best.

IV

There is also no evidence that curfews work. In Houston, a curfew was

introduced, and youth crime went down by 22%. But in New York, where no
curfew exists, youth crime went down 30%. In Detroit and New Orleans, youth
crime increased after curfews were introduced. And in San Francisco, youth

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crime went down after a curfew was revoked. Curfews also squander police
resources that should be used to fight real crime. That is why many police
chiefs oppose them. And inevitably, curfews result in discrimination: studies
have consistently found that curfew laws are disproportionately enforced in
minority communities in the United States.

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There are better ways to tackle this problem besides imposing curfew laws.
The proper response to juvenile crime is to arrest people suspected of criminal
conduct, not to keep millions of innocent, law-abiding young people under lock
and key. An even better proposal would be to develop resources designed to
prevent juvenile crime by addressing the social conditions that cause it.

VI

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In sum, while curfews may give the appearance of bold action, in reality they do
far more harm than good.

(Adapted from an article retrieved from http://aclu

or.org/site/DocServer/Youth_curfews_national.pdf?docID=621)
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ELC 500/TEST 1/SAMPLE

1) What do the following words mean as used in the passage?

a.

prosecuted ( line 6)

_____________________

b.

violating

_____________________

c.

committed ( line 18)

_____________________

d.

squander ( line 26)

_____________________

e.

disproportionately (line 29)

_____________________

( line 10)

(5 marks)
2)

Explain what Curfews are just misguided anti-crime strategies (line 7) means.
___________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________
(1 mark)

3).

Based on the passage, which statement is true?

(Circle your answer)
a. The law which imposed a curfew on teenagers in the district of Columbia required
teenagers to be home by midnight on weekdays.
b. Curfews are a good way to deter teenagers from juvenile crime.
c. Studies show that curfews are enforced in areas occupied by minority communities in
the United States .
(1 mark)

4)

Explain what the following sentence means.

What curfews will do is wreak havoc with one of our most fundamental constitutional
rights (line 14).
____________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________

(1 mark)
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5)

ELC 500/TEST 1/SAMPLE

According to the writer, what are the negative effects of imposing curfews?
a.____________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________
b.____________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________
(2 marks)

6)

Give THREE (3) details the author offers to support the following statement taken from
paragraph IV There is no evidence that curfews work.

a.___________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________

b.___________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________

c.___________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________

(3 marks)

7)

What is the stated main idea of paragraph V?

__________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________
(2 marks)

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ELC 500/TEST 1/SAMPLE

PART B (15 MARKS)

Read the passage below and answer all the questions that follow.

The number of male teachers in schools is dwindling. Nationwide, only one in

four teachers is a man, and at the primary level, it is one out of 10 teachers.
With women teachers now outnumbering men four to one, the imbalance looks
set to worsen. Educationists predict that male teachers will no longer be in the
teaching profession if the decline in the number of men in the teaching

profession is not checked. The educators interviewed by the New Straits Times
also unanimously agreed that about three decades ago, men were a formidable
presence in classrooms but now there seems to be fewer than five male
teachers in one school.

II

Prof Datuk Dr Aminah Ayob from the Sultan Idris University of Education

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(UPSI) said that concerted efforts were made in 2007 by her institution to
attract more men but the 70:30 female to male trainee teacher ratio persisted in
2008 and worsened to 72:28 in 2009. Deputy Education Minister, Datuk Dr
Wee Ka Siong said the situation was dire and he acknowledged that it could
worsen. He said the ministry wanted more male role models for pupils but

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admitted it was difficult to tilt the balance. According to Dr. Wee, the numbers
applying for and successfully becoming teachers mirror the gender imbalance
of undergraduates in the institutions of higher learning. Two-thirds of the
graduates are female so when there is an imbalance at the source, the number
of men becoming teachers will reflect that.

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III

ELC 500/TEST 1/SAMPLE

Male teachers shun the profession for several reasons. The majority of them
think women are better suited because it involves children. Other factors going
against it are low pay, stress and too much paperwork. They also think that
females are more patient and better able to deal with the pressure of the job.
Many male teachers also feel that opportunities to move up the ladder are

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limited. For example, up to 200 qualified teachers can be vying for the same
vacancy, so they feel the chances of getting it are slim.

IV

What is also declining in tandem with male teachers is the number of nonMalay teachers. It has dwindled to such an extent that only 20.5 percent of
primary and secondary schools are headed by non-Malay headmasters or

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principals. Of the 3,500 graduates from UPSI each year, only a fifth are nonMalays. According to UPSI, the number of non Malay applicants has
decreased over the years.

Both Prof Datuk Dr Aminah Ayob and Datuk Dr Wee Ka Siong agree that more
steps need to be taken to attract more males and non-Malays to join the

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teaching profession.

By Koh Lay Chin (Adapted from New Sunday Times, August 2, 2009)

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ELC 500/TEST 1/SAMPLE

1) What do the following words mean as they are used in the passage?
a.

decline ( line 5)

________________________

b.

dire

(line 14)

________________________

c.

imbalance ( line 17)

________________________

d.

shun ( line 21)

________________________

e.

opportunities (line 25)

________________________

(5 marks)
2) Explain what about three decades ago, men were a formidable presence in
classrooms (lines 7-8) means .
______________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________
(1 mark)
3) Was the effort taken by University of Education (UPSI) to attract more men to join the
teaching profession successful?
a. _________________________________________________________________
Support your answer with one supporting detail from the paragraph II.
b. ___________________________________________________________________

(2 marks)

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ELC 500/TEST 1/SAMPLE

4) The following statements are taken from Paragraph III. Determine whether each of the
following statements is a Major detail or a Minor detail by putting a tick () in the relevant
box.
Statement
Major Detail
Minor Detail
a.
The majority of them think women are better
suited because it involves children.

b.

c.

d.

They also think that females are more patient

and better able to deal with the pressure of the
job.
Many male teachers also feel that opportunities
to move up the ladder are limited.
For example, up to 200 qualified teachers can
be vying for the same vacancy, so they feel the
chances of getting it are slim.
(4 marks)

5. Based on the passage, which statement is true?

(Circle your answer)
a. Both Prof Datuk Dr Aminah Ayob and Datuk Dr Wee Ka Siong agree that UPSI
must put in more effort to attract more non-Malays to join the profession.
b. Only a small percentage of non-Malays are headmasters or principals.
(1 mark)
6. What is the stated main idea of paragraph IV?
______________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________
(2 marks)

END OF QUESTION PAPER

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