‘O’ LEVEL ENGLISH LANGUAGE

English Language GCE Ordinary Level – ENGLISH LANGUAGE

Examination Format
There are three compulsory papers: [Title of your article]
4. Quote a word which indicates that the radar is rather ineffective. (1m)
Newspaper/Magazine
Article Answer: “vulnerable” (line 49).
Range Weighting Duration - use informative and [B O D Y P A R A G R A P H S] Vocabulary question. Do not forget to use quotation marks. You are asked to quote.
Paper Description descriptive language
of Marks
Paper 1 This paper is Candidates Total 40% 1hr From paragraph 8
divided into answer both marks : 45 mins
Composition two sections:: Section 1 and 60 5. The writer suggests that “radar always sees something”. (2m)
Speech Good morning fellow students, Explain how this is made possible.
Section 2. - use direct speech in
relaxed tone [B O D Y P A R A G R A P H S]
Section 1 - Five topics are 30
set. Candidates Answer: He explains that the inconsistent atmospheric condition [1] would de�lect
Free Writing choose one signals back from stealthy targets for the radar to detect [1].
topic and write This is an inferential question where students need to �igure out how turbulence serves as
350-500 To: [Name and designation of the reader] a natural condition for radar signals to be bounced back to the transmitting radar.
words on it.
Report From: [Your name and designation]
Section 2 - Candidates 30 - use only format From paragraph 9
write 250-350 language and tone Date:
Situational words on the 6. According to the passage, what could be the possible reasons for the radar to (2m)
Writing question. - be detailed and Report on [what is your report about?] remain relevant and useful?
accurate
Answer: There would always be areas for improvement [1] which continue to be of
Paper 2 This paper All questions Total 40% 1hr [B O D Y P A R A G R A P H S] interest [1] to the user.
contains one are compulsory. marks: 40mins Student should infer from the key phrases, “room for radar to evolve, ... technology is
Comprehension or two 50 Reported by: like a continuing chess game
comprehension
passages of a Comprehension 20 [Print your name]
total length of questins.
about 1200 Tips on Vocabulary Questions:
words. • Begin writing:
Vocabulary 5 • Analyse the context that vocabulary is used in a sentence and determine its
questions. - The main ideas and points are given. You have to build on them by providing meaning.
more details. • Avoid giving complete opposites eg. “hot” = “not cold”.
Summary
- Use transitions to connect your points.
25 - Do not use the same words that can be found in the situation,
question paraphrase instead.
(Candidates
write a Sample Vocabulary Question:
150-word
summary, not PAPER 2 (TOTAL – 50 MARKS) For each of the following words or phrases from the passage, give one word or short
including the phrase (of not more than seven words) which has the same meaning that the word
introductory This paper consists of two comprehension passages of a total length of about 1,200 or phrase has in the passage.
words). words. All questions are compulsory. The total duration of Paper 2 is 1 hour 40
minutes.
Paper 3 This paper All parts are Total 20% About (a) composite (line12)
consists of compulsory. marks : 20 mins Format: Answer: combined, complex (adjective)
Oral three parts: 40 (including
All three parts 10 mins • Eleven comprehension questions which may consist of sub-questions.
are thematically preparation • Five vocabulary questions. (b) drawback (line 39)
Communication time) • One summary question (150 words).
Part 1 - linked. 12 Answer: disadvantage, problem (noun)
Reading Aloud
General Tips:
Part 2 - 12 (c) epitaph (line 68)
Picture • Keep to the time schedule of 1 hour 10 minutes to complete the comprehension Answer: memorial, writing to remember something that is gone (noun)
Discussion and vocabulary questions and 30 minutes to write the summary.
16 • Read both passages carefully before attempting to answer any of the questions.
Part 3 - • Jot down the main themes of each paragraph in the margins so you do not lose
Conversation track of the points. Tips on Summary Writing:
Tips on Comprehension Questions: • Note the passage and paragraphs to peruse for your summary.
PAPER 1 (TOTAL – 60 MARKS) • Select the correct points that answer the summary question.
This paper is divided into two sections, Section 1 and Section 2. The total duration • Understand what the question is asking you. Inferential questions are tricky and • Begin writing your summary using the opening words given and paraphrasing
of Paper 1 is 1 hour 45 minutes. require further analysis. the information you have selected from the passage.
• Do not ‘lift’ points from the passage, paraphrase so that you answer the • Ensure that your summary is written in one paragraph and does not go below
Section 1 (Free Writing – 30 marks) questions directly. 145 words or more than 155 words.
• When a question says “use your own words”, do exactly that without changing
Format: its meaning as found in the passage.
• Answer all questions in complete sentences.
• Five topics are set. Sample Summary Question:
• Candidates choose one topic and write 350-500 words.
Tips: Sample Passage I: Using your own words as far as possible, summarise the challenges of radar
technology and the steps taken to overcome them.
• Before you start writing:
- Keep to the time schedule of 1 hour 5 minutes to complete the whole essay. 1 Of all the weapons of modern warfare, none is more venerable than USE THE MATERIAL IN THE PASSAGE FROM LINE 34 TO LINE 61.
- Read the question that you have chosen and highlight or list down the keywords radar. The seemingly magical technology that enables planes, ships and artillery
to avoid “mental block” of ideas in the later stages of your writing. units to spot the enemy from afar has made the difference between defeat and Your summary, which must be in continuous writing (not note form), must not be
- Analyse the way the question is phrased, paying particular attention to the victory in many a battle. In a Nova TV episode called Echoes of War, which was more than 150 words (not counting the words given to help you to begin).
directives/style. shown on the Public Broadcasting System last week, radar was hailed as the 5
military's unsung hero of World War II. As physicist I.I. Rabi once recalled, "Maybe
we could have won it without the atomic bomb but without radar we could have Begin your summary as follows:
Directives & Styles Examples & Requirements
lost it.
Do you agree../ Example: “The only child in the family tends to be
over-protected and spoilt.” Do you agree with the statement? 2 Yet for all its past glory, radar is facing its most perilous assault ever. All Radar technology is not without …
Argumentative the major military powers are working on stealth technologies designed to defeat 10
Requirements: You are asked to agree or disagree and give radar. The U.S. Air Force's new B-2 Stealth bomber, for example, is supposedly
your reasons to support your argument. almost invisible to radar because its sleek shape and special composite
construction tend to absorb rather than re�lect electronic signals. The same
One word topic Example: Compassion. techniques will soon be used to introduce stealth missiles, ships, satellites and Answers for Summary:
tanks. Moreover, military designers have developed missiles and other weapons 15
Open that can zero in on electronic signals and thus destroy the ships and planes
Requirements: You are askd to write on the topic of compas-
sion. carrying radar. Faced with these trends, some Pentagon experts have raised a
Your essay may take the form of expository, narrative or disturbing question: Is radar becoming obsolete? 1) ... a serious drawback: ... problem ..
descriptive, with appropriate examples.
3 The issue is of utmost importance to the U.S. armed forces. Virtually all
In what ways../ Example: In what ways do family members and friends affect American warplanes use radar, and many costly weapons systems, from the 20 2) its signal is a blazing electronic ... make the transmitter vulnerable to
Expository the self-esteem of a young person? Navy's Aegis system to the Army's Patriot missile, are heavily reliant on the beacon that can make the transmitter attacks
technology. By one estimate, about a quarter of U.S. military investment is radar as much the hunted as the hunter
Requirements: You are asked to explain the effects that can be related. If heavy use of radar becomes questionable, the Pentagon will have to
seen in a young person’s self-esteem due to the positive and/or rethink its whole strategy and allocation of resources.
negative in�luences surrounding them. 3) Many countries, including the Soviet ... Possess a wide range of....
4 The development of radar (short for radio detection and ranging) 25 Union, have an array of antiradiation
Write about../ Example: Write about an occasion when your carelessness led applications in the U.S. stemmed from the accidental discovery in 1922 that a ship missiles
Narrative to an unforseen consequence. moving between a radio transmitter and receiver interfered with the signals. The
technology came into its own in World War II, when it progressed rapidly from a
Requirements: You are asked to narrate a story about your crude early-warning system barely able to locate ships and aircraft to a 4) ... that can home in on radar-equipped ... can pinpoint and direct its
carelessness which led to an unexpected result, either positive sophisticated electronic eye that can spot the periscope of a submerged 30 ships or planes. attention ...
or negative. submarine. Radar works because electronic signals bounce off objects, just as a
voice is re�lected by walls or buildings. Radar transmits radio waves and "listens"
What..do you think../ Example: SIngapore is opening its doors and becoming a more for an echo. The direction of the echo and the elapsed time from transmission 5) and destroy them ... annihilate
inclusive society. What values do you think will endure despite determine an object's location. Unlike relatively slow sound waves, radio signals
Expository travel at the speed of light and can circle the globe 7 1/2 times a second.
a rapidly changing society and technological 35
advancements? Therefore, radar can almost instantly spot targets at great distances. Because it 6) a missile, �ired by an Iraqi warplane, ... ...shot ...
can see through clouds and at night, radar is superior to all other sensors, nearly sank the U.S.S. Stark in the
Requirements: You are asked to explain your understanding of including optical, infrared, acoustic and magnetic. Persian Gulf two years ago,
“inclusive society” and list the values that have been taught to
us. From this list, explain those that you think will last despite 5 But radar has a serious drawback: its signal is a blazing electronic
societal and technological developments. beacon that can make the transmitter as much the hunted as the hunter. "Like a 40 7) Pentagon "has 15 radar (systems), ... easily destroyed ..
�lashlight in a dark forest, radar can spotlight certain trees," says Theodore Postol, costing over $10 billion, which are
*Source: Questions taken from Cedar Girls’ Secondary School, Preliminary Examination 2007 an electronics expert at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. "But vulnerable to ARMs.
everybody in the woods can see it." .
• Begin writing: 6 Many countries, including the Soviet Union, have an array of 8) signals bouncing back from stealth ... de�lected ...
antiradiation missiles that can home in on radar-equipped ships or planes and 45 planes will be very weak
- Begin with a strong thesis statement that introduces the main idea of your destroy them. It was just such a missile, �ired by an Iraqi warplane, which nearly
essay and state key points. sank the U.S.S. Stark in the Persian Gulf two years ago, killing 37 sailors. A study
- Develop each key point in a complete paragraph, giving your supporting details. by the General Accounting Of�ice points out that the Pentagon "has 15 radar 9) and hard to distinguish from ... dif�icult to differentiate...
- Use transitions to connect your points. ((systems)), costing over $10 billion, which are vulnerable to ARMs." Says Thomas background noise.
- Avoid using very de�inite statements when in doubt eg. “Singapore implemented Amlie, a Defence Department of�icial: "Navy's Aegis wouldn't last a half hour in a 50
its family planning policy in 1975.” It would be better to say “Singapore real war." No one is more aware of radar's vulnerability than the troops. "Turn
implemented its family planning policy in the 1970s.” radar on," goes the saying on the front lines, "and you're dead." 10) But radar designers are working to ... experimenting to solve ...
- End your essay with a summary of the main points. You can restate the central overcome
idea and indicate why it is important. However, do not use the same words, 7 But radar designers are working to overcome its inherent weaknesses.
paraphrase instead. Many systems try to avoid detection by transmitting intermittently or changing
the frequency of their signals thousands of times a second. Another approach is 55 11) its inherent weaknesses. ... basic or natural ...
"bistatic" radar, in which the transmitter is separated from the receiving "ears."
Section 2 (Situational Writing – 30 marks) For example, a land-based missile launcher may rely on a radar receiver, but the
transmitter may be some distance away. Thus even if an enemy plane detects and 12) Many systems try to avoid detection ... varyingly...
Format: destroys the transmitter, the receiver and the missile launcher are not knocked out. by transmitting intermittently
• Only one situation is set. 8 Radar experts also think they can get the better of stealth technology. 60
• Candidates must write 250-350 words. They maintain that no plane can be completely invisible, since radar always sees 13) or changing the frequency of their ... very frequently ...
something, if only the atmospheric turbulence created by the aircraft. But the signals thousands of times a second.
radar designers admit that the signals bouncing back from stealth planes will be
Tips: very weak and hard to distinguish from background noise. The solution, they say,
is to improve the computer software used to process the signals. One advanced 65 14) Another approach is "bistatic" radar, .... to split up the transmitter and
• Before you start writing: system, developed by the French and known as "multistatic" radar, uses several in which the transmitter is receiver ...
- Keep to the time schedule of 40 minutes to complete your writing. different receivers to collect weak signals. Such a system may be able to spot separated from the receiving "ears.
- Read the situation carefully and highlight or list down the keywords to avoid stealth aircraft.
“mental block” of ideas in the later stages of your writing.
- Analyse what is required from the situation given, paying particular attention 9 In short, it is too soon to write radar's epitaph. Military history 15) ... enemy plane detects and destroys ... transmitter damaged ... launcher is
to format. teaches that every technological breakthrough provokes a technical response. 70 the transmitter, the receiver and the still working
Observes Congressman Dave McCurdy, an Oklahoma Democrat who sits on the missile launcher are not knocked
House Armed Services Committee: "There's a lot of room for radar to evolve, out.
Requirement Format particularly in software and signal processing. Military technology is like a
continuing chess game, with no �inal move." ... to upgrade ...
Address of sender 16) Improve the computer software
Informal Letter Date
Taken from Time magazine, 6 Nov 1989 used to process the signals.
- informal language and ... multiple receivers ...
tone are allowed Hi _____ !
17) advanced system, developed by the
Passage I French and known as "multistatic"
[B O D Y P A R A G R A P H S] radar, uses several different receivers
Your friend, Sample questions: to collect weak signals.
[Signature]
From paragraph 2 ... technological advancement ...
Name of sender 18) every technological breakthrough
Address of sender provokes a technical response.
1. Explain why the Pentagon experts questioned the radar’s capability. (2m)
Date ... opportunities to improve ...
Answer: This is because technology has been developed for potential target to 19) a lot of room for radar to evolve,
Name of recipient avoid radar detection [1] and also to destroy [1] the radar equipped machinery. particularly in software and signal
Designation of recipient (if known) Student needs to infer from the cues within the paragraph and understand the word, processing.
Address of recipient “obsolete”.
Formal Letter
- use only formal
language and tone Dear Mr [Family name of recipient],
2. Quote a phrase which suggests that the radar technology is under threat. (1m) Marks for summary
RE: [Purpose of writing your letter]
Answer: “... facing its most perilous assault” (line 9).
[B O D Y P A R A G R A P H S] Student needs to look out for the word(s) that relate to “threat” – vocabulary 1 - Content (15 marks)
knowledge.
Yours sincerely, 2 - Language (10 marks)
[Signature]
[Print your name] From paragraph 6 3 - Use of own words (10 marks)
*Note – With a salutation which includes the recipient’s Total of 2 and 3 is divided by 2 and added to 1
name eg. Dear Mr Lee, use ‘Yours sincerely’. If the 3. What is the likely outcome of using the radar in a military con�lict? (2m)
recipient’s name is unknown, use ‘Dear Sir’ and ‘Yours Explain in your own words.
faithfully’.
Answer: The military vehicle equipped with radar could be detected and destroyed Lungsuri lelaman www.mendaki.org.sg untuk
[1] by advance anti-radar technologies [1]. mendapatkan contoh kertas peperiksaan ini.
Student should be able to literally summarise the key points mentioned in the paragraph.