8/3/2019 Comprehension Skills Authorial Intention
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Comprehension Skills Package - Some questions on Authorial
Intention
1. YJC Prelim 2004To preen, for a woman, can never be just a
pleasure. It is also a duty. It is her work.If a woman does real
work and even if she has clambered up to a leading positionin
politics, law, medicine, business, or whatever she is always under
pressure toconfess that she still works at being attractive. But in
so far as she is keeping up asone of the Fair Sex, she brings under
suspicion her very capacity to be objective,professional,
authoritative, thoughtful. Damned if they do women are. Anddamned
if they dont.
Damned if they do women are. And damned if they dont (lines
53-54)(i) Infer from these 2 sentences, what the writers point is.
[2+1]
ii) What are the authors tone and attitude expressed here?
[1]
2. TPJC Prelim 2004The Universal Declaration of Human Rights is
half a century old, but there are stillobjections to the concept of
human rights which its defenders need to acknowledgehonestly, the
better to refute them.a) Explain in your own words as far as
possible, why the author uses the word honestly in line3. [1]
The first objection is that there is no universal culture,
therefore there are nouniversal human rights. Then there is the
usual North/South argument. Developingcountries cannot afford human
rights since the tasks of nation-building andeconomic development
are still unfinished. Many also object to specific rights whichthey
say reflect Western cultural bias: the right, for instance, to
political pluralismor the rights of women. In addition, some
religious leaders argue that human rightscan only be acceptable if
they are founded on transcendent values of their faith,sanctioned
by God. The Universal Declaration claims no such heritage and a
draftreference to the Creator was consciously left out of the final
text.b) Why do you think any reference to the Creator was
consciously left out (line 12) of the
Declaration? [1]
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8/3/2019 Comprehension Skills Authorial Intention
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Answers on Authorial Intention1. YJC Prelim 2004Damned if they
do women are. And damned if they dont (lines 53-54)
(ii) Infer from these 2 sentences, what the writers point is.
[2+1]Lifted Re-expressed
To preen, for a woman, can never be just a pleasure. It is also
a duty. It isher work.
When women make the effort to beautifythemselves / pretty
themselves/look good, theyare criticised harshly for their efforts.
(1)
If students give a response that is a paraphraseof textual
information, award mark e.g., Women are not allowed to view
grooming assomething done for their own gratification. Theyare
expected to also view it as an obligation.
If a woman does real work and evenif she has clambered up to a
leadingposition in politics, law, medicine,business, or whatever
she is alwaysunder pressure to confess that shestill works at being
attractive.
However, when women do not make the effort tobeautify
themselves/pretty themselves/look goodor let themselves go in terms
of their looks, theyare also criticised harshly for doing so. (1)In
other words, it is never a win-win situation forwomen. (1)
If students give a response that is a paraphraseof textual
information, award mark e.g., Even women in positions of authority
haveto concede that looking good remains a priority.
ii) What are the authors tone and attitude expressed here?
[1]But in so far as she is keeping up asone of the Fair Sex, she
brings undersuspicion her very capacity to beobjective,
professional, authoritative,thoughtful.
Writers attitude: she disapproves of the socialpressures that
women have to endure over theirappearance. (1/2)
Damned if they do women are. Anddamned if they dont. Writers
tone: agitated, frustrated, indignant,irate, miffed, resentful,
worked-up, (1/2)
2. TPJC Prelim 2004a) Explain in your own words as far as
possible, why the author uses the word honestly in line3. [1]
To show that in the past, objections were not adequately
considered [] and that now these objections have to be considered
frankly/ truthfully/ candidly
[]
b) Why do you think any reference to the Creator was consciously
left out (line 12) of theDeclaration? [1]
To pre-empt any specific religious connotations [] since the
Declaration is supposed to be applicable to all []
c) The author raises several questions in the last paragraph of
the passage. What is hisintention? [2] + [1]
To show that human rights are applicable to all/ basic
necessity. [1] And that one cannot justify objections to the
concept [1] To promote consideration or debate [1]
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