Muet Revision

PAPER 1: Listening

Instructions to candidates:

The test consists of three parts: Part I, Part II and Part III. Each part comprises a recording. You will listen to each recording twice.

Answer the questions as you listen. Circle or write your answers on the question paper. You are given one minute to read all the questions when the test begins.

For Questions 1 and 2, write your answers in NOT MORE THAN THREE WORDS.

1. China has the ___________________ in Asia, after India.

2. Foreign investors are being encouraged to set up _________________ in China.

For Questions 3,4,5 and 6, write your answer in NOT MORE THAN FIVE WORDS

7. Manufacturing components are cheap in China because

A of the cheap and plentiful workforceB many companies have moved their businesses there C businesses are very competitive in China due to the open market

8. The aim of this briefing is to

A encourage manufacturers to invest in China B promote goods manufactured in China C create a market for Chinese products

Choose the most suitable answer for Questions 9-12.

9 There is hardly any undergrowth in group 'A' climates due to

A large areas of clearing B sparse canopy of trees C limited light penetration to the ground

10 The plants in group 'B' climates A are well adapted plantsB remain dormant as seeds C can survive any climatic conditions

11 All of the following are false except

A climate 'B' countries have exceptionally heavy showers B climate 'B' countries have infrequent heavy showers C climate 'B' countries have frequent heavy showers

12 The speaker's main intention is to

A advise B inform C appeal

For Questions 13-14, write your answers in NOT MORE THAN FIVE WOF

Give two examples of deserts belonging to the group 'B' climate.

1 3 ________________________________________________________________________

14 ________________________________________________________________________

For Questions 15 - 20, write your answers in NOT MORE THAN FIVE WOF

15 The caller's suggestion was on how to_____________________________________________

______________________________________________________________________________

16 The caller's suggestion would also help City Hall to _________________________________

_____________________________________________________________________________

17 The police and custom officers should play their role in preventing the__________________

______________________________________________________________________________

___of fir

18 The speaker advised the judges and magistrates to mete out ___________________________

______________________________________________________________________________

19 Some neighbours are of the opinion that pigeons ____________________________________

_____________________________________________________________________________

20 The book will disclose ways to __________________________________________________

_____________________________________________________________________________

PAPER 3 ( READING )

Instructions to candidates:

There are forty-five questions in this test. For each question, choose the most appropriate answer. Indicate your answer on the separate answer sheet given.Read the instructions on the answer sheet carefully.Attempt all questions.Questions 1 to 7 are based on the following passage.

The Production Chain of Organic Foods in MalaysiaThe Department of Agriculture certifies farms under the Skim Organik Malaysia (SOM) based on these conditions:• No pesticides or chemicals are used on the farms• The farm workers are legally employed and treated fairly under the current labour laws

The authenticity of organic foods from certified farms can only be guaranteed if the certification also covers the following:

• Lorries that transport organic foods• The processors and packagers of organic foods• The wholesalers who act as distributors• The retailers who sell organic foodsFigure 1: Price of Organic and Conventionally Produced Foods (RM / KG)

To ensure authenticity of the organic foods, consumers should:

• Look for the SOM certification logos• Read food labels as some of the produce only have certification from foreign agencies• Double-check the certifying foreign agencies at their listed websites

1. Eco Fruit Farm, which strictly adheres to chemical-free farming but employs one illegal immigrant, can be certified under the SOM.

A True B False C Not stated

2. The Department of Agriculture will eventually certify all those involved in the production chain of organic foods in Malaysia.


3 There is a possibility that organic vegetables could get mixed up with conventionally grown ones while being transported between the farms and the retail outlets.


4 . Consumers pay premium prices for organic foods compared to those produced conventionally.


5. Organic foods are very expensive to produce, transport and market.


6. When buying organic foods, it is prudent to read labels to ensure authentic


7 Organic foods produced and sold in Malaysia must be certified by reputed foreign agencies.


Questions 8 to 14 are based on the following passage.

1. One of the earliest written references to the Sundance of elephants in Sri Langka describes how King Dutugemenu fought Kfhg Elara with an army of elephai which consisted of 1000 tuskers. Later, in the 19th century description of Lanka, Sir Samuel Baker wrote in his book, Eight Years in Ceylon, that hordes of elephants roamed the land. He even cited an occasion to prove his point. According to him, the early British rulers who considered elephant hunting a wild sport actually shot 104 animals in just three days.

2 At the turn of the century, there were only about 10 000 wild elephant in the jungles of Sri Lanka. In the last ten years, the number has further dwindled. The last census taken between 1992 and 1994 revealed that there were ha 2500 to 3000 elephants left roaming in scattered areas across the island. Given the fact that elephant hunting is currently getting out of hand, it will not be a surprise to learn that the elephant population today could only be about 2000 or so.

3 Ironically, in Sri Lanka, the elephant is considered the nation's cultural and national symbol. Cultural festivals held in the country are not complete without the elephant. In spite of this, elephants are killed for many reasons.

4 The main reason is the human-elephant conflict where these majestic creatures are killed because they interfere with agriculture. The increase in the human population and the expansion in agriculture have resulted in agriculture have resulted in a progressive reduction in the habitat once available to wildlife, especially the elephant's. As such, the elephant population has become small, fragmented and isolated. In some instances, these isolated populations have become confined to small patches of habitat surrounded by hostile agricultural landscape dominated by humans. With their movements restricted, especially 25 when food and water resources have depleted, these elephants have trampled crops, uprooted trees, destroyed homes and if threatened, have injured and killed people.

5 Besides, farmers generally look upon these creatures as dangerous pests and rarely regret their disappearance from their neighbourhood. This is because 30 elephants find a ready source of highly palatable and nutritious food in cultivated areas and given their large size and intemperate appetite, can easily destroy the entire cultivation of peasant farmers in a single night.

6 Other causes of elephant deaths include electrocution, railway accidents, poaching for ivory and farmers'trap guns.ln this never-ending conflict between 35 man and elephant, an estimated three elephants are killed in the wild every week. War too has taken a toll on the elephants. In the year 2001 alone, a total of seventeen elephants were shot.

7 The Department of Wild Life Conservation (DWLC) has been working very hard to protect Sri Lanka's national symbol. It is currently capable of protecting 40 the wildlife within the system of

protected areas, but it cannot ensure their long-term survival because elephants by nature are highly mobile.

8 In an effort to find some solutions to the human-elephant conflict, the DWLC held the first National Workshop on Mitigation of Human-Elephant Conflict in April 2003. The workshop resulted in several solutions to minimise 45 the conflict.

9 One recommendation was the traditional method practised in the past in which bees and wasps were used to keep elephants away from agricultural areas. Apparently, bees can chase elephants to quite a distance. So,farmers who do not want elephants wandering into their farms have been encouraged to 50 rear bees.

10 However, the DWLC must look at long-term sustainable plans to mitigate the dwindling elephant population. It must act immediately or the words of the poet Sunil Sarath Perera may one day become a reality.

"That trumpet call - that lovely scene 55In the forest glades...No more is heard, No more is seen."

8 The different references made to elephants in paragraph 1 indicates that there were large numbers of elephants in Sri Lanka in the past.


9 Elephants are an important part of the cultural celebrations in Sri Lanka because they are found in abundance in this country.


10 Lifetime protection for the elepl they move out of their protectee A True B False C Not stated

ts in Sri Lanka cannot be guaranteed I ?as.

11 The phrase getting out of hand (line 12) refers to the A killing of elephants

B elephant population C number of elephants in the jungle

12 The following are some of the reasons why the elephant population has dwindled except

A the elephants have destroyed crops and people B the widespread expansion in agriculture C the poaching for their tusks

13 We can infer that the author is-the efforts to reduce the human-ele

conflict in Sri Lanka.

A opposed to

B uncertain of

C supportive of

14 By including the poem at the end of the passage, the author concludes that A the number of elephants will reduce

B the elephants may disappear one day

C having elephants in the jungle is a lovely scene


1 The issue of euthanasia raises in all of us an ethical dilemma.Take, for instanc the case of Sarah Lawson and Lorenzo Odone. The former was diagnose as suffering from acute clinical depression, while the latter wit adrenoleukodystrophy (ALD), a rare genetic disorder that would eventual rob him of sight, hearing and movement. The disease will progress quick and eventually prove fatal.

2 In the case of Sarah Lawson, her father administered drugs to her th would put an end to her suffering. As he watched over her that night, I realised that the drugs failed to take effect. He then pulled a plastic bag ov his daughter's head and smothered her with a pillow.Then, he handed hims over to the British police, defending his action by explaining that he and I wife were desperate to put an end to their daughter's suffering.

3 Surprisingly, the press was quick to support Lawson's decision, blami the health system which they claim is under-funded and under-staff Lawson was not to blame for the assisted suicide of his daughter becai the system does not provide for continued state-supported care-giving patients like Sarah.

4 On the other hand, when Lorenzo was diagnosed with ALD, his fatl stood by his son's bedside and vowed to dedicate his life to saving h Although the doctors were certain that Lorenzo did not stand a chance, father refused to give up hope. Armed with sheer determination, he bee to look up scientific publications at the National Institute of Health, read about experiments in related diseases. Between him and his wife, they t<

turns studying and watching over Lorenzo, who in the space of three months was transformed from a happy little boy to a bedridden, skeletal figure. 25

5 Lorenzo, like Sarah Lawson, suffers acute pain. His guality of life, just like hers, ranges from good to miserable, depending on the level of pain he suffers on particular days. However, in Lorenzo's case, the doctors' prognosis was grimmer - his condition is irreversible. In Sarah's case, the doctors gave some hope. Depression can, in many cases, be managed with drugs, and so 30 there was a chance of recovery. But we will never know whether Sarah stood

a chance of regaining her well-being. Even Lawson himself could never be 100 per cent sure of his daughter's future. Seen in this light, it is quite evident that what Sarah's father did was both a legal crime and a moral wrong.

6 Nevertheless, the public did not see it this way. They defended Lawson's 35 decision. Public reaction to Lorenzo's father's plight was the reverse. His friends avoided him. Strangely, his choice to fight for Lorenzo's life provoked disbelief and even hostility. People in the neighbourhood saw him as 'monstrous', not 'marvellous'. His former colleague even went to the extent

of advising him to place his son in a hospice and let him die because it was 40 the most 'civilised' solution. The public could not fathom his desire to put his son before his own self. What Lorenzo's father saw as self-sacrifice for his scum's sate yy£S fio.t $eeq $s £y&h .by sodety and his actions were not accepted.

7 Civilisation has, since time immemorial, been used by the morally illiterate 45 as a recourse to countenance genocide, slavery, torture, racism and a host

of other forms of oppression. Now, it is being used to justify putting an end to a young person's life. I am not accusing Lawson of putting his own happiness above his daughter's, but would his supporters still defend him even if this had been his motivation for taking young Sarah's life? 50

15 All the statements are true of both Lorenzo Odone and Sarah Lawson's cases except

A both experienced extreme pain B only one parent received public support C both their parents refused to give up hope

16 Which of the following groups of people or individuals displayed an unusual reaction to the Sarah Lawson and Lorenzo Odone cases?

I The press

II The police

III The public

IV The writer A I and III

B I, II and III C I, III and IV

17 Why do you think the neighbours thought Lorenzo's father was monstrous (line 39)?

A He did not want to put his son in a hospice.

B He sacrificed everything and put his son before himself.

C He was unwilling to let his son die in spite of his agony.

18 The word irreversible (line 29) means A permanent

B temporary C irregular

19 From his actions, Lorenzo's father can be concluded as

I stubborn

II desperate

III selfless

IV determined A I and III

B III and IV C II, III and IV

20 Which of the following statements is true?

A Sarah Lawson died from a drug overdose.

B Lorenzo has always been in the sole care of his father.

C The doctors had rated Lorenzo's chances of survival as nil.

21 In the writer's opinion,

A euthanasia should not be practised B self-sacrifice is not accepted by society C Lawson should be respected for his action


1 Maya smiled suddenly, transforming her whole face."Don't sigh, my dear. M mother used to say that a woman's sigh was the start of trouble i the household."

2 Geetha's faint smile broadened and became slightly mocking. She dragge herself up from her chair and walked over to the edge of the porch."Well,"sh sa#,fljppantly,"speak for yourself. I haven't got much of a household, you kno' just sort'of halKof offl£ squirrel scurry over the gra? When she turned back to look at Maya, the smile wa$ ,<i#(gtflonate;the mockin note had disappeared."lt'sgood of you to visit me, M«tya. I know you have sue a busy schedule."

3 "Well, I wanted to see you, too, Geetha," Maya replied/This is the first tirr I have seen you since I left for the UK all those years ago. I couldn't let a mei six-hour drive stop me from seeing my 'twin' again, could I? Do you rememb how they used to call us that at school and how we used to loathe it?" Sf grimaced wryly.

4 "Those were the days, Geetha. How I used to envy you. Always so cool, elegant. The boys swarming all over you, silly idiots. And you did better th; me in exams, too." She looked sideways at her."ln fact, I think I still envy you

5 For once, Geetha was startled."What on earth for?" she asked, astonishe When Maya did not reply, she shook her head at her in reproof."You are a stran< woman, Maya. I'm the one who should envy you. Come and have some mo tea. I'll make a fresh pot."

6 Geetha gathered up the used cups and led the way to the large, airy kitch< at the back of the house.

7 "So, when are you going to show me this superb specimen of manhoc you've been talking about all day?"enquired Maya, going over to the sink wi a purposeful air.

8 "Really, Maya. That's not the way to talk about my son," Geetha chided gently."But he is handsome, and tall,and such a good boy."She stopped to dab at her eyes."How silly of me. As if it's anything to cry about. I am so embarrassed. 30 You'll meet him in a little while.Then you can see for yourself."

9 It was Maya's turn to gaze in astonishment at her friend."You know,Geetha, I never thought you would be the maternal type. The quintessential career woman. That's what you looked like then and that's what you look like now. Nobody thought you would be the type to want children. And you're not even 35 married. I mean, look at me. I fit the standard image. I look like the mother of a ^m|r.A»4wf ftn married.toa king among men, I assure you, but I chose

not to have children.Too much trouble. Not enough time. Sometimes when I look at Tim, I wonder whether I've been fair to him, and to me." She grew thoughtful."That's another story, however. Look at you, though. Your own law 40 firm. A solid reputation. An established career. But you took this kid on when you were, what? Twenty-five? Twenty-six? Just when you were starting out, too. And living so far away from family and friends."

10 Geetha shrugged lightly as she turned away from the stove. "It was an impulse, Maya. I couldn't resist him. You should have seen him as a baby ..." 45 She shook her head gently and sat down beside her."l have never regretted it

for one moment."

11 "Well, you kept him a secret long enough."

12 "You know how people talk. After all, even you find it so strange, don't you?

I wanted to be left alone, that's all." She smiled at her friend, fully in control of 50 herself again.

13 "Anyway, you'll understand when you see him. Let's talk about you."

14 "In a minute. There's one more question I have to ask. You can refuse to answer if you want to."

15 Geetha's smile widened/This sounds serious. I'll bear that in mind. What do 55 you want to know?"

16 "It's the question all women ask. Why did you never marry?"

17 Just for an instant, the smile slipped. Maya couldn't be sure."Oh, there were many reasons/The smile grew mischievous."What makes you think that I won't

get married now?" 60

18 "Because, even if you do do things on impulse, which I don't believe, mind you, there is room for only one man in your life and that is your son."

19 "How you exaggerate, Maya." Geetha was indignant."Of course I love my son but he doesn't rule my life, believe me! I just haven't found anyone I like, that's all." 65

20 "Ha!" retorted Maya. "The way the boys buzzed around you, it's hard to believe that you couldn't find even one. Especially when beauty came accompanied by brains!" She paused to stare belligerently at Geetha. "It's no use looking down your nose at me. I'm too old and too fat to be intimidated anymore." 70

21 As Geetha burst into laughter, Maya smiled reluctantly "You don t ha tell me if you don't want to. I did give you that option. You (.now, when I le. the UK, I was heartbroken. Remember that guy who was Wn9'n9 around all the time? Mrs Menon's nephew from India? I though1! he was the n gorgeous creature on Earth. All the girls were crazy about b'm- Except yoi course. You always did play hard to get. We used to hate yo u ancJ envy y° the same time. In fact, I think I would still hate you if I hadn't married Tim." smiled at her memories, her thoughts far away."I wonder vV^at happenei him. I heard he went back eventually."She sighed."Do you r£!T)ember,Geet He had the most beautiful pair of brown eyes I had ever seen ..."

22 The sound of a door slamming shut startled both women."That musi Ruben," said Geetha, standing up.'TII go and see."

23 Before she could move, there was the sound of footsteps outside the d "Mum, where are you? You've got to hear this." A young man's voice, vibr excited, came nearer as he moved towards the kitchen. Looking at Geetha, M saw that she was slightly flushed, her breathing a little fast.

24 The door burst open."Mum ..."The young man suddenly perceived M< sitting there. "I'm sorry. I didn't know you had company." He turned to f; Maya. "Hello!"

25 Maya found herself staring into the most beautiful pair of brown eyes« had ever seen.

(Adapted from Memories by Parwathy Ratna

22 Maya and Geetha are A sisters

B friends C colleagues

23 Mocking (line 4) means A teasing

B being rude C being suspicious

24 Why do you think Maya still envies Geetha?

A Geetha is more attractive than her.

B Geetha did better than her in school.

C Geetha seems to have everything she wants.

25 The phrase superb specimen of manhood (line 25) refers to A Geetha's son

B Maya's husband C Geetha's husband

26 The phrase chicled gently (lines 28 - 29) means A mildly scolded

B mildly teased C mildly said

27 Maya thinks that Geetha never got married because she A was too busy with her career

B did not like men in general C loved her son too much

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Muet Revision