COMPREHENSION ANSWERS (50M)
FROM PASSAGE A
1. The photograph features a smiling family that appears to be enjoying themselves at the River Safari [1], thus persuading
families to visit the park to have a good time as well. [1].
2. “The world’s largest freshwater aquarium is also home to the arapaima, the world’s largest scaled freshwater fish.” [1]
3. The information presented invites readers to experience the various features of the River Safari [1] in order to attract
more visitors to the park. [1]
FROM PASSAGE B
4. ‘(i) “in the peak of her beauty” [1]
(ii) “the desires she had aroused” [1]
5. ‘(i) Madame Loisel cares a lot about appearances. [1]
(ii) The writer wants to emphasise the contrast between Madame Loisel’s everyday clothes and the ball-dress she rented [1] to show that Madame Loisel is much poorer than she appeared to be at the party. [1]
6. It gives the impression that even the women’s expensive fur coats were making fun of Madame Loisel’s poverty [1], thus
highlighting the extent of her shame. [1]
7. The necklace was not hers. [1]
8. It shows how desperate Loisel was [1], to the point that he was willing to borrow the money without even knowing if he
could return it. [1]
9. He was very afraid of the future [1], which he believed would be very painful. [1]
10. “the ghastly life of poverty” suggests that she found those years of being poor distressing.
“fearful debt” suggests that she found the source of her poverty dreadful.
“hateful duties (of the kitchen)” suggests that she found the work she had to do detestable.
“insulted” suggests that she felt ashamed of her poverty.
“fighting for every wretched cent of her money” suggests that she hated having to work to repay the debt.
Any 3 of the above. [3]
11.
Paragraph 1
Paragraph 2
Paragraph 3
Paragraph 4
Paragraph 5
Joy
Shame
Panic
Grief
Determination
FROM PASSAGE C
12. The iPad, which was created after and inspired by the iPod [1], was successful [1].
13. We have switched from using mainly computers to using mainly smartphones and tablets / handheld devices. [1]
PresentPerfect
Issue 3/ The Branded Issue / 2014
14. Apple is being attacked by its competition. [1]
In the past
It was dominated by Apple.
Today
It is dominated by Android.
16. They felt that he was so good at his job [1] that he was irreplaceable. [1]
17. It was constantly producing new products. [1]
18. (i) Steve Jobs was “inimitable”. [1]
(ii) “Cook has taken pains to point out that Jobs himself made it clear to him that he didn’t want Cook running Apple the way he thought Jobs would want to.” [1]
19. Suggested Answer:
LINES
LIFTED FROM PASSAGE
PARAPHRASE
2-3
They transformed the dull cellphone industry
The cellphone industry has changed markedly /
become more vibrant,
3-4
They provided a platform for a new and hugely
profitable software industry:
with the inclusion of highly lucrative mobile apps.
5-6
And they have conquered the multibillion-dollar
personal-computer industry.
Meanwhile, the global personal-computer market
is now dominated by Apple,
7
Apple is now the largest P.C. maker in the world.
which produces the most number of PCs.
10-11
Apple’s innovations have changed how humans
interact with machines.
How we use devices has also evolved.
11-12
we use our fingers now instead of a mouse.
We have shifted from PCs to smartphones,
14-17
Ponder the individual impacts of the book, the
which offer many useful functions
newspaper, the telephone, the radio, the tape
recorder, the camera, the video camera, the compass,
the television, the VCR and the DVD, the personal
computer, the cellphone, the video game and the iPod.
The smartphone is all those things,
17
and it fits in your pocket
and are portable / mobile.
13
They have fundamentally changed the way people
receive and process information.
This has thus changed the way we get and
absorb information,
17-18
Its technology is changing the way we learn in school,
the way doctors treat patients, the way we travel and
explore.
altering our everyday lives
19
Entertainment and media are accessed and
experienced in entirely new ways.
and how we acquire and make use of
entertainment and media in novel ways.
[15]
Since the launch of the iPod and the iPad, the cellphone industry has become more vibrant, with the inclusion of highly
lucrative mobile apps. The global personal-computer market is now dominated by Apple, which produces the most
number of PCs. In shifting from using computers to smartphones which have many functions and are portable, we have
changed the way we get and absorb information, altering our everyday lives and how we acquire and make use of
entertainment and media in novel ways.
Word Count: 73
PresentPerfect
Issue 3/ The Branded Issue / 2014