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NAVAL BASE SECONDARY SCHOOL

PRELIMINARY EXAMINATION, 2021
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Name: _________________________________ ( ) Class: ________________

ENGLISH LANGUAGE 1128/02

Paper 2 23 August 2021
Comprehension 1 hour 50 minutes

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READ THESE INSTRUCTIONS FIRST

This Insert contains Text 1, Text 2 and Text 3.

This document consists of 6 printed pages and 1 Insert.

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Section A
Text 1

Study the webpage below and answer Questions 1–4 on the Question Paper.

www.worldvision.org

World Vision Singapore

Where you can sponsor a child | Stories of Sponsored Children | Community Achievements | FAQs

World Vision Singapore

World Vision Singapore works in several vulnerable countries to uplift those stuck in poverty,
violence and injustice, so that they can start on a journey towards a better life. World Vision’s
main charity initiative for these children and communities is through the Child Sponsorship
Programme. When you sponsor a child in need with World Vision Singapore, your donation paves
their paths towards nutrition, child protection, education and clean water, among others. When
you sponsor a child, the joy they feel is indescribable. Just knowing that someone across the
globe cares means more than you can imagine.

A sponsored child receives: Text 1

Clean water

Food Clean water Education Healthcare

Find Out More about Child Sponsorship!

Supporting a child away from Singapore through a children’s charity can seem daunting and
uncertain. Ease your worries and fears of child sponsorship through our frequently asked
questions (FAQs) or by contacting us at 69220100. You can also click here to find out more.
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Section B
Text 2

The text below is about the writer’s experience travelling to Laos. Read it carefully and answer
Questions 5–13 on the Question Paper.

1 When I said to my friends in May 1998 that I was planning to visit Laos, I was greeted with a
variety of reactions. Most common was a blank stare. It soon became apparent to me that
generally very little is known about this Southeast Asian country. News and stories of Vietnam
and Cambodia are common in the media as these countries open their doors to the profits of
tourism and foreign investment. Laos, however, gives the impression of being more uncertain 5
of how it wants to present itself to an outside world that may do it more harm than good. It is
legitimately wary of welcoming foreign visitors or industries which may not respect the
traditions and customs of its people. Consequently, tourism in Laos is moving much more
slowly than in other parts of Indochina. The fact was, I did not know much about the country
either, and it was this sense of mystery which made it such an enticing destination. Steeped 10
in culture, it is certainly a place not to be missed.

2 Laos, I discovered, is a landlocked country bordered by Thailand, Myanmar, China, Cambodia

and Vietnam. Today, there is a lack of significant foreign influence. Many countries have
created a tourist industry trying to cater to the needs and whims of foreigners and to attract
massive amounts of currency. The Laotian government, however, feels that this can result in 15
the destruction of the character and culture of the country. Luxury hotels, fast food restaurants
and shopping malls can be seen almost anywhere and as an inveterate traveller, I was keen
to see something different before the whole world became a huge shopping mall.

3 As I stood on the Friendship Bridge over the mighty Mekong, I was exhausted because my
sleep on the overnight train through Thailand had become non-existent. There was a raucous 20
card game in the adjoining cabin. But I was also thrilled because I was about to cross into the
country that I had been dreaming of visiting for a long time. Exactly why I wanted to visit was
somewhat irrational, but I suppose it had something to do with wanting to escape back in time
to a country that seemed to exist in a simpler, less polluted age.

4 My passport had been stamped in Bangkok allowing me to stay in Laos for fourteen days, 25
and I was about to pass through the border check. My backpack was heavy but I was greatly
relieved to have escaped urban Bangkok where the sun was already fiercely hot. I had left
late the previous evening from the central Bangkok station, but even at that hour, the traffic
noise had been ceaseless and insistent. Throughout the city, the crush of human bodies had
been overwhelming. But then at dawn, I had seen the sun rise over verdant green rice fields 30
in northern Thailand. The sight I gazed upon was like a giant green tranquilliser.

5 I was looked over by a surly official in an ancient uniform. He looked suspiciously from my
passport photograph to me to see if they were in any way the same. Eventually he seemed
to conclude that they were. He smiled at me, stamped my passport, and said, “Welcome to
Laos” in heavily-accented English. 35
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6 I got back on the bus that would take me into Vientiane, the nation’s capital. I had learnt from
my research that the city still had a distinctly French influence that was not obvious in its
architecture and food. As the antique bus navigated the pothole and dusty thirty kilometres
into Vientiane, I tried to communicate with some of my fellow passengers. This was somewhat
difficult because all I had managed to learn of the language was how to say “hello” and 40
“goodbye” and “where is the toilet?”. So I said “hello” to those people around me and they
smiled back in a warm way that said far more than mere words could have done. I liked to
think that the Laos people would be happy to see me in their country because I was interested
in their culture and way of life.

7 The rice fields we drove past were a deep green and as the bus lurched onwards, children 45
stared and waved and gave broad smiles before going back to catching eels with lengths of
wire. The outskirts of Vientiane appeared but it was clear that this was no metropolis. This
impressed me because it was so different. The architectural anarchy had great welcoming
charm. The buildings consisted of simply-built timber huts and shops, squat concrete
constructions in shades of grey and slightly darker grey, and more impressive French colonial 50
structures. For the city, there was a pleasant absence of traffic and the cars looked like they
should have retired long ago to an auto museum. The bus eventually arrived at the terminal
and I was very quickly approached by a taxi driver who politely offered to drive me to my hotel.
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Section C
Text 3

The text below is about archaeology. Read it carefully and answer Questions 14–19 on the
Question Paper.

1 Why do people become archaeologists? Some discover archaeology in high school or

college. Others develop an interest, thanks to an encounter with an excavation or the
discovery of some artefact in the countryside. Or they become archaeologists by chance.

2 Indiana Jones is a powerful symbol of the archaeology that opened the twentieth century: a
romantic swashbuckler awash in adventures and largely unencumbered by the demands of 5
science. Many archaeologists have encountered spectacular finds and buried treasures.
Many have also enjoyed unbridled adventures. Yet, many have had to, at one time or another,
sort through bags of debris or classify endless painted ceramics.

3 How wonderful it would be to make momentous discoveries: to command great teams of

labourers, and to cut a broad swath through ancient civilisations. Indiana Jones is, of course, 10
a figment of Hollywood ─ an artefact of ‘good old days’ that never were. Yet there is more
than a grain of truth in Indiana Jones.

4 The Victorians describe archaeology as a ‘calling’ ─ a job that transcends the usual
boundaries of the workplace to become a genuine obsession. You will never become rich, but
if you are lucky, and have the right kind of personality, you will achieve a profound fulfilment. 15
Many successful archaeologists are bored or dissatisfied with their careers for a variety of
reasons: lack of funding, a dead-end job, too heavy a teaching load. But by far the most
common problem is a loss of passion for the past, an erosion of what was once an insatiable
curiosity about the world around them. Archaeology, for them, has become a mere job.

5 Excitement and a strong commitment are essential qualities for any archaeologist. Modern- 20
day archaeology, though often exciting, is a technical discipline where spectacular discoveries
are few and far between. True, exciting finds occasionally hit the headlines, but most
archaeologists labour far from the public eye, often on unspectacular and sometimes,
downright monotonous sites.

6 Enthusiasm ─ a belief that archaeology has special importance in today’s world ─ is a rare 25
and priceless quality. It is the fire in the belly that enables you to overcome major obstacles.
Combine it with deep curiosity and an ability to ask difficult questions, and you have a
remarkable archaeologist. Successful excavators have passion and utter conviction that their
site is all-important and it is this belief that has enabled them to overcome seemingly
insurmountable difficulties. 30

7 Enthusiasm is not enough. You must also have an unswerving commitment to professional
ethics that ensures the integrity of your work: no private collecting for profit or personal
gratification, publish your work promptly, curate and preserve your findings, and communicate
to the wider audience. You also need other qualities, such as infinite patience, to carry out
fieldwork that can involve slow-moving, repetitive tasks. A great deal of archaeology includes 35
small attributes of stone tools and potsherds, analysing computerised data, or studying tiny
details of the past for weeks on end, by excavating, dating and interpreting objects and sites
of historical interest. An archaeologist has to implement excavation projects, informally known
as digs, preserve archaeological remains and collect data that informs their understanding of
the past. 40
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8 Although archaeology usually takes place in teams, it is possible to work on a self-employed

basis. Temporary contracts are common. You could be based outdoors at an excavation or
site inspection, or indoors in an office, laboratory or museum, though you are increasingly
likely to be based indoors as you progress. You must be adaptable ─ able to tolerate long
journeys, uncomfortable fieldwork, and often-primitive living conditions. You need to be fit 45
enough to walk long distances and to thrive on improvisation under difficult circumstances.

9 Archaeology is about human diversity, about disparate world views, and about cultures
completely different from our own. It is about the living as much as the dead, about sensitivity
to the feelings of others, and behaving ethically and honourably when dealing with people
who have a violent cultural aversion to archaeology or deeply held spiritual feelings. Many of 50
archaeology’s most successful practitioners have invested enormous amounts of time in
cultivating people and communicating with various cultural groups. Such skills require great
patience and cultural sensitivity. In these days of uncontrolled materialism and instant
gratification, there is something very attractive about a profession that requires commitment,
enthusiasm, and ethical behaviour, as well as an understanding of other cultures. 55

End of Insert

Copyright Acknowledgements:

Text 1 World Vision Singapore: http://www.worldvision.org./sg

Text 2 The Economist Newspaper Limited, 1997, volume 344
Text 3 Ancient Lives: An Introduction to Archaeology and Prehistory by Brian M. Fagan
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