2020

English lexicon test

Paper 1 (reading and use of English)
1 hour 30 minutes
SEC 1 8% SEC 4 6%
SEC 2 10% SEC 5 8%
SEC 3 8% TOTAL 40%
_______________________________________________________________________________________________

Section 1 (8%)

Instructions: Choose the most suitable answer. Write your answers at the end of page 3.

1. Although not the explicit goal, the best science can really be seen as refining ignorance.
Scientists, especially young ones, can get too obsessed with results. Society helps them
along in this mad chase. Big discoveries are covered in the press, shown up on the
university’s home page, help get grants, and make the case for promotions. But it’s
wrong. Great scientists, the pioneers we admire, are not concerned with results but are
concerned with the next questions. A highly respected scientist, Enrico Fermi told his
students that an experiment that successfully proves an experiment is a measurement;
one that doesn’t is a discovery. A discovery, an uncovering- of new ignorance. The Nobel
Prize, the pinnacle of scientific accomplishment, is awarded, not for a lifetime of scientific
achievement, but for a single discovery, a result. Even the Nobel committee realizes in
some way this is not really the scientific spirit, and their award citations commonly honour
the discovery for having “opened a field up”, “transformed a field”, or “taken a field in
new and unexpected directions”. (South Korea: CSAT 2018-Q21)

What does “refining ignorance” in this text mean?

A looking beyond what is known towards what is left unknown
B offering an ultimate account of what has been discovered
C analysing existing knowledge with an objective mind set

2. The human species is unique in its ability to expand its functionality by inventing new
cultural tools. Writing, arithmetic, science ― all are recent inventions. Our brains did
not have enough time to evolve for them, but I reason that they were made possible
because________________. When we learn to read, we recycle a specific region of our
visual system known as the visual word-form area, enabling us to recognize strings of
letters and connect them to language areas. Likewise, when we learn Arabic numerals
we build a circuit to quickly convert those shapes into quantities ― a fast connection
from bilateral visual areas to the parietal quantity area. Even an invention as elementary
as finger-counting changes our cognitive abilities dramatically. Amazonian people who
have not invented counting are unable to make exact calculations as simple as, say,
6-2. This “cultural recycling” implies that the functional architecture of the human brain
results from a complex mixture of biological and cultural constraints.
(South Korea: CSAT 2018-Q34)

Complete the sentence.

A our brains put a limit on cultural diversity
B we can mobilize our old areas in novel ways
C cultural tools stabilize our brain functionality
3.
Researchers in psychology follow the scientific method to perform studies that help explain and may
predict human behaviour. This is a much more challenging task than studying snails or sound waves.
(A) But for all of these difficulties for psychology, the payoff of the scientific method is that the findings are
replicable; that is, if you run the same study again following the same procedures, you will be very likely to
get the same results.
(B) It often requires compromises, such as testing behaviour within laboratories rather than natural settings,
and asking those readily available (such as introduction to psychology students) to participate rather than
collecting data from a true cross-section of the population. It often requires great cleverness to conceive of
measures that tap into what people are thinking without altering their thinking, called reactivity.
(C) Simply knowing they are being observed may cause people to behave differently (such as more politely!).
People may give answers that they feel are more socially desirable than their true feelings.
(South Korea: CSAT 2018-Q36)
Choose the best sequence.
A (A) － (C) － (B)
B (B) － (A) － (C)
C (B) － (C) － (A)

4.
Nile Books
Guide to Good Health: For Teens & Adults with Diabetes Publisher: Woodbury House Limited
Dr Walsh provides invaluable insight into which health problems are more common in its patients,
and how medical issues can be presented differently in people with diabetes. In a clear, (1) style, he
discusses how to promote a healthy lifestyle to prevent problems and how to recognize health
problems early on to ensure appropriate care and the best outcome.
How to Become a Well-Adjusted Teen Publisher: Castle Rock Inc.
It is not easy being a teen. (2), it can also be fun and rewarding if you practice a few simple habits.
Dr Lee explains how teens can improve their self-image, build lasting relationships, resist peer
pressure, get along with parents, and achieve their goals.

Which word best fits in the number-brackets?

A (1)-empathetic
B (1)-sympathetic
C (2)-What’s more

5.
Hiring Managers found out that
candidates often wrote unpleasant and
unnecessary things on the Internet.
31% lied about their qualifications
24% were linked to criminal behaviour
19% said bad things about their
former companies
15% boasted about bad habits like
smoking and drinking
6.
A suitable title for the above statistics would be Which statement is correct?
A It is not necessary to place the smartphone in the
A Online Dirt
B Complaints on the Internet centre of the charging pad.
C Make some changes B If the LED light is white, the smartphone is not fully
charged.
C Do not place anything between the smartphone and
the charging pad.
7.

The tables above show the top ten origin countries and the number of international students enrolled in U.S.
colleges and universities in two school years, 1979-1980 and 2016-2017.
A The number of students from India was over twenty times larger in 2016-2017 than in 1979-1980, and
India ranked higher than China in 2016-2017.
B South Korea, which was not included among the top ten origin countries in 1979-1980, ranked third in
2016-2017.
C Although the number of students from Japan was larger in 2016-2017 than in 1979-1980, Japan ranked
lower in 2016-2017 than in 1979-1980.

8.

8.
What is the purpose of the next article?

A To check the results of the cooking competition

B To inquire about the possibility of changing recipes
C To request the development of a new recipe

1 2 3 4

5 6 7 8
Section 2 (10%) (Singapore: O Level 2016)

Carefully read the text below, consisting of 12 lines, about Changi Airport. The first and last lines are correct.
For eight of the remaining 10 lines, there is one grammatical error in each line. There are two more lines
with no errors.

If there is NO error in that line, put a tick (/) in the space provided.
If the line is incorrect, underline the incorrect word and write the correct word in the space provided.
The correct word you write must not change the meaning of the sentence.

Examples:
I arrived to my destination at 2pm. at
My mother always wears sensible clothes. _/_

The majority of people who travel to Singapore do so by aeroplane.

From the minute they arrive at Changi Airport, many visitors are amazed at their size 1.____________
and impressed facilities. The airport is 12 miles from the city centre, but onward 2.____________
travel is easy by taxi, bus, or MRT. There are three terminals, and passengers can 3.____________
use the Skytrain to move between them. This allows those waiting for a flight to visit 4.____________
many beautiful places such like the rooftop Cactus Garden and the large Koi Pond. 5.____________
The Enchanted Garden is interactive and magically came to live as people walk 6.____________
through it. Children have many playgrounds where they can have fun before flying. 7.____________
Travellers with time to relax can enjoy the massage and even use the swimming pool. 8.____________
In the evenings a pianist playing soothing music. There are many shops with souvenirs9.____________
and lots of places to eat and drink. The whole atmosphere is peaceful yet efficient. 10.____________
No wonder Changi has won awards for being the best airport on Earth!
Section 3 (8%)
Read the text and answer the questions with NOT MORE THAN 5 WORDS for each question.

In September 2011，vociferous protestors in NYC’s Wall Street hoisted up picket fences emblazoned with
slogans like “We are the 99 percent’’ and “money for housing and jobs, not banks and war”. In their
impassioned protests, they expressed grievances over the grave income inequalities in the US, and called out
the richest 1 percent to be accountable. The entire incident was to be known as the “Occupy Wall Street
movement”, and shed lights on capitalist economies all over the world who were experiencing similar
yawning gaps. Unfortunately, Singapore has also been seeing the citizen’s growing disquiet over this very
issue. Disgruntled citizens has taken to political blogs and social media alike to criticize the government of
achieving high growth at the cost of leaving its own citizens behind. Local news media outlets have begun to
shed light on the issue of urban poverty and the underclass, and Teo Yeo Yenn’s “This is what Inequality
Looks Like” flew off the shelves upon its initial release and became an instant bestseller. This has been
compounded by reports on Singapore’s Gini coefficient rising rapidly in the past two decades; it has for
some time been above 0.4, the level that UN-Habitat describes as “the international alert line for income
inequality”. While in 2010 the Singapore government declared that it would pursue “inclusive growth”, and
policymakers like Tan Chuan Jin have been ardent advocates of low income issues, it is but unfortunate that
most measures to tackle inequality are not only inadequate to reduce inequality, but also over-simplify
equality, but also in terms of wealth.
1. The protest blames __________________________________________for the widening income inequality.
2. Unhappy citizens criticize the government using ________________________________________________.
3. Urban poverty in ________________________________________has been starting to appear in the news.
4. _____________________________________________________are publicly supporting low income issues.

It’s early morning in Tokyo, only a few years ago, and a large number of homeless people are lining up
outside a building in the city’s trendy Harajuku neighbourhood. They aren’t waiting for food bank donations
or medical check-ups, or to apply for welfare. They are standing in line to buy the latest limited-edition Nike
sneakers from a boutique store. “Some customers were paying homeless people or students to line up
outside stores for them,” says Hirofumi Kojima, director of sneaker store Atmos. “Now, we check people’s ID
to make sure they don’t do that. And we have a dress code, so you’re not allowed to line up unless you’re
wearing a particular type of sneaker. Before we started doing that, you would get hundreds of homeless
people lining up on the street.” Japan’s passion for sneakers is legendary. The popularity of basketball
player Michael Jordan helped sneaker culture gain a foothold in the early 1990s, but it was the launch of the
Nike Air Max 95 later that decade that really kicked it into the stratosphere. With sneaker delirium gripping
Japan, pairs of Air Max would change hands for hundreds of thousands of yen and legions of “sneaker
heads” would line up for days outside stores to buy the latest models. Newspapers even reported cases of
people being mugged for their shoes. The 1990s sneaker craze eventually cooled off, but over the past four
or five years a new wave has risen, towering over anything that came before. Now, limited-edition models
sell for eye-watering sums on internet resale sites, and the fashionable shopping districts of Tokyo chime with
the sound of ringing tills as customers rush to seek out the hottest items.
5. Homeless people are lining up outside a sneaker store named_____________________________________.
6. The sneaker model ________________________________________ hyped up the sneaker craze in Japan.
Meaning Word/Phrase
7. A vast number of people or things
8. Cash register
Section 4 (6%)
Write A,B,C,D,E,F,G,H,I or J in the brackets below. 4 of them will NOT be used.
Efficient vs. Effective
You get one, precious life. How do you decide the best way to spend your time? ( ) Efficiency is about
getting more things done. Effectiveness is about getting the right things done. Peter Drucker, the well-
known management consultant, once encapsulated the idea by writing, “There is nothing so useless as
doing efficiently that which should not be done at all.” ( ) But how do you decide what the “right things”
are? One of the most trusted approaches is to use the Pareto Principle, which is more commonly known as
the 80/20 Rule. The 80/20 Rule states that, in any particular domain, a small number of things account
for the majority of the results. For example, 80 percent of the land in Italy is owned by 20 percent of the
people. Or, 75 percent of NBA championships are won by 20 percent of the teams. The numbers don't
have to add up to 100. ( )

The Upside of the 80/20 Rule

When applied to your life and work, the 80/20 Rule can help you separate “the vital few from the trivial
many.” For example, business owners may discover the majority of revenue comes from a handful of
important clients. ( ) (and on finding others like them) and either stop serving others or let the majority of
customers gradually fade away because they account for a small portion of the bottom line. This same
strategy can be useful if you practice inversion and look at the sources of your problems. You may find that
the majority of your complaints come from a handful of problem clients. The 80/20 Rule would suggest
that you can clear out your backlog of customer service requests by firing these clients. The 80/20 Rule is
like a form of judo for life and work. By finding precisely the right area to apply pressure, you can get
more results with less effort. It's a great strategy, and I have used it many times. ( ) To understand this
pitfall, we return to Audrey Hepburn.

The Downside of the 80/20 Rule

Imagine it is 1967. Audrey Hepburn is in the prime of her career and trying to decide how to spend her
time. If she uses the 80/20 Rule as part of her decision-making process, she will discover a clear answer:
do more romantic comedies. Many of Hepburn's best films were romantic comedies like Roman Holiday,
Sabrina, Breakfast at Tiffany's, and Charade. She starred in these four films between 1953 and 1963; by
1967, she was due for another one. They attracted large audiences, earned her awards, and were an
obvious path to greater fame and fortune. Romantic comedies were effective for Audrey Hepburn. In fact,
even if we take into account her desire to help children through UNICEF, an 80/20 analysis might have
revealed that starring in more romantic comedies was still the best option because she could have
maximized her earning power and donated the additional earnings to UNICEF. Of course, that's all well
and good if she wanted to continue acting. ( )And no reasonable analysis of the highest and best use of
her time in 1967 would have suggested that volunteering for UNICEF was the most effective use of her
time. This is the downside of the 80/20 Rule: A new path will never look like the most effective option in
the beginning.

A The 80/20 Rule would recommend that the most effective course of action would be to focus exclusively on
serving these clients
B In layman terms, we have to be efficient, rather than being effective.
C Productivity gurus will often suggest that you focus on being effective rather than being efficient.
D Back then, UNICEF was still a small organizations and it lacked funds.
E In other words, making progress is not just about being productive. It's about being productive on the right
things.
F But there is a downside to this approach, as well, and it is often overlooked.
G But she didn't want to be an actress. She wanted to serve.
H The point is that the majority of the results are driven by a minority of causes.
I When you take it from another perspective, results are based on the willpower of one.
J In Japan, there are many types of condoms manufactured.
Section 5 (8%)
Read the passage. Then, answers the questions below.
1 Vladimir Putin is making plans to be president for life.

2 In an abrupt — if not totally shocking — move, Russia’s State Duma (its lower house of
parliament) proposed a constitutional amendment on Tuesday that would reset presidential
term limits to zero, allowing Putin to run again for president in 2024, when his tenure is
supposed to expire. Putin, it turned out, disagreed with the idea of getting rid of term limits 5
altogether. But on the issue of whether his own term limits should be reset to zero, believe it
or not, he was into the idea. “When a country is going through such upheavals and such
difficulties,” Putin said in a speech to legislators on Tuesday in favour of the term-limit reset
amendment, “stability may be more important and must be given priority.” He went on to say
that “for [the] long term, society must have guarantees for the regular change of power,” 10
adding, “This is why I do not believe it is viable to delete the restriction on the number of
presidential terms from the Constitution.”

3 In other words, this might not always be a good idea, but it’s a good idea for Russia right
now. “I have no doubt that the day will come when the supreme, presidential power in Russia
will not be so personified, if I may say so, that it will not be connected to a certain individual,” 15
Putin said.

4 That day, however, is not today.

5 The amendment could keep Putin in power until 2036. Putin, now 67, would be 84 by the
time his tenure ends. Putin said this change would only go through if Russia’s constitutional
court approves it and if the public assents in the nationwide referendum on the amendments 20
next month. But experts told me neither the courts nor the voters are likely to present a serious
hurdle to Putin’s plans. Which means it looks like Putin — who has effectively been in control
of the country since 2000 — isn’t going anywhere any time soon. No one expected Putin to
leave, but the timing was notable. Nobody really expected Putin to quietly retire in 2024. But
how — and why — this all went down on Tuesday is a bit surprising. For one, Putin had 25
introduced a series of constitutional reforms in January, all of which looked to be paving the
way for him to step aside from the presidency but consolidate and retain power in some other
way.

6 But on Tuesday, he largely dispensed with that idea and opted for the more straightforward
route: just staying president. David Szakonyi, a Russia expert at George Washington 30
University, told me that this move caught people by surprise, especially given the speed at
which the amendment was proposed, and Putin’s immediate endorsement. It’s especially
weird given all the proposals he made in January. “The biggest thing to take away is that
we’re as clueless — or more clueless — about the whole intention behind his January
constitutional move because of developments today,” Szakonyi said. 35

7 But the timing of Putin’s decision may hold an answer.

8 Russia, like the rest of the world, is bracing for the coronavirus and the economic pain that
comes with it. On top of that, Moscow is currently in a spat with Saudi Arabia over oil prices,
threatening a key source of revenue for the Kremlin. Some experts told me Putin is betting
that, in the face of the COVID-19 crisis, he can easily sell his extended leadership play as 40
necessary for stability, and that Russians — and the rest of the world — might be too
distracted to worry all that much about Putin’s machinations.

9 He basically said as much in his speech to the Duma. “I think and I strongly believe that a
strong presidential vertical for our country, for Russia, is absolutely necessary,” Putin said.
“And today’s economic situation, as I have just pointed out, and the situation in other 45
spheres, such as security, is another reminder.” That helps explain why he seems to have
suddenly abandoned his previous plan to stay in power behind the scenes. “There has been
this whole dance of introducing some kind of elaborate schemes and setups to extend the
 rule,” Maksym Eristavi, a research fellow at the Atlantic Council, told me. “It was all because
there was no window of opportunity,” he added. “And now there is one because of the virus, 50
because of the crisis, because of the rising instability. He’s very skilled at seizing
opportunities.”

10 It may be hard to gauge public resistance to Putin’s plan

11 Putin still tried to pass this all off as somewhat democratic, noting that Russia’s constitutional
court will have to approve it and there will be a nationwide vote on the amendments on April 55
22. Putin said in his speech Tuesday that when he first heard of this idea of zero term limits,
he “said then that I did not wish to return to Soviet times.” But, he went on to explain, these
measures aren’t a return Soviet times. Back then, “Everything was done behind the scenes, or
as a result of some interparty procedures or intrigues. There were no real elections then. Now
the situation is very different.” 60

12 Putin clearly has a plan — but that does not mean all of Russia is willing to go along with.
Putin has faced pressure from protests over his power grabs before, and this summer saw
massive pro-democracy demonstrations in Moscow.

13 There are have been some protests against Putin’s initial proposals to change the constitution,
but resistance may be even harder now as officials take measures to limit public gatherings 65
because of the coronavirus. Indeed, opposition activists filed for a permit to protest in Moscow
on March 21, but they might not be able to do so as all mass public gatherings in Moscow
are now banned until April 10. That includes mass demonstrations of more than 5,000
people. Avoiding large crowds and practicing “social distancing” is a necessary and effective
public health measure to mitigate the spread of an outbreak. 70

14 But it’s also pretty convenient to make sweeping constitutional changes at a time when the
public is either broadly fearful of or outright barred from gathering in public to protest en
masse. Putin may also be hoping that the coronavirus distracts the rest of the world, too.
Quietly consolidating power while the international community is trying to contain a deadly
outbreak helps him escape international scrutiny, too. Or maybe, after 20 years already, 75
Putin just doesn’t care what it looks like anymore.

1. In paragraph 2, what is Putin’s reason for holding on to his tenure?

_______________________________________________________________________________________________
2. In paragraph 5, how old is Putin when he first took power?
_______________________________________________________________________________________________
3. In paragraph 8-9, what kind of opportunity that Putin seized?
_______________________________________________________________________________________________
4. In paragraph 13, why Russians could not hold demonstrations against Putin?
_______________________________________________________________________________________________
5. In paragraph 3-4, “the day, however is not today”. What kind of day is it?
_______________________________________________________________________________________________
6. In your opinion, what qualities should a leader have? Why?
Qualities: ______________________________________________________________________________________
Reason:________________________________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________________________________
 2020
English lexicon test
Paper 2 (writing)
1 hour 30 minutes
SEC 1 20% SEC 3 20%
SEC 2 20% TOTAL 60%
_______________________________________________________________________________________________

Section 1 (20%): Summary

Using your own words as far as possible, summarize the ways in which the attitudes of human beings
towards cats, and their treatment towards these animals, has changed over the centuries.
Your summary, which has to be in continuous writing (not note form), must not be longer than 150 words,
not including the words given to help you begin. Besides that, it needs a minimum of 10 points.

Begin your summary with: The initial attitudes of Egyptians towards cats was one of …
Domestication of the cat probably first took place when the African wild cat, the lithe animal very
similar to the common striped tabby in colour, took on a practical importance for the common Egyptians.
Egypt was the greatest corn-growing area in the ancient world, and the huge granaries, which were
needed to store the grain, needed cats as custodians to stop the ravages of mice and rats. Indeed, cats
came to play such a complex and important role in the lives of these farmers that they were much
pampered and, in some cases, worshipped. The original Egyptian name of the cat was ‘Mau’, perhaps
from its call of “meow”, but this also meant ‘to see’, and Egyptians believed that the cat’s unblinking gaze
gave it powers to seek out truth and see into the afterlife. On the death of a cat, who families would go
into mourning, and the cat’s body would be embalmed and placed into a secret vault.
The custom of keeping cats spread slowly throughout the Middle East and beyond. A Sanskrit
document of 1000 B.C. mentions a pet cat, and the Indian epics ‘Ramayana’ and ‘Mahabharata’ of about
500 B.C. both contain stories about cats. The Indians at that time worshipped a feline goodness called
Sasti, and for decades Hindus were obliged to take responsibility for feeding at least one cat, to extend the
life of its family members. By the twelfth century A.D., rich Chinese families were keeping yellow and white
cats known as ‘lion-cats’, which were highly valued as pets, while less sophisticated breeds still continued
to be used to control the problem of vermin. Pet cats were introduced to Japan from China and became
just as highly prized. It is recorded that when, on the tenth day of the full moon, the Emperor’s cat gave
birth to five white kitties, a nurse was appointed to see that they were brought up as carefully as royal
princes and princesses.
Gods of one religion may become demons to others, and in Medieval Europe the cat’s ‘unblinking
gaze’, so admired by the Egyptians, coupled with its nocturnal habits and independence, invoked
considerable suspicion. Black cats, in particular, came to be regarded as evil, associated with the witches,
and the devil himself was often picturised as the black cat. In these primitive times, many innocent people
in Europe were accused of witchcraft. When witch-hunting, as it came to be known, reached its climax,
cats figured prominently in most of the trials of the accused. Even now, some people think it is unlucky if a
black cat crosses their path, although, paradoxically, people in many western countries think of black cats
as a sign of good fortune.
Nowadays, though, we seldom consider cats to be either sacred or evil, and they are probably the
most commonly kept domestic animal in most parts of the world. Today’s cat tolerates its relationship with
humans and takes advantage of the comforts of a good home environments while retaining its
independent nature. The innate behaviour of a cat’s wild ancestors still exists in cats kept as pets, and even
the most highly-bred and pampered of today’s cats will react to the thrill of hunting and retain all the
physical skills and abilities for their forebears. The specialized teeth and retractable claws of cats helped to
ensure their survival of carnivores during their evolution, and these qualities still stand a cat in a good
stead. Indeed, those who value the variety of birdlife in parks often see cats as an enemy, and the
responsible cat owners frequently fit small bells to their pet’s collars to warn wild birds that a cat is
approaching.

(Singapore: O Level 2008)

Section 2 (20%): Directed Writing
Write between 150 and 250 words.
Your parents took you and your siblings recently to a popular restaurant to celebrate your birthday. You were
assured of excellent service when you booked your table for ten. But you were dissatisfied with their service
and food.
Write a letter to the manager of the restaurant, complaining about the following.

Section 3 (20%): Long Essays

Choose one of the three questions below. Write between 200 and 300 words.

1 (Narrative Writing): A special morning

2 (Expository Writing): The usefulness of examinations
3 (Argumentative Writing): Should every child learn music?
 2020
English lexicon test
Paper 3 (speaking)
12 Minutes
TOTAL 20%
_______________________________________________________________________________________________

Section 1

1. What is your name?

2. Introduce your partner.
3. If one day Malaysia is in a lockdown and you are the Prime Minister, what would you do?
4. Do you rare pets? How do you rare them?
(If response for 4 is NO)
5. Which cuisine is your favourite? Why?

Section 2

Look at the topic below for one minute. You may make notes if you wish
Talk about yourself having a healthy lifestyle.

Please say:
What stops you from having a healthy lifestyle?
What are the disadvantages of not having a healthy lifestyle?
What can you do in order to have a healthier lifestyle?

After 1 minute, please speak into a microphone. You should speak for 1-2 minutes.

Section 3 (Complete BOTH of the questions)

1. Discuss with your partner about Steps to Cook Special Chicken Curry using the diagram below as an aid.
Try to suggest some ingredients that can be added to the curry so that it will have a distinctive taste.

1. Olive oil, 3 tablespoons

2. Onions, garlic
3. 3 tablespoons curry powder
4. ½ teaspoon grated ginger root
5. Salt
6. Chicken breast, halved
Heat, sauté, stir, boil, 7. Tomato paste
reduce heat, remove 8. Plain yoghurt
bay leaf, simmer 9. Coconut Milk
10. Cayenne Pepper
11. Bay leaf
2. Based on the diagram below, talk about ways to prevent COVID-19.