Powered by Andrew Choo

PRAKTIS RAMALAN
2019 SPM BAHASA INGGERIS (PAPER 1) – SET 1
Section A : Directed Writing
[35 marks]
[Time suggested: 45 minutes]
You have been asked to give a talk about Fire Safety and Prevention.
Use information from the poster below to write your talk.

When writing the talk, you must:

• greet the audience
• state the purpose of your talk
• use all the notes given
• give your own ideas when needed
• end your talk appropriately

Note :
For your talk, von will receive up to 15 marks for the format and content points and
up to 20 marks for the quality of your writing.

1 WWW.ANDREWCHOO.EDU.MY
 Powered by Andrew Choo
Section B: Continuous Writing
[50 marks]
[Time suggested: One hour]
Write a composition of about 350 words on one of the following topics.

1. A Memorable trip

2. The Importance of Saving Money

3. Parents should not be blamed for teenagers’ moral decay. Do you agree?

4. Write a story which ends with “They were rewarded with medals for their heroism and
selfless act.”

5. How is Teacher’s Day celebrated in your school?

KERTAS SOALAN TAMAT

2 WWW.ANDREWCHOO.EDU.MY
 Powered by Andrew Choo

Suggested Answers
Section A
I would like to wish a very good morning to Mr. Sivakumar, Chairman of the Scouts
Association (Gombak district), teachers and fellow scouts. I am Raymond Leong, the President of
the Scouts Society of SMK Jalan Gombak Hilir. In conjunction with the Malaysian Scouts
Association's month long fire and safety campaign, I have been asked to give a talk about ‘Fire
Facts and Prevention’. I would like share some tips with you about how to practice fire safety at
home.

A high percentage of fire-related deaths are caused by house fires. House fires can start
and spread with great speed and families have mere minutes to escape before the fire engulfs the
house. Statistics have shown that a high percentage of children around the world are killed in
house fires every year.

What are the causes of house fires? Most of the time, it is caused by cooking accidents.
This could be due to overheated pots and pans or oil splatters. Kitchen fires spread quickly.
Another cause of house fires is candles which are left burning. When left unattended, the candles
could fall off its holder. The flames would spread to combustible materials lying around such as
papers or books. Sometimes, a gust of wind might cause the flame to spread to the curtains.
Faulty appliances and overloaded plugs are other common causes of house fires. Sparks fly easily
and start a fire. Children are another cause of house fires. Children are by nature inquisitive;
hence they might try experimenting with matches or lighters. Before you know it, their toys have
caught fire or the leaves are burnt spreading fire.

What do you do when there’s a fire? Rule number one is to get out and call 994. Do not
attempt to put it out yourself. Alert your neighbours. lf you live in a condo, look for the exit signs
and get to a safe open area like a field or court. Do not use the lifts. lf the smoke is too thick, crawl.
The air is better below.

Everyone should know fire prevention tips. Smoke detectors are a good way to alert you
when there is smoke. When there is smoke, there is fire and most fires start in the night. Make
sure that your smoke alarm is in working condition. Devise a fire escape plan and let your family
know. It is good if you can test out the plan now and again so that the children know what to do.
Never leave the candle burning. Monitor it and snuff it out when you leave the room. If your cable
wires are frayed, replace them. Always tell the children the dangers of playing with fire. Make sure
that candles, lighters and matches are kept in a safe place far from the reach of children.

Remember, always be vigilant and never take anything for granted. A fire is good servant
but a bad master. Keep your home safe from fire. I hope that my talk will be helpful to you. Thank
you for being a great audience.

3 WWW.ANDREWCHOO.EDU.MY
 Powered by Andrew Choo
Section B
1. During the last school holidays, I went to Pulau Langkawi with my family. Each of us really
looked forward to this trip since it was our first time there together. This trip was truly memorable,
especially to me.

We went there on a flight and stayed from a week. We wanted to be certain that we had
time for everything that we came for - shopping and visiting!

After checking into a hotel by the beach, we cleaned ourselves and rested. As each of us
was tired from the journey, we had a light dinner and retired early that night.

On the next morning, we went to the beach. There were a lot of people there. Each of them
was engaged in their own activities but none had started swimming, probably avoiding the cold
sea water. We snapped some photographs of ourselves in different poses. What a lovely beach!

During our stay there, we visited many well-known and interesting places such as The
Eagle's Square or better known as ‘Dataran Lang’ and the legendary Mahsuri's Mausoleum.
According to the legend, Mahsuri was accused of committing adultery and sentenced to death.
Before dying, she had cursed the paddy harvest to be burnt for seven generations after her death.

Pulau Langkawi is a duty-free port and you can buy anything without being taxed after a 3-
day stay there. For this reason, many domestic and foreign tourists will go there.

All sorts of handicrafts could be found in Pulau Langkawi. My family and I learnt how batik
was made. As a result, my mother was attracted to its beauty and bought a lot of them. I also
learnt how sea cucumbers were used to produce the ‘gamat’ oil.

While in Pulau Langkawi, I befriended a person from England, His name is Charles. He is a
jovial person. He said that Malaysia is peaceful and beautiful. I think what he had said is true and I
feel so proud to be a Malaysian.

My sweet memories in Pulau Langkawi included going on a shopping spree in the

supermarkets and buying chocolates from overseas as well as clothes. My mother bought crystal
for RM250 while my father bought some clothes.
Everyone of us fell very happy while on our holiday in Pulau Langkawi. Besides enjoying the
panoramic view of the beautiful and clean beach, we saw many beautiful fish at the Langkawi
Underwater World. It was indeed a good place to relax ourselves.

I have lots of experience from my trip to Pulau Langkawi. Therefore, I wish to go there
again the next time. Pulau Langkawi gives me many sweet memories.

2. Cars, houses,a college education, holidays and medical bills all have something in common.
They cost money. As time goes on we need lots of it as inflation and greed have forced the prices
of services and goods upwards.

It is not enough to have money. it is also important to save some of it. There are various
reasons for this. The most evident is ‘the rainy day’. There are always unexpected expenses like
wedding gifts, funerals and birthdays to attend. Even if we give a token, we need to save in order
to pay for gifts or donations.

The next most important reasons we need to save is for medical expenses. This is
sometimes covered by medical cards and employers but we always need some spare cash for the

4 WWW.ANDREWCHOO.EDU.MY
 Powered by Andrew Choo
things they don't cover or to pay the premiums. Savings also help pay for the quality of the medical
services we might need.

There are also other benefits of savings which are pleasurable. Ws could save to make the
trip of a lifetime to a place we want to visit. Savings could help realise the world tour we dreamed
of as a kid. Saving money enables us to make timely investments when opportunity knocks. We
will not be able to grab that condo, share issue or car on offer if we do not have spare cash.

Saving money helps us pay for our dream home without paying too much interest to the
bank. We could save from a young age and be surprised to see how much we have at the end.
We need to save to be able to afford a college education for ourselves and our future generations.
It helps us to get a better job.

Finally, the habit of saving creates a sense of emotional and mental security that is
essential in today's world. We need that assurance that we are safe financially to enable us to lead
a normal life. Many people today suffer from tremendous stress if they have financial insecurity. It
is one of the causes of marital problems and can cause a rift between siblings and extended family
when you are unable to meet your financial obligations.

Thus, the habit of saving money is essential to live a happy life.

3. Today, our society's progress in the era of the information technology (IT) has influenced
the teenagers’ behaviour and thoughts. These will definitely hamper their ability to manage our
future effectively as they tend to be involved in negative aspects of the progress to satisfy their
curiosity. As a result, it has brought about moral decay among the teenagers. Due to their nature,
they are rebellious and like to ‘explore’ the forbidden practices or ‘territories’. Therefore, proper
upbringing by their parents is extremely necessary. Should parents be blamed for their moral
decay?

We cannot blame the parents totally because they have tried their very best to provide them
with a suitable and cosy life. The teenagers are at fault due to their easy acceptance of their
friends’ bad influence and subjecting themselves to peer pressure. Since birth, they have been
taught to differentiate the good from the bad.

In addition, when they surf the Internet, they seek every opportunity to watch pornographic
videos and pictures without their parents’ knowIedge through the cybercafes. In fact, the
teenagers should realize that they should not be doing it.

Other than that, the ‘bohsia’ culture is also followed by the teenagers. Their parents have
already taught them to pray and behave morally but they do not obey them. Words of advice fall
on deaf ears of them.

Furthermore, teenagers are also involved in loafing or ‘Iepak’ culture with their friends,
aimlessly wasting away their precious time. They should demonstrate obedience and self-
discipline but not being unruly. When they loaf around, the teenagers and their friends will indulge
in negative activities such as smoking, playing truant, having alcoholic drinks and racing illegally.
All these activities will ruin their great future as leaders of tomorrow and nation builders.

Besides that, teenagers should ponder and reflect upon themselves, especially the people
who have cared for them so much since birth, their parents. Their parents have toiled day and
night and have tried their very best to provide the teens’ personal needs and requests. They
should show their appreciation by spending their free time with their families and not with bad

5 WWW.ANDREWCHOO.EDU.MY
 Powered by Andrew Choo
company. Moreover, they can also form study groups with their friends in order to achieve
academic excellence to show their gratitude to their parents for providing them education.

Therefore, I think the bad influences of friends and peer pressure are the main reasons for
teenagers’ moral decay. Parents should not be blamed as they would always want their teenagers
to be good and educated persons.

4. Bala and Kim Hock were walking home after watching a movie at the nearby cinema. They
were busy recounting the action scenes from the movie. As they were walking, they started
smelling smoke. They looked around and saw plumes of black smoke rising up in the evening sky.
They spotted fire coming from a row of wooden shophouses nearby. Both Bala and Kim Hock ran
towards it.

A crowd had already gathered by the time they reached the scene. Kim Hock quickly ran off
to call the fire brigade. Bala stood watching. The owners of the shophouses wera running back
and forth from the lots that haven't caught fire to salvage whatever they could. In the chaos, Bala
heard a woman screaming, “My son! He's still in there!” Bala ran over to the women and asked
which building the boy was in. She pointed to the lot next to the one on fire.

Bala knew it was dangerous to go but if he didn't, the boy could become a victim of the fire.
Kim Hock came running back. Bala quickly told him what had happened. Both Bala and Kim Hock
tied their handkerchiefs over their face covering the nose and mouth. They ran into the building,
aware that the fire would spill over at any time. They ran up to the first floor and found the boy
unconscious. Bala and Kim Hock carried the boy out. They hurriedly stumbled down the chairs
and out into the open. They put him on the ground.

In the distance, sirens from the fire engine and ambulance could be heard. The boy was not
breathing. Bala and Kim Hock quickly performed CPR to resuscitate him. The boy started
coughing. He slipped in and out of consciousness. The boy's mother was crying. The paramedics
came and took over while the firemen had a hard task to get the fire under control. The boy was
taken to the hospital for treatment. It was a miracle that he did not get burnt.

A week later, Bala and Kim Hock were invited to a special ceremony in their honour at the
town hall. They were rewarded with medals for their heroism and selfless act.

5. Teacher's Day Celebration in My School

Teacher's Day is a special day in our school. It is not only celebrated in our school but all
the schools in Malaysia. All the students in my school look forward to it every year. We take the
opportunity to thank our teachers for all that they have done for us and show them our
appreciation on Teacher's Day.

There are no classes on that day because it is a day for the teachers to rest. We would
normally have an assembly in the morning. The school principal will deliver her speech and thank
the teachers for their contributions and dedication to the school and students. The Head Prefect
would then present his speech to thank the principal and all our teachers on behalf of all the
students in the school.

During the assembly, every teacher is called to come up on the stage and the class monitor
will present their class teacher with a bouquet of roses. The bouquet of roses is a token of
appreciation from the students to their teachers. It is a nice gesture that all the teachers appreciate.
Some teachers give their students a hug after receiving the flowers. After that, the Head Prefect

6 WWW.ANDREWCHOO.EDU.MY
 Powered by Andrew Choo
will ask all the students to give a thundering round of applause to all the teachers at the end of his
speech. All the students are usually very excited and could not wait for the assembly to be over
because there will be games and class parties after that.

After the assembly, everyone will go to the school field to either join or watch the
telematches between the teachers and the students. Usually, the students will win but everyone
enjoys the spirit of taking part in the matches. The telematches are organised by the school
prefects with the help of the Physical Education teachers. There are musical chair, gunny sack
running competition, passing the ball, and others. It is fun to watch the teachers letting down their
hair and getting themselves dirty in the field. At the end of the telematches, prizes are given to the
winners.

Then, everyone will adjourn to their classes for the class parties after the telematches. The
class monitor would normally organise the class party. We would usually have egg and sardine
sandwiches, fried noodles, fried chicken, coleslaw, mashed potatoes, jelly, fresh fruits and fizzy
drinks. All the students love class parties because it is a rare occasion. Some students will also
present their class teachers with gifts such as souvenirs, stationery, decorative items and others
during the class party. The day will end with a photo-taking session.

Teachers are important in students’ lives. They work hard to ensure that we would excel in our
studies. They are like our mentors who always support and encourage us. Teachers are also very
patient. They never seem to give up hope on us. Although Teacher's Day is only celebrated once
a year, we should show our gratitude to our teachers every day of the year.

7 WWW.ANDREWCHOO.EDU.MY