Cambridge International AS Level

ENGLISH GENERAL PAPER 8019/02

Paper 2 Comprehension October/November 2022
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Material for Section A

Background

The nation of Caramias (population 1.8 million) consists of six islands, three large and three small. Each
island has its own council (administrative body), while economic and legal affairs are overseen by the
central government based on Fenerita, the largest island. This government has recently granted a
significant sum of money – $7 million – to Zaralonte, the group’s third biggest island and its second most
populous. The money is to be spent on an infrastructure project. Three projects are under consideration
by leading council officials, who are meeting in Ventura, Zaralonte’s main town. Later, the full council
will vote to determine the final decision.

Project 1: High-speed internet

There is currently reasonable provision of broadband internet only in Ventura. In other areas of Zaralonte,
however, including the two other sizeable towns, provision is far less reliable. The signal is either too
slow, or drops out for extended periods of time, especially in bad weather. In the remotest parts of the
island, there is no internet access at all. The internet company provides poor support for customers and
repairs are often delayed.

Estimated cost $3.5 million

in initial installation and construction

Employment
opportunities later work in maintenance and upgrading, and for customer service workers (more
and better trained)

Completion time 18 months

Project 2: Airport expansion

Zaralonte already has an airport but it can only accommodate the small aircraft flying between Zaralonte
and the other two large islands of the group. The ambitious plan would include extending the existing
runway to enable bigger planes to take off and land, modernising the airport buildings so more passengers
could be processed, and diversifying and improving the customer facilities (mainly new shops and cafés).

Estimated cost $9 million (of which $7 million is for the runway)

for engineers, architects and large crews of manual workers working on its construction
Employment day and night in shifts
opportunities when complete, many more staff for security and border checks, catering and retail,
customer service and flight crews, and maintenance staff

Completion time 3 years (minimum)

Project 3: Recycling and waste disposal centre

Built to the latest specifications, the centre would enable islanders to introduce a separation scheme for
household and business waste – facilitating food composting and aiming for 100% recycling of paper,
glass, plastic, cans and cardboard. Council officials believe they could encourage the other islands of
Caramias to ship their waste to Zaralonte for processing, thus generating income.

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Estimated cost $6.5 million

Employment a specialist foreign company to design and build it

opportunities when operational, the centre will be almost entirely automated

Completion time 10 to 12 months

Extract from the committee meeting

Miss Lopez (forcefully): Internet access, that’s our priority. No question about it. Can’t do much these
days without it. Connect ourselves to the world!

Mr Javier (gloomily): We do need to be more competitive. Still, Fenerita might not like it if we rival their
facilities. They control the money, after all.

Mr Hernandez (sounding worried): Sounds like you’re saying ‘no’ to the airport plans. Remember, we
have nearly as many residents as Fenerita, but they’re the only island with an international airport. We
must be losing out hugely to them in the tourist market.

Miss Lopez (interrupting): And with our unreliable internet access on top of that, we look almost
prehistoric!

Mr Javier (sighing and shaking his head): I’m just anxious about having more flights and bigger planes.
Have you even thought about the noise and pollution?

Miss Lopez (eagerly): We can forget about our unique cultural identity if we suddenly get a bunch of
visitors from all over. And look what’s happened on Fenerita! Promised loads of well-paid jobs, but did
that happen?

Mr Javier (with a groan): My point exactly. That’s progress, is it? And the big money all heading off to
international chains

Mr Hernandez (sarcastically): Well, build the recycling centre, then, ‘Mister Dynamic’!

Mr Javier (more decisively): Absolutely right. If you two think we’re primitive for having a small airport
and minimal wifi connectivity outside Ventura, then Zaralonte’s record on waste disposal is even more
shameful. We’re an island. We can’t just bury waste forever, you know!

Additional Information

1. Mr Hernandez used to live on Fenerita and was twice rejected for a government job there.
2. Caramias is a signatory to an international agreement on climate change.
3. Miss Lopez’s uncle owns a prominent local telecommunications company.
4. Further funding may be available from an international development agency, especially for schemes
likely to improve environmental sustainability.
5. Adult literacy in Zaralonte’s rural communities has long been a concern. Participation in evening
classes, held in Ventura, has so far been disappointing.
6. The smallest island in the Caramias archipelago, not far from Zaralonte, is uninhabited.

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7. Mr Javier’s two grown-up daughters are prominent members of an aggressive environmental pressure
group. They frequently complain that he does too little to improve Zaralonte’s ‘green’ credentials.
8. Fishing is a major economic activity for Zaralonte, but international export potential is limited due
to transport difficulties associated with keeping the fish and seafood fresh.
9. In Zaralonte, there are several distinctive religious buildings in Ventura, traditional handicrafts are
widely practised and colourful markets are held twice a week in the three largest towns.

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Material for Section B

The myth of being ‘bad’ at maths

Are you a parent who dreads having to help with maths homework? In a restaurant, do you
hate having to calculate the tip on a bill?

If so, you’re definitely not alone. Research has shown that in the US, 93% of adults say they
have some level of maths anxiety. And it’s not just adults: some 31% of 15- and 16-year-olds 5
across 34 countries say they get very nervous doing maths problems, the Programme for
International Student Assessment reports.

Sian Beilock, a cognitive scientist and president of Barnard College in New York, says the
idea that you are either innately good or bad at maths persists in western countries, and it
seems to be socially acceptable to be bad at maths. ‘You don’t hear adults bragging about 10
not being a reading person, but you do hear them brag about not being a maths person,’
she says.

So what is maths anxiety and where does it come from?

The term ‘mathephobia’ was coined by mathematician Mary de Lellis Gough in 1953 after
observing her struggling students. Experts have defined it as ‘the panic, helplessness, 15
paralysis and mental disorganisation that arises among some people when they are required
to solve a mathematical problem’ and ‘a general fear of contact with mathematics’.

Beilock and her colleagues have shown that maths anxiety can start as soon as we enter
formal schooling. ‘Maths is one of the first places in school where we really learn about
whether we got something right or wrong, and are exposed to being evaluated in timed tests,’ 20
she says.

Girls may be more prone to it than boys. Primary school teachers often have high levels of
maths anxiety, says Beilock, and they are mostly female. Since young children tend to identify
with adults of the same gender, this means girls are more susceptible to picking up maths
anxiety from their female teachers. 25

Once you have it, it can be self-perpetuating. Worrying about it can make it worse, says
Beilock, whose study of children aged five to eight suggests maths anxiety might reduce
performance by overloading working memory. ‘Since our ability to focus is limited, our
attention gets divided when we do more than one task at a time,’ she says. ‘If you’re worried
about having to do maths, you may have an internal monologue saying you can’t do this 30
and at the same time you’re trying to calculate numbers.’

Teachers who love maths

Avoiding maths at school might work for those choosing to specialise in other subjects. But
society loses out if too many people avoid taking maths-related university courses or pursuing
maths-related careers. 35

In the US, both the private and government sectors are suffering from a lack of STEM*
workers, while other countries are also struggling to fill shortages. So, experts are looking
at measures that can be taken to tackle maths anxiety at different times of life.

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Beilock proposes that addressing the issue can begin at home. Her research suggests that
parents can pass on their anxieties when helping children with maths homework. But research 40
also suggests that greater exposure to maths in the home helps children perform better at
school. Beilock believes doing maths with their children would also give parents more
confidence in their own abilities, making them less likely to perpetuate the idea that maths
can’t be learned.

Shulamit Kahn, an associate professor at Boston University’s Questrom School of Business, 45

who has written about the gender gap in STEM, believes giving students, particularly girls,
good role models ‘is critical, especially at a young age’. She thinks the key is to get people,
especially women, who love maths teaching younger children.

Helping students feel secure enough to speak up in class is also important, says Einar
Skaalvik, who studies maths anxiety at the Norwegian University of Science and Technology. 50
‘My research shows that students with maths anxiety are scared of looking bad in front of
others and won’t ask questions. Teachers need to emphasise that mistakes are part of the
learning process.’

Reducing the anxiety

At the higher education level too, there is evidence that addressing the anxiety itself can 55
help.

Beilock’s 2014 study showed giving university students with maths anxiety a short expressive
writing exercise ahead of a maths test helped improve their performance. The students were
asked to explore their feelings of anxiety about the test; the researchers suggest that the
exercise may have helped students better understand and regulate their emotions, freeing 60
up cognitive resources to improve working memory and performance in the subsequent test.

Montgomery College, an American public community college in Maryland, offers a class

dedicated to overcoming maths phobia and building confidence. The course explores where
the anxiety comes from and teaches coping strategies.

Research carried out at the college also showed that more autonomy when studying reduced 65
students’ anxiety and improved performance. In response, the college introduced more
self-paced learning; students solve problems online using an artificial intelligence programme
that fits questions to performance, with an instructor on hand to answer questions. Students
are less likely to feel the pressure of falling behind the rest of the class or too embarrassed
to ask questions, and the instructor becomes less intimidating. 70

Of course, there will always be people who will want to avoid maths at all costs. But those
people might benefit the most from tackling the anxiety caused by numbers. ‘Maths is part
of everyday life,’ Beilock says. ‘If we aren’t helping those who are most maths anxious tackle
activities involving maths, it’s hard to see how folks can live up to their potential.’

*science, technology, engineering and mathematics 75

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