MT 68-DSE

ENG LANG
HONG KONG DIPLOMA OF SECONDARY EDUCATION EXAMINATION
PAPER 4
MOCK TEST 68
ENGLISH LANGUAGE PAPER 4

PART A Group Interaction

This article appeared in your local newspaper:

A new school subject: camping

It is Monday morning, and students at Shek Yam Secondary School are beginning another week of school.
This week will be very much like others in the school year, with one difference: for the next two nights,
they will be staying in tents in Kam Shan Country Park. Unlike most students in Hong Kong, students at
SYSS regularly go on camping trips.

‘There are certain things students just cannot learn in a classroom,’ Principal Sharon Fong explains.
‘Things like map reading, lighting fires, foraging for food, building shelters and basic first aid. They’re all
vital skills that could make the difference between life and death. We can talk about them in school, but
students only really understand them if they’re out in the countryside, fending for themselves.’

The school also uses the camping trips to teach students about local wildlife and conservation. Teacher
Colin So’s face lights up when he recounts the time he and a group of students were able to observe a rare
Chinese pangolin. ‘There’s nothing to compare to seeing these creatures in the wild,’ So says. ‘Being out
there in nature really brings home to students the importance of protecting the natural world.’

Your school is considering running regular camping trips. You are on the school council and have been
asked to make a recommendation. You may want to talk about:
 whether students at your school would enjoy going on camping trips
 the benefits to students of going on camping trips
 alternative ways in which students could learn about outdoor skills and conservation
 anything else you think is important

PART B Individual Response

1. Have you ever been, or would you like to go camping?
2. What can you learn about the natural world by visiting country parks?
3. Do you think Hong Kong students enjoy being outdoors?
4. What outdoor skills are important in today’s world?
5. Should all students in Hong Kong learn first aid?
6. If you were lost and did not have a smartphone, how would you find your way home?
7. What skills do you think you would need if you had to spend a night outdoors?
8. If you could go camping anywhere in the world, where would you go?

DO NOT TAKE AWAY

(S6) MT 68-DSE-ENG LANG 4–1 1 © Oxford University Press
Written by John Thompson (6.2/2022-23)
This mock test may be adapted by teachers. OUP accepts no responsibility for changes made to original materials.
 Possible answers
Part A
A: Good afternoon, everyone. We’ve all read the
article about Shek Yam’s Secondary School’s
camping trips. As you know, our school is
proposing to add camping to our curriculum,
and we’ve been asked to give our thoughts
on the matter. So, what does everybody
think? Would students at our school enjoy
going camping?
B: I wouldn’t! Frankly, I’m horrified by this idea,
and rather offended. The school has no right
to imply that students at this school are soft
and lazy. For example, I’m an athlete. I play
basketball. There’s no way I’m soft.
C: I think you’ve missed the point. I don’t
consider any of our students to be soft and
lazy, but not all of them enjoy the great
outdoors. I think I might be in the minority. I
enjoy hiking and camping. I can build a
shelter and light a fire. But I know that most
of our students don’t. I think that’s partly why
the school is suggesting these camping trips.
D: But do students need these skills? I
understand it might be fun for some people to
be in the great outdoors, but for others, it’s
definitely not. We live in a city that has every
convenience we could ask for. There’s no
reason to go out into the wilderness unless
it’s something you really enjoy doing. So,
what’s the point?
A: Well, let’s discuss that. We’ve been asked to
talk about the benefits to students of going
on camping trips, so let’s talk about the skills
we might learn while we’re camping. We’ve
mentioned building a shelter and lighting a
fire…
D: Yes, but like I said, I can’t see how those
skills would be useful to Hong Kong
students.
A: What about first aid? Surely, that’s useful in
any situation. What if someone was choking,
or was knocked over in the street?
D: All right, I’ll admit that first aid is a useful
skill.
B: Yes, I’d argue that first aid is something that
students should be taught. But I think it’s the
only one we’ve mentioned that is worth
teaching in Hong Kong.
C: What about map reading, and using a
compass? I enjoy hiking and orienteering,
and those skills come in very useful.
D: But we all have maps on our phones, with
GPS that will tell us exactly where we are.
You can just enter the address you’re going
to and it will give you directions and tell you
how long it will take you to get there. We
don’t need to carry around paper maps and
compasses anymore.
B: What about if your phone has no signal, or is
out of battery?
C: Yes, good point!
D: Hmm. I’d ask for directions.
C: What if there’s no one around?
D: That wouldn’t happen. I never leave the city.
A: OK, this discussion isn’t getting us anywhere.
Perhaps we could agree that these skills
would be useful to some students in Hong
Kong, depending on their hobbies and habits.
But many students would not really find a use
for them in their everyday lives.
B: Apart from first aid.
A: Yes, sorry, apart from first aid.
(S6) MT 68-DSE-ENG LANG 4–2
This mock test may be adapted by teachers. OUP accepts no responsibility for changes made to original materials.
C: What about learning about nature
conservation? Don’t you think it’s beneficial
to students to go out into country parks and
learn about the natural world while it’s all
around them?
D: Well, it depends, doesn’t it? The article we all
read said that the students at Shek Yam went
camping in Kam Shan Country Park. Isn’t that
the park that’s full of monkeys? I don’t think
that would be my idea of learning about the
natural world—having monkeys stealing my
lunch.
A: Well, I think there’s something to be said for
it. I consider myself to be eco-conscious, but
honestly, I find myself dozing off in lessons
when we talk about the environment. It’s
always about facts and figures, percentages
and so on. It’s different learning about
conservation when you’re actually out in
nature.
C: Exactly! You don’t get a real sense of what’s
at stake until you experience it for yourself.
B: Personally, I feel like I learn everything I need
to learn from regular in-school lessons. I
honestly don’t believe I’ll get anything more
out of a camping trip—except for maybe
mosquito bites.
A: It seems we’re split on whether these trips
would be beneficial to students. So, perhaps
we should move on to discuss alternative
ways in which these skills could be taught.
B: Well, as I said, we already learn about nature
and conservation in the classroom. That’s
enough for me. As for outdoor skills like
lighting fires and foraging, I don’t think it’s
necessary to include them in our curriculum.
D: Likewise—I still say that they shouldn’t be
taught at school. We have to cram enough
into the school day as it is, without adding
extra lessons to teach skills that most of us
will never use.
A: That’s a fair point. I have to say that, as much
as I like the idea of learning some of these
skills, I don’t think they should be taught as a
compulsory subject. It does seem a little
unfair to make students who really have no
interest in being outdoors learn things they
may never need to know.
C: I thought we agreed that everyone should
learn first aid?
A: Yes, I definitely agree about that. Maybe first
aid training could be compulsory, while the
other skills could be an option, rather than a
requirement.
D: I think that’s fair. Actually, I’m not even sure
why we’re only talking about first aid in
relation to camping. As we said earlier, first
aid is useful in any situation.
A: Yes, I think that’s a good point. We should
teach first aid that is useful for all situations,
not just surviving in the woods and things
like that. Perhaps first aid should be taught in
normal school hours, and the other skills
could be taught in special after-school
lessons that students can attend if they want.
C: Or maybe there could be a school camping
club, where conservation and survival skills
are taught? I’d definitely join that. I could
even help to teach some of the skills.
B: That makes sense. Then, anyone who’s
interested in camping can go on the trips, and
the rest of us don’t have to!
A: Yes, good idea. An after-school club is
probably the best way to teach conservation
2 © Oxford University Press
 and outdoor skills to anyone who’s interested
in learning them. Is everyone agreed?
B: Yes.
D: Yes. As long as I don’t have to join.
A: In that case, we’ll recommend that first aid
will be taught to students in lessons during
normal school hours. We’ll continue to teach
students about nature and conservation in
classes at school, but there will also be a
school camping club. Members of the club
will go on regular camping trips to learn
about the natural world, and will also learn
outdoor skills such as map reading, lighting
fires, foraging for food and building shelters.
Thanks for a great discussion, everyone.
(S6) MT 68-DSE-ENG LANG 4–3
This mock test may be adapted by teachers. OUP accepts no responsibility for changes made to original materials.
Part B, Question 4
I think many people believe that outdoor skills are
not as important now as they were many years ago.
After all, today, we all have smartphones that we
can use to call for help, and that have GPS that can
tell us exactly where we are in the world. There are
more cities and towns, so there are fewer wild areas
than there used to be. However, if you stop to think
about it, where would we be without all these
modern inventions? If I were in a situation where I
was stuck in the middle of nowhere and didn’t have
my phone, I’m not sure what I would do. I think if I
were taught outdoor skills like how to read a map,
build a shelter and light a fire, I would be able to
survive in that situation. Technology is useful, but
perhaps we have come to rely too much on
technology. That’s why I think there is still a place
for outdoor skills in today’s world. In particular, I
think map reading, fire lighting and shelter building
should be taught. That way, if we ever find
ourselves lost in the wilderness, we’ll be able to
use our own resourcefulness to survive.
3 © Oxford University Press