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UNIVERSITI PENOIOIKAN SULTAN lORIS

FINAL EXAMINATION
SEMESTER 1 SESSION 2015/2016

CODE: BIU2032 COURSE : ENGLISH PROFICIENCY 3

DATE: 1 1 JAN 2016 DURATION: 2 HOURS

INSTRUCTIONS

1. This paper consists of TWO sections: A and B.

2. Answer ALL questions in the OMR form provided.

3. All question papers will be collected immediately after the examination.

This question paper consists of 16 printed pages including the cover page

PROGRAMME: -----_._---

YEAR: LECTURE GROUP: -----

REGISTRATION NO:
I I I I I I I
I DENTITY CARD NO:

LECTURER:

DO NOT OPEN THE QUESTION PAPER UNTIL YOU ARE TOLD TO DO SO

BIU2032: English Proficiency 3 2

SECTION A (20 marks)

Instructions: There are four passages. Answer all questions. Choose the best answers
from the options given.

Passage 1

1 It's a well-known coping strategy when you're feeling down to think back on

happy memories. And, according to a new study on mice, recalling positive

memories could do even more good than we thought: it might increase long­
term resilience to stress even more effectively than actually experiencing a

new happy event. 5

2 Steve Ramirez and his colleagues at MIT began by creating a happy

memory for the mice: researchers let male mice spend some time with a

female. A chemical marker, which the researchers had injected into the
mice's brains before the experiment, tagged the specific neurons that

activated to store the memory, so that researchers could find them later. 10

3 One group of the mice then endured ten days of stressful conditions,
while the others went about their normal lives in familiar cages. The stressed

mice showed signs of depression after their experience: less interest in eating
suqar, and a tendency to struggle less and give up sooner when picked up by
their tails. 15

4 Researchers then wanted to see if remembering their earlier flirtation

would boost these animals' spirits. They used a technique called

optogenetics, in which light is used to activate specific neurons. Since the

neurons that stored the positive memory had been tagged with the chemical

marker, it was easy to find them and activate them again, causing the 20

depressed mice to suddenly remember their time in a nice, familiar cage with
the female mouse.

5 After five days of twice-a-day light treatment, the mice's depression

showed significant improvement. The previously depressed mice ate sugar
with renewed enthusiasm and struggled vigorously when researchers picked 25

them up by their tails. They resumed normal neuron production in their brains,
which had been hampered in depression.

[See next page

BIU2032: English Proficiency 3 3

6 And fascinatingly, remembering past happiness worked even better

than experiencing a new uplifting event. The mice simply remembering their
time with a female were relieved of depression symptoms, but other mice that 30

instead interacted with a female twice a day for five days were not cured. The

researchers published their findings today in Nature.

7 Researchers think that may be because the old memories have already
etched themselves into the brain. Depression might block new memories from

getting full access to the brain's reward pathway, according to Ramirez and 35

his colleagues, but scientists don't yet completely understand the mechanics
of depression in the brain. That's especially true at the scale of individual

neurons and circuits, although technologies like optogenetics may help

uncover such small-scale details.

8 In an accompanying article Alex Dranovsky and E. David Leonardo 40

write, "It is intriguing to speculate that nostalgia serves a similar stress­

reducing purpose in humans. Perhaps an experience itself results simply in

memory storage, whereas its recollection activates a neuronal network

associated with reward, thereby changing behavior."

(Adapted from : http://blogs.discovermagazine.comld-briefI2015106117Inostalgia­

depressionl#. VYlscvmqqko)

1. The word recalling in Line 2 means _

A. reminding
B. producing
C. generating
D. remembering

2. The main idea of Paragraph 2 is the researchers _

A. let male mice spend some time with a female

B. began their experiment by creating a happy memory for the mice
C. had injected a chemical marker into the mice's brains before the experiment
D. had injected a chemical marker which, tagged the specific neurons of the mice

[See next page

BIU2032: English Proficiency 3 4

3. Which of the following statements does not describe the details in Paragraph 3?

A. The stress mice showed more interest in eating sugar.

B. One group of the mice endured ten days of stressful conditions.
C. The unstressed mice went about their normal lives in familiar cages.
D. The stressed mice showed signs of depression after their experience.

4. What is the main idea of Paragraph 4?

A. Inoptogenetics technique, light is used to activate specific neurons.

B. The chemical marker willtag neurons that stored the positive memory.
C. Researchers used optogenetics technique to boost the spirit of the mice.
D. The chemical marker can assist the researchers to find and activate neurons.

5. Based on Paragraph 6, the following statements are true, except _� _

A. the mice that spend their time with a female twice a day for five days were
cured from depression
B. the mice simply remembering their time with a female were relieved of
depression symptoms
C. the mice that interacted with a female less than twice a day for five days
suffered from depression
D. the researchers believed that experiencing a new uplifting event is better than
remembering past happiness worked

Passage 2

1 On a recent trip to Tanzania, I met a group of women who farmed vegetables

for a living near the village of Mlandizi on the country's east coast. As they
were telling me about their operation, the unexpected ring of a cell phone
interrupted us.

2 In a village where most people live below the poverty line, all 11 women 5

reached into their colourful kangas to check their phones. The caller was giving
an update on seed prices-vital information in a country where seeds are often

hard to come by.

3 Forget satellites, drones or other high-tech innovations. For small-scale

farmers across the globe, a simple cell phone has become one of the most 10

powerful tools for boosting one's harvest and, along with it, his or her family's
and community's food supply.

[See next page

BIU2032: English Proficiency 3 5

4 Farmers, like the women I met, are using cellular technology to share

crucial information about weather, rainfall, and market demand, along with
seed prices, empowering millions of them to grow more food at a time when 15

the world needs it most.

5 By the end of this century, there will be more than 9 billion people on the

plcmet, Feeding that many mouths will require farmers to harvest more food in

the next 75 years than has yet been produced in all of human history.

6 Yet the cruel irony is that today hunger disproportionately affects small 20

farmers. In fact, roughly half of the world's 805 million chronically hungry
people are small-scale farmers like the women I met in Tanzania. Without

access to the right resources and training, millions of food producers are

unable to move past subsistence farming or even put food on the table for

themselves and their families. Often, their crops will fail as a result of drought, 25

disease, pest or post-harvest contamination.

7 SMS technology, or 'Short Message Service'-the wireless capability

that enables two-way text messaging on cell phones-offers one of the best

ways for farmers to tackle these problems. That's especially true in low-income

countries where cell phones are more common than traditional infrastructure 30

like paved roads and reliable electricity.

8 The mobile platform iCow, for example, sends text messages to farmers

with advice on diagnosing pest problems, preventing infection among livestock

and selecting certain types of grass to feed one's cows.

9 This kind of information can be crucial during the rainy season, the 35

period from March to May when farmers in Tanzania begin to plant next year's
crop.

10 Other information that's shared via cell phones, including weather

forecasts, fertilizer prices and more resilient seeds, could mean the difference

between a successful harvest and a lean one, after which the number of daily 40

meals dwindles to one.

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BIU2032: English Proficiency 3 6

11 Technology alone won't deliver the world from hunger. After all, SMS
technology is useless for the millions of farmers who are illiterate. Gender

inequality and cultural tradition, meanwhile, keep technology like cell phones
out of the reach of millions of female farmers across the globe, even though 45

women make up an estimated 43% of the agricultural workforce in developing

nations. Plus, cell phone coverage can't compensate for inadequate roads,
which stop farmers from delivering their surplus crops to the market.

(Adapted from : http://news.nationalgeographic.comI20151061150610-hunger-nutrition-cell­

phone-farming-agriculture-africa-wor/d/)

6. The word vital (Line 7) can best be replaced with _

A. crucial
B. specific
C. important
D. complicated

7. The word it (Line 11) refers to _

A. drone
B. satellite
C. cell phone
D. one's harvest

8. Based on Paragraph 4, the following statements refer to the reasons farmers

possess a cellphone, except _

A. to get data on market demand

B. to gain information on crops prices
C. to share information about weather and rainfall
D. to empower millions of them to grow more food

9. Based on Paragraph 6, the farmers fail to produce their crops due to:

I. pest
II. drought
III. disease
IV. post-harvest contamination

A. I, II, & III only

B. I, II, & IV only
C. I, III & IV only
D. I, II, III & IV

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BIU2032: English Proficiency 3 7

10. Based on Paragraph 8, if you were the farmers, why is it important for you to have
the mobile platform iCow?

A. To gain information regarding latest livestock prices.

B. To send text messages on diagnosing pest problems.
C. To give advice on preventing infection among livestock.
D. To provide information on selecting certain types of grass to feed one's cows.

Passage 3

1 Thousands of massive wind turbines are popping up all over the world. Often

taller than the Statue of Liberty, their stature makes the blades difficult to

inspect. The answer? Send in the drones.

2 This month, unmanned aerial vehicles will fly over orchards and

farmland in Mason County, Michigan to inspect three towering turbines in the 5

Lake Winds Energy Park, owned by Consumers Energy, a public utility.

Equipped with cameras and sensors, they'll do what's often done by workers

in helicopters or on ropes.

3 Drones, long used by the U.S. military to drop missiles on targets, are

increasingly eyed for other uses. Hollywood is using them to film movies, and 10

Amazon wants them to deliver packages. Now, they're poised for take-off in
the energy industry. Oil and gas companies as well as utilities are testing
them to inspect pipelines, power lines, wind turbines, and solar farms.

4 "The opportunities are in the billions --

with a B," says Maryanna

Saenko, author of a 2015 Lux Research report on the technology. In the wind 15

industry alone, a new Navigant Research forecast says, drone sales and

services could hit $1.6 billion annually and $6 billion cumulatively by 2024.

5 "Drones provide access to hard-to-get-to locations, such as remote

roads or mountain canyons," says William Semke, director of the University of

North Dakota's unmanned aircraft systems engineering lab. At the same time, 20

he says they-like birds-pose a small risk to low-flying aircraft.

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BIU2032: English Proficiency 3 8

6 So drones, just starting out in the energy industry, face obstacles. To

avoid collisions, countries limit their use. The drone industry will have to prove

its vehicles can do business accurately and safely.

7 They're getting their chance. In 2014, after years of forbidding 25

commercial drones, the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration began granting

waivers-typically allowing use within 200 feet off the ground. It's since
approved more than 1,400 waivers for two dozen industries including energy.
In February, it proposed a rule on drone use but did not set a deadline for

finalizing it. 30

8 The oil industry jumped in quickly. Last year, energy giant BP (British
Petroleum) obtained FAA's first waiver for commercial drone use over land

and began tests at its Prudhoe Bay oilfield in Alaska. It's using a 13�pound,
fixed-winqed vehicle equipped with LiDAR (light detection and ranging)
equipment and remote sensors to collect 3-D images. 35

9 "This is a breakthrough for BP," Curt Smith, its chief technology officer

says in a video, describing how drones improve field operations at less cost

and risk. "Floods and ice floes make other monitoring methods difficult", BP
says on its website. The drones, made by California-based AeroVironment,
enable workers to drive gravel roads in poor visibility and scan pipelines to 40

identify frost-damaged areas that need repair.

10 Shell, too, is trying out unmanned aircraft. At the Ormen Lange gas

plant in Norway, it uses them to inspect flare stacks, which burn off flammable
gas. This used to be a 'hazardous and lengthy job', as mentioned by Shell. It

requires engineers to rappel down the 70-meter tall tower and close the plant 45

for nearly two weeks. Now, they do it in a few hours and keep the plant open.

11 The Netherlands-based company sees other benefits. It says

inspecting facilities while they're still running enables infrared cameras to

obtain live heat images from equipment. "Easier access to otherwise tricky-to­
see areas," it says, "also means we can do inspections more often." 50

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BIU2032: English Proficiency 3 9

12 In December, Oregon-based VDOS Global LLC received an FAA

waiver to use drones to inspect flare stacks at 14 of Shell's offshore oil rigs in

the Gulf of Mexico. Citing 3,500-plus potential sites in the Gulf alone, VDOS

says it expects 'significant' industry demand to drones to detect faults,

.

use

corrosion, and other signs of deterioration. 55

(Adapted from : htlp:llnews.nationalgeographic.comlenergyI20151091150923-drone-use-could­

soar-at-pipelines-wind-turbines-solar-farmsl)

11. Based on Paragraph 3, choose the reasons why people need to use drones
technology.

I. Film makers utilise drones to film movies.

II. They were long used to drop missiles on target.
III. Energy industries use them to construct their assets.
IV. Company like Amazon uses them to deliver packages.

A. I, II & IV only
B. I, II & III only
C. I, III & IV only
D. II, III & IV only

12. Based on the passage, which of the following rules you have to follow in order to fly
a drone?

A. The drone must be used above 200 feet off the ground.
B. The drone can be used in all industries except for energy.
C. The drone must pass collisions test conducted by the authority.
D. The drone must be proven to do business accurately and safely.

13. The word obtained (Line 32) can best be replaced with _

A. allowed
B. received
C. equipped
D. proposed

14. Which of the following elements is false about the characteristics of the commercial
drones used by BP company? They _

A. use 13-pound, fixed-winged vehicle

B. use infrared cameras to obtain live heat images
C. have remote sensors to collect 3-D images equipment
D. have been equipped with LiDAR (light detection and ranging)

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BIU2032: English Proficiency 3 10

15. Which of the following companies listed does not use drone to assist them in oil and
gas related industries?

A. Shell
B. British Petroleum
C. Consumers Energy
D. Oregon-based VDOS Global LLC

Passage 4

1 Researchers Elizabeth L. Paluck and colleagues partnered with a TV network

to insert certain themes (or messages) into popular dramas shown on US TV.

They then looked to see whether these themes had an effect on real world

behavior, ranging from Google searches to drink-driving arrests.

2 The study was based on three prime time Spanish-language dramas 5

(telenovelas) which have a viewership of around 1.2 million people per week.

Telenovelas are a genre similar to English-language soap operas except

shorter, most lasting about a year. Into these shows, eight messages were

added, ranging from health and safety (benefits of low cholesterol, dangers of
drink driving) to community building (register to vote, scholarships for 10

Hispanic students.)

3 In total, there were 23 scenes, featuring 16 minutes and 51 seconds of

footage. The scenes were 'not central to the shows' plots' but 'many involved
the shows' main characters.' What makes this a genuine experiment (rather
than just an observational study) is that the researchers used randomization 15

to determine when in the season to broadcast each message.

4 So did it work? Not really. The airing of scenes featuring the Hispanic
Scholarship Fund did lead to large (but temporary) spikes in the number of

people visiting that organization's website. However, there was no evidence

that messages about voter registration led to increases in the number of 20

Hispanics actually registering. Nor did Google searches for terms related to

the messages increase following each broadcast.

[See next page

BIU2032: English Proficiency 3 11

5 The authors conclude that in their study, the airtime devoted to the

suite of messages would have been worth millions of dollars, but the

cumulative effect of these messages on the general population was small and 25

short-lived.

6 The use of telenovelas to spread health and social messages has a

long history. In fact, according to Wikipedia, the genre has 'decreased

credibility' among viewers today because of heavy-handed government

messaging in the past. I wonder if this could be part of the reason for the 30

weak effects. Perhaps this paper will affect the credibility of telenovelas still
further?

7 One thing Paluck et al. don't discuss is the ethics of this project. They
obtained the approval of the Institutional Review Board (lRB). However, at

least on the face of it, there is an ethical issue here. This was an experimental 35

manipulation of human behavior, but the participants did not give informed
consent to be part of the research. Now, when Facebook announced that

they had done a randomized study on nearly 700,000 unsuspecting users,

people weren't happy. The present study differs from that one in a number of

ways but I think some people will be uncomfortable about it. 40

8 Incidentally, two of the authors on this paper, Donald P. Green and

Lynn Vavreck, were in the spotlight recently over their association with

alleged science fraud, Michael LaCour. Green co-authored a paper with him,
which has since been retracted. Vavreck was LaCour's PhD supervisor.

(Adapted from : http://blogs.discovermagazine.comlneuroskepticI2015109126Ia­

primetime-psychology-experiment-does-tv-affect-behavior1#. VgfpadKqqko)

16. What is the main idea of Paragraph 1?

A. Real world behavior

B. TV network available in US
C. Popular dramas shown on US TV
D. A research conducted by Elizabeth L. Paluck

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BIU2032: English Proficiency 3 12

17. The word genuine (Line 14) can be replaced with _

A. original
B. common

C. authentic
D. comprehensive

18. Based on Paragraph 2, which of the following element refers to the similarity
between Spanish-language dramas and English-language soap operas?

A. Genre
B. Messages
C. Viewership
D. Shorter period

19. The word they (Line 38) refers to _

A. Paluck et al.
B. Participants
C. Facebook users

D. Institutional Review Board Members

20. The two authors that were in the spotlight recently over their association with
alleged science fraud are known as:

A. Lynn Vavreck and Donald P. Green

B. Donald P. Green and Michael LaCour
C. Michael LaCour and Elizabeth L. Paluck
D. Elizabeth L. Paluck and Donald P. Green

[See next page

BIU2032: English Proficiency 3 13

SECTION B (20 marks)

Instructions: Complete the following texts with the correct answer from the options given.

Text 1

When Apple bought Beats, best known for making brightly coloured headphones, for around
$3 billion last year, many wondered what the technology giant had in mind. They now have

their answer. On June 8th, at Apple's annual gathering for software developers in San

Francisco, it (21) a new music-streaming service, based on one it had

acquired as part of Beats. Tim Cook, Apple's boss, (22) that, "It will
change the way you experience music forever." Others on the stage called it "revolutionary".

Apple led the way in popularising the legal downloading of music, with the launch of
its iPod player in 2001. But as music fans (23) to streaming songs in a

big way over the past few years -

in effect, renting them rather than owning them -

downloads (24) to decline. Apple's revenues from music have started to

fade, even as those from apps and other services have kept soaring. This time it

(25) ,
rather than leading, a musical revolution. Spotify, the most popular
on-demand streaming service, has 20 million paying subscribers worldwide, and around 55
million who (26) use its free, ad-supported version.

Apple Music will attempt to differentiate itself from incumbents by having playlists
which (27) by people rather than algorithms, and technology that make it

easier to search for songs. It (28) into the territory of Sound Cloud, a firm

that lets unsigned acts promote their tunes to music-lovers looking to discover the next big
thing. It is taking on Google's online-video service, YouTube, by making it easy to watch
music videos. And it's offering (29) a new, 24-hour radio station, 'Beats
One'. If enough of Apple's existing customers (30) to the new station, it
could become one of the world's leading influences on popular music tastes.

(Adapted from: http://www.economist.com/newslbusiness/21654090-having-transformed-music­

business-once-apple-trying-do-so-again-second-revolution)

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 14
BIU2032: English Proficiency 3

21. A. reveals
B. revealed
c. has revealed
D. had revealed

22. A. promises
B. promised
c. has promised
D. had promised

23. A. take
B. took
c. has taken
D. have taken

24. A. start
B. started
c. had started
D. have started

25. A. follows
B. followed
c. is following
D. has followed

26. A. rarely
B. seldom
c. regularly
D. occasionally

27. A. are chosen

B. were chosen
c. had been chosen
D. have been chosen

28. A. marches
B. marched
c. is marching
D. was marching

29. A. includes
B. included
c. will include
D. has included

30. A. take
B. took
c. has taken
D. had taken

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BIU2032: English Proficiency 3 15

Text 2

Vancouver-based architect Michael Green was unequivocal at a conference at which I heard

him speak a while ago: "We (31) trees in British Columbia that are 35

stories tall, so why do our building codes restrict timber buildings to only five stories?"

True, regulations in that part of Canada (32) recently to permit an

additional story, but the point still stands. This can (33) be said to keep
pace with the new manufacturing technologies and developments in engineered wood
products. These products are causing architects and engineers to think very

(34) about the opportunities wood offers in the structure and construction

of tall buildings.

Green himself (35) a book in 2012 called Tall WOOd, which

explored in detail the design of 20-story commercial buildings using engineered timber
products. (36) then he has completed the Wood Innovation and Design
Centre at the University of North British Columbia. Currently, it (37) as

the tallest modern timber building in North America.

Until recently, the potential for using timber in towers (38) very

limited. Platform timber frame is the system which (39) to construct more

than 70% of Scotland's housing, by my calculations -

is effective up to seven stories in

height.

The Stadthaus in Hackney's Murray Grove is a nine-story building comprising 29

apartments, constructed almost entirely from cross-laminated solid wood panels. These (40)

strength, stability and, importantly, a convenient way of locking in

considerable volumes of atmospheric carbon dioxide.

(Adapted from: http://b/ogs.discovermagazine.com/crux/2015/05122/skyscrapers­

wood/#. VY/5c_mqqko)

31. A. grow
B. grew
C. will grow
D. had grown

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 16
BIU2032: English Proficiency 3

32. A. change
B. changed
C. had changed
D. have changed

33. A. truly
B. hardly
C. perfectly
D. continuously

34. A. similarly
B. typically
C. strangely
D. differently

35. A. produces
B. produced
C. is producing
D. has produced

36. A. Until
B. After
C. Since
D. Before

37. A. is lauded
B. was lauded
C. has been lauded
D. had been lauded

38. A. is
B. was
C. has been
D. had been

39. A. is used
B. was used
C. has been used
D. had been used

40. A. provide
B. provided
C. had provided
D. have provided

END OF QUESTIONS