‘Paradox of undernourishment’

Pg 13 – 14, Pg 18 – 20
of Term 2 Comprehension Package

SUGGESTED ANSWERS
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Section C [ 25 marks ]

Refer to Text 3 on pages 5 - 6 of the Insert for Questions 15 – 21.

15. (a) In the first paragraph, the writer uses the sentence ‘How can people be going [1]
hungry?’ What is the writer’s attitude towards world hunger?

ANS: The writer’s attitude is one of frustration/disbelief towards world hunger.

(other accepted answers: angry/ shocked)

[Note : Not well done. Students need to give a word to describe attitude. Do
not describe/explain it.]

15. (b) Which word in line 3 reinforces this attitude? [1]

ANS: The word is ‘superfluity’.

[Note : Generally well done. Some quoted form another line so no credit was
given.]

16. From line 6, how do you think the world population is growing? [1]

ANS: Slowly (based on the word ‘inching’)

[Note : Not well done. Students need to show they know what ‘inching’ means.
Most common wrong answer was ‘rapidly/ fast’]

17. Paragraph 2 explains the difference between hunger and undernourishment. Write [2]
down the difference in the table below.

Difference Time period

Hunger Few hours

Undernourishment Chronic/ long period of time

[Note : Somewhat well done. The question is asking about the difference in
terms of the time period between hunger and undernourishment. Some did not
know what ‘chronic’ means.]

18. Explain in your own words the difficulties that development agencies face in [1]
feeding the hungry (lines 16-17).

ANS: They face difficulties in transporting the food and obtaining information/
statistics from the area.

(From passage: development agencies find it hard to get food in and data out.)

[Note : Not well done at all. Students need to paraphrase the words above.
Many went about explaining the difficulties without reference to lines 16-17]

English Language Paper 2

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19. In paragraph 3, the writer states that “Shockingly, food often does not get to the [1]
people who need it..” What is effective about the word “shockingly”?

ANS: It tells us that it is upsetting that food cannot get to the people who need
it.

[Note : Most common wrong answer was ‘surprising’ which has a positive
connotation. ‘shockingly’ would mean that something causes indignation,
horror, disgust. The nuances of the word must be conveyed to obtain credit.]

20. Here is a part of a conversation between two students, Mynn and Samuel, who have
read the article.

Combatting There is hope

world hunger for the
is more eradication of
complex than world hunger.
it seems.

Mynn Samuel

(i) Give two pieces of evidence from paragraph 4 to support Mynn’s view.
[2]
ANS:

● an ongoing civil war has led to widespread displacement, which leads

to disruptions in the food supply and distribution.
● Less than 20 percent of the population has access to a durable road.

[Note : Some went on to explain the evidence. It is not needed.]

[1]
(ii) How would Samuel explain his position with reference to lines 36-37?
Give one point.

ANS:

● Since 1990, the overall number of undernourished people around the

world has gone down.

English Language Paper 2

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21 Using your own words as far as possible, summarise the reasons for [15]
. undernourishment and ways to solve it.

Use only information from paragraphs 5 and 6.

Your summary must be in continuous writing (not note form). It must not be
longer than 80 words (not counting the words given to help you begin).

There are a few reasons why the world faces undernourishment …

From the Passage Own Words

1. parts of Africa and Asia are plagued by Regions of Africa and Asia are suffering
a lack of income due to poverty

2. poor agricultural development Substandard farming development

3. few social safety nets Little social safety nets

4. natural hazards Environmental woes and unstable

governments
5. political instability

6. Many regions lack infrastructure such Large areas have weak/ no infrastructure to
as roads and bridges that can support heavy vehicles transporting food
accommodate trucks carrying food.

7. not only need to focus on food Besides concentrating on food

8. building roads Construction of roads

9. and more secure buildings And safer buildings

10. Stable governments can help ensure Politically stable country means that less
fewer people go hungry people starve

11. people in developed nations begin to Citizens in developed nations need to take
care about those issues an interest in such issues

12. pressure their governments to be And campaign for their governments to

productive in ending conflict. positively assist in resolving the conflict.

13. when a country’s economy grows, Economic growth in a country benefits

almost everyone is better off everyone

14. knock-on effect of greater access to Leading to a ripple effect on access to

education education

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[Note : 1. They need to carry on from the starting line. (Abrupt sentences)
2. Students need to link their points together with well-chosen connectives!! Many did not
do that.
3. Retain the essence of the sentence when paraphrasing. (Many had missing words)
4. Some put 80 words when they clearly wrote more than that. Honesty is the best policy.
No marks will be awarded if the points fall after the word limit.]
5. Some conjunctions were not used accurately. E.g.- ‘however’ is used to expressed
contrast and cannot be used loosely to connect two clauses.
6. Economy of words- omit examples ‘such as floods and hurricane’ they are both
examples of natural hazards.]

English Language Paper 2