CONFIDENTIAL PI/OCT2022/ELC080/SET 1

TEST

COURSE ENGLISH FOR FOUNDATION STUDIES I CODE ELC080

LECTURER’S
DURATION 2 HOURS
NAME

NAME

STUDENT MATRIC
GROUP
ID

PART A

PART B

TOTAL

INSTRUCTIONS TO CANDIDATES
1. This question paper consists of TWO (2) parts: PART A (7 Questions)
PART B (1 Question)
2. Answer ALL questions.

PART A: READING COMPREHENSION (10 MARKS)

Read the passage below and answer the questions that follow.

Are you a bedtime procrastinator?

I What was the last thing you did before drifting off last night? You were probably
on a device - reading emails, surfing the web, or checking social media. You
are not alone. A study by the National Sleep Foundation estimates that 48% of
American adults use gadgets such as tablets or laptops in bed. Studies in other
countries have shown that this behaviour is even more prevalent among 5
younger adults. Snuggling up with electronic devices can ruin sleep since it
tends to delay the time when one actually goes to sleep. This will reduce sleep
duration, disrupt sleep patterns, and eventually affect one’s health. In fact,
more research has shown that night-time use of technology can also have
detrimental effects on one’s ability to cope with stress, self-esteem, mental 10
health, and physiological health. This has led to an epidemic of people
struggling to concentrate or remember things during the day. Despite all these

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negative effects, most gadget users seem unable to resist using their devices
in bed. There are a few underlying reasons why people are glued to gadgets
which lead to bedtime procrastination. 15

II To begin with, modern gadgets can cause bedtime procrastination as they are
interactive rather than passive. The connectivity of these gadgets to the outside
world intrudes into the bedroom. Incessant notifications from social media
accounts or emails can be heard right before sleep time. Consequently, 20 to
30 minutes can quickly go by because many people choose to respond to these 20
alerts. Sending or replying to a text message, posting or tweeting something
on any social media platform, and simply scrolling through funny videos on
TikTok can cause the emotional nervous system to rev up. In fact, Matthew
Walker, a professor of neuroscience and psychology at the University of
California, found that these modern gadgets are causing sleep procrastination 25
amongst his participants. He also explained that a person actually needs
between thirty minutes and an hour of preparation before going to sleep to give
the mind a chance to unwind from the stressors of the day. However, using
phones in bed will undo the effects of such activities by extending the
accumulated worries of the day into the night-time hours. Hence, even after 30
users put down their phones, the notifications will keep waking them up at
night.

III Another reason why bedtime procrastination is linked to gadget use is because
most people subconsciously allow themselves to be controlled by these
devices. This is different from light reading and watching television in bed. 35
Unlike these activities, using interactive gadgets disrupts sleep patterns
because the blue light given off by many electronic screens can alter the
release of a hormone called melatonin, which helps regulate sleep and can
throw the body’s internal biological clock out of sync. Ben Carter, a
biostatistician at the King’s College London argued that many people today 40
have allowed themselves to sleepwalk into a situation where they are in bed
with technology in their hands. This habit can lead to long-term negative effects
on the quality of their sleep as the human body absorbs energy from
technological devices that emit radiofrequency radiation. According to Carter,
if checking gadgets is the last thing people do at night and first thing in the 45
morning, they are probably addicted to it. Therefore, sleep procrastination

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persists even when they are aware that such an action can jeopardise their
sleep quality.

IV Although technology is the root cause of this problem, it can also be the cure
to this addiction. There are already many gadgets and applications on the 50
market that claim to monitor and aid sleep. Walker hopes to use machine-
learning technology to produce new ways of intervening if someone is not
sleeping properly. Instead of communicating, browsing, and shopping
endlessly on the Internet, certain gadgets and applications can limit gadget use
by training the users to only have access to important applications with minimal 55
interactions, for example the calendar. Other than that, to be able to train their
sleeping habit effectively, it is also crucial for these gadget users to affirm
themselves that sleeping early is important and will help maintain their health.
There is no doubt that gadgets have drastically disrupted sleep, but technology
could also offer effective solutions to the very problem. 60

V All in all, bedtime procrastination is the reason we become less productive

during the day which might affect our mental and physical health. We often
convince ourselves that we deserve some screen time before bed, but it has
slowly become an addiction that is hard to overcome. Once our algorithm is set
with the routine of bedtime procrastination, it will take some time for us to get 65
back on track. Therefore, we must make sure that we do not let these
distractions be a part of our daily routine. We should control the use of these
gadgets and not the other way around. This might be hard to execute but doing
it one step at a time will prevent us from becoming sleep procrastinators.

Retrieved and adapted from https://www.bbc.com/worklife/article/20170911-are-you-a-sleep-

procrastinator

QUESTION 1
What do the following word and phrase in the passage refer to?
a. their (line 13): _______________________________________________________

b. it (line 49): _________________________________________________________

(1 mark)

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QUESTION 2
Give the meaning of the words as they are used in the passage.
a. disrupts (line 36): ____________________________________________________

b. crucial (line 57): _____________________________________________________

(1 mark)

QUESTION 3
State the topic sentence of paragraph II.
_________________________________________________________________________

_________________________________________________________________________

(1 mark)

QUESTION 4
The linker “Consequently” in line 19 connects two ideas. What are these ideas?
a)

b)

(2 marks)

QUESTION 5
Read the statements below carefully. Write T for the statement that is TRUE and F for the
statement that is FALSE.

a) A person needs 20 to 30 minutes of preparation before going to bed to release

the mind from stress.

b) Most people today have subconsciously allowed themselves to be controlled

by technology.
(2 marks)

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QUESTION 6
State two (2) reasons why using gadgets before bedtime can negatively affect our sleep
quality.
a) _______________________________________________________________________

b) _______________________________________________________________________

(2 marks)

QUESTION 7
Based on the passage, suggest an action that a person can take to avoid delaying bedtime
sleep?
_________________________________________________________________________

_________________________________________________________________________

(1 mark)

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PART B: WRITING (20 MARKS)

Complete the task below.

Your classmate, Wilda, was unable to join the Merdeka Festival at your university because
her brother was hospitalised. Read the email from her asking about the festival which she had
missed.

From: Wilda
Subject: Merdeka Festival

Hi Christy, Notes:

How are you? Sorry I couldn’t accompany you to Merdeka Festival as

promised because I had to take care of my brother at the hospital. He
broke his ankle while playing basketball. How was the festival? Entertaining

I read from the WhatsChat messaging group that Arif and Joshua’s
performance was outstanding. They practised hard for it, and I suppose it
went really well. Did you join any other interesting activities at the
festival? Describe at least
two activities
I also heard that Mr. Shah delivered a talk on the true meaning of freedom.
Was it interesting? Yes, …

By the way, there will be an event to celebrate Malaysia Day on 16th

September in Shah Alam that I want to participate in. Would you like to
join me? Tell Wilda

Write soon!
Wilda

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Using all the notes given, write a reply of at least 100 words in an appropriate style.

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END OF QUESTION PAPER

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