SPM FORECAST PAPER

Paper 1

One hour and forty-five minutes

This question paper consists of two sections. Section A and Section B. Answer both sections.

Section A. Directed Writing

[35 marks]
[Time suggested: 45 minutes]

In conjunction with the English Week in your school, students have been requested to contribute
writings for the English Society bulletin. As the President of English Society in your school, you
have decided to write an article on learning a language.
Use the following notes to write your article.
need a teacher

self-study

more guidance

devise strategies

watching television programmes

When writing the article, you should remember:

to give it a title
to use all the notes given

Section B: Continuous Writing

[50 marks]
[Time suggested: One hour]
Write a composition of about 350 words on one of the following topics.
1 History
2 My idol
3 Write a story ending with:
... honesty pays.
4 Describe a food court that you have been to.
5 The reading habit

Two hours and fifteen minutes

Paper 2

This question paper consists of four sections.. Section A, Section B, Section C and Section D.
Answer all sections in this paper. Questions in Section A have four options. Yor are advised to spend,
25 minutes on Section A, 25 minutes on Section B, 50 minutes on Section C and S5 minutes
on Section D.
Section A
[15 marks]

CASH & CARRY

BOOK FAIR 2008

Opening Hours:
Mon. Sun.
(8.00 a.m. 10.00 p.m.)

3 People who visit the fair should A

read books
B

carry back the books

C come after 10.00 p.m.

D

pay cash for the books bought

1 The aim of the campaign is to

A collect some funds
B fight a long battle C
create a caring society
D create cleanliness and environmental
awareness
The advertisement is for those who
A buy coupons

2 The word spread in the extract means

A intrude
B control C

visit ABC Valley

C read the New Times

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6 Which year has the highest timber exports?

A 2003
B 2004
C 2005

The word fragile can be replaced with

A easily broken
B strong
C thin

5 The simple cooking technique will be

suitable for
A

teachers

managers

youngsters

vegetarians

8 From the picture above, we can say that

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the lady wants to go for a holiday

the turkey needs a holiday,

exercising reduces weight

they are gym partners

Questions 9 - 15 are based on the following passage.

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Questions 16 - 20
Using the information given, suggest the names of places in the boxes below.
Situation
16

Name of place

Vijayan is working in a busy city and wants to go for

a holiday at a place which offers peace and tranquility.

17

Encik Zamzam wants to bring his children to a place

which is suitable for water activities with fun.

18

Lim Sing Poh loves history. He wants to increase his

knowledge in the history of Melaka.

19

Mr. Vespa is a science teacher. He wants to explore

about reptilian species.

20

Pn. Rafeah's kids love animals. Therefore she is

planning to bring her kids to a place which has

[5 marks] animals.
Questions 21 - 25
Based on the information given, give short answers to the following questions.

21 Kishore, is doing a project on history. Suggest one way he could get details about the history
Melaka.

Of

[1 mark]
22 Name one place families can enjoy relaxing moments.

[1 mark]
23 Cik Zura wants to get some pure honey from a honeybee farm. Where should she go?

[1 mark]
ORE,S,T

24 Mr. Obama from America is looking for a place to do sunbathing. Which place is suitable for
him?

[1 mark]
25 Where can you see the endangered tiger?

[1 mark]

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Section C
[25 marks]

Questions 26 30 are based on the following passage.

Tiny creatures known to scientist as `rhizobia' could become one of the most important means of
boosting food production in the hungry regions of the third world, perhaps even averting the threat of global
famine frequently predicted by demographers and economists. These highly industrious micro-organisms
not only hold out the promise of providing farmers in developing nations with a much cheaper
alternative to scarce and expensive 5 chemical fertilisers, but unlike the nitrogenous fertilisers,
present no threat to the environment. What they have in common with chemical fertilisers is their
ability to provide nutrients for the soil. Rhizobia absorb nitrogen from the air, converting it and the
organic matter in the soil into a valuable nutrient to improve the yield of various
crops.
Plants themselves cannot use nitrogen straight from the atmosphere. Rhizobia and related
bacteria are the only living organisms which can perform the miracle of converting it into a
form which growing plants can use. For more than a decade, scientists have been working
to find the most efficient strain, or culture of rhizobia, so that it can be isolated
and used to increase food yields, in much the same way as chemical fertilisers do but 15
at a fraction of the cost, with the added advantage of being environmentally sound.
The vital role which these microorganisms can play was first discovered in the rice fields on the
Philippines in 1962. Scientists at the International Rice Research Institute, pear Manila, were mystified
when a trial plot, where no chemical fertiliser was added, kept giving sustained yields of rice year after
year with no decline in soil fertility. Research 20 showed that millions of the tiny 'free living' bacteria were
working with the rice plants, drawing atmospheric nitrogen down through the water, via the stems to
revitalise the soil. It was observed that the rhizobia bacteria only performed the job of nitrogen fixation
effectively when the paddy field was under water. This was because this particular strain
of rhizobia reached the rice by way of the blue-green algae in the water.
The search for different rhizobia strains which would work effectively with other food crops, and
without the need for water, soon spread to other countries and continents. Attention was concentrated on
leguminous plants, since it was known that some rhizobia lived in symbiotic relationships with such
vegetables as peas and beans. Many African peasant farmers, who have been cultivating their maize for
generations in fields, also 30 planted peas or beans. They are unaware of the scientific reason for this,
but experience has taught them how to achieve better yields.
In the legume roots, the bacteria live in nodules each one a virtual `fertiliser factory'
no bigger than a peanut. Many varieties of peas and beans support effective rhizobia,
but the most efficient strain yet identified lives in the roots of the cowpea, a twining 35
plant of the bean family, widely used for food in Eastern Asia.
Even in countries where chemical fertilisers are available, they might be applied more
sparingly if rhizobia were used. This would avoid the pollution of water supplies resulting from overuse
of chemicals. It could also prevent damage of the ozone layer: some scientists fear that the intensive use
of nitrogenous fertilisers may have even more 40 serious effects than aerosols, or supersonic transport
planes.

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From paragraph 1,
a) what can avert the threat of global famine?
[1 mark]
'b) what does rhizobia have in common with chemical fertilisers?
mark]
From paragraph 3, name two roles played by the microorganisms.

[1 mark

:b)

[1 mark]

:a) From paragraph 4, how did African peasant farmers achieve better yields?
[1 mark
,b) Give an example of a leguminous plant.
[1 mark
From paragraph 6, state one benefit of using rhizoba instead of chemical fertilisers.

[2 mark]
Describe rhizobia in your own words.

[2 mark]
Based on the passage given, write a summary on:
the discovery of rhizobia
the uses of rhizobia
Credit will be given for use of own words but care must be taken not to change the origins
meaning.
Your summary must:
be in continuous writing (not in note form)
use materials from lines 4 to 41
not be longer than 130 words, including the 10 words given below
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Begin your summary as follows:

Rhizobia hold out the promise of providing farmers with a ...

[15 marks]

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Section D
[25 marks]
32 Read the following stanza and answer the questions that follow.

(a)

What does the persona mean by saying And risk it in line 2?

______________________________________________________________________________ mark]

(b) What must you do when you lose something?

____________________________________________________________________________ [1 mark]
(c)

If a man has nothing left, what should he do?

[1 mark] (a) If your father gives you the above advice, will you be happy? Give a reason for

your answer.
[2 marks]
33 Read the extract from the short story The Drover's Wife below and answer the questions that
follow.
The gaunt, sun-browned bushwoman dashes from the kitchen, snatches her baby from
the ground, holds it on her left hip and reaches for a stick.
"Where is it?"
"Here! Gone into the wood-heap!" yells the eldest boy a sharp-faced, excited urchin of
eleven. "Stop there, mother! I'll have him! Stand back! I'll have him!"
"Tommy, come here, or you'll be bitten. Come here at once when I tell you!"
The youngster comes reluctantly, carrying a stick bigger than himself.
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33 (a) What are the bushwoman and Tommy looking for?

____________________________________________________________________________[1 mark]
(b) How does the bushwoman feel when she says, "Tommy, come here, or you'll bitten."? Give
a reason for your answer.

[2 marks]
(c) If you were Tommy in this situation, what would you do?

[2 marks]

34 The following are the novels studied in the literature component in English Language.
Jungle of Hope Keris Mas
The Pearl
The Return

John Steinback
K. S. Maniam

Choose any one of the novels above and answer the question below.
From the novel that you have read, who would you like to be in the novel?
Give reasons why you choose him/her.
[15 marks]

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