[1] With school tests or public exams coming closer, it is common for students to go to tutorial schools to get more opportunities to practise their English. Though Hong Kong has now returned to China and Putonghua is becoming more and more popular, some students still believe that they need to have the capability of speaking and 5 writing good English. Having a good command of English is important ‘How can | improve my English?’ Sally often asked herself before. Seeing that some of her classmates had taken courses in noted educational centres after school, Sally wanted to join one, too. However, as she had doubts about the effects of these courses, she changed her mind at the last minute. 10 [3) ‘Then | bought some English books from book shops,’ Sally said. ‘Soon I found that it was not interactive enough. | did the exercises alone and checked the answers myself. If | had a problem, | could only look it up in a reference book, or ask my teacher the next day. The effort that I'd made failed because | lost interest soon afterwards.’ [4] ‘Then it dawned on me that it was possible to learn English on the net. Many of my 15 friends have signed up for such communication tools as facebook or MSN. While some of my classmates write in Chinese, others write in sub-standard English like “2day me free, bore in home, ah!” and most write in half spoken Chinese, half bad Engli symbols and figures, like XD (meaning ‘a laughing face’) and 886 (meaning ‘good-bye').’ and lots of [5] Many people may criticise these communication programmes because they think 20 it is a waste of time and these programmes encourage the use of bad English. Sally, however, found that these programmes opened up many opportunities for her to make friends with native English-speakers and it was possible to improve her English through communicating with them. To do so, Sally insisted on using grammatically: correct English instead of using symbols or bad English 25 [6 ‘I think it is marvellous to learn English and make friends at the same time,’ Sally said. ‘I can sit at home and learn the language by chatting to others.” Last week, Sally received her school report and she got 92 marks in English - the highest in her class. ‘My efforts have paid off,’ Sally said. ‘This has proved that the method works and it is more interesting than going to tutorial classes.’‘A Choose the best answer by blackening the circle. (12 marks, 2 marks each) 1 When school tests or public exams are coming closer, A Putonghua becomes more popular. B_ many students think they need to communicate. A C students start to write good English. oO D__ many students take courses to improve their English. )° Oe Oo 2 Sally did not take any courses because A she did not want to study with her classmates. B she did not believe these courses could work. C these courses have very good effects D__ she would like to improve her English. a yo O> Oo 3. Sally lost interest in doing exercises in books because A. she disliked checking the answers herself. B she had too many questions to ask. she thought doing exercises lacked interaction D_ she could not afford to buy a good reference book. oO» Oo Oo Oo 4 According to paragraph 4, many of Sally's classmates ... A. did not write grammatically-correct English. B_ wrote good English. A BCD © wrote in half good English, half bad English OOOO D disliked using facebook or MSN. 5 Many critics think that these communication programmes ... A. can improve people's English. B__ waste our time and cannot improve our English. C open up many chances to make friends with people. D insist on using grammatically-correct English. O> Oo Oo Ov 6 Sally's case shows that it is possible to ... A learn sub-standard English on the net. B_ get 92 marks by writing to friends. C go to tutorial schools to learn English. D__ learn English in a lively way. OO» Oo nc po°C Complete the sentences below using the words or phrases from the box on page 32. Use each word ONCE only. Follow the example. (6 marks) + Although this town is quite small, itis ___ meted __alll over the world, for one of the greatest writers ~ Shakespeare - was born there. 1 Since your brother __ on going ahead with the new scheme, I could not but give him a chance. 2 Everyone felt excited; we definitely had a___ ___ time at the party, 3 Samis clever at _____. Ifyou have any problems with your mathematics, you may go and ask him. 4 We trained very hard and when we won the game, we knew that our hard training — ________ in the end. 5 You should give it a try. You must show that you have the —__ i of doing great things. Don't give it up! 6 It is wonderful to friends when we are free. D_ Look at the following words. Then look at the dictionary entries for them listed below. Which meaning corresponds to their meaning in the passage? Write the correct number in the box provided. (4 marks, 2 marks each) 1 command (line 5, paragraph 1) separately 5 ability to use or control sth» 6 tell sb that he must do authority 4 part of an army, air force, ete. controlled and organized | | sth 7have authority 8 be able to use 9 deserve and get sth L 2 dawned (line 14, paragraph 4) |Fdawn a i time of day whea ght nice appearsy aayneeak 2 | beginning, first signs of sth v 3 begin to grow light 4 (on/upon sb) — [Rescitay eters ite ens mises pace aear wen eases epi Goeiagee pa ieee aa | Se SE ata P|Answer the following questions using complete sentences. One has been done for you as an example. (21 marks, 3 marks each) + Why do students go to tutorial schools? They want to get more opportunities to practise their English. 1 Why is Putonghua getting more and more popular in Hong Kong? 2 Why didn’t Sally take courses in noted educational centres? 3. Why did Sally lose interest in doing the exercises in those English books? 4 According to paragraph 4, what did Sally's friends use in communication besides Chinese and English? 5 How can Sally improve her English on the net? 6 What did those communication programmes open up for Sally? 7 What was Sally's position in class, as far as English is concerned?Below is a summary of the passage. However, there are some missing words. Read the passage again and then fill in each blank with ONE word only which best completes the sentence, keeping the meaning of the original text. Note that the most suitable word may or may not appear in the article. You should make sure that your answers are grammatically correct. An item has been done for you as an example. (13 marks) Learning English on the net While many of Sally's classmates had gone to*s courses at *___ educational centres, Sally decided not to do so. She went to book shops to? ___ exercise books, but soon she found that °___ exercises alone was not *___ enough. Then she thought of a good idea. She signed up for some communication *___ and started making ®____on the net. Instead of writing in bad English or ’____, she wrote in grammatically. correct English. She knew that to get a good* __ of English, she had to make an 2 « This way Sally was able to sit comfortably at © __ while making friends through chatting and writing. Her efforts *__ off in the end because she got the marks in English when she got her school **____a few days ago.[2] A security.conscious homeowner released security images from one of his home video cameras after it had caught thieves breaking into a vehicle in the front yard. With the given images, the police soon arrested the thieves who had committed the theft. 2] While many of us may think that we may remain anonymous the moment we 5 travel from our homes to work or to school, or take a walk in a mega-scale shopping mall after the office hours, this is not always the case. [2) With so many strangers around in public places, it is easy to get an illusion that we are hidden in the crowd, and no one knows who we are or where we are going. But it is possible that the more crowded the place is, the more likely we are being filmed 19 without our knowledge. [4] Perhaps you do not realize that there may be cameras all the way from your home to work or to school. First of all, you may take a lift in your block of flats. Look at the ceiling of the lift or look in the corner of your lift lobby. There are cameras recording everyone’s movement in or out of the building. 15 Some of these cameras are visible but many others are hidden. Just look around for those mirrored glass or dark glass. You may not realize that cameras are hidden behind this. At bus terminals or all MTR stations, there are cameras with motors that can be moved to follow particular or suspicious people or to give different views of the same place. At banks or shopping centres, cameras are installed in every 0 corner so that wherever you are, those security people can keep watch on you. [2 While these cameras are obvious to anyone, some cameras are hidden from public views. Expensive shops, for example, prefer to disguise their camera equipment. Even if you think you are safe from cameras while shopping in these shops, there is still a chance that you have been caught on video. 25 (2| Although these cameras may prevent thieves, robbers or pickpockets from committing crimes, and help the police to find those ‘lawbreakers’ who are caught in the act, the general public have their safety concern. It seems that all our movements are being followed and we won't have privacy any more.JA. Find a word from the passage that means the same as each of the following. One has been done for you as an example, (10 marks) Paragraphs 1-3 caught by the police with a name that no one knows extremely big false idea or belief + Paragraphs 4-5 5 top inner surface of a room a 6 that can be seen 7 at the back of + Paragraphs 6-7 8 very clear 9 give a false appearance 10 worry; anxiety — photos recorded electronically _images_ Peter Standford had his account of the story below. Help him to complete his account using the correct tenses or verb forms, using the active or passive voice as required. (13 marks) Video cameras proved useful As the owner of a video company, | =*____ (think) it might be a good idea *___ (install) some cameras around the house. We *___ (live) in Sai Kung for over six years and it *___ (be) a safe place so far. On the night when the theft *__ (take) place, | was about to go to bed. After® (check) my computer, | intended to take a bath before © ___ (go) to sleep. However, a flash light on the screen ’___ (catch) my attention. 1* (take) a closer look and found that three thieves °___ (try) to steal my car. | *°__ (not go) out because | was afraid that they might hurt me if we %__ (fight) together. | just called the police and '2___(print) the photos. It was fortunate that all the thieves °___ (catch) at last. 13B Answer the following questions using complete sentences. One has been done for you as an example. (21 marks, 3 marks each) + According to paragraph 1, why did the police arrest those car thieves so fast? It was because they got images of the t es from the homeowner. 1 According to paragraph 2, what do many of us believe when we go out? 2 According to paragraph 3, what is likely to happen when we go to crowded places? 3 Why are cameras installed in the lift lobby? 4 What may be hidden behind mirrored glass or dark glass? 5 What can cameras do at bus terminals or MTR stations? 6 As mentioned in the passage, what places or shops may hide their cameras from public view? 7 As regards cameras installed in public places, what are people worried about?C Choose the best answer by blackening the circle. (12 marks, 2 marks each) 1 The homeowner mentioned in paragraph 1 . A B c D had security equipment installed around the house knew that his home would be broken into. handed the thieves to the police. Oe ABC OOO released the images after the thieves had been arrested. We may not remain unknown in public places because . A B c D many people know us. we have to travel from place to place. we are walking in a mega-scale shopping mall. our movements are being filmed by cameras. The cameras in your building ... A B Cc D record the movements of thieves. record people in and out of the building. have frightened all the thieves away. have stored all images of thieves O> Oo Oo Og O> Oo Oo Og According to paragraph 5, the cameras at MTR stations ... A B Cc D are all hidden from public views. are protected by mirrored glass. can trace a particular person’s movements. film only those suspicious lawbreakers. Some shops may hide their cameras so that .. A B c D customers may think that they are not being filmed. customers are safe from criminals, customers will know they are caught on video. customers will think they are safe from any harm. O> Oo Oo Oe Or Oo Oo Oo One basic function of the cameras installed in public places is ... A B c D to take away the privacy of the general public. to follow everyone’s movements. to prevent criminals from doing wrong. to cause public concern. D ABC O00O90D Complete the description below with ONE word in each blank. Note that the most suitable word may or may not appear in the story. Make sure that your answers are grammatically correct. (12 marks) Peter Standford, «¢____ owns a video company, » who uses ! _cameras around his home. On the morning of November 11 this year, one of the 2___ caught three car burglars *___ into his car parked in the front *___just outside his two-storey house in Sai Kung. One of the burglars flashed his torch and this *___ his attention at® __. ‘Without delay,’ said Peter Standford afterwards, ‘I alerted the police 7 refocusing the camera so that it might *___ better photos. The thieves *____ the vehicle away in only three minutes.’ 9 __ %©_the time the police came, Standford had printed the 10 images of the thieves. ‘'___ the images, the thieves were. 1) _ stopped at a roadblock and without struggle. 12 Marks: | R E The following is a short description given by the car thieves. However, there are some mistakes in it. Underline and correct the mistakes. Follow the example. (9 marks) walking We were walk near the house and found that a handsome car was parking outside. The lights of the house were out, so | guess everyone in the house was asleep. | flashed the torch and find that the car was quite new. The lock of the car was easily to break, so after a brief discussion, we decided to broke in. We acted quietly and the whole job was doing in only three minutes. We do not know that our movement had been recorded by a camera. We drove a car CON HAH RYNHH away immediately without woke up the owners.