test 60 Summary writing

Summary writing collected by Nguyen Duc Chinh 2012TEST 60 During heavy rains in 1978, certain parts of Singapore were flooded. This passage relates theauthor's experience in rescue operations during the floods.) When arrived with my platoon at the makeshift headquarters at the Potong Pasir communitycentre, was greeted by the volunteers who had gathered there to help. As might be expected,someone had installed few electric kettles and were busy brewing coffee for the rescuers andthe rescued. looked at the sea of anxious young faces as they waited for instructions. Somehowthe sight of me and my men in uniforms must have encouraged them to conclude that since thearmy was there, action would follow immediately But there was nothing could do straightaway. had to wait for the boats to arrive. did not wantto curb their enthusiasm, so explained to them that the boats were on the way. They let out agroan of disappointment. In order not to let the army down, explained that the boats were fromanother camp and had to go through an area which was flooded. One of the youths asked for adefinite time by which the boats would arrive. Without any thought, told him that was surethey would arrive within an hour. They seemed satisfied at this and went back to cursing the rainand the system. Even though had said that they would, myself was not at all sure that the boats would arrivesoon. had sent my best NCO, Sgt Rahmat, to collect the boats. decided to put all my hopes onhim and started to plan my rescue operation. few young men who lived in the area suggestedthat the map was looking at was useless. It was out of date and did not show exact locationswhere the houses were. They claimed to know the area better and volunteered to take us to thehouses. The army had trained me not to do anything without plan so proceeded to draw asketch map of the area. Then asked them to help me to pin-point the exact locations of thehouses. Reluctantly they agreed. Soon the map was filled with colorful pins. then proceeded to organize the rescue parties. split the men into five teams. In each team Iincluded few of my men and few of the young volunteers who had gathered there. told all ofthem that they were to obey my corporals without question. Anyone who argued would be takenout of the team. As was issuing them with life jackets, heard the welcome horn of 3-tonner.Sgt Rahmat had arrived and within the time had estimated too. looked around at the youngmen triumphantly and they nodded their approval. In situation like this, people usually listen to someone who spoke with authority. Frankly, wasnot sure of myself as had never been in flood rescue operation before, even thoughtheoretically, knew what to do. must have sounded like general because saw everyonelistening to me and nodding their heads obediently. Finally, told them to move out. They ran tothe boats shouting excitedly. The last saw of them, each team was carrying boat and runningalong the road. Their enthusiasm reassured me that all would be well. sat there manning the radio set and keeping track of my rescue teams. did not have long to1Summary writing collected by Nguyen Duc Chinh 2012wait as the first message came through. As planned, the boats had gone to the place where theflood waters were the highest. One of the new corporals sounded worried as he reported that anold lady did not want to be rescued. She was refusing to get down from the top of cupboard andwas insisting that the floods would subside soon. knew there was only one thing to do, "Grabher!" said. "Roger, out!" heard and heard the corporal repeat my order to his henchmen Ismiled to myself as thought wickedly of an old lady being carried kicking and struggling to therescue boat. Soon the first boat arrived. As had predicted it was Rahmat's boat. He seemed to be all handsas he grabbed the blankets and handed them out one by one. The grateful residents then followedthe women folk to the rooms where they would be given hot drink. looked around at the warmSingaporeans swarming about, each wanting to do anything to help. felt proud. Since had already set up the system of how the rescued were to be handled, decided to leaveRahmat in charge and go out to where the action was. After all, could be contacted by radio.Rahmat looked little disappointed but smiled when told him that he could go on the next trip;after return. Questions 1. (a) From the passage can you determine who the writer is? (b) What led the author to conclude that the young men who had gathered at the rescueheadquarters expected immediate action? (c) Why was the author not able to act immediately? (d) Why was the commander confident that the boats would arrive soon? 2. (a) In your own words explain why you think the author decided to plan everything. (b) Can you explain what the 'colorful pins' on the map represented? (c) How confident was the author of being able to carry out the operations? (d) Why do you think the author organized the rescue teams to comprise mixture of his own2Summary writing collected by Nguyen Duc Chinh 2012men and volunteers? 3. (a) Why does the author use the word 'wickedly' to describe his thoughts at the end ofparagraph six (b) Why had the author predicted that Rahmat's boat would be the first to return (c) The seventh paragraph ends with the sentence, "I felt proud." Is the author's feelingjustified (d) How different were the author's feelings at the end of the passage from those at thebeginning 4. For each of the following words give one word or short phrase not more than sevenwords which has the same meaning as it has in the passage. i. makeshift v. reluctantly ii. curb vi. predicted iii. immediately vii. henchmen iv. exact viii. swarming 5. Imagine that you are the author. Write summary of the actions you took in planning andcarrying out the flood rescue operations. Your summary, which should be in continuouswriting, should not be longer than 160 words, including the ten words given below. arrived at the rescue operations headquarters in the afternoon .........Sample summary for TEST 60I arrived at the rescue headquarters in the afternoon. There were lot of volunteers waiting tostart work. they were relieved to see us. explained to them that we had to wait for the boats, asthey were coming from another camp. While waiting for the boats started to plan. The localswere helpful as they knew the area well. Soon had marked all the houses in the area on mymap. Then Rahmat arrived with the boats and we started work. organized the teams by mixingmy men with the others. Then sent them out. stayed in the headquarters to control theoperation. One of the NCOs had problem in evacuating an old lady who refused to move. Idirected that they force her into the boat. Rahmat's team arrived first. then left him in chargeand went out with team to see what was happening. 158 words )3Summary writing collected by Nguyen Duc Chinh 2012TEST 61I am not usually superstitious but then she was may first car and was not about to take anychances. It being Friday, decided to drive her home on Saturday. So had the car delivered tomy office car park and took the bus home as usual. She was not much of car to be proud of, justa simple second hand Nissan Sunny costing little more than twenty thousand. But one thingmade me proud she was mine, all mine. Next day, told my wife and two children that wanted to take them to meet friend. Mychildren jumped for joy but not so my wife. She had to be persuaded and persuaded and finally Ihad to spoil the surprise and tell her the truth. Well, she was curious now and agreed to go to myoffice. could not wait to go by bus and so hailed taxi. could see the look of excitement inmy wife's eyes. As usual the taxi journey was fast and we were at my office by 9:00 am. took them all to mySunny and introduced them to her. told them that she was the new family member. My childrengave loud whoops of joy and almost immediately tried to open the door, though had the key.This was followed by fight as to who was to have the honor of sitting in front. My wife settledthe argument by getting into the front seat herself. got into the driver's seat and started the car. Ifelt thrill run right through me as she sprang to life. Slowly, backed her out of the lot andturned her and drove out of the car park. As turned into the main road, became nervous. had never driven without my drivinginstructor before. decided to be careful and kept to the left all the way. The day was hot and Iturned on the air-conditioner. Then fiddled around with the switches to see which was which.Suddenly the wiper came on. could not remember which switched turned that on and started tofiddle around again. It is difficult to fiddle around while you are driving and could not see verywell. The reason, could not concentrate on the switches had to concentrate on the road too.Behold me then, inexperienced driver driving along on the extreme left of busy road, fiddlingaround trying to turn off the wiper while both eyes had to be concentrating on where was going.I must have touched something right, because the wipers began to move faster. There was only one thing left to do, signaled and stopped at the side of the road. Everyone inthe car, and on the road, stared at me curiously. There was no reason to stop where did. Therewere no shops, or houses or anything. They must also have wondered why was driving withthe wipers on when it was not raining. took deep breath and calmed myself. Then lookedaround at the various switches in front of me. Finally, found the switch which worked the wiperand turned if off. Everyone in the car breathed sigh of relief. smiled sheepishly and then signaled to the right and drove out again. Without any furthermishap, managed to drive to the temple. The car needed to be blessed. The priest was happy toperform the blessing ritual for eleven dollars. He went around and applied vermilion on parts ofthe car and then chanted prayers. understood that the essence of the prayers was to ensure thatthe car was safe for those traveling in it and for those on the road. was happy that was going4Summary writing collected by Nguyen Duc Chinh 2012to have some divine protection. After that we went home. In spite of the assured assistance of divinity, decided on one thing: Iwould never drive with anyone in my car again until was thoroughly familiar with the car andall those switches. The next day being Sunday, would spend the whole day on that. believedthat could learn everything about the car in one day. did. Soon the car became routine part of our lives. We grew to love her and my daughter even gaveher name female name of course. To Indians, car or any vehicle is female. Questions 1. (a) The writer contradicts himself twice in paragraph .Write down the contradictions in yourown words. (b) Why did the writer lie to his wife and children? (c) Did he have any trouble persuading them to go with him? Why? (d) What was the argument that ensued after the writer introduced the car to his family? 2. (a) What problem did the writer encounter on the road and why? (b) How did he overcome the problems? (c) Was the writer embarrassed? Why? 3. (a) In your own words, describe the ritual in the temple. Why was it done? (b) What did the writer do to ensure that he would drive safely? 4. For each of the following words give one word or short phrase (not more than sevenwords) which has the same meaning as it has in the passage. i. delivered v. settled ii. persuaded vi. fiddled iii. curious vii. wondered iv. excitement viii. sheepishly 5. Imagine that you are the writer's wife. Briefly describe the adventures that Saturday morning.You should not use more than 160 words..TEST 63One of the astounding practices of every society in the world is rituals. From the most highlydeveloped societies in the world to the most primitive tribes in the depths of the jungles, ritualsare part of their lives. No one knows when early man started to involve himself in rituals, butthere is archaeological evidence showing that rituals go long way into history. Human5Summary writing collected by Nguyen Duc Chinh 2012skeletons which are millions of years old show that the bodies were buried with some kind ofritual. Basically what is ritual? It is an elaborate step by step procedure usually in the presence of acrowd and often with links to religion. Rituals are conducted at various stages of person's life -- from birth to death. They are always part of religious celebration. But, strangely enough, thereare rituals which are not religious. There are few important rituals in an individual's life. In every society, birth is an importantevent. Rituals at birth differ from society to society but they seem to be similar in one thing; theparents are expected to share their joy. Then comes the event to name the baby. This is usually areligious event. The Christians have what they call baptism and most other religions have theirequivalents. After this there are rituals at each stage of the child's life. Most are minor ones like the oneamong Hindus, where there is ritual that initiates child to education. When child reachespuberty there will usually be ritual to mark his or her entry into adulthood. In some tribes,attaining puberty is an important event. Elaborate rituals, often in stages and lasting several days,are indulged in. The man or woman coming of age is made to feel the importance of the positionthat he or she has attained and all the accompanying responsibilities that he or she now holds.Usually, after undergoing the ritual he or she is considered an adult, may attend meetings, takepart in hunting and discussions. Do we have modern equivalent? At first thought it may not seem obvious, but the twenty-firstbirthday celebration is actually modern form of this. After attaining 21 years of age, person isallowed to vote, he may move out from his parent's home and no court will force him to obey hisparents. His friends usually signify his entry into manhood by giving him golden key. The first great ritual that involves two people is the wedding. Most societies have elaboraterituals to celebrate weddings. There is much feasting and dancing, and this is easily the mostimportant ritual that person is conscious of undergoing. Basically, it involves lot of promisesbeing undertaken by each partner to the other and to each other's parents. Usually this is areligious ceremony, but in most modern countries there are government departments that conductsimple rituals, without any religious significance but no less dignified. Entries to associations or even professions are sometimes through ritual. Another type of ritualis when certain stage has been completed. Anyone who has attended kindergarten graduationwould have seen the elaborate ritual that is organized and conducted to make the kiddies feel soimportant. Most of these are social rituals and have no religious significance. In fact there areeven rituals conducted by governments. If you have seen tree planting ceremony, you willunderstand. Basically all that is requires is for someone to plant tree. But what an elaborateritual? VIP is invited, ribbons are cut, the tree ceremoniously planted and watered andspeeches made. 6Summary writing collected by Nguyen Duc Chinh 2012But why are rituals conducted? The reason appears to be that for some reason, we enjoy them.Research shows that man simply likes rituals. Seeing that rituals are only for important occasionsthe reason is probably that, something needs to be done to impress in our minds the importanceof the occasion on which the ritual is conducted. For example, no couple will ever forget theirwedding. The vows are solemn, the ceremony often in place of prayer and the ritual beforehundreds witnesses. Certainly this will impress in the minds of the couple, that they are taking avery important and serious step in their lives. Questions 1. (a) How does the writer substantiate his belief that rituals began during prehistoric times (b) In your own words explain what is ritual. (c) What are the main stages in life where rituals are common in many societies 2. (a) Why is the 'coming of age' ritual so important in ancient times Is it still important today (b) Explain the importance of the wedding ritual. (c) Give two reasons as to why rituals are important. 3. What is the function of non-religious rituals Are they important Why 4. For each of the following words give one word or short phrase not more than seven words )which has the same meaning as it has in the passage. i. astounding ii. basically iii. elaborate iv. procedure v. initiates vi. indulged vii. significance viii. impress 5. Briefly summarize the various rituals that are given in the passage. Your summary should beabout 160 words. TEST 64In the scheme of creation, animals and plants have complementary roles. Plants are able to drawnourishment from the earth and its minerals. Animals, in turn, draw nourishment from plantsand from each other. In return the animals enrich the environment with what the plants need, inthe form of carbon dioxide and wastes. Occasionally one of the animals, man, found it necessaryto destroy plants; but this was mostly for farming. What happened was that one type of plant wasreplaced with another. So the harm done was little. On the whole the arrangement remained neat.Then came industries. Firstly industries need large areas of land just like farming. Secondly, unlike in farms where onetype of plant is replaced with another, industries destroy plants and replaced them with buildings.Thirdly, industries pollute the environment. Waste chemicals from the factories destroy plants7Summary writing collected by Nguyen Duc Chinh 2012and the carbon dioxide emitted is too much for the trees to cope with. The harm continues asmore and more plants are destroyed to make way for buildings. As result the plants are fightinga losing battle. Of special concern are the rainforests. The area of thousands of acres along the equator,throughout the world is the home of the rainforest. It is impenetrable jungle throughout and hasbeen the fortress, since the beginning of time, where myriad of plants and animals have thrivedundisturbed. The rainforests are sort of lung for the world. There are so many plants in the beltthat they actually have great role in the control of world weather. Needless to say, anydestruction of the rainforest will play havoc with world weather.In earlier times, the rainforests used to be cleared for farming and little for timber. But howwith the rest of the world's forest almost depleted the rainforest is being systematicallydestroyed. What is being used is heavy machinery to destroy vast stretches of the forest atincredible speed. The destruction is so fast that the jungle cannot recover at all. The world isaghast as everyone sees that the harm is to everyone. To the countries which contain the rainforests, there seem to be little alternative. The need theland for farming to support ever increasing populations and the timber from the forest fetchesprices in the world market. The other countries that are crying out to save the forests are,ironically enough, those who have already destroyed all their forests for the very reason that therainforest countries are now destroying theirs. The reply of the rainforest countries is simpleone: We are only doing what you have done and for the same reason as you, to feed ourselves.No one can argue with this. Can anything be done? One possible answer seems to be that it is possible if the whole world canbe seem as single community. If this becomes reality, then the problem will be resolvedimmediately. Everyone will be fed from the farms and the industries in places where there is anabundance of land for such purposes. At the same time, the rainforests will belong to everyoneand no one will be able to destroy them. Is this farfetched idea? History is full of countries which have combined, often willingly and peacefully, so that they willbe stronger. India is combination of countries, so is the US, so is Britain and even Indonesia.The European Economic Market is headed out to be loose federation. In our own area, ASEANholds lot of promise. From the combination of small countries to form larger one, thecombination of the larger countries unto one single borderless world is only small step. Ifsurvival is at stake, even such miracle can take place. Questions 1. (a) How are plants and animals complementary (b) Why did little farming not cause any harm 8Summary writing collected by Nguyen Duc Chinh 2012(c) Give three reasons why industries caused such extensive harm. Number your answer as 1, 2,and 3. 2. (a) Why does the writer describe the rainforest as lung (b) Why is the rainforest not ale to recover from being cleared (c) Why don't the rainforest countries heed the cries of alarm 3. (a) What alternative does the writer suggest (b) Is the writer hopeful that the problem will be solved what gives him the hope 4. For each of the following words give one word or short phrase not more than sevenwords which has the same meaning as it has in the passage. i. complementary v. thrived ii. nourishment vi. depleted iii. enrich vii. abundance iv. throughout viii. farfetched 5. Describe, briefly, why the rainforest countries do not heed the warnings of scientists. Whatalternative is possible and can it work Your summary should be in about 160 words. TEST 65Bangalore City today is gradually gaining fame as the Silicon Valley of Asia. It is destined to beone of the great cities of India, and will play great part in bringing that country back to its one-time greatness. The rapid growth of the city is testimony that anything can happen if dedicatedmen and women get together to make it happen. Having been place where the British had agarrison, the city was already full of stolid buildings and roads after the colonialist left in 1947.For few decades, the people prepared themselves and went about their roles as farmers and assmall industry workers. Then came the computer boom and they took to it like ducks to water. Just 15 years ago, Bangalore did not look at all what it is today. The writer who spent one monthin Bangalore had an entirely different experience. The bus that he took from Madras City tookthe whole night to travel to Bangalore. The ride was terrible and he held his heart in his mouththroughout the journey. When he arrived at 7:00 am, another surprise awaited him; none of thesmaller hotels wanted to give him accommodation This was not because of lack of rooms.Everywhere the hoteliers had the same message: We don't want foreigners! Then it was explainedto the writer that this was because foreigners got drunk, took drugs, brought prostitutes to theirrooms and caused all sorts of trouble. The writer was very upset when the hotel clerk said thatthey did not especially want Singaporeans. The solution was simple, the writer who was of Indian ethnicity posed as an Indian citizen. Hevaguely remembered his father telling him that he was from the village of Arasantham Patti andat the next hotel claimed that he was from that village. The clerk let out yawn and registered9Summary writing collected by Nguyen Duc Chinh 2012him. The room was not air-conditioned, but then the whole of Bangalore city had natural air-conditioning, as it was on the Deccan plateau. From the hotel, the writer planned short excursions to places that he wanted to see. Being on abudget, he could not afford the package tours and so had to rely on public transport. The publictransport system was far from satisfactory. Every bus was overloaded and the bus conductorswere kings. they charged bus fares according to their whims and fancies, and gave out ticketsonly when they wanted to pocketing the fares when they thought they saw passenger thatthey could shout down. The writer even witnessed an incident when conductor collected farefrom passenger twice because he did not have ticket. But the ultimate happened when oncethe bus driver stopped ten kilometers from the writer's destination and decided to turn back. Thereason was apparently because the writer was the only passenger left in the bus, and bus crew didnot think it worthwhile to travel the distance for one man. Anyway, what happened was when thewriter asked why the bus was not making the full route, the conductor threatened to throw himout unless he got off. Usually it is not wise to get into fight in foreign land so the writer gotoff and walked the ten kilometers. The people of Bangalore were very kind; that was the most beautiful experience the writer hadfrom the city. They were hospitable, and the writer got lot of kindness from complete strangers.One elderly gentleman invited the writer home for dinner, when all the writer asked was wherehe could get good meal in the vicinity. At first the writer refused politely, but the gentlemaninsisted so strongly that the writer felt honored to dine with such person. When the writerfinally accepted the invitation, he was given sumptuous meal which the ladies of the housecooked at short notice. He was actually treated as guest, the elder even sent out messages toinvite few relatives and friends and made the occasion into small celebration. The writerremained friends with the gentleman until he passed away few years ago.Questions 1. (a) What is the greatness of Bangalore city today (b) How did the presence of the British in the city in colonial times work to Bangalore'sadvantage (c) Why was the writer turned away at hotels (d) How did he finally manage to get room 2. (a) Describe how the bus conductors went about their work. (b) Described an incident that proved how dishonest they were. (c) Why did the writer avoid quarreling with the bus crew 3. Describe the writer's experience about the hospitality of the people of Bangalore. 10