Malaysian University English Test Paper 3: Reading TEST 1 Instruction: This paper consists of 45 questions. Answer all questions.

Question 1 - 7 are based on the following passage. At a time when most industries are predicting gloomy days ahead, the country's rubber glove manufacturers see a bright future. Global demand is expected to remain strong, especially for medical gloves. Historically, the rubber glove industry has been blessed with rapid growth in global demand - estimated at 8% to l0% per annum. The growth in demand is anticipated to continue, driven mainly by the traditional medical market and an aging population. Malaysian glove makers are the world's leading players, accounting for 55o/o to 65Yo of the market share. Industry players have also begun to focus on nitrile gloves as these gloves have become more popular in hospitals due to their low protein content versus latex gloves. A leading glove manufacturer Mr Lim, expects demand for medical gloves to be stable, if not increase. "Greater emphasis will be placed on healthcare in companies' annual budgets as no one can afford to fall sick or incur heavy medical expenses in such times. Therefore, the medical glove industry is resilient in any economic climate," he said. Nevertheless, he predicted a slight decrease in demand for industrial and laboratory gloves from the non-medical sectors, including the electrical and electronics and food and beverage sectors during periods of economic slowdown which could lead to lower business activities and thus lower usage. "While we are more prudent in terms of expansion, we will focus on research and development to offer higher value products. We aim to achieve double-digit growth in revenue for the next two or three years. With our new plant which produces premium grade nitrile gloves scheduled to run soon, we are confident of achieving our targeted growth," he said. Another leading glove company reported that the group had allocated some RM80 million for capital expenditure, which would include expansion and potential acquisitions. "We continue to focus on producing high quality products efficiently and at a low cost. The main challenge for the industry is the volatility of latex price, crude oil price and also foreign exchange. As long as all these factors remain stable, it will be good for us. As rubber gloves constitute less than 1% of the total cost of healthcare centres, any increase in selling price is deemed too insignificant to affect overall demand," he said.

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(Adapted from The Star, January 2, 2009) 1 8 per cent to10 per cent of rubber gloves produced are for export. A True B False C Not stated Malaysian glove makers captured more than half of the world's market share. A True B False C Not stated The rubber glove industry is recession-proof. A True B False

Not stated

Natural latex gloves are more expensive than other types of gloves. A True B False C Not stated A decrease in demand for gloves is a more serious problem for glove makers than rising manufacturing cost. A True B False C Not stated Glove makers are reluctant to increase the price of gloves as this will affect demand. A True B False C Not stated Century Holdings Co. is the biggest manufacturer of gloves in Malaysia. A True B False C Not stated

Question 8 - 14 are based on the following passage. Europe's population is, right now, peaking, after more than six centuries of continuous growth. With each generation reproducing only half its number, this looks like the start of a continent-wide collapse in numbers. Some predict wipe out by 2100. Half a century ago, Europe was basking in a post-war baby boom, with 2.8 babies per woman in Britain, 2.9 in France, and 3.2 in the Netherlands. Then, levels sank back. Demographers assumed that fertility would settle down at about the level

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required to maintain the population - slightly more than two babies per woman. The trouble is nobody told Europe's women. In the real world, even the swinging 60s did not see a lot of procreation. By the mid-60s, alarm bells were ringing. "Europe is entering a demographic winter," declared demographer Grard-Franois Dumont. Ron Lesthaeghe at the Free University of Brussels blamed "post-materialistic values, in which self-development becomes the primary aim." A resolution at the European parliament in 1984 warned that Europe's share of the world's population was set to halve between 1950 and 2000, and was likely to halve again as soon as 2025. This trend, it said, "will have a decisive effect on the significance of the role Europe will play in the world in future decades." The twentieth century began with western Europe producing 10 million babies a year; by the end it couldn't manage 6 million - 2 million fewer than it needs to maintain the population in the long term. That baby famine is now heading into a second generation; it is no longer a blip. Demographically, Europe is living on borrowed time. It already badly needs foreign hands to keep its societies and economies functioning, and should stop pretending otherwise. Thirty years ago, 23 European countries had fertility above replacement levels; now none does, with only France, Iceland, Albania, Britain and Ireland anywhere near. And last year's economic downturn threatens to depress fertility further. Once a country has very low fertility for a generation, it begins to run out of young women able to gestate future generations. Germany is there already: it has only half as many children under 10 as adults in their 40s. Demographer Peter McDonald calculates that if Italy gets stuck with recent fertility levels, and fails to top up with foreign migrants, it will lose 86% of its population by the end of the century falling to 8 million compared with today's 56 million. Spain will lose 85%, Germany 83% and Greece 74% Jesse Ausubel, a futurologist at Rockefeller University in New York, fears "the twilight of the west" as Europe's population thins and ages. But, population historian David Reher told the journal Science in 2006 that, "As population and tax revenues decline in Europe, urban areas could well be filled with empty buildings and crumbling infrastructure ... surrounded by large areas which look more like what we might see in some science-fiction movies." (Adapted from The Guardian, February 1, 2010) 8 The current desired family size in Britain is three. A True B False The population of Europe has started to decline. A True B False

Not stated

Not stated

10 Ron Lesthaeghe's opinion is that Europeans have become self-centred. A True B False C Not stated

11 The trouble is nobody told Europe's women (line 8). This implies that the writer A is not putting the blame on women B is acknowledging the importance of women C is accusing demographers for making a wrong assumption 12 Which of the following statements is true of paragraph 4? A Europe's population will be reduced by half from 1950 till 2025. B Europe's population will be maintained with six million babies a year. C Europe's population is declining twice as fast between 2000 and 2025. 13 Peter McDonald believes that A low fertility among Europeans is due to economic considerations B Spain will be the worst hit by population decline C Italy should welcome foreign migrants 14 In the last paragraph, David Reher presents a _________ picture of Europe. A gloomy B futuristic C promising Question 15 - 21 are based on the following passage. A l5-second scene for a Chinese movie, Bodyguards and Assassins, is being shot not on location but on an elaborate set built on the outskirts of Shanghai" As big as 10 football fields, this full-scale replica of a section of the former British colony took a year to build, costs $5 million - a fifth of the film's budget - and includes the faades of about 200 shops. It also symbolises a massive investment in the future of Chinese cinema. Grand historical sets are a staple of Chinese epics. But in the past, most of those films were shot with international money for an international audience. Bodyguards and Assassins represents a new model of Chinese filmmaking. It has 100 per cent Chinese financing - half private and half public - and is being shot primarily for a Chinese audience. In the past, the size of the mainland Chinese market alone would not have supported such a big-budget film. But in the last couple of years the Chinese market has exploded, and for the first time films are being produced for just that audience. Foreign sales are no longer the biggest slice of the pie in terms of recoup. The majority of the investments, if not all, can be recouped with the projected revenue of the Chinese market alone. Compared with Hollywood or even Bollywood, the Chinese film industry is still in its infancy. Private companies have been allowed to film independently only since 2002, and private-equity players began to invest in the industry just in 2007. But with a domestic box office that ballooned from $117 million five years ago to $630 million in 2008, it is becoming easier for Chinese films to attract private domestic capital. They got a boost from international blockbusters as well as acclaimed local films. Total box-office revenues for 2009 reached $800 million. That is still a long way from the $9.8 billion the U.S. box office earned in 2008, but mainland China so far has only

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4100 movie screens, compared with 38 834 in the United States. The race is now on. New movie theaters are opening every week, increasingly in smaller cities. Dadi Cinemas Co., a Hong Kong-based firm that started building cinemas on the mainland less than three years ago. will have 300 screens by the end of the year; Dadi's chairman, John Sham, says the company's objective is to build 1500 screens within the next five years. Dadi's strategy has been to concentrate on second-tier cities, where there are often no movie theaters, and to keep ticket prices at a quarter to a third of those for cinemas in larger cities. Five years ago, Chinese filmmakers had to go to Hong Kong producers to finance their films, since those people controlled the distribution pipeline outside China, where a big-budget film would have to show to recoup its money. Though they are still looking to Hong Kong firms for their expertise, Chinese production houses are increasingly in the driver's seat. But for all the rising box-office revenues, Chinese cinema has yet to mine a key stream of potential riches: spin-offs. In Hollywood. box-office receipts account for just 30 per cent of a film's revenues, with the rest coming from television rights, DVD sales, and merchandising. "Residual income outside box-office receipts is very low in China -- no more than 20 per cent-- because television is still a monopoly, there is no video-on-demand platform, and DVD piracy is still a very big issue," says Sham. "There is a lot of room for residual income to grow." China proved with its Olympic mascots that it can fully capitalize on merchandising. It won't be long before filmmakers figure out how to turn their work into millions of sword-fighting action figures. (Adapted from Newsweek, September 21, 2009) 15 Grand historical sets are a staple of Chinese epics (line 7). This implies that A the Chinese are proud of their culture B the Chinese enjoy watching historical movies C the Chinese love movies with spectacular settings 16 The biggest slice of the pie (line 14) in paragraph 2 refers to A the highest earnings B the largest investors C the biggest budget movies 17 The current strategy of movie producers is to A invest heavily in epic movies B target movie-goers in China C attract foreign investors 18 Which of the following statements is not true of paragraph 3? A There are almost ten times more cinemas in the United States compared to China. B Earnings from Chinese movies peaked at $800 million in 2009.

Moviemaking as a lucrative industry is not new in China.

19 The race is now on (line 26). This refers to A building more cinemas B producing more big budget films C selling more movie tickets at lower price 20 The Chinese movie producers no longer need Hong Kong counterparts. Why? A They have distribution channels outside China. B They do not need Hong Kong expertise. C They can earn enough within China. 21 The main idea of paragraph 6 is A revenue from spin-offs is expected to overtake box-office revenues B China's movie industry is capable of making money from spin-offs C China's film makers should emulate Olympic organizers in marketing spin-offs Question 22 - 29 are based on the following passage. When Kellogg introduced breakfast cereal to India 14 years ago, it underestimated the tradition of cooked breakfasts. The few customers for cornflakes ate them with hot milk, because until recently milk was rarely pasteurised in India, and they were disappointed by the soggy results. Kellogg responded with an extensive advertising campaign and, to adapt to local tastes, introduced products like Basmati rice flakes and mango-flavoured cereal. To entice customers, the company also produced small packs that sold for 10 rupees, or 25 U.S. cents. "It would be foolhardy for me to say Kellogg has replaced cooked breakfast. I don't think we can ever hope for that. But we've become a part of the consideration set for breakfast in many Indian homes, and that's a tipping point," said Anupam Dutta, the managing director of Kellogg India. Getting a foothold in India's processed-food market, estimated to be worth $90 billion, requires persistence and a willingness to adapt products to food and cultural preferences. Rising incomes, more working women, modem stores and greater culinary choices are helping companies like Pepsi Co, Nestle, Unilever and McDonald's get a piece of the market. Adaptation appears to be essential for success in the sector. Pepsi Co for example, has produced strong sales from ethnic salty snacks and sells aam panna, or green mango nectar, along with its colas. Nestle promoted Milkmaid, a condensed milk, as being ideal for traditional Indian sweets. But it had better results with Maggi noodles, a bold step in a country divided between eaters of rice and roti, a flat wheat bread. Maggi soon became a staple in school lunch boxes, helped by masala, or mixed spices. Nestle recently introduced packaged yogurt, competing with another time-honoured Indian tradition. A few years ago, Indian and foreign companies struggled to sell packaged foods. But

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now it is much easier to break into the Indian market because of a younger population, higher incomes, new technologies and a growing middle class, estimated at 50 million households. Hemant Kalbag of A.T. Kearney, a consulting company, estimates that processed foods will grow at 15 per cent annually over the next four years. "We have a young population with higher disposable incomes, living away from the large joint families and seeking greater convenience. The market is constantly evolving and creating demand for products that you never thought would have had a chance. Increasingly, Indian consumption patterns are mirroring global trends such as a preference for protein and for functional foods," said Kalbag. McDonald's which is doubling its outlets in India to nearly 300 this year does not sell beef products in the country. Half its menu is vegetarian, with popular offerings like the McAloo Tikki Burger, which is essentially a potato patty. The company also has more sit-down restaurants for large Indian families and home delivery a first. Indian companies are imitating these fast-food rivals to attract young customers. For instance, Jumbo King, an Indian fast-food chain, is mass producing vada pav, a spiced potato patty in a bun, using modified cookie-dough machines and temperature-controlled stoves. Their inspiration is clearly McDonald's. Despite the opportunity, there are longstanding hurdles. Cumbersome tax rules give an advantage to smaller local companies. And the refrigerated system of transportation and storage is inadequate. Problems in this cold chain result in waste of nearly 40 per cent of all fresh produce. There is a need for stronger legislation on food safety, more robust supply chains and improvements in the cold chain. The government and modern retailers are addressing these issue3 with new laws on packaging and labelling, as well as greater investment in the supply chain. (Adapted from Herald Tribune, March 20, 2008) 22 In the first paragraph, the writer implies that A Indians do not eat breakfast cereals with cold milk B it is difficult to break the habit of eating cooked breakfasts C breakfast cereals are relatively recent food products in India 23 The writer mentions Basmati rice flakes and mango-flavoured cereal (lines 6) to illustrate the A attempts to include ethnic options B many varieties of breakfast cereals C new way of packaging snacks in small packets 24 The main reason for the success of global food companies in India is A their products are relatively cheap B they have invested heavily in technology C they take into account cultural food preferences

25 The market for processed foods has grown in India primarily because of A a growing middle class B huge population growth C a desire to follow global consumption trends 26 Why is the introduction of Maggi noodles considered a bold step (line 20)? A Indians are mainly rice and bread eaters. B Indian spices were added to the noodles. C It became the main item of school lunches. 27 The following statements are true of McDonald's in India except A it offers products unique to India B it is the fastest growing global company in India C it has influenced the operations of Indian companies 28 The passage is particularly rich in A restatements B opinions of experts

Illustrative examples

29 Which of the following best summarises the central idea of the passage? A Indian consumer patterns are adapting to global trends. B Global food companies adapt to local markets for success. C In India, food products are constantly evolving to meet local taste. Question 30 - 37 are based on the following passage Rosette Babkian knew that something was seriously wrong. She had woken up with a burning discomfort in her chest and an upset stomach and vomited soon after she got to work. Her doctor called an ambulance and before she knew it, the 43-year-old Sydney mother of three was in the emergency unit. For the next seven hours, hospital staff ran a battery of tests, but couldn't find the problem. "They kept on giving me Mylanta. They thought it was a stomach ulcer or a bit of this or a bit of that," says Rosette. By late afternoon, a cardiologist was finally called and diagnosed what the other staff had missed: Rosette had suffered a heart attack. Amazingly, her story is not an unusual one. Men and women often present different sets of symptoms when they experience heart attacks. Yet, because hospital protocols - the way staff are trained to react and subsequently act - are typically based on the symptoms that men present, women are often misdiagnosed, wait longer for correct treatment or may even be sent home untreated. Men and women are not the same. That is hardly an earth-shattering revelation. Yet traditionally, women have been viewed by the medical profession as simply smaller versions of men. Now, however, scientists are revealing how wrong - and dangerous - that assumption really is. Researchers are uncovering tiny biological differences at every level - from the cells up - which influence the way men and

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women experience disease and how.they need to be treated for it. "Men and women share more than 99 per cent of their genetic material. But sometimes the small genetic differences result in dramatic differences as far as diagnosis and treatment go," says Dr Susan Philips of Queen's University in Ontario, Canada. For example, researchers now know that men and women rnetabolise drugs in different ways - the balance of hormones and distribution of body fat play a part in determining how the chemicals are stored and used. Women's brains are mole "plastic" than men's, meaning they recover more easily from strokes. And men's bodies respond to certain types of pain in different ways from women's bodies and may need different treatment for it. That is not all. As well as the way our bodies are put together, our gender also affects our health outcomes, thanks to the way in which society shapes us as men and women. Women are more likely to see their doctor and take care of their health. Men, on the other hand, generally do not visit the doctor until their disease has progressed further, so they are more likely to die from it. Men also suffer higher rates of accident and injury, including suicide. Yet much of the evidence on which medicine is based does not take gender differences into account. Unfortunately, that is what happened to Rosette Babkian. Her heart attack symptoms fell into a definition of "atypical" symptoms which are based on male experience. As a result of the delay in her treatment, she suffered permanent damage to her heart muscle. Why is this happening? Around the world, more clinical trials have been carried out on young white men. It is more complicated for researchers to include women, because they have had to factor in complexities such as fluctuating hormone levels through menstruation or menopause. In addition, drug companies are wary of testing their new products on women who might be pregnant. There is also the question of how medical studies are funded, "the more homogeneous the group, the more rapidly you can explore the question you're asking," explains Dr. Jo Wainer, director of the Gender and Medicine Research Unit at Monash University. As soon as you introduce confounders like sex and ethnicity, the more complicated the study is and the more expensive it becomes." However, it is not just women who have missed out on important research. One in eight cases of osteoporosis involves a male, but little research has been done into the disease in men: the evidence on which their treatment is based is extrapolated from studies on women. It is the same for reproductive medicine: there is not even a male equivalent to the discipline of gynaecology. Ten years ago, the US National Institute of Health made it a prerequisite for government funding that if the research is on health issues that affect both men and women, both sexes must be included in trials and the data analysed for any gender differences. As well as changing the way research is conducted, it is also important to consider gender when it comes to the way doctors are trained and health services are delivered, Dr. Wainer says. (Adapted from Readers' Digest, July 2009)

30 In paragraph 1, the writer tells us Rosette Babkian's story to make the point that A misdiagnosis by doctors are common occurrences B heart attack symptoms of females are often wrongly diagnosed C doctors at the emergency unit are not trained to handle heart attacks D a cardiologist is needed to diagnose heart attacks suffered by females 31 The word protocols (line 11) can be replaced by A training C treatments B diagnosis D procedures 32 ... that assumption (line 17) refers to the belief that A men and women are not the same B women are smaller version of men C men's response to treatment is different from women's D there are biological differences between men and women 33 The examples given in paragraph 5 explain A the effects of drug metabolism on men and women B the reasons why men take longer to recover from a stroke C the differences between men and women that affect treatment D the similarities and differences of men's and women's genetic material 34 Women are more likely to see their doctor and take care of their health (lines 32). This highlights the point that A gender affects health B society influences behaviour C women are concerned about their health D doctors seldom recognise gender differences 35 The word this (line 41) refers to A delay in treatment for women B permanent damage to heart muscle C using young white men for clinical trials D treating women based on symptoms exhibited by men 36 Why were clinical trials traditionally carried out on young white men? A Data analysis of a homogenous sample was more straightforward. B Pharmaceutical companies forbid the use of female subjects. C Male subjects were paid less compared to female subjects. D Researchers prefer working with men.

37 The writer mentions osteoporosis and gynaecology in paragraph 10 to make the point that A the two diseases affect mostly women B men have been neglected in some research C gender differences determine the type of study D treatment for some branches of medicine is based on studies on women Question 38 - 45 are based on the following passage Man has changed the landscape and the atmosphere. It would be odd if the seas, which he has for centuries used for food, for transport, for dumping rubbish and, more recently., for recreation, had not also been affected. Man has brought about a hotter atmosphere and warmer seas. Melting sea ice affects ecosystems and currents. It does not affect sea levels, because floating ice is already displacing water of a weight equal to its own. But melting glaciers and ice sheets on land are bringing quantities of fresh water into the sea, whose level has been rising at an average of nearly 2 millimetres a year for over 40 years, and the pace is getting faster. Recent studies suggest that the sea level may well rise by a total of 80 centimetres this century though the figure could plausibly be as much as 2 metres. The burning over the past 100 years or so of fossil fuels that took half a billion years to form has suddenly, in geological terms, released an enormous amount of carbon dioxide (CO2) into the atmosphere. About a third of this CO2 is taken up by the sea, where it forms carbonic acid. The plants and animals that have evolved over time to thrive in slightly alkaline surface waters - their pH is around 8.3 - are now having to adapt to a 30 per cent increase in the acidity' of their surroundings. Some will no doubt flourish, but if the trend continues, as it will for at least some decades, clams, mussels, conches and all creatures that grow shells made of calcium carbonate will struggle. So will corals, especially those whose skeletons are composed of aragonite, a particularly unstable form of calcium carbonate. Man's interference does not stop with CO2. Knowingly and deliberately, he throws plenty of rubbish and toxic waste into the sea. Inadvertently, he also lets flame retardants, bunker oil and hear,y metals seep into the mighty ocean, and often invasive species too. Much of the harm done by such pollutants is invisible to the eye: it shows up only in the analysis of dead polar bears or in tuna served in New York sushi bars. Increasingly, though, swimmers, sailors and even those who monitor the sea with the help of satellites are encountering highly visible algal blooms known as red tides, which have increased in frequency, number and size in recent years, notably since man-made nitrogen fertilizers came into widespread use in the 1950s. When rainwater contaminated with these fertilizers and other nutrients reaches the sea, an explosion of toxic algae and bacteria takes place. killing fish. absorbing almost all the oxygen and leaving a microbially-dominated ecosystem.) 35 Each of these phenomena would be bad enough on its own, but all appear to be linked, usually synergistically. Slaughter one species in the food web and you set off a

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chain of alterations above or below. Thus, the near extinction of sea otters in the northern Pacific led to a proliferation of sea urchins, which then laid waste an entire kelp forest that had hitherto sustained its own ecosystem. Whereas, misfortunes that came singly might not prove fatal, those that come in combination often prove overwhelming. The few coral reefs that remain pristine seem able to cope with the warming and acidification that none can escape, but most of the reefs that have also suffered overfishing or pollution have succumbed to bleaching or even death. Biodiversity comes with interdependence, and the shocks administered by mankind in recent decades have been so numerous and so severe that the natural balance of marine life is disturbed. Are these changes reversible? Most scientists believe that fisheries, for instance, could be restored to health with the right policies, properly enforced. But many of the changes are speeding up, not slowing down. Some, such as the acidification of the seas, will continue for years to come simply because of events already in train or past. And some, such as the melting of the Arctic ice cap, may be close to the point at which an abrupt, and perhaps irreversible, series of happenings is set in motion. It is clear, in any event, that man must change his ways. A world of 6.7 billion souls, set to become 9 billion by 2050, cannot afford to treat the sea as an infinite resource. (Adapted from The Economist, December 30, 2008) 38 The main message in paragraph 1 is A man is responsible for a hotter climate and warmer seas B man has exploited the sea just as he did with the landscape and atmosphere C the destruction of the sea is worse than that of the landscape and atmosphere D like the landscape and the atmosphere, the sea also suffers from man's interference 39 The rise in sea level cannot be credited to the melting of A sea ice C arctic ice cap B glaciers D ice sheets on land 40 The trend (line 18) refers to A increasing acidity in the sea B declining number of shell creatures C the continued burning of fossil fuels D adapting of marine and plant life to the surroundings 41 How would you describe the writer's tone in paragraph 4? A Condescending C Convincing B Commanding D Critical

42 Artificial fertilizers washed into the sea will lead to I increase of red tides II growth of microbes III absorption of oxygen IV evolution of new marine species A I, II and III C I, III and IV B I, II and IV D II,III and IV 43 The writer cites the example of sea otters and sea urchins (lines 37 and 38) to support the idea that A when the population of sea otters decreases, the numbers of sea urchins multiply B the individual marine species can maintain its own balances in the food web C the increasing sea urchins will destroy the kelp forest D the ecosystem of marine creatures can be threatened 44 In paragraph 7, the writer is of the opinion that A fisheries can be restored to health if man changes his ways B it will be difficult to stop the changes to the marine ecosystem C the implementation of right policies will slow down the acidification of the seas D the melting of the Arctic ice cap will speed up the changes to the marine ecosystem 45 The passage is mainly about A how to reverse the damage done to the sea B how man has slowly destroyed the sea C the effects of a warmer sea D the pollution of the sea