March 2017 MUET READING - Exercise 2 (Question)

March 2017 MUET READING - Exercise 2 (Questions)

Today over two billion greeting cards are sold annually in the United Kingdom (UK.) covering all manner of occasions from birthdays to anniversaries, new home to new job, good luck to graduation and many more. It is estimated that the size of the UK market is around GBP1.7 billion per annum. People in the UK send more cards per capita than any other nation.

The tradition of sending good wishes goes back many centuries, probably beginning with the Chinese and Egyptians who exchanged goodwill messages at the start of a new year to ward oft' evil spirits. However, these tokens were not sent at other times of the year and did not bear any resemblance to cards we recognise today. There is evidence of printed cards from the 14th century in Germany where images were carved onto wood blocks, which then were covered in ink and used to print onto paper. These forms of cards were very expensive since they were handmade so were only accessible to well-to-do and wealthy individuals.

Sir Henry Cole has been credited with establishing the first printed cards that has developed into the mass-production industry we know today. Cole asked his friend and artist John Calcott Horsely to create a painting that could be printed in quantity tbr him to give to all his friends. He however quickly recognised the opportunity this printed greeting card could offer, even selling off the remaining stock of cards from this first print run in central London.

The introduction of the Penny Post service combined with improvements to print technologies and paper production quickly increased the popularity, availability and affordability of printed cards. By the early 1900s the Royal Mail was dealing with an extra 1 1 million cards during the festive season. Card manufacturers began to recognise other events and occasions for which cards could be given, moving from Christmas cards to Valentine cards. The oldest example of a printed Valentine card is held in the British Museum.

Today cards are sent to celebrate all kinds of events, such as a child's first day at school, birthdays, congratulations, good luck, well done and even t acknowledge divorce. There are a large number of major card publishers producing cards to suit all tastes and pockets, including irreverent funny cards, traditional cards and detailed handmade cards.

However, the advancement of digital technology has seen the invention of e-cards. In Australia, it was reported that consumers sent around 18 million more e-cards last festive season with retirees and older professionals leading the change towards electronic greetings. An Australia Post spokesperson said that there was a 45 per cent decrease in the number of Christmas cards sent across the country over the past five years and this figure is expected to increase even further.

However, e-mail expert Chee Wong says while e-cards are convenient they do not always make the hoped-for impression on colleagues and clients. In addition, Wong warns e-cards can be plagued by viruses. "More and more so, the virus writers are getting really clever and they find more and more different ways to infiltrate our social defences so they will be exploiting the opportunity that arises when someone clicks on a link," he says. \(Adapted from The History of Greetings Cards, November 2015)

Questions: 

8 The practice of sending greeting cards for all occasions began in the UK. 

A True

B False

C Not stated

9 The origin of sending greetings as a message is associated with a superstition. 

A True

B False

C Not stated

10 Sir Henry Cole made his fortune from selling printed greeting cards.

A True

B False

C Not stated

11 Paragraph 4 is mainly about

A the advancement in print technologies in the production of printed cards

B the role of the postal service in promoting the printed card business 

C the rapid growth of the printed card business

12 suit all tastes and packets (line 31) means 

A benefitting every printed card user

B appropriate for every occasion

C catering to every need

13 Which of the following is true of paragraph 6? 

A E-cards are gaining popularity.

B E-cards were invented in Australia. 

C E-cards have replaced printed cards.

14 The passage ends with 

A a warning

B a prediction

C a recommendation

MUET - March 2017 - Reading - Exercise 1 (questions)

MUET - March 2017 - Reading - Exercise 1 (questions)

Questions 1 to 7 are based on the following passage.

Youth travel is one of the fastest growing and most dynamic markets of the global tourism sector. The United Nations World Tourism Organisation (UNWTO) estimates that approximately 20 per cent of all international tourist arrivals in 2010 were young people. In that particular year, young travellers generate USD165 billion towards global tourism receipts, affirming their financial value to the global tourism industry and local economies. Likewise, the World Youth and Student Travel Conference (WYSTC) identified that the young traveller market is worth about USD136 billion (Simpson, 2010). In addition, young travellers have a higher lifetime value compared to other travel segments such as senior travellers.

Despite an increasing interest in the market size of young travellers, economic potential and their desire to travel, relatively little is however known about the youth traveller. As such, understanding the behavior and expenditure patterns of Malaysian young travellers in tourism and hospitality is a matter of utmost importance for improving the sustainability of the Malaysian tourism industry.

Malaysian young travellers are raised in an environment with a wide and increasing range of travel opportunities. As low-cost carriers become an increasingly common and affordable mode of transportation, coupled with the ease of information searching and access to tourism products, and purchasing via the World Wide Web, travelling today is far easier than before.

To understand the Malaysian youth travellers, a study has been conducted among Malaysian higher education students, who reported having their own income from various sources to fund their travel activities.

From the survey (see Tables I and 2), it was found that most of the young travellers preferred to stay in hotels. Other than staying in hotels, many also stayed at friends' or relatives' houses. In addition, an almost equal percentage of respondents were found to have stayed for one night during each travel.

As expected, since respondents for this study are mainly students, the travelling time is during semester breaks, weekends and public holidays. The finding provides an insight to the tourism marketers about when to promote their travel packages, especially those tailored to the young traveller.

(Adapted from Examining Young Malaysians Travel Behaviour and Expenditure Patterns in Domestic Tourism, Asian Social Science; Vol. 1 1, No. 9; 2015)

Questions: 

8. The UNWTO report highlights that the number of youth travellers exceeds that of adult travellers.

A True

B False

C Not stated

9. Young travellers prefer to travel on low-cost carriers.

A True

B False

C Not stated

10. The study is on the sustainability of the Malaysian tourism industry.

A True

B False

C Not stated

11. Many youth travellers stay with friends and relatives because it is convenient.

A True

B False

C Not stated

  

12. Tables I and 2 reveal the travel behaviour patterns among youth travellers.

A True

B False

C Not stated

13. The survey provides information about the peak and low seasons of youth travel. 

A True

B False

C Not stated

14. Most Malaysian youth travellers spend between RM 101 and RM 400. 

A True

B False

C Not stated

Answers: 

March 2016 MUET READING - Exercise 2 (Questions and Answer)

March 2016 MUET READING - Exercise 2 (Questions and Answer): 

Could nature tourism be bad for wild animals' health? It is an idea that has been suggested in a recent report that tested for stress hormones in orangutan excrement.

Researchers from the University of Indiana and eco-tourisn group Red Ape Encounters spend 14 years studying two apes in Sabah, Malaysia, which were used to seeing humans. By testing the animals' feces they found that the orangutans' stress levels were higher than normal the day after coming into contact with humans. "As for the unknown wild orangutans that we were also able to gather samples from, we found numerically, but not statistically, higher stress hormone levels in these animals following contact with researchers than in the rehabilitated animals, "said Micheal Muehlenbein, if the University of Indiana and one of the author of the report.

Muehlenbein is keen to point out that there was no indication from the study of any long-term changes in the behavior of the orangutans, as Red Ape Encounters limits the number of people on their tour to seven and the visits to one hour. Yet pathological effects like impaired congnition, growth and reproduction could be a consequence of less sensitive wildlife tours, believes Muehlenbein.

As the values of eco-tourism increases each year, so too do the chances of money being more important than animal welfare. However, Liz Macfie, gorilla coordinator for the wildlife conservation Society and co-author of the International Union for Conversation of Nature's (IUCN) "Best Practice Guidelines for Great Ape Tourism" Believes that most eco-tour companies are trying to do the right things

"More and more sites are trying hard to minimise the impact on the animals,," she said, pointing out the success of conservation and tourism projects with mountain gorillas in central Africa. "Mountain gorilla tourism is one of the reasons they have continued to flourish. They are the only sub-species of gorilla whose numbers is actually growing and they are visited by the tourist on a daily basis. "The gorillas are worth more to Rwanda, Uganda, and Congo because of the tourism. Not just the value of the rout, but the money the tourist then put into the local economy. So, they have a monetary value.

Yet Macfie is aware that only a limited number of sites could have the success seen with mountain gorillas. As long as travelers are aware of the environmental impact of the tours they take, and operators are adhering to the principles of the IUCN guidelines, Macfie believes that the growth in eco-tourism is generally positive.

"Tourist don't all want to drive around a Savannah park with hundreds of other vehicles, and I think that's the same with ape tourism," she said. Sometimes there can be over one hundred people crowded around feeding stations, looking at two or three orangutans that have come in. In that situation, there's great potential for disease transmission and interaction between humans and orangutans."

QUESTIONS: 

8. Stress Hormones can be found in animal feces.
A- True
B- False
C- Not stated

9.There are many wildlife tours  that consider the impact of human contact on orangutans
A- True
B- False
C- Not stated

10. Not many visitors are interested to go on wildlife tours.
A- True
B- False
C- Not stated

11. Eco-tourism companies are considered ethical although
A - There appears to be an impact on the animal welfare
B - Monetary considerations seem to outweigh the welfare of the animals
C - The Best Practice Guidelines for Great Ape Tourism are not strictly followed.

12. Paragraph 5 Illustrates the success story of
A - Conservation efforts and tourism
B - Inter-government effort and wildlife conservation
C - the breeding of animals and growing number of tourist sites

13. An increased number of tourist to savannah parks could lead to
A - Overfeeding of the apes
B - Too much interaction between humans and apes
C - the spread of diseases between humans and apes


14. What is Macfie's attitude towards eco-tourism in general?
A - She is optimistic about the development of eco-tourism.
B- She is apprehensive of tour operators' commitment to the IUCN guidelines
C- She is skeptical about the awareness of eco-tourist regarding the environment.

Answers: 
8. A (Answer is found in the second paragraph)

9. A (Answer is found in the fourth paragraph)

10. C (No information about the visitors are given)

11. A

12. A

13. C

14. A

March 2016 MUET READING - Exercise 1 - Answers

March 2016 MUET READING - Exercise 1 - Answers 

1. According to WHO, a boy born in 1990 can expect to live until the age of 62.
a) True
b) False
c) Not stated

The answer to this question is in the first paragraph.

"Based on global averages, a girl who was born in 2012 can expect to live to around 73 years and a boy to the age of 68. This is six years longer than the average global life expectancy for a child born in 1990."

Here the boy born at 2012 is expected to live till 68. It also states that this is 6 years longer than life expectancy for a child born in 1990.

People will think now that 68-6 = 62 for boys in 1990. BUT the only problem is that the '6' years mentioned in the last sentence is for the 'child' and not 'boy'

ANSWER: C) Not stated

2. From 1990 to 2012, Cambodia showed an increase of life expectancy by 9 years
a) True
b) False
c) Not stated

The answer to this question is in the second paragraph

" Cambodia (54 to 72 years)". The difference is 18 yrs and not 9 years.

ANSWER: B) False

3. There is a major gap between rich and poor countries in terms of life expectancy since parents in richer countries have fewer children.

a) True

b) False

c) Not stated

There is no info about the number of childer that parents are having form any country or from any financial background. 

ANSWER: C) Not stated

4. Fewer children under the age of five are dying because parents' income has increased.

a) True

b) False

c) Not stated

The answer to this question is in the third paragraph

In this paragraph, Dr. Margaret Chan speaks about the few deaths of children under age 5. However, there is no specific reason given and hence the no info available 

ANSWER: C) Not stated

5. Figure 1 shows that a boy born in 2012 in a high-income country can expect to live to the age of about 72. 

a) True

b) False

c) Not stated

If we look at the figure. It clearly  shows that the Male from high-income countries live till 75.8 and hence the answer is false

ANSWER: B) False

6. Women live longer because fewer of them smoke

a) True

b) False

c) Not stated

The answer to this question is given in the last paragraph, last sentence

"Declining tobacco use is also a key factor in helping people living longer in several countries." This shows that decline in the use of tobacco products has resulted in people living longer. However, there is no mentioned of any gender. 

ANSWER: C) Not stated

7. In low-income countries, it is more difficult to control communicable than non-communicable diseases. 

a) True

b) False

c) Not stated

The answer to this question is given in the last paragraph, first sentence. 

"In High-income countries, much of the gain life expectancy is due to success in tackling non-communicable diseases," There is no explanation of any difficulty in control of such diseases. 

ANSWER: C) Not stated

** All the answers are suggested answers. 

MUET - March 2016 - Reading - Exercise 1 (questions)

MUET - MARCH 2016 READING 

People everywhere are living longer, according to the World Health Statistics 2014 published by World health organization (WHO). Based on global averages, a girl who was born in 2012 can expect to live to around 73 years, and a boy to the age of 68. This is six years longer than the average global life expectancy for a child born in 1990.

WHO's annual statistics report show that low income countries have are the greatest progress, with an average increase in life expectancy increased the most were Liberia which saw an 20-year increase (from 42 years in 1990 to 62 years in 2012) followed by Ethiopia (from 45 to 64 years0, Maldives (58 to 77 years), Cambodia (54 to 72 years), Timor-Leste (50 to 66 years).

"An important reason why global life expectancy has improved so much is that fewer children are dying before their fifth birthday." says Dr Margaret Chan, WHO Director-General. "But there is still a major rich-poor divide: People in high-income countries continue to have a much better chance of living longer than people in low-income countries."

Wherever they live in the world, women live longer than men. The gap between male and female life expectancy is greater in high-income countries where women life around six years longer than men. In low-income countries, the difference is around three years.

"In High-income countries, much of the gain life expectancy is due to success in tackling non-communicable diseases," says DR Ties Boerma, Director of the Department of Health Statistics and Information Systems at WHO. "Fewer men and women are dying before they get to their 60th birthday from heart diseases and stroke. Richer countries have become better at monitoring and managing high blood pressure for example." Declining tobacco use is also a key factor in helping people living longer in several countries.

Questions: 

1. According to WHO, a boy born in 1990 can expect to live until the age of 62. 

a) True

b) False

c) Not stated

2. From 1990 to 2012, Cambodia showed an increase of life expectancy by 9 years

a) True

b) False

c) Not stated

3. There is a major gap between rich and poor countries in terms of life expectancy since parents in richer countries have fewer children. 

a) True

b) False

c) Not stated

4. Fewer children under the age of five are dying because parents' income has increased.

a) True

b) False

c) Not stated

5. Figure 1 shows that a boy born in 2012 in a high-income country can expect to live to the age of about 72. 

a) True

b) False

c) Not stated

6. Women live longer because fewer of them smoke

a) True

b) False

c) Not stated

7. In low-income countries, it is more difficult to control communicable than non-communicable diseases. 

a) True

b) False

c) Not stated

Answers and Explanation: 

Will update soon