S3 SUPP Unit 6 Critical Reading Exe.6-7

S3 SUPP Unit 6 Critical Reading Exe.6-7

by Jefferey Tan

Multiple Choice

For centuries, religious or communal公共的 centres have been meeting grounds for meditation. Of late, there are internet sites that offer online guided meditation静坐 for those who are busy with careers, children, homes, and social obligations or are too shy to go to a meditation centre. There are a variety of meditations from various religions, for example, Jesuit priests post meditations and readings from scriptures while the Buddhist and Hindu practitioners include music. If you have a computer with internet access, you can meditate any time. The fact is more people are turning to meditation as a way to lower stress and promote good health be it at yoga classes, local spiritual centres or online.

• People have to meditate to be in better health.

• The roles played by religious and communal centres.

• The future growth of religious centres that teach meditation.

• The increasing popularity of meditation through online resources.

Multiple Choice

Viewers, young or old can benefit from an excellent "teacher" called television. Television never fails to amuse young children with sights and songs while keeping older lonely viewers, who are stuck at home, company. New immigrants can learn English just by turning on the television. Updated news keeps us informed of the latest events around the world. While there are many great things about television, there are also disadvantages. Over time, television shows have begun to show more and more violence, death and murder. The bad language and vulgarity on some shows make them inappropriate for families, and these appalling极坏scenes are sometimes copied by young, impressionable viewers.

• The best teacher is a television for both the young and old.

• Watching television can benefit us but it also has its drawbacks.

• Children should not be allowed to watch television unsupervised.

• Young viewers tend to imitate the violence portrayed on television.

Multiple Choice

Sansevieria trifasciata laurentii or Mother-in-Law's Tongue is a popular house plant found in Malaysian gardens. It is a plant that seems to thrive茁壮成长 on neglect and is much happier when the soil is on the dry side. Cold or wet conditions or a combination of both are the worst enemies of this plant, but it will thrive in warm, sunny situations. As the rhizomes根茎 increase in both size and number, they will break the pot in which they are growing, be it clay or plastic. This is a positive sign the plant is thriving and all it needs is more fresh soil around the roots.

• Mother-in-Law's Tongue is a good house plant that appeals to Malaysians.

• Mother-in-Law's Tongue is a common plant because it is strong and hardy.

• Mother-in-Law's Tongue is a popular and easily grown house plant in Malaysia.

• Mother-in-Law's Tongue is a popular plant which can survive in Malaysians' gardens.

Multiple Choice

 Businessman, Chua Tiat Beng, had undergone heart surgery in April 2009 to unclog使畅通 his arteries动脉. Following the operation, the 51-year-old was prescribed with medication to control his cholesterol levels. But when further checks showed his cholesterol was under control, Chua decided that he could just skip his night medication. He then shelved the medicine for about four months, but on his next medical appointment, he found that his cholesterol levels had spiked, much to the horror of his doctor. "I tried to play doctor," says Chua. "I thought that since I controlled my diet carefully, that would be enough to keep my cholesterol in check."

• Feeling better does not mean you can skip your medication.

• Controlling one's diet is not enough to keep cholesterol in check.

• Chua's doctor was horrified seeing his cholesterol rise tremendously.

• The medicine prescribed failed to prevent Chua's cholesterol from rising.

Multiple Choice

Even if the result from a cosmetic surgery is up to expectations, the patients may seek more surgeries to alter修改 their appearance. They may go for a second, third or even fourth operation if it makes them feel even better. The more treatments the patients undertake, the more they have to pay. The high cost is further worsened恶化 as health insurance usually does not cover cosmetic surgery. Patients thus tend to face financial problems in paying their medical bills. In 2004，the American Society of Plastic Surgery stated that over 8.4 billion dollars had been spent on cosmetic surgeries, and many people are still struggling to settle their bills or are over their heads in debt.

• Cosmetic surgery comes at a hefty巨额账单 financial price.

• Cosmetic surgery is the reason for people getting in debts.

• People get addicted to cosmetic surgery to improve their appearances.

• Health insurance should have covered the cost of cosmetic surgery and procedures.

Exercise 7​

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Multiple Choice

 Although more and more women are rising to higher positions, there are still many deep-rooted prejudices歧视 and double standards that keep them from achieving the very top positions. Companies may say that they value interpersonal skills, but they still look for a leader who is decisive果断的 and a risk taker. These qualities are perceived视为 as being mainly masculine男性的, and a new study has shown that women may be penalised处罚/不利 for having the same attributes特性. Although women have proved that they are capable of leading a company, it seems that they will not get the chance to do so unless their superiors are prepared to enter the twenty-first century.

• Men are better at taking the lead.

• The main issue is gender discrimination.

• Women make better managers than men.

• The main theme is masculine and feminine issues.

Multiple Choice

 For a growing number of environmentalists, the humble plastic bag has become public enemy number one — an unnecessary evil that must be stopped. The only people who have a good word to say about plastic bags are the owners of the plastic-bag industry. They claim that plastic bags are nowhere near the world's worst environmental problem. They say that the reason they are under attack is because they are an easy and emotive有感染力 target that reflects the individuals' guilt about general environmental responsibility. So who is right? 

• The plastic bag has posed an unnecessary threat to the environment.

• Plastic-bag industry claims that plastic bags are not the world's worst environmental problem.

• The conflicts occur between plastic-bag industry and the guilty users of plastic bags who put the blame on the producers of plastic bags.

• The plastic-bag industries are under attack because they are an easy and emotive target that each individual can think of without any hesitation.

Multiple Choice

The piranha is a much-maligned有害的 fish. Most people think that this is a deadly creature that crowds the rivers and creeks小港 of the Amazon rainforest looking for victims to tear apart. And woe betide要倒霉 anyone unfortunate enough to be in the same water with a shoal of piranhas. It takes only a few minutes for the vicious凶暴piranha to reduce someone to a mere skeleton. The truth is that the piranha is really a much more misconstrued误解 animal than the mindless killer portrayed in the media. In fact, piranhas are a group made up of roughly twelve different species. Each piranha species occupies占用 its own ecological niche环境. One species takes chunks out of the fins of other fish. Another type eats fruits falling from trees into the river. Each piranha species plays a unique role in the ecology of the rainforest floodplains. So what would you do the next time you hear someone talking about the "deadly piranha"? You can remind them that the piranha is not always the notorious臭名 killer that the popular nature television shows would have us believe.

• The text describes two different species of piranhas.

• The primary purpose of the author is to correct misconceptions about the piranha.

• The author tries to illustrate the importance of piranhas in the rainforest ecology.

• The passage informs the reader on what to say if someone describes the piranha as "deadly".

Multiple Choice

 Have you ever wondered how people's personalities and behaviours are formed? Two distinct schools of thought on the matter have developed and they differ in their approaches. The dispute is often referred to as nature and nurture养育. Supporters of nature believe that our personalities and behaviour patterns are largely determined by biological and genetic factors and our environment has little to do with our abilities, characteristics, and behaviours. Advocates of the nurture theory claim that our environment is more important than our biologically based instinct in determining how we will act as they see humans as beings whose behaviour is almost completely shaped by their surroundings. Neither of these theories can yet fully explain human behavior.

• A person's instincts have little effect on his actions.

• There are a lot of similarities between the two theories.

• A person's characteristics can be hereditary遗传的 or cultivated栽培.

• It is impossible to explain why we possess certain characteristics.

Multiple Choice

Both Sam's parents worked in towns far from home where their son was boarding and leading lives that were as busy as the lives of the other parents in the village. Sam found direction from these sources: the explicit明确的 rules laid down by the school resident matron女舍监 and the implicit不明言的 rules that governed管理 his relationships with his peers. He was further guided指导 by the strong value system inculcated灌输 over the years when the family spent time together at home. Sam was thus in a position to make the right decisions most of the time, gaining support and reward from those in authority over him. His sources of direction were sufficiently strong to create a safe path through his teenage years.

• Sam attributed his virtuous character to his pillars of strength at school or his friends but none from his family.

• Sam attributed his virtuous character to his own personal growth as a student staying away from home as guidance was not made possible to him.

• Sam attributed his virtuous 道德高尚 character to himself and the specific rules governing his relationship with his friends as well as guidance from his family.

• Sam attributed his virtuous character to the school and the unreserved绝对的 rules governing his relationship with his friends as well as guidance from his family.