As promised.This is probably the easiest worksheet so far, but unfortunately, I can see that some students were careless in reading and slacked in answering the questions.Please set aside proper time to complete this worksheet. It's not something that should be rushed through.Page 21st Qn:
(This answer is from Benjamin Lum, 2B)
"People who do not throw away food scraps and leftovers properly will attract rats which eat the scraps. Also, construction site and landscaping workers may litter the work areas which will be breeding grounds for rats."
(This answer is from Teo Tze Yee, 2B)
"Land pollution is mainly due to the rubbish and remaining foods on the ground left by humans. Grounds are strewn with food boxes that contains scraps of fried chicken and mashed potatoes. Especially where there is food rodents multiply at a very fast rate and when there is overcrowding, some will migrate elsewhere for survival. They can even travel through pipes, drains and sewers. ..."
2nd Qn:
- eyesore; gives a bad impression to tourists
- disgust people; frightened people
- spreads diseases
- cause food poisoning
Please write these points in complete sentences. I know a few students are wondering if they can write in point form for examinations and tests. The answer is NO, NEVER!Sample answer from Teo Tze Yee:
"People in the night may freaked out or (are) disgusted when they see the rats running (along) pavements. Futhermore, vendors of hawker centres may be greatly affected as the food they prepared might be eaten up or nibbled by the rats. This may containment the food, which may poisoned the customers if consumed. If there are more and more rats, they will dirty the environment and spread diseases to humans."
Page 31st Qn:
(This answer is from Yeoh Su Min, 2B)
"Many people who travel to Singapore from other countries would feel that Orchard Road is a dirty place even though Singapore is known to be a clean and green city. They will be disgusted by the rats in the famous shopping district."
- tarnished image of Singapore
- tourists will 'report' what they saw when they return home.
My rant:
A couple of students actually said something to the effect that... tourists will think that the Government is not doing anything about the cleanliness of the country. My question is simply, what about the citizens?
I think the Government has done a lot more than most countries - providing public trash bins, recycling bins, daily removal of rubbish by professional sanitary workers, etc. But Singaporeans & PRs are probably taking all these for granted and continue to throw trash on the streets, eat as they walk along the pavements, leave their leftover food behind. Sometimes, I wonder if I'm really living in an expensive/ high-class 3rd world country. 2nd QnSample Answer: The rubbish chute is often stuffed with over-sized plastic bags filled with left over good. Sometimes these bags are left on the floor. The chute is also often jammed and therefore residents are not able to use it.
Page 4
Sample answer: Pests such as rats, cockroaches, houseflies will be attracted to the rubbish chute. These pests might enter into the apartments and populate there.
When that happens, diseases can be spread to the residents and food can be contaminated.
In addition, the decomposing smell from the rubbish is offensive and the rubbish is an eyesore. These do not portray a good image for Singapore.
* Please remember to read the question carefully. A few students actually talked about what was being done (e.g. notices have been ignored); this is off the point.
Page 5
1st Qn:
Sample Answer: They are congenital heart diseases, neurological defects, cleft lip and Down's syndrome.
*Again read the question carefully! I did not ask for a report of how many cases. Just the kinds of birth defects will be fine. So technically, if you quote directly from the passage (e.g. "20,000 with congenital heart diseases"), I can mark it as wrong. So please be careful.
2nd Qn:
Sample Answer: No. Not all the defects will be detected and not all parents will choose to abort the pregnancy. The main cause of the birth defects is the pollution in China. Government should try to lower the pollution level. This would then reduce the chances of having babies born with defects.
* In this question, students are tested if they know what the main cause of birth defect is. So if you merely state that pre-pregnancy checks are insufficient or that parents might not abort the child, you are only half right and did not hit the main point/issue.
* Majority of the students gave me the impression that they do not support abortion. This is very encouraging for me because it does portray a very compassion student population.
Page 6
Sample Answer: Resources need to be allocated for these children. For example, special schools, doctors and medical facilities. The family members of these children would also have to spend more time and money in taking care of them. These family members might also become economically less active.
Serious birth defects such as heart diseases and Down's Syndrome would mean the child will not be able to contribute to the society as much as someone without. China will probably prosper better if she does not have to deal with such a severe problem.
(This answer is from Chan Wei Ting, 2D)
"This will affect the economic development and the quality of life and the babies with birth defects will cause heavy burdens for their families as some families are very poor (and) they cannot afford to nurure them. (So the family members) may send them to (orphanages) and China government have to help them by donating some money to help them."
Page 7
1st Qn:
(Answers are found in the article)
Fertile/arable land is damaged by excessive use of fertiliser, polluted water, heavy metals and solid waste.
* Complete sentence, rather than a mere listing of the causes will be appreciated.
2nd Qn:
(This answer is from Tanisa, 2D)
The Government will have to spend a lot of money cleaning up the area. This money could have been used for something else like healthcare or education. Jobs will be lost as the farmers do not have much land left to grow their crop. Exported goods will decreased which means a decrease in capital.
* I love this answer because it's clear and straight-forward. Very thoughtful answer which demonstrated her ability to link land pollution to social and economic development.
3rd Qn:
- China is a really big country and the level of pollution might be too severe to be tackled in the short term.
- (Answer directly from passage) Although the China government has promised to spend heavily to clean up the country's heavily polluted environment, the clean-up efforts are often hindered by lax enforcement of laws and adminitrative activity at the local level.
Page 8
Sample Answer: The filth that littered the streets gave rats the perfect environment to breed and increase their number. The fleas found on the rats caused the disease. So when the rat population increased, they enabled the disease to spread very quickly.
* Read the question carefully. Land pollution is the focus here. There are at least two other reasons why the disease spread: living condition and disposal of dead bodies. But these reasons are not related to land pollution.
