【2017 DSE 應試系列】Killer guide for DSE Reading Paper 1

By Natalie Kung(Hong Kong Paideia's English Teacher)

Apart from the lack of vocabulary, have you ever wondered what made you lack behind your peers in DSE reading? 你能準確地分析你有什麼問題嗎?

1) A basic understanding of the introductory paragraph This is paramount. Scanning through the questions is of course important but it must be coupled with a sufficient understanding of the introductory paragraph. Otherwise, you will lose track when you encounter more paragraphs with more vocabulary and complex sentence structures.

先明白頭兩段文章含義,再理解題目。

Reading the first two paragraphs is a must, especially the topic sentence and the finishing line. Highlight keywords therein. The following is an example for the first paragraph.

Sample Text:Country X is facing a serious nuclear threat from country Y.

Country X commented the use of nuclear weapons from country Y has caused worrying concerns. The latest national security report has stated there are military sanctions under way to help prevent any invasive actions. Country X would also threaten to cut economic ties with Y and also Y’s allied countries. After all, the government of country X has decided to tighten security measures against country Y.

文中的中心思想已經可以從主題與結論句看到。

The first paragraph stipulates country X’s concern over possible military attacks by country Y and the last paragraph details X’s possible actions against Y. To summarise, the use of forces by country Y poses threats to X so X is preparing to retaliate. 

2) Reference questions (參照題)：Contextual understanding (上下文理解) is important to facilitate understanding. It would sometimes be hard to locate a specific antecedent （前項） or it may not even exist. Instead, look for any hints which are posterior （後面的） to the hint.

Sample Text:

Protests in Country T has caused serious human rights concerns.

“The Human Rights Watch reported that a lot of protestors in the Oxford Street Movement, including the ones from the previous Leicester Square Movement, have been subjected to undue influence and even violence. They commented the use of such kind of forces are likely to lead to unfavourable outcomes such as societal and even economic disorder (騷亂). This is echoed by the United Nations, who stated “We would not tolerate any forms of inhumane and degrading treatment.”

Who does “they” refer to on line two?

A. Protestors in the Oxford Street MovementB. Human Rights WatchC. The United NationsD. Protestors in the Leicester Square Movement

The answer is B. Do not get confused by the non-defining relative clause (非限定關係子句) in the middle. This clause adds extra information to the statement. The sentence will still hold the same meaning if the clause is taken out, i.e. no matter who attended, the Human Rights Watch would say the same thing.

This would also cover the following aspects: collective nouns.

3) Collective Nouns 集合名詞:

整體/獨立個體?The above text also tested your ability to identify collective nouns. Have you thought “they” could be used as a pronoun for the Human Rights Watch? When tackling reference questions, please remember to pay special attention to collective nouns. There is such a name because groups are referred to, such as police, team or audience. It is to be noted there are no specific rules in British English on whether a singular or plural verb is followed after a collective noun. However, in American English, singular verbs are used for most of the time, though this would also depend on whether the emphasis of the sentence lies on individual members in the group or the group as a whole. For the latter, a singular is used. For instance, the Water Department is handling the current water poisoning problems with great care. In this sentence, there is no need to point out each specific member from the department. The message is the department as a whole is tackling the problem. That’s it. However, if the sentence would like to shift focus to each member in the group, a plural verb is used. For instance, the whole basketball team were practising on the court. The gist is it is possible to use plural verbs for a subject if it is big enough to comprise of different members. 

4) Inference Questions:How much could you deduce from a given word/phrase?

Sample Text:“There is no doubt B Group was behind a suspected malicious biological attack (惡性生化武器) in Country Y. This has caused numerous deaths and a significant number of illnesses. A humanitarian group has blown the whistle on the use of such weapons and has suggested the best way to tackle is to leave the country because there are not enough protective measures (保護措施) in place.” Other countries have also reprimanded for such inhumane and despicable actions via social media.

What does “blown the whistle on” mean?A.    expressed concern overB.    rebuttedC.    reportedD.    condemned

The answer is D. The biggest hint lies on the last sentence. For example, “reprimand” (譴責) means a resolute and formal disapproval. The two adjectives followed by are used to indicate the actions are not to be acknowledged due to the vicious nature of biological weapons. Therefore, the later clues supported the choice of “condemned”, which means an expression of a strong disapproval (聲明).

What’re you getting away from this piece?There are not many myths to become a smart test-taker, but you should bear in mind there are several rules such as a firm grasp of the introductory paragraph, clear  identification of the reference the article is talking about, as well as appropriate judgments to inferences.

祝各位同學考試成功!