2018 DSE English Past Paper 閱讀材料 (中英翻譯 + MP3 配音) 免費版

2018 DSE English Past Paper

• (A) Classified Ad

  
  

• (B1) A Guide to Bee Stings

  
  

• (B2) Farmers Resort to Hand Pollination

交互式數碼科技

免費的英文文法學習系統

https://www.makewithinterest.com/

Classified Ad 1  - 2018 A  

刊登廣告 1

Classified Ad 1

Are you looking for an experienced and patient piano teacher? 

I am an experienced pianist with professional training in piano performance and music theory. Have been teaching piano for over 25 years. Love teaching students from kindergarteners to those who have retired. Able to speak English / Mandarin / Cantonese / Korean.

lf interested, please call 2121 3456 for a complimentary lesson.

Classified Ad 2

Advanced level guitar tuition in your home I am a performing musician with over 15 years’ experience in tutoring. Past students attended top music academies, have successful recording contracts, or work as musicians. I teach lessons for learners at intermediate level or higher.

Classified Ad 3

I can coach you for all levels of drum exams from beginner to expert New teacher qualified in UK. Conveniently located in Wan Chai. Build confidence and develop awareness of the drummer's role in a band.

Call 2134 5678 to get a 30-minute trial lesson for $150.

‘I won’t be able to focus if you turn my music off,’ a gazillion teenagers have whined at their parents. Is it possible that they’re right?

[1] Many people listen to music while they’re carrying out a task, whether they’re studying for an exam, driving a vehicle or even reading a book. Many of these people argue that background music helps them focus.

[2] When you think about it, that doesn’t make much sense. Why would having two things to concentrate on make you more focused, not less? Some people even go so far as to say that not having music on is more distracting.

Paying attention 

[3] Why would music help us concentrate? One argument is to do with attention. For all its amazing abilities, the brain hasn’t really evolved to take in abstract information or spend prolonged periods thinking about one thing. We seem to have two attention systems: a conscious one that enables us to direct our focus towards things we know we want to concentrate on and an unconscious one that shifts attention towards anything our senses pick up that might be significant. The unconscious one is simpler, more fundamental, and linked to emotional processing rather than higher reasoning. It also operates faster. So when you hear a noise when you’re alone at home, you’re paying attention to it long before you consciously notice it and start to work out what it might have been. You can’t help it.

[4] The trouble is, while our conscious attention is focused on the task in hand, the unconscious attention system doesn’t shut down; it’s still very much online, scanning for anything important in your peripheral senses. And if what we’re doing is unpleasant or dull —so you’re already having to force your attention to stay fixed on it —the unconscious attention system is even more potent. This means that a distraction doesn’t need to be as stimulating to divert your attention to something else.

[5] Have you ever been working on a very important task in the library only to be driven slowly mad by someone constantly whispering, sniffing, or tapping their pen? Something quite innocuous suddenly becomes much more infuriating when you’re trying to work on a task your brain doesn’t necessarily enjoy.

[6] Music is a very useful tool in such situations. It provides non-invasive noise and pleasurable feelings to effectively neutralise the unconscious attention system’s ability to distract us. However, it’s not just a matter of providing any old background noise to keep distractions at bay.

Type of music

[7] It seems clear that the type of noise, or music, is important. This may seem obvious: someone listening to classical music while they work wouldn’t seem at all unusual, but if they were listening to heavy metal it would be thought very strange indeed.

[8] While the nature and style of the music can cause specific responses in the brain (funky music compels you to dance, sad music makes you melancholic, motivational music makes you want to exercise), some studies suggest that it really is down to personal preference. Music you like increases focus, while music you don’t impedes it. Given the extreme variation in musical preferences from person to person, exposing a classroom to a single type of music would obviously end up with mixed results.

[9] Music also has a big impact on mood —truly bleak music could sap your enthusiasm for your task. Something else to look out for is music with catchy lyrics. Musical pieces without words might be better working companions, as human speech and vocalisation is something our brains pay particular attention to.

Video game soundtracks

[10] Some people argue that one of the best music genres for concentration is the video game soundtrack. This makes sense, when you consider the purpose of video game music: to help create an immersive environment and to facilitate but not distract from a task that requires constant attention and focus.

[11] Limitations in the technology used for early game consoles meant the music also tended to be fairly simplistic in its melodies —think Tetris or Mario. In a somewhat Darwinian way, the music in video games has been refined over decades to be pleasant and entertaining, but not distracting. The composers have (probably unintentionally) been manipulating the attention systems in the brains of players for years now.

[12] There are signs that, as technology progresses, this type of theme music is being abandoned, with game producers opting for anything from big orchestral pieces to hip-hop. The challenge will be to maintain the delicate balance of stimulation without distraction. To achieve this, game composers will need to stay focused, which is ironic.

[13] So after knowing all this, how do you stop yourself getting distracted by noises around you? Perhaps it won’t be a bad idea to keep your headphones and your favourite music close to hand.

Comments: 

Laura 20 Aug 2017 17:56 

I find it impossible to work with any music playing at all. I like music too much not to pay attention to it, whatever its quality and whatever I’m doing.

Sandy 20 Aug 2017 15:11 

Are you kidding? Am I alone in wanting peace and quiet... no sounds apart from the rain or wind.

John 19 Aug 2017 22:34 

All my life no one could understand how I was able to study and get good grades by listening to heavy metal music. I can’t study without my brain being blasted by my tunes. Thank you for the article. I don’t feel weird anymore.

Leo 19 Aug 2017 20:06 

Who knows? I can usually focus on my homework with music playing but I can’t revise like that.

A Guide to Bee Stings  - B1

蜜蜂叮咬指南

A Guide to Bee Stings

Have you ever been stung by a bee? Don’t panic! Here’s what to do.

[1] Bees are known for their role in producing honey and pollinating flowers to produce fruit. They can however become a threat to people when they build their hives near or inside homes. Bees are considered less dangerous than other stinging insects like wasps. In Hong Kong, honey bees and carpenter bees seldom sting unless they are provoked. However, there are aggressive species such as the Africanised honey bees that will sting humans. Fortunately they haven’t been spotted in Hong Kong yet.

Insect Stings and Insect Bites

[2] Insect stings should not be confused with insect bites.

[3] An insect uses its sting as a form of defence when it perceives a threat either to itself or its colony. It stings by injecting poison into or under the skin. The effect is immediate and results in a sharp, burning sensation.

[4] While some insects sting as a form of defence, some bite to draw blood. To give such insects time to feed, insect bites have evolved so that the pain is not as sharp as a sting and is usually felt only minutes later.

Insect Stings

[5] The most common insects that sting are wasps (including hornets) and bees. Wasps are the most aggressive and may sting with little provocation. 

[6] Bees are much less likely to sting, most commonly stinging when they are stood or sat on. The key sign of a bee sting is that the bee leaves its stinger lodged inside the skin and a venomous sac will continue to pump poison for more than a minute. In contrast, the only sign of a wasp sting is likely to be a small puncture hole in the skin. 

[7] If one is stung by a wasp or bee, the area around the sting will quickly redden and swell. The swelling will reduce after a few hours, but it may remain itchy for more than a day.

Treatments for Stings

[8] Some people are much more sensitive to insect stings than others, and young children tend to be particularly sensitive. There are practical steps that can be taken. 

[9] If stung by a bee, the pain will be reduced significantly if the stinger is removed promptly. This should be done carefully using sharp fingernails, tweezers or a knife —take great care not to squeeze the sting sac as this will inject more poison into the wound. 

[10] To clean the wound, wash it with soap and water and then reduce swelling by bathing in cold water or by covering it with a cold compress such as ice in a cloth (but never hold ice directly on the skin). 

[11] To relieve itching, apply an anti-histamine cream for bites and stings or take an oral anti-histamine tablet (a hay fever tablet). 

[12] Calamine lotion can also be applied to cool the wound and ease the itch. If the itching is severe, consult your pharmacist about steroid creams.

Allergies to Insect Stings 

[13] Bee stings have the potential for an allergic reaction, resulting in anaphylactic shock, a serious medical condition that requires immediate medical assistance and can even cause death. 

[14] However, the people at risk are the three percent of the population who are allergic to the poison in stings. An allergy to insect stings can develop in a person at any time, even if they have not reacted to a previous sting. 

[15] Call an ambulance immediately if someone has a severe reaction to an insect sting.

Hong Kong’s First Urban Beekeeper

Keeping local traditions alive

Michael Leung inspects a frame of bees – notice, no protective clothing ! Don’t try this at home!

Rooftop beehives set up by HK Honey, a key feature of urban beekeeping

[1] On the rooftops of Hong Kong amongst the high-rise apartments, a local product designer, Michael Leung, has created his own space and is bringing nature back into the city, one beehive at a time.

[2] Michael Leung is the founder and creative director of HK Honey, an organisation that links local beekeepers with city dwellers by providing locally produced honey products. But the organisation’s ultimate goal is to help sustain bee populations, which have been declining, while raising awareness by keeping a vital relationship between people and bees alive.

[3] According to the HK Honey website, Leung is Hong Kong’s first urban beekeeper, although beekeeping has been around in the outlying areas of Hong Kong for some time. In fact, Leung was trained by Mr. Yip, who has had a bee-farming operation in Shatin since the 1980’s.

[4] After they met in early 2010, an enthusiastic Leung had HK Honey up and running by that summer. Now it’s uniting Hong Kong urban beekeepers from all walks of life. It links a network of local bee farms and offers workshops, organises tours on urban beekeeping and makes honey products. Its online shop also offers handmade products such as the usual candles and bottled honey, but honey cakes made from local ingredients are only available during their workshops.

[5] Of course, it’s interesting to know that there are slight differences between the western and Chinese ways of beekeeping, not to mention behavioural variances between Chinese and western bees.

[6] There is a wide range of bee species kept by beekeepers in China, unlike in the west where commercial beekeepers usually rely on a single species. In contrast to the west, the Chinese approach to beekeeping uses no protective clothing —no gloves and no head nets. ‘This gives us a closer connection to the bees. When we work with them, we make sure we move very slowly and try not to disturb them too much.’ Leung says.

[7] Hong Kong is an incredibly dense high-rise city. Leung wasn’t 100% sure if bees could sustain themselves in Hong Kong’s urban environment. Surprisingly and fortunately they did sustain themselves in the city, and continue to amaze him with each new location that he sets up a beehive in. The honey in Hong Kong is an eclectic mix of wild and seasonal flowers. But when we taste it, we also taste all the hard work that has gone into producing it. The honey is priceless and a real treat to harvest and eat.  

[8] Leung is a driven individual and is also channelling his energies into similar projects. He has established HK Farm, collaborating with communities and organisations within the city to grow food on the rooftops of Hong Kong.

 Farmers Resort to Hand Pollination - B2

農民依賴手動授粉

[1] The story begins in central China, in an apple-growing region called Maoxian County, near Chengdu. In the mid-1990s, the bees that regularly showed up there every spring suddenly didn’t. Apple farmers, obviously, need bees. Bees dust their way through blossoms, moving from flower to flower, pollinating, which helps produce apples in September. The farmers had to do something, and do it quickly. So they decided to replace bees with humans. They pollinated by hand.

[2] In 1997, Maoxian apple growers, using brushes made from chopsticks and chicken feathers, went from blossom to blossom - just as bees do, to spread pollen. Hired hands worked full shifts, moving up the hillsides as each orchard hit blossom-time. News stories were written about this, with the obvious conservation moral: see, biologists said, this is what happens when we don't take care of the little creatures like the pollinators. When they disappear, the work they did for free suddenly becomes expensive. That was the moral of this story - until some economists took a second look.

[3] The armour of the apiarist is a bee-suit. Willie has a sort of khaki-green nylon flying suit, which zips across the body and then across the neck to close up the net-fronted hood. The legs are tucked into wellies and the arms into gloves, elasticated at the wrists. In his suit, he walks around like a spaceman. Boots and gloves restrict some movement, but he goes slow-mo for another reason. ‘You go with a quiet tread, or all hell breaks loose,’ he says. ‘It’s a matter of weighing up the form. If trouble starts, you bail out.’

[4] After finding a piece of hessian sacking among the bric-a-brac on the back of the lorry, Willie lights the cloth with a match and puts it in a smoker formed like a pair of miniature bellows. The smoke can help lull the bees. They think there is an emergency, eat their fill of honey as if ready for flight and become less aggressive, perhaps because less able to bend and sting. Willie takes the top off the first hive. Pffffff, pffffff, pffffff, goes the smoke. After a short pause, he heaves off the top box. Immediately, its weight reveals the exact extent of the haul. Honey is half as heavy again as water and a full box tells on your muscles. Beekeeping, in some aspects, is like fishing: some years you get next-to-nothing, in others you crop gold. This year everything worked, both skill and luck came together, and it is boom time; the weather was good over the year. Willie and his family have kept bees here for over fifty years, and he is now reaping the rewards of knowing his turf and keeping bees that are well adapted to their environment. This trip to Hangwell Law comes after a run of collecting a bumper harvest of heather honeycomb in ten days. It does not happen every year, or even often. Some years he gets nothing at all. But today he gets 2,500 pounds of honey. Such is the drama of harvest.

[5] The bees, in the meantime, go purposefully berserk. Zinging, small, aggressive atoms, gold in the late afternoon sun, attack again and again from different angles, trying to find a way into the bee-suit. Their persistence is unrelenting. Bees in the wild can burrow into the fur of an attacking bear, to sting the animal where it will hurt them hopping mad. In the same way, they seek the vulnerable chink in the beekeeper’s second skin. A hole in the finger-tip of a glove, a stray stitch on the seam, will not go unpunished. You feel like a character within a video game, surrounded by flying attackers. The bee-suit is slightly claustrophobic, limiting your vision but not the sounds, nor the sudden sight of bees flying onto the net visor, inches from your eyes. Willie says the bees can get to people mentally. ‘They get you on the shake,’ he says. ‘They undermine your confidence and go dab, dab, dab.’ When a bee stings, a banana-like odour spreads in the air, attracting others to sting the same spot, like sharks drawn to blood pulsing through water.

[6] Some beekeepers lose bees by carelessly crushing them under boxes as they work under the pressure of time and the bee-blitz. Willie knows that bees matter more than honey. He brushes insects off each box with gentle sweeps of bracken and the triumph he feels at the haul is as much about the bees as anything else. Man makes use of bees but only by respecting their nature.