Read the passage below then write a summary of it in not more than 120 words. Your answer should
be in continuous prose and in paragraph form. It should NOT be in note form.
In 1980 doctors in New York and California were intrigued by cases they were seeing of an extremely
virulent form of pneumonia, usually found only in people with extraordinarily weakened system. They
watched in alarm as patients, most of them young and with no particular history of illness, succumbed
rapidly to an illness they could do nothing to halt.
In twenty years, the disease has spread to every corner of the world. The HIV virus which causes AIDS is
estimated to have infected almost sixty million people worldwide, according to UNAIDS. Of this number,
an estimated 22 million have already died and an estimated 36.1 million people are currently living with
HIV/AIDS.
HIV/AIDS has had a devastating effect on the social and economic fabric of society. It affects most
frequently the most reproductive section of society, the parents, the breadwinners. It affects future
generations: it pushes people deeper into poverty, widening the gap between the developed and the
developing world.
HIV/AIDS has presented a major challenge to the medical establishment from the beginning. It was first
wrongly seen as a disease that affected only a particular group of society, or a particular race. Finally it
was clear that AIDS was infectious, could be transmitted through sexual intercourse, among intravenous
drug users,
through blood transfusion of infected blood, and by infected mothers to their babies. Still unknown was
what caused the disease.
It was not until 1983 that the answer was found. The cause of AIDS was identified as a virus, or more
correctly a retrovirus - the human immunodeficiency virus, or HIV for short.
From the beginning AIDS has been a virus like no other. It touches on many issues that are deeply
personal, that are taboo, and that can polarise. Issues like race and religious beliefs. Issues of how
personal behaviour can have an affect on the public good. Myths and denials have surrounded the
disease in all parts of the world.
The disease has been notable too for the debate it has raises on the pharmaceutical industry. Issues
have come to the fore such as how to handle intellectual property, patenting of drugs, the availability of
affordable drugs, and the rights of developing countries to import or produce cheap generic drugs.
Summary:
Three decades ago doctors in USA were fascinated, by the pattern of a deadly disease which normally
would affect significantly deficient patients yet ravaged young, healthy people!
Twenty years later the diagnosed HIV virus has spread and infected people worldwide. It touches every
denomination, creed and class of society, raising the statistics of dead people and those carrying the
disease to the millions.
Research and analysis has discovered the different ways in which the disease could be transmitted, yet
the actual cause remained mysterious until 1983.
All sorts of arguments and issues on the topic, have risen among society and even in the pharmaceutical
industry. These range from religious beliefs to retraction. Presently, the administering of therapeutic
drugs is controversial.
120 words
Read carefully the following extract and then summarize the MAJOR factors which contribute to the
disadvantages encountered by women in the labour market.
Your summary must be in continuous prose, in paragraph form and it must not be more than 120
words in length. Only the first 120 words of your answer will be read and assessed.
Despite their increasing participation in the labour market, women are still disadvantaged in the
mainstream of economic life. With limited access to stable and well-paid employment, their
participation is often confined to 'feminine' work: to low paid, less visible jobs in the informal sector and
to subsistence agriculture. Globally, women earn 20 to 30 per cent less than men while women make up
70 percent of the world's more than 1 billion absolute poor.
In most regions of the world, female enrolment in secondary level, technical and vocational education
programmes represents less than half of the total. When girls opt for vocational courses they tend to
choose fields that are considered more 'feminine' and less technical, thus narrowing their employment
prospects. Socio-cultural factors play an important role in the attitudes of employers, teachers, parents
and the girls themselves.
In poor countries, access to any type of secondary or post-secondary education for disadvantaged girls is
often limited by entrance requirements and the cost of courses. In the non-formal sector, there are
numerous programmes provided by non-governmental organisations to enhance capacities for income
generation among poor out-of-school girls. It is often difficult to assess the impact of such training on
the lives of trainees due to the lack of systematic monitoring and reporting. Depending on how such
programmes are designed, there could also be a danger of reinforcing existing gender roles and biases,
especially where programmes do not offer training in profitable areas of work.
30 marks
Summary
Many factors contribute to the disadvantages encountered by women in the labour market. Women
have limited access to stable, well-paid employment and are confined to feminine work. In vocational
courses women opt for less technical fields which narrow their opportunities. Women are also faced
with the attitudes of employers and society itself when they seek employment. This is due to
sociocultural factors. In poor countries, women are disadvantaged in secondary or tertiary education
because of entrance requirements or the cost of courses. Although numerous programmes are put in
place by non-governmental organizations, they do not look at the impact of this training due to lack of
monitoring and reporting. Such programmes may reinforce existing gender roles and biases.
(118 words)
Read carefully the following passage and then write a summary of it.
Your summary must be in continuous prose, in paragraph form and it must not be more than 120
words in length. Only the first 120 words of your answer will be read and assessed.
Since the beginning of civilization, they have served as marks of identification, spiritual protection and
decoration. Now at the cusp of another millennium, tattoos and other varieties of body markings are
resurfacing as a popular form of individual self-expression.
Tattoos are timeless and can be unique as the bearers they adorn, they don't fade away like favourite tshirts, or get lost or broken like school rings. They stay with you forever, until death. They become a part
of you from the day you sit in the artist's chair, etching your emotions alongside the needle's sting,
transforming an instant of your life into a symbol for the world to see.
Tattoos and other body markings arrived in the Caribbean with African slaves and indentured workers
from China and India. They were sometimes the only permanent keepsakes of peoples snatched from
their ancestral places. The Caribbean's original Amerindian inhabitants also used tattoos to mark
spiritual milestones. The Taino of the northern Caribbean Islands, for instance, used vegetable dyes to
affix images of their guardians onto their skin. These images also indicated an individual's lineage, or his
or her social position. Each tattoo was both a personal history book and a mark of belonging.
Over the centuries, however, tattoos and other forms of bodily adornment have mutated, exchanging
religious and cultural significance for individualist associations. Sometimes that mark of individuality has
been confused with rebellion and non-conformity, often alluding to a stain of bad character. Tattoowearers have seem wild, dangerous, even just plain bad.
But today, tattoos have come full circle. Celebrities, writers, lawyers, housewives, all proudly display
their marks of rebellion. An entirely new perception of the art of tattooing has arisen, which is more
than just a preoccupation with style. This re-discovered form of expression has spawned an entire subculture of individuals among us. They carry this common bond of distinction through their daily routines.
Via the images on their forearms, shoulders, ankles, or torsos, they connect to each other, announcing
to them it is OK to be unique and different.
Summary:
From the beginning of civilization tattoos and other body markings have been marks of
identification, spiritual protection and decoration. Tattoos are permanent markings which vary
greatly and can be personally very revealing. A tattoo is an instant of your life etched forever on you
for the world to see.
Tattoos and other body markings were characteristic of the Amerindians of the Caribbean as well as
of the Africans, Chinese and Indians who came here. For all these people, they had cultural,
spiritual and ethnic significance. Over the centuries, tattoos and other body markings have changed
back and forth from group significance to individual significance, presenting a daily image of
difference and uniqueness.
(112 words)