ENGLISH LANGUAGE-MOCK 1
PAPER 1: LANGUAGE: CONTEXT AND IDENTITY (ANSWER SCRIPT)
SECTION A:
ANSWER TO QUESTION 1:
With reference to text A from the source booklet, text A highlights the identity of Hillary Clinton as a strong female who is an
outspoken and intellectual politician. She uses the opportunity created by the conferences in Paris about the problems and
effects of climate change to show what an ambitious leader she is and that she is ready to fill the shoes of President Obama
and continue his legacy. Clinton’s strength and determination are further emphasized in the article which can be seen in her
words; for example, in paragraph 2 she is not hesitant to point out that climate negotiations have failed due to “resistance
from the Chinese and others” who neglect to owning up to taking responsibility. Further adding, in the text Clinton also
highlights her historical and political involvement and stance towards the cause of climate change further adding strength to
not only her words but to her position as a politician with prominence showcasing her as a Democratic candidate. Example of
this can be seen in paragraph 2 when Clinton points out the lacking of the Republican Party in their denial to the problems of
climate change and again in paragraph 5 when she talks about how she and President Obama had secret meetings with
different countries about climate change.
While text A voices the words of a strong female politician, text B shows the identity of Giri, the wife of a struggling farmer
from a developing country who is facing the after effects of climate change. Giri shares her personal recollections of her life
on the island of Lohachara which was once permanently flooded in the 1980s and which has now disappeared entirely. Her
account offers a more humane and personal description of her life and hardships caused by climate change which is not a
result of her own actions but the actions of others from different parts of the world. Examples of her hardships and tone of
sadness can be seen in paragraph 8 when Giri talks about how her family had to relocate to another island where not only did
they lose their livelihoods but where they had to work as labourers.
Though both text A and B discuss about the same concept of climate change, text A and B have both very different contextual
factors. Firstly, with regards to the mode of communication; text A is an article published in ‘Times Magazine’ while text B is
an account writing collected and presented by the WWF foundation. Secondly, though as mentioned earlier the concept of
the text are both the same; both texts in fact are different in the field in that text A emphasizes climate change in a technical
matter related to politics and what governments should do to tackle the problem while text B talks about the geographical
area, livelihood and what life is like for Giri as a result of environmental factors related to climate change. As for the functions
of text A, Clinton’s article acts as a piece to highlight and to persuade readers of her credibility as a global leader and the
possibility of her as the president. At the same time the article also highlights the purpose of the climate conference, what
governments need to do as well as at the same time criticises the opposition-Republican Party and other governments who
are in denial about the problem of climate change. Text B on the other hand, though it details specific information about the
island of Lohachara, the text also tracks the events of Giri’s life and the escalation of the effects of climate change and how it
can hurt people of lower stature.
In addition to mode, field and function of both the articles, there is a stark difference as well in terms of who the audience of
both articles are. For text A, the audience is more inclined towards people who are not only avid readers of ‘Time Magazine’
but also those people who follow the conference and want to stay updated with politics especially that of American politics.
The audience for text B are those inclined to the work of the WWF, those who want to understand the effects of climate
change at a more personal and humane level and that affecting the Indian subcontinent or developing countries. In terms of
lexicons and semantics text A uses a lot of emotive language to convey the global problem that climate victims face such as by
using verbs like: “threatens, galvanize, combating” and adjectives like: “vulnerable”. On the other hand, text B, uses emotive
language to convey the transition and speed at which island of Lahachara was lost such as with the use of adjectives like:
“fateful” or the phrasal verb- “washed away”. Another important point to note about both texts is the social and cultural
concepts found in both texts. For instance, though both texts are taken and written from a woman’s point of view, both
women are very different from each other. Clinton gives us a glimpse at life in the west where she is not seen only as a
woman but a powerful and influential politician who has the power to shape the minds of not only regular folk but also of
government leaders. Text B, showcases the opposite in that it highlights a developing patriarchal society where Giri herself
shares the norms of where women are married off at a young age and are bound to the customs of following what the men
say in their society. Giri’s husband dictated where the family lives and works after they lost their home on the island of
Lahachara and because of certain custom norms Giri and her family live in poverty as labourers instead of advancing in society.
SECTION B:
ANSWER TO QUESTION 2:
CLIMATE CHANGE: RICH OR POOR, ITS EVERYONE’S PROBLEM?
It is said that technology is a blessing for man as it helps man perform tasks in their daily lives. With that being said, the
opportunity to amass fortunes is a natural thing especially when it comes to giants of the west. With the ever rise in
dependency in fossil fuels due to the increase in productions from factories and vehicles on the road, climate change becomes
an issue as a result of man’s actions and needs from the use of these technologies. Almost all nations in the world contribute
to climate change, some more noticeable than others. However, it is people who are poor from poor nations who suffer the
most as a result of climate change.
Humans and wild animals face new challenges for survival because of climate change. For instance, more frequent and
intense drought, storms, heatwave, rising sea and river levels, melting glaciers and warming oceans can directly harm animals,
destroy the places they live and wreak havoc on people’s livelihoods and communities. As climate change worsens, dangerous
weather events are becoming more frequent and severe. Take for example from Jyotsna Giri who gave an account of her
struggles due to climate change to the World Wildlife Foundation. In Giri’s account, she details her life on Loharchara Island in
the Sundarbans Delta of India from her marriage at just 12 years old till the time she lost everything she ever knew due to the
rising waters which swallowed her home whole. In Giri’s account, she describes the topography and geography of the island
as well as details of her livelihood in how the land was fertile which supported agriculture of paddy and various vegetables as
well as an abundance of fishes and crabs. The island which Giri lived on became permanently flooded back in the 1980s and
entirely submerged in 2006 taking with it not only Giri’s home and possessions but her memories of a familiar place as well as
her livelihood and a way to make money as well. As a result of the climatic events, Giri was forced to seek refuge with her
family on the neighbouring island of Gangasagar where she and her family built a new home but since they don’t have any
land to support agriculture, Giri and ger family are forced to be labourers making it impossible for her to escape the reaches
and hands of poverty. There are countless victims of climate change just like Giri who have faced dire hardships due to erratic
and unpredictable weather changes.
So, who is responsible for climate change? What can we do?
When it comes to climate change, everyone can and must play a role in protecting the environment and going whatever, they
can to combat pollution, global warming and climate change. However, it is governments and world leaders who need to take
a stance and pave a way for other countries to follow to make a significant difference. Take for instance in Hillary Clinton’s
article which was written and published in Time Magazine one day ahead of the International Conference on Climate Change
in Paris on 30th November, 2015; in the article Clinton writes that there is deep division amongst different countries about who
is responsible for the causes and effects of climate change with some countries such as China even resisting to admit that
there is a problem with global warming. Adding to that some countries such as China lack the initiative and response to
establish policies to help curb the problem. According to Clinton, countries need to come out of denial and work together to
sign joint agreements on climate change such that focuses on three principals: “First, all countries must take responsibility for
combating this global crisis, and put forward commitments to curb their own greenhouse gas emissions. Second, the
agreement should galvanize financial assistance for, and spur private investment in, developing countries to help them adapt
and achieve sustainable economic growth. And finally, it must be an agreement that can be strengthened over time. Countries
should agree to come together regularly to raise their collective ambition.”
With the world growing warmer and each year breaking new heat records, urgent action to end the climate crisis cannot wait.
It is our responsibility to do everything we can to prevent the worst of it. Not only do international agreements like the one in
Paris need to be signed but governments also need to step up in providing assistance to people such as by providing subsidies
in purchasing solar panels as well as looking for cheap alternative energy sources and harnessing that so that everyone can
make use of the cheap and clean energy. We must decarbonize our transportation sector and transition to one hundred
percent renewable energy. In addition, more trees and greens need to be planted to make up for the millions of trees which
have already been cut down by us humans.
The time to act is now! It’s not going to happen on its own. We have to demand it! So, lets start putting our words and
promises into action. Fill out the online petition below with your details so that we can demand and pressure our government
into doing the right thing in combating climate change and global warming.