UNIVERSITETET
I OSLO
Institutt f or litteratur, områdestudier og europeiske språk
SKOLEEKSAMEN
2010/VÅR/SPRING
3 sider/pages
ENG1111 – The English Language. Awareness and Writing Skills
4 timer/timar/hours
27. mai 2010
The questions must be answered in English, and the answers must be given in complete
sentences.
Candidates must receive a pass mark on both questions.
Candidates may use 1 English-English dictionary.
Question 1 (50%)
1A
The following text contains 10 errors of grammar. Correct them and explain your
corrections with reference to rules of grammar and/or contextual clues.
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Volcano erupts in south Iceland
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An Icelandic volcano, dormant for 200 years, have erupted, ripping a long fissure in a
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field of ice. The volcano near Eyjafjallajökull glacier began to erupt just after midnight,
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sending lava a hundred metres high.
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Icelandic airspace has been closed and flights diverted, since the tiny particles of rock,
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glass and sand contained in the ash cloud could be sufficient to destroy aircrafts. The
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eruption was about 120 km east of the capital, Reykjavik. About 500 people were moved
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from area, a civil protection officer said. "We estimate that nobody is in danger in the
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area, but we have started an evacuation plan, and between 500 and 600 people are
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evacuated as we speak," told Sigurgeir Gudmundsson of the Icelandic civil protections
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department a French news agency. The area is sparse populated, but the knock-on
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effects from the eruption have been considerable.
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A state of emergency is in force in southern Iceland and transport connections have
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been severely disrupted, including the main east-west road. "Ash has already begun to
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fall in Fljotshlid and people in the surrounding area have reported seeing bright lights
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emanating from the glacier," RUV public radio said on it’s website. "It was a bit scary, but
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still amazing to see," Katrin Möller Eiriksdottir, which lives in Fljotshlid, told the BBC.
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"The ash had started falling and we couldn't leave the car."
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It had initially been fears that the volcano could cause flooding, as it causes ice to melt
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on the glacier above it, but that scenario appears to have avoided. However, it could
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cause more volcanic activity nearby, scientists say.
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1B
The examples below contain language choices that are awkward, unidiomatic, or
inappropriate. First, suggest ways of improving them; second, explain what you have
done and why.
a. No matter how you look at it the volcanic eruption in Iceland is a disaster if not for
everyone in general then at least for Icelandic farmers and because of the potential
environmental consequences it may have.
b. Still spewing out lava, the tourists could watch the volcano from a distance.
c. The flight had for reasons that ought to be obvious been cancelled.
Question 2 (50%)
Read the two texts below.
a. Identify the similarities and differences between the two texts as regards field,
tenor, mode, purpose and style, and describe how any differences in these areas
are reflected in lexical, grammatical, and syntactic choices. Provide examples
from both texts to support your claims. Your answer should be in the form of an
academic essay. Write at least 500 words.
b. Rewrite the highlighted part into an informal style.
Text 1
Politically correct Little Red Riding Hood
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There once was a young person named Little Red Riding Hood who lived on the edge of a
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large forest full of endangered owls and rare plants that would probably provide a cure for
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cancer if only someone took the time to study them.
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Red Riding Hood lived with a nurture-giver whom she sometimes referred to as
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"mother", although she didn't mean to imply by this term that she would have thought less
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of the person if a close biological link did not in fact exist.
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Nor did she intend to denigrate the equal value of nontraditional households,
although she was sorry if this was the impression conveyed.
One day her mother asked her to take a basket of organically grown fruit and
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mineral water to her grandmother's house. "But mother, won't this be stealing work from
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the unionized people who have struggled for years to earn the right to carry all packages
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between various people in the woods?"
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Red Riding Hood's mother assured her that she had called the union boss and got
a special compassionate mission exemption form.
"But mother, aren't you oppressing me by ordering me to do this?" Red Riding
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Hood's mother pointed out that it was impossible for women to oppress each other, since
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all women were equally oppressed until all women were free.
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"But mother, then shouldn't you have my brother carry the basket, since he's an
oppressor, and should learn what it's like to be oppressed?" And Red Riding Hood's
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mother explained that her brother was attending a special rally for animal rights, and
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besides, this wasn't stereotypical women's work, but an empowering deed that would help
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engender a feeling of community.
Text 2
Women's History in America
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Throughout most of history, women generally have had fewer legal rights and career
opportunities than men. Wifehood and motherhood were regarded as women's most
significant professions. In the 20th century, however, women in most nations won the right
to vote and increased their educational and job opportunities. Perhaps most important,
they fought for and to a large degree accomplished a reevaluation of traditional views of
their role in society.
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Since early times women have been uniquely viewed as a creative source of human life.
Historically, however, they have been considered not only intellectually inferior to men but
also a major source of temptation and evil. In Greek mythology, for example, it was a
woman, Pandora, who opened the forbidden box and brought plagues and unhappiness
to mankind. Early Roman law described women as children, forever inferior to men.
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Early Christian theology perpetuated these views. St. Jerome, a 4th-century Latin father of
the Christian church, said: "Woman is the gate of the devil, the path of wickedness, the
sting of the serpent, in a word a perilous object." Thomas Aquinas, the 13th-century
Christian theologian, said that woman was "created to be man's helpmeet, but her unique
role is in conception...since for other purposes men would be better assisted by other
men."
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The attitude toward women in the East was at first more favorable. In ancient India, for
example, women were not deprived of property rights or individual freedoms by marriage.
But Hinduism, which evolved in India after about 500 BC, required obedience of women
toward men. Women had to walk behind their husbands. Women could not own property,
and widows could not remarry. In both East and West, male children were preferred over
female children.
Begrunnelse: Ta kontakt med din faglærer på e-post innen 1 uke etter at sensuren er
kunngjort i StudentWeb. Oppgi navn og kandidatnummer. Sensor bestemmer om
begrunnelsen skal gis skriftlig eller muntlig.
Explanation: For an explanation of the mark obtained, contact the teacher
responsible for the course no later than 1 week after the exam results have been
published in StudentWeb. Remember to include your name and candidate number.
The examiner will then decide whether to give a written explanation or call you in for
an interview.
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