MUET Reading 800/3 July 2014 Suggested Answers

Hi.. my students took the exam so I have a copy of the reading paper.. again, I emphasise, these are just my own answers and are up for discussion.

Here goes!

1. C (no data on 'most')
2. A (2010-1 billion, 2015 - 2 billion)
3. A (It is not enough to concentrate on Gucci n Merc etc)
4. B (graph after 2010 shows a sharp increase)
5. B (spikes in near future - 2011, 2012)
6. B (affluent means rich, so the statement is false because they need to attract all levels of consumers inc. the poor)
7. C (no mention of expenditure and how many percent spent on R&D)
8. B (not the 'only' form as they also use horses and 'chiva')
9. B (not the 'main' source majority of families run subsistence farms)
10. C (no info who rears cattle or if the villagers use for own consumption)
11. C (hospitable is more appropriate than generous, because it indicates that they are being good hosts)
12. B (yes, he was confident)
13. C (definitely have to be imported and locals don't grow them, no mention of difficult to transport)
14. A (hope because if something is done, the rest of the forest could be left to grow once again)
15. A (a single reef shark can contribute almost $2 million USD)
16. A (quantified the economic benefits of shark-diving)
17. A (they bring much more money... sharks with the golden eggs which means they will bring in $$)
18. C (14% is more than 10%)
19. C (work together includes creating shark sanctuaries and ban possession, sale or distribution of shark fins)
20. A (Priceless resource because it focuses on the high economic value of sharks esp in tourism)
21. A (a solution because it lists actions taken to protect sharks)
22. A (man's capacity to alter climate is not mentioned until paragraph 4)
23. A (para 2 addresses the 'how' question, not when or why)
24. C (focus on the main point, overpopulation and industrial revolution are sub-points)
25. A (the main purpose is to describe how much man has changed the covering of the planet, up to 75%)
26. A (profound, ie, significant changes to the geology)
27. C (definitely a warning)
28. C (the writer describes the causes first then the effect to mankind if we do not replenish or use less)
29. C (use less = use sparingly, replenish is mentioned but definitely no mention of 'striking a balance')
30. B (there is a link between our intelligence and technology)
31. A (to avoid thinking things fully when there a short cut is available)
32. B (can be changed quite radically without people noticing)
33. C (minds that naturally incorporate new tools, ideas and abilities)
34. B (they would quietly divide the work up between them)
35. D (you also can rely on the people tools around us which are equally important)
36. A (enlighten is to give more information/knowledge)
37. A (I feel that the whole passage is focusing on the relationship the brain has with technology, cyborgs, change blindness and misers seem to me as sub-points only)
38. B (focus on rapid growth)
39. B (done so in a very different way from other countries. That is in large part the result of the government's historically repressive approach towards information and entertainment.)
40. D (anaphoric reference: electronic retailing is in its infancy...)
41. B (the limitation refers to the internet being so tightly controlled by govt but popularity has increased, not decreased)
42. D (by contrast, the Internet fills gaps and provides what is unavailable)
43. D (options A, B and C are clearly wrong)
44. A (regardless means if you disregard the above facts on Baidu, piracy is starting to worry the govt)
45. B (the availability of free foreign content is holding back [hamper] the development [growth] of the domestic media industry [market])

* Apparently, based on the responses of candidates, my answers r 4 questions wrong meaning i scored 41/45... as i have emphasised, these r MY own answers and even I admit that it is really tricky. A friend has come up with alternative answers, you may cross check with them here below: 
I agree with most of ur answers to the reading paper except the following: 5.A (After 2012, GDP will shrink, look at the date of the report) 9. B ( No crop is said to be the main source of income. So, it's not stated. To be false it must be said that coffee is not the main source of income, but sthg else. The statement must contradict sthg in the passage. Besides, rice and corn are also planted and that is explicitly stated for consumption - line 20. 'The vast majority of families run subsistence farms' is too vague to make the statement false.Also, the writer organised seminars on coffee plantation diseases - line 17... a hint that coffee could be a source of income for some ) 17. C (At first i thought it is A but as a whole, the para seems to mainly suggest the idea of the need to not kill the 'goose' that lays the golden eggs. The monetary and economic benefits are also stressed in paras 4, 6 and 8.) 19. A (line 47 is self-explanatory. Only Palau has made its waters a sanctuary...while te others have banned the fin trade.No clear mention of working together of the island republics) 20. C. It is a priceless resource even for its fins. But here the Palau experiment/study and therefore experience makes it more lucrative as a tourist attraction. 37. B. We are 'natural born cyborgs' and naturally incorporate tools (technology, Google etc,) ideas and abilities(mental division of work). Line 44 - 46 ...technology is just a small part of the whole theme of the passage, it is used to show how we operate as 'natural born cyborgs'). Besides, 'Technology' in 'A' is too wide. To be specific, the kind of technology referred to here is limited to online tools, lines 2-4). And yes 42 is D. I had thought it was B.

Anyway...
You will need to score:
(A)   21/45 – Band 3
(B)   27/45 – Band 4
(C)   33/45 – Band 5
(D)  39/45 – Band 6
(BTW this is just a forecast, you still need to do well in other papers to achieve your forecasted band)

Ok.. so how did you do? Good luck and you are free to leave a comment below.