CONFIDENTIAL 1 LG/OCT 2018/ELC501

SAMPLE ONLINE TEST SUB SET 1 (A)

OCTOBER 2018

TOTAL: 35 MARKS

Read the following article and answer ALL the questions that follow.

The Reading Brain in the Digital Age

I Since the 1980s, researchers in many different fields including psychology,

computer engineering, and library and information science have investigated how
reading on paper is different from reading on screens in more than one hundred
published studies. In a viral YouTube video from October 2011, a one-year-old girl
sweeps her fingers across an iPad's touchscreen, shuffling groups of icons. In the 5
following scenes she appears to pinch, swipe and prod the pages of paper
magazines as though they too were screens. When nothing happens, she pushes
against her leg, confirming that her finger works just fine.

II The girl's father, Jean-Louis Constanza, presents A Magazine Is an iPad That Does
Not Work that reveals a generational transition. "Technology codes our minds," he 10
writes in the video's description. According to him, magazines are now useless and
impossible to understand for digital natives who have been interacting with digital
technologies from a very early age. Nevertheless, the video highlights an important
question: How exactly does the technology we use to read change the way we
read? 15

III As digital texts and technologies become more prevalent, we gain new and more
mobile ways of reading, but are we still reading as attentively and thoroughly? Most
studies concluded that people read slower, less accurately and less
comprehensively on screens than on paper. However, other studies have produced
inconsistent results. A slight majority has confirmed earlier conclusions, but many 20
others have found few significant differences in reading speed or comprehension
between paper and screens. Recent surveys suggest that most people still prefer
paper, especially when reading intensively. Nevertheless, attitudes are changing
as tablets and e-reading technology improve and reading digital books for facts and
fun becomes more common. 25

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IV In most cases, paper books have more obvious topography than onscreen texts.
An open paperback presents a reader with two clearly defined domains: the left and
right pages, and a total of eight corners with which to orient a reader. The reader
can focus on a single page of a book without losing sight of the whole text. One can
see where the book begins and ends, and where one page is in relation to those 30
borders. One can even feel the thickness of the pages read in one hand and pages
to be read in the other. All these features not only make text in a paper book more
easily navigable compared to on screen texts, but they also make it easier to form
a coherent mental map of the text.

V In contrast, most screens, e-readers, smartphones and tablets interfere with 35

intuitive navigation of a text and inhibit people from mapping the journey in their
minds. A reader of digital text might scroll through a seamless stream of words,
tap forward one page at a time or use the search function to immediately locate a
particular phrase, but it is difficult to see any one passage in the context of the entire
text. Although e-readers such as the Kindle and tablets like the iPad recreate 40
pagination which is sometimes complete with page numbers, headers and
illustrations, the screen can only display a single virtual page at a time.

VI In a study published in January 2013, Anne Mangen of the University of Stavanger

in Norway and her colleagues found that students who read the texts on computers
performed more poorly than students who read on paper. Mangen moots that 45
students reading PDF files encountered more difficulties finding particular
information when referencing the texts. They could only scroll or click through the
PDFs one section at a time, whereas students reading on paper could hold the text
in its entirety in their hands and quickly switch between different pages. Paper
books and documents may be better suited to absorption in a text for their easy 50
navigability. This study that investigated reading on screens indicated that screens
impair comprehension by limiting the way people navigate texts.

VII Furthermore, surveys have indicated that screens and e-readers interfered with two
other important aspects of navigating texts; serendipity and a sense of control.

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People have given testimonies that they enjoyed turning to a previous section of a 55
paper book when a sentence brought back a memory of something they read
earlier. They also like to have as much control over a text as possible such as
highlighting the important points with ink.

VIII In a 2011 survey of graduate students at National Taiwan University which

investigated their text reading preferences, the majority reported browsing a few 60
paragraphs online before printing out the whole text for a more in-depth reading. A
2008 survey of millennials at Salve Regina University in Rhode Island concluded
that when it comes to reading a book, even they prefer good, old fashioned print.
Moreover, in a study conducted at the National Autonomous University of Mexico
in 2003, nearly 80 per cent of the 687 students in the survey preferred to read text 65
on paper as opposed to reading on a screen.

IX Erik Wästlund of Karlstad University in Sweden conducted some particularly

rigorous research on whether paper or screens demand more physical and
cognitive resources. In one of his experiments, 72 volunteers completed the
Higher Education Entrance Examination READ test. This is a 30-minute Swedish 70
language reading comprehension examination, consisting of five texts averaging
1,000 words each followed by multiple-choice questions. Those who took the test
on a computer scored lower and reported higher levels of stress and tiredness than
people who completed it on paper.

X Based on a detailed 2005 survey of 113 people in northern California, Ziming Liu 75
of San Jose State University concluded that people reading on screens tend to take
a lot of shortcuts. For example, they spend more time browsing, scanning and
hunting for keywords compared to people reading on paper, and are more likely to
read a document only once. In addition, when reading on screens, people seem
less inclined to engage in what psychologists call metacognitive learning regulation. 80
This includes setting specific goals, rereading difficult sections and checking how
much one has understood along the way.

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XI But why are we working so hard to make reading with new technologies like tablets
and e-readers so similar to the experience of reading on the very ancient
technology that is paper? Why not keep paper and evolve screen-based reading 85
into something else entirely? Screens obviously offer readers experiences that
paper cannot. Scrolling may not be the ideal way to navigate a long and dense text,
but the New York Times, Washington Post, ESPN and other media outlets have
created beautiful, highly visual articles that depend entirely on scrolling and could
not appear in print in the same way. When it comes to intensively reading long 90
pieces of plain text, paper and ink may still have the advantage though printed text
is not the only way to read.
Retrieved and adapted from
http://www.scientificamerican.com/article/readingpaper-screens/

NOTE:
For evidence, depending on which is more appropriate you can provide:

i) phrases from the texts

e.g. groups of icons

e.g. to pinch, swipe and prod the pages of paper magazines

ii) or a sentence from the text

e.g. she appears to pinch, swipe and prod the pages of paper magazines as though they too
were screens

Do NOT add your own words (the phrases and sentences must be from the passage)

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QUESTION 1

For each of the following items in this question, indicate your answer by writing an appropriate
meaning based on the given context. Provide TWO (2) evidence from the paragraph to support
your answer.

a) i. The meaning of the word ‘shuffling’ in line 5 is:

(1 mark)
ii. Evidence 1:

(1/2 mark)
iii. Evidence 2:

(1/2 mark)

b) i. The meaning of the word ‘prevalent’ in line 16 is:

(1 mark)
ii. Evidence 1:

(1/2 mark)
iii. Evidence 2:

(1/2 mark)

c) i. The meaning of the word ‘seamless’ in line 37 is:

(1 mark)
ii. Evidence 1:

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(1/2 mark)
iii. Evidence 2:

(1/2 mark)

QUESTION 2

Identify the stated main idea of paragraph IV and provide ONE MAJOR and ONE MINOR
supporting detail.

a) Stated main idea:

(1 mark)

b) Major supporting detail:

(1 mark)
c) Minor supporting detail:

(1 mark)

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QUESTION 3

Formulate the topic that is most suitable for the content of paragraph VII. Provide TWO (2)
evidence to support your answer.

i. Topic:
(1 mark)

ii. Evidence 1:
(1/2 mark)

iii. Evidence 2:
(1/2 mark)

QUESTION 4

Recent surveys suggest that most people still prefer paper, especially when reading intensively.
Attitudes are changing as tablets and e-reading technology improve and reading digital books for
facts and fun becomes more common (lines 22-25).

Make an inference based on the above statements. Provide TWO (2) evidence to support your
answer.
i.

(2 marks)

ii. Evidence 1:

(1/2 mark)

ii. Evidence 2:

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(1/2 mark)

QUESTION 5

Formulate the implied main idea of paragraph VI. Provide TWO (2) evidence to support your
answer.

i.

(2 marks)

ii. Evidence 1:

(1/2 mark)

iii. Evidence 2:

(1/2 mark)

QUESTION 6

List two types of support given by the author in paragraph X to strengthen the opinion on taking
shortcuts when reading on screens. Provide one example for each type of support.

a) Type of support:

Example:

a) Type of support:

Example:

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(4 marks)

QUESTION 7

Identify the type of support for each of the supporting details based on the following options. Use
each option only ONCE.

No. Supporting Detail Type of Support

a) In a viral YouTube video from October 2011, a one-year-old girl
sweeps her fingers across an iPad's touchscreen, shuffling
groups of icons. In the following scenes she appears to pinch,
swipe and prod the pages of paper magazines as though they
too were screens. (Paragraph I)
b) Although e-readers such as the Kindle and tablets like the iPad
re-create pagination which is sometimes complete with page
numbers, headers and illustrations, the screen can only display
a single virtual page at a time. (Paragraph V)

(2 marks)

QUESTION 8

Write ‘T’ for a statement that is TRUE and ‘F’ for a statement that is FALSE.

Most people prefer to read paper texts when they want

a)
to read thoroughly.
The Higher Education Entrance Examination READ test
b) causes more stress to those who sat for it as a class
test than those who took it on a computer.

(2 marks)

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QUESTION 9

Do you think paper texts give a better reading experience compared to screen texts? Provide
THREE (3) reasons to support your opinion.

(4 marks)

QUESTION 10

Identify whether the paragraph below is inductive (I) or deductive (D) reasoning. Provide ONE (1)
explanation to your answer.

a) In contrast, most screens, e-readers, smartphones and tablets interfere with intuitive
navigation of a text and inhibit people from mapping the journey in their minds. A reader
of digital text might scroll through a seamless stream of words, tap forward one page at a
time or use the search function to immediately locate a particular phrase, but it is difficult
to see any one passage in the context of the entire text. Although e-readers such as the
Kindle and tablets like the iPad re-create pagination which is sometimes complete with
page numbers, headers and illustrations, the screen can only display a single virtual page
at a time. (Paragraph V).

i. Type of reasoning:
(1 mark)

ii. Explanation for type of reasoning:

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(1 mark)

b) In a study published in January 2013, Anne Mangen of the University of Stavanger in

Norway and her colleagues found that students who read the texts on computers
performed more poorly than students who read on paper. Mangen moots that students
reading PDF files encountered more difficulties finding particular information when
referencing the texts. They could only scroll or click through the PDFs one section at a
time, whereas students reading on paper could hold the text in its entirety in their hands
and quickly switch between different pages. Paper books and documents may be better
suited to absorption in a text for their easy navigability. This study that investigated reading
on screens indicated that screens impair comprehension by limiting the way people
navigate texts. (Paragraph VI).

i. Type of reasoning:
(1 mark)

ii. Explanation for type of reasoning:

(1 mark)

QUESTION 11

Formulate ONE (1) underlying assumption that can be made in paragraph X. Provide TWO (2)
evidence to support your answer.

i. Underlying assumption:

(1 mark)

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ii. Evidence 1:

(1/2 mark)

iii. Evidence 2:

(1/2 mark)

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