Actual 2016 SPM Questions

SECTION A: SHORT STORY

MINFONG HO: Turning Thirty

b) Explain how Ah Liong compromises to keep the harmony within the family.

[8 marks]

c) Compassion is a virtue.

    Discuss this statement with close reference to two characters in the story.

[12 marks]

MINFONG HO: Birds of Paradise

b) How do the birds react to Lani's desire to be different?

[8 marks]

c) If you really want to do something, you will find a way to do it.

    Discuss this statement with close reference to the text.

[12 marks]

CHUA KOK YEE: Sambal Without Anchovies

b) Explain how Nora is able to solve the problem between Pak Samad and Hanif

[8 marks]

c) 'Nasi Lemak Pak Samad' is not merely a stall. It means different things to different             people in the story.

    Discuss what it means to two people in the story.

[12 marks]

CHUA KOK YEE: Thieving Daughter

b) The husband "...comes and goes as he pleases..."

    Explain the writer's intention for the husband's presence in the story

[8 marks]

c) Whom would you sympathize with, Aisya or Kak Noor?

    Support your answer with close reference to the text.

[12 marks]

SECTION B: NOVEL

MINFONG HO: The Clay Marble

b) Jantu teaches Dara many values of life. Explain any one value that Dara learns from her.

[8 marks]

c) Everybody longs for a home and a family.

    Discuss this statement with close reference to the text.

[12 marks]

SCOT GARDNER: The Lost King

b) Describe one life-threatening incident in the story.

    What is the outcome of this event?

[8 marks]

c) The golden rule when you get lost is to stay put.

    Do you agree with the statement above?

    Support your answer with close reference to the text.

[12 marks]

    

SECTION C: DRAMA

DANIEL KEYES Adapted by Bert Coules): Flowers for Algernon

b) Explain the importance of Algernon in the story

[8 marks]

c) Do you feel sorry for Charlie at the end of the story?

    Support your answer with close reference to the text.

[12 marks]

RICHARD CONLON: Hope Springs

b) How is Pupil 9 different from the others?

[8 marks]

c) Correctional facilities bring about more harm than good.

    Discuss this statement with close reference to the text.

[12 marks]

WILLIAM SHAKESPEARE: The Merchant of Venice

b) Describe the friendship between Antonio and Bassanio

[8 marks]

c) One should be merciful.

    Discuss this statement with close reference to one character in the text.

[12 marks]

SECTION D: POETRY

THEME: LESSONS IN LIFE

b) Explain any three virtues that you have learnt from the poem If by Rudyard Kipling.

[8 marks]

c) Learning is a lifelong process.

    Discuss this statement with close reference to the poem A Little Learning by Alexander Pope

[12 marks]

THEME: NATURE

b) Explain how the persona shows the beauty of winter in the poem Winter by Andrew Young.

[8 marks]

c) Nature has the ability to provide comfort.

    Discuss this statement with reference to the poem Daffodils by William Wordsworth.

[12 marks]

THEME: PEOPLE

b) Explain what you have learnt from the woman in the poem Field of Vision by Seamus Heaney

[8 marks]

c) The older we grow, the more we cherish things that are dear to us.

    Discuss this statement with close reference to the poem Best Bone by Paul Hyland.

[12 marks]

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Bugga's Note:

I deliberately left out Type-A questions because it does not require practice to perfect nor do you achieve anything from practicing answering them.