SULIT 1 1119/2

Section A

[25 marks]

[Time suggested : 50 minutes]

Questions 1 – 6 are based on the following passage.

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Work-related stress is a common problem among employees. It can result in feelings of depression, frustration and demotivation. Stress management therapist, Mahes Karuppiah recommends laughter therapy to deal with this problem. Mahes says that laughter helps to reduce levels of cortisol, a stress hormone that weakens the immune system.                                                                                   Studies have found that a good laugh session can lead to a sense of wellbeing and optimism. It can also reduce blood pressure, increase circulation and relax the muscles. Mahes, who began using laughter as therapy four years ago says laughter is the easiest and most practical way to manage stress. It is also inexpensive as everyone possesses the natural ability to laugh. “You don’t have to learn how to do it or buy equipment to help you laugh; it is in you. If you look at children, they laugh at the simplest things while adults are finding it difficult even to smile.”

Mahes says employees who are facing pressure and stress usually cannot cope with their work. This drags down their productivity and may even compel them to come up with excuses not to come to work. “If you start work at the age of 25 and retire at 55, you would be spending 30 years of your life at the office. And you work about nine hours or more there every day. So, if you are unhealthy and unhappy during this period which is the prime time of your life, you have wasted the bulk of your life with these emotions.”

To make the office a fun place, she suggests the establishment of a laughter club at each company. “Get a few people together every morning and have a laughter therapy session for about 15 minutes. All the laughter club members should try to identify and remove negative feelings such as guilt, anger, fear, jealousy and ego,” she says.

According to Mahes, there are a few types of laughter therapy. Among them are putting a pen between your teeth to simulate a smile and the “Ho, Ho, Ha, Ha,” which involves laughing while clapping your hands. You don’t need to listen to a joke or look at something funny. You can do it as a form of exercise just like aerobics. It is said that laughter is like internal jogging. It keeps the mind and body fit.  

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SULIT

SULIT 2 1119/2

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“There should also be a laughter room in every office,” she says. “You’ve heard of people screaming to release their tension. Why not have a laughter room where instead of screaming, they can laugh?” Employees can use the room to practise laughter exercises, watch a funny video or sit there and just laugh their frustrations away. The cost of having this room is small. And in return it will help boost morale among the workers, reduce absenteeism and increase productivity.

Another suggestion is to have a Public Announcement or P.A. system in the office so that someone can tell a joke of the day or just begin laughing. Laughter is contagious. Once you get someone to laugh, soon everyone in the room will be laughing or smiling as well. Post funny jokes or cartoons on a bulletin board, as long as they are not lewd or offensive. Employees can rotate the postings every week. The best joke or cartoon should be declared the “Humour of the week”. This is the cheapest way to bring fun into the office.

According to a study by David Abrams of California State University in the United States, people who have fun on the job are more creative and productive, are better decision-makers and get along better with co-workers. So, start the day with a laugh and you’ll find the saying, “Laughter is the best medicine,” is really true.

(Adapted from The New Straits Times, July 2003)

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1 From paragraph 1, what are the effects of work-related stress?

_____________________________________________________________ [1 mark]

2 From paragraph 2,

(a) what can a good laugh session induce?

_____________________________________________________________ [1 mark]

(b) why is laughter ‘inexpensive’?

_____________________________________________________________ [1 mark]

3 (a) From paragraph 3, which word means ‘to urge forcefully’?

_____________________________________________________________ [1 mark]

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SULIT 3 1119/2

(b) From paragraph 4, how would one set up a laughter club?

(i) ______________________________________________________ [1 mark]

(ii) ______________________________________________________ [1 mark]

4 (a) From paragraph 6, why is a laughter room important?

_____________________________________________________________ [1 mark]

(b) From paragraph 7, what does the word ‘contagious’ indicate?

_____________________________________________________________ [1 mark]

5 ‘Start the day with a laugh and you’ll find the saying “Laughter is the best

medicine” is really true’.

Based on this statement, how can you be a good worker?

Give a reason to support your answer.

Trait : ____________________________________________________ [1 mark]

Reason : ____________________________________________________[1 mark]

6 Laughter therapy is recommended to solve work-related stress.Write a summary on the effects of laughter therapy and ways to practise laughter therapy in the work place.

Credit will be given for use of own words but care must be taken not to change the original meaning.

Your summary must: be in continuous writing form (not note form) use materials from line 6 to line 43 not be longer than 130 words, including the 10 words given below

Begin your summary as follows: Stress management therapists discovered that laughter therapy session can cause …

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SULIT 4 1119/2

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SULIT 5 1119/2

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Section B

[5 marks]

[Time suggested : 10 minutes]

Questions 7 – 10 are based on the following poem.

ARE YOU STILL PLAYING YOUR FLUTE?

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SULIT 6 1119/2

Are you still playing your flute?

When there is hardly time for our love

I am feeling guilty

To be longing for your song

The melody concealed in the slim hollow of the bamboo

Uncovered by the breath of an artist

Composed by his fingers

Blown by the wind

To the depth of my heart.

Are you still playing your flute?

In the village so quiet and deserted

Amidst the sick rice field

While here it has become a luxury

To spend time watching the rain

Gazing at the evening rays

Collecting dew drops

Or enjoying the fragrance of flowers.

Are you still playing your flute?

The more it disturbs my conscience

to be thinking of you

in the hazard of you

my younger brothers unemployed and desperate

my people disunited by politics

my friend slaughtered mercilessly

this world is too old and bleeding.

- Zurinah Hassan

7 What does the phrase ‘sick rice field’ indicate?

_____________________________________________________________ [1 mark]

8 Which word in Stanza 3 shows there is loss of life? `

_____________________________________________________________ [1 mark]

9 Why is the village so quiet and deserted?

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SULIT 7 1119/2

_____________________________________________________________ [1 mark]

10 Would you play the flute to express your love to your beloved? Why?

Response : ____________________________________________________ [1 mark]

Reason : ____________________________________________________ [1 mark]

KERTAS SOALAN TAMAT

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