VICTORIA JUNIOR COLLEGE
JC1 PROMOTIONAL EXAMINATIONS 2023
HIGHER 1
GENERAL PAPER 8881/02
Paper 2 1 hour 30 mins
READ THESE INSTRUCTIONS FIRST
Write your C.T. group, index number and name on all the work you hand in.
Write in dark blue or black pen.
Do not use staples, paper clips, glue or correction fluid.
Answer all questions.
Note that up to 15 marks out of 50 will be awarded for your use of language.
The number of marks is given in brackets [ ] at the end of each question or part
question.
This document consists of 10 printed pages, including this page.
[Turn over
1
Passage 1
The importance of Climate Optimism
1 If your personal anxiety about the climate has softened a bit in recent times,
you’re not alone. After decades of increasingly alarming reporting on climate
change and the environment, fatalistic headlines are beginning to give way to
ones that express a different kind of feeling, one that many of us haven’t felt in a
long time: hope. 5
2 The recent shift in the media narrative has been shaped by two ongoing
conversations. First, scientists and reporters are trying to fine-tune a message
that most accurately represents the evidence. Second, some reporters
are wondering about the impact of their message on public attitudes towards
change. Luckily, it seems to me that the most realistic interpretation of the 10
evidence and the optimal message to motivate change are one and the same:
We can make a difference, but there’s a significant chance that we won’t.
3 This shifting media narrative is reflected most evidently in news headlines, from
the usual, rather panic-stricken “Scientists deliver ‘final warning’ on climate crisis:
act now or it’s too late” title in the Guardian to the more measured, positive “The 15
New U.N. Climate Report Has Arrived. Resist the Urge to Despair” title in Time
magazine.
4 Indeed, there’s been a rising tide of “climate optimism” as journalists attempt to
walk back some of the most alarmist warnings from recent decades. The CNN
opinion piece of how “humanity and all life on Earth dodged a bullet” by phasing 20
out chlorofluorocarbons and other ozone-depleting substances with the Montreal
Protocol, the Reuters article that opines how it is still technically possible for
global society to stabilise the rise in climate at 1.5oC – these are just some of the
growing number of reports that carefully advocate for a certain kind of climate
optimism, one that leads to action rather than complacency. 25
5 “Climate optimism” is a notable shift, and it may be a sensible response to
the wave of climate “doomerism” we’ve been experiencing in recent years.
Environmental journalists have pointed out that a constant diet of bad news might
ironically lead to paralysis, which in turn yields even more bad news. There is
truth to this; many self-identified climate doomers lament that activism 30
feels futile in the face of certain catastrophe. If we truly don’t believe there’s
anything we can do, either as individuals or collectively, we’re unlikely to try.
6 The fight against climate change isn’t an all-or-nothing battle. There are at least
some ways we can make meaningful changes that positively affect the lives of
humans and other animals. Some progress is always better than none, and if we 35
can delay or reduce coming disasters, we absolutely should. We can’t give up,
but we don’t need to kid ourselves into believing we’ve already won. Few activists
have ever proclaimed that their respective causes—racism, sexism, and so on—
would ever completely be resolved. But even problems that initially seem
overwhelming and insurmountable may be able to be managed until better 40
solutions emerge.
2
Passage 2
The dangers of Climate Optimism
1 By this point it’s clear that denying global warming altogether, or even
downplaying its severity, has only allowed the problem to grow. Meanwhile, we’ve
seen climate-denying politicians elected to the highest offices as planet-
threatening human activities continue to expand. An overly positive outlook could
halt our progress. 5
2 In addition to reducing our much-needed sense of urgency, an over-optimistic
view could lead us to make some pretty dangerous gambles, all because we
gravely misunderstood the odds. In addition to avoiding both over-optimistic
complacency and over-pessimistic defeatism, we need to be realistic. Accurately
understanding the most likely future of our planet is essential for both institutional 10
and individual decision-making. Should we, as Elon Musk believes, have lots of
children to avoid a purported “underpopulation crisis?” It seems to me that this
hinges on whether there will be a planet for them and others to comfortably live
on in fifty years.
3 Unwarranted, unqualified optimism feels like a form of toxic positivity. Scary 15
feelings are met with empty assurances, rather than addressing the problem
directly. In my work, I often speak to food and environmental advocates who feel
like they’re surrounded by cheerleaders while the world literally burns around
them. They’re told to keep a positive outlook, sometimes by the very
same governments that are actively making choices that endanger the planet. 20
This unrelenting feel-goodism denies reality and undermines the importance and
urgency of their work. Unrealistic positivity about the state of the climate blinds
us to the dangers of continued environmental damage such as the use of fossil
fuels and plastics. It also soothes the masses by downplaying or ignoring the
painful sacrifices that we have to make to save the environment. This optimism 25
can normalise the severity of climate change issues and make them seem
mundane when in fact they are an existential threat that may very well result in
our extinction.
3
Passage 3
The author discusses the importance of being hopeful.
1 People might defend doomsday scenarios as the wake-up call that society needs.
If they’re exaggerated, so what? They might be the crucial catalyst that gets us
to act on climate change.
2 Setting aside the moral problem of stretching the truth, this claim is wrong.
Scaring people into action doesn’t work. That’s true not just for climate change, 5
air pollution, and biodiversity loss, but for almost any issue we can think of. We
need optimism to make progress — yet that alone isn’t enough.
3 To contend with environmental crises and make life better for everyone, we need
the right kind of optimists: those who recognise that the world will only improve if
we fight for it. Humans and many other species may eventually go extinct as a 10
result of industrial activity. But that’s no excuse not to do everything we can to
make life a little more liveable for future generations. No matter what happens,
we will be glad that we tried.
4 Avoiding the worst effects of climate change will require radically changing our
systems, from the food system to transportation and infrastructure. This is a 15
Goliath of a task, to say the least. But there is ample evidence that when people
believe there is hope, they will devote their time and energy to making a
difference - eschewing air travel for good, forgoing the comfort of cars and taking
public transport, or switching to green technology that is more expensive. We’re
even seeing the development of entirely new technologies that we couldn’t have 20
foreseen a decade ago. Radical change isn’t easy (and some would argue
unlikely), but it is possible.
4
Content /35
Name:
Language /15
CT: ( ) Total /50
Answer all questions
Your answers should be:
• written in your own words as far as possible. Where you select the appropriate material
from the passage for your answer, you must still use your own words to express it.
• written in continuous prose.
From Passage 1
1. From Paragraph 1, what are the reasons why we might feel personal anxiety about the climate?
[2]
2. According to the author, what has shaped the ‘recent shift in the media narrative’ (line 6)? [2]
5
3. How do the author’s descriptions of the news headlines in lines 14-16 reflect the contrasting views
of the climate crisis? [2]
4. Explain the phrase ‘dodged a bullet’ in line 20. [2]
5. Explain the irony that environmentalists have pointed out in lines 28-29. [2]
6. How does the final sentence of the passage relate back to the first paragraph? [1]
6
From Passage 2
7. Summarise the various dangers of climate optimism.
Write your summary in no more than 120 words. [8]
( words)
7
From all the passages
8. Passage 1 states that ‘some progress is always better than none’ (line 35).
Identify one specific idea from Passage 3 that supports this statement. Justify your answer. [2]
9. Passage 2 states that unrealistic positivity ‘also soothes the masses by downplaying or ignoring
the painful sacrifices that we have to make to save the environment. (lines 24 - 25).
Identify one specific idea from Passage 3 that undermines this statement. Justify your answer.
[2]
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10. The reading passages discuss different views of climate optimism. How far do you agree with
the authors’ views?
Support your answer with reference to:
• the ideas and opinions from at least one of the reading passages
• examples drawn from your experience and that of your society
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