DSE English – Paper 1 Exam
Analysis
Reading Passages Sorted by Year, Theme & Text Type
Year Part Theme (Text type)
Sample Part
Hong Kong in 2047 (opinion piece published in SCMP)
Paper A
Sample Part
Hong Kong: past and present (comments in an online forum)
Paper B1
1. Childhood friend (poem by a Scottish poet)
Sample Part
2. Boys in education (newspaper article published in Otago Daily
Paper B2
Times, NZ)
Practice Part Keeping large animals in aquariums and zoos (newspaper article
Paper A published in SCMP)
1. Dog attack (newspaper article published in Toronto Sun, CDN)
Practice Part 2. Waste reduction and recycling (preface of a guide published in
Paper B1 the US)
3. Waste reduction tips (list from the same source)
1. Unlicensed rubbish collectors in China (newspaper article
Practice Part
published in Financial Times, UK)
Paper B2
2. A dog and a wolf (novel excerpt from an American novelist)
Part
2012 Board games (feature article published in The Nation, TH)
A
Part Campaign about climate change (feature article published in VOA,
2012
B1 US)
1. Tiger mother (book review published in Booklist, US)
Part
2012 2. Tiger mother (online newspaper article published in The Daily
B2
Beast, US)
Part Terra-cotta warriors (magazine article published in National
2013
A Geographic, US)
1. Guzheng (newspaper article published in SCMP)
Part
2013 2. Social networking websites (newspaper article published in
B1
SCMP)
Year Part Theme (Text type)
Part Dystopian literature (magazine article published in The New Yorker,
2013
B2 US)
Part
2014 Robot (short story by an American writer)
A
Part 1. Love letters (opinion piece published in The Guardian, UK)
2014
B1 2. Love letters (same opinion piece)
Part
2014 Celebrity (autobiography excerpt by Stephen Fry)
B2
1. Korean culture (newspaper article published in SCMP)
Part
2015 2. Korean culture (newspaper article published in The Wall Street
A
Journal, US)
1. Car accident (Sample witness statement available online)
Part
2015 2. Driverless cars (newspaper article published in The Washington
B1
Post, US)
Part Liberal education in the US (opinion piece published in The New
2015
B2 York Times, US)
Part 1. Superstitions (unknown list)
2016
A 2. Superstitions(book excerpt by a British professor)
Part Food truck (unknown introduction; newspaper article published in
2016
B1 The Standard; three letters to the editor published in SCMP)
Part Food truck (newspaper article published in Forbes, US; newspaper
2016
B2 article published in The Economist, US)
Part
2017 Recycling (newspaper article published in The New York Times, US)
A
Part 1. Millennials (webpage published by Goldman Sachs, US)
2017
B1 2. Millennials (magazine article published by Marie Clarie, UK)
Part
2017 Millennials (journal article published by an American professor)
B2
1. Tutors for learning musical instruments (unknown job
Part advertisements, possibly from this site)
2018
A 2. Music and concentration (newspaper article published in The
Guardian, UK)
2018 Part 1. Bee stings (article published by a pest control company)
Year Part Theme (Text type)
2. Hong Kong’s Beekeeper (feature article published by TreeHugger,
B1
US; feature article published by Assemble Papers, AU)
Part 1. Hand pollination (newspaper article published by NPR, US)
2018
B2 2. Honey collecting (book excerpt from a British food writer)
Part
2019 Messiness (magazine article published by Talent Economy, US)
A
1. Library activities (webpage published by Hong Kong Public
Libraries)
Part 2. Reading culture in Hong Kong (newspaper article published in
2019
B1 SCMP)
3. Reading culture in Hong Kong (letter to the editor published in
SCMP)
Part
2019 1. Rebellious youth (autobiography excerpt by Clive James)
B2
Part
2020 Tai Kwun (feature article published in Zolima City Mag)
A
1. Kite flying (brochure purbished by American Kitefliers
Part Association)
2020
B1 2. Kite-flying culture in Hong Kong (feature article published in
Varsity CUHK)
Part Agony uncle (feature article published by The Telegraph, UK; advice
2020
B2 column published by The Telegraph, UK)
1. Healthy fast food (restaurant review published by Viva, NZ)
Part 2. The struggling major food companies (feature article published
2021
A by Fortune, US)
3. A sustainable resort (unknown newsletter)
Part 1. Housing estate (unknown online forum discussion)
2021
B1 2. Plants (unknown flyer)
1. Apollo 11 (unknown short text)
2. Terraforming Mars (feature article published by HowStuffWorks,
Part
2021 US)
B2
3. Ethics related to space exploration (journal article published in
Human Ecology Review, US)
2022 Part The dying traditional comic industry in Hong Kong (feature article
Year Part Theme (Text type)
A published by Coconuts, Hong Kong)
Part 1. Job advertisements (unknown advertisements)
2022
B1 2. 'Slasher' (feature article published by The Guardian, UK)
Part Ethical concerns of using AI in decision-making (feature article
2022
B2 published by The Harvard Gazette, US)
Articles / Letters to the Editor
Place of publication Source Year & Part
SP_A; PP_A; 13_B1; 15_A;
Hong Kong SCMP
16_B1; 19_B1
Hong Kong The Standard 16_B1
Hong Kong Zolima City Mag 20_A
Hong Kong Varsity CUHK 20_B1
Hong Kong Coconuts 22_A
New Zealand Otago Daily Times SP_B2
Canada Toronto Sun PP_B1
Thailand The Nation 12_A
United States VOA 12_B1
United States Booklist 12_B2
United States The Daily Beast 12_B2
United States National Geographic 13_A
United States The New Yorker 13_B2
United States The Wall Street Journal 15_A
United States The Washington Post 15_B1
United States The New York Times 15_B2; 17_A
United States The Forbes 16_B2
United States The Economist 16_B2
Place of publication Source Year & Part
United States Goldman Sachs 17_B1
United States Tree Hugger 18_B1
United States NPR 18_B2
United States Talent Economy 19_A
United States Fortune 21_A
United States HowStuffWorks 21_B2
United States The Harvard Gazette 22_B2
United Kingdom The Guardian 14_B1; 18_A; 22_B1
United Kingdom Marie Clarie 17_B1
United Kingdom Rentokil 18_B1
United Kingdom The Telegraph 20_B2
Australia Assemble Papers 18_B1
Other text types
Text type Place of publication Year & Part
Online forum posts unknown SP_B1
Poem United Kingdom SP_B2
Guide United States PP_B1
Novel United States PP_B2
Short story Unites States 14_A
Autobiography United Kingdom 14_B2, 19_B2
Witness statement Australia 15_B1
List unknown 16_A
Academic book United Kingdom 16_A
Powerpoint slides
United States 17_B1
(originally webpage)
Text type Place of publication Year & Part
Journal article United States 17_B2, 21_B2
Job advertisement unknown 18_A; 22_B1
Book United Kingdom 18_B2
Webpage Hong Kong 19_B1
Brochure United States 20_B1
Advice column United Kingdom 20_B2
Restaurant review New Zealand 21_A
