Microsoft word - hbes 1103 - critical reading - sample mid semester exam - aug2009.docx

OPEN  UNIVERSITY  MALAYSIA  –  BES  –  HBES  1103  CRITICAL  READING   SAMPLE  MID-­‐SEMESTER  EXAMINATION   OPEN UNIVERSITY MALAYSIA
HBES 1103 CRITICAL WRITING
SAMPLE MID-SEMESTER EXAMINATION
INSTRUCTIONS
Read each item, and then use the context clues in each sentence to determine the
meaning of the underlined word or phrase.
1. Many business schools are revamping their existing curriculum by integrating international examples into all of their courses and 2. In many communist and totalitarian countries, young adults are conscripted into military service and are then required to serve for a specified number OPEN  UNIVERSITY  MALAYSIA  –  BES  –  HBES  1103  CRITICAL  READING   SAMPLE  MID-­‐SEMESTER  EXAMINATION   3. The class-action lawsuit charged the securities firm with fraud after its stock suffered a precipitous decline and investors experienced huge 4. Although some managers empower employees by allowing them to participate in decision making, autocratic managers do not permit this. d) controlling; holding all of the power 5. A famous adage in retailing is, “Three things are crucial for the success of a business: location, location, and location.” 6. In business a variable cost, an expense of a business that varies directly with the quantity of the product produced and sold, is in direct contrast to a a) an expense of a business that does not vary with the quantity of the b) a steadily increasing cost or expense c) an expense of a business that varies directly with the quantity of the OPEN  UNIVERSITY  MALAYSIA  –  BES  –  HBES  1103  CRITICAL  READING   SAMPLE  MID-­‐SEMESTER  EXAMINATION   7. After listening to a classmate’s speech, you should give constructive criticism. Unless your criticism provides suggestions for improvement, the recipient will not be able to make progress. c) helpful; intended to result in progress OPEN  UNIVERSITY  MALAYSIA  –  BES  –  HBES  1103  CRITICAL  READING   SAMPLE  MID-­‐SEMESTER  EXAMINATION   INSTRUCTIONS
Analyze the structure of the words given below to determine the meaning of the root
8. The meaning of the root in the words tractor, contract, and retract is 9. The meaning of the root in the words visible, revision, and visibility is 10. The meaning of the root in the words discredit, credibility, and credentials is 11. The meaning of the root in the words illegal, legislation, and legitimate is OPEN  UNIVERSITY  MALAYSIA  –  BES  –  HBES  1103  CRITICAL  READING   SAMPLE  MID-­‐SEMESTER  EXAMINATION   12. The meaning of the root in the words generator, generation, and genre is 13. The meaning of the root in the words portable, porter, and import is 14. The meaning of the root in the words spectator, inspect, and spectacle is 15. The meaning of the root in the words emit, omit, and submit is OPEN  UNIVERSITY  MALAYSIA  –  BES  –  HBES  1103  CRITICAL  READING   SAMPLE  MID-­‐SEMESTER  EXAMINATION   INSTRUCTIONS
Read each paragraph, and then determine its topic.
16. Economists define “saving” as that part of after-tax income which is not spent; hence, households have just two choices of what to do with their incomes after taxes – use it to consume, or save it. Saving is the portion of income which is not paid in taxes or used to purchase consumer goods but which flows into bank accounts, insurance policies, bonds and stocks, mutual funds, and other financial d) income used to purchase consumer goods. Estimates are that between 20 and 60 percent of state correctional populations suffer from psychopathy. Psychopathy, or antisocial personality, is characterized by an inability to learn from experience, a lack of warmth, and no sense of guilt. Psychopaths lie and cheat without hesitation and engage in verbal as well as physical abuse without provocation. Theodore “Ted” Bundy is a classic example. Bundy, a former law student and former crime commission staff member, killed between 19 and 36 young women in the northwestern states and Florida. The handsome physical fitness enthusiast often brutally sexually attacked his victims OPEN  UNIVERSITY  MALAYSIA  –  BES  –  HBES  1103  CRITICAL  READING   SAMPLE  MID-­‐SEMESTER  EXAMINATION   The answer to how to curb the expected increase in the world’s population lies in discovering how to curb the rapid population growth of the less-developed countries. In these countries, population experts have discovered what they call the “virtuous cycle.” Family planning leads to healthier women, and healthier women have healthier children, and the cycle continues. Women no longer need to have as many babies for a few to survive. More education is also helpful because better-educated people are more interested in postponing childbearing and promoting women’s rights. Women who have equal rights with men tend to d) the effects of being better-educated. Many people, including you perhaps, have invented products that are assumed to have commercial value. The question that obviously surfaces is what to do next. One step may be to apply for a patent. A patent is a document that gives inventors exclusive rights to their inventions for 20 years from the date they file the patent applications. The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) grants approximately 190,000 patents a year. In addition to filing forms, the inventor must make sure the product is truly unique. Since patent applicants are usually recommended to seek the advice of a lawyer; less than 2 percent of product b) the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office. OPEN  UNIVERSITY  MALAYSIA  –  BES  –  HBES  1103  CRITICAL  READING   SAMPLE  MID-­‐SEMESTER  EXAMINATION   20. The best way to deal with unwanted e-mail is to delete it. If you are tempted to send a reply indicating your disdain for the unwanted mail, think twice before answering. If the message is unwanted commercial advertising, sending a reply will tell the sender that yours is a valid e-mail address, and you may receive even more spam as a result. If you believe the unwanted e-mail is illegal, such as a mail message containing child pornographic material or other criminal activity, you can report the transmission by forwarding it to the appropriate authorities. It may help to forward the message to the postmaster at your Internet service provider, informing your ISP of the unwanted activity and asking for it to be d) informing your ISP of unwanted e-mail activity. OPEN  UNIVERSITY  MALAYSIA  –  BES  –  HBES  1103  CRITICAL  READING   SAMPLE  MID-­‐SEMESTER  EXAMINATION   INSTRUCTIONS
Read each paragraph, and then decide which sentence is the stated main idea
sentence.
Like clichés, euphemisms can confuse people who are unfamiliar with their meaning. A euphemism is a more polite, pleasant expression used in place of a socially unacceptable form. In one expert's opinion, euphemisms enter the language to "camouflage the naked truth." Most people use euphemisms in their everyday language. Euphemisms are frequently substituted for short, abrupt words, the names of physical functions, or the terms for some unpleasant social situations. Although euphemisms are frequently considered more polite than the words for which they are substituted, they distort reality. For example, you might hear people say “powder my nose,” “see a man about a dog,” “the little girls’ room,” or "go to the bathroom" instead of "urinate." The stated main idea sentence is the When studying the world of living things, biologists and other scientists use the scientific process. Observations along with previous data are used to formulate a hypothesis. New observations and/or experiments are carried out in order to test the hypothesis. Scientists often do controlled experiments. The control sample does not go through the step being tested, and this acts as a safeguard against a The stated main idea sentence is the OPEN  UNIVERSITY  MALAYSIA  –  BES  –  HBES  1103  CRITICAL  READING   SAMPLE  MID-­‐SEMESTER  EXAMINATION   Russian novelist Fyodor Dostoyevski commented that “The degree of civilization in society can be judged by entering its prisons.” Anyone observing conditions in many of America’s jails and lockups would question just how civilized we really are. At the Erie County Holding Center, the second largest jail in New York state, inmates are jammed in so tight sometimes 300 men must sleep on the floor. Wherever a mattress can be thrown, an inmate may be sleeping, even next to toilets. Overcrowding conditions similar to those in Erie County have given rise to a number of lawsuits in recent years, from such varied places as Kenton County, Ohio; Onondaga and Broome counties in New York; and Blount The stated main idea sentence is the Established in 1973, the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) is the primary federal agency responsible for the enforcement of federal laws concerning the use, sale, and distribution of narcotics and other controlled substances in the United States. Of the DEA’s over 9,200 staff members, nearly half are special agents. The agency is headquartered in New York; its agents are stationed throughout the United States in 21 divisional offices and 14 strike forces in major cities. Some agents are posted overseas. The stated main idea sentence is the OPEN  UNIVERSITY  MALAYSIA  –  BES  –  HBES  1103  CRITICAL  READING   SAMPLE  MID-­‐SEMESTER  EXAMINATION   Analysts sometimes use the words such as liberal, conservative, populist, and libertarian to describe how ordinary Americans think about politics. These are ideological terms, as are terms such as socialism and communism. An ideology is a consistent pattern of political attitudes that stem from a core belief. The core belief of socialism, for example, is that society should ensure that every person’s basic economic needs are met. Accordingly, a socialist would support public policies that provide for economic security, such as a government-guaranteed The stated main idea sentence is the

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