Rustenburg High School for Girls
Grade 11 English Home Language
PAPER 1: Language in Context
Date: Wednesday, 29 May 2013
Time: 2 hours (8h30 – 10h30)
70 marks
INSTRUCTIONS:
(1). / This question paper consists of THREE sections:SECTION A: Comprehension (30 marks)
SECTION B: Summary (10 marks)
SECTION C: Language in Context (30 marks)
Use the following time frames as a guideline:
SECTION A: 50 minutes
SECTION B: 25 minutes
SECTION C: 45 minutes
(2). / Read ALL the instructions carefully and answer ALL the questions
(3). / Start EACH section on a NEW page.
(4). / A marking margin needs to be drawn down the right-hand side of every foolscap page upon which you write. This is for your educator’s use only and you may not write in it.
(5). / Number the answers correctly according to the numbering system used in this question paper.
(6). / Leave a line after each answer.
Oppa Gangnam Style
/ OppaGangnam Style(song lyrics)
Najeneunttasarouninganjeoginyeoja
Keopihanjanuiyeoyureulaneunpumgyeokinneunyeoja
Bamiomyeonsimjangitteugeowojineunyeoja
Geureonbanjeoninneunyeoja
Naneunsanai
Najeneunneomankeumttasaroungeureonsanai
Keopisikgidojeonewonsyatttaerineunsanai
Bamiomyeonsimjangiteojyeobeorineunsanai
Geureonsanai
Areumdawosarangseureowo
Geurae neo hey geuraebaro neo hey
Areumdawosarangseureowo
Geurae neo hey geuraebaro neo hey
Jigeumbuteo gal dekkajigabolkka
OppaGangnam Style
SECTION A: COMPREHENSION
QUESTION 1: READING FOR MEANING AND UNDERSTANDING
Read TEXTS A and B below and answer the set questions.
TEXT A:
The Wholesome Hidden Message of “Gangnam Style”
by David Futrelle (24 September 2012)
Paragraph 1 / If you have access to the Internet — and you sort of have to in order to read this — then chances are good that you’ve seen the over-the-top music video for South Korean pop star Psy’s “Gangnam Style,” which has racked up more than 250 million views on YouTube. You may have watched some of the many parodies, like this video combining the song with clips from the film Downfall featuring an apoplectic Adolf Hitler. You may have even tried to teach yourself Psy’s “Gangnam Style” horse dance.Paragraph 2 / The song is catchy enough, and the video ridiculous enough, that you may not have realised that “Gangnam Style” mixes its silliness with social satire. Gangnam, you see, is Seoul’s richest and flashiest neighbourhood, what one commenter describes as the Korean equivalent of “Silicon Valley, Wall Street, Beverly Hills, Manhattan’s Upper East Side and Miami Beach all rolled into one.” The video depicts Psy’s comically inept attempts to live large in Gangnam style, offering a satirical take on South Korea’s burgeoning culture of consumer excess.
Paragraph 3 / The video starts off with Psy luxuriating on a sunny beach, being fanned by a beautiful woman — at least until the camera pulls out to reveal that he’s actually on a children’s playground and the woman is a figment of his imagination.
Despite his flashy clothes and his preening and strutting, Psy’sGangnam-style life is distinctly unglamorous: he sweats in a sauna alongside low-ranking gangsters, goes for a swim in a public bathhouse and joins a couple of elderly pensioners playing a board game on a bench underneath a highway overpass. Instead of dancing in an exclusive club, Psy boogies in the aisle of a tourist bus. Of course, Psy’s character isn’t the only wannabe Gangnamite in South Korea. As Max Fischer points out in his analysis of the video on TheAtlantic.com, plenty of Koreans are spending like they’re rich.
Paragraph 4 / In 2010, the average household carried credit card debt worth a staggering 155 percent of their disposable income (for comparison, the U.S. average just before the sub-prime crisis was 138 percent). There are nearly five credit cards for every adult. South Koreans have been living on credit since the mid-1990s, first because their country’s amazing growth made borrowing seem safe, and then in the late 1990s when the government encouraged private spending to climb out of the Asian financial crisis.
Paragraph 5 / As satire goes, “Gangnam Style” is fairly gentle, more silly than stinging — perhaps because Psy himself grew up a rich kid in Gangnam. But in some ways the
gentleness — and the relentless cheerfulness — of the video may in the end make it even more of a challenge to the consumer society it satirizes. Psy’s character may be more than a little ridiculous in his aspirations and affectations, but he’s not
unhappy. He’s as happy in the children’s playground as he would have been on a
beach at an exclusive resort, and he meets the girl of his dreams while riding the subway.
Paragraph 6 / Perhaps the message of the video isn’t so much that Gangnam-style life is hollow and meaningless but that living large is more about attitude than money. In a society obsessed with money and status and consumer excess, it’s a reminder that the best things in life are free — or at least don’t require maxing out credit cards.
TEXT B:
Extract from article by ArwaMahdawi (The Guardian, 24 September 2012)
Paragraph 1 / The world is currently in thrall to a fat Korean Psycho who is spouting anti-capitalist messages and blowing things up. Ordinarily America would be up in arms, but its defence forces are too busy learning the horse-dance and chorusing "Heeey sexy lady" to react properly. The man in question is actually the nom-de-rap of South Korean Park Jae-sang ("Psy" for short) who is quickly becoming South Korea's most successful export ever. Since the song was released in July, Psy's been signed by Justin Bieber's management, performed on Ellen, and collaborated with Jill Stuart on a Gangnam-inspired fashion line.Paragraph 2 / That Psy is promoting upmarket goods is ironic, considering Gangnam Style's lampooning of the rampant consumerism that pervades what has been described as South Korea's Beverly Hills. The song's lyrics, for example, poke fun at soybean-paste girls who eat cheaply in private so that they can afford to drink mocha frappe lattes in public. Of course, this social commentary is largely lost on non-Korean speakers who don't know their kimchi from their Kim Lee; it's hardly Gangnam Style's political message that is behind its success in the west.
QUESTIONS: TEXT A
1.1.In the title of the article,Gangnam Style is described as both “wholesome” and “hidden.” What does each of these words reveal about how the writer perceives this song? (1 + 1 = 2)
1.2.Refer to Paragraph 1. Offer a suggestion of your own how YouTube was given its name. (2)
1.3.Refer to Paragraph 1. The writer says that there are many “parodies” of Gangnam Style on YouTube. Explain the concept of a parody. (2)
1.4.Refer to Paragraph 2. Using only your own words,explain why people may miss the social satire of Gangnam Style. (2)
1.5.Refer to Paragraph 2. What does it mean “to live large”? (2)
1.6.Refer to Paragraph 2. Quote from the text to prove how we know Psy’s attempts are both humorous and unsuccessful. (1)
1.7.Refer to Paragraph 3. Critically assess the effectiveness of the introduction of the Gangnam Style video. (3)
1.8.Refer to Paragraph 3. Using only your own words explain the irony of Psy’sGangnam-style life. (3)
1.9.Refer to Paragraph 4. The topic of this paragraph is the use of credit cards in South Korea. Discuss the relationship between this and Gangnam Style. (3)
1.10.Refer to Paragraph 5. Why is Gangnam style not “stinging”? (3)
QUESTIONS: TEXT B
1.11.Refer to Paragraph 1. The writer says that Psy is a “nom-du-rap.” This is a pun on the term nom-du-plume. What is a nom-du-plume? (1)
1.12.Refer to Paragraph 1. How is Psy quickly becoming South Korea’s most successful export ever? (2)
QUESTION: TEXT A AND TEXT B
1.13.TEXT A and TEXT B share the same topic. Both are about the Gangnam Style phenomenon. The writers’ tone of the two texts is, however, different. Explain the difference in tone. (2 + 2 = 4)
TOTAL SECTION A: 30
SECTION B: SUMMARY
QUESTION 2: SUMMARISING IN YOUR OWN WORDS
Carefully read TEXT C.
INSTRUCTIONS:Summarise this text in 40 – 50 of your own words.Identify seven key points.
Follow the conventions of a point form summary.
Indicate your word count at the end of your summary.
How to become a YouTube Celebrity
TEXT C:
YouTube is a video-sharing website, created by three former PayPal employees in February 2005, on which users can upload, view and share videos.[4] The company is based in San Bruno, California, and uses Adobe Flash Video and HTML5 technology to display a wide variety of user-generated video content, including movie clips, TV clips, and music videos, as well as amateur content such as video blogging, short original videos, and educational videos.The most viewed video on YouTube is the music video of the song Gangnam Style by PSY. It was added to the site on July 15, 2012, and became the first YouTube video to receive over 1 billion views on December 21, 2012. The video has inspired numerous parodies.The newest (and probably easiest) way to become famous is via the internet. Specifically YouTube. Independent directors, hobbyists, comedians, actors, producers, and personalities have stormed into the public eye through YouTube, on their way to fame and fortune. Here's how to become the next YouTube celebrity. Find your niche. Decide what it is that you are good at. Can you deliver the news in a funny way? Do you aspire to create a comedy show? YouTube offers limitless possibilities. You can upload videos of literally anything you want. Creativity is key. Find something you are passionate about and decide how to express it through video. Become familiar with YouTube celebrities. Have you ever heard of "sxephil"? How about "Fred"? To view the most subscribed to users on YouTube go to Become familiar with them. Most have to do with news, music, and especially comedy.Create a username that is catchy and relevant to your YouTube venture/persona. "Communitychannel" and "sxephil" are good examples.Start uploading your content. Display your mission statement, your bio page, and your first videos. The actual quality of the videos is not extremely important, but if it is bad people are less likely to enjoy it.Be consistent. Set goals of how many videos you plan to make and when you plan to upload them.Become an active YouTuber. Comment on others' videos, choose your favorites, and converse with people. This will familiarise you more with the YouTube community while drawing more traffic to your videos.Advertise. Myspace, Facebook, Twitter. Do all you can to get the word out. The more views your videos receive, the more they are likely to receive.Monetize. Put Adsense on your video pages. Create a website and link to it. Many YouTube celebrities sell their merchandise on their websites as well as have affiliate sponsors to earn even more money.Move onto other ventures to increase your celebrity. The top users on YouTube are offered TV deals, merchandising contracts, etc. Good luck!TOTAL SECTION B: 10
SECTION C: LANGUAGE IN CONTEXT
QUESTION 3: ANALYSING ADVERTISING [10]
Study the advertisement (TEXT D) and answer the set questions.
TEXT D:
QUESTIONS: TEXT D
3.1.Comment on the effectiveness of the photograph of the woman on the left-hand side. (3)
3.2.Why is “$4000” presented above “Karaoke Contest”? (2)
3.3.Discuss the symbolic associations of the stars included within the advertisement. (2)
3.4.How convincing is this advertisement? (3)
QUESTION 4: UNDERSTANDING OTHER ASPECTS OF THE MEDIA [10]
Study TEXTS E and F before answering the set questions.
TEXT E: / TEXT F:“Relax dad! You’ll be famous on YouTube.” / “Okay, so there’s no way this video’s going viral. Do you think that the client would settle for going fungal?”
QUESTIONS: TEXT E
4.1.What is the boy on the left-hand side holding in his hand? (1)
4.2.Quote two visual clues to prove that the man standing on the right-hand side is standing in a shower. (1 + 1 = 2)
4.3.What has the man in the shower been doing? (1)
4.4.Discuss what the cartoonist is implying about fame. (2)
QUESTIONS: TEXT F
4.5.How would a video ‘go viral’? (2)
4.6.Explain the humour created by the misunderstanding. (2)
QUESTION 5: USING LANGUAGE CORRECTLY [10]
Read TEXT G, which contains some deliberate errors, and answer the set questions.
TEXT G:
Psy: The Man Behind ‘Gangnam’
Psy is pooped. Over the past week, the 34-year-old Internet anomaly traveled to Australia, California, and New York to promote his song “Gangnam Style,” the music video for which has racked up more than 532 million YouTube views since it premiered July 15 and set the Guinness world record for the most “liked” video in YouTube history. Between pit stops at The View and the United Nations, Psy took a power nap before emerging in his tuxedo to discuss his meteoric rise.“Gangnam Style,” he says, was shot in 48 hours across 28 locations in the Gangnam District of Seoul as well as greater Seoul.The music video, as well as its infectious dance, was no accident. “Me and my choreographers in Korea spent 30 nights doing every animal,” he says. “We did this slithering on the floor that we called the snake dance. Then someone turned on the TV, and there was a horse galloping across a yard.” Thus, an Internet sensation was born.According to Psy, the immense pressure to follow up “Gangnam Style” are “a nightmare.” After recording his new track last week, he’s now at work conceptualising a music video and dance that can outdo he’s breakout hit. “[I’m] just known as a YouTube sensation with a funny song, for now,” says Psy. “I need to show the world that my final goal is to perform huge concerts like Madonna.”QUESTIONS: TEXT G
5.1.Refer to: “Psy is pooped.” Rewrite this in formal English. (1)
5.2.Identify and correct a spelling error in the second sentence. (1 + 1 = 2)
5.3.Refer to: “set the Guinness world record for the most “liked” video in YouTube history.” Why has “liked” been typed within inverted commas? (2)
5.4.Refer to: “Me and my choreographers in Korea.” How should this be phrased? (1)
5.5.Identify and correct an error of concord. (1 + 1 = 2)
5.6.Identify and correct a pronoun which,in its context, has been used incorrectly. (1 + 1 = 2)
TOTAL SECTION C: 30
MEMORANDUM
SECTION A: COMPREHENSION
QUESTIONS: TEXT A
1.1.In the title of the article,Gangnam Style is described as both “wholesome” and “hidden.” What does each of these words reveal about how the writer perceives this song? (1 + 1 = 2)
WHOLESOME = must recognise a positive element (but not use the word “positive” adds Linda). Can be described as healthy.
HIDDEN = concealed, not explicit or obvious, not immediately recognisable
1.2.Refer to Paragraph 1. Offer a suggestion of your own how YouTube was given its name. (2)
DISCURSIVE
Learner must assess the name (YouTube) in relation to you it functions.
For example:
YOU = self. Anyone can access it.
TUBE = Television. Screen.Is for viewing.
1.3.Refer to Paragraph 1. The writer says that there are many “parodies” of Gangnam Style on YouTube. Explain the concept of a parody.(2)
2 marks awarded for a single conceptual understanding.
IDEAL ANSWER: Copies (and distorts) the original.
Make fun of an existing style. Imitates the style thereof.Makes a joke of it.
1.4.Refer to Paragraph 2. Using only your own words, explain why people may miss the social satire of Gangnam Style. (2)
OWN WORDS ONLY.
Two points needed.
The lyrics are easy to remember / engaging; therefore one does not have to ‘think’ about them.
The video is melodramatic, unrealistic, excessive, exaggerated.
Satire is essentially hard-hitting and intellectual, whereas the music is ‘fun’ and the music video appears silly.
1.5.Refer to Paragraph 2. What does it mean “to live large”? (2)
2 marks awarded for a single conceptual understanding of this slang term.
To lead a wealthy lifestyle.
1.6.Refer to Paragraph 2. Quote from the text to prove how we know Psy’s attempts are both humorous and unsuccessful. (1)
“comically inept”
1.7.Refer to Paragraph 3. Critically assess the effectiveness of the introduction of the Gangnam Style video. (3)
DISCURSIVE:
LEARNER NEEDS TO RAISE ANY THREE DISTINCT POINTS IN RESPONSE
“The video starts off with Psy luxuriating on a sunny beach, being fanned by a beautiful woman — at least until the camera pulls out to reveal that he’s actually on a children’s playground and the woman is a figment of his imagination.”
THEME = Appearance versus reality
Builds expectation in the viewer. Humour is created when viewer is forced to reconsider what was initially presented.
Opening scene is what the entire song is about: attempting to live beyond one’s means. Dreaming and aspiring for more.
1.8.Refer to Paragraph 3. Using only your own words explain the irony of Psy’sGangnam-style life. (3)
DISCURSIVE
RECOMMENDED MARK ALLOCATION:
- Understanding of the concept of irony
- Expectation
- Actuality
Opposite = puts on a show of leading a lavish lifestyle, but does so without sophistication.
Goes to a sauna (glamorous), but sweats with gangsters (unglamorous)
Goes dancing (glamorous), but on a tourist bus (unglamorous)
1.9.Refer to Paragraph 4. The topic of this paragraph is the use of credit cards in South Korea. Discuss the relationship between this and Gangnam Style. (3)
DISCURSIVE
LEARNER MUST RAISE THREE DISTINCT POINTS
The writer explains how many South Koreans are living beyond their means.
Essentially they are living in debt, buying things which they cannot afford.
The Gangnam Style song is about putting on a pretence, trying to impress.
Need to show outward trappings, even if in dire financial difficulty.
1.10.Refer to Paragraph 5. Why is Gangnam style not “stinging”? (3)
DISCURSIVE
LEARNER MUST RAISE THREE DISTINCT POINTS
The musician (Psy) comes from an affluent home.