English PISA

Social Problems Reflected in Zootopia

When people mention animated films, they often assume those films are for children. However, in 2016, Disney produced an animated comedy called Zootopia which both adults and children could enjoy, and it ultimately won the 2017 Oscar for the best animated feature film. In the film, directors Byron Howard and Rich Moore created an imaginary world called Zootopia as a metaphor for New York City. In Zootopia, animals from different species lived together peacefully in superficial harmony; however, various social problems continued boiling under the surface. Foxes were discriminated against as having sticky fingers, and female bunnies were stereotyped as too weak to be a cop. For young children, Zootopia is a fairy tale, but for adults, it has some hidden meanings involving social situations, which evoke deep thought. Although the slogan of Zootopia is “Anyone can be anything,” it turns out that this imaginary perfect city still has serious social problems such as sexism and racism that contradict the slogan and reflect the real world. Zootopia begins with the story of Judy Hopps, a bunny that dreamed of becoming a cop. After years of effort, she realized her dream in Zootopia. However, after being stereotyped, she quickly found that the city was not that perfect. To prove herself, she took a mysterious case to find 14 missing predators and mistakenly solved it together with a sophisticated fox called Nick Wilde. By investigating the case, Judy found that the missing animals had become savage. Her finding caused a panic in the city since the residents were afraid that the changes in those animals occurred naturally because of their DNA of predators. Suddenly, the harmony of the city, together with the friendship between Judy and Nick, was broken. After accidentally finding a clue, Judy finally unveiled the truth that the whole scandal was schemed up by Bellwether, a sheep and the vice president of the city who wanted to control it and gain power for the prey animals. In the film, Zootopia reflects the problem of sexism in society using the contrast between female animals and male animals, especially in the job field. Although female animals get the same job as males, they are always underestimated and fail to be treated fairly. Take the main character, Judy Hopps, as an example. When Judy realized her dream in Zootopia and entered the police station, she seemed like a dwarf who fell into the giants’ world. All the other cops in the station were large and strong, and, most importantly, they were all males. Although Judy had proven her ability by graduating as the top student from the police academy, her appearance still gave her boss a feeling that as a female, she was too small, too weak, and too emotional to be a real cop. Therefore, the chief of the police, Bogo, only let her work as a meter maid. He said “get back on the carrot farm where you belong” to Judy which was similar to “get back in the kitchen,” an extremely sexist phrase that came from Batman Beyond. To achieve the same level of acceptance, Judy had to work harder than male cops which brought audiences to think of the real-life experience of women in the job field. In the real world, researchers from Yale University once made a study about sexism in the job field. By analyzing the data, researchers found that when science faculty members face two identical resumes with a male name and a female name, they were more likely to choose a man as the employee, offer him a higher salary, and more willing to offer him mentoring opportunities (Moss-Racusin). This fact testified that gender biases truly affect how women were evaluated and treated. In the end of the film, the plot showed that as the first female cop, Judy was finally accepted by society. Her experience pointed out the sexism in the real society as well as an ideal social condition that all females would urge for. What social reality is being depicted in the text?

After reading the essay about the film, Zootopia, is it appropriate to use Feminism Approach in analyzing it?

Reading Text # 1

How to Recognize Fake News and Misinformation

How can you recognize misinformation on social media? It often has a clear bias, and it may attempt to inspire anger or other strong feelings from the reader. Such content may come from a news source that is completely unfamiliar, and the news itself may be downright nonsensical. For example, if a news article warns readers of an impending “category six” hurricane looking to wipe out huge swaths of the country, it should be less of a cause for alarm and more of a cause for raised eyebrows; there is no such thing as a category six hurricane. Once you’ve spotted a suspicious piece of content, look into the publisher and author of the content. Do either have an established reputation? Are they known as trustworthy sources? If not, do they cite their sources — and are those reputable? Fake news often uses fake author names and bogus sources. If the site has a history of making suspicious claims, or details in the author’s bio don’t seem credible (or a bio is non-existent), you should treat the content with extreme scrutiny. Check out the site’s “About Us” page for information about the publication. You may notice suspicious details. Cross-reference these details with reputable news sources to determine the authenticity of their claims. The “About Us” section of the site may even blatantly label itself as parody or satire. For example, one publication that is commonly misinterpreted as a legitimate news site, The Onion, blatantly states, “The Onion uses invented names in all of its stories, except in cases where public figures are being satirized. Any other use of real names is accidental and coincidental.” Obviously, articles from such sites are not intended to be interpreted as factual. Finally, don’t forget to check the publication date of the content. A suspicious article may not be fake news; it might just contain dated information. To fact-check any claims made in such content, search for up-to-date news on the topic. In addition to following the above considerations, there are many telltale signs of a fake news story to be on the lookout for: ● Faked website address: An article may claim to be from a well-known news publication, but is the web address right? Compare the web address to the home page of the actual news organization in question. If there are discrepancies or misspellings in the address, you may have spotted a fake. ● The author is anonymous (or extremely well-known): Fraudulent publishers may use a generic author name or omit the byline entirely in order to avoid scrutiny. Alternatively, they may use a very famous person’s name as the byline. The latter warrants investigation. Is it truly possible, for example, that Neil deGrasse Tyson would write an article claiming that the Earth is flat? If so, would he have published his claims on a website that has no reputation whatsoever? In such instances, exercise a healthy amount of skepticism. ● The article misrepresents or misquotes its sources: Citing reputable sources is an effective way of making your argument seem more credible. However, if the article doesn’t accurately reflect the sources it uses, it should be treated with suspicion. ● The article contains spelling and grammatical errors: Real news sources employ editors to provide high-quality content. Purveyors of fake news often don’t. As a result, fake news articles may contain excessive writing errors. What is the author’s purpose in the text presented?

Study links heavy digital media use to behavioral problems in teens. Parents might worry about their teens spending too much time online. New research supports that worry. It suggests that teens who spend more time on digital media platforms show attention difficulties. Investigators from three universities in California studied a group of Los Angeles-area high school students. These students showed no sign of attention challenges at the start. Researchers found that those who engaged in more digital media activities reported a rising number of symptoms linked to attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). People with ADHD have a hard time focusing and often feel restless and fidgety. The association between digital media use and ADHD symptoms in teens was limited. However, it was clear enough that it could not be dismissed. On average, with each notch a teen climbed up the scale of digital use, his or her average level of reported ADHD symptoms rose by about 10 percent.

Questions Still Remain

The results show an association between screen time and ADHD symptoms. They do not show that heavy use of digital media causes ADHD symptoms, though. Indeed, it's possible the relationship is reversed — that attention problems drive teens to more online involvement. However, when almost all teens have access to a smartphone and nearly half said they are online "almost constantly," the study raises concerns about how well teens can pay attention. The findings come as mental health professionals are rethinking their understanding of ADHD. It's a condition that was long thought to start in early childhood. ADHD is estimated to affect about 7 percent of all children and teens. However, the condition is increasingly being diagnosed in older teens and adults. Whether its symptoms were missed earlier, developed later or are brought on by certain events is unclear.

2,587 Kids Studied Over Two-Year Period

The research involved 2,587 students at public schools in Los Angeles County. It suggests that, for some, ADHD symptoms are brought on or made worse by the stimulation that is always available online." We believe we are studying the occurrence of new symptoms that weren't present at the beginning of the study," said Adam M. Leventhal of the University of Southern California. He is the study's senior author. Leventhal and other scientists looked at the digital use of the students over two years. The researchers checked with them five times. They asked the students to report whether and how much they had engaged in 14 online activities. These included checking social media sites, posting or commenting on online content, texting, playing games, video chatting, and streaming TV or movies. Four out of 5 students acknowledged "high-frequency use" of at least one activity. Those included 54 percent who told researchers they checked social media "many times per day." Just over two-thirds engaged in high-frequency use of up to four online activities at some point during the study.

Showing Signs of Behavioral Problems

Students were also asked whether they had experienced 18 ADHD symptoms. Those included problems with organization, completing work or trouble staying still. If they acknowledged having any six of them, they were considered to be "ADHD symptom-positive." At times in the study, anywhere from 4.8 percent to 6.9 percent of the students met this criterion. Teens who had been online the most were more than twice as likely to show symptoms as the lightest users. Among the 495 students who reported no high-frequency media use at the start, 4.6 percent were considered symptom-positive at some point. There were 114 teens who engaged in seven digital activities many times a day. Of those, 9.5 percent were seen as symptom-positive during the follow-up. For the 51 students who reported high-frequency use of all 14 digital activities, 10.5 percent met the symptom criteria. Jean M. Twenge of San Diego State University has done research on teens and smartphone use. She was not involved in the new work. Twenge said the study suggests that if a teen who is a heavy digital user gives up his devices, he might cut his risk of significant ADHD symptoms by as much as half. "Most of the time, a lifestyle change that halves the risk of a poor outcome is more than worth undertaking," Twenge said.

Some Skeptical of Study's Findings

The study authors acknowledged that some students may have had attention problems that did not show at the start. Those could have driven their use of digital media, they said. Dr. Jenny Radesky of the University of Michigan wrote an article that accompanies the study. She wrote that the "always-on" quality of digital media may keep the brain from resting. Teens longing for digital activity may lose the ability to tolerate boredom, she wrote. However, that may not fully explain the study's results. If digital time is reducing sleep and exercise, that would explain a child's slipping function, wrote Radesky. Lawrence Diller works with teens who have ADHD in Walnut Creek, California. He also questioned the results. Diller said he suspected that kids spending time online are not interested in school or chores. They've found a different outlet for their energy. "It's seductive to think that TV and video games and social media change the brain," he added. "Maybe they do. But if that's the case, the brain can change back."

Which of the following is TRUE and proven based on the article?

Why do some ADHD experts disagree with the study?

The woman whose words inflamed the American Revolution John Adams and some of the other leaders of the American Revolution knew Mercy Otis Warren's secret. At a time when few women could in the 18th century, she contributed her own voice to the cause for freedom. She wrote articles criticizing British authorities for Boston newspapers. Adams called Warren the "most accomplished woman in America" — though he, too, would later feel the sting of her pen. A poet, playwright, and historian, she's one of the first American women who wrote mostly for publication. Mercy was the younger sister of James Otis, Boston's leading advocate for colonists' rights in the 1760s. She was a bookish girl in a time when many girls never learned to read. She joined in when her brothers read aloud and took the place of her second-oldest brother during lessons with their uncle, a local minister. While James was a student at Harvard, he came home and told her about his studies, especially the political theories of John Locke. She read voraciously: Shakespeare and Milton, Greek and Roman literature, Moliere's plays in translation. At age 14, she met her future husband, James Warren, at her brother's Harvard graduation. They married in 1754. She was 26 and he was 28. While raising five children, she began writing private poems about family and nature. Meeting Place For Patriots In the 1760s, the Warrens' Plymouth home became a meeting place for like-minded patriots. Her husband joined her brother working as a lawmaker in the Massachusetts legislature. Together, they opposed colonial governor Thomas Hutchinson. James Otis' career ended in 1769 when a British customs officer hit him with a cane. The trauma pushed him into mental illness. After that, his sister began answering his letters. Encouraged by her husband, Warren also began writing satirical plays that attacked Hutchinson, her brother's enemy. Her first play, "The Adulateur," was published in Boston's Massachusetts Spy newspaper in 1772. It portrayed Hutchinson as Rapatio, the dictatorial leader of the mythical kingdom of Servia. Warren pitted Brutus, a hero based on her brother, against Rapatio. "The man who boasts his freedom feels solid joy," Brutus declared, "tho' poor and low his state." Three years before the Revolution, Warren's play warned that a day might come when "murders, blood and carnage/Shall crimson all these streets.""The Adulateur" became popular with Boston's patriots, who began to use the characters' names in their letters. In 1773, Boston newspapers published private letters of Hutchinson's that suggested he did not support the patriot cause. In response, Warren wrote "The Defeat," a sequel to "The Adulateur." The sequel cast Rapatio as the "dangerous foe/Of Liberty of truth, and of mankind." Wrote Anonymously The play did not have her name on it but many patriots knew Warren wrote the play. After the 1773 Boston Tea Party, John Adams asked her to write a mythical poem about it. Warren wrote "The Squabble of the Sea-Nymphs," in which two of Neptune's wives debate the quality of several teas until intruders poured "delicious teas" into the water. The act "bid defiance to the servile train. The pimps and sycophants of George's reign." In early 1775, as Bostonians endured Britain's Intolerable Acts, Warren published poems encouraging women not to buy British goods. She also wrote a play that mocked loyalists. "The Group" was published two weeks before the battles of Lexington and Concord. Like other patriot writers, she did not use her name on her writing. She wanted to avoid British retaliation. Because she did not use her name, readers judged her work on its merits, and could not dismiss it because of her gender. During the war, Warren worked as her husband's personal secretary and managed their Plymouth farm while he was away governing as president of the Massachusetts provincial congress. She exchanged letters with John Adams, a protégé of her brother's, and his wife, Abigail. In November 1775, as the British controlled Boston, James Warren wrote to Adams, a friend, and delegate to the Continental Congress in Philadelphia. He urged him to give up on trying to improve relations with George III, the British king. "Your Congress can be no longer in any doubts and hesitancy," he wrote in his lawyerly style, "about taking capital and effectual strokes." Mercy added a paragraph. "It is time to leap into the theatre to unlock the bars, and open every gate that impedes the rise and growth of the American republic," she wrote. More Loyal to Their State As Americans debated the proposed new Constitution in 1787, Warren and her husband became Anti-Federalists. They were more loyal to their state than the federal government. Both Mercy and James penned anonymous arguments against the Constitution. Her essay, published under a fake name in 1788, warned that the Constitution would lead to "an aristocratic tyranny" and an "uncontrolled despotism." The Constitution, she warned, lacked a bill of rights — no guarantees of a free press, freedom of conscience or trial by jury. Warren complained that the Constitution didn't protect citizens from arbitrary warrants giving officials the power to "enter our houses, search, insult, and seize at pleasure." Her sweeping, florid essay proved more popular than her husband's narrow, legal argument. It contributed to the pressure that led Congress to pass the Bill of Rights in 1789. First Female Historian in U.S. Warren published her book "Poems, Dramatic and Miscellaneous" under her own name in 1790. It collected two decades of her writing, including Revolutionary-era essays and two new plays with prominent female characters. In 1805, Warren published a three-volume, 1,200-page history of the American Revolution. It was called, "History of the Rise, Progress, and Termination of the American Revolution." The book made her the U.S.'s first female historian, and the only one of her Era to write about the nation's founding from an Anti-Federalist and Jeffersonian Republican perspective. The book sold poorly and spurred vicious criticism from John Adams, who had encouraged her to start the history. Despite poor sales, the book remains important. Filled with character insights, primary sources, and footnotes, Warren's history is still useful and insightful to modern readers. Like other patriot writers, she did not use her name in her writing. She wanted to avoid British retaliation. Because she did not use her name, readers judged her work on its merits, and could not dismiss it because of her gender. This text implies that___________.

The Beauty of Thailand I’ve been to Thailand more times than I can count. I’ve lived in Bangkok twice and if I stay away for more than a year, I feel as if a piece of me is missing. Why do I keep coming back to Thailand? Well, because it’s a place in the world where I feel most a home. And why do I love Thailand so much? Well, le me count ways: I love Thai food. The food in Thailand is better than anywhere else in the world. There’s more variety and more flavors. Your mouth dances with a concert of flavors when you eat here. All over the street of Thailand, outdoor stalls serve the cheapest and best Thai meals you can find. And no matter what time of the day it is, there’s always food available somewhere. I love the warm weather. The hot and humid weather in Thailand appeals to me. Even though there’s a monsoon season in Thailand, the heat stays lovely. I love the Thais. They are some of the nicest people I have ever met. They are always happy, smiling, extremely polite, helpful and forever friendly. They help you out if you are in trouble and help translate for you if you can’t speak Thai. Thais have amazing memories and once a friend, always a friend. I always feel safe in Thailand. Thais rarely steal or cause any problems. Thailand is one of the few countries I feel comfortable leaving my laptop out while I go to the bathroom. I love Thailand; the middle of everything. It’s three hours to Hong Kong, two hours to Singapore, four hours to Bali, halfway between Australia and Europe. You can easily get cheap places where you can stay in Thailand. I love the beach. I can sit on the sand and go for a swim for hours upon end. It’s heaven to me. I particularly love Ko Chang, Ko Kood, Surin Island, Ko Adang and Ko Lanta- Thailand’s best islands. I love the rainforests. Thailand has some of the most beautiful and lush jungles in the world—the Khao Yai National Park, Khao Sok in the south, and the famous hill tribe treks near Chiang Mai. They may not be the wild and untamed jungles and elephants, but they still offer amazing views, dense forests, waterfalls and an interesting variety of wildlife. I love Bangkok, a nice city to live in; a city that never sleeps. When people ask me about my favorite country, I always say Thailand, a melting pot of people from around the world. What is the main purpose of the author in writing the article? Support your answer based on the article given.

Based on the text, how will you describe the writer?

The writer mentioned Khmer Rouge many times in her biography. In your opinion, who are these people? Justify your answer according to the information from the article.

You will appreciate Rizal's El Filibusterismo once you have read Noli Me Tangere, the same way you will enjoy a movie sequel because of the prequel. What is the term for an early literary work which becomes a basis or source for a later work and makes you appreciate the latter?

Identify the unique features of and requirements in composing texts that are useful across disciplines:

Taking a stand about a particular issue is one of the significant undertakings that require critical reading and thinking. What kind of academic paper can be considered in crafting a sensible argumentative text?

Ascertain the property of well-written text that is NOT OBSERVABLE in each paragraph. Encircle the letter of the correct answer. When I got home from school after a long boring day, I took out the peanut butter, jelly, and bread. After taking the lid off of the jars, I spread the peanut butter on one side of the bread and the jelly on the other. I put the two pieces of bread together. I enjoyed it while watching “Cops” on the TV. That was the best peanut butter and jelly sandwich I ever ate.

Ascertain the property of well-written text that is NOT OBSERVABLE in each paragraph. Encircle the letter of the correct answer.

Teachers must never fail to remind pupils about the essence of applying values in their everyday lives. Our lives are very important. The important thing in this world is accepting changes. Teachers must be decent. If they wish their pupils or students to act properly, teachers must do it themselves.