Mock Exam, English by Norwegian Student.
Mock Exam 1stc 7th of December 2012 By Gard Detlev Oksendal Task 1 1B 1. The three most important differences between the writing styles in the two texts (Appendices 2 and 4) Difference one: The biggest difference between Appendix 2 and 4 is the fact that Appendix 2 is a short novel, which we don’t know if it’s true or not compared to Appendix 4 who is an informative text with clear fact and reasoning. App 2 is taken from the book “the house on mango street”, which clearly is a novel in contrast to App 4 which is an article from Newsweek, 2011. Difference two: App 2 is written in short sentences with many stops.
The text is actually written a bit mysterious way. App 4 on the other hand is a coherent text, where the message of the text is clear. Difference three: In App 4 they use real – life stories to underline their facts. In contrast, App 2 is written out of Sandra Cisneros free fantasy and thoughts. Maybe this story is based on some kind of truth, but it doesn’t say anything about it. 2. The advantages as well as the disadvantages of moving abroad, seen from a young person’s point of view. Here are some of my arguments whether I think it is a good choice or not to move abroad as a young person.
As far as I can think, there are much more advantages by moving abroad as a young person, rather than not moving. I have made two lists, one with advantages the other one with disadvantages: Advantages * You learn to know other cultures, which can be really positive. Not just for the knowledge, but also the fact that you as a human really can grow by knowing and accepting foreign cultures. * Of course it depends on the place you go, but let`s say for example that you are an American, who is considering moving to Asia, there are many good reasons to do so: * Asia is the up and coming in the world these days.
If you are able to communicate with them in their native language, they often go in with more will in for example a negotiation, or simply just a small talk, getting to know the cute girl you saw at the club last night. Another language you might want to learn is German. Germans are some of the most organized and economic people in the world. If you know their native language, most people will meet you with open arms. * When I read through Appendix 4 in the booklet you handed out, I held on to one sentence which describes the situation in the world today in a very good way.
Let me quote Jim Rodgers from the text “How to Raise a Global Kid” by Lisa Miller: “The money is in the East, the Debtors are in the West. I`d rather be with the creditors than the debtors. ” * Even tough, English is becoming bigger and bigger as a second-language despite the big debt problems they have in the US. 200 million Chinese Schoolchildren are studying English, and in South Korea many parents lost their temper recently. The reasoning behind was that they wanted their kids to learn English at first grade, rather than in second as they practice today. Yes, English is really important as a world language up to this date, despite the fact that Asia is growing bigger and bigger, US in their enormous debt that only increases with millions each minute you read this text. So your English will definitely help you when moving abroad. * Asia is just an advice to where you could move, but there are many different places you can go. So my advice to the youth out there who is considering moving abroad: Go for it! Disadvantages: * One of the disadvantages by moving abroad as young is the fact that you don’t get as much safety as you would get growing up in your own country.
On some children, this can make a huge impact and even damage to them later in life. * Other cultures may get a bit too exotic, crazy and alien in some ways. You can get shocked; some are able handle it and even learn from it, some people are definitely not. So if you are a bit weak, a bit afraid of the unknown and other cultures, maybe you should consider it two times before moving abroad. * If you come to another country and don’t know the language, it can be a huge problem. You can’t assimilate and feel as comfortable as in your home country.
You don’t get included in the community and you can feel a bit alone at school etc. * Another concern is the money. If your trip goes wrong, something happens, you may be loose a year of school and lots of money. Is it worth taking the risk? * Earlier today, I saw an example of how difficult it could be coming to another country, another culture. The movie “Bend it like Beckham” by Gruinder Chadha impart this in a beautiful and touching way. And for any of you who haven’t seen it, I’d like to recommend it strongly. Task 2 2B
There are two main historical reasons of why English is the most wide – spoken language today. The first reason is the power of the US – not only in terms of war and economics, but also technology, movies, the internet and science. The other reason is the time where Queen Elisabeth 1st (1558 – 1603) and her England conquered the world. She established a global colonial empire, and introduced English as a world language. English is today the language which by far is the most used as a lingua franca. In more than 60 countries English is the official second language, but that is not the whole truth.
The world today is very much based on the internet, and more than 80% of the information stored on computers around the world is in English. Despite the fact that 350 million people use English as their first language today, it is by far not the most spoken first language. However, English today is the most important language in the world because of the simple fact that almost “everyone” knows a few worlds in English. I can’t stress it enough; English is by far the most important language today. Mandarin is really catching up, but English is still dominant. Mandarin is almost explicit used in China, and not so much as a lingua franca.
The biggest factor of why English is as dominant as it is must be the internet. The internet is very much based on English. And the world is based on the internet. I addition to this, it is also used in many other important arenas. My task today is to present to you some of these arenas. * When it comes to business and matters of trade, the English language is really important. By studying English through a respected old school like Cambridge or Oxford, you can expect to be able to easily handle emails, memos, contracts, agreements and other resembling themes.
The matter of fact is that when you have an , you are more likely to easy pursue a to a . * Probably the greatest advantage of studying English would be in job matters. People who can speak English fluently, In addition to speak their native language are extremely attracted by companies of many types, especially the international ones. Courses with at least some quality in it, offer their students the opportunity to improve job prospects, the opportunity to communicate with others as well as the access to information all around the world. Another arena where English can be very useful is when movies or TV-shows. Most of the films made today are made in English, at least the ones from Hollywood. Understanding the plot will be much easier when knowing English. Subtitles in Norwegian or other languages can sometimes cause the meanings of words to be lost in the translation, and they can be a distraction to the action taking place on the screen. In addition to this, movies in other languages are often subtitled by English. * The fourth arena where English very much can be useful is when traveling.
Most workers in the tourist line of business know at least a couple words English. From that platform it is much easier to communicate with other people when travelling. * Concerning the education arena, English is not only useful, it is almost necessary to know at bit English. According to the Norwegian Directorate for Education and Training, there are more than 800 courses taught in English, just at the University of Oslo. There are lots of books in Norwegian. However, in college or university many of the books you have to read are written in English.
According to the book “Gateways” by Eva Ulven and Audun Raugset two thirds of the world scientific findings are published in English. * The last thing I want to mention is that many manuals are written in English. Let`s say that you have bought a new TV for 30 000 dollars from America, and you don’t understand the manual, it will take a lot more effort and time to get your TV working. The world today is very much based around the mass – media, and most of the mass – media is written, spoken or sung in English. Yes, I repeat; sung. One of the main factors influencing us is the music.
American rappers dominate the hit- lists today, and if anyone is even close to their dominance it must be the Englishmen. They aren’t just on the hit lists in their own country, but also in foreign countries like Norway. Another factor is that the community of YouTube and the social media such as Twitter, Instagram and Facebook are very much based on – and ruled by the English language and culture. Parallel to the growth of the internet, the power and importance of English is increasing every minute. In my eyes, Norway is one of the countries who are the most influenced by the American culture.
We have taken lots of different American traditions, and made them ours. For example Halloween and Valentine’s Day are American traditions we are practicing here in Norway. I my opinion, that is really sad. Before kids used to go “julebukk”, but now a days people just don’t do “Julebukk” anymore – just because Halloween and other American traditions have taken over. American music is also really big in Norway, and artists like Eminem, Wiz Khalifa and Rihanna is what most of the Norwegian youth enjoy listening to. Gaming and internet is big part of our Norwegian community, and both are very much based on English.
The two most played videogames in Norway, : Black Ops 2 and FIFA 13 are both on English, and have to say that I have learned much English from it myself. In Norway, people watch TV-series a lot, and most of them are in English. Most of them with Norwegian subtitles, but again the fact that they even showcase American series show us how important English is in Norway. So my conclusion based on what I have written, thought and read goes like this: English today is by far the most important language in the world, concerning business, travelling, education, culture and much, much more.
However, languages like Mandarin and Indian is starting to catch up, just because of the simple matter of fact that the Chinese and Indian are increasing rapidly when speaking of population.. On the other hand, English is still increasing, just because of the western pop-culture. All the things I have mentioned – all the things we base our international community are based – and ruled by English. English is the dominant language in the world today, and I think it will be continuing as consistent as it is today at the top for many, many years in the future.
