O Levels

Question 1

Cultivate

Answer 1

1. Prepare and use land for crops and gardening
2. Develop a quality/ skill
   eg. Cultivate my leadership skills
   eg. Cultivate others/ self-cultivation

Question 2

Derogatory

Answer 2

showing a disrespectful, critical attitude
eg. he made a derogatory remark towards the Indian

Question 3

indispensable

Answer 3

absolutely necessary/ obligatory/ imperative

when someone is indispensable:
things cannot function without them

eg. Volunteering is an indispensable component in ensuring the well-being of the community.

Question 4

escapade

Answer 4

an act or incident involving excitement, daring, or adventure

eg. enriched my relationships with a circle of dead friends through escapades

Question 5

perennial problem

Answer 5

everlasting problem

Question 6

acrid

Answer 6

pungent/ unpleasant smell

eg. a lingering acrid smell is not unfamiliar

Question 7

Achilles’ Heel

Answer 7

weakness in spite of overall strength

eg. Singaporeans have our strong suits, but our Achilles’ Heel shows when it comes to taming our tempers.

Question 8

succinctly

Answer 8

in a brief and clear manner

Question 9

culmination

Answer 9

the climax of something, especially as attained after a long time

eg. Winning first prize was the culmination of years of practice and hard work.

Question 10

a Herculean task

Answer 10

requiring great strength or effort

Question 11

see eye to eye

Answer 11

completely agree

eg. Mr. Satish and Mr. Kunal were shown eye to eye on their business partnership.

Question 12

hand to mouth

Answer 12

To have enough resources just to survive/ stay alive.

eg. a hand-to-mouth existence

Question 13

disparate

Answer 13

essentially different in kind; not able to be compared

eg. they inhabit disparate worlds of thought

Question 14

concrete jungle

Answer 14

Is like to describe our environment

eg. I was drawn to the purpose of equipping participants with the ability to survive in a rural jungle, a vastly disparate environment from the concrete jungle i have grown up in.

Question 15

prime candidate

Answer 15

most suited (is like persuasive)

Question 16

golden opportunity

Answer 16

exclusive opportunity

Question 17

__ is the key to success is most endeavours in life

Answer 17

very important

Question 18

instead of “learn more about myself”

Answer 18

use “form a deeper connection with myself”

Question 19

existential threat

Answer 19

An event that could cause human extinction or permanently and drastically curtail humanity’s existence or potential is known as an “existential risk.”

eg. Climate change is an existential threat of our times

Question 20

substantiated

Answer 20

provide evidence to support or prove the truth of

eg. they had found nothing to substantiate the allegations

Question 21

ethnocentrism

Answer 21

evaluation of other cultures according to preconceptions originating from the standards and customs of one’s own culture

the attitude that one’s own group, ethnicity, or nationality is superior to others.

eg. Yet enquiry into the nature of good governance need not be scuppered by ethnocentrism.

Question 22

equity

Answer 22

that quality of being fair and impartial

eg. In making these decisions we should be governed by the principle of equity.

Question 23

segregationist

Answer 23

Someone who believes that people of different races shouldn’t live, work, or go to school together is a segregationist

eg. As the laws about racial segregation have changed, it’s become less and less socially acceptable to openly be a segregationist

Question 24

de facto

Answer 24

being such in effect though not formally recognized. a de facto state of war

eg. Although his title was prime minister, he was de facto president of the country

Question 25

depicts

Answer 25

: to show (someone or something) in a picture, painting, photograph, etc.

The photograph depicts the two brothers standing in front of a store.

Question 26

instead of “show”

Answer 26

illustrates, depicts, highlights, emphasises, describes

Question 27

instead of “for example”

Answer 27

1. for instance
2. to illustrate
3. suppose that
4. to give you an idea
5. let’s say
6. in particular
7. case in point

Question 28

case in point

Answer 28

example

eg. the ‘green revolution’ in agriculture is a good case in point

Question 29

cortisol level increase

Answer 29

stress increase

Question 30

copious

Answer 30

abundant

eg. copious amounts of homework

Question 31

consensus

Answer 31

a general agreement

eg. that general consensus here is that sports ccas are much more bonded than non-sport ones

Question 32

Granted/ Admittedly

Answer 32

You use granted to say that you accept that something is true, often before you adding contrasting information.

eg. Granted, he did fail that one test, but I think there were good reasons for that.
Granted, what you’re saying could have worked, but that doesn’t mean it did.

Question 33

food for thought

Answer 33

something that warrants serious consideration.

Question 34

instead of “however”

Answer 34

use
- nonetheless
- nevertheless
- yet
- even so
- although
- anyhow
- regardless
- despite that
- in spite of that

Question 35

technophile

Answer 35

someone that is enthusiastic about new technology

Question 36

render assistance

Answer 36

eg. He saw the police car headed up the hill towards it, and he thought to render assistance.

Question 37

fall through the cracks

Answer 37

be overlooked

eg. Little details often fall through the cracks.

Question 38

fall between two stools

Answer 38

eg. trying to be both teacher and parent, she fell between two stools.

Question 39

instead of building/developing/growing,

Answer 39

use fostering

eg. fostering a kinder, more inclusive environment

Question 41

Technology quote

Answer 41

“We are all connected by the internet, like neurons in a giant brain”
- Stephen Hawking

Question 42

Will quote

Answer 42

“You have your way. I have my way. As for the right way, the correct way, and the only way, it does not exist.”
- Friedrich Nietzsche

Question 43

education quote

Answer 43

“One child, one teacher, one book, and one pen can change the world.”
- Malala Yousafzai