Reading

Literacy

PISA Reading Literacy Items and Scoring Guides

The Reading Literacy Items and Scoring Guides document contains 14 reading
assessment units and 59 items associated with these units. These released items
from the PISA 2000 and PISA 2009 assessments are distinct from the secure items,
which are kept confidential so that they may be used in subsequent cycles to
monitor trends.
Reading
Literacy

TABLE OF CONTENTS

UNIT NAME PAGE

LAKE CHAD 3

FLU 9

PLAN INTERNATIONAL 18

POLICE 21

THE GIFT 26

GRAFFITI 38

LABOR 43

AMANDA AND THE DUCHESS 51

RUNNERS 61

NEW RULES 66

PERSONNEL 69

CELL PHONE SAFETY 72

THE PLAY’S THE THING 78

TELECOMMUTING 84
Reading
Literacy

LAKE CHAD
Figure 1 shows changing levels of Lake Chad, in Saharan North Africa. Lake Chad
disappeared completely in about 20,000 BC, during the last Ice Age. In about
11,000 BC it reappeared.
Today, its level is about the same as it was in AD 1000.

c.4000BC Lake Chad:

6
0 changing
50 Present day levels

40

30
Depth in
meters

20

10

0
10,000

4000

1000
8000

6000

2000

AD
BC
BC

BC

BC
BC

Figure 1

Figure 2 shows Saharan rock art (ancient drawings or paintings found on the walls
of caves) and
Saharan rockchanging patterns
art and changing of wildlife.
patterns of
wildlife

buffalo
rhinoceros
hippopotam
us aurochs
elephant
giraffe
ostrich
gazell
e
cattle
dog
horse
8000 7000 6000 5000 4000 3000 100 0 AD
2000 0 100

Figure 2
Source: Copyright Bartholomew Ltd. 1988. Extracted from The Times Atlas of Archaeology and
reproduced by permission of Harper Collins Publishers.
Reading
Literacy

Question 1: LAKE CHAD R040Q02A

Question intent: Access and retrieve

Text format: Non-continuous

What is the depth of Lake Chad today?

A About two meters.

B About fifteen meters.
C About fifty meters.
D It has disappeared completely.
E The information is not provided.

SCORING:

Correct

About two meters.

Incorrect

Other responses.

Percentage of students
answering correctly in
PISA 2000:

OECD average: 65%

U.S.: 60%

4
Reading
Literacy

Question 2: LAKE CHAD R040Q03A- 0 1 9

Question Intent: Access and retrieve

Text format: Non-continuous

In about which year does the graph in Figure 1 start?

SCORING:

Correct

11,000 BC (or approximation between 10,500 and 12,000)

Incorrect

Other responses.

Percentage of students
answering correctly in
PISA 2000:

OECD average: 51%

U.S.: 47%

5
Reading
Literacy

Question 3: LAKE CHAD R040Q03B- 0 1 9

Question intent: Reflect and evaluate

Text format: Non-continuous

Why has the author chosen to start the graph at this point?

SCORING:

Correct

Refers to reappearance of lake. Note: answer may receive full credit even if
previous answer is incorrect.

Incorrect

Other responses.

Percentage of students
answering correctly in
PISA 2000:

OECD average: 37%

U.S.: 28%

6
Reading
Literacy

Question 4: LAKE CHAD R040Q04

Question intent: Integrate and interpret

Text format: Non-continuous

Figure 2 is based on the assumption that

A the animals in the rock art were present in the area at the time they were drawn.
B the artists who drew the animals were highly skilled.
C the artists who drew the animals were able to travel widely.
D there was no attempt to domesticate the animals which were depicted in the rock art.

SCORING:

Correct

Answer A. the animals in the rock art were present in the area at the time they were drawn.

Incorrect

Other responses.

Percentage of students
answering correctly in
PISA 2000:

OECD average: 77%

U.S.: 71%

7
Reading
Literacy

Question 5: LAKE CHAD R040Q06

Question intent: Integrate and interpret

Text format: Non-continuous

For this question you need to draw together information from Figure 1 and Figure 2.

The disappearance of the rhinoceros, hippopotamus and aurochs from Saharan rock
art happened

A at the beginning of the most recent Ice Age.

B in the middle of the period when Lake Chad was at its highest level.
C after the level of Lake Chad had been falling for over a thousand years.
D at the beginning of an uninterrupted dry period.

SCORING:

Correct

Answer C. after the level of Lake Chad had been falling for over a thousand years.

Incorrect

Other responses.

Percentage of students
answering correctly in
PISA 2000:

OECD average: 57%

U.S.: 56%

8
Reading
Literacy

FLU

ACOL VOLUNTARY FLU IMMUNIZATION PROGRAM

As you are no doubt aware, the flu can strike rapidly and extensively during winter.
It can leave its victims ill for weeks.

The best way to fight the virus is to have a fit and healthy body. Daily exercise and
a diet including plenty of fruit and vegetables are highly recommended to assist the
immune system to fight this invading virus.

ACOL has decided to offer staff the opportunity to be immunized against the flu as
an additional way to prevent this insidious virus from spreading amongst us. ACOL
has arranged for a nurse to administer the immunizations at ACOL, during a half-day
session in work hours in the week of May 17. This program is free and available to
all members of staff.

Participation is voluntary. Staff taking up the option will be asked to sign a consent
form indicating that they do not have any allergies, and that they understand they
may experience minor side effects.

Medical advice indicates that the immunization does not produce influenza.
However, it may cause some side effects such as fatigue, mild fever and tenderness
of the arm.

9
Reading
Literacy

WHO SHOULD BE IMMUNIZED?

Anyone interested in being protected against the virus.

This immunization is especially recommended for people over the age of 65. But
regardless of age, ANYONE who has a chronic debilitating disease, especially
cardiac, pulmonary, bronchial or diabetic conditions.

In an office environment ALL staff are at risk of catching the flu.

WHO SHOULD NOT BE IMMUNIZED?

Individuals hypersensitive to eggs, people suffering from an acute feverish illness

and pregnant women.

Check with your doctor if you are taking any medication or have had a previous
reaction to a flu injection.

If you would like to be immunized in the week of May 17 please advise the
personnel officer, Fiona McSweeney, by Friday May 7. The date and time will be set
according to the availability of the nurse, the number of participants and the time
convenient for most staff. If you would like to be immunized for this winter but
cannot attend at the arranged time please let Fiona know. An alternative session
may be arranged if there are sufficient numbers.

For further information please contact Fiona on ext. 5577.

Good Health

10
Reading
Literacy

Fiona McSweeney, the personnel officer at a company called ACOL, prepared the
information sheet above for ACOL staff. Refer to the information sheet to answer the
questions which follow.

Question 1: FLU R077Q02

Question intent: Access and retrieve

Text format: Continuous

Which one of the following describes a feature of the ACOL flu

immunization program?

A Daily exercise classes will be run during the winter.

B Immunizations will be given during working hours.
C A small bonus will be offered to participants.
D A doctor will give the injections.

SCORING:

Correct

Answer B. Immunizations will be given during working hours.

Incorrect

Other responses.

Percentage of students
answering correctly in
PISA 2000:

OECD average: 71%

U.S.: 70%

11
Reading
Literacy

Question 2: FLU R077Q03- 0 1 2 9

Question intent: Reflect and evaluate

Text format: Continuous

We can talk about the content of a piece of writing (what it

says). We can talk about its style (the way it is presented).

Fiona wanted the style of this information sheet to be friendly and

encouraging. Do you think she succeeded?

Explain your answer by referring in detail to the layout, style of writing,

pictures or other graphics.

SCORING:

Fully Correct

Answers which refer accurately to the text AND relate style to purpose,
and in a way that is consistent with the writer’s intention of being
“friendly and encouraging”. The answer must do AT LEAST ONE of the
following:

1. refer to one of the features in detail (layout, style of writing,

pictures or other graphics; or other similar detail) – that is, to a
specific part or quality of a feature; AND/OR
2. use evaluative terms other than “friendly” and “encouraging.”
(Note that such terms as “interesting,” “easy to read” and “clear”
are not considered to be adequately specific.)

Opinion about whether Fiona succeeded may be stated or implied.

Partially Correct

Answers which refer accurately to the text and relate purpose to

information and content (rather than style), and acknowledge the writer’s
intention of being “friendly and encouraging”.

Opinion about whether Fiona succeeded may be stated or implied.

12
Reading
Literacy

Incorrect

Answers which show inaccurate comprehension of the material or are

implausible or irrelevant.

Percentage of students
answering correctly in
PISA 2000:

OECD average: 45%

U.S.: 39%

13
Reading
Literacy

Question 3: FLU R077Q04

Question intent: Interpreting texts

Text format: Continuous

This information sheet suggests that if you want to protect yourself

against the flu virus, a flu injection is

A more effective than exercise and a healthy diet, but more risky.
B a good idea, but not a substitute for exercise and a healthy diet.
C as effective as exercise and a healthy diet, and less troublesome.
D not worth considering if you have plenty of exercise and a healthy diet.

SCORING:

Correct

Answer B. a good idea, but not a substitute for exercise and a healthy diet.

Incorrect

Other responses.

Percentage of students
answering correctly in
PISA 2000:

OECD average: 54%

U.S.: 69%

14
Reading
Literacy

Question 4: FLU R077Q05- 0 1 2 9

Question intent: Reflection and evaluation

Text format: Continuous

Part of the information sheet says:

WHO SHOULD BE IMMUNIZED?

Anyone interested in being protected against the

virus.

After Fiona had circulated the information sheet, a colleague told her that
she should have left out the words “Anyone interested in being protected
against the virus” because they were misleading.

Do you agree that these words are misleading and should have been left out?

Explain your answer.

SCORING:

Correct

Answers which evaluate the section of text in relation to the term

“misleading” by indicating that there is a potential contradiction. May
or may not explain what the contradiction is. Agreement or
disagreement may be stated or implied.

OR

Answers which evaluate the section of text in relation to the term

“misleading” by indicating that the statement may be an exaggeration.
(i.e. Not everyone needs the immunization, or the immunization does not
offer complete protection). May or may not explain what the exaggeration
is. Agreement or disagreement may be stated or implied.

15
Reading
Literacy

Incorrect

Answers which evaluate the section of text, but not in relation to the term
“misleading”.
Answers which indicate that the statement is strong, effective, and/or
encouraging without mentioning potential contradiction or misleading
element; or indicates that the statement “Anyone interested in being
protected against the virus” is redundant because it is stating the
obvious.

Answers which are insufficient or vague, or restates “misleading”

without explanation, or which show inaccurate comprehension of the
material or are implausible or irrelevant.

Percentage of students
answering correctly in
PISA 2000:

OECD average: 31%

U.S.: 38%

16
Reading
Literacy

Question 5: FLU R077Q06

Question intent: Integrate and interpret

Text format: Continuous

According to the information sheet which one of these staff members

should contact Fiona?

A Steve from the store, who does not want to be immunized because
he would rather rely on his natural immunity.
B Julie from sales, who wants to know if the immunization
program is compulsory.
C Alice from the mailroom who would like to be immunized this
winter but is having a baby in two months.
D Michael from accounts who would like to be immunized but will be
on leave in the week of May 17.

SCORING:

Correct

Answer D. Michael from accounts who would like to be immunized but will
be on leave in the week of May 17.

Incorrect

Other responses.

Percentage of students
answering correctly in
PISA 2000:

OECD average: 45%

U.S.: 46%

17
 Reading
Literacy

PLAN INTERNATIONAL

PLAN International Program Results Financial Year 1996

Region of Eastern and Southern Africa

TANZANIA

ZIMBABW
ETHIOPIA

UGANDA
MALAWI

ZAMBIA
SUDAN
KENYA
Growing up Healthy EGYPT

E
Health posts built with 4 rooms or less 1 0 6 0 1 2 0 9 26
Health workers trained for 1 day 1 053 0 719 0 425 1 003 20 80 1 085 4 385
Children given nutrition supplements > 1 10 195 0 2 240 2 400 0 0 0 0 251 402 266 237
week
Children given financial help with 984 0 396 0 305 0 581 0 17 2 283
health/dental treatment

Learning
Teachers trained for 1 week 0 0 367 0 970 115 565 0 303 2 320
School exercise books bought/donated 667 0 0 41 200 0 69 106 0 150 0 111 123
School textbooks bought/donated 0 0 45 650 9 600 1 182 8 769 7 285 150 58 387 131 023
Uniforms bought/made/donated 8 897 0 5 761 0 2 000 6 040 0 0 434 23 132
Children helped with school fees/a 12 321 0 1 598 0 154 0 0 0 2 014 16 087
scholarship
School desks built/bought/donated 3 200 0 3 689 250 1 564 1 725 1 794 0 4 109 16 331
Permanent classrooms built 44 0 50 8 93 31 45 0 82 353
Classrooms repaired 0 0 34 0 0 14 0 0 33 81
Adults receiving training in literacy this 1 160 0 3 000 568 3 617 0 0 0 350 8 695
Financial Year

Habitat
Latrines or toilets dug/built 50 0 2 403 0 57 162 23 96 4 311 7 102
Houses connected to a new sewage 143 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 143
system
Wells dug/improved (or springs capped) 0 0 15 0 7 13 0 0 159 194
New positive boreholes drilled 0 0 8 93 14 0 27 0 220 362
Gravity feed drinking water systems built 0 0 28 0 1 0 0 0 0 29
Drinking water systems repaired/improved 0 0 392 0 2 0 0 0 31 425
Houses improved with PLAN project 265 0 520 0 0 0 1 0 2 788
New houses built for beneficiaries 225 0 596 0 0 2 6 0 313 1 142
Community halls built or improved 2 0 2 0 3 0 3 0 2 12
Community leaders trained for 1 day or 2 214 95 3 522 232 200 3 575 814 20 2 693 13 365
more
Miles of roadway improved .75 0 16 0 0 0 0 0 33 50
Bridges built 0 0 4 2 11 0 0 0 1 18
Families benefited directly from erosion 0 0 1 092 0 1 500 0 0 0 18 405 20 997
control
Houses newly served by electrification 448 0 2 0 0 0 0 0 44 494
project

Source: Adapted from PLAN International Program Output Chart financial year 1996, appendix to Quarterly Report to the
International Board first quarter 1997.

18
Reading
Literacy

The preceding table is part of a report published by PLAN International, an international aid
organization. It gives some information about PLAN’s work in one of its regions of operation
(Eastern and Southern Africa). Refer to the table to answer the following questions.

Question 1: PLAN INTERNATIONAL R099Q04A

What does the table indicate about the level of PLAN International’s activity
in Ethiopia in 1996, compared with other countries in the region?

A The level of activity was comparatively high in Ethiopia.

B The level of activity was comparatively low in Ethiopia.
C It was about the same as in other countries in the region.
D It was comparatively high in the Habitat category, and low in the other categories.

SCORING:

Correct

Answer B. The level of activity was comparatively low in Ethiopia.

Incorrect

Other responses.

Note: This question is for information only and will not independently contribute to
the student’s score. The answer is taken into account in assessing the response to
Question 2. Percentage of students answering correctly is not available.

19
Reading
Literacy

Question 2: PLAN INTERNATIONAL R099Q04B- 0 1 2 3 9

Question intent: Reflect and evaluate

Text format: Non-continuous

In 1996 Ethiopia was one of the poorest countries in the world.

Taking this fact and the information in the table into account, what do you think
might explain the level of PLAN International’s activities in Ethiopia compared with
its activities in other countries?

SCORING:

Fully Correct

Student has answered Question 1 correctly (Answer B). Answers which explain the
level of PLAN’s activity by drawing on ALL the information supplied, with explicit or
implicit reference to the type of activity conducted in Ethiopia by PLAN. Answer
must also be consistent with (though does not need to refer to) BOTH of the
following:
1. PLAN’s low level of activity in Ethiopia (information supplied in the table); AND
2. Ethiopia’s poverty (information given in the stem).

Partially Correct

Student has answered Question 1 correctly (Answer B). Answers which explain the
level of PLAN’s work by drawing on MOST of the information supplied. Answer must
be consistent with (though does not need to refer to) BOTH of the following:
1. PLAN’s low level of activity in Ethiopia (information supplied in the table); AND
2. Ethiopia’s poverty (information given in the stem).

Incorrect

Student has answered Question 1 incorrectly (not

Answer B). OR
Student has answered Question 1 correctly (Answer B) but the answer does not
take into account the information supplied about Ethiopia’s relative poverty, or is
insufficient, vague, implausible, or irrelevant.

Percentage of students
answering correctly in
PISA 2000:

OECD average: 11%

U.S.: 6%

20
Reading
Literacy

POLICE

Scientific Police Weapons

21
Reading
Literacy

Refer to the magazine article above to answer the following questions.

Question 1: POLICE R100Q04

Question intent: Access and retrieve

Text format: Continuous

To explain the structure of DNA, the author talks about a pearl necklace. How do
these pearl necklaces vary from one individual to another?

A They vary in length.

B The order of the pearls is different.
C The number of necklaces is different.
D The color of the pearls is different.

SCORING:

Correct

Answer B. The order of the pearls is different.

Incorrect

Other responses.

Percentage of students
answering correctly in
PISA 2000:

OECD average: 61%

U.S.: 57%

22
Reading
Literacy

Question 2: POLICE R100Q05

Question intent: Integrate and interpret

Text format: Continuous

What is the purpose of the box headed “How is the genetic identity card

revealed”? To explain

A what DNA is.

B what a bar code is.
C how cells are analyzed to find the pattern of DNA.
D how it can be proved that a crime has been committed.

SCORING:

Correct

Answer C. how cells are analyzed to find the pattern of DNA.

Incorrect

Other responses.

Percentage of students
answering correctly in
PISA 2000:

OECD average: 59%

U.S.: 69%

23
Reading
Literacy

Question 3: POLICE R100Q06

Question intent: Integrate and interpret

Text format: Continuous

What is the author’s main aim?

A To warn.
B To amuse.
C To inform.
D To convince.

SCORING:

Correct

Answer C. To inform.

Incorrect

Other responses.

Percentage of students
answering correctly in
PISA 2000:

OECD average: 80%

U.S.: 84%

24
Reading
Literacy

Question 4: POLICE R100Q07

Question intent: Integrate and interpret

Text format: Continuous

The end of the introduction (the first shaded section) says: “But how to

prove it?” According to the passage, investigators try to find an answer to

this question by

A interrogating witnesses.
B carrying out genetic analyses.
C interrogating the suspect thoroughly.
D going over all the results of the investigation again.

SCORING:

Correct

B. carrying out genetic analyses.

Incorrect

Other responses.

Percentage of students
answering correctly in
PISA 2000:

OECD average: 81%

U.S.: 79%

25
Reading
Literacy

THE GIFT
How many days, she wondered, had she sat like this, watching the cold brown
water inch up the dissolving bluff. She could just faintly remember the beginning of
the rain, driving in across the swamp from the south and beating against the shell
of her house. Then the river itself started rising, slowly at first until at last it paused
to turn back. From hour to hour it slithered up creeks and ditches and poured over
low places. In the night, while she slept, it claimed the road and surrounded her so
that she sat alone, her boat gone, the house like a piece of drift lodged on its bluff.
Now even against the tarred planks of the supports the waters touched. And still
they rose.
As far as she could see, to the treetops where the opposite banks had been, the
swamp was an empty sea, awash with sheets of rain, the river lost somewhere in its
vastness. Her house with its boat bottom had been built to ride just such a flood, if
one ever came, but now it was old. Maybe the boards underneath were partly rotted
away. Maybe the cable mooring the house to the great live oak would snap loose
and let her go turning downstream, the way her boat had gone.
No one could come now. She could cry out but it would be no use, no one would
hear. Down the length and breadth of the swamp others were fighting to save what
little they could, maybe even their lives. She had seen a whole house go floating
by, so quiet she was reminded of sitting at a funeral. She thought when she saw it
she knew whose house it was. It had been bad seeing it drift by, but the owners
must have escaped to higher ground. Later, with the rain and darkness pressing in,
she had heard a panther scream upriver.
Now the house seemed to shudder around her like something alive. She reached
out to catch a lamp as it tilted off the table by her bed and put it between her feet
to hold it steady. Then creaking and groaning with effort the house struggled up
from the clay, floated free, bobbing like a cork and swung out slowly with the pull
of the river. She gripped the edge of the bed. Swaying from side to side, the house
moved to the length of its mooring. There was a jolt and a complaining of old
timbers and then a pause. Slowly the current released it and let it swing back,
rasping across its resting place. She caught her breath and sat for a long time
feeling the slow pendulous sweeps. The dark sifted down through the incessant
rain, and head on arm, she slept holding on to the bed.
Sometime in the night the cry awoke her, a sound so anguished she was on her
feet before she was awake. In the dark she stumbled against the bed. It came from
out there, from the river. She could hear something moving, something large that
made a dredging, sweeping sound. It could be another house. Then it hit, not head
on but glancing and sliding down the length of her house. It was a tree. She listened
as the branches and leaves cleared themselves and went on downstream, leaving
only the rain and the lappings of the flood, sounds so constant now that they
seemed a part of the silence. Huddled on the bed, she was almost asleep again
when another cry sounded, this time so close it could have been in the room.
Staring into the dark, she eased back on the bed until her hand caught the cold
shape of the rifle. Then crouched on the pillow, she cradled the gun across her
knees. “Who’s there?” she called.
The answer was a repeated cry, but less shrill, tired sounding, then the empty
silence closing in. She drew back against the bed. Whatever was there she could
hear it moving about on the porch. Planks creaked and she could distinguish the
sounds of objects being knocked over.
26
Reading
Literacy
There was a scratching on the wall as if it would tear its way in. She knew now
what it was, a big cat, deposited by the uprooted tree that had passed her. It had
come with the flood, a gift.
Unconsciously she pressed her hand against her face and along her tightened
throat. The rifle rocked across her knees. She had never seen a panther in her
life. She had heard about

27
Reading
Literacy

them from others and heard their cries, like suffering, in the distance. The cat was
scratching on the wall again, rattling the window by the door. As long as she
guarded the window and kept the cat hemmed in by the wall and water, caged, she
would be all right. Outside, the animal paused to rake his claws across the rusted
outer screen. Now and then, it whined and growled.
When the light filtered down through the rain at last, coming like another kind of
dark, she was still sitting on the bed, stiff and cold. Her arms, used to rowing on the
river, ached from the stillness of holding the rifle. She had hardly allowed herself to
move for fear any sound might give strength to the cat. Rigid, she swayed with the
movement of the house. The rain still fell as if it would never stop. Through the grey
light, finally, she could see the rain-pitted flood and far away the cloudy shape of
drowned treetops. The cat was not moving now. Maybe he had gone away. Laying
the gun aside she slipped off the bed and moved without a sound to the window. It
was still there, crouched at the edge of the porch, staring up at the live oak, the
mooring of her house, as if gauging its chances of leaping to an overhanging
branch. It did not seem so frightening now that she could see it, its coarse fur
napped into twigs, its sides pinched and ribs showing. It would be easy to shoot it
where it sat, its long tail whipping back and forth. She was moving back to get the
gun when it turned around. With no warning, no crouch or tensing of muscles, it
sprang at the window, shattering a pane of glass. She fell back, stifling a scream,
and taking up the rifle, she fired through the window. She could not see the panther
now, but she had missed. It began to pace again. She could glimpse its head and
the arch of its back as it passed the window.
Shivering, she pulled back on the bed and lay down. The lulling constant sound of
the river and the rain, the penetrating chill, drained away her purpose. She watched
the window and kept the gun ready. After waiting a long while she moved again to
look. The panther had fallen asleep, its head on its paws, like a housecat. For the
first time since the rains began she wanted to cry, for herself, for all the people, for
everything in the flood. Sliding down on the bed, she pulled the quilt around her
shoulders. She should have got out when she could, while the roads were still open
or before her boat was washed away. As she rocked back and forth with the sway of
the house a deep ache in her stomach reminded her she hadn’t eaten. She couldn’t
remember for how long. Like the cat, she was starving. Easing into the kitchen, she
made a fire with the few remaining sticks of wood. If the flood lasted she would
have to burn the chair, maybe even the table itself. Taking down the remains of a
smoked ham from the ceiling, she cut thick slices of the brownish red meat and
placed them in a skillet. The smell of the frying meat made her dizzy. There were
stale biscuits from the last time she had cooked and she could make some coffee.
There was plenty of water.
While she was cooking her food, she almost forgot about the cat until it whined. It
was hungry too. “Let me eat,” she called to it, “and then I’ll see to you.” And she
laughed under her breath.
As she hung the rest of the ham back on its nail the cat growled a deep throaty
rumble that made her hand shake.
After she had eaten, she went to the bed again and took up the rifle. The house
had risen so high now it no longer scraped across the bluff when it swung back from
the river. The food had warmed her. She could get rid of the cat while light still
hung in the rain. She crept slowly to the window. It was still there, mewling,
beginning to move about the porch. She stared at it a long time, unafraid. Then
without thinking what she was doing, she laid the gun aside and started around the
28
Reading
Literacy
edge of the bed to the kitchen. Behind her the cat was moving, fretting. She took
down what was left of the ham and making her way back across the swaying floor
to the window she shoved it through the broken pane. On the other side there was
a hungry snarl and something like a shock passed from the animal to her. Stunned
by what she had done, she drew back to the bed. She could hear the sounds of the
panther tearing at the meat. The house rocked around her.

29
Reading
Literacy

The next time she awoke she knew at once that everything had changed. The
rain had stopped. She felt for the movement of the house but it no longer swayed
on the flood. Drawing her door open, she saw through the torn screen a different
world. The house was resting on the bluff where it always had. A few feet down, the
river still raced on in a torrent, but it no longer covered the few feet between the
house and the live oak. And the cat was gone. Leading from the porch to the live
oak and doubtless on into the swamp were tracks, indistinct and already
disappearing into the soft mud. And there on the porch, gnawed to whiteness, was
what was left of the ham.

Source: Louis Dollarhide, “The Gift” in Mississippi Writers: Reactions of Childhood and Youth,
Volume I, edited by Dorothy Abbott, University Press of Mississippi, 1985.

30
Reading
Literacy

Use the story “The Gift” on the previous pages to answer the questions which follow. (Note that
line numbers are given in the margin of the story to help you find parts which are referred to in
the questions.)

Question 1: THE GIFT R119Q09A- 0 1 9

R119Q09B- 0 1 9

Question intent: Reflect and evaluate

Text format: Continuous

Here is part of a conversation between two people who read “The Gift”:

I think the woman in the

story is heartless and
cruel.

How can you say that? I

think she’s a very
compassionate person.

Give evidence from the story to show how each of these speakers could justify their
point of view.

Speaker 1

Speaker 2

31
Reading
Literacy

SCORING:

Fully Correct: Answers scored as “Correct” for Speaker 1 AND Speaker 2

(Speaker 1 – “heartless and cruel”)

Correct

Answers which provide evidence from the story to support the idea that the
woman is heartless and cruel. May refer to her intention to shoot the panther, or to
the fact that she actually shoots at the panther. May use quotation or close
paraphrase from the story.

Incorrect

Answers which show inaccurate comprehension of the material or are implausible or irrelevant

(Speaker 2 – “compassionate”)

Correct

Answers which provide evidence from the story to support the idea that the woman
is compassionate. May refer to her action in feeding the panther, or to suggestions
about her capacity for compassion towards the panther or more generally. May use
quotation or close paraphrase from the story.

Incorrect

Answers which show inaccurate comprehension of the material or are implausible or irrelevant.

Percentage of students
answering correctly in
PISA 2000:

OECD average: 64%

U.S.: 65%

32
Reading
Literacy

Question 2: THE GIFT R119Q01

Question intent: Interpreting text

Text format: Continuous

What is the woman’s situation at the beginning of the story?

A She is too weak to leave the house after days without food.
B She is defending herself against a wild animal.
C Her house has been surrounded by flood waters.
D A flooded river has swept her house away.

SCORING:

Correct

Answer C. Her house has been surrounded by flood waters.

Incorrect

Other responses.

Percentage of students
answering correctly in
PISA 2000:

OECD average: 73%

U.S.: 78%

33
Reading
Literacy

Question 3: THE GIFT R119Q07- 0 1 2 3 9

Question intent: Interpreting text

Text format: Continuous

Here are some of the early references to the panther in the story.

“the cry awoke her, a sound so anguished…” (line 32)

“The answer was a repeated cry, but less shrill, tired sounding…”

(line 44) “She had…heard their cries, like suffering, in the

distance.” (lines 52–53)

Considering what happens in the rest of the story, why do you think the writer
chooses to introduce the panther with these descriptions?

SCORING:

Fully Correct

Answers which recognize that the descriptions are intended to evoke pity.
Reference to writer’s intention or effect on the reader may be stated or implied.
Reference to what happens in the rest of the story may be stated or implied. May
suggest that:

1. the descriptions quoted link the panther with the woman (or humans
generally) in suffering; OR
2. the descriptions quoted prepare for the woman’s later compassionate
behavior towards the panther; OR the panther is presented as an object of
compassion.

Partially correct

Answers which refer to possible intentions (or effects) of the quoted descriptions,
other than that of evoking pity. Comment is consistent with comprehension of the
text. Reference to writer’s intention or effect on the reader may be stated or
implied. References to what happens in the rest of the story may be stated or
implied. May refer to:

1. the intention/effect of creating suspense or mystery (Note that such terms

as “frightening” and “scary” are considered to show lack of
comprehension of the quoted descriptions; and “interesting”, “easy to
read” and “clear” are not considered to be adequately specific); OR
2. the idea that the panther is presented from the woman’s point of view.

34
Reading
Literacy
Answers which refer to the literal information given in the quoted descriptions.
Comment is consistent with comprehension of the text. Reference to writer’s
intention or effect on the reader

35
Reading
Literacy

may be stated or implied. References to what happens in the rest of the story may
be stated or implied. May refer to:

1. the realistic depiction of the panther; OR

2. the way the descriptions fit with the literal setting and situation.

Incorrect

Answers which show inaccurate comprehension of the material or are implausible or irrelevant.

Percentage of students
answering correctly in
PISA 2000:

OECD average: 43%

U.S.: 50%

36
Reading
Literacy

Question 4: THE GIFT R119Q06

Question intent: Access and retrieve

Text format: Continuous

“Then creaking and groaning with effort the house struggled up …”

(line 24) What happened to the house in this part of the story?

A It fell apart.
B It began to float.
C It crashed into the oak tree.
D It sank to the bottom of the river.

SCORING:

Correct

Answer B. It began to float.

Incorrect

Other responses.

Percentage of students
answering correctly in
PISA 2000:

OECD average: 85%

U.S.: 85%

37
Reading
Literacy

Question 5: THE GIFT R119Q08- 0 1 2 9

Question intent: Integrate and interpret

Text format: Continuous

What does the story suggest was the woman’s reason for feeding the panther?

SCORING:

Correct

Recognizes the implication that the woman is motivated by pity or empathy towards
the panther. May also mention that the woman does not consciously understand her
own motivation. OR

Recognizes that the story does not explicitly explain the woman’s motivation and/or
that she does not consciously understand it. OR

Recognizes the panther’s physical need for food or help, without referring to the
woman’s motivation.

Incorrect

Answers which show inaccurate comprehension of the material or are implausible or irrelevant.

Percentage of students
answering correctly in
PISA 2000:

OECD average: 57%

U.S.: 58%

38
Reading
Literacy

Question 6: THE GIFT R119Q04

Question intent: Integrate and interpret

Text format: Continuous

When the woman says, “and then I’ll see to you” (line 92) she means that she is

A sure that the cat won’t hurt her.

B trying to frighten the cat.
C intending to shoot the cat.
D planning to feed the cat.

SCORING:

Correct

Answer C. intending to shoot the cat.

Incorrect

Other responses.

Percentage of students
answering correctly in
PISA 2000:

OECD average: 41%

U.S.: 35%

39
Reading
Literacy

Question 7: THE GIFT R119Q05- 0 1 2 3 9

Question intent: Reflect and evaluate

Text format: Continuous

Do you think that the last sentence of “The Gift” is an appropriate ending?

Explain your answer, demonstrating your understanding of how the last sentence
relates to the story’s meaning.

SCORING:

Fully Correct

Answers which go beyond a literal interpretation of the story while interpreting it in

a way which is consistent with accurate literal comprehension. Evaluates the
ending in terms of thematic completeness, by relating the last sentence to central
relationships, issues or metaphors in the story. Answer may refer, for example, to
the relationship between the panther and the woman; to survival; or to a gift or
thanks. Opinion about appropriateness may be stated or implied.

Answers which go beyond a literal interpretation of the story while interpreting it in

a way which is consistent with accurate literal comprehension. Evaluates the
ending in terms of style or mood, by relating the last sentence to the general style
or mood of the rest of the story. Opinion about appropriateness may be stated or
implied.

Partially Correct

Answers which respond at a literal level, in a way which is consistent with accurate
literal comprehension of the story. Evaluates the ending in terms of narrative
sequence, by relating the last sentence to explicit events, (e.g. the cat having eaten
the meat; the visit of the panther to the house; the subsiding of the flood). Opinion
about appropriateness may be stated or implied.

Incorrect

Answers which show inaccurate comprehension of the material or are implausible or irrelevant.

Percentage of students
answering correctly in
PISA 2000:

OECD average: 37%

U.S.: 45%
40
Reading
Literacy

The two letters below come from the internet and are about graffiti. Graffiti is illegal painting and
writing on walls and elsewhere. Refer to the letters to answer the questions below.

GRAFFITI
I’m simmering with anger as the school wall is cleaned and repainted for the
fourth time to get rid of graffiti. Creativity is admirable but people should find
ways to express themselves that do not inflict extra costs upon society.
Why do you spoil the reputation of young people by painting graffiti where it’s forbidden?
Professional artists do not hang their paintings in the streets, do they? Instead
they seek funding and gain fame through legal exhibitions.
In my opinion buildings, fences and park benches are works of art in
themselves. It’s really pathetic to spoil this architecture with graffiti and what’s
more, the method destroys the ozone layer. Really, I can’t understand why these
criminal artists bother as their “artistic works” are just removed from sight over
and over again.
Helga

There is no accounting for taste. Society is full of communication and advertising.

Company logos, shop names. Large intrusive posters on the streets. Are they
acceptable? Yes, mostly. Is graffiti acceptable? Some people say yes, some no.
Who pays the price for graffiti? Who is ultimately paying the price for advertisements?
Correct. The consumer.
Have the people who put up billboards asked your permission? No.
Should graffiti painters do so then? Isn’t it all just a question of
communication – your own name, the names of gangs and large works of art
in the street?
Think about the striped and checkered clothes that appeared in the stores a
few years ago. And ski wear. The patterns and colors were stolen directly from
the flowery concrete walls. It’s quite amusing that these patterns and colors are
accepted and admired but that graffiti in the same style is considered dreadful.
Times are hard for art.
Sophia

41
Reading
Literacy

Question 1: GRAFFITI R081Q01

Question intent: Integrate and interpret

Text format: Continuous

The purpose of each of these letters is to

A explain what graffiti is.

B present an opinion about graffiti.
C demonstrate the popularity of graffiti.
D tell people how much is spent removing graffiti.

SCORING:

Correct

B. Present an opinion about graffiti.

Incorrect

Other responses.

Percentage of students
answering correctly in
PISA 2000:

OECD average: 78%

U.S.: 84%

42
Reading
Literacy

Question 2: GRAFFITI R081Q05- 0 1 9

Question intent: Integrate and interpret

Text format: Continuous

Why does Sophia refer to advertising?

SCORING:

Correct

Answers which recognize that a comparison is being drawn between

graffiti and advertising, and are consistent with the idea that advertising
is a legal form of graffiti.

OR

Answers which recognize that referring to advertising is a strategy to defend graffiti.

Incorrect

Answers which show inaccurate comprehension of the material or are

implausible or irrelevant.

Percentage of students
answering correctly in
PISA 2000:

OECD average: 53%

U.S.: 45%

43
Reading
Literacy

Question 3: GRAFFITI R081Q06A- 0 1 9

Question intent: Reflect and evaluate

Text format: Continuous

Which of the two letter writers do you agree with? Explain your answer by
using your own words to refer to what is said in one or both of the letters.

SCORING:

Correct

Answers which explain student’s point of view by referring to the content

of one or both letters. May refer to the writer’s general position (i.e. for or
against) or to a detail of her argument. Interpretation of writer’s argument
must be plausible. Explanation may take the form of paraphrase of part of
the text, but must not be wholly or largely copied without alteration or
addition.

Incorrect

Support for own point of view is confined to a direct quotation (with or

without quotation marks). OR

Answers which show inaccurate comprehension of the material or are

implausible or irrelevant.

Percentage of students
answering correctly in
PISA 2000:

OECD average: 68%

U.S.: 74%

44
Reading
Literacy

Question 4: GRAFFITI R081Q06B- 0 1 9

Question intent: Reflect and evaluate

Text format: Continuous

We can talk about what a letter says (its content).

We can talk about the way a letter is written (its style).

Regardless of which letter you agree with, in your opinion, which do you
think is the better letter? Explain your answer by referring to the way one
or both letters are written.

SCORING:

Correct

Answers which explain opinion with reference to the style or form of one
or both letters. They should refer to criteria such as style of writing,
structure of argument, cogency of argument, tone, register used,
strategies for persuading readers. Terms like “better arguments” must be
substantiated.

Incorrect

Answers which judge in terms of agreement or disagreement with the

writer’s position, or simply paraphrases content. OR

Answers which show inaccurate comprehension of the material or are

implausible or irrelevant.

Percentage of students
answering correctly in
PISA 2000:

OECD average: 45%

U.S.: 44%

45
Reading
Literacy

LABOR

The tree diagram below shows the structure of a country’s labor force or “working-
age population”. The total population of the country in 1995 was about 3.4 million.

The Labor Force Structure year ended 31 March 1995 (000s)1

46
Reading
Literacy

Use the information about a country’s labor force to answer the questions below.

Question 1: LABOR R088Q01

Question intent: Integrate and interpret

Text format: Non-continuous

What are the two main groups into which the working-age population is divided?

A Employed and unemployed.

B Of working age and not of working age.
C Full-time workers and part-time workers.
D In the labor force and not in the labor force.

SCORING:

Correct

Answer D. In the labor force and not in the labor force.

Incorrect

Other responses.

Percentage of students
answering correctly in
PISA 2000:

OECD average: 63%

U.S.: 65%

47
Reading
Literacy

Question 2: LABOR R088Q03- 0 1 2 9

Question intent: Access and retrieve

Text format: Non-continuous

How many people of working age were not in the labor force? (Write the
number of people, not the percentage.)

SCORING:

Fully Correct

Answers which indicate that the number in the tree diagram AND the
“000s” in the title/footnote have been integrated: 949,900. Allow
approximations 949,000 and 950,000 in figures or words. Also accept
900,000 or one million (in words or figures) with qualifier.

Partially Correct

Answers which indicate that the number in tree diagram has been
located, but that the “000s” in the title/footnote have not been correctly
integrated. Answers 949.9 in words or figures. Allow approximations
comparable to those”Fully Correct”. For example, 949.9; 94,900; almost a
thousand; just under 950; about 900; just under
1000.

Incorrect

Other responses.

Percentage of students
answering correctly in
PISA 2000:

OECD average: 46%

U.S.: 48%

48
Reading
Literacy

QUESTION 3: LABOR R088Q04

Question intent: Integrate and interpret

Text format: Non-continuous

In which part of the tree diagram, if any, would each of the people listed
in the table below be included?

The first one has been done for you.

“In labor “In labor “Not in Not

force: force: labor force” included
employed” unem- in any
ployed” category

A part-time waiter, aged 35

A business woman, aged 43, who

works a sixty-hour week

A full-time student, aged 21

A man, aged 28, who recently sold his

shop and is looking for work

A woman, aged 55, who has never

worked or wanted to work outside the
home
A grandmother, aged 80, who still
works a few hours a day at the family’s
market stall

49
Reading
Literacy

SCORING:

“In labor “In labor “Not in Not

force: force: labor force” included
employed” unem- in any
ployed” category

A part-time waiter, aged 35

A business woman, aged 43, who

works a sixty-hour week

A full-time student, aged 21

A man, aged 28, who recently sold his

shop and is looking for work

A woman, aged 55, who has never

worked or wanted to work outside the
home
A grandmother, aged 80, who still
works a few hours a day at the family’s
market stall

Fully Correct

5 correct. See marked boxes.

Partially Correct

3 or 4 correct.

Incorrect

2 or fewer correct.

Percentage of students
answering correctly in
PISA 2000:

OECD average: 39%

U.S.: 40%

50
Reading
Literacy

QUESTION 4: LABOR R088Q05

Question intent: Reflect and evaluate

Text format: Non-continuous

Suppose that information about the labor force was presented in a tree
diagram like this every year.

Listed below are four features of the tree diagram. Show whether or not
you would expect these features to change from year to year, by circling
either “Change” or “No change”. The first one has been done for you.

Features of Tree Diagram Answer

The labels in each box (e.g. “In labor Change / No change

force”)
The percentages (e.g. “64.2%”) Change / No change

The numbers (e.g. “2656.5”) Change / No change

The footnotes under the tree diagram Change / No change

SCORING:

Features of Tree Diagram Answer

The labels in each box (e.g. “In labor Change / No change

force”)
The percentages (e.g. “64.2%”) Change / No change

The numbers (e.g. “2656.5”) Change / No change

The footnotes under the tree diagram Change / No change

51
Reading
Literacy

Correct

3 correct. See circled answers.

Incorrect

2 or fewer

Percentage of students
answering correctly in
PISA 2000:

OECD average: 69%

U.S.: 67%

52
Reading
Literacy

QUESTION 5: LABOR R088Q07

Question intent: Reflect and evaluate

Text format: Non-continuous

The information about the labor force structure is presented as a tree

diagram, but it could have been presented in a number of other ways,
such as a written description, a pie chart, a graph or a table.

The tree diagram was probably chosen because it is especially useful for showing

A changes over time.

B the size of the country’s total population.
C categories within each group.
D the size of each group.

SCORING:

Correct

Answer C. Categories within each group.

Incorrect

Other responses.

Percentage of students
answering correctly in
PISA 2000:

OECD average: 62%

U.S.: 64%

53
Reading
Literacy

On the next two pages there are two texts. Text 1 is an extract from the play
Léocadia by Jean Anouilh and Text 2 gives definitions of theatrical occupations.
Refer to the texts to answer the questions which follow.

AMANDA AND THE DUCHESS

TEXT 1

AMANDA AND THE DUCHESS

Summary: Since Léocadia’s death, the Prince, who was in love with her,
has been inconsolable. At a shop called Réséda Soeurs, the Duchess, who is
the Prince’s aunt, has met a young shop assistant, Amanda, who looks
amazingly like Léocadia. The Duchess wants Amanda to help her set the
Prince free from the memories which haunt him.
A crossroads in the castle grounds, a circular
bench around a small obelisk…evening is She has got up. As if about to leave, she has
falling… picked up her small suitcase.

AMANDA THE DUCHESS, gently also, and very wearily

I still don’t understand. What can I do for Of course, my dear. I apologize.
him, ma’am? I can’t believe you could
possibly have thought…And why me? I’m She in turn gets up, with difficulty, like an old
not particularly pretty. And even if woman. A bicycle bell is heard in the evening
someone were very pretty— who could air; she gives a start.
suddenly come between him and his
memories like that? Listen…it’s him! Just show yourself to
him, leaning against this little obelisk
THE DUCHESS where he first met her. Let him see you,
No one but you. even if it’s just this once, let him call out,
take a sudden interest in this likeness, in
AMANDA, sincerely surprised this stratagem which I shall confess to
Me? him tomorrow and for which he will hate
me—in anything but this dead girl who’ll
THE DUCHESS take him away from me one of these
The world is so foolish, my child. It sees days, I’m sure…(She has taken her by the
only parades, gestures, badges of office… arm.) You will do that, won’t you? I beg
that must be why you have never been you most humbly, young lady. (She looks
told. But my heart hasn’t deceived me—I at her, beseechingly, and quickly adds:) And
almost cried out at Réséda Soeurs the then, that way, you’ll see him too. And…I
first time I saw you. To someone who can feel that I’m blushing again from
knew more of her than just her public saying this to you—life is just too mad!
image, you are the living likeness of That’s the third time I’ve blushed in sixty
Léocadia. years, and the second time in ten minutes
— you’ll see him; and if he could ever
A silence. The evening birds have now taken (why not him, since he’s handsome and
over from the afternoon birds. The grounds are charming and he wouldn’t be the first?) if
filled with shadows and twittering. he could ever have the good fortune, for
himself and for me, to take your fancy for
AMANDA, very gently one moment…The bell again in the shadows,
I really don’t think I can, ma’am. I have but very close now.
nothing, I am nothing, and those lovers…
AMANDA, in a whisper
that was my fancy, don’t you see?
What should I say to him?
54
Reading
Literacy

THE DUCHESS, gripping her arm

Simply say: “Excuse me, Sir, can you again in the distance. The Duchess comes out
tell me the way to the sea?” of the shadows, very much an old woman.

She has hurried into the deeper shadows of the AMANDA, gently, after a while
trees. Just in time. There is a pale blur. It is the He didn’t recognize me…
Prince on his bicycle. He passes very close to
the pale blur of Amanda by the obelisk. She THE DUCHESS
murmurs. It was dark…And then, who knows what
face he gives her now, in his dreams?
AMANDA (She asks timidly:) The last train has gone,
Excuse me, Sir… young lady. In any case, wouldn’t you like
to stay at the castle tonight?
He stops, dismounts from the bicycle, takes off
AMANDA, in a strange voice
his hat and looks at her.
Yes, ma’am.
THE PRINCE
It is completely dark. The two of them can no
Yes?
longer be seen in the shadows, and only the
AMANDA wind can be heard in the huge trees of the
grounds.
Can you tell me the way to the sea?
THE CURTAIN FALLS
THE PRINCE
Take the second turning on your left.
Source: Jean ANOUILH, Léocadia (end of
He bows, sadly and courteously, gets back on Scene II). Published by LA TABLE RONDE,
the bicycle and rides away. The bell is heard 1984

55
Reading
Literacy

TEXT 2

DEFINITIONS OF SOME THEATRICAL OCCUPATIONS

Actor: plays a character on stage.

Director: controls and oversees all aspects of a play. He not only positions the
actors, arranges their entrances and exits and directs their acting, but also
suggests how the script is to be interpreted.

Wardrobe staff: produce the costumes from a model.

Set designer: designs models of the sets and costumes. These models are then
transformed into their full size in the workshop.

Props manager: in charge of finding the required props. The word “props” is used to
mean everything that can be moved: armchairs, letters, lamps, bunches of flowers,
etc. The sets and costumes are not props.

Sound technician: in charge of all sound effects required for the production. He is at
the controls during the show.

Lighting assistant or lighting technician: in charge of lighting. He is also at the

controls during the show. Lighting is so sophisticated that a well-equipped theatre
can employ up to ten lighting technicians.

56
Reading
Literacy

Question R216Q01
1: AMANDA AND THE DUCHESS

Question intent: Interpreting text

Text format: Continuous

What is this extract from the play

about? The Duchess thinks of a trick

A to get the Prince to come and see her more often.

B to get the Prince to make up his mind finally to get married.
C to get Amanda to make the Prince forget his grief.
D to get Amanda to come and live at the castle with her.

SCORING:

Correct

Answer C. to get Amanda to make the Prince forget his grief.

Incorrect

Other responses.

Percentage of students
answering correctly in
PISA 2000:

OECD average: 74%

U.S.: 66%

57
Reading
Literacy

Question 2: AMANDA AND THE DUCHESS R216Q02- 0 1 9

Question intent: Reflect and evaluate

Text format: Continuous

In the script of the play, in addition to the words to be spoken by the actors, there
are directions for the actors and theatre technicians to follow.

How can these directions be recognized in the script?

SCORING:

Correct

Answers which refer to italics. Allow non-technical descriptions. May mention

parentheses as well as italics.

Incorrect

Answers which show inaccurate comprehension of the material or are implausible or irrelevant.

Percentage of students
answering correctly in
PISA 2000:

OECD average: 45%

U.S.: 48%

58
Reading
Literacy

R216Q03A-019
Question 3: AMANDA AND THE DUCHESS
R216Q03B-019
R216Q03C-019

Question intent: Integrate and interpret

Text format: Non-continuous

The table below lists theatre technicians involved in staging this extract from
Léocadia. Complete the table by indicating one stage direction from TEXT 1 which
would require the involvement of each technician.

The first one has been done for you.

Theatre technicians Stage direction

Set designer A circular bench around a small obelisk

Props manager

Sound technician

Lighting technician

SCORING:

Props Manager

Correct

Answers which indicate suitcase OR bicycle. May quote a phrase from the stage directions.

Incorrect

Other responses.

59
Reading
Literacy

Sound technician

Correct

Answers which indicate bird song OR (evening) birds OR twittering OR bicycle bell
OR wind OR silence. May quote a phrase from the stage directions.

Incorrect

Other responses.

Lighting technician

Correct

Indicates shadows OR pale blur OR [completely] dark OR evening

Incorrect

Other responses.

Percentage of students
answering correctly in
PISA 2000:

OECD average: 44%

U.S.: 44%

60
Reading
Literacy

Question 4: AMANDA AND THE DUCHESS R216Q04- 0 1 9

Question intent: Access and retrieve

Text format: Continuous

The director positions the actors on the stage. On a diagram, the director
represents Amanda with the letter A and the Duchess with the letter D.

Put an A and a D on the following diagram of the set to show approximately where
Amanda and the Duchess are when the Prince arrives.

Wings
Wings

Wings

61
Reading
Literacy

SCORING:

Correct

Marks A by the obelisk and D behind or near the trees.

Incorrect

Other responses.

Percentage of students
answering correctly in
PISA 2000:

OECD average: 37%

U.S.: 28%

62
Reading
Literacy

Question R216Q06
5: AMANDA AND THE DUCHESS

Question intent: Integrate and interpret

Text format: Continuous

Towards the end of the extract from the play, Amanda says, “He didn’t recognize

me…”. What does she mean by that?

A That the Prince didn’t look at Amanda.

B That the Prince didn’t realize that Amanda was a shop assistant.
C That the Prince didn’t realize that he’d already met Amanda.
D That the Prince didn’t notice that Amanda looked like Léocadia.

SCORING:

Correct

Answer D. That the Prince didn’t notice that Amanda looked like Léocadia.

Incorrect

Other responses.

Percentage of students
answering correctly in
PISA 2000:

OECD average: 67%

U.S.: 61%

63
Reading
Literacy

RUNNERS
Feel Good in your Runners

For 14 years the Sports Medicine Centre of Lyon (France) has been studying the injuries of
young sports players and sports professionals. The study has established that the best course
is prevention … and good shoes.

64
Reading
Literacy

Use the article above to answer the questions below.

Question 1: RUNNERS R110Q01

Question intent: Integrate and interpret

Text format: Continuous

What does the author intend to show in this text?

A That the quality of many sports shoes has greatly improved.

B That it is best not to play football if you are under 12 years of age.
C That young people are suffering more and more injuries due to their
poor physical condition.
D That it is very important for young sports players to wear good sports shoes.

SCORING:

Correct

Answer D. That it is very important for young sports players to wear good sports shoes.

Incorrect

Other responses.

Percentage of students
answering correctly in
PISA 2000:

OECD average: 85%

U.S.: 77%

65
Reading
Literacy

Question 2: RUNNERS R110Q04- 0 1 9

Question intent: Access and retrieve

Text format: Continuous

According to the article, why should sports shoes not be too rigid?

SCORING:

Correct

Answers which refer to restriction of movement.

Incorrect

Answers which show inaccurate comprehension of the material or are implausible or irrelevant.

Percentage of students
answering correctly in
PISA 2000:

OECD average: 79%

U.S.: 74%

66
Reading
Literacy

Question 3: RUNNERS R110Q05- 0 1 9

Question intent: Access and retrieve

Text format: Continuous

One part of the article says, “A good sports shoe should meet four

criteria.” What are these criteria?

SCORING:

Correct

Answers which refer to the four criteria in italics in the text. Each reference may be
a direct quotation, a paraphrase or an elaboration of the criterion. Criteria may be
given in any order. The four criteria are:

1. To provide exterior protection

2. To support the foot
3. To provide good stability
4. To absorb shocks

Incorrect

Other responses.

Percentage of students
answering correctly in
PISA 2000:

OECD average: 76%

U.S.: 78%

67
Reading
Literacy

Question 4: RUNNERS R110Q06

Question intent: Reflect and evaluate

Text format: Continuous

Look at this sentence from near the end of the article. It is presented here in two parts:

“To avoid minor but painful conditions such as blisters (first part)
or even splits or athlete’s foot (fungal infections),…”

“…the shoe must allow evaporation of perspiration (second part)

and must prevent outside dampness from getting in.”

What is the relationship between the first and second parts of the

sentence? The second part

A contradicts the first part.

B repeats the first part.
C illustrates the problem described in the first part.
D gives the solution to the problem described in the first part.

SCORING:

Correct

Answer D. Gives the solution to the problem described in the first part.

Incorrect

Other responses.

Percentage of students
answering correctly in
PISA 2000:

OECD average: 78%

U.S.: 78%

68
Reading
Literacy

NEW RULES

Use the newspaper editorial “Technology creates the need for new rules” above to answer the
questions below.

69
Reading
Literacy

Question 1: NEW RULES R236Q01- 0 1 9

Question intent: Integrate and interpret

Text format: Continuous

Underline the sentence that explains what the Australians did to help decide how
to deal with the frozen embryos belonging to a couple killed in the plane crash.

SCORING:

Correct

Answers which underline OR circle the sentence OR a part of the sentence that
contains at least ONE of the following:

1. “set up a commission”
2. “three months be allowed for public opinion to respond to the
commission recommendation. ”

Incorrect

Other responses.

Percentage of students
answering correctly in
PISA 2000:

OECD average: 48%

U.S.: 41%

70
Reading
Literacy

Question 2: NEW RULES R236Q02- 0 1 2 9

Question intent: Integrate and interpret

Text format: Continuous

List two examples from the editorial that illustrate how modern technology, such as
that used for implanting frozen embryos, creates the need for new rules.

SCORING:

Correct

Answers which mention at least TWO of the following:

1. When the Rioses died, there was a controversy over what was to be done
with the embryos. [Don’t accept controversies in paragraph 4 (e.g., “What
was the hospital to do with the frozen embryos?” “Were the embryos
entitled to the estate?”) unless the respondent explicitly links these
controversies to the death of the embryo donors (the Rioses).]
2. A woman in France had to go to court to be allowed to use her deceased
husband’s sperm.
3. What should the rules be for a surrogate mother who refused to give up
the infant she bore?

OR

Mentions ONE of the examples given above relating to bio-technology ((1), (2) or
(3)) AND (the destructive potential of) atomic power.

Incorrect

Other responses.

Percentage of students
answering correctly in
PISA 2000:

OECD average: 25%

U.S.: 22%

71
Reading
Literacy

PERSONNEL

CANCO Manufacturing Company

Personnel Department

Center on Internal and External Mobility

72
 Reading
Literacy

Use the announcement from a personnel department above to answer the questions below.

Question 1: PERSONNEL R234Q01- 0 1 9

Question intent: Access and retrieve

Text format: Continuous

According to the announcement, where could you get more information about CIEM?

SCORING:

Correct

Answers which mention at least ONE of the

following: From the personnel department

From the personnel counsellor

Incorrect

Other responses.

Percentage of students
answering correctly in
PISA 2000:

OECD average: 86%

U.S.: 92%

73
Reading
Literacy

Question 2: PERSONNEL R234Q02- 0 1 9

Question intent: Access and retrieve

Text format: Continuous

List two ways in which CIEM helps people who will lose their jobs because of a
departmental reorganization.

SCORING:

Correct

Mentions BOTH of the following:

1. They act as a mediator for employees OR mediation

2. They assist with finding new positions. [Don’t accept: “Job Data Bank”, “Guidance”,
“Courses”, or “Career Change Projects”.]

Incorrect

Other responses.

Percentage of students
answering correctly in
PISA 2000:

OECD average: 31%

U.S.: 26%

74
Reading
Literacy

CELL PHONE SAFETY

Are cell phones dangerous?

Yes No

1. Radio waves given off Radio waves are not

by cell phones can heat powerful enough to
up body tissue, having cause heat damage to
damaging effects. the body.

Key Point 2. Magnetic fields created The magnetic fields are

by cell phones can incredibly weak, and so
Conflicting reports affect the way that unlikely to affect cells in
about the health your body cells work. our body.
risks of cell
phones appeared 3. People who make long These effects have
in the late 1990s. cell phone calls never been observed
sometimes complain under laboratory
of fatigue, headaches, conditions and may be
and loss of due to other factors in
concentration. modern lifestyles.
4. Cell phone users are Researchers admit it's
2.5 times more likely to unclear this increase is
Key Point develop cancer in linked to using cell
areas of the brain phones.
Millions of dollars
adjacent to their phone
have now been
ears.
invested in
scientific research 5. The International The radiation produced
to investigate the Agency for Research on by power lines is a
effects of cell Cancer found a link different kind of
phones. between childhood radiation, with much
cancer and power lines. more energy than that
Like cell phones, power coming from cell
lines also emit phones.
radiation.
6. Radio frequency waves Worms are not humans,
similar to those in cell so there is no guarantee
phones altered the that our brain cells will
gene expression in react in the same way.
nematode worms.

75
Reading
Literacy

If you use a cell phone …

Key Point Do Don’t

Given the immense Keep the calls short. Don't use your cell
numbers of cell phone phone
users, even small when the reception is
adverse effects on weak, as the phone
health could have major needs more power to
public health communicate with the
implications. base station, and so the

Key Point
Carry the cell phone Don't buy a cell phone
In 2000, the Stewart with away from your body a high
Report (a British report) “SAR” value1. This when it is on standby.
found no known health means that it emits
problems caused by cell
phones, but advised
caution, especially Buy a cell phone with Don't buy protective
among the young, until gadgets a long “talk time”. It is unless they
more research was have been
carried out. A further more efficient, and independently
report in 2004 backed tested. has less powerful
this up.

1
SAR (specific absorption rate) is a measurement of how much electromagnetic
radiation is absorbed by body tissue whilst using a cell phone.

76
Reading
Literacy

“Cell Phone Safety” on the previous two pages is from a website.

Use “Cell Phone Safety” to answer the questions that follow.

Question R414Q02
1: CELL PHONE SAFETY

Question intent: Integrate and interpret

Text format: Non-continuous

What is the purpose of the Key points?

A To describe the dangers of using cell phones.

B To suggest that debate about cell phone safety is ongoing.
C To describe the precautions that people who use cell phones should take.
D To suggest that there are no known health problems caused by cell phones.

SCORING:

Correct

Answer B. To suggest that debate about mobile phone safety is ongoing.

Incorrect

Other responses.

Percentage of students
answering correctly in
PISA 2009:

OECD average: 46%

U.S.: 49%

77
Reading
Literacy

Question R414Q11
2: CELL PHONE SAFETY

Question intent: Reflect and evaluate

Text format: Non-continuous

“It is difficult to prove that one thing has definitely caused another.”

What is the relationship of this piece of information to the Point 4 Yes and No
statements in the table Are cell phones dangerous?

A It supports the Yes argument but does not prove it.

B It proves the Yes argument.
C It supports the No argument but does not prove it.
D It shows that the No argument is wrong.

SCORING:

Correct

Answer C. It supports the No argument but does not prove it.

Incorrect

Other responses.

Percentage of students
answering correctly in
PISA 2009:

OECD average: 36%

U.S.: 43%

78
Reading
Literacy

Question 3: CELL PHONE SAFETY R414Q06 – 0 1 9

Question intent: Reflect and evaluate

Text format: Non-continuous

Look at Point 3 in the No column of the table. In this context, what might one of
these “other factors” be? Give a reason for your answer.

.....................................................................................................................................................

SCORING:

Correct

Answers which identify a factor in modern lifestyles that could be related to fatigue,
headaches, or loss of concentration. The explanation may be self-evident, or
explicitly stated.

Incorrect

Answers which give an insufficient or vague response.

Fatigue. [Repeats information in the text.]
Tiredness. [Repeats information in the text.]

Answers which show inaccurate comprehension of the material or are implausible or irrelevant.

Percentage of students
answering correctly in
PISA 2009:

OECD average: 55%

U.S.: 53%

79
Reading
Literacy

Question R414Q09
4: CELL PHONE SAFETY

Question intent: Integrate and interpret

Text format: Non-continuous

Look at the table with the heading If you use a cell phone …

Which of these ideas is the table based on?

A There is no danger involved in using cell phones.

B There is a proven risk involved in using cell phones.
C There may or may not be danger involved in using cell phones, but it is
worth taking precautions.
D There may or may not be danger involved in using cell phones, but they should
not be used until we know for sure.
E The Do instructions are for those who take the threat seriously, and the Don’t
instructions are for everyone else.

SCORING:

Correct

Answer C. There may or may not be danger involved in using cell phones, but it is
worth taking precautions.

Incorrect

Other responses.

Percentage of students
answering correctly in
PISA 2009:

OECD average: 63%

U.S.: 70%

80
Reading
Literacy

THE PLAY’S THE THING

Takes place in a castle by the beach in GÁL
Italy.
Quite a peculiar brain you’ve got.
FIRST ACT Can’t you forget your profession for a
single minute?
Ornate guest room in a very nice beachside
castle. Doors on the right and left. Sitting TURAI
room set in the middle of the stage: couch,
table, and two armchairs. Large windows at That cannot be done.
the back. Starry night. It is dark on the
stage. When the curtain goes up we hear GÁL
men conversing loudly behind the door on
the left. The door opens and three tuxedoed Not half an hour passes without you
gentlemen enter. One turns the light on discussing theatre, actors, plays.
immediately. They walk to the center in There are other things in this world.
silence and stand around the table. They sit
down together, Gál in the armchair to the TURAI
left, Turai in the one on the right, Ádám on
the couch in the middle. Very long, almost There aren’t. I am a dramatist. That is
awkward silence. Comfortable stretches. my curse.
Silence. Then:
GÁL
GÁL You shouldn’t become such a slave to
your profession.
Why are you so deep in thought?
TURAI
TURAI
If you do not master it, you are its
I’m thinking about how difficult it is to slave. There is no middle ground. Trust
begin a play. To introduce all the me, it’s no joke starting a play well. It
principal characters in the beginning, is one of the toughest problems of
when it all starts. stage mechanics. Introducing your
characters promptly. Let’s look at this
ÁDÁM scene here, the three of us. Three
gentlemen in tuxedoes. Say they enter
I suppose it must be hard. not this room in this lordly castle, but
rather a stage, just when a play
TURAI begins. They would have to chat about
a whole lot of uninteresting topics
It is – devilishly hard. The play starts. until it came out who we are. Wouldn’t
The audience goes quiet. The actors it be much easier to start all this by
enter the stage and the torment standing up and introducing
begins. It’s an eternity, sometimes as ourselves? Stands up. Good evening.
much as a quarter of an hour before The three of us are guests in this
the audience finds out who’s who and castle. We have just arrived from the
what they are all up to. dining room where we had an
excellent dinner and drank two bottles
of champagne. My name is Sándor
Turai, I’m a playwright, I’ve been

81
 Reading
Literacy
writing plays for thirty years,
that’s my profession. Full stop.
Your turn.

82
Reading
Literacy

GÁL
Stands up. My name is Gál, I’m also a
TURAI
playwright. I write plays as well, all of
them in the company of this Now wouldn’t this be the easiest way
gentleman here. We are a famous to start a play?
playwright duo. All playbills of good
comedies and operettas read: written GÁL
by Gál and Turai. Naturally, this is my If we were allowed to do this, it would
profession as well. be easy to write plays.

GÁL and TURAI TURAI

Together. And this young man … Trust me, it’s not that hard. Just think
of this whole thing as …
ÁDÁM
GÁL
Stands up. This young man is, if you
allow me, Albert Ádám, twenty-five All right, all right, all right, just don’t
years old, composer. I wrote the music start talking about the theatre again.
for these kind gentlemen for their I’m fed up with it. We’ll talk tomorrow,
latest operetta. This is my first work if you wish.
for the stage. These two elderly
angels have discovered me and now,
with their help, I’d like to become
famous. They got me invited to this
castle. They got my dress-coat and
tuxedo made. In other words, I am
poor and unknown, for now. Other
than that I’m an orphan and my
grandmother raised me. My
grandmother has passed away. I am
all alone in this world. I have no name,
I have no money.

TURAI
But you are young.

GÁL
And
gifted.
ÁDÁM
And I am in love with the soloist.

TURAI
You shouldn’t have added that.
Everyone in the audience would figure
that out anyway.

They all sit down.

83
Reading
Literacy

“The Play’s the Thing” is the beginning of a play by the Hungarian dramatist Ferenc Molnár.

Use “The Play’s the Thing” on the previous two pages to answer the questions that follow. (Note
that line numbers are given in the margin of the script to help you find parts that are referred to
in the questions.)

Question 1: THE PLAY’S THE THING R452Q03 – 0 1 9

Question intent: Access and retrieve

Text format: Continuous

What were the characters in the play doing just before the curtain went up?

SCORING:

Correct

Answer which refer to dinner or drinking champagne. May paraphrase or quote the text directly.
They have just had dinner and champagne.
“We have just arrived from the dining room where we had an excellent
dinner.”[direct quotation]
“An excellent dinner and drank two bottles of champagne.” [direct quotation]

Incorrect

Answers which give an insufficient or vague response, show inaccurate

comprehension of the material, or are implausible or irrelevant.

Percentage of students
answering correctly in
PISA 2009:

OECD average: 13%

U.S.: 13%

84
Reading
Literacy

Question R452Q04
2: THE PLAY’S THE THING

Question intent: Integrate and interpret

Text format: Continuous

“It’s an eternity, sometimes as much as a quarter of an hour … ” (lines

29-30) According to Turai, why is a quarter of an hour “an eternity”?

A It is a long time to expect an audience to sit still in a crowded theatre.

B It seems to take forever for the situation to be clarified at the beginning of a play.
C It always seems to take a long time for a dramatist to write the beginning of a play.
D It seems that time moves slowly when a significant event is happening in a play.

SCORING:

Correct

Answer B. It seems to take forever for the situation to be clarified at the beginning of a play.

Incorrect

Other responses.

Percentage of students
answering correctly in
PISA 2009:

OECD average: 66%

U.S.: 62%

85
Reading
Literacy

Question 3: THE PLAY’S THE THING R452Q06 – 019

Question intent: Integrate and interpret

Text format: Continuous

A reader said, “Ádám is probably the most excited of the three characters about
staying at the castle.”

What could the reader say to support this opinion? Use the text to give a reason
for your answer.

SCORING:

Correct

Indicates a contrast between Ádám and the other two characters by referring to
one or more of the following: Ádám’s status as the poorest or youngest of the
three characters; his inexperience (as a celebrity).
 Ádám is poor, he must be excited to stay at a fancy castle.
 He must be happy to be with the two guys who can make him
 famous. He is writing music with two really famous people.
 He is young, and young people just get more excited about things, it’s
 a fact! He’s young to stay at the castle. [minimal]
 He has the least experience. [minimal]

Incorrect

Answers which give an insufficient or vague response.

 He is excited. [Repeats stem.]

Answers which show inaccurate comprehension of the material or give an

implausible or irrelevant response.
 He is an artist.
 He has fallen in love. [not an explanation of why he is excited to be staying at
the castle]
 Ádám must be excited; surely the soloist will show up. [no support in the text]
 He has been given a tuxedo. [an explanatory detail, not the reason itself]

Percentage of students
answering correctly in
PISA 2009:

OECD average: 50%

U.S.: 55%

86
Reading
Literacy

Question R452Q07
4: THE PLAY’S THE THING

Question intent: Integrate and interpret

Text format: Continuous

Overall, what is the dramatist Molnár doing in this extract?

A He is showing the way that each character will solve his own problems.
B He is making his characters demonstrate what an eternity in a play is like.
C He is giving an example of a typical and traditional opening scene for a play.
D He is using the characters to act out one of his own creative problems.

SCORING:

Correct

Answer D. He is using the characters to act out one of his own creative problems.

Incorrect

Other responses.

Percentage of students
answering correctly in
PISA 2009:

OECD average: 46%

U.S.: 44%

87
Reading
Literacy

TELECOMMUTING
The way of the future

Just imagine how wonderful it would be to “telecommute” 1 to work on the electronic

highway, with all your work done on a computer or by phone! No longer would you
have to jam your body into crowded buses or trains or waste hours and hours
travelling to and from work. You could work wherever you want to – just think of all
the job opportunities this would open up!

Molly

Disaster in the making

Cutting down on commuting hours and reducing the energy consumption involved
is obviously a good idea. But such a goal should be accomplished by improving
public transportation or by ensuring that workplaces are located near where people
live. The ambitious idea that telecommuting should be part of everyone’s way of life
will only lead people to become more and more self-absorbed. Do we really want
our sense of being part of a community to deteriorate even further?

Richard

1
“Telecommuting” is a term coined by Jack Nilles in the early 1970s to describe a situation
in which workers work on a computer away from a central office (for example, at home) and
transmit data and documents to the central office via telephone lines.

88
Reading
Literacy

Use “Telecommuting” above to answer the questions that follow.

Question 1: TELECOMMUTING R458Q01

Question intent: Integrate and interpret

Text format: Multiple

What is the relationship between “The way of the future” and “Disaster in the making”?

A They use different arguments to reach the same general conclusion.

B They are written in the same style but they are about completely different topics.
C They express the same general point of view, but arrive at different conclusions.
D They express opposing points of view on the same topic.

SCORING:

Correct

Answer D. They express opposing points of view on the same topic.

Incorrect

Other responses.

Percentage of students
answering correctly in
PISA 2009:

OECD average: 52%

U.S.: 55%

89
Reading
Literacy

Question 2: TELECOMMUTING R458Q07 – 0 1 9

Question intent: Reflect and evaluate

Text format: Continuous

What is one kind of work for which it would be difficult to telecommute? Give a
reason for your answer.

SCORING:

Correct

Answers which identify a kind of work and give a plausible explanation as to why a
person who does that kind of work could not telecommute. Responses MUST
indicate (explicitly or implicitly) that it is necessary to be physically present for the
specific work.
 Building. It’s hard to work with the wood and bricks from just anywhere.
 Sportsperson. You need to really be there to play the sport.
 Plumber. You can’t fix someone else’s sink from your home!
 Digging ditches because you need to be there.
 Nursing – it’s hard to check if patients are ok over the Internet.

Incorrect

Answers which identify a kind of work but include no explanation OR provide an

explanation that does not relate to telecommuting.
 Digging ditches.
 Fire fighter.
 Student.
 Digging ditches because it would be hard work. [Explanation does not
show why this would make it difficult to telecommute.]

 Gives an insufficient or vague response.

 You need to be there.

 Shows inaccurate comprehension of the material or gives an implausible

or irrelevant response.
 Manager. No-one takes any notice of you anyway. [irrelevant explanation]

Percentage of students
answering correctly in
PISA 2009:

OECD average: 56%

U.S.: 60%
90
Reading
Literacy

Question 3: TELECOMMUTING R458Q04

Question intent: Integrate and interpret

Text format: Multiple

Which statement would both Molly and Richard agree with?

A People should be allowed to work for as many hours as they want to.
B It is not a good idea for people to spend too much time getting to work.
C Telecommuting would not work for everyone.
D Forming social relationships is the most important part of work.

SCORING:

Correct

Answer B. It is not a good idea for people to spend too much time getting to work.

Incorrect

Other responses.

Percentage of students
answering correctly in
PISA 2009:

OECD average: 60%

U.S.: 52%

91