(old CMF post:http://zzwave.com/plaboard/archive/3938916.shtml#3938928)
https://www.oecd.org/pisa/aboutpisa/PISA%20for%20Schools%20sample%20test%20items.pdf --- Page 4&5
READING
QUESTION LEVEL 2: INDIAN MYSTIC
Indian Mystic Claims Not to Eat for 70 Years By Benamin Radford, LiveScience An 82-year-old man in India is claiming to have not had anything to eat or drink since 1940 — and doctors from the Indian military are allegedly studying him to learn his secret.
The man, Prahlad Jani, is being observed in a Gujarat hospital. Jani claims to be a breatharian — someone who does not need to eat or drink, because he draws nourishment from the air and from meditation.
As remarkable as his story is, Jani is not the first, nor the only, person to claim such a supernatural power. The claim that people can live without food or water is called inedia, and is actually somewhat of a common claim among religious fakirs of India. Unfortunately, none of the cases have withstood scientific scrutiny. The human body needs both food and water to function; it's as simple as that.
It's easy for anyone to claim that he or she has not had anything to eat or drink for the past few weeks or months (or years). But unless the person has been carefully and continuously watched during that time, it's impossible to prove the assertion.
Several people who have claimed to survive without food or water were later caught eating and drinking. It can take only a few seconds to eat something, and other than in specific areas such as prisons, conducting a close around-the-clock surveillance on a person is not easy. Often the person will ask for privacy to sleep or go to the bathroom (which is suspicious in its own right) — and then snack surreptitiously. One well-known breatharian advocate in the 1980s, a man named Wiley Brooks, claimed he did not eat yet was caught consuming junk food.
This is not the first time that Jani has made this claim. He was examined in 2003 for about a week, during which time, he apparently did not eat or exercise — but he did lose weight. If Jani's abilities are real, it seems odd that he would lose weight during the time that his food intake was being monitored. If he truly gets all the sustenance he needs from air and meditation, there's no reason he would lose weight when he doesn't eat.
Reports claim that Prahlad Jani "has now spent six days without food or water under strict observation and doctors say his body has not yet shown any adverse effects from hunger or dehydration." Assuming the claim is true — and it's not clear just how strict the observation is — Jani's inedia so far remains unproven. If he really doesn't need food or water, he should be under close observation for months or years to prove it. Given that he claims not to have consumed anything since World War II, this shouldn't be a problem.
QUESTION What is the author’s attitude towards the idea that people can survive without food and water? Give a reason for your answer by using information from the article.
Type your answer here
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PRINT READING QUESTION (LEVEL 2) THE CORRECT ANSWER:
REFERS TO THE IDEA THAT THE AUTHOR DOES NOT BELIEVE IN INEDIA AND PROVIDES EVIDENCE TO SUPPORT THIS.
QUESTION LEVEL
Students at Proficiency Level 2 are capable of tasks that require the reader to locate one or more pieces of information, which might need to be inferred and might need to meet several conditions. Other tasks at this level require recognising the main idea in a text, understanding relationships, or construing meaning within a limited part of the text when the information is not prominent and the reader must make low-level inferences. Tasks at this level may involve comparisons or contrasts based on a single feature in the text. Typical reflective tasks require readers to make a comparison or several connections between the text and outside knowledge, by drawing on personal experience and attitudes. PISA considers Level 2 a baseline level of proficiency at which students begin to demonstrate the reading skills and competencies that will allow them to participate effectively and productively in life as they continue their studies, and as they enter into the labour force and become members of society.
NATURE OF THE TASK
Identify an author’s attitude in a persuasive text The situation is personal. The question belongs to the argumentation text type category because it is the type of text that presents the relationship among concepts or propositions. Argument texts often answer why questions.
READING ASPECT
The aspect is integrate and interpret – develop an interpretation because the individual has to focus on relationships between parts of the text.
SCORING
Full credit: Refers to the idea that the author does not believe in inedia and provides evidence to support this. May quote directly from the text. No credit: Gives an insufficient or vague response; shows inaccurate comprehension of the material or gives an implausible or irrelevant response; or missing
