history is fun

Answers

1. Study Source A
What does the source tell you about opium smoking in Singapore?

L1- (Lifting from source) (1)
Two coolies were smoking opium.

L2- (Inference unsupported) (2)
From the source I can infer that
1. smoking opium was a pastime for the coolies;
2. opium was probably affordable and easily available;
3. opium smoking affected both young and old.

L3- (Inference supported) (3-4)
From the source, I can infer that smoking was a pastime for the coolies as the picture shows them smoking and resting. I can also infer that opium was probably affordable and easily available as they were smoking in the open and not in an opium house. It was affordable as the two smokers seemed to belong to the lower income group of the society as they were bare-bodied and looked weather-beaten. Lastly, opium smoking was a bane for both the young and old as the two smokers were from different age groups.

2. Study Source B
Why did the doctor say this?

L1- (Lifting from source) (1)
The doctor said that addicts were reduced to begging and living on rotten fish and decaying vegetables around the market, ending up in prison or hospital for the poor, or driven to suicide.

L2- (Inference unsupported) (2)
The doctor says this because he wants to tell people of the danger and ill-effects of smoking opium.

L3- (Inference supported) (3)
The doctor says this because he wants people to know the danger and ill-effects of smoking opium. This can be supported by the statement that opium addicts ‘were reduced to begging and living on rotten fish and decaying vegetables around the market, ending up in prison or hospital for the poor, or driven to suicide.’

L4 (Inference supported) (4)
The doctor says this because he wants to warn people of the consequences of opium smoking. He reported that addicts would often become impoverished and ended up begging and living on the street. He wanted his warning to be known so that people would not pick up smoking.
L5 Inference + purpose and intended response/impact (5)
In addition, his report could also be intended for the British authority depicting the ill-effects of smoking opium. He reported this to them so that the authority would do something to curb the problems of opium smoking.

3. Study Source D
Is Source D reliable in its report on opium smoking?

L1 Details only 1M
e.g. Yes, it is about opium smoking. / No, it is not.

L2 Answer based on provenance only 2M
e.g. Yes, it is reliable as it is a reported by a group of officials. / No, it is not as they were officials.

We find that many opium smokers only smoke in moderation and there has been no increase in the habit of smoking. We also cannot prove that the evils of opium smoking have in any way increased during the past decade.

L3 Answers based on source content 3M
e.g. Yes, it is reliable. It says that the opium smoking was under control as the number of opium smokers had not increased. In addition, it stated opium smoking was not necessarily bad.


L4 Cross-reference to other sources (unreliable) 4-5M
e.g. I am not sure about how reliable this would be. Source D says that opium smoking was not necessarily bad as ‘the evils of opium smoking’ had not increased over the years However, when I cross-reference with Source B, it says that opium smoking had had dire consequences on its victims as they would end up begging, becoming too weak to work and some even commit suicide. Therefore, Source D is unreliable as it ignores the ‘evils of opium smoking’.

Source D is also unreliable because when I cross-reference with Source C, it also states that a young lady could die of opium smoking due to its damaging effect on health. This can be supported by ‘her lungs had collapsed, seriously damaged by swallowing raw opium and by years of smoking it.’

L5 1 Cross-reference (above) and purpose 6M
The source is unreliable as it is a report submitted by a group of officials selected by the British government. As the report was meant for the government, the reporting committee might not report the truth of the evils of opium smoking as this might upset the authority as the settlement’s revenue was largely derived from the taxing of opium. Hence, this source is unreliable.