ENGLISH O LEVEL ANSWERS

(PG 25-28)
1(a) CAUSES OF POVERTY

It is caused by increases in food prices.

Drought and water crisis also pose a threat to the supply of food which results in poverty.
Infectious diseases such as malaria and tuberculosis can perpetuate poverty by diverting
health and economic resources from investment and productivity.
One theory of poverty is that employers from the middle class spectrum fly from the
cities and into the suburbs. As a result this has limited the opportunities for the inner-city
people to find adequate jobs.
Another cause of poverty is that the poor would rather receive welfare payments than
work in demeaning positions as maids or in fast-food restaurants.
Overpopulation and lack of access to birth control methods drive poverty.
Social inequality that stems from cultural ideas about the relative worth of different
gender, races, ethnic groups and social classes.

CONSEQUENCES OF POVERTY

Children have a low birth weight.

They tend to be irritable or sickly; they are more likely to die before their first birthday.
Those children tend to miss school more often because of illness.
Poverty leads to violence in families including child and elder abuse.
Poor families experience much more stress than middle-class families.
Bad luck seems to follow these families as they are more likely to be exposed to a series
of negative events namely illness, depression, eviction, job loss, criminal victimization
and family death.

(b) SUMMARY

One of the main causes of poverty throughout the world is the rising prices of food caused by
factors ranging from natural calamities such as droughts to inefficient man-made practices as
intensive farming which gradually turn the soil barren. Diseases like Malaria impact
negatively on the GDP of a country whereby financial resources are diverted from
investments to the treatment of infected individuals. There are theories about poverty that
imply that poor people possess a self-defeating behavior and prefer to receive easy money in
terms of welfare payments rather than work in mediocre positions to earn a living.
Overpopulation, Social inequality and the scarcity of good jobs also contribute to the hike in
poverty. The consequences of poverty are numerous; children have low birth weight, their
 bodies defensive mechanism is fragile which leads to early death or makes them prone to
being infected by diseases. Violence, stress and Bad Luck are aspects that are generally
faced by poor families.

(159 words)

2.

One way is to always believe in oneself, nothing is impossible to achieve in life

provided you dont create boundaries in your brain or body. (i.e. Self-Confidence)
Another way is education; the only way to be able to reach your dreams is to study
hard at school, Never compete with others always compete with yourself to turn into
your best version. (I.e. A fish cant be judged by its ability to climb a tree.)

3. One fact is Climbing out of poverty is difficult for anyone.

One opinion is that poverty can become a self-perpetuating cycle at its worst.

4. Poor children do not have access to education.