KULLEĠĠ SAN BENEDITTU Secondary School, Kirkop HALF YEARLY EXAMINATION 2017/2018 Track 2 YEAR 9 ENGLISH TIME: 2 hours Name: Class: Oral Assessment Listening Written Paper Total A. Fill in the blanks with the correct form of the verb within brackets. The first ONE (0) has been done for you. 5 marks [ ] Dear Elena, Thank you for the letter you (0) sent me last week. I m very happy to hear that you and Francesco are well and that your exam results were so good. Well done! I know you (1) (study) hard and you deserve your success. Mine are next week so at the moment I (2) (study) a lot. I m really nervous about them because, if you remember, I was ill for a couple of months at the end of the year and so I (3) (miss) a lot of lessons. When they finish I would like to come and visit you for a few days, if that s OK with your mum and dad. Do you remember I (4) (tell) you about my friend Amanda from Scotland? She (5) (come) here next month and is going to stay for two weeks. I d like you to come too so you can meet her and we can all go out together. What (6) (think)? We can practise our English! I remember last year we (7) (have) such a good time. The beaches near your house are wonderful and I really (8) English Year 9 Secondary Track 2 2018 Page 1 of 10
(enjoy) meeting your friends. Oh, guess what! Jason (9) (break) his arm last weekend! He s got a plaster cast and he s going to have it for at least six weeks. My mum is calling me for lunch so I ll finish this letter now. Say hello to your family and (10) (not forget) to congratulate Francesco for me. Lots of love Jade xx B. Fill in the blanks with the correct preposition. Some can be used more than once. The first ONE (0) has been done for you. 5 marks [ ] Sandwiches make a delicious snack any time. They are a common sight (0) at picnics and teas. Interestingly enough, the sandwich is the invention of an eighteen century English Earl called John Montagu. Montagu was addicted (1) card games. He would play these games (2) his friends for long stretches of time. Often, he even found it too bothersome to stop his games (3) meals. One day, (4) the middle of a game, Montagu was served a meal of sliced meat (5) bread. At that time, Montagu was playing the game that required its players to cover cards one on top (6) another. As Montagu looked at both the game and his food, an idea came (7) his mind. I can do the same with my food as well, he thought. He took a slice of bread, placed a piece of meat (8) it and covered that with another slice of bread. Montagu was very pleased (9) his invention because it allowed him to play cards with one hand and eat his meal with the other. Montagu s friends quickly caught on to his idea and they named the new invention (10) him. As Montagu s full title was the Earl of Sandwich, the new invention became known as a sandwich. English Year 9 Secondary Track 2 2018 Page 2 of 10
C. Fill in the gaps with a suitable word. The first ONE (0) has been done for you. 5 marks [ ] Today, millions of people want to (0) learn or improve their English but it is (1) to find the best method. Is it better to study in Britain or America or to study in your own (2)? The advantages of going to Britain seem obvious. Firstly, you will be able to listen to the (3) all the time you are in the country. You will be surrounded completely by the language wherever you go. Another advantage is that you have to speak the language if you are with other (4) On the other hand, there are also advantages to staying at home to study. You don t have to make big (5) to your life. If you have a good (6) in your country, I think you can learn in a more concentrated way than being in Britain. In conclusion, I think that if you have the (7), the best choice is to spend some (8) in the UK. This is simply not possible for most people. The most important thing to do in this situation is to maximise your opportunities: to speak (9) English in class and to try to use English whenever possible (10) the class. D. READING COMPREHENSION 20 MARKS Read the Comprehension Text which is on a separate sheet. answer the questions below. Then 1. Are the following TRUE (T) or FALSE (F)? Write the correct answer and give a reason from the passage. 6 marks [ ] a. The famous lighthouse of Pharos of Alexandria, Egypt is still standing. English Year 9 Secondary Track 2 2018 Page 3 of 10
b. Luke s lighthouse is still working. c. The lighthouse is a good place for Luke to do his writing. d. Luke only has views of the sea. e. The top room in the lighthouse is Luke s bedroom. f. The nearest village is quite close to the lighthouse. 2. What was the purpose of the lighthouse in the past? 1 mark [ ] 3. Why isn t the lighthouse a quiet place? 2 marks [ ] a) b) 4. What makes inside the lighthouse a quiet place? 1 mark [ ] English Year 9 Secondary Track 2 2018 Page 4 of 10
5a) How is the layout of a lighthouse different to a normal house or flat? 1 mark [ ] b) Why? 1 mark [ ] 6a) How are the rooms in the lighthouse linked? 1 mark [ ] b) What is unusual about the rooms in the lighthouse? 1 mark [ ] 7. What does Luke do if he wants to meet people? 1 mark [ ] 8. Give the meaning of the following words as used in the passage. 2 marks [ ] a. structure (para 1): b. incredible (para 5): c. staircase (para 6): d. a couple (para 7): 9. What do the following words refer to? 3 marks [ ] a. It (para 1): b. he (para 2): c. some (para 4): d. I (para 5): e. which (para 6): f. there (para 7): English Year 9 Secondary Track 2 2018 Page 5 of 10
E. LITERATURE - Answer all the sections. 20 MARKS UNPREPARED POEM: 10 marks Warned by Sylvia Stults The sands of time have rendered fear Blue skies on high no longer clear Stars were bright whence they came Now dimmed, obscured, pollution's haze Crystal clear our waters gleamed Fish abundant, rivers streamed Ocean floors sandy white Now littered, brown, pollution's plight Trees towered high above Trunks baring professed love Birds chirping from sites unseen Gone, paper joined pollution's team One can't blame pollution alone As they say, you reap what you've sown So let us plant a better seed Tear out old roots, cultivate, weed Protect what has been given for free Our waters, skies, wildlife and trees For once they're gone, don't you say Consider yourself warned of that fatal day whence - when haze fog caused by water, smoke, or dust, or an effect of heat that prevents things being seen clearly plight an unpleasant condition, especially a serious, sad, or difficult one baring showing reap - collect English Year 9 Secondary Track 2 2018 Page 6 of 10
1. What is the poem about? 1 mark [ ] 2a) What TWO adjectives does the poet use to describe the skies and the stars? 1 mark [ ] i) ii) b) What is the effect of the words dimmed and obscured on the atmosphere of the poem? 1 mark [ ] _ 3. a) Crystal clear our waters gleamed. What is the figure of speech in this line called? 1 mark [ ] b) What contrast does this figure of speech create between the past and the present? 1 mark [ ] 4. Quote an alliteration in the third stanza. 1 mark [ ] 5. a) What figure of speech is chirping? ½ mark [ ] b) Why have the chirping birds gone? ½ mark [ ] English Year 9 Secondary Track 2 2018 Page 7 of 10
6.. paper joined pollution s team What is this figure of speech called? 1 mark [ ] 7. What does the poet suggest that we should do to protect the environment? Give examples. 2 marks [ ] UNPREPARED PROSE 10 marks Read the extract taken from James and the Giant Peach by Roald Dahl and then answer the questions that follow. The news that a peach almost as big as a house had suddenly appeared in someone s garden spread like wildfire across the countryside, and the next day a stream of people came scrambling up the steep hill to gaze upon this marvel. Quickly, Aunty Sponge and Aunt Spiker called in carpenters and had them build a strong fence round the peach to save it from the crowd; and at the same time, these two crafty women stationed themselves at the front gate with a large bunch of tickets and started charging everyone for coming in. Roll up! Roll up! Aunt Spiker yelled. Only one shilling to see the giant peach! Half price for children under six weeks old! Aunt Sponge shouted. One at a time, please! Don t push! You re all going to get in! Hey, you! Come back, there! You haven t paid! By lunchtime, the whole place was a seething mass of men, women, and children all pushing and shoving to get a glimpse of this miraculous fruit. Helicopters were landing like wasps all over the hill, and out of them poured swarms of newspaper reporters, cameramen, and men from the televisions companies. It ll cost you double to bring in a camera! Aunt Spiker shouted. All right! All right! they answered. We don t care! And the money came rolling into the pockets of the two greedy aunts. 1. Quote TWO similes from first paragraph. 1 mark [ ] i) ii) English Year 9 Secondary Track 2 2018 Page 8 of 10
2. What effect does the author create by using the figure of speech spread like wildfire? 1 mark [ ] 3. Aunt Sponge and Aunt Spiker are described as crafty. Why? 1 mark [ ] 4. Quote a repetition and explain its effect. 1 mark [ ] Repetition: Effect: 5. Helicopters were landing like wasps all over the hill. 3 marks [ ] a) What is this figure of speech called? b) Explain the comparison. 6.. and out of them poured swarms of newspaper reporters, cameramen, and men from the television companies. What is this figure of speech called? 1 mark [ ] 7. How do you think the aunts are feeling? 2 marks [ ] F. COMPOSITION 25 MARKS Write a composition of about 150 to 200 words on ONE of the following. 1. Write a biography of the life of a famous personality or a person you admire greatly. English Year 9 Secondary Track 2 2018 Page 9 of 10
2. You had a weekend full of fun activities. Write an email to your friend Ben telling him how you spent this weekend. Use the following: To: From: Subject: What I did last weekend 3. Your teacher has asked you to write a story for the school magazine. Write a story about a brave boy or girl who helped save a friend s life. English Year 9 Secondary Track 2 2018 Page 10 of 10