Section A:
For each question from 1 to 7, four options are given. One of them is the correct answer. Make your choice (1, 2, 3 or 4). Write down your answer in the blanket. |
1.I congratulated him _______ his success in gaining entry into the most prestigious university.
in
of
on
with |
2.Nobody, except the twins,_________ out the solution to the problem sum yet.
work
works
has worked
have worked |
3.Happiness overwhelmed the new mother, _________ tears of joy to her eyes when she saw her newborn cradled snugly in her arms.
bring
brings
brought
bringing |
4.“You rarely keep your promises, ________ you?’ said Sam in disappointment.
do
did
don't
didn't |
5.The price of movie tickets ________risen. I cannot afford them anymore.
is
are
has
have |
6.Mrs Jenkins ______ we all loved and respected finally retired at the age of eighty.
who
which
whom
whose |
7.The teacher made Hamid ________ that it was wrong to falsely accuse his classmate of theft.
realise
realises
realised
had realised |
For each question from 8 to 12, four options are given. One of them is the correct answer.Write down your answer. |
8.The instruction booklet was ________ into different languages to cater to customers of different nationalities.
translated
transferred
transmitted
transformed |
9.The politician's biased comments __________ vehement protests from shocked citizens across the nation.
piqued
evoked
extracted
produced |
10.The scouts heard the ________ of burning wood as they gathered around the campflre.
sizzling
cackling
crackling
sputtering |
11.On Chinese New Year, my family and I are planning to _________ my maternal grandparents who are living in Malaysia to have dinner with them.
call in
call on
call up
call upon |
12.The host was embarrassed when there was not enough food to eat because he had ________ the number of guests attending the function.
undersized
undervalued
underachieved
underestimated |
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For each question from 13 to 17, choose the word closest in meaning
underlined words.
Kumar lay silently on the floor, listening to the ticking of his watch as a squeaky mouse scurried by noisily. His captors had left him in the windowless room for the past hour. Chained by the legs to the wall, the possibility of making an escape seem (18) remote. Kumar was feeling (19) increasingly dejected by the minute. Finally, he sat up and rummaged through his backpack. At the same moment, a knock (20) scarcely audible sounded on the front door. Kumar froze in dreaded (21) anticipation. However, as the knocks became louder and (22) incessant, Kumar perked up. He recognised the secret code. His comrades had returned for him.
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13.
aloof
lonely
impossible
inaccessible |
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14.
speedily
immediately
continously
Progressively |
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15.
barely
partially
sufficiently
moderately |
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16.
realisation
expectation
astonishment
apprehension |
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17.
eternal
intermittent
monotonous
uninterrupted |
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Read the passage below and answer questions 18 to 22.
Grandpa always had chicken rice and would constantly talk about how good the chef was in making the bite-sized morsels and fragrant rice. My sister and l have heard it so many times that he sounded like an old record.
A curled photograph preserved my oldest memory of Grandpa. A cigarette his hand and an amused expression on his face, he cradled my two-year-old frame. Nevertheless, that was a long time ago. I now sit in tense silence it was the first time l had been to the cafe without Grandpa. Usually by now, he would have made us the centre of attention. He would have spoken loudly, greeted all his coffee-drinking friends and fussed the waitress to wipe down the table. l realised how much I valued his embarrassing company.
Grandpa was gallantly eccentric. He would take chances by asking security guards at an art gallery what exactly that silk painting was supposed to be or ordering a McDonald's burger without the bun. He was the one who taught us how to flsh with bamboo rods and live worms although he did not have a license to flsh. Once, he cast a wormless hook into a storm water drain to demonstrate. But miraculously, he caught a flsh that day and this ‘magic’ made him remarkable.
It was Grandpa who introduced us to the cafe. It was a cosy little place by the beach and Grandpa loved the food served there. I always ordered oyster omelette and Grandpa, the chicken rice. As we tucked in, I would relax and listen to Grandpa and his wisdom. l do not really remember what we talked about. Mostly l remember the moments, just sitting with Grandpa and simply enjoying his presence.
“We need to get moving” he would say at the end of our visit to the cafe before giving me a big Grandpa hug. A wonderful and unforgettable squeeze reassuring both of us. He always said he wanted to be remembered for spreading love and happiness.
My visit to the cafe this morning felt different. With no Grandpa, I could order a giant iced chocolate without getting a scolding from him. When the cold drink came, I took a sip but no smile of fulfillment came to my face. This time there was no conversation. Instead there was just stark and painful silence. The cafe was not the same without Grandpa. It all reminded me of him.
I was not hungry. But either out of habit or to escape the silence, l ordered food anyway. It was a re-enactment of what l always did with Grandpa and yet it felt so unfamiliar and hollow. I read the menu and ordered chicken rice. l did not quite know why l did it. It just seemed like the right thing to do.
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For each question from 18 to 22, four options are given. One of them is the correct answer. Make your choice (1, 2, 3 or 4). |
18. According to line 3, the writer said that Grandpa sounded like an old record because he kept ______________________.
ordering the same food
demanding good service
talking to people at the cafe
saying the same thing about the chef |
19. According to paragraph 2, why did the author feel that Grandpa’s company could be embarrassing? He _______________.
smoked at the cafe
talked loudly at the cafe
ordered the same food daily
greeted strangers at the cafe |
20. The main idea in paragraph 3 is about Grandpa being ____________ .
quirky and venturing out of the norm
resourceful at fishing and silk painting
a busybody and asking irrelevant questions
a knowledgeable person with interesting perspectives |
21. Based on paragraphs 6 and 7, which of the following statements is true about the writers experience at the cafe alone?
He was relishing his iced chocolate.
He was craving to eat his chicken rice.
He was enjoying the stark silence at the cafe.
He_was recalling the times he had spent with Grandpa. |
22. Which one of the following best describes what the passage is about?
Dealing with stress
Food and happiness
Coping with loneliness
Family and relationships |
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Fill in each blank with a suitable word. |
| Last October I was on a diving holiday in the Philippines with a friend. it was a sunny morning and after breakfast we (23) the boat with seven other advanced divers. This was my fortieth dive, so i knew the drill. I put on the gear and dived off the boat, slowly sinking to about twenty metres.
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| After nearly forty-five minutes, the sound of my breathing was drowned (24) by a low rumble like an engine and i felt a powerful (25) as if a big boat with a propeller was passing overhead. I looked (26) but could not see anything. The dive instructors eyes were wide (27) confusion. He did not know what was going on either (28) he had done thousands of dives (29). We swam next to each other, staying close to the side of the reef. I could not see my friend and the other divers. The situation felt sinister and dangerous.
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| Then we were enveloped by clouds of white sand that circled (30) us. I thought with fear in my heart, “(31) it be an underwater bomb?” A giant turtle raced (32) us and into the deep. Turtles (33) normally slow movers, so this was very weird behaviour. The vibration became so (34) that I could feel it in my bones, and the (35) turned into a deafening roar. I could see waterfalls of sand pouring over the coral and on the sea floor, a few metres below us. Cracks began (36) and the sand was sucked down. That was when I (37) it was an earthquake. The noise was the sound of Earth splintering open and grinding against itself.
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Read the passage below and answer questions 38 to 47.
Like many 13-year-olds, my son, Clint, loved playing computer games. He could remain in his world of computer games and emerge only to be fed and watered. Recently, to reassure me that he was not addicted, he volunteered not to touch the computer for a week. l was worried. I kept a close eye on him for signs of withdrawal symptoms. Apart from the fact that he downloaded music of his favourite games to listen to them on his iPod, there was none.
On the other hand, my daughter, Jade, and i suffered (line 7) as Clint's boredom increased. I had not realised how we had carried on with our lives without him. Suddenly, he was taking our places on the sofa, singing loudly to the music of his iPod to annoy us and flicking television channels in the middle of our favourite programmes.
Clint seemed to find nothing worthwhile to do other than playing computer games. Suggestions from me to go and read, swim or play badminton got a grunt. I guessed the adrenaline rush of moving up a level on “Minecraft” could not be compared with a gentle read or a few lengths in the pool. When l reminded him to spend less time on the computer, he would scowl at me.
Clint and l had compromised on two computer-free days a week and a half day at weekends. They were to be Mondays and Wednesdays but very often, l would get a telephone call from him after school, asking to swap days as he had got hooked into a game at a friend's house.
However, even on computer-free days, we had negotiated that he could use the computer for things that l considered creative or useful such as chess or for school projects. Nevertheless, he was constantly trying to expand these boundaries. (line 22) He would innocently ask over dinner. “Mum, is “SimCity” a creative game?” When l agreed it probably was, as it required more than simply fast reflexes, he immediately demanded to play it on a computer-free day. This he did several times with other games.
It seemed a long time ago that l naively bought the family a computer for educational purposes, along with a couple of games for Clint and Jade to play between the mathematics quizzes. In the past, it was only on our annual holiday that they were exposed to the world of seemingly innocent computer games at the amusement arcades. These days, however, Clint and his peers seemed to have their earphones plugged into their ears all the time even while playing a hand-held game or at a computer terminal. While waiting for a game to load up (line 33), they would alleviate their boredom by watching the cartoon which was showing on television next to them.
I feared that these young people were not only becoming unfit from the lack of exercise but that the involvement in these games was so intense that it resulted in high levels of stress. l had occasionally found my son flushed and shaking after a tense game and particularly after competing against a friend.
I had explained to Clint on several occasions, my anxieties about his health and he appeared to understand this(line 40). The bottom line was, he had so much fun that his eyes came alive when he related the intricacies of a new game and his friendships seemed to be enriched through it. These days, it was not who the best player in the school team was but who the computer games king was and how my son was fighting for that crown.
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ALL ANSWERS MUST BE IN COMPLETE SENTENCES. |
| 38. How did Clint reassure his mother that he was not addicted to playing computer games?
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| 39. What were two ways the writer and Jade “suffered” (line 7) as a result of Clint's boredom?
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| 40. Which two words from the third paragraph tell us that Clint was unhappy with his mother's suggestions? (Each word is found in a different sentence.)
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| 41. Explain clearly how Clint would “expand these boundaries” (line 22) with his mother.
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| 42. Explain fully how computer gaming had changed in the writer's family experience.
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| 43. What did Clint and his peers do while waiting for a game to load up (line 33)?
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| 44. In paragraph seven, what were the writers two concerns over Clint’s addiction to computer gaming?
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| 45. What does ‘this’ in line 40 refer to?
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| 46. Quote the three-word phrase from the last paragraph which shows that Clint was excited when talking about a computer game.
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| 47. What was the positive outcome of Clint's addiction to computer gaming?
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