WADI SOFIA

DIAGNOSTIC TEST - 2012 UPPER TRANSITION CLASS ENGLISH PROFICIENCY TEST [READING COMPREHENSION]
DURATION 2 hours

18TH JANUARY 2012

Compiled and marked by: Ismail Riyaz Mohamed Total marks: 50

ANSWER ALL THE QUESTIONS

Name:

_______________________

Source: Secondary Annual Examination papers- Ministry of Education, Malta

Question 01 Read the following passage carefully and then answer the questions below.

[20 marks]

Jules Verne Looks Into the Future

Many people try to predict the future. Most cannot do it very well. One person who did make many predictions that came true was the French writer, Jules Verne. Verne lived from 1828 to 1905. The plane wasn t invented yet. Wind still powered ships. But in Verne s books people travelled to the moon in a rocket-powered spaceship and sailed in a submarine. In Verne s day, many houses had only candlelight. But Verne saw a time when light could be made by electricity. He described planes and predicted computers, television, films and many other mechanical inventions. But some of Verne s predictions have not come true. Trains still cannot travel at speeds of 1,600 kilometres per hour as he had predicted. How did Verne get to be such an expert on the future? He said that he learned as much information about the present as he could. He talked about some of his ideas with professors. He read about science and put these ideas into his books. As a result, ideas that seemed new and strange to some of his readers were known to scientists and inventors of his day.

Underline the correct answer. 1. In Verne s day a. many houses used electricity. b. many houses had candlelight. c. many houses had a television set. d. many houses had air-conditioners. 3. What things did Verne predict in his books? _____________________________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________________ 4. Mention ONE prediction that did not come true and say why it didn t. _____________________________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________________ 2. In Verne s books people travelled to the moon by using a. b. c. d. a wind powered ship. a submarine. a rocket-powered spaceship. an aeroplane.

6. How did Verne become an expert on the future? _____________________________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________________

7. Write down FIVE different means of transport mentioned in the passage. a. ___________________________________________________________________ b. ___________________________________________________________________ c. ___________________________________________________________________ d. ___________________________________________________________________ e. ___________________________________________________________________

8. What do the following words refer to: a. most: (line 1) ________________________________________________________ b. he: (line 9) __________________________________________________________ c. his (line 14) _________________________________________________________

9. Complete these sentences by using a word from the passage. a. Earth has only one satellite which is the __________________. b. The Atlantic __________________ lies between Europe, Africa and America. c. We cannot use the internet if we do not have a __________________. d. He was very angry because he waited for more than an __________________ before she arrived. e. She was very anxious waiting for her medical __________________.

Question 02 Read the following letter carefully and then answer the questions.

[15 marks]

35, Dunstable Way, Birmingham, SL1 8JT. 1st June, 2004

Dear Maria, How are you? Are you on holiday now? Ive still got three weeks before we finish term! Youll never believe what happened to me last week. Monday was the day of our school trip to Stratford. I was really excited about it but when I woke up, I felt really ill. Mum said I had to stay in bed all day. I was really bored. In the evening Joanne (do you remember her?) rang and said the trip was brilliant. On Tuesday I felt a bit better so I went back to school. It was the day of the school volleyball competition but I was too tired to play. My team did well but they lost in the final. The worst thing was Saturday. My favourite pop group (Dynamite, of course!) were playing at 6pm at a festival in the park near my house. I bought tickets for me and my sister two months ago. We left home at 5, so we were in the park really early. Then, at 5.30 it started to rain It rained and rained and in the end they didnt play! And we got very wet! As you see, it was a terrible week! Mums really superstitious she says it was because I walked under a ladder on Sunday! Maybe my luck will change next week. Anyway, thats my news. Whats your news? Write back soon. All the best, Janet P.S. Good luck with your English exam. Ill keep my finger crossed for you!

1. Underline the correct answer. Janet wrote a letter to her friend Maria about a. her end of term holiday. b. her school trip to Stratford. c. what happened to her during the past week. d. the concert of her favourite pop group.

2. Match the day with what Janet did. A B C D Monday Tuesday Saturday Sunday Walked under a ladder. Went to the park for the concert. Missed her school trip. Went back to school.

3. Janet was feeling excited about her school trip, yet she missed it. Say why. ___________________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________________ 4. Which sport does Janet practise? ___________________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________________ 5. How early did she book the tickets for the concert? ___________________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________________ 6. Say what actually happened on the day of the concert. ___________________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________________

7. Complete these sentences by using a word from the passage. a. Sue studied so hard that she got a __________________ result. b. Paul is a __________________ person and so would never dream of organising a party on the 13th. c. Last week I attended a music __________________ at our Town Hall. d. Mother __________________ the doctor to tell him about my brother s illness. e. One of my classmates entered an essay __________________ and came second.

Question 03

[15 marks]

Read the following passage carefully and then answer the given questions.

I was haunted by the Internet

The only contact Elizabeth had with John was by computer When Dad had the Internet added to our computer, it was brilliant. It took a bit of getting used to but, in the end, we all soon got the hang of it. My mum loved it, because she could e-mail her sister in America they were always

swapping recipes and things. My dad s a doctor so he used it for work and helped me to use it, too. One night I was using the Internet when I got in touch with someone. He said his name was John and lived in a village which was only about twenty kilometres from mine. He seemed really nice to talk to and he told me he was fourteen and an only child whose parents were a lot older than him. He seemed lonely and we exchanged information about our schools, hobbies and pets. He seemed grown up, not at all like the lads at school who just messed around all the time. John was different somehow. We arranged to talk again the following night and as he signed off, I printed out our conversations to read over again later. That night I kept thinking about John and the next morning over breakfast I told Mum all about him. Mum told me to be careful; she said that I wasn t to give John too much information because he might not be what he seemed. Although I thought he was my age, he could be much older and not the sort of person I should be getting friendly with. From Scary Stories (Shout magazine)

1. Underline the correct answer. I was haunted by the Internet, means: a. I saw a ghost on the Internet. b. I couldn t make head or tail of the Internet. c. I talked to a ghost on the Internet. d. I was obsessed by the Internet.

2. Put TRUE (T) or FALSE (F) in the space provided. Elizabeth: a. added the Internet to her computer. b. learnt how to use the Internet immediately. c. chatted to a boy on the Internet. d. kept things to herself. (______) (______) (______) (______)

3. What does Elizabeth s father do? _____________________________________________________________________ 4. How do we know that even Elizabeth lives in a village? Quote from the passage. _____________________________________________________________________ 5. How far away from Elizabeth did John live? _____________________________________________________________________ 6. Give the meaning of the following as used in the context a. got the hang of it ______________________________________________________ b. swapping recipes ______________________________________________________ c. got in touch __________________________________________________________ d. messed around ________________________________________________________

7. In what way was John different from the boys in Elizabeth s school? _____________________________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________________ 9. List FOUR things John actually told Elizabeth about himself. a. _____________________________________________________________________ b. _____________________________________________________________________ c. _____________________________________________________________________ d. _____________________________________________________________________