DIRECTORATE FOR QUALITY AND STANDARDS IN EDUCATION
Department of Curriculum Management
Educational Assessment Unit
Annual Alternative Examinations for Primary Schools - 2015
Level 4
ENGLISH
(Reading Comprehension, Language, and Writing)
Time: 1 h 15 min
Name: _______________________________ Class: _________________
Total: 60 marks
English (Level 4) – Reading Comprehension, Language, and Writing – Primary – 2015
Page 1 of 12
A.
Reading Comprehension 1
(10 marks)
Read the following text carefully.
The Food Chain
All living things need food in order to live. All plants need air, water, and
sunlight in order to make food. Most plants also need soil.
sun
water
plant
air
seed
roots
soil
All animals need food to live and to grow. Some animals eat plants but others
eat other animals. Plant eaters, like goats and rabbits, have flat teeth. Meat
eaters, like lions and crocodiles, have sharp teeth.
Plant eaters and meat eaters are part of a food chain. Most food chains begin
with plants as in the food chain below.
A Food Chain
plant
grasshopper frog
snake
eagle
First, a grasshopper eats grass and grows bigger. Next a frog eats the
grasshopper. The frog grows bigger and it is eaten by a snake. The snake grows
longer. Finally, an eagle eats the snake.
1.
Tick () to show the correct answer.
(2 marks)
Example: What do living things need to live?
i) They need sunlight.
ii) They need wind.
iii) They need food.

iv) They need a house.
a)
What do meat eaters eat?
i) They eat vegetables.
ii) They eat other animals.
iii) They eat insects.
iv)
They eat grass.
Page 2 of 12
English (Level 4) – Reading Comprehension, Language, and Writing – Primary – 2015
b)
How do most food chains begin?
i) They begin with an insect.
ii) They begin with a grasshopper.
iii) They begin with a frog.
iv) They begin with a plant.
2.
Tick () to show whether each sentence is True or False.
(3 marks)
True
Example:
All plants need air.
False

a) All plants need food.
b) Plants make their own food.
c) All plants need soil.
d) All animals eat plants.
e) A goat is a plant eater.
f) Meat eaters have sharp teeth.
3.
Answer the following questions:
a)
Name TWO animals that eat other animals.
i)
b)
______________________
(4 marks)
ii)
______________________
Is a grasshopper a meat eater or a plant eater?
___________________________________________________________
c)
What happens when an animal eats food?
___________________________________________________________
d)
What does an eagle eat?
___________________________________________________________
4.
Circle TWO more things that a plant needs to make food to eat.
Look at the example.
meat
(1 mark)
pot
air
sunlight
moon
English (Level 4) – Reading Comprehension, Language, and Writing – Primary – 2015
flower
water
Page 3 of 12
A.
Reading Comprehension 2
(10 marks)
Read the following passage carefully.
How I became a Pirate.
One day I was at the beach building a sandcastle when a
pirate ship sailed into view. Its flag had skull and
crossbones on it. I could hear the pirates singing.
I tried to tell dad but he was busy setting up the beach umbrella. So I went back
to my sandcastle but kept an eye on the pirates. By then all the pirates were
rowing to the shore.
When they landed, the head pirate climbed out of the boat. He walked around
my sandcastle. He looked at the moat.
“He’s a digger!” he yelled back at his crew. The other pirates agreed.
“What’s your name mate?” the head pirate asked.
“Jeremy Jacob,” I told him.
(Adapted from How I became a Pirate by M. Long and D. Shannon)
1.
Tick () to show the correct answer.
(2 marks)
Example: Where was Jeremy?
i) He was on a boat.
ii) He was at home.
iii) He was inside a tent.
iv) He was at the beach.
a)

What was Jeremy doing?
i) He was looking for shells.
ii) He was setting up the beach umbrella.
iii) He was building a sandcastle.
iv) He was eating an ice cream.
Page 4 of 12
English (Level 4) – Reading Comprehension, Language, and Writing – Primary – 2015
b)
What did he see?
i) He saw a plane.
ii) He saw a pirate ship.
iii) He saw a fishing boat.
iv) He saw a helicopter.
2.
Tick () to show whether each sentence is True or False.
(3 marks)
True
Example:
It was a sandy beach.
False

a) The ship had sails.
b) The pirates were singing.
c) Jeremy’s dad was asleep.
d) The head pirate stepped on the sandcastle.
e) The crew remained on the ship.
f) The head pirate liked Jeremy.
3.
Answer the following questions:
a)
What did the flag have on it?
(5 marks)
It had __________________________________________________.
b)
c)
i)
Did Jeremy’s Dad see the pirate ship? ________________________
ii)
Why? _______________________________________________
How did Jeremy know that the pirates were rowing ashore?
________________________________________________________
d)
What did the head pirate do soon after the rowing boat arrived at the
shore?
e)
i)
_________________________________________________
ii)
_________________________________________________
What did the pirates think about Jeremy?
________________________________________________________
English (Level 4) – Reading Comprehension, Language, and Writing – Primary – 2015
Page 5 of 12
B.
Language
(20 marks)
Jeremy the Pirate and Captain Bow
Jeremy is a special eight-year-old boy. He is a pirate! All of his
friends are pirates. Captain Bow is Jeremy’s best friend. He is a
strange pirate because he is funny and kind.
B.1.
Look at the picture of Captain Bow and read the sentences.
Use the words in the box to describe Captain Bow.
Look at the example*.
sharp
friendly
warm
noisy
(5 marks)
curly
round
black
wooden
short
long
silver
Captain Bow is a *short man with _____________ hair and a _____________
nose. He has a _____________ beard and a _____________ patch on his
eye. His _____________ leg clicks as he walks and his _____________
parrot squawks all the time. One of his hands is a _____________hook that he
uses to open cans of _____________ pea soup. In his other hand he holds a
________ sword that he keeps for good luck. Captain Bow is a ________ man.
Page 6 of 12
English (Level 4) – Reading Comprehension, Language, and Writing – Primary – 2015
B.2. Read about Jeremy’s present. Then read the sentences below.
Underline the correct word to find out how Jeremy found the treasure.
Look at the example.
(3 marks)
A Present for Jeremy
Captain Bow likes to give Jeremy special presents on his
birthday. This year Jeremy got a treasure map. The map
showed Jeremy how to find a chest of gold on Spider Island.
Example:
Jeremy went to Spider Island by boat and he walked (under, along, above) the
beach to the lake.
a)
Jeremy went (over, inside, by) the
lake and (past, along, between) the
Spider Island
wood
gold
bridge
tall palm tree.
b)
He walked (over, above, through)
the mountain and ran (at, on, to)
the wood.
lake
mountain
beach
palm tree
Jeremy’s treasure hunt starts here.
c)
Finally, Jeremy walked (across, under, past) a bridge and found the chest
of gold buried (above, under, over) the ground.
English (Level 4) – Reading Comprehension, Language, and Writing – Primary – 2015
Page 7 of 12
B.3. Read about the twins. Then look carefully at the table below.
Write sentences about the twins using and or but.
Look at the examples.
(12 marks)
Meet the Twins
Sam and Betty are twins. They look like each other but
they do not always like to do the same things.
Sam
Betty
a) eat bones eat bones
b)
c)
play in
play in
the mud
the grass
sleep in a
sleep in a
cot
cot
Example
a) Sam and Betty like to eat bones.
Example
b) Sam likes to play in the mud but Betty
likes to play in the grass.
c) ____________________________________
___________________________________
d)
chew
play fetch
shoes
d) ____________________________________
___________________________________
e)
drink
drink
milk
water
e) ____________________________________
____________________________________
f)
have a
bath
Page 8 of 12
have a
bath
f) ____________________________________
____________________________________
English (Level 4) – Reading Comprehension, Language, and Writing – Primary – 2015
C.
C.1.
Writing
20 marks
Sue invites her friend Tom to a short camping trip.
Complete the invitation.
(4 marks)
Sue tells her friend:

where they are going

who is taking them

how long they are staying

what he can bring
Special Invitation
To: Tom
We are going on a camping trip.
We are going to _______________________.
________________ is going to take us there.
We will stay there from _______________ to ________________.
You can bring _________________________________________
______________________ and __________________________.
From: Sue
English (Level 4) – Reading Comprehension, Language, and Writing – Primary – 2015
Page 9 of 12
C.2. Tommy has a new pet. He talks to his teacher about it.
(6 marks)
Fill in the speech bubbles to continue the dialogue.
Look at the example*.
Mrs. Borg, I have a new pet!
That’s great news! What pet did you get?
*I have a cute little kitten.
What colour is the kitten?
______________________________________________
______________________________________________
Where are you keeping it?
_______________________________________________
_______________________________________________
What food does it eat?
_______________________________________________
_______________________________________________
Page 10 of 12
English (Level 4) – Reading Comprehension, Language, and Writing – Primary – 2015
C.3.
Composition
(10 marks)
In not less than 50 words write a short story or some sentences about this
picture. The words in the box below may help you.
Harry makes new friends
stray
dirty
lonely
shelter
building site
soil
builders
pipes
friendly
family
together
play
Plan your story here:
English (Level 4) – Reading Comprehension, Language, and Writing – Primary – 2015
Page 11 of 12
Write your story here:
___________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________
End of Paper
Page 12 of 12
English (Level 4) – Reading Comprehension, Language, and Writing – Primary – 2015