Grade 10 Entry
English Examination
2009-2010
Maple Leaf Schools
Name: (Native language characters)
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English Name: ________________________
Current School: ______________________
Date of Birth: ___________________________________
YEAR
MONTH
DAY
Today’s Date: ________________________
SCORING:
Part
Part
Part
Part
1: Non-Fiction Reading
II: Grammar
III: Fiction Reading
IV: Writing
TOTAL:
____/20
____/30
____/15
____/35
____/100
1
Part I: Non Fiction Reading
Read the following passage and then answer the questions.
Honeybees
Honey has made many foods tasty to eat. Yet the busy bees that fly about us when we
have a meal outside can be very annoying.
There are two types of bees – the social bee and the solitary bee. Social bees, like the
honeybee, live in large groups or colonies and are divided into special groups. Solitary
bees, like the carpenter bee, live alone or in very small groups.
As their name suggests, honeybees make honey. They live in a beehive made up of
honeycombs, a structure that is made of wax produced by the bees. Each honeycomb has
many six-sided holes called cells. It is in these cells that the bees put their nectar or
honey or lay eggs.
As a colony, honeybees are divided into three special groups: the queen, the worker bee,
and the drone. Each group has a very definite role or job. The queen bee only lays eggs
into the waxy cells. The drones’ only job is to mate with the queen bee, after which they
die. It is the worker bees that are the real busy bees: they build the hive, collect the
food, and care for the young. In each hive there are about
50 000 to 80 000 worker bees. These bees produce the honey we eat and the beeswax we
use to make some candles.
The farming of honey and beeswax by people is called beekeeping. The farmer builds a
small artificial hive called an apiary, which is a box hung with many trays of wax in wooden
frames. The worker bees fill these honeycombs with honey. When full, the farmer takes
the trays out and collects the honey. When the apiary is over populated, the bees fly
away in search of a new hive.
The worker bees collect flower nectar with their long tongues and deposit, or put, it into a
special “honey stomach”. The nectar reacts with chemicals in the stomach to start the
honey-making process. The worker bees then fly to their hives and deposit the nectarchemical mixture into cells. Later, honey is formed from this mixture.
Next time that you use honey, remember where it came from!
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Part I: Non Fiction Reading Answer the following questions according to the instructions.
Reading Comprehension Circle the letter of the right answer. (1point each) ____/5
1. What is the best title for this passage?
a. How Honeybees Collect Honey
c. Why Bees Annoy People
b. Honeybees – Amazing Insects
d. Two Types of Bees
2. According to this passage honeybees are ___
a. annoying and useless
c. helpful to people
b. solitary insects
d. farmed only in Europe
3. Honeybees produce wax to make ___
a. six-sided holes or cells
c. honey
b. the hive
d. nectar
4. Which of the following jobs are done by the worker bees?
a. build the hive and mate with the queen
b. build the hive and then die
c. build the hive and collect the food
d. build the hive and then search right away for a new hive
5. Which sentence is NOT true about honeybees?
a. They produce wax which makes the honeycombs.
b. Their way of producing honey depends on the hard work of the drones.
c. In each hive there are at least 50 000 worker bees.
d. The farming of honey is called beekeeping.
Answer the questions in complete sentences.
(3 points each)
____/9
(A complete sentence must have a subject (noun) and a predicate (verb) and be at least 5
words long.)
1. How are honeybees helpful (beneficial) to humans? (3) _______________
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2. What happens if the artificial hive, or apiary, becomes too full of bees? (3)
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3. If you were afraid of honeybees, what could you do to get over your fear? (3)
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Vocabulary
(1 point each)
____/6
Circle the letter of the word or phrase that best completes the sentence.
1. He bothered me a lot; he was very __________________ .
a. helpful
b. annoying
c. busy
d. young
2. She liked to live alone; people called her a ______________ person.
a. solitary
b. pretty
c. happy
d. party
3. You always knew what he meant because when he talked he had very _________
ideas.
a. unclear
b. funny
c. unusual
d. definite
4. She lost her ring and, in order to find it, she ___________ everywhere.
a. searched
b. ran
c. hoped
d. cried
5. In Canada there is a ________________ of people from many different countries.
a. tribe
b. few
c. mixture
d. separate
6. How many bricks can one factory __________ in a day?
a. invent
b. produce
c. like
d. see
Turn to the next page for the Grammar Section
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Part II. Grammar
Rewrite each sentence below so that it is correct. (1 point each)
____/10
(e.g. I have not eat supper. CORRECT SENTENCE I have not eaten supper.)
1. She likes walk.
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2. It is very difficulty to convince him.
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3. Everybody are here now.
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4. I have seen her for two days.
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5. My brother left home since nine o’clock.
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6. I’m sorry I forgot bringing your book.
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7. How many brothers you have?
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8. You don’t read that sort of book, isn’t it?
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9. Xiao Ying is a tallest girl in the class.
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10.That is my aunt over there. Have you met him? ______________________
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Complete each sentence using your own words.
(2 points each)
____/10
(e.g. I was late for class because I was too busy talking to my friends.)
1. The students stopped talking when
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2. He passed the final exam because
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3. Last night I went to bed after I
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4. Although it is raining,
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5. I want to go to a Maple Leaf School because
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Rewrite each sentence according to the instructions
(2 points each)
____/10
e.g. 1) I got the highest mark in the class. NEGATIVE – I didn’t get the highest mark in
the class.
e.g. 2) They played basketball at school. WH QUESTION – Where did they play
basketball?
For WH questions, choose from the following WH words: Who; What; Where; When;
Why
1. I received the letter about two weeks ago.
Negative:
____________________________________________________________
2. She is watching her favourite cartoon in her bedroom.
Wh – Question:
____________________________________________________________
3. Private planes will be common by the year 2050.
Negative: ___________________________________________________________
4. Our grandfather wears a suit every day.
Wh - Question:
____________________________________________________________
5. She went to the amusement park on Saturday.
Negative:
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Part III: Fiction Reading
Read the following passage and then answer the questions.
Talking Drums
Sete searched the thick forest for a good bamboo stem. “Ah”, he said at last, “this
one is perfect”. The piece of dried wood was about as big around as his leg. Sete needed
the bamboo to make a practice drum. Later that day Sete would begin learning “drum
talk.” Drums had been used by Sete’s people in Africa to send messages from one village
to another for hundreds of years.
Many of Sete’s people still used the drums, and he wanted to know what the
messages said. He also wanted to learn to make the drum speak. Sete’s Uncle Baelo would
show Sete how to use the “talking drums.” Everyone said that Uncle Baelo was the finest
drummer in the village, so Sete was lucky to learn from him.
First Sete would learn on a small drum, and then he would use a much larger one.
The large drums were made from the logs of padouk trees. They made sounds that could
be heard far away.
“I see you have found a good piece of bamboo,” Uncle Baelo said when he arrived.
Sete watched carefully as his uncle made the bamboo stem into a drum. First his uncle cut
a slit in the wood using a special ax. Then he made the long, narrow cut deeper at one end.
By hitting this side of the bamboo with a stick, Sete could make a deep, low sound. Then
Uncle Baelo dug a smaller amount of wood out of the other end. By hitting this side, Sete
could make a high sound. Later he would learn to use these sounds to make words.
When the drum was finished, Sete received his first lesson. His uncle taught him
ki-ke—ki-ke, which made “high-low, high-low” sounds. When people heard these sounds,
they knew a drummer was about to send a message.
Uncle Baelo told Sete to practice the sounds again and again. “When you have
learned these sounds well, I’ll teach you how to drum some words.” Sete drummed ki-ke—
ki-ke until bedtime.
“I could hear you from the edge of the forest,” Uncle Baelo said the next day. “You
know the sounds well.” Then he told Sete to listen carefully to one of his favourite
messages. Sete could hear the difference.
“Ke-ki-ki-ki—ke-ke-ke—ke—ke-ki-ke” said “Take away the knot of the heart,” Uncle
Baelo told him.
“What does it mean?” Sete asked.
“It is a good message,” his uncle answered. “It means ‘Don’t worry’.”
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Sete practiced the drum sounds every day for many months. At the same time, he
learned their meanings. One day Sete saw his uncle coming from the far end of the village.
Uncle Baelo was carrying something large. As he got closer, Sete saw what it was. “I
made this drum for you as a gift. It’s yours to keep. Use it wisely.”
Sete did not answer. As his uncle turned to walk away, Sete ran his hand over his
smooth new drum and smiled. He waited until the next day to use his gift for the first
time. Uncle Baelo was fishing on the river, but he would hear the message.
“Ki-ke—ki-ke,” Sete began. Then “ke-ki-ki-ki—ke-ke-ki—ke—ke-ki-ke,” he made his
new drum say.
“Do not worry, Uncle,” Sete thought as he pounded out the sounds. “I will take very
good care of my fine new drum. And someday I will show my own nephews how to make the
drums talk.”
Part III: Fiction Reading Answer the following questions according to the instructions.
Story Grammar
Answer in complete sentences using your own words.
____/15
1. Where did the story take place (the setting)? (2 points)
______________________________________________________________
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2. Who were the main people (character) in the story? Describe them based on the
information in the story. (3) ________________________________________
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3. Why did Sete practice so hard on the bamboo drum? (3)
______________________________________________________________
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4. Near the end of the story, Sete’s uncle gave him a new drum. Why was Sete so
happy about this? (3)
______________________________________________________________
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Reader Response
Answer the question in complete sentences.
1. What lesson did you learn from this story that could help you in your life? (4)
__________________________________________________________
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Turn to the next page for the Writing Section
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Part IV. WRITING – ORIGINAL COMPOSITION
Total Score: _____/35
Read the topic, “Special Skills”, in the box below. Plan your writing in the space
below. Try to use correct spelling, grammar, punctuation and sentences. Write your
paragraph on page 11.
Special Skills
Everyone has certain skills in which they do really well (excel). What is one area in
which you do really well (excel)? Write a paragraph describing your success and how
you achieved it.
Use the space below to plan your writing. Be sure to take some time to organize
your ideas and think of details that will make your writing interesting.
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Please write your paragraph below. Choose a title for your paragraph.
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