2012 Primary 3 English Mid Year Examination 4

Section A

Choose the correct answer. Make your choice (1, 2, 3 or 4).

1.

The passengers on the liner were delighted to see a ______________ of whales.

1. troop
2. pride
3. pod
4. gaggle

2.

Fearless Phil did not quake or quiver when the wolf let out a ______________ snarl.

1. soft
2. menacing
3. melodious
4. pleasant

3.

The curator of the ____________ showed us some paintings by Vincent Van Gogh.

1. restaurant
2. community club
3. museum
4. dormitory

4.

The supermarkets usually put up ____________ in the newspapers to inform consumers of the items that are on sale.

1. notices
2. posters
   
3. flyers
4. advertisements

5.

We need to put on a mask if we are having flu as it is _______________.

1. invincible
2. outrageous
3. resilient
4. contagious

Section B

Read the passage carefully. Choose the correct word from the box. Use each word ONCE only.

1.

see	problem	hear	dim
plants	bright	well	vegetables

Vitamin A is good for our eyesight. It is found in most red-and-orange-coloured fruit and (1) ____________. People who do not have enough of this vitamin may find that they cannot (2) _________ very well in the dark of in dim light. This (3) ___________ is commonly known as "night blindness".

People who suffer from night blindness can see as (4) _____________ as everyone else during the day. However, when the lighting is (5) ___________, they experience some inconvenience. Sometimes, their vision is so bad that they cannot drive in the night.

Section C

Choose the correct answer. Make your choice (1, 2, 3 or 4).

1.

An ant can carry objects that are many times _______________ own weight.

1. its
2. their
3. it
4. our

2.

Mr. Brown took a needle and string to stitch up ____________ drooping sunflowers over there by the gate.

1. this
2. those
3. that
4. these

3.

We _____________ hurry if we are to arrive on time for the movie.

1. can
2. may
3. must
4. shall

4.

King Ethelred has recovered from his chicken pox, ____________ he?

1. have
2. has
3. haven't
4. hasn't

5.

Mr Thompson, as well as the children, ____________ having a picnic at the park now.

1. are
2. were
3. is
4. was

Section D

Read the two passages carefully. Choose from the words given in the boxes and fill in each blank with the correct LETTER.
USE EACH WORD ONCE ONLY.

1.

(A) choosing	(B) chooses	(C) choose	(D) chose
(E) chosen	(F) will be choosing	(G) choices	(H) choice

Mother took my sister and me to the supermarket yesterday to buy some groceries. My sister headed for the dairy section to (1) ____________ her favourite chocolate milk. Next, we went to the canned food section. Mother (2) ____________ some canned luncheon meat to fry for lunch. When we go to the fruit section, we were spoilt for (3) __________ as there was a wide variety of fruit. We decided to bake an apple pie so we started (4) ____________ the reddest and juiciest apples we could find.

2.

(A) into	(B) off	(C) for	(D) out
(E) on	(F) from	(G) onto	(H) in

Jack and his brother were playing with their new ball in the garden. Suddenly, they spotted a beehive (1) ____________ the branch of a tree.

"I'm going to hit it with this," said Jack's brother with a stone (2) __________ his hand. "No!" Jack exclaimed. "Don't do that. The bees might fly (3) ___________ and sting us. Let's go and tell Dad about it."

Section E

For questions 1 to 3, choose the correct punctuation to complete the passage.

Amanda and her little brother peeped out from behind the curtains. The stranger was still loitering outside their neighbour's flat (1) "What is he going to do (2) asked Amanda's brother when he saw the man whip out a screwdriver. "I think he's going to break into our neighbour's flat. I must call the police (3) Amanda told her little brother.

1.

(1)

1. [,] comma
2. [.] full stop
3. [:] colon
4. [!] exclamation mark

2.

(2)

1. [?"] question mark and inverted commas
2. [."] full stop and inverted commas
3. ["?] inverted commas and question mark
4. [,"] comma and inverted commas

3.

(3)

1. [",] inverted commas and comma
2. [."] full stop and inverted commas
3. [".] inverted commas and full stop
4. [,"] comma and inverted commas

Section F

Correct each word in bold for spelling and each underlined word for grammer.

1.

Nathan and his parents were driving down to Penang to spend the school holidays with his grandmother. They started their (1) _____________ jurney early in the morning so they could avoid the traffic jam. Nathan was (2) __________ surprise to see almost no traffic along the way.

As Nathan's father drove, his mother pointed out the coconut plantations and rubber estates to him. To Nathan's (3) ______________ dilight, there were even cows and goats (4) ___________ graze freely on the grass. When they reached their (5) ___________ destinasion, Grandma was waiting to welcome them with a hearty meal.

Section G

Combine the sentences to make one sentence using the word or words given. The meaning of your sentence must be the same as the meaning of the given sentences.

1.

The wolf climbed down the chimney. He wanted to save the three little pigs.

______________________________________________________________________so

_________________________________________________________________________

2.

Mr. T has a heavy workload. He works into the night to finish his work.

As___________________________________________________________________

_____________________________________________________________________

3.

The gruffalo met the mouse. The gruffalo was terrified.

________________________________________________________________________when

_____________________________________________________________________________

4.

Jack went to the amusement park. He asked his father for permission.

_______________________________________________________________________before

____________________________________________________________________________

5.

Camille lived in a town. The sunflowers there grew very high.

____________________________________________________________________________where

_________________________________________________________________________________

Section H

Read the passage carefully and answer the questions that follow. Your answer must be based on the passage. Choose the correct answer.

Tim was sulky as he mowed the lawn. It was not the way he preferred to spend such a lovely morning. Suddenly, the lawnmower hit a rock and bounced sideways. The lawnmower jerked against his wrist. Tim released the handle to rub the bruise. "You'll take ages to mow the lawn with that antique," commented his neighbour, John, from across the fence. "I know," sighed Tim, eyeing the manual lawnmower and the narrow strip he had completed. He gave the mower a nasty kick, tipping it over. "You could get heatstroke pushing that museum piece the whole afternoon. Shall I lend you my lawnmower?" suggested John. "Yes, that's a wonderful idea. We can fly our kites at the park when we are done," Tim said enthusiastically. John brought over his electric lawnmower and Tim started mowing the lawn again. John helped him to rake up the grass clippings and bagged them. When they were done, there was a pile of black garbage bags by the back porch.

1.

How did Tim injure himself? He injured himself as the ________________.

1. lawnmower hit his wrist when it overturned
2. lawnmower jerked against his wrist when it hit a rock and bounced sideways
3. lawnmower's handle came off and hit his wrist
4. lawnmower hit a rock and rolled on his toes

2.

Another word for "manual" is _______________________.

1. automatic
2. hand-operated
3. electrical
4. mechanical

3.

Why do you think Tim kicked the lawnmower?

1. He wanted to make it move faster.
2. He was trying to spoil it so that he could get a new lawnmower.
3. He was frustrated with the speed of the lawnmower.
   
4. He did not see where he was going.

4.

The pile of black garbage bags contain _____________________.

1. leaves
2. grass clippings
3. rubbish
4. recyclable materials

5.

Which of the following sentences is true?

1. John lent Tim his lawnmower because Tim asked for it.
2. John mowed the lawn while Tim raked up the grass clippings.
3. Tim suffered a heatstroke from mowing the lawn.
4. Tim accepted John's suggestion and help.

Section I

Read the passage carefully and answer questions that follow in complete sentences. Your answer must be based on the passage.

A salamander has a long body, a long tail and four legs. It looks like a lizard. It is an amphibian as it is cold-blooded and its body temperature is the same as the surrounding temperature. Most salamanders have smooth and slick skin. They need to keep their skin moist or they will die. Thus, they are found mainly in cool and shady places like under rocks, logs and under fallen leaves. Some can be found in the water. The diet of the salamanders depends on their age. Very young salamanders live on micro-organisms in the pond. As they grow, they start to feed on maggots, fruit flies, earthworm, slugs, snails and crickets. Larger salamanders eat mice, fish and crayfish. However, salamanders are eaten by turtles, squirrels, raccoons and snakes. Very often, the salamanders' eggs are eaten by fish, crayfish, turtles, birds and frogs. To protect itself from its enemies, a salamander would sacrifice its tail in times of danger. The detached tail will continue to wriggle to distract the enermy while it escapes. Losing a tail is not a problem as a salamander can always grow a new tail. In addition, most salamanders have glands that secrete a poisonous fluid on the back of their neck or tail. Some of these poisonous salamanders have brightly coloured skin. Predators would then avoid eating these salamanders.

1.

Name two methods to show the salamanders keep their skin moist.

________________________________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________________________________

2.

Name two animals that feed on salamanders' eggs.

________________________________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________________________________

3.

Find a word in the passage that has the same meaning of "to draw someone's attention away".

________________________________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________________________________

4.

How does a salamander use its tail to protect itself from its enemies?

________________________________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________________________________

5.

Why do some salamanders have brightly coloured skin?

________________________________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________________________________

Section A (Answers)

Answers

1.

C.

2.

B.

3.

C.

4.

D.

5.

D.

Section B (Answers)

Answers

1.

(1) vegetables
(2) see
(3) problem
(4) well
(5) dim

Section C (Answers)

Answers

1.

A.

2.

B.

3.

C.

4.

D.

5.

C.

Section D (Answers)

Answers

1.

(1) C
(2) D
(3) H
(4) A

2.

(1) E
(2) H
(3) D

Section E (Answers)

Answers

1.

B.

2.

A.

3.

D.

Section F (Answers)

Answers

1.

(1) journey
(2) surprised
(3) delight
(4) grazing
(5) destination

Section G (Answers)

Answers

1.

The wolf wanted to save the three little pigs so he climbed down the climney.

2.

As Mr.T has a heavy workload, he works into the night to finish his work.

3.

The gruffalo was terrified with it met the mouse.

4.

Jack asked his father for permission before he went to the amusement park.

5.

Camille lived in a town where the sun flowers grew very high.

Section H (Answers)

Answers

1.

B.

2.

B.

3.

C.

4.

B.

5.

D.

Section I (Answers)

Answers

1.

They keep their skin moist by staying in cool and shady places and in the water.

2.

Crayfish and birds are two animals that feed on salamanders' eggs.

3.

The word is "distract".

4.

It detaches its tail and the detached tail will continue to wriggle to distract the enemy while it escapes.

5.

It is to warn the predators that they are poisonous.