Cambridge IGCSE ESL
Exam Prep.
Mr.Mostafa Al.Kholy
Grade 10
Reading Paper
A. Short-answer-Questions
Exam Tip
Read the questions. Underline the
keywords in the questions. Understand
what the question is asking you; is it, what,
why, when, were or how? Also underline
the other key phrases or words (nouns
and verbs that tells you what you should
look for). Questions can be confusing
sometimes so make sure you read the
question thoroughly and can pinpoint on
what exactly they are asking for. Be wary of
questions with signpost phrases like ‘apart
from’, ‘rather than’, or ‘according to the
graph’; they tell you what exactly you need
to find.
For exercise 1, It is also worth noting that,
usually, answers will be found in
chronological order within the
passage. The first questions’s answer will
mostly be in the introduction paragraph
and the next one in the second paragraph
and so on.
Others you will have to read between the
lines– you have to look at what the author
is implying- what he means.
Some questions will also use synonyms
of the words used in the passage simply to
confuse you! So make sure you know your
vocabulary!
Remember, you don’t have to come up
with your own answers, everything is
there in the passage itself; it’s a reading
exercise, not writing.
Mr.Mostafa Al.Kholy
Cambridge IGCSE ESL
Exam Prep.
Grade 10
2
Cambridge IGCSE ESL
Exam Prep.
Mr.Mostafa Al.Kholy
Grade 10
Annotated Reading Task with Answers
Biggest
Surprise
The same
experience
Shows comparison
and contrast
Loss of bees
Negative effects
Mr.Mostafa Al.Kholy
Cambridge IGCSE ESL
Exam Prep.
Grade 10
3
Cambridge IGCSE ESL
Exam Prep.
Mr.Mostafa Al.Kholy
Grade 10
Reading Questions Classified
CREATIVE RECYCLING
Nowadays, everybody needs to be aware of the importance of protecting the
environment. There are many original ways of recycling the things that other people
throw away. Creative designers in South Africa are making new and interesting
objects from rubbish, and helping local communities at the same time.
(a) How are designers in South Africa helping the environment?
Ans : recycling / making objects from rubbish
Reading Tip
Answers normally are in order .You find the answer of question 1 in paragraph 1 ; the answer
of question 2 in paragraph 2 and so on .
-Identify the key words in the question and find them in the text.The answer will surely be around them.
Apply : Here is paragraph 2
Bottles to beads
Young children in the north of the country collect empty glass bottles from the local community and
sell them to designers in the south who give them new life as necklaces or even handles for knives,
forks and spoons. The bottles are first broken into small pieces of glass, then crushed into powder
and heated to a high temperature in an oven. It is dangerous work and it takes a long time. The
glass is then melted by the heat and shaped into beads, which are finally attached to wire or string
to create the necklaces, or handles for knives, forks and spoons.
Where in South Africa do they create necklaces from bottles?
Ans : South
Reading Tip
Synonyms , Antonyms or even paraphrasing are used to trick you .You’ll find a key word in
the question .similar to a words or a phrase in the text
Bottles to beads
Young children in the north of the country collect empty glass bottles from the local community and
sell them to designers in the south who give them new life as necklaces or even handles for knives,
forks and spoons. The bottles are first broken into small pieces of glass, then crushed into powder
and heated to a high temperature in an oven. It is dangerous work and it takes a long time. The
glass is then melted by the heat and shaped into beads, which are finally attached to wire or
string to create the necklaces, or handles for knives, forks and spoons.
What are the disadvantages of working with glass bottles? Give two details.
Ans : dangerous AND long time / takes time
Mr.Mostafa Al.Kholy
Cambridge IGCSE ESL
Exam Prep.
Grade 10
5
Cambridge IGCSE ESL
Exam Prep.
Mr.Mostafa Al.Kholy
Grade 10
What is the last stage in the process of making necklaces?
Ans : beads attached to wire AND / OR string
Apply : Here is paragraph 3
Skateboards to sunglasses
One designer in Durban, who used to build skateboard ramps, now recycles old skateboards
and turns them into sunglasses of different colours. He says, “Throwing away old skateboards
is a huge waste. Top quality boards are made from wood from maple trees, which take years to
grow. It is such a pity that thousands of these boards are thrown away each year. The wood is
very light and so is ideal as frames for sunglasses.
Why is maple wood suitable for making sunglasses?
Ans : very light
Buttons to rings
A designer in Johannesburg was looking through some old boxes when she found a treasure –
thousands of beautifully made old buttons in many colour combinations. Most astonishing of
all was that they were still attached to the original cards on which they were imported from
Reading
Tip
Europe
in the 1950s.
What was the most surprising thing about the buttons?
Ans : attached to the original cards
The last Question Asks you to scan the whole text to find 4 details about a specific idea .You should take
care your vocabulary. After you identify what exactly you’re looking for , highlight any relevant idea that
matches with the question.
Sample question :
Give four examples of problems caused by specific types of wildlife at airports.
Mr.Mostafa Al.Kholy
Cambridge IGCSE ESL
Exam Prep.
Grade 10
6
Cambridge IGCSE ESL
Exam Prep.
Mr.Mostafa Al.Kholy
Grade 10
Multiple Matching Exam Tips – Classified
Mr.Mostafa Al.Kholy
Cambridge IGCSE ESL
Exam Prep.
Grade 10
10
Cambridge IGCSE ESL
Mr.Mostafa Al.Kholy
Exam Prep.
Mr.Mostafa Al.Kholy
Grade 10
Cambridge IGCSE ESL
Exam Prep.
Grade 10
11
Cambridge IGCSE ESL
Mr.Mostafa Al.Kholy
Exam Prep.
Mr.Mostafa Al.Kholy
Grade 10
Cambridge IGCSE ESL
Exam Prep.
Grade 10
16
Cambridge IGCSE ESL
Mr.Mostafa Al.Kholy
Exam Prep.
Mr.Mostafa Al.Kholy
Grade 10
Cambridge IGCSE ESL
Exam Prep.
Grade 10
17
Cambridge IGCSE ESL
Exam Prep.
Mr.Mostafa Al.Kholy
Grade 10
Section 2: Writing Types and Tips
General Writing Tips
-Don't spam "and" everywhere! It's HORRIBLE
You'll never give a positive impression to the examiner if the best conjunction you
know is "and" when there are millions of others to opt for. Depending on the context,
this silly conjunction can be replaced with something better.
•
I enjoyed the party and had a lot of fun -> Not only did I enjoy the party, but I
also had a lot of fun
•
I left the shop and then I returned back home -> After leaving the shop, I
returned back home
•
Sarah is an intelligent girl and she is able to think creatively -> Sarah, who is an
intelligent girl, is able to think creatively
-The words "good", "bad", "nice" and "big" are FORBIDDEN
Your vocabulary must be powerful. One effective way to show that is not using these
simple words by using stronger synonyms. They shouldn't necessarily be very advanced
words as we are not native speakers.
•
Good/Nice: great, awesome, fantastic, fabulous, ravishing, beautiful, majestic,
eye-catching, terrific, wonderful, splendid, superb etc...
•
Bad: dreadful, awful, appalling, terrible, horrible etc...
•
Big: huge, enormous, gigantic, large, massive etc...
-Avoid weak verbs like "to be", "to let", "to make" and "to have"
The verb is the engine of any sentence. If you use a low-quality one, your sentence
won't work very well, even if you use super-fantastic adverbs and adjectives. Have a
look at these examples:
•
•
•
•
My dog is a messy eater ---> My dog splatters food everywhere whenever it eats.
Her parents let her go to the concert ---> Her parents allowed her to go to the
concert.
The event made me have fun ---> The event amused me
His house has a beautiful view on the sea ---> His house boasts a beautiful view
on the sea
Although all of the first sentences are correct, they are not powerful enough and
convey less effectively the meaning. Unless these verbs are used in an
idiom/expression or serve as auxiliary/helping verbs (like to be and to have), they
should be used only when you can't find better alternatives.
Mr.Mostafa Al.Kholy
Cambridge IGCSE ESL
Exam Prep.
Grade 10
21
Cambridge IGCSE ESL
Mr.Mostafa Al.Kholy
Exam Prep.
Mr.Mostafa Al.Kholy
Grade 10
Cambridge IGCSE ESL
Exam Prep.
Grade 10
27
Cambridge IGCSE ESL
Exam Prep.
Mr.Mostafa Al.Kholy
Grade 10
Grammar Points : Sentence Fragments
Mr.Mostafa Al.Kholy
Cambridge IGCSE ESL
Exam Prep.
Grade 10
28
Cambridge IGCSE ESL
Exam Prep.
Mr.Mostafa Al.Kholy
Grade 10
Writing a Decent Informal Letter
To compose successfully an informal letter, you must show the examiner you can write
using a friendly tone, or, in simpler words, that you're able to write the letter like you're
really going to send it to an American/British friend who will in turn reply to you.
Register (level of the language)
It's extremely essential to employ (use) the correct register by following these tips:
•
Do not slam in your letter the hardest vocabulary or the coolest idioms you know if
they don't fit in
•
Make your letter sound natural, not fake
•
Never get formal or overly informal (slang)
To get a better understanding on this, let's check a sample of introduction:
"How are you? Allow me to tell you that I was brimmed over [1] with jubilation [2] while poring
over [3] your baffling [4] handwriting in your previous letter as it had been ages since I'd last
heard from you. Anyhow, I would like to recount [5] to you what is going on in my life."
I'm pretty sure your first impression was something like, "This cannot possibly be a letter
to a friend." In fact, you'd be 100% correct. Despite sounding fluent and being very wellwritten, you cannot start an informal letter this way as you'd be using the wrong register.
The interesting question here is what made you think that. The vocabulary? The idioms?
The language? Yes, it's all of them! It's how you mix them together that decides what
register you're using. Putting this in mind, let's check the next example:
"How are you? Are you still snowed under with [6] tons of boring assignments? I hope not
because I'm just about to give you a huge dose of exciting news that will leave you
flabbergasted [7]!"
Much better, right? This is something you could send to a friend of yours in real life. It
has all the elements it needs to sound natural and realistic. We'll discuss in greater detail
how introductions should be created further in front.
[1] brimmed over: filled with an emotion
[2] jubilation (formal): happiness
[3] pore over: study or examine something carefully
Mr.Mostafa Al.Kholy
Cambridge IGCSE ESL
Exam Prep.
Grade 10
33