READING COMPREHENSION (15)
Directions: Read the passage and answer the questions that follow.
SAVING THE ELEPHANTS
by Robert Gray
A few thousand years ago, there were many different kinds of elephants roaming the
earth throughout Africa, Asia, and even North America. Today all but two species are extinct.
What made them disappear everywhere but in Africa and Asia? Great changes in
climate, perhaps. Experts do not know for sure. But they do know what dangers the elephants
face today. People are competing with the elephants for land and are shooting the elephants
who invade their farms. And people have long hunted elephants for ivory.
In some African and Asian nations it is now illegal to shoot elephants or to trade in
ivory. But there are still people who hunt illegally and smuggle ivory.
Young people in African wildlife clubs are urging stricter enforcement of the laws and
are also asking that more land be set aside for wildlife.
But how much land is enough for a herd of elephants? Some of Africa’s young people
want to help find out. To do this they will study Wildlife Management and then go out to the
savanna to see if their ideas work. Let’s hope that these young scientists succeed, so there
will still be elephants tomorrow.
A. COMPREHENSION (8)
1.On what continents do elephants live today? (2)
2.What dangers do elephants face today? (3)
3.What two things are wildlife clubs asking to be done to help protect elephants? (2)
4.How will people decide what amount of land is necessary for a herd of elephants to live
on? (1)
B. VOCABULARY (7)
Find the word that matches the meaning. The words are underlined in the story.
1. harsh or severe
2. against the law
3. wander
4. to achieve something
5. fight or battle
6. died out or vanished
7. to take something in or out of a place illegally or secretly
READING COMPREHENSION (15)
Directions: Read the passage and answer the questions that follow.
HEADACHES
For centuries mankind has suffered from headaches. In this time doctors and scientists have
tried to discover the cause of headaches and a cure for them. Yet even today medicine does
not have many answers. It is true that there are more drugs and medicines that can relieve the
pains, but this is not enough. We cannot solve the problem of headaches until we know the
cause—or causes, for there is not just one reason for pains in the head. Aspirin is widely used
but there are problems in taking this drug; it is not the harmless white tablet that some people
think.
There are many kinds of headache. The most common is migraine. This affects only
one side of the head and, for some unknown reason, attacks mostly women. It appears to run
in families.
Men can be attacked by migraine, of course, but in men the most common form of
headache is the cluster pain. This may attack a person for a few hours or a few days, but then
it goes away and may not return for many months, or even years. The pain of cluster
headaches is so severe that the sufferer may cry out in pain and walk restlessly up and down,
unable to concentrate on work, study or pleasure.
What is the cause of headaches? Most medical experts agree that it is caused by blood
vessels in the brain becoming too full of blood. Then a substance called neurokinin appears;
this is a chemical that produces pain. Therefore, treatment is usually to reduce the amount of
blood and of neurokinin. However, many questions remain without answers and the problems
of headaches remain as a challenge to medical science.
A. COMPREHENSION (8)
1. Name two different kinds of headache. (2)
2.What is neurokinin? (1)
3.What is a possible cause of headaches? (1)
4.Is there a cure for headaches? (1)
5.Name 3 things a person suffering from a cluster headache might do. (3)
B. VOCABULARY (7)
Find the word that matches the meaning. The words are underlined in the story.
1. matter or material
2. reduce the pain or trouble
3. set upon to hurt
4. to have pain, grief, or injury
5. something that requires a lot of effort
6. strict, stern, or harsh
7. to a wide extent
READING COMPREHENSION (20 MARKS)
Directions: Read the passage below and answer the questions that follow.
TARA AND THE BIRDS
by Margaret Higham
It had been raining all afternoon. Tara Chen stood by the kitchen window and traced a
raindrop as it slid down the outside of the glass. She followed it with her finger till it stopped
at the ledge, then looked up for another. That was when she saw the bird. It stood on the
clothesline, flapping its wings but not flying. Something was wrong with its feet.
Tara didn’t like birds. They squawked in her window and peered at her with beady eyes.
Just thinking of their sharp beaks and their dry, scratching claws gave her goose pimples.
The rain turned into ice and struck the glass with clattering pellets. Through the frosty
pane Tara could see other birds clinging to the line. Beyond, where the clothesline joined the
garage, more birds were bathing in the gutter under the roof.
The moment they climbed out, dripping wet, onto the line, their feet froze fast to the cord.
One bird after another stuck to the clothesline, like a row of wooden puppets. By now, the
first bird had stopped fluttering. Its soggy feathers were slowing turning to ice.
Tara watched in horror. She didn’t like the thought of touching birds, but she couldn’t
just stand by the window and let them freeze. She hesitated, then pulled on her jacket and ran
outside to the clothesline stoop. She yanked the line toward her, knocking its icy coating into
the pulley. The first brown bird trembled as it looked at her.
“Why, you’re more scared than I am. Don’t be afraid. I’m going to help you.”
Tara cupped one hand over the bird’s icy claws. With her other hand, she made a warm
cocoon over its body, holding the small, shivering creature until her fingers ached. Finally
she tried to loosen the frozen claws that were wound tightly around the line. The birds
struggled feebly.
One foot came loose. Then the other. The wings under Tara’s hand moved a little.
“You can do it, little bird. Come on! Flap your wings!” She pushed gently against the
backs of its thighs where yellow wing feathers joined the dark body.
“Fly away, little bird!”
The bird fluttered, then flew to a tall spruce tree. Tara rubbed her hands together, warmed
them with her breath, and started to work thawing out the feet of the second bird in line. Then
she went on to the third. Soon all birds were nestled safely in the spruce tree. Tara knew if
any more landed in the gutter, they would skate, not swim. By now even the bristles of grass
were like icicles.
Tara tried to warm her frozen hands in the sleeves of her jacket and called out, “Fly away,
little birds. And if you come back tomorrow, there’ll be food for you.”
COMPREHENSION (13)
1. What did Tara do that showed compassion for the birds? (1)
2. Do you think Tara’s feelings about the birds changed after she helped them? Why do
you think as you do? (2)
3. What clues helped you predict that Tara would help the birds? (2)
4. Give two reasons why Tara did not like birds. (2)
5. What was wrong with the birds’ feet? (1)
6. How did Tara save the birds? (1)
7. Why were Tara’s hands cold? (1)
8. What color were the birds? (2)
9. “Tara knew if any more landed in the gutter, they would skate, not swim.” How did
Tara know that the birds would not swim in the gutter and get stuck on the clothesline
again? (1)
VOCABULARY (7)
Directions: Match the meaning to one of the underlined words in the story.
1. weakly; lacking force
2. a very strong dislike
3. shake because of fear, weakness, or cold
4. jerk or pull
5. settled comfortable
6. making a loud rattling noise
7. flutter or wave