APRIL 2013
Section A
PATHFINDER ENGLISH WORKSHEET
Section B
GRAMMAR
PUNCTUATION
This section consists of four questions. Circle the best answer.
For questions 5 to 12, choose the correct punctuation to correct the
passage. Circle the best answer.
1. All deserts share one thing __________ common.
A. on
B. of
C. in
D. from
2. Few plants ___________ here.
A. grow
B. grows
C. growing
D. growed
3. The Sahara is the _______ hot desert on Earth.
A. large
B. larger
C. largerer
D. largest
4. Dark green desert grasses poke up _________ the snow.
A. into
B. through
C. on
D. beyond
To explore this desert [5] you [6] re bundled up today. You [7] re wearing
two coats [8] On your feet [9] you have heavy boots over four pairs of socks.
You’re also wearing a hat [10] a fur-lined hood [11] and three pairs of
mittens. You’re still cold. What [12] s worse—it’s snowing.
5. A. [ ‘ ] apostrophe
B. [ , ] comma
C. [ ! ] exclamation mark
D. [ . ] full stop
6. A. [ ! ] exclamation mark
B. [ , ] comma
C. [ “ ] inverted comma
D. [ ‘ ] apostrophe
7. A. [ “ ] inverted comma
B. [ . ] full stop
C. [ , ] comma
D. [ ‘ ] apostrophe
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Section B
PUNCTUATION
Section C
VOCABULARY
For questions 13 to 17, four options are given. Circle the best answer.
8. A. [ . ] full stop
B. [ “ ] inverted comma
C. [ ! ] exclamation mark
D. [ ‘ ] apostrophe
9. A. [ ? ] question mark
B. [ . ] full stop
C. [ , ] comma
D. [ ‘ ] apostrophe
10. A. [ ‘ ] apostrophe B. [ . ] full stop
C. [ ! ] exclamation mark
D. [ , ] comma
11. A. [ ? ] question mark
B. [ . ] full stop
C. [ ! ] exclamation mark
D.[ , ] comma
12. A. [ ‘ ] apostrophe
B. [ , ] comma C. [ ! ] exclamation mark
D.[ “ ] inverted comma
13. Temperature, wind, and rain or snow make up _________.
A. episodes
B. climate
C. seasons
D. phases
14. Icy rocks sparkle like ___________ in the weak light.
A. luminosity
B. daylight
C. silver
D. beams
15. ________________ sun. You’re in the Sahara now.
A. cooling
B. refreshing
C. scorching
D. chilling
16. Like all deserts, ______________ is hard to come by.
A. snow
B. wind
C. clouds
D. rain
17. The temperature can be quite cold. At times, _____________ covers the
rocks.
A. ice cubes
B. snow
C. frost
D. mist
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Section D
Section E
VOCABULARY CLOZE
COMPREHENSION
Choose the most suitable word(s) to replace the underlined word(s).
Circle the best answer.
Read the passage “Cold and Windy” in the article ‘Discovering Deserts’ and
answer the following questions.
The sun beats down. You’re dressed for sun, though. You’ve [18] covered
yourself from head to toe in long, loose-fitting clothes. You’ve
[19]wrapped a long scarf around your head. You can use it to cover your
face, too. By midday, the temperature may [20] rise above 50o Celsius
(122o Fahrenheit). These clothes will help you keep [21] cool.
18. A. enclosed
B. wrapped
C. shielded
D. disguised
19. A. bound
B. enfolded
C. draped
D. bandaged
22. Antarctica
A. is a hot desert.
B. is filled with sand dunes.
C. has polar bears.
D. is one of the driest deserts.
23. The springtail is able to withstand the harsh environment in
Antarctica because
A. it lives in the water.
B. it eats algae and fungi.
C. it makes a chemical which protects it from the cold.
D. it lives on the penguins.
Encourage students to read the whole article to enhance their
understanding and help them answer the questions better.
20. A. increase
B. mount
C. augment
D. grow
21. A. calm
B. fresh
C. chill
D. icy
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Section G
Section F
GRAMMAR CLOZE
EDITING
There are 7 blanks, numbered 24 to 30, in the passage below. From
the list of words given, choose the most suitable word for each
blank. Write its letter (A to L) in the blanks below.
Correct each word in bold for spelling errors and the underlined for
grammatical errors. Write the correct answer in the blanks below.
EACH WORD CAN ONLY BE USED ONCE.
The snow leopard’s thick, [31] smookey gray fur covers its [32] thinning
body. It stands on thick legs [33] of large paws and thick, sharp [34] calws.
The snow leopard [35] made a sound at you. Chuff, chuff, chuff. It looks
[36]hungary. Maybe now is not the best [37] timing to get too close. It’s
probably time to move on.
(A) over
(E) in
(I) is
(B) a
(F) are
(J) on
(C) an
(G) of
(K) the
(D) so
(H) most
(L) or
Antarctica is one [24] ______________ the driest deserts. It hasn’t rained
[25] _______________ snowed on some parts of the continent
[26]_________________ thousands of years. [27] __________________ of
Antarctica gets only [27] __________________ little bit of snow each year.
Since the climate [28] _______________ so cold, the snow doesn’t melt.
[29]___________________ time, it piles up. It forms thick ice sheets. Some icy
parts of Antarctica [30] _______________ over 4 kilometers (2.5 miles)
thick.
31. ________________________________________________
32. ________________________________________________
33. ________________________________________________
34. ________________________________________________
35. ________________________________________________
36. ________________________________________________
37. ________________________________________________
4
Section H
Section J
COMPREHENSION CLOZE
COMPREHENSION OPEN-ENDED
Fill in each blank with a suitable word.
Read the passage “Windy and Rocky” in the article ‘Discovering
Deserts’ and answer the following questions.
Suddenly, a tiny jerboa streaks in [38]____________________ of you. It’s a
small rodent that makes its [39] _________________ near the oasis. It drinks
the water and [40] _______________ on the plants. This one must be very
hungry. Jerboas usually sleep during the daytime. Nearby, you spot a
fennec fox. It has [41] ________________ a den in the sand. It will wait out
the heat of the day so that it can hunt at [42] _______________. It keeps cool
with the help of its huge ears.
45. Why is the Gobi called a semiarid desert?
___________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________
46. Why do you think the snow leopards are referred to as ‘endangered’?
___________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________
Section I
47. Which word from Paragraph Five has the same meaning as ‘digging
up’?
___________________________________________________________________________
SYNTHESIS/ TRANSFORMATION
Rewrite the given sentence(s) using the word(s) provided. Your
answer must be in one sentence. The meaning of your sentence
must be the same as the given one(s).
Encourage students to read the whole article to enhance their
understanding and help them answer the questions better.
43. Your water supply is running low, but don’t worry. Even in this
desert, water can be found.
_____________________________________ as __________________________________.
44. The heat and sun would zap your energy. It’s best to lay low like the
fox.
__________________________________ so _______________________________________.
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Answer Scheme
Section A
Grammar
1.
2.
3.
4.
C. in
A. grow
D. largest
B. through
Section B
Punctuation
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.
11.
12.
B. [ , ] comma
D. [ ‘ ] apostrophe
D. [ ‘ ] apostrophe
A. [ . ] full stop C. [ , ] comma
D. [ . ] comma
D. [ . ] comma
A. [ ‘ ] apostrophe
Section C
Vocabulary
13.
14.
15.
16.
17.
B. climate
C. silver
C. scorching
D. rain
B. snow
Section D
Vocabulary Cloze
18.
19.
20.
21.
B. wrapped
C. draped
A. increase
C. chill
Section E
Comprehension
22. D. is one of the driest deserts.
23. C. it makes a chemical which protects it from the cold.
Section F
Grammar Cloze
24.
25.
26.
27.
28.
29.
30.
31.
[G] of
[L] or
[E] in
[H] Most
[B] a
[I] is
[A] Over
[F] are
6
Section G
Section J
Editing
Comprehension Open-Ended
32.
33.
34.
35.
36.
37.
38.
smoky
thin
with
claws
makes
hungry
time
46. The Gobi is called a semiarid desert as it cooler and get more
rainfall that a typical hot, dry desert.
47. The snow leopard is referred to as endangered as it is hard to find
as its population has decreased in the wild.
48. The word is ‘uprooting’.
Section H
Comprehension Cloze
39.
40.
41.
42.
43.
front
home
nibbles
dug
night
Section I
Synthesis/ Transformation
44. Your water supply is running low, but don’t worry as you can find
water in this desert.
45. The heat and sun would zap your energy so it’s best to lay low like
the fox.
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