KINDERWORLD INTERNATIONAL SCHOOL MID OF TERM
3 EXAMINATIONS 2020 / 2021.
STUDENT NAME: _____________________
YEAR: 8.5 STREAM:
SUBJECT: English
DATE: 28TH May 2021
DURATION: 45 minutes
INSTRUCTIONS:
Use a black or dark blue pen. You may use an HB pencil for any diagrams or
graphs.
Write your name, class and stream in the boxes at the top of the page.
Write your answer to each question in the space provided.
Do not use an erasable pen or correction fluid.
Comprehension (20 Marks)
World's Largest Seal.
by Guy Belleranti
In the freezing ocean waters of Antarctica, the planet's largest seals make their home in a frozen
world. These giants are southern elephant seals, and they can grow as long as the length of a car and
weigh as much as two cars combined. The name “elephant seal” comes from both the males' enormous
size and from their giant trunk-like nose, called a proboscis. Females do not have a proboscis and they
are much smaller.
A thick layer of blubber keeps southern
elephant seals warm in their icy habitat. The seals are clumsy on land, but in water they’re graceful
swimmers and incredible divers. They can easily dive 1,000 to 4,000 feet to hunt for squid, octopus, and
various kinds of fish. Elephant seals are able to stay underwater for 20 minutes or more. The longest
underwater session researchers observed is an amazing two hours! When they return to the surface to
breathe, it’s only for a few minutes. Then they dive again.
While elephant seals spend most of their time swimming, they also gather on beaches in groups
called colonies. One reason they come to land is to give birth and breed. Males arrive before females.
They battle for dominance, deciding who will have large harems of females. Raising their enormous
bodies, the males inflate their snouts and bellow. Usually, these confrontations end quickly. However,
sometimes only a physical battle can settle the matter. These fights can be bloody, but permanent injury
is rare.
Females arriving on land give birth to a single pup they’ve been carrying since the previous year.
Newborns weigh about 90 pounds. The mother nurses her pup for a little over three weeks. After
this, she breeds with a dominant male and then returns to the sea to feed. Her pup now weighs well
over 200 pounds and is on its own. If it survives, it too will enter the sea within a couple of months.
A second reason elephant seals come to land is to molt. When they molt, they shed old skin and
fur and new skin and fur grows.
A smaller species, the northern elephant seal, lives in the Pacific Ocean, dispersed from Baja,
California to Alaska. Both northern and southern elephant seals were once hunted nearly to extinction.
However, under legal protections both have made incredible comebacks.
1. Based on the information in the article, describe how an elephant
seal's movements are different on land than in the water. (2 Marks)
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2. Why do male elephant seals arrive on land before females during the
breeding season?
(2 Marks)
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3. According to the information in the article, describe two reasons why
elephant seals come on land. (4 Marks)
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4. How does an elephant seal obtain its food? What foods are a part of
an elephant seal's diet?
(2 Marks)
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___________________________________________________________
5. Based on what you read in the article, are elephant seals in danger
of becoming extinct today? Why or why not? (2 Marks)
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6. Fill in the missing letters to create a vocabulary word from the article. Then
write the full word on the side. Be sure you spell each word correctly.
(8 Marks)
1. n m o s
hint: extremely large
2. o i n n e
hint: power or superiority over others
3. c u y
hint: awkward; ungainly
4. e r a e n
hint: lasting indefinitely
5. l n ie
hint: groups of elephant seals
6. e i n t n
hint: disappearance from the planet
7. u b er
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hint: fatty tissue that helps sea mammals stay warm
8. e ll
hint: make a loud roaring sound
GRAMMAR (30 Marks)
1. Re-write the following sentences correcting the errors. (5 Marks)
a. The latest news about communal riots are disturbing.
____________________________________________________
b. The staff who went on strike has been invited to talk to the
management.
______________________________________________________
c. Statistics are now a compulsory subject for students of engineering.
______________________________________________________
d. The police investigating the crime claims that Tommy is guilty of
murder.
_______________________________________________________
e. The facts made public by the company shows an increase in profits.
______________________________________________________
2. Complete the following sentences with the correct alternative from the
brackets.
(5 Marks)
a. People _____________ care what the government is up to. (doesn’t/
don’t)
b. My earnings ____________ suffice my lifestyle. (doesn’t/ don’t)
c. Mathematics always _________ been my weak point. (has/ have)
d. The staff ____________ in time for the briefing every day. (Arrives/
Arrive)
e. Diabetes _______ an illness caused by too much sugar in the blood.
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(is/ are)
3. Identify whether the sentences are simple, compound or complex.
(5 Marks)
a. I like sleeping and Mary likes eating.
b. John went to school
c. We missed the school van because we overslept.
d. Our dog barks when she hears some noise.
e. Sally went to work but Peter went to the party.
4. In each of the following sentences, provide the blanks with suitable modal
verb of permission, ability, possibility, probability according to the
context of the sentences. (5 Marks)
a. Rael is sick today. She……………… not come to school.
b. ……… I talk to my mum, please?
c. The sky is not clear today. The flight to Goa………. be delayed.
d. If you believe in yourself, you…………… definitely do it.
e. …………...I request you for your name madam?
5. Put the words their, there and they’re where appropriate in the sentences
below.
(5 Marks)
a. If anyone calls, ask for ________ number.
b. __________ goes __________ train.
c. Where is the ball? Oh, ________ it is.
d. ___________ being served.
e. ___________ you are. Your mother has been looking for you
everywhere.
6. Re-write these sentences, adding full stops and capital letters where they
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are needed. (5 Marks)
a. noor flew to new york and paris last week
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b. ‘pirates of the caribbean’ is my favorite film
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c. my father works in bangalore he is 40 years old my mother is 38 they
both have full-time jobs
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d. she travelled widely in asia before settling in Singapore
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e. mr.khan has a ba from the university he works for the un
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