MERRYLAND INTERNATIONAL SCHOOL

DEPARTMENT OF ENGLISH
GRADE 8- TERM -1 REVISION
COMPREHENSION
a. Read the following passage and answer the questions that follow.

The Pony Express

In this age of texts and tweets, it is easy to send messages. You just press a few buttons, and boom!
Your message is sent. The person to whom you sent it will get it in just a few seconds. Distance is no
longer an issue. But things weren't always so easy.

In 1848 gold was found in California. Thousands of people rushed there to get some. Many people
liked living there and decided to stay. But there wasn't a whole lot between California and Missouri,
where the nearest trains ran. The train line to California wasn't finished until 1869. It took a long time
to ride a horse to Missouri.

Imagine that it is the year 1860. You have moved to California to open a shop. Most of your family
stayed back East. Your shop is doing well and now you want to your family to join you. How do you
get news to them? There's no phone, no train, and you can't leave your shop for too long. What do you
do? Well, you could use the Pony Express.

In 1860 and 1861, the Pony Express was the fastest way to get news to and from the West. The trail
that they rode was around 2000 miles long. It took most people weeks or months to ride that far. The
Pony Express could make the trip in just ten days. Those speeds were unheard of at the time. So how
did they do it? Well, they had a good system.

The Pony Express had 184 stations along the trail. The stations were around ten miles apart. This is
about how far a horse could run at a gallop before tiring. The rider would switch to a new horse at
each station. He would only take his mail pouch with him. Every 75-100 miles, the rider would get to
a home station. At each home station, riders would rest. Before resting, he would give his mail pouch
to a new rider. The mail never stopped moving, even while the horses and riders rested.
It was tough to ride for the Pony Express. Each rider had to weigh less than 125 pounds. Speed was
the key. Most of the riders were teenage boys. They rode at a fast pace for up to 100 miles a day. If
there were an emergency, one might have to ride 200 miles in a day. The ride could be rough and
dangerous. Attacks by Native Americans were common. But in its time running, the Pony Express
only lost one mail pouch.
The Pony Express filled an important role for a time, but it did not last. The Civil War started in April
of 1861. This was bad news for the owners. The worst for them was yet to come. On October 24th,
1861, the first telegraph line to California was finished. This linked them to the rest of the country.
People could send messages in an instant. Two days later the Pony Express closed. But the lore of the
brave riders lives on even today.
1.What happened first?
a. Settlers rushed to California to find gold. b. The Pony Express was started.
c. The train line to California was finished. d. The first telegraph line to California was finished.
2. Which best explains why Pony Express riders had to weigh less than 125 pounds?
a. Heavier men were more expensive. b. Horses were scared of heavier men.
c. Heavier men scared customers. d. Horses could move quicker with lighter men.
3. How fast could the Pony Express take a letter from California to Missouri?
a. 24 hours b. ten days c. twenty days d. one month
4. Why were the Pony Express stations about ten miles apart?
a. This was about as far as a man could walk in a single day.
b. This was as far as a man could ride on a horse in a day.
c. This was so the riders wouldn't get so lonely at night.
d. This was as far as a horse could run without getting tired.
5. Which was probably not a requirement to be a rider for the Pony Express?
a. You had to be light. b. You had to be an expert horse rider.
c. You had to be able to read and write. d. You had to be brave in the face of danger.
6. Which best describes that main idea of the fifth paragraph?
Question Response
a. It is about how many Pony Express stations there were.
b. It is about how the Pony Express carried mail so quickly. 1 A
c. It is about how the Pony Express riders slept in the stations.
2 D
d. It is about how far the Pony Express riders would go in a day.
7. Which of these ended the Pony Express? 3 B
a. The telegraph b. The Civil War
4 D
c. Wars with Native Americans d. The train line
8. About how far did Pony Express riders travel on a usual day? 5 C
a. 10 miles b. 200 miles c. 100 miles d. 2000 miles
9. How many mail pouches did the Pony Express lose? 6 B

a. The Pony Express never lost a mail pouch. b. One

7 A
c. Two d. Too many to keep track

10. Which title best describes the author's purpose in writing this? 8 C

a. Out of Touch: Why Phones are Faster Than Horses

9 B
b. The Pony Express: Stories of Their Bravery in Battle
c. Back in Touch: Why We Should Use Horses to Deliver the Mail 10 D
d. The Pony Express: About the 1860's Fastest Mail Service
b. You are going to read four reviews of music websites. For questions 1-10, choose from
the sections (A–D) and write the correct letter. You may choose a letter more than once.
Music website reviews
A. www.mastermusic.net

The first time I visited mastermusic.net, I thought it was terrible. The music videos all seemed to be
from thirty years ago, so definitely not for teenagers. Then I realised that I’d clicked on the link for
1990s music by accident! There are at least fifty other links, organised by both type of music and when
it was created. The opinions that the writers on this website give on the latest songs and albums are
more interesting than anything else I’ve seen online. I’d like to see more information on the site about
starting a band, but otherwise it’s great.

B. www.musicsourlife.com

This interesting website is great for those who, like me, love listening to and reading about rap, hip-
hop and little else. I really can’t think of a way of making musicsourlife.com better: it includes reviews
of every new song and album, and you can even find cheap musical equipment that people are getting
rid of, if making music’s your thing. Most music websites have hundreds of sections that I’d never
use, but musicsourlife.com keeps things nice and simple, so finding your way from one part of the site
to another isn’t difficult at all!

C. www.topmusiconfire.net

I can’t say that topmusiconfire.net is the easiest site I’ve ever used. It’s not that there are actually many
different areas on the site, it’s just that it’s not always clear how to move between them. It is, however,
probably the most up-to-date site I’ve ever found, with daily uploads of videos, reviews and concert
details. The site focuses on bands that have been around for a long time, though, so I’m not sure
how interesting anyone under the age of twenty will find it. The regular competitions are fun to do, but
I’ve never seen anything I’d actually want to win.

D. www.musicsthemessage.com

Me and my schoolfriends love this site because of the amazing things you can win. One of my friends
got an electric guitar just by answering a few simple questions. He was actually going to buy one, but
he doesn’t need to now, thanks to musicsthemessage.com! There’s a wide range of film clips on it too,
not just the usual ones of songs, but interviews with the bands and singers explaining how they
wrote the songs. The only thing is, the pictures and sound aren’t always very clear compared to other
sites, which is a shame.
 Which review …
1. says that it’s possible to buy things on the website? _________________

2. mentions that the website might not be suitable for teenagers? _________________

3. explains that the videos on the website are of poor quality? _________________

4. suggests a way of improving the website? _________________

5. says that the website is easy to use? _________________

6. mentions that the website has many different sections? _________________

7. explains how often new information is added to the website? _________________

8. suggests the website includes information on only a few types of music? _________________

9. says that the competitions on the website have great prizes? _________________

10. says the website has the best reviews of new music on the internet? _________________

Question 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
Response B C D A B A C B D A

c. Read the article on lighthouses and answer the questions.

The History of Lighthouses
A lighthouse is a structure from which light is projected at night, or which serves as a landmark by day, to
guide ships sailing in coastal waters. They are constructed at potentially problematic points on a coastline:
at entrances to harbours, on rocky ledges and islands, and even in the water. They help identify a ship’s
location, alert the ship’s crew of potential dangers, and let them know that land is near. Lighthouses were
designed to include a cottage for the keeper and his family.

The first lights used to guide ships were bonfires lit on hilltops, but the earliest recorded lighthouses date
back to Roman times. These structures were actually lighthouse towers with beacons powered by burning
wood or coal. In the 17th century, travel on the high seas increased leading to extensive lighthouse
construction. However, it was only in the 18th century that wood and coal were replaced by oil or gas
lanterns and not until the early to mid-20th century that electric lights were used instead of these lanterns.

Before the use of electric beacons, the lighthouse keeper had to keep the oil or gas beacons lit and to clean
the reflecting mirrors and the tower windows. With the introduction of automated electric beacons, the
role of the lighthouse keeper became unnecessary. It is estimated that as many as 50,000 lighthouses exist
in the world today. Most of them were automated at the end of the 20th century and where this was not
viable they were abandoned.

The power of modern lighthouse beacons varies in candelas from about 10,000 to about 1 million,
depending on the weather conditions and the visibility requirements of shipping traffic in the particular
area. The candela is the unit used to calculate the amount of light that a source radiates in a given
direction. Every automated lighthouse emits a distinctive series of flashes known as its characteristic.
These flash sequences allow ship captains to time intervals between flashes so that they can identify a
particular lighthouse, using a publication called the Light List. This publication gives a number to each
lighted beacon and describes its identifying characteristics.

Many lighthouses are equipped with a horn to help guide ships sailing in foggy weather and this is
audible up to 13 kilometres away. Ship captains can determine their own location by identifying
distinctive combinations of long and short horn blasts specific to each lighthouse. Some lighthouses are
also equipped with radio beacons that transmit Morse code radio combinations, have a range of up to 320
kilometres.

Since lighthouses often serve as landmarks by day to help ship captains establish their position along a
coastline, they vary in shape, colour and size. They can be square, round and even rectangular. A small
number have either twin or triple towers. Some are painted with stripes, spirals, or diamond patterns. Most
lighthouses range in height from 10 metres to 63 metres. They are built from a range of materials including
wood, stone, brick and iron and are constructed to withstand local environmental conditions. Lighthouse
designs often reflect the architectural styles of the time in which they were built.

In the 19th century, floating lighthouses known as lightships were stationed in coastal waters where
lighthouses could not be built. These ships displayed one or more lights to help with navigation and at one
time there were more than 120 of them in coastal waters. By 1985 buoys equipped with an automated
beacon and a fog signal took the place of lightships. These massive buoys measure 12 metres in diameter
and are among the largest of a variety of navigational aids known as lesser beacons. Such beacons include
river lights, fog signals, and numerous other smaller navigational aids used to mark channels in rivers and
harbours.

Today, many of these lesser beacons are in use throughout the world alongside those lighthouses which
have been automated. Primarily, these historical structures are a backup as modern satellite-based
navigational systems are installed on ships of all sizes thereby replacing the lighthouse.
Answer the following questions in not more than one sentence.
1. Into where might lighthouses guide ships?

ENTRANCE TO HARBOUR

2. What did lighthouses provide for those in residence?

COTTAGES FOR KEEPERS

3. What were initially used to help ships navigate safely?

BONFIRES ON HILLTOPS

4. What happened to lighthouses which did not become automated?

THEY WERE ABANDONED

5. How is the strength of a beacon measured?

CAND ELA UNIT

6. From how far can a lighthouse horn be heard?

THIRTEEN KM AWAY

7. What does a lighthouse’s appearance indicate to ships’ captains?

SHIP’S LOCATION ‘POSITION ALONG COASTLINE

8. What are lighthouses designed to cope with?

WITHSTAND LOCAL ENVIRONMENTAL CONDITIONS

9. Which aids were first used where lighthouses were not possible?

LIGHTING FLOATING LIGHTHOUSES

10. Nowadays what function do automated lighthouses have?

USED AS BACKUPS
VOCABULARY
Complete the table:

S.NO. WORD
MEANING / SYNONYM
A movement you make with your hand, head or arm to express something
1
gesture /sign /signal

2 the art or practice of designing and constructing buildings

architecture

3
urbanization the process of making an area more urban

4 a public communication that promotes a product, service, brand or event

advertisement

5 outskirts
the outer parts of a town or city/ suburbs

6
population the number of people living in a country.

7
accessible (of a place) able to be reached or entered / reachable

efficient/methodical
8 working in a well-organized and competent way
/ systematic

9 able to speak two languages

bilingual

10
onsite taking place or situated at a particular place or site

11 serve as an example of
illustrate

12
culture habits, traditions and beliefs of a society or group of people

13
remote (of a place) situated far from the main centres of population / distant

14 monolingual
speaking only one language

15 a public or official statement of support or approval/ public approval

endorsement
16 an apartment or unit on the highest floor of an apartment building,
penthouse
condominium, hotel, or tower

17 a short easily remembered phrase, especially one used to advertise

slogan something /catchphrase

18
metropolis a large city

19
lingua franca bridge language

20
rural relating to the country, countryfolk or life / countryside

21 a situation in which there is too much traffic and movement is difficult/

congestion
traffic jam
22
facade front of a building, that faces on to a street or open space

23
sensation
a state of excited interest or feeling / excitement
24
mural a large picture that has been painted on the wall

25
tenacity
the quality or fact of being very determined/ determination.

GRAMMAR

I. Circle the option which has the correct ORDER OF ADJECTIVES (NOSASCOMP).
1. They cook a …………………………. meal for their children.
A. Delicious big traditional Vietnamese
B. traditional big, delicious Vietnamese
C. big traditional delicious Vietnamese
D. Vietnamese traditional big delicious

2. I can never forget that child’s ………………………….. eyes.

A. big, beautiful round black

B. beautiful black big round
C. beautiful big round black
D. beautiful round big black

3. This is a picture of a ………………………….. bus.

A. red bright London’
B. bright red London
C. London bright red
D. London red bright

4. Lara goes to a/an …………………………..temple every week.

A. great big ancient Buddhist
B. ancient great big Buddhist
C. big great ancient Buddhist
D. Buddhist great big ancient

5.There are …………………………..pictures in this newspaper.

A. white interesting computer-generated new

B. computer-generated white interesting new
C. interesting new white computer-generated
D. new interesting computer-generated white

6. She is doing extremely well in her …………………………..graduation course.

A. intensive one-year English

B. one-year English intensive
C. intensive English one-year
D. English intensive one-year

7. During the winter, I like having a …………………………...house.

A. pretty small red wooden

B. wooden pretty small red
C. red wooden pretty small
D. small pretty red wooden

8. I would like to have ………………………….. shoes to run in the park.

A. grey medium leather comfortable sports

B. comfortable leather grey medium sports
C. comfortable medium grey leather sports
D. medium comfortable sports leather grey

II. Put the words in the correct order and rewrite the sentences.
1. expensive / I / have / Paris / house / large / an / in
I HAVE AN EXPENSIVE LARGE HOUSE IN PARIS.
2. has / long / sister / black / my / hair
MY SISTER HAS LONG BLACK HAIR.
3. red / drive / I / Italian / car / a
I DRIVE A RED ITALIAN CAR.
4. blue / large / are / cookies / in /metal / the / the / container
THE COOKIES ARE IN THE LARGE BLUE METAL CONTAINER.
 5. a / vintage / British / red / car
A VINTAGE RED BRITISH CAR.
6. a / pink / round / dozen / plastic / plates
A DOZEN ROUND PINK PLASTIC PLATES.
7. a / brown / new / wallet
A NEW BROWN WALLET.

III.Arrange the adjectives in the right order:

1. There was (a, dog, black, terrifying, huge) A TERRIFYING HUGE BLACK DOG outside the house.

2. I gave her (some, handkerchiefs, beautiful, white, cotton) SOME BEAUTIFUL WHITE COTTON

HANDKERCHIEFS for her birthday.

3. There was (a, picture, old, wonderful, Impressionist) A WONDERFUL OLD IMPRESSIONIST

PICTURE hanging on the wall.

4. Have you seen (a pair of, gloves, brown, leather) A PAIR OF BROWN LEATHER GLOVES lying

on the floor?

5. She was wearing (a, sweater, winter, woolen) A WOOLEN WINTER SWEATER.

IV. Fill in the blanks with the verb that agrees with the subject.
1. The crew WAS [was /were] forced to get off the plane.

2. The ship, with its crew, IS [is /are] not traceable.

3. Each one in our group IS [is /are] enthusiastic.

4. Neither of the men WAS [was /were] busy.

5. The boys GO [goes/ go] out on weekends.

6. Neither he nor his friend WAS [was/were] there.

7. Either the boy or his sisters HAVE [has/have] broken the tray.

8. He or his friends ARE [is/are] to be blamed.

9. My mom LOVES [love/loves] to see ancient monuments.

10. The German journalist WORKS [work/works]) with blind people.

11. In Hungary, a system of multiple parties GUARANTEES [guarantees/ guarantee] electoral choice.

12. The books ARE [is/ are] on the shelf.

13. Each of the vans HOLDS [hold/holds] eight passengers.

14. Members of the dragon boat team RAISE [raise/raises] money by collecting used phones.

15. The bald eagle and the Canada goose FREQUENT [frequent/frequents] Nebraska's wetlands

V. Fill in the blanks with the simple present tense of the verbs given in brackets.

Ring! Ring!
Berto: Hello?
Justin: Hi, may I please speak to Berto?
Berto: Yes, this is him.
Justin: Berto! How (be) ARE you? This is Justin.
Berto: Ahhh....Justin! I (be) AM fine. How are you?
Justin: I'm great, thanks.
Berto: That (be) IS good. So, what's up?
Justin: Well, I (have) HAVE a question for you.
Berto: Sure.
Justin: My motorcycle (be) IS broken. I have been trying to repair it for days now. I (no, know)
DON’T KNOW what is wrong with it. I CAN’T FIX (can fix) it.
Berto: Hmm. It (sound) SOUNDS like a mystery. Did you try to start it?

Justin: Yes. I tried to start it many times.

Berto: What (happen) HAPPENS when you try?

Justin: It (make) MAKES a strange sound. Then the engine (die) DIES out.

Berto: Hmm. Okay. Are you standing beside it right now?

Justin: Yes.

Berto: Okay. You need to do the following things. First, you need to inspect the spark plugs.

Justin: Hold on. Okay, right now I am inspecting the spark plugs under a light. They
(look) LOOK clean.

Berto: Okay, that's good. Now, you need to check the oil.

Justin: Hold on. Okay, right now I am checking the oil. It (smell) SMELLS okay, and the tank
is full.
 Berto: Okay, that's good. Now, you need to test the battery.

(You, have) DO YOU HAVE a battery tester?

Justin: Yes, I do. I am using it right now. I am testing the battery. It

(appear) APPEARS to be full of life.

Berto: Hmm. That is strange! I (wonder) WONDER what the problem could be.

Justin: Yes...very strange. I (not, understand) DON’T UNDERSTAND it. My brother

(think) THINKS the motorcycle is trash. He (not,

think) DOESN’T THINK it will ever start again. He (say) SAYS I need to take it to the
junkyard.

Berto: Hmm. That's too bad. Well, there is one more thing you can check.

Justin: Really?

Berto: Yes, but I am sure you have checked it already.

Justin: Well, what is it?

Berto: The gas level.

Justin: Wait! I have not checked that yet! Hold on!

Berto: Well, what (do) DOES it look like?

Justin: It looks empty!

VI. Fill in the blanks with a suitable verb in the simple past tense.
1. The flight LEFT a few minutes back. (leave)

2. We DROVE to Las Vegas last week. (drive)

3. The actress STOOD next to the actor. (stand)

4. The thief BROKE into the house last night. (break)

5. I RECEIVED a trophy for the competition on the last day. (receive)

6. Adrian ATE all the biscuits. (eat)

7. My sister TRIED (try) to bake a cake last Saturday.

 8. We DID NOT (not order) steak and chips at the restaurant yesterday.

9. I PHONED (phone) my cousin in Canada three days ago.

10. The children PLAYED (play) on the computer yesterday.

COMPOSITION

Write a letter to your friend in about 150 words, describing your experience of visiting a rural/urban area
and how it differed from your daily life. Compare the lifestyle, transportation and amenities in urban and
rural areas.

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