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Tracker II August English Grade 5 Section 1: Reading Fossil Mystery

1. Archaeologists discover a strange fossil that does not resemble any known animal or human. Some think it looks partly human while others think it looks like an animal. 2. Overnight, the fossil changes appearance, now looking like a small bear. It continues changing overnight, puzzling the archaeologists. 3. To this day, no one knows what type of creature the fossil is or why it keeps changing overnight.

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102 views

Tracker II August English Grade 5 Section 1: Reading Fossil Mystery

1. Archaeologists discover a strange fossil that does not resemble any known animal or human. Some think it looks partly human while others think it looks like an animal. 2. Overnight, the fossil changes appearance, now looking like a small bear. It continues changing overnight, puzzling the archaeologists. 3. To this day, no one knows what type of creature the fossil is or why it keeps changing overnight.

Uploaded by

Rockyph
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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Tracker II August

English
Grade 5
Section 1: Reading
Fossil Mystery
‘What is that?’
‘It looks like a fossil.’
‘It looks part-human.’
‘It can’t be…’
The archaeologists all started talking at once. I listened to snippets of each of their
conversations. The word ‘animal’ and ‘human’ were argued about, with half of us
thinking it looked like one while the other half were thinking it looked like the
other.
As the chatter started to dwindle, I spoke. ‘What if it’s neither human nor animal?
What if it is something that hasn’t been discovered yet. Maybe even something out
of this world…’
There was silence as my colleagues digested what I was saying.
Frank said ‘I think you might be right. It’s not a dinosaur or any other animal we
have encountered. It’s not a human. What else could it be?’
The other scientists started talking with one another again. They were talking about
tests they could run, and about species of animals they could look up to compare
this fossil to. They began to head back to their laptops to begin researching.
Frank and I stayed behind. We continued to examine the fossil. It was hard to
describe the creature that was fossilized. It was smaller than a human, but looked
like it would have stood on two legs instead of four. Its head was large, it had 6
fingers on each hand and 8 toes on each foot.
‘Do you think it could have been human from long ago?’ Frank asked.
‘Maybe, but I’ve never seen one with that many fingers and toes,’ I answered. ‘It
could be a new animal species, Maybe, it just looks like it would have stood on
two legs, but it only looks like that because of the way it is fossilized. I really don’t
know.’
Frank and I headed back to our rooms to think it over and get some sleep.
The next morning, I rushed straight to the fossil. There were already other
archaeologists there, with confused looks on their faces. As I head closer, I began
to see why. The fossil was different. It had changed overnight! Now it looked like
a small bear.
‘What happened?’ I asked. No one had an answer. None of us could understand
how a fossil we had dug up yesterday had just changed. We spent time examining
it again. We took pictures and videos of it. We searched to see if anyone had come
across a changing fossil. No one found anything that was helpful in solving our
little mystery. What kind of fossil was this?
When night fell we set up a rotation to make sure two of us were with the fossil at
all times. We wanted to make sure that someone wasn’t playing a prank on us by
switching fossils somehow. All was quiet for my watch, which was in the middle
of the night.
In the morning, I went by the fossil to see my colleagues puzzling over the fossil.
The fossil had changed again. No one had seen or heard anything on their watch.
How and why did it keep changing? To this day, no one has found the answer to
this mystery, but it is very interesting to see the creatures the fossil dreams up!
Questions
1. Using short sentences write and tell the story in your words. Remember, not to
repeat points. [2]
………………………………………………………………………………………
………………………………………………………………………………………
………………………………………………………………………………………
………………………………………………………………………………………
2. Is this short story fiction? Or is it non-fiction? How can you tell?
………………………………………………………………………………………
………………………………………………………………………………………
3. Why do you think the fossil keeps changing?
………………………………………………………………………………………
4. What do you think the word ‘colleagues’ mean?
………………………………………………………………………………………
5. What type of species or animal do you think the fossil is?
………………………………………………………………………………………
[5 marks]
Section II: Spelling Challenge

For each question only one is spelled correctly. Write the letter of the
correctly spelled word in the space or draw a circle round it. [8 marks]

1. A. EXCELLENTE B. EXCELLENT C. EXCELLENT D. EXCULLENT

2. A. TISSUE B. TISUE C. TISSOO D. TYSSUE

3. A. GLUCOSY B. GLUCOS C. GLUCOCE D. GLUCOSE

4. A. POLITISION B. POLITICIEN C. POLITISIAN D. POLITICIAN

5. A. BIEGE B. BEEGE C. BEIGE D. BEIG

6. A. EXACTLE B. EXACTLY C. XACTLY D. EXACTLEE

7. A. HSITAT B. HESITATE C. HEYITATE D. HESITEAT

8. A. AWKWARD B. AWKWERD C. AWKKWARD D. ALKWAR


[8 marks]
Section III: Grammar:
Choose Zero or First conditional to fill in the gaps. (Remember the rule to form
Zero conditional and First conditional).
1. You don’t have a ticket do you? If I see one for sale, I …… buy it for you.
2. We …………… (catch) the early train if we get to the station at 6 am.
3. Whenever my skin gets red in the sun, I just……….. (use) some of this cream
and it feels better.
4. I always …………. (ask) for directions if I get lost in the city.
5. If there isn’t a place for you at the conference, Harry ………….. (organize)
another one.
6. When Shirley ……….. (go) to the cinema, she buys a big bag of popcorn.
7. If you earn more money, you ……….(pay) more taxes.
8. The opposition ……… (call) for a new election if the President wins again.
9. If I ………… (wake) up late, I ………. (be) late for work.
10. If my husband ………… (cook), he …………. (burn) the food.
11. She ………. (buy) expensive clothes when she ………. (go) shopping.
12. The river ……… (freeze) if it ……… (be) very cold.
[12 marks]

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