Second Semester Examination - July 2022

Subject : English Language & Literature Paper = /85

Listening Test= /10
Class : 8 …....... Handwriting = /05
Total = /100
Duration : 3 periods
Admission no. : ……………
Candidate's name : ......………………………………………. Date : .........……….................…
SECTION A
1. READING AND GRAMMAR

Read Darrel Rigby’s web article, “The Future of Shopping” and answer questions set on it.

The Future of Shopping

by Darrel Rigby
It’s a snowy Saturday in Chicago, but Amy, age 28, needs resort wear for a Caribbean vacation. Five
years ago, in 2011, she would have headed straight for the mall. Today she starts shopping from her
couch by launching a videoconference with her personal assistant at Danella, the retailer where she
bought two outfits the previous month. The assistant recommends several items, superimposing
photos of them onto Amy’s avatar1. Amy rejects a couple of items immediately, toggles to another
browser tab to research customer reviews and prices, finds better deals on several items at another
retailer2, and orders them. She buys one item from Danella online and then drives to the Danella
store near her for the in-stock items she wants to try on.

As Amy enters Danella, a sales associate greets her by name and walks her to a dressing room
stocked with her online selections—plus some matching shoes and a cocktail dress. She likes the
shoes, so she scans the bar code into her smartphone and finds the same pair for $30 less at another
store. The sales associate quickly offers to match the price, and encourages Amy to try on the dress.
It is daring and expensive, so Amy sends a video to three stylish friends, asking for their opinion.
The responses come quickly: three thumbs down. She collects the items she wants, scans an internet
site for coupons (saving an additional $73), and checks out with her smartphone.

As she heads for the door, a life-size screen recognizes her and shows a special offer on an
irresistible summer-weight top. Amy checks her budget online, smiles, and uses her phone to scan
the customized Quick Response code on the screen. The item will be shipped to her home overnight.

1
- a detailed profile of an ideal customer

2
- a person/ business that sells goods to the public in small quantities for daily use rather than for resale

Grade 8 English Language & Literature - Second Semester Examination - July 2022
Prepared for Lyceum International Schools by Lyceum Assessments
 2
This scenario is fictional, but it’s neither as futuristic nor as fanciful as you might think. All the
technology Amy uses is already available—and within five years, much of it will be everywhere. But
what seems like a dream come true for the shopper—an abundance of information, near-perfect price
transparency, a parade of special deals—is already feeling more like a nightmare for many retailers.
Companies such as Tower Records, Circuit City, Linens ’n Things, and Borders are early victims—
and there will be more.

Every 50 years or so, retailing undergoes this kind of disruption. A century and a half ago, the
growth of big cities and the rise of railroad networks made possible the modern department
store. Mass-produced automobiles came along 50 years later, and soon shopping malls lined with
specialty retailers were dotting the newly forming suburbs and challenging the city-based department
stores. The 1960s and 1970s saw the spread of discount chains—Walmart, Kmart, and the like—and,
soon after, big-box “category killers3” such as Circuit City and Home Depot, all of them
undermining or transforming the old-style mall. Each wave of change doesn’t eliminate what came
before it, but it reshapes the landscape and redefines consumer expectations, often beyond
recognition. Retailers relying on earlier formats either adapt or die out as the new ones pull volume
from their stores and make the remaining volume less profitable.

What we are seeing today is only the beginning. Soon it will be hard even to define e-commerce, let
alone measure it. Is it an e-commerce sale if the customer goes to a store, finds that the product is out
of stock, and uses an in-store terminal to have another location ship it to her home? What if the
customer is shopping in one store, uses his smartphone to find a lower price at another, and then
orders it electronically for in-store pickup? How about gifts that are ordered from a website but
exchanged at a local store? Experts estimate that digital information already influences about 50% of
store sales, and that number is growing rapidly.
As it evolves, digital retailing is quickly morphing4 into something so different that it requires a new
name: omnichannel retailing. The name reflects the fact that retailers will be able to interact with
customers through countless channels—websites, physical stores, kiosks, direct mail and catalogues,
call centers, social media, mobile devices, gaming consoles, televisions, networked appliances, home
services, and more. Unless conventional merchants adopt an entirely new perspective—one that
allows them to integrate5 different channels into a single seamless omnichannel experience—they are
likely to be swept away.

3
- a large retail chain that dominates its product category and puts other merchants out of business.
4
- change smoothly
5
- combine

Grade 8 English Language & Literature - Second Semester Examination - July 2022
Prepared for Lyceum International Schools by Lyceum Assessments
 3
(i) Read the statements below. Decide whether they are TRUE, FALSE or NOT GIVEN
according to the text. Mark a cross for the correct answer.

True False Not Given

(a) Amy’s story is merely a made up
story to make the writer’s point clear.

(b) The department stores came into

function after big cities and railway
systems were established.

(c) Those retailers who did not adapt to

the changes in the market system
profited more.

(d) It is assumed that digital information

would influence more than 50%-
60% of consumers in the near
future.

(2 × 4 = 8 marks)
(ii) What does the writer mainly discuss in the passage?

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

(iii) At present, who is the leading retailer over the small retailers?

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

(iv) Write two expectations of the shoppers as mentioned in the passage.

(a) ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

(b) ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

(v) Mention a future shopping model that the writer speaks in the passage.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
(2 × 4 = 8 marks)
[Total = 16 marks]

2. Fill in the blanks with the correct FUTURE form of the verb given within brackets.

(i) Look at those enormous black clouds! It’s -------------------------- (rain).

(ii) You ---------------------------- (enroll) in the program after Christmas, so do it before that.

(iii) I can’t play football on Monday afternoon because I ------------------------ (see) the dentist

at 3.30.

Grade 8 English Language & Literature - Second Semester Examination - July 2022
Prepared for Lyceum International Schools by Lyceum Assessments
 4

(iv) I think you ------------------------------- (have) a great time in Greece.

(v) Internet ------------------------------- (be) different in 10 years.

(vi) This time next week, we ------------------------------- (enjoy) on a beach in Brazil.

(vii) By the end of this month, I ------------------------------- (save) Rs. 20,000.

[Total = 2 × 7 = 14 marks]
SECTION B
3. WRITING

Select one and write a composition in 275 - 300 words.

Have a good few minutes to decide on the topic, identify the type of the essay you prefer to
write on, write a draft and finally, start writing the essay(make sure to paragraph your
essay).

(i) People gather at places like malls, fairgrounds, schools, gymnasiums, sports fields and
swimming pools. Think of a place in your town where there are lots of people. How does
it look, sound, smell and feel to be there? Now, describe that crowded place so that
your reader can feel as if he or she is there.

(ii) You have been asked by your principal to recommend one subject which will help students
prepare for the job they want in the future. It should be a subject your school is
not offering at the moment. Write an essay to explain to your principal the subject you
would recommend. Be sure to give the reasons (at least 3) for your suggestion.

(iii) Write an essay explaining whether you prefer a big city or small town in which to live and
why you prefer it.

For the teacher’s use only:

Content -Topic (i) Content – Topic (ii) Content - Topic(iii) Language

Coherence /4 Coherence /4 Coherence /4 Grammar

Accuracy
and Level /4
Vocabulary /4
Ability to describe Ability to reason out Ability to follow Spelling
a place under sight, under three points, persuasive writing
sound, smell and why a particular style/techniques.
feel. subject holds
importance in the Punctuation /3
timetable.
/10
/10 /10

TOTAL /25

Grade 8 English Language & Literature - Second Semester Examination - July 2022
Prepared for Lyceum International Schools by Lyceum Assessments
 5

SECTION C

4. LITRATURE

Answer question (i) from POETRY and one other question from PROSE (altogether two
questions only).

POETRY

Shall I Compare Thee to a Summer’s Day by William Shakespeare

(i) Select two comparisons made by Shakespeare to compare his beloved with the summer
time and explain the meaning of those two comparisons in your own words. You must
provide quotations to back up your explanation.

PROSE

The Village by the Sea by Anita Desai

(ii) “Leela’s family can revel in the much-deserved happiness at last, at least for the time being”.
Discuss this statement under the light of Leela’s mother, father and Hari. You may use Leela
as well in addition. You must provide as much evidence as possible from the short story to
back up your answer.

(iii) Explain Mathilde Loisel’s attitude toward honesty. What would change about her situation
— indeed, her whole life — if she were more honest? You must provide as much
evidence as possible from the short story to back up your answer.

For the teacher’s use only:

POETRY (i) PROSE (ii) PROSE (iii)

Content /6 /6 /6
Quotations/Examples /4 /4 /4
Language /5 /5 /5
Total /15 /15 /15
[Total = 30 marks]

5. LISTENING COMPREHENSION

For the teacher’s use only.

Test paper to be attached during test paper corrections/discussions.

Evaluation held prior to the written paper.

[Total = 10 marks]

END
Ref : AP
Grade 8 English Language & Literature - Second Semester Examination - July 2022
Prepared for Lyceum International Schools by Lyceum Assessments