2

Section A: Reading For

ea her s
Use
Spend 20 minutes on this section.

Read the text taken from the autobiography of a young girl and then answer the
questions.

Sophia s day

Waking up in the night always leads me to glance up at the gaping hole in the
tin roof. Not being able to see it means I know I can go back to sleep, but if it s
getting light then it s nearly time to get up. I sleep in the same bed as my two
sisters, Solange and Claudette. Solange, who is only three, often wakes me
up to give me an account of her dreams. When this happens, I sing soothing
lullabies, which settles her back to sleep. We no longer have our parents to
care for us, so it s down to me to take care of my sisters every need.

Our house, which has two rooms and a small latrine, is at the top of a steep
hill. Our grandparents had fully intended to sell the house, but Claudette and
I convinced them that we could look after ourselves. In the back room (where
we sleep), I stash away our food in old rice sacks and keep our clean clothes
in plastic bags. I suspend the bags so they don t get wet when the rain comes
pouring through the hole in the roof.

Once I ve collected our water for the day, I set about making porridge, which we
eat out of plastic mugs. Then Claudette goes to school while I take care of the
chores such as washing the mugs and scrubbing the floor. Of course, Solange
has to help too; she can shout the house down while she works! She copies
me shouting, laughing and sweeping. She s quite a handful, and sometimes
I wish she d stop her incessant chattering. But, when all s said and done, she s
my little sister and I love her very much!

1 How does Sophia know what time to get up each day?

...................................................................................................................... [1]

2 Give two examples of household tasks Sophia has to do each day.

1 ....................................................................................................................

2 ................................................................................................................[1]
 3
3 Tick ( ) two boxes to show which statements are true. For
ea her s
Use

Sophia goes to school.

Solange helps with the housework.

The sisters live with their grandparents.

Sophia tidies the house.

Solange makes porridge.

[2]

4 Re-write the third paragraph to include the main points using about 25 words.

..........................................................................................................................

..........................................................................................................................

..........................................................................................................................

...................................................................................................................... [2]

5 Tick ( ) the best description of the text o h a s a .

It contains only facts.

It contains mostly facts.

It contains mostly opinions.

It contains about half facts and half opinions.

[1]
 4
6 Compare these texts. For
ea her s
Use

Text 1 Text 2
I have such a busy day! I always Every day is hectic. I have to rise
get up early to make breakfast for early so that I am able to prepare
everyone. That s OK because I love breakfast for the family. I do not mind
my sisters and want to help them. doing this because I love my sisters
It s great to hang out with my little sis and wish to help them. I enjoy doing
and do jobs together. Though, I wish chores with my youngest sister.
she would be quieter she s really However, I would prefer her to be
noisy! quieter.

The information in both texts is the same but the language used is different.

Tick ( ) the text you prefer to read.

Text 1

Text 2

Explain why you chose that text.

..........................................................................................................................

...................................................................................................................... [1]
 5
Read the text taken from an internet information site and then answer the For
ea her s
questions. Use

Johannes Gutenberg

In 1450, Johannes Gutenberg invented a new way to print books, called the
printing press. This may not sound important, but the printing press is thought to
be one of the most significant inventions of modern times. Before Gutenberg s
machine, books had to be hand written or printed from carved wooden blocks.
Both methods were very slow one book could take a year to write!

A goldsmith s son, Gutenberg started to experiment with metals and different

types of inks. Combining existing technology with his own ideas, Gutenberg
persevered until he created a machine that used metal letters (or typeface)
to quickly create printed pages. The metal typeface was robust and could be
used time and again without breaking or wearing out.

Pages could now be printed at incredible speed. At best, the old block method
could only manage 40 50 pages a day. The new presses, however, could print
thousands of pages a day. As a result of the mechanisation of printing, more
books were being produced for sale and therefore became cheaper to buy.
Knowledge and education spread like never before.

7 Johannes Gutenberg is a non-fiction text.

Find three facts that are given in the passage.

1 ....................................................................................................................

2 ....................................................................................................................

3 ................................................................................................................[2]

8 o h a s a is an autobiography and Johannes Gutenberg is a biography.

Give two reasons how you know o h a s a is an autobiography.

1 ....................................................................................................................

2 ................................................................................................................[2]
 6
9 Suggest one reason why Gutenberg s printing press made a difference to For
ea her s
people s lives. Use

..........................................................................................................................

...................................................................................................................... [1]

10 Answer both questions below.

(a) Using the text Johannes Gutenberg, explain how the production of books
changed after 1450.

................................................................................................................ [1]

(b) Look at the text o h a s a . Draw lines to link each paragraph with its
main topic.

Paragraph Main topic

1st paragraph Daily tasks

2nd paragraph Where we live

3rd paragraph My family

[1]
 7
Section B: Writing For
ea her s
Use
Spend 25 minutes on this section.

Imagine yourself either a famous person or a member of your family and write an
autobiography about yourself. Let the reader finds out about where you live, how
you spend your day and anything special about your life.
Remember to:

- include the main features of an autobiography

- think about the facts and opinions you need to include
- make it interesting and show a personal voice
-organise your information into paragraphs

PLANNING

Spend up to five minutes making notes in the box to plan

Purpose and Audience [6] Punctuation [2]

Text Structure [5] Spelling [2]
Sentence Structure [5]
 8
For
Write your autobiography here ea her s
Use

.................................................................................................................................

.................................................................................................................................

.................................................................................................................................

.................................................................................................................................

.................................................................................................................................

.................................................................................................................................

.................................................................................................................................

.................................................................................................................................

.................................................................................................................................

.................................................................................................................................

.................................................................................................................................

.................................................................................................................................

.................................................................................................................................

.................................................................................................................................

.................................................................................................................................

.................................................................................................................................

.................................................................................................................................

.................................................................................................................................

.................................................................................................................................

.................................................................................................................................

.................................................................................................................................

.................................................................................................................................

.................................................................................................................................
 9
Section C: Grammar, Punctuation and Vocabulary For
ea her s
Use
Spend 15 minutes on this section.

12 Read this sentence.

Gutenburg s press is an ama ing machine because it uses blocks to quickly

press ink on the paper.

Find an adjective, adverb, preposition and pronoun in the sentence.

adjective ............................................................

adverb ............................................................

preposition ............................................................

pronoun ............................................................ [2]

13 (a) Underline the subordinate clause in this sentence.

The girls clothes and food get wet because rain comes through the roof.
[1]

(b) Add commas to this sentence.

Solange who is only three years old has to help tidy up. [1]

(c) Look at these sentences.

One book took a long time to make.

Books were hand written.
Gutenberg s invention changed all that.

Combine the sentences into one sentence using connecting words. Think
about the order of the sentence. Do not alter the meaning.

....................................................................................................................

....................................................................................................................

................................................................................................................ [1]
 10
14 (a) Rewrite this sentence using a passive verb. For
ea her s
Use
Johannes invented the printing press, or Gutenberg Press, in 1450.

................................................................................................................ [1]

(b) Change the verb in this sentence to show it is only a possibility.

Rain will come through the roof.

................................................................................................................ [1]

15 Correct two mistakes in this sentence. Do not change the meaning.

Not only does the printing press makes books in a more economical way but
also more quick. [1]

16 Choose three connectives to complete these sentences.

although but however sometimes

Solange is noisy, . she does try to be helpful,

she can be naughty. [2]

17 Add two apostrophes to this sentence.

Sophias clothes and bags of food wouldve got

wet if it had rained. [1]

18 Add the missing punctuation to this sentence.

I wonder said Arjun how books are made [2]

 11
19 Read these sentences about Johannes Gutenberg. For
ea her s
Use
In 1438, Gutenberg used his knowledge of metals to construct a printing
machine that was able to print thousands of pages a day. His metal presses
were robust and, combined with the speed of printing, book production
significantly increased.

Write other words or phrases that mean the same as the underlined words.

Your new words must not change the meaning of the sentence.

construct .........................................................................................................

robust .......................................................................................................... [2]