Directions: Read the following passage and answer the questions that follow.

Passage One

READING

Did you know that some people don't do their reading assignments? It's shocking, but it's true. Some students don't
even read short texts that they are assigned in class. There are many reasons for this. They may be distracted or
bored. They may be unwilling to focus. They may be unconfident readers. Whatever the reason, it has to stop today.
Here's why.

Reading stimulates your mind. It is like a workout for your brain. When people get old, their muscles begin to
deteriorate. They get weaker and their strength leaves them. Exercise can prevent this loss. The same thing happens
to people's brains when they get older. Brain power and speed decline with age. Reading strengthens your brain and
prevents these declines.

You can benefit from reading in the near-term too. Reading provides knowledge. Knowledge is power. Therefore,
reading can make you a more powerful person. You can learn to do new things by reading. Do you want to make
video games? Do you want to design clothing? Reading can teach you all this and more. But you have to get good at
reading, and the only way to get good at something is to practice.

Read everything that you can at school, regardless of whether you find it interesting. Reading expands your
vocabulary. Even a "boring" text can teach you new words. Having a larger vocabulary will help you better express
yourself. You will be able to speak, write, and think more intelligently. What's boring about that?

Do not just discount a text because it is unfamiliar to you. Each time you read, you are exposed to new ideas and
perspectives. Reading can change the way that you understand the world. It can give you a broader perspective on
things. It can make you worldlier. You can learn how people live in far away places. You can learn about cultures
different from your own.

Reading is good for your state of mind. It has a calming effect. It can lower your stress levels and help you relax.
You can escape from your troubles for a moment when you read, and it's a positive escape. The benefits of reading
far outweigh those of acting like a doofus. So do yourself a favor: the next time you get a reading assignment, take
as much as you can from it. Squeeze it for every drop of knowledge that it contains. Then move on to the next one.

1. Which best expresses the main idea of the second paragraph?

a. Reading is exciting. c. Age affects the body in many ways.
b. Reading strengthens your mind. d. Working out keeps your body in shape.

2. Why does the author think that you should read books that are boring?
a. You will eventually grow to love them if you read them enough.
b. You will get better grades in reading class.
c. You will make your teacher very happy.
d. You will learn new words.

3. Which best expresses the main idea of the third paragraph?

a. Reading can benefit you.
b. You can learn to program video games or design clothing by reading.
c. You can learn amazing things and become a better person by reading.
d. Knowledge is power.

4. Which is not a reason given by the author why students fail to complete reading assignments?

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a. Students may be bored.
b. Students may be distracted.
c. Students may be unwilling to focus.
d. Students may be tired.

5. Which best expresses the author's main purpose in writing this text?
a. He is trying to persuade students to do their reading work.
b. He is teaching people how to become better readers.
c. He is explaining why people don't do their reading work.
d. He is entertaining readers with facts about the mind and body.

6. Which best describes the author's tone in the first three sentences?
a. Surprised b. Sarcastic c. Informative d. Angry

7. Which of the following is not one of the author's main points?

a. Reading broadens your perspective and makes you a better person.
b. Reading is a relaxing activity with positive mental side effects.
c. Reading helps you perform on tests and get into selective schools.
d. Reading keeps your mind in shape and prevents losses due to age.

8. Which is not one of the author's arguments in the fifth paragraph?

a. Reading gives you a broader perspective on the world.
b. Reading changes the way that you understand the world.
c. Reading helps prepare you for your job in the real world.
d. Reading teaches you about distant lands and cultures.

9. Why does the author believe that reading is good for your mind state?
a. It has a calming effect.
b. It can lower your stress levels.
c. It can help you relax.
d. All of these

10. Why does the author describe reading as a "positive escape"? In what ways is reading positive? Use
evidence from the text to support your response. (11 marks)

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Passage Two
HUMMINGBIRDS

Have you ever heard the sound of a hummingbird? They make a buzzing noise when they fly. They make
this noise because they beat their wings so fast. They beat their wings up to 80 times a second. All that flapping
makes a lot of noise. That's why we call them hummingbirds.
Hummingbirds fly in a unique way. They move their wings so fast that they can hover. This means that
they can stay in one spot in the middle of the air, like a helicopter. Sometimes they fly or hover upside down. They
are the only bird that flies backward.
Hummingbirds are small. One type called the bee hummingbird is the smallest bird in the world. Bee
hummingbirds weigh less than a penny. They are just a little bit bigger than bees. I guess that's where they get their
name.
Bee hummingbirds build tiny nests. They use cobwebs and bits of bark to make their homes. Their homes
are only an inch around. This is big enough for their eggs though. Their eggs are smaller than peas. People have
found these tiny nests on a clothespin.
Hummingbirds move fast. It takes lots of energy to move as fast as they do. This means that they need to
eat a lot of food. Their favorite food is nectar, a sweet liquid inside of some flowers. They drink more than their own
weight in nectar daily. They have to visit hundreds of flowers to get enough nectar to live. They can only store
enough energy to survive through the night. They live on the edge.
Hummingbirds don't use their long beaks like straws. They have a tongue just like you. They use their tongues for
eating. They flick their tongues in and out of their mouths while inside of flowers. They lap up nectar. Flowers give
them the energy that they need.
Hummingbirds help flowers too. They get pollen on their heads and bills when they feed. Flowers use
pollen to make seeds. Hummingbirds help pollen get from one flower to the next. This helps flowers make more
seeds. More seeds means more flowers. More flowers means more food for hummingbirds. Isn't it nice how that
works out?

1.Why are they called hummingbirds?

a. They are very light
b. They sing when they fly
c. Their wings make a humming sound
d. Their song sounds like humming

2. How do hummingbirds eat?

a. They drink nectar through their beaks like a straw.
b. They chew up flower petals with their beaks.
c. They use their heads and bills to eat pollen.
d. They lap up nectar with their tongues.

3. How do hummingbirds help flowers?

a. They drink nectar.
b. They eat pollen.
c. They bring pollen from one flower to the next.
d. They plant seeds.

4. According to the text, which does the bee hummingbird use to make nests?
a. straw b. concrete c. bark d. sticks

5. Which best describes the main idea of the fifth paragraph?

a. Hummingbirds move fast.
b. Hummingbirds like to eat nectar.

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c. Hummingbirds use lots of energy and eat often.
d. Hummingbirds drink their own weight in nectar every day.

6. Which statement about bee hummingbirds is not true?

a. Bee hummingbird eggs are smaller than peas.
b. Bee hummingbirds weigh less than a penny.
c. Bee hummingbirds have built nests on clothespins.
d. Bee hummingbirds do not grow larger than bees.

7. What is unique about the way that hummingbirds fly?

a. They can fly faster than any other bird.
b. They can fly longer than any other bird.
c. They can fly forward and backward.
d. They can only fly for a few seconds at a time.

8. Which best defines the word hover as used in paragraph two?

a. To stay in one spot in the air
b. To clean an area thoroughly
c. An animal that has hooves
d. To move your wings very fast

9. Why do flowers need pollen?

a. Flowers eat pollen.
b. Pollen attracts hummingbirds.
c. Hummingbirds eat pollen.
d. Flowers use pollen to make seeds.

10. How do flowers and hummingbirds benefit each other? Refer to the text to support your answer. (11 marks)

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Passage Three
GOOGLE

You know that you're doing something big when your company name becomes a verb. Ask Xerox. In 1959 they
created the first plain paper copy machine. It was one of the most successful products ever. The company name
Xerox grew into a verb that means "to copy," as in "Bob, can you Xerox this for me?" Around 50 years later, the
same thing happened to Google. Their company name grew into a verb that means "to do an internet search." Now
everyone and their grandma knows what it means to Google it.

Unlike Xerox, Google wasn't the first company to invent their product, not by a long shot. Lycos released their
search engine in 1993. Yahoo! came out in 1994. AltaVista began serving results in 1995. Google did not come out
until years later, in 1998. Though a few years difference may not seem like much, this is a major head start in the
fast moving world of tech. So how did Google do it? How did they overtake their competitors who had such huge
leads in time and money? Maybe one good idea made all the difference.

There are millions and millions of sites on the internet. How does a search engine know which ones are relevant to
your search? This is a question that great minds have been working on for decades. To understand how Google
changed the game, you need to know how search engines worked in 1998. Back then most websites looked at the
words in your query. They counted how many times those words appeared on each page. Then they might return
pages where the words in your query appeared the most. This system did not work well and people often had to click
through pages and pages of results to find what they wanted.

Google was the first search engine that began considering links. Links are those blue underlined words that take you
to other pages when you click on them. Larry Page, cofounder of Google, believed that meaningful data could be
drawn from how those links connect. Page figured that websites with many links pointing at them were more
important than those that had few. He was right. Google's search results were much better than their rivals. They
would soon become the world's most used search engine.

It wasn't just the great search results that led to Google becoming so well liked. It also had to do with the way that
they presented their product. Most of the other search engines were cluttered. Their home pages were filled with
everything from news stories to stock quotes. But Google's homepage was, and still is, clean. There's nothing on it
but the logo, the search box, and a few links. It almost appears empty. In fact, when they were first testing it, users
would wait at the home page and not do anything. When asked why, they said that they were, "waiting for the rest of
the page to load." People couldn't imagine such a clean and open page as being complete. But the fresh design grew
on people once they got used to it.

These days Google has its hands in everything from self-driving cars to helping humans live longer. Though they
have many other popular products, they will always be best known for their search engine. The Google search
engine has changed our lives and our language. Not only is it a fantastic product, it is a standing example that one
good idea (and a lot of hard work) can change the world.

1. Which event happened last?

a. Lycos released their search engine. b. Yahoo! released their search engine.
c. Google released their search engine. d. Xerox released their copy machine.

2. Which statement would the author of this text most likely disagree with?
a. Part of Google's success is due to the design of their homepage.
b. Google succeeded by following examples of others in their field.
c. Google wasn't the first search engine, but it was the best.
d. Google's success may not have been possible without Larry Page.

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3. Which best expresses the main idea of the third paragraph?
a. There are lots and lots of websites connected to the internet.
b. Google created a better way to organize search results.
c. Many smart people have worked on search engines over the years.
d. Older search engines used unreliable methods to order results.

4. What is the author's main purpose in writing this article?

a. To explain how Google overtook its rivals
b. To compare and contrast Google and Xerox
c. To persuade readers to use Google for internet searches
d. To discuss how companies can influence language over time

5. Which statement would the author most likely agree with?

a. Google became successful because its founders were well-connected.
b. Google was the world's first and best search engine.
c. Google changed the world by solving an old problem in a new way.
d. Google's other products are now more important to its success than search.

6. Which best expresses the main idea of the fourth paragraph?

a. Links allow people to surf from one website to the next.
b. Larry Page's ideas about links helped Google get to the top.
c. Larry Page contributed to the internet by inventing the link.
d. Google is a website that serves important links to users.

7. Which best explains why the author discusses Xerox in this text?
a. He is discussing big companies that came before Google.
b. He is explaining how companies must change with the times.
c. He is showing how companies can affect our language.
d. He is comparing and contrasting Google and Xerox.

8. How did Google improve search quality in 1998?

a. They counted how many times queries appeared on each page.
b. They looked more closely at the words in search queries.
c. They linked to more pages.
d. They studied the relationships of links.

9. Which was cited as a reason why Google became so popular?

a. Google's homepage was clean.
b. Google provided catchy news stories on their homepage.
c. Google homepage loaded quickly.
d. Google provided useful stock quotes on their homepage.

10. What do Google and Xerox have in common? Support your answer with information from the text. (11 marks)