11+ English

GL Style - Pack 4
Test Paper 16
Instructions:
1. The time allowed is 50 minutes for 55 questions

2. This is a multiple-choice test and each question carries 1 Mark.

3. There are 4 sections in this question paper

(i) Reading comprehension

( ii ) Spelling Exercises.
( iii ) Capital Letter and Punctuation Exercise
( iv ) Grammar Exercise, identifying the best word/words

4. Answers should be clearly marked in pencil on the provided answer sheet.

5. No Marks are lost for an incorrect answer.

6. If you have marked the wrong answer, erase it and mark the new one.
Make sure that your final answer is clear.

Symbols used:

Go to the next Do not turn the page Stop working and

page. until told to do so. await instructions.

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 11+ English - GL Style (Pack 4) - Test Paper 16

Read the passage carefully, then answer the questions that follow.

Sharks
By David Schiffman

Sharks are some of the most feared animals on the planet, renowned for their
powerful bite and impressive swimming skills. Yet they are a crucial part of the
ocean’s ecosystem, and are nowhere near as dangerous as movies like ‘Jaws’ might
have you think!

1. There are more than 500 species of sharks swimming in the world’s ocean. Yet when
most people think of these cartilaginous fish, a single image comes to mind: a large,
sharp-toothed and scary beast. That generalisation does sharks a huge disservice, as they
have far more variety than that. They range in size from the length of a human hand to
5. more than 39 feet (12 meters) long; half of all shark species are less than one meter (or
about 3 feet) long. They come in a variety of colours (including bubble gum pink), and
some feed on tiny plankton while others prefer larger fish and squids. They are found in
just about every kind of ocean habitat, including the deep sea, open ocean, coral reefs,
and under the Arctic ice.

10. Wherever they live, sharks play an important role in ocean ecosystems—especially the
larger species that are more “scary” to people. Sharks and their relatives were the first
vertebrate predators, and their prowess, honed over millions of years of evolution, allows
them to hunt as top predators and keep ecosystems in balance.

But sharks are in trouble around the world. Rising demand for shark fins to make shark
15. fin soup, an Asian delicacy, has resulted in increased shark fishing worldwide; an
estimated 100 million sharks are killed by fisheries every year. Sharks are accidentally
caught in nets or on long line fishing gear. And because of needless fear spurred on by
films such as Jaws, the instinct for some is to hurt or kill sharks that come near—such as
the controversial shark culling in Australia. (This is despite the fact that you are more
20. likely to be killed by a lightning strike than bitten by a shark, and more likely to be killed
by a dog attack than a shark attack.) Combined, these actions have decreased many
shark populations by 90 percent since large-scale fishing began.

All of this puts these incredible animals—and the ecosystems in which they play a
role—in jeopardy. To protect them, communities and companies around the world are
25. enacting science-based fisheries management policies, setting up shark sanctuaries, and
banning the practice of shark finning and the trade of shark fins.

No matter their size, all sharks have similar anatomy. Like other elasmobranchs (a subclass
of animals that also includes rays and skates), sharks have skeletons made of
cartilage—the hard but flexible material that makes up human noses and ears. This is a
30. defining feature of elasmobranchs, as most fish have skeletons made of bone. Cartilage is
much lighter than bone, which allows sharks to stay afloat and swim long distances while
using less energy.

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 11+ English - GL Style (Pack 4) - Test Paper 16

Every shark also has several rows of teeth lining its jaws. Unlike people, which have a
limited number of teeth in their lifetime, sharks are constantly shedding their teeth and
35. replacing them with new ones. A shark can lose and replace thousands of teeth in its
lifetime! Not all shark teeth are the same, however. Some have pointed teeth for
grabbing fish out of the water. Others have razor-sharp teeth for biting off chunks of
prey, allowing them to attack and eat larger animals than bony fishes of the same size.
Sharks that eat shellfish have flatter teeth for breaking shells. Filter-feeding sharks that
40. sift tiny plankton from the water still have teeth, but they are very small and aren’t used
for feeding.

Another defining feature of sharks is their array of gill slits. Unlike bony fishes, which
have one gill slit on each side of their bodies, most sharks have five slits on both sides
that open individually (and some shark species have six or seven). After water flows into
45. a shark’s mouth as it swims, it closes its mouth, forcing the water over its internal gills.
The gills extract oxygen from the seawater, after which the water is expelled through the
gill slits behind its head. When they’re resting, many shark species pump water over their
gills to make sure the oxygen never stops flowing. This is called buccal pumping and is
used by many sharks that spend their time sitting still on the seafloor like nurse sharks
50. (Ginglymostoma cirratum), angel sharks (Squatina sp.) and wobbegongs (Orectolobidae).
But some sharks are unable to pump water this way and, if they stop pushing water into
their mouths by swimming, will suffocate. These sharks include the great white shark
(Carcharodon carcharias), mako shark (Isurus sp.) and whale shark (Rhincodon typus).

Over many millions of years of evolution, sharks have become some of the speediest
55. swimmers in the ocean thanks to several adaptations. The first is their unique skin, which
is made up of millions of small v-shaped placoid scales, also called dermal denticles. The
rows of denticles are smooth in one direction—if a shark is “pet” from head to tail—but
in the opposite direction, they feel like sandpaper. The denticles look more like teeth than
typical fish scales and allow water to flow smoothly past the skin, reducing friction and
60. increasing their swimming efficiency. Swimsuit designers have even taken a page from
the shark, creating a fabric that mimics the design of shark denticles to improve human
swim times. (Whether or not that actually helps people swim faster is up for debate.)

Many shark species known for speed also have slim, torpedo-shaped heads, like the great
white shark (Carcharodon carcharias) and the shortfin mako (Isurus oxyrinchus), which
65. is the fastest known shark. It can swim 25 miles per hour at a regular pace and reach 46
miles per hour in quick bursts that allow it to fly into the air. Sharks gain additional speed
by stiffening their tail while swinging it back and forth.

Bony fish maintain their position in the water column with the help of a swim bladder—a
gas-filled organ in their body that allows them to stay neutrally buoyant. Sharks don’t
70. have swim bladders, and instead get help from their very large livers full of oil and the
fact that their cartilage is about half as dense as bone. A shark’s lightweight skeleton
allows it to put more energy into swimming and use dynamic lift to maintain its place in
the water.

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 11+ English - GL Style (Pack 4) - Test Paper 16

The structure of shark eyes is remarkably similarly to our own. Like ours, the pupils of
75. many shark species change size in response to varying levels of light. They have rods,
which sense light and darkness, and most have cones, which allow them to see color and
details. (Some sharks have no or few cones, making them colorblind.) Like a human eye,
a shark eye has a cornea, lens, pupil and iris. Unlike us and more like cats, sharks have
a layer of mirrored crystals behind their retinas called the tapetum lucidum. This layer
80. allows them to see better in dark and cloudy waters, in the deep sea or at night.

But within that basic plan, there is a wide range of seeing ability among shark species.
Some have large eyes, such as the bigeye thresher shark (Alopias superciliosus), with eyes
six centimetres in diameter. Other sharks have very small ones, like the one-centimetre
diameter eyes of the brownbanded bamboo shark (Chiloscyllium punctatum).

85. A 2007 study found that shark eye size varied depending on the shark’s habitat. Many
sharks that stay near the surface have evolved to hunt in the sunlight and rely on their
vision more than other senses, so have large eyes. Some deep-sea sharks also have big
eyes to pick up faint traces of light down in the darkness—but their eyes are loaded with
light-sensing rods and have fewer colour-sensing cones. Researchers also have found
90. that bioluminescent deep-sea sharks have a higher density of rods in their eyes than their
non-bioluminescent counterparts, allowing them to see more details in the dark water
when bioluminescence is present. Sharks that live in shallow water on the seafloor often
have the smallest eyes because floating sediment kicked up from the bottom blocks their
vision. These animals instead rely on senses like smell and electroreception over vision.
95. Lastly, sharks that hunt fast-moving prey like fish and squids have bigger eyes (and
presumably better eyesight) than those that eat non-moving prey.

Sharks have eyelids, but they don’t blink; they close their eyelids to protect their eyes
from damage when fighting or feeding. But their eyelids don’t close all the way. In
addition, some species have a clear membrane (the nictitating membrane), which slides
100. down to protect the eye in dicey situations. Shark species that don’t have the membrane,
like the great white shark, will roll their eyes back in the socket when they are attacking
prey for protection.

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 11+ English - GL Style (Pack 4) - Test Paper 16

Read the following passage carefully and answer the following questions.
Mark the correct answer on the provided answer sheet by choosing one of the
options A - E.

1 “more than 500 species of sharks” (line 1) What is another way of

saying “species”?

A. varieties
B. styles
C. types
D. faunae
E. unusual

2 What is unhelpful about the existing public image of sharks, according to

the author?

A. It makes them sound very large

B. It makes them seem frightening
C. It isn’t fair to the sharks
D. It makes them sound friendly
E. It makes them seem desirable as pets

3 “sharp-toothed and scary” (line 2)

This is an example of…

A. Juxtaposition
B Alliteration
C. Hyperbole
D. Repetition
E. Sibilance

4 “half of all shark species are less than one meter…long” (line 5-6)
What can we infer from this statement?

A. Sharks are actually very small

B. Most sharks are not actually big enough to hurt you
C. A meter is a big unit of measurement
D. Sharks are not as physically intimidating as we have been taught
E. You could keep a shark as a pet

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 11+ English - GL Style (Pack 4) - Test Paper 16

5 “their prowess, honed over millions of years of evolution” (line 12) This is
an example of…
A. Hyperbole
B. Ultimatum
C. Alliteration
D. Hysteria
E. Metaphor

6 What is it that sharks do to “keep eco-systems in balance”? (line 13)

A. They are the top predators

B. They hunt humans to protect the other animals
C. They hunt animals near the top of the food chain
D. They eat pests that would otherwise affect prey animals
E. They eat all of the prey animals

7 What is meant by “needless fear”? (line 17)

A. Fear of sharks is irrational

B. Sharks are unnecessary
C Being afraid of sharks is useful
D. Being afraid of sharks is unhelpful
E. Fear of sharks makes sense

8 What would be another word for “controversial” on line 19?

A. Misleading
B. Contradictory
C. Normal
D. Deceptive
E. Disputed

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 11+ English - GL Style (Pack 4) - Test Paper 16

9 Why does the author include the detail “you are more likely to be killed by
a lightning strike than bitten by a shark…”? (line 20)

A. It shows us how dangerous the world is

B. It demonstrates how little danger sharks pose to humans
C. It tells us how common lightning strikes are
D. It suggests that we should be more worried about lightning than sharks
E. It tells us that sharks are afraid of lightning

10 How many verbs can you count in the sentence that begins “To protect
them,”? (line 24-26)

A. None
B. 3
C 4
D. 5
E. 6

11 What animals are classed as being an ‘elasmobranch?’ (line 27-28)

A. Shark
B. Ray
C. Skate
D. Rays and skates
E. All of the above

12 What is the most useful feature of shark cartilage? (line 27-33)

A. Human bodies also have cartilage in them

B. It is light, allowing sharks to swim more easily
C. It is a type of skeleton
D. It is light which makes sharks very buoyant
E. Cartilage in sharks works the same way as skeletons in fish

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 11+ English - GL Style (Pack 4) - Test Paper 16

13 What type of word is “unlike” on line 33?

A. Adverb
B. Pronoun
C Noun
D. Preposition
E. Adjective

14 Which line best describes the teeth of filter-feeding sharks?

A. Line 36
B. Line 37
C. Line 38
D. Line 39
E. Line 40

15 What type of words are the following? “pointed” (line 36), “razor-sharp” (line
37), “larger” (line 38), “bony” (line 38), “filter-feeding” (line 39)

A. adjectives
B. nouns
C. prepositions
D. adverbs
E. articles

16 “setting up shark sanctuaries” (line 26) Which of the following words is

closest in meaning to “sanctuaries”?

A. safe spaces
B. parks
C. reserves
D aquariums
E. farms

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 11+ English - GL Style (Pack 4) - Test Paper 16

17 How would you best summarise the action of a shark’s gills in lines 42-50?

A. Sharks breathe just like humans

B. All sharks pull water into their mouths and out through their gills
C. All sharks do buccal pumping
D As a shark swims, water passes over its gills
E. Some sharks pull water in, others push into it as they swim

18 What will happen to a great white shark if it stops swimming?

(lines 51-52)

A. It will get eaten by another shark

B. It won’t get enough oxygen
C. It won’t be able to start swimming again
D. It will pull water into its gills
E. It will get very tired and fall asleep

19 What do you think the word “efficiency” means in this context? (line 60)

A. How quickly they can swim

B. How far they can swim
C. How long they can swim for
D. What their skin is made of
E. How much fuel they consume

20 What is the average speed of a mako shark? (line 65-66)

A. 46 mph
B. 35 mph
C. Faster than 46 mph
D. 25 mph
E. None of the above

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 11+ English - GL Style (Pack 4) - Test Paper 16

21 “use dynamic lift to maintain its place in the water.” (line 72)
Which of the following words is closest in meaning to “dynamic”?

A. changing
B. important
C. complex
D. static
E. helpful

22 Are most sharks’ eyes more similar to cats’ eyes or humans’ eyes?

A. Cats
B. Humans
C. More like human eyes but colour-blind
D. More like cat eyes but colour-blind
E. Not similar to any other animal

23 How would you best describe the function of sharks’ eyes in lines 74-84?

A. Designed to allow them to see colour

B. Designed to allow them to see cats
C. Designed to allow them to see through dark water
D. Designed to allow them to see in the dark
E. Designed to allow them to recognize changes in light levels

24 Which species of shark has the technical name Isurus oxyrinchus?

A. Great white shark

B. Mako shark
C. Bamboo shark
D. Shortfin mako shark
E. Thresher shark

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 11+ English - GL Style (Pack 4) - Test Paper 16

25 What was the conclusion of the 2007 study? (line 85)

A. That some sharks have very small eyes

B. That some sharks have very big eyes
C. That sharks eyes are all very different
D. That sharks eyes have evolved differently depending on where they live
E. That the bigger the shark, the bigger their eyes

26 Which lines suggest other ways that sharks are able to sense prey?

A. Line 94
B. Lines 92-93
C Lines 95-96
D. Line 95
E. Lines 93-94

27 What do you think the word “dicey” means in this context? (line 100)

A. Hunting
B. Complicated
C. Dangerous
D. Fiddly
E. Safe

28 Why does the author suggest that sharks that hunt fast prey must have
better eyesight?

A. They have bigger eyes

B. They have more rods and cones
C. They are more successful hunters
D. They eat more so they grow bigger
E. They are hunted less

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 11+ English - GL Style (Pack 4) - Test Paper 16

In the following sentences, on each line there is either one spelling mistake or none.
Find the group of words with the mistake in it and mark the correct answer on the
provided answer sheet. If there is no mistake mark ‘N’.

A paleontologist’s job is to dig up dinosaur bones and study them.

29
A B C D

You must wear your uneform when you come to school - that’s the rule.
30
A B C D

The weather outside was exceptionally tempestous today, with a lot of rain.
31
A B C D

Another word for illness or disease is malidy: it’s an archaic word now.
32
A B C D

What you did today was very scary but entirely necesary - well done for being brave.
33
A B C D

I obgect to the way that this committee handled proceedings.

34
A B C D

I know! We could wramble around the woods for a while.

35
A B C D

The princes had to kwell the rebellion with just a hundred men.
36
A B C D

To die in the line of duty is sometimes called ‘the ultimate sacriphice.’

37
A B C D

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 11+ English - GL Style (Pack 4) - Test Paper 16

AT THE GARDEN CENTRE

In the following sentences, on each line there is either one capital letter or
punctuation mistake or there is no mistake. Find the group of words with the
mistake in it and mark its letter on the answer sheet. If there is no mistake,
mark ‘N’

38 “Are we going to the garden centre today Mum?” asked Sophie. “I don’t know, are

we” said Sophie’s mum, looking at her dad.“Yes, I think so,” he said, “it’s raining

A B C D
outside so we won’t be going to the beach.

39 ” Sophie didn’t mind, she loved the garden centre! It was

exciting and full of interesting things; plants, toys, fountains and more. She especially

A B C D

loved the snacks she used to get for the car ride home.

40 She put on her favourite shoes, jumped in

the car put on her seatbelt and they were off! She sang along to the radio

A B C D E

41 until she saw the big sign up ahead:

White Rose garden centre. They parked the car and walked in through the big

A B C D E
double doors.

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 11+ English - GL Style (Pack 4) - Test Paper 16

AT THE GARDEN CENTRE

In the following sentences, on each line there is either one capital letter or
punctuation mistake or there is no mistake. Find the group of words with the
mistake in it and mark its letter on the answer sheet. If there is no mistake,
mark ‘N’

42 Sophie clapped her hands and ran up to an enormous vase of flowers.

“They’re absolutely beautiful!” she cried. The plants were all in a

A B C

brightly-lit room, surrounded by other pretty-pink flowers.

D E

43 They spent several hours wandering around the tall, plastic greenhouses, admiring

all of the plants. Eventually Sophie’s mum agreed that she could choose some flowers

A B C
to take home: the pink ones or the green ones.

D E

44 “But I like them both,” said Sophie sadly. “We can’t have all the flowers, they won’t

fit in the house! laughed Sophie’s mum. She settled for the pink ones and they got ready

A B C D

to head home.

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 11+ English - GL Style (Pack 4) - Test Paper 16

AT THE GARDEN CENTRE

In the following sentences, on each line there is either one capital letter or
punctuation mistake or there is no mistake. Find the group of words with the
mistake in it and mark its letter on the answer sheet. If there is no mistake,
mark ‘N’

45 While they were in the car, Sophie began to sneeze. “Uh oh,” said her mum, “we

might need to take you to the Dr.’s to make sure you aren’t allergic to them!”

A B C D E

46 When they got home, Sophie’s mum put the flowers in a nice vase on the kitchen table

while Sophie went upstairs, to get ready for bed. She brushed her teeth, put on her

A B C D

pyjamas and grabbed her teddy.

47 “Thanks for a lovely day, Mum,” she said sleepily. “You’re very welcome” said

her mum, closing the door behind her. All in all, she had a lot of fun (even if she couldn’t

A B C D

smell the roses!

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 11+ English - GL Style (Pack 4) - Test Paper 16

A TRIP TO THE AQUARIUM

Identify the best word or group of words to complete the following passage so
that it makes sense and it is written in correct English. You should choose one
of the following answers A -E and mark its letter on the answer sheet.

48 The class stood in front of the big glass door. Their teacher pointed to a

A
it an the their sign on the door which read “No Running.

B C D E

49 No Flash Photography” in big letters. “And,” said the teacher, “ even

despite Never mind whilst while A

B C D E

50 I know you are excited and want to take pictures, you must respect the animals.

Their safety is importanter more important greater good

A B C D

less important

51 than your pictures!” With that, the door opened and the group walked in.

The previous week, the class had written wrote write written

A B C D

have written lists of all the animals they wanted to see,

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 11+ English - GL Style (Pack 4) - Test Paper 16

A TRIP TO THE AQUARIUM

Identify the best word or group of words to complete the following passage so
that it makes sense and it is written in correct English. You should choose one
of the following answers A -E and mark its letter on the answer sheet.

52 so now they were allowed to split into groups to look around. Luis and James

wanted to see the jellyfish and began to run walk wiggle

A B C

hop jog towards their tank.

D E

53 They peered into the glowing darkness. “I wish I could keep one as a pet,”

Luis sighed. “I mightn’t shouldn’t could couldn’t may

A B C D E

54 use it as a lamp in my room.” Unless Instead Until And

A B C D

Before

55 he could say another word, the teacher called out, “Who wants to see the sharks?”

The boys could barely contain their excited excite excitement

A B C

despair exciting at the chance to see real sharks!

D E

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