English HL Grade 6 ANA Exemplars 2012 Question Paper

ANNUAL NATIONAL ASSESSMENT GRADE 6 ENGLISH HOME LANGUAGE 2012 EXEMPLAR TEST

Read the passage below and then answer the questions that follow. Reading is the single most important skill necessary for a happy, productive and successful life. A child who is an excellent reader is a confident child, has a high level of self-esteem and is able to easily make the transition from learning to reading to learn. It is useful to think of the importance of reading by listing the consequences of being a poor reader. The following is a list of stops on the road ahead for children with reading difficulties. For children with reading difficulties, reading aloud is a painful experience. They stop and start frequently, mispronouncing some words and skipping others. The first casualty for poor readers is self-esteem. They grow ashamed as they struggle with a skill their classmates seem to master easily. Poor readers are prevented from making the transition from learning to read to reading to learn which keeps them from exploring science, history, literature, mathematics and the wealth of information that is presented in print. Of the 10 million children with reading difficulties, from 10 to 15 per cent eventually drop out of high school. Wow! Surveys of adolescents and young adults with criminal records show that about half have reading difficulties. About half of the youth with a history of substance abuse have reading problems. In today’s world, children who cannot read well will not be able to readily access the wealth of print information available on the Internet on just about any subject of interest. From reviewing the above list of the potential consequences of poor reading, it is clear that learning to read well is like food for the soul. Adapted from Homework-help-secrets.com 1

1. Circle the letter of the correct answer. The passage is about … A the difficulty of reading. B the importance of reading. C the joy of reading. D the skill of reading. (1) 2. Answer the following questions: 2.1 Underline the correct option. A child that can read is (clever/confident /slow/calm). (1) 2.2 Circle the letter of the most suitable option to complete the following sentence: Children who struggle to read find reading … A painful. B enjoyable. C informative. D interesting. (1) 2.3 Circle the letter of the correct option. Children who struggle to read … A love libraries. B feel embarrassed. C write good essays. D know the Internet. (1) 2.4 Underline the correct word: ‘... learning to read well is like food for the soul’ is an example of (a simile/a metaphor/alliteration /personification). 2

(1) 3. Complete the sentence below by filling in the correct words from the passage: Children with a history of drug ____________________ , struggle to __________________. (2) 4.1 Circle the letter of the option which is NOT correct. The article is written in formal language because it … A is not written in full sentences. B is written in full sentences. C has correct punctuation marks. D has correct spelling. (1) 4.2 Underline the correct option. ‘Wow!’ is an example of (a question/a statement /an exclamation/an instruction). (1) 5. Circle the letter of the figure of speech which best describes ‘babbled the breathless’ A Simile B Metaphor C Alliteration D Personification (1) 3

6. Study the weather chart below and answer questions 6.1 - 7.3 Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday 10-09-2012 11-09-2012 12-09-2012 13-09-2012 14-09-2012 Max. temp. 24 °C 21 °C 19 °C 22 °C 25 °C Min. temp. 17 °C 15 °C 10 °C 12 °C 14 °C Wind 26 km/h 33 km/h 43 km/h 45 km/h 24 km/h Wind direction Rain chances 30% 80% 90% 25% 0% Rain in mm 0 mm 10 mm 24 mm 0 mm 0 mm 6.1 Which day of the week is likely to be the warmest? ______________________________ (1 ) 6.2 Fill in the missing word: Temperature is measured in degrees (°) _____________________. (1) 7.1 What do the arrows on the weather chart indicate? _________________________________________ (1) 7.2 Is the following statement True or False? Underline your option. Partly cloudy weather is indicated by the symbol. (True or False) (1) 7.3 Draw a line graph on the template below indicating maximum temperatures for the days of the week. The first one has been done for you. 4

26 25 24 23 22 21 20 19 18 MONDAY TUESDAY WEDNESDAY THURSDAY FRIDAY (4) Read the following magazine article and answer questions 8 to 13. Pets have been given a bad reputation in recent years, especially in connection with health. Furry friends have been demonised for causing asthma and breathing difficulties, whilst reptiles were labelled as unsanitary. However, studies repeatedly 5 show that the benefits of pets often outweigh the risks. It is similar to the manner in which plants have been recommended against, due to the pollen that they produce. Plants have health benefits of their own, both by cleaning the air, and by reducing stress. Here are some of the ways that pets may improve our health.

8. Circle the letter of the correct option. In the article we get information about … A how to get asthma. 6

B how pets are bad for us. C how technology helps us. D pets that are good for us. (1) 9.1 Is the following statement True or False? There are more benefits to pets than risks. _______________________. (1) 9.2 Fill in the correct word: Animals that are ______________________ to their owners, lower stress and provide happiness. (1) 9.3 What do some insurance companies offer elderly pet owners? ________________________________________ (1) 10.1 Provide an adjective from the text for ‘fluffy; hairy or woolly’. __________________________________ (1) 10.2 Provide one word from the text for ‘the practical use of scientific discoveries’. __________________________________ (1) 11.1 Circle the letter of the answer which is NOT correct: Pets may improve your health by … A lowering incidences of colds. 7

B teaching children to be irresponsible. C providing distraction from grief. D encouraging their owners to exercise. (1) 11.2 Underline the correct word to complete the sentence. Plants are good for people because they (smell nice/promote fitness/ clean the air). (1) 11.3 Circle the letter of the correct option. The ideal pet depends on the … A individual. B fatness. C fitness. D parents. (1) 12. Write a short story of 60 to 80 words about a pet that you had or would like to have. ___________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________ 8

___________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________ (6 ) 13.1 New words can be made by adding a suffix to a stem. Add a suffix to ‘breath’ to make a word which means to be ‘out of breath’. Write down the suffix on the line below. _________________________ (1) 13.2 Write down the stem of a word ending with the suffix –by which means ‘close (1) 9

to’ or ‘next to’ ____________________. 14. Rewrite the following sentence in the past tense: Pets encourage their owners to exercise and they comfort those who are sad. ________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________ (2) 15. Complete the following sentence by adding a suitable phrase or clause: Before you get a pet_____________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________ (1) 16. Correct the following sentence on the line below by adding the correct punctuation marks: Wasnt John bitten by a dog ______________________________________________________________ (2 ) 17. Change the following sentence into the passive voice: The reporter wrote a story. _______________________________________________________________ (2 ) 18. Do you agree or disagree with the following statement? Provide a reason for your answer. The weather chart is of a place with stable weather patterns. ___________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________ (2) 10

19. Complete the dialogue of ten (10) sentences between you and your friend who wants to go out whilst there is severe lightning during a thunderstorm. Me: It is raining cats and dogs outside. Why do you want to go out? Friend:______________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________ (6) TOTAL: 50 11