Exercise 1 Date: _______________________

Read Brandon Trodd’s journal and answer the questions carefully.

22 April, 2012I stood in the gym for one hour, waited patiently until the team

finished. No one paid me any attention.The captain asked me what I wanted.My voice was shaking when I told him, “ I want to join the

team!”It seemed a decade had passed before he told me that I am too

small.“Please!” I said. Finally, he took me in but I could not play the official games.This was too good to be true. I think If I can do slam dunks, I will be able to play in official

games!

1 July, 2012 I have searched for information about basketball:

A standard basketball hoop is 3 metres off the ground and the vertical height an average adult can jump is around half a metre. It is rare for a player around 180 cm to be able to do a slam dunk.

But I am only 157cm. It is a big challenge for me!

2 July, 2012A weightlifting photo caught my attention.The champion can jump over a metre off the ground easily!If he can do it, I can do it too.

11 August, 2012I have researched weightlifting and followed the training routine. Every week I am very busy: three weightlifting sessions in addition to five days

basketball training! Tiring!

22 August, 2013This afternoon I reached the gym earlier than usual. Everyone knew I would be

trying to do a slam dunk again.It must have been my 1000+ attempt. I dribbled the ball, threw it upward and

darted towards it when it was about to touch the floor. All my muscles exploded at once. I leaped upwards.

I clutched the bouncing ball with both hands while I was jumping up. I dunked the ball through and grabbed the ring and hung there.

The air seemed to come to a standstill. I was ten feet in the air. I could see the

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shocked look on my friends’ face. (301 words)Answer the following questions in complete sentences.

1. Why didn’t the captain let Brandon play in the official games?

The captain didn’t let Brandon play in the official games because he was too small.2. How high should Brandon jump to reach the hoop of the basketball stand?

He should jump 143 cm to reach the hoop of the basketball.

3. Who can jump over a metre off the ground easily?

A weightlifting champion can jump over a metre off the ground easily.4. How did the other players feel when Brandon dunked the ball?

They felt shocked/ surprised.

5.* What will you do if you meet some difficulties?

Accept any reasonable answers.

6. Order the events. Write 2 – 5.

( 2 ) Looked up information about basketball.

(e.g 1 ) Watched the basketball team practise for one hour.

( 3 ) Looked up information about weightlifting.

( 5 ) Made a successful slam dunk.

(4 ) Saw a weightlifting photo.

7. In the first journal entry, in line 9, what word can you use to replace “said” in the following

sentence ‘ “Please!” I said. ’ ? (Give short answer.)

begged/ pleaded

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Exercise 2 Date: _______________________

This is Major Thomas V. Ferebee’s diary. He dropped the first atomic bomb over Japan.

25 July, 1945.I have been flying the B-29 for months now. Accidents are frequent when B-29s take off. Hope that such accidents do not occur to me. Tomorrow I’ll rise earlier to check my Enola Gay before flying.

26 July, 1945.My next mission will be carrying a bomb named Little Boy. A smart name indeed!

31 July, 1945. I was told that the assembly of Little Boy was finished. But Little Boy was gigantic: a 8900lb fellow!

1 August, 1945.Our team, the 509th CG, is ready to deliver Little Boy! Two days ahead of schedule!!! So efficient!

4-August, 1945Tibbets gave us a briefing: we will be bombing Hiroshima with a powerful bomb, so “powerful” that it can “end the war”. Besides, there will be special arrangement, a detonation expert will fly with us. The detonation expert will insert the ‘fuse’ into Little Boy at the last minute.

5 August, 1945Our team tested the sequence for arming and dropping Little Boy. Everything was successful. Weather conditions were fine for the bombing. We are reminded to be careful when descending as Little Boy might explode when the fuse is inserted.

6 August, 1945I would never forget it for the rest of my life. Little Boy exploded some 43 seconds after it was dropped, 1890 ft above the ground. I made a 155 degree right turn, flying over 285 knots ground speed. Then a blinding flash occurred. It was 10 times as bright as the sun. Luckily, we had donned Polaroid goggles when we took off. There was a shockwave of air that was shaped like a ring around a planet. A growing mushroom cloud grew to a height of 20,000ft, two minutes after the explosion. Looking into the growing mushroom cloud was like a peep into hell. Little Boy was really extremely POWERFUL! Later in the afternoon, President Truman announced that the United States had bombed Hiroshima. (317 words)

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A. Match column A to column B. Write the correct letter in the brackets.

Column A Column B

1. Major Thomas V. Ferebee

2. Enola Gay

3. Little Boy

4. Truman

5. Hiroshima

( F )

( D )

( C )

( A)

(B)

A. The President of the United States

B. A city in Japan

C. The first atomic bomb

D. A B-29 aircraft

E. A reporter

F. A pilot

B. Tick the best answer for each question.

1. Why dropping Little Boy is dangerours? Which of the following is NOT true? (You can choose more than one answer.)□ A. The fuse-inserted atomic bomb might explode when the air force is descending□ B. Little Boy was so powerful that it could demage the whole Hiroshima city.□ C. Little Boy was so huge so it was dangerous to carry it.□ D. When the bomb exploded, there would be a blinding flash.

C. Give short answers.

1. What is another word that means enormous in the diary? ___Gigantic______

2. According to the original plan, when would the team deliver Little Boy? 3rd August, 1945

D. Please rearrange the order of the events. Write 1 – 7.(4 ) Little Boy was dropped.(5 ) Ferebee made a 155 degree right turn.( 1 ) The crew put on Polaroid goggles.(7 ) There was a mushroom cloud as high as 20,000ft.(3 ) The detonation expert inserted the ‘fuse’ into Little Boy.( 6 ) A blinding flash occurred.(2 ) Enola Gay took off.

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E. Answer in complete sentences.1. Refer to the diary entry on 4 August,1945, what was the ‘special arrangement’?

_The special arrangement was that a detonation expert would fly with the crew and insert the

fuse into the bomb at the last minute._

2. According to the diary, why did the president bomb Japan with an atomic bomb?

_ The president bombed Japan with an atomic bomb because he wanted to end the war.

The pilot may be affected by the radioactive materials.

__________________________________________________________________________

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Exercise 3 Date:___________________________

Patrick finds a book in the library. He is reading it.Read the first part of the passage and tick the best answer.

The Mouse’s Journey (Part 1)

Once upon a time … a little mouse decided to go and see the world. He packed some food and set off for the unknown. What a wonderful world he saw! He saw tall trees, rolling countryside, flowers and butterflies.

After three days’ journey, he was tired. He came to a peasant’s cottage. He entered the farmyard and his eyes grew round as saucers because he saw two strange animals in front of him. One was large and handsome, with four legs and covered with fur. He looked splendid with his whiskers. He was dozing against the wall. The other was a two-legged creature with red, yellow and green feathers and had a bad-tempered look on its face. He stared at the little mouse with his fierce red eyes. ‘How … do … you do …, sir? How …?’ said the little mouse to the two-legged creature …Adapted from Modern Territory-Wide, System Assessment Primary 6, English language, Mock papers, Paper 1 Part 3A and 3B

150 words

1. This passage is a _________________. □ A. story □ B. play

□ C. diary □ D. news report

2. What did the little mouse see on his journey?

□ A □ B□ C □ D

3. Read lines 5-9. How did the little mouse feel when he saw the two creatures in the farmyard?

□ A. frightened □ B. excited

□ C. delighted □ D. pleased

4. Which of the following is NOT true about the passage?

□ A. The first creature looked prettier and □ B. The little mouse was very happy about

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nicer than the second creature. his journey.□ C. The second creature looked prettier and

nicer than the first creature.□ D. He felt nervous to talk to a fierce

stranger.Read the second part of the passage and tick the best answer.

The Mouse’s Journey (Part 2)

…. The creature just puffed out his chest and screeched a loud ‘Coka-doodle-doo’. The loud noise and the creature’s hovering beak frightened the little mouse and he started to run away. He saw a hole in the wall and he dived into it. In the hole, there were three mice. They stared at this stranger in amazement and asked, ‘Where do you come from?’. ‘I come from far away! Where am I now?’ replied the little mouse breathlessly. ‘This is our home. We are field mice. Why are you here?’ said the mice. The little mouse started to tell them about the two animals he saw in the farmyard: one handsome and harmless, the other one was brightly coloured and fierce. Then the little mice asked him to calm down and have a cup of tea. They told the little mouse, ‘Don’t you know the danger you were in? The animal which frightened you is just a cock, but the nice harmless one is our deadly enemy, the cat! Cats eat mice. You can’t always judge others by their appearances.’ (180 words)

Adapted from Modern Territory-Wide, System Assessment Primary 6, English language, Mock papers, Paper 1 Part 3A

and 3B

1. Read line 2. What is the “creature”? □ A. The mouse □ B. The cock

□ C. The cat □ D. The monster

2. Which word in the passage means “not dangerous”?□ A. fierce □ B. deadly

□ C. harmless □ D. breathlessly

*3. What do you learn from the passage? I learn that we should not judge others by their appearances.

*4. The little mouse in this story wants to leave its house and see the world. If you were the mouse, where would you like to visit? Why?

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Exercise 4 Date:____________________________

Susan sat down on the attic floor heavily. She had searched everywhere. It wasn’t there. Just then her grandfather’s head appeared at the top of the stairs. “Susan, what on Earth is going on?” he said. “It sounds as if you’re going to come through the ceiling?” “Oh Gram,” wailed Susan. “I can’t find it!” “What can’t you find?” said Gram. “We have to bring something historical to school tomorrow,” said Susan. “And you think you’re going to find something up here?” asked Gram. “We’ve got a little Statue of Liberty,” said Susan. “ I am sure it was up here!” “I’ll help you,” said Gram. They searched for a while. Then Gram said softly, “Oh my!” “Did you find it?” asked Susan. “No, dear,” said Gram. “I found something else. It’s my memory box.” Susan looked at what Gram held. It was a pale blue cardboard box tied up with string. “What’s in it, Gram?” asked Susan. “Oh, just something I started keeping when I was about your age,” said Gram. “They don’t mean anything to anyone but me.” “Let’s see,” said Susan. She wondered what Gram would have chosen to keep. Gram opened the box. The first thing Susan noticed was a couple of coins. At least, that’s what they looked like. They were red and made of stiff cardboard. She picked one up. “Rationing tokens,” said Gram. When Susan looked puzzled, Gram continued. “During World War II, there was a shortage of some things, like gasoline. Everyone was allocated a certain number of tokens. If you ran out of tokens, you couldn’t buy gas. Gram picked up a ticket stub. “I kept this after I saw a favourite movie.” Susan looked at the stub. “Twelve cents! That’s all it costs to go to a movie?” she exclaimed. “Remember, dear, money went a lot farther back then,” said Gram. “So did you go to the movies every day?” enquired Susan. Gram laughed. “ Oh, no, just on Saturdays. People had much lower salaries than we do today. Well, we’d better keep looking for that statue.” “Are you kidding?” said Susan. “The statue would have been okay, but this is better. It’s your personal history.” Gram seemed pleased. (369 words)

Adapted from Power Builder 1B

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A. Tick the best answer for each question.1. Why did Susan go up to the attic?

□ A. Because Susan wanted to find the Statue of Liberty for her grandfather.□ B. Because she wanted to tidy up the attic.□ C. Because she lost the Statue of Liberty.□ D. Because she had to look for something for her history class the next day.

2. Which of the followings is NOT true?

□ A. The memory box was kept by Grandpa when he was a child.□ B. Susan showed an interest in the memory box. □ C. Grandpa thought that things in the memory box were meaningless.□ D. The memory box was light blue.

3. What were in the memory box? (You can choose more than one answer.)

□ A.Tokens □ B. The gas

□ C. Ticket stub □ D. The statue

B. Give short answers.

1. What was the use of the tokens during the war period? 1. _To buy gas______

2. How often did Grandpa go to the movies? 2. ___once a week_______

3. What did Susan choose to bring to school at last? 3. _Grandpa’s memory box__

4. Find a word in the passage which means

“money paid regularly for work”.

4. __salaries____

* 5. Give a suitable title to the passage. 5. _____________________

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