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KIAN KOK MIDDLE SCHOOL PAPER 2 FIRST TERM EXAM JUNIOR 2Z/R/Y/G/YI

NAME:.( ) CLASS:. MARKS.

Reading Comprehension
Directions: Read the passage. Then answer the questions below

PASSAGE 1
Every year about two million people visit Mount Rushmore, where the faces of four U.S. presidents were
carved in granite by sculptor Gutzon Borglum and his son, the late Lincoln Borglum. The creation of Mount
Rushmore monument took 14 years from 1927 to 1941 and nearly a million dollars. These were times
when money was difficult to come by and many people were jobless.To move the more than 400, 000 tons
of rock, Borglum hired laid-off workers from the closed-down mines in the Black Hills area. He taught these
men to dynamite, drill, carve, and finish the granite as they were hanging in midair in his specially devised
chairs, which had many safety features. Borglum was proud of the fact that no workers were killed or
severely injured during the years of blasting and carving.
During the carving, many changes in the original design had to be made to keep the carved heads free of
large fissures that were uncovered. However, not all the cracks could be avoided, so Borglum concocted a
mixture of granite dust, white lead, and linseed oil to fill them.
Every winter, water from melting snows gets into the fissures and expands as it freezes, making the fissures
bigger. Consequently, every autumn maintenance work is done to refill the cracks. The repairers swing out
in space over a 500-foot drop and fix the monument with the same mixture that Borglum used to preserve
this national monument for future generations.

1. This passage is mainly about
A the visitors to the Mount Rushmore monument
B the sculptor of the Mount Rushmore monument
C the creation of the Mount Rushmore monument.

2. According to the passage, Borglums son
A is dead
B was a president
C spent a million dollars.

3. The word these in line 4 refers to
A faces
B dollars
C times

4. The men who Borglum hired were
A trained sculptors
B Black Hills volunteers
C unemployed miners.

5. The word devised in line 7 is closest in
meaning to
A designed
B described
C elevated.

6. It can be inferred from the passage that
A the heads are not as originally planned
B the workers made mistakes when blasting.
C The cracks caused serious injuries.

7. In line 11, the word fissures refers to
A designs
B cracks
C heads.

8. The word avoided in line 11 is closest in
meaning to
A circumvented
B prevented
C improvised.

9. Borglums mixture for filling cracks was
A very expensive
B bought at the Black Hills miners
C invented by the sculptor himself.

10. Today, Mount Rushmore needs to be
A polished for tourists
B restored during the winter
C repaired periodically.



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PASSAGE 2

Directions: Read the passage. Then answer the questions below

Hot dog eating champion retains title after tiebreaker

Friday, July 4, 2008- For the second year in a row, American competitive eater Joey Chestnut defeated his
Japanese rival Takeru Kobayashi at the annual Nathan's Hot Dog Eating Contest in New York City, after a
tie forced a five-hot-dog eat-off to be held.After ten minutes of hot dog eating, two shorter than in previous
years, Chestnut and Kobayashi were tied at 59 frankfurters. But after the rare tiebreaker, 24-year-old
Chestnut emerged as the winner, claiming a $10,000 prize and a mustard-yellow belt. "It was crazy," he said.
"I'm just a normal guy eating hot dogs on the Fourth. You can't overcomplicate it."
Kobayashi, whose loss last year shattered a six-year winning streak, said that a sore jaw and a tooth problem
may have altered his performance. "If I put one more mouthful in, I could have won", the 30-year-old
Nagano native said through a translator. "I lost because I wasn't quick enough in the rematch."

This year, the 22 competitors were under a 10-minute time limit, unlike the 12 minutes used for previous
contests. The reason for this, according to Nathan's, was the discovery of a document from 1916, which
revealed that the original competition was 10 minutes long.Thousands gathered at Coney Island to watch the
annual event, which has become one of the more colorful traditions of America's Independence Day.

11 .Who won the contest last year?
A Takeru Kobayashi
B Joey Chestnut
C First there was a tie, then Chestnut won
D The text does not say

12 .Who came second last year?
A Takeru Kobayashi
B Joey Chestnut
C Somebody else
D The text does not say

13 .How long was the competition this year?
A 10 minutes
B 12 minutes
C More than 10 minutes
D The text does not say

14. How long was the competition last year?
A 8 minutes
B 10 minutes
C 12 minutes
D The text does not say

15 . How many hot dogs did Joey Chestnut eat in the
whole of the final?
A 59
B 64
C Between 59 and 64
D The text does not say


16. How many hot dogs did Takeru Kobayashi eat
in the whole of the final?
A 59
B 64
C Between 59 and 64
D The text does not say

17. Who won the contest two years ago and in the five
years before that?
A Takeru Kobayashi
B Joey Chestnut
C Somebody else
D The text does not say

18. How long was the contest in 1916?
A Under 10 minutes
B 10 minutes
C 12 minutes
D The text does not say

19. Where is Joey Chestnut from?
A Coney Island
B Nagano
C New York
D None of the above

20. On what occasion is the contest held?
A Coney Island's birthday
B The discovery of a document in 1916
C Independence Day
D None of the above



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LANGUAGE FORMS AND FUNCTIONS
BASED ON THE UNDERLINE SENTENCES , IDENTIFY THE FUNCTION
21. Teacher 1 : They've improved considerably. Nowadays, they can even write whole paragraphs
without making many mistakes.
Teacher 2 : How did you do it ?
(A) to express satisfaction (B) to express hope
(C) to express admiration (D) to express likes

22. Patient : It's really boring, lying in bed all day.
Visitor : Well, you'll soon be up and about. Perhaps you should take up knitting or something.
(A) to console (B) to advise (C) to instruct (D) to suggest

BASED ON THE BOLD SENTENCES ,IDENTIFY THE FORMS
23. Son : Well, it's finished at last. My model air plane. What do you think ?
Task : to approve

(A) What did you say it was ? (B) It looks like a motorboat.
(C) Most realistic looking. (D) You mean, you took all week to do that ?

24. Raymond : Do you like Horror films ?
Alan : Yes. They're my favorite kind of films.
Task : to suggest

(A) I thought you only liked detective films
(B) Why don't we go and see "Dracula" at the Odeon ?
(C) Mine too. Don't you think detective films are boring.
(D) They are ? Well, you haven't seen "Dracula" at the Odeon, have you ?

25. Helen : Oh ! I'm so sorry ! I've spilt my drink on your shirt !
Task : to forgive

(A) Why don't you look where you're going ? (B) You did that on purpose, didn't you ?
(C) No problem. It'll come out in the washing. (D) Why apologize ? Wasn't it done intentionally ?


CLOSEST IN MEANING
Read the conversation in each of the following situations and choose the best meaning for the phrases
that are underlined.
Rashid and Dev are talking about Kamal.
Rashid : Why did Kamal go home early today ?
Dev : He told the teacher that he was a bit under the weather.
Rashid :What a tale ! Do you buy that ?
Dev :With his reputation for playing truant ? You've got to be kidding !
Rashid :Well, I'll give him a call later to find out how he's doing !
Dev :If you discover anything interesting, be sure to call me.
Rashid :I'll do that, bye.
Dev :Bye

26a bit under the weather
A worried about the change in weather B concerned that it might rain heavily
C not feeling well D irritated by recent weather reports

27. Do you buy that?
A Do you believe his story ? B Do you often buy things from him ?
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C Does he often fall ill ? D Does the teacher send him on errands ?

28. playing truant
A being crazy about games B constantly falling ill
C skipping school for no reason D cheating people all the time

Read the conversation in each of the following situations and choose the best meaning for the phrases
that are underlined.

Clara is at Lyn's home.
Clara I can never keep up with Lola ! She's such a live wire !
Lyn Why do you say that ?
Clara Well, for one thing, she can shop till the cows come home ! I feel thoroughly exhausted after I go on
a shopping spree with her.
Lyn Well, shopping isn't my cup of tea either. I'd rather stay at home and read a book.
Clara I'm glad you feel that way. I thought I was the odd one, because all my other friends love shopping
too.
Lyn Well, it takes all kinds to make a world, so don't worry. Just do the things you enjoy and you'll be
happy.

29. such a live wire
A such a bossy person B so energetic
C spending so much money D always meddling in people's affairs
30. till the cows come home
A until she feels hungry B until she feels tired
C the whole day D far as long as she has money

Choose the best answer from the options A, B, C and D.
Pizza is gaining fast on hamburgers and fried chicken as Singapore's ___31___ fast food. Burger sales are
still far out in front, raking in the lion's ___32___ of the market but observers here insist that much of the
pizza market remains untapped and is ___33___ rapidly. They cite a leading local pizza restaurant as an
example. It sold an average of 5,000 pizzas a month when it first started in 1981. Today, the ___34___ of its
15 outlets is an average of 150,000 pizzas a month.
Confidence in the growing Singaporean ___35___ for pizza has also seen surge in the number of outlets
opened. Hamburger chains, in contrast, are expanding at a slower pace. Several ___36___ have been offered
for this phenomenon. Some believe that burger restaurants have people aged 5 to 15 as their main audience.
Pizza on the other ___37___ reaches out to families with children and is fast becoming an alternative to
hawker fare for these people. Another reason offered for the pizza craze is that Singaporeans are getting
more ___38___ conscious. They contend that pizza with its wheat dough, cheese, meat and fruit toppings or
vegetarian alternatives, offers more nutritional ___39___ and a more complete meal than other types of fast
food. Whatever the arguments may be and however the fast-food __40___ rages, their fans will continue to
choose sides.

31.(A) favorite (B) fastest (C) first (D) final
32 (A) piece (B) share (C) bite (D) roar
33. (A) coming (B) making (C) growing (D) sending
34. (A) goods (B) food (C) product (D) output
5. (A) appetite (B) hunger (C) need (D) want
3 6.(A) information (B) knowledge (C) reasons (D) sayings
37 (A) court (B) hand (C) side (D) set
38 (A) money (B) weight (C) food (D) health
39 (A) value (B) worth (C) meal (D) need
40 (A) race (B) war (C) fight (D) contest