GSAT English

Grade Six Revision Topics and

Achievement Tests
for Jamaica

June Livingston and Molly Russell

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 Macmillan Education
Between Towns Road, Oxford OX4 3PP
A division of Macmillan Publishers Limited
Companies and representatives throughout the world
www.macmillan-caribbean.com
ISBN: 978-0-230-40732-9
Text copyright June Livingston and Molly Russell 2012
Design and illustration copyright Macmillan Publishers Limited 2012
First published 2005
Second edition 2012
All rights reserved; no part of this publication may be
reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, transmitted in any
form, or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying,
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of the publishers.
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Illustrated by Tech Type and David Woodroffe
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Cover design by Cary Fielder at Clear 22
Cover photograph by Franz Marzouca
The author(s) and publishers are grateful for permission to
reprint the following copyright material:
Material from The Barefoot Book of Stories from the Stars
by Juliet Sharman Burke, copyright Juliet Sharman Burke
1996, reprinted by permission of the publisher;
Extract from, Mr Mongoose and Mrs Hen from The Future-Telling
Lady and Other Stories by James Berry 1993, copyright James Berry,
reprinted by kind permission of the author;
Material from Weather by Seymour Simon, copyright
Seymour Simon 1994, reprinted by permission of the publisher;
Poem Being A Kite from Teaching Poetry: Yes You Can! by
Jacqueline Sweeney 1999, used by permission of Marian Reiner
on behalf of the author;
Extract from What food is this by Rosemarie Hausherr,
copyright Rosemarie Hausherr 1995, reprinted by
permission of the publisher.
These materials may contain links for third party websites.
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Although we have tried to trace and contact copyright holders
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If contacted, we will be pleased to rectify any errors or omissions
at the earliest opportunity.
Printed and bound in Malaysia
2016 2015 2014 2013 2012
10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1

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 Contents

Introduction v
About the examination v
Answering multiple choice questions vi
Communication task vii
Revision tips vii
Note for teachers ix
Section 1 Topics
Topic 1 Nouns 2
Topic 2 Pronouns 10
Topic 3 Verbs 17
Topic 4 Adjectives and adverbs 26
Topic 5 Prepositions, conjunctions and interjections 36
Topic 6 Punctuation 44
Topic 7 Vocabulary: word building 52
Topic 8 More about vocabulary 59
Topic 9 Reading comprehension: short items 66
Topic 10 Reading comprehension: longer texts 76
Topic 11 Communication task 1: forms, sequencing, instructions 84
Topic 12 Communication task 2: letters and stories 91
Section 2 Tests
Test 1
Questions 180 96
Communication task 1 107
Communication task 2 108
Test 2
Questions 180 109
Communication task 1 120
Communication task 2 121
Test 3
Questions 180 122
Communication task 1 132
Communication task 2 133

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 Test 4
Questions 180 134
Communication task 1 144
Communication task 2 145
Test 5
Questions 180 146
Communication task 1 156
Communication task 2 156
Test 6
Questions 180 158
Communication task 1 168
Communication task 2 169
Timed test 1
Questions 180 173
Communication task 1 181
Communication task 2 182
Timed test 2
Questions 180 187
Communication task 1 193
Communication task 2 194
Section 3 Answers
Answers to topic questions 196
Answers to tests 16 197
Answers to timed tests 1 and 2 199
Appendix: Irregular verbs 200

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 Introduction

This book is intended to help you with your revision and practice in preparation
for the Grade Six Achievement Test (GSAT) English examination. Section 1 has
12 topics, based on the syllabus and on those types of questions which occur in
the examination. Each topic includes some sample questions where the answers
are explained to you. At the end of Topics 111 you will find a set of 10 multiple
choice questions based on real examination questions. Topic 12 contains sample
questions on longer compositions for Communication task 2.
Section 2 contains six open tests of 80 questions each and two timed tests of 80
questions each. The answers are given at the back of the book. In addition you
will find 2 Communication tasks at the end of each test. The Communication
tasks are not part of the 80-question examination, which lasts one hour and 15
minutes. They are tested in a separate, shorter examination, which consists of
one each of the two types of Communication task (see below).
The GSAT is part of the Jamaica National Assessment Programme (NAP),
which evaluates students performance from Grades 1 through to 6. The GSAT
assesses your knowledge of material covered in the Grades 4 to 6 curriculum.
The results of the examination are used to inform you, your parents and your
school about your performance at the end of primary school and to allocate
places in secondary schools.
The GSAT is based on the curriculum prescribed by the Ministry of Education,
and each question is designed to cover important areas of the syllabus. The
English multiple choice questions are marked by computer programme.

About the examination

The examination is one hour and 15 minutes long. In that time you have to
answer 80 questions (but no Communication tasks, which are tested separately).
Do not open the question booklet until you are told to do so. The answer
booklet has space for more than 80 answers, so just fill in those for questions 1
to 80. It also has spaces for answers A, B, C, D and E. But note that the English
questions only have four possible answers so do not use the space for answer E.

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 The day before the examination
You should have completed most of your revision by then. What you dont know
by then you are unlikely to learn. However, most people like to do some gentle
revision to boost their confidence or have a last look at a topic they find difficult.
Make sure you eat healthily and go to bed early to get a good rest. Set an alarm
clock if necessary to make sure you have plenty of time in the morning.

The day of the examination

Make sure you know your index number and the name, place and time of the
examination that day.
Make sure you will arrive at the examination place early.
Have plenty of HB2 pencils, erasers and sharpeners ready. You do not want
to waste time sharpening pencils, so make sure you take at least three, already
sharpened, with you.
Use the bathroom before you go into the examination so you are not
distracted.
Try to keep calm take deep breaths to calm yourself or think of something
you enjoy doing before you go in or while you are waiting. Visualise yourself
completing the paper successfully.
Do not talk to any other candidates once you are inside the examination
room. If another candidate tries to talk to you, ignore them.

After the examination

Do not worry about your answers once the exam is over and do not be
discouraged by other candidates talking about the answers they gave they may
be wrong. It is too late to do anything about the result now. However, if you
did not pace yourself very well and finished very early or did not have time to
go back to difficult questions at the end, it may be worth thinking about how to
improve this skill for any other examinations you have coming up.
If possible, give yourself some time for rest and relaxation before any other
revision or examinations.

Answering multiple choice questions

There is a technique for answering tests with multiple choice items. Below are a
few steps you can follow to achieve success.
1 Be sure to read each question very carefully. Often it is possible to eliminate
one or two of the response alternatives which you know are not, or cannot

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 be, correct. That narrows down your choice. Even if you are not sure which
of the other two answers is right, by narrowing down your choice to two
you have increased your chances of selecting the required answer.

2 Do not give up because you dont immediately know the answer. With
some questions you can work it out or narrow it down. Sometimes the
answer is given in a table or a graph you just need to find it.

3 Do not spend too long on any one question. If you do not know the answer
and think you may have time at the end, move on to the next item and come
back to it.

4 Do not leave any questions unanswered at the end. It is always better to

take a guess you have a one in four chance of being right. If you do not
answer at all you have no chance of being right.

5 If you have time at the end, check back over your answers. Make sure you
have read the questions correctly.

Communication task
In the Communication task examination, you will find two types of
Communication task. Task 1 requires you to fill out forms or write short
sentences. Task 2 asks you to write a longer piece, e.g. a letter or a story.
Task 1: Read the instructions carefully so that you know exactly what it is you
have to do. If you are asked to write sentences, remember to include a
verb and to punctuate them correctly.
Task 2: Read the question carefully so that you understand the task you
have to do. For example, if you have to write a letter, is it a formal
or an informal letter? Before you start, plan what you are going to
say. Remember to write in full sentences. Divide what you write into
paragraphs, using one paragraph for each idea.
When you have finished, proofread your work and correct any mistakes you
may find.

Revision tips
To be successful in the GSAT examination, as in other examinations, and in
many aspects of life, you need to set your goals, plan ahead, work hard and be
determined.
Some months before the examination, start revising your work from the last
three years: Grades 4, 5 and 6. Prepare a plan or list of topics. These can be
the topics in this book, or your own topics from work in class. Set yourself a

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 timetable for revision and revise work from all the topics, perhaps one topic
a week for 12 weeks. You may find it helpful to test yourself orally with your
friends, or ask an adult to test you.
Make a list of difficult spellings, learn them just a few words at a time then
test yourself. Get into the habit of keeping a vocabulary notebook to write
down new words. Always write a definition and an example sentence.
Do plenty of practice tests in the months before the examination. Start by doing
tests untimed. After each test, check the answers carefully. This is important, as
you need to know where you are going wrong. Always work methodically from
question 1 to question 80, through the practice tests and the real examination.
This will help to prevent you from shading a space next to the wrong question
number. As you revise, gradually build up speed so that you can complete a test
of 80 English questions in the one hour and 15 minutes allowed.
Familiarise yourself with the practical technique of filling in the kind of answer
sheets provided in the examination. You are required to use a pencil to shade
in the space next to the correct answer: A, B, C or D. You must not leave two
shaded spaces next to the same question number. If you want to correct your
answer, make sure you erase the first answer completely and fill in the second
one clearly.

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 Note for teachers

This book is intended to help students with revision and practice in preparation
for the Grade Six Achievement Test (GSAT) English examination. Section 1 has
12 topics, based on the syllabus and on those types of questions which occur in
the examination. Sample questions and answers are provided. Each topic, with
the exception of Topic 12 (Letters and stories), is followed by an exercise of 10
multiple choice questions on that topic.
Section 2 contains six open tests of 80 questions each and two timed tests of 80
questions each. (The Communication tasks at the end of each test should not be
included in the one hour and 15 minutes; students should be given extra time for
these.) The answers are given at the back of the book. You may wish to remove those
or ask students to remove them and store them somewhere safe for future reference.

Over the course

To prepare students for the GSAT English examination it is useful to do the
following in the three years before the examination.
Make English as lively and interesting as possible, allowing students plenty
of participatory activities such as discussion, role play, drama and creative
work. You will find some interesting additional materials in the resource
area for teachers on the Macmillan Caribbean website (www.macmillan-
caribbean.com/pages.aspx/resources). This will help to motivate students and
cater for those who learn in different ways, such as visually or orally.
Build skills, such as reflective reading and independent writing, throughout
the course.
Introduce grammar little by little and let students practise speaking and
writing standard English in a real life context through interactive work
wherever possible.
Encourage students to learn spellings regularly and to keep a vocabulary
notebook.

Learning to answer multiple choice questions

It is very important that students not only cover the curriculum and develop the
necessary information and skills, but also learn how to answer multiple choice
questions. Each item has a question or statement and provides four response
alternatives of which only one is the correct answer or response.

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 Introduce multiple choice questions early in the course and provide explicit
teaching about how to answer them. Do plenty of examples together as a class,
regularly, perhaps to summarise learning on completed topics. Talk through
questions, helping the class to reason out the answers.
Discuss: what is the question about, what do the words mean and what is it
asking?
Can they predict the answer before reading the four alternatives?
If it is a question about a reading text, can they find the answer directly in the
text, or must they work out the answer for themselves (i.e. is it an inferential
question)?
Read through the answers carefully, focusing on the meaning.
Talk about the different strategies the students might use: do they know the
right answer immediately for sure? If so, can they check this by recalling
other information?
If they have no immediate idea of the correct answer, how can they eliminate
any distractor answers and then guess between two answers rather than
randomly guessing from all four options?
Are there two answers they think might be possible? If so, how can they
eliminate one of them?
If all else fails, it is better to guess at the answer than leave a blank.

Strategies for answering multiple choice questions

Teach students two powerful strategies for answering multiple choice questions:
predicting and eliminating. Students can practise these for individual questions
as a whole class and in groups, before trying on their own. The strategies need to
become almost second nature, so that the students use them under pressure in
the exam.
Predicting means:
Reading the question or statement and predicting what the answer will be
before reading the alternative answers.
When they then read the alternatives, they choose the answer which most
closely matches their prediction.

Eliminating means:
Reading the question and the alternative answers carefully, then eliminating
any alternatives that do not fit the information given or the question.
Eliminating any alternatives that do not make sense.
Eliminating any alternatives they are fairly sure are wrong.

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 Even if they can only eliminate one of the four alternatives, they will have a
greater chance of getting the answer right.
Teach students to be flexible and choose the best strategy for the question.

Rules for answering difficult multiple choice questions

1 Read the question very carefully.

2 Predict the answer before you read the alternatives.

3 Use elimination to narrow down the possible correct answers.

4 Never leave a question unanswered: make an educated guess.

5 Come back at the end and check if you have time.

Strategies for the examination

Teach your students specific strategies to help them to do well in the
examination:
Timing and pace. They need to keep an eye on the time and pace themselves
to make sure they have time to answer all the questions. All the questions
are worth the same number of marks. If one question is very difficult, try
the strategies, make a guess and move on to the next one. Come back to the
question at the end.
They should not leave any questions unanswered. There are no penalties for
wrong answers.
At the end they should check through what they have done or go back to
questions which caused problems and check their answers.

Communication task
Students need plenty of practice in the different types of Communication task.
Teach them the following strategies to help them tackle the Communication task
examination. They should:
Read the question very carefully so that they understand what they have
to do.
Plan what they are going to say before they start to write.
Organise information into sentences and paragraphs when writing letters
and stories.
Leave some time at the end to check what they have written for spelling,
grammar and punctuation mistakes.

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 Activities to help your teaching
Both in class and for homework ask students to try multiple choice questions
for themselves. They might sometimes do this together in pairs so that they can
discuss and work through the strategies. Sometimes this might be against the
clock, sometimes not. Begin by giving just a few questions (say five, and then
ten), both untimed and also timed, and gradually build up so that by the end
of the course they have had plenty of practice in doing complete 80-question
papers, both open tests which are not timed, and then timed examination
practices. Make sure your students are building up speed and stamina so that
they will be able to cope with 80 questions in 1 hour and 15 minutes.
Talk about the strategies needed for completing a whole examination: reading
the questions carefully, keeping an eye on the time, not spending too long on
one or two questions, making careful guesses, answering all the questions, going
back and checking at the end if they have time. This will give them confidence.
When students begin doing short tests of questions, provide plenty of feedback
go over the questions and answers as a class, explaining how to arrive at the
right answer. Make sure you always mark the papers, or better still let the
students mark their own or each others as you go through them. They need to
understand not only which questions they got correct and incorrect, but also
how they went wrong and how to do better next time.
Collect data on students progress in the subject and in answering multiple
choice questions. Table or graph the data and track the progress of each student.
Pick up on types of questions / items which many students get consistently
wrong and provide additional teaching. Pick up on topics or types of questions
which individual students get consistently wrong and help them focus their
revision or their additional work.
Students may find they have a better understanding of the questions and how
to answer them if they try writing some questions, on specific topics, either in
pairs or for their group or partner. This could be done firstly using their notes or
textbooks and then perhaps from memory. In order to do this they will need to
understand the material very well, so this could be a good way of revising.
Those students who find answering these kinds of questions very difficult may
benefit from some special coaching, either from the teacher or paired with a
really good student. The better student will find it helpful, too they will learn
more and make their thinking processes explicit in trying to explain them to
someone else. They will probably discover things of which they are uncertain,
and this gives them the opportunity to check their understanding.
In order to prepare for the Communication task examination, students should
practise independent writing regularly. Give them practice in filling out forms,
e.g. an application form to join a library or open a bank account. Go through the

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 terms they need to know, such as first name, family name or surname, and
print. Practise writing in sentences so that they are able to write instructions
correctly.
Introduce the letter writing format early on and make sure that your students
understand the difference between formal and informal letters. Encourage them
to use a plan like the one included in Topic 12 to help them plan their stories.
When writing longer pieces in class, teach your students to use the writing
process: Plan, Draft, Edit, Rewrite, Proofread and Correct. They will need to
adapt this in the examination as there will be no time to write a draft, so give
them practice in writing timed questions. You could use some of the sample
questions in Topic 12 for this.
Shortly before the examination, do all you can to give the students confidence
and relax them. Talk through with them the points in the introduction to this
book about preparing for the examination. Reassure them that once they are in
the exam room they can only do their best, and finally, wish them luck!

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 Section 1 Topics

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 Topic 1 Nouns
What are nouns?
Nouns are the names that we give to people, places, things and ideas. Words like
pen, pencil, town, school, girl, aunt, peace and health are all nouns because they
are used to name someone, somewhere, something or some idea.

Greg took his puppy, Spider

Man, to Jordans house on
Saturday. The boys played
with Spider Man. They fed
him crackers and gave him a
bowl of water. Then they lay
on the grass under the shade
of the mango tree.

The underlined words are all nouns.

Types of nouns

1. Common nouns
Nouns like puppy, house, boys are common nouns. These are general names we
give to people, places and things.

2. Proper nouns
Proper nouns name specific people, places or things. Greg, Spider Man, Jordan
are proper nouns. Proper nouns always begin with a capital letter.
Notice the difference in the table below.

Common nouns Proper nouns

boy Jason Edwards
town Ocho Rios
car Mercedes Benz
school Hillside Primary School
river Amazon
country Jamaica

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 3. Collective nouns
These are nouns used to describe groups of people, places or things. Family,
class, team, staff, are all collective nouns. There are lots of collective nouns in the
English language.

a herd of elephants a flock of birds

a pack of cards a fleet of ships

Here are some more collective nouns for you to remember.

People Animals, birds and fish Things

a troop of soldiers a pack of wolves a list of names
a crowd of people a shoal of fish a range of mountains
a board of directors a school of whales a set of plates
a gang of robbers a swarm of bees a row of houses
a panel of judges a pride of lions a flight of steps
a class of children a gaggle of geese a series of books
a troupe of dancers a litter of puppies a chain of events
an army of ants a string of beads

4. Abstract nouns
Abstract nouns are words for ideas, feelings and other things you cannot touch.
Truth, danger, anger and happiness are all abstract nouns.

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 Note how abstract nouns are used in the following paragraph.

The Prince was impressed by Cinderellas beauty and fell in love with her.
When she left the party, he was filled with sadness and vowed he would
find her. When the Prince came to Cinderellas house, her two sisters could
not control their jealousy and told him a lie. The Prince soon discovered
the truth and made a proposal of marriage to Cinderella.

Key points to remember:

Nouns are words which name people, places, things and ideas.
Common nouns are general names given to people, places and things.
Proper nouns name specific people, places and things, and begin with a capital

letter.
Collective nouns describe groups of people, places or things.
Abstract nouns are words for ideas, feelings and things we cannot touch.

Singular and plural nouns

When we talk about just one person, animal place or thing, we use a singular
noun. If we talk about more than one person, place or thing we use plural nouns.

1. We usually add -s to nouns to make them plural

a cook three cooks a bicycle two bicycles

Singular Plural Singular Plural

clock clocks photo photos
table tables mask masks
game games letter letters
piece pieces comb combs
teacher teachers month months

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 2. If the singular noun ends in -ch, -sh , -s or -x, we add -es
Singular Plural Singular Plural
arch arches watch watches
box boxes torch torches
address addresses cross crosses
brush brushes wish wishes

3. In some cases we change the spelling of singular nouns to make them plural
Nouns ending in -y: Nouns ending in -f or -fe
Change -y to -i and add -es Change -f to -v and add -es or -s.
Singular Plural Singular Plural
lady ladies leaf leaves
story stories shelf shelves
library libraries wife wives
trophy trophies knife knives
country countries half halves

BUT: There are some exceptions.

If there is a vowel before -y, just add -s to make the plural:
key / keys donkey / donkeys day / days trolley / trolleys
Some nouns ending in -f just add -s:
chief / chiefs cliff / cliffs roof / roofs

4. We add either -s or -es to singular nouns which end in -o

Nouns which add -s Nouns which add -es
Singular Plural Singular Plural
kilo kilos tomato tomatoes
video videos mango mangoes
avocado avocados tornado tornadoes
zoo zoos potato potatoes
cello cellos hero heroes
hippo hippos volcano volcanoes

5. Some nouns are the same in the singular and the plural

a fish five fish a sheep three sheep

Other nouns like this are: aircraft, deer, salmon, bison.

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 6. With some nouns the plural form is different from the singular form

a foot two feet an ox two oxen

Singular Plural Singular Plural

child children goose geese
man men mouse mice
woman women tooth teeth

7. Some nouns are always plural

pyjamas trousers jeans shorts pants

binoculars goggles tights pliers scissors
sunglasses spectacles braces shears tweezers

Key points to remember:

We make most nouns plural by adding -s or -es.

For nouns ending in -y, we change -y to -i and add -es.
For nouns ending in -f or -fe we change -f to -v and add -es or -s.
Some nouns have the same form in the singular and plural.
For some nouns the singular and plural forms are different.

Countable and uncountable nouns

Most nouns refer to people or things we can count. They have singular and
plural forms, e.g. doctor / doctors, child / children, animal / animals. Nouns like
this are called countable nouns.
Uncountable nouns are words for things we cannot count, e.g. water, air, rain.
Uncountable nouns are always singular.

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 We often put words like a piece of, a heap of before uncountable nouns.

a piece of cake a bowl of fruit a packet of sugar

Here are some more examples:

a loaf of bread a bar of soap a drop of water
a jar of jam a grain of rice a lump of sugar
a pinch of salt a strand of hair a sheet of paper
a speck of dust a bottle of wine a shower of rain
a pool of water a gust of wind a pane of glass
We can use numbers and quantities with these expressions:
three loaves of bread, two bars of soap

Using indefinite and definite articles with nouns

1. Indefinite articles
A and an are called indefinite articles. They are placed in front of countable nouns:
a child, an orange, a school, an examination

Some is the plural of a and an:

some children, some oranges

We do not use a or an before uncountable nouns:

I love music. Paper is made from wood.

However we often use some with uncountable nouns:

I bought some rice. I need some paper.

2. Definite article
The is known as the definite article. We use it in front of countable and
uncountable nouns when we are talking about something specific:
The cat is under the bed. They have eaten all the rice.

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 Note how the definite and indefinite articles are used in the following
paragraph.

The children generally eat cereal and toast in the morning. Damon likes
to drink a cup of tea, but Chantelle prefers orange juice. On Sundays they
often have some eggs as well. On weekdays they take the bus to school.
Damon often reads a book on the way but Chantelle prefers to listen to
music on an MP3 player.

Key points to remember:

We can use countable nouns in the singular and plural.

Uncountable nouns can only be used in the singular.
We can only use indefinite articles a and an with countable nouns.
We use the with nouns which refer to something specific.
We can use some and the with countable and uncountable nouns.

Nouns: Sample questions

1. Which sentence is grammatically correct?
A I am looking for an information about the history of aviation.
B I am looking for some informations about the history of aviation.
C I am looking for information about the history of aviation.
D I am looking for informations about the history of aviation.

Answer: C. Information is an uncountable noun. It cannot be used in the

plural or with the indefinite article an.

2. Which word best completes the sentence?

A long of steps led down to the beach.
A chain B flight C range D strand

Answer: B. Flight is the collective noun used with the word steps.

3. What is the correct spelling of the missing word?

One of my favourite is taking photographs.
A hobbeys B hobbes C hobbys D hobbies

Answer: D. The correct plural form of words ending in -y (e.g. hobby) is

-ies.

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 Topic 1 questions
Choose the word which best completes the sentences.
1 During the storm a heavy of wind uprooted the tree.
A blow B piece C gust D breeze
2 The employee threatened to report his colleague to the of
directors.
A board B panel C staff D crowd
3 A new of travel books about the Caribbean has just been
published.
A row B class C series D list

Choose the correct spellings of the missing words.

4 The rain was beating steadily down on the of the houses.
A rooves B roofs C roofes D roovses
5 There are a number of dormant in the Caribbean.
A volcanos B volcano C vulcanoes D volcanoes
6 A lot of supermarket get dumped around the town.
A trollies B trolleys C trolles D troleys

Which words are used as nouns in the following sentences?

7 The fireman showed great courage when he entered the blazing building.
A showed B courage C when D blazing
8 The Jamaican team returned from Beijing with a number of gold medals.
A Jamaican B returned C Beijing D gold

Which sentences are grammatically correct?

9 A Listening to every music is one of my favourite occupations.
B Listening to the music is one of my favourite occupations.
C Listening to music is one of my favourite occupations.
D Listening to a music is one of my favourite occupations.
10 A A crowd of womens is waiting for the shop to open.
B A crowd of woman is waiting for the shop to open.
C A crowd of womans is waiting for the shop to open.
D A crowd of women is waiting for the shop to open.

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