SUBJECT ENGLISH ACADEMIC YEAR 2019-20 SCORE

TEST NO. 1 GRADE 9

Fiction vs nonfiction, purpose,

TOPIC audience, tone,mood,elements of TIME ALLOTMENT
literature, & author’s point of view 40 minutes

SEMESTER/Term 1/1 TOTAL MARKS 30

STUDENT’S NAME

DATE SUBJECT TEACHER

READ THESE INSTRUCTIONS FIRST

1. Write your name, class, date, and your teacher’s name in the box above and on all extra sheets
you hand in with this test paper.
2. Write in black or dark blue pen.
3. Do not open this test paper until instructed to do so.
4. Do not use highlighters, glue or correction fluid/tape. Strikethrough all mistakes.
5. You are not allowed to talk during the test. If you need anything or have questions ask the
teacher to assist you.
6. The number of marks is given in brackets [ ] at the end of each question or part question.
7. The total number of marks for this paper is 30.
8. At the end of the test, staple all your work securely together.

Unauthorized materials are not permitted in the examination room.

Directions: Read the paragraphs below and answer all the questions.
I. Direction Identify the tone in the following passages. List down the words that support the
tone.

a. We have come together this afternoon to mourn the deaths of sixteen miners—our friends
and neighbours—who were trapped by fire yesterday, deep below the earth. They lived
bravely and they died too soon, leaving behind grieving wives and bewildered children. We
bid them a final farewell.

Tone:__________________________________________________________________[1]

Support:__________________________________________________________________

_______________________________________________________________________[1]

b. Why do these things always happen to me? Brad wondered. First I forget an important
meeting, and nobody reminds me until it’s over. Then my boss dumps a big project on my
desk and wants it done by yesterday. And to top everything off, I leave my wallet on the bus.

Tone:__________________________________________________________________[1]

Support:__________________________________________________________________

_______________________________________________________________________[1]

c. Each year in the middle of February, when slush is underfoot and the sky is a depressing
grey, I begin dreaming of warm beaches, tropical fruits and sunsets. If only I could save
enough for a winter vacation! Maybe next year I’ll win the lottery. Meanwhile, I’ll read travel
brochures and sigh.

Tone:__________________________________________________________________[1]

Support:__________________________________________________________________

_______________________________________________________________________[2]

d. What’s the matter with those idiots in the city council? First they pass new parking
regulations saying we can’t park our cars in front of our own houses without a special
permit. Now they’ve gone and slapped another tax on gas purchase—just to widen a road
that’s already wide enough. Anyway, nobody enjoys the traffic delays resulting from road
construction. The sooner we vote those incompetents out, the better off we’ll all be.

Tone:_________________________________________________________________[1]

Support:_______________________________________________________________[2]

_________________________________________________________________________

Grade 10 P a g e |2
 2. Read the passage below and answer the questions that follow it.

I grew very fond of these scorpions. I found them to be pleasant, unassuming creatures, with, on the
whole, the most charming habits. Provided you did nothing silly or clumsy (like putting your hand on
one), the scorpions treated you with respect, their one desire being to get away and hide as quickly
as possible. They must have found me rather a trial, for I was always ripping sections of the plaster
away so that I could watch them, or capturing them and making them walk about in jam jars so that I
could see the way their feet moved. By means of my sudden and unexpected assaults on the wall I
discovered quite a bit about scorpions. I found that they would eat bluebottles (though how they
caught them was a mystery I never solved), grasshoppers, moths, and lacewing flies. Several times I
found one of them eating another, a habit I found most distressing in a creature otherwise so
impeccable.

By crouching under the wall at night with a torch, I managed to catch some brief glimpses of the
scorpions’ wonderful courtship dances. I saw them standing, claws clasped, their bodies raised to
the skies, their tails lovingly entwined; I saw them waltzing slowly in circles among the moss
cushions, claw in claw. But my view of these performances was all too short, for almost as soon as I
switched on the torch the partners would stop, pause for a moment, and then, seeing that I was not
going to extinguish the light, would turn round and walk firmly away, claw in claw, side by side. They
were definitely beasts that believed in keeping themselves to themselves. If I could have kept a
colony in captivity I would probably have been able to see the whole of the courtship, but the family
had forbidden scorpions in the house, despite my arguments in favour of them.

Excerpt from Gerald Durrell’s My Family and Other Animals

e. The author calls scorpions “pleasant, unassuming creatures with, on the whole, the most
charming habits.” What does this phrase tell you about the author’s tone?

_________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________ [2]

f. ’Several times I found one of them eating another, a habit I found most distressing in a
creature otherwise so “impeccable”. ‘

What makes impeccable the most suitable word to describe scorpions? What does this suggest
about the author’s tone?

_________________________________________________________________________

_________________________________________________________________________

_______________________________________________________________________[2]

g. What is the genre of the above passage?

________________________________________________________________ [1]
h. The passage is written in ______________________ point of view. [1]

Grade 10 P a g e |3
 3. Directions: Read the descriptions of each item and determine the author’s purpose (to
entertain, persuade, or inform).

i. A pamphlet urging people not to eat animals or use products made from animals or animal
suffering because the author thinks that is cruel and unnecessary. [1]

Author’s Purpose: _______________________________________________________

j. A book of over 1,000 knock-knock jokes [1]

Author’s Purpose: _______________________________________________________

k. A politician’s speech about how homes should be provided to families who cannot afford
them [1]
Author’s Purpose: _______________________________________________________

l. A poem about a “packrat,” a person who refuses to throw things away, even things that
most people would consider garbage [1]

Author’s Purpose: _______________________________________________________

4. Directions: Read the brief description of each plot. Identify the protagonist and antagonist,
and determine the type of conflict & setting.

1. Angela is having the time of her life on a cruise ship with food and fun all around her. Just as
she is preparing for the limbo competition, the ship crashes into an iceberg, which punctures
the hull and causes the ship to sink. Now she and a group of strangers must fight for survival
on a life raft deep in the ice-cold ocean waters with limited supplies. Can she stay alive until
a rescue team arrives?
Protagonist: ______________________________ Antagonist: ______________________________
Type of Conflict: ______________________________________
Setting (Time & Place):_______________________________________________ [5]

2. It's 1938 and Max Schnell is a native German citizen wondering if the world has gone mad
around him. His Jewish friends and neighbors have been forbidden to own businesses, work
in retail stores, drive cars, go to the movies, or attend public schools. Seeking to raise
awareness and to build a resistance against this anti-Semitic movement, Max begins printing
an underground newspaper. How long can Max continue his publishing activities without
being caught by the Nazis? Will it be long enough to make a difference?

Protagonist: ______________________________ Antagonist: ______________________________

Type of Conflict: ______________________________________

Setting (Time & Place):_______________________________________________ [5]

Grade 10 P a g e |4