P4 English SA1 2025 — Maris Stella High | Singapore Past Year Paper

Q: The otters surrounded the cat that had hurt ____ as it crawled under a low fence.

A. itself. The reflexive pronoun must refer back to the singular subject of the relative clause 'the cat', so 'itself' is correct.

Q: My friends and I ____ a birthday cake when it suddenly rained cats and dogs.

D. were baking. Past continuous 'were baking' describes an ongoing past action interrupted by another past event ('suddenly rained').

Q: As this activity requires ____ pieces of paper, we should consider using recycled paper instead.

C. many. 'Pieces of paper' is a countable plural noun and the context suggests a large quantity, so 'many' is the correct quantifier.

Q: Once he was in Primary Six, Ahmad studied very hard to get ____ his dream school.

D. into. The phrasal expression 'get into (a school)' means to gain admission, which fits the context of Ahmad working hard to enter his dream school.

Q: ____ Siti was sick, she submitted her assignment that was due that day.

C. Although. 'Although' is a subordinating conjunction that introduces a contrast clause before a main clause, matching the contrast between being sick and still submitting the assignment.

Q: Early this morning, I ____ woken up by my puppy's faint yelping at the door.

C. was. The passive past tense with subject 'I' requires the singular past 'was' to form 'was woken up'.

Q: As I had ____ been to the Singapore Oceanarium, my parents brought me there for the first time on my birthday.

B. never. 'For the first time' indicates the speaker had not been there before, so 'never' is the correct adverb of frequency.

Q: Xin Ru, ____ mother is a chef, is my best friend.

D. whose. The possessive relative pronoun 'whose' is needed to show that the mother belongs to Xin Ru.

Q: Hassan had forgotten to bring his thermometer yesterday ____ his teacher had to punish him.

B. so. 'So' is a coordinating conjunction expressing consequence: forgetting the thermometer caused the punishment.

Q: By the time I reached school, morning assembly ____.

D. had begun. The past perfect 'had begun' is used because the assembly started before another past event (reaching school).

Q1 MCQ 1 mark

The otters surrounded the cat that had hurt ____ as it crawled under a low fence.

Q2 MCQ 1 mark

My friends and I ____ a birthday cake when it suddenly rained cats and dogs.

Q3 MCQ 1 mark

As this activity requires ____ pieces of paper, we should consider using recycled paper instead.

Q4 MCQ 1 mark

Once he was in Primary Six, Ahmad studied very hard to get ____ his dream school.

Q5 MCQ 1 mark

____ Siti was sick, she submitted her assignment that was due that day.

Q6 MCQ 1 mark

Early this morning, I ____ woken up by my puppy's faint yelping at the door.

Q7 MCQ 1 mark

As I had ____ been to the Singapore Oceanarium, my parents brought me there for the first time on my birthday.

Q8 MCQ 1 mark

Xin Ru, ____ mother is a chef, is my best friend.

Q9 MCQ 1 mark

Hassan had forgotten to bring his thermometer yesterday ____ his teacher had to punish him.

Q10 MCQ 1 mark

By the time I reached school, morning assembly ____.

Q11 MCQ 1 mark

The chef recommended using fresh ____ such as vanilla pods and eggs to bake a cake.

Q12 MCQ 1 mark

After the strenuous basketball match, Samuel experienced severe ____ in his muscles, making it difficult to climb the stairs.

Q13 MCQ 1 mark

Jonah hopes to ____ at the National School Games competition.

Q14 MCQ 1 mark

The stars ____ stretched out across the night sky.

Q15 MCQ 1 mark

Animals can be ____ and may attack if they are trying to defend themselves.

Q16 MCQ 1 mark

While rushing to board the bus, someone ____ on my toes.

Q17 MCQ 2 marks 🖼 Visual

"Packaging Makes All the Difference" is a/an ____.

Q18 MCQ 2 marks 🖼 Visual

Hassan wants to buy food at the Food Market. He should ____.

Q19 MCQ 2 marks 🖼 Visual

Which one of the following statements is not true?

Q20 MCQ 2 marks 🖼 Visual

The main aim of the event is to ____.

Q21 MCQ 2 marks 🖼 Visual

The "Packaging Makes All the Difference" engagement activities are sponsored by ____.

Q22 Open-ended 1 mark

Grammar cloze Passage 1: One weekend, my parents booked a hotel stay for my family at Sentosa. As our favourite activity is water play, my brother and I brought (22) ____ largest float to the pool. (Choose from the word box: (A) his, (B) me, (C) our, (D) their, (E) them, (F) us. Each word can be used only once.)

Q23 Open-ended 1 mark

Grammar cloze Passage 1: The pool was crowded with children, yet we willingly shared our toys with (23) ____.

Q24 Open-ended 1 mark

Grammar cloze Passage 1: Next, I went to the Kids Club. There, magicians performed (24) ____ magic tricks.

Q25 Open-ended 1 mark

Grammar cloze Passage 1: As I left that afternoon, a magician gave (25) ____ his magician hat. I was over the moon.

Q26 Open-ended 1 mark

Passage 2 — underline the correct word from the brackets: For Jenny's 10th birthday, her parents gave her a camera. Now, Jenny's hobby (26) [ is / are ] to take photographs of birds.

Q27 Open-ended 1 mark

Passage 2: On weekends, Jenny (27) [ go / goes ] to Sungei Buloh to take photos of migratory birds.

Q28 Open-ended 1 mark

Passage 2: The birds (28) [ is / are ] so colourful and vibrant.

Q29 Open-ended 1 mark

Passage 2: Posting the photos on her Instagram account (29) [ help / helps ] her connect with others who have the same hobby as her.

Q30 Open-ended 1 mark

Vocabulary cloze: Mother has informed me that we will be moving overseas next month. The thought of leaving Sam, my best friend, makes me feel (30) ____ as I think about saying goodbye. (Word box: (A) advice, (B) alert, (C) apprehensive, (D) attentiveness, (E) gift, (F) guidance, (G) heartbroken, (H) prediction. Each word can be used only once.)

Q31 Open-ended 1 mark

Vocabulary cloze: He has a special (31) ____ for knowing when I am upset, even when I try to hide it.

Q32 Open-ended 1 mark

Vocabulary cloze: Whenever we talk, he listens with great (32) ____ and always helps me solve my problems.

Q33 Open-ended 1 mark

Vocabulary cloze: Once, I accidentally knocked over my neighbour's pots of plants. I felt (33) ____ about how my neighbour would react.

Q34 Open-ended 1 mark

Vocabulary cloze: Sam gave me wise (34) ____ to tell the truth and apologise.

Q35 Open-ended 1 mark

Rewrite using the word(s) provided in one sentence with the same meaning. Jane did her homework. Jane was waiting for the water to boil. While ____

Q36 Open-ended 1 mark

Rewrite using the word(s) provided in one sentence with the same meaning. Joe does not like to sew. His mother does not like to sew. Neither ____

Q37 Open-ended 1 mark

Rewrite using the word(s) provided in one sentence with the same meaning. Ali continued to play computer games. His mother scolded him. ____ despite ____

Q38 Open-ended 1 mark

Which word from paragraph 1 tells us that Aoshi was waiting in anticipation for the storytelling?

Q39 Open-ended 1 mark

How was Izzi injured?

Q40 Open-ended 1 mark

What does the word 'you' in line 10 refer to?

Q41 Structured 1 mark

Write 1, 2, or 3 to indicate the order in which the events occurred in the story. ____ The mouse deer came along. ____ Izzi was walking along the riverbank. ____ The crocodile was caught in a fishing net.

Q42 Structured 2 marks

For ____, read each statement and tick True or False. The first example has been done for you. (Example: Bunda shared a story — True.) (i) Izzi cried. (ii) The mouse deer tricked the crocodile.

Q43 Structured 1 mark

Tick your chosen answer. In line 18, the children were in awe of the mouse deer because it was ____. (strong / patient / intelligent)

Q44 Open-ended 1 mark

"Izzi brought the mouse deer back to his village, promising to protect it for as long as it lived." (line 18-19) What value did Izzi demonstrate?

P4 English SA1 2025 — Maris Stella High

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