Question 1

"Congratulations! You ____ the winner of today's poetry contest!" said Mrs Tan to Gina.

Accepted Answer

B. are. The subject 'You' takes 'are' in the present tense. The speech is in the present (announcing congratulations now), so 'are' is correct.

Question 2

I will add ____ salt to the soup to make it tastier.

Accepted Answer

D. some. 'Salt' is an uncountable noun, so 'few' and 'many' (used with countable nouns) are wrong. 'No' contradicts the intent to make it tastier. 'Some' correctly indicates an unspecified quantity of an uncountable noun.

Question 3

"The students ____ their books from the lockers right now," Joey told Mr Tham.

Accepted Answer

C. are taking. The time marker 'right now' indicates an action happening at the moment of speaking, requiring the present continuous tense 'are taking'.

Question 4

____ books over there are extremely heavy.

Accepted Answer

D. Those. 'Books' is plural, ruling out 'This' and 'That'. 'Over there' indicates distance from the speaker, so the distal plural demonstrative 'Those' is correct (not 'These', which is proximal).

Question 5

Aisyah and her family ____ a scrumptious dinner for their guests last week.

Accepted Answer

B. cooked. 'Last week' is a definite past time marker, requiring the simple past tense 'cooked'.

Question 6

Siti ____ very proud when she was nominated as a prefect.

Accepted Answer

C. was. The clause 'when she was nominated' is in the past tense, so the main verb must agree in past tense. 'Siti' is singular, so 'was' is the correct form.

Question 7

As the boys ____ out from school, they heard someone call for them.

Accepted Answer

D. were walking. The past continuous 'were walking' is used to describe an ongoing action in the past that was interrupted by another past event ('they heard someone call').

Question 8

We cannot buy our textbooks ____ the shop is closed.

Accepted Answer

D. since. 'Since' is a subordinating conjunction expressing reason — the shop being closed is the reason they cannot buy textbooks. 'So' would require the cause-effect order to be reversed.

Question 9

Elaine could not wait for her party to begin as she had invited ____ friends.

Accepted Answer

C. many. 'Friends' is a countable noun, so 'little' and 'much' are wrong. The context (excitement about the party) implies a large number, so 'many' fits, not 'few'.

Question 10

Ravi's table is so messy. He hides the mess by stuffing everything ____ his drawers.

Accepted Answer

A. in. Drawers are containers; one stuffs things 'in' (inside) a drawer to hide them. 'On' would mean on top of the drawers, which would not hide the mess.

Question 11

The robbers managed to ____ before the police got to the scene.

Accepted Answer

A. run off. 'Run off' means to flee or escape, which is what robbers would do to avoid the police. 'Run into' means to meet/collide, 'run over' means to hit with a vehicle, and 'run around' means to be busy moving about.

Question 12

Sonia was ____ that she was not late for school.

Accepted Answer

C. relieved. 'Relieved' describes the feeling of freedom from anxiety — the natural reaction to avoiding being late. 'Comforted' implies receiving comfort from someone else; 'excited' and 'calm' do not fit the context.

Question 13

The ____ of musicians performed in front of a large crowd.

Accepted Answer

B. band. 'Band' is the correct collective noun for a group of musicians. 'Gang' refers to criminals, 'troop' to soldiers or scouts, 'board' to directors.

Question 14

After you mix the cake batter, pour it in a tray and ____ it in the oven for half an hour.

Accepted Answer

D. bake. Cakes are 'baked' in an oven. 'Fry' uses oil in a pan, 'boil' uses water, 'grill' applies direct heat — none are appropriate for cake batter in an oven.

Question 15

The ____ were busy interviewing onlookers of the accident to find out what had happened.

Accepted Answer

C. reporters. Reporters interview witnesses to gather information for news. Victims and culprits are people directly involved in the accident, while cameramen operate cameras rather than conduct interviews.

Question 16

If you were a more ____ person, you would not have made me wait an hour in the rain for you.

Accepted Answer

D. considerate. 'Considerate' means thoughtful of others' feelings and needs. A considerate person would not have kept someone waiting an hour in the rain. The other adjectives do not specifically relate to thinking about others' inconvenience.

Question 17

Terence and his father watched the flood on the news. Houses were washed away. The flood left many people homeless. (24) ____ was very destructive.

Word choices: (A) him, (B) his, (C) it, (D) our, (E) they, (F) we

Accepted Answer

C. it. The blank refers back to 'the flood' (a singular, non-human noun), so the correct pronoun is 'it'.

Question 18

"There must be some way we can help," Terence said to (25) ____ father.

Word choices: (A) him, (B) his, (C) it, (D) our, (E) they, (F) we

Accepted Answer

B. his. Terence is speaking to his own father, so the possessive pronoun 'his' is required to modify 'father'.

Question 19

"Let's go through (26) ____ cupboards and see what we can donate," replied Father.

Word choices: (A) him, (B) his, (C) it, (D) our, (E) they, (F) we

Accepted Answer

D. our. Father uses 'Let's' (including himself and Terence) and is referring to cupboards belonging to both of them, so the first-person plural possessive 'our' is required.

Question 20

The next morning, (27) ____ sorted through their items. In no time, the pair had multiple boxes filled for donation.

Word choices: (A) him, (B) his, (C) it, (D) our, (E) they, (F) we

Accepted Answer

C. they. The narration uses the third person ('the pair had multiple boxes'), so the subject pronoun for Terence and his father is 'they', not 'we'.

Question 21

Many animals live in Africa. One such animal (28) ____ the rhinoceros.

Underline the correct word from the words given in the brackets: [ is / are ]

Accepted Answer

A. is. The subject is 'One such animal' (singular), so the singular verb 'is' is required.

Question 22

Rhinoceroses can be grey or brown and they (29) ____ not have much hair.

Underline the correct word from the words given in the brackets: [ do / does ]

Accepted Answer

A. do. The subject 'they' (plural) takes the auxiliary verb 'do', not 'does'.

Question 23

They are one of the largest creatures to (30) ____ on land.

Underline the correct word from the words given in the brackets: [ live / lives ]

Accepted Answer

A. live. After the infinitive marker 'to', the base form of the verb 'live' is used (the infinitive 'to live'), not the inflected 'lives'.

Question 24

These creatures (31) ____ having mud baths to cool down. Rhinoceroses only eat things like fruits, grass and leaves.

Underline the correct word from the words given in the brackets: [ enjoy / enjoys ]

Accepted Answer

A. enjoy. The subject 'These creatures' is plural and takes the plural verb form 'enjoy', not 'enjoys'.

P4 English SA2 2020 — Methodist Girls

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