P4 English SA2 2020 — Nanyang | Singapore Past Year Paper

Q: The burglars took off with the bag of money ____ robbing the bank.

A. after. The burglars first robbed the bank, then took off with the money. 'After' correctly sequences the events.

Q: Mother told John to bring an umbrella as he ____ the house.

D. was leaving. The reported speech context with 'told' (past tense) requires the past continuous 'was leaving' for an action in progress at that past moment.

Q: Siti ____ her first marathon three weeks ago.

B. completed. 'Three weeks ago' specifies a finished past time, requiring the simple past tense 'completed'.

Q: I would like to buy ____ pair of shoes over here.

A. this. 'Pair' is singular and 'over here' indicates something near the speaker, so the singular near-demonstrative 'this' is correct.

Q: Terry gave his sister ____ advice on how she could solve the problem.

D. some. 'Advice' is an uncountable noun, so 'some' is the correct quantifier; 'many' and 'a few' are used with countable nouns.

Q: My father ____ furious when he found out about my mischievous act last month.

C. was. 'Last month' indicates past time and 'My father' is singular, requiring the singular past 'was'.

Q: The doctors ____ pleased when they received awards for their service to the country.

D. were. 'The doctors' is plural and the action ('received') is in the past, so the plural past 'were' is correct.

Q: "Look over there! The crocodile ____ for its prey right now," said the zookeeper.

C. is waiting. 'Right now' signals an action happening at this moment, requiring the present continuous 'is waiting'.

Q: The motorist was speeding ____ the old lady who was crossing the road in front of him.

D. towards. 'Towards' is the appropriate preposition for movement in the direction of someone, fitting the context of speeding in the lady's direction.

Q: I had to sort ____ boxes of books into different categories.

C. many. 'Boxes' is a plural countable noun, so 'many' is the correct quantifier.

Q1 MCQ 1 mark

The burglars took off with the bag of money ____ robbing the bank.

Q2 MCQ 1 mark

Mother told John to bring an umbrella as he ____ the house.

Q3 MCQ 1 mark

Siti ____ her first marathon three weeks ago.

Q4 MCQ 1 mark

I would like to buy ____ pair of shoes over here.

Q5 MCQ 1 mark

Terry gave his sister ____ advice on how she could solve the problem.

Q6 MCQ 1 mark

My father ____ furious when he found out about my mischievous act last month.

Q7 MCQ 1 mark

The doctors ____ pleased when they received awards for their service to the country.

Q8 MCQ 1 mark

"Look over there! The crocodile ____ for its prey right now," said the zookeeper.

Q9 MCQ 1 mark

The motorist was speeding ____ the old lady who was crossing the road in front of him.

Q10 MCQ 1 mark

I had to sort ____ boxes of books into different categories.

Q11 MCQ 1 mark

Have you packed your ____ for the camping trip?

Q12 MCQ 1 mark

Mr Tan worked two odd jobs in order to ____ his family of six.

Q13 MCQ 1 mark

Clement was ____ in work as his group mates had left him to finish the project all on his own.

Q14 MCQ 1 mark

The ____ at the football match cheered when the team scored a goal.

Q15 MCQ 1 mark

Sarah participated in the International Singing Competition where she won many ____ prizes.

Q16 MCQ 1 mark

The children were behaving ____ in the hall. The discipline master had to tell them to keep their voices down.

Q17 Open-ended 1 mark

Mr Tan had gone out and the class was noisy. When Mr Tan returned, there was a girl with (17) ____. (Choose from box: (A) her, (B) it, (C) him, (D) they, (E) she, (F) our)

Q18 Open-ended 1 mark

She looked very tired and (18) ____ clothes were dirty.

Q19 Open-ended 1 mark

Mr Tan introduced her to the class before (19) ____ sat down shyly.

Q20 Open-ended 1 mark

The students stared at the girl. (20) ____ started whispering to one another. Mr Tan stopped them immediately.

Q21 Open-ended 1 mark

Some flowers have unique characteristics. Some garden flowers track the movement of the sun as it (21) [ travel / travels ] across the sky.

Q22 Open-ended 1 mark

Flowers that track the sun (22) [ is / are ] special.

Q23 Open-ended 1 mark

Many plants with flowers like these (23) [ belong / belongs ] to the Sunflower family.

Q24 Open-ended 1 mark

There (24) [ is / are ] more than 24,000 such species.

Q25 Open-ended 1 mark

I was seated at the dining table, starved. I was waiting for breakfast to be (25) survied. Write the correct spelling.

Q26 Open-ended 1 mark

Without a second (26) thort, I lifted my fork and was ready to dive in. Write the correct spelling.

Q27 Open-ended 1 mark

However, what greeted me were not the fried eggs I was (27) axpacting. Write the correct spelling.

Q28 Open-ended 1 mark

Father, on the other hand, tucked into them as if there was nothing (28) paculiar about them. Write the correct spelling.

Q29 Open-ended 2 marks

You have not finished your chores. You cannot go for the party. Rewrite as one sentence using 'since'.

Q30 Open-ended 2 marks

Everyone wants to go for the celebration. John does not want to go for the celebration. Rewrite as one sentence using 'except'.

Q31 Open-ended 1 mark

Hannah was struggling and needed help because she ____. [1m]

Q32 Open-ended 2 marks

Fill in the blanks with only one word. The parrot tried to get Megan's attention by flapping its wings, ____ [1m] against the cage and ____ [1m] loudly.

Q33 Open-ended 1 mark

Tick √ your chosen answer. Megan was surprised by the parrot calling out to her as ____. [1m] Options: (i) it was very intelligent. (ii) it said words it had never used before. (iii) it alerted Megan without a second thought.

Q34 Open-ended 1 mark

Pick out a two-word phrase from paragraph 4 which shows that what the parrot had done was brave. [1m]

Q35 Open-ended 1 mark

Write 1, 2 and 3 in the blanks below to show the events that happened first, next and last in paragraphs 1 and 2. [1m] ____ Megan heard loud noises. ____ Megan saved Hannah's life. ____ Megan went to pick up a call.

Q36 MCQ 1 mark

In the last paragraph, Megan felt thankful because ____. [1m] (A) she and the parrot were inseparable (B) she did not have to train the parrot to talk (C) she had brought the parrot along that day

Q37 MCQ 1 mark

Which of these words has the same meaning as 'realised'? Circle either (A) or (B). [1m] 'It had proven its intelligence as it had sensed (A) something was amiss when it saw Hannah in distress and alerted (B) Megan without a second thought.'

Q38 Open-ended 1 mark

Why was the writer's family excited about ordering pancakes for the toddler? [1m]

Q39 Open-ended 1 mark

How can you tell that the toddler was looking forward to trying the pancakes? [1m]

Q40 Open-ended 1 mark

Read each statement and tick √ 'True' or 'False'. Statement: The family seldom had everyone present for breakfast. [1m]

Q41 Open-ended 1 mark

Read each statement and tick √ 'True' or 'False'. Statement: The gentleman chose a different smiley card to pass on. [1m]

Q42 MCQ 1 mark

Which word has the same meaning as 'often'? Circle either (A) or (B). [1m] 'He frequently (A) looked over and smiled warmly (B) as my granddaughter continued to entertain us all.'

Q43 Open-ended 2 marks

What was the 'great idea' in line 10 that the writer had? [2m]

Q44 MCQ 1 mark

In paragraph 3, the writer wanted to do something nice for the gentleman because he thought that the gentleman was ____ [1m] (A) lonely (B) entertaining (C) well-dressed

Q45 Open-ended 1 mark

Pick out a word in paragraph 4 which shows that the writer did not want to be seen. [1m]

Q46 Open-ended 1 mark

Based on the last paragraph, tick √ one word that best describes how the writer felt about the result of his actions. [1m] Options: surprised / confused / disturbed

Q47 Open-ended 🖼 Visual

Write a composition of at least 120 words about an embarrassing experience. The pictures, not arranged in sequence, are provided to help you think about the topic. Your composition should be based on one or more of these pictures. Consider the following points when you plan your composition: What was the embarrassing experience? Why was it embarrassing? How did the character overcome the embarrassment? You may use the points in any order and include other relevant points as well. Helping words: trained hard, clammy hands, butterflies in my stomach, burst into laughter, stood rooted to the ground.

P4 English SA2 2020 — Nanyang

Related papers