Question 1

____ chocolate chips over the vanilla ice cream to add flavour to it.
(1) Spill
(2) Drop
(3) Topple
(4) Sprinkle

Accepted Answer

D. Sprinkle. To add flavour to ice cream with chocolate chips, one would 'sprinkle' them. 'Spill', 'Drop', and 'Topple' imply unintentional or messy actions, which do not fit the context of adding flavour purposefully.

Question 2

The ambulance arrived to take the ____ of the accident to the hospital.
(1) victims
(2) witnesses
(3) onlookers
(4) attendants

Accepted Answer

A. victims. An ambulance's primary role is to transport those harmed in an accident, who are referred to as 'victims', to the hospital for medical attention. 'Witnesses', 'onlookers', and 'attendants' do not require ambulance transport in this context.

Question 3

I felt happy after watching the movie as the ending was very ____.
(1) abrupt
(2) satisfying
(3) complicated
(4) disappointing

Accepted Answer

B. satisfying. The phrase 'I felt happy' directly indicates a positive emotion. Among the options, 'satisfying' is the only word that expresses a positive outcome or feeling regarding the movie's ending. 'Abrupt', 'complicated', and 'disappointing' would likely lead to negative or neutral feelings.

Question 4

As he could not ____ his mistake on his artwork, he had to start painting all over again.
(1) undo
(2) unfold
(3) unstop
(4) unwind

Accepted Answer

A. undo. To 'undo' a mistake means to reverse or cancel it. If he could not undo his mistake, it necessitated starting over. 'Unfold' means to open, 'unstop' means to remove a stopper, and 'unwind' means to relax or uncoil, none of which fit the context of correcting an error in artwork.

Question 5

The students put up posters in the canteen to raise ____ of good hygiene practices.
(1) alertness
(2) awareness
(3) carefulness
(4) production

Accepted Answer

B. awareness. Posters are used to inform people and make them 'aware' of certain topics, such as good hygiene practices. 'Alertness' refers to being watchful, 'carefulness' refers to avoiding mistakes, and 'production' refers to making something, none of which fit the context of disseminating information about hygiene practices.

Question 6

We had a ____ escape when the landslide happened. No one was hurt.
(1) scary
(2) sudden
(3) dangerous
(4) miraculous

Accepted Answer

D. miraculous. The phrase 'No one was hurt' after a landslide suggests an extremely fortunate and unlikely outcome. A 'miraculous' escape implies an astonishingly lucky avoidance of harm. While 'scary', 'sudden', and 'dangerous' describe aspects of the event, 'miraculous' best captures the sense of extraordinary good fortune given that no one was hurt.

Question 7

The canteen is open ____ school hours.
(1) at
(2) on
(3) for
(4) during

Accepted Answer

D. during. 'During' is the most appropriate preposition to indicate that the canteen operates throughout the duration of school hours. 'At' would refer to a specific point in time, 'on' is usually for days or dates, and 'for' implies purpose or duration from a specific point.

Question 8

"The game equipment ____ a ball a cone and a hoop," Mr Zulhelmi told us.
(1) include
(2) includes
(3) included
(4) including

Accepted Answer

B. includes. The subject 'The game equipment' is singular, so the present tense verb must agree with it in the third person singular, which is 'includes'. The sentence is a general statement about the equipment, implying a present truth.

Question 9

Mrs Low was surprised that Keagan ____ her a beautiful Teachers' Day card.
(1) makes
(2) making
(3) has made
(4) had made

Accepted Answer

D. had made. The sentence indicates that Mrs Low's surprise (past event) was caused by an action Keagan completed *before* that moment. 'Had made' (past perfect tense) correctly conveys an action completed before another past action ('was surprised'). 'Makes' is present tense, 'making' is present participle, and 'has made' is present perfect, none of which fit the sequence of past events as well.

Question 10

"Watch carefully and learn. I ____ the cake now," Gabriel told his sister, Ziyan.
(1) decorate
(2) decorated
(3) am decorating
(4) have decorated

Accepted Answer

C. am decorating. The word 'now' indicates an action happening at the moment of speaking. 'Am decorating' (present continuous tense) correctly describes an ongoing action. 'Decorate' is simple present, 'decorated' is simple past, and 'have decorated' is present perfect, none of which are appropriate for an action happening 'now'.

Question 11

Joel and his dad ____ their dog at the park this morning before giving it a bath.
(1) walk
(2) walked
(3) had walked
(4) were walking

Accepted Answer

B. walked. The phrase 'this morning' and 'before giving it a bath' indicates completed actions in the past. The simple past tense 'walked' is appropriate for a completed action at a specific time in the past. 'Walk' is present tense, 'had walked' is past perfect (used for an action before another past action, which isn't strictly necessary here given 'this morning'), and 'were walking' is past continuous (for an ongoing action in the past).

Question 12

____ the knee injury, the paralympian persevered and scored the winning goal.
(1) While
(2) Due to
(3) Despite
(4) As a result of

Accepted Answer

C. Despite. 'Despite' is used to show a contrast or that something happened even though there was an obstacle. The knee injury was an obstacle, yet the paralympian persevered. 'While' introduces a simultaneous action or contrast (needs a clause), 'Due to' and 'As a result of' introduce a cause, but here the injury is not the cause of persevering; rather, it's something overcome.

Question 13

Is ____ boy standing outside our classroom your brother?
(1) this
(2) that
(3) these
(4) those

Accepted Answer

B. that. The sentence refers to a single 'boy'. 'This' and 'that' are singular demonstrative pronouns. Since the boy is 'standing outside our classroom', implying he is not immediately close or is being pointed out from a distance, 'that' is the more appropriate choice. 'These' and 'those' are plural.

Question 14

The audience left the hall ____ the performance was over.
(1) but
(2) thus
(3) then
(4) since

Accepted Answer

D. since. 'Since' is used here to mean 'because' or 'as', indicating the reason for the audience leaving. They left because the performance was over. 'But' implies contrast, 'thus' implies consequence, and 'then' implies sequence, none of which fit the causal relationship as well as 'since'.

Question 15

There were ____ people in the long queue at the gift collection counter.
(1) a few
(2) much
(3) many
(4) some

Accepted Answer

C. many. 'People' is a countable noun. 'Many' is used for a large quantity of countable nouns. 'Much' is used for uncountable nouns. 'A few' implies a small number, and the context 'long queue' suggests a large number. 'Some' is general and could be used, but 'many' more strongly conveys the idea of a 'long queue'. Given the options and context, 'many' is the best fit.

Question 16

Mother was very busy baking muffins for my birthday party, so she had ____ time to prepare lunch.
(1) no
(2) any
(3) few
(4) much

Accepted Answer

A. no. The phrase 'very busy' indicates that Mother had a severe lack of time for lunch preparation. 'No' time effectively conveys this. 'Any' would typically be used in negative questions or statements ('didn't have any time'). 'Few' is for countable nouns (time here is uncountable in this context of quantity). 'Much' would imply a lot of time, which contradicts 'very busy'.

P4 English SA1 2025 — Tao Nan

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