Question 1

The kind old lady gave a candy each to my sister and ____

Accepted Answer

B. me. After the preposition 'to', the object pronoun 'me' is required. 'I' is a subject pronoun; 'myself' is a reflexive that needs a matching subject; 'herself' has no antecedent here.

Question 2

____ ironing the clothes, Sam has finished all the other chores.

Accepted Answer

A. Apart from. 'Apart from' means 'except for', fitting the meaning that Sam has done everything except ironing. The other options do not make logical sense in this context.

Question 3

"That man ____ be a doctor. He looks too young!" my aunt remarked in disbelief.

Accepted Answer

A. can't. 'Can't' expresses logical impossibility/disbelief. The aunt is expressing that it is impossible for the man to be a doctor because he looks too young.

Question 4

That lady was my kindergarten teacher ____ name I cannot remember.

Accepted Answer

D. whose. 'Whose' is the possessive relative pronoun needed to show that the name belongs to the teacher.

Question 5

Thankfully, he arrived just ____ time to board the train.

Accepted Answer

A. in. The fixed expression 'in time' means with enough time to spare to do something. 'On time' would mean punctual, which doesn't fit 'just ____ time'.

Question 6

We could hear a cat ____ away in the back alley.

Accepted Answer

C. purring. After verbs of perception like 'hear', the '-ing' form is used to describe an ongoing action being perceived ('hear something doing').

Question 7

Due to his siblings' influence, Milford prefers drawing ____ playing sports.

Accepted Answer

A. to. The verb 'prefer' takes the preposition 'to' when comparing two gerunds: 'prefer X to Y'.

Question 8

Minah hardly ate anything the entire day, ____?

Accepted Answer

A. did she. 'Hardly' carries a negative meaning, so the tag question is positive. The verb 'ate' is past tense, so the tag uses 'did she'.

Question 9

Much to Farmer Joe's relief, most of the sheep ____ rescued from the burning ranch that morning.

Accepted Answer

D. were. 'Sheep' is plural here (most of the sheep) and the action happened 'that morning' (past tense), so the plural past form 'were' is needed.

Question 10

The whole country is shaken as news of an earthquake ____ on national television since morning.

Accepted Answer

C. has been playing. 'Since morning' indicates a continuing action from a past point to now, requiring the present perfect continuous. 'News' is treated as a singular noun, so 'has been playing' is correct.

Question 11

Even after the teacher explained many times, the child still could not ____ the topic.

Accepted Answer

D. comprehend. 'Comprehend' means to understand fully, which fits the context of a child not being able to grasp the topic despite repeated explanations.

Question 12

The clumsy boys wanted to set the table, but they were more of a ____ than a help.

Accepted Answer

C. hindrance. 'Hindrance' is the natural antonym of 'help', meaning a person/thing that makes a task more difficult. The collocation 'more of a hindrance than a help' is idiomatic.

Question 13

The Red Cross Society has been delivering aid to the ____ civilians after the tsunami wiped out their houses.

Accepted Answer

B. displaced. 'Displaced' describes people forced from their homes by disaster, which fits the tsunami context. 'Discarded' is for objects, 'dismissed' is for jobs/ideas, and 'disruptive' describes behaviour.

Question 14

The team ____ against the pressure and won the match in the final moments.

Accepted Answer

B. held out. 'Held out' means to resist or withstand pressure. The other phrasal verbs do not convey resistance against pressure.

Question 15

I looked up at the clock which glared at me smugly, as if ____ over my plight in the examination.

Accepted Answer

A. gloating. 'Gloating over' means showing smug pleasure at another's misfortune, which fits 'smugly' and 'my plight'. The others do not take 'over' in this idiomatic sense of malicious satisfaction at someone's suffering.

Question 16

[Comprehension cloze — choose the word closest in meaning to the underlined word 'innovative' in the passage about Marissa's chemical-free nail polish business.] Closest in meaning to 'innovative'.

Accepted Answer

C. creative. 'Innovative' means introducing new ideas or methods, which is most closely synonymous with 'creative'. 'Original' is close but 'creative' better captures inventing something new in business.

Question 17

[Comprehension cloze — choose the word closest in meaning to the underlined word 'alternatives' in the passage about Marissa's chemical-free nail polish business.] Closest in meaning to 'alternatives'.

Accepted Answer

B. options. 'Alternatives' means other choices or possibilities, which is synonymous with 'options'. The other words are too narrow or do not convey 'choice'.

Question 18

[Comprehension cloze — choose the phrase closest in meaning to the underlined phrase 'giving back to' in the passage about Marissa's chemical-free nail polish business.] Closest in meaning to 'giving back to'.

Accepted Answer

C. contributing to. 'Giving back to the community' means contributing to it (often financially, as Marissa is pledging earnings to charity). 'Contributing to' best captures this active donation/return of resources.

Question 19

[Comprehension cloze — choose the word closest in meaning to the underlined word 'valuable' in the passage about Marissa's chemical-free nail polish business.] Closest in meaning to 'valuable'.

Accepted Answer

C. priceless. 'Valuable lessons' means lessons of great importance/worth. 'Priceless' best captures intangible great value (lessons cannot be bought). 'Costly' and 'premium' refer to monetary price, not worth of life lessons.

Question 20

[Comprehension cloze — choose the word closest in meaning to the underlined word 'risky journey' in the passage about Marissa's chemical-free nail polish business.] Closest in meaning to 'risky journey'.

Accepted Answer

A. venture. A 'venture' is a risky or daring undertaking, especially in business, which exactly matches 'risky journey into business'. The other words do not capture the business-undertaking sense.

Question 21

According to the poster in Text 1, which of the following is not true? [Text 1: Poster for ReBounce, a movement started by 10-year-old Liam Tan, encouraging people to volunteer by donating used tennis balls, helping to collect and distribute them, and getting involved in creating upcycled products for sale. All proceeds go to charitable organisations. The poster states that 300 million tennis balls are thrown away each year.]

Accepted Answer

C. It encourages readers to use fewer tennis balls so that there will be less wastage.. The poster encourages upcycling and donating used balls, not using fewer balls. Options A, B and D are directly supported by the poster, but C is not stated.

Question 22

"Did you know that 300 million tennis balls are thrown away each year?" Why did the writer ask the question in Text 1?

Accepted Answer

B. to get readers to reflect on what happens to used tennis balls. The rhetorical question is designed to make readers stop and reflect on the wastefulness of discarded tennis balls, prompting them to consider supporting upcycling efforts.

Question 23

"Give old tennis balls a new life!" The images in Text 1 support this sentence by showing that the products made with old tennis balls are ____.

Accepted Answer

D. useful. The images show upcycled products (such as keychains and pen/pencil holders) that have practical, everyday uses. The images demonstrate utility, not price savings, frivolity, or inspiration.

Question 24

According to Text 2, which of the following does not explain why James finds volunteering with Project HomeWorks fulfilling?

Accepted Answer

C. it teaches him many practical skills. James mentioned learning practical skills earlier when describing how he got involved, but when asked specifically what drives him to continue volunteering, he cited dignity, safety, and mental well-being of tenants — not learning practical skills.

Question 25

Text 2 supports Text 1 about the significant impact of small actions because it states that ____.

Accepted Answer

C. simple acts of service can have a big impact. Text 1 quotes Howard Zinn about 'small acts...can transform the world'. The phrase in Text 2 that most directly echoes this is James's reminder that 'simple acts of service can have a significant impact'.

P6 English SA1 2025 — CHIJ

Related papers