Lesson from Ms Mandy’s Comprehension Tuition Program Extracted from 2016 PSLE English Paper

Name: ________________________ Feedback:

Date: _________________________ Score:

Steps to Doing Comprehension

1) Read Questions Quickly

2) Underline/Highlight Keywords
3) Read the passage
4) Underline/Bracket the answer and label them (according to question number)
5) Construct the answer into suitable sentences (with the correct tenses and sentence structure)
6) Check all answers before handing in
Time taken: 35 – 40 mins

2016 PSLE Comprehension

1 What could Ben’s parents no longer afford to do? (1m)

_________________________________________________________________________________________

2 Why did Ben end up at Mrs Ho’s house when he was on his way to play football? (2m)
_________________________________________________________________________________________

_________________________________________________________________________________________

3 What did Mrs Ho learn about Ben from studying him carefully? (1m)
_________________________________________________________________________________________

1
Lesson from Ms Mandy’s Comprehension Tuition Program Extracted from 2016 PSLE English Paper

4 Based on the story, state whether each statement in the table below is true or false, then give one
reason why you think so. (3m)

True/False Reason

Mrs Ho heard Ben crying when

she was inside her house.

Mrs Ho was not interested in

Ben’s apology.

Ben was pleased that he had

categorised fifty books on the first
morning.

5 Which two words from lines 22-24 show that Mrs Ho was annoyed with Ben? The words are found
in two separate sentences. (2m)
_________________________________________________________________________________________

6 What do the words in the left column refer to in the passage? Write your answers in the column on
the right. (3m)
Word(s) from the passage What the word(s) refer to

(line 13)

short cut (line 25)

unfinished work (line 28)

7 Write 1, 2, 3 in the blanks below to indicate the order in which the events occurred in the story.
(1m)

__________ Mrs Ho opened a public library.

__________ Ben was scolded for categorising some books wrongly.

__________ Ben read some books completely.

2
Lesson from Ms Mandy’s Comprehension Tuition Program Extracted from 2016 PSLE English Paper

8 Ben completed his university education successfully. What did the various characters in lines 31-40
think was the main reason for that? (3m)

Character What the character thought was the main reason of Ben’s success

Ben, before he understood

the true reason for his
success

Ben’s classmate

Ben’s professor

9 Which two of the following words correctly describe how Ben felt in lines 39 – 40? Put a tick ✓ in
the box beside each of your answers. (2m) DO NOT TICK MORE THAN TWO BOXES.

proud
overjoyed
Grateful
satisfied
surprised
puzzled

10 What do you think Mrs Ho meant by saying Ben had “already done so” (line 45)? Support your
answer by stating how he had “done so”. (2m)
_________________________________________________________________________________________

_________________________________________________________________________________________

3
Lesson from Ms Mandy’s Comprehension Tuition Program Extracted from 2016 PSLE English Paper

Read this passage and answer questions 1 to 10. (20 marks)

There once lived a boy named Ben in a small village. He used to attend the village
school but stopped when his parents could no longer afford to send him. He filled his days
playing football and dreaming of the day he could do so in the city.

One morning, Ben was heading for a game of football when it started pouring. He
ran to the nearest shelter he could find, which happened to be the doorway of the only large 5
house in the village. Sitting down on the steps, he gazed at the falling raindrops and soon
started to cry. For many minutes, he wept as the storm thundered overhead, masking his
wails. Suddenly, the door behind him opened and a lady emerged, all ready to go out.

“What’s going on?” Mrs Ho, the owner of the house, said sternly. Ben wiped his
tears and stammered out an apology for using the doorway as a shelter but she cut him 10
short. “Why aren’t you in school? Why are you crying?” she asked.

Ben answered truthfully, “I don’t go to school anymore. I’m sad because I wish to
play football in the city but it’s becoming clear to me that it is an impossible dream.”

Mrs Ho studied Ben carefully, taking in his ragged clothes and torn shoes, then said,
“I’m trying to sort out my thousands of books so that I can open a public library in the 15
village. Help me with this task and I’ll help you fulfil your dream.”

Ben agreed eagerly. Mrs Ho took him to a room full of books and told him to read
the first three chapters of each book so that he could put each book in the correct category.
After Mrs Ho left the room, Ben thought, “why read three chapters? Just the title would tell
me what sort of book it is.” So he began, thinking he was very hardworking indeed when at 20
times he read a page or two in addition to the title.

“When lunchtime arrived, Mrs Ho dismissed Ben’s proud declaration that he had
categorised fifty books. With fury in her voice, she said, “These aren’t right!” Castles of
Europe is not a history book! It’s a travel book!”

4
Lesson from Ms Mandy’s Comprehension Tuition Program Extracted from 2016 PSLE English Paper

Ben realised there was no short cut to be had and started reading three chapters 25
of each book as instructed. Many times, he became interested in what he was reading and
went on to read the whole book. But the job was very time-consuming and whenever he
gazed round at the unfinished work, he would feel resentful towards Mrs Ho. It took him
five long years to complete the task. The day he left for the city, he said goodbye to Mrs Ho
at her public library with great bitterness in his heart. 30

When Ben arrived at the city, he discovered he could play football at the university
if he first sat for an entrance test. He passed the test and in the four years that followed,
enjoyed himself playing football while studying hard. On the day of his graduation, a
classmate marvelled, “Isn’t it amazing how a poor village boy like you managed to do so
well? What an extraordinary amount of luck you must have had!” 35

A professor who was standing nearby commented, “I remember we were very

impressed with your entrance test results. We’ve never had an applicant who could write
such logical and persuasive essays! Your village teacher must have been very good.”

Ben was taken aback. He has thought he owed his achievement purely to his own
hard work at university but now he realised how Mrs Ho had paved the way for his success. 40

The next day, he surprised Mrs Ho by appearing at her library. “Words cannot
express my gratitude,” he told her. “The only repayment I can think of is to help other
children just as you’ve helped me.”

Gesturing at the children clustered around the neat row of shelves, Mrs Ho replied
with a smile, “Don’t you know, you’ve already done so?” 45

5
Lesson from Ms Mandy’s Comprehension Tuition Program Extracted from 2016 PSLE English Paper

Answer Key

2016 PSLE English Comprehension

1 Ben’s parents could no longer afford to send him to the village school.

2 Ben was crying at the doorway of the house where Mrs Ho was staying in.

3 Mrs Ho learnt that Ben was poor.

False – Mrs Ho only saw Ben when she opened the door to go out. / The thunderstorm masked Ben’s
cries.

True – Mrs Ho cut him shirt when he stammered out an apology.

False – It was during lunchtime, not on the first morning.

5 dismissed, fury

Playing football in the city

Reading just the title of the book

The remaining books to sort out

3, 1, 2

Ben – His own hard work at the university

Ben’s classmate – An extraordinary amount of luck

6
Lesson from Ms Mandy’s Comprehension Tuition Program Extracted from 2016 PSLE English Paper

Ben’s professor – Ben’s village teacher was very good

9 grateful, surprised

10 Mrs Ho meant that Ben had already helped other children by giving them the opportunity to have a
public library in the village with neat rows of shelves.

Note: To register for Ms Mandy’s weekly Comprehension Class, whatsapp or call Teacher
Mandy at 93241362. P3, P4, P5 and PSLE Comprehension Classes are available. Whatsapp or just
call for Timings and Fees. The weekly Comprehension Classes use Comprehension Passages from
past year exam papers(extracted).

Note: Ms Mandy has taught more than 500 students and has more than 10 years of teaching
experience. Her specialisation is in PSLE English and Science. She provides feedback to the Parent
after every tuition class and works together with the Parent to monitor the progress of the Student.
She will also work on the strengths and weaknesses of each student, using study strategies to help
each student achieve their highest potential. By working closely with both Parents and Students, the
Students have proven to show improvement in their results in less than three months.