Section A: Reading

Spend 20 minutes on this section

Read the text and then answer the questions.

Saladin

Saladin was a great Muslim leader who retook the Holy Land and who, despite his fearsome
reputation, treated his enemies with respect. When he heard that his enemy, King Richard the
Lionheart had a fever, he sent him peaches, pears and ice from the top of the Mount Herman,
100 miles (160 km) away.

Saladin, which is in Arabic means ‘righteousness of faith’, was born in Mesopotamia (modern-
day Iraq) in 1138. As a young man, he helped his uncle, a general for the Sultan of Syria, win a
great victory against the Crusaders. His uncle became ruler of Egypt and, when he died,
Saladin took power for himself.

Jerusalem was a very important city to Jews, Christians and Muslims. For centuries, its Arab
rulers had allowed Christian and Jewish pilgrims into the city. However, by 1095, the Muslim
rulers of Jerusalem were making travel to the city more difficult for pilgrims. The Crusaders were
started by the Christians to retake Jerusalem.

In 1097, before Saladin was born, the Crusaders had captured Jerusalem, killing many of its
inhabitants, and taken control of the Holy Land. Saladin was determined to retake it for Muslims,
and he declared a holy war against the Crusader. In 1187, with a huge army, Saladin crushed
his enemies at the Battle of Hattin, and the Crusader King of Jerusalem, Guy of Lusignan, was
forced to surrender. Saladin retook Jerusalem, but unlike the Crusaders, he allowed its
inhabitants to leave the city peacefully.

In 1189, England’s king, Richard the Lionheart, led the Third Crusade. They retook the city of
Acre, but the siege took two years, and the other kings returned home. Richard couldn’t beat
Saladin alone, so they made peace. Christians were allowed to visit Jerusalem again, but their
rule of the Holy Land had ended for good.
Taken from: 100 people who made history

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Give evidence from the extract to support your answer.
1. Who was Saladin?

………..………………………………………………...………………………………………….. [1]

2. When was Saladin born?

………..……………………………………………...…………………………………………….. [1]

3. Tick () two boxes which are true from the text.

Saladin’s uncle was a general for Sultan of Egypt.

Saladin was a kind-hearted person.

King Richard the Lionheart declared a Holy War against Muslims.

Jerusalem was a very important city for Muslims only.

Saladin allowed Jewish and Christians to leave the city unharmed.

4. In the text Saladin, paragraphs are used.

Draw link to each paragraph with its timeline described in the boxes.

Paragraph 2 A clash of religions

Paragraph 3 The young warrior

Paragraph 4 The crusaders strike back

Paragraph 5 Saladin’s revenge

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5. Which genre does the text Saladin belong to?

Tick () the best answer.

Adventure story

Biography

Autobiography

Fantasy story

6. Write two features of the genre that you chose in number 9.

………………………………………………………………………………………………..……

…………………………………………………………………………………………………..…

7. What is the purpose of writing Biography text?

………………………………………………………………………………………………….

Section B: Writing

Spend 25 minutes on this section

8. Write a biography of a famous person so the reader finds out where they live, how they

spend their day and anything special about the person.

Remember to:

 Include the main features of a biography

 Plan your information on a timeline

 Think about the facts you need to include

 Make it interesting

 Organise your information into paragraphs

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PLANNING

Spend up to five minutes making notes in the box to plan your biography.

Write your biography here.

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Section C: Grammar

Spend 15 minutes on this section

9. Read this sentence.

Saladin, who was born in 1136, was known as a generous ruler because he treated the

enemies respectfully.

Find a preposition and pronoun of the underlined words in the sentence.

Preposition …………………………………………….

Pronoun …………………………………………….

10. Complete the following passage with the correct preposition on the list.

at on in up in

Neil Armstrong was born ………. August 5 th, 1930 …………. Ohio. ……… the age of 6 he

went for his first plane ride. Along with Buzz Aldrin, he went ……… to the outer space and

set foot ……... the moon.

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