NPS International School

Name: ____________________ Subject: English (Language)

Date: __________ Grade: VI
-
Section A : Reading Comprehension (20 marks)
-
Read the following extract about a young Chinese girl living in American and developing
her skills at playing chess. Then, answer the questions that follows.

Rules of the Game

By Amy Tan

1 On a cold spring afternoon, while walking home from school, I detoured through
the playground at the end of our alley. I saw a group of old men, two seated across
a folding table playing a game of chess, others smoking pipes, eating peanuts and
watching. I ran home and grabbed Vincent’s chess set, which was bound in a
cardboard box with rubber bands. I also carefully selected two prized rolls of 5
sweets called Life Savers. I came back to the park and approached a man who was
observing the game.

2 ‘Want to play?’ I asked him. His face widened with surprise and he grinned as he
looked at the box under my arm. ‘Little sister, it’s been a long time since I play
with dolls,’ he said, smiling benevolently. I quickly put the box down next to him
on the bench and displayed my retort. 10

3 Lau Po, as he allowed me to call him, turned out to be a much better player than my
brothers. I lost many games and many Life Savers. But over the weeks, with each
diminishing roll of candies, I added new secrets. Lau Po gave me the names. The
Double Attack from the East and West Shores. Throwing Stones on the Drowning 15
Man. The Sudden Meeting of the Clan. The Surprise from the Sleeping Guard. The
Humble Servant Who Kills the King.

4 There were also the finer points of chess etiquette. Keep captured men in neat rows,
as well-tended prisoners. Never announce ‘Check’ with vanity, lest someone with
an unseen sword slit your throat. Never hurl pieces into the sandbox after you have
lost a game, because then you must find them again, by yourself, after apologising
to all around you. By the end of the summer, Lau Po had taught me all he knew, 20
and I had become a better chess player.

5 A small weekend crowd of Chinese people and tourists would gather as I played
and defeated my opponents one by one. My mother would join the crowds during
these outdoor exhibition games. She sat proudly on the bench, telling my admirers
with proper Chinese humility, ‘It’s luck’.

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6 A man who watched me play in the park suggested that my mother allow me to 25
play in local chess tournaments. My mother smiled graciously, an answer that
meant nothing. I desperately wanted to go, but bit back my tongue. I knew she
would not let me play among strangers. So as we walked home I said in a small
voice that I didn’t want to play in the local tournament. They would have
American rules. If I lost, I would bring shame on my family.
7 ‘It’s only shameful if you fall down when nobody pushed you,’ said my mother. 30
During my first tournament, my mother sat with me in the front row as I waited for
my turn. I frequently bounced my legs to unstick them from the cold metal seat of
the folding chair. When my name was called, I leapt up.

8 I turned to my opponent, a fifteen-year-old boy from Oakland. He looked at me,

wrinkling his nose. As I began to play, the boy disappeared, the colour ran out of 35
the room and I saw only my white pieces and his black ones waiting on the other
side. A light wind began blowing past my ears. It whispered secrets only I could
hear.

Adapted from Cambridge Checkpoint Page 113

1(a) ‘Little sister, it’s been a long time since I play with dolls’ [2m
]
Why did Lau Po respond to the little girl in this way?

1(b) Look at the phrase ‘smiling benevolently’ (Line 9). [1m

]
What does this suggest about Lau Po’s character? Provide an adjective.

1(c) Before Lau Po, who did Meimei play chess with? [1m
]
1(di What do you think Meimei’s reason was for taking the Life Savers with her? [1m
]
)
1(dii Why do you think she has lost so many of them? [1m
]
)
1(e) Explain using your own words the meaning of ‘the finer points of chess [2m
]
etiquette’.

1(f) Find a word from paragraph 4 that means the same as the words below: [4m
]

(i) properly looked after:

(ii) excessive pride in an achievement:

(iii) not noticed:

(iv) throw:

1(g) Why does Meimei think her mother will not allow her to play in the chess [1m]

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tournament?

1(h) Explain fully how Meimei managed to get her mother to approve of her playing in [2m
]
local chess tournament?

1(i) From Paragraph 7, give a quote that tells us Meimei was nervous. [1m
]
1(j) Look at the sentence ‘He looked at me, wrinkling his nose.’ (lines 34). [1m
]
What does it suggest about the boy’s opinion of Meimei?

1(k) Look at the sentence from paragraph 8. [2m

]
‘As I began to play, the boy disappeared, the colour ran out of the room and I saw
only my white pieces and his black ones waiting on the other side.’

What does this tell you about Meimei’s state of mind when she is playing chess?

1 (l) Look at the sentences ‘A light wind began blowing past my ears. It whispered [1m]
secrets only I could hear.’ (Lines 36)

What technique is the underlined phrase an example of?

Section B: Writing (8 marks)

2) Write a news report of a road accident.

  
Write about 100 to 150 words.

Up to 5 marks are available for content and up to 3 marks for language, tone, style and
organisation.

Section C: Grammar (10 marks)

3(a) Provide the correct form of the verb given in brackets. Verb must be either [4
in the simple present tense or present continuous tense. marks]

Meimei is new to chess and usually (i)______ (play) with her brothers.
However, she (ii)______ (be) determined to find a teacher who can guide
her about the finer points of the game. While (iii)______ (walk) through
the park, she spots a crowd around two old men (iv)______ (play) chess.
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Immediately, she pushes herself into the crowd for a closer look.

3(b) Pick out two verbs from the sentence given below. [2
marks]
I ran home and grabbed Vincent’s chess set, which was bound in a
cardboard box with rubber bands

3(c) There is one punctuation mistake in each sentence. Correct and rewrite [2
the sentences. marks]

(i) I will beat you, Meimei thought as she glared at her opponent.
(ii) Her mother told everyone its luck that made Meimei a champion.

3(d) Join the sentences below with a suitable connective. Rewrite the sentence. [1 mark]

Meimei pleaded for the chance to compete. Nothing would change her
mother’s mind.

3(e) Provide the correct form of the word given in brackets. The adjective must [1 mark]
be either in superlative or comparative form.

Lau po is the ______________ (good) chess player amongst the old men
at the park.