Name: ___________________________

High School Entrance Exam – English Study Pack #1

INSTRUCTIONS

This 60-minute exam will assess Grade 8 English literacy skills in reading and writing. The exam is based on a
Paper 1 Core IGCSE First Language English (0500) exam and is modified to fit the time frame and the grade
level.

The paper will be marked out of 50 points.

● 25 pts for the Reading Comprehension questions (Section 1)
● 25 pts for the Transformation of Genre (Writing) (Section 2)

SECTION 1:
Candidates will read a text and then will be asked to define vocabulary words and, using their own words where
directed, create their own sentences, displaying correct grammar, punctuation,and understanding of what they
have read. Students will also be asked short-answer questions, displaying their ability to use complete
sentences properly and demonstrating their understanding of the passage.

SECTION 2:
The “Transformation of Genre” composition is an exercise in which students are asked to compose a letter,
interview, article, speech, or diary entry based on the same reading passage. The writing should answer the
writing prompt; express meaning clearly in a style that is readable, precise, and with an organized form using
paragraphs; and follow correct conventions of grammar.
● Meaning is expressed clearly through proper word choice and logical development of your answer
● Style is readable and precise when your writing expressed your own unique voice, with language
suitable to the task
● Conventions include proper spelling, grammar, and punctuation.

Preparing for the exam: To prepare for this entrance exam, continue to read books written in English, pay
attention to your teachers and lessons, and practice writing different types (speeches, journals, letters, articles,
etc.), using an organizational plan, using clear handwriting, and checking your work for errors.

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Name: ___________________________

PRACTICE #1:

Passage A: The mountain lake

In this passage, the writer describes a remote mountain lake in Ireland and tells what happened on a family trip to fish for
brown trout.

There is a lake, halfway up a mountain, where my family and I spend a day or two fishing each year. The climb, over
waterlogged ground, drains the energy from our legs and makes us pause every now and then to catch our breath. During
these short breaks we turn our backs on the mountain, and face, instead, the open country beneath us. There is plenty to see.
The flat green country is divided by the River Shannon. There are lakes everywhere. Some of the larger ones we can name,
but the small ones are too many to count; each one a jewel nestled into a fold in the velvet landscape. All around us the air
carries the sound of the tiny streams which gather the water from the mountain and begin to steer it, well beyond our vision,
towards the ocean.

The mountain lake is not easy to find. It seems unusual to locate a lake by climbing upward and, in many ways, we were
lucky to find it at all on our first rip. It is very small and seemingly invisible until you arrive at a ridge and discover it, quite
suddenly, at your feet. Sometimes it is not there at all. The dark clouds that graze the mountaintops here may decide to throw
a protective fog around it, and steal it back. On such days we are forced to turn away and leave the local fish, the brown trout,
to cruise the dark waters undisturbed.

This isolated lake is fed only by a stream which gathers rainfall from the mountain ridge above. How did the trout get here?
They are not big fish: the heaviest we have caught is probably just under half a kilo. With their black backs, copper sides and
two rows of red spots, they are all very similar in appearance. It seems to me that their strict conformity to a shared dress
code might say something about their history. Scientists suggest that fewer physical differences are to be expected in a small
population long isolated from others. In my imagination they are the descendants of ancestors which colonized these waters
in prehistoric times; ancestors which swam through channels long since vanished in a landscape of ice and glaciers and a
wilderness unseen by human eyes.

I had taken my son, Leo, on a short fishing trip and had decided to go to the mountain lake as its eager fish might offer him
the greatest hope of an early catch. Here the brown trout always rise freely, as though to reward us for the effort we have
made to reach them. Would these bold trout oblige us by rising to the water’s surface as we had hoped? I need not have
worried. Sure enough, within ten minutes or so of our arrival, a swirl distorted the mirror of the mountain lake’s surface. A
few moments later, we were admiring the varnished scales of Leo’s first trout before he gently lowered it into the lake once
more and let the black water reclaim it.

To celebrate Leo’s first trout, I painted a watercolour picture of it. It is framed now and hangs on his bedroom wall. It is not
a good painting. While its proportions are approximately correct and its colours resemble the original, I could no more capture
its beauty using paints than I now can, using words. If you wish to see for yourself how beautiful these trout really are, you
must go there – and hope that, for a few hours at least, the clouds will surrender the mountain lake to you.

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Name: ___________________________

SECTION 1: READING COMPREHENSION

Question 1

(a) Re-read the passage. Using your own words, explain what the italicized word means in the context of the sentence
or phrase

(i) In paragraph 2 ‘…..the brown trout, to cruise the dark waters undisturbed.’

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(ii) In paragraph 3 ‘fewer differences….a small population long isolated from others.’

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(iii) In paragraph 4‘…..the brown trout always rise freely, as though to reward us for the effort…’

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(b) Use these words in your own sentence.

cruise:
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isolated:
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freely:
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Name: ___________________________

Question 2

(a) State three features of the walk which made it difficult for the narrator to reach the mountain lake (paragraph 1,
‘There is a lake…..’).

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(b) Using your own words, explain what the narrator can see as he faces the open country (paragraph 1, ‘There is a
lake…….’)

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(c) Which four-word phrase in paragraph 1 suggests that the water in the tiny stream cannot be seen by the narrator
(paragraph 1, ‘There is a lake …’)

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(d) Re-read paragraph 2. Using your own words, give three reasons why the narrator says the mountain lake is difficult
to find (paragraph 2, ‘The mountain lake is not easy to find…’)

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Name: ___________________________

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(e) Re-read paragraph 5. ‘To celebrate Leo’s first trout…’

Using your own words, explain what the narrator says about his experience of painting the trout.

___________________________________________________________________________________________

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TOTAL: /25

*15 points = minimum passing grade

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Name: ___________________________

SECTION 2: WRITING (TRANSFORMATION OF GENRE)

Imagine that you are Leo, the narrator’s son in Passage A. You have decided to write a journal entry, describing the fishing
trip to the mountain lake with your father.

Write your journal entry.

In your journal entry you should:

● describe the sights and sounds of the mountain and lake

● describe how you felt when you caught your first trout

Base your journal entry on what you have read in Passage A, but do not copy from it. Be careful to use your own words.
Address each of the two bullet points.

Begin your journal entry: ‘I didn’t know what to expect when I first saw the mountain lake….’

Write about 150-250 words.

Up to 15 marks are available for the content of your answer, and up to 10 marks for the quality of your writing.

USE THIS SPACE FOR PLANNING - Outlines and Plans are NOT assessed:

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Name: ___________________________

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Name: ___________________________

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 Name: ___________________________

PRACTICE #2:

Project Mammoth

This text is an article about a new scientific project.

Of all the incredible possibilities presented by controversial new scientific techniques, perhaps the most intriguing
are efforts to bring animals back from extinction. Candidates for ‘de-extinction’, as the process is known, include
species like the passenger pigeon (the last one died in captivity in 1914) and the dodo bird (last seen in 1662).
These projects are not just distant dreams.
Scientists working on such projects estimate that a variation of the first new woolly mammoth (which disappeared
some 4 000 years ago) may soon be born. They hope these animals will play a role in slowing or reversing the
effects of climate change.
The basic idea behind how it would work is that scientists would first retrieve DNA from the remains of a woolly
mammoth that had been preserved for centuries in the frozen tundra1 and use that to alter the DNA of modern
Asian elephants. According to scientists, the two species are so closely related that if mammoths were alive today
they could successfully breed with elephants. Tweaking the Asian elephants’ DNA to more closely resemble that
of their ancient relatives could mean elephants might be able to give birth to a furrier, fattier hybrid.
Scientists say this work is decidedly not about creating Mammoth Park – the creature would not be a perfect copy
of a mammoth anyway. The hope is that these mammoth-like Asian elephants will be more resistant to cold and
will repopulate the tundra and coniferous forest in Eurasia and North America. Scientists feel that this will help to
protect endangered Asian elephants and revive an ancient grassland in the tundra, which could prevent the melting
of Siberia’s permafrost.
The project is not without its critics who claim the idea is no more than a gimmick, seducing scientists into thinking
they are saving the world and distracting us from guaranteeing our planet’s biodiversity for future generations with
promises of being able to fix mistakes later.
Scientists defending the idea explain, ‘We’re just bringing DNA back from the past to improve modern survival
and diversity. The Asian elephant faces threats to its existence – it’s going extinct, just like the mammoth did, and
mainly because of humans. Bits of mammoth DNA can give them a better chance of survival.’
1 tundra: a vast treeless plain in the Arctic where the subsoil is permanently frozen

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Name: ___________________________

Question 1
(a) Explain the italicized word or phrase using your own words:

(i)’…perhaps the most intriguing are efforts to bring animals back from extinction.’ (paragraph 1)

__________________________________________________________________________________________[2]

(ii) ‘Tweaking the Asian elephants DNA to more closely resemble…’ (paragraph 4)

__________________________________________________________________________________________[2]

(iii) ‘…and revive an ancient grassland in the tundra…’ (paragraph 5)

__________________________________________________________________________________________[2]

(b) Using your own words, use these words in a sentence – you may change the endings

intriguing/most intriguing

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_________________________________________________________________________________________[2]

tweaking

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revive

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 Name: ___________________________

Question 2
(a) Give two examples of extinct species, other than the mammoth, according to the text.

● _______________________________________________________________________________________

● _______________________________________________________________________________________ [2]

(b) Re-read paragraph 3, (‘Scientists working on such projects … climate change.’).

Give two reasons why scientists might be excited by the possible birth of a woolly mammoth.

● _______________________________________________________________________________________

● _______________________________________________________________________________________ [2]

(c) Re-read paragraphs 4 and 5, (‘The basic idea… Siberia’s permafrost.’)

Identify two main tasks that scientists will need to complete in order to breed the hybrid.

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(d) Re-read paragraphs 4 and 5, (‘The basic idea… Siberia’s permafrost.’)

Explain in your own words why Asian elephants were chosen for the Project Mammoth.

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Name: ___________________________

(d) Re-read paragraphs 6 and 7, (‘The project is not without ... chance of survival.’).
Using your own words explain why some people disagree with Project Mammoth.
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TOTAL: /25

*15 points = minimum passing grade

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Name: ___________________________

SECTION 2: WRITING (TRANSFORMATION OF GENRE)

You are one of the scientists involved in ‘Project Mammoth’. You have been invited to give a speech to a high
school about your project. Make sure you include the following points in your speech.
● The reason why ‘de-extinction’ is so important
● The possibilities this project creates for the environment and for other extinct or near extinct species

Write the words of your speech.

Base your speech on the facts given in the text but be careful to use your own words. Address both bullet points.
Begin your speech with: “Dear Students, I am so happy to be here today to tell you about our exciting new
project…”
Write about 150-250 words.
Up to 15 marks are available for the content of your answer and up to 10 marks for the quality of your writing.

USE THIS SPACE FOR PLANNING - Outlines and Plans are NOT assessed:

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Name: ___________________________

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Name: ___________________________

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Name: ___________________________

READING: 15 marks
The response reveals a thorough evaluation and analysis of the text.
13-15 • Developed ideas are sustained and well related to the text.
• A wide range of ideas is applied.
• There is supporting detail throughout, which is well integrated into the response, contributing to a strong sense of purpose
and approach.
• All three bullets are well covered.
• A consistent and convincing voice is used.

• The response demonstrates a competent reading of the text with some evidence of basic evaluation or analysis.
10-12 • A good range of ideas is evident.
• Some ideas are developed but the ability to sustain them may not be consistent.
• There is frequent, helpful supporting detail, contributing to a clear sense of purpose.
• All three bullets are covered.
• An appropriate voice is used.

• The text has been read reasonably well.

7-9 • A range of straightforward ideas is offered.
• Opportunities for development are rarely taken.
• Supporting detail is present but there may be some mechanical use of the text.
• There is uneven focus on the bullets.
• The voice is plain.

There is some evidence of general understanding of the main ideas, although the response may be thin or in places lack focus
4-6 on the text or the question.
• Some brief, straightforward reference to the text is made.
• There may be some reliance on lifting from the text.
• One of the bullets may not be addressed.
• The voice might be inappropriate.

WRITING: 10 marks

• Effective register for audience and purpose.

9-10 • The language of the response sounds convincing and consistently appropriate.
• Ideas are firmly expressed in a wide range of effective and/or interesting language.
• Structure and sequence are sound throughout.
• Spelling, punctuation and grammar almost always accurate.

• Some awareness of an appropriate register for audience and purpose.

7-8 • Language is mostly fluent and there is clarity of expression.
• There is a sufficient range of vocabulary to express ideas with subtlety and precision.
• The response is mainly well structured and well sequenced.
• Spelling, punctuation and grammar generally accurate.

• Language is clear but comparatively plain and/or factual, expressing little opinion.
5-6 • Ideas are rarely extended, but explanations are adequate.
• Some sections are quite well sequenced but there may be flaws in structure.
• Minor, but more frequent, errors of spelling, punctuation and grammar.

• There may be some awkwardness of expression and some inconsistency of style.

3-4 • Language is too limited to express shades of meaning.
• There is structural weakness and there may be some copying from the text.
• Frequent errors of spelling, punctuation and grammar.

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