Republic of the Philippines

DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION
National Capital Region
SCHOOLS DIVISION OFFICE, QUEZON
CITY
www.depedqc.ph
THIRD PERIODIC TEST IN ENGLISH – GRADE 9
S.Y. 2019 – 2020

GENERAL DIRECTIONS: Read each item carefully and follow the directions as indicated. Write
the letter of the correct answer on your answer sheet.

PART I. READING COMPREHENSION

A. Read the argumentative text carefully then answer the questions that follow.

FOR CONVERSATION, PRESS # 1 by Michael Alvear (Readers Digest,

pp. 143-145, July 2000)

A funny thing happened in the way communication revolution: we stopped talking to one
another.
I was walking in the park with a friend recently, and his cell phone rang, interrupting our
conversation. There we were, walking and talking on a beautiful sunny day and – poof! --- I
became invisible, absent from the conversation because of a gadget designed to make
communication easier.
The park was filled with people talking on their cellular phones. They were passing other
people without looking at them, saying hello, noticing their babies or stopping to pet their puppies.
Evidently, the untethered electronic voice is preferable to human contact.
The telephone used to connect you to the absent. Now it makes people sitting next to you
feel absent.
Why is that the more connected we get, the more disconnected I feel? Every advance in
communications technology is a setback to the intimacy of human interaction. With e-mail and
instant messaging over the Internet, we can now communicate without seeing or talking to one
another. In making deposit at the bank, you can just insert your card into the ATM. With the voice
mail, you can conduct entire conversations without ever reaching anyone. If my mom has a
question, I just leave the answer on her machine.
As almost every conceivable contact between human beings get automated, the alienation
index goes up.
I am no Luddite. I own a cell phone, an ATM card, a voice-mail system, and an e-mail
account. Giving them up isn’t an option ---they’re great for what they are intended to do. It’s their
unintended consequences that make me cringe.
So I’ve put myself on technology restriction: no instant messaging with people who live
near me, no cell-phoning in the presence of friends, no letting the voice mail pick up when I’m
home.

1. The author’s purpose in writing the article is to make us realize that _______.
A. communications technology is interfering with human contact
B. the advances in communications technology are unnecessary
C. people are communication less than they did in the past
D. people are forgetting how to communicate with others
2. What does the question “Why is it that the more connected we get, the more disconnected
I feel?” convey?
A. It invites the readers to disagree with the author.
B. It reveals the author’s confusion about technology.
C. It highlights the author’s examples and arguments.
D. I challenges the reader to find answers to problems.
3. The author’s tone throughout the selection is _____.
A. amusement B. criticism C. hostility D. indifference
4. The third and fourth paragraph gives emphasis on how a cell phone _______.
A. efficiently works C. provides convenience
B. isolates people D. threatens safety

5. When the author says he was NO LUDDITE, he means _______.

A. He has no cell phone to use.
 B. He plans to give up all his gadgets.
C. He can’t live without his cell phone.
D. He supports the use of new technology.
6. The idea that bothers the author most about the effect of communications technology on
his life is ______.
A. limited communication with strangers
B. deviation from meaningful interaction
C. extreme preference for cell phones
D. lack of social formula
7. What solution did the author resort to do for himself to solve the problem in
communication technology?
A. doing away with cell phone use
B. talking to strangers more often
C. setting a limit in the use of technology
D. sending messages only to important people in his life

C. Study the poster and answer the questions correctly.

8. The poster lets us understand that _________________.

A. we can find experts all around the globe
B. we can have access to the websites instantly
C. we might not need a teacher to acquire learning
D. we can maximize the use of technology in learning
9. When used, this 21ST Century Mobile Social Learning will benefit the________.
A. parents C. teachers
B. students D. all of the above
10. What possible outcome can this 21st Century Social Mobile Learning yield?
A. a productive society C. a goal-oriented school
B. a more responsible citizenry D. a more equipped group of students

PART II. LITERATURE

A. Read the following synopsis of Hamlet, one among Shakespeare’s plays. Answer the
questions that follow.

HAMLET by William Shakespeare

Hamlet, the prince of Denmark, grieves over the death of his father, and feels bad about
the marriage of his mother to his uncle, Claudius. The ghost demands that Hamlet takes revenge
on the new king.
The prince broods about whether he should believe the ghost or not. At times, he criticizes
himself for not taking action against Claudius. In his anxiety, he also considers the dangers and
rewards of suicide. Hamlet gets the chance to test his uncle. He decides to have a band of
traveling actors perform something like the murder of his father to see if Claudius will show any
guilt. Claudius violently reacts to the play and this betrays his guilt to the mind of Hamlet. Hamlet
rejects a chance to kill Claudius while he is on his knees in prayer.
The king’s adviser, Polonius, decides to eavesdrop on Hamlet while the prince is talking to
his mother in her sitting room. He hides behind a curtain, but Hamlet senses the presence of an
intruder. The prince stabs Polonius through the curtain and kills him.
For killing Polonius, Hamlet is exiled to England. Claudius also sends secret orders to
execute Hamlet as soon as he arrives in England. But Hamlet intercepts the orders and returns to
Denmark. He arrives in time to see the burial of Ophelia, Polonius’ daughter whom Hamlet has
loved. Ophelia has gone insane following the death of her father.
Laertes, Ophelia’s brother puts the blame on Hamlet for the deaths of his father and sister.
He connives with Claudius to kill Hamlet with a poisoned sword in a fencing match. Laertes
wounds Hamlet during the duel and, in turn, is wounded himself by the poisoned weapon. While
watching the match, Hamlet’s mother accidentally drinks from a cup of poisoned wine Claudius
has prepared for Hamlet. Although severely injured, Hamlet kills Claudius. At the end, Hamlet, his
mother, Claudius and Laertes all lie dead.

11. How is the setting described in the synopsis?

A. chaotic B. exciting C. gay D. gloomy
12. What dominant feeling is portrayed by majority of the characters?
A. anxiety B. envy C. love D. revenge
13. Which word accurately describes the tone in the following line, “The prince broods about
whether he should believe the ghost or not”?
A. anxious B. excited C. foolish D. depressing
14. What misfortune befell all the characters in the story?
A. They all died.
B. They all became enemies.
C. They did not trust one another.
D. They were blinded by their own motives.
15. What is the most suspenseful part of the story?
A. Hamlet’s exile C. the death of Polonius
B. the fencing match D. the ghost talking to Hamlet
16. What does the ghost represent in our life?
A. friend B. foe C. lover D. subconscious
17. What kind of play is Hamlet?
A. comedy B. farce C. melodrama D. tragedy
18. Which word accurately describes the Laertes’ tone when he blames Hamlet for the death
of his father and sister?
A. humorous B. irritated C. jolly D. scornful
19. The writer reflects a religious view by stating that__________.
A. Ophelia has gone insane
B. The ghost talks to Hamlet
C. Claudius wants to kill Hamlet
D. Claudius was on his knees praying

D. Match each of the quoted lines from Romeo and Juliet with the corresponding literary device
from the word pool below.

A. APOSTROPHE B. HYPERBOLE C. METAPHOR

D. PERSONIFICATION E. UNDERSTATEMENT

20. “Come, night; come, Romeo; come, thou day in night.”

21. “I am no pilot; yet, wert thou as far/ As that vast shore wash’d with the fartherst sea,/ I
would adventure for such merchandise.”
22. “Every cat and dog/ And little mouse, every unworthy thing, Live here in heaven and may
look upon her.”
23. But, soft! what light through yonder window breaks? It is the east, and Juliet is the sun.”
24. Mercutio tells Romeo that his wound is “a scratch, a scratch”.
 A. FORESHADOWING B. OXYMORON C. PARADOX
D. SIMILE E. REPETITION F. RHYME

25. Parting is such a sweet sorrow

26. Oh loving hate
27. Where art thou, Romeo?
28. “And to ‘thy go like lightning”
29. Romeo: By some vile forfeit of the untimely death

E. Read the following lines taken from Romeo and Juliet. Identify the Sensory Images used.

A. Auditory Image B. Gustatory Image C. Olfactory Image D. Tactile Image

E. Visual Image

30. Take thou this vial, being then in bed, and this distilling liquor drink thou off…

31. The second cock hath crowed, the curfew bell hath rung, ‘tis three o’clock.

32. See how she leans her cheeks upon her hand! O that I were a glove upon that hand, that
I might touch that cheek!

33. This bud of love, by summer’s ripening breath, may prove a beauteous flower, when next
we meet.

34. What’s in a name? That which we call a rose, by any other name would smell as sweet.

PART III. GRAMMAR

A. GERUNDS
Choose the appropriate gerund or gerund phrase to complete each sentence.
35________ a stereo is a specialist’s job.
A. Assembling B. Having assembled C. Being assembled

36. The old man enjoys ____________.

A. having been strolled B. being strolled C. strolling

37. Mary didn’t like _______.

A. being teased B. having teased C. having been teased
B.
38. Some people travel the world in the hope of ________ excitement.
A. finding B. being found C. having found

39. He enjoys _______ outdoors.

A. sleeping B. being slept C. having slept

40. He recalls _______ in a violent storm.

A. having been caught B. having caught C. Catching

41. ___________ a wide choice of entertainment is the good fortune of urban-based

Filipinos.
A. Having been B. Having had C. Having

42. I congratulated my classmates for ___________ the first place in the Quiz Bee.
A. having been won B. having won C. being won

B. INFINITIVES
Choose the appropriate gerund or gerund phrase to complete each sentence.

43. . Have you read of Frederick II of Germany who wanted _________ Jerusalem in 1229.
A. to capture B. to be captured C. to have captured

44. He launched the Crusades ___________ Christianity’s holy places in Jerusalem from the
control of the Moslems.
A. to recapture B. to be recaptured C. to have been recaptured

45. Jerusalem was said _________ by the Saracens in 1244.

 A. to take B. to be taken C. to have been taken

46. Thousands of young men were thought ________ the Crusades.

A. to join B. to be joined C. to have joined

47. Most Crusaders’ fondest dream was _____________ from eternal damnation.
A. to save B. to be saved C. to have saved

48. Every knight wanted to ___________ part of.

A. to be B. to had been C. to have been

49. Saladin, the Moslem ruler of Jerusalem, was a man ______________.

A. to respect B. to be respected C. to have respected.

50. mainly ____________ men to enlist in the Crusades.

A. to exhort B. to be exhorted C. to have exhorted