Republic of the Philippines

Department of Education

SUMMATIVE EXAMINATION IN ENGLISH 8

(8-Amaranth, Cyan & Velvet)

Test 1
Correct the following sentences by changing the order of the adjectives. Explain why
the order is incorrect.

1. I want to buy that ruby oval ring.

2. Chartres is a French beautiful city near Paris.
3. I’m going to feed the small pitiful cat.
4. They have a new blue charming letter box.
5. John wore a silk blue tie to the wedding.

Test 2
Fill in the table with the correct comparative and superlative adjectives.

Positive Comparative Superlative

Active
Old
Simple
Far
little

Test 3
Fill in the blanks with the appropriate adverb. Use the words in the box to fill in the
blanks.

Shabbily rarely slightly firmly

Surprisingly recently frantically when

1. _____________________, when I was in Bangkok on a business trip. I had a strange

experience. A frail-looking Thai girl, dressed 2. _______________ in a torn dress, came up
to me. Thinking that she was just another beggar, I took a coin from my pocket and
gave it to her. However, she took no interest in it. She placed her grubby hands 3.
______________ on my brief case. When I tried to remove her hand, she said something
4._____________ in Thai. I was 5. _______________ annoyed by her. She then pointed to a
street food vendor and urged me to buy her some food. I 6. ________________ pay attention
to street children but 10. ______________________ I found myself getting her some food.
 Test 4
Read the following paragraph to answer the next two questions (Questions 1&2).

Tailgating another vehicle is unsafe and illegal. Many rear-end collisions are caused by
drivers following too close to the vehicle in front of them. The rules state that a driver must
keep sufficient distance from the vehicle in front in order to stop safely and avoid a collision.
Drivers should allow a minimum two seconds’ gap between their vehicle and the one ahead.
At sixty kilometres an hour, this equates to thirty-three metres; at a hundred it equates to fifty-
five metres. More distance is needed to safely stop in rain or poor visibility.

Question 1

Tailgating another vehicle is unsafe because:

A: all rear end collisions are caused by drivers following too close to the vehicle in front.
B: it may not allow sufficient time and space to stop and avoid a collision.
C: it is against the road rules.
D: it is a reckless practice.
E: None of these.
Question 2

‘More distance is needed to safely stop in rain or poor visibility.’ We can infer
from this that:

A: people drive faster in rain and poor visibility.

B: the writer is merely calculating on the safe side.

C: braking is more hazardous in rain and poor visibility.

D: the road rules state that this must be so.

E: All of these.

Read the following paragraphs to answer the next two questions (Questions 3&4).

There is a place forty kilometres north-east of Portland, Victoria, which makes for an
unusual visit. It is Lake Condah. Here are to be found remains of aboriginal settlements: the
circular stone bases of several hundred huts, rock-lined water channels, and stone tools
chipped from rock not normally found in the area. One of the attractions of Lake Condah long
ago was its fish and the most startling evidence of aboriginal technology and engineering to be
found there are the systems built to trap fish.

Water courses had been constructed by redirecting streams, building stone sides and
even scraping out new channels. At strategic spots, they piled rocks across the water courses
to create weirs and build funnels to channel eels and fish into conical baskets. This is an eel-
fishing technique which has hardly changed to the present day. Beside some of the larger traps,
there are the outlines of rectangular, stone-lined ponds, probably to hold fish and keep them
fresh.
 On the bluffs overlooking the lake, stone circles are all that remain of ancient dwellings.
Not all of the stones were quarried locally. The huts vary in size, but all have gaps for doorways
located on the lee side, away from the prevailing wind. One theory is that the stone walls were
only waist to shoulder high, with the top roofed by branches and possibly packed with mud.

The site presents a picture of a semi-settled people quite different from the stereotype
of nomadic hunter-gatherers of the desert.

Question 3

The word ‘stereotype’ as used in the above passage means:

A: distant culture.

B: opposite picture.

C: electronic print version.

D: standard view.

E: None of these.

Question 4

Lake Condah is seen as unusual, mainly because:

A: it is so close to a main town.

B: there are remains of buildings still to be seen.

C: it reveals a society that was at least partly settled and had building and engineering skills.

D: there is evidence that some of the building stone was imported.

E: it shows the lake dwellers were totally reliant on fish for a food source.

Question 5

The sentence below does not have any punctuation. Choose the option with the

correct punctuation.

one of these days said mary youll get into trouble

A: One of these days, said Mary, you’ll get into trouble.

B: “One of these days”, said Mary “you’ll get into trouble”

C: “One of these days”, said Mary. “You’ll get into trouble.”

D: “One of these days”, said Mary, “you’ll get into trouble.”

E: “One of these days”, said Mary, “youll get into trouble.”

 Question 6

What does this sentence suggest?

A bird in the hand is worth two in the bush.

A: Your own possessions are always worth more to you.

B: Birds are hard to catch, so hang on to one if you catch it.

C: To have something is better than having nothing at all.

D: A trained bird is twice the value of an untrained one.

E: There is no point in being envious.

Read the following paragraphs to answer the next four questions (Questions 7 - 9).

Between us there was, as I have already said somewhere, the bond of the sea. Besides holding
our hearts together through long periods of separation, it had the effect of making us tolerant
of each other's yarns-and even convictions. The Lawyer-the best of old fellows-had, because of
his many years and many virtues, the only cushion on deck, and was lying on the only rug. The
Accountant had brought out already a box of dominoes, and was toying architecturally with
the bones. Marlow sat cross-legged right aft, leaning against the mizzen-mast. He had sunken
cheeks, a yellow complexion, a straight back, an ascetic aspect, and, with his arms dropped,
the palms of hands outwards, resembled an idol. The Director, satisfied the anchor had good
hold, made his way aft and sat down amongst us. We exchanged a few words lazily.
Afterwards there was silence on board the yacht. For some reason or other we did not begin
that game of dominoes. We felt meditative, and fit for nothing but placid staring. The day was
ending in a serenity of still and exquisite brilliance. The water shone pacifically; the sky,
without a speck, was a benign immensity of unstained light; the very mist on the Essex
marshes was like a gauzy and radiant fabric, hung from the wooded rises inland, and draping
the low shores in diaphanous folds. Only the gloom to the west, brooding over the upper
reaches, became more sombre every minute, as if angered by the approach of the sun.
And at last, in its curved and imperceptible fall, the sun sank low, and from glowing white
changed to a dull red without rays and without heat, as if about to go out suddenly, stricken
to death by the touch of that gloom brooding over a crowd of men.
From ‘The Heart of Darkness’, by Joseph Conrad.

Question 7

The narrator of this passage is telling his story from:

A: a wharf.

B: the deck of a yacht.

C: a high vantage point.

D: the edge of the Essex marshes.

E: None of the above.

 Question 8
The mood of the men in this passage is best described as:
A: surly.

B: resigned.

C: contemplative.

D: restless.

E: ecstatic.

Question 9

From the passage, it is clear that the men:

A: do not get along.

B: show a quiet understanding.

C: cannot be bothered with one another.

D: have just had a quarrel.

E: are worn out.

Question 10

The word ‘diaphanous’, used to describe the mist, means:

A: almost transparent.

B: fragile.

C: suffocating.

D: silent

E: none of the above

Prepared by:

Vincent S. Niez
English 8 Teacher

Noted:

George B. Basas
School Head

Goodluck! 😊
 Background on Essay-Translation Approach

This essay translation approach is the pre-scientific stage of language testing. This
approach is characterized by the view that language learning is chiefly concerned with the
systematic acquisition of a set of habits. It draws on the work of structural linguistics, in
particular the importance of contrastive analysis and the need to identify and measure the
learner’s mastery of the specific elements of the target language; phonology, vocabulary and
grammar. These skills of listening, speaking, reading and writing are also separated from one
another as much as possible because it is considered essential to test one thing at a time.

Test as Language Teaching Instructional Material

An instructional material is any item or material that helps the teacher to present skills
and knowledge clearly to a learner. The learner in turn, through instructional materials
perceives instruction better. Thus, these materials are all types of resources that are used to
record, store, preserve, transmit or retrieve information for learning and teaching. A lot of
phrases stand for instructional materials. These are literacy materials, instructional media,
learning resources, instructional tools and so on. These are all terminologies that refer to
materials which enable learners to learn how to read and write and in turn enable a teacher to
teach effectively. UNECSO (1989) defines instructional materials as materials and devices
which present a complete body of information and largely self-supporting rather than
supplementary in the teaching and learning process. For the purpose of this study, instructional
materials and instructional media are used interchangeably.

Akude (2004:49) classifies instructional materials into four major groups, namely
visual materials consisting of projected and non-projected materials, audio materials, audio
visual materials and the individualized learning and interactive materials. According to Akude
(2004:49) visual materials appeal to the sense of sight and may be projected or non-projected.
The projected ones are overhead projections transparencies, slide projector and slides, filmstrip
projector and filmstrips and the opaque projector.

This developed test has focus on the characteristics and attributes of the essay-
translation approach that tackled more on grammar and its deeper content. This was made after
the teacher crafted the set of tests to be given to the students as they finished studying the first
half of their self-learning modules. As defined, the background and description of this approach
could be used in any level and range of examinees and the model of tester can easily be
modified based on the essentials of the tests despite the fact that it has a heavy literary and
cultural bias. It is still helpful as it employs teaching strategies and variations in the success of
essay writing, translation and grammar analysis.

The essay-translation approach insists more on accuracy. Students has the guarantee to
uphold high translation standards while conducting their learning activities. This has also
purpose on helping learners recognize and learn some of their non-native languages and
literatures. According to Henkil (2011), it is also their way to enhance the grammatical
understanding of local languages among learners.

Generally, grammar translation focuses on writing and reading and not on speaking or
listening. This teaching methodology involves the direct translation of words or vocabularies
using certain texts, words or dictionaries (Doughty & Long, 2003. In having this method, most
of the time is devoted to translation of words and sentences.