CAMBRIDGE LOWER SECONDARY ENGLISH 8: MID-POINT TEST

Name Date

Mid-point test
Part 1: Non-fiction
Section A: Reading
Spend around 20 minutes on this section.
Read the text below (an extract from an online article), then answer questions 1–6.

Why you should cook with your kids!

How often do your kids help you cook? If it were up to me, every family would
schedule time to cook together. When my kids were very young, I'd involve them by
asking them to pass ingredients. Our kitchen then had a play area and there was
always an open invitation for them to hang out with me in the kitchen. As they got a
5 little older, they were cracking eggs and decorating cupcakes and before I knew
it my kids were competing with each other to see who could make the best salad
and dressing.
This has always been an important family value for me. It wasn’t only about
participating in preparing meals together as a family, it was about them becoming
10 familiar with what was safe to eat and what was not. I wanted them to be
comfortable and knowledgeable in the kitchen. Families who cook together and eat
together spend quality time together.
Cooking is a survival skill. Children who know their way around a kitchen know how
to fend for themselves. Skills such as working as a team, following instructions and
15 organisation are all important aspects of cooking. There is a natural curiosity and
creativity in kids that lends itself perfectly in the kitchen. Experimenting in the
kitchen can be fun, especially if you let them make a mess. Plan, prepare and let them
be creative. They will be honing very important life skills that can transfer over to
other areas of their lives.
20 Set them up for a healthier future in terms of how they will eat when they're on their
own. The sense of accomplishment in preparing a meal is rewarding. To start with
nothing and then have a meal to put on the table that looks, smells and tastes
delicious is a big accomplishment for anyone. Be proud of them and encourage them.
Their self-esteem will rise, and they will continue to want to cook.

Glossary
honing: working to perfect something

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 CAMBRIDGE LOWER SECONDARY ENGLISH 8: MID-POINT TEST

1 Look at the headline. Who is this article aimed at?

[1]

2 Identify a structural technique used in the first two lines and explain why it is effective.

Structural technique:

Effect:

[2]

3 Explain, using your own words, what ‘open invitation’ means in line 4.

[1]

4 What is the main purpose of paragraph 2 (lines 8–12)?

Tick () one box.

to show that cooking encourages children to eat well

to suggest that cooking together improves family life

to outline the educational benefits of cooking

to persuade more children to take up cooking [1]

5 What does ‘cooking is a survival skill’ mean in line 13?

[1]

6 a List the benefits that children gain from cooking mentioned in paragraphs 3 and 4
(lines 13–24).
•

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• [2]

b Write a summary of up to 50 words about the benefits children gain when they learn
to cook. Include five points from your list. Use your own words as far as possible.

[2]

Section B: Writing
Spend around 20 minutes on this section.

1 Write an article for your school magazine about the importance of eating healthy food.
You should write three paragraphs.
You could consider:
• why it is important to eat healthily
• your favourite healthy foods
• how families can eat healthily together. [10]

Space for your plan:

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Write your article.

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 CAMBRIDGE LOWER SECONDARY ENGLISH 8: MID-POINT TEST

Part 2: Fiction
Section A: Reading
Spend around 20 minutes on this section.
Read the text below (an extract from Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry by Mildred D. Taylor),
then answer questions 1–8.

The bus rattled up the road, though not as quickly as we had hoped. It rolled
cautiously through a wide puddle some twenty feet ahead; then, seeming to grow
bolder as it approached our man-made lake, it speeded up, spraying the water in
high sheets of backward waterfalls into the forest. We could hear the students
5 squealing with delight. But instead of the graceful glide through the puddle that its
occupants were expecting, the bus emitted a tremendous crack and careened
drunkenly into our trap. For a moment it swayed, and we held our breath,
afraid that it would topple over. Then it sputtered a last murmuring protest
and died, its left front wheel in our ditch, its right wheel in the gully, like a
10 lopsided billy goat on its knees.
We covered our mouths and shook with silent laughter.
As the dismayed driver opened the rear emergency exit, the rain poured down on
him in sharp-needled darts. He stood in the doorway looking down in disbelief at his
sunken charge; then, holding on to the bus, he poked one foot into the water until it
15 was on solid ground before gingerly stepping down. He looked under the bus. He
looked at the steaming hood. He looked at the water. Then he scratched his head
and cursed.
‘How bad is it, Mr Grimes?’ a large freckle-faced boy asked, pushing up one of the
cracked windows and sticking out his head. ‘Can we push it out and fix it?’
20 ‘Push it out? Fix it?’ the bus driver echoed angrily. ‘I got me a broken axle here an’ a
water-logged engine no doubt and no tellin’ what-all else and you talkin’ ‘bout fixin’
it! Y’all come on, get outa there! Y’all gonna have to walk home.’

1 What does ‘The bus rattled up the road’ (line 1) tell you about the way that
the bus moved?

[1]

2 Explain why the writer says ‘though not as quickly as we had hoped’ in line 1.

[1]

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3 What is ‘high sheets of backward waterfalls’ (line 4) an example of?

Tick () one box.

alliteration

metaphor

onomatopoeia

simile [1]

4 Explain what the phrase ‘careened drunkenly’ (lines 6–7) tells you about the way that the
bus moved.

[1]

5 Explain why the simile ‘like a lop-sided billy goat’ in lines 9–10 is effective use of language
to describe the bus after the accident.

[1]

6 What does ‘sharp-needled darts’ in line 13 suggest about the rain?

[1]

7 Identify one way that the writer uses structure in lines 15–16 (from ‘He looked . . .’) to
show the driver’s reactions, and explain why it is effective.

Example:

Effect:

[2]

8 Suggest two ways the writer creates humour in lines 17–22. Support your suggestions with
clear examples.
•

[2]

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Section B: Writing
Spend around 20 minutes on this section.

1 Write a description of a bus journey. You should write three paragraphs.

You should consider:
• how the bus moves and where it is going
• what can be seen from the windows
• the people on the bus. [10]

Space for your plan:

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Write your description.

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