LYCEUM INTERNATIONAL SCHOOL Monthly Test — May 2015 aes ee Subject : Class : Duration i 1 hour and 40 minutes Date Candidate'sname ssn s» Admission no : 1. COMPREHENSION. Read this account of how a machine has made a great deal of difference to some villagers’ lives in Lebanon. Nobody is happier in the little southern village of Kfar Sir than its one and only police officer. (2) “Lan take things easier now,” he tells me as he pulls up a chair and bids me sit down, Thave driven for two hours from Beirut because I heard that a village in south Lebanon had found a way to solve its waste problem. (b) “Like all villages we used to bum our trash,” says the friendly police officer as he leads me to the site of the old trash dump. “The smoke was horrible, the smell disgusting and flies were everywhere,” he says. “I used to get fifty complaints a day and spent all my time soothing people. But I couldn't do anything about it. "But now his worries are over. He introduces me to Mohammed Nist, the mayor of Kfar Sir, who swells with pride on learning that I am in the village to hear about their new composting machine, (©) “Mayors from all over the country are calling me or are coming to see for themselves what we have done here,” he says. “Everybody is suffering from the waste problem because there is so much construction in Lebanon and people are living closer together. (d) ” The ‘mayor guides me to the composting site. Here a round drum, about ten metres long, rotates smoothly with conveyor belts on either side. Two workers sift through trash bags and remove nylons, plastics, aluminium, metal and cartons. The rest is placed on the input belt and is promptly devoured by the drum. At the other end, barrels collect the resulting dark-brown organic sludge from the machine ‘once it has processed the waste. (e) Look at this. It's fast, clean and has no smell. At least ten barrels are filled everyday, explains Nisr, grabbing a sample.Grade 8 English contd....from page 1 1am curious to meet the ‘brains’ behind the machine, find myself facing a lively thirty-year- old engineer named Zaid Abi Shaker. While pursuing his higher studies in the United States, he led a research team who, over five years developed ways to convert organic waste into compost in the quickest, most cost-effective and least foul-smelling way. “we used a special mixture of enzymes and bacteria which eat into the organic garbage, transforming it into compost,” he explains to me. (f) “We then worked on developing the ‘mechanics: how the drum rotates, how the garbage moves from one compartment to another.” ‘Once he was back in Lebanon, he met officials who were looking for ways to develop rural areas, And so, Kfar Sir became the first village to discover the world of quick composting, “This is the only machine outside the United State which gives results in three days,” says Abi Shaker proudly. “Others take from seventy to ninety days.” Eager to use this healthy compost, the mayor of Kfar Sir has declared about thirty thousand metres of municipality land as a natural reserve. “This is where it all goes,” says Nist. He leads me into the protected area where tree shoots are planted, amids the rich compost. “This is going to be our park,” he says, looking lovingly at his treasured seedlings. (g) “Can ‘you imagine people coming from all over to walk among the trees once they're grown ?” “That would be wonderful,” 1 agree, and leave the kindly mayor daydreaming about making Kafar Sir a small heaven on earth. Answer the following questions. (Why is the police officer very pleased ? (ii) Give two reasons why Abi Shaker is pleased. @ ~ ) - (2x 2=4 marks) (iii) Where is Kfar Sir situated ? (2 marks)(iv) Ww) wi) (vii) Grade 8 English contd....from page 2 Give the four main stages, in order, by which the machine turns trash into compost. (use your own words) @ (>) © @ ~ (4 marks) Write one quotation for each that describes the present atmosphere and the expected atmosphere of Kfar Sir. Present. 9: ~ Expected (3* 2=6 marks) What is the writer's attitude towards the police officer and the mayor ? Include two adjectives used by the writer to support your answer. Write the past form of these verbs, (taken from the passage). (a) bid(2™ line) - (b) lead (S* line) - (2 marks)Grade 8 English contd....from page 3 (viii) Give the meaning of each of the following words as they are used in the passage. (The ‘words are typed in bold in the passage.) (a) () © @ soothing - rotates sample transforming (4 marks) (ix) What does “its” refer in the last line of the third paragraph ? (2 marks) (2 marks) [Total = 32 marks} GRAMMAR. indbed 5 pecch+ (Turn the underlined sentences in the passage into passive=wwice. (@) 0) © @ (e) 0) @) ‘The police officer said, The police officer said, The mayor said, The writer said, Mr. Nist asked Mr. Abi Shaker said, The mayor asked, (7 marks)Grade 8 English contd...from page 4 (ii) Convert these three questions, (supposedly asked by the writer from the mayor in the ‘ ven comprehension passage) into paestveaabee” {Imagine you are the mayor) (2) Why are you so happy ? (b) Do the people of the village give you their fullest support ? (©) What course did Zaid follow in America ? (2* 3 = 6 marks) [Total = 13 marks] WRITING. Do you live in a town or the countryside ? Write a letter to your pen friend who is in America inviting him / her to spend the next holidays at your place. Describe the place. State two advantages and / or disadvantages of living there and explain. Remember, your aim is to give your friend an interesting and as life like a picture of the place as possible. contd.....to page 6Grade 8 English con contd...t0 page 7Grade 8 English contd....from page 6 CONTENT ‘Coherence (linking ideas) 2 ‘Adhering to guidelines a Ability to describe a place eloquently “a Ability to convince someone 2 Abilicy to adopt letter writing features 2 LANGUAGE GRAMMAR- Accuracy 3 Tevel 2 VOCABULARY _ Richness and variety a_| Correct usage 2 SPELLINGS 2 PUNCTUATION 2 TOTAL ns LITERATURE. Answer one question from each section. Write your answers on lined paper. Number your answers clearly. SECTION ~A - PROSE (Charlot's web - E. B White) (i) “That morning Avery Arable wondered into the Zuckerman's front yard followed by Fern, Avery carried a live frog in his hand. Fem had a crown of daisies in her hair.” Does the underlined statement match these characters’ qualities ? Analyse these two characters under the light of the above statement. OR (ii) “The writer has developed a beautiful contrast between the “Fair” and the “Plight of the animals in the Fair.” Discuss the writer's ability to creat the contrast with as many examples as possible.@ (Sall I compare thee to a summer's day - Shakespeare) Grade 8 English cont SECTION - B- POETRY ‘In the first line, the speaker introduces the comparison of his beloved to a summer's, day and then challenges certain characteristics of summer to prove his love.” Discuss the comparisons in detail with quotations. Prose Poetry Grammar a 2B Vocabulary 2 2 Pertinence 5 5 Examples / Quotations a a Organisation 2 2 | rowat AS AS [otal = 30 marks] Ref: CH