Name: ______________________

Grade: Seven / ___

Academic Year 2022-2023
Grade 7
Pre-Assessment Exam

________
Part 1: Reading Exam 10

from White Fang

*White Fang tells the story of a special wolf. This excerpt describes the first few weeks of this
wolf’s life.
He was different from his brothers and sisters. Their hair already betrayed the reddish hue inherited from
their mother, the she-wolf; while he alone, in this particular, took after his father. He was the one little grey cub
of the litter. He had bred true to the straight wolf-stock—in fact, he had bred true to old One Eye himself,
physically, with but a single exception, and that was he had two eyes to his father’s one.
The grey cub’s eyes had not been open long, yet already he could see with steady clearness. And while his
eyes were still closed, he had felt, tasted, and smelled. He knew his two brothers and his two sisters very well.
He had begun to romp with them in a feeble, awkward way, his little throat vibrating with a strange rasping
noise (the forerunner of the growl), as he worked himself into a passion. And long before his eyes had opened
he had learned by touch, taste, and smell to know his mother—a fount of warmth and liquid food and
tenderness. She possessed a gentle, caressing tongue that soothed him when it passed over his soft little body,
and that impelled him to snuggle close against her and to doze off to sleep.
Most of the first month of his life had been passed thus in sleeping; but now he could see quite well, and he
stayed awake for longer periods of time, and he was coming to learn his world quite well. His world was
gloomy; but he did not know that, for he knew no other world. It was dim-lighted; but his eyes had never had to
adjust themselves to any other light. His world was very small. Its limits were the walls of the lair; but as he had
no knowledge of the wide world outside, he was never oppressed by the narrow confines of his existence.
But he had early discovered that one wall of his world was different from the rest. This was the mouth of the
cave and the source of light. He had discovered that it was different from the other walls long before he had any
thoughts of his own, any conscious volitions. It had been an irresistible attraction before ever his eyes opened
and looked upon it. The light from it had beat upon his sealed lids, and the eyes and the optic nerves had
pulsated to little, sparklike flashes, warm coloured and strangely pleasing. The life of his body, and of every
fibre of his body, the life that was the very substance of his body and that was apart from his own personal life,
had yearned toward this light and urged his body toward it in the same way that the cunning chemistry of a
plant urges it toward the sun.
Always, in the beginning, before his conscious life dawned, he had crawled toward the mouth of the cave.
And in this his brothers and sisters were one with him. Never, in that period, did any of them crawl toward the
dark corners of the back-wall. The light drew them as if they were plants; the chemistry of the life that
composed them demanded the light as a necessity of being; and their little puppet-bodies crawled blindly and
chemically, like the tendrils of a vine. Later on, when each developed individuality and became personally
conscious of motive and desires, the attraction of the light increased. They were always crawling and sprawling
toward it and being driven back from it by their mother.
It was in this way that the grey cub learned other attributes of his mother than the soft, soothing tongue. In
his insistent crawling toward the light, he discovered in her a nose that with a sharp nudge administered rebuke,
and later, a paw, that crushed him down and rolled him over and over with swift, calculating stroke. Thus he
learned hurt; and on top of it he learned to avoid hurt, first, by not incurring the risk of it; and second, when he
had incurred the risk, by dodging and by retreating. These were conscious actions, and were the results of his
first generalisations upon the world.

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 Name: ______________________
Grade 7 Grade: Seven / ___
Pre-Assessment Academic Year 2022-2023

Read the passage and answer the questions.

1. Why is the cave setting in the passage important to the plot?

A. because it has a boundary that forces the grey cub to learn a lesson
B. because it keeps the grey cub from wondering what is outside
C. because it is large enough to protect the entire wolf family
D. because it makes the wolf family easy prey for enemies

2. Which sentence best states the theme of the passage?

A. A wolf cub chooses an action and learns consequences.

B. A wolf cub follows in the footsteps of his father.
C. A wolf cub slowly starts to be aware of his surroundings.
D. A wolf cub thinks it is more important to be free than safe.

3. Which of the following evidence best supports the theme’s statement?

A. “Their hair already betrayed the reddish hue inherited from their mother, the she-wolf;
while he alone, in this particular, took after his father.” (paragraph 1)
B. “But he had early discovered that one wall of his world was different from the rest.”
(paragraph 4)
C. “Always, in the beginning, before his conscious life dawned, he had crawled toward the
mouth of the cave.” (paragraph 5)
D. “These were conscious actions, and were the results of his first generalisations upon the
world. . . .” (paragraph 6)

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 Name: ______________________
Grade 7 Grade: Seven / ___
Pre-Assessment Academic Year 2022-2023

4. Read the sentences from the passage. “His world was very small. Its limits were the
walls of the lair; but as he had no knowledge of the wide world outside, he was never
oppressed by the narrow confines of his existence. (paragraph 3)”
What does the word oppressed most likely suggest about the lair?

A. It has no escape routes for the cubs.

B. It is hidden from other wolves in the area.
C. It limits the activities available to the cubs.
D. It provides a warm resting place for the wolf pack.

5. “Their hair already betrayed the reddish hue inherited from their mother” What does the
word “hue” mean in this sentence?

A. Light
B. Shape
C. Colour
D. Sound

6. What changes would you make for the following sentence? “They were always crawling
and sprawling toward it and being driven back from it by their mother.”

A. They were always crawling, and sprawling toward it, and being driven back from it by
their mother.
B. They were always crawling and sprawling toward it, and being driven back from it by their
mother.
C. They were always crawling, and sprawling toward it, but being driven back from it by
their mother.
D. Correct as it is

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 Name: ______________________
Grade: Seven / ___
Academic Year 2022-2023
Grade 7
Pre-Assessment

Part 2: Writing Exam

________
10

Choose One Topic from the following list and write as much as you can. Your writing will be
scored using the same Marking Rubric we used in class. Please follow these instructions:

1. Read the choices carefully.

2. Give yourself enough time to plan, draft, write, and revise your writing.
3. Write in complete sentences and organize your writing to suit your topic and purpose.
4. Be sure you follow the rules of the language: spell correctly, use proper punctuation,
capitalize where appropriate, and ensure the form and tense of each verb is correct.
5. Write legibly.

TOPICS

Write a Narrative Text on 1 and Only 1 of the Following Topics.

a. Tell a story about a time that the power went out.

b. Tell a story when you travelled with your best friends.
c. Tell a story about a field trip that your class had.
Note: use either the first or the third person point of view.
Writing Linguistic Vocabulary Language Total
Complexity Usage Control
Level 3

Mark 4 2 2 2 10

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 Grade: 7
Grade 7 Subject: English
Pre-Assessment First Trimester 2022-2023

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 Grade: 7
Grade 7 Subject: English
Pre-Assessment First Trimester 2022-2023

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