Name: ______________________

Grade: Eight / ___

Academic Year 2023-2024
Grade 8
Pre-Assessment Exam

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Part 1: Reading Exam 10

The Race

Anish rounded the last turn on the track and spotted the finish line just ahead. The annual 5K neighborhood race was on
Saturday but Anish wanted to get one last practice run in before the big day. He had been training for the race for the past
three months, finishing his homework right after school so he had time to run around the neighborhood, and he felt ready.
He put a lot of hard work and effort into training, and wanted to see it all pay off in the end.

Anish crossed the finish line, and as he walked around the track to cool down, he heard his friend Steve, yell out, “Anish,
wait up, I want to talk to you!” As Steve came running up, he said, “I heard that you were running the 5K on Saturday,
and I was wondering if you and I could run it together.”

Anish frowned because during all of his training for the race, he had not once seen Steve running outside.

“Sure,” Anish said hesitantly, “but how long have you been training for it?”

“Do I need to train?” Steve scoffed, giving Anish a surprised look. “I play a lot of games in the park or in my backyard
with my friends, and I’m the best one at everything. Plus, it’s only a 5K, which is slightly more than three miles, and
that’s not very far, so why would I need to train?”

“Running a race when you’re not prepared isn’t a good idea, Steve,” Anish said. “In fact, if you haven’t done any training
to get in shape, it might even be dangerous.”

“Fine, if you don’t think I’m in great shape, then let me show you,” Steve responded with a smirk.

Anish watched as Steve took off down the track like a shot, his arms and legs pumping, his blond hair waving in the
breeze. As he rounded the track the first time, Anish saw that the smirk on Steve’s face was gone and his hair lay plastered
on his sweaty forehead, but a determination still shone on his face. The second time he rounded the track, however, the
look of focus was gone and Steve staggered forward and came to a stop before Anish, his hands on his knees as he
breathed hard.

“It’s not that easy, is it?” Anish said, patting Steve on the shoulder. “Let’s plan on training together so we can both run the
race next year.”

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 Name: ______________________
Grade 8 Grade: Eight / ___
Pre-Assessment Academic Year 2022-2023

Read the passage and answer the questions.

1. Which sentence best states the theme of the passage? ( 2 Marks)

A. You can do whatever you set your mind to do.

B. Others often overlook your abilities and hard work.

C. Training is essential to running in a race.

D. Preparing for a race is easier when you train with a friend.

2. Which sentence from the passage best supports the theme? ( 2 Marks)

A. “Anish crossed the finish line, and as he walked around the track to cool down, he heard
his friend Steve, yell out, 'Anish, wait up, I want to talk to you!’” (paragraph 2)

B. “The second time he rounded the track, however, the look of focus was gone and Steve
staggered forward and came to a stop before Anish, his hands on his knees as he breathed
hard.” (paragraph 8)

C. “‘Fine, if you don’t think I’m in great shape, then let me show you,’ Steve responded with
a smirk.” (paragraph 7)

D. “‘Let’s plan on training together so we can both run the race next year.’” (paragraph 9)

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 Name: ______________________
Grade 8 Grade: Eight / ___
Pre-Assessment Academic Year 2022-2023

3. Read this sentence from the passage. “Anish watched as Steve took off down the track
like a shot, his arms and legs pumping, his blond hair waving in the breeze. (paragraph 8)”
How does the author use a simile to describe Steve’s running? (2 Marks)

A. It makes Steve’s running seem wild and unpredictable.

B. It illustrates how well Steve stays in the lines of the track.
C. It shows how Steve made a loud noise as he started running.
D. It describes Steve’s running as going very fast from the starting position.

4. ““Do I need to train?” Steve scoffed, giving Anish a surprised look. “I play a lot of games
in the park or in my backyard with my friends, and I’m the best one at everything. Plus it’s
only a 5K, which is slightly more than three miles, and that’s not very far, so why would I
need to train?”” What does the word “scoffed” mean in this sentence? (2 Mark)

A. Smiled happily.
B. Spoke to someone in a mocking way.
C. Ran fast.
D. Shook his head.

5. What changes would you make for the following sentence? “The annual 5K neighborhood
race was on Saturday but Anish wanted to get one last practice run in before the big day.” (2 Mark)

A. The annual 5K neighborhood race was on Saturday nor Anish wanted to get one last
practice run in before the big day.

B. The annual 5K neighborhood race was on Saturday, but Anish wanted to get one last
practice run in before the big day.

C. The annual 5K neighborhood race was on Saturday Anish wanted to get one last practice
run in before the big day.

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: 8
Grade 8 Subject: English
Pre-Assessment First Trimester 2022-2023

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 Grade: 8
Grade 8 Subject: English
Pre-Assessment First Trimester 2022-2023

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