The Princess and the Pea

by

Hans Christian Andersen

(1835)

ONCE upon a time there was a prince who wanted to marry a princess; but she would have to be a real
princess. He travelled all over the world to find one, but nowhere could he get what he wanted. There
were princesses enough, but it was difficult to find out whether they were real ones. There was always
something about them that was not as it should be. So he came home again and was sad, for he would
have liked very much to have a real princess.

One evening a terrible storm came on; there was thunder and lightning, and the rain poured down in
torrents. Suddenly a knocking was heard at the city gate, and the old king went to open it.

It was a princess standing out there in front of the gate. But, good gracious! what a sight the rain and
the wind had made her look. The water ran down from her hair and clothes; it ran down into the toes of
her shoes and out again at the heels. And yet she said that she was a real princess.

“Well, we’ll soon find that out,” thought the old queen. But she said nothing, went into the bed-room,
took all the bedding off the bedstead, and laid a pea on the bottom; then she took twenty mattresses
and laid them on the pea, and then twenty eider-down beds on top of the mattresses.

On this the princess had to lie all night. In the morning she was asked how she had slept.

“Oh, very badly!” said she. “I have scarcely closed my eyes all night. Heaven only knows what was in the
bed, but I was lying on something hard, so that I am black and blue all over my body. It’s horrible!”

Now they knew that she was a real princess because she had felt the pea right through the twenty
mattresses and the twenty eider-down beds.

Nobody but a real princess could be as sensitive as that.

So the prince took her for his wife, for now he knew that he had a real princess; and the pea was put in
the museum, where it may still be seen, if no one has stolen it.

There, that is a true story.

1. What is the best title of the text above?

A. The Princess and the Pea

B. A Terrible Storm

C. The Thunder and Lightning

D. The Old Queen

E. A Real Sensitive Princess

2. What is the purpose of the text above?

B. to inform about princess and the pea to describe the story of the princess and the pea

A.

C. to give information that the prince looked for the real princess

D. to amuse the reader with the story of the princess and the pea
E. to describe how the princess could feel the pea on the bottom boards of the bed

3. "Suddenly a knocking was heard at the city gate, and the old king went to open it." (Paragraph 2).

The bold type word refers to .....

A. The city gate.

B. The museum

C. The heaven

D. The bed room

E. The window

. Which of the following statement is TRUE according to the text?

A. There was a prince who wanted to kill the princess.

B. The prince and his servants travelled all over the world to find the real princess.

C. Nobody but a real princess could be as sad as that. D. The prince came home again and was so happy,
for he would have liked very much to have a real princess.

E. The prince took the princess for his wife, for now he knew that he had a real princess.
5. No one but a real princess could have such a tender skin as that. The SYNONYM of 'tender' is ...

A. hard

B. light

C. weak

D. strong

E. soft.

6. The old-king and the old queen know that she was a real princess?

7. There was always something about them that was not as it should be. The word 'them' refers to .....

The Ant and the Dove PAS

One hot day, an ant was seeking water. After walking around for a moment, she came to a spring. To
reach the spring, she had to climb up a blade of grass. While making her way up, she slipped and fell
unintentionally into the water.

She could have sunk if a dove up a nearby tree had not seen her. Seeing that the ant was in trouble, the
dove quickly pulled off a leaf from a tree and dropped it immediately into the water near the struggling
ant. Then the ant moved towards the leaf and climbed up on it. Soon it carried her safely to dry ground.

Not long after at that, there was a hunter nearby who was throwing out his net towards the dove,
hoping this way to trap it.
Guessing what he should do, the ant quickly bit the hunter on the heel. Feeling the pain, he dropped his
net and the dove quickly flew away from thes net.

(Source: britishcourse.com/narrative-test-complete-explanation.php)

11. Choose two wrong statements based on the text above.

A. The ant needs some water because of thirst.

B. The ant slipped and fell into the mud.

C. A dove came and helped the ant.

D. The dove and the ant saved each other.

E. The hunter caught the dove and the ant and brought them home.

Choose the correct answer. You may choose more than one option.

The following excerpt is for questions number 8-10.

We know that exercising and doing sports is important for staying healthy. However, for students, doing
sports is even more crucial, because it helps in the development of student's mental health and physical
In school, sports are played between teams in a healthy competitive environment. This setting allows
students to practice teamwork and ensures that students remain active and fit

Sport also empowers students with life skills. understanding of themselves dan It enhances their
capabilities and helps them to have a better

Last but not least, sports make students learn time management and discipline. Constructive use of time
and discipline is a major characteristic of any sportsperson. It also improves their leadership and team-
building tion qualities and boosts their self-confidence

In conclusion, sports are very important for students. Through participation in sports and games,
students rogain various skills, experience, and confidence that are helpful for developing their
personalities.

The following text is for questions number 4-7.

Many of us struggle with our sleep because of the prevalence of mobile phones and other addictive
screens in our lives. Some severe problems can enter our lives when we do not get enough sleep. This
can range from mental health problems, like depression and anxiety, to even physical ailments and
issues, like diabetes, cardiac arrest, obesity, and high blood pressure. Enough good sleep every night is a
requirement that our bodies need.

The average number of hours that one adult should be sleeping every night is 8 hours, you can give or
take one or two hours. The problem with all the generations in the world is that there are so many
disturbances around us that can easily distract us from what is essential. One such example of this is
mobile phones - it is easy to get addicted to mobile phones that contain an entire world, and keep
scrolling through them instead of going to sleep.

It is essential to understand the reason why sleep is vital. When we sleep, the brain recharges itself and
heals our bodies, repairing whichever parts needs healing, When we sleep, our blood vessels and
circulatory system heal themselves. If you have a bruise when you go to sleep, you will notice that it has
healed a little bit when you wake up in the morning. Sleep does the same thing for the rest of the body
as well; it improves your immune system, cognitive memory, and
thinking capacity. Furthermore, getting adequate sleep is also vital for keeping our mental well-being.
Without getting a good number of hours worth of sleep at night, we are putting ourselves at risk of
mental health disruptions and problems such as depression, anxiety, and even exhaustion, which can
ultimately disrupt one's life.

In conclusion, neglecting the importance of sleep at night will ultimately lead us to various health
problems, both mentally and physically So, it is essential that, besides a good diet and regular exercise,
we also get into a good routine of having adequate sleep. After all, we need to get enough sleep to look
and feel fresh and healthy every day.

(Adapted from: www.aplustoppex.com)

Jack and the Beanstalk

Once upon a time, there lived a poor widow and her son Jack. One day, Jack’s mother told him to sell
their only cow. Jack went to the market and on the way he met a man who wanted to buy his cow. Jack
asked, “What will you give me in return for my cow?” The man answered, “I will give you five magic
beans!” Jack took the magic beans and gave the man the cow. But when he reached home, Jack’s
mother was very angry. She said, “You fool! He took away your cow and gave you some beans!” She
threw the beans out of the window. Jack was very sad and went to sleep without dinner.

The next day, when Jack woke up in the morning and looked out of the window, he saw that a huge
beanstalk had grown from his magic beans! He climbed up the beanstalk and reached the top in the land
of the giants.

Jack explored the land and stumbled upon a giant's castle. He went inside and found a golden hen that
laid golden eggs. Jack, being the clever boy he was, snatched the hen and ran down the beanstalk. The
giant, however, followed him down, but Jack was too quick for him. He chopped down the beanstalk,
and the giant fell to his death.

Jack and his mother were now very rich and they lived happily ever after.