Beaconhouse School System

Defence Campus, Lahore

English Summer HW (Grade 8)

Dear Students,
As the summer vacation approaches, I implore you to embrace the incredible world of
books. Within those pages lies a gateway to adventure, knowledge, and personal growth.
So put down your screens, step away from the distractions, and immerse yourself in the
captivating realms woven by talented authors. They transport you to far-off lands and
introduce you to fascinating characters. So make this summer unforgettable – embark on
literary journeys and discover the magic that awaits between the covers of a book. Your
mind will thank you for it!

SUMMER READING LIST

Absolutely Normal Chaos by Sharon Creech
Thirteen-year-old Mary Lou grows up quickly during the summer while learning about romance,
homesickness, death, and her cousin's search for his biological father.

Among the Hidden by Margaret Peterson Haddix

In a future where the Population Police enforce the law limiting a family to only two children,
Luke has lived all his twelve years in isolation and fear on his family's farm, until another "third"
convinces him that the government is wrong.

Anne of Green Gables by L.M. Montgomery

An adventurous young orphan goes to live on a farm with an elderly brother and sister.

The Bad Beginning by Lemony Snicket

After the sudden death of their parents, the three Baudelaire children must depend on each
other and their wits when it turns out that the distant relative who is appointed their guardian is
determined to use any means necessary to get their fortune.

Crash by Jerry Spinelli

Seventh-grader John "Crash" Coogan has always been comfortable with his tough, aggressive
behavior, until his relationship with an unusual Quaker boy and his grandfather's stroke make
him consider the meaning of friendship and the importance of family.
 Comprehension

Tending The Olive Trees

Summer was approaching at a galloping pace. Every plant was showing early signs
of wilting in the heat and for the next two months would need to be watered daily.
My husband had a long-standing arrangement to work overseas and I felt sadness at
his departure. Then our farm worker, Quashia, announced out of the blue that he had
business to attend to elsewhere; he assured me that, if I needed anything, I only had
to contact Rene, a good friend of his.
Unfortunately, it soon became clear that a fungal infection was spreading wildly
through the olive trees. I phoned Rene, who told me that the sickness had to be
treated with chemicals as soon as possible. ‘Is there no other way?’ I begged. I sensed
his impatience at what he perceived as my naïve approach to farming; he knew
spraying trees did not fit in with my idea of running the farm organically. ‘Are you
absolutely certain there is no natural cure we can come up with?’ He shook his head
solemnly and told me that there was another problem: olive trees are prey to flies
during seasons of extreme heat, and these flies were particularly rife that year.
I stared at the trees in dismay; infected trees could jeopardise our status as olive
farmers. I told Rene I had read of another system being tried out to combat those
flies, using traps attached to the branches. ‘It’s not efficient,’ he replied. ‘Any farmer
will back me up on this. Ninety per cent of the olives are attacked anyway, fall too
soon and rot. Still, it’s up to you if that is your approach.’ Rene had an edge to his
voice I had rarely heard before and I reluctantly agreed. ‘Trust my expertise,’ he
said. ‘I can do this, although I can’t manage without assistance.’
This was reasonable; he was seventy-six years old, and there were almost eighty
trees to treat over many terraces. Rene suggested bringing someone with him, one
of his friends who would accept a reasonable daily rate, but nobody strong enough
was available; they had all committed themselves elsewhere. It was understandable
that, if Quashia had been there, he would have done most of the work. Rene
reiterated that he could not accomplish the job alone, and so I suggested I could be
his assistant. His immediate response was to guffaw and then, to cover this rather
impolite reaction, he muttered incomprehensible misgivings which I feared were no
more than the fact that I was a woman. ‘Is 7am tomorrow morning too early for
you?’ he asked with a hint of sarcasm. I realised that, to Rene’s way of thinking, this
was no job for a female and it would be difficult to convince him otherwise.
The next morning, we filled a huge plastic container with water, before adding the
chemicals. Then we were ready to start spraying the trees from the spray-gun
attached to a hosepipe. While Rene did the spraying, my job was to keep the hosepipe
flexible, ensuring it didn’t curl and make the flow of the chemical solution restricted.
As there were no accessible driving routes in the terraced olive grove, it was
necessary to walk, and haul the hosepipe. We also needed hundreds of metres of it.
Rene told me it had been necessary for him to drive ten kilometres to borrow this
hosepipe for us. We couldn’t just buy our own, he said, as this one was very special.
This sounded rather unlikely to me, as it looked like an ordinary hosepipe, but I
acquiesced, silently plotting that the next time I was in the ironmonger’s I would
acquire a few hundred yards of the stuff.
‘Switch on the machine,’ Rene shouted bossily. He was some distance from me and
staring up into a tall, gnarled old olive tree. The machine started to make a rather
disgusting slurping sound. Beneath the tree, Rene stood no taller than a matchstick.
The solution started to feed through, which sent the hosepipe into dancing gyrations.
The further we went, the more hosepipe I had to lift, negotiate and release. I was
sticky with perspiration but I didn’t care. I felt sure that Rene must be just a little
impressed with his female assistant.
Answer all the questions below.
From paragraph 1
1 (a) How can we tell that the summer was likely to be a particularly hot one?
.....................................................................................................................................
As all the plants were showing early signs of
.....................................................................................................................................
wilting.
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(b) The husband’s arrangement was ‘long-standing’. Give the phrase used later in
the paragraph which conveys an opposite idea.
.....................................................................................................................................
“Out of the blue”.
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From paragraph 2
 2 (a) Why did the writer phone Rene for help?
.....................................................................................................................................
...................................................................................................................................
(b) (i) What approach to treating the trees did Rene recommend?
.....................................................................................................................................
(ii) What approach did the writer prefer?
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From paragraph 3
3 (a) Infected trees could ‘jeopardise our status as olive farmers’. Explain in your
own words what the writer fears could happen.
.....................................................................................................................................
.....................................................................................................................................
.....................................................................................................................................
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(b) ‘Rene had an edge to his voice’. What emotion do you think he was feeling?
.....................................................................................................................................
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(c) Rene’s advice to the writer is ‘Trust my expertise’. Give the sentence earlier in
the paragraph which shows he knows what he is talking about.
.....................................................................................................................................
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From paragraph 4
4 (a) Why do you think it is ‘understandable’ that, if Quashia had been there, he
would have done most of the work? Give two reasons.
(i) ......................................................................................................................
......................................................................................................................
.....................................................................................................................
(ii) ......................................................................................................................
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(b) Apart from the fact that Quashia wasn’t there to help, why did the writer offer
to be Rene’s assistant?
.....................................................................................................................................
.....................................................................................................................................
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(c) When the writer suggested she could be Rene’s assistant, he muttered
‘incomprehensible misgivings’. Explain in your own words what his reaction was.
.....................................................................................................................................
.....................................................................................................................................
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From paragraph 5
5. Why did they have to take the hosepipe on foot?
.....................................................................................................................................
.....................................................................................................................................
....................................
From paragraph 6
6. Why do you think Rene ‘stood no taller than a matchstick’?
.....................................................................................................................................
.....................................................................................................................................
....................................
From paragraphs 2–5
For each of the words below, circle the letter (A, B, C or D) which has the same
meaning that the word has in the passage.
(a) naïve (line 9)
A. wrong B. innocent C. surprising D. silly
(b) solemnly (line 11)
A slowly B gently C. seriously D. energetically
(c) reiterated (line 24)
A. complained B. regretted C. explained D. repeated
(d) hint (line 28)
A. suggestion B. laugh C. question D. look
 Directed Writing

Hamilton Hotel
Al, the owner of the Hamilton Hotel, wants to attract new business to his hotel and hopes that his
competition winner will help him. Al waited at the airport – unusual for a hotel owner. He wanted
to impress these guests. Besides, they might have difficulty persuading a taxi to drive out as far as
his place. Honey Hotel’s remoteness meant a two-hour, suspension-challenging drive each way.
Last month, Al had advertised online: images of classical architecture, legendary landscapes and
his newly-extended dining room would entice tourists in more profitable numbers, he felt sure.
Struggling to describe his hidden paradise, he’d hit on the idea of offering the chance to stay for
free to anyone booking who successfully completed in less than 100 words, ‘Why I want to visit…’
There’d been a handful of entries amongst the dozen or so enquiries he’d received.
‘Mostly mediocre,’ his wife had observed. ‘This one’s amazing though,’ she’d said, passing him
the name of the winner. ‘Really understands the spirit of the place.’ He agreed. Reading the
winning entry, he’d been entranced by the sensitivity with which its gifted writer staged scenes of
ancient civilizations and romantic journeys along half-forgotten sandy roads –conjuring a
charming mirage of white-washed walls, embroidered gowns and orange trees laced with sunlight.
Al had been immediately anxious to meet the winner: M. R. Head. Correcting the poor punctuation,
he’d moved Mr Head (and his wife) to the best suite, sighing over the half-full booking list. Perhaps
Mr Head could be persuaded to write a glowing review for the website? The week’s itinerary had
been carefully planned to encourage this.
On the second morning, Al sourced ingredients fresh from the market as usual – doubling up on
everything – an unnecessary expense, but he didn’t want popular dishes to run out again tonight.
Laden with the rainbow of produce he’d procured, Al worked his way back through the beehive
that was the Old Town. Mr Head had seemed unimpressed during their tour here yesterday,
complaining loudly
to his wife of ‘straggling market stalls, tatty trinkets and bits of cloth’.
He’d refused even to visit the animal sanctuary or ‘that pile of rubble on the hilltop’. At dinner, he
scoffed at ‘boring’ plans for the next day, bullying Al into including him in a planned excursion
for a group of white-water rafters who came back year after year. Other guests said they’d also
enjoy a trip on the water, so finally a small coach was hired. ‘Stay on flat water if you like,’ Mr
Head goaded as guests piled onto the vehicle after breakfast. ‘I’m with the white-water boys.’
Only later did Al realise Mrs. Head had not gone too. She sat with a notebook under the palms on
the hotel terrace. Al worried what to offer her. The coach party had decimated the breakfast
banquet like a hoard of locusts. He had only mint tea for his own elevenses he explained; she was
welcome to that. She accepted gratefully, remaining for nearly an hour sipping the tea and idly
fussing a stray cat playing around her feet.
Still later, he noticed her talking with the gardener about his bees – curious to know more about
the health benefits of their honey, saddened they were threatened by farmers guarding precious
crops against other less friendly insects.
Al expressed concern that the ‘pain in her neck’ she’d given as her reason for not joining the others
might have been caused by the pillows. He offered to change them for others less soft.
‘No,’ she smiled. ‘The pillows are perfect. The pain has gone now. Please, call me Maria.’
That evening Al was busy, so wasn’t paying full attention when the coach party returned. He
caught only snippets of sniggered conversation as guests re-entered the lobby dispersing to their
rooms. ‘Told him... should’ve listened… good job the others knew what they were doing.’ He
noticed Maria listening to one of the rafters in the corner, nodding softly, stopping only to raise
her eyebrows and smile apologetically.
The word ‘hospital’ caught his attention. Al strained anxiously to hear more: ‘Nothing serious – a
few bruises, hurt pride. Told us he knew what he was doing…’ finished the rafter.
‘Sorry to trouble you,’ Maria began, approaching the desk. ‘It looks like my husband will need
collecting.
Could we stop off on Friday on the way back to the airport perhaps? I’ll sign any forms you require
now– it wasn’t anyone else’s fault. He won’t be putting in any kind of complaint, I promise.’
Relieved, Al received the incident form dated and signed: Maria Rose Head.
‘M. R. Head,’ he noted. Now he understood.

Question
You are Maria from the passage. The day after the rafting trip you write a letter to a friend back
home.
Write the letter. In your letter you should comment on:
• your impressions of the hotel and its staff as well as your husband’s attitude and behaviour
on the holiday
• your plans for the remaining days of your holiday.
Base your letter on what you have read in Passage A, but be careful to use your own words.
Address each of the three bullet points.
 Begin your letter, ‘Dear friend
 This place is everything I imagined…’
 Write about 200 to 300 words.
 Be sure to end your letter appropriately.