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Time Allowed: 30 Minutes

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Lara ran out of the neat little house by the school when at
last she heard the sound of the motor. She'd been waiting
over three quarters of an hour now, unable to settle to
anything, her bags packed ready in the hall. She
recognised the driver of the battered Land Rover at once.
It was her father, she was sure. He jumped out of the
truck.

"Lara. It is Lara, isn't it?"

She stood silently, leaning on the verandah post regarding

the man she did not know at all and yet knew so well from
the few old photographs her mother had kept.

He hesitated a moment. "It is you, Lara?" She nodded.

'Well it's me then," he said unnecessarily. "It's your

father."

"I know."'

When he hugged her to him she couldn't respond for a

storm of tears was inside her and her mother seemed so
close now. He smelt exactly as she'd imagined - of the
bush, of fire and wood and sweat and also faintly of
tobacco. She wished she could hug him back but she
drew away when Mrs Robinson pushed open the wire
screen door and greeted him.

"Mr Ritchie," she said warmly.

Thunderwith, Libby Hathorn, P1

Question 1
Based on the text, we can assume that

A. Lara's mother lives with her.

B. Mrs Robinson teaches Lara.
C. Lara's father lives in the city.
D. Lara is pleased to see her father.

Question 2
Mr Ritchie's behaviour when meeting Lara can best be described as

A. languid.
B. apprehensive.
C. standoffish.
D. inappropriate.

j/

Question 3
Lara's behaviour before the arrival of her Dad can best be described as

A. anxious.
B. depressed.
C. astute.
D. indecisive.

Question 4
Which of the following would not describe the emotion contained in this piece of writing?

A. Love and hope

B. Pain and hardship
C. Happiness and familiarity
D. Loss and anxiety
Question 5
"It is better to remain silent and be thought a fool than to open one's mouth and remove
all doubt."
Abraham Lincoln

Which of the following sayings is most like Abraham Lincoln's?

A. Keep one's cards close to one's chest.

B. Silence is the best policy.
C. Open one's mouth and put one's foot in it.
D. Empty cans make the most noise.

Question 6
Choose the correct sentence.

A. Mother yelled, "get the dog!"

B. Mother yelled, "Get the dog!"
C. Mother yelled "Get the dog!"
D. Mother yelled, "Get the dog."

Question 7
Women manage households and care for family members, which often limits their
mobility and increases their vulnerability to sudden weather-related natural disasters.
Drought and erratic rainfall force women to work harder to secure food, water and
energy for their homes. Girls drop out of school to help their mothers with these tasks.
This cycle of deprivation, poverty and inequality undermines the social capital needed to
deal effectively with climate change.

The main idea of this passage is:

A. Increased social capital is required to ensure that more impoverished

women live in comfort.
B. Many women are impoverished because they are agrarian workers.
C. Climate change, as we know it already, impacts most upon the least affluent
rural female workers.
D. Women become less transitory because of family obligations and
unpredictable meteorological conditions.
 Fuel Prices
A leading international energy agency today urged oil-producing countries to replenish
crude oil inventories in light of a record oil price. In unusually urgent tones, the
International Energy Agency warned that demand for oil imports by China and India will
almost quadruple by 2030 and could create a supply "crunch" as soon as 2015 if oil
producers do not step up production, energy efficiency fails to improve and demand from
the two countries is not dampened.
"At current prices the market is signalling that stocks need to be higher, something that is
in the power of producers to address," Nobuo Tanaka, executive director of the I.E.A., told
journalists at a briefing in London. "Since this time last year, the world outlook has
deteriorated. Demand is higher and supply worsening."
Bolstered by speedy economic development and industrialization, energy demand from
Asia has been one of the main contributors to higher oil prices. Over the last two years,
China and India accounted for about 70 percent of the increase in energy demand and the
world's energy needs would increase 55 percent by 2030. High economic growth in
China and India could push oil prices to $159 a barrel by 2030, the agency said. Fatih
Birol, the agency's chief economist and the lead author of its flagship publication, The
World Energy Outlook 2007, presented today, said that while economic growth should be
encouraged because it helps to meet increasing energy demand through fostering
innovation, it needs to happen in tandem with policies for energy efficiency.
Mr Birol called on the Chinese government to put standards and quotas in place that
would allow the country to grow while slowing energy consumption and carbon emissions.
Car sales in China, which overtook Japan last year and are expected to overtake the
United States by 2015, contribute to rising oil demand and harm the environment and are
an area where new policies could take effect, he said. "We're not running out of energy or
money, but we're running out of time," Mr Birol said.
The agency said the immediate adoption of policies, including tougher efficiency
standards for air-conditioners and refrigerators in India and China, would result in China
saving the amount of power produced by the enormous Three Gorges dam by 2020 and
India profiting from a reduction of pollution.
AFR 2007

Question 8
The I. E. A believes

A. producers can lower crude oil prices by increasing stock.

B. failure to address energy efficiency may result in energy supply issues.
C. energy demand from Asia has contributed to the cost of barrels of oil.
D. All of the above.

Question 9
Mr Fatih Birol believes

A. the creation of policies concerning energy efficiency, and their

implementation, is not occurring at the necessary speed.
B. reducing India's pollution will not affect oil prices.
C. energy demand from India and China is likely to decrease by 2020.
D. A and C.
She had been compelled to send her mother her address from time to time, but
she concealed her circumstances. When her money had almost gone a letter
from her mother reached her. Joan stated that they were in dreadful difficulty;
the autumn rains had gone through the thatch of the house, which required entire
renewal; but this could not be done because the previous thatching had never
been paid for. New rafters and a new ceiling upstairs also were required, which,
with the previous bill, would amount to a sum of twenty pounds. As her husband
was a man of means, and had doubtless returned by this time, could she not
send them the money?

Tess had thirty pounds coming to her almost immediately from Angel Clare's
bankers, and, the case being so deplorable, as soon as the sum was received
she sent the twenty as requested. Part of the remainder she was obliged to
expend in winter clothing, leaving only a nominal sum for the whole inclement
season at hand. When the last pound had gone, a remark of Angel's that
whenever she required further resources she was to apply to his father, remained
to be considered.

But the more Tess thought of the step, the more reluctant was she to take it. The
same delicacy, pride, false shame, whatever it may be called, on Clare's account,
which had led her to hide from her own parents the prolongation of the
estrangement, hindered her owning to his that she was in want after the fair
allowance he had left her. They probably despised her already; how much more
they would despise her in the character of a mendicant! The consequence was
that by no effort could the parson's daughter-in-law bring herself to let him know
her state.

Her reluctance to communicate with her husband's parents might, she thought,
lessen with the lapse of time; but with her own the reverse obtained. On her
leaving their house after the short visit subsequent to her marriage they were
under the impression that she was ultimately going to join her husband; and from
that time to the present she had done nothing to disturb their belief that she was
awaiting his return in comfort, hoping against hope that his journey to Brazil
would result in a short stay only, after which he would come to fetch her, or that
he would write for her to join him; in any case that they would soon present a
united front to their families and the world. This hope she still fostered. To let
her parents know that she was a deserted wife, dependent, now that she had
relieved their necessities, on her own hands for a living, after the eclat of a
marriage which was to nullify the collapse of the first attempt, would be too much
indeed.
\'I
Meanwhile her husband's days had been by no means free from trial. At this
moment he was lying ill of fever in the clay lands near Curitiba in Brazil, having
been drenched with thunder storms and persecuted by other hardships, in
common with all the English farmers and farm-labourers who, just at this time,
were deluded into going thither by the promises of the Brazilian Government, and
by the baseless assumption that those farmers which, ploughing and sowing on
English uplands, had resisted all the weathers to whose moods they had been
born, could resist equally well all the weathers by which they were surprised on
Brazilian plains.
Tess of the d'Ubervilles, Thomas Hardy 1891
Question 10
The passage suggests that

A. Tess did not want her parents to learn of her predicament.

B. Tess felt compelled to assist her parents, and considered their living
conditions to be unacceptable.
C. Tess had little money to cater for her clothing needs in the current severe
weather.
D. All of the above.

Question 11
Based on the text, mendicant is likely to mean

A. miser.
B. tactless.
C. divorcee.
D. beggar.

Question 12
Based on the text, English farmers heading to Brazil

A. were under the misapprehension that their ability to withstand English

weather gave them the ability to cope well with Brazillian weather.
B. were immune to the propaganda of the Brazill ian government.
C. expected to be mistreated, as they were in England.
D. were destined to become ill.

Question 13
Tess did not wish to ask her parents-in-law for money because

A. Angel had instructed her not to do so.

B. she feared her own parents would become aware of her estrangement from
her husband.
C. for fear of their negative feelings towards her.
D. she would be sent to Brazil.
Question 14
Which of the following options is correct?

A. She would of sang it if I had asked her.

B. She'd sang it, if I had asked her.
C. She would have sung it, if I had asked her.
D. She would have sang it, if I had asked her.

Question 15
Which sentence is correctly punctuated?

A. Help me screamed a distressed man. I've been bitten by a snake.

-B. "Help me screamed a distressed man I've been bitten by a snake."
C. "Help me" screamed a distressed man. "I've been bitten by a snake".
D. "Help me!" screamed a distressed man. "I've been bitten by a snake."

Question 16
Because the woman was a celebrity, the tickets to the concert were gratuitous.

The word gratuitous could be best replaced by

A. expensive.
B. inexpensive.
c. free.
D. unavailable.
 Forensic DNA

Forensic DNA is the latest tool in criminal investigation. It is distinctly superior to other
forensic tools like finger printing, ABO and HLA blood typing. DNA testing has achieved
feats of crime detection unparalleled in the records of criminology.

It is much more discriminatory than other techniques. Complete blood group testing tells
the odds of another having the same blood as the defendant as one in thousands and
HLA typing says it is one in millions. Now compare the odds that DNA typing gives - one
in billions.

DNA typing is very sensitive and is performed with DNA extracted from a few hairs. Small
samples can be amplified using polymerase chain reaction methods. This allows samples
to be split into small amounts and sent to more than one laboratory for testing, thus
reducing chances of errors.

Serologic testing requires blood but DNA testing requires only nucleated cells. DNA
testing can therefore use hair, urine, saliva, and other bodily fluids. DNA is more stable
and long lasting than protein. While it does degrade with time it is less susceptible to
environmental degradation than protein. DNA from skeletons has been used to identify
dead soldiers.

Online Learning

Question 17
The word closest in meaning to unparalleled is

A. incomparable.
B. superior.
C. enhanced.
D. overwhelming.

Question 18
Which statement is not true?

A. DNA testing is more accurate than finger printing and blood typing.
B. DNA testing is constant and everlasting.
C. DNA testing gives the statistical probability of the sample not belonging to
the suspect.
D. DNA testing has convicted and also acquitted suspects.
Question 19
The Premier sniffed the wind on this issue on the days leading up to the COAG meeting.
The Age, 4/12/08 P17 Paul Austin
The term sniffed the wind means

A. tried to gauge the prevailing opinion.

B. made a forecast of the likely outcome.
C. sought support for his position.
D. tried to prevent a debate.

Question 20
Please read the following sentences.

My brother is always riding his skateboard on the street. I'm worried he might get
injured.

If we change the above into a single sentence and begin:

My brother is always riding his skateboard on the street,

What will the best ending be?

A. and I'm worried he might get injured.

B. because I'm worried he might get injured.
C. he might get injured.
D. and he's not very smart.

Question 21
It is frequently argued that the way lawyers and judges dress with gowns and wigs is
anachronistic.

In the above sentence the word anachronistic means

A. out of date.
B. essential.
C. forward looking.
D. irrelevant.
 Aesop's Fable

A Fox once saw a Crow fly off with a piece of cheese in its beak and
settle on a branch of a tree. "That's for me, as I am a Fox," said Master
Reynard, and he walked up to the foot of the tree. "Good-day, Mistress
Crow," he cried. "How well you are looking to-day: how glossy your
feathers; how bright your eye. I feel sure your voice must surpass that of
other birds, just as your figure does; let me hear but one song from you
that I may greet you as the Queen of Birds." The Crow lifted up her head
and began to caw her best, but the moment she opened her mouth the
piece of cheese fell to the ground, only to be snapped up by Master Fox.
"That will do," said he: "My dear Crow, you have a nice voice, indeed, but
I'm afraid you have no wits."

Question 22
What is the moral best suited to this story?

A. Beware of the counsel of the unfortunate.

B. Beauty is only skin deep.
C. Do not trust flatterers.
D. Do not try to do what is not natural to you.

Question 23
Which of the following words is most unlike flattery?

A. praise
B. veneration
C. admiration
D. eradication
 The Great Pyramid at Giza

The Inside
The entrance to the pyramid is in the North side, just to the east of the centre. This
entrance leads to a passage, sloping downwards, known as the descending passage.
The passage ends in an underground chamber, which was never completed.

It appears that after they had started to build the pyramid they changed their minds about
where exactly the King was going to be buried. Unlike all of the Pharaohs before him,
King Khufu was not going to be buried underground; instead he was to be buried in the
centre of the pyramid itself. Because they had already built the entrance and descending
passage, they built an ascending passage from the roof of the descending one. The
ascending passage is very narrow and has a low roof. At the bottom of the passage are
three large granite stone blocks. Granite is extremely hard, and difficult to cut, so it was
hoped that these stones would stop grave robbers from breaking into the tomb. The
outside entrance was hidden by a large limestone block, similar to all the other blocks in
the pyramid, so for over 3,000 years nobody knew how to get into it.

Who discovered the entrance?

In the ninth century an Arab ruler, Caliph El Ma'moun, heard stories about treasures
hidden inside the pyramid. His men had a very hard time finding an entrance. They
seemed to know it was on the North side, but not where. Thinking that the Egyptians
were very neat, they decided that it was in the middle, and they started to dig. Somehow
the digging caused a stone in front of the granite blocks at the entrance to the ascending
passage to fall. They heard the sound and started digging towards it. Eventually they
reached the descending passage. The next day they went into the pyramid again, that is
when they found the fallen stone and saw the three granite stones blocking the entrance
to the ascending passage. The Ancient Egyptians were right, and the men couldn't dig
through the hard granite. That didn't stop them, though, they just dug around them.

Up We Go
At the top of the ascending passage two things happen. First there is a horizontal (flat)
passage, leading off into another unfinished room. This room is right in the centre of the
pyramid. El Ma'moun's men called this the Queen's Chamber. They thought that it was a
room for the Queen to be buried in. This can't be right though. We know that as soon as
a King was buried his tomb was sealed and the entrance was kept secret, so robbers
wouldn't break in. So unless the poor Queen was killed straight after her husband, or
worse still, buried alive, then she couldn't be buried in his tomb. As we know the Ancient
Egyptians didn't kill their Queens or bury them alive, we know this room wasn't meant for
her, so Queen's Chamber isn't a very good name for it. Since it isn't finished it is quite
likely that the King, or his designers, changed their minds yet again.

Immediately above the entrance to the Queen's passage is another passage leading
upwards. This passage is much wider than the lower part and is known as the Grand
Gallery. It slopes at the same angle as the ascending passage but the roof is higher and
more elaborate. Instead of having straight sides, the sides narrow as they go up to the
roof, making a sort of an arch. At the top of the grand gallery we finally reach the King's
Chamber, the room in which he was eventually buried.

Online Learning Haven

Question 24
The entrance and passages were blocked

A. to add to the mystery.

B. to prevent the queen from escaping.
C. to protect the king.
D. to preserve the valuables inside.

Question 25
Which of the following conclusions is supported by the passage?

A. A large amount of machinery would be needed to construct the pyramid.

B. The building of pyramids was an Egyptian tradition.
C. The King's Chamber was in the middle of the pyramid.
D. A strict plan was followed.

Question 26
Which of the following is an opinion, rather than a fact?

A. The entrance was not in the centre.

B. A limestone block concealed the entrance.
C. Granite is very hard.
D. The queen may have been killed when her husband died.

Question 27
Which of the answers below best fits?
Several chambers were constructed because

A. the king may have died before the pyramid was completed.
B. the pyramid workers were buried there.
C. the earth excavated was used in other parts of the construction.
D. the king could choose his burial chamber.

Question 28
According to this article, when was the Great Pyramid at Giza completed?

A. 2700BC
B. 2700
C. 6000BC
D. 6000
 We all like to feel we have a successful strategy, a plan we can fall back on, a
policy we can feel sure of. Often, to make sure we are being as smart as
possible; we spend time thinking things through. But, if we think too hard, we
risk creating confusion.
Herald Sun, April glh 2008

Question 29
The word which does not have the same meaning as strategy is

A. tactic.
B. schedule.
c. timetable.
D. procedure.

War is the cold sweat running down my cheek,

As we move nearer to the front lines of the conflict.
The growls of the tanks' engines, like hungry tigers, are noticed as is
The drumming of the soldiers' footsteps, as they march to punish
Their enemies for whatever wrong they had done to them.

War is the baffling bangs of rifles on the lifeless, deformed battlefield,

Heard as soldiers run forward, and grim, metallic tanks roll across the desolate terrain,
Like scuttling rats and mice, moving over a dirty floor, covered with all sorts of filth.
Bombers fly across cities for targets, like owls looking for a lone shrew to grab
In the midst of a silent, pitch-black forest at night.

Soon, the people grow tired of this fighting, and their loud protests can be heard
In the streets of cities vandalised by bombers, in the stinking camps of the soldiers.
These protests push the hard, cold material of the government to form peace,
So the people are freed from the atrocious smell of torched rubber,
Or the sudden screams of terrified children as they rush to the nearest shelter.

Many have felt the sad impact of war, either orphaned, widowed or mutilated.
No longer we suffer the sour taste of rotten food, the disgusting stink of bomb debris,
Or the ear-piercing melody of the air raid siren, as bombers fly across a dark sky.
These are the memories that will chill my bones and frighten me always,
These are my memories of war.

Velibor Misic, BE, Island School, Hong Kong

Question 30
This poem is written from the perspective of

A. a civilian.
B. a soldier.
C. a protester.
D. a child.

Question 31
The general tone of this poem could be described as

A. desolation.
B. courageous.
C. sufferance.
D. punishment.

Question 32
The people want the war to end because

A. they have been injured by the war.

B. they feel defeated.
C. they don't like the noise.
D. they are weary.

Question 33
A shrew is

A. a bird.
B. a low lying building.
C. a small animal.
D. a type of plane.
Question 34
Please read the following sentences.

Due to the floods, the families were evacuated to higher ground. Also, they were
provided with safe accommodation.

If we change the above into a single sentence and begin:

Due to the floods, the families were evacuated to higher ground

What will the best ending be?

A. but provided with safe accommodation.

B. and will be provided with safe accommodation.
C. and should be provided with safe accommodation.
D. and were provided with safe accommodation.

Question 35
Which sentence is correctly punctuated?

A. After travelling to the Flinders Ranges for a holiday, the tourists couldn't
wait to revisit this area of South Australia.
B. After travelling to the flinders ranges for a holiday, the tourists couldn't wait
to revisit this area of south australia.
C. After travelling to the Flinders Ranges for a holiday, the tourists couldnt wait
to revisit this area of South Australia.
D. After travelling to the Flinders Ranges for a holiday the tourists couldn't wait
to revisit this area of South Australia.
Many of the rivers have never been canoed, the few tracks that cut across the
landscape are little used and vast areas have yet to see the footprint of modern
man. Nature lovers, gold seekers, fishermen, four wheel drive tourers and
campers will revel in the wide open spaces, the sheer rugged ranges, the
magnificent Aboriginal art and the pristine rivers and gem-like waterholes.
The Kimberley by Ron and Viv Moon

Question 36
The term "pristine" in this passage is best described as

A. totally unpolluted.
B. before motorised vehicles.
C. virgin country.
D. impure.

Question 37
"A watched pot never boils" means:

A. It's best to forget about what you really want.

B. Cooking something special requires patience.
C. Something can seem to take forever when you really want it to happen.
D. Something you really want to happen needs you constantly checking on its
progress.
Martin Rattler was a very bad boy. At least his aunt, Mrs Dorothy Grumbit, said so; and
certainly she ought to have known, if anybody should, for Martin lived with her, and was,
as she herself expressed it, "the bane of her existence; the very torment of her life." No
doubt of it whatever, according to Aunt Dorothy Grumbit's showing, Martin Rattler was "a
remarkably bad boy."

It is a curious fact, however, that, although most of the people in the village of Ashford
seemed to agree with Mrs Grumbit in her opinion of Martin, there were very few of them
who did not smile cheerfully on the child when they met him, and say, "Good day, lad!" as
heartily as if they thought him the best boy in the place. No one seemed to bear Martin
Rattler ill-will, notwithstanding his alleged badness. Men laughed when they said he was
a bad boy, as if they did not quite believe their own assertion. The vicar, an old white
headed man, with a kind, hearty countenance, said that the child was full of mischief, but
he would improve as he grew older, he was quite certain of that. And the vicar was a
good judge; for he had five boys of his own, besides three other boys, the sons of a
distant relative, who boarded with him; and he had lived forty years in a parish overflowing
with boys, and he was particularly fond of boys in general. Not so the doctor, a pursy little
man with a terrific frown, who hated boys, especially little ones, with a very powerful
hatred. The doctor said that Martin was a scamp.

And yet Martin had not the appearance of a scamp. He had fat rosy cheeks, a round rosy
mouth, a straight delicately-formed nose, a firm massive chin, and a broad forehead. But
the latter was seldom visible, owing to the thickly-clustering fair curls that overhung it.
When asleep Martin's face was the perfection of gentle innocence. But the instant he
opened his dark-brown eyes, a thousand dimples and wrinkles played over his visage,
chiefly at the corners of his mouth and round his eyes; as if the spirit of fun and the spirit
of mischief had got entire possession of the boy, and were determined to make the most
of him. When deeply interested in anything, Martin was as grave and serious as a
philosopher.

Mrs Grumbit was mild, and gentle, and little, and thin, and old,- perhaps seventy-five; but
no one knew her age for certain, not even herself. She wore an old-fashioned, high-
crowned cap, and a gown of bed-curtain chintz, with flowers on it the size of a saucer. It
was a curious gown, and very cheap, for Mrs Grumbit was poor. No one knew the extent
of her poverty, any more than they did her age; but she herself knew it, and felt it deeply,-
never so deeply, perhaps, as when her orphan nephew Martin grew old enough to be put
to school, and she had not wherewithal to send him. But love is quick-witted and resolute.
A residence of six years in Germany had taught her to knit stockings at a rate that cannot
be described, neither conceived unless seen. She knitted two dozen pairs. The vicar
took one dozen, the doctor took the other. The fact soon became known. Shops were
not numerous in the village in those days; and the wares they supplied were only second
rate. Orders came pouring in, Mrs Grumbit's knitting wires clicked, and her little old hands
wagged with incomprehensible rapidity and unflagging regularity,- and Martin Rattler was
sent to school.

Martin Rattler by R. M. Ballantyne

Question 38
Which of the following can be most accurately inferred about the impact Martin Rattler had upon
Mrs Grumbit?

A. Aunt Dorothy would have preferred that Martin had never come to live with her.
B. His aunt was embarrassed by Martin because of his misbehaviour and
unfortunate appearance.
C. Aunt Dorothy was befuddled and unable to care properly for the mischievous boy.
D. Although Martin's behaviour was far from perfect, she cherished him.

Question 39
A resident of six years in Germany had taught her to knit at such a rate that cannot be
described, neither conceived unless seen.
A metaphor for her skill would most likely be:

A. The wings of a hum111ingbird.

B. The work habits of a beaver.
c. The wisdom of an owl.
D. A rampaging of a bull.

Question 40
Which statement below best explains how the vicar could be such a reliable judge of Martin's
character?

A. He had wisdom born of age.

B. He was experienced in dealing with boys.
C. He possessed both personal and communal worldliness.
D. His kindness made him think well of Martin.

Question 41
Below is a list of bad behaviours.
Which one is most likely to be committed by Martin?

A. Stealing all the biscuits from his aunt's pantry.

B. Singing rude, rhyming words in a Christmas carol.
C. Pinching one of the vicar's children.
D. Organising a fight between the ruffians in town.

Question 42
Of the character references cited by R. M. Ballantyne in the text, which is the most compelling?

A. Mrs Gumbit's expressions.

B. The doctor's declaration.
C. The men's laughter.
D. The vicar's conviction.
Britain needed more tea. The British population was growing rapidly and
the number of emigrants to the British colonies and dominions grew from
small numbers to a huge potential market in the Americas and Asia. The
amount of tea drunk per person also increased very fast.

Tea from China kept the West, and particularly Britain, satisfied until the
late eighteenth century. The East India Company was not enthusiastic
about investigating alternative sources for this commodity. It had the
monopoly of the China trade and not surprisingly did not want this
threatened. Between1711 and 1810,£77 000 000 in taxes had been
collected from the tea trade, which indicates its value. Yet against this
reluctance there was a growing conviction among traders and
entrepreneurs that China should not be allowed to reap all the benefits
from one of the most profitable, and yearly more profitable, commodities
in the world.

Europeans could not see why eastern countries should make fortunes
out of their own products, and it became their aim to seek out and control
the production of sugar, opium, rubber, coffee, cocoa and other
necessary plant products. In Britain, Kew Gardens was established, and
lesser offshoots elsewhere, where "collectors" could send specimens to
which the British could lay claim as soon as they were in possession of
the place where they grew. The naturalist Sir Joseph Banks, president of
the Royal Society from 1778, had plant hunters scouring the world for
such specimens; many "explorers" were on the same mission.

Green Gold: The Empire of Tea by Alan Macfarlane and Iris Macfarlane
Question 43
From the text we can safely assume that

A. the taxes on tea would be increased.

B. there was an increasing demand for tea and that someone would see
this as a chance to make a great deal of money.
C. The East India Company wanted sources of tea other than China.
D. The East India Company was only one of the tea importers.

Question 44
With regard to natural products produced in Eastern countries the European
countries could best be described as

A. arrogant.
B. superior.
C. ignorant.
D. exploitive.

Question 45
Kew Gardens and their lesser offshoots were seen as providing

A. a nursery for exotic plants.

B. a nursery and supplies of exotic plants which may have commercial value.
C. a garden where plants could be studied.
D. a garden for the education and entertainment of the public.

Question 46
The writer of the text puts the words "collectors" and "explorers" in inverted commas.
The most probable reason for this is that

A. they were not scientists.

B. they were amateurs.
C. they were dilettantes.
D. they were really plant thieves.
 'JEAt{sFARM
CUT-nNw EDwE ·
G-ENETICALLY
MOO\ FlED
CRoPs

Question 47
What best describes the cartoonist's message in the cartoon above?

A. Genetically modified crops are a good idea.

B. Genetically modified crops are a bad idea.
C. Genetically modified crops may have unexpected consequences.
D. Eggs can be made to grow on trees.

Question 48

You cannot be a lawyer _ _ _ _ _ _ you have a law degree.

A. since
B. because
C. until
D. unless
All that day and the night that followed they sailed north along the desolate coast. Sleet
blew and froze on them, hail fell like the blows of dwarfs hammers and the wind and sea
lifted in a tempest but Bearskin handled the boat with ease and skill and seemed not to
notice the weather. When dawn lit the grey water he took dried fish and bread from a
locker and offered it to Anna with fresh water to drink. She tasted them and spat but he
only said, "That is the fare we have till we reach my home; you may eat it or not as you
wish," and went on tending sail and oar.

By evening they were travelling between two long, low promontories where gulls
screamed about their heads. Twice, Anna saw seals slip from the rocky shore into the
water as the boat slid by.

At length they hauled alongside a small jetty built from thick pine logs and sheltered from
the waves by a jut of black stone. Bearskin made the painter fast to a ballard, and
stepped ashore, arranging his long white cloak of skin around him. He took the chest of
clothes under one arm and his weapons in his free hand and strode off along a faint path
through the rounded black boulders. Anna had to scramble out unaided and stumble after
her rough husband. At first her pride forbade her to hurry but when he began to draw
distant from her she looked around at the grey sky, the black stones and cold sea and
hated to be left alone in such a place. Though she felt no love for Bearskin yet there was
no other company or comfort and she felt safe where he was, so grim was he. He was
grim as the land itself, and she hurried a little and caught him up.

"Bearskin" in Many Kinds of Magic by Bill Scott

Question 49
In this passage "grim" means

A. bleak.
B. unforgiving.
c. formidable.
D. coarse.

Question 50
After reading the whole passage, which of the following best explains Anna's reaction to
tasting the bread and dried fish?

A. She was not used to the kind of food Bearskin offered.

B. She is conceited and contemptuous of Bearskin.
C. She has limited experience of different typ~s of food.
D. She tries to provoke a response from Bearskin.

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