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WORKSHEET 2: 9 February 2024

1. Refer to paragraphs 1 and 2:
a. An amphibian is an animal that: A. lives only on land; B. lives only in water; C.
lives on both land and water. Choose one option. (1)
b. Read the paragraphs carefully and from the information provided, give definitions
for the following terms: herpetofauna; ectotherms; herpetologist. (3)
2. Give a synonym for entail (paragraph 3) and write down a pair of antonyms from
paragraph 5. (2)
3. Words that look similar can often be confused, yet they have different meanings.
Write sentences to show the meanings of the second word in each of these
commonly confused pairs of words:
a. Which (paragraph 5) and witch
b. Pursue (paragraph 7) and peruse
c. Current (paragraph 8) and currant
d. Affects (verb in paragraph 9) and effects (noun)
e. Misinformation (paragraph11) and disinformation (5)
4. Refer to paragraph 6 and to this definition of slang:

“Slang is a type of language consisting of words or phrases that are regarded as very
informal, are more common in speech than in writing, and are typically restricted to a
particular context or group of people” (www.languages.oup.com).

a. On the basis of the definition, explain why “herps” is described by the writer as a
“slang term”. (2)
b. Colloquialisms are also a type of informal language. What is the difference
between colloquialisms and slang? (2)
5. Give the functions of the following punctuation marks as they are used in this text:
a. The semicolon (paragraph 1)
b. The brackets (paragraph 4)
c. The series of commas in the second sentence of paragraph 7.
d. The dash (paragraph 9)
e. The inverted commas (paragraph 10). (5)
6. Refer to paragraph 11:
a. Underline the finite verbs in these sentences and state what tense the verbs are
in: Most snakes are harmless. They don’t chase people, and they stay hidden
much of the time. (1)
b. Explain why this tense is used here. (1)
c. What type of noun is curiosity? (1)
d. Identify four other words in this paragraph that could be categorised as this noun
type. (2)
[25 marks]

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