Licensure

Examination
for Teachers
Practice Test in Basic English
1. What statement best describes
literature?
a. Literature systematically records
what people done.
b. Literature deals with ideas, thoughts
and emotions of man.
c. Literature is concerned with
political, economic and social matters.
d. Literature discusses the nation’s
spirit and enables men to trace the little
rills.
2. How many syllables are
there in the second line of a
haiku?
a. 5
b. 7
c. 9
d. 11
3. He is considered as
Shakespeare of Japan.
a. Bojuji
b. Basho
c. Kalidasa
d. Wei
4. What is the main idea of the paragraph below?
People can travel at many different speeds. Rocket
ships travel the fastest but most people can’t travel in
them yet. Planes carry most people the fastest, but some
people are afraid to fly. Planes go several miles an
hour. The speed of ships is slow compared with planes
and trains.

a. Cars travel the slowest.

b. Travel takes place at different speeds.
c. Ships have to travel through water.
d. People’s preferences when it comes to traveling vary.
5. What pattern is used in the
sentence “Science and Technology
have transformed the life of modern
man”?
a. S-IV
b. S-TV-IO-DO
c. S-TV-DO
d. S-TV-DO-OC
6. What is considered as the
greatest epic of India?
a. Ramayana
b. Mahabharata
c. Vedas
d. Darangan
7. It is an Indian Literature
characterized by poetry and idyllic
beauty.
a. Drama
b. Essay
c. Prose
d. Novel
8. Pedagogical literature was not
popular among the Thai people before
the turn of the century. The underlined
word means _____
a. global
b. classic
c. instructive
d. religious
9. Many Filipino workers go abroad
because they get a good
remuneration. What does
remuneration mean?
a. housing
b. promotion
c. salary
d. treatment
10. pencils: write:: knives:_____
a. pointed
b. sharp
c. cut
d. rust
11. mistletoe: Christmas
a. crucifix:easter
b. pumpkin:halloween
c. boquet:debut
d. birds:wedding
12. titanic: big:: minute:___
a. hour
b. small
c. visible
d. day
13. Iliad:Homer:: Ramayana:___

a. Kalidasa
b. Ravana
c. Valmiki
d. Virgil
14. This was considered as the great
environmental enemy of the ancient
Egyptian.
a. river
b. forest
c. desert
d. mountain
15. Hector:Astyanax:: Odysseus:__
a. Calypso
b. Penelope
c. Athena
d. Telemachus
16. The Greek warrior who is
known as man of many schemes.
a. Phoenix
b. Odysseus
c. Sinon
d. Agamemnon
17. From among the Social Sciences,
which is closely related to
literature?
a. Economics
b. History
c. Psychology
d. Sociology
18. Which modal is appropriate to
use in expressing an event that is
more likely to happen?
a. can
b. may
c. shall
d. will
19. All of the following have /ow/
EXCEPT__________.
a. coal
b. mole
c. shawl
d. tote
20. Which of the following are
irregular verbs
I. told II. came
III. arisen IV. said

a. I & III b. II & III

c. III & IV d. III only
21. All of the following have final
/Id/ EXCEPT
a. finished
b. heated
c. shaded
d. waited
22. In the story, “How My Brother
Leon Brought Home a Wife?” what
Filipino trait is described by the
changing of names from Leon to Noel
and Maria to Mary?
a. sensitivity
b. sense of pride
c. colonial mentality
d. respect for elders
23. In the line, “But if I could hold
thee in my arms, I know both
heaven and earth were mine,” what
figurative language is used?
a. synecdoche
b. hyperbole
c. metonymy
d. pathetic fallacy
24. Who wrote the story “The Small
Key”?
a. Paz M. Latorena
b. Jose Garcia Villa
c. Amador T. Daguio
d. Manuel E. Arguilla
25. It is a prose fiction which aims at
richly detailed and generally realistic
depiction of an ideal society.
a. Utopian literature
b. Mock Epic
c. Pastoralism
d. Apocalyptic
26. What do you call the type of lead
used in the opening paragraph of
May Day Eve?
a. camera lead
b. staccato lead
c. parody lead
d. conventional lead
27. The line – mirror, mirror, show
to me him whose woman I will be – is
lifted from what story in Philippine
literature?
a. Life of Cardo
b. May Day Eve
c. Three Generations
d. The Fence
28. In what point of view is the
story, “Life of Cardo,” told?
a. first person narration
b. third person limited
c. third person objective
d. third person omniscient
29. It is the characteristic of
language that conveys feelings,
attitudes, likes and dislikes.
a. accent
b. pause
c. stress
d. tone
30. It is a part of a nonfiction book
that list terms or names.
a. copyright page
b. index
c. table of contents
d. title page
31. The smallest meaningful unit
in a language is called ______.
a. suffix
b. morpheme
c. affix
d. cluster
32. In what syllable does the
primary stress fall in the word
LABORATORY?
a. first
b. second
c. third
d. fourth
For items 33-35, read the text below then answer questions below

Majority of the Filipinos’ access to formal education

remains limited to elementary schooling, according to the
National Census and Statistics Office (NCSO).
Some are fortunate enough to continue on the secondary
or high school level of the formal system but more than half drop
out before finishing the course.
The lucky few who reach the tertiary or university level
constitute only 2.5 percent of the population who are 25 years old
and over.
There is also a significant number of children who are out
of school and their ranks are believed increasing as a result of the
ongoing economic crisis.
33. What is the main idea of the selection?
a. There will be an increase in number of
educated children in the coming years.
b. The number of students who go to
school decreases as they go higher in year
level.
c. To be able to finish a degree course is
only for a lucky few.
d. Elementary education is compulsory to
every Filipino.
34. What would be the effect if such trend will continue?
a. There will be more youth who will not be able to finish college.
b. There will be an increase in the number of street children.
c. The uneducated people will be one of the hindrances in the progress of our
economy.
d. The unemployed will be forced to work abroad.
35. Which of the following measures is the
best that the government could do to solve
this problem?
a. Employ more competent teachers
b. Encourage the youth to go to school
c. Put up more schools in remote areas
d. Enforce the government’s free basic
education program.
36. Inverted pyramid in writing is
followed by_____________.
a. columnists
b. feature writers
c. news writers
d. editorial writers
For items 37-40, read the poem and answer the questions that
follow.

The Silent Voices

Alfred Lord Tennyson

1 When the dumb hour, clothed in black,

2 Brings the dream about my bed,
3 Call me not so often back,
4 Silent voices of the dead
5 Toward the lowland ways behind me,
6 And the sunlight that is gone!
7 Call me rather, silent voices,
8 Forward to the starry track
9 Glimmering up the heights beyond me
10 On and always on!
37. The poet is speaking about
_____________.
a. silence
b. voices
c. hours
d. stars
38. Which two lines make a picture
of heaven?
a. 2&3
b. 5&6
c. 8&9
d. 9&10
39. Where does the poet want to go
when the voices of the dead calls
him?
a. to his bed
b. to the stars
c. lowland
d. to the sunlight
40. What tone or mood is expressed
by the poet in his poem?
a. happiness
b. pleading
c. courage
d. melancholy
41. How many morphemes are there
in the word “children’s”?
a. one
b. two
c. three
d. four
For items 42-44, select the letter of the irrelevant sentence.

42. a. The Filipino Child Care and Development Foundation was out of the need for a
nationwide nongovernmental vehicle to implement the objectives of the decade of the
Filipino Child and Youth Welfare Code.
b. Children are by nature curious and desire to find out everything there is to learn in the
world.
c. The foundation will support the national program and pilot projects to further the
welfare and development of Filipino children.
d. It maximizes efforts to increase public awareness and participation at all levels of the
community on issues concerning the rights and needs of children.
43. a. To a lot of depressed and emotionally
burdened people, suicide seems to be a good
escape.
b. When one prays, he communicates with
the Almighty and pours out his anxieties, fears,
frustrations, and happiness.
c. Sincere prayers uplifts the spirit and
brings peace of mind.
d. He confides everything to Him and feels
in the end that he is relieved of the heavy burden
that is getting the better of him.
44. a. For a fee ranging from $8,000 to $20,000, a
woman capable of bearing a child is
hired by a childless couple to bear their baby.
b. More and more childless couples in the
United States are resorting to reliable way to
have children.
c. Extramarital relationships by the husband
cannot in anyway affect the confidence of the wife in
her capacity to make their married life succeed.
d. The woman, referred to as the surrogate
mother, is impregnated with the sperm of the father
by the use of a syringe.
45. The substance of democracy lies in
developing political structures which ___
for greater direct participation of the
people in political and economic decisions,
for mass involvement in various aspects of
local government and in day-to-day
administration of civil institutions.
a. allow b. allows
c. allowed d. allowing
For items, read the following selections/passages carefully.
Then, answer the questions that come after each. Choose the
letter that corresponds to the correct answer.
(1) A practical joke is not something which is said,
but something which is done, and it is usually intended to
make people laugh at somebody. (2) So long as the person
upon whom a joke is played is not hurt, or not put in danger
of being hurt, practical joking is only fun. (3) You may hide
a friend’s books, and be amused when he looks everywhere
for them. (4) But if you pull a chair away just as he is sitting
down, or put something for him to pull over, he may seriously
injure himself. (5) Such practical jokes are foolish.
46. Sentence 1 which is a topic
sentence is a/an _______.
a. explanation
b. definition
c. result
d. classification
47. To what does the pronoun “he”
refers to in sentence 3.
a. books
b. hide
c. everywhere
d. friend
48. Why do people joke?

a. to hurt people
b. make one uncomfortable
c. make people laugh
d. injure someone
49. Which statement is not true?
Pulling a chair away hurts
Practical jokes are foolish
Jokes are fun at all times
Practical joke is something which is done
50. The best title for the selection is
_______________.
a. Jokes are Foolish
b. Joking is part of Friendship
c. Laugh at Jokes
d. Practical Jokes
For items 51-52, read the excerpt below
then answer the questions.
“ For yesterday is but a dream,
And tomorrow is only a vision,
Every tomorrow a vision of hope
Look well, therefore, to this day!
Such is the salutation to the dawn.”
51. What is the dominant message of the
excerpt from the poem,
“ Salutation of the Day ”
a. Yesterday is not important.
b. Every dawn of the day must
be welcomed.
c. Tomorrow is not true.
d. Today has its dawn.
52. Which line suggests optimism
for the coming of the day.
a. First Line
b. Second Line
c. Third Line
d. Last Line
53. “My hobby is to write poems, to
listen to music, and to read
pocketbooks. ” What parallelism is
used in this sentence? A series of
_______.
a. gerunds
b. verbs
c. infinitives
d. nouns
 54. It is a word or phrase which
reads the same in both directions.
a. Anagram
b. Epigram
c. Palindrome
d. a and c
For items 55-59, study
the word entry below.
Then answer the
questions that follow.
tête-à-tête (ˌteɪtəˈteɪ)n. (plural) -têtes, -tête
1. a private conversation between two people 2.
(as modifier) ⇒ a tête-à-tête conversation 3. a
small sofa for two people, esp one that is S-
shaped in plan so that the sitters are almost face
to face : from French, literally: head to head:
private conversation, talk, chat, parley, cosy
chat, private word, confab= in private, privately,
intimately
1. Just before they were readying to head back to
New York, Sullivan had asked Ed to join him for
a drink and a tête-à-tête at the bar. Business
Today (1999)
2. Are you determined to cut short this pleasant
tête-à-tête?
Holt, Victoria The Road to Paradise Island
3. So you finally wound up your little tête-à-tête
with the journalist?Nicola Barker BEHINDLINGS
(2002)
55. How many information are
presented in the word entry?
a. 7
b. 8
c. 9
d. 10
56. In what syllable does the
primary stress fall in the word
tete-a-tete?
a. first
b. second
c. third
d. fourth
57. Cozy chat, parley, and confab
are ________.
a. antonyms of the entry
word
b. derivations of the entry
word
c. synonyms of the entry word
d. word formation of the
entry word
58. How many derivatives does the
entry word have?
a. one
b. two
c. three
d. four
59. Information provided by
Business Today, Holt Victoria and
Nicola Barker are examples of
_____________.
a. level of usage
b. discourse usage
c. illustration
d. further explanatory notes
60. The traitor divulged the
country’s military plans.
a. pampered
b. revealed
c. concealed
d. spoiled
For items 61-63, read the
following selections
carefully, then answer the
questions that follow.
Choose the letter that
corresponds to the correct
answer.
“ why are we stopping here? ” my mother
asked.
“ I thought we might go for a ride, ” my
father answered.
“ But Dad, we didn’t bring our bicycle, ” I
said
My father laughed. “ It’s not that kind of
ride, Tajana Mae. I thought, we would go
horseback riding.”
I looked at my mother and she looked at me,
and we both smiled.
61. Which sentence would best fit after the
last sentence in this conversation?
a. I was afraid to ride a house!
b. We were looking forward for
the ride.
c. We still did not understand
why we were stopping
d. I was disappointed that we
were not going to rides our bikes.
62. The family is most probably
_____.
a. on a vacation
b. spoiling the daughter
c. disagreeing on where to
go
d. taking the daughter to a
driving school
63. Which of the following would be a
good topic sentence for their passage?
a. Bicycles are better than cars.
b. My mother always surprises
us
c. My father and I are always
in agreement.
d. Sometimes it is more fun not
to plan things.
For items 64-66 read excerpt below. Then, answer the questions that
come after each. Choose the letter of the correct answer.
Excerpt from the poem, “ These Lovely Things ”
Jose La Villa Tierra

The Graceful sway of grass, folk-dancing on the Sea;

The green narra leaves; The blue of sky and sea;
The lacy waterfalls and rainbows in the sun;
The master’s canvas in the West when day is done;

My humble nipa hut beneath the swaying palms

Listening to the breezes lilting pagan psalms;
The moonbeams on the bay; each little bird that sings;
Dalagas on the lane; the color summer brings…,
64. What figure of speech is used in
the first line, stanza 2?
a. personification
b. hyperbole
c. metaphor
d. simile
65. What rhyme scheme is evident
in the poem?
a. abcd
b. aabb
c. abab
d. abcc
66. Choose the word reflecting the
beauty of the province.
a. nipa hut
b. summer
c. rainbow
d. birds
 For items 67-71, read
the poem below then
answer the questions
that follow.
To the Virgins, To make
Much of Time
By Robert Herrick

Gather ye rosebuds while ye may,

Old Time is still a-flying;
And this same flower that
Smiles today,
Tomorrow will be dying.

The glorious lamp of heaven, the sun,

The higher he’s a-getting,
The sooner will his race be sun,
And nearer he’s to setting.

The age is best which is the first,

When youth and blood are warmer;
But being spent, the worse and worst
Time still succeeds the former

Then be not cry but use your time,

And while ye may, go marry ;
For having lost but once your prime,
You may forever tarry
67. What is the message of the first
stanza, which may as well be the
message of the entire poem?
a. make hay while the
sun shines
b. Time flies fast.
c. Time is gold.
d. Tomorrow is dying.
68. In the second stanza, what does
a setting sun symbolize?
a. heaven’s lamp
b. higher sun
c. tender age
d. old age
69. In the succeeding stanza, what
has advantage in the beginning but
which Time will succeed to defeat?
a. his race
b. the sun
c. the age
d. blood
70. What do “ the virgins ” here
represent? To _____.
a. ladies
b. teenagers
c. women only
d. men and women
71. What is the rhyming scheme
used in the first stanza?
a. abab
b. cdcd
c. efef
d. ghgh
For items 72-75, identify the revision that correctly
edits the sentence.

72. a. When all these things happen, I feel needed,

secure and like they respect me.
b. When all these things happen, I feel needed,
secure, and like they respect me.
c. When all these things happen, I feel needed,
secure, and that they respect me.
d. When all these things happen, I feel needed,
secure, and respected.
73. a. While driving to Cabanatuan,
the rain started falling.
b. While we were driving to
Cabanatuan, the rain started falling.
c. The rain started falling while
driving to Cabanatuan.
d. The rain, while driving to
Cabanatuan, started falling.
74. a. The victory celebration lasted most of the
evening several people continued to party until the
middle of the following morning.
b. The victory celebration lasted most of the
evening several people continued to party until the
middle of the following morning.
c. The victory celebration lasted most of the
evening, several people continued to party until the
middle of the following morning.
d. The victory celebration lasted most of the
evening, and several people continued to party until the
middle of the following morning.
75. a. Lance's mother bought him a
new car for graduation, which cost nearly
P420,000.
b. For graduation, Lance's mother
bought him a new car, which cost nearly
P420,000.
c. Lance's mother, bought him a new
car, for graduation, which cost nearly
P420,000.
d. For P420,000, Lance's mother bought
him a new car for graduation.
For items 76-80, identify what type of
morpheme is the one underlined. Write A
if it is INFLECTIONAL; write B if it is
DERIVATIONAL.
__76.doubtful
__77.truest
__78.sadly
__79. Joel’s
__80.teacher
81. What rule in word formation
governs the words “boom,” “splat,”
and “bang”?

a. borrowing
b. onomatopoeia
c. clipping
d. compounding
 For items 82-84, identify the intonation
pattern used in each item. Use the
following choices:
a. Rising-Falling b. Rising
c. Suspended d. Address

___82. Where are you going, Jonald?

___83. What do you want for breakfast
hotdog, bacon or egg?
___84. Is he joining the trip?
 For items 86-89, identify what type of clause is the
underlined structure. Use the following choices:
a – Noun Clause b – Adjectival Clause
c– Adverbial Clause
___86.I’ll do the laundry when I’m out of clothes.
___87.The building, which they built in Muñoz, sold
for a lot of money.
___88.People get involved with this technology
when they learn how to solve their problems with
wikis.
___89. I saw the movie before I left for Paris.
90. Who makes a literary piece
classic?
a. The Author
b. The Publisher
c. The Reader
d. a and c only
91. What approach to literary criticism can
be applied in the following lines: “When she
came to the mountain stream she crossed it
carefully. Nobody held her hand, and the
stream water was very cold. The trail went
up again, and she was in the moonlight
shadows among the trees and shrubs.
Slowly she climbed the mountain”?
a. historical b. feminist
c. symbolic d. Marxism
92. In the poem, “Letter to Pedro,
US Citizen, Also Called Pete,” what
was the flower that overhangs the
mayor’s mansion?
a. ilang-ilang
b. sampaguita
c. calachuchi
d. a and b
93. From among the Social Sciences,
which is closely related to
literature?
a. Economics
b. History
c. Psychology
d. Sociology
94. The line – mirror, mirror, show
to me him whose woman I will be –
is lifted from what story in
Philippine literature?
a. Life of Cardo
b. May Day Eve
c. Three Generations
d. The Fence
95. What insect was used in the
story Zita?
a. butterfly
b. firefly
c. moth
d. bee
96. Literature is derived from the
Latin word litterae which means
a. print
b. alphabet
c. letter
d. symbol
97. It is considered as the medium
of literature.
a. language
b. sound
c. phonemes
d. symbol
98. This refers to the representation
of basic experience through
language.
a. figurative language
b. image
c. rhythm
d. metaphors
99. In Sigurd the Volsung, heroes
believed that the only way to achieve
immortality is to:
a. take full responsibility for their
actions
b. earn honor in the battlefield
c. achieve fame after death
d. choose to lead an honorable life by
putting the needs of others
100. In the saga of Sigurd, all of the
following were living things
EXCEPT
a.Gram
b.Gudrun
c.Grani
d.Odin