National/State Common Entrance Examination Practice Tests – English Studies Set 1 – Questions with Answers and Explanations

COMPREHENSION

Passage I

Sometime ago, a man punished his three-year-old daughter for wasting a roll of gold wrapping paper. Money was tight, and he became infuriated when the child tried to decorate a box to put under the tree.

Nevertheless, the little girl brought the gift to her father the next morning and said, "this is for you, daddy". He was embarrassed by his earlier overreaction, but his temper flared again when he found that the box was empty. He yelled at her, "don't you know that when you give someone a present there is supposed to be something inside of it".

The little girl looked up at him with tears in her eyes and said, "Oh daddy, it is not empty. I blew kisses into the box, all for you daddy". The father was crushed. He put his arms around the little girl and begged her for forgiveness. The man kept the box by his bed for years, whenever he was discouraged, he would take out an imaginary kiss and remember the love of the child who had put
it there.

What did the man do when the girl offered him a gift the next morning? He ________

A. begged her.
B. kept the gift.
C. was angry.
D. was embarrassed.
E. yelled at her.

The man took the imaginary kiss whenever he was ________

A. angry.
B. discouraged.
C. disturbed.
D. happy.
E. sick.

What did the girl put in the box that the lather did not see? The girl put _____

A. gold.
B. kisses.
C. love.
D. tears.
E. wrapping paper.

Why was the girl's father embarrassed when she brought him a gift? He was embarrassed because __________

A. he overreacted.
B. he punished her.
C. he was furious.
D. the little girl was crying.
E. there was nothing inside the box.

What did the girl put in the box that the lather did not see? The girl put _____

A. gold.
B. kisses.
C. love.
D. tears.
E. wrapping paper.

PASSAGE II

Ralia was alone, lost in the bush. She was afraid. She called out but she had a small voice. It was not good for shouting; it was only good for singing. Again, and again she shouted, hoping that someone would hear. No one heard. No help came.

She threw herself down and wept. She pulled at her hair and kicked one foot against the other. She sat up, stood up and again threw herself down. The bush scratched her body and blood came from the scratches.

Ralia thought of her father and mother. She thought of her dog, Wara. What would they do when she did not go home? Her mother was blind. Her father had hurt his back. Her dog had a bad foot and could not walk. Therefore no one would look for her.

Her mother would only cry and clap her hands. Her dog would only bark and her father would only bite his fingers. No one would eat that night. There was nobody to make their food. Ralia again started to weep. She thought, where would she sleep that night? All sorts of insects might bite her. She might be bitten by a snake. The wild animals might kill her. She might die and no one would know where she was.

Culled from Sugar Girl by Kola Onadipe.

"...called out" as used in paragraph one of the passage can be replaced with _______

A. cried.
B. hoped.
C. sang.
D. shouted.
E. slept.

Ralia's mother would only cry and clap her hands because she could not _______

A. hear.
B. See.
C. shout.
D. run
E. walk.

Wara was a/an ________

A. dog
B. insect.
C. person.
D. snake.
E. wild animal.

According to the passage _____ prepared food for the family.

A. no one
B. Rulia
C. Ralia's father
D. Raiia's mother
E. Wara

A suitable title for this passage could be ________

SECTION B: LEXIS

Choose from the options lettered A-E, the one that is nearest in meaning to the word in italics (Nos. 11-15).

The water was polluted.

A. clean.
B. dirty.
C. packaged.
D. pure.
E. tasty.

The magician disappeared into thin air.

A. dived
B. fled
C. floated
D. rushed
E. vanished

Jane is very unfriendly.

A. nasty
B. selfish
C. stingy
D. unpleasant
E. wicked

The examination will soon resume.

This year’s harvest was poor.