Reading Skills
In "She crept across the room, avoiding the creaking floorboards," what does "crept" suggest about how she was moving?
A) Quickly and carelessly
B) Slowly and quietly
C) Loudly and confidently
D) Cheerfully and openly
B) Slowly and quietly
There are 36 pencils shared equally among 9 students. How many does each student get?
4
All penguins are birds. Pip is a bird. Is Pip definitely a penguin?
No (Pip could be any kind of bird)
Which text type is written to explain how to do something, step by step?
A) Narrative
B) Procedure
C) Recount
D) Persuasive
B) Procedure
What is 2/3 of 45?
30
In the middle of a story about a girl starting high school, the narrator describes her first day at primary school six years earlier. What technique is this an example of?
A) Foreshadowing
B) Personification
C) Flashback
D) Simile
C) Flashback
A number pattern goes 4, 12, 36, 108, ... What comes next?
324 (each term is multiplied by 3)
"Our school should start lessons later in the morning because it will improve students' learning."
Which statement BEST supports this argument?
A) The school day currently begins at 8:30 am.
B) Some students catch two buses to get to school.
C) Research shows students who sleep longer score higher on tests and are less likely to lose focus in class.
D) The school changed its start time once before, in 2015.
C) Research shows students who sleep longer score higher on tests and are less likely to lose focus in class.
Which of the following is the BEST example of a strong story "hook"?
A) "My name is Ravi and this is my story."
B) "The lock clicked open, and the smell hit me before I saw what was inside."
C) "Last Saturday I woke up at about eight o'clock."
D) "There are many interesting things about my grandmother."
B) "The lock clicked open, and the smell hit me before I saw what was inside."
Complete the analogy: Broom is to Sweep as Shovel is to ___?
Dig
If a paragraph begins with the words "For instance," what is the writer most likely about to do?
A) Give a specific example to support the previous point
B) Contradict the previous point
C) Summarise the entire text
D) Change to an unrelated topic
A) Give a specific example to support the previous point
Ella has three times as many stickers as Noah. Together they have 44 stickers. How many does Noah have?
11 (Noah 11, Ella 33)
If all Vurps are Klems, and all Klems are Snods, and all Snods are Trells, are all Vurps definitely Trells?
Yes
What's it called when a writer gives human qualities to something that isn't human, such as "the wind whispered through the trees"?
Personification
"The audience was captivated by the magician's astonishing final trick."
"Captivated" means:
A) Bored
B) Confused
C) Fascinated
D) Frightened
C) Fascinated
"The teacher's warnings were futile, and the students kept talking regardless."
"Futile" means:
A) Repeated
B) Gentle
C) Useless or having no effect
D) Extremely loud
C) Useless or having no effect
A rectangular swimming pool is 5 m longer than it is wide. Its perimeter is 42 m. Find the length and width.
Width = 8 m, Length = 13 m
Four students sit in a row of four seats. Their names are Amir, Bree, Chen and Dana. Chen sits at the far right end. Bree sits immediately to the left of Amir. Dana is not sitting next to Chen. What is the order, left to right?
Dana, Bree, Amir, Chen
Which excerpt's PRIMARY purpose is to inform?
A) "Every one of us has a part to play, and the time to act is now."
B) "Koalas sleep for up to 20 hours a day, conserving energy because eucalyptus leaves provide very little nutrition."
C) "Mia pressed her palm against the rough bark and listened for movement above."
D) "You won't believe what happened next, and neither did I."
B) "Koalas sleep for up to 20 hours a day, conserving energy because eucalyptus leaves provide very little nutrition."
If each letter is replaced by its position in the alphabet, BED = 2-5-4. Using the same code, what word does 19-21-14 spell?
SUN (S = 19, U = 21, N = 14)
Which sentence uses "current" the same way as: "The report examines the current state of the economy."
A) The swimmer struggled against the strong current.
B) Please make sure you have the current version of the form.
C) A current passed through the copper wire.
D) The river's current carried the boat downstream.
B) Please make sure you have the current version of the form. (current = present or up to date, not a flow)
Ana starts walking along a track at 4 km/h. One hour later, Ben starts cycling along the same track at 12 km/h. How long after Ben departs does he catch Ana?
30 minutes (Ana's head start is 4 km, Ben closes the gap at 8 km/h)
Which number does not belong: 8, 27, 45, 64, 125?
45, since the others are all perfect cubes (2³, 3³, 4³, 5³) and 45 is not.
What is the effect of using a short, one-sentence paragraph in persuasive writing?
A) It gives the reader a rest between long sections
B) It emphasises a key idea by making it stand out from the text around it
C) It shows the writer has run out of evidence
D) It formally signals the end of an argument
B) It emphasises a key idea by making it stand out from the text around it
A pair of shoes priced at $80 is discounted by 25%, then a further $8 is taken off the sale price. What is the final price?
$52 (25% of $80 is $20, giving $60, then $60 minus $8)