Đề ôn thi English language năm 2001

NSW DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION AND TRAINING
SELECTIVE HIGH SCHOOLS TEST
2001
TEST 1
ENGLISH LANGUAGE
INSTRUCTIONS
1 You have 40 minutes to complete the test. It contains 45 questions.
2 This test contains several passages. In most passages every fifth line is numbered on the
right-hand side to help you answer the questions.
3 Read each passage and then mark your answer to the questions on the separate answer
sheet.
4 With each question there are four possible answers A, B, C or D. For each question you
are to choose the ONE answer you think is best. To show your answer, fill the oval for
one letter (A, B, C or D) on the answer sheet in the section headed English Language.
5 If you decide to change an answer, rub it out completely and mark your new answer
clearly.
6 If you want to work anything out you may write on the question booklet.
7 If you need the help of the supervisor during the test, raise your hand.
DO NOT OPEN THIS BOOKLET UNTIL YOU ARE TOLD
Published by the Australian Council for Educational Research
Prospect Hill Road, Camberwell, Victoria 3124.
Copyright © 2001 NSW Department of Education and Training.
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Acknowledgments
Oodgeroo Noonuccal (at the time of writing, Kath Walker): in Inside Black Australia, Kevin Gilbert (ed.), Penguin
Books Australia, 1988.
Radio National transcript, Earthbeat, 15.01.2000 and 06.02.1999
H. G. Wells: 'The Stolen Bacillus' in Selected Short Stories, Beatrice and John Lyall (eds.) Angus & Robertson,
1936.
Maria Lewitt: in Two Centuries of Australian Poetry, Mark O'Connor (ed.). Oxford University Press, Melbourne,
Vic., 1988.
Barbara Willard: The Battle of Wednesday Week, Puffin Books, Penguin Books Ltd, Harmondsworth, 1963.
Radio National transcript, Earthbeat, 14.10.00.
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PRACTICE QUESTIONS
INSTRUCTIONS
The four practice questions P1 to P4 below are examples of questions in the English
Language, Mathematics and General Ability tests. To show your answer, fill the oval for one
letter (A, B, C or D) on the separate answer sheet in the shaded section headed ‘Practice
Questions’.
If you have any questions raise your hand.
You have five minutes to complete the PRACTICE QUESTIONS. When you have finished
them, put your pencil down. Do NOT turn any pages. Start work on them now.
PRACTICE QUESTIONS
English Language
Read the following passage and answer
P1 and P2. To help you answer the
questions, the fifth line in the passage is
numbered on the right-hand side.
When Chuang Tzu, a Chinese sage,
was angling in the river P’u, the queen
sent two officers of state to announce
that the queen wished to entrust him
with the management of her domain.
P1 What was Chuang Tzu doing in
the river?
A fishing
B playing
C washing
D swimming
P2 The queen was entrusting Chuang Tzu
with
A a secret.
B a holiday.
C her family.
D a responsible job.
Go straight on to P3 and P4
Mathematics
P3 20 + 30 = ∆
∆ =
A 10
B 50
C 500
D 600
General Ability
P4 CHICKEN is to HEN as CALF is to
_____ ?
A COW
B BIRD
C BABY
D ANIMAL
DO NOT TURN THIS PAGE UNTIL
YOU ARE TOLD
In three different places in the English
Language test you will see this message.
When you see it follow the steps.
5
ANSWER CHECK (Example)
Look on your Answer Sheet — the last
question you answered should have been
Question 11.
If it was, keep going.
If it wasn’t, put your hand up for help.
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This page is blank.
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Matches
An early ‘match’ was developed in 1828 by Samuel Jones in England. The
device consisted of a little glass bead which was filled with acid and wrapped in
a piece of paper. The paper had previously been soaked in special chemicals that
would burst into flames if they came into contact with the acid, and then
allowed to dry. To ignite the match, the user would break the bead with a small
pair of pliers, whereupon the paper erupted into flames with a loud noise and a
foul stench. Some adventurous types found it more convenient to use their teeth!
1 According to the passage, Samuel Jones’ invention
A often failed to light at all.
B produced a strong but agreeable odour.
C produced a lot of noise and a disagreeable odour.
D could be used over and over again until the acid ran out.
2 The quotation marks around the word ‘match’ in line 1 suggest that
A Samuel Jones’ invention did not work.
B Samuel Jones was speaking to someone.
C Samuel Jones’ invention was a work of genius.
D Samuel Jones’ invention was different from modern matches.
3 The materials that made up Samuel Jones’ invention consisted of
A special paper on the outside, acid on the inside, glass in between.
B special paper on the outside, glass on the inside, acid in between.
C glass on the outside, special paper on the inside, acid in between.
D glass on the outside, acid on the inside, special paper in between.
4 In line 7 of the passage the word ‘adventurous’ suggests that the people concerned were
A bold but rather foolish.
B likely to panic in a crisis.
C brilliant and courageous scientists.
D keen to improve Samuel Jones’ invention.
5 The passage suggests that, compared with a modern match, Samuel Jones’ invention
was
A easy to use but not very safe.
B easy to use and also very safe.
C awkward to use but very safe.
D awkward to use and not very safe.
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This passage and questions 6 to 11 are unavailable.
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Frogs
The discussion below is adapted from a radio interview about building frog ponds.
Janet Parker interviews Lothar Voigt from the New South Wales Frog and Tadpole Society.
Janet Parker: We’re standing in Lothar Voigt’s garden in the eastern suburbs of
Sydney. It’s a beautiful shady garden with a lot of eucalypts and other native
trees. In front of us is a beautiful, cool, green frog pond. This frog pond
stretches pretty much across your backyard. Would you call that a large frog
pond for a residential backyard?
Lothar Voigt: I don’t really know. It depends. Often people phone in and ask
how big their pond should be. As it turns out they have something the size of a
bucket or a little tub, which isn’t quite enough. Imagine if a frog or a pair of
frogs spawn in there and you have a thousand little tadpoles in one spawning —
that’s quite common. You need good quality water to raise them as well. They
also want space to themselves. They seem to stress and fret if they don’t have
enough space. To raise one large spawn clump fully you need about one cubic
metre. A shallow pond is probably better. Many councils now require the pond
to be no deeper than 30 cms, otherwise they want to have a fence around it.
That’s quite good for tadpoles so long as it doesn’t really overheat. You also
need to consider that if you don’t have fish in your frog pond your neighbours
will hate you, not because of the noise, but because of the mosquitoes you’re
sending up into the air.
Janet Parker: The pond is quite beautiful. It’s basically a shallow hole lined
with a black liner then a shade cloth and then it’s got a lovely sandstone edging.
Lothar Voigt: Yes, that’s right. The black liner should be an ultra violet resistant
one. You can get them from waterplant nurseries. The overhanging rocks are
there to keep the liner in place and so it looks nice around the edges. But be
careful you don’t make a death trap for the frogs. When they hop in they must
be able to get out again. Some frogs can’t climb, so — gently sloping sides and
if you have rocks around it, make sure there are spaces underneath so they can
get in and out.
Janet Parker: Why bother to build a frog pond?
Lothar Voigt: There are two answers to that. For people in the country it would
be great to save a piece of remnant bushland which has a natural soak or drought
refugia, that would be absolutely marvellous. These things could become
priceless in future generations because frogs are dying out. They can’t
recolonise lost ground in many cases but if you have a place that’s safe for
them, keep it, and make sure your livestock don’t trample it to death, then fence
it round and look after it. When people in suburban areas have frog ponds I
think it’s a great interest. It’s a low maintenance part of the garden. You don’t
get slugs and snails all over it.
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12 One reason given for building a frog pond is that it will
A eliminate mosquitoes.
B minimise damage caused by livestock.
C help maintain a frog population which is diminishing.
D prevent frogs from destroying the natural environment.
13 Lothar Voigt implies that it is desirable to have fish in a frog pond because they
A are more attractive than frogs.
B protect the young tadpoles.
C eat mosquitoes.
D cannot escape.
14 Lothar Voigt suggests that the sandstone edging of his pond
A is purely ornamental.
B helps to hold down the liner.
C is a source of food for the frogs.
D prevents young children from falling in.
15 Which one of the following could replace ‘remnant’ (line 30) without changing the
meaning?
A untidy
B marshy
C original
D cultivated
16 The words ‘drought refugia’ (lines 30 – 31) suggest a place where
A livestock have trampled native fauna.
B animals can shelter from dry conditions.
C thoughtless people have dumped rubbish in the bush.
D human activity has destroyed the natural environment.
17 The last paragraph implies that one reason why frogs are dying out is because of
A a scarcity of fresh water.
B plagues of slugs and snails.
C depleted numbers of livestock.
D people’s lack of interest in pet frogs.
ANSWER CHECK (English No. 1)
Look on your Answer Sheet — the last
question you answered should have been Question 17.
If it was, keep going.
If it wasn’t, put your hand up for help.
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The Bacteriologist
The following passage is the beginning of a short story.
‘This again’, said the Bacteriologist, slipping a glass slide under the microscope,
‘ is a preparation of the celebrated Bacillus of cholera* — the cholera germ.’
The pale-faced man peered down the microscope. He was evidently not
accustomed to that kind of thing, and held a limp white hand over his
disengaged eye. ‘I see very little,’ he said. ... age, the
marmot is a ‘buffer’ (line 21) because
A it does not damage the environment.
B its fur helps protect humans in the harsh winter conditions.
C humans would rather hunt the marmot than the snow leopard.
D snow leopards would rather hunt marmots than domestic livestock.
27 The passage implies that in the last few years the living conditions of humans in snow
leopard countries have
A improved.
B worsened.
C remained much the same.
D fluctuated from year to year.
28 The passage suggests that the survival of the snow leopard is most threatened by
A inbreeding.
B low numbers of domestic livestock.
C human impact on food source areas.
D the threat of capture and placement in zoos.
29 The passage suggests that the main drawback of the snow leopard breeding program is
A its expense.
B its poor breeding rate.
C the number of animals produced.
D the nature of the animal produced.
ANSWER CHECK (English No. 2)
Look on your Answer Sheet — the last
question you answered should have been Question 29.
If it was, keep going.
If it wasn’t, put your hand up for help.
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Smugglers
The following poem is about migrants adapting to a new country. When entering a new country
migrants may be asked to produce evidence of their health, such as chest X-Ray and vaccination
certificates. They may also be asked to declare any banned or restricted goods (contraband) that they
might be carrying.
We were met
By brisk efficiency.
Passport. Landing Permit.
Vaccination. Chest X-Ray.
Name. Nationality.
And yes —
Anything to declare?
Hands shuffled,
Fingers lifted,
Eyes looked
Scanned.
Nothing was confiscated.
We were free to go.
Our bodies bent
Under the heavy cargo
Of our past.
We smuggled in
Values and slanted opinions.
We failed to declare
Ever-lasting nostalgia,
Memories of distant people,
Already fading cities
And lost sunsets.
Nobody asked, nobody cared.
We were left alone.
And wherever we go,
We leave a trail
Of unsuspected contraband,
Sometimes polluting, sometimes enriching
Our adopted home.
Maria Lewitt
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30 For the newcomers, the place where they arrived was
A warm and welcoming.
B soulless and impersonal.
C damp and uncomfortable.
D refreshing and interesting.
31 Lines 3–11 give an impression of
A speedy routine.
B jovial kindliness.
C relaxed boredom.
D overwhelming loneliness.
32 The ‘heavy cargo’ (line 15) was mainly
A banned produce.
B furniture and clothing.
C irrelevant, ancient photographs.
D cultural and emotional understanding.
33 The cities are ‘fading’ (line 22) because
A they are old and uncared for.
B they are no longer of any interest.
C the newcomers arrived in the dark.
D the memory of them is becoming dim.
GO STRAIGHT ON 

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Charlotte and Nicholas
This passage is from a novel set in Scotland in the late 1950s. In this scene, Charlotte, 15, and
Nicholas, 16, meet their new American stepfather, Robert, for the first time. Sarah, a widow for five
years, is their mother.
As Charlotte arrived on the threshold of the big living-room that was more than
half the whole flat, Sarah and Robert Graham turned from the window and faced
her. We shall never have her to ourselves again, Charlotte thought, in a doomed
way. And for a paralysing second she felt as though she might make a scene. If
she were only no more than four or five years old, and could hurl herself on the
floor in roaring tears and sobs of fury!
Instead, she felt her smile widen into a great grin. She rushed forward and
threw her arms round Sarah and kissed her wildly, knocking her hat crooked and
making her cry out.
‘Darling! You’ll knock me down!’
‘You look gorgeous!’ Charlotte cried 
 and knew she was shouting. She
was hot again, red and untidy and looking like the last sort of girl any man
would want to take on as a stepdaughter.
Nicholas, however, went to the other extreme. He was so poised he was
positively bounderish,* and Charlotte knew before he started it that he was
going to turn on his eighteenth-century act that made him sound like a bad
school play.
‘Mrs Graham, ma’am 
 your most humble obedient. Your servant, ma’am,
to obleege,’
‘Oh Nicholas, do behave!’ Sarah cried. ‘Robert 
 they’re showing off!’
Although she was laughing, they both heard the little ring of disappointment
in her voice, and both knew that they were letting her down when they wanted
so very much not to. There had surely never been such a tricky, difficult
moment before for any of them.
It was Robert Graham who saved the situation. He came forward holding out
both hands.
‘I am very deeply indebted to you two young people. You’ve had Sarah to
yourselves for a long time. Thank you for agreeing to share her with me. I know
it can’t be easy.’
And although this was just the sort of remark they would call corny, with an
American voice to make it sound in their ears like a film, the sincerity with
which it was spoken gave it a guarantee. He meant what he said — and they
knew he meant what he said. He was indeed thanking them. And by doing so he
pulled them back to reality and made them themselves again.
* bounderish: a bounder is someone who engages in dishonourable or
disgraceful behaviour.
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34 On first entering the room, Charlotte experiences a
A sudden sense of loss.
B desire to humiliate her mother.
C need to be more dramatic than Nicholas.
D feeling of rage directed at her new stepfather.
35 The passage suggests that Sarah most likely finds the moment ‘tricky’ and ‘difficult’
(line 23) because she is
A still sore from Charlotte’s over-vigorous greeting.
B embarrassed by the children’s behaviour.
C afraid Charlotte will throw a tantrum.
D having doubts about remarrying.
36 Robert saves the situation (line 25) by
A easing the tension so the children can relax and be themselves.
B making the children feel ashamed of themselves.
C asserting his authority over the children.
D helping Sarah to remain strong.
37 This account is mainly told from the viewpoint of
A Sarah
B Robert
C Nicholas
D Charlotte
38 The passage suggests that Sarah and Robert
A are not aware that the children are finding the situation difficult.
B find the children’s responses entertaining and enjoyable.
C feel resentful and annoyed by the children’s attitude.
D are sensitive to the feelings of the children.
GO STRAIGHT ON 

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Mallee Fowl
The following is adapted from a radio program entitled Unsung bird hero: the Mallee Fowl. A reporter
speaks with David Priddel, a scientist.
Reporter: Just this week the gates are closing on a 119 hectare property near
Nhill in Western Victoria. The aim is to protect the last two breeding pairs of
the endangered Mallee fowl. This month is important for these birds because it’s
egg-laying time.
While they may look just like chooks, Mallee fowl make one of the biggest
nests in the world, up to 13 metres in diameter and a metre high. Moving tonnes
of dirt to build them, the Mallee fowl is one of Australia’s unsung bird heroes.
David Priddel: We can see the male bird is standing on the rim of the mound
now, basically just keeping watch. The female’s disappeared almost out of view
into the centre of the nest, into the egg chamber. You can see that she’s getting
very agitated there, and getting into position now and you can hear from the
amount of clucking and communication that’s going on between the pair that
she’s ready to lay an egg at any moment.
Reporter: The Mallee fowl is one of the most fertile birds in the world, laying
up to 35 eggs with most of them hatching. Once so common across Australia,
they were a regular roast on the dinner plates of early European settlers. Now
much of their habitat has been cleared, and the population has been estimated to
be only 20 per cent of what it was originally.
David Priddel: Most of the Mallee country has now been cleared for wheat. All
that’s left is tiny little remnants like this.
39 The word ‘unsung’ (line 7) suggests that
A the Mallee fowl is a silent bird.
B today the Mallee fowl is extremely fertile.
C the Mallee fowl’s qualities have not been fully appreciated.
D David Pridell wants to keep the location of the Mallee fowl secret.
40 During egg-laying, the male bird
A is protective.
B builds the nest.
C becomes agitated.
D abandons his mate.
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41 Which quotation gives an example of an heroic quality of the Mallee fowl?
A ‘they may look just like chooks’ (line 5)
B ‘Moving tonnes of dirt’ (lines 6 – 7)
C ‘basically just keeping watch’ (line 9)
D ‘she’s getting very agitated’ (lines 10 – 11)
42 The discussion takes place on the property rather than in a studio. This is most clearly
suggested by
A ‘Just this week the gates are closing’ (line 1).
B ‘While they may look just like chooks’ (line 5).
C ‘We can see the male bird is standing’ (line 8).
D ‘The Mallee fowl is one of the most fertile’ (line 14).
43 One piece of information that could be learned from listening to the radio program but
not from reading the passage is the
A sound made by the birds.
B exact size of the property near Nhill.
C length of time it takes to build a nest.
D exact appearance of the egg chamber.
44 The discussion implies that the most important threat to the survival of Mallee fowl has
been
A their complex mating routine.
B the low survival rate of their eggs.
C the clearing of their natural surroundings.
D the eating habits of early European settlers.
45 In this interview, the role of the reporter is to
A ask questions.
B provide factual information.
C challenge David Priddel’s statements.
D encourage and reassure David Priddel.
ANSWER CHECK (English No. 3)
Look on your Answer Sheet — the last
question you answered should have been Question 45.
If it wasn’t, put your hand up for help.
END OF ENGLISH LANGUAGE TEST.
CHECK BACK OVER YOUR WORK IF YOU
HAVE TIME.
DO NOT GO ON TO THE MATHEMATICS TEST
(BLUE STRIPE) UNTIL YOU ARE TOLD.
ENGLISH 2001 
No. KEY 
1 C 
2 D 
3 A 
4 A 
5 D 
6 B 
7 A 
8 D 
9 B 
10 D 
11 D 
12 C 
13 C 
14 B 
15 C 
16 B 
17 A 
18 B 
19 A 
20 C 
21 C 
22 B 
23 C 
24 C 
25 A 
26 D 
27 B 
28 C 
29 D 
30 B 
31 A 
32 D 
33 D 
34 A 
35 B 
36 A 
37 D 
38 D 
39 C 
40 A 
41 B 
42 C 
43 A 
44 C 
45 B