Name: _________________________ ENTRY TEST FOR GIFTED STUDENTS (GRADE 9)

Class: __________ Time allotted: 90 minutes (excluding the test delivery time)
The test is on 06 pages, including 03 sections.
Students’s answers have to be filled in the answer box(s) provided in each section.
SECTION A: USE OF ENGLISH (60 pts)
I. Choose the best answer to complete the sentence or do the task as directed. Write your answers (A, B, C,
or D) in the box provided.
1. Terry: “Hello. Can I speak to Jane, please?” Jane: “__________”
A. Can I ask who’s calling? B. I’ll try again later.
C. Can I leave a message? D. I’m certain, thank you.
2. Janet: “Jerry and I have just broken up.” Tim: “__________”
A. Better luck next time. B. Every so often.
C. Oh you miser! D. Do you need a shoulder to cry on?
3. Choose the underlined part that needs correction:
This scheme proved that the restoration of historical buildings could offer affordable housing options
A B C
for the less privileged.
D
4. __________ cheat in the exam have to leave the room.
A. Those B. Who C. Those who D. Those whom
5. __________, he sometimes makes some minor mistakes in his tests.
A. However smart he is B. Though smart he is C. However he is smart D. No matter smart he is
6. “I am feeling a bit unwell, so I __________,” said John.
A. would prefer stay home rather than hang out B. would prefer stay home than hang out
C. would rather stay home rather than hang out D. would rather stay home than hang out
7. The hotel has a poor reputation, and __________ people want to stay there.
A. little B. a few C. a little D. few
8. How much is the bus __________ to the city center?
A. fee B. fare C. price D. cost
9. The news caught me completely by __________.
A. disbelief B. shock C. amazement D. surprise
10. The government must __________ strong measures against crime.
A. be seen be taking B. see to be taking C. seen to take D. be seen to be taking
11. Judging by the company he kept, Mark __________ have been a wealthy man.
A. must B. would C. ought D. need
12. I love that __________ car that always parked at the end of the street.
A. big beautiful old green antique B. beautiful antique big green old
C. beautiful big old green antique D. beautiful old big green antique
13. While attempting to reach home before the storm, __________.
A. Tom had an accident on his bike B. it happened that Tom’s bike broke down
C. Tom’s bike broke down D. the storm caught Tom
14. Because of recent events, the meeting has been brought __________ to the 29th.
A. forward B. up C. in D. on
15. Can you imagine what it was like to have __________ punishment in schools, with teachers hitting
pupils?
A. painful B. corporal C. capital D. harmful
16. I’m not sure Brian __________ up to going on a long walk yet.
A. touches B. senses C. feels D. experiences
17. Choose the word which has a different stress pattern:
A. monastery B. appearance C. determine D. conqueror
18. Choose the word whose underlined part is pronounced differently from that of the others:
A. examine B. famine C. determine D. dine
19. Choose the word(s) which is OPPOSITE in meaning to the underlined word(s):
I persuaded my boss to solve a new problem in the new system, but he just made light of it.
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 A. completely ignored B. disagreed with C. treated as important D. discovered by chance
20. Choose the word(s) which is CLOSEST in meaning to the underlined word(s):
Many people died in the duet disasters in Japan.
A. vanished B. suffered C. perished D. disappeared
Answers
1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10.
11. 12. 13. 14. 15. 16. 17. 18. 19. 20.

II. Use the right form of the words given in bold to complete the spaces in the following sentences. Write
your answers in the box provided.
1. The old astronomer patiently made his __________ and wrote down what he saw. (observe)
2. Most people seem to neglect their bodies and be __________ of their harmful diets. (aware)
3. There should be government schemes to combat youth __________. (employ)
4. He asks me where he can get a good meal __________ so as not to waste money. (expense)
5. Working out can really __________ your muscles. (strong)
6. This __________ child never listens to others and is always self-centered. (obey)
7. __________, there is still a prospect of a disaster, so always stay cautious. (real)
8. This analysis is overly __________ as it barely provides us with anything useful. (simple)
9. Bruce showed a lot of __________ in the way she handled the issue with anger. (mature)
10. The former champion imparted a few words of __________ to the young runners. (wise)
Answers
1. 2. 3. 4. 5.
6. 7. 8. 9. 10.

III. Fill in each gap with one suitable word from the box. You may not use all the words provided in the box.
Write your answers in the box provided.
trend degrade fashion innovative
evolution conservative evolve harmony
THE CHANGING FACE OF BRITAIN
It seemed to the generation of Britons alive before the Second World War that their way of life would
last for many years. However, the war caused an (1) __________ in British life that completely changed the
status quo. What had been a fairly uniform society up to that point, with people sharing many basic beliefs
and values, underwent radical changes after the war. The (2) __________ was away from fixed social roles
and towards a more dynamic society. Britain began to (3) __________ into its present form and many ideas
accepted today, such as a large amount of freedom for teenagers, were novel and exciting at the time. New
and (4) __________ music and fashion had a great influence on young people, and the whole of Britain
became less (5) __________.
Answers
1. 2. 3. 4. 5.

IV. Complete each sentence with a suitable word, beginning with the letter given. Write your answers in the
box provided.
Answers
1. Sending out emails that people haven’t asked for to m_ _ _ _ _ _ _ addresses is 1. m_ _ _ _ _ _ _
often known as “spamming”.
2. These days, many parents find it difficult to s_ _ _ _ _ _ an extended family. 2. s_ _ _ _ _ _
3. Language is crucial to the development of a_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ intelligence. 3. a_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
4. The r_ _ _ _ _ _ blew the whistle, and the most important football match I have 4. r_ _ _ _ _ _
ever played began.
5. Iris has a lot of p_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ and should shine and do well in her future 5. p_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
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 career.
V. Use one word that can be used appropriately in all three sentences to complete each trio. Write your
answers in the box provided.
Answers
1. (a) The room had an impressive __________ of luxury.
(b) We traveled by __________ as it’s a faster means of transport. 1. _______________
(c) They feel they are walking on __________ on their wedding day.
2. (a) Let all the bad rumors go in one __________ and out the other.
(b) He’s whispering sweet nothings in her __________ that makes her blush. 2. _______________
(c) You may not need to have an __________ for languages to master them.
3. (a) How can anyone __________ track of what’s going on in this mess?
(b) You are doing it really well, so please __________ it up! 3. _______________
(c) I try to __________ up with the latest news via the Internet.
4. (a) She first made her __________ as a writer of children’s books.
(b) Would you sacrifice everything for me in the __________ of love? 4. _______________
(c) “Who will be there?” – “Josh, Mike, Ohm, to __________ but a few.”
5. (a) There should be no delays so that we’ll complete it in no __________.
(b) Harris is in jail now, doing __________ for physical assault. 5. _______________
(c) We all had a whale of __________ at Jane’s barbecue party.

VI. Read the text. Some of its lines have an extra, unnecessary word, while the others are correct. If the line
is correct, put a tick (√). Otherwise, write the redundant word at the end of the line. There are two examples
(0 and 00) at the beginning. Write your answers in the corresponding lines.
AN UNEXPECTED ACCIDENT Answers
0. We had just arrived in a village on the way to meet some friends √
00. who we were going hiking with when we had had a flat tire. We got had
1. out of the car and walked towards a shop so that we could have
2. ask if there was a someone who could change the flat tire. The
3. shop owner agreed that to help us by sending a boy to fetch a
4. man to look at the tire. He explained that it would cost a lot of
5. money because of the materials for doing such jobs were expensive
6. and difficult to get them. All we could do was to sit around and
7. wait for the job to be done. While we were waiting, we decided to
8. spend some time playing a game of the football. However, as it was
9. the middle of summer, it soon became so hot that we had to stop.
10. We sat on some chairs, and ordered a cold drink, and looked
11. at the view. When the man finally came, we asked him to finish
12. quickly because we were in a hurry to meet our friends. Even
13. though he worked quickly, it still took a few of hours for him
14. to be finish. We could only hope that our friends had not set off
15. without us. We would have to drive quickly to make it up for lost time.

SECTION B: READING COMPREHENSION (30 pts)

I. Read the passage and choose the best option to fill in each blank. Write your answers ( A, B, C, or D) in
the box provided.
EYEWITNESS GUIDES
It all started just six years ago with Birds. Since then, Eyewitness Guides have become a publishing
sensation - 50 subjects covered, 40 countries conquered, and 15 million copies sold. (1) __________, the

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success of Eyewitness Guides cannot be measured in statistics alone, for these high-quality reference books
have established a (2) __________ original way of presenting information.
We live in an age of television, video, and interactive computing, in (3) __________ children are
skilled at absorbing data from images at a glance. While this makes them have (4) __________ responses to
visual learning, the disadvantage is that they sometimes lack confidence with words. So, the Eyewitness
Guides have combined the two elements, words and pictures, (5) __________ them as just one thing -
entertainment.
One of the main reasons (6) __________ these books’ success is the discovery that, against a white
background, even the most familiar objects can look wonderful. Often a single photographic image will take
up an entire double-page spread, catching your (7) __________. Whatever the image, you'll always find the
text alongside, building your understanding of the subject.
Eyewitness Guides are the (8) __________ of a unique approach, in which photographs, models, maps,
and diagrams are specially produced. Everything is done to make (9) __________ that they compete with the
impact of television images. But these books have one major advantage - children can return to them again
and again, finding something fresh to read (10) __________ single time.
Answers
1. A. In addition B. Therefore C. Otherwise D. However
1.

2. A. incomplete B. completely C. complete D. incompletely

2.

3. A. whose B. that C. when D. which

3.

4. A. favouring B. favourite C. favourable D. favoured

4.

5. A. conducting B. operating C. applying D. treating

5.

6. A. beyond B. behind C. before D. below

6.

7. A. eye B. mind C. soul D. heart

7.

8. A. outcome B. output C. outlook D. outage

8.

9. A. definite B. guaranteed C. certain D. firm

9.

10. A. each B. other C. every D. another

10.

II. Read the report and decide whether each statement is true or false. Put a tick (√) in the correct box.
MILLENNIALS IN THE WORKPLACE
[A] Background
Millennials, born between the early 1980s and the early 1990s, make up a huge part of our workforce, but
they seem to lack loyalty to their companies and leaders. Multinational companies are noticing larger
turnover rates of millennials as employee retention rates fall. This report looks at the findings of two large-
scale surveys on the mindset of the millennial generation and explores how organisations can strive to
address these needs, increase employee engagement and encourage retention.
[B] Research
In a global survey conducted by PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC), more than 40,000 millennial (born between
1983 and 1993) and non-millennial responses were collected on the topics of workplace culture,
communication and working styles, pay structure, career development, work–life balance, etc. In a separate
global survey conducted by Deloitte, more than 10,000 millennials participated in a study about their
perceptions of the threats and opportunities in the complex world of work.
[C] Key findings
 Millennials are as committed to their work as their more senior colleagues.

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  Millennials value interesting work and a good work–life balance. They do not believe that excessive
work demands are worth sacrifices in their personal lives.
 Millennials want flexibility in their working hours and are willing to give up pay increases and
promotions for a flexible working schedule. They believe that success should be measured by
productivity and not by the number of hours they are seen in an office.
 Millennials want to feel supported and appreciated by their company and their superiors.
 Millennials want more opportunities to develop their skills. These include technological skills,
teamwork and interpersonal skills.
 Millennials believe that businesses and business leaders should contribute to the improvement of
society and they are more likely to be loyal to a company with strong ethics.
[D] Recommendations
Organisations and managers wanting to retain millennials should consider:
 monitoring their workload and satisfaction levels with their work–life balance;
 creating a flexible work culture where employees have more control over their working hours and
their work location;
 providing meaningful work and interesting opportunities;
 offering help and support in continuing professional development;
 changing the organisation's goals from being mainly about profit-making to motives that address
social concerns and solve wider societal problems.
True False
1. The surveys were conducted in several different countries.
2. Millennials are less loyal to their companies than non-millennials.
3. Millennials believe that their technological skills are sufficiently advanced.
4. Managers should be aware of how happy their staff are with the amount of
work they have been given.
5. Managers should worry about their own work–life balance and not concern
themselves with problems in society.
III. Read an article that appears in the Advice Column of a magazine for teenagers. Choose from the list (A-
H) the reply that best suits each problem (1-5). You may not use all the options provided in the list. There is
an example (0) at the beginning. Write your answers in the box provided.
A. They might have said something nice to you, but they followed it up with something mean about
someone else, and that’s just not cool.
B. One of the perks of being good friends with someone can be the fact that you can rely on each other
to borrow things and support each other.
C. Try to have a talk – explain to them how you didn’t mean to upset them, and that you miss them.
D. You could try the tactic of starting a conversation about things that you’re interested in.
E. It sounds like your lack of confidence around your friends is adding to a general lack of self-worth.
F. If you have a particular best friend who you can really trust, why not ask them? They might be more
honest with you.
G. They value you as a friend and see your friendship as a long-term thing, so take some comfort in that.
H. Things we need from friends: love, support, shoulders (for crying on), clothes and make-up (for
borrowing), and a few laughs. What this list should show you is that “being fun” is only part of the
story when it comes to being a good friend.
ADVICE COLUMN
Teens, tell your stories, and we’ll connect you to the “advisors” all around the country!
1. Della, 11
My best friend and I used to spend a lot of time together and we had a lot in common. However, recently
we had had a falling out, and now she’s ignoring me. She’s making new friends and excluding me, even
telling my sister that none of my friends like me. I asked her why she was not speaking to me, and she
said it was because I called her a “loner”, but I was just joking. I apologized, but she’s still upset with
me.
2. Kay, 19

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 All my family says I am a terrible singer, and I accept that. However, all my best friends insist that I’m
great. I don’t want them to lie to me, but I also don’t want to come across as fishing for compliments if I
ask them about it. Can you help me with this?
3. Katie, 15
All my friends are obsessed with boys and crave a boyfriend, but I just don't feel ready for them. I feel
left out when they start to have hour-long conversations. Help! P.S: Some people also think I’m a
lesbian.
4. Craig, 17
I like one of my best friends. She's fantastic in every way. I took her to the cinema a week ago and asked
her if she would go out with me. She told me that it wasn’t the right time and that she didn’t want to risk
our friendship by dating. I’m so confused; I don’t know whether I should wait and see if she changes her
mind or just move on. I really like her, but I am torn.
5. Skye, 13
My friend keeps “forgetting” her lunch and always asks to borrow money from me, but she never pays
me back. She currently owes me about £30, and I don’t want to lend her any more money. She keeps
promising to pay me back, but I’m not sure what to do.
Answers
1. 2. 3. 4. 5.
IV. Fill each gap with a suitable word. Write your answers in the box provided.
THE STORY BEHIND VIETNAM’S “CRAZY HOUSE”
Standing in stark contrast to Dalat’s French colonial villas, the bizarre avant-garde guesthouse is
(1) __________ maze of spiral staircases, sculptural bedrooms, undulating surfaces, swirls of bright colors,
narrow bridges and hidden nooks. Crazy House is a culmination of the designer’s life and creativity,
(2) __________ came together in one structure.
An exercise in creativity
After years of working on state-owned developments, which afforded (3) __________ or no creativity,
Dang Viet Nga felt compelled to unleash (4) __________ imagination. In February 1990, she drew up plans
for Crazy House. As a form of expressionist architecture, the house has no right angles but rather organic
forms that are designed to mirror natural elements, (5) __________ mushrooms, shells, caves and spider
webs. “With this form, you have to try to free your mind,” she says. “There are no rules, aside (6)
__________ basic structural principles – it’s all about self-expression.”
Closer to nature
Crazy House feels like woodland fantasy brought to life. “I felt that, over the last century, people have
badly (7) __________ nature,” says Dang. “So I wanted to create a structure that brings people closer to
nature.” An elevated main house, which looks like it belongs in Hansel and Gretel, sits in the center of an
open oourtyard, (8) __________ by four enormous tree houses. Sinuous cement “branches,” which double as
bridges, twist and wind between the various houses so people can move from one to the next. The style
continues within the tree houses, with ten guest rooms – each named after an animal (9) __________ type of
plant – full of organic shapes, cavern-like beds, and wooden seating areas. “Reconnecting nature is one
message that I want to communicate with the house,” says Dang. “But it’s also a message to others to think
outside the (10) __________. Don't limit yourself by the rules and the expectations - free your mind and let
your imagination run wild.”
Answers
1. 2. 3. 4. 5.
6. 7. 8. 9. 10.

SECTION C: GUIDED WRITING (10 pts)

I. For each of the sentences, write a new sentence as similar as possible in meaning to the original one,
using the word given in bold. The word provided must not be altered in any way.
1. They are going to hold the interview in the White House. place
The interview __________________________________________________________ the White House.
2. Wesley is so cheerful that he cheers other people around him up. such
Wesley is __________________________________________________ other people around him happy.
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3. I can hardly think of anything apart from Italy when I think of spaghetti. associate
I always ________________________________________________________________________ Italy.
4. Mandy regrets being inattentive to his professor’s lectures. notice
Many wishes ______________________________________________________ his professor’s
lectures.
5. That the adverts looked exactly the same as the articles was surprising to me. tell
To my _________________________________________________________ the adverts and the
articles.
II. For each of the sentences, write a new sentence as similar as possible in meaning to the original one.
1. The explorers could get out of the woods as they brought their compasses and maps.
Without ____________________________________________________________________________.
2. No one except Jake has ever beaten me at a tennis match.
Jake _______________________________________________________________________________.
3. Sally hesitated to contact me and join my team.
Sally was ___________________________________________________________________________.
4. “I hadn’t made fun of Ian before the party,” said Joe.
Joe denied
___________________________________________________________________________.
5. “Could you tell me what the burglar looks like?” the police officer asked Shaun.
The police officer asked Shaun to give
_____________________________________________________.
The End

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