📄 O/L English Language — December 2016

Complete the dialogue between Kamal and Rajan. Use the words given in the box. Write the correct letter in the blank. The first one is done for you.

Word box: (a) drive · (b) travel · (c) row · (d) walk · (e) fly · (f) ride

Kamal: Hey Rajan, you are late. Why do you always (1) ...b... by train?
Rajan: No, I'm not late. I always come to school by train.
Kamal: I see. Do you ever (2) ........... your bicycle?
Rajan: Yes, sometimes. How do you come to school?
Kamal: Well, I just (3) ........... . I live close by.
Rajan: Hey lucky you! You know, I'm coming in (4) ........... my father's tractor.
Kamal: I would love to (5) ........... a plane one day.
Rajan: I would love to (6) ........... a boat.
Kamal: Oh, really!

Fill in the blanks in the following dialogue. Use the words given in the box. There is one extra word.

Word box: over · for · to · about · in · of · near

Amith: I'm very heavy.
Sumadu: Yes, it is very heavy.
Amith: Let me carry it (1) ...for... you.
Sumadu: Thank you Amith.
Amith: You're welcome. What do you have (2) ........... this bag?
Sumadu: Lots (3) ........... books.
Amith: Why so many books? We don't need any today.
Sumadu: Oh, I forgot (4) ........... it.
Amith: Today is the 'cleaning day', isn't it?
Sumadu: Yes, our friends are (5) ........... there waiting for us.
Amith: So let's run (6) ........... them.

Study the picture and fill in the blanks in the text given below. Use only one word in each blank.

Ravi and his family are moving to a new house. The (1) ........... has just arrived with their furniture. This (2) ........... shows what everyone is doing. Ravi is carrying a flower (3) ........... and his mother is (4) ........... the floor.
There are (5) ........... men helping with the furniture. They are carrying a table, a chair and a (6) ........... into the house. Ravi's father is (7) ........... the men unloading the furniture. There is another man with a (8) ........... in his hands. He is cleaning the (9) ........... with it. There is a large tree in the (10) ........... .

Match the extracts with the headings. Write the correct letter in the blank provided. The first one is done for you.

Extracts:
1. Pollution and traffic make people leave the cities to live in the countryside. (...e...)
2. A group of art students will exhibit an exhibition of their paintings at the National Gallery on Saturday. (.....)
3. Those who go on camping trips must not harm mother nature. (.....)
4. An old vase from the 16th century has been discovered from the garden of the old temple. (.....)
5. "A visit to the countryside can do wonders for us. It can help get rid of anger, depression and stress.", (.....)
6. J.K. Rowling wrote her books with children in mind, but many adults read them. (.....)

Headings:
(a) Young Talent Show
(b) Leave It as You Find It
(c) Loved by Young and Old
(d) How to Improve Health
(e) A Great Escape
(f) An Interesting Finding

Read the following dialogue and complete the message. Use only one word in each blank.

Ayesha: Hello! is that Surani?
Surani: Yes. Good morning Ayesha.
Ayesha: Good morning. You know there's a good movie, 'The Sounds of the Sea'. It's showing at Regal. How about going to see it tomorrow?
Surani: That's a good idea.
Ayesha: Then let's go in the evening. Where should we meet?
Surani: How about Tara's shop, at 5.30?
Ayesha: Fine. You know Naveena is coming along too. Why don't you ask Romesh to join us?
Surani: I'll do that, but he is not at home at the moment. I'll leave a message and ask him to ring you.

MESSAGE — 16.12.2016
Romesh,
I know you are not at home. So I'm (1) ...leaving... this with your sister, Ayesha called me this (2) ........... . She told me (3) ........... is showing a good film, 'The Sounds of the Sea'. We have decided to see it (4) ........... evening. Naveena is coming along too. (5) ........... wants you to join us. We plan to (6) ........... at Tara's shop at 5.30. Please ring her for more information.
Surani.

You are the secretary of the young photographers' club in your school and the members have organized an exhibition at the term end. Your teacher wants you to write a notice to be put up on the school noticeboard inviting the teachers and the students to see the exhibition. Use about 40–50 words.

Include:
• date, time, venue
• who the chief guest is
• exhibits: photos on wild life, birds, waterfalls etc.

Read the passage and answer the questions.

Headache
One day a man went to see a doctor in a hurry. He rushed into the doctor's clinic, but was disappointed to find that the doctor was away. His assistant was seated on a chair fast asleep. There were no patients waiting to consult the doctor.
When the man approached the assistant he woke up, looked at the man and asked, "What do you want?"
"I want something for a very bad headache," said the man who seemed to be very anxious. The assistant, an elderly man said, "Please sit on this chair." Then he took a bottle from a shelf, held it under the man's nose and opened it. The smell was so strong that tears came into the man's eyes and ran down his cheeks. "Why did you do that?", the man said angrily, as soon as he could get back his breath.
"The medicine has cured your headache, hasn't it?", said the assistant.
"You fool," said the man. "It's my wife who has the headache, not me!"

(1) Who did the man see at the doctor's place?
(2) What did the assistant ask the man to do?
(3) Why did tears come to the man's eyes?
(4) Write the sentence which says that the man did not have a headache.
(5) Underline the correct answer. The assistant was ........... when the man entered the clinic.
(a) attentive (b) alone (c) talking

Write a paragraph on one of the following topics. Use about 50 words.
(a) The job I like most
(b) The value of friends

Fill in the blanks with the following words. (½ × 10 = 5 marks)

Word box: before · as soon as · since · until · during · so · unless · after · whenever · while

Mahesh will finish his secondary education next year when he is fifteen. He wants to enter the university (1) ........... that.
He's a clever boy. He was able to write computer programmes (2) ........... he was thirteen. He goes for music classes (3) ........... weekends. He practises music at night when everybody is trying to sleep and (4) ........... he finds time.
He hasn't got much money. (5) ........... he wants to do a part time job, (6) ........... he's in the university.
(7) ........... he has passed his exams he plans to find a job. (8) ........... childhood he has been planning to travel around the world, but his dream will not come true (9) ........... he collects sufficient money. He doesn't want to get married (10) ........... he's thirty.

Select a word from the box which has a similar meaning to the phrases given within brackets and write it in the space given. There are three extra words.

Word box: chokes · considerable · clears · accumulate · perishable · recycle · mistaken · reachable

Look at any roadside garbage dump. In addition to vegetable scraps, paper and broken glass you will notice a (1) ........... (notably large in size) amount of plastic material such as polythene bags, shampoo bottles and old slippers. Vegetable scraps and paper are (2) ........... (capable of being decomposed), but glass and plastic continue to (3) ........... (gather little by little) and harm the environment. Plastic is often in (4) ........... (judged wrongly) for food by birds and animals which often leads to their death. It also (5) ........... (blocks and makes movement difficult through) sewer pipes and becomes a trap for living beings in ponds, rivers and oceans.

Fill in the blanks with the words given below.

Word box: egg · and · persuaded · science · because · housekeeper · bulb · his · loved · the · never · expel · story · he

Thomas Alwa Edison was one of the greatest inventors of all times. But as a child, he didn't enjoy going to school. When Edison was only seven the headmaster decided to (1) ........... him from school. But, (2) ........... he refused to do (3) ........... school work, but he (4) ........... stopped learning. His mother (5) ........... him to (6) ........... read about (7) ........... .
He enjoyed reading. He (7) ........... to do experiments. When (8) ........... was older he invented (9) ........... phonograph and the light (10) ........... . Do you know the (11) ........... of Edison and the (12) ........... ?
One day he asked his (13) ........... to bring an egg (14) ........... a pan of hot water to the laboratory. When she returned half an hour later he was boiling his watch and timing it with the egg.

Kumar has just returned from a school trip. His family members wanted to know everything about the trip. Given below are the questions they asked. Read the questions and complete the description. The first one is done for you.

Father: At what time did you come home?
Mother: Son, will you tell us all about the trip?
Brother: What places did you visit? Have you saved all the photos?
Elder Sister: Can I join you next year?
Baby Sister: What have you brought for me?

Kumar's description.
My father (1) ...wanted to know at what time... I had come home. Mother asked me whether I (2) ........... them all about the trip. My brother asked me what (3) ........... and whether I (4) ........... all the photos. My elder sister (5) ........... join me the following year. My baby sister wanted to know (6) ........... brought for her.

Read the following rules to be observed by the visitors to a factory and members of a library. Put them in the correct column, 'FACTORY' or 'LIBRARY'. Write the letter of each rule in the correct column. The first one is done for you.

Rules:
a. Do not tear or damage books, magazines or newspapers.
b. All visitors must wear an identification badge.
c. Keep complete silence all the time. Do not disturb.
d. Small children are not allowed on the manufacturing floor.
e. Reference materials are not allowed to be removed.
f. Produce your membership card whenever it is asked for.
g. Follow all safety warning signs. Watch for hot or sharp surfaces.
h. Do not leave any of your belongings on the study tables.
i. Audio visual materials can be kept only for two days.
j. Wear the safety glasses provided near production lines.
k. In the case of an emergency ask your guide for help.

Library: a ...........
Factory: ...........

Answer (a) OR (b).

(a) You are the secretary of the English Literary Association of your school. The members have decided to make a visit to the National Museum, Colombo. Write a letter to the Director, National Museum. Use about 100 words.
Include: • date and time of the visit • number of participants
• request — to see the special collection, e.g. old coins; to get the service of a tour guide
• ask permission — to take photographs; to have lunch in the premises.

OR

(b) The bar graph shows the leisure activities of some students of the Southern Province. Study the bar graph and write a description about it. Use about 100 words. Use the following words: highest, almost equal, least, lower than, higher than, most popular, less popular.

Bar-graph values: Chess: Girls 40, Boys 50. Tennis: Girls 30, Boys 25. Swimming: Girls 90, Boys 80. Cycling: Girls 55, Boys 70.

Read the passage and answer the questions.

Olympic Dreams
This happened in the U.S.A. Charles Paddock was four feet tall and in primary school still. One day he asked his coach, "What can I do to become the world's fastest sprinter? What is the secret of speed?" The coach answered that he should practise hard, everyday.
Young Paddock got down to work to achieve his aim, keeping in mind the advice of his coach. In 1920, he became the fastest runner in the Antwerp Olympic Games when he won the 100 metres with a timing of 10.8 seconds.
Later, Paddock visited many schools and spent a lot of time talking to school children about his recipe for success. Once when visiting a school in Ohio, he said "If you can, you can, if you believe in a thing strongly enough, it can come to pass in your life". Looking at the crowd of faces he said, "Who knows, may be there is an Olympic champion in the making, right here in the auditorium this afternoon."
The hush was broken by a skinny boy. He was so nervous that he could hardly speak. He came up to Paddock and said, "Mr. Paddock, I too would like to be an Olympic Champion like you." Touched by the boy's sincerity, Paddock spoke to him. That's what I wanted to be when I was a little bit younger than you. If you work for it, and train hard you can become an Olympic Champion." With shining eyes, the boy promised to do exactly what Paddock told him to do.
Though training hard wasn't easy for Jesse Owens (that was the name of the little boy who had spoken to Charles Paddock), he did just that. Jesse's family was very poor and everyone in the family was expected to work. At the age of seven, Jesse had to pick 100 pounds of cotton every day. When he was nine, he worked in a gas station. Working to support his family, because his father was out of work most of the time, and training when he wasn't working, Jesse Owens readied himself for the Olympics. In 1936, he achieved his dream by winning four gold medals at the Berlin Olympic Games.
Paddock's advice that afternoon in Ohio, had produced a new world champion.

1. T/F: (i) Both Charles Paddock and Jesse Owens practised hard to become Olympic champions. (ii) Charles Paddock was Owens' coach. (iii) Jesse Owens practised for Olympics while working to support the family. (iv) Paddock visited many schools to coach the students. (½ × 4 = 02)
2. What did Paddock want to be when he grew up?
3. What made Paddock speak to Owens very kindly?
4. Complete the blanks using words from the passage.
Jesse Owens was very ........... when he spoke to Paddock.
He became a world Champion because of Paddock's ........... .
5. Underline the correct answer. According to Paddock, if you believe in a thing strongly,
(a) it will happen one day. (b) it will never happen. (c) it will make you happy.
6. Find a word from the passage which has the same meaning as the following.
very thin ........... silence ...........
7. What do the following words in the passage refer to?
(a) 'you' in line 16 (b) 'that' in line 20

Write on one of the following. Use about 200 words.
(a) An article to your school magazine on 'My ideas about different types of entertainment'.
Include: different types of entertainment (music, theatre); how they differ from each other; advantages; types I like best and the reasons.
(b) A speech you would make at the school Literary Association on 'Internet : the advantages and disadvantages'.
Advantages: immense source of knowledge through search sites (Yahoo, Google); easy access through computers, IT centres, mobile phones; get info quickly at a click.
Disadvantages: very often no one is responsible for quality of information; can get addicted, moves away from the reading habit.
(c) An essay on 'Let's protect our forests'.
Include: why forests are valuable; how forests are destroyed (forest fires, encroachment); what happens when forests are destroyed (climate change, affect people, plants and animals); what we should do to protect forests (plant trees).
(d) Complete the dialogue between Ruwini and Migara. They discuss their ideas on places of interest in Sri Lanka.
Ruwini: I like visiting wild life sanctuaries.
Rajan: I know that you are interested in seeing animals in their natural habitat, but I like the ruined cities. Ruwini: ...........