📄 O/L English Language — December 2019

Match each notice with the place given below. Write the letter of the most suitable notice in the given box. The first one is done for you.

Notices:
(a) HANDLE WITH CARE (b) REFERENCE ONLY (c) TAKE OFF YOUR SHOES (d) RESERVED FOR PREGNANT MOTHERS (e) CAUTION! MEN AT WORK (f) NO BATHING ROUGH SEA

Places:
(1) On a box full of glassware — [a] (example)
(2) At a building site
(3) On a beach
(4) In a bus
(5) At a temple
(6) In a library

Fill in the blanks in the following dialogue. Use the words given in the box. Write the letter of the correct word in the space given. The first one is done for you.

Word box: (a) twin · (b) frocks · (c) wedding · (d) tall · (e) think · (f) shirt

Rashmi: Wow! What a lovely photograph! Is this your family?
Ajani: Yes, it was taken at my sister's (1) ...c... . Who do you (2) ........... is sitting next to me?
Rashmi: Mmm... it must be your (3) ........... sister.
Ajani: Yes, you are right.
Rashmi: Two of you look the same. And you both are wearing (4) ........... aren't you? Is the boy wearing the red (5) ........... your elder brother?
Ajani: No, he is the youngest. But he is very (6) ........... .
Rashmi: Your father and mother still look very young, don't they?
Ajani: Of course, thank you for the compliment.

Study the picture given. Fill in the blanks in the paragraph using the words given in the box. Write the letter of the correct word in the blank. The first one is done for you.

Word box: (a) bed · (b) curtains · (c) cupboard · (d) umbrella · (e) brother · (f) table · (g) lamp · (h) books · (i) drawers · (j) trousers · (k) wall

This picture shows Chatura's room. His (1) ...e..., Isuru, is sitting near him on his (2) ........... . There is a (3) ........... with three (4) ........... in the room. A pile of (5) ........... and the (6) ........... he uses to study can also be seen here. The (7) ........... of the window are partly open. In the (8) ..........., he has hung a shirt and two pairs of (9) ........... . There is a cap and a (10) ........... on the hangers fixed to the (11) ........... . There are two pairs of shoes on the shoe rack. One is white and the other is black. Chatura keeps his room neat and tidy.

Each underlined word in the following text is incorrect. Write the correct word in the space provided. The first one is done for you.

The grade nine students of our school have planned to play a cricket match yesterday. Everyone were present in time. However, just before a match, it started raining. They waited at least of two hours, but the rain did not stopped. They were very sadly. At the end, they decided to play cricket on the following day.

(1) have → had (example)
(2) were → ............
(3) a → ............
(4) of → ............
(5) stopped → ............
(6) sadly → ............

Read the dialogue between Geeth and his uncle. Write the necessary information in the space given.

Geeth: How was the trip, uncle?
Uncle: It was great. Our office 'Environment Club' organized it.
Geeth: Where did you go this time?
Uncle: This year, we selected a small island in Puttalam. Have you ever been to an island?
Geeth: Never, but I would love to.
Uncle: By the way, how did you go there?
Geeth: We hired a van, and it took 5 hours for us to reach a town close to the island. We spent the night in the circuit bungalow and went to see the island in the morning on a boat.
Geeth: Wow! A boat ride?
Uncle: Yes, one hour ride in the calm sea. The village we visited in the island was very small. Grama Niladhari said it had 105 people. Fishing is what they do for living. Also, I saw some women making beautiful ornaments with seashells. They make money by selling them to tourists.
Geeth: Isn't there a school for children there?
Uncle: Well, there is a very small school with a few teachers. That is all.

(1) The trip was organised by : Environment Club (example)
(2) The place visited : .....................
(3) Mode of travelling from the circuit bungalow to the island : .....................
(4) Main livelihood of people : .....................
(5) Population of the village : .....................
(6) The ornaments were sold to : .....................

You are the Secretary of the English Literary Association of your school. You have organized a singing competition in English. Write a notice inviting all the students of Grade 09 to watch the event. Use about 40–50 words.

Include:
• date, time and place of the competition
• name of the chief guest
• who can take part
• how to register

Read the passage and answer the questions.

It was a beautiful, warm Saturday in October, and Sanduni's family had decided to have a picnic. Sanduni was helping her mother to get the picnic table ready for lunch when the two of her married sisters arrived. "Happy Birthday, mother!" they said as they handed over their brightly coloured birthday presents. Sanduni had totally forgotten that it was her mother's fifty-fourth birthday. She quickly decided to find a present that would show her mother how much she loved. She ran upstairs to her bedroom and pulled her piggy bank from its shelf and opened it. No coins fell out, but as she put her fingers inside, she felt a single piece of paper. It was a hundred rupee note.

She picked it and ran to the gift store next to the shopping centre. As she looked at the pretty dishes and other household items, she realized that her hundred rupees wouldn't be enough to buy what she wanted. Suddenly she saw a pretty red flower. It was just the price; ninety nine rupees! She took the flower to the cashier and gave the hundred rupee note. "Is that all the money you have?" asked the cashier. "Yes", she said, "just enough to buy this present for my mother." "I'm sorry dear. This gift costs 5 more than what you have. With sales tax, it costs 108 rupees."

Sanduni felt tears gathering in her eyes. She didn't understand sales tax, but all she understood was that she wouldn't be able to give that beautiful present to her mother.

(1) Whose birthday falls in October?
(a) Sanduni's (b) Sanduni's mother's (c) Sanduni's younger sister's
(2) What was Sanduni doing when her sisters arrived?
(a) preparing the picnic table (b) having lunch (c) getting ready for the birthday
(3) How much money did the piggy bank have?
(a) less than 100 rupees (b) more than 100 rupees (c) exactly 100 rupees
(4) The gift that Sanduni selected was
(a) a red flower. (b) a pretty dish. (c) a household item.
(5) The word 'realized' in line 10 means
(a) guessed. (b) understood. (c) doubted.

Write a paragraph on one of the following topics. Use about 50 to 60 words.
(a) The place where I live
(b) How I spend my free time

Read the text and underline the most suitable word given within brackets. The first one is done for you.

Once a month, I go to the public library in my town. Last week, I visited the library and (1) (a) bought (b) borrowed (c) provided a book from the lending section.
"How long can I (2) ........... (a) keep (b) lend (c) save the book?" I (3) ........... (a) asked (b) told (c) spoke the lady at the lending section.
The book I found was a novel written by a British author. The (4) ........... (a) title (b) caption (c) heading of the novel was Invisible Man. It was a small book with (5) ........... (a) pretty (b) handsome (c) beautiful pictures. It took one week for me to (6) ........... (a) finish (b) end (c) close reading the book as I was very busy. However, I enjoyed the book very much.

Ravi, Pasan and Naveen went to see a movie yesterday. Given below are some statements/questions from the conversation that took place among them after the movie. Rewrite each of them using reported speech. The first one is done for you.

(1) Ravi: "It is a fantastic movie." → Ravi said that it was a fantastic movie. (example)
(2) Pasan: "It is the best movie I have ever seen." → Pasan said that ....................
(3) Naveen: "I am glad that I saw it." → Naveen said he was glad that ....................
(4) Pasan: "Ravi, did you like the ending?" → Pasan asked Ravi if ....................
(5) Ravi: "I will ask my brother to see it as well." → Ravi said that ....................
(6) Naveen: "What is the name of the main actress?" → Naveen wanted to know what ....................

Fill in the blanks with the words given in the box. There is one extra word.

Word box: over · depth · because · fascinating · home · wide · live · to · farming · north · of · itineraries · most · visitors · often

Over the past few years, tourism in the East African country of Tanzania has been growing fast. Tanzania has a really (1) ........... multi-cultural history and is (2) ........... to many different tribes. They (3) ........... peacefully together and have a (4) ........... range of occupations such as (5) ........... and making traditional jewellery. Visits (6) ........... tribal villages, notably to those (7) ........... the Maasai in the (8) ........... of the country, are (9) ........... a highlight of travel (10) ........... . Last year, Tanzania welcomed about 290,000 (11) ..........., which made tourism the third (12) ........... important source of foreign exchange; only coffee and cotton brought in more revenue.
Tourists are attracted by (13) ........... of its golden beaches and its unusual geographic features. It has lakes of amazing (14) ........... . Tanzania also has more land devoted to natural parks and game reserves than any other wildlife destination in the world.

Complete the following passage using the most appropriate form of the verb given within brackets. The first one is done for you.

Ramesh is a businessman. He often (1) ...travels... (travel) abroad on business trips. Last month, he (2) ........... (go) on a trip to Paris in France. During the tour, he stayed at the Shangri-La hotel in Paris. Previously, he (3) ........... (stay) at the same hotel at least three times. On the last day of the trip, he went to see the Eiffel Tower. It is a special monument (4) ........... (build) in 1889 to celebrate the centennial of the French Revolution. When he arrived there, he (5) ........... (welcome) by one of his school friends, Nalin who lives in Paris. He (6) ........... (work) for a company there at least for 10 years. He was glad to see his friend after a long time.

Some employment opportunities advertised in a local newspaper are given below. Match them with the descriptions of people. Write the correct letter of the advertisement in the box.

Advertisements:
A — HELPP — Snack bar serving person. Friendly and energetic. Experience not essential. Saturday and Sunday only. Call or drop in at Kingsway Centre, Badulla. 0748004580 (ask for the manager).
B — Guests Favourite Hotel — Requires a part-time waiter/waitress. Only applicants with experience and good references need apply. Excellent wages, meals on duty. Tel: 073 3527281 (office hours).
C — Wanted a baby-sitter from January to July. Warm and kind-hearted. Hours: 0830 – 1700 Mon–Fri. References required. For further details phone 073-4000018.
D — Cleaner required for 12-floor modern office block in the Station Road, Ja-ela. 2 hours per day. Monday to Friday to finish work before 8.00 am. Wages Rs. 20,000/= per month. Tel: 0737840868.
E — Full time cook for a new and exciting cafe venture. Good conditions. Pay and working hours can be negotiated. Apply Green Cafe – (0788487051).

Descriptions of people:
(1) A person with two small children who wants a few hours of work: unskilled labour in the early mornings.
(2) A lady with no experience or qualifications is looking for a short term full time job: Monday to Friday.
(3) A student with no experience who cannot work on weekdays.
(4) A student who has followed a course in a hotel school is now looking for his first full time job.
(5) A person with many years of experience working in hotels is now looking for well-paid part-time employment in a hotel.

Answer (a) OR (b).

(a) Write a letter to one of your friends describing how you celebrated the Teachers' Day in your school. Use about 100 words. Include the following:
• Activities done on the Teachers' Day
• The role you played
• Speeches made
• How you felt about the celebrations

OR

(b) The following pie chart shows how Mr. Perera spent his salary in the month of July, 2019 on various household needs. Study it and write a description about it. Use about 100 words.
Use the following words in your description: highest percentage, lowest percentage, more than, less than, equal.

Pie chart values: Food 24%, Education 22%, Clothes 15%, Savings 15%, Transport 12%, Electricity 8%, Others 3%.

Read the following text and complete the tasks given below.

Peter was born in Southern England in 1812 when industrial revolution in England was well underway. As thousands of factories were open for business, people left their farms for the cities. But their dreams of making more money and improving their lives often did not come true. Men, women and even children often exchanged back-breaking work in the field for the boredom and danger of factory work.

Peter's family moved to London when he was five. His father, John, worked as a clerk, so he was better off than many people in London. But with his large family and love of entertaining he kept his wife constantly lived beyond their means. When Peter was twelve, John was arrested for failing to pay a debt. He was sent to debtors' prison where people were kept until they could pay back the money they owed.

Peter was taken out of school and forced to work in a shoe polish factory; wrapping and pasting labels on bottles. He worked from dawn to dark, six days a week in a darkroom, listening to rats squeak beneath the rotting floor boards. His father finally inherited some money, settled his debts and was released from jail. Peter later claimed that the factory experience nearly destroyed him.

The story of Peter's childhood plays like the story in one of his novels, forced to work at young age. Peter suffered long hours and unhealthy conditions in factories in the nineteenth-century England. His experience haunted him for the rest of his life.

Task 1 — True / False / Not given (3 marks, ½ × 6):
(1) Peter was born in London.
(2) Some people in farms migrated to cities.
(3) Working in factories became a tiresome experience for people.
(4) Peter had two brothers and one sister in his family.
(5) John and his wife had spent money with care.
(6) Peter became an author later in his life.

Task 2 (5 marks):
(1) Write a word from the first paragraph closest in meaning to each phrase given below.
(a) very hard and tiring : ...........
(b) possibility of harm or injury : ........... (1 × 02 marks)
(2) Write the sentence in paragraph 2 which says that Peter's father had a fairly good life. (01 mark)
(3) Underline the word that best explains the behaviour of Peter's parents.
(a) wise (b) irresponsible (c) intelligent (d) thoughtful (01 mark)
(4) The most suitable title for the given text.
(a) Peter's childhood (b) Peter's dreams (c) Peter's prison life (d) Peter's school life (01 mark)

Write on one of the following. Use about 200 words.
(a) An article to a school magazine on the topic 'Eating healthy food leads to a healthy life'.
Include: • what healthy food means • what unhealthy food means • why one should eat healthy food • how it leads to a healthy life
(b) An essay on 'Why a society should respect its elders'.
Include: • senior citizens have experience in life, deserve respect, dignity and appreciation, have served the country, teach us good manners / traditions
(c) You have been asked to deliver a speech on 'The importance of learning English in the modern World' at the English Activity Day in your school. Write your speech.
Include: • English a global language / useful for higher studies / advantage for better job opportunities / enables working abroad
(d) Write a folk story you have read or heard.