the twelfth cantonal english language competition primary …

THE TWELFTH CANTONAL ENGLISH LANGUAGE COMPETITION – Primary schools 2013

Ministry for Education, Science and Youth – Pedagogical Institute

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12TH CANTONAL ENGLISH LANGUAGE COMPETITION

Primary Schools

Sarajevo, 19 April 2013

Code: _________

INSTRUCTIONS

The test has three sections:

- Reading - 10 questions (10 points)

- Vocabulary - 30 questions (30 points)

- Grammar - 60 questions (60 points)

TOTAL: 100 questions (100 points)

♥ The time allowed: 100 minutes

♥ Read the questions carefully

♥ Answer the questions on the Answer Sheet

♥ Do not write anything on the Test set

♥ For each question choose only one answer (the best alternative)

♥ Do the Answer Sheet as in the example below:

Example: We _________________ a test now.

A do B have done C are doing D to do



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READING COMPREHENSION

After reading the story, choose the correct alternative for each question. Circle one answer.

Jacob hated finishing things almost as much as he loved starting them. As a result, he had got into a million hobbies and

activities; however he never stuck with any of them long enough to get any good. He begged his mother for months for a

guitar so that he could play Black Eyed Peas songs to Angie, a girl he liked, but after he finally got one for Christmas,

he found out that guitars don’t play themselves. He took a few lessons, but strumming the strings hurt his fingers and he

didn’t like holding the pick, so now the five-hundred dollar guitar lives under his bed.

After reading an ad in the back of one of his comic books, Jacob decided that he wanted a Wonder- Sweeper 5000 metal

detector, so that he could find buried pirate treasure. So he mowed lawns all summer and didn’t spend his money on ice-

cream like his younger brother, Alex. He saved it all in a shoe box in his closet. Then he shoveled driveways all winter,

and he didn’t spend his money on candy and chips like his classmates. By the time spring came he had saved $200, and

he purchased the Wonder-Sweeper 5000 metal detector. He beeped it around the park for a while, but he soon found out

that no pirates had ever set sail in his neighborhood, and if they had they didn’t leave any treasure. Even though he

found a key ring, forty-seven cents, and all the bottle caps he could throw, he buried the metal detector in his closest.

Given Jacob’s history with hobbies, it was no surprise that Jacob’s father was reluctant to buy him a magician’s kit for

his birthday. "Geez, Jacob… You sure you wouldn’t rather I got you more guitar lessons?" He suggested. Jacob was

insistent. "Dad, you’ve got to get me the magician’s kit. This time I’ll stick with it for real. I promise! Come on, Dad,"

Jacob begged. Jacob’s father sighed and then replied, "Oh, I don’t know, Jacob. Things are awfully tight right now."

But Jacob’s father was reminded of his own youth long ago, when he quit football and started karate practice before

hardly getting his equipment dirty. So when Jacob’s birthday came around, Jacob was both surprised and pleased to find

the magician’s kit that he had desired so badly with a big bright bow on it.

Jacob opened up the box and unwrapped the many parts in the kit. As he did so, he imagined sawing his pet cat in half

and putting it back together to the amazement of his friends and family. He took the many fake coins, trick cards, and

rope pieces of varying length on the kitchen table and imagined pulling rabbits out of his hat and turning them into

pigeons with a mysterious puff of smoke. As Jacob continued pulling plastic thumbs, foam balls, and giant playing cards

out of the magic kit, a commercial on the TV caught his attention. "Hey kids! Have you ever wanted to go to space?

Experience what it’s like to be an astronaut? Do you want to explore the universe? Well, now you can." As the

commercial continued playing, Jacob walked away from the magic kit on the kitchen table and stared at the TV screen

longingly. "For only $195 you can go to space camp and live life like an astronaut for a whole weekend. Enroll now for

a once in a life time experience." Jacob’s cry rang throughout the house as he yelled, "MOM!"

He now knew what his true purpose in life was.



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1. According to the text, why does Jacob stop

playing the guitar?

a) It hurt his fingers.

b) He’d rather play drums.

c) It was too easy.

d) He failed math.

2. Why does Jacob decide that he wants a metal detector?

a) He sees a man at the park with one.

b) His father had one as a child.

c) He saw a TV commercial for one.

d) He read an ad for one in a comic book.

3. How does Jacob get the items

that he wants in the story?

a) He asks his mom.

b) He asks his dad.

c) He shovels driveways and mows lawns.

d) He does all of these things to get what he wants.

4. When did Jacob buy the metal detector?

a) in the fall

b) in the summer

c) in the spring

d) in the winter

5. Why doesn’t Jacob’s father want to get him the

magician’s kit for his birthday?

a) Jacob failed math class.

b) Jacob quits too many expensive activities.

c) Jacob has been mean to his younger brother.

d) Jacob went to the park without permission.

6. Why does Jacob’s father buy Jacob the magician’s kit?

a) Jacob mowed the lawn.

b) Jacob reminded his father of himself.

c) Jacob bought ice cream for his brother.

d) Jacob found his father’s key ring.

7. What distracts Jacob’s attention from the magician’s kit?

a) a TV commercial

b) his father

c) the kitchen table

d) a comic book

8. Based on the end of the story, Jacob is most likely to go

on and do which of the following?

a) become a great magician

b) learn to play guitar well

c) detect an incredible hidden treasure

d) raise money to go to space camp

9. Which happened first in the text?

a) Jacob asked his dad for the magician’s kit.

b) Jacob got a guitar for Christmas.

c) Jacob mowed lawns.

d) Jacob shoveled driveways.

10. Which happened last in the text?

a) Jacob saved up $200.

b) Jacob found forty-seven cents in the park.

c) Jacob took guitar lessons.

d) Jacob knew his true purpose in life.

This is the end of Reading Section. Now do the next section. ♥



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VOCABULARY SECTION

Choose the correct word or phrase for each question.

1. It was the most _______________ holiday I have ever had.

a) relaxing

b) relaxed

c) surprised

d) bored

2. She is different _______________ her

sister.

a) from

b) to

c) than

d) of

3. I have forgotten to inform them to come

to the meeting. The _______________

is on me.

a) guilt

b) blame

c) culprit

d) mistake

4. The tusks were _______________ to

good use, protecting the mammoths'

young from other animals, and brushing

away snow.

a) held

b) put

c) set

d) kept

5. The profit of the company only

increased _____________ and the

marketing director was fired.

a) significance

b) insignificantly

c) insignificance

d) significantly

6. Leaders often have to make __________

decisions for the benefit of their groups.

a) popularity

b) impopular

c) unpopularly

d) unpopular

7. The factory is _______________ in a

suburb of Manchester.

a) place

b) situated

c) built

d) surrounded

8. You should _______________ a lawyer

before you sign that document.

a) counsel

b) communicate

c) consult

d) check

9. She was given the award in

_______________ of her academic

achievements.

a) charge

b) recognition

c) spite

d) aspiration

10. Water was _______________ slowly

from the pipe.

a) filtering

b) spilling

c) gushing

d) leaking



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11. Some of the delegates made an

extremely useful _______________ to

the discussion.

a) contribution

b) suggestion

c) insertion

d) opinion

12. Which pair is different?

a) search - seek

b) many - numerous

c) reliable - dependable

d) jolly – cheerful

13. Which words describe females?

a) niece / aunt / sister-in-law / lioness

b) cow / ram / rooster / nephew

c) hen / poetess / chicken / billy-goat

d) doctor / teacher / architect / son-in-law

14. To end a relationship with a wife, a

husband or a boyfriend is

_______________.

a) to break out

b) to be angry

c) to discomfort

d) to break up

15. He is _______________ the most

understanding teacher of our school. I

don't know how you got on his bad

side.

a) possibly

b) impossible

c) impossibly

d) possible

16. Long vehicles should be ___________

to travel in the day time as they are a

great threat to small vehicles.

a) banned

b) cut

c) included

d) allowed

17. The place where we met was very

_______________.

a) romantically

b) romanic

c) romance

d) romantic

18. ___________ I saw that Mary was a

better mathematician __________ John.

a) than - then

b) then - then

c) than - than

d) then – than

19. If he keeps _______________ the

teacher, no one will understand the

lesson.

a) interrupt

b) interruptions

c) interrupting

d) interruption

20. Which pair is the same?

a) selfish - unselfish

b) brave - courageous

c) hardworking - lazy

d) fat – slim



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21. Reasonable price is:

a) clear

b) important

c) acceptable

d) strong

22. Which of the following verbs is not

possible?

a) drive a bike

b) ride a bike

c) get off a bike

d) repair a bike

23. It was very______________excursion.

a) education

b) educational

c) educated

d) uneducated

24. Which word is misspelled?

a) politician

b) seeson

c) typical

d) engineer

25. Earth is the only __________ we know

in the universe that can support human life.

a) situation

b) place

c) position

d) site

This is the end of Vocabulary Section. ♥

26. Most people are born with the natural

ability to__________ stories, but only a rare

few have the determination to become

professional authors.

a) say b) tell c) speak d) announce

27. Some of the world's famous crime

writers have achieved the ___________

success of all.

a) largest b) greatest c) highest d) prime

28. If you have an ambition to become

the____________ Agatha Christie what

should you do?

a) next b) following c) subsequent d) later

29. Like any good recipe you have to know

the main __________ of a successful novel.

a) parts b) ingredients c) pieces d) sections

30. In the virtual classrooms of the future

the students will_________on their headset,

and be transported into an imaginary school.

a) place b) put c) set d) get

THE TWELFTH CANTONAL ENGLISH LANGUAGE COMPETITION – Primary Schools 2013


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GRAMMAR SECTION

Read the questions carefully and choose the

correct answer.

1. Carlos _____ my letters a few days ago. a) answers b) answer c) answered d) has answered 2. "I __________ here for ten years." a) live b) am living c) have lived d) lived 3. Brian and Claire got married ___________. a) five years ago b) since five years c) for five years d) five years yet 4. Debra ________ television when the storm ______________.

a) watched / begins b) is watching / begin c) watches / begun d) was watching / began 5. What time ____________ (phone) me?

a) are you phoning b) you phone c) you have phoned d) are you going to phone 6. I _____________ the dentist at 4.30 on Saturday.

a) will see b) am seeing c) am going to see d) saw

7. If I _______ you, I _________ go to the doctor's.

a) am / will b) were / will c) am / would d) were / would 8. I think you _________ leave early. a) should b) had to c) must d) are going to 9. Which irregular plurals are correct?

a) men / feet / tooth / mice / knifes b) men / foot / teeth / mouse / knifes c) man / feet / teeth / mice / knives d) men / feet / teeth / mice / knives 10. Could you bring me _____ glass of water, please?

a) the b) a c) some d) –

11. We've just moved into our house, and we haven't got ________________.

a) a furniture b) any furniture c) some furniture d) - furniture 12. My homework is very difficult. There are _________ new words to learn.

a) not enough b) too many c) enough d) too much



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13. Can you wait _____________, please?

a) out b) out of c) outside d) on out 14. ___ Rolling Stones are ____ very old rock group. a) - / a b) The / a c) The / - d) The / the 15. Mario took his pet snake ____ his English class. a) to b) at c) in d) into 16. Direct speech: "I'm having a good time,'' said Carol. a) She says she is having a good time. b) She said she has had a good time. c) She said she was having a good time. d) She said she is having a good time. 17. Mary can't stand ________ in cities.

a) drive b) driving c) the drive d) drove 18. I like your new bike.___________really fast!

a) Its b) It's c) It d) There is

19. Have you ever been to___________? a) Canada or United States b) the Canada or the United States c) Canada or the United States d) the Canada or United States 20. I'm tired. I think I __________ to bed.

a) am going b) go c) will go d) went 21. Which past participle forms are correct?

a) come / written / said / played / read b) came / wrote / said / played / read c) came / written / sayed / played / read d) come / write / said / played / red 22. Nerina is _________ to drive a car.

a) oldest b) old enough c) older d) older enough 23. They have taken my car. __________isn't running. a) they b) their c) theirs d) them 24. The French ___________ classes are using the new books.

a) teacher's b) teachers c) teacher d) teachers'



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25. You've cooked the meat ____________.

a) beautiful b) beautifuly c) beautifully d) more beautiful 26. Tarik is __________________ than all of his sisters.

a) the oldest b) more old c) older d) the most old 27. Sonia looks very ________________.

a) unhappilly b) unhappy c) unhapy d) inhappily 28. I ____________ phone you if I _______ from Alice.

a) am going to / heard b) will / hear c) would / hear d) will / heard 29. That cheese ___________ you like comes from Scotland.

a) where b) who c) which d) what 30. My mother usually comes to stay _____________ Christmas.

a) at b) off c) in d) of

31. If the traffic gets very bad we ______ the train.

a) may not miss b) may have miss c) might miss d) might not miss

32. The house __________ sold for five hundred pounds.

a) has been b) had been c) have been d) has being 33. Have you got ____ shampoo?

a) some b) any c) - d) many 34. There were only _____ people at the meeting.

a) a little b) a few c) much d) many 35. My sister works in _______________.

a) a flower shop b) flowers shop c) shop flower d) shop's flower 36. I managed to get to sleep__________ there was a lot of noise.

a) because b) although c) in spite of d) because of



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37. Maybe I'll open a window. But if I ______ it, it ____ be very noisy.

a) opened / will b) has opened / will c) opened / would d) open / will 38. Everybody _________ know more than one language.

a) are going to b) ought to c) must d) have to

39. My family ____ away just now.

a) is b) are c) was d) is /are (both) 40. I can' t bear ________ spiders.

a) to look at b) it to look at c) look at d) it to look 41. Look – I ______ a new jacket. a) bought b) have buy c) buy d) have bought 42. How long have you ________ the piano?

a) learnt b) learned c) been learning d) been learned

43. __________ a car when you were living in London? a) Had you b) Were you having c) Have you had d) Did you have 44. Sally lives in London, ________?

a) is she b) isn't she c) does she d) doesn't she 45. I made a stupid mistake. I _________ the wrong train.

a) got at b) got out of c) got on d) got off 46. Richard didn't help me. He sat in an armchair and _______ nothing.

a) do b) doing c) did d) done 47. ________ room is bigger than _______.

a) my / her b) mine / hers c) my / hers d) mine / her 48. We didn't speak _______ the meal. a) while b) for c) during d) at



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49. "Do you like reading books?" "It depends _________ the book." a) about b) on c) to d) for 50. I enjoyed __________ very much at the party. a) yourself b) myself c) herself d) themselves 51. I would like _______ pot of coffee, please and ______ boiled eggs.

a) - / - b) a / some c) - / any d) - / some 52. It's Rachel's birthday tomorrow and I __________ her a present. a) hasn't bought b) didn't bought c) haven't bought d) haven't buy 53. I'm afraid I ______ come to your party next week. a) can b) can't c) could d) couldn't 54. Robert ______ away two or three times a year.

a) is going usually b) is usually going c) usually goes d) goes usually

55. Everything is going well. We ________any problems so far.

a) didn't have b) don't have c) haven't had d) doesn't have 56. We _______________ by a loud noise during the night.

a) woke up b) are woken up c) were woken up d) were waking up 57. The police officer stopped us and asked us where __________. a) were we going b) are we going c) we are going d) we were going 58. "What's that noise?" "It sounds __________ a baby crying." a) as b) like c) as if d) as though 59. These postcards are nice. ________? a) How much are they b) How many are they c) How much they are d) How much is they 60. Don't worry_______late tonight. a) if I'm b) when I'm c) when I'll be d) if I'll be

This is the end of the test. Good luck! ♥



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ANSWER KEY

READING COMPREHENSION VOCABULARY SECTION

1 A 1 A 11 A 21 C

2 D 2 A 12 A 22 A

3 D 3 B 13 A 23 B

4 C 4 B 14 D 24 B

5 B 5 B 15 A 25 B

6 B 6 D 16 A 26 B

7 A 7 B 17 D 27 B

8 D 8 C 18 D 28 A

9 B 9 B 19 C 29 B

10 D 10 D 20 B 30 B

GRAMMAR SECTION

1 C 11 B 21 A 31 C 41 D 51 B

2 C 12 B 22 B 32 A 42 C 52 C

3 A 13 C 23 C 33 B 43 D 53 B

4 D 14 B 24 D 34 B 44 D 54 C

5 D 15 A 25 C 35 A 45 C 55 C

6 B 16 C 26 C 36 B 46 C 56 C

7 D 17 B 27 B 37 D 47 C 57 D

8 A 18 B 28 B 38 B 48 C 58 B

9 D 19 C 29 C 39 D 49 B 59 A

10 B 20 C 30 A 40 A 50 B 60 A

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