Senior School Entrance Examination: English and Mathematics Preparation, Study notes of English

Download Senior School Entrance Examination: English and Mathematics Preparation and more Study notes English in PDF only on Docsity! Sample questions for girls preparing for the entrance examination for the Senior School at 10/11+ for admission in September 2012 English Paper 1 (Comprehension) English Paper II (Composition) Mathematics English Paper 1 This paper will contain material for comprehension with questions which will test the candidate’s basic understanding of vocabulary, style and ideas. The paper consists of two passages, one non-fiction and one fiction, and questions to be answered about them. The answers must be written in complete sentences. The time allowed for this paper is 40 minutes (including reading time). The non-fiction passage could come from a newspaper or magazine article and the fiction passage could be from a novel or poem. The questions on the non-fiction passage will focus on the way in which the material is presented in terms of the vocabulary and style, and how this is linked to the purpose and readership. The questions on the literary passage will be designed to test understanding of the course of the narrative, the presentation of character and how feelings and ideas are expressed, particularly in the use of figurative language. The work undertaken during the Literacy Hour at primary school and wide personal reading will prepare candidates well for this paper. Questions (passage A) “Miss Golightly” Read passage A and then answer the following questions in the spaces provided, taking care to answer in complete sentences unless told to do otherwise. 1. Explain in your own words what Miss Golightly did for a living. (2 marks) 2. Look again at paragraph four. Give details of three things that can be seen in the photographs on Miss Golightly’s wall. (3 marks) 3. Explain what is meant by the following descriptions of the photographs: a) “alien and ancient” line 18 (2 marks) b) “the unknown existed within the familiar” line 18-19 (2 marks) 4. Why do you think Miss Golightly is seen as a witch by some of the children? Support your answer with evidence from the first two paragraphs. (4 marks) 5. How do the reader’s impressions of Miss Golightly change? Explain your ideas fully, using a range of evidence from the whole passage. (5 marks) Now read passage B. Passage B (non-fiction) Today’s children are a sophisticated bunch, preferring the computer console to a game of hopscotch. But the toys of the 21st century are causing problems for youngsters, say teachers from York’s junior schools. Dean Beecham, head of Bishopthorpe Junior School, said: ‘Children seem to have less listening ability than they used to We are worried this may be due to video games or watching too much television.’ Teachers believe that traditional games like hopscotch, skipping and catch could expand children’s interests and stimulate their minds. ‘Playground equipment tends not to be used, and the children just hang around and talk,’ said Mr Beecham. Dr Michael Bolton, a child psychologist from Keele University, said, ‘If children spend a lot of time on their own in front of the TV or the computer, then any benefit they might have got from interacting with their peers will be lost.’ Clare Davison, a teacher at Fishergate Primary School, York, said, ‘Last year in our centenary celebrations, the children looked at life in the Victorian age and learned about the games they played. Now they sometimes play hoops and hopscotch and their learning abilities seem to have improved.’ At Fishergate, the importance of play is also stressed in the classroom. Ms Davison said: ‘We have had assemblies on playing and we play games in lessons. Their co-operation skills are better and their academic ability has been stimulated because of this.’ Teachers at Bishopthorpe are so keen to bring active play back into their children’s lives, they have launched a scheme to raise money for new equipment. Gareth Stratton, a physiologist from the John Moore’s University in Liverpool, said: ‘If you keep children busy with physical exercise there is some evidence to suggest that their behaviour will be better and their minds more creative.’ He added: ‘Computers can be good for learning if they are not just used for games, especially if children use CD Roms.’ Playing hopscotch ‘can make children brainy’ By Nicole Veash By Nicole Veash Glossary Psychologist: someone who studies a person’s behaviour Physiologist: someone who studies how people’s bodies function Now answer the questions on passage B Mathematics The exam will consist of one 40 minute paper which will contain a series of problems designed to test the candidate’s ability to use the straightforward processes of arithmetic (addition, subtraction, multiplication and division) and to apply them in situations which are within their understanding and experience. Candidates are expected to be able to work with simple fractions, decimals and percentages. They should also be familiar with the concept of area and negative numbers, and they may be asked to interpret simple charts representing statistical information. Formal knowledge of algebra is not required for the test. The paper may also contain questions which are deliberately designed to test response to a simple but unfamiliar mathematical idea for which no previous knowledge is required. It cannot be emphasised too strongly that candidates should set out their working clearly and not assume that only the answer is of interest to the examiner. Checking of work and questioning the reasonableness of a numerical answer are important and many candidates fail to realise this, even though they may have finished the paper early. Senior School Entrance Examination Mathematics Paper Time allowed: 40 minutes Answer all questions Read the following instructions carefully: Use pencil only for this paper. Put your examination number in the space at the top right hand corner of the question paper. Write the answers in the space provided. Write down clearly all the working you need to do in the space near the question. In some questions marks are given for workings so do not rub this out. Remember to check your work carefully. This paper will take 40 minutes. Answer as many questions as you can. Do not worry if you do not answer all of the questions. If you come to a question you cannot do, go on to the next. You may have time to return to those missed out at the end. 1) Work out 284 + 69 - 271 2) Subtract 2.64 from 7.3 3) 8000 × 0.7 4) 5) Find 30% of £45 6) Write 0.6 as a fraction in its simplest terms. 7) Work out 32 × 47 8) In a class of 32, ¾ are boys, how many are girls? 9) How many centimetres are there in 10) What is ? 4.7 kilometres? 11) Write down the numbers the arrows point to. 12) Put these numbers in order of size (smallest first). -4 -0.2 2.5 2.17 -2.5 13) Work out 10 + (10 × 10) - (10 ÷ 10) 14) Put a ring around the numbers which are less than ⅓ 15) Write the next term in this sequence. 16) Put a ring around the number which is closest to half a million. 487 236 52 143 583 932 4 232 184 5 472 7 of 27 9 2 1 4 5 2 , , , , , ... 5 4 19 26 11 1 3 5 10  4 2 3 0.25 0.039 5 9 8 £ cm 23) The temperatures recorded on a winter’s day in four different European cities are shown below: -11°C 17°C 8°C -3°C -6°C What is the difference in temperature between the hottest and coldest cities? 24) Shade the diagram so that the grey shapes are reflected in the dotted line. 25) Fill in the missing number so that the equation balances. 8 × 9 – 17 = 7 × 5 + 26) On a long straight road there are four villages which are shown in the diagram below. The arrows show the distances between the villages. Find the distances from: a) Corford to Dunbar b) Allwood to Dunbar c) Claire walks from Bentham to Corford at an average speed of 2 km per hour. How long does the journey take? km km ° C 27) The bar chart shows the number of repeat programmes shown by BB1, BB2 and ITV in one week. During the same week, Channel 4 showed 38 repeat programmes. a) Complete the bar chart to show this information. b) How many repeat programmes were shown altogether? c) How many more repeat programmes were shown on BBC2 compared to BB1? 28) A cake is in the shape of a cube. It is made up of five layers of equal thickness, as shown in the diagram. Alternate layers are black and white. What fraction of the outside is black? 29) A number of children are stood, evenly spaced, in a circle. If the 4th child is opposite the 22nd child, how many children are in the circle? 30) Sarah wants to cover the floor of a room with a striped carpet. A shop sells this carpet from a roll that is 3m wide at £25 per metre. The floor is rectangular in shape with length 13m and width 8m. The carpet is laid to ensure that the stripes on the carpet are parallel to two of the sides of the room and lie in one direction only. Find the cost of the cheapest way of covering the floor. End of examination. Now go back and check your work.