CXC English A exam: Past paper type reading comprehension questions 3
Here are CXC past paper type reading comprehension questions 3 |
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| These are the types of questions that will appear in section 2, paper 2 of the CXC CSEC English A exam. | |||
| You should attempt to answer ALL of them to give yourself practice on answering CXC CSEC type reading comprehension questions for the English A exam. | |||
| 10. | Read the extract below then answer all the questions that follow. | ||
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Standing in front of each diploma with its heavy copper frame, Louise | ||
| obligingly recounted her children’s success stories and, with eyes lifted heaven- | |||
| ward, gave thanks to God. She led Debbie and Spero to their bedroom for the | |||
| night, cluttered with cups and trophies, and explained, down to the very | |||
| 5 | last detail, how and where her athletic boys had won them. The next day | ||
| which was a Sunday, everyone who was a Middleton in New York, even | |||
| small children and babes in arms, met to attend service at the Reverend Adlai | |||
| Middleton’s Baptist Church on 118th St. The Holy Spirit possessed Adlai at | |||
| a moment when, just like Ezekiel, he spewed up the false prophets. Spero’s | |||
| 10 | stomach was still reeling from this religious bachanalia when he had to | ||
| ingurgitate chicken, spinach, rice, congo peas, bacon, pumpkin pie (which he | |||
| took an immediate dislike to), and vanilla ice cream. It was on that day with | |||
| his hands clutching Debbie’s under the table like a little boy clinging to his | |||
| mother on the first day of school, deafened by a manner of speaking as | |||
| 15 | incomprehensible as the gibberish of the Wayana tribe, that he had the feeling | ||
| America would always remain out of his reach. A safe whose combination he | |||
| would never possess. He had no key to its yesterday nor the days before yesterday. | |||
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(a)
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(i) What characteristics of Louise are suggested in the first sentence? | 2 mks | |
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(ii) What does the author suggest about Louise by using the phrase "down to the very last detail' (lines 4-5)? |
1 mk | |
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(b)
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What kind of person does Spero appear to be in this passage? Quote the words or phrases which support your view. | 2 mks | |
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(c)
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What is the author referring to when she speaks of 'a manner of speaking as incomprehensible as the gibberish of the Wayana tribe' (lines 14 - 15)? | 2 mks | |
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(d)
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What impression is the author trying to convey by the use of the word ingurgitate (line 11)? | 2 mks | |
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(e)
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What does the author mean when she says that 'he (Spero) had no key to its yesterday' (line 17 - 18)? | 2 mks | |
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(f)
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What two features of the Middletons of New York does the author highlight? | 2 mks | |
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Total
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13 mks | ||
| 11. | Read the advertisement below and then answer all the questions that follow. | ||
Our National Heritage? |
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| Have you ever noticed how many dilapidated old houses adorn our highways and | |||
| main roads? They are totally abandoned and do nothing but sully the landscape and | |||
| provide breeding grounds for vermin and hiding places for drug addicts. Why are | |||
| they left to stand there, permanent reminders of the neglect and lack of concern of | |||
| 5 | their owners, and eyesores to all who pass by. Why haven’t they been demolished | ||
| and replaced by decent modern structures? It is because that bunch of old fogies that | |||
| call themselves the Society for the Preservation of our National Heritage have decreed | |||
| that these “precious relics of our proud heritage” must not be destroyed? | |||
| Well, if they think these ruins should be preserved, why don’t they raise the millions | |||
| 10 | of dollars required to restore them and turn them to some useful purpose, like historical | ||
| museums or art galleries? If we cannot afford to have these buildings restored and | |||
| made functional, they should be demolished. If they are not, natural forces - hurricanes, | |||
| earthquakes or simply rot - will do it anyway. Then we can use the space they | |||
| occupy for something really worthwhile. | |||
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(i) Which word in the first sentence (line 1 -2) seems inconsistent with the general tone of the paragraph? | 1 mk | |
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(ii) Why does the write use that word? | 1 mk | |
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(b)
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What is the writer's attitude to the old buildings mentioned in the passage? Quote onephrase to support your answer | 2 mks | |
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(c)
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What is the writer's opinion of the Society for the Preservation of the National Heritage? Quote a word or phrase hat supports your answer. |
2 mks | |
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(d)
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Give TWO reasons why the writer uses quotation marks for the phrase 'precious relics of our proud heritage' (line 8) | 2 mks | |
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(e)
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What does the writer think the position of the Society for the Preservation of the National Heritage will achieve in the long run ? | 2 mks | |
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(f)
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What is implied by the use of the phrase 'really worthwhile' (line 14)? | 2 mks | |
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Total
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12 mks | ||
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12.
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Read the poem below and then answer the questions that follow. | ||
The Son |
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| I found the letter in a cardboard box | |||
| Unfamous history, I read the words | |||
| The ink was faint and brown, the paper dry | |||
| After so many years of being kept, | |||
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The letter was soldier's, from the front - | ||
| Conveyed his love and disappointed hope | |||
| Of getting leave. 'It's cancelled now, ' he wrote | |||
| 'My luck is at the bottom of the sea.' | |||
| Outside the sun was hot; the world looked bright | |||
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I heard a radio, and someone laughed. | ||
| I did not sing or laugh or love the sun. | |||
| Within the quiet room I thought of him, | |||
| My father killed, and all the other men, | |||
| Whose luck was at the bottom of the sea | |||
Clifford Dyment |
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(a)
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What is the poet suggesting by the use of the word "unfamous" (line 2)? | 2mks | |
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(b)
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Why was the ink "faint and brown"? (line 5)? | 1mk | |
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(c)
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What is meant by the phrase "from the front" (line 5)? | 2mks | |
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(d)
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What does "my luck is at the bottom of the sea mean" (line 8) mean? | 2 mks | |
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(e)
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Identify TWO lines which contrast with the general mood of the poem | 2 mks | |
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(f)
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What is the mood of the son in line 11? | ||
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(g)
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The poem ends with a repetition of the words "(Whose) luck was at the bottom of the sea" (line 14). What do the words mean in this second case? | 2 mks | |
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Total
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13 mks | ||
| 13. | Read the extract below and then answer all the questions that follow. | ||
| I had long dreams. The nightmare began the moment I closed my eyes: A pretty lady | |||
| with soft, wavy, black hair braided and hanging to her waist, stepped out of the shadows | |||
| and whispered to me. 'You will not forget this day easily, Phyllisia. You will not.' | |||
| 'I shall, I shall.' Words leaped from my throat but could not pass through my open | |||
| 5 | mouth. My teeth had grown to form bars. Words beat against my teeth, like birds protesting | ||
| their cage; none could escape. | |||
| Laughing, she ran through the forest, passing through trees, teasing, repeating: 'No, | |||
| no, you will not forget...' | |||
| Twisting and turning, clawing at my jaw with hands that I could not see - because I was | |||
| 10 | sleeping - shouting with words that I could not form, my anger at my deformity changed | ||
| swiftly to mortal terror. The lady was approaching a cliff and still no words escaped with | |||
| which I could warn her. I knew if she fell into the roaring water, she would be torn into a | |||
| million pieces by jagged rocks submerged just below. | |||
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But I was sleeping, mute, imprisoned with my caged words, gazed through the bars |
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| 15 | of my teeth. I pulled and pounded on them as she moved nearer, nearer to the cliff's edge. | ||
| (a) | What word in the first line shows the fearfulness of the incident being related? | 1mk | |
| (b) | What impression is the writer trying to convey by using the phrase "stepped out of the shadows and whispered to me" (line 2-3)? |
2 mks | |
| (c) | What is the writer trying to suggest about Phyllisia's character when she uses the repetition "I shall. I shall." (line 4)? | 2 mks | |
| (d) | Why are the birds "protesting the cage" (lines 5-6)? | 2 mks | |
| (e) | To whom or to what do the following words refer | ||
| (a) 'none' (line 6) | 1 mk | ||
| (b) 'them' (line 15) | 1 mk | ||
| (f) | The writer converts Phyllisia's mouth into a cage. Give two phrases from the passage which illustrate this. | 2 mks | |
| (g) | Quote two phrases which show how the writer gives human characteristics to anger (line 10) | 2 mks | |
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Total |
13 mks | ||
| 14. | Read the extract below and then answer all the questions that follow. | ||
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Millions of dollars are going down the drain every year on stress electrocardiograms |
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| for business executives. Annual chest x-rays are routine, even though they provide no | |||
| benefits and are probably increasing the incidence of cancer. Fat, sedentary diabetics are | |||
| spending their money on blood sugar tests, when paying gym fees would make more sense. | |||
| 5 | And of course, everybody is anxiously checking their cholesterol to see if it is high, and then | ||
| rushing out to buy statins if it is. | |||
| None of this is going to make any difference to the health of the people of the | |||
| Caribbean, but powerful interests are involved. Hospitals cater to thousands of executives | |||
| doing annual medical check-ups. No executive in his right mind would spend thousands of | |||
| 10 | dollars on a procedure that brings no obvious corporate benefits, but then health has never | ||
| been a matter of logic. People want reassurance that they are not about to die, rather than | |||
| programmes that will make them healthier and more productive. | |||
| This is not to say that testing is unnecessary. The problem is the reason for the tests. | |||
| Every individual should know his or her cholesterol level, but only because such knowledge | |||
| 15 | is one aspect of the assumption of personal responsibility for overall health. | ||
| Checking one's cholesterol level without looking after one's health is virtually useless. | |||
| (a) | What is the meaning of the phrase, 'going down the drain" (line 1)? | 1 mk | |
| (b) | How does the writer feel about the annual practice of having chest x-rays? | 2 mks | |
| (c) | What does the phrase "but powerful interests are involved" suggest to the reader about the possibility of change? | 2 mks | |
| (d) | What "reason" does the writer give for "knowing" one's cholesterol level? | 1 mk | |
| (e) | What evidence does the writer provide to support the view that "health has never been a matter of logic"? | 2 mks | |
| (f) | What does the phrase "paying gym fees would make more sense" suggest about "fat diabetic people"? | 2 mks | |
| (g) | Why does the writer use the phrase "in his right mind" (line 9)? | 2 mks | |
| Total | 12 mks | ||
| Here are more CXC CSEC English A past paper type reading comprehension questions | |||
Fivestar
English A
Very helpful material. Thank you