English Questions and Answers - Class 8 End Term Exams Term 1 2023 Set 1

QUESTIONS

Read the passage below. It contains blank spaces numbered 1-15. For each blank space, choose the best alternative from the given choices
What do you think of__1__the word "games"__2__? Some of you think of a soccer __3__full of noise and movement __4__others may imagine determined men and women trying to hit the ball or __5__it__6__the net as in netball or volleyball. Others will think of excited__7__cheering their favourite teams. When you were a bit younger, __8__you would most likely __9__thought of games which do not require great skill like soccer.

__10__games are played according.__11__very simple rules. Sometimes, there__12__no rules at all and they keep on__13__new games as they play. Think of children playing "hide and__14__"Think of them playing mother, father__15__soldier or doctor.

1.                            
   1. where
   2. how
   3. whether
   4. when
2.                
   1. shouted
   2. called
   3. mentioned
   4. name
3.                      
   1. pitch
   2. team
   3. fans
   4. players
4.              
   1. which
   2. while
   3. because
   4. why
5.                    
   1. carry
   2. take
   3. shoot
   4. blow
6.                        
   1. under
   2. at
   3. on
   4. into
7.                  
   1. spectators
   2. congregation
   3. crowd
   4. gang
8.                    
   1. whichever
   2. however
   3. moreover
   4. besides
9.                  
   1. has
   2. have
   3. can
   4. could
10.              
    1. Childs
    2. Childrens'
    3. Children's
    4. Childs'
11.                          
    1. with
    2. on
    3. at
    4. to
12.                      
    1. can
    2. are
    3. is
    4. will
13.                        
    1. inventing
    2. investing
    3. building
    4. drawing
14.                          
    1. sought
    2. lock
    3. jump
    4. seek
15.                      
    1. ;
    2. ?
    3. ,
    4. . 

For questions 16-17, select the alternative that  best fills in the blank spaces

16. John hardly engages in risky practices.
    1. doesn't he
    2. does he
    3. isn't he
    4. hasn't he
17. They have not arrived yet.
    1. have they
    2. is it
    3. haven't they
    4. isn't it

For questions 18-20, choose the alternative that can best replace the underlined phrase

18. We decided to get on with our work after a thirty-minutes break.
    1. continue
    2. stop
    3. restart
    4. complete
19. They put down all that the teacher said.
    1. suggested
    2. wrote
    3. saw
    4. read
20. Everyone was looking forward to the sports day.
    1. hoping
    2. praying for
    3. expecting
    4. wishing

For questions 21-22, choose the alternative that is correctly punctuated

21.                                            
    1. "Everyone," the teacher started "Must work harder and smarter."
    2. Everyone the teacher started, "must work harder and smarter."
    3. "Everyone, "the teacher started," must work harder and smarter.
    4. "Everyone," the teacher started, "must work harder and smarter
22.                          
    1. The health officer advised, "Children's play things must always be sterilized to prevent infection."
    2. "The health officr advised," Children's play things must always be sterilized to prevent infection.
    3. The health officer advised "Children's play things must always be sterilized to prevent infection."
    4. The health officer advised, "children's play things must always be sterilized to prevent infection."

For questions 23-25, choose the alternative that means the opposite of the underlined word

23. They all came out of the room with gloomy faces.
    1. smiling
    2. sad
    3. angry
    4. unhappy
24. It is harmful to engage in drug abuse.
    1. dangerous
    2. beneficial
    3. risky
    4. damaging
25. The plaintiff arrived later for the hearing.
    1. complainant
    2. lawyer
    3. litigant
    4. defendant 

Read the passage below carefully and then answer questions 26-38
Old John was the owner of the biggest orchard in his part of the country. He was also the father of three strong, but lazy sons.
Old John looked after his fruit trees with very little help from his sons. Early every morning, while they were still in bed, the old man could be found working alone in the orchard. He dug the soil, cut away all the useless branches from the old trees, carefully tended the young trees and picked all the fruits at harvest time.
Every evening after his work, he would sit on a log and rest in the shade of his trees. Old John would gaze and gaze at the long rows of apple trees, pear trees and plum trees. Then he would sigh to think that soon he would be too old to give them all the care they need.
"Dear me!" He would say to himself. "It is a great pity. I wish my sons would work in the orchard. If they did, I am sure that the fruits would bring them a fortune."
There cone a time when John no longer worked among his fruit trees, for he took ill and died. Not long after his death, the sons met to hear what money their father had left to them. The reading of his will amazed them, because there was only this one sentence:
"The orchard, and the treasure which is there, I leave to my three sons." The sons stared at each other in astonishment, "Treasure!" they shouted. "Isn't that wonderful? We will be rich! Father has hidden his money in the orchard!"
"We must be very careful," said the eldest son. "If we tell others of this, they might steal the treasure from us."
"What shall we do?" asked the youngest son. "We must tell no one about the treasure," said the middle son. "We will dig and search in the orchard until we find it."
The sons then made their plans to find the treasure. They divided the orchard into three parts, and worked as they had never worked before.
They carefully dug the soil from one end of the orchard to the other. They even turned over the earth around the roots. Not an inch did they miss. Alas! After days, weeks and months of digging and searching, no treasure was found.
That year however, something which had never happened before, happened. There was so much fruit on the trees, that the branches were bent almost to the ground. The three sons were delighted. Never had they seen such a crop of apples, pears and plums.

26. Which of the following is incorrect according to the first paragraph?
    1. John's sons were lazy
    2. John owned a fruit farm
    3. John was employed in the biggest orchard in the area
    4. John's sons were strong
27. At what time could John be found working in his orchard?
    1. At dusk
    2. At dawn
    3. Mid-day
    4. Evening
28. The following activities were done by John in his orchardexcept
    1. picking fruits
    2. digging the soil
    3. pruning the trees
    4. logging and cutting trees
29. What did John do in the evening?
    1. Resting
    2. Harvesting
    3. Watering
    4. Logging
30. What made John to worry?
    1. His old age
    2. The future of his sons
    3. The great harvest in his farm
    4. Lack of rain in the area
31. John died of
    1. working hard in his orchard
    2. eating poisonous fruits
    3. illness
    4. snake bite
32. Which characters best describe John?
    1. Lazy and desperate
    2. Optimistic and cruel
    3. Clumsy and bright
    4. Hardworking and wise
33. The word stared can be replaced by all the following except
    1. gazed
    2. glanced
    3. peered
    4. glared
34. From the reaction the three sons had when they read their father's will, we can conclude that they were
    1. surprised
    2. sad
    3. worried
    4. thankful
35. Which of the following statements is true according to the passage?
    1. The sons found the treasure after digging for months
    2. Old John owned the smallest orchard in the country
    3. There was no hidden treasure in the orchard
    4. Old John did not care that his sons were lazy
36. Why do you think there was a lot of fruit the years that Old John died?
    1. Old John had taken good care of the trees
    2. The land was very fertile
    3. The three sons applied fertilizers to the trees
    4. The three sons tended the trees unknowingly
37. All the following can be grown in an orchard except
    1. guavas
    2. avocado
    3. cabbage
    4. oranges
38. Which of the following would be the most suitable title for this passge?
    1. The biggest orchard ever
    2. They found hidden treasure
    3. The death of Old John
    4. The transformation of three lazy sons 

Read the passage below carefully and then answer questions 39 -50
Like many youth, who travel to Nairobi in search of jobs once they complete secondary school, Mr. Derrick Ambuka made his journey to the city in 1986 to seek employment.
Luck was on his side. "I got hired at an engineering farm, Burns and Blair, which exclusively dealt with agricultural implement."
Hired as a sales person, Mr. Ambuka started honing his skills. "I would go for lessons in accounting to learn how to run a business since I wanted to become an employee, who is conversant with the job."
But five years into his job, he resigned and opened his entity, Derry's and Toro Company, a start- up that was set to compete with Burns and Blair.
"It was quite easy to run a business since I had prior knowledge," says the fifty-year-old, who also runs other enterprises in hospitality and construction industries.
However, it was in Nairobi that he noticed one peculiarity about Kenya's housing sector.
"I noticed that the wealthy lived in suburbs with a good environment, with plenty of trees, which is appealing unlike the areas where the low income earners resided. That is how I started loving trees," said the proprietor of Derry's Eco Cover, a company which sells seedlings.
His passion for the environment drove him to start the project in 2011 with one thousand seedlings. "The demand peaks ahead of the rainy seasons from April where we sell an average of fifty thousand seedlings in a good month, making about five thousand shillings.
"We have a client who bought twenty thousand seedlings from the county of Murang'a and asked us to plant them on her land," says Ambuka, who has close to a million seedlings in his nursery at any given time.
His company is now crossing borders. Already, he is processing an order to supply six thousand seedlings to a customer in Uganda.
"I always believe that trees are wealth because if you plant one, which costs just ten shillings, in the next ten years, the least you can earn from it is sixty thousand shillings.
Buyers stream from the counties and devolution has proved to be a blessing for him. "We have sold our products to Bungoma, Busia and Kisumu counties. We've received a tender to supply fifty thousand seedlings to the county government of Machakos."
To maintain quality, the entrepreneur buys certified seeds from Kenya Agricultural Forestry Research Institute (KEFRI) for both exotic and indigenous tree species such as Jacaranda, Elgon teak, Grevelia, Neem and fruit trees, which he plants in black polythene bags.

39. Which of the following is not true according to the first paragraph?
    1. Many youth travel to the urban areas to look for jobs
    2. Many youth travel to Nairobi in search of jobs once they complete secondary school
    3. Derrick went to Nairobi to look for employment
    4. Derrick had been to Nairobi for more than a decade
40. The company that hired Derrick was dealing with 
    1. manufacturing of agricultural tools
    2. processing of agricultural products
    3. making engines
    4. manufacturing extinguishers
41. The word 'honing' has been underlined in the passage. It means
    1. to produce a horn
    2. to develop and improve
    3. to lessen
    4. to discourage something
42. What course did Ambuka take to become a competent employer?
    1. Engineering
    2. Shopkeeper
    3. Accounting
    4. Hospitality
43. Which company did Derrick open after his resignation?
    1. Burns and Blair Company
    2. Derry's Engineering Company
    3. Blair Agricultural Company
    4. Derry's and Toro Company
44. The company that Ambuka opened and the other one that had employed him earlier can be termed as
    1. partners
    2. friends
    3. arch-rivals
    4. foes
45. What made Derrick easily run his enterprise according to the passage?
    1. Accessibility to customers
    2. Running of other hospitality and construction industries
    3. Experience and prior knowledge
    4. Business venue in the city
46. What peculiarity did Derrick notice about Kenya's housing sector?
    1. The low income earners lived in the suburbs
    2. He was young to open more companies
    3. Trees thrived well only in the suburbs
    4. The rich lived in the suburbs with a good environment
47. According to the passage, what prompted Derrick to start a seedling project in 2011? 
    1. He lacked something to do after resignation
    2. His passion for the environment
    3. His love for money
    4. He did not have enough capital
48. What promoted the demand for seedlings in the month of April?
    1. It's a dry month
    2. It's a rainy season
    3. Many customers have a lot of money
    4. Many upcoming suburbs
49. The phrase 'His company is now crossing borders' as used in the passage means that
    1. he has opened other company branches in other countries
    2. the company has relocated to other countries
    3. the company has boundaries
    4. the company has no borders
50. The best proverb to summarize the passage would be
    1. Tit for tat is a fair game
    2. Hard work never goes unrewarded
    3. All that glitteres is not gold
    4. East or West, home is the best

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