English Questions and Answers - Class 8 Opener Exams Term 1 2023 Set 5

Read the two passages below. They contain blank spaces numbered 1-15. For each blank space, choose the best of the four answers given:-

Donkeys are used for transport. Chickens __1__ us with both meat and eggs. Whether dead or __2__ cows are __3__
than most other animals.

Cows produce milk and pull ploughs. In order to get better crops, we use their dung as manure to __4__ the quality of the soil. In some places where there is no firewood, cowdung is used as __5__. When they __6__ killed, the hides are treated to make such articles as shoes, bags and belts. Their horns, __7__ which glue is made, are sometimes used as musical instruments. Can __8__ as productive as the cow?

My parents __9__  early ahead __10__ me. They wanted to __11__ in the wedding preparations. __12__ was cooking to be done. There was the __13__ family to be received. There were __14__ to be done. There was just __15__ much to be done before the wedding.

For questions 16 to 18, choose the word that LEAST fits in the group:-

16.  
    1. Sheep
    2. Cow
    3. Hen
    4. Goat
17.  
    1. Doctor
    2. Dentist
    3. Hospital
    4. Nurse
18.  
    1. Sowing
    2. Weeding
    3. Harvesting
    4. Farming

In questions 19-20, select the alternative that best completes the sentence correctly:-

19. My father asked me to give him __________________.
    
    1. some drinking clean water 
    2. some water, drinking clean
    3. cleaning drink some water
    4. some clean drinking water
20. The drug baron drives ____________________.
    1. an American yellow car
    2. a yellow car American
    3. a car yellow American
    4. a yellow American car

For questions 21-22. choose the correct arrangement of the sentences given to make a sensible paragraph:-

21.  
    1. Also by their smell
    2. Are they ripe?
    3. Would you like some fruit?
    4. Of course, you can tell by the colour
    5. Yes, please
       
       1. iii, i, ii, iv, v
       2. iii, v, ii, iv, i
       3. v, iv, ii, i, iii
       4. iii, v, ii, i, iv
22.  
    1. At harvest time
    2. Ongei helps them on the shamba
    3. They grow a lot of maize on it
    4. Ongei's parents have a big shamba
       1. i, iv, iii, ii
       2. ii, iii, iv, i
       3. iv, iii, i, ii
       4. iii, i, ii, iv

In questions 23 to 25, choose the correct alternative to fill the blank space in each of the sentences:-

23. The driver drove ___________________________
    1. recklessly
    2. reckless
    3. recklessness
    4. reckly
24. She was badly wounded and was rushed to hospital.
    
    1. speedy
    2. speedly
    3. speedily
    4. speeding
25. Would you mind fetching me some water? (If the response was positive, which answer was given?)
    
    1. Yes, I do
    2. Yes, I will
    3. No, I don't
    4. No, I won't

Read the passage below and answer questions 26-37:-

As he saw her to her door, he hoped this would be the day she would let him in. He wondered what she was hiding; they had been together five months and he still had not been in her house. What could be so bad that she wouldn't let him in. His imagination ran wild. May be she had a child she was hiding from him, may be it was another man, hell, may be she was running a prostitution ring from her apartment, he had run out of ideas and patience. As she turned the key, his heart beat accelerated. He had waited for this day for five months, but now he doesn't think he is ready to face what is on the other side of the door. How's that for an attempt at a suspense thriller?

It's actually no big mystery what is on the other side of the door. I'd hazard aguess that probably half of you have the same secrete behind one, if not all of your doors.

Ok, enough with the suspense, the other side of the door held a really messy house. I realised the revelation is rather disappointing. If you happen to be one of many women who can't keep a neat house, it should come as a relief to know there are lots of us.

From the time you are old enough to be advised and that is probably at five, you learn that cleanliness is next to godliness only for girls. Boys, well, boys will marry girls who will keep the house clean for them. Wondering how my earlier story ended? Well, years from now, when people ask me at what point I knew it was true love, I'll tell them it was. When I finally opened let him in to my house and he looked around, looked at me kissed me, rolled up his sleeves and helped me put away the laundry I had done three weeks earlier. If that's not true love, then I don't know what it is!

26. What had made the writer not to welcome her friend into her house?
    
    1. She had another man in it
    2. She was a prostitute
    3. Her house was untidy and messy
    4. She was hiding a child
27. Which word explains why the friend's heart accelerated when the door was being opened?
    
    1. Curiosity and anxiety
    2. Nostalgia
    3. Ignorance and cowardice
    4. Foolishness
28. Which relief do women who don't keep their houses neat have?
    
    1. Their husbands can help them
    2. They are not alone,
    3. They won't get married
    4. Their doors won't be opened
29. What made the writer think that her friend really loved her?
    
    1. He assisted with laundry work
    2. He insisted on the opening of the door.
    3. He rolled his sleeves
    4. He was remorseful
30. At what age is one likely to begin getting advised?
    
    1. At least five
    2. Utmost five
    3. Exactly five
    4. Approximately five
31. Cleanliness is next to godliness. This is known as a
    
    1. a simile
    2. an interjection
    3. a proverb
    4. a phrasal verb
32. Why do boys not care so much about cleanliness? 
    
    1. They would be married
    2. They are not taught at five
    3. They don't fear opening their houses
    4. Boys marry girls who keep houses clean
33. How many characters are mentioned in the story? 36. A well arranged house
    
    1. Two
    2. Three
    3. Four
    4. None
34. What word would replace the word apartment as used in the story
    1. Lodging
    2. Dormitory
    3. House
    4. Cottage
35. The writer concludes that
    
    1. all people have secrets behind their doors
    2. all men should assist with laundry
    3. true love endures weakness
    4. boys should not assist with laundry work
36. A well arranged house
    1. keeps visitors off
    2. can cause one to get embarrassed
    3. makes one to feel free at all times
    4. can be a place for hiding children
37. What would be the appropriate title for the story?
    
    1. Cleanliness
    2. The two friends 
    3. A dreadful experience
    4. A closed house

Read the passage below and answer questions 38-50:-

There is a saying that the family that eats together learns alot about each other. But in today's busy world, how many people actually find the time to sit down to a meal with their loved ones?

Take Debby for instance, who is so busy holding down a part time job, a business and evening classes that she has taught her three sons, aged between eight and fourteen, how to warm their own food when they feel hungry. As a result, family mealtimes are a rare thing.

It is unfortunate that there are parents who think eating out or giving children the freedom to eat anything, anywhere at an anytime is a sign of advancement. The truth is that eating together as a family exposes many hidden values, including presenting a golden opportunity to positively shape children's lives.

Studies have shown that eating together is very important for both children and their parents. Communal meals have some kind of power that fosters a positive course for a child's life.

Eating together helps build and sustain family bonds by indirectly communicating the importance of the family as a unit. This activity assures children that the family is there for them. It is also during communal meals that family traditions can be transmitted to the children. Indeed it gives each member of the family a sense of identity when everyone knows that things are done in a certain way in that particular family.

Eating together presents an opportunity to chat and be free with each other. Family members are able to share their experiences which could be challenging or exciting. Unlike family meetings, which are held after sometimes, meals provide a forum to air individual concerns on daily basis.

Although the chat at the dining table is relaxed and informal it helps children acquire appropriate communication and social skills. Children learn to take turns to express their feelings and listen.

They also learn to be mindful of others and to grow out of their inherent egocentrism as well as learn acceptable table etiquette.

At the same time parents get to understand their children better:- children brought up in families that eat together are better, able to talk to their parents even in other contexts. Younger children participate in older siblings and adult's conservation which boosts their confidence and self-esteem.

38. Which of the following is true according to the passage?
    1. Most families get together
    2. Most parents take their families out for meals 
    3. Most parents are too busy to take meals with their families
    4. Most families eat and learn together
39. Which of the following statements is untrue?
    1. When eating together, we share exciting experiences only
    2. Family traditions are taught at meal times 
    3. Eating together helps build and maintain family ties
    4. Eating together helps shape children's lives
40. Children who share meals with their parents are
    
    1. of acceptable etiquettes
    2. selfish
    3. free to discuss others problems
    4. shy to talk about themselves
41. The underlined words eating out can be replaced by
    
    1. taking meals in the field
    2. eating in schools
    3. having meals outside the house
    4. buying foods from restaurants and hotels
42. At the table the following virtues are taught except
    1. expressing feelings
    2. egocentrism
    3. sharing
    4. listening
43. The underlined word etiquette means
    
    1. good grooming
    2. care of utensils
    3. rules about behaviour
    4. respect for parents
44. How do young children benefit from eating together with family members?
    
    1. Learn to warm food when hungry
    2. Learn to conceal their feelings
    3. They gain confidence and self-esteem
    4. They teach others family traditions 
45. According to the passage giving children freedom to eat anything is
    
    1. a sign of illiteracy
    2. not a sign of modernisation
    3. a sign of wealth
    4. good parenting
46. Which of the following is untrue according to the passage?
    
    1. Eating together has many values
    2. Majority of families use meal times to share experiences of other people
    3. At meals times, parents and children chat freely
    4. Many parents are engaged in many activities that deny them meal times get-together
47. The meaning of the underlined word informal is
    
    1. official
    2. compulsory
    3. traditional
    4. not official
48. According to the passage, one way in which parents discover their chidren is
    
    1. having meals with them
    2. taking children for outings
    3. taking children to hospital
    4. enquiring from the teacher about them.
49. Research has shown that sharing meals by family members 
    1. is always possible as people are not busy.
    2. was not practised along time ago
    3. promotes positive development for a child
    4. promotes bonds between different families 
50. Which of the following is the BEST title for the passage?
    
    1. Table etiquette
    2. Importance of parents and children eating together
    3. Importance of passing family traditions to children
    4. Importance of sharing experiences which could be challenging or exciting

COMPOSITION

Below is the beginning of a composition. Continue and complete it making it as interesting as you can:-

It was the beginning of the TERM and everyone in our school looked jovial. Suddenly ........................

MARKING SCHEME

1. B
2. C
3. D
4. A
5. C
6. C
7. D
8. B
9. A
10. A
11. C
12. A
13. D
14. B
15. B
16. C
17. C
18. D
19. D
20. D
21. D
22. B
23. A
24. B
25. C
26. C
27. A
28. B
29. A
30. B
31. C
32. D
33. A
34. C
35. C
36. C
37. A
38. C
39. A
40. A
41. D
42. B
43. C
44. C
45. B
46. B
47. D
48. A
49. C
50. B