Sultanate of Oman 2017/2018

Ministry of Education

ENGLISH LANGUAGE TEST

GRADE EIGHT
Semester One
Second Session

Name

School Class

Write your answers on the Test Paper

Time: 2 hours Pages: 9

LISTENING 10

GRM/VCB 10

TEST READING 10
SCORES

WRITING 10

TOTAL 40
ENGLISH, GRADE 8, SEMESTER ONE, 2nd SESSION 2017/2018

LISTENING 1 (Items 1–5) (5 marks)

You are going to hear five short texts about life in the city. Match the pictures with the
texts. For each text, shade in the bubble under the correct option.

A. B. C.

D. E. F.

Pictures
Text A B C D E F

1.

2.

3.

4.

5.

1
ENGLISH, GRADE 8, SEMESTER ONE, 2nd SESSION 2017/2018

LISTENING 2 (Items 6–10) (5 marks)

You are going to hear a short text about Polar Bears.

For each item, shade in the bubble next to the correct option.

6. Polar bears are known as ____________bears.

western freezing fury

7. They have got __________ skin.

brown flat paws long fur

8. They use their __________ to catch other animals.

sharp claws flat paws long fur

9. Polar bears mainly eat _______________.

fish seals plants

10. They are __________ animals because of losing their natural habitats.

fast endangered amazing

LISTENING
SCORE
10

2
ENGLISH, GRADE 8, SEMESTER ONE, 2nd SESSION 2017/2018

GRAMMAR/VOCABULARY 1 (Items 1–5) (2½ marks)

Complete the text. For each item, shade in the bubble next to the correct option.

(1) (2)
Skateboarding is one of the outdoor ___________. Teenagers ___________

practicing this sport in their free time. However, skateboarding must be practiced far
(3)
away from ___________ where little kids usually play. Also, teenagers should be
(4)
___________ when they play this sport. It is dangerous since it requires great balance.
(5)
Therefore, there are special clubs where you can ___________ and meet friends who

share the same interests.

1. models activities buildings

2. spend enjoy find

3. parks stations banks

4. careful lazy careless

5. design clean join

GRAMMAR/VOCABULARY 2 (Items 6–10) (2½ marks)

Complete each sentence with ONE word only.

6. I would like to have a piece _____________ cake.

7. This magazine is _____________ interesting than school books.

8. These two forts _____________ built four hundred years ago.

9. Sorry, I can’t come. I _____________ doing my homework now.

10. The exam was difficult _____________ I answered all questions.

3
ENGLISH, GRADE 8, SEMESTER ONE, 2nd SESSION 2017/2018

GRAMMAR/VOCABULARY 3 (Items 11–20) (5 marks)

Complete the unfinished words in the text.

Make sure you spell each word correctly.

EXAMPLE:

“Good_ morning! My _ name’s Ahmed Al-Zedjali and_ I’m a student_ at a

school_ in Muscat. I’m in Grade_ Six. My favourite_ subject is Maths.”

TEXT
Speaker A: Hello Ahmed. Ha______ you finished your science pro______?

Speaker B: Not yet. It took me some time collecting the mate______ such as wood,
cardboard a______ elastic bands.
Speaker A: Oh! What do you want to inv______ ?

Speaker B: I’ll make a strange type of bikes: a flying bike.

Speaker A: It sounds nice. Well, I c______ help you. I bou______ a book about making
bikes from the bookshop.
Speaker B: That’s gr______! It will help me wi______ the information I need.

Speaker A: Okay then. Let’s meet tomorrow a______ your house.

GRM/VCB
SCORE
10

4
ENGLISH, GRADE 8, SEMESTER ONE, 2nd SESSION 2017/2018

READING 1 (Items 1–4) (4 marks)

Match the four texts on the left with the texts in the box. Shade in the bubble under
the correct option.

1. Paris is a famous capital city of A. It keeps around 900 animals such as

shopping malls and centres. Asian elephants, jungle cats and Indian
rhinos.

2. Surfing is one of the most extreme B. It has a special climate which is called
sports in the world. Tropical Monsoon. It is warm and
rainy.

3. Internet is a great invention that has C. Therefore, it is a special place for

made our lives easier. buying bags, clothes and perfumes.

4. Chitwan National Zoo is a very D. The computers make a huge change in

beautiful place to visit in Nepal. people’s lives.

E. It is an easy way to get different

information through websites.

F. It is quite dangerous, and you need to

be a very good swimmer.

A B C D E F

1.

2.

3.

4.

5
ENGLISH, GRADE 8, SEMESTER ONE, 2nd SESSION 2017/2018

READING 2 (Items 5–10) (6 marks)

Read the text. Then complete the task.

Dear Samia,

Hi friend! I am sorry I didn’t write earlier as my family moved to Dar es Salam because of
my father’s job.

Dar es Salam is a great city with many beautiful places to visit. Last Sunday, our teacher
took us on a trip to Dar es salam Zoo. There are many animals. We could get close to
them and gave them some food. Well, you know that I love monkeys a lot, so I took lots
of photos of them.

Here, you do not have to worry about food as there are many restaurants such as the
Indian and Thai restaurant. Last night my family and I went to a popular restaurant
called Karafuu. The food was delicious. However, my friends here told me about another
restaurant called Mamboz that I’d like to visit next time.

The weather in Dar es Salam keeps changing. When we first came here, we all got sick
and I spent a week on bed, so I couldn’t go to school. It rained all day and night! Later
we knew that there are two rainy seasons: "the long rains" in April and May and "the
short rains" in November and December.

That’s all about me. How about you?

Sincerely,

Mona

6
ENGLISH, GRADE 8, SEMESTER ONE, 2nd SESSION 2017/2018

READING 2 (continued)

For each question, write a short answer (not more than FOUR WORDS).

5. Why did they move to Dar es Salam?

__________________________________________________

6. When was the school trip?

___________________________________________________

7. Where did the students go?

___________________________________________________

8. Which restaurant did they eat at?

_________________________________________________

9. How long did she stay on bed?

_________________________________________________

10. How many rainy seasons are in Dar es Salam?

__________________________________________________

READING
SCORE
10
7
ENGLISH, GRADE 8, SEMESTER ONE, 2nd SESSION 2017/2018

WRITING 1 (5 marks)
Write at least 60 words on the following topic:

“It is very interesting to live in another country”

-Do you agree or not? Give your reasons.

Your writing should be clear and well-organized.

Marker A Marker B Average

8
ENGLISH, GRADE 8, SEMESTER ONE, 2nd SESSION 2017/2018

WRITING 2 [5 marks]
Complete the following task. Write at least 60 words.

Write about your last holiday.

Your writing should be clear and interesting.

Marker A Marker B Average

WRITING
SCORE
10

9
GRADE EIGHT — ENGLISH LANGUAGE MARKING GUIDE
SEMESTER ONE, 2017/2018, SECOND SESSION TOTAL MARKS: 40
page 1 of 4
***********************************************************************************************************************

LISTENING 1 (5 mks)

A B C D E F

1.
2.
3.
4.
5.

Notes: One mark each. Responses must be indicated clearly.

LISTENING 2 (5 mks)

6. western freezing thick

7. white brown black

8. sharp claws flat paws long fur

9. fish seals plants

10. fast endangered amazing

Notes: One mark each. Responses must be indicated clearly.

GRM/ VCB 1 (2.5 mks)

1. models activities buildings

2. spend enjoy find

3. parks stations banks

4. careful lazy careless

5. design clean join

Notes: Half-a-mark each. Responses must be indicated clearly.

Grade 8, Sem. 1, 2017/18, 2nd Session: Marking Guide page 2 of 4

GRM/ VCB 2 (2.5 mks) GRM/ VCB 3 (5 mks)

6. of 11. Have 16. can

7. more 12. project 17. bought
8. were 13. materials 18. great
9. ‘m / am 14. and 19. with
10. but 15. invent 20. at

Notes: Half-a-mark each. Spelling must be Notes: Half-a-mark each. Spelling must be correct,
correct. including grammatical endings.

READING 1 (4 mks) READING 2 (6 mks)

A B C D E F 5. Because of father’s job

1. 6. last Sunday

2. 7. Dar es Salam zoo

3. 8. karafua

4. 9. a week

10. Two / 2

Notes: One mark each. Complete accuracy

Notes: One mark each. Responses must be indicated in grammar and spelling is not required, but
clearly. answers must be clearly and convincingly
correct.
Grade 8, Sem. 1, 2017/18, 2nd Session: Marking Guide page 3 of 4

WRITING 1 (5 mks)
-Expresses opinions on topics in a lively, convincing way.
– Supports all points effectively with relevant evidence and detail.
5
– Essays are very well-organised, clear and coherent.
– A varied range of grammar and vocabulary with a very good level of accuracy.
– Expresses opinions on topics in a reasonably convincing way.
– Supports most points with relevant evidence and detail.
4
– Essays are generally well-organised and, for the most part, clear and coherent.
– A fair range of grammar and vocabulary with a good level of accuracy
– expresses opinions on topics, in a somewhat limited way.
– Is inconsistent in supporting points with relevant evidence and detail.
3
– Essays are poorly- organised, but are still reasonably clear and coherent.
– A limited range of grammar and vocabulary with a reasonable level of accuracy
_Express opinions on topics, but the results are clearly inadequate.
– Is generally weak in supporting points with relevant evidence.
2
– Essays lack organization, lacking in coherence and sometimes unclear.
– A very limited range of grammar and vocabulary with frequent errors.
-Makes only very feeble attempts to express opinions on topics.
– Fails to support points with any relevant evidence.
1
– Essays are incoherent and confusing.
– Extremely limited range of grammar and vocabulary with frequent serious errors.
No attempt at the task: EITHER Irrelevant (Completely unrelated to the topic)
0
OR Hardly any writing at all, or not written in English OR Complete nonsense
Grade 8, Sem. 1, 2017/18, 2nd Session: Marking Guide page 4 of4

WRITING 2 (5 mks)
– Produces narratives which are fully successful in engaging the reader.
– Lively, effective use of appropriate detail.
5
– Writing is very well-structured, clear and coherent.
– A varied range of grammar and vocabulary with a very good level of accuracy
Produces narratives which are reasonably successful in engaging the reader.
– Generally good use of appropriate detail.
4
– Writing is generally well-structured, and mostly clear and coherent.
– A fair range of grammar and vocabulary with a good level of accuracy.
– Produces narratives which are only partially successful in engaging the reader.
– Somewhat limited use of appropriate detail.
3 – Writing is well-structured, but is still reasonably clear and coherent.
– A limited range of grammar and vocabulary with a reasonable level of
accuracy
– Produces narratives which have very limited success in engaging the reader.
– Inadequate use of appropriate detail.
2
– Writing is poorly-structured, and often unclear.
– A very limited range of grammar and vocabulary with frequent errors.
-Produces narratives which fail entirely to engage the reader.
– Little or no use of appropriate detail.
1
– Writing is incoherent and confusing.
– Extremely limited range of grammar and vocabulary with frequent serious errors.
No attempt at the task: EITHER Irrelevant (Completely unrelated to the pictures/ task/
0 instructions) OR Hardly any writing at all, or not written in English OR Complete nonsense

* NOTE: In WRITING 2, test-writers actually have two different task-options to choose from (Picture
Story or Task Instructions) when preparing the exam-paper. However, as both of these require student
to produce a narrative text, the same Rating Scale can be used, whichever type of task they use.