1. family and parenting
2. children

Grade 8 Reading - Text 1
In bringing up children, every parent, regardless of ethnicity, income, education, or geographic location,
watches eagerly the child's acquisition of each new skill. We watch our children learn how to take the first
steps, eat independently, study to read and write.
However, it is often tempting to hurry the child beyond his natural learning rate. Most of the parents are
so happy when a child is showing the signs of being ahead of the classmates in subjects or thinking like
someone of older age. Parents hurrying up can set up dangerous feelings of failure and states of worry in
the child. This might happen at any stage. A baby might be forced to use a toilet too early, a young child
might be encouraged to learn to read before he knows the meaning of the words he reads.
On the other hand, though, if a child is left alone too much, or without any learning opportunities, he loses
his natural enthusiasm for life and his desire to find out new things for oneself. Children that lack parental
attention, care and the ones that do not have parents involved in their development are believed to be less
successful in life later on.
Parents vary greatly in their degree of strictness towards their children. Some may be especially strict in
money matters. Others are severe over times of coming home at night or punctuality for meals. In general,
the controls imposed represent the needs of the parents and the values of the community as much as the
child's own benefit.
1. (0.5points) According to the text … are the ones that sometimes create later on problems for their
children
a. parents
b. community
c. schools
2. (0.5points) Which reason was not mentioned in the text that makes parents be strict to their
children
a. finances
b. punctuality
c. dressing
3. (2points) According to the passage, in the process of children's learning new skills, parents ----.
a. Must encourage them to read before they know the meaning of the words
b. Should achieve a balance between pushing them too hard and leaving them on their own
c. Should create as many learning opportunities as possible for themselves
4. (2points) It is pointed out in the reading that
a. Parental control reflect only the needs of the parents and the values of the community
b. Parents often enforce strict regulations on their children’s eating habits
c. Parental restrictions vary, and are not always enforced for the benefit of the children
alone
5. (1.5points) By the examples of forcing a baby to toilet early or making a child read before
understanding the meaning, the author
a. Gives specific mistakes that parents may make
b. Warns the parents not to repeat them
c. Shows the parents that they will definitely do them
6. (1.5points) As we understand from the passage, watching the child’s acquisition of new skills
a. Sets up dangerous states of worry in the parents
b. Is universal among parents
c. Is what parenting is all about
7. (1point) “acquire skills”, means
a. learn new skills b. discover new skills
c. have new skills
8. (1point) Which cannot be the synonym of the word “severe”
a. strict
b. rigorous
c. dominant
Grade 8 Reading - Text 2
Our demand for electricity is climbing so fast that over the next decade our generating capacity must
increase by a third. If we are unable to find better and faster ways of producing the energy we need than
there is a high possibility that we may have to part with all the technology that we use daily.
One of the ways to get energy is from nature, using fossil fuels. Fossil fuels supply nearly three-quarters
of our energy. But the smoke expelling coal, gas, and oil-fired plants are also responsible for half of our
air pollution. That might be considered as a small price to pay for progress.
But there's an alternative, one that produces no smoke and can actually create more fuel than it consumes.
In many regions it's even cheaper than coal-fired electricity: nuclear power. It may directly bring danger
of radioactivity to the mind, but if other types of power didn't present equal and even worse problems, it
would make no sense to consider nuclear power at all.
9. (0.5points) According to the progress the resource responsible for half of our air pollution is
a. Nuclear power
b. Solar energy
c. Fossil fuels
10. (0.5points) According to the text there is a tendency of
a. People being more and more dependent on energy
b. People being less and less dependent on energy
c. People finding new dangerous ways to get energy
11. (2points) According to the passage if we don’t have a way to find energy
a. We will need to rid of our devices
b. We will need to change our devices
c. We will need to create new devices
12. (2points) Although three thirds of the electricity is generated from fossil fuels
a. coal also contains a surprising amount of radioactive material
b. half of the air pollution is caused by the plants using them
c. everything has got an expense; and nuclear power's is its radioactivity
13. (1.5points) It's claimed in the passage that nuclear power ----.
a. will present us a more polluted environment
b. is more expensive to generate, but not a pollutant
c. is less dangerous and cheaper than other types of power
14. (1.5points) In the passage, the writer is worried that in the future ----.
a. fossil based plants might bring bigger problems than nuclear energy
b. nuclear waste might be more dangerous than air pollution
c. there will always be possible dangers of nuclear power
15. (1point) “smoke expelling plants” cannot be replaced be
a. exhaust
b. waste
c. resource
16. (1point) “to consider” can be replaced by
a. to prefer
b. to think
c. to look
Grade 8 – Vocabulary
17. (1.5points) I have … paper on my desk.
a. lot
b. loss
c. little
18. (1.5points) My brother has got two exams this afternoon and he’s very …
a. worried
b. worrying
c. in worry
19. (1.5points) Some people say that sometimes there are … changes in our world.
a. amazed
b. amazing
c. amaze
20. (1.5points) How much there is of something. Choose an extra:
a. quantity
b. amount
c. level
21. (0.5points) A place where the actors perform their role is a
a. stage
b. court
c. stadium
22. (0.5points) When he came in the house he told us he had a fight with a neighbor, he was very
a. anxious
b. settled
c. calm
23. (0.5points) Many locals and foreigners own summer houses in this small town, so in summers it
is very
a. crowded
b. abandoned
c. solo
24. (0.5points) With the brilliant mind of yours you are … of achieving anything in life!
a. capable
b. able
c. affordable
25. (2points) I have complete … in him. He will never let us down!
a. truth
b. faith
c. belief
26. (2points) The color of the curtains in my living room has faded … due to the sun.
a. off
b. of
c. away
27. (2points) Choose the odd one:
a. periodical
b. journal
c. article
28. (2points) Choose the odd one:
a. branch of learning
b. field of study
c. module
29. (1point) Choose the odd one:
a. argue
b. compromise
c. quarrel
30. (1point) Choose the odd one:
a. supervisor
b. trainer
c. coach
31. (1point) Which one is not an antonym for “traditional”
a. innovative
b. modern
c. classical
32. (1point) Which one is not an antonym for “connected”
a. including
b. attached
c. separated
Grade 8 – Use of English
33. (1point) I am sorry but the film ....... half an hour ago. I cannot let you in the movie theatre.
a. would start
b. had started
c. has started
34. (1point) As soon as my grades for the year… , I will take a long holiday.
a. will be announced
b. are announced
c. would be announced
35. (1point) A driver that tried to park the car … the lights of the other car parked nearby.
a. have just broken
b. has just broken
c. just has broken
36. (1point) They came home very relaxed. They …….. around beautiful places for hours.
a. had been wondering
b. were wondering
c. wondered
37. (2points) My husband and I …. each other for over 6 years and we still fall in love with each
other every day.
a. know
b. have known
c. knew
38. (2points) If I only had known the reason I could … her from making this mistake.
a. have stopped
b. stop
c. stopped
39. (2points) What is Mary like? She … .
a. is very well
b. likes ice-cream
c. is very pretty
40. (2points) It was a bad day so Mike … his raincoat.
a. puts on
b. put on
c. took off
41. (1.5points) Ha ve you … the cups with tea?
a. felt
b. filled
c. full
42. (1.5points) What time does the bus … Bradford?
a. leave to
b. leave for
c. leave along
43. (1.5points) Hopefully, she … her surgery by the time we visit her next Saturday.
a. will have recovered
b. will be recovered
c. had been recovered
44. (1.5points) After Ken --- his project, he worked out in the gym for a while.
a. completed
b. had completed
c. completing
45. (0.5points) I did not mind being on call when I was single but now I … home every night.
a. expect
b. am expected c. expect myself
46. (0.5points) When the day arrived, the writer was surprised
a. That the day had come round so quickly
b. That the day came round so quickly
c. That the day was there so quickly
47. (0.5points) It’s …. time to ask Linda for help, she is so busy.
a. wasting time
b. a waste of
c. waste time
48. (0.5points) I am thinking of …. my profession to medicine.
a. change
b. changed
c. changing
Grade 8 – Writing
Human development recalls many revolutions from which ones were of (49) … importance while other
changed the life of millions to a (50) … extent.
When early humans hunted and gathered food, they were not (51) … their environment. They could only
interact (52) … their surroundings as lower organisms (53) … . There was a lot of risk in surviving and
there were no chances of having any (54) … on nature.
When humans learned to make fire, (55) … , they became capable (56) … their environment. They could
now change the forests and the lands.
To provide themselves with fuel they took off bark from trees, (57) … the trees to die. Clearings were
burned in forests to increase the (58) … of grass and to provide a greater area for the wild animals that
humans fed (59) … . This development (60) … to farming and the (61) … of animals.
Fire also provided the (62) … for cooking plants which had previously been eaten uncooked. Then the
process of meeting the basic need for food reached a certain level of (63) … . It was now possible for
humans to follow other (64) … such as the founding of cities and building the houses.
Choose the best one:
49. (1.5points)
50. (1point)
51. (1.5points)
52. (1point)
53. (2points)
54. (2points)
55. (0.5points)
56. (0.5points)
57. (1point)
58. (1.5points)
59. (2points)
60. (0.5points)
61. (1point)
62. (2points)
63. (1.5points)
64. (0.5points)
a. many
a. less
a. in control of
a. with
a. made
a. affection
a. then
a. of altering
a. caused
a. growth
a. --a. led
a. domestic
a. means
a. advancement
a. reason
b. major
b. least
b. controlling of
b. to
b. did
b. affect
b. so
b. to alter
b. causing
b. grow
b. upon
b. took
b. domestically
b. purpose
b. progress
b. goals
c. too
c. lesser
c. controller
c. in
c. could
c. effect
c. however
c. altering
c. a cause
c. growing
c. from
c. opened
c. domestication
c. effort
c. modernization
c. ideas