TRINIDAD AND TOBAGO TRINIDAD AND TOBAGO

SECONDARY ENTRANCE ASSESSMENT SECONDARY ENTRANCE ASSESSMENT

SPECIMEN BOOKLET SPECIMEN BOOKLET

FILL IN ALL INFORMATION REQUESTED CLEARLY AND LEGIBLY.

TEST CODE TEST CODE

SUBJECT ENGLISH LANGUAGE ARTS SUBJECT ENGLISH LANGUAGE ARTS

Please place your label here. Please place your label here.

WRITE THE NAME OF YOUR SCHOOL BELOW:

READ THE FOLLOWING DIRECTIONS
CAREFULLY __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __

1. This test is divided into TWO

__ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __
sections.
2. Make sure you read the instructions
before you start to work on any section. WRITE YOUR FULL NAME BELOW:
3. Write all your answers in this test
booklet.
4. DO NOT OPEN THIS BOOKLET DATE OF BIRTH
UNTIL YOU ARE TOLD TO DO SO.
Day Month Year

MALE
SEX
FEMALE

DO NOT WRITE IN THIS SPACE DO NOT WRITE IN THIS SPACE

FOLDER NUMBER FOLDER NUMBER

SECTION 1

Spelling
There is one incorrectly spelt word in each line. Draw a circle
TASK 1 around the incorrectly spelt word. Write the correctly spelt
word in the box provided for each line.

1.
The COVID-19 is a visious respiratory illness that

2.
is transmited through microbes in saliva, when an

3.
infected person coughs. Protecshion is possible if

4.
one uses a mask and sterilises one’s hands frequintly.

5.
While sanitiseing, use water and antiseptic soap. Their

effectiveness can help one acheive good hygiene. 6.

12 marks

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 Punctuation and Capitalisation
Some punctuation marks and capital letters have been left out
TASK 2
in the passage below. There is one mistake in every line. Write
the missing punctuation mark or capital letter.

What an exceptional gift My long - awaited, delightful video 7.

game, “Adventures within the Nylon Pool, was finall y here. 8.

I looked happil y at the contents of the package bubble wrap, 9.

gaming console power cord and instruction manual . Excitedl y, 10.

I inserted the plug in the outlet As so on as the game was 11.

powered up, I yelled to m yself, “let the games begin!”

12.

6 marks

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 GRAMMAR
There is one grammar error in every line, in the passage below. Place
TASK 3
a circle around each error and write the correct form of the word in
the box provided.

13.
Neither the students nor the coach were able to explain

14.
their success. They had struggled to find a sponsor with

their uniforms and couldn’t locate a field on whom to 15.

practise, so eventually, everything came together. Their 16.

victory, in addition to their publicity, were almost 17.

unbelievable too much to bear, but they began believing!

18.

12 marks

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 Nothing has been omitted.
Please go to the next page.

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 SECTION 2

Comprehension
Read the passage on this page. Using complete sentences, answer
TASK 4 – Non-Fiction
questions 19 to 24.

100-Year-old Turtle and Hatchlings at Emperor Valley Zoo

A 100-year-old South American river turtle that laid eggs during the coronavirus shutdown is now a
proud mother to eighteen hatchlings at the Emperor Valley Zoo. Coincidentally, the news was
announced on World Environment Day that is celebrated on June 5 every year. The Minister of
Agriculture, Land and Fisheries said that the event was an auspicious one. "100 years old, eighteen
5 babies! Today on World Environment Day 2020, we celebrate the arrival of eighteen hatchlings from
the eggs laid during the COVID-19 lockdown by the Emperor Valley Zoo’s 100-year-old South American
River turtle.”

Just over two months ago the Zoo announced that the turtle laid eggs on land within its enclosure,
instead of the pond it had previously occupied. The Zoo felt this was due to the closure of the
10 facility in mid-March and the comfort the turtle may have felt in venturing out of the pond and onto the
sandy area to deposit the eggs. The hatching was excellent news and demonstrated the importance on World
Environment Day, of striking the balance between human activity and care for nature. As the United Nations
Secretary-General António Guterres said in his 2020 message,
“To care for humanity, we must care for nature.”

15 The turtle laid the eggs in April 2020 while the Zoo was closed during the coronavirus lockdown.
Zoological officers believe that with less foot traffic, the turtle felt comfortable enough to finally make a
burrow on land and lay her eggs. Zoological officer, Sharlene Khan said the South American river turtle is
one of the largest freshwater turtle species in the world.

The giant South American river turtles are highly aquatic. Typically, the females only leave the
20 water to bask and lay 50–150 eggs at communal nesting sites during the dry season. They eat primarily
fallen fruits and seeds. Other items in their diet include vegetation, aquatic invertebrates, and insects. The
South American river turtle is listed as Conservation Dependent
by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN). This means that its survival is
24 dependent on conservation efforts to prevent it from becoming threatened with extinction.

Adapted from https://www.looptt.com/content/100-year-old-turtle-gives-birth-18-babies-

emperor-valley-zoo

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 Questions: 100-Year-old Turtle and Hatchlings at Emperor Valley Zoo

19. ‘100 years old, eighteen babies!’ - lines 4 to 5.

i. When was this announcement made?

_______________________________________________________________________

ii. On what occasion was the announcement made?

______________________________________________________________________

2 marks

20. Give the meaning of the word, ‘auspicious’ as used in line 4.

_______________________________________________________________________

_______________________________________________________________________

1 mark

21. “…to care for humanity, we must care for nature” – line 14. Do you agree with the opinion

of Antonio Guterres? Explain your answer.

_______________________________________________________________________

_______________________________________________________________________

_________________________________________________________________________

_________________________________________________________________________

2 marks

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22. Why did the turtle lay eggs after such a long time?
_______________________________________________________________________

_______________________________________________________________________

_______________________________________________________________________

2 marks

23. What are two foods eaten by a river turtle?

_______________________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________________

2 marks

24. Select two (2) pieces of evidence in paragraph four that suggest that the river turtle can
become an endangered species.

_________________________________________________________________________

_________________________________________________________________________

2 marks

25. If you worked at the Zoo, what would you do to encourage the turtle to lay more eggs?

________________________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________________________

2 marks

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 Nothing has been omitted.
Please go to the next page.

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 TASK 4 - Poetry Read the poem A Dog’s Mistake on this page. Using
complete sentences, answer questions 26 to 32.

A Dog's Mistake

He had drifted in among us as a straw drifts with the tide,

He was just a wand'ring mongrel from the weary world outside;
He was not aristocratic, being mostly ribs and hair,
With a hint of spaniel parents and a touch of native bear.

5 He was very poor and humble and content with what he got, So we fed him bones and
biscuits, till he heartened up a lot; Then he growled and grew aggressive, treating orders with
disdain, Till at last he bit the butcher, which would argue want of brain.

Now the butcher, noble fellow, was a sport beyond belief,

10 And instead of bringing actions he brought half a shin of beef, Which he handed on to
Fido, who received it as a right
And removed it to the garden, where he buried it at night.

'Twas the means of his undoing, for my wife, who'd stood his friend,
To adopt a slang expression, "went in off the deepest end",
15 For among the pinks and pansies, the gloxinias and the gorse He had made an excavation
like a graveyard for a horse.

Then we held a consultation which decided on his fate:

'Twas in anger more than sorrow that we led him to the gate,
And we handed him the beef-bone as provision for the day,
20 Then we opened wide the portal and we told him, "On your way."
Banjo Paterson

*gloxinia is a flowering houseplant

*gorse is a dark green bush with small, yellow flowers

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 Questions: A Dog’s Mistake

26. What action of the dog in stanza two shows that it was not very smart?

_______________________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________________

1 mark

27. “He was just a wand'ring mongrel…” (line 2)

Why is this an appropriate description of Fido?

_________________________________________________________________________

_________________________________________________________________________

_________________________________________________________________________

2 marks

28. Give the meaning of each of the following words as used in the poem.

heartened (line 6) - _______________________________________________________

_________________________________________________________________________

portal (line 20) -

_________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________
2 marks

29. Identify a simile used in the poem.

_________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________

1 mark

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30. What do you understand about the wife’s behaviour from the line, "went in off the

deepest end"?

_________________________________________________________________________

_________________________________________________________________________

_________________________________________________________________________

2 marks

31. Complete the table below with evidence to support your answers.

Persons in the Quality Evidence from the poem

poem

The wife kind

Fido

3 marks

32. If you were the butcher, would you have brought beef for Fido? Give a reason for your

answer.

________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
2 marks

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 Nothing has been omitted.
Please go to the next page.

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TASK 4 – Graphic Read the webpage below. Using complete sentences,
answer questions 33 to 36.

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 Questions: Webpage

33. List two (2) pieces of information required to access the webpage.

_________________________________________________________________________

_________________________________________________________________________

_________________________________________________________________________
2 marks
34. Give two (2) reasons why the ‘Remember username’ feature is on the webpage.

_________________________________________________________________________

_________________________________________________________________________

_________________________________________________________________________

_________________________________________________________________________
2 marks
35. Select two (2) images used on the webpage and state their purpose.

i ______________________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________________

ii ______________________________________________________________________

_______________________________________________________________________

2 marks

36. Does this web page encourage you to visit the site? Give a reason for your response.

_________________________________________________________________________

_________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________
2 marks
END OF TEST

IF YOU FINISH BEFORE TIME IS CALLED, YOU MAY CHECK YOUR WORK
BEFORE HANDING IN YOUR WORK

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