Mock Exam 1: English
40 multiple-choice questions with 4 answers each (A to D). Press Start, answer in your own time and mark the paper when you have finished.
How to sit this paper
- 40 questions in 45 minutes.
- Choose one answer for each question.
- You can change an answer until you press “Mark my paper”.
- The timer starts when you press Start or choose your first answer, and you can hide it.
GL papers differ by area and school, so the number of questions and the timing here are our own estimate.
đź“š English — 40 questions
Read the story, then answer these questions (questions 1 to 7)
The Night Market
By the time Priya and her father reached the river, the night market was already glowing. Paper lanterns swung from every stall, and the air was thick with the smell of roasting chestnuts and hot sugar.
“Stay where I can see you,” said Father, but Priya had already spotted the clock-seller's stall. Hundreds of tiny clocks hung from its wooden frame. Some ticked softly, some chimed and one, shaped like a silver fish, flapped its tail on the hour.
The old woman behind the stall peered at her over round glasses. “That one is not for sale,” she said, “but it will tell you something if you listen.” Priya pressed the fish to her ear. Beneath the ticking she could hear a faint sound, like water running over stones.
When she looked up, the crowd had swallowed her father. Priya's stomach lurched, yet she remembered the old woman's words and listened again. The sound of the river was louder to her left, and the only place at the market beside the water was the bridge where she had begun.
She hurried back there, and Father was waiting, frowning with worry. “I knew you would think of something,” he said, and he bought her a bag of hot chestnuts to prove it.
What was hanging from every stall at the night market?
Correct answer: A. Paper lanterns
The first paragraph says, “Paper lanterns swung from every stall”.
What did the silver fish clock do on the hour?
Correct answer: B. It flapped its tail
The second paragraph says the clock shaped like a silver fish “flapped its tail on the hour”.
In the fourth paragraph, Priya's stomach “lurched”. What does this tell us?
Correct answer: A. She felt a sudden jolt of fear
“Lurched” describes a sudden movement. It shows the shock and fear Priya felt when she lost her father.
Why did Priya go back to the bridge?
Correct answer: C. She worked out that the sound of water led there
The old woman said the fish would tell her something. Priya heard the river louder on her left and realised the bridge, beside the water, was where she began.
What does the old woman mean when she says the fish “will tell you something if you listen”?
Correct answer: D. The sound it makes can help someone find the river
The old woman is hinting that the clock's sound, like running water, is a clue. Priya uses it to find her way back to the river.
Which word from the passage means the same as “looked closely”?
Correct answer: B. peered
To peer is to look closely or with difficulty. “Peered” is used in the third paragraph.
What is the main idea of the passage?
Correct answer: C. A lost girl uses a clue to find her way back to her father
The story is about Priya getting separated from her father and using what the old woman said to find the bridge again. The other choices describe small details or things that did not happen.
Read the information text, then answer these questions (questions 8 to 14)
Why Do Bees Dance?
When a honeybee finds a good patch of flowers, she flies back to the hive and performs a dance. The other bees gather round, feeling her movements with their antennae, and then fly out to find the food for themselves.
The dance is called the waggle dance. The bee walks in a straight line while shaking her body from side to side, then loops back to the start and repeats the pattern. The angle of the straight line shows the direction of the flowers compared with the position of the sun.
The length of the waggle tells the other bees how far away the flowers are. A short waggle means the food is close. A long waggle means they must fly further. Scientists have noticed that each second of waggling means roughly one kilometre of flying.
Not all bees can read the dance, however. Young bees must learn how to do so by following older, more experienced dancers. Without this, the hive would struggle to find enough food to survive the winter.
What do the other bees use to feel the dancing bee's movements?
Correct answer: D. Their antennae
The first paragraph says the bees gather round “feeling her movements with their antennae”.
What does the length of the waggle tell the other bees?
Correct answer: B. How far away the flowers are
The third paragraph says, “The length of the waggle tells the other bees how far away the flowers are”.
According to the passage, how do young bees learn to read the dance?
Correct answer: A. By following older, more experienced dancers
The last paragraph says young bees “must learn how to do so by following older, more experienced dancers”.
In the second paragraph, what does “compared with” most nearly mean?
Correct answer: A. in relation to
The angle of the line shows the direction of the flowers in relation to the sun's position.
Why would a hive struggle if young bees could not read the dance?
Correct answer: D. They would not be able to find enough food
The final sentence says that without the skill, the hive would “struggle to find enough food to survive the winter”.
A bee waggles for about three seconds. About how far away are the flowers?
Correct answer: B. 3 kilometres
The passage says each second of waggling means roughly one kilometre of flying, so three seconds means about 3 kilometres.
Which of these is the best description of the passage?
Correct answer: A. An explanation of how bees pass on information
The passage explains how bees use a dance to share where food can be found. It is not a story, instructions or an argument.
Grammar and punctuation (questions 15 to 24)
Which word is a conjunction in this sentence?
We stayed indoors because the rain was heavy.
Correct answer: D. because
A conjunction joins two parts of a sentence. “Because” joins “we stayed indoors” to “the rain was heavy”.
Which sentence uses the apostrophe correctly?
Correct answer: D. The dog wagged its tail.
“Its” without an apostrophe shows that something belongs to it. “It's” always means “it is” or “it has”.
Which sentence needs a question mark?
Correct answer: C. Where did you put my coat
“Where did you put my coat” is a direct question, so it needs a question mark. The other sentences are a command, an exclamation and a statement.
Which sentence is written in the passive voice?
Correct answer: A. The window was broken by the ball.
In the passive voice the thing that receives the action (the window) comes first. “The window was broken by the ball.”
Choose the correct word to complete the sentence.
The team won ______ final match.
Correct answer: C. their
“Their” shows that the match belongs to the team. “There” is a place and “they're” means “they are”.
Which sentence has commas in the correct places?
Correct answer: C. Mia packed apples, pears, grapes and a sandwich.
Commas separate items in a list. We use “and” before the last item, so no comma is needed there.
Which version of this sentence uses commas correctly to mark off the extra information?
My uncle who lives in Leeds is visiting us.
Correct answer: B. My uncle, who lives in Leeds, is visiting us.
Commas go before and after the extra information in the middle of a sentence (a relative clause): My uncle, who lives in Leeds, is visiting us.
Which sentence contains an adverbial of time?
Correct answer: C. After lunch, we played football.
“After lunch” tells us when the action happened, so it is an adverbial of time.
Which word completes the sentence correctly?
Neither of the boys ______ ready.
Correct answer: A. was
“Neither” is singular, so it takes a singular verb: “was”.
Which sentence is correct?
Correct answer: C. I should have gone earlier.
“Should have” is correct. “Should of” is a common mistake, and the past participle of “go” is “gone”, not “went”.
Spelling (questions 25 to 30)
Complete the sentence with the correct spelling.
I will ______ be at your party on Saturday.
Correct answer: B. definitely
Definitely is spelled d-e-f-i-n-i-t-e-l-y. It comes from “finite”, which can help you remember the i.
Complete the sentence with the correct spelling.
Please ______ the red socks from the white shirts before washing.
Correct answer: D. separate
Separate has “a rat” in the middle: sep-a-rat-e.
Complete the sentence with the correct spelling.
The wedding was a happy ______ for the whole family.
Correct answer: C. occasion
Occasion has two c's and one s: oc-ca-sion.
Choose the correct spelling to complete the sentence.
The ______ of the ancient castle were impressive.
Correct answer: A. ruins
“Ruins” is the plural of “ruin”, meaning the remains of a building.
Complete the sentence with the correct spelling.
The new law was debated in ______ last night.
Correct answer: B. parliament
Parliament has an “i” before the “a”: parl-i-a-ment.
Complete the sentence with the correct spelling.
The magician made the coin ______ in a puff of smoke.
Correct answer: B. disappear
Disappear is made from the prefix dis- and the word appear. One s and two p's.
Vocabulary (questions 31 to 36)
Which word means the same as “enormous”?
Correct answer: B. gigantic
Enormous means extremely large. Gigantic has the same meaning.
Which word is the opposite of “reluctant”?
Correct answer: D. eager
A reluctant person does not want to do something. An eager person is keen and wants to do it.
The prefix “re-” in “rebuild” means:
Correct answer: D. again
Re- means “again”: to rebuild is to build again.
Which word best completes the sentence?
The explorer was ______ to cross the frozen lake alone, even though it was dangerous.
Correct answer: D. determined
“Determined” means firmly decided. The other words suggest he did not want to cross the lake, which does not fit with “even though it was dangerous”.
In the sentence below, what does “bitter” mean?
A bitter wind blew across the moor.
Correct answer: C. very cold
Bitter can mean having a sharp taste, but when it describes the wind it means harshly or painfully cold.
Which word is a synonym for “conceal”?
Correct answer: B. hide
To conceal something is to hide it.
Fill the gaps: choose the best word for each gap (questions 37 to 40)
A Walk in the Woods
On Saturday morning the sun (1) ______ brightly as we set off for the woods. The path was (2) ______ with fallen leaves, and they crunched under our boots. Suddenly my sister pointed at a (3) ______ in the branches above us. It was a squirrel, and it was holding an acorn in its tiny paws. We watched it quietly, (4) ______ we did not want to frighten it away.
Gap (1): which word fits best?
Correct answer: D. shone
The past tense of “shine” is “shone”. The rest of the passage is in the past tense.
Gap (2): which word fits best?
Correct answer: C. carpeted
“Carpeted with leaves” means the ground was covered thickly in leaves. The other words do not fit with leaves crunching under boots.
Gap (3): which word fits best?
Correct answer: A. movement
After “a” we need a noun. “Movement” is a noun, so it fits “a movement in the branches”.
Gap (4): which word fits best?
Correct answer: A. because
“Because” explains why they watched quietly: they did not want to frighten the squirrel.