Selective Practice Test: Free English, Maths & Thinking Skills Questions for 2024 Selective Exam

ENGLISH – SELECTIVE PRACTICE TEST

Read the stories below then answer the questions that follow.

Extract A: The Little Mermaid by Hans Christian Anderson

“We have given our hair to the witch,” said the other earnest mermaids intervening, “to obtain help for you, that you may not die to-night. She has given us a knife: here it is, see it is very sharp. Before the sun rises you must plunge it into the heart of the prince; when the warm blood falls upon your feet they will grow together again, and form into a fish’s tail, and you will be once more a mermaid, and return to us to live out your three hundred years before you die and change into the salt sea foam. Haste, then; he or you must die before sunrise. 

Our old grandmother moans so for you, that her white hair is falling off from sorrow, as ours fell under the witch’s scissors. Kill the prince and come back; hasten: do you not see the first red streaks in the sky? In a few minutes the sun will rise, and you must die.” And then they sighed deeply and mournfully, and sank down beneath the waves.

The sombre little mermaid drew back the crimson curtain of the tent, and beheld the fair bride with her head resting on the prince’s breast. She apprehensively bent down and kissed his fair brow, then looked at the sky on which the rosy dawn grew brighter and brighter; then she glanced at the sharp knife, and again fixed her idle eyes on the prince, who whispered the name of his bride in his dreams. 

She was in his thoughts, and the knife trembled in the hand of the little mermaid: then she flung it far away from her into the waves; the water turned red where it fell, and the drops that spurted up looked like blood. She cast one more lingering, half-fainting glance at the prince, and then threw herself from the ship into the sea, and thought her body was dissolving into foam. 

The sun rose above the waves, and his warm rays fell on the cold foam of the little mermaid, who did not feel as if she were dying. She saw the bright sun, and all around her floated hundreds of transparent beautiful beings; she could see through them the white sails of the ship, and the red clouds in the sky; their speech was melodious, but too ethereal to be heard by mortal ears, as they were also unseen by mortal eyes. The little mermaid perceived that she had a body like theirs, and that she continued to rise higher and higher out of the foam. “Where am I?” asked her, and her voice and intonation sounded ethereal, as the voice of those who were with her; no earthly music could imitate it.

“Among the daughters of the air,” answered one of them. “A mermaid has not an immortal soul, nor can she obtain one unless she wins the love of a human being. On the power of another hangs her eternal destiny. But the daughters of the air, although they do not possess an immortal soul, can, by their good deeds, procure one for themselves. We fly to warm countries, and cool the sultry air that destroys mankind with the pestilence.

 We carry the perfume of the flowers to spread health and restoration. After we have striven for three hundred years to all the good in our power, we receive an immortal soul and take part in the happiness of mankind. You, poor little mermaid, have tried with your whole heart to do as we are doing; you have suffered  and endured and raised yourself to the spirit-world by your good deeds; and now, by striving for three hundred years in the same way, you may obtain an immortal soul.”

Extract B: The Snow Queen by Hans Christian Anderson 

Once upon a time there was an aloof, wicked sprite, indeed he was the most mischievous of all sprites. One day he was in a very good mood, for he had made a mirror with the power of causing all that was good and beautiful when it was reflected therein, to look poor and mean; but that which was good-for-nothing and looked ugly was shown magnified and increased in ugliness. In this mirror the most beautiful landscapes looked like boiled spinach, and the best persons were turned into frights, or appeared to stand on their heads; their faces were so distorted that they were not to be recognised; and if anyone had a mole, you might be sure that it would be magnified and spread over both nose and mouth.

“That’s glorious fun!” said the sprite. If a good thought passed through a man’s mind, then a grin was seen in the mirror, and the sprite laughed heartily at his clever discovery. All the little sprites who went to his school–for he kept a sprite school–told each other that a miracle had happened; and that now only, as they thought, it would be possible to see how the world really looked. They ran about with the mirror; and at last there was not a land or a person who was not represented distorted in the mirror. So then they thought they would fly up to the sky, and have a joke there. The higher they flew with the mirror, the more terribly it grinned: they could hardly hold it fast. Higher and higher still they flew, nearer and nearer to the stars, when suddenly the mirror shook so terribly with grinning, that it flew out of their hands and fell to the earth, where it was dashed in a hundred million and more pieces.

And now it worked much more evil than before; for some of these pieces were hardly so large as a grain of sand, and they flew about in the wide world, and when they got into people’s eyes, there they stayed; and then people saw everything perverted, or only had an eye for that which was evil. This happened because the very smallest bit had the same power which the whole mirror had possessed. Some people even got a splinter in their heart, and then it made one shudder, for their heart became like a lump of ice. Some of the broken pieces were so large that they were used for window panes, through which one could not see one’s friends. 

Other pieces were put in spectacles; and that was a sad affair when people put on their glasses to see well and rightly. Then the wicked sprite laughed till he almost choked, for all this tickled his fancy. The fine splinters still flew about in the air.

Answer the following questions by choosing the letter of the best answer.

 1. What literary genre was used in both extracts?

1. Autobiography
2. Fiction
3. Anecdote 
4. Non-fiction

Read the article below then answer the questions that follow.

The Special Olympics: Building Champions and Having Fun!

 A The Special Olympics helps people with intellectual disabilities learn and compete in sports. They work with athletes in 170 countries. When a person has an intellectual disability, their brain works differently than most people’s brains. They may learn differently or more slowly. They might communicate differently. Sometimes they need special coaching for activities like sports. However, just like anyone else, they enjoy playing sports and games and having fun!

B The Special Olympics started with a summer camp more than 60 years ago. In 1962, a woman named Eunice Kennedy Shriver started a sports camp. The camp was meant for kids and teens in Washington D.C. with intellectual disabilities. Shriver knew it was important for people with intellectual disabilities to have a chance to play and compete in sports. Her sister, Rosemary, was intellectually disabled, and they had played sports together as children.

C Shriver wanted more kids with intellectual disabilities to have fun together and learn how to play sports. With the help of experts, the camp was a success. A year later, there were more camps like this all around the US. Almost 800 children and teenagers with intellectual disabilities took part. Soon, people all over the U.S. wanted to help people with intellectual disabilities play sports. These people came together and created the Special Olympics organisation. Today, the Special Olympics holds thousands of sports competitions for people with intellectual disabilities. More than 5 million people all over the world take part in them!

D Some of the Special Olympics competitions are big and others are small. The biggest competition in the U.S. is called the National Games. This competition happens every year in a different U.S. state. Each state sends a group of athletes to compete. Some athletes even come from other countries. It is very exciting to be chosen as a Special Olympics athlete!

E To become a Special Olympics athlete, people with intellectual disabilities can find the local Special Olympics organisation in their state. These local groups have trainings and competitions. Anyone with intellectual disabilities, from age 2 to 99, can take part in them. Athletes aged 8 and older can take part in various competitions to be picked for the Special Olympics National Games!

F In July 2010, the Special Olympics National Games took place in Lincoln, Nebraska. Nebraska was very proud to host the Special Olympics. Many Nebraskans volunteered to help. The event was five days long, and there were more than 30,000 people involved. Some were athletes. Others were parents, coaches, volunteers, and fans. There were competitions in 19 different Olympic-type sports. These sports included golf, basketball, powerlifting, swimming, soccer, gymnastics, and volleyball. The opening ceremony was even streamed live on television!

G The quilt was made to honour the 2010 Special Olympics in Lincoln, Nebraska. It has one square, or quilt block, for each state in the U.S. Each quilt block was designed by a Special Olympics athlete from that state. All fifty blocks were sewn together in a big fabric rectangle, which became the top layer of the quilt. The quilt was a raffle prize to raise money for the

 Special Olympics. Projects like these help keep the Special Olympics programs and events free for the athletes and their families.

Answer the following questions by choosing the correct letter that matches the description. Take note that the letters can be repeated accordingly.

Which paragraph…

2) __________ refers to a notable person who consulted with professionals to provide and create accessible camp programs for people with disabilities?

3)__________ _ introduces a notable person that sparked the idea of a global movement of people creating a new world of inclusion and community, where every single person is accepted and welcomed, regardless of ability or disability?

4)__________ explains that people with mental disabilities involve problems with general mental abilities that affect their intellectual and adaptive functioning?

5)__________ explains the following requirements needed to be eligible to participate in a notable event?

6)__________ states the motivation of a famous individual to expand access to sports for people with disabilities?

7)__________ refers to the rise of a certain organisation that creates a better world by fostering the acceptance and inclusion of all people through the power of sports, people with intellectual disabilities discover new strengths and abilities, skills and success?