Part 1

CANDIDATE
NAME

CENTRE CANDIDATE
NUMBER NUMBER

ENGLISH GRADE 8
Paper 1 – READING and WRITING June 2017
75 minutes
Answer on the Question Paper.

READ THESE INSTRUCTIONS FIRST

Write your name and school in the boxes above.

Write in dark blue or black pen.
You may use a soft pencil for any rough working.

DO NOT WRITE IN ANY BARCODES.

Answer all questions

This document
consists of 10
printed pages
and 2 blank
pages

NIES/ENG/
G8/01/J/17

© NIES 2017

over
Look at the text in each August.
question. What does it
say? Part 2
Answer A, B or C. Circle Read the text and questions.
the letter of the correct
answer.

STUDENTS!

YOUR 6€ DEPOSIT FOR

1 LOCKER KEYS WON'T BE
REPUNDED IF KEYS ARE LOST.

Jo
Can you get me a 'Fast Boys' T-shirt
from their concert tomorrow? I like
2 the purple ones, but another colour's
OK if they haven't got one in my size.
Thanks
Hannah

Class 5 Garden Party

17 July 3.30pm
3 Because of bad weather, tomorrow's
party will now be in the School Hall.
Please give party food and drink to
Mrs Bloom by 11am

Becky,

Don't forget your Aunt Jane's coming

to stay tonight, so can you make
4 sure the house is neat when you go
out this afternoon?

Мum

School Fitness Centre

5
From the end of August, the fitness
centre will be closed during the
weekends and evenings.
 For each question, answer A, B, C or D. Circle the letter of the correct answer.

A musician and his pupil

Paul Williams interviews the famous pianist Alfred Brendal

Over six decades the pianist Alfred Brendel gradually built up and maintained a dominant position in the
world of classical music. He was an intellectual, sometimes austere, figure who explored and recorded the
mainstream European works for the piano. He wrote and played a great deal but taught very little. Those
who knew him best glimpsed a playful side to his character, but that was seldom on display in his concerts.
It was a disciplined, never-ending cycle of study, travel and performance. And then, four or five years ago, a
young boy, Kit Armstrong, appeared backstage at one of Brendel's concerts and asked for lessons. Initially,
Brendel didn't take the suggestion very seriously. He had had very few pupils, and he saw no reason to start
now. He quotes from another famous pianist: 'You don't employ a mountain guide to teach a child how to
walk.' But there was something that struck him about the young boy - then about 14. He listened to him play,
Brendel explained, 'He played remarkably well and by heart. Then he brought me a CD of a little recital he
had given where he played so beautifully that! thought to myself, "I have to make time for him." It was a
performance that really led you from the first to the last note. It's very rare to find any musician with this
kind of overview and the necessary subtlety.' As Brendel is bowing out of the public eye, so Kit is nudging
his way into it - restrained by Brendel, ever nervous about the young man burning out early. Kit, now 19, is
a restless, impatient presence away from the lessons - always learning new languages, taking himself off to
study maths, writing computer code or playing tennis. All under the watchful eve of his ever-present mother.
On top of all this he composes. 'This was very Important,' Brendel says. 'If you want to learn to read music
properly it is helped by the fact that you try to write something yourself. Then I noticed that Kit had a
phenomenal memory and that he was a phenomenal sight reader. But more than this is his ability to listen to
his own playing, his sensitivity to sound and his ability to listen to me when I try to explain something. He
not only usually understands what | mean, but he can do it. And when I tell him one thing in a piece, he will
do it everywhere in the piece where it comes in later.' Brendel catches himself and looks at me severely.
‘Now I don't want to raise any expectations. I'm very cross if some newspapers try to do this. There was one
article which named him as the future great pianist of the 21* century, I mean, really, it's the worst thing.
One doesn't say that in a newspaper. And it has done a great deal of harm. As usual, with gifted young
players, he can play certain things amazingly well, while others need more time and experience. It would be
harmful if a critic was there expecting the greatest perfection.' It is touching to see the mellowness of
Brendel in his post-performing years. He explains 'When I was very young, I didn't have the urge to be
famous in five years' time, but I had the idea I would like to have done certain things by the age of 50, And
when I was 50, I thought that I had done most of those things, but there was still some leeway for more, so I
went on. Although I do not have the physical power to play now, in my head, there are always things going
on, all sorts of pieces that I've never played. I don't play now but it’s a very nice new career:
1. What is the people the basics.
writer
emphasising in 3. What made Brendel first decide to accept Kit as a pupil?
the first A. He seemed so young and serious.
paragraph? B. He was so determined and persistent.
A. the wide C. He could play without the music.
range of D. He had an extraordinary talent.
music that
Brendel 4. Which of Kit's musical abilities does Brendel admire the
has most?
played. A. He is able to write music himself.
B. the total B. He is able to understand and respond to advice.
dedication C. He can play a piece of music the first time he
of Brendel sees it.
to his art. D. He is able to remember all the music he has ever
C. the played.
reluctance
of Brendel 5. Why does the writer use the phrase 'catches himself' in
to take on line 50?
pupils. A. He realises he has said too much to a journalist.
D. the light- B. He doesn't enjoy giving interviews to journalists.
hearted C. He wants to be careful he doesn't upset any
nature of music critics.
Brendel's D. He resents the way that he has often been
character misquoted.

2. Brendel uses the 6. What Is Brendel doing in the final paragraph?

quotation about A. justifying his lack of ambition when he was young.
the mountain B. expressing regret at the loss of his physical
guide to strength.
illustrate that C. describing his present state of mind.
A. it is not D. explaining which pieces he prefers to play now.
always
easy to
teach
people the
basics.
B. it is unwise
to try to
teach new
skills
before
people are
ready.
C. people can
learn new
skills
without
help from
others. Part 3
Word formation
D. it is
unnecessar
y for an
expert to
teach
 Read the text below
Use the word in the box on the right of the text to make the words that fit in
the gaps. Write your answers in the spaces under the text.

Tea

Tea is an extremely popular drink with many people. It is estimated that the KNOW
consumption of tea in England alone exceeds 165 million cups daily. REFER
Despite this, the drink was virtually (7) .................. in England until about 400 POPULAR
years ago. The first (8) .................... to tea in England comes in a diary MARRY
written in 1660. However, its (9) ..................... really took off after the (10)
…………........ of King Charles II to Catherine of Braganza. It was her great love
of tea that made it (11) ……………… It was believed that tea was good for FASHION
people as it seemed to be capable of reviving the spirits and curing certain ILL
minor (12) .......................... It has even been suggested by some historians LABOUR
that it played a significant part in the Industrial Revolution. Tea, they say, ENERGY
increased the number of hours that (13) ...................could work in factories as
the caffeine in tea made them more (14) …………....and consequently able to
work longer hours.

7 ..........................................................

8 ..........................................................

9 ..........................................................

10 ..........................................................

11 ..........................................................

12 ..........................................................

13 ..........................................................

14 ..........................................................
 Reading
Part 4
Read the text below and choose the correct word
for each space. For each question, circle A, B, C
or D.

Why we need to play

Human beings are not the only creatures that like to have fun. Many animals play, as
do some birds. However, no other creatures spend so much time enjoying
themselves as human beings do. Indeed, we (15) ..................... onto our sense of fun
right into adulthood.

So why do human beings spend so much time playing? One reason is that we have
time for leisure; animals have very little time to play as most of their life is spent
sleeping and (16) ...................... food.

So, is play just an opportunity for us to (17) ................... in enjoyable activities or

does it have a more important (18) ……………...? According to scientists,

(19) ........................ from being fun, play has several very real (20) ……………........for

us - it helps our physical, intellectual and social development. It also helps to (21)

……………. us for what we have not yet experienced. With very (22) …………………….

risk, we can act out what we would do in unexpected, or even dangerous, situations.

15 (a) hold (b) keep (c) save (d) stay

16 (a) searching (b) looking (c) seeking (d) gaining

17 (a) engage (b) combine (c) contribute (d) involve

18 (a) motive (b) purpose (c) intention (d) cause

19 (a) excluding (b) except (c) apart (d) away

21 (a) assets (b) profits (c) services (d) benefits

22 (a) plan (b) prepare (c) practice (d) provide

 29 (a) brief (b) short (c) narrow (d) litttle

Part 4
Writing Email

Your English friend, Emma, has sent you some birthday money for you to buy a music CD.

Write an email to Emma. In your email, you should

• thank Emma for the present

• say which music CD you are going to buy

• explain why you have chosen this CD.

Write 35-45 words on your answer sheet.

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