Would you pass the PLE?

In less than a month, primary 7 students across the country will be sitting for the Primary Leaving Examinations (PLE), administed in each of the four core subjects: Mathematics, English, Social Studies and Religious Education, and Science. All tests are in English; there is no multiple choice. Marks on these exams determine whether students are eligible to continue on to secondary education.

Just for fun, here are some questions from a mock PLE English paper. A challenge for all of you native English speakers: how would you do? Spelling, grammar, and punctuation count in section A. By the way, the actual exam has 100 questions (50 grammar; 50 comprehension), and you need at least 35% to pass, though 75+% is considered the highest grade, Distinction 1. If you remind me, I'll try to post answers in a few weeks. (Oh, and this paper is fairly easy compared to some that I have seen).

Section A

Fill in the blank space with a suitable word.

1. That is the boy ____ purse got lost.
2. Julie is ____ careful that she rarely makes mistakes.

Use the correct form of the given word in brackets to complete the sentence.

3. It is important not to ___ people's lives. (danger)
4. His ____ in Makerere University surprised everybody. (admit)
5. This is the _____ mark I have ever got. (little)
6. The minister was given a warm ___ when he visited our area. (receive)
7. Oman crossed the road ____. (careful)

Use each of the given words in a sentence to show that you know the difference in their meaning.

8. dairy
9. daily

Arrange words in alphabetical order.

10. breadth, breed, bread, break
11. millet, mile, mill, mild

Write each of the abbreviations in full.
12. can't
13. Feb.
14. COD

Rewrite the sentence giving the opposite form of the underlined word.

15. James bought a shirt cheaply.
16. The arrival of the Queen surprised Ugandans.

Rewrite the sentence giving the plural form of the underlined word.

17. The head-of-state came to Uganda last year.
18. Did you see the monkey climbing up a tree?

Rewrite the sentence giving one word for the underlined group of words.

19. The desks, tables, chairs, and benches are well arranged in the main hall.
20. That boy in the blue shirt is a person who lost all his parents.

Rearrange the given words to form a correct sentence.

21. an story it educative is.
22. hard the very was exercise.

Rewrite the sentences as instructed in the brackets.

23. The song is very interesting. Everybody enjoys listening to it. [Join using "...such an... that..."]
24. I went to the market. I wanted to buy a t-shirt for myself. [Rewrite as one sentence using "...so as..."].
25. Jacob didn't come to school. Edward didn't come to school. [Join using "neither"].
26. She is the girl. I gave her my book. [Join using "whom"].
27. Peter eats an egg everyday. [Rewrite in passive voice].
28. He moved out of the house. It started raining. [Rewrite as one sentence, beginning "As soon as..."].
29. She arrived at the party five minutes late. [Rewrite using "reached"].
30. The tea is too cold for us to take. [Rewrite as two separate sentences].
31. You will not understand. You should pay attention to the teacher. [Join using "or else"].
32. Joan likes rice more than matooke. [Rewrite using "prefers"].
33. You should respect your parents. [Rewrite beginning "One..."].
34. "He went to Gulu yesterday," said his wife. [Rewrite beginning, "His wife said that..."].
35. Yes, Jesca is my elder sister. [Form a sensible question for the above response.]

Section B

36. Read the following information carefully and answer questions about it in full sentences. In Meme P.S., the P6 class teacher organised a sanitary competition during term I 2008 for his class of 40 pupils. The results were: 10 pupils washed but not ironing. 10 pupils polished shoes. All the pupils washed the latrines. None of the pupils had untrimmed hair. 26 pupils neither collected nor burnt rubbish.

a) What does the information above show?
b) How many pupils are in this class?
c) For which class are the results?
d) How many pupils ironed?
e) How many pupils polished shoes?
f) How many pupils had trimmed hair?
g) How many pupils collected and burnt rubbish?
h) Give one reason why you think maintaining sanitation at school is important.
i) Who organised the above competition?
j) Mention one good sanitary habit.

37. The sentences below are not in their correct order. Re-arrange them to form a short meaningful composition.
a) Pupils were very happy and they began to communicate to their parents immediately.
b) The day reached and we had to travel.
c) He told us that there are very many educative sites we had to see.
d) He continued talking about the amount we would pay for the whole journey.
e) It was so great because we had a lot of nice time there.
f) At the beginning of the term, our Headteacher told us that we would visit Kenya.
g) By the second week of the term, very many pupils had finished paying.
h) What a nice trip we had!
i) The second day of the journey, we visited Mt. Kenya.
j) After one week, we came back to our school and narrated what we had seen to our friends.