Ouvyuv Hv

Comprehension Test
Chemical Secret
Tim Vicary
1 Are these sentences true (T) or false (F)?
a John Duncan’s wife died at sea.
b John’s new job was in a plastics factory.
c The factory was near a river.
d The waste products from the factory went into the drinking water for the town.
e The waste products were dangerous to rats.
10 marks

2 Who saidthis in the story? John, Andrew, David Wilson, the doctor, Simon, Mary, Christine.
a ‘When can you start?’ ...............
b ‘I wouldn’t want anyone to drink those waste products.’ ...............
c ‘You should leave too.’ ...............
d ‘He thinks I’m still a little girl.’ ...............
e ‘I’m too old.’ ...............
f ‘I have to write an article every week about theenvironment.’ ...............
g ‘Money doesn’t grow on trees.’ ...............
h ‘Have you robbed a bank or something?’ ...............
i ‘We can’t put those chemicals in the river.’ ...............
j ‘Can we have a boat?’ ...............
20 marks

3 Fill in the gaps in the story using these words: floating, swimmer, life, heavy, swim, water, slowed, turn, floated, swim.
Hurriedly,Simon began to ............... after her. He was a good ............... but the white clothes ............... him down. The ............... seemed heavy and held him back. For the rest of his ............... he would dream about that long, slow ............... towards a white body that ............... quickly away. As he reached her she was ............... with her face down, unconscious. Hetried to ............... her over but it was so difficult because she was ............. .
20 marks

4 Who are these two people?
...........................................................................
...........................................................................
10 marks

5. Where are they?
......................................................................................................................................................
10 marks

6 Complete these sentences about the last chapter of the story.
a John was living ..............................
b His bedroom was full of ..............................
c He hadn’t spoken to Christine because ..............................
d Every morning he rang the hospital to ask..............................
e On the way to the hospital he went into a shop and ..............................
f The rain was falling on the sandbanks where ..............................
30 marks

Total marks


Multiple-choice Test
Chemical Secret
Tim Vicary

Setting
Choose the best answer.
1 John Duncan stopped being a biologist _____.
a [ ] to make and sell cars b [ ] tobecome a teacher
c [ ] to sail around the world d [ ] to make and sell boats
2 He lost his business after _____.
a [ ] his wife divorced him b [ ] his wife died
c [ ] he met David Wilson d [ ] he bought another company
3 David Wilson told John that they needed a biologist _____.
a [ ] to find new chemicals b [ ] to produce new colours
c [ ] to saythat the factory was safe d [ ] to clean the dangerous water
4 John was _____ when he was offered the job.
a [ ] very disappointed b [ ] very unhappy
c [ ] not surprised d [ ] very surprised
5 He had _____.
a [ ] two sons and a daughter b [ ] a son and a daughter
c [ ] no children d [ ] two daughters
6 The flat he and his family lived in was _____.
a[ ] small and miserable b [ ] big and modern
c [ ] beautiful with a big garden d [ ] twenty years old
7 When his wife was alive, they used to have a _____.
a [ ] flat in the city b [ ] boat for holidays
c [ ] house in the country d [ ] house by the sea
8 John said he hadn’t been able to find another job because _____.
a [ ] companies didn’t employ...