Primary 6 PSLE English Comprehension Quiz

Primary 6 PSLE English Quiz - Comprehension

Name: ___________________________
Class: Primary 6 _______
Date: ___________________________
Score: _______ / 40

Duration: 50 minutes
Total Marks: 40

Instructions:

1. Read all passages carefully before answering the questions.
2. Answer all questions in the spaces provided.
3. For multiple-choice questions, shade the correct oval (A, B, C, or D).
4. For open-ended questions, write your answers in complete sentences.
5. Check your work before handing in.

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Section A: Visual Text Comprehension (10 marks)

Study the poster below carefully and answer Questions 1 to 5.

Generated source_image for Q1.

1. What is the main purpose of this poster? [1 mark]

• (A) To announce the school's annual Science Fair and invite students to participate
• (B) To teach students how to conduct science experiments
• (C) To advertise science kits and book vouchers
• (D) To inform parents about the Parent Support Group

2. Which of the following is NOT a category in the Science Fair? [1 mark]

• (A) Eco-Inventions
• (B) Robotics Challenge
• (C) Kitchen Chemistry
• (D) Marine Biology

3. If a Primary 5 student wants to take part in the "Robotics Challenge", what must they do by 1 March 2024? [1 mark]

• (A) Buy a science kit
• (B) Register by scanning the QR code or visiting the website
• (C) Submit a completed robot
• (D) Ask their parent to join the Parent Support Group

4. Based on the poster, which statement is TRUE? [1 mark]

• (A) The Science Fair is only for Primary 6 students.
• (B) The event ends at 5:00 p.m.
• (C) The top three winners in each category receive prizes.
• (D) TechFuture Singapore is the organiser of the event.

5. The slogan "Innovate. Create. Inspire." uses three verbs. What effect does this have on the reader? [2 marks]

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6. The poster mentions "Supported by: Parent Support Group". What does this suggest about the event? [2 marks]

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7. A student says, "I don't need to register early because the fair is on 15 March." Explain why this student is mistaken, using information from the poster. [2 marks]

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Section B: Narrative Text Comprehension (15 marks)

Read the following passage carefully and answer Questions 8 to 14.

The old lighthouse had not been used in thirty years. Its white paint peeled like sunburnt skin, revealing grey concrete beneath. Maya stood at its base, the salt wind tangling her hair, the key heavy in her pocket. Her grandfather had given it to her on his deathbed. "The light still works," he had whispered. "It just needs someone who remembers how to turn it on."

She had laughed then. A lighthouse without a keeper was just a tower. But now, with the storm rolling in from the horizon — bruised purple clouds swallowing the sunset — she understood. The fishing boats would be returning. Her father's boat would be among them.

Maya climbed the spiral staircase, her footsteps echoing in the cylinder of stone. Each step groaned under her weight. Dust motes danced in the beams of her torchlight. At the top, the lantern room waited. The massive Fresnel lens — a crown of glass prisms — sat cold and dark. The mechanism was simple: wind the weights, light the wicks, adjust the rotation. Her grandfather had shown her once, years ago, when she was small enough to be lifted to the controls.

Her hands trembled as she turned the crank. The chain rattled, the weights descended with a slow, deliberate clank. She struck a match. The flame caught on the first wick, then the second, then the third. Golden light bloomed, multiplied by the prisms, sweeping out across the churning sea.

One flash. Two flashes. Three.

The rhythm was hypnotic. Maya watched the beam cut through the rain that had begun to fall, each sweep reaching further than the last. Out on the water, a green navigation light blinked — her father's boat. Then another. And another. The fleet was coming home.

She stayed there all night, winding the weights every four hours, trimming the wicks, keeping the light alive. When dawn broke, pale and watery, the storm had passed. The sea lay flat and grey. Boats dotted the harbour, safe.

Her father found her asleep on the stone floor, the key still clutched in her hand. He carried her down the stairs, and as they emerged into the morning light, he said quietly, "Your grandfather would have been proud."

Maya smiled, her eyes still closed. "The light still works," she murmured. "It just needed someone to remember."

8. In the first paragraph, the writer describes the lighthouse's paint as "peeled like sunburnt skin". What does this simile suggest about the condition of the lighthouse? [2 marks]

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9. Why did Maya initially laugh when her grandfather gave her the key? [1 mark]

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10. "The mechanism was simple: wind the weights, light the wicks, adjust the rotation." What does the use of colons and commas in this sentence suggest about Maya's state of mind at this moment? [2 marks]

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11. Which two actions show that Maya was determined to keep the light burning through the night? [2 marks]

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12. The writer describes the light's rhythm as "hypnotic". What does this tell you about how Maya felt while watching the beam? [2 marks]

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13. How did Maya's feelings about the lighthouse change from the beginning to the end of the story? Support your answer with evidence from the text. [3 marks]

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14. The last line of the story echoes her grandfather's words: "The light still works. It just needed someone to remember." What is the deeper meaning of this statement? [3 marks]

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Section C: Non-Narrative Text Comprehension (15 marks)

Read the following article and answer Questions 15 to 20.

The Hidden Language of Trees

For centuries, humans viewed forests as collections of individual trees competing for sunlight, water, and nutrients. But groundbreaking research over the past three decades has revealed a startling truth: trees are social beings that communicate, cooperate, and even care for one another through a vast underground network.

This network, dubbed the "Wood Wide Web" by the journal Nature, consists of thread-like fungi called mycorrhizae that connect the roots of different trees. Through these fungal highways, trees exchange carbon, nitrogen, water, and defence signals. A mature "mother tree" can recognise her own seedlings and send them extra carbon through the network, giving them a better chance of survival. When a tree is attacked by insects, it releases chemical distress signals that travel through the fungal threads, warning neighbouring trees to produce defensive enzymes before the pests reach them.

Professor Suzanne Simard, a forest ecologist at the University of British Columbia, discovered that trees of different species also share resources. In her experiments, Douglas firs and paper birches were found to exchange carbon seasonally — the firs sending carbon to the birches in summer when the birches were shaded, and the birches returning the favour in autumn when the firs lost their needles. This cooperation challenges the long-held belief that nature is purely competitive.

The implications are profound. Clear-cutting forests destroys not just trees but the ancient fungal networks that take centuries to rebuild. When we plant monoculture plantations — rows of a single species — we create "silent forests" where the Wood Wide Web cannot form. Simard argues that forestry practices must change: retain mother trees, allow natural regeneration, and protect the soil microbiome.

"Forests are not just a bunch of trees," Simard says. "They are complex societies with relationships, memories, and intelligence. We are only beginning to understand their language."

15. What does the term "Wood Wide Web" refer to? [1 mark]

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16. According to the article, how does a mother tree help her seedlings? [2 marks]

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17. The article states that trees "release chemical distress signals" when attacked by insects. What happens next? [2 marks]

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18. What surprising discovery did Professor Simard make about trees of different species? [2 marks]

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19. The author uses the phrase "silent forests" to describe monoculture plantations. Explain why this is an effective description. [3 marks]

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20. Based on the article, give two reasons why clear-cutting forests is more damaging than previously thought. [3 marks]

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End of Quiz