English worksheet for 9th Graders (Apr, 2024)
Section One: Reading Comprehension
Direction: Read the text and do the questions that follow it.
Experts say that if you feel drowsy during the day, even during boring activities, you haven’t
had enough sleep. If you routinely fall asleep within five minutes of lying down, you probably
have severe sleep deprivation, possibly even a sleep disorder. Micro sleeps, or very brief
episodes of sleep in an otherwise awake person, are another mark of sleep deprivation. In
many cases, people are not aware that they are experiencing sleep micro sleeps. The
widespread practice of “burning the candle at both ends” in Western industrialized societies
has created so much sleep deprivation that what is really abnormal sleepiness is now almost
the norm.
Many studies make it clear that sleep deprivation is dangerous. Sleep-deprived people who are
tested by using a driving simulator or by performing a hand-eye coordination task perform as
badly as or worse than those who are intoxicated. Sleep deprivation also magnifies alcohol’s
effects on the body, so a fatigued person who drinks will become much more impaired than
someone who is well rested. Driver fatigue is responsible for an estimated 100,000 motor
vehicle accidents and 1,500 deaths each year, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety
Administration. Since drowsiness is the brain’s last step before falling asleep, driving while
drowsy can and often does lead to disaster. Caffeine and other stimulants cannot overcome the
effects of severe sleep deprivation. The National Sleep Foundation says that if you have trouble
keeping your eyes focused, if you can’t stop yawning, or if you can’t remember driving the last
few miles, you are probably too drowsy to drive safely.
1. The passage suggests that falling asleep during a morning class
A. means that the topic doesn’t interest you.
B. is a symptom of sleep deprivation.
C. indicates that you should drink a caffeinated beverage at breakfast.
D. means that you have a sleep disorder.
E. requires a visit to a doctor.
2. The image of burning the candle at both ends (line 6) most nearly refers to
A. an unrelenting schedule that affords little rest.
B. an ardent desire to achieve.
C. the unavoidable conflagration that occurs when two forces oppose each other.
D. a latent period before a conflict or collapse.
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E. a state of extreme agitation.
3. In line 12, the term impaired most nearly means
A. sentient
B. apprehensive
C. disturbed
D. blemished E. hampered
4. The primary purpose of the passage is to
A. offer preventive measures for sleep deprivation.
B. explain why sleepiness has become a common state in Western cultures.
C. recommend the amount of sleep individuals need at different ages.
D. alert readers to the signs and risks of not getting enough sleep.
E. discuss the effects of alcohol on a sleep-deprived person.
Section Two: Grammar Practice
Direction: Select the one that best completes the sentence.
5. We promised to keep in touch ______ would happen to us in life.
A. whenever B. whatever C. wherever D. however
6. I find ___ very strange that Emily has not been promoted yet.
A. her B. that C. it D. them
7. Why do you object to ____________? He’ll be an asset to the company.
A. he being taken on C. him be taken on
B. him being taken on D. he be taken on
8. He escaped by _______________.
A. the hair’s breadth C. a breadth of a hair
B. the breadth of a hair D. a hair’s breadth
9. The more I get to know him, the _____ I like him.
A. most B. less C. much D. lesser
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10. Capital punishment was done ______ in Britain nearly half a century ago.
A. off by B. out for C. away with D. over from
11. No one wants to have extra homework tonight, _______?
A. don’t they B. do they C. does he D. doesn’t he
12. I had no difficulty _______ their house although they had said that people often did.
A. to find B. for finding C. finding D. to finding
13. Teshome will do well in the job __________ he stays on the right side of the boss.
A. as soon as C. as long as
B. as far as D. as well as
14. Did you really understand all _______ he said?
A. which B. what C. when D. that
15. Women had to fight hard to gain ____ equality.
A. an B. the C. her D. __
16. Please, come and see me ____ day you like.
A. some B. every C. any D. all
17. The old lady came near to ______ of pneumonia but to everyone’s amazement, she pulled
through.
A. death B. dying C. being dead D. die E. dyeing
18. They live about _________ from here.
A. an hour of drive C. an hour’s drive
B. a drive hour D. a drive of an hour
19. His grandfather often dozes ____ in front of the TV after dinner.
A. out B. off C. over D. for
20. When I first came to Britain, it took me a long time to ___________ on the left.
A. be used to driving C. get used to drive
B. get used to driving D. getting used to driving
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21. ______ he should have spent all the weekend preparing for his test, he in fact, just lay in
bed watching videos.
A. However B. Whereas C. Despite D. Nevertheless
22. At the beginning of the 20th century, Albert Einstein developed the theory of relativity,
______ that Newtonian mechanics couldn’t be applied to bodies moving at speed close to the
speed of light.
A. demonstrated C. expanding
B. regarding D. demonstrating E. alleviating
23. The old lady’s health ______ day by day until she _____ smoking.
A. was deteriorating/gave up C. has deteriorated/was giving up
B. deteriorated/has given up D. was deteriorating/was giving up
24. The fact that more people _______ ozone-friendly products nowadays _____ that the
media can positively increase public awareness.
A. have used/was showing C. are using/shows
B. use/has been showing D. used/has shown
25. My mother _______ her optician tomorrow because her eyesight _______ worse since she
got this computing job.
A. has visited/is becoming C. is visiting/became
B. visits/becomes D. is visiting/has become
26. There are 20 species of wild roses in North America, _______ have prickly stems, pinnate
leaves, and large flowers that usually smell sweet.
A. none of whose C. all of which
B. both of which D. much of which
27. Physical geographers study soil because of its fundamental position ____ the ecosystem and
its impact _____ human activities.
A. above/upon C. on/within
B. in/on D. inside/above
28. ______ having the best player in the league, we lost 3 games in a row.
A. Due to C. Despite
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B. In spite of the fact that E. Since
29. I can’t remember very well but I ________ your friend at the bazaar.
A. may have met C. should have met
B. would have met D. shouldn’t have met
30. I’ll be _______ their cat while they are away on holiday.
A. looking into B. looking after C. looking at D. looking out
31. By the time she arrives, we __________ our homework.
A. finish C. will have finished
B. will finish D. will be finishing
32. He really didn’t want to come last night. ___________
A. So did I. C. Neither I did.
B. Nor did I. D. Nor do I.
33. Why are your hands so dirty? Well, I ___________ in the garden.
A. have worked C. worked
B. have been working D. had been working
34. Because she was angry, she went out banging the door. The underlined word here is used as
a
A. participial adjective. C. participial adverb.
B. gerund. D. gerund phrase.
35. ___________ at home, she left a note on the front door.
A. By realizing nobody was C. Realized nobody was
B. Realizing there was nobody D. Having been realized there was nobody
36. The explosion was ____ powerful that it killed several innocent people.
A. such B. very C. so D. such a
37. If you ________ to Kuala Lumpur, the culture shock would be enormous.
A. can move C. will move
B. had been moving D. were to move
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38. They ___________ across the river; the currents were much too strong.
A. could swim C. can’t have swum
B. must have swum D. might have been swimming
39. The country _____ very poor, many are migrating to rich countries in pursuit of financial
security.
A. is B. has been C. being D. is being
40. If he __________ the 8:10 train, he would be here by now.
A. doesn’t miss C. wasn’t missing
B. wouldn’t miss D. hadn’t missed
41. By the time we know the suspect’s name, he __________ the country.
A. must be leaving C. is leaving
B. will have left D. has left E. had left
42. His teachers never guessed that he ________ a Pulitzer prize-winning author.
A. should become C. will become
B. has become D. would become
43. Thank you very much. I haven’t been to ________ party for ages.
A. a so enjoyable C. such an enjoyable
B. such enjoyable D. very enjoyable
44. In such a plight ___________ that we had no choice but to radio for help.
A. we found ourselves C. did we find ourselves
B. have we found ourselves D. we did find ourselves
45. ______ do you want to spend much of your time with?
A. Whom B. Who C. Whose D. Why
Section Three: Vocabulary Practice
Direction: Match the words to their dictionary definitions.
46. abominable
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A. nascent B. execrable C. meticulous
47. a feeling of anticipation over a future event
A. maladroit B. presentiment C. tractable
48. express disapproval or disappointment
A. reproach B. subside C. stymie D. fine tune
49. urgent; requiring immediate action
A. tangential B. exigent C. oblique D. egregious
50. disguise; pretend; to disguise or hide one’s real intentions or character
A. dismiss B. incorporate C. dissemble D. inculcate
51. justified; authorized
A. warranted B. magnanimous C. fractious D. irascible
52. inclined to delay or procrastinate
A. dilatory B. banal C. abstruse D. erudite
53. calm; not easily disturbed
A. salubrious B. endemic C. phlegmatic D. enigmatic
54. overlook; forgive; give tacit approval; excuse
A. mitigate B. castigate C. condone D. expound
55. brief and to the point; using few words
A. laconic B. ebullient C. pragmatic D. evanescent
56. honesty; uprightness; incorruptibility
A. tirade B. euphemism C. probity D. dormancy
57. at rest; dormant; temporarily inactive; motionless
A. quiescent B. acquiescent C. pragmatic D. luminous
58. a feeling of uneasiness for doing something wrong
A. discrepancy B. compunction C. predilection D. mania
59. aggressiveness; ferocity
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A. eulogy B. effigy C. truculence D. plethora
60. trickery; deception by means of craft or guile
A. incongruity B. chicanery C. empathy D. enthusiasm
Section Four: Passage Two
Direction: Read the following fiction and do the comprehension questions.
In this excerpt from Toni Morrison’s 1970 novel The Bluest Eye, Pauline tries to ease her
loneliness by going to the movies.
One winter Pauline discovered she was pregnant. When she told Cholly, he surprised her by being
pleased. They eased back into a relationship more like the early days of their marriage, when he asked if
she were tired or wanted him to bring her something from the store. In this state of ease, Pauline
stopped doing day work and returned to her own housekeeping. But, the loneliness in those two rooms
hadn’t gone away. When the winter sun hit the peeling green paint of the kitchen chairs, when the
smoked hocks were boiling in the pot, when all she could hear was the truck delivering furniture
downstairs, she thought about back home, about how she had been all alone most of the time then too,
but this lonesomeness was different. Then she stopped staring at the green chairs, at the delivery truck;
she went to the movies instead. There in the dark her memory was refreshed, and she succumbed to
her earlier dreams. Along with the idea of romantic love, she was introduced to another_ physical
beauty. Probably the most destructive ideas in the history of human thought. Both originated in envy,
thrived in insecurity, and ended in disillusion.
61. Pauline and Cholly live
A. in a two-room apartment above a store.
B. in a delivery truck.
C. next to a movie theater.
D. with Pauline’s family E. in a housekeeper’s quarters.
62. Lines 1-5 suggest that just prior to Pauline’s pregnancy, Cholly had
A. loved Pauline dearly. C. worked every day of the week
B. begun to neglect Pauline. D. cared about Pauline’s dreams
E. graduated from college.
63. Pauline’s loneliness is different from the loneliness she felt back home because
A. she is more bored than lonely. C. she wants Cholly to be more romantic.
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B. her family has abandoned her. D. she’s a mother now.
E. she shouldn’t feel lonely with Cholly.
64. Pauline’s earlier dreams were of
A. romance. C. having many children.
B. being beautiful. D. being a famous actress. E. owning her own store.
65. The passage suggests that going to the movies will
A. inspire Pauline to become an actress.
B. inspire Pauline to demand more respect from Cholly.
C. only make Pauline more unhappy with her life.
D. encourage Pauline to study history.
E. create a financial strain on the family.
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