Pre-Secondary 1 Hong Kong Attainment Test

HONG KONG

ATTAINMENT TEST

English

Pre-Secondary 1

Practice Paper 1

Answer Key

Hong Kong Attainment Test

(Pre-Secondary 1) Practice Paper 1

Answer Key and Marking Scheme

Part 1 (10 marks @ 2 marks)

1. A

2. B

3. B

4. D

5. B

Audio Script:

Narrator: / Grace is talking to her cousin, Andy, on the phone. Listen carefully and answer Questions 1 to 5. You have 30 seconds to study the questions in the Answer Booklet. (30-second pause)
You may start now.
Grace: / Hello. Is Andy there?
Andy: / Speaking. Is that Grace?
Grace: / Yes. I heard from my mum that you’re coming to Hong Kong next week. Have you started packing for the trip yet?
Andy: / Not yet, but I’m going to do it soon. I’m so excited. You know (1) I’ve never been to Hong Kong. What’s the weather like in Hong Kong now?
Grace: / (2) It’s around twenty degree Celsius here in March and the humidity is quite high. Remember to bring a raincoat or an umbrella with you because it’s quite rainy.
Andy: / I see. I’ll arrive at Hong Kong at around eight o’clock in the morning. Where will we go first?
Grace: / You can settle down at my home first and get some rest. Then, we can go to Admiralty and have a walk there. After that, we can (3) go to The Peak and have lunch there. We’ll spend the whole afternoon at The Peak and watch the sunset before we leave. Finally, we’ll have dinner at a restaurant in Causeway Bay where we can see the night view of Victoria Harbour.
Andy: / That’ll be great! By the way, are we going to see some wild animals in Hong Kong? You know I love nature.
Grace: / Of course. I’ve booked a guided tour to Mai Po. We’ll go there on the second day. You can see (4) Black-faced Spoonbills there.
Andy: / (excitedly) That’ll be amazing! It’s an endangered species! Will we see Romer’s Tree Frogs and the mudskippers there, too?
Grace: / We can find the mudskippers there but we have to go to the Kadoorie Farm to see the frogs.
Andy: / Can we go to the Kadoorie Farm after the guided tour?
Grace: / I’m afraid we can’t. (5) The tour will last from two thirty to five thirty. The farm will already be closed by the time we’ve finished the tour.
Andy: / All right. Let’s see whether we have time to visit the Kadoorie Farm the day after. I can’t wait to see you, Grace!
Grace: / Me too!
Narrator: / Check your answers now.
Number 1. How many times has Andy visited Hong Kong? (10-second pause)
Number 2. What is the weather like in Hong Kong now? (10-second pause)
Number 3. What time will Andy and Grace probably arrive at The Peak? (10-second pause)
Number 4. Why does Andy feel amazed? (10-second pause)
Number 5. How long will the guided tour last? (10-second pause)
This is the end of Part 1. Please go on to Part 2.

Part 2 (10 marks @ 2 marks)

6. B

7. D

8. A

9. C

10. A

Audio Script:

Narrator: / Grace is listening to a talk. Listen carefully and answer Questions 6 to 10. You have 30 seconds to study the form in the Answer Booklet. (30-second pause)
You may start now.
Miss Davis: / Welcome everyone. You can call me Miss Davis. I used to be a teacher but now I’m working for a charitable organisation called Helping Hands. Why did I switch my career? It’s all because of a volunteering trip to Africa in nineteen ninety-eight. At that time, I joined a trip to Africa, which was organised by an organisation called Good Hope. I was shocked by what I saw in Africa. (6) Many children were lying on the ground dying because of the lack of food and water. Starvation took away over six million children’s lives that year. That was why I decided to spend more time helping needy people.
After returning to Hong Kong from the trip, I decided to become a full-time staff member of Good Hope in order to help needy people. However, there were no jobs for me at Good Hope. Luckily, (7) Helping Hands employed me as a project officer in nineteen ninety-nine. Since I’ve joined Helping Hands, I’ve run different projects to raise funds and draw the public’s attention to needy people. Last year, I (8) organised a charity buffet, a charity sale and a charity concert. I believe that these activities will enable the public to become more aware of the situation in poor countries.
This year, we’ll continue to hold different charitable events. We’ll have a flag-selling day in May, a charity sale in July and a charity trip to Africa in August. We need a lot of helpers, so (9) I’d like to invite you all to be our volunteers. Your effort will be a blessing for the people in need. (10) If you’re interested, please download an application form from our website. That’s all I want to say. Feel free to ask me questions after the talk. Thank you.
Narrator: / Check your answers now.
Number 6. What was the cause of the death of children in Africa?(10-second pause)
Number 7. When did Miss Davis join Helping Hands? (10-second pause)
Number 8. Which of the following activities did Miss Davis NOT organise last year? (10-second pause)
Number 9. What is the main purpose of the talk? (10-second pause)
Number 10. How can Grace get an application form? (10-second pause)
This is the end of Part 2. Please go on to Part 3.

Part 3 (12 marks @ 2 marks)

- Do not deduct marks for small/capital letters.

- Do not deduct marks for grammatical or spelling mistakes unless specified. Minor spelling mistakes can be ignored so long as the meaning is clear, the spelling is phonologically close, and a different word is not formed.

- Numbers can be in word form (though this is not encouraged).

Helping Hands
Volunteer Application Form

11. Name:

12. Age:

13. Name of school:
Address:
14. Flat , /F, Sunset Court,

15. Availability: (Please tick as appropriate.)
Monday Tuesday Wednesday
Thursday Friday
Saturday Sunday

16. Date of application: / /

Part 3

Audio Script:

Narrator: / Grace is helping her friend Leo fill in an application form. You have 30 seconds to study the form in the Answer Booklet. (30-second pause)
You may start now.
Leo: / What are you doing, Grace?
Grace: / I’m filling in an application form to become a volunteer at Helping Hands. I want to help the children in Africa.
Leo: / That’s a very good idea and it sounds meaningful. Can I be a volunteer, too?
Grace: / Sure. I have an extra application form here. Let me fill in the form for you.
Leo: / Thanks a lot.
Grace:
Leo:
Grace: / Let me write down your full name here. (11) L-e-o, Leo … and your surname is c-h-e-n-g, Cheng, is that right?
Yes.
OK. Are you eleven years old? The same age as me?
Leo: / Hey, (12) I just turned twelve! I had my birthday party last Wednesday.
Grace: / Oh right. Now, let me write down the name of your school. Is it (13) United Primary School?
Leo: / Yes, that’s right.
Grace: / How do you spell ‘united’?
Leo: / It is spelt u-n-i-t-e-d.
Grace: / OK. Next, you need to give me your home address.
Leo: / I live in (14) Flat C, thirteenth floor, Sunset Court, Kowloon Bay.
Grace: / OK. Flat C … thirteenth floor … Sunset Court … What’s the district again?
Leo: / Kowloon Bay.
Grace: / OK. What days of the week are you available to do voluntary work?
Leo: / (15) I’m only free at weekends. I have football practice and swimming lessons on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays. I also have kung fu classes on Tuesdays and Thursdays.
Grace: / I see. Lastly, let me write down the date of today. What is today’s date?
Leo: / It’s the eleventh … no, it should be (16) the tenth of April.
Grace: / All right. I’ve completed the form for you. Here it is.
Leo: / Thanks for helping me, Grace.
Grace: / You’re welcome.

Narrator: This is the end of Part 3. Please go on to Section B.

Section B Reading (38 marks)

Part 1 (12 marks @ 2 marks)

- For Q22, 1 mark for each correct answer.

17. A

18. A

19. D

20. B

21. D

22. (i) C

(ii) A

Part 2 (12 marks @ 2 marks)

- Give 0 marks for an answer with more than one word.

- Deduct 1 mark for any spelling, grammatical or capitalisation mistakes.

23. invite/ask

24. year

25. tenth

26. clean/tidy/in

27. safe

28. online/immediately

Part 3 (14 marks @ 2 marks)

29. A

30. B

31. D

32. B

33. D

34. A

35. B

Section C Writing (30 marks)

(Accept any reasonable answers.)

Sample answer

Cloudy 10th June, 20XX

I saw an accident on my way to school this morning. When I was waiting for the traffic light to turn green, an old lady slowly crossed the road with her walking stick. Suddenly, she lost her balance and fell down. I could see a minibus was rushing towards her. I was so worried about the old lady, I shouted loudly and waved at the minibus driver. Luckily, he saw me. He stopped the vehicle just in time. The old lady was safe and a big crowd of people gave me a big hand. I felt so proud.

Remarks:

- Marks should be awarded according to the following criteria:

(No half marks should be awarded.)

Content (11 marks)

Marks / Comments
Good / 9–11 / - Students provide relevant and interesting information/ideas with supporting details.
- The overall meaning is clear.
Satisfactory / 5–8 / - Students provide some relevant and interesting information/ideas with some supporting details.
- The overall meaning is quite clear.
Weak / 1–4 / - Students provide very limited information/ideas or unclear/disconnected information/ideas that may confuse the reader.
- The overall meaning can be understood but with considerable difficulty.
Poor / 0 / - Students provide totally irrelevant information or make no attempt to write.
- The meaning is unintelligible.

Language (13 marks)

Marks / Comments
Good / 10–13 / - The overall communication of ideas is clear and coherent with few/no errors in vocabulary, grammar, punctuation and spelling.
- Good range of vocabulary and sentence structures.
Satisfactory / 5–9 / - The overall communication of ideas is clear with some errors in vocabulary, grammar, punctuation and spelling.
- Reasonable range of vocabulary and sentence structures.
Weak / 1–4 / - The overall communication of ideas is ineffective with frequent errors in vocabulary, grammar, punctuation and spelling.
- Limited range of vocabulary and sentence structures.
Poor / 0 / - Comprehension is seriously impeded with constant and significant errors in vocabulary, grammar, punctuation and spelling.
- Meaning cannot be conveyed given the very limited range of vocabulary and sentence structures.

Organisation of ideas (6 marks)

Marks / Comments
Good / 5–6 / - The organisation of ideas is clear, logical and coherent.
Satisfactory / 3–4 / - The organisation of ideas is generally clear and logical.
Weak / 1–2 / - The organisation of ideas is often confusing. Comprehension is frequently impeded.
Poor / 0 / - The ideas are muddled and impossible to follow.

- If a composition is significantly shorter than required, marks in all categories should be scaled down appropriately through the exercise of professional judgement.

- If the content is totally irrelevant, do not award any marks for content, language and organisation of ideas.

- If students do not give the ending for Box (d) of the question, they can only get a maximum score of 9 for content.