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Comparing two texts
8th grade (Year 9 in England) · 16 questions · Common Core: RI.8.9, RL.8.9 · England: KS3 Reading, GCSE English Language Paper 2 Q4
Name
Date
Score/ 16
Two Views on Zoos
TEXT A – "A Lifeline for Wildlife"
Modern zoos are not the cramped menageries of the past. The best of them are centres for conservation, research and education. Breeding programmes in zoos have helped save species such as the Arabian oryx and the California condor from extinction, and some animals bred in zoos have been successfully returned to the wild. For millions of children who will never visit a rainforest or a savannah, seeing a living animal up close can spark a lifelong love of nature. Closing zoos would not free animals; it would abandon them.
TEXT B – "Wild at Heart"
No enclosure, however large, can replace a wild home. An elephant may walk dozens of kilometres a day in the wild; in a zoo, it may cover a fraction of that, and some show repetitive swaying or pacing that scientists link to stress. While a few breeding programmes have succeeded, most animals in zoos belong to species that are not endangered at all. If we truly want to protect wildlife, our money would do far more good protecting habitats where animals already live.
Question 1
Read "Two Views on Zoos". On which point would both writers most likely agree?
- A. Elephants are happy in zoos.
- B. Protecting wildlife is important.
- C. Children should not see animals.
- D. Zoos should all be closed.
Who Has Seen the Wind? (Christina Rossetti, 1872)
Who has seen the wind?
Neither I nor you:
But when the leaves hang trembling,
The wind is passing through.
Who has seen the wind?
Neither you nor I:
But when the trees bow down their heads,
The wind is passing by.
Question 2
Read "Who Has Seen the Wind? (Christina Rossetti, 1872)". How is the second verse different from the first?
- A. It is written in prose.
- B. It answers the question with a name.
- C. It moves from small leaves to whole trees, showing the wind's stronger effect.
- D. It changes the topic to the sea.
The Gardener's Ledger
My father kept two books. The first was the ledger in which he recorded every coin that passed through the shop: the price of flour, the cost of the new awning, the debts that customers swore they would settle by Friday. He wrote in it every evening, in a small, upright hand, and he never let anyone else touch it.
The second book I did not discover until after he died. It was a cheap school exercise book, its cover soft with handling, hidden at the back of the shed behind the seed trays. Inside, in the same upright hand, he had recorded something quite different: the date the first snowdrop appeared each year; the night a fox had dug up the tulips; the morning, in 1987, when "M. laughed at the robin on the spade and said it was the bravest bird in England." M. was my mother. I had never heard my father mention her laugh.
For forty years, it seemed, he had been keeping accounts of another kind – of small, unprofitable things that added up to a life. The shop ledger balanced to the penny. The garden book did not balance at all. There were gaps of months, sometimes years. In 1993, the year my mother died, there is only one entry: "Rain."
I used to think my father was a man who cared only for what could be counted. I sat in that cold shed until the light went, reading his small, careful sentences, and understood that I had been reading the wrong book.
Question 3
Read "The Gardener's Ledger". How do the two books differ?
- A. One is written by the father, the other by the mother.
- B. One is about the garden; the other is about the weather only.
- C. One records money precisely; the other records personal moments and feelings.
- D. Both record the shop's accounts.
Question 4
Text A: "Homework helps pupils practise what they learn." Text B: "Too much homework leaves no time for rest and play." How do the views compare?
- A. Neither mentions homework.
- B. Both say homework is helpful.
- C. Both say homework is harmful.
- D. A focuses on benefits; B focuses on drawbacks.
Two Views on Zoos
TEXT A – "A Lifeline for Wildlife"
Modern zoos are not the cramped menageries of the past. The best of them are centres for conservation, research and education. Breeding programmes in zoos have helped save species such as the Arabian oryx and the California condor from extinction, and some animals bred in zoos have been successfully returned to the wild. For millions of children who will never visit a rainforest or a savannah, seeing a living animal up close can spark a lifelong love of nature. Closing zoos would not free animals; it would abandon them.
TEXT B – "Wild at Heart"
No enclosure, however large, can replace a wild home. An elephant may walk dozens of kilometres a day in the wild; in a zoo, it may cover a fraction of that, and some show repetitive swaying or pacing that scientists link to stress. While a few breeding programmes have succeeded, most animals in zoos belong to species that are not endangered at all. If we truly want to protect wildlife, our money would do far more good protecting habitats where animals already live.
Question 5
Read "Two Views on Zoos". How does Text B respond to the idea of breeding programmes?
- A. It does not mention them.
- B. It says breeding programmes have never worked.
- C. It agrees that they are the main purpose of zoos.
- D. It admits a few have worked but says most zoo animals are not endangered.
Question 6
Read "Two Views on Zoos". What is the main difference between the two texts?
- A. Both texts argue zoos should close.
- B. Text A is about elephants; Text B is about birds.
- C. Text A defends zoos; Text B argues against them.
- D. Text B supports breeding programmes more strongly than Text A.
Question 7
Read "Two Views on Zoos". On which point would both writers most likely agree?
- A. Zoos should all be closed.
- B. Protecting wildlife is important.
- C. Elephants are happy in zoos.
- D. Children should not see animals.
Who Has Seen the Wind? (Christina Rossetti, 1872)
Who has seen the wind?
Neither I nor you:
But when the leaves hang trembling,
The wind is passing through.
Who has seen the wind?
Neither you nor I:
But when the trees bow down their heads,
The wind is passing by.
Question 8
Read "Who Has Seen the Wind? (Christina Rossetti, 1872)". How is the second verse different from the first?
- A. It is written in prose.
- B. It answers the question with a name.
- C. It moves from small leaves to whole trees, showing the wind's stronger effect.
- D. It changes the topic to the sea.
The Gardener's Ledger
My father kept two books. The first was the ledger in which he recorded every coin that passed through the shop: the price of flour, the cost of the new awning, the debts that customers swore they would settle by Friday. He wrote in it every evening, in a small, upright hand, and he never let anyone else touch it.
The second book I did not discover until after he died. It was a cheap school exercise book, its cover soft with handling, hidden at the back of the shed behind the seed trays. Inside, in the same upright hand, he had recorded something quite different: the date the first snowdrop appeared each year; the night a fox had dug up the tulips; the morning, in 1987, when "M. laughed at the robin on the spade and said it was the bravest bird in England." M. was my mother. I had never heard my father mention her laugh.
For forty years, it seemed, he had been keeping accounts of another kind – of small, unprofitable things that added up to a life. The shop ledger balanced to the penny. The garden book did not balance at all. There were gaps of months, sometimes years. In 1993, the year my mother died, there is only one entry: "Rain."
I used to think my father was a man who cared only for what could be counted. I sat in that cold shed until the light went, reading his small, careful sentences, and understood that I had been reading the wrong book.
Question 9
Read "The Gardener's Ledger". How do the two books differ?
- A. One is about the garden; the other is about the weather only.
- B. Both record the shop's accounts.
- C. One is written by the father, the other by the mother.
- D. One records money precisely; the other records personal moments and feelings.
Question 10
Text A (a diary): "The storm terrified me. I hid under the stairs all night." Text B (a news report): "High winds of up to 80 mph caused damage across the region." How do the texts differ?
- A. Both describe a different storm.
- B. Both are written in the first person.
- C. A is factual; B is emotional.
- D. A is personal and emotional; B is factual and impersonal.
Two Views on Zoos
TEXT A – "A Lifeline for Wildlife"
Modern zoos are not the cramped menageries of the past. The best of them are centres for conservation, research and education. Breeding programmes in zoos have helped save species such as the Arabian oryx and the California condor from extinction, and some animals bred in zoos have been successfully returned to the wild. For millions of children who will never visit a rainforest or a savannah, seeing a living animal up close can spark a lifelong love of nature. Closing zoos would not free animals; it would abandon them.
TEXT B – "Wild at Heart"
No enclosure, however large, can replace a wild home. An elephant may walk dozens of kilometres a day in the wild; in a zoo, it may cover a fraction of that, and some show repetitive swaying or pacing that scientists link to stress. While a few breeding programmes have succeeded, most animals in zoos belong to species that are not endangered at all. If we truly want to protect wildlife, our money would do far more good protecting habitats where animals already live.
Question 11
Read "Two Views on Zoos". How does Text B respond to the idea of breeding programmes?
- A. It says breeding programmes have never worked.
- B. It does not mention them.
- C. It admits a few have worked but says most zoo animals are not endangered.
- D. It agrees that they are the main purpose of zoos.
Question 12
Read "Two Views on Zoos". What is the main difference between the two texts?
- A. Both texts argue zoos should close.
- B. Text A defends zoos; Text B argues against them.
- C. Text B supports breeding programmes more strongly than Text A.
- D. Text A is about elephants; Text B is about birds.
Question 13
Read "Two Views on Zoos". On which point would both writers most likely agree?
- A. Elephants are happy in zoos.
- B. Children should not see animals.
- C. Zoos should all be closed.
- D. Protecting wildlife is important.
Who Has Seen the Wind? (Christina Rossetti, 1872)
Who has seen the wind?
Neither I nor you:
But when the leaves hang trembling,
The wind is passing through.
Who has seen the wind?
Neither you nor I:
But when the trees bow down their heads,
The wind is passing by.
Question 14
Read "Who Has Seen the Wind? (Christina Rossetti, 1872)". How is the second verse different from the first?
- A. It moves from small leaves to whole trees, showing the wind's stronger effect.
- B. It is written in prose.
- C. It changes the topic to the sea.
- D. It answers the question with a name.
The Gardener's Ledger
My father kept two books. The first was the ledger in which he recorded every coin that passed through the shop: the price of flour, the cost of the new awning, the debts that customers swore they would settle by Friday. He wrote in it every evening, in a small, upright hand, and he never let anyone else touch it.
The second book I did not discover until after he died. It was a cheap school exercise book, its cover soft with handling, hidden at the back of the shed behind the seed trays. Inside, in the same upright hand, he had recorded something quite different: the date the first snowdrop appeared each year; the night a fox had dug up the tulips; the morning, in 1987, when "M. laughed at the robin on the spade and said it was the bravest bird in England." M. was my mother. I had never heard my father mention her laugh.
For forty years, it seemed, he had been keeping accounts of another kind – of small, unprofitable things that added up to a life. The shop ledger balanced to the penny. The garden book did not balance at all. There were gaps of months, sometimes years. In 1993, the year my mother died, there is only one entry: "Rain."
I used to think my father was a man who cared only for what could be counted. I sat in that cold shed until the light went, reading his small, careful sentences, and understood that I had been reading the wrong book.
Question 15
Read "The Gardener's Ledger". How do the two books differ?
- A. One records money precisely; the other records personal moments and feelings.
- B. One is about the garden; the other is about the weather only.
- C. Both record the shop's accounts.
- D. One is written by the father, the other by the mother.
Question 16
Text A (a poem): "The rain drums softly, a lullaby on the roof." Text B (a weather report): "Rainfall of 12 mm is expected overnight." How do the texts present rain differently?
- A. Both are written as poems.
- B. Both present rain as dangerous.
- C. A presents it as soothing and musical; B gives a precise measurement.
- D. A gives statistics; B uses imagery.
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