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TEST PAPER, Cls 9, Inventions, Tenses

William Kamkwamba lived in Malawi, Africa during a severe drought when his family could no longer afford to send him to school. [1] He found a book in the library about building windmills and, despite not understanding much English, was inspired by the diagrams to build his own windmill using scrap materials. [2] When he started building it, people in his village laughed at him but he was determined and eventually built a windmill that provided electricity for lights and a radio. [3] He then helped others learn to build windmills and brought electricity and water to more people in his community.

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50 views

TEST PAPER, Cls 9, Inventions, Tenses

William Kamkwamba lived in Malawi, Africa during a severe drought when his family could no longer afford to send him to school. [1] He found a book in the library about building windmills and, despite not understanding much English, was inspired by the diagrams to build his own windmill using scrap materials. [2] When he started building it, people in his village laughed at him but he was determined and eventually built a windmill that provided electricity for lights and a radio. [3] He then helped others learn to build windmills and brought electricity and water to more people in his community.

Uploaded by

Simona Podina
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
Available Formats
Download as DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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TEST PAPER

I.Reading comprehension.
A Vocabulary. Find the words in bold in the reading passage. Read the words around them and try
to guess their meanings. Then write each word next to its definition.

1. (verb) have enough money to pay for something


2. (verb) gave the energy that something needed in order to work
3. (adjective) able to do tasks well without wasting time or energy
4. (noun) a form of energy that can be used for heating and lighting and to provide energy for machines
5. (noun) energy from the sun’s light and heat
6. (adjective) having the ability to invent and develop new and original ideas
7. (adverb) in the end, especially after a lot of problems
8. (noun) the act of making sure that something does not happen
9. (noun) the things people need for a job, hobby, or sport
10. (noun) a drawing that shows how to make something

William Kamkwamba lives in Malawi, Africa, where most people have to grow their own food and have
no electricity or running water.1 Only two percent of Malawians can afford electricity. With no electricity
or running water, life is difficult. In 2001, when William was 14 years old, life in Malawi became even
more difficult. There was a severe drought2 and most families, including William’s, couldn’t grow enough
food. He explains, “Within five months all Malawians began to starve to death. My family ate one meal per
day, at night.” Because of the drought, William’s family couldn’t afford to send him to school anymore. So
one day William went to the library near his home. He wanted to continue his education. William found a
science book called Using Energy. It included instructions for building a windmill. Windmills can be very
efficient sources of electricity, and they can bring water up from underground. William didn’t know much
English, and he wasn’t able to understand most of the book, but it was full of pictures and diagrams.3
Looking at the pictures, William thought he could build a windmill for his family.
William used old bicycle parts and other thrown-away items to build his windmill. The final windmill
was 16 feet (5 meters) tall.
When William went home and started building his windmill, a lot of people laughed at him, including his
mother. They didn’t think he could do it, but William was confident. He saw the photo of the windmill in
the book. That meant someone else was able to build it, so he knew he could build it, too. William was also
creative. He didn’t have the parts and equipment he saw in the book’s illustrations, and he couldn’t buy
them. So he looked for parts in junkyards.4 He explains, “I found a tractor fan,5 [a] shock absorber,6 [and]
PVC pipes.7 Using a bicycle frame . . . , I built my machine.” William changed and improved his design
little by little. First, the windmill powered only one lightbulb. Eventually, it powered four lights. Then
there was enough electricity for four lights and a radio. No one laughed at William after that, and people in
his town started to come to his house to get power for their cell phones. Later, William built a second
windmill. This one brought water up from underground. After that, William began to teach other people
how to build windmills. He also continued to build more of them himself, including one at a primary
school in Malawi. Because of his success with the windmills, William was able to go back to school. He
also helped with other projects, including solar power, clean water, and malaria8 prevention. He wrote a
book about his life, The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind: Creating Currents of Electricity and Hope. In
addition, he uses his website, movingwindmills. org, to educate and give hope to people. His main message
is this: “To the Africans, and the poor who are struggling9 with your dreams . . . trust yourself and believe.
Whatever happens, don’t give up.”10

1 Running water is water that is brought into a building through pipes.


2 A drought is a long period of time with no rain.
3 Diagrams are drawings that show how something, e.g., a machine, works.
4 A junkyard is a place where old machines are thrown away.
5 A tractor fan is a machine part that helps cool the engine in a tractor (a vehicle used on farms).
6 A shock absorber is a machine part that helps make a car run smoothly over uneven roads.
7 PVC pipes are tubes made from a plastic material (polyvinyl chloride).
8 Malaria is a disease spread by mosquitoes.
9 If someone is struggling, they are trying hard to do something because it is difficult.
10 If you don’t give up, you don’t stop trying to do something, especially something that is difficult.

B Identifying Key Details. Complete the sentences below with information from the reading.
1. In 2001, life became very challenging for William’s family because .
2. William found instructions for a windmill in a book called .
3. When he started to build his windmill, many people in his village .
4. He knew that he could build the windmill because .
5. After William built his first windmill, people came to his house to .
6. William’s second windmill was able to .

C Critical Thinking: Making Connections. Complete the chart below. Fill in the missing problems
and solutions.

Problems
P1 William couldn’t afford to go to school.
P2 William couldn’t read the book about windmills because he didn’t know much English.
P3 The village needed more water.
P4 Other people wanted to build windmills but didn’t know how.
P5......................................................................................................
Solutions
S5 William went to a junkyard.
S1......................
S2......................
S3.......................
S4.............................

II. Put the verbs in brackets into the correct tense.

1. I ..................the dentist tomorrow.-see


2. I am very tired. I.................the house all morning.-clean
3. Someone ...............all the cake, there is none left in the fridge.-eat
4. I usually .........to school by car, but today my father...............me there.-go/drive
5. Where........you.........your holiday last year?-spend
6. When mother arrived home, I...................dinner.-already/cook
7. I think I...............some chicken soup, I am not feeling very well.-have
8. Look at him! He..................off his bike!-fall
9. The train..........at 4 o`clock this afternoon.-arrive
10. They...........through the woods when suddenly a wolf..........them.-walk/attack
11. Let me tell you about my plans. I..............a new house and move out of this town.-buy
12. This cake..........awful.-taste
.......it ..........any sugar in it?-have
13. How long..........you..........Jack?-know
14. I was all wet when I arrived home yesterday. No wonder, since it................all day long.-rain
15. They...................the match.-probably/win

III. What’s the World’s Greatest Invention?

Some inventions—like the washing machine and wheel—make everyday life easier. Some, like the
medicine penicillin, save lives. Others—like wireless technology and the Internet—changed the way we
communicate.Make a list of 3 inventions and give arguments to support your choice.

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