Exam practice

The picture shows how our human family changed over millions of years. The oldest, Australopithecus afarensis, lived in East Africa about 3.85 to 2.95 million years ago. The famous skeleton called Lucy, found in Ethiopia, is one of them. It already walked on two legs, but its brain was only about a third the size of ours. Homo habilis, the “handy man”, came later and is linked with early stone tools. Homo erectus had long legs like ours, made hand axes, used fire, and was the first of our relatives to spread out of Africa, into Asia. The Neanderthals, Homo neanderthalensis, lived in Europe and western Asia in the cold of the Ice Age. Last come we, Homo sapiens, who appeared in Africa about 300,000 years ago. Over this long time, our relatives became more upright, their brains grew bigger, and their tools got better.

• a.It is a calendar stone: the great Sun Stone (often called the Aztec Calendar Stone). Around its face are the signs of the twenty days of the calendar, so people long thought it was a calendar to read the date from.
• b.It was carved by the Aztecs (the Mexica), who ruled central Mexico from their city of Tenochtitlan, today Mexico City. The calendar on it, though, is much older: it was developed by the peoples of Mesoamerica, the Olmec and the Maya among them, who shared the same way of counting days.

• a.drought: v.
• b.excel: iii.
• c.hieroglyph: ii.
• d.dominant: vii.
• e.concentration: vi.
• f.invasion: i.
• g.excavation: iv.

Across: 2. SUCCESSION 4. DOWNFALL 5. THOROUGH 6. ALLIANCE
Down: 1. CHAOS 3. ELABORATE 7. EXHAUST
Some answer keys give successor for 2 Across. But the grid has ten squares, and its ninth letter is the O of CHAOS: S-U-C-C-E-S-S-I-O-N. The text has hereditary succession, and a succession is “a number of people or things that follow each other in time or order”.

Read the first sentence of each paragraph: it usually tells you its topic. Paragraph II names a list of countries; Paragraph III divides them into three sub-areas.

• a.I: iii. (agriculture, pottery, writing, calendars, mathematics, architecture)
• b.II: iv. (the Yucatán, Guatemala, Belize, parts of Mexico, Honduras and El Salvador)
• c.III: v. (the three sub-areas: northern lowlands, southern lowlands, southern highlands)
• d.IV: i. (the earliest Maya were farmers)
• e.V: ii. (40 cities of 5,000 to 50,000 people; up to 2 million in all)
• f.VI: vi. (gods of nature, god-like kings, ceremonies)
• g.VII: viii. (from the late eighth century the cities were abandoned one by one)
• h.VIII: vii. (constant warfare between competing city-states)

Some answer keys simply pair the lists in order (I with i, II with ii…). Read each paragraph: only VI matches its own number.

In the middle: Why study history? Around it, five branches:

• Who we are: our roots, our family, our community, our country; how Nepal became one nation.
• Learning from mistakes: wars, famines, the Maya using up their land; not repeating them.
• Understanding today: why borders, languages, festivals and laws are as they are.
• Thinking skills: weighing evidence, telling fact from opinion, seeing two sides.
• Respect and care: for other peoples, and for our heritage: Bhaktapur’s Durbar Square, Lumbini, old manuscripts.

To a friend: “History tells us where we came from. The Maya stripped their forests and fought endless wars, and their cities emptied. If we know that story, we can see the warning in our own landslides and quarrels.”

There used to be a field in front of the village, but now it is filled with houses.
There used to be only a few houses, but now there are hundreds of them.
There used to be a railway line through the valley, but now we can’t see it.
The village used to be quiet, but now it is a busy town.
People used to grow crops here, but now there is hardly any farmland.
There didn’t use to be any large buildings, but now there is a big red one in the middle.
There didn’t use to be a pond, but now there is one with a park beside it.
The hills used to look empty from the village, but now new buildings climb up them.

There are two pairs of goats: the brown goat with the white goat, and the white goat with the patched one. Tell one pair’s story, then the other’s.

1. middle right · 2. top right · 3. bottom left · 4. top left · 5. middle left · 6. bottom right

(You can also tell the second pair first: top left, middle left, bottom right, then middle right, top right, bottom left. Many tellers end with the wise goats, so the story ends with the lesson.)

Once, a narrow log lay across a fast river. One morning a brown goat stepped onto it from one bank, and a white goat from the other. They met in the middle. “Go back, I was here first!” said the brown goat. “Never! You go back!” said the white one. Neither would give way, so they lowered their heads and began to fight. They pushed and butted until, with a great splash, both fell into the river, and the water carried them away.
A few days later, two other goats met in the middle of the same log. They looked at each other, and at the river below. “We can’t pass, and we can’t turn round,” said one. “If we fight, we will both fall. Let me lie down, and you walk over me.” She lay down flat, and her friend stepped carefully over her back. Then each went safely on her way.
Moral: It is wiser to cooperate than to fight; in a quarrel where nobody gives way, everybody loses.

Match each old statement with the statement today that tells how it changed. I’m becomes used to be, and I’ve got becomes used to have.

• a.She used to travel a lot, but she doesn’t go away much these days.
• b.She used to play the piano, but she hasn’t played it for years.
• c.She used to be very lazy, but she works very hard these days.
• d.She didn’t use to like cheese, but she eats a lot of cheese now.
• e.She used to have a dog, but it died two years ago.
• f.She used to be a hotel receptionist, but she works in a bookshop now.
• g.She used to have lots of friends, but she doesn’t know many people these days.
• h.She never used to read newspapers, but she reads one every day now.
• i.She didn’t use to drink tea, but she likes it now.
• j.She used to go to a lot of parties, but she hasn’t been to one for ages.

• a.I used to live with my parents.
• b.Did you use to swim in the river every summer?
• c.He never used to smoke. (or: He didn’t use to smoke.)
• d.I used to play tennis at school.
• e.Villagers used to walk for hours to reach the nearest health post.
• f.There used to be a dense forest around the village.
• g.What did you use to do in your childhood?
• h.I didn’t use to write stories.
• i.Did people use to travel by airplane?
• j.Where did you use to go to deposit your money?

The Fox and the Stork (its usual name in Aesop’s fables). Others that work: The Trickster Tricked, Dinner for Two, As You Sow, So Shall You Reap. A good title is short, makes the reader curious, and fits the whole story, not just one part of it.

Long ago, a brave king ruled a small mountain kingdom. His enemies were strong, and they attacked again and again. Six times the king led his soldiers into battle, and six times he was defeated. At last, with only a few men left, he fled and hid in a dark cave in the hills.
Tired and hopeless, he lay on the cold floor, thinking of giving up for good. Then he noticed a small spider. It was trying to climb the wet wall of the cave to reach its web. Halfway up it slipped and fell. It tried again, and fell again. Six times it fell, and six times it climbed back. The king watched, holding his breath. On the seventh try, the spider reached the top.
“If a tiny spider can try seven times,” said the king to himself, “so can I.” He left the cave, gathered his scattered soldiers, and gave them new courage. For the seventh time, he attacked his enemies. This time he won, and his kingdom was free again.
Moral: Never give up. If at first you don’t succeed, try, try again.

Two friends, Kushal and Nabin, were walking through a forest on their way to a fair. Kushal had always said, “Whatever happens, I’ll stand by you.” Suddenly a huge bear came out from behind the bushes. Kushal ran to the nearest tree and climbed it quickly, without a word to his friend. Nabin could not climb. Remembering that bears are said to leave a dead body alone, he lay down on the ground and held his breath.
The bear came up to him. It sniffed his face, his arms and his legs, and put its nose to his ear. Nabin did not move. At last the bear decided he was dead, and walked slowly away into the forest.
When it was gone, Kushal climbed down, laughing. “I saw the bear whisper in your ear,” he said. “What did it say?” Nabin got up and brushed off the dust. “It gave me some good advice,” he said. “It told me: beware of friends who run away in danger.” And he walked on alone.
Moral: A friend in need is a friend indeed. True friends stand by us in danger.

• a.The first is a Nepali 1,000-rupee note, issued by Nepal Rastra Bank; the second a Nepali coin (a two-rupee coin); the third a US 100-dollar note. The rupee is the currency (the money) of Nepal; the dollar is the currency of the United States.
• b.Without money, we would have to barter: swap things directly. A farmer who wanted shoes would have to find a shoemaker who wanted rice, at the same time, and agree how much rice a pair of shoes is worth. Trading would be slow and difficult, saving would be hard (rice rots, goats get sick), and big buildings, banks and wages as we know them couldn’t exist.

a. reign b. precede c. regulate (in the text as regulated) d. crudely e. fringe (in the text as fringed) f. legacy g. fiat h. sovereign i. intrinsic
Some answer keys give carelessly for d and frame for e. Neither is in the text: the coins were “crudely shaped like beans”, and the leather money was “fringed”.

They used barter: they exchanged one product directly for another.

In Mesopotamia, between 3000 and 2000 BCE, temples were used to store grain and other valuables used in trade, as banks keep money today. This is the earliest evidence of banking.

Cowrie shells were similar in size, small and durable, so they were easy to count and carry and they lasted a long time.

They were issued in the reign of King Alyattes (610–560 BCE). They were made of electrum, a natural mixture of gold and silver, were crudely shaped like beans, and carried the royal symbol, a lion. His son Croesus later made separate gold and silver coins.
Some answer keys describe them as coins of gold and silver with a different design on each side. The text says they were of electrum, with the lion on them.

Because governments could issue fiat money (money with no intrinsic value) at will, and some printed so much that their money became almost worthless. Under the gold standard, a unit of money was kept equal to a fixed amount of gold. This stopped governments from issuing too much money and increased confidence in international trade.

Besides notes and coins, digital payments (cards, mobile banking, QR codes, wallets on the phone) and virtual currencies such as bitcoin.

I think cash will become rare in the next twenty years, though it may not disappear. Already, people in Kathmandu pay for momos by scanning a QR code, and my uncle in Qatar sends money home in seconds through an app. Soon our phones, watches, or even our faces may be our wallets. Many central banks are studying digital currencies of their own, digital notes issued by the government. Shopping will move further online, and machines may pay each other, a car paying for its own parking. But there are risks: people without phones or internet, mostly the old and the poor in remote villages, could be left out, and digital money can be stolen by hackers and scammers. So I think cash should stay, for those who need it, as the money everyone can use.

• a.Three things I remember best: climbing the guava tree in our yard and eating the fruit before it was ripe; my grandmother’s stories by the fire on winter nights; and flying kites from our roof every Dashain with my cousins.
• b.Sometimes, yes. A child has no exams and no worries, plays all day and is cared for by everyone. But I also like being older: I can understand more, go places on my own and make my own choices. So I would like to visit my childhood for a day, but not to stay there.

• a.was born
• b.peeping in (it “came peeping in at morn”)
• c.soon (“He never came a wink too soon”; early means the same)
• d.red and white
• e.his birthday
• f.farther off

• a.i. the lilacs (“The lilacs where the robin built”)
• b.iii. laburnum (“The tree is living yet!”)
• c.iii. like the swallow (he thought the air rushed past him as fresh as it does past swallows on the wing)
• d.ii. tulip (he names roses, violets, lily-cups and lilacs)
• e.ii. heavy (“My spirit flew in feathers then, / That is so heavy now”)
• f.ii. They almost touched the sky. (“their slender tops / Were close against the sky”)
• g.i. He is filled with little joy. (“But now ’tis little joy / To know I’m farther off from heav’n / Than when I was a boy”)

Some answer keys give light for e and absolute happiness for g. But his spirit was light, flying in feathers, then, and is heavy now; and the poem ends in sadness: remembering brings him little joy.

My favorite memory is of the first time I saw snow. I was six, and we had gone to my mother’s village in Jumla for Maghe Sankranti. I woke up early and the whole world was white: the roofs, the fields, even the apricot trees. My cousin Lhakpa and I ran outside in our slippers, and our toes went numb, but we didn’t care. We made a little snowman with a pine cone for a nose, and my grandfather laughed and wrapped us both in his big shawl by the fire. We ate hot roasted potatoes with salt and chilli. I still remember the smell of the smoke and the sound of the snow under our feet.

• a.was studying: past continuous (the longer action); phoned: past simple (calls during it).
• b.were playing: past continuous; started: past simple (the storm came during the game).
• c.was working: past continuous; began: past simple.
• d.had finished: past perfect (first); met: past simple (then).
• e.got: past simple; had already left: past perfect (they left before we got there).
• f.was: past simple; ’d ever seen (= had ever seen): past perfect (every movie seen up to then).
• g.had already read: past perfect (first); gave: past simple (then).
• h.had known: past perfect (from their childhood up to a time in the past); were: past simple.
• i.was living: past continuous (in progress in 2005).
• j.called: past simple (a finished action at a stated time).

• a.was waiting (in progress when I arrived)
• b.were you doing (in progress at a past moment; the answer was reading shows it)
• c.Did you go (a finished action; a yes/no question with did)
• d.was dancing (in progress during the party)
• e.were you doing (in progress when the earthquake happened)
• f.fell (one action after another: he pushed, then he fell)
• g.was (be is a state verb, so not was being)
• h.wanted (want is a state verb, so not was wanting)
• i.was doing (in progress when the phone rang)
• j.was working (in progress when I saw him)

The story is in the past, so every present form (happens, hurry, sit, am, catch…) is a mistake. Then decide: is it one finished event (past simple), something in progress (past continuous), or something already over before (past perfect)?

This happened to me when I was in India. I used to go to my office by train. One particular evening, I hurried to my station, but when I reached there, the train had already gone. I bought a newspaper and a packet of biscuits and sat on the bench. While I was reading, a man came and sat down opposite me. There was nothing special about him, except that he was very tall. I was still reading when my eyes caught a very strange sight. The man reached over the table, opened my packet of biscuits, took one, dipped it into his coffee and popped it into his mouth. I couldn’t believe my eyes. But I didn’t want to make a fuss, so I ignored it. I just took a biscuit myself and went back to the newspaper. While I was pretending to be very interested in the news, the man took a second biscuit. After a couple of minutes, I casually put a biscuit in my mouth and decided to leave. I was ready to go when the man stood up and hurriedly left. I folded my newspaper and stood up. And there on the table, where my newspaper had been, was my packet of biscuits.

Plan before you write: three reasons, each with one example, from Nepal if you can. Then one sentence of introduction to say what history is, and one of conclusion to answer the question. Aim for about 250 words.

The Importance of History
History is the study of the past: how people lived, what they built, believed and fought over, and how their world changed. Some students think it is only a list of kings and dates to memorize. I believe every student needs to learn history, because it helps us understand who we are, learn from the past, and think for ourselves.
Firstly, history tells us who we are. Nepal’s temples, festivals, languages and even our national borders all have a story. When we know how the old kingdoms became one Nepal, or why Bhaktapur’s Nyatapola was built, we value our heritage and want to protect it.
Secondly, history lets us learn from mistakes that others have already made. The Maya cut down their forests and fought endless wars, and their great cities were abandoned. The world wars showed where hatred between nations can lead. A people who know such stories are less likely to repeat them.
Moreover, history teaches us to think critically. A historian must ask who wrote a record, and why, and compare it with other evidence. These are the same skills we need today to tell facts from rumors on social media.
However, history should be taught as a living story, through visits to museums, old buildings and the memories of our grandparents, and not as dates to memorize.
In conclusion, history is not about the dead past; it is about understanding the present and shaping a better future. As the saying goes, those who do not learn from history are doomed to repeat it.

• a.In Rupandehi district (of Nepal).
• b.A stone pillar set up by Emperor Ashoka, whose inscription records that the Buddha was born there.
• c.The Indian emperor Ashoka.
• d.pilgrims

• a.Grandmother used to carry water from the stone spout every morning.
• b.There didn’t use to be a road to our village.
• c.Did Tilak use to play football at school?
• d.My brother never used to eat green vegetables. (or didn’t use to eat)

a. was walking (in progress) b. started (the short event) c. had covered (finished before she reached home) d. was making (in progress when she arrived) e. had never seen (never, up to that time)

• a.The museum opens at ten**;** it closes at five.
• b.We visited Janakpur, Dhanusha**;** Gorkha, Gorkha**;** and Ilam, Ilam.
• c.Yasmin wanted to see the excavation**;** however, the site was closed.

The Thirsty Crow
It was a hot summer afternoon, and the fields were dry and cracked. A crow had been flying for hours, looking everywhere for water, and he was so thirsty that he could hardly flap his wings. At last he saw a clay pot under a tree in a farmer’s yard. He flew down, full of hope, but when he looked inside, his heart sank: there was only a little water at the very bottom, and his beak could not reach it. He tried to tip the pot over, but it was too heavy.
The crow did not give up. He sat and thought. Then he noticed the pebbles lying around the yard. One by one, he picked them up and dropped them into the pot. Slowly, the water rose higher and higher, until at last it reached the top. The crow drank until he was full, and flew away happily.
Moral: Where there is a will, there is a way.