This set practises five skills: scanning a condition, separating dates from deadlines, tracking references, choosing the right detail when options reuse words, and explaining why a plausible option is unsupported. The questions get harder as you go.
Answer on paper first. Then open each answer and compare your reasoning, not only the final choice. The last section tells you which lesson to revisit for each kind of error.
Passage A: Sunrise Community Hall
Booking rules. The hall can be hired for private events from 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. Residents of Taman Sunrise receive a 20% discount, but only if they show their resident card when paying the deposit. The RM100 deposit is refundable unless the hall is left dirty. Music must stop at 9.30 p.m. Bookings must be made at least 14 days before the event. Cancellations made more than 7 days before the event receive a full refund of the hire fee.
Q1. Until what time may music be played?
Show answer
9.30 p.m. The hall may be used until 10 p.m., but the rule “Music must stop at 9.30 p.m.” is the one that answers the question.
Q2. Mr Tan lives in Taman Sunrise but forgets his resident card when he pays the deposit. Does he receive the discount?
Show answer
No. The discount applies “only if they show their resident card when paying the deposit”. Living in Taman Sunrise is one condition, showing the card is the second, and Mr Tan meets only the first.
Q3. What happens to the RM100 deposit if the hall is left dirty?
Show answer
It is not refunded. The deposit is refundable “unless the hall is left dirty”, so dirt removes the refund.
Q4. An event is planned for 30 June. What is the latest date on which the booking can be made?
Show answer
16 June. “At least 14 days before” means 14 days or more. 30 − 14 = 16, so 16 June is the last day.
Q5. Mrs Lee cancels on 25 June for an event on 30 June. Does the notice promise her a full refund of the hire fee?
Show answer
No. Full refunds are promised only for cancellations made more than 7 days before. From 25 to 30 June is 5 days. The notice does not say what happens in this case, so she should ask the hall.
Passage B: The school fruit stall
Last year the school council replaced the old vending machines with a fruit stall. It was run by Year 11 volunteers, who bought the fruit from a local market each morning. Sales were slow at first because the prices were higher than the cafeteria’s, but they picked up after the council added a loyalty card. This meant students got a free banana after ten purchases. By December, the stall was selling about twice as many items as in its first month.
Q6. What does “It” refer to in “It was run by Year 11 volunteers”?
Show answer
The fruit stall. The previous sentence names the vending machines and the stall, and substitution decides: the volunteers ran the stall, not the old machines.
Q7. What does “This” refer to in “This meant students got a free banana after ten purchases”?
Show answer
The council’s decision to add a loyalty card. “This” points back to the whole action in the previous clause, not to one noun.
Q8. Why were sales slow at first? A The Year 11 volunteers lacked experience. B The prices were higher than those in the cafeteria. C The fruit was bought at a local market. D The vending machines had been removed.
Show answer
B. The text says sales were slow “because the prices were higher than the cafeteria’s”.
A is not mentioned. C and D reuse words from the passage (“market”, “vending machines”) but are not given as the reason.
Q9. Which statement is not supported by the text? A Students could earn a free banana. B In December the stall sold about twice as many items as in its first month. C The cafeteria lowered its prices.
Show answer
C. A is supported by the loyalty card sentence. B is supported by the last sentence. The cafeteria’s prices are mentioned only as a comparison, and the text never says they changed, so C is not stated.
Q10. Hand-in details are given in a separate notice: “Volunteer forms for next term’s stall must be handed to Ms Aida by Wednesday 12 November. Training is on 19 and 20 November, and the stall reopens on 24 November.” A student hands in a form on Thursday 13 November. Is this in time, and which date is the deadline?
Show answer
No, it is one day late. The deadline is Wednesday 12 November, marked by “must be handed … by”. The dates 19 and 20 November are training days and 24 November is the reopening, so none of them is the deadline.
If you got these wrong
| Where you went wrong | What it usually means | Go to |
|---|---|---|
| Q1 to Q3: you chose the main fact and missed the limit | You stopped reading at the first clause | Scan a notice for a condition |
| Q4, Q5, Q10: wrong date or wrong day | You matched a date by position, not by its role | Separate a date from a deadline |
| Q6, Q7: wrong noun or idea | You picked the nearest noun without substituting | Track a reference across two sentences |
| Q8: chose a true but off-question option | You matched words, not the question word | Identify a correct detail when distractors reuse words |
| Q9: chose a statement that sounds likely | You used general knowledge instead of the text | Explain why a plausible option is not supported |
Record each error in the mistake log and retest queue, so the next review targets the pattern. The summary selection studio and writing revision compare view give extra practice with selecting evidence and checking your own wording. Return to the module overview for the study order.
If the same error type keeps returning, the next step may be a live conversation about how you read. That is something our teachers can do in online one-to-one English as a Second Language tuition.