P5/6 Comprehension

P5/6 Comprehension
Abraham Lincoln

Abraham Lincoln was one of the greatest American Presidents. He was born in 1809 in the American State of Kentucky. His parents were poor and illiterate farmers. Although Abraham grew up with little education – his entire school attendance was less than a year – he taught himself to read, write and do simple sums.

When Abraham was nine years old, his mother died. His father remarried the following year. The new stepmother was kind and loving. As a result of her encouragement, Abraham developed a love for reading.

When Abraham grew up, he worked in various jobs as a storekeeper, postmaster and surveyor. He also began to study law, qualifying as a lawyer when he was about 25 year old. Abraham was a distinguished and successful lawyer, known for shrewdness and common sense. He was also very fair and honest.

Later, Abraham took an interest in politics. He became President of the United States of America in 1861. During that time, Negroes were slaves in America. Abraham hated slavery as he felt very strongly that everyone has a right to freedom. He worked very hard to abolish slavery. In spite of great opposition and problems, Abraham persevered in his efforts until finally, slavery was abolished.

One evening in 1865, Abraham went to a theatre in Washington C.C. with his wife, Mary. A man called John Booth shot him with a pistol. Abraham died the next morning.

At his funeral procession, thousands of men and women lined the streets to bid farewell to their beloved President whom they knew as courageous, merciful and wise. Even today, many remember Abraham as the President who eradicated the curse of slavery in America.


Answer the following questions in complete sentences.

1.Where was Abraham’s birthplace?
2. What did his parents do for a living?
3. What did his Abraham do for a living initially?
4. Name the qualities that Abraham possessed as a lawyer.
5. Who were the slaves in America?
6. Why did Abraham work hard to abolish slavery?
7. Was it easy for him to achieve this task?
8. How did Abraham die?
9. What is Abraham best remembered for today?
How old was Abraham when he died?

State if the following sentences are “True” or “False”.

1. Abraham taught himself to read and write.
2. Thanks to his stepmother, Abraham began to read widely.
3. In the 19th Century, Negroes and whites alike were slaves.
4. From a successful lawyer, Abraham became a politician.
5. Abraham was well loved as a President but he also had his enemies.

P5- BODMAS

Note: '/' means 'divided by'

(a) (2x3+4)-(3x2)x6=
(b) (15x24)+(9/3)x$5=
(c) (15x9+9)/3x$5=
(d) 15x24+(9/3x$5)=
(e) (15x24)+9/(3x$5)=
(f) 59-(5+27)/4+12=
(g) (570-50)/(16+24)=
(h) 750/5x3=
(i) (18+2)x(30+60)=
(j) 72/4+2=
(k) 80+5x6=
(l) 29-36/3=
(m) 270/5x6+1=
(n) (560+280)/(40-26)=
(o) 5+740/10/2=

P6 Problem Sums Dec '08

1. Ben bought 3 times as many toy cars as game cartridges. He spent $1615 altogether. A game cartridge costs $15 more than the total cost of game cartridges. Find the cost of a game cartridge.

2. Mrs Lin bought 12 pears and 4 apples. Mrs Wang bought 12 apples and 4 pears. Mrs Wang paid $1.60 less than Mrs Lin. If an apple costs 35 cents, how much did a pear cost?

3. Limei went to the market with $48. This amount of money was just enough to buy 4kg of beef and 3 kg of mutton. Limei, however, bought 3kg of beef and 4 kg of mutton and had $1.50 left. Find the cost of 1kg of mutton.

4. Mr Fu paid $404 for some jackets and T-shirts. A jacket cost $20 and a T-shirt was $8 cheaper than the jacket. If he bought 7 more T-shirts than jackets, how many jackets and how many T-shirts did he buy?

5. On tree-planting day, 40 pupils planted some trees. Each boy planted 3 trees and each girl planted 2 trees. The boys planted 30 more trees than the girls. How many boys were there?

6. Box A contains 50-cent coins and Box B contains 20-cent coins. There are 19 more coins in Box B than in Box A. But the amount of money in Box A is $1.30 more than the amount of money in Box B. How much money was there in Box A?

7. A big tank had 890 litres of water. A small tank had 170 litres of water. When an equal amount of money was added to both tanks, the big tank had 3 times as much water as the small tank. How much water was added to each tank?

8. Ann, Ben and Mike spent $566. Ann spent $176 more than Ben and Mike spent $60 less than Ben. How much Ben spend?

9. Jane is thinking of a number. When it is divided by 6, the quotient is a whole number. When it is divided by 9, the quotient is also a whole number. What is the number?

10. Susan wants to arrange her stamps in columns on a card. If she puts 8 stamps in each column, she will have 2 stamps left. If she puts 9 stamps in each column, she will be short of 4 stamps. How many stamps does she have?

P6 Problem Sums Dec '08

P5- Solar System

Rotation of the Earth

• The Earth rotates on its own axis from West to East. 
• The axis is an imaginary line that passes through the North Pole and the South Pole.
• It takes about 24 hours (one day) for Earth to complete one rotation.
• At any one time, one side of the Earth will be facing the Sun.
• The half side of Earth facing the Sun will experience day.
• The other half side of Earth facing away from the Sun will experience night.
• It takes 24 hours for a place on Earth to come back to the same position.
• The rotation of Earth brings about day and night.

The Atmosphere

• The atmosphere is a layer of air surrounding the Earth.
• The atmosphere is important to us in various ways
  

1. It acts as a blanket that retains some heat from the Sun, thus keeping the temperature on Earth fairly steady.
2. It protects Earth from the harmful ultra-violet rays from the Sun.
3. The oxygen in the atmosphere is used for respiration.
4. The carbon dioxide in the atmosphere is used for photosynthesis.
5. The other gases in the atmosphere are required for many other processes.

Importance of the Sun

• The light energy given out by the Sun enables plants to photosynthesize, thus enabling the survival of all living things because all living things depend directly or indirectly on plants for food.
• The light energy given out by the Sun enables animals to see and respond to changes in their surrounding.
• The heat energy given out by the Sun keeps organisms warm and provides a suitable temperature for various life processes to take place.
• The heat energy given out by the Sun enables the evaporation of water, thus ensuring the continuity of the water cycle to provide a continuous source of water supply to the organisms on Earth.

Position of the Earth from the Sun

• If the Earth were nearer to the Sun, the Earth would receive too much heat energy and the temperature would increase drastically. The oceans would dry up and most living things would die because of the heat.
• If the Earth were further from the Sun, the Earth would receive too little heat from the Sun and the temperature would fall. The oceans would freeze and most living things would not be able to survive the cold weather. 

REMINDER: Please read up on this chapter in your science guide book.

P6 - Algebra

To be handed in on 11 nov 2008

Simplify the following:
1. (a) 5a+3a-6a
(b)3a+4b-a-b
(c)5x+7y+3z-2x-4y+z
(d)12xy-13xz+5yz-4xz
(e)3a-4a+5a-7a+4
(f)5ab-1.5ab+0.75bc+0.25cb

2. (a)3a-5a+4a
(b)12a+5b-7a-14b-9a
(c)2p-5q+7r-4p+2q-3r
(d)7abc-4bca+6cba-cba
(e)a+b+c+2b-c+3c+a
(f) 2ab+3bc+5ac-5ba+2cb+5ab

P5 - Composition

Fear



I stood rooted to the ground. My legs turned wobbly and I could not move even an inch. A cold chill ran through my body, sending beads of cold perspiration down my spine. With quivering lips, I muttered in an edgy voice, “What could that be?” Fear engulfed me. My heart thumped. I could feel it coming out from my mouth. I could no longer contain my cowardice and broke into tears.





Anger



I clenched my fists tightly, piercing each fingernail into my palms. I bit my lips and took a deep breath. It was of no use. The raging fury in me gushed out through my mouth, “Put that down!” I could no longer contain my temper. Anger engulfed me, taking away all composure I had. Nothing could put out the wild fire in my chest.





Joy



My eyes glittered in bliss. I was riding on cloud nine, making my way to the top of the world. I had never felt better. I was overwhelmed with euphoria. It was so much excitement that I could not contain my joy anymore. The smile on my face extended and I was grinning from ear to ear. I boasted in glee, “What else can I ask for?” Tears of joy welled up in my eyes.





Sorrow



I had not expected it. Sadness had taken over every part of me. It felt like a dagger stabbing right into my heart. Deep grief engulfed me. Tears of sorrow welled up in my eyes. I tried to hold back the beads of helplessness, but to no avail. Nothing else could seep into my dark world, except for, “Why?” There were no answers and only questions echoed in my vacuumed mind.











Embarrassment



I flushed. “Does anyone have a paper bag to spare?” I mumbled in complete embarrassment. How I wished that I could hide myself somewhere to save all this humiliation. Even if it were just a paper bag, it would suffice. Beads of cold perspiration gathered at my forehead. I had never felt worse. Little did I expect myself to be caught in such a situation.





Regret/Guilt



All I needed was a second chance to undo the wrong deed. “Look before you leap, child.” My mother’s advice fell on my deaf ears. My heart ached. It felt like I had just stabbed myself with a dagger. I had only myself to blame and no one would bother to nurse the aching heart of a wrongdoer. Tears of guilt and remorse trickled down my sunken cheeks. I truly regretted my foolish act.