Final Exam for the tenth graders

Dear native English speakers,
I've made another exam. It's for the tenth graders.
Some problems are from the other exam because I used the same exercises in their lessons.


１年 COMMUNICATION ENGLISH I 学年末考査

問１ 次の意味の英語を下の選択肢から選んで書きなさい。
各1点 計10点 綴りミスは0点
①海 ②空 ③川 ④雲 ⑤太陽 ⑥湖 ⑦森 ⑧虹 ⑨山 ⑩水

[ lake / water / sky / sun / rainbow / mountain / sea / forest / cloud / river ]

問２ 次の英文を読んで、あとの問いに答えなさい。 40点

In the sky, hundreds of birds are ①( (a) fly (b) flying (c) flew (d) flown ) in a group.
Under the sea, thousands (ア)[ swimming / are / of / fish ] together. (あ)They look like
one large living thing. ②( (a) This (b) That (c) There (d) Here ) is no leader among them.
However, they do not bump into ③( (a) each (b) every (c) one (d) some ) other.
(い)How is this possible?
④( (a) On (b) In (c) At (d) By ) fact, (イ)[ explained / by / is / this ] three simple rules.
(う)They always move toward the center of the group. ⑤( (a) Where (b) How
(c) What (d) When ) they are too close to each other, they separate. They move
(ウ)[ speed / at / same / the ].

(え)These three rules are applied in many areas. ⑥( (a) In (b) For (c) At (d) On )
example, a Japanese car company developed robot cars. The cars run in a group. Like
a school of fish, they ⑦( (a) not (b) aren't (c) doesn't (d) never ) crash.
Another example is ⑧( (a) see (b) saw (c) seen (d) seeing ) in computer graphics.
An American engineer used the three rules ⑨( (a) in (b) for (c) to (d) at )
design a program. The program creates an artificial flock of birds. It ⑩( (a) move
(b) moves (c) moving (d) is moving ) like a real flock. Now this technology (エ)[ in / is
/ movies / used ].

(1)次の意味の語を本文から探して書きなさい。 各１点 計10点 綴りミスは0点
①設計する ②人工的な ③分かれる、離れる ④説明する ⑤開発する
⑥単純な ⑦会社 ⑧中心 ⑨創造する、作り上げる ⑩科学技術

(2)上の①～⑩の( )の中から、適切な語句を記号で選びなさい。 各１点 計10点

(3)(あ)～(え)を和訳しなさい。 各３点 計12点

(4)(ア)～(エ)の[ ]の中の語を正しい語順に並べ替えなさい。各２点 計8点 綴りミスは1点

問３ ( )にあてはまるものを記号で選びなさい。 各1点 計10点
①( ) you going to Tom's house tomorrow?
(ア) Do (イ) Did (ウ) Are (エ) Is

②My grandfather sometimes ( ) to the park.
(ア) go (イ) goes (ウ) going (エ) gone

③( ) your daughter a college student?
(ア) Do (イ) Does (ウ) Are (エ) Is

④( ) your mother cooking dinner now?
(ア) Do (イ) Does (ウ) Are (エ) Is

⑤That boy ( ) French very well.
(ア) speak (イ) talk (ウ) speaks (エ) talks

⑥My grandparents ( ) to Hawaii very often.
(ア) go (イ) goes (ウ) going (エ) gone

⑦English is ( ) in Canada.
(ア) speak (イ) spoke (ウ) spoken (エ) speaking

⑧These cars ( ) yesterday.
(ア) was used (イ) were used (ウ) is used (エ) are used

⑨The party was ( ) last week.
(ア) hold (イ) held (ウ) holds (エ) holding

⑩That tower ( ) ten years ago.
(ア) build (イ) built (ウ) was build (エ) was built

問４ 日本語の意味になるように、[ ]の語句を正しい順に並べかえなさい。文頭の語は
大文字にすること。
各2点 計10点 綴りミスは1点
①あなたは今どこにいますか。[ you / are / where / now]?
②私はたいてい７時に起きます。I [ usually / at / up / seven / get ].
③彼は毎年夏にハワイに行く。He [ summer / goes / Hawaii / every / to ].
④あの家は去年建てられた。That house [ year / built / last / was ].
⑤あなたの息子は10歳ですか。[ son / ten / old / your / is / years ]?

問５ 日本語の意味に合うように( )に1語ずつ入れなさい。It'sのような短縮形も
1語とする。 各１点 計30点 綴りミスは0点
①この車は昨日使われなかった。This car ( )( ) yesterday.
②私はそのパーティに招待されている。I ( )( )( ) the party.
③あなたの祖父母はどこに住んでおられますか。( )( ) your ( ) live?
④メアリーは高校生です。Mary ( ) a high school ( ).
⑤メアリーの母親は毎年ハワイに行く。( ) mother ( )( ) Hawaii every year.
⑥これらの手紙は去年書かれた。These letters ( )( ) last year.
⑦あなたはよくテレビを見ますか。( ) you ( )( ) TV?
⑧その犬はみんなに愛されている。That dog ( ) loved ( ) everyone.
⑨私は今大阪にいます。( )( ) Osaka now.
⑩あなたは今英語の勉強をしているのですか。( ) you ( ) English now?
⑪私のおじは時々この公園に来る。My ( )( )( ) to this park.
⑫私は家で英語を話している。I ( ) English ( )( ).
問題は以上です。

hirashin said:

The cars run in a group.

Click to expand...

If a car is running, that means the engine is operating. The same meaning as when a machine or an organization "runs". It doesn't mean movement at all, which is clearly your intention.

I suggest, "The cars drive in a group." or "The cars drive as a group."

Or "move" instead of "drive" would also work.

I didn't see any mistakes. The only thing I'd question is whether it's good to have two questions that interfere with the text so close together in the passage, i.e.,
④( (a) On (b) In (c) At (d) By ) fact, (イ)[ explained / by / is / this ], which looks confusing even for a native English speaker.

Thanks for the help, Chris.

SomeCallMeChris said:

If a car is running, that means the engine is operating. The same meaning as when a machine or an organization "runs". It doesn't mean movement at all, which is clearly your intention.

I suggest, "The cars drive in a group." or "The cars drive as a group."

Or "move" instead of "drive" would also work.

Click to expand...

Oh, really? Then I'll tell it to the publisher of the textbook to correct it.
You can't say "This car runs the fastest of all", either. Am I right?

Lothor said:

I didn't see any mistakes. The only thing I'd question is whether it's good to have two questions that interfere with the text so close together in the passage, i.e.,
④( (a) On (b) In (c) At (d) By ) fact, (イ)[ explained / by / is / this ], which looks confusing even for a native English speaker.

Click to expand...

Thank you for the help, Lothor. I appreciate it. I hate to say this, but I can't give exams any more.
The 3rd semester was over today because of the corona virus confusion.

hirashin said:

Thank you for the help, Lothor. I appreciate it. I hate to say this, but I can't give exams any more.
The 3rd semester was over today because of the corona virus confusion.

Click to expand...

You can save the exam for next year. I hope that your students are OK. How are they taking the coronavirus disruption?
By the way, when you say grade 10, do you mean 1st year high school?

Some points from an ole' country boy, if y'all don't mind.

Firstly, cars do not drive. People drive.

And it is correct that we do not refer to cars running in a group, as if they are horses; or other such living creatures. We can refer to a pack of cars. Or a formation of cars. A line of cars is possible.

And it is correct that "fastest of all" is horrible vocabulary usage.

But most of. 問２ is so absolutely horrid that I would . . ., I don't know how to be polite about what I see up there, so best I stop at this point.

Lothor said:

You can save the exam for next year. I hope that your students are OK. How are they taking the coronavirus disruption?

Click to expand...

I'm afraid I can't save them because I am going to quit the school this month.

I guess people are too worried about the virus. Very few people have been infected until now.
No young people have been killed. I think it's dangerous only for old people.

By the way, when you say grade 10, do you mean 1st year high school?

Click to expand...

Yes. They are in the first year of high school but I usually teach the basics
of English.

hirashin said:

You can't say "This car runs the fastest of all", either. Am I right?

Click to expand...

Hmm. I'm not sure but I think you can, kind of.

It doesn't sound wrong exactly, but like something from a children's book as if you were deliberately avoiding a more natural adult phrasing like, "This car has the highest top speed in its class."

You wouldn't use that sentence in ordinary conversation anyway.

TGI-ECT said:

Firstly, cars do not drive. People drive.

Click to expand...

Self-driving cars do in fact drive themselves. I mean, self-driving cars are still a fairly new thing so I suppose it remains to be seen what the normal usage is for talking about how they behave but it doesn't seem wrong to me to say that robotic cars are driving in a group together.

TGI-ECT said:

And it is correct that "fastest of all" is horrible vocabulary usage.

But most of. 問２ is so absolutely horrid that I would . . ., I don't know how to be polite about what I see up there, so best I stop at this point.

Click to expand...

While I might tweak some of the phrasing, I understand the goal of the questions to be specific to eliciting the students to use specific grammar points, and his attempts are nowhere near as bad as you suggest.

If you aren't sure how to be polite, supportive, or helpful, perhaps you should stop a little sooner?

When teaching language one should be very careful and one way to judge "careful" is whether a particular phrasing or usage would be used on one's term paper at the upper levels of education, where the professors are as strict as one can get.

So, nice gaijin, would you use the expression "fastest of all" on a term paper, if the term paper was not on the topic of vocabulary usage and you were introducing that phrase with an explanatory intent?

And the "stop a little sooner" begs the question of explaining where I should have stopped? And I'll thank you for that explanation. I've lived in nations under repressive regimes, and fully understanding where the borders are can be very helpful in such a social environment; so that deserves the thank you from myself to you nice gaijin, if you wish to help us in this social environment fully understand the parameters your committee has set in the backroom for enforcement out here on the main board.

hirashin said:

"This car runs the fastest of all"

Click to expand...

Oh, it occurs to me the better version of this sentence is very simple. "This car is the fastest".
"of all" is a unnecessary and contributes to that "children's book" sound of the sentence that I mentioned earlier. If it's the fastest car in the world, then you would say that, and if it's the fastest car out of a particular set, you ought to be specific.

"Fastest of all" is strangely non-specific, but is used sometimes in storytelling as shorthand for "fastest of all the animals in the forest" or "fastest of all the children in the village" or that sort of thing.

Also, on further reflection, cars are said to "drive" all the time, even when not literally doing so themselves.

"I saw a car drive slowly past the old farm" is a perfectly ordinary sentence, as is "A lot of cars drive far too fast through the center of town."

You are making a good reference to the storytelling style that might be used where that sort of expression could pass muster, in a manner of putting it. But that up there I was given to believe was a language test and on a language test of that sort one does not use a storytelling style.

TGI-ECT said:

When teaching language one should be very careful and one way to judge "careful" is whether a particular phrasing or usage would be used on one's term paper at the upper levels of education, where the professors are as strict as one can get.

So, nice gaijin, would you use the expression "fastest of all" on a term paper, if the term paper was not on the topic of vocabulary usage and you were introducing that phrase with an explanatory intent?

And the "stop a little sooner" begs the question of explaining where I should have stopped? And I'll thank you for that explanation. I've lived in nations under repressive regimes, and fully understanding where the borders are can be very helpful in such a social environment; so that deserves the thank you from myself to you nice gaijin, if you wish to help us in this social environment fully understand the parameters your committee has set in the backroom for enforcement out here on the main board.

Click to expand...

I understand how difficult it can be to try to teach a second language, as I've tutored in Japanese and worked alongside Japanese and Korean teachers of English. I recognize the efforts that hirashin is making in his prolific posts, and he's constantly striving to do a better job. I applaud him for that. ESL/EFL education is not an easy gig when you yourself didn't grow up in that language, and though he's not perfect his materials and test questions have improved over time--I would like to think with the generous help of this forum's users. I'm not defending an unnatural phrasing, but the way in which it is being addressed.

We have but a few native Japanese members, and they're often too polite to defend themselves when their honest efforts and requests for help are met with derisive remarks. I'm not always inclined to be as passive, and it has nothing to do with my role here. You can bristle at the perceived rebuke, or you can choose to ignore the suggestion; this isn't a totalitarian regime. You also don't need to kowtow to me in insincere obsequiousness. But if you don't think your phrasing couldn't have been more constructive, perhaps you yourself could use some refresher courses on English communication.

I am not sure exactly how I am allowed to approach this situation, especially after the last time there was some trouble like this.

I mean, your last sentence, nice gaijin - - - just what exactly am I to make of that?

You know, I am making of it that maybe I am not welcome here. In fact, that only a certain style of communications will not be lambasted by a moderation team member, even if that team member makes a statement like -=-=- "Oh this is my own view, not the team view."

Man! That last sentence was RUDE - RUDE - RUDE!! I think you are trying to push certain buttons so I will write some profanity and then you can ban me, right? I mean, we study what you are doing and there can be no other conclusion. Well, it is true we could view the policy here as be so, so, so sweet to certain types and kick some others in the butt and then make claims of - - - -

Well, I did not use profanity. I did not insult anyone. I was not rude. YOU WERE!!!

TGI-ECT said:

I am not sure exactly how I am allowed to approach this situation, especially after the last time there was some trouble like this.

I mean, your last sentence, nice gaijin - - - just what exactly am I to make of that?

You know, I am making of it that maybe I am not welcome here. In fact, that only a certain style of communications will not be lambasted by a moderation team member, even if that team member makes a statement like -=-=- "Oh this is my own view, not the team view."

Man! That last sentence was RUDE - RUDE - RUDE!! I think you are trying to push certain buttons so I will write some profanity and then you can ban me, right? I mean, we study what you are doing and there can be no other conclusion. Well, it is true we could view the policy here as be so, so, so sweet to certain types and kick some others in the butt and then make claims of - - - -

Well, I did not use profanity. I did not insult anyone. I was not rude. YOU WERE!!!

Click to expand...

Nobody is looking to provoke anyone for a banning, and I for one am pleased that you are back on the forum.
Hirashin's tests are testing specific grammatical structures for low-ability students who are not going to notice slightly awkward phrasing, and writing tests even in your own language has many pitfalls. I think that nicegaijin is taking issue with

"And it is correct that "fastest of all" is horrible vocabulary usage.

But most of. 問２ is so absolutely horrid that I would . . ., I don't know how to be polite about what I see up there, so best I stop at this point. "

which could have been expressed much more diplomatically.

We are often blind to how the things we casually throw out there are perceived. That last sentence, the sting in the tail, was intended to provoke a reaction, but not so I could entrap you into violating the rules and getting you in trouble, but to illustrate the indignation I felt on hirashin's behalf when I read those comments.

You are welcome to be upset with me; my words offended you, and you didn't escalate it further but you explained how you perceived my message clearly. I hope you'll exercise some more empathy than I showed to you.

I don't fully understand what the people here are saying but I hope that people exchange their messages peacefully.