19th INTERNATIONAL KANGAROO LINGUISTIC CONTEST 2022

Student Level (Class 11, 12 & 13)

Time Allowed: 60 minutes

3 – Point Questions

Read the text. For each question (1-5), choose the correct answer.

THE UGLY HISTORY OF TEA

Tea may be considered one of the marks of civilization but, once pulled aside by
the historian, the veil of gentility and civilization that tea wears reveals a dark
history. To contemporary tea drinkers nothing seems more peaceful than drinking
tea but the rise of tea consumption in Europe is stained with blood and corruption.

In times of trouble and heartache or after a draining day, a nice cup of tea provides
us with caffeine, perking us up while at the same time soothing us with its
healthful polyphenols. In 1678 the Dutch physician and botanist William Ten
Rhijne, who was working for the Dutch East India Company post in Japan, recorded
and exported the first specimens of the tea plant to the West. Missionaries and
diplomats further popularized the plant by word of mouth, but apart from the
habituated few, tea was prohibitively dear and therefore hard to come by in the
beginning. Seafarers returning to England from the East Indies charged an arm and
a leg for minuscule quantities.

The rising taxation imposed by the government on this increasingly popular and
highly profitable commodity meant that the temptation of smuggling loomed
large, so brandy, tobacco and tea became popular goods on an expanding black
market. It was calculated that three million pounds of tea a year had been
smuggled during the first half of the eighteenth century which amounted to thrice
the amount of legal sales, which did not sit well with the government. Violence
often resulted from the clash between rival smuggling groups and tax officers
and tea-infused crime was a frequent and often stomach-churning occurrence.
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 19th INTERNATIONAL KANGAROO LINGUISTIC CONTEST 2022
Student Level (Class 11, 12 & 13)
Time Allowed: 60 minutes

Despite attempts to clamp down on smuggling, it became a mainstay of commerce

in 18th century England and the distribution of smuggled tea was as methodically
organized as that of legal tea. Women were often used as mules because the
attire imposed on them by the fashion of the time made them ideal candidates for
surreptitiously carrying even the most voluminous of parcels. As the polite
society was gingerly sipping their newly discovered status symbol, they turned a
blind eye to the blood and sweat it took to enjoy it.

1. The effect of tea on the human body is ..... .

A) paradoxical B) inexplicable C) toxic

D) sedative E) unknown

2. According to the text, tea was popularized through ..... .

A) advertisements
B) government campaigns
C) recommendations by doctors
D) informal networks
E) poetry

3. Initially, tea was ..... .

A) unaffordable for the general public

B) widely available
C) illegal
D) addictive
E) very cheap

4. The smuggling of tea meant that ..... .

A) violence in England declined

B) drinking tea became dangerous
C) tea declined in popularity
D) tax officers were corrupt
E) the government was losing money

5. Women were ideal smugglers because of their ..... .

A) skills B) patience C) innocent looks

D) outfits E) lack of freedom

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 19th INTERNATIONAL KANGAROO LINGUISTIC CONTEST 2022
Student Level (Class 11, 12 & 13)
Time Allowed: 60 minutes

For each group of sentences (6-10), choose the word which can be used in
all three gaps.

6. Trying to ..... such a difficult language is no easy task for most Europeans.
I will draw up the ..... copy and you will photocopy it.
You are almost 30 now; you should learn to ..... your own destiny.

A) appropriate B) act C) master

D) command E) aim

7. Please handle the item with great care because its sides are very ..... .
In this area resources are ..... on the ground.
I really don’t know where he is; he seems to have disappeared into ..... air.

A) sensitive B) rough C) short

D) fine E) thin

8. Mike was caught in the poverty ..... ; he couldn't take this low-paid job as it
would mean losing his substantial welfare benefit.
I would be more careful if I were you; perhaps they have set a ..... you may
fall in.
Maybe we can find the same key chain in another shop; this one looks like a
tourist ..... .

A) gap B) abyss C) hole

D) trap E) puzzle

9. A water pipe ..... in the city centre causing panic among the residents.
He simply ..... into tears when they brought the news to him.
The river ..... its banks last week and we are now raising money to help those
affected.

A) burst B) cracked C) exploded

D) blew E) ruptured

10. They were arrested at 5 a.m. but a couple of hours later they were ..... due to a
lack of evidence.
The band ..... a new single last Monday.
Last year the factory ..... tons of chemical waste into the sea.

A) let B) released C) freed

D) emptied E) delivered

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 19th INTERNATIONAL KANGAROO LINGUISTIC CONTEST 2022
Student Level (Class 11, 12 & 13)
Time Allowed: 60 minutes

4 – Point Questions

Read the text. For each question (11-20), choose the best answer.

NINA SIMONE
Dubbed “The High Priestess of Soul,” Nina Simone
was a singer, pianist and civil rights activist born
on February 21, 1933, in North Carolina. Her
parents were devout believers and her childhood
home was filled with music. Simone’s mom
encouraged her musical ..... (11), so Simone took
up the piano and trained as a classical performer.
She was a highly ambitious teenager and
graduated from Allen high school as the ..... (12).

She then earned a ..... (13) for a program at the

famous Juilliard School in New York City and
hoped to go on to study at Curtis but was .....
(14) entry. In interviews, she often stated that
she felt that her rejection was based ..... (15) on her race and it was this first
injustice that ..... (16) her activism later in life.

In 1954, Simone began playing piano and singing at the Midtown Bar and Grill in
Atlantic City. Afraid her parents would ..... (17) upon her working in a bar, she took
a stage name: Nina (a nickname given by a former boyfriend) and Simone (after
the actress Simone Signoret).

It was this name that would be shouted at the top of their ..... (18) by protesters
marching on Washington in the same ..... (19) as those of Martin Luther King and
Malcom X as Nina was singing her famous cry of protest, Mississippi Goddamn.

Plagued by bipolar disorder and abuse, Nina Simone’s life was often nowhere .....
(20) as glorious as her stage persona and many revelations about her own
violence towards her daughter have cast a long shadow on her biography.
However, her role in the Civil Rights movement and her touching creativity remain
undeniable.

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 19th INTERNATIONAL KANGAROO LINGUISTIC CONTEST 2022
Student Level (Class 11, 12 & 13)
Time Allowed: 60 minutes

11.
A) pursuits B) missions C) targets
D) bullseyes E) beliefs

12.
A) chief B) leader C) valedictorian
D) top E) winner

13.
A) fee B) tuition C) scholarship
D) cheque E) fortune

14.
A) rejected B) denied C) banned
D) dismissed E) prohibited

15.
A) solely B) drastically C) uniquely
D) individually E) theoretically

16.
A) took off B) exploded C) fired
D) lit E) fuelled

17.
A) jeer B) smirk C) snub
D) frown E) elate

18.
A) hearts B) lungs C) throats
D) noses E) heads

19.
A) place B) line C) voice
D) tone E) breath

20.
A) near B) close C) much
D) like E) true

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 19th INTERNATIONAL KANGAROO LINGUISTIC CONTEST 2022
Student Level (Class 11, 12 & 13)
Time Allowed: 60 minutes

5 – Point Questions

21. When we say that a person is indolent, what does that mean?

A) He is very talented.
B) He is hardworking.
C) He is physically very active.
D) He is lazy.
E) He is shy.

22. Which of the scrambled words below is the odd one out? The difference
has nothing to do with vowels, consonants or syllables.

A) EGTHI B) NYWETT C) LENVE

D) OTFRY E) WVEELT

23. Which of these words means “passionate”?

A) assertive B) accent C) adherent

D) ardent E) astute

24. Match the words to their meaning and then choose the correct answer:

1. to turn down a. to appear

2. to turn into b. to produce
3. to turn out c. to become
4. to turn to d. to refuse
5. to turn up e. to ask for help

A) 1c/ 2d/ 3e/ 4b/ 5a

B) 1e/ 2b/ 3a/ 4c/ 5d
C) 1d/ 2c/ 3a/ 4e/ 5b
D) 1b/ 2e/ 3d/ 4a/ 5c
E) 1d/ 2c/ 3b/ 4e/ 5a

25. As Mary opened the door, the candle ..... in the breeze and then went out.

A) flamed B) glittered C) flickered

D) sparkled E) twinkled

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 19th INTERNATIONAL KANGAROO LINGUISTIC CONTEST 2022
Student Level (Class 11, 12 & 13)
Time Allowed: 60 minutes

26. Which pair of singular and plural nouns is wrong?

A) motto – mottos B) formula – formulae

C) codex - codeces D) analysis – analyses
E) matrix – matrices

27. ..... refused my invitation, you would’ve had the best holidays ever.

A) Hadn’t you B) You had not

C) You not had D) Had you not
E) Not you had

28. When someone talks about famous people pretending to know them
more than they really do, this is called ..... .

A) name-drooping B) name-dropping
C) name-calling D) name-screaming
E) name-dripping

29. What is the meaning of “poke”, a word frequently used on Facebook?

A) To push or jab at, as with a finger or an arm.

B) To squeeze between the thumb and finger.
C) To rub against a rough surface.
D) To make a hole using your finger.
E) To strike out with your foot.

30. I was a little taken ..... at the directness of the question.

A) on B) off C) back
D) aback E) out

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