Year 10 ICAS English 5-Question Sample

Question 1 of 5 Vocabulary

In a language-conventions check this morning, which choice is the most concise and correct completion: "The two proposals were ____"

Standard English usage

Item	Task
The two proposals were ____	choose the correct standard English

A exactly the same and identical. B alike and identical in every way. C the same as each other identically. D identical.

Question 2 of 5 Voice

During a proofreading task this morning, which choice best suits the formal register: "In an official notice, the service will be ____"

Standard English usage

Item	Task
In an official notice, the service will be ____	choose the correct standard English

A off for a bit. B down for a while. C suspended temporarily. D on hold for ages.

Question 3 of 5 Structure

From the detail that changes the meaning, which statement best describes the main purpose of "Phones at Rehearsal"?

Speech extract

Phones at Rehearsal

I am not asking for a phone ban that treats every student like a problem. Phones help us record choreography, check music cuts and message parents when rehearsal runs late. But the device that records a routine can also pull attention away from the person trying to fix the routine in front of us. A context note beside the phones at rehearsal entry makes the reader compare the exact wording before choosing.

Last term, our group lost almost ten minutes each rehearsal to replaying clips before anyone had tried the correction twice. That number is not a moral panic; it is a pattern we can change. My proposal is simple: phones face down during correction blocks, then five minutes for recording after each section is stable.

This rule would not make rehearsal stricter for the sake of looking strict. It would protect the part of practice that phones cannot do for us: listening, repeating, and noticing the small timing mistake before it becomes permanent.

A to argue that recommendation systems should explain useful evidence, not just sound friendly B to explain how a promising field observation becomes a better-designed follow-up survey C to argue for a limited phone rule that protects focused rehearsal without banning useful recording D to explain how one translation choice can alter interpretation without making the older version worthless

Question 4 of 5 Comprehension

When separating fact from judgement, what is the strongest inference a reader can make from the whole text?

Technology commentary

The Algorithm Notice

The app notice said recommendations were based on "what learners like you found helpful." That sounded friendly until Ravi noticed that new users were being shown the same three revision videos again and again. Popularity had become a shortcut for usefulness, and the shortcut worked best for students who already knew what they were looking for. A final note beside the algorithm notice entry makes the reader compare the exact wording before choosing.

The design team defended the system by pointing to completion rates. More students finished the popular videos than the older ones. Yet completion did not prove that the recommendation was right for every learner; short videos are easier to finish even when they are too simple. The missing measure was whether students chose a harder next task afterwards.

A better notice would not need to reveal every line of code. It would tell learners what evidence shaped the recommendation and give them a way to change the path. Transparency is not a decoration if it helps the user question the route.

A the report values the observation but avoids treating one night as proof of a pattern B the writer thinks completion rates alone are a weak measure of learning value C the reviewer believes small word choices can shift a whole poem D the writer thinks the reporting method protects the service from its worst results

Question 5 of 5 Vocabulary

In this text, what does "colonies" most nearly mean?

Field report

Reef Night Survey

The reef team planned the night survey for the week after the full moon because earlier records suggested coral spawning was more likely then. At 9 pm the water looked empty. By 10:15, tiny pale bundles drifted upward from three colonies near the outer rope line, while the inner reef showed no visible release. A short note beside the reef night survey entry makes the reader compare the exact wording before choosing.

The notes were exciting, but the lead diver wrote them with restraint. The team had watched one reef, on one night, after a warmer than usual day. The outer rope line also had stronger current, which may have carried bundles into view sooner. None of those cautions made the observation worthless; they made the next survey design clearer.

The report recommended another night survey across both rope lines and a temperature log at each site. Its most useful sentence was not the one announcing spawning. It was the sentence explaining why a good observation still needs a sharper comparison.

A the meaning a reader builds from choices in the text B the quality of being unaffected by something C the point at which one category becomes another D groups of coral animals living together

Year 10 English sample

Answer the sample questions