English Olympiad Class 7 - Sample paper 08

Passage 1 - There are two species of elephant seals, the northern and southern. Northern elephant seals can be found in California and Baja California, though they prefer to frequent offshore islands rather than the North American mainland.

Southern elephant seals live in sub-Antarctic and Antarctic waters that feature brutally cold conditions but are rich in the fish, squid, and other marine foods these seals enjoy. Southern elephant seals breed on land but spend their winters in the chilly Antarctic waters near the Antarctic pack ice. Do you know southern seals can dive over 4,921 feet (1,500 metres) deep and can remain submerged for up to two hours?

Southern elephant seals are the largest of all seals. Males can be over 20 feet (6 metres) long and weigh up to 8,800 pounds (4,000 kilograms). But these massive mammals with flippers aren’t called elephant seals because of their size. They take their name from their trunk like inflatable snouts.

The northern elephant seals live up to nine years whereas the southern ones can live up to 22 years. When breeding season arrives, male elephant seals define and defend territories. They collect a harem of 40 to 50 females, which are much smaller than their enormous mates. Males battle each other for dominance. Some encounters end with roaring and aggressive posturing, but many others turn into violent and bloody battles.

Sea elephants, as these seals are sometimes called, give birth in late winter to a single pup and nurse it for approximately a month. While suckling their young, females do not eat—both mother and child live off the energy stored in ample reserves of her fat. Females give birth to a single pup each year after an 11-month pregnancy.

Elephant seals migrate in search of food, spending months at sea and often diving deep to forage. They return to their rookeries in winter to breed and give birth. Though both male and female elephant seals spend time at sea, their migration routes and feeding habits differ: Males follow a more consistent route while females vary their routes in pursuit of moving prey.

Elephant seals were aggressively hunted for their oil, and their numbers were once reduced to the brink of extinction. Fortunately, populations have rebounded under legal protections.

Passage 2 - Mysterious Stranger

My name is Oliver and I live in a small beach town. The town is famous for its huge fishing nets, and many tourists come to see the nets every year.

One day I saw a boy. He really did look like a tourist, with a small camera in one hand and a bottle of water in the other. The slim boy sat on the bench by the tree, sipping water and pretending to look at a glossy cruise brochure. His thick glasses masked his eyes, but I knew he wasn’t looking at the brochure. He hadn’t turned a page for the last ten minutes.

As I walked up to him to say hi, he looked at me briefly and pretended that his parents were calling him and walked away. I tried not to stare at the tiny scar just above his left eyebrow. I walked back to where I was sitting under the tree shaking my head.

He looked familiar, but I couldn’t quite place him.

Then it hit me. The bicycle accident. The mysterious stranger who helped me get up and park my bicycle on the side of the road. I rushed back to the bench but he was gone. I sat on the bench and saw the water bottle along with a card left on the bench. The card said:

I am deeply indebted to you. The evening of your bicycle accident, I was looking for my parents as I had lost them in the crowd. Helping you made me stay in the same spot for some time, and because of that, my parents spotted me. We are going back to our home today. Hope you are better now. Thank you. Rajan.

I felt glad that my little accident brought a family together again. I said a silent prayer for him and got back home, smiling.