Free Year 9 QLD Academies-style Reading Practice

Question 1 — Easy

In the sentence 'The result is a tangy, slightly sour honey that food lovers prize for its unusual flavour,' what does the word 'prize' most nearly mean?

Answer: In this context 'prize' is a verb meaning to value or treasure something. The surrounding text explains that food lovers admire the honey 'for its unusual flavour,' so 'value highly' (B) fits. A treats 'prize' as the noun meaning an award won in a contest, which does not fit the sentence structure. C is a different verb ('prise/prize open'), meaning to lever apart, which makes no sense here. D introduces selling, but the passage describes appreciation of flavour, not a sale.

Question 2 — Medium

Read the following passage, then answer the question. The Torres Strait Islands form an archipelago of over 270 islands lying between the northern tip of Queensland and Papua New Guinea. Many of the islands are low-lying coral cays, making their communities among the most immediately vulnerable to rising sea levels driven by climate change. Indigenous Torres Strait Islander peoples have inhabited these islands for thousands of years, maintaining rich cultural traditions, languages, and practices deeply connected to the sea and sky. Community elders have described watching familiar reefs bleach, shorelines erode, and storm surges reach areas that had previously never flooded. For many residents, climate change is not a future abstraction but a lived, daily reality. Which statement is most strongly supported by the passage?

Answer: The passage explicitly states that elders have observed bleaching reefs, eroding shorelines, and unprecedented storm surges, and that climate change is 'a lived, daily reality' for residents — directly supporting option A. The other options are either not mentioned or go beyond what the passage states.

Question 3 — Easy

What can the reader infer about why schools and busy households are able to keep stingless bee hives?

Answer: The passage says the bees 'have no working sting,' are a 'favourite with gardeners and schools,' and that caring for a hive is 'far easier than many people expect' because they are 'gentle and need little attention.' Combining these points supports B. A is wrong because the passage says each colony makes 'only a tiny amount' of honey each year, not large quantities for sale. C is wrong because the bees live only in 'the warm forests' and 'warmer parts of the country,' not any climate. D is wrong because humans provide 'a specially built wooden box'; the bees do not build the box themselves.