ENGLISH FORM FOUR
END TERM 2 EXAMS
101/2
PAPER 2
Instructions
Read the instructions from every section before you answer the questions.
COMPREHENSION
Read the passage below and then answer the questions that follow.
Over the years man has cultivated to exhaustion the better in the plains. This has led to progressive destruction of land to the point where some of the steeper hill slopes are cultivated so that widespread erosion has been initiated. Meanwhile, the livestock are continuously being forced on to smaller areas of the poorer land and further up the hill slopes where they have to compete with foresters. As a result, the quantities of animal proteins, so necessary to human health, have steadily declined. Surprisingly, instead of accepting the responsibility for all this destruction, man blames livestock and in particular goat.
Man has repeatedly failed to do anything to restore the fertility of soils he has ravaged. After the last miserable crop has been harvested, the land has been left to weeds. No attempt has been made to plant grass or under-plant the last agricultural crop with fodder species. Had this been done, rehabilitation would have been quicker and sure erosion would have been reduced. Thus, the gradually worsening situation would be arrested.
If man would shoulder the responsibility for his own greedy misuse of the land, the goat could easily carry the blame for its own much smaller share in this degradation. Unfortunately, because human nature is what it is, man will find something to blame for his own carelessness. The goat has been chosen to carry this blame largely because it is often the last animal to be seen wrestling a precarious living from the area where man has done his worst and from which cattle and sheep have long since been forced to move.
Conservation of land depends on proper planning. Livestock numbers therefore, irrespective of species, should be strictly limited to a density which will permit pasture renewal instead of causing its degeneration. This adjustment of numbers should help man to have a balanced mixture of livestock. Many writers in recent years have tried to show that there has been considerable improvement in mountain grazing areas after the banishment of the goat. Most, however, fail to indicate to what extent this has been due, solely, to the removal of the goat or to a reduction in other livestock densities or other measures such as erosion control, terracing, the building of gabions and grass planting. It is essential to ensure that results which are obtained in one environment are not automatically applied to a different one.
Adapted from ‘Observation on the Goat’.
i) What evidence is there in the first paragraph to show that the land has been severely destroyed? (2mks)
ii) In what way does man blame livestock for the destruction of the land? (3mks)
iii) Rewrite the following sentences in the passive. “Surprisingly, instead of accepting the responsibility for all the destruction, man blames livestock and in particular the goat.” (2mks)
iv) In note form, write the factors that led to the steady decline in the quantities of animal proteins. (4mks)
v) Identify the use of irony in the last paragraph. (3mks)
vi) What is the author’s attitude towards land conservation? (3mks)
vii) Explain the meaning of the following words as used in the passage. (3mks)
a) Miserable
b) Banishment
c) Wrestling a precarious living
COMPULSARY TEXT
Read the excerpt below and answer the questions that follow.
Yes, that is how Oloisudori defined success, Ole Kaelo thought bitterly. And he and many others define it in the same way. The archaic adage that exhorted the young and up-coming businessmen to take care of cents and let the shillings take care of themselves was regarded by the likes of Oloisudori to be untenable. Instant riches, just as instant tea or instant coffee were the thing. And the instantaneous bliss brought in an on-the-spot feeling of well-being, felicity and happiness.
That was what everyone wanted, Ole Kaelo reasoned, and that was what he himself had always wanted. And that was the reason, like a stinking rotten carcass would draw a torrent of flies to itself, people like him and many others got drawn to the murky business of Oloisudori. "But now the chickens had come home to roost," Ole Kaelo lamented ruefully. Oloisudori was now demanding his pound of flesh. He recalled the events of that afternoon when Oloisudori came calling. Seeing him in his house unexpectedly, had signaled trouble with his contracts. But Oloisudori had allayed his fears, saying that all was well in that direction. That had restored his peace and calmed his frayed nerves. The success of the shop depended entirely on those contracts. Even the large stocks he held in the go downs were secured on the strength of those contracts. It was therefore gratifying to hear him confirm all was well. What did he want then? He had wondered. But he did not have long to wonder for long, for Oloisudori did not believe in niceties. He had lifted his head, letting a small silence draw out between them, he told him, "There is a small matter that I would like us to discuss."
Questions
a) What is the small matter Oloisudori wishes to discuss? (2marks)
b) How does the small matter affect the Ole Kaelo family? (2marks)
c) How does Oloisudori come into the lives of the Ole Kaelos? (3marks)
d) Discuss the characters of the following: (4marks)
i. Oloisudori
ii. Ole Kaelo
e) Explain a theme implied in the extract. (4marks)
f) Give the meanings of the following: (3marks)
i. archaic
ii. pound of flesh
iii. niceties
g) What happens immediately after the excerpt? (2marks)
POETRY
Read the poem below and then answer the questions that follow:
"Sympathy"
I know what the caged bird feels, alas!
When the sun is bright on the upland slopes;
When the wind stirs soft through the springing grass
And the river flows like a stream of glass;
When the first bird sings and the first bud opens,
And the faint perfume from its petals steals-
I know what the caged bird feels!
I know why the caged bird beats his wing
Till its blood is red on the cruel bars;
For he must fly back to his perch and cling
When he rather would be on the branch a swing;
And a pain still throbs in the old, old scars
And they pulse again with a keener sting-
I know why he beats his wing!
I know why the caged bird sings, ah me,
When his wing is bruised and his blossom sore;
When he beats his bars and would be free;
It is not a song of joy or glee,
But a prayer that he sends from his heart's deep core,
But a plea, that upward to heaven he flings –
I know why the caged bird sings!
(Adapted from the poem by Paul Laurence Dunbar in America Negro Poetry, edited by Arna Bontemps. New York: Hill and Waug 1974.)
(a). Explain briefly what the poem is about (3 mks)
(b). What does the poet focus on in each of the three stanzas? Give your answer in note form. (6 mks)
(c). How would you describe the persona's feelings towards the caged bird? (4 mks)
(d) What can we infer about the persona's own experiences? (3 mks)
(e). Identify a simile in the first stanza and explain why it is used. (2mks)
(f). Explain the meaning of the following lines
(i) And the faint perfume from its petals steals. (1mk)
(ii). And they pulse again with a keener sting. (1mk)
GRAMMAR
a) Rewrite the following sentences according to the instructions given after each. (2mks)
i) It was a wonderful experience. (Rewrite beginning: What…)
ii) “How come you did not come earlier?” the matron asked. (Rewrite in reported
speech).
b) Explain the difference in meaning between the following pair of sentences. (2mks)
i) I saw him crossing the road.
ii) I saw him cross the road.
c) The following sentences are repetitive. Rewrite them without repetition (2mks)
i) When she met him he was wearing a suit that was black in color.
ii) You will not succeed not unless if you work hard.
d) Fill the blanks in the following sentences with the correct form of words with brackets. (4mks)
i) The youth should follow the…………………………………………………….. (guide) they receive from the elders.
ii) She could not stand the …………………………………… (vulgar) of his actions.
iii) Jane was …………………………… (decide) about taking up the job.
iv) His ……………………………. (sensitive) makes him say offensive things to people.
e) Replace the underlined words with appropriate phrasal verbs formed from the words in brackets.
i) After learning for a long time, James finally discontinued his studies (give) (1mk)
ii) The bus which had an accident was completely destroyed. (write). (1mk)
f) Use one word to replace the ones that are underlined. Do not change the meaning. (3mks)
i) We shall take you to court for breaching the contract.
ii) She is not relaxed.
iii) He is going to put the car back to shape.
g) Fill in the gaps with the suitable pronoun from the following: him, I, me, she, hers.
i) The principle has summoned all the students except you and ………. (1mrk)
ii) Although Joseph and I disagreed over the matter, I am still a friend of …….. (1mrk)
iii) …….. and I are the only ones who completed the race. (1mrk)
h) Answer the following questions as instructed (2mks)
i) Let us go_______________________ lunch ( fill in the correct word)
ii) We are going to discuss about the issues affecting the club. (Write the sentence correctly)