Read the following passage carefully and answer the questions on it.
Children today are being hurried through childhood, rushed into taking on adult tasks at a very early age. Granted that the effects are not always so dramatic or so tragic, they can be profound and long lasting Parents are understandably eager to see their children succeed. When that eagerness turns into anxiety. parents may overload their children, pushing them too hard too soon. For instance it is becoming increasingly common for parents to enroll young children in after-school activities. Often, special tutoring is added.
Of course, it is not wrong to encourage a child’s talents or interests. There is a danger of excess when some children seem to have as many pressures as harried adults do. Before their children are born, parents are already enrolling them in preschool, hoping to improve their prospects of success. In some countries, children are assessed for reading and Mathematics skills before they are six years old. Such practices have raised concern about emotional damage. Many parents seem to think it normal. even advisable, to teach their children that winning is everything.
Some parents work extremely hard to provide every possible material comfort for the children, believing that they are working to ensure their children’s happiness – but they may well be doing the opposite. Often, more than a few children raised this way are involved in drinking, drugs and sullen rebellious behaviour as many fume with resentment because they feel neglected. The children often pay a high price. Although they may have many material luxuries, they lack the most essential ingredients of a good childhood: parental attention and love. Without guidance. discipline and direction they face adult questions too soon, with little or no preparation. They will likely obtain their own answers from peers or TV or movie characters. The results often bring childhood to an abrupt, even tragic end. Without a doubt, rushing children through childhood is a dangerous practice that should be avoided.
(a) Why do parents rush their children through childhood?
(b) Give two examples of how parents rush their children through childhood.
(c) State two sad effects of bringing up children in extreme luxury.
(d) Why do children raised in luxury become angry?
(e) What is ironical about parents’ efforts to make their children happy?
(f) “the children often pay a high price”. What is the meaning of this expression?
(g) “Although they may have many material luxuries …”
(i) What grammatical name is given to this expression as it is used in the passage?
(ii) What is its function?
(h) For each of the following words, find another word or phrase which means the same and which can replace it as it is used in the passage: (i) effects (ii) eager (iii) prospects (iv) raised (v) essential (vi) resentment.
Read the following passage carefully and answer the questions on it.
Late one night Mr. Oliver was returning to his school on the outskirts of the hill station of Simla. He had been teaching in this school for many years. A bachelor, he usually strolled into the town in the evening, returning after dark. when he would take a short cut through a pine forest. Whenever there was strong wind, the pine trees made moaning, eerie sounds that kept most people to the main road. But Mr. Oliver was not a nervous or imaginative man.
He carried a torch on this particular night and its pale gleam – the batteries were running down moved fitfully Over the narrow forest path. When its flickering light fell on the figure of a boy who was sitting alone on a rock. Mr. Oliver stopped. Boys were not supposed to be out of school after 7 p.m.. and it was now well past nine.
“What are you doing out here, boy?” asked Mr. Oliver sharply, moving closer so that he could recognize the miscreant. But as he approached the boy, he sensed that something was wrong. The boy speared to be crying. His head hung down, he held his face in his hand and his body shook convulsively. It was a strange soundless weeping, and Mr. Oliver felt quite uneasy.
“Well, what’s the matter?” he asked. his anger giving way to concern. “What are you crying for’?” The boy would not answer or look up. His body continued to be rocked with silent sobbing. “Come on, boy, you shouldn’t be out here at this hour. Tell me the trouble. Look up.” The boy looked up. He took his hands from his face and looked up at his teacher. The light from Mr. Oliver’s torch fell on the boy’s face, if it could be called a face.
He had no eyes, ears, nose or mouth. It was just a round smooth head with a school cap on top of it, and that’s where the story should have ended, as indeed it has for several people who have had similar experiences and drop dead of unexplainable heart attack. But for Mr. Oliver. it did not end here.
The torch fell from his trembling hand. He turned and scrambled down the path. running blindly through the trees and calling for help. He was still running towards the school building when he saw a lantern swinging in the middle of the path. Mr. Oliver had never before been so pleased to see the night watchman. He stumbled up to the watchman, gasping for breath and speaking incoherently. “What is it, Sahib?” asked the watchman “Has there been an accident? Why are you running?”
“I saw something – something horrible – a boy weeping in the forest, and he had no face!” No face, Sahib?” “No eyes, nose, mouth, nothing!” “Do you mean it was like this, Sahib?” asked the watchman and raised the lamp to his own face. The watchman had no eyes, no ears, no features at all, not even an eyebrow. The wind blew the light out, and Mr. Oliver had his heart attack …
(a) Why did Mr Oliver take the pine forest route to his school?
(b) What did Mr. Oliver think when he first saw the `boy’?
(c) What was the first indication to Mr. Oliver that all was not well?
(d) What did the night watchman turn out to be?
(e) Mr. Oliver had never before been so pleased to see the night watchman. What is ironical about this sentence in the light of the rest of the story?
(f) “Do you mean it was like this, Sahib?” What does “this” refer to?
(g) ” who have had similar experiences and dropped dead of unexplainable heart attack.”
(i) What grammatical name is given to this expression as it is used in the passage? (ii) What is its function?
(h) For each of the following words, find another word or phrase which means the same and which can replace it as it is used in the passage: (i) miscreant (ii) sensed (iii) concern (iv) rocked (v) scrambled.
Write a story to illustrate the saying: As one makes one’s bed, so one must lie on it
You have been invited to take part in an inter-school debate, the topic of which is: Schooling in a village is more advantageous than schooling in a city. Write your speech for or against the motion.
Write a letter to the chairman of the P.T.A. of your school suggesting three ways in which parents can work together with the teachers to create a better learning environment in the school.
The rising cost of tertiary education in your country has become a serious problem. Write an article for publication in a national newspaper discussing this problem and suggesting measures that could be adopted to deal with it.
The government of your country has recently introduced a new means of communication which has had many positive effects on the lives of the majority of the people. Write a letter to your brother who is away from the country, stating how it has affected the lives of your people.
Read the following passage carefully and answer the questions on it.
Have you always thought that insects are nothing more than a nuisance? Would you like the world to be free of these annoying pests ? Do you spray them swat them. or step on them at every opportunity? Before declaring war on every bug that crosses your path, why not try to learn something about their world? After all, with a population that outnumbers humans by about 200 million to one you can be sure that insects are here to stay! A brief look at just a few of these amazing creatures might well convince you that insects deserve your respect.
Consider flying insects for example: Mosquitoes can fly upside down. Some can even fly through the rain without getting wet – yes, actually dodging the raindrops! Some tropical wasps and bees buzz around at speeds of up to 72 kilometres per hour. One monarch butterfly of North America logged 3,010 kilometres on its migration flight. Hover flies can beat their wings more than a thousand times per second – much faster than humming-birds and dragon flies can fly backwards. Clearly then. insects are such accomplished fliers, unmatched by any other winged creature.
The eyes of many insects serve as a compass. Bees and wasps, for instance, can detect the plane of polarised light. This enables them to locate the sun’s position in the sky – even when it is hidden by clouds. Thanks to this ability, these insects can forage far from their nests and still navigate their way home unerringly.
In the insect world, sounds and aromas are often used to find a mate – no small achievement when prospective mates are few and far between. Female emperor moths find a suitor by emitting a scent that is so potent that a male can i home n on its source from nearly 11 kilometres away. Crickets, grasshoppers, and cicadas prefer to make themselves heard. Even we humans can hear the amorous cicada as it converts its whole body into a sounding board. A large group of courting cicadas can create a noise louder than that of a drilling machine!
Insects play a vital role in our daily life, about 30 percent of the foods we eat results from pollination by them. But pollination is only one of their useful functions. Insects keep the earth clean by means of an efficient recycling system, as they reprocess dead plant and animals. Scientists have observed that without insects the earth will be inundated with dead plant and animal matter. Insects also enrich the soil by liberating nutrients that make things grow. They are sorely missed when their work is not done. Consider what happened in Australia, which has become home to millions of cattle. Herds scattered dung everywhere. Besides being unsightly, the dung provided a breeding site for the bush fiy – a plague to both humans and cattle. So dung beetles were imported from Europe and Africa, and the problem was solved!
Admittedly, some insects eat crops and carry disease. But only about one percent of the world’s insects is considered as pests, and many of these cause damage because of the way man himself altered the environment. Even with their drawbacks, insects are an integral part of the natural world on which we depend. Scientists have pointed out that while insects can survive without us, we cannot survive without them.
(a) In three sentences, one for each, summarise the characteristics of insects discussed in the passage.
(b) In three sentences, one for each, summarise the important functions of insects discussed in the passage.
Read the following passage carefully and answer the questions on it.
Whenever I ask myself the question why I have not left this country for good, many answers rush to my mind, each striving to be.recognized as being the most convincing. I am reminded of the popular slogan that this country belongs to us, for which reason every one of us must join hands in trying to salvage it. I try to dismiss the argument by reasoning that it is foolhardy attempting to lend a helping hand where one’s services are apparently not required. Then I am reminded that if I leave the country in a hurry just because of our political instability and economic hardship, my commitments to my nuclear family and extended family at home will suffer. I reply by saying that as soon as I get settled abroad. I would arrange for my famiiy to Join me. Other financial problems at home would be taken care of by my regular remittances. Would I then never think of going back home in future? Not until the situation in the country improved considerably, I would answer. And who do I expect to carry on with the task of national rehabilitation when the likes of me are all out of the country? Those who messed up the country in the first place, I would argue. And so on. This self-examination has been going on for the last ten years or so: meanwhile. I am yet to leave the country.
When I wonder how many people think’ as I do. I realize that we must” be very few. Indeed, not many have the slightest opportunity of absconding from the country; they do not have the place to run to, nor do they have the means of escape. Even among the elite who consider this possibility. the uncertainty of a future outside their fatherland intimidates them. And so we all end up staying and grumbling.
(a) Why would the writer like to leave his country?
(b) Why does the writer believe that he should not join in salvaging his country?’
(c) What would make the writer return to his country?
(d) Who does the writer suggest should carry on the task of national rehabilitation?
(e) Give two reasons why it has not been easy for him and others to leave the country.
(f) …many answers rush to my mind. What figure of speech is used in this expression.
(g). . the uncertainty of a future outside their fatherland (i) What grammatical name is given. to this expression as it is used in the passage? (ii) What is its function?
(h) For each of the following words or phrase find another word or phrase which means the same and which can replace it as it is used in the passage. (i) for good. (ii) slogan, (iii) foolhardy; (iv) commitments; (v) absconding.
Read the following passage carefully and answer the questions on it.
Mr Cissey pulled on his trousers very hurriedly and dragged himself to the veranda. He was bent on getting to his office beforehis workers. The previous day, he had reprimanded his staff for regularly coming to work late, and threatened to give the sack to any of them who would repeat the offence. Today, he must get to work in time not only to serve as a role model but also to show that he really meant what he had said.
He managed to squeeze himself behind the wheel of his car which was at least two sizes too small to accommodate his paunch. He inserted the ignition key and turned it but the car would not start; the engine just grumbled. On the second attempt, it coughed and finally roared to life on the third. It moved grudgingly to the gate and stopped. Cissey immediately realised that he would be caught in a traffic jam. It was evident that he would arrive at his workplace late.
For about two hours, Cissey just sat, glued to his seat, fuming. Hard as he tried to control his temper, the misbehaviour of other drivers once prompted him to bawl at them. Then suddenly, after the interminable wait, the street cleared and Cissey sped off. It was almost three hours after leaving home that he got to his workplace. The staff were already there and when he entered the building, he found his secretary and the clerical staff apparently immersed in their assignments, with an air of dutifulness. One look at their boss warned them that they had better keep quiet to save their skin. But as soon as he closed the door to his office he heard soft voices mumbling words he could not understand. Worst of all, he heard subdued laughter from his secretary.
Cissey immediately shot out of the chair ready to vent his spleen on these underlings but suddenly plopped bac into his seat. On second thoughts, he changed his mind. How could he castigate them for what they had not caused?
(a) Why was Mr Cissey in a hurry to get to his office?
(b) What two indications are there in the passage that Mr Cissey was a huge man?
(c) How did Mr Cissey express his anger while caught in the traffic?
(d) Why did Mr Cissey become angry with his staff?
(e) What was the attitude of the staff towards their boss?
(f) .,,when he entered the building … What grammatical name is given to this expression as it is used in the passage? (ii) What is its function?
(g) How could he castigate them for what they had not caused? What literary device is used in the expression above?
(h) What is meant by the expression vent his spleen in the last paragraph?
(i) For each of the following words, find another word or phrase which means the same and which can replace it as it is used in the passage: (i) reprimanded (ii) evident (iii) prompted (iv) interminable (v) immersed (vi) subdued.
Write a story to illustrate the saying: Strike while the iron is hot.
You are the chief speaker in a debate on the topic: It is the home and not the school that contributes more to moral laxity among students. Write your argument for or against the topic.
Write a letter to the Chairman of your school’s Board of Governors on the need for a library in your school, requesting him to build and equip one for the school.
Write an article for publication in your school magazine on the problems of indiscipline in schools.
You had a quarrel with your best friend and have not been on speaking terms ever since. Now that you are about to leave secondary school, write to your friend giving at least three reasons why you should become friends again.
Read the following passage carefully and answer the questions on it.
Many cities in the world have now become overcrowded because everyday people migrate to them from the country-side in search of work and better living conditions. This problem is far worse in Third World countries, where the harsh living conditions and the lack of gainful employment opportunities in rural areas usually compel a ceaseless and massive rural-urban drift.
This desperate state of affairs is not without its direct consequences for the cities. Facilities like accommodation, schools, hospitals, water supply and public transport cannot cope with the demands on them from increased numbers of people, and so they are under severe strain. House rents soar astronomically, and so too many tenants crowd into inadequate spaces. Markets, streets and motorways are congested with people and vehicles. And as the garbage disposal is inefficient, the garbage piles up everywhere, contributing to environmental pollution.
Many of the migrants come to the big cities in the hope of finding employment. However, because a majority of them are unskilled workers or fresh school-leavers not equipped in any way for gainful self-employment, they simply end up swelling the ranks of the desperate unemployed in the city.
The devil, they say, makes work for idle hands. With no means of livelihood in the relatively more expensive cities, many of these disillusioned young people resort to prostitution, fraud and crime in order to survive. No wonder the crime rate in the cities is for ever rising, and there are daily reports of victims who lose their money, possessions or even their lives to dare-devil robbers.
How can this deplorable state of affairs in the cities be reversed? Since the search for jobs accounts for much of the rural-urban drift, one way is to encourage the creation of jobs outside the cities. For example, certain businesses such as banks and manufacturing industries could be encouraged to set up branches in rural areas. If rural dweller have ready access to the same jobs they go to look for in the city, the need for migrating will be reduced.
It should be admitted that in this modern age, life without the basic amenities of pipe-borne water, electricity, good roads, schools and hospitals is just not good enough. Many rural dwellers are lured to the cities because of the lack of amenities, so providing them in these rural communities will not only contribute to stemming the tide of migration but also create a favourable environment for investment.
It has also been argued that rural farming is gradually being abandoned to the aged. The primitive, labour-intensive methods and the relatively low yields have made it unattractive to the youth, who would rather seek their fortune in the cities. If farming is made attractive, for example, through mechanization, it will become another source of employment for rural dwellers and thus reduce the necessity to migrate to the city.
Rural-urban migration causes a serious population imbalance, and has all sorts of attendant problems that can get worse if not tackled effectively. So, the sooner a solution is sought the better.
(a) In three sentences, one for each, summarize the three negative consequences of rural-urban migration discussed in the passage.
(b) In three sentences, one for each, summarize the writer’s suggestions for tackling the problem.
Read the following passage carefully and answer the questions on it.
Work can be an essential part of children’s education and a means of transmitting vital skills from parent to off-spring. In some countries, children are often involved in workshops and small-scale services, and gradually become full-fledged workers later in life. In other countries, teenagers work a few hours a week to earn pocket money. Such work is beneficial as it enhances a child’s physical, mental, spiritual, moral and social development without interfering with his schooling, recreation and rest.
Child labour, on the other hand, is about children who work long hours for low wages. often under conditions harmful to their health. This type of work is destructive and exploitative. Child labour takes different forms. By and large, most child workers are in domestic service. Domestic service need not be hazardous, but it often is. Children in domestic service are poorly paid or not paid at all. Their masters set the terms and conditions of their work entirely to their whim. They are deprived of affection, schooling, play and social activity. They are also vulnerable to physical abuse.
Poverty is the most powerful force driving children into hazardous labour. For poor families, the small contribution of a child’s income at home can make the difference between hunger and survival. The parents of child workers are often unemployed or underemployed. They are desperate for a secure income. In developing countries, for example, class-rooms do not have seats, half of the students have no textbooks, and half of the classrooms have no blackboards. It is not surprising that many children who attend such schools abandon schooling for work.
Child labour is aggravated by a modern society that is preoccupied with the demand for low-priced products. Few people seem to care that these may have been produced by millions of anonymous, exploited children. The effects of child labour on the psychological, emotional and intellectual growth of the victims are grave. Such children are deprived of affection. Beatings, insults and punishment by being deprived of food are very common. Ultimately, most child labourers are condemned to lifelong poverty, misery, sickness and illiteracy.
(a) Identify two types of work that are beneficial to children.
(b) According to the passage, what is child labour?
(c) Give two causes of child labour.
(d) In one word, describe the effect of child labour on the child
(e) According to the passage, why do children drop out of school?
(f) …. who work long hours for low wages? (I) What is the grammatical named given to this expression as it is used in the passage? (ii) What is its functions?
(g) …. most child labourers are condemned to lifelong poverty What is the meaning of this expression?
(h) For each of the following words, find another word or phrase which means the same and which can replace it as it is used in the passage: (i) transmitting, (ii) enhances; (iii) vulnerable; (iv) preoccupied; (v) anonymous; (vi) grave.
Read the following passage carefully and answer the questions on it.
I have great sympathy for the common fear that is suffered by young people when examinations are looming ahead. Sometimes it is the actual examination they fear but equally likely to excite fear are the expectations of the parents who are keen on their offspring results in failures which could be avoided. achieving good results. Pressure in these circumstances only leads to more fear and often results in failure which could be avoided.
My very last examination was an oral and I knew that everything depended on the kind of impression I made on the government representative who I expected, had difficult questions for me. This, though, was not the only reason for my apprehension. As a youth, I was often teased because I was small in stature. I was obsessed with it. I was very self-conscious, therefore, about meeting this important man. Fortunately, the previous day 1 had learned another lesson from nature, one which was to help me in my face-to-face encounter with the examiner.
I had been staying with my aunt and uncle in order to do some last-minute preparations. I went through my books that afternoon, sitting outside in the sunshine until about three o’clock, when the weather took a turn for the worse. The sky looked menacing and, as the clouds gathered in the distance, I heard the rumble of thunder. The lovely sunny afternoon was changing to a dark and dismal evening. Several times I broke my concentration to look at a very beautiful water lily in the pond. As I quickly gathered up my books, I remembered the lily and went over to see it for the last time that day. I was just in time to see the flower close its petals as the rumble of the distant thunder grew louder. I didn’t mind getting wet as I realized that the rain could do nothing to damage the delicate, inner beauty of the lily.
This simple act of nature restored my confidence and I realized that I too could muster courage to face the examiner. I could, in fact, protect the inner me from the outside world. My new-found philosophy worked! Of the eight people who sat for the examination that day, only two succeeded and the government representative congratulated me on being the youngest candidate ever to have passed.
I was lucky for I had learnt to control my obsession with my stature.
(a) According to the writer, what two things excite fear in young people going for examinations?
(b) Give two reasons for the writer’s apprehension before the examination.
(c) Why was the writer almost obsessed with his small stature?
(d) How did the observation of the lily affect the writer?
(e) What proof is there in the passage that the writer actually passed the exam?
(f) The sky looked menacing ….. What figure of speech is contained in this expression?
(g) …. because I was small in stature.
(i) What grammatical name is given to this expression as it is used in the passage?
(ii) what is its function?
(h) For each of the following words, find another word or phrase which means the same and which can replace it as it is used in the passage: (i) excite; (ii) offspring; (iii) apprehension; (iv) dismal; (v) delicate; (vi) muster.
Write a story to illustrate the saying: The ealry birds catches the worm.
You are a chief speaker in a debate on the topic: The Television has done more harm than good. Write your speech for or against the topic.
Write a letter to the Minister of Works in your country complaining about the deplorable condition of roads in your area and the effects this has on the lives of your people.