Write an article suitable for publication in one of your national dialies discussing the vandalistion of publuic facilites on your country and its effects.
You have learnt that your younger brother intends to involve i=himself in examination malpractice during his WASSCE. Write a letter to him warning him of the dangers of such an action and urging him to concentrate on his studies.
Read the following passage carefully and answer the questions on it.
The press is a general term for all types of printed newspapers and periodicals. It is an asset as well as a menace to society. Like many things in this world, it has its good and bad sides. Even though it has its bad sides, no society can shut it down and thrive.
The press has its aims and objectives which it follows, come what may. Anyone who wants to be abreast of current affairs or notable events in his society must resort to reading printed material, apart from watching the television. In fact, the press serves more people than the electronic media do. Newspapers and periodicals go where the television cannot. Printed material goes even to the remotest areas of a country.
Institutions of learning disseminate information. However, not all cities, towns and villages have these institutions, but the print media can be used to disseminate information to people in these areas.
Governments, institutions and organizations have their policies, programmes and activities for the smooth running of their affairs. At times, only those in authority reap the benefits. Subordinates are often afraid to criticize the authorities. Their best bet is to resort to the print media which become their mouthpiece. Thus. what the oppressed cannot do, the print media do without fear or favour.
The press is also at the beck and call of anybody who wants its services. Many a time one sees people going job-hunting. They roam the streets of cities and towns, go from one office to the other, move from one employing authority to another only to be told that vacancies do not exist. To be candid, they do not need to waste such time and energy seeking jobs. All they need to do is comb the advertisement columns of newspapers and periodicals and they will be informed about available jobs.
However, the press can be a nuisance in a society. How many times have we not found newspapers and periodicals publishing false and unauthenticated stories? Such stories spread like wild fire. They stir trouble and bring about disunity in societies. The publishers are often out to enrich themselves by churning out false information. For some newspapers and periodicals, reckless and dangerous gossip is their stock-in-trade.
No one can deny the fact that moral decadence has gripped our present world. It is true that even adults contribute to this menace in our societies. Many of our children and youths go for that which is morally low. However, the truth is that the press contributes, to a very large extent, to the loss of morality in our societies. There are publishers who specialize in the production of pornographic material which even our children and youths can afford to buy.
Publishers of newspapers therefore should constantly be conscious of their crucial roles in the society and should always strive to use the medium for the promotion of peace, orderliness, progress and prosperity and not for negative or destructive ends.
(a) In four sentences, one for each, state four positive roles of the press according to the writer.
(b) In two sentences, one for each, state two negative roles of the press.
Read the following passage carefully and answer the questions on it.
There is a fierce war going on in Africa which has attracted little public attention, but is nonetheless a serious business for all concerned. It is a war of Man versus Baboon. The conflict started when engineers built the magnificent bridge which skirts Victoria Falls and crosses the Zambesi River. That, apparently, gave the baboons the opportunity they were looking for. They swarmed from the jungle across the bridge in such numbers that trains were held up by chattering families of baboons. They swung from the girders and barked defiance at everyone — driver, guard and passenger.
Recently, guests at the new tourist hotel at Victoria Falls have complained that trousers and other articles of clothing have been disappearing mysteriously at night. Socks, with suspenders attached, were found dangling from tree-tops in the nearby bush and it was realized that the baboons, not thieves, were the culprits from that time baboons became the declared enemy; Guests were entreated not to give them buns on the lawn at tea-time or encourage them in any other way.
A period of comparative peace followed, and then, a few weeks later, the baboons embarked on a hew campaign at the new international airport at Livingstone. At first they confined themselves to racing across the runways when planes were coming in to land, but when one of them was found asleep in the cockpit of a southbound airliner, it was felt that the time had come for a drastic action. Then the authorities installed electric flares embedded in concrete alongside the runways. Only once did the baboons demonstrate in full force against the glare of the lights, attacking with sticks, stones and fists; but the light stood up to the onslaught, and the attackers retreated.
The next stage in this strange conflict will be the erection of an electrified fence round the perimeter of the airport. Such shock tactics, it is expected, will result in the baboons conceding defeat and completely abandoning their guerrilla warfare. But grey-headed Matabeles who have dwelt all their lives in the Zambesi Valley shake their heads gloomily. They have a legend that if the baboons disappear from Victoria Falls the river will dry up, and “The smoke that Thunders” will thunder no more.
(a) What was the reaction of the baboons after the new bridge had been built?
(b) What incident caused those in control at the airport to deal seriously with the baboons?
(c) What did the airport authorities do to forestall further intrusion by the baboons?
(d) What does the writer suggest as the final solution to the baboon problem?
(e) What fear do the Matabeles have about the efforts to get rid of the baboons?
(f) “…the lights stood up to the onslaught.. What figure of speech is contained in the expression above?
(g) “…guests at the new tourist hotel at Victoria Falls…” i) What grammatical name is given to this expression as it is used in the passage? ii) What is its function?
(h)or 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) magnificent; (ii) culprits: (iii) entreated; (iv) drastic; (v) conflict; (vi) gloomily.
Read the following passage carefully and answer the questions on it.
I can vividly remember my predicament in my first year as a new teacher. On the first day in class, I told my students that they were mature enough to comport themselves in an exemplary manner without burdening them with stringent rules. I wanted them to like me and so I allowed them a lot of freedom. Unfortunately, I lost class control, and the students exploited the situation to disrespect me. Some would leave their seats without permission; freely throw objects like pens, rulers or crumpled pieces of paper to mates or talk with others.
During the long vacation, I busied myself reading books on discipline and consulting seasoned colleagues for help. When we resumed-school the next session, I had formulated strategies on maintaining discipline. There were laid-down, rules such as “students are to be courteous and silent when the teacher or a student is speaking to the class.’ “Students are to ask for the teacher’s permission to leave their seats for anything”, “Students are not to leave the class during lessons.”
After giving the class the rules that I knew were essential for class control, I made sure the students followed them to the letter. I virtually enforced discipline myself instead of sending students to the Principal’s office for disciplinary action as I did the previous year. After about a month, I realized that my efforts were yielding results.
Then, two months before the Christmas holidays, I began to relax some of the rules. One of them read as follows; “Whenever any student wants to leave the class for any reason, he should come up for permission, provided he does this without disturbing other students.” About one week later, I told the students that because they were not disruptive, they could whisper to one another, open or shut windows quietly without my permission.
Indeed, before the second term holidays, we had a classroom where students would come in and go on recess as they finished their class assignments and also where small group discussions on project work took place. Where a student in one group talked too loudly to disturb others, he was cautioned by the group, not me. Teaching then became a pleasure and I felt my students had matured greatly by learning to conduct themselves in a more acceptable way.
(a) Why did the writer not give his students rules initially?
(b) What was the outcome of the writer’s desire for the students to like him?
(c) How did the students react to the writer’s loss of class control?
(d) What did the writer do to change the unfortunate development in the class?
(e) What helped the writer to formulate measures to maintain discipline in class?
(f)”.. .before the second term holidays…”
(i) What grammatical name is given to this expression as it is used in the passage?
(ii) What is its function?
(g) “…I made sure that the students followed them to the letter “What does the writer mean by this statement as it is used in the passage?
(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) stringent; (ii) strategies; (iii) courteous; (iv) essential; (v) yielding; (vi) cautioned.
Write a story, real or imaginary which ends with “I then realized that it pays to be disciplined”.
You are the chief speaker in a debate on the topic: Parents should allow their children to choose their own careers’ write your speech for or against the topics.
As a concerned student, write a letter to the principal of your school, informing him of recent acts of bullying by senior students and suggesting ways of arresting the situation.
You recently took part in an excursion to a part of the country you were visiting for the first time. Write an article for publication in your school magazine narrating your experiences.
You have been staying with your elder brother for sometime and a mis-understanding has ensued. Write a setter to your father giving, at least, three reasons why you feel you can no longer live with your brother.
Read the following passage carefully and answer the questions on it.
No one can deny the fact that anyone who wants to be successful in learning the English language needs a good English dictionary. Such a dictionary should be a source of information about the language — information that is not generally available in grammar books It should not only contain a list words and their meanings, but also a lot of information that can help a leaner to speak and write good English.
In order to use a word correctly, the reader needs to know how to link it with other words in a sentence. He should also know the structures that often precede or follow it, and whether it is formal or informal. This will help him to choose what word is appropriate for a particular context. The dictionary is therefore, an invaluable aid to reading as well as writing skills.
If the meaning of a particular word in a passage impedes the overall comprehension of the main ideas presented in it, then a dictionary should be used. Most teachers must have observed a widespread tendency among their students to attack a new passage by reading it word by word, stopping to reach for a dictionary whenever they come across a word they do not know. This is a wrong approach; the dictionary should be used only as a last resort. The main objective of reading a passage is not to define specific words but to understand the ideas and concepts of the passage. the frequent use of a dictionary tends to focus the reader’s attention on words when he should be concentrating on understanding the main ideas of the passage. Efficient reading implies obtaining the greatest amount of information from the passage in the shortest time possible. The frequent use of a dictionary takes too much time — time that can better be employed in getting an overall understanding of the passage.
Instead of turning to the last resort, the reader should continue reading. Very often, the meaning of an unfamiliar ford can be guessed from the context in which it is used. The passage may give a definition, cite examples or describe )e circumstances surrounding the use of such a word well enough for him to know what it means. After reading the ‘hole passage, the reader may realize that he has understood the important ideas presented without knowing the leaning of every word. If, after reading the entire passage, the reader is still unable to guess the meaning of a word from the context, then he should study the structure of the word The word may be a compound word which, when broken into its component parts, can be easily understood.
If after exhausting these approaches. the reader still does not understand the meaning of a word, and if this word is vital to the comprehension of the whole passage, then and only then, should he refer to a dictionary,
(a) In one sentence state the purpose of a good dictionary
(b) In two sentences, one for each, state the two disadvantages of constantly referring to a dictionary when reading a passage.
(c) In three sentences, one for each, summarize the three steps that a reader should take before referring to a dictionary.
Read the following passage carefully and answer the questions on it.
Miss Williamson announced in class one day that she wanted one of us to live with her to help her with her domestic work after school. There was a rush to volunteer which took her completely by surprise. When she recovered and had quietened our excited shouting, there was a moment during which none of us dared breathe, as she scanned the eager faces. What made her choose me i had never found out, but i had noticed before that she was partial to me. “All right Karimu,” she said. “You can come, but first run along and get your father’s consent”
My parents were only too glad to have one mouth fewer to feed and my brothers and sisters to see the back of one who inevitably, had begun to assume an air of superiority in talking to them. Miss Williamson’s bungalow was a stone’s throw from school. That very evening saw me installed on a mat in a corner of her back veranda. I was unable to sleep, excited at the thought of the good fortune that had come my way. To be within earshot of Miss Williamson’s English all day, to have access to her books, to nurse the possibility, overwhelming even in thought, of going with her frequently of Rofunkti – all these visions kept my eyes wide open and my brain racing until very late that night. With my “lapa” pulled right over my head and happy beyond all description in my heart, I smiled myself to sleep.
I learnt a very great deal in Miss Williamson’s bungalow. Apart from improving my English, I learnt about the world outside and began to sense that were barriers much higher and much less easily gauged than those of mere language and colour, between my own people and those from whom she sprang. The smiling teacher in the daytime often became the brooding restless, ill-tempered spinster in the evening. Her bungalow was shared by another lady, a doctor, also a Scot, who traveled to and fro between the villages on a bicycle. I noticed that when not at their work or talking about it, these women showed no signs of being happy. As I grew up with them, i found myself wondering what had made them leave their country and come to live among a people whose ways were totally different from theirs.
(a) Why was Miss Williamson completely surprised?
(b) Why was Karimu’s family happy to see him go to stay at the bungalow?
(C) State the overwhelming thought that kept Karimu awake.
(d) What did Karimu find difficult to understand about the two ladies?
(e) Mention the identical trait in these two ladies behaviour.
(f) “What made her choose me. .”
(i) What grammatical name is given to this expression as it is used in the passage? ;
(ii) What is its function?
(g) “I smiled myself to sleep.”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) scanned; (ii) inevitably; (iii) nurse; (iv) vision; (v)gauged; (vi) brooding.
Read the following passage carefully and answer the questions on it.
It was a little past 10 a.m. but the medium-sized hall that served as a prayer house was already brimming with people from different parts of the metropolis, who had come to seek cure or answers to their problems. The majority of this lot were those with seemingly intractable mental health conditions. The superintendent of the prayer house in question was often spoken of in whispers as possessing uncanny spiritual powers to exorcise evil spirits. it was also believed that he had answers to numerous illnesses that defied orthodox medication. Wednesday of each week was set aside for these healing sessions.
On this particular Wednesday, noisy supplications to the Most High and ceaseless invocation of His name to free those supposedly held captive by alleged evil spirits had reached fever pitch. Suddenly, a middle-aged man broke loose from the crowd and ran as fast as his wobbly legs could permit. Some male workers from the prayer house gave him a hot chase.
At first, bemused by-standers rained curses on the fleeing man, wondering why a man in his right senses would in broad daylight rob a house of God. They obviously mistook the man for a robber fleeing from the scene of his crime. But he was not. Minutes later, he was caught and chained hands and feet, despite his struggle against his captors who intermittently lashed him with horse-whip. As he was being violently dragged along the street, the man ceaselessly muttered incomprehensible words that sounded like the muttering of a colony of baboons. Then, a clear picture of the situation dawned on the on-lookers. The man, after all, was not a thief and had stolen nothing; rather, his ability to think and reason properly had taken flight of him. Simply put, he was mentally deranged.
The above incident is a common occurrence in many parts of the country. It aptly underscores the devastating mental health conditions plaguing a sizeable number of people in recent times. It also points to the unspeakable and inhuman treatment which people with such health disorders suffer at the hands of self-styled spiritualists. This is the usual lot of mental patients whose family members refuse to take advantage of orthodox treatment.
(a) What brought the people to the prayer house?
(b) State the functions of the superintendent of the prayer house.
(c) What was wrong with the on-lookers’ assessment of the run-away man?
(d) Mention two instances of inhuman treatment in the passage.
(e) What is the writer’s attitude towards the treatment of lunatics at prayer house?
(f)”… like the muttering of a colony of baboons.” What figure of speech is contained in this expression?
(g) “… Whose family member refuse to take advantage of orthodox treatment.” (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) intractable ; (ii) supplications; (iii) wobbly; (iv) bemused; (v) intermittently (vi) deranged.
Write a story to illustrate the saying: A good name is better than riches.
You are the Chief Speaker in a debate on the topic: The youths of today are more interested in the pursuit of pleasure than in academic work. Write your speech for or against the topic.
Your country’s public transport system is not functioning properly. Write a letter to the Minister of Transport, highlighting the causes and suggesting at least two measures to remedy the situation.
Write an article for publication in a national newspaper on the topic: Vocational Training is the answer to unemployment among the youths.
You have recently moved into a new neighbourhood with your parents. Write a letter to your sister who is studying overseas giving, at least, three reasons for disliking the new place.
Read the following passage carefully and answer the questions on it.
People. this usually unwilling to make changes in their lives after being accustomed to a certain style of life. However, this can cause a lot of problems, as changing circumstances often make a change in lifestyle inevitable. Take for example, people who leave their country and go abroad for various reasons. Such people will inevitably face many challenges. First they have to adapt to a new culture and habits that are completely different from what they were used to in their. own country. They will also have to adapt to the weather and may need to learn a new language, or now, communicate regularly in a language other than their mother tongue, which they used more frequently before their relocation.
Again, at some point in their lives, some people may have cause to change their career. The reasons for this may be varied and need not concern us here. But career changes inevitably necessitate the acquisition of a different set of skills and. experience in the new job, a new routine and adaptation to new friends and colleagues at work . In the face of economic recession and related circumstances, people may lose their jobs as the organizations they work for try to adjust to the ,adverse situation by retrenching many of their workers. (Terms such as -down-sizing”,” right-sizing and restructuring” are the modern-day euphemisms for this phenomenon!) A worker who suddenly loses his or her job obviously has to adjust to a new lifestyle – at least until a new job comes along.
Closely related to job loss is retirement. Many people carry on at their jobs as if they will remain. at such jobs forever. But retirement is inevitable not only for the paid worker but also the self-employed. Retirement in most cases means a change from an active working life to a more sedentary lifestyle. It often requires giving up official property such as accommodation and vehicles and the replacement of a regular salary with a modest pension, which may not be regular. Because of these, the prospect of retirement is often viewed with apprehension by many. as they are not prepared for it.
Outside the work domain, other changes inevitably continue to take place. For example, at some point in their lives, young men and women come together and get married and start their own families. The transition from bachelorhood or spinsterhood of course means adaptation to a spouse. raising children and discarding many of the habits, often reckless and impulsive, of unmarried life.
Finally, as painful and undesirable as it is, death is inevitable. The untimely loss of a loved one – a wife, a husband. a parent – often turns people’s lives upside down. and necessitates a drastic change in lifestyle. Many people never anticipate such a loss. and if unfortunately it does occur. it can be quite devastating. ‘ n conclusion people have to be l ready for any changes that may occur in their lives. as change is inevitable and there is no guarantee for anyone that life will be stable forever.
(a) In six sentences, one for each. summarize the six factors that can cause a change in lifestyle as discussed in the passage.
Read the following passage carefully and answer the questions on it.
Although rural people needed kerosene for lighting, they relied on it more for cooking. However, persistent fuel scarcity had made the commodity hardly affordable where it was available. Fetching dry wood from the forest became inevitably the order of the day.
Early one morning Jojo and I. armed with cutlasses and axes, joined other young people, who were more conversant with the forest, in search of dry wood It soon dawned on us that this “essential commodity” had been driven so far away that we had to wander into the heart of the forest before we could fine a huge branch of tree that looked dry. Convinced that it was. we went into action. each cutting from his own side.
Scarcely had we started when Jojo suddenly jumped up from her position and exclaimed “Goodness!” When I inquired what had happened. she explained that the ground on which she was standing was lifting her up This sounded weird and I went closer to examine the ground. It appeared level and was full of dry leaves. There was no sign of anything other than the bare ground. Mockingly, I asked her to return to work, adding that her phobia about the forest was changing into an illusion. Nevertheless. I struck the ground with my cutlass cutting through it to reassure her that there was nothing to fear. But before I could leave we noticed blood trickling out of the cut on the ground and we scampered away, developing goose-flesh.
As we watched from the distance, we observed that there was a writhing movement and gradually. a curled creature stretched into full length of about three and a half feet. The earthy but splendid design of the skin became visible and it started what was like its last struggle away from the spot Its pace was decreasing with every effort to crawl on while more blood was being lost as a result of the deep cut it had received.
Whether it was shock or fear that prevented me from finishing up what I started, I cannot say. But though we accomplished our aim of going to the forest that day. I was haunted by the guilt of an unwilling murderer many days after.
(a) Why was kerosene important to rural people?
(b) State two reasons why the people sought an alternative to kerosene
(c) What lifted Jojo up?
(d) What did the narrator start that he could not finish?
(e) ” the heart of the forest (i) What figure of speech is contained in this expression? (ii) What does it mean?
(f) “As we watched from the distance (i) What is the grammatical name given to this expression as it is used in the passage ? (ii) What is its function?
(g) 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) persistent (ii) inevitably, (iii) weird; (vi) mockingly;
(v) splendid;
(vi) accomplished.
Read the following passage carefully and answer the questions on it.
As I watched Musa step out of the plane, I concluded that diligence, intelligence and luck had turned Musa from the rustic pauper of thirty years earlier to a highly successful professional. Here was a village boy of yesteryear, an orphan from early life, cheated out of his heritage by his half-brothers and uncles whose actions forced him to fend for himself. So, how did he become an internationally acclaimed computer wizard?
When his well-to-do father died three years after his mother, he had just gained admission to a fee-paying secondary school. Had his parents lived, that would not have been a problem. But his closest relatives were more interested in sharing assets than handling liabilities. They shared the three buildings in the city, as well as several cocoa plantations with hundreds of oil palms. None considered it right to take on the care of the poor boy.
Left in the lurch, he clung on to a classmate who had longed to work in the city as a petty clerk. They moved to the city. Both were engaged by a big-time retailer in all sorts of goods. which he gave out to the boys to hawk on the busy roads.
There were no salaries; all they had were commissions from each day’s sales. Musa and his friend could be out in the street from 6.00.a.m. till almost midnight. That way. they were able to keep body and soul together.
But Musa soon decided that his returns could cater for a little more than that. His yearning for education still very keen, he cut short his daily schedules at 4.00 p.m to attend an evening school organized by some secondary school teachers. And he made very rapid progress. Often, after classes, he would return to the streets. He never fared worse than any of the other learners, most of whom attended classes after normal school In time he sat for and passed all his school certificate papers with flying colours . Indeed. his results were among the best in the country.
An oil company which had a policy of sponsoring the university education of the best students in the various disciplines awarded him a scholarship. Thus, his university education in computer science was fully sponsored. Eventually he emerged as the best graduate in the university. The training made him a top 3-D computer programmer in engineering and architectural designs. So, as he stepped out of the plane, returning from one of his several international conferences, I could not but reach the conclusion I had made earlier.
(a) Where was the writer when he arrived at the conclusion with which he opened the passage?
(b) What tragedy had beset Musa early in life?
(c) What worsened Musa’s plight?
(d) How did Musa solve the problem of acquiring secondary education?
(e) What element of luck contributed to Musa’s success?
(f) “… keep body and soul together.”
(i) What figure of speech is contained in this expression?
(ii) What does it mean?
(g) ‘… who had longed to work in the city…”
(i) What is the grammatical name 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. fine another word or phrase which means the same and which can replace it as it is used in the passage: (i) fend for; (ii) considered: (iii) engaged; (iv) yearning (v) eventually: