English Paper 2 Questions and Answers - Pavement Mock Exams 2021/2022

Instructions to Students

• Answer all the questions 

1. READING COMPREHENSION
   Read the passage below and answer the questions that follow (20 Marks)
   
   Now books are for reading, but men must bring to their reading a desire to learn and a power of assimilation. Reading a book without assimilating it is like eating a meal without digesting it. Reading should be active, not passive. I think it was G.K. Chesterton who said there was a great difference between the eager man who wants to read a book, and the bored man who wants a book to read. I also heard a dreadful story of a man who went to a bookshop in England and said, “Can you recommend me a book I can read while listening to the wireless?”
   
   When students first go to a library, they may be puzzled as to what to read of all the different subjects. Well, Bacon tells you to look at weak places in your armor, and shows you how to fill the gaps in your knowledge. On the other hand, it is no good just trying to fill your mind with knowledge. Knowledge in itself is often useless. A mind overloaded with knowledge is like a room too full of furniture; a man cannot walk about freely in it, and look out of the windows. It is much better to concentrate on a few subjects which interest you – geography, history, art, science – and to deal lightly with others, than to march sternly and heavily through the whole range of learning, like a silly tourist going through a museum and not missing a single object. If you try to master every subject, you may become very wise, but you will be very inhuman and you will probably lose all your friends. So you must learn to pick and choose, and you must also learn to browse in a library like a camel browsing in the pasture.
   
   If you watch a camel grazing, you will see that although he is supposed to be one of the most stupid animals in creation, he has at least one of the characteristics of a cultured man: the power to pick and choose. A student looking for mental food in a library should take the camel as his model. The camel wanders about and grazes first here and there; sometimes from a tree that is the top shelves of his library, or a bush, the middle shelves, or the grass, the bottom shelves. He bites off a twig, chews it a bit, and if he likes it he takes another bite. If he finds it tasteless or bitter, he leaves it and wanders to another tree. Sometimes after trying several trees and plants, he comes back to his first one. In the end he will probably sit down and chew it over. Mental chewing over is a very good process for a man, as physical chewing over is for a camel. It helps digestion.
   
   (Adapted from Sir Douglas Newbolt’s Inaugural Lecture to the Cultural Centre, Khartoum)
   Questions.
   1. According to the first paragraph, what is the purpose of books? (1 mark)
   2. Explain the implication of assimilation in reading a book? (2 marks)
   3. Why does the narrator mention G.K. Chesterton? (3 marks)
   4. In your own words, how does the narrator regard those who read as they listen to the radio? 2Mks
   5. Explain the narrator’s analogy of a crowded room in relation to knowledge. (2 marks)
   6. What main danger is one likely to face if one masters every subject read. (2 marks)
   7. Why do you think the narrator identifies a cultured man with the power to pick and choose? 2mks
   8. In note form, enumerate the importance of a camel to a student seeking knowledge. (3marks)
   9. Explain the meaning of the following words as used in the passage: (3 marks)
      1. Puzzled
      2. Browse
      3. Digestion
2. A DOLL’S HOUSE By John Steinbeck (25 marks)
   Helmer: Very well. I will think it over; we shall manage to hit upon something.
   Nora: That is nice of you. (Goes to the Christmas tree; a short pause). How pretty the flowers look. But, tell me, was it really something very bad that this Krogstad was guilty of?
   Helmer: Yes; or, as in so many cases, by imprudence. I am not so heartless as to condemn a man altogether because of a single false step of that kind.
   Nora: No, you wouldn’t, would you, Tovarld?
   Helmer: Many a man has been able to retrieve his character if he has openly confessed his fault and taken his punishment.
   Nora: Punishment?
   Helmer: But Krogstad did nothing of the sort; he got himself out of it by a cunning trick, and that is why he has gone under altogether.
   Nora: But do you think it would?
   Helmer: Just think how a guilty man like that has to lie and play the hypocrite with everyone; how he has to wear a mask in the presence of those near and dear to him, even before his wife and children. And about the children – that is the most terrible part of it all, Nora.
   Nora: How?
   Helmer: Because such an atmosphere of lies infects and poisons the whole life of a home. Each breath the children take in such a house is full of germs of evil.
   Questions
   1. Place this excerpt in its immediate context. (4marks)
   2. Identify and illustrate two character traits of Helmer evident in the extract. (4marks)
   3. From your knowledge of the play, explain the irony in Helmer’s observation. (4marks)
   4. From elsewhere in the play, explain 2 steps Nora takes to ensure that her children do not take any breath full of germs of evil. (2marks)
   5. Explain the meaning of the following phrases as used in the extract: 2marks
      1. …and that’s why he has gone under altogether
      2. Krogstad did nothing of the sort
   6. I am not so heartless as to condemn a man altogether because of a single false step of that kind. (Add a question tag) - 1mark
   7. Explain Tovarld and Nora’s position on the issue of forgery as evidenced in the excerpt and elsewhere in the play. (4marks)
   8. Identify and illustrate any 2 stylistic devices used in the excerpt. (4marks)
3. ORAL LITERATURE (20 marks)
   Read the narrative below and then answer the questions that follow.
   
   Long long time ago animals and Birds spoke just like men do. When God had to stop them speaking, He made birds sing, like this chrrip! Chrrip ………. lions to roar like this graagh! Graagh! And hyenas to howl like this huuu! Huuu!
   And do you blame God? Listen to what naughty hyena who had gone two days without any meat did. He had been wondering up and down the hills when he suddenly stopped, nose in the air, one foot raised.
   Do I smell, eh…. smell food? He slowly raised his head to the skies as if to say, “Please God, let me find some food, even one rotting bone will do.”
   Slowly, he followed the smell, sniffing hard, stopping now and again, over grinning wider as the smell became stronger. “Here at last”, He said as he came in sight of a calf that seemed dead, flies buzzing over its excrement.
   “God, no time to waste. Who knows the owner may be around. Oh, no, I see it is secured to a tree with a ‘Mukwa” I’ll take my time.
   Ha, I am tired too, come to think of it. God gave us pretty strong senses of smell, generous old……. Man. Still I do think some people tend to exaggerate, now who was it saying the other day ‘ati’ God is the giver of everything and that we should be grateful. O.K. Tell me, did God give this calf? Did you God? I found it myself, smelled my way there, all the way. Nice calf too, rather thin but it will do. I’ll take the head home and make soup with herbs. I especially like ‘muthathii’, and I see one over there.
   OK. Here we go, where shall I start, this lovely neck? No, I know, I will start with the ‘mukwa’ then I’ll get on to the soft stuff, the tail, the rump, ‘Mahu’……….”
   After chewing up half of the ‘mukwa’ the hyena brushed his teeth with the twig of a ‘muthiga’ a tree to stimulate his appetite. He stepped on the calf’s tail, stuffed it in his mouth and ‘snap’ it went. The calf which was only very sick and tired shot up and bolted away in the twinkling of an eye.
   The hyena rubbed his eyes, ambled after the disappearing calf and soon fell down in exhaustion. He looked up again to the heaven, tried to speak but no words came. Hyenas have never been able to speak ever since…………
   1. Classify this narrative and give a reason for your answer. (2marks)
   2. What two features of oral narrative are evident in this story? (4marks)
   3. Identify one economic aspect of the community described in this narrative and give evidence of your answer. (2marks)
   4. Describe two-character traits of the hyena as portrayed in the narrative. (4marks)
   5. What is the moral of this narrative? (2marks)
   6. Write a proverb with the same moral lesson as this narrative. (1mark)
   7. If you are asked to go and collect this story in the field, state:
      1. State three things you would do before the actual field trip. (3marks)
      2. State two difficulties you are likely to encounter. (2marks)
4. GRAMMAR (15 marks)
   
   1. Rewrite the following sentences as instructed. Do not change the meaning. (4 marks)
      1. The teachers will be marking books by the time we get to school. (Rewrite beginning: Books
      2. The driver, and not the passengers, …………………………to blame for the accident. (Fill the blank with the correct form of the verb “be”)
      3. The principal noticed serious laxity among the students. He warned them against such behavior. (Combine the sentence using the present participle).
      4. But for the neighbor’s quick action, the house would have burnt down. (Rewrite Beginning:
         Were
   2. Use the correct form of the word in brackets to fill in the gap in each sentence (3marks)
      1. That bus is …………………………………… (rely) for this journey; let’s use the SGR train.
      2. The ………………………………………… (appropriate) of his speech made everyone leave the hall while booing.
      3. Don’t make a false ……………………………..… (assume) of his looks: he is a thief!
   3. Explain the ambiguity in the sentences below. (2 marks)
      The mother beat up the daughter because she was drunk.
   4. Rewrite the following sentences correcting the errors in each: (3 marks)
      1. Stop lying; you cannot be able to swallow four sausages!
      2. She likes football as it is more superior than hockey.
      3. Most doctors will report to work with a view of treating all the cholera patients.
   5. Fill in the blanks with the correct alternative from the choices given (3marks)
      1. Who…………………………………………a fire outside my house? (light/ lighted/ lit)
      2. Since the introduction of community policing in our estates ……..…………….………. of theft have reduced. (incidence /incident/incidents)
      3. An elephant looks after………………..……………………………………….. calf (it’s/ its)

MARKING SCHEME

1. READING COMPREHENSION
   
   1. According to the first paragraph, what is the purpose of books? (1 mark)
      • The purpose of books is to create in us the desire to read. √1
   2. Explain the implication of assimilation in reading a book? (2 marks)
      • Assimilation is (helps in) internalizing the content of what one has read. √1
      • With assimilation, a reader understands/ comprehends/ grasps/ deeply perceives what is contained in the book. √1
   3. Why does the narrator mention G.K. Chesterton? (3 marks)
      • The writer’s aim is to create contrast/ distinction between serious readers and non-serious ones. √2
      • He also wants to prove that people are inspired by different motives to read (to gather knowledge or pass time). √1
   4. In your own words, how does the narrator regard those who read as they listen to the radio?
      • The narrator looks at them with derision/ scorn/ridicule. √1
      • He says “he heard a dreadful story…√1
   5. Explain the narrator’s analogy of a crowded room in relation to knowledge. (2 marks)
      • The comparison is appropriate because truly, in a crowded room, one’s focus is ruined, concentration distorted and progress impeded. Similarly, a an overloaded mind will lack focus and purpose/resolve in life. √2 (expect the comparison for it to score)
   6. What main danger is one likely to face if one masters every subject read. (2 marks)
      • The danger is that the person is likely to be inhuman √1 and lose all friends. √1
   7. Why do you think the narrator identifies a cultured man with the power to pick and choose? (2 marks)
      • This is because picking and choosing are symbols of good or educated/ polished/ elegant/ graceful manners as contrasted with the excessive cramming/ stuffing of items associated with uncivilized/unprogressive people. √2
   8. In note form, enumerate the importance of a camel to a student seeking knowledge. (3mks)
      Like a camel grazing in a field, a scholar in a library is supposed to:
      1. Pick and choose what to read √ ½ a
      2. Browse from shelf to shelf √ ½ b
      3. Reach the top shelves/Reach the middle shelves/Reach the lower shelves √ ½ c
      4. Reach for a book, sample it, if it is good read it even more √ ½ d
      5. Leave a book if not worth it √ ½ e
      6. Compare later books with the first choice made √ ½ f
      7. Read the chosen book enthusiastically √ ½ g
         Instructions:
         The topic sentence is necessary; if not, it should be repeated before every answer
         Answer should be in note form; if not, deduct by ½ marks from the total score.
         Notes can be identified by numbers, dashes, letters, and bullets incomplete but correct statements.
         Any 6 points ½ a mark each
   9. Explain the meaning of the following words as used in the passage: (3 marks)
      1. Puzzled- Confused/ baffled/confounded (do not accept shocked!)√1
      2. Browse- Move around as you sample books/ material to read √1
      3. Digestion - Absorption of read content √ 1
2. A DOLL’S HOUSE By Henric Ibsen (25 marks)
   1. Place this excerpt in its immediate context. (4mks)
      • Before: Nora says she has a big favour to ask of Tovarld. She asks her husband to help pick a dress and roll for her when she goes to the fancy dress ball. Helmer is pleased that his wife is asking for his help. She says she can’t do without him.
      • After: Tovarld says that in his life as a lawyer, bad character in children begins with a deceitful mother. He says that a bad father would yield similar results. He says Krogstad has been poisoning his own children with lies and dissimulation.
   2. Identify and illustrate two character traits of Helmer evident in the extract. (4marks)
      1. Open/ Candid/Forthright – tells Nora he won’t condemn a man for the sake of it. He faults Krogstad for not clearing his name.
      2. Determined/ Resolute – he has made up his mind that Krogstad must pay for his misdeeds because he has refused to confess his fault and not taken his punishment. (mark any other relevant trait)
   3. From your knowledge of the play, explain the irony in Helmer’s observation. (4mks)
      1. When Helmer says: ‘Each breath the children take in such a house is full of germs of evil’. It is ironic that he does not know he is directly referring to his wife.
      2. Nora is equally deceitful because she has concealed her secret loan with Krogstad for a long time.
      3. Her husband has no idea that the money used for his treatment was borrowed from Krogstad.
      4. The atmosphere in his house is equally full of evil in this case. Nora is deceitful for taking a loan behind Helmer’s back and continues to ‘poison’ the children.
   4. From elsewhere in the play, explain what steps Nora takes to ensure that her children do not take any breath full of germs of evil. (2mks)
      1. Nora keeps herself too busy from the children. The nurse is with them all the time.
      2. At the end of the play, Nora leaves the children with Tovarld and the nurse
   5. Explain the meaning of the following phrases as used in the extract: (2marks)
      1. …and that’s why he has gone under altogether
         • His reputation was ruined or his condition is beyond repair
      2. Krogstad did nothing of the sort
         • Krogstad never confessed his fault
   6. I am not so heartless as to condemn a man altogether because of a single false step of that kind. (Add a question tag) - 1mark
      • I am not so heartless as to condemn a man altogether because of a single false step of that kind, am I? (a comma after kind, the tag must begin with a small letter and end with a question mark)
   7. Explain Tovarld and Nora’s position on the issue of forgery as evidenced in the excerpt and elsewhere in the play. (4marks)
      • Tovarld views forgery as a very serious crime/ offence. He would have expected Krogstad to openly confess and seek redemption. Nora on the other hand, takes it lightly and says one can be driven by necessity
      • Elsewhere, Nora fights hard to conceal her own forgery in the bond she signed with Krogstad. Its discovery will be worse that Krogstad’s because she is Helmer’s wife and she knows his feelings on this subject.
      • She justifies her forgery and says she did it to save her husband. (2marks each)
   8. Identify and illustrate any one stylistic device used in the excerpt. (4marks)
      • Symbolism- ‘how she has to wear a mask..’ -one has to pretend to be what he/she is not.
      • Repetition - No, you wouldn’t, would you, Tovarld?- emphasises his willingness to forgive.
3. ORAL LITERATURE: (20 marks)
   1. Classify this narrative and give a reason for your answer. (2marks)
      • This is an etiological narrative (1mk) because it explains why hyena has never been able to speak (1mk)
   2. What two features of oral narrative are evident in this story? (4marks)
      • Starting formula (1mk) ………long long ago………. (1mark)
      • Ending formula (1mk) Hyenas have never been able to speak ever since….. (1mk)
   3. Identify one economic aspect of the community described in this narrative and give evidence of your answer. (2marks)
      • Cattle rearing 1mk the calf recurred to a tree with a “mukwa” 1mk
   4. Describe two-character traits of the hyena as portrayed in the narrative. (4marks)
      • Gluttonous / greedy (1mk) Because he thought of how to eat the whole calf alone (1mark)
      • Foolish (1mk) Because he only talked, only to lose the whole calf. Started eating the rope that had secured the calf (1mark)
   5. What is the moral of this narrative? (2marks)
      • We should be contented with what we get. The hyena was not contented with what he got and therefore he suffered (2marks)
   6. Write a proverb with the same moral as this narrative. (1mark)
      • Hurry, hurry has no blessing (1mark)
      • Think before you act. (Any other relevant proverb, use your discretion)
   7. If you are asked to go and collect this story in the field, state:
      
      1. Three things you would do before the actual field trip. (3marks)
         1. Decide on the genre to work on
         2. Identify the place and the informants you are going to interview and notify them
         3. Decide on the mode of the interview and assemble the equipment that you will use
         4. Test the equipment to ensure they are in working order.
         5. Seek permission from the local administration
         6. Get a research assistant where necessary
         7. Formulate a questionnaire
            (mark any three. 3 marks each total 3marks)
      2. Two difficulties you are likely to encounter. (2marks)
         • Language barrier
         • Hostile communities
         • Unco-operative respondents
         • In accessibility of some areas
         • Bad weather (mark any two= 2mks)
4. Grammar (15 marks)
   1. Rewrite the following sentences as instructed. Do not change the meaning. (4 marks)
      1. The teachers will be marking books by the time we get to school. (Rewrite beginning: Books………………)
         • Books will be being marked by the time we get to school. √ 1
      2. The driver, and not the passengers, …………is/ was……………to blame for the accident. (Fill the blank with the correct form of the verb “BE”)
      3. The principal noticed serious laxity among the students. He warned them against such behavior. (Combine the sentence using the present participle)
         • Noticing the serious laxity among students, the principal warned them against such behavior. √ 1
      4. But for the neighbor’s quick action, the house would have burnt down. (Rewrite Beginning: Were ……………)
         • Were it for the neighbor’s quick action, the house would have burned down. √
   2. Use the correct form of the word in brackets to fill in the gap in each sentence (3marks)
      1. That bus is ……unreliable…………… (rely) for this journey; let’s use the SGR train.
      2. The ………inappropriateness/ inappropriacy……… (appropriate) of his speech made everyone leave the hall while booing.
      3. Don’t make a false …assumption… (assume) of his looks: he is a thief!
   3. Explain the ambiguity in the following sentences. (2 marks)
      The mother beat up the daughter because she was drunk.
      • The mother, who was drunk, beat up her daughter. √ 1
      • The mother beat up the daughter because the daughter was drunk/ for being drunk. √ 1
   4. Rewrite the following sentences correcting the errors in each: (3 marks)
      1. Stop lying; you cannot be able to swallow four sausages!
         • Stop lying; you cannot swallow four sausages. √ 1
      2. She likes football as it is more superior than hockey.
         • She likes football as it is superior to hockey. √ 1
      3. Most doctors will report to work with a view of treating all the cholera patients.
         • Most doctors will report to work with a view to treating all the cholera patients.
   5. Fill in the blanks with the correct alternative from the choices given (3marks)
      1. Who……lit……a fire outside my house? (Light/lighted/lit)
      2. Since the introduction of community policing in our estates …….. incidents………… of theft have reduced. (Incidence /incident/incidents)
      3. An elephant looks after…its… calf (it’s/its)
         Instructions for grammar
         
         • any wrong spelling = 0
           
         • wrong punctuation = 0
           
         • wrong tense =0