English Paper 2 Questions and Answers - Moi Tea Mock Examinations 2022

Questions

INSTRUCTIONS TO CANDIDATES:

• Answer all the questions in the spaces provided.

1. COMPREHENSION. (20MKS)
   Read the following passage and then answer the questions that follow.
                     The question is at least as old as Socrates: If we know what the right thing to do is, why do we not do it? It is an especially acute question when applied to global warming. The science showing that carbon dioxide emissions are already changing the planet’s climate, and are likely to have severe effects (melting ice caps, sea-level rise, and species extinction), is compelling and now barely disputed. Almost 90% of Europeans say they recognize climate change as a major issue, and 75% identify fossil fuel emissions as a major cause.
                    And yet, as was widely discussed at a conference of environmentalists, geologists and writers in May 2006 in Ankelohe, Germany, public understanding has not translated into even the simplest of public actions. Less than 1% of Britons, for example, have switched their home electricity to renewable sources, even though it requires little more than a phone call to one’s existing provider. Proportions on the continent are slightly higher, but there is clearly no rush to go green or — shudder — stop driving cars.
                    Why such a disconnect between information and action? Part of the problem is that environmental advocates emit mixed messages. In mid-May 2006, Britain’s Guardian published a front-page story showing that five companies in Britain produce more CO2 pollution in a year than all the country’s motorists combined. That is a strong argument for targeting industries, but the average reader could hardly be blamed for thinking, “Why should I bother to cut down my driving?”
                    Similarly, not enough thought has been devoted to the best role for government. Climate change is too vast a problem for individuals to solve alone, and some big businesses have an incentive not to solve it. That leaves government to take the lead, which is tricky, because over-reliance on government can allow individuals to fob off their own responsibilities. What is worse, government power seems to tickle autocratic fantasies. In my experience, environmentalists spend far too much energy advocating hard-line government ‘solutions’ that do not stand a chance of being enacted. Sure, it might be good for the planet if governments banned the use of sports-utility vehicles or, for that matter, of all fossil fuels. Yet not only is it hard to sell outright prohibitions to voters, but the sad truth is that governments have a woeful record in even the mildest interventions. One of the most
                    Significant innovations in the last decade has been Europe’s carbon-emission trading scheme: some 12 000 companies, responsible for more than half of the EU’s emissions, have been assigned quotas. Companies with unused allowances can sell them; the higher the price, the greater the incentive for firms to cut their use of fossil fuels. The system seemed to work for about a year — but now it turns out that Europe’s governments allocated far too many credits, which will likely hinder the program’s effectiveness for years.
                    Perhaps the real reason that well-intentioned consumers do not change is that they do not see any benefit. Climate change may be a frightening, irreversible calamity, but its worst effects will not be felt next week or next year. The planet looks the same regardless of whether we use environmentally friendly technology or we do not care how much CO2 we emit. But sure as the sun rises and sets every day, if we do not cut down on carbon emissions, then we may not have a planet to hand over to the next generation.
   (Adapted from Times, June 5, 2006)
   1. According to the passage, what are the effects of global warming? (4 marks)
   2. What, according to the passage, is the main cause of global warming? (3 marks)
   3. How does Britain encourage people to use renewable electricity? (3 marks)
   4. Paraphrase the following sentence: That is a strong argument for targeting industries, but the average reader could hardly be blamed for thinking, ‘Why should I bother to cut down my driving?’ (4 marks)
   5. What message does the writer communicate in this passage? (2 marks)
   6. Explain the meaning of the following words and expression as used in the passage.(4 marks)
      1. fob off
      2. incentive
      3. calamity
      4. go-green
         
         
2. Read the following excerpt and answer the questions that follow
                    “Yes, Papaai,” Resian said apprehensively. “I am here. Taiyo tells me you are calling me?”
                    “Yes, yes,” her father replied. “Please take a seat.”
                    “Yes, Papaai,” Resian repeated as she sat on a chair far away from her father.
                    “Come nearer…child,” her father said pleasantly.
                    “Why do you sit a mile away? Come nearer.”
   Resian moved her chair hardly an inch from where it was and then she looked up into her
   father’s face with eager expectation.
                    “If I do remember well,” her father began in a low even tone, “you will be nineteen in September this year, am I right”
   “You are quite right, Papaai.” Resian answered eyeing him curiously. His face was unusually kind. His eyes held hers as he smiled broadly. That’s it!’ she thought triumphantly. “That must be it!
   “You and I have not discussed important issues for a long time,” he said with a friendly chuckle that was intended to bring her closer to him. “I thought today would be the best day to break the news. Your future is very important to me, my dear child.”
   Resian thought the concern in her father’s voice, rang false. She hesitated, but could not hold herself any more. The anxiety was too great.
                    “Papaai, is it Yeiyo or Taiyo who spoke to you?” she asked sensationally, thinking she was stating the obvious. But seeing her father’s face cloud, she added quickly.
                    “Who between them spoke to you about our enrolment at the Egerton University?”
                    “What are you talking about, child? Her father, who seemed dumbfounded, asked after a long and uncomfortable silence.
                    “Both Yeiyo and Taiyo promised to talk to you about it, and I thought she had.”
   “What, in the name of God are you talking about, child?” he repeated, this time agitated and shaking his head vigorously. “No, I have never spoken to anybody about any of you enrolling at the university. Never! When I said I wanted us to discuss your future, that isn’t what I meant at all. Of course not!”Resian looked at her father’s face enquiringly.
   1. What has happened before the excerpt? (3mks)
   2. What is so ironical in this passage? Explain your answer referring to elsewhere in the novel. (3mks)
   3. “Your future is very important to me, my dear child” From elsewhere in the novel, explain why Ole Kaelo tells his daughter so. (3Mks)
   4. Discuss two aspects of character in Resian in this excerpt. (4Mks)
   5. What major issue is addressed in this excerpt? (2Mks)
   6. Explain what happens after this excerpt. (3Mks)
   7. “Who between them spoke to you about our enrolment at the Egertonuniversity?” Rewrite in the indirect speech. (1Mk)
   8. A part from irony, discuss any other aspect of style evident in the excerpt. (2Mks)
   9. Explain the meaning of the following words and expressions used in the excerpt. (4 Mks)
      1. Apprehensively
      2. Sit a mile away
      3. Hold herself
      4. Agitated
3. LITERARY APPRECIATED. (20MKS)
   Read the poem below and then answer the questions that follow.
   
   No coffin, no grave by fared Angira
   He was buried without a coffin
   Without a grave
   The scavengers performed the post-mortem
   In the open mortuary
   Without sterilized knives
   In front of the night club
   
   Stuttering rifles put up
   The gun salute of the day
   That was a state burial anyway
   The car knelt
   The red plate wept, wrapped itself in blood its
   Master’s
   
   The diary revealed to the sea
   The rain anchored there at last
   Isn’t our flag red, black and white?
   So he wrapped himself well
   
   Who could signal yellow
   When we had to leave politics to the experts
   And brood on books
   Brood on hunger
   And schoolgirls
   Grumble under the black pot
   Sleep under torn mosquito net
   And let lice lick our intestines
   The lord of the bar, money speaks madam
   Woman magnet, money speaks madam
   We only cover the stinking darkness of the cave of our mouths
   And ask our father who is in hell to judge him
   The quick and the good.
   
   Well, his diary, submarine of the Third World
   War
   Showed he wished
   To be buried in a gold-laden coffin
   Like a VIP
   under the jacaranda tree beside his palace
   A shelter for his grave
   And much beer for the funeral party
   
   Anyway one noisy pupil suggested we bring
   Tractors and plough the land.
   (From Poems from East Africa, D. Cook andD. Rubadiri (Eds,): East African EducationalPublishers)
   1. Briefly explain what this poem is about. (3 marks)
   2. Explain the use of onomatopoeia in the poem. (2 marks)
   3. Identify and explain the tone of the poem. (4 marks)
   4. Comment on the central theme of the poem. (3 marks)
   5. Explain the meaning of the following lines:
      1. who could signal yellow (4 marks)
      2. submarine of the Third World War
   6. How else can people bring change in society without assassinating politicians? (2mks)
   7. Explain the meaning of the following word as used in the poem
      1. Anchored (1mk)
      2. Brood (1mk)
         
         
4. GRAMMAR (15 MARKS)
   1. Complete the following sentences by choosing the appropriate expressions to fill the gaps. (3mks)
      1. Although Nduati is a great friend of mine. I __________________________ him on a few important issues. (differ to, differ with)
      2. As good citizens, we must all pay our taxes ___________________ the policy. (in accordance to, in accordance with)
      3. She chose her career ______________________ (independent of, independent to) her mother.
   2. Rewrite the sentences below according to the instructions given after each. (3mks)
      1. My father would not allow us to attend night parties under any circumstances.
         (Begin: Under no circumstances ……………………………….)
      2. Strangers should not be allowed into the compound without the security officer’s permission. (Begin: On no account…………..)
      3. The plane had just taken off when one of the passengers began to scream.
         (Begin: Scarcely ………….)
   3. Rewrite the following sentences avoiding repetition. (3mks)
      1. Always be frank and open with your friends. When you are frank and open to your friends, you will win your friends trust and confidence.
      2. Some of the questions are difficult, so find the easier questions and do the easier questions first.
      3. Help yourself to some oranges. These oranges are sweet but those oranges are sweeter.
   4. Combine each of the following pairs of sentences into one sentence by making one of them a relative clause.
      1. Naliaka joined our school this term. She is very good at grammar.
      2. The elephant is a very big animal. It is also very strong.
      3. The generator had been on the whole night. It broke down in the morning.
   5. Add an appropriate question tag to each of the following statements. (3mks)
      1. They aren’t serious.
      2. He bought a new house last month.
      3. They won’t shut up.
      4. Let us go.
      5. He hasn’t been here before.
      6. You live in an apartment.

Marking Scheme

1.    
   1. The effects of global warming are melting ice caps, rising sea levels, species extinction and climatic change. (4 marks)
   2. The main cause of global warming, according to the passage, is fossil fuel emissions. (2 marks)
   3. Britain encourages people to use renewable electricity by making it very easy for people to switch to renewable sources. (3 marks)
   4. An ordinary reader would not be blamed for wondering why he or she has to reduce on driving while industries continue to emit a lot of CO2. (4 marks)
   5. The writer communicates the message that, while pollution is a life-threatening issue, the approaches to resolving it are ineffective. (4 marks)
   6.      
      1. fob off — to avoid/make excuses
      2. Incentive — a thing that motivates or encourages someone to do something
      3. Calamity — an event that causes great damage (3 marks)
2.        
   • Ole Kaelo sends Taiyo to call Resian for him. Resian feels hopeful and excited that she is being called to be informed about admission to the university. She thinks that it is her mother or sister who has talked to her father about the matter
   • It is ironical for Resian to think that her father is going to tell her about her dream wish of joining Egerton University but he has plans to marry her off to his friend Oloisudori. This is even as he says “your future is very important to me”
   • He says this because he has plans to marry her to his friend Oloisudori. If this succeeds, his business would be saved because Oloisudori had helped him establish the business and even building his house in Nasila.
   • Ignorant- she thinks that her father has good news about joining university which is not the case. She says, “That’s it!” She thought triumphantly. “Is it Yeiyo or Taiyo who spoke to you?”
     Apprehensive. She replies to her father apprehensively.
     Fearful- she is in fear of her father. She sits on a chair far from her father.
   • Determination/optimism. Resian is very much determined to join Egerton University. She thinks it is the reason why her father has called her. “Who between them spoke to you about our enrollment at the Egerton University.”
   • After the excerpt, Ole Kaelo hesitates telling Resian what he wanted to tell her and tells her to go to the kitchen. He tells her to tell her mother to come.
   • She asked him who between them had spoken to him about their enrollment at the Egerton University.
   • Suspense. The reader is left in suspense wanting to know why Ole Kaelo had called his daughter.
   • Dialogue- there is dialogue between Resian and her father. It reveals the strained relationship between daughter and father.
     • Nervously/worriedly/fearfully|Sit far away
     • Control herself
     • Troubled/disturbed
3.   
   • The poem is about the death of a ruler, who is a traitor. The ruler who is assassinated outside a night club, and his body is left to be devoured by vultures. His diary is washed into the sea by rain. and when it is found it reveals who the ruler was and his desire to be buried in a dignified, grand funeral. (3 marks)
   • The words stuttering rifles are onomatopoeic. They describe the sound of bullets flying from the rifles of the assassins. (2 marks)
   • The tone of the poem is satirical/sarcastic. The poem is satirical about the arrogance of the politician who is very selfish and has no regard for other people. The poem satirizes the politicians desire for a lavish funeral but dies in very humiliating conditions.(4 marks)
   • The central theme of the poem is betrayal and change. The politician has no regard for the downtrodden and poor people in the country, whose interests he should be serving. He uses his money to buy cheap pleasure instead of engaging in constructive activities. Change is represented by the assassination and at the end of the poem a pupil suggests that they bring tractors to plough the land; which represents a major change. (3 marks)
   •      
     • Yellow is not a colour of the national flag of Kenya. The poet is asking who could contradict the politician who claimed to be the expert while the common citizens are cursed to brood on books, think about schoolgirls and hunger, and sleep hungry under torn mosquito nets. (2 marks)
     • The possible meanings of this line are:
       first, it could literally mean that his diary was a submarine because it was found in the sea; secondly, it could mean that the ideas he had written in the diary were highly destructive and irresponsible, to the extent that they could lead to the Third World War. (2 marks)
   • This is an open question. Award marks for well thought out alternatives, for example civic education and electing responsible leaders who have integrity. (2marks)
   •  
     • anchored — secured or held firmly (1mark)
     • brood — think or worry about (1mark)
4.      
   1.      
      • differ with
      • in accordance with
      • independent of
   2.  
      • Under no circumstance would my father allow us to attend night parties.
      • On no account should strangers be allowed into the compound without the security officer’s permission.
      • Scarcely had the plane taken off when one of the passengers began to scream
   3.  
      • Always be frank and open with your friends.
      • When you are, you will win their trust and confidence.
      • Help yourself to some oranges. These ones are sweet but those are sweeter
   4.  
      • Naliaka,, who is very good at grammar, joined our school this term
      • The elephant, which is a very big animal, is also very strong.
      • The generator, which had been on the whole night, broke down in the morning
   5.  
      • They aren’t serious, are they?
      • He bought a new house last month, didn’t he?
      • They won’t shut up, will they?
      • Let us go, shall we?
      • He hasn’t been here before, has he?
      • You live in an apartment, don’t you?