English Paper 2 Questions - Maranda Mock Examinations 2022

Instructions to candidates

1. This paper has FOUR sections: 1,2,3 and 4.
2. Answer ALL questions from each section.

QUESTIONS

1. Read the passage and answer all the questions:- (20 marks)
   It is evident that most road accidents are caused by disregard for rules and regulations governing road users across the country. Most of them are reckless and don’t observe traffic guidelines, leading to fatal accidents.
   Highways have become prone to accidents that result in loss of property and lives. Many cases have been reported, the most recent occurred along the Kisii-Nyamira highway in which five people died after a matatu rammed a lorry. The government, through the national Transport and Safety Authority should enforce traffic rules without fear or favour to reduce increased accidents.
   Ninety percent of accidents can be avoided by strict enforcement of speed limits. The State can impose punitive fines on those who exceed speed limits. It can also bring down the existing speed limits further. If this is implemented, no one will dare drive at high speed. Obstruction caused by unauthorized roadside sellers should be dealt with. We have seen constructions on civilian paths and roadsides; these should be banned to create enough space for every road user. All roads should be maintained all year round. A pothole repaired in time can save lives and reduce repair costs. Narrow roads should be expanded to create space for vehicles and bodabodas.
   The government should only allow importation of new heavy duty vehicles with in-built tamper proof speed governors. Public Service Vehicles (PSVs) should be obliged to go for inspection regularly to ensure they are roadworthy. The state should crack down on complicit traffic enforcement officers who prefer bribes to doing their jobs. Zebra crossings should be provided at appropriate places for pedestrians to cross safely. At the same time, safety should be made a mandatory topic, or a unit on its own in schools and colleges so that learners become aware of safety and bear it in their minds.
   The government, with the help of the parents and guardians, should also ban video and computer games that stimulate motor racing. Such games have a tendency of encouraging racing habits in children. The government should act accordingly, in conjunction with relevant stakeholders, to reduce accidents. We cannot afford to continue losing lives through preventable accidents.
   (Adapted from “The Standard” March 3, 2022 page 19)
   1. What is the major cause of most road accidents across the country? (2 marks)
   2. Identify the bodies concerned with roads and road safety. (2 marks)
   3. From the information given, how can accidents be reduced? Write in note-form. (6 marks)
   4. According to the passage, give reasons why the author has been prompted to express concern over road accidents. (3 marks)
   5. According to the passage, in relation to road accidents, why is the author against video and computer games that stimulate motor racing? (2 marks)
   6. Identify one example of the use of informal language. (1 mark)
   7. Give the meanings of the following words according to their use in the passage. (4 marks)
      1. Fatal
         ………………………………………………………………………………………...
      2. Obliged
         …………………………………………………………………………………………
      3. Complicit
         ………………………………………………………………………………………...
      4. Ban
         …………………………………………………………………………………………
2. Read the excerpt below and answer the questions that follow. (25 marks)
   Resian did not respond. The long moment of appalled silence was so dense that it was suffocating. It was ominously pregnant and Resian was amazed to see her mother sit quietly as if nothing was happening.
   “Must I be there, Papaai?” Resian asked desperately. Surely, Yeiyo can manage on her own. Isn’t it Yeiyo?
   “You have to be there, Resian!” her father thundered with finality. “It is important to me that you be there.”
   “But, Papaai, please…”
   “I have said you have to stay at home tomorrow and help your mother with the preparation of the lunch,” he growled, the familiar edge of ill-tempered showing in his voice, but his eyes avoided hers. “There is an end to all this nonsense!”
   “I have never served such important people, Papaai,” she once again said pleadingly. “And you know I get nervous when I am forced into such a situation.”
   “You must learn to get used to such situations!” he shouted angrily and glared at her with such distaste that Resian stepped back from him, biting her lip. His voice was cold as he added acidly. “What kind of a wife will you make if you don’t take time to learn the social graces?”
   “Papaai, siake,” she made a last attempt to plead to her father’s inner feelings. She hesitated for a while and then plunged headlong.
   1. What transpires just before this excerpt? (3 marks)
   2. Who are the important people mentioned in the excerpt? What makes it important to Papaai that Resian must be there? (3 marks)
   3. Explain ONE social issue addressed in the excerpt. (2 marks)
   4. Illustrate THREE instances of use of language in this excerpt. (3 marks)
   5. Using your knowledge of the entire novel, mention any other two episodes where Resian’s mother fails to come through for her daughters. (4 marks)
   6. Describe the mood of the excerpt. (3 marks)
   7. Identify how the following characters are portrayed in the excerpt: (4 marks)
      1. Resian’s mother
      2. Papaai
   8. “You have to be there, Resian!” her father thundered with finality. Change into reported speech. (1 mark)
   9. Explain the meaning of the following word and phrase as used in the excerpt: (2 marks)
      1. Ominously
      2. Plunged headlong
3. Read the following poem and answer the questions that follow.
   

   To An Athlete Dying Youth- BY A. E. HOUSMAN
   The time you won your town the race
   We chaired you through the market-place;
   Man and boy stood cheering by,
   And home we brought you shoulder-high.
   Today, the road all runners come,
   Shoulder-high we bring you home,
   And set you at your threshold down,
   Townsman of a stiller town.

   Smart lad, to slip betimes away
   From fields where glory does not stay,
   And early though the laurel grows
   It withers quicker than the rose.

   Eyes the shady night has shut
   Cannot see the record cut,
   And silence sounds no worse than cheers
   After earth has stopped the ears.

   Now you will not swell the rout
   Of lads that wore their honours out,
   Runners whom renown outran
   And the name died before the man.

   So set, before its echoes fade,
   The fleet foot on the sill of shade,
   And hold to the low lintel up
   The still-defended challenge-cup.

   And round that early-laurelled head
   Will flock to gaze the strengthless dead,
   And find unwithered on its curls
   The garland briefer than a girl’s.

   Questions.

   1. Who could be the ‘We” in the poem? Explain? (2 marks)
   2. What happens on the two occasions the ‘athlete’ comes home? (4 marks)
   3. Explain the uses of three stylistic devices used in the poem? (6 marks)
   4. Explain the meaning of the following lines:- (4 marks)
      1. And the name died before the man-
      2. Eyes the shady night has shut
         Cannot see the record cut
   5. What is the speaker’s attitude towards fame and youth? (3 marks)
   6. Man and boy stood cheering by (Add a question tag) (1 mark)
4. Grammar (15 marks)
   1. Rewrite the sentences according to the instructions given after each. Do not change the meaning. (3 marks)
      1. Natalie had scarcely completed her assignment. The lights went off. (Begin:- Scarcely…)
      2. In no way do I want to be associated with this project.(End:- …way)
      3. The victim would have died. The doctor’s action was quick. (Begin:- Had…)
   2. Fill in the blank spaces with the most appropriate pronoun. (3 marks)
      1. ……………………….. did you give it to. (Who/Whom)
      2. Between you and …………………… (me, I) who is more careful?
      3. Lionel and ……………………. (She, her) left for Nairobi.
   3. Complete the following sentence with the correct form of the word. (4marks)
      1. All ……………………are supposed to count their money before they leave the bank. (Pay)
      2. The death of Nelson Mandela was an …………………………..loss to the world (repair)
      3. We need to consider his ………………………………. (argue)
      4. In their city, …………………….elections is usually hotly contested. (mayor)
   4. Fill the blank spaces with the appropriate preposition. (3marks)
      1. Rival fans hurled abuse……………………………. each other.
      2. Congratulations…………………….your achievement.
      3. …………………………..the three girls, she was the best.
   5. Give the different meanings of the following sentences. (2marks)
      1. Only Mutungi spoke to him.
      2. Mutungi only spoke to him.