English Form 2 Questions and Answers - End Term 2 Exams 2021

English Form 2 End Term 2 Exams 2021 with Marking Schemes

1. Your  school’s Debating Club had attended a debating contest in another school. On your way back to school you went to a supermarket without permission and delayed everyone. Write a letter of apology to the Debating Club patron. (10mks)
2. Read the passage below and fill in each blank spaces with an appropriate word.    (10mks)
   
   It is an indisputable fact that agriculture 1 ………the backbone of the economy. It is therefore 2 ……… that we stop over-relying on the rain-fed agriculture. Israel is a classic 3 ………… Of a country that has reclaimed its deserts and put them 4 …………use. Land which was 5 …….. ‘useless has been turned around and 6 …………..…useful. Egypt which solely depends on 7 ……… River Nile is a leading exporter of fruits and cereals. For our country to 8 ………….. self-sufficiency in food production and to get a 9 …………for export, land should be utilized to the 10 …..………This is only possible with irrigation.
   
   
3.  
   1. Study the poem below and then answer the questions that follow.
      
      If We Must Die – Claude Mckay
      
      If we must die – let it not be like hogs
      Haunted and penned in an inglorious spot,
      While round us bark the mad and hungry dogs,
      Making their mock at our accused lot,
      If we must die – oh let us only die
      So that our precious blood may not be shed
      In vain; then even the monsters we defy
      Shall be constrained to honour us through dead!
      Oh Kinsmen! We must meet the common foe;
      Though far outnumbered, let us show us brave
      And for their thousand blows deal one death blow
      What though before us lies the open grave?
      Like men we’ll face the murderous, cowardly pack
      Pressed to the wall, dying, but fighting back!
      
      Questions
      1. Describe the rhyme scheme of this poem.     (2 marks)
      2. Which words would you stress in the last line of this poem and why?   (3 marks)
      3. Apart from rhyme, how else has the poet achieved rhythm?   (4 marks)
      4. Suppose you were performing the above poem, explain ways in which you would make it very interesting (2mks)
   2. You have been invited to a very important interview. Explain briefly what you would need to do before, and during the occasion to ensure that you look presentable.        (6 marks)
   3. For each of the words given below, write down another word with a similar pronunciation. (5marks)
      
      Maid ……………………………
      One ……………………………
      Hire …………………………….
      Guest …………………………..
      Ewe……………………………..
   4. Identify the silent letters in the words below         (5mks)
      History
      Debt
      Psychology
      Yacht
      Condemn
4. Read the passage below and answer the questions that follow
   
   Terrorism is a real and urgent threat to nations and their interests a threat that could become perilous if terrorists acquire nuclear or biological weapons. The policies pursued by the bush administration have too often been counterproductive and self-defeating. In the name of an ‘offensive’ strategy, they have undermined the values and principles that made the United States a model for the world, dismayed cooperative nations around the world and jeopardize their cooperation with us, and provided ammunition for terrorist recruitment in the Middle East and beyond. To achieve our long-term objective we must go beyond narrow counterterrorism policies to embed counterterrorism in an overarching national security strategy designed to restore American leadership and respect in the world. This leadership must be based on a strong commitment to our values and to building the structures of international cooperation that are needed to only fight terrorists, but also to meet key challenges of our time: proliferation; climate change and energy security; the danger of pandemic disease; and the need to sustain a vibrant global economy that lifts the lives of people everywhere.
   
   We have to demonstrate that the model of liberty and tolerance embodied by the United States, are the enemy of these universal ambitions. We must pursue an integrated set of policies- on non-proliferation, energy and climate, global public health and economic development- which reflect recognition that in an independent world, the American people can be safe and prosperous only if others too share in these blessings. Our policies must demonstrate a respect for differences of history, culture and tradition, while remaining true to the principles of liberty embodied in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. This kind of enlightened self-interest led others to rally to American leadership in the Cold War and offers the best hope for sustaining our leadership in the future. The world is filled with terrorist organizations. While the State Departments list of designated groups includes almost four dozen, numerous well known ones are still omitted because of issues related to designation process. Yet to many organizations, only one subset currently poses a serious and sustained threat to the United States and its allies: the Sunni jihadist organization known by the shorthand ‘al Qaeda’
   
   The group merits this special status because it is the only terrorist organization with the ambition and the capability to inflict genuinely catastrophic damage, which can provisionally be defined as attacks that claim causalities in the four digits or higher. The group is also unique in that it may eventually be able to carry out a campaign of repeated attacks that would have a paralyzing effect on American life and its institutions. Its ability to foil fundamental U.S. strategic goals-as it did in Iraq and as it threatens to do together with the Taliban in Afghanistan-has been amply demonstrated. As the turmoil in Pakistan has demonstrated, its capacity for upsetting the geopolitics of major regions of the world today is also unrivalled among non-state actors. The evidence provided by September 11, 2001 is sufficient to demonstrate the groups’ capability and its determination. Unlike most terrorist, it eschews incremental gains and seeks no part of a negotiation process; it seeks to achieve its primary ends, including mobilization of a large number of Muslims, through violence.
   
   The Bush administration has fundamentally misunderstood the nature of the jihadist movement and its actions have made the threat considerably worse. The administration has hyped the threat and subordinated foreign security policy into the ‘Global War on Terror.’ It has relied on the wrong tools –principally the military- and vastly overemphasized tactics at the expense of strategy. To the extent that it has a strategy for reducing the appeal of jihad, it is the ‘freedom agenda’ which has backfired. Counter terrorism requires a shift away from a foreign and security policy that makes counterterrorism the prism through which everything is evaluated and decided. It requires a policy that must go beyond uncompromising efforts to do away with those who seek to harm us today. International engagement is essential in meeting this threat since it will ensure that new terrorist recruits do not come to take the place of those that have been defeated.
   
   (Adapted from ‘strategic Counterterrorism’ by Daniel Benjamin, Policy Paper Number 7, 2008)
   
   Questions
   
   1. In what ways were the policies pursued by the Bush administration counterproductive and self-defeating? (3mks)
   2. What according to the author is the essence of American counterterrorism leadership?      (3mks)
   3. Make notes on what ought to be done to uphold American leadership?     (4mks)
   4. In the following sentence, replace the underlined expression with one word      (1mk)
      
      It requires a policy that must go beyond uncompromising efforts to do away with those who seek to harm us today………………………
   5. Why is Al-Qaida a unique group?  (2mks)
   6. What is needed in the fight against terrorism?      (2mks)
   7. In your opinion, what is the most dangerous aspect of terror a threat?      (1mk)
   8. Explain the meaning of each of the following words as used in the passage      (4mks)
      1. Embed…………
      2. Designated……
      3. Foil………………
      4. Prism…………………
         
         
5. GRAMMAR      ( 15mks)
   
   1. Fill in the blank with the correct verbs from the brackets       (3mks)
      
      1. The team…………………expected back tomorrow. (are/is)
      2. 2.You ………………………..stay at home if you are feeling sick.(would/should)
      3. 3 .Parliament……………………resolved to abolish school fees in all public schools.(has/have).
   2. Join each of the   following   pairs of sentences   into one sentence using the phrase given in brackets. (3mks)
      
      1. James is more responsible than his brother.
         James is the last born   . (although)
      2. Onyango met the woman.
         Onyango wanted to marry the woman’s daughter. ( whose)
      3. The woman read a newspaper
         The man prepared a meal. (while)
   3. Fill in the blanks in the following sentences using the correct collective nouns        (3mks)
      
      1. The………………of onlookers was controlled by the police officers.
      2. Many brides in African weddings throw the…………………..of flowers at their bridal party.
      3. Some suitors believe in using a ……………………of singers to persuade ladies to accept their love.
   4. Use the correct possessive pronouns from the choices given to complete the sentences below.   (3mks)
      
      1. Do   you prefer to   send the information via your email or………………….(him/mine)
      2. Our   computer is not as big as………………………(theirs/ours)
      3. ……………………………..(Hers/She) was a case of mistaken identity.
   5. Rewrite the sentences below with the adjective in their correct order.        (3mks)
      
      1. A designer is waiting to interview a dark Rwandese tall tailor.
      2. We gave Kamau some heavy new sports grey shoes.
      3. The company sold their black mahogany oval Turkish table.

Marking Scheme

QUESTION 1: Writing    

Must be a letter of apology -
If not deduct                   ( 1mk)
-Official   letter
-Sender’s address
-Date      (2mks )

-Receiver’s address  (2mks )

-Salutations     (1 mk)
-Subject:         (underlined 1mk)
-Body      (2mks)
-Signing off       (1mks)

QUESTION 2: CLOZE TEST     (10mks)

1. forms/constitutes/is
2. necessary/essential
3. example/case
4. Into/to/into(productive)/to(productive)
5. Apparently/seemingly/previously
6. Made/become
7. the
8. achieve/attain/realize/realize
9. surplus/
10. maximum/optimum

  QUESTION 3.       ORAL POEM       (20mks)

1.  
   1. ab ab cd c def ef gg-Regular rhyme scheme
   2. Pressed, wall, dying, fighting back
      
      Explanation-These are the consent words.
      They bring cut the person’s determination fight on without giving up.
   3. By use of repetition. The poem repeats the line: if we must die’ to show how much they ( poet and his people) do not want to be killed by the enemy yet they have to.
      By use of assonance –dying but fighting back
      - By use of alliteration –making mock/must/ meet/deal…. death (Identification (1mark) explanation 2marks)
   4. Effective non-verbal cues
      -gestures
      -body movements
      -maintaining eye contact
      -facial expressions
      Effective verbal cues
      -Tonal variations
      -voice projection
      n/b one verbal and non-verbal cue
      
      
2. Before
   
   • Psyche oneself about the interview
   • Revise the areas likely to be covered by/in the interview
   • Read widely on current affairs/professional line
   • Learn about the organization and what they do, especially in one’s area of interest
   • Pre-visit the area/arrive slightly before time
     
     During
   • Greet the panel/interviewer
   • Present one’s best personality
   • Be courteous
   • Be attentive/listen well
   • Think before answering questions
   • Be concise and precise
   • Remain calm
   • Smile
   • Appreciate
   • Say good bye
   • Sit in the right posture
   • Wait till offered a sit
   • Be simple
3. Made, won, higher, guessed, you/yew
4. History , Debt, Psychology, Yacht, Condemn

QUESTION 4: Comprehension                                                                                                  (20mks

1. They have undermined the values and principles that made the United States a model for the world, dismayed cooperative nations around the world and jeopardized their cooperation with us, and provided ammunition for terrorist recruitment in the Middle East and beyond. (3mks
2. This leadership must be based on a strong commitment to values and to building the structures of international cooperation that are needed to fight terrorists and to meet other key challenges such as proliferation; climate change and energy security; the danger of pandemic disease; and the need to sustain a vibrant global economy that lifts the lives of people everywhere.

3.Make notes on what ought to be done to uphold American leadership? (4mks)

• Demonstrate that the model of liberty and tolerance embodied by the United States offer the best hope of a better life for people everywhere and that the terrorists, not the United States, are enemy of these universal ambitions.
• Pursue an integrated set of policies-on non-proliferation, energy and climate, global public health and economic development-which reflect a recognition that in an interdependent world,
• Policies must demonstrate a respect for differences of history, culture and tradition, while remaining true to the principles of liberty embodied in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.

4. Eliminate
5. The group merits this special status because it is the only terrorist organization with the ambition and the capability to inflict genuinely catastrophic damage. It may eventually be able to carry out a campaign of repeated attacks that would have a paralyzing effect on American life and institutions. Its ability to foil fundamental U.S. strategic goals-as it did in Iraq and as it threatens to do together with the Taliban in Afghanistan-has been amply demonstrated.

6. Counter terrorism requires a shift away from a foreign and security policy that makes counterterrorism the prism through which everything is evaluated and decided. It requires a policy that must go beyond uncompromising efforts to thwart who seek to harm us today.

7Acquisition of nuclear or biological weapons (1mk)

8. (4mks)
9. Embed-entrenched
10. Designated-selected
11. Foil-prevent/stop
12. Prism-focal point

QUESTION 5: GRAMMAR                                                                                                                               (15MKS)

1. is, should,, has
2. Although James is the last born, he is more responsible than his brother.
   Or
   James is more responsible than his brother although he is the last born.
   n/b If it starts with although, a comma must be placed between the two sentences..
   
   -Onyango met a woman whose daughter he wanted to marry
   -The woman read a newspaper while the man prepared a meal.
3. -A crowd, -A bunch, -A band
4. mine, theirs, Hers,
5. am, have, does, has registered, have built
6. …….tall dark Rwandese …….new grey sports……oval black mahogany Turkish..