English Questions and Answers - Form 2 Term 1 Opener Exams 2021

FUNCTIONAL WRITING

Write a formal letter to the clerk of your local council complaining about the loud music in the bars where you live. Indicate how residents spend sleepless nights due to the loud music, and what you think should be done. (15mrks)

CLOZE TEST (10mrks)

Read the passage below and fill in each blank space with an appropriate word

Most people are poor listeners. Even when we think we are listening carefully, we usually _______only half of what we hear, and we retain even _______
Improving your listening skills can be helpful in every part of your life, including speech making. The best speakers are often the best listeners. The most important cause of poor listening is giving _______ to physical and mental distractions. Many times we let our thoughts wander _____ than concentrate on what is being said. Sometimes however, we listen too hard. We try to remember _______ word a speaker says, and we lose the main message by concentration on details. In other situations, we may _______ to conclusions and prejudge a speaker without hearing out the message. Finally, we often judge people by their appearance or speaking manner instead of listening to what they say. You _____overcome these poor listening ____
by taking several steps. ______ take listening seriously. Think of listening as an active process and commit yourself to becoming a better listener. Second, _____distractions. Make a ____ effort to keep your mind on what the speaker is saying. Third, try not to be diverted by appearance or delivery.

GRAMMAR (15mrks)

Fill in the blanks with the correct word from the brackets. (3Marks)

1. All the guests will be___________________ (dining/dinning) with the queen tonight.
2. The people of Kameno shunned Chege’s ____________________ (prophecy/prophesy) about the coming of the white men.
3. Children should always listen to their parents pieces of_______________ (advise/advice)

Explain the difference in meaning between the following pairs of sentences. (2 marks)

1. She went and bought herself a skirt.
2. She went and bought a skirt herself.

Choose the correct pronoun from the brackets to complete the following sentences. (3 marks)

1. Mr.Kamau and _______________ visited us last year. (he/him/himself)
2. John offered Njoroge and ________________some biscuits. (I/me)
3. Do you think that he is wiser than _________________. (I/me)

Complete the following statements with the correct question tag. (3mks)

1. You will arrive in good time________
2. I am doing the English exam ___________
3. I have your money___________
4. Come here_____________

Use a suitable preposition to fill in the gaps in the following sentences. (3mrks)

1. My birthday is ………….in two weeks’s time.
2. I need to have my hair cut…………..that day.
3. I went with my sister to the market………the eleventh hour.

ORAL SKILLS (10 marks)

1. Read the following oral narrative and answer the questions that follow. (10mks)
   One day, the chameleon and the donkey were arguing as to who could run faster than the other. The donkey said, “You chameleon, you are very old and tired. You can’t compete with a man like me in a race.”
   
   The chameleon replied,” Don’t blow your own trumpet. I am not going to praise myself, but you know you can’t defeat me in a race. We shall be equal.”
   
   The race began and without donkey’s knowledge, the chameleon jumped on the donkey’s tail. They ran and ran, until the donkey was so tired until he stopped to rest. As soon as the donkey stopped, the chameleon jumped from the donkey’s tail and said, “Now my friend, are you any faster than I?”
   
   “No, now I know that you are a man,” answered the poor donkey.
   1. What would you do in order to capture the attention of the audience before you begin to tell the story? (2 marks)
   2. How would you make the narration of the line indicated in bold effective? (4marks)
   3. If you are part of the audience for this story, explain two things you would do to show that you are participating in the performance. (4marks)

Marking Scheme

Functional writing

• Must have two addresses i.e sender and receiver address (4mrks)
• The date under the sender address should be treated separately(1mrk)
• Salutations (1mrk)
• Reference ; capitalized and underlined (1mrk)
• Body; should answer the question (7mrk)
• Signing off; e.g Yours sincerely (1mrk)
                         Signature
                         Name

CLOZE TEST.

Answers

1. Use/grasp
2. Less
3. In
4. Rather/other
5. The/every
6. Run/jump
7. Can
8. Habits
9. First
10. Avoid/resist
11. Conscious

GRAMMAR.

1.  
   1. Dinning
   2. Prophecy
   3. Advice
2.  
   1. She rewarded herself by buying a skirt
   2. She went and bought a skirt on her own.
3.  
   1. Him
   2. I
   3. Me
4.  
   1. Won’t you?
   2. Ain’t I?
   3. Don’t I?
   4. Will you?
      N/B Must have a question mark and a comma before the tag.
5.  
   1. In
   2. On
   3. At

ORAL SKILLS.

1.  
   • bang the table
   • clap your hands
   • whistle
   • sing a song related to the narrative
2.  
   • use tonal variation
   • use gestures
   • facial expression
   • dramatization
   • mimicry
   • body movement
3.  
   • note taking
   • asking and answering questions
   • maintaining an upright posture
   • maintaining an eye contact with the narrator.