English Questions and Answers - Form 2 Term 1 Opener Exams 20233

1. State the silent letters in the following words. (5mks)
   1. Glistening-
   2. Scent-
   3. Debt-
   4. Gnaw-
   5. Comb-
2. Give another word that is pronounced the same ways as the following:
   1. Heir-
   2. Nun-
   3. Principal-
   4. Urn-
   5. Made-

QUESTION 3.COMPREHENSION.(20 MARKS)

Read the story below and then answer the questions that follow.

THE GREEDY HYENA AND THE STUMP  

Long, long ago, there was a bee-keeper who went to check on his bee-hive in the forest. It was late in the evening when he arrived at the tree where his bee-hive was hanging. He lit some fire and climbed on top of the tree to collect the honey from the bee-hive. After collecting enough honey, he descended the tree. As he stood on the ground, he heard some queer noise in a bush close by, but he did not see the bush clearly.                             

After tying a bunch of pieces of wood and lighting it so as to use it as a torch, he started on his journey homewards. Hardly had he gone a short distance when he heard the same noise that he had heard before. This time the noise was trailing him. He stopped to see what it was that made the noise. Behind him was a huge hyena. When he stopped, it also stopped and when he moved, it also moved towards him. He went on and when he was near his home, he stopped. Looking behind he saw the same hyena a short distance away from him. He thought and thought. How could he stop the hyena from following him? He saw the stump of a tree in front of him. He decided to cover the remaining distance into darkness.

He replaced the torch of pieces of wood beside the stump. Meanwhile, the hyena had receded out of his sight and did not see him go. It thought the man had placed fire on the ground and slept. What a feast it would have, the hyena thought! It waited in an adjacent bush till the flames of fire went off. It came towards the dim burning charcoal and mistook the stump beside the fire for the man’s head. It went stealthily towards the stump. Its teeth sunk deep into the stump and got stuck. The hyena tried to pull its teeth out but all was in vain. The teeth remained stuck to the stump.

The hyena stayed in that condition the whole night .Very early the following morning a young girl who was going to fetch water from the river saw it struggling. She ran back home and reported what she had seen. Her father sent an alarm for the village warriors to take up their weapons and kill the hyena. After a short while, the men were gathered near the hyena ready to kill it. The man who had been followed by the hyena the previous night was there. When he saw the hyenas long teeth stuck in the stump he told the men that he would have been the victim had he not placed the fire beside the stump. The hyena was killed.

QUESTIONS

1. Why was it risky for the bee keeper to go harvesting honey at night? (2mks)
2. What did the man and the hyena have in common? (2mks)
3. How does the man prove that he is creative (4mks)
4. Rewrite the following sentence beginning: “No sooner….” (1mk)
   “Hardly had he gone a short distance when he heard the same noise he had heard before.”
5. Which actions by the hyena prove its stupidity? Illustrate your answer. (4mks)
6. What do you think the man felt when he finally got home? (2mks)
7. Explain the meaning of the following words as used in the  story (3mks)
   1. Receded-
   2. Adjacent-
   3. Stealthily-
8. The hyena had wrongly assumed it had a ready meal. Which proverb would be appropriate to caution him against overconfidence? (2mks)

QUESTION 4: GRAMMAR(30MARKS)

1. Use the correct form of the verb in brackets to complete these sentences. (5mks)
   1. Fortunately the victim has not____________(bleed) much.
   2. To my disappointment, she______ (lean) against the wall as she presented her speech.
   3. It_________________(cost) three hundred shillings a year ago.
   4. The hare_____________(leap)Into the air suddenly.
   5. I_____________(slide)and fell on the slippery floor but wasn’t injured.
2. Fill in the correct preposition in each blank space. (5mks)
   1. The man of God was___________ peace and in harmony with the whole world.\
   2. The ball landed right_________ the thorns.
   3. We were seated in the same row________ each other.
   4. What exactly is he guilty ___________?
   5. The old woman was accompanied___________ her grandchild.
3. Correct the following paragraph considering the underlined words. Write the correct word below it.(5mks)
   The headquarter of Smoothways communication have been moved to a semi-urban area  so that if their are chaos in town, the company would not be affected. Although a number of people has complained about the location, the company feels that the premises are ideal.
4. Form adverbs from the adjectives In the brackets and use them to complete the sentences. (5mks)
   1. The waiter carried the glasses____________.(careful)
   2. Our volleyball team played _____________and lost the match.(bad)
   3. Ali speaks French_______________.(fluent)
   4. He walked_____________ past the sleeping dog.(quiet)
   5. The books in the library are arranged_____________ on the shelves.(neat)
5. Fill in the blanks below using the correct form of words in the brackets. (5mks)
   1. I was  the _________in hockey.(good)
   2. She got___________ clothes than I did(many)
   3. Suda and Mandi are twins; Mandi is the_____________ of the two.(old)
   4. Out of my four friends, Kawira is the _________________(old)
   5. Juma complained that he got_________ money than he expected.(little)
6. Choose the correct alternative from the brackets to fill in the gaps. (5mks)
   1. My brother ____________not eat eggs, unless he fries them himself.(Does/Do)
   2. Judges _____________suspects who are proven guilty.(sentences/sentence)
   3. You and I ___________to talk about it before it is too late.(has/have)
   4. Karuri does not__________ once it is dark.(drive/drives)
   5. Good students do not __________to bars.(go/goes)

MARKING SCHEME

1. State the silent letters in the following words. (5mks)
   1. Glistening-t
   2. Scent-c
   3. Debt-b
   4. Gnaw-G
   5. Comb-b
2. Give another word that is pronounced the same ways as the following:
   1. Heir-air
   2. Nun-none
   3. Principal-principle
   4. Urn-earn
   5. Made-maid

QUESTION 3.COMPREHENSION.(20 MARKS)

1. Why was it risky for the bee keeper to go harvesting honey at night? (2mks)
   • Because he could not see clearly and this could have exposed him to all sorts of danger.
2. What did the man and the hyena have in common? (2mks)
   • Both were scared of each other, “when he stopped ,it also stopped and when he moved,it also moved.                   
3. How does the man prove that he is creative (4mks)
   • When it gets so dark that he cannot see clearly, he makes a torch out of the pieces of wood.
   • He also manages to trick the hyena –he puts the torch beside a stump &walks in darkness, making the hyena assume he’s still where the light was.
4. Rewrite the following sentence beginning: “No sooner….” (1mk)
   “Hardly had he gone a short distance when he heard the same noise he had heard before.”
   
   • No sooner had he gone a short distance than he heard the same noise he had heard before.
5. Which actions by the hyena prove its stupidity? Illustrate your answer. (4mks)
   • It underestimates the mans intelligence, it allows the man to disappear from its sight.
   • It assumes that the man is lying on the ground &sleeping &yet the man had seen it following him-when it gets to the stump, it sinks its teeth in it without confirming whether it is the man or not.
6. What do you think the man felt when he finally got home? (2mks)
   • He must have felt lucky and greatly relieved; he had escaped death narrowly.
7. Explain the meaning of the following words as used in the  story (3mks)
   1. Receded - disappeared/hidden
   2. Adjacent - next to/neighbouring
   3. Stealthily - carefully/cautiously
8. The hyena had wrongly assumed it had a ready meal. Which proverb would be appropriate to caution him against overconfidence? (2mks)
   • Do not count your chicks before they’re hatched

QUESTION 4: GRAMMAR(30MARKS)

1. Use the correct form of the verb in brackets to complete these sentences. (5mks)
   1. Fortunately the victim has not bled (bleed) much.
   2. To my disappointment, she leaned/leant  (lean) against the wall as she presented her speech.
   3. It cost (cost) three hundred shillings a year ago.
   4. The hare leapt/leaped (leap) into the air suddenly.
   5. I slid (slide) and fell on the slippery floor but wasn’t injured.
2. Fill in the correct preposition in each blank space. (5mks)
   1. The man of God was at peace and in harmony with the whole world.
   2. The ball landed right within/among the thorns.
   3. We were seated in the same row near/beside each other.
   4. What exactly is he guilty of?
   5. The old woman was accompanied by her grandchild.
3. Correct the following paragraph considering the underlined words. Write the correct word below it.(5mks)
   The headquarter of Smoothways communication have been moved to a semi-urban area
   The headquarter of Smoothways communication has been moved to a semi-urban area
   
   so that if their are chaos in town, the company would not be affected. Although a
   so that if there is chaos in town, the company will not be affected. Although a
   
   number of people has complained about the location, the company feels that the premises are ideal.
   number of people have complained about the location, the company feels that the premises are ideal.
4. Form adverbs from the adjectives In the brackets and use them to complete the sentences. (5mks)
   1. The waiter carried the glasses carefully.(careful)
   2. Our volleyball team played badly and lost the match.(bad)
   3. Ali speaks French fluently.(fluent)
   4. He walked quietly pat the sleeping dog.(quiet)
   5. The books in the library are arranged neatly on the shelves.(neat)
5. Fill in the blanks below using the correct form of words in the brackets. (5mks)
   1. I was the best in hockey.(good)
   2. She got more clothes than I did(many)
   3. Suda and Mandi are twins; Mandi is the older of the two.(old)
   4. Out of my four friends, Kawira is the oldest (old)
   5. Juma complained that he got less money than he expected.(little)
6. Choose the correct alternative from the brackets to fill in the gaps. (5mks)
   1. My brother does not eat eggs, unless he fries them himself.(Does/Do)
   2. Judges sentence suspects who are proven guilty.(sentences/sentence)
   3. You and I have to talk about it before it is too late.(has/have)
   4. Karuri does not drive once it is dark.(drive/drives)
   5. Good students do not go to bars.(go/goes)