English Paper 2 Form 3 Questions and Answers - Term 3 Opener Exams 2021

INSTRUCTIONS

• Answer ALL the questions in this question paper.
• All your answers must be written in the spaces provided in this question paper.

QUESTIONS

1. COMPREHENSION (20MARKS)
   
   Read the passage below and answer the questions that follow.
   America has a long tradition of creativity. The expression Yankee ingenuity is an acknowledgement of this trait present Americans with a novel problem, especially technological and they are likely to come up with the solution sooner rather than later.
   
   That is the positive side. The downside is that in policy matters, Americans sometimes come up with the solutions and then look for personal problems on which to test them. Washington D.C, perhaps more than any other city in the world, has many solutions seeking problems to lock onto.
   
   If the solutions are successful, domestically or internationally, you can expect any amount of excitement and chest thumping, which is another hallmark of the American character. Modesty is frowned upon as something for sissies or failures. Countries and peoples are ready paradigm of winners and losers. Woe unto you if you are a ‘loser’. You will endure all manner of taunts and putdowns.
   
   To escape this fate, most Americans-including those who are demonstrably poor, call themselves middle class, which probably they are when compared to the poor in other places. But poverty is relative to immediate environment not to some distant places.
   
   One of the more recent American inventions is spinning not as in making clothes (the American textile industry has long being outsourced, notably from China another low wage country),but rather as in using words and other symbols amplified by the media to paint a picture of anything and everything in alight favorable to the presenter’s side.
   
   This past week, the world witnessed, yet again, this peculiar American habit of hype and more hype, in this instance, designed to drive the point home that America’s declared policy to force-feed democracy to recalcitrant societies has just scored a humongous victory. Following the Iraqi elections the turn out in particular, has been hailed as a stunning victory of American policy. Pitted against Iraqi Jihadists who are waging a relentless and ruthless insurgency, a scintilla of validation of America’s Iraqi policy was all that was necessary to set off celebratory fireworks.
   
   To those who recount narratives (the spinners), whose job it is to put a bright glass on things a clear picture of winners and losers are the Neanderthals; “thugs and assassins” in the words of the newly sworn in secretary of state Condeleeza Rice-the insurgents who threatened to wreak havoc on election day in Iraq but were thwarted.
   
   The high turnout was read as a violation of many things that were most likely absent from the minds of those Iraqi voters who cast their ballots. Before it was even known whom they had voted for and why, the whole enterprise was turned into cause for chest thumping by some American politicians, prompting John Kerry the loser in the November presidential race, to warn against hyping the Iraqi election.
   
   Who will listen to a loser? This is America! By the time Kerry spoke, the spinning was in full gear. It was another turning point, declared elated talking heads. Never mind that there have been numerous “turning pints” in Iraq’s tortured post-invasion experience. The winners were emerging.
   
   A few voices have urged caution but they are drowned out by the self-congratulation that has engulfed just about every major media outlet here.
   
   It is reminiscent of the chatter that followed Saddam Hussein’s capture. That was another turning point. The irony is that America has been through this before, in a different place, with almost the exact same headlines. In the late 1967, many American newspapers published flowery and upbeat stories on the elections held in South Vietnam at the height of the war. The turnout was nearly 83% despite Vietcong terror. The election was declared a success and a turning point that would lead to stabilization of the country and eventual defeat of the insurgents. Of course, nothing of the sort happened.
   
   History does not invariably repeat itself. Sometimes it does. Whatever one might think of it, history does always serve up many lessons. One of them is that a dose of modesty is always in order when confronted with vast historical forces or when seeking to rearrange complex societies their go hundreds, if not thousands, of years back.
   
   What may look like victory as first sight may turn out to be another opening to a complex and trying situation that control produce winners or losers. It looks like this what is emerging in Iraq. The millions who headed to the polls on the instructions of their electrical leaders (remember Grand Ayatollah Sistani declared it a religious duty to vote? May or may not have had a clear idea of what society were hoping to create. Their leaders probably do.
   
   Iraqis voted and they are justifiably proud of it. However, this should not be made to look like a first in the Islamic world, as it is being painted in the media. Not too long ago, an Islamic party had won a clear and convincing victory in a free and fair election in Algeria. It was never allowed to assume power. The international authorities desisted from calling the denial an affront to democratic practice. The man who cancelled the Algerian election results is feted in the very same quarter that now preach democracy.
   
   Society’s broken tyranny, war, fragmentation and other ills are not served by putdowns of important segments within them.
   The approach may produce winners in the short term but for more losers in the end. Moreover, here we are talking of those who could lose everything, including their lives, on a mass scale. A little modesty may just be what is needed to get people across the divide talking. After all, in the end, we are all losers.
   
   Questions
   
   
   1. What is the negative side of America’s long tradition of creativity? (2marks)
   2.  “Woe unto you if you are a loser.” What does the author mean by this statement? (2marks)
   3. Identify and explain an instance of irony in this passage.(3mks)
   4. What is the author’s attitude towards the Americans? Give reasons for your answer. (2marks)
   5. ‘...and the losers are Neanderthals; …’ explain how the Neanderthals became losers according to this passage. (2marks)
   6. What according to the passage is referred to as spinning? (2marks)
   7.  Identify one American policy discussed in this passage. (2marks)
   8. Explain the meaning of the following words as used in the passage. (5marks)
      1. Ingenuity…………………………………………………………………………………………….
      2. Hallmark……………………………………………………………………………………………
      3. Engulfed……………………………………………………………………………………………
      4. Humongous………………………………………………………………………………………….
      5. Invariably……………………………………………………………………………………………
         
         
2. LITERARY TEXT BLOSSOMS OF THE SAVANNAH. (25MARKS)
   
   Read the following extract and answer the questions that follow.
   
   Poor girl, thought Resian. She imagined the person who wanted to marry the girl was probably a senior moran who commanded his junior morans to guard the home, to ensure his would-be-bride was not snatched by rivals from another village.
   
   Minik explained that on finding the home guarded, the rescue team had to retreat. They went back to Nasila to look for their contact man who initially directed them to Esoit. He was very helpful and agreed to accompany them to the village where the girl was, and help them rescue her. They were about to give up the rescue mission after several attempts to distract the guards had failed. But the man from Nasila was able to lure the whole team of guards to a beer party at a nearby village, leaving the girl unguarded.
   
   
   1. What had just happened before this excerpt? (4marks)
   2. Explain two character traits of ‘the contact man’ as brought out in the excerpt?(4marks)
   3. Who is ‘the contact man’ referred to in the excerpt? (2marks)
   4. Who is the poor girl and why was she guarded?(4marks)
   5. Identify and explain the irony in Resian’s thoughts.(3marks)
   6. Briefly discuss any other feature of style and its relevance as used in the excerpt.(3marks)
   7.  Identify and illustrate the theme from the extract. (2marks)
   8. They went back to Nasila to look for their contact man who initially directed them to Esoit. (Use the present progressive tense.) (1marks)
      1. What is Minik’s role from the extract and elsewhere from the text? (4marks)
         
         
3. POETRY (20 MARKS)
   
   Read the poem below and answer the questions that follow:
   
   Touch by Hugh Lewin
   
   When I get out
   I’m going to ask someone
   to touch me
   very gently please
   and slowly,
   touch me
   I want
   to learn again
   how it feels.
   
   I’ve not been touched
   for seven years
   for seven tears
   I’ve been untouched
   out of touch
   and I’ve learnt
   to know now
   the meaning of
   untouchable.
   
   Untouchable –not quite
   I can count the things
   that have touched me
   One:fists
   At the beginning
   Fierce mad fist
   beating beating
   till I remember
   screaming
   don’t touch me
   please don’t touch me
   
   Two: paws
   The first four years of paws
   every day
   patting paws, searching
   - arms up, shoes off
   legs apart
   prodding paws, systematic
   heavy indifferent
   probing away
   all privacy.
   
   I don’t want fists and paws
   I want
   to want to be touched
   again
   and to touch
   I want to feel
   again
   I want to say
   when I get out
   Here I am
   please touch me.
                                                          (From Poets to the people, edited by Barry Feinberg)
   1. Where do you think the persona is? Briefly explain your answer. (3marks)
   2. What do you think the persona means by “touch”? (3marks)
   3. Using two illustrations, describe the persona’s experience during the seven years.(4marks)
   4. What is the significance of the word “paws”? (2marks)
   5. Which device does the poet use to reinforce the message in the poem? (2marks)
   6. Explain the meaning of the following words as they are used in the poem (2marks)
      1. Prodding………………………………………………………………………………………..
      2. Indifferent………………………………………………………………………………………
   7. What does the poem reveal about the needs of the inmate? (4marks)
      
      
4. GRAMMAR (15 MARKS)
   
   
   1. Rewrite the following sentences according to the instructions given after each. Do not change the meaning.( 4marks)
      1. As soon as Jude entered, James left. (Begin: No sooner…)
      2. The little rascals ran round the ragged slope. (End: …rascals)
      3. Why did the prefects do such a thing! (Rewrite in passive)
      4. The man was arrested. His cattle destroyed the maize in the school farm. (Rewrite as one sentence.)
   2. Rewrite the sentences below replacing the word in bold with a phrasal verb formed from the word given in bracket. (3marks)
      1. They terminated the engagement. (break)
      2. Parents are advised to rear their children well. (bring)
      3. After breaking into the shop, the burglars stole the loot. (made)
   3. Fill in the blanks spaces with the correct preposition. (3mks)
      1. Owing …………………………...…a huge deficit, the government was forced to borrow.
      2. Wairimu was acquitted ………………………….….Cohen’s murder.
      3. Susan prefers ball games to athletics as she has never excelled ………………..athletics.
   4. Underline adjectival clauses in the following sentences.(3Marks)
      1. I met the woman who lives next to Mariah.
      2. The house which was demolished last year has been rebuilt by well-wishers.
      3. These are the books that the government supplied to public schools.
   5. Fill in the blank space with a suitable article. (2marks)
      1. He planted …………….eucalyptus tree behind …………..….grandmother’s house.
      2. ……………..…umbrella can protect us from …………………..sun rays.

MARKING SCHEME

1. COMPREHENSION PASSAGE (20marks)
   1. What is the negative side of America’s long tradition of creativity? (2marks)
      In policy matters, Americans sometimes come up with solutions and then look for problems on which to test them.
   2. “Woe unto you if you are a loser.” What does the author mean by this statement? (2marks)
      You are doomed to suffer because you have no say and will get no respect from the winners.
   3. Identify and explain an instance of irony in this passage.(3mks)
      Not so long ago, Islamic party won a clear and convincing victory in a free and fair election in Algeria but it was never allowed to assume power. The man called elections is fated in same quarters that now preach democracy
   4. What is the author’s attitude towards the Americans? Give reasons for your answer. (2marks)
      The author is contemptuous towards the Americans. He says chest thumping is a hallmark of American character they like hyping about perceived victories from on modesty.
   5. ‘...and the losers are Neanderthals…’ explain how the Neanderthals became losers according to this passage. (2marks)
      Neanderthals are the insurgents who threatened to wreak havoc on election day in Iraq but they were thwarted and elections went on with a high turnout
   6. What according to the passage is referred to as spinning? (2marks)
      Spinning refers to using words and other symbols amplified by the media to paint a picture of anything and everything in a light favorable to the presenter’s side.
   7. Identify one American policy discussed in this passage. (2marks)
      To force-feed democracy to recalcitrant societies
   8. Explain the meaning of the following words as used in the passage. (5marks)
      1. Ingenuity cleverness and skill, originality of design
      2. Hallmark distinguished characteristic
      3. Engulfed surrounded/ covered something completely
      4. Humongous very big
      5. Invariably always
         
         
2. BLOSSOMS OF THE SAVANNAH (25 MARKS)
   1. Who is ‘the contact man’ referred to in the excerpt? (2marks)
      He is Joseph Parmuat a teacher at Nasila.
   2. Explain two character traits of ‘the contact man’ as brought out in the excerpt?(4marks)
      He is helpful - he was very helpful and agreed to accompany the rescue team to where the girl was.
      He is cunning - he tricked the whole team of guards to a beer party at a nearby village, leaving the girl unguarded.
   3. What had just happened before this excerpt?(4marks)
      Minik was explaining about something unexpected happeninig,-1mk, apparently Minik and her team had not received sufficient information about the girl who had been forcibly circumcised,-1mk, the girl was traced five kilometers away from Nasila after hardships by the rescue team,-1mk, and even then she could not be rescued for she was under heavy guard day and night by fierce armed men. -1mk
   4. Who is the poor girl and why was she guarded?(4marks)
      The poor girl is Taiyo,-1mk Resian’s sister.-1mk. She was guarded so that she could not escape,-1mk she was intended to be married to Oloisudori after she got healed. -1mk
   5. Identify and explain the irony in Resian’s thoughts.(2marks)
      Dramatic irony. -1mk Resian feels sorry for the girl who had been forcefully circumcised and was waiting to be married without realizing it is Taiyo, her own sister.-1mk
   6. Briefly discuss any other feature of style and its relevance as used in the excerpt.(3marks)
      Use of Local Dialect – moran it helps to bring out the setting of the story/ preservation of culture/aesthetics
      Use of Flashback – Minik’s explanation to Resian is a narration of what had happened previously
                               - It helps the reader to get details of the difficulties faced by the rescue team.
                                                                                                                            (Any of the two 3mks)
   7. They went back to Nasila to look for their contact man who initially directed them to Esoit. (Use the present progressive tense.) (1mark)
      They were going back to Nasila to look for their contact man who initially directed them to Esoit.
   8. Identify and illustrate the theme from the extract. (2marks)
      Forced marriage -1mk …the person who wanted to marry the girl was probably a senior moran ... .-1mk
      1. What is Minik’s role from the extract and elsewhere from the text. (4mks)
         Minik’s role include offering shelter and security to the girls who are being forced to undergo F.G.M or forcefully being married off.
         She assists the girls to secure a good education one which they had being denied.
         She is a counsellor and offer counselling for the girls she has rescued.
         She offers employment to Resian and others who shelter at her sheep ranch
         
         
3. POETRY (20 MARKS)
   1. Where do you think the persona is? Briefly explain your answer. (3marks)
      The person is probably in prison/detention or some form of confinement. – 1mkThe person is longing to get out. He/ she has being held in inhuman conditions. -1mk ‘when I get out’- 1mk
   2. What do you think the persona means by “touch”? (3marks)
      By ‘touch’ the persona means being treated like a human being, loving and being loved.-1mk
      ‘Touch’ means the freedom to express his or her emotions freely, spontaneously.- 1mk
      ‘Touch’ the literal, physical touch. -1mk
   3. Using two illustrations, describe the persona’s experience during the seven years.(4marks)
      During the seven years of confinement, the person has been treated like a pariah.
      He/ she says, ‘I’ve learnt to know the meaning of untouchable’ the persona has been brutalized. He/she was subjected to extreme violence-‘fierce mad fists, beating…’-2mks
      Finally, the persona experienced utmost indignity. He/ she was humiliated and denied any form of privacy… “Searching –arms up, shoes off, legs apart….probing away all privacy.” - 2mks
   4. What is the significance of the word “paws”? (2marks)
      The word paws vividly describes the beastly behavior of the tormentors. Animals like hyenas and lions have paws which they use to tear their prey to pieces. -1mk
      The word reveals the cruelty visited on the persona and attempts to disfigure and mutilate him/ her physically and emotionally. -1mk
   5. Which device does the poet use to reinforce the theme? (2marks)
      The poet uses repetition to emphasize his message.- 1mk The word touch for example is repeated more than ten times- both to explain the kind of touch that is desirable and that which is resented. / The poet also emphasizes through enumeration and the pauses. (one….two…).- 1mk
   6. Explain the meaning of the following words as they are used in the poem
      1. Prodding - poking jabbing -1mk
      2. Indifferent – inhuman beastly -1mk
   7. What does the poem reveal about the needs of the inmate? (4marks)
      The poem reveals that human beings abhor confinement, brutality and all forms of degrading treatment.-2mks On the other hand, people crave for human warmth, affection, privacy and freedom. -1mk When one is denied the latter, one in a way “dies”. The persona says; “I want to feel alive again.”-1mk
      
      
4. GRAMMAR (15 MARKS)
   1. Rewrite the following sentences according to the instructions given after each. Do not change the meaning.( 5marks)
      1. As soon as Jude entered, James left. (Begin: No sooner…)
         No sooner had Jude entered than James left
      2. The little rascals ran round the ragged slope. (End: …rascals)
         Round the ragged slope ran the little rascals.
      3. Why did the prefects do such a thing! (Rewrite in passive)
         Why was such a thing done by the prefects?
      4. The man was arrested. His cattle destroyed the maize in the school farm. (Rewrite as one sentence.)
         The man whose cattle destroyed the maize in the school farm was arrested.
   2. In each of the sentences below, replace the underlined word with a phrasal verb with the same meaning. (3marks)
      1. They terminated the engagement.
         They broke up the engagement.
      2. Parents are advised to rear their children well.
         Parents are advised to bring up their children well.
      3. After breaking into the shop, the burglars stole the loot.
         After breaking into the shop, the burglars made off with/took off with the loot.
   3. Fill in the blanks spaces with the correct preposition. (3mks)
      1. Owing …..….to...…a huge deficit, the government was forced to borrow.
      2. Wairimu was acquitted...…of...….Cohen’s murder.
      3. Susan prefers ball games to athletics as she has never excelled …..in…..athletics.
   4. Underline adjectival clauses in the following sentences.(3Marks)
      1. I met the woman who lives next to Mariah.
      2. The house which was demolished last year has been rebuilt by well-wishers.
      3. These are the books that the government supplied to public schools.
   5. Fill in the blank space with a suitable article. (2marks)
      1. He planted ……a…...eucalyptus tree behind …...the…...grandmother’s house.
      2. …..An…umbrella can protect us from …the…..sun rays.