English Paper 2 Questions and Answers - Form 4 Term 1 Opener Exams 2023

1. COMPREHENSION. (20MKS)
   Read the passage below and answer the questions that follow.
   
   Substance Abuse has emerged in recent decades as a major concern both on and off the job.  Although reasons vary, substance abuse can be a way that some people try to manage or reduce distress.  But it is important to be clear on what is generally meant by a drinking problem.  In all cases related to alcohol abuse, a common factor is the unfavorable effect alcohol has on the health or well-being of the drinker and his or her associates.   Common signs and symptoms that frequently indicate a drinking problem include being constantly absent from work, causing on-the-job accidents and expressing grievances most of the time.
   
   Alcoholic employees can sometimes go undetected for years.  Coworkers cover up for those unable to perform their jobs because of drunkenness.  Even managers may be adept at concealing their alcohol abuse problems.  Their secretaries or loyal associates may cover up for them.  Alcoholics can be clever at inventing “credible” excuses when detected:  “I must have a drink or two when I’m entertaining customers, of course.”
   
   Drug abuse, or drug addiction, exists when the taking of drugs, whether prescribed or non-prescribed, legal or illegal, causes difficulties in any area of an individual’s life.    Years ago, the stereotype of the drug user was either of a glazed-eyed musician frantically beating his sticks on a tight skin or a person who dwelt in a slum?  Mass publicity on drug abuse has long since caused that stereotype to fade from view.
   
   Complicating the ongoing war on drugs are changes in public attitudes and drug-use patterns.  It sometimes seems that no sooner is progress made in combating one illegal drug than a different kind of substance abuse comes into vogue.  Ethyl alcohol was the social drug during prohibition (1920 – 1933), marijuana became the social drug of the 1960s and 1970s, and some observers believe that crack cocaine and possibly ecstasy – another so-called upper – became the social drugs of the 1980s and 1990s.  The drugs of choice and people’s attitude toward them may change, but the problem of drug abuse appears to be continuing unabated.
   
   Pinpointing the specific symptoms of alcohol and drug abuse problems is not a simple task.  A supervisor’s main responsibility, therefore should not necessarily be uncovering evidence of dependency on alcohol and drugs but instead being observant for declining job performance.  Yet there are certain behavioural patterns that some excessive users of alcohol and drugs display.  These patterns can sometimes be spotted through simple observation.  Increasingly though, employers are taking more aggressive steps to ferret out substance abuse among their workforces.  A growing number of companies, especially large ones with many employees and those in business with potential to effect public health or safety, are adopting drug-testing programmes.
   
   The signs of alcohol dependency, unfortunately, do not always become manifest until the middle of the late stages of the problem.  No wonder some managers have mistaken an employee’s euphoric appearance for the “look of love”.  The earlier treatment begins, naturally, the easier it will be. A person could experience some isolated incidents of such drinking problems without necessarily being an alcoholic.  However, alcohol abuse usually results in declining job performance.   
   
   Because there are many symptoms of drug abuse, no one person would exhibit all of them and a supervisor should guard against assuming that the presence of one or more symptoms is conclusive of alcohol or drug abuse.
   
   Questions
   1. What is the main reason given for substance abuse?      (2 mks)
   2. From paragraph two, state three ways in which alcohol abuse can unfavourably affect the workmates of a drunkard? (3mks)
   3. According to the passage, what is drug abuse?      (2mks)
   4. What was the common misconception about who a drug user was? (2mks)
   5. Rewrite the following sentences using “as soon as”
      It sometimes seems that no sooner is progress made in combating one illegal drug than a different kind of substance abused comes into vogue.    (1mk)
   6.   I must have a drink or two when I’m entertaining customers. (Supply a question tag.) (2mks)
   7. Make notes on the reasons that make it difficult to effectively deal with substance abuse.                     (4mks)
   8. Why do you think the author of the passage cautions supervisors against hastily concluding that one is a drug abuser?  (2mks)
   9. Explain the meaning of the following words as used in the passage.  (2mks)
      1. Credible
      2. Stereotype –
2. EXCERPT- Blossoms of the Savannah
   Read the excerpt below and answer the questions that follow.
   
   Minik thanked Nabaru for her understanding and welcomed her into the lobby group and hoped that when she went back to Inkiito, she would tell people the dangers to which girl circumcision exposed their daughters.
   
   Turning to Resian, Minik congratulated her for having stood firm and resisted the pressure to have her circumcised. She acknowledged that there were very few girls who would have resisted lures of Oloisudori’s riches. And even fewer would have wrestled a brute like Olarinkoi in a remote house where no help was expected from any quarter. She said, who were still out there in the villages who needed to be rescued from the obnoxious rite and be taken back to school. The battle was still far from being won.
   
   Resian was thus musing when Minik uttered the magical words she had waited to hear ever since she left Nakuru and landed in Nasila. Minik promised her that she would do whatever was possible to see that she and Taiyo enrolled as students at the Egerton University as they had wanted. It would have been impossible for her to believe that she was not a victim of hallucinations had she not repeatedly convinced herself that Minik was real and that what she was telling her were not fairies that belonged to the realms of the imagination. The excitement that was caused by those wonderful words exploded in her mind, and the ecstatic feelings overwhelmed her. Tears streamed cheeks as she blissfully said, “Your voice dear Emakererei is truly the voice of God. This is a true case of a dream come true. And only God alone makes such things happen.  Meisisi Olaitoriani!”
   
   Questions  
   1. Explain what happens before this excerpt. (2marks)
   2. Discuss any two issues brought out in this excerpt. (4marks)
   3. “Minik congratulated her for having stood firm and resisted the pressure to have her circumcised.” From elsewhere in the novel, discuss the events that had made Minik say the words above to Resian. (3marks)
   4. Comment on any two stylistic devices used by the writer in this excerpt. (4marks)
   5. Who is Minik? What is her role in the text? Use your knowledge from elsewhere in the novel.(3marks)
   6. What do we learn about the character of the following in this extract?
      1. Resian (2marks)
      2. Minik (2marks)
   7. What happens immediately after this excerpt? (3marks)
   8. Explain the meaning of the following expressions as used in this extract:  (2marks)
      1. lures
      2. ecstatic feelings
3. POETRY
   Read the poem below and answer the questions that follow.
   
   THE BREWING NIGHT
   
   It was that memorable night when I heard it
   
   Yes, I heard it all
   That night sleep deserted me,
   Mocked at me and tantalized me,
   So I lay awake, sharp in all my senses.
   It was long past midnight:
   Time dragged on, the clock chime;
   The dog wouldn’t bark, nor the baby cry;
   It was a moonless and windless night;
   The whole universe seemed to stagnate
   In dark, dreary, dead slumber.
   What was amiss? I knew not.
   
   The dead quietness and solitude
   Seemed to be eternal, but
   Waves of babbling and muttering
   Began to trickle through the streets;
   A distant roaring of heavy trucks filled the air,
   Hurried footsteps eroded through the street.
   What was a miss? I knew not.
   
   I pulled my curtain
   And there I saw it all
   Heavy boots thick uniforms and solid helmets
   Dimly discernible under the pale street lamp
   The atmosphere stood stiff and solid with
   Brawny- faced and clenched –teeth determination
   
   The night had pulsed with passion high and wild;
   The streets were stained with new portraits framed;
   The wheel changed hands and new plans were filed.
   The morning saw the country strangely dresses
   And everyone attended the rally.
   To hear the eloquence from a strange face,
   And everyone quietly nodded and said, ‘yes’
   
   (By Yusuf O. Kassam, in Poems from East Africa.)
   
   Questions 
   1. Explain what the poem is about.    (3 mks)
   2. In what ways was the night described in the poem peculiar? (2 mks)
   3. What was a miss? I knew not. (Rewrite as one sentence beginning, I  did……………)    (2 mks)
   4. Paraphrase in one sentence what the persona saw when he or she pulled the curtain to see.     (1 mk)
   5. What is the significance of stanza two? (3 mks)
   6. Identify and explain any one personification in the poem. (2 mks)
   7. Explain in your own words what happens in the last stanza. (5 mks)
   8. Explain the meaning of the title.      (2 mks)
4. GRAMMAR
   1. Fill in the blank spaces with most appropriate complex preposition  (3mks)
      1. He stood ________________ of the class and confessed his guilt. 
      2. Whether he is guilty or not, a suspect must be treated ____________________ the law.
      3. He has a lot to say ______________ his new job.
   2. Rewrite the following sentences according to the instructions after each.    (2mks)
      1. Of all the men around, he was the wisest. (Rewrite using “wiser”)
      2. There is no excuse for rudeness.  (Rewrite to end with ‘excusable’)
   3. Fill in the blank spaces below with the correct form of the verb in brackets    (3mks)
      1. The team was __________________ for coming late (qualify)
      2. They were ____________ attacked by the gangsters (vicious)
      3. The ___________________ of the matter brought the president to their county. (grave)
   4. Rewrite the sentences below by replacing the underlined words with the correct phrasal verbs formed from the words in brackets. (4mks)
      1. I met my friend accidentally in town. (run)
      2. The city council askaris demolished kiosks in the city. (bring)
      3. Wesley visited his uncle in Nairobi during the holiday. (call)
      4. Simon was shocked by the closure of Tuskys supermarket. (take)
   5. Arrange the adjectives in the following sentences in the correct order. (3marks)
      1. After the rains, there were many ______________________________________ flies. ( greenish, big, ugly)
      2. John loves ____________________________________________ bananas. (tasty, Kenyan, curved, yellow)
      3. Farida expected____________________________________________________ table from her friend who lives in Congo. ( mahogany, round, beautiful)

MARKING SCHEME

1. Question 1: comprehension passage
   
   1. Substance abuse is a way that some people try to manage or reduce distress. (2mks)
   2.  
      • They may have to do the drivers duties when he is a way
      • They may be adversely affected by the accidents caused by the driver.
      • They will be forced to listen to the constant whining of the driver.
        3 point each 1mk (3x1mks)
   3. Drug abuse is the taking of drugs, whether prescribed or non-prescribed, legal or illegal, which causes difficulties in any area of an individual’s life. (2mks)
   4. The common misconception about who a drug user was that drug user was mostly associated with musicians and slum dwellers. (2mks)
   5. It sometimes seems that as soon as progress is made in combating one illegal drug, a different kind of substance is abused comes vogue. (1mk)
   6. Mustn't I?
   7. Substance abuse is difficult to effectively deal with because;
      • Workers cover for their colleagues who drink.
      • Alcoholics create excuses for drinking on the job.
      • The drugs abused keep changing as do people’s attitude towards them.
      • The symptoms of drug abuse are difficult to detect.
   8. Because symptoms of drug abuse are difficult to detect and one person can exhibit all of the symptoms/ a supervisor might see one or more of those symptoms and wrongly assume that a worker is a drug abuser.
   9.  
      1. Credible-believable/ authentic/ convincing.
      2. Stereotype- misconception/ false believe/ illusion.
2. Excerpt
   Questions
   1. Explain what happens before this excerpt. (2marks)
      • Minik began to speak, directing her discourse to Nabaru. She mentioned some of the negative and archaic aspects of the Maa culture that had already been discarded by her people. She urged the people to stop using the term intoiye nemengalana as derogatory to the girls but instead they should discard FGM. Nabaru agrees with her and vows to join Minik in her lobbying against it.
   2. Discuss any two issues brought out in this excerpt. (4marks)
      • Hope- Emakererei’s words brings back Resians hope to join Egerton University.
        “your voice dear emakererei is truly the voice of God… a true case of a dream come true.
      • Education- minik made a promise to help Resian and Taiyo join Egerton University.
      • Religion- …only God can make such things happen. Meisisi Olaitoriani!
        (Any other well illustrated answers)
   3. “Minik congratulated her for having stood firm and resisted the pressure to have her circumcised.” From elsewhere in the novel, discuss the events that had made Minik say the words above to Resian.  (3marks)
      • Resian had been badly injured by Olarinkoi. When she started showing signs of recovery, Olarinkoi informed her than his mother, enkoiboni, had made arrangement with the enkamuratani to have her circumcised in a few days (1mark). Resian is determined not to be circumcised and therefore plans to beseech Nabaru to save her (1mark). On the material day, despite being sick, she makes an effort to escape with Nabaru therefore outsmarting Olarinkoi, his mother and enkamuratani.(1mark)
   4. Comment on any two stylistic devices used by the writer in this excerpt. (4marks)
      • Flashback- …having stood firm and resisted the pressure to have her circumcised…wrestled brutes such as Olarinkoi in a remote house where no help was expected. Takes the reader back to the cruel events Resian had gone through previously and her determination to overcome them.
      • Allusion-Nakuru… Egerton University- makes the events of the excerpt more realistic.
      • Local dialect- Emakererei, Meisisi Olaitoriani.  (any other well illustrated)
   5. Who is Minik? What is her role in the text? Use your knowledge from elsewhere in the novel. (3marks)
      • Minik is a crusader against FGM and early marriage. She’s a graduate of Makere university and an owner of a ranch. Her role is saving girls from FGM and early marriage and to help them continue with their education.
   6. What do we learn about the character of the following in this extract?
      1. Resian (2marks)
         • Firm- she had stood firm and resisted the pressure to have her circumcised.
      2. Minik (2marks)
         • Appreciative- she thanked Nabaru for her understanding.
         • Helpful – she promised to do whatever possible to take Resian and Taiyo to the university.
           (any other well illustrated answer)
   7. What happens immediately after this excerpt? (3marks)
      • Minik told Resian that she would qualify for a scholarship operated by the Ntare- Naaju Ranch. She also promises her employment at the ranch drawing all benefits enjoyed by the employees, a fully furnished house and a salary advance to enable her buy a few dresses and help her settle in her house.
   8. Explain the meaning of the following expressions as used in this extract: (2marks)
      1. lures – attractions, temptations
      2. ecstatic feelings- great happiness.
3. POETRY
   1. The poem is about a coup that takes place at night. At the end, it is indicated that he people have to reluctantly accept the change.
   2. The night was silent dark and strange the clock wouldn’t chime
   3. I did not know what was a miss
   4. The persona saw soldiers in heavy boots, thick uniform and solid helmets walking in a determined way along the streets
   5. Stanza two sees the mood of the poem. Things are act happening in the real way and this prepares the stage for what we find in stanza three
   6. The whole universe is personified as "stagnating" is used to create a sense of unease and anticipation in the reader, as if the night itself is an active participant in the events described.
   7. The last stanza gives the preparation for the inauguration of the new leaders. A rally is held where the new leaders give their speeches and the people accept the leaders.
   8. Brewing night refers to the night when something unpleasant, in this case, the coup was hatched up.
4. GRAMMAR
   1.  
      1. at the back
      2. according to
      3. in regard to
   2.  
      1. He was wiser than all the men around.
      2. Rudeness is not excusable.
   3.  
      1. disqualified
      2. viciously
      3. gravity
   4.  
      1. run into
      2. brought down
      3. called at
      4. taken aback
   5.  
      1. ugly, big, greenish
      2. tasty, curved, yellow, Kenyan
      3. beautiful, round, mahogany