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ENGLISH

LANGUAGE

Paper 2

2 hours

ST. MARYS’ KITENDE

Uganda Certificate of Education

RESOURCEFULFUL MOCK EXAMINATION 2020

ENGLISH LANGUAGE

Paper 2

2 hours

 

 

 

INSTRUCTIONS TO CANDIDATES:

  • Attempt all questions.
  • All your answers must be written on this question paper.

 

  1. Read the passage carefully and answer the question that follows.

    It is difficult to believe that secondary schools can make their proper contribution to

National development if their pupils are not taught how to think. Secondary education should be a social as well as an academic experience. Numerous skills and attitudes can be acquired at this stage; young people should begin to accept responsibility for their own progress: academic skills should be acquired: students should be encouraged to think for themselves and to form honest opinions based on such independent thinking, rather than on unexamined assumptions or on strong emotional feelings. Secondary school is the time good working habits can easily be acquired and, likewise, when bad habits can be established for a life time. Of all the possible secondary school achievements, the most important is the student’s ability to turn all the knowledge he is given into his own personal knowledge. To do this, he has to learn to avoid the very dangerous habit of cramming knowledge, and an idea using other people’s words, using other people’s thought forms, and using words of text books and teachers’ notes.

The failure of a student to truly assimilate knowledge, i.e. make knowledge part of his own personal thinking, often leads to failure at university, in all higher examinations and later in the top managerial jobs. If on the other hand, the student can successfully turn what he has learnt into first-hand rather than second-hand knowledge, he learns at an increasing speed and becomes more responsible for his own learning. He can then work and think creatively and can, therefore, hope to achieve that maturity of mind which many adults fail to reach.

Another sad outcome of faulty secondary education is the danger that students may acquire a limited self-centred view of knowledge. This is especially dangerous in developing societies where higher education is the privilege of a few young people coming from a largely uneducated population.They may only too easily assume, when they compare their own book learning with the illiteracy of the majority, that they know all there is to know. For them the school certificate or university degree becomes the end rather than the beginning of education. At whatever point their formed education has stopped, they so easily regard themselves as a finished product. This is the seed plot or source of the harmful, foolish pride in their learning. It is in the secondary school that the seeds of this kind of pride are sown. But it is also in the secondary school that this crippling view of learning may be corrected. Secondary schools have not completed their work unless a high proportion of their pupils enter the world knowing that the knowledge has no limits that the more we know, the more we know there is to know. When students leave school well informed but still eager to learn, their teachers can rightly claim to have introduced the quality of excellence into their teaching.

(Adapted From English Language for East African Certificate and G.C.E)

 

Question:

In about 135 words, summarise what the author considers to be the possible benefits and dangers of secondary education.

 

Summary

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  1. A) Read the following passage and answer the questions that follow.

It was an extremely dark night. The rain fell slowly in tiny driblets and the fugitive jostled, braving the sharp thickets of the bushy forest. It was one of the hardest times which Margret had to face in the course of her stay in Bungatira.

The rigorous singing of the nocturnal birds and sibilant chirping of insects in unison was devoid of jocund effect. The shrouding darkness in that mystic void combined with the lazy atmosphere and created a tense feeling of the unknown. As the cows mooed and the bulls bellowed on their weary journey, the night became a majestic terror. Margret and Celina hid themselves under the walloping leaves of a fig tree, and the swishing wings of the hungry mosquitoes around their various hideouts as the pandemonium escalated to its tragic point.

At sporadic intervals a series of gunshots would rave through the silent space, and the broadness of the forest would echo it in the loud jarring sound. To Margret everything was bad and seemed to spell doom. But for the Bungatira natives this was part and parcel of their lives.

Every minute of the night was a sad moment. The thud of fear throbbed in the heart of every fugitive. In that traumatic experience Margret relied on Celina for hope and reassurance of life. Celina made sure she attended to her with every devotion. Of late they had become friendlier. Although that bias sentiment was still strong in her, Celina no longer thought ill of Margret.

“Why are they firing so incessantly?” Margret whispered.

“They want to scare the herdsmen who want to escape with their cattle”, Celina replied.

“But don’t they sometimes kill?”

“They do. Two weeks before you came three men from a nearby village were killed. They did not want to surrender their cattle and so in the exchange of fire the raiders shot down three villagers”.

As the two women whispered there was a strange gunshot. This time it sounded as if it had hit something. A voice of a seemingly staggering drunkard rose up into the still night. He was completely unbothered in spite of everything. A child in a nearby bush cried hysterically, having been bitten by a mosquito.

“Give him milk!”Olugo shouted in a suppressed voice.

“He is already weaned”, replied the mother.

“Then give him roasted cassava. And let everybody keep quiet, these people are moving about”. The cold night breeze swept through the bushes and the wet leaves hustled in a sad, frightening rhythm. The rain had ceased somewhat but Margaret was now quite feverish, and she breathed with some difficulty.

“That night most villagers slept in the cold. The guns fired all night long and the dreaded screeching of the owls foretold the ill outcome of the raid, to be known the following morning.

BicencioOlugo and members of his family sat in the fine morning basking, tapping some of the sun’s energy to dispel the previous night’s cold. Despite her predicament Margret exuded no sign of resentment against her stay in this problem-infested land. BicencioOlugo wanted some sleep.

(The Alien woman byLaury Lawrence Ocen)

 

Answer questions 2.1 to 2.5 on the question paper.

2.1 Briefly explain what is taking place in the passage.

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2.2 Why does the writer refer to that place as a “problem infested land”?

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2.3 Write down at least fourobjectives used to create an atmosphere of insecurity and unfriendliness in the passage.

(i) ………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….

(ii) …………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..

(iii) …………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..

(iv) …………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..

2.4 Suggest a title for the passage and give a reason why you think it is suitable.

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2.5 Give the meaning of the following words (expressions) as used in the passage:

(i) rigorous singing

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(ii) majestic terror

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(iii) sporadic intervals

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(iv) every fugitive

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(v) exuded no sign of resentment

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2. B) Read the following passage and answer the questions that follow.

However, Benjamin and Clover could only be with Boxer after working hours and it was in the middle of the day when the van came to take him away. The animals were all at work weeding turnips under the supervision of a pig, when they were astonished to see Benjamin come galloping from the direction of the farm buildings, braying at the top of his voice. It was the first time that anyone had ever seen him gallop.

“Quick, Quick!” he shouted. “Come at once! They’re taking Boxer away!”

Without waiting for orders from the pig, the animals broke off work and raced back to the farm buildings. Sure enough, there in the yard was a large closed van, drawn by two horses, with lettering on its side and a shy-looking man in a low-crowned bowler hat sitting on the driver’s seat. And Boxer’s stall was empty.

“Fools, Fools!” shouted Benjamin, prancing around them and stamping the earth with his small hoofs. “Fools! Do you not see what is written on the side of that van?”

That gave the animals pause and there was a hush. Muriel began to spell out the words. But Benjamin pushed her aside and in the midst of a deadly silence he read:

“Alfred Simmons, Horse slaughter and Glue Boiler, Willington. Dealer in Hides and Bon-meal. Kennels supplied”. “Do you not understand what that means? They are taking Boxer to the Knackers’!” a cry of horror burst from all the animals. At this moment the man on the box whipped up his horses and the van moved out of their voices. Clover forced her way to the front. The van began to gather speed. Clover tried to stir her stout limps to a gallop, and achieved a canter.

“Boxer!” she cried. “Boxer! Boxer! Boxer!” and just at this moment, as though he heard the uproar outside, Boxer’s face with the white stripe down his nose, appeared at the small window at the back of the van.

“Boxer!” cried Clover in a terrible voice. “Boxer! Get out! Get out quickly! They are taking you to your death!”

All the animals took up the cry of “Get out, Boxer get out!” but the van was already gathering speed and drawing away from them. It was uncertain whether Boxer had understood what Clover had said. But a moment later his face disappeared from the window and was the sound of a tremendous drumming of hoofs inside the van. He was trying to kick his way out. The time had been when a few kicks from Boxer’s hoofs would have smashed the van to marsh wood. But alas! His strength had left him; and in a few moments the sound of drumming of hoofs grew fainter and died away. In desperation the animals began appealing to the two horses which drew the van to stop.

“Comrades! Comrades!” they shouted. “Don’t take your brother to his own death!” but the stupid brutes, too ignorant to realize what was happening, merely set back their ears and quickened their pace. Boxer’s face did not reappear at the window. Too late, someone thought of racing ahead and shutting the five-barred gate; but in another moment the van was through it and rapidly disappearing down the road.

(Source: Animal Farm by George Orwell)

 

Answer questions 2.6 – 2.10 by selecting the best alternative. Show the letter of your choice by putting a ring around your best choice.

2.6 In the first paragraph the animals get astonished to see Benjamin because;

A. the van had arrived at midday for the animals.

B. he went galloping at the van when it arrived at midday.

C. it was his first time to act the way he acted on that day.

D. he had left the animals working at the farm.

 

2.7 The animals crowded around the van;

A. because they were excited to say “Good-bye” to Boxer

B. because they were ignorant about the whole situation

C. because it was the first van to appear on the farm

D. because Boxer was their best friend

 

2.8 According to the passage, the animals can be said to be;

A. loving                B.anxious

C. violent                D.trustworthy

 

2.9 The van disappears very fast from the farm

A. in order to reach in time

B. not to make the animals cry for long

C. to ensure that Boxer reaches safely

D. to avoid violence

 

2.10 Boxer could not easily get out of the van since

A. he could not manage to gain balance in a speedy van

B. the animals were making a lot of noise

C. it was made out of hard material

D. he was very tired of the farm

3. A) Re-write items 3.1 – 3.10 as instructed in brackets. Do not change the meaning of the original sentence.

3.1 Once she opened the bag, the rat jumped out. (Begin: On………………)

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3.2 Mr.Mukisa was not kind enough to allow Fatuma to go to and ease     herself. (Begin: Because……….refused……….)

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3.3 If you were a nurse, you would have known how tedious it is to treat     more than ten patients a day. (Begin: Not being…………….)

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3.4 Ashanti bought large bags; they were made of cotton. They were new.     They were for studying. They were nice. They were eight.

    (Rewrite without repetition)

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3.5 Phiona worked hard but she did not pass the contest.

    (Begin: For all…………..)

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3.6 At her age, she really should get married.

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3.7 The prefects cannot manage the whole affair if the patron does not help     them. (Rewrite omitting “if”. Do not use “unless”)

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3.8 As Olga was strikingly beautiful, she became the dream of every young     man in the college. (Begin: Strikingly…………………)

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3.9 We are eager to learn how to play computer games.

    (Use: looking forward)

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3.10 When I came to this school, I wanted to become the head boy.

    (Use: with a view)

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3. B) Complete sentences 3.11 to 3.20 with the most suitable answer     among the given alternatives. Put a ring around your best choice.

 

3.11 All the students who were ignorant of the meaning of “Fools day” called     Paul     a……….

A. layer        B. liar        C. lier        D. lair

 

3.12 When Mr.Lutaaya came to class, he was……………………… a blue shirt.

A. wearing            B. putting on

    C. dressing in         D. dressed in

 

3.13 Stella was charged…………………careless driving.

A. of         B. for        C. with        D. against

 

3.14 Jacinta had no sooner entered the bank…………….. the closing hour     struck.

A. when    B. and         C. then        D. than

 

3.15 When they become of age, children tend to choose their         pursuits………………disregard ……………………their parents’ wishes.

A. With, of             B. in, of     

    C. in, to             D.with, to

 

 

 

3.16 Our supervisors are such hard task managers that we always get…………………by the end of the day.

A. worn out             B.worn down

    C. worn up             D.worn off

 

3.17 “I am begging you kindly to take this bag to my home” said AuntStella.     This may mean;

A. She advised me to take the bag to her home.

B. She wondered if I would take the bag to her home.

C. She requested me to take the bag to her home.

D. She ordered me to take the bag to her home.

 

3.18 Of the two girls Sheila and Shanita the……………………is my best     friend.

A. latter     B.second    C. last    D. later

 

3.19 Do you mind ……………………….my pair of shoes?

A. cleaning             B.if you clean

    C. to clean             D.having cleaned

 

3.20 Mr.Mukasa ordered the students to………………for the Headmaster’s     communication.

A. go to the assemble

B. go to the assembly

C. parade

D. go in for parading

 

 

 

THE END


 

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