2009 English Language Theory Past Questions

You have been staying with your elder brother for some time and a misunderstanding has ensued. Write a letter to your father giving, at least, three reasons why you feel you can no longer live with your brother.

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You recently took part in an excursion to a part of the country you were visiting for the first time. Write an article for publication in your school magazine narrating your experiences.

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As a concerned student, write a letter to the Principal of your school informing him of recent acts of bullying by Senior students and suggesting ways of arresting the situation.

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You are the Chief Speaker in a debate on the topic: Parents should allow their children to choose their own careers. write your speech for or against the topic.

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Write a story, real or imaginary which ends with:……. I then realized that it pays to be disciplined. ”

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Read the following passage carefully and answer the questions on it.

I can vividly remember my predicament in my first year as a new teacher. On the first day in class, I told my students that they were mature enough to comport themselves in an exemplary manner without burdening them with stringent rules. I wanted them to like me and so I allowed them a lot of freedom. Unfortunately, I lost class control, and the students exploited the situation to disrespect me. Some would leave their seats without permission; freely throw objects like pens, rulers, or crumpled pieces of paper to mates or talk with others.
During the long vacation, I busied myself reading books on discipline and consulting seasoned colleagues for help. When we resumed-school the next session, I had formulated strategies on maintaining discipline. There were laid-down, rules such as “students are to be courteous and silent when the teacher or a student is speaking to the class.’ “Students are to ask for the teacher’s permission to leave their seats for anything”, “Students are not to leave the class during lessons.”
After giving the class the rules that I knew were essential for class control, I made sure the students followed them to the letter. I virtually enforced discipline myself instead of sending students to the Principal’s office for disciplinary action as I did the previous year. After about a month, I realized that my efforts were yielding results.
Then, two months before the Christmas holidays, I began to relax some of the rules. One of them read as follows; “Whenever any student wants to leave the class for any reason, he should come up for permission, provided he does this without disturbing other students.” About one week later, I told the students that because they were not disruptive, they could whisper to one another, open or shut windows quietly without my permission.
Indeed, before the second term holidays, we had a classroom where students would come in and go on recess as they finished their class assignments and also where small group discussions on project work took place. Where a student in one group talked too loudly to disturb others, he was cautioned by the group, not me. Teaching then became a pleasure and I felt my students had matured greatly by learning to conduct themselves in a more acceptable way.

(a) Why did the writer not give his students rules initially?

(b) What was the outcome of the writer’s desire for the students to like him?

(c) How did the students react to the writer’s loss of class control?

(d) What did the writer do to change the unfortunate development in the class?

(e) What helped the writer to formulate measures to maintain discipline in class?

(f)”.. .before the second term holidays…”(i) What grammatical name is given to this expression as it is used in the passage? (ii) What is its function?

(g) “…I made sure that the students followed them to the letter “What does the writer mean by this statement as it is used in the passage?

(h) For each of the following words, find another word or phrase which means the same and which can replace it as it is used in the passage: (i) stringent; (ii) strategies; (iii) courteous; (iv) essential; (v) yielding; (vi) cautioned.

Read the following passage carefully and answer the questions on it.

There is a fierce war going on in Africa which has attracted little public attention but is nonetheless a serious business for all concerned. It is a war of Man versus Baboon. The conflict started when engineers built the magnificent bridge which skirts Victoria Falls and crosses the Zambesi River. That, apparently, gave the baboons the opportunity they were looking for. They swarmed from the jungle across the bridge in such numbers that trains were held up by chattering families of baboons. They swung from the girders and barked defiance at everyone — driver, guard, and passenger.

Recently, guests at the new tourist hotel at Victoria Falls have complained that trousers and other articles of clothing have been disappearing mysteriously at night. Socks, with suspenders attached, were found dangling from tree-tops in the nearby bush and it was realized that the baboons, not thieves, were the culprits from that time baboons became the declared enemy; Guests were entreated not to give them buns on the lawn at tea-time or encourage them in any other way.

A period of comparative peace followed, and then, a few weeks later, the baboons embarked on a hew campaign at the new international airport at Livingstone. At first, they confined themselves to racing across the runways when planes were coming into land, but when one of them was found asleep in the cockpit of a southbound airliner, it was felt that the time had come for drastic action. Then the authorities installed electric flares embedded in concrete alongside the runways. Only once did the baboons demonstrate in full force against the glare of the lights, attacking with sticks, stones, and fists; but the light stood up to the onslaught, and the attackers retreated.

The next stage in this strange conflict will be the erection of an electrified fence round the perimeter of the airport. Such shock tactics, it is expected, will result in the baboons conceding defeat and completely abandoning their guerrilla warfare. But grey-headed Matabeles who have dwelt all their lives in the Zambesi Valley shake their heads gloomily. They have a legend that if the baboons disappear from Victoria Falls the river will dry up, and “The smoke that Thunders” will thunder no more.

(a) What was the reaction of the baboons after the new bridge had been built?

(b) What incident caused those in control at the airport to deal seriously with the baboons?

(c) What did the airport authorities do to forestall further intrusion by the baboons?

(d) What does the writer suggest as the final solution to the baboon problem?

(e) What fear do the Matabeles have about the efforts to get rid of the baboons?

(f) “…the lights stood up to the onslaught…. What figure of speech is contained in the expression above?

(g) “…guests at the new tourist hotel at Victoria Falls…” i) What grammatical name is given to this expression as it is used in the passage? ii) What is its function?

(h)or each of the following words, find another word or phrase which means the same and which can replace it as it is used in the passage: (i) magnificent; (ii) culprits: (iii) entreated; (iv) drastic; (v) conflict; (vi) gloomily.

Read the following passage carefully and answer the questions on it.

The press is a general term for all types of printed newspapers and periodicals. It is an asset as well as a menace to society. Like many things in this world, it has its good and bad sides. Even though it has its bad sides, no society can shut it down and thrive.

The press has its aims and objectives which it follows, come what may. Anyone who wants to be abreast of current affairs or notable events in his society must resort to reading printed material, apart from watching the television. In fact, the press serves more people than the electronic media do. Newspapers and periodicals go where the television cannot. Printed material goes even to the remotest areas of a country.

Institutions of learning disseminate information. However, not all cities, towns and villages have these institutions, but the print media can be used to disseminate information to people in these areas.

Governments, institutions and organizations have their policies, programmes and activities for the smooth running of their affairs. At times, only those in authority reap the benefits. Subordinates are often afraid to criticize the authorities. Their best bet is to resort to the print media which become their mouthpiece. Thus. what the oppressed cannot do, the print media do without fear or favour.

The press is also at the beck and call of anybody who wants its services. Many a time one sees people going job-hunting. They roam the streets of cities and towns, go from one office to the other, move from one employing authority to another only to be told that vacancies do not exist. To be candid, they do not need to waste such time and energy seeking jobs. All they need to do is comb the advertisement columns of newspapers and periodicals and they will be informed about available jobs.

However, the press can be a nuisance in society. How many times have we not found newspapers and periodicals publishing false and unauthenticated stories? Such stories spread like wildfire. They stir trouble and bring about disunity in societies. The publishers are often out to enrich themselves by churning out false information. For some newspapers and periodicals, reckless and dangerous gossip is their stock-in-trade.

No one can deny the fact that moral decadence has gripped our present world. It is true that even adults contribute to this menace in our societies. Many of our children and youths go for that which is morally low. However, the truth is that the press contributes, to a very large extent, to the loss of morality in our societies. There are publishers who specialize in the production of pornographic material which even our children and youths can afford to buy.

Publishers of newspapers therefore should constantly be conscious of their crucial roles in society and should always strive to use the medium for the promotion of peace, orderliness, progress, and prosperity and not for negative or destructive ends.

(a) In four sentences, one for each, state four positive roles of the press according to the writer.

(b) In two sentences, one for each, state two negative roles of the press.