ENGLISH
FUNCTIONAL WRITING SKILLS
- Imagine that you have completed secondary education. You have come across an advertisement in one of the daily newspaper that required clerical The email address of the Company is uhurukazi@yahoo.com. You are interested in the job. Write one page curriculum vitae (C.V) using the e-mail address of the company
- You are the Secretary of your School’s Drama Your club is holding its second meeting of
the year to discuss the following issues:-
- Tour to Nairobi
- Awareness campaign
- Strengthening of drama in the school
Two people have sent their apologies and a member from the writer’s club has also attended the
meeting. Write the minutes you could take at the meeting
- Imagine you are the managing directors of Alroki industries You manufacture padlocks and of late, there has been a lot of bad press concerning your products. Write an
internal memorandum to your operations manger and sales and marketing manager. Advise them on what should be done to counter the bad press and also recapture and retain your market share.
- You have finished reading the play An Enemy of the people by Henric Ibsen and you would like to recommend it to your In about 350 words, write the book
review
- You are the principal of Baraka Teachers Training College and one of your graduates Christopher Lipwoni has applied for employment as a teacher at Lirhanda boarding primary school. The head teacher of that primary school has send you an email requesting you to avail more information about Mr. Christopher Lipwoni to enable the school decide whether to employ him or not. In the space provided below, write a sample report that you intend to email to the head teacher. Remember to copy the report to the DEO Kakamega East District
- Imagine that you have been put in charge of a farewell party for your Write a recipe for the meal you would prepare for the occasion.
- Imagine that you are the library captain in your school. Write a memo to the class prefects asking them to ensure that students observe the library rules, especially regarding silence, prompt return of books, appropriate dressing and observing opening and closing
- You are invited to give a speech on the role of the youth in fostering peace in your country by a friend You are unable to travel due to unforeseen circumstances. E-mail your speech to your friend to present it on your behalf.
- You are revising with your friend over the April On reaching school in May, you realize that one of your books, Top Mark English is missing. Write a fax to your friend in a
neighbouring school requesting for the book he had borrowed from you
- You have just read a novel entitled The ModernGirl by a famous You want to recommend it to a friend who has asked you to briefly tell him why you found the text interesting. Write with appropriate sub headings, a review of the text convincing your friend to read it.
- Imagine you live in Mumias, an average town in Western Kenya. The National Music Festivals are set to be held in this town for five days. Your friend who lives in Webuye
town intends to come over.
- a) Give them clear directions to Nabongo cultural centre in Mumias Make your instructions
as precise (one page) and clear as possible – you could use land marks, well known
means of
transport, show distance in kilometers e.t.c.
- Imagine you are the school captain, and the CDF committee wishes to set up a project in your The principal has asked you to organize with the prefects to collect students
views on the most appropriate project. Write an internal memo to the concerned prefects.20mks)
- Imagine that you have done K.C.S.E exams, qualified and done some training in a professional You have seen an advertisement in “Sunday mirage” Newspaper of a position you qualify for. You then decide to apply for it. Write your Own curriculum vitae (C.V)
- Write a letter to the clerk of your local council complaining about the loud music in the bars
where you live. Indicate how residents spend sleepless nights due to the loud music, and what you think should be done
- You have been selected to deliver a speech on Parent’s day on behalf of other students. Apart
from teachers, parents and students, there are several guests present as well as members of
Board of Governors. You are expected to highlight the challenges facing students population in
the school. Write the speech you would deliver. (20 mks)
- An Italian friend who had come to visit you left for his country a few weeks ago. He writes to inform you of his safe arrival and requests you for a recipe that would help him prepare ugali for his two Write him through this address; Mckay@yahoo.com
- The lions football team has won the just completed world cup You are the coach. Write a memo congratulating them and informing them on when/how to collect their tokens. Remember to have copies to the minister of sports.
(20mks)
A – IMAGINATIVE
- Either
- Write a composition ending with the words: The events of the previous day left me
challenged to begin a new life
Or
- Write a composition entitled “Love conquers all”
- Either
- Write a composition to illustrate the saying “Do not count your chicks before they are hatched”
Or
- Write a story ending; “Since then my brother and I have been good friends”
- IMAGINATIVE COMPOSITION (Compulsory)
Either
- Write a composition beginning “Everybody was very excited, little did we know that at that moment………….
Or
- Write a composition to illustrate the saying “A bird in hand is worth two in the ”
- Either
- Write a story ending with the following sentence: “……..thank you it was only a ”
with
Or
- Write a composition to illustrate the saying: “A journey of one thousand miles begins
one step.”
- Either
- Write a composition ending:
…………….from that day, when ever I see him my heart is filled with bitterness.
or
- Write a story to illustrate the proverb: ‘ Once bitten twice ’
- Either
- Write a story beginning:
He steadily walked towards me with a broad, warm smile, but as we shook hands, I realized he was avoiding eye contact…………….
Or
- Write a composition to illustrate the saying:
“Those who live in glass houses should not throw stones.”
- Imaginative Composition (compulsory)
Either;
- Write a story to end with the following sentence:-
…………………If I had known, I would have thought twice before making that statement.
Or;
- Write a story to illustrate the following saying:- You reap what you
- Either
- Write an essay to illustrate the saying: “The early bird catches the worm”.
Or
- Write a story beginning: There was an air of ..
- Either
- Write a composition ending:
…………….from that day, when ever I see him my heart is filled with bitterness.
or
- Write a story to illustrate the proverb: ‘ Once bitten twice ’
- Either
- Writeastoryending
I realized that I would never have a second chance in life
Or
- Write a story to illustrate the following saying “A tortoise may be slow but he seldom falls”
- Either
- Write a story beginning with
“It looked quite easy at first………………….. ”
Or
- Write a story to illustrate the proverb; Too many cooks spoil the broth
- Either
- Write a story that illustrate the saying:-a bird in hand is worth two in the bush
Or
- Write a composition beginning with the sentence:-from the outset one could see that a lot
was a waiting us.
- Either
- Write a composition beginning with the following sentence: ‘John could not stand up by himself that particular morning’
Or
- Write a composition on the measures that have been taken in your country to preserve forests
- Either,
- Write a composition with the following ending;
………………that experience taught me never to wish to be somebody else.
(20mks)
Or:
- Write a story to illustrate the saying “You cannot climb the ladder of success with your hands in the ” (20mks)
- Either
- Write a composition ending “The events of that day will remain printed in my mind for ”
Or
- Write a composition supporting the statement “Charity begins at ”
- Either
- Write a composition showing that the strong do not always
Or
- Write a story ending with: I wish I had known
- Either
- Write a story illustrating the saying, ‘Better to have tried and failed than never to have tried at all’
Or
- Write a story with the following beginning:
This was no ordinary day for a child orphaned by HIV and AIDS. Never before had the future looked…………..
1.
THE HARE
The hare was always laughing at the tortoise because he walked so slowly. “Really I don’t know why you bother to go at all,” she sneered. ‘By the time you get there it will all be over-whatever it is.’
The tortoise laughed. “I may be slow.’ He said, ‘but I bet I can get to the end of the field before you can. If you want to race, ill prove it to you.’
Expecting an easy victory the hare agreed and she bounced off as fast as she could go. The tortoise plodded steadily after her.
Now it was in the middle of a very hot sunny day and before long, the hare started to feel a little drowsy. I think ill just take a short nap under this hedge. ‘She said to herself.’ Even if the tortoise passed by ill catch him up in a flash. The hare lay down in the shade and was soon fast a sleep. The tortoise plodded on under the midday sun. Much later, the hare awoke. It was later than she had intended but she looked round confidently ‘No sign of old tortoise, I see, even if I did have rather more than forty winks.’
Away she went, running through the short grass and the growing corn, leaping ditches and brambles with ease. In a very short time she turned the last corner and paused for a moment to look at the place where the rope was to end. There, not a yard from the finishing line was the tortoise, plodding steadily on. One foot after another, nearer and nearer to the end of the race.
With a great bounce the hare streaked forward. It was too late. Though she threw herself panting over the line , the tortoise was there before her.
‘Now do you believe me?’ Asked the tortoise. But the hare was too out of breath to reply.
- Classify the above narrative
- Why did the hare always laugh at tortoise?
- Why did the hare feel drowsy?
- What made it possible for hare to lose the race?
- Try to picture yourself as the story teller charged with the responsibility of narrating this
particular story. What story telling devises would you employ?
- Why did the tortoise laugh at Hare’s comment?
- Describe how tortoise’s own words “…. I may be slow but I bet I can get to the end of the
fields before you can…..”eventually proved to be true.
- Mention any two moral lessons you can learn from this story
- POETRY
CRAZY PETER PRATTLES
So what is the mountain deal about the minister’s ailing son that he makes boiling news?
How come it was not whispered
when Tina’s hospital bed crawled with maggots
and her eyes pus
because the doctors lacked gloves?
What about Kasajja’s only child
who died because the man with the key to the oxygen room was on leave?
I have seen queues
of
babies with faint in line
mothers clinging to
skins
and the lioness of a nurse commanding tersely
“Get up or leave the line’
Didn’t I hear it rumoured that the man with the white mane and black robes
whose mouth stores the justice of the land ushered a rape case out of court
because the seven-year-old failed to testify?
Anyway, I only remember these things when I drink,
they are indeed tipsy explosion
(CrazyPeterPrattles’by Susan Nalugwa Kiguli in EchoesAcrosstheValley: Ed. Arthur
- Luvai and Kwamchetsi Makokha)
- What problems are highlighted in the poem about the state of health care?
- What is the significance of the rhetorical question in the first stanza?
- Pick out any two images in this poem and explain their significance
- (i) Identify the problem that the fifth stanza deals with
(ii) How does this connect with the problems in the previous stanzas?
- Explain the meaning of the following words as they are used in the poem
(ii) Emaciated………………..
(iii) Translucent ..
- What is the significance of the last stanza?
-
I MET A THIEF
On the beach, on the coast,
Under the idle, whispers coconut towers, Before the growling, foaming, waves,
I met a thief, who guessed I had An innocent heart for her to steal.
She took my hand and led me under,
The intimate cashew boughs which shaded The downy grass and peeping weeds
She jumped and plucked the nuts for me to suck: She sang and laughed and pressed close
I gazed; her hair was like the wool of a mountain sheep, Her eyes, a pair of brown –black beans floating in milk.
Juicy and round as plantain shoots
Her legs, arms and neck:
And like wine-gourds her pillowy breasts:
Her throat uttered fresh banana juice:
Matching her face-smooth and banana-ripe.
I touched-but long I even tasted,
My heart had flowed from me into her beast:
And then she went-high and south-
And left my carcass roasting in thee
- Who is the persona?
- What is the relevance of the title?
- Paraphrase the last stanza
- Identify and explain the significance of the three stylist devices employed in the poem
- Of what race is the ‘thief’ in the poem?
- Explain the meaning of the line ‘an innocent heart for her to steal’
- Identify one economic activity portrayed in the poem
4.
THE PROSTITUTE
There I see her coming With borrowed steps Like a coward ghost
Out of grass covered graveyard
She comes Bearing no more
That attractive dames Cover like soft babes
These
She has exposed to bitter weather and lusty eyes.
There I see her coming like a nestles bird
that enters any nest for a transient stay at times
finding snakes or hostile hawks
There I see her coming like a black jack
a poisonous pest
that infects the city’s plantation diseasing the young
and old plant
There I see her
coiling herself around tourists and bosses like a parasitic climbing plant
There I see her coming from the back door like a forged coin
that assumes the high value yet always hounded by spies
I stand to see her
when the forged coin is found when the immigration birds are back in their nests
or when the dog
that it constantly feeds on is washed with DDT
or when the dog is dead on a tarmac road
and when the stems are cut in the dry windy season
- Name FOUR things the person referred to as ‘her’ has been likened
- What is the main theme of the poem? Explain with suitable examples
- What is the attitude of the poet towards the subject of the poem? Illustrate using words or
phrase from the poem?
- Identify three stylistic devices used in the poem and show their effectiveness in bringing out
the poet’s message.
(e) Explain the meaning of the last stanza – what mood does it express?
5.
There lived once a wicked chief. Nobody liked him, because of his wickedness. He was wicked to old men and women. By pretending to be kind he tried to be popular to young men who lived in that country. When the chief won over young men, they all liked him.
One day, the chief called all the young men and told them, “My friends, don’t you see?” They asked, “What?” you should kill all of them. Everybody should kill his father.”
Ah: (that they should kill their fathers). As a result, everybody whose father was old brought him to be killed. This one went and brought him to be killed. This one went and brought him to be killed, the other went brought his father to be killed. They killed all the old men, leaving one only.
He was a father of a man who said no. “Why should the chief kill all old men and why would I send my father to be killed?” He got down and went to dig a large hole and concealed it nicely. He sent his father there, where he had dug. He fetched wood and put it across and coved it with soil, making a small hole for air to pass through. At that time, they had finished to kill all the old men.
When the chief finished executing them, he then called all the young men. “My friends we have now finished killing all our old men. This is a cow I am giving to you. I am so happy we have got rid of these old men, so go and kill the cow. When you have killed the cow, cut the best part of its meat and bring it to me. If you don’t bring it, you yourself are not safe.”(That is all right) eh;
The young men rushed out and slaughtered the cow, which is the best part of the meat of a cow? They were worried
They went and cut the liver and sent it to him. He asked whether or not that was the best part of the meat. They answered yes. They added part of the bile. He said that wasn’t the best part of the meat and they should go and find it quickly. The people became more worried.
Every night the young man secretly took food to his father. One day he took food to his father, who asked about the news of the town. He said, “My father, now we are suffering. When we killed all the old men, the chief gave us a cow to go and kill. When we killed the cow, he said we must both find the sweetest and the best part of the meat and bring to him, that if we do not bring them, we are not safe ourselves. This is what is worrying us.” The old man laughed, but asked him if he knew the sweetest part of the meat. He said no. He again asked if he did not know the bitterest part. He said no. “Then the sweetest and the bitterest is the tongue. When you go, cut the tongue and sent it to him and say that is the sweetest part of the meat and the bitterest.”
The man rushed home while all the people sat down, undecided about what to do. If something had not happened they might have thrown the whole meat away and run away. When the boy arrived he said, “My friends take the tongue of the cow in.” they cut the tongue for him, and he took it to the chief’s palace.
He went and threw it down and said, “Chief, see the sweetest part of the meat and the bitterest part also.”
The chief sat down quietly and finally said, “You did not kill your father. Speak the truth. You have not killed your father.”
He said, “It is the truth, I didn’t kill him. When all the other men were killing their own fathers I went and hid mine.”
He said, “You are the son of a wise old man. The sweetest and the bitterest part of a meat is the tongue. As for that all these young men are fools. Why should somebody send his father to be killed? But if you want the sweetest part of the meat, find the tongue, were it not for your tongue, you would not have an enemy: it is also because of your tongue that you will not have a friend.”
- Classify the above narrative
- State any two characteristics of oral narratives present in the narrative above
- Identify and discuss any two characteristics traits of the chief and any one character of the young man (who didn’t kill the father)
- Explain any moral lesson that can be learned from this narrative
- Give one economic activity practices by the community from which this narrative was taken
- Identify any two styles in the oral narrative
- Why do you think the chief wanted all the old men to be killed?
- Read
Would you know my name if I saw you in heaven? Would it be the same if I saw you in heaven?
I must be strong and carry on, cause I know I don’t belong here in heaven.
Would you hold my hand if I saw you in heaven? Would you help me stand if I saw you in heaven?
I’ll find my way through night and day, cause I know I can’t just stay here in heaven
Time can bring you down, time can bend your knees
Time can break the heart; have you ‘begging’ “please” ‘begging’ “please” Beyond the door there’s peace, I’m sure
And I know there will be no more tears in heaven. Would you know my name if I saw you in heaven? Would you be the same if I saw you in heaven?
I must be strong and carry on, cause I know I don’t belong here in heaven. ‘Cause I know I don’t belong here in heaven.
- What is the subject matter of this poem? Illustrate your answer
- Identify and illustrate the feature of style evident in stanza three
- Give and illustrate two examples of the persona’s statements to illustrate his attitude of admiration
- What is the implication of rhetorical questions beings set in conditional tenses?
- What is the personas imagination of life in heaven?
- In note form, give the main item of the last stanza
- Explainthemeaningofthefollowingphrasesasusedinthepoem
- Hold my hand…… –
- Break the heart……
7.
*UGU*You see that Benz sitting at the rich’s end?
Ha! That Motoka is Motoka.
It belongs to the minister for fairness Who yesterday was loaded with doctorate
At Makerere with whisky and I don’t know what Plus I hear the literate thighs of an undergraduate.
You see those market women gaping their mouths? The glory of its inside has robbed them of words
I tell you the feathery seats the gold steering The TV the radio station the gear!
He can converse with all the world presidents While driving in the back seat with his darly Between his legs without the driver seeing a thing! Ha! Ha! Ha!
Look at the driver chasing the children away They want to see the pistol in the door pocket
Or the button that lets out bullets from the machine Through the eyes of the car – Sshhhhhhhhh
Lets not talk about it.
But I tell you that Motoka can run
It sails like a lijato, speeds like a swallow And doesn’t know anyone stupid on its way The other day I heard
But look at its behind, that mother of twins! A-ah That Motoka is Motoka.
You just wait, I’ll tell you more But let me first sell my tomatoes
(ByTHEOLUZUKA)
(a) Who is the persona?
- Briefly explain what the poem is all
- Identify any two stylistic devices used in the
- Explain the character of the market women as portrayed in the
- Explain the meaning of the following lines as used in the
- Ha! That Motoka is
the
- The glory of its inside has robbed them of the
- But look at its behind, that mother of *UGU*
- Describethetoneofthepoemandcommentonthepersona’sattitudetowards
minister forfairness.
- Identify the economic activity of the people portrayed in this
8.
AFTER A WAR
The outcome? Conflicting rumours As to what faction murdered
The one man who, had he survived Might have ruled us without corruption Not that it matters now:
We’re busy collecting the dead
Counting them, hard though it is To be sure what side they were on
What’s left of their bodies and faces Tells of no need but for burial
And mutilations was practiced By right, left and centre alike As for the children and women Who knows what they wanted Apart from the usual things?
Food is scarce now, and men are scarce Whole villages burnt to the ground
New cities in disrepair
The war is over, somebody must have won Somebody will have won. When peace is declared
- According to the poem, what are the consequences of war?
- What techniques has the poet employed and what are their effects?
- What is the poet’s attitude towards war?
- Explainthemeaningofthefollowinglines:-
- Food is scarce now, men are scarce*KSW*
- Whole villages burnt to the ground
- From the poem, why would you say that war is a no win situation?
- What’s the mood of the poem?
9.
Long ago, man tamed only the dog. Before he started taming any other animal, it was said that the donkey could also be tamed. This story came from one hunter.
One day while hunting, this hunter killed a large animal, which was too heavy for him to carry along. So, as he wondered how to carry his kill he saw a donkey pass nearby and an idea came to his mind. “Why not place this carcass on the donkey so that it can help me?” he wondered. He did not know what would happen if he tried this because the donkey was also a wild animal. Nevertheless he decided to try.
So he followed the donkey and luring it with sweet words and grass, the donkey allowed him to place his load on its back without resistance. He then led the way until they arrived home. After unloading the donkey, he gave it more grass and some water. It ate and drunk and appeared happy. From that day, the donkey never left the hunter’s homestead; and he gave the donkey food and drink daily. The donkeys multiplied and there were many donkeys in this homestead, all helping the hunter to carry his loads. Soon, the story went round that somebody had tamed a donkey, which he was using as a beast of burden. Villagers came to see for themselves and they were impressed with the way the hunter’s donkeys were working. Having satisfied their curiosity, they also went out into the wild to look for donkeys to tame. The donkey became a famous beast of burden in the whole village and beyond, carrying all the heavy loads that men and women could not even lift with assistance.
As all this was happening, the donkeys which were left in the wild did not know what was going on. They would only see their friends go away with men and women never to return. They came to understand that they had been deserted only after most of their friends had been taken away. The few who were left started to hide deep in the woods to avoid any contact with human beings. But their efforts to hide were all in vain! Human beings had realized that donkeys were very useful animals. So they made every possible effort to catch them even from deep in the forest.
This problem disturbed the wild donkeys. Many of their kind had been captured by human beings. The rumours spreading around were that the captured ones were made to work very hard with only little food, since there was no time to graze, while those left in the wild grazed the whole day and even during the night.
Indeed, this was frightening. The rest of the donkeys decided to act quickly, lest they too be captured. They called a meeting at which they discussed what should be
done to stop the movement of donkeys into people’s homes. When the meeting came to a stalemate, one donkey suggested that they should seek help from Hare since he was known to be cunning and clever. All agreed to seek advice from Hare.
The next morning, the donkey representative went to Hare. Hare was only too willing to help. Therefore Hare asked him to tell all his friends to come to his compound early the next morning. They agreed. When they arrived, they found Hare with whitewash in a large bucket and a brush in his hand. They were all at a loss as to know how this whitewash was going to help them. When they enquired, Hare attempted to explain but they could not understand.
So Hare asked one of them to volunteer for a demonstration but none wanted to. Then Hare approached one old donkey and whispered in its ear saying, “Once you have been painted, you will not be a donkey any more and human beings will not take you away.” The old donkey said, “I will volunteer because if the human beings take me and put loads on my back, I will die.” So the Hare quickly started painting stripes of whitewash on this donkey. Soon, the entire body of the donkey was filled with white and grey stripes. When the other donkeys looked at the painted donkey, they admired it and some wanted to be painted. But others came to the painted donkey and it whispered something in their ears. So they rushed and crowded around Hare and although he warned them that they had to be careful with the whitewash, they did not heed his warning. They jostled, pushed, fought and even bit each other in the struggle to be the next one to be painted. It was during this struggle to be painted that one donkey toppled the bucket containing the whitewash, pouring the entire contents on the grass from where it could not be recovered. The donkeys that had been painted remained in the forest because human beings did not capture them for they looked different from the domesticated ones. The striped donkeys changed their name from donkey to Zebra. All the ones that remained unpainted after the whitewash were captured by the human beings and taken to their homes to labour for them up to this day. And there ends my story.
(AdaptedfromKenyaOralLiteratureNarratives,Aselection editedbyKavetsaAdagala
andWanjiku.M.Kabira.EastAfricanEducationalPublishers.)
. (a) Classify , with reasons, this story
- Identify and illustrate the following:-
- Explain the use of personification in this narrative
- What was the agenda of the meeting held by the donkeys?
- What is the attitude of the donkeys towards the Hare?
- What were the consequences of the donkey’s struggle to be painted?
- Apart from personification, what other features of oral narratives have been used in this story
- Explain the character of the donkeys in the 2nd last paragraph
- Explainthemeaningofthefollowingwordsandexpressionsasusedinthestory
(iii) Toppled…………………..
10.
LOVE
Love is a universal migraine, A bright stain on the vision Blotting out reason.
Symptoms of true love Are leanness, jealousy, Laggard dawns;
Are omens and nightmares- Listening for a knock.
Waiting for a sign:
For a touch of her fingers In a darkened room,
For a searching look
Take courage, lover!
Could you endure such pain At any hand but hers?
- Identify the persona in the poem (2 mks)
- What is the persona’s attitude towards love? (Explain) (3 mks)
- Describe the tone of the poem with evidence from it (3 mks)
- Identify and explain any (6 mks)
figures of speech used in the poem
- Describe the mood of the poem citing evidence to support your answer (3 mks)
- Explain the rhetorical question at the end of the poem (2 mks)
- Explain the meaning of each of the following expressions as used in the poem
iii)
11.
Don’t cry baby Sleep little baby
Father will nurse you Sleep baby sleep
Little bird flitting away to the forest so fast Tell me, little bird, have you seen her
Have you seen my crying baby’s mother?
She went to the river at early dew A pot upon her head
But down the water floats her pot And the path from the river is empty
Shall I take him under the palm? Where the green shade rests at noon?
Oh no, no
For the thorns will prick my baby Shall I take him under the giant baobab
Where the silk cotton plays with the wing?
Oh no, no
For the termite- eaten bough will break And crush my little baby
My little sleeping baby
The day is long and the sun grows hot So, sleep, my little baby, sleep
For mother is gone to a far, far land- Alas!
She is gone beyond the river.
poem
- Give four features which prove that the above oral poem is a lullaby
- Identify and illustrate the two speakers in the poem
- Why is the singer hesitant to take the baby under the shade?
- Identify and illustrate any two characteristics of oral poems evident in the above
- What is the singer’s attitude towards the baby?
- Comment on social organization of the people in the community where this song was
collected
14.
The earth does not get fat,
It makes an end of those who wear the head plumes, We shall die on the earth
The earth does not get fat. It makes an end of those who act swiftly as heroes Shall we die on the earth?
Listen O earth. We shall mourn because of you, Listen O earth. We shall die on the earth?
The earth does not get fat. It makes an end of chiefs Shall we all die on the earth?
The earth does not get fat.
It makes an end of the women chiefs Shall we die on earth?
The earth does not get fat. It makes an end of the royal women Shall we die on earth?
Listen O earth. We shall mourn because of you. Listen O earth. We shall die on the earth?
The earth does not get fat. It makes an end of the beasts.
Shall we die on the earth?
Listen you who are a sleep, who are left tightly closed in the land.
Listen you who are asleep, who are left tightly closed in the land. Shall we all sink into the earth?
Listen O earth, the sun is setting tightly.
We shall all enter into the earth
(Source:Akivaga.K andOdagaA.B,OralLiterature:A schoolcertificatecourse)
- Classify this song and give reasons for your classification
- What is the subject matter in this song?
- Identify and comment on two features of style that are characteristic of songs
- Describe the attitude of the singer to the subject he/she is singing about
- What social belief is brought out in this song?
- Explain the meaning of the following lines :-
- The earth does not get fat
- We shall all enter into the earth
- …… who are tightly closed in the
I
I shall return, I shall return again
To laugh and love and watch with wonder eyes At garden noon the forest fires burn,
Wafting their blue black smoke to sapphire skies I shall return to loiter by the streams
That bathe the brown blades of bending grasses, And realize once more my thousand dreams
Of waters rushing down the mountain passes I shall return to hear the fiddle and fife
Of village dances, dear delicious tunes That stir the hidden depths of native life
Stray melodies of the dim-remembered tunes I shall return, I shall return again
To ease my mind of long, long years of pain
- Explain briefly what the poem is about
(3mks)
(4mks)
things which the persona is longing to return to
- With illustration from the poem, identify and illustrate any devices
stylistic
used in the poem (6mks)
(2mks)
as
(1mk)
- What is the tone of the poem? Illustrate your answer
- In what kind of environment is the persona living? Explain your answer (2mks)
- What specific name is given to the poems with one stanza and fourteen lines
one above?
- What is the name given to the last two lines ending in similar sound?
- Readthepoembelowandanswerthequestionsthatfollow:
They met by accident So they had to separate
He proposed the idea The boy remains illegitimate. She gave her consent
All the way to the alter. Last month not long ago They both took their go
The casualty was male Coincidentally by accident
And his pigment was pale Nothing to inherit. Unlike his alleged sire
Who was black with Ire The poor boy is hardly ten And knows no next of kin
The recourse was legitimate He roams the street of town.
He declaimed responsibility Like a wind sown outcast. So they had to separate
The boy remains illegitimate.
- Who is the persona in this poem? (2 mks)
- What is the message in the poem? (4 mks)
- Comment on any (6 mks)
stylistic device used in the poem.
- What is the persona’s attitude towards the ”they?” (2 mks)
- Comment on the last (3 mks)
-
The inmates Huddled together,
Cold biting their bones,
Teeth chattering from the chill, The air oppressive,
The smell offensive They sit and they reflect.
The room self-contained,
At the corner the gents’ invites
With the nice fragrance of ammonia, And fresh human dung,
The fresh inmates sit thoughtfully.
Vermin perform a guard of honour, Saluting him with a bite here,
And a bite there,
Welcome to the world’ they seem to say.
The steel lock of the door, The walls insurmountable
And the one torching torturous bulb Stare vacantly at him.
Slowly he reflects about the consignment That gave birth to his confinement Locked in for conduct refinement
The reason they put him in the prison.
The clock ticks But too slowly
Five years will be a long time Doomed in the dungeon
In this hell of a cell.
- What is the attitude of the speaker towards the fresh inmate? (4mks)
- Explain the atmosphere created through description in the poem (4mks)
- Why is the fresh ‘inmate in prison? (2mks)
- Identify and explain any three stylistic devices in the poem (6mks)
- Explain the mood of the new convict
(2mks)
‘Locked in for conduct refinement (2mks)
-
(20mks)
THE FOOLISH
MAN
My father began as a god Full of heroic tales
Of days when he was young His laws were as immutable As if brought down from Sinai
which indeed he thought they were. He fearlessly lifted me to heaven By a mere swing to his shoulder And made me a godling
By seating me astride
Our milk cow’s back and too, Upon the great white gobbler.
of which others went in constant fear.
Strange then how he shrank and shrank Until by my time of adolescence
He had become a foolish small old man with silly and outmoded views
of life and morality.
Stranger still
that as I became older
his faults and his intolerances scatted away into the past revealing virtues
such as honesty, generosity, integrity.
Strangest of all
how the deeper he recedes into the grave the more I see myself
as just one more of the little men who creep through life
no knee – high to this long-dead god.
(IanMudie)
(4mks)
(3mks)
(3mks)
- Briefly comment on the theme of the poem
- Comment on the suitability of the tittle of the poem
- What is the attitude of the persona towards his father?
(6mks)
stylistic devices used in the poem
- What do the following groups of people learn from the poem?
(2mks)
Immutable…………… Outmoded……………………
17 .
When she is the only one at the foot of the mortar-stones the hen only scratches with one paw. For she has, so she thinks, plenty of time to choose her grains for corn.
Ponda certainly was not the only girl in M’badane, but she had only to appear for the most beautiful, and far from being fastidious and difficult to please as might have been expected, she was only too anxious to find a husband, as she was afraid of growing into an old maid, for she had already turned sixteen. On their side suitors were not lacking: every single day her girl-friends’ brothers and fathers, young men and old men from other villages, sent griots and dialis bearing gifts and fine words to ask her hand in marriage.
If it had only depended on herself Ponda would certainly by now have a baby tied on her back, either good, or bad-tempered and crying. But in the matter of marriage, as in all things a girl must submit to her father’s will. It is her father who must decide whom she is to belong to: a. Prince, a rich dioula or a common badolo who sweats in the field in the sun; it is for her father to say it he wishes to bestow her on a powerful marabout or an insignificant talibe.
Now Mor, the father of Ponda had demanded neither the immense bride-price of a rich man, nor the meager possession of a badolo; still less had he thought of offering his daughter to a marabout or to a marabout’s disciple in order to enlarge his place in paradise. Mor simply told all those who come to ask for his daughter, whether for themselves, for their masters, for their sons or for their brothers:
“I will give Ponda without demanding bride-price or gifts, to the man who will kill an ox and send me the meat by the agency of a hyena; but when it arrives not a single morsel of the animal must be missing.”
That was more difficult than making the round-cared Narr-the-Moor keep a secret. It was more difficult than entrusting a calabash full of honey to a child and expect him not to even dip his little finger in. You might as well try prevent the sun from leaving his home in the morning or retiring to bed to the end of the day. You might as well forbid the thirsty sand to drink the first drop s of the first rains. Entrust meat to Bouki-the-Hyena? You might as well entrust a pot of butter to a burning fire. Entrust meat to Bouk and prevent her from touching it.
But how can you entrust meat; even dried meat to a hyena, and prevent her to touch it? It was an impossible task, so said the griots as they ended their way home to their masters: so said the mothers who had come on their sons’ behalf, so said the old men who had come to ask for the
beautiful Ponda for themselves.
A day’s walk form M’Badane lay the village of N’diour. The inhabitants of N’Diou were by no means ordinary folk’ they were, or so they believed, the only men and the only women since earliest times to have tamed the double hyenas, with whom in fact they lived in perfect peace and good understanding. It is true that the people of N’Diour did their share to maintain these good relations.
Every Friday they killed a bull which they offered to Bouki-the-Hyena and her tribe.
Of all the young men of N’Diour, Birane was the best at wrestling as well as working in
the fields, he was also the most handsome. When his griot brought back presents that Mor had refused, and told him the conditions which Ponda’s father had laid down, Birane said to himself:
“I shall be the one to win Ponda for my bed,” He killed an ox, dried the meat, and put it in a goatskin; the skin was enclosed in a coarse cotton bag and the whole thing placed in the middle of ‘a truss straw.
On Friday, when Boruki came with her family to partake of the offering given by the people of N’Diou Birane went to her and said, ‘My griot, who has no more sense than a babe at the breast and who is as stupid as an ox has brought the fine gifts that I sent to Ponda, the daughter of Mor of N’Badane. I am certain that if you, whose wisdom is great and whose tongue is as honey, took this simple truss of straw to N’Badane to the house of Mor you would only need to say, “Birane asks for your daughter, “for him to grant her to you”.
“I have grown old, Birane, and my back is no longer very strong, but N’Bar, the oldest of
my children, is full of vigour and he has inherited a little of my wisdom. He will go to N’Badane
for you, and I am sure that he will acquint himself well of your mission.”
M’Bar set off very early in the morning, the truss of straw on his back. When the dew moistened the truss of straw the pleasant Odour of the meat began to float in the air. M’bar-thehyena stopped, lifted his nose sniffed to the right, sniffed to the left, then resumed his way, a little less hurriedly it seemed. The smell grew stronger, the Hyena stopped again, bared his teeth, thrust his nose to the right, to the left, into the air, then
turned round and sniffed to the four winds. He resumed his journey, but now hesitating all the time, as if held back by this penetrating, insistent smell which seemed to come from all directions.
Not being able to resist it any longer, M’Bar left the track that led from N’Diour to N’Badane, made huge circling detours in the veld, ferreting to the right, ferreting to the left continually retracing his steps, and took three whole days instead of one to reach N’Badane.
N’Bar was certainly not in the best of tempers when he entered Mor’s home. He did not wear the pleasant expressions of a messenger who comes to ask a great favour. This smell of meat that impregnated all the grass and all the bushes of the veld and still impregnated the huts of N’Bedane and the courtyard of Mor’s home, had made him forget on the ‘way from N’Diour all the wisdom that Biouki had instilled into him, and stilled the gracious words that one always expects from a petitioner. M’Bar scarcely even unclenched his teeth to say: Assalamou aleyokoum!” and nobody could even hear his greeting; but as he threw down the truss of straw from his back had bent under its weight, he muttered in a voice that was more than disagreeable, ‘Bitane of N”Diour sends you this truss of staw and asks for your daughter. Under the very eyes of M’Bar the Hyena, first astonished, then indignant, then covetous Mor cut the liana ropes that bound the truss of a straw, opened it up and took out the bag of coarse cotton; from the coarse cotton bag of he took out the goat-skin and from the goatskin the pieces of dried meat.
‘Go’, ‘Mor, said to M’Bar-the-hyena, who nearly burst with rage at the sight of all that meat he had unsuspectingly earned for three days, and which was spread out, there without his being able to touch a single bit. (for the folk of N’Badane were not like the inhabitants of N’Diour, and in M’Badane hunting spears were lying all round). ‘Go,’ said Mor, ‘go and tell Birane that I give him my daughter. Tell him that he is not only the most spirited and the strongest of all the young men of N’Diour, but he is also the shrewdest.
He managed to entrust meat to you, hyena, he will be able to keep a sharp watch on his wife and outwit all tricks.’
- What type of oral narrative is this?
- State one economic activity of the community from which the story is c) What two aspects of Birane’s character come out in this story?
- What moral lesson do we learn from this narrative?
- Identify two significant devices used in this narrative and comment on
their
effectiveness
- Identify three aspects of social life in the community from which the oral
narrative is set
- Readthepoembelowandanswerthequestionsthatfollow.
I know what the caged bird feels, alas ! When the sun is bright on the upland slopes;
When the wind stirs soft through the springing grass And the river flows like a stream of glass;
When the first bird sings and the first bud opens, And the faint perfume from its petals steals-
I know what the caged bird feels!
I know why the caged bird beats his wing Till its blood is red on the cruel bans;
For he must fly back for his perch and cling
When he rather would be on the branch a – swing; And a pain still throbs in the old, old scars
And they pulse again with a keener sting – I know why he beats his wing!
I know why the caged bird sings, ah me,
When his wing is bruised and his blossom sore, When he beats his bars and would be free;
It is not a song of joy or glee,
But a prayer that he sends from his heart’s deep core, But a plea, that upward to Heaven he flings –
I know why the caged bird sings !
Bontemps.
(AdaptedfromthepoembyPaulLawrenceDunbar InAmericanNegropoetry,editedbyArna
NewYork:HillandWang,1974)
form.
- Explain briefly what the poem is about .
- What does the poet focus on in each of the three stanzas? Give your answer in note
- How would you describe the persona’s feelings towards the caged bird?
- What can we infer about the persona’s own experiences?
- Identify a simile in the first stanza and explain why it is
- Explainthemeaningofthefollowinglines:
- “And the faint perfume from its petals steals”.
- “And they pulse again with a keener sting “
- THE MAGNIFICIENT BULL
My bull is white like the silver fish in the river
White like the shimmering crane bird on the river bank White like fresh milk.
His roar is like thunder to the Turkish cannon On the steep shore.
My bull is dark like the rain cloud in the storm. He is like summer and winter.
Half of him is dark like the storm cloud, Half of him is light like sunshine.
His back shines like the morning star.
His brow is red like the beak of the hornbill.
His fore head is like a flag, calling the people from a distance, He resembles the rainbow.
like”
- The singer achieves rhythm in the song above through repetition of words e. “white
like e.t.c. Identification Illustration
- If you are to do a live performance of this song how would you make it more interesting to the audience?
(5mks)
- Underline the silent letter in each of the following words
- Rendezvous
- Eulogy
- Condemn
- Phlegm
“Willy warmly welcomed Wendy and wondered why Wyatt walked wearingly while whistling.’
- Classify the above
- Identify and illustrate one sound pattern from the genre
- State any one function of the above genre
- You school is participating in a debate and the motion is: “Parents should let children decide their own destiny,” How would you ensure that your argument convincing?
*KC*
a lady
- Imagine that you are listening to a telephone conversation between a receptionist and
whose child is very ill and she is seeking her physicians’ help. Unfortunately, Dr.
Kemboi is
not in, but the receptionist is on the line. In the blank spaces, fill in what you think the receptionist should have said to the lady.
2.
Once upon a time, there lived an old man. One day he paid a visit to his in-laws. On entering the house of his mother-in-law, he found that she had been roasting some meat, among which was a delicious looking sausage and she was not in the house. He immediately took the sausage and quickly shoved it into his quiver. And it so happened that a piece of live coal had got stuck on the sausage but the old man didn’t know. He quickly shut the quiver.
No sooner had he sat down than the owner of the house came in. They sat down to talk about the children’s health. When they had finished, it was time for the old man to return to his home. Just then, the woman noticed smoke issuing from the quiver and asked the old man; “Paker, how come the quiver is smoking?” The man answered, “Oh. It’s some naughty fire stick with a soft head that smokes whenever it comes into contact with soft wood and the arrows.” The woman kept quiet and got up to escort her guest.
When they had walked only a short distance, the fire made a hole in the quiver and the arrows fell out, tiak! together with the stolen sausage. The lady, who was walking closely behind, exclaimed: ‘See, had I not known it! Then the old man fearing that his sausage might be eaten. shouted, “Oh, my Paker, please do not eat it!”
So while the lady ran home in shame, the greedy old man continued with his journey in extreme embarrassment. They showed each other their backs and there ends my story.
- State two things a narrator would do to draw the audience’s attention to the beginning
of
t he story
- Describe how a narrator would perform line 4-6 of the second paragraph
- Explain three ways in which the audience can indicate active listening in the
performance
of this narrative
- Apart from using the ending formula, how else would a narrator signal to the audience
the ending of his story?
3.
Where is she eee Where is she ee
We want to pamper her We want to pamper her x2
We advise you, we advise you
When you get there respect your husband When he calls you, respond to his call
So that your marriage can last
Both of you may live in peace Both of you may live in peace x2
- List down what is lost when the above song is written down
- The above song is a translation from Kiswahili to What has been lost in the translation?
- (i) Underline the stressed syllable in the correct pronunciation of the following words (Thedotsindicatesyllableboundaries)
- pect
- view
- ves. ti. gate
- so.li.date
- cu. late
- vi. de (noun)
- Provide another word with a similar pronunciation for each of the following words
speech
are
- Ale
- Cereal
- None
- Ate
- (i) Explain three things you would do if you were unexpectedly asked to give a short
During the form four farewell party
- You are giving this speech without a public address How do you ensure you
heard clearly by everybody
4.
THE MAN
LIVED WITH THE TRIBE
HIS WIFE
There was a man, it is said, who lived with the ethnic group of his wife. One day he said to his wife, “We are moving away-tell your people.” So she told her people and they gave him the customary gifts and returned to him a part of his bride wealth.
Then this man who had been living with his wife’s ethnic group moved away with his family and his wife, and after he had walked all day he set up a camp in a certain place. Then he said to his wife, “woman, there is a matter I have to discuss with the people whom we left, and I am going back to them. Pen the animals and wait for me.”
So he went back, and when he reached the village in the evening he sat down in the clearing by the huts, intending to eavesdrop. The people were gossiping about and someone said, “well, let us all give our opinion of that who stayed with our tribe for such a long time!”
“He was a good man.” said one. “By God, he was a brave man.”
“By God, he was a generous man.”
“By God, he looked after the animals well.” “By God, he had some knowledge of men.”
The whole village praised him, and all the time the man was listening. There was pause, and then a young girl spoke, “but I know something about him that was bad!”
“What was it?” the people asked.
“He didn’t go far away enough from the huts when he urinated!” at this the whole village burst in to laughter, but the eavesdropper was so angry that he stood up said to them, “well, by God, I have moved far enough away now!” to the great astonishment of the whole village.
- How would you performs the narrative in order to capture the audience attention
words :
in
- (i) In which tone would the eavesdropper say last line of the narrative
- Underline the word in which the vowel sound is different in the following sets of
- ship, sheep, sleep
- Pull, pool, book
- Bark, park, buck
- Might, height, mice
- Barn, ban, bag
- State whether the stress would fall on the first or second syllable on the word
bold by underlining:
- I don’t like associating with that rebel
- Waiyaki had a lot of respect for the elders
- We manage to turn the businesses
- When can you contact me?
- You can access a lot of information in
- What would you consider important in giving someone directions especially to
a
for a job?
place that is difficult to trace?
- What preparation would you do before attending an interview
5.
ESCAPE FROM THE
I seek a quiet country life Without the city’s bursting strife I seek the sight of trees ablaze
Instead of streets that form amaze
- Identify two sound patterns in this poem and state their effectiveness
- i) rhyme Life Ablaze Strife Amaze
- Which words in the poem contain dipthongs?
- How could you say the first line of this poem and why?
- Describe the rhyme scheme of the poem above
rest.
Identify thewordwiththedifferentsound:-
- purse further fury nurse
- three thick theme these
| iii) have |
fame |
rake |
fate |
| iv) heir |
honest |
honoraria |
harbour |
| v) committee |
constitution |
command |
commodity |
If freaky Fred found fifty feet of fresh fruit and fed forty feet to his friend Frank, how many feet of fresh fruit did freeky Fred find?
- Classify the oral item above
- Identify two characteristics of this genre
- State four functions of this genre
- They were taught by the word of mouth
- The guest of honour asked us to lend him our ears
- Politicians must now walk the talk
- Daisy has the gift of the gab
the
YouareaTVpresenterwith“DuondJokaNyanam”station.Youhavebeenassigned
duty to interviewanimportantandfamouswriterinthenameofNgugiWaThiong’o. Howwouldyou prepareyourselfforaneffectivesessionwithaviewtoproducinga
good programme?
6.
LOW
Sweet and low, sweet and low, Wind of the western sea,
Low, low, breath and blow, Wind of the western sea! Over the rolling waters go,
Come from the dying moon, and blow, Blow him again to me;
While my little one, while my pretty one, sleeps.
Sleep and rest, sleep and rest, Father will come to thee soon; Rest, rest on mother’s breast; Father will come to thee soon;
Father will come to his babe n the nest, Silver sails all out of the west
Under the silver moon;
Sleep my little one, sleep, my pretty one, sleep.
- State any two pairs of rhyming words from the above poem
- Apart from rhyme, with illustrations from the poem, identify any other two techniques that have been used by the poet to create rhythm in this poem
you
- If you were to classify the above poem as a song, in which category would
place it and why?
- Comment on the number of syllables used in the last line of each
What does this tell you about the rhythm of this poem?
last
sound /Ù/
- If you were to recite this poem to its target audience, how would recite the
line of the last stanza?
- From the poem, identify any two words containing the vowel
- Underline the silent letters in the following words
- Subtle
- Comb
- Hymn
- Clinton
words (usestressmarks)
- Drug abuse is so rampant in coast province
- The alarm clock rang on time
- Can I have your contact, please
- We were forced to desert our fertile land and now, here we are in a total desert
stated;
Juma : I am so happy! (Jumps up) we finally did it! Four powerful sweet goals! Solomon: No doubt about that victory! Chelsea…..
Collins :(interrupting) shut up your pointed beak! Its Chelsea not Chelesea! Simply
Collins,
the blues.
Solomon: Accept my apology. I didn’t mean to offend anyone. For your information
Man City isn’t my team. Notwithstanding, the fact remains that Manchester
city outran
and outfoxed your team. I saw the match myself.
Juma: Hold your peace, boy. Are you not aware of the adage that goes: he who fights the truth,
fights against God! Chelsea can beat any other team in the English premier league but
not
Manchester City: that’s the truth, period.
Collins : Sure? Come to think of it, have you ever stopped to wonder why all the beautiful
women in this present world and probably the one that will come, prefer to associate with Chelsea players and fans rather than those of man city? Still wondering? Answer is obvious: Man city players are not only short and ugly but also daft morons!
Juma: To be honest, you could be saying the truth as far as your captain’s snatching of
Wayne
bridges girl friend is concerned. However, don’t you think it’s a show case of
immorality, for a married man like him to engage in an extra-marital affair?
Catherine: Guys, let’s end the entire talk. Why can’t we talk about AFC Leopards, Sofa
Paka,
and Western Stima! Isn’t there any football being played in Kenya?
Solomon: True
Catherine: What I…..mean is, who in England talks about Western Stima? Anyway, thanks for your company! (Walks away)
- Identify and illustrate any two features demonstrated by Collins which indicate lack of courtesy while conversing with others
- From the above dialogue, identify any two features of a healthy conversation
- With relevant illustrations from the above dialogue state any two features that characterize
natural speech
7.
“How high up has he heaved his heavy hoe?”
- Identify the genre above
- For what purpose would the above genre be used
- Cite one feature of oral skills used in the above genre
- Mention two characteristics of the above genre
- Give another word that has the same pronunciation as the words below
- Profit
- Mete
- Dough
- Key
- Imagine that Ngugi Wa Thion’go, the author of the novel ‘The River Between’ has been invited by the English department to give a lecture on the key themes and
aspects
of style evident in the novel, in a week’s time. As one of the students of literature preparing to offer him audience, what steps would you take just
before and during
the presentation to ensure that you benefit fully from the event.
I stood and stared, the sky was lit The sky was stars all over it
I stood. I knew not why Without a wish, without a will I stood upon the silent hill
My eyes were blind with stars still I stared into the sky
- Show how the poet has effectively created rhythm in this poem?
lines
- What word would you stress in line 5 and why?
- Explain two ways in which you would make the recitation of the first three
of the poem effective
Hawa : Hallo, is that Thatu’s Girl’s school? Peter : Yes, what is your name?
Hawa : Hawa Mukova Peter : What do you want?
Hawa : May I speak to the head teacher?
Peter : He went to do shopping for his family. What did you want to tell him?
Hawa : Sorry it is confidential. May I speak to the deputy?
Peter : He is attending a pre-wedding in fact he is never in school Hawa : Oh! I will call later
Peter : It’s okay
- Identify four instances of lack of telephone conversation etiquette
- Write corrections using correct telephone etiquette
- Underline the silent letter in the following words
- Eulogy
- Phlegm
- (a)
play
- A resource person has been invited to your school to talk on the newly introduced
AnEnemyofthePeopleby Henrick Ibsen. What five things would you do to
ensure you
benefit maximumly from this talk?
-
Usingeachofthewordsgivenbelow,constructtwosentencestobringouttwo
- (i) Import
d)
THANK THE MOTHER
I thank thee mother Your back I wet When I leaked
like a broken gourd,
Your breast I sought like a blind bat,
On your back
I swung like a little vagabond but you said
‘It’s my vagabond.’
- On the line ‘Like a broken ’ Which words would you stress? Why?
- How is rhythm achieved in the poem?
(e)
There lived two men who were good friends. One of them was very wise
and the other very foolish. One day, they argued between themselves, and one said, “I am the wisest man in this country.” The other said, “No,! I am the wisest.”
the other.
As there was no way of measuring wisdom, the two men did not know who was wiser than the other.
One day they were discussing the ill-behaviour of their wives and one of them said, “If we want them to behave well we must beat them up. Women are like children, beat them up and they will behave well.”
The other said, “No ! if you beat your wife, she will become worse.” After arguing for a long time, they kept quiet and went home. On reaching his house, the man who was in favour of beating wives began to beat an ox-skin vigorously. When the other heard this, he thought the sound came from his friend beating his wife and he took a stick and beat his wife severely until she fell sick and later died.
When the two men met later, it was now clear who between them was wiser than
Lusweti:Nairobi:TheMacmillanPressLtd.1992)
- Suppose you are the one narrating this story, what would you do first before narration
to
capture the attention of the audience?
- How would you deliver the speech by the 2nd speaker? “No ! I am the ”
- If you are listening to this story, what would you expect the story teller to do so as to make the story interesting?
FormOne
: ……………………………………………………………………………
: Good morning young man, how are you?
:
: Welcome to Elimu Secondary School and have a seat.
: Thank you, Madam.
:
: I’m Hassan Juma Masumbuko.
Teacher : I have verified your documents and therefore allowed you to join the classroom next
door as our first Form One student this year, congratulations.
:
9.
THE CRUEL
Once upon a time, there was a man and wife who had a baby girl. Unfortunately,
the wife died and so, the man married again. He got another girl with the second wife. The two girls became extremely close; so close that whenever the mother sent one on an errand, the other was sure to accompany her. The mother, however, did not like the child of the deceased. She would always show her dislike by denying her certain favours. Her feelings became so bad that she decided to get rid of the girl.
To do this, she dug a hole in her bedroom on a day when the husband was absent and covered the hole with a cow’s hide. She then called her daughter and sent her to the house of a friend some kilometers away. As usual, the two girls wanted to go together but the woman refused, giving the excuse that she wanted to send the other one elsewhere. After the departure of her daughter, she tailed the other girl and sent her for her snuffbox in the bedroom. Unaware of what lay ahead, the girl eagerly rushed into the room only to fall into a hole! The mother very quickly filled the hole with soil, completely disregarding the girl’s screams for help.
When the daughter came back, she merely assumed that the absence of her dear companion was justified. After hours of waiting, she, however, became impatient and
questioned the mother.
‘Where is my sister?’ she asked
“But she followed you. As soon as she did what I wanted, she ran after you. Now stop bothering me” the mother retorted.
Time passed and the now anxious girl went round calling out the name of the other one, but all in vain. Alas …she cried the whole night and the next day and refused to touch any food. The father helped in the search but to no avail.
After three days, the girl still cried and called the other one. She then heard a very weak voice responding in song:
MaalyaMaalya MaalyaMaalya
Namwenvuniwemwaiiieemalya Ekwinzamuthikoiieemalya Wakwisakunthikaiieemalya MaalyaMaalya (Andyourmotheristhewiseoneiieemalya Shedugagraveiieemalya Forinterringmeiniieemalya)
The girl dashed towards the direction of the voice, repeated her cries and again got the same response. She came to the conclusion that whoever was responding was definitely underground somewhere in the house. Immediately the father came that day (before the arrival of the mother), she told him what had happened. After hearing the song, the father dug up the place and pulled out an extremely weak and disfigured daughter. All the three wailed and eventually, the father gave her a mixture of blood and milk from a goat to drink after which she vomited all the soil she had eaten. He gave her some more of the mixture after which he hid her.
When the wife eventually came back, the man did not let her get into the house but sent her for a cow in a far off place. He explained his action by telling her that he had decided to host a feast for relatives (including his in-laws). In the meantime, he sent-for all of them. When the woman came back with the cow, she found everyone waiting for her. Uneasy now, she sat down in the place she was shown by her husband. He then stood up and after welcoming all, reminded them of the lost daughter. He then called upon the wife to explain the circumstance leading to the sad episode. She hauntingly repeated the now commonly know story. When she sat down, the husband told this woman’s daughter to repeat her earlier wails after which all heard;
MaalyaMaalya MaalyaMaalya
Namwenvuniwemwaiiieemalya Ekwinzamuthikoiieemalya Wakwisakunthikaiieemalya
All were surprised to hear the words of the other girl’s song and at that moment; the ‘dead’ girl joined them. The woman was as though paralyzed by shock. The husband then explained the truth of the matter and told his in-laws to take their daughter with them. They said that if that was what she had done to the girl, they couldn’t have such a monster in their house. The woman was disowned by all and chased away.
- How would you say the following opening formula “Once upon a time”?
- If you were performing this story what oral skills would you use?
- As a story teller, how would you deliver the two songs to portray the different contexts?
- If you were one of the relatives invited by the girl’s father, how would you portray your reaction towards the revelation of the step-mother’s behaviour?
- Whatintonationwouldyouuseattheendofthisstatementandwhy? “Nowstopbotheringme”
PART B
- Shem showed Sila’s shining shoes shamelessly on Sheba’s
- Identify the dominant aspect of style in the above genre and illustrate your answer with a brief explanation
- State any three functions of the genre identified in (i) above
Noreen: Aha, Ok. The question is: What play should we pick for our class play? Does
anyone have suggestions? Kabonyi?
I suggest we do ‘An Enemy of the People’. How about ‘Shreds of Tenderness?’
No. I dislike ‘Shreds of Tenderness’ I love ‘The River Between’.
No way! That will make a stupid play! Let’s do ‘An Enemy of The People.’ Peter?
I have never watched ‘Shreds of Tenderness’ but… It’s a superb play.
Peris, Please let Peter finish then it will be your turn Sorry.
Peter: Anyway, I have seen a play on ‘An enemy of the People’ but I have watched the
movie and I love it Peris?
I just want to say that I think ‘Shreds of Tenderness’ is a really good play. Apepo?
Apepo: I saw the movie ‘An enemy of the people’ too and I really like it. I loved that part
where Aslasken asks Dr. Stockmann to…
Noreen: Excuse me, Apepo, but we should talk about that after the discussion is over. Does
anyone have any other suggestions? No? Ok, Kabonyi proposed ‘ An enemy of the
People’, Tom likes ‘Shreds of Tenderness’ and Lillian wants to the ‘The
River
go to
Between’. Has anyone seen or read all three? No. Ok? I suggest that we all
the library and read them and then continue the discussion in a couple of
days. Is
that ok with everyone? Ok. The discussion is over.
(i) Identify any threewrong things done by the class in terms of effective communication
- Koech was part of the audience listening to a speech delivered by the Director of Youth Affairs on how to empower the After the speech the Director asked them
questions on
the key issues which featured in the speech. Koech could not remember much. What do you
think he failed to do during the speech?
- You have been invited to give a talk to the Pamoja Youth Group on You decide to
focus on respecting personal space in social interaction in your talk. Describe two examples
that you would use to illustrate the different situations in which it would be important to respect personal space.
- During a presentation, you were interrupted severally by some members of the
Give four reasons why the audience would do so?
10.
(i) Married……………..
(ii) Bomb ……………….
(iv) Satchet……………….
(v) Buffet …………………..
Ndiegu akatsia kusuma Achima umwana Numwana akatsia kusuma Achima ndiegu
Ndiegu vava Ukalilanga gu? Zunu, zunu, zunu….
Ndiegu went to beg for food She didn’t give it to the child The child went to beg for food It didn’t give it to Ndiegu
Ndiegu, please
Why then are you crying?
Pinch, pinch, pinch……
- Give the characteristics of this oral performance
- What features of oral performance are lost when this song is written down?
- If you were to perform this song before your fellow students in form II, what accompaniments would make for this audience to remember your performance for a long time?
- What aspects of this song would make it easy for the audience to join in the singing
of
(c) You are required to give an impromptu speech in a crowded assembly of inattentive students.
State what you would do to ensure that they listen to you
(i) Wonder …………….
(ii) Honey ………………
(iii) Drawback……………
(iv) Town ………………..
(v) Education……………
(e)(i) Twoteachers(Mrs. Stima– D.O.SandMr. Obwaya– thedramateacher) of Kiti High school
are involved in a discussion in the staffroom. They are assessing the possibility of allowing
studentscontinuewiththeirentertainmentonFridayevenings.Completetheconversation:
–
Mrs Stima: Mr. Obwaya, do you think entertainment is necessary in this school?
school.
Mr. Obwaya:
Mrs. Stima: More time? This is unacceptable! Let the students do what brought them to
This is a school and not a leisure resort.
Mr. Obwaya:
Mrs Stima: In fact we are wasting time discussing this issue. Let’s ban entertainment.
We are not
destroying anybody.
Mr. Obwaya:
Mrs. Stima: (calmly) Would you please, explain why you are favouring this issue. Mr. Obwaya:
Mrs. Stima: But when they go into the dance hall they are never grown ups nor are they responsible. They should stick to books.
Mr. Obwaya:..
Mrs Stima: I am sorry, Mr. Obwaya, I’ve to cut you short. Are you aware that the majority
in
this school are of the opinion that entertainment should be curtailed?
Mr. Obwaya: (shocked)
Mrs. Stima: That is it. Nothing is going to happen and nobody is going to change this. Mrs. Stima:…………………….
Mr. Obwaya: yes! Why not? They even need to be added more time Mrs. Stima: ………………………..
Mr. Obwaya: I agree with you but you know, we may think we are assisting the children
but find
*
we are destroying them.
Mrs. Stima:
Mr. Obwaya: to me entertainment is part and parcel of learning. It is absolutely necessary Mrs. Stima: ……………………………………
Mr. Obwaya: Students need time away from their books. Let them ventilate their steam.
Furthermore, they are responsible as they are grown-ups Mrs. Stima: ……………………
Mr. Obwaya: But they need……
They show interruption. if no ellipse or dots, award “0” mark.
Mrs. Stima:
Mr. Obwaya: What! It can’t be! You are invited for trouble√
N/B:- The exclamation mark is necessary to show shock.
Mrs. Stima:
(ii) State two forms of polite address used by Mrs. Stima in the above conversation
(1mk)
11.
Slowly he moves His blue shirt
To and fro, to and fro, Billow in the breeze
Then faster up and down. Like a tattered kite
The world whorls by: Mother!
trousers?
east becomes west, Where did I come from?
north turns south When will I wear long
The four cardinal points in his head, Why was my father jailed?
- Identify any two sound patterns used in this poem and illustrate
- Why do you thing the poet uses the sound patterns you have identified in (i) above?
- How would you say line 2 – 4 of this poem and why?
- Give words that sound similar to the following ones in this
Blue – Wear
has
b (i) Rearrangethefollowingwordsinpairsofhomophones.
whines, mown, lays, weather, dough, laze , moan, doe, whether, wine
/t/ /d/
doubt dt dor
- You were the best student in C.S.E. last year. The principle of your former school
requested you to give a speech to the present candidates. What important aspects would
you consider in order to enhance effective speech delivery?
: Hi old man! I hope you know why I’m here, Your girl
must be
Lavender
loves me and I have come to take her away. Where is she?
: Did I hear you right? Did you say ………………………….
: Yes, Lavender! Just say how many goats you want!
: Who are you? Whose son are you?
: Good heavens! You mean you don’t know f who Iam? You
the only one in this village who doesn’t know famous people like
- I am Makokha or Deno, the guy whose voice you usually hear
on Egesa F.M. radio. You are a very lucky father- in- law!
: What is the world coming to?
Makokha : I hope you are not going completely blind. The world is going
palace.
nowhere! It is Lavender who is coming to my three- stories
Ask her to come. I am running late.
: Young man…….. get out of my sight before I set dog, Tobby,
on you!
- (i) Identify and illustrate four things that you find wrong with Makokha’s manner of speech.
- “Your girl, Lavender, loves me and I have come to take her ” Rewrite this
sentence
and
in the manner in which Makokha should have uttered if he had a sense of courtesy.
- At one point Makokha deliberately misunderstands Identify this point
state what it reveals about Makokha’s attitude.
- Readthefollowingpoemandrespondtothequestions
I
I shall return again. I shall return
To laugh and love and watch with wonder eyes At golden noon the forest fires burn,
Wafting their blue – black smoke to sapphire skies I shall return to loiter by the streams
That bathe the brown blades of the bending grasses, And realize once more my thousand dreams.
Of waters rushing down the mountain passes. I shall return to hear the fiddle and fife
Of village dances, dear delicious tunes That stir the hidden depths of native life Stray melodies of dim- remembered tunes. I shall return. I shall return again
To ease my mind of long, long years of pain.
- i) What things does the poet wish to return to?
- Name the stylistic device to emphasize the poets
silently?
- Describe two sound patterns used in the poem
- A poem is best read What do you think is lost if you read this poem
- Imagine you are part of the audience that is listening to a You look around and notice
that some people are looking at their watches, a few are yawning and one or two are shifting in
their seats.
- What would be the likely cause of such behaviour? Mention at least four causes
- If you were to be the speaker, what would you do to capture and sustain the interest
to
the audience? Mention at least four
- i) Foreachofthewordsbelowgiveanotherwordwiththesamepronunciation
Wet – Soar – Would – Tied – One – You –
- ii) Underlinethesilentsoundsinthesewords
Gain Helipad
Resist Rhy Tomb Deliver
- What will be the meaning of the sentences below if the underlined words are stressed
- The young tout and the driver, hijacked the car
- The young tout and the driver, hijacked the car
-
Mr. Oundo: (picking the phone) Yes! Ken : Who is speaking please? Mr. Oundo : What do you want?
Ken : I would like to speak to …
Mr. Oundo : Speak up I cant hear what you are saying!
Fromtheabovetelephoneconversationidentifyandexplainatleastthreecasesoflackof telephoneetiquette
-
LISTEN
RAIN
Listen to the rain,
The whisper of the rain, The slow soft sprinkle, the drip-drop tinkle,
the first wet shisper of the rain.
Listen to the rain,
the singing of the rain, the tiptoe pitter patter,
the splish and splash and splatter, the steady sound,
the singing of the rain.
Listen to the rain,
the roaring pouring rain, the hurly-burly
topsy- turvey
Lashing gnashing teeth of the rain, The lightning-flashing
Thunder crashing
Sounding pounding roaring rain, leaving all outdoors a muddle, A mishy mushy muddy puddle.
Listen to the quietude,
The silence and the solitude Of after rain,
The dripping, dripping, dropping, The slowly, slowly stopping
The fresh wet silent
after time
of rain.
- Identify any two sound patterns employed in the poem
- Describe the rhyme scheme of the poem
- How would you say the first line of the poem?
- A bear will bear a bear
- Classify the above genre
- State two functions of the genre above
- Give another example of the genre
. c) Underlinetheoddoneout
| i) Picked
ii) World |
wicked worker |
packed wolf |
sacked |
|
iii) Think |
this |
thing |
thistle |
| iv) Tube |
tutor |
turn |
tumour |
|
|
worship
. d) i) non-verbal skills in communication are very important in the delivery of any oral item.
State any four forms of non-verbal cues
- Give three reasons why listening is an essential aspect of communication
- How would you say the following statements ;
- Why do you always come to church late?
- Are you the boy who was found bullying the form ones?
- e) Imagine you are facedwiththe following situationsand give at least two appropriate
- You accidentally knock down another student on the pavement
- You are in a hurry to get to school and three people are busy conversing right in the middle of the path
- Your friend has lost a close relative and you decide to console her
- Readthepoembelowandanswerthequestionsthatfollow:-
The sun rises in the east Sending forth its morning Heat The lily in the valley below Reflects its wondrous glow
Red yellow pink and white
The roses send out their bright light It is such a wondrous sight
Beauty shining through the night
Explain one way through which rhythm has been achieved
- Write down the rhyme scheme of the
- Explain any two ways you would ensure your audience enjoys your performance of this poem
- Which three words would you emphasize in line three of stanza one?
- Underline the silent letter in the following words:.
two
Rendezvous Condemn Eulogy .
Phlegm .
- Using each of the following Construct two sentences with each to show the
meanings implied in the word . .
- Your school principal has invited a prominent professor to offer a talk on a topic of
students’
interest. Briefly explain any four features that would prove one is not listening
- Giveawordthatsoundssimilartotheonegivenbelow (3mks) ½ a mark each
Analyst – Surge – Session- Through – Sterling- Symbol-
(f) Thefollowingispartofaconversationbetweenastudentandaprincipalofsome schoolin
KakamegaDistrict. Thestudentisthechairpersonoftheschool’swriters’clubandis requesting forpermissionfortheclubmemberstoattendawriterssymposiumata
neighbouring school. Completetheconversation.
Student: ………………………………….. . . …………………………………………
Principal: Good morning, your club patron Mrs. Wasike had mentioned that you would see me about
you
a symposium but she did not elaborate what is the symposium about and Show will
benefit from it.
………………………………………………………………………………
Principal: That sounds like a very useful symposium How many club members will attend and how
do you intend to finance the trip? .
………………………………………………………………………………
Principal: That is a good number, and I hope you will raise enough money from the projects. If some
remains after the trip you could support the school bursary fund. You have my permission.
: …………………………………………………………………………………………
Although (1) President and prime minister effectively (2) a ceasefire
(3) they (4) on the telephone (5) Wednesday night and asked
their lieutenants to cease hostility 6relationship may not b e out of the woods (7)
.
The President (8) Prime Minister differed when Raila (9) the suspension of (10) William Ruto of Agriculture and Sam Ongeri of Education a week ago.
(AdaptedfromTheStandardNewspaper)
. (a) The following is a telephone conversation between Jane and her mother. Jane is a student at
business
Mwalimu High School, while her mother, who has been unwell for some time, is a
lady. Complete the dialogue by filling in the blanks with appropriate responses.
MOTHER : Hello Jane! How are you?
JANE :…………………………………………………….. (2mks)
Mother : Oh! Little girl. Don’t worry about that, I am still on drugs and I believe all will be well very soon. I am concerned about your school work. Have you improved?
JANE : …………………………………………………………………………….………
Mother : This is great. I have always prayed for you. Don’t relax after mid-term results.
Now make sure that you are working hard to be the best in the district.
JANE : …………………………………………………………………………….………
MOTHER : You are right Jane. Caro is joining University of Nairobi and all of us in the
village are proud of her. Where are you going on the tour?
JANE : …………………………………………………………………………….………
MOTHER : I will send somebody to clear the remaining amount. Next month is only ten
days away.
JANE :…………………………………………………………………………….………
MOTHER : Daddy is doing well but he has gone on transfer to Kianyaga.
She dwelt among untrodden ways Besides the springs of dove;
A maid whom there was none to praise And very few to love
A violet by mossy stone Half-hidden from the eye! Fair as a star, when only one Is shining in the sky
She lived unknown, and few could know When Lucy ceased to be:
But she in her grave, and oh, The difference to me!
(2mks)
(2mks)
- Describe the rhyme scheme of the above poem
- Which word would you stress in stanza 1 line 4, and why?
- If you were to recite the poem in a drama festival, what two performance features
would you
(2mks)
employ in the last stanza? Give reasons
From the following list, write down five pairs of words whose pronunciations are Abattoir well coup
Rattle kettle hail
Nose zoo cape
| Hale |
tour |
whale |
| Gape
(5mks) |
meteor |
noise |
| Cattle |
knows |
cups |
(5mks)
on
Conscious Special Ocean Measure Cushion Explosion Motion Seizure Brush Fushion
abuse
Imagine you have been invited to speak about the role of NACADA in fighting drug
among the Kenyan youth. What would you need to ensure that your speech is
successful?
non-verbal cues you would use to make your speech effective (5mks)
16.
THE EAGLE
He clasps the Crag with crooked hands:
Close to the sun in lonely hands, Rung with the azure world, he stands,
The wrinkled sea beneath crawls:
He watches from his mountain walls, And like a thunder belt he falls.
Identify two sound patterns employed in the poem. (2 mks)
What has the poet achieved by use of the above? (2 mks)
Which word would you stress in the last line and why? (2 mks)
- What gestures would you use while reciting line one of the poem? (2 mks)
- A small woman who cooks better than your mother, Bee
- Identify the above (1 mk)
- Give any functions of the genre (3 mks)
- Write another word with similar pronunciation as (5 mks)
Come aren’t need way oral
- i) Explain
- ii) State any
entails.
reasons why listening is an important aspect of
forms of non verbal cues and briefly explain what each of them
(3
loud
their
house.
(1 mk)
decide
(1 mk)
- You are revising for your end term exams at Your neighbours are playing very
music. You decide to go over to their house to request them to reduce the volume of
radio.(1 mk)
- A friend of yours comes to your house to invite you to accompany him or her to watch a
You are unable to accompany him/.her because you have not finished your chores in the
You decide to turn down the invitation.
- Your friend has sent you message that she or he has lost his or her You
to console him or her.
- (a) Read the poem below and answer the questions that follow: My old man’s white old man
And my old mother’s black
If ever I cursed my old white old man I take my curses back
If ever I cursed my black old mother And wished she were in hell
I am sorry for that evil wish And now I wish her well
My old man died in a fine big house My ma died in a shack
I wonder where I’m gonna die
Being neither white nor black (ByLangstoneHughes)
- (i) Describe the rhyme scheme of the poem (2mks)
- Apart from rhyme, identify another sound pattern used in the poem and state its
effect
- State the words you would stress in the third last line and explain why
(2mks)
- How would you say the last line? (1mk)
(5mks)
- He can’t do that, really!
- d) In a conversation, how does one know it is his/her turn to speak?
(5mks)
(5mks)
(e) You are attending a seminar with your friend. Halfway through the presentation by one of the speakers, she (your friend) tells you that she can hardly concentrate.
effectively
.
-
Explain any seven strategies you would advice her to employ so as to listen
and benefit from the talk. (7mks)
I sit outside my house and listen From the construction site comes Pound, push, pull and plunk.
I get back into the house and listen Form her kitchen comes
Wash, swirl and gush
To bed I go at last for peace But
Mutter, wheeze and slurp
He snores in peace While I awake I remain
The noise too intense to ignore
Oh! The noise they make In the house, out the house Out the bed, in the bed
Why can’t they keep silence?
(1mk)
(4mks)
(2mks)
(1mk)
- What is the poem talking about?
- Identify any two sound patterns used in the poem
- Which words would you stress in the last line of stanza three? Why ?
- (i) How would you say the line of the poem?
(4mks)
pairs of words with the same pronunciation from the list below
Hale Pose missed draught mist Way bawl air ball tile Why tall pause draft hit Drought ore wail till heat
- You are a radio presenter and you are scheduled to interview a prominent politician abut
(6mks)
(6mks)
the current proposed constitution.
- What preparations would you carry out before the interview?
- What strategies would you employ during the interview session?
important details you will use when giving direction to make it
