ENGLISH 2008

PAPER 1
SECTION A
Choose one of the following topics and write a composition of 500 to 700 words.
1. Write a story beginning: "Finally the long awaited day had come and ..."
2. Describe what took place when there was an important function at your school.
3. Tell a story describing what happened when you got lost in a forest.
4. Single -sex schools are better than mixed schools. Do you agree? Give reasons for your answer.
5. Write a story based on the expression: "A poor workman blames his tools."
6. Do you think Uganda today is a safer or more dangerous place to live in than five years ago?
7. Describe the types of peer pressure experienced by students in secondary schools.

SECTION B
Each of your compositions should be 250 to 300 words
1. Write about a real or imaginary problem when you were short of food or water and say:
a) where you were,
b) why you were short of food or water,
c) what you were feeling,
d) what you were thinking,
e) what happened,

2. How can accidents on our roads be reduced?
3. Describe the role of two of following people in the family.
a) Father
b) Mother
c) Grandfather
d) Grandmother
e) Aunt
f) Uncle
4. Write a brief description on the topic.
"The most interesting person in my school."
5. You have been chosen by your schoolmates to write to the headmaster proposing changes in the school regulations. Write a letter showing how such changes would be good for the school.
6. Write would you help a friend of yours who is a drunkard and takes drugs change this behaviour?

PAPER 2
1. Read the following passage carefully and answer the question that follows.

More and more Tanzanians are abandoning hospitals in favour of traditional healers, citing deepening poverty and failure of many modern drugs to the common diseases
"Herbs are cheap and effective, why should anyone bother attending a hospital where he or she will definitely not be able to afford the bill!" says Mwanahuwa Fuwe who lives near Mwananyamala government hospital in Dar-es-Salaam, yet seldom visits the hospital.
Fuwe says that the most of the ailments lie malaria and diarrhoea are treated by the roots, barks and the leaves sold on the road pavements by Masai tribesmen. The trend has left health experts deeply worried.
"In a country where more than 50 percent of the population live below poverty line, it is not surprising that people opt to go for cheap medication", says Alan Makanjira, an official with social welfare department. He says more than half of 30 million people of Tanzania survive on an income of less than one dollar a day- people defined as living in absolute poverty, making it difficult for them to afford decent health services..
Poverty apart, drug resistance by some diseases has discouraged many patients from seeking out hospital treatment.
Malaria is a case in point. Dr.Zul Premji, a medical researcher, says it is becoming increasingly difficult to treat malaria using available drugs in Tanzania. He says chloroquine has proved ineffective, putting the malaria parasite resistance to chloroquine at 50 percent.
"As a result," he says "about 100,000 people die every year in hospitals. Most of the victims are children under five years and pregnant women."
Experts say a person in Tanzania is likely to be bitten 52 times a year by mosquitoes carrying the malaria parasites. Erasto Tumbo, the minister of health, blames the government's 'cost sharing policy' for chasing patients away from hospitals. Tumbo complains that "in spite of the fact that our hospitals are poorly stocked with drugs and poorly equipped, the government spends more money on sending political big-wigs abroad. He says that for every Tshs.10 set aside for health services, about three shillings are spent on sending politicians abroad for treatment.
According to the recent report by Tanzanian Commission for Science Technology (COSTECH), the country is in dire need of qualified doctors. There is only one doctor for every 26,000 Tanzanians.
The report suggests a ratio of doctor for every 7,500 people, which means Tanzania, must have a minimum of 4,000 doctors.

Dr. Andrew Kitua, Director General of National Institute of Medical Research, says that the resistance to drugs is due to the failure of patients to abide by the doctors' prescription toward western medicine: often tablets of chloroquine to treat malaria but they abandon the medicine as soon as they get better".
Dr. Kitua says the best prescription is better education. "The best way of curbing common diseases is to better education. "The Best way of Cubing common diseases is to prevent their occurrence:

Adapted from: The Monitor Newspaper by Alfred Mbogo in Dar-es- Saalam -Gemini News.

Questions:

In about 120 words, summarise the reason why Tanzanians run away from hospitals to herbalists

2A. Read the following passage carefully and answer the questions that follow:
I don't mind my son Toby borrowing my top coat. Sure, he looks quite ridiculous in it. I mean, I have very short arms and even if I hadn't, the arms of a strapping 18-year-old might be expected to be considerably longer than mine.
Still, if he doesn't mind his wrists sticking out of my coat sleeves, then I certainly don't. Nor do I care about the question of masculinity raised by feminine appearance of the fur collar which he buttons up round his ears.
So, I don't mind his borrowing it. Where I do draw the line id when he breaks into my car while it's standing outside the front door, swipes the coat and disappears with it for two weeks when he runs away from home as a protest against the authoritarianism of this household (that is, me).
It wouldn't have been so bas if he had told me about the coat, then I would not have informed the police, had a visit from a police officer, then filled in an insurance claim form.
This is just one example of my lack of rights in this, my own house. I may say that when Toby walked in, bare-wristed, ears smuggled in fur, he couldn't understand what all the fuss was about. I don't need to add that he had also borrowed my suitcase, one, of a matching set, and broken the zip. "Never buy cases with zips", he advised me sternly. "They always break."
What I want to discuss is at what point parents have the rights to draw the line between their children's rights and their own.
In common with most people in our extravagant society, we are expected to go along with the habit of keeping stock of drinks for entertaining everybody who finds himself in the house for more than five minutes. We ourselves do not drink spirits. It therefore annoys when, after an evening with friends, we come home to find a drinks party in full swing, with a dozen young people applying themselves to glasses of gin and whisky, with the odd bottle of fine claret for non-spirit drinkers thrown in, it annoys still more when the party is over and we arrive to be met by empty glasses, brimming ash-trays and the smell of stale cigarette smoke, particularly as we do not smoke.
In-case this sounds a light-hearted approach, make no mistake: the question of the rights of children and their friends in our house has become a major issue, ending in arguments, tears and sudden departures from home. So far there is no light at the end of this tunnel. The problem is that in putting up with their habits, lifestyles and wishes we disturb our own.
Adapted from: Ideal Home by Constance Hall

Answer the questions that follow;
1. According to the passage, how does Toby's mother think he would look ridiculous in the top coat?
2. Explain what the writer means by the sentence "Nor do i care about the question of masculinity raised by the feminine appearance of the fur collar".
3. Explain in your own words what Toby was protesting when he ran away from home.
4. What does the writer mean when he says: "The rights of children and their friends in our house has become a major issue"?
5. Explain what the following phrases mean in the passage:
i. "...lack of rights, in this my own house"
ii. "... no light at the end of the tunnel"








2A. Read the following passage carefully:
It was a cold Monday morning. Njoroge had gone through the first two terms and now was in the third. It would soon end. Njoroge woke up as usual, said his prayers and prepared himself for the morning parade. It was such a pleasant morning in spite of the cold. After the roll call he went to the chapel for communion with God, and then to the dining hall for breakfast; that was always the daily routine. He ate his breakfast quickly for he had not yet finished the homework for the previous night
The first class was English. Njoroge loved English literature.
'Why, you look happy today', a boy teased him.
'But am always happy,' he said.
'Not when doing maths,' another boy put in.
They laughed. Njoroge's laughter rang in the class. The first boy who had spoken said, 'See, see how he is laughing. He is happy because this is an English class.'
'Do you want me to cry?' Njoroge asked. He felt buoyant.
'No. It's only that mother tells me that a man should not be too happy in the morning. It's an ill-omen.'
'Don't be superstitious.'
Yet Njoroge did not like the last observation. All through the week that had passed, he had been assailed by bad dreams. There was a lot of shouting in the room. Then one boy whispered:
'Teacher. Hush!' There was silence in the room. Then teacher came in. He always was on time. Njoroge was often surprised by these missionaries' apparent devotion to their work. One might have thought that teaching was to them life and death. Yet they were white men. They never talked of colour; they never talked down to Africans; and they could work closely, joke and laugh with their black colleagues who came from different tribes. Njoroge at times wished the whole country was like this. This seemed a little paradise, a paradise where children from all walks of life and of different religious faiths could work together. Many people believed the harmony in the school came because the headmaster was a strange man who was severe with everyone, black or white alike. If he was quick to praise what was good, he was equally quick to suppress what he thought was evil. He tried to bring out the good qualities in all, making them work for the good name of the school.
Njoroge was in the middle of answering a question when the headmaster came to the door. The teacher out to see what the headmaster wanted. When he came back, he looked at Njoroge and told him that he was wanted outside.
His heart beat fast. He did not know what the headmaster could have to say to him. A black car stood outside the office. But it was only when Njoroge entered the office and saw two police officers that he knew that the car outside had something to do with him. Njoroge's heart pounded with fear.
The Headmaster said something to the two officers who immediately withdrew.
'Sit down, my boy,' Njoroge, whose knees had already failed him, gladly sank into the chair. The headmaster looked at him with compassionate eyes. He continued, 'I'm sorry to hear this about your family.'
Njoroge watched the missionary's face and lips. His own face did not change but Njoroge listed keenly with clenched teeth.
'You're wanted at home. It's a sad business... but whatever your family may have done or made you do in the past, remember Christ is there at door, knocking, waiting to be admitted. That's the path we have tried to make you follow. We hope you'll not disappoint us.' The headmaster sounded as if he would cry.
But when Njoroge went to the car he realized that the headmaster had not given him a clue as to what his family had done. His words of comfort had only served to increase Njoroge's torment
Adapted from: 'Weep Not, Child', James Ngugi.

Answer Questions by selecting the best alternative. Show the Letter of your choice by putting a ring around your best choice.
1. The following were part of Njoroge's morning routine except
A. Morning parade.
B. Roll call
C. Morning chapel
D. Doing housework
2. Njoroge ate his breakfast quickly because
A. It was such a pleasant morning
B. he wanted to finish his homework.
C. he loved English literature
D. he had not seen his classmates
3. Which of the following statements is true about the headmaster?
A. He was severe to blacks but not to whites.
B. He praised the good easily but punished what he thought was evil.
C. He did not encourage good behaviour.
D. He admitted only children of his faith
4. "Buoyant" as used in the passage means
A. Cheerful and confident
B. Light and floating
C. Happy and satisfied
D. Strange and severe
5. The headmaster's words of comfort made Njoroge feel
A. Happy
B. Annoyed
C. Anxious
D. Disappointed
3A. Rewrite each according to the instructions. Do not change the meaning of the original sentence.
1. I am fascinated by the way she speaks.
(Re-write using what)
2. Whatever the consequences may be, I am determined to win.
(Begin: Regardless...)
3. All the people came to give evidence. He had stolen their property.
(Join as one sentence using whose)
4. It did not seem wise to pull the plug out of the socket.
(Rewrite to end with...wise)
5. "You have the whole of this week to prepare for the wedding of our daughter." John said to his wife.
(Use indirect speech beginning: John told...)
6. If the police had not arrived in time, the thieves would have escaped.
(Begin: But...)
7. Everyone was surprised by the behaviour of the chairman.
(Rewrite ending...surprised everybody)
8. My grandmother is knowledgeable about poultry keeping.
(Replace 'knowledgeable' with skilled)
9. Japan had never experienced such a powerful earthquake.
(Begin: Never)
10. The Passion of Christ will be showing at Cineplex cinema. It is being screened there for the fourth time. It was directed by Mel Gibson.
(Join into one sentence without using which)







3B Complete the sentences with the most suitable answer among the given alternatives.
1. Tamale was ..................... goalkeeper that the rival team could not score a goal.
A. so good
B. very good
C. such a good
D. a so good
2. His voice is ..................... than that of any other boy in the class.
A. More loud
B. Louder
C. More louder
D. Loudest
3. Joe said that he ........................ not say when Alice would come back.
A. Will
B. Shall
C. Could
D. Can
4. He would rather look for another job than move to another town, .................. ?
A. Doesn't he
B. Couldn't he
C. Wouldn't he
D. Isn't it
5. The crowd shouted ..................... the speaker.
A. Up
B. Back
C. Down
D. Off
6. A person who makes people furious is described as ....................... person.
A. An infuriated
B. A furious
C. An infuriating
D. A fury-filled
7. Peter is a Uganda national. He is born .................... Uganda parents.
A. By
B. Of
C. From
D. For
8. Do you mind ............................ the windows?
A. Close
B. To close
C. Closing
D. Having
9. John you are so slow! This project............................ weeks ago.
A. Must have been completed
B. Should have been completed
C. Should have completed
D. Might have completed
10. The woman who was killed was carrying a ......................... bag.
A. Brown big leather
B. Big leather brown
C. Leather big brown
D. Big brown leathe