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Communication Skills Question Paper

Communication Skills

Course:Bachelor Of Arts (Economics & Sociology)

Institution: Kenyatta University question papers

Exam Year:2010

Question 1
READING COMPREHENSION (15 MARKS)
Read the passage below and answer the questions which follow:
Culture, in its broadest sense, is a way of life fashioned by a people in the collective
endeavor to live and come to terms with their total environment. It is a sum of their art,
their science and all their social institutions including their system of beliefs and rituals.
In the course of this creative struggle and progress through history, there evolves a body
of material and spiritual values which endow that society with a unique ethos. Such
values are often expressed through the people’s songs, dances, folk – lore, drawings,
sculpture, rites and ceremonies. Over the years, these varieties of artistic activities have
come to symbolize the meaning of the word culture. Any discussion of culture inevitably
centres around these activities but we must bear in mind that they are derived from a
people’s way of life and will change as that way of life is altered, modified or developed
through the ages. In our present situation, we must in fact try to see how new aspects of
life can be clarified or give expression through new art forms or a renewal of the old.

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We need to see Africa’s cultural history in three broad phases. Africa before white
conquest, Africa under colonial domination and today’s Africa striving to find its true
self-image. To do this is to indicate the obvious: that the pressures inside, at the different
stages of our growing up have changed Africa’s cultural needs and outlook. Yesterday,
for instance, there were many ethnic groups, each with a distinct cohesive culture: today,
these groups are trying to form nations with wider, more inclusive boundaries of
geography and politics. Hence, we should examine the role of culture in our time within
the new horizons; themselves made hazy by the often conflicting calls of the tribe, the
nation, Pan-Africa and even the third world.

Yet too often, as in the statement under discussion, we talk of Africa’s culture as if it
were a static commodity which can and should be rescued from the ruins and shrines of
yesterday, and projected on to a modern stage to be viewed by Africa’s children, who,
long lost in the labyrinth of foreign paths in an unknown forest, are now thirsty and
hungry for the wholesome food of their forefathers. No living culture is ever static.
Collectively, human beings, struggle to master the environment and in the process create
a social one. A change in the physical environment or, more accurately, a change in the
nature of their struggle, will alter the institutions and general environment. It is a
dialectal process. A profound change in a people’s economy, or in their dwelling place,
through trade and migration will make people organize themselves differently to meet the
new set of circumstances. Their ideas and values, over a period, are also likely to alter.
(from Homecoming by Ngugi wa Thiong’o)

a)
What are the ‘activities’ that any discussion of culture usually focuses on?

[3 marks]
b)
What stages in Africa’s cultural sequence does the writer identify? [3 marks]
c)
Briefly explain the social differences between the first ethnic groups and the
present ethnic groups.

[2 marks]
d)
Why, according to the writer, is culture not static?

[2 marks]
e)
Explain the meaning of the following phrases as used in the passage.

[5 marks]
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i)
collective endeavor

ii)
a renewal of old

iii)
new horizons

iv)
ruins and shrines of yesterday

v)
labyrinth of foreign paths.

Question 2
Write a composition of NOT more than 250 words on ‘The importance of a constitution
in a country’

Question 3
a)
The communication process involves various elements. Discuss. [10 marks]
b)
Discuss any five functions of communication.

[10 marks]

Question 4
a)
Listening is different from hearing. Discuss.

[8 marks]
b)
Discuss the different levels of listening.

[12 marks]

Question 5
a)
There are different types of libraries. Discuss any five.

[10 marks]
b)
Discuss the different forms of catalogues.

[10 marks]
………………………….
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Communication Skills Question Paper

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