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a). The cause of the fight was tribalism/ ethnic intolerance /A student had accused another of not knowing where he was going simply because he was from the northern part of the country .
b). Although the narrator is usually tolerant ,when he was provoked he became annoyed and a fight broke out(2mks) NB/The contrast must be brought out
c). The narrator is tolerant /cool –tempered –ha had had no quarrel with the classmate until then
The classmate is proud /over bearing –he considers himself better than those from the north (He implies they do not know where they are going) NB/The character traits should be contrasted.
d). He appreciates /respects the head teacher. (Appreciative /respectful)
He believes he was impartial. NB/ Identification
e) Battered mouths
- Sagrosan blood /Lokko blood had mingled
- Sweaty, dusty, bloody
f) Simile – felt my anger rising like a column of mercury
Metaphor - brought my anger to boiling point
g) .......... a man who does not know where he is going to ought at least, to know where he has come from.
...........with whom up till then, I had no quarrel at all.
h) For we both know only too well that the differences between us were real, if not deep
i) i. Close /true /dear companion
ii. Nationalistic speech /speech that appeals to nationalistic feelings
marto answered the question on August 19, 2019 at 12:15
- Read the following passage and then answer the question that follow .(Solved)
Read the following passage and then answer the question that follow.
Africa are undoubtedly a very enduring race and have the capacity to utilize the available natural resources for the betterment of life. The biggest challenge, however, is to identify ways and means of creating an environment that is likely to encourage development in Africa. Perhaps the greatest strategy would be to develop political structures and government institutions that have the capacity to formulate and implement ‘genuine poverty alleviation strategies’. Administrative arrangements that no longer serve our needs should be overhauled or discarded altogether. Government should foster exploitation and management of natural resources by providing an enabling environment. Having stable government may not be effective if we don’t fight corruption. We should ensure that leaders and government agents become answerable to the tax payer. The public should be educated on the ills of corruption.Those who have stolen public funds must be made to return them and face the full force of the law. Again, people known to have stashed money in foreign banks should be forced to repatriate that money so as to improve cash flow in our economies.
Apart from this, Africa must find a way of solving their internal conflicts without involving the international community. After all, we are all brothers with a common cause .The need to unite and exist as unitary state should be stressed as this overrides clan and tribal rights or sentiments that fuel animosity. The Africa union should be strengthened to enable it to arbitrate intra and inter-state disputes .The resulting peace will provide a suitable environment for economic growth and set us on the road to recovery and prosperity. Another solution would be to develop rural-based economies, since the bulk of our population live in the rural areas. Industries that process farm produce and those that manufacture farm inputs, machinery and implements should be located in the rural areas .Similarly mining concerns should establish processing plants near the mines. Such industries will naturally recruit manpower from the locality involved and consequently reduce the incidence of rural-urban migration. Setting up industries in the rural areas will necessitate development of infrastructures which will open up rural areas for business This will further encourage expansion and increase food production to counter perennial food shortage in Africa .For instances development of dairy and beef processing industry in the rural areas will encourage sustainable livestock keeping and probably bring to an end loss of cattle to drought. A rural based economy will basically raise the income of the rural people and bridge the disparity between the rich and the poor.
We should also introduce appropriate technology in exploitation of natural resources and in wealth creation. Since imported technologies are expensive to maintain, Africa should tap local expertise to develop technologies appropriate to our needs. Home grown technology should enable us alleviate Africa’s food security by utilizing river and lake water for irrigation and by harnessing wind and solar energy.
Lastly our economic units such as ECOWAS, SADC, and EAC should be transformed into common markets by removing unnecessary tariffs on goods at various entry points so as to realize the benefits of a common market. The people of Africa should continually seek a better life. We have the resources; we have the manpower, and the capacity to make things move.
Questions
a) What should African countries do to fight corruption?
b) Explain how Africans can open up rural areas
c)What do you understand by the term ‘genuine poverty alleviation strategies’?
d) How can we reduce the incidence of rural –urban migration?
e)Why is appropriate technology useful?
f)How can African government improve cash flow in their economies .
In not more than fifty words write a summary on the various ways of fostering development in African countries
a)Rough copy
b)Fair copy
h) What is the tone of the last paragraph of this passage concerning the future of Africa?
i) The public should be educated on the ills of corruption. (Add a question tag)
j) Explain the meaning of the following words and phrase as used in the passage.
i) Stashed
ii) Disparity
Date posted: August 19, 2019. Answers (1)
- Choose the correct pronoun to fill in the blanks.(Solved)
Choose the correct pronoun to fill in the blanks.
i) He was asked to choose between John and .......(I /me )
ii) I have forgotten ……………………… I gave my book. ( who/whom
Date posted: August 16, 2019. Answers (1)
- Replace the underlined words with one word that means the same as the underlined phrase.(Solved)
Replace the underlined words with one word that means the same as the underlined phrase.
i) The city council pulled down all the structures on road reserves.
ii) He passed out during his grandmother’s funeral.
Date posted: August 16, 2019. Answers (1)
- Replace the underlined words with gender - friendly words. (Solved)
Replace the underlined words with gender - friendly words.
i) The spokesman of the government was at the function.
ii) The Musyokis have a very hard - working housegirl.
Date posted: August 16, 2019. Answers (1)
- Fill the blanks with the correct form of the words in brackets. (Solved)
Fill the blanks with the correct form of the words in brackets.
The chief (shrink) ..........from taking the (decide).................. step.
Date posted: August 16, 2019. Answers (1)
- Rewrite the following sentences as instructed without changing the meaning.(Solved)
Rewrite the following sentences as instructed without changing the meaning.
i) Is she the only entrant for the 100-metre race? (Begin: aren’t…)
ii) The second meal she cooked was even less successful than the first.
(Rewrite using ..... as .....as.....)
iii) I expect you to do well in this exam if you follow the instructions (Rewrite using unless instead of if)
Date posted: August 16, 2019. Answers (1)
- Read the poem below and answer the questions that follow.(Solved)
Read the poem below and answer the questions that follow.
“NATURALLY”
I fear the workers: they writhe in bristling grass
And wormy mud: out with dawn, back with dusk.
Depart with seed, and return with fat- bursting fruits.
And I ate the fruit.
And still they toil at boiling point,
in head – splitting noise and threatening saws:
They suck their energy from slimy cassava
And age – rusty water taps: till they make a Benz
And I ride in the benz: festooned with
stripped rags and python copper coiling monsters
While the workers clap their blistered hands
And I overrun their kids.
They build their hives: often out
of broken bones of fallen mates
And I drone in them – “state house”
Them,“collegize” them, officialize them.
And I……. I whore their daughters
Raised in litter – rotting hovels
And desiring a quickquickhighhighlifelife
To break the bond.
And I tell the workers to unite:
knowing well that they can’t see, hear or understand:
what with sweat and grim sealing their ears
And eyes already blasted with welding sparks,
And me speaking a colourless tongue
But one day a rainstorm shall flood
The litter rotten hovels and
wash the workers’ ears and eyes clean,
Refresh the tattered muscles for a long – delayed blow
a)Describe the working conditions of the workers as depicted in stanza 1 and 2.
b) The persona assumes different roles in stanza 3, 4 and 6.With illustrations explain these roles.
c) Identify and explain 2 images from the poem
d) Which bond do the girls want to break in stanza 5 and how do they do it.
e) What reasons are given for the workers’ inability to understand the persona?
f) What is the poem suggesting in the last stanza?
Date posted: August 16, 2019. Answers (1)
- Read the following passage below and answer the questions that follow.(Solved)
Read the following passage below and answer the questions that follow.
As amatter of courtesy, we had decided we would not eat until he arrived. Although he was expected at six o’clock in the evening, it was not until two hours later that he showed up. Not only had we grown impatient andirritated, but our attitude towards
him was also becoming hostile. We had looked forward to his coming because those among us who knew him had spoken highly of him.but doubtful thoughts now crept into our minds and we resented his apparent lack of consideration. The aroma of freshly cooked dishes gradually disappeared as our keen appetites intensified our restlessness.
A screech of brakes, a sudden buzz of activity and a group of solemn looking officials walking briskly into the hall announced his arrival. He was dressed in full uniform which was awe-inspiring, with his tall, well-proportioned figure, he was quite imposing. We immediately settled down to the now cold meal which we ate sparingly and in silence. Then the ceremony began.
The chairman made a brief introductory speech and then invited the guest speaker to address us. We clapped politely. He stood up, looked around the room and before he began to speak, glanced and smiled at each person in turn. His warm and sincere manner disarmed us and dissolved our hostility. The reasons for his lateness were so genuine that we felt ashamed of our ill- feelings towards him. We accepted his apology gladly.
No sooner had he begun his address than we realized that we had an interesting and thought -provoking evening ahead of us. Instead of the usual state pronouncements of administrators like himself, he spoke about real issues that face our generation and which few people have the courage or the conviction to discuss. But he warned that we should not be completely satisfied because there were areas where we had done very little. He said that we needed a sense of discipline in our national affairs. His talk was illustrated with descriptions of our disregard for traffic regulations. My colleagues nodded in agreement.
My mind began wandering. I thought of many drunken drivers I had seen and the numerous grisly accidents I had witnessed. The speaker was right. I remembered the scenes at bus stations and ‘matatu’
stands at peak hours and at the end of the month. I recalled the pushing, jostling and scrambling crowds
struggling for a place .It then dawned on me that we often thought only of our comfort and convenience. We ignored the
desperate, beseeching eyes of the children, the weak and the handicapped.
I woke from my day dream. The speaker was now expressing his concern about poor use of leisure time. After work, bars were full to overflowing while in homes wives remained without husbands and children without fathers. Free time was used unproductively. In conclusion he stressed the dangers of behaving irresponsibly and deplored the bad use of public facilities. He cited the examples of careless garbage disposal and thoughtless use of public toilets. Wasn’t it ironical to hear people complaining when the outcome of their own misdeeds inconvenienced them or posed danger to their health? He sat amidst hearty applause. We scrambled to shake his hands and assured him that his talk had inspired and encouraged us to exercise discipline in our own lives.
i) Why were the people disappointed and angry?
ii) Why do you think the food was eaten sparingly and in silence?
iii) Explain the reason for the change of attitude towards the guest speaker.
iv) On what lines did the narrator’s mind wander in the course of the speech?
v) What factors was the speaker highlighting when the narrator came out of his reverie?
vi) According to the passage, lack of discipline in different areas leads to undesirable results. What are the results of the following?
i) Disregard for traffic regulations.
ii) Concern only for personal convenience.
iii) Poor use of leisure time.
vii) Explain the meaning of the following words and phrases as used in the passage.
i) had spoken highly of him
ii)disarmed
iii)beseeching.
iv) dawned on me.
Date posted: August 16, 2019. Answers (1)
- Rewrite the following sentence replacing the underlined words with a gender word.(Solved)
Rewrite the following sentence replacing the underlined words with a gender word.
i) Our maid stole money from my mother’s purse.
ii) The firemen took a long time to arrive at the scene of the accident.
iii) Mankind thrives on cooperation.
Date posted: August 16, 2019. Answers (1)
- Explain the meanings of the following sentences. (i) Only Mutungi spoke to him.(Solved)
Explain the meanings of the following sentences.
i) Only Mutungispoke to him.
(ii) Mutungi spoke to him only.
(iii) Mutungi only spoke to him.
Date posted: August 16, 2019. Answers (1)
- Replace the phrasal verb with word of the same meaning. (i) The student kept breaking in on our conversation.(breaking in).........(Solved)
Replace the phrasal verb with word of the same meaning.
(i) The student kept breaking in on our conversation.(breaking in)
(ii) We stood up for what they believed.(stood for)
(iii) We must pull together to make sure our team wins.(pull together)
Date posted: August 16, 2019. Answers (1)
- Fill the blanks with suitable prepositions. (i) Mwende is indebted ______ him for the help he gave me.(Solved)
Fill the blanks with suitable prepositions.
(i) Mwende is indebted ______ him for the help he gave me.
(ii) The thief who snatched my bag walked __________ a limp.
(iii) Harambee stars won because the spectators cheered them.
Date posted: August 16, 2019. Answers (1)
- Rewrite the following sentences according to the instructions given after each. (i) The young man was very hungry....(Solved)
Rewrite the following sentences according to the instructions given after each.
(i) The young man was very hungry. He swallowed the food without chewing it. (Begin: So.....)
(ii) The oil company has established petrol station here. (Rewrite beginning: A petrol station ......)
iii)The principal advised the students to consider the consequences of their behavior. (Rewrite in direct speech.)
Date posted: August 16, 2019. Answers (1)
- Read the following poem and answer the questions that follow. I AM TIRED OF TALKING IN METAPHORS.............(Solved)
Read the following poem and answer the questions that follow.
I AM TIRED OF TALKING IN METAPHORS
I will talk plainly
Because I am moved to abandon riddles
I will tell you of how
We held our heads in our hands
Because the owl hooted all night
And the dogs howled as if mourning
We awaited the bad news
We received it:
Our mother blinded in one eye
Crippled in the right leg
Because she did not vote
For her husband’s candidate
I will remind you
Of when the peeled plantains
Stood upright in the cooking pot:
We slaughtered a cock,
Anticipating an important visitor
We got her:
Our daughter – pieces of flesh in a sack
Our present from her husband.
No! I will not use metaphors
I will just talk to you:
I do not fight to take your place
Or to constantly wave my fist in your face
I refuse to argue about
Your “manly pact”
With my father
You’re buying me for a bag of potatoes
And pepper
All I want
Is for you to stop denying me
My presence needs no metaphors
I am here
Just as you are
I am not a machine
To dismantle whenever you whim
I demand my human dignity
Questions
(a) Who is the persona in this poem?
b)What is the message of this poem?
c) Explain the speaker’s attitude towards the subject matter
d)Give one character trait of the speaker.
e)Discuss two elements of tradition highlighted in the poem.
f)Identify two poetic features of style used in the poem.
g) I am not a machine. (Rewrite adding a question tag.)
Date posted: August 16, 2019. Answers (1)
- Read the passage below and then answer the questions that follow. The recent claim by scientists at Egerton......(Solved)
Read the passage below and then answer the questions that follow.
The recent claim by scientists at Egerton University that the water table in the South Rift is dropping is alarming. The researchers have noted with great concern that several boreholes in the region have dried up and water volume in several rivers has rapidly reduced as a result of clearing of trees in the Mau forest. This significantly affects Lake Nakuru as its shoreline has noticeably been receding over time. We are being told this at a time when the Ministry of Natural Resources has already laid down plans to clear gazetted forests saying it to settle landless people. We cannot allow this to happen. In the past, we have watched influential people plunderKarura, Aberdares and Mt. Kenya forests. Marmanet forest in Laikipia is no more after several farmers were allocated the public land. We cannot afford to interfere with the water catchment areas of the great rivers of this country because they are our lifeline. Not so long ago, this country suffered crippling power rationing regime for more than six months, seriously hampering economic growth. Industries ground to a halt, laying off a number of employees; complicating an already worse unemployment crisis. This should have woken us up from the deep slumber that “all is well.”
Ours is a tale of unfettered impunity. Throughout the country, we read of owners of large flower farmers who have diverted the river course into their farms to irrigate their crops, denying those living downstream a source of water. Others are busy clearing wetlands, seriously interfering with nature’s ecological balance. We hear of industries shamelessly emptying their waste into rivers. Apart from that, influential transporters ferry truckloads of charcoal and the precious sandalwood under the noses of the police. More often than not, apart from empty rhetoric, we never get to hear that those responsible have been punished.
When the government kicked off the drive to reclaim the Mau forest, there was a flurry of activities from all and sundry. All came together in a massive tree planting exercise. However, the politicization of the compensation claims put forward by large estate owners with the Mau Complex, brought things to a halt. The enthusiasm has since died and no one knows when the matter will be brought to a conclusion.
We depend too much on our rivers to allow any selfish individual to interfere with their watershed. Needless to say, our complacent attitude towards environmental issues has made environmental problems uncontrollable. It is the high time we came together and took care of our environment.
The government through National Environment Management Authority (NEMA) , NGO’s and environmental lobby groups should step up efforts to sensitize people of all walks of life on the need to conserve our natural heritage for the future generations. This should be coupled with replanting of trees on all deforested government land and intensified practice in agro-forestry. The ban on cultivation along river banks and indiscriminate felling of trees for charcoal burning must be enforced.
Apart from that, steps should be put in place towards revocation of all irregular allocation of government forests to individuals. Government officers suspected of abetting land grabbing must face the full force of the law. Industries that dispose off toxic or untreated waste into the environment should also be dealt with firmly.
It’s time we took a step towards safeguarding our environment. There is need to develop a sense of collective responsibility. Considering the fact that the United States rejected the Kyoto Protocol of 1997, we should be even more vigilant and jealously safeguard what nature has provided. It’s our environment, our country, our heritage. We need it to pass it on to our descendants.
(a) What evidence is given in paragraph 1 to show that the water table in the South Rift is falling?
b)What excuse is the government giving for its plans to clear gazetted forests?
c) Using information in the second paragraph, summarize how impunity, has led to environmental
degradation
(d) How does power rationing affect economic growth?
e) What halted the reclaiming of the Mau Complex?
(f) Why is the shoreline of Lake Nakuru receding?
g)What should the government do to address the environmental problems? Write your answer in note Form.
(h) Explain the following words as used in the passage.
(i) Rapidly
(ii) Plunder
(iii) Intensified
(iv) Safeguard
Date posted: August 16, 2019. Answers (1)
- Read the extract below from DOLL’S HOUSE and answer all the questions that follow. Nora: Should? He did sign them......(Solved)
Read the extract below from DOLL’S HOUSE and answer all the questions that follow.
Nora: Should? He did sign them.
Krogstad: I had left the date blank; that is to say, your father should himself have inserted the date on which he signed the paper. Do you remember that?
Nora: Yes, I think I remember—
Krogstad: Then I gave you the bond to send by post to your father. Is that not so?
Nora: Yes.
Krogstad: And you naturally did so at once, because five or six days afterwards you brought me the bond with your father's signature. And then I gave you the money.
Nora: Well, haven't I been paying it off regularly?
Krogstad: Fairly so, yes. But to come back to the matter in hand that must have been a very trying time for you, Mrs.
Nora: It was, indeed.
Krogstad: Your father was very ill, wasn't he?
Nora: He was very near his end.
Krogstad: And died soon afterwards?
Nora: Yes:
Krogstad: Tell me, Mrs Helmer, can you remember what day your father died? the month, I mean.
Nora: Papa died on the 29th of September. by any chance on what day of
Krostand: That is correct; I have ascertained it for myself. And, as that is so, there is discrepancy (taking a paper from his pocket) which I cannot account for.
Nora: What discrepancy? I don't know—
Krogstand: The discrepancy consists, Mrs. Helmer, in fact that your father signed this bond three days after his death.
Nora: What do you mean? I don't understand —
Krogstand: Your father died on the 29th of September. But, look here; your father has dated his signature the 2nd of October. It is a discrepancy, isn't it? (NORA is silent) Can you explain it to me?
(NORA is silent) It is a remarkable thing, too, that the words '2nd of October,' as well as the year, are not written in your father’s handwriting but in one that I think I know. Well, of course it can be explained; your father may have forgotten to date his signature, and someone else may have dated it haphazard before they knew of his death. There is no harm in that. It all depends on the signature of the name; and that is genuine. I suppose, Mrs. Helmer? It was your father himself who signed his name here?
Questions.
a) What is it that Nora claims to have signed? Explain.
b) What does this excerpt reveal about Krogstad's character?
c) Explain key theme brought out in the excerpt?
d) Why did Nora forge her father's signature?
e) What is the meaning of the following words as used in the excerpt?
I. Ascertained
II. Discrepancy
III. Genuine
f) Papa died on the 29th of September (Add a question tag.)
Date posted: August 16, 2019. Answers (1)
- Read the passage below and answer all the questions that follow. Society has the obligation to provide young people.......(Solved)
Read the passage below and answer all the questions that follow.
Society has the obligation to provide young people with the right knowledge and skills to become productive workers, good parents and responsible citizens, according a World Bank Report, Development and the Next Generation. And it is through education that the young develops their ability to be productive workers, good parents and responsible citizens, World Development Report, 2007, authored by World Bank notes The report says that effective investments need to happen during childhood and adolescence for it to bear fruits. Investments in adolescence are needed to make earlier investments during childhood pay off a hundred fold. The report underscores the need to establish a strong secondary education that will further strengthen the capabilities that primary education established.
It stresses the need to improve the relevance and quality of post primary education by teaching students the practical knowledge, thinking and behavioral skills demanded by the labour market. To achieve this, the education system must promote a teaching method that leads to high learning achievement and blends the academic and vocational curricular. It should link what happens in school to local economy.
To improve the relevance of education to the learners, the report says, education must produce peep with strong thinking and interpersonal skills because job tasks are increasingly requiring problem solving, and communciaiton skills. Entrepreneurs are also increasingly demanding thinking skills and problem and behavioral skills such as self-confidence and leadership.
In a nutshell, what are the types of skills that a topnotch education system requires? It requires two basic types of skills: thinking skills and behavioral skills. Thinking skills include conceptual, critical and creative skills. High quality education develops learners with superior conceptual, analytical and critical skills – skills that condition the learner to be curious,. Inquisitive and always posing and seeking answers to problem situations or processes. Behavioral skills include such traits as perseverance, self-discipline, teamwork, the ability to negotiate risks.
The report also still highlights the enduring role of what it terms basic skills which is literacy and numeracy-ability to read, write and count. These basic skills are needed for further learning, work and life. The report also identifies what it terms post basic skills-the higher order thinking skills, and higher order behavioural skills such as decision-making skills, team work, the ability to negotiate conflict and manage risks and specific knowledge applied to real-life situations, and vocational skills. The foregoing demonstrates the integral role of Early Childhood and Primary and Secondary cycle plays in crating the foundation for higher education in tertiary and Universality education. The quality of higher education is as good as the primary and secondary education.
(Adapted FromElimu News. A Newsletter of Ministry of Education. Issue No. 7 Dec. 2012)
a) According to the passage what is the role of the society in the development of an individual?
b) In what ways can an education system attain the demands of the job market?
c) Contrast thinking and behavourial skills
d) In not more than 40 words, summarize what is expected of a person who has attained post basic skills
e) Explain the relationship between primary and secondary education
f) The report says that effective investments need to happen during childhood and adolescence for it to bear fruits, (Rewrite using a conditional)
g) How does post secondary education benefit from lower levels of education?
h) Explain the meaning of the following words as used in the passage
a. Underscores
b. Blends
c. Topnotch
Date posted: August 16, 2019. Answers (1)
- Add question tags to the following statements. (Solved)
Add question tags to the following statements.
(i) We need to buy a radio.
(ii) He dares to stroke the lion.
Date posted: August 16, 2019. Answers (1)
- In the sentences below, underline the nouns that are used as adjectives.(Solved)
In the sentences below, underline the nouns that are used as adjectives.
i)Mr. Charo amused the children by reciting nursery rhyms.
(ii) When we camped in the Maasai Plains, we felt like strangers in the new environment
Date posted: August 16, 2019. Answers (1)
- Correct the error in the following sentences. (i) Something is smelling awful.(Solved)
Correct the error in the following sentences.
(i) Something is smelling awful.
(ii) This brilliance is utter.
Date posted: August 16, 2019. Answers (1)