- Read the following poem and answer the questions that follow.
(Solved)
Read the following poem and answer the questions that follow.
INTRODUCTION By Richard Ntiru
Perhaps it was his Ugil Shirt
The missing button
The unassertive collar;
Perhaps it was his knotty hair
That boosted little acquaintance with the comb;
Or maybe it was his usualness
-One more impersonal handshake
Along the constant street-
That induced the functional smile
And operated the mechanical handshake.His name didn't help either:
Mugabo Mugenge - you'd hear the name
In the out - patients attendance queue;
Not in the current Telephone Directory!
You certainly needed prompting
I said he was an old time friend
But you continued to wave to passing cars;
I added that he was a high placed man
And you promptly took your cue
-"A university teacher,author of several works"-
"Re-e-e-lly? Er- Um- oh!......"
And you became word and emotion perefct.
Like a dog that mistakes thief for a visitor
And remembers to bark at its masters coughing,
You renewed and pumped the handshake
-Reshaped your mouth to a proper smile
-Recalled his famous public talk
That you had regretfully missed..........
And observed, thoughtfully,
How unlike his photographs he looked
You were tuned-
Delved deep into his his latest novel
And wondered why his main characters
Do not walk on the solid earth
And fail to effect living communication
You'd have rumbled on, no longer looking at him,But he quipped:
"They are in god company."
And was about to add, when you knowledgeably
Interrupted,
"Society is a market stall
And men goods on display
Where the label is more important than the labelled
And the price more fascinating than the value."
And the price more fascinating than the value."
We parted hoping to meet again.
You went away rehearsing his name
But probably unremembering his face.
a)What happens in this poem?
b)Explain
i)".................boasted little acquaintance with the comb".
ii)"..........mechanical handshake."
c)Identify two stylistic character traits of "you"
d)Identify two stylistic devices used in this poem.
e)Explain how the following lines summarize the main message of the poem.
"society is a market stall
And men goods on display
Where the label is more important than the labelled.And the price more fascinating than the value."
f)What is the persona's attitude to the "you"
Date posted: March 11, 2020.
- Read the song below and answer the questions that follow.(Solved)
Read the song below and answer the questions that follow.
Tswi - tswiri!
I the person, I suspect!
What have you heard that makes you suspicious?
I heard things said,rumours of weaver birds;
They hate corn in Lesiba's field and finished it.
And when they left they sounded hummm-
They said , "Listen to the numerous weaver birds,
Sons of Mosima's family,
Children of the horse
that ate the courtyards and the times.
It is the numerous weaver birds,
The grey ones that go about in swarms,
Children with the little red beaks,
Children that make a noise in the mimosa trees.
Tupu - tupu!
The smoke comes out while the dew still glitters
Howaa! Sweaa! - is heard in the early morning
They are finishing the corn, the numerous weaver birds,
Children with the little red beaks.
At home it is yo! yo!
The children are crying,
Their mothers have gone to the fields to the birds,
It is the Zulus that have entered the country.
Take axes and lop the tree branches,
Yo! This year we shall eat fire,
We shall lack even a blue - tongued goat!
It is numerous weaver birds, the grey ones that go about in swarms.
a)Classify this song?
b) i)Identify two ideophones used in this song and state what makes the sound in each case.
ii)Identify and illustrate two other stylistic devices used in the song.
c)How are the weaver birds portrayed in the song.
d) i)Which phrase shows the people will suffer if the birds keep eating their crop?
ii)Other than causing food shortage, what other suffering do the weaver birds cause?
e)What is the singer's attitude to the Zulu?
f)Take axes and lop the tree branches.(replace the underlined word with a synonym.
Date posted: March 10, 2020.
- Read the following poem and answer the questions that follow.(Solved)
Read the following poem and answer the questions that follow.
The function by Richard Ntiru
This was her fourth function.
I will see her,
Unreturning the erect chauffeur's grin,
adjusting eyes behind sunglasses,
glancing unseeingly at her dazzling wrist,
Checking quickly with the goddess of status
-and breathing the sigh of a soul
sagging under the common grief.
Her heartfelt symphathy to the crippled
she read to the able - bodied audience,
urging the victims to build the nation
with more and more economic products
"like these you've given me".
As the tape - cutting fingers
rise with the solemn delicacy of a surgeon,
her well- protected photogenic gaze
eludes the flattered wooden gapes
and the tape misses the scissors
A crammed schedule curtails her pleasure.
A bouquet charmed her sight
and she uncovered her eyes
to confront beauty with beauty.
Suddenly she noticed the shrivelled,contorted form
behind the beauty of flowers
and collapsed into a heap
a)Recount what happens in this poem
b)Why is the woman wearing sunglasses?
c)What is implied by the following?
i)...glancing unseeingly at her dazzling wrist
ii)A crammed schedule curtailed her pleasure
d)i)Who is the persona in this poem?
ii)What is the person's attitude towards the woman in the poem?
e)Discuss two instances of irony in this poem.
f)A bouquet charmed her sight.(Rewrite in the passive)
Date posted: March 10, 2020.
- Read the song below and answer the questions that follow.(Solved)
Read the song below and answer the questions that follow.
Let the enemy come, ah
They came with guns,
From the West,
Look, look,look
There they arrive,
They attacked us in our land,
They attacked us at Kivachenje,
In our land at Chevambe,
We fought and we were arrested, ah
There our war started,ah
It was Ngutoka, son of Watila,
Kituyi, son of Namuyonga, ah
With youthful zest and energy,
They fought them, ah,
They defended our people
They fought
Like Wabomba son of Kalenda,
The brother of Nasurutia, ah
Our peoeple's secrets vexes the herat
Ah,vexes the heart
Clansmen,
There was a traitor from Wanga, ah,
Murunga was his name
There was a traitor from Wanga, ah,
Murungi was his name
There was a traitor from Wanga,ah
Mumia, son of Shikundu
Oh,fam is a curse
Wangamati son of Wawire,
Circumsiced in 1840's,ah
He fought at Bhukolo
We fouht, ah
With their machine guns from the west,
We fought them
Ah,we fought them.
a)What type of song is this?
b)What is the singer's attitude towards
i)The heroes
ii)The enemy
c)Identify and illustrate two features common to oral songs in this song.
d)State and illustrate two element of culture of the singer's people.
e)Explain one thing that this community abhors
f)Write a synonym for each of the following words.
i)Zest
ii)Revealing
Date posted: March 10, 2020.
- Read the poem below and then answer the questions that follow.(Solved)
Read the poem below and then answer the questions that follow.
DEMOLITION by K.E Kasu
High up in his cabin
Hard - hatred
Gloved hands,
Extensions of levers,
The driver-
Unseeing
Down there
The woman
Pleading
And dragging out
Boxes
Bedding
Babies
And the blade chews up her meagre shelter
Scrapes away the heartstones
Leaving a nice smooth surface
High up in the cabin
He could not perhaps
Have heard her please
Above the din of machine
Could not possibly have seen her
Through the thick goggle darkness,
Small as she was
Or was busy perhaps
Thinking
About his family of five
Boxed in one room
Council house
Not far off
a)Waht is the poem about?
b)Identify and illustrate two sound patterns in the poem.
c)What is the effect of repeating the words 'nice smooth surface'?
d)Identify the irony in the poem.
e)Pick out an instance of personification and comment on its effectiveness.
f)Explain the mood of the poem.
g)Identify one theme from the poem.
Date posted: March 9, 2020.
- Read the poem below and then answer the questions that follow.(Solved)
Read the poem below and then answer the questions that follow.
SENIOR STAFF CLUB by A.I.LUVAI
Super - revolutionary mouths
Drop
In between puffs of cigarettes
Water - tight truths.
The common man i.e
Working man and woman
To be exact-
Must be helped by us
To wake to their oppressed status
We must raise the masses' consciousnesses!
But - gesturing left hand hands
In between
Drop vampire BAT butts on the floor
Swept daily by women
Faceless and nameless
In the help- self places
Nani, wee, and ai - sei
Clear the directionless mess
Splashed by the directional
Here,too,in beery bowls
They find floating yellowed butts
The tail -ends of bitter truths
(Adapted from Boundless voices edited by Arthur I Luvai
a)What is the poem about.?
b)Who do you think are the super - revolutionary mouths in line 1
c)What is the irony in the poem?
d)A part from irony identify and illustrate two more features of style used in the poem.
e)How does the poet feel about the peoplke he describes in line 1?
f)Why do you think the poet refers to the women sweepers as faceless and nameless?
g)Describe the tone of the poem.
h)Give the meaning of these words as used in the poem.
i)water - tight
ii)beery
iii) oppressed
Date posted: March 9, 2020.
- Read the poem below and then answer the questions that follow.(Solved)
Read the poem below and then answer the questions that follow.
ILLEGAL BREW by Dr Noah Ndosi
He was a man
of favoured health
whose speech was clarity
a successful player
in the mysterious game
of fluctuating life
The beginning
was only a few sips;
but each time he hit the fullness
of bulging calabashes
Time pulled on ;
His head entered a pot
adn remained
firmly stuck in;
his head flooding
with intoxicating
currents of alcohol,
he is now the last
to leave the beer markets.
Despite floods of warnings
from families and friends,
he firmly transplanted
his young life
on the lip burning
illegal brew
Of late, his bowels have become
visibly distended;
his breathe short
and shallow
he also drags thickly
swollen limbs.
Beyond despair,
he sees the leveller coming
to add him to a list
like some heedless neihgbour
who perished the same way.
a)What is the poem about?
b)Explain how the victim got hooked to alcoholism
c)What are the effects of illegal alcohol to the victim's body?
d)Identify an instances of contrast in the poem.
e)What is the writer's attitude towards the subject matter in the poem?
f)Identify the tone of the poem
g)Give the meaning of these words as used in the poem.
i)fluctuating
ii)bulging
iii)leveller
Date posted: March 9, 2020.
- Read the poem below and then answer the questions that follow.(Solved)
Read the poem below and then answer the questions that follow.
When I see the beauty inon my beloved's face by Okot P' Bitek
When I see the beauty on my
Beloved's face,
I throw away the food in my hand;
Oh sister of the young man, listen;
The beauty on my beloved's face
Her neck is long, when I see it
I cannot sleep one wink;
Oh, the daughter of my mother- in -law
Her neck is like the shaft of the spear.
When I touch the tattos on her back;
I die;
Oh, sister of the young man, listen;
The tattoos on my beloved's back.
When I see the gap on my beloveds teeth
Her teeth are white like dry season simsim;
Oh, daughter of my father in law, listen,
The gap on my beloved,s teeth.
The daughter of the bull confuses my head ,
I have to marry her;
True , sister of the young man, listen;
The suppleness of my beloved's waist.
i)Identify the speaker
b) Identify and illustrate three poetic devices used by the poet
c)Pick out 3 that the people fro where the poem is set use to define beauty in women.
d)What solution does the speaker have to resolve the crisis he is in?
e)What is the effect of repetition in the poem?
f)Give the meaning of these words as used in the poem.
i)shaft
ii)suppleness
Date posted: March 9, 2020.
- Read the poem below and then answer the questions that follow.(Solved)
Read the poem below and then answer the questions that follow.
SYMPTOMS OF 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?
a)What is the poem about?
b)Identify and illustrate any two stylistic devises used by the poet.
c)Which three words used in the poem show that true love is painful.
d)What concrete evidence should a lover look for in true love?
e)Identify the solution the speaker gives to the lover?
f)Who is being addressed in this poem?Give evidence from the poem.
g)Give the meaning of these words as used in the poem.
i)migraine
ii)laggard
iii)endure
Date posted: March 9, 2020.
- Read the poem below and answer the questions that follow. AFTER A WAR The outcome? Conflicting rumours.....
As to what (Solved)
Read the pom below and answer the questions that follow.
AFTER A WAR
The outcome? Conflicting rumours
As to what faction murdered
The one man who, had survived
Might have ruled us without corruption
Not matters now:
We're busy collecting the dead
Counting them, hard though it is
To be sure what side they were on
Whta 's left of their bodies and faces
Tells of no need but for burial
And mutilations was practices
By right left and centre alike
As for the children and women
Who knows that 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
a)What is the poem about?
b)Outline four results of war
c)Describe the mood of the poem
d)How can we infer that corruption will continue to manifest itself in the society in the poem?
e)What points out that the killing were extremely inhuman?
f)What were the poets feelings towards war?
g)Give the meaning of these words as used in the poem
i)faction
ii)mutilations
iii)Scarce
Date posted: March 9, 2020.
- Fill in the blank spaces with an appropriate word.(Solved)
Fill in the blank spaces with an appropriate word.
i)I am grateful ............... your input.
ii)She has been ...................... from school since last week.
iii)We were filled ...................... with a lot of information.
Date posted: March 9, 2020.
- Supply the question tag to each of these statements.(Solved)
Supply the question tag to each of these statements.
i)I am sitting an examination ...............
ii)Sharon is not in today...............
Date posted: March 9, 2020.
- Replace the underlined phrasal verb with one word that means the same as the phrasal verb.(Solved)
Replace the underlined phrasal verb with one word that means the same as the phrasal verb.
i)We could not make out what the speaker was saying.
ii)The next issues of the famous magazine comes out next week.
iii)I cannot put up with his behavior anymore.
Date posted: March 9, 2020.
- Supply the gender neutral word for each of the following.
(Solved)
Supply the gender neutral word for each of the following.
i)Spokesman
ii)Chairlady
iii)Police man
iv) Sales man
Date posted: March 9, 2020.
- Rewrite the following sentences according to instructions given after each.(Solved)
Rewrite the following sentences according to instructions given after each.
i)She was too tired to move.(Rewrite using 'very')
ii)They proposed what seemed impracticable.(Rewrite using 'proposal')
iii)My teacher asked us whether we were taking part in the organized walk.(Rewrite in direct speech)
Date posted: March 9, 2020.
- Read the poem below and answer the questions that follow.(Solved)
Read the poem below and answer the questions that follow.
Ocol rejects the old type
He is in love with modern woman,
He is in love with a beautiful girl
Who speaks English
But only recently
We would sit close together, touching each other!
Only recently I would play
On my bow harp
Singing praises to my beloved
Only recently he promised
That he trusted me completely
I used to admire him speaking in English
Ocol is no longer in love with old type;
He is in love with a modern girl.
The name of the beutiful one
Is Clementine
Brother ,when you see Clementine!
The beautiful one aspires
To look like a white woman.
Her lips are red - hot
Like glowing charcoal,
She resembles the wild cat
That has dipped its mouth in blood,
Her mouth is like raw rays
It looks like an open ulcer,
Like the mouth of a fiend
Tina dusts powder on her face
And it looks so pale;
She resembles the wizard
Getting ready for the midnight dance.
She dusts her ash - dirt all over her face
And when little sweat
Begins to appear on her body
She looks like the guinea fowl!
The smell of carbolic soap
Makes me sick
And the smell of powder
Provokes the ghosts in my head;
It is then necessary to fetch a goat from my mother's brother.
The sacrifice over.
The ghost- dance drum must sound
The ghost be laid
And my peace restored.
I do not like dusting myself with powder
The thing is good on pink skin because it is already pale,
But when a black woman has used it
She looks as if she has dysentery;
Tina looks sickly
And she is slow moving
She is a piteous sight.
a)Classify the genre above
b)Identify the speaker
c)Identify and illustrate two stylistic devices used by the writer.
d)What is the speakers altitude towards the modern woman?
e)Pick out three things the speaker feels an African woman should not do.
f)What remedy does the speaker have for problems brought to her by the modern woman?
g)Describe two character traits of the speaker
h)Give the meaning of the following words as used in the text.
i)resemble
ii)piteous
Date posted: March 9, 2020.
- Choose the correct word to complete each of these sentences.(Solved)
Choose the correct word to complete each of these sentences.
i)The secret between you and .................. must be kept.(I/ me)
ii) You and ............... can do it.(she/ her)
Date posted: March 9, 2020.
- Fill in each blank of the following sentence using the appropriate form of the word in brackets.(Solved)
Fill in each blank of the following sentence using the appropriate form of the word in brackets.
i)He is taking care of a .............. of sheep.
ii)You must have been a member of the .................... in the church to be allowed to sing.
iii) Ochieng keeps a .................. of fish in his compound.
Date posted: March 9, 2020.
- Complete each of the following sentences using the appropriate form of the word in brackets.(Solved)
Complete each of the following sentences using the appropriate form of the word in brackets.
i)It is a requirement that all items be taken to the .............(maintain) office.
ii)All learners should check on their ...............(pronounce)
iii)She has book of great .............(broad)
Date posted: March 9, 2020.
- Use the word in brackets to form a phrasal verb to replace the underlined word.(Solved)
Use the word in brackets to form a phrasal verb to replace the underlined word.
i) The president visited the sick cabinet secretary last week.(call)
ii)Her business has finally succeeded.(come)
iii)Their plans failed because they did not agree on them.(come)
iv)The meeting was postponed to the following week.(put)
Date posted: March 9, 2020.
- Rewrite the following sentences according to instructions given after each.Do not change the meaning.(Solved)
Rewrite the following sentences according to instructions given after each.Do not change the meaning.
i)That he is a graduate of a Kenyan University makes a great difference.
(Begin : His being...........)
ii)It was too dark to see anything.
(Rewrite using: So.....)
iii)My sister's results were not as good as I expected.)
(Use 'not up to')
Date posted: March 9, 2020.
- Read the poem below and answer the questions that follow.(Solved)
Read the poem below and answer the questions that follow.
Mother
Were you once a girl too?
Did you also walk the night
To dance in Boro?
Did you sway
To the enchantment
Of the Magenge player?
Did you play with father
Making believe you are family?
Did your mother cane your bottom
When you were naughty?
Did you feel shy
Of your newly sprung breasts?
Were you clumsy
Into your transition to adoloscence?
Did you feel the urge
To fly into your lover's arms
And stay there forever?
Were you hurt and yeaning for home
The day father brought you home?
Tell me mother
Did you do all these things
That I seem to do?
Or were you always mother?
Calm, strong
Kind and soft
yet unbending with discipline?
Mother
Were you ever
Just a bit like me?
a)Identify the persona in the poem.
b)What is the poem about?
c)Identify and illustrate 2 poetic devices used by the poet.
d)The persona is in a crisis.What do you think contributes to this?
e)What is the difference between the speaker and the mother at their present moment?
f)If you were the mother,what answer would you give to the speaker?
g)Identify and explain the main issue that the poet addresses in the poem.
Date posted: March 9, 2020.
- Complete the sentences below using phrasal verbs formed from the verb given in brackets.(Solved)
Complete the sentences below using phrasal verbs formed from the verb given in brackets.
i)There was a ....... and a lot of items were stolen .(break)
ii)The rustlers ...... over a hundred head of cattle.(make)
iii)We are not expecting more money so we'll have to .......... what we have.
Date posted: March 9, 2020.
- Fill the following sentences with the appropriate linking words.(Solved)
Fill the following sentences with the appropriate linking words.
i)Little children are prone to eat dirty things' .............. they should be under strict watch all the times.
ii) Katana is rude to his coach; ................ he is a loving and gentle husband back home.
Date posted: March 9, 2020.
- Punctuate the following sentences correctly .(Solved)
Punctuate the following sentences correctly .
i)Excuse me, may I have decolonizing the mind by ngugi wa thiongo samuel asked the bookshop attendant.
ii)basic needs are for food clothes and shelter.
Date posted: March 9, 2020.
- Fill in the blank spaces in the sentences below using the correct form of word in brackets.(Solved)
Fill in the blank spaces in the sentences below using the correct form of word in brackets.
i)The end of racial ..............(segregate) in South Africa ushered new opportunities for Africans.
ii)Tom Mboya has been ..............(immortal) by the erection of his statue on Tom Mboya street in Nairobi
iii)There is now an organisation fighting for .................(reduce) of violence against men.
iv)The old man was .............(clue) that the two men were conmen so he lost all his money.
Date posted: March 9, 2020.
- Rewrite the following sentences as instructed.Do not change the meaning more than required.(Solved)
Rewrite the following sentences as instructed.Do not change the meaning more than required.
i)The two coalitions condemn violence.(Begin neither....)
ii)Students went away as the university was closed indefinitely.(Begin :Following......)
iii)This sentence is capable of being understood in two ways.(Replace the underlined phrase with one word)
iv)You can now buy pens, pencils,geometry sets, rulers and writing pads in a supermarket.(Replace the underlined phrase with one word)
Date posted: March 9, 2020.
- Read the conversation below and then answer the questions after it.(Solved)
Read the conversation below and then answer the questions after it.
Otieno :Hell. Is that Mamba School?
Secretary: Yes,what is your name?
Otieno: Otieno Juma
Secretary:What do you want?
Otieno: May I speak to the head teacher?
Secretary:She went to the market,what did you want to tell her?
Otieno: Sorry,it is confidential, may I speak to the deputy?
Secretary: She is attending a pre- wedding meeting, in fact she is never in school.
Otieno: Oh! I shall call later.
Secretary:Okay
Otieno: Thanks .Bye
The secretary lacks telephone conversation etiquette,write the corrections below.
Date posted: March 5, 2020.
- What do the following body movements imply during speech delivery?(Solved)
What do the following body movements imply during speech delivery?
i)Fidgeting in your seat
ii)Pacing up and down
iii) Moving closer to an audience.
Date posted: March 5, 2020.
- The lorry rolled along the Limuru road.(Solved)
The lorry rolled along the Limuru road.
i) Classify the above genre
ii)Identify and illustrate two sound features employed in the genre above.
iii)State two functions of the genre above
Date posted: March 5, 2020.