Get the Answers here Form 4 End Term 1 Exams 2023 Questions and Answers
QUESTION 1: COMPREHENSION. (20MKS)
Read the following passage and then answer the questions that follow.
The question is at least as old as Socrates: If we know what the right thing to do is, why do we not do it? It is an especially acute question when applied to global warming. The science showing that carbon dioxide emissions are already changing the planet’s climate, and are likely to have severe effects (melting ice caps, sea-level rise, and species extinction), is compelling and now barely disputed. Almost 90% of Europeans say they recognize climate change as a major issue, and 75% identify fossil fuel emissions as a major cause.
And yet, as was widely discussed at a conference of environmentalists, geologists and writers in May 2006 in Ankelohe, Germany, public understanding has not translated into even the simplest of public actions. Less than 1% of Britons, for example, have switched their home electricity to renewable sources, even though it requires little more than a phone call to one’s existing provider. Proportions on the continent are slightly higher, but there is clearly no rush to go green or — shudder — stop driving cars.
Why such a disconnect between information and action? Part of the problem is that environmental advocates emit mixed messages. In mid-May 2006, Britain’s Guardian published a front-page story showing that five companies in Britain produce more CO2 pollution in a year than all the country’s motorists combined. That is a strong argument for targeting industries, but the average reader could hardly be blamed for thinking, “Why should I bother to cut down my driving?”
Similarly, not enough thought has been devoted to the best role for government. Climate change is too vast a problem for individuals to solve alone, and some big businesses have an incentive not to solve it. That leaves government to take the lead, which is tricky, because over-reliance on government can allow individuals to
fob off their own responsibilities. What is worse, government power seems to tickle autocratic fantasies. In my experience, environmentalists spend far too much energy advocating hard-line government ‘solutions’ that do not stand a chance of being enacted. Sure, it might be good for the planet if governments banned the use of sports-utility vehicles or, for that matter, of all fossil fuels. Yet not only is it hard to sell outright prohibitions to voters, but the sad truth is that governments have a woeful record in even the mildest interventions. One of the most
Significant innovations in the last decade has been Europe’s carbon-emission trading scheme: some 12 000 companies, responsible for more than half of the EU’s emissions, have been assigned quotas. Companies with unused allowances can sell them; the higher the price, the greater the incentive for firms to cut their use of fossil fuels. The system seemed to work for about a year — but now it turns out that Europe’s governments allocated far too many credits, which will likely hinder the program’s effectiveness for years.
Perhaps the real reason that well-intentioned consumers do not change is that they do not see any benefit. Climate change may be a frightening, irreversible calamity, but its worst effects will not be felt next week or next year. The planet looks the same regardless of whether we use environmentally friendly technology or we do not care how much CO2 we emit. But sure as the sun rises and sets every day, if we do not cut down on carbon emissions, then we may not have a planet to hand over to the next generation.
(Adapted from Times, June 5, 2006)
- According to the passage, what are the effects of global warming? (4 marks)
- What, according to the passage, is the main cause of global warming? (3 marks)
- How does Britain encourage people to use renewable electricity? (3 marks)
d)Paraphrase the following sentence: That is a strong argument for targeting industries, but the average reader could hardly be blamed for thinking, ‘Why should I bother to cut down my driving?’ (4 marks)
e)What message does the writer communicate in this passage? (2 marks)
f) Explain the meaning of the following words and expression as used in the passage.(4 marks)
- fob off
- incentive
- calamity
- go-green
2. Read the following excerpt and answer the questions that follow
“Yes, Papaai,” Resian said apprehensively. “I am here. Taiyo tells me you are calling me?”
“Yes, yes,” her father replied. “Please take a seat.”
“Yes, Papaai,” Resian repeated as she sat on a chair far away from her father.
“Come nearer…child,” her father said pleasantly.
“Why do you sit a mile away? Come nearer.”
Resian moved her chair hardly an inch from where it was and then she looked up into her
father’s face with eager expectation.
“If I do remember well,” her father began in a low even tone, “you will be nineteen in September this year, am I right”
“You are quite right, Papaai.” Resian answered eyeing him curiously. His face was unusually kind. His eyes held hers as he smiled broadly. That’s it!’ she thought triumphantly. “That must be it!
“You and I have not discussed important issues for a long time,” he said with a friendly chuckle that was intended to bring her closer to him. “I thought today would be the best day to break the news. Your future is very important to me, my dear child.”
Resian thought the concern in her father’s voice, rang false. She hesitated, but could not hold herself any more. The anxiety was too great.
“Papaai, is it Yeiyo or Taiyo who spoke to you?” she asked sensationally, thinking she was stating the obvious. But seeing her father’s face cloud, she added quickly.
“Who between them spoke to you about our enrolment at the Egerton University?”
“What are you talking about, child? Her father, who seemed dumbfounded, asked after a long and uncomfortable silence.
“Both Yeiyo and Taiyo promised to talk to you about it, and I thought she had.”
“What, in the name of God are you talking about, child?” he repeated, this time agitated and shaking his head vigorously. “No, I have never spoken to anybody about any of you enrolling at the university. Never! When I said I wanted us to discuss your future, that isn’t what I meant at all. Of course not!”Resian looked at her father’s face enquiringly.
- What has happened before the excerpt? (3mks)
- What is so ironical in this passage? Explain your answer referring to elsewhere in the novel. (3mks)
- “Your future is very important to me, my dear child” From elsewhere in the novel, explain why Ole Kaelo tells his daughter so. (3Mks)
- Discuss two aspects of character in Resian in this excerpt. (4Mks)
- What major issue is addressed in this excerpt? (2Mks)
- Explain what happens after this excerpt. (3Mks)
- “Who between them spoke to you about our enrolment at the Egertonuniversity?” Rewrite in the indirect speech. (1Mk)
- A part from irony, discuss any other aspect of style evident in the excerpt. (2Mks)
- Explain the meaning of the following words and expressions used in the excerpt. (4 Mks)
(i). Apprehensively
(ii). Sit a mile away
(iii). Hold herself
(iv). Agitated
QUESTION 3: LITERARY APPRECIATED. (20MKS)
03. Read the poem below and then answer the questions that follow.
No coffin, no grave by fared Angira
He was buried without a coffin
Without a grave
The scavengers performed the post-mortem
In the open mortuary
Without sterilized knives
In front of the night club
Stuttering rifles put up
The gun salute of the day
That was a state burial anyway
The car knelt
The red plate wept, wrapped itself in blood its
Master’s
The diary revealed to the sea
The rain anchored there at last
Isn’t our flag red, black and white?
So he wrapped himself well
Who could signal yellow
When we had to leave politics to the experts
And brood on books
Brood on hunger
And schoolgirls
Grumble under the black pot
Sleep under torn mosquito net
And let lice lick our intestines
The lord of the bar, money speaks madam
Woman magnet, money speaks madam
We only cover the stinking darkness of the cave of our mouths
And ask our father who is in hell to judge him
The quick and the good.
Well, his diary, submarine of the Third World
War
Showed he wished
To be buried in a gold-laden coffin
Like a VIP
under the jacaranda tree beside his palace
A shelter for his grave
And much beer for the funeral party
Anyway one noisy pupil suggested we bring
Tractors and plough the land.
(From Poems from East Africa, D. Cook andD. Rubadiri (Eds,): East African EducationalPublishers)
- Briefly explain what this poem is about. (3 marks)
- Explain the use of onomatopoeia in the poem. (2 marks)
- Identify and explain the tone of the poem. (4 marks)
d) Comment on the central theme of the poem. (3 marks)
(e)Explain the meaning of the following lines:
- who could signal yellow (4 marks)
- submarine of the Third World War
(f)How else can people bring change in society without assassinating politicians? (2mks)
(g)Explain the meaning of the following word as used in the poem
- Anchored (1mk)
- Brood (1mk)
QUESTION 4: GRAMMAR (15 MARKS)
- Complete the following sentences by choosing the appropriate expressions to fill the gaps. (3mks)
- Although Nduati is a great friend of mine. I __________________________ him on a few important issues. (differ to, differ with)
- As good citizens, we must all pay our taxes ___________________ the policy. (in accordance to, in accordance with)
- She chose her career ______________________ (independent of, independent to) her mother.
- Rewrite the sentences below according to the instructions given after each. (3mks)
- My father would not allow us to attend night parties under any circumstances.
(Begin: Under no circumstances ……………………………….)
- Strangers should not be allowed into the compound without the security officer’s permission. (Begin: On no account…………..)
- The plane had just taken off when one of the passengers began to scream.
(Begin: Scarcely ………….)
- Rewrite the following sentences avoiding repetition. (3mks)
- Always be frank and open with your friends. When you are frank and open to your friends, you will win your friends trust and confidence.
- Some of the questions are difficult, so find the easier questions and do the easier questions first.
- Help yourself to some oranges. These oranges are sweet but those oranges are sweeter.
- Combine each of the following pairs of sentences into one sentence by making one of them a relative clause.
- Naliaka joined our school this term. She is very good at grammar.
- The elephant is a very big animal. It is also very strong.
- The generator had been on the whole night. It broke down in the morning.
- Add an appropriate question tag to each of the following statements. (3mks)
- They aren’t serious.
- He bought a new house last month.
- They won’t shut up.
- Let us go.
- He hasn’t been here before.
- You live in an apartment.
