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Read the following excerpt carefully and then answer the questions that follow.

Old man, left:(suspiciously)Is this us?
Old man,right:(amid laughter):How could it be a way of influencing you,Surab,you the valley thief?Everyone knows you will take the cheese and the valley too.(laughter.)All i expected from you is an honest answer.Do you like the cheese.

Old man.left:The answer is yes.
Old man,right:Really.(Bitterly)I might have known you knew nothing ab out cheese.
Old man,left:Why?when I tell you I like it?
Old man,right:Because you cant like it.Because our goats don't like the new grass.The grazing land over there is no good,whatever the young folks say.You can't live there.It doesn't even smell of morning in the morning.(several people laugh)Please put that in your report.
Delegate:Don't mind them;they got your point .After all,why does a man love his country?Because the bread tastes better there,there,the air smells better.Voices sound stronger ,the sky is higher ,the ground is easier to walk on. Isn't that so?
Old man,right:The valley belongs to us by law.
Girl Tractorist;In any case,the laws must be re examined to see if they they are still right.
Old man,right:That goes without saying.But doesn't it make a difference what kind of neighbors you have ?We want to come back just to have you as our neighbors,valley thieves!you can all laugh again.
Old man,left:(laughing):Then why don't you listen to what your neighbor,Kato Vatchang,our agriculturalist,has to say about the valley.
Peasant Woman,right:comrade specialist,we're not horse trading.I can't take your cap, hand you another and say this one's better.It may be better ,but you prefer your own.
Girl tractorist:A piece of land is not a cap-not in our country,comrade.
Delegate: Don't get angry.Its true a piece of land.In any event,what we need to know is exactly what you people would do with the valley if you had it.(To those on the left)
Others :Yes ,let Kato speak.
Adapted from the Caucasian chalk circle.

Questions

a)Give a brief account of what led to what is happening in this excerpt.(4 marks)

b)In your own words state what the OLD MAN to the right's argument is.(3 marks)

c)What does the OLD MAN to the right imply by,"Everyone knows you will take the cheese and the valley,too"?(2 marks)

d)According to the soldier to the left,not so long ago,people didn't have ................freedom.(Fill in the blank space with the most appropriate words.) 1 mark

e)Basing your answer on what transpires in this excerpt,describe the character and role of delegates.(4 marks)

f)What is the theme of this excerpt?(2 marks)

g)Describe the mood of the gathering.(2 marks0

h)What is the significance of this meeting in relation to the message of the play?(2 marks)

i)"I can't take your cap,hand you another,and say,this ones's better (1 mark)

j)Outline Kato's points that comes immediately after this excerpt (3 marks)

Answers

Martin
a)When the land was invaded the owners fled to safety elsewhere and returned only after the war.The goat breeders(Rosa Luxemburg)and the fruit growers (Galinsk) are tussling over ownership of the valley previously occupied by the goat herders.While the previous owners claim the right to resettle on their land,the fruit growers argue that they have a plan for the valley that they want to put to use to make the valley productive for the good of the wider community .A government agent agent has been sent the dispute.

b)The old man to the right is arguing that the land where they are being forced to move to is not good for their goat breeding business;it has ruined the quality of their goats milk and cheese.He also argues that there are still some of their houses left,including the foundation for the dairy farm.In other words,the old man wants the status quo to remain.

c)The implication is that the fruit growers are greedy lot,not honest or trusted.

d)Personal/individual

e)- The delegate is a good listener

- He is wise

-He is reconciliatory

-He is impartial
-His role is to resolve land dispute between the fruit growers and goat breeders.

f)-Settling disputes

-Public interest versus private or personal or community interest

-Doing something for the public good.

g)The mood is tense and uncertain.The people to the right are angry and unhappy that their land is being taken away from them and they are being forced to live in a place that is not conducive for their way of life.

h)This meeting is important in that it is to decide who deserves to settle in this valley.It considers the factors to be taken into account when making a decision on any issue.The focus should be on public interest.

i)I can't take your cap,hand you another,and say this one's better,can I?

j)Kato's point:
- During the war they discussed how they could increase their fruit production tenfold.

- She had prepared an irrigation project plan(build a dam across the mountain lake and irrigate up to seven hundred acres of infertile land.

- They could then grow more fruit vines,but only if the Rosa Luxermburg farm was part of the project.
marto answered the question on April 14, 2018 at 09:23

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