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Read the following comprehension and answer the questions that follow.

Read the following comprehension and answer the questions that follow.

Over the years man has cultivated to exhaustion the better soils in the plains. This has led to
progressive destruction of land to the point where some of the steeper hill slopes are cultivated so
that widespread erosion has been initiated. Meanwhile, the livestock are continuously being forced on to smaller areas of poorer land and further up the hill slopes where they have to compete with foresters. As a result the quantities of animal proteins, so necessary to human health, have steadily declined. Surprisingly, instead of accepting the responsibility for all his destruction, man blames livestock and in particular the goat.
Man has repeatedly failed to do anything to restore the fertility of the soils he has ravaged. After the last miserable crop has been harvested the land has been left to weeds. No attempt has been made to plant grass or to under plant the last agricultural crop with fodder species. Had this been done rehabilitation would have been quicker and sure and erosion would have been reduced. Thus the gradually worsening situation would be arrested.
If man would shoulder the responsibility for his own greedy misuse of the land, the goat could easily carry the blame for its own much smaller share in this degradation. Unfortunately, because human nature is what it is, man will find something to blame for his won carelessness. The goat has been chosen to carry this blame largely because it is often the last animal to be seen wresting a precarious living from the areas where man has done his worst and from which cattle and sheep have long since been forced to move.
Conservation of land depends on proper planning. Livestock numbers therefore, irrespective of species, should be strictly limited to a density which will permit pasture renewal instead of causing its degeneration. This adjustment of numbers should help man to have a balanced mixture of livestock.
Many writers in recent years have tried to show that there has been considerable improvement in mountain grazing areas after the banishment of the goat. Most, however, fail to indicate to what extent this has been due solely to the removal of the goat or to a reduction in other livestock densities or other measures such as erosion control, terracing, the building of gabions and grass plan planting. It is essential to ensure that results which are obtained in one environment are not automatically applied to different one. (Adapted from observation on the goat)

(a) According to paragraph one of the passage, who has man used as a scapegoat?

(b) In paragraph two, what two words show that land has not been very productive.

(c) Why has the quantities of animal proteins necessary to human health declined?

(d) Rewrite the following sentences according to instructions given.

(i) Unfortunately, because human nature is what it is, man will find something to blame for his own carelessness.
(Begin: The author stated that ......)

(ii) Thus, the gradually worsening situation would be arrested.
(Add a question tag).

(e) What could have been done to ensure quicker rehabilitation and reduce erosion.

(f) What other words could be used in place of those given without changing the meaning.

(i) Initiated
(ii) Miserable
(iii) Degradation
(iv) Banishment

(g) Rewrite in the active voice.

(i) The goat has been chosen for this blame.

(ii) Livestock are continually being forced onto poorer areas.

(h) How would you sum up the author’s argument in 1 or 2 sentences?

Answers


Martin
1. (a) Livestock

(b) Miserable crop.

(c) Livestock are continuously being forced onto smaller areas of poorer land, and further up the hill slopes where they have to compete with foresters.

(d)
(i) The author stated that human nature being what it was, man would find something to blame for his own carelessness.
(ii) Wouldn’t it?
(NB: No mark if the question mark is missing and a coma).

e) - Plant grass.
- Under plant the last agricultural crop with fodders species.

(f)
(i) Occasioned/started.
(ii) Poor.
(iii) Damage/destruction.
(iv) Expulsion/banning.

(g)
(i) Man has chosen the goat for this blame.
(ii) People are continually forcing livestock onto poorer areas.

(h) That although man blames the goat for the degradation of the environment he is actually the main culprit.
marto answered the question on November 6, 2019 at 09:16

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    “A friend in need is a friend indeed.”
    c)How did Hen hide her children from the Hawk?
    d)Identify and explain the characteristics of narrative evident in this story.
    e)What incidences forced Hawk to break her friendship with Hen?
    f)Identify at least two character traits of Hawk that are evident from this story.
    g)Why do you think the words Hawk and Hen start with capital letters?

    Date posted: October 17, 2019 .    Answers (1)

  • A woman was yesterday arrested by a mannequin. It stood elongated, beige and on... (Solved)

    Read the passage below and then answer the questions that follow.

    A woman was yesterday arrested by a mannequin. It stood elongated, beige and on tip toe with a curvaceous bum emphasizing its outline and boy did it work those jeans and that vest. She walked in and asked for that exact outfit in her size. It is not for nothing window shopping in such an easy phrase to relate to. Mannequins are enticing at the very least and at best serve up healthy doses of inspiration. A boutique displaying elegant though mostly pale, stiffened people with immobile faces and fingers draped in sophistication stands a better chance of reeling in a higher and steadier stream of clients.

    Up market shops have for years adorned their space with the sleek veneer of a host of mostly female mannequins. One recently opened along Moi Avenue. It stands out because of its stark white contrast and completely unexpected presence on that side of the street.

    In other parts of the world where fashion is taken rather seriously, dressing a window is art. Mannequins don’t simply usher you in.

    They promise a slice of groomed life with as much head turning as the displays wrung out of your harried and hurried existence. A really powerful display window is irresistible. It stops you dead in your tracks and can transform an ordinary shop into a happening, hip joint with a revolving door. Yet these space and acres of clear, polished windows for all the world to see are the most underutilized pieces of real estate around.

    Bookstores cheekily promise a “banned” book or sell a striking self-help title like Why Men Don’t Ask For Directions and Women Can’t Read Maps to convince you that you can indeed judge a book by its cover. Not attracting clients with your window is a failure to launch your business. A kind of slow, unfashionable death that is a fate suffered by so many shops one can be left breathless from the count. As a stylish individual, this is why you should care that yesterday a window displayed a fleet of wedding gowns with a velvety red background and today they have sporty wear. Smart, dynamic stores first change window displays to illustrate new stock, a very clear signal they have ventured into new fashion territory. It serves to reflect and magnify stock on their shelves.

    Moving things around is a very handy trick supermarkets understand. Every time you walk into one, you have no idea where that bar of Ushindi you normally make a beeline for is, and instead wander around looking for it. This way, you not only spend more time in there but you look at old stuff with a fresh pair of eyes. This act alone entices you to spend more unless you possess extraordinary discipline, imagine then the possibilities within a clothes shop where wares are placed on mannequins with human features albeit with legs to rival Tina Turner’s, concaved abdomens that look nothing like anything we see in real life and perky breasts we know if we had, would never support.

    To make money and increase traffic, price tags are kept in secret compartments forcing you to walk in and investigate.

    By itself, apparel must seduce and entice a passer-by and transform them into a buyer. It is bait and you are the fish. An appealing outfit reels you in for a closer look. To mull over it further, you walk in to cop a feel, try it on or ask for the price. The objective has been achieved. You are in the shop.
    By Carol Odero
    Adapted from Sunday Nation, 29th March, 2009.

    Questions
    a)How was the woman mentioned in the first paragraph arrested?
    b)What are mannequins according to the passage?
    c)How do mannequins work as seen in the passage?
    d)What does the writer mean by windows being the most under-utilized pieces of real estate?
    e)What justifies a sudden change in window display according to the writer?
    f)In about fifty words summarise what tricks supermarkets play on customers in order to entice them.
    Rough copy
    Final copy
    g)In what way is an item on sale independent of the mannequins?
    h)Explain the meaning of the following words as used in the passage.
    i) Arrested
    ii)Draped

    Date posted: October 17, 2019 .    Answers (1)