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Read the passage below and fill in each blank space with the most appropriate word.
What is good governance? This is a (1)……………… discussed very often. It refers to the (2)……….. management of affairs of a village, town or country. Where there is (3) …………………. governance, people live (4) …………… harmony, ways of reducing poverty are sought and people (5) ………… ownership of the process of developing their communities. (5)………………… ownership of the process of developing their communities. Although the government is expected to create a (6) ……….. political and legal environment, it cannot succeed if ordinary citizens do not co-operate and play their role. Everyone craves for the maintenance of the (7)……………. of law, but if we do not obey that same law, we will know no peace. We accuse certain sectors of corruption but give (8) …………. in order to induce others to give us preferential (9) …………. If we really desire to have positive changes in our society, we must change our attitudes and join hands in building a society we can be (10)……….
Date posted:
June 12, 2019
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Your school is organizing for an Annual General Meeting (AGM) to be held soon. Five prominent guests have been invited. The Head teacher has assigned you the responsibility of preparing the meals for the guests.
(a) Prepare a shopping list of the items you need to buy.
(b) Provide the school head cook with a recipe for the dish
Date posted:
June 12, 2019
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Drama: Betrayal in the city-Francis Imbuga
Referring to Francis Imbuga’s play 'Betrayal in the city,' write an essay to validate the statement: 'Corruption retards development'
Date posted:
June 12, 2019
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The short story: Longhorn (Ed): When the sun goes down and other stories from African and Beyond.
'True beauty lies in our natural environment.' Examine this statement with close reference to the short story, ‘Sandra Street’ by Michael Anthony
Date posted:
June 12, 2019
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Write a composition beginning with the words.
'You will serve as an example to the rest of the student in this school,' the principal said as he pushed me into his office….
OR
b) Write a composition on the following statement:
'Technological advancement has impacted negatively on the society, especially the youth'
Date posted:
June 12, 2019
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Read the following passage and then answer the questions that follow.
A new system modeled on Continous Assessment Tests [CATs] will soon replace ranking of teachers, learners, schools and regions in both KCPE and KCSE according to the Cabinet Secretary for Education Science and Technology Prof Jacob Kaimenyi.
In the meantime, the ministry has constituted a team of experts to work out on an elaborate, credible and all-inclusive standard system that the management of schools would use in conducting the tests from the moment learners join school to the time they complete studies. This will include collaboration with the Education Ministry, the Examinations Council, Parents Association and Teachers Unions.
According to the Ministry’s plan, the accumulated marks awarded over a period of time in all areas of learning, including co-curriculum activities would count towards the final results when one leaves school either after KCPE or KCSE examinations. To achieve the best possible grading and desired results, those charged with implementing the new program would have to consider all the important aspects of administering CATs at various levels of learning and teaching. The new system which would be implemented any time soon will serve as an alternative after the recent banning of ranking on performance of schools and candidates in national examinations, though there have been calls from a section of parents, Kenya National Union of Teachers and The private Schools Association to have the Minister rescind his decision on ranking.
It is worth noting that in the CATs program, learners are examined continuously during their education and results considered after leaving school. It is an evaluation conducted over time; in other words, you are examined right through your learning process and not after the learning process [summative evaluation].By doing this assessment, you can track the improvement of the learner; you will be able top give more support and guidance and the learner will have more opportunities to improve.
It has also been established that CATs can provide early indicators of likely performance of learners, something that can be of great help to the students themselves. It can also provide details of what has been learned at a particular stage of the course.
The CS said that after working out the new grading system for KCSE and KCPE candidates to be used by schools, the system would become a policy where KNEC will be left with no other choice but to make it operational to end the public outcry on scrapping franking of schools teachers, candidates and regions. However, we are waiting to see if the teachers, some of whom have been accused of perpetuating examinations’ vices, will uphold the integrity that is in doubt.
[Adapted from Education News:Jan 10-22, 2015]
(a) State what are normally compared after KCPE and KCSE have been announced.
(b) How is the new system going to ensure inclusivity before its inception?
(c) In note form, state four would be advantages of the new system.
(d) In what way are two mentioned systems different?
(e) It is worth noting that in the CAT program, learners are examined continuously during their education and results considered after leaving school.(Re-write adding a question tag
(f) Show that the banning of ranking is not approved by all.
(g) Describe the writer’s attitude in the last paragraph.
(h) What procedure will be followed before the proposed systems begins?
(i) Explain the meaning of the following words as used in the passage
Rescind
Integrity
Date posted:
June 12, 2019
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Identify the odd one out of the following.
i) One walk work
ii) Send ten weak
iii) Debt Debut prompt
iv) Rock mock cost
Date posted:
June 12, 2019
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Read the following poem and answer the questions that follow in the spaces provided.
MY TRAIN JOURNEY TO MOMBASA
Kurukuru kakara kukuru kakara,
The train moves
Roaring and racing on the ridge.
Kukuru kakara kukuru kakara,
Crawling,criss-crossing beautiful plains
I sit staring at scenic scenes
Observing the wild animals.
Kukuru kakara kukuru kakara,
I feel the heat
I see the Swahili houses
Thriving thatched homestead.
Kukuru kakara kukuru kakara,
I see the bright ocean.
The train grinds to a hault.
I am in Mombasa.
By Egara Kabaji
i) Describe the rhyme scheme of this poem.
ii) Describe how rhythm has been achieved in this poem.
iii) How would you make this poem interesting if you were to recite it to audience.
iv) If the words ‘kukuru kakara kukuru kakara ‘are translated into English, what would happen?
Date posted:
June 12, 2019
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Read the poem below and answer the questions that follow.
Two ample women, somewhat past their primes
(the man between lost in his Daily Times)
Discuss their friends for all the world to hear
Some seats away a gallant says,'My dear'
to a strange girl who glares at him.Uncowed
he prattles on, oblivious of the crowd
On every side there’s animated talk
On the state, on love-down to the price of pork
Some stare through windows, hating all the noise,
Stern faced, like masters angry with their boys
The fop uneasy with the tramp beside
Fidgets and sighs and shifts from side to side
A bus stop now
Sighs and farewells, legs and baskets
Jostle in greatest confusion
The queen without stampedes and rushes
to increase the babel within
'Way please! 'get in!'Abi na Wetin'
'Ouch you’ve hurt my toe!'
Time up! The conductor presses 'Go'
The hubbub continues. 'What does he care?'
The more the noisier, but the richer the fare!
a) What is the message of this poem?
b) Explain the sarcasm in the line
-down to the price of pork
c) Contrast the characters of (the man) and the gallant.
d) Identify and explain two voices in the poem.
e) Describe the character trait of the conductor
f) Identify and illustrate the use of synecdoche in the second stanza of the poem.
g) Why are the last two lines in the poem significant?
h) What is the tone of the poem?
i) Explain the meaning of the following words and phrases
i) The hubbub
ii) Prattle
Date posted:
June 11, 2019
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Margaret A. Ogola, The River and the Source
‘Women have faced numerous injustices since time immemorial.’
Write a composition highlighting some of these injustices in the light of The River and The Source by Margaret Ogola.
Date posted:
June 11, 2019
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Write a composition ending with the words;
The events of the previous day left me challenged to begin a new life.
OR
(b) Write a story to illustrate the saying:
You cannot climb the ladder of success with your hands in the pocket.
Date posted:
June 11, 2019
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Rewrite the following sentences as instructed without changing the meaning.
i) I saw the giraffe when I was walking to school. (Rewrite using the present participle)
(ii) “Run to church,” Lukoko told Njuru, “and ask the priest to come now.”
(Rewrite in reported speech)
(iii) You need to get up early tomorrow, ……………………………….(supply a question tag)
(iv) The teacher asked Musyoki and ………….to do it. (Me, I)
(Choose the correct pronoun to fill in the blank)
(v) Goods once sold will not be returned under any circumstances.
Begin: Under …
Date posted:
June 11, 2019
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Read the poem below and answer the questions that follow.
CIVIL WAR
In this land
Graveyards have no markers
For blood flows freely
Into the gutter
Where corpses abide
In restless sleep
In this land
Kinship is long dead
And the insiders prevail
A neighbours hand
In darkness hidden
Stripes yet another victim’s light
In this land
The wind blows across the neglected fields
Promising yet another spectacle
Of hollowed eyes and pinched skins
Trudging and falling to the unyielding trains
Of self-destruction
In the air
The whiter dove
Flutter with change
And perhaps
It would be better if this symbol of peace
Were established in the souls of the people
In this land
(David Mugwika
(1) What is the poem about?
(2) Who is the speaker?
(3) Identify any two features of the style in the poem and show their effectiveness.
(4) Describe the tone of this poem.
(5) Explain the significance of the last stanza in relation to the message in the whole poem.
(6) Give the meaning of the following lines as used in the poem.
(i) Kinship is long dead.
(ii) Stifles yet another victim’s light.
(7) Citing examples, discuss one effect of civil war.
Date posted:
June 11, 2019
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Read the poem below and answer the questions that follow.
FROM THE DARK TOWER
We shall not always plant while others reap
The golden increment of bursting fruit,
Not always countenance, abject and mute,
That lesser men should hold their brothers chap;
Not everlasting while others sleep
Shall we beguile their limbs with mellow flute,
Not always bend to some more subtle brute;
We were not made to eternally weep,
The night whose sable breast relieves the stark,
White stars is no less lovely being dark,
And there are buds that cannot bloom at all
In light, but crumple, piteous, and fall;
So in the dark we hide the heart that bleeds,
And wait, and tend our agonizing seeds.
By Countee Cullen
(i) Describe the rhyme scheme in the poem above.
(ii) Apart from rhyme, identify any other way in which the poet has achieved rhythm.
(iii) Which words would you stress in the line: 'We were not made to eternally weep'?
(iv) How would you say the last line of this poem.
Date posted:
June 11, 2019
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Witi Ihimera, The Whale Rider
'When it dies, we die, I die. And if it lives then we live also.' Referring to the relationship between man and the whales in Witi Ihimaera’s, The Whale Rider, write an essay to substantiate the above assertion.
Date posted:
June 11, 2019
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Ilieva Emilia and Waveney Olembo (Ed.) - When The Sun Goes Down and Other Stories.
'In an effort to retract one’s unthoughtful action, one suffers.'
Drawing illustrations from the story, “The Retraction” by Stanley Onjenzani Kenani, write an essay in response to his statement
Date posted:
June 11, 2019
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Margaret Ogola,The River and The Source.
'Parental guidance is important in shaping up one’s destiny.' Drawing illustrates from the novel The River and The Source by Margaret Ogola. Write an essay illustrating the truth of this statement
Date posted:
June 11, 2019
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Make hay while the sun shines.
OR
b) Write a story ending with:
'….. it was then that I realized that I had ruined my life by making a wrong decision'
Date posted:
June 11, 2019
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Drama : Betrayal in the city –Francis Imbuga.
Impunity is the order of the day in most African states. Drawing illustrations from Francis Imbuga’s
Betrayal in the city, write an essay in support of this statement
Date posted:
June 11, 2019
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You are the secretary of a committee that is planning for a fundraiser for the construction of science laboratory. During the meeting two members are absent and nobody knows where they are. The meeting is also attended by the class teacher and a parent’s representative. The following issues are discussed in the meeting. Guest of honour , ways of raising funds and the students participation.
Write the minutes of the meeting.
Date posted:
June 11, 2019
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Francis Imbuga: Betrayal in the City.
'Many countries in Africa are burdened with bad governance'. Justify this statement using illustrations from Francis Imbuga’s Betrayal in the City.
Date posted:
June 11, 2019
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Discuss the two main approaches of teaching environmental education in Kenya and show their merit towards changing the learners attitude and behavior towards the environment.
Date posted:
June 11, 2019
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Read the poem below and answer the questions below.
Advise to my son
The trick is, to live your days
as if each one may be your last
(for they go fast, and young men lose their lives
in strange and unimaginable ways)
but at the same time, plan long range
(for they go slow : if you survive
the shattered windshield and burning shell
you will arrive
at our approximation here below
or heaven or hell)
To be specific, between the poeny and the rose
plant squash and spinach, turnips and tomatoes;
beauty in nectar
and nectar, in desert saves
but the stomach craves stronger sustenance
than the homed vine.
therefore, marry a pretty girl
after seeing her mother;
speak truth to one man,
work with another;
and always, serve bread with your wine.
But son,
Always serve wine
(Peter Meinke)
a) Who is the speaker in the poem. Illustrate your answer.
b) In what circumstances do many young people die? Illustrate your answer from the poem.
c) What do heaven and hell symbolize?
d) Identify items in the poem that represent life’s necessities on one hand and life’s luxuries on the other.
e) Identify and illustrate the use of the paradox in the poem.
f) What does the persona mean by ‘marry a pretty girl after seeing the mother'?
g) The stomach craves stronger sustenance.(Rewrite using (What)
h) Give two meanings of each of the following words.
-Last
-Fast
i) Give the meaning of the last two lines
Date posted:
June 11, 2019
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Read the poem below and answer the questions that follow.
SUNSET
The sun spun like
a tossed coin
it whirled on the azure sky,
it clattered into the horizon,
it clicked in the slot,
and neon lights popped,
and blinked ‘time expired’
as on a parking meter.
(Oswald Mbusiyeni: mtshaki)
i) Describe the rhyme scheme of the poem
ii) How would you say the last line of this poem
iii) State any two onomatopoeic words in the poem.
iv) Identify any other sound pattern used in the poem.
v) State and illustrate three non-verbal cues that you would use to make the recitation of the above poem interesting.
Date posted:
June 11, 2019
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Read the following telephone conversation and answer the questions that follow.
CALLER: What is your name and who are you in that company?
RECEPTIONIST: I am Agnes and I am the receptionist. May I ……..
CALLER: If so, you may not be of any help. I want to speak to the boss.
RECEPTIONIST: Excuse me, who specifically do you want to speak to yet you have not told me your name?
CALLER: They call me DJ Karos or Man P, the king of……
RECEPTIONIST: Sorry for interruption DJ, you have not given the name of the officer you want to speak to.
CALLER: Oh! It is the man who issues works.
RECEPTIONIST: I do not understand you.
CALLER: Come on! Do not tell me you do not know the human officer.
RECEPTIONIST: Do you mind holding on as I put you through to the Human Resource Officer?
CALLER: You guys advertised works in the papers which I realized I can manage but…….
OFFICER: Sorry sir, have you applied for the job?
CALLER: How did you expect me to know that? Am I an angel?
OFFICER: Sorry for inconvenience.
CALLER: You are not sorry; give me this work right away.
i) Identify ways in which telephone etiquette has been flouted in this conservation.
ii) How has the receptionist demonstrated effective conversational skills?
Date posted:
June 11, 2019
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Read the poem below and answer the questions that follow.
Horizons by Kalungi Kabuye
As I meditate
And levitate
In human state
No one can see
How the internal sea
Wells up with hope
But lets hope
Life so dear
With love so near
And closeness so close
Will bring home
The thing that we hope
Means to transform
Even the simplest digit
Into a magnified seed
Of a mustard tree
i) Which words would you stress in line (i) of the poem and why?
ii) How has rhythm been achieved in this poem?
iii) What tone of voice would be appropriate in recitation of this poem?
iv) How would you say the last line of this poem?
Date posted:
June 11, 2019
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Change the following sentences into indirect speech.
(i) 'You have cheated for too long,' blurted the woman.
(ii) 'How much money do you owe me?' demanded the creditor from the debtor
Date posted:
June 10, 2019
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Read the passage below and answer the questions that follow.
A short guy is a disadvantaged individual. And no, the disadvantage is not about reaching high surfaces. He can always stand on his toes or even get a stool. But what would he do when he is discriminated against or taunted on account of his being short; and when tall guys consider it something of a moral responsibility to remind the short fellow over and over that he is inferior?
Apparently, a short man, besides being irritable, is a psychological wreck, thanks to some syndrome of sorts.
Then there is a legion of misinformed women out there who declare to anyone who cares to listen that death would be a welcome alternative to dating a short man. Never mind that most are themselves as short as one can get. In their opinion, which they are entitled to anyway, tall is handsome, strong and literally oozes masculinity while short is the opposite. With limited choice of possible mates, restrictions on probable mates and slew of wrongful generalizations, affirmative action would be in order here.
But as they taunt, vilify, and harass short guys on the basis of height, the tall ones conveniently forget that no one chose how tall they would be. Elementary biology has it that we are all victims of genetic accidents; how tall one becomes is wholly subject to chance. Appearance and other human characteristics are an aggregation of parental traits at best, or a mutation at worst like when only one member is short in a family of tall fellows. It therefore speak volumes about the gray matter upstairs in anyone chest thumping about being tall. Once, when the disciplined forces were hiring, I offered myself for consideration. I was subjected to all sorts of strenuous exercise, running round and round the field in the midday sun like I had gone berserk, shutting my eyes alternately, and a host of other impossible strange routines, only to be turned away at the end of the day for the simple reason that my height did not add up.
Merchants of rumours and falsehood have been at it again. After unleashing the “shorter the monkey the longer the tail” rumour, they are back with another mind-boggling one: that these long-tailed short monkeys are poor lovers. While endowment does not necessarily equal performance, such are generalization of the absurd; something akin to the misplaced belief that all Africans lives on trees. If anything, as one Literary Great apply put it, a tiger does not declare its turpitude, it pounces.
And the politics of generalizations do not end there. The short guy is also said to be irritable and hence the worst possible choice for a boss or even a mate. Who wants to spend time with someone who will be over the roof at the slightest provocation? Not that the myth is gospel truth, but it has resulted in a further restriction of the short guy’s already limited choice of a mate.
As if this is not enough, stiff competition for short ladies silently rages, pitting tall guys against short ones. Despite their wide appeal, the tall fellows have an inexplicable penchant for short ladies. Factor in the belief that it is something of a misnomer to date a taller lady, the decision by some short ladies to give a not interested verdict for short men, and you have remote, dwindling chances of short men getting a mate.
Maybe it is time the short in stature considered coming together to fight this wholesale discrimination on account of their height, over which they have no control. An association would be the perfect gateway to affirmative action. Surely, what has height got to do with love, temperament and everything else for that matter?
Questions
(a) Why does the writer think the short guy is disadvantaged?
b) Explain the irony of some women discriminating the short man.
(c) According to the writer, what determines a person’s height.
(d) Why does the writer give his experience when the disciplined forces were hiring?
(e) 'There is a legion of misinformed women out there who declare to anyone who cares listen to dating a short man.
(Rewrite the sentence using ‘prefer’
(f) What two reasons are given why it might be difficult for short men to get mates?
(g) What solution is given by the writer to end discrimination of the short man?
(h) What is attitude of the writer towards people discriminate against the short man?
(i) Explain the meaning of the following words and phrases as used in the passage
(i) legion
(ii) Aggregation
(iii) Chest thumping
(iv) Inexplicable penchant
Date posted:
June 10, 2019
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Imagine you are performing this poem to learners who are visually impaired. Explain four ways in which you would ensure that they get the message effectively.
Date posted:
June 10, 2019
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Give another word pronounced as the following
i) Gate __________________________________________________________________________
ii) You __________________________________________________________________________
iii) Here
Date posted:
June 10, 2019