KNEC KCSE English Paper 2 Question Paper / 2015 KCSE Kirinyaga West

Good soil is of no use to man unles he cultivates it. Iron, gold, oil, and copper beneath the soil are not wealth unless man digs them up and uses them. To cultivate and to dig means work. The continent of North America has always had good soils and rich minerals underneath but the Red Indians’ lived there in poverty for hundreds of years because they did not know how to use this wealth. There has always been copper in Zambia, Uganda and Congo, and diamonds in Tanzania, but they were not wealth to the inhabitants of these countries until recently when people who knew how to use them came.
In order to produce wealth men have to work and the harder they work and the better they work the more wealth they will produce. It is mainly a matter of better work. By working harder the farmer may be able to grow more food, but unless he uses better methods he may in the long run, do more harm than good. To have more wealth then, the farmer needs not so much more land (although that is needed in some places), but mainly more knowldge of how to usehis land, the energy and the will to use it. Here we see the need for knowledge and health.
The same applies to those who work in factories offices and schools. The better they work the more they earn.
That is why the most highly paid jobs go to those whose knowledge is greatest and who are reliable workers.
Before we leave this question of work (or labour as it is sometimes called) there is an interesting point we should notice. Men have found by experience, from the time of the acient Egyptians that more wealth can be produced if different kinds of work are divided up amongst the workers, instead of everyman doing all his own work. The advantage of this system, which is called the ‘Division of Labour’ is that each worker can become an expert of his own job or trade, and so the total wealth produced is greater. In earlier days in Africa there was very little division of labour today there is much more. Most people are still farmers, but there are also, carpenters, builders, tailors, mechanics, miners, clerks, teachers and many others.
Land on which to grow his crops and the work of cutting and hoeing and planting were all the peasant of earlier days needed to produce his very small amount of wealth to keep him and his family alive, sometimes it was not enough. Today the people want more, not only necessities but also other things like sugar, slat, tea, clothes, books, radio, bicycles and so on. These things often come from other lands and have to be paid for.
They can only be paid for if more wealth is produced so that there is something left over.

Comprehension questions
(a) According to the passage, can iron, gold, oil and copper be worthless? (2 mks)
(b) What is ironical about the Red Indians who lived in the continent of North America? (3 mks)
(c) Explain when copper became useful to the people of Zambia, Uganda and the Congo? (2 mks)
(d) Highlight four (4) things that a farmer must do in order to produce more food (4 mks)
(e) State one advantage of division of labour (2 mks)
(f) Identify and illustrate the use of parenthesis from the passage, give two examples (2 mks)
(g) The Red Indians lived there in poverty four hundreds of years. Add a question tag? (1mk)
(h) Give one word that best explain the meaning of the following statements as used in the passage (2 mks)
i) ‘ something left over’
ii) ‘Things from other lands’
(i) Good soil is of no use to man unless he cultivates it. Use ‘only’ (1 mk)

POETRY
BUILDING THE NATION
Today I did my share
In building the nation
I drove a permanent Secretary
To an important urgent function
In fact a luncheon at the Vic.
The menu reflected its importance
Cold Bell beer with small talk,
Then friend chicken with niceties

Wine to fill the hollowness of the laughs
Ice-cream to cover the stereotype jokes
Coffee to keep the PS awake on return journey.
I drove the Permanent Sectretary back.
He yawned many times in the back of the car
Did you have any lunch friend?
I replied looking straight ahead
And secretly smiling at his belated concern
That I had not, but was smiling!
Upon which he said with a seriousness
That amused more than annoyed me,
Mwananchi, I too had none!
I attended to matters of state
Highly delicate diplomatic duties you know,
And friend, it goes against my grain,
Causes me stomach ulcers and wind.
Ah, he continued, yawning again,
The pains we suffer in buiding the nation!
So the PS had ulcers too!
My ulcers I think are equally painful
Only they are caused by hunger,
Not sumptuous lunches!
So two nation builders
Arrived home this evening
With terrible stomach pains
The result of building the nation –
– Different ways.

Henry Barlow
1. Identify two voices in the poem (2 mks)
2. Explain what the poem addresses (4 mks)
3. Identify and illustrate the use of any two poetic devices uses in the poem and explain their effectiveness ( 6 mks)
4. Describe the tone in the poem (2 mks)
5. How would you describe the attitude of the permanent secretary towards the persona? (2 mks)
6. Describe the rhyme scheme in stanza one (2 mks)
7. i) “He yawned many times in the back of the car.” Add a question tag (1 mk)
ii) “ I drove the permanent secretary back.” Write in passive voice

FIRST LAWYER (bowing):Thank you, your honour. High court of Justice, of all ties of blood are strongest.
Mother and child – is there any intimate relationship? Can one conceived it in the holy
ecstasies of love. She has carried it in her womb. She has fed it with her blood. She
has borne it with pain. High court of Justice, it has been observed that the wild
tigress, robbed of her young, roams restless through the mountains, shrunk to a
shadow. Nature herself……………………………………
AZDAK (interrupting, to GRUSHA) : What’s your answer to all this and anything else the lawyer might
have to say?
GRUSHA: He’s mine.
AZDAK : Is that all? I hope you can prove it. Why should I sign the child to you in any case?
GRUSHA: I brought him up like the priest says “according to my best knowledge and
conscience.” I always found him something to eat. Most of the time he had a roof
over his head. And I went to such trouble for him. I had expenses too. I didn’t look out for my own comfort. I brought the child up to be friendly with everyone, and from
the beginning taught him to work. As well as he could, that is. He’s still very little.
FIRST LAWYER: Your Honor, it is significant that the girl herself doesn’t claim any tie of blood
between her and the child.
AZDAK: The court takes note of that.
FIRST LAWYER: Thank you, your HONOUR. And now permit a woman bowed in sorrow __ who has
already lost her husband and now has also to fear the loss of her child ___ to adress a
few words to you. The gracious Natella Abashwili is ………….
GOVERNOR’S WIFE (quietly) : A most cruel fate, sir, forces me to describe to you the tortures of
bereaved mother’s soul, the anxiety, the sleepless nights the ……….
SECOND LAWYER (bursting out): It’s outrageous the way this woman is being treated! Her husband’s
palace is cold -bloodely told that it’s tied to the heir. She can’t do a thing without a
child. She can’t even pay her lawyers!! (To the FIRST LAWYER, who, desperate
about this outburst, makes frantic gestures to keep him from speaking) Dear
Illo Shuboladze, surely it can be divulged now that Abashwili estates are at stake?
FIRST LAWYER: Please, Honored Sandro Oboladze! We agreed…………. (TO AZDAK) Of course it is
correct that the trial will also decide if our noble client can take over the Abashwilli
estates, which are rather extensive. I say “also” advisely, for in the foreground stands
as human tragedy of a mother, as Natella Abashwili very properly explained in the
first words of her moving statement. Even if Michael Abashwili were not heir to their
estates, he would still be the dearly beloved child of my client.
AZDAK: Stop! The court is touched by the mention of estates. It’s a proof of human feeling.
SECOND LAWYER: Thanks, Your Honor. Dear Illo Shuboladze, we can prove in any case that the
woman took the child is not the child’s mother. Permit me to lay before the Court the
bare facts. High Court of Justice, by an unfortunate chain of circumstances, Michael
Abashwili was left behind on that Easter Sunday while his mother was making her
escape. Grusha, a place kitchen maid, was seen with the baby…………
COOK: All her mistress was thinking of was what dresses she’d take along!

(a) Explain what happens shortly before and after the extract (4 mks)
(b) In not more than thirty (30) words, summarize the points in the argument that the first lawyer gives in favour of Natella Abshwili (4 mks)
(c) Explain any two character traits of each of the following characters (4 mks)
(i) Natela Abashwili
(ii) Grusha
(d) Identify and illustrate one theme in the extract and show how it is brought out elsewhere in the play. (4 mks)
(e) Explain the relevance of the following stylistics devices as used in the extract
(i) Ellipsis (2 mks)
(ii) Rhetorical questions ( 2 mks)
(f) (i) ‘I always found him something to eat.” Rewrite, adding a question tag (1 mk)
(ii) Azdak: Is that all? I hope you can prove it. Rewrite in indirecct speech. (1 mk)
(g) Explain the meaning of
‘………………… it has been observed that the wild tigress, robbed of her young……………….. (1 mk)
(h) Give two possible meanings of the word ‘Permit’ (2mks)

Rewrite the following sentences according to the instructions given after each
(i) This kind of movie fascinates the youth more than it does adults
Begin: The youth……………………………………………………………………………………………………………..
(ii) He shut the door, immediately, he heard a knock from behind.
Begin: No sooner

Fill in each blank space using the correct form of the word in brackets
(i) Such _________________________ (repeat) is boring
(ii) The _________________________ (clear) of the speech was appreciated by all
(iii) We _________________________ (regular) eat roast potatoes

Change the following sentences into passive voice
(i) Wyclif wrote the best essay
(ii) The Maasai warriors built their huts in the valley
(iii) Joy baked the most delicious cake

Re-write the following sentences correctly
(i) If I was a surgeon, I would have treated the patient
(ii) The hungry children entered into the dining room
(iii) I cannot be able to operate this machine

Write down the plural form of the following nouns
Phenomenon
Syllabus

Complete the following sentence using the correct prepositions
Scientific investigations show that HIV/AIDs is mainly transmitted ____________________________
unprotected sex _____________________________ infected people