NAIROBI SCHOOL
FORM THREE 2017
AUGUST HOLIDAY ENGLISH HOLIDAY HOMEWORK
SECTION I: LITERATURE
1. Read through the compulsory set text: ‘The Caucasian Chalk Circle’ by Bertolt Bretch.
2. Make brief notes on each of the Acts at the back of your Caucasian Chalk Circle exercise book.
3. Attempt the following questions:
a) Which new characters are introduced to us in Act 3: In the Northern Mountains?
b) How does Lavrenti’s decision to marry off Grusha affect the flow of events in the play?
c) What are some key events that take place in Act 4: The Story of the Judge? Write them out in point form.
d) Describe the most important happening in Act 5: The Chalk Circle. What are the events that lead to it?
e) Is Azdak’s ruling on the child fair? Why?
SECTION II: Fill the following gaps with the most appropriate word. ( 10 marks)
All across the globe people are using the same electronic device to watch or listen to the same commercially produced songs and stories.
Is ______(1) globalization positive or negative? On one hand, globalization has ______(2) unattainable goods and services closer home. There has also been the dissemination of ______(3)
that would otherwise not be possible. People can ______(4) ideas over the internet through e-mail. It is also possible to buy ______(5) ___from any part of the world with the use of Master cards and ______(6) cards. It has also been possible for ______(7) ___ to exchange research findings from any part of the world and discuss them through video ______(8)
On the other hand, globalization has been said to ______(9)
national identity. Secondly, it has led to the erosion of ______(10)
values especially in the third world.
SECTION III
A) Identify the silent letter in the following words. ( 5 marks)
i) Juice
ii) Handkerchief
iii) Mortgage
iv) Fasten
v) Pursuit
B) For each of the words below, supply another word with a similar pronunciation. (4 marks)
i) Throne
ii) Aren’t
iii) What
iv) key
SECTION IV: Read the following excerpt and answer the questions that follow.
The preparations were made and excitement was in the air. Kong’o was brewed in two large pots; a young bull was selected for slaughter and many cockerels were to meet a sticky end on the day (though they went about the business of intimidating the hens completely oblivious of the fact). Sorghum was ground in large quantities and arrangements were made for fresh tilapia to be brought from the lake, a long distance away. No effort would be spared, for a betrothal was a time to show largesse and for her only granddaughter, Akoko would outdo herself one last time.
The day finally arrived and it was a day as full of beauty as the day in which Owuor Kembo of Sakwa, in full battle regalia and a leopard skin loin piece had come to pay suit to the great chief Odero Gogni of Yimbo for the hand of his daughter Akoko Obanda. Yet some things were different. A stone’s throw away was the church with its tall steeple bearing a cross at the top –a symbol of the new and different way of life, yet in some ways reminiscent of the reverence once paid to Were -the god of the eye of the rising sun who had guided the people. Further along was the school - the place of learning without which one was as a blind man in a strange house. All round was evidence of the rule of the white people who were good administrators but often unjust and unheeding to the pleas and aspirations of their black subjects. Indeed in the Central Province and in Nairobi especially among the Kikuyu, there were rumours of mass uprising against the colonial powers.
Oloo the son of Sign, otherwise known as Mark Anthony, arrived with his entourage of six including his uncle, at mid-morning. Aware of the importance and the impact of presence and carriage he arrived in his military fatigues, a colobus monkey headdress and a spear in his hand. He was after all a soldier. It was an intriguing combination of the old and the new. Anyone else might have looked odd but Oloo looked dashing. His complexion was deceptively light and it drew questioning glances from his hosts and hostesses. Had their daughter decided decided to marry a ja-mwa – a foreigner?
Questions
1. Briefly explain the significant event that precedes this excerpt. (4 marks)
2. “The day finally arrived………….” List down the measures that were put in place to make this day a success. (4 marks)
3(a) What is the similarity in the two suitors mentioned in this excerpt? (3 marks)
b) What are the changes highlighted in this excerpt? (6 marks)
4. Earlier before this excerpt we learn that Elizabeth does not know the names of Mark’s parents. What is the importance of Jawang’yo in this regard? (3 marks)
5. Had their daughter decided to marry a ja-mwa - foreigner ?” Explain the importance of this question. (3 marks)
6. “Akoko would outdo herself one last time” Explain the significance of this statement.
(2 marks)
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