Read the following passage carefully and answer the questions on it.

      Miss Williamson announced in class one day that she wanted one of us to live with her to help her with her domestic work after school. There was a rush to volunteer which took her completely by surprise. When she recovered and had quietened our excited shouting, there was a moment during which none of us dared breathe, as she scanned the eager faces. What made her choose me i had never found out, but i had noticed before that she was partial to me. "All right Karimu," she said. "You can come, but first run along and get your father's consent"

      My parents were only too glad to have one mouth fewer to feed and my brothers and sisters to see the back of one who inevitably, had begun to assume an air of superiority in talking to them. Miss Williamson's bungalow was a stone's throw from school. That very evening saw me installed on a mat in a corner of her back veranda. I was unable to sleep, excited at the thought of the good fortune that had come my  way. To be within earshot of Miss Williamson's English all day, to have access to her books, to nurse the possibility, overwhelming even in thought, of going with her frequently of Rofunkti - all these visions kept my eyes wide open and my brain racing until very late that night. With my "lapa" pulled right over my head and happy beyond all description in my heart, I smiled myself to sleep.

      I learnt a very great deal in Miss Williamson's bungalow. Apart from improving my English, I learnt about the world outside and began to sense that were barriers much higher and much less easily gauged than those of mere language and colour, between my own people and those from whom she sprang. The smiling teacher in the daytime often became the brooding restless, ill-tempered spinster in the evening. Her bungalow was shared by another lady, a doctor, also a Scot, who traveled to and fro between the villages on a bicycle. I noticed that when not at their work or talking about it, these women showed no signs of being happy. As I grew up with them, i found myself wondering what had made them leave their country and come to live among a people whose ways were totally different from theirs.

(a) Why was Miss Williamson completely surprised?

(b) Why was Karimu's family happy to see him go to stay at the bungalow?

(C) State the overwhelming thought that kept Karimu awake.

(d) What did Karimu find difficult to understand about the two ladies?

(e) Mention the identical trait in these two ladies behaviour.  

(f) "What made her choose me. ."

(i) What grammatical name is given to this expression as it is used in the passage? ;

(ii) What is its function?

(g) "I smiled myself to sleep."What is the meaning of this expression?

(h) For each of the following words, find another word or phrase which means the same and which can replace it as it is used in the passage: (i) scanned; (ii) inevitably; (iii) nurse; (iv) vision; (v)gauged; (vi) brooding.

Read the following passage carefully and answer the questions on it.

      No one can deny the fact that anyone who wants to be successful in learning the English language needs a good English dictionary. Such a dictionary should be a source of information about the language — information that is not generally available in grammar books It should not only contain a list words and their meanings, but also a lot of information that can help a leaner to speak and write good English.

      In order to use a word correctly, the reader needs to know how to link it with other words in a sentence. He should also know the structures that often precede or follow it, and whether it is formal or informal. This will help him to choose what word is appropriate for a particular context. The dictionary is therefore, an invaluable aid to reading as well as writing skills.

      If the meaning of a particular word in a passage impedes the overall comprehension of the main ideas presented in it, then a dictionary should be used. Most teachers must have observed a widespread tendency among their students to attack a new passage by reading it word by word, stopping to reach for a dictionary whenever they come across a word they do not know. This is a wrong approach;  the dictionary should be used only as a last resort. The main objective of reading a passage is not to define  specific words but to understand the ideas and concepts of the passage. the frequent use of a dictionary tends to focus the reader's attention on words when he should be concentrating on understanding the main ideas of the passage. Efficient reading implies obtaining the greatest amount of information from the passage in the shortest time possible. The frequent use of a dictionary takes too much time — time that can better be employed in getting an overall understanding of the passage.

      Instead of turning to the last resort, the reader should continue reading. Very often, the meaning of an unfamiliar ford can be guessed from the context in which it is used. The passage may give a definition, cite examples or describe )e circumstances surrounding the use of such a word well enough for him to know what it means. After reading the 'hole passage, the reader may realize that he has understood the important ideas presented without knowing the leaning of every word. If, after reading the entire passage, the reader is still unable to guess the meaning of a word from the context, then he should study the structure of the word The word may be a compound word which, when broken into its component parts, can be easily understood.

      If after exhausting these approaches. the reader still does not understand the meaning of a word, and if this word is vital to the comprehension of the whole passage, then and only then, should he refer to a dictionary,

(a) In one sentence state the purpose of a good dictionary

(b) In two sentences, one for each, state the two disadvantages of constantly referring to a dictionary when reading a passage.

(c) In three sentences, one for each, summarize the three steps that a reader should take before referring to a dictionary.

You have been staying with your elder brother for sometime and a mis-understanding has ensued. Write a setter to your father giving, at least, three reasons why you feel you can no longer live with your brother. 
 

You recently took part in an excursion to a part of the country you were visiting for the first time. Write an article for publication in your school magazine narrating your experiences.

As a concerned student, write a letter to the principal of your school, informing him of recent acts of bullying by senior students and suggesting ways of arresting the situation.