BECE 2017 English Language Past Question Paper Two
PART A
ESSAY WRITING
You have been installed a chief in your hometown. Write a letter to your friend in another school telling him, at least, two things you intend doing to develop the town.
CONTENT: 10 marks
The candidate is expected to highlight and explain the two things he/she would do to develop the town.
Note: If a candidate writes on only one point, the Content is marked out of 5, instead of 10
ORGANISATION: 5 marks
This is a letter to a friend and the following features are mandatory:
(i) The writer’s address (without name)
(ii) Date
(iii) Salutation, e.g. Dear Kweku
(iv) Subscription, e.g. Yours ever, Yours sincerely, etc
(v) The writer’s first name
Good paragraphing. Ideas should be well organized to show unity and coherence.
EXPRESSION: 10 marks
This is a letter to a friend. The language should be chatty and reflect the warm relationship between the candidate and his/her friend.
Contracted forms are acceptable and there should be a variety of sentence patterns.
MECHANICAL ACCURACY: 5 marks
Note: The candidate is penalised (half a mark deducted) for each of the following:
(i) each grammatical error
(ii) wrong spelling
(iii) faulty construction
(iv) punctuation error and the wrong use of the capital or small letter.
Write an article for publication in one of the national newspapers on the topic:
The usefulness of the mobile phone.
CONTENT: 10 marks
The candidate is expected to state at least two useful things the mobile phone does and discuss them well.
Note: If a candidate writes on only one point, the Content is marked out of 5, instead of 10
ORGANISATION: 5 marks
This is an article. It should have a heading and the name of the writer after the heading or at the bottom. Paragraphs should be well developed and the material should be logically presented.
Note: If the candidate writes a letter, the organization is marked out of 3.
EXPRESSION: 10 marks
The language should be formal. Slang, colloquialism and contracted forms are out of place here. The candidate is expected to use appropriate vocabulary and a blend of sentence patterns.
MECHANICAL ACCURACY: 5 marks
As in question one (1) above.
Write a story that ends with the expression: So it pays to be kind to strangers.
CONTENT: 10 marks
The story may be real or imaginary. Stories with animal characters are not acceptable.
Note: If a candidate writes a story that does not illustrate the expression but merely tags the expression at the end, no mark is awarded for content.
ORGANISATION: 5 marks
A well-organised story has a beginning, a climax and a conclusion. Paragraphs should be well developed and ideas properly linked. If dialogue is used properly, it is duly rewarded.
EXPRESSION: 10 marks
The candidate is expected to use vocabulary that is appropriate to the narrative. There should be a variety of sentence types. Paragraphs should be well linked.
MECHANICAL ACCURACY: 5 marks
As in question one (1) above.
PART B
COMPREHENSION
Read the following passage carefully and answer all the questions which follow
My desire to win gold and also see the sea drove me to a small coastal village. Though I had little food and drink, I covered a great distance. Towards dusk, I could sight the sea from a distance. I was really excited. Its immense size stretched as far as the eyes could see.
As the stars appeared in the sky, I ascended the hill and saw the village of my quest. I was dead with fatigue. To worsen my plight, there were blisters on my heel so I had to take a rest. But as I descended the hill, I was welcomed by the quietness of the place.
The villagers were enjoying the cool evening air. From the lagoon came the croaking of frogs. Children played and ran about excitedly. The village life was natural and simple. I sat on a bench close by. How good it was to rest!
I resolved to rest on the bench. As I lay there, a sheet of mist rolled from the sea and settled upon the village. In a few minutes, the village was filled with mist and everybody was running helter-skelter. I was drenched to the skin. I had decided to move to the next village when a woman suddenly walked up to me. For some time I had seen her gazing at me with pity. Now, as if she read my thoughts, she said, “If you would accept my hospitality, you will be sheltered till the morning. Just charity.” She was about thirty years of age, dressed in black with a pale face and dark eyes.
Papaye hut held special appeal for me for its serene environment. For many days, I was well catered for and this enabled me to replenish my energy. It was with a heavy heart, when the time for departure arrived, that I bade farewell to my benefactress.
a) State why the writer went to the coast.
b) (i) How did the writer find life in the village?
(ii) Why did the writer decide to go to the next village?
c) (i) “… my plight.” What does this refer to?
(ii) “… everybody was running helter-skelter.” What do you think had happened?
d) (i) What two adjectives would you use to describe the character of the woman?
(ii) What does the appearance of the woman suggest?
e) Explain the following expressions in your own words:
(i) drenched to the skin;
(ii) she read my thoughts;
(iii) with a heavy heart.
f) For each of the following words, give another word or a phrase that means the same, and can fit into the passage:
(i) immense;
(ii) ascended;
(iii) resolved;
(iv) serene;
(v) replenish.
a) To win / To extract / To search for / To find gold and to see the sea
b) (i) The village life was natural and simple /
OR
He found it natural and simple.
(ii)
S(he) had been left alone / S(he) felt deserted / S(he) felt abandoned
OR
To look for a place of rest / accomodation
c) (i) His/her tiredness / fatigue / exhaustion
(ii) The village had been filled with mist.
Note: “It was raining” is not accepted
d) (i) Kind, generous, considerate, kind-hearted, hospitable, benevolent, caring, loving, sympathetic, compassionate, charitable
(ii) She was bereaved / mourning
OR
She has lost a dear one
OR
She is sorrowful
Note: “She is a widow” is not accepted
e) Explain the following expressions in your own words:
(i) drenched to the skin – very / completely / really wet. OR very / completely / really soaked.
Note: “wet” is not accepted
(ii) she read my thoughts – she knew my mind
OR
she knew what was in/on my mind
OR
she knew what I was thinking about
OR
she could tell what was in/on my mind
OR
she could tell what I was thinking about
OR
she knew/could tell what I was about to say
OR
we thought alike
(iii) with a heavy heart –
a feeling of sadness/sorrow
OR
a feeling of much/great unhappiness/regret
OR
He was sad/ very unhappy/with sadness
f) For each of the following words, give another word or a phrase that means the same, and can fit into the passage:
(i) immense – expansive, vast, very large, very big, enormous, very wide
(ii) ascended – climbed, climbed up, went up, moved up
(iii) resolved – decided, made up my mind
(iv) serene – quiet, calm, cool, undisturbed, peaceful, tranquil
(v) replenish – regain, renew, restore
PART C
LITERATURE
Questions 5(a) to 5(c) are based on one of the prescribed short stories for your study. Provide short answers to them.
(Write any one of the following words or phrases for each)
(a) What is referred to as Poor little thing in the story?
(b) What is the setting of the story?
(c) The attitude of the girls to the baby bird is that of ………………………….
(d) Be courageous, be courageous, Kwame, be courageous is an example of the use of a literary device termed ………………….
(e) How did Kwame show that he was courageous at the end of the story?
Once there was an old man who had seven sons.
They should have been his pride and joy.
But they were not.
(f) The above extract is a/an ……………………..to a story.
(g) The idea expressed in the second sentence is that of ……………….
Yes, my young woman, I shall remember you.
I shall remember you in the hours of the night –
In my sleep,
In my sleepless sleep.
(h) “… young woman” refers to ………………..
(i) The ‘sleepless sleep’ of the speaker is caused by ………………………
(j) “… sleepless sleep” shows that the speaker is ……………………..
(a) Pepe / the baby bird / the little bird / the bird with the yellow beak / “the bird with the bright eyes” / the baby bird that fell from its nest.
(b)The immediate environment of Debbie and Sandy’s house
OR
Countryside, Rural community, a village / the girls’ mother’s garden/ compound
(c) Admiration / Compassion / Care / Pity / Sympathy
(d) Repetition
the old letter box (in the hedge),
the old mail box
(e)
He killed the killer beast
OR
By killing the killer beast
OR
He killed the monster
Note: “By killing a beast” is not accepted.
(f) Prologue / beginning of / introduction
(g) Contrast
(h) Eulalie / Eulalie Yawson / Eulalie Rush / Ato’s wife
(i) Her barrenness / Childlessness
(j) Restless / worried / disturbed / cannot find peace
End Of Paper
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