English 8 Past Paper - October 2030 PDF

OCTOBER 2030 English 8 AFRICA: IMAGES OF STRUGGLE AND STRENGHT  A continent of many nations and languages, Africa has had a long history of struggles with mighty forces mostly beyond the control of its people. Blessed with an abundance of natural resources including rich deposits of...

OCTOBER 2030 English 8 AFRICA: IMAGES OF STRUGGLE AND STRENGHT  A continent of many nations and languages, Africa has had a long history of struggles with mighty forces mostly beyond the control of its people. Blessed with an abundance of natural resources including rich deposits of oil and other minerals such as gold, silver, copper and diamonds, it has remained backward in many aspects of its life as a continent. Africa's natural wealth, much of which has remained untapped and unused, has been the caused and source of many aspects of its life as a continent. Throughout most of their history, the people of Africa have endlessly contented not only with political instability brought about by poor governments, wars, and conflicts, but also with the persistent problem of rapid population growth from which springs a chain of other great problems. While presenting portraits of Africa and depicting how the African people experience the world around them, all the reading selections in Unit 1 also mirror real aspects of human life and of human beings in general and the forces that all of mankind must continually face natural, social, political, and personal. Although these forces are often difficult to stop or challenge, they cannot be ignored and must be taken and dealt with seriously because they all have consequences in the lives of real people, not just those of Africa. Since the beginning of time, mankind and nature have existed side by side. Mankind has continually faced natural forces, oftentimes powerful and unstoppable and at times even catastrophic. Mankind has repeatedly come up against severe weather disturbances, extreme heat and cold, long periods of dryness, restless and unpredictable volcanoes, difficult terrains, wild animals, and other mighty forces that mankind cannot control. While human being deal with these elements of nature, they also have to contend with certain natural traits which they are born with, such as skin color which for a number of people is another powerful force of nature to face and overcome. The reading selection in Lesson 1 all focus on natural forces confronting Africa some of which are of the physical world, while some inherent in the people themselves. Chant and Song Chants, which are integral parts of Africa literature and culture, are short passages recited or sung repeatedly to simple melodies using only a few notes. Africa chants, a number of which have evolved into songs, are often in rhythmic monotone or with little variations in pitch, usually accompanied by drums, rattles, and other native instruments, by clapping, and by dancing.  Deeply rooted in the lives of the Africa people, chants are used not only to celebrate religious rituals and ceremonies but also to express and stir sentiments as in war chants and protest songs. How can you appreciate literature as a means of understanding human being? Share What You Know What happens during a long spell of dry weather? SET A READING FOCUS Find out real-life concerns conveyed in the chants  About the Work Africa is described by BBC Nature as home to many of the world’s best loved and most fascinating animals, being widely regarded as the “THE PLACE WHERE HUMAN LIFE ORIGINATED” Africa’s diverse wildlife which consist of predators, herbivores, and a great number of smaller species. The giraffe and the elephant went for a walk. They stopped in soem shade and started to talk; ‘I wish it would rain.’ said the giraffe with a sigh. “Im tired of watching the clouds pass us by!” I wish I could eat fresh green leaves again. The sun is so hot and the land is so dry; When will the rain is coming! We smell it in the air! Later in the day the sky turned grey, The flying ants flew out to say, “The rain is coming! We smell it in the air! And in the distance, thunder we hear! The giraffe and the elephant looked up at the sky And heard the black eagle give forth his cry, “The rain has come, The rivers will flow; The dry season is over; now the green grass will grow! Lions roar,eagles soar, Leopard growl, cheetahs prowl, Snakes slide, eagles, glide, Lizards crawl, jackals call, Monkey leap, snails creep, Ants heap, fledging cheep, Birds sing, wasps sting Panthers stalk, people talk. Think of four other animals and the verbs that go with them and add your own two lines to the second chant. Insert your lines between the first and last lines of the chant. Sensory Images  VISUAL AUDITORY The sense of sight The sense of hearing  OLFACTORY GUSTATORY The sense of smell The sense of taste  TACTILE MOTION The sense of touch The movement They create in the reader’s mind pictures that stimulate the imagination and that make the reader’s reading experience immediate, real, and tangible. Images appealing to the sense of sight, hearing, smell, taste, and touch add layers of color and life to a literary text. Kind of Images Examples VISUAL dark rain clouds AUDITORY howling wind OLFACTORY smoky air GUSTATORY sweet nectar TACTILE rough-edged rocks List down the sensory images of “ LIONS ROARS”  LIMPOPO RIVER SONG SONG FROM ZIMBABWE  SHARE WHAT YOU KNOW What traits, habits, or ways have you taken after your parents? How do these traits, habits, or ways affect your own life?  About the Work Black Africans make up about eighty percent of the population of Africa , the second largest of the world’s continents. A significant number of them work in mines such as the gold miners of Zimbabwe who sing the “Limpopo River Song” as they walk a long distance to the mines, crossing the second longest river in South Africa on the way. Sayiwela, sayiwela We crossed it, we crossed it Sayiwela sibili We really crossed it Sayiwela Ingulukudela We crossed Limpopo River Siyofuna imali To look for money Baphina obaba? Where are those fathers? okoko? mothers? Basemazulwini They are in heaven Basitshiyel’indubeko They left us problems Indubeko zomhlaba These earthly difficulties  Analyze 1.What attitude toward parents is conveyed by the first song? 2. What does the last line of the second song mean? 3. What actual aspects of life in Africa show an influence on the song?  Evaluate Must a parent be blamed for the difficult lives his or her children have when they become grown-ups? Explain your reasons. OCTOBER 2030 What traits, habits, or ways have you taken after your parents? How do these traits, habits, or ways affect your own life? CONTEXT CLUES & COLLOCATIONS Because the meaning of an Idiom cannot easily be determined from the meaning of the words that make it up, one may look clues provided by context and collocation. Collocation refers to a combination of words or phrases which are usually used together and whose meaning is known or familiar to a native to a narrative speaker of a particular language.  EXAMPLE do the dishes have a look do homework have a bath get home make the bed get ready make an appointement go bankrupt take notes go missing take a break Context refers to the parts of a written text preceding or following and clarifying the meaning of a difficult word or expression.  The Business partners were on pins and needles knowing that their business could go bankrupt. -(means anxious or nervous)  The children throws a coin into the wishing well and makes a pie-in-the sky wish-to grow wings and to fly. -(something impossible) Exercises 1.The ship crew was caught between a rock and a hard place. They could not decide which was the safest course to take. Exercises 2. The company would hire only older and experienced applicants, not those who were wet behind the ears. Exercises 3. There is no hiding that I am frustrated and upset because I am wearing my heart on my sleeve. Exercises 4. Though poor and undereducated, he had big dreams. He hitched his wagon to a star and worked his way up the top. Exercises 5. I am in my mid-forties. Am I not a bit long in the tooth to work as an office intern?  A higher pitch or a stronger stress when a speaker pronounces a word or phrase in a passage may indicate to the listener that the speaker pronounces a word or phrase in a passage may indicate  EN IN G F OR M E AN IN G LIS T T S N D I M P OR T A NT PO IN A H A ND S IG NA LE D BY P ITC S TR E S S  Pitch is the highness or lowness of the speaking voice. While stress is the accent placed on syllables in a word or on words in a longer spoken text. An effective listener is quick to recognize important points as well as shades of meaning signaled by changes in both pitch and stress.  When a speaker pronounces a word or phrase in a passage with a higher pitch or more emphasis, the listener may notice that the speaker does so to catch the listener's attention.  When spoken with a low pitch, a certain text may signify that the speaker is sad, concerned, or disappointed, while a higher pitch may tell that the speaker is angry, excited or surprised. Shifting the stress on words can also communicate varying meaning to which an active listener must pay attention.