Join Our WhatsApp GroupEnglish Form 3 Past Paper Questions with Marking Scheme
1. FUNCTIONAL WRITING (20 marks)
You are the Dean of Studies in your school. The Principal reminds you about the bench-marking visit to Masomo Bora National School by some students and teachers. The Principal writes you a reminder. The bench-marking is expected to take three days.
(a) Write the reminder that the Principal might have written to you. (12 marks)
(b) Prepare a diary for the three days. (8 marks)
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Form 3 English CLOZE TEST
Read the passage below and fill in each blank space with the most appropriate word.
High self-esteem is like having money, something we think everyone else but (1). Yet having low self-esteem is perhaps the most common flaw of (2) humanity .The majority of people in society think,” The only way to have high self-esteem is to be (3). with it.” This is not true. You can develop high self-esteem (4) like learning to read or to dance.
Secondly, people do not (5) the importance of having high self-esteem. I cannot even (6) to stress the importance of having high self-esteem, it is the (7) to having mental, physical and spiritual strength. The (8)stage of developing strength is learning to love yourself and your life. You (9). to learn to be grateful of what God has given you. You should let go of all those angry (10) inside. Holding anger inside yourself will not help you. It will only hurt you. The past is the past; you can only change the present.
Form 3 English Questions ORAL SKILLS (30MARKS)
a) Read the following narrative and answer the questions that follow:
One day all the animals arranged a dance in the plains of the Rift Valley. The safari ant did not have a girdle belt and therefore he went to his friend the louse to borrow one. And when he was trying it on he said to his friend: “We shall see who dances best between you and I.”
So they went to the river to wash themselves. When they had washed, they lay themselves on the rock to dry. They put on oil that people wore when they are going to dance. In the end, when they were fully dressed, the louse said to his friend: “ Let us see how your new girdle fits with your new sword. Hmmmm! I think it looks alright but you should tighten it a bit more” and when he heard that the safari ant tighten the belt more and more until he made a deep groove on
his waistline. The louse was beside himself with laughter when he saw how tight the belt was. He laughed until his nose cracked. Ha! Ha! Ha! And therefore both insects could not go to the dance.
Questions.
i. What techniques would you apply to ensure that your audience enjoys the story to the maximum? (3mks)
ii. How would you prepare yourself to effectively tell the above story? (2mks)
iii. Explain how you would capture the audience’s attention before narrating this story? (2mks)
b) Identify the odd one out in each set with reference to the bolded sounds. (3mks)
i) Enough, staff, dough, graph
ii) Watched, wanted, laughed, rushed
iii) Wept, debt, receipt, doubt
c) Indicate whether there is a falling or rising intonation in the following sentences.
(3mks)
i) Have you ever been to Lake Baringo?
ii) Who do you think you are?
iii) Did he go to School in Mombasa?
d) For each of the following words, write another word that is pronounced the same: (4mks)
i) Praise
ii) Profit .
iii) Eight
iv)
v) Sent
e) During one of the English group discussion you realize that most members did not benefit from it. Explain three ways in which you can create orderliness in a discussion so as to benefit all group members. (3mks)
f) You have just completed your form four examination. You then come across an advertisement on Computer studies at a newly opened computer college near your residence. You are interested and decide to make a visit to get more information.
Complete the dialogue below.
Read through first before filling in the blanks.
Receptionist: Good morning. Can I help you?
Student :. (2mks)
Receptionist: Are you interested in the January intake?
Student :. (2mks)
Receptionist: Fine. Ok. We have umthe short intensive full-time courses this term.
Student :. (2mks)
Receptionist: Yes, each course lasts for three weeks.
Student ::. (2mks)
Receptionist: Well, it about twenty –three – hours a week. Usually four and half days a week.
Student :. (2mks)
Receptionist: The whole course will cost you Kshsm. 15,000. We require a deposit of Kshs. 5000 and Kshs. Registration fee.
Student :. (1mk)
Receptionist: You’re welcome.
4. Read the passage below and then answer the questions that follow.
In olden days, choosing a profession was not all a cause of worry. A farmer’s son became a farmer, a potter’s son a potter, a king’s son a king and so on. But in the modern era, it is skill knowledge, not the caste or community of a person which decides what profession to chose.
The choice of a right profession is one of the most dreadful tasks a child has to face in his transition from childhood to adolescence. Throughout the early decades of independence, Indian kids had only a few choices like engineering, medicine, teaching, government service among others. But post liberalisation, a number of new industries have emerged, providing today’s kids with countless career options. Some other new attractive careers are in the information technology food, hospitality, fashion and infrastructure industries.
My desire is to become a software engineer when I grow up. My interest in this field has been since my primary school age. I have always had a fascination for computers. I love playing computer games very much. It was this interest in computer games that sparked off my curiosity about how software codes are written, how graphics and animation are done . . . and such questions. At a very early age, I learnt flash and then started creating games in flash. My father saw this talent and introduced me to his friend’s son, Mr. Jatin Patel who was an engineer with Microsoft corporation. Mr. Jatin has been a very valuable mentor since then, giving me proper guidance in charting my career path and developing the necessary skills to succeed in this field.
The basic skill required for a software engineer is to have a sense of logic and common sense, a mind that can think in many dimensions simultaneously and the knack of solving problems. I regularly solve puzzles and play chess to improve my analytical skills and problem (s) solving ability. I have also learnt the basics of operating systems like Windows, Linux and programming languages like C, C++, Java, among others. I have even begun to write programs in these languages. Another important skill needed to succeed in the software industry is good communication skills. I have enrolled for language and personality development courses to sharpen my communication ability and other soft skills.
I am well aware of the pros and cons of becoming an IT engineer. A software professional has to work under tremendous pressure, work lake at night and has to meet almost impossible deadlines. He might get no time for family and friends. And as one moves up the ladder, the pressure would only increase.
On the brighter side, the job provides the best salary in the industry. Apart from regular salary hikes, one also gets ample opportunity to travel abroad and in the process make a lot of money. More than the money, there are a lot of learning opportunities. Also, there is a deep sense of satisfaction in helping to build systems that make people’s lives easier.
My plan is to do my bachelors and masters in engineering from the best engineering college in the country and then bag a job in a reputed company like Microsoft or Google.
Questions
a) What is the most dreadful task a child has to face? (1 mark)
b) How does the writer illustrate change in career opportunities? (2 marks)
c) According to the passage, what helped the writer trace his career path? (2 marks)
d) How did the writer’s parents react on identifying the son’s talent? (2 marks)
e) In your own words, summarise the pros and cons of being an IT engineer. (6 marks)
f) What are the basic skills required in software engineering? (2 marks)
5. POETRY (20 MARKS)
Read the poem below and answer the questions that follow
The Tide Rises, the tide falls
The tide rises, the tide falls,
The twilight darkens, the curfew calls;
Along the sea – sands damp and brown,
5. And the tides rises, the tide falls.
Darkness settles on roofs and walls,
But the sea, the sea in the darkness calls;
The little waves, with their soft, white hands,
Efface the footprints in the sands,
10. And the tide rises, the tide falls.
The morning breaks; the steeds in their stalls
Stamp and neigh, as the hostler calls;
The day returns, but nevermore
Returns the traveler to the shore,
And the tide rises, the tide falls.
(Henry Wadsworth)
1. What is poem’s point of discussion (3 marks)
2. Identify three aspects of style used in the poem and highlight their effectiveness
(6 marks)
3. Describe the tone of the poem. (2 marks)
4. Describe the mood portrayed in the poem (2 marks)
5. Highlight the contradiction that is highlighted in the last stanza (2 marks)
