CSEC English A Paper 2 May/June 2014 - Free CXC Past Paper with Answers

Read the following article on the moon and write a summary of it in NOT MORE THAN 120 words. If this limit is exceeded, only the first 120 words of your answer will be read and assessed. As far as possible, use your own words. Your summary must be in continuous prose. You may use your answer booklet to jot down a plan of your points or make notes. THIS WILL NOT BE MARKED.

In your answer you will be assessed on how well you

were able to identify the main ideas and opinions in the extract
organized and expressed these ideas
used appropriate grammar, sentence structure, vocabulary, spelling and punctuation.

For centuries the moon has been associated with various activities, phases and conditions in life. Interestingly an example — the word 'lunatic' comes from the Latin word for moon, 'luna'. In Britain, the Lunacy Act of 1842 actually stated that people 'went mad when the moon was full'. Today, despite the fact that many of the myths have been found to be invalid, the moon still grips our imaginations and we are still caught between scientific and poetic attitudes to the moon. Researchers continue to study the moon, and many believe that there are clear links between its cycle, natural events and human activities like agriculture, crime, and even our health.

The human body is 70% water, and since the moon has a gravitational effect on water, the moon should therefore affect our bodies. The fact is, the moon has gravity which is about one sixth of that on earth and although that force is considered very small by the time it reaches us, it is still an amazingly powerful effect on our planet. For instance, the moon's gravitational pull causes the tides, shifting billions of tons of water twice a day. But lunar gravity only works on large masses, such as oceans. It has no effect on even very large lakes. So how can it affect us?

Scientists accept the strange effect the moon seems to have on reproduction; on marine life it affects the breeding patterns of oysters and crabs; with women it affects the menstrual cycle. Midwives say that they see busier delivering babies around the full moon, though this is not confirmed by scientific statistics.

Read the following extract carefully and then answer all the questions that follow.

Country Basket

"Hard Life" was an ill-mannered visitor who could to call on you in order to search up your cupboard when your back was turned so that it could go and tell everyone the things were bad with you. Hard Life would have trapped you if it were not for your own strength, and for the ties of blood, the generosity of some relatives who, as soon as they heard you were living hard life in the city, began to send you regular food baskets.

All over the city happiness and contentment would be generated in cramped tenements with the arrival of these baskets sent by friends and relatives in the country. Families would partake of generous oily-mouthed feasts, and children would be told stories about life in the country where this food came from. Normally ill-tempered mothers, nerves frayed from hard life, town and fathers burdened by hard work or lack of employment, would become carefree children again as they enjoyed the sense of ease and plenty generated by the thoughtfulness of those back home in the country. "See this soursop here? It come from a tree that my grandfather plant and my navel string bury at the root." These food baskets were brought to the city on the backs of market trucks, or labelled and loaded onto the train and watched over by kind, considerate conductresses who knew they were doing a form of angel-work by delivering them. The conductresses knew how gratefully, eagerly, the people in the city greeted the arrival of the country baskets filled with fresh, life-sustaining things to eat.

Our family began to receive regular baskets from Harvey River as soon as my mother's relatives found out she was living in the city, and the first thing she did when she opened one of them was to pass on some of the food to others who were even more in need. She would also share our good fortune with others whenever we received the sweet-smelling parcels that contained clothes, shoes, books, toys and "delicacies" like sweets and biscuits from her sisters Albertha and Rose in Canada.

Adapted from Harvey River: A Memoir of My Mother and Her Island, Lorna Goodison, 2007, pp. 183–185.

State ONE action from paragraph 1 which shows that "Hard Life was an ill-mannered visitor" (line 1).

Why can the visit of "Hard Life" be viewed as ironic?

What is the writer's purpose in the first paragraph?

From paragraph 2, identify THREE effects of the arrival of the food basket.

What feeling does the writer evoke by the statement "See this soursop here...bury at the root" (lines 12–13)?

What effect does the writer achieve by linking the conductresses with the angels?

What word could BEST describe the mother's character, based on her actions in paragraph 3?

What evidence in paragraph 3 indicates that the people of Harvey River felt that life in the city was difficult for the narrator's family?

Quote ONE phrase which the writer uses to suggest the negative effects of hard life on individuals.

Read the following extract carefully and then answer all the questions that follow.

The term "fast food" generally refers to packaged convenience food that can be prepared very quickly because it is precooked/preheated for restaurants and takeaway stores primarily located in urban areas. Fast foods commonly contain highly refined, processed, and artificial ingredients that are high in fats, sugars, and salt, which make them unhealthy and dense when excessively consumed. It's difficult, the most harmful and life-threatening diets originate from Western nations.

The USA has the largest fast food industry in the world, that employs approximately 2 million workers, according to the US Bureau of Labor Statistics. The US also spends more on fast foods/convenience meals than any other country in spite of the obesity epidemic. The Center for Disease Control and Prevention, states that "More than one-third of US adults are obese. Approximately 12.5 million children and adolescents aged 2–19 years are obese". According to the US Department of Health and Human Services an unhealthy eating and inactivity cause nearly half a million deaths every year. Tobacco and alcohol follow. Yet most highly processed fast or snack foods, loaded with deadly ingredients, do not carry a serious health warning, as tobacco products are required to do by law.

The UK is the largest consumer in Europe of ready meals and fast foods, and not surprisingly, has one of the highest rates of heart disease in the world, responsible for 40% of premature deaths of men (dying before the age of retirement). In a 2010 report, the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE), stated that more than 40 000 Britons are dying unnecessarily every year because of high levels of salt and fat in their diets from fast foods.

A 2011 study published in The Lancet, the world's leading general medical journal, notes that more than 350 million people in the world now have diabetes, one of the biggest causes of mortality worldwide. Scientists claim that the problem with diabetes should be blamed on the spread of a fast food diet to developing nations.

Adapted from Nex Generation, Issue No. 7, April – June 2012, p. 60.

State TWO reasons why some foods are described as “fast foods”.

What is the writer’s intention in using the expression “Its official” (line 5)?

What is the writer’s attitude to the effects of fast food consumption as expressed in lines 8–14?

What does the writer suggest should be done about fast foods?

Write the sentence which suggests the action stated in (i) above.

Explain what is meant by the phrase “obesity epidemic” (line 8) as used in the extract.

What does the writer imply by indicating “that more than 40,000 Britons are dying unnecessarily” (line 18)?

Why does the writer give information from agencies such as the US Department of Labor and the Centers for Disease Control?

What is the writer’s purpose in the extract?

SECTION C

(Suggested time: 45 minutes)

Answer ONE question from this section.

Your answer in this section should be approximately 400 to 450 words.

You MUST write in Standard English. However, dialect may be used in conversation. You may use the answer booklet to jot down your points or make notes. THIS WILL NOT BE MARKED.

In your answer you will be assessed on how well you

used the stimulus provided
developed and organized the content of your essay
used language appropriate to your audience, purpose and content
used appropriate grammar, sentence structure, paragraphs, vocabulary, spelling and punctuation.

SHORT STORY

Write a story based on the picture below.

The music was intoxicating, yet somehow Jae felt that going into the party would be a big mistake. This turned out to be the case.

Write a story based on the above words.

DESCRIPTION

When the fishermen finally reached the shore, what greeted them was nothing that they could have imagined.

Describe what the fishermen saw and how they felt.

SECTION D

(Suggested time: 30 minutes)

Answer ONE question from this section.

Your answer in this section should be approximately 250 to 300 words.

You MUST write in Standard English. You may use the answer booklet to jot down a plan of your points or make notes. THIS WILL NOT BE MARKED.

In your answer you will be assessed on

clarity, organization and development of your argument
appropriateness of style for the intended audience
correctness of grammar, sentences, paragraphs, vocabulary, spelling and punctuation.

EITHER

Homeless persons who roam the streets are a nuisance. They should be forced into special housing provided by the government.

Write an essay either supporting or OPPOSING this view.

OR

School rules violate the personal freedom of students and should be abolished.

Write an essay giving your views on this statement.

CSEC English A Paper 2 May/June 2014 Questions

Question 1 (30 marks)

Question 2 (15 marks)

Country Basket

Question 3 (15 marks)

Question 4 (35 marks)

SECTION C

SHORT STORY

Question 5 (35 marks)

Question 6 (35 marks)

DESCRIPTION

Question 7 (35 marks)

SECTION D

EITHER

Question 8 (35 marks)

OR