Question 4 (35 marks)
Write a story based on the picture below.
Source: Nex Generation, No. 13, Mar-June 2014, Carib Creative Solutions Ltd.
[35 marks]
Free CXC English A Paper 2 January 2018 past paper from 2018. Includes a worked answer key. Open the PDF, take a timed test, and study with AI on Caribbean AI.
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CSEC English A Paper 2 January 2018 - Free CXC Past Paper with Answers
Free CXC English A Paper 2 January 2018 past paper from 2018. Includes a worked answer key. Open the PDF, take a timed test, and study with AI on Caribbean AI.
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Write your answer on the RULED PAGE provided, page 7. There may be more space than you need. There is a blank space, page 6, for any notes you may want to make. THIS WILL NOT BE MARKED.
Read the following article on the benefits of learning a foreign language carefully and then write a summary of the article 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.
In your answer you will be assessed on how well you
Teenagers generally either think they know exactly what they want to do after graduation, or they suffer from indecision and the unquestioning acceptance of what teachers or parents tell them. In addition to being teenagers, our school leavers live in the Caribbean, which has a reputation for being an easygoing, noncompetitive environment. The reality is that teenagers do not prepare themselves, nor do we who parent or teach them adequately prepare them to take the best advantage of the opportunities available.
For instance, geographically, we have large, highly populated Spanish-speaking neighbours like Venezuela, Mexico, Cuba and others. Cuba is once again showing itself to be a force to be reckoned with, not only as a strong country whose potential and prospects for future prosperity look very good, but one determined to fulfil the potential. The USA has more Spanish speakers than Spain, with an extremely strong influence in southern USA especially. More Spanish-speaking people are visiting the English-speaking territories and more businesses than before are showing interest. The suggestion is that our teenagers would improve their own chances of success in the global, regional and global markets if they give themselves the competitive edge and learn to speak a foreign language, particularly Spanish.
How can our youngsters build careers in the hospitality industry which supports our economies, without being able to communicate with the guests? Do they recognize how many hotels there are across the Caribbean where Spanish is the main language spoken? There are also four companies, and airlines from Spanish-speaking countries doing business with the region.
We in the English-speaking Caribbean think we know everything about anything when in fact we do not. We are not as competitive as we ought to be linguistically, culturally and socially. Given that we have so many Spanish-speaking neighbours, it should be automatic that we learn to speak Spanish in order to develop mutually beneficial relationships with them. We need to understand that learning Spanish is more than merely memorizing the rules of grammar and the vocabulary; it involves appreciating the architecture and learning about artistic and literary movements. It involves appreciating culture and the differences that exist in the world today.
Teenagers should be encouraged to take advantage of extracurricular activities aligned to Spanish: listen to Spanish music, watch Spanish movies, download readily available Spanish apps and practise with them.
Adapted from Rachel MacDonald, "The Benefits of Learning a Foreign Language". In Nex Generation, Vol. 2., No 3, Mar-June 2016, Carib Creative Solutions Ltd, p. 40.
[30 marks]
Read the passage below and then answer all the questions that follow.
She was walking forward going back, back in her mind to see the old man, the one they called Captain, sitting on the bench, the same bench that he sat on every afternoon at five o’clock. She could see Captain cross the road at the traffic lights and walk his bike across the three lanes and then up onto the pavement, toward his two friends already seated on their Savannah bench; Bird Man with the birdcage right in front of him, and the one they called Express hiding behind his newspapers. The two always left a space on the far right for Captain and his bike. How many afternoons had they passed Captain in his cap, crisp white short-sleeved shirt, loose-fitting navy blue trousers, thick, heavy, black-framed glasses and an old portable antenna radio slung across the handlebars of his bike, his pale skin spotted with liver spots, and the hair showing from beneath his cap was a jet black even though Captain must have been at least seventy-five. Bird Man with his aquiline nose and charcoal-coloured skin, sat upright to keep an eye on his bird directly in front of him; Express always hid behind the newspapers but she could see his thin arms and hands, a muddy brown, tracked with thick veins. Express wore brogues, Captain, white trainers, and Bird Man, a pair of flip-flops.
She had woken up at five that morning in the darkness. Her room was on the ground floor of the hotel; it opened onto the pool. Pulling back the curtain, she could see it was still dark outside. The grounds were empty. She did open the door, felt the cool morning air on her face, heard the birds and a swishing sound that may have been a groundsman, but she couldn’t see anyone. She kept the room dark, tried to lie down again, telling herself to go back to sleep, but her thoughts were already running away from her, and there would be no more sleep.
The Trinidad Express is a local newspaper in Trinidad and Tobago.
Elizabeth Walcott-Hackshaw, "Gros Islet". In The Haunted Tropics: Caribbean Ghost Stories, The University of the West Indies Press, 2015, pp. 123–124.
[15 marks]
Quote the expression in paragraph 1 which indicates that the passage includes flashback.
[2 marks]
Give TWO quotations from paragraph 1 which suggest customary actions.
[2 marks]
Identify ONE expression in paragraph 1 which highlights the men's sense of ownership of the place.
[1 mark]
Explain why the names of the following characters are appropriate:
[3 marks]
Where is the lady in the passage staying?
[2 marks]
State TWO senses to which the writer appeals in paragraph 2 and give ONE example of EACH use of the sense.
[4 marks]
What literary device is used in the expression “her thoughts were already running away from her” (lines 18–19).
[1 mark]
Write your answers on the RULED LINES provided after each question. Read the passage below carefully and then answer all the questions that follow.
Stereotypes are one way in which we ‘define’ the world in order to ‘see’. They classify the infinite variety of humans into a convenient handful of types, then we react to them in a stereotyped fashion. The danger is not the stereotype itself, but that they make us mentally lazy. When we stereotype, we fail to observe, and when we do observe, we refuse to accept the details and differences.
Quite aside from the injustices which stereotypes do to others, they impoverish us who do the stereotyping. Persons who lump the world into simple groups, who typecast all politicians as ‘racketeers’ and all businessmen as thieves, are in danger of becoming stereotypes themselves. Stereotypes vote for the person that fits their own standards of looks and behaviour.
Persons who have formed rigid preconceptions of foreigners as wealthy, or who see all boys over 10 being dishonest, do not change those views when they meet someone who does not fit. They brush aside the different person as ‘the exception which proves the rule’. Of course, if they meet someone who is true to the type, they see it as proof that their assessment is right.
Nor do we suddenly drop our standardized pictures for a vision of the truth. Sharp swings of ideas about people often just substitute one stereotype for another. The true process of change is a slow one that adds bits and pieces of reality to the pictures in our heads, until gradually they take on some blurriness and relation to real life. Little by little we learn that each and every person is unique, special, different and individual. Often we do not know that we have a stereotyping lapse until we hear someone else saying: “all-so-and-sos look like such-and-such”.
Nex Generation, Carib Creative Solutions Ltd.
[10 marks]
To what does the word “They” in line 1 refer?
[1 mark]
What expression in paragraph 1 means the opposite of stereotype?
[1 mark]
Identify TWO words or phrases from paragraphs 1 to 3 which may be used to describe stereotypes.
[2 marks]
Explain the meaning of EACH of the following as used in the passage:
[2 marks]
“to ‘see’ it” (line 1)
[1 mark]
“Sharp swings of ideas” (lines 13–14)
[1 mark]
Which expression in paragraph 3 is opposite in meaning to “true to the type”?
[1 mark]
Give TWO effects of stereotyping on those who do the stereotyping.
[2 marks]
Write a story based on the picture below.
Source: Nex Generation, No. 13, Mar-June 2014, Carib Creative Solutions Ltd.
[35 marks]
Write a story which includes these words.
"As soon as classes ended, Kari wasted no time in getting a taxi. Arriving home on time that afternoon was very important."
[35 marks]
Describe the area she thought she was moving to, and her feelings as she imagined the new experience.
Sitting at the window in her luxurious bedroom, she was thinking of the coming change. She would now be moving to her grandmother's house in a run-down part of town.
[35 marks]
"Some subjects should be dropped from the curriculum. These subjects contribute nothing to life."
Write an essay giving your views on this statement.
Your answer should be approximately 250 to 300 words in length. You are expected to write within the word limit. There may be more space than you need. There is a blank space, page 22, for any notes you may want to make. This WILL NOT BE MARKED. You MUST write in Standard English.
In your answer you will be assessed on the
Write your answer on the RULED PAGES provided, pages 23–24. Remember to write your question number in the box provided.
[35 marks]
The government of your country has indicated that all primary school students MUST attend the primary school in their area.
Write an essay EITHER supporting or opposing this position of the government.
Your answer should be approximately 250 to 300 words in length. You are expected to write within the word limit. There may be more space than you need. There is a blank space, page 22, for any notes you may want to make. This WILL NOT BE MARKED. You MUST write in Standard English.
In your answer you will be assessed on the
Write your answer on the RULED PAGES provided, pages 23–24. Remember to write your question number in the box provided.
[35 marks]