English Language for SS 2

Read the comprehension passage on pages 140 and 141 of your English textbook, then answer the following questions

Stanley meets Mutesa  by David Rubadiri

Such a time of it they had,

The heat of the day,

The chill of the night

And the mosquitoes that followed.

 

Such was the time and

They, bound for a kingdom.

The thin weary line of carriers

 With tattered dirty rags to cover their backs

 

The battered bulky chests

That kept on falling of their shaven heads.

Their tempers high and hot,

The sun fierce and scorching –

With it rose their spirits,

With its fall their hopes

 

As each day sweated their bodies dry and

Flies clung in clumps on their sweat-scented backs.

Such was the march

And the hot season just breaking.

 

Each day a weary pony dropped,

Left for the vultures on the plains;

Each afternoon a human skeleton collapsed,

 

Left for the Masai on the plains;9

But the march trudged on

Its khaki leader in front;

He the spirit that inspired .

He the light of hope.

 

Then came the afternoon of a hungry march,

A hot and hungry march it was;

The Nile and the Nyanza

Lay like two twins

Azure across the green countryside.

The march leapt on chanting

Like young gazelles to a waterhole.

Hearts beat faster,

Loads felt lighter

As the cool water lapped their sore soft feet

No more the dread of hungry hyenas

But only tales of valour when

At Mutesa’s court fires are lit.

 

No more the burning heat of the day

But song, laughter and dance.

The village looks on behind banana groves

Children peer behind reed fences.

Such was the welcome.

 

No singing women to chant a welcome

Or drums to greet the white ambassador;

Only a few silent nods from aged faces

And one rumbling drum roll

To summon Mutesa’s court to parley

For the country was not sure.

 

The gates of reeds is flung open,

There is silence

But only a moment’s silence

A silence of assessment.

 

The tall black king steps forward,

He towers over the thin bearded white man

Then grabbing his lean white hand

Manages to whisper

Mtu Mweupe kari’bu

White man you are welcome.

The gate of polished reed clothes behind them

And the west is let in.

Questions

 

1. a) Mention three physical differences between the white man and the king
2. b) What is suggested by the last line of the poem?
3. c) List three hardships the travellers encountered.
4. d) Mention two signs of poverty in the train.
5. e) What made their loads feel lighter

f)’He the spirit that inspired. He the light of hope.’

What figure of speech is contained in the expression above?

What does it mean?

1. g) ‘That kept on falling off their shaven heads.’
2. What grammatical name is given to this expression as it is used in the passage?
3. What is its function?

 

1. h) For each of the following words, find another word or phrase that means the same

and can replace it as it is used in the passage.

a)weary

1. b) tattered
2. c) trudged
3. d) dread
4. e) valour
5. f) summon
6. g) assessment

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Assignment should be submitted on or before Wednessday 13th of May 2020. Submit at the security post durng weekdays from 08:00am to 10:00am