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FORM TP 2009066 MAY/JUNE 2OO9

CARIBBEAN E XAMINATIONS COUNCIL

SECONDARY EDUCÄTION CERTIFICATE
EXAMINATION
ENGLISTI B
Paper 01- General Proficiency
1% hoars

13 MAY 2009 (p.m.)

In addition to the lYz hours allowed for the

examination, you are allowed 15 minutes in order to
read through the entire paper.

You mav write durins the lS-minute neriod.

ANSWER ALL QUESTIONS IN THIS PAPER.

Each question is worth 15 marks.

DO NOT TURN THIS PAGE UNTIL YOU ARE TOLD TO DO SO.

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Copyright @ 2007 Caribbean Examinations Council @
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I All rishts reserved.
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SECTION B _ POETRY
t Read the following poem carefully and answer ALL the questions
that follow.
The Tightrope Walkerl
(tr'or Norman W. Manley)2

Later, they said that

he should have had more

of the acrobat, of the circus

in his saunter, more tinsel
and more trumpet in his dream.
They wanted tumblers, t¡zrannies,
all the spangled flattery
he would not pretend;
he went too straightly, balancing
10 his vision towards
our coÍlmon end.

You measure a man by

the space that his going makes;
the air, now, is fulI of his absence;
15 the tent is still.
Gather his books and the medals.
The lights go down
over the quiet arena
over the sea and the hill:
20 the music descends
to a funeral sotrow.
Silence each clown.
But, when the show begins again
and the big drums beat
25 and the grinning performers circle the rins
on their deceptive feet
remember the high road he walked, higher
than the glitter or the glory
of the show
30 following the simpleness
of that determined cord
across the dangerous
tempting fame below.

Adapted from Dennis Scott, "The Tightrope Walker ".

In Andrew Salkey (ed¡,
Hamish Hqmilton 1971, pp. I2I - 122.

A tightrope walker is an acrobat who performs on a rope or cable stretched taut

above
the ground.
2
Norman W. Manley was a former prime Minister of Jamaica.

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(ê) Who does "thet, refer to in line 1? (1 mark )

(b) Lines 3 - 5 deseribe what was expect€d of Manley. What figure of speeoh is use.d. and
what makes it e.ffeøive? (4 mnrks)

(c) Select an ima.ge tlrat oonveys Manley's values and corrrrnent on its effeçtivençss.
(4 markÐ

(d) what is the mood in lines rs - 222 Give a rÊason f,or ynrn answer. (3 martrr)

(e) Suggest ONE reason why thetitle of the poem is effeúive. (3 marks)

Total lS ma¡ks

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