Read the passage below carefully and answer the questions that follow.

It was a sunny day in the month of May. The sun took its rightful position very early, lending
credence to the general feeling that Andrew’s birthday ceremony was going to be greeted
with the blessing of a pleasant climate. The sky looked so bright that Andrew insisted on
having an open-air party. The habitual doubting Thomases had no dissenting opinions to
express. Andrew had gone to a great length to ensure a hitch-free party; a party which would
remain the talk of the town. Although it was not intended to be free for all, a lot had been
done to stamp the occasion on the memories of many people long afterwards.

The bright sun continued to smile. Andrews’ face beamed with pleasure with every passing
moment. Very few of his contemporaries have so succeeded in reaching the top of the
ladder. Andrew in particular had been orphan of storm. His father’s death during his third
year in the secondary school and that of his mother two years later were only two of this
orphan’s ‘storms’. He suffered a physical misfortune when a stockfish machine severed his
left middle finger. But Andrew did not despair.

The courage to fail is very cheap. Every fool can afford to fail. But it raises one above the
herds of cowards and never-do-wells to be up and struggling. The reward of forbearance in
the end is resounding success. And so it was for Andrew. Ever since he finished his
university education, it had been a success galore. He had got a job in one of the country’s
insurance companies. His pay was good, his promotion had been steady and his prospects
seemed bright. At forty, he had a good car and had already bought a house of his own. The
world was at his feet.

a. What occasioned the general feeling on the day of Andrews birthday? ( 2 marks)
Overall, the combination of favorable weather, Andrew's enthusiastic planning, and
his inspiring personal story likely contributed to the general feeling of excitement and
anticipation on the day of his birthday.
b. ‘The reward of forbearance in the end is resounding success’. How is this assertion
true in Andrew’s case? (2 marks)
Overall, Andrew's life exemplifies how forbearance in the face of adversity can lead
to eventual success and fulfillment. Despite facing numerous obstacles, he remained
steadfast in his pursuit of his goals, ultimately achieving a level of success that earned
him admiration and respect from his peers.
ci. ‘The bright sun continued to smile’. What figure of speech is contained in this
expression? (1 mark)
Personification

cii. What does it mean? ( 2 marks)

Personification attributes human-like qualities, such as emotions or actions, to non-human entities. In this

case, the sun is described as "smiling," which is a human action, giving it human-like qualities.

Personification is often used to add vividness and imagery to writing, helping readers to better visualize

and understand the scene or concept being described.

di. ‘The courage to fail’. What is the grammatical name given to this expression?(1 mark)
 noun phrase
dii. What is its function?(2 marks)

The expression "the courage to fail" is a noun phrase. Specifically, it consists of the noun
"courage" modified by the prepositional phrase "to fail," which acts as an infinitive
phrase functioning as an adjective to describe the type of courage being referred to.

e. What two misfortunes had befallen Andrew in life?

(2 marks)

 The death of his father during his third year in secondary school.
 The death of his mother two years later.

f. What is implied by the expression; ‘the world was at his feet?’ (2 marks)
The expression "the world was at his feet" implies that Andrew had achieved a significant

level of success and had ample opportunities available to him. It suggests that he had reached

a point in his life where he had control and influence over his circumstances, and that he had

the ability to pursue his ambitions and desires with ease. Essentially, it conveys the idea that

Andrew was in a position of power, prosperity, and limitless potential.

g. For each of the following words, use another word or phrase that means the same and
can replace it as it is used in the passage.
i. sunny (1 mark)
bright
ii. dissenting(1 mark)
disagreeing
iii. stamp(1 mark)

mark
iv. beamed ( 1 mark)

radiated

v. contemporaries (1 mark)
peers
vi. despair (1 mark)

give up

COMPREHENSION PASSAGE THREE

Read the following passage carefully and answer the questions that follow:
It was clear from the beginning that a consensus was not going to be easy. There were clearly
two completely divergent views. While one group of the who’s who in the village led by the
fiery Kukuda All wanted a violent and decisive action to be taken against their adversaries,
the other group was decidedly opposed to violence. This group whose spokesman was the
soft-spoken but persuasive Etu Akasa advised caution.
The issue for which the emergency meeting had been convened was, of course, the Ajalla
Lake that stood between the two villages. This had been a bone of contention between this
village of Nkuma and their neighbours of the Chacha village. Even though, the two villages
were said to be sister villages their constant feud over fishing rights in the lake as well as the
right of exploiting the raffia palms around the lake, did not suggest such affinity. No two
years had passed in recent times without there being a flow of blood which was believed to
be required by the Ajalla goddess of the Fake in order to sustain life En and around the lake.
Curiously too, it was popular belief that the harvest from the lake was required to sustain
human life as well. Hence the struggle for ownership of the lake. Attempts to reach a peaceful
settlement and find an alternative means of satisfying the goddess was always thwarted by
one or the other village in her bid to oust the other completely. But when there was a lull of
three years everybody had thought that at last peace had come to the area.
However, things came to a head suddenly when on the eve of the Ikuku Festival in Nkuma
words reached the village that some Chacha young men had struck at the lake in a fishing
invasion.
The dilemma at the meeting was that bloodshed was forbidden during the Ikuku festivities.
Etu Akasa’s conviction as evinced in his speech to the assembly was that “it is better to
offend ourselves than to offend our god”, adding that there was still going to be “another day
and more fish”
But the meeting rose when Kukuda Au and his fellow fire-eaters stormed out of the arena.
Akasa and his group of course, asked to be begged off. All did not live to celebrate the
festival nor was his dismembered body, dumped beside the lake, buried. He had died on the
festival day and Ajalla’s thirst for blood had continued to be quenched.