PAPER 1
SECTION A
Choose one of the following topics and write a composition of 500 to 700 words.
1. Write an original story ending, ''All that was left now was ashes - the ashes of what had been my house.''
2. Describe an incident when your parents accepted a piece of advice you gave them.
3. ''Schools in war torn areas should not sit for the same examinations with those in peaceful areas.'' Write in support or rejection of this view.
4. Write an original story with the title "A Narrow Escape."
5. How has the life of someone you know been made better by learning how to read and write?
6. Describe an occasion when a football match or a meeting ended up in a fight.
7. Imagine you are preparing to elect prefects in your school; what qualities would you expect them to have?
SECTION B
Each of your compositions should be250 to 300 words.
1. You are looking for a job during vacation when you come across a newspaper with the following advertisement:
¾ Applications are invited from suitable candidates for the post of a Filing-clerk in the office of the District Education Officer.
¾ The minimum qualification is UCE with passes in English Language, Mathematics and Commerce.
¾ Application should be addressed to:
The District Education Officer.
P.O.Box 68
Masindi
Write a formal application for this job, giving information that is likely to get you selected for the position.
2. As a policeman you are working under a very corrupt officer; yet you think as police officers you should he fighting corruption.
Write a letter to the IGG's Office in Kampala about the conduct of your boss.
3. Describe how two of the following types of modern equipment have changed life today:
¾ The radio
¾ The Mobile phone
¾ The Computer
¾ The Television
4. Write about a dream you had, which upset you very much.
5. Write about what you did when a child left in your care suddenly developed a fever and started vomiting.
6. What is your view about abstaining from sex until marriage?
PAPER 2
SECTION A
1. Read the following passage and answer the questions that follow:
ALCOHOL
Alcoholism (too much taking of alcohol) has been as disease when the ingestion of alcohol impairs the individual's normal status of functions in daily situations and relationships. It is not necessary to become an alcoholic in order to be negatively affected by a serious drinking problem. We need to determine who the drinkers are, why they drinking problem. We need to determine who the drinkers are, why they drink and the effect of alcohol on the health of drinkers.
Firstly, drinkers come from all levels of society. The typical drunk to-day has been identified s bright, middle-management executive in his thirties, married and living with his family in a nice neighbourhood. Drinkers fall into one of the following categories.
The first type is the normal drinker. He drinks only occasionally and for perfectly innocent and harmless reasons; he could stop for a long period of time and never miss it.
The second type is the alcohol dependent drinker. He drinks everyday and depends on alcohol is a difficult and unpleasant experience, although he will argue vehemently that he can cut it out with no difficulty. During this stage, the individual usually becomes a heavy drinker. The third type is the alcoholic. He has lost control over his drinking and one drink leads to another. Alcohol seriously interferes with every aspect of his life, even though he may not admit.
Secondly, people drink for a variety of reasons. The reasons for the initial use of alcohol run from experimentation to rebellion. Drinking now is more socially acceptable than in the past. So many people drink to be sociable. Others drink occasionally to relax at the end of a tiring day. The businessmen often find themselves drinking at lunches, dinners and meetings to please his client. And many teenagers, as well as many adults, drink in order to be accepted among their peers. Some drink because they enjoy the intoxicating effects of alcohol. Alcohol acts as partial or total anaesthetic on the brain, depending on the amount in the blood. Moderate amounts help to reduce shyness and feelings of restraint and relax nervous tensions. Young people see movie and television stars drink, and advertisements make liquor seem like the normal accompaniment to having fun. People drink to gain relief from a difficult situation or to escape from facing reality.
Thirdly, alcohol has many extra has many long-term effects on time drinker's health. As a food, alcohol supplies only calories. One eight- ounce glass of beer or a one- ounce drink of 84 proof whiskies, each contains about seventy calories.
Thus, heavy drinking means extra calories in the diet. Prolonged drinking of alcohol causes the liver to become swollen and yellow with fat. This often develops into a serious condition known as cirrhosis of the liver. After long, excessive alcohol use, damage can occur in the form of neuropathy or delirium tremens. Delirium tremens is marked by hallucinations, severe tremor, insomnia and great exhaustion. Extreme cases of long lasting alcoholism may cause permanent brain damage and mental illness requiring confinement in a psychiatric hospital. Another more direct effect of alcohol is on the heart muscle itself. Deaths related to alcohol have been as the fourth ranking public health problem in America, surpassed only heart disease, cancer and mental diseases.
(Slight adapted from: "The liquor problem by the committee of fifty".)
Question:
In about 120 words, summaries the reason for drinking and the effects of alcohol.
2. Read the following passage and then answer the questions that follow.
A Strange Meeting
It was dusk. The three of us Adrua, Kalizo and I, were walking along a steep winding road somewhere in Uganda, when a loud cry of fear stopped us in our tracks. For a moment we stood there listening, roadside bushes and down towards the valley shouting 'come on, boys- someone needs help!' Kalizo and I followed him at a slower pace, because neither of us is as sure footed as Adrua. The grass o the hillside was slippery with evening dew. We scrambled and stumbled against each other, but at last we reached the bottom, and chased after Adrua, who was well ahead of us and just disappearing behind some high thorns. We could hear the cries more clearly now, although they were hoarser and not so strong.
We ran on until we arrived at small clearing and there, outside a low mud hut, an old woman was struggling unsuccessfully with a ragged loutish individual who had her by the throat.
At the sight of us, the man released her with such force that she fell in a heap on the ground and then tried to run away. But we were too quickly for him. All three of us were breathless after racing down to the valley, but we still had enough strength to fling ourselves bodily at the ruffian, and we managed to get in a few good punches before he picked up a heavy stick and gave Kalizo a resounding whack across the ribs, The blow sent Kalizo sprawling against the wall of the hut and made him yell with pain. Adrua and I forgot everything else as soon as we saw our friend was hurt. We ran to his side and, of course, the dense bushes.
'Let me see! Let me see!' It was the old woman who had picked herself up and was now bending over Kalizo. He was conscious but dazed, and he lay motionless as her bony fingers gently prodded his neck, chest and ribs. 'Nothing serious, she said at last.' Bring him inside. I shall put something on the bruise which will take the pain away very quickly.'
We carried poor Kalizo into the hut and set him down on a low bed of dried grass. Since dusk was rapidly giving way to night, the windowless hut was dark, but the old woman lit the wick sticking out of a battered oil can and this gave us enough light to look at our surroundings.
The room was cluttered with the oddest things. Two large python skins were nailed across the wall; horns of every size and shape hung from the roof. There were strangely marked grounds, bunches of dried leaves and roots- in fact, there was so much stuff all over the place that it was impossible to describe it.
Adrua, who had started to unbuckle Kalizo's haversack while the old woman went outside to bring water, whispered quickly to me; 'Mukasa, we must leave here fast as we can. I think she is a witch doctor!'
The same thought had entered my head, but she was back before I could say so, and any case, since we had saved her from being murdered, I didn't think she would do us any harm. I had never seen a witch doctor before, and I am afraid I started at the old woman with intense curiosity. She was very small, bent and wrinkled, yet her movements were amazingly quick, and her voice was that of a much younger person. I watched with interest as she pounded a mixture of dried leaves to make it into a paste, and then rubbed the mixture into Kalizo's ribs. None of us spoke a word during this time.
She finished applying the medicine to Kalizo, who sat up and told us that he felt better already. The three of us stood up and told us that he felt better already. The three of us stood up to go away, but the old woman refused to let us go. 'No, she insisted, I owe my life to you young people, and you can't leave my house without accepting some form of thanks. You shall share a meal with me , and then you may go on your way.'
(Adapted from: The Smugglers, by Barbara Kimenye)
Answer the following questions
1) Why did Adrua plunge through the roadside bushes?
2) How did the ruffian manage to escape?
3) What treatment did the old woman give Kalizo?
4) Why did the boys think the old woman was a witch doctor?
5) Explain the meaning of the following words and expressions as they are used in the passage.
a) Sure-footed
b) Ragged
c) Cluttered
d) I owe my life
3. Read the following passage and answer the questions that follow
It was a nightmare for a senior one student newly admitted to one of the famous schools in the country. Anxious to study in a boarding secondary school, things suddenly turned bad for the fifteen year-old boy.
One the very first day he reported to school, he wished he had not been admitted to the school of his first choice. As he got into bed, a group of six big boys surrounded him and asked him to hand over every edible thing in his suitcase.
Before he could explain that there were only roasted groundnuts in his suitcase, the lights were switched off.
''Will you please give us everything you've brought,'' they demanded slapping him on the right cheek.
For another young man in another school in Western Uganda, the experience was even worse. Shortly after midnight on the first night at school, he lost all the Shs. 50,000 he had carried for his pocket money to fellow students. Worse still, they made him dance until the wee hours of the morning. His woes ended after he had sung all the songs he learnt in primary school.
Both students we victims of bullying, a practise common in most schools in Uganda and which most school administrators don't seem to care about!
Widely practised in boarding schools, bullying is often used by students to ''initiate'' fellow students into the school ''culture''. Others do it for fun while others feel obliged to bully their juniors especially those who are new in the school. It has almost become an accepted practise in many schools and little has been done to combat it. Bullying is a source of pride for some students but often results in disastrous consequences. Victims are subjected to psychological and physical torture which in some cases leads to death.
One boy in Bundibugyo was at one time punched and stoned to death by a group of eight pupils; six girls and two boys. All of them were ten-year olds. A Senior lecturer in department of Sociology at Makerere attributed bullying to collective action which students take on as a result. Although the cases quoted above are imaginary, students should be encouraged to report the bullies to the authorities. Severe punishments like expulsion or suspension should be imposed on culprits. As for administrators who condone such behaviour the Ministry of Education and Sports should deal with them firmly. Only then, will bullying die out in schools.
(Adapted from: The New Vision, April 5, 1999)
Answer questions by selecting the best of the four possible answers.
1) The lights were switched off probably
A. In order for the boy to give his things to the bullies quietly
B. By accident as the boys struggled
C. So that the boy would not see the boys bullying him and report them
D. So that the boy could be tortured to death.
2) The second boy sang up to the wee hours of the morning means he sang
A. All morning long
B. Till very late in the morning
C. Up to dawn.
D. Up to midnight
3) According to the passage:
A. Senior One and Senior Five look forward to the bulling in Senior Five.
B. Bullying can involve teasing and beating of the victims.
C. Bullying is great fun for the juniors.
D. Students are forced to bully others by the school authorities.
4) From the passage, which of the following statements is NOT true about bullying:
A. Students are robbed of their money.
B. Old students take advantage of new ones.
C. Six girls and two boys killed a boy.
D. The school authorities recommended it for initiating new students.
5) A suitable title for this passage would be
A. The Joys of Bullying in school.
B. The Advantages of Bullying in Schools.
C. The evils of bullying in schools
D. The origins of bullying in schools.
4. Rewrite each of the sentences and do not change the meaning of the original sentence.
1) You will miss the train if you don't hurry.
(Begin: Unless...)
2) The school was too small to host the annual athletics competition.
(Use the negative, ''wasn't'')
3) He didn't want to meet his uncle, so he went out with his friends.
(Begin: Rather than...)
4) Okurut regrets that he didn't work harder while at the university.
(Replace that with not)
5) "Have you ever been told that scorpions are poisonous?" Asked the teacher.(Rewrite using indirect speech)
6) The examination was very simple. It was also very tricky.
(Combine into one sentence using "though")
7) Mukasa's attention being divided between the teacher and the window, he did not really understand the lesson.
(Begin: With...)
8) The teachers expect to have a good time at their party.
(Rewrite using: ...look forward...)
9) Possibly, they are children of good character.
(Begin: It is...)
5. Complete the sentence with the most suitable answer among the given alternatives.
1) Her husband promised to pick her................... on his way home.
A. Up
B. Along
C. Over
D. Away
2) The sign post was........... small to be noticed.
A. So
B. Very
C. Too
D. As
3) ................. the politician said, the daily Mirror would report.
A. Whatever
B. Whichever
C. Whoever
D. Whenever
4) All medicines should be kept out of............of children.
A. Hand
B. Touch
C. Contact
D. Reach
5) His knowledge of several languages............... remarkable.
A. Is
B. Are
C. Were
D. Is being
6) The young sister was the................ of the two.
A. Most likeable
B. Fully likeable
C. Unlikeable
D. More likeable
7) The examiners will have finished their work by.............
A. A weeks time.
B. Next week time
C. This time next week
D. The space of a week.
8) Allan is much taller than when I saw him at Entebbe last year. He must ............. a lot since then.
A. Have been growing
B. Had grown
C. Have grown
D. Had been growing
9) Last evening, Mr. Mulindwa............. bought for his new house.
A. Furniture
B. Furnitures
C. A lot of furnitures
D. Some furnitures.
10) That sounds like a train...............?
A. Isn't
B. Doesn't it
C. Is it
D. Did it