1. Read the following passage and answer questions that follow.

Today streets, roads and highways are not only filled with the sounds of the steady stream traffic, but also the occasional hooting of horns or the mounting sound of accelerating vehicles. There might be the additional but not unusual sound of the sudden, screeching brakes and the screaming of the unfortunate pedestrian who is the innocent victim of an incident of an accident.

With the ever increasing traffic of cars, cycles and pedestrians, an increase in the number of accidents is only to be expected but it nevertheless within human control to restrict the number of accidents to a negligible minimum Statistics issued periodically by the police authorities reveal clearly that up to seventy five percent of all road accidents can be avoided if motorists, cyclists and pedestrians exercise care and patience.

It is shocking to note how some motorists show an utter disregard for human life in their anxiety to reach their destination in a short time possible. In the process, they overtake needlessly; disobey traffic signals and signs and change lanes sharply and suddenly. Such motorists scarcely realise that they might reach their ultimate destination much before the immediate one.

A driver, who drives under the influence of alcohol, is perhaps the greatest single cause of road accidents. Alcohol affects the sight, alertness and reflexes. As a result, he has little control over himself, let alone the car he is driving.

Apart from the direct human element which gives rise to accidents, there are two other causes, road unworthy vehicles and bad roads. Fault brakes, bald tyres and mechanical defects cause accidents, often many serious ones. Cars must therefore be kept in a constant state of fitness. Roads too need regular attention. Lanes must be clearly cut or marked, potholes filled and narrow streets broadened.

It would be unjust to place a full responsibility of all accidents solely on motorists. Two other categories of road users must also take the blame for accidents- cyclists and pedestrians.

Most cyclists are undoubtedly skilled in the art of controlling their machines, but overloading a bicycle might result in loss of balance and therefore very likely to lead to accidents particularly during rush hours.

Pedestrians are often too careless or too busy to look on both sides of the road before crossing it. They are often too lazy to walk up o a pedestrian crossing to cross a busy road. Almost all roads have foot paths which must be used by all pedestrians so that the road itself is left to the use of motorists and cyclists.

Accidents may also be caused by sheer bad luck. No human or mechanical care can prevent such accidents but if motorists, cyclists and pedestrians exercise care and patience, accidents can be reduced to a negligible minimum.

Monitor Newspaper- Road Accidents

Questions:

You have been asked to write an article for the school magazine on the topic: 'The cause of road accidents.' In summary of not more than 150 words, Use all the causes of mad accidents that are mentioned in the passage to write your article.

2. Read the following passage carefully and answer the questions that follow.

The Virtues of Growing older

Our society worships youth. Advertisements convince us to buy products like hair dye and body lotion so we can hide the grey in our hair and smooth the lines on our face. Television shows feature attractive young stars with firm bodies, perfect complexions, and thick shiny hair. Middle-aged folks do exercises in gyms and jog down the street, trying to delay the effects of age.

Wouldn't any person over thirty gladly sign with the devil just to be young again? Isn't aging an experience to be dreaded? Perhaps so, but I believe the answer is "No". Being young is often pleasant, but being older has clear advantages.

When young, you are likely to obsess with your outward appearance. When my brother Kisa and I were teens, we worked feverishly to prefect the bodies we had. Kisa lifted weights, took mega doses of vitamins, and drank a half - dozen glasses of milk a day in order to turn his wiry adolescent frame into some muscular ideal. And as a teenager, I dieted constantly. No matter what I weighted, though, I was never satisfied with the way I looked. My legs were too heavy, my shoulders too broad, my waist too big. When Kisa and I were young, we begged and pleaded for the "right" clothes. If our parents didn't get them for us, we felt our word would fall apart. How could we go to school wearing knitted sweaters when everyone else would be wearing smart jeans jacket? We would be considered misfits. Now, however, Kisa and I are beyond such adolescent agonies. My rounded figure seems fine and I don't deny myself a slice of cake if I feel in the mood. Kisa still does exercise, but he has actually become fond of his tall lanky frame. The two of us enjoy wearing fashionable clothes, but we are no longer slaves to style. Now my clothes and my brother's are attractive yet easy to wear. We no longer feel anxious about what others will think. As long as we feel good about how we look, we are happy.

(Adapted with minor changes from: The Macmillan Reader)

Questions:

1) What things according to this passage show that our society adores the youth?

2) Explain the meaning of the following expressions from the way they are used in the passage.

a) gladly sign with the devil

b) obsessed

c) mega doses

d) slaves of style

e) adolescent agonies

3) i) Using examples from the passage, explain why the author and her brother used to feel bad about the way they looked

ii) What did they do about it?

4) Why do you think Kisa still does exercises?

5) According to the passage, what is the main advantage of growing older?

 

3. Read the following passage and answer the questions that follow.

Keeping wild animals as pets, whether on expedition or in your own home, can be tedious , irritating, frustrating business but it can also give you a great deal of pleasure. Many people have asked me why I like animals and I have found it a very difficult question to answer. You might as well ask me why I like eating. But apart from the obvious interest and pleasure that animals give me, there is another aspect as well. I think that their chief charm lays in the fact that they have all the basic qualities of a human being but with none of the hypocrisy which now apparently such an essential in the word of man. With an animal, you do know more or less where you are; If it does not like you it tells you so in no uncertain manner; if it likes you, again, it leaves no doubt. But an animal which likes you is sometimes a mixed blessing. Recently I had a pie crow from West Africa who, after six months' deliberation, during which time he ignored me, suddenly decided that I was the only person in the world for him. If I went near the cage he would crouch in the floor trembling in ecstasy, or bring me an offering (a bit of newspaper or a feather) and hold it out for me to take, all the while talking hoarsely to him in series of hiccoughing cries. This was all right, but as soon as let hint out of the cage he would fly on top of my head and perch there, first digging claws firmly into my scalp, then decorating my jacket with a nice moist dropping and finally proceeding to give me a series of love pecks on the head. As his beak was three inches long and extremely sharp, this was, to say the least painful.

Of course you have to know where to draw the line with animals. You can let pot-keeping develop into eccentricity if you are not careful. I drew the line last Christmas. For a present I decided to buy my wife a North American flying-squirrel, a creature which I had always wanted to posses myself, and which I was sure she would like. The animal duly arrived, and we were both captivated by it at night when it came out of the cage and took up residence behind the wardrobe. At first this did not seem too bad. We could in bed at night and watch it doing acrobatics on the wardrobe, scuttling up and down the dressing table, carrying off the nuts and apples we had left there for it. Then came New Year's Eve when we had been invited to a party for which I had to don my dinner-jacket. All was well until opened a drawer in my dressing table, when I discovered the answer to the question that had puzzled us for sometime: where did the flying- squirrel store all the nuts, apple, bread and other bits of food? My brand-new cummerbund, which I had never worn, looked like a piece of delicate Madeira lacework. The bits that had been chewed out of it had been economically saved and used to build little nests, one on the front of each of my dress shirts. In these nests had been collected seventy mealworms, fifty-two bits of apple and twenty grapes. The grapes and the apple had, of course disintegrated somewhat with the passage of time and had left most interesting Picasso design in juice across the front of my shirts. I had to go to the party in a suit. The squirrel is now in Paignton Zoo. The other day my life said that she thought a baby otter would make a delightful let, but I changed the subject hurriedly.

(From: Encounters with Animals by Gerald Durrell.)

Select the best of the four choices given in each question;

1. The chief charm of animals is that,

A. they are like humans, but always show their true feelings

B. they are like humans, but do not shoe their true dislikes

C. they help you to know where you are

D. they are so different from humans

2. "...an animal which likes you is sometimes a mixed blessing"' means that

A. there is great variety of good things which comes from the friendship of an animal

B. having an animal for a friend has advantages and disadvantages

C. you usually end up disliking an animal which lies you

D. you do not necessarily like an animal which likes you

3. The author' drew the line last Christmas' means he

A. set a trap for a flying- squirrel

B. decided not keep certain types of pets in the house

C. flew to North America to get a special kind of squirrel

D. acquired an animal he had wanted for a long time

4. The squirrel was kept in their bedroom

A. because the wardrobe the best place to keep it

B. so that it could get its food easily

C. because the squirrel had destroyed its cage

D. so that it could get used to its new owners

5. The squirrel 'is now in Paignton Zoo' because

A. the author wanted to go to the party

B. there weren't any more fruits in the house

C. the author no longer thinks it is suitable for a house pet

D. the author wanted a baby otter instead

4. Rewrite each item as instructed without changing the meaning.

1) You may be a very good singer, but you still need to study music.

(Rewrite beginning: No matter......)

2) The greater flood of modern times happened at Laki.

(Begin: Laki...the scene...)

3) Poets often draw their inspiration from nature.

(Rewrite using.... 'Inspired'....instead of 'inspiration')

4) The chief guest basted that he had taught in several good schools.

(Rewrite using 'having' instead of 'had')

5) Nansubuga's mother would not let her go to the party.

(Rewrite using... 'Prevented'....)

6) We managed to transport our friend to a nearby dispensary immediately we got a car.

(Use 'succeeded' instead of 'managed')

7) We did not realise how badly John was injured until we saw him.

(Begin: It was not....)

8) If you go to town, do check on her please.

(Begin: Should...)

9) He said he was unable to do the work.

(Start: He expressed his...)

10) Although the situation was serious, we did not give up.

(Begin: Serious....)

5. Choose your best alternative.

1) Anne's stubbornness was a stumbling-block to her progress. The underlined words mean:

A. starting point

B. a matter of much discussion

C. an obstacle

D. means

2) Robert showed great presence of mind when the fire broke out.

A. ran away

B. put the fire out

C. calmly did what was necessary

D. took a long time to think

3) The quarrel between the husband and his wife resulted.......... a fight.

A. with

B. to

C. into

D. as

4) He was accused...............breaking into the Manager's office.

A. for

B. of

C. about

D. on

5) Why do you always...............my statements?

A. conteract

B. counterfeit

C. contradict

D. contend

6) Our team.............more goals than theirs

A. won

B. put

C. played

D. scored

7) ...................teachers take interest in their pupils' work, they will not pass.

A. if

B. since

C. unless

D. though

8) One of the questions he was asked at the interview was:

A. "Have you read Macbeth?"

B. have you read Macbeth?

C. have you read Macbeth?"

D. that you read Macbeth.

9) Her husband will believe anything and is easily...............

A. taken in

B. taken up

C. taken to

D. taken through

10) No..........than fifteen people were injured in the Entebbe road accident.

A. fewer

B. more

C. lesser

D. greater