English - KCPE 2021 Prediction Set 3 (Questions and Answers)

Read the passage below. It contains blank spaces numbered 1 to 15. For each blank space, choose the best alternative from the choices given

Mastering public speaking is a relatively ___1___task for ___2___ individuals. These individuals __3__ need careful coaching before they finally ___4___ the art of public speaking. Through practice and careful research ___5___ the topic, public speech can be easily handled. After all, public speech is practically an activity wherein a person stands in front of the crowd to explain a point, state some facts or ____6____ a story.

___7___, there are individuals ___8___ have a hard time dealing with the fact that they will be standing in front of a crowd for a short speech. Some are just anxious or do not ____9___completely comfortable on creating and ____10___ public speech. Others however, are completely ___11___when they think ___12___the ___13___ that they will be talking to a crowd. They would ___14___ ways just to get ____15____ of the responsibility of doing public speeches.

For questions 16 and 17 select the alternative that best fills the blank spaces in the sentences below.

16. I am feeling unwell,____?
    A. don't
    B. aren't I
    C. do I                              
    D. am I not
17. He rarely goes to Nairobi, ____?
    A. doesn't he
    B. do he
    C. he does                         
    D. does he

For questions 18 and 19 choose the sentence that means the same as the underlined one.

18. You should respect your parents.
    A. You may respect your parents.
    B. You will respect your parents.
    C. You have to respect your parents.
    D. You ought to respect your parents.
19. Neither Kamau nor Otieno likes mangoes.
    A. Kamau and Otieno do not like mangoes
    B. Either Kamau or Otieno likes mangoes
    C. Kamau and Otieno sometimes like mangoes
    D. Both Kamau and Otieno like mangoes

For questions 19 to 22, choose the alternative that means the same as the underlined word.

20. He died in mysterious circumstances.
    A. funny  
    B. worrying
    C. unclear                         
    D. difficult
21. She turned against her friend
    A. became unfriendly
    B. fought her
    C. attacked
    D. went to
22. The boy resembles his father.
    A. is like
    B. takes after
    C. behaves like
    D. similar to
23. The meeting was put off to the following week
    A. stopped
    B. cancelled
    C. postponed                     
    D. abandoned

For questions 24 to 25, choose the that is correctly punctuated

24. A. "The meeting took place at Matata Restaurant, he said."
    B. "The meeting took place at Matata Restaurant", he said.
    C. "The meeting took place at Matata restaurant," he said.
    D. "The meeting took place at Matata Restaurant," he said.
25. A. Ouch! It really hurts.
    B. Ouch, it really hurts!
    C. Ouch! It really hurts
    D. Ouch, it really hurts.

Read the following passage and then answer questions 26 to 38.

It is common knowledge that despite increases in income, easy access to information and major advances in medicine, people all over the world are facing huge health challenges. Lifestyle diseases are on the rise, and most health institutions are stretched to the limit.

The quantity of resources being channeled into trying to treat the symptoms of these preventable diseases is enormous. I say treatment of symptoms because modern medicine, in most cases, does not focus on helping the body heal itself, but on suppressing the symptoms.

The suffering that people go through as a result of poor health cannot be described in words. One fundamental mistake many people make, and which almost guarantee them untold pain and suffering in future is self-poisoning. Yes, you read it right. Most people poison themselves and their families on a daily basis. They do this out of ignorance or because their bodies have been manipulated by food companies that use the three most addictive elements - sugar, salt and fat - in a way that ensures the brain reward centre continuously craves their products. You find yourself eating more of these products, even when you know they are bad for you.

Under self-poisoning, one of the highly destructive foods that people put into their bodies constantly is sugar. Unfortunately, sugar, which is highly addictive, is found in large quantities in many products on the supermarkets shelves. Many drinks, which contain artificial sweeteners, are loaded with sugar and are more dangerous than table sugar. Indeed, there is evidence to show that artificial sweeteners cause more weight gain than table sugar.

Second, highly processed foods can poison our bodies. As our lives become more sophisticated, our desire for highly refined foods increases. We have moved away from eating whole foods, which are rich in fibre and nutrients. Highly refined foods such as white flour and white rice release huge amounts of glucose in the body. The body then tries to bring down the blood sugar levels by producing insulin. Over time, your body may become insulin-resistant, and diabetes type 2 sets in.

Cooking oil can also poison your body. When you cook with this oil, cholesterol is introduced into your system. As the oil is heated and mixed with oxygen, it becomes acidic that can lead to vein disease.

Besides self-poisoning, over eating is another major mistake people make causing a lot of harm to their bodies. Most people overload their system with too much food. As we continue to eat sugarier, fatty and salty foods, our appetite increases and we lose control over the amount we eat.

This habit leads to an overloaded system, which hardly gets time to rest and refresh. The digestive system, therefore, becomes sluggish and inefficient. Assimilation of nutrients and elimination of waste is adversely affected. This is why more people have potbellies, which is basically excess and waste that never left the body.

(Adapted from The Standard on Sunday, March 16, 2014)

26. According to paragraph one, what is making people face big health problems?
    A. Increase in income
    B. Increase in lifestyle ailments
    C. Major advances in medicine
    D. Lack of health institutions.
27. Most health institutions are 'stretched to the limit' means they are
    A. not functional.
    B. not enough
    C. more than enough
    D. unable to cope
28. Which word best means the same as enormous' as used in the passage?
    A. plenty
    B. huge
    C. small                            
    D. oversize
29. Which of the following is TRUE about modern medicine?
    A. Holds back signs of illness.
    B. Cures all diseases.
    C. Treats symptoms.
    D. Heals the body.
30. The suffering people go through cannot be described in words means it is
    A. too detailed.
    B. too much.
    C. too difficult.                  
    D. uncommon.
31. The following are reasons why people poison their bodies EXCEPT that they
    A. do not know the risks.
    B. do not like the products.
    C. long for the products.
    D. are influenced by food companies.
32. Why do you think it is right to say that people are ignorant? They
    A. like sugar, salt and fat.
    B. fail to go to hospital.
    C. eat products they know are bad for them.
    D. are cheated by big companies.
33. Which one of the following is NOT a reason why sugar is dangerous? Its
    A. very sweet.
    B. highly addictive.
    C. causes weight gain.
    D. readily available.
34. The most regrettable thing about sugar is that it is
    A. very sweet.
    B. causes weight gain.
    C. highly addictive.
    D. readily available
35. What is the direct cause of vein diseases?
    A. Cooking oil
    B. Cholesterol
    C. Acidity                          
    D. Oxygen
36. What is the danger of eating too much sugary, fatty and salty foods? They
    A. cause self-poisoning.
    B. lead to increase in urge to eat more.
    C. cause a lot of harm.
    D. lead to overloading of systems.
37. The word 'besides' can best be replaced by
    A. except
    B. also
    C. beside                           
    D. in addition to
38. A sluggish system means it works
    A. poorly.            
    B. slowly.
    C. fast.                              
    D. ineffectively

Read the following passage and then answer questions 39 to 50.

Father is with the army. He had been away for months in Somalia on a mission. All of us missed him terribly. Finally, we heard that he was coming home. We planned a special welcome for him.

The special day was a Saturday. We got up early to help with the preparations. Each of us was given a task. I was in charge of decorations since I was good at art. My sister helped my mother with the cooking. My two brothers tidied up the living and dining rooms and the compound. Suddenly, someone screamed from the kitchen. "The taps are dry!' That must have been my sister.

My mother appeared, looking dismayed. Having no water on a day like this was most unfortunate. There was still a lot of cooking and washing to be done. We checked with the neighbours -- their taps were dry too. My grandfather tried to telephone the water department but there was no answer. So we had no idea whether the water cut was for a short period of time or not.

Mother had no choice but to leave the food uncooked and the dishes unwashed. We decided to finish the decorating and cleaning up. But it was difficult not having water to wash after dusting, mopping and decorating.

My older brother was sent to buy bottled water and our lunches. He said jokingly, Father might decide to return to Somalia when he sees the state of our house. After my brother came home, it started to rain heavily. Mother was now really worried. So was Grandfather. We did not want father to arrive in bad weather.

Then the fans stopped. We now had no water and no electricity. No actually, we did have water - it was coming through a leak in the roof above the dining table! The boys moved the table and we placed a huge bucket underneath the leak.

We were so busy that we forgot the time. It was Grandfather who pointed out that Father's plane had already arrived. This time, Mother screamed. It was then that the tap started running and the fan started turning, Water and electricity were back. The rain also stopped and the sun came out. The telephone rang. It was Father. He had arrived safely and was wondering why there was no one at the airport to welcome him home. Half-laughing and half-crying, Mother told Father briefly what had happened

Father came home by taxi. We ran to hug him, all of us talking at the same time and no one listening. We were so thankful that the most important event of the day did not go wrong -- Father's safe arrival home!

39. From the first paragraph, we can say the
    A. father is hardworking.
    B. family is longing to see the father.
    C. family does not like the father.
    D. father is always away.
40. How many siblings did the writer have?
    A. One  
    B. Two
    C. Three                            
    D. Four
41. The significance of lack of water this particular day was that
    A. there would be no water for cooking and washing
    B. no one knew how long the it would take.
    C. this was a special day.
    D. there would be no work to do.
42. The word 'dismayed' means
    A. shocked
    B. disappointed
    C. sad                                
    D. happy
43. What choice did the mother have after the taps went dry?
    A. To leave the food raw
    B. To ask for a reconnection
    C. To wash the dishes
    D. To start decorating and cleaning.
44. The mother was really worried because
    A. the grandmother was worried
    B. the father would arrive in bad weather.
    C. there was no ready food.
    D. it was raining heavily.
45. How did they know that there was no electricity?
    A. The fans stopped.
    B. The lights went off.
    C. Somebody reported.
    D. There was darkness.
46. Which one of the following made this day least miserable?
    A. The rain
    B. Lack of electricity
    C. Leaking roof
    D. Lack of food
47. The mother screamed because
    A. there was no food in the house.
    B. the tap started running
    C. they had forgot to receive the father at the airport.
    D. they had forgot the time
48. Half-laughing and half-crying means the mother
    A. was crying at the same time laughing.
    B. had both a happy and a gloomy mood.
    C. would laugh first and then cry.
    D. was shedding tears while laughing.
49. What shows that the family was finally happy?
    A. The father had arrived home safely.
    B. Electricity was back.
    C. They would cook food now that the taps were running.
    D. Father came home by taxi.
50. Which of the following best summarises the passage?
    A. When taps went dry
    B. Day when things went wrong
    C. Father's arrival
    D. A funny day

COMPOSITION

You have 40 minutes to write your composition.

The following is the beginning of a composition. Complete it in your own words making it as interesting as possible.

I could see clouds of thick black smoke rising from a distance as I was busy playing with my friends. I ...........

ANSWERS