English Questions and Answers - Class 8 Term 1 Opener 2023 Set 2

 QUESTIONS     

Read the passage below it contains blank spaces numbered 1-15. For each blank space, choose the BEST alternative from the given four.

Juma was well known not only for his skill in metalwork ___1___ for the way he ___2___ with people. He ___3___ politely to his customers and he ___4___overcharged them. He was honest ___5___ for this people liked him. His grandmother was friendly. She talked to customers kindly and ___7___ the women how their children were ___8___.Two or three times ___9___ month Juma went to town and ___10___ bags full of old cans On ___11___ days, his grandmother was left to ___12___ the workshop

"Hallo, Grandmother. Are you the shopkeeper this afternoon ____13___ I asked her one day ___14___ I visited the workshop. "Yes, I am," she ___15___.

For question 16-18, choose the alternative that best completes the sentence given.   

16. The secret was between you and __________
    
    1. he
    2. me
    3. they
    4. I
17. The new fabric ___________________ when it was washed yesterday.
    
    1. shrunk
    2. shrink
    3. shrinked
    4. shranks
18. It was not until four o'clock __________________
    
    1. when the choir returned 
    2. that the choir returned 
    3. that the choir returned back
    4. when the choir returned back

For question 19-21, choose the alternative that means the same as the underlined word(s)    

19. The president spoke in very few words.
    
    1. harshly
    2. wildly
    3. clearly
    4. briefly
20. We could hear the sound of the horse distinctly from afar.
    
    1. neighing
    2. chattering
    3. braying 
    4. whirring
21. Had the children worked harder, they would have excelled.   
    1. The children didn't work hard yet they excelled.
    2. The children didn't work hard enough to excel.
    3. The children worked hard and excelled.
    4. The children will excel as long as they work hard.

For question 22 and 23. choose the alternative that means the opposite of the underlined.  

22. The maximum number of players allowed in the game is twenty.
    
    1. least
    2. greatest
    3. minimum
    4. largest
23. The polite learner was awarded by the head teacher at the end of the year.
    
    1. humble
    2. harsh
    3. courteous
    4. rude

For question 24 and 25, choose the one that least fits in the group.   

24.  
    1. stop
    2. run
    3. jog
    4. occur
25.  
    1. pilot
    2. captain
    3. teacher
    4. occupation

Read the passage below and then answer question 26-38.   

The village we all loved so well consisted of perhaps twenty mud houses grouped in compounds on either side of the road. Each compound contained four or five houses arranged in a hollow square. One of these compounds, the biggest by far, was the Chief's. His was the only house with corrugated iron roofing. Not even his wives' houses in the same compound had this luxury.

A little stream ran under the main road at one end of the village near the school. The bridge over this stream was wide enough to take one car or lorry at a time. When we were having our twice-daily bath in the cool, clean water below, it was frightening to see how a lorry crossing the bridge leaned over, seeming always in danger of falling and crushing us.

I suppose I must at an early age have given some evidence of possessing better-than- average intelligence, for my family sent me to school - the only one of my brothers and sisters thus favoured. Perhaps though, it was only that when we were children squatted on the bare earth in front of the house, taking it in turn to invent stories, mine always seemed to be the lengthiest and most involved, as well as the most popular. But then my elder brother had learned to give the customers who came to my mother's shop their correct change at an earlier age than 1, and one of my younger brothers could beat the drum better than I could. I see now that, slight as were my father's contacts with the outside world, he had learnt that a person's success depended on his ability to express himself effectively in the big city on the coast (which to the best of my knowledge, he only visited once), as well as in the great unknown world beyond.

I do not remember ever hearing my father and mother discuss the question of my being sent to school. One morning, without any warning, my father said to me," Kisimi, put on your best gown, wash your feet, and follow me." I must have been about ten years old at the time, for I was just tall enough to reach things on our verandah parapet from the ground outside. My father had put on his best khaki trousers and a blue and white striped robe, and walked ahead of me down the two miles road between our hut and the small school run by the American missionaries on the other side of the village.

We turned off the road up a neat gravelled path lined with short bushes of crimson double hibiscus set at regular intervals. To one side of the path was a dwarf-sized football field, and mango and avocado pear trees stood on the other side, the former with their blossoms, so much like Christmas-tree decorations, swaying softly in the breeze. My feelings are we stepped over the dusty threshold into the cool interior of the one-roomed school were compounded of curiosity and pride, but mainly of the latter.

The American lady who rose from her table in a corner of the room to greet us as we entered was I thought, radiantly beautiful. She smiled as if she already knew and was very fond of us; her skin was white and red, and looked so soft and smooth that I longed to touch it. But when she spoke her voice sounded unmusical and unnatural, and even the little boy who was summoned to interpret for her seemed to have difficulty in understanding what she was saying. I marvel now at the speed with which we all learned to understand and speak the strange language she spoke.

26. In the village where the writer fived
    1. houses were made of bricks and mortar
    2. houses were arranged in two parallel rows
    3. only the houses of the Chief's wives had corrugated iron roofing
    4. the Chief's house was situated in the biggest compound
27. Which of the following statements is correct?
    
    1. The water of the stream was seldom clean.
    2. It was the writer's daily habit to go twice for a bath in the stream.
    3. The bridge over the stream was too narrow for a lorry to pass.
    4. In the village there were no fewer than twenty compounds.
28. The writer says that
    
    1. he does not know the reason why he was sent to school.
    2. his stories were popular because they were imaginative.
    3. all his younger brothers except one could beat the drum better than he did.
    4. his elder brother learnt to give the customers the correct change at a younger age than he did.
29. It is clear from the passage that the writer's father
    
    1. had no contact whatsoever with the outside world.
    2. was well aware of the fact that a man's ability to express himself effectively stood him in good stead in a big coastal city.
    3. thought that his son had more-than- average intelligence.
    4. sent his son to school because he could do no useful job at home.
30. According to the passage, which statement is true?
    1. Kisimi heard his parents discuss that they would send him to school. 
    2. Kisimi and his father were well dressed on the day of their visit to the American missionaries' school.
    3. Kisimi was exactly ten years old when he joined the school.
    4. Kisimi went ahead of his father all the way from their house to the school.
31. On the occasion of his first visit to the village school, the writer
    1. requested his father to accompany him to the school.
    2. had mixed feelings of pride and curiosity.
    3. was very much impressed by the American lady teacher who said that she knew them.
    4. did not fail to notice the musical quality about the American lady's voice.
32. When Kisimi and his father visited the school
    1. The American lady made them feel that they were welcome visitors
    2. They had little difficulty in understanding what she was saying
    3. A little boy translated fairly well for them in their language what she was saying
    4. Kisimi learnt to understand and speak the American lady's strange language which she spoke on the very first visit he made to the school
33. The description of the writer's visit to the school as given in the last two paragraphs is
    1. Vague
    2. Vivid
    3. Dull
    4. Unnecessary
34. What does the expression 'this luxury'. printed in bold in the first paragraph, refer to?
    1. The biggest compound
    2. A bath in the cool, clean water
    3. Corrugated iron roofing
    4. A house made of bricks and mortar
35. The word 'evidence' printed in bold in the third paragraph can be best replaced by
    1. Proof
    2. Confidence
    3. Certainty
    4. Assurance
36. How old was the writer when he was taken to school?
    1. Ten years old
    2. Approximately ten years
    3. Almost ten years old
    4. Precisely ten years old.
37. What surprising thing has the writer mentioned in the last paragraph?
    1. They learnt the foreign language very fast.
    2. The white lady forced them to enrol in the school.
    3. He hated school right from the first day.
    4. He enjoyed learning immediately after enrolment.
38. The best title for the passage above would be
    1. My first day in school.
    2. My childhood years.
    3. The village we lived in.
    4. Why I was sent to school.

Read the passage below and then answer question 39-50    

The term child labour is not new in this country. It is a practice that has existed from time immemorial. Children are forced to seek employment for various reasons. Some may have lost both parents at a very tender age. Others come from very poor families hence are forced to stop schooling to seek employment to sustain the remaining members of the family.

Due to poor working conditions, these children suffer untold pain. Many's the time when these children work in the rain, scorching sun and very dusty conditions. These children are also exposed to very harmful and deadly chemicals for they work without protective clothing such as gloves, mouth and nose masks, gumboots, helmets or overalis. They touch these with their bare hands and step on them with bare feet. Any medication for these children becomes a nightmare.

Most of these children are mistreated by their employers. They are not allowed to complain whatsoever; they are beaten thoroughly whenever they complain. During these beatings, they sustain serious injuries, which become rather septic and rarely get the necessary treatment. Further still, the mistreatment and injuries the children sustain leave them so traumatized and not trusting any adults. They find adults rather inhuman.

Employing children denies them the basic right to education and opportunities to go to school not forgetting that education at primary and secondary levels in Kenya is free. Child labour encourages delinquency, truancy and school dropouts among many children of school going age. Despite the hardship encountered, children prefer to give up school and fend for themselves through the minimal wages received in child labour.

Further investigations on child labour reveal that some parents give out their eldest children to fend for the family and themselves. The case in point is where children are employed as house helps. In most cases, the child employed is of the same age as the children of the employer. The employer's children go to school but the juvenile house help has to wake up at the wee hours of the morning, prepare breakfast, polish the children's shoes and see them off to school. Sometimes the child is subjected to beatings and verbal abuse for work not well done. At times the child will go without food for a mistake made by someone else.

Worse still, child labour encourages drug and alcohol abuse. Most children take to drug abuse and alcoholism to escape their woeful lives. Many of these children develop immoral behaviour due to the harsh conditions they are subjected and exposed to at such a tender age. We all agree that child labour is an evil act that demoralizes children. We should all stand our ground and say no to child labour.

39. According to the first paragraph, child labour
    
    1. has been accepted in the society as a long-time practice.
    2. has been practiced for a long time in Kenya.
    3. has existed among Kenyans for a short period.
    4. is a new practice being tried out.
40. Which one of the following is not a possible reason why children seek employment?
    1. Becoming orphans at a young age.
    2. Being born and raised in abject poverty.
    3. Peer pressure.
    4. There are various reasons for this.
41. ....at a very tender age... has been used to mean
    
    1. young and unexposed
    2. coming from the village 
    3. young and foolish
    4. old enough to care
42. What does the writer mean by untold pain?
    
    1. Too much pain that is not known by many.
    2. Pain that cannot be told.
    3. Pain that has never been heard of.
    4. Pain that can be borne.
43. When you work without protection wear you
    
    1. inhale harmful chemicals.
    2. take deadly and harmful things.
    3. do not get exposure to anything.
    4. are likely to suffer from deadly disorders.
44. What eventually happens to those children who work without protective gear?
    
    1. They are treated although when it is too late.
    2. They contract diseases but do not get treatment.
    3. They withstand all that comes their way.
    4. They are too strong to be shaken.
45. According to the passage, adults
    1. are considered inhuman because of the way they treat the underage and employed children.
    2. inhuman in the eyes of all the children.
    3. traumatize young children in their surrounding.
    4. expose employed children to deadly things.
46. How does the society violate the children's rights?
    1. They do not consider the fact that education is free in Kenya.
    2. They expose them to chemicals.
    3. They beat up children.
    4. They deny them the right to education by employing them.
47. Why would a parent give out their children to work? In order to
    1. fend for their families.
    2. increase to the family income.
    3. avoid paying school fees.
    4. engage everyone in the family.
48. The words 'at the wee hours of the morning' can be replaced by
    1. late at night
    2. very late in the day
    3. mid mornin
    4. very early in the morning
49. Why do employed children take lo drugs?
    1. In order to escape from the wretched life they lead.
    2. They are poor and condemned to die so.
    3. Harsh punishment awaits them later in the day.
    4. It is their only consolation.
50. The passage you have read is about
    1. Child abuse.
    2. The modern society today.
    3. Child Labour.
    4. Inconsiderate parents.