English Questions and Answers - Class 8 Mid Term Exams Term 1 2023 Set 10

Read the broken passage below and answer questions 1-15.

Drug abuse can be __1__ as the user of a drug to the point where the user's health is affected, __2__where it becomes difficult for the user to live __3__ responsible life. It is __4__ recognised that drug abuse __5__ young people is a social problem in Africa. Drug abuse is something which affects __6__ the drug users and __7__families. For the users there is the __8__ of permanent addiction, their bodies __9__ become completely unable to __10__ without drugs. This exposes them to disease and in the end __11__ their death. __12__of the bad effects of addiction __13__ the user's family is the loss of __14__ when the user is unable to continue working. Another problem is that relationships in the family begin to get __15__ as the other members of the family stop sympathizing with the user.

For question 16-17, choose a word that best replaces the underlined word.

16. It hardly rains in September.
    
    1. never
    2. often
    3. usually
    4. rarely
17. Lemi was punished for being rude to the headmaster's visitors.
    
    1. unkind
    2. unruly
    3. impolite
    4. impossible

For question 18-19, choose the correct question tag.

18. Josephat enjoyed the football match.
    
    1. Isn't he?
    2. wasn't he?
    3. didn't he?
    4. did he?
19. Hamara has lost her keys.
    
    1. was she?
    2. has she?
    3. hasn't she?
    4. didn't she?

For question 20-21, select the alternative that best completes the sentence.

20. Mary bought ______ _______ ______house.
    1. pink, new, storey
    2. storey, pink, new
    3. new, pink, storey
    4. new, storey, pink
21. When my sister fell sick, she _______________________ in bed for three days.
    
    1. laid
    2. lied
    3. lay
    4. lain
22. The senior teacher was very ________________________ with the pupils who had not done their homework.
    
    1. sad
    2. annoyed
    3. disturbed
    4. sorry

For questions 23 and 24, choose the best alternative for the underlined words.

23. The neighbours managed to put out the fire.
    
    1. ignite
    2. extinguish
    3. deafeat
    4. cover
24. She complains that most of her classmate look down upon her.
    
    1. rejected
    2. despited
    3. abused
    4. hated
25. Which one of the following sentence is correct.
    
    1. Mary and I are great friends
    2. None of these books are new
    3. Which one of them have arrived
    4. Each of them have read the book.

Read the passage below then answer questions 26-38.

Many people join careers by accident rather than by design. As a result, many of them are in wrong jobs and therefore end up frustrated or frustrating others.

Likewise, many students join high school with no clear picture of what they want to do in future. To many of them being in secondary school is an end in itself. They overlook the fact that secondary education is also meant to prepare students to join various vacations or to persue further education. Hence students have to be careful in chosing the subjects they take for the subjects will very much determine what careers will be open for them in future.

Before makig a choice on subjects a student must understand herself and know her personal interest and abilities. If a student wants to become a doctor, she must know that she requires good passes in Biology, Chemistry, Mathematics or Physics. But more importantly the personal qualities and characteristics which will determine whether she will fit in the medical profession. A doctor's job involves working for long and odd hours and dealing with sick people. Do these conditions agree with your nature?

Many students may be attracted by the popularity of a career. For example, the job of a District Commissioner enjoys authority and prestige. But many people often overlook how involving the job can be. It is not merely addressing 'baraza'. The job involves being permanently on duty and dealing with all sorts of problems. Do you enjoy spending most of your time solving other people's problems?

Other careers may not look prestigious but might be rewarding. Take the job of a technician in a factory he may spend all the time in 'dirty' overalls while his electrical colleague apparently sits 'comfortably' in an office. But it is the technician who keeps the production lines moving. And in many these doing technical jobs are better paid than white collar workers. Often, technicians are more marketable and promoted faster.

So in choosing a career it is important to get accurate information on what it involves. Equally important is matching career interests with the job opportunites one may be talented in subjects which have very few job opportunities. A balance has to be struck between talents and realities in society.

26. Many people end up frustrated in jobs because they
    
    1. do not design their careers carefully
    2. are forced to take the wrong jobs
    3. do not choose their careers carefully
    4. frustates other people
27. What comparison does the writer give between joining secondary school and persons entering careers? They
    
    1. do not give much thought to what they are going to do in future.
    2. do not make the best choice of what is available
    3. make wrong decisions and end up frustrated or frustrating others
    4. do not get the right jobs
28. Secondary education is not meant to
    
    1. help students gain knowledge for its own. sake
    2. prepare students for further education
    3. prepare students to join vacations
    4. enable students to choose the right careers
29. Why should a student be careful in choosing subjects to study in secondary school?
    1. Secondary education is not an end in itself. 
    2. Secondary education is also meant to prepare them for vacations and further education
    3. The choice of subjects will determine the careers they will take in future.
    4. The subjects chosen give a clear picture of what the students will become in future
30. Which of the following subject groups is not a requirement for a course in medicine
    1. Chemistry, Biology and Physics
    2. Biology, Chemistry and Mathematics
    3. Biology, Chemistry,Physics or Mathematics
    4. Biology, Chemistry, Physics and Mathematics
31. The job of a District Commissioner involves
    
    1. being on duty all the time and solving many problems
    2. being permanently busy and addressing 'baraza'
    3. enyoying authority and solving other people's problem
    4. enyoying the prestige given by government
32. Which of the following is not an important consideration in choosing a career?
    1. Ones personal interest
    2. Ones personal talents
    3. Choice of subjects in secondary school 
    4. A job's attractiveness
33. Which of the following statements is true according to the passage
    
    1. Technicians are always in dirty overalls
    2. Technicians earn more than clerks
    3. Technicians keep the production of goods in factories going
    4. clerks spend most of their time sitting comfortably in their offices
34. Technicians are more "marketable" means
    
    1. They are easier to promote
    2. They are easier to employ
    3. They sell their products more easily
    4. They get jobs more easily
35. From the information given in the passage the writer seems to think that the
    
    1. technician does more work than the clerk 
    2. work of technicians is more important than that of a clerk
    3. clerk is not as busy as the technician
    4. work of a technician is more difficult than that of a clerk
36. In choosing a career one should
    
    1. get accurate information on all subjects available
    2. consider one's personal interests and get accurate information
    3. strike a balance between the subjects chosen and one's personal interest
    4. strike a balance between one's abilities, interest and jobs available
37. The word 'white-collar' has been used in the story, it means
    
    1. Permanent jobs
    2. Temporary jobs
    3. Gardening jobs
    4. Office jobs
38. The best title for this passage would be
    
    1. choosing the right subjects
    2. choosing the right career
    3. matching career interest with job opportunities
    4. how to become a doctor or a District

Read the passage below and then answer questions 39 - 50.

When I was a small boy, my home was always full of babies and children of my relatives. Infact, I hardly recall any occasion as a child when I was alone. In my community, the sons and daughters of one's aunts and uncles are considered brother and sisters, not counsins. We have no half-brother's and half-sisters.

My mother's sisters is my mother, my uncle's son and my brother's and child is my son or my daughter. Of my mother's three huts one was used for cooking, one for sleeping and one for storage. In the hut in which we slept, there was no furniture. We slept on mat and sat on the bare floor. I did not discover pillows until much later. My mother cooked food in a three-legged iron pot over an open fire at the centre of the hut or outside. We grew all the food we ate at home.

From my early age, I spent most of my free-time in the field playing and fighthing with the other boys of the village. A boy who remained at home tied to his mothers apron strings was regarded as a weakling. At night, I shared my food and blanket with these same boys. I was no more than five when I became a herdsboy looking after sheep and calves in the fields. I discovered the almost mystical attachment that the Xhosa had for cattle, not only a source of food and wealth but as a blessing from God and a source of happiness. It was in the fields that I learnt how to knock birds out of the sky with a sling shot, to gather wild honey and fruits and edible roots, to drink warm sweet milk straight from the udder of a cow, to swim in the clear streams, and to catch fish with twine and sharpened baits of wire.

As boys, we were mostly left to our own device, we played with toys we made ourselves. We moulded animals and birds out of clay. Nature was our playground. I learnt to ride by sitting on top of calves after being thrown to the ground several times, one got to hang on it. I still love open spaces the simple beauties of nature, the clear blue skies.

I don't think my parents intended to take me to school. No one in my family had ever attended school. But a friend of my father George Mbekela visited us one day and told my mother, "Your son is a clever young fellow. He should go to school." My parents discussed it and decided to send me to school.

The school consisted of a simple room I was seven years old, and on the day I was to begin, my father took me aside and told me that I must be dressed properly for school. Until that time, I, like all the other boys, had worn only a blanket which was wrapped around ones shoulder and pinned at the waist. My father took a pair of his trouser and cut them at the knee. He then told me to put them on, which I did, and they were roughly the correct length although the waist was far too large. My father then took a piece of string and drew the trouser in at the waist. I must have been a comical sight, but I have never owned a suit. I was prouder to wear my father's cut off trouser.

39. What can we tell about the writer from the first two sentences
    
    1. His parents had very many babies
    2. He grew up in the midst of many people
    3. He was never lonely
    4. His relatives lived nearby
40. We can tell from the first paragraph that the author's community
    1. had no cousins, uncles or aunts
    2. practised true love towards one another 
    3. must have been a very good place to live in
    4. treated close relatives like members of the nuclear family
41. Which of the following best describes the lifestyle in the author's home?
    
    1. Simple
    2. Poor
    3. Backward
    4. Needy
42. How do we knew that although the author fought with the boys, they were not enemies 
    1. It was one way of occupying themselves 
    2. Even good friends fight sometimes
    3. That is what all boys usually do
    4. They still shared food and slept together
43. A boy who remained at home was probably
    
    1. obedient to his mother
    2. despised by the others
    3. not ready to be a herdsboy
    4. weak and fearful
44. Which of the following alternatives best explain why the Xhosa people love cattle
    1. cattle give people food and much joy
    2. cattle are a source of wealth, food and gladness
    3. cattle are a blessings and a source of food, wealth and joy
    4. cattle provide food riches and employment for boys
45. From what he learnt in the fields, we can conclude that the author was
    
    1. very adventurous
    2. quite active
    3. a fast learner
    4. very curious
46. What is meant by 'we were left to our own devices'
    
    1. we had to think of what to do
    2. no one was allowed to interfere with us 
    3. we were free to do what we wanted
    4. no one cared about us
47. Learning to ride calves was not easy because
    
    1. they were very difficult to control
    2. one could easily fall off and hurt himself
    3. calves are not really meant to be ridden
    4. if caught, one can be punished
48. Which of the following statements is not true?
    
    1. Mbekeka thought the author was a clever boy
    2. The author's parents accepted Mbekeka's advice
    3. The parents consulted before they made the decision
    4. The author was sure his parents didn't value education
49. What can we conclude about the school
    
    1. it catered for young boys
    2. you had to be clever to go there 
    3. it must have been very small
    4. you had to wear school uniform
50. Why do you think the author say 'I must have been a comical sight?'
    
    1. The trouser were far too big for him
    2. He was not used to such funny clothes 
    3. Perhaps the other pupils laughed at him 
    4. He used a string instead of a belt

COMPOSITION

Write and complete the story in your own words, making it as interesting as possible.

My best friend is a very funny person who really makes people laugh. One day............

MARKING SCHEME

1. C
2. A
3. D
4. A
5. B
6. D
7. C
8. A
9. C
10. A
11. C
12. D
13. B
14. D
15. A
16. D
17. C
18. C
19. C
20. C
21. C
22. B
23. B
24. B
25. A
26. C
27. A
28. A
29. C
30. D
31. A
32. D
33. C
34. D
35. B
36. D
37. D
38. B
39. B
40. D
41. A
42. D
43. B
44. C
45. A
46. A
47. A
48. D
49. C
50. A