. Read the following passage and answer the questions that follow
We never really think that this is ever going to happen to us but sometimes we find we are in
a position where we need a little extra help in the skin care department. We then approach,
hopefully, a reputable dermatologist or aesthetician which can help us figure out our
problem.
The most common facial procedures that are offered are usually facial peels and
microdermabrasion. The first thing that you would know is that there is a difference. One
will use chemicals to peel off the every top layer of your skin exposing the younger, newer
and more delicate one and the other uses a wand that is run all over your face in what can
best be described as an exfoliating motion.
It is always a good idea to manage expectations. When going to see the skin care specialists,
go with a picture of what you want. I mean that literally. Carry a picture of someone with the
same complexion tone as yours who has the “after” that you have in mind. Ask the doctor if
that effect is at all possible. If you took the picture off a glossy magazine, chances are a lot of
post-production work has gone into it. It is a shame but a lot of women are made to feel
insecure about their looks and the nature of their skin as a result of photo shopped images. If
you have fine lines that are newly formed, you have high chance of making them less
noticeable with some dermatological work. To completely make them disappear, your
specialist could recommend Botox.
Facial peels and microdermabrasion, you should know, are not going to be a one-thing. You
will have to attend between four and eight sessions. It is wise to keep this in mind. Don’t start
a treatment and then find out midway that you cannot afford to complete it. Even when you
meet with the specialist and they tell you they are not sure how many sessions you might
need; don’t set yourself up to be an ignorant cash cow. Get a fair estimate out of them. They
are experts and they have seen plenty skin walking in and out of their doors. They should be
able to give you a loose time frame if nothing else. Budget for all these sessions. Falling to
complete a course of treatment could lead to discoloration and leave your skin sensitive.
If you react to any procedure, it is best to go see a doctor rather than trying to get fixed at the
same place that brought on the trouble in the first place.
The one thing that a lot of women do not know about facial peels and microdermabrasion is
that they are best done in a cooler climate. The sun is the number one enemy of your skin. It
means loading up on sunscreen. Also, if you are on any medication, please disclose this to
your dermatologist. This ranges from treatment for diabetes to antibiotics for acne, the latter
which prime your skin to be sensitive to the sun.
Allow the skin specialist to explain the procedure very clearly to you. Do your own research
before visiting the specialist and go with a list of questions. Never submit yourself to
something whose mechanics you do not understand. Especially if it is stripping you off layer
by layer. Ask about the long term implications. Will you have to repeat this procedure in
another year or two? It is permanent solution or is it medium term? How do you take care of
your skin afterwards? Will you need to buy a whole set of special product to go with the treatment? Had you budgeted for that too? Are you on any supplements? Are you planning to
take them?
(Adapted from Sunday Nation Jan 20102)
a. From paragraph one, what is surprising about the skin? (1 mark)
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b. What is the difference between facial peels and microdermabrasion? (2 marks)
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c. How should one manage expectations? (2 marks)
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d. Why is it not advisable to take a picture of a glossy magazine? (1 mark)
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e. What effect does photo shopped images have on women. (1 mark)
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f. In not more than 50 words, write a summary on what one needs to know or not before
starting facial peels or microdermabrasion. (6 marks)
Rough copy
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Fair copy
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g. It is always a good idea to manage expectations. (Rewrite adding a question tag) (1 mark)
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h. What is the best climate for performing facial peels and microdemabrasion? Why?
(2 marks)
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i. If one comes from a different climate from the answer above what would be the best
solution? (1 mark)
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j. Explain the meaning of the following word and phrases as used in the passage. (3 marks)
(i) Dermatologist
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(ii) Insecure
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(iii) Cash cow
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She felt the weight of injustice that women have felt since time immemorial in her male
dominated world. Even a half-wit like her brother-in-law could rob her of her hard earned
wealth, and her grandson of his rightful position as the chief, for in all truth Otieno should have
held the chief’s stool only until the infant Owuor came of age, but it was now clear he had no
intention of ever giving up the chiefdom and after his death, his numerous sons would make sure
that it stayed in the family. Owuor would be outnumbered practically by infinity to one. As it
was, his grandmother feared for his life and watched him like a hawk. It was disquieting to have
all one’s egg in this one tiny frail basket.

After pondering over her predicament at length Akoko decided to make contact with the
sirikal and seek their intervention. The first thing she did was to remove her two year old
grandson and take him back to her brother, Oloo in Yimbo. His mother had meanwhile married
one of the numerous cousins. In any case she was not the sort of woman to fight for her rights,
leave alone her son’s. All she wanted was a husband and some security, and who could blame
her? After all not everybody could be like Akoko.

Before she left she went to see her daughter Nyabera who was in mourning again having lost
both her sons to a ferocious outbreak of measles which had raged through her village during the
last harvest. She was pregnant again but so downcast and depressed that she stayed in her house,
rarely going out and hardly eating. She needed help and her mother decided to spend some time
with her before leaving.

She found her daughter thin to the point of emaciation with her belly sticking out before
her like an appendage. When she saw her mother still unbent and uncowed by suffering, looking
like a woman half her age, she just broke down and wept in her arms as is she was a little girl
again.

“Cry my child, for one does not bury a child without burying a part of one’s soul with it.
It is good to cry for who can comprehend the ways of Were? It is for us men to wash away our
painful confusion with tears and then carry on, perhaps there might be some meaning in it all that
only glimmers like firefly in a dark night. Who knows but that one day Were will give you a
child that lives and grows? Yesterday is not today and today is not tomorrow for each day rises
fresh from the hands of Were god of the eye of the sun, bringing with it gladness and sorrow,
sun and darkness, the two faces of Were; for how can we appreciate light unless we understand
darkness? Weep my child and do not hold pain within yourself for it will turn into a snake that
devours you from the inside.”

a) What happens just before this excerpt? (3 marks)
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b) Name two injustices Akoko suffers from her brother-in-law. (2 marks)
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c) Akoko and her daughter can be said to be ill-fated. Give reasons using evidence from the
extract and elsewhere in the novel. (4 marks)
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d) “After all not everybody was like Akoko”. How was Akoko different from her
grandson’s mother mentioned in the excerpt? (4 marks)
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e) (i) Akoko mentions of going to the sirkal for intervention. What did she want
intervention in? (2 marks)
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(ii) Apart from the sirkal, name other changes that come with the white man. (3 marks)
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f) Identify and illustrate two stylistic devices used in the excerpt. (2 marks)
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g)(i) As Akoko comes to see her daughter Nyabera, she is very expectant. Whom does
Nyabera give birth to? (1 mark)
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(ii) How does this child contribute to the river? (4 marks)
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From: Letters to Martha
Cold
The clammy cement
Sucks our naked feet
A rheumy yellow bulb
Lights a damp, grey wall
The stubbled glass
Wet with the three O’clock dew
Is black with glitter edges

We sit on the concrete
Stuff with our figures
The Sugarless pap
Into our mouths
The labour erect

Form lines
Steel ourselves into fortitude
Or accept an image of ourselves
Numb with resigned acceptance
The grizzled senior warder comments
“Things like these
I have no time for;
They are worse than rats:
You can only shoot them”

Overheard
The large frosty glitter of the stars
The Southern Cross flowering low;
The chains on our ankles
And wires
That pair us together
Jangle
Clatter
We begin to move
Awkwardly

a) Who s is the Persona in this poem? (2 marks)
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b) What is the subject matter of this poem? (4 marks)
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c) Describe the tone of the poem? (2 marks)
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d) Identify and explain any two concerns that the poet is addressing. (4 marks)
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e) Identify and illustrate two stylistic devices used in the poem. (4 marks)
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f) Explain the meaning of the following lines as used in the poem. (4 marks)
i) ‘Things like these
I have no time for’
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ii) ‘The grizzled senior warder’
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iii) ‘Clammy cement’
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iv) ‘The sugarless pap’
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Rewrite the following sentences as instructed.
i) He was a man. His only advantage in life was hi extra-ordinary energy.
(Make one sentence without using: and, but or)
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ii) She gave us an excellent tour of the Coast.
(Begin: We………………………..)

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iii) The thief took-off with the lady’s purse. (Replace the underlined words with one
word with similar meaning).
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iv) Do not blame him. He heard it on rumors. (Replace the underlined word with an
appropriate idiomatic expression).
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Fill in each of the blank spaces with an appropriate word.
i) The teacher differed ____________________ the student because she failed to do the
assignment.
ii) All students must abide _______________ the school rules and regulations.
iii) He took the motorbike ___________________ loan from the seller.

Rewrite the following sentences using gender sensitive language.
i) The machine is being manned by one person.
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ii) He is the foreman of the on-going project.
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Punctuate the following sentence appropriately.
I can’t imagine said Abu I scored ‘A’ in English
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Rewrite the following sentences, correcting the error in each.
i) We were given free gifts
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ii) I have no other alternatives than to suspend you.
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iii) The Master of Ceremony is Mr. Ombaka.
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The following statement is ambiguous. Give two possible ways it can be
interpreted.
‘Foreigners are hunting dogs’
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