ZIMSEC O Level English Language Paper 2 June 2011

Section A

Read the following

The Champion

THE CHAMPION

1. Long ago in India, when I was still young, the uncertainties of a squalid youth were relieved by an innocent dream. I was convinced that I possessed the necessary qualities – speed, ferocity, stamina and the rest – to transform me into a world – class boxer. I now know that I was mistaken in this belief, and that my skill as a pugilist amounted to nothing.

2. Yet, it was true to say that I did possess a certain unusual agility in the ring, that is, I was capable of running away from y opponent with exceptional speed. I could also shoot out a fast, accurate left, and had the ability to emit a series of savage snorts and grunts designed to frighten my opponent into submission. Against these slender credits must be placed the melancholy truth that I could punch hard enough, and that once the going got tough, my one impulse was to leap over the ropes and take to my heels.

3. I lacked the killer instinct, but all the same, I spent hours drugging myself with dreams in which I became the undisputed middleweight champion of the world. The roar of a vast crowd battered against my ears and the arc-lights blazed above my head, when , swiftly and dangerously as a panther, I almost decapitated my unfortunate opponent with a savage upper-cut. Beautiful, rich, amoral, reckless and hot-blooded women pursued me wherever I went. I could choose one, or half a dozen of them, any time of my life. What dreams!

4. The fact that my real life was lived in rather different surroundings did not worry me in the least. I could wait, could I not? I had all the time in the world. However, real life was pretty frustrating at times. I lived in a down-at-hell Y.M.C.A. hostel in a shoddy part of the city where I occupied a tiny cubicle for which I paid ten dollars a month. Basically, I worked at a very ignoble job on Mount Road, Madras.

5. There were several white youths of about my own age, plus a sprinkling of Goans, Indians and Anglo-Indians, living in this hostel. Whenever I got the chance, I would persuade one of them to spar with me. most of them had never boxed in their lives. Grimacing horribly, snorting like a bad-tempered war-horse, bobbing and weaving like some crazy puppet on a string, I must have seemed a formidable antagonist to those easy-going, pacific youngsters. Indeed, the tactics proved so successful that, after a while, some of my more timid companions refused to spar with me – a state of affairs which flattered my vanity.

6. The Y.M.C.A. hostel also sheltered one or two middle-aged residents who seemed to us to be tottering on the verge of senility. There was one such Goan, with a bald head and a set of flashing white teeth. He was a peppery little man, a woodwork teacher employed at a local school, who was deeply devoted to playing the violin whenever the opportunity occurred. The walls of my room were extremely thin, and I was frequently disturbed by the vibrations of the instrument bursting through the flimsy partition like the moaning of a demented bull-elephant. The sounds produced a vague grievance which was responsible for all the at follows.

7. As a general rule, Dacruz and I got on pretty well. I was a talker, and he had the valuable gift of saying almost nothing; I would sit yammering away while he listened with contemplative detachment. Everything went on smoothly until one evening when I was tactless enough to say something slightly disparaging about his ability as a musician. I cannot recall exactly what it was, but it must have hurt his feelings because suddenly, his bullet head jerked upwards and he glared at me with unmistakable hostility. The argument which ensued was incoherent but heated.

8. After a while, Dacruz regained his composure and our conversation continued amicably, veering finally towards my prowess as a boxer. I remarked smugly that I was afraid of becoming stale because it was impossible to get the practice I needed.

9. "Why?" asked Dacruz. "Surely our chaps give you all he sparring you need." I told him this was not the case.

10. "Most of the blighters refuse to fight me now. They're a lily-livered bunch, and I only wish I could find somebody really tough in the way of opposition."

11. He appeared to reflect for a moment before he said offhandedly, "Perhaps I could find the sort of fellow you need. Would you like me to try?"

12. "Yes, do that," I said quickly, never believing that the offer needed to be treated as anything more than a polite formality. After all, where could Dacruz find the kind of opponent who was likely to threaten my supremacy?

13. Unsuspecting, confident, I moved through the next two days without thinking again of this trivial exchange. The following day, I cycled back to the hostel. I was dead tired, oozing with perspiration, when at last I reached my room. Once inside, I climbed out of my damp clothes, changed into a pair of pyjama trousers and lay on the bend, determined to enjoy a siesta until tea-time. Almost immediately, I was engulfed in a deep sleep.

14. Suddenly, I was jerked awake by a determined hand kneading my shoulder and voice calling sharply, "Come on, wake up, wake up, I say."

15. Struggling to shake off the hand, and longing to return to the comfortable depths of sleep, I said thickly, "What's the matter? Leave me alone."

16. My bleary eyes focused unwillingly, first on dacruz's dark, grinning face, peering intently into my own, and then, with a sensation of indescribable horror, on the form of an enormous, young man, with a chest like a barrel and close – cropped, dark hair, who towered beside him. With a sense of dazed disbelief, I noticed that this giant was attired, as though for a fancy – dress party, in the vest, shorts and boots of a boxer.

17. "Hallo," I said weakly, directing the situation somewhere in the direction of my two men as they loomed above my head.

18. I heard Dacruz say, "This is Gibson, a medical student, who has come along to spar with you."

19. "Spar with me?" A current of fear coursed through my veins.

20. "Yes," said Dacruz. "he's come along to take you on with the gloves. Don't you remember asking me to get you somebody tough to spar with?"

21. "Oh yes, of course," I mumbled unwillingly, and then I said to Gibson, "Very kind of you to come along."

22. I forced my lips into what I hoped would be accepted as an affable grin. More than anything else in the world, I wanted to establish a friendly relationship with this man. However, my efforts at warmth met with negative results. Gibson's small, steady, pale – grey eyes slid away from my genial glance and I noticed that he had a singularly unpleasant face.

23. "When do we get started?" he asked, ignoring my presence and directing his question high above my head towards Dacruz. It was clear that his sole ambition lay in beating the living day-lights out of me.

24. However, always patient and unwilling to believe the worst, I made a second effort to bridge the gulf that divided us. "How much do you weigh?" I asked brightly.

25. "Ugh!" said Gibson, apparently astonished at the question. His eyes roved past me again as he looked helplessly at Dacruz.

26. There was a pause, and then Gibson, still ignoring me, mumbled hoarsely, "About 180 kgs, I think." He was clearly a man who found conversation irksome and enjoyed only the more savage and demanding forms of action.

27. "Well," I said, smiling bravely and speaking in a rather wavering note, "I weigh just over seventy kilograms, so take it easy when we meet."

28. Instead of offering me the reassurance I needed, he remarked sullenly to Dacruz, "I thought you said he wanted to fight?"

29. Pulling myself to my feet, I told them curtly, "You'll have to wait until I've had a shower."

30. I wanted time to think, to formulate a plan. Under the shower, with the chill water pouring over me, my brain worked with the speed of an insane piston. What could I do to avoid the dreadful ordeal that lay ahead? I could pretend to faint; let my body slump to the slippery floor of the washroom. That was useless; nobody would want to believe that such a collapse was genuine, and for the rest of my life, my reputation would bear the smear of crass cowardice. No, fainting was out of the question. What else was there? Could I go suddenly mad, wander out of the washroom gibbering and grimacing? Again, no-one would accept the validity of such a convenient breakdown.

31. Clean and horribly awake, I left the shower and returned to my room. After I had put on my shoes and a pair of trousers, I looked for a belt, but the thing had vanished. Watched by the grinning Dacruz and the stolid, menacing Gibson, I hurriedly opened drawers and peered under my bed. Finally, in despair, I found an old red tie and knotted it swiftly around my waist. Then the three of us – myself some distance ahead, Dacruz and Gibson, like warders guarding a prisoner, following a few meters at the rear – walked down he narrow, stone staircase towards the ring on the other side of the compound.

Adapted From: Short Story International, 1977, Volume 1 Number 4, October, 1977, New York, Published By International Cultural Exchange.

Section A, Question 1

[1 marks]Comprehension

From Paragraph 1

The narrator says, "... the uncertainties ... were relieved by an innocent dream." (line 1 – 2). What was the dream?

AThat he would be feared by every young man who boxed at the hostel
BThat he would win enough money to leave his squalid youth behind him
CThat he would become a world class boxer, the middleweight champion of the world
DThat he would leave the hostel and find work in a better part of the city

[2 marks]Comprehension

From Paragraph 1

Which two qualities does the narrator say one needs to become a successful boxer?

AAgility and detachment
BFerocity and stamina
CGrimacing and snorting
DVanity and patience

[1 marks]Comprehension

From Paragraph 2

"... I did possess a certain unusual agility ..." (line 6) Why do you think the narrator used the word "unusual"?

ABecause he could move about the ring faster than any boxer he had ever watched in India
BBecause it was a gift he had been born with and had not had to practise for at all
CBecause the other youths at the hostel had not seen anything of the kind before
DBecause the agility he had was for running away from his opponent, not for attacking him

Comprehension

From Paragraph 2

Why would the narrator take to his heels "once the going got tough"? (line 11)

ABecause he lacked the killer instinct and was afraid of being hurt in a real fight
BBecause he had been taught to save his strength for the later rounds of a fight
CBecause he hoped to draw his opponent out of position and then land his fast left
DBecause the youths he sparred with at the hostel had already refused to fight him

[1 marks]Comprehension

From Paragraph 4

For which one major reason did the narrator dislike his real life?

AIt was shabby and lowly: a tiny cubicle in a run down hostel and an ignoble job
BThe other young men at the hostel refused to spar with him and left him no practice
CHis work on Mount Road kept him out all day and left him no time for training
DThe violin through the thin wall disturbed him almost every evening he spent in his room

[1 marks]Comprehension

From Paragraph 5

What does the word "sprinkling" (line 25) suggest about the number of Goans, Indians and Anglo-Indians who were living in the hostel?

AThat they outnumbered the white youths who were living in the hostel
BThat they arrived at the hostel a few at a time over several months
CThat they were spread through every floor and cubicle of the building
DThat there were only a few of them among the white youths

[1 marks]Comprehension

From Paragraph 7

Which phrase of two consecutive words proves that what the author said about Dacruz's ability as a musician was uncomplimentary?

Avaluable gift
Bcontemplative detachment
Cslightly disparaging
Dunmistakable hostility

[2 marks]Comprehension

From Paragraph 13

In your own words, explain the meaning of "...oozing with perspiration." (line 64)

AHe was wet all over with sweat, which was slowly seeping out of him
BHe was so tired that his eyes were closing before he reached his own room
CHe was breathing so hard after the ride that he could not get his words out
DHe was dripping wet from the rain which had caught him as he cycled home

[1 marks]Comprehension

From Paragraph 14

"Suddenly, I was jerked awake by a determined hand ..." Whose hand was it?

AGibson's, the medical student who had come to spar with him
BDacruz's, the Goan woodwork teacher from the hostel
COne of the white youths who shared the hostel with him
DThe hostel caretaker's, who had come to wake him for tea

Section A, Question 2

[1 marks]Comprehension

From Paragraph 22

Why do you think the narrator wanted to establish a friendly relationship with Gibson?

AHe wanted a regular sparring partner, since the hostel youths now refused to fight him
BHe admired Gibson's build and hoped to learn how a medical student kept himself fit
CHe hoped to talk Gibson into calling the whole thing off and going home again
DHe was terrified of the huge man and hoped friendliness would make him go easy

[1 marks]Comprehension

From Paragraph 28 and 29

Which phrase of five consecutive words shows that the narrator was reluctant to fight Gibson?

Ahe remarked sullenly to Dacruz
BI thought you said he
CPulling myself to my feet
DYou'll have to wait until

[1 marks]Comprehension

From Paragraph 30

Which one consideration about the narrator's character made him dismiss the idea of fainting in order to avoid fighting Gibson?

AHis concern for his good name, since he would be branded a coward for life
BHis pride in his fitness, since a fit young boxer does not faint in a washroom
CHis honesty, since he could not bring himself to act out a lie in front of them
DHis fear of the cold water, which would have brought him round again at once

[1 marks]Comprehension

From Paragraph 31

The narrator used the word "grinning" two times to describe Dacruz's face. (paragraph 16 and 31) Why do you think Dacruz was grinning?

AHe was pleased that his friend would at last get the hard practice he had been asking for
BHe was nervous about what would happen in the ring and could not keep his face still
CHe was proud of having made friends with a medical student from the town
DHe was enjoying his revenge for the insult about his violin, and the boaster's fright

[5 marks]Vocabulary in context

From the whole passage

Which set gives the meaning that each of its words or phrases has in the passage?

1 agility (line 6)
2 take to my heels (line 12)
3 amoral (line 17)
4 formidable (line 30)
5 demented (line 39)
6 trivial (line 63)
7 irksome (line 100)
8 gibbering (114)

Aagility: nimbleness; take to my heels: run away; amoral: without morals; formidable: fearsome; demented: mad
Bagility: nimbleness; take to my heels: stand my ground; amoral: immoral; formidable: friendly; demented: exhausted
Cagility: quickness of movement; take to my heels: run away; amoral: cruel; formidable: enormous; demented: deafening
Dagility: strength; take to my heels: hurry towards him; amoral: without morals; formidable: fearsome; demented: mad

Section A, Question 3

[20 marks]Summary

The narrator was day-dreaming, imagining himself as a very successful boxer. He thought he had the necessary qualities to become the middleweight champion of the world until he met Gibson.

Imagine that you are the narrator. Write a summary describing your reactions and thoughts from the time you saw Gibson up to the time you took a shower.

Use only material from paragraph 16 up to the end of paragraph 30.

Your summary, which should be in continuous writing (not note form), must not be longer than 160 words including the 10 words given below:

When Dacruz shook me awake, my bleary eyes focused on ...

Aon the enormous young man, whom he tried to win over by praising Dacruz's violin playing in front of him; he asked Gibson's weight, was told seventy kilograms and thought the match a fair enough one, and decided under the cold shower to sink to the washroom floor in a convincing faint so that the fight would have to be called off altogether
Bon Dacruz's grinning face and then, with horror, on a giant dressed as a boxer; fear ran through him at the word spar, so he forced a friendly grin that Gibson's pale grey eyes slid away from, asked his weight, begged him at seventy kilograms to take it easy, then called for a shower to think, where he weighed fainting and madness and rejected both
Con a giant he knew at once from the ring on Mount Road; he was delighted to be given a tough opponent at last, boasted to Dacruz of the men he had beaten, asked Gibson's weight only to compare it with his own, agreed to start straight away and used the shower to loosen his muscles before leading the two of them down to the ring
Don Dacruz alone, whom he blamed angrily for arranging the whole thing behind his back; he told Gibson to his face that he had no intention of boxing him, refused to shake hands, threatened to leave the hostel that same night, and locked himself in the washroom until Dacruz should agree to send the medical student home again

Section B

Section B, Question 4

[2 marks]Situational language

Imagine that next weekend is a long weekend with a public holiday on Monday. You invite two friends, John and Mary, to a party at your parents' house. The two friends react as follows:

A John: It'll be fun to be at the party.

B Mary: Yes, I would love to, but what if it rains?

Which pair describes the attitude that each friend's statement shows?

AJohn is being polite without meaning it, and Mary is refusing without quite saying so
BJohn is worried about the long weekend, and Mary is more interested in rain than in parties
CJohn is eager and looking forward to it, and Mary is willing but doubtful about the weather
DJohn is doubtful whether he can come at all, and Mary is certain that she will be there

[2 marks]Situational language

A husband and wife are walking along the road in silence. The husband breaks the silence by saying, "Mrs Moyo is a very arrogant woman." The wife hears the statement but remains silent.

Which pair gives two possible reasons why the wife does not respond?

AShe is angry that he broke the silence, or she wants the remark repeated more loudly
BShe did not catch what he said, or the noise of the traffic drowned his voice
CShe agrees with him and sees nothing to add, or she disagrees but wants no quarrel
DShe is a stranger to Mrs Moyo, or she has been forbidden to discuss the neighbours

[2 marks]Situational language

A supermarket finds itself short of small denominations for United States dollars for the purpose of change. Two shoppers are informed by the till operator that he has no change.

(i) One shopper says, "What! I want my change. You people are exploiting the situation for your own benefit. I'm not going anywhere without my change."

(ii) The other shopper says, "It's alright! But do not forget to credit me when I am also a little short. I always shop here and am sure you recognize me?"

Which pair gives the character trait each shopper displays?

AThe first is dishonest and greedy for more than his due, and the second is timid and easily frightened
BThe first is suspicious of everyone in the shop, and the second is careless about how much money he has
CThe first is impatient and aggressive, and the second is understanding and accommodating
DThe first is generous and forgiving about the shortage, and the second is angry and ready to make a scene

[2 marks]Situational language

People jostle for places in a crowded bank on a Saturday morning. In the melee, a large man steps heavily on another's foot. The injured man responds:

(i) "Ouch! That was painful. I am sorry I put my foot under yours."

(ii) "Hey! Don't be stupid. You hurt me, you big fat - head. Why can't you wait for your turn?"

Which pair describes the reaction of the aggrieved person in each case?

AThe first is too frightened of the big man to complain about the pain, and the second is calm and reasonable
BThe first is restrained and even takes the blame on himself, and the second is abusive and loses his temper
CThe first hardly notices what has happened to him, and the second is amused by the crowding in the bank
DThe first is demanding an apology in plain words, and the second is quietly hurt and says nothing

[2 marks]Situational language

Match the statement from column A with the most appropriate term in column b. write down the number only of each of he statements under column A and against that number write down the most appropriate term form column B.

A
(i) "Come on, come along! Let's keep going! We'll soon be there."
(ii) "No! Never! We cannot accept that nonsense. We will withdraw our labour if we have to. We say No! no to exploitation?"
(iii) "Please! I beg you. Do not do that."
(iv) "If you stop working, you will be fired. You will also be forced to leave the premises at once."

B
1 defiant
2 diplomacy
3 imploring
4 threat
5 encouragement

A(i) 2 diplomacy, (ii) 1 defiant, (iii) 5 encouragement, (iv) 4 threat
B(i) 5 encouragement, (ii) 1 defiant, (iii) 3 imploring, (iv) 4 threat
C(i) 5 encouragement, (ii) 1 defiant, (iii) 2 diplomacy, (iv) 3 imploring
D(i) 5 encouragement, (ii) 4 threat, (iii) 3 imploring, (iv) 1 defiant

English Language Paper 2 June 2011

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The questions

Section A

Section A, Question 1

Section A, Question 2

Section A, Question 3

Section B

Section B, Question 4

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The answers, and why they are the answers

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