ZIMSEC O Level English Language Paper 2 November 2025

Read the following

Ants at War

ANTS AT WAR

1 I remember once lying on a sun-drenched hillside in Matopo - a hillside covered with twisted acacia-shrubs and mopane bushes - watching a protracted and bloody war being waged within inches of my feet. I was extremely lucky to be, as it were, a war correspondent for this battle. It was the only one of its kind I had ever seen and I would not have missed it for the world.

2 The two armies involved were ants. The attacking force was a fierce, shinning, red one, while the defending army was as black as coal. I might quite easily have missed this if one day I had not noticed what struck me as an extremely peculiar ants' nest. It contained two species of ants, one red and one black, living together on the most amicable terms. Never having seen two species of ants living in the same nest before, I took the trouble to check upon them. I discovered that the red ones, who were the true owners of the nest, were known by the resounding title of the blood-red slave-makers and the black ones were in fact their slaves who had been captured and placed in their service while they were still eggs. After reading about the habit of the slave-makers, I kept a cautious eye on the nest in the hope of seeing them indulge in one of their slave raids. Several months passed and I began to think that either these slave-makers were too lazy to capture more slaves or else they had enough to keep themselves happy.

3 The slave-makers' fortress lay neat at the roots of a mopane tree and three metres farther down the hillside was a nest of black ants. Passing this nest one morning, I noticed several of the slave-makers wandering about within a metre or so of their nest and I stopped to watch. There were perhaps thirty of them, spread over quite a large area. They did not appear to be foraging for food, as they were not moving with their normal brisk inquisitiveness. They kept wandering round in vague circles, occasionally climbing a grass blade and standing pensively on its tip, waving their antennae.

4 Periodically, two of them would meet and stand there in what appeared to be an animated conversation, their antennae twitching together. It was not until I had watched them for some time that I realised what they were doing. Their wanderings were not as aimless as they appeared, for they were quartering the ground very thoroughly like a pack of hunting-dogs, investigating every bit of the terrain over which their army would have to travel. The black ants seemed distinctly ill at ease.

5 Occasionally, one of the black ants would meet one of the slave-makers and would turn tail and run back to the nest to join one of the many groups of his relatives who were gathered in little knots, apparently holding a council of war. This careful investigation of the ground by the scouts of the slave-makers' army continued for two days and I had begun to think that they had decided that the black ants' city was too difficult to attack. Then, I arrived one morning to find that the war had started.

6 The scouts, accompanied by small platoons, had now moved in closer to the black ants and already several skirmishes were taking place within a metre of the nest. Black ants were hurling themselves on the red ones hysterically, while the red ones were advancing slowly but inexorably. Now and then, they caught a black ant and with a swift, savage bite, pierced it through the head or the thorax with their huge jaws.

7 Half-way up the hillside, the main body of the slave-makers' army was marching down. In about an hour, they had got closer to the black ants' city, and here, with a beautiful military precision which was quite amazing to watch, they split into three columns. While one column marched directly on the nest, the other two spread out and proceeded to execute a flanking or pincer movement. It was fascinating to watch. I felt I was suspended in some miraculous way above the field of battle of some old military campaign - the battle of Shangani or some similar historic battle. I could see at a glance the disposition of the attackers and the defenders. I could see the columns of reinforcements hurrying up through the jungle of grass. I could see the two outflanking columns of slave-makers moving gradually to the nest, while the black ants, unaware of their presence, were concentrating on fighting off the central column. It was quite obvious to me that unless the black ants very soon realised that they were being encircled, they would lose all hope of survival. I was torn between a desire to help the black ants in some way and a longing to leave things as they were and see how matters developed. I did pick up one of the black ants and placed him near the encircling red-ant column, but he was set upon and killed rapidly and I felt quite guilty.

8 Eventually, however, the black ants suddenly became aware of the fact that they were being neatly surrounded. Immediately, they seemed to panic and many of them ran to and from aimlessly. Some of them, in their freight, ran straight into the red invaders and were instantly killed. Others, however, seemed to keep their heads and they rushed down into the depths of the fortress and started on the work of evacuating the eggs, which they brought up and stacked on the side of the nest, farthest away from the invaders. Other members of the community then seized the eggs and started to rush them away to safety, but they had left it too late.

9 The encircling columns of slave makers, so orderly and neatly, now suddenly burst their ranks and spread over the whole area like a scuttling red tide. Everywhere, there were knots of struggling ants. The black ants, clasping eggs in their jaws, were pursued by the slave-makers, cornered and then forced to give up the eggs. If they showed resistance, they were immediately killed. The more cowardly, however, saved their lives by dropping the eggs they were carrying as soon as a slave-maker hovered in sight. The whole area on and around the nest was littered with dead and dying ants of both species, while between the 'corpses' the black ants ran futilely here and there, and the slave-makers gathered the eggs and started on the journey back to their fortress on the hill. At that point, very reluctantly, I had to leave the scene of battle, for it was getting too dark to see properly.

10 Early next morning, I arrived at the scene again, to find that the war was over. The black ants' city was deserted, except for the dead and injured ants littered all over it. Neither the black nor the red army was anywhere to be seen. I hurried up to the red ants' nest and was just in time to see the last of the army arrive there, carrying their spoils of war - the eggs - carefully in their jaws. At the entrance to the nest, their black slaves greeted them excitedly, touching the eggs with their antennae and scuttling eagerly around their masters, obviously full of enthusiasm for the successful raid on their own relations that the slave-makers had achieved. There was something unpleasantly human about the whole thing.

11 It is perhaps unfair to describe animals as indulging in warfare, because, for the most part, they are far too sensible to engage in warfare as we know it. The exceptions are, of course, the ants and the slave-makers in particular. For most other creatures, warfare consists of either defending themselves against an enemy or attacking something for food.

12 After watching the slave-makers wage war, I had the greatest admiration for their military strategy but it did not make me like them very much.

Adapted from: Encounters with Animals by Gerald Durrell.

Question 101

[1 marks]Comprehension

From Paragraph 1

Give evidence to show that the place had dry vegetation.

AThe red ants had built their fortress among the roots of a mopane tree on the hill
BThe grass blades were dry enough for the scouts to stand pensively on their tips
CThe battle was fought on bare ground within inches of the writer's own feet
DThe hillside was sun drenched and covered with twisted acacia shrubs and mopane bushes

Question 102

[1 marks]Comprehension

From Paragraph 1

Clearly state what was happening a few inches away from the writer's feet.

AA column of red ants was carrying eggs back to its nest on the hill
BTwo species of ants were living together in one nest on the friendliest terms
CA pack of hunting dogs was quartering the ground across the whole hillside
DA long and bloody war was being fought between two armies of ants

Question 103

[1 marks]Comprehension

From Paragraph 1

What was the writer's role in the war?

AHe was a scientist who had set the two armies against each other to study them
BHe was a soldier on the side of the black ants, whom he was trying to save
CHe was a war correspondent, watching the battle and reporting what he saw
DHe was the owner of the nest, who had put the two species in together

Question 104

[1 marks]Comprehension

From Paragraph 2

What did the writer find unusual about the ants' nest?

AIt had been abandoned by its owners and taken over by a second species
BIt lay right at the roots of a mopane tree, three metres above another nest
CIt was far larger than any nest of black ants he had seen on the hillside
DIt held two species of ants, one red and one black, living together in one nest

Question 105

[1 marks]Vocabulary in context

From Paragraph 2

Identify a word from this paragraph which shows that the inhabitants of the nest lived peacefully.

Apeculiar
Bresounding
Camicable
Dcautious

Question 106

[1 marks]Comprehension

From Paragraph 2

Quote a phrase of four consecutive words which shows that the writer closely watched the ants' nest.

Akept a cautious eye
Bseveral months passed and
CI took the trouble
Din the hope of

Question 107

[1 marks]Comprehension

From Paragraph 3

Where was the red ants' nest located in relation to the black ants' nest?

ARight beside it, at the roots of the same mopane tree
BA metre away from it, across the ground the scouts were quartering
CThree metres up the hillside from it, at the roots of a mopane tree
DThree metres down the hillside from it, among the acacia shrubs

Question 108

[1 marks]Comprehension

From Paragraph 3

What evidence shows that the red ants were not looking for food?

AThey wandered in vague circles instead of moving with their normal brisk inquisitiveness
BThey marched down the hillside in three columns straight towards the black ants' city
CThey stopped now and then to talk with their antennae twitching busily together
DThey carried nothing at all in their jaws as they went about the open hillside

Question 109

[2 marks]Comprehension

From Paragraph 4

'The black ants seemed distinctly ill at ease.' Paying particular attention to 'distinctly, and 'ill at ease', explain what the writer meant?

AIt seemed likely that the black ants had fallen sick in the heat on the hillside
BIt was plainly obvious that the black ants were uneasy and on edge
CIt was just possible that the black ants were tired after the morning's work
DIt was clear that the black ants were angry and ready to attack the scouts

Question 201

[2 marks]Comprehension

From Paragraph 8

Which pair gives two reasons why the black ants ran aimlessly to and fro?

AThey were carrying eggs to the far side of the nest, and they were following the orders of their leaders
BThey were chasing the red scouts back up the hillside, and they were gathering in knots for a council of war
CThey had suddenly found that they were surrounded, and they panicked and did not know which way to turn
DThey were searching the ground for their own scouts, and they wanted to draw the red ants away from the nest

Question 202

[1 marks]Comprehension

From Paragraph 9

Why was the writer unwilling to leave the scene of the battle?

AHe had not yet worked out which of the two nests the eggs really belonged to
BIt was getting too dark for him to see what the ants were doing properly
CHe was afraid the red ants would carry off the eggs before he could return
DThe fighting still held him and he wanted to see how the whole thing would end

Question 203

[2 marks]Comprehension

From Paragraph 11

According to the writer, which pair gives the justification for war among other creatures?

ADefending themselves against an enemy, and attacking something for food
BCapturing the young of another species, and taking over a better nest
CDefending their territory from neighbours, and settling which of them shall lead
DPractising the strategy the writer admires, and driving out their own kind

Question 204

[5 marks]Vocabulary in context

From the whole passage

The following words and phrases are in bold print in the passage. Which set gives the meaning that each of its words or phrases has in the passage?

1. foraging (paragraph 3)
2. terrain (paragraph 4)
3. council (paragraph 5)
4. skirmishes (paragraph 6)
5. keep their heads (paragraph 8)
6. littered (paragraph 9)
7. deserted (paragraph 10)
8. strategy (paragraph 12)

Aforaging: searching for food; terrain: the ground; skirmishes: brief clashes; keep their heads: run for cover; deserted: empty and abandoned
Bforaging: searching for food; terrain: the ground; skirmishes: brief clashes; keep their heads: stay calm; deserted: empty and abandoned
Cforaging: storing food away; terrain: the weather; skirmishes: brief clashes; keep their heads: stay calm; deserted: crowded and noisy
Dforaging: searching for food; terrain: the slope of the hill; skirmishes: full scale battles; keep their heads: stay calm; deserted: left in ruins

Question 301

[20 marks]Summary

Part of the passage describes the invasion of the black ants' nest by the slave-makers (red ants). Write a summary of what the slave-makers did during the war.

Use only material from paragraph 6 to the end of paragraph 9.

Your summary, which should be in continuous writing (not note form), must not be longer than 160 words, including the given ten (10) words. Each word should be written in a separate box on the grid answer sheet provided in the answer booklet. If you make a mistake, cancel the word(s) and write the correct word(s) in the same box(es) above or next to the cancelled word(s).

Begin your summary as follows:

After having carefully investigated the area, the red ants' scouts....

Asurrounded the nest and then waited without fighting at all until the black ants had surrendered to them, took the eggs that were handed over to them at the entrance, spared every ant that offered them no resistance and marched home again in the same three columns they had come down in, with their own black slaves coming down the hill to help them carry the load
Bmoved in with small platoons and skirmished within a metre of the nest, biting black ants through head or thorax, while the main army marched down the hillside and split into three columns, one attacking head on and two closing in a pincer; the encircling columns then burst their ranks over the whole area, cornered the ants carrying eggs and forced them to give the eggs up, killed those that resisted and set off home with the spoils
Cdug into the black ants' fortress from below, drove the defenders out into the open where the sun and the waiting platoons killed them, then carried off the grown black ants alive to work as slaves in their own nest at the top of the hill, leaving the eggs behind them in the ruins of the city for the writer to find still lying there the following morning
Dgave up the attack when they saw how many black ants were waiting for them at the mouth of the nest, drew back up the hillside in the three columns they had come down in and spent the night at the roots of the mopane tree, returning at first light only to find the black ants' city already emptied of its defenders and every one of the eggs carried away into the long grass