CSEC ENGLISH
Hello there. If you’ve been working along with us, you will know that for our English B candidates, we are looking at Paper 1—the ‘unseen’ paper. And, as usual, we have various exercises to help all of you polish up your skills for English A. Read on, and enjoy!
ENGLISH B - Answers from last week’s ‘unseen’ drama passage. Did you work through the multiple choice questions we gave you last week? Here are the answers, along with our explanation. You were to select the correct response from the four given.
1. The best words to describe Troy’s behaviour towards Rose in this scene are
(a) aggressive and frightening; b) playful and admiring, c) passionate and sneaky; d) loving and tender
Troy is playful and admiring. He crept up on Rose and grabbed her from behind, tried more than once to kiss her as she dodged him, told her he was interested only in her, and not in the game, and that he was ‘fixing to do his homework’ (meaning to make love to her).
2. When Troy says he’s ‘fixing’ to do his ‘homework’, he means (a) studying his lessons; b) making love to Rose; c) practising for the game; d) putting up a fence
He means ‘making love to Rose’. That’s the ‘work’ he does when he’s at home; his work on the fence is neglected while he’s doing this ‘homework’. His attempts to distract her from her washing, make us realize he wants to be close to her.
3. Which ONE of the following statements is true? a) Rose tries to defend Cory because Troy can be hard on him. b) Troy hates the way Rose nags c) Rose is not interested in the game Troy has been watching d) Rose is scared of Troy
The only true statement is that Rose tries to defend Cory (by saying he is doing his chores) because Troy can be hard on him—as we see when Troy calls roughly to the boy to ‘get his butt’ out there.
4. Which of these props/scenery would NOT be needed for this scene? a) some wood and a saw; b) some washing and a clothes line; c) some bread and meat loaf; d) a doorway leading into the house
The stage directions tell us that Rose is taking down the clothes and that Troy leaves her and goes over to saw a piece of wood. So both a) and b) are needed. Troy calls into the house to Cory, and Cory has left Rose to go and get the bread and meat loaf she offered, and so we know that the stage needs a doorway leading into the house. What is NOT needed on stage is the bread and meat loaf, because those are inside the house and we cannot see them or Cory.
5. The mood of the scene changes at this point: a) Rose: I thought you went… b) the mood does not change c) Rose: Troy, you better leave… d) Troy: Where’s Cory? That boy
brought…
The mood changes when Troy asks, ‘Where’s Cory?’ Before that, Cory was playfully romancing Rose. He seems to get annoyed as soon as he mentions Cory.
6. We can expect the relationship between Cory and his father to
be
(a) happy as they work together; b) tense; c) mutually supportive; d) filled with a shared interest in sport
The relationship between Troy and Cory seems to be very tense. Notice that Cory has not come out to see his father, and Rose has tried to cover up for Cory by saying he’s doing his chores, when she knows he’s taking a snack.
What can you learn from this drama excerpt? You should now realize that it’s important to ● Read the passage very carefully
● Notice all information about costumes, setting and props (such as the saw and wood and the clothes on the line) ● Notice any directions given about sound and lighting effects and about movements (as the detail that Troy ‘grabs’ Rose from behind and tries to kiss her and then chases after her.) ● Be aware of any changes in the MOOD of the passage (as when Troy stops paying attention to Rose and remembers Cory) ● Be aware of any CONFLICT between characters (as here, between
Cory and Troy).
DANGLING MODIFIERS
Every verb in English has a present participle (flying, talking, hoping) and a past participle (taken, written, polished).
If your sentence begins with a PHRASE containing a PARTICIPLE (a participial phrase), then make sure that the SUBJECT of the verb in the MAIN CLAUSE is the same person as the one referred to by the participle.
For example:
● When questioned about the incident, the police officer managed to get the prisoner to break down and confess. (Incorrect: it was the prison er who was questioned, who broke down and confessed—not the police officer)
● When questioned about the incident, the prisoner broke down and
confessed. (Correct)
● Spotting the cat about to run off with the fish, the four-legged thief was chased out of the kitchen by the cook. (Incorrect: it was the cook who ‘spotted’ and chased—not ‘the four-legged thief’)
● Spotting the cat about to run off with the fish, the cook chased the
animal out of the kitchen. Correct)
Correct these sentences:
1. Bundled into the police vehicle, the officers drove the suspect to the
nearest police station.
2. Eating snacks between meals, Elsa’s weight increased dramatically. 3. Orphaned at the age of three, an aunt looked after me until I left her
home at sixteen.
4. Taking shorter lunch breaks, the job was finished by the painters in
record time.
5. Fully air-conditioned, your stay in this apartment will be very com
fortable.
6. Spending every evening revising for the exam, necessary healthy
exercise is neglected by students.
7. When opened, the customs officer found only books in the parcel. 8. Finding a wallet stuffed with money, a spending spree was the first
thought in Desiree’s head.
BUILDING YOUR VOCABULARY
Here are 10 words. Fit them appropriately into the blanks in the sentences.
Lithe, brittle, dexterous, conscientious, complementary, authentic, obnoxious, supercilious, adept, rigorous
1. After a period of intense and ————training, the recruits were
finally ready for combat.
2. Watching the glass-blower at work, the youngsters were astounded at his ———-movements as he turned a molten glass rod into a delicate ornament.
3. If you don’t have sufficient calcium in your diet, your teeth and bones
may become ——————, so drink up your milk!
4. Every movement of the panther in his cage showed us how ———
——and agile he would be if only he were in his natural environment.