CSEC ENGLISH

Hello there! Today we have another quiz for you on the poems you are studying. See how many correct answers you get! And to help you with English A, we continue to look at how to write a summary. Read on now, and enjoy today’s CSEC English page.

ENGLISH B—Poetry Quiz

In the poem Orchids:

1. What is the speaker doing when she discovers the orchids? 2. What do the flowers lack?

3. What does the speaker try to do to the orchids?

4. The orchids seem to the speaker to be like polished ............. ? 5. What figure of speech is referred to in Q 4?

In the poem The Woman Speaks:

6. When she is pregnant with her son, the woman carried him full

term tight up under her what?

7. Name one of the things she had hoped her son might become. 8. The mother complains that when the boy asked for bread, the

father gave him this.

9. What does the mother go out to buy for ‘the day he draw his

bloody salary’?

10. Which two mothers in the Bible does the woman compare herself

to?

In the poem A Stone’s Throw:

11. The woman is accused of which offence?

12. What does the speaker want to do to the woman?

13. Quote two words or phrases from the poem that suggest the socalled religious man has sexual thoughts about the woman.

Quote two pieces of evidence from the poem that show how the speaker disrespects Jesus.

SPELLING

Here are 15 words that are frequently misspelt. Ask someone to test you and see if you can spell all of them correctly. Check any new words in your dictionary. Write out any words that you couldn’t spell, and make sure they will never catch you again!

pursuit, receipt, recipe, photocopying, maintenance, manageable, argument, rendezvous (pronounced RON-DAY-VOO =meeting), repetition, restaurant, chauffeur, ridiculous, sacrifice, hypocrisy, accommodation

HOW TO DO A SUMMARY

In about 110 words, summarize the writer’s views on what growing old means.

Step 1. Underline the relevant material.

Step 2. Write out the underlined sections in your own words.

Step 3. Edit your work until you have the required number of words. (NB Repetition and wordiness need to be avoided.)

Why is it that the things for which we hold a burning passion eventually become meaningless to us? When I look almost scornfully at young boys playing marbles, it is easy to forget that I, too, lived for marbles. This is probably what growing old means: the sad passing from one source of pleasure to another, until there are no joys or pleasures to look forward to and nothing to enjoy. Look at a child waiting for Christmas and you will realize how much you have lost by growing old.

And as we leave our youth behind it is difficult to be anything but conscious of the fact that we grow less and less immune to illness and disease, that health itself must deteriorate and our faculties will worsen until they lose their effectiveness. Inevitably, the prospect of dying, so easily scoffed at in our youth, comes sharply into focus with each passing day.

As old age signals the inevitable end of life, it also helps to remind us that we have achieved very little, that the goals we set for ourselves have not been attained. Those of us who thought that we would have lit the world afire have to accept that we have not done so, and will not do so. Even if we had achieved our goals, there would still be the nagging thought that there are no new fields to conquer, or, to put it more accurately, there are fields which we are now incapable of conquering. It is too late to start again and so we remain saddened and disenchanted, if not embittered.

The next time we read of or hear about someone “struck down in the flower of his youth” (as the sentimentalists like to express it), the next time we think of the serious injustice that was done to such a person, let us remember that that person was spared the pain of growing old.

(Modified from

Write your summary without looking at ours. Then check the bottom of the page to see if you have included all the important points.

DESPITE AND ALTHOUGH

by Paul King)

These two words are used differently. Look at these two sentences: A. Although he apologized, she could not forgive him.

(Although+subject+verb)

B. Despite his apology, she could not forgive him. (Despite+noun) Here are some sentences using Although. Change them, following the pattern in B, to use Despite instead.

1. 2. 3.

4. 5. 6. 7.

Although she felt anxious, Mum still went to the school.

Although she admired John, she didn’t want to marry him. Although we appreciate your work, we can’t employ you any longer.

Although we arrived early, we missed our onward connection. Although he was bored, he still took notes in the class.

Although she explained the problem, he was unsympathetic. Although you encouraged me, I still felt nervous.

CHOOSING THE RIGHT WORD

When the decision was taken to (rout/route) the buses through this area, no one realized how much their coming would change our lives.

2. When you speak of a

dimensions only.

3. In many of the more (popular/populous) regions of the world,

provision of potable is a major undertaking.

4. Your job is to keep watch and let us know (who’s/whose)

through the front gate.

5. My (principal/principle) objection to taking that course of action

is that we have not had enough time to discuss it fully.

6. Over the weekend we spent (quiet/quite) a few hours on a littlefrequented beach.

7. The young man, his cap held (respectfully/respectively)

hand, waited for the boss to speak. 1.

Writing Summaries and Statistical Reports (plain/plane) in geometry, you speak of two

Turn to 6B

coming in his

The smallest but most populated natural region in Guyana is the

(A) Highland Region (B) Hilly Sand and Clay Region (C) Low Coastal Plain (D) Interior Savannah

All of the following activities take place on the narrow strip of land that borders the Atlantic Ocean to the north, except

(A) Bauxite mining (B) Rice harvesting

(C) Cash crop farming (D) Sugar-cane cultivation

Which of the following organisations is involved in the production of sugar?

(A)

(C)

Which mountain range has the highest mountain? (A) Kanuku (B) Kamoa (C) Imataka (D) Pakaraima

The rolling grasslands of Brazil are called

(A) Rupununi (B) Campos (C) Llanos (D) Bush veld

Sea walls and groynes are built on the coastlands

(A) mainly for recreational purposes

(B) to provide a safe place for swimming

(C) to prevent the sea from rushing onto the land (D) For boats to moor

Which natural region has Guyana’s largest forest reserves? (A) The Hilly Sand and Clay Region

(B) The Low Coastal Plain

(C) The Highland Region

(D) The Interior Savannahs

The people who work by taking care of cattle in Guyana’s interior savannahs are called

(A) Vaqueros

(C) Jockeys

Pork-knockers work in the _____________ areas of Guyana. (A) Coastal (B) Savannah

(C) Hilly Sand and Clay (D) Highland

With which mineral industry is alumina connected? (A) Gold (B) Bauxite (C) Manganese (D) Diamond

The Kaieteur Falls and the Canopy Walkway attract tourists to the (A) Forested Highland Region

(B) Hilly Sand and Clay Region

(C) Low Coastal Plain

(D) Rupununi Savannahs

Mangrove trees are planted along the seashore

(A) to beautify the environment

(B) to provide a home for birds monkeys and other animals

(C) to provide firewood for people who cannot afford to buy kerosene or cooking gas. as a defence against the sea (D)

(B) (D) (B) (D) (B) (D)

Farm hands Touchaus 19. 24.