BECE English 2016 Past Questions & Answers – Papers 2 & 1

JUNE 2016
ENGLISH LANGUAGE 2

1 hour

This paper consists of two parts: A and B. Answer two questions in all; one question from Part A and all the questions in Part B.
Your composition should be about 250 words long.

Credit will be given for clarity of expression and orderly presentation of material.

PART A
ESSAY WRITING
[30 MARKS]

Answer one question only from this part

1. Write a letter to your friend describing how you saved a child who was in danger.

2. Write an article for publication in your school magazine on the topic:
The relationship between parents and their children should be cordial.

3. Write a story which ends with the sentence, We were lucky that night.

 

PART B
COMPREHENSION
[30 marks]

4. Read the following passage carefully and answer all the questions which follow

One major cause of environmental degradation in Ghana is gold mining. In the name of natural resource development, land is given to mining companies owned by foreigners. These foreigners milk the country dry and destroy the heritage of the people.
From the vast concessions granted them by the government, they extract the gold, destroy the rivers and other water bodies in the communities before going home, leaving the land worthless. Yet, their operations are legal.
Approved mining is, however, not the sole gold mining activity. There is also what is regarded as unauthorized mining, called galamsey. In this enterprise, adventurous Ghanaians set out to do private mining as a livelihood. They dig up the earth with tools that are not as sophisticated as those of foreigners who also dig for the precious metal.
Mining activities destroy the environment. So far, it appears that nothing can be done to reclaim the land degraded by miners; the damage is irreversible. Vast tracts of arable land have become desolate mounds because of gold digging. Nothing can grow where galamsey has taken place.
Besides, the main water sources of communities have been polluted by the activities of both legal and illegal miners. The gold extracted from dirt requires cleaning with chemicals and rinsing in water. By the time the gold searchers succeed in producing a glittering handful, large stretches of rivers, ponds of water and some lakes have been poisoned.
Pollution leaves little drinking water for man and beast. Fishes die and humans contract various diseases.

(a) Name the types of mining activities discussed in the passage.

(b) (i) Which groups of people engage in mining?
(ii) Why does the government give licences to miners?

(c) How are the people and the land affected by the mining activities?

(d) (i) How does the writer feel about mining?
(ii) Why does the writer think that nothing can be done about the effects of mining?

(e) Explain the following expressions in your own words:
(i) milk the country dry;
(ii) leaving the land worthless.

(f) For each of the following words, give another word or phrase, that means the same, and can fit into the passage:
(i) vast;
(ii) sole
(iii) reclaim
(iv) mounds
(v) glittering

END OF ESSAY TEST

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June 2016
ENGLISH LANGUAGE 2
PART B – COMPREHENSION

ANSWERS

4.
(a) Name the types of mining activities discussed in the passage.
Approved mining and unUnauthorised mining

(b) (i) Which groups of people engage in mining?
The groups of people engaged in mining are foreigners and Ghanaians

(ii) Why does the government give licences to miners?
Government gives licences to miners for development of natural resource.

(c) How are the people and the land affected by the mining activities?
The people are left with little or no drinking water and they contract various diseases while the lands become desolate mounds on which nothing can grow.

(d) (i) How does the writer feel about mining?
The writer is concerned / worried /disturbed / unhappy / upset / bothered / troubled /vexed/ sad / discontented, etc about the mining.

(ii) Why does the writer think that nothing can be done about the effects of mining?
The writer thinks nothing can be done about the effects of mining because the damage caused by mining is irreversible.

(e) Explain the following expressions in your own words:
(i) milk the country dry;
 exploit the country’s natural resources;
 drain the country of its natural resources (or any suitable answer)

(ii) leaving the land worthless.
making the land lose its value (or any suitable answer)

(f) For each of the following words, give another word or phrase, that means the same, and can fit into the passage:
(i) vast; – very large / very wide /enormous / great
(ii) sole – only / one and only / lone
(iii) reclaim – restore / recover / salvage / regain
(iv) mounds – heaps / piles / hills / knolls
(v) glittering – shining, sparkling, gleaming / shimmering

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June 2016
ENGLISH LANGUAGE 1

Objective Test
45 minutes

PART A
LEXIS AND STRUCTURE

SECTION A

From the alternatives lettered A to D, choose the one which most suitably completes each sentence.

1. He is …………….poor that he cannot pay his bills.
A. so
B. too
C. very
D. rather

2. You will be late …………..you hurry.
A. if
B. or
C. unless
D. while

3. Aminu has been absent from class ……………..one month.
A. in
B. for
C. from
D. since

4. Many people have been invited, but ……………..will be employed.
A. few
B. a few
C. little
D. a little

5. The teacher told the girl he had received …………of the two exercises.
A. all
B. any
C. none
D. neither

6. My father has bought a …………..car
A. private brand new
B. new brand private
C. private new brand
D. brand new private

7. Mama is never ………..ready for anything.
A. so
B. ever
C. even
D. rather

8. Akua was …………..that she won four prizes.
A. a girl so brilliant
B. a so brilliant girl
C. so brilliant a girl
D. a brilliant so girl

9. Before he entered the classroom, we ……….the chalkboard.
A. cleaned
B. have cleaned
C. had cleaned
D. are cleaning

10. I have forgotten all …………my friend told me.
A. this
B. that
C. what
D. which

11. The supervisor will ask the ………….to come and repair the pipe in the bath room.
A. mason
B. repairer
C. plumber
D. lumber

12. The stone fell into the river with a loud ………………
A. bang
B. crash
C. noise
D. splash

13. Aggie got …………mark for French in the examination.
A. bad
B. worse
C. the worse
D. the worst

14. We won the school debating contest, …………we?
A. hadn’t
B. didn’t
C. couldn’t
D. did

15. Kwame looks very handsome, …………..?
A. isn’t he
B. isn’t it
C. doesn’t he
D. does he

16. Nana Yaa was suffering ……………measles.
A. by
B. with
C. from
D. through

17. The suspect was charged …………….pickpocketing.
A. of
B. for
C. on
D. with

SECTION B
Choose from the alternatives lettered A to D the one which is nearest in meaning to the underlined word in each sentence.

18. One essential item for making local soap is soda ash.
A. correct
B. main
C. real
D. important

19. Pupils are to read the instructions carefully.
A. notices
B. demands
C. commands
D. directives

20. The dog saw its image in the water.
A. nature
B. condition
C. reflection
D. attraction

21. We shall have the final rehearsal for the play tonight
A. meeting
B. practice
C. trial
D. preparation

22. My mother is skilled in domestic affairs
A. local
B. internal
C. everyday
D. household

SECTION C
In each of the following sentences a group of words has been underlined. Choose from the alternatives lettered A to D the one that best explains the underlined group of words.

23. Akweley was taken aback on seeing a stranger in her room.
This means Akweley was very
A. angry
B. afraid
C. confused
D. surprised

24. The employees saw eye to eye with their manager.
This means that the employees
A. agreed completely with him
B. were very close to him
C. rarely saw him
D. greatly respected him

25. The priest was in high spirits during the sermon.
This means that he was
A. content
B. cheerful
C. spiritual
D. annoyed

26. The opponents decided to bury the hatchet.
This means that they decided to
A. make peace
B. bury their guns
C. hold discussions
D. suspend the fighting

27. The headmaster took the students’ version of the theft with a pinch of salt.
A. believed the students’ version.
B. doubted the students’ version.
C. accepted the students’ version.
D. ignored the students’ version.

SECTION D
From the list of words lettered A to D, choose the one that is most nearly opposite in meaning to the word underlined in each sentence.

28. The judge acquitted four of the accused but …………….the rest.
A. convicted
B. discharged
C. cautioned
D. rebuked

29. It pays to be courteous rather than being …………..
A. rude
B. wicked
C. disobedient
D. boastful

30. Drivers who do not drive with care are sometimes charged with ………….
A. speeding
B. drunkenness
C. disobedience
D. recklessness

31. King David was the heir to the throne while the brother was the ……………..
A. usurper
B. successor
C. claimant
D. descendant

32. The secretary intentionally hid the documents but the clerk …………burnt them.
A. willingly
B. hastily
C. mistakenly
D. carelessly

PART B
LITERATURE

From the list of words lettered A to D, choose the one that correctly answers each question or completes the sentence.

33. A poem of six lines is called a/an …………..
A. octave
B. opera
C. sextet
D. sonnet

Read the following extract below and answer Questions 34 to 38.

The sudden change in the weather frightened Araba.
The bright orange colour of the sunset sky had
quickly turned dull as the grey clouds gathered,
rumbling, dark and angry.
The booming voice of thunder was intimidating.
Lightning flashed shards of light from his formidable torch.
Araba was a cornered rat.
How would she get home if the worst happened?

34. The atmosphere is ……………..
A. cheerful
B. friendly
C. frightening
D. undaunting

35. The state of the weather is emphasized by the word ………….
A. angry
B. cloud
C. flashed
D. grey

36. ‘Lightning flashed …light from …..torch.’ is an example of …………
A. alliteration
B. ellipsis
C. parallelism
D. personification

37. What is being referred to by the question, ‘How would she ……..happened?’
A. Current calm
B. Imminent rain
C. Latent sky
D. Rumbling clouds

38. The extract is …………
A. drama
B. poetry
C. prose
D. story

39. One special feature of prose is the ………….
A. paragraph
B. stanza
C. stage direction
D. rhyme

40. The work of the novelist is in ………….
A. drama
B. poetry
C. prose
D. verse

END OF PAPER 1

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JUNE 2016
ENGLISH LANGUAGE 1

ANSWERS

(OBJECTIVE TEST)

1. A. so
2. C. unless
3. B. for
4. A. few
5. D. neither
6. D. brand new private
7. B. ever
8. C. so brilliant a girl
9. C. had cleaned
10. B. that
11. C. plumber
12. D. splash
13. D. the worst
14. B. didn’t
15. C. doesn’t he
16. C. from
17. D. with
18. D. important
19. D. directives
20. C. reflection
21. B. practice
22. D. household
23. D. surprised
24. A. agreed completely with him
25. B. cheerful
26. A. make peace
27. B. doubted the students’ version
28. A. convicted
29. A. rude
30. D. recklessness
31. A. usurper
32. C. mistakenly
33. C. sextet
34. C. frightening
35. A. angry
36. D. personification
37. B. Imminent rain
38. B. poetry
39. A. paragraph
40. C. prose

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