PAKWACH SECONDARY SCHOOL

P.O. BOX 23, PAKWACH

S.3 ENGLISH

1. A government official in colonial Bombay hosted a dinner party for some friends.
The dinner took place in his spacious dining room with a splendid marble floor, open rafters and
wide glass doors opening on to a verandah. The guests were a collection of fine ladies and
gentlemen. Among them was Peterson, a visiting American biologist.
A spirited discussion sprang up between a young lady and a colonel. The young lady was
saying that women had outgrown the era of jumping on a chair at the sight of a mere mouse, but
the colonel was insisting that they hadn’t.
“A woman’s unfailing reaction in a crisis is to scream.” He said “Whereas a man may feel
like screaming, he has that little bit of self-control which restrains him.”
Peterson did not join in the argument like the other guests but watched on in silence. When
his eyes settled on Mrs. Wyness, he noticed a strange expression come on her face.
The hostess was staring straight ahead, her muscles contracting slightly. With a slight gesture,
she summoned the Indian servant behind her chair and whispered to him. The servant’s eyes
widened and he quickly left the room.
Of all the guests, none except the American noticed this or saw the servant place a bowl of
milk on the verandah just outside the open doors.
Peterson smelled a rat. In India, milk and a bowl meant one thing – bait for a snake.
He realized that there must be a cobra in the room. He looked up the rafters, the likeliest place,
but they were bare. Three corners of the room were empty and in the fourth, the servants were
preparing to serve the next course. There was only one place left and that was under the table.
His first impulse was to jump back and warn the guests, but he knew that the resultant
commotion would frighten the cobra into striking. A plan swooped into his mind. He spoke
quickly, the tone of his voice so arresting that it sobered everyone.
“Excuse me ladies and gentlemen; I want to know just what degree of control everyone at
this table has. I will count three hundred, that’s five minutes. During that time not one of you is
to move a muscle. Those who move will pay a fine of fifty rupees. Ready?”
The twenty people sat like stone images while he counted. He was saying. “…two hundred
and eighty…” when out of the corner of his eyes he saw the cobra emerge and make for the bowl
of milk. The others also saw it and screams rang out as Peterson jumped and slammed the
verandah door safely shut.
“You were right, Colonel,” the host said after the dust had settled. “A man has just shown
us an example of perfect control.”
“Just a minute,’ the American said, turning to his hostess. ‘Mrs. Wyness, how did you
know that the cobra was in the room?’
A faint smile lit up the woman’s face.
“Because it was crawling across my foot,” she replied.

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Questions
1. What is the name of the government official mentioned in the first sentence?
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2. Mention the two people who exercise self-control as seen in the passage.
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3. Who of the two people in the question above showed the more perfect example of self-
control and why?
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4. Between the young lady and the colonel, who is proved wrong in the end and why?
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5. Explain the meaning of the following words and expression as used in the passage.
i. …..spirited…..
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ii. ….summoned…
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iii. ….smelled a rat….
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iv. …..commotion….
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2. Traditional African society had its own form of education. This education was not like the
Western education which has college trained teachers in a school setting with a written
curriculum. Traditional education was informal. Almost every adult member of the community
was a teacher. The homestead was the ‘classroom’ and the village a large was the ‘school’.
The old education grew naturally out of the village and tribal way of life. A child had to
learn how to deal with the dangers of the surroundings and how to treat the friends and respect
elders. He learnt about the weather of his area, the history of the tribe and the skillful ways of
earning a living through the use of the spear, the hoe and the axe. The mother taught him correct
etiquette in speech, eating manners and hygiene. Throughout his childhood. It was impressed
upon him that he could not live alone, that he had to abide by the ways of the tribe. He lived ina
world of kinship; his kinsmen provided security in sickness and old age. Therefore, the child
learnt the rites and standards which kinship would demand from birth to death.
This societal education put great emphasis on correct conduct and confidence. In many
societies, boys were subjected to severe tests of endurance and bravery. For example, a boy
could be required to go on a lonely expenditure in the wilderness to kill a leopard with arrows.
Girls learnt how to competently prepare a meal without adult assistance.

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 This traditional form of education had the benefit of preparing a child for life in the
community. It did not at any moment encourage him to be selfish or have individualistic
ambitions.
However, in the colonial years, the mission schools taught the kind of things children in
Europe are taught. This education produced a small westernized elite in the colonies but it had
very little to do with African needs and values. The books they read had European life, culture
and snow scenes in them. Few of these things had anything connected with the African
children’s environment. The colonial education was motivated by the desire to inculcate the
values of the Western culture and train individuals for the service of the colonial authorities.

Questions
1. Which of the following statements is true about traditional education according to the
passage?
A. The instruction were formally trained
B. The set of instructions was well recorded
C. The venue of instruction was specific
D. The manner of instructions was not formal
2. Traditional education taught the child……………
A. To be a useful member of the community
B. To lead an independent life
C. To help only those who helped him
D. To avoid the challenges in this life
3. Why would a boy be required to kill a leopard?
A. So that leopards could not attack the villagers
B. To reduce the number of wild animals
C. To prove that he was a brave man
D. To be praised by the community
4. The writer thinks that Western education was……….
A. Useful
B. Developmental
C. Irrelevant
D. Harmful
5. A suitable title for the passage would be:
A. The values of Colonial Education in Africa
B. The Advantages and Disadvantages of Education
C. Formal and Informal Education in Africa
D. The Merits and Demerits of Traditional Education

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3. Rewrite each item 3.1 to 3.10 according to the instructions. Do not change the meaning of
the original sentence.
3.1 I’m frustrated by the way she speaks. (Rewrite: Using what)
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3.2 Whatever the consequences may be, I am determined to win. (Begin: Regardless)
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3.3 All the people came to give evidence. He had stolen their property. (Join as one sentence
using: Whose)
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3.4 It did not seem wise to pull the plug out of the socket. (Rewrite to end with seem wise)
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3.5 “You have the whole of this week to prepare for the wedding of our daughters. John said to
his wife. (Use: indirect speech beginning: John told….)
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3.6 If the police had not arrived in time, the thieves would have escaped. (Begin: But…)
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3.7 Everyone was surprise by the behaviour of the chairman. (Rewrite: ending surprised
everybody)
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3.8 My grandmother is knowledgeable about poultry keeping. (Replace: :knowledgeable” with
skilled)
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3.9 Japen had never experienced such a powerful earthquake. (Begin: Never….)
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3.10 The passion of Christ will be showing at Cineplex cirmen. It is being screened for fourth
time. It was dincted by Mil Gibson. (Join into one sentence without using which)
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THE END