GENERAL EDUCATION DIPLOMA EXAMINATION
ENGLISH LANGUAGE ‘B’
SEMESTER TWO — SECOND SESSION
TIME: 3 hours TOTAL MARKS: 70
This paper has 8 pages.
LISTENING: You will hear each text three times. The first time,
only listen;
the second time write; the third time check your work.
When the tape finishes, write your answers on your answer paper.
LISTENING 1 (Items 1 – 6)
You will hear a conversation between two teachers, who are organizing a book sale.
Listen, and for each item, choose the correct option: A, B or C.
1. The conversation takes place in a __________.
A. coffee shop B. shopping centre C. school
2. At the last book sale, they didn’t have enough __________.
A. customers B. books C. space
3. This time, they have about __________ books for sale.
A. 1,000 B. 3,000 C. 5,000
4. The woman’s students have helped by __________.
A. making posters B. collecting lots of books C. sending invitations
5. They decide to meet again on __________.
A. Saturday B. Tuesday C. Wednesday
6. They will discuss __________.
A. how much the books
will cost
B. what time the sale
should start and finish
C. how many sellers they
will need
LISTENING 2 (Items 7 – 11)
You will hear a woman talking about cars.
Listen, and for each question, write a short answer (ONE or TWO WORDS only).
7. When she was a child, who looked after the family car? ___________________
8. How old was she when she got her driving license? _____________________
9. Who helped her when she had a problem with her car last year? _________________
10. Who suggested that she should go on a ‘Car Basics’ course? ___________________
11. Who organised the course? ___________________
Write your answers on your answer paper.
Grade 12, English Language ‘B’ page 2
Semester Two, Second Session, 2008 – 2009
LISTENING 3 (Items 12 – 15]
You will hear four people speaking. Who are they? For each text,
choose ONE of the items in the box. Write A, B, C, etc, as in the example.
Example: “Now students. Who can tell me
the answer to number five?” __F_____
SPEAKERS
12. (1) ________
13. (2) ________
14. (3) ________
15. (4) ________
A
B
C
D
E
F
G
a passenger
a policeman
an interviewer
a shopkeeper
a footballer
a teacher
a scientist
VOCABULARY 1 (Items 1 – 5)
Complete the text. Use five of the words in the box. Write ONE word in each space.
(There are three extra words in the box.)
disappeared discovered left returned
said searched told took
“It was a difficult voyage. We (1) ____________ Liverpool early in the morning and
sailed across the Irish Sea. Unfortunately,
because of bad weather, it (2) _____________
us more than five hours to get to Dublin. We were just entering the port when something
unusual happened. The captain (3) _____________ me that one of the crew members, a
Scotsman called Willy McBride, was missing. We (4) _____________ all over the ship, but
couldn’t find him anywhere. He had completely (5) ______________!”
Write your answers on your answer paper.
Grade 12, English Language ‘B’ page 3
Semester Two, Second Session, 2008 – 2009
VOCABULARY 2 (Items 6 – 10)
Complete each sentence/short text. Choose the correct option: A, B, C or D.
6. Remember to _____________ some warm clothes. It’s cold outside.
A. put on B. take out C. put off D. take off
7. If I want to turn the volume down, which button should I _____________?
A. switch B. press C. reduce D. insert
8. Why are you __________? It isn’t funny at all!
A. screaming B. shouting C. arguing D. laughing
9. That’s strange. I ___________ why she’s late today? She’s usually on time.
A. believe B. prefer C. wonder D. suggest
10. The _____________ in the valley is excellent. If you plant any crop, it will grow.
A. cement B. liquid C. soil D. fuel
VOCABULARY 3 (Items 11 – 15)
For each item, read the definition and write the word in the space provided.
You are given the first letter(s) of the word. Make sure you spell the word correctly.
Example: ___kitchen ___ (noun) a room where food is prepared and cooked
e.g. They keep the fridge in the kit…………
11. ____________ (adjective) big
e.g. We have this shirt in three sizes: small, medium or la..........
12. ____________ (verb) to get out of a dangerous or unpleasant situation
e.g. Fifteen men were able to es............ from the prison.
13. ____________ (noun) an event that causes many deaths and a lot of damage
e.g. The flood was the worst dis............ in the country’s history.
14. ____________ (verb) to move upwards or to increase
e.g. Scientists believe that temperatures will continue to r.........
15. ____________ (noun) a device that warns people of danger, usually with a loud noise
e.g. When we heard the fire al…….., we ran out of the building
Write your answers on your answer paper.
Grade 12, English Language ‘B’ page 4
Semester Two, Second Session, 2008 – 2009
GRAMMAR 1 (Items 1 – 5)
Complete the text. For each space, choose the correct option: A, B, C or D.
Speaker A: Excuse me. (1)_________ my glasses anywhere?
Speaker B: You haven’t lost them again, (2) ___________?
Speaker A: No! I just can’t remember (3) ___________ I put them.
Speaker B: When was the last time you (4) _________ them?
Speaker A: Let me think. Oh, yes! It was when I (5) __________ your report. Just
after lunch.
1. A. Are you seeing B. Have you seen C. Do you see D. Had you seen
2. A. are you B. have you C. did you D. were you
3. A. how B. when C. which D. where
4. A. used B. are using C. have used D. will use
5. A. was looking at B. looked C. look at D. looking
GRAMMAR 2 (Items 6 – 10)
Complete each sentence with ONE WORD only.
6. “She went to the post office __________ buy some stamps.”
7. “What kind ________ car do you drive?”
8. “I think Science is more interesting __________ all the other subjects.”
9. “Those children ________ making so much noise! Tell them to be quiet!”
10. “__________ don’t we go to the cinema?” — “Good idea!’
GRAMMAR 3 (Items 11 – 15)
Look at the sentences. If the sentence is correct, put a tick ( ).
If the sentence is not correct, write it correctly.
Do not change the meaning of the sentence.
Examples: Ahmed is a nice man. _______________________
Salma are a nice woman. __ Salma is a nice woman.______
11. They fly to Qatar last night. _____________________________________________
12. I’m waiting my mother. _____________________________________________
13. She’s lived here since 1995. _____________________________________________
14. Would you like a cup of tea? _____________________________________________
15. You should to stay at home. _____________________________________________
Grade 12, English Language ‘B’ page 5
Semester Two, Second Session, 2008 – 2009
READING 1 (Items 1 – 6)
Match the six cues on the left with the responses in the box.
Write A, B, C, etc, as in the example. (There are three extra responses.)
e.g. She’s a hotel receptionist. __H__ A “Are you sure? We’ve got lots in the
fridge. Three litres, at least.”
1. “Good evening. I’d like to
report a problem with my
Internet connection.”
______
B “You mean the car that has two
engines: one electric and one petroldriven?
Yes, it was very interesting.”
2. “Please make sure that
these invitations go out
today.”
______
C “She promised to bring some food
and drink for the party, but then she
said she didn’t have time!”
3. “If you’re going to the supermarket,
could you buy some
more milk, please?”
______
D “But we eat there every week! Why
don’t we try something different?”
4. “You know that Fatma has just
moved house. Shouldn’t we go
and visit her?”
______
E “If you’re driving to Salalah, I think
you should have the car checked
before you leave.”
5. “I’ve booked our usual table at
the Chinese restaurant.” ______
F “Should I deliver them myself, or can
I send them by fax?”
6. “Did you see the article in
‘Environment Today’ about
that new ‘hybrid’ vehicle?”
______
G “Right. We’ll send a technician to
your house tomorrow morning. Could
you give us the address, please?”
H No, she isn’t! She works in a bank.
I Yes, you’re right. Now, let’s see. I’m
busy all this week, but Thursday
would be fine. How about you?
J “When we arrived, the place was
completely empty. So we looked at
the invitation again. It was the
wrong day!”
Write your answers on your answer paper.
Grade 12, English Language ‘B’ page 6
Semester Two, Second Session, 2008 – 2009
READING 2 (Items 7 – 12)
Read the following two e-mails. Then, for each item, Choose the correct option: A, B or C.
Text 1
Hi Gina,
Are you alright? I’ve just been watching the news, and I saw that there’s been an
earthquake in Italy. They said that it was 6.5 on the Richter scale, and that three
hundred people have been killed, and many more are injured or missing.
It looked terrible. All those people standing there, looking at the ruins of their houses!
It made me think of my visit to your village last year. It was so beautiful!
Anyway, please contact me as soon as possible, to let me know that you’re OK.
Very best wishes,
Salma
7. Salma is _____________.
A. angry B. worried C. excited
8. She knows about the earthquake from _____________.
A. the TV B. a friend C. the radio
9. How many times has she been to Italy? ____________
A. Never B. Once C. More than once
Text 2
Hi Salma,
Many thanks for your message. It was very thoughtful of you — and I’m glad to see
you’re keeping up with the world news! I’m sorry I couldn’t reply earlier, but the
electricity was cut off for two days. It’s only just come back on, and the first thing I
did was check to see if there were any e-mails from you.
Anyway, as you can see, I’m OK. Fortunately, the centre of the earthquake was 100
km to the east of here, quite near the Adriatic coast. So we didn’t feel too much here,
and there hasn’t been a lot of damage in our village. But in other places people were
not so lucky.
The government has been asking for volunteers to help with the rescue work. My
husband wasn’t able to go, because he’s ill, but my brother could. He’s just phoned
me, and you know, they’ve just found a two-year-old boy — alive two days after the
earthquake! So there’s some good news at least.
Anyway, I must go. All the best, and write soon,
Gina
10. Gina saw Salma’s message ____________
A. a few minutes ago B. a few hours ago C. the previous day
11. The earthquake happened in the ___________ part of Italy.
A. southern B. western C. eastern
12. Her _____________ is helping to rescue people.
A. son B. brother C. husband
Grade 12, English Language ‘B’ page 7
Semester Two, Second Session, 2008 – 2009
READING 3 (Items 13 – 20)
Read the text, and then complete Task 1 and Task 2.
In Zambia 25 years ago, elephants were often killed, and the elephant population had
fallen to just seven thousand. But in 1987, the government introduced a law to protect
these amazing animals from hunters. Since then, the number of elephants has gone up
again to thirty thousand, so the African elephant is no longer an endangered species.
However, this huge success has led to serious problems for poor Zambian farmers. Hungry
elephants often come onto their land and destroy not only their crops, but sometimes
even their homes! Because of the 1987 law, the farmers are not allowed to shoot the
elephants, and they don’t have enough money to build electric fences. So what can they
do to protect themselves without harming the elephants?
Scientist now believe that they may have found the answer — a plant which was first
discovered in South America back in the 16th century! This plant is called the ‘chili pepper’
and its small, bright red fruit is famous for the hot, spicey taste which it gives to food.
So why is this plant of interest to Zambian farmers? Firstly, it grows very well in the dry
climate of the country. Secondly, it contains a strong-smelling chemical called ‘capsaicin’,
which elephants really hate! So the scientists advised the farmers to start growing chili
pepper and using it to keep elephants away. At first, they did this by building simple rope
fences covered with chilli paste. This worked quite well, but then they found a method
that was cheaper and even more successful. They stared burning the chili, producing
clouds of foul-smelling smoke that are guaranteed to drive elephants away!
Of course, growing chilli pepper has another advantage for poor farmers. They can earn
extra money by selling the pepper to food companies and to restaurants. Scientists are
now doing research into other plants which could be used in the same way. They have
already discovered, for example, that elephants find the smell of tea very unpleasant.
Task 1 For each question, write a short answer (not more than THREE WORDS).
13. How many elephants live in Zambia now? ____________
14. Where does chili pepper originally come from? _______________
15. What kind of weather is suitable for growing chili pepper? ____________
16. What other type of plant do elephants dislike? ____________
Task 2 Choose the correct option: A, B or C.
17. Elephants cause problems for farmers because they _____________.
A. eat their crops B. make a lot of noise C. attack people
18. The farmers don’t kill the elephants because _____________.
A. it is too expensive B. it is against the law C. they don’t have guns
19. The farmers have been helped by _____________.
A. scientists B. the United Nations C. the government
20. The best way to keep elephants away is to use _______________.
A. noise B. fences C. smoke
Grade 12, English Language ‘B’ page 8
Semester Two, Second Session, 2008 – 2009
WRITING 1
Describe and comment on the picture. Write 20 – 30 words.
WRITING 2
Write a PARAGRAPH about a famous map called the Carta Africana. Use ALL the
information in the box. Your paragraph should be correct and well-organised.
The Carta Africana
beautifully decorated now/ National Museum/ Portugal
discovered/ 1923/ Lisbon shows/ west coast/ Africa
used/ traders/ 16th century important cities/ ports
famous Portuguese map-maker
round/ 1 metre wide made/ 1516/ Manuel Figo
WRITING 3
Complete the following task. Write at least 100 words.
Imagine that a national magazine for teenagers is running an English writing competition.
The theme of the competition is: “Teenagers Today”.
You have decided to enter the competition with an article on the following topic:
‘My favourite place’.
In your article, explain why this place is your favourite.
Your article should be lively and interesting for your readers.
Write your answers on your answer paper.