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GRADE 12
SEPTEMBER 2025
ENGLISH FIRST ADDITIONAL LANGUAGE P2
MARKS: 70
TIME: 2½ hours
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English FAL Grade 12 P2 Eastern Cape Mock 2025 QP
Grade 12 English FAL Paper 2 question paper from the Eastern Cape Mock Exam 2025, 28 pages. Read online or download the free PDF.
English Fal · Grade 12 · Eastern Cape Mock Exam · 2025 · English. Question paper, 28 pages. Read online or download the PDF.
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2 ENGLISH FIRST ADDITIONAL LANGUAGE P2 (EC/SEPTEMBER 2025)
INSTRUCTIONS AND INFORMATION
Read this page carefully before you begin to answer the questions.
1. Do NOT attempt to read the entire question paper. Consult the TABLE OF
CONTENTS on the next page and mark the numbers of the questions set on
texts you have studied this year. Read these questions carefully and answer as
per the instructions.
2. This question paper consists of FOUR sections:
SECTION A: Novel (35)
SECTION B: Drama (35)
SECTION C: Short Stories (35)
SECTION D: Poetry (35)
3. Answer TWO QUESTIONS in all, ONE question each from ANY TWO
sections.
SECTION A: NOVEL
Answer the question on the novel you have studied.
SECTION B: DRAMA
Answer the question on the drama you have studied.
SECTION C: SHORT STORIES
Answer the questions set on BOTH short stories.
SECTION D: POETRY
Answer the questions set on BOTH poems.
4. Use the checklist on page 4 to assist you.
5. Follow the instructions at the beginning of each section carefully.
6. Number the answers correctly according to the numbering system used in this
question paper.
7. Start EACH section on a NEW page.
8. Suggested time management: Spend approximately 75 minutes on each
section.
9. Write neatly and legibly.
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(EC/SEPTEMBER 2025) ENGLISH FIRST ADDITIONAL LANGUAGE P2 3
TABLE OF CONTENTS
SECTION A: NOVEL
Answer ANY ONE question on the novel you have studied.
QUESTION MARKS PAGE
1. Cry, the Beloved Country 35 5
OR
2. Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde 35 9
SECTION B: DRAMA
Answer ANY ONE question on the drama you have studied.
3. Macbeth 35 13
OR
4. My Children! My Africa! 35 17
SECTION C: SHORT STORIES
Answer questions set on BOTH short stories.
5.1 ‘The girl who can’ 17 21
AND
5.2 ‘A bag of sweets’ 18 23
SECTION D: POETRY
Answer the questions set on BOTH poems.
6.1 ‘Inversnaid’ 18 25
AND
6.2 ‘You laughed and laughed and
laughed’ 17 27
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4 ENGLISH FIRST ADDITIONAL LANGUAGE P2 (EC/SEPTEMBER 2025)
CHECKLIST
NOTE:
• Answer questions from ANY TWO sections.
• Tick () the sections you have answered.
SECTION QUESTION NO. OF QUESTIONS TICK
NUMBERS TO ANSWER ()
A Novel 1–2 1
B Drama 3–4 1
C Short Stories 5 1
D Poetry 6 1
NOTE: Ensure that you have answered questions on TWO sections only.
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(EC/SEPTEMBER 2025) ENGLISH FIRST ADDITIONAL LANGUAGE P2 5
SECTION A: NOVEL
In this section, questions are set on the following novels:
CRY, THE BELOVED COUNTRY by Alan Paton
STRANGE CASE OF DR JEKYLL AND MR HYDE by Robert Louis Stevenson.
Answer ALL the questions on the novel that you have studied.
QUESTION 1: CRY, THE BELOVED COUNTRY
Read the extracts from the novel below and answer the questions set on each. The
number of marks allocated to each question serves as a guide to the expected length
of your answer.
NOTE: Answer the questions set on BOTH extracts, i.e. QUESTION 1.1 AND
QUESTION 1.2.
1.1 EXTRACT A
[Khumalo visits John.]
This wonderful hospital for Europeans, the biggest hospital south of the Equator,
it is built with the gold from the mines.
There was a change in his voice, it became louder like the voice of a bull
or a lion. Go to our hospital, he said, and see our people lying on the floors.
They lie so close you cannot step over them. But it is they who dig the gold. 5
For three shillings a day. We come from the Transkei, and from Basutoland,
and from Bechuanaland, and from Swaziland, and from Zululand. And from
Ndotsheni also. We live in the compounds, we must leave our wives and
families behind. And when the new gold is found, it is not we who will get
more for our labour. It is the white man’s shares that will rise, you will read 10
it in all the papers. They go mad when new gold is found. They bring more
of us to live in the compounds, to dig under the ground for three shillings
a day. They do not think, here is a chance to pay more for our labour. They
think only, here is a chance to build a bigger house and buy a bigger car. It
is important to find gold, they say, for all South Africa is built on the mines. 15
He growled, and his voice grew deep, it was like thunder that was rolling.
[Book 1, Chapter 7]
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6 ENGLISH FIRST ADDITIONAL LANGUAGE P2 (EC/SEPTEMBER 2025)
1.1.1 Choose a description from COLUMN B that matches a name in
COLUMN A. Write only the letter (A–E) next to the question numbers
(1.1.1(a) to 1.1.1(d)) in the ANSWER BOOK.
COLUMN A COLUMN B
(a) Absalom A John’s ex-wife
(b) James B kills Arthur
(c) Ester C Gertrude’s brother
(d) Stephen D Msimangu’s son
E Arthur’s father
(4 x 1) (4)
1.1.2 Describe the time and place where this extract is set. (2)
1.1.3 Refer to lines 34 (‘There was a … or a lion’).
(a) Identify the figure of speech used in this line. (1)
(b) Explain why this figure of speech is relevant in this extract. (2)
1.1.4 Refer to lines 8─10 (‘We live in … for our labour’).
What do these lines tell us about John Khumalo’s state of mind?
Substantiate your answer. (2)
1.1.5 Refer to line 11 (‘They go mad … gold is found’).
Explain what John means in this line. (2)
1.1.6 Change ONE word to make the following statement TRUE:
Stephen is Msimangu’s cousin. (1)
1.1.7 John Khumalo cares for mine workers.
Discuss your view. (3)
AND
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(EC/SEPTEMBER 2025) ENGLISH FIRST ADDITIONAL LANGUAGE P2 7
1.2 EXTRACT B
[The old man’s visit.]
But I tell you, you need not be afraid. I shall not be angry. There will be no
anger in me against you.
-Then, said the old man, this thing that is the heaviest thing of all my
years, is the heaviest thing of all your years also.
Jarvis looked at him, at first bewildered, but then something came to him. 5
You can mean only one thing, he said, you can mean only one thing. But
I still do not understand.
- It was my son that killed your son, said the old man.
So they were silent. Jarvis left him and walked out into the trees of the
garden. He stood at the wall and looked over the veld, out of the great 10
white dumps of the mines, like hills under the sun. When he turned to come
back, he saw that the old man had risen, his hat in one hand, his stick in
the other, his head bowed, his eyes on the ground. He went back to him.
- I have heard you, he said. I understand what I did not understand.
There is no anger in me. 15
-Umnumzana.
-The mistress of the house is back, the daughter of uSmith. Do you
wish to see her? Are you recovered?
- It was that I came to do, umnumzana.
- I understand. And you were shocked when you saw me. You had not 20
thought that I would be here. How did you know me?
[Book 2, Chapter 8]
1.2.1 Refer to lines 1–2 (‘But I tell … me against you’).
(a) What tone would Jarvis use in these lines? (1)
(b) Why would Jarvis use this tone in these lines? (1)
1.2.2 Choose the correct answer to complete the following sentence.
Write only the letter (A–D) next to the question number (1.2.2) in the
ANSWER BOOK.
The word ‘bewildered’ in line 5 means …
A optimistic.
B confused.
C irritated.
D happy. (1)
1.2.3 Refer to lines 14─15 (‘I have heard … anger in me’).
(a) Explain the irony in these lines. (2)
(b) What do these lines reveal about James’ character?
Substantiate your answer. (2)
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8 ENGLISH FIRST ADDITIONAL LANGUAGE P2 (EC/SEPTEMBER 2025)
1.2.4 Who is the old man James talking to? (1)
1.2.5 Refer to lines 17─19 (‘The mistress of … to do, umnumzana’).
Why does the old man wish to see Smith’s daughter? (2)
1.2.6 Refer to the novel as a whole.
What leads to Absalom’s release from the reformatory?
State TWO points. (2)
1.2.7 One of the themes in Cry, the Beloved Country is the cycle of poverty
and crime.
Discuss this theme. (3)
1.2.8 Reverend Khumalo is an irresponsible father.
Discuss your view. (3)
[35]
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(EC/SEPTEMBER 2025) ENGLISH FIRST ADDITIONAL LANGUAGE P2 9
QUESTION 2: STRANGE CASE OF DR JEKYLL AND MR HYDE
Read the extracts from the novel and answer the questions set on each. The number
of marks allocated to each question serves as a guide to the expected length of your
answer.
NOTE: Answer the questions set on BOTH extracts, i.e. QUESTION 2.1 AND
QUESTION 2.2.
2.1 EXTRACT C
[Enfield tells Utterson about Hyde.]
‘Hm’, said Mr Utterson. ‘What sort of a man is he to see?’
‘He is not easy to describe. There is something wrong with
his appearance; something displeasing, something downright
detestable. I never saw a man I so disliked, and yet I scarce know
why. He must be deformed somewhere; he gives a strong feeling 5
of deformity, although I couldn’t specify the point. He’s an
extraordinary-looking man, and yet I really can name nothing out of
the way. No, sir; I can make no hand of it; I can’t describe him. And
it’s not want of memory; for I declare I can see him this moment.’
Mr Utterson again walked some way in silence and obviously 10
under a weight of consideration. ‘You are sure he used a key?’ he
inquired at last.
‘My dear sir-’ began Enfield, surprised out of himself.
‘Yes, I know,’ said Utterson; ‘I know it must seem strange. The
fact is, if I do not ask you the name of the other part it is because I 15
know it already. You see, Richard, your tail has gone home. If you
have been inexact in any point, you had better correct it.’
‘I think you might have warned me,’ returned the other with a
touch of sullenness. ‘But I have been pedantically exact, as you call
it. 20
[Story of the door]
2.1.1 Choose a description from COLUMN B that matches a name in
COLUMN A. Write only the letter (A–E) next to the question numbers
(2.1.1(a) to 2.1.1(d)) in the ANSWER BOOK.
COLUMN A COLUMN B
(a) Jekyll A eyewitnesses a girl trampled
(b) Utterson B is a faithful servant
(c) Enfields C entrusted with the will
(d) Hyde D hosts a dinner party
E lives a reckless life
(4 x 1) (4)
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10 ENGLISH FIRST ADDITIONAL LANGUAGE P2 (EC/SEPTEMBER 2025)
2.1.2 Describe the time and place where this extract is set. (2)
2.1.3 Refer to lines 4–5 (‘I never saw … scarce know why’).
Explain the irony in these lines. (2)
2.1.4 Choose the correct answer to complete the following sentence.
Write only the letter (A–D) next to the question number (2.1.4) in the
ANSWER BOOK.
The word ‘detestable’ as used in line 4 suggests that Hyde is …
A lovable.
B handsome.
C unpleasant.
D awesome. (1)
2.1.5 Refer to lines 8–9 (‘And not want … him this moment’).
Explain what Enfield means in these lines. (2)
2.1.6 Refer to line 11 (‘You are sure he used a key?’).
(a) What tone would Utterson use in this line? (1)
(b) Why would Utterson use this tone in this line? (1)
2.1.7 Change ONE word to make the following statement TRUE:
Utterson is Dr Jekyll’s dark side. (1)
2.1.8 Utterson cares about Dr Jekyll.
Discuss your view. (3)
AND
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(EC/SEPTEMBER 2025) ENGLISH FIRST ADDITIONAL LANGUAGE P2 11
2.2 EXTRACT D
[The reading of Henry Jekyll’s full statement of the case.]
It was on this side that my new power tempted me until
I fell in slavery. I had but to drink the cup, to doff at once the body
of the noted professor, and to assume, like a thick cloak, that of
Edward Hyde. I smiled at the notion; it seemed to me at the time to
be humorous; and I made my preparations with the most studious 5
care. I took and furnished that house in Soho, to which Hyde was
tracked by the police; and engaged as housekeeper a creature whom
I well knew to be silent and unscrupulous. On the other side, I
announced to my servant that a Mr Hyde (whom I described) was
to have full liberty and power about my house in the square; and to 10
parry mishaps, I even called and made myself a familiar object, in
my second character. I next drew up that will to which you so much
objected; so that if anything befell me in the person Doctor Jekyll,
I could enter on that of Edward Hyde without pecuniary loss. And
thus fortified, as I supposed, on every side, I began to profit by the 15
strange immunities of my position.
Men have before hired bravos to transact their crimes, while their
own person and reputation sat under shelter. I was the first that ever
did so for his pleasures.
[Henry Jekyll’s full statement of the case]
2.2.1 Who is reading Henry’s full statement of the case? (1)
2.2.2 Refer to lines 2–4 (‘I had but … of Edward Hyde’).
Explain why Dr Jekyll decides to invent Hyde.
State TWO points. (2)
2.2.3 Refer to lines 6–7 (‘I took and … by the police’).
Explain why Hyde is linked to the murder of Sir Danvers Carew. (2)
2.2.4 Refer to lines 12–14 (‘I next drew … without pecuniary loss’).
What do these lines tell us about Jekyll’s character?
Substantiate your answer. (2)
2.2.5 Refer to lines 15–16 (‘I began to … of my position’).
What do these lines tell us about Dr Jekyll’s state of mind?
Substantiate your answer. (2)
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12 ENGLISH FIRST ADDITIONAL LANGUAGE P2 (EC/SEPTEMBER 2025)
2.2.6 Refer to lines 17–18 (‘Men have before … sat under shelter’).
(a) Identify the figure of speech used in these lines. (1)
(b) Explain why this figure of speech is relevant in this extract. (2)
2.2.7 One of the themes in the novel, Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde
is unethical science.
Discuss this theme. (3)
2.2.8 Dr Lanyon is a good friend to Dr Jekyll.
Discuss your view. (3)
[35]
TOTAL SECTION A: 35
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(EC/SEPTEMBER 2025) ENGLISH FIRST ADDITIONAL LANGUAGE P2 13
SECTION B: DRAMA
In this section, questions are set on the following dramas:
• MACBETH by William Shakespeare
• MY CHILDREN! MY AFRICA! by Athol Fugard
Answer ALL the questions on the drama that you have studied.
QUESTION 3: MACBETH
Read the extracts from the play below and answer the questions set on each. The
number of marks allocated to each question serves as a guide to the expected length
of your answer.
NOTE: Answer the questions set on BOTH extracts, i.e. QUESTION 3.1. AND
QUESTION 3.2.
3.1 EXTRACT E
[Lady Macbeth convinces Macbeth to kill King Duncan.]
LADY MACBETH: He has almost supped. Why have you left the chamber?
MACBETH: Hath he asked for me?
LADY MACBETH: Know you not he has?
MACBETH: We will proceed no further in this business.
He hath honoured me of late, and I have bought 5
Golden opinions from all sorts of people,
Which would be worn now in their newest gloss,
Not cast aside so soon
LADY MACBETH: Was the hope drunk
Wherein you dressed yourself? Hath it slept since? 10
And wakes it now, to look so green and pale
At what it did so freely? From this time
Such I account thy love. Art thou afeard
To be the same in thine own act and valour
As thou art in desire? Wouldst thou have that 15
Which thou esteem’st in ornament of life,
And live a coward in thine own esteem,
Letting ‘I dare not’ wait upon ‘I would’,
Like the poor cat i’th’ adage?
MACBETH: Prithee, peace. 20
I dare do all that may become a man;
Who dares do more is none.
LADY MACBETH: What beast was’t then
That made you break this enterprise to me?
When you durst do it, then you were a man; 25
And, to be more than what you were, you would
Be so much more the man. Nor time nor place
[Act 1, Scene 7]
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14 ENGLISH FIRST ADDITIONAL LANGUAGE P2 (EC/SEPTEMBER 2025)
3.1.1 Choose a description from COLUMN B that matches a name in
COLUMN A. Write only the letter (A–E) next to the question numbers
(3.1.1(a) to 3.1.1(d)) in the ANSWER BOOK.
COLUMN A COLUMN B
(a) Donalbain A an army general
(b) Banquo B Duncan’s younger son
(c) Lennox C King of Scotland
(d) King Duncan D King of London
E a Sottish nobleman
(4 x 1) (4)
3.1.2 Describe the time and place where this extract is set. (2)
3.1.3 Refer to line 1 (‘He has almost … left the chamber?’).
(a) What tone would Lady Macbeth use in this line? (1)
(b) Why would Lady Macbeth use this tone in this line? (1)
3.1.4 Refer to lines 4–8 (‘We will proceed … aside so soon’).
What do these lines reveal about Macbeth’s state of mind?
Substantiate your answer. (2)
3.1.5 Refer to lines 9–10 (‘Was the hope … you dressed yourself?’).
(a) Identify the figure of speech used in these lines. (1)
(b) Explain the figure of speech as used in these lines. (2)
3.1.6 What does this extract reveal about Lady Macbeth’s character?
Substantiate your answer. (2)
3.1.7 Banquo is admirable.
Discuss your view. (3)
AND
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(EC/SEPTEMBER 2025) ENGLISH FIRST ADDITIONAL LANGUAGE P2 15
3.2 EXTRACT F
[Macbeth hosts the royal banquet.]
LADY MACBETH: My worthy lord,
Your noble friends do lack you.
MACBETH: I do forget.
Do not muse at me, my most worthy friends;
I have a strange infirmity, which is nothing 5
To those that know me. Come, love and health to all;
Then I’ll sit down. Give me some wine, fill full.
Re-enter Ghost
I drink to the general joy o’th’ whole table,
And to our dear friend Banquo, whom we miss; 10
Would he were here! To all and him we thirst,
And all to all.
LORDS: Our duties, and the pledge
Macbeth sees the Ghost.
MACBETH: Avaunt! And quit my sight! Let the earth hide thee! 15
Thy bones are marrowless, thy blood is cold;
Thou hast no speculation in those eyes
Which thou dost glare with.
LADY Think of this, good peers,
MACBETH: But as a thing of custom;’ tis no other; 20
Only it spoils the pleasure of the time.
MACBETH: What man dare, I dare!
Approach thou like the rugged Russian bear,
The armed rhinoceros, or the Hyrcan tiger.
Take any shape but that, and my firm nerves 25
Shall never tremble; or be alive again,
And dare me to the desert with thy sword.
If trembling I inhabit then, protest me
The baby of a girl. Hence, horrible shadow!
Unreal mockery, hence! Exit Ghost. 30
Why, so; being gone
I am a man again. Pray you, sit still.
[Act 3, Scene 4]
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16 ENGLISH FIRST ADDITIONAL LANGUAGE P2 (EC/SEPTEMBER 2025)
3.2.1 Refer to lines 1–2 (‘My worthy lord … do lack you’).
Choose the correct answer to complete the following sentence.
Write only the letter (A–D) next to the question number (3.2.1) in the
ANSWER BOOK.
‘My worthy lord refers to …
A King Duncan.
B Macbeth.
C Macduff.
D Lord Henry. (1)
3.2.2 Refer to lines 3–7 (‘I do forget … I’ll sit down’).
What is the real reason for Macbeth’s strange behaviour at the
banquet? (1)
3.2.3 Refer to lines 9–11 (‘I drink to … he were here!’).
Explain the irony in these lines. (2)
3.2.4 Refer to lines 15–16 (‘Avaunt, and quit … blood is cold’).
If you were the director of this play, what would you tell Macbeth to do
when saying these lines?
State TWO actions. (2)
3.2.5 Change ONE word to make the following statement TRUE:
Fleance is Macbeth’s son. (1)
3.2.6 Refer to the play as a whole.
Why does Macbeth arrange for the murder of Banquo? (2)
3.2.7 Explain what Macbeth means when he says, ‘Why so, being … a man
again’ (lines 31–32). (2)
3.2.8 One of the themes in the play Macbeth is betrayal.
Discuss this theme. (3)
3.2.9 Macbeth’s decision to arrange for the killing of Banquo is justified.
Discuss your view. (3)
[35]
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(EC/SEPTEMBER 2025) ENGLISH FIRST ADDITIONAL LANGUAGE P2 17
QUESTION 4: MY CHILDREN! MY AFRICA!
Read the extracts from the play below and answer the questions set on each. The
number of marks allocated to each question serves as a guide to the expected length
of your answer.
NOTE: Answer the questions set on BOTH extracts, i.e. QUESTION 4.1 AND
QUESTION 4.2.
4.1 EXTRACT G
[Thami reflects on Mr Dawid Grobbelaar’s speech.]
THAMI: “You are the elite! We have educated you because we want you to
be major shareholders in the future of this wonderful Republic of
ours. In fact, we want all the peoples of South Africa to share in
that future ... black, white, brown, yellow, and if there are
some green ones out there, then them as well. Ho! Ho! Ho!” 5
I don’t remember much about what he said after that because
my head was trying to deal with that one word: the future! He kept
using it, . . . “our future,” “the country’s future,” “a wonderful future
of peace and prosperity.” What does he really mean, I kept asking
myself? Why does my heart go hard and tight as a stone when he 10
says it? I look around me in the location at the men and women
who went out into that wonderful future before me. What do I see?
Happy and contented shareholders in this exciting enterprise
called the Republic of South Africa? No. I see a generation of tired,
defeated men and women crawling back to their miserable little 15
pondoks at the end of a day’s work for the white baas or madam.
And those are the lucky ones. They’ve at least got work.
[Act 1, Scene 6]
4.1.1 Choose a description from COLUMN B that matches a name in
COLUMN A. Write only the letter (A–E) next to the question numbers
(4.1.1(a) to 4.1.1(d)) in the ANSWER BOOK.
COLUMN A COLUMN B
(a) Mr Myalatya A wins the debate
(b) Mr Pienaar B joins the boycott
(c) Miss Dyson C a committed teacher
(d) Mr Mbikwana D a police officer
E mayor of Camdeboo
(4 x 1) (4)
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18 ENGLISH FIRST ADDITIONAL LANGUAGE P2 (EC/SEPTEMBER 2025)
4.1.2 Choose the correct answer to complete the following sentence.
Write only the letter (A–D) next to the question number (4.1.2) in the
ANSWER BOOK.
‘You are the elite!’ line 1 means learners of Zolile high are …
A troublesome.
B kind.
C exceptional.
D stubborn. (1)
4.1.3 Why does Mr Dawid Grobbelaar visit Thami’s school? (1)
4.1.4 Refer to lines 10–11 (‘Why does my … he says it?’).
(a) Identify the figure of speech used in these lines. (1)
(b) Explain the figure of speech as used in these lines. (2)
4.1.5 Refer to lines 14–16 (‘No. I see … baas or madam’).
What do these lines tell us about Thami’s state of mind?
Substantiate your answer. (2)
4.1.6 Consider the drama as a whole.
Explain why Thami gives up on his dream of becoming a doctor. (2)
4.1.7 Change ONE word to make the following statement TRUE:
Lilian Mbikwana is Myalatya’s wife. (1)
4.1.8 Mr M is loyal to the fight for liberation.
Discuss your view. (3)
AND
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(EC/SEPTEMBER 2025) ENGLISH FIRST ADDITIONAL LANGUAGE P2 19
4.2 EXTRACT H
[Isabel confronts Thami.]
THAMI: [Near the end of his patience]: Be careful Isabel.
ISABEL: Of what?
THAMI: The words you use.
ISABEL: Oh? Which one don’t you like? Murder? What do you want me to
call it… ‘an unrest-related incident’? If you are going to call him an 5
informer, then I am going to call his death murder!
THAMI: It was an act of self-defence.
ISABEL: By who?
THAMI: The People.
ISABEL: [Almost speechless with outrage]: What? A mad mob attacks one 10
unarmed defenceless man and you want me to call it…
THAMI: [Abandoning all attempts at patience. He speaks with the
full authority of the anger inside him]: Stop, Isabel! You just keep
quiet now and listen to me. You’re always saying you want to
understand 15
us and what it means to be black…well if you do, listen to me
carefully now. I don’t call it murder, and I don’t call the people who
did it a mad mob and yes, I do expect you to see it as an act of self-
defence…listen to me! … blind and stupid but still self-defence.
He betrayed us and our fight for freedom. Five men are in detention 20
because of Mr. M’s visit to the police station. There have been other
arrests and there will be more. Why do you think I’m running away?
[Act 2, Scene 4]
4.2.1 Describe the time and place where this extract is set. (2)
4.2.2 What do lines 5–6 (‘If you are … his death murder!’) reveal about
Isabel’s character?
Substantiate your answer. (2)
4.2.3 Refer to line 7 (‘It was an act of self–defence’).
Explain the irony in Thami’s words. (2)
4.2.4 Refer to lines 10–11 (‘What? A mad … to call it …’).
(a) What tone would Isabel use in these lines? (1)
(b) Why would Isabel use this tone in these lines? (1)
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20 ENGLISH FIRST ADDITIONAL LANGUAGE P2 (EC/SEPTEMBER 2025)
4.2.5 Refer to lines 13–14 (‘Stop, Isabel! You … listen to me’).
If you were the director of this play, what would you tell Thami to do when
saying these lines?
State TWO actions. (2)
4.2.6 Refer to the drama as a whole.
Explain how Isabel pays tribute to Mr M. (2)
4.2.7 One of the themes in the play My Children! My Africa! is education as a
means of empowerment.
Discuss this theme. (3)
4.2.8 Thami is a good friend to Isabel.
Discuss your view. (3)
[35]
TOTAL SECTION B: 35
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(EC/SEPTEMBER 2025) ENGLISH FIRST ADDITIONAL LANGUAGE P2 21
SECTION C: SHORT STORIES
In this section questions are set on the following short stories:
• ‘THE GIRL WHO CAN’ by Ama Ata Aidoo
• ‘A BAG OF SWEETS’ by Agnes Sam
QUESTION 5
Read the following extracts from the TWO short stories and answer the questions set
on each. The number of marks allocated to each question serves as a guide to the
expected length of your answer.
NOTE: Answer the questions set on BOTH extracts, i.e. QUESTION 5.1 AND
QUESTION 5.2.
5.1 ‘THE GIRL WHO CAN’
EXTRACT I
[The discussion about Adjoa’s legs.]
After all, they were my legs…
When I think back on it now, those two, Nana and my mother, must
have been discussing my legs from the day I was born. What I am sure of
is that when I came out of the land of sweet soft silence into the world of
noise and comprehension, first topic I met was my legs. 5
That discussion was repeated very regularly.
Nana: “Ah,ah, you know, I thank my God that your very first child is
female. But Kaya, I’m not sure about her legs. Hm … hm… hm …”
And Nana would shake her head.
Maami: “Mother, why are you always complaining about Adjoa’s 10
legs? … If you ask me …”
Nana: “They are too thin. And I am not asking you!”
Nana has many voices. There is a special one she uses to shut
everyone up.
“Some people have no legs at all,” my mother would try again with 15
all her small courage.
“But Adjoa has legs,” Nana would insist; “except that they are too
thin.” And also too long for a woman. Kaya, listen. Once in a while, but
only once in a very long while and somebody decides nature, a child’s spirit
mother, an accident happens, and somebody gets born without arms, 20
or legs, or both sets of limbs.”
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22 ENGLISH FIRST ADDITIONAL LANGUAGE P2 (EC/SEPTEMBER 2025)
5.1.1 Choose a description from COLUMN B that matches a name in COLUMN
A. Write only the letter (A–E) next to the question numbers (5.1.1(a) to
5.1.1(d)) in the ANSWER BOOK.
COLUMN A COLUMN B
(a) Maami A proud of her granddaughter’s success
(b) Mr Mensah B runs for the junior team
(c) Nana C grateful that Adjoa has legs
(d) Adjoa D is abusive to her husband
E lends Nana a pressing iron
(4 x 1) (4)
5.1.2 Refer to lines 2–3 (‘When I think … I was born’).
(a) Identify the figure of speech used in these lines. (1)
(b) Explain the figure of speech as used in these lines. (2)
5.1.3 Refer to line 8 (But Kaya, I’m not sure about her legs’).
Explain the reason behind Nana’s dissatisfaction with Adjoa’s thin legs?
State TWO points. (2)
5.1.4 Refer to lines 10–11 (‘Mother, why are … about Adjoa’s legs?’).
(a) What tone would Adjoa’s mother use in these lines? (1)
(b) Why would Adjoa’s mother use this tone in these lines? (1)
5.1.5 Explain what the narrator means in lines 13–14 (‘Nana has many …
shut everyone up’). (2)
5.1.6 Change ONE word to make the following statement TRUE:
Adjoa was born in a village called Kaya. (1)
5.1.7 Adjoa’s participation and success in district athletics changes Nana’s
negative perception of her.
Discuss your view. (3)
AND
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(EC/SEPTEMBER 2025) ENGLISH FIRST ADDITIONAL LANGUAGE P2 23
5.2 ‘A BAG OF SWEETS’
EXTRACT J
[Reflection on Khadija’s reconciliation efforts.]
The family still refused to speak to her, some of us showing more
hostility than others. Undaunted, she would stand alongside the
counter, chatting to whoever was on duty in the shop, taking no offence
that no-one ever replied to anything she said.
Instead she conversed with herself, replying to the questions she 5
posed and the remarks she made, and the conversation developed a style
of its own.
I had been closest to her and I was now the obstacle to the rest of the
family forgiving her. If I relented, Khadija must have known, the rest of
the family would welcome her home, since I was the eldest. Believing 10
this, she concentrated on visiting the family shop when I was there. This
happened to be on Fridays. Our brothers were at prayer.
When I realised that she was coming regularly to the shop while I was
on duty, I in turn developed my own style of defence. With meticulous
attention to detail I dusted the counter; swept the floor; polished the 15
glass case; weighed out bags of sugar, rice and flour; while she conversed
out loud with herself in her light-hearted, superbly acted way.
I ignored her for varying moments of time until I reached for the
window blinds, the light switch and the keys. At this stage I would
lock up the shop. 20
5.2.1 Describe the time and place where this extract is set. (2)
5.2.2 Choose the correct answer to complete the following sentence.
Write only the letter (A–D) next to the question number (5.2.2) in the
ANSWER BOOK.
The word ‘hostility’ Line 2 suggests …
A friendliness.
B cruelty.
C kindness.
D sadness. (1)
5.2.3 Refer to lines 2–4 (‘Undaunted, she would … anything she said’).
What do these lines reveal about Khadija’s character?
Substantiate your answer. (2)
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24 ENGLISH FIRST ADDITIONAL LANGUAGE P2 (EC/SEPTEMBER 2025)
5.2.4 Refer to lines 8–10 (‘I had been … was the eldest’).
(a) Explain the irony in these lines. (2)
(b) What is the speaker’s state of mind in these lines?
Substantiate your answer. (2)
5.2.5 To whom does ‘I’ (line 13) refer? (1)
5.2.6 Refer to the short story as a whole.
Why does Khadija’s sister give her a bag of sweets? (2)
5.2.7 One of the themes in ‘A Bag of sweets’ is unforgiveness.
Discuss this theme. (3)
5.2.8 Kaltoum’s hostility towards Khadija is justified.
Discuss your view. (3)
TOTAL SECTION C: 35
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(EC/SEPTEMBER 2025) ENGLISH FIRST ADDITIONAL LANGUAGE P2 25
SECTION D: POETRY
In this section, questions are set on the following poems:
• ‘Inversnaid’ by Gerard Manley Hopkins
• ‘You laughed and laughed and laughed’ by Gabriel Okara
NOTE: Answer the questions set on BOTH poems, i.e. QUESTION 6.1. AND
QUESTION 6.2.
QUESTION 6
6.1 Read the poem carefully and then answer the questions that follow. The
number of marks allocated to each question serves as a guide to the expected
length of your answer.
Inversnaid – Gerard Manley Hopkins
1 This darksome burn, horseback brown,
2 His rollrock highroad roaring down,
3 In coop and in comb the fleece of his foam
4 Flutes and low to the lake falls home.
5 A windpuff-bonnet of fáwn-fróth
6 Turns and twindles over the broth
7 Of a pool so pitchblack, féll-frówning,
8 It rounds and rounds Despair to drowning.
9 Degged with dew, dappled with dew
10 Are the groins of the braes that the brook treads through,
11 Wiry heathpacks, flitches of fern,
12 And the beadbonny ash that sits over the burn.
13 What would the world be, once bereft
14 Of wet and of wildness? Let them be left,
15 O let them be left, wildness and wet;
16 Long live the weeds and the wilderness yet.
6.1.1 Complete the following sentences by using the words in the list below.
Write only the word next to the question numbers (6.1.1(a) to 6.1.1 (d))
in the ANSWER BOOK.
froth; fluting; barriers; stream; potage; fleece; velocity; horse
The (a) … moves at a high speed and makes a (b) … sound as it
flows. The (c) … covers the stream like a (d) ... (4)
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26 ENGLISH FIRST ADDITIONAL LANGUAGE P2 (EC/SEPTEMBER 2025)
6.1.2 Describe the time and place where this poem is set. (2)
6.1.3 Why does the speaker use the word ‘horseback’ in line 1?
State TWO points. (2)
6.1.4 Refer to line 8 (‘It rounds and … Despair to drowning’).
(a) Identify the figure of speech used in this line. (1)
(b) Explain why this figure of speech is relevant in this line. (2)
6.1.5 Refer to lines 13–14 (‘What would the … and of wildness?’).
What is the speaker’s state of mind in these lines?
Substantiate your answer. (2)
6.1.6 Refer to line 16 (‘Long live the weeds and the wilderness yet’).
Explain the irony in this line. (2)
6.1.7 Does the speaker effectively persuade the reader of the importance of
preserving the natural world?
Discuss your view. (3)
AND
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(EC/SEPTEMBER 2025) ENGLISH FIRST ADDITIONAL LANGUAGE P2 27
6.2 Read the poem carefully and then answer the questions that follow. The number
of marks allocated to each question serves as a guide to the expected length of
your answer.
You laughed and laughed and laughed – Gabriel Okara
1 In your ears my song
2 is motor car misfiring
3 stopping with a choking cough;
4 and you laughed and laughed and laughed.
5 In your eyes my ante
6 natal walk was inhuman, passing
7 your ‘omnivorous understanding’
8 and you laughed and laughed and laughed.
9 You laughed at my song,
10 you laughed at my walk.
11 Then I danced my magic dance
12 to the rhythm of talking drums pleading,
13 but you shut your eyes
14 and laughed and laughed and laughed.
15 And then I opened my mystic
16 inside wide like
17 the sky, instead you entered your
18 car and laughed and laughed and laughed
19 You laughed at my dance,
20 you laughed at my inside.
21 You laughed and laughed and laughed,
22 But your laughter was ice-block
23 laughter and it froze your inside froze
24 your voice froze your ears
25 froze your eyes and froze your tongue.
26 And now it’s my turn to laugh;
27 but my laughter is not
28 ice-block laughter. For I
29 know not cars, know not ice-blocks.
30 My laughter is the fire
31 of the eye of the sky, the fire
32 of the earth, the fire of the air,
33 the fire of the seas and the
34 rivers fishes animals trees
35 and it thawed your inside,
36 thawed your voice, thawed your
37 ears, thawed your eyes and
38 thawed your tongue.
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28 ENGLISH FIRST ADDITIONAL LANGUAGE P2 (EC/SEPTEMBER 2025)
39 So a meek wonder held
40 your shadow and you whispered:
41 ‘Why so?’
42 And I answered:
43 ‘Because my fathers and I
44 are owned by the living
45 warmth of the earth
46 through our naked feet.’
6.2.1 Choose the correct answer to complete the following sentence.
Write only the letter (A–D) next to the question number (6.2.1) in the
ANSWER BOOK.
‘my song is motor car misfiring’ lines 1–2, suggests that the listener
hears the song as …
A harmonious.
B unpleasant.
C euphonic.
D melodious. (1)
6.2.2 Explain the figurative meaning of ‘omnivorous understanding’ (line 7). (2)
6.2.3 Refer lines 19–20 (‘You laughed at … at my inside’).
(a) What tone would the speaker use in these lines? (1)
(b) Why would the speaker use this tone in these lines? (1)
6.2.4 Refer to line 22 (‘But your laughter was ice-block’).
(a) Identify the figure of speech used in this line. (1)
(b) Explain why the figure of speech is relevant in this line. (2)
6.2.5 Refer to the poem as a whole.
Explain the difference between the speaker’s laughter and the listener’s
laughter. (2)
6.2.6 Change ONE word to make the following statement TRUE:
The listener appreciates the speaker’s walk. (1)
6.2.7 One of the themes in 'You laughed and laughed and laughed’ is rejection.
Discuss this theme. (3)
6.2.8 The title, ‘You laughed and laughed and laughed’ is suitable for this poem.
Discuss your view. (3)
TOTAL SECTION D: 35
GRAND TOTAL: 70
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