English FAL Grade 10 P2 November Mock Exam 2 2026 QP

Mock hlayiso mock exams Practice Series: Grade 10 Exam Preparation WWW.HLAYISO.COM NATIONAL SENIOR CERTIFICATE GRADE 10 ENGLISH FIRST ADDITIONAL LANGUAGE P2 NOVEMBER EXAMINATION 2026 (MOCK) MARKS: 70 TIME: 2 hours This question paper consists of 19 pages. Copyright reserved Please turn over

English First Additional Language/P2 2 Hlayiso/Mock 2026 NSC Mock INSTRUCTIONS AND INFORMATION Read these instructions 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 the 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 total, ONE question each from ANY TWO sections. SECTION A: NOVEL Answer the questions set on BOTH extracts. SECTION B: DRAMA Answer the questions set on BOTH extracts. 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 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. Spend approximately 60 minutes on each section. 9. Write neatly and legibly. Copyright reserved Please turn over

English First Additional Language/P2 3 Hlayiso/Mock 2026 NSC Mock TABLE OF CONTENTS SECTION A: NOVEL QUESTION NO. MARKS PAGE NO. 1. Treasure Island 35 4 SECTION B: DRAMA 2. Julius Caesar 35 8 SECTION C: SHORT STORIES Answer the questions set on BOTH short stories. 3.1 ‘The open window’ 18 12 AND 3.2 ‘The monkey’s paw’ 17 14 SECTION D: POETRY Answer the questions set on BOTH poems. 4.1 ‘Sympathy’ 18 16 AND 4.2 ‘Stopping by woods on a snowy evening’ 17 18 CHECKLIST • Answer questions from ANY TWO sections. • Tick (✓) the sections you have answered. SECTIONS QUESTION NO. OF TICK (✓) NUMBERS QUESTIONS TO ANSWER A: Novel 1 1 B: Drama 2 1 C: Short stories 3 1 D: Poetry 4 1 NOTE: Ensure that you have answered questions on TWO sections only. TEXTS USED IN THIS MOCK PAPER All extracts in this paper are taken from texts that are in the public domain. The extracts and poems are different from those in Mock 1. The texts were chosen by the examiner to practise the skills that are tested on the novel, drama, short stories and poetry in Grade 10. If your class studied different texts, use these questions as unseen practice. Copyright reserved Please turn over

English First Additional Language/P2 4 Hlayiso/Mock 2026 NSC Mock SECTION A: NOVEL In this section, questions are set on the following novel: • TREASURE ISLAND by Robert Louis Stevenson Answer ALL the questions on the novel. QUESTION 1: TREASURE ISLAND Read the extracts 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 [The Hispaniola is on its way to Treasure Island. Jim describes the ship’s cook.] All the crew respected and even obeyed him. He had a way of talking to each and doing everybody some particular service. To me he was unweariedly kind, and always glad to see me in the galley, which he kept as clean as a new pin, the dishes hanging up burnished and his parrot in a cage in one corner. “Come away, Hawkins,” he would say; “come and have a yarn with John. 5 Nobody more welcome than yourself, my son. Sit you down and hear the news. Here’s Cap’n Flint—I calls my parrot Cap’n Flint, after the famous buccaneer—here’s Cap’n Flint predicting success to our v’yage. Wasn’t you, Cap’n?” And the parrot would say, with great rapidity, “Pieces of eight! Pieces of eight! 10 Pieces of eight!” till you wondered that it was not out of breath, or till John threw his handkerchief over the cage. “Now, that bird,” he would say, “is, maybe, two hundred years old, Hawkins—they live forever mostly; and if anybody’s seen more wickedness, it must be the devil himself. She’s sailed with England, the great Cap’n England, 15 the pirate. She’s been at Madagascar, and at Malabar, and Surinam, and Providence, and Portobello. She was at the fishing up of the wrecked plate ships. It’s there she learned ‘Pieces of eight,’ and little wonder; three hundred and fifty thousand of ’em, Hawkins! She was at the boarding of the Viceroy of the Indies out of Goa, she was; and to look at her you would think she was a babby. 20 But you smelt powder—didn’t you, Cap’n?” “Stand by to go about,” the parrot would scream. “Ah, she’s a handsome craft, she is,” the cook would say, and give her sugar from his pocket, and then the bird would peck at the bars and swear straight on, passing belief for wickedness. “There,” John would add, “you can’t touch pitch 25 and not be mucked, lad. Here’s this poor old innocent bird o’ mine swearing blue fire, and none the wiser, you may lay to that. She would swear the same, in a manner of speaking, before chaplain.” And John would touch his forelock with a solemn way he had that made me think he was the best of men. [Chapter 10] Copyright reserved Please turn over

English First Additional Language/P2 5 Hlayiso/Mock 2026 NSC Mock 1.1.1 Complete the following sentences by using the words in the list below. Write only the word next to the question numbers (1.1.1(a) to 1.1.1(d)) in the ANSWER BOOK. Spy-glass; Admiral Benbow; Bristol; London; cook; captain; mutiny; surrender Before the voyage, Long John Silver kept an inn called the (a) … in the port of (b) … . Squire Trelawney employed him as the ship’s (c) …, but Silver secretly planned a (d) … so that the pirates could take the treasure. (4) 1.1.2 Refer to lines 1–4 (‘All the crew … in one corner’). What do these lines reveal about Long John Silver’s character? Substantiate your answer. (2) 1.1.3 Quote SIX consecutive words from lines 1–4 that show that the galley is very neat. (1) 1.1.4 Choose the correct answer to complete the following sentence. Write only the letter (A–D) next to the question number (1.1.4) in the ANSWER BOOK. The word ‘burnished’ (line 4) means … A broken. B burnt black. C polished until shiny. D hidden away. (1) 1.1.5 Refer to lines 5–6 (‘Come away, Hawkins … hear the news’). (a) What tone would Silver use in these lines? (1) (b) Why would Silver use this tone? (1) 1.1.6 Refer to lines 7–8 (‘Here’s Cap’n Flint … to our v’yage’). (a) Who was the real Captain Flint? (1) (b) Explain the irony of Silver’s words about the success of the voyage in these lines. (2) 1.1.7 Refer to lines 25–26 (‘you can’t touch … be mucked, lad’). Explain what Silver means by these words, and why they apply to Silver himself. (2) Copyright reserved Please turn over

English First Additional Language/P2 6 Hlayiso/Mock 2026 NSC Mock 1.1.8 Refer to line 29 (‘made me think … best of men’). Refer to the novel as a whole. Jim is foolish to trust Long John Silver. Discuss your view. (3) AND 1.2 EXTRACT B [Jim is alone on the Hispaniola with the wounded coxswain, Israel Hands, who has just attacked him with a dagger. The ship has run aground.] Now that I had a moment to myself, I lost no time in changing the priming of my pistol, and then, having one ready for service, and to make assurance doubly sure, I proceeded to draw the load of the other and recharge it afresh from the beginning. My new employment struck Hands all of a heap; he began to see the dice 5 going against him, and after an obvious hesitation, he also hauled himself heavily into the shrouds, and with the dirk in his teeth, began slowly and painfully to mount. It cost him no end of time and groans to haul his wounded leg behind him, and I had quietly finished my arrangements before he was much more than a third of the way up. Then, with a pistol in either hand, I addressed him. 10 “One more step, Mr. Hands,” said I, “and I’ll blow your brains out! Dead men don’t bite, you know,” I added with a chuckle. He stopped instantly. I could see by the working of his face that he was trying to think, and the process was so slow and laborious that, in my new-found security, I laughed aloud. At last, with a swallow or two, he spoke, his face still 15 wearing the same expression of extreme perplexity. In order to speak he had to take the dagger from his mouth, but in all else he remained unmoved. “Jim,” says he, “I reckon we’re fouled, you and me, and we’ll have to sign articles. I’d have had you but for that there lurch, but I don’t have no luck, not I; and I reckon I’ll have to strike, which comes hard, you see, for a master mariner 20 to a ship’s younker like you, Jim.” I was drinking in his words and smiling away, as conceited as a cock upon a wall, when, all in a breath, back went his right hand over his shoulder. Something sang like an arrow through the air; I felt a blow and then a sharp pang, and there I was pinned by the shoulder to the mast. In the horrid pain and surprise of the 25 moment—I scarce can say it was by my own volition, and I am sure it was without a conscious aim—both my pistols went off, and both escaped out of my hands. They did not fall alone; with a choked cry, the coxswain loosed his grasp upon the shrouds and plunged head first into the water. [Chapter 26] 1.2.1 Explain how Jim comes to be alone on the ship with Israel Hands. State TWO points. (2) 1.2.2 Using your OWN words, explain what is meant by ‘My new employment struck Hands all of a heap’ (line 5). (1) 1.2.3 Refer to lines 11–12 (‘One more step … with a chuckle’). (a) What tone would Jim use in these lines? (1) Copyright reserved Please turn over

English First Additional Language/P2 7 Hlayiso/Mock 2026 NSC Mock (b) Why would Jim use this tone? (1) 1.2.4 Refer to lines 18–21 (‘Jim, says he … like you, Jim’). Is Israel Hands sincere when he says that he will ‘have to strike’? Explain your answer. (2) 1.2.5 Refer to lines 22–23 (‘I was drinking … upon a wall’). (a) Identify the figure of speech used in these lines. (1) (b) Explain why the figure of speech is relevant in this extract. (2) 1.2.6 Choose the correct answer to complete the following sentence. Write only the letter (A–D) next to the question number (1.2.6) in the ANSWER BOOK. In lines 23–25 Jim is pinned to the mast by … A a pistol ball. B an arrow. C Hands’s dagger. D a rope. (1) 1.2.7 Explain why the following statement is FALSE: Jim deliberately shoots Israel Hands. (1) 1.2.8 Refer to the novel as a whole. How does Jim’s adventure on the Hispaniola help Captain Smollett’s party in the end? State TWO points. (2) 1.2.9 One of the themes in Treasure Island is growing up (a boy becoming a man). Discuss this theme with reference to Jim Hawkins. (3) [35] TOTAL SECTION A: 35 Copyright reserved Please turn over

English First Additional Language/P2 8 Hlayiso/Mock 2026 NSC Mock SECTION B: DRAMA In this section, questions are set on the following drama: • JULIUS CAESAR by William Shakespeare Answer ALL the questions on the drama. QUESTION 2: JULIUS CAESAR Read the extracts 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 2.1 AND 2.2. 2.1 EXTRACT C [Caesar’s house on the Ides of March. Decius Brutus has come to fetch Caesar.] CAESAR The cause is in my will; I will not come. That is enough to satisfy the Senate. But for your private satisfaction, Because I love you, I will let you know: Calphurnia here, my wife, stays me at home. 5 She dreamt tonight she saw my statue, Which like a fountain with an hundred spouts Did run pure blood; and many lusty Romans Came smiling, and did bathe their hands in it. And these does she apply for warnings and portents 10 And evils imminent; and on her knee Hath begg’d that I will stay at home today. DECIUS This dream is all amiss interpreted: It was a vision fair and fortunate. Your statue spouting blood in many pipes, 15 In which so many smiling Romans bath’d, Signifies that from you great Rome shall suck Reviving blood, and that great men shall press For tinctures, stains, relics, and cognizance. This by Calphurnia’s dream is signified. 20 CAESAR And this way have you well expounded it. DECIUS I have, when you have heard what I can say; And know it now. The Senate have concluded To give this day a crown to mighty Caesar. If you shall send them word you will not come, 25 Their minds may change. Besides, it were a mock Apt to be render’d, for someone to say, “Break up the Senate till another time, When Caesar’s wife shall meet with better dreams.” If Caesar hide himself, shall they not whisper 30 “Lo, Caesar is afraid”? Pardon me, Caesar; for my dear dear love To your proceeding bids me tell you this, And reason to my love is liable. CAESAR How foolish do your fears seem now, Calphurnia! 35 I am ashamed I did yield to them. Give me my robe, for I will go. [Act 2, Scene 2] Copyright reserved Please turn over

English First Additional Language/P2 9 Hlayiso/Mock 2026 NSC Mock 2.1.1 Choose a description from COLUMN B that matches the 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) Trebonius A writes a letter to warn Caesar about the conspirators (b) Portia B is Caesar’s adopted heir, who later rules Rome (c) Artemidorus C begs Caesar to call his banished brother home (d) Metellus Cimber D is Brutus’s wife, who wants to know his secret E leads Mark Antony away so that he is not present at the murder (4 x 1) (4) 2.1.2 Refer to lines 1–2 (‘The cause is … satisfy the Senate’). What do these lines reveal about Caesar’s character? Substantiate your answer. (2) 2.1.3 Refer to lines 7–8 (‘Which like a … run pure blood’). (a) Identify the figure of speech used in these lines. (1) (b) Explain why the figure of speech is relevant in this extract. (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 ‘portents’ (line 10) means … A gifts. B signs of something that will happen. C prayers to the gods. D punishments. (1) 2.1.5 Refer to lines 22–31 (‘I have, when … Caesar is afraid’). State TWO arguments that Decius uses to persuade Caesar to go to the Senate-house. (2) 2.1.6 Refer to lines 32–34 (‘Pardon me, Caesar … love is liable’). Explain the dramatic irony in these lines. (2) 2.1.7 Explain why the following statement is FALSE: Calphurnia succeeds in keeping Caesar at home on the Ides of March. (1) Copyright reserved Please turn over

English First Additional Language/P2 10 Hlayiso/Mock 2026 NSC Mock 2.1.8 Refer to the play as a whole. Caesar’s pride is the cause of his death. Discuss your view. (3) AND 2.2 EXTRACT D [The plains of Philippi. The armies of Brutus and Cassius have been defeated by Antony and Octavius. Cassius is already dead.] BRUTUS Why, this, Volumnius: The ghost of Caesar hath appear’d to me Two several times by night; at Sardis once, And this last night here in Philippi fields. I know my hour is come. 5 VOLUMNIUS Not so, my lord. BRUTUS Nay I am sure it is, Volumnius. Thou seest the world, Volumnius, how it goes; Our enemies have beat us to the pit. [...] BRUTUS Farewell to you; and you; and you, Volumnius. 10 Strato, thou hast been all this while asleep; Farewell to thee too, Strato.—Countrymen, My heart doth joy, that yet in all my life I found no man but he was true to me. I shall have glory by this losing day 15 More than Octavius and Mark Antony By this vile conquest shall attain unto. So fare you well at once; for Brutus’ tongue Hath almost ended his life’s history. Night hangs upon mine eyes; my bones would rest, 20 That have but labour’d to attain this hour. [...] BRUTUS I pr’ythee, Strato, stay thou by thy lord. Thou art a fellow of a good respect; Thy life hath had some smatch of honour in it. Hold then my sword, and turn away thy face, 25 While I do run upon it. Wilt thou, Strato? STRATO Give me your hand first. Fare you well, my lord. BRUTUS Farewell, good Strato.—Caesar, now be still: I kill’d not thee with half so good a will. [He runs on his sword, and dies.] 30 [...] [Enter Antony, Octavius, Messala, Lucilius and the Army.] ANTONY This was the noblest Roman of them all. All the conspirators save only he, Did that they did in envy of great Caesar; He only, in a general honest thought 35 And common good to all, made one of them. His life was gentle, and the elements So mix’d in him that Nature might stand up Copyright reserved Please turn over

English First Additional Language/P2 11 Hlayiso/Mock 2026 NSC Mock And say to all the world, “This was a man!” [Act 5, Scene 5] 2.2.1 Refer to lines 1–5 (‘Why, this, Volumnius … hour is come’). What did the ghost of Caesar tell Brutus when it appeared at Sardis, and how does this help to explain Brutus’s words ‘I know my hour is come’? (2) 2.2.2 Why does Brutus decide to take his own life? State TWO reasons. (2) 2.2.3 Refer to lines 12–14 (‘Countrymen, My heart … true to me’). (a) What tone would Brutus use in these lines? (1) (b) Why would Brutus use this tone? (1) 2.2.4 Refer to line 20 (‘Night hangs upon mine eyes’). (a) Identify the figure of speech used in this line. (1) (b) Explain why the figure of speech is relevant in this extract. (2) 2.2.5 Refer to lines 28–29 (‘Caesar, now be … a good will’). Explain what Brutus means by these words. (2) 2.2.6 Choose the correct answer to complete the following sentence. Write only the letter (A–D) next to the question number (2.2.6) in the ANSWER BOOK. Brutus finally dies when … A Volumnius stabs him with his sword. B Strato holds his sword and Brutus runs onto it. C Antony kills him on the battlefield. D he drinks poison in his tent. (1) 2.2.7 If you were the director of this play, what would you tell the actor playing Antony to do when he says lines 32–39? State TWO points (body language and tone) and give a reason for EACH. (2) 2.2.8 Refer to lines 32–39 and to the play as a whole. Antony calls Brutus ‘the noblest Roman of them all’. Do you agree? Discuss your view. (3) [35] TOTAL SECTION B: 35 Copyright reserved Please turn over

English First Additional Language/P2 12 Hlayiso/Mock 2026 NSC Mock SECTION C: SHORT STORIES In this section, questions are set on the following short stories: • ‘THE OPEN WINDOW’ by Saki (H.H. Munro) • ‘THE MONKEY’S PAW’ by W.W. Jacobs QUESTION 3 Read the extracts 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 short stories, i.e. QUESTION 3.1 AND QUESTION 3.2. 3.1 ‘THE OPEN WINDOW’ EXTRACT E [Vera has finished telling Framton the story of the open window. Her aunt, Mrs Sappleton, has now joined them.] “I hope you don’t mind the open window,” said Mrs. Sappleton briskly; “my husband and brothers will be home directly from shooting, and they always come in this way. They’ve been out for snipe in the marshes to-day, so they’ll make a fine mess over my poor carpets. So like you men-folk, isn’t it?” She rattled on cheerfully about the shooting and the scarcity of birds, and the 5 prospects for duck in the winter. To Framton it was all purely horrible. He made a desperate but only partially successful effort to turn the talk on to a less ghastly topic; he was conscious that his hostess was giving him only a fragment of her attention, and her eyes were constantly straying past him to the open window and the lawn beyond. It was certainly an unfortunate coincidence that he should 10 have paid his visit on this tragic anniversary. [...] “Here they are at last!” she cried. “Just in time for tea, and don’t they look as if they were muddy up to the eyes!” Framton shivered slightly and turned towards the niece with a look intended to convey sympathetic comprehension. The child was staring out through the open 15 window with dazed horror in her eyes. In a chill shock of nameless fear Framton swung round in his seat and looked in the same direction. In the deepening twilight three figures were walking across the lawn towards the window; they all carried guns under their arms, and one of them was additionally burdened with a white coat hung over his shoulders. A tired brown 20 spaniel kept close at their heels. Noiselessly they neared the house, and then a hoarse young voice chanted out of the dusk: “I said, Bertie, why do you bound?” Framton grabbed wildly at his stick and hat; the hall-door, the gravel-drive, and the front gate were dimly-noted stages in his headlong retreat. A cyclist coming along the road had to run into the hedge to avoid an imminent collision. 25 “Here we are, my dear,” said the bearer of the white mackintosh, coming in through the window; “fairly muddy, but most of it’s dry. Who was that who bolted out as we came up?” “A most extraordinary man, a Mr. Nuttel,” said Mrs. Sappleton; “could only talk about his illnesses, and dashed off without a word of good-bye or apology when 30 you arrived. One would think he had seen a ghost.” “I expect it was the spaniel,” said the niece calmly; “he told me he had a horror of dogs. He was once hunted into a cemetery somewhere on the banks of the Copyright reserved Please turn over

English First Additional Language/P2 13 Hlayiso/Mock 2026 NSC Mock Ganges by a pack of pariah dogs, and had to spend the night in a newly dug grave with the creatures snarling and grinning and foaming just above him. 35 Enough to make anyone lose their nerve.” Romance at short notice was her speciality. 3.1.1 Complete the following sentences by using the words in the list below. Write only the word next to the question numbers (3.1.1(a) to 3.1.1(d)) in the ANSWER BOOK. sister; doctor; fifteen; twenty; snipe; ducks; country; city Framton has come to the (a) … to rest his nerves. He carries letters of introduction from his (b) … . Vera, who is (c) … years old, tells him that her uncles went out to shoot (d) … three years ago and never came back. (4) 3.1.2 Refer to lines 5–6 (‘She rattled on … all purely horrible’). Why does Framton find Mrs Sappleton’s talk ‘purely horrible’? (2) 3.1.3 Refer to lines 18–22 (‘In the deepening … do you bound?’). Explain how these details match Vera’s earlier story and why they terrify Framton. (2) 3.1.4 Refer to lines 12–13 (‘Here they are … to the eyes!’). (a) What tone would Mrs Sappleton use in these lines? (1) (b) Why would Mrs Sappleton use this tone? (1) 3.1.5 Refer to lines 14–17 (‘Framton shivered slightly … the same direction’). What does Vera’s behaviour in these lines reveal about her character? Substantiate your answer. (2) 3.1.6 Quote TWO consecutive words from lines 23–25 that show that Framton leaves in a great hurry. (1) 3.1.7 Choose the correct answer to complete the following sentence. Write only the letter (A–D) next to the question number (3.1.7) in the ANSWER BOOK. The word ‘imminent’ (line 25) means … A about to happen. B far away. C very dangerous. D already over. (1) Copyright reserved Please turn over

English First Additional Language/P2 14 Hlayiso/Mock 2026 NSC Mock 3.1.8 Explain why the following statement is FALSE: Mrs Sappleton knows that Vera has told Framton a made-up story. (1) 3.1.9 Comment on the relevance of the title, ‘The Open Window’. (3) AND 3.2 ‘THE MONKEY’S PAW’ EXTRACT F [It is late at night. Mr White has used the monkey’s paw to make his second wish, and he has gone downstairs for a candle.] At the foot of the stairs the match went out, and he paused to strike another; and at the same moment a knock, so quiet and stealthy as to be scarcely audible, sounded on the front door. The matches fell from his hand and spilled in the passage. He stood motionless, his breath suspended until the knock was repeated. Then he turned 5 and fled swiftly back to his room, and closed the door behind him. A third knock sounded through the house. “What’s that?” cried the old woman, starting up. “A rat,” said the old man in shaking tones—“a rat. It passed me on the stairs.” His wife sat up in bed listening. A loud knock resounded through the house. 10 “It’s Herbert!” she screamed. “It’s Herbert!” She ran to the door, but her husband was before her, and catching her by the arm, held her tightly. “What are you going to do?” he whispered hoarsely. “It’s my boy; it’s Herbert!” she cried, struggling mechanically. “I forgot it was 15 two miles away. What are you holding me for? Let go. I must open the door.” “For God’s sake don’t let it in,” cried the old man, trembling. “You’re afraid of your own son,” she cried, struggling. “Let me go. I’m coming, Herbert; I’m coming.” There was another knock, and another. The old woman with a sudden wrench 20 broke free and ran from the room. Her husband followed to the landing, and called after her appealingly as she hurried downstairs. He heard the chain rattle back and the bottom bolt drawn slowly and stiffly from the socket. Then the old woman’s voice, strained and panting. “The bolt,” she cried, loudly. “Come down. I can’t reach it.” 25 But her husband was on his hands and knees groping wildly on the floor in search of the paw. If he could only find it before the thing outside got in. A perfect fusillade of knocks reverberated through the house, and he heard the scraping of a chair as his wife put it down in the passage against the door. He heard the creaking of the bolt as it came slowly back, and at the same moment he found 30 the monkey’s paw, and frantically breathed his third and last wish. The knocking ceased suddenly, although the echoes of it were still in the house. He heard the chair drawn back, and the door opened. A cold wind rushed up the staircase, and a long loud wail of disappointment and misery from his wife gave him courage to run down to her side, and then to the gate beyond. The 35 street lamp flickering opposite shone on a quiet and deserted road. 3.2.1 What was Mr White’s second wish, and why did he make it? State TWO points. (2) Copyright reserved Please turn over

English First Additional Language/P2 15 Hlayiso/Mock 2026 NSC Mock 3.2.2 Choose the correct answer to complete the following sentence. Write only the letter (A–D) next to the question number (3.2.2) in the ANSWER BOOK. The word ‘stealthy’ (line 2) means … A loud and angry. B quiet and secret. C quick and cheerful. D strong and steady. (1) 3.2.3 Refer to lines 4–7 (‘The matches fell … through the house’). What do Mr White’s actions reveal about his state of mind? Substantiate your answer. (2) 3.2.4 Refer to lines 15–19 (‘It’s my boy … Herbert; I’m coming’). Compare Mrs White’s attitude towards the power of the monkey’s paw at the beginning of the story with her attitude in these lines. (2) 3.2.5 Refer to line 17 (‘For God’s sake don’t let it in’). (a) What tone would Mr White use in this line? (1) (b) Why would Mr White use this tone? (1) 3.2.6 Refer to lines 27–28 (‘A perfect fusillade … through the house’). (a) Identify the figure of speech used in these lines. (1) (b) Explain why the figure of speech is relevant in this extract. (2) 3.2.7 The writer does not tell us what Mr White’s third wish was. What do you think his third wish was? Give a reason for your answer from the extract. (2) 3.2.8 One of the themes in ‘The monkey’s paw’ is that people should be careful what they wish for. Discuss this theme. (3) [35] TOTAL SECTION C: 35 Copyright reserved Please turn over

English First Additional Language/P2 16 Hlayiso/Mock 2026 NSC Mock SECTION D: POETRY In this section, there are questions set on the following poems: • ‘Sympathy’ by Paul Laurence Dunbar • ‘Stopping by woods on a snowy evening’ by Robert Frost NOTE: Answer the questions set on BOTH poems, i.e. QUESTION 4.1 AND QUESTION 4.2. QUESTION 4 4.1 Read the poem carefully and then answer the questions which follow. The number of marks allocated to each question serves as a guide to the expected length of your answer. Sympathy – Paul Laurence Dunbar 1 I know what the caged bird feels, alas! 2 When the sun is bright on the upland slopes; 3 When the wind stirs soft through the springing grass, 4 And the river flows like a stream of glass; 5 When the first bird sings and the first bud opes, 6 And the faint perfume from its chalice steals— 7 I know what the caged bird feels! 8 I know why the caged bird beats his wing 9 Till its blood is red on the cruel bars; 10 For he must fly back to his perch and cling 11 When he fain would be on the bough a-swing; 12 And a pain still throbs in the old, old scars 13 And they pulse again with a keener sting— 14 I know why he beats his wing! 15 I know why the caged bird sings, ah me, 16 When his wing is bruised and his bosom sore,— 17 When he beats his bars and he would be free; 18 It is not a carol of joy or glee, 19 But a prayer that he sends from his heart’s deep core, 20 But a plea, that upward to Heaven he flings— 21 I know why the caged bird sings! upland (line 2): high ground opes (line 5): opens chalice (line 6): cup (here: the cup-shaped flower) fain (line 11): would gladly keener (line 13): sharper bosom (line 16): chest carol (line 18): joyful song Copyright reserved Please turn over

English First Additional Language/P2 17 Hlayiso/Mock 2026 NSC Mock 4.1.1 Complete the following sentences by using the words in the list below. Write only the word next to the question numbers (4.1.1(a) to 4.1.1(d)) in the ANSWER BOOK. cage; nest; spring; winter; bars; branches; prayer; carol The bird in the poem is locked in a (a) … . Outside, it is (b) …, and the grass and flowers are growing. The bird hurts itself on the (c) …, and its song is really a (d) … to be set free. (4) 4.1.2 Refer to line 4 (‘And the river … of glass’). (a) Identify the figure of speech used in this line. (1) (b) Explain why the figure of speech is relevant in this poem. (2) 4.1.3 Refer to line 9 (‘Till its blood … the cruel bars’). What does the word ‘cruel’ suggest about the bird’s situation? (2) 4.1.4 Quote ONE line from stanza 2 which shows that the bird has been hurt many times before. (1) 4.1.5 Each stanza begins and ends with the words ‘I know’. Explain why the poet repeats these words. (2) 4.1.6 Refer to lines 18–21 (‘It is not … caged bird sings!’). (a) What is the tone of the speaker in these lines? (1) (b) Why does the speaker use this tone? (1) 4.1.7 Choose the correct answer to complete the following sentence. Write only the letter (A–D) next to the question number (4.1.7) in the ANSWER BOOK. The speaker of the poem is most likely … A a person who sells birds. B a child who has a pet bird. C a person who is not free and suffers like the bird. D a scientist who studies birds. (1) 4.1.8 The poet suggests that singing is not always a sign of happiness. Discuss your view. (3) Copyright reserved Please turn over

English First Additional Language/P2 18 Hlayiso/Mock 2026 NSC Mock AND 4.2 Read the poem carefully and then answer the questions which follow. The number of marks allocated to each question serves as a guide to the expected length of your answer. Stopping by woods on a snowy evening – Robert Frost 1 Whose woods these are I think I know. 2 His house is in the village though; 3 He will not see me stopping here 4 To watch his woods fill up with snow. 5 My little horse must think it queer 6 To stop without a farmhouse near 7 Between the woods and frozen lake 8 The darkest evening of the year. 9 He gives his harness bells a shake 10 To ask if there is some mistake. 11 The only other sound’s the sweep 12 Of easy wind and downy flake. 13 The woods are lovely, dark and deep, 14 But I have promises to keep, 15 And miles to go before I sleep, 16 And miles to go before I sleep. queer (line 5): strange harness (line 9): the straps and fittings by which a horse is controlled sweep (line 11): soft, steady movement 4.2.1 Refer to stanza 1. Why does the speaker stop at the woods? (1) 4.2.2 Refer to lines 5–6 (‘My little horse … farmhouse near’). (a) Identify the figure of speech used in these lines. (1) (b) Explain why the figure of speech is relevant in this poem. (2) 4.2.3 Refer to lines 7–8 (‘Between the woods … of the year’). Describe the setting of the poem. State TWO points. (2) 4.2.4 Choose the correct answer to complete the following sentence. Write only the letter (A–D) next to the question number (4.2.4) in the ANSWER BOOK. The word ‘downy’ (line 12) means … A heavy and wet. B soft and light, like feathers. C falling down quickly. D dirty and grey. (1) Copyright reserved Please turn over

English First Additional Language/P2 19 Hlayiso/Mock 2026 NSC Mock 4.2.5 Explain why the following statement is FALSE: The speaker stops because his horse is tired. (1) 4.2.6 Refer to line 13 (‘The woods are lovely, dark and deep’). What is the speaker’s attitude towards the woods? Substantiate your answer. (2) 4.2.7 Refer to line 14 (‘But I have promises to keep’). (a) What tone would the speaker use in this line? (1) (b) Why would the speaker use this tone? (1) 4.2.8 Refer to lines 15–16. Why does the poet repeat the line ‘And miles to go before I sleep’? (2) 4.2.9 The speaker chooses his duties above his own wish to rest. Discuss your view. (3) [35] TOTAL SECTION D: 35 GRAND TOTAL: 70 Copyright reserved