# English FAL Grade 12 P2 NSC November Prediction 2026 QP

> Grade 12 English FAL Paper 2 question paper from the NSC November Prediction Exam 2026, 26 pages. Read online or download the free PDF.

- Page: https://www.hlayiso.com/library/grade-12-english-fal-2026-nsc-november-prediction-exam-question-paper-paper-2-english/23270e46-0dd9-4fde-9bb1-0c72193ee7ed
- Updated: 2026-10-29
- Subject: English FAL
- Grade: Grade 12
- Language: English
- Document type: Question paper
- Year: 2026
- Exam period: NSC November Prediction Exam
- Paper: 2
- Publisher: Hlayiso
- Curriculum: CAPS
- Pages: 26

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English Fal · Grade 12 · NSC November Prediction Exam · 2026 · English. Question paper, 26 pages. Read online or download the PDF.

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### Page 1

Prediction

                              hlayiso mock exams
                              Practice Series:
                              Grade 12 NSC Preparation
                              WWW.HLAYISO.COM

                                   NATIONAL
                              SENIOR CERTIFICATE

                                      GRADE 12

                      ENGLISH FIRST ADDITIONAL LANGUAGE P2
                          PREDICTION EXAMINATION 2026

MARKS: 70

TIME: 2½ hours

                        This question paper consists of 26 pages.

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English First Additional Language/P2        2                           Hlayiso/Prediction 2026
                                       NSC Prediction

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 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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                                       NSC Prediction

TABLE OF CONTENTS
SECTION A: NOVEL
Answer ANY ONE question.
         QUESTION NO.                                   MARKS      PAGE NO.
1.       Cry, the Beloved Country                        35              5
2.       Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde           35              8

SECTION B: DRAMA
Answer ANY ONE question.
3.       Macbeth                                         35             12
4.       My Children! My Africa!                         35             16

SECTION C: SHORT STORIES
Answer the questions set on BOTH short stories.
5.1      ‘Class act’                                     18             19
                                        AND
5.2      ‘Eveline’                                       17             21

SECTION D: POETRY
Answer the questions set on BOTH poems.
6.1      ‘On the grasshopper and cricket’                18             23
                                        AND
6.2      ‘The slave dealer’                              17             25

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                                           NSC Prediction

CHECKLIST
NOTE:
  • Answer questions from ANY TWO sections.
  • Tick (✓) the sections you have answered.

 SECTIONS                      QUESTION               NO. OF          TICK (✓)
                               NUMBERS             QUESTIONS 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.

ABOUT THIS PREDICTION PAPER
The question types, the texts and the parts of the texts in this paper were chosen from an
analysis of the DBE November papers 2018–2025, the May/June papers 2018–2026 and the
2026 preparatory papers. All the texts are on the prescribed list for English First Additional
Language for the October/November 2026 NSC examination (DBE Circular E11 of 2024).
Extracts are printed only from texts that are in the public domain (Strange Case of Dr Jekyll
and Mr Hyde, Macbeth, ‘Eveline’, ‘On the grasshopper and cricket’ and ‘The slave dealer’).
For Cry, the Beloved Country, My Children! My Africa! and ‘Class act’, which are still under
copyright, the questions are based on the examiner’s own summaries of the context.

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                                           NSC Prediction

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
The examiner’s summaries below describe two parts of the text. Read each summary and
answer the questions set on it. 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 summaries, i.e. QUESTION 1.1 AND QUESTION
1.2.
NOTE TO CANDIDATES: Cry, the Beloved Country is still protected by copyright, so this
prediction paper does not reproduce extracts from it. In the NSC examination you will be
given printed extracts; here, the questions are based on the examiner’s own summaries of
the context.
1.1      CONTEXT A
          [The search for Absalom.]
          Examiner’s summary: Stephen Kumalo and Msimangu follow Absalom’s trail across
          Johannesburg. At the reformatory, a young white man who works there tells them that
          Absalom behaved well and was allowed to leave early. Absalom was given work, and he
          was to marry the girl who is expecting his child. The two priests find the girl, but she tells
          them that Absalom went away some days ago and has not come back. A little later, the
          news reaches the Mission House that Arthur Jarvis, a young engineer who worked for
          justice for black South Africans, has been shot dead in his house. The police are looking
          for the killers. Kumalo is filled with fear.

         1.1.1       Choose a description from COLUMN B that matches the name in
                     COLUMN A. Write only the letter (A–E) next to the question numbers
                     (1.1.1(a) to 1.1.1(d)) in the ANSWER BOOK.

                          COLUMN A                            COLUMN B
                      (a) Mrs Lithebe         A     defends Absalom without payment
                      (b) Father Vincent      B     a carpenter turned politician
                      (c) Matthew             C     gives Kumalo a room in her house
                                              D     is arrested with Absalom
                      (d) Mr Carmichael
                                              E     an English priest at the Mission
                                                      (4 x 1)                                        (4)
         1.1.2       Describe the time and place in which this part of the novel is set.             (2)
         1.1.3       Why is Kumalo hopeful after his visit to the reformatory?
                     State TWO points.                                                               (2)

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                                            NSC Prediction

         1.1.4       What does Msimangu’s behaviour during the search for Absalom
                     reveal about his character?
                     Substantiate your answer.                                                        (2)
         1.1.5       Why is the young man at the reformatory later angry and
                     disappointed with Absalom?                                                       (1)
         1.1.6       Explain the irony of Arthur Jarvis’s death.                                      (2)
         1.1.7       Replace the underlined word with a single word to make the following
                     statement TRUE:
                     Arthur Jarvis is shot dead in his house in Sophiatown.                           (1)
         1.1.8       Choose the correct answer to complete the following sentence. Write
                     only the letter (A–D) next to the question number (1.1.8) in the
                     ANSWER BOOK.
                     The money that Kumalo uses for his journey to Johannesburg was
                     saved to send …
                     A   Gertrude to hospital.
                     B   Absalom to St Chad’s.
                     C   his wife to visit her family.
                     D   Matthew to university.                                                       (1)
         1.1.9       Refer to the novel as a whole.
                     The sentence that the judge passes on Absalom is fair.
                     Discuss your view.                                                               (3)
                                                 AND
1.2      CONTEXT B
          [An unexpected meeting.]
          Examiner’s summary: A man from Ndotsheni has asked Kumalo to find his daughter, who
          once worked for a family in Springs. Kumalo goes to the house and knocks on the door.
          The man who opens the door is James Jarvis, the father of Arthur Jarvis, who is visiting the
          family. Kumalo recognises him at once. He trembles, takes off his hat and cannot speak.
          Jarvis is puzzled, but he speaks kindly to the old parson and asks him what is wrong. At
          last Kumalo tells him that it was his son who killed Arthur Jarvis. Jarvis is silent for a long
          time. Then he tells Kumalo that he has heard him and that there is no anger in him.

         1.2.1       Name the farm on which James Jarvis lives.                                       (1)
         1.2.2       Explain the irony of the situation in which Kumalo meets James
                     Jarvis.                                                                          (2)
         1.2.3       What does Kumalo’s reaction when he sees Jarvis tell us about his
                     state of mind?
                     Substantiate your answer.                                                        (2)

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                                           NSC Prediction

         1.2.4       What does Jarvis’s response to Kumalo reveal about his character?
                     Substantiate your answer.                                                (2)
         1.2.5       Choose the correct answer to complete the following sentence. Write
                     only the letter (A–D) next to the question number (1.2.5) in the
                     ANSWER BOOK.
                     Arthur Jarvis is shot dead during a robbery by …
                     A   Johannes Pafuri.
                     B   Matthew Kumalo.
                     C   Absalom Kumalo.
                     D   John Kumalo.                                                         (1)
         1.2.6       Replace the underlined word with a single word to make the following
                     statement TRUE:
                     Absalom is hanged in Johannesburg.                                       (1)
         1.2.7       Before this meeting, Jarvis has read some of Arthur’s writings.
                     How do these writings change the way Jarvis thinks about black
                     South Africans?                                                          (2)
         1.2.8       One of the themes in Cry, the Beloved Country is reconciliation.
                     Discuss this theme.                                                      (3)
         1.2.9       Refer to the novel as a whole.
                     James Jarvis can be admired.
                     Discuss your view.                                                      (3)
                                                                                            [35]

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                                         NSC Prediction

QUESTION 2: STRANGE CASE OF DR JEKYLL AND MR HYDE
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 QUESTION
2.2.
2.1      EXTRACT C
         [Mr Utterson visits Dr Lanyon.]
            There at least he was not denied admittance; but when he came in, he was
         shocked at the change which had taken place in the doctor’s appearance. He
         had his death-warrant written legibly upon his face. The rosy man had grown
         pale; his flesh had fallen away; he was visibly balder and older; and yet it was
         not so much these tokens of a swift physical decay that arrested the lawyer’s          5
         notice, as a look in the eye and quality of manner that seemed to testify to some
         deep-seated terror of the mind. It was unlikely that the doctor should fear death;
         and yet that was what Utterson was tempted to suspect. “Yes,” he thought; “he is
         a doctor, he must know his own state and that his days are counted; and the
         knowledge is more than he can bear.” And yet when Utterson remarked on his ill        10
         looks, it was with an air of great firmness that Lanyon declared himself a doomed
         man.
            “I have had a shock,” he said, “and I shall never recover. It is a question of
         weeks. Well, life has been pleasant; I liked it; yes, sir, I used to like it. I
         sometimes think if we knew all, we should be more glad to get away.”                  15
            “Jekyll is ill, too,” observed Utterson. “Have you seen him?”
            But Lanyon’s face changed, and he held up a trembling hand. “I wish to see or
         hear no more of Dr. Jekyll,” he said in a loud, unsteady voice. “I am quite done
         with that person; and I beg that you will spare me any allusion to one whom I
         regard as dead.”                                                                      20
            “Tut, tut!” said Mr. Utterson; and then after a considerable pause, “Can’t I do
         anything?” he inquired. “We are three very old friends, Lanyon; we shall not live
         to make others.”
            “Nothing can be done,” returned Lanyon; “ask himself.”
            “He will not see me,” said the lawyer.                                             25
            “I am not surprised at that,” was the reply. “Some day, Utterson, after I am
         dead, you may perhaps come to learn the right and wrong of this. I cannot tell
         you. And in the meantime, if you can sit and talk with me of other things, for
         God’s sake, stay and do so; but if you cannot keep clear of this accursed topic,
         then in God’s name, go, for I cannot bear it.”                                        30

                                                               [Remarkable Incident of Dr Lanyon]

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                                             NSC Prediction

         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) Poole                 A      a clerk who compares handwriting
                      (b) Mr Guest              B      tells Utterson the story of the door
                                                C      Dr Jekyll’s loyal butler
                      (c) Carew
                                                D      an MP who is beaten to death
                      (d) Mr Enfield
                                                E      argues with Jekyll about science
                                                         (4 x 1)                                    (4)
         2.1.2       Describe the time and place where this extract is set.                         (2)
         2.1.3       Refer to lines 2–3 (‘He had his … upon his face’).
                     (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       Refer to lines 13–15 (‘I have had … to get away’).
                     What do these lines tell us about Dr Lanyon’s state of mind?
                     Substantiate your answer.                                                      (2)
         2.1.5       Explain the irony in Dr Lanyon’s words, ‘one whom I regard as dead’
                     (lines 19–20).                                                                 (2)
         2.1.6       Refer to line 21 (‘Tut, tut!’).
                     (a)   What tone would Mr Utterson use in these words?                          (1)
                     (b)   Why would Mr Utterson use this tone?                                     (1)
         2.1.7       Refer to the novel as a whole.
                     Dr Lanyon should have told Mr Utterson the truth about Dr Jekyll.
                     Discuss your view.                                                             (3)
                                                    AND

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                                              NSC Prediction

2.2      EXTRACT D
         [Dr Jekyll describes his first transformation.]
            I hesitated long before I put this theory to the test of practice. I knew well that I
         risked death; for any drug that so potently controlled and shook the very fortress
         of identity, might, by the least scruple of an overdose or at the least inopportunity
         in the moment of exhibition, utterly blot out that immaterial tabernacle which I
         looked to it to change. But the temptation of a discovery so singular and                      5
         profound at last overcame the suggestions of alarm. I had long since prepared
         my tincture; I purchased at once, from a firm of wholesale chemists, a large
         quantity of a particular salt which I knew, from my experiments, to be the last
         ingredient required; and late one accursed night, I compounded the elements,
         watched them boil and smoke together in the glass, and when the ebullition had                10
         subsided, with a strong glow of courage, drank off the potion.
            The most racking pangs succeeded: a grinding in the bones, deadly nausea,
         and a horror of the spirit that cannot be exceeded at the hour of birth or death.
         Then these agonies began swiftly to subside, and I came to myself as if out of a
         great sickness. There was something strange in my sensations, something                       15
         indescribably new and, from its very novelty, incredibly sweet. I felt younger,
         lighter, happier in body; within I was conscious of a heady recklessness, a
         current of disordered sensual images running like a millrace in my fancy, a
         solution of the bonds of obligation, an unknown but not an innocent freedom of
         the soul. I knew myself, at the first breath of this new life, to be more wicked,             20
         tenfold more wicked, sold a slave to my original evil; and the thought, in that
         moment, braced and delighted me like wine. I stretched out my hands, exulting
         in the freshness of these sensations; and in the act, I was suddenly aware that I
         had lost in stature.

                                                               [Henry Jekyll’s Full Statement of the Case]

         2.2.1       Refer to line 1 (‘I hesitated long … test of practice’).
                     Why does Dr Jekyll hesitate before he tests his theory? State TWO
                     points.                                                                          (2)
         2.2.2       Refer to lines 2–3 (‘the very fortress of identity’).
                     (a)    Identify the figure of speech used in these words.                        (1)
                     (b)    Explain why the figure of speech is relevant in this extract.             (2)
         2.2.3       Choose the correct answer to complete the following sentence. Write
                     only the letter (A–D) next to the question number (2.2.3) in the
                     ANSWER BOOK.
                     The ‘last ingredient required’ (lines 8–9) for the potion is a …
                     A     tincture.
                     B     particular salt.
                     C     red liquid.
                     D     rare plant.                                                                (1)

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                                            NSC Prediction

         2.2.4       Explain the irony in Dr Jekyll’s words, ‘with a strong glow of courage,
                     drank off the potion’ (line 11).                                           (2)
         2.2.5       Refer to lines 16–22 (‘I felt younger … me like wine’).
                     What do these lines reveal about Dr Jekyll’s character?
                     Substantiate your answer.                                                  (2)
         2.2.6       Replace the underlined word with a single word to make the following
                     statement TRUE:
                     After the first transformation, Dr Jekyll notices that he has become
                     taller.                                                                    (1)
         2.2.7       One of the themes in Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde is
                     temptation.
                     Discuss this theme.                                                        (3)
         2.2.8       Refer to the novel as a whole.
                     Dr Jekyll is a victim rather than a villain.
                     Discuss your view.                                                         (3)
                                                                                               [35]
                                                                     TOTAL SECTION A:           35

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                                        NSC Prediction

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 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
         [The murder of King Duncan is discovered.]
         LADY MACBETH: What’s the business,
                       That such a hideous trumpet calls to parley
                       The sleepers of the house? Speak, speak!
         MACDUFF:      O gentle lady,
                       ’Tis not for you to hear what I can speak:                           5
                       The repetition, in a woman’s ear,
                       Would murder as it fell.
                            [Enter Banquo.]
                       O Banquo, Banquo!
                       Our royal master’s murder’d!                                        10
         LADY MACBETH: Woe, alas!
                       What, in our house?
                                                  […]
                            [Enter Macbeth and Lennox, with Ross.]
         MACBETH:      Had I but died an hour before this chance,
                       I had liv’d a blessed time; for, from this instant                  15
                       There’s nothing serious in mortality.
                       All is but toys: renown and grace is dead;
                       The wine of life is drawn, and the mere lees
                       Is left this vault to brag of.
                            [Enter Malcolm and Donalbain.]                                 20
         DONALBAIN:    What is amiss?
         MACBETH:      You are, and do not know’t:
                       The spring, the head, the fountain of your blood
                       Is stopp’d; the very source of it is stopp’d.
         MACDUFF:      Your royal father’s murder’d.                                       25
         MALCOLM:      O, by whom?
         LENNOX:       Those of his chamber, as it seem’d, had done’t:
                       Their hands and faces were all badg’d with blood;
                       So were their daggers, which, unwip’d, we found
                       Upon their pillows.                                                 30
                                                  […]
         MACBETH:      O, yet I do repent me of my fury,
                       That I did kill them.

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                                            NSC Prediction

                                                                                    [Act 2, Scene 3]

         3.1.1       Choose a description from COLUMN B that matches the name in
                     COLUMN A. Write only the letter (A–E) next to the question numbers
                     (3.1.1(a) to 3.1.1(d)) in the ANSWER BOOK.

                          COLUMN A                            COLUMN B
                      (a) Donalbain           A     Thane of Fife; finds the king’s body
                      (b) Lennox              B     the King of Norway
                                              C     Duncan’s son who flees to Ireland
                      (c) Macduff
                                              D     talks to an old man about omens
                      (d) Ross
                                              E     says that the night was unruly
                                                      (4 x 1)                                    (4)
         3.1.2       Describe the time and place where this extract is set.                      (2)
         3.1.3       Refer to lines 4–7 (‘O gentle lady, … as it fell’).
                     Explain the irony in these lines.                                           (2)
         3.1.4       Refer to lines 11–12 (‘Woe, alas! … in our house?’).
                     If you were the director of this play, what would you tell Lady Macbeth
                     to do when saying these lines? State TWO actions.                           (2)
         3.1.5       Refer to lines 18–19 (‘The wine of … to brag of’).
                     (a)    Identify the figure of speech used in these lines.                   (1)
                     (b)    Explain why the figure of speech is relevant in this extract.        (2)
         3.1.6       Choose the correct answer to complete the following sentence. Write
                     only the letter (A–D) next to the question number (3.1.6) in the
                     ANSWER BOOK.
                     Macbeth speaks the words in lines 14–19 (‘Had I but … to brag of’)
                     in order to …
                     A     show his true love for Duncan.
                     B     hide his guilt and appear innocent.
                     C     accuse Macduff of the murder.
                     D     comfort Duncan’s sons.                                                (1)
         3.1.7       Replace the underlined word with a single word to make the following
                     statement TRUE:
                     After Duncan’s death, Macbeth is crowned king at Forres.                    (1)
         3.1.8       Refer to the drama as a whole.
                     Macbeth is a master of deception.
                     Discuss your view.                                                          (3)
                                                  AND

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                                           NSC Prediction

3.2      EXTRACT F
         [Ross brings news to Macduff in England.]
         ROSS:                Your castle is surpris’d; your wife and babes
                              Savagely slaughter’d. To relate the manner
                              Were, on the quarry of these murder’d deer,
                              To add the death of you.
         MALCOLM:             Merciful heaven!                                                    5
                              What, man! ne’er pull your hat upon your brows.
                              Give sorrow words. The grief that does not speak
                              Whispers the o’er-fraught heart, and bids it break.
         MACDUFF:             My children too?
         ROSS:                Wife, children, servants, all                                      10
                              That could be found.
         MACDUFF:             And I must be from thence!
                              My wife kill’d too?
         ROSS:                I have said.
         MALCOLM:             Be comforted:                                                      15
                              Let’s make us med’cines of our great revenge,
                              To cure this deadly grief.
         MACDUFF:             He has no children. All my pretty ones?
                              Did you say all? O hell-kite! All?
                              What, all my pretty chickens and their dam                         20
                              At one fell swoop?
         MALCOLM:             Dispute it like a man.
         MACDUFF:             I shall do so;
                              But I must also feel it as a man:
                              I cannot but remember such things were,                            25
                              That were most precious to me. Did heaven look on,
                              And would not take their part? Sinful Macduff,
                              They were all struck for thee!

                                                                                    [Act 4, Scene 3]

         3.2.1       Why has Macduff gone to England? State TWO points.                          (2)
         3.2.2       Refer to lines 6–8 (‘What, man! ne’er … bids it break’).
                     (a)   What tone would Malcolm use in these lines?                           (1)
                     (b)   Why would Malcolm use this tone?                                      (1)
         3.2.3       What does Macduff mean when he says, ‘He has no children’ (line
                     18)?                                                                        (2)
         3.2.4       Refer to lines 19–21 (‘O hell-kite! … one fell swoop?’).
                     (a)   Identify the figure of speech used in these lines.                    (1)
                     (b)   Explain why the figure of speech is relevant in this extract.         (2)

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                                           NSC Prediction

         3.2.5       Refer to lines 22–24 (‘Dispute it like … as a man’).
                     What does Macduff’s reply reveal about his character?
                     Substantiate your answer.                                                  (2)
         3.2.6       One of the themes in Macbeth is ambition.
                     Discuss this theme.                                                        (3)
         3.2.7       Refer to the drama as a whole.
                     Malcolm will be a better king than Macbeth.
                     Discuss your view.                                                        (3)
                                                                                              [35]

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English First Additional Language/P2           16                            Hlayiso/Prediction 2026
                                          NSC Prediction

QUESTION 4: MY CHILDREN! MY AFRICA!
The examiner’s summaries below describe two parts of the text. Read each summary and
answer the questions set on it. 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 summaries, i.e. QUESTION 4.1 AND QUESTION
4.2.
NOTE TO CANDIDATES: My Children! My Africa! is still protected by copyright, so this
prediction paper does not reproduce extracts from it. In the NSC examination you will be
given printed extracts; here, the questions are based on the examiner’s own summaries of
the context.
4.1      CONTEXT G
          [Mr M makes a plan.]
          Examiner’s summary: Isabel Dyson of Camdeboo Girls’ High has taken part in a debate
          at Zolile High School in Brakwater against Thami Mbikwana, Mr M’s best learner. Mr M is
          delighted by the debate. He tells Isabel about an English literature competition and asks
          her to form a team with Thami. Isabel accepts with great excitement. Later, while the three
          of them are preparing for the quiz, Isabel invites Mr M and Thami to tea with her parents.
          Mr M accepts for both of them before Thami can answer, and Isabel notices that Thami’s
          mood changes.

         4.1.1       Choose a description from COLUMN B that matches the name in
                     COLUMN A. Write only the letter (A–E) next to the question numbers
                     (4.1.1(a) to 4.1.1(d)) in the ANSWER BOOK.

                          COLUMN A                          COLUMN B
                      (a) Isabel             A    owns a chemist in the town
                      (b) Thami              B    dreams of becoming a writer
                      (c) Mr M               C    a gifted learner from Brakwater
                                             D    believes in the power of words
                      (d) Mr Dyson
                                             E    an inspector of Bantu schools
                                                     (4 x 1)                                      (4)
         4.1.2       Describe the time and place in which the play is set.                        (2)
         4.1.3       Why does Mr M want Isabel and Thami to work as a team?
                     State TWO points.                                                            (2)
         4.1.4       What does Mr M’s decision to accept the invitation on Thami’s behalf
                     reveal about Mr M’s character?
                     Substantiate your answer.                                                    (2)
         4.1.5       If you were the director of this play, what would you tell Isabel to do
                     to show her excitement when she accepts Mr M’s invitation? State
                     TWO actions.                                                                 (2)

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English First Additional Language/P2            17                           Hlayiso/Prediction 2026
                                           NSC Prediction

         4.1.6       Choose the correct answer to complete the following sentence. Write
                     only the letter (A–D) next to the question number (4.1.6) in the
                     ANSWER BOOK.
                     Isabel and Thami are entered for a literature quiz that is to be held in
                     …
                     A   Cape Town.
                     B   Grahamstown.
                     C   Port Elizabeth.
                     D   Johannesburg.                                                            (1)
         4.1.7       Replace the underlined word with a single word to make the following
                     statement TRUE:
                     In Brakwater, Thami lives with his parents.                                  (1)
         4.1.8       Refer to the drama as a whole.
                     Mr M puts too much pressure on Thami.
                     Discuss your view.                                                           (3)
                                                AND
4.2      CONTEXT H
          [After Mr M’s death.]
          Examiner’s summary: During the school boycott, Mr M is accused of being an informer
          because he has given the names of learners who organised the boycott to the authorities.
          Thami warns him to leave, but Mr M refuses. He rings the bell and goes out to face the
          angry crowd, who kill him. Some time later, Isabel and Thami meet for the last time. Isabel
          is grieving and angry. Thami tells her that he is leaving Brakwater to join the liberation
          struggle. After Thami leaves, Isabel speaks to the memory of Mr M. She is determined that
          his death will not be meaningless, and she looks to the future with hope.

         4.2.1       Why does the crowd kill Mr M? State TWO points.                              (2)
         4.2.2       Explain the irony of Mr M’s death.                                           (2)
         4.2.3       What is Isabel’s state of mind when she meets Thami for the last
                     time?
                     Substantiate your answer.                                                    (2)

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English First Additional Language/P2            18                           Hlayiso/Prediction 2026
                                           NSC Prediction

         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.
                     During the school boycott, the Comrades believe that learners must
                     put …
                     A   sport before school.
                     B   liberation before education.
                     C   examinations before protest.
                     D   their teachers before their parents.                                     (1)
         4.2.5       What does Thami’s attempt to warn Mr M reveal about Thami’s
                     character?
                     Substantiate your answer.                                                    (2)
         4.2.6       Replace the underlined word with a single word to make the following
                     statement TRUE:
                     Before he goes out to face the crowd, Mr M rings the church bell.            (1)
         4.2.7       At the end of the play, Isabel looks to the future with hope.
                     What does this suggest about the way in which Isabel has changed?            (2)
         4.2.8       One of the themes in My Children! My Africa! is the power of words.
                     Discuss this theme.                                                          (3)
         4.2.9       Refer to the drama as a whole.
                     Thami’s decision to leave Brakwater is the right one.
                     Discuss your view.                                                          (3)
                                                                                                [35]
                                                                     TOTAL SECTION B:             35

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English First Additional Language/P2             19                              Hlayiso/Prediction 2026
                                            NSC Prediction

SECTION C: SHORT STORIES
In this section, questions are set on the following short stories:
     • ‘CLASS ACT’ by Namhla Tshisana
     • ‘EVELINE’ by James Joyce

QUESTION 5
Read the examiner’s summary and the extract 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 5.1 AND QUESTION
5.2.
5.1      ‘CLASS ACT’
         CONTEXT I
NOTE TO CANDIDATES: Class act is still protected by copyright, so this prediction paper
does not reproduce extracts from it. In the NSC examination you will be given printed extracts;
here, the questions are based on the examiner’s own summaries of the context.
          [The narrator’s tunic.]
          Examiner’s summary: The narrator has just started Standard 6 at a new high school. Her
          mother has bought her a school tunic that is far too big for her, because it must last for
          years. In class, Renato, who has failed Standard 6 three times, makes the new learners
          stand in front of the class while he inspects their uniforms. He marks the narrator’s tunic with
          chalk to show how short it ‘should’ be and calls her ‘Sister Mary Clarence’. The whole class
          laughs. At home, Aunt Connie refuses to shorten the tunic with white cotton, so Ayanda,
          who is back from university in Alice, shortens it for her.

         5.1.1       Choose a description from COLUMN B that matches the name in
                     COLUMN A. Write only the letter (A–E) next to the question numbers
                     (5.1.1(a) to 5.1.1(d)) in the ANSWER BOOK.

                          COLUMN A                            COLUMN B
                      (a) Renato               A     teaches the class geography
                      (b) Mr Sauls             B     a repeater who teases the narrator
                      (c) Ayanda               C     the narrator’s older sister
                                               D     cannot control the noisy class
                      (d) Mr Patel
                                               E     refuses to use white cotton
                                                       (4 x 1)                                         (4)
         5.1.2       Why does the narrator’s mother buy her a tunic that is too big?
                     State TWO points.                                                                 (2)
         5.1.3       Explain the irony of Renato inspecting the uniforms of the new
                     learners.                                                                         (2)
         5.1.4       What does the narrator’s reaction to the nickname ‘Sister Mary
                     Clarence’ tell us about her state of mind?
                     Substantiate your answer.                                                         (2)

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English First Additional Language/P2             20                       Hlayiso/Prediction 2026
                                            NSC Prediction

         5.1.5       Choose the correct answer to complete the following sentence. Write
                     only the letter (A–D) next to the question number (5.1.5) in the
                     ANSWER BOOK.
                     The nickname ‘Sister Mary Clarence’ refers to …
                     A   a famous singer.
                     B   a nun in a film.
                     C   the narrator’s aunt.
                     D   a teacher at the school.                                             (1)
         5.1.6       Replace the underlined word with a single word to make the following
                     statement TRUE:
                     The narrator’s mother works as a teacher.                                (1)
         5.1.7       One of the themes in ‘Class act’ is peer pressure.
                     Discuss this theme.                                                      (3)
         5.1.8       Refer to the short story as a whole.
                     The narrator handles the teasing at school well.
                     Discuss your view.                                                       (3)
                                                AND

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English First Additional Language/P2            21                          Hlayiso/Prediction 2026
                                           NSC Prediction

5.2      ‘EVELINE’
         EXTRACT J
         [Eveline thinks about Frank and her father.]
            She was about to explore another life with Frank. Frank was very kind, manly,
         open-hearted. She was to go away with him by the night-boat to be his wife and
         to live with him in Buenos Ayres where he had a home waiting for her. How well
         she remembered the first time she had seen him; he was lodging in a house on
         the main road where she used to visit. It seemed a few weeks ago. He was                5
         standing at the gate, his peaked cap pushed back on his head and his hair
         tumbled forward over a face of bronze. Then they had come to know each other.
         He used to meet her outside the Stores every evening and see her home. He
         took her to see The Bohemian Girl and she felt elated as she sat in an
         unaccustomed part of the theatre with him. He was awfully fond of music and            10
         sang a little. People knew that they were courting and, when he sang about the
         lass that loves a sailor, she always felt pleasantly confused. He used to call her
         Poppens out of fun. First of all it had been an excitement for her to have a fellow
         and then she had begun to like him. He had tales of distant countries. He had
         started as a deck boy at a pound a month on a ship of the Allan Line going out to      15
         Canada. He told her the names of the ships he had been on and the names of
         the different services. He had sailed through the Straits of Magellan and he told
         her stories of the terrible Patagonians. He had fallen on his feet in Buenos Ayres,
         he said, and had come over to the old country just for a holiday. Of course, her
         father had found out the affair and had forbidden her to have anything to say to       20
         him.
            – I know these sailor chaps, he said.
            One day he had quarrelled with Frank and after that she had to meet her lover
         secretly.
            The evening deepened in the avenue. The white of two letters in her lap grew        25
         indistinct. One was to Harry; the other was to her father. Ernest had been her
         favourite but she liked Harry too. Her father was becoming old lately, she
         noticed; he would miss her. Sometimes he could be very nice. Not long before,
         when she had been laid up for a day, he had read her out a ghost story and
         made toast for her at the fire. Another day, when their mother was alive, they had     30
         all gone for a picnic to the Hill of Howth. She remembered her father putting on
         her mother’s bonnet to make the children laugh.

         5.2.1       Refer to lines 1–3 (‘She was about … waiting for her’).
                     Why does Eveline plan to go to Buenos Ayres? State TWO points.             (2)
         5.2.2       Refer to lines 6–7 (‘his hair tumbled … face of bronze’).
                     (a)   Identify the figure of speech used in these lines.                   (1)
                     (b)   Explain why the figure of speech is relevant in this extract.        (2)
         5.2.3       Refer to lines 9–10 (‘she felt elated … theatre with him’).
                     What do these lines suggest about Eveline’s usual life?                    (2)
         5.2.4       To whom does ‘he’ (line 22) refer?                                         (1)

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English First Additional Language/P2            22                          Hlayiso/Prediction 2026
                                           NSC Prediction

         5.2.5       Refer to line 22 (‘I know these sailor chaps’).
                     (a)    What tone would the speaker use in this line?                       (1)
                     (b)    Why would the speaker use this tone?                                (1)
         5.2.6       Refer to lines 27–32 (‘Her father was … children laugh’).
                     Explain the irony in these lines.                                          (2)
         5.2.7       Choose the correct answer to complete the following sentence. Write
                     only the letter (A–D) next to the question number (5.2.7) in the
                     ANSWER BOOK.
                     The Bohemian Girl (line 9) is …
                     A     a book that Eveline reads.
                     B     a show that they see at the theatre.
                     C     the name of Frank’s ship.
                     D     a song that Frank sings.                                             (1)
         5.2.8       Replace the underlined word with a single word to make the following
                     statement TRUE:
                     Eveline promised her father to keep the home together as long as
                     she could.                                                                 (1)
         5.2.9       Refer to the short story as a whole.
                     Eveline is a prisoner of her own fears.
                     Discuss your view.                                                        (3)
                                                                                              [35]
                                                                       TOTAL SECTION C:         35

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English First Additional Language/P2            23                            Hlayiso/Prediction 2026
                                           NSC Prediction

SECTION D: POETRY
In this section, there are questions set on the following poems:
     • ‘On the grasshopper and cricket’ by John Keats
     • ‘The slave dealer’ by Thomas Pringle
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 which follow. The
         number of marks allocated to each question serves as a guide to the expected
         length of your answer.
         On the grasshopper and cricket – John Keats
          1      The poetry of earth is never dead:
          2        When all the birds are faint with the hot sun,
          3        And hide in cooling trees, a voice will run
          4      From hedge to hedge about the new-mown mead;
          5      That is the Grasshopper’s – he takes the lead
          6        In summer luxury, – he has never done
          7        With his delights; for when tired out with fun
          8      He rests at ease beneath some pleasant weed.
          9      The poetry of earth is ceasing never:
         10        On a lone winter evening, when the frost
         11           Has wrought a silence, from the stove there shrills
         12      The Cricket’s song, in warmth increasing ever,
         13        And seems to one in drowsiness half lost,
         14           The Grasshopper’s among some grassy hills.

         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.
                       sonnet; winter; stove; ballad; summer; frog; cricket; window
                     This poem is a (a) … in which the speaker celebrates the sounds of
                     nature. In the octave, the grasshopper sings in the heat of (b) …. In
                     the sestet, the (c) … sings from beside the (d) … on a cold evening.         (4)
         6.1.2       Describe the time and place in which lines 1–4 are set.                      (2)
         6.1.3       Refer to line 1 (‘The poetry of earth is never dead’).
                     (a)   Identify the figure of speech used in this line.                       (1)
                     (b)   Explain why the figure of speech is relevant in this poem.             (2)
         6.1.4       Explain why the speaker repeats the idea of line 1 in line 9 (‘The
                     poetry of earth is ceasing never’).                                          (2)
         6.1.5       Refer to lines 5–8 (‘That is the … some pleasant weed’).
                     (a)   What tone would the speaker use in these lines?                        (1)
                     (b)   Why would the speaker use this tone?                                   (1)

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English First Additional Language/P2            24                            Hlayiso/Prediction 2026
                                           NSC Prediction

         6.1.6       Choose the correct answer to complete the following sentence. Write
                     only the letter (A–D) next to the question number (6.1.6) in the
                     ANSWER BOOK.
                     The words ‘when the frost / Has wrought a silence’ (lines 10–11)
                     suggest that in winter …
                     A   all of nature has died.
                     B   the cold has made everything quiet.
                     C   the birds are singing loudly.
                     D   the meadow has just been mown.                                           (1)
         6.1.7       Replace the underlined word with a single word to make the following
                     statement TRUE:
                     In line 14, the half-asleep listener thinks that the cricket’s song is the
                     song of the birds.                                                           (1)
         6.1.8       Refer to the poem as a whole.
                     The speaker shows that winter is as beautiful as summer.
                     Discuss your view.                                                           (3)
                                                AND

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