English HL Grade 9 P1 November Mock 2026 Question Paper (English)

Copyright reserved Please turn over Mock hlayiso mock exams Practice Series: Grade 9 Exam Preparation WWW.HLAYISO.COM SENIOR PHASE END-OF-YEAR EXAMINATION GRADE 9 ENGLISH HOME LANGUAGE P1 NOVEMBER 2026 (MOCK) MARKS: 70 TIME: 2 hours This question paper consists of 10 pages.

English Home Language/P1 2 Senior Phase Mock Hlayiso/Mock 2026 INSTRUCTIONS AND INFORMATION 1. This question paper consists of THREE sections: SECTION A: Reading and viewing (Comprehension) (30) SECTION B: Summary (10) SECTION C: Language in context (30) 2. Read ALL the instructions carefully. 3. Answer ALL the questions. 4. Start EACH section on a NEW page. 5. Number the answers correctly according to the numbering system used in this question paper. 6. For multiple-choice questions, write down only the letter of the correct answer next to the question number, e.g. 1.12 D. 7. Leave a line after each answer. 8. Pay special attention to spelling and sentence construction. 9. Suggested time allocation: SECTION A: 50 minutes SECTION B: 25 minutes SECTION C: 45 minutes 10. Write neatly and legibly. Copyright reserved Please turn over

English Home Language/P1 3 Senior Phase Mock Hlayiso/Mock 2026 SECTION A: READING AND VIEWING QUESTION 1: COMPREHENSION Read TEXT A below and answer the questions set. Use your own words as far as possible. TEXT A THE NIGHT SHIFT 1 It is 23:47 on a school night in Polokwane. The house is dark and silent, except for a soft blue glow under one bedroom door. Fourteen-year-old Lerato* is not doing her homework, and she is certainly not asleep. She is scrolling – through dance videos, through her friends' photos, through a group chat that simply refuses to go quiet. 'I always tell myself, "Just five more minutes",' she admits. 'Then suddenly 5 it's one o'clock.' 2 Lerato is not alone. Last year, learners at her high school* completed an anonymous survey about their sleeping habits. Of the 420 Grade 8 and 9 learners who took part, seven out of ten said that they used their phones in bed after 22:00, and almost half said that they slept fewer than seven hours on a school 10 night. Doctors recommend that teenagers sleep between eight and ten hours a night. 3 Why does a small screen cause such a big problem? Part of the answer is light. When it gets dark, the body produces a hormone called melatonin, which tells the brain that it is time to sleep. The bright light from a screen fools the brain into 15 thinking that it is still daytime, so this 'sleep signal' arrives late. The other part of the answer is what we watch. A funny video, an exciting game or an unkind comment keeps the mind racing long after the phone has been switched off. 4 The effects are felt the next morning. Teachers at the school say that the first lesson of the day is the hardest. 'Some learners are like zombies before break,' 20 says Mr Ndlovu*, a Grade 9 teacher. 'They yawn, they forget their books and they lose their tempers over small things.' The brain stores what we have learnt during the day while we sleep, so a tired learner struggles to remember work. Too little sleep has also been linked to headaches, getting sick more often and feeling low. Copyright reserved Please turn over

English Home Language/P1 4 Senior Phase Mock Hlayiso/Mock 2026 5 Many teenagers do not agree that their phones are the enemy. 'My phone is how I 25 relax,' says Sipho*, 15. 'Adults spend the whole evening watching TV. Why is that different?' He has a point. Experts admit that the real problem is not technology, but timing. 6 So what can be done? At the school, the Representative Council of Learners started a 'Phone Bedtime' challenge. For one month, volunteers charged their 30 phones in the kitchen, not in the bedroom, and switched them off an hour before sleeping. Of the 60 learners who took part, most reported that they fell asleep faster and woke up in a better mood. Lerato was one of them. 'The first three nights were torture,' she laughs. 'I felt as if I was missing everything. But by the second week I was actually awake in Maths!' 35 7 The phone will not disappear from teenagers' lives, and nobody is asking it to. But perhaps it is time for it to work a shorter shift. As Lerato puts it: 'My phone never gets tired. I do.' *The people and the school in this text are fictitious. [Examiner's own text] 1.1 Choose the correct answer from the options below. TEXT A is most likely taken from … A a science textbook. B a magazine for teenagers and parents. C a personal diary. D an advertisement for cellphones. (1) 1.2 Refer to paragraph 2 (lines 7–12). State TWO findings of the survey which show that many teenagers do not get enough sleep. (2) 1.3 Choose the correct answer from the options below. As it is used in paragraph 2, the word 'anonymous' means … A well known. B without the names of the people being given. C compulsory for everyone. D very long and detailed. (1) 1.4 Refer to paragraph 3 (lines 13–18). Explain, in your own words, how the light from a screen makes it difficult to fall asleep. (2) 1.5 Refer to line 20: 'Some learners are like zombies before break'. 1.5.1 Identify the figure of speech used in this line. (1) 1.5.2 Explain what this comparison suggests about the learners. (2) Copyright reserved Please turn over

English Home Language/P1 5 Senior Phase Mock Hlayiso/Mock 2026 1.6 Refer to paragraph 5 (lines 25–28). Is the following statement TRUE or FALSE? Quote a phrase from the paragraph to support your answer. Experts believe that technology itself is the cause of the problem. (2) 1.7 Refer to line 26: 'Adults spend the whole evening watching TV.' Is this statement a FACT or an OPINION? Give a reason for your answer. (2) 1.8 Refer to paragraph 6 (lines 29–35). Why do you think the volunteers were asked to charge their phones in the kitchen and not in the bedroom? (2) 1.9 Sipho suggests that using a phone at night is no different from adults watching TV in the evening. Do you agree with him? Give a reason for your answer. (2) 1.10 Choose the correct answer from the options below. Which word best describes Lerato's attitude towards the 'Phone Bedtime' challenge by the end of paragraph 6? A bitter B uninterested C appreciative D frightened (1) 1.11 Refer to the title, 'THE NIGHT SHIFT', and to paragraph 7 (lines 36–38). Explain why the title is suitable for this article. (2) [20] Copyright reserved Please turn over

English Home Language/P1 6 Senior Phase Mock Hlayiso/Mock 2026 QUESTION 2: VISUAL LITERACY (CARTOON) Study the cartoon below and answer the questions set. FRAME 1 PHONES No phones at the table tonight! Let's TALK as a family. FRAME 2 PHONES So … how was school today? Fine. FRAME 3 PHONES BZZZ Oh! Just ONE quick message from work … SERIOUSLY, Dad?! [Examiner's own cartoon] DESCRIPTION OF THE FRAMES: FRAME 1: A father and his teenage daughter sit at a table with dinner plates. The smiling father holds up a basket marked PHONES. The daughter frowns and holds her phone. FRAME 2: Both phones lie in the basket in the middle of the table. The father smiles and asks a question. The daughter's arms are folded, her mouth is a straight line and her eyes are rolled upwards. FRAME 3: The father's phone buzzes. He has taken it out and grins down at it. The daughter's eyes are wide, her eyebrows are pulled down and her arms are still folded. 2.1 Where is this cartoon set? Give ONE visual clue to support your answer. (2) 2.2 Quote ONE word from FRAME 3 that shows the relationship between the two characters. (1) 2.3 Refer to FRAME 1. Why is the word 'TALK' written in capital letters? (1) 2.4 Refer to FRAME 2. Describe the daughter's body language and explain what it shows about how she feels. (2) 2.5 Refer to FRAME 3. Explain the irony in this frame. (2) 2.6 Refer to FRAME 3. What does the use of both a question mark and an exclamation mark in 'SERIOUSLY, Dad?!' tell the reader about the daughter's feelings? (1) 2.7 What message does the cartoonist want to give to parents? (1) [10] TOTAL SECTION A: 30 Copyright reserved Please turn over

English Home Language/P1 7 Senior Phase Mock Hlayiso/Mock 2026 SECTION B: SUMMARY QUESTION 3: SUMMARISING IN YOUR OWN WORDS Read TEXT B below. List SEVEN ways in which a household can reduce the amount of food that it wastes. NOTE: 1. Write SEVEN points in full sentences. 2. Number your sentences from 1 to 7. 3. Write only ONE point per sentence. 4. Use your own words as far as possible. 5. Your summary should be 70–80 words in length. 6. Indicate the total number of words you have used in brackets at the end of your summary. 7. You are NOT required to write a title for your summary. TEXT B WASTE NOT, WANT NOT Every year, a huge amount of food is thrown away in South Africa, while many families go to bed hungry. Much of this waste does not happen on farms or in shops, but in our own kitchens. The good news is that every household can make a difference, and save money at the same time. Before you go shopping, check what is already in the fridge and the cupboards, and then write a shopping list. Stick to the list! Special offers such as 'Buy two, get one free' often tempt us to buy food that we never eat. At home, store food correctly. Bread lasts longer in a bread bin, and vegetables such as spinach stay fresh for days if they are wrapped and kept in the fridge. When you unpack the groceries, move the older items to the front of the shelf so that they are eaten first. Many people throw away good food because they misunderstand the dates on the labels. 'Best before' means that the food is at its best before that date, but it is usually still safe to eat afterwards. 'Use by' dates, however, must be taken seriously. Leftovers are not rubbish. Instead of scraping them into the bin, keep them in the fridge: tonight's pap and stew can become tomorrow's lunch. My neighbour, Mrs Zulu, has not thrown away a plate of food in years. She says it is a habit that she learnt from her mother. Finally, peels and scraps that cannot be eaten can be turned into compost for the garden. On a rubbish dump they simply rot and give off harmful gases. As my grandmother always says, 'Waste not, want not.' [Examiner's own text] TOTAL SECTION B: 10 Copyright reserved Please turn over

English Home Language/P1 8 Senior Phase Mock Hlayiso/Mock 2026 SECTION C: LANGUAGE IN CONTEXT QUESTION 4: ANALYSING AN ADVERTISEMENT Study the advertisement (TEXT C) below and answer the questions set. TEXT C Get LOST in a good book these holidays! FREE entry* Join the December Holiday Read-a-thon at your local library! Read 10 books, keep a reading log and stand a chance to WIN a R500 bookshop voucher. Who? Readers aged 10–15 When? 1 December – 10 January Register by 28 November Turn a page. Find a world. MZANSI COMMUNITY LIBRARIES *Ts & Cs apply. [Examiner's own advertisement. Mzansi Community Libraries is a fictitious organisation.] 4.1 For which age group is this advertisement intended? (1) 4.2 Refer to the headline: 'Get LOST in a good book these holidays!' Explain the TWO meanings of the word 'LOST' as it is used in the headline. (2) 4.3 Explain how the picture supports the message of the headline. (2) 4.4 Identify ONE technique that the advertiser uses to persuade readers to take part, and explain why it would be effective. (2) 4.5 Write the abbreviation 'Ts & Cs' out in full. (1) [8] Copyright reserved Please turn over

English Home Language/P1 9 Senior Phase Mock Hlayiso/Mock 2026 QUESTION 5: LANGUAGE STRUCTURES AND CONVENTIONS Read TEXT D below and answer the questions set. Some deliberate errors have been included in the text. TEXT D BOOKS ON TWO WHEELS 1 Every Saturday morning, Thabo Mokoena* (19) pedals a bright yellow bicycle 2 through the streets of Mamelodi. Behind it he pulls a small trailer packed with 3 storybooks, comics and magazines. Children run to meet him, shouting, 'The book 4 bike is here!' Thabo started the project at the begining of 2025, after he noticed 5 that many children in his area had no books at home. 'The nearest library is far 6 away, and a taxi costs money,' he explains. The books in the trailer is all donated 7 by families, schools and a local NGO. Children may borrow two books at a time; 8 they return them the following week. Thabo keeps a record of every loan in a small 9 notebook – he has never lost a single book. 10 Last year the children read more than 3 000 books, and the project was named the 11 best youth project in the city. Thabo believes that a book is the cheapest ticket to 12 anywhere. 'You don't need a passport,' he smiles. 'You just need to turn the page.' 13 Thabo hopes to buy a second bicycle soon because the demand is growing. It is 14 neccessary, he says, for every child to have at least one book to call his or her own. *fictitious person [Examiner's own text] 5.1 Identify the parts of speech of the following underlined words in lines 1–2: 5.1.1 pedals (1) 5.1.2 bright (1) 5.1.3 through (1) 5.2 Identify and correct the TWO spelling errors in lines 4 and 14. (2) 5.3 Correct the error of concord in line 6. (1) 5.4 Write the abbreviation 'NGO' (line 7) out in full. (1) 5.5 Give a synonym for the word 'donated' (line 6). (1) 5.6 Give the antonym of the word 'borrow' (line 7). (1) 5.7 Refer to line 8. Use the homophone of 'week' in a sentence of your own. (1) 5.8 What is the function of the dash in line 9? (1) 5.9 Change the verb 'explains' (line 6) into a noun. (1) Copyright reserved Please turn over

English Home Language/P1 10 Senior Phase Mock Hlayiso/Mock 2026 5.10 Choose the correct answer from the options below. The word 'cheapest' (line 11) is an adjective in the … A positive degree. B comparative degree. C superlative degree. (1) 5.11 What is the function of the apostrophe in 'don't' (line 12)? (1) 5.12 Rewrite the following sentence in the passive voice: The children read more than 3 000 books last year. (2) 5.13 Rewrite the following sentence in reported (indirect) speech. Begin with: Thabo said that … Thabo said, 'I will buy a second bicycle next month.' (2) 5.14 Is the sentence 'Thabo hopes to buy a second bicycle soon because the demand is growing' (line 13) a simple, compound or complex sentence? (1) 5.15 Add a question tag to the following statement: Thabo has never lost a single book. (1) 5.16 Combine the following two sentences into ONE sentence by using the conjunction 'although': Thabo is only nineteen years old. He runs a successful project. (1) 5.17 Rewrite the following sentence in the simple past tense: Children run to meet him. (1) [22] TOTAL SECTION C: 30 GRAND TOTAL: 70 Copyright reserved