Read the following
excerpt and answer the questions that follow
They were silent as they climbed the hill on their way
back from Nasila to draw water .The water containers that they carried on their
backs were now heavy. The straps that supported the containers pressed down
their heads with a painful exhaustion.
As they walked, each one of them allowed her mind to
fleeting roam the fanciful land of wishful thinking.
Resian thought how wonderful it would be, had she had a
chance to enroll at the Egerton University and after graduation had a chance to
work with her role model ,Minik ene Nkoitoi ,the Emakererei at the sheep ranch
that she managed .She imagined herself already there driving a large flock of
sheep .And when she thought of sheep , her mind flew back to fifteen years or
so earlier and reminisced the first
time she saw a sheep.It was a childhood memory ,a memorable picture from the
swirling scene around her which had been captured and preserved by her mind
when she and Taiyo accompanied their father to the Nakuru Agricultural show.She
could still see in her mind a group of big,docile tawny woolly animals that
stood panting drowsily in a green pasture ,with the sun beaming down brightly
from a clear blue sky .She had then admired the white long overcoats that the
handlers wore.
Taiyo also thought of Emakererei .She would ask Joseph
Parmuat , to assist her compose a song in her praise .She had already put words
to a tune she had composed to ridicule the three women who she thought collaborated with men to oppress the
women folk .They were Nasila’s three blind mice who , she thought , did not
seem to know that the world was changing .Those were the enkasakutoniwho threatened to curse intoiyenemengalana and ensured they did not get husbands nor
children;the midwife Enkaitoyoni who threatened to spy on the young women as
they gave birth to ensure that any who was among intoiye-nemengelana had her
status altered there and then; and the dreaded
Enkamuratani,who will never tire of wielding her olmurunya menacingly.
QUESTIONS
1. place
the excerpt in its immediate context. (4 marks)
2. identify
and illustrate two aspect of style in this excerpt (4marks)
3. discuss
two themes evident in this excerpt (4 marks)
4. discuss
one character trait of Resian and Taiyo in the excerpt (4 marks)
5. The
straps that supported the containers pressed down their heads with a painful
exhaustion. Rewrite beginning: with…………………… (1 mark)
6. How
does Resian’s thoughts come to be fulfilled in future ?briefly explain(4marks)
7. Explain the meaning of the following words as
used in the excerpt. (4 marks)
i.
Reminisced.
ii.
Collaborated
iii.
Dreaded
iv.
Menacingly
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