BOTSWANA OPEN UNIVERSITY

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ENGLISH 12/3

Literature

Paper 3 2018

Marks: 45 Time: 2 Hours

Candidate
Full names:

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INSTRUCTIONS
1. Write your full names in the space provided above.

2. Write your answers in the spaces provided on this question paper.

3. Answer all questions.

FOR EXAMINER’S USE ONLY

Section Marks Scored

Total Marks

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DO NOT TURN THE PAGE UNTIL YOU ARE TOLD TO DO SO

1
 SECTION A – POETRY (15 Marks)
Read the poem below and use to answer question 1 (a) to (h)

Life is what we make it

By: Wame David Legakwa

A billion of us wait
With bated breath for a chance
Like a predator in hunting stance
For the moment on our way to fall
Perchance fortune would call
Single us out of all the lot
And drop bounty on our lap.

Yet none cares to reckon

Fate does not rate
Nor does she date
What you are you make
What you could be is late
Life is what you choose
If you don’t you lose.

Ideas in abundance await

Possibilities abound the more
Yet so many know this not
Most just wake and lay down
Spectators in a game they play
Watching as chance by chance
Rolls away by the day.

How this world would be different

If from slumber we’d rise
Tap into the huge world
Of unending, undeterred
Possibility; plunder the universe
Of thought and lay claim
To this world our treasure.

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1. (a) State an example of simile from stanza 1 and explain what it means.

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(b) What poetic device is line one of stanza 1?

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(c) In your own words explain “Fate does not rate”.

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(d) What is the theme in stanza 4? Support your answer with an example.

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(e) What mood is expressed by the last stanza of the poem. Explain your answer with an
example.

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(f) Identify two pairs of rhyming words from stanza 2 and explain the function of the
rhyme in the poem.

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(g) What does the poet suggest when he says “To this treasure our world”

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(h) In your own words, explain what the poet means when he says “Life is what you
choose, if you don’t you lose”.

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4
 SECTION B - SHORT STORY (30 Marks)

Below is an extract from The Wrath of Woman by Wame David Legakwa. Use it to
answer questions 2 and 3.

The time was two o’clock in the morning when Julia’s cell phone rang. She hated being
called at such an awkward hour. She answered, hoping it was something important.
“Hello,” a male voice said. “It’s Mothei.”
“Hello, Mothei,” a sleepy and upset Julia said. “Why are you calling so late?”
“I can’t sleep, Julia,” Mothei said, sounding distraught.

Julia sensed the stress in Mothei’s voice and immediately restructured her tone to one of
politeness. Mothei was a colleague. He was one of the numerous men at work who had
proposed love to her. She had turned him down on the pretext that she was not ready. She
had also encouraged him to give up trying and eventually they became very good friends.

“I need to talk,’ Mothei said.

“Can’t it wait, Mothei? It’s late,” Julia pleaded.
“I’m not sure I can wait.”
Julia could sense that Mothei was disturbed. “Ok, I will drive over now. Give me twenty
minutes.”

When Julia arrived at Mothei’s house, she found him laying in bed. His face was lined
with trickles of dry tears. He was certainly down in the dumps.

“Hey, Mothei,” Julia said.

“Hey, Julia. I really need to talk,” Mothei said.
“I am here. What’s bothering you?”
“I was just about to hang myself when I called you.”
“What for, Mothei? You have so much to live for!” Julia said, suddenly feeling afraid.
“Well, not anymore. I am as good as dead.”
“You are alive now, dear. And that’s what matters more than anything else.”
“I went to Tsholofelo Testing Centre today.”
“And?”
“I tested HIV positive.”
“Oh Mothei, my brother!” Julia could feel Mothei’s pain stab her through her heart.
“But Mothei, you look so fine,” Julia said sadly.
“I don’t have to look bad to be positive, Julia. I know the suffering I will go through, and
I just can’t bear the thought of it.”

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“I know my friend, but you know this is not the end. Actually, you can live for a very
long time if you choose to. I attended a health talk session at the hospital a week ago and
I learnt a lot about ARV therapy. If you enroll in the programme, you will definitely
prolong your life.”

“How does it work, Julia?”

Julia explained to Mothei how ARV therapy worked. When she left at five in the
morning, Mothei was ready to go to bed.

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2. (a) What was the setting when Julia received Mothei’s call and how did it affect Julia’s
initial reaction?

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(b) While in Mothei’s house, we learn something new about Julia’s character. What kind
of person is she? Explain your answer with two examples.

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(c) How do we know that when Julia left, Mothei would no longer kill himself?

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(d) Identify two statements by Julia that must have convinced Mothei to give up the idea
of killing himself.

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(e) What is the theme of the story? Support your answer with an explanation.
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(f) State the conflict in the story and briefly explain it.

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3. When people first learn that they are HIV positive, they usually find it difficult to accept
it and respond in different ways. Describe Mothei’s reaction, how he managed it and
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further explain what positive things individuals can do when they first learn about their
positive HIV status.

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