Section C

[ 25 marks ]
Believing in Friendships
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There is a clichd saying about friendship : there are big ships and small ships, but the best of all is
friendship.
In our journey of self-discovery, we need friends, whether good or bad, because no man is an
island in this world. Good friends will be there when we need them and bad friends, too. Well,
they may be bad but there is a reason for their existence: to make us appreciated our good friends
more! They are still our friends, whether good or bad because it is said a friend is one of the
loveliest things we can have is one of the best things we can be.
True friends make every day worth living and every trouble worth overcoming. At the end of a
long day, when we feel like we are at the end of our last legs, our friends are there to support and
remind us to keep pressing on. CS Lewis once said that friendship is unnecessary, like philosophy,
like art. It has no survival value; rather it is one of those things that give value to survival. I could
not agree more. It is possible to not have a single friend in the world and still be alive. But, it is the
laughter and tears of a friendship that make us feel alive.
As a good friend, we should always be ready to lend an ear and a shoulder too when a friend is
down in the dumps. Good friends will always be honest and tell you things you do not want to tell
yourself. They bring us back to reality when we fantasise too much and will tell us to be pragmatic
when we overreact.
It is said that those who chatter to you will chatter of you, but real friends will not stab you in the
back. They will tell us off straightaway if we go wrong. True, it might be harsh but real friends
speak painful truth through loving and kind words for our benefit. I am sure you have experienced
this before: someone has seen that you have done something that will lead you into trouble and has
told you off or maybe you have seen someone putting his foot into trouble and you went to his aid
just in time. This is what real friends do. They help. They are always ready to assist us in times of
trouble. In the midst of trials, friends will stand up for us and help us rise again after a fall. They
will not ask us what they can do to help, but think of something appropriate and do it.
True enough, we often find that it is by the continuous support of our friends that we can press
forward and attain our goals. A sincere friend will always help and never get in the way unless we
happen to be going down. They show invaluable support because they appreciate us. We too
should value a friend who finds time for us in this calendar and cherish him who does not consult it
when we need him.
In the world, there are many kinds of friendship and different types of friends good friends,
close friends, bosom friends. But, the best kind of friend is one you can sit at the porch with,
looking at the hustle and bustle of life not saying a word and then walk away feeling like it was
the best conversation you ever had. Because I believe that in friendship, what counts is not in the
saying but in the things that need not be said when silence is comfortable between friends. This
shows they have established a special kind of connection between them.
Mel and I are very close and can even understand each others body language. We have our own
secret way of communicating and gestures that others just do not understand. Sometimes,
we
even finish off each others sentences! Those who do not know us would think we were psychic.
Funnily enough, now that I think of it, our friendship started in a rather odd way. I have a weird
habit of reading the ending of a story first. When Mel came to know of it, she exclaimed, what?
You too? I thought I was the only one! and from then on we were close buddies.
(Adapted from Sunday Star)

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Answer all questions. You are advised to answer them in the order set.
26.
(a)

From paragraph 2,
why do we need friends in our journey of self-discovery?

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(b) what is the loveliest and best thing we can have and do?
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27. From paragraph 3,
(a) when we are at the end of our last legs, why do we need friends?
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(b) how does friendship give value to survival?
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28. (a) From paragraph 4, what does the expression, lead an ear mean?
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(b) From paragraph 5, what would true friends do for us in times of trouble?
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29.

From paragraph 7, how do we know that certain friends have a special kind of connection?

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30. In paragraph 8,
(a) how do the writer and Mel show that they are close friends?
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(b) do you believe that a friendship that starts off like the writers and Mels can last?
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31. Based on the passage given, write a summary on :

. Why we need friends
. What real and good friends mean
. What good friends do
Credit will be given for used of own words but care must be taken not to change the original
meaning.
Your summary must:

Be in continuous writing ( not in note form)

Use material from line 3 36
Not be longer than 130 words including the 10 words given below

Begin your summary as follows:

In life, we need friends because a friend is a .
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(15 marks )

Section D
[ 20 marks ]
32. Read the following extract of A Poison Tree and answer the questions that follow.
I was angry with my friend:
I told my wrath, my wrath did end,
I was angry with my foe
I told it not, my wrath did grow
And I watered it in fears,
Night and morning with my tears;
And I sunned it with smiles,
And with soft deceitful wiles.
William Blake
(a) In stanza 1, which word in the poem means great anger?
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(b) In stanza 2, which expression indicates that the persona used cunning methods?
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(c) Suggest a reason why the persona did not tell his wrath to his foe?
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(d) The poem gives advice on how one should deal with anger.
(i) What do you think is the advice given?
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(1 mark)
(ii) Why do you think this advice is given?
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(1 mark )
33. The following are the novels studied in the literature component in English Language.

1. Dear Mr. Kilmer Anne Shraff

2. Captain Nobody Dean Pitchford
3. Sing to the Dawn Minfong Ho

Choose any one of the novels above and answer the question below.
Suggest one character in the novel that you admire the most. Describe the character briefly and
give reasons for your choice with close reference to the text.
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