BECE 2012: English Language Essay (Paper 2)

BECE APRIL 2012

ENGLISH LANGUAGE – ESSAY (Paper 2)

Answer two questions in all; one question from Part A and all the questions in Part B.

Your composition should be about 250 words long. Credit will be given for clarity of expression and orderly presentation of material.

PART A - ESSAY WRITING

Answer one question only from this part

1. Write a letter to the Member of Parliament of your constituency, telling him / her about the rise in armed robbery in your area.

Suggest at least two ways to check it

2. Write a story which ends with the sentence: We arrived just in time to save the situation

3. Your father has received the "National Best Farmer's Award". Write a letter to your brother who is outside the country, describing the ceremony.

PART B - COMPREHENSION

4. Read the following passage carefully and answer all the questions which follow.

Cholera is a very dangerous disease which can kill many people within a short time. Indeed, it has ruined several communities particularly in developing countries. It must therefore be prevented at all costs.

The disease is generally spread by germs which thrive in filthy and unhygienic areas. There could be an outbreak of cholera when drinking water becomes polluted by floods after a downpour. Human carriers also cause the disease to spread from place to place. For example, a person carrying the cholera germs would vomit or pass frequent stools. Flies would then carry the germs on their hairy legs and deposit them on exposed food or in water. When a person eats this contaminated food or drinks the polluted water, he or she is likely to contract the disease within a few days. The person would go about spreading the disease unknowingly.

On the whole, the main symptoms of cholera are severe diarrhoea and vomiting, which may result in loss of weight. The stool tends to be watery. As a lot of fluid is lost from the body, the patient quickly becomes dehydrated, thin and weak. The rapid loss of body fluid can soon result in death, unless the lost fluid is replaced immediately.

The first thing for the patient to do is to replenish as much fluid as is lost by taking, from time to time, boiled water which has been allowed to cool and mixed with salt and sugar. Then, he should seek medical attention.

(a) Where do cholera germs usually breed?

(b) Mention the two main carriers of cholera germs.

(d) What advice does the writer give to the cholera patient?

(e) Explain the following expressions in your own words:

(i) it has ruined several communities; (ii) at all costs; (iii) after a downpour.

(f) For each of the following words, give another word or phrase that means the same and can fit into the passage:

(i) thrive

(ii) deposit

(iii) rapid

(iv) replenish

(v) seek