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MONDEOR HIGH SCHOOL

ENGLISH LANGUAGE

GRADE 11

REVISION PAPER 1

SECTION A

QUESTION ONE: COMPREHENSION AND LANGUAGE

TEXT A

Teenage Insecurities

Paragraph 1:

The time is 7:00 am. A girl is brushing her teeth and fixing her hair before school starts. A

guy pulls on his new sneakers and does a set of push-ups before leaving the door. Both try

to spruce themselves up for the day. But, in reality, both try to create a certain facade to

mislead their peers from seeing their internal frustrations. Many teens struggle with self-

image issues, especially at school or outside the comfort of their homes. 5

Paragraph 2:

Peer pressure enforces teenage insecurities on many levels. An insecurity is a feeling of

uneasiness or agitation that is triggered by a negative mind set of unworthiness or

inadequacy. Students should overlook their minor flaws and attain a more positive attitude

about themselves by implementing good personal habits.

Paragraph 3:

First, the physical aspects of growing bodies can bring insecurities to teens. There are 10

numerous things to complain about: weight, height, hair colour, etc. Many guys and girls just

want to be deemed “normal.” It is easy to say that girls have more to worry about: standards

to look pretty, own the cutest clothes, stay skinny and so on. However, guys are more

sensitive than they often let on. Guys tend to hide their emotions, insult each other, impress

friends and buy the latest gadgets to prove their worth. 15

Paragraph 4:

If these ideals are not met, teens are left with feelings of abandonment and rejection.

Sophomore Jeffrey Chen said he thinks one key to overcoming insecurity is to be slower to

judge others.

Paragraph 5:

“Society is structured in a way where people can critically judge others,” Chen said. “We

should learn to be less judgmental.” 20

Paragraph 6:

Still, there are many societal and academic pressures that put immense levels of stress on

students. Junior Paula Zubiri says she thinks people constantly try to out-perform the other.

Students compete against each other to get into the best colleges and receive a certain level of

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recognition. Often, teenagers get easily discouraged and don’t try to get back up from

temporary setbacks. 25

Paragraph 7:

When some kids feel academically inferior to their classmates, they pull all the stops to get

ahead. They sleep less and might attempt to cheat.

Paragraph 8:

In addition, insecurities can serve as instruments of harmful behaviours. They can incite drug

and alcohol abuse, rash decisions and suicide attempts. 30

It comes from a cycle of ill-advised thoughts. If an outside party reinforces that self-inflicted

mentality, then those feelings begin to permeate and drive that person to take action.

Paragraph 9:

According to the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, the average age of

first marijuana use is 14 and alcohol use can start before age 12. In the events of teenage

suicide, The National Institute of Mental Health reported that as many as 25 suicides are 35

attempted for each one that is completed. Such disruptive life choices can permanently scar

the life of a teenager. A single insecurity can stem a lifelong battle of addictive behaviours.

Paragraph 10:

In a sense, harbouring insecurities can transmit a feeling of comfort. When one is inflicted

with despair, one can act out. This reaction draws attention. Therefore, a state of guilty

pleasure is mixed in with the power of one’s own downtrodden disposition. Despite this 40

ethereal feeling of comfort, insecurities ultimately lead to the following: broken relationships,

aggressiveness, drug and alcohol use, isolation and mental abuse. Instead, people should

constantly remind themselves that they are who they are. Physical and personal differences

make people unique. Be cautious with who you associate – true friends will not break you

down. Turn away from negative sources. Differences will wash away if people do not 45

fail to recognize their own individualism.

Paragraph 11:

Everyone has insecurities; it is how society faces them that matters. Within the bounds of

high school, students should embrace their inner and outer packages. Once self-acceptance is

recognized, people will shy away from insecurities and will implement a positive outlook for

the future. 50

(Adapted from ‘Healthy Teens’ by Rebecca Meiser)

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TEXT B

Questions on Text A

1.1. Refer to paragraph one.

Quote one word that reveals that many teens veil their true feelings. (1)

1.2. Explain what the word spruce implies in the passage? (1)

1.3. Identify three reasons for teenage insecurities in paragraph two. (3)

1.4. Refer to paragraph three. How do guys disguise their insecurities? (2)

1.5. Refer to paragraph four

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‘Sophomore Jeffrey Chen said he thinks one key to overcoming insecurity is to

be slower to judge others’.

Do you feel Chen’s statement is valid? (2)

1.6. Refer to paragraph five and six.

Explain how society creates a platform for people to critically judge each

other. (2)

1.7. Do you think that the writer’s claim in paragraph seven is justified?

Substantiate your response by referring to the text as a whole. (3)

1.8. Refer to paragraph eight

Explain the term ‘self –inflicted mentality’ (1)

1.9. Identify the punctuation mark in ill-advised and state its function. (2)

1.10. Refer to paragraph nine

Explain how the author has created credibility.Give one example. (2)

1.11. Identify one of the author’s reasons in paragraph ten for teenagers becoming

attention seekers. (2)

1.12. ‘Once self-acceptance is recognized, people will shy away from insecurities

and will implement a positive outlook for the future.’

Identify whether this sentence is a simple, compound or complex sentence.

Give a reason for your answer. (2)

Questions on Text B

1.15 Discuss the overall style and tone of the passage (3)

1.16 In your view, is the text effective? Justify your response. (2)

Questions on Text A and B

1.17 Critically discuss how Text B reflects any two issues raised in Text A. (3)

(Question One : Total 30)

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SECTION B

QUESTION TWO : SUMMARY

Read Text C carefully.

You are required to do the following:

Using your own words, summarise what the writer of the article has to say in a coherent

paragraph of 90 words.

You are not required to provide a title for the passage.

Indicate your word count at the end of your summary.

The teenage brain

The teenage brain is hungry for stimulation. But there is an unprecedented amount of it in

today’s world, maybe more than ever. Because teenagers lack access to their frontal lobes,

using their judgement to say: “I’ve had enough” or “I need to stop and do something else” is

still a weakness for them. Studies have shown that while teenagers are better at learning to

multitask than adults, distraction from smartphones and other devices can still impair

learning, so they should switch them off completely when they’re trying to study.

How many other competing interests do they have? For many teenagers, it’s certainly more

fun to play a video game or go on Facebook than do their homework. It’s an issue we all face

in the modern world, but serious demotivation can be a symptom of learning or processing

problems. In that case, the teenage years are an ideal time to diagnose any problems and help

work on their strengths as well as weaknesses. People have different learning styles, and there

is a lot of opportunity for plasticity before your brain is fully mature. Teenage brains have

more synaptic connections than adult ones, which makes them highly impressionable, as

they’re building synapses and modifying them as they learn. They are primed to learn quickly

and can memorise things faster. People might think their capacity for academic achievement

is set in stone from a very young age, but this can change quite dramatically over

adolescence. It’s a period of huge opportunity, and this suggests that you can really change

your destiny with respect to how you function at school if you get some attention during this

time.

The same quantity of drugs or alcohol has a much stronger effect than it does in adults. Binge

drinking can cause brain damage in teenagers where it will only cause intoxication in adults.

We know hard drugs can also do more damage to young brains for the same dose. Teens are

primed to learn quickly – but addiction is actually a form of learning, and when they get

addicted to something, example smoking, it has a long-term effect, as it’s actually changing

your brain chemistry, just like enriching environments and academic learning do. Studies

show that if you smoke pot on a daily basis for prolonged periods of time in your teen years,

your verbal IQ drops.

‘World of Teens’ – J Langa

(Question Two: Total 10)

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SECTION C

QUESTION THREE

ENGLISH IN CONTEXT VISUAL LITERACY

TEXT C

3.1 What social issue is being addressed in this cartoon ? (1)

3.2 Rewrite the explanation in frame three in indirect speech. (3)

3.3 Describe how the tension in frame three is visually portrayed. (3)

3.4 Give a synonym for the word ‘Geek’. (1)

TEXT D

3.5 How are we made aware that the incoming call is an emergency? (1)

3.6 Discuss the satire in this cartoon. (2)

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TEXT E

3.7 Explain the irony of the young man’s words in TEXT E. (1)

TEXT F

3.8 Explain how the picture reinforces the headline of the advert. (2)

3.9 Who is the target audience of this advert? (1)

3.10 Critically discuss whether the text and image successfully convey the advertiser’s

message. (2)

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TEXT G

3.11 Identify the literary device used in the word ‘ZITUATION’. (1)

3.12 Identify two effective advertising techniques used in this advert. (2)

(Question Three: Total 20)

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SECTION D

QUESTION FOUR LANGUAGE AND TEXTUAL EDITING.

In many other mammals, like baby rodents, sleep patterns shift during the adolesent period.

From pubety to the end of the teens, the circadian clock is actually programming them to go

to sleep and wake up around three to four hours later than adults. 3

This is a problem, as they are relatively sleep deprived when you wake them up at 6 am. It’s

something we might want to clearly think about as a society and in education systems, as

chronic sleep deprivation is certainly not helping teenagers do their biggest job, which 6

is to go to school.

We know how important sleep is for consolidation of memory and learning. It’s all about

strengthening synapses, a process which is chemically impaired in a sleep-deprived brain.9

This could be a reason for the fights, too – everyone knows that sleep deprivation makes you

emotionally impulsive.

4.1 What is the function of the commas in line 1. (1)

4.2 Identify and correct two deliberate spelling error in the first paragraph. (2)

4.3 Identify and correct the grammatical error in lines 5-6. (2)

4.4 Explain why the underlined word in line 8 has an apostrophe. (1)

Video games is another source of stimulation that teen brains respond exuberantly to. 12

But as their brains respond more strongly to stress than adult brains, they have to learn to put

what they see and do in the games into perspective. Adults must remember that as our frontal

lobes are connected, we can reflect and do things in moderation. If teens over-focus on 15

video games to the extent they’re not interacting with real people, then that’s a problem.

Video gaming and gambling use the same reward circuits as getting addicted to a substance.

4.5 Provide the noun form of exuberantly. (1)

4.6 ‘they have to learn to put what they see and do in the games into perspective’

Identify the FINITE verbs in this sentence. (1)

4.7 Correct the concord error in the above passage. (1)

4.8 Identify and correct the malapropism in the passage. (1)

(Question 4 Total 10)

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TEXT H

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Study TEXT H - Considering the fact that ‘Nando’s’ have a reputation for provocative and

often offensive adverts:

5.1 What Tone does TEXT D convey and how is it achieved? (2)

5.2 Explain why the advertisers chose this Tone for this particular campaign? (2)

5.3 Refer to the explanation of ‘Rolihlahla’ as a ‘Troublemaker’.

Why would ‘Nando’s’ want to associate themselves with being a ‘troublemaker’? (2)

5.4 Discuss how the verbal and visual elements of TEXT link to each other. (2)

5.5 How are they able to portray this as a positive quality to possess? (2)

5.6 Explain the PUN in the phrase ‘ruffling feathers’. (2)

Text I

5.7 Identify a literary devise in the cartoon that makes this cartoon humorous. (1)

5.8 Rewrite the explanation in frame three in indirect speech. (3)

5.9 Comment on the repetition of the word ‘Me’ (1)

5.10 Study frame 2. How does the cartoonist emphasis the boy’s dominance? (3)

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ENGLISH LANGUAGE REVISION

SECTION A: COMPREHENSION

QUESTION 1:

Read the article below and answer the questions that follow.

Camera before aid

On Tuesday morning, the New York Post waved a man’s last moments of life in a city’s face. A

man, Ki-Suk Han, was pushed on a subway track in an altercation on Monday, and a Post

freelance photographer was on hand to take pictures, just before Han was struck and killed by an

oncoming train. The Post splashed the photo on its cover: “This man is about to die.”

Wednesday, the Post published an explanation from the photographer, R. Umar Abbasi, who said

he reacted instinctively, did not even look at the photos before turning the memory card over to

the Post and the police. He barely had time to think, he says, much less reach and save the man.

It is a reasonable defence. It is also beside the point. Sure, maybe some “armchair critics” are

casting the comfortable judgment that Abbasi should have, could have, saved the man’s life

rather than taking photos and that in the same situation they would have. If you want to make

that charge–against him and everyone else on the platform, with a speeding train coming, a

homicidal man still on the scene and the real possibility of being pulled down yourself–no one

can stop you. Go ahead, take some time. You might as well; you and I have already had much,

much longer than 22 seconds, roughly the amount of time the bystanders reportedly had to act.

What struck me most about Abbasi’s story, though, was he saying that he was not the only one

pulling out a camera at the scene. As responders tried to revive the man. Abbasi told the Post, “a

crowd came over with camera phones and they were pushing and shoving, trying to look at the

man and taking videos.”

After the fact, of course, there was probably nothing further any bystanders could have done to

save the man’s life. However, that did not justify anyone’s intruding on the moments of his

death. I cannot know their motives shock or even a guess that the footage might be worth

something. Maybe they thought better soon and hit delete, maybe they did not. However, it also

seems to fit with a familiar mindset in our cameras-everywhere universe: that seeing something

is the same as doing something.

A fatal accident happens now, and we reach for our cameras. We have a particularly good lunch,

it goes on Facebook. Jay-Z gets on the subway and introduces himself to an old woman, and the

phones come out. Hurricane Sandy wiped out neighbourhoods, and along with the volunteers

came people with their iPhones, Instagramming the tragedy. Muammar Qaddafi was chased, in

his last moments, by a mob with both weapons and camera phones. It is more shocking these

days when something horrible or controversial happens and there is not a photo or video record...

I realize this is a strange and maybe hypocritical thing for me to say as a journalist, someone

whose job is entirely about writing about things that other people have done. Should I not expect

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other people to have the same impulse to record their world as I and my colleagues do? Am I

arguing some kind of privileged status for professional photographers, like Abbasi–or war

photographers, or any journalists whose defence is that capturing things people are

uncomfortable knowing about is their job?

(Source: www.entertainment.time.com)

1.1) In your own words what does the writer mean by the statement “New York Post waved a man’s

last moments of life in a city’s face.”

(2)

1.2) Define the word “freelance”.

(1)

1.3) In your own words why would R. Umar Abbasi the photographer say “ I did not even look at the

photos before turning the memory card over to the Post and the police.”

(2)

1.4) Explain the term “armchair critics”.

(2)

1.5) How does the writer defend the photographer? Quote to support your answer.

(3)

1.6) What shocking point does the writer make about society?

(1)

1.7) In your own words what does the writer mean with the following statement “cameras-

everywhere universe”?

(1)

1.8) The writer states that perhaps he is being “hypocritical”, why would we think a journalist would

be hypocritical? Quote to support your answer.

(3)

(15 marks)

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