GRADE EIGHT MIDTERM EXAM.

ENGLISH.

COMPREHENSION. (15mks)

Read the comprehension below and answer the questions that follow.

Mike and Morris lived in the same village. While Morris owned the largest jewelry shop in the village,
Mike was a poor farmer. Both had large families with many sons, daughters-in-law and grandchildren.
One fine day, Mike, tired of not being able to feed his family, decided to leave the village and move to
the city where he was certain to earn enough to feed everyone. Along with his family, he left the village
for the city. At night, they stopped under a large tree. There was a stream running nearby where they
could freshen up themselves. He told his sons to clear the area below the tree, he told his wife to fetch
water and he instructed his daughters-in-law to make up the fire and started cutting wood from the tree
himself. They didn’t know that in the branches of the tree, there was a thief hiding. He watched as
Mike’s family worked together and also noticed that they had nothing to cook. Mike’s wife also thought
the same and asked her husband” Everything is ready but what shall we eat?” Mike raised his hands to
heaven and said” Don’t worry. He is watching all of this from above. He will help us.” The thief got
worried as he had seen that the family was large and worked well together. Taking advantage of the fact
that they did not know he was hiding in the branches, he decided to make a quick escape. He climbed
down safely when they were not looking and ran for his life. But, he left behind the bundle of stolen
jewels and money which dropped into Mike’s lap. Mike opened it and jumped with joy when he saw the
contents. The family gathered all their belongings and returned to the village. There was great
excitement when they told everyone how they got rich. Morris thought that the tree was miraculous
and this was a nice and quick way to earn some money. He ordered his family to pack some clothes and
they set off as if on a journey. They also stopped under the same tree and Morris started commanding
everyone as Mike had done. But no one in his family was willing to obey his orders. Being a rich family,
they were used to having servants all around. So, the one who went to the river to fetch water enjoyed
a nice bath. The one who went to get wood for fire went off to sleep. Morris’s wife said” Everything is
ready but what shall we eat?” Morris raised his hands and said,” Don’t worry. He is watching all of this
from above. He will help us.” As soon as he finished saying, the thief jumped down from the tree with a
knife in hand. Seeing him, everyone started running around to save their lives. The thief stole everything
they had and Morris and his family had to return to the village empty handed, having lost all their
valuables that they had taken with them.

Questions

1. Why did Mike and his family decide to rest under the thief’s tree? (2mks)

………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….

………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….

………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….

2. Which of the following best describes Morris? (1mk)

B) He bullied his wife

C) He paid his servants well

D) He was greedy and imitated Mike

3. What did Mike mean when he said “He is watching all this from above”? (2mks)

…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….

……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..

……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..

4. How did the fellow villagers react to Mike getting rich overnight? (2mks)

…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….

……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..

……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..

……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..

5. How was Mike’s life in the village different from Morris’ life? (2mks)

……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..

……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..

……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..

……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..

6. Which character trait best describes how mike’s family worked together? Identify and
illustrate. (2mks)

……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..

……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..

……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..

7. Why do you think the thief ran away even though no one had noticed his presence? (2mks)

……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..
……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..

……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..

……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………

8. What lesson do you learn from the above comprehension? (2mks)

……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..

……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..

……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..

POETRY. (15mks)

Study the poem below and answer the questions below.

Oh behold the beauty of the world

A marvelous creation by God

Features and creatures of the wild

For humans to use and safeguard

Mountains, valleys and grasslands

Forests gracing the lands

Rivers snaking through the woods

Giving water to our neighborhoods

But alas! See how humans are rude

Not caring even when they should

Protect the environment as they should

To ensure their lives are good.

Stop the spillage of industrial waste

And dumping garbage all over in haste

Stop fires, chemical use and all that’s against

Keeping our environment at its best.

By Macharia Mwangi
Questions;

1. What is the poem about? (2mks)

…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….

……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..

……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..

……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..

2. Who is the persona in the poem? (2mks)

……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..

……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..

……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..

……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..

3. Identify and illustrate any instance of alliteration in the poem. (2mks)

…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….

…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….

……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………
4. Identify and illustrate any instance of consonance in the poem. (2mks)

……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..

……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..

……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..
5. Identify three pairs of rhyming words in the poem. (3mks)
……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..

……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..

……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..

……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..
6. What are some of the things that the persona says humans should stop? (3mks)

……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..

…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….
……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..

……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..
7. Who is the author of the poem above? (1mk)
……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..

GRAMMAR, PUNCTUATION AND SPELLING. (15mks)

1. Break the compound words below into the words they are formed from. (3mks)

a) Bedroom …………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………

b) Merry-go-round ………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………

c) Playground ………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………

2. Fill in the gaps with the past simple tense of the verbs in brackets? (4mks)

a) Where………………………….she go? (do)

b) You were to………………it on. (put)

c) He…………………..out of bed like a…………………….lion (spring, wound)

d) Peter………….how to ride a bicycle when he…………………….to visit us last vacation. (come, learn)

3. Choose the correct comparative or superlative adjective from the brackets (3mks)
a) My nose is…………………than yours. (little, smaller)

b) I got the…………………………marks in the test. (least, less)

c) These are the……………………….news I have heard this year. (Bad, worst)

4. Use the words in bracket to fill in the correct adverbs in the questions below. (3mks)

a) I was…………………………..running when I tripped and fell. (quick)

b) I will………………………….watch the match. (certain)

c)The house was……………………………………decorated. (beautiful)

5. Use the pronoun given in the bracket correctly. (2mks)

a) (Who, Whom) wrote the essay?

b) The Johnson’s gave (we, us) a lift to Nakuru.

……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..

WRITING.
1. Write an interesting dilemma narrative. Include all the features of a dilemma narrative. (15mks)
………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….

………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….

………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….

………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….

………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….

………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….

………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….

………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….

………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….

………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….

………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….

………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….

………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….

………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….

………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….

………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….

………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….

………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….
………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….

………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….

………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….

........................................................................................................................................................................

………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….

………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….

………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….

………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….

………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….

………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….

………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….

………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….

………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….

………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….

………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….

………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….

………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….

………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….

………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….

………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….

………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….

………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….