Question 33

Read the extract from the short story Looking for a Rain God below and answer the
questions that follow.

People in the village soon noted the absence of the two little
girls.
They had died at the lands and were buried there, the family
said.
But people noted their ashen, terror- stricken faces and a
murmur arose.
What had killed the children, they wanted to know? And the
family replied
that they had just died. And people said amongst themselves
that it was
strange that the two deaths had occurred at the same time. And
there

( a ) Who were the parents of the two little girls?

Ramadi and Tiro

( b ) “They” in the extract refer to

The two grand-daughters / Ramadi’s daughters / Ramadi and Tiro’s daughters / the two children/
Mokgobja’s grand-daughters / Neo and Boseyong /Boseyong and Neo / the two little girls

( c ) Guilt was shown on the faces of the family when they returned to the village.
Give an example.
“ashen, terror – stricken faces” “unnatural looks of the family” “great unease”

( d ) Do you agree with the ritual that was carried out by Mokgobja to the Rain
God? Give a reason to support your answer.
 si tenggang’s homecoming
i
The physical journey that i traverse
is a journey of the soul,
transport of the self from a fatherland
to a country collected by sight and mind,
the knowledge that sweats from it
is a stranger’s knowledge,
from one who has learnt to see, think
and choose between
the changing realities.
ii
it’s true i have growled at my mother and
grandmother
but only after having told of my predicament
that they have never brought to reason.
the wife that i began to love in my loneliness,
in the country that alienated me,
they took to their predecisions,
i have not entirely returned, i know,
having been changed by time and place,
coarsened by problems
estranged by absence.
Muhammad Haji Salleh

( a ) The words stranger’s knowledge in line 6 refers to

new knowledge / new experiences

( b ) Which word in the poem tells us that angry words were uttered?
“growled”

( c ) Where did the persona travel?

overseas / abroad / foreign countries / foreign land / [1 mark]
another country

( d ) In your own words, explain the meaning of line 7 of the second stanza.
si tenggang / He has changed.
si tenggang / He knows that he is not the same person.
si tenggang / He knows that he has changed.
Read the extract from the short stort The Sound Machine below and answer the
questions that follow.
“I’m going to tell you something, Mrs. Saunders,” he
said,
“something that you won’t believe.” He put his hands
on top
of the fence and peered at her intently through his thick
spectacles. “You have, this evening, cut a basketful of
roses.
You have with a sharp pair of scissors cut through the
stems of
living things and each rose that you cut screamed in
the most
terrible way. Did you know that, Mrs. Saunders?”

(a) What was meant by living things in line 6?

The flowers / Flowers / The roses / Roses

(b) Which object gave out a cry of pain?

The flower / Flower / The rose / Rose

(c) How did Klausner feel while talking to Mrs. Saunders?

“breathing heavily … control his excitement” / could not contain his excitement / very excited

(d) Based on the story, did Mrs. Saunders believe in what Klausner had said?
Why?
No,