2016 English Form3.Pdf

MINISTRY OF EDUCATION AND HUMAN RESOURCES,

TERTIARY EDUCATION AND SCIENTIFIC RESEARCH MAURITIUS EXAMINATIONS SYNDICATE

NATIONAL ASSESSMENT AT FORM III

NAME

SCHOOL NAME

CLASS/SECTION

ENGLISH October 2016 1 hour 45 mins

Students answer on the Question Paper.

READ THESE INSTRUCTIONS FIRST

Write your name, the name of your school and your class/section in the spaces provided above.

Write in dark blue or black ink. Do not use correction fluid.

There are 9 questions in this paper. Check that this document consists of 13 printed pages and 3 blank pages. Any discrepancy in the document must be immediately notified to the responsible officer in your school.

Answer all questions in both Section A and Section B. All answers must be written in the spaces provided.

The number of marks is given in brackets [ ] at the end of each question or part question. The total of the marks for this paper is 100.

SECTION A: READING (40 Marks) 1. Read the following text. This is the story of a French pirate who turned to piracy for fun and left behind a mystery – perhaps even a treasure – that lasts to this day.

1 Olivier Levasseur was born in the town of Calais, in northern France, in 1689. His family was wealthy and he was sent to the best schools in France. After receiving an excellent education, he became an officer in the French Navy. During the war of Spanish succession (1701 – 1714), he got his own ship and he became a privateer, someone whose job is to capture enemy ships and keep a percentage of their goods. Levasseur did not need the 5 money, but he enjoyed the excitement of hunting and catching ships. When the war ended, he was ordered to return home with his ship, but he ignored the order and became a pirate.

2 In 1716, Olivier Levasseur became the captain of a pirate ship named ‘Postillion’. He attacked ships in the Atlantic Ocean, near Cuba. He soon earned the nickname of “La Buse” (the Buzzard), a bird of prey, because of the speed and ruthlessness with which he attacked 10 his enemies.

3 In the years that followed, La Buse teamed with other pirates as they attacked ships along the coast of South America. In 1717, he was made captain of a new pirate ship, with a crew of 200 men. No one knows what he did after that, but in 1718, he lost his ship after being attacked by Francis Hume, the British Captain of the ‘HMS Scarborough’. La Buse managed 15 to escape with only sixty of his crew.

4 Throughout 1719 and 1720, he started pirating in the Indian Ocean. In April 1721, he perpetrated one of piracy’s greatest exploits: the capture of the Portuguese galleon ‘Our Lady of the Cape’. This ship was travelling from Goa in India and was returning home to Lisbon in Portugal. It was full of treasures – bars of gold and silver, dozens of boxes of gold 20 coins, diamonds, pearls, silk and more spectacularly, the Flaming cross of Goa – a cross made of pure gold, inlaid with diamonds, rubies and emeralds, which was so heavy that three men were needed to carry it.

5 Despite gaining incredible wealth from looting the ‘Lady of the Cape’, Levasseur continued to sail, looking for more adventures. Eventually, in 1730, he was captured by the French 25 authorities near Fort Dauphin in Madagascar and brought to St Denis in Réunion Island. He was found guilty of piracy and sentenced to death. Legend has it that just before he was hanged on 7 July 1730, he removed his necklace and threw it in the crowd, shouting, “Find my treasure, the one who may understand it.” The necklace contained a 17-line cryptogram – a message written in code. 30

6 Many treasure hunters have tried to find La Buse’s treasure and there are many myths surrounding it. Some believe it is buried in Trou d’Argent in Rodrigues. Others think that it could be found on the island of Mahé, in Seychelles. An even more intriguing possibility is that the treasure could be found in Mauritius itself. Not far from the village of Poudre d’Or there is a bunch of rocks in the sea. One of the rocks is strangely shaped like a boot and 35 some people believe that it could be showing the direction of the treasure. Could this fascinating pirate really have left one of the biggest treasures in pirate history so close to us?

[Adapted from ‘The Pirate Empire’, by T. S Rhodes]

Answer the following questions.

(a) Say whether the following statements are True or False and pick out the extract from the passage which justifies your answer. [2]

(i) Olivier Levasseur did not get a good education.

______

(ii) Olivier Levasseur was forced to become a pirate.

______

(b) Arrange the following events in the order they happened in the life of Olivier Levasseur.

The first one has been done for you. [4]

 He becomes Captain of the ‘Postillion’.

 He is executed by the French authorities.

 He is born. 1

 He captures ‘Our Lady of the Cape’.

 He is attacked by Captain Francis Hume.

- Piracy in the Indian Ocean.

- Ships of the 18th Century.

- Treasure in Poudre D’Or.

- The life of a famous pirate.

(d) According to the passage, what is the job of a privateer? [1]

______

(e) Why was Olivier Levasseur compared to a ‘bird of prey’ (line 10)? [2]

(i) ______

(ii) ______

(f) How do we know that the attack by Francis Hume was a heavy defeat for Levasseur? [2]

(i) ______

(ii) ______

(g) Explain why the capture of ‘Our Lady of the Cape’ is considered to be ‘one of piracy’s greatest exploits.’ (line 18) [1]

______

(h) ‘Legend’ has it that Levasseur threw a cryptogram in the crowd (line 27). Which word from paragraph 6 continues the idea of ‘legend’? [1]

______

(i) (1) Circle two adjectives that best describe the character of Olivier Levasseur. [2]

kind mysterious shy

generous funny adventurous

(2) Now say why you have chosen these two adjectives. [2]

(i) ______

(ii) ______

(j) Olivier Levasseur is considered to be ‘fascinating’ (line 37). Do you agree with this description [2] of him? Why?

______

2. Read the following text.

1 There was once a rich French nobleman, the Duke of Besançon. He was a charming young man who was peacefully enjoying his life when, unfortunately for him, his uncle died. The uncle, a man who had always hated spending money, left all his wealth, which amounted to a huge sum, to the Duke. When examining his uncle’s business papers, he found that he was now the owner of a house in Rue de la Victoire, in a chic neighbourhood of Paris. This 5 building brought in rents which amounted to many thousands of Francs* a year. “Too much, entirely,” thought the generous Duke. “These rents are too high. When one bears a great name like mine, one should not act as a thief. I will lower my rents and my tenants will bless me.”

2 The next morning he called for the concierge – the person who takes care of the building – 10 and told him. “Bernard, my friend,” he said. “Go at once and notify all the tenants that I lower their rents by one-third.” The word ‘lower’ fell like a brick on Bernard’s head. Surely he had heard wrongly? “Lower the rents?” he stammered, “Monsieur is joking?” “I have never been more serious in my life Bernard,” the Duke said. “I repeat it. Lower the rents.” Staggering like a drunken man, Bernard left the house. 15

3 He was so pale when he reached home that his wife immediately knew there was something wrong. When Bernard told her that the Duke had told him to lower the rents of the tenants, she looked at him sternly. “Lower the rents?” she repeated. She was certain that her husband had received this order from the bottom of a glass of wine and a long quarrel ensued. 20

4 The following day, Bernard went to announce the news to all the tenants. Ten minutes later, the building in Rue de la Victoire was in a state of great disturbance. People, who had lived on the same floor for forty years but had never spoken to each other, now gathered together and chatted eagerly. “Astounding! It must be a mistake!” Three of the tenants actually wrote to the Duke to warn him that the concierge had lost his mind. But the Duke replied, 25 confirming what Bernard had said.

5 “Why would an intelligent man deprive himself of good money?” wondered the tenants. They all thought that there had to be something sinister behind all this. But what? Was the house badly built? Did the owner intend to set fire to the house to obtain great sums of money from the insurance companies? Was the roof about to fall on their heads? 30

6 Then, they felt that strange things were happening. On the top floors, unusual noises were heard for which there was no explanation. One night, the old lady on the fourth floor was going down the stairs and was sure that she met the ghost of the dead owner, with a receipt for rent in one hand.

7 From anxiety, their feelings turned to fright and from fright to terror. One by one, they all 35 made up their mind to leave. And now, in Rue de la Victoire, the accursed house stands, abandoned. The reputation of the building is so bad that even the houses on each side have gone down in value. Lower one’s rent! Who would think of such a thing?

[Adapted from ‘The Accursed House’, by Emile Gaboriau]

* Francs : The currency used in France in those days.

Answer the following questions.

(a) How did the Duke of Besançon become the owner of the house in Rue de la Victoire? [1]

______

(b) The Duke’s uncle accumulated a lot of money in his lifetime. In what ways did he manage [2] to do so?

(i) ______

(ii) ______

______

(d) Give two pieces of evidence to show that Bernard was shocked by the Duke’s request to lower the rents. [2]

(i) ______

(ii) ______

(e) When Bernard told his wife about the Duke’s request, what did she think? [1]

______

(f) When the tenants heard that their rents had been lowered, what was their first reaction? [1] ______

(g) On hearing the news, what did some of the tenants do that they hadn’t done previously? [1] ______

(h) Some of the tenants wrote to the Duke. [1] (i) What did they tell him?

______

(ii) What answer did they get? [1]

______

(i) The tenants thought that there was something ‘sinister’ behind the Duke’s decision (line 28). [2] Give two examples of what they thought would happen next.

(i) ______

(ii) ______

(j) The tenants reported seeing ‘strange things’ happening (line 31). What was really happening [1] in fact?

______

(k) What is funny about this story? [1]

______

(l) Explain the meaning of five of the following words as they have been used in the passage. [5]

(i) charming (line 1): ______

(ii) chic (line 5): ______

(iii) notify (line 11): ______

(iv) immediately (line 16): ______

(v) astounding (line 24): ______

(vi) deprive (line 27): ______

(vii) unusual (line 31): ______

SECTION B: GRAMMAR AND WRITING (60 Marks)

3. Read the following text.

Henri amuses himself in many ways but most of all he enjoys collecting

birds’ eggs. One day, on a school holiday, he goes looking for new nests.

Now rewrite this text, starting with: “Henri and his sister amused … [5]

______

4. Punctuate the following. The first and last punctuation signs are already given. [5]

That old lady marys grandmother is this months winner.

______

5. Your friend has written the following letter, but it is full of mistakes.

A. In this part, the mistakes have been underlined for you. Correct them. [5]

Dear Sir,

I am writting this letter to inform you I am planned to organise a party for all the school

______writing

childrens. The party will be holded on Saturday from eleven to five o’clock, in the

______

gymnase as it can accomodate many people.

______

B. In this part, the mistakes have not been underlined. Find them and correct them. There are five mistakes in all. [5]

I am hoping that our teachers will be involve. I will ask the English teachers to organise

______

a quiz for the occassion. Student council members could took care of the pupils.

______

The PTA could provide the cakes and drink. I hope you will be to our side on

______

that special day.

______

Thank you.

6. Read the following text and transform the reported conversation into direct speech. The first one has been done for you. [5]

Richard told the hotel manager that his wife was not feeling well. The manager

suggested giving her some more water. Richard said no, adding that he was sure

that she would be fine soon. The hotel manager then asked Richard whether he

would like her to call a doctor. Richard again refused and asked the hotel manager

not to disturb them anymore. The latter said sorry and told Richard that she would not bother him again.

[Adapted from ‘Cat O’ Nine Tales’, by Jeffrey Archer]

______“My wife is not feeling well,” Richard told the hotel manager.

______

7. Write the correct form of the words in brackets. The first one has been done for you. [5]

Evelyn Glennie is a well-known ______musician (music). She has played all around

the world with ______(fame) orchestras. However, there is something very

special about her. While still young, she lost her sense of ______(hear). But

despite her ______(deaf), she was determined to become a musician. She

______(brave) continued her studies at the Royal Academy of Music in

London. She is now regarded as one of the most ______(talent) musicians

alive.

8. You were recently in hospital. In about 100 words, write about your experience.

The following ideas may help you: [10]

- Why were you in hospital?

- How did your family react to your hospitalisation?

- How did you keep yourself busy in hospital?

- How did the doctors and nurses treat you?

- How did you feel when you left the hospital?

______

9. Write an essay of about 200 - 250 words on one of the following: [20]

Either

(i) You are given the chance to go anywhere in the world. Where would you go and why?

(ii) Many people think that electronic games have no useful purpose. Do you agree with this view?

(iii) Write a story which includes the following line:

“I realised that I had lost something very precious ...”

______

BLANK PAGE