ALEXANDER ROAD HIGH SCHOOL June 2019 2 Hours English Home Language – PAPER 1 JL Total: 70 Grade 12 INSTRUCTIONS AND INFORMATION 1. This question paper consists of THREE sections: SECTION A: Comprehension (30) SECTION B: Summary (10) SECTION C: Language Structures and Conventions (30) 2. Read ALL the instructions carefully. 3. Answer ALL the questions. 4. Start EACH section on a NEW page. 5. Rule off after each section. 6. Number the answers correctly according to the numbering system used in this question paper. 7. Leave a line after EACH answer. 8. Pay special attention to spelling and sentence construction. 9. Suggested time allocation: SECTION A: 50 minutes SECTION B: 30 minutes SECTION C: 40 minutes 10. Write neatly and legibly. SECTION A: COMPREHENSION QUESTION 1: READING FOR MEANING AND UNDERSTANDING Read TEXT A below and answer the questions set. TEXT A The Night Witches: The All-Female World War II Squadron That Terrified the Nazis Gisely Ruiz, Published March 17, 2019, Updated April 11, 2019 1 The Night Witches decorated their planes with flowers and painted their lips with navigation pencils – then struck fear into the hearts of the Nazis. 2 The women of the 588th Night Bomber Regiment of the Soviet Air Forces had no radar, no machine guns, no radios, and no parachutes. All they had was a map, a compass, rulers, stopwatches, flashlights and pencils, yet they successfully completed 30,000 bombing raids and dropped more than 23,000 tons of munitions on advancing German armies during World War II. 3 The all-female Night Witches squadron was the result of women in the Soviet Union wanting to be actively involved in the war effort. Many Soviet women had grown weary of playing a support role and wanted to be on the front lines. 4 From the inception of the war, Colonel Marina Raskova received letters from women who wanted to be involved. Raskova took them seriously and petitioned Joseph Stalin for permission to organise a regiment of female pilots. 5 In October of 1941, Stalin granted her request. The Soviet Union became the very first country to allow women to fly combat missions. Ultimately, the only air squad that belonged exclusively to the dominion of women was the 588th Night Bomber Regiment — the Night Witches — where every individual, from the pilots to the commander to the mechanics, was female. 6 In 1942 approximately 400 women ranging in age from 17 to 26 enlisted. 7 The women were given uniforms that were far too large, as they were meant for men. Some of the women even tore their bedding to stuff in their boots to prevent them from slipping off. 8 They were also provided with outdated equipment. Their planes were crop dusters that were never intended for combat. These were open-cockpit biplanes made of plywood with canvas pulled over. They offered no protection from the elements and, at night, the pilots had to grit their teeth and endure sub-zero temperatures, freezing winds, and the risk of frostbite. 9 The planes were so small that they could only carry two bombs. The Night Witches had to run multiple missions, eight on average, during the night. Nadezhda Popova – a legendary commander of the squad who flew 852 missions – once successfully ran 18 missions in one night. 10 These planes had considerable disadvantages: they were slow, highly flammable, and had zero armour. However, they offered several practical advantages. One considerable advantage was that, because of the plane’s primitive construction, it was difficult to spot the Night Witches on radar. And when the pilot approached her target, she would shut off her engine and glide to the impending destination at half the speed of a parachutist giving the Germans little warning except for the sound of the planes gliding in ‘stealth’ mode. 11 This gliding technique reminded the German soldiers of a witch’s broomstick and so they called them the Night Witches. The Germans became so afraid that they refused to light their cigarettes at night. The 588th Regiment heard about their nickname and adopted it as a badge of pride. 12 The Germans were so in awe of the considerable skill of the Night Witches that they spread rumours that the Soviet government was enhancing the women with experimental medicine to give them ‘feline’ night vision. The German military automatically issued a prestigious Iron Cross medal to any German who was able to shoot one of them down. 13 Aware of their technical disadvantages, the Night Witches flew in the dead of night. And they always flew in threes. Two of the planes would act as decoys and draw the searchlights and gunfire in opposite directions twisting wildly to avoid the anti-aircraft guns. The third would then fly in darkness and head toward the target to drop the bombs. This sequence would continue until each of the planes had dropped their weapons. 14 The Night Witches’ slow speed gave them greater manoeuvrability. The Germans, flying at much faster speeds, only had a small window of time to return fire before they had to make a wide turn to come back for another run. The Night Witches took advantage of this interim to escape into the darkness. 15 Not all escaped. During the war, the Night Witches lost 32 pilots, including Colonel Raskova. When Raskova died, she was celebrated with the first state funeral of World War II. Twenty-three pilots, including Popova, were awarded the prestigious title of Hero of the Soviet Union. However, the Night Witches were excluded from the victory-day parade in Moscow. The reason? Their subpar planes were deemed too slow. 16 These daring pilots were women of incredible skill and immeasurable courage. They even celebrated their womanhood by drawing flowers on the sides of their planes and painted their lips with navigation pencils. And all the while they cemented their place in history by accomplishing some of the most remarkable feats ever seen in aerial combat. Adapted from: https://allthatsinteresting.com/night-witches-ww2 [accessed 24 April 2019] QUESTIONS: TEXT A 1.1 Explain the paradox evident in paragraph 1. (2) 1.2 What is the effect of the figures provided in paragraph 2? (2) 1.3 According to how it is used in this context, what is your understanding of “the front lines” (paragraph 3)? (1) 1.4 Refer to paragraphs 7 - 10. What were the challenges faced by the all-female squadron? Use your own words. (3) 1.5 Why is it surprising that the 588th Regiment adopted their nickname “as a badge of pride” (paragraph 11)? (2) 1.6 Discuss, with specific examples, how the diction in paragraph 12 helps the reader understand the impact the Night Witches had on their enemies. (3) 1.7 Comment on the effect of the choice of structure in the first sentence of paragraph 15. (2) 1.8 Making reference to the definition of the prefix, explain the meaning of “subpar” in paragraph 15. (2) 1.9 What is the tone of the final paragraph? Support your explanation with quotations from the text. (3) 1.10 Consider the article as a whole. Comment critically on the Soviet Union’s attitude to their female pilots. (3) Examine TEXT B and answer the question that follows. TEXT B Source: https://www.thoughtco.com/ victory-home-world-war-ii- posters-4123234 QUESTION: TEXT B 1.11 Analyse the poster and discuss how it uses visual and textual elements to persuade its target audience. (3) QUESTION: TEXTS A and B 1.12 To what extent does the image of Rosie the Riveter (Text B) support the ideas in Text A? You must make specific reference to BOTH texts in your response. (4) TOTAL SECTION A: 30 SECTION B: SUMMARY QUESTION 2: SUMMARISING IN YOUR OWN WORDS Read TEXT C and write one well-constructed paragraph summarising why sleep is essential. Instructions: • Your summary should include SEVEN points and NOT exceed 90 words. • Indicate the number of words used in brackets at the end of the summary. • Use your own words where possible. NOTE: Marks will be deducted for not following the instructions or for using the incorrect format. TEXT C THE SCIENCE OF SLEEP James Clear Sleep is one of the strangest things we do each day. The average adult will spend 36 percent of his or her life asleep. For one-third of our time on earth, we transition from the vibrant, thoughtful, active organisms we are during the day and power down into a quiet state of hibernation. But what is sleep, exactly? Why is it so important and so restorative for our bodies and minds? How does it impact our lives when we are awake? Sleep serves multiple purposes that are essential to your brain and body. Sleep provides restoration to your brain. Every day, your brain accumulates metabolic waste as it goes about its normal neural activities. While this is completely normal, too much accumulation of these waste products has been linked to neurological disorders such as Alzheimer's disease. How do we get rid of metabolic waste? Recent research has suggested that sleep plays a crucial role in cleaning out the brain each night. While these toxins can be flushed out during waking hours, researchers have found that clearance during sleep is as much as two-fold faster than during waking hours. During sleep, brain cells actually shrink by 60 percent, allowing the brain's waste-removal system—called the glymphatic system—to essentially “take out the trash” more easily. The result? Your brain is restored during sleep, and you wake up refreshed and with a clear mind.