MINISTRY USE ONLY

Place Personal Education Number (PEN) here.

© 2004 Ministry of Education

MINISTRY USE ONLY

Place Personal Education Number (PEN) here.

MINISTRY USE ONLY

English 12

APRIL 2004

Course Code = EN

Student Instructions

1. Place the stickers with your PersonalEducation Number (PEN) in the allottedspaces above. Under no circumstance isyour name or identification, other thanyour Personal Education Number, toappear on this booklet.

2. Ensure that in addition to this examinationbooklet, you have a Readings Booklet andan Examination Response Form. Followthe directions on the front of the ResponseForm.

3. Disqualification from the examination willresult if you bring books, paper, notes orunauthorized electronic devices into theexamination room.

4. When instructed to open this booklet, checkthe numbering of the pages to ensure thatthey are numbered in sequence from pageone to the last page, which is identified by

*END OF EXAMINATION* .

5. At the end of the examination, place yourResponse Form inside the front cover of thisbooklet and return the booklet and yourResponse Form to the supervisor.

6. Before you respond to the question on page11, circle the number corresponding to thetopic you have chosen:

2a or 2b.

Question 1

Poetry

Marker 1

0 1 2 3 4

Marker 2

0 1 2 3 4

5 6 NR

5 6 NR

Question 2a

Prose

Marker 1

0 1 2 3 4

Marker 2

0 1 2 3 4

5 6 NR

5 6 NR

Question 2b

Prose

Marker 1

0 1 2 3 4

Marker 2

0 1 2 3 4

5 6 NR

5 6 NR

Question 3

Essay

Marker 1

0 1 2 3 4

Marker 2

0 1 2 3 4

5 6 NR

5 6 NR

66726388

ENGLISH 12

APRIL 2004

COURSE CODE = EN

GENERAL INSTRUCTIONS

1. Electronic devices, including dictionaries and pagers, are not permitted in theexamination room.

2. All multiple-choice answers must be entered on the Response Form using anHB pencil. Multiple-choice answers entered in this examination booklet will notbe marked.

3. For each of the written-response questions, write your answer in ink in the spaceprovided in this booklet.

Adequate writing space has been provided for average-sized writing. Do notattempt to determine the length of your answers by the amount of writing spaceavailable. You may not need to use all the allotted space for your answers.

4. Ensure that you use language and content appropriate to the purpose and audienceof this examination. Failure to comply may result in your paper being awardeda zero.

5. This examination is designed to be completed in two hours. Students may,however, take up to 30 minutes of additional time to finish.

OVER- 1 -

ENGLISH 12 PROVINCIAL EXAMINATION

ValueSuggested

Time1. This examination consists of four parts:

PART A: Editing and Proofreading Skills 10 10

PART B: Interpretation of Literature: Poetry 20 25

PART C: Interpretation of Literature: Prose 33 45

PART D: Original Composition 24 40

Total: 87 marks 120 minutes

2. The Readings Booklet contains the prose and poetry passages you will need toanswer certain questions on this examination.

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PART A: EDITING AND PROOFREADING SKILLS

Total Value: 10 marks Suggested Time: 10 minutes

INSTRUCTIONS: The following passage has been divided into numbered sentences which maycontain problems in grammar, usage, word choice, spelling, or punctuation. One ormore sentences may be correct. No sentence contains more than one error.

If you find an error, select the underlined part that must be changed in order to makethe sentence correct and record your choice on the Response Form provided. Usingan HB pencil, completely fill in the circle that corresponds to your answer. If thereis no error, completely fill in circle D (no error).

Northern Signposts

1. Inuksuit are stone structures that can communicate knowledge essential( )A

for survival to

an Arctic traveller, they can be( )B

used to act in place of human messengers.( )C

(D) no error

2. One of these stone structures( )A

is known as an inukshuk, two are referred to( )B

as inutsuuk, and

three or more is called( )C

inuksuit. (D) no error

3. The structures are very important helpers: they can( )A

show direction, tell about a rich

area, indicate a good( )B

resting place, or acting as a message( )C

centre. (D) no error

4. The Inuit people are taught to be appreciative( )A

and respectful of these constructions. There being( )B

a traditional law, which persists today, that forbids( )C

damaging or destroying inuksuit. (D) no error

OVER- 3 -

5. New inuksuit can be built( )A

to mark the presence of modern Inuit, but the old one’s( )B

should never be touched; tradition says( )C

that people who do not respect this rule may

have their lives shortened. (D) no error

6. In the past,( )A

most inuksuit were constructed by stacking rocks in a particular way,( )B

but

they are not usually( )C

designed in the shape of a human. (D) no error

7. However, Sydney Cairn, noted anthropologist,( )A

observes, “many modern( )B

inuksuit look like

figures, with a( )C

head, body, arms and legs made of stone.” (D) no error

8. Some Inuit believe that this type( )A

of stone figure was first produced( )B

about one

hundred years ago after the arrival of European whalers.( )C

(D) no error

9. Today, as more Canadians are becoming aware of( )A

their heritage, even non-Inuit occasionally

use inuksuit to mark its( )B

presence, both in the Arctic and( )C

in their travels.

(D) no error

10. Canadian soldiers in( )A

Afghanistan, for example, which erected a simple( )B

inukshuk,

consider it a tribute to their tour of duty(C)

and native land. (D) no error

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PART B: POETRY

Total Value: 20 marks Suggested Time: 25 minutes

INSTRUCTIONS: Read the poem “Basement Stairs” on page 1 in the Readings Booklet. Select thebest answer for each question and record your choice on the Response Formprovided.

11. In the context of the poem, “my father would raise the bottom tread” (line 1) impliesthat he is

A. demolishing the stairs.B. going to repair the stairs.C. going to repair the shoes.D. fetching the shoe shining equipment.

12. In line 3, “my mother humming a Mozart sonata upstairs” suggests that the mother

A. is growing impatient.B. enjoys the Sunday ritual.C. sings in the church choir.D. is waiting for the children to leave.

13. Which sound device is used in “but I liked the brushes best, the baffling sense”? (line 8)

A. repetitionB. alliterationC. onomatopoeiaD. internal rhyme

14. Which literary device is used in “as though / my shoes were feeling”? (lines 9 and 10)

A. simileB. paradoxC. hyperboleD. personification

OVER- 5 -

15. Lines 13 to 18 suggest that the speaker is

A. bored.B. excited.C. imaginative.D. disappointed.

16. In line 18, “it’s-time-now” refers to

A. a sound.B. an idiom.C. a cliché.D. a conversation.

17. What is the overall tone of the poem?

A. criticalB. nostalgicC. pessimisticD. humorous

18. This poem is written in which of the following forms?

A. balladB. sonnetC. free verseD. blank verse

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Basement Stairs(page 1 in the Readings Booklet)

INSTRUCTIONS: In paragraph form and in approximately 125 to 150 words, answer question 1 in thespace provided. Write in ink. The mark for your answer will be based on theappropriateness of the example(s) you use as well as the adequacy of yourexplanation and the quality of your written expression.

1. In paragraph form and with reference to this poem, discuss how the speaker feels abouther Sunday mornings as a child. (12 marks)

OVER- 7 -

Organization and Planning

1st

2nd

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PART C: PROSE

Total Value: 33 marks Suggested Time: 45 minutes

INSTRUCTIONS: Read the story entitled “Thirty Acres” on pages 2 to 3 in the Readings Booklet.Select the best answer for each question and record your choice on the ResponseForm provided.

19. What does paragraph 1 state about the farmers in Quebec?

A. They are gaining political power.B. They are wealthier than European farmers.C. They are making a profit because of the war.D. They are becoming better farmers as a result of the war.

20. According to paragraph 2, “It was hardly worthwhile storing the crops” becausethe farmers

A. had barns that were overfull.B. were afraid of the possibility of fire.C. were making so much money on the crops.D. knew that the crops would lose their quality over time.

21. Which of the following best defines the word “acumen”? (paragraph 3)

A. insightB. strengthC. patienceD. integrity

22. In paragraph 3, why were people looking at Euchariste “enviously”?

A. He had better crops than they had.B. The prices for the crops continued to rise.C. His neighbours were more hesitant than he.D. He was the best in the village at storing crops.

OVER- 9 -

23. Paragraph 6 suggests that Euchariste and Etienne

A. lack assurance.B. are keeping secrets.C. have vivid imaginations.D. are competing with each other.

24. In paragraph 11, “a purring roar like that of a contented animal” can best be describedas an example of

A. irony.B. suspense.C. flashback.D. foreshadowing.

25. Paragraph 12 contains examples of

A. imagery.B. allusion.C. parallel structure.D. sentence fragments.

26. Which of the following statements best illustrates the change in attitudethat takes place in Euchariste in the passage?

A. interest to boredomB. anxiety to confidenceC. control to helplessnessD. stubbornness to flexibility

27. Which point of view is used in this story?

A. objectiveB. omniscientC. first personD. limited omniscient

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Organization and Planning

OVER- 11 -

Thirty Acres(pages 2 and 3 in the Readings Booklet)

INSTRUCTIONS: Choose one of the following two topics and write a multi-paragraph (3 or moreparagraphs) essay of approximately 300 words. Write in ink. The mark for youranswer will be based on the appropriateness of the example(s) you use as well as theadequacy of your explanation and the quality of your written expression.

2a. In multi-paragraph essay form and with reference to “Thirty Acres,” discuss the characterof the father.

OR

2b. In multi-paragraph essay form and with reference to “Thirty Acres,” discuss the symbolismof fire in this story.

Before you begin, go to the front cover of this booklet and circlethe number corresponding to your chosen topic – Instruction 6.

(24 marks)

I have selected topic _______.

FINISHED WORK

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FINISHED WORK

OVER- 13 -

FINISHED WORK

1st

2nd

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Organization and Planning

OVER- 15 -

PART D: ORIGINAL COMPOSITION

Value: 24 marks Suggested Time: 40 minutes

INSTRUCTIONS: Using standard English, write a coherent, unified, multi-paragraph (3 or moreparagraphs) composition of approximately 300 words on the topic below. In yourcomposition, you may apply any effective and appropriate method of developmentwhich includes any combination of exposition, persuasion, description, andnarration.

Use the page headed Organization and Planning for your rough work. Write yourcomposition in ink on the pages headed Finished Work.

3. Write a multi-paragraph composition on the topic below. In addressing the topic, consider allpossibilities. You may draw support from the experiences of others or from any aspect of yourlife: your reading and your experiences. Remember, you do not have to accept the basicpremise of the statement.

Topic:

Experiences shape relationships.

- 16 -

FINISHED WORK

Topic: Experiences shape relationships.

OVER- 17 -

FINISHED WORK

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FINISHED WORK

END OF EXAMINATION

1st

2nd

ENGLISH 12

READINGS BOOKLETAPRIL 2004

© 2004 Ministry of Education

THIS PAGE INTENTIONALLY BLANK

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PART B: POETRY

INSTRUCTIONS: Read the following passage and answer the questions on pages 4 to 7 of thewritten-response booklet.

Basement Stairsby Susan Gillis

1

5

10

15

20

Sunday mornings my father would raise the bottom tread1

like the lid of a piano,

my mother humming a Mozart sonata upstairs,wetting my brother’s cowlick, my sisters and I in our dresseslined up on the stairs, our father

on his knees with shoe polish tins. When he buffed my toemy whole leg shook. I liked the cloth

but I liked the brushes best, the baffling senseof being not quite touched, as thoughmy shoes were feeling

for me, the echo of feeling.

Then he would grip my toe.

I thought God lived in that stair, and leaked outwhenever my father lifted the tread, I thoughtHe followed our car to church

and waited mute and holy, while my father parked,and hurried with us across the Grand Parade, the bellsringing it’s-time-now, their falling arpeggio2. After

I’d scuff my toes in gravel,or dry leaves, or grass, according to the season,

without thinking. Come to that,I’m not sure nowhe didn’t have a little bench he’d perch on.

1tread: the flat part of a stair which sometimes had a storage space below2arpeggio: a rapid progression of musical notes

- 2 -

PART C: PROSE

INSTRUCTIONS: Read the following selection and answer the questions on pages 8 to 13 of thewritten-response booklet.

adapted from Thirty Acresby Dr. Philippe Panneton

1 Agriculture did not suffer from the war. In Europe the bodies of two generations of men hadenriched the fields. In Quebec farmers sowed, harvested and marketed their produce to feed otherfarmers across the sea, who had been busy fighting. This course of events made the people whoraised crops and livestock something more than mere cogs in the economic machine; as never before,the man who fed the nation was king.

2 It was hardly worthwhile storing the crops in the barns; lots of people sold them before they wereharvested, though they might regret it later on as prices continued to rise.

3 Euchariste [Moisan] was almost the only one who hadn’t sold his crops yet. One after another hisneighbours hesitated and then accepted the offers made by the buyers. Moisan’s barn was full to therafters and, confident in his business acumen, he waited and waited. People looked at him enviouslynowadays.

4 Three times a day, in the morning, at noon and at night, Euchariste went out to the barn to take a lookat all this wealth of his. Often, instead of coming from the stable straight into the farm-yard, hewould find an excuse to go through the storeroom to enjoy the sight of his riches and especially tocongratulate himself on his cunning. He was careful to see that the children were not allowed tojump about in his precious hay; animals won’t eat hay that has been trampled. And the last thing hedid at night, when the stock had been looked after, was to make another trip to the barn to gaze at thehuge mass of fodder, and its acrid perfume went to his head a little. The light from his lantern onlylit up the broad base of the column, whose tangled summit was lost up there among the rafters, wherethe birds had their nests.

5 Sometimes at night he would wake up out of the light sleep of the aging—for he was getting on inyears—and think he saw a glow or smelt something burning. The fear of fire, which is such anightmare for people in the country, would bring him out of bed to the window, where he could seethat the only flames visible were the shimmering blue streamers of the northern lights. At othertimes he would rush downstairs and find that someone had put some damp wood in the stove and thatit was smoking.

6 His obstinacy in holding out for higher prices gave him a sense of triumph, particularly whereEtienne was concerned. His son was timid and lacked assurance when it came to matters of this kindand was always imagining that prices were just about to drop. But each time they got a better offerEtienne was proved to be wrong. Moisan felt he had got his own back from this son of his withwhom he had been having more and more frequent disagreements. Secretly and in an underhandedway, he seemed to be out for nothing less than to supplant his father as boss of the farm.

7 Spring had come, according to the calendar, and it was quickly followed by the real spring. It burstupon them early, heralded by all the usual signs there is no mistaking. It was still too soon for thefirst crows, but someone saw a bear and everybody knows that bears come out on the twenty-fifth ofMarch and don’t go in again if they see their shadow. It’s a sign of a warm short spring.

- 3 -

8 Euchariste dreamed one night that he was living in the village and that a fire had broken out.Suddenly he found that he was sitting bolt upright in bed, choking and covered with sweat. His ownfrantic shouts woke him abruptly out of his dream.

9 There was no smoke in the room and a red dawn was just breaking. He was wide awake now andjumped out of bed.

10 A flood of crimson light streamed in through the window and was reflected redly on the polishededges of the furniture.

11 The whole barn was blazing away in the darkness. It made a purring roar like that of a contentedanimal and this was punctuated by sharp reports that sounded like exploding firecrackers. From timeto time sparks shot up into the black sky, where the stars were blotted out by the smoke, whirledabout in the wind and fell sizzling into the damp snow and expired.

12 The blaze was already surrounded by a wide area where the snow had melted away. Here peoplewere running about, sharply lit up by the fire, though at times they just stood, outlined against theflames, with their arms dangling and their heads bowed, as if hypnotized by this tragic midnight sun.

13 At a stable nearby a devoted group of neighbours was trying to save the animals, whose shrieks couldbe heard high above the roar of the blaze. But they reared and kicked and refused to be rescued.From the stable door, which was already breathing out little puffs of smoke, two figures burst: a manstruggling with a frantic horse.

14 Just then Etienne rushed up to his father. He was dressed any old way and wore a pair of trousers anda tattered sweater. His shoes were undone, his hair, eyebrows and moustache singed, and his faceand arms covered with smudges where sparks had fallen. Even his voice was unrecognizable; it wasso choked by the anguish of his despair.

15 “We hardly saved a thing, Pa! We hardly saved a thing!”

16 He had been repeating the same words over and over again for an hour as he went from one silentknot of spectators to another. He was so overwhelmed by the disaster that he could neither think norspeak nor act.

17 “How did it happen, Etienne?”

18 “Perhaps,” one of the family suggested, “perhaps it was when Pa went to the barn last night to have alook round. He had his pipe with him.”

19 “Yeah, I guess that’s what it was. But we hardly saved a thing, hardly a thing.”

20 And then Etienne turned and faced his father and, though he said nothing more, his eyes blazedangrily in the light of the dying fire. That hard glowing spark was for Euchariste Moisan, whosenegligence had consumed the wealth they had worked and scrimped and saved for throughout awhole year.

21 Like a flock of sheep bewildered by peals of thunder and the violence of a storm, the childrenhuddled close round Euchariste.

22 Etienne turned on his heel suddenly and went off towards the hen-house, where there still seemed tobe work to do.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

Gillis, Susan. “Basement Stairs.” The Fiddlehead Poetry. Summer 2002. No. 212.Ed. Ross Leckie. Fredericton, N.B.: University of New Brunswick Press.

Ringuet (Panneton, Dr. Philippe). Excerpt from “Thirty Acres.” Ed. Malcolm Ross.Toronto: McClelland & Stewart, Ltd. (New Canadian Library #12), 1970.