ZIMSEC O-Level English Language Paper 2 November 2023 Question Paper

About this question paper

This is the ZIMSEC O-Level English Language question paper for Paper 2 from November 2023. Use it for exam practice under timed conditions, then check your work against the marking scheme. The paper code is 4005/2. See the marking scheme.

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Text from the first page

2

SECTION A (40 MARKS)
Read the following passage very carefully before you attempt any questions.
Answer all the questions. You are advised to answer them in the order set.
Mistakes in spelling, punctuation and grammar may be penalised in any part of the paper.
The Newcomer

1 The dog's yellow eyes bored into mine as its lips parted and wrinkled. The dog then drew back into a silent snarl, showing its great fangs and the moist cavern of its mouth. He was, without doubt, the most ill kept, and most beaten up dog that I had ever seen. His entire bearing registered threat, but it was the almond-shaped, wolf eyes that most clearly signalled his aggressiveness. This dog, was wild and would not hesitate to go for the throat.

2 He stood, his great paws planted on the bottom of the truck box, holding my eyes where another dog would have averted my glance. While we stared at each other, Alfred, the Ojibway Indian who hoped to sell the wolf dog to me, hovered nearby, a thick club in his hand.

3 I needed a lead dog for my team, but this monster, a creature more of a wolf than a dog, who had learned early to hate man, spelled trouble. No, he was not for me. I had noted the heavy chain which secured him in the back of the pickup truck and the open cut on his left shoulder. I paused to have a closer look, being careful not to get within reach of those strong white teeth. However, there was something about the animal that touched me. Half starved and evidently brutalised since puppy-hood, yet the dog had dignity, and his strength showed in every respect.

4 We faced each other for some time in mutual appraisal. Then I spoke to him as though he were another person. "You're a wild-looking dog, but I think I like your looks." At the sound of my voice, the dog pricked up his ears and raised his tail slightly. It seemed to me there was the merest nuance of a wag in the movement. I fervently hoped so, because by now I was determined to buy him, albeit against my better judgement. I turned to Alfred and prepared to drive a hard bargain. "He's not pretty, that's for sure.... and he looks as though he'd rather tear my throat out than lift his leg in greeting."

5 "He's a good dog," Alfred interrupted. "You carry a club, he's okay. He knows what a club's for that dog." "How much?" I asked bluntly. Alfred, whom I had helped out of a problem in early summer and who had since become a friend, was anxious to turn the dog into cash. "Would fifteen dollars be too much?" he asked. …