latest spm poems-practices (q_a)

PRACTICE 1-3 ON POEM “In the Midst of Hardship”Read the poem below and answer the questions that follow.

In the Midst of Hardship

At dawn they returned hometheir soaky clothes torn

and approached the stovetheir limbs marked by scratches

their legs full of woundsbut on their brows

there was no sign of despair

The whole day and night just passedthey had to brave the horrendous flood

in the water all the timebetween bloated carcassesand tiny chips of tiny barks

desperately looking for their son’salbino buffalo that was never found

They were born amidst hardshipand grew up without a sigh or a complaint

now they are in the kitchen, makingjokes while rolling their cigarette leaves

Latiff Mohidin

PRACTICE 1From stanza 1,

(a) which phrase suggests that ‘they’ were drenched?

…………………………………………………………………………. (1 mark)

(b) what happened to their hands?

…………………………………………………………………………...(1 mark)

(c) why do you think ‘they approached the stove’?

……………………………………………………………………………(1 mark)

(d) in your own words, suggest ways to handle hardships in our life?

………………………………………………………………………………..

……………………………………………………………………………….(2mark)


(a) why do you think ‘they’ were enduring the terrible flood water?

…………………………………………………………………………………..(1 mark)

(b) which phrase shows that the flood had caused the loss of lives?

……………………………………………………………………………….….(1 mark)

(c) what was the people’s feeling at that time?

………………………………………………………………………………….(1 mark)

(d) do you think the buffalo was valuable to the family? Why?

…………………………………………………………………………………

………………………………………………………………………………. (2 marks)

PRACTICE 3From Stanza 3,

(a) what type of life is a life of hardship?

…………………………………………………………………..……………. (1 mark)

(b) list two activities that they did to relax and unwind.

i. ………………………………………………………………………….. (1 mark)

ii …………………………………………………………………………. (1 mark)

(c) The poem is about a flood disaster. In your own words suggest two ways that you can do to help the flood victims.

…………………………………………………………………………….

………………………………………………………………...………….. (2 marks)

PRACTICE 4-7 ON POEM “He Had Such Quiet Eyes”Read the following poem and answer the questions that follow.

He Had Such Quiet Eyes

He had such quiet eyesShe did not realiseThey were two pools of liesLayered with thinnest iceTo her, those quiet eyesWere breathing desolate sighsImploring her to be niceAnd to render him paradise

If only she’d been wiseAnd had listened to the adviceNever to compromiseWith pleasure-seeking guysShe’d be free from “the hows and whys”

Now here’s a bit of adviceBe sure that nice really means niceThen you’ll never be losing at diceThough you may lose your heart once or twice

Bibsy Soenharjo

PRACTICE 4From stanza1,

(a) what was the woman blind to?

………………………………….…………………………………….…..………. (1 mark)

.

(b) which line suggests that the woman was unaware of the kind of man ‘he’ was?

…………………………………………………………………………..……….. (1 mark)

(c) in line 3, what does the ‘two pools of lies’ refer to?

….……………………………..…………………………………………..……... (1 mark)

(d) in your own words, suggest how the woman had been tricked?

…………………………………………………………………………….…

………………………………………………………………………………. (2 marks)


(a) how did the man try to attract the woman? Mention two ways.

i…………………………………………………………………………………… (1 mark)

ii.…………………………………………………………………………………. (1 mark)

(b) what did the man desire from the woman?

……………………………………………………………………………………. (1 mark)

(c) do you think the woman was foolish for falling in love with the man?

Give a reason for your answer.

…………………………………………………………………………………..

…………………………………………………………………………..……… (2 marks)


(a) what could have saved the woman from committing the mistake?

…………………………………………………………………………………. (1 mark)

(b) what was the advice given to the woman?

…………………………………………………………………………………. (1 mark)

(c) what is meant by the phrase ‘the hows and whys’?

……………………………………………………………………………….… (1 mark)

(d) do you think the woman regretted falling in love with the man? Why?

………………………………………………………………………………….

…………………………………………………………………………..….… (2 marks)


(a) What is meant by the phrase ‘nice really means nice’?

………………………………………………………………………………….. (1 mark)

(b) Why love is compared to playing dice in the poem?

………………………………………………………………………………….. (1 mark)

(c) What does the phrase ‘lose your heart’ mean?

……………………………………………………………………….………….. (1 mark)

(d) State two lessons that you can learn from the poem?

………………………………………………………………………………….

…………………………………………………………………………..……… (2 marks)

PRACTICE 8-9 ON POEM “Nature”Read the following poem and answer the questions that follow.

Nature

We have neither Summer nor WinterNeither Autumn nor Spring.We have instead the daysWhen the gold sun shines on the lush green canefields-Magnificently.The days when the rain beats like bullets on the roofsAnd there is no sound but the swish of water in the gulliesAnd trees struggling in the high Jamaica winds.Also there are the days when leaves fade from off guango treesAnd the reaped canefields lie bare and fallow to the sun.

But best of all there are the days when the mango and the logwood blossomWhen the bushes are full of the sound of bees and the scent of honey,When the tall grass sways and shivers to the slightest breath of air,When the buttercups have paved the earth with yellow starsAnd beauty comes suddenly and the rains have gone.

HD Carberry


(a) what are the two seasons found in Jamaican weather?

…………………..……………………….…………………………..………… (1 mark)

(b) which phrase tells you that the wind blows strongly?

……………………………………………………………………….………... (1 mark)

(c) how do the canefields look after being harvested ?

………………………………..……………………………………..……….… (1 mark)

(d) would you like to live in a country with different weather conditions? Why?

……………………………..……………………………………………………

…………………………………………………………………………………. (2 marks)


(a) what can be smelled on the day the persona cherished the most?

………………………………….……………………………………………… (1 mark)

(b) state two things that take place on a day when the weather is good.

i ………………………..……………………………..………………………… (1 mark)

ii ……………………………………………..…………….…….…………….. (1 mark)

(c) And beauty comes suddenly and the rains have gone.

what do you think this last line means in relation to man’s life?

…………………………………………………………………………………..

………………………………………………………………………………….. (2 marks)

PRACTICE 10-12 ON POEM “Are You Still Playing Your Flute?”Read the poem below and answer the questions that follow.

Are You Still Playing Your Flute?

Are you still playing your flute?When there is hardly time for our loveI am feeling guiltyTo be longing for your songThe melody concealed in slim hollow of the bambooUncovered by the breath of an artistComposed by his fingersBlown by the windTo the depth of my heart.

Are you still playing your flute?In the village so quiet and desertedAmidst the sick rice fieldWhile here it has become a luxuryTo spend time watching the rainGazing at the evening raysCollecting dew dropsOr enjoying the fragrance of flowers.

Are you still playing the flute?The more it disturbs my conscienceto be thinking of youin the hazard of youmy younger brothers are unemployed and desperatemy people disunited by politicsmy friend slaughtered mercilesslythis world is too old and bleeding.

.Zurinah Hassan

PRACTICE 10From stanza1,

(a) in line 1, to whom does the word ‘you’ refer?

………………………………….…………………………………….…..…………... (1 mark)

(b) why do you think the persona feels guilty to be longing for the music?

…………………………………………………………………………..……….......... (1 mark)

(c) write down two words that are related to how a flute is played.

i …………………………………………………………………………………………(1 mark)

ii ……………………..………………………………………………………………… (1 mark)

(d) why do you think the persona can hear the songs of the flute?

..………………………………………………………………………………………..

........................................................................................................................... (1 mark)


(a) how does the persona describe her village?

……………………………………………………………..…………..……………... ( 2 marks)

(b) why do you think the rice fields are described as ‘sick’?

………………………………………………………….……………………………… ( 1 mark )

(c) name two activities that are considered as luxury to be done.

i ……………………….……………………………………………………………… (1 mark)

ii …………………….……………………………………………………………..…. (1 mark)


(a) in line 2, what does ‘it’ refer to?

………………………………………………………………………………….. (1 mark)

(a) name one of the problems faced by the nation.

…………………………………………………………………………………. (1 mark)

(c) give the meaning of the phrase ‘slaughtered mercilessly”.

..………………………………………………………………………………… (1 mark)

(d) ‘The world is too old and bleeding’. in your own words state the meaning of the last line of the poem.

…………………………………………………………………………………………..

…………………………………………………………………………..…… (2 marks)

SUGGESTED ANSWERS: POEMS

PRACTICE 1-3 ON POEM “In the Midst of Hardship”

PRACTICE 1a Their soaky clothes

b Marked by scratches / covered by cuts/bruises

c To cook a meal/ to prepare food To warm themselves

d

Have strength/courage Never give up Have positive attitude towards life OR any POSSIBLE ANSWERS

PRACTICE 2a To look for/ to search for their son’s albino buffalob Bloated carcassesc Desperate

dYes, their son loves the buffalo very much and that is why the parents brave the terrible flood to look for the buffalo.-OR any POSSIBLE ANSWERS

PRACTICE 3a Difficult life / A life of sufferingb i-making jokes / joking with each other

ii-rolling their cigarette leaves/ smoking

c

Donate food Donate clothes Donate money Give moral support OR any POSSIBLE ANSWERS

PRACTICE 4-7 ON POEM “He Had Such Quiet Eyes”

PRACTICE 4a She was blind to the man’s ill intention / the man’s bad intentionb She did not realizec The man’s quiet eyes

d

-The woman had been tricked by the man’s clever dramatisation of sadness and loneliness asking her to give pleasure /-The woman had been tricked by the man’s look and appearance -OR any POSSIBLE ANSWERS

PRACTICE 5

a

i-His eyes were breathing desolate sighs / telling the woman of his loneliness or sadnessii-imploring the woman to be nice / pleading her to kind to himiii-asking her to render him paradise / requesting the woman to give him pleasureANSWERS are INTERCHANGABLEACCEPT ANY TWO ANSWERS

b Pleasure / to have fun

c Yes, because the man was deceiving her with his superficial appearance

PRACTICE 6 a Being wise / or Listen to the advice

bNot to be deceived by man /Not to compromise with pleasure-seeking man

cThe questions the woman asked herself as she tried to come to terms with her bad experience

d

Yes, because she had learnt a lesson in a hard way /Yes, because she had been deceived by a pleasure-seeking manYes, because she had discovered how superficial and shallow the man was-OR Any POSSIBLE ANSWERS

PRACTICE 7a Take time to assess people /

Do not judge people by mere appearance /

Be wary of people who pretend to be good b Love is a gamblec Falling in love

di-We must not be taken in by looks or appearanceii-We must listen and take heed of good advice -OR any POSSIBLE ANSWERS

PRACTICE 8-9 ON POEM “Nature”

PRACTICE 8a Hot days and Rainy daysb The high Jamaica windsc Bare and Fallow

dYes, it will be very interesting / orNo, it will be difficult for me to adjust to the weather-OR any POSSIBLE ANSWERS

PRACTICE 9a The scent of honey / The smell of honey / Honey

b

i-the mango and the logwood trees blossom / are floweringii-the buzzing bees busy collecting nectariii-the tall grass sways and shivers to the soft breezeiv-the buttercups cover the land with yellow starsACCEPT ANY TWO ANSWERS

cLife has its ups and downs, so we have to go through bad days in order to appreciate the good days

PRACTICE 10-12 ON POEM “Are You Still Playing Your Flute?”

PRACTICE 10a The flautist / the flute player / the man playing the fluteb Because it is the right time anymore for their love

ci. breath ii. fingers

dThe sound is blown by the wind / The persona can hear it in her heart due to her love

PRACTICE 11a Quiet and desertedb Gloomy and barren / being abandoned by people

c

i-watching the rainii-gazing at the evening raysiii-collecting dew dropsiv-enjoying the fragrance of flowers(ACCEPT ANY TWO ANSWERS)

PRACTICE 12a The song / the sound of the flute

b

i-young men are jobless / and are desperate / unemploymentii-People are divided by politicsiii-People are killed in war / or war has broken out(ACCEPT ONLY ONE ANSWER)

c Killed brutally / killed heartlessly

dThe persona feels trapped in a world that is dying and collapsing due to the serious problems mentioned.

latest spm poems-practices (q_a)

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