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Section C [25 marks]
[Time suggested: 50 minutes]
Questions 26 to 31 are based on the following passage
1 make sure that it was close beside him. As long as it was, he felt safe.
Earlier, he had helped the new man to chop down some trees and cleared a path with ten other men. There was going to be a visit the next day. They had gone into the jungle with only a long knife. Unlike the rest, Yazid had saved every cent he earned and bought himself a rifle. With it, he had established himself as the protector of the village. The others were only
too willing to pay for the protection; for the villagers were terrified of the creatures that came in the darkness. With that thought, Yazid went peacefully to sleep.
He woke up suddenly in the middle of the night. He did not know what awakened him. He listened intently, shaking off sleep, but there was no change of the sounds in the jungle. Yet, he felt a strange stirring within him. Then, he heard it. At the far end of the village, he could hear a goat bleating uneasily. Then the goat was thrashing about and everything was silent again.
Yazid knew what it was. The creature had come for Pak Salleh’s goats. Then, he went to sleep again, smiling to himself. He knew that Pak Salleh would come to see him the next day.
The next morning, Yazid took his time to emerge from his house. He ate his bread slowly, dipping it into a cup of hot, black coffee. He knew they were anxious to come to him as he had the rifle. A few minutes later, he saw Pak Salleh and his son, coming directly to his house. Other curious villagers also came out for there was nothing that escaped the attention of the villagers, be it a quarrel, a gossip or something as big as this. “A tiger came and attacked my goats. It escaped with one of my goats,” Pak Salleh said in urgency. “Did you hear anything?” Yazid asked.
“Yes, but I could not do anything. I came to ask you for help for you are the only man who can do it.. I will give you one hundred ringgit if you can kill the tiger.”
“Three hundred,” Yazid insisted. Finally they agreed on the price with a few goats thrown in.
Later, Yazid carefully loaded his rifle and strapped his tapping knife. The children hovered around him excitedly. The women whispered among themselves, giving him appreciative glances. They worshipped him, Yazid sauntered past the women, savouring the moment. When he reached the place where the tiger had been, he examined the marks carefully. The imprint told him it was a huge cat and it had an injured right front paw. Yazid could feel the villagers’ eyes upon his back. They were looking at the expert at work for no one had ever dared to venture into the tiger’s territory. So, the people were in
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awe of Yazid. He could hear the collective sigh of admiration as he stepped through the broken gate.
Once in the jungle and out of the villagers’ sight, Yazid underwent a complete transformation. The show was over and another was about to begin. He became vigilant. He knew that a good hunter must be alert at all times, otherwise even his rifle could not save him. Impressing the villagers was one thing; hunting a tiger was another. He moved quietly and from time to time, he glanced at the ground before him. An occasional branch or two snapped under his feet. Then he saw a distinct trail. There was an occasional drop of blood from the dead goat, some paw prints in soft places. Within the first fifty metres, Yazid had learnt a lot about this tiger.
He came upon it suddenly from behind a dead palm tree. Then to his horror, he realised that he had come too near for his safety. He stopped in his tracks and cold fear crept up his spine. Slowly, he brought his rifle to his shoulder and aimed. He must shoot straight and true. He would not have time to reload. He steadied the rifle. His finger tightened slowly at the trigger. His hands were shaking but he steadied himself. Then, he fired. Yazid’s body became momentarily numb! There was no gun roar nor any puff of black powder! Only a tiny spark and a deafening silence as he stared wide-eyed at the tiger.
The spark was all that was needed to trigger the wrath of the tiger. It looked up and charged at Yazid. He quickly put down his beloved rifle near a tree and in the same motion, jerked his knife out. Yazid knew that he was going to fight a losing battle for no man had ever killed a tiger with a knife. As the tiger flung itself at him, he swerved and thrust his knife into the tiger’s throat with all his might. Blood rushed from its throat and Yazid felt a rush of
nausea. It staggered towards Yazid and then stumbled and fell to the ground.
Yazid stared at the big cat. He had killed a tiger with just a knife. Then, he took his rifle close to the wound that he had made, and pulled the trigger. All traces of the knife were blown apart. This was the way it must be. The man who owned the rifle must remain supreme.
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26. From paragraph 1, what made Yazid feel secure at night?
……… [ 1 mark ] 27. From paragraph 3,
(a) what woke Yazid from his sleep?
………. [ 1 mark ] (b) which word means ‘very carefully’
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28. From paragraph 6,
(a) Why did Pak Salleh come to ask Yazid’s help?
……… [ 1 mark ] (b) How much did Pak Salleh have to pay Yazid for the task ?
……… [ 1 mark ] 29. From paragraph 9,
(a) ‘Yazid underwent a complete transformation’. Describe the transformation.
……… [ 1 mark ]
(b) i. Why was the transformation necessary?
……… [ 1 mark ] ii. State two clues that showed that the tiger was nearby.
……… [ 1 mark ] 30. In your own word, state one quality a hunter should have.
Provide a reason to support your answer.
Quality : ……….. [ 1 mark ]
Reason : ……….. [ 1 mark ]
31. Yazid was very proud of his rifle and was eager to kill the tiger with it. Write a summary about
Yazid’s preparation before he tracked the tiger
his observation on the surrounding and what he learnt of the tiger and how he killed
the tiger.
Credit will be given for use of own words but care must be taken not to change the original meaning.
Your summary must :
be in continuous writing form ( not in note form ) use materials from line 25 to line 66
not be longer than 130 words, including the 10 words given below
Begin your summary as follows :
After Yazid concluded the deal with Pak Salleh to kill the …..
[15 marks]
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