A trip to Mount Kilimanjaro

Read the passage carefully and answer the questions that follow.

Mr Josa, the geography teacher from Tumaini Primary School in Karatu District, had a plan. On Friday afternoon, he entered the Standard Seven classroom. "Good afternoon Standard Seven," he greeted the pupils. All the pupils stood up and replied, "Good afternoon, Sir." "Have you heard anything about Mount Kilimanjaro?" asked Mr Josa. Some pupils raised their hands to answer the question. Mr Josa pointed to Hadaa. "Yes Sir, it is in northern Tanzania," she answered. "Good," said Mr Josa. "What else do you know about Mount Kilimanjaro?" A girl in the left corner stood up and said, "It has a snow cap at the top." "Correct," said Mr Josa. "How many of you would like to climb Mount Kilimanjaro during the holidays?" asked Mr Josa. The whole class raised their hands. "That is very good. But you will need money for transport, food and fees. You will also need money to buy boots, a back pack and warm clothes," explained Mr Josa, as the pupils were listening carefully. "Do you understand?" asked Mr Josa. "Yes sir, we do," they replied. "How much money is needed, sir?" asked Helena. "It will be 15,000/-. I will give you letters about the trip to take to your parents," the teacher said.

The following week, Mr Josa went to Standard Seven classroom again. "What did the parents say?" he asked. One pupil stood up and said, "My parent will pay." Another pupil stood up and said, "My parents will pay."

Almost all the pupils had the same reply. "Fine, you should pay the money within one month. Then I will arrange for the trip," said Mr Josa. All the Standard Seven pupils paid the money before the end of the month. They also started to do physical exercises. The physical education teacher told them that they need physical exercises. The exercises would help to make them fit before climbing the mountain. Finally, the day of the trip arrived. Furaha Bus reported at the school at 6.00 a.m. The pupils were at the school compound with their luggage, ready to board the bus. The physical education teacher, Ms Marina, and Mr Josa, the geography teacher, joined the pupils on the trip.

On the way from Karatu, they crossed Manyara National Park and saw Lake Manyara. They also saw many birds especially flamingos and animals such as elephants, buffaloes, zebras, antelopes, monkeys, baboons, lions, and many others. The teachers had cameras, so they took photographs of the lake and the animals.

At 12:00 noon the bus arrived in Arusha. The pupils were taken to Arusha School for lunch. There was plenty of food and it was delicious. At 2:00 p.m. they left Arusha for Moshi. They arrived in Moshi at 4:00 p.m. After a short rest, they left Moshi for Marangu at 4.30 p.m. They arrived at Marangu at 5:30 p.m. Marangu is near the foot of Mount Kilimanjaro. The pupils could see the top of Mount Kilimanjaro clearly from Marangu. Both the pupils and their teachers spent two days at Marangu Teachers' College to do more physical exercises. After that, they drove to Kilimanjaro National Park Office, ready to climb the mountain.

At the gate, they met the tour guide. He briefed them about the journey to the top of the mountain. He said, "Mount Kilimanjaro is the highest mountain in Africa. It is nineteen thousand three hundred and forty-one feet above the sea level. It is covered with snow at the top. It is very cold. So you should make sure that you have warm clothes and enough food to eat on the way. Tourists from all over the world like to climb the mountain. We protect Mount Kilimanjaro because the government makes more than 50 million US dollars from foreign tourists every year." "How much do you make from local tourists?" asked Hazina, "We make about ten million shillings every year from local tourists," replied the tour guide. The teachers and the pupils thanked the tour guide and the journey started. The journey to the peak was difficult. Only 25 pupils and the teachers reached the top. The other pupils ended at Mandara Hut. They waited there until their teachers and friends returned. The climbers felt very tired. They climbed down together to the Main gate. Their bus was there ready to start the return journey. Those who failed to reach the top felt unhappy. The others who succeeded in reaching the top were very happy.

Questions

Look for answers from the story to complete the sentences.

1. Mr Josa's plan was to prepare a ____________ for Standard Seven pupils.

2. All the pupils agreed to pay ____________ shillings.

3. Mention any three animals that Standard Seven pupils saw on their way.

i. ____________ ii. ____________ iii. ____________.

4. What did the pupils and the teachers do at Arusha School? The pupils and the teachers had ____________.

5. What time did they arrive in Moshi? They arrived in Moshi at____________.

6. How long did they stay at Marangu Teachers' College? They stayed at Marangu Teachers' College for____________.

7. Mention three things that the tour guide said about Mount Kilimanjaro.

i. ____________. ii. ____________. iii. ____________.

8. How many pupils climbed to the top? ____________ pupils climbed to the top.

9. How did the pupils who reached the top feel? The pupils who reached the top felt ___________

Read the following sentences aloud.

1. Mount Kilimanjaro is in northern Tanzania.

2. Is Mount Kilimanjaro in northern Tanzania?

3. Where is Mount Kilimanjaro located?

4. Marangu is at the foot of Mount Kilimanjaro.

5. Is Marangu at the foot of Mount Kilimanjaro?

6. Where is Marangu located?

7. They ate lunch at Arusha School.

8. Did they eat lunch at Arusha School?

9. Where did they eat lunch?

Write the opposite of the following words.

stand up ____________

short ____________

climb up ____________

local tourist ____________

cold ____________

highest ____________

arrive ____________

top ____________

Change the following words into plural.

tourist ____________

flamingo ____________

zebra ____________

pupil ____________

buffalo ____________

luggage ____________

bus ____________

ice ____________

water ____________

lunch ____________

Rewrite the sentences as questions.

Example: The giraffe is shorter than the zebra.

Is the giraffe shorter than the zebra?

1. The lion is lighter than the hippo.

2. The elephant is the heaviest of all.

3. The hippo is taller than the elephant.

4. The zebra is taller than the lion.

5. The giraffe is the tallest of all.

6. The lion is the lightest of all.

7. The lion is the shortest of all.

Change the following sentences into negative forms.

Example:

The geography teacher, Mr Josa, had a plan for the Standard Seven pupils.

The geography teacher, Mr Josa, did not have a plan for the Standard Seven pupils.

1. The whole class raised their hands.

2. Mr Josa went to the Standard Seven classroom again.

Writing practice

Punctuate the following passage and write capital letters where necessary.

(1) mount Kilimanjaro is the highest mountain in (2) Africa (3) It is nineteen thousand three hundred and forty-one feet above sea level (4) It is covered with snow at the top. It is very cold, so you should make sure you have warm clothes and enough food to eat on the way. (5) Tourists from all over the world like to climb the mountain (6) we protect mount (7) Kilimanjaro because the government makes more than fifty million US dollars from foreign tourists every year.