Paragraph 1 Since a young age, Elon Musk’s personality has been shaped by curiosity,
determination, strong will, perseverance, vision into the future, critical thinking, and a strong
desire to disrupt as many industries as he possibly can.
Paragraph 2 At the age of 10, Elon Musk developed an interest in computing. He learned
computer programming using a manual and a Commodore VIC-20. At the age of 12, the young
Musk sold the code of a BASIC-based video game he created for approximately $500. He called
the video game Blastar to PC and Office Technology magazine.
Paragraph 3 An avid reader since his childhood, Musk’s reading included Isaac Asimov’s
Foundation series. He was severely bullied during his childhood to the point of being
hospitalized after a group of boys threw him down a flight of stairs.
Paragraph 4 Raised in Pretoria, South Africa, Musk briefly attended the University of Pretoria
before moving to Canada at the age of 17. In Canada, he attended Queen’s University and
transferred to the University of Pennsylvania two years later. He received a bachelor’s degree in
economics from the Wharton School and a bachelor’s degree in physics from the College of
Arts and Sciences.
Paragraph 5 Elon Musk believes the world needs something different, and he has what it takes
to provide the answers and materialize his ideas. Without a doubt, his hard work and strong will
are going to take him to a place no human has gone before, his ultimate goal: Mars
colonization.
Adapted from https://interestingengineering.com/elon-musk-the-story-of-a-maveric
What type of phrase is “Since a young age” in Paragraph 1? 1 Mark
1b What function is the phrase identified in 1a performing in the sentence? 1 Mark
1c What is the tense expressed in “has been shaped” in Paragraph 1? 1 Mark
2a Write out the verbs that are in the same tense in Paragraph 2 5 Marks
2b In which tense are the verbs you have written out? 1 Mark
2c Which other verb apart from the ones written out in 2a is in the paragraph? 1 Mark
2d Why has the author predominantly used the tense you identified in 2b above? 2 Marks
3. Paragraph 3 starts with the noun phrase “An avid reader since his childhood”,
identify and write out the following from the phrase:
i. The head noun
ii. The pronoun
iii. Another noun
iv. The article
v. The adjective
5 Marks
4. Write out five of the proper nouns found in Paragraph 4 5 Marks
5a State if the verb “has” in the first sentence of Paragraph 5 is used as an
auxiliary or as a main verb? 1 Mark
5b Read the first sentence of Paragraph 5 carefully and explain why it is written
in the simple present tense. 2 Marks