Page 32 - English_F5

English

Activity 2.2 Discovering the meanings of vocabulary using context,
technical dictionary, thesaurus, and encyclopedia

(a) Read the following story and complete the activities that follow.

Cyberbullying
FOR ONLINE READING ONLY

Before I tell you my story, let me introduce myself. My name is Ngapona, which literally
means ‘not yet healed.’ My paternal aunt gave me this name because she felt it suited
me for my mother had lost a child before I was born. I have been told that people
believed I would die because I was so skinny and weak at birth. This name has been
a thorn in my life as I have been facing many challenges. However, this is a story for
another day.

One fateful day, I woke up with a heavy feeling in my heart. I could not tell what was
wrong with me. I took a long time to prepare myself for school. As a result, I arrived
at school later than usual. Fortunately, nobody stopped me at the school gate. That was
unusual since the teacher on duty would always be at the gate. I dragged my feet towards
the classroom, which was at the far end of our school. A-Level students’ classrooms
were separated from the other buildings. I could hear my classmates speaking. When
I entered the classroom, there was a deafening hush; one could hear a pin drop. Two
of my classmates, Ndele and Deejah, came up and hugged me, tears rolling down their
cheeks. “Did you guys miss me this much?” I joked smilingly. Ndele could not hold it
any longer; she sobbed uncontrollably. Deejah wiped her tears away with the back of
her hand and looked at me in silence. “What’s wrong?” I asked, looking at them in a
perplexed manner. “Mbutolwe is no more,” Deejah managed to say. “What? How?
When? Oh, no!” I exclaimed. “She is dead, Ngapo,” explained Ndele.

A cold shiver ran down my spine. My head started spinning like I had received a
heavy blow at the back. Mbutolwe and I had been as thick as thieves since primary
school. I looked at everybody’s sombre face. I could not hold it any longer. Hence, I
let out the most piercing cry ever; the whole class joined in. We mourned our friend,
a classmate who had gone too soon. From a distance, teachers could hear our cries.
They rushed into our classroom: Our counselor, class teacher, and three others, whom
I cannot remember. After ten minutes, we had all stopped crying, but one could hear
some sniffling. “Would someone … anyone … tell me what has exactly happened?” I
inquired. “Ngapo, Mbutolwe committed suicide because of cyberbullying. She left a
note,” Ndele said.
“What is cyberbullying?” Asked Deejah.

“Cyberbullying is sending, posting or sharing negative, harmful, false or mean content
about someone else via SMS or social media. It also includes sharing personal or
private information about someone to embarrass or humiliate them. In our friend’s case,

Tanzania Institute of Education (TIE) 23 Form Five

24/06/2024 22:26
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ENGLISH FORM 5.indd 23