Grade 9 Reading and Viewing

Read the text below and answer the questions that follow. TEXT A IT’S A HOME RUN! 1 “Now coming in for second base for Pittsburgh Pirates – Gift Ngoepe ...,” boomed the announcer’s voice over the public-address system. The South African was overcome with pride as he stood in PNC Park, his team’s home stadium in Pennsylvania, nearly 14 000 km from Limpopo where he was born. He was making history as the first South African to play for an American major league baseball team as well as being the first African to do so. 2 Gift’s big dream began in 1991 in the clubhouse at Randburg Mets Baseball Club in Johannesburg. His mother, Maureen, began working there as a cook and cleaner. As the club had a very limited budget, they offered her accommodation instead of a salary. Gift was then two years old and he lived there with his mother and younger brother until he left to play baseball in the States at the age of 18. 3 It was in this room that a strong family bond was formed. “The room was very small – almost like a big cupboard in America, but it was home. We slept on a mattress on the floor, but it didn’t matter to us. We were genuinely happy because we had love and made everything fun,” Gift wrote in an article. 4 Gift grew up around the game and came to love it. He began playing baseball at 5 and at 10 was picked to play for the national side. The Randburg Mets Baseball Club coach, Glen Gillman, says that he is fast and has strong feet and arms. He can also read the game and position himself well in the field. Off the field, Gift is likeable, humble and easy to speak to. 5 The Club raised money to send Gift to Europe for Major League Baseball (MLB) Band it was at the MLB academy in 2008 that Gift impressed Pittsburgh scouts and he was offered a contract. He quickly rose through the ranks of the US minor leagues and had played more than 700 games by the time he joined the majors. 6 Gift admits that moving to America was a big adjustment. Keen to fit in, he decided to go by the name Gift rather than Mpho, as it is easier for the Americans to pronounce. These days he lives in a comfortable apartment in Pittsburgh although he doesn’t spend much time there because he’s on the road most of the time travelling all over the US and sometimes playing three or four games a week. 7 Gift trains hard as he says that there are always people who also want to get to the top, so he cannot relax and let that happen. The only regret Gift has, is that his mother isn’t around to witness his success as she died in 2013. 8 Clearly Gift is living his childhood dream! [Adapted from It’s a Home Run! by Kaizer Ngwenya, YOU Magazine, 18 May 2017] 1.2 Refer to paragraph 2.

Read the text below and answer the questions that follow. TEXT A IT’S A HOME RUN! 1 “Now coming in for second base for Pittsburgh Pirates – Gift Ngoepe ...,” boomed the announcer’s voice over the public-address system. The South African was overcome with pride as he stood in PNC Park, his team’s home stadium in Pennsylvania, nearly 14 000 km from Limpopo where he was born. He was making history as the first South African to play for an American major league baseball team as well as being the first African to do so. 2 Gift’s big dream began in 1991 in the clubhouse at Randburg Mets Baseball Club in Johannesburg. His mother, Maureen, began working there as a cook and cleaner. As the club had a very limited budget, they offered her accommodation instead of a salary. Gift was then two years old and he lived there with his mother and younger brother until he left to play baseball in the States at the age of 18. 3 It was in this room that a strong family bond was formed. “The room was very small – almost like a big cupboard in America, but it was home. We slept on a mattress on the floor, but it didn’t matter to us. We were genuinely happy because we had love and made everything fun,” Gift wrote in an article. 4 Gift grew up around the game and came to love it. He began playing baseball at 5 and at 10 was picked to play for the national side. The Randburg Mets Baseball Club coach, Glen Gillman, says that he is fast and has strong feet and arms. He can also read the game and position himself well in the field. Off the field, Gift is likeable, humble and easy to speak to. 5 The Club raised money to send Gift to Europe for Major League Baseball (MLB) Band it was at the MLB academy in 2008 that Gift impressed Pittsburgh scouts and he was offered a contract. He quickly rose through the ranks of the US minor leagues and had played more than 700 games by the time he joined the majors. 6 Gift admits that moving to America was a big adjustment. Keen to fit in, he decided to go by the name Gift rather than Mpho, as it is easier for the Americans to pronounce. These days he lives in a comfortable apartment in Pittsburgh although he doesn’t spend much time there because he’s on the road most of the time travelling all over the US and sometimes playing three or four games a week. 7 Gift trains hard as he says that there are always people who also want to get to the top, so he cannot relax and let that happen. The only regret Gift has, is that his mother isn’t around to witness his success as she died in 2013. 8 Clearly Gift is living his childhood dream! [Adapted from It’s a Home Run! by Kaizer Ngwenya, YOU Magazine, 18 May 2017] 1.2 Refer to paragraph 2.

Read the text below and answer the questions that follow. TEXT A IT’S A HOME RUN! 1 “Now coming in for second base for Pittsburgh Pirates – Gift Ngoepe ...,” boomed the announcer’s voice over the public-address system. The South African was overcome with pride as he stood in PNC Park, his team’s home stadium in Pennsylvania, nearly 14 000 km from Limpopo where he was born. He was making history as the first South African to play for an American major league baseball team as well as being the first African to do so. 2 Gift’s big dream began in 1991 in the clubhouse at Randburg Mets Baseball Club in Johannesburg. His mother, Maureen, began working there as a cook and cleaner. As the club had a very limited budget, they offered her accommodation instead of a salary. Gift was then two years old and he lived there with his mother and younger brother until he left to play baseball in the States at the age of 18. 3 It was in this room that a strong family bond was formed. “The room was very small – almost like a big cupboard in America, but it was home. We slept on a mattress on the floor, but it didn’t matter to us. We were genuinely happy because we had love and made everything fun,” Gift wrote in an article. 4 Gift grew up around the game and came to love it. He began playing baseball at 5 and at 10 was picked to play for the national side. The Randburg Mets Baseball Club coach, Glen Gillman, says that he is fast and has strong feet and arms. He can also read the game and position himself well in the field. Off the field, Gift is likeable, humble and easy to speak to. 5 The Club raised money to send Gift to Europe for Major League Baseball (MLB) Band it was at the MLB academy in 2008 that Gift impressed Pittsburgh scouts and he was offered a contract. He quickly rose through the ranks of the US minor leagues and had played more than 700 games by the time he joined the majors. 6 Gift admits that moving to America was a big adjustment. Keen to fit in, he decided to go by the name Gift rather than Mpho, as it is easier for the Americans to pronounce. These days he lives in a comfortable apartment in Pittsburgh although he doesn’t spend much time there because he’s on the road most of the time travelling all over the US and sometimes playing three or four games a week. 7 Gift trains hard as he says that there are always people who also want to get to the top, so he cannot relax and let that happen. The only regret Gift has, is that his mother isn’t around to witness his success as she died in 2013. 8 Clearly Gift is living his childhood dream! [Adapted from It’s a Home Run! by Kaizer Ngwenya, YOU Magazine, 18 May 2017] 1.3 Refer to paragraph 3. 1.3.1 Match the words in COLUMN A with their meanings in the context of the passage in COLUMN B. Write ONLY the question number and the correct letter (e.g. 1.3.1 B).

Read the text below and answer the questions that follow. TEXT A IT’S A HOME RUN! 1 “Now coming in for second base for Pittsburgh Pirates – Gift Ngoepe ...,” boomed the announcer’s voice over the public-address system. The South African was overcome with pride as he stood in PNC Park, his team’s home stadium in Pennsylvania, nearly 14 000 km from Limpopo where he was born. He was making history as the first South African to play for an American major league baseball team as well as being the first African to do so. 2 Gift’s big dream began in 1991 in the clubhouse at Randburg Mets Baseball Club in Johannesburg. His mother, Maureen, began working there as a cook and cleaner. As the club had a very limited budget, they offered her accommodation instead of a salary. Gift was then two years old and he lived there with his mother and younger brother until he left to play baseball in the States at the age of 18. 3 It was in this room that a strong family bond was formed. “The room was very small – almost like a big cupboard in America, but it was home. We slept on a mattress on the floor, but it didn’t matter to us. We were genuinely happy because we had love and made everything fun,” Gift wrote in an article. 4 Gift grew up around the game and came to love it. He began playing baseball at 5 and at 10 was picked to play for the national side. The Randburg Mets Baseball Club coach, Glen Gillman, says that he is fast and has strong feet and arms. He can also read the game and position himself well in the field. Off the field, Gift is likeable, humble and easy to speak to. 5 The Club raised money to send Gift to Europe for Major League Baseball (MLB) Band it was at the MLB academy in 2008 that Gift impressed Pittsburgh scouts and he was offered a contract. He quickly rose through the ranks of the US minor leagues and had played more than 700 games by the time he joined the majors. 6 Gift admits that moving to America was a big adjustment. Keen to fit in, he decided to go by the name Gift rather than Mpho, as it is easier for the Americans to pronounce. These days he lives in a comfortable apartment in Pittsburgh although he doesn’t spend much time there because he’s on the road most of the time travelling all over the US and sometimes playing three or four games a week. 7 Gift trains hard as he says that there are always people who also want to get to the top, so he cannot relax and let that happen. The only regret Gift has, is that his mother isn’t around to witness his success as she died in 2013. 8 Clearly Gift is living his childhood dream! [Adapted from It’s a Home Run! by Kaizer Ngwenya, YOU Magazine, 18 May 2017] 1.3 Refer to paragraph 3. 1.3.1 Match the words in COLUMN A with their meanings in the context of the passage in COLUMN B. Write ONLY the question number and the correct letter (e.g. 1.3.1 B).