Here are the answers to the questions based on the provided excerpt: 1. Explain what happens immediately before this extract. Immediately before the events described in the first paragraph (the heads of state being in Banjul), the host city of Banjul underwent significant preparations for the summit. This included "slum-clearance 'exercises'" where bulldozers demolished roadside kiosks, displacing families, and new roads and water fountains were constructed to accommodate the arriving dignitaries. 2. Identify and explain two styles used in the excerpt. • Critical/Expository: The author presents information about the summit while also critiquing its negative impact on the local population, exposing the disparity between the official narrative and reality. • Descriptive: The text uses vivid language to portray the conditions, such as "slum-clearance 'exercises'" and "water taps at which whole neighborhoods queue to get just buckets of water dry up," to illustrate the suffering of the locals. 3. Identify and illustrate thematic concerns evident in this extract. • Social Inequality and Displacement: The excerpt highlights how the poor are displaced and their livelihoods destroyed ("demolish roadside kiosks on which whole families depend") to create a favorable image for the visiting dignitaries. • Hypocrisy of Leadership: It reveals the irony of heads of state "escaping from troublemakers in their home countries" only to cause hardship and disruption for the citizens of the host nation. • Mismanagement of Resources: Water, a vital resource, is diverted to "new water fountains built to mesmerise the visitors" while local communities suffer from dry taps. 4. What does the author mean when he says, "Had they not escaped from troublemakers in their home countries?" The author is implying that many of the foreign heads of state attending the summit are themselves facing significant political instability, conflict, or internal opposition in their own nations. The summit serves as a temporary refuge or a means to project an image of international legitimacy, away from the "troublemakers" (political opponents, rebels, or civil unrest) in their home countries. 5. From your knowledge of the text, who were the four strangers who checked in at the Seamount Hotel in Banjul for the summit? The provided text does not mention "four strangers" or the "Seamount Hotel." It only refers to "Forty-nine foreign heads of state" attending the summit. 6. Add a question tag: This way, motorists come to a standstill when it really hurts. This way, motorists come to a standstill when it really hurts, don't they? 7. Explain the meanings of the following vocabulary used in the excerpt. a) Mesmerise: To hold the complete attention of (someone); to fascinate or enthrall. b) Demolish: To completely destroy (a building or other structure). c) Extort: To obtain (something, especially money or information) by force, threats, or other unfair means. d) Summit: A meeting between heads of government.