JAMB Use of English 1982

52 reviewed questions with answers and explanations.

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Question 1

Olumba removed a small black amulet from his neck and substituted a bigger one. The former was for general protection at home, the latter for protection and luck whilst travelling. Ready at last he picked up his matchet and headed for the chief’s with Ikechi behind him. Olumba walked ahead looking up as usual. Just what he was searching for in the sky Ikechi couldn’t tell. Perhaps his shortness accounted for his habit since, he often had to look up in the faces of his taller companions. What he lacked in height he made up in solid muscles and he looked strong. His wrestling pseudonym was Agadaga, a name which meant nothing but which somehow conveyed an impression of strength. Eze Diali, the chief, sat at one end of his reception hall ringed by the village elders who he had called to a meeting. The rest of the hall was filled with much younger men. ‘People of Chiolu,’ the chief began, I have learnt that poachers from Aliakoro will be at the Great Pond tonight. There is no doubt that they will try to steal from the Pond of Wagaba which as you know is rich in fish. Our plan tonight is to bring one or more of these thieves home alive and ask for very large ransoms. This line of action will have two effects. Firstly, it will prove our charges of poaching against the people of Aliakoro, and secondly, the payment of very large ransom will be a deterrent. We need seven men for this venture. I call for volunteers’ ‘Who will head this party?’ the chief asked, looking round. Chituru, one of the elders, said, ‘Eze Diali, let us not waste time. Olumba is the man for the job. We all know that he had led many exploits like this one.’ ‘We still need six men’, Eze Diali said. Eager youths came surging forward. Their well-formed muscle rippled as they elbowed one another. It was difficult to choose. ‘I suggest Olumba should choose his men. He knows the boys very well and his judgment should be reliable’. It was Wezume, another village elder, who spoke.

Olumba wore an amulet because he

  1. was superstitious
  2. was a strong and fearless fighter
  3. wanted to please his wife
  4. wanted to instill fear in Eze Diali, the chief
  5. believed in its power of protection
Answer and explanation

E: believed in its power of protection

Olumba changes to the amulet intended for protection and luck while travelling. This directly shows his belief in its protective power, rather than a wish to impress the chief.

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Question 3

Olumba removed a small black amulet from his neck and substituted a bigger one. The former was for general protection at home, the latter for protection and luck whilst travelling. Ready at last he picked up his matchet and headed for the chief’s with Ikechi behind him. Olumba walked ahead looking up as usual. Just what he was searching for in the sky Ikechi couldn’t tell. Perhaps his shortness accounted for his habit since, he often had to look up in the faces of his taller companions. What he lacked in height he made up in solid muscles and he looked strong. His wrestling pseudonym was Agadaga, a name which meant nothing but which somehow conveyed an impression of strength. Eze Diali, the chief, sat at one end of his reception hall ringed by the village elders who he had called to a meeting. The rest of the hall was filled with much younger men. ‘People of Chiolu,’ the chief began, I have learnt that poachers from Aliakoro will be at the Great Pond tonight. There is no doubt that they will try to steal from the Pond of Wagaba which as you know is rich in fish. Our plan tonight is to bring one or more of these thieves home alive and ask for very large ransoms. This line of action will have two effects. Firstly, it will prove our charges of poaching against the people of Aliakoro, and secondly, the payment of very large ransom will be a deterrent. We need seven men for this venture. I call for volunteers’ ‘Who will head this party?’ the chief asked, looking round. Chituru, one of the elders, said, ‘Eze Diali, let us not waste time. Olumba is the man for the job. We all know that he had led many exploits like this one.’ ‘We still need six men’, Eze Diali said. Eager youths came surging forward. Their well-formed muscle rippled as they elbowed one another. It was difficult to choose. ‘I suggest Olumba should choose his men. He knows the boys very well and his judgment should be reliable’. It was Wezume, another village elder, who spoke.

'Poaching ‘means

  1. stealing
  2. cracking eggs
  3. fishing
  4. demanding ransom from Aliakoro
  5. deterring thieves
Answer and explanation

A: stealing

In this passage, poaching is taking fish from a pond without permission. Stealing captures the unlawful taking; fishing alone omits the lack of permission.

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Question 4

Olumba removed a small black amulet from his neck and substituted a bigger one. The former was for general protection at home, the latter for protection and luck whilst travelling. Ready at last he picked up his matchet and headed for the chief’s with Ikechi behind him. Olumba walked ahead looking up as usual. Just what he was searching for in the sky Ikechi couldn’t tell. Perhaps his shortness accounted for his habit since, he often had to look up in the faces of his taller companions. What he lacked in height he made up in solid muscles and he looked strong. His wrestling pseudonym was Agadaga, a name which meant nothing but which somehow conveyed an impression of strength. Eze Diali, the chief, sat at one end of his reception hall ringed by the village elders who he had called to a meeting. The rest of the hall was filled with much younger men. ‘People of Chiolu,’ the chief began, I have learnt that poachers from Aliakoro will be at the Great Pond tonight. There is no doubt that they will try to steal from the Pond of Wagaba which as you know is rich in fish. Our plan tonight is to bring one or more of these thieves home alive and ask for very large ransoms. This line of action will have two effects. Firstly, it will prove our charges of poaching against the people of Aliakoro, and secondly, the payment of very large ransom will be a deterrent. We need seven men for this venture. I call for volunteers’ ‘Who will head this party?’ the chief asked, looking round. Chituru, one of the elders, said, ‘Eze Diali, let us not waste time. Olumba is the man for the job. We all know that he had led many exploits like this one.’ ‘We still need six men’, Eze Diali said. Eager youths came surging forward. Their well-formed muscle rippled as they elbowed one another. It was difficult to choose. ‘I suggest Olumba should choose his men. He knows the boys very well and his judgment should be reliable’. It was Wezume, another village elder, who spoke.

The chief called the meeting because

  1. he wanted volunteers to go to Aliakoro
  2. he wanted to announce the fact that there would definitely be poachers from Chiolu at the Great Pond that night
  3. he wanted to ask for very large ransom because the people of Chiolu needed money for fishing
  4. the elders had devised a plan to prevent the poaching
  5. seven men were needed to bring seven thieves home
Answer and explanation

D: the elders had devised a plan to prevent the poaching

The chief explains a plan to catch poachers and demand ransoms as a deterrent. A plan to prevent poaching is the supported purpose; the other choices reverse the villages or invent a fixed number of thieves.

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Question 11

I was on top of one of my palm trees yesterday, tapping the tree and collecting the wine for the morning when I saw two soldiers at the foot of the tree. They made signs at me, so I concluded that they wanted my palm wine. On descending from the tree, I gave them the wine to sample, as is customary. Not only did they drain all the wine in the calabash, they said they had come to conscript me into the army. I asked them whether they wanted me or somebody else, and they said they had come for me. I asked them whether an enemy sent them or they came on their own. To cut it short, they said I was wasting their time as they had to catch twenty men that day. Only a foolish man willingly disobeys armed soldiers. I told them I had something very important to say. ‘Say it, then’ one of them cut in impatiently, looking at his watch. It was approaching midday, by which time it was considered unsafe to drive around in a car for fear of enemy planes which had learnt to strafe individual vehicles on the highway. ‘Yes, what I want to say is simple’ I said, ‘My first son, the boy who should have succeeded me when I died, joined the army voluntarily with my full backing. He was a brilliant boy, always first in his class. He was in his last year at school when the war began. He was killed. The two children who came after him are girls. The next boy is still in primary school. If he were old enough, I would have asked him to join the army not minding the fact that my first son’s head had already been sacrificed to the same war. For no person who breathes, will say that he has no part in this war.’ ‘But let me add this: - If this war has reached the stage when a man of my age is given a rifle by force and sent to the war front, then the time has come for you to blow the whistle and end the war. That is all I want to say!’

The narrator is a

  1. farmer
  2. tapper
  3. wanderer
  4. copper
  5. friend of the soldiers
Answer and explanation

B: tapper

The narrator is tapping a palm tree and collecting its wine when the soldiers arrive. Tapper identifies the specific occupation shown; farming is a broader activity not described here.

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Question 12

I was on top of one of my palm trees yesterday, tapping the tree and collecting the wine for the morning when I saw two soldiers at the foot of the tree. They made signs at me, so I concluded that they wanted my palm wine. On descending from the tree, I gave them the wine to sample, as is customary. Not only did they drain all the wine in the calabash, they said they had come to conscript me into the army. I asked them whether they wanted me or somebody else, and they said they had come for me. I asked them whether an enemy sent them or they came on their own. To cut it short, they said I was wasting their time as they had to catch twenty men that day. Only a foolish man willingly disobeys armed soldiers. I told them I had something very important to say. ‘Say it, then’ one of them cut in impatiently, looking at his watch. It was approaching midday, by which time it was considered unsafe to drive around in a car for fear of enemy planes which had learnt to strafe individual vehicles on the highway. ‘Yes, what I want to say is simple’ I said, ‘My first son, the boy who should have succeeded me when I died, joined the army voluntarily with my full backing. He was a brilliant boy, always first in his class. He was in his last year at school when the war began. He was killed. The two children who came after him are girls. The next boy is still in primary school. If he were old enough, I would have asked him to join the army not minding the fact that my first son’s head had already been sacrificed to the same war. For no person who breathes, will say that he has no part in this war.’ ‘But let me add this: - If this war has reached the stage when a man of my age is given a rifle by force and sent to the war front, then the time has come for you to blow the whistle and end the war. That is all I want to say!’

the soldiers had come to

  1. visit the man
  2. drink his palm wine
  3. tell him about the war
  4. force him into the army
  5. warn him about the enemies
Answer and explanation

D: force him into the army

The soldiers state that they have come to conscript the narrator. That means forcing him into army service, even though they also drink his wine.

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Question 16

After many weary weeks of marching, Nzinga and her attendants arrived at the white walls of Luanda. The guards at the city gates led them through the winding streets and up to the governor’s palace. A pompous courtier, sweating and dirty in his thick clothes ordered them to wait amongst a crowd of people who had come to beg favors of the governor. Nzinga waited patiently, ignoring this insult to her royal dignity. She knew that her chance would come. The hot sun beat down on the white walls of the palace, yet Nzinga stood straight and proud as the crowd of Portuguese merchants mopped their sweating faces with damp lace handkerchiefs. Much later the courtier came back. He knocked on the floor with his staff, and then announced in a loud voice, ‘His Excellency Joao Correia de Souza, the Governor in Angola of His Most Royal and Catholic Majesty, the king of Portugal’. The tired soldiers stood to attention and the courtiers and merchants bowed. Nzinga became very impatient. Was she to stand here like a servant all day, waiting for this man to make up his mind to hear her? She stepped forward, walked into the middle of the room and faced the governor. The guards and the courtiers were so amazed that they could do nothing but gasp in amazement at this boldness. ‘Well,’ murmured one of the merchants to his neighbor. ‘Now she will learn what trouble is! Don Joao will be very angry. It is an insult to his dignity’. ‘What do you mean by this?’ asked the governor when he had recovered from his surprise. ‘Who are you? Come, woman, state your business!’ But Nzinga was not afraid. In a clear, calm voice she answered him. ‘My first business is a chair,’ she said. The governor laughed. ‘What do you mean?’ he asked. ‘You are seated,’ she replied, ‘And you are only a governor, a slave of your king. I am a princess and men do not sit where I stand. I will state my business seated!’ But Nzinga had learnt the strength of her enemy. She knew that she was already winning this contest of wills. Whatever happened now, this man would not think that she had been sent by a beaten people to beg favors. Without another word, she turned and made a sign to her maid. When the girl came to her, Nzinga ordered her to kneel down. Then, with a flash of triumph in her eyes, Nzinga sat down on the girl’s back. Nzinga got her treaty. Pride in herself and in her people had saved the day for the Mbundu.

What was the first insult to the princess’s dignity?

  1. being greeted by a pompous courtier, sweating and dirty
  2. being ordered to wait amongst a crowd of people
  3. not being given a lace handkerchief to mop her face
  4. staying surrounded by tired soldiers and merchants
  5. the courtiers mistakenly thinking she had come to beg favors of the Governor
Answer and explanation

B: being ordered to wait amongst a crowd of people

The first indignity described is the courtier ordering Nzinga to wait among people seeking favours. The narration immediately calls that an insult to her royal dignity.

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Question 17

After many weary weeks of marching, Nzinga and her attendants arrived at the white walls of Luanda. The guards at the city gates led them through the winding streets and up to the governor’s palace. A pompous courtier, sweating and dirty in his thick clothes ordered them to wait amongst a crowd of people who had come to beg favors of the governor. Nzinga waited patiently, ignoring this insult to her royal dignity. She knew that her chance would come. The hot sun beat down on the white walls of the palace, yet Nzinga stood straight and proud as the crowd of Portuguese merchants mopped their sweating faces with damp lace handkerchiefs. Much later the courtier came back. He knocked on the floor with his staff, and then announced in a loud voice, ‘His Excellency Joao Correia de Souza, the Governor in Angola of His Most Royal and Catholic Majesty, the king of Portugal’. The tired soldiers stood to attention and the courtiers and merchants bowed. Nzinga became very impatient. Was she to stand here like a servant all day, waiting for this man to make up his mind to hear her? She stepped forward, walked into the middle of the room and faced the governor. The guards and the courtiers were so amazed that they could do nothing but gasp in amazement at this boldness. ‘Well,’ murmured one of the merchants to his neighbor. ‘Now she will learn what trouble is! Don Joao will be very angry. It is an insult to his dignity’. ‘What do you mean by this?’ asked the governor when he had recovered from his surprise. ‘Who are you? Come, woman, state your business!’ But Nzinga was not afraid. In a clear, calm voice she answered him. ‘My first business is a chair,’ she said. The governor laughed. ‘What do you mean?’ he asked. ‘You are seated,’ she replied, ‘And you are only a governor, a slave of your king. I am a princess and men do not sit where I stand. I will state my business seated!’ But Nzinga had learnt the strength of her enemy. She knew that she was already winning this contest of wills. Whatever happened now, this man would not think that she had been sent by a beaten people to beg favors. Without another word, she turned and made a sign to her maid. When the girl came to her, Nzinga ordered her to kneel down. Then, with a flash of triumph in her eyes, Nzinga sat down on the girl’s back. Nzinga got her treaty. Pride in herself and in her people had saved the day for the Mbundu.

Who did Nzinga want to see?

  1. the Governor of Africa
  2. the King of Portugal
  3. Luanda
  4. Joao de Souza
  5. The Royal Majesty
Answer and explanation

D: Joao de Souza

The official is introduced as Joao Correia de Souza, Governor in Angola. Joao de Souza identifies that governor, whom Nzinga has come to see, rather than the king in Portugal.

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Question 18

After many weary weeks of marching, Nzinga and her attendants arrived at the white walls of Luanda. The guards at the city gates led them through the winding streets and up to the governor’s palace. A pompous courtier, sweating and dirty in his thick clothes ordered them to wait amongst a crowd of people who had come to beg favors of the governor. Nzinga waited patiently, ignoring this insult to her royal dignity. She knew that her chance would come. The hot sun beat down on the white walls of the palace, yet Nzinga stood straight and proud as the crowd of Portuguese merchants mopped their sweating faces with damp lace handkerchiefs. Much later the courtier came back. He knocked on the floor with his staff, and then announced in a loud voice, ‘His Excellency Joao Correia de Souza, the Governor in Angola of His Most Royal and Catholic Majesty, the king of Portugal’. The tired soldiers stood to attention and the courtiers and merchants bowed. Nzinga became very impatient. Was she to stand here like a servant all day, waiting for this man to make up his mind to hear her? She stepped forward, walked into the middle of the room and faced the governor. The guards and the courtiers were so amazed that they could do nothing but gasp in amazement at this boldness. ‘Well,’ murmured one of the merchants to his neighbor. ‘Now she will learn what trouble is! Don Joao will be very angry. It is an insult to his dignity’. ‘What do you mean by this?’ asked the governor when he had recovered from his surprise. ‘Who are you? Come, woman, state your business!’ But Nzinga was not afraid. In a clear, calm voice she answered him. ‘My first business is a chair,’ she said. The governor laughed. ‘What do you mean?’ he asked. ‘You are seated,’ she replied, ‘And you are only a governor, a slave of your king. I am a princess and men do not sit where I stand. I will state my business seated!’ But Nzinga had learnt the strength of her enemy. She knew that she was already winning this contest of wills. Whatever happened now, this man would not think that she had been sent by a beaten people to beg favors. Without another word, she turned and made a sign to her maid. When the girl came to her, Nzinga ordered her to kneel down. Then, with a flash of triumph in her eyes, Nzinga sat down on the girl’s back. Nzinga got her treaty. Pride in herself and in her people had saved the day for the Mbundu.

Why did Nzinga become very impatient? Because

  1. she was made to wait to see the governor
  2. she had to wait to the rear, instead of the middle of the room
  3. she was told she was an insult to Don Joao's dignity
  4. she was not offered a chair
  5. men were sitting in her presence
Answer and explanation

A: she was made to wait to see the governor

Nzinga becomes impatient at being kept waiting for the governor to hear her. Her later demand for a chair follows that impatience and is not its first stated cause.

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Question 21

Professor Ikin emerged from the charm incident a changed man. During the preceding months when his wife had talked persistently about Dr. Okoro and his American friends he had paid little heed to her. He assumed that nagging was her way of life. Dr. Okoro did not constitute a threat to him; they were not in the same department so they could not be competing for the headship of the department. Even if they taught the same subject, Okoro could surely not deem to be a rival to him. He was an Associate Professor while Okoro had only just become a Lecturer Grade II. If he had yielded to his father’s pressure to marry early, he might have produced a child as old as Dr. Okoro. Two members of the Provisional Council had intentionally dropped broad hints that he was lined up to take over from Dr. Wilson as Vice Chancellor. He did not therefore need to take any more notice of Dr. Okoro’s attitude towards him than a cow takes notice of a fly perching on its back. It was true Dr. Okoro got on well with the Americans who happened to be at the helm of the affairs of Songhai. But what could they do for him? At best, in the teeth of strong opposition from all quarters, they could make him a Senior Lecturer. Even that will require the approval of the Provisional Council, and Okoro should not take for granted that half the members would not accept him as a child born today who would attain full maturity tomorrow. Professor Ikin knew what displeased the Americans about him – it was his lack of a Ph.D., but he hoped that over the years they would learn to judge a man by what he produces rather than by the degrees he has accumulated. If they did not, it was just too bad because only an earthquake could move him away from Songhai at such a crucial stage of its development.

From this passage it is clear that Professor Ikin

  1. loves his wife very dearly
  2. doesn't value what his wife says
  3. hates his wife
  4. does not trust his wife
  5. is not a serious man
Answer and explanation

B: doesn't value what his wife says

The narrator says Ikin paid little heed to his wife’s repeated comments and dismissed them as nagging. This supports his not valuing what she said, rather than proving hatred or distrust.

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Question 23

Professor Ikin emerged from the charm incident a changed man. During the preceding months when his wife had talked persistently about Dr. Okoro and his American friends he had paid little heed to her. He assumed that nagging was her way of life. Dr. Okoro did not constitute a threat to him; they were not in the same department so they could not be competing for the headship of the department. Even if they taught the same subject, Okoro could surely not deem to be a rival to him. He was an Associate Professor while Okoro had only just become a Lecturer Grade II. If he had yielded to his father’s pressure to marry early, he might have produced a child as old as Dr. Okoro. Two members of the Provisional Council had intentionally dropped broad hints that he was lined up to take over from Dr. Wilson as Vice Chancellor. He did not therefore need to take any more notice of Dr. Okoro’s attitude towards him than a cow takes notice of a fly perching on its back. It was true Dr. Okoro got on well with the Americans who happened to be at the helm of the affairs of Songhai. But what could they do for him? At best, in the teeth of strong opposition from all quarters, they could make him a Senior Lecturer. Even that will require the approval of the Provisional Council, and Okoro should not take for granted that half the members would not accept him as a child born today who would attain full maturity tomorrow. Professor Ikin knew what displeased the Americans about him – it was his lack of a Ph.D., but he hoped that over the years they would learn to judge a man by what he produces rather than by the degrees he has accumulated. If they did not, it was just too bad because only an earthquake could move him away from Songhai at such a crucial stage of its development.

Professor Ikin is hopeful of advancement because

  1. he is much older than Dr. Okoro
  2. Dr. Wilson is retiring
  3. he is influential in the Provisional Council
  4. he received prior information of his possible appointment as Vice - Chancellor
  5. he is a Professor
Answer and explanation

D: he received prior information of his possible appointment as Vice - Chancellor

Two members of the Provisional Council had given Ikin broad hints that he was lined up to succeed the Vice-Chancellor. That prior indication directly explains his expectation of advancement.

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Question 26

Choose the option that best completes the sentence: Monisola is sure to pass in September. She _____ hard since the beginning of this term.

  1. had been working
  2. was working
  3. is working
  4. would work
  5. has been working
Answer and explanation

E: has been working

Has been working describes continuous effort from the start of the term until now. Since marks the starting point, and the expected future success is based on that ongoing work.

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Question 30

Choose the option that best completes the sentence: After the 1980 Ogunpa floods, our association received many letters from those adversely affected and we resolved to _____

  1. Assist them
  2. Invite them
  3. Respond them
  4. Pity them
  5. Query them.
Answer and explanation

A: Assist them

Assist means help people in need. It is the most appropriate response to people adversely affected by flooding; merely pitying or questioning them does not provide help.

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Question 33

Choose the option that best completes the sentence: You can never get _____ with stealing the presidential jet. You will be caught.

  1. By
  2. Away
  3. Bye
  4. Free
  5. Scot free
Answer and explanation

B: Away

Get away with means escape detection or punishment after doing something wrong. The warning that the person will be caught fits this expression.

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Question 34

Choose the option that best completes the sentence: She got into trouble because she refused to listen to the _____ given by her friends and relatives.

  1. Many of the advice
  2. Series of advices
  3. Pieces of advices
  4. Advice
  5. Lots of advices
Answer and explanation

D: Advice

Advice is uncountable and does not take plural s. The advice is the correct noun phrase; the other choices either use advices or put many after the existing the.

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Question 38

Choose the option that best completes the sentence: You can go on; I _____ what you are saying.

  1. Am understanding
  2. May be understanding
  3. Was understanding
  4. Will be understanding
  5. Understand
Answer and explanation

E: Understand

Understand describes the speaker’s present state of comprehension. The simple present fits this meaning; the continuous alternatives are unsuitable for the ordinary state expressed here.

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Question 39

Choose the option that best completes the sentence: When we were coming back from the picnic last Friday, there _____ on EKO bridge.

  1. Were many traffics
  2. Was much traffic
  3. Were plenty traffic
  4. Were lots of traffic
  5. Was a few traffic
Answer and explanation

B: Was much traffic

Traffic is an uncountable noun, so it takes singular was and the quantity word much. The plural traffics and plural were do not fit this meaning.

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Question 44

Choose the option that best completes the sentence: The wicked boy threw a stone at the bird smashing _____ two legs.

  1. Its
  2. It’s
  3. It
  4. Is
  5. Its’
Answer and explanation

A: Its

Its is the possessive determiner linking the legs to the bird. It’s means it is or it has, and the remaining forms do not express possession.

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Question 45

Choose the option that best completes the sentence: When the policemen received _____ about the hideout of the armed robbers, they went there in full force to arrest them.

  1. Full informations
  2. All the necessary informations
  3. Some informations
  4. An information
  5. Full information
Answer and explanation

E: Full information

Information is uncountable in this sense. Full information needs neither a plural s nor an indefinite article; the other choices incorrectly treat it as countable.

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Question 46

Choose the option that best completes the sentence: On such an important _____ all the guests were expected to be at their best.

  1. Occassion
  2. Occasion
  3. Ocassion
  4. Ocasion
  5. Occation
Answer and explanation

B: Occasion

Occasion is spelled with double c and a single s. It means an event or particular time, which fits the important gathering in the sentence.

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Question 49

Choose the option that best completes the sentence: The violent storm that occurred on Easter Monday destroyed many houses and caused _____ in Lagos generally.

  1. Heavy damages
  2. Much damage
  3. Several damages
  4. Plenty damages
  5. Many damages
Answer and explanation

B: Much damage

Damage means harm and is uncountable here, so much damage is the correct phrase. Damages is a separate legal term for compensation, not the storm’s physical destruction.

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Question 50

Choose the option that best completes the sentence: Would you mind _____ the door, please?

  1. To shut
  2. To be shutting
  3. Shutting
  4. To have been shutting
  5. To have shut
Answer and explanation

C: Shutting

Mind is followed by an -ing form when asking whether an action would bother someone. Would you mind shutting the door is the standard polite request.

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Question 51

Choose the option that best completes the sentence: The angry woman shouted and cursed in language _____ shocking for words

  1. very
  2. far
  3. so
  4. quite
  5. too
Answer and explanation

E: too

Too shocking for words means so shocking that words cannot adequately express it. Too supplies the idea of exceeding that limit; the other degree words do not form this expression.

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Question 52

Choose the option that best completes the sentence: The evidence of all the accused persons _____ by the judge sitting at No 2 Assizes last week.

  1. were disbelieved
  2. was disbelieved
  3. is disbelieved
  4. are disbelieved
  5. has been disbelieved
Answer and explanation

B: was disbelieved

The subject is evidence, a singular uncountable noun, rather than the plural persons inside the following phrase. Last week places the event in the past, so was disbelieved gives the correct agreement and tense.

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Question 53

Choose the option that best completes the sentence: There are puddles in the road. It _____

  1. rains
  2. will be raining
  3. had to rain
  4. must rain
  5. must have been raining
Answer and explanation

E: must have been raining

Must have been raining expresses a strong deduction about a recent past event from present evidence. The puddles support that conclusion; the other choices describe habits, future events or obligation.

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Question 56

Choose the option that best completes the sentence: _____ any good films lately?

  1. You would like to see
  2. Have you seen
  3. Are you going to see
  4. Would you see
  5. You are seeing
Answer and explanation

B: Have you seen

Lately refers to a recent period continuing up to now. Have you seen asks about experience in that period; the alternatives either refer to the future or fail to form the required question.

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Question 57

Choose the option that best completes the sentence: His hair needs _____

  1. to cut
  2. to have cut
  3. being cut
  4. to be cutting
  5. cutting
Answer and explanation

E: cutting

Needs cutting means needs to be cut: the -ing form has a passive sense after need. Hair receives the cutting, so the active to cut or to have cut does not fit.

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Question 58

Choose the option that best completes the sentence: _____ fewer strikes since the profit-sharing schemes were introduced.

  1. There have been
  2. There are
  3. There were
  4. There are going to be
  5. There was
Answer and explanation

A: There have been

Since the schemes were introduced marks a past starting point continuing up to the present. There have been uses the present perfect, with have agreeing with plural strikes.

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Question 60

Choose the option that best completes the sentence: I am not used to _____ on the left

  1. drive
  2. having driven
  3. driving
  4. have driven
  5. being driving
Answer and explanation

C: driving

Be used to means be accustomed to, and its to is a preposition followed by an -ing form. Driving describes the activity that is unfamiliar to the speaker.

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Question 61

Choose the option that best completes the sentence: What made you _____ that?

  1. have said
  2. to say
  3. saying
  4. said
  5. say
Answer and explanation

E: say

In the active causative pattern, make is followed by an object and a bare infinitive: made you say. Say names the action prompted by the cause; to say and saying do not fit this construction.

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Question 64

Choose the option that best completes the sentence: His English was so good that he _____ for an Englishman

  1. took
  2. is taken
  3. was taken
  4. has taken
  5. is taking
Answer and explanation

C: was taken

Was taken for means was mistaken for or regarded as. The past passive matches was so good and makes him the person being mistaken for an Englishman, rather than the person doing the mistaking.

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Question 65

Choose the option that best completes the sentence: If you _____ me that you had run out of petrol, I would have given you some.

  1. were to tell
  2. tell
  3. have told
  4. would tell
  5. had told
Answer and explanation

E: had told

This is a third conditional about an unreal past situation. If plus had told pairs with would have given to describe the help that would have followed an earlier disclosure.

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Question 68

Choose the option that best completes the sentence: Can you buy African souvenirs in any other shops? Restate this question: _____ can you buy African souvenirs?

  1. What place
  2. Which place
  3. Where
  4. Where else
  5. Wherever
Answer and explanation

D: Where else

Where else asks about additional places. Else preserves the meaning of other shops in the original question; where alone does not express that additional-place meaning.

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Question 69

Choose the option that best completes the sentence: Put _____ your watch, it is half an hour fast.

  1. away
  2. up
  3. on
  4. forward
  5. back
Answer and explanation

E: back

A watch that is fast shows a time later than the correct time. Putting it back moves its displayed time earlier; putting it forward would increase the error.

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Question 70

Choose the option that best completes the sentence: You look very tired, a cup of tea will _____ you some good!

  1. make
  2. do
  3. give
  4. set
  5. put
Answer and explanation

B: do

Do someone good means benefit them. A cup of tea will do you some good is the established expression for providing refreshment or another benefit.

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Question 72

Choose the option that best completes the sentence: There was a loud bang _____ we thought it was the television, but it wasn't

  1. at last
  2. at first
  3. at least
  4. at the moment
  5. at present
Answer and explanation

B: at first

At first marks the initial belief, which the following words but it was not then correct. The other expressions do not convey this initial mistaken impression.

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Question 73

Choose the option that best completes the sentence: Plans for a rise in production _____ through when a strike started

  1. went
  2. came
  3. set
  4. carried
  5. fell
Answer and explanation

E: fell

A plan falls through when it fails to happen. The strike prevented the planned production increase, so fell through expresses the result.

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Question 74

Choose the option that best completes the sentence: She used to be very untidy but she has grown _____ it now

  1. out of
  2. from
  3. without
  4. away with
  5. by
Answer and explanation

A: out of

To grow out of a habit is to stop having it as one matures or changes. She was formerly untidy but no longer has that habit.

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Question 75

Choose the option that best completes the sentence: In the past 20 years, many patients _____ by the doctors in the specialist hospital.

  1. are treated
  2. were loved to treated
  3. have been treated
  4. treated
  5. have treated
Answer and explanation

C: have been treated

In the past twenty years covers a period extending to now, which takes the present perfect here. Patients receive the treatment, so have been treated supplies the passive form.

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Question 80

Choose the option nearest in meaning to “hit on a plan”: The minister hit on a plan to retain his post after many months of lobbying

  1. beat a plan
  2. drew up a plan
  3. discovered a plan
  4. selected a plan
  5. designed a plan
Answer and explanation

C: discovered a plan

Hit on a plan means think of or discover it. Discovered a plan is the closest choice; selecting one or deliberately drawing one up does not express the same moment of finding an idea.

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Question 81

Choose the option nearest in meaning to “go without breakfast”: The students decided to go without breakfast in order to save money for the needy. They decided to

  1. travel and leave their breakfast at home
  2. go outside for breakfast
  3. go for lunch rather than breakfast
  4. forgo breakfast
  5. reject breakfast
Answer and explanation

D: forgo breakfast

To go without breakfast is to forgo it, doing without the meal. Here the students voluntarily give it up so that its cost can help others.

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Question 82

Choose the option nearest in meaning to “in the red”: Ekwensi's account with the Naira bank is in the red. His account

  1. was written in red ink
  2. is overdrawn
  3. is in danger
  4. is special
  5. is heavy
Answer and explanation

B: is overdrawn

A bank account in the red is overdrawn: more money has been taken out than was available. The expression refers to a negative balance, not to the colour of the written account.

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Question 83

Choose the most appropriate interpretation: He is traveling tomorrow.

  1. He may travel tomorrow
  2. He will travel tomorrow
  3. He has to travel tomorrow
  4. He should travel tomorrow
  5. He can travel tomorrow
Answer and explanation

B: He will travel tomorrow

The present continuous with tomorrow expresses an arranged future action. He will travel tomorrow preserves the predicted future event; the other choices add possibility, ability or obligation.

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Question 84

Choose the most appropriate interpretation: He should be able to do it alone.

  1. He would be able to do it alone
  2. He ought to be able to do it alone
  3. He may be able to do it alone
  4. He has to be able to do it alone
  5. He will do it alone
Answer and explanation

B: He ought to be able to do it alone

Should and ought to express the same expectation here: he is expected to have the ability to do it alone. May weakens this to possibility, while has to introduces necessity.

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Question 86

Choose the most appropriate interpretation: Shade is to come home tomorrow

  1. Shade is planning to come home tomorrow
  2. Shade may come home tomorrow
  3. Shade wants to come home tomorrow
  4. Shade is expected to come home tomorrow
  5. Shade wishes to come home tomorrow
Answer and explanation

D: Shade is expected to come home tomorrow

Is to come describes an arrangement or expected event. Is expected to come best preserves that meaning; wanting or merely being able to come does not establish an arrangement.

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Question 87

Choose the most appropriate interpretation: John must be happy today

  1. I am sure John is happy today
  2. John is happy today
  3. I hope John is happy today
  4. It is possible John is Happy today
  5. John maybe happy today
Answer and explanation

A: I am sure John is happy today

Must expresses the speaker’s strong deduction that John is happy. I am sure best conveys that confidence; the other choices either omit the deduction or weaken it to hope or possibility.

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Question 89

Choose the option nearest in meaning to “barracks”: The general promised the soldier would go back to the barracks

  1. barricade
  2. army
  3. military training school
  4. soldiers' quarters
  5. civilian quarters
Answer and explanation

D: soldiers' quarters

Barracks are buildings where soldiers live and work. Soldiers’ quarters identifies the place meant, rather than the army as an organisation or a training school.

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Question 90

Choose the option nearest in meaning to “tranquil”: My mother has refused to come to live in Lagos because she prefers the tranquil life in the village to the hurly burly of the city.

  1. free
  2. prosperous
  3. peaceful
  4. decent
  5. happy
Answer and explanation

C: peaceful

Tranquil means calm and peaceful. The contrast with the city’s bustle reinforces peaceful as the appropriate description of village life.

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Question 91

Choose the option nearest in meaning to “cock and bull”: Most of the time my Boss tells cock and bull stories

  1. costly
  2. unreasonable
  3. clever
  4. untrue
  5. funny
Answer and explanation

D: untrue

A cock-and-bull story is an implausible account that is not believed to be true. Untrue best captures that meaning here; merely funny or costly does not.

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Question 92

Choose the option nearest in meaning to “left him in the lurch”: My friend will hate his uncle forever because he left him in the lurch in his hour of need

  1. Abandoned him
  2. punished him
  3. disrespect him
  4. disinherited him
  5. despised him
Answer and explanation

A: Abandoned him

Leaving someone in the lurch means abandoning them when they need help. Abandoned him expresses the uncle’s failure to provide support in the difficult situation.

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Question 93

Choose the option nearest in meaning to “a bed of roses”: When you go to a foreign country to study, you will discover that life is not always a bed of roses.

  1. as pleasant as one thought
  2. a bed without roses
  3. an unmitigated disappointment
  4. as expected
  5. uncomfortable
Answer and explanation

A: as pleasant as one thought

A bed of roses means a comfortable, pleasant situation. Replacing that phrase with as pleasant as one thought preserves the sentence’s warning that life abroad is not always easy.

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Question 98

Choose the option nearest in meaning to “misers”: It is generally believed that misers are not loved by many

  1. spendthrifts
  2. spenders
  3. hoarders
  4. savers
  5. thieves
Answer and explanation

C: hoarders

Misers hoard money and are reluctant to spend it. Hoarders is the closest choice; ordinary savers need not show the extreme unwillingness to spend implied by miser.

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Question 99

Choose the option nearest in meaning to “solid”: My brother's primary school foundation was solid and this affected his secondary education

  1. sound
  2. sordid
  3. shaky
  4. weak
  5. uneventful
Answer and explanation

A: sound

A solid educational foundation is sound and dependable. Sound matches that figurative meaning, while shaky and weak express the opposite.

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