JAMB Use of English 1987

70 reviewed questions with answers and explanations.

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Question 1

There are one or two things this country can teach others, one of which is the art of writing obituaries. One suspects that the reason why some of our newspapers still manage to break even is because of the great amount of revenue they derive from obituaries. It is not unusual for about one quarter of the volume of an average daily to be constituted of obituaries and in memoriam alone. One possible explanation for this, it has been argued, is that Nigerians value their dead greatly. And there is a saying amongst us that you do not say evil things against the dead. This is obviously the philosophy behind the large dose of encomiums with which our dead are bestowed. From the evidences of these obituaries and In memoriam, every dead Nigerian must have been something of a saint while alive. This would explain why the death of most Nigerians is attributed to the evil machinations of the wicked. Only very few people in our country die natural death, and even when they do, the obituaries etc. always give the impression that such deaths constitute the saddest loss to befall the deceased’s family. And that is why writers of these obituaries and their allied advertisements are experts on ‘mortuary stylistics’. This ‘mortuary stylistics’, the study in the art of eulogizing the dead and making their loss sound so heart breaking, is one of the commodities we can export to other countries.

The tone of this passage is

  1. angry
  2. satirical
  3. non-commital
  4. pleasant.
Answer and explanation

B: satirical

The writer mocks exaggerated praise and the suggestion that obituary writing could be exported. This ironic treatment of a social practice gives the passage a satirical tone rather than a neutral or angry one.

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Question 2

There are one or two things this country can teach others, one of which is the art of writing obituaries. One suspects that the reason why some of our newspapers still manage to break even is because of the great amount of revenue they derive from obituaries. It is not unusual for about one quarter of the volume of an average daily to be constituted of obituaries and in memoriam alone. One possible explanation for this, it has been argued, is that Nigerians value their dead greatly. And there is a saying amongst us that you do not say evil things against the dead. This is obviously the philosophy behind the large dose of encomiums with which our dead are bestowed. From the evidences of these obituaries and In memoriam, every dead Nigerian must have been something of a saint while alive. This would explain why the death of most Nigerians is attributed to the evil machinations of the wicked. Only very few people in our country die natural death, and even when they do, the obituaries etc. always give the impression that such deaths constitute the saddest loss to befall the deceased’s family. And that is why writers of these obituaries and their allied advertisements are experts on ‘mortuary stylistics’. This ‘mortuary stylistics’, the study in the art of eulogizing the dead and making their loss sound so heart breaking, is one of the commodities we can export to other countries.

Mortuary ‘stylistics’ as used in the passage refers to the

  1. art of writing obituaries
  2. text of obituaries
  3. study of obituaries
  4. art of eulogizing the dead.
Answer and explanation

D: art of eulogizing the dead.

The final sentence explains mortuary stylistics as praising the dead and making their loss sound heartbreaking. Eulogizing the dead captures that specific meaning, rather than merely studying obituary texts.

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Question 3

There are one or two things this country can teach others, one of which is the art of writing obituaries. One suspects that the reason why some of our newspapers still manage to break even is because of the great amount of revenue they derive from obituaries. It is not unusual for about one quarter of the volume of an average daily to be constituted of obituaries and in memoriam alone. One possible explanation for this, it has been argued, is that Nigerians value their dead greatly. And there is a saying amongst us that you do not say evil things against the dead. This is obviously the philosophy behind the large dose of encomiums with which our dead are bestowed. From the evidences of these obituaries and In memoriam, every dead Nigerian must have been something of a saint while alive. This would explain why the death of most Nigerians is attributed to the evil machinations of the wicked. Only very few people in our country die natural death, and even when they do, the obituaries etc. always give the impression that such deaths constitute the saddest loss to befall the deceased’s family. And that is why writers of these obituaries and their allied advertisements are experts on ‘mortuary stylistics’. This ‘mortuary stylistics’, the study in the art of eulogizing the dead and making their loss sound so heart breaking, is one of the commodities we can export to other countries.

‘One suspects that the reason why some of our newspapers still manage to break even …’ Suggests that some Nigerian newspapers

  1. would be running at a loss but for obituaries
  2. are patronized only because they specialize in obituaries
  3. derive all their revenue from obituaries
  4. invest huge revenue in obituaries.
Answer and explanation

A: would be running at a loss but for obituaries

Breaking even means earning enough to cover costs. The suggestion that obituary revenue enables newspapers to do so implies that some would otherwise make a loss, not that obituaries provide all income.

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Question 4

There are one or two things this country can teach others, one of which is the art of writing obituaries. One suspects that the reason why some of our newspapers still manage to break even is because of the great amount of revenue they derive from obituaries. It is not unusual for about one quarter of the volume of an average daily to be constituted of obituaries and in memoriam alone. One possible explanation for this, it has been argued, is that Nigerians value their dead greatly. And there is a saying amongst us that you do not say evil things against the dead. This is obviously the philosophy behind the large dose of encomiums with which our dead are bestowed. From the evidences of these obituaries and In memoriam, every dead Nigerian must have been something of a saint while alive. This would explain why the death of most Nigerians is attributed to the evil machinations of the wicked. Only very few people in our country die natural death, and even when they do, the obituaries etc. always give the impression that such deaths constitute the saddest loss to befall the deceased’s family. And that is why writers of these obituaries and their allied advertisements are experts on ‘mortuary stylistics’. This ‘mortuary stylistics’, the study in the art of eulogizing the dead and making their loss sound so heart breaking, is one of the commodities we can export to other countries.

Obituaries are very popular in Nigeria because

  1. evil things are not said against the dead
  2. every dead Nigerian must have lived a saintly life
  3. only very few Nigerians die natural deaths
  4. Nigerians value their dead greatly
Answer and explanation

D: Nigerians value their dead greatly

The passage directly offers valuing the dead as an explanation for the popularity of obituary notices. The statements about saints and unnatural deaths belong to its satire of the notices.

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Question 5

There are one or two things this country can teach others, one of which is the art of writing obituaries. One suspects that the reason why some of our newspapers still manage to break even is because of the great amount of revenue they derive from obituaries. It is not unusual for about one quarter of the volume of an average daily to be constituted of obituaries and in memoriam alone. One possible explanation for this, it has been argued, is that Nigerians value their dead greatly. And there is a saying amongst us that you do not say evil things against the dead. This is obviously the philosophy behind the large dose of encomiums with which our dead are bestowed. From the evidences of these obituaries and In memoriam, every dead Nigerian must have been something of a saint while alive. This would explain why the death of most Nigerians is attributed to the evil machinations of the wicked. Only very few people in our country die natural death, and even when they do, the obituaries etc. always give the impression that such deaths constitute the saddest loss to befall the deceased’s family. And that is why writers of these obituaries and their allied advertisements are experts on ‘mortuary stylistics’. This ‘mortuary stylistics’, the study in the art of eulogizing the dead and making their loss sound so heart breaking, is one of the commodities we can export to other countries.

Which of the following can be deduced from the passage?

  1. the writer believes that most Nigerians do not die natural deaths
  2. obituaries insinuate that most Nigerians do not die natural deaths
  3. the writer is convinced that every death in Nigeria is a big blow to the bereaved
  4. the writer suspects that every death in Nigeria is a big blow to the bereaved
Answer and explanation

B: obituaries insinuate that most Nigerians do not die natural deaths

The writer attributes the suggestion of unnatural deaths to obituary language and its praise of the deceased. This distinguishes what the notices imply from what the writer personally believes.

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Question 6

‘You all know how friendly we are with Okperi. Do you think that any Umuaro man who goes to prison there will come back alive? But that apart, do you forget that this is the moon of planting? Do you want to grow this year’s crops in the prison house in a land where your fathers owe a cow? I speak as your elder brother. I have travelled in Olu and I have travelled in Igbo, and I can tell you that there is no escape from the white man. He has come. When suffering knocks at your door and you say there is no seat left for him, he tells you not to worry because he has brought his own stool. The white man is like that. Before any of you here was old enough to tie a cloth between the legs I saw with my own eyes what the white man did to Abame. Then I knew there was no escape. As day light chases away darkness so will the white man drive away all our customs. I know that as I say it now it passes by your ears, but it will happen. The white man has power which comes from the true God and it burns like fire. This is the God about whom we preach every eighth day. …. Unachukwu’s opponents were now shouting that this was a meeting of an age group, that they had not assembled to join with him in chewing the seed of foolishness which they called their new religion. ‘We are talking about the white man’s road, ‘said a voice above the others. ‘Yes, we are talking about the white man’s road. But when the roof and the walls of a house fall in, the ceiling is not left standing. The white man, the new religion, the soldiers, the new road – they are all part of the same thing. The white man has a gun, a matchet, a bow and carries fire in his mouth. He does not fight with one weapon alone’.

The dominant subject of this passage is the

  1. white man’s road
  2. new religion
  3. white man’s influence
  4. white man’s weapons.
Answer and explanation

C: white man’s influence

The speaker links roads, soldiers and religion as parts of the same colonial presence. The white man’s influence therefore covers the passage as a whole, while each other option covers only one part.

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Question 7

‘You all know how friendly we are with Okperi. Do you think that any Umuaro man who goes to prison there will come back alive? But that apart, do you forget that this is the moon of planting? Do you want to grow this year’s crops in the prison house in a land where your fathers owe a cow? I speak as your elder brother. I have travelled in Olu and I have travelled in Igbo, and I can tell you that there is no escape from the white man. He has come. When suffering knocks at your door and you say there is no seat left for him, he tells you not to worry because he has brought his own stool. The white man is like that. Before any of you here was old enough to tie a cloth between the legs I saw with my own eyes what the white man did to Abame. Then I knew there was no escape. As day light chases away darkness so will the white man drive away all our customs. I know that as I say it now it passes by your ears, but it will happen. The white man has power which comes from the true God and it burns like fire. This is the God about whom we preach every eighth day. …. Unachukwu’s opponents were now shouting that this was a meeting of an age group, that they had not assembled to join with him in chewing the seed of foolishness which they called their new religion. ‘We are talking about the white man’s road, ‘said a voice above the others. ‘Yes, we are talking about the white man’s road. But when the roof and the walls of a house fall in, the ceiling is not left standing. The white man, the new religion, the soldiers, the new road – they are all part of the same thing. The white man has a gun, a matchet, a bow and carries fire in his mouth. He does not fight with one weapon alone’.

According to the passage, the people of Umuaro and Okperi

  1. are friends
  2. are only acquaintances
  3. are no friends
  4. can never be enemies.
Answer and explanation

C: are no friends

The question about whether an imprisoned Umuaro man would return alive makes the opening reference to friendliness ironic. The two communities are not friendly despite the literal wording of that opening.

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Question 8

‘You all know how friendly we are with Okperi. Do you think that any Umuaro man who goes to prison there will come back alive? But that apart, do you forget that this is the moon of planting? Do you want to grow this year’s crops in the prison house in a land where your fathers owe a cow? I speak as your elder brother. I have travelled in Olu and I have travelled in Igbo, and I can tell you that there is no escape from the white man. He has come. When suffering knocks at your door and you say there is no seat left for him, he tells you not to worry because he has brought his own stool. The white man is like that. Before any of you here was old enough to tie a cloth between the legs I saw with my own eyes what the white man did to Abame. Then I knew there was no escape. As day light chases away darkness so will the white man drive away all our customs. I know that as I say it now it passes by your ears, but it will happen. The white man has power which comes from the true God and it burns like fire. This is the God about whom we preach every eighth day. …. Unachukwu’s opponents were now shouting that this was a meeting of an age group, that they had not assembled to join with him in chewing the seed of foolishness which they called their new religion. ‘We are talking about the white man’s road, ‘said a voice above the others. ‘Yes, we are talking about the white man’s road. But when the roof and the walls of a house fall in, the ceiling is not left standing. The white man, the new religion, the soldiers, the new road – they are all part of the same thing. The white man has a gun, a matchet, a bow and carries fire in his mouth. He does not fight with one weapon alone’.

‘There is no escape from the white man’ in the passage means that the

  1. white man will send the people to prison
  2. white man can kill all the people with his gun
  3. people are only trying to run away from the white man
  4. people must accept the white man.
Answer and explanation

D: people must accept the white man.

The speaker argues that the newcomer’s presence and power cannot be avoided, comparing him with an unwelcome visitor who brings his own stool. The people must acknowledge that presence; escape is not a practical option.

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Question 9

‘You all know how friendly we are with Okperi. Do you think that any Umuaro man who goes to prison there will come back alive? But that apart, do you forget that this is the moon of planting? Do you want to grow this year’s crops in the prison house in a land where your fathers owe a cow? I speak as your elder brother. I have travelled in Olu and I have travelled in Igbo, and I can tell you that there is no escape from the white man. He has come. When suffering knocks at your door and you say there is no seat left for him, he tells you not to worry because he has brought his own stool. The white man is like that. Before any of you here was old enough to tie a cloth between the legs I saw with my own eyes what the white man did to Abame. Then I knew there was no escape. As day light chases away darkness so will the white man drive away all our customs. I know that as I say it now it passes by your ears, but it will happen. The white man has power which comes from the true God and it burns like fire. This is the God about whom we preach every eighth day. …. Unachukwu’s opponents were now shouting that this was a meeting of an age group, that they had not assembled to join with him in chewing the seed of foolishness which they called their new religion. ‘We are talking about the white man’s road, ‘said a voice above the others. ‘Yes, we are talking about the white man’s road. But when the roof and the walls of a house fall in, the ceiling is not left standing. The white man, the new religion, the soldiers, the new road – they are all part of the same thing. The white man has a gun, a matchet, a bow and carries fire in his mouth. He does not fight with one weapon alone’.

‘Passes by your ears’ in the passage means

  1. piercing through your ears.
  2. listening eagerly
  3. making no impression
  4. accepting as the truth.
Answer and explanation

C: making no impression

The speaker believes his warning is being heard without being taken seriously. Passes by your ears therefore means making no impression, rather than eager or accepting attention.

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Question 11

Manager: Mr. Mbu, I would not describe you as an inefficient worker, I therefore find it difficult to understand why the Conference Room is so untidy, in spite of the fact that I had reminded you of the meeting scheduled to take place there this afternoon. Secretary: Sir, I did instruct the cleaner to tidy up the place before the meeting. Manager: Are you trying to hold the cleaner responsible for the untidy condition of the room? Secretary: Partly, Sir, I gave him an instruction which he failed to carry out. It is certainly my intention to make a formal complaint against him for dereliction of duty. Manager: And would you wash your hands off any blame after that? Do you think that just making a formal complaint against the cleaner absolves you of all blame? When do you consider an assignment as properly executed: when the execution is properly supervised or not? Was it sufficient for you to give instructions to the cleaner without ensuring that he actually carried them out? Secretary: Sir, I do not see what else I could have done, short of doing the job myself. The cleaner is a six-footer and I could not have intimidated him physically. Manager : I see, I await your formal complaint against the cleaner, but I shall not forget that you allowed a board meeting to take place in an untidy Conference Room.

The relationship between the manager and his secretary, as revealed in the passage, could be said to be

  1. strained
  2. charged
  3. personal
  4. cordial.
Answer and explanation

A: strained

The manager challenges the secretary’s explanation and ends by holding him responsible. This disagreement and tension make strained the clearest description of their relationship in the exchange.

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Question 13

Manager: Mr. Mbu, I would not describe you as an inefficient worker, I therefore find it difficult to understand why the Conference Room is so untidy, in spite of the fact that I had reminded you of the meeting scheduled to take place there this afternoon. Secretary: Sir, I did instruct the cleaner to tidy up the place before the meeting. Manager: Are you trying to hold the cleaner responsible for the untidy condition of the room? Secretary: Partly, Sir, I gave him an instruction which he failed to carry out. It is certainly my intention to make a formal complaint against him for dereliction of duty. Manager: And would you wash your hands off any blame after that? Do you think that just making a formal complaint against the cleaner absolves you of all blame? When do you consider an assignment as properly executed: when the execution is properly supervised or not? Was it sufficient for you to give instructions to the cleaner without ensuring that he actually carried them out? Secretary: Sir, I do not see what else I could have done, short of doing the job myself. The cleaner is a six-footer and I could not have intimidated him physically. Manager : I see, I await your formal complaint against the cleaner, but I shall not forget that you allowed a board meeting to take place in an untidy Conference Room.

It would appear that the manager feels that the secretary

  1. should have, if possible, personally cleaned the Conference Room.
  2. should have ensured that someone else cleaned the Conference Room
  3. should have ensured that the cleaner did his job
  4. is a coward
Answer and explanation

C: should have ensured that the cleaner did his job

The manager explicitly asks whether instructions were sufficient without ensuring the cleaner carried them out. His concern is supervision of the assigned cleaner, not the secretary doing the cleaning personally.

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Question 16

Primitive man was probably more concerned with fire as a source of warmth and as a means of cooking food than as a source of light. Before he discovered less laborious ways of making fire, he had to preserve it and whenever he went on a journey, he carried a firebrand with him. His discovery that the firebrand, from which the torch may well have developed, could be used for illumination was probably incidental to the primary purpose of preserving a flame. Lamps too probably developed by accident. Early man may have had his first conception of a lamp while watching a twig or fiber burning in the molten fat dropped from roasting carcass. All he had to do was to fashion a vessel to contain fat and float a lighted reed in it. Such lamps which were made of hollow stones or sea-shells have persisted in identical form up to quite recent times.

Primitive man carried a firebrand during his journeys mainly for

  1. illumination
  2. cooking of food
  3. flame preservation
  4. warmth.
Answer and explanation

C: flame preservation

The passage says the firebrand was carried primarily to preserve a flame before easy methods of making fire existed. Its usefulness for light was a later or incidental discovery.

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Question 17

Primitive man was probably more concerned with fire as a source of warmth and as a means of cooking food than as a source of light. Before he discovered less laborious ways of making fire, he had to preserve it and whenever he went on a journey, he carried a firebrand with him. His discovery that the firebrand, from which the torch may well have developed, could be used for illumination was probably incidental to the primary purpose of preserving a flame. Lamps too probably developed by accident. Early man may have had his first conception of a lamp while watching a twig or fiber burning in the molten fat dropped from roasting carcass. All he had to do was to fashion a vessel to contain fat and float a lighted reed in it. Such lamps which were made of hollow stones or sea-shells have persisted in identical form up to quite recent times.

According to the passage, the torch probably developed from a

  1. firebrand
  2. twig
  3. lamp
  4. fibre.
Answer and explanation

A: firebrand

The passage explicitly suggests that the torch developed from the firebrand. The twig and fat belong to the separate explanation of how lamps may have developed.

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Question 21

Developments in electronic science have transformed the art of record keeping in the modern age. Traditionally, records of events were kept only in people’s minds. It depended very much on the retentive power of the human memory. This was extremely dangerous as people either forgot events wholly or in part, or deliberately falsified details to suit their various interests. Interminable arguments were thus the order of the day. Even writing which replaced mental recording was not entirely free from these shortcomings as untruths could be written as true records either willingly or inadvertently. With the advent of the electronic memory, however, these dangers have been largely overcome. Recordings on audio and video cassettes now show not only what happened, but also who did or said what including how and when.

The author believes that electronic recording is

  1. superior only to mental recording
  2. inferior to both mental recording and writing
  3. superior to both mental recording and writing
  4. inferior to only writing.
Answer and explanation

C: superior to both mental recording and writing

The writer describes mental records and writing as vulnerable to forgetting or falsehood, then presents electronic recording as overcoming much of that risk. The claimed superiority is over both earlier methods.

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Question 22

Developments in electronic science have transformed the art of record keeping in the modern age. Traditionally, records of events were kept only in people’s minds. It depended very much on the retentive power of the human memory. This was extremely dangerous as people either forgot events wholly or in part, or deliberately falsified details to suit their various interests. Interminable arguments were thus the order of the day. Even writing which replaced mental recording was not entirely free from these shortcomings as untruths could be written as true records either willingly or inadvertently. With the advent of the electronic memory, however, these dangers have been largely overcome. Recordings on audio and video cassettes now show not only what happened, but also who did or said what including how and when.

The writer believes that the art of record keeping has

  1. improved over the years
  2. endangered the art of writing
  3. changed human memory
  4. overcome all the problems facing it.
Answer and explanation

A: improved over the years

The passage traces progress from memory to writing to electronic recordings. It says the dangers are largely overcome, which supports improvement without claiming that every problem has disappeared.

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Question 23

Developments in electronic science have transformed the art of record keeping in the modern age. Traditionally, records of events were kept only in people’s minds. It depended very much on the retentive power of the human memory. This was extremely dangerous as people either forgot events wholly or in part, or deliberately falsified details to suit their various interests. Interminable arguments were thus the order of the day. Even writing which replaced mental recording was not entirely free from these shortcomings as untruths could be written as true records either willingly or inadvertently. With the advent of the electronic memory, however, these dangers have been largely overcome. Recordings on audio and video cassettes now show not only what happened, but also who did or said what including how and when.

How many stages of development did the writer mention while discussing the art of record keeping?

  1. Two
  2. Three
  3. Four
  4. Five
Answer and explanation

B: Three

The three methods discussed are human memory, writing and electronic recording. Audio and video are examples within the electronic stage, not additional stages of development.

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Question 24

Developments in electronic science have transformed the art of record keeping in the modern age. Traditionally, records of events were kept only in people’s minds. It depended very much on the retentive power of the human memory. This was extremely dangerous as people either forgot events wholly or in part, or deliberately falsified details to suit their various interests. Interminable arguments were thus the order of the day. Even writing which replaced mental recording was not entirely free from these shortcomings as untruths could be written as true records either willingly or inadvertently. With the advent of the electronic memory, however, these dangers have been largely overcome. Recordings on audio and video cassettes now show not only what happened, but also who did or said what including how and when.

According to the author, human memory is unreliable because people.

  1. die and we forget what they said.
  2. forget events or tell lies
  3. do not always know when events happened
  4. do not always know who did what and when.
Answer and explanation

B: forget events or tell lies

The writer names two problems with human memory: people forget details and may deliberately falsify them. Forget events or tell lies captures both reasons directly.

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Question 25

Developments in electronic science have transformed the art of record keeping in the modern age. Traditionally, records of events were kept only in people’s minds. It depended very much on the retentive power of the human memory. This was extremely dangerous as people either forgot events wholly or in part, or deliberately falsified details to suit their various interests. Interminable arguments were thus the order of the day. Even writing which replaced mental recording was not entirely free from these shortcomings as untruths could be written as true records either willingly or inadvertently. With the advent of the electronic memory, however, these dangers have been largely overcome. Recordings on audio and video cassettes now show not only what happened, but also who did or said what including how and when.

From the passage, we gather that writing is almost

  1. as unreliable as human memory
  2. as reliable as electronic memory
  3. more reliable than electronic recording
  4. not to be compared to any other recording system
Answer and explanation

A: as unreliable as human memory

Writing and human memory can both preserve false accounts, according to the passage. Of the choices, the comparison with unreliable memory fits this shared weakness; the writer clearly distinguishes electronic recording from both.

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Question 26

Choose the option opposite in meaning to “hard up”: The house-wife was hard up before the end of each month.

  1. upset
  2. penniless
  3. borrowing
  4. in no need.
Answer and explanation

D: in no need.

Hard up means short of money. In no need expresses the opposite financial position, while penniless reinforces the original meaning and borrowing describes a possible response to it.

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Question 27

Choose the option opposite in meaning to “hard-nosed”: The retired General became a hard-nosed officer after fighting the war.

  1. tough
  2. weak
  3. indifferent
  4. bed-ridden.
Answer and explanation

B: weak

Hard-nosed describes a tough and uncompromising person. Weak offers the contrasting quality; indifferent concerns interest and bed-ridden concerns physical confinement.

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Question 28

Choose the option opposite in meaning to “in a haze”: The Lions lost the match because their goalkeeper was in a haze most of the time.

  1. indisposed
  2. confused
  3. alert
  4. sleeping.
Answer and explanation

C: alert

To be in a haze is to be mentally confused or unable to think clearly. Alert expresses clear attention, the opposite state needed of the goalkeeper.

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Question 29

Choose the option opposite in meaning to “contending against”: Unless we see the evils clearly, contending against them is like fighting the air.

  1. avoiding
  2. struggling with
  3. combating
  4. repelling.
Answer and explanation

A: avoiding

Contending against evils means struggling or fighting against them. Avoiding them contrasts with active engagement, whereas combating and repelling continue the idea of resistance.

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Question 30

Choose the option opposite in meaning to “explosive”: The explosive growth of world population has not been caused by a sudden increase in human fertility.

  1. fantastic
  2. gradual
  3. combustible
  4. dangerous.
Answer and explanation

B: gradual

Explosive growth is sudden and very rapid. Gradual growth proceeds in small stages, so gradual provides the contextual opposite rather than a literal reference to combustion.

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Question 31

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

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

A: spendthrifts

Misers strongly resist spending their money; spendthrifts spend wastefully or excessively. These opposing extremes create a sharper contrast than the general word spenders.

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Question 34

Choose the option nearest in meaning to “miniaturized”: ‘This is a miniaturized version of your house’ remarked the Architect.

  1. compressed
  2. abridged
  3. decreased
  4. smaller.
Answer and explanation

D: smaller.

A miniaturized version is made on a smaller scale while retaining the original form. Smaller matches that idea; abridged normally describes shortened written content.

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Question 36

Choose the option nearest in meaning to “sonorous”: Bola has sonorous voice.

  1. high-pitched
  2. beautiful
  3. strong
  4. throaty.
Answer and explanation

C: strong

A sonorous voice is full, resonant and powerful. Strong best expresses that quality among these options; high-pitched specifies pitch and beautiful is only a general judgement.

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Question 37

Choose the option nearest in meaning to “went on rampage”: Some workers went on rampage at a trade-fair.

  1. turned violent
  2. robbed
  3. were angry
  4. demonstrated.
Answer and explanation

A: turned violent

To go on a rampage is to behave violently and destructively. Turned violent captures the action; anger alone does not necessarily involve that behaviour.

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Question 39

Choose the option nearest in meaning to “stealthily”: My nephew came in stealthily through the back gate.

  1. briskly
  2. boldly
  3. wearily
  4. quietly.
Answer and explanation

D: quietly.

Stealthily means moving secretly and carefully to avoid notice. Quietly is the closest option in the description of entering through the back gate, rather than speed or tiredness.

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Question 40

Choose the option nearest in meaning to “as the crow flies”: The distance is not more than twenty kilometres as the crow flies.

  1. by the longest route
  2. by the shortest route
  3. by air
  4. by the fastest means.
Answer and explanation

B: by the shortest route

As the crow flies measures direct straight-line distance. By the shortest route is closest to that meaning; it does not mean the traveller must actually fly.

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Question 41

Choose the option nearest in meaning to “infuriates”: Your extreme patience sometimes infuriates me.

  1. impresses
  2. annoys
  3. frustrates
  4. amuses.
Answer and explanation

B: annoys

Infuriates means makes someone very angry. Annoys is the closest choice, though weaker in intensity; impresses and amuses describe very different reactions.

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Question 42

Choose the option nearest in meaning to “audacious”: I cannot understand how he suddenly became audacious contrary to his nature.

  1. proud
  2. bold
  3. rude
  4. hostile.
Answer and explanation

B: bold

Audacious means boldly daring or willing to take risks. Bold gives the closest meaning here, without adding hostility or deliberate rudeness.

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Question 43

Choose the option nearest in meaning to “make-believe”: His has been a life of make-believe.

  1. faith
  2. fantasy
  3. grandeur
  4. religion
Answer and explanation

B: fantasy

Make-believe concerns imagined events or pretence rather than reality. Fantasy matches this description of a life, while faith and religion describe beliefs of another kind.

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Question 44

Choose the option nearest in meaning to “seldom”: Our teacher seldom comes late to school.

  1. very often
  2. always
  3. frequently
  4. hardly ever.
Answer and explanation

D: hardly ever.

Seldom means rarely or hardly ever. The other options describe frequent or constant lateness and therefore reverse the statement.

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Question 45

Choose the option nearest in meaning to “put the clock back”: At the age of 80, Musa wished he could put the clock back.

  1. stop the clock
  2. put down the clock
  3. go back in time
  4. have more time.
Answer and explanation

C: go back in time

To put the clock back figuratively is to return to an earlier period. Musa wishes to go back in time rather than physically move or stop a clock.

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Question 46

Choose the option nearest in meaning to “in good faith”: The Director left his secret file to the Secretary in good faith

  1. with proof
  2. in anxiety
  3. in anticipation
  4. in trust.
Answer and explanation

D: in trust.

In good faith means honestly and with trust in the other person. In trust best matches the director entrusting a confidential file to the secretary.

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Question 47

Choose the option nearest in meaning to “disinterestedness”: The Chief approached the issue with convincing disinterestedness.

  1. lack of interest
  2. lack of personal interest
  3. inability to be interested
  4. unwillingness.
Answer and explanation

B: lack of personal interest

Disinterestedness means impartiality without personal advantage at stake. Lack of personal interest captures that independence and differs from simply being bored or unwilling.

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Question 48

Choose the option nearest in meaning to “miscellaneous”: Nothing irritates the clerk more, than being assigned miscellaneous duties.

  1. classified
  2. confidential
  3. unscheduled
  4. assorted
Answer and explanation

D: assorted

Miscellaneous duties are a varied assortment rather than one uniform type. Assorted is the closest meaning; the word does not imply secrecy or an absence of scheduling.

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Question 49

Choose the option nearest in meaning to “fundamental”: It is of fundamental importance that one sleeps properly.

  1. undisputed
  2. basic
  3. special
  4. least.
Answer and explanation

B: basic

Fundamental means basic and essential to what follows. Basic is the direct equivalent here; special and undisputed refer to different qualities.

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Question 50

Choose the option nearest in meaning to “eaves-dropping”: I know you’ve been eaves-dropping all along

  1. dropping gently
  2. paying attention
  3. listening secretly
  4. dropping all the leaves.
Answer and explanation

C: listening secretly

Eavesdropping means secretly listening to a conversation not intended for the listener. Listening secretly captures both the action and its concealed nature.

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Question 51

Choose the option nearest in meaning to “affected”: She showed an affected interest in the game.

  1. real
  2. pretended
  3. concerned
  4. slight.
Answer and explanation

B: pretended

An affected interest is deliberately displayed rather than sincerely felt. Pretended therefore fits the description, in contrast to a real interest in the game.

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Question 52

Choose the option nearest in meaning to “piecemeal”: I would not like you to do the work piecemeal

  1. at meal time
  2. bit by bit
  3. badly
  4. as a masterpiece.
Answer and explanation

B: bit by bit

Piecemeal means in separate pieces or stages, rather than all at once. Bit by bit is the matching expression and says nothing about meal times or artistic quality.

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Question 53

Choose the option nearest in meaning to “reiterate”: I think I’ll like to reiterate the points earlier made.

  1. withdraw
  2. change
  3. challenge
  4. repeat.
Answer and explanation

D: repeat.

To reiterate is to say something again, usually for emphasis or clarity. Repeat matches the intention to return to points already made.

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Question 54

Choose the option nearest in meaning to “put paid to”: The sudden death of the King put paid to the ambition of the Minister.

  1. encouraged
  2. rewarded
  3. benefited
  4. terminated.
Answer and explanation

D: terminated.

To put paid to an ambition is to end it or prevent its fulfilment. Terminated captures the effect of the king’s death on the minister’s hopes.

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Question 55

Choose the option nearest in meaning to “strings attached”: The man insisted on having no strings attached to the agreement

  1. financial obligations
  2. documents
  3. conditions
  4. moral obligations
Answer and explanation

C: conditions

Strings attached are conditions or obligations attached to an arrangement. Conditions is the broad matching term, covering more than specifically financial or moral obligations.

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Question 56

Choose the option that best completes the sentence: I was_____hearing distance of the speaker.

  1. on
  2. at
  3. within
  4. in
Answer and explanation

C: within

Within hearing distance means close enough to hear. Within places the listener inside the range reached by the speaker’s voice, rather than on or at that distance.

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Question 57

Choose the option that best completes the sentence: Peter was such a skilful boxer that he was not afraid to take _____ anybody.

  1. to
  2. upon
  3. on
  4. in.
Answer and explanation

C: on

To take on an opponent is to compete or fight against that person. On completes the expression describing a boxer willing to face anyone.

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Question 59

Choose the option that best completes the sentence: My wife and I were to celebrate our silver wedding anniversary last Sunday. Unfortunately on that _____day, my father-in-law died mysteriously.

  1. fruitless
  2. faithful
  3. futile
  4. fateful
Answer and explanation

D: fateful

Fateful describes a day on which something momentous and often disastrous happens. The unexpected death makes it the appropriate choice, unlike faithful, which concerns loyalty.

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Question 60

Choose the option that best completes the sentence: The first graduation ceremony of the university was attended by men from all_____of life.

  1. works
  2. areas
  3. walks
  4. parts.
Answer and explanation

C: walks

People from all walks of life come from different occupations and social backgrounds. Walks completes this established expression, rather than the similar-sounding works.

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Question 68

Choose the option that best completes the sentence: _____at 9.30 for more news, said the announcer

  1. Switch on
  2. Tune in
  3. Hook on
  4. Channel in .
Answer and explanation

B: Tune in

To tune in is to select a radio or television broadcast. The announcer asks listeners to return for the next news programme, so tune in fits without needing an object.

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Question 69

Choose the option that best completes the sentence: The way that big boy bullied his sister with relish makes me think he could be a _____

  1. bully
  2. sadist
  3. pugilist
  4. tyrant.
Answer and explanation

B: sadist

A sadist takes pleasure in causing suffering. With relish highlights enjoyment of the sister’s distress, making this more specific than simply identifying the boy as a bully.

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Question 70

Choose the option that best completes the sentence: All_____ well with Peter.

  1. are not
  2. have not been
  3. were not
  4. is not.
Answer and explanation

D: is not.

All here means everything or the overall situation, so it takes singular is. Is not well describes Peter’s circumstances; the plural alternatives do not agree with this meaning.

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Question 71

Choose the option that best completes the sentence: Ore _____ so if she had thought it necessary.

  1. would have said
  2. would say
  3. may have said
  4. could say.
Answer and explanation

A: would have said

The unreal past condition had thought pairs with would have said. This structure describes what Ore would have done under a past condition that was not fulfilled.

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Question 74

Choose the option that best completes the sentence: Bassey’s evidence led_____ Okon being imprisoned for life.

  1. at
  2. into
  3. in
  4. to
Answer and explanation

D: to

Lead to means result in or cause a later event. To links Bassey’s evidence to Okon being imprisoned; it functions as a preposition before the -ing clause.

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Question 75

Choose the option that best completes the sentence: My boss is usually a charming man but_____ he can be very irritable.

  1. atimes
  2. at times
  3. those times
  4. with times.
Answer and explanation

B: at times

At times means occasionally and contrasts naturally with usually charming. It is written as two words; the other phrases do not supply this frequency expression.

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Question 78

Choose the option that best completes the sentence: One of the ladies who _____ in the premises _____ been asked to withdraw

  1. sells/have
  2. sell/have
  3. sells/has
  4. sell/has
Answer and explanation

D: sell/has

Who refers to the plural ladies, so sell belongs in the relative clause. The main subject is One, which takes has; together the required pair is sell/has.

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Question 79

Choose the option that best completes the sentence: A Tale of Two Cities_____the_____we are studying for the examination.

  1. are/novels
  2. was/novel
  3. were/novels
  4. is/novel.
Answer and explanation

D: is/novel.

A Tale of Two Cities is the title of one novel, so it takes singular is and novel. The present phrase are studying also places the statement in the current course.

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Question 80

Choose the option that best completes the sentence: We must not take with us the feelings of inadequacy _____experienced during our preparations for the debate.

  1. that were
  2. those were
  3. that was
  4. that is.
Answer and explanation

A: that were

The plural feelings is followed by the relative clause that were experienced. Were agrees with feelings and forms the past passive with experienced.

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Question 82

Choose the option that best completes the sentence: In my opinion, neither the players nor the coach _____ praise for the result of the match.

  1. deserves
  2. deserve
  3. are deserving
  4. is deserving.
Answer and explanation

A: deserves

With neither the players nor the coach, the verb agrees with the nearer singular noun coach. Deserves supplies that agreement and takes praise directly, unlike deserving, which would need of.

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Question 83

Choose the option that best completes the sentence: No one has said anything yet, but I think I _____ be getting a salary increase next month.

  1. must
  2. can
  3. would
  4. may
Answer and explanation

D: may

May expresses a possibility about a future salary increase. That uncertainty fits the absence of an announcement, whereas must would claim a much stronger conclusion.

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Question 84

Choose the option that best completes the sentence: Student: Excuse me sir, must we complete the assignment before lunch? Teacher: No you_____

  1. needn’t
  2. mustn’t
  3. can’t
  4. shouldn’t
Answer and explanation

A: needn’t

Needn’t removes the obligation to finish before lunch. Mustn’t prohibits doing it, while the student is asking whether completion is required.

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Question 87

Choose the option that best completes the sentence: My brother does not have a flair_____ Mathematics.

  1. for
  2. in
  3. at
  4. of
Answer and explanation

A: for

A flair for something is a natural ability or talent in it. For is the preposition used with flair, so it fits the reference to mathematics.

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Question 88

Choose the option that best completes the sentence: The poor little kid has been down_____fever these few days.

  1. with
  2. from
  3. in
  4. for
Answer and explanation

A: with

To be down with an illness means to be ill with it. With links the child’s unwell state to fever; the other prepositions do not complete this expression.

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Question 89

Choose the option that best completes the sentence: He did not stop to ask himself why _____ such a thing.

  1. should he do
  2. he should do
  3. could he have done
  4. did he do
Answer and explanation

B: he should do

After ask himself why, the embedded question uses statement order: he should do. The other alternatives invert the subject and auxiliary as in a direct question.

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Question 90

Choose the option that best completes the sentence: The quarrel has got to a stage where someone has to_____

  1. interrupt
  2. interfere
  3. intrude
  4. intervene.
Answer and explanation

D: intervene.

To intervene is to step into a dispute to help resolve it. This is the constructive involvement needed in the quarrel, whereas intrude and interfere normally imply unwanted involvement.

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Question 91

Choose the option that best completes the sentence: The villagers looked _____ their leader for good examples.

  1. up to
  2. on to
  3. up at
  4. forward to
Answer and explanation

A: up to

To look up to a leader is to respect that person and regard them as an example. The reference to good examples makes this figurative meaning appropriate.

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Question 94

Choose the option that best completes the sentence: The man insisted on giving unsolicited_____

  1. advice
  2. advices
  3. advise
  4. advises
Answer and explanation

A: advice

Advice is the uncountable noun required after giving unsolicited. Advise is a verb, advises is its singular form, and advices is not the ordinary plural for recommendations.

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Question 95

Choose the option that best completes the sentence: Cultural patterns are modified as they are _____ from one generation to the next.

  1. transported
  2. transposed
  3. translated
  4. transmitted.
Answer and explanation

D: transmitted.

Transmitted means passed from one generation to the next. It describes the communication of cultural patterns, unlike transporting physical goods or translating between languages.

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Question 96

Choose the option that best completes the sentence: We discovered at the end of last term that we had to read _____ books before we could confidently sit for our final examination.

  1. more of many
  2. very many more
  3. very much more
  4. more very many.
Answer and explanation

B: very many more

Books is countable and plural, so many is required rather than much. Very many more means a large additional number and supplies the correct order of these modifiers.

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Question 97

Choose the option that best completes the sentence: Chinedu took his umbrella with him in case it_____

  1. rain
  2. rained
  3. would rain
  4. is raining.
Answer and explanation

B: rained

In a past account, in case it rained expresses the possible event for which Chinedu prepared. Rained matches took without using would after in case.

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Question 98

Choose the option that best completes the sentence: The train was too slow so I decided to_____ at the next stop.

  1. get by
  2. get bye
  3. get off
  4. get of.
Answer and explanation

C: get off

To get off a train is to leave it at a stop. Off is the required particle; of is a preposition with a different function and bye is a farewell.

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