JAMB Use of English 2000

61 reviewed questions with answers and explanations.

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Question 2

You would think that the common cold should be easy enough to study, but it is not so easy as it looks. Colds often seem to spread from one person to another, so it is often assumed that the cold must be infectious, but there are some puzzling observations which do not fit in with this theory. An investigator in Holland examined some eight thousand volunteers from different areas and came to the conclusion that in each group the colds all appeared at the same time – transfer of infection from case to case could not account for that. Yet at the Common Cold Research Unit in Salisbury the infection theory has been tested out; two series of about two hundred people each were inoculated, one with salt water and the other with secretions from known cold victims. Only one of the salt-water group got a cold, compared with seventy-three in the other group. In the British Medical Journal the other day, there was a report of a meeting, ‘The Common Cold -- Fact and Fancy’, at which one of the speakers reported a study of colds made in Cirencester over the last five years. Three hundred and fifty volunteers had kept diary records of their colds and on an average each had seven every year, with an annual morbidity of seventy days. So nearly one-fifth of our lives is spent in more or less misery, coughing and sneezing. Some widely held beliefs about the common cold have turned out not to be true. It seems that old people are just as liable to colds as the young. Sailors in isolated weather ships have just as many colds while on board and not in contact with the outside world as when on shore. It is a truism that common illnesses pose more problems than the rare. The rare disease is by comparison much easier to handle. There are not so many cases and all of them have been intensively studied. Someone has read up all the literature about the disease and published a digest of it. There will be more facts and fewer fancies. Miles Howard: ‘The Spectator’

According to the writer, some widely held beliefs about the common colds are:

  1. inevitable
  2. irreconcilable
  3. fallacious
  4. societal
Answer and explanation

C: fallacious

The passage explicitly says that some widely held beliefs have turned out not to be true. Fallacious means mistaken or false, matching that assessment. The other choices do not mean that the beliefs are incorrect.

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Question 3

You would think that the common cold should be easy enough to study, but it is not so easy as it looks. Colds often seem to spread from one person to another, so it is often assumed that the cold must be infectious, but there are some puzzling observations which do not fit in with this theory. An investigator in Holland examined some eight thousand volunteers from different areas and came to the conclusion that in each group the colds all appeared at the same time – transfer of infection from case to case could not account for that. Yet at the Common Cold Research Unit in Salisbury the infection theory has been tested out; two series of about two hundred people each were inoculated, one with salt water and the other with secretions from known cold victims. Only one of the salt-water group got a cold, compared with seventy-three in the other group. In the British Medical Journal the other day, there was a report of a meeting, ‘The Common Cold -- Fact and Fancy’, at which one of the speakers reported a study of colds made in Cirencester over the last five years. Three hundred and fifty volunteers had kept diary records of their colds and on an average each had seven every year, with an annual morbidity of seventy days. So nearly one-fifth of our lives is spent in more or less misery, coughing and sneezing. Some widely held beliefs about the common cold have turned out not to be true. It seems that old people are just as liable to colds as the young. Sailors in isolated weather ships have just as many colds while on board and not in contact with the outside world as when on shore. It is a truism that common illnesses pose more problems than the rare. The rare disease is by comparison much easier to handle. There are not so many cases and all of them have been intensively studied. Someone has read up all the literature about the disease and published a digest of it. There will be more facts and fewer fancies. Miles Howard: ‘The Spectator’

The Cirencester volunteers kept records of their colds through

  1. the British medical journal
  2. mobility rates
  3. temperature recordings
  4. personal diaries
Answer and explanation

D: personal diaries

The passage explicitly says the volunteers kept diary records of their colds. Personal diaries therefore names their recording method. The medical journal later reported the study; it was not how each volunteer recorded symptoms.

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Question 5

You would think that the common cold should be easy enough to study, but it is not so easy as it looks. Colds often seem to spread from one person to another, so it is often assumed that the cold must be infectious, but there are some puzzling observations which do not fit in with this theory. An investigator in Holland examined some eight thousand volunteers from different areas and came to the conclusion that in each group the colds all appeared at the same time – transfer of infection from case to case could not account for that. Yet at the Common Cold Research Unit in Salisbury the infection theory has been tested out; two series of about two hundred people each were inoculated, one with salt water and the other with secretions from known cold victims. Only one of the salt-water group got a cold, compared with seventy-three in the other group. In the British Medical Journal the other day, there was a report of a meeting, ‘The Common Cold -- Fact and Fancy’, at which one of the speakers reported a study of colds made in Cirencester over the last five years. Three hundred and fifty volunteers had kept diary records of their colds and on an average each had seven every year, with an annual morbidity of seventy days. So nearly one-fifth of our lives is spent in more or less misery, coughing and sneezing. Some widely held beliefs about the common cold have turned out not to be true. It seems that old people are just as liable to colds as the young. Sailors in isolated weather ships have just as many colds while on board and not in contact with the outside world as when on shore. It is a truism that common illnesses pose more problems than the rare. The rare disease is by comparison much easier to handle. There are not so many cases and all of them have been intensively studied. Someone has read up all the literature about the disease and published a digest of it. There will be more facts and fewer fancies. Miles Howard: ‘The Spectator’

Which of the following statements can be implied from the passage?

  1. People catch more colds in winter.
  2. The origin of colds is inconclusive.
  3. People catch more colds in warm weather.
  4. People catch cols equally in warm and cold weather.
Answer and explanation

B: The origin of colds is inconclusive.

The writer presents apparently conflicting observations and stresses how difficult the common cold is to study. B best reflects that unresolved picture within the passage. None of the examples compares rates in warm and cold weather.

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Question 7

Young men have strong passions, and tend to gratify them indiscriminately. Of the bodily desires, it is the sexual by which they are most swayed and in which they show absence of self-control. They are changeable and fickle in their desires, which are violent while they last, but quickly over: their impulses are keen but not deep-rooted, and are like sick people’s attacks of hunger and thirst. They are hot-tempered and quick-tempered, and apt to give way to their anger; bad temper often gets the better of them, for owing to their love of honour they cannot bear being slighted, and are indignant if they imagine themselves unfairly treated. While they love honour, they love victory still more, for youth is eager for superiority over others, and victory is one form of this. They love both more than they love money, which indeed they love very little, not having yet learnt what it means to be without it. They look at the good side rather than the bad, not having yet witnessed many instances of wickedness. They trust others readily, because they have not yet been cheated. They are sanguine; nature warms their blood as though with excess of wine ; and besides that, they have as yet met with few disappointments. Their lives are mainly spent not in memory but in expectation, for youth has a long future before it and a short past behind it: on the first day of one’s life one has nothing at all to remember, and can only look forward. They are easily cheated owing to the sanguine disposition just mentioned. Their hot tempers and hopeful dispositions make them more courageous than older men are; the hot temper prevents fear, and the hopeful disposition creates confidence; we cannot feel fear so long as we are feeling angry, and any expectation of good makes us confident. Aristotle’s Youth and Old-Age, p. 197

The expression, ‘not in memory but in expectation’, as used in the passage, implies

  1. innocence, not experience
  2. future, not present
  3. past, not present
  4. hopelessness, not hopefulness.
Answer and explanation

A: innocence, not experience

The author links youthful expectation with having little past experience and few disappointments. A captures that contextual contrast between innocence and experience. B misstates memory as the present, while the last option reverses the passage’s hopeful outlook.

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Question 9

Young men have strong passions, and tend to gratify them indiscriminately. Of the bodily desires, it is the sexual by which they are most swayed and in which they show absence of self-control. They are changeable and fickle in their desires, which are violent while they last, but quickly over: their impulses are keen but not deep-rooted, and are like sick people’s attacks of hunger and thirst. They are hot-tempered and quick-tempered, and apt to give way to their anger; bad temper often gets the better of them, for owing to their love of honour they cannot bear being slighted, and are indignant if they imagine themselves unfairly treated. While they love honour, they love victory still more, for youth is eager for superiority over others, and victory is one form of this. They love both more than they love money, which indeed they love very little, not having yet learnt what it means to be without it. They look at the good side rather than the bad, not having yet witnessed many instances of wickedness. They trust others readily, because they have not yet been cheated. They are sanguine; nature warms their blood as though with excess of wine ; and besides that, they have as yet met with few disappointments. Their lives are mainly spent not in memory but in expectation, for youth has a long future before it and a short past behind it: on the first day of one’s life one has nothing at all to remember, and can only look forward. They are easily cheated owing to the sanguine disposition just mentioned. Their hot tempers and hopeful dispositions make them more courageous than older men are; the hot temper prevents fear, and the hopeful disposition creates confidence; we cannot feel fear so long as we are feeling angry, and any expectation of good makes us confident. Aristotle’s Youth and Old-Age, p. 197

The analogy between young men and sick people is that

  1. they are easily swayed by emotions
  2. they are easily controlled by hunger and thirst
  3. their emotions are active but short-lived
  4. they are apt to give way to anger.
Answer and explanation

C: their emotions are active but short-lived

The comparison follows the description of desires as intense while they last but quickly over. C preserves that combination of force and short duration. It does not mean that the young men’s emotions are literally caused by hunger and thirst.

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Question 10

Young men have strong passions, and tend to gratify them indiscriminately. Of the bodily desires, it is the sexual by which they are most swayed and in which they show absence of self-control. They are changeable and fickle in their desires, which are violent while they last, but quickly over: their impulses are keen but not deep-rooted, and are like sick people’s attacks of hunger and thirst. They are hot-tempered and quick-tempered, and apt to give way to their anger; bad temper often gets the better of them, for owing to their love of honour they cannot bear being slighted, and are indignant if they imagine themselves unfairly treated. While they love honour, they love victory still more, for youth is eager for superiority over others, and victory is one form of this. They love both more than they love money, which indeed they love very little, not having yet learnt what it means to be without it. They look at the good side rather than the bad, not having yet witnessed many instances of wickedness. They trust others readily, because they have not yet been cheated. They are sanguine; nature warms their blood as though with excess of wine ; and besides that, they have as yet met with few disappointments. Their lives are mainly spent not in memory but in expectation, for youth has a long future before it and a short past behind it: on the first day of one’s life one has nothing at all to remember, and can only look forward. They are easily cheated owing to the sanguine disposition just mentioned. Their hot tempers and hopeful dispositions make them more courageous than older men are; the hot temper prevents fear, and the hopeful disposition creates confidence; we cannot feel fear so long as we are feeling angry, and any expectation of good makes us confident. Aristotle’s Youth and Old-Age, p. 197

The statement, ‘nature warms their blood as though with excess of wine’, as used in the text, means

  1. act with considerable confidence and trust.
  2. respond with suspicion and alertness
  3. behave shamelessly like a drunkard
  4. move with care and self-control.
Answer and explanation

A: act with considerable confidence and trust.

The image of warmed blood illustrates the sanguine or hopeful disposition described around it. A reflects the resulting confidence and ready trust. The comparison does not claim that the young men are literally drunk or behaving shamelessly.

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Question 11

Time was when boys used to point toy guns and say ‘Bang!’ Now, they aim real guns and shoot one another. Nearly 4,200 teenagers were killed by firearms in 1990. Only motor vehicle accidents kill more teenagers than firearms and the firearms figures are rising. The chance that a black male between the ages of 15 and 19 will be killed by a gun has almost tripled since 1985 and almost doubled for white males, according to the National Centre for Health Statistics. Who could disagree with Health and Human Services Secretary, Donna Shalala, when she pronounced these statistics ‘frightening and intolerable?’ In the shameful light of this ‘waste of young lives’ in Ms. Shalala’s words, an often-asked question seems urgently due to be raised again: Would less violence on television – the surrounding environment for most children and young adults – make violence in actual life less normal, less accepted, less horrifying? It may be difficult to prove an exact correlation between the viewer of fantasized violence and the criminal who acts out violence after turning off the set. But if the premise of education is granted – that good models can influence the young – then it follows that bad models can have an equivalent harmful effect. This is the reasonable hypothesis held by 80 percent of the respondents to a recent Times Mirror poll who think that violent entertainment is ‘harmful’ to society. Witness enough mimed shootouts, see enough ‘corpses’ fall across the screen, and the taking of a human life seems no big deal. Even if a simple causal relationship cannot be established between watching violence and acting it out, is not this numbed sensitivity reason enough for cutting back on the overkill in films and TV? From: The Christian Science Monitor, April 16 – 22, 1993, p. 20, CSPS, Boston, MA, USA.

From the passage, it can be inferred that since 1985

  1. More black males between the ages of 15 and 19 have been killing one another with guns.
  2. more black males between the ages of 15 and 19 have been getting killed by guns.
  3. more white than black males have been getting killed by guns.
  4. more black than white males have been killing one another with guns.
Answer and explanation

B: more black males between the ages of 15 and 19 have been getting killed by guns.

The cited change concerns the risk of black males aged 15 to 19 being killed by a gun. B reflects that victimization measure. It does not identify who killed them, so the options asserting that they killed one another go beyond the information.

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Question 13

Time was when boys used to point toy guns and say ‘Bang!’ Now, they aim real guns and shoot one another. Nearly 4,200 teenagers were killed by firearms in 1990. Only motor vehicle accidents kill more teenagers than firearms and the firearms figures are rising. The chance that a black male between the ages of 15 and 19 will be killed by a gun has almost tripled since 1985 and almost doubled for white males, according to the National Centre for Health Statistics. Who could disagree with Health and Human Services Secretary, Donna Shalala, when she pronounced these statistics ‘frightening and intolerable?’ In the shameful light of this ‘waste of young lives’ in Ms. Shalala’s words, an often-asked question seems urgently due to be raised again: Would less violence on television – the surrounding environment for most children and young adults – make violence in actual life less normal, less accepted, less horrifying? It may be difficult to prove an exact correlation between the viewer of fantasized violence and the criminal who acts out violence after turning off the set. But if the premise of education is granted – that good models can influence the young – then it follows that bad models can have an equivalent harmful effect. This is the reasonable hypothesis held by 80 percent of the respondents to a recent Times Mirror poll who think that violent entertainment is ‘harmful’ to society. Witness enough mimed shootouts, see enough ‘corpses’ fall across the screen, and the taking of a human life seems no big deal. Even if a simple causal relationship cannot be established between watching violence and acting it out, is not this numbed sensitivity reason enough for cutting back on the overkill in films and TV? From: The Christian Science Monitor, April 16 – 22, 1993, p. 20, CSPS, Boston, MA, USA.

The writer says ‘the firearms figures are rising’ because

  1. more teenagers are now getting killed by firearms than by motor vehicle accidents
  2. firearms now have figures that are terribly high
  3. more teenagers now carry fire arms than used to be the case
  4. more teenagers are now getting killed by firearms than used to be the case.
Answer and explanation

D: more teenagers are now getting killed by firearms than used to be the case.

Figures refers to the number of teenage firearm deaths discussed immediately before the phrase. Rising means more such deaths than previously, as D states. Motor-vehicle deaths remain higher in the passage, and firearm possession is not the reported measure.

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Question 14

Time was when boys used to point toy guns and say ‘Bang!’ Now, they aim real guns and shoot one another. Nearly 4,200 teenagers were killed by firearms in 1990. Only motor vehicle accidents kill more teenagers than firearms and the firearms figures are rising. The chance that a black male between the ages of 15 and 19 will be killed by a gun has almost tripled since 1985 and almost doubled for white males, according to the National Centre for Health Statistics. Who could disagree with Health and Human Services Secretary, Donna Shalala, when she pronounced these statistics ‘frightening and intolerable?’ In the shameful light of this ‘waste of young lives’ in Ms. Shalala’s words, an often-asked question seems urgently due to be raised again: Would less violence on television – the surrounding environment for most children and young adults – make violence in actual life less normal, less accepted, less horrifying? It may be difficult to prove an exact correlation between the viewer of fantasized violence and the criminal who acts out violence after turning off the set. But if the premise of education is granted – that good models can influence the young – then it follows that bad models can have an equivalent harmful effect. This is the reasonable hypothesis held by 80 percent of the respondents to a recent Times Mirror poll who think that violent entertainment is ‘harmful’ to society. Witness enough mimed shootouts, see enough ‘corpses’ fall across the screen, and the taking of a human life seems no big deal. Even if a simple causal relationship cannot be established between watching violence and acting it out, is not this numbed sensitivity reason enough for cutting back on the overkill in films and TV? From: The Christian Science Monitor, April 16 – 22, 1993, p. 20, CSPS, Boston, MA, USA.

What will actually be proved ‘if the premise of education is granted’?

  1. Entertainment on television is harmful to society.
  2. Violence on television encourages violence in real life.
  3. Good models can influence the young.
  4. The viewer of fantasized violence is the criminal who acts out violence.
Answer and explanation

B: Violence on television encourages violence in real life.

The writer reasons that if good models influence the young, violent models can have a harmful influence too. B captures that proposed effect. C is the premise rather than the conclusion, and D incorrectly equates every viewer with a criminal.

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Question 15

Time was when boys used to point toy guns and say ‘Bang!’ Now, they aim real guns and shoot one another. Nearly 4,200 teenagers were killed by firearms in 1990. Only motor vehicle accidents kill more teenagers than firearms and the firearms figures are rising. The chance that a black male between the ages of 15 and 19 will be killed by a gun has almost tripled since 1985 and almost doubled for white males, according to the National Centre for Health Statistics. Who could disagree with Health and Human Services Secretary, Donna Shalala, when she pronounced these statistics ‘frightening and intolerable?’ In the shameful light of this ‘waste of young lives’ in Ms. Shalala’s words, an often-asked question seems urgently due to be raised again: Would less violence on television – the surrounding environment for most children and young adults – make violence in actual life less normal, less accepted, less horrifying? It may be difficult to prove an exact correlation between the viewer of fantasized violence and the criminal who acts out violence after turning off the set. But if the premise of education is granted – that good models can influence the young – then it follows that bad models can have an equivalent harmful effect. This is the reasonable hypothesis held by 80 percent of the respondents to a recent Times Mirror poll who think that violent entertainment is ‘harmful’ to society. Witness enough mimed shootouts, see enough ‘corpses’ fall across the screen, and the taking of a human life seems no big deal. Even if a simple causal relationship cannot be established between watching violence and acting it out, is not this numbed sensitivity reason enough for cutting back on the overkill in films and TV? From: The Christian Science Monitor, April 16 – 22, 1993, p. 20, CSPS, Boston, MA, USA.

The writer uses ‘numbed sensitivity’ to refer to

  1. deadening of the capacity to feel
  2. objectionable behaviour
  3. heartlessness on the part of actors.
  4. unreasonable violence.
Answer and explanation

A: deadening of the capacity to feel

The final paragraph describes repeated screen violence making the loss of life seem unimportant. Numbed sensitivity therefore means a reduced capacity to feel or react emotionally. It does not specifically describe the actors’ feelings.

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Question 26

Choose the option that best completes the sentence: The man declared his intention from the …

  1. outset
  2. inset
  3. onset
  4. offset
Answer and explanation

A: outset

From the outset means from the beginning. It fits when the man first declared his intention. Inset is something set into another thing, offset concerns a counterbalance, and onset is not the usual expression in this phrase.

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Question 27

Choose the option that best completes the sentence: The loquacious young lad reeled off all the names of the players…

  1. off head
  2. offhand
  3. at heart
  4. at hand
Answer and explanation

B: offhand

Offhand means without preparation or consulting information, fitting the lad’s immediate recital of the names. Off head is not the standard expression, and at heart and at hand have different meanings.

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Question 28

Choose the option that best completes the sentence: Without our relentless campaigns, we might … sure of victory in the race for the National Assembly.

  1. never have been
  2. have never be
  3. never had been
  4. be never
Answer and explanation

A: never have been

Might takes the base form have, followed by the past participle been, for this hypothetical past result. Never naturally precedes have in A. The other combinations use an incorrect verb form or unsuitable word order.

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Question 29

Choose the option that best completes the sentence: The Governor rejected the bill and withheld his…

  1. accent
  2. assent
  3. access
  4. ascent
Answer and explanation

B: assent

Assent means approval or agreement. Withholding assent fits rejecting a bill. Accent concerns pronunciation or emphasis, access means entry or opportunity, and ascent means upward movement.

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Question 30

Choose the option that best completes the sentence: The new school is not provided with … for science practical.

  1. enough equipment
  2. equipments
  3. an equipment
  4. enough equipments
Answer and explanation

A: enough equipment

Equipment is an uncountable noun in this sense, so it does not normally take a plural ending or the article an. Enough equipment is the correct phrase for a sufficient supply of items used in practical work.

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Question 31

Choose the option that best completes the sentence: We are all hungry; we … anything to eat since morning.

  1. didn’t have
  2. hadn’t had
  3. haven’t had
  4. never had
Answer and explanation

C: haven’t had

Since morning marks a period continuing up to the present, and we are hungry describes the present result. Haven’t had links that continuing period to now. Hadn’t had would need a later point in the past.

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Question 33

Choose the option that best completes the sentence: Ilesa witnessed the largest _____ of writers at any convention in recent times.

  1. turn-around
  2. turnover
  3. turn-out
  4. turn-on
Answer and explanation

C: turn-out

A turn-out is the number of people who attend an event. It therefore fits the large attendance of writers at the convention. Turnover, turn-around and turn-on have different meanings.

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Question 34

Choose the option that best completes the sentence: Our culture does not allow one to … when an elderly person is speaking.

  1. cut of
  2. cut off
  3. cut in
  4. cut on
Answer and explanation

C: cut in

To cut in while someone is speaking is to interrupt. Cut off generally needs an object when it means interrupting a person, while cut of is misspelled and cut on does not express interrupting speech here.

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Question 35

Choose the option that best completes the sentence: I like the character that played the role of a political…at the last convention of our party.

  1. thorncoat
  2. torncoat
  3. turncoat
  4. turnedcoat
Answer and explanation

C: turncoat

A turncoat is someone who changes allegiance, particularly for advantage. Turncoat is the correctly spelled word for the political role. The other alternatives do not spell that word correctly.

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Question 36

Choose the option that best completes the sentence: The Dark Continent was an… for Africa.

  1. abuse
  2. enigma
  3. eclectic
  4. epithet
Answer and explanation

D: epithet

An epithet is a descriptive name or label applied to someone or something. D identifies the type of historical label used in the sentence. Enigma means a puzzle, and eclectic is an adjective rather than the required noun.

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Question 37

Choose the option that best completes the sentence: There are several… in the farmyard.

  1. sheep
  2. ewe
  3. lamb
  4. goat
Answer and explanation

A: sheep

Several requires a plural noun. Sheep has the same form in the singular and plural, so it fits. Ewe, lamb and goat are singular forms and would need plural endings here.

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Question 38

Choose the option that best completes the sentence: The Team Manager told us that the race could only be won by the…

  1. flat-footed
  2. bare-footed
  3. swift-footed
  4. fore-footed
Answer and explanation

C: swift-footed

Swift-footed means able to move or run quickly, fitting the requirement for winning a race. Bare-footed describes a lack of shoes, flat-footed describes foot shape, and fore-footed does not express speed.

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Question 39

Choose the correct question tag: You can travel on your own, _____?

  1. isn’t it
  2. wouldn’t you.
  3. can’t you
  4. shouldn’t you.
Answer and explanation

C: can’t you

A positive statement with can normally takes a negative question tag using the same modal and subject: can’t you? The other options replace can with a different verb and do not match the statement.

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Question 40

Choose the option that best completes the sentence: He arrived… to see his family leave for the countryside.

  1. in time
  2. timely
  3. late
  4. with time.
Answer and explanation

A: in time

In time means early enough for a particular event or purpose. It fits arriving early enough to see the family depart. Timely is not the normal adverb in this construction, and with time does not mean before the departure.

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Question 43

Choose the option that best completes the sentence: Raffle draws like gambling often end in a… for me.

  1. lost
  2. loss
  3. loose
  4. lose
Answer and explanation

B: loss

The article a requires a noun, and loss is the noun for an unfavourable financial result. Lose is a verb, lost is its past form, and loose usually means not tight.

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Question 45

Choose the option that best completes the sentence: All the traders in the market saw the woman buy_____ the imported suits.

  1. up
  2. off
  3. over
  4. out
Answer and explanation

A: up

To buy up goods is to purchase all or a large available supply of them. Up completes that phrasal verb with the imported suits. Buying someone off concerns bribery, and buying out usually concerns a business or another owner’s interest.

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Question 46

Choose the option that best completes the sentence: The warring factions need words of…

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

D: advice

Words of advice uses the noun advice for guidance or recommendations. Advise is a verb, advises is an inflected verb, and adverse is an adjective meaning unfavourable.

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Question 47

Choose the option that best completes the sentence: There are many … to her personality.

  1. moods
  2. styles
  3. facets
  4. faces
Answer and explanation

C: facets

Facets are distinct aspects or sides of something, so facets to her personality is the appropriate expression. Moods describe emotional states; styles and faces do not carry the same meaning in this construction.

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Question 63

Choose the option opposite in meaning to “detriment”: The officer said that he knew nothing to the detriment of the applicant.

  1. damage
  2. disfavour
  3. advantage
  4. background
Answer and explanation

C: advantage

Detriment means harm or disadvantage. Advantage is the opposite, while damage and disfavour remain negative and background is unrelated.

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Question 64

Choose the option opposite in meaning to “decorous”: Common sense requires that one should be decorous at formal gatherings.

  1. courteous
  2. impolite
  3. incurious
  4. careful
Answer and explanation

B: impolite

Decorous behaviour is proper and polite for the occasion. Impolite is the opposite. Courteous is a synonym, while incurious concerns interest and careful concerns caution.

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Question 65

Choose the option opposite in meaning to “taut”: The string was taut.

  1. loose
  2. firm
  3. stretched
  4. tight
Answer and explanation

A: loose

A taut string is pulled tight with no slack. Loose directly reverses that condition. Firm, stretched and tight all describe aspects of tautness rather than its opposite.

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Question 67

Choose the option opposite in meaning to “fleeting”: The teacher announced that the class would be making a fleeting visit to the zoo.

  1. routine
  2. brief
  3. long
  4. guided
Answer and explanation

C: long

Fleeting means lasting only a short time. A long visit is the opposite; brief is a synonym, while routine and guided describe other features of a visit.

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Question 68

Choose the option opposite in meaning to “diurnal”: We intend to make the reception a diurnal event.

  1. a nightly
  2. a weekly
  3. a short
  4. an annual
Answer and explanation

A: a nightly

Diurnal can describe activity occurring during the day. Nightly is the contrasting option here. Weekly and annual describe longer recurrence intervals, while short concerns duration rather than day or night.

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Question 69

Choose the option opposite in meaning to “alleviate”: The project is designed to alleviate poverty in the country.

  1. tackle
  2. exacerbate
  3. eradicate
  4. assuage
Answer and explanation

B: exacerbate

To alleviate is to make a difficulty less severe. Exacerbate means make it worse, so it is the opposite. Tackle, eradicate and assuage all concern addressing or reducing the problem.

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Question 70

Choose the option opposite in meaning to “under a cloud”: The Permanent Secretary left his job under a cloud.

  1. on a cloudy day
  2. with a clear record
  3. in disgrace
  4. on a sunny day
Answer and explanation

B: with a clear record

To leave under a cloud is to leave amid suspicion or disapproval. With a clear record gives the contrasting position. In disgrace is close to the original meaning, while the weather-related options take the expression literally.

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Question 71

Choose the option opposite in meaning to “renegade”: It is surprising that this politician has now turned renegade

  1. militant
  2. loyal
  3. quiet
  4. corrupt
Answer and explanation

B: loyal

A renegade abandons a former allegiance or cause. Loyal describes someone who remains faithful, so it is the opposite. Militant, quiet and corrupt do not express that contrast in allegiance.

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Question 72

Choose the option opposite in meaning to “debilitating”: Hypertension is a debilitating disease that everyone should prevent.

  1. a mortal
  2. an enervating
  3. an energizing
  4. a horrible
Answer and explanation

C: an energizing

Debilitating means weakening or draining strength. Energizing means giving energy or strength, so it is the opposite. Enervating also means weakening; mortal and horrible describe different qualities.

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Question 73

Choose the option opposite in meaning to “rescinded”: The striking workers have vowed not to return to work until the decision is rescinded.

  1. changed
  2. dismissed
  3. implemented
  4. incorporated
Answer and explanation

C: implemented

To rescind a decision is to revoke or cancel it. Implementing it means putting it into effect, the contrasting action. Changing or dismissing it does not provide that contrast.

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Question 74

Choose the option opposite in meaning to “see eye to eye”: It is rare for a leader and his deputy to see eye to eye.

  1. disagree
  2. respect each other
  3. be of one mind
  4. reproach each other
Answer and explanation

A: disagree

To see eye to eye is to agree. Disagree is its direct opposite. Respecting or reproaching someone does not necessarily show whether their views agree.

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Question 75

Choose the option opposite in meaning to “overpriced”: I’m not interested in buying that shirt. I think it is overpriced.

  1. too expensive
  2. overrated
  3. priceless
  4. cheap
Answer and explanation

D: cheap

Overpriced means priced higher than is reasonable. Cheap is the closest opposite among these choices. Too expensive repeats the meaning, while overrated concerns excessive praise and priceless means too valuable to price.

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Question 76

Choose the option opposite in meaning to “acted up”: When the driver applied the brakes, they acted up

  1. failed
  2. responded well
  3. were sluggish
  4. jammed
Answer and explanation

B: responded well

When a machine acts up, it malfunctions. Responded well expresses the opposite: the brakes worked properly. Failed, were sluggish and jammed all describe faulty operation.

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Question 77

Choose the option opposite in meaning to “predominantly”: Civil engineering is predominantly a male profession.

  1. absolutely
  2. essentially
  3. generally
  4. seldom
Answer and explanation

D: seldom

Predominantly means mainly or for the most part. Seldom, meaning rarely, gives the contrasting sense among these options. Essentially and generally are closer to the original meaning, while absolutely strengthens it.

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Question 78

Choose the option opposite in meaning to “drew the line at”: Despite his laxity in other matters, Ojo’s father drew the line at truancy.

  1. favoured
  2. rejected.
  3. Emphasized
  4. Ignored.
Answer and explanation

A: favoured

To draw the line at truancy is to refuse to tolerate it. Favoured gives the opposite attitude of supporting or approving it. Rejected repeats the original position, while emphasized does not indicate approval or rejection.

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Question 80

Choose the option nearest in meaning to “willful and obstinate”: The man was able to persuade his willful and obstinate daughter to follow the career he chose for her.

  1. intelligent but arrogant
  2. unyielding and obdurate
  3. obscure and odious
  4. hardworking and intelligent
Answer and explanation

B: unyielding and obdurate

Willful and obstinate describe someone determined to follow their own wishes and unwilling to change. Unyielding and obdurate express that stubborn resistance; the other pairs introduce unrelated qualities.

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Question 81

Choose the option nearest in meaning to “fatal”: That punch by the young boxer proved to be fatal.

  1. effective
  2. hard
  3. deadly
  4. belated.
Answer and explanation

C: deadly

Fatal means causing death, so deadly is the equivalent. A punch can be hard or effective without being fatal, and belated concerns timing.

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Question 82

Choose the option nearest in meaning to “routine tour”: The Governor told the chief that he was only on a routine tour.

  1. normal and regular visit
  2. unplanned encounter
  3. surprise and impromptu check
  4. working visit and homage.
Answer and explanation

A: normal and regular visit

A routine tour is an ordinary, regularly undertaken visit. It need not be unplanned or a surprise, and routine does not itself imply paying homage.

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Question 83

Choose the option nearest in meaning to “several”: The boy was told that he would need several more pints of blood if he was to survive.

  1. many
  2. much
  3. some
  4. plenty
Answer and explanation

C: some

Several refers to an unspecified number greater than two but not necessarily a large number. Some is the closest available replacement; many and plenty suggest a larger quantity, while much does not modify the countable noun pints.

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Question 84

Choose the option nearest in meaning to “pleasantries”: In spite of her grim situation, the young widow smiled dutifully at the visitor’s pleasantries.

  1. unkind comments
  2. sad stories
  3. condolence messages
  4. jocular remarks
Answer and explanation

D: jocular remarks

Pleasantries are light, friendly or humorous remarks exchanged socially. Jocular remarks is the closest choice. The widow’s situation does not change the word into condolence messages or sad stories.

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Question 85

Choose the option nearest in meaning to “respite”: The presence of the security men in the area will provide a moment of respite for the residents.

  1. soothing relaxation
  2. enduring reprieve
  3. lasting security
  4. temporary relief
Answer and explanation

D: temporary relief

Respite is a temporary break or relief from something difficult. The phrase a moment of reinforces that limited duration, ruling out lasting security or enduring relief.

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Question 86

Choose the option nearest in meaning to “serious”: Though David’s condition is serious, his life is not in immediate danger.

  1. nasty
  2. hypertensive
  3. dangerous
  4. grave
Answer and explanation

D: grave

Serious describes a condition that gives considerable cause for concern; grave is the closest synonym. The sentence distinguishes this severity from immediate danger. Hypertensive names a particular condition rather than its general seriousness.

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Question 87

Choose the option nearest in meaning to “nebulous”: The essay topic is nebulous.

  1. vague
  2. incorrect
  3. distinct
  4. clear
Answer and explanation

A: vague

A nebulous topic is vague or insufficiently defined. Clear and distinct express the opposite quality, while incorrect concerns truth rather than clarity.

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Question 88

Choose the option nearest in meaning to “impassioned”: I have always believed that my mother is a very impassioned woman.

  1. emotive
  2. impartial
  3. impassive
  4. emotional
Answer and explanation

D: emotional

Impassioned means showing strong feeling or passion, making emotional the closest description. Emotive usually describes something that arouses emotion in others; impassive means showing little feeling.

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Question 89

Choose the option nearest in meaning to “apogee”: My father was at the apogee of his career when he was retired.

  1. terminal point
  2. highest point
  3. least productive stage
  4. redundant stage
Answer and explanation

B: highest point

The apogee of a career is its highest point or peak of achievement. It is not necessarily the endpoint and does not mean a period of low productivity or redundancy.

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Question 91

Choose the option nearest in meaning to “nail the lie to the counter”: The family discussed the crime committed and resolved to nail the lie to the counter.

  1. expose it publicly.
  2. bury it in a coffin.
  3. defer action on it
  4. seek more advice.
Answer and explanation

A: expose it publicly.

To nail a lie to the counter is to expose it as false. The family therefore resolved to make the falsehood known, rather than conceal it, postpone action or ask for advice.

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Question 92

Choose the option nearest in meaning to “big-hearted”: The new ruler is big-hearted in his dealings with the people

  1. generous
  2. cruel
  3. soft
  4. proud
Answer and explanation

A: generous

Big-hearted describes a generous and kind person. Soft can suggest leniency, but does not express the generosity that is central to this description.

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Question 93

Choose the option nearest in meaning to “pick to pieces”: It is time for all concerned to first pick to pieces the strike action before proffering solutions.

  1. embrace joyfully
  2. critically analyse
  3. stop abruptly
  4. commend highly
Answer and explanation

B: critically analyse

To pick something to pieces is to examine it closely and critically, often identifying flaws. Critically analyse fits reviewing the strike before proposing solutions; the other choices describe different actions.

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Question 94

Choose the option nearest in meaning to “alienated / sympathetic”: Some actions of the Nigerian youth have alienated them from those who were sympathetic to their cause.

  1. endeared/kindly
  2. confronted/ill disposed
  3. separated/opposed
  4. estranged/well disposed.
Answer and explanation

D: estranged/well disposed.

Alienated means estranged or made distant from others. Sympathetic means understanding or favourably disposed towards someone’s position. Only D preserves both meanings.

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Question 95

Choose the option nearest in meaning to “browbeating”: The Principal told the teacher to stop browbeating the children.

  1. pampering
  2. bullying
  3. deceiving
  4. caning
Answer and explanation

B: bullying

Browbeating means intimidating someone through aggressive words or behaviour. Bullying captures this meaning. Caning is a particular physical punishment and is not what the verb necessarily describes.

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Question 96

Choose the most appropriate interpretation: The politician’s inflammatory remarks were heavily criticized.

  1. The politician’s rude remarks were heavily criticized.
  2. The politician’s provocative remarks were heavily criticized.
  3. The politician’s bombastic remarks were heavily criticized.
  4. The politician’s tribalistic remarks were heavily criticized. (Questions 68 to 100 carry 1 mark each)
Answer and explanation

B: The politician’s provocative remarks were heavily criticized.

Inflammatory remarks are likely to provoke anger or strong reactions. Provocative is therefore the closest interpretation. Remarks can be rude, bombastic or tribalistic without necessarily having that provoking effect.

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Question 97

Choose the most appropriate interpretation: The events of last Friday show that there is no love lost between the Principal and the Vice-Principal.

  1. They like each other
  2. They work independently.
  3. They cannot part company
  4. They dislike each other.
Answer and explanation

D: They dislike each other.

No love lost between two people means that they dislike each other. D states that meaning directly. It does not mean they are affectionate, inseparable or merely working independently.

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Question 98

Choose the most appropriate interpretation: Though he is our elected representative, he often takes a rather jaundiced view of our problems.

  1. He takes a rather hazy view of our problems.
  2. He takes an unfavourable position concerning our problems.
  3. He takes a rather forceful view of our problems.
  4. He takes a sickly view of our problems.
Answer and explanation

B: He takes an unfavourable position concerning our problems.

A jaundiced view is negative, distrustful or prejudiced. Taking an unfavourable position captures that attitude. Hazy concerns clarity, forceful concerns strength of expression, and sickly treats the word as a physical condition.

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