JAMB Use of English 2001

Question 1

The emergence of a standard dialect produces the phenomenon known as “accent” which is quite different from dialect. In the process of learning a foreign language, it is normal to transfer the patterns of an indigenous language to those of the foreign language. With time, however, those of form and most of those of orthography and phonology gradually get eliminated. This is because these can easily be identified and corrected. They are easy to correct because they do not involve patterns of muscular movement. It is also necessary to correct them because otherwise they could seriously impair intelligibility. With phonetic patterns, on the other hand, there is a great deal of intelligibility tolerance because muscular patterns are involved, thus making corrections difficult when observed. Besides, phonetic patterns do not impair intelligibility much. Hence the transference of phonetic habits from one language to another is both easier to tolerate and more difficult to avoid than transference at the lexico-grammatical level. It follows that a speaker who is learning a second dialect does so with an accent since the muscles of his speech organs would have crystallized in response to the phonetics of his native language which he learnt first. The speaker therefore speaks the second dialect with the phonetic features of his native dialect. The learning of a standard language is simply the learning of a second dialect – that which has been standardized. Members of a language community control at least two dialects and use both dialects in different situations. In the rural areas, the native dialect is used in most situations since there is less movement. Therefore, rural dwellers tend to be parochial and maintain the homogeneity of their dialect. In the urban community, on the other hand, there is more demand on the standard dialect than on the rural one. This is because people from different regions converge here. In order to ensure mutual intelligibility resulting from the pressure of communication, a great deal of demand is made on the standard dialect which now becomes the lingua franca amongst them.

Members of a language community control at least two dialects because

1. the convergence of people from disparate regions results in the pressure of communication.
2. there is little demand for the indigenous dialects.
3. they want a lingua franca which is produced by mutual intelligibility.
4. they are made up of both rural and urban dwellers.

Question 3

The emergence of a standard dialect produces the phenomenon known as “accent” which is quite different from dialect. In the process of learning a foreign language, it is normal to transfer the patterns of an indigenous language to those of the foreign language. With time, however, those of form and most of those of orthography and phonology gradually get eliminated. This is because these can easily be identified and corrected. They are easy to correct because they do not involve patterns of muscular movement. It is also necessary to correct them because otherwise they could seriously impair intelligibility. With phonetic patterns, on the other hand, there is a great deal of intelligibility tolerance because muscular patterns are involved, thus making corrections difficult when observed. Besides, phonetic patterns do not impair intelligibility much. Hence the transference of phonetic habits from one language to another is both easier to tolerate and more difficult to avoid than transference at the lexico-grammatical level. It follows that a speaker who is learning a second dialect does so with an accent since the muscles of his speech organs would have crystallized in response to the phonetics of his native language which he learnt first. The speaker therefore speaks the second dialect with the phonetic features of his native dialect. The learning of a standard language is simply the learning of a second dialect – that which has been standardized. Members of a language community control at least two dialects and use both dialects in different situations. In the rural areas, the native dialect is used in most situations since there is less movement. Therefore, rural dwellers tend to be parochial and maintain the homogeneity of their dialect. In the urban community, on the other hand, there is more demand on the standard dialect than on the rural one. This is because people from different regions converge here. In order to ensure mutual intelligibility resulting from the pressure of communication, a great deal of demand is made on the standard dialect which now becomes the lingua franca amongst them.

An appropriate title for this passage is

1. The Emergence of a Standard Language
2. The Phenomenon of Accent
3. The Quest for a Lingua Franca
4. Members of a Language Community

Question 6

It is possible to have a glimpse of life after death. Man has always believed in an afterlife, but only today do we have scientific reports of people who seem to have experienced the sensation of dying but lived to tell about it. Ongoing research is documenting hundreds of cases each year of the near –death experience (NDE), and scientists think they are finding a clearly identifiable pattern: usually a man is dying and, as he reaches the point of greatest physical distress, he hears himself pronounced dead by his doctor. He begins to hear an uncomfortable noise, a loud ringing or buzzing, and at the same time feels himself moving very rapidly through a long dark tunnel. After this he suddenly finds himself outside of his own physical body, but still in the immediate physical environment, and he sees his own body from a distance, as though he is a spectator. He watches the resuscitation attempt from this unusual vantage point and is in a state of emotional upheaval. After a while, he collects himself and becomes accustomed to his odd condition. He notices that he still has a ‘body’, but one of a very different nature and with very different powers from the physical body he has left behind. Soon after, things begin to happen. Others come to meet and to help him. He glimpses the spirits of relatives and friends who have already died, and a loving, warm spirit of a kind he has never encountered before- a being of light – appears before him. This being asks him a question, nonverbally – to make him evaluate his life – and helps him along by showing him a panoramic instantaneous playback of the major events of his life . Then he finds that he must go back to the earth that the time for his death has not yet come. At this point he resists, for by now he is taken up with his experiences in the afterlife and does not want to return. He is overwhelmed by intense feelings of joy, love and peace. Despite his attitude, though, he somehow reunites with his physical body and lives. Adapted from Moody, R. A. (1975) Life after Life

The NDE man appears to be a spectator in the flurry of activities around him because

1. his new ‘body’ would not allow him to participate.
2. he is moving rapidly through a long dark tunnel.
3. he can only watch as the events unfold
4. he is now a dead man.

Question 7

It is possible to have a glimpse of life after death. Man has always believed in an afterlife, but only today do we have scientific reports of people who seem to have experienced the sensation of dying but lived to tell about it. Ongoing research is documenting hundreds of cases each year of the near –death experience (NDE), and scientists think they are finding a clearly identifiable pattern: usually a man is dying and, as he reaches the point of greatest physical distress, he hears himself pronounced dead by his doctor. He begins to hear an uncomfortable noise, a loud ringing or buzzing, and at the same time feels himself moving very rapidly through a long dark tunnel. After this he suddenly finds himself outside of his own physical body, but still in the immediate physical environment, and he sees his own body from a distance, as though he is a spectator. He watches the resuscitation attempt from this unusual vantage point and is in a state of emotional upheaval. After a while, he collects himself and becomes accustomed to his odd condition. He notices that he still has a ‘body’, but one of a very different nature and with very different powers from the physical body he has left behind. Soon after, things begin to happen. Others come to meet and to help him. He glimpses the spirits of relatives and friends who have already died, and a loving, warm spirit of a kind he has never encountered before- a being of light – appears before him. This being asks him a question, nonverbally – to make him evaluate his life – and helps him along by showing him a panoramic instantaneous playback of the major events of his life . Then he finds that he must go back to the earth that the time for his death has not yet come. At this point he resists, for by now he is taken up with his experiences in the afterlife and does not want to return. He is overwhelmed by intense feelings of joy, love and peace. Despite his attitude, though, he somehow reunites with his physical body and lives. Adapted from Moody, R. A. (1975) Life after Life

According to the passage, scientific evidence has made it possible

1. to make conjectures about what happens after death
2. to know a little about what happens in the world of the dead
3. for one to experience the sensation of dying and living again
4. for the dead to return and tell their experiences.

Question 8

It is possible to have a glimpse of life after death. Man has always believed in an afterlife, but only today do we have scientific reports of people who seem to have experienced the sensation of dying but lived to tell about it. Ongoing research is documenting hundreds of cases each year of the near –death experience (NDE), and scientists think they are finding a clearly identifiable pattern: usually a man is dying and, as he reaches the point of greatest physical distress, he hears himself pronounced dead by his doctor. He begins to hear an uncomfortable noise, a loud ringing or buzzing, and at the same time feels himself moving very rapidly through a long dark tunnel. After this he suddenly finds himself outside of his own physical body, but still in the immediate physical environment, and he sees his own body from a distance, as though he is a spectator. He watches the resuscitation attempt from this unusual vantage point and is in a state of emotional upheaval. After a while, he collects himself and becomes accustomed to his odd condition. He notices that he still has a ‘body’, but one of a very different nature and with very different powers from the physical body he has left behind. Soon after, things begin to happen. Others come to meet and to help him. He glimpses the spirits of relatives and friends who have already died, and a loving, warm spirit of a kind he has never encountered before- a being of light – appears before him. This being asks him a question, nonverbally – to make him evaluate his life – and helps him along by showing him a panoramic instantaneous playback of the major events of his life . Then he finds that he must go back to the earth that the time for his death has not yet come. At this point he resists, for by now he is taken up with his experiences in the afterlife and does not want to return. He is overwhelmed by intense feelings of joy, love and peace. Despite his attitude, though, he somehow reunites with his physical body and lives. Adapted from Moody, R. A. (1975) Life after Life

The expression as he reaches the point of greatest physical distress, as used in the passage, means when

1. the man’s system finally collapses
2. the sick man finally stops breathing
3. his doctor is ready to pronounce him dead
4. his condition seems to get worse.

Question 21

By 1910, the motorcar was plainly conquering the highway. The private car was now part of every rich man’s establishment, although its prices made it as yet an impossible luxury for most of the middle class. But for the adventuresome youth, there was the motorcycle, a fearsome invention producing accidents and ear –splitting noises. Already, the dignified carriages and smart pony-traps were beginning to disappear from the roads, and coachmen and grooms, unless mechanically minded, were finding it more difficult to make a living. The roads, which had gone to sleep since the coming of the railway, now awoke to feverish activity. Cars and motorcycles dashed along them at speeds which rivaled those of the express trains, and the lorry began to appear. Therefore, the road system was compelled to adapt itself to a volume and speed of traffic for which it had never been intended. Its complete adaptation was impossible; but the road surface was easily transformed and, during the early years of the century, the dustiness and greasiness of the highways were lessened by tar-spraying. To widen and straighten the roads and get rid of blind corners and every steep gradient were tasks which had scarcely been tackled before 1914. The situation was worst of all in towns where not only was any large scheme of road widening usually out of the question, but also where crowding and danger were all too frequently increased by the short-sighted eagerness of town authorities in laying down tramlines. Yet it was not only the road system that was in need of readjustment; the nervous system of those who used and dwelt by the roads suffered. The noises caused by the conversion of the roads into speedways called for a corresponding tightening up of the nerves; and, especially in the towns, the pedestrian who wished to preserve life and limb was compelled to keep his attention continually on the stretch, to practise himself in estimates of the speed of approaching vehicles and to run or jump for his life if he ventured off the pavement. Adapted from Rachel Carson: The Advent of the Motor Car

The writer seems to suggest that

1. the volume and speed of traffic on the roads increased with the advent of cars, motor cycles and lorries
2. there were no roads before the advent of cars and motorcycles and so people had to be mechanically minded
3. coachmen and grooms were not mechanically minded
4. the roads that existed were dormant.

Question 22

By 1910, the motorcar was plainly conquering the highway. The private car was now part of every rich man’s establishment, although its prices made it as yet an impossible luxury for most of the middle class. But for the adventuresome youth, there was the motorcycle, a fearsome invention producing accidents and ear –splitting noises. Already, the dignified carriages and smart pony-traps were beginning to disappear from the roads, and coachmen and grooms, unless mechanically minded, were finding it more difficult to make a living. The roads, which had gone to sleep since the coming of the railway, now awoke to feverish activity. Cars and motorcycles dashed along them at speeds which rivaled those of the express trains, and the lorry began to appear. Therefore, the road system was compelled to adapt itself to a volume and speed of traffic for which it had never been intended. Its complete adaptation was impossible; but the road surface was easily transformed and, during the early years of the century, the dustiness and greasiness of the highways were lessened by tar-spraying. To widen and straighten the roads and get rid of blind corners and every steep gradient were tasks which had scarcely been tackled before 1914. The situation was worst of all in towns where not only was any large scheme of road widening usually out of the question, but also where crowding and danger were all too frequently increased by the short-sighted eagerness of town authorities in laying down tramlines. Yet it was not only the road system that was in need of readjustment; the nervous system of those who used and dwelt by the roads suffered. The noises caused by the conversion of the roads into speedways called for a corresponding tightening up of the nerves; and, especially in the towns, the pedestrian who wished to preserve life and limb was compelled to keep his attention continually on the stretch, to practise himself in estimates of the speed of approaching vehicles and to run or jump for his life if he ventured off the pavement. Adapted from Rachel Carson: The Advent of the Motor Car

The writer uses the expression unless mechanically minded to refer to

1. town authorities laying down tramlines
2. coachmen and grooms who chose to become mechanics
3. coachmen and grooms adaptable to the new technology
4. those amenable to change and development.

Question 23

By 1910, the motorcar was plainly conquering the highway. The private car was now part of every rich man’s establishment, although its prices made it as yet an impossible luxury for most of the middle class. But for the adventuresome youth, there was the motorcycle, a fearsome invention producing accidents and ear –splitting noises. Already, the dignified carriages and smart pony-traps were beginning to disappear from the roads, and coachmen and grooms, unless mechanically minded, were finding it more difficult to make a living. The roads, which had gone to sleep since the coming of the railway, now awoke to feverish activity. Cars and motorcycles dashed along them at speeds which rivaled those of the express trains, and the lorry began to appear. Therefore, the road system was compelled to adapt itself to a volume and speed of traffic for which it had never been intended. Its complete adaptation was impossible; but the road surface was easily transformed and, during the early years of the century, the dustiness and greasiness of the highways were lessened by tar-spraying. To widen and straighten the roads and get rid of blind corners and every steep gradient were tasks which had scarcely been tackled before 1914. The situation was worst of all in towns where not only was any large scheme of road widening usually out of the question, but also where crowding and danger were all too frequently increased by the short-sighted eagerness of town authorities in laying down tramlines. Yet it was not only the road system that was in need of readjustment; the nervous system of those who used and dwelt by the roads suffered. The noises caused by the conversion of the roads into speedways called for a corresponding tightening up of the nerves; and, especially in the towns, the pedestrian who wished to preserve life and limb was compelled to keep his attention continually on the stretch, to practise himself in estimates of the speed of approaching vehicles and to run or jump for his life if he ventured off the pavement. Adapted from Rachel Carson: The Advent of the Motor Car

The statement By 1910, the motor car was plainly conquering the highway means that

1. Highway codes for motor cars came into effect by 1910.
2. by 1910 motor cars became a common sight on the highways
3. the motor car was invented in 1910
4. by 1910 many people knew how to drive motorcars.

Question 24

By 1910, the motorcar was plainly conquering the highway. The private car was now part of every rich man’s establishment, although its prices made it as yet an impossible luxury for most of the middle class. But for the adventuresome youth, there was the motorcycle, a fearsome invention producing accidents and ear –splitting noises. Already, the dignified carriages and smart pony-traps were beginning to disappear from the roads, and coachmen and grooms, unless mechanically minded, were finding it more difficult to make a living. The roads, which had gone to sleep since the coming of the railway, now awoke to feverish activity. Cars and motorcycles dashed along them at speeds which rivaled those of the express trains, and the lorry began to appear. Therefore, the road system was compelled to adapt itself to a volume and speed of traffic for which it had never been intended. Its complete adaptation was impossible; but the road surface was easily transformed and, during the early years of the century, the dustiness and greasiness of the highways were lessened by tar-spraying. To widen and straighten the roads and get rid of blind corners and every steep gradient were tasks which had scarcely been tackled before 1914. The situation was worst of all in towns where not only was any large scheme of road widening usually out of the question, but also where crowding and danger were all too frequently increased by the short-sighted eagerness of town authorities in laying down tramlines. Yet it was not only the road system that was in need of readjustment; the nervous system of those who used and dwelt by the roads suffered. The noises caused by the conversion of the roads into speedways called for a corresponding tightening up of the nerves; and, especially in the towns, the pedestrian who wished to preserve life and limb was compelled to keep his attention continually on the stretch, to practise himself in estimates of the speed of approaching vehicles and to run or jump for his life if he ventured off the pavement. Adapted from Rachel Carson: The Advent of the Motor Car

From the passage, it is obvious that

1. the motorcar and the lorry came to displace the train traffic
2. motorcars were mere luxuries which many people tried desperately to acquire
3. the motorcar was invented before the express trains
4. The train was the fastest means of transport before the motorcar and the lorry.

Question 25

By 1910, the motorcar was plainly conquering the highway. The private car was now part of every rich man’s establishment, although its prices made it as yet an impossible luxury for most of the middle class. But for the adventuresome youth, there was the motorcycle, a fearsome invention producing accidents and ear –splitting noises. Already, the dignified carriages and smart pony-traps were beginning to disappear from the roads, and coachmen and grooms, unless mechanically minded, were finding it more difficult to make a living. The roads, which had gone to sleep since the coming of the railway, now awoke to feverish activity. Cars and motorcycles dashed along them at speeds which rivaled those of the express trains, and the lorry began to appear. Therefore, the road system was compelled to adapt itself to a volume and speed of traffic for which it had never been intended. Its complete adaptation was impossible; but the road surface was easily transformed and, during the early years of the century, the dustiness and greasiness of the highways were lessened by tar-spraying. To widen and straighten the roads and get rid of blind corners and every steep gradient were tasks which had scarcely been tackled before 1914. The situation was worst of all in towns where not only was any large scheme of road widening usually out of the question, but also where crowding and danger were all too frequently increased by the short-sighted eagerness of town authorities in laying down tramlines. Yet it was not only the road system that was in need of readjustment; the nervous system of those who used and dwelt by the roads suffered. The noises caused by the conversion of the roads into speedways called for a corresponding tightening up of the nerves; and, especially in the towns, the pedestrian who wished to preserve life and limb was compelled to keep his attention continually on the stretch, to practise himself in estimates of the speed of approaching vehicles and to run or jump for his life if he ventured off the pavement. Adapted from Rachel Carson: The Advent of the Motor Car

One of the following statements can be deduced from the passage.

1. Significant improvement occurred in road transport since the advent of motorcars, lorries and motorcycles.
2. People no longer used trains with the advent of cars and lorries.
3. Society would be better off without the chaotic volume and speed of motor cars, lorries and motorcycles.
4. Human society was static without the express speed of cars and motorcycles.

Question 63

Choose the option opposite in meaning to “surpassed my expectations”: Amina’s performance in the examination surpassed my expectations.

1. amazed everyone
2. lacked merit
3. was extraordinarily good
4. was disappointing

Question 64

Choose the option opposite in meaning to “covert”: As these boys never act in public, the police are now worried about their covert activities.

1. evil
2. open
3. cryptic
4. ignoble

Question 65

Choose the option opposite in meaning to “agog”: The town was all agog at his unexpected return.

1. unexcited
2. excited
3. on fire
4. surprised

Question 66

Choose the option opposite in meaning to “sultry”: Some equatorial areas have a sultry climate.

1. a hot
2. an inclement
3. a temperate
4. a stable

Question 67

Choose the option opposite in meaning to “a plethora of”: The journalist’s write-up contained a plethora of detail.

1. simplicity
2. shortage
3. complexity
4. spectrum

Question 68

Choose the option opposite in meaning to “youthfulness”: In the latter part of his life, the famous soldier showed signs of youthfulness.

1. bravery
2. vitality
3. energy
4. senility

Question 69

Choose the option opposite in meaning to “inconceivable”: It is inconceivable that the rat devoured the cat.

1. contestable
2. credible
3. incomprehensible
4. unimaginable

Question 70

Choose the option opposite in meaning to “ambivalent”: Ali wondered why the principal was ambivalent about the students’ future.

1. inconsiderate
2. decisive
3. anxious
4. ambitious

Question 72

Choose the option opposite in meaning to “naivety”: In his naivety, he believed all the stories his friend told him.

1. artlessness
2. friendliness
3. incredulity
4. stupidity

Question 73

Choose the option opposite in meaning to “arduous”: Updating the Board’s brochure is an arduous task.

1. a regular
2. an annual
3. a difficult
4. an easy

Question 74

Choose the option opposite in meaning to “interminable”: The lecture seemed interminable.

1. brief
2. interesting
3. boring
4. unending

Question 75

Choose the option opposite in meaning to “nipped it in the bud”: Had I known about their plan much earlier, I would have nipped it in the bud.

1. promoted it
2. squashed it
3. initiated it
4. stopped it

Question 76

Choose the option opposite in meaning to “harmless”: What a harmless thought he has!

1. pleasant
2. perfect
3. pernicious
4. pertinent

Question 77

Choose the option opposite in meaning to “apathy”: There is much apathy towards reading among students nowadays.

1. indecision
2. enthusiasm
3. indifference
4. disinclination

Question 79

The word in capitals has emphatic stress. Choose the question to which the sentence responds: They FLEW to Abuja.

1. Where did they fly to?
2. Did they go to Abuja by road?
3. How will they get to Abuja?
4. Did they fly to Jos?

Question 80

The word in capitals has emphatic stress. Choose the question to which the sentence responds: My neighbour BRUISED his thigh while playing football.

1. Did your neighbour fracture his thigh while playing football?
2. Did your neighbour break his leg while playing tennis?
3. Did your neighbour play football yesterday?
4. Was your neighbour involved in an accident?

Question 81

Choose the most appropriate interpretation: Adawo is an imp.

1. Adawo behaves badly.
2. Adawo behaves decently.
3. Adawo behaves differently.
4. Adawo behaves queerly.

Question 82

Choose the most appropriate interpretation: The solution lies in choosing between various negative alternatives.

1. The solution lies in choosing between the positive and the negative.
2. The solutions are many.
3. The solution can be found in one of the negative options.
4. The solution is a negative one.

Question 83

Choose the most appropriate interpretation: You must not attend the end-of-year party.

1. You do not have to decide whether to attend the party or not.
2. You have to decide whether to attend the party or not.
3. It is necessary that you do not attend the party.
4. It is necessary that you attend the party.

Question 84

Choose the most appropriate interpretation: The man reasoned that there ought to be a limit to sycophancy.

1. Sycophants need not talk all the time.
2. There can be no favour beyond a reasonable point.
3. Sycophants should know when to grant people’s request.
4. People should know when not to use flattery.

Question 85

Choose the most appropriate interpretation: Oche’s chief idiosyncrasy is a passion for pounded yam.

1. Oche hates pounded yam.
2. Oche’s chief hates pounded yam.
3. Oche’s chief likes pounded yam.
4. Oche has a penchant for pounded yam.

Question 86

Choose the option nearest in meaning to “abstruse”: The professor discussed a number of abstruse topics.

1. irrelevant
2. useful
3. esoteric
4. relevant.

Question 87

Choose the option nearest in meaning to “timorous”: Tade became timorous when she was asked to give the valedictory speech.

1. excited
2. aggressive
3. nervous
4. happy

Question 88

Choose the option nearest in meaning to “tardy”: The men were tardy in offering help.

1. generous
2. quick
3. brave
4. slow

Question 89

Choose the option nearest in meaning to “belligerent”: Ugo has often been described as belligerent.

1. attractive
2. combative
3. innocent
4. patient

Question 90

Choose the option nearest in meaning to “coalescence”: The coalescence of the groups created additional problems.

1. union
2. fighting
3. proscription
4. disbandment

Question 91

Choose the option nearest in meaning to “facetious”: Funmi is just being facetious about her marrying a soldier.

1. unfaithful
2. serious
3. crazy
4. unserious

Question 92

Choose the option nearest in meaning to “sumptuous”: The village girl wore sumptuous clothes.

1. loose-fitting
2. cheap
3. faded-looking
4. expensive

Question 93

Choose the option nearest in meaning to “radical changes”: Any chief executive of an organization would find radical changes blocked at every turn.

1. ideas
2. innovations
3. developments
4. suggestions

Question 94

Choose the option nearest in meaning to “moribund”: I cannot understand why Ali should serve in that moribund administration.

1. crumbling
2. purposeless
3. prodigal
4. oppressive

Question 95

Choose the option nearest in meaning to “pilferer”: Bose was angry because her friend called her a pilferer.

1. liar
2. hypocrite
3. criminal
4. thief

Question 96

Choose the option nearest in meaning to “complacently”: While the hooligans exchanged blows, we looked on complacently.

1. questioningly
2. sorrowfully
3. dejectedly
4. contentedly.

Question 97

Choose the option nearest in meaning to “gamely”: The player kept on gamely to the end of the match

1. courageously
2. amateurishly
3. skillfully
4. stubbornly

Question 98

Choose the option nearest in meaning to “creative power”: Art lies in cherishing the initiative and creative power of each person.

1. gift
2. strength
3. potential
4. mind

Question 99

Choose the option nearest in meaning to “a serious reverse”: As the triumphant rebels were returning to their base, they met with a serious reverse.

1. an enemy
2. an army
3. a victory
4. a defeat

Question 100

Choose the option nearest in meaning to “transients”: The Conference Centre caters for transients only.

1. permanent guests
2. professionals
3. novices
4. temporary guests