JAMB Use of English 2007

D: The next village is 30 kilometres away, or possibly more

At least sets a minimum rather than an exact or approximate value. The next village is therefore 30 kilometres away or farther; a distance below 30 kilometres is excluded.

B: Tolu was advised to consider the possible consequences before taking action

Look before you leap advises someone to think through possible consequences before acting. It is a warning against an impulsive decision, not an instruction about literal looking and jumping.

A: be recalcitrant

To steer a middle course is to take a moderate position and seek compromise. Being recalcitrant means resisting advice or cooperation, which contrasts with that approach; compromising and relenting move towards agreement.

C: empty

A stadium seething with people is crowded and full of activity. Empty reverses that description; filled and crowded support it, while noisy describes sound rather than the absence of people.

A: a drunk

A teetotaler abstains from alcoholic drinks. A drunk represents the opposite drinking behaviour; carelessness and discipline do not establish whether someone drinks alcohol.

C: discouraged

Undeterred means continuing without being discouraged by a difficulty. Discouraged gives the direct opposite, whereas encouraged supports persistence and challenged only describes facing a difficulty.

A: forceful

Unobtrusive suggestions are offered without conspicuous or insistent pressure. Forceful is the strongest contrast among these options; helpful, sincere and reasonable do not describe how insistently they are presented.

D: clung on to

Relinquished means voluntarily gave up or let go of something. Clung on to reverses that action by describing continued possession; abandoned and gave up have the same general direction as relinquished.

B: permanent

A transit camp provides an intermediate place to stay while people move towards another destination. Permanent contrasts with that temporary role; nearby describes location and passage describes movement.

D: niggardly

Munificent describes great generosity, especially in giving. Niggardly means unwilling to give freely, so it is the opposite; being wealthy does not by itself make someone generous.

D: an unassuming

A conceited person has an exaggerated opinion of their own importance or abilities. An unassuming person is modest and does not seek attention, making unassuming the opposite here.

D: predilection

An aversion is a strong dislike or reluctance towards something. A predilection is a preference or liking, which reverses that attitude; contempt is another negative attitude rather than its opposite.

D: energy

Verve is lively energy and enthusiasm in the way someone acts or expresses themselves. Energy is therefore the nearest meaning; intelligence and handsomeness describe different qualities.

B: immoral

Depraved describes someone whose conduct is morally corrupt. Immoral is the nearest meaning; indolent means lazy and loquacious means talkative, neither of which establishes moral corruption.

C: insupportable

An intolerable debt is too burdensome to bear or support. Insupportable expresses that same inability to cope with it; inevitable concerns certainty and unprecedented concerns whether it has happened before.

D: sidestepped

To fend off questions is to avoid having to answer them or prevent them from pressing further. Sidestepped captures this evasive response; asked, explained and welcomed describe different actions.

D: condemned

Deprecated means expressed strong disapproval of something. Condemned is the closest meaning here; resisting an attempt describes opposing its effects rather than necessarily voicing disapproval.

A: a recurring

A perennial problem continues or keeps returning over a long period. Recurring is therefore the nearest meaning; seasonal and annual specify particular intervals that perennial does not require.

B: overshadowed

When one noise drowns another sound, it overwhelms it so that the other sound is difficult to hear. Overshadowed is the nearest figurative equivalent; balanced and equalized suggest equal strength rather than domination.

A: often

Umpteen times means very many times, without stating an exact number. Often best preserves that frequency, whereas seldom and occasionally suggest fewer visits and twice supplies a specific small number.

A: counter-charges

Recriminations are accusations made in return for other accusations. Counter-charges preserves this back-and-forth element more precisely than accusations alone; indiscretions are inappropriate acts, not answering charges.

B: an allowance

A concession is a benefit or reduction granted to a person or group. Here the tax rebate is an allowance reducing what civil servants pay, rather than a donation or an emolument earned as remuneration.

A: rescinded

To reverse a decision is to cancel or overturn it. Rescinded means formally withdrawn, making it the nearest choice; implemented means put into effect, while reverted normally requires a following to-phrase.

C: stuttering

Stuttering describes speech interrupted by repeated sounds or difficulty continuing a word. It best fits the difficulty speaking smoothly here; vociferating is speaking loudly, blabbing is indiscreet talking, and gesticulating uses gestures.

C: expects / will arrive

The mother is reporting a present expectation about a future arrival. Expects agrees with she, and will arrive places the arrival on the coming Friday, giving expects / will arrive.

A: he had mislaid

Ola's report occurred yesterday, and mislaying the watch happened before that report. Had mislaid expresses the earlier past action; mislaid is the past participle required after had.

B: in on

The phrasal verb zero in on means direct attention or aim precisely towards a target. The sentence therefore needs in on before the enemy; the other combinations do not form this expression.

C: on end

Days on end means several days continuously. On end is the established expression after a period of time; on ending, at ending and at end do not convey this continuous duration in the sentence.

C: would blame

The sentence uses the usual second-conditional pattern: if plus a past form, followed by would plus the base verb. If he arrived late therefore pairs with everyone would blame him.

A: the rest of the

The rest refers to the remaining members of a group, and of the introduces the specific group. The rest of the thieves therefore completes the sentence; the other choices omit a needed article or preposition.

B: seeing

In look forward to, to is a preposition, so a following verb takes the -ing form. Seeing correctly completes look forward to seeing you; the base form see cannot follow this preposition here.

B: did not have the opportunity

Have the opportunity to do something is the standard construction for having a chance to act. Did not have the opportunity therefore fits the infinitive to pursue; the other options do not form the same grammatical expression.

B: Amadi and I

The coordinated phrase is the subject of went, so the subject pronoun I is required: Amadi and I went. Removing Amadi and gives I went, which confirms the case; me is an object form.

A: hardly

Hardly any means almost none and fits naturally before the uncountable noun traffic. No cannot precede any here, while normally and usually describe frequency rather than this small amount.

C: Pattern C: associAtion

The primary stress in association falls on the A syllable pronounced /eɪ/: as-so-ci-A-tion. That is the strongest beat, even though an earlier syllable can carry secondary stress.