JAMB Use of English 2009

C: It was a joint project but Ado is trying to attract the most attention

To steal the show is to attract more attention or admiration than the other participants. Ado is trying to take the spotlight in a shared project, not cancel the project or physically steal its programme.

D: He went quickly to the shop for some bread

To pop along to a place is to make a quick, casual visit there. The sentence says he went quickly to the shop for bread; it does not imply theft or a break-in.

C: He is always ready to accept a bribe

An itching palm describes eagerness for money, especially a willingness to accept bribes. It is figurative here and does not refer to a skin condition, touching objects or tapping someone.

C: He was hit in a war by a war weapon fired by his own side

Friendly fire is fire from one’s own side that injures or kills allied personnel. Friendly identifies the military side involved; it does not mean that the person firing is a personal friend.

C: That Kola does not visit us often is something I object to

On occasions means sometimes rather than frequently. The speaker dislikes Kola’s infrequent visits. The sentence does not say the visits are limited to celebrations or explain Kola’s motives.

D: tender

Leathery meat is tough and difficult to chew. Tender describes meat that is soft and easy to chew, so it gives the opposite meaning. Stringy and tough do not provide that contrast.

B: industrious

Indolent means lazy or unwilling to work. Industrious means hardworking, making it the opposite. Inactive and slothful are similar to indolent, while intelligent concerns ability rather than effort.

D: comfort

Misery is a condition of great unhappiness or suffering. Comfort contrasts with that suffering; drudgery is burdensome work and ridicule or ritual does not describe relief from misery.

D: dislike

A penchant is a strong liking or preference. Dislike is therefore the opposite of having a penchant for fast cars. Passion describes strong attraction rather than opposition to it.

B: civil

Militant describes an aggressive or combative approach. Civil, in the sense of restrained and courteous, provides the contrast among these choices; zealous and passionate describe intensity rather than its opposite.

D: energetic

Listless means lacking energy or enthusiasm. Energetic is the opposite because it describes being active and full of energy; restful does not necessarily mean enthusiastic or lively.

A: politeness

Impudence is rude or disrespectful behaviour. Politeness expresses the opposite manner; incivility and arrogance are related to disrespect, while boldness does not necessarily mean courtesy.

B: severally

Collectively means together as a group. Severally means separately or individually, so it gives the opposite arrangement of responsibility. Jointly means together and is a synonym of collectively.

B: unsurprisingly

Curiously here means strangely or surprisingly. Unsurprisingly removes that sense of unexpectedness and gives the opposite. Interestingly and unusually are closer to the original meaning.

C: did not address the issue

In this context, begged the question means avoided the real issue. The explanation did not adequately address why the performance was poor; the phrase does not mean that the explanation was convincing.

B: future

Posterity means future generations. Preserving monuments for posterity means keeping them for people in the future, making future the nearest choice; prosperity refers to wealth or success.

B: strict

A stern person is strict and serious, especially in enforcing rules. Strict is the nearest meaning; stern does not necessarily mean wicked, and playful describes a different manner.

B: quarrel

An altercation is an angry argument or quarrel. The sentence concerns a dispute between the couple; alter ego means another self and the remaining options do not describe an argument.

D: mysterious

Inscrutable means very difficult to understand or interpret. Mysterious is the nearest description of poetry whose meaning is hard to work out; inseparable and ludicrous express different ideas.

A: misleading

A specious argument appears convincing but is actually unsound or false. Misleading is therefore the nearest meaning; true expresses the opposite and precious or spacious concerns something else.

C: uniform

Livery is a distinctive uniform worn by people in a particular service or occupation. Uniform is the nearest meaning here; a badge, shoe or cap alone is only an item of dress.

D: ominous

Sinister suggests something threatening, harmful or evil. Ominous similarly suggests that something bad may happen, whereas reasonable, joyful and hopeful do not convey that threat.

C: cohesion

Unification means bringing separate parts together into one whole. Cohesion is the nearest available word for that unity; stability concerns steadiness and restoration means bringing back an earlier condition.

C: loss of memory

Amnesia means loss of memory. It concerns the ability to remember, not loss of sight, direction or ordinary concentration, so option C supplies the precise meaning.

B: patience

Forbearance is patient restraint, especially when dealing with something difficult or irritating. Patience is the nearest meaning; hard work, wisdom and good manners do not identify that particular quality.

C: would

Would not describes a refusal to lend the money. That fits the description of the man as mean; could not would describe inability rather than unwillingness, and won’t before not would repeat the negative.

B: on

On campus is the usual expression for living within the university’s grounds or accommodation. The sentence therefore reads Amina lives on campus, using the established location phrase.

B: foreword

A foreword is an introductory section of a book, often written by someone other than its author. Foreword is the correct spelling; forward is a different word and the other forms are misspellings.

D: accordance with

In accordance with means following or conforming to something. With completes the fixed expression, so the officer acted in accordance with the instructions, rather than in accordance to or of them.

A: of

Envious takes of before the person or thing desired. Envious of other people’s achievement therefore completes the sentence; to, with and on do not form that construction.

D: above

To value something above something else is to consider it more important. Above shows that honour is placed ahead of life in their priorities; than would require a comparative such as more.

D: consecutive

Consecutive nights are nights that follow one another without a gap. That describes two successive broadcasts. Concurrent means happening at the same time and does not describe successive nights.

D: recompense

To recompense someone for losses is to compensate them, usually with money. Recompense is the verb that fits the payment described; indemnity is a noun and condole with means express sympathy.

B: through / line

A plan that falls through fails to happen. A lifeline is help that rescues someone from difficulty, so through and line complete both expressions: the plan failed when the expected support was not provided.

B: in

Persist in doing something means continue despite opposition or difficulty. In therefore links persisted with revealing; the sentence describes continuing to disclose the secret despite discouragement.

A: tuned / walks

Being tuned in to people’s interests means being aware of or responsive to them. All walks of life means people from different social backgrounds or occupations, so tuned and walks complete both expressions.

B: correspondence

To be in correspondence with someone is to exchange letters or written messages with them. That fits a relationship with a pen pal; the other nouns do not complete this expression.

C: Stress on MO: CereMOniously

The main stress in ceremoniously falls on MO: cere-MO-niously. The ending -ly does not move the stress from ceremonious, so option C shows the correct primary stress.

D: Stress on STAND: UnderSTANDable

Understandable has its main stress on STAND: under-STAND-able. The suffix -able does not move the main stress from understand, so option D marks the correct syllable.

B: Did Okoro call Uche a pilot?

The stress on LAM contrasts the person making the statement with someone else. Did Okoro call Uche a pilot? invites the correction that LAM did; the other choices focus on the description or wish.

D: Did the girl sing in the village square?

The stressed word DANCED contrasts dancing with another action, such as singing. Did the girl sing in the village square? is answered by saying that she DANCED there, rather than sang.