ENGLISH STUDIES S S 3

In each of the following sentences, there is one underlined word and one gap. From the list of
words lettered A to D, choose the one that is most nearly opposite in meaning to the underlined
word and that will, at the same time, correctly fill the gap in the sentence.

1. Most African countries face poverty while few enjoy ……………………….

A. influence

B. money

C. affluence

D. power

2. Last year our farmers cultivated more crops than they……………………….

A. destroyed

B. uprooted

C. harvested

D. yielded

From the words lettered A to D, choose the word that best completes each of the following
sentences.

3. There would have been a riot in our school but for the timely……………..of our staff.

A. intervention

B. interruption

C. interference

D. invasion

4. The armed robbers ……………every room in the bank to look for money.
A. explored

B. ransacked

C. raked

D. swept

After each of the following sentences, a list of possible interpretations is given. Choose the
interpretation that you consider most appropriate for each sentence.

5. Ade is too clever by half. This means that Ade is

A. far cleverer than others.

B. actually very stupid in his behaviour.

C. annoyingly clever.

D. behaving to be clever but is not.

6. Ameh is really being economical with the truth. This means that Ameh

A. is being praised for being honest.

B. does not know enough.

C. knows more than he is prepared to say.

D. is not telling the truth

From the words lettered A to D below each of the following sentences, chose the word or group
of words that is nearest in meaning to the underlined word as it is used in the sentence.

7. By failing to attend the interview, Idoko has lost a golden opportunity.

A. blessed

B. bright

C. good

D. delightful

8. I hope the principal would be gracious enough to forgive us.

A. cordial

B. polite

C. merciful

D. gentle

From the words or group of words lettered A to D, choose the word or group of words that best
completes each of the following sentences.

9. A good citizen abides ………….. the rules of the land.

A. with

B. in

C. at

D. by

10. Since his swearing in, the governor ……………….. his hometown.

A. had not been visiting

B. has not visited

C. did not visit

D. had not visited

PAPER 3 (TEST 0F ORALS]

SECTION 1

From the words lettered A to D, choose the word that has the same vowel sound as the one
represented by the letters underlined.

11. wit

A. fright

B. wheat
C. tree

D. market

12. look

A. glue

B. you

C. cup

D. curious

SECTION 2

From the words lettered A to D, choose the word that has the same consonant sound(s) as the
one represented by the letter(s) underlined.

13. dance

A. handsome

B. sandwich

C. adjective

D. pounding

14. plucked

A. smiled

B. slammed

C. luck

D. table

SECTION 3

From the words lettered A to D, choose the word that rhymes with the given word.

15. carrier

A. area
B. barrier

C. serious

D. ravine

16. drought

A. crowd

B. nought

C. shout

D. taught

SECTION 4

In each of the following questions, the main/primary stress is indicated by writing the syllable on
which it occurs in capital letters. From the words lettered A to D, choose the one that has the
correct stress.

17. acrimony

A. A-cri-mo-ny

B. a-CRI-mo-ny

C. a-cri-MO-ny

D. a-cri-mo-NY

SECTION 5:

In the following options lettered A to D, all the words except one have the same stress pattern.
Identify the one with the different stress pattern.

18. A. sanctify

B. promising

C. notify

D. organic

SECTION 6
In each of the following sentences, the word that receives the emphatic stress is written in capital
letters. From the questions lettered A to D, choose the one to which the given sentence is the
appropriate answer.

19. The DOCTOR examined the patient with a stethoscope.

A. Did the teacher examine the patient with a stethoscope?

B. Did the doctor cure the patient with a stethoscope?

C. Did the doctor examine the nurse with a stethoscope?

D. Did the doctor examine the patient with a telescope?

SECTION 7

From the words lettered A to D, choose the word that contains the sound represented by the
given phonetic symbol.

20. / ǝ /

A. accurate

B. nephew

C. ageless

D. waddle

Choose the option that best conveys the meaning of the underlined portion in the following
sentence;

21. In the match against the uplanders team, the sub mariners turned out to be the dark horse

 A. played most brilliantly

 B. played below their usual form
 C. won unexpectedly
 D. lost as expected
 E. won as expected
22. Only the small fry get punished for such social misdemeanors

 A. small boys
 B. unimportant people
 C. frightened people
 D. frivolous people
 E. inexperienced people

Choose the option that best conveys the meaning of the underlined portion in the following
sentence;
23. He spoke with his heart in his mouth

 A. courageously
 B. with such unusual cowardice
 C. with a lot of confusion in his speech
 D. without being able to make up his mind
 E. with fright and agitation

Choose the option that best conveys the meaning of the underlined portion in the following
sentence;

24. The leader in today's issue of our popular newspaper focuses on inflation

 A. president
 B. headline
 C. editorial
 D. columnist
 E. proprietor

Choose the option that best conveys the meaning of the underlined portion in the following
sentence;
25. From the ways my friend talks, you can see he is such a bore

 A. rude
 B. brilliant
 C. uninteresting
 D. overbearing
 E. humorous
26. His jail terms were to run concurrently

 A. simultaneously
 B. uniformly
 C. laboriously
 D. consecutively
 E. judiciously

27. There is some obvious symmetry  in the whole presentation

 A. confusion
 B. hesitation
 C. excitement
 D. orderliness
 E. dissatisfaction

28. The bill has to wait as we are now insolvent

 A. overworked
 B. bankrupt
 C. unsettled
 D. insoluble
 E. affluent ;


29. All his plans fell through

 A. failed
 B. were accomplished
 C. had to be reviewed
 D. were rejected
 E. fell

30. The balance sheet at the end of the business year shows that we broke even

 A. lost heavily
 B. made profit
 C. neither lost nor gained
 D. had no money to continue business
 E. were heavily indebted to our bankers

Complete each of the following sentences by choosing the option that most suitably fills the
space;
31. Before the operation, the dentist found that his patient's teeth....

 A. have long decayed

 B. have long been decayed
 C. have long being decayed
 D. had long decayed
 E. had been decayed

32. The employer, not the salesman and his representative .... responsible for the loss

 A. are
 B. are being
 C. are never
 D. have been
 E. is

33. The boy was born before his parents actually got married and so the court has declared
him ....

 A. illegal
 B. illegitimate
 C. illicit
 D. unlawful
 E. untenable

34. As he was still owing me two naira, i was careful not to .... him any more money

 A. lend
 B. loan
 C. borrow
 D. extend
 E. credit

35. Last week the .... at the theater was the longest i had ever seen

 A. assembly
 B. congregation
 C. convention
 D. audience
 E. crowd
36.He went abroad with a view .... a business partner

 A. to find
 B. to be finding
 C. to have found
 D. to finding
 E. he will find

37 He had just entered the office .... the telephone rang

 A. as
 B. before
 C. since
 D. when
 E. until

38. They .... receive visitor on short notice

 A. use to
 B. are used to
 C. used to
 D. are always
 E. are use to

39. His suggestion are completely .... the point and cannot be accepted

 A. to
 B. about
 C. beside
 D. on
 E. under

40. For .... he is a secretary we shall not have correct minutes

 A. because
 B. as long as
 C. so long
 D. in as much
 E. although

41. He went up quickly and returned ....

  A. fastest
 B. fastly
 C. as fastly
 D. as fast
 E. in fastness

42. Invariably, he ends his letters .... amicably

 A. you
 B. your's
 C. yours'
 D. yours
 E. your own

43. If i went to the cinema i .... early

 A. shall return
 B. am returning
 C. would return
 D. had return
 E. may return

44. The traditional folktales form an .... to the book

 A. index
 B. insertion
 C. information
 D. overview
 E. appendix

45. The frightening explosion in the factory .... whole wing

 A. washed out
 B. wiped out
 C. rooted out
 D. flushed out
 E. cleared out

46. Our plane was scheduled to .... at 10.00 hrs but it was delayed because of the bad weather

 A. fly out
 B. take off
  C. start out
 D. shoot off
 E. lift off

47. As luck would have it, the weather brightened almost immediately and after six hours flight
we .... at Heathrow Airport

 A. touched down
 B. dropped
 C. came down
 D. flew down
 E. stopped

48. Before we left the airport, each passenger was made to .... certain form

 A. fill in
 B. write in
 C. enter in
 D. go through
 E. read out

49. My father cannot bear the .... of the concoction that emanates from my mothers soup pot

 A. sweet
 B. savouring
 C. aroma
 D. smell
 E. scent

50. I would not have condescended to appease the traffic policeman but i happened .... traffic
regulation

 A. to have broken
 B. to be breaking
 C. to break
 D. to break in
 E. to have evaded

PAPER 2
 SECTION A (50 MARKS)

Answer one question only from this section. All questions carry equal marks. Your answer
should not be less than 450 words.

You are advised to spend about 50 minutes on this section.

1. Your friend in another school has requested information about your school to enable him
to decide on moving over to your school. Write a letter to him discussing at least three
areas in which your school excels.
2. Write an article for publication in your school magazine, discussing the reasons why
children in your area drop out of school and suggesting ways of minimizing it.
3. As the president of your youth club, write a letter to the chairman of your Local
Government Association complaining about the increasing rate of child labour and
suggesting ways of curbing it.
4. You are the chief speaker in a debate on the topic: Women should not be in paid
employment while still bearing children. Write your contribution for or against the topic.
5. 5. Write a story that ends with the words: That experience will linger on my mind for a
long time.

SECTION B

COMPREHENSION

(20 marks)

Dele groaned and got out of bed. There was no clock on the mantel piece and the room was still
dark, but he knew that he was already late for work, probably by an hour. He was a commercial
bus driver and had to get started as early as 5.00a.m. and go almost non-stop till about 9.00 p.m.
to be able to make the daily returns that the bus owner demanded.

On the previous day, he had attended an all-night party – a late uncle’s burial ceremony – where
he had drunk himself almost senseless before crawling home in the early hours of the morning.
Now, he got up shakily, splashed water on his face and hurried off to work, but not before
carefully fastening on his upper left arm the amulet he had always worn for protection against
accidents. A similar amulet hung concealed under the steering column of his bus. On his way,
still feeling groggy, he caught his left toe against a stump and had some misgiving. It was a bad
sign, and he was supposed to go back home and then set out again. But there was no time for that
now, so he hurried on.

At the bus station, Dele quickly loaded his bus and sped off without any of the necessary checks
on the vehicle. He had to make up for lost time. It was the rush hour, so the bus was overloaded
as it often was, with many passengers hanging on to the doors. The tyres were threadbare, the
brakes were faulty and the road was wet, but, still feeling a little sleepy, Dele sped on. Many
passengers protested about his reckless driving, but he would not listen. After all, didn’t he have
protection against accident?
As the vehicle took the last turn before its destination, Dele saw a broken-down truck blocking
his side of the road. Under normal circumstances, he could have brought the bus safely to a halt,
bur the circumstances were far from normal. The careering bus hit the parked vehicle, swerved
wildly across the road and plunged into a ditch.

Dele’s surprise before he sank into oblivion was the failure of his supposedly protective amulets.

(a) Why did Dele wake up late?

(b) …he caught his left toe against a stump and had some misgivings. What does this tell us
about Dele?

(c) Give two reasons why Dele drove recklessly.

(d) Why was Dele unable to stop his faulty vehicle?

(e) What was Dele’s condition after the accident?

(f) After all, didn’t he have protection against accident? What literary device is used in this
expression?

(g) …wildly across the road…

(i) What grammatical name is given to the expression as it is used in the passage?

(ii) What is its function?

(h) For each of the following words, find another word or phrase which means the same and
can replace it in the passage:
i. probably;

ii. returns;

iii. groggy;

iv. misgiving

v. threadbare

vi. reckless.

SECTION C

(SUMMARY) [30 MARKS]

You are advised to spend about 50 minutes on this section.

Read the following passage carefully and answer the questions on it.

You cannot expect to go through life without meeting problems. Difficulties, perplexities and
frustrations are an inevitable part of human experience. Accepting this idea of the inevitability of
problems will help you to approach them in a robust frame of mind rather than thinking that you
are a victim specially singled out by malignant fate. When confronted with a problem, the first
thing to do is gather all relevant data to get acquainted with the facts of the case. Then write
down exactly what the problem is, stating it simply in black and white. This gives you something
definite with which to come to terms. The problem is assessed and you will now have something
concrete to deal with.

Next, give serious thought to the problem, making sure that such thought does not degenerate
into worry as worry accomplishes nothing. Aim at clear, dispassionate thought, viewing the
problem as if it were a friend’s and not your own. Look at it from all angles and from the point of
view of all concerned. You court disaster if you are entirely selfish in your outlook. The single
important purpose of all this is to discover all possible solutions to the problem.

Having examined the problem broadly and impartially, carefully examine all the possible
solutions or courses of action. The knowledge that you have done this will keep you from useless
regrets later, when you can remind yourself that all courses of action were examined and you
chose what appeared to be the best. Next, eliminate all proposed solutions which are seen on
further thought to be impracticable.

You will now find that your list has been whittled down to two or three possibilities. At this
stage it is often a good plan to get out into the open air. Go for a walk or a ride, preferably
somewhere with wide horizons. There, out in the open, review the problem afresh. You will find
it appears less formidable. Ask yourself how the difficulty will appear in ten years’ time or even
one! This fresh review will enable you to make a final choice as you turn to the remaining
solutions and, before you return home, decide which one you are going to adopt. As you go to
sleep that night, let your last thoughts be upon your decision. If, in the morning, you still feel it is
the best one to take, go ahead.

If you have a friend who is capable of giving sound advice, consult him. Do this before your
final decision, so that you will have the benefit of his views before you decide. Talking things
over with another is always a great help. It enables you to isolate the problem and to decide
which on which factors are important. Even if the friend offers no advice, a sympathetic ear will
help you. Furthermore, as you describe to your friend the courses open to you, you will see them
in clearer light. Some will appear impossible even as you speak. Alternatively, one will appear
most attractive.

In dealing with problems, remember the time factor. Although some problems solve themselves
in time, and delaying tactics is therefore the best form of action for them, most other problems
generally get more complicated the longer they are left. You should therefore get to grips with
the problems immediately they occur.
All told, reasonable foresight and imagination can prevent many problems ever arising. Tact,
thoughtfulness and responsible conduct can also keep life largely problem-free.

In six sentences, one for each, summarize the steps to be taken when faced with a problem and
state why each step is necessary.