Descriptive Comprehension passage - Jamb English Language Past Questions and Answers

Question 61:

• JAMB 1987

Primitive man was probably more concerned with fire as a source of warmth and as a means of cooking food than as a source of light. Before the discovered less laborious ways of making fire, he had to preserve it and whenever he went on a journey he carried a firebrand with him. He discovered that the firebrand, from which the torch may well have developed, could be used for illumination was probably incidental to the primary purpose of preserving a flame.
Lamps too probably developed by accident. Early man may had his first conception of a lamp while watching a twing or fibre burning in the molten fat dropped from roasting carcass. All he had to do was to fashion a vessel to contain fat and float a lighted reed in it. Such lamps which were made of hollow stones or sea-shells have persisted in identical form up to quite recent times.


Primitive man carried a firebrand during his journeys mainly for

A. Illumination
B. Cooking of food
C. Flame perservation
D. Warmth

Question 62:

• JAMB 1987

Primitive man was probably more concerned with fire as a source of warmth and as a means of cooking food than as a source of light. Before the discovered less laborious ways of making fire, he had to preserve it and whenever he went on a journey he carried a firebrand with him. He discovered that the firebrand, from which the torch may well have developed, could be used for illumination was probably incidental to the primary purpose of preserving a flame.
Lamps too probably developed by accident. Early man may had his first conception of a lamp while watching a twing or fibre burning in the molten fat dropped from roasting carcass. All he had to do was to fashion a vessel to contain fat and float a lighted reed in it. Such lamps which were made of hollow stones or sea-shells have persisted in identical form up to quite recent times.


According to the passage, the torch probably developed from a

A. Firebrand
B. Twing
C. Lamp
D. Fibre

Question 63:

• JAMB 1987

Primitive man was probably more concerned with fire as a source of warmth and as a means of cooking food than as a source of light. Before the discovered less laborious ways of making fire, he had to preserve it and whenever he went on a journey he carried a firebrand with him. He discovered that the firebrand, from which the torch may well have developed, could be used for illumination was probably incidental to the primary purpose of preserving a flame.
Lamps too probably developed by accident. Early man may had his first conception of a lamp while watching a twing or fibre burning in the molten fat dropped from roasting carcass. All he had to do was to fashion a vessel to contain fat and float a lighted reed in it. Such lamps which were made of hollow stones or sea-shells have persisted in identical form up to quite recent times.


One way early man made a lamp was by putting a lighted reed in a

A. Hollow stone
B. Sea shell
C. Vessel
D. Molten fat

Question 64:

• JAMB 1987

Primitive man was probably more concerned with fire as a source of warmth and as a means of cooking food than as a source of light. Before the discovered less laborious ways of making fire, he had to preserve it and whenever he went on a journey he carried a firebrand with him. He discovered that the firebrand, from which the torch may well have developed, could be used for illumination was probably incidental to the primary purpose of preserving a flame.
Lamps too probably developed by accident. Early man may had his first conception of a lamp while watching a twing or fibre burning in the molten fat dropped from roasting carcass. All he had to do was to fashion a vessel to contain fat and float a lighted reed in it. Such lamps which were made of hollow stones or sea-shells have persisted in identical form up to quite recent times.


Primitive man preserved fire because

A. He used it for illumination during his travels
B. His method of making fire was labourious
C. He wanted to discover how to make a lamp
D. He wanted to develop the torch

Question 65:

• JAMB 1990

As a rule the Emopa are very brave indeed and are among the few Africans who still hunt lion with the spear. They also kill elephants, not for food but for spear blooding or to prove their manhood. When elephants are located, there is great excitement and fierce competition among the young men. Each tries to be first to blood his spear, the one who does so claims the trophy. No young man is looked upon with favour by the girls until he has won his spurs by killing a dangerous animal.
But as brave as the Emopa are, two fierce man-eaters completely overawed them. This was partly due to the cunning and boldness of the lions, partly to the fact that when hunted, they would always retreat into dense riverine and undergrowth, where it was impossible for man to poise and throw a spear. Superstition had also added its quota to the fear with which they were regarded. It was said that before starting off on a raid the lions would retire to an open sandy place and there make two rows of depressions in the sand with their paws. Then, using twings as counters, they would play the ancient game of ‘baw’ (a game of unknown antiquity, which resembles draughts and is played all over Africa). If the omens were good they would raid a village and claim a victim, if not, they would wait. Another story had it that the lions were the spirits of two ‘holy men’ who had now come back in this shape to seek their revenge. So strongly was this view held that the local Emopa had petitioned a practising ‘holy man’ to come from a great distance to exorcise the spirits. He came with book, bell and candle and charged a fee of a hundred goats but the lions continued their depredations. To add to the legend of the lions invulnerability many hunters had tried on previous occasions to kill them and had failed owing to lack of time. This confirmed the Emopa’s opinion that lions were supernatural beings and that it was useless to hunt them.


The young men of Emopa would hunt for elephants because

A. They are among the few africans that huntlions with a spear
B. Elephants are dangerous animals
C. No young Emopa attracts a girl's admiration untill he has killed a dangerous animal
D. When elephants are sighted, there is great excitement and fierce compitition amonmg the young men