Comprehension/Summary - Jamb English Language Past Questions and Answers

Question 686:

• JAMB 2010

Select the option that best explains the information conveyed in the sentence.
Though Mr. Iro is our new chairman, he views other members with jaundiced eye?

A. He takes a rather forceful position on dealing with his members
B. He takes an unfavourable position concerning his members
C. He takes a sicky view of his members
D. He takes a rather hazy view of his members

Question 687:

• JAMB 2010

  One of the interesting things to me about our spaceship is that it is a mechanical vehicle, just as is an automobile. If you own a car, you realize that you must put oil and gas into it and must put water in the radiator and take care of the car as a whole. You begin to develop quite a little thermodynamic sense. You know that you are either going to have to keep the machine in a good order or it is going to be in trouble and fail to function. We have not been seeing our spaceship earth as an integrally-designed machine which to be persistently successful, must be comprehended and serviced in total.
  Now there is one outstanding important fact regarding Spaceship Earth and that is that no instrument book came with it. I think it is very significant that there is no instrument book for successfully operating our ship, in view of the infinite attention to all other details displayed by our ship. It must be taken as deliberate and purposeful that an instruction book was omitted. Lack of instruction has forced us to find out that there are two kinds of mangoes-unripe mangoes that will kill us and ripped mangoes which will nourish us. And we had to find out ways of telling which were-which mangoes before we ate it or otherwise we would die. So we were forced because of this to devise scientific experimental procedures and to interpret effectively the significance of the experimental findings. Thus, because the instruction manual was missing, we are learning how we can safely survive on the planet.
  Quite clearly, all living beings are utterly helpless at the moment of birth. The human child stays helpless longer than the young of any species. Apparently, it is part of the “invention” that man is meant to be utterly helpless through certain anthropological phases. When he begins to be able to get on a little better, he is meant to discover some of the physical principals inherent in the universe as well as the many resources around him which will further multiply his knowledge. Designed into this Spaceship Earth’s total wealth was a big safety factor. This allowed man to be very ignorant for a long time until he had amassed enough experience from which to extract progressively the system of generalized principals governing increase of energy. The designed omission of the instruction book forced man to discover retrospectively just what his most important capabilities are. He learned to generalize fundamental principles of universe.


According to the writer, the exciting thing about spaceship Earth is that it

A. Has no instrument manual
B. Is not difficult to maintain
C. Is peculiar to other automobiles
D. Is relatively easy to operate

Question 688:

• JAMB 2010

  One of the interesting things to me about our spaceship is that it is a mechanical vehicle, just as is an automobile. If you own a car, you realize that you must put oil and gas into it and must put water in the radiator and take care of the car as a whole. You begin to develop quite a little thermodynamic sense. You know that you are either going to have to keep the machine in a good order or it is going to be in trouble and fail to function. We have not been seeing our spaceship earth as an integrally-designed machine which to be persistently successful, must be comprehended and serviced in total.
  Now there is one outstanding important fact regarding Spaceship Earth and that is that no instrument book came with it. I think it is very significant that there is no instrument book for successfully operating our ship, in view of the infinite attention to all other details displayed by our ship. It must be taken as deliberate and purposeful that an instruction book was omitted. Lack of instruction has forced us to find out that there are two kinds of mangoes-unripe mangoes that will kill us and ripped mangoes which will nourish us. And we had to find out ways of telling which were-which mangoes before we ate it or otherwise we would die. So we were forced because of this to devise scientific experimental procedures and to interpret effectively the significance of the experimental findings. Thus, because the instruction manual was missing, we are learning how we can safely survive on the planet.
  Quite clearly, all living beings are utterly helpless at the moment of birth. The human child stays helpless longer than the young of any species. Apparently, it is part of the “invention” that man is meant to be utterly helpless through certain anthropological phases. When he begins to be able to get on a little better, he is meant to discover some of the physical principals inherent in the universe as well as the many resources around him which will further multiply his knowledge. Designed into this Spaceship Earth’s total wealth was a big safety factor. This allowed man to be very ignorant for a long time until he had amassed enough experience from which to extract progressively the system of generalized principals governing increase of energy. The designed omission of the instruction book forced man to discover retrospectively just what his most important capabilities are. He learned to generalize fundamental principles of universe.


The absence of instrument manual in Spaceship Earth has

A. Made the operation of the Spaceship Earth difficult
B. Forced man to devise other means of travelling in space
C. Challenged man's inquistiveness
D. Made man helpless

Question 689:

• JAMB 2010

  One of the interesting things to me about our spaceship is that it is a mechanical vehicle, just as is an automobile. If you own a car, you realize that you must put oil and gas into it and must put water in the radiator and take care of the car as a whole. You begin to develop quite a little thermodynamic sense. You know that you are either going to have to keep the machine in a good order or it is going to be in trouble and fail to function. We have not been seeing our spaceship earth as an integrally-designed machine which to be persistently successful, must be comprehended and serviced in total.
  Now there is one outstanding important fact regarding Spaceship Earth and that is that no instrument book came with it. I think it is very significant that there is no instrument book for successfully operating our ship, in view of the infinite attention to all other details displayed by our ship. It must be taken as deliberate and purposeful that an instruction book was omitted. Lack of instruction has forced us to find out that there are two kinds of mangoes-unripe mangoes that will kill us and ripped mangoes which will nourish us. And we had to find out ways of telling which were-which mangoes before we ate it or otherwise we would die. So we were forced because of this to devise scientific experimental procedures and to interpret effectively the significance of the experimental findings. Thus, because the instruction manual was missing, we are learning how we can safely survive on the planet.
  Quite clearly, all living beings are utterly helpless at the moment of birth. The human child stays helpless longer than the young of any species. Apparently, it is part of the “invention” that man is meant to be utterly helpless through certain anthropological phases. When he begins to be able to get on a little better, he is meant to discover some of the physical principals inherent in the universe as well as the many resources around him which will further multiply his knowledge. Designed into this Spaceship Earth’s total wealth was a big safety factor. This allowed man to be very ignorant for a long time until he had amassed enough experience from which to extract progressively the system of generalized principals governing increase of energy. The designed omission of the instruction book forced man to discover retrospectively just what his most important capabilities are. He learned to generalize fundamental principles of universe.


From the passage, it can be deduced that man

A. Learns by experiment and deduction
B. Learns bychance and accidentally
C. Is incapable of solving all his problems
D. By his nature is in constant search of knowledge

Question 690:

• JAMB 2010

  One of the interesting things to me about our spaceship is that it is a mechanical vehicle, just as is an automobile. If you own a car, you realize that you must put oil and gas into it and must put water in the radiator and take care of the car as a whole. You begin to develop quite a little thermodynamic sense. You know that you are either going to have to keep the machine in a good order or it is going to be in trouble and fail to function. We have not been seeing our spaceship earth as an integrally-designed machine which to be persistently successful, must be comprehended and serviced in total.
  Now there is one outstanding important fact regarding Spaceship Earth and that is that no instrument book came with it. I think it is very significant that there is no instrument book for successfully operating our ship, in view of the infinite attention to all other details displayed by our ship. It must be taken as deliberate and purposeful that an instruction book was omitted. Lack of instruction has forced us to find out that there are two kinds of mangoes-unripe mangoes that will kill us and ripped mangoes which will nourish us. And we had to find out ways of telling which were-which mangoes before we ate it or otherwise we would die. So we were forced because of this to devise scientific experimental procedures and to interpret effectively the significance of the experimental findings. Thus, because the instruction manual was missing, we are learning how we can safely survive on the planet.
  Quite clearly, all living beings are utterly helpless at the moment of birth. The human child stays helpless longer than the young of any species. Apparently, it is part of the “invention” that man is meant to be utterly helpless through certain anthropological phases. When he begins to be able to get on a little better, he is meant to discover some of the physical principals inherent in the universe as well as the many resources around him which will further multiply his knowledge. Designed into this Spaceship Earth’s total wealth was a big safety factor. This allowed man to be very ignorant for a long time until he had amassed enough experience from which to extract progressively the system of generalized principals governing increase of energy. The designed omission of the instruction book forced man to discover retrospectively just what his most important capabilities are. He learned to generalize fundamental principles of universe.


The writer's mood in the passage is that of

A. Non-commital
B. Pessimism
C. Optimism
D. Frustration