Comprehension/Summary - Jamb English Language Past Questions and Answers

Question 716:

• JAMB 2011

Like a clock with the pendulum in full swing, the mind moves as fast as time. But we ought to mind our thoughts, for if they turn to be our enemies. They will be too many for us and will drag us down to ruin.

But some people may say that they cannot help having bad thought even though they sting like vipers. That may be true, but the question is do they hate them or not? We cannot keep thieves from looking in at our windows, but if we open our doors to them and receive them joyfully, we are bad as they. We cannot help the birds flying over our heads; but we may keep them from building their nests in our hair. Vain thoughts will knock at the door but we must not open to them.


Though bad and evil thoughts rise in our hearts, they must not be allowed to reign. He who turns a morsel over and over in his mouth does so because he likes the flavours, and he who meditates upon evil, loves it, and is ripe to commit it. think of the devil, and he will appear, turn your thoughts towards will and your hands will soon follow. Snails leave their slime behind them, and so do vain thoughts. An arrow may fly through the air, and level no trace, but an evil thought always leaves a trail like serpent.


Where there is much traffic of bad thinking, there will be much mire and dirty. Every wave of wicked thought adds something to the corruption which rots upon the shore of life. It is dreadful to think that a vile imagination. Once indulged, gets the key of our minds, and get in again very easily, whether or not we let it in, and what may follow, no one knows,. Nurse evil on the laps of thought, and it will grow into a giant.


Therefore, there is wisdom in watching every day, the thoughts and imaginations of our hearts. Good thoughts are blessed guests and should be welcomed, well fed, and much sought after, but bad thoughts must fly out as swiftly as they moved in.



From the argument in the second paragraph, it can be concluded that evil thoughts control the lives of people who

A. Are helpless because they fly out of their minds
B. Cherish idle and slothful ways
C. Are thieves with evil instincts
D. Treasure and ruminate on them

Question 717:

• JAMB 2011

Like a clock with the pendulum in full swing, the mind moves as fast as time. But we ought to mind our thoughts, for if they turn to be our enemies. They will be too many for us and will drag us down to ruin.

But some people may say that they cannot help having bad thought even though they sting like vipers. That may be true, but the question is do they hate them or not? We cannot keep thieves from looking in at our windows, but if we open our doors to them and receive them joyfully, we are bad as they. We cannot help the birds flying over our heads; but we may keep them from building their nests in our hair. Vain thoughts will knock at the door but we must not open to them.


Though bad and evil thoughts rise in our hearts, they must not be allowed to reign. He who turns a morsel over and over in his mouth does so because he likes the flavours, and he who meditates upon evil, loves it, and is ripe to commit it. think of the devil, and he will appear, turn your thoughts towards will and your hands will soon follow. Snails leave their slime behind them, and so do vain thoughts. An arrow may fly through the air, and level no trace, but an evil thought always leaves a trail like serpent.


Where there is much traffic of bad thinking, there will be much mire and dirty. Every wave of wicked thought adds something to the corruption which rots upon the shore of life. It is dreadful to think that a vile imagination. Once indulged, gets the key of our minds, and get in again very easily, whether or not we let it in, and what may follow, no one knows,. Nurse evil on the laps of thought, and it will grow into a giant.


Therefore, there is wisdom in watching every day, the thoughts and imaginations of our hearts. Good thoughts are blessed guests and should be welcomed, well fed, and much sought after, but bad thoughts must fly out as swiftly as they moved in.



The expression Think of the devil and he will appear... as used in the passage, suggest that

A. Like the devil thoughts must not reign in our hearts
B. Evil thoughts are fantasies which exist only in people's mind
C. Uncontrolled evil thoughts may lead to evil deeds
D. The devil gives evil thoughts only to those who invite him in

Question 718:

• JAMB 2011

Like a clock with the pendulum in full swing, the mind moves as fast as time. But we ought to mind our thoughts, for if they turn to be our enemies. They will be too many for us and will drag us down to ruin.

But some people may say that they cannot help having bad thought even though they sting like vipers. That may be true, but the question is do they hate them or not? We cannot keep thieves from looking in at our windows, but if we open our doors to them and receive them joyfully, we are bad as they. We cannot help the birds flying over our heads; but we may keep them from building their nests in our hair. Vain thoughts will knock at the door but we must not open to them.


Though bad and evil thoughts rise in our hearts, they must not be allowed to reign. He who turns a morsel over and over in his mouth does so because he likes the flavours, and he who meditates upon evil, loves it, and is ripe to commit it. think of the devil, and he will appear, turn your thoughts towards will and your hands will soon follow. Snails leave their slime behind them, and so do vain thoughts. An arrow may fly through the air, and level no trace, but an evil thought always leaves a trail like serpent.


Where there is much traffic of bad thinking, there will be much mire and dirty. Every wave of wicked thought adds something to the corruption which rots upon the shore of life. It is dreadful to think that a vile imagination. Once indulged, gets the key of our minds, and get in again very easily, whether or not we let it in, and what may follow, no one knows,. Nurse evil on the laps of thought, and it will grow into a giant.


Therefore, there is wisdom in watching every day, the thoughts and imaginations of our hearts. Good thoughts are blessed guests and should be welcomed, well fed, and much sought after, but bad thoughts must fly out as swiftly as they moved in.



Which of the following statements summarizes the argument of the last paragraph?

A. Heavy traffic on a miry and dirty road may lead to evil thoughts
B. The more evil we think, the more vile we are likely to become
C. Evil people should not be welcomed as guets in our homes the same way as we welcome good people
D. Evil thought control the key to the human heart and no one can keep them out.

Question 719:

• JAMB 2011

In 1962, a team of scientists produced a special radio station that had a range of fifteen moles. Even though communication was being accomplished in space at a range of more than a million times this distance, the new radio station caused more excitement among scientists. The reason: its power supply was ‘battery ‘made of bacteria. For the first time, practical amounts of electricity were being produced by a form of life and put to use.

‘biocell’, the new power supply had a liquid fuel containing tiny forms of life that changed the fuel directly into electric energy. This was far more than an interesting experiment. The biocell is being developed as producer of electricity for radios, for signals to guide ships, for lighting and for other uses. Thought the working biocell is only a few years old, some scientists feel that it will one day produce power cheaply as is now being done by other methods, and that the biocell will use materials that would otherwise be considered a waste. Early biocells were powered with sugar, but a wide range of fuels can be used. Work is being done using sea water to feed the bacteria.


Electricity from living cells is no new idea. Man experienced the strange ‘shock ‘produced by some fish even before electricity was really discovered. Then in time, there were other discoveries. Benjamin Franklin found that lightning in the sky was electricity. Lulgi Galvani found some electricity in the muscles and nerves of animals. Bust the African catfish produces far more electricity than most other living creatures. And another fish, the electric eel, well named, for it has an even greater electric charge. Research works also discovered that even humans produce small amounts of electricity in their bodies. Our hearts produce a very small amount that can be measured, so do our brains. The biocell is completely new in the field of power production and, as yet, no mass-produced models have begun to replace the older types of batteries. It might be wondered, and then what the excitement is all about.



A suitable title for the passage is

A. Energy from Living Things
B. Electricity and Living Creatures
C. Biocell and Scientific Discoveries
D. The Biocell''s Future

Question 720:

• JAMB 2011

In 1962, a team of scientists produced a special radio station that had a range of fifteen moles. Even though communication was being accomplished in space at a range of more than a million times this distance, the new radio station caused more excitement among scientists. The reason: its power supply was ‘battery ‘made of bacteria. For the first time, practical amounts of electricity were being produced by a form of life and put to use.

‘biocell’, the new power supply had a liquid fuel containing tiny forms of life that changed the fuel directly into electric energy. This was far more than an interesting experiment. The biocell is being developed as producer of electricity for radios, for signals to guide ships, for lighting and for other uses. Thought the working biocell is only a few years old, some scientists feel that it will one day produce power cheaply as is now being done by other methods, and that the biocell will use materials that would otherwise be considered a waste. Early biocells were powered with sugar, but a wide range of fuels can be used. Work is being done using sea water to feed the bacteria.


Electricity from living cells is no new idea. Man experienced the strange ‘shock ‘produced by some fish even before electricity was really discovered. Then in time, there were other discoveries. Benjamin Franklin found that lightning in the sky was electricity. Lulgi Galvani found some electricity in the muscles and nerves of animals. Bust the African catfish produces far more electricity than most other living creatures. And another fish, the electric eel, well named, for it has an even greater electric charge. Research works also discovered that even humans produce small amounts of electricity in their bodies. Our hearts produce a very small amount that can be measured, so do our brains. The biocell is completely new in the field of power production and, as yet, no mass-produced models have begun to replace the older types of batteries. It might be wondered, and then what the excitement is all about.



The writer's posture, as conveyed in the statement Electricity from living cells is no new idea, can be described as

A. Ineffectual
B. Contentious
C. Logical
D. Unguarded