Expositive Comprehension passage - Jamb English Language Past Questions and Answers

Question 111:

• JAMB 1990

The importance of the code theory in education lies in the fact that the school system requires the use of an elaborated code but not all students have access to it. The importance of this theory to sociology lies in the fact that the differential access to the elaborated code does not occur randomly but rather is controlled by the class system. Lower working-class urban children tend to have a restricted code. Middle-class children possess both a restricted and an elaborated code. The two groups enter into different types of relationship and learn to express themselves in different ways through language. They do not use language for the same functions, some of which it seems are necessary for the school situation. When the lower working-class child is expected implicity to exploit language for functions, he normally does not express verbally a discontinuity is created between his home and his school environment. He has learned to verbalize certain range of meanings in his home and when he enters school, another range of meaning is required. There is then a very subtle but nonetheless very real, sense in which what is taught is personally irrelevant for this child. The school system does not talk to him. Middle class children possessing both codes experience no such discontinuity. They can use languages for these functions required by the school.


'The school system does not talk to him' means that the

A. Teachers do not talk to him
B. Teachers talk to him differently from the way other pupils do
C. Headmaster and teachers do not talk to him
D. Teachers talk to him differently from the way hie is talked to at home

Question 112:

• JAMB 1991

 The young are not listening to their elders, and perhaps they never have. But now it happens that, with many of them, the reason may be medical. The young aren’t listening because they can’t hear. Just as nagging parents have long suspected, otologists (hearing specialist) now report that youngsters are going deaf as a result of blasting their eardrums with electronically amplified rock ‘n’ roll.
  The hearing specialists used to worry about loud noise as a cause of deafness only in industrial and military situations. They knew that eight hours of daily exposure, year in and year out, to the din of the proverbial boiler factory, would eventually result in permanent hearing loss. Riveters were particularly susceptible. Then they learned that the same thing happened to aviators. After the advent of jets, the hazard applied to the ground crews at airport and flight-deck personnel aboard aircrafts — hence the introduction of insulated noise absorbing plastic earmuffs.
  In discotheques and rock ‘n’ roll joints, the trouble is not so much in the instrument themselves, or the close quarters. The blame goes to the electronic amplifiers. An old-fashion military ban, playing a march in Ramat Park, generated as much sound. But the sound was not amplified and was dissipated in the open air. A trombonist sitting in front of a tuba player might be a bit deaf for an hour or so after a concert, and then his hearing returns to normal. A microphone hooked up to a public address system did not appreciably increase the hearing hazard. What he did was multiple microphones and speakers, and the installation of internal microphones in such instruments as guitars and bouzoukis.


The young are not listening to their elders because

A. They never have
B. Thier parents nag constantly
C. They are permanently deaf
D. They appear to be going deaf

Question 113:

• JAMB 1991

 The young are not listening to their elders, and perhaps they never have. But now it happens that, with many of them, the reason may be medical. The young aren’t listening because they can’t hear. Just as nagging parents have long suspected, otologists (hearing specialist) now report that youngsters are going deaf as a result of blasting their eardrums with electronically amplified rock ‘n’ roll.
  The hearing specialists used to worry about loud noise as a cause of deafness only in industrial and military situations. They knew that eight hours of daily exposure, year in and year out, to the din of the proverbial boiler factory, would eventually result in permanent hearing loss. Riveters were particularly susceptible. Then they learned that the same thing happened to aviators. After the advent of jets, the hazard applied to the ground crews at airport and flight-deck personnel aboard aircrafts — hence the introduction of insulated noise absorbing plastic earmuffs.
  In discotheques and rock ‘n’ roll joints, the trouble is not so much in the instrument themselves, or the close quarters. The blame goes to the electronic amplifiers. An old-fashion military ban, playing a march in Ramat Park, generated as much sound. But the sound was not amplified and was dissipated in the open air. A trombonist sitting in front of a tuba player might be a bit deaf for an hour or so after a concert, and then his hearing returns to normal. A microphone hooked up to a public address system did not appreciably increase the hearing hazard. What he did was multiple microphones and speakers, and the installation of internal microphones in such instruments as guitars and bouzoukis.


'Just as nagging parents have long suspected' implies that the parents suspected that

A. Thier children did not listen to them
B. Children could not hear properly
C. Otologist where always right
D. Children were disobedient because they did not listen to their parents

Question 114:

• JAMB 1991

 The young are not listening to their elders, and perhaps they never have. But now it happens that, with many of them, the reason may be medical. The young aren’t listening because they can’t hear. Just as nagging parents have long suspected, otologists (hearing specialist) now report that youngsters are going deaf as a result of blasting their eardrums with electronically amplified rock ‘n’ roll.
  The hearing specialists used to worry about loud noise as a cause of deafness only in industrial and military situations. They knew that eight hours of daily exposure, year in and year out, to the din of the proverbial boiler factory, would eventually result in permanent hearing loss. Riveters were particularly susceptible. Then they learned that the same thing happened to aviators. After the advent of jets, the hazard applied to the ground crews at airport and flight-deck personnel aboard aircrafts — hence the introduction of insulated noise absorbing plastic earmuffs.
  In discotheques and rock ‘n’ roll joints, the trouble is not so much in the instrument themselves, or the close quarters. The blame goes to the electronic amplifiers. An old-fashion military ban, playing a march in Ramat Park, generated as much sound. But the sound was not amplified and was dissipated in the open air. A trombonist sitting in front of a tuba player might be a bit deaf for an hour or so after a concert, and then his hearing returns to normal. A microphone hooked up to a public address system did not appreciably increase the hearing hazard. What he did was multiple microphones and speakers, and the installation of internal microphones in such instruments as guitars and bouzoukis.


What is the result of being subjected to the din of the proverbial boiler factory for a long length of time?

A. A loss of hearing which will never improve
B. Total deafness eight hours a day
C. Temporary deafness
D. Hearing loss which can be corrected by medical treatment

Question 115:

• JAMB 1991

 The young are not listening to their elders, and perhaps they never have. But now it happens that, with many of them, the reason may be medical. The young aren’t listening because they can’t hear. Just as nagging parents have long suspected, otologists (hearing specialist) now report that youngsters are going deaf as a result of blasting their eardrums with electronically amplified rock ‘n’ roll.
  The hearing specialists used to worry about loud noise as a cause of deafness only in industrial and military situations. They knew that eight hours of daily exposure, year in and year out, to the din of the proverbial boiler factory, would eventually result in permanent hearing loss. Riveters were particularly susceptible. Then they learned that the same thing happened to aviators. After the advent of jets, the hazard applied to the ground crews at airport and flight-deck personnel aboard aircrafts — hence the introduction of insulated noise absorbing plastic earmuffs.
  In discotheques and rock ‘n’ roll joints, the trouble is not so much in the instrument themselves, or the close quarters. The blame goes to the electronic amplifiers. An old-fashion military ban, playing a march in Ramat Park, generated as much sound. But the sound was not amplified and was dissipated in the open air. A trombonist sitting in front of a tuba player might be a bit deaf for an hour or so after a concert, and then his hearing returns to normal. A microphone hooked up to a public address system did not appreciably increase the hearing hazard. What he did was multiple microphones and speakers, and the installation of internal microphones in such instruments as guitars and bouzoukis.


'The same thing happened to aviators'. This excerpt according to the passage, means

A. That riveters were particularly susceptible
B. Industrial and military deafness
C. That continued loud noise resulted in deafness
D. That working in a boiler factory affected one's hearing