Descriptive Comprehension passage - Jamb English Language Past Questions and Answers

Question 156:

• JAMB 2006

  The passage below has gaps numbered 16 to 25. Immediately following each gap, four options are provided. Choose the most appropriate option for each gap. Each question carries 2 marks .
One of the most difficult and confusing aspect of English language is its spelling system. There is often ....16.... [A. discrepancy B. discord C. a similarity D. concord] between the punctuation of a word and its spelling. One cannot always tell how to spell a word ....17.... [A. throughout B. by C. as to D. as from] its pronunciation.
In order to understand the peculiarity of English spelling ....18....[A. difficulty B. confusion C. system D. code], it is good to know something about the history of the language. First, it is helpful to realize that English was originally spoken by people who could neither read nor write. While the ....19.... [A. middle-class B. educated C. less enlightened D. uneducated] people spoke English, the literate upper classes spoke French and wrote in Latin, later when English became a ....20.... [A. literary B. romantic C. written D. coded] language, there was no system for spelling its words. Moreover, the first writers of English were French speaking ....21... [A. newscasters B. scribes C. orators D. interpreters] who knew English only slightly: therefore, they carried many French spelling ....22.... [A. habits B. attitudes C. idiosyncrasies D. mannerisms] into English. In addition, these first writers of English, who were used to writing in Latin, often ....23.... [A. inserted B. interjected C. interpolated D. juxtaposed] letters into words even when they were not pronounced because the ....24.... [A. antecedent B. opposing C. corresponding D. synonymous] word in Latin was spelled that way. Finally, the confusion increased when the ....25.... [A. diction B.morphology C. orthography D. pronunciation] of certain words changed while the spelling remained the same.




In question number 16 choose the best option from the letters A-D that best completes the gap

A. A descrepancy
B. Discord
C. A similarity
D. Concord

Question 157:

• JAMB 2006

  The passage below has gaps numbered 16 to 25. Immediately following each gap, four options are provided. Choose the most appropriate option for each gap. Each question carries 2 marks .
One of the most difficult and confusing aspect of English language is its spelling system. There is often ....16.... [A. discrepancy B. discord C. a similarity D. concord] between the punctuation of a word and its spelling. One cannot always tell how to spell a word ....17.... [A. throughout B. by C. as to D. as from] its pronunciation.
In order to understand the peculiarity of English spelling ....18....[A. difficulty B. confusion C. system D. code], it is good to know something about the history of the language. First, it is helpful to realize that English was originally spoken by people who could neither read nor write. While the ....19.... [A. middle-class B. educated C. less enlightened D. uneducated] people spoke English, the literate upper classes spoke French and wrote in Latin, later when English became a ....20.... [A. literary B. romantic C. written D. coded] language, there was no system for spelling its words. Moreover, the first writers of English were French speaking ....21... [A. newscasters B. scribes C. orators D. interpreters] who knew English only slightly: therefore, they carried many French spelling ....22.... [A. habits B. attitudes C. idiosyncrasies D. mannerisms] into English. In addition, these first writers of English, who were used to writing in Latin, often ....23.... [A. inserted B. interjected C. interpolated D. juxtaposed] letters into words even when they were not pronounced because the ....24.... [A. antecedent B. opposing C. corresponding D. synonymous] word in Latin was spelled that way. Finally, the confusion increased when the ....25.... [A. diction B.morphology C. orthography D. pronunciation] of certain words changed while the spelling remained the same.




In question number 17 choose the best option from the letters A-D that best completes the gap

A. Throughout
B. By
C. As to
D. As from

Question 158:

• JAMB 2006

  The passage below has gaps numbered 16 to 25. Immediately following each gap, four options are provided. Choose the most appropriate option for each gap. Each question carries 2 marks .
One of the most difficult and confusing aspect of English language is its spelling system. There is often ....16.... [A. discrepancy B. discord C. a similarity D. concord] between the punctuation of a word and its spelling. One cannot always tell how to spell a word ....17.... [A. throughout B. by C. as to D. as from] its pronunciation.
In order to understand the peculiarity of English spelling ....18....[A. difficulty B. confusion C. system D. code], it is good to know something about the history of the language. First, it is helpful to realize that English was originally spoken by people who could neither read nor write. While the ....19.... [A. middle-class B. educated C. less enlightened D. uneducated] people spoke English, the literate upper classes spoke French and wrote in Latin, later when English became a ....20.... [A. literary B. romantic C. written D. coded] language, there was no system for spelling its words. Moreover, the first writers of English were French speaking ....21... [A. newscasters B. scribes C. orators D. interpreters] who knew English only slightly: therefore, they carried many French spelling ....22.... [A. habits B. attitudes C. idiosyncrasies D. mannerisms] into English. In addition, these first writers of English, who were used to writing in Latin, often ....23.... [A. inserted B. interjected C. interpolated D. juxtaposed] letters into words even when they were not pronounced because the ....24.... [A. antecedent B. opposing C. corresponding D. synonymous] word in Latin was spelled that way. Finally, the confusion increased when the ....25.... [A. diction B.morphology C. orthography D. pronunciation] of certain words changed while the spelling remained the same.




In question number 18 choose the best option from the letters A-D that best completes the gap

A. Difficulty
B. Confusion
C. System
D. Code

Question 159:

• JAMB 2006

  The passage below has gaps numbered 16 to 25. Immediately following each gap, four options are provided. Choose the most appropriate option for each gap. Each question carries 2 marks .
One of the most difficult and confusing aspect of English language is its spelling system. There is often ....16.... [A. discrepancy B. discord C. a similarity D. concord] between the punctuation of a word and its spelling. One cannot always tell how to spell a word ....17.... [A. throughout B. by C. as to D. as from] its pronunciation.
In order to understand the peculiarity of English spelling ....18....[A. difficulty B. confusion C. system D. code], it is good to know something about the history of the language. First, it is helpful to realize that English was originally spoken by people who could neither read nor write. While the ....19.... [A. middle-class B. educated C. less enlightened D. uneducated] people spoke English, the literate upper classes spoke French and wrote in Latin, later when English became a ....20.... [A. literary B. romantic C. written D. coded] language, there was no system for spelling its words. Moreover, the first writers of English were French speaking ....21... [A. newscasters B. scribes C. orators D. interpreters] who knew English only slightly: therefore, they carried many French spelling ....22.... [A. habits B. attitudes C. idiosyncrasies D. mannerisms] into English. In addition, these first writers of English, who were used to writing in Latin, often ....23.... [A. inserted B. interjected C. interpolated D. juxtaposed] letters into words even when they were not pronounced because the ....24.... [A. antecedent B. opposing C. corresponding D. synonymous] word in Latin was spelled that way. Finally, the confusion increased when the ....25.... [A. diction B.morphology C. orthography D. pronunciation] of certain words changed while the spelling remained the same.




In question number 19 choose the best option from the letters A-D that best completes the gap

A. Middle-class
B. Educated
C. Less enlightened
D. Uneducated

Question 160:

• JAMB 2006

  The passage below has gaps numbered 16 to 25. Immediately following each gap, four options are provided. Choose the most appropriate option for each gap. Each question carries 2 marks .
One of the most difficult and confusing aspect of English language is its spelling system. There is often ....16.... [A. discrepancy B. discord C. a similarity D. concord] between the punctuation of a word and its spelling. One cannot always tell how to spell a word ....17.... [A. throughout B. by C. as to D. as from] its pronunciation.
In order to understand the peculiarity of English spelling ....18....[A. difficulty B. confusion C. system D. code], it is good to know something about the history of the language. First, it is helpful to realize that English was originally spoken by people who could neither read nor write. While the ....19.... [A. middle-class B. educated C. less enlightened D. uneducated] people spoke English, the literate upper classes spoke French and wrote in Latin, later when English became a ....20.... [A. literary B. romantic C. written D. coded] language, there was no system for spelling its words. Moreover, the first writers of English were French speaking ....21... [A. newscasters B. scribes C. orators D. interpreters] who knew English only slightly: therefore, they carried many French spelling ....22.... [A. habits B. attitudes C. idiosyncrasies D. mannerisms] into English. In addition, these first writers of English, who were used to writing in Latin, often ....23.... [A. inserted B. interjected C. interpolated D. juxtaposed] letters into words even when they were not pronounced because the ....24.... [A. antecedent B. opposing C. corresponding D. synonymous] word in Latin was spelled that way. Finally, the confusion increased when the ....25.... [A. diction B.morphology C. orthography D. pronunciation] of certain words changed while the spelling remained the same.




In question number 20 choose the best option from the letters A-D that best completes the gap

A. Literaly
B. Romantic
C. Written
D. Coded