Comprehension/Summary - Jamb English Language Past Questions and Answers

Question 211:

• JAMB 1984

In 1973 a Japanese sericulturist arrives in Malawi with a batch of 40,000 silkworm eggs. They were taken to the Bvumbwe Agricultural Research Station in Thyolo District. In this station, work is being done to determine favourable silkworm rearing conditions and areas where mulberry trees, leaves the worms feed on, could grow well. According to researchers, the silkworms- which eventually develop into cocoons from which raw silk is produced — do well with warm climatic conditions.
Silk is one of the strongest of fibers. Infect, for thousands of years, silk fabrics have been regarded as the most beautiful and durable materials woven by man. Many people call silk the cloth of kings and queens’.
The weaving of silk originated in china. An old Chinese book believed to be written by Confucius, tells us that the wife of Emperor Huang ti was the first person fabrics of silk. Around 2640 B.C Emperor Huang ti asked his wife His Ling-shih to study the worms that were destroying the mulberry trees in his garden. The Empress took some of the cocoons into the palace to see what they were made of. She dropped one of the cocoons into a bowl of boiling water and was amazed to see a cobweb-like tangle separate itself from the cocoon. She picked up the gauzy mass and found that one of the threads could be unwound almost without end from the cocoon. His Ling-shih had discovered silk. She was delighted with the discovery and even wove a ceremonial robe for the Emperor out of the cocoon threads. After that, the officials in the Emperor’s court wore brightly dyed silk robes on important occasions.
People in other countries regarded the new fibers as something rare and beautiful. A few traders went to China to learn about making cloth from silk, but the Chines kept their silkworm a closely guarded secret.


It is implied in the passage that silk was discovered

A. After years of hardwork and research by the Empress
B. By accident
C. In the search for a more durable fibre for making cloth
D. After some experiments carried out by the Japanese sericulturist
E. By design

Question 212:

• JAMB 1984

In 1973 a Japanese sericulturist arrives in Malawi with a batch of 40,000 silkworm eggs. They were taken to the Bvumbwe Agricultural Research Station in Thyolo District. In this station, work is being done to determine favourable silkworm rearing conditions and areas where mulberry trees, leaves the worms feed on, could grow well. According to researchers, the silkworms- which eventually develop into cocoons from which raw silk is produced — do well with warm climatic conditions.
Silk is one of the strongest of fibers. Infect, for thousands of years, silk fabrics have been regarded as the most beautiful and durable materials woven by man. Many people call silk the cloth of kings and queens’.
The weaving of silk originated in china. An old Chinese book believed to be written by Confucius, tells us that the wife of Emperor Huang ti was the first person fabrics of silk. Around 2640 B.C Emperor Huang ti asked his wife His Ling-shih to study the worms that were destroying the mulberry trees in his garden. The Empress took some of the cocoons into the palace to see what they were made of. She dropped one of the cocoons into a bowl of boiling water and was amazed to see a cobweb-like tangle separate itself from the cocoon. She picked up the gauzy mass and found that one of the threads could be unwound almost without end from the cocoon. His Ling-shih had discovered silk. She was delighted with the discovery and even wove a ceremonial robe for the Emperor out of the cocoon threads. After that, the officials in the Emperor’s court wore brightly dyed silk robes on important occasions.
People in other countries regarded the new fibers as something rare and beautiful. A few traders went to China to learn about making cloth from silk, but the Chines kept their silkworm a closely guarded secret.


According to sericulturist, silkworms

A. Cannot survive in a warm climate
B. May be reared on any tree
C. Do well in areas with a warm climate
D. Produce the longest threads when they are fed leaves from the top of the mulberry tree
E. Are destroyed by heat

Question 213:

• JAMB 1984

In 1973 a Japanese sericulturist arrives in Malawi with a batch of 40,000 silkworm eggs. They were taken to the Bvumbwe Agricultural Research Station in Thyolo District. In this station, work is being done to determine favourable silkworm rearing conditions and areas where mulberry trees, leaves the worms feed on, could grow well. According to researchers, the silkworms- which eventually develop into cocoons from which raw silk is produced — do well with warm climatic conditions.
Silk is one of the strongest of fibers. Infect, for thousands of years, silk fabrics have been regarded as the most beautiful and durable materials woven by man. Many people call silk the cloth of kings and queens’.
The weaving of silk originated in china. An old Chinese book believed to be written by Confucius, tells us that the wife of Emperor Huang ti was the first person fabrics of silk. Around 2640 B.C Emperor Huang ti asked his wife His Ling-shih to study the worms that were destroying the mulberry trees in his garden. The Empress took some of the cocoons into the palace to see what they were made of. She dropped one of the cocoons into a bowl of boiling water and was amazed to see a cobweb-like tangle separate itself from the cocoon. She picked up the gauzy mass and found that one of the threads could be unwound almost without end from the cocoon. His Ling-shih had discovered silk. She was delighted with the discovery and even wove a ceremonial robe for the Emperor out of the cocoon threads. After that, the officials in the Emperor’s court wore brightly dyed silk robes on important occasions.
People in other countries regarded the new fibers as something rare and beautiful. A few traders went to China to learn about making cloth from silk, but the Chines kept their silkworm a closely guarded secret.


The work carried out at the Agricultural Research Station in Malawi on the silkworm eggs was to

A. Try to breed cocoons which would produce more silk
B. Determine the survival rate of silkworms
C. Find out the most suitable areas and conditions for rearing silkworms
D. Search for better methods of rearing silkworms
E. Find out how cocoons become silkworms

Question 214:

• JAMB 1984

In 1973 a Japanese sericulturist arrives in Malawi with a batch of 40,000 silkworm eggs. They were taken to the Bvumbwe Agricultural Research Station in Thyolo District. In this station, work is being done to determine favourable silkworm rearing conditions and areas where mulberry trees, leaves the worms feed on, could grow well. According to researchers, the silkworms- which eventually develop into cocoons from which raw silk is produced — do well with warm climatic conditions.
Silk is one of the strongest of fibers. Infect, for thousands of years, silk fabrics have been regarded as the most beautiful and durable materials woven by man. Many people call silk the cloth of kings and queens’.
The weaving of silk originated in china. An old Chinese book believed to be written by Confucius, tells us that the wife of Emperor Huang ti was the first person fabrics of silk. Around 2640 B.C Emperor Huang ti asked his wife His Ling-shih to study the worms that were destroying the mulberry trees in his garden. The Empress took some of the cocoons into the palace to see what they were made of. She dropped one of the cocoons into a bowl of boiling water and was amazed to see a cobweb-like tangle separate itself from the cocoon. She picked up the gauzy mass and found that one of the threads could be unwound almost without end from the cocoon. His Ling-shih had discovered silk. She was delighted with the discovery and even wove a ceremonial robe for the Emperor out of the cocoon threads. After that, the officials in the Emperor’s court wore brightly dyed silk robes on important occasions.
People in other countries regarded the new fibers as something rare and beautiful. A few traders went to China to learn about making cloth from silk, but the Chines kept their silkworm a closely guarded secret.


Choose the meaning which best fits the underlined phrase from the passage. Closely guarded secret

A. Carefully hidden from the knowledge of others
B. Secretly processed business with armed guards
C. Carefully hidden from the view of strangers
D. Scarcely known
E. Unknown

Question 215:

• JAMB 1985

Read each passage carefully and answer the questions that follow.
Obi: Let’s go to the Sport Club Cafeteria. One naira
per meal is a privilege in this country.
And God knows that I am too broke to afford
anything More
Olu: Got a membership identity card? Don’t forget
the place is for bona fide members
only.
Obi: Forget it. There are other types of
identity cards, remember. Just flash
something before the eyes of those men at the
gate, provided it looks like an identity card.
Olu: Ee...eh, I see. That is why the place is
always congested. I don’t think it
is even worth the trouble. I can’t stand a
queue.
Obi: That shouldn’t bother you. You don’t have to
join the queue. Just walk
straight to the serving point without fear
and be sure you shout your
order.
Olu: But only V.I.Ps have the right to break
queues.
Obi: Sure, but V.I Ps don’t wear badges on their
faces. Post man, pose. After
all this is Nigeria
olu: You mean there are many impostors here?
Obi: Certainly, and many people with privileges
too. If you want to get
along, you must pose, and to get along
means getting what you want
If you choose to term it ‘privileges, it
suits me. It is all a question of
semantics.


which of the following is NOT implied in the expression:'One naira per meal is a privilege in this country?

A. Nowhere in this country is food sold for one naira
B. The price per meal at the Sport Club Cafeteria is one naira
C. It is rare for anybody to feed satisfactorily with one naira in any hotel in the country
D. Obi cannot afford more than one naira for one meal
E. Ordinarily one naira cannot buy much in the country