Descriptive Comprehension passage - Jamb English Language Past Questions and Answers

Question 221:

• 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 222:

• 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

Question 223:

• 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.



Which of the following is true according to the passage?

A. Scientists felt that biocells would produce very costly energy
B. Bicells, at the beginning, derived their energy from sugar
C. Sugar and fuel were initially used as sources of engergy for bicells
D. Biocells were from of power used by the scientists

Question 224:

• 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 inventors of biocell justified the need for it by saying that it would

A. Develop ways for changing biocells into fuel for use
B. Yield a source of energy without much spending
C. Produce electricity for all types of machines
D. Produce signals to guid all ships and other vessels

Question 225:

• 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.



According to the passage, electricity was first discovered in

A. Hearts and brains
B. Muscles of animals
C. Lighting
D. Fish