Expositive Comprehension passage - Jamb English Language Past Questions and Answers

Question 271:

• JAMB 2016

Read the passage carefully and answer the question that follows.
Curiosity is as clear and definite as any of our urges. We wonder what is in a sealed telegram or in a letter which someone else is absorbed or what is being said in the telephone booth or in low conversation. This inquisitiveness is vastly stimulated by jealousy. Suspicion or any hint that we ourselves are directly or indirectly involved in. But there appears to be a fair amount of personal interest in other people's affairs even when they do not concern us except as a mystery to be unravelled or a tale to be told. The reports of a divorce suit will have news 'value' for many weeks, They constitute a story like a novel, a play or a moving picture. This is not an example of pure curiosity. However, since we readily identify ourselves with others' their joys and despair then become our own concern.
Adapted from Harris, W. and L.G Wilson (1963) The University Handbook,New York: Holt Rinehart and Winston


The word intensity, as used in the passage, means

A. Scheme
B. Flare
C. Instinct
D. Force

Question 272:

• JAMB 2016

Boxing is sometimes called' the noble art of self defence'. According to some people, boxing appeals to the lowest instincts in the ....11....who have come to watch blood flow and their fellow human suffer Boxers who are medically fit appear in the ....12.... The referee sometimes allows the .....13... to go on for long so that one of the ...14... is reduced to a human punch bag.It may happen that the boxers are not well ...15... one being much stronger than the other, as a result of which he so much .....16... his opponent that he wins ....17.... Many boxers have suffered permanent brain.....18... in the ....19.... of punches that have been thrown at them during their....20....


Choose the most appropriate option for the gap labelled [....15.....] above

A. Levelled
B. Groomed
C. Sparred
D. Staged

Question 273:

• JAMB 2021

It is normal in Nigeria to use proficiency in the use of English language as a barometer for evaluating the height of any person's educational attainment. Today, many teachers resort quite often to the use of vernacular in the teaching of their subjects. One is often dismayed at the incompetence of many teachers, even graduates in the use of English language. Throughout the colonial period, up to 1960, Nigerian formal education was patterned after the English system. The "accent" was on English and an educated Nigerian was one who was only African in colour but English in thought and culture. The ability to speak English fluently and if possible with an Oxford accent was the hallmark of excellence even if the speaker was empty of thought and ideas. In those days it was a serious offence for a secondary school boy or girl to "laugh in the vernacular". But we now swung to the other extreme. Nigeria would say they are not English people, some would say they did not specialise in English in the university. But the country has adopted the English language as its official, the language of instruction at schools, parliamentary proceedings, conduct of official business and indeed the lingua franca. If the language is to continue to be used, then it is imperative that we all agree on the pattern of correctness in the language so that communication can be effective.


A suitable title for the passage is

A. English language
B. Trends in Nigerian Education
C. Teaching and Learning English
D. Importance of English

Question 274:

• JAMB 2021

It is normal in Nigeria to use proficiency in the use of English language as a barometer for evaluating the height of any person's educational attainment. Today, many teachers resort quite often to the use of vernacular in the teaching of their subjects. One is often dismayed at the incompetence of many teachers, even graduates in the use of English language. Throughout the colonial period, up to 1960, Nigerian formal education was patterned after the English system. The "accent" was on English and an educated Nigerian was one who was only African in colour but English in thought and culture. The ability to speak English fluently and if possible with an Oxford accent was the hallmark of excellence even if the speaker was empty of thought and ideas. In those days it was a serious offence for a secondary school boy or girl to "laugh in the vernacular". But we now swung to the other extreme. Nigeria would say they are not English people, some would say they did not specialise in English in the university. But the country has adopted the English language as its official, the language of instruction at schools, parliamentary proceedings, conduct of official business and indeed the lingua franca. If the language is to continue to be used, then it is imperative that we all agree on the pattern of correctness in the language so that communication can be effective.


Which of the following is not true according to the passage?

A. The competence level in the use of English has fallen greatly
B. What used to be in the past could be considered extreme
C. The writer is advocating for the use of indigenous language for teaching and learning
D. English language is the official language in Nigeria

Question 275:

• JAMB 2021

It is normal in Nigeria to use proficiency in the use of English language as a barometer for evaluating the height of any person's educational attainment. Today, many teachers resort quite often to the use of vernacular in the teaching of their subjects. One is often dismayed at the incompetence of many teachers, even graduates in the use of English language. Throughout the colonial period, up to 1960, Nigerian formal education was patterned after the English system. The "accent" was on English and an educated Nigerian was one who was only African in colour but English in thought and culture. The ability to speak English fluently and if possible with an Oxford accent was the hallmark of excellence even if the speaker was empty of thought and ideas. In those days it was a serious offence for a secondary school boy or girl to "laugh in the vernacular". But we now swung to the other extreme. Nigeria would say they are not English people, some would say they did not specialise in English in the university. But the country has adopted the English language as its official, the language of instruction at schools, parliamentary proceedings, conduct of official business and indeed the lingua franca. If the language is to continue to be used, then it is imperative that we all agree on the pattern of correctness in the language so that communication can be effective.


During the colonial period, according to the passage, an educated Nigerian was one who

A. Has travelled to Oxford
B. Is English in thought and culture
C. Looks African in colour
D. Has the English accent