Argumentative/persuasive Comprehension passage - Jamb English Language Past Questions and Answers

Question 76:

• JAMB 1992

  IF economists were a bit more modest, they would admit that no one knows exactly how many Nigerians there are. The National population Bureau estimated that there would be 116 million in 1986, but this figure was derived from projections based on the much disputed figures of the 1963 census, using an annual population growth rate that was at best a guess work. Notwithstanding that the margin of error could be as large as a plus 20 million; economists have still felt confident to speak of Nigeria’s per capita income, birth and mortality rates literacy rate and so on, as if they were quoting precise figures.
  So much Nigerians is determined on the basis of the population that the lack of accurate figures has a significantly adverse effect on policies. One obviously affected area is development planning, which for the lack of reliable data, frequently looks like an exercise in futility. An example of what happens is the country’s Universal Primary Education (UPE) scheme launched in 1976. Policy makers had expected, on the basis of the 1975/76 primary school enrolment of just fewer than 5 million, that they would not have to cope with much more than 6 million school children in the first year. But the enrolment in 1976/77 turned out to be 8.4 million rising to 10.1 million the following year. The unanticipated cost of catering for the large number was the main cause of the collapse of that worth scheme after only four years.
  Population also plays an important role in revenue allocation, specifically in the sharing of the states’ portion of the Federation Account, some percentage of which is based on population or population-related factors. Because of the contentious nature of the subject, the compromise has been to estimate based on the 1963 census figures, even when such a move produces ridiculous situations. It is for all these reasons that the Babangida Administration’s effort to ascertain the nation’s population is such a worthwhile venture.


As far as the solution to the population problem of Nigerian is concerned, the writer of this passage is

A. Optimistic
B. Pessimistic
C. Indifferent
D. Disturbed

Question 77:

• JAMB 1993

ADUKE: Listen my fellow women. The issue has little to do with being literate or not. It is true that most members of NAM (New Awareness Movement) are literate, but this does not make all of us enlightened. We must be able to draw a line between the two. You may be literate and yet possess a consciousness that is decadent and servile. On the other hand you may not have received formal education and yet may be the greatest exponent of progressive ideas.
HASANA: I agree with what our sister has said. Let us not allow ourselves to be divided by a greedy and an inflated notion of the certificates we possess. In this century, as we march towards the year 2000, our primary concern should be how best to improve the lot of womanhood in our society. Let us not forget that for each woman who is beaten up by her man for flimsy reasons are status of all of us here is downgraded. For each woman who is insulted for no reason than that of her sex, every one of us here is spat on in the face. For each woman who is denied opportunities in the society simply because she is a woman, the whole lot of us are dehumanized. Each widow in this society is an everywoman, and the lot of each of us should be viewed as collective. Each rotten egg that is thrown at anyone of us is an eternal splash of dirt on our faces. Each decayed tomato that is cast at her is a collective curse on our fecundity: each pebble thrown at her, a missile against our womanhood. This is an age of awareness, and it is the duty of NAM to collectively rise in defence of the right of women.
IME: We can no longer allow ourselves to be fried alive. We are going to squeeze ourselves into tight-fitting trousers, register into judo classes, and then file out into the street and punch the face of every man we behold.


In distinguishing between literacy and enlightenment, Aduke implies that

A. It is useless to be literate
B. Enlightenment is inborn
C. Progress can take place without literacy
D. Both literacy and enlightenment are symbolic

Question 78:

• JAMB 1993

ADUKE: Listen my fellow women. The issue has little to do with being literate or not. It is true that most members of NAM (New Awareness Movement) are literate, but this does not make all of us enlightened. We must be able to draw a line between the two. You may be literate and yet possess a consciousness that is decadent and servile. On the other hand you may not have received formal education and yet may be the greatest exponent of progressive ideas.
HASANA: I agree with what our sister has said. Let us not allow ourselves to be divided by a greedy and an inflated notion of the certificates we possess. In this century, as we march towards the year 2000, our primary concern should be how best to improve the lot of womanhood in our society. Let us not forget that for each woman who is beaten up by her man for flimsy reasons are status of all of us here is downgraded. For each woman who is insulted for no reason than that of her sex, every one of us here is spat on in the face. For each woman who is denied opportunities in the society simply because she is a woman, the whole lot of us are dehumanized. Each widow in this society is an everywoman, and the lot of each of us should be viewed as collective. Each rotten egg that is thrown at anyone of us is an eternal splash of dirt on our faces. Each decayed tomato that is cast at her is a collective curse on our fecundity: each pebble thrown at her, a missile against our womanhood. This is an age of awareness, and it is the duty of NAM to collectively rise in defence of the right of women.
IME: We can no longer allow ourselves to be fried alive. We are going to squeeze ourselves into tight-fitting trousers, register into judo classes, and then file out into the street and punch the face of every man we behold.


Hasana believes that NAM should not be divided by

A. The worthless certificates which women possess
B. Inflation and greed
C. A misunderstanding of the worth of their certificates
D. A selfish and over-raced belief in their certificates

Question 79:

• JAMB 1993

ADUKE: Listen my fellow women. The issue has little to do with being literate or not. It is true that most members of NAM (New Awareness Movement) are literate, but this does not make all of us enlightened. We must be able to draw a line between the two. You may be literate and yet possess a consciousness that is decadent and servile. On the other hand you may not have received formal education and yet may be the greatest exponent of progressive ideas.
HASANA: I agree with what our sister has said. Let us not allow ourselves to be divided by a greedy and an inflated notion of the certificates we possess. In this century, as we march towards the year 2000, our primary concern should be how best to improve the lot of womanhood in our society. Let us not forget that for each woman who is beaten up by her man for flimsy reasons are status of all of us here is downgraded. For each woman who is insulted for no reason than that of her sex, every one of us here is spat on in the face. For each woman who is denied opportunities in the society simply because she is a woman, the whole lot of us are dehumanized. Each widow in this society is an everywoman, and the lot of each of us should be viewed as collective. Each rotten egg that is thrown at anyone of us is an eternal splash of dirt on our faces. Each decayed tomato that is cast at her is a collective curse on our fecundity: each pebble thrown at her, a missile against our womanhood. This is an age of awareness, and it is the duty of NAM to collectively rise in defence of the right of women.
IME: We can no longer allow ourselves to be fried alive. We are going to squeeze ourselves into tight-fitting trousers, register into judo classes, and then file out into the street and punch the face of every man we behold.


‘Each widow in this society is Every woman’ means that

A. Every woman in the society is potentially a widow
B. Every widow in the society is a woman
C. The suffering of every widow represents the burden of all women
D. Widowhood implies the isolation of the woman in the society

Question 80:

• JAMB 1993

ADUKE: Listen my fellow women. The issue has little to do with being literate or not. It is true that most members of NAM (New Awareness Movement) are literate, but this does not make all of us enlightened. We must be able to draw a line between the two. You may be literate and yet possess a consciousness that is decadent and servile. On the other hand you may not have received formal education and yet may be the greatest exponent of progressive ideas.
HASANA: I agree with what our sister has said. Let us not allow ourselves to be divided by a greedy and an inflated notion of the certificates we possess. In this century, as we march towards the year 2000, our primary concern should be how best to improve the lot of womanhood in our society. Let us not forget that for each woman who is beaten up by her man for flimsy reasons are status of all of us here is downgraded. For each woman who is insulted for no reason than that of her sex, every one of us here is spat on in the face. For each woman who is denied opportunities in the society simply because she is a woman, the whole lot of us are dehumanized. Each widow in this society is an everywoman, and the lot of each of us should be viewed as collective. Each rotten egg that is thrown at anyone of us is an eternal splash of dirt on our faces. Each decayed tomato that is cast at her is a collective curse on our fecundity: each pebble thrown at her, a missile against our womanhood. This is an age of awareness, and it is the duty of NAM to collectively rise in defence of the right of women.
IME: We can no longer allow ourselves to be fried alive. We are going to squeeze ourselves into tight-fitting trousers, register into judo classes, and then file out into the street and punch the face of every man we behold.


The speech of Hasana implies that

A. It is the practice to throw rotten eggs at women
B. It is the practice to cast decayed tomatoes at women
C. To throw rotten egg and decayed tomatoes at women is to reduce their fecundity
D. To throw rotten eggs and decayed tomatoes at women is dehumanizing