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

Question 111:

• JAMB 2003

  Attitudes towards the smoking of cigarettes and the consumption of alcohol may be used to illustrate typical African ethics. Apart from the fact that smoking has now been linked with the lung cancer disease, the African moralist has always regarded smoking as an indication of moral degradation. A number of people have accepted the moralist ideaon smoking. Some have refrained from smoking and those who could influence others, such as parents and religious leaders, have also exerted their influence to prevent others from smoking. On the other hand, a good many people have remained indifferent to the moralist view and have continued to smoke. The same argument has been applied to the consumption of alcohol. The African moralist, basing his judgement on the behaviour of a few alcoholics, tends to regard the habit of taking alcohol as a sign of wretchedness. The moralist holds the view that anybody who forms the habit of consuming alcohol will never do well in life. While this may be true in respect of a few people in the society, the fear of the moralist has not been justified. However, the economist is primarily interested in the habit of smoking and the consumption of alcohol and alcohol in so far as they give satisfaction to smokers and drinkers and so generate supply of and demand for tobacco and alcohol. The economist is interested in knowing how many packets of cigarettes are consumed and to what extent an increase or fall in consumption could affect production that is, supply. Similarly, he is interested in how much beer is consumed and how the supply of beer will adjust to the demand for it. He examines the habits and the pressures which can lead to the readjustment of wants and the reallocation of resources to cover the wants.
  Some moral principles associated with religion tend to lead on to economic problems. Followers of certain religions are expected not to consume pork, take alcohol or smoke tobacco. Devotees of some religious groups, on the other hand, can eat pork, while others are expected to abstain from alcohol and smoking. Strict observance of these moral rules could cripple the breweries, the cigarette factories and some businesses however, there seems to be a growing number of alcohol consumers and cigarette smokers- a development which should be of interest to the economist.


The view expressed by the writer in the last paragraph is that

A. More people appear to take to drinking and smoking
B. The number of alcoholics and smokers is certainly increasing
C. Sales of alcohol and tobacco products have improved tremendously
D. More people now abstain from drinking and smoking

Question 112:

• JAMB 2003

  Attitudes towards the smoking of cigarettes and the consumption of alcohol may be used to illustrate typical African ethics. Apart from the fact that smoking has now been linked with the lung cancer disease, the African moralist has always regarded smoking as an indication of moral degradation. A number of people have accepted the moralist ideaon smoking. Some have refrained from smoking and those who could influence others, such as parents and religious leaders, have also exerted their influence to prevent others from smoking. On the other hand, a good many people have remained indifferent to the moralist view and have continued to smoke. The same argument has been applied to the consumption of alcohol. The African moralist, basing his judgement on the behaviour of a few alcoholics, tends to regard the habit of taking alcohol as a sign of wretchedness. The moralist holds the view that anybody who forms the habit of consuming alcohol will never do well in life. While this may be true in respect of a few people in the society, the fear of the moralist has not been justified. However, the economist is primarily interested in the habit of smoking and the consumption of alcohol and alcohol in so far as they give satisfaction to smokers and drinkers and so generate supply of and demand for tobacco and alcohol. The economist is interested in knowing how many packets of cigarettes are consumed and to what extent an increase or fall in consumption could affect production that is, supply. Similarly, he is interested in how much beer is consumed and how the supply of beer will adjust to the demand for it. He examines the habits and the pressures which can lead to the readjustment of wants and the reallocation of resources to cover the wants.
  Some moral principles associated with religion tend to lead on to economic problems. Followers of certain religions are expected not to consume pork, take alcohol or smoke tobacco. Devotees of some religious groups, on the other hand, can eat pork, while others are expected to abstain from alcohol and smoking. Strict observance of these moral rules could cripple the breweries, the cigarette factories and some businesses however, there seems to be a growing number of alcohol consumers and cigarette smokers- a development which should be of interest to the economist.


The positions maintained by the moralist and the economist can be described as being

A. Very passionate
B. Quite indifferent
C. At variance
D. Very agreeable

Question 113:

• JAMB 2008

  Life is often difficult to describe. Men of wisdom in every society often find time to discuss life in order to explain it to the younger generation. I had been present in some meeting s a number of times. One topic that was discussed in one of them was beginning of life. ‘When did life begin?’ asked one of the men of wisdom. It was such an open-ended question. None of us could say precisely what happened when he was born. If he was born poor, he hardly would be very rich, particularly, if he was born honest in a corrupt society. If he was born rich, he might lose all his riches in one day. So, we often gather to tell one another about life. Recently, a statement was introduced into the vocabulary of English-Language — ‘The rich also cry’. The statement demonstrates, to a large extent, that even the rich people have their own period of time when life may prove very difficult and even meaningless to them. Have you not heard the experience of a very rich family whose vast business empire crumbled, in just one day? I have heard of a very rich man who lost his wife and three children in just one accident. Another rich man lost his thriving manufacturing company in an inferno. The compensation from his insurer could not solve half his financial problem. When one is poverty-stricken, that is a difficult dimension to the story of life. The poor person may prefer to die. Imagine when members of a family eat once a day! The quality of food becomes a different kettle of fish in such a circumstance. The dietician’s prayer that every normal human being must have a balance diet is cock and bull story to the poor. It is either that the poor do not have any opportunity that serves as recourse for them to be rich or that they are lazy people. Provisions must be made to create opportunities for self-development and self-realization. A lazy person cannot have his cake and eat it. People like him are not just only a problem to themselves but also to others in society.
At times, such people are dangerous to their communities.
Finally, what can one say about people who are terminally ill or insane? Perhaps silence becomes golden in that respect.




the statement I had been present myself in such meetings a number of times implies the writer’s

A. Position
B. Identification
C. Generalization
D. Presentation

Question 114:

• JAMB 2008

  Life is often difficult to describe. Men of wisdom in every society often find time to discuss life in order to explain it to the younger generation. I had been present in some meeting s a number of times. One topic that was discussed in one of them was beginning of life. ‘When did life begin?’ asked one of the men of wisdom. It was such an open-ended question. None of us could say precisely what happened when he was born. If he was born poor, he hardly would be very rich, particularly, if he was born honest in a corrupt society. If he was born rich, he might lose all his riches in one day. So, we often gather to tell one another about life. Recently, a statement was introduced into the vocabulary of English-Language — ‘The rich also cry’. The statement demonstrates, to a large extent, that even the rich people have their own period of time when life may prove very difficult and even meaningless to them. Have you not heard the experience of a very rich family whose vast business empire crumbled, in just one day? I have heard of a very rich man who lost his wife and three children in just one accident. Another rich man lost his thriving manufacturing company in an inferno. The compensation from his insurer could not solve half his financial problem. When one is poverty-stricken, that is a difficult dimension to the story of life. The poor person may prefer to die. Imagine when members of a family eat once a day! The quality of food becomes a different kettle of fish in such a circumstance. The dietician’s prayer that every normal human being must have a balance diet is cock and bull story to the poor. It is either that the poor do not have any opportunity that serves as recourse for them to be rich or that they are lazy people. Provisions must be made to create opportunities for self-development and self-realization. A lazy person cannot have his cake and eat it. People like him are not just only a problem to themselves but also to others in society.
At times, such people are dangerous to their communities.
Finally, what can one say about people who are terminally ill or insane? Perhaps silence becomes golden in that respect.




which of the following explains the writer’s conception

A. Life is the work of the Creator
B. The human life is the beginning of all creation
C. No one witnessed when his life began on earth
D. Life is full of stories that man has to tell to others

Question 115:

• JAMB 2008

  Life is often difficult to describe. Men of wisdom in every society often find time to discuss life in order to explain it to the younger generation. I had been present in some meeting s a number of times. One topic that was discussed in one of them was beginning of life. ‘When did life begin?’ asked one of the men of wisdom. It was such an open-ended question. None of us could say precisely what happened when he was born. If he was born poor, he hardly would be very rich, particularly, if he was born honest in a corrupt society. If he was born rich, he might lose all his riches in one day. So, we often gather to tell one another about life. Recently, a statement was introduced into the vocabulary of English-Language — ‘The rich also cry’. The statement demonstrates, to a large extent, that even the rich people have their own period of time when life may prove very difficult and even meaningless to them. Have you not heard the experience of a very rich family whose vast business empire crumbled, in just one day? I have heard of a very rich man who lost his wife and three children in just one accident. Another rich man lost his thriving manufacturing company in an inferno. The compensation from his insurer could not solve half his financial problem. When one is poverty-stricken, that is a difficult dimension to the story of life. The poor person may prefer to die. Imagine when members of a family eat once a day! The quality of food becomes a different kettle of fish in such a circumstance. The dietician’s prayer that every normal human being must have a balance diet is cock and bull story to the poor. It is either that the poor do not have any opportunity that serves as recourse for them to be rich or that they are lazy people. Provisions must be made to create opportunities for self-development and self-realization. A lazy person cannot have his cake and eat it. People like him are not just only a problem to themselves but also to others in society.
At times, such people are dangerous to their communities.
Finally, what can one say about people who are terminally ill or insane? Perhaps silence becomes golden in that respect.




the expression ‘The rich also cry,’ as used in the passage, may be described as

A. Figurative
B. Proverbial
C. Provocative
D. Illustrative