Jamb Literature in English Past Questions and Answers

Question 516:

• JAMB 1982

'But now as he climbed the steep path leading to his home, his courage started to lag behind. His conscience lagged behind. His weak body and hungry stomach pushed him expectantly up the path towards home, where rest and satisfaction awaited him...'
The literary device predominantly used in this passage is

A. Hendiadys
B. Onomatopoeia
C. Metonymy
D. Simile
E. Personification.

Question 517:

• JAMB 1982

'He glanced at his bitten nails, and with his chin resting on his knees, said, 'well, i ask them to let me go below to visit my pa in the cell. they feel sorry for me, and say its okay. So i go down to see him, this man what made my ma's life a misery like hell, and who never had a word for me, and did nothing but give me the belt'.
From what he says, the kid in this passage

A. Loves his father
B. Dislikes his father
C. Disowns his father
D. Feels sorry for his father
E. Is proud of his father.

Question 518:

• JAMB 1982

'Was it so hard, Achilles,
So very hard to die?
Thou knowest and i know not-
So much the happier am i'
This verse is taken from a poem written by a soldier at the battle-front. He clearly sees dying in battle as

A. Glorious
B. Patriotic
C. Brave and desirable
D. A good experience
E. He may be brave but undesirable.

Question 519:

• JAMB 1982

'Cheers!' said koomson. he looked ready to add something as he raised his glass, but the high voice of his wife cut the air to pieces.
'This local beer,'she was saying, 'does agree with my constitution.'
'And what sort of constitution is it that you have?'asked the man from his isolated place.
What the writer feels for or toward the woman in his passage is

A. Love
B. Sympathetic understanding
C. Contempt
D. Respect
E. Difference.

Question 520:

• JAMB 1982

'But it has been from the first her great mistake to meet him, marry him, to love him as she so bitterly had. Looking at his face, it sometimes came to her that all women had been cursed from the cradle: all, in one fashion or another, being given the same cruel destiny, born to suffer the weight of men'.
The sentiment expressed here about the curse on women is

A. That of the writer of the passage
B. That of the lady in the passage
C. That of the lady's parent
D. That of everybody everywhere
E. That of unnamed person.