2011 JAMB ENGLISH PAST QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS

1. Which question paper type of use of English is giving to you?

2. COMPREHENSION
Read the passage carefully and answer the questions that follow.

Passage I

In 1962, a team of scientists produced a special radio station that had a range of fifteen miles. Even though communication was being accomplished in space at a range of more than a million times this distance, the new radio station caused much excitement among scientists.

The reason: its power supply was a ‘battery’ made of bacteria. For the first time, practical amounts of electricity were being produced by a form of life and put to use.

The bio cell, 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 bio cell is being developed as a producer of electricity for radios, for signals to guide ships, for lighting, and other uses.

Though the working bio cell is only a few years old, some scientists feel that it will one day produce power as cheaply as is now being done by other methods and that the bio cell will use materials that would otherwise be considered waste.

Early bio cells were powered with sugar, but a wide range of fuels can be used. Work is being done using seawater 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. Luigi Galvani found some electricity in the muscles and nerves of animals, but the African catfish produces far more electricity than most other living creatures.

And another fish, the electric eel, is 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 heart produces a very small amount that can be measured; so does our brain. The bio cell is completely new in the field of power production, and as yet, no mass-production models have begun to replace the older types of batteries.

It might be wondered, then, what the excitement is all about.

Answer the questions 1 to 5 based on the passage.

The writer’s posture, as conveyed in the statement “Electricity from living cells is no new idea,” can be described as

3. Which of the following is true according to the passage?

4. The inventor of bio-cell justified the need for it by saying that it would

5. According to the passage, electricity was first discovered in

6. PASSAGE II

Like a clock with the pendulum in full swing, the mind moves as fast as time. But we ought to mind our thoughts, for if they turn out to be our enemies, they will be too many for us and will drag us down to ruin.

But some people may say that they cannot help having bad thoughts, even though they sting like vipers. That may be so, but the question is: do they hate them or not?

We cannot keep thieves from looking in at our windows, but if we open our doors to them and receive them joyfully, we are as bad as they.

We cannot help the birds flying over our heads, but we may keep them from building their nests in our hair. Vain thoughts will knock at the door, but we must not open to them. Though bad and evil thoughts rise in our hearts, they must not be allowed to reign.

He who turns a morsel over and over in his mouth does so because he likes the flavor, and he who meditates upon evil loves it and is ripe to commit it. Think of the devil, and he will appear; turn your thoughts toward evil, and your hands will soon follow.

Snails leave their slime behind them, and so do vain thoughts. An arrow may fly through the air and leave no trace, but an evil thought always leaves a trail like a serpent.

Where there is much traffic of bad thinking, there will be much mire and dirt. Every wave of wicked thought adds something to the corruption that rots upon the shore of life. It is dreadful to think that a vile imagination, once indulged, gets the key to our minds and can enter again very easily, whether or not we let it in. And what may follow, no one knows.

Nurse evil on the lap of thought, and it will grow into a giant. Therefore, there is wisdom in watching every day the thoughts and imaginations of our hearts. Good thoughts are blessed guests and should be welcomed and much sought after, but bad thoughts must fly out as swiftly as they move in.

Answer the questions 6 to 10 based on the passage.

Which of the following represents the writer’s view in the passage?

7. Which of the following statements represents the view expressed by the writer in the first paragraph?

8. From the argument in the second paragraph, it can be concluded that evil thought control the lives of people who

9. The expression ‘Think of the devil and he will appear…’, as used in the passage suggests that

10. Which of the following statements summarizes the argument of the fourth paragraph?

11. PASSAGE III

Though assumption is the lowest level of knowledge, it is still a form of knowledge, and knowledge is key. Assumptions are the foundation upon which interpretation and conclusions are built.

Everything in life operates under certain assumptions. We make management decisions based on the assumptions we hold about how management ought to function and how people ought to be governed.

For some of us, we consciously imbibe assumptions and principles about life and consciously decide based on them; for others, it is unconscious but potent all the same. Our assumptions will either drown us or help us soar through life.

We have always seen life as an immense mansion with many rooms. Some rooms lead to wealth, others to the opposite. Ultimately, we decide where we end up, and life, thus far, has proved that not every one of us decides well. We all behave differently when we have different levels of understanding, and we behave the same way when our understanding is the same.

We eat because we all understand the consequences of not eating. We all wear clothes because each of us comprehends lunacy. The list goes on and on. It is inevitable that some of us will make choices that keep us on the lower rung of the ladder by reason of exposure, training, or other variables.

Life is about role-playing. We choose our roles wisely or foolishly, consciously or unconsciously. Some of us get wiser, achieving new levels of self-awareness enough to redefine our roles; others make no effort to build further capacity and therefore remain where they are.

It is based on these realities that we draw the conclusion that not everyone will be wealthy in life. We lead, inspire, and motivate people to strive and succeed.

It is also important that we paint the full and true picture of life so that we can discourage vain pursuits. Balance must be enthroned as a critical component of truth, and people must know, for instance, that ‘the top’ is not a place that all must ascend.

Our greatest consolation lies in our deep conviction that true prosperity is found in fulfillment through hard work rather than in intangible acquisitions.

There are set roles that some of us have been wired to play in life but which we are not content enough to play because society esteems such roles to be inferior.

Take the almost sacred office of a teacher, for instance; there are people who have the natural gifts and inclinations to be school teachers. But the teaching profession, as it is, does not appear to be lucrative. So, we have people who could have been more fulfilled and effective working as school teachers serving in banks.

Answer questions 11 to 15 based on the passage.

According to the writer, people lead and motivate others because they want to

12. According to the passage, balance must be enthroned because it is

13. The word “inclinations,” as in the passage, means

14. Which of the following statements is true according to the passage?

15. From the passage, it can be inferred that

16. Believe it or not, change is to human existence what the blood is to the human body. We live in an era of amazing ……16…. change

17. However, man’s……17…. promoting and defending change in a deliberate effort to establish ….18…

18. The forth Assessment Report (AR4) of the intergovernmental panel of climate change (IPCC) confirms that human actions are changing the earth’s climate

19. The rising global …23…. for energy and the adverse changes on each were commensurate with the level of greenhouse ….24…. it spews out

20. Believe it or not, change is to human existence what the blood is to the human body. We live in an era of amazing ……16…. change

21. However, man’s……17…. promoting and defending change in a deliberate effort to establish ….18…

22. The forth Assessment Report (AR4) of the intergovernmental panel of climate change (IPCC) confirms that human actions are changing the earth’s climate

23. The rising global …23…. for energy and the adverse changes on each were commensurate with the level of greenhouse ….24…. it spews out

24. Human-induced climate change has awakened widespread concern across the globe. As a matter of fact, climate change is now….20…..

25. The IPCC reports that world has warmed by an average of 0.76°C since pre-industrial times. The rising global …23….

26. The fourth Assessment Report (AR4) of the IPCC confirms that human actions are changing the earth’s climate

27. The forth Assessment Report (AR4) of the intergovernmental panel of climate change (IPCC) confirms that human actions are changing the earth’s climate

28. The global appeal for change is evident in the context of climate change, which requires international cooperation

29. People lead, inspire, and motivate others because they want to

30. According to the passage, balance must be enthroned because it is

31. The word “inclinations,” as used in the passage, means

32. Which of the following statements is true according to the passage?

33. From the passage, it can be inferred that

34. Life operates under certain assumptions, and these assumptions shape how people behave in different contexts

35. The concept of social justice implies that the state must ensure

36. Even though Susan was the last in the examination, her result wasn’t too different from what had been expected.

37. Mrs. Adasu does all her work with more haste, less speed.

38. The secretary said that the postponement of the meeting was due to unforeseen circumstances.

39. The hunter has a bird’s-eye view of the animals.

40. Even though Susan was the last in the examination, her result wasn’t too different from what had been expected.

41. Mrs. Adasu does all her work with more haste, less speed.

42. She stopped her education as her uncle left her in the lurch.

43. The plan to upgrade the dispensary to a general hospital did not materialize.

44. Okon’s company took a hit last year.

45. My eldest son, who is in Lagos, is studying English.

46. If I went to the village, I would visit the king.

47. Since its inception in 1983, the newspaper has attracted thousands of readers.

48. Mrs. Asio wanted her sister to stop being so detached

49. Lantana dwelt in a ruined cottage on the hillside.

50. The mistake brought the show to an ignominious end

51. He compliments me on my way of doing things.

52. The girl is angry with her friend who had ensnared her into this relationship.

53. Their new house was roofed with corrugated sheets.

54. The stockbroker said it was an astute move to sell the shares then.

55. The principal described Oche as the most tactful person he had ever worked with.

56. The old woman is suffering from dementia.

57. Some drugs have deleterious effects on a child’s development.