1994 - JAMB English Past Questions and Answers - page 1

  What is the typical condition of the poor in developing countries? Their work opportunities are so limited that they cannot work their way out of their situation. They are under-employed, or totally unemployed. When the do find occasional work, their productivity is extremely low. Some of them have land, but often too little land. Many have no land, and no prospect of ever getting any. There is no hope for them in the rural areas, and so the drift into the big cities. But there is no work for them in big cities either - and of course no housing. All the same, they flock into the cities because their chances of finding some work appear to be greater than in the villages - where such chances are nil. Rural unemployment, then producers mass migration into the cities. Rural unemployment becomes urban unemployment.

  The problem can be stated quite simply: what can be done to promote economic growth in the small towns and villages which still contains about eighty ninety per cent of the population? The primary needs is work, places, literally millions of work places. No one, of course, would suggest that output per worker, it must be to maximize work opportunities for the unemployed and the under-employed The poor man greatest need is the chance to work. Even poorly paid and relatively unproductive work is better than no work at all. It is therefore important that everybody should produce something, than that a few people should each produce a great ideal. And in most developing countries , this can only be achieved by using an appropriate technology.

What is the point made by the writer about solving the problem of unemployment in developing countries?

  Gossip! Yes gossip is universal. In some language, it may have an outright negative connotation but in English, it basically means ‘idle talk’, chat about trivial things or matter. When moderated and kind, ‘casual talk’ may serve to exchange useful information as a means of updating one’s knowledge. The whole neighborhood may grow gossipy with who got married, pregnant, died, or it may just be a humorous chi-chat devoid of malicious intent.

  However, idle talk more often than not, degenerates beyond the bounds of property and good taste. Facts get embellish, exaggerated or deliberately distorted. Humiliation is made the source of humor. Privacy is violated, confidence betrayed and reputations injured or ruined. Condemnation takes the place of commendation, murmuring and fault finding are extolled. The end result is like the mud thrown on a clean piece of white cloth. It does not stick but it leaves a dirty and sometimes permanent stain behind.

  Gossip has been blamed for sleepless nights, headache and indigestion. Certainly, it must have caused you some personal anguish at one time or the other that is someone must at some times have tried getting a knife between your shoulder blades. Negative gossip is almost universally frowned upon. Among the Indians in the United States, gossiping about someone is classified with lying and stealing. Among the Yoruba of Nigeria, the tale bearer is detested and often avoided. Indeed, throughout history, measures have been taken to curb this ‘deadly’ disease. Between the 15th and 18th centuries, the ducking stool was popularly used in England and Germany and later in the United States.

  The gossip was tied to a chair and repeatedly ducked in water. In modern times, the war against gossiping has also been fought. Rumor control centers have been established to even respond to rumors that were potentially harmful to government activities. Law have been passed to curb gossip. Nicknames have been given to those who peddle the trade. Ever heard of ‘Amebo’!

  Such efforts notwithstanding, gossip survives. It is alive and flourishing. Gossip is everywhere. There is neighborhood gossip, office gossip, party gossip, family gossip and funnily enough, religious gossip. Gossip transcends all cultures, race and civilizations, and it has flourished and it is still flourishing at every level of the society. Gossip is deeply a part of human nature. Yet gossip is not inherently evil. There is a positive side to casual talk. Knowing where to draw harmless and harmful gossip is the key to avoiding victimizing others and being victim yourself.

Gossip appeals to people because

  Gossip! Yes gossip is universal. In some language, it may have an outright negative connotation but in English, it basically means ‘idle talk’, chat about trivial things or matter. When moderated and kind, ‘casual talk’ may serve to exchange useful information as a means of updating one’s knowledge. The whole neighborhood may grow gossipy with who got married, pregnant, died, or it may just be a humorous chi-chat devoid of malicious intent.

  However, idle talk more often than not, degenerates beyond the bounds of property and good taste. Facts get embellish, exaggerated or deliberately distorted. Humiliation is made the source of humor. Privacy is violated, confidence betrayed and reputations injured or ruined. Condemnation takes the place of commendation, murmuring and fault finding are extolled. The end result is like the mud thrown on a clean piece of white cloth. It does not stick but it leaves a dirty and sometimes permanent stain behind.

  Gossip has been blamed for sleepless nights, headache and indigestion. Certainly, it must have caused you some personal anguish at one time or the other that is someone must at some times have tried getting a knife between your shoulder blades. Negative gossip is almost universally frowned upon. Among the Indians in the United States, gossiping about someone is classified with lying and stealing. Among the Yoruba of Nigeria, the tale bearer is detested and often avoided. Indeed, throughout history, measures have been taken to curb this ‘deadly’ disease. Between the 15th and 18th centuries, the ducking stool was popularly used in England and Germany and later in the United States.

  The gossip was tied to a chair and repeatedly ducked in water. In modern times, the war against gossiping has also been fought. Rumor control centers have been established to even respond to rumors that were potentially harmful to government activities. Law have been passed to curb gossip. Nicknames have been given to those who peddle the trade. Ever heard of ‘Amebo’!

  Such efforts notwithstanding, gossip survives. It is alive and flourishing. Gossip is everywhere. There is neighborhood gossip, office gossip, party gossip, family gossip and funnily enough, religious gossip. Gossip transcends all cultures, race and civilizations, and it has flourished and it is still flourishing at every level of the society. Gossip is deeply a part of human nature. Yet gossip is not inherently evil. There is a positive side to casual talk. Knowing where to draw harmless and harmful gossip is the key to avoiding victimizing others and being victim yourself.

‘Grow gossipy’ as used in the passage, means the area

  Gossip! Yes gossip is universal. In some language, it may have an outright negative connotation but in English, it basically means ‘idle talk’, chat about trivial things or matter. When moderated and kind, ‘casual talk’ may serve to exchange useful information as a means of updating one’s knowledge. The whole neighborhood may grow gossipy with who got married, pregnant, died, or it may just be a humorous chi-chat devoid of malicious intent.

  However, idle talk more often than not, degenerates beyond the bounds of property and good taste. Facts get embellish, exaggerated or deliberately distorted. Humiliation is made the source of humor. Privacy is violated, confidence betrayed and reputations injured or ruined. Condemnation takes the place of commendation, murmuring and fault finding are extolled. The end result is like the mud thrown on a clean piece of white cloth. It does not stick but it leaves a dirty and sometimes permanent stain behind.

  Gossip has been blamed for sleepless nights, headache and indigestion. Certainly, it must have caused you some personal anguish at one time or the other that is someone must at some times have tried getting a knife between your shoulder blades. Negative gossip is almost universally frowned upon. Among the Indians in the United States, gossiping about someone is classified with lying and stealing. Among the Yoruba of Nigeria, the tale bearer is detested and often avoided. Indeed, throughout history, measures have been taken to curb this ‘deadly’ disease. Between the 15th and 18th centuries, the ducking stool was popularly used in England and Germany and later in the United States.

  The gossip was tied to a chair and repeatedly ducked in water. In modern times, the war against gossiping has also been fought. Rumor control centers have been established to even respond to rumors that were potentially harmful to government activities. Law have been passed to curb gossip. Nicknames have been given to those who peddle the trade. Ever heard of ‘Amebo’!

  Such efforts notwithstanding, gossip survives. It is alive and flourishing. Gossip is everywhere. There is neighborhood gossip, office gossip, party gossip, family gossip and funnily enough, religious gossip. Gossip transcends all cultures, race and civilizations, and it has flourished and it is still flourishing at every level of the society. Gossip is deeply a part of human nature. Yet gossip is not inherently evil. There is a positive side to casual talk. Knowing where to draw harmless and harmful gossip is the key to avoiding victimizing others and being victim yourself.

When gossip ‘degenerates beyond the bounds of propriety and good taste’ it becomes

  Gossip! Yes gossip is universal. In some language, it may have an outright negative connotation but in English, it basically means ‘idle talk’, chat about trivial things or matter. When moderated and kind, ‘casual talk’ may serve to exchange useful information as a means of updating one’s knowledge. The whole neighborhood may grow gossipy with who got married, pregnant, died, or it may just be a humorous chi-chat devoid of malicious intent.

  However, idle talk more often than not, degenerates beyond the bounds of property and good taste. Facts get embellish, exaggerated or deliberately distorted. Humiliation is made the source of humor. Privacy is violated, confidence betrayed and reputations injured or ruined. Condemnation takes the place of commendation, murmuring and fault finding are extolled. The end result is like the mud thrown on a clean piece of white cloth. It does not stick but it leaves a dirty and sometimes permanent stain behind.

  Gossip has been blamed for sleepless nights, headache and indigestion. Certainly, it must have caused you some personal anguish at one time or the other that is someone must at some times have tried getting a knife between your shoulder blades. Negative gossip is almost universally frowned upon. Among the Indians in the United States, gossiping about someone is classified with lying and stealing. Among the Yoruba of Nigeria, the tale bearer is detested and often avoided. Indeed, throughout history, measures have been taken to curb this ‘deadly’ disease. Between the 15th and 18th centuries, the ducking stool was popularly used in England and Germany and later in the United States.

  The gossip was tied to a chair and repeatedly ducked in water. In modern times, the war against gossiping has also been fought. Rumor control centers have been established to even respond to rumors that were potentially harmful to government activities. Law have been passed to curb gossip. Nicknames have been given to those who peddle the trade. Ever heard of ‘Amebo’!

  Such efforts notwithstanding, gossip survives. It is alive and flourishing. Gossip is everywhere. There is neighborhood gossip, office gossip, party gossip, family gossip and funnily enough, religious gossip. Gossip transcends all cultures, race and civilizations, and it has flourished and it is still flourishing at every level of the society. Gossip is deeply a part of human nature. Yet gossip is not inherently evil. There is a positive side to casual talk. Knowing where to draw harmless and harmful gossip is the key to avoiding victimizing others and being victim yourself.

In the passage, ‘such efforts notwithstanding’ refers to

  Gossip! Yes gossip is universal. In some language, it may have an outright negative connotation but in English, it basically means ‘idle talk’, chat about trivial things or matter. When moderated and kind, ‘casual talk’ may serve to exchange useful information as a means of updating one’s knowledge. The whole neighborhood may grow gossipy with who got married, pregnant, died, or it may just be a humorous chi-chat devoid of malicious intent.

  However, idle talk more often than not, degenerates beyond the bounds of property and good taste. Facts get embellish, exaggerated or deliberately distorted. Humiliation is made the source of humor. Privacy is violated, confidence betrayed and reputations injured or ruined. Condemnation takes the place of commendation, murmuring and fault finding are extolled. The end result is like the mud thrown on a clean piece of white cloth. It does not stick but it leaves a dirty and sometimes permanent stain behind.

  Gossip has been blamed for sleepless nights, headache and indigestion. Certainly, it must have caused you some personal anguish at one time or the other that is someone must at some times have tried getting a knife between your shoulder blades. Negative gossip is almost universally frowned upon. Among the Indians in the United States, gossiping about someone is classified with lying and stealing. Among the Yoruba of Nigeria, the tale bearer is detested and often avoided. Indeed, throughout history, measures have been taken to curb this ‘deadly’ disease. Between the 15th and 18th centuries, the ducking stool was popularly used in England and Germany and later in the United States.

  The gossip was tied to a chair and repeatedly ducked in water. In modern times, the war against gossiping has also been fought. Rumor control centers have been established to even respond to rumors that were potentially harmful to government activities. Law have been passed to curb gossip. Nicknames have been given to those who peddle the trade. Ever heard of ‘Amebo’!

  Such efforts notwithstanding, gossip survives. It is alive and flourishing. Gossip is everywhere. There is neighborhood gossip, office gossip, party gossip, family gossip and funnily enough, religious gossip. Gossip transcends all cultures, race and civilizations, and it has flourished and it is still flourishing at every level of the society. Gossip is deeply a part of human nature. Yet gossip is not inherently evil. There is a positive side to casual talk. Knowing where to draw harmless and harmful gossip is the key to avoiding victimizing others and being victim yourself.

Which of the title best sum up this passage?

  In many places in the world today, the poor are getting poorer while the rich are getting richer, and the programmes of development planning and foreign aid appear to be unable to reverse this trend. Nearly all the developing countries have a modern sector, where the patterns of living and working are similar to those in developed countries. But they also have a non-modern sector, where the pattern of living and working are not only unsatisfactory, but in many cases is even getting worse.

  What is the typical condition of the poor in developing countries? Their work opportunities are so limited that they cannot find occasional workout of their situation. They are under-employed, or totally unemployed. When they do find occasional work their productivity is extremely low. Some of them have land, but often too little land. Many have no land, and no prospect of ever getting any. There is no hope for them in the rural areas, and so they drift into the big cities. But there is no work for them in the big cities either – and of course no housing. All the same, they flock into the cities because their chances of finding work appear to be greater there than in the villages – where chances are nil. Rural unemployment, then, produces mass migration into the cities. Rural unemployment becomes urban unemployment.

  The problem can be stated quite simply: what can be done to promote economic growth in the small towns and villages which still contain about eighty to ninety per cent of the population? The primary need is work places, literally millions of work places. No one, of course, would suggest that output per worker is unimportant. Bu t the primary aim cannot be to maximize output per worker, it must be to maximize wok opportunities for the unemployed and the under-employed. The poor man’s greatest need is the chance to work. Even poorly paid and relatively unproductive work is better than no work at all. It is therefore more important that everybody should produce something, than that a few should each produce a great deal. And in most developing countries, this can only be achieved by using an appropriate intermediate technology.

According to the passage, the difference between the developing countries and the developed ones is that while the former have

  In many places in the world today, the poor are getting poorer while the rich are getting richer, and the programmes of development planning and foreign aid appear to be unable to reverse this trend. Nearly all the developing countries have a modern sector, where the patterns of living and working are similar to those in developed countries. But they also have a non-modern sector, where the pattern of living and working are not only unsatisfactory, but in many cases is even getting worse.

  What is the typical condition of the poor in developing countries? Their work opportunities are so limited that they cannot find occasional workout of their situation. They are under-employed, or totally unemployed. When they do find occasional work their productivity is extremely low. Some of them have land, but often too little land. Many have no land, and no prospect of ever getting any. There is no hope for them in the rural areas, and so they drift into the big cities. But there is no work for them in the big cities either – and of course no housing. All the same, they flock into the cities because their chances of finding work appear to be greater there than in the villages – where chances are nil. Rural unemployment, then, produces mass migration into the cities. Rural unemployment becomes urban unemployment.

  The problem can be stated quite simply: what can be done to promote economic growth in the small towns and villages which still contain about eighty to ninety per cent of the population? The primary need is work places, literally millions of work places. No one, of course, would suggest that output per worker is unimportant. Bu t the primary aim cannot be to maximize output per worker, it must be to maximize wok opportunities for the unemployed and the under-employed. The poor man’s greatest need is the chance to work. Even poorly paid and relatively unproductive work is better than no work at all. It is therefore more important that everybody should produce something, than that a few should each produce a great deal. And in most developing countries, this can only be achieved by using an appropriate intermediate technology.

Which of the following statements best explains the meaning of the phrase ‘reverse this trend’ as used in the text

  In many places in the world today, the poor are getting poorer while the rich are getting richer, and the programmes of development planning and foreign aid appear to be unable to reverse this trend. Nearly all the developing countries have a modern sector, where the patterns of living and working are similar to those in developed countries. But they also have a non-modern sector, where the pattern of living and working are not only unsatisfactory, but in many cases is even getting worse.

  What is the typical condition of the poor in developing countries? Their work opportunities are so limited that they cannot find occasional workout of their situation. They are under-employed, or totally unemployed. When they do find occasional work their productivity is extremely low. Some of them have land, but often too little land. Many have no land, and no prospect of ever getting any. There is no hope for them in the rural areas, and so they drift into the big cities. But there is no work for them in the big cities either – and of course no housing. All the same, they flock into the cities because their chances of finding work appear to be greater there than in the villages – where chances are nil. Rural unemployment, then, produces mass migration into the cities. Rural unemployment becomes urban unemployment.

  The problem can be stated quite simply: what can be done to promote economic growth in the small towns and villages which still contain about eighty to ninety per cent of the population? The primary need is work places, literally millions of work places. No one, of course, would suggest that output per worker is unimportant. Bu t the primary aim cannot be to maximize output per worker, it must be to maximize wok opportunities for the unemployed and the under-employed. The poor man’s greatest need is the chance to work. Even poorly paid and relatively unproductive work is better than no work at all. It is therefore more important that everybody should produce something, than that a few should each produce a great deal. And in most developing countries, this can only be achieved by using an appropriate intermediate technology.

From the way the winter describes the typical condition of the poor in developing countries, one could conclude that

  In many places in the world today, the poor are getting poorer while the rich are getting richer, and the programmes of development planning and foreign aid appear to be unable to reverse this trend. Nearly all the developing countries have a modern sector, where the patterns of living and working are similar to those in developed countries. But they also have a non-modern sector, where the pattern of living and working are not only unsatisfactory, but in many cases is even getting worse.

  What is the typical condition of the poor in developing countries? Their work opportunities are so limited that they cannot find occasional workout of their situation. They are under-employed, or totally unemployed. When they do find occasional work their productivity is extremely low. Some of them have land, but often too little land. Many have no land, and no prospect of ever getting any. There is no hope for them in the rural areas, and so they drift into the big cities. But there is no work for them in the big cities either – and of course no housing. All the same, they flock into the cities because their chances of finding work appear to be greater there than in the villages – where chances are nil. Rural unemployment, then, produces mass migration into the cities. Rural unemployment becomes urban unemployment.

  The problem can be stated quite simply: what can be done to promote economic growth in the small towns and villages which still contain about eighty to ninety per cent of the population? The primary need is work places, literally millions of work places. No one, of course, would suggest that output per worker is unimportant. Bu t the primary aim cannot be to maximize output per worker, it must be to maximize wok opportunities for the unemployed and the under-employed. The poor man’s greatest need is the chance to work. Even poorly paid and relatively unproductive work is better than no work at all. It is therefore more important that everybody should produce something, than that a few should each produce a great deal. And in most developing countries, this can only be achieved by using an appropriate intermediate technology.

When the writer say ‘ …. literally millions of work places’ he wants the reader to