2023 - JAMB English Past Questions and Answers - page 8
Choose the option opposite in meaning to the underlined word in each sentence.
During the maths test, some students got an approximate score of 20.
a frank
a measured
a precise
an inaccurate
The highlighted word is "APPROXIMATE," which means close to the actual but not completely accurate. The opposite of "approximate" is "precise," so "a precise score," is the correct opposite.
In each of the following sentences, there is one underlined word. From the list of words lettered A to D, choose the one that is most nearly opposite in meaning to the underlined word.
The test shows that the lumps are malignant.
numerous
cancerous
dominant
benign
The highlighted word is "malignant," which refers to the presence of cancer. The opposite of "malignant" in the context of tumors is "benign," which means not cancerous. Therefore, Option D, "benign," is the correct opposite.
Choose the word that has the same rhyme scheme.
sweet.
twice
sweat
suite
suit
The word "suite" in Option C has the same rhyme scheme as "sweet." Both words end with the "-eet" sound, making them rhyme.
The primary stress is indicated by writing the syllable on which it occurs in capital letters. From the words lettered A to D choose the one that has the correct stress.
presidency
pre-SI-den-cy
pre-si-den-CY
pre-si-DEN-cy
PRE-si-den-cy
The primary stress in the word "presidency" falls on the second syllable. Therefore, the correct representation is "pre-SI-den-cy".
This question is based on "The Life Changer" novel.
How old is Bint?
5years old
10years old
8years old
7years old
Choose the option opposite in meaning to the underlined word in each sentence.
The abeyance of school activities last semester was a reason for concern.
continuance
collapse
reduction
intensity
The highlighted word "abeyance" refers to a state of temporary inactivity or suspension. The opposite of this is "continuance," which implies ongoing or uninterrupted activity.
From the words lettered A to D below, choose the word or group of words that is nearest in meaning to the underlined word as it is used in the passage.
Mr. Brown is often described as an astute businessman
shrewd
miserly
proud
thrifty
The highlighted word "astute" in the context of describing Mr. Brown as a businessman suggests that he is clever, sharp, and shrewd in business matters. Therefore, the word that is nearest in meaning is "shrewd."
In each of the questions, the word in capital letters has the emphatic stress. Choose the option to which the given sentence relates.
A good description INCLUDES specific nouns.
Does a good description include obscure nouns?
Does a poor description include specific nouns?
Does a good description exclude specific nouns?
Does a good description include specific verbs?
The sentence with emphatic stress on "INCLUDES" is related to the question "Does a good description exclude specific nouns?" The emphasis on "INCLUDES" suggests that the focus is on what is part of a good description, and the opposite would be excluding specific nouns.
Read the passage carefully and answer this question.
May your road be rough. I am not cursing you: I am wishing you what I wish myself every year, I therefore repeat, may you have a hard time this year. May there be troubles for you this year. If you are not sure of what to say back, why not just say "same to you" – I ask for no more.
Our successes are conditioned by the amount of risk we are about to take. Earlier today, I visited a local farmer about five kilometers from where I live. He could not have been 55, but he said he was already too old to farm vigorously. He still suffered, he said, from the energy he displayed as a farmer in his younger days. Around his hut were two pepperbushes. There were cocoyam growing around him. There were snail shells which had given him meat. There must have been more snails around the banana trees than I saw. He hardly ever went to town to buy things. He was self-sufficient. The car, the television or radio and the newspaper were things he could live without. He had no ambition whatsoever, he told me.
I am not sure if you are already envious of him, but were we all to revert to such a life, we would be driven back like aimless sheep to cave dwelling. On the other hand, try to put yourself in the shoes of the Russian or American astronauts. Any moment you are shot into space, you have to be mentally alert, else, if you forget what to do, one of the things that might happen to you is that you could forever become a satellite going round until you die of starvation, and even then, your dead body would continue the gyration.
Naturally, they may have some slight foreboding on the contingency of their non-return. However, it is their courage for going in spite of these apprehensions that makes the world hail them so loudly today.
(Akinyemi, A., Olupe, F., & Adetutu, S. (2012): Rubrics of English Language for Schools and Colleges. Divine Glory Printers, Abeokuta.)
According to the passage, astronauts
are always successful
always do what are expected of them
know they may not return from their journey into space
have courage and mental stability
According to the passage, the astronauts "may have some slight foreboding on the contingency of their non-return." This indicates that they are aware of the possibility that they may not return from their journey into space.
Read the passage carefully and answer this question.
May your road be rough. I am not cursing you: I am wishing you what I wish myself every year, I therefore repeat, may you have a hard time this year. May there be troubles for you this year. If you are not sure of what to say back, why not just say "same to you" – I ask for no more.
Our successes are conditioned by the amount of risk we are about to take. Earlier today, I visited a local farmer about five kilometers from where I live. He could not have been 55, but he said he was already too old to farm vigorously. He still suffered, he said, from the energy he displayed as a farmer in his younger days. Around his hut were two pepperbushes. There were cocoyam growing around him. There were snail shells which had given him meat. There must have been more snails around the banana trees than I saw. He hardly ever went to town to buy things. He was self-sufficient. The car, the television or radio and the newspaper were things he could live without. He had no ambition whatsoever, he told me.
I am not sure if you are already envious of him, but were we all to revert to such a life, we would be driven back like aimless sheep to cave dwelling. On the other hand, try to put yourself in the shoes of the Russian or American astronauts. Any moment you are shot into space, you have to be mentally alert, else, if you forget what to do, one of the things that might happen to you is that you could forever become a satellite going round until you die of starvation, and even then, your dead body would continue the gyration.
Naturally, they may have some slight foreboding on the contingency of their non-return. However, it is their courage for going in spite of these apprehensions that makes the world hail them so loudly today.
(Akinyemi, A., Olupe, F., & Adetutu, S. (2012): Rubrics of English Language for Schools and Colleges. Divine Glory Printers, Abeokuta.)
The farmer in the passage ......
used to be self-sufficient
had a dream to expand his farm
is envied than the astronauts
lives a life too simple
The passage describes the local farmer as someone who "hardly ever went to town to buy things" and was "self-sufficient." This indicates that the farmer used to be self-sufficient.