2006 - WAEC Literature Past Questions and Answers - page 3
21
UNSEEN PROSE AND POETRY
Read the passage and answer the question
Here in the station, it is in no way different save that the city is busy in its snow. But the old men cling to their seats as though they were symbolic and could not be given up. Now and then they sleep, their grey old heads resting with painful awkwardness on the backs of the benches.
Also, they are not at rest. For an hour, they may sleep in the gasping exhaustion of the ill-nourished and aged, who have to walk in the night. Then, a policeman comes by on his round and nudges them upright.
''You can't sleep here'', he growls.
A strange ritual then begins. An old man is difficult to wake. One man after a slight lurch does not move at all, he sleeps on steadily. Once in a while, one of the sleepers will not wake; he will have had his wish to die in the great droning centre of the hive rather than in some loney room fulfilled.
The style of writing is
Read the passage and answer the question
Here in the station, it is in no way different save that the city is busy in its snow. But the old men cling to their seats as though they were symbolic and could not be given up. Now and then they sleep, their grey old heads resting with painful awkwardness on the backs of the benches.
Also, they are not at rest. For an hour, they may sleep in the gasping exhaustion of the ill-nourished and aged, who have to walk in the night. Then, a policeman comes by on his round and nudges them upright.
''You can't sleep here'', he growls.
A strange ritual then begins. An old man is difficult to wake. One man after a slight lurch does not move at all, he sleeps on steadily. Once in a while, one of the sleepers will not wake; he will have had his wish to die in the great droning centre of the hive rather than in some loney room fulfilled.
The style of writing is
A
argumentative
B
epistolary
C
narrative
D
expository
correct option: c
Users' Answers & Comments22
UNSEEN PROSE AND POETRY
Read the passage and answer the question
Here in the station, it is in no way different save that the city is busy in its snow. But the old men cling to their seats as though they were symbolic and could not be given up. Now and then they sleep, their grey old heads resting with painful awkwardness on the backs of the benches.
Also, they are not at rest. For an hour, they may sleep in the gasping exhaustion of the ill-nourished and aged, who have to walk in the night. Then, a policeman comes by on his round and nudges them upright.
''You can't sleep here'', he growls.
A strange ritual then begins. An old man is difficult to wake. One man after a slight lurch does not move at all, he sleeps on steadily. Once in a while, one of the sleepers will not wake; he will have had his wish to die in the great droning centre of the hive rather than in some lonely room fulfilled.
''....on the backs of the benches'' illustrates
Read the passage and answer the question
Here in the station, it is in no way different save that the city is busy in its snow. But the old men cling to their seats as though they were symbolic and could not be given up. Now and then they sleep, their grey old heads resting with painful awkwardness on the backs of the benches.
Also, they are not at rest. For an hour, they may sleep in the gasping exhaustion of the ill-nourished and aged, who have to walk in the night. Then, a policeman comes by on his round and nudges them upright.
''You can't sleep here'', he growls.
A strange ritual then begins. An old man is difficult to wake. One man after a slight lurch does not move at all, he sleeps on steadily. Once in a while, one of the sleepers will not wake; he will have had his wish to die in the great droning centre of the hive rather than in some lonely room fulfilled.
''....on the backs of the benches'' illustrates
A
synecdoche
B
epithet
C
assonance
D
personification
correct option: c
Users' Answers & Comments23
UNSEEN PROSE AND POETRY
Read the passage and answer the question
Here in the station, it is in no way different save that the city is busy in its snow. But the old men cling to their seats as though they were symbolic and could not be given up. Now and then they sleep, their grey old heads resting with painful awkwardness on the backs of the benches.
Also, they are not at rest. For an hour, they may sleep in the gasping exhaustion of the ill-nourished and aged, who have to walk in the night. Then, a policeman comes by on his round and nudges them upright.
''You can't sleep here'', he growls.
A strange ritual then begins. An old man is difficult to wake. One man after a slight lurch does not move at all, he sleeps on steadily. Once in a while, one of the sleepers will not wake; he will have had his wish to die in the great droning centre of the hive rather than in some lonely room fulfilled.
The passage conveys a mood of
Read the passage and answer the question
Here in the station, it is in no way different save that the city is busy in its snow. But the old men cling to their seats as though they were symbolic and could not be given up. Now and then they sleep, their grey old heads resting with painful awkwardness on the backs of the benches.
Also, they are not at rest. For an hour, they may sleep in the gasping exhaustion of the ill-nourished and aged, who have to walk in the night. Then, a policeman comes by on his round and nudges them upright.
''You can't sleep here'', he growls.
A strange ritual then begins. An old man is difficult to wake. One man after a slight lurch does not move at all, he sleeps on steadily. Once in a while, one of the sleepers will not wake; he will have had his wish to die in the great droning centre of the hive rather than in some lonely room fulfilled.
The passage conveys a mood of
A
defiance
B
hope
C
fear
D
despair
correct option: d
Users' Answers & Comments24
UNSEEN PROSE AND POETRY
Read the passage and answer the question
Here in the station, it is in no way different save that the city is busy in its snow. But the old men cling to their seats as though they were symbolic and could not be given up. Now and then they sleep, their grey old heads resting with painful awkwardness on the backs of the benches.
Also, they are not at rest. For an hour, they may sleep in the gasping exhaustion of the ill-nourished and aged, who have to walk in the night. Then, a policeman comes by on his round and nudges them upright.
''You can't sleep here'', he growls.
A strange ritual then begins. An old man is difficult to wake. One man after a slight lurch does not move at all, he sleeps on steadily. Once in a while, one of the sleepers will not wake; he will have had his wish to die in the great droning centre of the hive rather than in some lonely room fulfilled.
''.....gasping exhaustion of the ill-nourished and aged'' infers
Read the passage and answer the question
Here in the station, it is in no way different save that the city is busy in its snow. But the old men cling to their seats as though they were symbolic and could not be given up. Now and then they sleep, their grey old heads resting with painful awkwardness on the backs of the benches.
Also, they are not at rest. For an hour, they may sleep in the gasping exhaustion of the ill-nourished and aged, who have to walk in the night. Then, a policeman comes by on his round and nudges them upright.
''You can't sleep here'', he growls.
A strange ritual then begins. An old man is difficult to wake. One man after a slight lurch does not move at all, he sleeps on steadily. Once in a while, one of the sleepers will not wake; he will have had his wish to die in the great droning centre of the hive rather than in some lonely room fulfilled.
''.....gasping exhaustion of the ill-nourished and aged'' infers
A
helplessness
B
slowness
C
sadness
D
tiredness
correct option: a
Users' Answers & Comments25
UNSEEN PROSE AND POETRY
Read the passage and answer the question
Here in the station, it is in no way different save that the city is busy in its snow. But the old men cling to their seats as though they were symbolic and could not be given up. Now and then they sleep, their grey old heads resting with painful awkwardness on the backs of the benches.
Also, they are not at rest. For an hour, they may sleep in the gasping exhaustion of the ill-nourished and aged, who have to walk in the night. Then, a policeman comes by on his round and nudges them upright.
''You can't sleep here'', he growls.
A strange ritual then begins. An old man is difficult to wake. One man after a slight lurch does not move at all, he sleeps on steadily. Once in a while, one of the sleepers will not wake; he will have had his wish to die in the great droning centre of the hive rather than in some lonely room fulfilled.
''droning'' and ''have'' illustrate
Read the passage and answer the question
Here in the station, it is in no way different save that the city is busy in its snow. But the old men cling to their seats as though they were symbolic and could not be given up. Now and then they sleep, their grey old heads resting with painful awkwardness on the backs of the benches.
Also, they are not at rest. For an hour, they may sleep in the gasping exhaustion of the ill-nourished and aged, who have to walk in the night. Then, a policeman comes by on his round and nudges them upright.
''You can't sleep here'', he growls.
A strange ritual then begins. An old man is difficult to wake. One man after a slight lurch does not move at all, he sleeps on steadily. Once in a while, one of the sleepers will not wake; he will have had his wish to die in the great droning centre of the hive rather than in some lonely room fulfilled.
''droning'' and ''have'' illustrate
A
anecdote
B
epigram
C
allusion
D
epitaph
correct option: c
Users' Answers & Comments26
Read the poem and answer the question
Sleep, O sleep
With thy Rod of Incantation
Charm my Imagination,
Then, only then, I cease to weep
By thy power,
The virgin, by Time O' ertaken,
For Years forlorn, forsaken,
Enjoys the happy Hour.
What's to sleep?
'Tis a visionary Blessing;
A dream that's past expressing;
Our utmost Wish possessing;
So may I always keep.
The poem is
Sleep, O sleep
With thy Rod of Incantation
Charm my Imagination,
Then, only then, I cease to weep
By thy power,
The virgin, by Time O' ertaken,
For Years forlorn, forsaken,
Enjoys the happy Hour.
What's to sleep?
'Tis a visionary Blessing;
A dream that's past expressing;
Our utmost Wish possessing;
So may I always keep.
The poem is
A
an epic
B
an ode
C
a lyric
D
a ballad
correct option: b
Users' Answers & Comments27
Read the poem and answer the question
Sleep, O sleep
With thy Rod of Incantation
Charm my Imagination,
Then, only then, I cease to weep
By thy power,
The virgin, by Time O' ertaken,
For Years forlorn, forsaken,
Enjoys the happy Hour.
What's to sleep?
'Tis a visionary Blessing;
A dream that's past expressing;
Our utmost Wish possessing;
So may I always keep.
The dominant device used in the first line is
Sleep, O sleep
With thy Rod of Incantation
Charm my Imagination,
Then, only then, I cease to weep
By thy power,
The virgin, by Time O' ertaken,
For Years forlorn, forsaken,
Enjoys the happy Hour.
What's to sleep?
'Tis a visionary Blessing;
A dream that's past expressing;
Our utmost Wish possessing;
So may I always keep.
The dominant device used in the first line is
A
Oxymoron
B
apostrophe
C
rhyme
D
metaphor
correct option: b
Users' Answers & Comments28
Read the poem and answer the question
Sleep, O sleep
With thy Rod of Incantation
Charm my Imagination,
Then, only then, I cease to weep
By thy power,
The virgin, by Time O' ertaken,
For Years forlorn, forsaken,
Enjoys the happy Hour.
What's to sleep?
'Tis a visionary Blessing;
A dream that's past expressing;
Our utmost Wish possessing;
So may I always keep.
The poem makes use of
Sleep, O sleep
With thy Rod of Incantation
Charm my Imagination,
Then, only then, I cease to weep
By thy power,
The virgin, by Time O' ertaken,
For Years forlorn, forsaken,
Enjoys the happy Hour.
What's to sleep?
'Tis a visionary Blessing;
A dream that's past expressing;
Our utmost Wish possessing;
So may I always keep.
The poem makes use of
A
end-stopped lines
B
run-on lines
C
rhyme
D
metaphor
correct option: a
Users' Answers & Comments29
Read the poem and answer the question
Sleep, O sleep
With thy Rod of Incantation
Charm my Imagination,
Then, only then, I cease to weep
By thy power,
The virgin, by Time O' ertaken,
For Years forlorn, forsaken,
Enjoys the happy Hour.
What's to sleep?
'Tis a visionary Blessing;
A dream that's past expressing;
Our utmost Wish possessing;
So may I always keep.
''Sleep'' in the poem is an example of
Sleep, O sleep
With thy Rod of Incantation
Charm my Imagination,
Then, only then, I cease to weep
By thy power,
The virgin, by Time O' ertaken,
For Years forlorn, forsaken,
Enjoys the happy Hour.
What's to sleep?
'Tis a visionary Blessing;
A dream that's past expressing;
Our utmost Wish possessing;
So may I always keep.
''Sleep'' in the poem is an example of
A
alliteration
B
assonance
C
onomatopoeia
D
pun
correct option: d
Users' Answers & Comments30
Read the poem and answer the question
Sleep, O sleep
With thy Rod of Incantation
Charm my Imagination,
Then, only then, I cease to weep
By thy power,
The virgin, by Time O' ertaken,
For Years forlorn, forsaken,
Enjoys the happy Hour.
What's to sleep?
'Tis a visionary Blessing;
A dream that's past expressing;
Our utmost Wish possessing;
So may I always keep.
The power of ''sleep'' is described as
Sleep, O sleep
With thy Rod of Incantation
Charm my Imagination,
Then, only then, I cease to weep
By thy power,
The virgin, by Time O' ertaken,
For Years forlorn, forsaken,
Enjoys the happy Hour.
What's to sleep?
'Tis a visionary Blessing;
A dream that's past expressing;
Our utmost Wish possessing;
So may I always keep.
The power of ''sleep'' is described as
A
majestic
B
magical
C
poetic
D
worshipful
correct option: b
Users' Answers & Comments