ENGLISH LANGUAGE SS1

SECTION A: COMPREHENSION
Read the following passage carefully and answer the questions on it.

It was a little past 10 a.m. but the medium-sized hall that served as a prayer
house was already brimming with people from different parts of the metropolis,
who had come to seek cure or answers to their problems. The majority of this lot
were those with seemingly intractable mental health conditions. The
superintendent of the prayer house in question was often spoken of in whispers
as possessing uncanny spiritual powers to exorcise evil spirits. It was also believed
that he had answers to numerous illnesses that defied orthodox medication.
Wednesday of each week was set aside for these healing sessions.
On this particular Wednesday, noisy supplications to the Most High and
ceaseless invocation of His name to free those supposedly held captive by alleged
evil spirits had reached fever pitch. Suddenly, a middle-aged man broke loose
from the crowd and ran as fast as his wobbly legs could permit. Some male
workers from the prayer house gave him a hot chase.
At first, bemused by-standers rained curses on the fleeing man, wondering
why a man in his right senses would in broad daylight rob a house of God. They
obviously mistook the man for a robber fleeing from the scene of his crime. But
he was not. Minutes later, he was caught and chained hands and feet, despite his
struggle against his captors who intermittently lashed him with horse-whip. As he
was being violently dragged along the street, the man ceaselessly muttered
incomprehensible words that sounded like the muttering of a colony of baboons.
Then, a clear picture of the situation dawned on the on-lookers. The man, after
all, was not a thief and had stolen nothing; rather, his ability to think and reason
properly had taken flight of him. Simply put, he was mentally deranged.
The above incident is a common occurrence in many parts of the country. It
aptly underscores the devastating mental health conditions plaguing a sizeable
number of people in recent times. It also points to the unspeakable and inhuman
treatment which people with such health disorders suffer at the hands of self-
styled spiritualists. This is the usual lot of mental patients whose family members
refuse to take advantage of orthodox treatment.

QUESTIONS
(a) What brought the people to the prayer house?
(b) State the functions of the superintendent of the prayer house.
(c) What was wrong with the on-lookers' assessment of the run-away man?
(d) Mention two instances of inhuman treatment in the passage.
(e) What is the writer's attitude towards the treatment of lunatics at prayer
house?
(f)"... like the muttering of a colony of baboons." What figure of speech is
contained in this expression?
(g) "... Whose family member refuse to take advantage of orthodox treatment."
(I) What grammatical name is given to this expression as it is used in the passage?
(ii) What is its function?
(h) For each of the following words, find another word or phrase which means the
same and which can replace it as it is used in the passage.
(i) Intractable (ii) supplications (iii) wobbly; (iv) bemused (v) intermittently
(vi) deranged

SECTION B: OBJECTIVE
Choose the option that best conveys the meaning of the underlined portion in
the following sentence
1. The bill has to wait as we are now insolvent (a) overworked (b) bankrupt (c)
unsettled (d) insoluble (e) affluent
2. All his plans fell through (a) failed (b) were accomplished  (c) had to be
reviewed (d) were rejected (e)  fell
 3. The balance sheet at the end of the business year shows that we broke
even (a) lost heavily (b) made profit (c) neither lost nor gained (d) had no
money to continue business (e) were heavily indebted to our bankers
4. He was appointed specifically to put the recruits through (a) assign
them to work (b) train them (c) discipline them (d) assist them at work (e)
supervise them at work
5. The result of his experiment represents a breakthrough in medical science
(a) an outstanding success (b) catastrophe (c) an end to such experiments
(d) breaking point (e) a colossal failure
6. Being an optimist, our professor always sees the bright side of most things
(a) charming (b) illumined (c) brilliant (d) pleasing (e) cheerful
7. The state government appointed a commission of inquiry to go into the
community's complaints carefully and without prejudice (a) investigate (b)
search (c) look for (d) account for (e) ascertain

In each of the following questions, choose the option opposite in meaning to

the word(s) or phrase underlined
8. The players were delirious but the coach was impassive (a)
enthusiastic (b) emotionless (c) angry (d) observant
9. Ase was always indiscreet in her actions (a) circumspect (b)
careless (c) creative (d) arrogant
10. His behavior last night was out of character (a) usual (b) untypical (c)
surprising (d) wonderful
11. The manager described him as an unindustrious worker (a) a courageous
(b) a diligent (C) a careful (d) an intelligent
12. The judge who passed the sentence was disinterested (a) partial (b)
interested (c) wicked (d) fair

Choose the word or phrase which best fills the gap in each sentences.
13. Very few students have satisfactory ______ these days because the
students’ population has increased tremendously (a) accommondation (b)
accommodation (c) accomodation (d) acommodation
 14. Whilst the thief was ______ the passengers, he kept apologizing for the
inconvenience he was causing them (a) robing (b) rubbing (c) rubing (d)
robbing
15. The officer was compelled to _____ the suspect’s car (a) seize (b) cease
(c) sieze (d) sease
16. He did not attend the final burial ____ (a) rite (b) rights (c) rites (d)
right
17. The choice to go is ______ (a) your’s (b) your (c) yours (d) yours’

From the words or group of words labelled A-D below each of the following
sentences, choose the word or group of words that is nearest in meaning to the
underlined word or group of words
18. Climbing great heights terrifies me (a) threatens (a) annoys (c) shook (d)
frightens
19. I would regard what he has done has a treacherous act (a) noble (b)
reliable (c) commendable (d) dangerous
20. To become an artisan one has to under a period of apprenticeship (a)
directorship (b) testing (c) tutorship (d) training

SECTION C: THEORY
Instruction: Answer one question from part one and any two from part two. Your
essay should not be more than 450 words.
Part one.
1. Your country’s transport system is not functioning properly, write a letter to
the minister of transport highlighting the causes and suggesting at least,
two measures to remedy the situation.
2. Tell a story that ends with the words, ”It was a bitter experience, but I
learnt my lesson”.
3. You’re the chief speaker in a debate on the topic, ‘Examination malpractice
in school is worse than stealing’.
Part two
1. Explain vividly what an article writing is.
(b) List five (5) objectives of article writing
(c) Mention five (5) common mistakes in article writing

2. Write ten (10) commonly misspelt words with their correct spellings
(b) What are homophones?
(c) Differentiate between homophones and homonyms
(d) List ten (10) words with their homophones and use any four (4) in
examples

3. Define adjunct
(b) What is stock exchange?
(c) List ten (10) words associated with stock exchange