English is the study of the English language. The goal is to improve communication skills by practicing listening, speaking, reading, writing, and understanding language rules like pronunciation, vocabulary, and grammar.
The word in capital letters has the emphatic stress. Choose the option to which the given sentence relates.
The POLICE arrested the suspect.
Options:In the question below choose the option opposite in meaning to the word(s) Underlined:
My bother's primary school foundation was solid and this influenced his secondary education
Options:The obvious function of a daily paper is to give news to the people, but this, at the moment, may be done in three ways, which are not all equally laudable. First, there is the paper which set out to give a brief resume of the news and backs this up by well-written articles on the current affairs by leading writers and experts. Secondly, there is the ‘daily’ which caters for popular taste, and contains only the most sensational and exciting bits of news, supporting them with comic-strips, pictures children’s corners, women’s sections and readers’ letters on anything but weighty topics. Thirdly, there is the propaganda type of paper, which presents only those versions of the news which agree with its own particular political outlook. All this gives news in different ways; but what deeper function can the ideal daily paper have?
In the case of the Nigerian daily newspaper, the first type gives the thinking reader an unbiased view of the world situation, so that he can judge the importance of recent events for himself, but it does not indicate to him what he ought to think. The drawbacks to this is that semi-literate or uneducated find it dull or difficult and so are discouraged from reading such a paper regularly, because it demands too much thought and effort from them. The main advantage of this type of paper, however, is its soundness, excellent English expression and general effect of widening the readers’ knowledge on a variety of subjects.
The second type interest the majority and give them more striking items of news in an easily comprehensible way, accompanied by lavish photographs and usually with some slight political bias towards the left and the interests of the working class, from which most of its readers come. The drawback of this type is that there is not enough solid thinking mater and the English is often faulty in style – tending towards ‘journalese’. The advantage is that it is quickly and easily read, on the bus or train or over the breakfast table, and gives a superficial knowledge of current affairs to people who would not have the time or inclination to read ‘heavier’ literature. Also, it is a ‘family’ paper, which every member of the household can enjoy, since there is something to please all their tastes.
The third type to some extent, appeals to emotion, not reason. It instruct the reader in exactly what that particular editor believe he ought to think, and does not give him a chance to have a mind of his own by letting him hear the other person’s point of view. The drawback is that it prevents people from thinking for themselves, and causes political hysteria rather than logical thinking. the only advantage is that it does represent the ‘freedom of the press’ to publish whatever it likes, and allows discontented people to air their grievances instead of letting them smoulder underground.
From these examples, it should be clear that the ideal function of a daily paper would be to present the news clearly and simply, and to support it with articles in good English which shows the points of view of various competent people of different outlooks on current problems. The reader could then choose which line of thought appealed to him most. Women’s and children’s sections would be good so long as they did not grow so out of proportion that the paper depended solely upon them for its popularity. Good pictures would add to the paper’s instructive value as well as to its interest; and advertisements, kept in bounds, might be helpful, both as shopping guides and as a financial help to the paper itself. All these points seem to be desirable in a daily paper now that the radio helps in giving news headlines.
An appropriate tittle for this passage is Options:It is said that experience is the best teacher, but to learn consciously through wisdom may even be a better and more convenient way. T learn by experience is to learn from mistakes. It means you have burnt our fingers and now your eyes are open'. This is a tough, costly and inconvenient way to learn. Rather than leaving our learning to experience, why do we not learn consciously going out way to acquire knowledge and wisdom rather than leave our learning to chance.
Surely, we can learn from mistakes but why wait till when we make mistakes before we lean? We should give more premium to learning by wisdom than by experience.
This will involve one making up ones mind to be decisive in learning. We must decide to learn consciously and not necessarily from negative experiences. The first step is to realize that life is simply the outcome and outplay of decisions. Our life now is the sum total of our decisions and our future will be determined by our decisions. Our life now is the sum total of our decisions and our future will be determined by our decisions of today. If we decide to learn today we are not likely to make mistakes and when we do not make mistakes, experience need not be our best teacher.
To avoid making experience our best teacher will take more than a decision. We must couple our decision with a complete and -wholehearted devotion. We must be resolved, resolute and resilient in our bid to learn by wisdom and not necessarily by experience. This is crucial because situations and circumstances will want us to make a detour and leave our learning and life to chance. We must therefore be disciplined to remain with our resolve to make a clean break with experience as our best teacher. Disciplined in this regard means learning something new everyday by wisdom rather than rather than experience. It
means consciously getting better by the day in your chosen field. Discipline will demand taking advantage of every learning opportunity that comes our way. It will mean we must pay the price for learning by wisdom -invest in books, magazines, seminars and other means by which we may become wiser.
It is much easier and cheaper to learn consciously by wisdom than to learn by experience. When we learn by experience , the deed is done and we are just picking up the pieces-learning in regret how to avoid such predicament next time. Consider the child who grapes a burning coal, he has learned the hard way through the painful experience, but his fingers will remain burnt. Thus the saying, that experience is the best teacher, may not be justifiable after all.
Adapted from Sunday Tribune , July 2007
It can be deduced from the passage that Options:Choose the expression or word which best complete each sentences:
The member of the panel were _____
Options:This book consist of lectures given by me at Cambridge. Though they have been largely rewritten, I have kept a good deal of their original lecture-form, as being (I hope) rather less formal and less dogmatic. For to dogmatism, those who write on language seem, for some reason, particularly prone; and I should like to make clear at once that, if at times I have put my view strongly, I do not forget that such matters of taste must remain mere matters of opinion.
In addition I have included a good many specimen passages from various authors. Perhaps I have quoted too much. But a book on style without abundant examples seems to me as ineffectual as a book on art, or biology without abundant illustrations. Many of these passages are in French. That may be Gallomanian on my part and I must apologize if they trouble some readers. But some ability to read French prose does seem to me most desirable for anyone who would write well in English. I have tried to choose pieces not too difficult in syntax or vocabulary. And in these days less than ever can we afford to be better insular.
In the author's opinion, a book on style Options:Whatever may be its wider implications, the explosion of hydrogen bomb is, for the meteorologist, simply another atmospheric disturbance. It should therefore be classed with certain rare natural...such as volcanic ...12... But there are certain features of a man-made disturbance that requires special examination. As with all events on this ...13...It is impossible to describe what happens in details. However we can be reasonably sure of the main effects, and most impressive of these arises from ...14...The immediate result of the ...15... is that the air surrounding the bomb is raised very rapidly to an enormously high...16... The hot gases expand violently as great....17...compressing the air around them into what is called...18... or blast wave that is responsible for much of terrible destructive power of the weapon.
Another kind of wave arises because of the weight of the air. The force of the explosion lifts the ...19...waves. Waves of this type are normally felt by human beings and they have their effect on the weather.
Adapted from Ayoola K.(2007) University for All Students, Lagos, Nigeria: Olive Free Venture
Choose the most appropriate answer in the numbered 13 Options:This question is from the novel The Last Days at Forcados High school.
Someone called Jimi after he left his food and got outside the gate of his house, Who is it?
Options:Choose the option opposite in meaning to the underlined word.
His kind-hearted master bought him a motorcycle?
Options:Choose the option that best complete the gap (s):
Local governments are authorized to pass _______.
Options: