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I am always amazed when I hear people saying that sport creates goodwill among nations and that if only the common people of the world could meet one another at football or squash, they would have no inclination to meet on the battle field. Even if one didn’t know from concrete example (the 1936 Olympic games, for instance) that international sporting contests lead to orgies of hatred, one could deduce it from general principals.
Nearly all the sports practiced nowadays are competitive. You play to win, and the game has little meaning. Unless you do your utmost to win. On the village green, where you pick up sides and not feeling of local patriotism is involved, it is possible to play simple for fun of it and exercise, but as soon as the question of prestige arises, as soon as you feel that you and some larger unit will be disgraced if you lose, the most savage combative instincts are aroused. Anyone who has played even in a school football match knows this. At the international level, sport is frankly a mimic warfare. But the significant thing is not the behaviour of the players but the attitude of the spectators and behind the spectators are the nations who work themselves into furies over these absurd contests and seriously believe at any rate for short period that running, jumping and kicking a ball are tests of national virtue.
Even a leisurely game demanding grace rather than strength can cause much ill-will. Football, a game in which everyone gets hurt and every nation has its own style or play is far worse. Worst of all is boxing. One of the most horrible sights in the world is a fight between white and coloured boxers before a mixed audience
The 1936 Olympic games was cited in the passage to show that sport can Options:Fill in the blank spaces in the following sentences making use of the best of the five options
Olukayode _____ as a mechanic when he was young, but now he is a driver
Options:Over the years there has been this hue and cry by government and the public policy advisers against the phenomenon of the rural-urban drift. Researches have been conducted on various aspects of this phenomenon which have resulted in the identification of the various causes and consequences of drift. In addition, prescriptions have been given for controlling the rural-urban drift.
Among the causes most often mentioned are population pressures in some rural areas resulting in dwindling farm lands; increase in school enrollment and the resultant rise in education levels which qualify many people for urban employment, higher wages in the urban centres relative to rural centres and the rather naïve one of the ‘bright lights’ in the cities so much touted by early foreign sociologists.
The most often mention consequences of this rural-urban migration includes depopulation of the rural area leading to overcrowding of the cities and the resultant housing and sanitation problems; decline in the agricultural population resulting in less food crops being grown and high food prices in the cities, and increasing urban unemployment. The results of the phenomenon are seen largely as negative
Measures to control the rural-urban drift includes the establishment of essential amenities like water, electricity, hospitals, colleges, and cinema houses; the location of employment generating establishment and the building of good interconnecting roads.
The sum total of these prescriptions in essence, unwittingly or paradoxically, is for the rural areas to be transformed into urban centres. This is so because to industrialize the rural areas would draw many more people out of agriculture than if industries were restricted to urban centres
When industries are located in the rural areas, it involves much less cost for the prospective rural-urban migrant to change to a non-agricultural job, than is involved in his leaving a rural abode for a distance urban centre.
Therefore, rural industrialization holds a higher potential for the de-agriculturalization of the rural population than when industries are concentrated in urban areas.
The phenomenon of rural-urban migration has been intensively and extensively researched and studied, but it would seem that it has largely been misinterpreted and misunderstood. Consequently public policies on the subject have been misdirected.
The author explains that researches conducted on various aspect of rural_urban drift have Options:The appearance of comparative peace which Max’s house presented to me that morning proved quite deceptive. Oh perhaps some of Chief Nanga’s ‘queen bee’ characteristics had rubbed off on me and transformed me into an independent little nucleus of activity which I brought with me into this new place. That first night I not only heard of the new political party about to be born but got myself enrolled as a foundation member. Max and some of his friends having watched with deepening disillusion the use to which our hard-won freedom was being put by corrupt, mediocre politicians had decided to come together and launch the Common People’s Convention.
There were eight young people in his room that evening. All but one were citizens of our country, mostly professional types. The only lady was a very beautiful lawyer who, I learnt afterwards, was engaged to Max whom she had first met at the London School of Economics. There was a trade-unionist, a doctor, another lawyer, a teacher and a newspaper columnist
Max introduced me without any previous consultation as a ‘trustworthy comrade who had only the other day had his girlfriend snatched from him by minister who shall remain nameless’. Naturally I did not care for that kind of image reputation. So I promptly intervened to point out that the woman in question was not strictly speaking my girlfriend but a casual acquaintance who both Chief Nanga and I knew.
‘So it was Chief Nanga, yes?’ said the European and everyone burst out laughing.
‘Who else could it be?’ said one of the others.
The Whiteman was apparently from one of the Eastern Bioc countries. He did not neglect to stress to me in an aside that he was there only as a friend of Max’s. He told me a lot of things quietly while the others were discussing some obscure details about the launching. I was as much interested in what he said as the way in which he said it. His English had an exotic quality occasionally – as when he said that it was good to see intellectuals like Max, myself and the rest coming out of their ‘tower or elephant tusk’ into active politics. And he often punctuated whatever he was saying with ‘yes’ spoken with the accent of a question.
The speaker was attentive to the European because Options:In the question below choose the phrase or word which best completes the meaning of each sentence:
He used to play tennis, but he doesn't _____
Options:In the question below choose the option nearest in meaning to the word(s) or phrase(s) underlined:
He was asked to give copious, examples to appear convincing
Options:The medical definition of miscarriage is the spontaneous loss of a pregnancy before twenty-four weeks. Miscarriage is very common, occurring in ten to twenty per cent, of confirmed pregnancies. Most of those feature ...16... twelve weeks of pregnancy. The most common ...17... is vaginal bleeding, which can range from light spotting to heavier than a period. You may see blood clots, brown discharge or other tissues that are not ...18... identifiable. Sometimes a sac-like structure is seen. Often, there is cramping with pelvic or back pain. You may find that the usual symptoms of pregnancy, such as breast tenderness, feeling sick and having to pass urine more ...19... than usual stop unexpectedly. Sometimes there are no signs or symptoms of miscarriage and pregnancy symptoms continue, and the miscarriage only ...20... in a routine scan . About half all early miscarriages happen because of a problem in the way the genetic material from the egg and sperm have combined during ...21... it can be difficult to find out why this has ...22... , but it is more likely to be due to random chance than to any underlying problem with either parent. Imbalances in pregnancy hormones, problems in the immune...23... ,and some serious infections are also thought to make miscarriages more likely. The risk of miscarriage ...24... with age because the quality of eggs deteriorates . If a woman drinks too much alcohol or smokes heavily, the risk of miscarriage is higher. It is also increased with ...25... pregnancies such as twins.
Adapted from Saturday punch, 13 October 2007
Choose the most appropriate answer in the gap numbered 25 Options:From the words lettered A to D, choose the word or group of words that best completes each of the following sentences.
My brother graduated fromuniversity last year; he will soon_________
Options:Attitudes towards the smoking of cigarettes and the consumption of alcohol may be used to illustrate typical African ethics. Apart from the fact that smoking has now been linked with the lung cancer disease, the African moralist has always regarded smoking as an indication of moral degradation. A number of people have accepted the moralist ideaon smoking. Some have refrained from smoking and those who could influence others, such as parents and religious leaders, have also exerted their influence to prevent others from smoking. On the other hand, a good many people have remained indifferent to the moralist view and have continued to smoke. The same argument has been applied to the consumption of alcohol. The African moralist, basing his judgement on the behaviour of a few alcoholics, tends to regard the habit of taking alcohol as a sign of wretchedness. The moralist holds the view that anybody who forms the habit of consuming alcohol will never do well in life. While this may be true in respect of a few people in the society, the fear of the moralist has not been justified. However, the economist is primarily interested in the habit of smoking and the consumption of alcohol and alcohol in so far as they give satisfaction to smokers and drinkers and so generate supply of and demand for tobacco and alcohol. The economist is interested in knowing how many packets of cigarettes are consumed and to what extent an increase or fall in consumption could affect production that is, supply. Similarly, he is interested in how much beer is consumed and how the supply of beer will adjust to the demand for it. He examines the habits and the pressures which can lead to the readjustment of wants and the reallocation of resources to cover the wants.
Some moral principles associated with religion tend to lead on to economic problems. Followers of certain religions are expected not to consume pork, take alcohol or smoke tobacco. Devotees of some religious groups, on the other hand, can eat pork, while others are expected to abstain from alcohol and smoking. Strict observance of these moral rules could cripple the breweries, the cigarette factories and some businesses however, there seems to be a growing number of alcohol consumers and cigarette smokers- a development which should be of interest to the economist.