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.
In the question below choose the word(s) or phrase(s) which best fill(s) the gap(s):
My price for the pair of shoes is fifty naira. I cannot _____ anything less than that
Options:In the question below choose the word(s) or phrase(s) which best fills(s) the gap(s):
The attitude of my students to _____ baffles me
Options:Gossip! Yes gossip is universal. In some language, it may have an outright negative connotation but in English, it basically means ‘idle talk’, chat about trivial things or matter. When moderated and kind, ‘casual talk’ may serve to exchange useful information as a means of updating one’s knowledge. The whole neighborhood may grow gossipy with who got married, pregnant, died, or it may just be a humorous chi-chat devoid of malicious intent.
However, idle talk more often than not, degenerates beyond the bounds of property and good taste. Facts get embellish, exaggerated or deliberately distorted. Humiliation is made the source of humor. Privacy is violated, confidence betrayed and reputations injured or ruined. Condemnation takes the place of commendation, murmuring and fault finding are extolled. The end result is like the mud thrown on a clean piece of white cloth. It does not stick but it leaves a dirty and sometimes permanent stain behind.
Gossip has been blamed for sleepless nights, headache and indigestion. Certainly, it must have caused you some personal anguish at one time or the other that is someone must at some times have tried getting a knife between your shoulder blades. Negative gossip is almost universally frowned upon. Among the Indians in the United States, gossiping about someone is classified with lying and stealing. Among the Yoruba of Nigeria, the tale bearer is detested and often avoided. Indeed, throughout history, measures have been taken to curb this ‘deadly’ disease. Between the 15th and 18th centuries, the ducking stool was popularly used in England and Germany and later in the United States.
The gossip was tied to a chair and repeatedly ducked in water. In modern times, the war against gossiping has also been fought. Rumor control centers have been established to even respond to rumors that were potentially harmful to government activities. Law have been passed to curb gossip. Nicknames have been given to those who peddle the trade. Ever heard of ‘Amebo’!
Such efforts notwithstanding, gossip survives. It is alive and flourishing. Gossip is everywhere. There is neighborhood gossip, office gossip, party gossip, family gossip and funnily enough, religious gossip. Gossip transcends all cultures, race and civilizations, and it has flourished and it is still flourishing at every level of the society. Gossip is deeply a part of human nature. Yet gossip is not inherently evil. There is a positive side to casual talk. Knowing where to draw harmless and harmful gossip is the key to avoiding victimizing others and being victim yourself.
In the passage, ‘such efforts notwithstanding’ refers to Options:Choose the word or phrase from options A - E which has the nearest in meaning to the underlined word or words in each sentences:
When you go to a foreign country to study, you will discover that life is not always a bed of roses.
Options:Choose the option that has the same vowel sound as the one represented by the letter(s) underlined.
Cock
Options:Choose the appropriate stress pattern from the options.The stressed words are in capital letter(s)
Fluency
In the question below choose the word(s) or phrase which best fills the gap:
We saw him _____ over a wall as the police approached
Options:Setting up a news paper involves a lot of preparations. The __11__ has to employ a lot of people. Other people working with him are cartographers, editors, typesetters, readers, who work in various ways to produce the text of the newspaper, __12__, who go out and collect story and items of news, and __13__, who specialize in one kind of topic. Another important person who works closely with the Editor-in-Chief is the __14__, who has to choose the most important stories__15__ go through stories sent to them and make necessary adjustments.
The Editor-in-Chief could determine for instance, whether a particular journalist should write articles daily or weekly in a particular column. Such a journalist is known as __16__The editorials of the news paper will be coordinated by __17__. The publisher could decide to establish __18__ which would be on sale weekly, fortnightly, or monthly,__19__ the eyes catching, screaming headlines and captions of newspapers on sale everyday from the __20__.
Choose the most appropriate option for the gap labelled 20. Options:In the question below choose the option opposite in meaning to the word underlined:
Employees have been urged to desist from witch-hunting and character assassination
Options: