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.
By 1910, the motor car was plainly conquering the highway. The private car was now part of every rich man’s establishment, although its price made it as yet an impossible luxury for most of the middle class. But for the adventuresome youth, there was the motor cycle, a fearsome invention producing accidents and ear-splitting noises. Already the dignified carriages and smart pony-traps were beginning to disappear from the roads and coachmen and grooms unless mechanically minded, were finding it more difficult to make a living.
The roads which had gone to sleep since the coming of the railway now awoke to feverish activity. Cars and motor cycles dashed along them at speeds which rivalled those of the express trains and the lorry began to appear. Therefore, the road system was compelled to adapt itself to a volume and speed of traffic for which it had never intended. Its complete adaptation was impossible, but the road surface was easily transformed and during the early years of the century, the dustiness and greasiness of the highways were lessened by tar-spraying. To widen and straighten the roads and get rid of blind corners and every steep gradient were tasks which had scarcely been tackled before 1914. the Situation was worst of all in towns where not only was any large scheme of road widening usually out of the question, but also where crowding and danger were all too frequently increased by the short-sighted eagerness of town authorities in laying down tramlines.
Yet, it was not only the road system that was in need of readjustment; the nervous system who used and dwelt by the road suffered. The noises caused by the conversion of the roads into speedways called for a corresponding lightening up of the nerves and especially I the towns, the pedestrian who wished to preserve life and limb was compelled to keep his attention continually on the stretch to practise himself in estimates of the speed of approaching vehicles and to run or jump for his life if he ventured off the pavement.
COMPREHENSION:
Read each passage carefully and answer the questions that follow:
PASSAGE I:
Those who have visited the city of Jos in Nigeria attest to its uniqueness. The first striking thing to notice, perhaps, is the benevolence of the climate. It will be no exaggeration to say that in no other Nigerian city does one feel so much at peace, so relaxed, with the climate as in Jos. When people say that Jos is cool, the remark is always a compliment, referring to the cool, serene feeling of being at peace with nature, which one experiences in the city. This feeling is topographically symbolized by the surrounding rocky hills, which adorn the horizon from
every angle of the city. These hills remind you of castles, except that whereas castles are man-made, the hills of Jos are natural edifices in which the master mason who had delicately laid those stones one upon another is no other than God Himself. The sun of Jos shines without malice, and even in February and March, when it is scorching hot in most parts of Nigeria, the heat of Jos dances charmingly on the surface of the skin, as if afraid of hurting the organs beneath. It is as if from above a soft protective layer of blanket intercedes between the heat of the sun and the inhabitants of the city.
Compared to what obtains in most other Nigerian cities, the inhabitants of Jos are openly warm. They are relaxed, and there is the absence of that suffocating feeling, with which a place likes Lagos is associated, of a people madly rushing to their graves. The groceries operating at all nooks and crannies of the city give the impression of a great abundance of a variety of food items. It is almost as if some unseen hands are responsible for the presence of these varieties of edible items. The truth of course is that, in Jos, people - civil servants, farmers and traders
– are socially well-disposed to the influx of the new settlers and novel ideas and this ensures an apparent high degree of self sufficiency. You may be hungry in Jos, but you need not be angry.
If other parts of Nigeria had been like Jos, surely the colonialists would never have left the country without a good fight. Many monuments abound in the city, which tell tales of the Whiteman’s love for this city of solid minerals.
The presence of a wide variety of edible items in Jos suggests that
Options:In the question below, select the option that best explains the information conveyed in the sentence.
The crisis ended as suddenly as it began.
Options:In the question below choose the most appropriate option opposite in meaning to the word(s) underlined:
The economic situation is responsible for the recent discord in many families
Options:In 1973, Japanese sericulturists arrived in Malawi with a batch of 40000 silkworm eggs. They were taken to the Bvumbwe Agricultural Research Station in Thyolo District. In this station, work is being done to determine the favourable silkworm rearing conditions and areas where Mulberry trees whose leaves the worms feed on, could grow well. According to researchers, the silkworms which eventually develop into cocoons from which raw silk is produced do well in areas with warm climatic conditions.
Silk is one of the strongest of the fibres. In fact, for thousands of years, silk fabrics have been regarded as the most beautiful and durable materials woven by man. Many people call silk “the cloth of kings and queens”.
The weaving of silk originated in China. An old Chinese book, believed to be written by Confucius, tells us the wife of Emperor Huangi-ti was the first person to make fabrics of silk. Around 2640 B.C, Emperor Huangi-ti asked his wife His Ling-shih to study the worms that were destroying the mulberry trees in his garden. The Empress took some of the cocoons. She picked up the gauzy mass and found that one of the threads could be unwound almost without end from the cocoon. His Ling-shih had discovered silk! She was delighted with the discovery and even wove a ceremonial robe for the Emperor out of the cocoon threads. After that, the officials in the Emperor’s court wore brightly dyed robes on important occasions.
People in other countries regarded the new fibres as something rare and beautiful. A few traders went to China to learn about making cloth from silk, but the Chinese kept their Silk worms a closely guarded secret.
Sericulture is
Options:Choose the option nearest in meaning to the underlined word(s).
The stockbroker said it was an astute move to sell the shares then.
Options:The passage below has gaps numbered 11 to 20. Immediately following each gap, four options are provided. Choose the most appropriate option for each gap.
Capitalism is an economic system which is founded on the principle of free enterprise and the private ownership of the means of production and distribution. The - 11 – [A. protagonists B. antagonists C. determiners D. attorneys] of capitalism claim that its essential characteristic is economic - 12- [A. exploitation B. manipulation C. manoeuvring D. freedom]. The producer is free to produce whatever goods he – 13 - [A. sells B. buys C. fancies D. manufactures]. but the - 14 – [ A. customer B. consumer C. controller D. marketer]. is equally free to buy what he wants. There is a market mechanism under this system, which brings the producer and consumer together and tends to equate the supplies of the one to the demands of the other, and -15 – [A. neutralize B. harmonize C. settle D. decide] the whims and caprice of both. It is this same - 16 – [A. market B. controlling C. operational D. production] mechanism which determines what prices the consumers pay to the producers, as what share of the total - 17- [ A. dividends B. interest C. output D. profit], in cash or kind, goes to each of the four recognized -18 – [ A. managers B. agents C. methods D. factors] of production – land, labour capital and organization. It is further claimed for this system that every person is capable of watching his or her own interest, and that whatever injustice is done by the - 19 – [A. pricing B. operations C. managers D. buyers and sellers] of the market mechanism, this mechanism tends to bring about a state of - 20 – [ A. conflict B. equidistance C. equilibrium D. opprobrium] between the producers and the consumers.
Vacancies in the company will be notified by .....
Options:Choose the expression or word which best complete each sentences:
The member of the panel were _____
Options:Choose the best option that best completes the gap(s):
_____ a good boy, he was given a prize.
Options: