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):
Let's have a cup of coffee, _____
Options:From the words lettered A to D, choose the word or group of words that best completes each of the following sentences.
All the people in the bus died in that _________ accident
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.
according to the passage the desirable newspaper is that which Options:Choose the option nearest in meaning to the underlined word(s).
Lantana dwelt in a ruined cottage on the hillside.
Options:Fill the blank spaces with the most appropriate of options A-E:
Do come tonight, but don't expect me to speak to you because i _____ an interesting programme on television when you arrive
Options:There are one or two things this country can teach others, one of them is the art of writing obituaries. One suspects that the reason why some of our newspapers still manage to break even is because of the great amount of revenue they derive from obituaries. It is not unusual for about one quarter of the volume of an average daily to be constituted of obituaries and in in memorial alone. One possible explanation for this, it has been argued, is that Nigerians value their dead greatly. And there is a saying amongst us that you do not say evil things against the dead. This is obviously the philosophy behind the large dose of encomiums with which our dead are bestowed. From evidences of these obituaries and in memorial, every dead Nigerian must have been something of a saint while alive. This would explain why the death of most Nigerians is attributed to the evil Machinations of the wicked. Only very few people in our country die natural death, and even when they do, the obituaries, etc always give the impression that such deaths constitute the saddest loss to befall the deceased family. And that is why writers of these obituaries and their allied advertisements are experts on ‘mortuary stylistics’. This ‘mortuary stylistics’ the study in the art of eulogizing the dead and making their loss sound so heart breaking, is one of the commodities we can export to other countries.
'Mortuary stylistics' as used in the passage refers to the Options:Nigeria is currently faced with two major problems which necessitate the use of the broadcast media to satisfy the ever-increasing demand for qualitative education in the country. These are population explosion and debilitating mass poverty. Population explosion in the country has greatly increased the need for more schools so much that demand now far outstrips provision of education opportunities, particularly at the post-secondary level. In addition, the Nigerian society is currently handicapped by a crippling economic crisis which has forced many people out of school as a result of growing inability to meet the cost of training, like tuition fees and board charges.
A way out of these problems lies in the provision of educational opportunities through the use of radio and television broadcast. Only when radio and television are fully utilized for teaching and learning can the foundation be laid for mass education in the country. Besides, using radio and television to transmit educational programmes can cut the cost of education as boarding and tuition will become unnecessary for most beneficiaries. At the moment, many Nigerians are unable to enrol to stay on in school because of the high cost of education and because government is unable to provide the staggering amount needed to finance mass education via the traditional school system.
Also of importance is the fact that radio and television will offer good opportunities for the standardization of education in the country. At the moment, the best school in terms of facilities and qualified teachers are concentrated in the urban centres to the detriment of the rural areas. This has given rise to imbalance and uneven distribution of qualitative education in the country, so much so that experienced and qualified teachers often reject posting to rural schools, while over-concentration leads to under-utilization of capable hands in urban schools. Since educational broadcasting involves the best brains producing and broadcasting educational materials from one central location and reaching out simultaneously to scattered audience in the rural and urban areas, the quality of educational provision will be made even throughout the country.
The usual argument against the use of radio and television for teaching is the absence of immediate feedback which is thought to be essential for learning. But this handicap is more than compensated for by the listener’s or watcher’s ability to record and play back as often as he or she likes, any part of the lesson he or she may find confusing or difficult to understand. Besides, support facilities like telephone and postal services may be used to clarify difficulties or answer students’ questions. In addition, since Nigeria is still largely an ornate society, using radio and television for direct teaching will not pose a serious communication problem. A beginning must therefore be made to promote aggressive school broadcast in the country.
The passage suggests that the greatest problem of mass education in Nigeria are 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.
It is customary nowadays among fashionable ladies and gentlemen to acquire strange and sometimes quaint cloths which are scarcely ever used. Sometimes it may be an approaching festival; sometimes a two hour ceremony and sometimes to honour a dead colleague – something triggers off the modern craze to sew new materials whose use does not outlast the moment of craze. And so, people who just occupy small apartments in their parents’ homes, or have rented one room in a densely – peopled house find that more than two- thirds of their rooms are filled with bongo trousers which they cannot wear, worn out jeans which stinks, or specially made clothes for occasions that are not recurrent.
Although plagued by the problem of school fees for their children, parents have had to swallow their own phlegm and humour their children who need special clothes for important events. Newly employed youths soon find that their comrades getting married, and a new and special attire must be used to grace the occasion. University students see matriculation ceremonies or induction ceremonies into club membership as special reasons to make new attire which – you may be sure they would not wear on another occasion that parallels the one for which these clothes were made.
Medical doctors may soon find another cause for the incidence of high blood pressure among the youth. The desire to acquire new clothes is one strong possible cause, but a more subtle one which haunts like a ghost is the problem of choice of what to wear. The youths have so stuffed their apartments, wardrobes, drawers and trunks with so many clothes that the greatest problem they face is the choice of what to wear.
In this passage the expression 'Parent have had to swallow their own phlegm' means parents Options:In the question below choose the option nearest in meaning to the word(s) or phrase(s) Underlined:
The clerk refused to answer for the mistake made by the manager and his assistants
Options: