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 1951, the Government decided to start a Pottery Training Centre where new and more advantaged technical methods, especially glazing, could be taught. The centre was intended to serve the whole of the defunct Northern Region, and there were several reasons for choosing Abuja . The first was the excellence of the traditional pottery made in the Emirate. Secondly, firewood is plentiful; this is a most important consideration, because in the making of glazed pottery, more firewood than clay is required. Thirdly, there are good clays, and good local sources for the raw materials needed for the glazes. Fourthly, water, which is another important raw material, is plentiful. Finally, Abuja is in a central position for the whole region and is a town where learners from many different parts can find a congenial temporary home, and where the Emir and his Council are actively interested in the project.
Nearly all the making is done by a process called throwing;, so called because the lumps of clay are thrown the potter onto a wheel-head. They are weigh out so that each pot will be roughly the same size; for example, for making pint-sized jugs, the lumps of clay will be one and a half kilogrammes. The potter sits on the saddle of the wheel and spins it by pushing a pedal with his left foot. He has a bowl of water, a loofah, a bamboo knife, a pointed stick or porcupine quill, a wooden-smoothing tool which potters call a rib, and a piece of wire-like object that is used for wedging. He makes the wheel-heal slightly damp, and throws the lumps into the middle. The first work is to force the lump to the centre, then he presses his thumb into the middle of the lump, using water to keep it slippery. When the bottom is of the right thickness, he begins to draw up the walls until they are of the right height. Then he shapes the belly and shoulder of the pot. He trims off any waste clay. In this way, a small and medium-sized pot can be made quickly and accurately.
Adapted from Robert, J.M.E and Smith, L.E.M (1978) Testing English language, AUP
The phrase trims off any waste clay to the passage, means to Options:choose the most appropriate option nearest in meaning to the word(s) underlined.
He was underratedat the preliminary stage of the competition
Options:Fill in the blank spaces in the following sentences making use of the best of the five options:
Asmau, did you see the snapshop of _____
Options:Choose the option nearest in meaning to the underlined word?
Things may change soon, but at the moment our economic situation is precarious?
Options:Habib givesTomiwaa bundle of _______?
Options:From the options lettered A-D, choose the option that is nearest in meaning to the underlined word.
It is wise not to depend on mundane things.
Options:The passage below has gaps numbered 16 to 25. Immediately following each gap, four options are provided. Choose the most appropriate option for each gap. Each question carries 2 marks .
One of the most difficult and confusing aspect of English language is its spelling system. There is often ….16…. [A. discrepancy B. discord C. a similarity D. concord] between the punctuation of a word and its spelling. One cannot always tell how to spell a word ….17…. [A. throughout B. by C. as to D. as from] its pronunciation.
In order to understand the peculiarity of English spelling ….18….[A. difficulty B. confusion C. system D. code], it is good to know something about the history of the language. First, it is helpful to realize that English was originally spoken by people who could neither read nor write. While the ….19…. [A. middle-class B. educated C. less enlightened D. uneducated] people spoke English, the literate upper classes spoke French and wrote in Latin, later when English became a ….20…. [A. literary B. romantic C. written D. coded] language, there was no system for spelling its words. Moreover, the first writers of English were French speaking ….21… [A. newscasters B. scribes C. orators D. interpreters] who knew English only slightly: therefore, they carried many French spelling ….22…. [A. habits B. attitudes C. idiosyncrasies D. mannerisms] into English. In addition, these first writers of English, who were used to writing in Latin, often ….23…. [A. inserted B. interjected C. interpolated D. juxtaposed] letters into words even when they were not pronounced because the ….24…. [A. antecedent B. opposing C. corresponding D. synonymous] word in Latin was spelled that way. Finally, the confusion increased when the ….25…. [A. diction B.morphology C. orthography D. pronunciation] of certain words changed while the spelling remained the same.
In question number 19 choose the best option from the letters A-D that best completes the gap Options:From the list of words or group of wordslettered A to D, choose the one that is mostnearest opposite in meaning to the underlined word or group of words and that will, at the same time correctly fill in the gap in the sentence.
I am quite outspoken but my brother is __________
Options:He was both a writer and a politician, but he was better ........ a singer
Options:Choose the word that has the consonant sound as the one in bracket, from questions below.
A[n]kle
Options: