JAMB English Language: practice questions.

Question 1 · Lexis and Structure

Choose the option nearest in meaning to the word in capitals as it is used in the sentence. 'The flood RENDERED many families in Makurdi homeless.'

1. A.found
2. B.reported
3. C.maintained
4. D.made

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Question 2 · Lexis and Structure

Choose the option that best explains the meaning of the expression in capitals. 'The abandoned stadium has become A WHITE ELEPHANT to the state government.'

1. A.a project that is nearing completion
2. B.a rare and valuable asset to the state
3. C.a costly project that brings little benefit
4. D.a popular tourist attraction for visitors

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Question 3 · Comprehension and Summary

Read the passage and answer the question. In the passage below, the numbered gaps show where words have been left out. Blood donation is one of the simplest ways to save a life. Every day, hospitals in Nigeria (1) blood for accident victims, women who bleed heavily during (2) and children with severe anaemia. Yet the supply rarely (3) the demand. Many people (4) to donate because of fear or false beliefs; some think that giving blood will (5) them weak for months. In fact, a healthy adult who weighs at least 50 kilograms can safely give about 450 millilitres, and the body (6) the lost fluid within a day or two. Before donation, every donor is (7) to make sure that he or she is fit, and the blood is tested for infections such as HIV and hepatitis. The process itself takes less than fifteen minutes and is almost (8). Afterwards, the donor is given a drink and asked to rest briefly. Voluntary donors are the (9) source of blood because they have no reason to hide their medical history. If more young people (10) to donate regularly, fewer patients would die waiting for blood. Choose the most appropriate option for gap (3).

1. A.raises
2. B.creates
3. C.meets
4. D.reduces

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Question 4 · Oral Forms

Choose the option that has the same vowel sound as the one represented by the letters in brackets in 'b[ir]d'. (Letters in square brackets stand for the underlined letters.)

1. A.w[ar]d
2. B.b[ear]d
3. C.w[or]d
4. D.h[ear]t

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Question 5 · Lexis and Structure

Choose the option opposite in meaning to the word in capitals as it is used in the sentence. 'In his closing remarks, the speaker AMPLIFIED his earlier point about youth unemployment.'

1. A.toned down
2. B.illustrated
3. C.explained
4. D.expanded

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Question 6 · Comprehension and Summary

Read the passage and answer the question. Mama Nkechi had warned her son never to go near the abandoned well behind the church, but Obiora was twelve, and warnings were for small children. On the afternoon of the village football final, the ball bounced off a stone and rolled straight into the bushes that hid the well. The other boys fell silent. Every eye turned to Obiora, the captain, who had boasted only that morning that he feared nothing. He walked slowly towards the bushes, his heart drumming against his ribs. Through the leaves he saw the ball resting on a narrow ledge just below the mouth of the well. He lay flat on his stomach and stretched out his arm. His fingers brushed the leather once, twice. Then the ledge crumbled. For one terrible moment he hung there, half in and half out, until two strong hands seized his ankles. It was Brother Ikenna, the church caretaker, who had been watching from the vestry window. That evening nobody spoke of the match. Obiora sat beside his mother and, for the first time in a long while, was content to be treated like a small child. Obiora went after the ball mainly because he

1. A.wanted to live up to his boast that he feared nothing
2. B.had been sent by his mother
3. C.had been dared to do it by Brother Ikenna, the caretaker
4. D.did not know that the abandoned well was hidden in the bushes

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Question 7 · Lexis and Structure

Choose the sentence in which the two main clauses are correctly punctuated.

1. A.The rain fell heavily, the roads in Port Harcourt were flooded.
2. B.The rain fell heavily the roads in Port Harcourt were flooded.
3. C.The rain fell heavily; the roads in Port Harcourt were flooded.
4. D.The rain fell heavily: and the roads in Port Harcourt were flooded.

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Question 8 · Lexis and Structure

Choose the option nearest in meaning to the word in capitals as it is used in the sentence. 'Traders protested that the council's decision to demolish their stalls was ARBITRARY.'

1. A.unreasoned
2. B.final
3. C.popular
4. D.lawful

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Question 9 · Lexis and Structure

Choose the option opposite in meaning to the word in capitals as it is used in the sentence. 'The boy's conduct during the inter-house sports was COMMENDABLE.'

1. A.praiseworthy
2. B.reprehensible
3. C.unusual
4. D.childish

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Question 10 · Lexis and Structure

Which of the following sentences is grammatically correct?

1. A.Kano is furthest from Lagos than Ibadan is.
2. B.Kano is more farther from Lagos than Ibadan is.
3. C.Kano is farther from Lagos than Ibadan is.
4. D.Kano is far from Lagos than Ibadan is.

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Question 11 · Comprehension and Summary

Read the passage and answer the question. Walk down any street in Aba or Onitsha and you will see the informal sector at work: tailors bent over sewing machines, mechanics under cars, women frying akara by the roadside. These businesses are not registered, pay little or no tax and seldom keep written accounts, yet together they employ the majority of Nigerian workers. Their first importance is that they absorb people whom the formal economy cannot employ, including school leavers and retrenched workers. Secondly, they supply cheap goods and services to low-income households that could not afford the prices of large firms. Thirdly, they are a training ground: the apprenticeship system in the South-East has produced many successful industrialists who began as boys sweeping their masters' shops. The sector, however, has serious weaknesses. Because its operators lack collateral, they find it hard to obtain bank loans. Their workplaces are often unsafe, and their incomes are irregular. Finally, the government loses revenue it badly needs, because most of these businesses fall outside the tax net. The main idea of the passage is that

1. A.apprenticeship is the only path to success for young people in business
2. B.banks are responsible for poverty in Nigeria
3. C.the informal sector is vital to the economy but has serious weaknesses
4. D.the informal sector should be abolished because it pays little or no tax

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Question 12 · Oral Forms

Choose the option that has the same vowel sound as the one represented by the letters in brackets in 'b[e]d'. (Letters in square brackets stand for the underlined letters.)

1. A.b[ea]d
2. B.l[ai]d
3. C.b[i]d
4. D.s[ai]d

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