JAMB, Literature in English Past Questions and Answers, 1979, Part 2

JAMB LITERATURE IN ENGLISH, 1979:

Read questions 1 - 24 here

 

25. “The Sacrilege” ends on a note of the complexity of _____.

1. revenge
2. ambition
3. faith
4. fate
5. existence

 

26. “The Choirmaster’s Burial” shows man’s _____.

1. gratitude
2. ingratitude
3. devotion
4. spinelessness
5. courage

 

27. In “Wild Grapes”, the narrator says:

You see me celebrate two birthdays, and give myself out as two different ages’ because _____.

1. she is reincarnated
2. she has first declared a false age
3. the incident of the poem begins a new chapter in her life
4. the grapes are wilder than herself
5. the grapes are older than herself

 

28. “Strange Meeting” reveals the absurdity of _____.

1. cowardice
2. love
3. hatred
4. war
5. friendship

 

29. Romeo and Juliet

“O Romeo, Romeo!” Wherefore art thou Romeo? Deny thy father and refuse thy name

Juliet makes this statement because _____.

1. she hates Romeo
2. she hates Romeo’s father
3. she is anxious to marry Romeo
4. she finds the name Romeo unromantic
5. she wants Romeo to bear a particular name

 

30. A Raisin’ in the sun

That’s it. There you are. Man say to his woman: “Got me a dream”

His woman say: “Eat your eggs”

(Sadly but gaining in power), Man say “I got to take hold of this here world, baby!”

And a woman will say: “Eat your egg and got to work …”

“A dream” in this speech refers to _____.

1. a liquor store
2. a prosperous academic career
3. a political career
4. a family estate in Clybourne Park
5. a film industry

 

31. The Mesh

I lingered over the choice

But in the darkness of my doubts

You lifted the lamp of love And I saw your face

The road that I should take

In “The Mesh”, the poet ‘lingered over the choice’ because _____.

1. he had quarrel with the lady
2. he is not sure of the lady’s love
3. he is not yet sure of his love for the lady
4. the lady is not beautiful
5. the lady is too possessive

 

32. The Concubine

“Ihuoma, my child”; Wigwe began at last, really I ought to have come here with more people, but I have avoided formalities because I want to spare myself of any embarrassment. Formalities will come later if all goes well.

Wigwe has come to Ihuoma in order to _____.

1. marry her clan
2. gain her consent before informing the relations
3. persuade her to marry his own son
4. dissuade her fro marrying his own son
5. inquire about her health

 

33. In “The Executioner’s Dream”, the first line:

“I dream I saw an eye, a pretty eye” is _____.

1. ironical
2. complimentary
3. exclamatory
4. rhetorical
5. interrogatory

 

34. In Birago Diop’s “Vanity”, these two lines  below  contains _____:

Sas complaining voices of beggars

Who indeed will hear them without laughter?

1. an exaggeration
2. a hyperbole
3. a paradox
4. an understatement
5. an illogicality

 

35. In “Telephone Conversation”, the tone of the question:

“You mean like or milk chocolate?” is _____.

1. sarcastic
2. complimentary
3. admissive
4. pleading
5. commanding

 

36. In “Night”, Soyinka describes night as _____.

1. horrifying
2. terrifying
3. protective
4. soothing
5. both protective and terrifying

 

37. Modern African Stories

In Alex la Guma’s ‘A matter of taste’, it is a matter of taste to eat exactly what you want because _____.

1. that is your own favorite choice
2. you can afford it
3. friends can always get it for you
4. you can always have it as a bonus at work
5. your taste is always available

 

38.

She woke up. She walked up to the table. She stirred the food once more and lifted it up from the hot plate. She picked up the second pan and placed it on the red coils. From underneath, in the cardboard box, she collected two enamel plates, green with a red band. She wiped them with a white napkin banging on the line over the bed. She brought out two forks and two spoons.

By using details, the author of the above passage makes the scene _____.

1. monotonous
2. unattractive
3. realistic
4. bewildering
5. strange

 

39. The Adventures of Tom Sawyer depicts Tom’s _____.

1. naivety
2. crass stupidity
3. ingenuity
4. hard-heartedness
5. riches

 

Please read questions 40 - 50. Answers are present here.

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You can read various topics on Literature in English here