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JAMB Use of English 1987 Question 5

Question 5

Comprehension
JAMB 1987 Passage I: Obituaries
There are one or two things this country can teach others, one of which 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 memoriam 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 the evidences of these obituaries and In memoriam, 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's 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.

Which of the following can be deduced from the passage?

  1. A.The writer believes that most Nigerians do not die natural deaths.
  2. B.Obituaries insinuate that most Nigerians do not die natural deaths.
  3. C.The writer is convinced that every death in Nigeria is a big blow to the bereaved.
  4. D.the writer suspects that every death in Nigeria is a big blow to the bereaved.
Show the answer and explanation

Answer: B (Obituaries insinuate that most Nigerians do not die natural deaths.)

Explanation

The obituaries attribute most deaths to 'the evil machinations of the wicked', so it is the obituaries, not the writer, that suggest people seldom die naturally.