Question 4
ComprehensionJAMB 1997 Passage I: Chike and the crowd
Chike must have passed the house five times. And yet, he was still not sure. Was this the house he had visited so often in the past? The house he used to visit was a bungalow. This house, too, was a bungalow. The old house was situated between two-storeyed buildings, this one, too was so situated. But in spite of this feeling of certainty, Chike had a vague suspicion that the house he had passed so often that day might be the wrong house after all. Could an absence of two years have blurred his memory so badly?
After a few moments' hesitation, Chike began to move towards the house and then stopped, as if held back by an invisible hand. His attention had been attracted by a girl of about twenty-four, who was tripping along the pavement to his right. He turned and advanced towards her, and was about to call her by what he felt was her name when he discovered that he had made a mistake in respect of her identity.
Just as Chike turned from the girl to continue his quest, he heard voices shouting, 'thief! thief!' and saw a crowd materialize in seconds. At the head of this justice-impelled rabble, was a ludicrously fat woman who, in spite of her size, bounced along with the agility of a prize athlete. This barrel bellowed loudest and clapped her hands vigorously to punctuate her outburst. And as she did so, the surplus flesh on her pudgy arms quivered. 'They are all the same', this woman screamed, addressing nobody in particular. 'They dress gorgeously, but underneath they are rogues.'
Again, she clapped her hands and again, there was a quivering of loose flesh. Chike was so busily occupied with watching the antics of this woman that he did not notice at first that the object of her venom was the girl he had seen earlier. It was this girl that was now surrounded by the crowd, with many people groaning, sighing and hissing in unison.
Chike relaxed, and prepared to watch the drama unfolding before him
After a few moments' hesitation, Chike began to move towards the house and then stopped, as if held back by an invisible hand. His attention had been attracted by a girl of about twenty-four, who was tripping along the pavement to his right. He turned and advanced towards her, and was about to call her by what he felt was her name when he discovered that he had made a mistake in respect of her identity.
Just as Chike turned from the girl to continue his quest, he heard voices shouting, 'thief! thief!' and saw a crowd materialize in seconds. At the head of this justice-impelled rabble, was a ludicrously fat woman who, in spite of her size, bounced along with the agility of a prize athlete. This barrel bellowed loudest and clapped her hands vigorously to punctuate her outburst. And as she did so, the surplus flesh on her pudgy arms quivered. 'They are all the same', this woman screamed, addressing nobody in particular. 'They dress gorgeously, but underneath they are rogues.'
Again, she clapped her hands and again, there was a quivering of loose flesh. Chike was so busily occupied with watching the antics of this woman that he did not notice at first that the object of her venom was the girl he had seen earlier. It was this girl that was now surrounded by the crowd, with many people groaning, sighing and hissing in unison.
Chike relaxed, and prepared to watch the drama unfolding before him
The expression, 'justice-impelled' in the passage refers to the desire of the crowd to
- A.see that the case was taken before a judge
- B.take the thief to the police station
- C.try the thief immediately
- D.see that there was fair play
Show the answer and explanation
Answer: C (try the thief immediately)
Explanation
A rabble 'impelled' by justice is a mob driven to punish the supposed thief on the spot, i.e. to try her immediately.