passwella.
Menu

JAMB Use of English 2019 past questions and answers

17 questions. Try each one, then open the answer to check yourself and read the explanation.

Question 1

Comprehension
JAMB 2019 Passage I: Snakes
Like all reptiles, snakes are cold-blooded, or more correctly, ectothermic - they cannot produce their own body heat; instead, they rely on the sun to heat their bodies. Because they do not rely on energy from food to generate body heat, Snakes can survive on an extremely meagre diet. Some wait for months between successive meals, and a few survive by eating a large meal just once or twice a year. When they do eat, snakes swallow their prey whole rather than biting off small pieces. Many snakes have specialized jaws that enable them to swallow animals that are far larger than their own heads. Although uncommon, some snakes, such as the African rock python, have been observed eating animals as large as an antelope or a small cow.

With over two thousand five hundred species belonging to more than ten families, snakes are a large and successful group. They owe much of this success to their versatility - snakes occupy habitat ranging from underground burrows to the top of the tree, to ocean depths as great as one hundred and fifty metres. They are found on every continent except Antarctica, and although they are most abundant in tropical areas, many survive in regions marked by extreme cold. The only places without snakes are parts of the polar regions and isolated islands, such as the Republic of Ireland and New-Zealand as opposed to places in Nigeria like Plateau and Gombe States in the Northern part where there is a large population of snakes.

Adapted from Microsoft Encarta Premium (2009).

Which of the following is true according to the passage?

  1. A.Snakes are not in the polar regions.
  2. B.Snakes are endemic on every continent
  3. C.There are countless number of snakes in the Republic of Ireland
  4. D.Snakes are seldom seen at the Antarctica
Show the answer and explanation

Answer: A (Snakes are not in the polar regions.)

Explanation

The passage says the only places without snakes are parts of the polar regions and some isolated islands, which is closest to A.

Open this question

Question 8

Comprehension
JAMB 2019 Passage II: Why I have not left the country
Whenever I have had to ask myself the question why I have not left this country for good, many answers rush to my mind, each striving to be recognized as being the most cogent. I am reminded of the popular slogan that ‘this country belongs to us all’, for which reason every Nigerian must join hands in trying to salvage it. I try to dismiss the argument by reasoning that it is foolhardy attempting to lend a helping hand where one’s services are apparently not required. Then I am reminded that if I left the country in a hurry just because of our political instability and economic hardships, my commitments to my family and extended family at home would suffer. I reply by saying that as soon as I got settled abroad, I would arrange for my family to join me. Other financial problems at home would be taken care of by my regular remittances. Would I then never think of going back home in future? Not until the situation in the country improved considerably, I would answer. And who did I expect to carry on with the task of national rehabilitation when the likes of me are all out of the country? Those who messed up the country in the first place, I would argue. And so on. This dialogue of self has been going on for the last ten years or so, meanwhile, I am yet to leave the country.

When I wonder how many people share my kind of mental experience, I realize that we must be very few. For not many have the slightest opportunity of absconding from the country; they do not have the place to run to, nor do they have the means of escape. Even among the elite who consider this possibility, the uncertainty of a future outside their fatherland intimidates. And so we all end up staying and mumbling

The last paragraph of the passage reveals that

  1. A.the writer is a member of the elite which alone indulges in this kind of thinking
  2. B.people in the country only end up arguing among themselves, while nobody does any thing about the situation
  3. C.the majority of citizens in the country do not possess the ability to argue the way the writer does
  4. D.deciding to leave the country is as bad as deciding to stay.
Show the answer and explanation

Answer: B (people in the country only end up arguing among themselves, while nobody does any thing about the situation)

Explanation

The paragraph ends 'we all end up staying and mumbling': people complain but nobody acts.

Open this question

Question 29

Sentence Interpretation

Select the option that best explains the information conveyed in the sentence: Bassey is as hard as nails

  1. A.Bassey is very strong
  2. B.Bassey is very brave
  3. C.Bassey is determined
  4. D.Bassey is unsympathetic
Show the answer and explanation

Answer: D (Bassey is unsympathetic)

Explanation

'As hard as nails' describes a tough person who shows no sympathy or soft feelings.

Open this question

Question 41

Tenses

Fill the blank space with the most appropriate option: You can go on; I ________ what you are saying

  1. A.am understanding
  2. B.may be understanding
  3. C.understand
  4. D.was understanding
Show the answer and explanation

Answer: C (understand)

Explanation

'Understand' is a stative verb, so it is not normally used in the continuous form: 'I understand'.

Open this question

Question 42

Adjectives and Adverbs

Fill the blank space with the most appropriate option: The angry woman shouted and cursed in language ________ shocking for words

  1. A.very
  2. B.too
  3. C.so
  4. D.far.
Show the answer and explanation

Answer: B (too)

Explanation

The pattern is 'too + adjective + for': language too shocking for words.

Open this question

Question 43

Tenses

Fill the blank space with the most appropriate option: If you ________ me that you had run out of petrol, I would have given you some

  1. A.were to tell
  2. B.tell
  3. C.have told
  4. D.had told
Show the answer and explanation

Answer: D (had told)

Explanation

A third conditional uses the past perfect in the if-clause: 'If you had told me... I would have given'.

Open this question

Question 44

Tenses

Fill the blank space with the most appropriate option: ________ to your birthday party in September?

  1. A.May I come
  2. B.Will I come
  3. C.Would I come
  4. D.Shall I come
Show the answer and explanation

Answer: A (May I come)

Explanation

Asking permission politely uses 'May I': 'May I come to your birthday party?'

Open this question

Question 51

Verb Forms

Choose the word(s) or phrase(s) which best fill(s) the gap: I am very sorry ________ to attend the meeting yesterday

  1. A.for failure
  2. B.in failing
  3. C.for failing
  4. D.to having fail
Show the answer and explanation

Answer: C (for failing)

Explanation

'Sorry for' is followed by the -ing form: 'sorry for failing to attend'.

Open this question

Question 52

Idioms and Phrasal Verbs

Choose the word(s) or phrase(s) which best fill(s) the gap: The old politicians were discredited because they tried to ________ the people’s ignorance

  1. A.cash in on
  2. B.catch in with
  3. C.cash in with
  4. D.cash in by
Show the answer and explanation

Answer: A (cash in on)

Explanation

To 'cash in on' something means to take advantage of it for profit.

Open this question

Question 53

Vocabulary in Context

Choose the word(s) or phrase(s) which best fill(s) the gap: The plane overshot the ________ in a minor accident

  1. A.railway
  2. B.hangar
  3. C.tarmac
  4. D.run way
Show the answer and explanation

Answer: D (run way)

Explanation

A plane that lands too far and goes past the end has overshot the runway.

Open this question

Question 54

Nouns and Determiners

Choose the word(s) or phrase(s) which best fill(s) the gap: Journalist always collect and publish ________

  1. A.informations
  2. B.an information
  3. C.some information
  4. D.information
Show the answer and explanation

Answer: D (information)

Explanation

'Information' is uncountable, so it has no plural and no 'an'.

Open this question

Question 55

Tenses

Choose the word(s) or phrase(s) which best fill(s) the gap: After the team had conceded two goals, their enthusiasm ________

  1. A.was beginning to wane
  2. B.was waning
  3. C.begin to wane
  4. D.had been waning
Show the answer and explanation

Answer: C (begin to wane)

Explanation

The goals came first, then the enthusiasm started to fade, so the simple past 'began to wane' is intended.

Open this question

Question 56

Prepositions

Choose the word(s) or phrase(s) which best fill(s) the gap: Many goes to school ________ bus

  1. A.in
  2. B.by
  3. C.with
  4. D.on
Show the answer and explanation

Answer: B (by)

Explanation

Means of transport without an article take 'by': by bus, by car.

Open this question

Question 57

Idioms and Phrasal Verbs

Choose the word(s) or phrase(s) which best fill(s) the gap: The thief ran ________ luck when the policeman running after him caught up with him and knocked him down

  1. A.into
  2. B.with
  3. C.of
  4. D.out of
Show the answer and explanation

Answer: D (out of)

Explanation

To 'run out of luck' means one's good luck has come to an end.

Open this question

Question 58

Conjunctions

Choose the word(s) or phrase(s) which best fill(s) the gap: We should take care ________ the robbers come back

  1. A.in case
  2. B.should in case
  3. C.may be
  4. D.probably
Show the answer and explanation

Answer: A (in case)

Explanation

'In case' introduces a possible future event we prepare for.

Open this question

Question 59

Question Tags

Choose the word(s) or phrase(s) which best fill(s) the gap: The Managing Director did not pay his staff last month ________?

  1. A.didn’t he
  2. B.had he not
  3. C.has he
  4. D.did he
Show the answer and explanation

Answer: D (did he)

Explanation

A negative statement in the simple past takes a positive tag with 'did': '... did he?'

Open this question

Question 60

Prepositions

Choose the word(s) or phrase(s) which best fill(s) the gap: Many lives are lost on Nigerian roads ________ lack of consideration for other road users by many crazy drivers

  1. A.in view
  2. B.resulting in
  3. C.owing totally to
  4. D.through
Show the answer and explanation

Answer: C (owing totally to)

Explanation

'Owing to' means because of, giving the cause of the deaths.

Open this question