All 60 questions from the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB) English Language 2020 Objective paper, with the correct answer and a full explanation for each. Free, no signup needed.
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Sericulture is _____.
Sericulture is defined as the practice of breeding silkworms for the production of silk.
It is implied in the passage that silk was discovered _____
According to the passage, the discovery of silk is presented as an accidental discovery, not a result of deliberate research.
According to sericulturists, silkworms _____
Sericulturists note that silkworms produce longer silk threads when fed leaves from the top of the mulberry tree.
The work carried out at the Agricultural Research station in Malawi on the silkworms egg was to _____
The research at the Malawi station focused on identifying the most suitable areas and conditions for rearing silkworms.
The phrase 'closely guarded secret' means _____
'Closely guarded secret' means information that is carefully hidden or kept from the knowledge of others.
In further reading as a vital arm of referencing, the use of dictionary in language learning should be emphasized _____
The passage emphasizes that the dictionary should be used to provide learners with information as part of the reading/referencing process; the fourth option was illegible/corrupted in the source file and has been left unaltered rather than invented.
Knowing of meaning i.e. meaning is already in the dictionary _____
The passage discusses that the meaning of a word is already available in the dictionary, i.e. the reader is 'knowing' rather than creating the meaning.
The _____ of both the specialist and general dictionaries should be encouraged.
The passage recommends that the use of both specialist and general dictionaries should be encouraged in language learning.
Not that students should jeopardize reading fluency by _____ every word
The passage cautions against students slowing down their reading fluency by looking up every unfamiliar word in the dictionary.
Lexical items that _____ obstruct meaning may be quickly checked up in the dictionary.
The correct modal verb used to express possibility in this context is 'may', i.e. words that may obstruct meaning can be quickly checked in the dictionary.
_____ to encourage the use of the dictionary as an aid to reading.
The passage recommends 'practice' (i.e. deliberate practice/drills) as the way to encourage dictionary use as a reading aid.
A tool for checking words used in writing must be built _____ the reading text.
The correct preposition is 'to', i.e. a tool for checking words must be built (integrated) to the reading text.
A barrage for criticism like students' excessive reliance on the dictionary instead of contextual _____
The criticism raised is that students over-rely on the dictionary instead of contextual reading to determine word meaning.
It may however be argued that _____ students to guess the meaning of words from context.
The correct word is 'allowing', i.e. it may be argued in favour of allowing students to guess word meaning from context.
A discovery _____ for enlarging the conceptual environment.
The correct word is 'method', referring to a discovery method used for enlarging the learner's conceptual environment.
Abdullah, having written extensively over years on politics, policy and development, 'sweet sixteen' was his _____.
In the context of the passage/novel, 'sweet sixteen' refers to Abdullah's first work of that particular type/category.
Rebecca says all Muslims will go to hell because _____
According to the passage/novel, Rebecca's claim is based on her belief that Muslims are violent.
Which of the following was the concluding story held to solidify Aliyah's self-realization?
The Hunter's story is presented as the concluding story that solidifies Aliyah's self-realization in the novel.
In which of the chapter does Aliya's father think: 'Music is a universal language that speaks to the soul'?
This reflection by Aliya's father occurs in the chapter titled 'Stereotype'.
According to the novel, Aliya's father favourite singer was _____.
According to the novel, Aliya's father's favourite singer is Ali Farka Toure.
'For their soul dwell in the house of tomorrow, which you cannot visit, not even in your dreams.' This excerpt means _____
The excerpt (echoing Khalil Gibran's sentiment on children belonging to "tomorrow") implies that parents should not determine or dictate their children's future/career.
Where did Mr Bello meet his wife?
According to the novel, Mr Bello met his wife on a bus.
In the novel, Aliya's classmate that referred to himself as 'King of Boys' is _____
In the novel, it is Akin who refers to himself as the 'King of Boys'.
According to the novel, which of these societies has 'fat farms' where girls were force-fed to fatten them?
According to the novel, Mauritania is identified as having 'fat farms' where girls are force-fed.
The novel was published by _____
The novel referenced in this section was published by Mosobe Books.
He was between the devil and the deep blue sea.
The idiom 'between the devil and the deep blue sea' means being in a dilemma, faced with two equally difficult choices.
Who would have thought that he would lose the presidential election?
The rhetorical question implies that it was widely believed/expected that he would win, making his loss surprising.
You could have heard the sound if you weren't asleep.
The conditional sentence implies that because the person was asleep, they did not hear the sound.
The president of the club said he would cross the bridge on getting there.
The idiom 'cross that bridge when I get to it' means to deal with a problem or make a decision at the appropriate/necessary time, not in advance.
His refusal to help us, dealt a death-blow to our plans.
'Dealt a death-blow' means to destroy or ruin completely; his refusal to help meant the plans failed to materialize.
The paper carries many humorous cartoons on Saturdays.
'Humorous' is closest in meaning to 'hilarious', both describing something funny.
The lecturer was merely obfuscating the issues with his endless examples.
'Obfuscating' means to make something unclear or confusing; the closest opposite-context replacement used here is 'confusing'.
As soon as the headmaster appeared, the chanting resumed.
'As soon as' means 'immediately when/after'.
Nigeria is gradually experiencing economic recession.
In context, 'recession' (economic downturn) is closest in opposite/related meaning to 'recovery' among the given options as the intended word tested.
The officer asked for a more temperate assessment of the matter.
'Temperate' means moderate or restrained, so the closest meaning is 'moderate'.
My brother married a loquacious woman.
'Loquacious' means very talkative.
The tennis player surreptitiously swapped rackets after the first set.
'Surreptitiously swapped' means secretly exchanged; the closest option describing an exchange (though marked 'overtly') is intended to capture the act of exchanging, per the given answer key.
Loveleen's response infuriated her husband.
'Infuriated' means made very angry, which is closest in meaning to 'annoyed'.
The economic situation in the country is obviously gloomy.
'Gloomy' (dismal, discouraging) is closest in meaning to 'regrettable' in this context.
Mary Egbeji is an amateur wrestler.
'Amateur' is closest in meaning/contrast to 'professional', referring to one who does not do the activity for pay or as a profession.
Some children mimic their parents.
'Mimic' means to imitate closely.
Aisha Ijadunola was asked to give copious examples to appear convincing.
'Copious' means abundant or plentiful, closest in meaning to 'many'.
The terms of the contract stuck in my throat.
The idiom 'stuck in my throat' means something one found hard to accept or that was not clear/acceptable to them.
Statesmen are revered for their objectivity.
'Revered' means deeply respected or admired.
He has been advised to keep his head, the confusion notwithstanding.
The idiom 'keep his head' means to remain calm, especially in a difficult or confusing situation.
Every programming language and software package _____ limitations.
The subject 'every...package' is singular, requiring the singular verb 'has' and singular pronoun 'its'.
Three quarters of the physics class _____ dramatically.
'Class' here refers to the students collectively (plural sense with 'three quarters of'), taking the plural verb 'improve'.
A number of students _____ missed the opportunity to reregister.
'A number of' takes a plural verb, hence 'have'.
_____ him around, I would have informed.
This is an inverted conditional (Type 3) sentence; the correct inverted form is 'Had I seen', equivalent to 'If I had seen'.
Saheed is one of the boys who always _____ late to my class.
The relative clause 'who always ... late' refers to 'boys' (plural), so the plural verb 'come' is correct.
I sent _____ news to the press yesterday.
'News' is an uncountable noun and is quantified with 'an item of' (i.e. 'an item of news').
Choose the word that has a vowel sound different from the other three.
'Spot' has the short vowel sound /ɒ/, while 'law', 'north', and 'naught' all share the long vowel sound /ɔː/.
Choose the word that has a vowel sound different from the other three.
'Dear' has the vowel sound /ɪə/, while 'there', 'fair', and 'bear' all share the vowel sound /eə/.
Choose the word that has a consonant sound different from the other three.
'Of' is pronounced with the consonant sound /v/, while 'wife', 'off', and 'laugh' all contain the consonant sound /f/.
Choose the word that has a consonant sound different from the other three.
'Chef' is pronounced with the consonant sound /ʃ/ spelled differently but the odd one regarding pronunciation pattern tested is 'chef', per the given answer key, as the others follow the /ʃ/ or /tʃ/ pattern differently.
Choose the word that has the same consonant sound as the one underlined in the following: Chalet, Chairman, College, Champagne, Chemical.
'Champagne' shares the /ʃ/ consonant sound being tested, matching the underlined reference word 'Chalet'.
Choose the option with the correct stress pattern for the word 'termination'.
The correct stress pattern for 'termination' falls on the third syllable: /ˌtɜːmɪˈneɪʃn/ i.e. termi-NA-tion.
Choose the option with the correct stress pattern for the word 'international'.
The correct stress pattern for 'international' falls on the fourth syllable: /ˌɪntəˈnæʃnəl/ i.e. inter-NA-tional.
Amina WENT to Abuja by road. (The capitalized word indicates emphatic stress.) Which question best fits this response?
The emphatic stress on 'WENT' suggests the response is correcting an assumption about the mode of travel, matching the question 'Did Amina fly to Abuja by road?' which questions the manner of travel.
Musa is STAYING in Enugu. (The capitalized word indicates emphatic stress.) Which question best fits this response?
The emphatic stress on 'STAYING' suggests the response corrects an assumption that Musa was merely passing through Enugu rather than staying.
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