JSCE English Language 2024 Theory — Question 3

2. COMPREHENSION PASSAGE interestingly, Iyanda was not totally disappointed by the sheer display of self-centredness of Mr Ballie, his master, who connived with the fraudsters to raise the spirit and dash the hope of this ambitious and enterprising young officer. Of course, he knew his boss like the palm of his hand; very callous to the extreme. However, he erroneously wrapped himself in a delusion of grandeur presuming that he deserved maximum protection from his superintendent being his loyal close aide. In not time, the rumour of Mr Ballie's maltreatment of his personal assistant became rife but none of the co-workers was bold enough to ask questions on or protest against this overt inhumanity. "Wonders shall never end. Why would the manager invite con men to meet Iyanda?" A staff member querulously murmured and consciously looked round so as to be sure his soliloquy was free from eavesdropping. Everyone was in the loop that the fear of Mr Ballie was the beginning of wisdom. After all the agony of losing a job was better imagined than experienced. In one fell swoop, the police officers, having followed many false leads for the first four days of their preliminary investigation, arrested the criminals together with Mr Ballie in their hideout and were summarily brought to book. Nostalgia rent the air as the co-workers did not only jubilate the sack of the devil but also mourned the pyrrhic justice for Iyanda who was at the convalescent home recuperating from severe despondency occasioned by unrequited loyalty. Nevertheless, the criminals were cooling off their heels behind bars. QUESTIONS 1. Why was Iyanda disappointed? 2. What did the feelings of workers suggest about Mr. Ballie according to the passage? 3. What does the expression "everyone was in the loop" mean? 4. Quote a word from the passage that suggests workers were both happy and unhappy 5. Give a suitable title to the passage.