Practice each question, then open it to see the full details.
The topic of an essay competition organised by the Young Writers Club for final year students is: Our traditional marriage system is more suitable for the present generation of Nigerians than the English system. Write your entry for or against the topic:
You were one of those arrested by the police at the scene of a crime. Write a letter to the Commissioner of Police giving details of the crime, pleading your innocence and requesting to be released.
You witnessed the campaigns that preceded a local government election in your area in which the favourite candidate was defeated. Give a vivid account of the events before, during and after the election to your friends, explaining why you think the candidate lost.
You have changed school and after a few months, you discover that your present school is not as good as the former. Write a letter to a friend of yours in your former school giving at least three areas in which the new school does not measure up to the old one.
Write an article for publication in the science magazine on the topic: Science and Technology in National Development.
Write a story in which you were personally involved, ending with, 'if I knew he was that kind of person, I wouldn't have gone out with him."
Read the following passage carefully and then answer the questions on it.
When Chief Obinwa read the note and absorbed its terse content, he nearly collapsed. For minutes, he stared at it in utter disbelief. But much as he wished otherwise, the message was clear, the robbers had indicated that they would visit him very soon, and that 'no force in the world' would stop them from carting away all he had. The note ended by warning him in his 'own interest' not to be funny by informing the police or other law-enforcement agents.
As a wealthy business man, Chief Obinwa had seen enough of life to know that the gang meant business. He could recall at least half a dozen men who had got such sinister notes in the past, and who had been robbed as planned. One of them had contacted the police which then guarded his house for weeks. But the robbers struck all the same — they attacked him in his expensive car on his way to another town, thrashed him thoroughly, and relieved him of the car.
So, contacting the police was out of it, he decided. But what could he do? He confided in his closest friend, who had been his business associate for thirty years. The latter advised him to vacate his house for as long as it was necessary and seek refuge in a hotel. After giving this much thought, Chief Obinwa checked into Exclusive Hotel. But he stayed only for a night. He reasoned that leaving his retinue of wives, children, servants and relatives behind was not the best solution. So, emptying the water in an over-head tank, Chief Obinwa turned the tank into his refuge every night. His powerful double-barrelled rifle in hand, he hid in the tank late in the night, waiting.
Then, one night, the robbers came in a lorry. They were about a dozen. As they were forcing their way in, Obinwa aimed at their leader, and brought him down with a loud report. Another shot, and a second man fell. Surprised, the others fled, with Chief Obinwa's shots seeing them off. By day break, the news spread fast. The body of Chief Obinwa's friend and business associate was found in a pool of blood at the entrance to the chiefs house. He was the leader of the gang!
(a)(i) What message did Chief Obinwa receive? (ii) Why did he decide not to call in the police?
(b) Why did Chief Obinwa's friend give the kind of advice he gave?
(c) Why did Chief Obinwa drop the idea of continuing to hide in a hotel?
(d) Why was the chief able to repel the thieves single-handedly?
(e) his retinue of wives, children servants and relatives behind....
(i) What is the grammatical name given to this expression (ii) What is its function?
(f) For each of the following words, find another word or phrase that could replace it as used in the passage:
(i) absorbed; (ii) sinister (iii) associate (iv) refuge (v) report.
Read the following passage carefully and then answer the questions on it.
When you come to think seriously about it, you cannot but conclude that the only permanent factor in international relations is national interest. This, at least among the advanced nations of the world, is very clear. A few instances would suffice.
Take the issue of political ideology. The world used to be, and is still to some degree, divided into distinguishable ideological camps. A nation is ruled either by a democratic or a dictatorial regime. From the way these two ideological camps launch verbal attacks on each other, one would assume they would never have anything to do in common. But there are numerous instances when a democratic regime had been drawn into the open embrace of a totalitarian regime. So it was during the two world wars when democratic and totalitarian regimes found themselves on the same side.
Consider also the factor of economic policies. We know today that capitalism and socialism, as economic policies, are poles apart. The two systems, at least in theory, cannot tolerate each other. But in actual fact, there has been cooperation between capitalist and socialist states when they learn they can be interdependent economically. Trading, after all, does not know one ideology from another, and money is used for the same purpose whether in China or in America.
From the foregoing, it would be correct to claim that there is no country in the world which is democratic in all respects, nor is there any which is exclusively dictatorial. Even more correct than this is the claim that there is no wholly capitalist state, nor is there a completely socialist nation. Therefore, definitions must be made cautiously, and recognition must be given to the fact that each capitalist state embraces a certain degree of socialism, and every socialist nation accommodates some degree of capitalism. So, why need we be rigid in our political and economic inclinations?
(a)What does the writer consider the most important factor in international relations?
(b) Identify the two political and the two economic systems mentioned in the passage.
(c) According to the passage, under what condition has there been cooperation between capitalist and socialist states?
(d) Why should we be flexible in our political and economic given to inclinations
(e) ...... they would never have anything to do in common.
(i) What is the grammatical name given to the above expression as used in the passage?
(ii) What is its function?
(f) For each of the following words, find another the above phrase that word or phrase at means the same and can replace it as used in the passage: (i) advanced; (ii) distinguishable (iii) numerous; (iv) ideology; (v) cautiously
Read the following passage carefully and then answer the questions on it.
The food and oil crises demonstrate the extent of our interdependence. Many developing nations need the food surplus of the developed nations. And many industrialized nations need the oil production of a few developing nations.
Energy is required to produce food, and food to produce energy - and both to provide a decent life for everyone. The problems of food and energy can be resolved on the basis of cooperation — or can, I should say, be made unmanageable on the basis of confrontation. Runaway inflation, propelled by food and oil price increases, is an early warning signal. Let us not delude. ourselves. Failure to cooperate on oil, food and inflation could spell disaster for every nation.
The United Nations must not, and need not allow this to occur. A global strategy for food and energy is urgently required. It is my belief that four principles should guide a global approach.
Firstly, all nations must substantially increase production. Just to maintain the present standards of living, the world_ must almost double its output of food and energy to match the expected increase in the world population by the end of the century. To meet aspirations for a better life, production will have to expand at a significantly faster rate than t population growth. Second, all nations must seek to achieve a level of Prices which not only provide an incentive to producers but which consumers can also afford. It should now be clear that the developed nations are not the only countries which demand and receive adequate returns for their goods. But it should also be clear that by confronting consumers with production restrictions, artificial pricing and the prospect of ultimate bankruptcy, producers will eventually become victims of their own actions. Third, all nations must avoid the abuse of man's fundamental needs for sake of narrow material or bloc advantage. The attempt by any country to use one commodity for political purposes will inevitably tempt other countries to use their commodities for their own purposes. Fourth, the nations of the world must ensure that the poorest among us are not overwhelmed by rising prices of the imports necessary for their survival. The traditional aid donors and the increasingly wealthy oil producers must join hands in this effort
(a) Summarize in one sentence, how the developed and developing nations are interdependent in their needs.
(b) In one sentence, show what the inevitable result of confrontation among nations will be.
(c) In four sentences, one for each, summarize the writer's suggestions for effecting smooth global interdependence.