WAEC Literature in English 2010 Past Questions

Practice each question, then open it to see the full details.

Question 21
UNSEEN PROSE AND POETRY

Read the poem and answer the question

What a morning!
The sound of guns was everywhere
The city was trapped,
I heave a mournful sigh-
Rebels!

Boom Boom Boom!
The heart pants at the sound of the blast
Lord! When will all this end?
This is the fourth day.

You say you are free
Oh no, you are not
You are trapped-
A prisoner in your own home.

The song is everywhere.
What next?
Food - water - a hiding place
Far from the sound of the gun.

The theme of the poem is
  • A.peace
  • B.war
  • C.love
  • D.death
Objective
Question 22
UNSEEN PROSE AND POETRY

Read the poem and answer the question

What a morning!
The sound of guns was everywhere
The city was trapped,
I heave a mournful sigh-
Rebels!

Boom Boom Boom!
The heart pants at the sound of the blast
Lord! When will all this end?
This is the fourth day.

You say you are free
Oh no, you are not
You are trapped-
A prisoner in your own home.

The song is everywhere.
What next?
Food - water - a hiding place
Far from the sound of the gun.

''Boom Boom Boom'' is an example of
  • A.symbols
  • B.onomatopoeia
  • C.metonymy
  • D.allusion
Objective
Question 23
UNSEEN PROSE AND POETRY

Read the poem and answer the question

What a morning!
The sound of guns was everywhere
The city was trapped,
I heave a mournful sigh-
Rebels!

Boom Boom Boom!
The heart pants at the sound of the blast
Lord! When will all this end?
This is the fourth day.

You say you are free
Oh no, you are not
You are trapped-
A prisoner in your own home.

The song is everywhere.
What next?
Food - water - a hiding place
Far from the sound of the gun.

The atmosphere of the poem implies
  • A.danger and confusion
  • B.peace and reconciliation
  • C.happiness
  • D.hope
Objective
Question 24
UNSEEN PROSE AND POETRY

Read the poem and answer the question

What a morning!
The sound of guns was everywhere
The city was trapped,
I heave a mournful sigh-
Rebels!

Boom Boom Boom!
The heart pants at the sound of the blast
Lord! When will all this end?
This is the fourth day.

You say you are free
Oh no, you are not
You are trapped-
A prisoner in your own home.

The song is everywhere.
What next?
Food - water - a hiding place
Far from the sound of the gun.

The second stanza refers to
  • A.the uncertainty of life
  • B.the pleasures of life
  • C.the meaning of life
  • D.the joys of life
Objective
Question 25
UNSEEN PROSE AND POETRY

Read the poem and answer the question

What a morning!
The sound of guns was everywhere
The city was trapped,
I heave a mournful sigh-
Rebels!

Boom Boom Boom!
The heart pants at the sound of the blast
Lord! When will all this end?
This is the fourth day.

You say you are free
Oh no, you are not
You are trapped-
A prisoner in your own home.

The song is everywhere.
What next?
Food - water - a hiding place
Far from the sound of the gun.

''The song is everywhere'' refers to
  • A.freedom
  • B.anxiety
  • C.pleasure
  • D.satisfaction
Objective
Question 26
Read the passage and answer the question

Here in the station it is in no way different save that the city is busy in its snow. But the old men cling to their seats as though they were symbolic and could not be given up. Now and then they sleep, their grey old heads resting with painful awkwardness on the backs of the benches
Also they are not at rest. For an hour they may sleep in the gasping exhaustion of the ill-nourished and aged. who have to walk in the night. Then a policeman comes by on his rounds and nudges them upright.
''You can't sleep here'', he growls.
A strange ritual then begins. An old man is difficult to wake. One man after a slight lurch, does not move at all, droning centre of the hive rather than in some lonely room fulfilled.

This style of writing is
  • A.argumentative
  • B.epistolary
  • C.narrative
  • D.expository
Objective
Question 27
Read the passage and answer the question

Here in the station it is in no way different save that the city is busy in its snow. But the old men cling to their seats as though they were symbolic and could not be given up. Now and then they sleep, their grey old heads resting with painful awkwardness on the backs of the benches
Also they are not at rest. For an hour they may sleep in the gasping exhaustion of the ill-nourished and aged. who have to walk in the night. Then a policeman comes by on his rounds and nudges them upright.
''You can't sleep here'', he growls.
A strange ritual then begins. An old man is difficult to wake. One man after a slight lurch, does not move at all, droning centre of the hive rather than in some lonely room fulfilled.

''.... on the backs of the benches'' illustrates
  • A.synecdoche
  • B.epithet
  • C.assonance
  • D.personification
Objective
Question 28
Read the passage and answer the question

Here in the station it is in no way different save that the city is busy in its snow. But the old men cling to their seats as though they were symbolic and could not be given up. Now and then they sleep, their grey old heads resting with painful awkwardness on the backs of the benches
Also they are not at rest. For an hour they may sleep in the gasping exhaustion of the ill-nourished and aged. who have to walk in the night. Then a policeman comes by on his rounds and nudges them upright.
''You can't sleep here'', he growls.
A strange ritual then begins. An old man is difficult to wake. One man after a slight lurch, does not move at all, droning centre of the hive rather than in some lonely room fulfilled.

The passage conveys a mood of
  • A.defiance
  • B.hope
  • C.fear
  • D.despair
Objective
Question 29
Read the passage and answer the question

Here in the station it is in no way different save that the city is busy in its snow. But the old men cling to their seats as though they were symbolic and could not be given up. Now and then they sleep, their grey old heads resting with painful awkwardness on the backs of the benches
Also they are not at rest. For an hour they may sleep in the gasping exhaustion of the ill-nourished and aged. who have to walk in the night. Then a policeman comes by on his rounds and nudges them upright.
''You can't sleep here'', he growls.
A strange ritual then begins. An old man is difficult to wake. One man after a slight lurch, does not move at all, droning centre of the hive rather than in some lonely room fulfilled.

'',....gasping exhaustion of the ill-nourished and aged....'' infers
  • A.helplessness
  • B.slowness
  • C.sadness
  • D.tiredness
Objective
Question 30
Read the passage and answer the question

Here in the station it is in no way different save that the city is busy in its snow. But the old men cling to their seats as though they were symbolic and could not be given up. Now and then they sleep, their grey old heads resting with painful awkwardness on the backs of the benches
Also they are not at rest. For an hour they may sleep in the gasping exhaustion of the ill-nourished and aged. who have to walk in the night. Then a policeman comes by on his rounds and nudges them upright.
''You can't sleep here'', he growls.
A strange ritual then begins. An old man is difficult to wake. One man after a slight lurch, does not move at all, droning centre of the hive rather than in some lonely room fulfilled.

''droning'' and ''have'' illustrate
  • A.anecdote
  • B.epigram
  • C.allusion
  • D.epitaph
Objective