WAEC Literature in English 2011 Past Questions

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

Question 21
UNSEEN PROSE AND POETRY

Read the passage and answer the question

Each profession, intellectual or manual, deserves consideration, whether it requires painful physical effort or manual dexterity, wide knowledge or the patience of an ant. Ours, like that of the doctor, does not allow for any mistake. You don't joke with life, and life is both body and mind. To warp a soul is as much a sacrilege as murder. Teachers _ at kindergarten level, as at university level _ form a noble army accomplishing daily feats, never praised, never decorated. An army forever on the move, forever vigilant: an army without drums, without gleaming uniforms. This army, thwarting traps and snares, everywhere plants the flag of knowledge and morality.

The writer's mood is that of _
  • A.excitement
  • B.optimism
  • C.indifference
  • D.frustration
Objective
Question 22
UNSEEN PROSE AND POETRY

Read the passage and answer the question

Each profession, intellectual or manual, deserves consideration, whether it requires painful physical effort or manual dexterity, wide knowledge or the patience of an ant. Ours, like that of the doctor, does not allow for any mistake. You don't joke with life, and life is both body and mind. To warp a soul is as much a sacrilege as murder. Teachers _ at kindergarten level, as at university level _ form a noble army accomplishing daily feats, never praised, never decorated. An army forever on the move, forever vigilant: an army without drums, without gleaming uniforms. This army, thwarting traps and snares, everywhere plants the flag of knowledge and morality.

The writer of the passage is a _
  • A.doctor
  • B.soldier
  • C.teacher
  • D.student
Objective
Question 23
UNSEEN PROSE AND POETRY

Read the passage and answer the question

Each profession, intellectual or manual, deserves consideration, whether it requires painful physical effort or manual dexterity, wide knowledge or the patience of an ant. Ours, like that of the doctor, does not allow for any mistake. You don't joke with life, and life is both body and mind. To warp a soul is as much a sacrilege as murder. Teachers _ at kindergarten level, as at university level _ form a noble army accomplishing daily feats, never praised, never decorated. An army forever on the move, forever vigilant: an army without drums, without gleaming uniforms. This army, thwarting traps and snares, everywhere plants the flag of knowledge and morality.

The dominant image in the passage is that of
  • A.soldiery
  • B.medicine
  • C.religion
  • D.education
Objective
Question 24
UNSEEN PROSE AND POETRY

Read the passage and answer the question

Each profession, intellectual or manual, deserves consideration, whether it requires painful physical effort or manual dexterity, wide knowledge or the patience of an ant. Ours, like that of the doctor, does not allow for any mistake. You don't joke with life, and life is both body and mind. To warp a soul is as much a sacrilege as murder. Teachers _ at kindergarten level, as at university level _ form a noble army accomplishing daily feats, never praised, never decorated. An army forever on the move, forever vigilant: an army without drums, without gleaming uniforms. This army, thwarting traps and snares, everywhere plants the flag of knowledge and morality.

The underlined illustrates
  • A.antithesis
  • B.allusion
  • C.parallelism
  • D.parody
Objective
Question 25
UNSEEN PROSE AND POETRY

Read the passage and answer the question

Each profession, intellectual or manual, deserves consideration, whether it requires painful physical effort or manual dexterity, wide knowledge or the patience of an ant. Ours, like that of the doctor, does not allow for any mistake. You don't joke with life, and life is both body and mind. To warp a soul is as much a sacrilege as murder. Teachers _ at kindergarten level, as at university level _ form a noble army accomplishing daily feats, never praised, never decorated. An army forever on the move, forever vigilant: an army without drums, without gleaming uniforms. This army, thwarting traps and snares, everywhere plants the flag of knowledge and morality.

''The flag of knowledge and morality'' illustrates
  • A.euphemism
  • B.litotes
  • C.metaphor
  • D.metonymy
Objective
Question 27
Read the poem and answer the question

Here stood our ancestral home
The crumbling wall marks the spot
Here a sheep was led to the slaughter
To appease the goods and atone
For fauilts which our destiny
Has blossomed into crimes
There my cursed father once stood
And shouted to us, his children
To come back from our play
To our evening meal and sleep.

The sheep was led to the slaughter
  • A.to prepare their evening meal
  • B.because it was a troublesome sheep
  • C.because their father was a butcher
  • D.as a sacrifice to their gods
Objective
Question 28
Read the poem and answer the question

Here stood our ancestral home
The crumbling wall marks the spot
Here a sheep was led to the slaughter
To appease the goods and atone
For fauilts which our destiny
Has blossomed into crimes
There my cursed father once stood
And shouted to us, his children
To come back from our play
To our evening meal and sleep.

''To appease the gods''...''implies
  • A.seeking the favour of the gods
  • B.offering meals to the gods
  • C.accusing the gods for their misfortune
  • D.reciting incantations to the gods
Objective
Question 29
Read the poem and answer the question

Here stood our ancestral home
The crumbling wall marks the spot
Here a sheep was led to the slaughter
To appease the goods and atone
For fauilts which our destiny
Has blossomed into crimes
There my cursed father once stood
And shouted to us, his children
To come back from our play
To our evening meal and sleep.

The underlined means that
  • A.they were living in a house with a high wall
  • B.their building is no longer where it used to be
  • C.the children had caused the wall to crumble
  • D.their father made them pull down the wall
Objective