JAMB and WAEC English Language questions

922 questions with answers and explanations. Tap an option to check yourself.

All JAMB WAEC

Question 561· Sentence interpretation· JAMB
'Hardly had the thief left when the police arrived.' This means that
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Answer: C. the police arrived just after the thief left
Explanation and discussion
Question 562· Sentence interpretation· WAEC
Which option best explains the sentence 'The principal gave the latecomers a piece of her mind'?
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Answer: A. She scolded them
Explanation and discussion
Question 563· Sentence interpretation· JAMB
'The minister's resignation was a foregone conclusion.' This means that the resignation was
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Answer: D. certain to happen
Explanation and discussion
Question 564· Sentence interpretation· JAMB
'Her speech brought the house down.' This means that the speech
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Answer: B. was received with loud applause
Explanation and discussion
Question 565· Sentence interpretation· JAMB
'The headmaster gave the latecomers a piece of his mind.' The headmaster
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Answer: B. scolded them severely
Explanation and discussion
Question 566· Sentence interpretation· WAEC
Which option best explains the sentence 'The manager said the proposal was a non-starter'?
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Answer: D. It had no chance of succeeding
Explanation and discussion
Question 567· Sentence interpretation· JAMB
'Social media can be a double-edged sword for students' means that it
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Answer: B. can both help and harm them
Explanation and discussion
Question 568· Sentence interpretation· WAEC
'Tunde is still green in the job.' This means that Tunde
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Answer: B. is inexperienced
Explanation and discussion
Question 569· Sentence interpretation· WAEC
'The principal turned a deaf ear to our complaints.' This means that the principal
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Answer: D. ignored our complaints
Explanation and discussion
Question 570· Sentence interpretation· WAEC
'Ade spoke off the cuff at the meeting.' This means that Ade
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Answer: B. spoke without preparing
Explanation and discussion
Question 571· Sentence interpretation· JAMB
'All their efforts came to nought.' This means that their efforts
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Answer: B. achieved nothing
Explanation and discussion
Question 572· Sentence interpretation· JAMB
'Chidi has a chip on his shoulder about his poor background' means that Chidi
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Answer: A. is resentful and easily offended about it
Explanation and discussion
Question 573· Sentence interpretation· WAEC
Which option best explains the sentence 'The thief took to his heels when he saw the police'?
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Answer: C. He ran away
Explanation and discussion
Question 574· Sentence interpretation· JAMB
'Ade has turned over a new leaf' means that Ade has
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Answer: C. changed his behaviour for the better
Explanation and discussion
Question 575· Sentence interpretation· JAMB
'The new policy was dead on arrival.' This means that the policy
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Answer: D. failed from the very start
Explanation and discussion
Question 576· Sentence interpretation· JAMB
'Chinedu is not one to blow his own trumpet.' This means that Chinedu
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Answer: B. does not boast about himself
Explanation and discussion
Question 577· Summary· JAMB
Examination malpractice is often described as a problem of dishonest students, but the truth is more uncomfortable. In many cases, the cheating is organised by adults: parents who pay for 'special centres', teachers who dictate answers to protect their school's reputation, and officials who look away for a fee. A student who grows up in such a system learns a dangerous lesson: that certificates can be bought and that effort is for fools. The consequences reach far beyond the examination hall. Employers soon discover that a graduate's result tells them little about what he or she can actually do, and the value of every certificate, including those earned honestly, falls. Computer-based testing has reduced some forms of cheating, but technology alone cannot restore trust. That requires adults who model honesty, schools that are rewarded for genuine learning rather than inflated results, and penalties that fall on organisers as heavily as on candidates.
Which of these is the most suitable title for the second passage?
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Answer: A. Malpractice: An Adult Problem
Explanation and discussion
Question 578· Summary· JAMB
Social media has changed the way young Nigerians learn. A student in Maiduguri can now watch a chemistry lesson recorded in Lagos, join a study group with classmates across three states, and ask a question at midnight that someone answers before dawn. Critics, however, point to the cost. Notifications interrupt study time, and the endless scroll of entertainment can swallow hours that were meant for revision. Some teachers report that students who once read whole chapters now struggle to concentrate beyond a few paragraphs. The truth probably lies between these positions. Social media is a tool, and like a knife it can prepare a meal or wound the careless hand. Students who set clear limits, turning off notifications during study and following accounts that teach rather than distract, often find it a powerful ally. Those who let the platforms set the terms tend to lose the battle for their own attention. The question, then, is not whether students should use social media, but who is in control when they do.
Which sentence best summarises the advice in the first passage?
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Answer: C. Use social media with clear limits so that you stay in control.
Explanation and discussion
Question 579· Summary· JAMB
Read the passage and answer the question. Every August the river reminds the people of Ogbaru that it was here first. It climbs over its banks quietly at night, so that families wake to find the floor of the parlour shining like a mirror. Children treat the first day as a holiday; their parents count the bags of rice already soaked and calculate how many weeks of school fees have floated away. Engineers from the state capital have visited many times. They measure, photograph and promise. The embankment they describe in their reports would be tall and straight, a wall the river could not climb. But the reports, like the river, rise and fall with the seasons, and the wall remains a picture on paper. This year the community decided not to wait. Young men dug channels to guide the water away from the market, and women's groups raised money to lift the clinic onto concrete pillars. It is not the wall of the engineers' dreams, but when the water came, the clinic stayed dry and the market opened on Monday as usual. (An original passage written for AdmitMe practice.)
The main point of the second paragraph of the Ogbaru passage is that
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Answer: B. official promises have not been fulfilled
Explanation and discussion
Question 580· Summary· JAMB
Read the passage and answer the question. When Mallam Sani first heard that he could send money to his son in Lagos with a few presses on a phone, he laughed. For forty years he had trusted only two things: the cattle in his pen and the bag of notes hidden under his mat. Money, he said, should be heavy enough to feel. His son, however, was patient. On his next visit he showed his father how a small agent's kiosk in the village could turn cash into a message and a message back into cash. The first transfer was only two thousand naira, sent to buy medicine for an aunt in Kano. When the aunt called to say the money had arrived before the bus that would have carried it could even leave the motor park, the old man was silent for a long time. Today the kiosk is the busiest place in the village after the mosque. Farmers receive payment for their grain before the lorry is out of sight; traders no longer travel with bundles of notes that tempt robbers on the highway. Yet Mallam Sani has not completely changed. He still keeps a few notes under his mat. 'A phone can lose its battery,' he explains with a smile, 'but paper does not need charging.' (An original passage written for AdmitMe practice.)
Which title best suits the passage about Mallam Sani?
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Answer: D. From the Mat to the Mobile Phone
Explanation and discussion

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JAMB and WAEC English Language questions

'Hardly had the thief left when the police arrived.' This means that

Which option best explains the sentence 'The principal gave the latecomers a piece of her mind'?

'The minister's resignation was a foregone conclusion.' This means that the resignation was

'Her speech brought the house down.' This means that the speech

'The headmaster gave the latecomers a piece of his mind.' The headmaster

Which option best explains the sentence 'The manager said the proposal was a non-starter'?

'Social media can be a double-edged sword for students' means that it

'Tunde is still green in the job.' This means that Tunde

'The principal turned a deaf ear to our complaints.' This means that the principal

'Ade spoke off the cuff at the meeting.' This means that Ade

'All their efforts came to nought.' This means that their efforts

'Chidi has a chip on his shoulder about his poor background' means that Chidi

Which option best explains the sentence 'The thief took to his heels when he saw the police'?

'Ade has turned over a new leaf' means that Ade has

'The new policy was dead on arrival.' This means that the policy

'Chinedu is not one to blow his own trumpet.' This means that Chinedu

Which of these is the most suitable title for the second passage?

Which sentence best summarises the advice in the first passage?

The main point of the second paragraph of the Ogbaru passage is that

Which title best suits the passage about Mallam Sani?