TAIDOB COLLEGE
PRE-WASSCE PREPARATORY ASSESSMENT
ENGLISH LANGUAGE SS3
SECTION 1
From the words lettered A to D, choose the word that best completes
each of the following sentences.
1. One of the causes of environmental is the felling of trees.
A. degradation
B. pollution
C. damage
D. destruction
2. Joe was concerning allegation levelled against him because
his identity card was found at the robbery scene.
A. grafted
B. implicated
C. sued
D. investigated
3. Jebba is a railway
A. terminus.
B. park.
C. junction.
D. destination.
4. is a person who makes and sells drugs to people.
A. Scientist
B. Pharmacologist
C. Pediatrician
D. Pharmacist
5. The suspect was in court.
A. presented
B. arraigned
C. adjourned
D. detained
6. The gigantic ship sank on her maiden
A. tour.
B. movement.
C. journey.
D. voyage.
7. The landlord all his tenants in order to renovate the house.
A. laid off
B. pursued
C. ejected
D. queried
SECTION 2
After each of the following sentences, a list of possible interpretations is
given. Choose the interpretation that is most appropriate for each
sentence.
8. Muhammed had a field day at the literary and debating competition.
This means that he
A. withdrew from the competition.
B. triumphed in all aspects of the competition.
C. performed abysmally.
D. became aimless.
9. The appearance which the popular actress made last year was her
swam song. This means that
A. the performance was the actress‘s last appearance.
B. the event was postponed due to her absence.
C. the last play was the actress‘s best performance.
D. she became dejected.
10. Youths of nowadays think their parents are behind the times. This
means that today‘s youths perceive their parents as
A. old-fashioned.
B. indolent.
C. non-duty conscious.
D. frivolous.
11. The pastor enjoined the congregation members to be above board
in their dealings. This means that they should
A. be careful.
B. be above others.
C. be honest.
D. always travel by air.
12. The new employee was brought to heel by the supervisor. This
means that the supervisor
A. was effective at his job.
B. was domineering.
C. forced the new worker to obey him.
D. was attentive to the employee‘s request.
13. Dr Kalu is wet behind the ears to own and run a private hospital.
This means Dr Kalu
A. is young and inexperienced.
B. has hearing defects.
C. is an expert in the treatment of ear problems.
D. is too cold.
SECTION 3
From the words lettered A to D, below each of the sentences, choose the
word or group of words that is nearest in meaning to the underlined
word as it is used in the sentence
14. Where negotiation fails, they must fall back on the law.
A initiative
B jettison
C depend on
D exterminate
15. The student was cajoled into joining a cult.
A coaxed
B forced
C compelled
D motivated
16. Kunle is adept at playing football.
A skillful
B agile
C barbaric
D smart
17. The deceased was interred immediately after the funeral rites.
A victim
B injured
C dead
D bereaved
18. He was disqualified as a result of his pusillanimous attitude.
A cowardly
B domineering
C arrogant
D unfriendly
SECTION 4
From the words or group of words lettered A to D, choose the word or
group of words that best completes each of the following sentences.
19. Joy didn‘t tell her parents about the trip because they would be
themselves with worry.
A beside
B within
C upon
D at
20. If it had rained heavily, the river by now.
A would have overflown
B would be overflowing
C has overflown
D will be overflowing
21. His guardian forbade him out of the school.
A from going
B of going
C to go
D to have gone
22. He talks carelessly as if he is a parrot.
The underlined expression above is an adjunct of
A time.
B concession.
C manner.
D frequency.
23. The erudite scholar, Professor Owonikoko, has dabbled
politics.
A through
B in
C into
D about
24. had the notorious armed robber left, than the police arrived
A As soon as
B Hardly
C The sooner
D No sooner
25. The stone hit
A neither me nor him.
B neither I nor him.
C either I or him.
D either me or he.
ORAL ENGLISH
SECTION 1
From the words lettered A to D, choose the word that has the same
vowel sound as the one represented by the letter(s) underlined. An
example is given below
26. cleanse
A clap
B clan
C many
D lean
27. buy
A Boy
B ivory
C pith
D Fit
28. class
A Last
B claims
C curse
D chat
29 cord
A gaunt
B quaint
C fond
D quote
30. chew
A quit
B church
C quest
D queue
SECTION 2
From the words lettered A to D, choose the word that has the same
consonant sound as the one represented by the letter(s) underlined.
An example is given below.
31. hand
A whore
B vehement
C annihilate
D rhetorics
32. length
A heathen
B these
C hearth
D those
33. fluctuate
A chair
B state
C blast
D dictate
34. placard
A placed
B solace
C watch
D chemist
35. banquet
A shin
B uncle
C connect
D bark
SECTION 3
From the words lettered A to D, choose the word that rhymes with the
given word. An example is given below.
36. brake
A sleak
B stuck
C stark
D slick
37. hunting
A seething
B shouting
C bunting
D building
38 burst
A perched
B worst
C guessed
D marshed
39. honey
A donkey
B money
C yankee
D monkey
40. survival
A arrival
B retrieved
C convivial
D recited
SECTION 4
In each of the following questions, the main or primary stress is indicated
by writing the syllable on which it occurs in capital letters. From the
words lettered A to D, choose the one that has the correct stress.
41. circumstantial
A CIR-cum-stan-tial
B cir-CUM-stan-tial
C cir-cum-STAN-tial
D cir-cum-stan-TIAL
42. inadequate
A IN-ad-e-quate
B in-AD-e-quate
C in-ad-E-quate
D in-ad-e-QUATE
43. advertisement
A AD-ver-tise-ment
B ad-VER-tise-ment
C ad-ver-TISE-ment
D ad-ver-tise-MENT
44. dependable
A DE-pen-da-ble
B de-PEN-da-ble
C de-pen-DA-ble
D de-pen-da-BLE
45. laboratory
A LA-bor-a-tory
B la-BOR-a-tory
C la-bor-A-tory
D la-bor-a-TORY
SECTION 5
From the words lettered A to D, choose the word that contain the sound
represented by the
given phonetic symbol. An example is given below.
46 / ӕ/
A mango B palm C chart D market
47 /w/
A who B while C whose D whole
..48 /іə/
A there B ware C here D where
49 /j /
A bridge B merge C dew D gag
50 /Ө /
A threat B fathom C weather D tin
SECTION A
ESSAY
Answer one question only from this section. All questions carry equal
marks. Your answer should not be less than 450 words.
1. There have been incessant incidents of theft in your school hostel.
Write a letter to your friend in another school telling him or her
about your experiences and the steps you have taken to safeguard
your items from being stolen.
2. You are the chief speaker in a debate on the topic: Teachers are to
blame for students‘ mass failure in external examinations. Write out
your contribution for or against the topic.
3. The water supply in your school has been irregular. As the Health
Prefect, write a letter to your Principal telling him about the effects
of this on the school and the possible solutions to the problem.
4. Write an article suitable for publication in a national newspaper on
the dangers of indecent dressing among today‘s youths.
5. Write a story that illustrates the saying: Pen is mightier than sword.
SECTION B
COMPREHENSION
6A. Read the passage below carefully and answer the
questions on it.
All over the world, money and prestige go together. The more money a
person has, the more successful he is judged to be.
When a person lives on inherited income, whether it supplements what
he earns or frees him from working, he is judged as coming from a
successful family. ‗Old money‘ is thus a symbol of family success. By
contrast, ‗new money‘, or money earned by the person himself, is
regarded as a symbol of personal success. In every culture greater
prestige is associated with old money than with new, and the person with
old money is more favourably judged.
Values relating to money change with experience in the use of money
and with the realization of the role of money in personal and social
adjustments. However, money contributes to some end that is important
to a person at every age. To the young child, money is a means of
getting things his parents do not give him, mainly sweets. At school, the
child who has money to spend for things his friends regard as important,
gains prestige and respect in their eyes.
For the adolescent, money contributes to two important ends,
independence and social status. He would learn if he had money, that he
would be able to ‗buy‘ popularity in the form of material possessions and
commercial amusements which he could enjoy with his peers. All these
increase his social acceptability. He also discovers that leadership, like
popularity, can be bought if one has enough money. In planning for his
future therefore, it is not surprising that the adolescent is more
concerned about how much a job pays than about the nature of the
work, how interesting it is to him, or what opportunities it offers for
future adancement.
To the young adult, as to the adolescent, money is primarily a means of
acquiring prestige symbols, respect and or fulfilling his needs for
entertainment. He also discovers that other symbols of success have a
price tag. Should he want to go to a famous college a graduate or
professional school prepare for a prestigious occupation, or wants to
belong to the exclusive social and professional organizations of the
community, he must have money to pay for it.
A person does not view money as a source of security until he
experiences the problem related to lack of money. So long as is a minor
and lives under the parental roof, he will be taken care of even if the
breadwinner of the family is unemployed. Social security and other aids
guarantee him this security.
When adults discover that satisfying their desire for prestige symbols
often means buying in installments and being constantly in debt, they
begin to change their attitude about budgeting and saving money. This is
hastened by the anxiety that comes from fear of losing their jobs, being
unable to pay their debts, and having to ask their families or friends for
help.
Middle-aged people worry about unemployment, the difficulty of getting
another job, and the financial distress they would face if the family
breadwinner should die or be invalided. They place high value on saving
and on spending freely for what they now regard as ‗extravagances‘.
Questions
(a) According to the passage, who is a successful person?
(b) What is the basic difference between ‗old money‘ and ‗new money‘?
(c) What does the writer consider as the central role of money to all
ages?
(d) Why, according to the passage, is old money preferred to new one?
(e) ... if one has enough money.
i. What is the grammatical name given to this expression?
ii. What is its function?
(f) What does the adolescent first consider in choosing a career?
(g) Why do adults have a change in their attitude towards saving
money?
(h) Find a word or phrase which is nearest in meaning to and can at the
same time replace each of the following words as used in the
passage:
i. supplements; ii. prestige; iii. values; iv. tag;
v. exclusive; vi. minor.
6B. Read the following passage carefully and answer the
questions that follow.
What do young people usually think of? A recent study has
revealed that young people, boys and girls in primary schools are
often pre-occupied with problems usually associated with adults.
Contrary to what most of us would have expected, it was found
that these young people are already bothered by issues such as
what kind of husband or wife they would marry; what professions
they would prefer; the type of car they would drive; and how they
would cope with scarcity of money. Surprisingly, most of them are
scared by prospects of marital problems, and some seem to take it
for granted that divorce is the way out of difficult marriages.
However, it is not surprising that political issues rarely featuring
among the problems bothering them: they seem to hardly
preoccupy with the thought of who governs them, the kind of
government in the country or its political ideology. Nonetheless,
quite a good number of them have serious thoughts about
becoming ministers, commissioners, governors or presidents.
Beyond this, what they would do afterwards does not seem to
concern them nor can they define precisely how they would attain
these positions.
It appears that children‘s thought patterns are shaped, or at least
influenced by the environment within which they live. For
instance, while most of those from happily married parents think
of the kind of spouse to marry, those from polygamous or broken
homes tend to envisage marital problems and divorce. Again,
children from humble backgrounds, for example, where the
parents are farmers, carpenters, mechanics and those from the
rural or semi-urban areas, are less ambitious. They usually opt for
the more conventional professions like teaching and nursing. On
the other hand, children from more sophisticated backgrounds
tend to opt for the less conventional professions such as
aeronautical engineering, accountancy and banking.
From all that has been discussed so far, an obvious lesson is that
children should not be exposed to unhealthy ideas and unpleasant
thought as their aspirations and actions are indeed influenced by
their environment
(Culled from: WASSCE, November 2002)
A. What is the purpose of the opening question in this passage?
B. How did the writer obtain the information contained in this
passage?
C. What does the author find surprising about young people‘s
thought patterns as contained in the first paragraph?
D. What effect does parents‘ marital experience have on their
children‘s ideas about marriage?
E. What does the passage say about the children‘s attitudes to
politics?
F. Who generally influences children in forming their opinions?
G. …that young people, boys and girls in primary school are often
preoccupied with problems…
i. What grammatical name is given to the above expression?
ii. What is its function?
H. For each of the following words, find another word or phrase that
means the same and can replace it as used in the passage:
i. revealed;
ii. scared;
iii. concern;
iv. spouse;
v. humble;
vi. professions.
SECTION C
SUMMARY
7A. Read the passage below and answer the questions on it.
In the towns where a young man can have a young girl for a kerchief or
a woman for fifty naira, and older men, a more permanent companion for
the price of her keep. Thus lover relationships become the most usual
patterns of contact between men and women long before marriage.
Young men do not wish to marry early as they once did — ‗why commit
yourself to all this expense? I can get a girl for fifty naira‘. Many of them
frankly say they wish to experiment before they marry, and quite apart
from the bride price, there is a general reluctance to mortgage the future
with a permanent union. Older men, especially those with no local roots,
find women similarly situated with whom they share a room. There are
several grades of permanency in these temporary marriages, the average
period being about three years Many women also prefer to live free from
the toil of the shamba and from subjection to a husband. In one week in
Kampala, I met three pleasant hard-working unmarried women in
domestic service, each with two children and all from rural areas. They
lived quite independently arid were quite happy ―We love children, they
declared, and we can have a baby whenever we want one; but we don‘t
want to work for a husband who beats us and gives us no money‖.
Among Africans, this love of children is very real; even in temporary
marriages men and women want children and a mother will usually
regard her child as more important than her husband Nevertheless, these
conditions are not growing points of stable married life or a promising
family background for the rearing of children.
One of the customs that tend to delay marriage is the institution of the
bride-price paid to the father of a girl on betrothal This marriage
payment, which is customary in both tribal and Christian marriages, is
regarded as a bond between the contracting parties and also as a
guarantee of the good faith of the bridegroom and the good behaviour of
the bride. The amount of the bride-price agreed upon varies from tribe to
tribe. Among the Baganda it is not high but among some of the Kenyan
tribes, it may be the equivalent of fifty thousand naira or more, paid
usually in cattle and cash Although the institution is universal in Africa,
the younger generation is beginning to reject it for it has indeed become
a very serious burden on a young man who wishes marry.
a. In four sentences, one for each, summarise the reasons why some
young men do not wish to marry.
b. In two sentences, one for each, summarise the reasons why some
women prefer to remain single.
7B. Read the following passage carefully and answer the
questions that follow.
Why is it so hard to get others to treat you with just a little
respect? You want to be heard and to be taken seriously. So when
peers and grown-ups, especially your parents, ignore you or make
light of your feelings, talk down to you or put you in your place, it
can really hurt.
It is only natural to want to be esteemed by others. Gaining the
respect of others is not easy when you are young. Youth is
associated with inexperience and unbridled energy while
knowledge and wisdom come with age. Generally, then people do
not give youths the same respect they give adults. If you think
this is unfair, you are perhaps right. But, it is a fact of life you
must live with. Furthermore, many youths have earned a bad
name for themselves. As a result, some adults mistakenly think
that all youths are rebellious, irresponsible or crazy. In some
lands, culture and rapid social changes are responsible for the gap
between youths and adults. In Africa, for example, many youths
have educational advantages their parents did not have.
Furthermore, they may find themselves in constant conflict with
their elders who are guided by traditional norms. Older people are
often greatly irritated by what they perceive as disrespect or even
rebellion on the part of youths.
Whatever your situation, it will take real initiative and diligence for
you to win the respect for others. But it can be done.
First, realize that respect is not something bestowed upon you
simply because you want it, nor can you force someone to respect
you. Respect is something that you earn. You should have
established a record by your conduct that you have become
worthy of respect. Another way to earn respect is refusing to go
along with the crowd; especially when the fashion is the pursuit of
sensual pleasure. You should try to be serious-minded and be
polite to everyone. You may be mocked and teased for being
different but others will often grudgingly respect you for it.
Also, you should be respectful to others. Respect begets respect.
Lying, unkind teasing, making other people the butt of cruel jokes,
bossing or bullying are not ways of treating others with honour. In
the long run, they undermine the respect others have for you. It is
particularly important that we show honour and respect to those
in positions of authority. A law-enforcement officer once said, Kids
today seldom say, Sir.‘ How do you treat those in authority –
teachers, police officers school administrators? If you have a
reputation for being respectful to authority figures, it is likely that
they too will treat you with a measure of respect.
In certain cultures, there are long-standing rule of etiquette that a
youth is expected to follow. In most African countries, many older
ones do not talk kindly to a youth who talks with his hands in his
pockets or who gestures to them with his left hand. Such
objections may seem strange to Westerners and old-fashioned to
some African youths, but the practices are not offensive to
civilized standards also in certain cultures, not youths. One who
violates local culture by usurping adult authority will usually of as
impertinent. You will do far more to win the respect of others if
you recognize your subordinate role and learn to cope with it.
(Culled from: WASSCE, November 1999)
A. Summarize, in one sentence, why people do not give youths the
same respect they give adults.
B. In five sentences, one for each, summarize the advice give to
youths for them to gain the respect of others.
