1999 WAEC English Comprehension and Summary Questions
Note before:
The comprehension section examines your grasp of communication in English Language using elements such as figures of speech, clauses, synonyms, amongst others. These three areas are always used so if you are able to master them, you will pass the WAEC English Language examination.
COMPREHENSION
Read the following passage carefully and answer the questions on it.
The black ant is indisputably one of the smallest visible insects on earth. Except with the aid of a very powerful microscope, it is difficult if not impossible to locate the eyes, the mouth, the nostrils (if it even has any) or any other part of the body. An air of mystery surrounds the existence of this little creature.
Have you ever taken time off your programme to watch these ants move in a row? What gives them the sense of direction, we do not know. Indeed, whoever sends them on an errand and how they even know their destination and the type of errand to run we are yet to be told. But they are an extremely well-organized lot.
Certainly, there are no defined routes for them on walls or trees, yet they move in an orderly manner almost in a straight line. The beautiful thing about these insects is that even when their line of movement is disorganized, they soon regroup and connect themselves again end to end. If in the process, one of them is killed, they quickly recognize that fact from their various positions. Then, one sees them running helter-skelter with a seeming insistence on getting at the comrade to confirm its death.
When this has been done, some of them run zigzag at a tremendous speed to alert the others on the route. Soon, they disappear completely. Later, as if everything were over and forgotten, they reappear and form a new route and continue their movement transporting food or going on an errand or the other as before. Bring your ears close to them and you hear nothing and you wonder what their means of communication could be.
Perhaps, most surprising is their high sense of understanding the weather and the climate. They are just like men in this area. They know when it is the rainy season and when the dry season comes. In fact, it is true to say that they prepare better for the future than man.
During the dry season, they file out to different places gathering food which they store underground. At the slightest sign of the approach of the rainy season, they all get into the hole and seal it up. Surprisingly, they re-emerge when the dry season sets in. And whoever tells them the dry season has come we do not know. You can now see the sense in the injunction, “Go to the ant, thou sluggard, learn her ways and be wise.”
Questions
(a) Why does the writer regard the black ant as one of the smallest insects on earth?
Ans: The writer regards the black ant as one of the smallest insects on earth because only a powerful microscope can be used to locate its mouth, eyes, and nostrils.
(b) Give reasons why the writer thinks that the way ants live is ‘interesting’? (Note: always keep to the instructions; if the question says give reasons, then you have to give more than one reason)
Ans: The writer thinks that the way ants live is interesting because of the following reasons:
(i) Their movements and activities show that they are well organized.
(ii) Their understanding of and approach to the different weather seasons show that they are smart.
(iii) They apparently have a means of communication.
(iv) They understand when something has gone wrong
(c)(i) What is the writer’s attitude towards the black ant?
Ans: The writer’s attitude is both admiration and astonishment.
(ii) Quote an expression from the passage to support your answer.
Ans: (i) Admiration – “The beautiful thing about these insects…”
(ii) Astonishment – “Bring your ears close to them and you hear nothing and you wonder what their means of communication could be.”
(d) When this has been done…” What does ‘this’ refer to?
Ans: ‘This’ as used in the passage refers to the ants getting to a fallen comrade to confirm its death.
(e) “The beautiful thing about these insects….”
(i) What grammatical name is given to this expression?
Ans: The expression is a noun phrase.
(ii) What is its function in the sentence?
Ans: It functions as the subject of the verb ‘is’
(f) What quality of the ant is implied in the last sentence of the passage?
Ans: The quality of the ant implied in the last sentence of the passage is ‘wisdom’.
(g)For each of the following words or phrases find another word or phrase that means the same and can replace it as it is used in the passage.
(i) indisputably – undeniably
(ii) row – line
(iii) helter-skelter – disorderly fashion
(iv) a tremendous – a great
(v) area – regard
(vi) approach – advent
SUMMARY
Note before
The summary section checks your ability to identify the point of view or subject matter of a piece of writing. It is fairly easy to do when you know how to go about it.
When you read a question attached to a summary passage, go back to the body of the summary and check to see where any word in the question appears in the body of the passage. From there, you can trace the answer to that particular question.
Do not summarize in more than one sentence except you are specifically asked to do so. It defeats the purpose of the summary if you write a long, meandering sentence to answer a question.
Read the following carefully and answer the questions on it.
In all school systems of the world, some schools are considered ‘better’ than others. In fact, based on such judgment parents often go to great lengths to have their children enrolled in one school rather than another. One yardstick for making this judgment is student achievement, especially general performance in public examinations. Furthermore, among some experts in education, opinions about schools are further narrowed down to subject areas. For example, one often hears that school A is better than B in Mathematics and Science while the latter is better than the former in English Language and the Liberal Arts. Whatever the focus of these comparative statements, there remains the fact that schools do vary in terms of average student achievement.
Why is it then that some schools have high average student achievement while others have low average student achievement? The reasons are not far-fetched. The first reason is that some schools are located in privileged areas in the sense that the students come from homes where parents care about their children’s education, ensure that the children are well-fed, show interest in their school work and provide easy access to books in the home. On the other hand, there are schools which serve less privileged communities, and whose students come from homes where parents are unable to provide the necessary support services for good academic work. Students in the first type of school would generally have a higher rate of achievement than those in the second type.
Another reason for the difference in academic achievement between schools is how well the schools are equipped. Schools that have good laboratories and libraries, ample space, places to sit and write for every student and optimum-sized classrooms usually record a higher standard of student achievement than those where the basic equipment is lacking or where the students are crammed into inadequate spaces.
The quality of the teachers also has to do with the differences in student achievement between schools. A teacher that does not have a good grasp of his subject matter nor is committed to his job cannot produce an outstanding student. On the other hand, students will generally attain a high standard where the teacher is an expert in his field, knows how to structure the material to be learned, demands a lot from his students and motivates them. Also, school management has been found to have a relationship with student achievement. Students perform better in schools where the leadership is enthusiastic and creative than in schools where the principals and teachers adopt a casual attitude to their job.
Finally, discipline cannot be divorced from the learning process, and this is often seen from the perspective of general student behaviour. Where students show a disregard for the rules and regulations that guide good learning by disobeying their teachers, neglecting their homework or playing truant, they cannot make any reasonable academic progress. On the other hand, students who comport themselves well have laid a good foundation for academic success.
(a) In one sentence, summarize the yardsticks used to make a distinction between one school and another.
Ans: The yardsticks used to make a distinction between one school and another are student achievement, especially in the area of performance in public examinations and the school’s performance is subject areas.
(b) In five sentences, one for each, summarize the factors responsible for the different levels of achievement in schools.
(i) One of the factors responsible for the different levels of achievement in schools is the location of the school in privileged or unprivileged neighbourhoods.
(ii) Another factor for the different achievements in schools is proper and adequate equipment of the schools.
(iii) The third cause of different levels of achievement in schools is the quality of teachers available in such schools.
(iv) The fourth factor responsible for achievement levels in schools is the enthusiastic or nonchalant attitude of the school management.
(v) The fifth factor that contributes to student achievement is the discipline or lack of discipline of the students.
Good job on getting to the end of the 1999 WAEC Comprehension and Summary section. You can also check the 1998 WAEC Comprehension and Summary questions