JAMB English Language 2001 Past Questions & Answers

By 1910, the motor car was plainly conquering the highway. The private car was now part of every rich man’s establishment, although its price made it as yet an impossible luxury for most of the middle class. But for the adventuresome youth, there was the motor cycle, a fearsome invention producing accidents and ear- splitting noises. Already the dignified carriages and smart pony- traps were beginning to disappear from the roads and coachmen and grooms unless mechanically minded, were finding it more difficult to make a living.

The roads which had gone to sleep since the coming of the railway now awoke to feverish activity. Cars and motor cycles dashed along them at speeds which rivalled those of the express trains and the lorry began to appear. Therefore, the road system was compelled to adapt itself to a volume and speed of traffic for which it had never intended. Its complete adaptation was impossible, but the road surface was easily transformed and during the early years of the century, the dustiness and greasiness of the highways were lessened by tar-spraying. To widen and straighten the roads and get rid of blind corners and every steep gradient were tasks which had scarcely been tackled before 1914. the Situation was worst of all in towns where not only was any large scheme of road widening usually out of the question, but also where crowding and danger were all too frequently increased by the short-sighted eagerness of town authorities in laying down tramlines.

Yet, it was not only the road system that was in need of readjustment; the nervous system who used and dwelt by the road suffered. The noises caused by the conversion of the roads into speedways called for a corresponding lightening up of the nerves and especially I the towns, the pedestrian who wished to preserve life and limb was compelled to keep his attention continually on the stretch to practise himself in estimates of the speed of approaching vehicles and to run or jump for his life if he ventured off the pavement.

The question asks you to deduce, or conclude, something based on the information in the passage. The passage states that roads 'awoke to feverish activity' and the road surface was 'transformed' by tar-spraying to make it better. These details show that significant improvements were happening in road transport, making option B the correct deduction.

Common mistake: Students might wrongly choose option A because the passage compares car speeds to trains, but it never says that people stopped using trains.

By 1910, the motor car was plainly conquering the highway. The private car was now part of every rich man’s establishment, although its price made it as yet an impossible luxury for most of the middle class. But for the adventuresome youth, there was the motor cycle, a fearsome invention producing accidents and ear- splitting noises. Already the dignified carriages and smart pony- traps were beginning to disappear from the roads and coachmen and grooms unless mechanically minded, were finding it more difficult to make a living.

The roads which had gone to sleep since the coming of the railway now awoke to feverish activity. Cars and motor cycles dashed along them at speeds which rivalled those of the express trains and the lorry began to appear. Therefore, the road system was compelled to adapt itself to a volume and speed of traffic for which it had never intended. Its complete adaptation was impossible, but the road surface was easily transformed and during the early years of the century, the dustiness and greasiness of the highways were lessened by tar-spraying. To widen and straighten the roads and get rid of blind corners and every steep gradient were tasks which had scarcely been tackled before 1914. the Situation was worst of all in towns where not only was any large scheme of road widening usually out of the question, but also where crowding and danger were all too frequently increased by the short-sighted eagerness of town authorities in laying down tramlines.

Yet, it was not only the road system that was in need of readjustment; the nervous system who used and dwelt by the road suffered. The noises caused by the conversion of the roads into speedways called for a corresponding lightening up of the nerves and especially I the towns, the pedestrian who wished to preserve life and limb was compelled to keep his attention continually on the stretch to practise himself in estimates of the speed of approaching vehicles and to run or jump for his life if he ventured off the pavement.

The correct option is A because the passage directly states that the private car was 'part of every rich man’s establishment' and an 'impossible luxury for most of the middle class'. This shows that the car was a very expensive item that only the wealthy could afford, making it a luxury that others would naturally desire.

Common mistake: Students might wrongly choose option C because the passage says car speeds 'rivalled' the express trains, but it never explicitly states that trains were the fastest means of transport before the car.

By 1910, the motor car was plainly conquering the highway. The private car was now part of every rich man’s establishment, although its price made it as yet an impossible luxury for most of the middle class. But for the adventuresome youth, there was the motor cycle, a fearsome invention producing accidents and ear- splitting noises. Already the dignified carriages and smart pony- traps were beginning to disappear from the roads and coachmen and grooms unless mechanically minded, were finding it more difficult to make a living.

The roads which had gone to sleep since the coming of the railway now awoke to feverish activity. Cars and motor cycles dashed along them at speeds which rivalled those of the express trains and the lorry began to appear. Therefore, the road system was compelled to adapt itself to a volume and speed of traffic for which it had never intended. Its complete adaptation was impossible, but the road surface was easily transformed and during the early years of the century, the dustiness and greasiness of the highways were lessened by tar-spraying. To widen and straighten the roads and get rid of blind corners and every steep gradient were tasks which had scarcely been tackled before 1914. the Situation was worst of all in towns where not only was any large scheme of road widening usually out of the question, but also where crowding and danger were all too frequently increased by the short-sighted eagerness of town authorities in laying down tramlines.

Yet, it was not only the road system that was in need of readjustment; the nervous system who used and dwelt by the road suffered. The noises caused by the conversion of the roads into speedways called for a corresponding lightening up of the nerves and especially I the towns, the pedestrian who wished to preserve life and limb was compelled to keep his attention continually on the stretch to practise himself in estimates of the speed of approaching vehicles and to run or jump for his life if he ventured off the pavement.

The correct answer is D because the passage clearly states how the roads had to change to handle more traffic moving at faster speeds. The text mentions that the road system was 'compelled to adapt itself to a volume and speed of traffic for which it had never intended' due to the arrival of cars, motorcycles, and lorries. This directly supports the idea that the writer is suggesting an increase in traffic volume and speed.

Common mistake: Students might mistakenly choose option A because the passage says the roads 'had gone to sleep,' but this is only a supporting detail used to introduce the main point about the new, increased activity.

By 1910, the motor car was plainly conquering the highway. The private car was now part of every rich man’s establishment, although its price made it as yet an impossible luxury for most of the middle class. But for the adventuresome youth, there was the motor cycle, a fearsome invention producing accidents and ear- splitting noises. Already the dignified carriages and smart pony- traps were beginning to disappear from the roads and coachmen and grooms unless mechanically minded, were finding it more difficult to make a living.

The roads which had gone to sleep since the coming of the railway now awoke to feverish activity. Cars and motor cycles dashed along them at speeds which rivalled those of the express trains and the lorry began to appear. Therefore, the road system was compelled to adapt itself to a volume and speed of traffic for which it had never intended. Its complete adaptation was impossible, but the road surface was easily transformed and during the early years of the century, the dustiness and greasiness of the highways were lessened by tar-spraying. To widen and straighten the roads and get rid of blind corners and every steep gradient were tasks which had scarcely been tackled before 1914. the Situation was worst of all in towns where not only was any large scheme of road widening usually out of the question, but also where crowding and danger were all too frequently increased by the short-sighted eagerness of town authorities in laying down tramlines.

Yet, it was not only the road system that was in need of readjustment; the nervous system who used and dwelt by the road suffered. The noises caused by the conversion of the roads into speedways called for a corresponding lightening up of the nerves and especially I the towns, the pedestrian who wished to preserve life and limb was compelled to keep his attention continually on the stretch to practise himself in estimates of the speed of approaching vehicles and to run or jump for his life if he ventured off the pavement.

The passage states that coachmen and grooms were finding it hard to make a living 'unless mechanically minded'. This means the only ones who could survive the change were those who could understand and work with the new machines, like cars. Therefore, the expression refers to the coachmen and grooms who were adaptable to this new technology, as stated in option A.

Common mistake: Students may wrongly choose option D, which is too general; the phrase 'mechanically minded' in the sentence specifically qualifies the 'coachmen and grooms' mentioned just before it, not all people.

By 1910, the motor car was plainly conquering the highway. The private car was now part of every rich man’s establishment, although its price made it as yet an impossible luxury for most of the middle class. But for the adventuresome youth, there was the motor cycle, a fearsome invention producing accidents and ear- splitting noises. Already the dignified carriages and smart pony- traps were beginning to disappear from the roads and coachmen and grooms unless mechanically minded, were finding it more difficult to make a living.

The roads which had gone to sleep since the coming of the railway now awoke to feverish activity. Cars and motor cycles dashed along them at speeds which rivalled those of the express trains and the lorry began to appear. Therefore, the road system was compelled to adapt itself to a volume and speed of traffic for which it had never intended. Its complete adaptation was impossible, but the road surface was easily transformed and during the early years of the century, the dustiness and greasiness of the highways were lessened by tar-spraying. To widen and straighten the roads and get rid of blind corners and every steep gradient were tasks which had scarcely been tackled before 1914. the Situation was worst of all in towns where not only was any large scheme of road widening usually out of the question, but also where crowding and danger were all too frequently increased by the short-sighted eagerness of town authorities in laying down tramlines.

Yet, it was not only the road system that was in need of readjustment; the nervous system who used and dwelt by the road suffered. The noises caused by the conversion of the roads into speedways called for a corresponding lightening up of the nerves and especially I the towns, the pedestrian who wished to preserve life and limb was compelled to keep his attention continually on the stretch to practise himself in estimates of the speed of approaching vehicles and to run or jump for his life if he ventured off the pavement.

The question asks for the meaning of a phrase taken directly from the reading passage. The expression 'conquering the highway' is a figure of speech, meaning the motor car was becoming dominant and taking over the roads. The passage supports this by describing how carriages were 'disappearing' and roads 'awoke to feverish activity' with cars, which means motor cars were becoming a very common sight.

Common mistake: Students might wrongly choose option A because if cars are common, people must be driving them, but this is an assumption and not the direct meaning of the phrase 'conquering the highway'.

Before any detailed analysis begins, the first thing to do with the data is to check through the field record book and questionnaires for any 6, inconsistencies and incompleteness. In some cases, it may be possible to correct any discovered shortcomings. When it is possible to carry out these 7.

In most scientific 8 such revisits are clearly impossible. This is true of many surveys too. A road traffic survey 9 to find out the amount and frequency of daily traffic between two towns cannot be expected to be 10. There is no way of going back to check whether the number of vehicles reported for any particular hour is correct or not. With open- ended questions the 11 have to be classified into relatively small number of groups. The process of classifying answers and of sometimes identifying them by number and letter is called 12. When closed-ended questions are used, it is possible to code all the possible answers before they are actually received. This is called 13. What is done, a check through the answers for proper classification, numbering and lettering is still called for at this stage. This whole process of checking through questionnaires and notebooks is called 14. Collected data will eventually have to be used in drawing 15 and writing a report about the population from which it came.

This question type, known as a cloze test or fill-in-the-gap, tests your ability to understand the specific language (register) of a particular field, in this case, scientific research. The correct word must fit the meaning and tone of the passage. For question 6, the passage discusses checking procedures in research, so the most logical thing to check for in data is 'mistakes' or errors.

Common mistake: Students might choose 'records' because research involves keeping records, but the context implies checking for something wrong within those records, not just finding the records themselves.

Before any detailed analysis begins, the first thing to do with the data is to check through the field record book and questionnaires for any 6, inconsistencies and incompleteness. In some cases, it may be possible to correct any discovered shortcomings. When it is possible to carry out these 7.

In most scientific 8 such revisits are clearly impossible. This is true of many surveys too. A road traffic survey 9 to find out the amount and frequency of daily traffic between two towns cannot be expected to be 10. There is no way of going back to check whether the number of vehicles reported for any particular hour is correct or not. With open- ended questions the 11 have to be classified into relatively small number of groups. The process of classifying answers and of sometimes identifying them by number and letter is called 12. When closed-ended questions are used, it is possible to code all the possible answers before they are actually received. This is called 13. What is done, a check through the answers for proper classification, numbering and lettering is still called for at this stage. This whole process of checking through questionnaires and notebooks is called 14. Collected data will eventually have to be used in drawing 15 and writing a report about the population from which it came.

This question is from a cloze passage that tests your ability to choose the correct word based on the specific context. The passage is about scientific research, which has its own special vocabulary (this is called register). The sentence mentions that 'revisits are clearly impossible,' meaning you cannot go back to the experiment. Therefore, making 'corrections' or changes is the logical activity that is made impossible by the inability to revisit the work.

Common mistake: Students might mistakenly choose 'expectations' because scientific work involves having expectations, but they fail to see that the key clue 'revisits are impossible' points to an action you would perform during a revisit, which is making corrections.

Before any detailed analysis begins, the first thing to do with the data is to check through the field record book and questionnaires for any 6, inconsistencies and incompleteness. In some cases, it may be possible to correct any discovered shortcomings. When it is possible to carry out these 7.

In most scientific 8 such revisits are clearly impossible. This is true of many surveys too. A road traffic survey 9 to find out the amount and frequency of daily traffic between two towns cannot be expected to be 10. There is no way of going back to check whether the number of vehicles reported for any particular hour is correct or not. With open- ended questions the 11 have to be classified into relatively small number of groups. The process of classifying answers and of sometimes identifying them by number and letter is called 12. When closed-ended questions are used, it is possible to code all the possible answers before they are actually received. This is called 13. What is done, a check through the answers for proper classification, numbering and lettering is still called for at this stage. This whole process of checking through questionnaires and notebooks is called 14. Collected data will eventually have to be used in drawing 15 and writing a report about the population from which it came.

This question tests your ability to choose the correct word based on the specific context, which is the register of scientific research. The sentence needs a word for a scientific activity that cannot be perfectly repeated or revisited. An 'experiment' is a scientific procedure, and the passage explains that many experiments are unique events that cannot be recreated exactly, making it the most suitable option.

Common mistake: Students may wrongly choose 'questionnaires' because the passage mentions surveys and data collection, but 'experiment' is the broader and more fitting term for a scientific event that cannot be perfectly replicated.

Before any detailed analysis begins, the first thing to do with the data is to check through the field record book and questionnaires for any 6, inconsistencies and incompleteness. In some cases, it may be possible to correct any discovered shortcomings. When it is possible to carry out these 7.

In most scientific 8 such revisits are clearly impossible. This is true of many surveys too. A road traffic survey 9 to find out the amount and frequency of daily traffic between two towns cannot be expected to be 10. There is no way of going back to check whether the number of vehicles reported for any particular hour is correct or not. With open- ended questions the 11 have to be classified into relatively small number of groups. The process of classifying answers and of sometimes identifying them by number and letter is called 12. When closed-ended questions are used, it is possible to code all the possible answers before they are actually received. This is called 13. What is done, a check through the answers for proper classification, numbering and lettering is still called for at this stage. This whole process of checking through questionnaires and notebooks is called 14. Collected data will eventually have to be used in drawing 15 and writing a report about the population from which it came.

This question tests your knowledge of word combinations, also known as collocations. In English, the standard and correct verb used with the noun 'survey' is 'conduct'. Therefore, the phrase 'a road traffic survey conducted' is the most appropriate choice to show that the survey was carried out or performed.

Common mistake: Students might choose 'experimented' because the passage mentions scientific work, but this is incorrect as one conducts a survey, not experiments it.

Before any detailed analysis begins, the first thing to do with the data is to check through the field record book and questionnaires for any 6, inconsistencies and incompleteness. In some cases, it may be possible to correct any discovered shortcomings. When it is possible to carry out these 7.

In most scientific 8 such revisits are clearly impossible. This is true of many surveys too. A road traffic survey 9 to find out the amount and frequency of daily traffic between two towns cannot be expected to be 10. There is no way of going back to check whether the number of vehicles reported for any particular hour is correct or not. With open- ended questions the 11 have to be classified into relatively small number of groups. The process of classifying answers and of sometimes identifying them by number and letter is called 12. When closed-ended questions are used, it is possible to code all the possible answers before they are actually received. This is called 13. What is done, a check through the answers for proper classification, numbering and lettering is still called for at this stage. This whole process of checking through questionnaires and notebooks is called 14. Collected data will eventually have to be used in drawing 15 and writing a report about the population from which it came.

This question is from a cloze passage, which tests your ability to choose the best word to fit the meaning and context of a sentence. The passage states that some surveys cannot be revisited to check for correctness. The word 'reproducible' means something can be done or created again in exactly the same way. Therefore, a traffic survey cannot be 'reproducible' because you cannot go back in time to recount the vehicles.

Common mistake: A common mistake is choosing 'undertaken', but the sentence 'a survey... cannot be expected to be undertaken' would illogically mean that the survey cannot be carried out at all.

Before any detailed analysis begins, the first thing to do with the data is to check through the field record book and questionnaires for any 6, inconsistencies and incompleteness. In some cases, it may be possible to correct any discovered shortcomings. When it is possible to carry out these 7.

In most scientific 8 such revisits are clearly impossible. This is true of many surveys too. A road traffic survey 9 to find out the amount and frequency of daily traffic between two towns cannot be expected to be 10. There is no way of going back to check whether the number of vehicles reported for any particular hour is correct or not. With open- ended questions the 11 have to be classified into relatively small number of groups. The process of classifying answers and of sometimes identifying them by number and letter is called 12. When closed-ended questions are used, it is possible to code all the possible answers before they are actually received. This is called 13. What is done, a check through the answers for proper classification, numbering and lettering is still called for at this stage. This whole process of checking through questionnaires and notebooks is called 14. Collected data will eventually have to be used in drawing 15 and writing a report about the population from which it came.

The passage describes the process of handling data from surveys, which is a specific field or 'register'. When people answer 'open-ended questions', their answers are known as 'responses'. The sentence explains that these responses must then be classified into groups for analysis, making 'responses' the only logical and contextually appropriate word to fill the gap.

Common mistake: Students might mistakenly choose 'conclusions' because they are also part of the research process, but conclusions are drawn at the very end, long after the initial responses have been collected and classified.

Before any detailed analysis begins, the first thing to do with the data is to check through the field record book and questionnaires for any 6, inconsistencies and incompleteness. In some cases, it may be possible to correct any discovered shortcomings. When it is possible to carry out these 7.

In most scientific 8 such revisits are clearly impossible. This is true of many surveys too. A road traffic survey 9 to find out the amount and frequency of daily traffic between two towns cannot be expected to be 10. There is no way of going back to check whether the number of vehicles reported for any particular hour is correct or not. With open- ended questions the 11 have to be classified into relatively small number of groups. The process of classifying answers and of sometimes identifying them by number and letter is called 12. When closed-ended questions are used, it is possible to code all the possible answers before they are actually received. This is called 13. What is done, a check through the answers for proper classification, numbering and lettering is still called for at this stage. This whole process of checking through questionnaires and notebooks is called 14. Collected data will eventually have to be used in drawing 15 and writing a report about the population from which it came.

The question tests your knowledge of words used in a specific field, which is research. The passage defines a process of classifying answers into groups with numbers or letters for easier analysis. In the context of scientific research and surveys, this specific process is technically known as 'coding'. Therefore, 'coding' is the correct term that fits the definition given in the sentence.

Common mistake: Students may mistakenly choose 'recording' because it is a more common word for writing down information, but it lacks the specific meaning of classifying and assigning codes required by the research context.

Before any detailed analysis begins, the first thing to do with the data is to check through the field record book and questionnaires for any 6, inconsistencies and incompleteness. In some cases, it may be possible to correct any discovered shortcomings. When it is possible to carry out these 7.

In most scientific 8 such revisits are clearly impossible. This is true of many surveys too. A road traffic survey 9 to find out the amount and frequency of daily traffic between two towns cannot be expected to be 10. There is no way of going back to check whether the number of vehicles reported for any particular hour is correct or not. With open- ended questions the 11 have to be classified into relatively small number of groups. The process of classifying answers and of sometimes identifying them by number and letter is called 12. When closed-ended questions are used, it is possible to code all the possible answers before they are actually received. This is called 13. What is done, a check through the answers for proper classification, numbering and lettering is still called for at this stage. This whole process of checking through questionnaires and notebooks is called 14. Collected data will eventually have to be used in drawing 15 and writing a report about the population from which it came.

This question tests your knowledge of vocabulary used in the specific field of scientific research, which is known as register. The passage describes the process of assigning codes to answers before they are collected. 'Encoding' refers to the general process of converting information into a coded format, which fits the action of preparing possible answers for data entry.

Common mistake: Many students mistakenly choose 'precoding' because the word 'before' in the sentence logically connects to the prefix 'pre-', making it a very strong and contextually appropriate distractor.

Before any detailed analysis begins, the first thing to do with the data is to check through the field record book and questionnaires for any 6, inconsistencies and incompleteness. In some cases, it may be possible to correct any discovered shortcomings. When it is possible to carry out these 7.

In most scientific 8 such revisits are clearly impossible. This is true of many surveys too. A road traffic survey 9 to find out the amount and frequency of daily traffic between two towns cannot be expected to be 10. There is no way of going back to check whether the number of vehicles reported for any particular hour is correct or not. With open- ended questions the 11 have to be classified into relatively small number of groups. The process of classifying answers and of sometimes identifying them by number and letter is called 12. When closed-ended questions are used, it is possible to code all the possible answers before they are actually received. This is called 13. What is done, a check through the answers for proper classification, numbering and lettering is still called for at this stage. This whole process of checking through questionnaires and notebooks is called 14. Collected data will eventually have to be used in drawing 15 and writing a report about the population from which it came.

This question tests your understanding of words used in a specific field, which is known as register. The passage is about the process of conducting scientific surveys. In this context, the specific term for checking through collected data in questionnaires and notebooks for errors and completeness is 'editing'.

Common mistake: Students might mistakenly choose 'auditing' because it also means to check or inspect, but this term is more commonly used for financial accounts, not for checking research questionnaires.

Before any detailed analysis begins, the first thing to do with the data is to check through the field record book and questionnaires for any 6, inconsistencies and incompleteness. In some cases, it may be possible to correct any discovered shortcomings. When it is possible to carry out these 7.

In most scientific 8 such revisits are clearly impossible. This is true of many surveys too. A road traffic survey 9 to find out the amount and frequency of daily traffic between two towns cannot be expected to be 10. There is no way of going back to check whether the number of vehicles reported for any particular hour is correct or not. With open- ended questions the 11 have to be classified into relatively small number of groups. The process of classifying answers and of sometimes identifying them by number and letter is called 12. When closed-ended questions are used, it is possible to code all the possible answers before they are actually received. This is called 13. What is done, a check through the answers for proper classification, numbering and lettering is still called for at this stage. This whole process of checking through questionnaires and notebooks is called 14. Collected data will eventually have to be used in drawing 15 and writing a report about the population from which it came.

The passage describes the process of scientific research and surveys. In this specific academic context, after data has been collected and checked, the next logical step is to interpret it to make a final judgement. The standard and correct English phrase for this action is 'drawing conclusions', which means to decide what the collected information means.

Common mistake: Students might mistakenly choose 'references' because reports often contain a list of references, but the correct phrase for interpreting data is 'drawing conclusions', not 'drawing references'.

It is possible to have a glimpse of life after death. Man has always believed in an afterlife but only today do we have scientific reports of people who seem to have experienced the sensation of dying but lived to tell about it. On-going research is documenting hundreds of cases each year of the near-death experience (NDE), and scientists think they are finding a clearly identifiable pattern: usually a man is dying and as he reaches the point of greatest physical distress, he hears himself pronounced dead by his doctor. He begins to hear an uncomfortable noise, a loud ringing or buzzing and at the same time feels himself moving very rapidly through a long dark tunnel. After this he suddenly finds himself outside of his own physical body, but still in the immediate physical environment and he sees his own body from a distance as though he is a spectator. He watches the resuscitation attempt from this unusual vantage point and is in a state of emotional upheaval.

After a while, he collects himself and becomes more accustomed to his odd condition. He notices that he still has a ‘body’, but one of a very different nature and with very different powers from the physical body he has left behind. Soon after, things begin to happen. Others come to meet and to help him. He glimpses the spirits of relatives and friends who have already died, and a loving, warming spirit of a kind he has never encountered before- a being of light- appears before him. This being asks him a question, non-verbally- to make him evaluate his life- and helps him along by showing him a panoramic instantaneous playback of the major events of his life. Then he finds that he must go back to earth that the time for his death has not yet come. At this point he resists, for by now he is taken up with his experiences in the afterlife and does not want to return. He is overwhelmed by intense feelings of joy, love and peace. Despite his attitude, though, he somehow reunites with his physical body and lives.

The question asks for the reason behind the 'playback' of the man's life. The passage explicitly states that the being of light showed him this playback 'to make him evaluate his life'. Option A, which says he has to 'assess his deeds in life', is another way of saying he needs to 'evaluate his life', making it the correct answer directly supported by the text.

Common mistake: Students might mistakenly choose option C because the man is in a new state looking at his past, but the passage specifically states the purpose of the playback was for evaluation ('assess his deeds'), not just to see a difference.

It is possible to have a glimpse of life after death. Man has always believed in an afterlife but only today do we have scientific reports of people who seem to have experienced the sensation of dying but lived to tell about it. On-going research is documenting hundreds of cases each year of the near-death experience (NDE), and scientists think they are finding a clearly identifiable pattern: usually a man is dying and as he reaches the point of greatest physical distress, he hears himself pronounced dead by his doctor. He begins to hear an uncomfortable noise, a loud ringing or buzzing and at the same time feels himself moving very rapidly through a long dark tunnel. After this he suddenly finds himself outside of his own physical body, but still in the immediate physical environment and he sees his own body from a distance as though he is a spectator. He watches the resuscitation attempt from this unusual vantage point and is in a state of emotional upheaval.

After a while, he collects himself and becomes more accustomed to his odd condition. He notices that he still has a ‘body’, but one of a very different nature and with very different powers from the physical body he has left behind. Soon after, things begin to happen. Others come to meet and to help him. He glimpses the spirits of relatives and friends who have already died, and a loving, warming spirit of a kind he has never encountered before- a being of light- appears before him. This being asks him a question, non-verbally- to make him evaluate his life- and helps him along by showing him a panoramic instantaneous playback of the major events of his life. Then he finds that he must go back to earth that the time for his death has not yet come. At this point he resists, for by now he is taken up with his experiences in the afterlife and does not want to return. He is overwhelmed by intense feelings of joy, love and peace. Despite his attitude, though, he somehow reunites with his physical body and lives.

The correct answer is B because the passage states that the man gets a new 'body' with a 'very different nature and with very different powers'. This new, non-physical form is the reason he can only observe the resuscitation attempts from a distance like a spectator, as he cannot participate in the physical world.

Common mistake: Students might mistakenly choose option C, but this only describes what a spectator does (watch events unfold) rather than explaining the reason *why* he became one, which the question asks for.

It is possible to have a glimpse of life after death. Man has always believed in an afterlife but only today do we have scientific reports of people who seem to have experienced the sensation of dying but lived to tell about it. On-going research is documenting hundreds of cases each year of the near-death experience (NDE), and scientists think they are finding a clearly identifiable pattern: usually a man is dying and as he reaches the point of greatest physical distress, he hears himself pronounced dead by his doctor. He begins to hear an uncomfortable noise, a loud ringing or buzzing and at the same time feels himself moving very rapidly through a long dark tunnel. After this he suddenly finds himself outside of his own physical body, but still in the immediate physical environment and he sees his own body from a distance as though he is a spectator. He watches the resuscitation attempt from this unusual vantage point and is in a state of emotional upheaval.

After a while, he collects himself and becomes more accustomed to his odd condition. He notices that he still has a ‘body’, but one of a very different nature and with very different powers from the physical body he has left behind. Soon after, things begin to happen. Others come to meet and to help him. He glimpses the spirits of relatives and friends who have already died, and a loving, warming spirit of a kind he has never encountered before- a being of light- appears before him. This being asks him a question, non-verbally- to make him evaluate his life- and helps him along by showing him a panoramic instantaneous playback of the major events of his life. Then he finds that he must go back to earth that the time for his death has not yet come. At this point he resists, for by now he is taken up with his experiences in the afterlife and does not want to return. He is overwhelmed by intense feelings of joy, love and peace. Despite his attitude, though, he somehow reunites with his physical body and lives.

The question asks what scientific evidence has made possible, according to the passage. The passage clearly states that '...we have scientific reports of people who seem to have experienced the sensation of dying but lived to tell about it.' This directly supports the idea that people who were considered dead have returned and shared their experiences, which is what option A says.

Common mistake: Students might mistakenly choose option C, but the passage's main point is that this new knowledge comes specifically from people who returned to share their stories, making option A the more precise cause described.

It is possible to have a glimpse of life after death. Man has always believed in an afterlife but only today do we have scientific reports of people who seem to have experienced the sensation of dying but lived to tell about it. On-going research is documenting hundreds of cases each year of the near-death experience (NDE), and scientists think they are finding a clearly identifiable pattern: usually a man is dying and as he reaches the point of greatest physical distress, he hears himself pronounced dead by his doctor. He begins to hear an uncomfortable noise, a loud ringing or buzzing and at the same time feels himself moving very rapidly through a long dark tunnel. After this he suddenly finds himself outside of his own physical body, but still in the immediate physical environment and he sees his own body from a distance as though he is a spectator. He watches the resuscitation attempt from this unusual vantage point and is in a state of emotional upheaval.

After a while, he collects himself and becomes more accustomed to his odd condition. He notices that he still has a ‘body’, but one of a very different nature and with very different powers from the physical body he has left behind. Soon after, things begin to happen. Others come to meet and to help him. He glimpses the spirits of relatives and friends who have already died, and a loving, warming spirit of a kind he has never encountered before- a being of light- appears before him. This being asks him a question, non-verbally- to make him evaluate his life- and helps him along by showing him a panoramic instantaneous playback of the major events of his life. Then he finds that he must go back to earth that the time for his death has not yet come. At this point he resists, for by now he is taken up with his experiences in the afterlife and does not want to return. He is overwhelmed by intense feelings of joy, love and peace. Despite his attitude, though, he somehow reunites with his physical body and lives.

This question tests your ability to identify the main idea of the passage and select the most fitting title. The passage describes the near-death experience, which the very first sentence introduces as 'a glimpse of life after death'. Option A, 'a glimpse into the world of the dead', perfectly captures this central theme of getting a brief, temporary view of the afterlife.

Common mistake: Students might wrongly select option C, 'research into the lives of the dead,' because the word 'research' appears in the passage, but the text's main focus is the experience itself, not the scientific study of it.

It is possible to have a glimpse of life after death. Man has always believed in an afterlife but only today do we have scientific reports of people who seem to have experienced the sensation of dying but lived to tell about it. On-going research is documenting hundreds of cases each year of the near-death experience (NDE), and scientists think they are finding a clearly identifiable pattern: usually a man is dying and as he reaches the point of greatest physical distress, he hears himself pronounced dead by his doctor. He begins to hear an uncomfortable noise, a loud ringing or buzzing and at the same time feels himself moving very rapidly through a long dark tunnel. After this he suddenly finds himself outside of his own physical body, but still in the immediate physical environment and he sees his own body from a distance as though he is a spectator. He watches the resuscitation attempt from this unusual vantage point and is in a state of emotional upheaval.

After a while, he collects himself and becomes more accustomed to his odd condition. He notices that he still has a ‘body’, but one of a very different nature and with very different powers from the physical body he has left behind. Soon after, things begin to happen. Others come to meet and to help him. He glimpses the spirits of relatives and friends who have already died, and a loving, warming spirit of a kind he has never encountered before- a being of light- appears before him. This being asks him a question, non-verbally- to make him evaluate his life- and helps him along by showing him a panoramic instantaneous playback of the major events of his life. Then he finds that he must go back to earth that the time for his death has not yet come. At this point he resists, for by now he is taken up with his experiences in the afterlife and does not want to return. He is overwhelmed by intense feelings of joy, love and peace. Despite his attitude, though, he somehow reunites with his physical body and lives.

This question asks for the meaning of the phrase 'the point of greatest physical distress' as used in the passage. The passage states that immediately after this point, the man 'hears himself pronounced dead'. This shows that the 'greatest physical distress' is the final moment of bodily function before clinical death, which is best described as the man's system finally collapsing.

Common mistake: Students may wrongly choose option B, 'his condition seems to get worse', but the word 'greatest' signifies the final, most extreme point, not just a process of getting worse.

The emergence of a standard dialect produces the phenomenon known as ‘accent’ which is quite different from dialect. In the process of learning a foreign language, it is normal to transfer the patterns of an indigenous language to those of the foreign language. With time, however those of form and most of orthography and phonology gradually get eliminated. This is because these can easily be identified and corrected. They are easy to correct because they do not involve patterns of muscular movement. It is necessary to correct them because otherwise they could seriously impair intelligibility.

With phonetic patterns, on the other hand, there is a great deal of intelligibility tolerance because muscular patterns are involved thus making correction difficult when observed. Besides, phonetic patterns do not impair intelligibility much. Hence the transference of phonetic habits from one language to another is both easier to tolerate and more difficult to avoid than transference at the lexico-grammatical level. It follows that a speaker who is learning a second dialect does so with an accent since the muscles of his speech organs would have crystallized in response to the phonetics of his native language which he learnt first. The speaker therefore speaks the second dialect with the phonetic features of his native dialect. The learning of a standard language is simply the learning of a second dialect- that which has been standardized.

Members of a language community control at least two dialects and use both dialects in different situations. In the rural areas, the native dialect is used in most situations since there is less movement. Therefore, rural dwellers tend to be parochial and maintain the homogeneity of their dialect. In the urban community, on the other hand, there is more demand on the standard dialect than on the rural one. This is because people from different regions converge here. In order to ensure mutual intelligibility resulting from the pressure of communication, a great deal of demand is made on the standard dialect which now becomes the lingua frenca amongst them.

This question tests your ability to identify what a pronoun refers to in a text. The passage states that a speaker transfers 'the patterns of an indigenous language' to a foreign one. The word 'those' is used as a substitute for these patterns that are transferred. Since these patterns originate from the speaker's native language, the pronoun 'those' ultimately refers back to the indigenous languages as their source.

Common mistake: Students often mistakenly choose 'patterns of an indigenous language' because the pronoun 'those' directly replaces the word 'patterns', but the question requires identifying the broader source of these patterns.

The emergence of a standard dialect produces the phenomenon known as ‘accent’ which is quite different from dialect. In the process of learning a foreign language, it is normal to transfer the patterns of an indigenous language to those of the foreign language. With time, however those of form and most of orthography and phonology gradually get eliminated. This is because these can easily be identified and corrected. They are easy to correct because they do not involve patterns of muscular movement. It is necessary to correct them because otherwise they could seriously impair intelligibility.

With phonetic patterns, on the other hand, there is a great deal of intelligibility tolerance because muscular patterns are involved thus making correction difficult when observed. Besides, phonetic patterns do not impair intelligibility much. Hence the transference of phonetic habits from one language to another is both easier to tolerate and more difficult to avoid than transference at the lexico-grammatical level. It follows that a speaker who is learning a second dialect does so with an accent since the muscles of his speech organs would have crystallized in response to the phonetics of his native language which he learnt first. The speaker therefore speaks the second dialect with the phonetic features of his native dialect. The learning of a standard language is simply the learning of a second dialect- that which has been standardized.

Members of a language community control at least two dialects and use both dialects in different situations. In the rural areas, the native dialect is used in most situations since there is less movement. Therefore, rural dwellers tend to be parochial and maintain the homogeneity of their dialect. In the urban community, on the other hand, there is more demand on the standard dialect than on the rural one. This is because people from different regions converge here. In order to ensure mutual intelligibility resulting from the pressure of communication, a great deal of demand is made on the standard dialect which now becomes the lingua frenca amongst them.

The question asks for the reason why phonetic patterns are tolerated, based on the passage. The passage states that these patterns have 'a great deal of intelligibility tolerance because muscular patterns are involved thus making correction difficult'. It also says the transference of these habits is 'more difficult to avoid'. Option A, 'they are involved and difficult to avoid', correctly summarises these two points given in the text as the reason for the tolerance.

Common mistake: Students might wrongly choose option D because it lifts a phrase almost directly from the text, but this phrase describes the outcome rather than the fundamental reason which is rooted in the difficulty of changing muscular patterns.

The emergence of a standard dialect produces the phenomenon known as ‘accent’ which is quite different from dialect. In the process of learning a foreign language, it is normal to transfer the patterns of an indigenous language to those of the foreign language. With time, however those of form and most of orthography and phonology gradually get eliminated. This is because these can easily be identified and corrected. They are easy to correct because they do not involve patterns of muscular movement. It is necessary to correct them because otherwise they could seriously impair intelligibility.

With phonetic patterns, on the other hand, there is a great deal of intelligibility tolerance because muscular patterns are involved thus making correction difficult when observed. Besides, phonetic patterns do not impair intelligibility much. Hence the transference of phonetic habits from one language to another is both easier to tolerate and more difficult to avoid than transference at the lexico-grammatical level. It follows that a speaker who is learning a second dialect does so with an accent since the muscles of his speech organs would have crystallized in response to the phonetics of his native language which he learnt first. The speaker therefore speaks the second dialect with the phonetic features of his native dialect. The learning of a standard language is simply the learning of a second dialect- that which has been standardized.

Members of a language community control at least two dialects and use both dialects in different situations. In the rural areas, the native dialect is used in most situations since there is less movement. Therefore, rural dwellers tend to be parochial and maintain the homogeneity of their dialect. In the urban community, on the other hand, there is more demand on the standard dialect than on the rural one. This is because people from different regions converge here. In order to ensure mutual intelligibility resulting from the pressure of communication, a great deal of demand is made on the standard dialect which now becomes the lingua frenca amongst them.

The question asks what is true based on the passage. The passage explains that in urban areas, people from different regions use the standard dialect to communicate effectively. The final sentence explicitly states that this demand on the standard dialect causes it to become the 'lingua franca', which is a common language. Therefore, the lingua franca is a direct result or consequence of the standard dialect being used.

Common mistake: Students might wrongly choose option C, linking 'pressure of communication' directly to 'mutual intelligibility', but the passage shows that the standard dialect is the necessary step in between that ensures intelligibility.

The emergence of a standard dialect produces the phenomenon known as ‘accent’ which is quite different from dialect. In the process of learning a foreign language, it is normal to transfer the patterns of an indigenous language to those of the foreign language. With time, however those of form and most of orthography and phonology gradually get eliminated. This is because these can easily be identified and corrected. They are easy to correct because they do not involve patterns of muscular movement. It is necessary to correct them because otherwise they could seriously impair intelligibility.

With phonetic patterns, on the other hand, there is a great deal of intelligibility tolerance because muscular patterns are involved thus making correction difficult when observed. Besides, phonetic patterns do not impair intelligibility much. Hence the transference of phonetic habits from one language to another is both easier to tolerate and more difficult to avoid than transference at the lexico-grammatical level. It follows that a speaker who is learning a second dialect does so with an accent since the muscles of his speech organs would have crystallized in response to the phonetics of his native language which he learnt first. The speaker therefore speaks the second dialect with the phonetic features of his native dialect. The learning of a standard language is simply the learning of a second dialect- that which has been standardized.

Members of a language community control at least two dialects and use both dialects in different situations. In the rural areas, the native dialect is used in most situations since there is less movement. Therefore, rural dwellers tend to be parochial and maintain the homogeneity of their dialect. In the urban community, on the other hand, there is more demand on the standard dialect than on the rural one. This is because people from different regions converge here. In order to ensure mutual intelligibility resulting from the pressure of communication, a great deal of demand is made on the standard dialect which now becomes the lingua frenca amongst them.

This question requires you to find the main idea of the entire passage and choose the best title. The passage explains the whole process of how a standard language or dialect is formed and why it becomes necessary, especially in urban areas. While it talks about 'accent' and 'lingua franca', these are just parts of the bigger topic, which is the emergence of a standard language.

Common mistake: Students might wrongly choose 'the phenomenon of accent' because the passage explains it in detail, but this is only one aspect used to explain the broader process of learning and using a standard language.

The emergence of a standard dialect produces the phenomenon known as ‘accent’ which is quite different from dialect. In the process of learning a foreign language, it is normal to transfer the patterns of an indigenous language to those of the foreign language. With time, however those of form and most of orthography and phonology gradually get eliminated. This is because these can easily be identified and corrected. They are easy to correct because they do not involve patterns of muscular movement. It is necessary to correct them because otherwise they could seriously impair intelligibility.

With phonetic patterns, on the other hand, there is a great deal of intelligibility tolerance because muscular patterns are involved thus making correction difficult when observed. Besides, phonetic patterns do not impair intelligibility much. Hence the transference of phonetic habits from one language to another is both easier to tolerate and more difficult to avoid than transference at the lexico-grammatical level. It follows that a speaker who is learning a second dialect does so with an accent since the muscles of his speech organs would have crystallized in response to the phonetics of his native language which he learnt first. The speaker therefore speaks the second dialect with the phonetic features of his native dialect. The learning of a standard language is simply the learning of a second dialect- that which has been standardized.

Members of a language community control at least two dialects and use both dialects in different situations. In the rural areas, the native dialect is used in most situations since there is less movement. Therefore, rural dwellers tend to be parochial and maintain the homogeneity of their dialect. In the urban community, on the other hand, there is more demand on the standard dialect than on the rural one. This is because people from different regions converge here. In order to ensure mutual intelligibility resulting from the pressure of communication, a great deal of demand is made on the standard dialect which now becomes the lingua frenca amongst them.

The question asks for the reason why members of a language community control at least two dialects. The passage explains that in urban areas, 'people from different regions converge' and this creates a 'pressure of communication'. To be understood by everyone, they must learn and use the standard dialect in addition to their native one, which directly supports option B.

Common mistake: Students may wrongly select option D because the passage mentions both rural and urban dwellers, but this is just a description of the community, not the direct reason for individuals needing to learn a second dialect.