JAMB English Language 2007 Past Questions & Answers

The word 'deprecated' means to express strong disapproval of something. In the context of the sentence, someone is trying to remove the man from his position ('unseat him'). His reaction of deprecating the attempts implies not just speaking against it, but actively opposing it. Therefore, 'resisted', which means to fight against or oppose an action, is the nearest in meaning in this situation.

Common mistake: Many students might choose 'condemned' because it is a direct synonym for 'deprecated', but 'resisted' better captures the idea of taking action against the attempts, not just verbally disapproving of them.

The instruction asks for the nearest meaning, which is a synonym. To 'reverse' a decision means to cancel it or make it void. The word 'rescinded' also means to officially cancel or take back a decision, law, or agreement, making it the best fit. The workers want the management to officially cancel the unpopular decision.

Common mistake: Students often mistakenly choose 'reverted' because it sounds very similar to 'reversed', but to 'revert' means to return to a previous state or condition, not to cancel a decision.

The word 'depraved' describes someone who is morally corrupt and wicked. While such a person is also 'immoral', the word 'depraved' suggests a level of wickedness that can lead to dangerous actions. Since the police are involved, their concern is likely about the physical threat these people pose, making 'violent' the nearest meaning in this specific situation.

Common mistake: Students often choose 'immoral' because it is a direct synonym for 'depraved', but they miss the contextual clue from 'the police' which suggests a concern with physical danger or violence.

The phrase 'in ignorance' means that the person who made the criticism did not have the correct facts or information. The word 'uninformed' means exactly the same thing - lacking information or awareness. Therefore, a criticism made 'in ignorance' is an uninformed one, as it was made without proper knowledge.

Common mistake: Students might mistakenly choose 'objective', but this is an antonym, as an objective criticism is based on facts, whereas one made in ignorance is not.

The question asks for the option nearest in meaning to 'fended off', which is a test of synonyms. The phrase 'fended off' means to avoid or deflect something unwanted, like difficult questions. In the sentence, the businessman skillfully avoided answering questions about his private life, so 'sidestepped', which also means to avoid a topic, is the correct synonym.

Common mistake: A common mistake is choosing 'explained', as students might think a clever ('astute') person would give explanations, but 'fended off' means the opposite—he avoided answering.

The word 'recriminations' means angry accusations that people make against each other, especially when one person accuses another in response to being accused first. It is like an 'accusation in return'. The option 'counter-charges' perfectly captures this meaning of making a charge or accusation back at someone who has already made one.

Common mistake: Students often mistakenly choose 'accusation' because a recrimination is a type of accusation, but they miss the key detail that it is an accusation made in *response* to another one.

The word 'perennial' describes something that is persistent, long-lasting, or happens repeatedly over a long period. A 'perennial problem' is therefore a problem that keeps coming back or reoccurring. The option 'a recurring' directly means happening again and again, making it the nearest in meaning. Note: The correct answer for this question is 'a recurring', not 'an annual' as stated in the prompt.

Common mistake: Students sometimes mistakenly choose 'annual' because perennial plants are linked to years, but the general meaning of 'perennial' when describing a problem is simply 'recurring' or 'enduring', not strictly yearly.

The word 'verve' means to have great energy, spirit, and enthusiasm. In the sentence, the boys admire Olu for this lively quality. Therefore, 'energy' is the option that is nearest in meaning to 'verve'.

Common mistake: Students might mistakenly choose 'intelligence' because it is a positive quality that people admire, but 'verve' specifically relates to energy and enthusiasm, not mental ability.

The word 'hackneyed' describes something that is overused, unoriginal, and no longer interesting. In the sentence, a 'hackneyed view of life' refers to an old and tired perspective. The word 'obsolete' means out of date or no longer in use. Therefore, 'obsolete' is the nearest in meaning to 'hackneyed' as both words refer to something that is old and outdated.

Common mistake: Students might mistakenly choose 'principled' because the phrase 'holds on firmly' suggests a strong conviction, which can be associated with having principles.

The phrase 'umpteen times' is an informal expression used to mean a very large or uncountable number of times. It suggests that something happened very frequently. Of the choices given, 'often' is the word that best captures this meaning of happening many times or frequently.

Common mistake: Students might mistakenly choose 'occasionally' because it also describes a frequency, but it means 'sometimes' or 'infrequently', which is the opposite of the 'very many times' implied by 'umpteen'.

The question requires you to find the word that is closest in meaning to 'intolerable'. The word 'intolerable' means something is too difficult, painful, or extreme to be endured. Option C, 'insupportable', means something that cannot be supported or borne. Therefore, an intolerable debt is one that has become insupportable for the company to manage.

Common mistake: Students might wrongly choose 'dangerous' because an intolerable debt is indeed a dangerous situation for a company, but 'dangerous' describes a potential outcome, not the direct meaning of being unbearable.

The word 'concession' means something that is granted or allowed, often as a special privilege or in response to a demand. In this sentence, the tax rebate is a special financial benefit given to the civil servants. 'An allowance' is the best option because it also means an amount of something, like money, that is permitted or given for a particular purpose, which perfectly describes the tax rebate.

Common mistake: Students often mistakenly choose 'an incentive' because a concession can motivate people, but the direct meaning of 'concession' in this context is a special allowance, not the motivation it provides.

The phrase 'beads of sweat' describes small, round drops of sweat. The sentence says these drops 'ran down' her arm, which means they joined together to form little streams as they flowed. A 'rivulet' is a very small stream of liquid, making it the best description for sweat flowing down the skin. The other options like 'pools' or 'ponds' suggest a large, still body of liquid, which doesn't fit the context of movement.

Common mistake: Students might mistakenly choose 'Pools' because it also refers to a collection of liquid, but a pool is stationary while the sentence describes the sweat as moving or 'running down'.

In the sentence, the word 'drowned' means the noise was so loud that the sound of the keyboard could not be heard. To 'neutralize' something is to cancel out its effect, making it seem like it is not there. Therefore, the loud noise neutralized the keyboard's sound, making 'neutralized' the best option that is nearest in meaning.

Common mistake: Students often mistakenly choose 'overshadowed' because it also suggests one thing is more prominent than another, but 'drowned' implies a complete cancellation of the sound, which 'neutralized' captures more accurately.

The word 'precarious' describes a situation that is not secure and is dangerously likely to get worse. In the sentence, the economic situation is described as unstable and risky. The option that best captures this meaning of being insecure and dependent on chance is 'uncertain'.

Common mistake: Students might mistakenly choose 'unattractive' because a bad economic situation is indeed unattractive, but this describes a quality of the situation rather than its core meaning of being unstable and insecure.

The underlined letter 's' in the word 'shoes' is pronounced with a voiced /z/ sound, similar to the buzzing of a bee. This is because it follows a vowel sound. When you check the options, the 's' in 'reason' is also pronounced with the same /z/ sound, making it the correct choice.

Common mistake: Many students mistakenly choose 'horse' or 'house' because they see the letter 's' and automatically think of the voiceless /s/ sound, forgetting that it can also be pronounced as /z/ in certain contexts.

The underlined letters 'ng' in 'English' represent the consonant sound /ŋ/, which is the sound you hear at the end of words like 'sing' or 'bring'. The word 'think' also contains this same /ŋ/ sound, represented by the letter 'n' before the 'k'. Therefore, 'think' has the same consonant sound as the one in 'English'.

Common mistake: Students often mistakenly choose 'end' because they see the letter 'n', but they fail to recognise that the sound /n/ in 'end' is different from the /ŋ/ sound in 'English'.

The underlined letters 'ths' in the word 'clothse' represent the voiced 'th' sound, phonetically written as /ð/. To find the correct option, you must look for a word that also contains this sound. The word 'they' begins with the same voiced /ð/ sound, making it the correct answer.

Common mistake: Students often mistakenly choose 'three' or 'mouth' because they see the letters 'th', but they fail to distinguish between the voiced /ð/ sound in 'clothse' and the voiceless /θ/ sound in those words.

The question requires you to identify the word with the same vowel sound as the underlined part of 'postable'. The letters 'os' in 'postable' are pronounced with the short vowel sound /ɒ/, like in 'hot' or 'orange'. The word 'pot' in option B is the only option that shares this exact /ɒ/ sound, making it the correct answer.

Common mistake: Students may mistakenly choose 'post' because it is spelled similarly to the root of 'postable', but they have different vowel sounds (/ɒ/ versus /əʊ/).

The underlined letters 'ues' in the word 'blues' are pronounced with a long vowel sound, phonetically written as /u:/. This is the same sound you hear in words like 'food' or 'school'. Looking at the options, the word 'root' also contains this same long /u:/ sound, making it the correct answer.

Common mistake: Students often confuse the long /u:/ sound (as in 'blues') with the short /ʊ/ sound (as in 'put'), leading them to incorrectly choose options like 'look' or 'book' because of the similar 'oo' spelling.

The question asks you to identify the word with the same vowel sound as in 'pears'. Based on the intended answer, the target sound is the diphthong /ɪə/, which is the sound in 'ear'. To find the correct option, you must listen for this /ɪə/ sound. The word 'dear' is pronounced with this exact vowel sound, making it the correct answer.

Common mistake: A common mistake is choosing 'there' because its vowel sound /eə/ can be confused with the target sound /ɪə/ found in 'dear'.

The word 'transit' describes something that is temporary or for a short period, especially while passing through a place. A transit camp is a temporary camp for people on their way to a final destination. The direct opposite of something temporary is something 'permanent', which means lasting for a very long time or forever.

Common mistake: Students often mistakenly choose 'temporary' because it is a synonym (has a similar meaning) for 'transit', but the question specifically asks for the opposite meaning.

The word 'redeem' means to get something back, especially by paying a debt. In the sentence, the man is paying to get his mortgaged property back. The opposite action is to give the property away as security for a loan, which is what 'pawn' means. Therefore, 'pawn' is the correct opposite of 'redeem'.

Common mistake: Students might mistakenly choose 'recover' because it is a synonym for 'redeem', but the question asks for the word that is opposite in meaning.

The word 'munificent' means to be very generous, especially with money. The question asks for the word that is opposite in meaning to 'munificent'. The word 'niggardly' means to be stingy or not generous. Therefore, 'niggardly' is the correct opposite of 'munificent'.

Common mistake: Students might mistakenly choose 'wealthy' because they associate generosity with having a lot of money, but the question asks for the opposite meaning, not a related idea.

The question asks for the word opposite in meaning to 'shrill'. A 'shrill' voice is very high-pitched, sharp, and piercing, which means it is very clear and noticeable. The opposite would be a sound that is not clear or easily heard, which is what 'indistinct' means.

Common mistake: Students might mistakenly choose 'quiet' because a shrill voice is often loud, but 'shrill' refers to the high, sharp quality of the sound, while 'indistinct' is the direct opposite of its clarity.