ENGLISH REVISION

PASSAGE 1: Read the following passage carefully and answer the following questions by
selecting the most appropriate option:

An owl is a bird. There are two basic types of owls: typical owls and bam owls. Owls live in
almost every country of the world. Owls are mostly nocturnal, meaning they are awake at night.
Owls are predators—they hunt the food that they eat. Owls hunt for mice and other small
mammals, insects and even fish. Owls are well adapted for hunting. Their soft, fluffy feathers
make their flight nearly silent. They have very good hearing which helps them to hunt well in
the darkness. The sharp hooked beaks and claws of the owl make it very easy to tear apart their
prey quickly, although owls also eat some prey whole.

Owl’s eyes are unusual. Like most predators, both the eyes of the owl face front. The owl
cannot move its eyes. Owls are far—sighted, which means they can see very well far away……….
but they can’t see close very well at all. Fortunately, their distant vision is what they use for
hunting and they can see far away even in low light. Owls have facial disks around their eyes,
tufts of feathers in a circle around each eye. These facial disks are thought to help the Owl’s
hearing. Owls can turn their heads 180 degrees. This makes it look like they might be able to
turn their heads all the way around, but 180 degrees is all the owl needs to see what’s going on
all around it. Perhaps because of the Owl’s mysterious appearance, especially its round eyes
and flexible neck, there are a lot of myths and superstitions about owls. Many cultures believe
that owls are unusually wise. Because owls are nocturnal, some cultures associate owls with
bad omens. The screech of the bam owl is considered by many to sound eerily human, like a
person screaming. However, owls probably do not interact with the fates of humans at all. In
fact, some owl species may become extinct because of humans.

QUESTIONS

1. Which of the following is not true about A. to entertain

owls? B. to inform
A. Owls eat small animals C. to persuade
B. Owls are able to fly silently D. none of these
C. Owls have the best hearing of all E. to teach
birds
D. Owls have poor vision
E. Owls are not good

2. The eyesight of the owl is used

for……………..
A. flying
B. hunting
C. sleeping 4. Title for this story can be…………..
D. none of these A. owls hunt at night
E. chanting B. owls can fly silently
3. The purpose of this short article C. owls are interesting animals
is……………. D. owls have flexible necks
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 E. owls don’t work C. Most owls hunt for food during
5. Which of the following is true? the day.
A. The facial disks of the owl help D. Owls are dangerous to humans.
them to see. E. Owls hang
B. Owls have a strong, bent beak.

PASSAGE 2: CHECKPOINT

The time when the rains didn’t come for three months and the sun was a yellow furnace in the
sky was known as the Great Drought in Trinidad. It happened when everyone was expecting the
sky to burst open with rain to fill the dry streams and water the parched earth.

But each day was the same; the sun rose early in a blue sky, and all day long the farmers lifted
their eyes, wondering what had happened to Parjanya, the rain god. They rested on their hoes
and forks and wrung perspiration from their clothes, seeing no hope in labour, terrified by the
thought that if no rain fell soon they would lose their crops and livestock and face starvation
and death.

In the tiny village of Las Lomas, somewhere in the field, a cow mooed mournfully, sniffing
around for a bit of green in the cracked earth. The field was a desolation of drought. The trees
were naked and barks peeled off trunks as if they were diseased. When the wind blew, it was
heavy and unrelieving, as if the heat had taken all the spirit out of it.

Bush fires had swept Las Lomas and left the garden plots charred and smoking. Cattle were
dropping dead in the heat. There was scarcely any water in the village; the river was dry with
scummy mud.

But suddenly silence and darkness fell together. A large black blob of cloud blotted out the
moon. The sky was thick with clouds piling up on each other and there was a new coolness in
the wind. The sky grew black; it looked as if the moon had never been there. The wind died like
a sigh. A low rumble in the east – then silence. Perhaps Parijanya was having a joke with them;
perhaps there would be no rain after all.

And then it came sweeping in from the north-east, with a rising wind. Not very heavy at first,
but in thrusts, coming and going. The villagers opened their mouths and laughed, and water fell
in. They shouted and cried and laughed again. Their cheeks were streaming, perhaps with tears,
perhaps with Parijanya’s rain.

QUESTIONS

6. What does great drought in Trinidad naked…….” is an example of

refer to? ……………………..
A. Period of heavy rainfall A. hyperbole
B. Farmers’ harvest B. oxymoron
C. Winter C. alliteration
D. Three months without rains D. irony
E. Welcoming of planting season E. personification
7. The expression “the trees were
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 clouds piling up …” signifies
…………………………
A. the arrival of the gods
B. the eclipse of the sun
C. the arrival of a new born baby
D. nightfall in Las Lomas
E. the coming of the rain
8. Which of these villages experienced 10. The villagers show their happiness by
scarcity of water?
…………………………………….
A. Parijanya
B. Los Angeles A. kneeling and worshipping their
C. Las Lomas god
D. Lome B. bringing gifts to their god
E. Las Vengar C. dancing around
D. celebrating at the village square
9. The expression “the sky was thick with E. shouting, crying and laughing

CHECKPOINT

INSTRUCTION: In the following passage, the numbered gaps indicate the missing words. From
the options lettered A-E, choose the appropriate word that can fill in each of the
numbered gaps.
The Kakapo is an _11_ rare parrot, from New Zealand. It is an unusual bird in many __12__.It is
the only kind of parrot that cannot fly, and adults weigh up to 4 kilos. They are green, ___13___
makes them very difficult to see on the forest floor.__14__ they are unable to fly, they are good
at climbing trees. They eat a __15__ variety of food including roots, leaves, nuts, seeds and
fruit.

By the 1970s there were so few alive in the wild that it seemed there __16__ soon be none left.
A decision was __17__ to move the birds that __18__ to a few safe islands off the coast of New
Zealand. There are now about 150 birds left, and they are carefully__19__ by scientists.
However, they are free to go where they please on the islands, and are allowed to behave as
__20__ as possible.

A B C D E
11. extremely actually Ambitious exactly urgently
12. Styles things Things ways senses
13. Why what When where which
14. Although Whether When Unless Yet
15. High wide a lot full deep
16. Can would Are had ought
17. Made held Thought done got
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 18. Stayed continued Good remained stood
19. Directed guided Seen run managed
20. Naturally correctly Thoughtful accurately properly

INSTRUCTION: Choose from the options A-E, the one that is nearest in meaning to the
underlined words in the following sentences.
21. Joe is ruthless when dealing with 23. As a Christian, daily prayers are
people. compulsory.
A. miserly A. voluntary
B. generous B. rewarding
C. cruel C. mandatory
D. lazy D. unnecessary
E. calm E. good
22. Daniel was fortunate to win the gold 24. The university is a place where you
medal. make or mar your future.
A. rudely A. see
B. unlucky B. understand
C. sadly C. destroy
D. lucky D. deny
E. happy E. use
25. Her beauty has begun to wane, she now
uses make-up.
A. vanish
B. change
C. reverberate
D. increase
E. multiply

INSTRUCTION: Choose the word that is nearly opposite in meaning to the underlined word
in the sentences below.

26. Halima looked intoxicated after 27. A play consists of major and .................
the fight. characters.
A. sober A. tragic
B. happy B. comic
C. elated C. minor
D. drunk D. funny
E. drink E. fun
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 at night.
A. safe
B. save
C. pleasant
D. nice
E. risky
28. An elephant can be a tamed animal. 30. I admire students who are serious with
A. strong their studies.
B. frail A. ignore
C. wild B. detest
D. noisy C. adore
E. nose D. fancy
29. My mother says it is dangerous to walk E. enjoy

INSTRUCTION: Fill the blank spaces in questions with the most appropriate of the options
lettered A-E in each of the following sentences.

31. I have found ………………. they hid the C. Are

stolen goods. D. Would
A. which E. May
B. where
C. whose
D. who
E. whom
35. When I was a child I ………………
32. This is the boy……………. book was a dog.
stolen. A. haven
A. which B. have
B. who C. had
C. whose D. has
D. whom E. is
E. that 36. I met him when I ………………….
home from school.
A. am going
B. was coming
33. The children………….. at the party when C. come
the wall collapsed. D. am coming
A. was E. will be coming
B. is 37. In order for the food to be tasty, she
C. have been added …………………….. of salt.
D. are A. a pinch
E. were B. few
34. ……………. we go to the cinema this C. some
evening? D. little
A. Shall E. a bunch
B. Will
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 38. It was an interesting movie, C. ing
…………………………. it? D. ier
A. isn’t E. ion
B. hasn’t 40. I …………………. my brains to get an
C. wasn’t answer.
D. didn’t A. knocked
E. weren’t B. hit
39. Which of these suffixes when added to C. cracked
the word ‘foreign’ can form a new word? D. racked
A. ly E. tapped
B. er

LITERATURE-IN-ENGLISH

POETRY: MONEY BY OIWONA ANDREW

41. According to the poem,………………….is a 42. According to the poet, ……………………..is
paper that smells. always recognized in a gathering.
A. notebook A. an educated man
B. tissue paper B. FGR
C. leaves C. a wise man
D. cheque leaf D. an intelligent man
E. money E. an eloquent man
43. The mood of the poem is…………………
A. bitter and angry
B. joyful
C. sober and reflective
D. elation
E. loyalty

NIGHTFALL BY OIWONA ANDREW

44. …………….is nippy and makes men

sleepy. 45. Which figure of speech is contained in
A. Daytime these lines?
B. Sun Night is dull
C. Night And cannot read and write
D. Wind A. Personification
E. Rain B. Simile

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 C. Metonymy E. Repetition
D. Synecdoche

PROSE: “Vengeance of the Spirit” by Maxwell Okwor Onyekachi

46. Why was Okpoko unable to complete 48. The play has ……………………………….
the bride price to ask for Ngozi’s hand in A. village setting
marriage? B. market setting
C. school setting
A. He was arrogant
D. church setting
B. He had financial challenges
E. hospital setting
C. He did not love Ngozi
49. What did Ezedibia ask Okoro and the
D. He preferred another lady in the
wife to cook and eat to mark the
village
completion of the ritual performed?
E. He wanted to travel abroad
A. A cock and a snail
47. Why did Ngozi’s father threatened to
B. Snake skin and a cock
disown her?
C. Akpu and egusi soup
A. She refused to finish her
D. Onugbu soup and eba
secondary education
E. Goat meat and snail
B. She decided to sell off their
50. Who is the main character in the drama
family house
text, “Vengeance of the Spirit”?
C. She refused to marry Obiekwe
A. Okoro
D. She killed Obiekwe
B. Chioma
E. She hated Okpoko
C. Ebere
D. Ngozi
E. Amaka

SECTION B: THEORY
ANSWER THREE QUESTIONS IN ALL

PART 1: ESSAY WRITING

1. (a) Write a descriptive account on the ‘Whole School Evaluation’ that took place in your
school this term. Your write up must be in not less than two hundred and fifty [250]
words.

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 OR
(b) Write a letter to the principal of your school on the poor classrooms condition in the
school and suggest ways of improving on them. [10mks]

PART 2: CHECKPOINT

2.
READ THE TEXT BELOW, AND FOR EACH NUMBER, WRITE OUT THE
CORRECT OPTION.
.
Dirt Shirts

Robert Hedin owns a shirt company (………..0………) the Hawaiian island of Kauai.
The island is famous (……1……..) its red earth. Kauai’s earth is red as a result of all
the iron that it(…………2……………) . When Robert was a child, his mother used to
get angry if he got the red earth on his clothes, (………..3…….) once the dirt marks
something, the colour is( there for ever. That’s the (……4………..) why Hawaiians
always take their shoes off whenever they (………5…………) anybody’s home.

One day, a strong wind damaged Robert’s small factory, and a cloud of dirt
covered all his shirts in red marks. It looked (…………6………) his business was
finished. But then a friend (……….7……..) him a rather interesting idea. Why not
colour the shirts completely red, and call them Dirt Shirts? And that’s exactly
(………8……….) Robert did. His wife (………..9………..) him he was crazy. But the Dirt
Shirts soon became a (…………10………….) success, and now his business is worth
60 million dollars!

Example:

0 on in at to

1 by for from of
2 mixes consists contains involves

3 because although unless therefore

4 purpose aim point reason

5 arrive enter come go

8
6 as how like so

7 made gave advised recommende

d

8 what how that which

9 said called replied told

10 large high long great

PART 3: GRAMMAR

3. Change the following sentences from active to passive voice.

a. The fire damaged the building.
b. Who taught you French?
c. The manager will give you a ticket.
d. Spectators thronged the streets.
e. Everyone will blame us.

4. Add tag questions to the following sentences:

i. You haven’t finished packing, ……………….………………you?
ii. We don’t need any more boxes, …………………..…………..we?
iii. Michael is going to help us, ……………………………..……he?
iv. We can put some things in storage, ……………………………we?
v. You have submitted your classwork,……………………………….?

PART 4: LITERATURE-IN-ENGLISH

VENGEANCE OF THE SPIRIT – BY MAXWELL OKWOR ONYEKACHI

5. Write short notes on any two of the following:

a. Okoro
b. Obiekwe
c. Ngozi
d. Orji-ugo
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 e. Okpoko
10mks

6. LITERATURE: DRAMA AND POETRY.

i. The protagonist in the text, Vengeance of the Spirit is………………… 2mks

ii. ………………paid part of Ngozi’s bride price in Vengeance of the Spirit. 2mks

iii. Money by Oiwona Andrew is made up of…………………..stanzas. 2mks

iv. ……………………………..is a paper that smells according to Oiwona Andrew. 2mks

v. Which figure of speech is used in these lines? 2mks

Night is dull
And cannot read and write…

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