JAMB UTME - Use of English - 1981

fill in the blank spaces in the following sentences making use of the best of the five options :
After weeks of bargaining they …. a deal worth millions.

Choose the word or phrase from A to E which has the nearest meaning to the underlined word or words in each sentence :
One of the surest ways to ensure good health is to have a wholesome and adequate diet.

  From time to time I hear someone say, ‘But Yoga comes from India, therefore is something “foreign” and I don’t see how we can make use of it’. Of course this is foolishness. It is like saying, ‘I don’t want to listen to the music of Bach because he was a German’, or it is like someone in India declaring, ‘We don’t want to use electricity, because Thomas Edison was an American’ Yoga is universal, it is a priceless gift from the East and its benefits are available to all of us who would accept them.
It is very tragic that many of us, not knowing the facts, have for many years confused Yogis (a person who practices ‘Yoga’ is a Yogi) with a certain class of people in India who are known a s Fakirs. Fakirs have gain extra ordinary control of their senses, but use this control to subject their bodies to abnormal conditions. For example, they sit on the famous ‘bed of nails’ stick pins and feats. They are generally persons of low mentality, and they perform these supernatural things for money, food, favours and so forth. These Fakirs should never be confused with Yogis nor do snake charmers or Indian rope trick practitioners have anything to do with Yoga. Yoga is a natural development for body and mind and a true Yogi will never permit anything harmful or unnatural to be done to his body or mind.
Finally, there is the question of ‘religion’. I am often asked, ‘Is Yoga a religion?’ My answer is, ‘Definitely not! For us, Yoga is a dynamic system of physical exercise and a practical and valuable philosophy to apply to everyday life. In short, Yoga is way of life and everyone, regardless of his religion, can benefit greatly from any6 one or all aspect of Yoga.

fill in the blank space in the following sentence making use of the best of the five options: I am not attending ...... is my wife.

fill in the blank spaces in the following sentences making use of the best of the five options :
.... reached 18.7% of the U.S population.

Choose the word or phrase from A to E which has the nearest meaning to the underlined word or words in each sentence :
Because our representative in the house of assembly is an immature and biased politician,he takes a jaundiced view of our social and economic problems.

Fill in the blank spaces in the following sentences making use of the best of the five options:
Had he known in advanced, he ....

  this book consist of lectures given by me at Cambridge. Though they have been largely rewritten, I have kept a good deal of their original lecture-form, as being (I hope) rather less formal and less dogmatic. For to dogmatism, those who write on language seem, for some reason, particularly prone; and I should like to make clear at once that, if at times I have put my view strongly, I do not forget that such matters of taste must remain mere matters of opinion.
In addition I have included a good many specimen passages from various authors. Perhaps I have quoted too much. But a book on style without abundant examples seems to me as ineffectual as a book on art, or biology without abundant illustrations. Many of these passages are in French. That may be Gallomanian on my part and I must apologize if they trouble some readers. But some ability to read French prose does seem to me most desirable for anyone who would write well in English. I have tried to choose pieces not too difficult in syntax or vocabulary. And in these days less than ever can we afford to be better insular.

fill in the blank spaces in the following sentences making use of the best of the five options :
.... Several bad air-crashes recently.

fill in the blank spaces in the following sentences making use of the best of the five options :
The guests ...... breakfast by the time the bus arrives.

fill in the blank spaces in the following sentences making use of the best of the five options: He is easily the ...... of the lot

Fill in the blank spaces in the following sentences making use of the best of the five options:
Asmau, did you see the snapshop of ....

fill in the blank spaces in the following sentences making use of the best of the five options :
I wish I …. to swim when I was younger.

  From time to time I hear someone say, ‘But Yoga comes from India, therefore is something “foreign” and I don’t see how we can make use of it’. Of course this is foolishness. It is like saying, ‘I don’t want to listen to the music of Bach because he was a German’, or it is like someone in India declaring, ‘We don’t want to use electricity, because Thomas Edison was an American’ Yoga is universal, it is a priceless gift from the East and its benefits are available to all of us who would accept them.
It is very tragic that many of us, not knowing the facts, have for many years confused Yogis (a person who practices ‘Yoga’ is a Yogi) with a certain class of people in India who are known a s Fakirs. Fakirs have gain extra ordinary control of their senses, but use this control to subject their bodies to abnormal conditions. For example, they sit on the famous ‘bed of nails’ stick pins and feats. They are generally persons of low mentality, and they perform these supernatural things for money, food, favours and so forth. These Fakirs should never be confused with Yogis nor do snake charmers or Indian rope trick practitioners have anything to do with Yoga. Yoga is a natural development for body and mind and a true Yogi will never permit anything harmful or unnatural to be done to his body or mind.
Finally, there is the question of ‘religion’. I am often asked, ‘Is Yoga a religion?’ My answer is, ‘Definitely not! For us, Yoga is a dynamic system of physical exercise and a practical and valuable philosophy to apply to everyday life. In short, Yoga is way of life and everyone, regardless of his religion, can benefit greatly from any6 one or all aspect of Yoga.

fill in the blank spaces in the following sentences making use of the best of the five options: Some people think that ...... are potentially a nuisance

Choose the word which is opposite in meaning to the underlined word in each sentence:
My cousin is very lazy. He will not take his studies serious. His future looks quiet bleak

fill in the blank spaces in the following sentences making use of the best of the five options :
We talked quietly …. waked the baby.

Fill in the blank spaces in the following sentences making use of the best of the five options:
For their part in the unsuccessful .... the mutineers were court - martialled

  The appearance of comparative peace which Max’s house presented to me that morning proved quite deceptive. Oh perhaps some of Chief Nanga’s ‘queen bee’ characteristics had rubbed off on me and transformed me into an independent little nucleus of activity which I brought with me into this new place. That first night I not only heard of the new political party about to be born but got myself enrolled as a foundation member. Max and some of his friends having watched with deepening disillusion the use to which our hard-won freedom was being put by corrupt, mediocre politicians had decided to come together and launch the Common People’s Convention.
There were eight young people in his room that evening. All but one were citizens of our country, mostly professional types. The only lady was a very beautiful lawyer who, I learnt afterwards, was engaged to Max whom she had first met at the London School of Economics. There was a trade-unionist, a doctor, another lawyer, a teacher and a newspaper columnist
Max introduced me without any previous consultation as a ‘trustworthy comrade who had only the other day had his girlfriend snatched from him by minister who shall remain nameless’. Naturally I did not care for that kind of image reputation. So I promptly intervened to point out that the woman in question was not strictly speaking my girlfriend but a casual acquaintance who both Chief Nanga and I knew.
‘So it was Chief Nanga, yes?’ said the European and everyone burst out laughing.
‘Who else could it be?’ said one of the others.
The Whiteman was apparently from one of the Eastern Bioc countries. He did not neglect to stress to me in an aside that he was there only as a friend of Max’s. He told me a lot of things quietly while the others were discussing some obscure details about the launching. I was as much interested in what he said as the way in which he said it. His English had an exotic quality occasionally – as when he said that it was good to see intellectuals like Max, myself and the rest coming out of their ‘tower or elephant tusk’ into active politics. And he often punctuated whatever he was saying with ‘yes’ spoken with the accent of a question.

fill in the blank spaces in the following sentences making use of the best of the five options :
Do you want me to buy her anything? She asked Asman. She asked Asman if …..

Fill in the blank spaces in the following sentences making use of the best of the five options:
When John reported the incident, the teacher remarked that he .... a responsible boy.

fill in the blank spaces in the following sentences making use of the best of the five options :
It was a blind alley. I could not walk any ....

Choose the word or phrase from A to E which has the nearest meaning to the underlined word or words in each sentence :
We all have both good and bad characteristics. Either is, however, easily manifested in time of crises.

fill in the blank spaces in the following sentences making use of the best of the five options :
The schoolboy screamed loudly when he saw a snake …. looked terrifying.

fill in the blank spaces in the following sentences making use of the best of the five options :
There was .... much noise at night that we couldn’t sleep

Fill in the blank spaces in the following sentences making use of the best of the five options:
Without .... words he accused him directly of treachery

fill in the blank spaces in the following sentences making use of the best of the five options :
Visitors…. Pass beyond this point. It is forbidden

fill in the blank spaces in the following sentences making use of the best of the five options :
Although the problem was simple …. Students were able to solve it.

fill in the blank spaces in the following sentences making use of the best of the five options :
I was in such a hurry, I didn’t have time to …. Hello.

fill in the blank spaces in the following sentences making use of the best of the five options: Shakespearian ...... are generally the victims of circumstances.

The exercise must be done .... possible

  From time to time I hear someone say, ‘But Yoga comes from India, therefore is something “foreign” and I don’t see how we can make use of it’. Of course this is foolishness. It is like saying, ‘I don’t want to listen to the music of Bach because he was a German’, or it is like someone in India declaring, ‘We don’t want to use electricity, because Thomas Edison was an American’ Yoga is universal, it is a priceless gift from the East and its benefits are available to all of us who would accept them.
It is very tragic that many of us, not knowing the facts, have for many years confused Yogis (a person who practices ‘Yoga’ is a Yogi) with a certain class of people in India who are known a s Fakirs. Fakirs have gain extra ordinary control of their senses, but use this control to subject their bodies to abnormal conditions. For example, they sit on the famous ‘bed of nails’ stick pins and feats. They are generally persons of low mentality, and they perform these supernatural things for money, food, favours and so forth. These Fakirs should never be confused with Yogis nor do snake charmers or Indian rope trick practitioners have anything to do with Yoga. Yoga is a natural development for body and mind and a true Yogi will never permit anything harmful or unnatural to be done to his body or mind.
Finally, there is the question of ‘religion’. I am often asked, ‘Is Yoga a religion?’ My answer is, ‘Definitely not! For us, Yoga is a dynamic system of physical exercise and a practical and valuable philosophy to apply to everyday life. In short, Yoga is way of life and everyone, regardless of his religion, can benefit greatly from any6 one or all aspect of Yoga.

Read the passage and answer the question that follows

  It was a Sunday afternoon that I saw the lorry standing in front of the post office. I had seen it long before my brother saw it, but it was he who said to me “Don’t you think it odd that the post office should be open this afternoon? What do you think is happening? ‘Come round the corner, out of sight, and let’s watch’, I answered. My brother Michael was younger than me, so I kept him behind me, and peering round the corner told him what I saw. ‘There are four men coming out, carrying a very heavy box’ ‘Oh! I exclaimed. ‘It’s a safe, ‘I think they’re burglars, said my brother who was full of suspicion. ‘One of them has fallen over ‘I said; ‘the safe is too heavy for them’. You go and fetch the police said my brother, ‘and I’ll stay here and watch,’ ‘No you go and get them’, I replied, because I wanted to see what was going to happen. My brother ran off and then, suddenly, a man came running out of the post office, shouting, ‘Hurry! Hurry! Get it on the lorry!’ He joined the first four and they managed to get the safe up on to the back of the lorry. When they had done this, the man who had shouted got into the driver’s seat, but the lorry would not start. Just then my brother came back with three policemen. To cut a long story short, the men were all arrested and my brother and I had to go and give evidence before a magistrate. The men went to prison, of course, in the end, but you should have seen the face of the leader - it was contorted with rage – when he learned that the safe they had managed to steal was empty, and all the money was in the bank.

Choose the word or phrase from A to E which has the nearest meaning to the underlined word or words in each sentence :
Our school prefect is too officious and we all hate him because of his behavior.

Choose the word which is opposite in meaning to the underlined word in each sentence:
The doctor was very gentle with his patients in the examining room.

fill in the blank spaces in the following sentences making use of the best of the five options :
Eko bridge, linking Lagos Island to Surulere, has ….

fill in the blank spaces in the following sentences making use of the best of the five options :
These six employees ........ absent from work since new year’s day.

Fill in the blank spaces in the following sentences making use of the best of the five options:
Although he was invited .... he was not welcome.

fill in the blank spaces in the following sentences making use of the best of the five options :
Joe had found a flat, so …. he will not be sleeping here, even if he still comes for meals.

Choose the word or phrase from A to E which has the nearest meaning to the underlined word or words in each sentence :
He used his savings to bring up his nephew.

Fill in the blank spaces in the following sentences making use of the best of the five options:
As .... of you as can come are welcome

Read the passage and answer the question that follows

  It was a Sunday afternoon that I saw the lorry standing in front of the post office. I had seen it long before my brother saw it, but it was he who said to me “Don’t you think it odd that the post office should be open this afternoon? What do you think is happening? ‘Come round the corner, out of sight, and let’s watch’, I answered. My brother Michael was younger than me, so I kept him behind me, and peering round the corner told him what I saw. ‘There are four men coming out, carrying a very heavy box’ ‘Oh! I exclaimed. ‘It’s a safe, ‘I think they’re burglars, said my brother who was full of suspicion. ‘One of them has fallen over ‘I said; ‘the safe is too heavy for them’. You go and fetch the police said my brother, ‘and I’ll stay here and watch,’ ‘No you go and get them’, I replied, because I wanted to see what was going to happen. My brother ran off and then, suddenly, a man came running out of the post office, shouting, ‘Hurry! Hurry! Get it on the lorry!’ He joined the first four and they managed to get the safe up on to the back of the lorry. When they had done this, the man who had shouted got into the driver’s seat, but the lorry would not start. Just then my brother came back with three policemen. To cut a long story short, the men were all arrested and my brother and I had to go and give evidence before a magistrate. The men went to prison, of course, in the end, but you should have seen the face of the leader - it was contorted with rage – when he learned that the safe they had managed to steal was empty, and all the money was in the bank.

Fill in the blank spaces in the following sentences making use of the best of the five options:
The Chairman ruled the impertinent speaker .....

Fill in the blank spaces in the following sentences making use of the best of the five options:
They .... our donation with thanks

fill in the blank spaces in the following sentences making use of the best of the five options :
…. Lawyers enrolled at the Nigerian bar last year …. the year.

Choose the word or phrase from A to E which has the nearest meaning to the underlined word or words in each sentence :
Whenever I travel abroad, I always bring, on my return, photographs, postcards, and other small items as souvenirs

  Dear John,
Many thanks for your letter. I was glad to hear that you had done so well in your examinations. Let me send you my hearty congratulations. You certainly deserved this result as I know you worked very hard. You ask how I have been spending the time since I took my examinations. I have been waiting so eagerly for the result that, I must admit, I have not done half of the things I planned to do during this extended holiday. However, I have been doing a lot of reading. There were so many different things I was interested in when I was at school and did not have the time to read about because they were not on the syllabus. I have read two books about geology, which is a fascinating subject. I hope to make a hobby of geology when I get to the University. It will make a change from the study of law. i have also read several novels mostly modern ones by authors like Graham Greene, C.S Foster and Somerset Maugham. How enjoyable it is to read a book for pleasure and not for examination! I have not given a thought to law, and not read one book about the subject. I shall have e four long years at the University to devote to it.
I have also been going once or twice a week to the National Boy’s Club. I took part in the table-tennis tournament, but I did not do very well, I’m afraid. I have been playing football for the Club every Sunday afternoon. I will certainly let you know my examination results as soon as I have them. I must say that I become less confident about the result each day. It was encouraging to hear that this was the case with you, and since you did so well perhaps there is still hope for me!
Yours sincerely
Osman.

Fill in the blank spaces in the following sentences making use of the best of the five options:
It is time we .... this irresponsible member

  this book consist of lectures given by me at Cambridge. Though they have been largely rewritten, I have kept a good deal of their original lecture-form, as being (I hope) rather less formal and less dogmatic. For to dogmatism, those who write on language seem, for some reason, particularly prone; and I should like to make clear at once that, if at times I have put my view strongly, I do not forget that such matters of taste must remain mere matters of opinion.
In addition I have included a good many specimen passages from various authors. Perhaps I have quoted too much. But a book on style without abundant examples seems to me as ineffectual as a book on art, or biology without abundant illustrations. Many of these passages are in French. That may be Gallomanian on my part and I must apologize if they trouble some readers. But some ability to read French prose does seem to me most desirable for anyone who would write well in English. I have tried to choose pieces not too difficult in syntax or vocabulary. And in these days less than ever can we afford to be better insular.

fill in the blank spaces in the following sentences making use of the best of the five options :
By the end of June, i …. six examinations this year.

He bought a typewriter with a view .... to type

fill in the blank spaces in the following sentences making use of the best of the five options :
We used to go to that club on Saturday night ….?

  Dear John,
Many thanks for your letter. I was glad to hear that you had done so well in your examinations. Let me send you my hearty congratulations. You certainly deserved this result as I know you worked very hard. You ask how I have been spending the time since I took my examinations. I have been waiting so eagerly for the result that, I must admit, I have not done half of the things I planned to do during this extended holiday. However, I have been doing a lot of reading. There were so many different things I was interested in when I was at school and did not have the time to read about because they were not on the syllabus. I have read two books about geology, which is a fascinating subject. I hope to make a hobby of geology when I get to the University. It will make a change from the study of law. i have also read several novels mostly modern ones by authors like Graham Greene, C.S Foster and Somerset Maugham. How enjoyable it is to read a book for pleasure and not for examination! I have not given a thought to law, and not read one book about the subject. I shall have e four long years at the University to devote to it.
I have also been going once or twice a week to the National Boy’s Club. I took part in the table-tennis tournament, but I did not do very well, I’m afraid. I have been playing football for the Club every Sunday afternoon. I will certainly let you know my examination results as soon as I have them. I must say that I become less confident about the result each day. It was encouraging to hear that this was the case with you, and since you did so well perhaps there is still hope for me!
Yours sincerely
Osman.

fill in the blank spaces in the following sentences making use of the best of the five options:
.... a good film. Wasn’t it?

  The appearance of comparative peace which Max’s house presented to me that morning proved quite deceptive. Oh perhaps some of Chief Nanga’s ‘queen bee’ characteristics had rubbed off on me and transformed me into an independent little nucleus of activity which I brought with me into this new place. That first night I not only heard of the new political party about to be born but got myself enrolled as a foundation member. Max and some of his friends having watched with deepening disillusion the use to which our hard-won freedom was being put by corrupt, mediocre politicians had decided to come together and launch the Common People’s Convention.
There were eight young people in his room that evening. All but one were citizens of our country, mostly professional types. The only lady was a very beautiful lawyer who, I learnt afterwards, was engaged to Max whom she had first met at the London School of Economics. There was a trade-unionist, a doctor, another lawyer, a teacher and a newspaper columnist
Max introduced me without any previous consultation as a ‘trustworthy comrade who had only the other day had his girlfriend snatched from him by minister who shall remain nameless’. Naturally I did not care for that kind of image reputation. So I promptly intervened to point out that the woman in question was not strictly speaking my girlfriend but a casual acquaintance who both Chief Nanga and I knew.
‘So it was Chief Nanga, yes?’ said the European and everyone burst out laughing.
‘Who else could it be?’ said one of the others.
The Whiteman was apparently from one of the Eastern Bioc countries. He did not neglect to stress to me in an aside that he was there only as a friend of Max’s. He told me a lot of things quietly while the others were discussing some obscure details about the launching. I was as much interested in what he said as the way in which he said it. His English had an exotic quality occasionally – as when he said that it was good to see intellectuals like Max, myself and the rest coming out of their ‘tower or elephant tusk’ into active politics. And he often punctuated whatever he was saying with ‘yes’ spoken with the accent of a question.

  this book consist of lectures given by me at Cambridge. Though they have been largely rewritten, I have kept a good deal of their original lecture-form, as being (I hope) rather less formal and less dogmatic. For to dogmatism, those who write on language seem, for some reason, particularly prone; and I should like to make clear at once that, if at times I have put my view strongly, I do not forget that such matters of taste must remain mere matters of opinion.
In addition I have included a good many specimen passages from various authors. Perhaps I have quoted too much. But a book on style without abundant examples seems to me as ineffectual as a book on art, or biology without abundant illustrations. Many of these passages are in French. That may be Gallomanian on my part and I must apologize if they trouble some readers. But some ability to read French prose does seem to me most desirable for anyone who would write well in English. I have tried to choose pieces not too difficult in syntax or vocabulary. And in these days less than ever can we afford to be better insular.

Fill in the blank spaces in the following sentences making use of the best of the five options:
If .... one day we would talk about it for weeks

Choose the word or phrase from A to E which has the nearest meaning to the underlined word or words in each sentence :
His wife for ten years refused point-blank to leave her matrimonial home even when he brought another woman into the house.

Fill in the blank spaces in the following sentences making use of the best of the five options:
You surely want .... in your tea don't you?

fill in the blank spaces in the following sentences making use of the best of the five options :
We left .... U.S.A, and crossed .... Atlantic ocean to .... Europe

Fill in the blank spaces in the following sentences making use of the best of the five options:
He was reported .... the policeman

fill in the blank spaces in the following sentences making use of the best of the five options :
A policeman stopped me and I ….to the police station.

fill in the blank spaces in the following sentences making use of the best of the five options :
From one’s daily experience,one can see that many people have ..... money ..... they really need.

  The appearance of comparative peace which Max’s house presented to me that morning proved quite deceptive. Oh perhaps some of Chief Nanga’s ‘queen bee’ characteristics had rubbed off on me and transformed me into an independent little nucleus of activity which I brought with me into this new place. That first night I not only heard of the new political party about to be born but got myself enrolled as a foundation member. Max and some of his friends having watched with deepening disillusion the use to which our hard-won freedom was being put by corrupt, mediocre politicians had decided to come together and launch the Common People’s Convention.
There were eight young people in his room that evening. All but one were citizens of our country, mostly professional types. The only lady was a very beautiful lawyer who, I learnt afterwards, was engaged to Max whom she had first met at the London School of Economics. There was a trade-unionist, a doctor, another lawyer, a teacher and a newspaper columnist
Max introduced me without any previous consultation as a ‘trustworthy comrade who had only the other day had his girlfriend snatched from him by minister who shall remain nameless’. Naturally I did not care for that kind of image reputation. So I promptly intervened to point out that the woman in question was not strictly speaking my girlfriend but a casual acquaintance who both Chief Nanga and I knew.
‘So it was Chief Nanga, yes?’ said the European and everyone burst out laughing.
‘Who else could it be?’ said one of the others.
The Whiteman was apparently from one of the Eastern Bioc countries. He did not neglect to stress to me in an aside that he was there only as a friend of Max’s. He told me a lot of things quietly while the others were discussing some obscure details about the launching. I was as much interested in what he said as the way in which he said it. His English had an exotic quality occasionally – as when he said that it was good to see intellectuals like Max, myself and the rest coming out of their ‘tower or elephant tusk’ into active politics. And he often punctuated whatever he was saying with ‘yes’ spoken with the accent of a question.

fill in the blank spaces in the following sentences making use of the best of the five options :
Maimuna wrote to ask if I could put her …. for the night

Fill in the blank spaces in the following sentences making use of the best of the five options:
They tried to cash in .... the people's ignorance

Fill in the blank spaces in the following sentences making use of the best of the five options:
I told him .... he had no chance

Fill in the blank spaces in the following sentences making use of the best of the five options:
The way to stop some frivolous publications is to .... the press

Read the passage and answer the question that follows

  It was a Sunday afternoon that I saw the lorry standing in front of the post office. I had seen it long before my brother saw it, but it was he who said to me “Don’t you think it odd that the post office should be open this afternoon? What do you think is happening? ‘Come round the corner, out of sight, and let’s watch’, I answered. My brother Michael was younger than me, so I kept him behind me, and peering round the corner told him what I saw. ‘There are four men coming out, carrying a very heavy box’ ‘Oh! I exclaimed. ‘It’s a safe, ‘I think they’re burglars, said my brother who was full of suspicion. ‘One of them has fallen over ‘I said; ‘the safe is too heavy for them’. You go and fetch the police said my brother, ‘and I’ll stay here and watch,’ ‘No you go and get them’, I replied, because I wanted to see what was going to happen. My brother ran off and then, suddenly, a man came running out of the post office, shouting, ‘Hurry! Hurry! Get it on the lorry!’ He joined the first four and they managed to get the safe up on to the back of the lorry. When they had done this, the man who had shouted got into the driver’s seat, but the lorry would not start. Just then my brother came back with three policemen. To cut a long story short, the men were all arrested and my brother and I had to go and give evidence before a magistrate. The men went to prison, of course, in the end, but you should have seen the face of the leader - it was contorted with rage – when he learned that the safe they had managed to steal was empty, and all the money was in the bank.

  this book consist of lectures given by me at Cambridge. Though they have been largely rewritten, I have kept a good deal of their original lecture-form, as being (I hope) rather less formal and less dogmatic. For to dogmatism, those who write on language seem, for some reason, particularly prone; and I should like to make clear at once that, if at times I have put my view strongly, I do not forget that such matters of taste must remain mere matters of opinion.
In addition I have included a good many specimen passages from various authors. Perhaps I have quoted too much. But a book on style without abundant examples seems to me as ineffectual as a book on art, or biology without abundant illustrations. Many of these passages are in French. That may be Gallomanian on my part and I must apologize if they trouble some readers. But some ability to read French prose does seem to me most desirable for anyone who would write well in English. I have tried to choose pieces not too difficult in syntax or vocabulary. And in these days less than ever can we afford to be better insular.

fill in the blank spaces in the following sentences making use of the best of the five options :
The policemen stood …. the man at the corner.

  The appearance of comparative peace which Max’s house presented to me that morning proved quite deceptive. Oh perhaps some of Chief Nanga’s ‘queen bee’ characteristics had rubbed off on me and transformed me into an independent little nucleus of activity which I brought with me into this new place. That first night I not only heard of the new political party about to be born but got myself enrolled as a foundation member. Max and some of his friends having watched with deepening disillusion the use to which our hard-won freedom was being put by corrupt, mediocre politicians had decided to come together and launch the Common People’s Convention.
There were eight young people in his room that evening. All but one were citizens of our country, mostly professional types. The only lady was a very beautiful lawyer who, I learnt afterwards, was engaged to Max whom she had first met at the London School of Economics. There was a trade-unionist, a doctor, another lawyer, a teacher and a newspaper columnist
Max introduced me without any previous consultation as a ‘trustworthy comrade who had only the other day had his girlfriend snatched from him by minister who shall remain nameless’. Naturally I did not care for that kind of image reputation. So I promptly intervened to point out that the woman in question was not strictly speaking my girlfriend but a casual acquaintance who both Chief Nanga and I knew.
‘So it was Chief Nanga, yes?’ said the European and everyone burst out laughing.
‘Who else could it be?’ said one of the others.
The Whiteman was apparently from one of the Eastern Bioc countries. He did not neglect to stress to me in an aside that he was there only as a friend of Max’s. He told me a lot of things quietly while the others were discussing some obscure details about the launching. I was as much interested in what he said as the way in which he said it. His English had an exotic quality occasionally – as when he said that it was good to see intellectuals like Max, myself and the rest coming out of their ‘tower or elephant tusk’ into active politics. And he often punctuated whatever he was saying with ‘yes’ spoken with the accent of a question.

Fill in the blank spaces in the following sentences making use of the best of the five options:
Peter's .... a cold upsets our plans

Read the passage and answer the question that follows

  It was a Sunday afternoon that I saw the lorry standing in front of the post office. I had seen it long before my brother saw it, but it was he who said to me “Don’t you think it odd that the post office should be open this afternoon? What do you think is happening? ‘Come round the corner, out of sight, and let’s watch’, I answered. My brother Michael was younger than me, so I kept him behind me, and peering round the corner told him what I saw. ‘There are four men coming out, carrying a very heavy box’ ‘Oh! I exclaimed. ‘It’s a safe, ‘I think they’re burglars, said my brother who was full of suspicion. ‘One of them has fallen over ‘I said; ‘the safe is too heavy for them’. You go and fetch the police said my brother, ‘and I’ll stay here and watch,’ ‘No you go and get them’, I replied, because I wanted to see what was going to happen. My brother ran off and then, suddenly, a man came running out of the post office, shouting, ‘Hurry! Hurry! Get it on the lorry!’ He joined the first four and they managed to get the safe up on to the back of the lorry. When they had done this, the man who had shouted got into the driver’s seat, but the lorry would not start. Just then my brother came back with three policemen. To cut a long story short, the men were all arrested and my brother and I had to go and give evidence before a magistrate. The men went to prison, of course, in the end, but you should have seen the face of the leader - it was contorted with rage – when he learned that the safe they had managed to steal was empty, and all the money was in the bank.

Fill in the blank spaces in the following sentences making use of the best of the five options:
He bade them .... to his house

Fill in the blank spaces in the following sentences making use of the best of the five options:
Excuse me, do you mind .... i smoke?

  Dear John,
Many thanks for your letter. I was glad to hear that you had done so well in your examinations. Let me send you my hearty congratulations. You certainly deserved this result as I know you worked very hard. You ask how I have been spending the time since I took my examinations. I have been waiting so eagerly for the result that, I must admit, I have not done half of the things I planned to do during this extended holiday. However, I have been doing a lot of reading. There were so many different things I was interested in when I was at school and did not have the time to read about because they were not on the syllabus. I have read two books about geology, which is a fascinating subject. I hope to make a hobby of geology when I get to the University. It will make a change from the study of law. i have also read several novels mostly modern ones by authors like Graham Greene, C.S Foster and Somerset Maugham. How enjoyable it is to read a book for pleasure and not for examination! I have not given a thought to law, and not read one book about the subject. I shall have e four long years at the University to devote to it.
I have also been going once or twice a week to the National Boy’s Club. I took part in the table-tennis tournament, but I did not do very well, I’m afraid. I have been playing football for the Club every Sunday afternoon. I will certainly let you know my examination results as soon as I have them. I must say that I become less confident about the result each day. It was encouraging to hear that this was the case with you, and since you did so well perhaps there is still hope for me!
Yours sincerely
Osman.

Read the passage and answer the question that follows

  It was a Sunday afternoon that I saw the lorry standing in front of the post office. I had seen it long before my brother saw it, but it was he who said to me “Don’t you think it odd that the post office should be open this afternoon? What do you think is happening? ‘Come round the corner, out of sight, and let’s watch’, I answered. My brother Michael was younger than me, so I kept him behind me, and peering round the corner told him what I saw. ‘There are four men coming out, carrying a very heavy box’ ‘Oh! I exclaimed. ‘It’s a safe, ‘I think they’re burglars, said my brother who was full of suspicion. ‘One of them has fallen over ‘I said; ‘the safe is too heavy for them’. You go and fetch the police said my brother, ‘and I’ll stay here and watch,’ ‘No you go and get them’, I replied, because I wanted to see what was going to happen. My brother ran off and then, suddenly, a man came running out of the post office, shouting, ‘Hurry! Hurry! Get it on the lorry!’ He joined the first four and they managed to get the safe up on to the back of the lorry. When they had done this, the man who had shouted got into the driver’s seat, but the lorry would not start. Just then my brother came back with three policemen. To cut a long story short, the men were all arrested and my brother and I had to go and give evidence before a magistrate. The men went to prison, of course, in the end, but you should have seen the face of the leader - it was contorted with rage – when he learned that the safe they had managed to steal was empty, and all the money was in the bank.

fill in the blank spaces in the following sentences making use of the best of the five options :
My younger brother looked ill last night, and was evidently …. this morning

  The appearance of comparative peace which Max’s house presented to me that morning proved quite deceptive. Oh perhaps some of Chief Nanga’s ‘queen bee’ characteristics had rubbed off on me and transformed me into an independent little nucleus of activity which I brought with me into this new place. That first night I not only heard of the new political party about to be born but got myself enrolled as a foundation member. Max and some of his friends having watched with deepening disillusion the use to which our hard-won freedom was being put by corrupt, mediocre politicians had decided to come together and launch the Common People’s Convention.
There were eight young people in his room that evening. All but one were citizens of our country, mostly professional types. The only lady was a very beautiful lawyer who, I learnt afterwards, was engaged to Max whom she had first met at the London School of Economics. There was a trade-unionist, a doctor, another lawyer, a teacher and a newspaper columnist
Max introduced me without any previous consultation as a ‘trustworthy comrade who had only the other day had his girlfriend snatched from him by minister who shall remain nameless’. Naturally I did not care for that kind of image reputation. So I promptly intervened to point out that the woman in question was not strictly speaking my girlfriend but a casual acquaintance who both Chief Nanga and I knew.
‘So it was Chief Nanga, yes?’ said the European and everyone burst out laughing.
‘Who else could it be?’ said one of the others.
The Whiteman was apparently from one of the Eastern Bioc countries. He did not neglect to stress to me in an aside that he was there only as a friend of Max’s. He told me a lot of things quietly while the others were discussing some obscure details about the launching. I was as much interested in what he said as the way in which he said it. His English had an exotic quality occasionally – as when he said that it was good to see intellectuals like Max, myself and the rest coming out of their ‘tower or elephant tusk’ into active politics. And he often punctuated whatever he was saying with ‘yes’ spoken with the accent of a question.

Fill in the blank spaces in the following sentences making use of the best of the five options:
The house will look all the better .... this new coat of paint

fill in the blank spaces in the following sentences making use of the best of the five options :
He devoted himself …. homeless children.

Choose the word or phrase from A to E which has the nearest meaning to the underlined word or words in each sentence :
Mary is jealous of her sister’s success.

Fill in the blank spaces in the following sentences making use of the best of the five options:
Your approach to the problem is different .... ours

Fill in the blank spaces in the following sentences making use of the best of the five options:
A pioneer, he .... the institution from his own resources

Choose the word or phrase from A to E which has the nearest meaning to the underlined word or words in each sentence :
In some parts of India, people are ostracized simply because of their ancestry.

fill in the blank spaces in the following sentences making use of the best of the five option
I can’t mind the light. I don't know .... about electricity.

  Dear John,
Many thanks for your letter. I was glad to hear that you had done so well in your examinations. Let me send you my hearty congratulations. You certainly deserved this result as I know you worked very hard. You ask how I have been spending the time since I took my examinations. I have been waiting so eagerly for the result that, I must admit, I have not done half of the things I planned to do during this extended holiday. However, I have been doing a lot of reading. There were so many different things I was interested in when I was at school and did not have the time to read about because they were not on the syllabus. I have read two books about geology, which is a fascinating subject. I hope to make a hobby of geology when I get to the University. It will make a change from the study of law. i have also read several novels mostly modern ones by authors like Graham Greene, C.S Foster and Somerset Maugham. How enjoyable it is to read a book for pleasure and not for examination! I have not given a thought to law, and not read one book about the subject. I shall have e four long years at the University to devote to it.
I have also been going once or twice a week to the National Boy’s Club. I took part in the table-tennis tournament, but I did not do very well, I’m afraid. I have been playing football for the Club every Sunday afternoon. I will certainly let you know my examination results as soon as I have them. I must say that I become less confident about the result each day. It was encouraging to hear that this was the case with you, and since you did so well perhaps there is still hope for me!
Yours sincerely
Osman.

fill in the blank spaces in the following sentences making use of the best of the five options :
The passenger waited patiently whilst they transferred his …. from the taxi to the bus.

Choose the word which is opposite in meaning to the underlined word in each sentence:
James is a disco-addict. He takes his studies rather lightly.

Choose the word or phrase from A to E which has the nearest meaning to the underlined word or words in each sentence :
The president of our club has sent his regrets. He may be unable to attend the next meeting.

Fill in the blank spaces in the following sentences making use of the best of the five options:
He looked .... everyone in authority as an enemy

fill in the blank spaces in the following sentences making use of the best of the five options :
Have you paid your taxes up to date? The tax collector inquired if ….

Fill in the blank spaces in the following sentences making use of the best of the five options:
He passed so well .... he was awarded a scholarship

fill in the blank spaces in the following sentences making use of the best of the five options :
They promised to cause …. fuss …. possible.

  Dear John,
Many thanks for your letter. I was glad to hear that you had done so well in your examinations. Let me send you my hearty congratulations. You certainly deserved this result as I know you worked very hard. You ask how I have been spending the time since I took my examinations. I have been waiting so eagerly for the result that, I must admit, I have not done half of the things I planned to do during this extended holiday. However, I have been doing a lot of reading. There were so many different things I was interested in when I was at school and did not have the time to read about because they were not on the syllabus. I have read two books about geology, which is a fascinating subject. I hope to make a hobby of geology when I get to the University. It will make a change from the study of law. i have also read several novels mostly modern ones by authors like Graham Greene, C.S Foster and Somerset Maugham. How enjoyable it is to read a book for pleasure and not for examination! I have not given a thought to law, and not read one book about the subject. I shall have e four long years at the University to devote to it.
I have also been going once or twice a week to the National Boy’s Club. I took part in the table-tennis tournament, but I did not do very well, I’m afraid. I have been playing football for the Club every Sunday afternoon. I will certainly let you know my examination results as soon as I have them. I must say that I become less confident about the result each day. It was encouraging to hear that this was the case with you, and since you did so well perhaps there is still hope for me!
Yours sincerely
Osman.

  this book consist of lectures given by me at Cambridge. Though they have been largely rewritten, I have kept a good deal of their original lecture-form, as being (I hope) rather less formal and less dogmatic. For to dogmatism, those who write on language seem, for some reason, particularly prone; and I should like to make clear at once that, if at times I have put my view strongly, I do not forget that such matters of taste must remain mere matters of opinion.
In addition I have included a good many specimen passages from various authors. Perhaps I have quoted too much. But a book on style without abundant examples seems to me as ineffectual as a book on art, or biology without abundant illustrations. Many of these passages are in French. That may be Gallomanian on my part and I must apologize if they trouble some readers. But some ability to read French prose does seem to me most desirable for anyone who would write well in English. I have tried to choose pieces not too difficult in syntax or vocabulary. And in these days less than ever can we afford to be better insular.

Fill in the blank spaces in the following sentences making use of the best of the five options:
Government should prevent smugglers .... their contraband