WAEC SSCE WASSCE 2001 Comprehension passages
Read the passage below carefully and then answer the questions on it.
I saw the two old men sitting under the tree at the centre of the square. I was not surprised to find them there. All the townsfolk knew where the two would be at that same time of day. There they sat silently drinking calabash after calabash of palm wine and puffing at their pipes, apparently lost in thought.
A sudden burst of laughter from one of them startled most of us around; it was so unusual. Then I hear one of them say, “Now Jim Jordan, for as long as I’ve known you, people have been calling you ‘Window.’ Why? That’s definitely a strange name, isn’t it?”
Jim took another sip of his drink and smiled. “It’s a long story, you know.” He said, “It started the first day I went to school. I was then about eighteen years old; that must be sixty five years ago. Yes that’s how old I was when I started school in the second term of the year”.
“The headteacher took one long look at me and shook his head I was too old and big for Class One, he must have thought, the class was already full and there was no spare furniture.”
‘Sir, I said pleadingly, ‘my age should not be an impediment to my coming to school. On the contrary, at my age, I can learn faster, be more serious and reason better. At home I keep my younger brother and sisters in line, so I can assist you look after these small boys and girls. Sir, I have a table, which I can bring and pitch somewhere in the classroom. Please, I want to be in school.’
This must have decided the headteacher to change his mind. The next day found me in Class Two, sitting behind my table next to the window that opened on to the bush behind the school. The headteacher made me understand that my name wouldn’t be in the class register. I was officially not a pupil and so I had to disappear whenever a School Inspector made his round to the school.
I happened sooner than I expected. The very next week, a school inspector showed up in the school unannounced. He stood at the only door to the classroom thus effectively cutting off my exit. I had no option but to dive through the window into the bush.
When I returned later that afternoon, those kids and even the headteacher had a good laugh at me. I couldn’t resist the temptation to join in. You could hear my mates shout of ‘Window! Window!!’ miles away. As you can see, the name has stuck!!!
Questions
a) For each of the words underlined in the passage, give another word or phrase, which means the same, and can replace it in the passage:
(i) apparently
(ii) definitely
(iii) an impediment
(iv) pitch
(v) decided
b) About how old was Jim about the time of this narration?
c) Why did the headteacher finally admit Jim?
d) What was Jim’s attitude towards his classmates?
e) Why did Jim have to jump through the window?
f) What did Jim do when the others where laughing at him?
g) …so I can assist you…
(i) What is the grammatical name for this construction?
(ii) What is its grammatical function?
h) Sudden burst of laughter …
What figure of speech is used in this expression?
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