WAEC SSCE WASSCE 2011 Comprehension passages
COMPREHENSION PASSAGE I
Read the following passage carefully and answer the questions on it.
The development of a child’s reading skill starts in the home. Children love to read when they see it not as a chore but an activity that provides joy and fun. They sometimes get bored when we do not enrich reading to make it appealing. Children are passionate about the games they play and devote a lot of time and attention to them. We must therefore find ways of making the games beneficial to them. Engaging children in games that involve reading is one of the best ways of getting them interested in reading.
Word games are among the best activities that makes children read. Playing scrabble, for instance, helps to develop the creative powers of children. They are able to make quick and good decisions and their spelling and reading abilities are enhanced. Organizing scrabble competitions in schools and homes make children eager to learn more words through reading.
Travelling also provides an opportunity for children to read. Making children read about interesting places they are about to visit keeps them informed on where they are travelling to. Before children make a trip to a tourist site, they should be encouraged to read books that will not only excite them about the trip, but also develop their interest in reading.
We can slo teach children rhymes. This will help them in their language acquisition process and encourage them to listen carefully. Reciting rhymes to children helps them to enjoy the repetition of sounds. A rhyme like “Peter Piper picked a peck of pickled pepper” makes children happy. When parents read to their children, it instills the culture of reading in them. In other words, it encourages them to develop a keen interest in reading. In fact, children take pleasure in doing things which they know their parents are interested in.
Children sometimes do not love to read because their reading books are not attractive to them. Children like to read books with pictures that explain what they are reading. They also love books that have colourful pages with bold prints. When such books are made available to children, they find reading interesting.
If children are guided to choose the right books to read, they will realize that reading is not a chore but a rewarding activity that provides joy and fun.
Questions
a. Why do children sometimes dislike reading?
b. What type of books do children love to read?
c. State two things which parents can do to encourage their children to read?
d. What two effects do rhymes have on children?
e. Which two other skills, apart from reading, can be acquired by playing word games?
f. “…an opportunity for children to read….”
i. What is the grammatical name for this expression as used in the passage?
ii. What is its function?
g. “…Peter Piper picked a peck of pickled pepper…”
What literary device is used in this expression?
h. For each of the following words underlined in the passage, give another word of phrase which means the same and can replace it in the passage:
i. chore
ii. appealing
iii. passionate
iv. creative
v. excite
vi. rewarding
COMPREHENSION PASSAGE II
Read the following passage carefully and answer the questions on it.
Once, at a pub, I observed with trepidation a lad swallowing six different kinds of tablets after a meal. I asked him what ailment he suffered from and he explained that the tablets were vitamins. On another occasion, when a sister of mine regained consciousness at a clinic after paramedics had worked around the clock to snatch her from the jaws of death, she made the startling confession that she had taken an overdose of aspirin. A drug can cure illness and alleviate pains. It exercises beneficial effects on the body and makes it strong and free from disease-causing germs.
There are two types of drugs – hard and soft. A hard drug, for instance, cocaine, is illegal because it is not prescribed for medical use. Such a drug can make the user an addict. Soft drug, for instance, alcohol, is not very harmful to the body. Soft drugs are sometimes referred to as gateway drugs, because most people who end up using hard drugs start by using the soft ones. If you avoid these substances your chances of taking hard drugs are very slim. There is no smoke without fire. The best way is to abstain from all drugs not prescribed by medical experts.
The repeated use of some drugs can produce a measure of pleasure, provide an escape from daily cares and even make one feel on top of the world or ‘go high.’ People should desist from taking hard drugs as the health hazards they cause are devastating when compared with the seemingly ‘high’ feeling experienced during and after taking them.
It is worrying to note that some people take an overdose of drugs as simple as pain killers simply because they believe that the pain they are going through is unbearable. But is that good medical practice? That act in itself is drug abuse. The best way is to consult a doctor who only has the know-how to diagnose the health problem and recommend what to use and the correct dose. It is good to heed the advice of doctors and not to be one’s own doctor.
People should be aware that not only are illicit drugs dangerous to health, but even prescribed drugs in common use can be abused when under-used or over-used. When a drug is under-used, it cannot be strong enough to give the intended cure. If a drug is over-used, it will be detrimental to health.
Questions
a) What is the difference between hard drug and soft drug?
b) Mention two ways in which hard drugs can be dangerous.
c) Why is it not advisable to use an under-dose of drugs?
d) What advice does the writer give to people with health problem?
e) “…There is no smoke without fire.”
What is the meaning of this expression?
f) “…from the jaws of death.”
What is the literary device used in the expression above?
g) “…a measure of pleasure.”
(i) What is the grammatical name given to the expression above?
(ii) What is its function?
h) For each of the following words underlined in the passage, give another word of phrase which means the same and can replace it in the passage:
(i) trepidation
(ii) startling
(iii) alleviate
(iv) heed
(v) prescribed
(vi) detrimental
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