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7141

Read the following passage carefully and answer the questions on it.

      Part of my one-year study programme in Britain involved visiting several places of historical importance, especially those related to precolonial African history on which I was researching One was the home of William Wilberforce, the 19th century anti-slave trade statesman. The house had been turned into a museum by one of the several organizations  that fought the scourge Among the most outstanding features of the museum were the several statues of slaves in different postures black slaves being captured in their native homes, being chained together, being led to the port for sale, on the slave ship and being forced to work on plantations The sculptures were particularly remarkable  in that they illustrated very movingly the bane which Wilberforce threw himself against.

      As a black man I could not help shedding tears when going from room to room on the two floors. Then, there was a period of pandemonium which I. unwittingly, caused. I was on the first floor, about to cross the lobby, when I came face to face with another visitor. a white man. When he saw me, a wave of fright swept through him.  His eyes were immediately bloodshot. He shouted out of fright and ran back. Quickly, he made for the staircase, sped down to the ground floor, and took to his heels.

      All this while. I remained still, at a loss as to the cause of his action. He stopped shouting only when he got into the bus that brought his group.  Meanwhile. others around him. realizing the cause of his fright, came to tell me that I was

the cause. They laughed it off when they told me that he had thought I was one of the statues and. had left suddenly turned into a human being. I discovered the reason for his fright when I entered the room which he had just left and found that It one of the statues looked exactly like me. Whoever did the wax model perhaps had my picture. was my height, my shape, my complexion, indeed the exact replica of me.

      I realized what had happened. I was the only black present in the building. The man had not expected a live black person to be in the museum. Thus, the sudden sight of a black person moving around, with the stature and face of one of the statues, should certainly frighten him. I wondered what could have happened if I had pursued  him down the staircase.

(a) In what capacity did the writer visit the museum?

(b) For what was William Wilberforce famous?

(c) Why did the writer stand out among the visitors in the museum at that hour?

(d) Why was the other man frightened?

(e) by had the man assumed that the writer was a statue that had come alive?

(f) "a wave of fright swept through him..." (i) What figure of speech is contained in the expression above? (ii) What does it mean?

(g) "...that brought his group..."

(i) What grammatical name is given to this expression as it is used in the passage?

(ii) What is its function?

(h) For each of the following words, find another word or phrase which means the same and which can replace it as it is used in the passage: (i) organizations; (ii) remarkable; (iii) pandemonium; (iv) replica; (v) pursued.

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7142

Read the following passage carefully and answer the questions on it.

      The number of people living in slums worldwide is estimated to be more than a billion. Experts in urbanization fear that the ever-growing slums in the world will soon become more populous than the cities. Findings like these, however. do not show clearly the devastating effect which substandard living conditions have on the poor. The situation is more serious in developing countries, where many people lack basic amenities, adequate housing and modem health care services.

      It is an irony that while some of the richest nations want to build colonies on the moon and explore Mars, growing numbers of their poorest citizens cannot afford a decent place to live here on earth. It might be easy to conclude that the poor could remedy their situation if they showed more initiative. but factors involved in the housing crisis are beyond their control. The world's population is increasing at an alarming rate. such that millions of houses are needed to keep pace with this development.

      It is a fact that cities provide more facilities than the rural areas. It is easier to get electricity and good water supply, pursue one's education and secure well-paid jobs in cities than villages. Very often those in the villages hanker for such opportunities. One cannot therefore blame them when they seize the first opportunity to reside n the cities. They do not mind going away from the villages to reside in congested cities. thereby contributing to over-population in the cities. In troubled areas of the world. political disasters. civil wars and suicide bombing are common Poor people, women and children run away from such troubled areas to preserve their lives They seek refuge in whatever shelter they can find when existing buildings are completely destroyed The relationship between housing and poverty cannot be ignored. People who cannot afford basic necessities as food and clothing. may not be able to rent or build decent houses. These and other factors have forced millions of people to settle for substandard housing They live in abandoned buses, shipping containers, cardboard boxes and other unthinkable places.

The housing problems. just like many other problems facing the world should be tackled with urgency. However, the cost of land for the erection of houses is high Even when land is secured. the high cost of building materials is another problem to contend with. One must not therefore blame building agencies which employ methods that enable them to build inexpensive houses

(a) In five sentences, one for each state the causes of the worldwide housing problems.

(b) In one sentence. summarize the measures that poor people have adopted to solve their housing problem.

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7143

You are about to leave secondary school and a friend of yours who is attending school in another town has written to enquire about what you wish to do after leaving school. Write a reply to him, explaining your plans.

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7144

 Write an article suitable for publication in your school magazine on the effects of drug abuse.

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7145

Write a letter to the Minister of Education in your country on the poor state of schools in your area and its effect on the, performance of students.

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WAEC Past Questions, Objective & Theory, Study 100% offline, Download app now - 24709
WAEC offline past questions - with all answers and explanations in one app - Download for free
Post-UTME Past Questions - Original materials are available here - Download PDF for your school of choice + 1 year SMS alerts
Download WAEC May/June App - Get all past questions and answers, 100% offline - 43208