ENGLISH LITERATURE THIRD TERM EXAMINATION JUNIOR SECONDARY SCHOOLS – JSS 2 (BASIC 8) EXAM QUESTIONS

INSTRUCTION – Read the following questions carefully and choose the correct answer from the alternatives lettered A – D.

1. The main idea in a novel is the ______.

(a) setting

(b) plot

(c) style

(d) theme

 

2. Onomatopoeia is ______.

(a) the repetition of the same consonant sound

(b) an imitation of sounds of words

(c) words beginning and ending with the same sound

(d) the repetition of words beginning with the same sounds only

 

3. The Holy time is quiet as a Nun. The figure of speech used in the above line is ______.

(a) paradox

(b) irony

(c) synecdoche

(d) simile

 

4. The counsel for the accused addressed the bench. The underlined is an example of ______.

(a) a seat

(b) metaphor

(c) metonymy

(d) oxymoron

 

5. A life narration of a man written by another person is known as ______.

(a) an autobiography

(b) a diary

(c) a photograph

(d) a biography

 

6. ______ is a conversation between characters.

(a) monologue

(b) dialogue

(c) suspense

(d) flashback

 

7. The clothes or wears which the characters put on while on the stage is called ______.

(a) jeans

(b) uniform

(c) attire

(d) costumes

 

8. An act of playing on words is known as ______.

(a) pun

(b) simile

(c) paradox

(d) hyperbole

 

9. A poem about simple rural life is known as ______.

(a) an epic

(b) a pastoral

(c) a sonnet

(d) an ode

 

10. In literary appreciation, the choice of words used by a writer is generally known as ______.

(a) speech

(b) rhythm

(c) diction

(d) rhyme

 

Read the extract below and answer questions 11-16.

I. Too much of everything is bad.

II. Money is everything.

III. So is too much of money bad?

IV. You have all the money.

V. You have all the honey.

VI. You are a paper that smells.

VII. And make men to smile.

VIII. A light paper that makes men heavy.

IX. See their joy in bundle.

X. You are a rectangle.

XI. That makes men rest at all angles.

XII. A paper with a seal.

XIII. That men steal with zeal.

XIV. Money makes a man first.

XV. And his opinions seconded.

XVI. A paper that makes men right.

XVII. Even when they are more wrong.

XVIII. Money has no mouth.

XIX. Yet it speaks your language.

XX. You have money you have many.

 

11. It is a/an ______ that money smells, according to the poet still makes men smile. (line 6 – 7).

(a) irony

(b) simile

(c) personification

(d) euphemism

 

12. The expression: “money has no mouth, yet it speaks your language”, is an example of ______.

(a) hyperbole

(b) antithesis

(c) metaphor

(d) irony

 

13. What figure of speech does the poet deploy in the expression: “money is everything” (stanza 1, line 2)?

(a) Hyperbole

(b) Paradox

(c) Metonymy

(d) Oxymoron

 

14. Stanza one is a poem of five lines, which is also known as a ______.

(a) quatrain

(b) sonnet

(c) quintet

(d) dioxin

 

15. “Money makes a man first”.(stanza 4), the underlined letters here ______.

(a) assonates

(b) personifies

(c) alliterates

(d) symbolizes

 

16. The mood of the poet is that of ______.

(a) satisfaction

(b) regrets

(c) sadness

(d) eternity

 

17. A comedian is a male entertainer who makes people laugh by cracking jokes, while a female is known as ______.

(a) comedy

(b) comedietta

(c) comic

(d) comedienne

 

18. All these are types of poetry, except ______.

(a) a lyric

(b) an ode

(c) a lullaby

(d) a mime

 

19. ______ is a poem that talks about the actons of great men and women or about a nation’s history.

(a) An ode

(b) An epic

(c) A ballad

(d) A lullaby

 

20. ______ is a genre of literature which has an unhappy ending.

(a) Comedy

(b) Tragic-comedy

(c) Tragedy

(d) Dance-drama

 

SECTION – THEORY

‘HEAVY TONGUE’ by OIWONA ANDREW

Heavy tongue hardly speaks heavily

Only a light tongue speaks heavily

Heavy tongues hardly talks to a dozen

And seven to the dozen

Heavy tongue turns tact turn

To speak at his turn

Heavy tongue hates to speak

In a round table of talk; he loves to sneak

Heavy tongue is bad at talking good

Sputtering as he says l-l—l-i-i-f-e is g-g-o-o-d

He talks, they taunt and make him a clown

Without a reward of a crown

I saw shortly before I was conceived, at midnight

The shuttering gene of my gem dad, colluding with fate

To give me heavy tongue. No life in me to avert this no faith.

My mum played with my dad

And played second fiddle

Her gene was recessive

So she was aggressive

To see her penultimate child

Talking like his father

She saw the handiwork of heredity

To silence a celebrity

Then in my lifeless state, I echoed

Who can silence a celebrity with dexterity?

Who can silence s minister and minstrel?

Who can silence a bard who is not bad?

Like my pater and his father

My tongue is heavy and cannot talk farther

Then I screamed further

“I am a celebrity with poetic dexterity”

“I am a minster and a minstrel”

“I am a very good bard; am not bad”

I cannot communicate fluently

No, I can communicate fluently

In black and white; writing is the right thing

I can communicate in lyrics and limerics

All eyes, me, they shall see in limelight

My weakness is also my strength

Mum had births and deaths

Ten births and two deaths

None of my siblings stammers

So why is it only me that stammers?

Only God knows His tower

‘cos it’s beyond my power.

 

INSTRUCTION – Answer any five (5) questions of your choice; use the poem above to answer questions 1 – 3. 

QUESTION 1. Briefly explain any two from the following themes of the poem:

(i) A twist of fate

(ii) Determination

(iii) Positive thinking

 

QUESTION 2. Define simile and metaphor as figures of speech.

 

QUESTION 3. Identify the figurative expression used in the sentences below:

(i) ‘My weakness is also my strength’ (line 41)

(ii) “I am a celebrity with poetic dexterity” (line 33)

(Iii) “talking like my pater and his father” ( line 30)

(iv) “mum had births and deaths” (line 42)

(v) “who can silence a bard who is not bad?” (line 29)

 

QUESTION 4. Give a short definition of the following:

(i) Myths

(ii) Legends

(iii) Mime

(iv) Oral literatur

(v) dance drama

 

QUESTION 5. Briefly explain any three from the following types of poem:

(i) An Ode poem

(ii) An Elegy poem

(iii) A lullaby poem

(iv) A limerick poem

 

QUESTION 6. Complete the blanks below:

(i). A stanza of one line is called a ______.

(ii) A stanza of five lines is called a ______.

(iii) ______ is referred to as a stanza of six lines.

(iv) An eight lines stanza is called a ______.

(v) A stanza of ten lines is called a ______.