THIRD TERM EXAMINATION ENGLISH LANGUAGE JUNIOR SECONDARY SCHOOLS JSS 1 (BASIC 7) EXAM QUESTIONS

SECTION A – OBJECTIVES

INSTRUCTION – Choose from the given options lettered A-D, the correct one that answers the question below:

1. Words that suggest their meanings through their sounds in a poem is known _______.

(a) hyperbole

(b) euphemism

(c) assonance

(d) onomatopoeia

 

2. The figurative expression, ‘The lion’s paws kicked the bucket’ is referred to as _______.

(a) hyperbole

(b) simile

(c) personification

(d) euphemism

 

3. _______ is the figurative expression in which the quality of a living thing is given to a non-living thing.

(a) Metaphor

(b) Personification

(c) Irony

(d) Alliteration

 

4. ‘He bleats like a goat’ is an example of _______.

(a) irony

(b) pun

(c) simile

(d) euphemism

 

5. A poem of three lines stanza is called a _______.

(a) dioxin

(b) septet

(c) quintet

(d) tercet

 

6. A comedian is a male entertainer who makes people laugh by cracking jokes, while the female is known as a _______.

(a) comedy

(b) comedienne

(c) comedietta

(d) comic

 

7. _______ is a story of a person’s life, written by himself or herself.

(a) autobiography

(b) biography

(c) diary

(d) register

 

8. “Tick tack says the clock’, the underlined words are examples of _______.

(a) simile

(b) euphemism

(c) onomatopoeia

(d) personification

 

9. The sequential arrangement of actions in any literary work is known as _______.

(a) setting

(b) plot

(c) theme

(d) stanza

 

10. _______ is a group of lines in poetry.

(a) Stanza

(b) Paragraph

(c) Octave

(d) Elegy

 

11. Which of these is a soft sonorous song that is sung to keep children quiet?

(a) Elegy

(b) Dirge

(c) Limerick

(d) Lullaby

 

12. _______ occurs when a writer says one thing but means another.

(a) Irony

(b) Simile

(c) Metaphor

(d) Hyperbole

 

13. _______ is a type of drama with an unhappy ending.

(a) Comedy

(b) Mime

(c) Playlet

(d) Tragedy

 

14. “John is so brilliant that he passed one subject out of his nine papers”, is an example of _______.

(a) irony

(b) metaphor

(c) alliteration

(d) hyperbole

 

15. The central idea, problems and lessons learnt from any literary work of art is referred to as the _______.

(a) style

(b) diction

(c) theme

(d) plot

 

Sleep and Dream

Man dies and wakes up a million times

Then he dies one time

With eyelids knitted

Man forgets his life and its nitty-gritty

Man travels to dreamland and without fare

Like a wayfarer

In the dreamland, the close eyes

Of man sees his eyries

And his resting feet

Walk several feet

By five o’clock, man wakes from his slumber

More refreshed and nimbler

He activates the day’s activities and that prepare him

For another sleep and then his eyes shall dim.

 

Read the above poem and answer questions 16-20.

16. “By five o’clock, man wakes from his slumber” (line 11) is an example of _______.

(a) simile

(b) metaphor

(c) irony

(d) none of the above

 

17. The expression, “man dies and wakes a million times” (line 1) is referred to as _______.

(a) oxymoron

(b) irony

(c) hyperbole

(d) euphemism

 

18. “Sleep and dream” is a poem of 14 lines, which is also known as a _______.

(a) couplet

(b) quatrain

(c) sonnet

(d) quintet

 

19. What figure of speech does the writer deploy in the expression: “and his resting feet walk several feet” (line 9-10)?

(a) hyperbole

(b) oxymoron

(c) irony

(d) euphemism

 

20. ”Man travels to dreamland without fare like a wayfarer”, (line 5-6) is an example of _______.

(a) simile

(b) metaphor

(c) irony

(d) oxymoron

 

SECTION B – 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.

Download Free Pdf English Studies Scheme of Work for Junior Secondary School (JSS 1) Link

 

SECTION C

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.

A. A twist of fate

B. Determination

C. Positive thinking

 

QUESTION 2

Define simile and metaphor as figures of speech.

 

QUESTION 3

Identify the figurative expression used in the sentences below:

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

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

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

D. “mum had births and deaths” (line 42)

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

 

QUESTION 4

Give a short definition of the following:

A. Myths

B. Legends

C. Lime

D. Oral literature

E. Dance drama

 

QUESTION 5

Briefly explain any three from the following types of poem:

A. An Ode poem

B. An Elegy poem

C. A lullaby poem

D. A limerick poem

 

QUESTION 6

Complete the blanks below:

A. A stanza of one line is called a _______.

B. A stanza of five lines is called a _______.

C. _______ is referred to as a stanza of six lines.

D. An eight lines stanza is called a _______.

E A stanza of ten lines is called a _______.