Home » English-Comprehension (BECE 2009) Read the following passages carefully and answer the questions which follow 12PASSAGE I (BECE 2009)1212121213PASSAGE II (BECE 2009)13131313 50%Page 1 of 2PASSAGE I (BECE 2009)Read the following passages carefully and answer the questions which follow We were suddenly awakened at dawn by the screams of the tenants in our house. They were making a lot of commotion in the yard. Daddy quickly jumped from his bed and made for the door. Not long after, we heard him scream. We ran to the hall, switched on the lights and saw him lying flat on his back holding his forehead. In his haste to get to the hall door, he must have forgotten to switch on the lights thus running straight and crashing his head into the pillar in the middle of the hall. When we examined his forehead, we saw a big lump and blood oozing from a deep cut near his eyebrow. Mummy, a retired nursing sister, shouted instructions to me to get the first-aid box, some ice cubes and Daddy’s towel. When the items were brought, she set to work first on the cut. She put some ice cubes in the towel and pressed the towel on the cut for about two minutes. She then wiped the blood gently. Afterwards, she put a little iodine on a piece of gauze, placed it on the cut and bandaged it. Turning to the lump, she massaged it with some ice cubes, which reduced the swelling. She then opened the front door and we beheld a pathetic scene. Lying in the middle of the house was the motionless body of one of the tenants. Trying to resist an attack from the armed robbers, he had been butchered mercilessly and his body left in the middle of the house. 1. What made the writer wake up? The noise made by the fatherThe attack by the armed robbersThe shouting of the tenantsThe father crashing into the pillar2. The writer’s father was holding his forehead because he wanted to stop the blood from flowingwas thinking of what to dohad fallen flat on his backhad hit his head against the pillar3. The purpose of the ice cubes was to manage the cutstop the bleedingreduce the swellingheal the cut4. Pathetic in the passage means mercilessstrangesadnaughty5. What happened to the tenant? He fell down heavilyHe was killed by the robbersHe saw a pathetic sceneHe opened the doorPage 2 of 2PASSAGE II (BECE 2009)Read the following passages carefully and answer the questions which follow Where is the musical performance of songbirds held? It is not in any concert hall but rather on trees, fences and telephone wires. It is from these places that the little-feathered creatures blend their voices in some of the most melodious songs sung in the world. Songbirds do not just make noise. The male voices in the choir, for instance, have two different messages. Firstly, it is a warning to other males not to come near their partners. Secondly, it is an invitation from the bachelors to the female birds. The most interesting songs which are sung with a lot of vigour are produced during the breeding season by the males to impress the lady birds. Songbirds are very remarkable. They sing three or four notes at a time. To the human ear, it sounds like one beat but the birds can identify the different notes because of their keen sense of hearing. At times, what is heard may not be a song of our winged friends but simply an instruction to keep the flock together. It may also be a warning of an approaching danger. Just how birds compose their songs is an interesting subject. Some birds have their songs fixed in their brains at birth. Whilst some imitate others, other birds try to compose songs which are unique. They will never copy what they hear others sing. 6. According to the passage, members of the choir can sing without difficulty because they are born good singerseasily learn to singhave good songshave to sing7. The male songbirds sing four notes at a timewhat others have composedto instruct othersto attract the females8. According to the passage, birds sing some of the sweetest songsonly one noteonly in the breeding seasonto invite the bachelors9. Unique in the passage means specialsimilarsuitableexciting10. The writer suggests that birds make louder noise than human beingsbirds can interpret notes betterhuman beings sing better than birdsbirds compose more interesting songs Loading... Share this:Click to share on WhatsApp (Opens in new window)Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window)Click to share on Twitter (Opens in new window)