2022-04-21 14:10:10
ENGLISH LANGUAGE TRIALS FOR SERIOUS CANDIDATES.
*COMPREHENSION*
Breaking the news and asking for his mother’s consent were more difficult than Badu had imagined. He had run out of excuses for keeping his mother in the dark. “Today,” he mused, “I must let the cat out of the bag.”
He gingerly knocked on his mother’s door. There was no response and so concluded that she was asleep. As he did not wish to disturb her, Badu decided to wait till morning. But as soon as he turned to go back to his room he heard, “My son, come in. What is the problem?” Badu entered his mother’s room. Strangely, all the well-rehearsed speeches, responses and apologies vanished. He could not utter a word. When Maame Pomaa realized that her son was not ill, she relaxed and waited patiently for him to talk.
Badu started by repeating the conversation they had the previous evening about Agricultural Extension Officer’s visit. He then described sister Afua’s engagement ceremony which both of them attended two months earlier. Maame Pomaa listened patiently. She dozed off and was woken up by Badu’s chuckle. Badu got up suddenly and told his mother that he was going back to bed. At the door, he turned, smiled and winked at his mother. She winked back. That was their usual way of saying good-bye.
Back in his room, Badu could not sleep. His mind was in turmoil. This restlessness was mutual. Maame Pomaa, after tossing in her bed for a while, decided to return her son’s visit. She tapped gently on the door. Badu jumped out of bed, dashed to the door and clutched his mother’s hands. Maam ePomaa looked at her son closely and asked him to sit down. She sat by him and said calmly, “Badu, I know you have something very important to tell me. Relax and bare your soul to me. Whatever it is, I’m sure God will give us the strength to bear it.”
Despite his mother’s encouraging words, Badu was still tongue-tied. His main worry was how his mother would react to the news. Being the only surviving child, he had been her only companion since his father’s death. Moreover, Maame Pomaa was not particularly sociable. How would she spend her evenings? Who would help her with her chores? There were some of the unanswered questions going through Badu’s mind. He gazed intently at his mother and burst into tears. “Maame,” he sobbed, “I’ve won a scholarship to study abroad.”
QUESTIONS
a) How did Badu feel when he visited his mother in her room?
b) Mention two events which Badu talked about in his mother’s room.
c) How would you describe the relationship between Badu and his mother?
d) Why was Badu unable to tell his mother his real reasons for going to her room?
e) What was Badu’s real reason for going to his mother’s room?
f) ………their usual way of saying good-bye
i. What is the grammatical name given to this expression?
ii. What is its function in the sentence?
g) …….bare your soul to me.
What figure of speech is used in the expression above?
h) For each of the following words underlined in the passage, give another word or phrase which means the same and can replace it in the passage:
i.muse
ii.gingerly,
iii.concluded,
iv.clutched,
v.particularly,
vi.intently
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