The WAEC 2014 comprehension passage is about a primary school pupil called David Akide. This WASSCE May/June 2014 comprehension passage tells the amazing story of how David Akide, who was once at the bottom of his primary school class, miraculously rose from the depths of failure to achieve academic success later in life.
In fact, the writer of this passage is amazed that David Akide had been able to graduate from medical school and went further to become a reputable surgeon.
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WAEC 2014 Comprehension Passage
Section B Comprehension [20 marks] Answer all the questions in this section.
You are advised to spend about 20 minutes on this section. Read the following passage carefully and answer the questions on it.
The case of David Akide drives home the point that nobody should be written off as a failure as long as he has not died. As far as I can recall, he was one of the weakest in class throughout our primary school career. Right from the second grade, he was the butt of most of our jokes. Indeed, whenever the teacher referred a question to him, most of us waited eagerly to have a good laugh. But we all admired him for two things. For one thing, he was the only one who never wrote with the right hand as he was a complete southpaw. Then, he endured all jokes cheerfully and indeed referred to himself as “Mr. Why Hurry”. Forever sociable, he was a friend to everybody who came close enough.
Not surprising, we left him behind in the primary school as he could not get admitted to any of the secondary schools to which he took an admission examination. That was why, from the time I entered the secondary school, I lost contact with him. Nor did any of my mates whom I closely associated with ever mention meeting him anywhere. As far as most of us were concerned, David had faded away into obscurity. I imagined that he must have ended up in one of the low-grade vocations since he was at least good in handicraft.
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Then, a few months ago, thirty-eight years after I last saw him in the primary school, while I was watching a 9 o’clock television network programme, I saw David being interviewed by a team of reporters. He was introduced as a specialist surgeon who had made his mark in heart surgery in the nation’s leading teaching hospital.
The questions were on his recent feat in his successful correction of abnormality in the heart of a patient who had been written off by most other specialists. The patient fully recovered and was now back in his vocation as a mechanic. I was amazed. I was pleasantly surprised.
From the interview, it became clear that he had experienced a surge in intellectual prowess late in his secondary school career and zoomed into and through the university as a medical student. Thereafter, it had been one major achievement after another for him in his chosen field.
WAEC/WASSCE 2014 Comprehension Questions
(a) What evidence is there that the writer is not a young person?
(b) For what two things was David Akide admired by others in the primary school?
(c) Why could he not move into a secondary school then along with the others?
(d) What did the writer assume had been the fate of David after leaving the primary school?
(e) What is established by the fact that David Akide was being interviewed by a panel of reporters on the nation’s network programme?
(f) Why was the writer amazed?
(g) … while I was watching a 9 o ‘clock television network programme … (i) What is the grammatical name given to this expression as it is used in the passage? (ii) What is its function?
(h) … zoomed into and through the university… (i) What figure of speech is used in this expression? (ii) What does it mean?
(i) 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. cheerfully; ii. sociable; iii. imagined; iv. vocation v. achievement.
WAEC 2014 Comprehension Answers
Find below the answers to all the WAEC Comprehension questions for May/June 2014.
a. Around the time he was writing, he had been out of primary school for thirty-eight years.
b. i. He was the only pupil who wrote with his left hand. ii. He endured all the jokes from his mates cheerfully.
c. He failed the secondary school admission examination.
d. He thought David might have ended up with a low-grade vocational job.
e. David’s intellectual capabilities had improved significantly later in his life and this enabled him to achieve academic success.
f. He was amazed because David who was once academically weak was able to further his education to become a renowned surgeon.
g. i. Adverbial Clause (of Time) ii. It is modifying the verb, ‘saw’.
h. i. Metaphor (It could also be onomatopoeia within another context) ii. Entered and graduated from university with amazing speed.
i. i. good-naturedly (playfully) ii. outgoing (a mixer) iii. thought iv. job v. accomplishment
Final Thoughts
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