TRY ME!!!

Read the following passage carefully and answer the questions on it.
In Africa, there are more kinds of people with more differences among them-language, size,
colour, clothes, food-than there are in the other continents. The knee-high pygmies are known
as the shortest people on earth while the giant Watusis are Africa’s tallest and most beautiful
There are examples of the lightest and darkest races with shades ranging from yellow
through brown to black. Differences also exist in culture and history, with Ethiopians
claiming that they have the longest history.
There was slavery in the ancient world and slaves were of all nations and races. An
Ethiopian, Aesop, was among the slaves in Ancient Greece. He had a flat nose, thick lips and
black skin, but these Negroid features had nothing to do with slavery in those days.
The victor in battle enslaved his enemy and the debtor would pay in labour what he could not
pay in cash or food. The penalty for witchcraft, the punishment for coveting a neighbour’s
wife and the retribution for showing disrespect for another’s religion was bondage.
Even in times of famine or great deprivation, wives and daughters were sold into slavery.
This mode of slavery was practiced in Africa too, but it was not business.
The first slaves in modern times were captured years before Columbus landed in America. A
Portuguese navigator exploring the west coast of Africa became the first modern slave trader.
His men captured a fine-looking Moor wandering along the beach. To save his own life and
in exchange for his release, this wealthy Moor offered his captors ten Negro boys who were
eventually taken to Portugal where they served in the homes of the rich.
Soon the demand for African slaves became so great that ships returning from Africa brought
young negro boys as well as girls. Exploration was replaced by the lucrative trade in human
beings and Portuguese traders began selling people to Spain and other countries long before
other Europeans-the French, the Dutch and the Danes entered the trade.
Competition was so keen that these villains who were scrambling for slaves like hungry
wolves began to take slaves any way they could, sometimes capturing entire villages. One
could count myriads of heads loaded on ships like cattle.
The English were later attracted to the trade and became so active that they soon outdid the
other countries; their deliveries were far larger and more regular.
Questions
a) 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) shades ii) retribution iii) release iv) lucrative v) villains vi) outdid
b) What are the three features of the Ethiopian that identified him as a Negro
c) State the main difference between slavery as practiced in Africa and that practiced by
Europeans later.
d) Why did the Moor give away as many as ten Negro boys for his release?
e) Give two words or phrases that suggest the writer’s attitude to the slave trade
f) Why is it that the English deliveries were far larger and more regular?
g) ….. who were eventually taken to Portugal
i) What is the grammatical name for this construction?

ii) What is its grammatical function?

h) …… heads loaded on ships.

What literary device is used in the above expression

How to approach the questions

Let’s now go to the most important stage in the English comprehension test. I’m talking
about how to write the best comprehension answers to comprehension questions.

Note the steps you need to take to be able to write the best answers to comprehension
questions.

Qs a) i) SHADES.

Answering Steps:
1. Locate the word IN THE PASSAGE. “Shades” is located in paragraph 1.
2. Examine the context in which it is used: ie. There are examples of
the lightest and darkest races with SHADES ranging
from yellow through brown to black.
Clearly the words used in association with SHADES have something to do with colour and
since we are talking about “kinds of people” or “races”  it is SKIN COLOUR or
COMPLEXION that the writer is referring to when he uses SHADES.

 Identify the grammatical features of the word: “Shades” is plural so whatever

word or phrase we choose to replace it must also be in the plural form. So our
answer here will look like either
i) Shades – colours

    or
i) shades – complexions

ii) RETRIBUTION

1. Location: Paragraph 2.
1. The context:
The penalty for witchcraft, the punishment for coveting a neighbour’s wife and the
RETRIBUTION for showing disrespect for another’s religion were bondage.
In this particular case the issue here is wrongdoing or anti-social behavior. For the sake
variety and the literary device known as parallelism, the writer first used other words in the
context which amount to retribution for anti social behaviour. These are PENALTY and
PUNISHMENT. Thus, your answer should look like this: either
      ii) retribution – penalty

ii) retribution – punishment.

Note also that retribution is a singular noun so any word or phrase used to REPLACE IT IN
THE PASSAGE must also be singular hence “penalty” or “punishment”

iii) RELEASE

1. Location: Paragraph 3.
2. The context: His men captured a fine-looking Moor wandering along the
beach. To save his own life and in exchange for his RELEASE,
this wealthy Moor offered his captors ten Negro boys who were eventually taken
to Portugal where they served in the homes of the rich.
Now consider the words we have underlined. It is always important to have this mindset as
you try to answer comprehension questions.

“Captured” – a captured person is like a prisoner, he can no longer enjoy his FREEDOM so
he will do anything to gain his FREEDOM back.

“to save his own life” – The Moor was captured and his life was in danger. He could only be
safe (save his own life) when he regained his FREEDOM and he must do something for this
FREEDOM (RELEASE)

“exchange” and “wealthy”: This Moor wass rich (wealthy) so he could afford to obtain (buy,
or pick) “ten negro boys” in EXCHANGE (to pay for) his FREEDOM (RELEASE). Mind
you, slavery was not new in Africa and it wais the rich  and powerful, like this wealthy Moor
who could own slaves like these ten Negro boys.

“Served” the boys went to serve in place of the Moor. A servant is not a free person. Servants
don’t have FREEDOM so it was for his FREEDOM that the Moor traded (exchanged) the
boys.

Thus your answer could be:

iii) release – freedom

Note that “release” is used in its context as a noun not a verb or adjective so you cannot use
“FREE” to REPLACE it. You need to use its noun form hence FREEDOM

iv) LUCRATIVE

1. Location: Paragraph 4.
2. The context: Exploration was replaced by the LUCRATIVE trade in human
beings and Portuguese traders  began selling people to Spain and other
countries long before other Europeans ……….. entered the trade.
First, it was exploration but it was replaced by a trade in human beings. Clearly, trading must
be profitable in order to replace an earlier activity. Any kind of selling (including “selling
people”) can only be profitable to be done on an international basis (selling people to Spain
and other countries). Mind you, other Europeans, were attracted (entered) this obvious
PROFITABLE (lucrative) trade or “business” (last word in paragraph 2)

 Therefore even if the word LUCRATIVE is totally new to you, your guess can just be
good as mine – a good answer is:
iv) lucrative – profitable

Note that “lucrative” is an adjective so the word used to replace it should also be an adjective
hence PROFITABLE and not “profit” for example.

v) VILLAINS

1. Location: Paragraph 4, line 6

2. The context: Competition was so keen that these VILLAINS who
were scrambling for slaves like hungry wolves began to take slaves any way they
could sometimes capturing entire villages. One could count myriads of heads
loaded on ships like cattle.
The people “villains” is used for are the slave traders. The writer says they were “scrambling” for
slaves. Clearly these cannot be good people. Then the writer says they even captured entire villages!
Is that not cruel (and evil)? After capturing their fellow human beings they pack (load) them on ships
like animals (cattle) – this is clearly inhuman hence the writer compares them to wolves (vicious
animals). Clearly what the writer means by villains is “evil characters” or “bad people”. Thus your
answer can be: either

v) villains – bad people

      or
v) villains – evil characters

vi) OUTDID

1. Location: Last paragraph.

2. The context: The English …….. soon outdid the other countries;
their deliveries were far larger and more regular.
The writer has used the punctuation mark, semi-colon, to announce an EXPLANATION of
the word OUTDID. Thus what he means by “they OUTDID other countries” is :

“THEIR DELIVERIES WERE FAR LARGER AND MORE REGULAR.” In other words
the English DID BETTER THAN or PERFORMED BETTER
THAN or SURPASSED or OUTCLASSED other countries.
Please overcame is not appropriate in this context.
Note also that OUTDID is a verb in its past tense so any word or phrase used to REPLACE it
must also be a verb in the past tense hence your answer can be:
vi) outdid – did better than

or
vi) outdid – performed better than

or
vi) outdid – surpassed

b) What are the  three  features of the Ethiopian that identified him as a Negro?
Answering Steps:
1. Question analysis (so that you don’t deviate): key words to note are: three, features,
Ethiopian, identified, Negro
THREE: three means three – don’t state two or one and don’t write four, five etc. Just state
three.
FEATURES: features means characteristics or attributes; look for these.

ETHIOPIAN: Not the Moor or a Portuguese or an English man etc. So your answer must be
only about the Ethiopian and no one else.

IDENTIFIED: it is all about the identity or identification of a Negro. What things about him
can make you IDENTIFY him as a NEGRO? – not a MOOR or a WHITE MAN or
YELLOW MAN.

 Locate the answer in the passage: ie paragraph 2 , sentence 2:

An Ethiopian, Aesop, was among the slaves in ancient Greece. He had a flat nose, thick lips
and black skin, but these Negroid features had nothing to do with slavery in those days.
 Do not copy and present all the above extract as you answer.
As you can see, certain words here point to the fact that this is where the answer to this
question is. These are: “Ethiopian” and “Negroid features”

What are the three features then? They are:

FLAT NOSE, THICK LIPS and BLACK SKIN

 Provide a direct answer – no need to beat about the bush:
either b) a flat nose, thick lips and black skin
   or   b) i) flat nose
              iii) black skin

   or     b) He had a flat nose, thick lips and black skin

   or    b) The Ethiopian’s Negroid features were a flat nose thick lips and black skin.
   or    b) The features which identified the Ethiopian as a negro were his flat nose, thick lips
and black skin.
              c) State the main difference between slavery as practiced in Africa and that
practiced by Europeans later.
Answering Steps:
1. Question analysis (so that you don’t deviate): Key words to note are:
State, main difference, slavery as practiced, Africa, Europeans later.
STATE: Just state briefly, don’t explain,

MAIN DIFFERENCE: just the major difference and only one difference. In other words,
what one major thing set the two continents apart as far as the practice of slavery was
concerned?

SLAVERY AS PRACTICED: It is all about slavery and how it was practiced. Don’t
introduce a different issue (eg. Negroid features) in your answer here please.

AFRICA ………. EUROPEANS: The difference is between these two peoples (not between
England and Spain etc:) so don’t talk about other people apart from Africans and Europeans.

EUROPEANS LATER: The Europeans came to practice slavery LATER. That is after
Africans had themselves practiced it EARLIER. Thus to locate the area(s) of your answer,
you must read the earlier stages of the passage, see how Africans practiced slavery and then
move further towards the middle or end of the passage.your answer should therefore sound
like this:
c) Whereas European slavery was business African slavery was not.

d) Why did the Moor give away as many as ten Negro boys for his release.

Answer Steps:
1. Question Analysis:
Words to note:

WHY: This implies that your answer must be a REASON to explain the Moor’s action.

MOOR: It is all about the MOOR (not the Portuguese Ethiopian or anybody else)

GIVE AWAY AS MANY AS TEN NEGRO BOYS: This is the action for which your answer
must give a reason. Note “AS MANY AS TEN” (this expression suggests that the number is
a lot and there must be a reason or reasons for this.)

HIS RELEASE: It is about his release not his capture. So locate the answer at the place where
he acted for his release.  

 Locate the answer in the passage:

To save his own life and in exchange for his release, this wealthy Moor offered his captors
his captors ten negro boys ……….
Clearly he was desperate to save his own life and since he was a wealthy (or rich) man he
could easily afford ten negro boys. These explain his action.

 So your answer can be:

d) He wanted to save his own life and he was rich enough to do so with ten Negro boys.

e) Give  two words or phrases  that suggest the writer’s attitude to the  slave trade.
Answer Steps:
1. Question Analysis:
Key words to note are

TWO: Whether you’ve decided to give words or phrases, they must be TWO, not one and not
three or four or more.

WORDS OR PHRASES: You have been given options here. You are free to give words or to
give phrases – suit yourself.

WRITER’S: Not your attitude, the Europeans’ or Africans’ attitude – only the WRITER’S
please.

Attitude: His feeling about the subject (the slave trade). How he feels about the slave trade
can only be derived form his choice of language (words or expressions) when referring to the
trade and those who carried it out. So look for specific areas where his language betrays his
feeling (his ATTITUDE).

SLAVE TRADE: It is about the SLAVE trade not the gold trade or EXPLORATION. It is
also about the trade (business) aspect of it and  for that matter, the one practiced by the
Europeans. It is not the non – trade (non-business) slavery in Africa that is being referred to
please.

 Locate the answer in the passage ie Paragraph 4.

Competition was so keen that these VILLAINS (evil people) who were SCRAMBLING for
slaves LIKE HUNGRY WOLVES ……… One could count myriads of heads loaded in ships
LIKE CATTLE.
The writer’s choice of the words in capital letters amply suggests an attitude of condemnation
or disgust.

It is critical to consider words and expressions to correctly answer comprehension questions

of this nature.

 Your answer can then be:

e) i) villains ii) wolves

     or
e) i) like hungry wolves ii) like cattle

or
e) The words “villains” and “wolves” suggest his attitude of condemnation.

or
e) He shows his disgust for the slave trade by using such expressions as “like hungry wolves”
and “like cattle”.

f) Why is it that the English deliveries were far larger and more regular?

Answer Steps:
1. Question Analysis: words to note.
WHY: You are to give a REASON for this state of affairs.

ENGLISH DELIVERIES: It is only about the English as compared to the others; not
SPANISH or PORTUGUESE deliveries. Also, it is about their SUPPLIES (deliveries) of
slaves, not their EXPLORATIONS, for example.

FAR LARGER AND MORE REGULAR: These words will help you to easily locate your
answer because they are directly picked from that part of the passage where the REASON
(your answer) is located.

 Locate the answer:

ie Last Paragraph:

The English ……. BECAME SO ACTIVE THAT they soon OUTDID the other countries;
THEIR DELIVERIES WERE FAR LARGER AND MORE REGULAR
As you can see, the English outdid the other countries by delivering or supplying far larger
quantities and more regular consignments of slaves as a result of their intense
activity (became so active that).

 So your answer can be

f) Because they were more active in the trade than the other countries.

Answer comprehension questions this way and you can be sure of a good score.

g) ……. who were eventually taken to Portugal

i) What is the grammatical name  for this construction?
ii) What is its grammatical function?
Answering Steps:
1. Question analysis
i) GRAMMATICAL NAME often refers to a phrase or a clause, not just a part of speech nor
a figure of speech please.

ii) FUNCTION is determined by the position of the underlined in relation to another

word/phrase/clause OUTSIDE the underlined group.

 Locate the underlined in its context in the passage

…….. this wealthy Moor offered his captors ten negro boys who were eventually taken to
Portugal
You can see that the construction begins with “who” so it is likely that it is an adjectival
clause. Then also, it can answer the question: Which? Adjectives usually answer the
question which kind? or which type?  In this case, “which negro boys?”
The answer will be: Negro boys who were eventually taken to Portugal
Thus, it is an adjective but not noun or adverb.

Are you beginning to see the best way to answer comprehension questions?

The next question you may ask: which type of adjective? Phrase or Clause?

Now as you can see, the construction has a finite verb, “were” or in other words, it is easy to
derive a complete sentence out of the construction so it cannot be a phrase but rather a clause.
Put the two together and you have ADJECTIVAL CLAUSE.

 Your answer for g (i) is therefore:

g (i) Grammatical Name : Adjectival Clause

 Going back to the context and to the question we pose above you will realize that this
construction is functioning in the usual way most adjectives function. That is, it is
specifying or qualifying or modifying a noun (ie boy) or a noun phrase (ie ten negro
boys)
 Your answer for g (ii) can therefore be:
ii) Function: It is qualifying the noun, “boys”

or : It is qualifying the noun phrase, “ten negro boys”

See the tutorials on grammatical names and functions. It will enable you to go one step
further regarding the best way to answer comprehension questions.
h) …… heads loaded on ships
        What literary device is used in the above expression?
Answer Steps:
 1. Question analysis: The question concerns literary appreciation (literature) and not
grammatical analysis (grammar). So let your mind go to such terms as simile,
metaphor, oxymoron, synecdoche, paradox, onetonymy, personification,
onomatopoeia, irony etc. Avoid the mistake of thinking about noun, adjective,
adverbial clause etc.
2. Locate the expression in the passage ie. Paragraph 4.
………..Competition was so keen that these villains who were scrambling for slaves like
hungry wolves began to take slaves any way they could, sometimes capturing entire villages.
One could count myriads of heads loaded on ships like a cattle.
The writer is talking about the way slaves were captured and then transported on ships across
the sea to far away lands here. HEADS therefore refers to slaves or HUMAN BEINGS
loaded on ships.

Clearly,  part of the body (heads) is used to refer to the whole (people or human beings). This
is the literary device we call SYNECDOCHE so your answer must be:

h) Synecdoche.

Note that the underlined expression featuring in the question does not include the last two
words of the sentence, “like cattle” so do not fall into the temptation of giving your answer to
be SIMILE. No please.

Last word …
I trust that you’ve finally found the secret to the correct way to answer comprehension
questions. Never must you worry about how to answer comprehension questions anymore.