Use Of English 2013 Jamb Examination

The expression "on our hands" is a fixed idiomatic phrase in British English.
It is commonly used to indicate that someone is faced with a difficult or troublesome situation that now requires attention or responsibility.
In this sentence, the idea is that a family mutiny has arisen and must be dealt with, which fits naturally with the preposition "on".
The other prepositions do not form a recognised or meaningful idiom in this context.

The phrase "the less fortunate" is a standard collective expression formed by using an adjective as a noun preceded by the definite article "the".
It refers generally to people who are disadvantaged and does not require plural marking.
The other options are incorrect due to unnecessary pluralisation, incorrect determiners, or spelling errors, which make them ungrammatical.

The word "glasier" is pronounced /ˈɡlæsɪə/ in British English, and the underlined vowel sound is /æ/.
Option A "feign" is pronounced /feɪn/ and contains the vowel /eɪ/.
Option B "glass" is pronounced /ɡlɑːs/ with the long vowel /ɑː/.
Option C "gleam" is pronounced /ɡliːm/ with the vowel /iː/.
Option D "flat" is pronounced /flæt/ and contains the vowel /æ/, which matches the vowel sound in "glasier".

The word "laud" is pronounced /lɔːd/ with the long vowel sound /ɔː/.
Option A "lathe" is pronounced /leɪð/ and contains the vowel /eɪ/.
Option B "core" is pronounced /kɔː/ and has the same vowel sound /ɔː/.
Option C "lavatory" begins with /ˈlævətəri/, which does not match the target vowel.
Option D "loud" is pronounced /laʊd/ and contains a diphthong, not the long vowel /ɔː/.

The word "coma" is pronounced /ˈkəʊmə/, and the underlined vowel sound is the diphthong /əʊ/.
Option A "come" is pronounced /kʌm/ with the vowel /ʌ/.
Option B "comma" is pronounced /ˈkɒmə/ with the vowel /ɒ/.
Option C "colonel" is pronounced /ˈkɜːnəl/ and does not contain the target sound.
Option D "cogent" is pronounced /ˈkəʊdʒənt/ and contains the same /əʊ/ vowel sound as "coma".

When responding to a negative statement and expressing agreement, English grammar requires the structure "neither + auxiliary verb + subject".
The auxiliary verb "have" is repeated to match the tense of the original statement.
Option C follows this structure correctly, while the other options are ungrammatical and do not reflect standard usage.

The sentence expresses a third conditional structure, which is used to describe an unreal situation in the past.
This structure follows the pattern "would have + past participle" combined with "if + had + past participle".
Option B correctly uses "if he had run fast", making it grammatically and logically consistent with the conditional clause.
The other options use incorrect tense combinations.

"Whoever" functions as the subject of the verb "offers" in this sentence.
Subject pronouns are required when the relative pronoun performs the action of the verb.
"Whomever" would only be correct if it were acting as an object, which is not the case here.
The remaining options are grammatically incorrect.

The term "matricide" refers specifically to the act of killing one's mother.
"Patricide" refers to the killing of one's father, while "patriarch" and "materiarch" relate to family authority or leadership.
Only "matricide" accurately matches the definition given in the sentence.

The adjective "confused" commonly collocates with the preposition "about" when referring to uncertainty regarding a subject or issue.
"Confused about something" is the standard and accepted usage in British English.
The other prepositions do not correctly express the intended relationship in this context.