Use Of English 2018 Jamb Examination

To work 'freelance' means to be self-employed and not committed to a particular employer long-term. A freelancer works independently for different companies rather than being a permanent employee of one. The opposite of working independently or for oneself is working 'dependently', which implies being subordinate to or reliant on a single employer or organization for work and income. 'Without pay' is a common misconception of the term, while 'tireless' and 'satisfactory' describe the quality of work rather than the employment status.

The word 'plucky' is an adjective used to describe someone who shows determined courage in the face of difficulties. A plucky defence is one that is brave and spirited, especially when the odds are against the defenders. To find the opposite, we look for a word that signifies a lack of strength or spirit. 'Weak' is the most suitable antonym, as it describes a lack of power or intensity. While 'careless' and 'tactful' refer to the manner of performance, they do not directly contrast with the courage and spirit implied by 'plucky'.

In this context, 'shady' refers to a place that is situated in or full of shade, protected from direct sunlight. The opposite of a sheltered, shaded area is one that is exposed to the elements and sunlight. 'An open' place suggests an area that is not covered or sheltered by trees or buildings, allowing full exposure to the sun. 'An unsafe' place refers to danger, 'a stuffy' place refers to lack of ventilation, and 'an enclosure' is a confined space; none of these specifically contrast with the protection from light provided by shade.

This question tests vocabulary related to geographical processes. When sea waves repeatedly hit a cliff, they gradually wear away the rock and soil through a process known as coastal erosion. 'Erode' is the precise scientific and linguistic term for the gradual wearing away of land by natural forces like water or wind. 'Impair' means to weaken or damage, 'rub' is too weak a term for the power of the sea, and 'knock' suggests a single strike rather than a continuous geological process.

This sentence is a third conditional structure, which is used to talk about hypothetical situations in the past (things that did not actually happen). The structure for the third conditional is: 'If + past perfect, would have + past participle'. Since the main clause contains 'would have been surprised', the 'if' clause must use the past perfect tense, which is 'had + past participle'. Therefore, 'had plucked' is the only grammatically correct choice to complete this counterfactual statement about the past.

This sentence requires the future perfect tense to describe an action that will be completed at a specific point in the future ('by the time the plane reaches Harare'). The future perfect is formed using 'will/would have + past participle'. This tense is used to project ourselves forward into the future and look back at an action that will be completed by then. 'Would have been' correctly indicates the duration of the flight (twelve hours) that will have elapsed by the time the arrival occurs.

This is a spelling-based question. The correct spelling for the medical condition characterized by inflammation and pain in the joints or muscles is 'rheumatism'. It is derived from the Greek 'rheuma'. The common pitfalls involve the placement of the 'h' after the 'r' and the 'u' after the 'e'. Option D provides the standard and correct United Kingdom English spelling.

This sentence uses a verb of perception ('saw'). Verbs of perception like see, hear, or watch can be followed by an object and a bare infinitive (without 'to') to indicate that the entire action was witnessed from start to finish. In this case, 'smash' is the bare infinitive. While the present participle 'smashing' could be used to describe an action in progress, 'smash' is the most standard way to describe the completed act of hitting the egg against the wall. 'Smashed' (past tense) and 'smashes' (present tense) are grammatically incorrect in this object complement structure.

This question tests the rule of subject-verb agreement. The true subject of the sentence is 'Knowledge', which is a singular uncountable noun. The phrase 'as well as of idiom and lexical items' is a parenthetical addition and does not change the number of the subject. In English grammar, phrases introduced by 'as well as', 'along with', or 'together with' do not make the subject plural. Since 'Knowledge' is singular, it requires the singular verb 'is tested'. 'Have been', 'are', and 'were' are all plural forms and are therefore incorrect.

The sentence is written in the passive voice ('were discussed'). In passive constructions, the agent (the person or thing performing the action) is usually introduced by the preposition 'by'. Therefore, 'the students' are the ones who performed the action of discussing. 'Between' would imply a discussion between two specific entities, 'for' would imply the discussion was a service provided to them, and 'to' is not a standard preposition for the agent of a discussion. 'By' is the most natural and grammatically appropriate choice.