Read the following passage carefully and then answer the questions on it.
When Chief Obinwa read the note and absorbed its terse content, he nearly collapsed. For minutes, he stared at it in utter disbelief. But much as he wished otherwise, the message was clear, the robbers had indicated that they would visit him very soon, and that 'no force in the world' would stop them from carting away all he had. The note ended by warning him in his 'own interest' not to be funny by informing the police or other law-enforcement agents.
As a wealthy business man, Chief Obinwa had seen enough of life to know that the gang meant business. He could recall at least half a dozen men who had got such sinister notes in the past, and who had been robbed as planned. One of them had contacted the police which then guarded his house for weeks. But the robbers struck all the same — they attacked him in his expensive car on his way to another town, thrashed him thoroughly, and relieved him of the car.
So, contacting the police was out of it, he decided. But what could he do? He confided in his closest friend, who had been his business associate for thirty years. The latter advised him to vacate his house for as long as it was necessary and seek refuge in a hotel. After giving this much thought, Chief Obinwa checked into Exclusive Hotel. But he stayed only for a night. He reasoned that leaving his retinue of wives, children, servants and relatives behind was not the best solution. So, emptying the water in an over-head tank, Chief Obinwa turned the tank into his refuge every night. His powerful double-barrelled rifle in hand, he hid in the tank late in the night, waiting.
Then, one night, the robbers came in a lorry. They were about a dozen. As they were forcing their way in, Obinwa aimed at their leader, and brought him down with a loud report. Another shot, and a second man fell. Surprised, the others fled, with Chief Obinwa's shots seeing them off. By day break, the news spread fast. The body of Chief Obinwa's friend and business associate was found in a pool of blood at the entrance to the chiefs house. He was the leader of the gang!
(a)(i) What message did Chief Obinwa receive? (ii) Why did he decide not to call in the police?
(b) Why did Chief Obinwa's friend give the kind of advice he gave?
(c) Why did Chief Obinwa drop the idea of continuing to hide in a hotel?
(d) Why was the chief able to repel the thieves single-handedly?
(e) his retinue of wives, children servants and relatives behind....
(i) What is the grammatical name given to this expression (ii) What is its function?
(f) For each of the following words, find another word or phrase that could replace it as used in the passage:
(i) absorbed; (ii) sinister (iii) associate (iv) refuge (v) report.
Comprehension answers: Chief Obinwa passage.
(a)(i) The message Chief Obinwa received: He received a threatening note from robbers informing him that they would visit him very soon and that no force in the world would stop them from carting away all he had, and warning him, in his own interest, not to be funny by informing the police or other law-enforcement agents.
(a)(ii) Why he decided not to call in the police: He decided against it because experience had taught him that the police could not protect such victims. He recalled at least half a dozen men who had received similar notes and been robbed all the same, including one who was guarded by the police for weeks yet was still attacked, beaten and robbed of his car; so he concluded that contacting the police was useless and might even be dangerous.
(b) Why Chief Obinwa's friend gave the advice he gave: The friend, who was secretly the leader of the robbery gang, advised the chief to leave his house and hide in a hotel so as to lure him away from his home and his protection, making it easy for the gang to strike; the advice was a deliberate trick, though it appeared to be well meant.
(c) Why Chief Obinwa dropped the idea of continuing to hide in a hotel: He dropped it after only one night because he reasoned that abandoning his large household of wives, children, servants and relatives to save himself was not the best solution; he felt he should stay and protect them.
(d) Why the chief was able to repel the thieves single-handedly: He was able to do so because he had cleverly hidden himself, armed with his powerful double-barrelled rifle, inside the emptied overhead water tank. From that concealed vantage point he took the robbers by surprise as they forced their way in, shooting down their leader and a second man, so that the rest fled in confusion.
(e)(i) Grammatical name for 'his retinue of wives, children, servants and relatives': It is a noun phrase.
(e)(ii) Its function: It functions as the object of the verb 'leaving' (that is, the object of the gerund/participle 'leaving'), naming what he would be leaving behind.
(f) Words and their replacements as used in the passage:
- (i) absorbed: took in / understood / grasped
- (ii) sinister: threatening / menacing / evil
- (iii) associate: partner / colleague / ally
- (iv) refuge: shelter / safety / hiding place
- (v) report: bang / sound / shot
Comprehension answers: Chief Obinwa passage.
(a)(i) The message Chief Obinwa received: He received a threatening note from robbers informing him that they would visit him very soon and that no force in the world would stop them from carting away all he had, and warning him, in his own interest, not to be funny by informing the police or other law-enforcement agents.
(a)(ii) Why he decided not to call in the police: He decided against it because experience had taught him that the police could not protect such victims. He recalled at least half a dozen men who had received similar notes and been robbed all the same, including one who was guarded by the police for weeks yet was still attacked, beaten and robbed of his car; so he concluded that contacting the police was useless and might even be dangerous.
(b) Why Chief Obinwa's friend gave the advice he gave: The friend, who was secretly the leader of the robbery gang, advised the chief to leave his house and hide in a hotel so as to lure him away from his home and his protection, making it easy for the gang to strike; the advice was a deliberate trick, though it appeared to be well meant.
(c) Why Chief Obinwa dropped the idea of continuing to hide in a hotel: He dropped it after only one night because he reasoned that abandoning his large household of wives, children, servants and relatives to save himself was not the best solution; he felt he should stay and protect them.
(d) Why the chief was able to repel the thieves single-handedly: He was able to do so because he had cleverly hidden himself, armed with his powerful double-barrelled rifle, inside the emptied overhead water tank. From that concealed vantage point he took the robbers by surprise as they forced their way in, shooting down their leader and a second man, so that the rest fled in confusion.
(e)(i) Grammatical name for 'his retinue of wives, children, servants and relatives': It is a noun phrase.
(e)(ii) Its function: It functions as the object of the verb 'leaving' (that is, the object of the gerund/participle 'leaving'), naming what he would be leaving behind.
(f) Words and their replacements as used in the passage:
- (i) absorbed: took in / understood / grasped
- (ii) sinister: threatening / menacing / evil
- (iii) associate: partner / colleague / ally
- (iv) refuge: shelter / safety / hiding place
- (v) report: bang / sound / shot
