Read the following passage carefully and then answer the questions on it.
It was Kola’s first day at work. That morning. he woke up at exactly five 0 clock. He had slept late the night before as he was getting ready for the D-day.
Securing a job was a relief to Kola and his parents. For two years. Kola had roamed the streets in search of work. He had finished his mandatory national youth service two years. service two years before after returning from America where he obtained his master’s degree in Business Administration at the State University. During these years, he has been living on his parents. Of course they were happy caring for him as having him around was what mattered. They could not bear the pain of him returning to America after missing him for ten years. Kola detested this too much. He felt his freedom was being curtailed by his continued dependence on his parents for survival. There was nothing he could do for the moment. He was not then a man.
Kola arrived at the office of the secretary to the Managing Director of Friendly Construction Company that morning full of smiles. He was to start as the company’s Personnel Manager. He was surprised to see the secretary already at her seat typing. She looked up from her typing with surprise. She wondered what could have kept the young man so late on the first day of his assumption of duties. She was sure the Managing Director would not take it lying down.
She was on the verge of asking him why he was late when the door to the Director’s office opened and the director stepped into the secretary’s office.
Good morning Sir’, Kola greeted him.
“Morning, Mr. Kola”, replied the Director. By my time he continued it is now two minutes after 9 o’clock. You are one hour two minutes late. This is a bad way to begin. Kola hurriedly checked his wrist watch, He wanted to speak, but he was stuck for words.
(a) Give one reason why Kolas securing of a job was a relief to his parents.
(b) In one sentence, explain what the writer meant by saying Kola had been living on his parents.
(c) Write a sentence to explain what you think prevented Kola from returning to America after waiting for two years without a job. (d) What in the writer’s opinion was responsible for Kola’s parents untiring care for him? Quote a sentence from the passage to support this.
(e) State in one sentence why Kola was then not a man.
(f) In one sentence or phrase. give the meaning of each of the following words or group of words as it is used in the passage
(i) D-day (ii) Roamed; (iii) Mandatory; (iv) Lying down; (v) Stuck for words.
(g) (i) What kind of grammatical structure is “with surprise” (ii) What is its function in the sentence?
Explanation
(a) He had been dependent on the parents
(b) He depended on the parents for all his needs.
(c) What prevented him was that he had no money and his parents whom he depended upon were happy to have him around.
(d)(i) They wanted to please him so that he would not think of returning to America
(ii) They could not bear the pain of his returning to America.
(e) Kola was then not a man because he did not have a means of livelihood to sustain himself and do what ever he had as a man.
(f) D- day - long awaited day, (ii) Roamed - wandered (iii) Mandatory - compulsory (iv) Lying down - lightly, kindly
(v) Stuck for words - dumbfounded, short of words, speechless
(g) (i) Adverbial phrase (ii) Modifying the verb 'looked up'