1997 WAEC English Language Theory  Read the following passage carefully and answer the questions on it.       Every child, whether he…

 Read the following passage carefully and answer the questions on it.

      Every child, whether he comes to his family by birth or adoption, discovers what a family is through the experiences family life. The new-born infant has no way of knowing which of the many faces that hover above him belongs to a parent. He has no way of knowing what a parent is. He only knows that he is comfortable or uncomfortable, hungry or satisfied Gradually, as the months-go by, he begins to know who brings comfort when he is uncomfortable and food when he is hungry. He comes to know the feel of the arm that holds him close when he eats and holds him safe in his bath. He knows the voice that soothes him and sings to him. He grows to know who responds to his needs when he cries out. This is the special person in the whole strange new world who belongs specially to him This is his first recognition of a parent.

      The mother and father who care for a child, who listen for his voice and try to interpret what he means, who comfort him, feed him and play with him discover for the first time what it is to be parents. They do not become parents by virtue of conception and birth alone. They grow to be parents just as the infant grows to recognize them as such. They corn’ to know the developing personality of their child in a way that no other person really can. They recognize whether he is i a lusty eater or a nibbler: vivacious or reserved: adventurous or cautious. By observing his intellectual and physical abilities, they also get to know what he may become in future. They are concerned with meeting his needs and wants: and fostering his growth to maturity.

      Sometimes because of their responsibility to their child, parents have to do unpleasant things. They have for instance, to take him for injections. He can have no choice about taking medicine when he is ill. He must learn quickly and not necessarily at his own pace, that fire is not a play-thing. In the intimacies of daily living, the child and the parents learn the bitter and the sweet of family relations. It is through the experiences of family life that a child and his parents grow to be a family. For every parent, biological or adoptive, it is the daily loving care of the child and his responsiveness that build up the parents’ feelings. For every child, it is being loved and being cared for that produce family closeness.

(a) In two sentences, state how the new-born infant perceives his environment.

(b) In one sentence, say what an infant first learns about its parents.

(c) In two sentences, say what parents learn about their child as he grows up.

(d) In one sentence, summarize what a responsible parent often has to do in the interest of the child.