BECE Past Questions

BECE 1991 English Language Past Questions and Answers

40 objective questions and 4 theory questions from the 1991 BECE English Language paper. Answers and worked solutions for questions 1 to 10 are below; the rest are free in the app.

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Paper 1: Objectives

Section A: COMPREHENSION

Read the following passages carefully and answer the questions that follow.

When Mr. Appiah looked at the two happy faces of his nephews, he forgot about his aching feet and smiled. He had spent the whole day showing Asare and Attah, who came from the village, around Accra. He was satisfied that they were happy. It was not until they were seated on a bench in the public garden that he realized how hot, tired and dusty he was. It was a long time since he had walked so much. Like many other successful men, Mr. Appiah had acquired the habit of going everywhere in his car, so that day's sight-seeing expedition had worn him out. Well, what do you think of Accra? He asked the boys. Oh! exclaimed Attah. it's a wonderful place! I didn't imagine any place could be like this, Uncle said Asare, Everything is so splendid. The roads are very wide and the buildings magnificent. Boys, don't get the wrong impression. Today you've seen the best parts of our city, but there are bad areas with buildings falling apart, narrow streets and insanitary conditions. However, these buildings are being demolished, said Mr. Appiah.
  1. Mr. Appiah was hot, tired and dusty because ......
    1. A. he had gone to bring his nephews from the village
    2. B. he had taken his nephews to the high buildings
    3. C. he had shown the boys around the city of Accra
    4. D. he had helped them to demolish the buildings
    5. E. he had been satisfied that the boys were happy
    Answer: C
  2. Where were the boys living before visiting Accra?
    1. A. In the high buildings
    2. B. In the village
    3. C. In the big houses
    4. D. In the public gardens
    5. E. In the building falling apart
    Answer: B
  3. Everything is so splendid means everything is ......
    1. A. satisfactory
    2. B. magnificent
    3. C. important
    4. D. brilliant
    5. E. special
    Answer: B
  4. According to the passage many successful men are used to ......
    1. A. walking around Accra
    2. B. bringing their nephews from the village to Accra
    3. C. going on sight-seeing in the city of Accra
    4. D. talking with boys in the public gardens
    5. E. riding in cars wherever they go
    Answer: E
  5. Which of the following statements is not true according to the passage?
    1. A. Every part of the city is wonderful and splendid
    2. B. Mr. Appiah normally rides in his car
    3. C. Asare and Attah are in Accra for the first time
    4. D. The boys rested in the public gardens
    5. E. The boys as well as Mr. Appiah must have been hot,tired and dusty.
    Answer: A
  6. Insanitary conditions in the last paragraph means ......
    1. A. some people in Accra are insane
    2. B. some places in Accra are dirty and unclean
    3. C. insanitary is seen in all conditions in the city
    4. D. unsatisfactory reports about the city.
    5. E. there are many sanitary inspectors in Accra
    Answer: B
  7. Demolished as used in the passage means
    1. A. replaced
    2. B. repaired
    3. C. painted
    4. D. pulled down
    5. E. hire out
    Answer: D

PASSAGE 2

Read the following passages carefully and answer the questions that follow.

The Akosombo Dam and the great Volta Lake are famous over the world. The two main reasons for building the dam were, to generate electricity and to use the electricity for the production of aluminium from bauxite.Aluminium is used throughout the world; so both the production of electricity and the production of aluminium are of great value to Ghana. It may seem strange to talk about producing electricity by building a dam, but in fact a lot of dams have been built all over the world for this purpose. What happens is that a concrete wall, called a dam, is constructed across a river at a narrow point. A large lake then develops behind the wall. Tunnels are made in the dam so that water from the lake can rush fiercely through them. This powerful flow of water is used to drive huge machines called turbines, to generate electricity. All that the engineers need is the water rushing down from the lake, and all this costs them nothing! But of course the building of the dam and the fixing of the machines cost a great deal of money. Big dams have been built in many parts of the world. The Akosombo Dam is one of the biggest. However, the lake, which has been formed, is in fact the biggest man-made lake in the world
  1. The main reasons why Akosombo Dam was built were ......
    1. A. to produce electricity to manufacture aluminium
    2. B. to produce electricity from aluminium and bauxite
    3. C. to find the mineral called bauxite and use it
    4. D. to use aluminium and electricity
    5. E. to make aluminium, bauxite and electricity
    Answer: A
  2. Aluminium is produced from ......
    1. A. dams
    2. B. electricity
    3. C. bauxite
    4. D. machine
    5. E. tunnels
    Answer: C
  3. From the passage, dams are built all over the world mainly to ......
    1. A. produce aluminium from bauxite
    2. B. provide water for the generation of electricity
    3. C. extract bauxite from lakes
    4. D. provide water for drinking
    5. E. make electricity cheap
    Answer: B

Answers and solutions for questions 11 to 40 are free in the BECE Past Questions app, with timed practice and offline study.

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  1. Which of the following statements is not true according to the passage?
    1. A. The Akosombo Dam is the biggest in the world
    2. B. The production of both electricity and aluminium is of great value to Ghana
    3. C. Water from the lake runs fiercely through tunnels
    4. D. The Akosombo dam is valuable to Ghana
    5. E. A great collection of water running through tunnels can produce electricity anywhere in the world
  2. According to the passage which of the following statements is true?
    1. A. In building dams rivers are blocked at their broadcast points
    2. B. Water is used to produce electricity
    3. C. Building the dam and fixing machines to produce electricity cost nothing at all
    4. D. In producing electricity engineers need a lot of petrol to drive the machines
    5. E. Turbines are used in the production of electricity
  3. The most suitable title for the passage is
    1. A. Akosombo and Bauxite
    2. B. Electricity from water
    3. C. Dams of the world
    4. D. Electricity and power
    5. E. Aluminium from electricity

Section B

Choose from the alternatives lettered A to D the one which is nearest in meaning to the underlined word in each sentence.

  1. Your dress material is inferior to what I bought from the shop. This means that your dress material is ......
    1. A. of poor quality
    2. B. very beautiful
    3. C. brightly coloured
    4. D. expensive
  2. The girl is a spendthrift: she used all her pocket money to buy a pair of shoes. This means ......
    1. A. careless
    2. B. bold
    3. C. extravagant
    4. D. kind
  3. The pupils in the town often help in communal activities. This means that they help in .....
    1. A. all activities
    2. B. interesting activities
    3. C. public activities
    4. D. usual activities
  4. The aroma of Kate's food made everyone hungry. This means the food .....
    1. A. smells good
    2. B. is tasty
    3. C. is spicy
    4. D. is valuable

Section C

From the alternatives lettered A to D, choose the one which most suitably fills the gap in each sentence.

  1. He wasn't at the scene of the accident, ......?
    1. A. wasn't he
    2. B. isn't it
    3. C. did he
    4. D. was he
  2. You don't speak Chinese, ......?
    1. A. do you
    2. B. can you
    3. C. don't you
    4. D. won't you
  3. We worked hard in our final year, ......?
    1. A. did we
    2. B. isn't it
    3. C. aren't we
    4. D. didn't we
  4. They have lost the match, ......?
    1. A. didn't they
    2. B. isn't it
    3. C. haven't they
    4. D. is it
  5. He has stolen the box ......
    1. A. in which we kept the gold chain
    2. B. which we kept in the gold chain
    3. C. we kept the gold chain
    4. D. where we kept the gold chain
  6. ...... hard he tried, Adansi came last in the test
    1. A. Whatever
    2. B. How
    3. C. Whenever
    4. D. However
  7. Akwetey did the exercise ......
    1. A. even though he was sick
    2. B. during which he was sick
    3. C. but he was sick
    4. D. for which he was sick
  8. We are not allowed ......
    1. A. to walk at the lawn
    2. B. to be walking across the lawn
    3. C. walking across the lawn
    4. D. to walk across the lawn
  9. Everybody was pleased ...... the pastor's sermon.
    1. A. for
    2. B. in
    3. C. with
    4. D. at
  10. John's father congratulated him ...... his success in the examination.
    1. A. on
    2. B. during
    3. C. at
    4. D. to
  11. The patient is generally recovering ...... his illness
    1. A. from
    2. B. with
    3. C. for
    4. D. during
  12. We have been in this school ...... three years.
    1. A. since
    2. B. in
    3. C. by
    4. D. for
  13. It would be unwise to ...... the chance of making extra money
    1. A. throw away
    2. B. throw in
    3. C. throw over
    4. D. throw by
  14. Koku was sad when he lost his mother but he will soon ...... it
    1. A. get along
    2. B. get on
    3. C. get by
    4. D. get over
  15. ...... these words in your dictionary.
    1. A. Look around
    2. B. Look on
    3. C. Look up
    4. D. Look about
  16. If he ...... the elections he would have become an assemblyman.
    1. A. won
    2. B. has won
    3. C. had won
    4. D. should win
  17. If he continues to work hard, he ...... his examination with ease.
    1. A. will pass
    2. B. is passing
    3. C. has passed
    4. D. would pass
  18. The news he brought ...... bad
    1. A. are
    2. B. were
    3. C. has been
    4. D. was

Section D

From the list of words lettered A to D, choose the one that is most nearly opposite in meaning to the word underlined in each sentence.

  1. The headmaster thanked his teachers for a wonderful job done.
    1. A. quick
    2. B. difficult
    3. C. big
    4. D. bad
    5. E. odd
  2. The present day youth still indulge in all forms of drug abuse
    1. A. avoid
    2. B. increase
    3. C. discourage
    4. D. disallow
    5. E. discontinue
  3. Some people prefer to eat lean meat.
    1. A. uncooked
    2. B. fatty
    3. C. spoilt
    4. D. bloody
    5. E. tasty
  4. Kojo's teacher was reluctant to accept his explanation for being late to school.
    1. A. willing
    2. B. afraid
    3. C. unable
    4. D. planning
    5. E. likely
  5. The workers wanted their director to hold the meeting
    1. A. continue
    2. B. delay
    3. C. cancel
    4. D. support
    5. E. interrupt

Paper 2: Theory

  1. Your class teacher has punished you for something you did not do. Write a letter to your headmaster or headmistress explaining why you think you have been punished unfairly.
  2. You would like to continue your education in the senior secondary school but your parents do not want you to. Write a letter to a relative explaining why you want to continue your education and asking him or her for help.
  3. Describe a market scene in your town or village.
  4. Write a story that ends: I suddenly woke up and realised it was all a dream.

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