JAMB 2010 English Language · Question 8

The woman was mournful as her husband was found dead drunk?

Question

Select the option that best explains the information conveyed in the sentence. The woman was mournful as her husband was found dead drunk?

A.She was sad because her husband was absolutely drunk
B.She was apprehensive that her husband would drink as soon as he recovered fromdrunken stupor
C.She was sad because her husband was drunk and always as helpless as a dead man
D.She was mourning because her husband drank and died

Answer: A. She was sad because her husband was absolutely drunk

Explanation written with AI and checked against the answer key

Analyze the question

The sentence is: "The woman was mournful as her husband was found dead drunk." We need the option that best explains what the sentence conveys.

Explain the concept

"Dead drunk" is an idiom meaning completely, helplessly drunk. The word "dead" here is an intensifier, like "dead tired" or "dead certain". It does not mean the man died.

"Mournful" means sad or sorrowful.

Step-by-step solution

D takes "dead" literally, saying the husband drank and died. This is wrong because the idiom means extremely drunk, not deceased.
B says she was apprehensive (anxious) about him drinking again. The sentence says nothing about her fear of future drinking. It only says she was sad because of what she found.
C adds "always as helpless as a dead man". The word "always" is not in the sentence. We only know about this one occasion.
A says she was sad because her husband was absolutely drunk. This matches the idiom "dead drunk" (absolutely, completely drunk) and the cause-and-effect link "mournful as" (meaning "because").

Correct answer: A

Exam tip

Watch for idioms where "dead" is only an intensifier: dead drunk, dead tired, dead slow, dead sure. In "best explains" questions, avoid options that add information the sentence does not give, such as "always" in C or "apprehensive" in B.

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