JAMB 2014 English Language · Question 38

The minister considered the ministry's budget to be a drop in the ocean in view of the number of projects in…

Question

Select the option that best explains the information conveyed in the sentence. The minister considered the ministry's budget to be a drop in the ocean in view of the number of projects in the pipeline.

A.The pipeline project across the ocean will be abandoned unless budgetary allocation improves
B.The amount available may be inadequate for projected expenditure
C.The minister may be dropped for failing to complete a number of projects
D.The money approved cannont complete the pipeline project acorss the ocean

Answer: B. The amount available may be inadequate for projected expenditure

Explanation written with AI and checked against the answer key

Step 1: Analyze the question The question asks which option best explains the meaning of the sentence. The key phrase is the idiom "a drop in the ocean."

Step 2: Explain the concept "A drop in the ocean" means a very small amount compared with what is needed. It is not about literal water, oceans or pipelines. "Projects in the pipeline" is also an idiom. It means projects that are planned or underway, not a physical pipeline.

Step 3: Work through the sentence

"The minister considered the ministry's budget to be a drop in the ocean" means the minister felt the budget was very small.
"in view of the number of projects in the pipeline" means this is because there are many planned projects.

Put together, the sentence says the budget is too small for the many planned projects.

Step 4: Test the options

A. Wrong. It reads "pipeline" and "ocean" literally. It also adds a claim about abandoning a project that the sentence never makes.
B. Correct. "The amount available may be inadequate for projected expenditure" matches the meaning: the money is small compared with the planned spending.
C. Wrong. It misreads "drop" as the minister being dismissed. The sentence says nothing like that.
D. Wrong. Like A, it takes "pipeline" and "ocean" literally, as one pipeline project across the ocean.

Step 5: Answer The correct answer is B.

Exam tip: When a JAMB question uses an idiom, don't take the words literally. Work out the figurative meaning first, then eliminate options that repeat the literal words (like "pipeline across the ocean"), because these are usually distractors.

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