Practice Test: Reading Comprehension - 4 | English Language for JAMB PDF Download

Directions: Read the following passage and answer questions that follow.

The passage highlights the neglect of the intellect by certain religious teachings. While religious teachers often emphasize the body and soul, they tend to disregard the importance of the intellect. Followers focus on providing physical sustenance and saving the soul from damnation, but they overlook the needs of the mind. Nourishment for the body and virtue for the soul are considered essential for human well-being in this life and the afterlife, but knowledge and education are rarely mentioned. For example, Jesus Christ emphasized feeding the hungry, healing the sick, and converting sinners but did not teach the duty of educating the ignorant or promoting scientific knowledge. Gautam Buddha also emphasized morality, meditation, and asceticism, neglecting the significance of history, science, art, or literature. Some Christian figures, like St. Ambrose and St. Basil, disregarded scientific studies and the understanding of the Earth's nature. Even Thomas Carlyle, influenced by Christian traditions, valued only manual labor and religious teachers, forgetting the importance of scientists, scholars, and artists. This passage questions the disregard for education.