ENGLISH COMMUNICATION FOR POLYTECHNIC STUDENTS SYLLABUS AND DETAILED CONTENT

Course Title:  ENGLISH COMMUNICATION	course code:
Credits        :  52+5(Tests and Assignment)	Core/Elective:  Core
Type of course:  Lecture	Total Contact Hours:   4 Hrs/week

 

Prerequisites:  A basic knowledge of grammar. Listening Speaking, Reading and writing skills as acquired up to class x.

Course Objective:

     The course should enable the students to:                                                                            

1.   Learn to apply the basic grammar in day to day communication in English .            

2.    Learn to comprehend the given ideas in a passage and be able to express the same in English in written form effectively

3.      Enrich vocabulary through reading.

4.     Face oral examinations and interviews.

5.     Inculcate creative expression of ideas through (spoken/written) exercises .

6.     Create awareness about the importance of English in the Engineering and  Corporate fields, to enlighten the importance in the current global scenario. 

 

chapter 1

Career Planning

Career is the work a person does. It is the sequence of jobs that an individual has held throughout his or her working life. "Career Planning" therefore embraces a person's entire life- the spiritual, social, educational and vocational. Career Planning is the life- long process a person goes through to learn about himself, develop a self- concept, learn about careers, and work situations and then make a career choice based on information gathered. It also includes the skills a person employs in finding and keeping the job that is right for him or her.

The major focus of Career Planning should be on matching personal goals and opportunities that are realistically available. A term worth
defining is "Career Path". A Career path is a flexible line of movement through which an employee may move during employment with an organization.

One can think of career planning as building bridges from one's current job/career to next job/career. Without the bridge, one may easily stumble or lose direction, but with the bridge there is safety and direction.

There are hundreds of career options out there. How do you make a career choice when you don't really know what you want to do? Does it seem like a tough task? It's not. Yes, you will have to put some time and energy into making your decision, but your effort will be well worth it in the end.

Benefits of career planning

Career indecision and a lack of career planning often results in costly consequences in terms of time and money. But career planning helps you to:

·realize the many career choices available to
you

·have an increased sense of self-awareness

·develop a well targeted resume

·be prepared for the interviews

·develop relationships with human resource
professionals

 

Guidelines for choosing a career

Follow these guidelines while choosing a career:

(i) Evaluate yourself

When choosing a career it is beneficial to understand your strengths and your interests. When making significant career decisions, it is important to recognize a few key characteristics about yourself so that you make choices that are well suited for you. Specifically, it is helpful to clearly understand what you are interested in, what your strengths and abilities are, what your personality type is, and what is valuable to you. Having self-awareness about these attributes will help you choose a career that will bring a sense of satisfaction. While evaluating yourself consider traits like interests, skills and values.

(ii) Research your options

One of the steps you can take to plan your future is to do some basic research into the career options you are considering. By gathering concrete information from objective sources, you can make better decisions about your future. You can obtain information such as:

 

·       typical job duties

·       training and educational requirements

·       job outlook

·       salary ranges

·       major employers in the occupation

Questions about career fields or industries:

·       What entry-level jobs are available in this
field?

·       What other career areas do you feel are related
to your work?

·       What career paths are generally available?

·       What is the profile of the person most
recently hired at my level?

·       What are some of the current issues and
trends in the field?

 

 

(iii) Make connections

One of the best ways to learn about a career path is to find out what it is like from others who have been there. You can gain valuable inside
information from talking to someone in your field of interest, which includes learning about the day-to-day responsibilities of a position,
getting insights into industry trends, or learning about required training or education for career success.

This approach to information gathering lets you make connections with people who are in the position to help you find a place of your own in that field. "Making a connection" (otherwise known as networking) is an essential step in the transition from student to professional.

Sample questions about a particular job title:

·       What do you do as a___________?

·       How did you begin your career?

·       What is a typical day like for you?

·       How does your job affect your general
lifestyle?

·       How does your position fit within the
organization/industry/career field?

·       What are the rewards/ challenges/ frustrations
of your work?

·        What are the major qualifications for success
  in this particular occupation?

(iv) Get experience

Learning by doing is a valuable way to research possible career paths, so plan on acquiring experience early. Whether you obtain an internship or work part-time, getting hands- on experience will help you immensely.

 The more exposure you have to a given career field or industry, the more knowledge you will gain about different career options and your career preferences. Practical experiences will also make it easier for you to make connections with potential mentors.

(V) See a counsellor

Career Centre counsellors are available for one-to-one appointments. Some students meet with a counsellor once to get specific information, for example, to learn how to find an internship or to get help with their resume.
Others may check in at different times during their search for job. In the absence of counsellors in and around, you look for help from your
teachers who know you fairly better.

An appointment with a counsellor or a teacher gives an opportunity to:

·        Discuss career options of interest and
employers who offer jobs in those fields

·             Identify your interests and strengths

·        Understand and utilize successful job search
strategies

·        Review your resume and cover letter, work on
interviewing skills and other job search skills

·        Develop a personal plan of action for the job
search

(vi) Make decisions

So far you have made decisions related to various facets of life. You have decided which colleges/ university to attend, what classes to take, and where to stay/ live. Similarly, selecting a career involves obtaining appropriate information and being aware of the numerous factors that may influence your decision. The information below is designed to help you examine how to currently make decisions and offers several approaches to making future decisions.

Factors Influencing Decisions

 Information factors.

 To make sound decisions it is important to gather enough information to evaluate your options.

 Decision-making experience.

Confidence in decision-making abilities comes from having
made successful decisions in the past. Think about the positive decisions you have made already.

Personal factors. Support and influence from family and friends can have a big effect on your decisions, especially for significant decisions that may impact the important people in your life.

 Everyone is different and what works for one person won't necessarily work for another, even if that other person is someone with whom you have a lot in common. If someone you know has a career that interests you, look into it, but be aware of the fact that it may not necessarily be a good fit for you.

Glossary:

attribute: quality, characteristic, feature.

concrete: real, tangible, solid.

objective: impartial, unbiased.

outlook: view, attitude.

range: scope, scale.

insight: on the way, imminent.

occupation: job, line of work.

profile: summary, outline.

trend: movement, tendency, fashion.

frustration: disturbance, disappointment.

internship: placement, job.

mentor: guide, adviser.

 

Comprehension:

I.      

1.    What do you mean by career?

2.    Define “Career Planning”?

3.    What should be the major focus of career planning?

4.    List out the benefits of career planning?

5.    Identify the guidelines for choosing a career?

6.    What are the frequently asked questions about career fields?

7.    How do connections help in searching for a suitable job?

8.    What are the sample questions asked about a particular job title?

9.    What is the role of a career counselor in charting out a career path?

10.List out the factors influencing career decisions?

II.    

1.    Write a short note on Guidelines for Choosing a Career.

2.    How does career planning play a major role in making career choices?

--

III.       Spelling:

The form of a word is presented by the arrangement of letters, i.e., the spelling of the word.

1.    The plural of a noun is usually formed by adding –‘s’.

 

Singular	plural
Boy	Boys
Desk	Desks
Polytechnic	Polytechnics
Book	Books
Pen	Pens

2.    After –‘s’ / -‘sh’ /-‘ch’ / -‘x’, etc., ‘es’ is used instead of -‘s’.

Singular	Plural
Class	Classes
Brush	Brushes
Watch	Watches
Box	Boxes
Mango	Mangoes

3.    After ‘y’, – ‘ies’ is used and after ‘f’, –‘ves’ is used to make a plural

Singular	Plural
Lady	Ladies
Dictionary	Dictionaries
Leaf	Leaves
Self	Selves

Task 1: Based on the exercises above, write down few more singular and plural words on your own. Take the help of your teacher and the text.

4.    Some plurals have a different form from their singulars:

Singular	Plural
Mouse	Mice
Tooth	Teeth
Woman	Women
Ox	Oxen
Child	Children

5.    Some nouns remain the same in plural form.

Singular	Plural
Sheep	Sheep
Furniture	Furniture
Scenery	Scenery
Luggage	Luggage
Equipment	Equipment
Information	Information

Task 2 : Write the plurals of

Cow
Dish
Tax
Cargo
Army
Loaf
Scarf
Goose
Son –in- law
Formula

6.    List of words frequently misspelt. Look at them carefully.

Committee, Grammar, Receive, Courtesy, Receipt, Apparatus, Queue, Genuine, Common, Arithmetic, Weight.

 

 

Grammar:

Depending upon their use, words are divided into different kinds of classes called ‘Parts of Speech’. There are eight parts of speech.

1.    Noun: A noun is the name of a place, person or thing.

e.g., Death is preferable to disgrace.

2. Pronoun. A pronoun is a word used in the place of a noun.Some commonly used pronouns are  I, mine, you, he, him, himself, them, theirs, themselves, she, hers, herself, yours, yourself, it, itself.                                              

     e.g., We were eager to meet her.

3. Verb. A verb is a word which expresses an action or a state of being.

e.g., My brother lived in Belagavi for five years and speaks Kannada very well.

4. Adverb: An adverb is a word used to add something to the meaning of a verb, an adjective or another adverb.

e.g., Aishwarya performed extremely well in the debate yesterday.

 

5. Adjective: An adjective is a word which adds something to the meaning of a noun.

e.g., The red rose is a symbol of eternal love.

 

6.    Preposition: A preposition is a word used with a noun or a pronoun to show how the person or thing denoted by the noun or pronoun stands in relation to something else.

e.g., Our polytechnic is open from 10.00 am to 05.00 pm with a lunch break between 1.00 pm and 2.00 pm.

 

7.    Conjuction: A conjunction is a word which joins two words or two sentences.

e.g., Akshata and Harshada are sisters.

        I want to eat ice cream but I have diabetes.

 

8.    Interjection. An interjection is a word which expresses some sudden feeling or emotion.

e.g., Bravo ! You have done well.

        Alas ! India lost the cricket match.

 

Exercises: Name the parts of speech of the words underlined

in the following sentences:

1.    Ashutosh has invested all his savings in the share market.

2.    Wow ! It is a wonderful idea.

3.    He came before the appointed time.

4.    He was poor, therefore they helped him.

5.    Our blessings come from above.

 

 

Reading:

Newspapers like The Times of India, The Hindu, Deccan Herald etc., can be brought to the class and students should be made to read and understand different news items under the guidance of the teacher.

Task: 1. What are the news articles that normally appear on the front page?

2.    Why  news related to sports always appear at the end?

3.    Identify the difficult words that have appeared in the selected article. Find the meanings of those words in the dictionary.

4.     What is an editorial? What are the issues do they normally deal with?

 

Writing: Write a paragraph (about 80-100 words) stating the difficulties faced by you in the first few days in college.

Speaking: Introduce yourself to the class. Give information about your name, your school, medium of instruction, your hobbies and your aim in life.

 

Exended activity: Search for additional information on famous entrepreneurs like Mark Zuckerberg, Bill Gates, Steve Jobbs, Satya Nadella, L.N.Mittal, Narayana Murthy and write down what you can learn from their achievements.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

chapter 2

The Great Indian Psychotherapy

'We resolve to vote on the basis
of performance alone, nothing else.'

Countless articles, books, theses, papers and research reports have tried to answer the question: 'What is wrong with India?' Global experts are startled that a country of such massive potential has one of the largest percentages of poor people in the world. Isn't it baffling that despite almost everyone agreeing that things should change, they don't? Intellectuals give their
intelligent suggestions-from investing in infrastructure to improving the judicial system. Yet, nothing moves. Issues dating back to thirty years continue to plague India today. The young are often perplexed by this. They ask,  will things ever change? How? Whose fault is it that they
haven't?

 Today, I will attempt to answer these tricky questions, although from a different perspective. I will not put the blame on everyone's favourite punching bags – inept politicians. That is too easy an argument and not entirely correct. After all, we elect the politicians. So, for every MP out there, there are a few lakh people who chose him or her. I won't give 'policy' solutions either-build power plants, improve roads, open up the economy. It isn't the lack of such ideas that is stalling progress. No, blocking progress is part of Indians' unique psyche. There are three traits of our psyche, in particular, that are not good for our country and for us. Each comes from three distinct sources - our school, our environment and our home.

 

The first trait is servility. At school, our education system hammers out our individual voices and kills our natural creativity, turning us into servile, course-material slaves. Our kids are not encouraged to raise their voices in class, particularly when they disagree with the teacher.
And of course, no subject teaches us imagination,creativity or innovation. Curricula are designed for the no-debate kind of teaching. For example, we ask: how many states are there in India? Answer: Twenty-eight. Correct. Next question: how is a country divided into states? What criteria should be used? No answer. Since issues like these are never discussed, children never develop their own viewpoint or the faculty to think.

 

The second trait is our numbness to injustice. It comes from our environment. We are exposed to corruption from our childhood. Almost all of us have been asked to lie about our ages to the train ticket-checker, to claim to be less than five years old and get a free train ride. This
creates a value system in a child's brain that 'anything goes' so long as you can get away with it. A bit of lying here, a bit of cheating there is seen as acceptable. Hence, we all grow up slightly numb to corruption.

 

The third trait is divisiveness. This is often taught at our home, particularly our family and relatives, where we learn about the differences amongst people. Our religion, culture and language are revered and celebrated in our families. Other people are different-and often implied to be not as good as us. We've all known an aunt or uncle who, though a good person, holds rigid biases against people from different communities. Even today, most of India votes on one criterion--caste. Dalits vote for dalits, Thakurs for Thakurs and Yadavs for Yadavs. In such a scenario, why would a politician do any real work? When we choose a mobile network, do we check whether Airtel or Vodafone belong to a particular caste? No, we simply choose the provider based on the best value or service. Then why do we vote for somebody simply because he belongs to the same caste as us?

 

We need mass self-psychotherapy for the three traits listed above. When we talk of change, you and I alone can't get a politician replaced, or order a road to be built. However, we can change one thing-our mindset. And collectively, this has the power to make the biggest difference. We have to unlearn whatever is holding us back and definitely break the cycle so that we don't pass on these traits to the next generation. Our children should think creatively, have opinions and speak up. They should learn that what is wrong is wrong, no matter how big or small. And they shouldn't hate other people on the basis of their background. Let us also resolve to start working on our own minds, right now. A change in mindset changes the way people vote, which, in turn, changes politicians.

And change does happen. In the 1980s, we had movies like Gunda and Khoon Pi Jaaonga. Today, our movies have better content. They have changed. How? It is because
our expectations from films have changed. Hence, the filmmakers had to change.

 If we resolve today that we will vote on the basis of performance alone, we will encourage the voices against injustice. If we place an honest, though less wealthy person
on a higher pedestal than a corrupt, yet rich individual,we will have contributed to India's progress. And then, maybe, we will start moving towards a better India. Are you on board?

 

          Glossary:

                    startle: to surprise/ frighten someone suddenly or unexpectedly
                    potential: to have the ability to achieve or do something

                    baffle: puzzle/ perplex/ confuse

                    stall: to hinder or to stop

                    servile: too willing to obey or please others.(noun= servility)

                    criterion: a standard on which something is decided.(plu=criteria)

                    revered: respected, worshipped

                    psychotherapy: treatment of mental illness by psychoanalysis.

                    pedestal: bottom support of a statue or pillar.
                   

          Comprehension:

      I.          Answer the following in one or two sentences each.

1.    What has startled global experts?

2.    What are the questions often asked by the young?

3.    What are the three traits as identified by the author?

4.    How have the content of our films changed?

5.    IN what way have we been exposed to corruption from our childhood?

6.    How can we contribute to India’s progress?

 

   II.          Answer the following questions in a paragraph of not more than 100 words.

1.    Explain in your own words the first trait of our psyche.

2.    How does our environment contribute to our numbness to injustice?

3.    Describe the divisiveness that the author talks about.

 

Grammar:

                    Articles: Articles belongs to the parts of speech ‘adjective’

1.    The words ‘a’, ‘an’ and ‘the’ are called articles. They come before nouns.

2.    There are two types of articles- The Definite and the Indefinite.

3.   

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

                    The Indefinite article ‘a’ is used before words that begin with a consonant sound. eg., a boy, a girl, a one rupee coin, a university etc.,

                    The Indefinite article ‘an’ is used before words that begin with a vowel sound. eg., an egg, an apple, an umbrella, also an hour, an honest man etc.,

                    The Indefinite article a/an is used only before singular nouns. It is used in the vague sense of ‘one’. It makes the noun that follows indefinite.

 

                    The Definite article ‘the’ is used before nouns to make them particular or definite. The definite article may be used before singular or plural nouns.

a.     I had an apple for breakfast.

b.    I waited for him for over an hour.

c.     My daughter goes to a university in Bengaluru.

d.    Anu is looking for a job.

e.     He is the youngest son in the family.

f.      The man you spoke to yesterday is my father.

Exercises:

                               I.          Fill in the blanks with suitable articles:

1.    Dr. Sanjay is ___ dentist.

2.    My friend is ___ MLA.

3.    Have you ever visited___ Himalayas?

4.    Please bring me ___ cup of coffee.

5.    He is ___untidy boy.

6.    She is __backbone of her organization.

7.    He is ___ honour to his profession.

8.    Raghu is going___ mall.

9.    ____world is ___happy place.

10.I met___ European at ___ party in ___ friend’s house.

 

                            II.          Fill in the blanks with suitable articles.

____old pilgrim was making his way to___ Himalayan mountains in ____ cold of winter. When it began to snow, he went to ___ hotel. ___hotel manager said to him, “How will you ever get there in this kind of weather?”____old man answered cheerfully, “My heart got there first so it’s easy for ___rest of me to follow.”

 

Prepositions:

A preposition is a word placed before a noun or a pronoun to show its relation to another word. This word may be a noun, a verb or an adjective.

For eg.,

This is a present for you.

They live in a small village.

I’m really angry with you.

The noun/noun phrase after the preposition is called the object of the preposition. It is not always easy to know which preposition to use after a particular noun, verb or adjective.  Here  are a few combinations which cause difficulty to students of English.

Accuse somebody of (not for)

She accused me of stealing her purse.

 

Afraid of (not by)

I am afraid of cockroaches.

 

Agree with a person, opinion or policy.

I entirely agree with you.

I don’t agree with your sales policy.

 

Agree about a subject of discussion.

We agree about most things.

 

Agree on a matter for decision.

We agreed on a date for the wedding.

 

Agree to a suggestion

I’ll agree to your suggestion if you give me a discount.

Angry with (sometimes at) someone for doing something.

I’m angry with her for lying to me.

 

Angry about something

What are you so angry about?

 

Anxious about (=worried about)

I’m anxious about her safety.

 

Anxious for (=eager to have)

We are all anxious for this meeting to end.

 

Arrive at/in (not to)

We arrived at the conclusion that she was a cheat.

When did you arrive in Bangalore?

 

Discussion about something

We had a long discussion about politics.

But discuss takes no preposition after it.We discussed the matter.

Description of something

Give a brief description of the respiratory system

in man.

But describe does not take a preposition.

He described the journey.

 

Divide into (not in)

The book is divided into three parts.

 

Enter into(=take part in) an agreement or discussion

We entered into an agreement with Wipro.  

But enter (=go into) a place

When she entered the hall, everyone stopped talking.

 

Get into/out of a car, taxi or small boat

When I got into my car, I noticed that the radio

had been stolen.

 

Get onto/off a train, bus, plane, ship, bike,horse

We got onto the bus 10 minutes ago.

 

Be married to (not with)

He is married to  my cousin.

But marry somebody. (no preposition)

She married her doctor.

 

Operate on/upon

The doctors operated on her yesterday.

(not The doctors operated her yesterday)

 

To search (=look through) [without preposition]

The customs officers searched everyone’s luggage.

Search for (=look for)

The police are searching for the missing woman.

My uncle arrived in the afternoon.

My uncle arrived on the morning of the 5^th.

My uncle arrived on Sunday afternoon.

If parts of the day are followed by dates/days, on is used.  We say in the afternoon, but on the afternoon of the 5^th, on Sunday afternoon.

 

In time phrases, after refers to the past and in to the future.

I met him after a week.

I will meet him in a week.

I will return this camera in five days.

 

Prepositions are not used before expressions of time beginning with next, last, this, that, one, each, some, all.

I’ll see you next Monday.

The meeting is this Thursday.

We went there last Tuesday.

The party lasted all night.

Note: prepositions are also not used before tomorrow

morning, yesterday afternoon, etc.

 

We do not use the preposition to before home.

I’m going home.

 

In is used with names of countries and large cities

and for three-dimensional space (when something

is surrounded on all sides)

He lives in the USA.

She grew up in Switzerland.

 

At is used for smaller places, as a point, names

of a building, school, college, university, and also

before names of group activities.

The plane stops for an hour at London. (a point on

a journey)

She lives in London. (her home)

He studies at the Indian Institute of Technology.

We were at a party last night.

She works at Life Insurance Corporation.

We generally use at after arrive, in is used after

large places.

He arrived at the airport at 2.30a.m.

He arrived in New York at 2.30 a.m.

At/in are generally used for position. To/into is

used for movement or direction.

He works at the market.

Let’s go to the market by bike.

My parents live in Mumbai.

I go to Mumbai whenever I can.

The snake crawled into its hole.

 

On is often used for position; upon for things in

motion.

He sat on a chair.

The cat jumped upon the table.

 

Till/until is used to talk only about time.  To is used

to talk about distance.

I waited for her till six o’clock.

I went with her to the end of the road. (NOT I went

with her till the end of the road.)

 

Since is used before a noun/noun phrase denoting

a point of time.

 

For is used before a noun/noun phrase denoting a

period of time.

She has been working here since 1999. (1999=a

point of time)

She has been working here for 15 years. (15 years =

Period of time or duration.)[NOT She has been

working here since 15 years.]

 

Since and for are used when the verb is in the

perfect tenses.

From is used with point of time when the verb is

NOT in the perfect tense.

I’ll be here from 3 p.m. onwards.

The school will commence from July 1^st.

The shop was open from 10 in the morning.

From now on, I’m going to go running every day.

In used before a noun denoting a period of time

means at the end of.  Within means before the end of.

I’ll see you in an hour.

I’ll see you within an hour.

 

Beside means at/by the side of.  Besides means

In addition to.

Who is the big guy sitting beside Mary?

Besides mathematics, we have to study physics

and chemistry.

 

Below and under both mean lower than.

When something is not directly under another we

use below.

The climbers stopped 300 m below the top of the

mountain.

We use under when something is hidden or covered

by what is over it.

The cat is under the bed.

The whole village is under water.

 

Before is used to refer to time; in front of is used

to refer to place.

I went to the office before nine o’clock.

I have parked my car in front of the post office.

(NOT I have parked my car before the post office.)

 

By is used to denote the agent/method.

With is used to denote the instrument/tool.

She was killed by a lunatic with a dagger.

I killed the cockroach by hitting it with a shoe.

 

Above and over both mean higher than. When

something is not directly over another, we use above.

We have a little house above the lake.

We use over when one thing is directly above

another covering it or touching it.

He put on a jacket over his trousers.

Put the tablecloth over the table

Between and among:

 

Between is usually used with two people, things.

She was standing between Uma and Sita.

Divide the cake equally between the two children.

 

Among is usually used with more than two people

or  things.

Divide the cake equally among all the children.

Your letter is among all these papers.

 

                    Fill in the blanks with suitable prepositions:

1.    ___ the 1930s a lot ___ people tried to break

flying records.  ___ that time Douglas Corrigan was

a young pilot, and ___ 1938 he decided to try to fly

solo, non-stop _____ the USA.  He planned to leave

early ___ the morning, and ___ the morning ___

Monday July 16^th, 1938, ___ dawn, Corrigan took off

____ an airport ____ New York, exactly __ time.

He expected to land ___ California ___ about 23

hours, just __ time to celebrate his birthday ___

July 17^th.  __  the summer there are usually clear

skies ____ the USA, but ___ July that year the

weather was bad and Corrigan had to fly ___ thick

cloud.  ___ 4.20 __ Tuesday afternoon, __ the end

__ a heroic flight, he landed - __ Ireland, not

California!  He had made the flight __ 28 hours, but

he’d flown east, not west!  ____ the flight he was

always called Douglas ‘wrong way’ Corrigan!

2.

                        i.          She works __ a big shop __ Jayanagar.

                      ii.          There is a book ___ the floor.  Put it __ the table.

                    iii.          I  often see Mrs. Dixit __ the station, waiting

__ her train. 

iv. Mangalore is __ the coast __ the south __ India.

                      v.          My daughter isn’t __ work today; she has stayed

__ home because she doesn’t feel well.

vi. There were several people __ the bus stop.

 

vii. Mr. and Mrs. Sharma were __ the shop talking

__ the assistant; their children were waiting __ the

car that was standing _____ the shop.

viii. Yesterday we spent the day __ the country; we

had lunch __ a pretty little village.

ix. When I was __ the bus stop this morning, I saw

two boys __ the church roof.

x. The children were playing __ their bikes __ the park.

xi. There are only 12 students __ my class.  The girl

who sits __ the left __ me is ____ Spain; the boy

who sits __ my right is ____ Denmark.

xii. My mother teaches __ a college __ Bangalore.

xiii. The bread is __ the table __ the kitchen.

xiv. He lives __ that house __ second floor.

                  xv.          They took the chairs __ the room and carried

them ____ the garden.

xvi. The Mars expedition spent 23 days __ the

rocket; they stayed __ the planet ___ almost a week.

xvii. It wasn’t difficult getting all these things

____ the lorry, so it’ll be easy to get them ___.

xviii. This tooth is bad.  It mustn’t stay __ you mouth

a moment longer; we must take it ___ straightaway.

xix.  They managed to live __ a hut  __ an island

___ almost a year.

                   xx.          What are those children doing __ the roof?

Tell them to get ___ immediately.

                 xxi.          __ the old days the trouble ___ keeping your

money __ the bank was that you couldn’t take it out

__ weekends.  Now you can get the money ___ a

cash dispenser __ any time.

               xxii.          They go __ work __ bus.

             xxiii.          We walked ____ the road __ the village because

it was too wet to go _______ the wood.

xxiv. __ the morning the young couple sailed ___

the coast __ Malpe __ Udupi; __ the afternoon they

went back __ train.

               xxv.          She was born __ 1982.

             xxvi.          Sara was born __ 2 o’clock __ July 17^th.

           xxvii.          We often go __ a drive __ Saturday.

         xxviii.          We leave home early __ the morning and

come back late __ the evening.

             xxix.          My birthday is __ May and my wife’s is

__ Christmas Day.

               xxx.          We could see the sea ___ the top __ the hill

3.

I wanted to live ______ Bangalore and I was

looking ___ a flat in Yelahanka.  The estate agent

took me to see one.  The flat was _______ a temple

___ a park.  It was _____ a restaurant.  We stood

__ the pavement __________ the restaurant.

It was raining so I held a newspaper ____ my head.

The entrance __ the flat was ______ the side ___

the restaurant.  I asked the agent where I could park

my car.  He said there was a parking place ______

 

the restaurant.  “Now, would you like to see _______

the flat?”  he asked me.

There were four rooms __ the flat.  The bathroom

was ________ the bedroom and the living room. 

The kitchen was ____ to the living room.  __ the

living room there was a table and two chairs ____

an old sheet.  “All included __ the price!”  the agent

said.  The flat was __ a pond __ top __ a hill, and

there was a lovely view.  I stood ______ the estate

agent  __ the living room window.  I could see

Yelahanka park ____ us.  There were some parrots

______ the trees __ the park.  And I could see the

pond ______ the trees. 

                    Prefixes/ Suffixes. A prefix is a word part added before a stem word to form a new word. By adding a prefix we can modify the meaning of a word. e.g.,

          Dis+ appear= Disappear

          Im+balance= Imbalance

          Non+violence= Nonviolence

          Un+happy= Unhappy

         

          Suffix is a word part added at the end of a stem word to form a new word.

          e.g.,

          Limit+less= Limitless

          Environment+al= Environmental

          Nation+al+ity= Nationality

          Depend+ence=Dependence

          Quest+ion= Question

          Honest+y= Honesty

         

                    Exercise: Add appropriate prefixes to form new words:

1.    form

2.    regular

3.    literate

4.    accurate

5.    operate

6.    pure

7.    fix

8.    technic

9.    tone

10.national

 

Exercise: Add appropriate suffixes to form new words:

1.    rich

2.    love

3.    start

4.    beauty

5.    differ

6.    use

7.    cheer

8.    attract

9.    save

10.slow

 

          Reading: The teacher should ask the student to read a passage with stress on different punctuation and intonation.

         

          Writing: When you are describing a person, write about his/ her build, hair, facial features and expression, clothes and mannerisms. Also how the person speaks, smiles behaves typically or on a particular occasion. 

 

Exercise:     1.Describe your friend in about 80-100 words.

2.A stranger was seen loitering in your campus. Describe him in about 80-100 words.

                   

 

Listening:

1.    Listen to talks on various topics on TV and write the gist in your own words.

2.    The teacher could read a passage and ask questions about it.

 

 

 

 

 

chapter 3

GLOBAL WARMING

            Global warming is the term used to describe a gradual increase in the average temperature of the Earth’s atmosphere and its oceans.  One of the possible problems from global warming is rising of the sea level. This could result in the flooding of low lying coastal areas and cities, such as Egypt, the Netherlands, and Bangladesh. Some countries may possibly disappear as a result of rising of sea levels Secondly,  the global warming may cause drastic changes in weather patterns. Many areas of the world are experiencing increased incidence of hazards such as hurricanes, floods, and other unusual weather patterns. A third problem associated with global warming is the effect on animals. Fish populations could be affected, while some insects which spread disease might become more common. Global warming is the warming near the earth's surface that  results when the earth's atmosphere traps the sun's heat. The earth is getting warmer. The changes are small, so far, but they are expected to grow and speed up. Within the next fifty to one hundred years, the earth may be hotter than it has been in the past million years. As oceans warm and glaciers melt, land and cities along coasts may be flooded. Heat and drought may cause forests to die and food crops to fail. Global warming will affect weather, plants and animals, people everywhere; humans are warming the earth's atmosphere by burning fuels, cutting down forest, and by taking part in other activities that release certain heat trapping gases into the air.

One major cause of global warming is the use of fossil fuels. Fossil fuels like coal, oil, and natural gas that were formed from the remains of plant material deposited during the earth's carboniferous period. We have known for only a few thousand years that coal, oil, and natural gas can be burned to provide energy. It was not until the mid-1800s, however, that we began to burn very large quantities of these fossil fuels. The worldwide consumption of fossil fuel has increased dramatically. The world now burns at least five billion tons of fossil fuel each year. As this carbon dioxide from burning fossil fuels enters the atmosphere, some of it is taken up by photosynthesizing plants, and the oceans absorb some. But because we are burning so much fossil fuel at such a rapid rate, we are putting carbon dioxide into the atmosphere much faster than these natural processes are taking it out. There is no longer a balance between the amount of carbon dioxide being added to the air and the amount of carbon dioxide being removed. As a result, the concentration of carbon dioxide in the air is steadily increasing.

Unfortunately, burning fossil fuels is not the only thing that we humans are doing to increase the amount of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere. In many parts of the world today, forests are being destroyed at an alarming rate. Enormous numbers of trees are being cut down, both to provide timber and to clear the land for farming or ranching. This destructive process is called deforestation. In order to clear forests for agriculture, people cut down and burn all the trees in area. When the flames die down, nothing is left but acres of blackened, lifeless countryside. The fire destroys all the plants and kills or drives off the animals. Because there has been little attempt to replant trees in deforested areas, the world's forests are disappearing very quickly.

Deforestation makes the problem of the greenhouse effect worse in two ways. When trees are burned, carbon dioxide is released into the air. Some researchers think that the large-scale burning of forests around the world adds at least one billion tons of carbon dioxide to the atmosphere each year. Greenhouse effect means ,the solar radiation is trapped by the atmosphere caused by atmospheric gases that allows sunshine to sunshine to pass through but absorb heat that allows sunshine to pass through but absorb heat that is radiated back from the warmed surface of earth. But deforestation does more than just add carbon dioxide into the air. To also eliminates countless numbers of carbon dioxide-absorbing trees from the environment. As fewer and fewer trees are left to take up carbon dioxide, the concentration of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere increases faster and faster.

We can take care of our environment and do our bit to solve the problem of global warming. One solution is to stop reduce the production of carbon dioxide gas. We can do this by switching from oil, coal and gas to renewable sources of energy. Another solution is to plant more trees. Trees absorb carbon dioxide and produce oxygen. Oxygen sustains life . A third solution is to use less energy and to recycle more products.

 In conclusion, if we make small changes now in the way we live, we can prevent unpleasant adverse changes in the future. Scientists, governments and individuals must work together to overcome the threat of global warming.

 

Grammar:

Vocabulary

Synonyms and Antonyms:                               The term synonym refers to similarity or sameness of meaning of a word. Though it is difficult to get examples of total synonymy, the illustrations are examples of near synonymy. On the other hand, antonyms refer to Synonyms and Antonyms
The term synonym refers to similarity or sameness of meaning of a word. Though it is difficult to get examples of total synonymy, the illustrations are examples of near synonymy. On the other hand, antonyms refer to oppositeness of meaning. In the list given below, you will get the synonym and antonym of the same word.

            Glossary:

trap: to catch

glaciers: huge mass of ice

flooded: over flowing

drought: shortage of rainfall

fossil: old remains of plants

photosynthesis: synthesis of compounds using water, carbon dioxide and sunlight in plants

enormous: large, tremendous

ranching: livestock raising

blackened: darkish colour

green house effect: warming that results when solar radiation is trapped by the atmosphere.

adverse: in an opposing direction, contrary to your interests.

Grammar:

Vocabulary:

Synonyms and Antonyms

The term synonym refers to similarity or sameness of meaning of a word. Though it is difficult to get examples of total synonymy, the illustrations are examples of near synonymy. On the other hand, antonyms refer to oppositeness of meaning. In the list given below, you will get the examples for synonyms and antonyms.

Mis, dis, dys, mal, in, and un are all prefixes one can affix to words to create antonyms.

Examples:

     unofficial.,inflexible., dysfunctional., misanthropist

 

Synonyms  e.g.,

1.      Intelligent- clever

2.     anger- rage, wrath

3.     adore- love, admire

4.     humble- meek, modest, polite

5.     bold- brave

6.     yield- surrender, submit

 

Antonyms e.g.,

1.      amateaur × professional

2.     barren× fertile

3.     arrogant× humble

4.     decrease×increase

5.     explicit×implicit

6.     smile×frown

7.      strict×lenient

Note: Mis, dis, dys, mal, in, and un are all prefixes one can affix to words to create antonyms.

e.g.,

 unofficial.,inflexible., dysfunctional., misanthropist

 

 

Exercise:

1.    Give the synonyms of the following

 

1. release- 

2. arrive-

3. trap-

4. happiness-

5. large-

6. teach-

7. change-

8. confusion-

9. discover-

10. charge-

 

2.    Give the antonyms for the following:

1.    rise

2.    increase

3.    smile

4.    arrive

5.    sadness

6.    full

7.    timid

8.    success

9.    strict

10.host

 

Auxiliaries:

Auxiliaries are verbs used to form tenses, moods, voices etc., of other verbs. Ausiliaries are of two types- ‘Primary’ and ‘Modal’. ‘Be’, ‘Have’, and ‘do’ are the primary auxiliaries in English. They can also be used as main verbs.

 

 

 

In English sentences, a lot of important meanings are

expressed by the verb phrase – for example, questioning,

negation, time, completion, continuation, repetition,

willingness, possibility, obligation.  But English verbs

do not have many different forms: the maximum

(except for be) is five(e.g. see, sees, seeing, saw, seen).

So to express all these meanings, ‘auxiliary’

(or ‘helping’) verbs are added to other verbs. 

There are two groups: primary and secondary

Be, do and have:

Be is added to other verbs to make progressive and

passive forms.

e.g.:   Is it raining?  

Nelson Mandela was imprisoned for over 20 years.

Do is used to make questions, negatives and

emphatic forms of non-auxiliary verbs.

e.g.:  Do you smoke?

It doesn’t matter.

Do come in.

Have is used to make perfect forms.

Gopal has eaten all the sweets.

I remembered that I hadn’t turned the lights off.

Note: BE, HAVE and DO are also used as main verbs.

The book is on the table.

I have a house in Ooty.

I did a lot of work today.

The above three auxiliaries are called primary

auxiliaries.  They are also used as main verbs. 

e.g.:  He is a student of engineering.

I have a car.

She did all the work herself.

In the above sentences, the verbs be, have, and

do are used as main verbs. As main verbs, they can

be used with auxiliaries.

e.g.:  You are being very silly.

She has had a lot of trouble lately.

I didn’t visit you because I didn’t have your address.

 

The secondary auxiliaries are also called ‘modal auxiliaries’ because they suggest the mood of the user. (Speaker or writer). There are 13 modals: can, may, will, shall, could,might, would, should, must, ought (to), used (to), dare, need.

These modals are used before the base forms of

main verbs to add certain kinds of meaning.

The main difference between modals and main verbs

are that modals have contracted negative forms

(can’t, won’t, mustn’t, shouldn’t) which are used

in an informal style. 

(shan’t and mayn’t are only used in in British English;

mayn’t is very rare even in British English).

Main verbs don’t form contractions. 

Will and would also have contracted  affirmative forms.(I’d, she’ll, he’d, they’ll)

Uses of auxiliaries:

Can:

•        We use can/can’t before a main verb(base form)

to talk about someone’s ability or inability to do

something.

e.g.:  I can speak English.(I am able to speak English.)

I can’t speak Japanese.(I don’t have the ability to

speak Japanese.)

•        We also use can/can’t when we talk about what

is possible or impossible.

e.g.:  Can you do me a favour? (Is it possible for

you to do me a favour?)

I can’t miss my classes.(It isn’t possible for me to

miss my classes.)

•        Can is also used to express permission but

it is informal.

e.g.:  You can use my car if you want.

Can I borrow your book?

Note:

Can is not used with able

(i.e.: I can able to speak English. is not correct.)

Can’t can also express prohibition.

e.g.:  You can’t come in here.

•        We often use can to express what is common or

typical.

e.g.:  Delhi can be very warm in the summer.

•        We can use Can I /May I? when we offer to do

something.

Can I get you some water?

May I help you with your coat?

Can I is less formal than May I and much more

common.

_____ pay for the trip?

_____ pay for the taxi home?

_____ buy you coffee before we go home?

_____ drop you home?

_____ help you carry your bag?

Could:

•        We use could as the past equivalent of can

e.g.:  My grandmother could sing very well.

I could swim across this river when I was young.

Note:  was/were able to is used to express ability

in the past when dealing with purpose achieved.

(i.e. did something on one occasion)

I was able to swim across this river yesterday.

(I could swim across this river yesterday.)

•        Could is also a more polite (‘softer’) form of can

e.g.:  Could you pass me the salt?

•        Could is also a less positive and more hesitant

form of can

e.g.:  I could attend the party. (but I am not sure)

(less definite than

I can attend the party.)

Could I borrow your bicycle? (more formal and

polite than Can I borrow your bicycle?)

•        Could is also used to talk about chances that

something will happen.

Can is not used in this way.

e.g.:  It could rain this afternoon.

(It can rain this afternoon. is not correct.)

May:

•        To express  wishes or hopes.

May god bless you.

May his soul rest in peace.

•        To ask for permission.(more polite and formal

than can)

May I come in?

May I close the window?

•        To give or refuse permission.

Yes, you may.

You may leave now.

You may not leave till you finish.

•        May can be used in a discussion like although or

even if to say something is true but makes no

difference to the main argument.

He may be clever, but he hasn’t got much common

sense.

•        May is used to express probability.

It may rain tomorrow.

The rupee may be devalued.

We may go to the Himalayas next year. (It is not

possible to use can)

•        May is not used in direct questions if it is not

permission.

Will you go to the Himalayas next year?

(Not May you ………next year?)

may with you is usually used only in wishes.

May you be victorious!

Difference between can not and may not

It may not be true.  (perhaps it is not true.)

It can not be true.   (It is certainly not true.)

Complete the following sentences using can or may:

a.     _____ I open the window, please?  It is very hot

   in here.

b.    Yes,  you  _____.

c.     _____ you come over here, sir?

d.    _____ you tell me where you are from?

e.    _____ I phone my lawyer?

Might:

•        Used as the past equivalent of may.

In those days, a man might be hanged for stealing

a sheep.

•        In indirect speech, to report the giving of permission. 

May after present reporting  verbs and might after

past reporting verbs.

The manager says that we may look around.

The manager said that we might look around.

•        Both may and might are used to express probability. 

Might indicates a less strong probability than may

I may go to Mumbai tomorrow. (~there’s a 50%

chance)

I might go to Mumbai tomorrow. (~there’s only a

25% chance.)

•        Might can be used in conditions.

If you went to bed for an hour, you might feel better.

(perhaps you will feel better)

If you go out in the cold, you might fall ill.

 

 

Complete the following weather forecast using

may/might/could or may not/ might not/couldn’t:

All parts of the country will have rain tomorrow but

the rain ____ reach the south till the evening.  It will

be quite warm.  Temperatures ____ reach 30°C. 

Winds will increase from the west and ____ reach

speeds of 60kmph on the coast but they ____ be as

strong inland.  And the forecast for the weekend? 

It ____ be better really.  Dry, warm and sunny for

both Saturday and Sunday.

 

 

Will:

•        Will is used in the second and third person to

express pure future.

Tomorrow will be Wednesday.

You will see that I am right.

•        To express predictions of future events.(use of

will usually indicates the speaker’s opinion)

Tomorrow will be cloudy, with some rain in the

afternoon.(

(compare:

Tomorrow is going to be cloudy, with some rain.)

(i.e. taking external factors into consideration)

You will never finish that book.

(compare: You are never going to finish

that book.)(i.e. you have too much to read… or

perhaps you have too much to do)

•        To express willingness.

I will carry your books.

•        To express promises and threats.

I will phone you tonight.(promise)

I will hit you if you do that again.(threat)

•        When will is stressed, it expresses determination.

I will stop smoking!  I really will!

•        Will you? Indicates an invitation or a request.

Will you have tea?

Will you lend me your scooter, please?

•        Will also expresses a typical or characteristic

behavior.

Sulphuric acid will dissolve most metals.

She will sit for hours watching the T.V.

NOTE: the negative form of will is will not or more

often won’t.

The car won’t start. (refusal)

She won’t come to the party.

•        To express an assumption or probability.

There’s somebody at the door.  That will be

the postman.

Don’t phone them now.  They will be having

dinner.

•        To express an official or impersonal, fixed

Arrangement.

The president will arrive at the airport at 11 a.m. 

He will meet the Governor at 11.30.  Then he will

inaugurate the new university building

Compare:

We are meeting Geetha at 6. (A fixed arrangement

But more personal)

We meet Geetha at 6. Then we proceed to the

concert.

(the simple present is used to express the future

when there is more than one item on the itinerary)

Would:

•        As the past equivalent of will.

He said that he would meet me the next day.

She would sit for hours watching the T.V.

•        As a ‘softer’, more polite form of will.

Would you lend me your scooter, please?

•        Would refers to past willingness in general but

not willingness to do something on a particular past

occasion.

She would clean, dust and iron, but she didn’t

like cooking. (generalized)

She agreed to come and see me.

(NOT She would come and see me.)

 

•        Would is also used to express the idea of ‘future in

the past’

i.e. to talk about a past action which had not yet

happened at the time we are talking about. 

In Chandigarh, he first met the woman whom he

would one day marry.

•        To talk about a typical (characteristic) behavior

in the past.

She would sit for hours watching T.V.

 

•        Would + like is more polite than want.

I would like some coffee, please.

Would you like more coffee?

(More polite than

I want some coffee, please.

Do you want more coffee?)

•        Would is very common in that- clauses after wish. 

Sentences with wish….would express regret or

annoyance that something will not happen.

I wish that you would stop smoking.

•        The negative form of would is wouldn’t.  It refers to

refusal on a past occasion.

The car wouldn’t start again this morning.

I asked him very politely, but he wouldn’t tell me.

•        Would you is more polite and formal than

could you and is less common.

Would you give me some water, please?

NOTE:  In requests, we never use I or we after would. 

We use can or could or may after I or we.

Can we/Could we/May we have the menu?

(NOT Would we have the menu?)

RECAP:

Requests:  Can I …..?/ Could I ….?/ May I ….?/

Would you ….?

Offers: Can I ….?/ May I…?

Asking for permission:   Can I ….?/ Could I ….?/

May I ….?

Giving permission:  You can…./ You may …..

(very formal)

Invitations:  Would you like …..

Shall:

•        To express an offer.

Shall I carry your bag?

•        To ask for instructions.

What time shall we come and see you?

•        To make or ask for suggestions.

Shall we go out for a walk?

Which dress shall I buy?

•        In contracts and other legal documents, shall is

often used with third person to refer to

obligations and duties.

The hirer shall be responsible for the maintenance

of the vehicle.

Spelling and grammatical errors shall be penalized.

(In normal usage, we use will/must/should to express

ideas of this kind.

The negative form of shall is shan’t.

We shan’t have time to see everything.

(won’t is more common in this kind of usage. 

Shan’t is more old-fashioned.)

Should:

•        To express duty or obligation.(i.e. something that is

important for people to do) – it is less strong than must.

We should obey the rules.

•        To express a strong probability.(because it is logical)

She’s away, but she should be back tomorrow.

(I have reason to believe that she will be back

tomorrow.)

•        To ask for advice or instructions – a less definite

form of shall.

Should I go and see the principal?

•        Should + have + past participle is used to talk

about an unfulfilled past obligation.(ought (to)

can also be used in these sentences.)

I should have studied harder for my exam.

I ought to have studied harder for my exam.

It’s already 10.30.  She should have arrived in

the office by now.

It’s already 10.30.  She ought to have arrived in

the office by now.

The negative form of should is shouldn’t.

You shouldn’t have called him a fool – it really

upset him.

Ought (to):

•        Ought is very similar to should and can often be used to

replace each other.

People ought to follow the road rules to avoid accidents.

They are both used to talk about obligation and duty, and

to give advice. 

Ought expresses a moral obligation.

We ought to love our neighbours.

You ought to give up smoking.

•        Ought (like should) expresses a logical probability.

Nina has been practicing hard.  She ought to win

the competition.

•        Ought + to + have + past participle expresses

an action that was

supposed to happen but did not.

I ought to have phoned Shyam this morning

but I forgot.

This structure can also be used to draw conclusions 

about things which we are not sure happened.

Arun ought to have got home yesterday. 

Has anybody seen him?

The negative form of ought(to) is oughtn’t (to).

You ought not to go. / You oughtn’t to go.

(to always comes after not/n’t)

Use ought to/oughtn’t to:

You are too thin.  You ____eat more.

Mary is preparing for her exams.  We ____ disturb

her.

Must:

•        To express duty or obligation.(stronger than

should or ought to)

We must obey the law.

•        To express the logical conclusion that something

is highly probable.

If X is bigger than Y, and Y is bigger than Z, then X

must be bigger than Z.

Mary must have a problem – she looks depressed.

•        Compare must and should:

Anu must be at home by now.

(I think she’s certainly at home.)

Anu should be at home by now.

(I think she’s probably at home.)

•        Compare must and have to:

We use must when the obligation is internal i.e. when

we impose the obligation on ourselves – it comes from

the speaker.

I must see a doctor. (I’ve decided to see a doctor

about my fever.)

I must be home by 7.(if not I’ll miss my favourite

T.V. show)

Have to is used when the obligation is external i.e.

when the obligation is imposed on us by somebody

else – it comes from someone else.

I have to see a doctor. (my mother insists that I see

a doctor about my fever.)

I have to be home by 7. (if not my mother will

scold me.)

Have got to means the same as have to.  It is used

a lot in spoken English.It’s more informal and

colloquial.

I’ve got to be home by 7.

•        Compare mustn’t and don’t have to:

Mustn’t and don’t have to don’t mean the same thing. 

Mustn’t implies prohibition i.e. we use mustn’t to tell

people that it is wrong or against the law to do something.

don’t have to implies absence of necessity.

You mustn’t come to college tomorrow.(maybe because

there is something important happening there –

like the counting of ballots. – prohibited)

You don’t have to come to college tomorrow.

(it is a holiday – so there is no necessity.)

Need:

•        As a modal auxiliary, need is mainly used in

negative sentences.  It is also used in question forms.

You needn’t reserve a seat – there’ll be plenty of room.

Need I reserve a seat? (Do I need to reserve a seat?

is more common.)

Needn’t has a similar meaning to don’t have to.

You needn’t come to college tomorrow.  (there is no

necessity)

You don’t have to come to college tomorrow.

Dare:

•        As a modal auxiliary, dare, like need, is used mainly

in negative sentences.  It is more common in

British English.

She daren’t tell him what she thinks.

•        It is also used in interrogative sentences.

How dare you argue with me?

NOTE:  Dare as a main verb means ‘challenge’. 

Dare as a modal means ‘be brave enough to’.

I dare you to climb this tree. (I challenge you to

climb this tree.)

I daren’t show my report card to my father.

(I am not brave enough to my report card to my

father.)

Used to:

•        To talk about past habits and states(situations).

He used to smoke but now he has stopped.

Note its use in questions and negatives:

What did people use(d) to do in the evenings

before T. V.?

I didn’t use(d) to believe in God, but now I do.

The more common negative form is never used….

I never used to believe in God, but now I do.

Fill in the blanks with appropriate modals in the

following dialogue:

Shopkeeper:  ____ I help you?

Mr. Gupta:     Yes.  ____ you show me T-shirts

                     Size 40, please?

Shopkeeper:  Sure, Sir.  I ___ show you several

                    designs in different colours.

(after looking at various T-shirts)

Mr. Gupta:     That ____ be the one I saw in the

                     advertisement.  ___ you tell me its price Shopkeeper:  It costs only Rs.400.  ____ you like me

                     to pack it for you?

Mr. Gugta:     OK.  I ___ take these two. The blue one

                    and the brown one.  Also, ____ you

                    gift-wrap the blue one, please.

Shopkeeper:  Sure, Sir.  ____ I interest you in

                    anything else?

Mr. Gupta:     No, thanks.  That ___ will be all.  I ___

                    get going.

1.    Manju ____ be 19 next birthday.

2. Where ____ I put these boxes?

3. I ____ like playing tennis a lot when I was

younger.

4.    I ____ pay the electricity bill today.

5.    Anju  ___ run 100m in 15 seconds.

6.    ___ I open the window for you?

7.    Candidates ____ bring mobile phones into the

Examination Hall.

8. You ___ leave so soon; the flight isn’t till 8.

 

3.

When you attempt a comprehension passage, you

___ first read the passage carefully.  Only then you

___ understand the central idea of the passage.

You ___ come across difficult words.  If you read

carefully, you ___ get the meaning in context. 

For answering the questions, you ___ have to read

it again.  The answers to the questions ___ be lifted

directly from the passage.  You ___ answer them in

your own words.  You ___ use one or two words

from the passage, but not complete sentences.

 

4.

People ___ do anything if they come to know that

something is being given free.  They ___ even stand

in long queues to get the item, whatever it ___

whether it is useful to them or not.  They ___ stand

in the queue for hours if they ___.  They ___ fight

like small children and ___ only be satisfied once

they get it.  The item in question ___ be worth only

Rs.10, but that ___ matter to them.  The word ‘free’

___ make them do anything.

 

 

Question tags:

 

We use tags in spoken English but not in formal written English.

They are not really questions but are a way of asking the other person to make a comment and so keep the conversation open.

Making a tag is very mechanical. To make a tag, use the first auxiliary. If there is no auxiliary, use do, does or did. With a positive sentence, make a negative tag and with a negative sentence, make a positive tag.

·         It's beautiful, isn't it?

·         He has been, hasn't he?

·         You can, can't you?

·         It must be, mustn't it?

·         You know him, don’t you?

·         He finished it, didn't he?

·         He will come, won't he?

 

·         It isn't very good, is it?

·         It hasn't rained, has it?

·         It can't be, can it?

·         Jenny doesn't know James, does she?

·         They didn't leave, did they?

·         He won’t do it, will he?

 

exercises:

Add the correct question tags to the following

statements:

1.    It’s cold,_____?

2.    But it isn’t as cold as yesterday, ____?

3.    It was very cold yesterday,_____?

4.    It hasn’t been so cold for a long time, ____?

5.    It’s snowing in the north,____?

6.    It often snows there, ____?

7.    Passenger:  I’m going to miss my train, ____?

Taxi driver:  Probably.

8.    Passenger:  Let’s try another route, _____?

Taxi driver:  I don’t think it will help much.

9.    Passenger:  Well, we’ve got to do something, ____?

Taxi driver:  O.K. If it will make you feel better. 

10.We’ll take this route, ____?

11.Passenger:  I’m going to miss my train, ____?

Taxi driver:  Probably.

12.Passenger:  Let’s try another route, _____?

Taxi driver:  I don’t think it will help much.

13.Passenger:  Well, we’ve got to do something, ____?

Taxi driver:  O.K. If it will make you feel better. 

14.We’ll take this route, ____?

 

Short form answers: When we speak we are less formal in style than when we are writing something. We tend to use a lot of contractions in spoken language for confirmation to the questions, usually beginning with an auxiliary.

 Here are some examples of short answers. We usually repeat the words that come first in the verb phrase.

1.    Can you give me an answer by tomorrow? "Yes, I can./No, I can’t."

2.    Do you like skiing? Yes, I do./No, I don’t.

3.    Have you started Tango lessons yet? Yes, I have./No, I haven’t.

4.    Do you drive a car? - Yes, I do./ No, I don’t.

5.    Can a woman travel in space- Yes, she can./ No, she can’t.

6.    Will you participate in the competition?- Yes, I will./ No, I won’t.

7.    Is it possible to deliver the parcel today?- Yes, it is./ No, it isn’t.

8.    Have you seen a ghost?- Yes, I have./No, I haven’t.

Exercises

1.    Does Renu work hard?__________.____________.

2.    Can you swim?______________._____________.

3.    Are you angry with me?___________.________.

4.    Do you like watching movies?__________.________.

5.    Have you met our Prime Minister?_________._________.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Reading skills:

Many people have trouble with reading. Reading is hard for some people and it can take time. Reading is a process of the brain where you look at symbols on a page, and your mind sees the patterns of characters and understands the meaning in them. If you develop good reading skills, it'll be very helpful to your future. Aren't your school teachers always saying 'Read more books!'? Here are a few steps and tips to get started.

Keep reading. Try to read as much as you can on your free time. Reading will help you in lots of ways; your vocabulary will become larger and more sophisticated and you will notice your grades change for the better .

 

 

1 ) Look at the advertisement and do the exercises to practise and improve your reading skills.

2) Look at the job adverts and do the exercises to practise and improve your reading skills.

LISTENING SKILLS.

Listening is the ability to accurately receive and interpret messages in the communication process. 

Listening is key to all effective communication, without the ability to listen effectively messages are easily misunderstood – communication breaks down and the sender of the message can easily become frustrated or irritated.

Many successful leaders and entrepreneurs credit their success to effective listening skills. Richard Branson frequently quotes listening as one of the main factors behind the success of Virgin. Effective listening is a skill that underpins all positive human relationships, spend some time thinking about and developing your listening skills – they are the building blocks of success.

chapter 4

Rendezvous with Indra Nooyi

About Indra Krishnamurthy Nooyi: One of the highest ranking women in corporate America, Indra Krishnamurthy Nooyi was born on October 28 , 1955 in Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India. She presently runs the fourth largest food and beverage company in the world – Pepsico , as its first female Chief Executive Officer (CEO)

NANDAN NILEKANI: Your mother seems to have had a huge influence on you, right? from the days she prompted you to get 100% marks in Math and all that ....

INDRA NOOYI: I think that she was genetically programmed for that. The entire family focussed on grades. When parents got together they only compared the report cards of their kids. Anybody who got together would say, 'so how is your child doing?', 'what rank?' That was growing up in the 50s and 60s. The real issue is, my father travelled a lot and my mother was at home.

NANDAN NILEKANI: He was in the bank, the State Bank.

INDRA NOOYI: Yes. My mother was the constant force and I think she always' wished she were the prime minister of this country.

NANDAN NILEKANI: Really?

INDRA NOOYI: Oh, she is that. She is a real go-getter.

NANDAN NILEKANI: So, did she pass on her ambition to both of you?

INDRA NOOYI: Absolutely, no question about that. She was an interesting study in contrasts. She passed on her ambition and she always said to us - 'I want to get you married when you are 18, and make sure you aspire to be the prime minister:

NANDAN NILEKANI: Do both. Satisfy this. Satisfy that.

INDRA NOOYI: We never figured out where she came from. But deep down inside, I think my father, my grandfather, all said, 'Our grand-daughters are going to be whatever they want to be: So, my mother really did not have this get-them-married-by-18 option, although she kept on threatening us with that.

NANDAN NILEKANI: When you finished at IIM-Cal, and went to Yale, she didn't try to get you married then?

 

INDRA NOOYI: She threatened that all kinds of things would happen. But at the end of the day, you know, deep down inside, I think she said, 'This is what I really like to do. But that is really what they want to do. And let me not stop them’.

NANDAN NILEKANI: I know once when you figured in the Fortune's Most Powerful Women's list, and when you went home, your mom asked you to get milk or something like that.

INDRA NOOYI: No, I have told this story many times. When I became the president, at 10 o'clock in the night I went home and said, 'Mom I have some very important news: To which she said 'Forget that important news, just go buy some milk: To which, I said, 'Raj is home, why don't you ask him to buy the milk?' She said, 'He is tired: Typical mother you know, can't disturb the son-in-law! I was very upset, but I went and bought
the milk and banged it on the kitchen table in front of her and said, 'Tell me, why do I have to buy the milk and not somebody else: She just looked at me - and I will never forget it and it was a powerful lesson she taught me, and said - 'Look, when you pull into the garage, leave the crown there. Don't walk in with it, because you are first a wife and a mother. And if the family needs milk, you go get the milk. That is your primary role in life. Everything else is what you acquired or what you got because I pray for four to five hours a day: That is the only thing she tells me. She says, 'What did you accomplish? You sit in a meeting on a chair all the time, and I pray for 4-5 hours:

NANDAN NILEKANI: She takes the full credit for it.

INDRA NOOYI: Which I am glad she does because I tell you Nandan, that where I was born, the way I was brought up, the last thing I expected was to be where I am. So you can't just be ...

NANDAN NILEKANI: You left the country in 1971.
INDRA NOOYl: No, no, 1978.

NANDAN NILEKANI: Oh, you worked here till 1978.

INDRA NOOYl: And you know it is a dream at this point. Sometimes I pinch myself. So there must have been forces other than just me ...

NANDAN NILEKANI: Definitely, your mother praying there.

JNDRA NOOYI: 4 to 5 hours a day!

NANDAN NILEKANI: Also, the other thing is that you have been willing to, in a sense, wear your Indianness on your sleeve, whether it is wearing a saree at work or whether it is ...

INDRA NOOYI: Let me correct that, I don't wear a saree ...

NANDAN NILEKANI: No. I mean you are willing to wear it to events. There was a time when the Indians abroad were sort of hiding their Indianness to integrate better. Did you face that kind of a challenge anytime?

INDRA NOOYI: No.

NANDAN NILEKANI: You were just what you were.

INDRA NOOYI: Yeah. When I first started in my summer job, I didn't have money to buy business suits. So I wore a saree, because that was a necessity and it did just fine. What I would not do is flaunt my Indianness by wearing a saree to work everyday,
because it distracts from the job. When in Rome do as the Romans do. Social events are different. If I feel comfortable in a saree for a social event, I wear it. You know, lots has been written about how she shows up at board meetings in a saree. My God, I have never worn a saree to board meetings; people play it out in different ways. I think I have never shied away from the fact that I am an Indian and I don't intend to, but you can be at home with both cultures. 

NANDAN NILEKAN1: You have done an incredible job managing the family, the home, the children and the office. What are the tips for the rest of the normal mortals like us?

INDRA NOOYI: First, I wouldn't say incredible job. We all try to do a job. As I have said before, Nandan, first of all, the family has to support you. But more importantly, you have to pick the right husband, in your case, wife. I picked the right husband. Raj is a great guy and he has been a great support and I do not know where I would have been without him. I would say that without a doubt. He has been more than a husband. He has been a sounding board or friend.

You know, people like us get very lonely, because you cannot share too much with other people. So you come home and he is there and you can discuss anything with him and he gives you sound advice. Not telling you what to do, he will help you think
through all sides of the issue, so that you can make informed decisions. So that way he has been a great support. I would say in terms of balancing the rest of my family, I am an okay mother. I would not say great. I am not available to my kids all the time.

I have been watching television here and I have watched the stereotypical Indian mother, running after the kids, snacks for the evening ... Really wonderful images of my mother, and I am saying to myself, oh my God, my kids have never seen that side of a mother. So  I feel bad for them at times, but you know what, they have seen some other kind of mother. I am sure they miss one kind of mother at some time, but I hope they are proud of this other mother.

NANDAN NILEKANI: How do you manage time? I want to learn. You do not sleep, I guess. How many hours do you sleep?

INDRA NOOYI: Four hours.

NANDAN NILEKANI: Four hours? Oh God!

INDRA NOOYI: Yeah. I feel if I slept six, I am a basket case. So, four is a pretty good number. But the first thing is, I think, Nandan, and you do it better than anybody else. To be a CEO is a calling. You should not do it because it is a job. It is a calling and you have got to be involved in it with your head, heart and hands. Your heart has got to be in the job, you got to love what you do, and it should consume you. And if you are not willing to get into the CEO job that way, there is no point getting into it. And I love the job,  I love the company, I love the people. I loved it when I was president and love it as much now when I am CEO.

So, I have to love my kids, but I have this passion for this company and you can't take that away from me. I am going to have this passion, I want to make something even bigger of this company than it was and what I have to do is decide every moment in time whether I am going to be a mother or a wife or an executive. It's a day to day thing. Although, there are days when I have to go to the school, I do it, but I won't do it every month as they expect mothers to do. I would like to go to see my daughter playing a basketball game. I won't go to every game, but I would to some of them. Everything is a balancing act.

NANDAN NILEKANI: So, everything has been thought through.

INDRA NOOYI: If you have to do something on the spur of the moment, everybody helps you out to do things, but that is only on an emergency. If you can't evoke the spur of the moment on a regular basis, then it is not a spur of the moment anymore.

 

GLOSSARY

rendezvous: a meeting at a decided place,(pronounced- rondivu)

prompt: to make something happen
unique : unusual or special

go-getter: someone who is determined to be successful

figure out : to finally understand something or someone

accomplish: to finish something successfully or to achieve           something

integrate : to become a member of a social group often changing to suit their life, habits and customs

flaunt : to show off

incredible : impossible, or very difficult, to believe
sounding board: a channel through which ideas are dispersed.

stereotypical: having the qualities that you expect a particular type of person to have.

basket case: a person regarded as useless.

passion: very strong feeling or emotion.

spur of moment: on an impulse or suddenly

  

COMPREHENSION:

 

I.                Answer the following questions in one or two sentences each.

 

1.What ambition did Nooyi's mother have for her daughter? Was it fulfilled?

2.How did Nooyi's mother threaten Nooyi?

3.What good news did Indra Nooyi want to share with her mother?                                                                                                         •

4.What did Nooyi's mother say when she was about to tell her the good news?                                                                                      .

5.What lesson did Nooyi learn from her mother?                   :

6.Why does Nooyi's mother take full credit for her success? Do you think it is justified?

7.What did Indra Nooyi discover about the language of business in the U.S.?                                                                                            

8.What does Indra Nooyi think about herself as a mother? 

9.What is the secret of Indra Nooyi's success? How does she manage time?                                                   

10.What is Indra Nooyi's passion?

 

                                        Indra Nooyi said that she had been watching television in India ...

I have been watching television here and I have watched the stereotypical Indian
mother, running after the kids, snacks for the evening.... Really wonderful •
images of my mother and I am saying to myself, oh my God, my kids have
never seen that side of a mother. So I feel bad for them at times, but you know
what, they have seen some other kind of mother. I am sure they miss one kind
of mother at some time, but I hope they are proud of this other mother.

s.You have read Nandan Nilekani's interview with Indra Nooyi, which is a
long and extended conversation. You probably have questions of your own
that you would like to ask her. Imagine that you are a reporter of a news
channel invited for a press conference convened by Indra Nooyi. Write the
conversation between you and Indra Nooyi. Keep in mind that at a press
conference, each reporter can ask only a few questions.

6.Enact a role play between a group of reporters and Indra Nooyi.

                                                                            

 

CHAPTER 5

A Unique Patient

During the early seventies, I was the only dentist in a small town in the south of Maharashtra, and had quite a busy practice. It was around 8 p.m. on a Saturday evening when I spotted a man dressed somewhat strangely waiting in my clinic. He looked like a farmer, and was wearing a dirty white sadara with ankle-length pajamas. He looked tired, yet there was sparkle in his eyes that was unmistakable.

I was curious when he passed his turn to two other patients who had arrived after him. He kept on waiting, and when I enquired about this peculiar behavior, he mentioned that he would consult me only after I was done with all the other patients for the day.

That was strange, I thought. Finally when he came in, I asked him what was wrong with his teeth. He was shy at first, then started apologizing and said he didn’t know how to begin. I encouraged him to speak freely. He then requested me to accompany him for a home visit as he could not get the patient with him on his bicycle. He had travelled from a village that was more than twenty kilometers away.

               My curiosity was picqued and to my own surprise, I agreed to go with him. When I reached his farm, he took me to his barn yard, straight to his bull, and said, ‘Doctor Saheb, this is the patient!’. I almost fainted in shock. he continued, ‘Tomorrow there is a bull-fight in town where the judges will decide the category in which this bull will participate by examining his teeth. My bull list one tooth in a practice session today and I request you to please fix it. Here is the tooth,’ he said holding a big tooth wrapped in an old cloth in front of me.

               I had, of course, never fixed a bull’s tooth, but was overwhelmed by the man’s passion and decided to help him. Because of a large amount of saliva drooling from this patient’s mouth, I had to use metres and metres of old saris instead of gauge pieces. With the help of the farmer and his family, I devised many innovative ways and was able to fix the bull’s tooth.

               A week later, the farmer came to my clinic with a box of sweets. The bull’s tooth was doing fine and it had even won a shield in the bull fight!.

               It has been more than thirty years now and I still receive a box of sweets from him, the owner of my unique patient, on the occasion of ‘baila pola’, a local festival of bulls!.

                                                                                          -Dr Vijay Parakh.

Chapter 6.

 

                              The Farmer’s Wife                           - Volga

 

               You are virtuous and you are gone.

               Poor sinner that I am remain

Before your creditors.

Unable to bend your head

Or stretch out your hand

Or sell your crops

You crossed over.

But I was born with a head bent

A hand outstretched

Not unused to being sold

Knowing all this did you leave me?

You found release with poison

Poisoning my bitter existence

The cotton crop is but yesterday’s

But our family?

How often have I drowned in it

How many times have I escaped death

Whether you abused or reviled me

Kicked me when you were drunk

I thought, he is but a man

Little did I dream you would deal
Me a death blow like this !

True, the crop was gone

The debt remained

Our dignity hit the dust

Our hearts turned to water

But how did you imagine

My back would bear the burden of four children?

You saw your crop destroyed

What of the harvest of my womb?

Can I leave them to the wind

Like worm-eaten cotton pods?

It takes a moment to die

But open your mouth and ask

What of this?

Why is this?

Needs a firm heart.

To teach my children

To clench a fist

Not nearly for a handful of rice

But in battle

I must live

I must embrace life not death

Embrace life and the struggle for life.

 

                                                            Translated by Vasanth Kannabiran from the Telugu poem ‘Chavuni Kaadu Batukuni’ (Not Death but Life)

 

 

A Note on the poet:

               Volga is the pen name of the well known Telugu writer P.Lalita Kumari(b.1950) She was born in Guntur, one of the big towns and educational centers in the state of Andhra Pradesh. Her stories, novels, and poetry reflect well-articulated feminist positions without compromising either the quality of literary form or failing to represent the ‘reality’ of the characters. In her poetry, metaphor not only facilitates form but also celebrates ‘ideas’ depicted.

 

Glossary:

virtuous: Morally good

sin: an act that causes strong disapproval.

creditor: a person or company to whom money is owed (due)

existence: a way of living

drowned: die or kill through submersion in water.

revile: (usually be reviled) criticize in an abusive or angrily insulting manner.

cotton pod: unripe cotton shell.

clench: close one’s fist or teeth tightly in response to stress or anger.

embrace: hold closely.

 

Comprehension:

I.         Answer the following questions in one or two sentences.

1.      What do ‘you’ and ‘I’ in the poem refer to?

2.      Who is the sinner according to the poem?

3.      Why has the farmer committed suicide?

4.      Explain the meaning of the phrase ‘you crossed over’?

5.      What are the contrasts depicted by the writer between farmer’s wife and her husband?

6.      What memories of her husband trouble her now?

7.      Describe the meaning of the phrase ‘harvest of my womb’?

8.      What responsibilities lies on farmer’s wife after her husband’s death?

9.      What did she say about death, and what is needed to avoid it?

10.   What does the farmer’s wife want to teach to her children?

II.             Answer the following questions in a paragraph of not more than 100 words.

1.      Describe the lament of farmer’s wife on her husband’s death?

2.      Why does the farmer’s wife resolve to live?

 

Vocabulary Exercise:

               Read the poem and pick out the singular/ plural nouns that are there. Find the plurals for the singular nouns and Singular for the plural nouns.

Active voice and Passive voice:

Read the following passage carefully

DJ James Lewis was sacked yesterday by Radio City.  James had been given the job of DJ a month ago.  Yesterday morning he had an argument with a woman caller, Mrs. Sneha Shetty.  The argument was heard by the director of the radio station, Mr. Sunil Kashyap. The programme was immediately stopped, Mr. Lewis was told to leave and old Hindi songs were played for the rest of the show.  The morning show on Radio Dream is listened to by over 1 million people.  Mr. Kashyap commented, “Our listeners must be treated with respect.  Mrs. Shetty shouldn’t have been insulted.  Mr. Lewis hasn’t been offered his job back.  If he had apologized, he wouldn’t have been sacked.  A new DJ will be chosen soon and a letter of apology is being sent to Mrs. Shetty. Mr. Lewis later agreed to be interviewed by the Daily Express.  He told the reporter, “I hope to be offered a job by another radio station.  I was sacked for no good reason.  I was being insulted by a silly woman.  I was called a lot of rude names.  So I insulted her back.  What’s wrong with that?”

Now examine the following sentences:

1.  The cat killed the rat.

2.  The rat was killed by the rat.

In the sentence 1., The cat is the subject.  The subject does the work (i.e. kill the rat) In other words, the subject is active.  Therefore the first sentence is in the Active voice.

In sentence 2., the subject the rat does not do anything.  It only receives the action.  In

other words the subject is passive.  Therefore this sentence is in the passive voice. The passive sentence is used when the doer or agent is either not known or is unimportant.The rat was killed. 

               In passive construction,we can mention the person or thing that does the action (the agent) after the preposition by.

He was sacked by Radio Dream.

He was being insulted by a silly woman.

Listeners mustn’t be insulted by DJs.

1.  We often use the passive when we want to talk about an action, but are not so interested in saying who or what does/did it.  Passives without the doer are commonly used in academic or scientific writing (laboratory reports, for example)

Those pyramids were built around 400 AD.

Many books have been written about the Second World War.

The results have not yet been analyzed.

 

2. A passive sentence is more formal than an active one.  Compare

We will choose a new DJ soon. (active – informal)

A new DJ will be chosen soon. (passive – formal)

The passive form is very common in English, esp. in news reports, signs and notices, scientific and technical description.  In these contexts, we are more interested in the things that happen rather than what/who makes them happen.

In order to keep talking about the same topic, it is sometimes necessary to switch between active and passive.

e.g.: He had waited for two hours before he was seen by a doctor; then he was sent back to the waiting room.  He sat there for another two hours – by this time he was getting angry.  Then he was taken upstairs and examined by a specialist, after which he had to wait for another hour before he was allowed to go home.

The above construction is more natural than

He had waited for two hours before a doctor saw him;then they sent him back to the waiting room. ……….

 

Conversion of active sentences to passive:

For sentences in the simple tenses(present and past):

 

Object of the active sentence +BE forms + past participle form of main verb +by + subject  of active sentence.                                                      

e.g.

The cat / killed / the rat.

The rat / was killed / by the cat.

 

For sentences in the progressive tenses,

Object of Active sentence+ BE forms + being + past participle form of main verb

+ by + subject of active sentence.

e.g.

My mother / is baking / a cake.

A cake / is being baked / by my mother.

 

For sentences in the perfect tenses:

Object of Active sentence+ HAVE + been + past participle form of main verb+ by + subject of active sentence.

e.g.

He / has sold / his car.

His car / has been sold / by him.

For sentences with auxiliaries:

Object of Active sentence + aux. + be + past participle form of main verb + by + subject of active sentence.

e.g.

They / will pay / DJ James / until the end of the month.

DJ James / will be paid /  (by them) /until the end

of the month.

Imperative sentences begin with a verb. To change it to a passive voice we use ‘Let’ to begin the passive sentence.

e.g.

Call the doctor.

Let the doctor be called.

Do not switch on the light.

Let the light not be switched on.

 

Exercises on voice:

Change to passive:

1. They’ve built a new hospital.

2. They’re building a new shopping centre.

3. They’ll finish it next October.

4. They knocked down the old building last week.

5. They’re going to build a new one soon.

Change to active:

1.      The prizes were distributed by the chief guest.

2.      The soldiers were repairing the bridge.

3.      The work has been completed.

4.      The jug was broken by the boy.

5.      Rules must be obeyed.

Change the voice:

1.      Ramu was making a kite.

2.      Close the door.

3.      Cable wires have been cut.

4.      We prohibit smoking.

5.      Everyone loves him.

6.      My watch was lost.

7.      He was refused admission.

8.      Do not insult the poor.

9.      Without effort nothing can be gained.

10.   They made him captain.

 

 

Writing Exercise:

Read the following passage and answer the questions that follow.

Self confidence is created by being aware of one’s own self worth, plus points, special abilities, talents, the support base etc. Similarly, one should become aware of the blessings of God. We have a place to stay, a healthy body, a balanced mind, two eyes to see, two ears to hear, two legs to walk, two hands, have food to eat,money for the necessities of life, clothes to wear, there are people to love and help, are all God’s blessings. When we are aware of this, we will become courageous to take our steps forward. Everybody in the world wants to be successful, but they lack self confidence. Self confidence is a conviction of the self as being powerful enough to pursue any path which will yield the best results. If there is self-confidence we can scale great heights in life. Great people have achieved greatness by being self-confident and courageous.

1.      How is self confidence crearted?

2.      Which are the blessings of God?

3.      What happens when we are aware of blessings of God?

4.      What is self-confidence?

5.      How does self-confidence benefit us?

 

Listening/ Speaking Skills:

1.      Write a paragraph using the following hints:-

·        Good habits from childhood essential

·        Self discipline, sincerity, hard work takes you on the right path

·        Contentment leads to happy life

·        Can become a good citizen

2.

·        Air, water, sound pollution

·        Deforestation increasing rapidly

·        Man plays a key role

·        Nature’s gift to be protected.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Cp English

DEPARTMENT OF TECHNICAL EDUCATION

Diploma In commercial practice

I -semester syllabus

english – i

Contact Hours per Week: 4                                                    Contact Hours per Semester: 52

 

I.                 PROSE                                                                                          HOURS

 

1.     Oru Manushyan                             -Vaikom Mohammed Basheer           4

2.     Babar Ali                                        -Samarpita Mukherjee Sharma          4

3.     Two Gentlemen of Verona                        - A.J.Cronin.                                       4                              

 

                                   

    

II.               POETRY

1.        Money Madness                           – D.H.Lawrence                                 2

2.        The Farmer’s Wife                       - Volga                                                2

3.        An Old Woman                             - Arun Kolatkar                                  2

                                                                                                          

III.             GRAMMAR & COMPOSITION

1.     Parts of Speech                                                                       3

2.     Auxiliaries (Primary and Modal)                                           3

3.     Tenses, Types of Tenses and exercises                                  4

4.     Agreement of the Verb with it sSubject                                3

5.     Active and Passive voice. Definition and conversions         3

6.     Articles- Definition and types- uses, exercises                     2

7.     Short form answers- exercises                                               1

8.     Prefixes and Suffixes- exercises                                            2

9.     Synonyms and Antonyms – exercises                                                2

10.  Puntuation- exercises                                                             2

11.  Descriptive writing- Describing objects

, persons, places and processes                                                    3                                                                                                                                       

12.  Comprehension of an unseen passage.                                   4

 

GENERAL OBJECTIVES:

 

 

 

Total No of Hours

 

                        Text                                         - 18 Hours
                        Grammar and Composition    - 34 Hours

                        Tests (Internal Assessment)   -03 Hours

                        ------------------------------------------------

                                                            Total   - 55 Hours

 

INTERNAL ASSESSMENT:                         25 MARKS

Internal Assessment Tests-                20 marks

Tutorial Exercises for Spoken Skills-              5 marks

Suggested list of Tutorial Exercises leading to the development of speaking skills.

 

1.     Introducing oneself.

2.     Introduction about family.

3.     Discussion about weather.

4.     Seeking permission to do something.

5.     Description of hobbies.

6.     Seeking information at bus/railways/air stations.

7.     Conversation with friends/bank staff/ doctors/ advocates/ superiors/ industrialist etc..,

8.     Discussing holiday plans

9.     Asking about products and placing orders.

10.  Telephonic conversation

11.  Talk about favorite sport/ movie/ actor/ TV show etc.,

12.  Greeting a friend on his/her birthday. .etc..,

 

*Marks to be awarded by the teacher based on the performance.

 

 

BOOKS RECOMMENDED

 

1.     ‘Reflections’- English Course Book for I PUC.  Dept. of PU Education. Bengaluru.

2.     English Grammar and Composition. – Wren and Martin. S.Chand Publications

3.     English Grammar and Composition- M. A. Pink and S. E. Thomas. S.Chand Publications

4.     Contemporary Communicative English- Dr. Shruti Das.  S.Chand Publications

 

5.     The King’s Grammar- Sanjay Kumar Sinha. S.Chand Publications.

                       

MODEL QUESTION PAPER

ENGLISH –I   (I SEMESTER CP)

TIME: 3 HOURS  ]                                                                                                                       [MAX. MARKS: 100

INSTRUCTIONS:

       i.          Answer all questions as directed.

      ii.          Spelling and grammatical errors shall be penalized.

     iii.          Answers to Question no. I and II are based on the prescribed text.

 

 

I.A) Answer any six of the following in two to three sentences each.                        6×2=12 Marks

 

1.      What was the narrator doing to earn a living?

2.      How far was the big city from the narrator’s home-town?

3.      Where did the narrator stay in the big city?

4.      Why is Babar Ali called ‘a fortunate soul’ in his village?

5.      Why is sending children to school, a costly affair for parents?

6.      Where does Babar Ali run classes for poor children?

7.      List the different things that the boys did to earn their living?

8.      Where does the narrator first meet the two boys?

 

I.B) Answer any four of the following in two to three sentences each.                    4×2=8 Marks

1. How are people without money, usually treated?

2. What happens, if we do not regain our sanity about money?

3. Why has the speaker’s husband committed suicide?

4. What does the poem ‘The Farmer’s Wife’ end with?

5. What does the Old Woman offer to do?

6. What does she expect for her service?

II.A)  Answer any two of the following in a Paragraph of 80-100 words each.        5×2=10 Marks

1.      Give an account of the embarrassing experience of the narrator at the restaurant?

2.      Why do you think Babar Ali took the initiative to start his own school?

3.      What do you understand about the boys’ character from their action and behavior?

 

 

II.B) Answer any One of the following in a paragraph of 80-100 words.                  5×1=5 Marks

1.      Collective madness about money affects the individuals also. How does the poem bring this out?

2.      What is the speaker trying to convey through the lines ‘ And the hills crack, And the temples crack, And the sky falls ?’.

 

GRAMMAR

III.  Answer all sub questions:

1.   Name the parts of speech of each underlined word in the following sentences:  5×1=5

a)      All men are mortal.

b)      Our blessings come from above.

c)      Both of them are dead.

d)      We tried hard, but didn’t succeed.

e)      He came before the appointed time.

2.   Fill in the blanks with suitable auxiliaries:                                                               4×1=4

a.      One _____pay attention to the studies. (can, will, should)

b.       I _______ go to marriage. ( ought, used, must)

c.      Leaders ______ work for the nation. (can, should, ought)

d.      _______ I come in ? (may, ought, will)

 

3.      Identify the tense of the verb in the following sentences.                                4×1=4

a. Fortune favours the brave.

b.  She is singing.

c.  I learnt Hindi in Nagpur.

d.  I shall have written my exercise by then.

 

4.      Fill in the blanks with correct form of the verbs given in the brackets:           4×1=4

a.      Mr. Jack _____ (visit) the Church every day.

b.      The kid______(play) since yesterday afternoon.

c.      They_______(purchase) car next year.

d.      I_______(get) a seat yesterday in the train.

 

5.      Change the Voice.                                                                                                                     4×1=4

a.      Manners  reveal character.

b.      He was praised by his father.

c.      We prohibit smoking.

d.      The money was lost.

 

6.      Fill in the blanks with verbs that agree with the subjects:                                         4×1=4

a.   He ______ a nice person to talk to.

b.   Neither he nor his Father ______ at home yesterday.

c.   They______ hosting a party today.

d.   ______they present in the class yesterday?

 

7.      Fill in the blanks with suitable articles:                                                           4×1=4

a.      Copper is ____ useful metal.

b.      ______sun shines brightly.

c.      She is _____untidy girl.

d.      John got _____ best present.

 

8.      Supply the question tags.                                                                                  2×1=2

a.      He will never give up______?

b.      You like him______?

 

9.      Supply the short form answer.                                                                         2×1=2

a.      Can you drive a car? (negative)

b.      Am I in your way? (affirmative)

10.   Give the synonyms of the following.                                                              2×1=2

a.      Teach

b.      Happiness

11.   Give the antonyms of the following.                                                              2×1=2

a.      Sell

b.      Modern

12.   Supply appropriate prefixes and suffixes in the following sentences      2×2=4

a.      It reminds me of my child____ days.

b.      We have to recognize Good____ in others.

c.      We attended an ____national conference.

d.      We seek your ____operation in this matter.

13.   Punctuate with capitals.                                                                                    4 marks

exactly so said alice

 

                                                    

IV. COMPOSITION.

a.   Describe the tourist place you visited recently.                                                              5 marks

b.   Describe the process involved in making tea.                                                                    5 marks

c.   Read the following passage and answer the questions given below in your own words:

A traveler whose exclusive purpose is to reach a certain destination in the minimum of time has at once lost half the joy of his journey. He becomes pre occupied with the thought of his goal, and this pre occupation makes him intolerant of the fieldly advances of those he meets by the way and blind to the ever changing panorama along his route. He resents delay, finds every little inconvenience irksome, and frets and fumes at any hitch that threatens to upset his careful laid plans. There is, it is true, a certain satisfaction in being whirled in comforts through space at breath-taking speeds, or in covering long distances carefree in record time. But this satisfaction is purely material and transitory; there is a touch of vainglorious pride about it; and it smacks too much of business. The real abiding pleasure of travelling lies in the process not in the accomplishment.

 

Questions:

1)      What possible pleasures are missed by the impatient traveler?                                                 2

2)      What circumstances are likely to make the hasty traveler impatient?                                      2

3)      What are the writer’s view on the pleasure to be derived from mere rapidity and ease of travelling?                                                                                                                                              2

4)      What in simple terms is the meaning of the last sentence in the passage?                             2

5)      Supply suitable title for the passage.                                                                                                2

 

 

--------------------------

 

 

REFERENCE  BOOKS:

1. HIGH SCHOOL ENGLISH GRAMMAR AND COMPOSITION BY Wren and Martin. (S.CHAND & CO.)

2. THE KING’S GRAMMAR BY SANJAY KUMAR SINHA (S.CHAND & CO.)

3. STRENGTHEN YOUR WRITING BY V.R. NARAYANA SWAMY (ORIENT BLACKSWAN PUBLICATION)

4. ESSENTIAL ENGLISH BY E. SURESH KUMAR et. al (ORIENT BLACKSWAN)

5. ENGLISH GRAMMAR COMPOSITION AND EFFECTIVE BUSINESS COMMUNICATION BY M.A.PINK AND THOMAS S.E. (S.CHAND & CO.)

6. WHAT YOUNG INDIA WANTS. SELECTED ESSAYS AND COLUMNS BY CHETAN BHAGAT (PUBLISHED BY RUPA PUBLICATION, NEW DELHI)

7. CHICKEN SOUP FOR THE INDIAN DOCTOR’S SOUL. BY JACK CANFIELD et.al .WESTLAND LIMITED PUBLISHERS.

8. SOFT SKILLS BY K. ALEX PUBLISHED BY S.CHAND AND COMPANY.

9. “REFLECTIONS”, I PUC ENGLISH COURSE BOOK . PUBLISHED BY DEPT.OF PU EDUCATION. GOVT OF KARNATAKA.

10. A PRACTICAL COURSE FOR WRITING SKILLS IN ENGLISH BY J.K.GANGAL. PHI PUBLICATIONS.