Wednesday, December 31, 2008

Important Vocabulary to Improve your English-3

freelance
Someone who does freelance work or who is, for example, a freelance journalist or photographer is not employed by one organization, but is paid for each piece of work they do by the organization they do it for.
Freelance is also an adverb.

A freelance is the same as a freelancer.

If you freelance, you do freelance work.


forum
A forum is a place, situation, or group in which people exchange ideas and discuss issues, especially important public issues.


typography
Typography is the way in which written material is arranged and prepared for printing.


render
You can use render with an adjective that describes a particular state to say that someone or something is changed into that state. For example, if someone or something makes a thing harmless, you can say that they render it harmless.
= make
If you render someone help or service, you help them.

To render something in a particular language or in a particular way means to translate it into that language or in that way.


terrain
Terrain is used to refer to an area of land or a type of land when you are considering its physical features.


pratfall
If someone takes a pratfall, they make an embarrassing mistake.
A pratfall is a fall onto your bottom.


drab
If you describe something as drab, you think that it is dull and boring to look at or experience.
= dreary


spirit
Your spirit is the part of you that is not physical and that consists of your character and feelings.

A person's spirit is the non-physical part of them that is believed to remain alive after their death.
= soul
A spirit is a ghost or supernatural being.

Spirit is the courage and determination that helps people to survive in difficult times and to keep their way of life and their beliefs.

Spirit is the liveliness and energy that someone shows in what they do.

The spirit in which you do something is the attitude you have when you are doing it.

A particular kind of spirit is the feeling of loyalty to a group that is shared by the people who belong to the group.

A particular kind of spirit is the set of ideas, beliefs, and aims that are held by a group of people.

The spirit of something such as a law or an agreement is the way that it was intended to be interpreted or applied.

You can refer to a person as a particular kind of spirit if they show a certain characteristic or if they show a lot of enthusiasm in what they are doing.

Your spirits are your feelings at a particular time, especially feelings of happiness or unhappiness.

prep/adv
If someone or something is spirited away, or if they are spirited out of somewhere, they are taken from a place quickly and secretly without anyone noticing.

Spirits are strong alcoholic drinks such as whisky and gin.

Spirit or spirits is an alcoholic liquid that is used as a fuel, for cleaning things, or for other purposes. There are many kinds of spirit.

see also methylated spirits, surgical spirit

revenue
Revenue is money that a company, organization, or government receives from people.

Tuesday, December 30, 2008

Important Vocabulary to Improve your English-2

swamp
A swamp is an area of very wet land with wild plants growing in it.

blanket
A blanket is a large square or rectangular piece of thick cloth, especially one which you put on a bed to keep you warm.

A blanket of something such as snow is a continuous layer of it which hides what is below or beyond it.

If something such as snow blankets an area, it covers it.

You use blanket to describe something when you want to emphasize that it affects or refers to every person or thing in a group, without any exceptions.
= comprehensive

see also electric blanket, security blanket, wet blanket
If something swamps a place or object, it fills it with water.

If you are swamped by things or people, you have more of them than you can deal with.


ogre
If you refer to someone as an ogre, you are saying in a humorous way that they are very frightening.


erotica
Erotica means works of art that show or describe sexual activity, and which are intended to arouse sexual feelings.


condominium
A condominium is an apartment building in which each apartment is owned by the person who lives there.

A condominium is one of the privately owned apartments in a condominium.


terrain
N-VAR: usu with supp
Terrain is used to refer to an area of land or a type of land when you are considering its physical features.


draft
A draft is an early version of a letter, book, or speech.

When you draft a letter, book, or speech, you write the first version of it.

If you are drafted, you are ordered to serve in the armed forces, usually for a limited period of time.
= conscript
If people are drafted into a place, they are moved there to do a particular job.

The draft is the practice of ordering people to serve in the armed forces, usually for a limited period of time.
= conscription
A draft is a written order for payment of money by a bank, especially from one bank to another.


see also draught

sizeable
Sizeable means fairly large.
= substantial

epidural
An epidural is a type of anaesthetic which is injected into a person's spine so that they cannot feel anything from the waist downwards. Epidurals are sometimes given to women when they are giving birth.


pose
If something poses a problem or a danger, it is the cause of that problem or danger.

If you pose a question, you ask it. If you pose an issue that needs considering, you mention the issue.

If you pose as someone, you pretend to be that person in order to deceive people.

If you pose for a photograph or painting, you stay in a particular position so that someone can photograph you or paint you.

You can say that people are posing when you think that they are behaving in an insincere or exaggerated way because they want to make a particular impression on other people.

A pose is a particular way that you stand, sit, or lie, for example when you are being photographed or painted.

Monday, December 29, 2008

Important Vocabulary to Improve your English -1

rigging

Vote or ballot rigging is the act of dishonestly organizing an election to get a particular result.

On a ship, the rigging is the ropes which support the ship's masts and sails.

visor

A visor is a movable part of a helmet which can be pulled down to protect a person's eyes or face.

A visor is a piece of plastic or other material fixed above the windscreen inside a car, which can be turned down to protect the driver's eyes from bright sunshine.

foliage

The leaves of a plant are referred to as its foliage.

puppet

A puppet is a doll that you can move, either by pulling strings which are attached to it or by putting your hand inside its body and moving your fingers.

You can refer to a person or country as a puppet when you mean that their actions are controlled by a more powerful person or government, even though they may appear to be independent.

possessed

If someone is described as being possessed by an evil spirit, it is believed that their mind and body are controlled by an evil spirit.

see also possess

Sunday, December 28, 2008

Graphical User Interfaces

Graphical User Interfaces

Windows'98, Windows 2000, Windows XP, Windowns Vista are some of the examples for the graphical user interface operating system.

All graphical user interface have some common features, they are

(i) They display number of windows on the screen. Each window can contain an application program or a document.

(ii) You can operate them by pointing and clicking. You can execute command by pointing to a command on the screen.

(iii) They have a WYSIWYG (What You See Is What You Get) display that shows a document on the screen much like it will look when it is pointed.

Pen based interfaces

On most new hand hled systems, the intefae is touch - sensitive. Use a stylus to write on it or to point to command and the text or command is read off the screen. The screen can sence the positions of the stylus and either to execute command or display hand writing on the screen. Windows CE operating system is the PEN-Based interfaces.

Touch screen interfaces

The touch screens enable the user to select an option by pressing a specific part of the screen by finger. These systems ar so simple to use that no instructions are needed. Touch screen interfaces are commonly used in fact food restaurents and information centers etc.

Conversational interfaces

These will eventually respond to spoke commands. In this area, the progress is slow. By this you can enter data and operat your applications using voice recognition software.

Saturday, December 27, 2008

Computers very basics Part-3

Operating system

Operating system is a software and is the interface between user and computer hardware. The primary goal of an operating system is to make the computer system convenient to use the computer hardware in an effcient manner.

Operatin system services

The operating system can handle the following services.

(i) I/O handling: A running program may require input and output from teh user. This will be handled by operating system.

(ii) Program execution: Whenever a suer had to execute a program, ti shound be loaded onto the memeory and executed from there and after that it is terminated. This will be done by the operating system.

(iii) File handing: Wherever date had to be stored in a permanent fro, it should be stored in a file. The operating system stores the data on the desk and maintains a table where the date file is saved.

(iv) Error detection: Errors can occur due to hardware, I/O, memeroy etc and the program. The operating system has consistent way to handle these errors.

(v) Accounting: Operating system has to provide accounting services where the various resources utilisation is maintined so that the system time required fro a job can be calculated and the result used fro fine tuning its performance at a later time.

OPERATING SYSTEM INTERFACES

The screen items use see and interact are defined as user interaces. there are different types of interfaces. We will discuss each of them.

Character based intereces

The best example for character based interface operating system is Disk Operating System (DOS). This is used in the priliminary stages of a computer. this will display only a fixed set of character like letters A to Z, a to z, the numbers 0-9 and special symbols like @,#,$,%,^,&, etc.

Friday, December 26, 2008

Computers very basics Part-2

Generations of Computers

1st Generation:

These computers were used in the period between 1951 and 1959. These computes were made of vacuum tubes.

These were very large in size but very slow in working.

2nd Generation:

These computers were used in the period between 1959 and 1963. Transsistors were used in the place of vacuum tubes.

These were much reliable and faster in speed and smaller in size when compare to the 1st generation computers.

3rd Generation:

These computers were used in the period between 1963 and 1975. Integrated circutis (I.C) were used in the place of Transistors. Integrated circutis means combination many transistors and an electronic circults in a single chip. These were much more reliable, faster in speed and were more capable of storing data, when compared to the 2nd generation computers.

4th Generation: These computers are in use since 1975. These are made of micro processors chips, which hold the entire control unit and arithmetic and logic uint.

Generation Period Component

1st Generation From 1951 to 1959 Vacuum Tubes

2nd Generation From 1959 to 1963 Transsistors

3rd Generation From 1963 to 1975 Integrated Circuit

4th Generation From 1975 onwards Micro processor

Parts o computers

The main parts of a computer are

Input device

Central processing unit

Output device

Input Unit

The keyboard is the main input device, through which the dta is put into computr for the computation. Other examples for the input devices are mouse, scannar and Joystick.

C.P.U.

C.P.U. Stands for central processing unit. It is the brain of a computer. It is also known as system unit. The system unit consists of memory unit, control unit and arithmetic and loic unit (A.L.U)

1. Memory unit: Memory is an important part of the C.P.U. when w feed the data into the computer, the C.P.U. first send it to the memeory unit, where it is stored.

2. Control Unit: This unit controls all the parts of the computer. It deals with th einput as per the instructions using the memory and the A.L.U. After the processing, it sends results back to the memory from where they will send the output device.

3.Arithmetic and logic unit: It is the part of CPU. it decodes program instructions, solves arithmetic problems and carries out tasks which need logic to arrive at an answer.

Out put unit

The information that comes out of he computer is called the output. Monitor and printer are teh examples fro the output device. Generally output is viewed on screen and printout is taken from printer.

Thursday, December 25, 2008

Computers very basics Part-1

What is computer

Definition: Computer is an electronic device which works on data and gives the result. Compute can perform calculations on data and can gives output. I can also do the logical comparision on data.

Computer receives data from the input device (Key board; scanner etc.).

computer store that data in memory.

computer processes the data and stores that result in memory.

computer sends that result to an output device (monitor) or to a printer.

Uses of computer

Computer can be used to draw pictures.

Computer can be used to solve sums.

Games can be played on computers.

Computers can be used to play music and to listen songs.

Computers can be used to store large amount of data.

Computers can be used to create the cartoon movies.

Computers can be used to watch the moves.

Computers can be used for almost all things.

Tuesday, December 23, 2008

Essential English grammar - basic level 6

Read the following dialogue. Then write a paragraph expressing your views on the topic discussed in the dialogues.

Shruti : Why do you want to go for tuitions?

Nikita : Mama, all the girls in my class go for tuition.

Shruti : So what? I still don’t understand why you need to go for tuition.

Nikita : Because there are some sections of my Physics book, which I cannot understand.

Shruti : Why don’t you ask your teacher to explain?

Nikita : Mama, it’s not possible. The teacher has no time. Besides, everyone is going for tuition.

Shruti : I don’t think it’s a good idea. I think you should ask your teacher to help you.

Shruti : What are you doing on the compute all the time?

Serena : Oh mama! I’m chatting with my friends and looking for stuff on the NET.

Shruti : Why do you have to chat online? Aren’t your friends here in the city?

Serena : They are. But when we chat, three-four of my friends can talk at the same time.

Shruti : I think you waste a lot of precious time in chatting with the same friends who are in school with you. You

can utilize the time in studying.

Deepa : I think school teachers should be given the highest salary.

Mukti : Why do you say so?

Deepa : School teachers can lay a solid foundation for all subjects. If we pay them well, many highly qualified

people will be willing to teach in schools. Our students will benefit a lot. They will not have to struggle with their studies in colleges and other educational institutions.

Mukti : It definitely seems like a good idea. Will the government listen to us and pay attention to thisimportant

aspect of teaching and learning?

Reena : Today I read an article about becoming a vegetarian.

Lalitha : Yes, even I saw that article. It says that human beings are designed to digest only vegetables and not

anything else.

Reena : Did they say anything about eggs?

Lalitha : No, I believe eggs are also considered vegetarian. I don’t know whether it is true or not.

Deepa : My cousin Vikas has a job in a call centre. He’s getting a really fat salary. I wouldn’t mind a job like that.

Elizabeth: My sister used to work in a call centre. The salary is great. But she had to work long hours. She hardly

got time to spend the money she earned.

Deepa : Think of what you can do with the money. Clothes……. moves ……. a car …….

Elizabeth: My sister spend a lot of money on the doctor. She constantly had pain in the neck, arms and fingers from

sitting in front of a computer an stomach upsets. She gave it up and now works as a receptionist in a hotel.

Deepa : That’s it. First, make your money, then go and do something else.

Sreeram: A woman’s place is in the kitchen.

Swathy : Oh, no! That’s such an old – fashioned view. Our mothers were trained to be housewives. In contrast,

the present day women are educated and they want to enter the professional world.

Sreeram: But we have not stopped cooking and eating, have we?

Swathy : No, we haven’t. That’s why a ma also should help his wife in the kitchen, so that she can cope better with

her professional and domestic responsibilities.

Mr. Reddy: How is Prerna ? Is she better now?

Mrs. Reddy: Not really. She still has a bad cough and a wheezy chest. As you know, she’s allergic to dust and smoke

and the pollution here has made her worse. I wish we had not come to this city.

Mr. Reddy: Be practical. It’s not possible to say way from a place forever. Anyway, all cities have the same problem.

Everywhere people seems to be suffering from lung diseases and skin allergies. Pollution has become a health hazard. There is very little we can do about it.

Mrs. Reddy: I think both government and individuals should take steps to bring down pollution levels. Otherwise, all

cities will soon become gas chambers!

Vishnu : It is said that men are from Mars and women are from Venus.

Priya : Yes, it shows the difference that exists between men and women. Men and women not only

communicate differently, but also think, feel, perceive, react, respond, love and appreciate differently.

Vishnu : Will an understanding of our differences the, help us resolve most of our problems? Should we try to

understand these differences and lead a better life in the process?

Priya : Most definitely. We must try to learn practical techniques for solving the problems that arise from our

differences.

Hari : Look at Nikhil, He’s so lucky. His servant carries his bag to school every day.

Imtiaz : Not so lucky for the servant. He’s only as old as Nikhil. He should be going to school himself. Nikhil’s

parents shouldn’t keep a child as a servant.

Hari : If they didn’t, the boy would probably starve. This way, he gets food and clothing and shelter. He’s

earning money.

Imtiaz : And what can he hope for? To spend his whole life as a servant? Doesn’t he have a right to education

like us? A better life?

Hari : May be. But unless he works he will not be able to afford an education. You have to be realistic. Ife is

tough.

Raghu : Diwali is next week. I’m so excited. I can’t wait. All those delicious sweets. And Dad’s promised to buy

us lots of crackers and other fireworks. What about you?

Sushma: Diwali is my favourite festival, too. But not because of the fireworks. We’ve decided not to burn crackers and other stuff this year. It’s so noise, and it upsets old people. Children and animals.

Raghu : What’s wrong with crackers? It’s only once a year. And how can you celebrate without some noise and colour?

Sushma: Have you thought of the hundreds of children who work in the factories to make these crackers?

Farah : Another Miss world has been chosen. These contests treat women as though they are just sex objects.

Geetha : That’s not true. Today’s beauty contest look for more than beauty. You have to have personality, brain

and talent.

Farah : Brains! All you need is a good memory to mug up a few clever answers. These contests are a waste o

time.

Geetha : But such contest give women a chance to display their talent and make good careers.

Farah : Talent, brains, whatever. If you don’t have looks you don’t stand a chance. The rest is plain eyewash.

Champa: This is awful. They should ban ragging in colleges. It says here that a student committed suicide after

his seniors ragged him.

Deepthi : That’s terrible. But one isolated case of suicide doesn’t mean that ragging should be banned.

Champa: Rubbish. I think it’s uncivilized.

Deepthi : Oh, come on. Don’t be so sensitive. Life is tough, you know. Ragging prepares you to face real life.

Champa: There must be better an healthier ways of preparing to face life.

Ramya : I always feel sick at the end of the day. It’s the smoke from the vehicles on the road that make me sick.

Angela : What can we do? We need vehicles to travel, and they give out smoke!

Ramya : Yes, we need vehicles. But they don’t have to pollute the environment so much. There are devices which

can control pollution.

Angela : May be we don’t need so many vehicles either. If the public transport is better, so many individuals do

not have to own vehicles.

Ramya : I think people should be encouraged to use bicycles.

Maya : You look so upset. What’s the matter?

Sudha : A man was sitting behind me in the train, smoking all the time. I felt sick.

Maya : Didn’t you ask him to stop smoking?

Sudha : I did. He shouted at me, and said he has a right to smoke whenever he wanted, wherever he wanted. I

think smoking should be banned in public places and smokers punished.

Maya : I’m not sure it’s possible or necessary. What we could do was………

Monday, December 22, 2008

Essential English grammar - basic level 4

Read the passage given below. Then answer the question that follow it. Write the answers in your answer–book.

Then suddenly he heard a blare of trumpets and the band striking up ‘God Save the King There was a lot of rush and bustle around him. He turned his attention from the ant to his friends they were already at the edge of the foot path standing in a line.

(R.k. Laxman: the day the viceroy came)

  1. Who heard the blare o trumpets?
  2. Why was there a lot of rush and bustle?
  3. What were his friends doing?
  4. What was he doing with the ant?
  5. What is ‘God Save The King’?

With the third week of kindergarten, Charles was an institution in our family, Jennie was being a Charles when she cried all afternoon; Laurie did a Charles when he filled his wagon full of mud and pulled it through the kitchen; even my husband, when he caught his elbow in the telephone cord and pulled telephone, ash tray, and a bowl of flowers off the table, said, after the first minute, ‘Looks like Charles.

(Shirley Jackson: Charles)

Who is Charles?

Who is Jennie?

Who is Laurie?

Who is talking in this passage?

What is the meaning of ‘being a Charles’?

Monday morning Charles abandoned the little girl and said the evil word himself three or four times. Getting his mouth washed out with soap each time. He also threw chalk.

My husband come to the door with me that door with me that evening as I set out for the PTA meeting. “Invite her over for a cup of tea after the meeting”, he said. “I want to get a look at her’’.

(Shirley Jackson: Charles)

Who was Charles?

What is PTA meeting?

Whom did they want to invite?

Why was Charles mouth washed with soap?

What is the meaning of evil words?

This faith can give us courage to face the uncertainties of the future. It will give our tired feet new strength as we continue our forward stride toward the city of freedom. When our days become dreary with low hovering clouds and our nights become darker than a thousand midnights, we will know that we are living the creative turmoil of a genuine civilization struggling to be born.

(Martin Luther king Jr: The beauty of brotherhood)

Who is talking in this paragraph?

Which faith is he talking of?

Whose tired feet is he?

Which freedom is he talking of?

Which genuine civilization is he talking of?

I accept this award today with an abiding faith in America and an audacious faith in the future of mankind, I refuse to accept the idea that the ‘isness’ of man’s present nature makes him morally incapable of reaching for the eternal’ ought ness’ hat forever confronts him. I refuse to accept the idea that man is mere flotsam and jetsam in a river of life, unable to influence the unfolding events which surround him. I refuse to accept the view

That mankind is so tragically bound to the starless midnight of racism and war that the bright daybreak of peace and brother hood can never become a reality.

(Martin Luther king jr: The beauty of brotherhood)

  1. What award had Martin Luther King been given?
  2. Why does King refer to his faith in mankind as ‘audacious’?
  3. What does King mean when he refers to the ‘isness’ of man’s present nature?
  4. What is the difference between man and ‘flotsam and jetsam’ in a river?
  5. What is the bright daybreak’ that King looks forward to?

Then it turned around and started walking back towards Gopal’s fingers. But Gopal repeated the trick; shifted his fingers in time to the other end of the stick. He liked this game and it went on unvaryingly for a long time.

(R.K. Laxman: The Day the Viceroy Came)

  1. What is the creature being referred to in the passage?
  2. What was Gopal’s “trick”?
  3. What was Gopal waiting for?
  4. What happened to Gopal as a result of the “game” ?
  5. What did Gopal tell his mother afterwards?

One of the standard questions I have inevitably to face is about what thrilling adventures I have had in a lifetime of exploring for birds. My standard answer must seem disappointing to those who expect to hear tales of derring-do, Ornithology as a hobby or profession or persuasion, whatever one may chose to call it…

Is by its very nature one of the most peaceable pursuits of the out -of- doors. It is certainly not lacking in excitement and thrills, tough, these may be of a different kind from what the normal enquirer expects. The excitement lies in ferreting clues and then following them up step by step to the discovery or confirmation of a fact or facts. Of which one has obtained a suspicion or hunch. It was while living jobless in the seaside cottage of the latif family at kihim in 1930 that I got one of my most rewarding thrills of this kind…..

(Salim Ali: The Thrills of Bird Watching)

Why did people always ask the narrator questions about his adventures?

What is ornithology?

Why is ornithology described as one of the most peaceable pursuits of the out-of-doors?

What makes ornithology exciting?

What was the most rewarding thrills the narrator experienced?

He spent his days walking in the clean, quiet, cool forest where he felt a close relationship with nature. He wanted to prove that the way to learn the true value of life was to live simply, rather than to live the way most people did in towns and cities. He wrote Walden, or Life in the woods about his experiences, When the book was published in 1854, so few people bought at that it barely paid for the cost of printing, but it has since been read around the world and attained recognition as an important book in American literature.

(Henry David Thoreau)

  1. Who is this passage referring to?
  2. What did he want to prove?
  3. Which famous book did he write?
  4. What happened when the book was first published?
  5. What is the status of the book now?

The villagers went to bed early, and I took advantage of this to bring my notes up to date. After an early dinner, I sat in my room, writing by the light of two hurricane lamps which. However, attracted many insects but insects or no insects, I had to finish my notes and entries for the was the ideal, however, and occasionally I accumulated arrears. I disliked the task as I did not trust my memory, and also my sleep was trouble if some fact or event which I thought important had not been recorded.

(M.N Srinivas: The Villagers’ curiosity)

  1. Why does the writer wait till the villagers go to bed?
  2. What does he make notes about?
  3. Why does he write by the light of hurricane lamps?
  4. Why does the writer say that he always tried to write up his notes every day?
  5. Why is it important for such a writer to make notes regularly?

We are like a set of idiot children, let loose with poison, saw, sickle, shotgun and rifle, in a complex and beautiful garden that we are slowly but surely turning into a barren and infertile desert. The world is as delicate and as complicated as a spider’s web, But we ‘re not just touching the web, were tearing great holes in it; were waging a sort of biological war on the world around us.

(Gerald Darrell: Animals Forever)

  1. Why does Durrell compare humanity to idiot child?
  2. What are the ways in which humans are trying to turn the earth into a desert?
  3. In what ways is the world like a spider’s web?
  4. What sort of actions can cause the web of the world to shudder?
  5. What is the biological war that Durrell is referring to?

Do not think, for one moment, that I’m painting too gloomy a picture. I could go on reeling out these breathtaking statistics and it would only go to prove that, of all the creatures that have ever lived on earth – whether the giant carnivorous reptiles of past ages or the creatures of today –the most rapacious, thoughtless, and bloodthirsty predator is man. And moreover, he is doing himself irreparable harm by behaving likes this. It is suicide.

(Gerald Darrel: Animals Forever)

  1. What is the problem that Durrell is referring to?
  2. What are the ‘breathtaking statistics’ does Durrell is talking about?
  3. Why is man described as ”the most rapacious, thoughtless, and bloodthirsty predator”?
  4. In what way is man doing himself harm by behaving in this way?
  5. How can man’s actions be linked to suicide?

He insisted that the conscience of each person should decide whether an action was right or wrong He believed that the best organization of society would be one in which individuals made their own moral choices, and were not bound by the decisions of the majority. To emphasize his belief he often said, That government is best which government is best which governs not at all’’, If a government bases its actions on what is right, it is the duty of the individual to disobey the government and to follow his own conscience.

(Henry David Thoreau: naturalist and philosopher)

  1. In which world did Thoreau outline his belief in the individual’s right to make his own moral choices?
  2. What, according to Thoreau, should guide a person’s actions?
  3. What kind of society did Thoreau envisage when he said: “That government is best which governs least”?
  4. What is the name given to the political doctrine that Thoreau advocated?
  5. Name the country which was inspired during its own freedom struggle by Thoreau’s doctrine?

Man is clever enough to obliterate a species but he has not as yet, found a way of re-creating one that he had destroyed. This fact. However, doesn’t seem to worry the majority of people. There are even some so- called zoological pundits who say that this is a natural part of evolution and that the animal would have become extinct anyway, with or without our intervention. I couldn’t disagree more violently; to say that it is part of natural evolution is nonsense. It is just begging the question. It is like a man owning a blood bank and saying to somebody who is bleeding to death : Oh, we’ve got plenty of blood old boy, but we can’t give you a transfusion because it is in the scheme of things that you should die now.

(Gerald Durrell : animals forever)

  1. What can man do? What can’t he do?
  2. What does the expressions ‘So-called’ mean in the passage?
  3. What does the writer disagree with?
  4. Why doesn’t the owner of the blood bank help the bleeding man?
  5. What is the main argument in the passage?

Thoreau’s writing was always simple. It was often gay or sharp in tone, though its meaning was mostly serious. He said, “If one has anything to say, it drops from him simply and directly as a stone falls to the ground. In Walden, for example, he said that he did not believe that labors, property and responsibility made man better or more spiritual. The poorest men of all, he wrote, are those who have “gathered worthless things but do not know how to use them, or to get rid of them, and thus have made their own gold or silver chain’’.

(from : Henry David Thoreau – naturalist and philosopher)

  1. What are the three qualities of Thoreau’s writing?
  2. What is Thoreau’s attitude to property?
  3. What is Walden?
  4. Why, according to Thoreau, is a rich man poor?
  5. What does the ‘chain’ represent in the passage?

Essential English grammar - basic level 5

Rearrange the scrambled sentence in each set (A&B) to form meaningful paragraphs. Do not copy the actual sentences in your answer-book. Write only the letters corresponding to the sentences in the proper order.

1

  1. Following a complaint by Kalpana, Nagarjuna was arrested on charge of dowry harassment.
  2. A man who spend six months in jail committed suicide on Sunday.
  3. Nagarjuna was married Kalpana one and a half years ago.
  4. Nagarjuna was in depression since his release.
  5. Nagarjuna, a daily wage earner was released on bail.

  1. When Jinnah was a young man, his parents sent him to London to gain business experience.
  2. After his studies, he returned to India and began to practice law in Bombay.
  3. At that time the city was part of India.
  4. Mohammed Ali Jinnah was born in Karachi in 1876.
  5. Instead he studied law an learned about the British system of government.

2

  1. She died on the spot.
  2. A woman died on October 8 at Film Nagar.
  3. She slipped and fell off form the vehicle.
  4. A vehicle coming from behind hit her.
  5. The accident happened when her husband applied the brakes to prevent hitting a buffalo.

  1. Ray started work on the film in 1952.
  2. Because Ray had so little money, his film crew worked for free.
  3. Ray was interested in making a film of Pather Panchali.
  4. This seemed all right, since one of the crew had never worked on a film before.
  5. And a famous French director, Jean Renoir, encouraged him.

3

  1. His popularity is going day by day.
  2. Sheik Mira Saheb has been performing Hindu rituals and pujas for past ten years.
  3. A Muslim presides over the Ma Durga temple in Visakhapatnam.
  4. What’s even more astonishing is that he chants the mantras in Sanskrit with flawless intonation and pronunciation.
  5. Interestingly, his wife Mira Bi attends Christian prayers an sometimes goes to the church although she is a practicing Muslim.

  1. The mixture can be shaped into ladoos.
  2. Heat a non-stick pan, and the khoa mixture and stir continuously.
  3. Grate the khoa and add the sugar.
  4. Take 500 grams of soft whit khoa and 250 gram of icing sugar.
  5. You can also paint your ladoos using diluted food colours for extra effects.

4

  1. Home Minister said that family of each dead person will be given rupees one lakh as compensation.
  2. Nearly 100 bodies were retrieved from the bogies.
  3. Seven bogies and the engine of the train fell into the river.
  4. State’s worst disaster took place on Sunday when a fast passenger train to Secunderabad fell into a river.
  5. Help lines were set up at Valigonda and Secunderabad to provide information regarding the victims.

  1. The official tool was pegged at 20.
  2. Hyderabad collector Arvind Kumar said that families living downstream of the lake will be evacuated.
  3. Heavy rains continued to play havoc in several parts of the state on Saturday.
  4. Residents of localities downstream of Hussain Sagar which reached its full tank on Saturday were put on alert.
  5. The toll in rain related incidents in the last two days rose to 41.

5

  1. Advertising has come a long way.
  2. Companies today are not allowed to make false claims for their products.
  3. Naturally, it was not always the truth.
  4. When advertising was young, its simple aim was to provide you with information.
  5. So, the advertisers of today use other tricks to make us part with our money.

  1. But not many people know that it was in India that finger-prints were first used for catching criminals.
  2. He was Edward Henry, an Inspector-general of the Indian Police.
  3. It is a very important aid in fighting crime.
  4. Today, we are all familiar with the use of finger – printing.
  5. This method was first develop in the 1890’s by an Englishman.

6

  1. He learnt to use a toilet an loved to watch TV and drink coffee and beer with his owners.
  2. No other chimpanzee has been studied as extensively as Oliver.
  3. He also helped in Household chores like feeding the dog.
  4. His ears and jaw-line were somewhat different from other chimps, and above all, he walked upright like a man.
  5. Capture in the jungles of the Congo at a young age 1970s, he stood out from among the other chimps because of his appearance and behaviour.

  1. The flight frequency was once a week.
  2. It landed on the creek in 1937.
  3. The fee for each landing and take-ff was just Rs.5!
  4. To land in Dubai, British Imperial Airways paid Rs. 440.
  5. The first aircraft to land in Dubai was a flying boat of the British Imperial Airways.

7

  1. He then founded Anandwan, ‘the forest of joy’ a township near Nagpur, in 1950.
  2. Baba Amte gave up legal practice in 1949 and decided to work for the lepers.
  3. He took training in Calcutta in the treatment of leprosy.
  4. There was now new hope for the leprosy patients.
  5. From just a few patients in 1950 the number here has gradually raised to over two thousand.

  1. ‘O God’ said the man, ‘how foolish you are to give such small nuts to this big tree and such big fruit to this thin plant! Now if pumpkins were growing on this big tree and nuts on the pumpkin plant. I’d have admired your wisdom!
  2. One day a dissatisfied man was sitting under a walnut tree, and his eyes fell on a great pumpkin growing nearby.
  3. ‘Great is your wisdom and you goodness’.
  4. Even as he finished saying this, a walnut fell on the man’s head and startled him.
  5. ‘O God’, he continued you are right after all. If a pumpkin had fallen on me from such a height I would surely have been killed’.

8

  1. They wanted the government to do the most trifling jobs.
  2. The king decided to teach them a lesson.
  3. They were so lazy that they would do nothing for themselves.
  4. The King of Arund was fed up with his people.
  5. He ordered that a large stone be placed in the centre o the city at night.

A hologram checking machine will be used to check the tickets and passes.

The cricket match between India and New Zealand is being played today.

In the last 30 years, I have never seen such a situation.

There was a riot near the ticket counter and the police was called.

Chances of non-ticket holders of entering the stadium are nil.

9

  1. But the professors who thought they understood science said that Pasteur was wrong.
  2. In the middle of the 19th century, people laughed at Pasteur when he said that microbes are man’s worst enemies.
  3. It was being, therefore, to protect human beings, milk, wine and so on, from microbes.
  4. They said that microbes were produced naturally by old milk (or wine) , and did not come from outside.
  5. Pasteur said that al microbes come from the air.

  1. Mum once went to give a lecture and left Dad in charge of the house.
  2. He said that everything was fine except that one of the children had been spanked because he had been troublesome.
  3. When she returned, she asked him if everything had run smoothly.
  4. When he pointed at the child that he had been punished. Mum looked at him and said, “That’s not one of our, dear. He belongs next door”.
  5. Another time, Dad told us this joke.

10

  1. This, it was believed, would give him good health and strength for many long years.
  2. Some people even used onion bulbs in their marriage ceremonies.
  3. Centuries were to pass before man stopped believing in the magical powers of the onion.
  4. For instance, a Thracian, among other gifts, received a barrelful of onions on his wedding day.
  5. By the 12th century the onion was growing in just about every country of Europe, and today it is grown all over the world.

  1. Close behind her was a man, who appeared to be gaining at every step.
  2. “The last one to get home has to wash the supper dishes”.
  3. “Oh, no, thanks”, she said. My husband and I always race each other home from the cinema theatre.”
  4. Driving through a sleepy village one evening, a motorist saw a woman running for dear life.
  5. Screeching to a halt, the motorist leaped out and asked the woman if she needed help.

11

  1. The cold deserts have hot days and cold nights in summer, while in winder, the days are cold and nights even colder.
  2. In the desert it gets hot very quickly and reaches over 58o even in the shade.
  3. But when the Sun sets, the dry ground quickly loses heat and the nights are cold.
  4. There are great differences between day and night temperatures an summer and winter temperatures in deserts.
  5. Since there is little water vapour in the air, and no could, the rays of the sun strike the ground with fierce heat.

  1. This is because there are not many places left where they can live and hunt freely.
  2. But now only a small number of these are left.
  3. There are villages in what used to be open wolf country, ad there are not too many small animals left for them to hunt.
  4. But the main reason why it is not difficult to protect this animal is that people fear it and hate it, and are only too willing to kill it.
  5. In 1928, an Englishman, R.G.Burton, wrote that the wolf, along with the fox and the Jackal, was found throughout India.

12

  1. A diamond is truly unconquerable.
  2. The unequalled beauty and brightness of the diamond is the result of its ability to reflect light.
  3. Nothing in the world can cut it– except another diamond.
  4. In fact, the word ‘diamond’ come from the Greek work adamas which means ‘unconquerable’.
  5. The diamond is also the hardest material known to man.

  1. Nana was happy and liked the young man, but he wanted to test him first.
  2. He talked at length of his love of duty, his sincerity, and his loyalty to the Poorna Court.
  3. One a man came to see Nana Phadnavis, and begged him to give him a job in the Peshwa durbar.
  4. It was always a hard test, but one Nana was satisfied, it would be smooth sailing for the man.
  5. He always did this with a new candidate.

13

  1. The Olympic Games we started again because of the efforts of a French man called Baron Pierre de Coubertin.
  2. The Olympic Games are international athletic competitions held every four years.
  3. There are records of the Olympic Games held from 776 B.C. to 393 A.D. after which they were stopped by a Roman Emperor.
  4. The first modern Olympic Games held in Athens in 1893, and the Olympic motto was born “Swifter, Higher, Stronger”.
  5. They were first held on the plains of Olympia in Greece for honouring Greek Gods.

  1. They seemed very anxious about her comfort.
  2. As they said their good-byes the train pulled out of the station.
  3. I had the compartment to myself up to Rohana, an then a girl got in.
  4. The woman gave the girl detailed instructions as to were to keep her things when not to lean out of the windows, and how to avoid speaking to strangers.
  5. The couple who saw her off were probably her parents.

14

1. For days before it starts on a journey, a camel does nothing but eat and drink.

2. So the camel’s hump is a storage place for fat, which the camel’s body will use up during the journey.

3. Where other animals would die for lack of food and water, and camel gets along nicely, because it carries its food and water with it.

4. It eats so much that a lump of fat, may be weighing as much 100 pounds, rises on its back.

5. The camel is called ‘the ship of the desert’, and there is good reason for it.

  1. The next day the came and picked up the baby lying next to my mother, and to his great surprise, he saw that the baby did not have the hole on the left earlobe.
  2. The mix-up had happened after the babies had been given their bath.
  3. It seems that Nan-Kaka, (as I call him) , had come to see me in hospital the day I was born, and noticed a little hole near the top of my left earlobe.
  4. I have today become a cricketer, and al of you have heard of me, only because of my uncle, Narayan Masurekar, noticed little things.
  5. At once everyone started searching all over the hospital and at last I was found sleeping quietly next to a fisher woman, not knowing anything about the trouble I had caused.