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TECHNICAL ENGLISH I

UNIT I - LISTENING

Almost 45% of time we spend in listening.


An essential management and leadership skill.
A process of receiving, interpreting and reacting to a message.

TOPIC -1 GENERAL INTENSIVE ENGLISH

Intensive English courses are generally conducted to improve the overall level of the
English skills of the learners. Students undergoing this course learn to communicate
effectively in English, broaden their vocabulary and develop their reading and writing
skills.
Objectives:
1. To increase confidence and fluency in speaking English.
2. To get accuracy for clear communication of ideas.
3. To develop understanding of grammar.
4. To interact in a multi-cultural environment.
5. To focus on writing ,reading and listening skills.
6. To focus on students’ personal needs and objectives.

The basic aim of GIE is to improve the confidence to communicate and to deal with
situations necessary to manage in an English speaking environment.

TOPIC -2 TYPES OF LISTENING

Appreciative listening, Empathetic listening, Comprehensive listening, Critical listening

Traits of a Good Listener

Being non-evaluative, Paraphrasing, Reflecting implications, Reflecting hidden feelings.

Active listening

Inviting further contributions, Responding non-verbally, Show keenness, Expressions,


Alertness, Questions, Not neglecting physical aspects , Valid reason for criticism

Implications

Good listening helps you to take better decisions and make better policies in organization.
On the contrary lack of proper listening can lead to embarrassing situations because of a
gap in coordination and understanding.

Tips for Effective Listening


DO’s

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Be mentally prepared to listen


Evaluate the speech not the speaker
Be unbiased to the speaker by depersonalizing your feelings
Fight distractions by closing off sound sources
Be open minded

Don’ts
Not to pay undue emphasis on vocabulary as you can use the context to understand the
meaning
Not to pay too much attention to the accessories and clothing of the speaker
Not to interrupt too often
Not to show boredom

Conclusion

• You do not listen with just your ears. You listen with your eyes and with your
sense of touch. You listen with your mind, your heart, your imagination. (Egan
Gerard)

• A good conversationalist is popular, a good listener even more so. Talk only if
you have something to say.

SPEAKING

TOPIC -3 - INTRODUCING YOURSELF TO AN AUDIENCE

Speak clearly and confidently. Make sure your voice is loud enough for everyone to hear
you.

Make eye contact with a few people. Don't stare down at some aimless point in the corner
of the room. Move your gaze around the group to make eye contact with a few people as
you speak. If you don't like the thought of looking into that many eyes look at their
eyebrows or noses - they won't be able to tell the difference.

Say hello, and state your name. If you're at a formal gathering, say "Hello, my name is [first
name] [last name]." If the gathering is informal, tone it down accordingly - you could say
something like "Hey, I'm [first name]."

Share basic information about yourself. The sort of information you share will depend on
the audience you're addressing. If you're introducing yourself to a group of business
associates, you might tell them what exactly your job is and how long you've been with the
company.

Close the introduction. If you're going to be interacting more closely with these people in
the future, say something like "I look forward to getting to know you/all of you better." If you
probably won't be talking a lot of these people later, close with something like "It's been a
pleasure speaking to you this morning/this afternoon/tonight."

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Introducing Yourself to an Individual

Make eye contact. Eye contact shows that you're engaged in the interaction, as well as
displaying confidence. If you're not comfortable looking straight into someone's eyes, stare
at the point between their eyebrows - they won't notice the difference.

Smile. It is important to keep a genuine, bright smile (and fresh breath, too). Your smile is
your best icebreaker - it draws people in.

Offer a handshake. A firm handshake, once again, demonstrates your self-confidence. Get
the grip just right, though - you don't want break the other person's hand. Try squeezing
slightly with your fingers and not your thumb, and release the handshake after two or three
seconds.

Reveal a little bit of your background. It depends on the context of the conversation, but
start off by telling the other person something about yourself. You may tell a little bit of your
background in order to start your conversation. Telling someone where you work and your
title is appropriate and may lead to many conversation topics.

Close the conversation. After you've met someone for the first time, you should end the
conversation by restating that you enjoyed meeting them. If the interaction was formal, say
something like "Mrs. Jones, I'm delighted to have met you. I hope we can talk again soon."
If your conversation was informal, you could say "It was great meeting you, Jane. Hope to
see you around."

Tips
Focus on the positive. An introductory conversation is no time to say negative things about
yourself or someone else.
Don't speak when your mouth is filled with food.
Keep your focus on the person you are meeting - give them the respect you would like to
receive.
If your hands tend to get sweaty, wipe them on a napkin before beginning the introduction.
Don't look away or act distracted - it will make you look bored or uninterested.

READING

When you're reading for your course, you need to make sure you're actively involved with
the text. It's a waste of your time to just passively read, the way you'd read a thriller on
holiday.

Always make notes to keep up your concentration and understanding.

Here are four tips for active reading.

Underlining and highlighting

Pick out what you think are the most important parts of what you are reading. Do this with
your own copy of texts or on photocopies, not with borrowed books.

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If you are a visual learner, you'll find it helpful to use different colours to highlight different
aspects of what you're reading.

Note key words

Record the main headings as you read. Use one or two keywords for each point. When you
don't want to mark the text, keep a folder of notes you make while reading.

Questions

Before you start reading something like an article, a chapter or a whole book, prepare for
your reading by noting down questions you want the material to answer. While you're
reading, note down questions which the author raises.

Summaries
Pause after you've read a section of text. Then: put what
you've read into your own words;
skim through the text and check how accurate your summary is and fill in any
gaps.

A tip for speeding up your active reading

You should learn a huge amount from your reading. If you read passively, without learning,
you're wasting your time. So train your mind to learn.

Try the SQ3R technique. SQ3R stands for Survey, Question, Read, Recall and Review.

Survey

Gather the information you need to focus on the work and set goals:
Read the title to help prepare for the subject

Read the introduction or summary to see what the author thinks are the key points

Notice the boldface headings to see what the structure is

Notice any maps, graphs or charts. They are there for a purpose

Notice the reading aids, italics, bold face, questions at the end of the chapter. They are all
there to help you understand and remember.
Question- Help your mind to engage and concentrate. Your mind is engaged in learning
when it is actively looking for answers to questions.

Try turning the boldface headings into questions you think the section should answer.

Read - Read the first section with your questions in mind. Look for the answers, and make
up new questions if necessary.

Recall - After each section, stop and think back to your questions. See if you can answer
them from memory. If not, take a look back at the text. Do this as often as you need to.

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Review - Once you have finished the whole chapter, go back over all the questions from all
the headings. See you if can still answer them. If not, look back and refresh your memory.

See also: Taking notes, Gathering information

Spotting authors' navigation aids

Learn to recognize sequence signals, for example:

"Three advantages of..." or "A number of methods are available..." leads you to expect
several points to follow.

The first sentence of a paragraph will often indicate a sequence:"One important cause of..."
followed by "Another important factor..." and so on, until "The final cause of..."

General points are often illustrated by particular examples, for example:

General: Birds' beaks are appropriately shaped for feeding.

Particular: Sparrows and other seed-eating birds have short, stubby beaks; wrens and
other insect eaters have thin pointed beaks; herons and other fish hunters have long, sharp
beaks for spearing their prey.
Whatever you are reading, be aware of the author's background. It is important to
recognise the bias given to writing by a writer's political, religious, social background. Learn
which newspapers and journals represent a particular standpoint.

Words and vocabulary

When you're a graduate people expect you to use a vocabulary which is wider than a
school-leaver's. To expand your vocabulary:

Choose a large dictionary rather than one which is ‘compact' or ‘concise'. You want one
which is big enough to define words clearly and helpfully (around 1,500 pages is a good
size).

Avoid dictionaries which send you round in circles by just giving synonyms. A pocket
dictionary might suggest: ‘impetuous = rash'.

A more comprehensive dictionary will tell you that impetuous means ‘rushing with force and
violence', while another gives ‘liable to act without consideration', and add to your
understanding by giving the derivation ‘14th century, from late Latin impetuous = violent'.

It will tell you that rash means ‘acting without due consideration or thought', and is derived
from Old High German rasc = hurried.

So underlying these two similar words is the difference between violence and hurrying.

There are over 600,000 words in the Oxford English Dictionary; most of them have different
meanings, (only a small proportion are synonyms).

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Avoid dictionaries which send you round in circles by using very complicated language to
define the term you're looking up, leaving you struggling to understand half a dozen new
words.

Keep your dictionary at hand when you're studying. Look up unfamiliar words and work to
understand what they mean.

Improve your vocabulary by reading widely.

If you haven't got your dictionary with you, note down words which you don't understand
and look them up later.

TOPIC-4 SKIMMING AND SCANNING

Scanning: for a specific focus


Skimming: for getting the gist of something

SKIMMING
Skimming is used to quickly identify the main ideas of a text. When you read the
newspaper you’re probably not reading it word-by-word, instead you’re scanning
the text. Skimming is done at a speed three to four times faster than normal
reading. People often skim when they have lots of material to read in a limited
amount of time. Use skimming when you want to see if an article may be of interest
in your research.
There are many strategies that can be used when skimming. Some people
read the first and last paragraphs using headings, summarizes and other
organizers as they move down the page or screen. You might read the title,
subtitle, subheading, and illustrations. Consider reading the first sentence of each
paragraph. This technique is useful when you’re seeking specific information rather
than reading for comprehension. Skimming works well to find dates, names and
places. It might be used to review graphs, tables and charts.

SCANNING
Scanning is a technique you often use when looking up a word in the
telephone book or dictionary. You search for key words or ideas. In most cases,
you know what you’re looking for, so you’re concentrating on finding a particular
answer. Scanning involves moving your eyes quickly down the page seeking
specific words and phrases. Scanning is also used when you first find a resource to
determine whether it will answer your questions. Once you’ve scanned the
document, you might go back and skim it.

When scanning, look for the author’s use of organizers such as numbers,
letters, steps or the words: first, second or next. Look for words that are bold faced,
italics, or in a different font size, style of color. Sometimes the author will put key
ideas in the margin.

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Reading off a computer screen has become a growing concern. Research


shows that people have more difficulty reading off a computer screen than off
paper. Although they can read and comprehend at the same rate as paper,
skimming on the computer is much slower than on paper.

REVIEW EXERCISE: Comprehension I


Men have never succeeded in keeping free from war in the past nor are they
likely to do so in the future so long as they are organized in separate national
states, each of which controls its own army, navy and air force and each
of which is, therefore, able to plunge the world into war whenever the individual
who happens to control the government believes, however wrongly, that he can
obtain an advantage for himself and his country by so doing. Only some form of
works government, which controls all the world’s armed forces and against which
no single nation or group of nations could wage war, since they would not have the
wherewithal to do so can finally same the world from war.

Secondly, science, by accelerating man’s speed of movement, has made the


world into a single whole. Hence, any war which breaks out anywhere will destroy
the whole of civilization and not merely some part of it, the part affected by the war,
as has been the case in the past. That is why the new powers conferred upon men
by science increasingly demand a world government, if they are not to result in
man’s destruction.

ANSWER THE FOLLOWING QUESTIONS:

1.According to the writer, wars are unavoidable because


a)The governments think they stand to gain some benefits out of these.
b) A dictator rightly thinks that wars are the only way he can prosper himself
and help his country prosper.
c)Some nations possess vast military power and want to dominate others.
d)The world community is divided in national states and supposed national
gains
2.The need for a world government is all the more urgent in the modern age,
because
a)Science has speeded up man’s movements.
b)The nations are sick of so many wars and want peace.
c)Science, with its vast potential, will destroy the whole world in the absence
of such a government.
d)A modern war, as in the past, would destroy the whole civilization.
3.Which one of the following statement is not true?
a) Wars generally take place due to selfishness and narrow nationalism.
b)In the past a war tended to destroy the whole civilization.
c) In case of a world government in control of the armed forces, no single will
have the resources to start a war.
d)The choice before humanity is either a world government or total
destruction.

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4.The statement “since they would not have the wherewithal to do so” at the end of
the first paragraph, means:
a)They would not have any reason to do so .
b)They would have no control over the army, navy and air force.
c)They would have no encouragement to do so.
d)They would not possess the resources to do so.
5.Which one of the following would be the most suitable title for the passage?
a)The need of a world government.
b)Wars are unavoidable. c)Science
and civilization. d)Science and the
modern world.

Comprehension 2:
Since its birth in the middle of the 19th century, the women’s rights movement has
taken root and spread throughout the world. In many countries women have fought
for the right to vote, the right to work, the right to be educated to the limit of their
capacities, the right to own and dispose off property and equal right within
marriage. The cause has penetrated world government via the United Nations
which in 1946 set up a special commission to study the world wide status of women
and make recommendations to be the social and economic council on ways of
improving it. UNESCO too assessed the advancement of women by seeking to
involve them in educational and cultural programmes.
In addition, a multitude of women’s organizations exist in individual countries
to further, at national and international levels, the eradication of remaining areas of
discrimination. Through their affiliation with international feminist bodies they are in
touch with women’s activities and achievements in all the parts of the world.
However, with half the world’s populations still illiterate, there is great
disparity in what has been and is still to be achieved. At one end of the scale,
women’s rights’ workers are still pressing for elementary education; at the other for
the removal of early protective legislation, which is now felt to be discriminatory
because it denies women certain freedoms, for example, the right to work at night if
they so choose. Nevertheless, despite the fact that the women’s movement has
progressed unevenly and with varying degree of success in different places,
women in general are emerging from chattel down and taking their place beside
men as free and equal citizens.

a) What is the aim of the women’s rights’ movement?


b) How far has this movement succeeded in achieving its aim?
c) How is the movement being sustained?
d) Why are the women’s rights’ workers pressing for removal of protective legislation?
e) Why is the progress of the feminist movement uneven and has affected its success.

TOPIC -5 NOTE- TAKING


How to Make Notes?
Note-making involves the ability to
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1.Identify the key items or the main points in a given text.


2.Reduce or condense the main points in a given text.
3.Organize the condensed information and represent it in a systematic way.
When Making Notes
1.First read the passage/ essay/ article once quickly.
2.Note only the most important information.
3.Condense the information before you write.
4.Omit examples and illustrations. You may include them if they are very important.
5.Organize the condensed information in a suitable format. Depending on the contents
of the passage/ article/essay, choose suitable format.
6.Use only phrases.
7.Select a suitable title and write it at the top of the note.

CONDENSING INFORMATION - EXAMPLE

Four Indian Peace Keeping Force personnel were killed in a blast caused by a land
mine=4 IPKF men killed in mine blast.

1.The figure ‘four’ is substituted by its corresponding number ‘4’.

2.The long phrase ‘Indian Peace Keeping Force’ is substituted by the abbreviation
TPKF.
3.The long word personnel is substituted by a short word ‘men’.
4.The passive verb ‘were killed’ is substituted by just the past participle form ‘killed’.
5.The long noun phrase ‘blast caused by a land mine’ is condensed into a shortened
one, ‘mine blast’.
INFORMATION IS CONDENSED
1.By using numbers instead of figures
Thus
Five is expressed as 5
A hundred is expressed as 100
But
A million is expressed as a lakh, and not 1,00,000
A million is expressed as a million, not 1,000,000

By using short substitutes for long words


Example: Short word Long word
Men personnel
Cop policeman
Cut reduction
Hike increase
Stir strike/agitation
Move attempt

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Ban prohibit
Poll election
probe investigation/enquiry

By using Reduced Verb forms


(a)By using past participle form to convey the passive meaning
Example: killed instead of were killed
Arrested “ was/were arrested
1.By using Abbreviations and Acronyms
Example: AIDS Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome
PM Prime Minister, etc.
2.By using Abbreviations of words
Example: Medicos medical students
3.By using only the first few letters of the word
Example: Technical Tech.
Figure fig.
Examination exam.
4.By using the first few letters and the last letter to avoid ambiguity. This technique is
useful when the first few letters alone may create ambiguity.
Example: Government govt.
Department dept.
Engineer engr.
1.By dropping all or most of the vowels in the word.
Example: Management mngmnt.
Develop dvlp.
External extnl.
Technique technq.
2.By using symbols.
Example:
(a) = to mean equal to/equals/the same as/is equivalent to
(b) #to mean not equal to/not the same as/not equivalent to
(c) ____ to mean leads to/ in the direction of/towards

(d) /to mean therefore/as a result/so/for that reason/it follows


(e) +to mean added with/coupled with/and together with
(f) ___ to mean without .
By using short Noun phrases instead of long phrases.

EXERCISE I

Read the following passage and make notes on it.

Anaesthetics : Pain Killing Drugs

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Anaesthetics are drugs that cause unconsciousness or insensibility to pain. Their use
in modern medicine permits painless surgery during the simplest operation of a few
minutes’ duration, to the most delicate operation lasting many hours.

Anaesthetics are divided into two broad groups, General anaesthetics and
anaesthetics. General anaesthetics can cause total unconsciousness in the patient by
temporarily altering the normal activities of the centeral nervous system. Local
anaesthetics temporarily deaden sensation on a particular or local area of the body.

General anaesthetics are usually administered to the patient in one of the two ways;
inhalation or intravenous injection. In the inhalation method the patient breathes a gas or
vapour into his lungs. In the intravenous injection the drug is put directly into a vein.

Two drugs often used as general anaesthetics in operations of short duration are the
liquids vinethene, which causes rapid anaesthesia and trilene, which produces a light, pain-
killing effect. Trilene is usually combined with nitrous oxide and oxygen.

Not all surgery requires the patient to be unconscious. For minor operations, only
restricted, or local area of the body need to be made insensible to pain; thus a local
anaesthetic is administered. The local anaesthetic prevents sensation of pain from
travelling through the nerves in the drugged area.

Local anaesthesia can be produced through three sites of injection. Infiltration is the
injection of the drug into the tissues. Block anaesthesia is produced by the injection of the
drug around the main nerves leading to the operation area. These main nerves are
blocked from transmitting sensory impulses. Spinal anaesthesia results from the injection
of the drug into the space surrounding the spinal cord.

ANSWER
Anaesthetics : Pain Killing Drugs
1.Anaesthetics
a. Drugs causing.
b. Unconciousness
c. Insensibility to pain
2. Used for painless surgery

a. grps
b.Gen. Anaesthetics – cause total unconsciousness c.
Local anaesthetics – deaden sensation
3. ways of admnstrng a.Patient –
breathes gas vapour b.Injected -
intravenously
4. Local ansthic
a.Used for minor operations b.Prvnts
pain sensations c.Produced through 3

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injection sites 5.Infiltration – into


tissues
a.Block Anaesthesia – around main nerves b.Spinal
Anaesthesia – injection into spinal cord

EXERCISE II

Read the following passage and make notes on it.

Stages of Man’s Evolution

Man, at first, seemed to have no very promising outlook in the general struggle for
existence. He was still a rare species, less agile than the monkey in climbing trees to
escape from wild beast, almost destitute, no natural protection against cold in the way
of fur, hampered by his long infancy, and with difficulty securing food in competition
with other species. His only initial advantage was his brain. Gradually, this one
advantages proved cumulative and transformed him from a hunted fugitive into the
Lord of the Earth.

The early steps in this process are pre- historic and their order is conjectural. He
learned to tame fire, which had presented dangers similar in kind, though less in
degree, to those of the release of nuclear energy in our own day. Fire not only
improved his food, but by being kept burning at the mouth of his cave ensured his
safety while he slept. He invented spears, bows and arrows. He dug concealed pits in
which infuriated mammoths hopelessly struggled. He domesticated animals. And at the
dawn of history, discovered the uses of agriculture.

ANSWER

Stages of Man’s Evolution

1. Condition of earliest man


(a) A rare species
(b) Been struggle for existence
(c) Disadvantaged in competition for survival
Disadvantages
(a) Not agile – easily hunted by wild animals
(b) No natural protection against weather
(c) Long infancy – chances for death or being killed more
(d) Difficulty in securing food – uneven competition with more
powerful animals
3. One initial advantage : Brain
4. Progressive use of brain in
(a) Use of fire
(i) for better food
(ii) for protection against wild animals
(b) Invention of weapons
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(i) spear (ii)bow and arrow


(a) Digging concealed pits to trap angry mammoths
(b) Domesticating animals
(c) Use of agriculture
(d) Cumulative progress making man Lord of the Earth.

EXERCISE III- Read the following passage and make notes on it.

CREATIVE ACTIVITY
I would say that there is a physiological need, in living matter, to create. The laws of
nature are such that nature is running down all the time, things are becoming disorder
all the time and living matter is constantly opposed to this. It is constantly trying to
create order.

The word ‘ Creation’ means “the creation of order”, the finding in nature of links, of
likeness, of hidden patterns which the living thing- the plant, the animals, the human
mind- picks out and arranges.

To my mind, it is a mistake to think of creative activity as something unusual. I hold


that the creative activity is normal to all living things. Creation is the finding of order in
what was disorderly and this is a characteristically human activity.
So I would say that the ability to work creatively in more fields than one is a historical
accident, which pertains to some people who had, by chance or by the nature of their
environment, the skill needed in several fields.

ANSWER- CREATIVE ACTIVITY


1. Creative activity
(a) A natural impulse of living things
(b) For creation of order
(c)
2. Creative activity a physiological need
(a) In nature things always run down
(b) Things become disorderly
(c) Living things opposed to disorder and running down of things
3. For creating order, need to find in nature
(a) Links
(b) Likeness
(c) Hidden patterns.
4.Creative activity
(a) Normal to all living things
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(b) “Typical human activity”


5.Possible in more than one field
6.Skill for creative activity in many fields had by a few
(a) By chance
(b) By the nature of their environment
(c) Such activity a historical accident.

WRITING
TOPIC- 6 - FREE WRITING

Write nonstop for a set period of time (10–20 minutes).

Do not make corrections as you write.

Keep writing, even if you have to write something like, "I don't know what to write." Write

whatever comes into your mind.

Do not judge or censor what you are writing.

Free writing has these benefits:

∑ It makes you more comfortable with the act of writing.


∑ It helps you bypass the "inner critic" who tells you you can't write.
∑ It can be a valve to release inner tensions.
∑ It can help you discover things to write about.
∑ It can indirectly improve your formal writing.
∑ It can be fun.

∑ Some final suggestions for free writing:

∑ Use the writing tool that is most comfortable for you— pencil, computer, or
whatever.
∑ Don't cross anything out: Write the new idea down; leave the old one.
∑ Drop all punctuation. That can make your free writing faster and more fluent
TOPIC
· – 7-SENTENCE COMPLETION
TRANSITIONAL W ORDS:
·
Be alert to transitional words. Transitional words tell you what is coming up. They
indicate that the author is now going to draw a contrast with something stated
previously, or support something stated previously.
i. Contrast Indicators:
To contrast two things is to point out how they differ. In this type of sentence completion
problem, we look for a word that has the opposite meaning (an antonym) of

some key word or phrase in the sentence.

Following are some of the most common contrast indicators:

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But, Yet, Despite, Although, However, Nevertheless

Example: Although the warring parties had settled a number of disputes, past experience
made them .......... to express optimism that the talks would be a success.
A. rash
B. ambivalent
C. scornful
D. overjoyed
E. reticent

"Although" sets up a contrast between what has occurred--success on some issues--and


what can be expected to occur--success for the whole talks. Hence, the parties are
reluctant to express optimism. The common word "reluctant" is not offered as an answer-
choice, but a synonym--reticent--is. The answer is (E).

ii. Support Indicators:

Supporting words support or further explain what has already been said. These words
Often introduce Synonyms for Words elsewhere in the sentence.

Following are some common supporting words:

And, Also,Furthermore, Likewise, In Addition , For

Example: Davis is an opprobrious and .......... speaker, equally caustic toward friend or
foe--a true curmudgeon.

A. lofty
B. vituperative
C. unstinting
D. retiring
E. laudatory

"And" in the sentence indicates that the missing adjective is similar in meaning to
"opprobrious," which is very negative. Now, vituperative--the only negative word--means
"abusive." Hence, the answer is (B).

iii. Cause and Effect Indicators:

These words indicate thatone thing causes anotherto occur.

Some ofthe most common cause and effectindicators are

Because
For, Thus, Hence ,Therefore, If , Then .

Example: Because the House has the votes to override a presidential veto, the President
has no choice but to ..........

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A. object
B. abdicate
C. abstain
D. capitulate
E. compromise

Since the House has the votes to pass the bill or motion, the President would be wise to
compromise and make the best of the situation. The answer is (E).

APPOSITION:

This rather advanced grammatical structure is very common on the GRE. (Don't confuse
"apposition" with "opposition": they have opposite meanings.)

Words or phrases in apposition are placed next to each other, and the second word or
phrase defines, clarifies, or gives evidence to the first word or phrase.

The second word or phrase will be set off from the first by a comma, semicolon, hyphen, or
parentheses.
Note: If a comma is not followed by a linking word--such as and, for, yet--then the following
phrase is probably appositional.

PUNCTUATION:

Whenever the punctuation "," (comma) appears, followed by a blank in between two
sentences, then it means that the synonym of the phrase/word before "," is the meaning of
the blank. In simple words, when you find ',' followed by a blank then find the synonym of
the word before ',' and check the options to match the synonym of the word.

In the same way, when you find ":"( colon) or ";"( semi-colon) in the sentence, they will
indicate that the idea coming up is merely an explanation of the earlier idea. So, simply find
the synonym of the word/phrase before the punctuation and fill in the blank with the
synonym from the options given.
TOPIC – 8
AUTOBIOGRAPHY

At some point in your education or your career you will be required to make a presentation
about yourself or to write an autobiography as an assignment. Whether you love this
assignment or you hate it, you should start with the knowledge that your story is much
more interesting than you probably realize. You may as well make the story enjoyable to
your audience! An interesting story will get a better response from your audience and a
better grade from a professor.

Adding Some Spice

Your autobiography should contain the basic framework that any essay should have, like
an introductory paragraph with a thesis statement, a body containing several paragraphs,
and a conclusion. But the trick is to make your life story an interesting narrative with a
theme.
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You've probably heard the saying that diversity is the spice of life. While the saying is a
little old and tired, the meaning holds true. Start your research by taking a close
examination of your life and taking notes on the things that make you interesting.

Your Family Background

Just like the biography of a famous person, your biography will include things like the time
and place of your birth, an overview of your personality, your likes and dislikes, and the
special events that shaped your life. While you might think you're ordinary and boring, you'll
soon realize that your story is quite unique.

It's better to ask why you were born where you were, and how your family’s experience led
to your birth.

Every region of the world has a special story, and every family comes from a region or
culture that will seem very different and interesting to others. What do you know about
your grandparents? Your great-grandparents? Have you ever asked what your
grandparents did for a living, or how they came to settle in a certain part of the world?

Your first step in researching your own autobiography is to gather some background story.
Some things to consider:

∑ What is interesting about the region where you were born?


∑ How does your family history relate to the history of that region?
∑ Did your family come to that region for a reason?

Your Childhood

You may not have had the most interesting childhood in the world; but then again, you
may have had an experience that was more interesting the most. The idea is to highlight
the best parts when you can. And always remember that the things that don't seem very
interesting to you may be interesting to others.
If you live in an inner city, for instance, you should realize that many people who grew up
in the country have never ridden a subway, never walked to school, never ridden in a taxi,
and never walked to a store.
There will always be something about your childhood that will seem unique to others. You
just have to step outside your life for a moment and address the readers as if they knew
nothing about your region and culture.
Your Culture

Your culture is the overall way of life, including the customs that come from your family's
values and beliefs. Culture includes the holidays you observe, the customs you practice,
the foods you eat, the clothes you wear, the games you play, the special phrases you use,
the language you speak, and the rituals you practice.

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As you write your autobiography, think about the ways that your family celebrated or
observed certain days (birthdays), events (harvests), and months (December), and tell
your audience about special moments. Consider these questions:

∑ What was the most special gift you ever received? What was the event or
occasion surrounding that gift?
∑ Is there a certain food that you identify with a certain day of the year?
∑ Is there an outfit that you wear only during a special event?
∑ Have you ever ridden on a donkey?
∑ What about a limousine, train, mountain bike, eighteen-wheel truck, tractor,
Police car, power boat, sailboat, or ski lift?
∑ Have you ever walked the beach or a mountain trail?
· How was your experience on one of these topics related to your
family culture? Learn to tie together all the interesting elements of your life
story and craft them into an engaging essay.
·· GRAMMAR
·· TOPIC – 8 PREPOSITION
· A preposition is one of the parts of speech which describes or
gives the relationship between two words. Preposition is proposed i.e
it comes before the noun or pronoun to govern it. For instance, one
cannot try to find out the meaning of the preposition when it comes
alone. Even we can say we cannot get meaning as preposition get
the
· meaning when it is combined with other words.
·· Prepositions in common use
· Prepositions – Time
English Usage Example
on days of the week on Monday
in months / seasons in August / in winter
time of day in the morning
year in 2006
after a certain period of time (when?) in an hour
at for night at night
for weekend at the weekend
a certain point of time (when?) at half past nine
since from a certain point of time (past till since 1980
now)
for over a certain period of time (past till for 2 years
now)
ago a certain time in the past 2 years ago
before earlier than a certain point of time before 2004
to telling the time ten to six (5:50)
past telling the time ten past six (6:10)
to / marking the beginning and end of from Monday to/till Friday
till /until period of time

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till / until in the sense of how long something is He is on holiday until Friday.
going to last
by in the sense of at the latest I will be back by 6 o’clock.
up to a certain time By 11 o'clock, I had read five
pages.
·
· Prepositions – Place (Position and Direction)
English Usage Example
in room, building, street, town, country in the kitchen, in London
book, paper etc. in the book
car, taxi in the car, in a taxi
picture, world in the picture, in the world
at meaning next to, by an object at the door, at the station
for table at the table
for events at a concert, at the party
place where you are to do something at the cinema, at school, at
typical (watch a film, study, work) Work
on attached the picture on the wall
for a place with a river London lies on the Thames.
being on a surface on the table
for a certain side (left, right) on the left
for a floor in a house on the first floor
for public transport on the bus, on a plane
for television, radio on TV, on the radio
by, next left or right of somebody or Jane is standing by / next to /
to, something beside the car.
beside
under on the ground, lower than (or the bag is under the table
covered by) something else
below lower than something else but above the fish are below the surface
ground
over covered by something else put a jacket over your shirt
meaning more than over 16 years of age
getting to the other side (also across) walk over the bridge
overcoming an obstacle climb over the wall
above higher than something else, but not a path above the lake
directly over it
across getting to the other side (also over) walk across the bridge
getting to the other side swim across the lake
through something with limits on top, drive through the tunnel
bottom and the sides

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to movement to person or building go to the cinema


movement to a place or country go to London / Ireland
for bed go to bed
·

English Usage Example


into enter a room / a building go into the kitchen / the
house

towards movement in the direction of go 5 steps towards the house


something (but not directly to it)
onto movement to the top of something jump onto the table
from in the sense of where from a flower from the garden

Other important Prepositions are :


English Usage Example
from who gave it a present from Jane
of who/what does it belong to a page of the book
what does it show the picture of a palace
by who made it a book by Mark Twain
on walking or riding on horseback on foot, on horseback
entering a public transport get on the bus
vehicle
in entering a car / Taxi get in the car
off leaving a public transport vehicle get off the train
out of leaving a car / Taxi get out of the taxi
by rise or fall of something prices have risen by 10 percent
travelling (other than walking or by car, by bus
horseriding)
at for age she learned Russian at 45
about for topics, meaning what about we were talking about you.
·
· TOPIC – 9 ‘WH’ QUESTION FORMS
·
·
· ‘Wh’-type questions begin with question words like ‘when’,’ where’,
’why’, ’who’, ’whose’, ’while’, and ’whom’.
·
· eg: The train arrives at 9
a.m. Q : When does the train
arrive?
·
·· Frame suitable questions.
1. He came here last week.
·
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2.The principal gave away the prizes. 3.My


father goes to the office at 8.30 a.m.
4.The Correspondent will preside over the function.
5.I am going to my native place next week
6.He sells good cakes.
7.She passed the examination last year.
8.The book costs Rs.50/-.
9.I have done ten exercises this week.
10.He met me this morning.

ANSWERS
1.When did he come here?
2. Who gave away the prizes?
3.When does your father go to the office? 4.
Who will preside over the function? 5.When
are you going to your native place? 6.What
does he sell?
7.When did she pass the examination?
8.How much does this book cost?
9. How many exercises have you done this week?
10.When did he meet you?

EXERCISE- Frame suitable questions for the following statements.


1.John Milton wrote Paradise Lost.
2.There are 15,000 books in our college library.
3.The function is on Wednesday.
4.Gopal knows the answer to this question.
5.I reached home at 9 o’ clock.
6.Sugar makes tea sweet.
7.I was late because the bus was late.
8.I keep it in my pocket.
9.He bought the book yesterday.
10.Mr. John teaches us English.

TOPIC – 10 TENSES

EXPLANATION
A Verb indicated action, condition or process. The term ‘tense’ is used to
refer to different forms of the verb indicating time of action. Only a person, having a
good understanding of tense will be able to write and speak correctly without any
ambiguity. Those who do not stick to a particular structure for a particular purpose,
may intend to say something, but it may be interpreted the other way. This brings
out the fact that it is mandatory to have a clear concept about the use of different
tense structures for different purposes of time and action.

The following table shows the different forms of the verb in various tenses.

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Tense Simple Continuous Perfect Perfect


continuous
Present write/s am/is/are/writing has/have/written has/have
been writing
Past wrote was/were writing had written had been
writing
Future shall/will shall/will be will have written will have
write writing been writing

USAGE EXAMPLE
SIMPLE PRESENT
1.For habitual action. 2.To He goes to temple daily.
express general facts. Magnet attracts iron.
3.To convey the near future. The plane arrives at 9AM.
4.For professional activities The cobbler makes shoes.
5.To express ownership This house belongs to me.

USAGE EXAMPLE
PRESENT CONTINUOUS

1.To express action at the time of speaking. I am watching a movie now.


2.An activity that takes place this week,
this month of this year I am preparing for my exams.
3.To express future arrangements He is going to the states next summer.

USAGE EXAMPLE
PRESENT PERFECT

1.To denote actions just completed. He has finished the work.


2.Action that began in the past and continuing till now. I have worked here for 8 years.
3.Completed actions which have ‘current’ relevance I have written four novels.
4.Activity/experience in the past I have been to Bangalore several times.

USAGE EXAMPLE
PRESENT PERFECT CONTINUOUS

1.Indicates the duration of an action that


began in the past and continue in the present My friend has been doing this work for 2
hours.

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2.An action that began in the past and has


just recently ended. Have you been doing this work alone? You look
tired.

USAGE EXAMPLE
SIMPLE PAST
1.To express action that began and ended
a particular time in the past. We went to Goa last year.
2.An action started and completed in the past. She worked in GH for 10 years
3.An action that took place regularly in the past. She exercised every
morning before
going out.
4.When interrogating about past actions What did you have your schooling?

USAGE EXAMPLE
PAST CONTINUOUS

1.An interrupted action. I was reading the novel when Ram came.
2.A continuous action in the past. I was having many friends at college.

USAGE EXAMPLE
PAST PERFECT

1.An action that just occurred before


another action in the past. John had just left when I arrived at the
party.

2.An action that was expected to occur in the past.


I had longed to get news from my brother before today.
3.To report of an action completed before
a point of time in the past. Tom was 14 years. He had set a world record by then.

USAGE EXAMPLE
SIMPLE FUTURE

1.Predicting actions likely to happen in future. You will pass in the exams.
2.To express willingness to do something. I will help you.
3.To express a decision made at the time of speaking I will call on you in a short
while.
4.Used in question tags. Lets leave this place, shall we?

USAGE EXAMPLE
FUTURE CONTINUOUS
1.To express continuity of action at Next year this time I will be preparing
a particular time in the future. to go abroad.

USAGE EXAMPLE
FUTURE PERFECT

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1.An action that will be completed By this time next month, I will
have before a particular time in future. finished my
examination.
USAGE EXAMPLE
FUTURE PERFECT CONTINUOUS

1.To express duration of time that occurred By next November I will have been
working in before a specific point of time in future. this company for 6 years.

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Care should be taken to use verb that agrees with the subject in number and person.

EXERCISE:
I Fill in the blanks with the appropriate tense form:

1.A programme_________(launch) for rain water harvesting in farm lands. 2.It


_________(rain)since morning and it___________(stop)only an hour ago.
3.Cotton_________(catches) fire easily.
4.He____________(never wear) glasses all his life. 5.If I had
received your letter, I _____________(reply)
6.He____________(prepare)for the GATE now.
7.Iron___________(expand)when heated.
8.She_____________(win)the medal last year.
9.My brother ____________(arrive)tomorrow. 10.They

were__________(absent)since last Monday.

II.Fill in the blanks in the following passages with appropriate form of the verb.
1. Weather is created by the heat of the sun. When the sun_______(shine)on the earth, the
air close to the surface ________(heat up).The higher it __(go), the cooler it
_________(become).
2. Opticalmicesupporters___________(claim)thatopticalrendering
__________(work) better than mechanical mice,_______(require) no maintenance and
_________________(last)longer,due fewer moving parts.
3. About 50,000 animal and plant species____________(becomes)extinct every year.
All species ________(depend) in some way on one another for survival.If
we___________(move) one species from this complex web of inter relationships, we
__________(face) great imbalance in the environment.
4. At Chernobyl, the accident _________(occur) while the operators

_____________(carry) out a test on the tube generator.There _(be)some serious


violations of basic operation rules. No less than seven specific violations

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_______________(take) place.
5. Kamala _______(be) a teacher. In 1970,she __________(start) her career in
sriLanka.She _____(migrate) to India in 1995.Presently, she ____(work) in
Delhi.(December 2002)
III. Fill in the blanks in the following sentences with words selected from the multiple choices
given below each:
1. “I wish you ---------------------------- me about your plans earlier”, said Vanaja.
(i) have told (ii) told (iii)had told (iv) hadn’t told
2. They got off and waited until Girija ------------------------- ready.
(i) Will be (ii) is (iii) would be (iv) was
3. Finally they set off again and cycled slowly along the road. “We are not as good at this as
we----------------------- “complained Vanaja.
(i) should be (ii) will be (iii) would be (iv)
have been
4. “And if we don’t reach the station in time, we the train.
-- -- -- -- - -- -- -- -- -- - -- -- --

(i) miss (ii) will miss (iii) won’t miss (iv) would miss
5. Less than eight years ago a man called Walter Bersey ------------------------ in court in
London
for driving at a speed greater than 2 M.P.H. in the city.
(i) appear (ii) has appeared (iii) appeared (iv) appears
6. Don’t disturb him. He --------------------- after many hours of hard work.
(i) slept (ii) is sleeping (iii) had slept (iv) sleep
7. The atmosphere ------------------------- as our protective blanket on earth.
(i) act (ii) acted (iii) is acting (iv) acts
8. I --------------------------- the report from the student. You need not ask for it again.
(i) had already received (ii) received (iii) have already received
(iv) has already received
9. The first steam engine about two hundred years ago.
-----------------------

(i) had been built (ii)was built (iii)has built (iv) had built

10. The children ran out to play after they -------------------------- their breakfast.
(i) Finished (ii) had finished (iii) finishing (iv)
finish
TOPIC -11 VOCABULARY

English has the largest vocabulary and the most synonymous of any language in the
world. English has grown over the centuries by constantly incorporating words from
other languages.
Even before the Norman Conquest, the Anglo-Saxon vocabulary included words
borrowed from Latin, Greek and a few other languages. After the Norman Conquest, the

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English vocabulary was virtually doubled by the addition of French words. While much
of the new French vocabulary described new ideas and activities, much of it duplicated
the pre-existing Anglo-Saxon vocabulary giving a choice of synonyms.
Eg: Cure (French) heal (Anglo-Saxon)
Table board
Mirror glass
Assemble meet
Power might
Sometimes, the duplication of vocabulary was used to make distinctions.
Ox(A.S)- beef (F) calf(A.S)- veal(F)
Swine(A.s)- pork(F) deer(A.S)- venison(F)
Hitting(A.S)- assault(F) robbing(A.S)-
burglary(F)

With the advent of Renaissance, there was a great influx of words of Latin and Greek
origin into the language. Many words of classical origin introduced into the language
during the Renaissance became permanent additions. The adventure of English –
speaking people, as they traded and fought and travelled around the world influence,
American words and phrases have gained recognition and prestige everywhere.
Moreover American terminology, placing another whole group of synonyms at our
service.

help(AE) Servant(BE)
sidewalk pavement
railroad railway
elevator lift
druggist chemist

Synonyms in English are therefore of many kinds (foreward, preface, introduction)


(teach, educate, indoctrinate instruct, school, tutor-differ from one another principally in
degrees of abstraction).
argue that there are really no exact synonyms. Certainly there are no two words that are
interchangeable in all the contexts in which either might appear. But within a given
context, there is often exact synonymy.
I mislaid my wallet.
I misplaced my wallet.
But, you cannot say, “I mislaid my suitcase”, “misplace” is applicable to both
small objects and large, ‘mislay’ applies only to small.
Words which are synonyms in one of their meanings may differ considerably in
their other meanings.

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Some groups of words describe the same actions, but imply different
relationships among the parties concerned.
We accompany our equals; we attend or follow those to whom we are
subordinate; we conduct those who need guidance, escort those who need protection,
and chaperon those who need supervision.

Feminine, effeminate, womanly, womanish are much alike in referring to female


characteristics, but the second applies only to males, and then in a derogatory sense.

There are occasions in which we have to make choices between transient and
transitory, mutual and reciprocal, inherent and intrinsic, pinnacle and summit, because
in a given context one is certain to be more appropriate than the other.
The study of synonyms will help us come closer to saying what we really want to
say.

1.Match the words in column A with their meaning s in column B: Example:


A B
1.(a) Anticipate (i)Necessary
(b)Indispensable (ii)Consider before hand
©Informal (iii)Response
(d)Congestion iv)Unconvential
v) comment

2.(a) Objective (i)severe


(b)hazard (ii)aim
(c)spell (iii)Danger
(d)Stringent (iv)a condition caused by or as if by magical power.
(v)engraved

3. (a)stimulus -(i)Choice
(b)perspective -(ii)something that rouses people to activity
(c)option -(iii)disadvantage
(d)drawback -(iv)view
-(v)mean

4. (a)estimate -(i)command
(b)stimulate -(ii)recollect
(c)dominate -(iii)make worse
(d)reminiscent -(iv)rouse suddenly
-(v)calculate

5.(a)paucity -(i)wild imagination


(b)jeopardy -(ii)attempt

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(c)fantasy -(iii)scarcity
(d)endeavour -(iv)enormity
-(v)danger

6.(a)contaminated -(i)simple
(b)facilitate -(ii)unclean
(c)initiative -(iii)make easy
(d)sophisticated -(iv)enterprise

7. (a)incorporate -(i)rescue
(b)violate -(ii)serene
(c)salvage -(iii)obstacle
(d)hindrance - (iv)disregard

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