Task 1  

                     5 marks

You will hear five people talk about sparrows and their disappearance.
Read the statements below, then listen to the extracts and match each
statement A–G to each speaker 1–5. There are two statements you do not
need. You will hear the recordings twice.

Speaker 1
Did you know World Sparrow Day is celebrated on March 20th ever year?
And the movement has been growing from its inception in 2010. We take
this bird so much for granted and a special day for it matters. The event
spreads the message of conservation as well as celebration of a common
species of birds. It brings together concerned citizens and conservationists
from different parts of the world to exchange ideas on how they can
help preserve this humble bird and its habitat.

Speaker 2
Oh, I love those fearless little birds. Their hopping and twittering kept me so
engaged as a child! I remember feeling quite at home in my new home
after marriage, because the house was full of sparrows! There used to be
this wedding photograph of my parents that hung from an old nail in the
main living room. We had an enchanting little family of sparrows that
lived behind that photograph. But now, alas, they are not around even in
our gardens, leave alone in our homes!

Speaker 3
When I used to manage my grocery store, the sparrows used to be a
nuisance. The grains used to be cleaned at the courtyard entrance. You
could always find a hungry brown horde diving about, eating whatever they
could get at! We had to keep sticks to chase them away! Today, my son
runs the store. Grain is mechanically cleaned and packed in shiny
polythene bags. There’s nothing to find at our shop entrance. Oh, and cities
no longer have a place for sparrows, you know.

Speaker 4
I would blame people themselves for the disappearance of sparrows. Our
lifestyle has changed so much that it has kept sparrows from living closely
with us. We must realise that this bird is one of our oldest companions. It
has evolved with us and anything that happens to it will happen to us too.
The house sparrow actually represents many of the common bird
species. Therefore, its conservation will save as much of the familiar
biodiversity, which shares the habitat of the house sparrow.

Speaker 5
I remember that time clearly. I had met with an accident and was laid up in
bed with a fracture. There was nothing to do but read, listen to music or
gaze out of my balcony. That’s when I noticed my tiny visitors. I gave them
names and felt I knew them on sight. I captured their mad capers on film
and uploaded them on my blog site. It caught people’s attention and before
I knew it, I became Sparrow Man!

Task 2                             6 marks

You will hear two students talking about the tribes of Meghalaya. Read the
sentences below then listen to the conversation and choose A, B or C for
each sentence. You will hear the recording twice.

Girl: I’ve just completed an interesting project on the tribes of Meghalaya.

Boy: Tribes of Meghalaya? Oh, you mean the Garos, the Khasis and the
Jaintias?

Girl: You know their names?

Boy: Yes, I visited Meghalaya last summer.

Girl: Did you? Let me test how much you remember. The Garos have
another name for themselves. Do you remember it?

Boy: Yes! They call themselves achik-mande. In the Garo language, it

means the ‘people of the hills’. I visited a traditional Garo village and was
fascinated by their curious head dresses. It’s an elaborate affair with beads,
feathers of the hornbill, bangles and earrings.

Girl: Yes! I have a few photographs of them in my project. They are such a

united tribe, aren’t they? Births and deaths are a community event that they
all participate in with such fervour.

Boy: Yes, that’s true. The Khasi tribe also has a special name. It means
‘seven huts’ or ‘seven families’, isn’t it?
Girl: Yes. They call themselves hynniewtrep, which, according to their
mythology, are seven of the original sixteen heavenly families created by
God and who were left on earth while the other nine remained in heaven.

Boy: Interesting! I attended a special Khasi ceremony, where the Khasi

men wear long sleeveless coats without collars, fastened by knots in the
front and dhotis to cover their legs with a decorated waistband. The women
wear odd robes that give their body the shape of a cylinder. They even
wear a special silver or golden crown with a thorn or crest at the back of the
crown that matches the feathers worn on the head of the Khasi men.

Girl: Oh! You saw them in their traditional wear? How nice!

Boy: Yes! And I remember the special name for the Jaintias. They are
called pnar or synteng. They also claim to have descended from the
original seven heavenly families.

Girl: Yes. I know. All the three tribes follow a matrilineal system, but it’s the
Jaintias who treat the girl child the best. She enjoys the best of education,
health and liberty and, curiously, inherits the family property too! And if
there are no girl children in the family, they adopt a girl from another family
and make her the ‘head’ of their family! Can you believe that?!

Boy: That’s really great. The Jaintias are extremely skilled in arts and
crafts— jewellery, weaving, wood-carving, cane and bamboo work, musical
instruments—name it, they do it!

Girl: I know! Talking about musical instruments, music and dance is such
an integral part of their culture, isn’t it?

Boy: Of course! Each tribe has its own set of festivals and dances
celebrating religious events, nature and the seasons. When I was there last
year, I attended the well-known Shad Suk Mynsiem festival of the Khasis at
Shillong. It’s a thanksgiving dance celebrated in April for three days.

Girl: Oh! You mean the Shad Weiking! How was it?

Boy: Absolutely colourful and so charged up with music and drums! The

final day has the biggest performance with men and women dressed in
stunning costumes, dancing to drums and flutes. It was absolutely
memorable! I hope you can witness it yourself.
Girl: I know. I hope so too!
Task 3                                   4 marks

You will hear a speaker discuss an unusual career change. Read the
questions below, then listen to the talk and choose four of the options A–G
which are correct. Write the correct letters in the blank boxes. You will hear
the recording twice.

Which FOUR of the following statements are true?

Good evening! Not many of you would believe my career path and how I
am where I am. Like all my peers, I took the tried and tested path. My
career as a management professional lost its appeal in no time. Mundane
jobs with zero challenge found me terribly restless. It was while I was with
my dog one evening that I suddenly thought of exploring avenues in the pet
industry. I came across an organisation that not only offers canine training
to those interested but also provides services to owners of pets. I learned
about the fascinating world of ‘behaviour training’. I had to interact with
different dogs and apply what I learned in my theory classes. It was such a
challenge but I knew I had found my true calling. I soon decided to start my
own organisation and ‘Pets and You’ was born. From one client or two a
day, I now attend to over ten or twelve clients a day. It takes about six
months to a year to make a name in the market. Word-of-mouth advertising
works best for my kind of work, but efficient social media advertising also
helps. I handle everything myself—from client visits, to logistics and
planning to actual dog training. You must be self-driven if you are an
entrepreneur. I advise my clients on behaviour modification, aggression
consultation and even pet travel requirements when owners go on a
holiday. Every day brings new challenges as no two dogs are alike. Dogs
are creatures of emotion and need to be handled with great sensitivity.
My biggest challenge is to teach owners how to communicate with their
pets. And the joy of seeing well bonded pets and owners is unparalleled. It
was good I listened to my instinct and opted for a career change. There’s
no looking back for me now.

Task 4                                    5 marks

You will listen to two students, a boy and a girl, talk about tigers and how to
save them. Read the statements below, then listen to the extract and
complete the sentences using one or two words only. You will hear the
recording twice.

Boy: I watched this film called ‘The Truth About Tigers’ by a wildlife and
conservation film maker.

Girl: Oh! what was it about?

Boy: It was really revealing about the odds stacked against our national
animal. It had a lot of footage from other wildlife cinematographers and
experts.

Girl: Oh! But I thought a recent study has revealed that the tiger population
which was around 1,706 in 2010 is now around 2,226.

Boy: That may be, but everything’s still not so rosy. The filmmaker’s clear
purpose is to highlight what tigers need in order to survive, the exact
reasons why they are disappearing and what one can do to improve the
situation.

Girl: Right. So it gives us direction on what we can do as citizens.

Boy: Exactly! The film opens with this stunning visual of a tiger stalking a
deer in the tall grass and the lethal pursuit. Magnificent! And while it goes
on to capture all aspects of a tiger’s life, from birth to adolescence to
territorial behaviour, mating, old age and death, its heart is on the tiger’s
greatest enemy—Man.

Girl: Yes. That cannot be ignored. Remember what happened at The

Sariska Tiger Reserve in Rajasthan? I think it was in January 2005 that we
woke up to the headlines that there were no tigers left in Sariska. And it
was all blamed on poaching.

Boy: Yes, I remember that. The film showed piles of tiger skin, bones and
shops weighing out portions of tiger organs in many South East Asian
countries. People are prepared to pay enormous amounts for these, you
know.

Girl: Yes. That’s why those criminals are a law unto themselves. They
have enough money power to hire lawyers and escape punishment.
Boy: Exactly! It seemed so futile to relocate tigers into Sariska and hope
they would survive.

Girl: But they did, you know. By 2014, the census revealed that the tiger
population at Sariska had gone up to thirteen, with seven females, two
males and four cubs.

Boy: Really? That’s so heartening!

Girl: So what was the final message of the film?

Boy: The mantra was ‘We can do it together.’ We need to make it a

collective effort. Every adult and child must take ownership of this noble
task of saving the tiger.

Girl: Yes. That’s the only way forward.

Boy: Some simple but effective solutions include writing a letter to the

Chief Minister of your State about the problem and asking for more
measures to protect tigers and their habitat. Sharing information with
friends, parents and the neighbourhood helps achieve another objective of
raising awareness on the tiger.

Girl: Right.

Boy: The film also advocates people to be watchdogs around forest areas

and be aware of activities around them. We need to sound the alarm if we
see or note anything amiss.

Girl: Yes, that will be really effective.

Boy: Finally, as part of educating citizens, the film exhorts field trips into
forests to know ground realities. Apparently organisations like the WWF
and nature clubs, conduct field trips to sanctuaries and tiger reserves. It’s
important we participate in them and keep ourselves well informed.

Girl: Absolutely. Nothing like being there and seeing for oneself!

 Worksheet
CBSE: Assessment of Speaking and Listening Skills
(ASL)
Class XI Code XI-L-02
Time: 45 min                   Max Marks: 20
LISTENING TEST
Task – 1                  5 marks

You will hear five people talk about sparrows and their disappearance.
Read the statements below, then listen to the extracts and match each
statement A–G to each speaker 1–5. There are two statements you do not
need. You will hear the recordings twice.
Task – 2                    6 marks

You will hear two students talking about the tribes of Meghalaya. Read the
sentences below, then listen to the conversation and choose A, B or C for
each sentence. You will hear the recording twice.

1. The boy recalls the names of the tribes of Meghalaya because he

a. belongs to Meghalaya.
b. has just finished a project on them.
c. visited Meghalaya the previous year.

2. The boy’s description of the Garo people shows

a. his sense of wonder about their culture.
b. his inquisitiveness about strange cultures.
c. his disrespect for unfamilar cultures.
3. The girl respects the way the Garos support each other during
a. marriages.
b. harvest time.
c. birth and death.

4. The Khasis and the Jaintias are believed to have

a. their origins from heaven.
b. the same customs and traditions.
c. seven clans under their control.

5. The Jaintias make a profound impression on the girl because of

a. their skill in handicrafts.
b. their colourful festivals and celebrations.
c. their respect for the girl child.

6. The talk on the Shad Suk Mynsiem or Shad Weiking festival

highlights the
a. importance given to music and dance.
b. thrust for tourism in Meghalaya.
c. religious feelings of the Khasis.

Task – 3                               4 marks

You will hear a speaker discuss an unusual career change. Read the
questions below, then listen to the talk and choose four of the options A–G
which are correct. Write the correct letters in the blank boxes. You will hear
the recording twice. 

Which FOUR of the following statements are true?

A The speaker always followed an independent path in her career.

B The speaker decided on a change in career when she was with her pet.
C Learning how to control a dog’s conduct excited the speaker immensely.
D According to the speaker, ‘Pets and You’ was an instant success.
E The speaker believes her clients are her best means of publicity.
F The speaker now has a good team of professionals to assist her.
G The speaker feels her biggest success is in helping pets and their
owners connect.

Task – 4                            5 marks
You will listen to two students, a boy and a girl, talk about tigers and how to
save them. Read the sentences below, then listen to the extract and
complete the sentences with one or two words only.
You will hear the recording twice.

1. ‘The Truth About Tigers’ is a compilation of ___________ about the

tiger.

2. In the film, the boy admires the opening ___________ of a tiger hunt.

3. Headlines reported that ___________ caused the tigers to disappear

from Sariska.

4. By taking personal ___________ , citizens can help the tiger survive.

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5. The film also suggests various ways to improve public
___________ and participation in protecting the tiger.