GENERAL

ENGLISH

Educational Publications Department

To obtain electronic textbooks, visit
www.edupub.gov.lk

i
First Print - 2017
Second Print - 2018
Third Print - 2019
Fourth Print - 2020

All Rights Reserved

ISBN 978-955-25-0337-5

Published by : The Educational Publications Department

Printed by : Aptva Printers,
No.16/3, Wanarathana Road, Mount Lavinia.

ii
 The National Anthem of Sri Lanka

Sri Lanka Matha

Apa Sri Lanka Namo Namo Namo Namo Matha
Sundara siri barinee, surendi athi sobamana Lanka
Dhanya dhanaya neka mal palaturu piri jaya bhoomiya ramya
Apa hata sepa siri setha sadana jeewanaye matha
Piliganu mena apa bhakthi pooja Namo Namo Matha
Apa Sri Lanka Namo Namo Namo Namo Matha
Oba we apa vidya
Obamaya apa sathya
Oba we apa shakthi
Apa hada thula bhakthi
Oba apa aloke
Apage anuprane
Oba apa jeevana we
Apa mukthiya oba we
Nava jeevana demine, nithina apa pubudukaran matha
Gnana veerya vadawamina regena yanu mana jaya bhoomi kara
Eka mavakage daru kela bevina
Yamu yamu vee nopama
Prema vada sema bheda durerada
Namo, Namo Matha
Apa Sri Lanka Namo Namo Namo Namo Matha

iii
iv
 Foreword
The contemporary world, which steps towards development, requires
a novel education system. It should create a generation of children with
skills and human values. While providing the strength to that superior ser-
vice, it’s our ultimate duty to assist the creation of a generation of students
who could confront the global challenges with determination. It is with the
noble aim of enlightening the knowledge of the nation’s children that our
department actively engages and contributes in the production of learning
aids.
A textbook is a repository of knowledge. At times, it takes us to a world of
entertainment. Moreover, it develops our critical thinking faculties while
promoting our hidden potentials. In the coming years, the memories relat-
ed to these textbooks will tread along with you bringing happiness to your
heart. Along with this textbook, you must essentially access other useful
knowledge spaces and dedicate yourselves to achieve the fullest potential.
This textbook is offered to you free of charge as a great gift of the free edu-
cation. Only you can add a value to the great fortune that has been spent by
the government to print these textbooks. I sincerely wish that you would
gain the ability to enlighten the future as citizens with knowledge and val-
ues by using this textbook.
I would like to bestow my sincere thanks on the panels of writers, editors
and reviewers as well as on the staff of the Educational Publications De-
partment for the contribution made on this endeavor.

P.N. Ilapperuma
Commissioner General of Educational Publications
Educational Publications Department
Isurupaya
Battaramulla
26.06.2020

v
 Monitoring and Supervision - P. N. Ilapperuma
Commissioner General of Educational
Publications
Educational Publications Department

Direction - W.A. Nirmala Piyaseeli

Commissioner of Educational Publications
(Development)
Educational Publications Department

Co-ordination - Ranjith Iluppitiya

Deputy Commissioner
Educational Publications Department

- W. Indumini Darshika
Assistant Commissioner
Educational Publications Department

Panel of Editors

1. Dinali Indira Fernando - Head

Department of English
University of Kelaniya

2. Parvathi Nagasundaram - Retired Senior Lecturer

University of Sri Jayewardenepura

3. Ranjith Iluppitiya - Deputy Commissioner
Educational Publications Department

vi
 Panel of Writers
1. Dinali Indira Fernando - Head
Department of English
University of Kelaniya

2. Dr. Shashikala Muthumal Assella - Visiting Lecturer

Post Graduate Institute of English
Open University of Sri Lanka
3. Mahishi Ranaweera - Head
English Language Teaching Unit
University of Kelaniya
4. Mihiri Iyanthi Jansz - Lecturer
Post Graduate Institute of English
Open University of Sri Lanka

5 . Dr. Chithra Jayathilaka - Senior Lecturer

Department of English
University of Sri Jayewardenepura

Language Editing & Proof Reading

1. Dinali Indira Fernando - Head
Department of English
University of Kelaniya

2. Parvathi Nagasundaram - Retired Senior Lecturer

University of Sri Jayewardenepura

Computer Designing & Formatting

D.M. Jayani Nisansala Dissanayaka - Educational Publications Department
Kanchana Padmaperuma - Educational Publications Department

Cover Design
D.M. Jayani Nisansala Dissanayaka - Educational Publications Department

vii
 Instructions
We are very happy to present to you the new textbook for General English
based on the new syllabus in effect from 2017. General English is an important
and compulsory subject in the Advanced Levels. Therefore, the primary aim
of the subject is to encourage you to develop your English as much as possible
before you leave school. We hope that this book will help you to achieve this by
providing you with ample opportunites to practice using English meaningfully
and enjoyably during your A/Level years.

This book contains eight units on contemporary themes of interest to young

people. Each unit has plenty of language input and activities that integrate the
skills of speaking, reading, writing and listening.

The Advanced Level is the last opportunity for the majority of our children to
develop their English skills in the free education system. We urge students as
well as teachers to make full use of this opportunity by using this book as a tool
to practice using the language. Students, even if you feel that you are weak in
English, if you continue to speak and write English with the guidance of your
teachers, you will definitely improve.

The book is primarily written for intermediate level students. However, the book
also contains a few, more advanced reading passages and activities, which will
challenge the more proficient students.

This book replaces the first textbook for Advanced Level General English
written in 2000 by our gurus Professor Manique Gunesekera, Professor Arjuna
Parakrama, and Dr Hemamala Ratwatte. The value of this excellent textbook still
remains. It will continue to be a useful reference for vocabulary and grammar,
and as a source of supplementary activities.

This book is written in Standard Sri Lankan English, continuing the approach
set in place by the writers of the first textbook. The book is accompanied by
the listening texts as well as all the reading texts in the eight units, which can be
downloaded at http://www.edupub.gov.lk/. This is a novel step that we took in
order to facilitate reading comprehension as well as to provide you with ample
examples of spoken language.

viii
This book is dedicated to the memory of Professor Manique Gunesekera, who was
Chair Professor of English at the University of Kelaniya when she passed away in
2015.

The Authors

Email your comments and feedback. Share your thoughts and experiences:
[email protected]

ix
x
 CONTENTS

Unit Page

01 - SRI LANKAN ACHIEVERS 01

02 - LIVING IN HARMONY 31

03 - RELATIONSHIPS 52

04 - ENGLISH AS A LOCAL AND

GLOBAL LANGUAGE 72

05 - CRIME AND SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY 97

06 - THE CYBER WORLD 117

07 - CONTINUING EDUCATION 138

08 - EMPLOYMENT 166

09 - LISTENING ACTIVITIES 203

10 - ACKNOWLEDGEMENT 209

xi
Dear Student,
Please do not write anything in this book.
Use your exercise book to do the activities
that appear here.

Download the audio recording of all the

listening and reading texts at
http://www.edupub.gov.lk

xii
 1
SRI LANKAN
ACHIEVERS
Introduction

Welcome to the first unit of this book. In this unit, you will read
about Sri Lankan achievers, or in other words, about people in our country
we can consider heroes. Some of them have become very famous, but we
will also read about an everyday hero. We hope you have fun engaging in all
the activities in this unit about Sri Lankan achievers.

For free distribution 1

 Lesson Outcomes
In this lesson, you will
 read and respond to articles about several Sri Lankan achievers, their
qualities and their achievements.
 discuss achievers and express your views on their qualities.
 listen to an interview and a song about champions and respond to
them.
 use the affirmative, interrogative, and negative forms of ‘be’ verb and
‘have’ verb, the simple present, adjectives, and SVC sentence patterns
and use them to describe people.
 write different kinds of texts, including paragraphs, essays, and letters.

Reading 1
In this section, we will read a story about an everyday hero.

Before Reading

1. Pairwork: Think of someone you admire. It does not have to be a

famous person. Also think of two reasons why you admire him or
her. Now tell each other about whom you admire. You could use the
structures in the following:

I admire my father very much because he is very hardworking.

He never wastes time; he’s always doing something in the house.

I admire my neighbour very much because he is very kind.

He is always ready to help anyone.

While Reading

Let’s read the story below and answer the questions.

2
 An Everyday Hero
Ramya is a waiter. He works at a restaurant from eight o’clock in the
morning to four o’clock in the afternoon.

One day at four o’clock Ramya leaves work and gets on a bus to go home.
He sits down behind the bus driver.

Suddenly the bus driver leans forward. His head is almost touching the
floor. Ramya jumps up. “Are you OK?” he asks the bus driver. The bus
driver doesn’t answer.

The bus is going fast now, and nobody is driving it. Ramya pulls the bus
driver. He tries to pull him out of the driver’s seat. But the bus driver is a
big man. Ramya can’t move him.

Now the bus is going really fast. Ramya has to stop the bus! He puts his
hands on the steering wheel. He puts his left foot on the brake. He drives
the bus to the left side of the street. Slowly, he stops the bus.

An ambulance arrives and takes the bus driver to the hospital. All the
passengers on the bus are OK.

Ramya works at a restaurant. He is a waiter. But one day, for ten minutes,
Ramya was a bus driver -- a bus driver and a hero.

(Adapted from True Stories by Sandra Heyer)

1. Which sentence is correct? Circle a or b.

1) a. Ramya works a night shift as a waiter.

b. Ramya works during the day.
2) a. Ramya gets on a train to go home.
b. Ramya gets on a bus to go home.
3) a. The bus driver leans backward.
b. The bus driver leans forward.
4) a. The bus driver’s head is on the floor.
b. The bus driver’s head is almost touching the floor.

3
 5) a. Ramya tries to push the bus driver out of the driver’s seat.
b. Ramya tries to pull the bus driver out of the driver’s seat.
6) a. The bus driver is a small man.
b. The bus driver is a big man.
7) a. Ramya can’t move him.
b. Ramya can move him.
8) a. Ramya is able to control the bus.
b. Ramya is not able to control the bus.

After Reading

1.
Select the most suitable words to describe Ramya:
quick thinking selfish brave
obedient observant courageous

2. Use at least two of the suitable words above and write a short
paragraph describing Ramya.

3. Groupwork: Get into groups of four or five. Imagine that you are
Ramya and his family. His family can include his parents, grandparents,
siblings. Ramya goes home and relates what happened to his family.
Practise this conversation in your groups. As Ramya tells the story,
the family must ask him questions, and show that they are scared, as
well as proud of him.

4. Imagine that you are Ramya. Write a short letter to your friend abroad
describing your experience. Don’t forget to describe how you felt.

Listening 1

Here we are going to listen to the experiences of a very famous Sri Lankan.

Before Listening

A). Have you heard of these famous Sri Lankan achievers? In pairs, read
the sentences about them. Now ask each other questions. The first
one is done for you.
4
 1. Joseph Malik Peiris is a virologist working at the University of
Hong Kong. He played a key role in discovering the cause of SARS,
the viral respiratory disease.
Who is Joseph Malik Peiris?
What is his profession? or Where does he work?
What is he famous for?
2. Bala Tampoe was a veteran trade unionist. He was a leader in the
labour movement in Sri Lanka.
3. Pandit W D Amaradeva is an eminent Sri Lankan vocalist. He has
received numerous awards.
4. Dr. Cyril Ponnamperuma is a scientist. He worked for NASA, the
American space organization.
5. Anoma Wijewardena is a well known Sri Lankan artist. She works
in Sri Lanka and in London. She has held exhibitions in Colombo,
London, Sydney, Singapore and Kuala Lumpur.

B). Pairwork : Discuss with your partner and think of at least two more
famous Sri Lankan achievers, and what they have achieved. Next, tell
the class one by one.

C). You are going to listen to a conversation between a journalist and a

more modern achiever, the first Sri Lankan to climb to the summit of
Mount Everest. She is Jayanthi Kuru-Utumpala.

Groupwork : Get into groups of four or five to listen to the interview.

Before we start listening, let’s look at some of the words that you will
hear in the interview. The words, and the sentences they occur in, are
presented below. In your groups, discuss what they might mean:

mountaineering frostbite personality traits

accomplish perseverance

 “I did a one month course on mountaineering in India.”

 “Your fingertips can get so cold, that they could freeze, leading to
frostbite.”
 “There are many qualities and personality traits that are important
to accomplish something.”
 “Another important quality is perseverance. Sometimes things go
wrong and don’t go according to your plans.”

5
 While Listening
1. First, read the T/F statements below.

Jayanthi Kuru-Utumpala, the first Sri Lankan to summit Mount Everest

Your teacher will now play the recording three times, with pauses in
between. Listen to the conversation again and see whether these statements
are true (T) or false (F). Circle the correct answer.
1) Jayanthi would even climb the really tall coconut trees at home. (T/F)
2) Jayanthi started mountain climbing when she was a teenager. (T/F)
3) It was her childhood dream to climb the tallest mountain in Sri Lanka.
(T/F)
4) Her family and all her friends were very worried when she told them
about her plans. (T/F)
5) This journey took two months to complete. (T/F)

After Listening
1. According to Jayanthi, what are the qualities an achiever should have
to accomplish something extraordinary? Make a list of them. You may
give one word answers.
2. Now use these words to describe Jayanthi. You can start like this: You
can take turns in your group to say something about her, one by one.
“Jayanthi is………………….. .”
“She is ……………………. .”
“She is also ………………………….. . ”
6
3. Now, still working in your groups, imagine that you are going to meet
Jayanthi. Think of at least six questions that you would like to ask her.
You may use the language given below to start your question:

How did you…? How do you…? Did you…?

Do you… When did you…. What do you…
Are you…. Were you…. Aren’t you….
Weren’t you…

feel
think fear
see expect
frightened
experience nervous
happy
excited
relieved exhausted
anxious
exhilarated

4. Select one student in your group to play the role of Jayanthi. She or
he sits in front of the others. The rest of the group must now ask her
questions. The “Jayanthi” in your group must reply accurately. After
she answers four to five questions, “Jayanthi” must identify another
student to take her place. This student then appoints another, until
everyone in the group has had a turn to be “Jayanthi”.

5. We have assigned a quality to each letter of Jayanthi’s name.

(i) Read them and do the same with your own name and your teacher’s
name. For this you may refer a thesaurus.

J - jovial
A - athletic
Y - young
A - ambitious
N - nice
T - tough
H - honest
I - intelligent

7
 (ii) After you complete them, you can (a) select the best and display them on
the walls of your classroom, and (b) use them to make greeting cards for
each other.

6. Write Jayanthi a letter inviting her to come to your school to deliver a

talk. In your letter say

a. when you would like her to come, but ask her to give a date that is
convenient to her.
b. what topic you would like her to talk about.
c. who the audience will be (students of which grades, for example).
d. how long you would like her to speak.

7. Exchange your letter with another student. Imagine that you are Jayanthi,
and write a suitable reply. You can either write accepting the invitation,
or declining the invitation. You can make use of the following structures
in the two letters.

Letter accepting the invitation Letter declining the invitation

I will be delighted to….. Thank you for your letter dated….
I am able to come on…. I would have loved to attend…. but…
Looking forward to….. Unfortunately I am unable to………..
I am willing to speak on…. Perhaps we could discuss another date…
Please send me more details of…. I wish you all the best in ………..

Reading 2

Before Reading

1. Brainstorm: Who are the famous inventors you have heard about?
What did they invent? Do you know any Sri Lankan inventors? Share
your ideas with others.

2. Pairwork: Look at the following table of inventors and their inventions.

Use the table to talk to your partner. Add your answers too to this list.
The first one is done for you.

Willis Carrier invented air conditioning. or

Air conditioning was invented by Willis Carrier.
8
 Inventor Invention Importance
1 Willis Carrier air-conditioning
2 Alessandro Volta batteries
3 Stephen Poplawski the kitchen blender
4 Arthur Wynne crossword puzzles
5 Alexander the telephone
Graham-Bell
6 Mary Anderson windscreen wipers
7 Bette Nesmith Tippex, or correction fluid
Graham
8 Joy Mangano the Miracle Mop, or the
self-wringing mop
9 Katharine Blodgett non-reflective glass
10

3. In your opinion, which invention is the most useful? Which is the least
useful? Assign numbers from 1-10 in the third column of the table
above based on how useful you think they are. For example, write “1”
next to the invention you think is the most useful, “2” next to the next
most useful, and so on. Next, get into groups of five or six and share
your decisions, giving reasons.

4. Now let’s read about another Sri Lankan achiever. Before you read,
look at his name in the title. Have you heard about him? If you have,
what have you heard about him?

While Reading

Now read the following text, and answer the questions given below it.

9
 Ray Wijewardene
Dr Philip Revatha Wijewardene (1924-2010) is better known as Ray
Wijewardene. He was an engineer, inventor and an Olympic athlete. This
multi-talented man was a brilliant, innovative thinker. He was without
equal. His passion in life was to find practical solutions to problems faced
by ordinary Sri Lankans, so that their lives could be improved.

One of his first, and best known

inventions is the Landmaster, the two
wheeled, “walking” tractor. He invented the
Landmaster in 1955. This invention improved
the lives of farmers in Sri Lanka drastically.
Before the Landmaster, farmers had to use
imported tractors. They were too large
and too expensive for most farmers. So Dr
Wijewardene invented one that was modified
for Sri Lankan farmers and their needs. It
was much more affordable and more suitable
than the imported tractors. Therefore the
Landmaster became very popular among
farmers in more than 20 countries. They
were in use in many Asian countries for
many years. The farmers worked much more
efficiently because of the Landmaster. Ray Wijewardene as a young man

10
 For many years, Ray Wijewardene was interested in different
types of transport. He was most interested in types of transport that were
powered by humans, like bicycles and hang-gliders. He exchanged ideas
and designs with people all over the world who had similar dreams. One of
these dreams was to invent a faster, safer and easier-to-ride bicycle.

He also tried to improve soil fertility and to manage weeds. Today

we know about the benefits of growing gliricidia trees. We know that
gliricidia renews soil fertility and provides food for cattle. This knowledge
is mostly thanks to Ray Wijewardene.

His lifelong commitment was to help small farmers. He continued

to look for ways to improve their harvests without increasing the costs of
cultivation. Thousands of farmers in Sri Lanka enjoyed the fruits of his
labour.

He always talked about his ideas with others, and read widely,
before he tried out his inventions. If someone else gave a better solution,
he gladly accepted it. He had an open and inquisitive mind.

He was also an outstanding sportsman. He competed in the Olympic

Games twice in sailing. He competed in the Mexico Olympics in 1968, and in
Bangkok Olympics in 1970. He won a silver medal at the Bangkok Olympics.

The Sri Lankan government has honoured him with two awards,
Vidya Jothi in 1998 and Deshamanya in 2002. Ray Wijewardene is indeed
an illustrious son of the soil.
(Adapted from http://www.raywijewardene.net/innovation.html)

Language focus
An innovative thinker - original and creative
He is without equal - no one as good as him, no one to equal him
His passion in life - the thing he liked to do most in his life
improved drastically - very quickly and a lot
it is mostly thanks to - because of
the fruits of his labour - the good results from his hard work
He has an inquisitive mind - curious, eager to learn about things
an illustrious son of the soil - an outstanding citizen of a country

11
 1. Answer the following questions.
1) How is Dr Philip Revatha Wijewardene more commonly known?
2) What outstanding abilities and qualities did he have?
3) What was one of his earliest inventions?
4) What was special about this invention?
5) What else did he experiment with?
6) What are his sporting achievements?
7) How did Sri Lanka show her appreciation of Dr Wijewardene?
8) Do you agree that Dr Wijewardene is an outstanding Sri Lankan?
2. Find words or expressions in the passage that are similar in meaning
to the following words.
1) To change something in order to make it more suitable
2) Low cost
3) Curious
4) To consult

3. Pairwork: Imagine that you are a farmer. You have benefited greatly
from Dr Wijewardene’s innovations. One day you meet Dr. Ray
Wijewardena. Have a conversation that would take place between the
two of you.

Writing
Identify an achievement of each of the outstanding Sri Lankans listed
below. One is done for you.

Name Achievement
Radhika Coomaraswamy
Nagalingam Ethirveerasingham
Jezima Ismail
Susanthika Jayasinghe
Carl Muller
Mohan Munasinghe Co-Laureate of Nobel Peace Prize 2007
Joseph Malik Peris
Arjuna Ranatunga
Duncan White

12
Groupwork: Get into groups of five or six. Select one of the outstanding
Sri Lankans in this list, and find information about him or her about the
following areas:
i) Some details about his or her life, education, and profession
ii) The achievements of this Sri Lankan
iii) What you think about this outstanding individual
You will be able to find information on them in the newspapers, magazine
articles, on the internet, and also by asking your teachers and your elders.
Once you find this information, share it and discuss it among your group.
Use the information to write a short essay about this Sri Lankan achiever.
The essay should have three paragraphs on the three areas listed above.
The essay should be written individually. But you can help each other with
facts.

Listening 2
We will now listen to a song. The title of the song is “We are the Champions”.
It is sung by the British band Queen.
This song became very popular in Sri Lanka in 1996, when our cricket team
won the One Day International World Cup. The captain of the team was
Arjuna Ranatunga.
This exciting final match was played in Karachi, Pakistan. Let’s look at
this picture of our captain receiving the trophy from the Prime Minister
of Pakistan at the time, Benazir Bhutto. This picture and the news of our
victory became world news.

Captain Arjuna Ranatunga receiving the 1996 Cricket World Cup from
the Prime Minister of Pakistan Benazir Bhutto

13
 Before Listening
1. Discuss with a partner:
ii) How do you think Sri Lankans felt, when we won the world cup?
Describe their feelings.
iii) How do you think Arjuna Ranatunga felt, when he and his team
won the world cup? Describe his feelings.
The song below has several idiomatic expressions. These are fixed
expressions that we use as chunks, and not individual words. Let’s try to
find out the meanings of some of them:

The expression Its meaning in context

I’ve paid my dues to pay back what I owe
I’ve done my sentence completed my punishment or hard work
I’ve had … sand kicked in my face humiliated and insulted
I’ve come through survived
No time for [something or to disapprove, to ignore
someone]
I’ve taken my bows and my received applause, shown my appreciation
curtain calls for the applause
It’s been no bed of roses neither easy nor pleasant

While Listening
1. Let’s listen to this song now. As you listen, read the words of the song
and fill in the blanks. Your teacher will play it three times, with pauses
in between.
We are the Champions by Queen
1) I’ve paid my dues
……….... after …………
I’ve done my sentence
But …………….. no crime.
And bad …………………..--
I’ve made a few.
I’ve had my share of sand kicked in my face
But I’ve………….. ………………..
And I need just go on and on, and on, and on

14
 Chorus: We are the champions, my ……………….,
And we’ll keep on ……………… till the end.
We are the champions.
We are the champions.
No time for ................................
‘Cause we are the champions of the ………………..
2) I’ve taken my bows
And my curtain calls.
You brought me ………..… and ………….…,
and everything that goes with it
I thank you all.
But it’s been no bed of roses,
No pleasure cruise.
I consider it a ………… before the whole ……… …………,
And I ain’t gonna lose.
And I need just go on and on, and on, and on
Chorus: We are the champions, my …………,
And we’ll keep on ………… till the end.
We are the champions.
We are the champions.
No time for …………
‘Cause we are the champions of the ………….
(Repeat chorus)

After Listening

1. Pairwork: Given in the table below are paraphrases of the two verses
and the chorus of the song. However, they are jumbled. First, read
the paraphrases. Then read the song again while listening to it, and
match the paraphrases with the verses by drawing a line.

15
 Verse Paraphrase
1) You have appreciated me over and over again. Because
First verse of you I am rich and well-known, and more. But it has
not been easy at all. Now I have to fight in front of the
whole world, and I am determined to win. I need to
persist.
Chorus It has not been easy. I had to undergo difficulties over
and over again. I have been insulted and punished
even though I have not done anything wrong. I have
to continue.
2) We are the winners, but we will not stop our battle.
Second We don’t care about those who failed to win, because
verse we are the best in the world.

2. Discuss in groups of four or five. Think of points to agree as well as to

disagree with the statements.
(i) What does the song say about the path to becoming a champion?
Do you agree with the song?
(ii) The song suggests that it is not only difficult to become a
champion, it is also hard to stay as champions. Do you agree with
this?
(iii) Suffering and sacrificing to become a champion is always worth
it. Do you agree?
(iv) The song says that champions “have no time for losers”. What
the singer means by this? Do you agree with this statement?

3. Imagine that a friend of yours is determined to become a champion

in a particular sport or a contest, and wants your support. Enact the
situation in your group by doing the following.

(i) First think of what the prospective champion would say.

(ii) Then advise him on the good side and the bad side of his or her
ambition.
4. Imagine you have won a school championship in a sport.
(i) Take five minutes to think about how you would feel when
everyone cheers you and praises you.

16
 (ii) When the teacher gives you a signal, start writing down your
feelings. Don’t worry about spelling and grammar, just write
down whatever that comes to your mind. The teacher will ask
you to stop in five minutes.

Note: If you find this activity too difficult, you can do it as a brainstorming activity in a group.

5. Now imagine that you are “a loser” who has never won at any sport.
You always come last, and you always see your friends winning at
everything.
(i) In a similar activity as 4 above, take five minutes to think about
how you would feel when you see everyone cheering your friends
and ignoring you. Or worse, humiliating you for coming last.
(ii) Again, when the teacher gives you a signal, start writing down
your feelings, and stop when the teacher tells you to.

6. In groups of four or five, read out what you have written to each other.
Discuss and decide on the best ideas in your group.

7. Taking everyone’s good ideas, do one of the following, on your own:

i) Write two short descriptions about “How a champion feels” and
“How a loser feels”.
ii) Write an essay comparing the feelings of a champion and the
feelings of a loser.
iii) Discuss and write an essay on the topic “The path to victory: is
it worth it?”.

Grammar
In this section we will learn about some grammar points: the ‘be’ verb,
adjectives, the ‘have’ verb, the simple present tense and the simple past
tense.

Grammar: The ‘be’ verb

When we describe a person, we need to use the ‘be’ verb. Did you notice
this when we described Jayanthi?

Jayanthi is brave. She is patient. She is determined.

Al these sentences describe Jayanthi.

17
 We form the ‘be’ verb like this: Subject + be verb

Singular Plural
First person I am We are
Second person You are You are
He is They are
Third person She is
It is
Jayanthi is Champions are

Grammar: Adjectives
What are adjectives? Adjectives are words that describe or give more
information about a noun, or a pronoun it refers to. In other words,
adjectives modify nouns and pronouns. This information can be concrete,
such as size, shape, condition, colour, etc, or an abstract quality: a large
dog, the oval grounds, the old building, the pink dress, or the kind teacher.

Let’s learn about the forms and types of adjectives, as well as the order of
adjectives.

1. Form of adjectives:

The most commonly used adjectives do not have an identifiable form:

good, bad, big, small, old, new, young, tall, short, round, pretty, ugly, black,
white, red, etc.

(1) Adding suffixes

There are other adjectives that are formed by adding a suffix to a noun
or a verb. The following table presents a list of these suffixes with several
examples:

18
Suffix Noun Adjective Suffix Noun Adjective
or or Verb
Verb
-y dirt dirty -ly friend friendly
curl curly love lovely
chill chilly brother brotherly
breeze breezy cost costly
bump bumpy coward cowardly
bush bushy day daily
guilt guilt elder elderly
health healthy dead deadly
hill hilly
sleep sleepy
-able love lovable -ful beauty beautiful
read readable care careful
value valuable Note the help helpful
notice noticeable spelling, boast boastful
prefer preferable it is not power powerful
“-full” respect respectful
move moveable
success successful
break breakable
-ous danger dangerous -ible Terror terrible
fame famous horror horrible
caution cautious ? feasible*
humour humourous ? flexible*
mischief mischievous ? tangible*
disaster disastrous
mountain mountainous

*Important: Note that the nouns from which the adjectives flexible,
tangible and feasible are derived are unclear. However, as in many other
instances, the adjective can be expanded to the nouns flexibility, tangibility,
and feasibility.

(2) Position of adjectives in sentences

In sentences, we can find adjectives in two positions. Let’s look at the

following descriptions of Jayanthi and Ramya:

Ramya was a courageous passenger. Jayanthi is courageous.

19
 In the first example, you can see that the adjective, courageous, is placed
before the noun it describes (attributive adjective).

In the second example, the adjective comes after the proper noun, Jayanthi,
and the linking verb (predicative adjective). Often, you will find adjectives
following the linking such as be, appear, seem, etc.

(3) The order of adjectives

Often we can use more than one adjective to describe something. We can
use two or even three adjectives. Even four or more adjectives can be used,
although this is quite rare:

Ray Wijewardene was brilliant, innovative and multi-talented.

Jayanthi Kuru-Utumpala is brave, focused, hardworking, and
persevering.

When you use more than one adjective, they are usually in a particular
order. Look at the examples below:

i) The big red bag ii) the red big bag

In the two examples above, i) correct, and ii) is wrong, because adjectives
of size generally come before adjectives of colour. Let’s look at two longer
examples now.

i) Tharushi bought a beautiful new white Benares silk wedding sari.

ii) The director sat behind large brown Burmese teakwood office table.

The two sentences demonstrate the order of adjectives, as described in the

table below:

20
 The Order of Adjectives

Type of adjective i) ii)

1 Judgement beautiful
2 Size / measurement large
3 Age new
4 Shape
5 Colour white brown
6 Condition
7 Origin (country, area) Benares Burmese
8 Material Silk teakwood
9 Purpose wedding office
sari table

However, note that there are exceptions to this order. Can you think of any?
Once again, remember that it is very unusual, and quite unnecessary, to
describe anything in five or six adjectives. We usually use three or four at
the most.

2. Grammar activities:

1) In groups, describe someone/something you like, and someone/

something you do not like using three or four adjectives.

e. g. :- the lovely small sweet ripe mango.

2) There are 16 adjectives in the passage below. Identify them and say
whether they are attributive or predicative adjectives.

Ray Wijewardene was brilliant and innovative. He had an open and

inquisitive mind. He found practical solutions to problems faced by ordinary
Sri Lankans. One of his best-known inventions was the Landmaster. Before
this, the imported tractors used by farmers were too large and too expensive
for the average farmer. The Landmaster was much more affordable and
more suitable for them, and therefore became very popular.

21
 3) Let’s read the two sets of adjectives below. You will see that first set is
less challenging than the second one.

happy sad angry calm stressed

hungry beautiful quiet sleepy noisy

patient observant confident impartial reliable

responsible imaginative humble fearless focused

(i) In pairs, describe yourself to each other. You may use the sets of
adjectives given above or others.
(ii) Now, describe your friend, using the “you are….. ” structure. Use two
adjectives here.
(iii) Next, join another pair of students, and describe your friend to them,
using “he is …. ” or “she is…… ”. Use three adjectives here.
(iv) Finally, join another group of four and describe your friends using
“They are…..”, “Akash and Arya are…..”, and “Akash, Arya and Azaad
are…..”.

4) In pairs again, think of a TV show, a film or a book that you have both
seen or read recently. Discuss its good features and bad features using
as many adjectives as possible.

5) Write a short review of what you discussed in the previous activity. In

the review, discuss the negative and positive features, and then state
your preference based on this discussion.

Grammar: The Simple Present Tense

1. Form of the Simple Present Tense:

Look at the following excerpt from the story about Ramya:

Ramya is a waiter. He works at a restaurant from eight o’clock in the

morning to four o’clock in the afternoon.
One day at four o’clock Ramya leaves work and gets on a bus to go home.
He sits down behind the bus driver.

22
Notice the bold and underlined verbs in these sentences. They are all in
the Simple Present Tense.

This is how we form the simple present tense:

Subject + Verb

The subject is the doer, which can be a person, or a thing, or a quality.

Look at the table below. It shows you how to ask questions as well as to give
negative answers in the simple present tense.

Affirmative Interrogative Negative

1 person
st
I work Do I work? I don’t work.
2nd person You work Do you work? You don’t
work.
Singular He, she, it works Does he, she, it He, she, it
3rd person Ramya works work? doesn’t work.
Does Ramya Ramya
work? doesn’t work.

1st person We work Do we work? We don’t

work.
2nd person You work Do you work? You don’t
Plural work.
3rd person They work Do they work? They don’t
work.

Note that the verb changes in the third person singular. To indicate third
person singular you need to add a ‘s’ to the verb:

I work. She works. Jayanthi speaks English.

We speak English. He speaks English.

23
 2. Functions of the Simple Present Tense:

1) The Simple Present Tense is used to express habitual actions:

I drink tea.
Good sportsmen practise every day.
My dog sleeps next to my bed every night.
I drink six glasses of water daily.
My uncle lives in Mahawa.
We eat rice and curry every day.

2) Statements about a state of existence, beliefs, knowledge, likes and

dislikes are normally only made in the simple form.

I feel unhappy.
Sri Lankans believe in fate.
Stagnant water breeds mosquitoes.
My family loves holidays.
I appreciate your concern.

The paint on the wall is still wet.

Here ‘paint’ is the subject.

The programmes on TV are boring.

Here, ‘programmes’ is the subject. Let’s look at two more examples:

The trees on either side of the road are tall.
The faces of the children are bright.

3. Grammar activities:

1) Pairwork: In pairs, ask each other the following questions. Give your
answers in the simple present tense.
i) At what time do you wake up?
ii) At what time do you come to school?
iii) Do you study in the morning or at night?
iv) When do you have some free time?
v) How do you go to school?

24
2) Now let’s get back to Jayanthi Kuru-Utumpala. What do you think her
daily routine could be like? Let’s imagine and write her routine. Now
tell your friend what you have written.

She gets up at …. She exercises at / in the ….

She drinks kola kenda/pal conjee/ tea…….
She goes to work at …

3) Subject-verb agreement: Underline the correct verb form.

i) I (feel, feels) very tired after the English class.

ii) We (play, plays) cricket every afternoon on the school grounds.
iii) My friend Shazni always (share, shares) her food with me.
iv) Gajan (sweep, sweeps) the classroom floor every Monday.
v) Savini still (believe, believes) in Santa Claus.
vi) The freedom fighters (want, wants) discrimination to end.
vii) The notices on the notice board (is, are) all outdated.
viii) The trees on either side of the road (sways, sway) in the wind.
ix) All the actors in Korean movies (looks, look) similar.
x) The student in the middle (is, are) my friend.

4) Write three sentences about a Sri Lankan achiever using the ‘be’ verb
in the present tense? Here are some examples:
i) Vivienne Goonewardena is a courageous woman who worked
for the rights of women workers in the Free Trade Zone.
ii) Susanthika Jayasinghe is a sprint athlete.
iii) Matthew Abeysinghe is a medal-winning swimmer.

The verb ‘have’

1. Function of the verb ‘have’:

When we talk about something you possess you use the verb ‘have’.

I have three sisters.

He has many accolades.
She has a beautiful smile.

25
 2. Formation:

We form the ‘have’ verb in the following way:

Singular Plural
1st person I have I have
2nd person You have I have
He has They have
3rd person She has
It has
Jayanthi has Champions have

3. Grammar activities:

(1) Let’s play detectives!

Get into groups of seven to ten. Decide on an object that is stolen: a ruler, a
bottle, a watch etc. Now follow the steps:

(i) One group member is sent out of the room.

(ii) One of the remaining students is given the object: he or she is
the ‘thief’.
(iii) The detective returns and tries to find out who is the thief is by
asking each participant: “Do you have it/the watch?”
(iv) Each participant- including the actual thief- denies guilt, and
accuses someone else: “No I don’t have it. Z has it.”
(v) Then the detective turns to Z with the same question, and so
on, until everyone has been asked and has denied responsibility.
The detective then has to decide in three guesses who is lying –
who ‘looks’ guilty: “I think YOU have it/the watch.”

(2) Group activity: Let’s create a poster for one of the achievers.

Get into groups of four or five. Using the information you found about
another of the Sri Lankan personalities for the essay writing task, create an
attractive poster about him/her. Present the poster to the class as a group.

26
In your presentation mention the following:
Who the personality is: name, profession,
What she/he did
Why you selected that personality
What you learnt from him/her

Grammar: The Sentence Patterns: SVC Sentence Pattern

In this unit, we will learn about a sentence pattern in English, known as the
SVC sentence. The structure of the SVC sentence is as follows:

Subject + Verb + Complement

The complement here is a subject complement. It follows a linking verb.

A subject complement refers to the subject. It can also modify the subject.
In SVC sentences, the subject complement can be a Noun (N), a Noun
Phrase (NP), an Adjective (A) or an Adjective Phrase (AP):

Subject + Verb + Complement

(linking verb)
Subject Complement

Noun Adjective
(N) (A)
Noun Adjective
phrase phrase
(NP) (AP)

Look at the following SVC sentences that have 1) a noun 2) a noun phrase,
3) an adjective and 4) an adjective phrase as the subject complement:

(i) Many Buddhists and Hindus are vegetarians. (N)

(ii) Donald Trump and Ivanka Trump are Americans. (N)
(iii) The characters in the science fiction film are aliens. (N)
(iv) She is a very well known actor. (NP)
(v) She is beautiful. (A)
(vi) The actor who won the best artiste of the year award is very
talented. (AP)
27
 You will notice that when the complement is a noun, it is almost always a
plural noun. This is because a singular noun usually needs a determiner
(a, an, the, each, every etc). Therefore it becomes a phrase of more than
one word. Some of the frequently used linking verbs that are followed by
subject complements are:

be feel remain become look seem appear sound

Examples:-

be
1) Jayanthi Kuru-Utumpala and Johann Peiris are climbers. (N)
2) Muttiah Muralidharan is the best bowler in the world. (NP)
3) Some politicians are corrupt. (A)
4) Some politicians can be extremely corrupt and dangerous. (AP)

feel
1) He felt a fool. (NP)
2) He feels sad. (A)
3) He feels sad and depressed. (AP)

remain
1) What I told you remains a secret. (NP)
2) The old house remains empty. (A)
3) It has remained empty and ghostly. (AP)

become
1) They became friends. (N)
2) They became the best of friends. (NP)
3) She became famous. (A)
4) I became very jealous and angry. (AP)

look, seem
1) He looks respectable. He seems respectable. (A)
2) The crowd looks violent and dangerous. They seem very violent
(AP)

appear
1) You have to appear calm. (A)
2) He appeared rather unfriendly. (AP)

28
sound
1) He sounds happy. (A)
2) Your father sounded really angry. (AP)

Grammar activities

1. Complete the following sentences by choosing the correct subject

complement:

stressed rude happy unhappy meaningful

(i) Friendships become ……………….. only when you make an effort.

(ii) If your friend looks ………..……. , you must ask him what is wrong.
(iii) Sometimes, our parents are …………… because they have so
many responsibilities.
(iv) Even when we seem ……..……… , we can be sad and lonely inside.
(v) If you sound …………………… when you speak, you can offend
people.

2. If you read about Ramya, Jayanthi Kuru-Utumpala and Ray Wijewardene

again, you will find many SVC sentences in these texts. Let’s read a few
again in order to identify the elements of the SVC sentences. Underline
or highlight the complement and write whether it is a Noun (N), a
Noun Phrase (NP), an Adjective (A), or an Adjective Phrase (AP). The
first one is done for you.

1) Ramya is a waiter. (NP)

2) Ramya is a hero.
3) He is not a bus driver.
4) The bus is going really fast.
5) The bus driver was a small man.
6) Ordinary people can be heroes.
7) Jayanthi is brave.
8) Jayanthi is hardworking and persevering.
9) Ray Wijewardene was an engineer, inventor, aviator and an
Olympian.
10) Dr Wijewardene is multi-talented.
11) The Landmaster became very popular.

29
 Speaking and Writing
Creative analysis: Let’s attempt a rather advanced activity to conclude
our first unit.

Read the following quote by William Shakespeare.

Some are born great,

Some achieve greatness,
Some have greatness
thrust upon them!

1. Now discuss in pairs or groups.

What do you think William Shakespeare meant by these words? The

questions below will help you to think about their meaning. Remember
that there is no ONE answer to any of these questions. You must give
yourself the freedom to say what YOU believe.
What does ‘great’ mean to you? How can you be born great?
Do you know anyone who is ‘born great’?
If you are a king or a queen, are you ‘born great’?
If yes, do you agree that we can inherit ‘greatness’ from our parents
and grandparents?
What do you think Shakespeare meant by “some have greatness thrust
upon them”?
Do you know anyone upon whom “greatness has been thrust”?
So what is the difference between being born great, achieving greatness,
and having greatness thrust upon you? Is there a difference?
What is better out of the three, do you think? Why do you think so?

2. After your discussion, write about what this quotation means to you in
a short essay.
30
 2
LIVING IN
HARMONY
Introduction

In this unit, you will use English to engage with the topic of living
in harmony. We know that the lack of harmony at home, at school, in
our community and in the country can lead to conflicts. So in this unit,
we will read about, discuss, and write about the importance of things like
understanding, tolerance, respect, and the need to accept differences among
us, in order to co-exist.

31
 Lesson Outcomes
In this lesson, you will
 discuss feelings, friends, family members, and people who are different.
 read about coexistence, differences among people, and living in
harmony.
 use simple language structures to talk about living in harmony.
 use adverbs, the present continuous tense, modal verbs and the first
conditional.

Speaking
1. Look at the picture below and describe it with a friend. What is hap-
pening in this picture? Can you describe what the three children are
feeling? For example, are they happy, or sad, or angry? Why do you
think so?

photo by Dinali Fernando

2. In groups of four or five, now let’s look at the following picture. What
do you see in the picture? What does it mean, in your point of view?
Do you have different opinions about the picture?

32
 https://i2.wp.com/writingtheother.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/10/
RaceFeatureImage.jpg?fit=752%2C440

3. In the same groups, ask the following questions from each other. Be as
honest as you can be:
1) Who is your favourite family member?
2) Who is the prettiest / most handsome in your family?
3) Which one of your family members cries easily?
4) Do you love all your cousins?
5) Why do you like them/ don’t like them?
6) Who is the tallest in your family?
7) Who eats the most in your family?
8) Who is the happiest member in your family?
9) Who is the naughtiest in your family?
10) Who is the most creative in your family?
11) Who wakes up first in your family?
12) Why does he or she wake up first?
13) What is the TV channel that your family watches most often?
Why?
14) What is the most popular teledrama in your family? Who watches
it?
15) How often does your father go to the market?
16) What type of vegetables/meat/fruits do you like to eat?

33
 4. Now add more questions. Make them as funny and as interesting as
you like. Did you find out anything interesting or new about your
friends?

5. Now invite the group closest to you to join you and make a bigger
group. You can sit in a circle to help you communicate easily.

6. Tell the rest of the group about the most interesting information you
found out about the members from your group.
You can use the following structures to help you.

“I found out that my friend (insert the name of your friend here) likes his/
her cousin because he is the tallest in their family.”
“My friend says that his/ her brother cries all the time…”
“My friend’s family always watches the ...... channel because ....”

7. You probably have a lot of answers now. Use the information to make
a table about the family of your friend on your right. Use the following
table as a guide.

Name of your friend on the right

Favourite Most Tallest Eats a Naughtiest Creative Happiest

Person handsome/ lot
beautiful
Mother x x
Father x
Sister x x
Brother x x
Cousin x x

8. Describe your friend’s family based on the chart you created. Practise
this a few times, and then present it to the rest of the class. Use the
following as an example to help you:
“Savini’s favourite person is her mother. She is also the happiest in her
family. Her sister is the naughtiest in the family. Her brother is the tallest
in her family. Savini has a very beautiful cousin. She is the most beautiful
in her family. Savini’s sister and cousin are very creative.”
34
 “The most popular teledrama in Aathif’s family is…… It is Aathif’s sister
who watches teledramas. Aathif spends his time on Facebook. Aathif and
his family members like to ….”

9. Can you think of reasons why your friend likes certain relatives or
family members more than others? Discuss with your friend and find
out the reasons.

Writing

1. Write a short description about your friend on your right. Use the fol-
lowing sentences as a guide to help you

S/he likes his/her __________________ very much. S/he thinks that his/
her _____________ can do many things such as _____________ . S/he prefers
_____________________ . S/he loves to _____________________ .
Gajan’s favourite teledrama is___________________________ . Although Gajan’s
father watches News on ITN, Gajan reads news on his computer screen. ____
____________________________.

2. Imagine you are a news reporter for The Student Daily. Write a short
description of about 150 words about one of the minority ethnic
groups (Burghers, Malays, Adivasis, Portuguese Burghers, Afro-Sri
Lankans, Borahs, Parsees, etc) that live in Sri Lanka. Present your re-
port to the class.

e.g. :- Parsees are an ethnic group living in Sri Lanka. They have their own
customs and religion. They came to Sri Lanka from India. They are orig-
inally from Persia….

Include information such as their language, religion, cultural practices,

history, geographic location (if relevant) about the group. You can find
out more information about smaller ethnic groups in our country in
the following resources:

 Newspaper articles
 Websites such as https://roar.media/english/life/arts-culture/
 Books such as Cultural Minorities of Sri Lanka edited by E. Vijayalakshmi,
published by ICES Colombo

35
 Reading

1. Let’s read the passage below and answer the following questions. The
passage has five paragraphs in it.

Harmony is all about coexistence. When different musical instruments

are played together it creates a single beautiful tune. The world is full of
differences. But these differences make a complete world that is full of
variety. That is why it is a wonderful place to live in.

Our society is made up of many units. The smallest unit is the family.
Families are full of different people. There are tall family members and
short family members. There are fair skinned family members and dark
skinned family members. There are also female members as opposed to
male members in a family. There are very clever family members and there
are those who are not very clever. The most beautiful thing about families
is that all these different people live, eat and work together. We are capable
of living in harmony and coexisting because we love each other.

The next place that makes us believe in coexistence is the school. Schools
are full of very different people. There are sporty students and studious
students in a school. There are well behaved students and mischievous
students. Schools also have shy students and students who are very
outgoing. Some students are very popular among other school children;
some other students do not have many friends and keep to themselves.
All these students have a common identity; they are the students of that
school. We laugh and play and study together among a community of very

36
different people in a school. We make friends with very dissimilar people
despite their abilities, personalities and family backgrounds. Therefore,
schools too, teach us about harmony and acceptance of different groups
and people.

Our village is a larger unit full of many different people. There can be
Sinhalese, Tamils, Muslims, Malays and Burghers among our villagers.
There are also rich people and poor people living in a village. There are
Buddhists, Christians, Catholics, Hindus and Muslims among us. There are
also helpful people and unhelpful people living amongst us, in our village.
People can also have different likes and dislikes, hopes and ambitions.
All these people can live together despite their differences and make our
villages diverse and beautiful.

Two of the key elements of living harmoniously with the rest of the
community is understanding and acceptance. We usually fear difference.
But we can overcome this fear by getting to know each other, helping each
other, accepting each other and appreciating the qualities that make us
unique. If we can understand and accept people who are different from us,
we can create a better society.

1) In pairs, match the following words with the closest meaning, and
write them down in your note book.

harmony To be aware of people’s feelings and wishes, through

kindness and sympathy
coexistence A word used also in music, which also means showing
agreement, and different things coming together in a
pleasant way
understanding To understand, and to be tolerant of differences
acceptance To live together in spite of differences of opinions
and views, especially differences of religion, race and
cultural practices

What are the words for harmony, coexistence, understanding and

acceptance in your own mother tongue? Write them down next to the
definitions.

37
 2) What is “harmony” and “coexistence” compared with in the first
paragraph? Is this a good comparison, in your opinion? Why do you
think so?

3) How does the second paragraph define a family?

(i) It is the tallest unit in society
(ii) It is the smallest unit in society
(iii) It is the most beautiful unit in society

4) What are the differences you find in a family, according to the

second paragraph? Make a list of them. Can you think of three other
differences?

5) What kind of different people do we come across at school, according

to the passage? Can you name three different types of students in
your own classroom? Describe them using as many adjectives as you
can think of. For example: “There are talkative, sporty students in my
classroom. There are also popular, quiet, well behaved students in my
class… ”

6) How does our school teach us about harmony? Underline the relevant
sentence in the third paragraph. Do you agree with this statement?

7) Find two other words that have a similar meaning to “different” in this
passage. Make two sentences using these two words.

8) Work with a friend. According to the fourth paragraph, what kind of

different people can you find in a village? Think of the people in your
village or hometown. Can you add any other differences to this list?

9) How can we overcome the fear of difference, according to the final

paragraph? List the four suggestions made in this paragraph. Give an
example of what you can do for each of these suggestions. One is done
for you:

“We can get to know different people in our village by inviting them to a
religious or cultural event, treating them well, and making sure that they
participate alongside us in all the enjoyable activities.”

38
Groupwork:

10) What are the biggest barriers to harmony and coexistence in our
society, according to your opinion? Select three from the list below
and think of examples to describe them. You will see that they are
somewhat connected to each other.

Misunderstanding: when we believe wrong things about people who are

different from us

Intolerance: when we think that only we are correct, and our way is the
only way to do things

Ignorance or the lack of awareness: when we know very little or nothing

about people who are different from us

Isolation, and the lack of interaction: when we live far away from people
who are different from us; when we never talk to, or even see people who
are different from us

11) What are the results of misunderstanding, intolerance, ignorance and

isolation, in your opinion? Discuss in your group and make a list of at
least five points.

12) In your groups, think of at least three activities that will promote
harmony and coexistence in your classroom, at school, or in your
village.

13) Select one of the activities you thought of, and draw up a plan for this
activity. You can do this as a series of five or six steps. Follow the
structure below:

Step 1: _________________________________
Step 2: _________________________________
Step 3: _________________________________

14) Present your activity plan to your class. After all the groups present,
have a discussion with the whole class and select the best, most
practical one. With the help of your teacher, try to implement this plan.

39
 Reading 2
Before Reading

1. Pairwork: Look at the title of the poem and the picture. Can you
guess what the poem is going to be about? Discuss with your friend,
and then share with your class.

Reading
1. Now let’s read the poem. Some of the difficult words are explained
below the poem.

Human Family
By Maya Angelou

I note the obvious differences

in the human family.
Some of us are serious,
some thrive on comedy.

Some declare their lives are lived

as true profundity,
and others claim they really live
the real reality.

40
 The variety of our skin tones
can confuse, bemuse, delight,
brown and pink and beige and purple,
tan and blue and white.

I’ve sailed upon the seven seas

and stopped in every land,
I’ve seen the wonders of the world
not yet one common man.

I know ten thousand women

called Jane and Mary Jane,
but I’ve not seen any two
who really were the same.

Mirror twins are different

although their features jibe,
and lovers think quite different thoughts
while lying side by side.

We love and lose in China,

we weep on England’s moors,
and laugh and moan in Guinea,
and thrive on Spanish shores.

We seek success in Finland,

are born and die in Maine.
In minor ways we differ,
in major we’re the same.

I note the obvious differences

between each sort and type,
but we are more alike, my friends,
than we are unalike.

We are more alike, my friends,

than we are unalike.
We are more alike, my friends,
than we are unalike.
http://www.scientificamerican.com/podcast/episode/maya-angelou-s-human-family/

41
 (i) unalike: This is a word created by the poet to refer to differences
among people or groups of people.
(ii) to thrive on: to do well, excel in something; also, to enjoy
(iii) bemuse: puzzle, confuse
(iv) jibe: to be similar, also to get along well
(v) moors: open areas of hills covered in grass and other plants in certain
parts of England
(vi) Maine: The north easternmost state of the United States of America
known for its rocky coastline

1. How many differences does the poet find among:

 the members of the human family?
 their skin tones?
 proper names of places? List all the differences.
2. Why do you think the poet repeats the last two lines: “We are more
alike my friend / than we are unalike”?
3. Do you agree with the poet? Are we more similar than different?
4. Can you give subtitles to each stanza?
5. Turn to your friend and make a list of things that make you similar and
different to each other. Under what category do you have more than
five items? Why is that, do you think?
6. Organise yourselves into four groups. Ask each other the following
questions and create a diagram with the information you have
gathered.
a) What do you enjoy doing? (e.g. sleeping , watching TV, playing
sports)
b) What don’t you like? (e.g. exams, studying, going for tuition)
c) What do you have to do? In other words, what are your
responsibilities? (e.g. Taking care of your pet, following the
school rules)
d) What do you not want to do? (e.g. be unhappy, be a bad role model
to your younger siblings/ cousins)
e) What frightens you? (e.g. failure, the dark)

7. Is there any information that is repeated? Why do you think it is

repeated? Discuss with your friends.
8. Now each group should present their diagram to the class.
42
9. Using the information you obtained in activities 5, 6, 7 and 8, write a
short essay about the similarities and differences you found among
your friends. You may use the following language structures in your
essay:
i. I have ……………….. but my friend has ………………
ii. She is taller/ shorter than my friend ………………….
iii. My friend is more…………………… than me.
iv. Kindness is a quality I see among ………… and …………
v. My friends …………… and …………… share several similarities such
as …………… and ……………
Speaking
1. Describe a good experience you have had with someone who is not
your friend, family, or relative. For example, you can talk about the
kindness of a stranger or a good deed done to an unknown person.
2. Groupwork: In groups of five or six, think about the Sri Lankan Cricket
team and the Sri Lankan Olympic team. How many players are there?
How many different groups are represented? In your opinion, what
are the benefits of working with a multi-ethnic, multi-religious team?
What are the benefits of working with people who have different
abilities and disabilities? Discuss in your group. You can use the
following language structures to help you.

i. In my opinion
ii. I think
iii. I believe
iv. There seems to be

3. Read the following humorous passage. Read the highlighted words

and try to guess their meaning.

Jim and Mary were both patients in a mental hospital. One day they
were walking past the hospital swimming pool, Jim suddenly jumped into
the deep end. He sank to the bottom and stayed there. Mary promptly
jumped into save him. She swam to the bottom and pulled Jim out. When
the medical doctor became aware of Mary’s heroic act, he immediately
ordered her to be discharged from the hospital, as he now considered her
to be mentally stable.

43
 When he went to tell Mary the news he said, “Mary, I have good
news and bad news. The good news is you’re being discharged because
you were able to jump in and save the life of another patient, I think you’ve
regained your senses. The bad news is that Jim, the patient you saved,
hanged himself with his belt in bathroom. I am so sorry, but he is dead.”

Mary replied, “He didn’t hang himself, I put him there to dry”.
(Story adapted from: http://sarge_roadkill.tripod.com/ducttapecentral/id6.html)

Reading, Speaking and Writing

If there is righteousness in the heart, there

will be beauty in the character.
If there is beauty in the character, there will
be harmony in the home.
If there is harmony in the home, there will be
order in the nations.
When there is order in the nations, there will
be peace in the world.
― attributed to Confucius

1. Look up the word “righteous” in a dictionary and find the equivalent

word in your mother tongue.
2. Have you seen this symbol before? Imagine what the symbol means, if
you do not know. How relevant is it to illustrate the poem?
3. Draw a flowchart to explain the poem.
4. Give the poem a suitable title.
5. In groups of four or five, discuss how you can promote peace in the
world. Write all your suggestions and present it to your class.
 Taking the poem as a model, compose a similar text in groups of
four or five. Your teacher will help you with vocabulary where
necessary.
 Create another symbol to illustrate your poem.
 Present your poem and your symbol to the class.
 Comment on each other’s poems and symbols, pointing out their
strengths and weaknesses, with reasons.
 Revise your poems and symbols according to your friends’
feedback.
 The poems and the symbols can be displayed in class after
revisions.
44
 Grammar
In this section, we will learn about conditional sentences, modal verbs, the
present continuous tense, and SV sentence patterns.

Grammar: Conditional Sentences

Look at the underlined sentences.

Two ways to live harmoniously with the rest of the community is

understanding and acceptance. If we help each other disregarding our
differences, we can create a better society.

These sentences are called type 1 conditional sentences. In these

sentences, the second action depends on the first action. So the second
action is conditioned by the first action.

e.g. :- If we work hard, we will get good results.

(i) Pair up with your friend and describe five activities that can help
create a better school environment using conditional sentences. Two
are done for you:

If we clean our classroom every day, we can create a cleaner school.

If we talk to people of different races and religions, we can understand
them.

(ii) Can you make five more sentences like that to describe what you can
do to create a harmonious society? You can begin your sentences like
this:

If I ____________ I can__________

If we ___________ we can__________

Grammar: Modal verbs

You can also use modal verbs (or modal auxiliaries) to describe actions
that you need to carry out to, create a better society. Modal verbs show
the necessity, the ability and the desire to do something. Commonly used
modal verbs in English are:

45
  can  could
 may  might
 will  would
 shall  should
 must

Sentences with modal verbs are formed like this:

subject + modal verb + verb

e.g. :- We can create a better society.

I must clean my house.
I should help my neighbours.

1. Can you list 10 things you have to do in order to create a better society?
Use modal verbs in your sentences.

2. Complete the following sentences using the most suitable words given
in the brackets.

i) Take an umbrella because it ……. (might / should) rain later .

ii) Countries ……….. ( might / should) pass laws to help different
ethnic groups to live together in harmony.
iii) Law……….. ( can/ must) be fair towards everyone.
iii) There are enough vegetables at home. You ……. (need not / will
not) buy any.
iv) You……. (should not/ may not) leave your bags unattended at
the railway station, they ……….. (might/must) be removed by
security guards.

3. Get into groups of three and write down a list of rules for any of the
following games. You have to choose a game that you all know and
have to write at least 10 rules of the game.

Netball Cricket Volleyball Elle

Badminton Basketball Carrom Chess
Rugby Hockey Athletics (Running) Football
Archery High jump Long Jump

46
4. You can use some of the following structures to help you write down
the rules. Remember to use modal verbs!

You must throw the ball over your arm…

You may serve the shuttle ….
You cannot cross the line when shooting the ball…
You must not move the landing leg when holding the ball…
You should have two teams to play….

Grammar: The Present Continuous Tense
This is what Harsha sees from his window. He is relating what he sees to his
friends Rohan and Manoj.

Shehan is reading a book. He is laughing. Now, he sees his friend

Thyagi. Thyagi is walking towards Shehan. Shehan calls out “Hello, Thyagi,
are you coming to watch the movie?” Thyagi is saying something, but
Shehan cannot hear. He puts his book down and runs towards Thyagi. “I
am going to the temple now, but we will see the movie later” Thyagi says.
Shehan is walking back. He is picking up his book now. He is reading the
book again.

The commentary is about what is happening right now. To describe action

that is taking place now, the present continuous tense is used.
e.g. :- Shehan is reading a book.

We also use the present continuous tense verbs to refer to the immediate
future events.

e.g. :- “Thyagi, are you coming to watch the movie?”

Grammar activities

1. Read the passage above again and do the following activity.

Imagine you are a commentator at a school cricket match, sports
meet, or a cultural festival. Describe the action that is happening on
the grounds using the present continuous. Get your friends to draw
the action you are describing.

47
 2. Now let’s take part in a whole-class game called “Watching a part of a
movie or a teledrama.” Follow the steps below to play this game.

Step 1: The class is divided into two groups, A and B. The teacher will
show the group ‘A’ a clip of a movie/teledrama.
Step 2: While watching the movie, members of Group A must describe it to
Group B, who cannot see the movie, using the present continuous
form.
Step 3: While Group A is describing the movie, Group B must ask questions
for more details or clarifications.
Step 4: After that, change roles. Group B will now watch another clip of
the movie, and describe it to Group A. Group A will ask questions.
Step 5: After both groups have taken part, the teacher will decide on
the winning group based on how well each group described the
story, how well they asked questions, and how they responded to
questions.

Grammar: SV sentences
Look at the following poem. Can you spot anything unusual about the
poem?

He ran
She walked
He fell
He stopped
She stopped
He blushed
She smiled
They walked.
They laughed.

1) How many people are mentioned in the poem? Who do you think they
are?
2) Can you think of the situation about which this poem is written?
3) Give this poem a suitable title.
4) Get into groups of four and continue the poem. Share it with your
class. How many different versions did you get?

48
The poem is written with sentences that only have a subject and a verb.
This is one of the simplest ways of making a meaningful, complete sentence.

SV sentences are often found in the spoken form of English.

Grammar: Adverbs
Look at the following sentences and the questions.

1) He runs fast. (How does he run?)

2) Alishah sews neatly. (How does Alishah sew?)
3) Sajani cooks well. (How does Sajani cook?)
4) Praveena dances beautifully. (How does Praveena dance?)

The answers to the questions modify, or describe, the action of each

person. Such words that describe actions are called adverbs. This is the
main function of adverbs.

Adverbs are also used to modify other words and phrases in sentences.
Look at the examples below:

 She is pretty.
 She is extremely pretty.
 She drives extremely carefully.

The adverb ‘extremely’ is used to modify the adjective ‘pretty’ in the second
sentence. It modifies the adverb ‘carefully’ in the third sentence.

1. Complete the following sentences with suitable adverbs from the list
given below.

beautifully, carefully, neatly, effortlessly, fast

a. Janani swam _____________ and won the first place in the race.
b. Jehan plays the piano ___________. He is really talented.
c. Jehan lifted the heavy chair ______________ because he is very
strong.
d. Azaad writes very __________. He has the most clearly written
notes in our class.
e. Manoja always drives ________________. She is a very responsible
driver.
49
 4. Can you write five more sentences like the ones above?

5. Match the following questions with the answers.

Questions

a) What do you do when you are angry?

b) What do you do when you are happy?
c) What do you do when you are very hungry?
d) What do you do when you are busy?
e) What do you do when you have too many things to do?
f) What do you do when you are stressed?
g) What do you do when you are impatient?

Answers
i. I rarely jump up and down when I am impatient.
ii. I generally laugh maniacally when I have too many things to do.
iii. I often eat greedily when I am busy.
iv. I usually/ rarely weep angrily when I am angry.
v. I often laugh loudly when I am happy.
vi. I never complain bitterly when I am hungry.
vii. I generally breathe slowly when I am stressed.

You will notice that there are two adverbs in some of the sentences: one
before, and one after the verb.
e.g.:- I often eat greedily when I am busy.

6. In groups of four or five, ask each other the same questions. Answer
with appropriate adverbs.

e.g.:- Ranjan, what do you do when you are angry?

I usually sit quietly when I’m angry.

7. After everyone has answered, write down the answers in the third
person, and then share with the whole class:

e.g.:- Ranjan usually sits quietly when he is angry.

50
The “If” Game: Whole class activity
This is a game to practise the Type 1 conditional that you learnt above.
Step 1: Get into two groups, A and B. Each group must write 8 to 10 “if
clause” sentences each.
e.g.:- If I win a lottery, I will buy my whole class smartphones.
If they eat 20 mangoes, their skin will turn yellow.
If the Sri Lanka cricket team wins the world cup, I will .......
Do not show the other group your sentences. When both A and B groups
are ready with your sentences, the game begins.

Step 2: One member of A group reads the first part of the first sentence,
or the first clause.
Step 3: Then a member of B group reads the second part of their first
sentence, or the second clause. They will be random, absurd
sentences.
Afterwards, write down all the complete sentences that you can remember.
But you must not start writing while the students are speaking.
Here are some ‘if’ clauses you could use in your game. If you like, you can
start practising with these sentences first.
 If I marry her, ........
 If it rains, ........
 If I show my anger, ........
 If she eats insects, ........
 If my mother gives me 5000 rupees, ........
 If the government holds an election in December, ........
 If the principal comes, ........

 ....., he will buy her a gift.

 ....., I will write a letter.
 ....., she will build a house.
 ....., I will love her.
 ....., they will ban Facebook.
 ....., I will marry a beggar.
 ....., I will embrace her.

51
 3
RELATIONSHIPS
Introduction

Welcome to the third unit of this textbook. In this unit, we will

engage with the topic of relationships. We hope that you will participate in
all the activities fully, especially by sharing your own views. Above all, we
hope you have fun.

52
 Lesson Outcomes

In this unit, you will

 read several short and long texts about relationships.

 talk about and share views on relationships, people, and activities.
 write a short story, an essay, and diary entries.
 dramatise a story.
 read about, and practise using the the past perfect tense.

Speaking

1. Read the following quotations and discuss what they mean with your
classmates. You may come up with more than one meaning.

Families are like Good friends are A relationship is

milk toffees. They like stars. You like a house. When
are very sweet, may not always a light bulb burns
with a few nuts in see them, but they out, you don’t go
them. are always there. and buy a new
house. You change
the light bulb.

1. The following story illustrates one of the quotations. Which one is it?

53
 Rahal is the eldest in his family. He has two younger sisters. His family is
very close and very loving. His parents are quiet and hardworking. So are
his sisters. But Rahal likes to laugh and joke and play pranks on everybody.
One day, when he was alone at home, he painted his body with red paint,
lay on the floor, and started groaning loudly. When his parents and sisters
came home and saw him, they got the shock of their lives. Then he sat up
and started laughing at them. Realising they were pranked, his family also
laughed.

2. In groups of five or six, dramatise this story. Follow these guidelines:

 It can be a mini-drama of 3-5 minutes.
 Don’t write a script, but practise what to say a few times.
 You can use some of the utterances below in your mini-drama.
 You can add other characters, such as a neighbour, a grandmother,
or a friend.

Here are some utterances that you can use in your mini-drama:

“Why are you so serious / playful all the time?”

“Rahal, be serious!”
“We are going to the shop / market / temple”
“Be good!”
“Please be good till we come back.”
“Let me play a good joke on them.”
“Where’s the paint? Let me quickly find the paint….”
“I will pretend that I’m hurt.”
“I hope they come back soon.”
“Oh no! What happened?”
“Are you badly hurt?”
“You rascal, you really frightened us!”
“That was a good joke!”

Writing

Now you are going to write a story of your own. We will do this activity by
following these steps: Prewriting, drafting, getting feedback, revising, and
sharing.

54
 Step 1: Prewriting

In groups of five or six, select one of the other two quotations.

Think of an interesting story to illustrate this quote.
Develop the story with characters and events. Make it as funny as you like.

Step 2: Drafting

Draft the story in about 100 words.

You can ask your teacher for help with words and expressions, but you
must write on your own.

Step 3: Getting feedback

Once you have written your story, show it to your teacher. She will correct
any language errors.

Step 4: Revising

Now rewrite your corrected story nicely on a large bristol board.

Step 5: Sharing

Display the bristol boards in a prominent place, and ask another teacher, a
visitor, or other students, to select the three best stories.

Extension: If you enjoyed this activity, you can follow the same guidelines
above, and dramatise these stories as well.

Reading

Before Reading

1. Speaking in pairs:
1) Think of a person you are very close to. It can be a family member,
or a friend. Also think of someone you are not very close to.
55
 2) Think of reasons as to why you are close to one, and why you are
not close to the other.
3) In pairs, tell your partner. You can start by saying “I’m very close
to my brother because….. ” or “I’m not very close to my cousin
because…. ” After that you can tell the whole class.

2. Discuss in groups:
1) You are going to read an essay about relationships in this section.
2) Before you start reading, look at the title of the article, the four
pictures, and their captions.
3) Can you guess what the article will be about, by looking at them?
4) What kind of emotions are expressed in the photographs, do you
think?

3. In the essay, you will find two other words that have a very similar
meaning as “relationships”. Select them from the words given below.

different bonds parents fathers

loving throughout connections

4. First let’s read the boxes with the arrows in them. They summarise
the essay by giving the main point of each paragraph.

56
 What are relationships?

Picture 1: Friends

Picture 2: Sisters

Picture 3: A husband and wife

Picture 4: A mother and her son

This is the
Relationships can be described as introduction to
the connections we share with other the essay.
people. Throughout our lives, we form The introduction
many different kinds of relationships defines
with many people. relationships, and
briefly describes
why they are
important.

57
 The first and
the closest From the moment we are born, we form
relationships we very close and loving relationships with our
form are usually mothers and fathers. We also have very close
with our parents relationships with other family members
and other family like our brothers and sisters, and our
members. grandparents.

We continue to form new relationships

throughout our lives. The close bonds we
share with our friends can be formed as
children, as teenagers, or as adults. We make friends
You have probably made close friends in your throughout our
primary school. You may have even made close lives.
friends in this class.
When you leave school, you will continue
to make friends, whether you go for higher
education or for a job.

A very special A significant part of our lives as we grow

relationship is older is the close relationships that we form
shared between with our life partners. They are probably the
a husband and most intimate of all relationships. According
a wife, or a to some cultures, this is described as falling in
girlfriend and a love. According to such cultures, one must be
boyfriend. in love in order to marry. According to some
other cultures, however, marriage can precede
love.

Relationships are not always close. For

example, our relationships with some of There are
our teachers and our principals can be quite relationships that
formal and distant. They are usually based are not very close.
on respect, sometimes even on fear. These We have such
relationships are similar to the distant relationships too
relationships we will probably share with our in our lives.
employers when we enter the world of work.

58
 Relationships can be positive or negative.
Positive relationships can be very loving and
There are good nurturing. In such relationships, we care for
relationships and each other and support each other. We help
bad relationships, each other to develop. Having a partner or a
which can have a friend like that is a blessing. On the other hand,
good effect or a we might form relationships that turn out to be
bad effect on us. abusive and harmful. Being with someone who
disrespects us, or always criticises us, can be
bad for us. It can damage our self-esteem and
even cause depression.

Sometimes relationships can develop very

quickly. Often when two people are attracted Relationships can
to each other, their relationship can change grow very quickly,
from being acquaintances to lovers very or very slowly.
quickly. Other relationships can take time to They can also
grow. We can form friendships over the course change.
of several months or years. Relationships
can also grow closer, or they can grow more
distant and end altogether.

Romantic When a romantic relationship begins, it can

relationships can make us feel very happy and alive. We feel
make us feel very that our world is complete and everything is
happy. But they perfect. But when a romantic relationship is in
can make us feel trouble, or when it ends, we can feel the very
very sad when opposite. We feel heartbroken, as if life has lost
they go wrong. all meaning.

59
 Whether they are close or distant,
new or old, positive or negative, This is the conclusion of
relationships are a natural part of the essay. The conclusion
our lives. The way we talk about our summarises the essay:
relationships and demonstrate our (1) There are many types of
affections can change according to relationships.
different cultures. It also makes two
However, all cultures generally agree concluding points:
that “man is a social animal,” since (2) There may be cultural
Aristotle first said the words. They differences in the way we
suggest that it is quite difficult for view relationships.
human beings to live in isolation. (3) But relationships are
Therefore, we all need to make important to all human
connections, of whatever type, with beings.
each other.

While Reading
­­­­­
Now, read the first five paragraphs of the essay and answer the questions
below.

1. Match the word or the expression with the correct meaning. The
grammatical category of each word, as it is used in the essay, is also
given.

1) 2) 3) 4) 5)
formal an intimate a romantic significant to form a
(adj) relationship relationship (adj) relationship
(adj) (adj) (v)

6) 7) 8) 9) 10)
probably respect to be in love, distant to precede
(adj) (n) to fall in love (adj) (v)
(expr)

60
 Word or Meaning in context
expression
1 to start or to develop a relationship
2 likely
3 important
4 Extremely close, sexual
5 to get, or start getting, very strong feelings
of romantic love for someone
6 to come before
7 official, serious
8 not close, reserved, not friendly
9 admiration, to have a high opinion of some-
one
10 More than a friendship, a relationship
based on love

2. Are the statements below true (T) or false (F)?

I. We can be close to our family members but not to our friends. ( )
II. We can make friends only when we are adults. ( )
III. We can make friends at school and at places of work. ( )
IV. Formal relationships are shared by people who dislike each other.
( )
V. According to some cultures, husbands and wives should hate each
other. ( )
VI. We have an interesting relationship with our life partners. ( )

3. Now read the rest of the essay. Match the word or the expression with
the correct meaning. The grammatical category of each word, as it is
used in the essay, is also given. These words are found in the last four
paragraphs of the essay.

61
 (1) (2) (3) (4) (5)
abusive (adj) in isolation self-esteem positive the very
(expr) (n) (adj) opposite
(adj)

(6) (7) (8) (9) (10)

negative (adj) altogether a blessing depression to
(adv) (n) (n) demonstrate
our affection
(v)
(11) (12) (14) (15)
acquaintances nurturing to disrespect over the
(n) (adj) (v) course of
(expr)

Word or Meaning
expression
1 good, beneficial
2 bad, damaging
3 taking care of, helping to develop
4 something that brings extreme happiness
and luck
5 being violent in words or actions
6 the opposite of respect
7 belief in your own abilities and value
8 a mental illness caused by stress and anxi-
ety
9 during
10 people you know, but you are not friends
with
11 completely
12 the complete opposite
13 to show or to display
14 to be alone, far away from other people

62
4. Read the questions and find the answers to them in the last four para-
graphs of the essay.

(i) What kind of relationships can bring us happiness?

(ii) What is bad about abusive relationships?
(iii) Do relationships always develop at the same speed?
(iv) Friends will always remain friends, nothing more. Find the
sentence in the essay that either agrees or disagrees with this
statement.
(v) What kind of relationships can affect our emotions?
(vi) Can human beings generally live on their own, in your opinion?
Give reasons for your answer.

After Reading

1. In groups of five or six, read the essay again. Now, discuss more points
and examples that you can add to each paragraph in the essay. Write
them in the following table next to the relevant paragraph summary.
A few are done for you.

Introduction
The first and the closest -A child who is brought up by his
relationships we form are older sister will love her like a mother.
usually with our parents and -
other family members. -
-
We make friends throughout our - We can laugh and cry with our
lives. friends.
-
-
A very special relationship is -
shared between a husband -
and a wife, or a girlfriend and a -
boyfriend.
There are relationships that are -
not very close. We have such -
relationships too in our lives. -

63
 There are good relationships -
and bad relationships, which can -
have a good effect or a bad effect -
on our lives.
Relationships can grow very -
quickly or very slowly. They can -
also change. -

Romantic relationships can -

make us feel very happy. But -
they can also make us feel very -
sad when they go wrong.
Conclusion

2. Do you agree with the statements below? First discuss with a friend,
and then share your opinions with your class. Try to give reasons.
1. I am closer to my mother than to my father.
2. My best friends are the ones I made in primary school.
3. There are no cultural differences when it comes to falling in love.
Any human being can fall in love, whether their culture allows it
or not.
4. Only young people fall in love. Old people don’t understand love.
5. I will never marry for money.
6. No marriage is perfect.
7. If you’re in a bad relationship you should break it off.
8. Sometimes, imaginary love is better than real love.

Speaking

Select a topic and have mini debates on the following.

64
 1 Proposition Advanced level students should not get involved in
romantic relationships.
Opposition Advanced level students can get involved in
romantic relationships.
2 Proposition We should fall in love before we get married.
Opposition We don’t have to fall in love before we get married.
3 Proposition It is better to have a formal and distant relationship
with our teachers and principal.
Opposition It is better to have a more informal, friendly
relationship with our teachers and principal.
4 Proposition Separation and divorce are against our culture and
therefore should not be encouraged.
Opposition Separation and divorce are better than staying in a
harmful relationship.

Language focus: Here is some language of agreeing and disagreeing for

discussion and debate. Note that you can say “I agree” and stop at that, as
well as say “I agree with you”, “I totally agree with what you said”, etc.

Strong I completely agree --

agreement I totally agree
I agree wholeheartedly with you
Agreement I agree
I somewhat agree with this idea
Mild agreement I think I agree with what you said
I kind of agree
I sort of agree with this statement
No agreement or I neither agree nor
disagreement disagree that we must / must not
Mild I think I disagree
disagreement that we can / cannot
I kind of disagree
I sort of disagree
Disagreement I disagree
Strong I totally disagree
disagreement I completely disagree

65
 Writing

After the debate, let’s write an essay on one of the topics. Select one of
the topics given below, and write an essay of not more than 250 words,
discussing both sides of the argument. Follow the structure and use the
information given below. You may, of course, use your own ideas instead.

Topic Advantages and Teachers and us:

disadvantages of formal and distant,
A-Level students or informal and
in romantic friendly?
relationships
Introduction Romantic relationships Teachers’ role in the
are…. school is to…
Paragraph 1 Advantages: Should be formal:
they bring joy and to maintain discipline;
happiness; relieve stress; to give and follow
can study together; provide instructions ; more
support and friendship; a admirable when formal;
natural part of life to show respect

Paragraph 2 Disadvantages: Should be informal:

can distract from studies; More effective
can be stressful; needs time communication with
and money; can bring students; teaching and
unhappiness learning in a relaxed
parents disapproval atmosphere; reduces fear
and anxiety of students

Conclusion This essay discussed ……

I believe that…. .

Extension: You can get more essay writing practice by planning and
writing essays based on the other two debating topics as well.
(i) Should we fall in love before we get married, or will love come after-
wards?
(ii) Separation and divorce are against our culture. Do you agree?
66
 Grammar
In this section, we will learn about the past perfect tense.

The Past Perfect Tense

1. Functions of the Past Perfect Tense:

The past perfect tense is generally used to show that one action took place
earlier than the other. In other words, we use the past perfect tense to
talk about an action that was completed, or perfected, in the past, before
something else happened.

The past perfect, therefore, is usually used when there is another reference
to a past action.

The past The simple

perfect past The present

She had fallen asleep when I came home.

The teacher had already started teaching when Thiagi turned up at class.
The intercity bus driver had driven 100 kms by ten o’clock that morning.
We had lived in Jaffna for 30 years when we were displaced in 1990.

These clauses are also interchangeable, because it is the tense that tells us
which action took place first:

When I came home, she had fallen asleep.

When Thiagi turned up at class, the teacher had already started teaching.
By ten o’clock that morning, the intercity bus driver had driven 100
kilometres.
When we were displaced in 1990, we had lived in Jaffna for 30 years.

However, if it is clear that the second action followed the first, the simple
past tense can be used:

When Thamari opened the door, her dog ran out.

67
 We can also use the past perfect to express a condition or a wish.

If the floods had come this year as well, more people would have suffered.
If I had worked harder last year, I would have got at least five As for my
O-Levels.

2. Form:

The past perfect is formed with the past tense form of the verb ‘to have’,
and the past participle of the verb.

Subject Past tense of Past participle

HAVE of verb
1 She had fallen asleep
2 The teacher had started teaching
3 My family had lived in Jaffna
4 The intercity had driven for 150 km
bus driver

Some conjunctions that you can use with the past perfect are:

when after before by the time until

Observe the use of the past perfect and the conjunctions in this passage:

Iqbal had just eaten his dinner when he heard the burglar in the hall. By
the time he went there, the burglar had fled. The burglar had entered the
house, and was hiding behind a cupboard in the hall. After the burglar
had fled and Iqbal got over the shock, he saw that the thief had opened the
cupboard. After the police came, they had checked the premises thoroughly
with police dogs before they took the fingerprints.

3. Grammar activities:

1) Read the following sentences from Sri Lankan writer Madhubhashini

Ratnayake’s short story, “You will call me master”. It is a story about
a woman and a cat. First read the extract and discuss what the story
might be about.

68
Next, identify the use of the simple past tense and the past perfect tense
in her writing. Underline the simple past tense, and circle the past perfect.

The hall had a sofa, which she had furnished in a cream-coloured fabric.
She had gone through a lot of trouble to get the cushions.
She piled the cushions up for the night. By this time, she had stopped feeding
the cat.
She looked around to find the cat, but it had disappeared.
The cat had come during lunchtime and fixed Amitha with an unblinking
stare.
Amitha had hit the cat with a mop as she rushed about. But the cat had
retreated to the boundary wall, and continued to watch the goings-on in the
hall.
From the collection Tales of Shades and Shadow, Vijitha Yapa Publications, 2009, pp 17-19

2) Complete the following sentences by using the past perfect tense of

the verb in brackets.

i) The manager was very annoyed. When he came into the office,
he found that all her staff [go] out for tea.
ii) My brother’s laptop has crashed. Luckily he [save] all his
documents before it happened.
iii) Yesterday Kavan got up feeling tired and sleepy because he [not
sleep] very well.
iv) The preschool teacher scolded the children for drawing pictures
on the walls. But luckily they [draw] with washable crayons.
v) The country was shocked to find out that in the last 24 hours,
petrol prices [increase] by fifty percent.

3) Pairwork: Imagine you are two of Iqbal’s neighbours. You are talking
about the burglary. Ask questions from each other about the incident,
giving both “yes” and “no” answers. Two questions and answers are
done for you.

A: Was Iqbal at home when it happened?

B: Yes, he had been at home.
A: Had Iqbal seen the burglar?
B: No, Iqbal had not seen the burglar.

69
 4) Pasindu is a student at the University of Kelaniya. He is a third year
student doing a general arts degree with Sinhala, Sociology and Lin-
guistics. He stays at a boarding place in Dalugama, within walking dis-
tance from the campus. Here are some entries in his diary from last
week:

Monday Tuesday Wednesday

6.00 a.m. Woke up, drank tea, Woke up, drank tea, Woke up, drank tea,
got ready, walked to washed clothes got ready, walked to
campus campus
7.00 a.m. Breakfast at Got ready Breakfast at canteen
canteen Walk to campus
8.00 a.m. Sociology lecture Breakfast at canteen Sinhala lecture
10.00 a.m. Library English class
12 noon Lunch at canteen English class Lunch at canteen
1.00 p.m. Sinhala lecture Lunch at canteen Sociology lecture
3.00 p.m. Cup of tea at Linguistics lecture Linguistics lecture
canteen with and presentation
friends
4.00 p.m.
5.00 p.m. Tute class Sinhala Association Cup of tea with
meeting friends
Hostel – Changed
clothes
6.00 p.m. Badminton at gym Colombo with
friends
7.00 p.m. Dinner at canteen Art exhibition
8.00 p.m. Hostel - wash and Hostel Galle Face
change Called girlfriend
Called mother
9.00 p.m. Dinner at kade Finished preparing Dinner in Galle Face
Called girlfriend presentation with friends
10.00 p.m. Prepared for Continued writing Returned from
linguistics assignment Colombo
presentation Called girlfriend
Started writing Went to sleep
Sinhala assignment
1.00 a.m. Went to sleep Went to sleep

70
With a partner, read the questions below and answer the questions using
the information given in Pasindu’s diary. You will notice that the questions
are in the past perfect tense. Answer the questions also using the past per-
fect tense. The first one is done for you.

(i) Had Pasindu gone for his Sociology lecture by 10 am last Monday?
Yes, Pasindu had gone for his Sociology lecture by 10 am last Monday.

(ii) What had Pasindu done by 7.00 am last Tuesday?

(iii) Had Pasindu prepared his presentation by 5 pm last Tuesday?

(iv) Had Pasindu eaten his dinner by 7.00 pm last Wednesday?

(v) Had Pasindu called his girlfriend by 8.00 pm last Wednesday?

(vi) What lectures had Pasindu attended last Wednesday by 5.00 pm?

Pairwork: Think of four or five similar questions on your own. Then ask
your partner the questions. Your partner should answer the questions
without writing them down. After your partner answers your questions,
you must answer your partner’s questions.

Memory Game: Read the diary for 10 minutes and try to memorise it as
much as you can. Then cover the page, and try to note down as much as
possible of what Pasindu did, along with the times. Next, read out your list
to the class, using the past perfect. The student who remembers correctly
the most number of things that Pasindu did is the winner.

Homework: Write a similar diary about what you did last week, from
Monday to Wednesday. You can use real or imaginary events. The next
day, in groups, tell your friends what you did each day. Next, exchange your
diary entries with your friends, and ask them what they did. Use the past
perfect tense for the questions and the answers.

For example:
“I had come to school, and cleaned the classroom by 7.30 am last Monday.”
“Vidhu, what had you done by 10.00 am last Tuesday?”
“Ashvini, what had Shakeel done by 12 noon on Wednesday?”

71
 4
ENGLISH AS A
LOCAL AND
GLOBAL
LANGUAGE
Introduction

We all know that English is a useful language to know in our country.

English is also a very useful language in many other countries, because
it is probably the most widely spoken language in the world. This is
why we call English a local language as well as a global language.

72
 Lesson Outcomes
In this unit, you will

• discuss and write about the advantages as well as difficulties of

learning English.
• read about and respond to different views on English in Sri Lanka.
• listen to and respond to a humourous poem about plurals in English.
• identify some of the differences between Sri Lankan English, British
English and American English.
• read about and discuss the importance of English in the world.
• read about, and practise using prepositions and the different forms of
the future tense.

Speaking
In groups of four or five, discuss the following two questions:

1) What are the advantages of learning English, in your opinion?

2) What are the difficulties of learning English, in your opinion?

You can say anything you like. Make a list of at least five points each. Your
teacher will help you with language, but the ideas should be your own.
Appoint a speaker to read out your points to the rest of the class. Note
down what the other groups say. Some of the points will be repeated. That
is okay. After everyone speaks, you will all have a common list of all the
points made by all the groups.

Writing 1

In groups again,

1. select the six best points in the common list made in the previous
activity: three advantages and three difficulties.
2. think of examples for each of these points from your own experiences,
something you have heard about, read about, or observed. You can
write them out in your exercise book, or on a large piece of paper:

73
 Advantages of learning English:

- We can do higher studies in Medicine , Engineering or Business Management more

easily.
Example: My cousin was selected for medicine. But all the lectures in the
medical faculty are in English and he finds it very difficult. He said he wishes that he
didn’t neglect English during and after A/Levels. …….

Difficulties of learning English

- We need to spend time on learning English.

Example:Coming to the English class is not enough, we have to use English
in our daily life. But it is difficult to find time to do this when we’re so busy with our
studies.

3. Now discuss solutions for each of the difficulties of learning English that
you have identified. Make them as practical as possible.

4. Write two articles to the media of not more than 600 words: One titled
Advantages of Learning English: A/Level Students’ Perspectives, and
another titled Difficulties of Learning English: A/Level Students’
Perspectives. Include the solutions in the second article.

5. Post or email your articles to any of the national English language news
papers in Sri Lanka.

Reading 1

Before Reading

1. In pairs, think of equivalents in your mother tongue for the following

words:
an application form a covering letter an interview
a government servant a link language a weapon
ethnic groups urban areas higher education

74
goals in life intelligent educated respected trustworthy
arrogant proud to show off

2. Share them with your class, and select the best answers through a
class discussion.

While Reading

1. Read the following passage and the table. You can read the table more
than once.

At an Advanced Level English class, a teacher advised his students to learn

English before they leave school. He described the importance of English
for education and employment. However, some students in the class dis-
agreed with him. Without scolding them, the teacher asked the students
to give reasons for both sides of the argument. He made a list of points on
the whiteboard as the students spoke:

English is very important English is not important

 You don’t need English to do all
 We need English to do a good job. the jobs in this country. I can be
a businessman or a politician or
We need to know English to write a government servant without
an application and a covering letter. speaking any English.

We need to be able to speak in  Many important people in this

English at interviews. country don’t speak English. We
can see on TV that many politi-
cians, actors, and even teachers
cannot speak English.

 Only rich people in urban

areas can afford to learn English
properly. Poor people don’t have
the opportunity.

75
 English is a link language that  Most people speak Sinhala or
brings Sinhalese, Tamils, Muslims Tamil in this country. So it is much
and other ethnic groups closer to- better if we learn Sinhala or Tamil
gether, for ethnic integration and to communicate with different
reconciliation. ethnic groups.

English is necessary for higher  If you get selected to study

education – at university, many medicine, engineering etc, you
courses, medicine, engineering, will learn English at university.
management are taught in English. Many medical students can’t speak
English when they start their
Most of the books we will have to course. But by the time they finish,
read at university are in English. they can speak English well.

You can achieve your goals in life  Many courses in higher education
easily if you know English. are taught in the mother tongue,
especially arts subjects.
You can get better service at shops
and offices if you know English.  People who know English in the
country are not always respected.
People who know English are Some of them are hated because
respected in this country. Studies they can be proud and arrogant.
have shown that if you can They show off their English
speak English, you are generally knowledge and use it like a
considered trustworthy, intelligent, weapon.
and educated.

Read the table again and the following questions.

1. Answer the following questions individually, without talking to your

friends. Be as honest as possible.
1) Do you agree with any of these points? Put a tick next to the points
you agree with.
2) Do you disagree with any of these points? Put a cross next to these
points.
3) Do you find it difficult to agree or disagree with some of these points?
Write a question mark next to them.

76
 After Reading

1. Now get into groups of five or six, and compare your responses to the
three questions above.
1) What are the points that most of you agree with? That the majority
disagrees with?
2) Which points have got agreement as well as disagreement?

2. In your group, discuss your answers using the following structures.

You can add your own views and your own examples to your
discussion.

“In our group, most of us agree / do not agree that we need English to
do a good job.”
“In our group, two of us agree that we need English to do a job”
“Some / A few of us…. agree / do not agree that…. ”
“None of us think that / feel that / are convinced that … ”
“Most of us can’t decide whether we need English to do a good job.”
“Two of us can’t agree or disagree if we need English to do a good job.”

3. After you practise speaking in your groups, share your answers with
your class.

4. Write your answer in a single paragraph, or in a longer essay of four to

five paragraphs. Give your paragraph or essay a suitable title.

Speaking 2

Whole class activity: This is ideally done in a hall or outdoors, where there
is space to move around.
Find someone who….
1. has spoken in English to a visitor to Sri Lanka from abroad.
2. has written a poem in English.
3. can sing at least four lines of an English song.
4. can recite the English alphabet backwards.
5. can say “red lorry, yellow lorry” three times, very quickly, without
making a mistake.

77
 6. can translate two lines of a children’s song or a nursery rhyme in the
mother tongue into English.

Guidelines:

• Walk around the class, and find at least one person who will say yes.
• You must turn the statements into questions, and ask your friends.
(see below for a few examples)
• Don’t take their word for it. If they say “yes”, ask for proof, with
follow-up questions.
• You must also cooperate and answer as many questions as you can.

Language Focus:

Have you spoken in English to a visitor to Sri Lanka from abroad?

Who did you meet?

Which country is he/she from?

What did you say?

Have you written a poem in English?

What is it about? Can you recite it?

When did you write it?

What inspired you to write it/what made you write it?

Can you sing a song in English?
Can you sing at least four lines?

Can you recite the alphabet backwards? Yes / No

Can you please demonstrate?

78
 Speaking 3

Pairwork: This is a picture of an English class is a rural school. Imagine

that you are one of the students in this picture. First describe what you are
doing. Next, describe your feelings, wishes, and hopes for the future.

Photo by Perumal Ganeshan

79
 Before Listening

1. Complete the following two tables as quickly as you can in your exercise
book:

Singular noun Plural noun

instrument
fly
mango
bus
lorry
child
man
criterion

Singular noun Plural noun

deer
zeroes
wolves
cacti
analyses
hooves
phenomena
fungi

2. Read this paragraph about plurals in English and fill in the blanks
choosing from the words below.

completely singular irregular ‘s’ English

We all know that most ________ nouns have a _________ and a plural form.
We change a singular word into the plural most often by adding ____, or

80
sometimes ‘es’ or ‘ies’. But there are plurals that are formed in _________
different ways. These are called _________plural nouns, or irregular nouns.

While Listening

1. Now let’s first read the poem about irregular plural nouns in English, and
then listen to the recording. Fill in the blanks as you listen. Your teacher
will play the recording at least three times, with short breaks in between.

Crazy English Plurals

We’ll begin with a box and the plural is boxes.

But the plural of ox should be______, not oxes.

The one fowl is a goose but two are called _______,

yet the plural of ______ should never be meese.

You may find a lone ________ or a whole set of mice,

yet the plural of house is _______ not hice.

If the plural of man is always men,

why shouldn’t the plural of _______ be pen?

If I speak of a _______ and you show me your feet,

and I give you a boot, would a pair be called _______?

If one is a tooth and a whole set are _______,

why shouldn’t the plural of _______ be called beeth?

Then one may be that and three would be _______,

yet _______ in the plural wouldn’t be hose.
And the plural of cat is _______ and not cose.

We speak of a _______ and also of brethren,

but though we say mother, we _______ say methren,

Then the _______ pronouns are he, his and him,

but the _______ is hardly she, shis and shim,

81
 So English, ___ _______, you will all agree,
is the craziest __________ you ever did see.

After Listening

1) Which lines do not refer to nouns, but to pronouns?

2) Make a list of all the irregular nouns you find in the poem.
3) Why do you think the poem calls English plurals “crazy”? Do you agree
that they are crazy? Discuss with your friends.
4) Listen to the poem again and practise reciting it in your group.
5) Now take turns and recite it individually. Use gestures and facial
expressions to show that it is a funny poem. Who can recite it in the most
humourous way?
6) Homework: Write a humourous story or a children’s story using at
least six of the irregular nouns in the list you made in 2) above. Illustrate
your story with doodles, or with pictures cut out of old magazines and
newspapers.

Language Focus: Vocabulary

English is a local language as well as a global language. So often we can find

different words used to describe the same thing in different countries. This
tells us that there are different varieties of English in the world.
Read the table below to see the differences between British English,
American English, and Sri Lankan English. Often in Sri Lanka we use British
English words. Sometimes, however, we use the American English word, or
we use both! Try to complete the rest of the table.

82
British English Sri Lankan English American English
aubergines brinjals eggplant
motorway expressway highway, freeway ex-
pressway
lift lift, elevator elevator
tap tap faucet
handbag handbag purse
autumn fall
pavement pavement sidewalk
rubbish garbage, rubbish garbage
taxi taxi, cab cab
apartments
aeroplane
holidays
chemist pharmacy
gasoline, gas

Language Focus: Spelling

One of the most talked about differences between British English and
American English is the spelling. In Sri Lanka, we generally follow British
English spelling; but we also use some American English spelling for cer-
tain words. Discuss with your friends and complete the following table.
Remember, sometimes we tend to use both forms of spelling.

British English American English Sri Lankan English

colour color
theatre theater
realise realize
privatisation privatization
traveller traveler
ageing aging
anaemic anemic

83
 Before Reading

1. In groups of four or five, brainstorm a list of countries in which English is

spoken by the majority of the people.

2. Next, brainstorm a list of countries where English is spoken by a

significant minority of people.

3. What is the official status of English in our country according to our

Constitution?
- English is a national language
- English is an official language
- English is a link language

4. The meanings of the highlighted words in the reading text are given in
the boxes below. Match the word with the meaning:

a person who
welcomed and
letters only speaks one cannot be cured
tolerated
language
suitable and
a speaker of two
ready to be opportunities, chances
languages
hired for a job

While Reading

1. Read the text below and answer the following questions.

English as a global language : 10 reasons why you should learn

English

Many experts believe that English is a global language. This is what they say:

84
1) English is spoken almost everywhere in the world. It is an official
language in more than 50 countries in the world. You can travel to most
places in the world and communicate with people in English.

2) Knowing English will make you more employable. Most large companies
around the world prefer English speaking employees. In the US, English
speakers usually earn more than non-English speakers.

3) English will help you to become more educated. You have to know
English to enter some of the best universities in the world.

4) English will give you more information. 55% of the information on the
internet is published in English. 95% of scientific articles are written in
English. You can learn about different cultures more easily if you know
English.

5) English is the language of science. If you wish to study science, you

have to know English. You can also improve your knowledge about science
if you know English.

6) You can read literature in English, because some of the greatest books
and plays in the world are written in English. You can also enjoy popular
culture more if you know English: films, songs, cartoons in English and
other examples of pop culture.

7) In powerful English speaking countries like the US and the UK, you
are more easily accepted despite differences in ethnicity, colour, or social
background if you know English.

8) Speaking in English will gain you respect and will boost your confidence.
People generally think you are educated if you can speak English. Some
even believe that your marriage prospects will improve!

9) English is relatively easy to learn. The English alphabet has only 26

characters, unlike in Mandarin. The spoken language and the written
language are not very different, unlike in Sinhala or Tamil. Everything does
not have a gender like in French or German.

10) Scientists believe that learning a second language is good for your
brain. So learning a second language can make you more clever. Bilingual

85
 students perform better at examinations than monolingual students, they
say. Also, bilinguals are less likely to suffer from incurable illnesses like
Alzheimer’s and dementia. Scientists believe that switching between two
languages keeps our brains active.

Adapted from https://www.oxford-royale.co.uk/articles/reasons-learn-english.html,

https://www.fluentu.com / blog/english/why-learn-english/, and http://www.5minuteen-
glish.com/why-learn-english.htm

2. Below you will find ten examples to illustrate the ten reasons above,
but they are jumbled. Match the example with the reason.

Number Example
I found an article on photosynthe-
sis in English which was very useful
for my studies.
I began learning Mandarin six
months ago, and I’m still learning
the characters.
I love the book To Kill a Mockingbird
and the film too. I also love to watch
cartoons in English too.
IELTS is the test of English that
we have to sit if we wish to study
abroad after A/levels. University of
Oxford requires an IELTS score of
7.0.
It is easier to get a visa to a western
country, and to enter the country, if
you can speak English. In countries
like France, Germany and the
Netherlands, many people speak
English and are happy when you do
too.
My grandfather speaks fluent
English and Tamil. He is still working
as a translator, even though he’s 75
years old. He’s also very good at
chess.
86
 English is an official language in
India, Nigeria and in the Philippines.
I began learning Mandarin a year
ago, and I still don’t know the 2,000
characters I need to know to read a
newspaper.
We can read about current affairs,
and about people’s lives all over the
world on the internet.
In South Korea, top companies like
Samsung and Hyundai prefer to
hire English speaking employees.

3. You can write down the 10 reasons above in your exercise book, along
with the examples now. Try to think of your own examples for at least five
of these points.

After Reading

1. Once you have adequate examples of your own, select five of the 10
reasons and make a 3-5 minute speech in class. You can prepare and prac-
tise making the speech in your own groups, before you make it in front of
the class. Select the best speeches, and make them in your junior grades to
motivate the students to learn English. You can also translate the speeches
into your mother tongue.

2. Group discussion: Do you agree?
In groups of four or five, read 10 reasons again and see if there are any
reasons that you disagree with. Try to think of examples to illustrate your
point of view. Again, they can be based on your own experiences, what you
have heard, or read about. Group members can counter your arguments.

Grammar: Prepositions

Prepositions are words like in, of, at, with, in front of, and between. We
use prepositions to show the relationships between words in a sentence.
Prepositions are used to express time, place, direction, cause, etc.

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 1) The wedding ceremony will be held at the Supreme Wedding Hall in
Moneragala on Monday, 30th January.
2) The bank is between the police station and the supermarket.
3) The child sat on her mother’s lap, among the adults in front of the
main image house in the temple.
4) Sandhya will travel to Vavuniya by train. The train gets there before
the bus.
5) I will go to the book fair with my older brother, but without my little
sister.

A preposition usually comes before a noun phrase or a pronoun:

I will go to the seminar.

I will go with my classmates.
I will go with them.

Activity: Complete the following wedding invitation card using appropriate

prepositions. Then write another invitation card for an event of your
choice.

Saheli
(daughter __ Mr and Mrs. S. A. Almeida)
&
Gajan
(son __ Mr and MrsM. Gnanendran)
are pleased ___ invite
Mr and Mrs. M . Asiff
____ the occasion ____ their marriage
_____ the Platinum Wedding Hall
____ 27th February 2019
________ 4.00 pm.

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Prepositions are used after noun phrases and the pronouns that replace
nouns, verbs, adjectives and adverbs:

The elephant calf is with its mother.

NP + Prep + NP

The elephant calf is with her.

Shakeela sings with confidence.

Verb + Prep + NP Shakeela sings with her friend Samindhi

She sings with her.

Watching too much TV is bad for children.

Adj + Prep + NP
Smoking is bad for us.
Luckily for me, I got to the station on time.

Adv + Prep + NP Unfortunately for the late-comers, the train

left on time.

In question forms, relative clauses and in the passive forms, the NP comes
before the preposition. Look at the examples below:

In question forms: What are you complaining about?

What is this instrument for?
Where are you staying at?

In relative clauses: He doesn’t know what the instrument is for.
She doesn’t know where she’s staying at.
This is the style I’m accustomed to.

The ideal partners we look for exist only in our dreams.

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 Activitiy: Change these statements into questions with the preposition at
the end:
1) I’m travelling to Chennai today. Where________________________?
2) They work for a leasing company. Who _______________________?
3) The folk singer sings about love. What ____________________ ?
4) I came with my mother. Who__________________________?

Often the use of prepositions is fixed, or unchanged. In other words, they

always accompany certain words. Look at the examples below:

According to experts, alcohol abuse is on the rise.

I am not fond of driving, but I am accustomed to the traffic on Main Road.

I’m not afraid of oncoming vehicles.

Prepositions can also be a part of idiomatic expressions, which are also

fixed, and convey a meaning that can be different from the words in the
sentence. For example, the meaning of “count on” has little to do with
counting or numbers.

Activity: Match the highlighted idiomatic expression with the meanings

given below:

suggest admire and respect fall asleep

continue tolerate depend on

i. You can always count on Infaaz when you need some help.
ii. Please don’t stop. I would like you to go on for another five minutes.
iii. I look up to my mother for all her professional achievements.
iv. I can’t put up with your rudeness any more.
v. Can you come up with a solution for this problem?
vi. The speech was so boring, I nodded off before it finished.

With certain words, we can also use more than one preposition to convey
the same meaning:

90
1) The American English accent is different to the British English accent.
The American English accent is different from the British English
accent.

2) A solution for all your problems will be found soon.

A solution to all your problems will be found soon.

3) I’m sorry about your loss.

I’m sorry for your loss.

However, using a different preposition can sometimes change the meaning
of a statement drastically:

1) He did this for me. (He did something good, a helpful act)
He did this to me. (He did something bad, a harmful act)

2) The foreman looked at the broken pipe. (His eyes rested on it)
The foreman looked for the broken pipe. (Because he had lost it)
The foreman looked into the broken pipe. (He investigated why it was
broken)

3) I work for Ms Amarasinghe. (Ms Amarasinghe is my boss)

I work with Ms Amarasinghe. (Ms Amarasinghe is my colleague)

As there are no strict rules about the use of prepositions, it is easy to make
mistakes. We sometimes add them unnecessarily, change them or omit
them.

Activity: Here are some errors Sri Lankans make when we use prepositions.
Can you correct them?

* I attended to my friend’s wedding yesterday. * Then I went to home.

* Young people are interested for computer games. *I like to ice cream.

* I participated for the sports-meet. *We discussed about our exams.

*Note that discuss about is so widely used in Sri Lanka now that it is often
not considered an error, and has become a feature of Sri Lankan English
grammar. This can happen sometimes, especially when it is used by many
good speakers over a period of time.
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 More activities:

1. Read the following description of a small town called Malpura and draw
it in your exercise book, or on a large piece of paper.

Malpura is a small town. The main street goes through the town. The
biggest landmark in the town is Malpura Primary School. It is by the main
street. Opposite the school is the Rural Bank. On the left of the school,
is Ganesh Groceries. Between Ganesh Groceries and the school is School
Lane. There is a large playground behind the school. In front of the school,
by the road, there is a large margosa tree. To the right of the school is the
post office. Opposite the post office, there is a road called Tank Road, which
leads to the Malpura Tank. There are six trees on either side of this road.

2. Now let’s draw an abstract drawing following these instructions:

Draw a big rectangle in the middle of your page. Draw five small triangles
above the rectangle. Draw a large eye inside the rectangle. Draw a nose
above the eye. Under the eye, draw two legs. Draw three circles of three
different sizes next to the legs on the right. To the left of the legs, draw
three triangles of three different sizes. Draw a hand with six fingers above
the triangles. Draw an ear above the circles.

3. Once you complete your drawing, explain it to a partner without looking

at your textbook. Begin like this:

“This is a map of Malpura/an abstract drawing. There is a road / a big

rectangle in the middle. There is / are ……….. ”

4. Next, make maps and drawings of your own, and instruct your friends
to draw them without showing it to them. Try to use as many prepositions
as possible. You can turn this into a whole-class game, or do it in groups, or
pairs.

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 Grammar : Future Tenses

In this unit we will learn about three of the future tenses found in English:
the future simple, the future continuous, and the future perfect.

The Future Simple

The future simple is the most commonly used future tense. It is most often
formed like this:

subject + will + verb

I will go to school tomorrow.

The shortened forms – I’ll, we’ll, you’ll, he’ll, she’ll, they’ll – are common
in speech. We use the simple future to talk about what we will do in the
future, to predict something, or to express our intentions, or a decision.
Let’s look at the examples below:

Future event: We will face our exams next year.

Prediction: In ten years’ time, all school children will have a laptop each.
Intention: If I have a lot of money, I’ll buy a smartphone.
Decision: I’ll buy the blue shirt, not the red one.

Another way of speaking about the future, especially the near future, is by
using “going to” before the verb:

My mother is going to buy me a new dress for Thai Pongal.

I’m going to visit my aunt in Chavakachcheri for Thai Pongal.

Similar to “subject + will + verb”, “going to” is also used to convey intentions,
decisions and predictions:

I’m going to make a cup of tea, would you like one as well?
The government is never going to ban tuition classes.

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 Activities:

1. In pairs, ask each other questions about what you are going to do
tomorrow, the next year, and the next birth. Reply with yes and no, but in
complete sentences. Look at the examples below:

“What are you going to do tomorrow?”

“I’m going to visit my friend Ajith in Polonnaruwa.”
“Will you visit the sacred areas?”
“No, I will not be able to visit them.”

2. Get into two teams. Each team must collect all sorts of small objects
like a pen, a spoon, a bottle etc, or pictures of objects. When you’re ready,
hold up each object and ask, “What will you do with this?” The other team
must give imaginative replies: “I will put flowers in it” and so on. Each
team member must ask, and reply, at least once. The team that gives the
most creative answers is the winner.

Future Continuous Tense

The future continuous tense is used to refer to a continuous action in the

future. There is usually a reference to a specific time in the future, such as
“Next month,” or “in ten years’ time”.

Next month, I will be learning to ride a motorcycle.

This time tomorrow, they will be travelling by train to Batticaloa.
In ten years’ time, I’ll be earning a lot of money.
By the time school finishes, you will be waiting to run out of class.

The future continuous tense is formed like this:

Subject + will + be + present participle

Subject will be present participle

I will be learning to ride a motorcycle.
They will be travelling by train to Batticaloa.
I ’ll be earning a lot of money.

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Activity: Complete the following statements with a friend:

i. This time next week, I will be ____________________________

ii. In ten years’ time, English will be __________________________
iii. Next year, we will be ____________________________________

Future Perfect

We use the future perfect tense to talk about an action that will be completed
at a given time in the future. We usually use this tense in statements such
as this: “ by the end of this week/month/year” or “In a year’s time…”

By the end of this decade my company will have completed 40 years.

I have been collecting a newspaper a day since the beginning of this
year.
By the end of December, I will have collected 365 issues.

The future perfect tense is formed like this:

Will + have + past participle

Subject will have past participle

My company will have completed 40 years
I will have collected 365 issues

Activity: Think about what you would like to achieve in your life, and
complete a table like this one about yourself:

By the time I’m… Achievement

21 Enter university / found a job
30
40
50
75

Practise saying what you will have achieved by the time you are 21, 30, 40
years old, using the future perfect tense. First practise with a friend, then
in a group or before the class. Also note down the predicted achievements
of TWO other students as they speak, and write about them for homework,
95
 using the structures: “By the time he/she is… ”
Let’s enjoy a couple of jokes about the future tense!

References for grammar

Parvathi Nagasundaram’s Essential Grammar: A Reference Book for Teachers of English,
Author Publication, 2012
https://en.oxforddictionaries.com/grammar/prepositions
http://grammar.ccc.commnet.edu/grammar/prepositions.htm
Penny Ur’s Grammar Practice Activities: A Practical Guide for Teachers, Cambridge University
Press, 1988

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 5
CRIME AND
SOCIAL
RESPONSIBILITY
Introduction

In this unit you will learn English by reading about and discussing
crimes, and socially irresponsible actions. The reading materials and the
activities in the unit will also make you think about and discuss ways of
preventing crimes, and becoming socially responsible citizens. We hope
you enjoy this unit!

97
 Lesson Outcomes

In this unit, you will

 read, discuss and write about crime and corruption.

 get to know vocabulary related to crimes and criminal activity.
 discuss and write about socially responsible behaviour.
 read about and discuss laws in other countries.
 practise using modal verbs, SVO and SVOO sentences, and reported
speech.

Speaking 1
1. Pairwork: The following are definitions of ‘crime’ from the Merriam
Webster dictionary. The definitions tell you how the word can be used
in several ways.

CRIME
1: an illegal act for which someone can be punished; especially a gross
violation of law: The man convicted of murder was imprisoned for life
for his crime.
2: a grave offence especially against morality: It is a crime to ill-treat
your aging parents.
3: a criminal activity or activities: The OIC’s efforts to fight crime in the
area
4: something reprehensible, foolish, or disgraceful: It’s a crime to waste
good food.

98
Read the definitions, discuss with a friend and decide on the most common
use of the word ‘crime’. This is the meaning in which it is mostly used in
this unit.

2. Groupwork: In groups of five or six, read and discuss which ones of

the following sentences describe crimes. Give reasons. You may give
more than one reason.

1) A man was arrested yesterday for attempting to bribe a labour

official to change the ETF employer payment records for a sum
of SLRs 10,000.00.
2) The young child was punished by a passerby for throwing plastic
wrappers into a public drain.
3) Two teenagers were arrested by the Police for trying to break
into the house of an elderly lady, around 11.30 am yesterday.
They will be produced before a judge tomorrow.
4) An employee of a bank has been suspended because he was seen
harassing a female customer, threatening her with sexual assault
if she does not comply with his demands, in return for assisting
her with her personal loan.
5) The teacher in charge of sports decided to name his nephew as
the new Games’ Captain because it will be easy to work with him.
6) The Minister of Health appointed his son and daughter as his new
personal secretaries, because they are both qualified mechanical
engineers.
7) The policeman fined a motorist who ran the red light and then
tried to bribe the policeman to avoid paying the fine.
8) Nirmala’s picture was used as a meme on Facebook by her friend
without her knowledge or permission.
9) The new students to the university are ragged by their seniors
to welcome them and to teach them about the university sub
culture.
10) Ravi’s personal information was used by an unknown person in
Ukraine to hack into his bank account.
11) Shreemathi felt very uncomfortable because the man seated next
to her on the bus kept repeating obscene words at her.

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 Reading 1
Read the six news items about crimes and answer the questions below.
1. STF raids ganja plantation in 2. Traffic offenses on Expressway
Lunugamwehera Legal action had been taken against 155
The STF carried out a massive raid drivers who violated traffic regulations
covering three acres cultivated with on the Southern Expressway in the last
nearly 9,000 ganja plants inside the 15 days.
Lunugamwehera forest reserve, Police said drivers were charged for driv-
police spokesman said. The STF ing at excessive speed, causing accidents
team was deployed from the Buttala due to reckless driving and violating oth-
STF camp. er traffic rules. A senior official said that
drivers were yet to come to terms with
traffic regulations for the expressway,
which usually ended in a booking.

3. Three nabbed for illicit trans- 4.Thieves escape with computer acces-
port of cattle sories
The Special Task Force (STF) arrest- Thieves broke into the Samurdhi Bank in
ed three men who were allegedly Pussellawa and allegedly stole computer
transporting a herd of cattle con- accessories worth around Rs.85,000.
sisting of eleven cows in the area of The management lodged a complaint
Mahaoya. with the Badulla police the next day after
The suspects were transporting the discovering the damage and the loss.
cattle to an undisclosed site to be Police said the thieves had attempted
slaughtered. The STF team was on to break the safe lockers, but after they
a routine patrol in the area at the failed to accomplish the task they had
time when they arrested the three taken away the computer accessories.
men. The suspects and the cattle
were handed over to the Mahaoya
police for further investigations.
5. Suspect held for possessing 6. Absconding woman arrested
heroin A woman who was hiding in the
Police arrested a suspect who Weligama area without paying back Rs.
allegedly possessed nearly 200 950,000 after obtaining it from three
grammes of heroin during a persons to start a business was arrested.
raid that was carried out in the She had taken the money promising that
Palliyawatta area of Hendala. it will be returned within six months, the
The raid was carried out after police said. She had started a salon by
getting information from the investing the money.
residents about his activities and
whereabouts.
100
1) Which two reports are about crimes involving transport?
2) Which reports are about drug related crimes?
3) Was any person arrested in Report no. 1 -- yes or no?
4) In report No. 4, why did the thieves break into the bank?
5) Which report is about cheating people?
6) Give another term for a booking, as used in Report 2.
7) Absconding means a) telling lies b) borrowing money c) hiding from
the police
8) Undisclosed site means a) a safe place b) an unknown place c) a
hidden place
9) They failed to accomplish the task means
a) the thieves could not take the computer accessories.
b) the thieves couldn’t open the safe locker.
c) the police couldn’t find the thieves.
10) The suspect allegedly possessed nearly 200 grammes of heroin means
a) the suspect has injected heroin into himself or herself.
b) the suspect had sold nearly 200 grammes of heroin.
c) the suspect had nearly 200 grammes of heroin with him or her.
11) According to your point of view, which crime is the most serious?
Which one is the least serious? List the numbers of the report from
the most to the least serious.
e.g. :- “3, 6, 5, 1, 4, 2,” with 3 the most serious, and 2 the least serious
12) Groupwork: In groups of four or five, present your lists. Also give
reasons for your point of view. Do you agree with your friends’ lists?
You can agree or disagree with them.
13) Groupwork: Select ONE of the police reports above, and create a mini
drama in your group. Practise and perform it in class. You can add
characters and other relevant events to your drama.
14) Groupwork: Get into groups of five or six. Select one of the news
items and design a poster on how to prevent this crime. Include a
slogan, a picture, and three suggestions on how to prevent this crime.
After all the posters are completed, organise a mini exhibition in your
school or section, with the help of your teachers.

101
 15) Groupwork: Again in groups of five or six divide among yourselves
the days of the week to watch or listen to national news. Write down
any news about crimes.
16) In class, share your findings with your group, and discuss the following:
(i) How many crimes have you listed?
(ii) What kinds of crimes are reported? (E.g. traffic crimes, murder,
burglary and theft, possession of drugs, abductions, assault,
bribery)
(iii) Who has committed them?
(iv) Are there any similarities among these crimes?
(v) What do you think are the reasons for these crimes?
(vi) How do you think these crimes can be stopped?
17) Present your findings to the rest of the class. Students must also listen
to the other presentations and select the best presentation, giving at
least two reasons.
18) Based on your presentation, write a short report about the crimes in
Sri Lanka. You can use the following structures to help you.
We have discussed ..... (give the number) crimes in our report.
We can see there is a trend in crimes among……..
The crimes are committed by …….
The reasons for these crimes can be …….
People above the age of … are usually targeted by criminals because....
We must take steps to curb these crimes by ……

Reading 2
Following are short descriptions of laws in different countries. Let’s read
them quickly first, and try to guess the meanings of the words in bold.
You can guess their meaning by (i) reading the word in context or (ii)
looking at the structure of the word.
If neither strategy above works for you, you can refer a bilingual dictionary.
I. Feeding birds is a common and relaxing pastime for many people,
whether they’re spending a day at the lake or throwing crumbs to
pigeons in a city square. While feeding the birds in Trafalgar Square in
London may seem like a fun way to take a break in between museum
visits, think again – feeding the birds comes with a hefty $1,000 fine.
The fine was enforced because pigeons are seen as carriers of filth
and disease, so many people want to curb their existence in the
square.
102
II. In Singapore, chewing gum was officially banned in 1992 after
vandals caused costly problems by sticking gum on the door sensors
of Singapore’s metro trains. So in Singapore, you’ll never find
somebody’s old and discarded chewing gum stuck on the bottom
of your shoe. Although gum may be chewed if it is prescribed by a
doctor or dentist, buying or selling chewing gum within Singapore’s
borders carries a fine of $1,000 or $2,000, depending on how many
times you’ve broken the law. Singapore is a country renowned for its
cleanliness and efficiency, partly maintained by the ban on gum. If you
do decide to break this law, just don’t spit it out on the streets – you’ll
face a fine of up to $500 for defacing public property.
III. Theft is taken very seriously in Afghanistan. Offenders don’t face
simple fines or prison time. The punishment is much worse and
lasts a lifetime. Theft became punishable by amputation when the
Taliban took over in 1996. It is generally carried out by a professional
executioner with a knife, and not by a doctor, although new finger-
chopping machines are being created to speed up the process.
Depending on how serious the theft is, the amputated body part can
be a single body part like a finger, a toe, a hand, or a leg, or it can be
a combination of several body parts. Even if the amputation is only a
finger, the punishment is a strong deterrent.
IV. Most laws have very obvious reasons for them. However, the law
against dying in Sarpourenx, France doesn’t seem to make much sense.
The mayor decided to outlaw dying in Sarpourenx when space in the
graveyard began to run short. Offenders will apparently be “severely
punished.” However, punishing a dead person is certainly an unusual
thing to do.
V. The temptation to cheat at exams can be irresistible for everybody,
and most people cheat at some point in their lives. Cheating and
plagiarism are never tolerated at educational institutions; the offence
is often punished with a failing grade or expulsion. But just one glance
at your classmate’s paper or at something scribbled on your arm
can have dire consequences in Nigeria. Instead of facing traditional
disciplinary action, cheating can result in either imprisonment of up
to five years, a fine of 200,000 Naira (approximately $1,200), or both.
On the bright side, this extreme punishment gives offenders five years
of extra study time.

103
 VI. Laws against drinking and driving are relatively new in the world. In
the United States, modern day laws with corresponding punishments
didn’t exist until the 1970s. However, some countries have decided
that mere jail time and fines aren’t enough for such a dangerous
offence. This one is possibly one of the strangest punishments for
drunk driving in the world: in some small towns in Turkey, police
officers take the drunk driver to a point twenty miles away from the
police station and force the driver to walk back accompanied by a
police officer.
VII. Be careful where you enjoy a tasty lunch or a refreshing drink in Italy.
It’s an offence in Florence to eat or drink while sitting on church steps
or within a church courtyard. The same law applies to eating near
public buildings. Eat elsewhere and avoid the fine.
VIII. It’s illegal to feed pigeons on the streets of San Francisco. The city
famous for the Golden Gate Bridge blames the ubiquitous birds for
spreading disease and damaging property. If you’re caught giving food
to San Francisco’s pigeons, you could face a hefty fine. People are even
encouraged to report pigeon feeders to the city’s police.
IX. Want to get one last snap of your family in the airport before you
board the plane? In Kazakhstan, it’s against the law. Photography
in and around airports is illegal, and taking pictures of military and
official buildings is frowned upon as well.
X. If you’re shopping in Canada, don’t expect cashiers to accept coins as
your sole method of payment. According to Canada’s Currency Act,
stores can legally refuse to take excessive amounts of coins. With
pennies, for example, customers’ payments may be rejected if they try
to use more than 25 one-cent coins at one time.
1) Match each paragraph with the country it refers to by writing the
correct number next to the country.
(i) Canada ( )
(ii) United Kingdom ( )
(iii) United States ( )
(iv) Singapore ( )
(v) Italy ( )
(vi) France ( )
(vii) Turkey ( )
(viii) Kazakhstan ( )
(ix) Afghanistan ( )
(x) Nigeria ( )
104
2) What country and region has prohibited dying? Why?

3) How many cities prohibit feeding the birds? Can you name the reasons
given in each city?

4) Which country has banned taking photographs in the airport?

5) Can you pay your total shopping bill of 25 Canadian dollars in coins, in
Canada?

6) Get together with your friend and summarise each law or practise in
two sentences.

7) Which of the laws described above should be enforced in our country,

in your opinion? First think of this on your own. Next, get into groups
of four or five and discuss your views. Present to the class your final
decisions based on everyone’s opinions.

8) Which of these laws seems the most absurd, or meaningless, to you?

Why?

9) Can you think of a law (or laws) in Sri Lanka that does not exist in
other countries, which prohibits something that is not considered a
crime in other countries? Describe this law in a short paragraph.

Speaking 2

Read the following passage and complete the activities below.

Joshua urged his friends to keep quiet since they were inside a monastery.
Amali who has the loudest voice declared that she is not scared of ghosts,
so she is not going to be quiet. Shehan who was the best behaved among
all of them reminded her that it is not because of fear that they need to be
quiet, but because they need to respect others, especially those who come
in to pray and to spend some quiet time. This made everyone think about
their responsibilities. When they came out to the lawn the group decided
to sit around in the grass and enjoy the beautiful sunset. It was at that point
that they started talking about their responsibilities to their community
and society…

105
 1. What is the main responsibility of those who visit a monastery,
according to this passage?
2. Can you name three other qualities that will make you a better person,
according to this passage?
3. Groupwork: In groups of four or five, enact the conversation that
Joshua and his friends had inside the monastery. You may add more
friends to make up the numbers.
4. In the same group, now enact the conversation that Joshua and his
friends had outside the monastery.
5. Write a letter to the newspaper on the importance of respectful
behaviour when visiting a religious place such as a temple, a mosque, a
church or a monastery.

Grammar
In this section, we will learn about direct speech and reported speech,
SVO and SVOO sentence patterns, and also revise modal verbs.

Grammar: Direct Speech and Reported Speech

1) Read the following excerpt and answer the questions given below.

Seetha was very distressed about what she saw. She had seen her
neighbour Neelima with black eyes and many bruises. Neelima always
pretended she was fine. Today Seetha noticed that Neelima was limping
with a black eye almost swollen shut. She had heard Neelima crying in
the night before too. Seetha decided to report this to the Grama Niladhari
Madam. The following is an account of their conversation.

Grama Niladhari Madam wanted to get all the information she could
from Seetha. “Calm down, and tell me what you heard” she said to Seetha.
Seetha took a deep breath and continued her story. “Last night, when I was
washing up after dinner, I heard Neelima crying and Sampath shouting.
He shouted loudly and broke something in the house” Seetha said. “Did
you hear what he shouted” asked the Grama Niladhari. “ No I didn’t, I was
too scared to go out and listen carefully” Seetha replied. “What happened
106
next?” encouraged the Grama Niladhari. “I usually go to sleep around 10 pm,
but yesterday I couldn’t sleep at all because I was worried about Neelima”
Seetha said. “I will take her to her parents. Please help her to leave her
abusive husband” she pleaded with the Grama Niladhari with tears in her
eyes. “ I will try to help her” she said, “but we must inform the police first”
she insisted.
i. What is the above excerpt about?
ii. How did Seetha suspect Neelima is being abused?
iii. Why didn’t Seetha hear what happened?
iv. What is the first thing the Grama Niladhari is going to do to help
Neelima?
Look carefully at the underlined sentences in the paragraph above. What
difference do you observe in them?

The underlined sentences in the paragraph are called direct speech where
you record something exactly in the same way that it is being said. You
need quotation marks to differentiate direct speech. When you report
what someone else has said, you need to use indirect speech or reported
speech. You need to change the pronouns and the tense when converting
direct speech into reported speech.

Look at the examples below of reported speech:

She asked Seetha to calm down and tell her what she heard.
Seetha said that she was too scared to go out and listen carefully.
The Grama Niladhari said she will try to help Neelima.

Let’s read the following table to learn how to change direct speech into
reported speech.

Normally, the tense in reported speech goes one tense back in time from
the tense in direct speech:

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 She said, “I am tired.” = She said that she was tired.

Direct Speech Equivalent in Reported Speech

Simple present Simple past

“I always drink coffee”, she said. She said that she always drank coffee.
Present continuous Past continuous

“I am reading a book”, he He explained that he was reading a

explained. book.
Simple past Past perfect
“Bill arrived on Saturday”, he He said that Bill had arrived on
said. Saturday.
Present perfect Past perfect

“I have been to Spain”, he told He told me that he had been to Spain.

me.
Past perfect Past perfect

“I had just turned out the light,” He explained that he had just turned
he explained. out the light.
Present perfect continuous Past perfect continuous

They complained, “We have They complained that they had been
been waiting for hours”. waiting for hours.

Past continuous Past perfect continuous

“We were living in Paris”, they They told me that they had been living
told me. in Paris.
Future Present conditional
“I will be in Geneva on Monday”, He said that he would be in Geneva on
he said. Monday.
Future continuous Conditional continuous

She said, “I’ll be using the car She said that she would be using the
next Friday”. car next Friday.
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You do not need to change the tense if the reporting verb is in the present,
or if the original statement was about something that is still true, e.g.

 He says he has missed the train but he’ll catch the next one.
 We explained that it is very difficult to find our house.
These modal verbs do not change in reported speech:
might could would should ought to

 We explained, “It could be difficult to find our house.” = We

explained that it could be difficult to find our house.
 She said, “I might bring a friend to the party.” = She said that
she might bring a friend to the party.
Extracted from http://www.ef.com/english-resources/english-grammar/tense-changes-when-using-
reported-speech/

2) Look at the following quotations. Can you write them using reported
speech? An example is given for you:

 “I came, I saw, I conquered” (Julius Ceasar)

 Julius Ceasar said that he had come, he had seen and that he
had conquered.

i. “The whole problem with the world is that fools and fanatics
are always so certain of themselves, and wiser people so full of
doubts.”(Bertrand Russell)

ii. “Only two things are infinite, the universe and human stupidity,
and I’m not sure about the former.” (Albert Einstein)

iii. “A lie gets halfway around the world before the truth has a chance
to get its pants on.” (Sir Winston Churchill)

iv. “Give me a museum and I’ll fill it.” (Pablo Picasso)

v. “In the end, we will remember not the words of our enemies, but
the silence of our friends.” (Martin Luther King Jr.)

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 3) Read the following paragraph that uses reported speech and rewrite
it using direct speech.

As he was walking down the path, Thilina said if he continued his diet
he should lose twenty pounds. He bumped into another person while lost
in thoughts. He apologized saying he was terribly sorry. The other person
told him it was OK, that nothing was broken. Thilina said he had been so
caught up in his thoughts that he hadn’t seen him. He seemed embarrassed,
so the other person added that he hadn’t been watching his step either. At
that moment they recognized each other! Thilina asked the other person if
he knew him from somewhere. He then remembered that the other person
was Ranga’s brother, Shyam. They both had a good laugh and then Thilina
invited Shyam to have a cup of tea. They had a great time together.

4) Reread the passage about Joshua and his friends in page 105. Imagine
that Joshua has gone home now. Imagine that you are Joshua, and
relate what you and your friends said using a mix of direct speech and
reported speech.

Grammar: SVO and SVOO sentence pattern

We learnt about two other sentence patterns before. They are the SV
sentence pattern in Unit 2 and the SVC sentence pattern in Unit 3. In
this unit, we will learn about the next two sentence patterns, SVO and SVOO
sentences.
1. SVO sentences
Let’s read the following sentences that paraphrase some statements in the
police reports you read earlier in this unit.
The residents of Hendala noticed the drug dealer.
They informed the police.
The police checked the drug dealer’s whereabouts.
The police arrested the drug dealer.
Many drivers on the expressway committed traffic offences.

Similarly, let’s look at the following sentences as well:

My mother made milk rice. My father made kesari.
Jayanthi Kuru-Utumpala climbed Mount Everest.
The batsman hit a four.
The president inaugurated the Expo Exhibition.
The pickpocket stole an expensive smartphone.
110
In all these sentences, do you think the sentence is complete, or expresses
a complete thought, without the words in bold? For example, will it make
sense if we say the following?
“The residents of Hendala noticed.” “The police arrested.”
“My father made.” “The batsmen hit.”

In all these sentences, it is easy to see that an important piece of information

is missing. We think “Who or what did the residents notice?” or “Who
did the police arrest?” or “What did your father make?” or “What did the
batsman hit?”

This is because the verbs in these sentences cannot be used without an

additional grammatical element giving us additional information. We call
this grammatical element the direct object. Some verbs in English such as
give, make, hit, notice, and arrest always need a direct object. Such words
are called transitive verbs.

When a transitive verb is followed by an object, we get an SVO sentence,

or a sentence that has a subject, a verb and a direct object. It is easy to
remember it as follows:

subject + verb + direct object

Let’s look at the structure of SVO sentences in the table below:

Subject Verb Direct object

I ate rice and curry.

Shalini passed her exam.

Ramesh bought a cake.

The Minister of Education distributed the awards.

The school children sang the national anthem

and the school song.

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 1) Now let’s transfer all the SVO sentences we read earlier in this section
into a similar table. The first one is done for you:

Subject Verb Direct object

The residents of Hendala noticed the drug dealer.

Note, however, that some verbs in SVO sentences can also stand alone, as
SV sentences. For example, we can say “We won!” and “The SL team won!”,
(which are both SV sentences), as well as “The SL team won the series”,
(which is an SVO sentence).
SVO sentences can be turned into the passive. See the examples below:
The residents of Hendala noticed the drug dealer.
The drug dealer was noticed by the residents of Hendala.
They informed the police.
The police was informed by them.
The police checked the drug dealer’s whereabouts.
The drug dealer’s whereabouts were checked by the police.
The police arrested the drug dealer.
The drug dealer was arrested by the police.

Language focus: You will see that in many news reports such as police
reports that there are sentences in the passive voice. In them, often the
doer, or the agent, is dropped. For example:

The drug dealer was arrested by the police.
The ganja plantation was raided by the STF.
Nine thousand ganja plants were cultivated.
A raid was carried out.

1) Make six SVO sentences with the following verbs: to buy, to sing, to
give, to bring, to eat, to lend

112
2) Identify the SV, SVC and SVO sentences in the sentences below. There
are two SVC sentences, four SVO sentences, and one SV sentence.

Thieves broke into the Pussellawa Samurdhi Bank. They

took all the computer accessories. They fled with the
loot. The management went to the Badulla police. The
traffic delayed them. They lodged a complaint. The
thieves have disappeared.
2. SVOO sentences
Let’s read some other sentences now:
Ramesh bought Shalini a birthday gift.
My friend gave me a surprise.
My sister showed me her new books.

Can you identify the Subject, the Verb and the Direct Object in these
sentences? Once you identify these elements, you will notice that there is
another grammatical element left. This is the indirect object.
The SVOO sentence pattern is formed as follows:

subject + verb + indirect object + direct object

You will notice that in this pattern, there is an indirect object

between the verb and the direct object.
Let us look at the structure of the following sentences:

Subject Verb Indirect object Direct object

Mother cooked us rice and curry.

Our teacher gave us a test.

Our science teacher showed us an interesting film.

The pilgrims gave the beggars alms.

My sister made me a beautiful kite.

113
 Verbs such as give, show, and make often have two objects, an
indirect object and a direct object.
SVOO sentences can be changed into the passive in two ways:
i) The indirect object in the active sentence becomes the subject.
ii) The direct object in the active sentence becomes the subject.

Let’s look at the examples below:

(1) Mother cooked us rice and curry.

i) We were cooked rice and curry by mother.
ii) Rice and curry was cooked for us by mother.
(2) Our teacher gave us a test.
i) We were given a test by our teacher.
ii) A test was given to us by a teacher.

(3) Our science teacher showed us an interesting film.

i) We were shown an interesting film by our science teacher.
ii) An interesting film was shown to us by our science teacher.
(4) The pilgrims gave the beggars alms.
i) The beggars were given alms by the pilgrims.
ii) Alms were given to the beggars by the pilgrims.

(5) My sister made me a beautiful kite.

i) I was made a beautiful kite by my sister.
ii) A beautiful kite was made for me by my sister.

We can choose either i) or ii) depending on the information we

want to emphasise: usually the subject of a sentence carries and
conveys more emphasis than the object.

Note, also, that an indirect object can often be used as an adverbial:

My friend gave me the parcel. (here, me is the indirect object)

My friend gave the parcel to me. (here, me is the adverbial)

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Activities:

1. Identify the indirect verb in the following sentences.

(i) I lent my friend my notes.

(ii) The mudalali offered me his best price.
(iii) The rich man bought his wife an expensive necklace.

2. Complete the sentences by adding a suitable indirect object.

(i) The student lent _____________ the textbook.

(ii) My father made me ____________________.
(iii) Expatriates send _________________ money.

3. Change the six SVOO sentences above into SVO + Adverbial sentences.

4. Change these sentences into the passive in at least one way.

Grammar: Modal Verbs

1) Look at the following sentences and write five more meaningful
sentences that promote socially responsible behaviour. Pay close
attention to the underlined verbs.

 I should not litter, because it will be harmful to the environment.

 We should help with the household chores because it is not only the
duty of the females in our homes to do housework.
 I would stand up for women and children when I see them being
harassed.
 I should learn to drive safely in order to prevent road accidents.
2) These underlined words are modal verbs (see Unit 2). Can you create a
list of modal verbs you can use when reporting crimes?

3) Imagine you are working as part of a neighbourhood protection group.

You need to find out about the needs of your neighbourhood. Get into
groups of four and create a short questionnaire to find out the opinions
and needs of your neighbours. You can use the following format to
create your questionnaire.

115
 Title___________________________________
Name:
House Number:
Please indicate your preference (1 is the lowest, 5 is the highest)
1. We must attract new businesses to the local area.
1 2 3 4 5
2. We have to clean our roads ourselves.
1 2 3 4 5
3. We should buy from the shops in our local neighbourhood.
1 2 3 4 5
4. We need to organise a local garbage disposal system.
1 2 3 4 5
5. We have to maintain our streetlights.
1 2 3 4 5
6. We must install CCTV in our neighbourhood.
1 2 3 4 5

4) Get into groups of three and four and carry out the survey during a
weekend. You can carry out the survey in your school as well. Present
your findings to the class using sentences that use modal verbs.
5) Prepare a 2-3 minute speech on how to be a socially responsible, law-
abiding person. You can talk to your teachers, parents, and friends to
gather information.
You can include personal qualities such as considerate, kind, courteous,
disciplined, compassionate, open-minded, tolerant in your
description.
You can start the speech with the following:
I believe a socially responsible person is capable of doing his duty to his
community ….

For example, socially responsible people in the community are always .....

6) Listen to the speeches above and select 10 good speakers. Now form
two groups to create two teams. Practise for a debate on the following
topic. Get your teacher and selected students from the class to assess
your debate.
A socially responsible citizen is the foundation of a good society.
VS
Socially responsible citizens alone cannot create a good society.
116
 6
THE CYBER
WORLD
Introduction

This unit will guide you on how to best write different types of emails
as well as make presentations. It also introduces you to concepts like ‘the
internet of things’ while making you aware of internet safety too.

117
 Lesson Outcomes
In this unit, you will

 read and write formal and informal emails.

 make a short descriptive presentation.
 read and understand texts containing abstract concepts.
 use new technical vocabulary.
 identify the main points in a longer text.
 use simple sentences, compound sentences, complex sentences
appropriately.

Reading 1
Writing Emails

Before Reading
1. Pairwork: How do you keep in touch with your family and friends?
Discuss with your partner and list all the ways you can keep in touch
with them, especially if they move away.
2. What are the antonyms for the following words? Antonyms are words
that mean the opposite. You can identify more than one antonym.

similarities official formal

serious common

Now read the following passage and complete the activities given.

Writing Emails
Have you ever used email? Email is short for electronic mail. In many
situations email has replaced the letters that we write on paper with a
pen. There are similarities and differences in the way we write emails and
letters.

For example, when you write an email or a letter to a friend, you can be
very free and informal. But when you write for a serious purpose, you have
to use a more formal style, and formal vocabulary and expressions.

118
When you write an email to a friend, you can use emoticons, or emojis,
which are symbols that show your feelings, or ‘emotions’, in emails and in
text messages (SMSs).
Here are some common emoticons and their meanings:

Emoticon Name Feeling

 smiley face happy
 sad face unhappy
<3 heart love
:-o -- surprise
B-) -- cool

You can also use initialisms, acronyms or abbreviations. Both initialisms

and acronyms are formed with each first letter of long names and
expressions. But there is a difference: we read each letter separately in
initialisms, such as SLTB and USA. Acronyms, on the other hand, are read
as one word, such as UNICEF and ICTA. Abbreviations are words which
are shortened, e.g. “Dr” for doctor, “photo” for photograph. On the internet,
there are abbreviations which have numbers, such as “gr8” for great, and
“2day” for today.
There are many initialisms, acronyms and abbreviations in online
communication, such as brb, lol, YOLO, and tc. But they are mostly used
in informal emails and text messages. When we write formally, for official
purposes, we have to avoid them.

While Reading
Are the statements below true (T) or false (F)?
1. We use pen and paper to write an email.
2. The way we write an email to a friend is the same as the way we
write an email for an official purpose.
3. Emoticons or emojis are always found in formal emails.
4. There is a difference between initialisms and acronyms.
5. An acronym spells a word and is read as one word.
6. Some abbreviations combine numerals and letters.
7. “Mrs” is an example of an abbreviation.
8. “Prof” is an example of an initialism.

119
 After Reading

1. The passage says that email is replacing paper and pen letters.
Why do you think that is happening? Discuss in a pair or group.
2. Work with a partner and list the differences between a formal email and
an informal email.
3. Here is a list of common initialisms, acronyms and abbreviations found
in emails and texts. Can you identify each one?

Example Meaning initialism,

acronym or
abbreviation?
lol laugh out loud
ROFL rolling on the floor laughing
btw by the way
asap as soon as possible
TC take care
Tks thanks
4ever forever

Reading 2

An email to a friend

120
 Before Reading

1. Pairwork: Discuss with a partner. Do you like to travel abroad?

Which countries would you like to visit? Why?

While Reading

1. Now let’s read an email written to a friend and answer the

questions below:

From : [email protected]
To : [email protected]
Date : 10 July 2020 at 22.00 hrs
Subject : Hello from home

Hi Nirmala

How are you? I am so sad that you have gone to India to study. I really
miss you and our chats.

LOL, something really funny happened last week at school. I was

looking out of the window during the chemistry class and Miss Maya
asked me a question. I didn’t know what she asked so I just said
“oxygen”. She got so annoyed, because it was the correct answer! She
was so surprised. She had a :-o face!

So much more to tell you, but I have some physics homework to do.
Please reply soon, I am waiting to hear all about your tour to the Taj
Mahal! Send me some pictures too.

TC
Love
Aruni

121
 2. Are the statements below true (T) or false (F), according to the email?
a) Nirmala is a tourist in India.
b) Aruni used to talk to Nirmala a lot.
c) Aruni always pays attention in class.
d) Miss Maya is a chemistry teacher.
e) Nirmala has not visited the Taj Mahal.

After Reading
1. Discuss the answers to the following questions with a partner.

(i) What salutation, or greeting, does the letter start with?

Can you think of any other way to start the letter?
(ii) What do the emoticons used in the email mean?
(iii)What can you say about the tone and the style of the letter: Is it
formal, official, friendly, or informal?
(iv)Explain why Aruni’s teacher was annoyed when Aruni gave the
correct answer.
(v) Why do you think Aruni has written this email to Nirmala?
(vi)Imagine you are Nirmala and write a reply to this email from Aruni.

3. Write a short email to your best friend telling them about something
interesting that happened at school.

Language Focus: Writing Formal Emails

Writing an email to a friend is very different to writing an email for official

purposes. Here is some information about what should be included in a
formal email.
Explanation Example
Salutation Should be formal Dear Ms. Cader
(similar to letters)
Introduction Should clearly and I am writing to find out about the
briefly state the reason online course on coding you have
for the email advertised on Facebook.
I am writing to ask/inquire about…

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Body Write any necessary I would like to know more about the
details course content and price.
Close A polite statement I look forward to hearing from you
that sums up what you soon.
want.
Closing Usually you would a. Thank you
write: b. Best Regards
a. Thank you Yours sincerely
b. A suitable close Sincerely
c. Your name c. Mohan

Things to remember when you write an email:

 Don’t use emoticons, or informal initialisms, acronyms or

abbreviations in formal emails.
 If you use you all capitals, it means you are shouting. So if you write
WHY HAVE YOU NOT WRITTEN TO ME?, it means that you are
angry and you want to show it. So use this very carefully as you
don’t want to have an email fight with a friend!
 In an email you don’t need to write the date. You generally don’t
write your postal address either.
 To write an email you must have an email account. You can get your
own free email account from online sites like Gmail or Yahoo.

Writing

Write a formal email to a school principal of another school in your district.

In your email, do the following:

1) Inform the principal about your school’s prefects’ day.

2) Request the principal to nominate two prefects of that school to
attend the prefects’ day programme.
3) Include information about the event such as the date, time and
venue.

123
 Speaking

Making a Presentation
1. What is a presentation?
A presentation is a speech where you introduce information for a spe-
cific reason. You can make a presentation to explain a specific topic, to
report research, or to market something.
2. How should you organize your presentation?
A presentation should have a clear beginning, a middle and an end.

A. The beginning
A presentation starts with:

1) a greeting,
2) a self introduction,
3) the topic,
4) a brief overview of the points covered.
Read the beginning of the presentation below, and complete the following
activity.

{Good Morning.} {I’m Arjuna} and today I am going to tell you about {the
history of vaccines}. I will start with {the story of the first vaccine}.
Then my friend Saman will tell you about{the initial problems with
vaccines}. Finally Malik will explain{how vaccines became established
in healthcare.}
Complete the following table to match the bracketed sections in the exam-
ple above with the function it performs.

Greeting
Self introduction
The topic
A brief overview of the points covered

B The main body of the presentation

Here, the speaker describes each point, using examples. It is best to

124
present your points one by one, following the same order you listed them
in, in the introduction. You can use the following table to plan and practise
the body of your presentation.
Point Elaboration / Example
The first point I would like
to make is …
Let me move to my second
point.
My third point is …

Finally, my last / fourth

point is ….
C The conclusion
Briefly summarise the main ideas of the presentation and make a conclud-
ing point.

Things to remember when making a presentation:

 Practise and time your presentation
 Look at your audience and ‘talk’ to them
 Use phrases like ‘in this picture’, ‘as you can see’ to draw
attention to the visuals you are using

In groups of three or four, make a five minute presentation to your class, on

one of the topics given. You should include some visuals in your presentation.
You can use PowerPoint slides, handmade posters or a model.

 How can we prevent the spread of dengue?

 What are computer languages?
 How can wave energy of the sea be used by humans?
 What are sustainable environment practices?
 What is the difference between a democracy and monarchy ?

Reading 3

Before Reading
1. Groupwork: Name each noun represented in the picture. What is
this picture trying to say? Discuss your ideas with your friends.

125

Image source: http://www.iotleague.com/what-is-internet-of-things-the-basics-explained/
2. Match the words in bold in the text with the descriptions in the
boxes below.

When we worry This is a noun that This is a word we

about something we means the same as use to describe
can use this word to path, way or road. things we use like
describe that thing. smart phones or
tablet computers.

This means to be This word also 1000 million

powered by or made means influence or (1,000,000,000)
possible through. effect. or 109

3. You are going to read a short article about “the internet of things”.
Before you proceed, brainstorm what you think this phrase means.

While Reading

1. Now read this text and answer the questions below.

The future? The internet of things

126
The internet of things (or the IoT) is a name for the latest way that
technology will impact how we live and work. At the moment, technology
that is internet enabled may be less in our lives. However, there are
countries that are technologically advanced. In such countries, a lot of the
devices they use not only have internet access, but they are also connected
to each other. A research study says that in the future there will be 26 billion
connected devices.

In time to come, devices will ‘talk’ to each other. For example, the vehicle
you travel in will talk to other devices and take you on a route to work that
has the least traffic. In this way IoT will make life more efficient and less
wasteful.

On the other hand, our lives will become ruled by machines who will be
‘talking’ to each other. In addition, with so many devices connected to each
other, there is a serious concern about privacy and security.

Understanding and studying IoT is important to all of us because more and

more of the devices we use are becoming connected to the internet and to
each other.
(This passage is based on “A simple explanation of ‘the internet of things’” by Jacob
Morgan, https://www.forbes.com/sites/jacobmorgan/2014/05/13/simple-explanation
internet-things-that-anyone-can-understand/#6725feb01d09, retrieved 12 June 2017)

2. Answer the questions below.

1) What is the Internet of Things, or IoT?

2) With the internet of things, what will devices do?
3) What are the benefits and drawbacks of IoT?
4) Why do you think devices ‘talking’ to each other are a ‘concern’ for
human privacy and security?
5) Do you agree or disagree with the writer that it is important to
understand and study IoT? Give reasons.
6) Imagine you want to explain the idea of IoT to your friend. Write a
short email of not more than 150 words.

Listening

The difference between the internet, the web, and ‘cyber’

127
 Before Listening

1. You are going to listen to a person talking about the difference

between the internet, the web and the adjective ‘cyber’. Read the
questions before you listen to the recording.

While Listening

1. Fill in the blanks as you listen to the recording. Your teacher will
play the recording at least three times.

Internet World Wide Web

What? An interconnected A __________ to get
_____________ of computers information
How does it Uses ___________ protocol Uses ___________
function? suites protocol

How did it Originated in ______ Invented by

start ? in the __________ _____ Burners
___________ of ________
_______________ In ___________

2. Are the following statements true (T) or false (F) ? Discuss with a
friend and answer.

(i) The web is the same as the net.

(ii) A browser is used to access the web.
(iii) Web 2.0 is not as interactive as Web 1.0.
(iv) Cyber is a term related to human activity on the internet.

After Listening

1. Groupwork: In groups of four or five, discuss the following questions:

A. How can the internet make our lives easier and more convenient?

128
B. What are the changes we will see in the internet in the next ten
years?

2. Once you have discussed these and got many possible answers, make a
group presentation in your class of not more than 10 minutes.

Reading 4

Before Reading
1. Groupwork: Look at the statement below. Is it a promise or a
warning? Discuss with your friends first, and then share with the class.

Image source: http://staggonline.net/features/the-internet-never-forgets/

2. Now read the headlines, and look at the picture in the article below.
Can you guess what the article is about?

While Reading

1. Now let’s read the article and answer the questions below.

Know your enemy – it’s not Facebook, it’s you

By - Chathuri Dissanayake
“Facebook is not the enemy”, said Manoj Jinadasa, senior lecturer at the
Department of Mass Communication in the University of Kelaniya. The
lack of computer literacy, the lack of communication and the breakdown of
family relationships were the real causes for new media-related tragedies.

129

The lack of awareness about personal security on cyber platforms was the
cause for many new media-related problems, says Roshan Chandraguptha,
Information Security Engineer at Sri Lanka Computer Emergency Response
Team.
“Out of all incidents reported last year, the majority of the incidents were
related to security on the internet,” Mr. Chandraguptha said. “Users should
understand that they should be careful about sharing their personal
information just like in normal day-to-day social exchanges where we do
not share personal information with strangers,” he said.

Dinithi Jaysekara, lecturer at the University of Kelaniya, said that most of

the participants in a study she conducted, publicly displayed personal
information. Also, a large percentage of users publicly listed their mobile
number and email address. This research study was conducted among
university students.“This research shows that they are not very concerned
about safeguarding their privacy on Facebook,” she said, highlighting the
need for awareness.
(Image and story adapted from: http://www.sundaytimes.lk/140330/news/know-your-
enemy-its-not-facebook-its-you-90997.html)

2. Match the words in bold in the text with the meanings given below:

1) Protecting from harm :……………………

2) An internet related base on which other activities take place:
……………………………….
3) The part a person’s life that the public is not supposed to know
about: ………………………………………
4) Showed or exhibited: …………………………..
3. Answer the following questions based on the reading above:

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 (i) According to Manoj Jinadasa, what is responsible for the new
media related tragedies?
(ii) Who is Rohan Chandraguptha?
(iii) In the research conducted with university students, what were the
students publicly sharing?
(iv) Both Rohan Chandraguptha and Dinithi Jayasekera highlight a
major mistake made by people using new media or social media.
What is this mistake?

After Reading

1. In groups again, discuss and answer the following:

(i) What do you think the main message of the article is? Try to
state it in your own words in one or two sentences.
(ii) Do you think the title of the article is appropriate for the
content of the article? Explain why or why not.

2. Groupwork: In groups of four, imagine that you are Chathuri

Dissanayake and make a list of at least five interview questions to ask
Mr Manoj Jinadasa, Rohan Chandraguptha and Dinithi Jayasekera. Now
appoint an interviewer and the three interviewees in your group, and
conduct the interview. You may include additional information when
you speak. You may also have it as a discussion on a TV programme.

Speaking

1. A debate:
Get into teams and debate on the advantages and disadvantages
of social media. Examples of social media are Facebook, Twitter,
YouTube, Whatsapp, Viber.

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 2. Groupwork:
Imagine that one of your best friends is getting messages on social
media from two classmates insulting him/her all the time. This is
called cyber bullying. Your friend is getting very upset. Work in pairs
or groups of three to decide on advice you would give your friend on
how to deal with the situation. Be prepared to explain the reasons for
your advice.

3. Study the picture overleaf and discuss with your friends:

What do you think the Outernet is? Is it a real place? What is the
message in this picture? Do you agree with it? Why? Remember that
there can be more than meaning or message in it.

Image source: http://grmdaily.com/before-the-internet-existed

Grammar: Clauses
Let’s read the following sentences and answer the questions below.
1) When he came home
2) The thirsty pilgrims drank some king coconut water
3) Unless you give me the book
4) Manik can type really fast
5) Because Azrah is making a video on cyber crimes
6) After Sammani married Dinidu

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i. Which of the above are complete sentences?
ii. Which ones are incomplete sentences?

The complete and incomplete sentences above are all examples of clauses.
Now let’s read a definition of clauses from the Oxford English Dictionary:

What is a clause? According to the Oxford English Dictionary,

a clause is a group of words that contain a main verb. It may be a
complete sentence, or a part of a sentence.

Now, with a partner, try to complete the incomplete sentences in a mean-

ingful way. The first one is done for you:

When he came home, he found his laptop on the floor.

You will notice that the underlined part of the sentence above can also
stand alone as a complete sentence.

The incomplete sentences are called dependent clauses. The complete

sentences are called independent clauses. Similarly, the part of a sentence
that can stand alone is also an independent clause.

Now identify the dependent and independent clauses in the sentences be-
low, by underlining the dependent clause. You can also do the same with
the sentences you completed above.

1. I love to drink king coconut water when I’m thirsty.

2. If you are careless Facebook can become dangerous.
3. The internet is a network of computers that connects people all
over the world.
4. After the war ended, people wanted to return to a normal life as
soon as possible.
5. Cyber bullying is against the law.

In the sentences above, how many clauses did you identify in the 5th
sentence? Is it a dependent or an independent clause?

Grammar: Simple, Complex and Compound Sentences

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 Sentences that have only one independent clause are known as simple
sentences. Identify the three simple sentences in the sentences below:
i) The president of the United States of America is rather unpopular.
ii) Facebook is a social media site that is extremely popular with young
adults.
iii) Fuel shortages in Sri Lanka inconvenience travellers terribly.
iv) The protests against the privatization of education continued after the
government proposed a solution.
v) Sri Lankans of all races and religions must live together peacefully.
Complex sentences have an independent clause, and one or more
dependent clauses. So the sentences 2 and 4 overleaf above are complex
sentences.
In complex sentences, you will notice that there is often a word that joins
the dependent clause to the independent clause.
1. I love to drink king coconut water when I’m thirsty.
2. If you are careless, Facebook can be dangerous.

Words such as when and if which help to join a dependent clause to an

independent clause are called conjunctions, specifically subordinating
conjunctions.
These are subordinating conjunctions with examples of how they are used
in sentences:

Broad category Subordinating Example

of conjunction conjunction
Time after, since, Before the election, politicians
relationships before, until, campaign for votes.
when, whenever, Channa will retire when he is 65 years
while old.
Shani will monitor the accounts until
Geeshani returns from leave.
Reason or because, as Sales increased for the company
cause because of online advertising.
Ms. Kumaraswamy was very happy
with Nisha as she was eager to learn
new computer strategies.

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Result or effect so that, in order We have to stop using plastic so that
that the world will have less garbage.

Condition if, unless, even if, Even if the team scored a hundred now,
since they would lose the match.

Contrast although, even Mr. Cooray bought a new lap top even
though, though though his son did not want him to.

Location where, wherever This is the spot where we held our

camp last year.
Marina always knows the best place to
have ice cream wherever she travels
to.

Sometimes, we can join two independent clauses with words such as and,
but, and so. Let’s look at some examples:

i) The cricket champions flew home and they were given a heroes’
welcome.
ii) Computers can do very clever things but they can’t do everything we
want.
iii) The meeting was called at the last minute, so attendance was very poor.

Here, the conjunctions join two independent clauses. Such sentences are
called compound sentences. Conjunctions that join two independent
clauses are called coordinating conjunctions.

Compound sentences can have more than two independent clauses.

Identify the three independent clauses and the two coordinating
conjunctions in the second sentence below:

It was 12 midnight. I suddenly woke up and I looked out of the

window but it was too dark to see anything.

135
 Let’s read a summary of simple, complex and compound sentences in the
table below:

Type of
Number of clauses Conjunctions
sentence
Simple one independent clause
sentences
Complex Have one independent Subordinating
sentences clause, and conjunctions: if,
one or more dependent when, after, although
clauses etc
Compound Have two or more indepen- Coordinating
sentences dent clauses conjunctions
and, but, or

Grammar activities:

1. Use a single underline to mark independent clauses and a double line

to underline dependent clauses. Say whether the sentence is a simple,
compound or a complex sentence.

Changing a plug top

(Image source: https://en.wikibooks.org/wiki/GCSE_Science/Safety_in_Mains_circuits)

1) First, you must remove the screws on the old plug top and check the
wire connection in the exposed plug top.
2) You should check whether the wires are damaged.
3) Now, you should check the place of each wire in relation to the
terminals before you loosen the screws holding the wires in place.
4) Next, take the new plug top, remove the screws and expose the
terminals.
136
5) Re-fix the wires in their original positions.
6) Now fix the cover back in place and the new plug top is ready to be
used.
2. Underline the independent clauses and dependent clauses in this
short text.The text is an extract from the children’s novel Mythil’s
Secret by Prashani Rambukwella.

Surfing the net cost money and Thaththi didn’t often let him do it
unless he had a homework assignment or something important
like that. An idea struck him. ‘Do you think the internet will have
anything on yakas and bhirawayas?’
‘Probably not,’ Thaththi said shortly. He looked like he was about to
say something sharp about Mythil’s fascination with yakas but then
his emails started downloading and he lost interest.

3. Fill in the blanks of the passage, also extracted from Mythil’s Secret,
with suitable conjunctions.

Dead leaves on the jungle floor rustled at the corner of his eye ____
he turned sharply. A babbler was scratching for worms. Ceylon Rufus
Babbler, he proudly identified it to himself. Aachchi had shown him a
painting of it in her bird book. He often saw these small brown birds
in their little garden back in Colombo.
Four more appeared pecking and scratching among the undergrowth.
He looked around for the scout sister. Aachchi had told him how these
‘seven sister’ birds always kept a scout on a high branch ___________ the
others were feeding on the ground. Ah! There she was. She wasn’t
doing a very good job, Mythil thought. She had found a big caterpillar
______ was smashing it to a pulp.

4. Join the following sentences with a suitable conjunction:

(i) Oshani likes ice cream. Oshani eats ice cream every day.
(ii) Chandana is not a good runner. Reza is a good runner.
(iii) Reza has won many sprint races. He takes his athletics practices very
seriously.
(iv) Mirthubhashini travels by bus daily to Ampara. She knows the road to
Ampara well.
(v) Asmitha travels daily by bus to Ampara. Asmitha always sleeps on the
bus. She doesn’t know the road to Ampara well.
137
 7
CONTINUING
EDUCATION
Introduction

This is the seventh unit of your book. In this unit, you will learn
English by reading about and talking about some of the different fields of
learning that are available to young people like you in this country.

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 Lesson Outcomes
In this unit, you will
 speak with and listen to your friends about continuing your education
after school.
 read and write different types of texts on tertiary level education.
 learn vocabulary related to higher education.
 read about and prastise writing SVOC sentences.

Source: “Fusion” Sarvodaya ICT4D Movement, http://fusion.lk/skills-for-the-future/

Speaking 1
1) Discuss answers to the following questions, first with a friend, and
then in a group of four or five students:
(i) Do you feel happy or sad that your school days are coming to an
end? Give reasons.
(ii) What would you like to do after your Advanced Levels?
(iii) Do you like to continue studying? Why?

2) After you share your views with your group, make a table like the
one below, and fill in all your answers in point form (first read the
explanation of what ‘in point form’ means in the Language Focus).
After A Levels
Reasons Reasons Things you Reasons to Reasons not
for for like to do continue to continue
sadness happiness after ALs studying studying

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 3) After you fill in your table, present it to your class in not more than five
minutes. After you hear your friends’ group presentations, you can
ask questions or make comments.

4) You will probably hear other good ideas from your friends. So after
the presentations and the discussion, go back to your own groups, and
update your table. You might have to rewrite your table, but this is
okay. Your teacher will mark all your groupwork after that.

Language Focus: What is to write “in point form”?

“In point form” is to write things down very briefly. For example,
in activity 2) above, “I feel sad because I will not see my class mates” can
be written in point form in the first column as follows: “sad -- will not see
classmates”.
You will see that in the example the first part of the sentence, the
subjects of the second clause (I), and the possessive marker are all left out.
When we write in point form, we often begin with the main verb of the
sentence leaving out articles and pronouns. We also use bullet points.
This is a style of writing when you make lists of important points.
Writing in point form is the best way to prepare your slides for a PowerPoint
presentation. It is also a very useful note-taking technique. Look at the
examples below. The first is a “To do” list of an A/Level student. The second
is a slide from a presentation on the main features of a state university in
Sri Lanka.
Things to do today Main features of a state university
 Read ch. 3 of textbook - free education
 Buy 2 blue pens - many facilities
 Pay tuition fees - many degree programmes
 Visit aunt w/ amma - strikes and ragging

Reading 1

Before Reading

1. We are going to read about the Maradana College of Technology.

Before we do that, let’s look at the picture of the place. Discuss with a
friend:

140
 a. Do you like the look of this building? Give reasons.
b. If you didn’t know that it was a technical college, what would you
imagine it to be?
c. Would you like to visit this building one day? Why?

2. Now share your answers with the class. Whose answers are the most
interesting?

Image source: “Maradana Technical College” Facebook page

3. Let’s look at some vocabulary. Match the word or expression with the
correct meaning given below.
informally known as striking landmark
technical and vocational training

1) Attractive and eye-catching

2) A more commonly used and shorter name for something
3) To develop skills and knowledge in order to train for a job
4) Can be easily seen and recognized in a town or village

While Reading
4. Now let’s read the following passage and answer the questions below.

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 The Maradana College of Technology is the oldest technical college
in Sri Lanka. It is informally known as Maradana Technical College, or
Technical College Maradana. It was built in the late 19th century by the
British. Even today, this striking red and white building is a landmark in
Maradana, Colombo 10. The busy junction close to it is known as “Technical
Junction.”
The Maradana College of Technology was first called the Government
Technical College. Next it was called the Ceylon Technical College. During
the time it was called the Ceylon Technical College, its science section was
moved to the first university of our country, the University College, in 1921.
At present, the Maradana College of Technology is one of over
30 technical colleges in Sri Lanka. You can follow many technical and
vocational training courses in a technical college with just six passes at the
G C E Ordinary Level examination.

5. Read the statements below. Are they true or false, do you think?
Discuss with a friend and write T or F.

1) The Maradana College of Technology is housed in a modern

building. (T / F)
2) The official name of this technical training college has changed
over the years. (T / F)
3) This technical college was set up after Independence. (T / F)
4) The Faculty of Science of the University of Ceylon had its origins
here. (T / F)
5) There are over 30 other colleges of technology and technical
colleges in the country today. (T / F)
6) You need a very high Z score at the Advanced Level examination
to enter a technical training college like the Maradana Technical
College. (T / F)

After Reading

1. Groupwork: Read the additional information about the Maradana

College of Technology in the following table. Make a group presentation
about the institute to class using this information.
2. Use the information to write 3-5 more paragraphs on the oldest
technical college in Sri Lanka.
142
 The Maradana College of Technology
Established 1893
Province Western Province
District Colombo
Location Olcott Mawatha, Colombo 10
Head of the College Principal
Fees Free of charge
Entry requirements 6 subjects at GCE O/Levels
Facilities Activities Courses available Types of
courses
 Automotive  Vocational  Accounting  National
workshop training technicians certificates
 Electrical  Vocational  Motor  National
workshop guidance and mechanics Diplomas
 Electronic counselling  Electricians  Part-time
workshop  Industry  Plumbers courses
 Building trade liaisons  Refrigeration  Full-time
workshop  Student union and air courses
 Wood  Sports conditioning  One year
machinery mechanics courses
workshop  Machinists  Two year
 Lathe machine  Draftsmen courses
workshop  Welders  Three
 Welding  Quantity year
workshop surveyors courses
 Library  ICT
 Computer lab  Radio and TV
 General repairing
science lab  Jewellery
design and
manufacture
 English for
commerce,
industry
and further
education
and many
others

143
 You can find more details of Colleges of Technology and Technical colleges
on its website: http://www.dtet.gov.lk/web/

Reading 2

Before Reading

1. What is an apprenticeship? Who is an apprentice? Select the most

suitable answer from the three following descriptions.
a. The apprenticeship is the first year of the Advanced Level class.
During your apprenticeship you begin to study your Advanced
level subjects. An apprentice is a grade 12 student. Nowadays,
before you begin your apprenticeship, you can take a few weeks
to decide on your Advanced level subjects.
b. An apprenticeship is a type of professional training where you
learn a skill or a trade mostly by working under an expert in that
profession. An apprentice gets a very practical training, so it is
also called on-the-job training. It can include some formal studies
in a classroom as well. Nowadays, many technical or vocational
training programmes also have an apprenticeship.

c. An apprenticeship is a hobby which you try at home, which, if

you’re good at it, you can turn into a profession. An apprentice
is someone who has a lot of free time, and thus begins to make
things like food items and handicrafts at home, and starts a
business by selling them to family and friends. Nowadays, such
apprentices can make a lot of money.
2. Circle the jobs below that can have a practical training component in
addition to a formal course of study.
electrician tailor mechanic carpenter
welder TV/radio repairer beautician
private bus conductor betel seller computer
graphic designer
3. In some professions, the on-the-job training component is compulsory,
which all students have to complete successfully in order to practise
the profession. These professions also have a specific name for the
144
 practical training. Given below are a few such professions with the
name given to their practical training, but they are jumbled. Match
this name with the correct profession by drawing a line.
Doctor creeper
Lawyer accounts assistant
Accountant commis chef
Chef intern
Planter apprentice, junior
4. You are now going to read about a Sri Lankan girl who followed a
course with on-the-job training at NAITA, which is the acronym for the
National Apprenticeship and Industrial Training Authority. Before
you start reading, look at the picture below and try to guess what kind
of training she chose.

While Reading

Now read the text and answer the questions below.

My name is Susikaran Vinotha. I’m 20 years old. I’m from

Skandapuram. My father is a labourer. My mother is a housewife. I have a
brother and two sisters.

I studied at Akkarayan Maha Vidyalayam in Kilinochchi. I studied

up to the Advanced Level. But I didn’t get through maths. So I followed a
course in electronics at NAITA to become an engineer.

145
 At NAITA we were taught theory from the beginning. So it was
easy. But we got scared when we saw the TVs and the radios during the
practicals.
There is a difference between school education and vocational
training education. NAITA is co-educational, so girls and boys learn together
in the same class. At school we never spoke to boys. But here we have to
interact with everyone and learn with everyone.

We went on many educational

tours to different parts of the
country. But unfortunately we
spoke only Tamil. So we had to
speak in the little English we knew
with each other, and we managed
somehow. We had never visited
Colombo before. But during my
course we visited Colombo three
times.
I have been getting on-the-job training at Sri Lanka Telecom for the
last three months. It is a one year training period. I am training in-house,
in the CDMA section. Before I started my course, I didn’t even know what a
CDMA phone was. Now I can easily repair them!

Not only boys, girls can also do many things. When I told my parents
about this course, they didn’t know anything about electronics. They asked
me what was there to learn about electronics. They also asked me why I
wanted to do a boys’ job.

But my parents understood the importance of this vocational

training after I started on-the-job training. Then they allowed my younger
sister also to follow an electrical course. Now she is also following an
electrical course at NAITA. My youngest sister is still studying.

Those who study well can get a good job. We can open our own
business and become entrepreneurs. You can even find employment
abroad after you get the certificate. But I like to stay in Kilinochchi where I
grew up, and to develop my country without going abroad.

Article Source: Youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FxKVlXDP59w, published 09/09/2015 by

Chrishanthan Jayavasan, GIZ Vocational Training in the North and East of Sri Lanka (VTN) Project.

146
1) Complete the following table. Try to fill it in point form as much as
possible.

Profile: Susikaran Vinotha

1 Name
2 Age
3 Hometown
4 School
5 Father’s profession
6 Mother’s profession
7 No. of brothers
8 No. of sisters
9 Institution trained at
10 On the job training location
11 Length of training period
12 Main task during training
13 Differences between school and 1)
vocational training 2)
14 A memorable experience during
the training
15 Had parental approval before Yes / No (circle the correct
course answer)
16 Had parental approval after Yes / No (circle the correct
course answer)

After Reading

1. Now answer the following questions.

1) What can you say about Vinotha’s family background?
2) Do you think Vinotha is admirable? Give reasons.
3) What do you think Vinotha means by the words, “not only boys,
girls also can do many things”?
4) What can we learn from Vinotha’s experience?
5) What do Vinotha’s words tell us about the importance of learning
more than one language?

147
 6) Give this story a suitable title.
7) What do you think Vinotha is doing now? Give reasons based on
the text.
8) Get into groups of four. Imagine that you are Vinotha, her mother,
her father and her sister.
a. Have a conversation about Vinotha’s intention to study at
NAITA before the course.
b. Have a conversation about Vinotha’s intention to study at
NAITA after she finished the course.

2. Groupwork: In groups of five to six, discuss the advantages and

disadvantages of co-educational, or mixed schools. Use a table like
the one below to summarise your discussion. Try to list at least three
points each.

Advantages of mixed schools Disadvantages of mixed schools

1)

2)

3)

3. Use the points you listed to write a short essay on the topic. Use the
structure you learnt in Unit 3 to write an Introduction and a Conclusion
to this essay.

4. Project / field trip

1) Preparation: Three class leaders must find out where the closest
technological or vocational training institute is. With the help of your
teacher, arrange a class visit of half a day to this training institute. It
could be a technical college, or a college of technology. It can be a state
or a privately owned institution.

2) Groupwork: In groups of five or six, do the following:

148
 (i) Before you make the trip, try to find out information about this
training institute on the internet, or by talking to people who
have gone there.
(ii) During your class visit, observe the surroundings, read notices,
talk to the teachers and students there, and find out the following:
the available courses, types of courses, duration of courses,
facilities available, number of teachers, number of students, name
of principal or head, and whether the place seemed interesting,
clean, well maintained, welcoming, the teachers seemed friendly,
the students seemed happy and satisfied with the course, etc.
Remember to take down notes during the visit.
(iii) After the visit, make a group presentation of 10-15 minutes, using
the information you gathered in (ii). Use the structure given in
Unit 6.
3) Follow up: Students can write individual diary entries based on their
group presentation, titled “A visit to a vocational/technical training
institute near us”

Useful websites

You can find out more about vocational and technical training opportunities
in Sri Lanka by visiting the following websites:

1) The Department of Technical Education and Training. Or DTET (http://

www.dtet.gov.lk/)

2) The National Vocational Training Authority, or NVTA (http://www.

vtasl.gov.lk/)

3) The National Apprenticeship and Industrial Training Authority, or

NAITA (http://www.naita.gov.lk/)

You can also find these websites by googling the acronyms VTET, NAITA,
or TVET, “Vocational Training in Sri Lanka”, or “Advanced Technological
Education ”, and so on.

149
 Speaking
Below is a table about higher national diplomas in education. In groups of
five or six, do the following activities.
1) Read the table and make 10 questions based on the information given.
e.g. :- What is the name of the institute?
2) Join with another group and ask the questions from each other. Each
student must ask at least one question, and each student must answer
at least once.
3) Go back into your own groups, and practise making a group
presentation on SLIATE. In the oral presentation, also include three
reasons why your group would like to study and obtain a higher
national diploma.
1 Name Sri Lanka Institute of Advanced Technological Education
2 Acronym SLIATE
3 Ministry Ministry of Higher Education and Highways
4 Established 2001
5 Head of SLIATE Director General
6 Types of institutes Advanced Technological Advanced Technological
Institutes (ATIs) Institute Sections (ATI Sec-
tions)
7 Heads of institutes Directors
8 Locations of ATIs in Ampara, Badulla, ATI Sections in
institutes Colombo, Dehiwela, Anuradhapura, Batticaloa,
Gampaha, Jaffna, Kandy, Nawalapitiya, Ratnapura,
Kegalle, Kurunegala, Samanthurai, Tangalle,
Trincomalee Vavuniya
9 Available courses Accountancy, agriculture, building services, business
administration, business finance, English, civil
engineering, electrical engineering, management,
IT, food technology, quantity survey, tourism and
hospitality management, consumer science and product
technology
10 Duration of courses 4 years; 3.5 years; 3 years; 2.5 years
11 Type of courses Full time and part time
12 Fees Free for full time students
The information above is based on the SLIATE website of 08/09/2017
150
You can find out more about Higher National Diplomas offered by advanced
technological institutes in Sri Lanka by visiting the following websites:
1) SLIATE (http://www.sliate.ac.lk/)

2) Higher National Diploma in Engineering, or HNDE (http://www.hnde.

lk/)

3) Human Resource Management Institute, or HRMI

(https://www.hrmi.lk/index.php/higher-national-diploma)

Listening
In this section, you will hear a conversation among four friends who are all
Advanced Level students like you.

Before Listening
1. Here are some words and expressions that you will hear in the
dialogue. Some of them are quite informal, and useful, when speaking
to friends and other peers. In groups of four or five, discuss what they
can mean. You can think of equivalents in your mother tongue too.

“I don’t have a clue” to be at a loss

to specialize in something a great pundit
“Aney just go men!” to be confused
to feel guilty

While Listening

You will now listen to a conversation between four friends. They are Pasan,
Maithreyi, Asnah and Lihini. They are chatting during the interval of their
A-Level tuition class.

Your teacher will play the dialogue three or four times, pausing for a few
minutes in between each play. First read the statements 1-10 in question 1
carefully, before your teacher plays the audio.
1. Now listen while the recording is played and answer the questions.
Check your answers when your teacher plays it for the last time.

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 1) None of the students have definite aims. (T/F)
2) There is no one to advise them on what to study after A/Levels.
(T/F)
3) Asnah’s parents don’t want her to study. (T/F)
4) Asnah is willing to repeat her A/Levels. (T/F)
5) Their tuition master is stressed because of work pressure. (T/F)
6) Pasan dreams of enjoying life after A/Levels. (T/F)
7) Maithreyi’s brother has been successful at A/Levels. (T/F)
8) Lihini feels responsible towards her parents. (T/F)
9) Lihini’s friends don’t care about her worries. (T/F)
10) Maithreyi is keen to organize a seminar on education
opportunities after Advanced Levels. (T/F)
2. In your opinion, who is the most serious one among the friends? Who
is the most carefree one? Give reasons for your answers.

After Listening
1. Pairwork: Imagine that you are another friend of theirs. Select one
of the characters and discuss how to advise him or her. Then practise
the dialogue.
2. Groupwork: The four students get late to go back to class. Imagine
that you are Sidath sir. You are angry with the students. Create a short
dialogue that takes place between Sidath Sir and the four students.
You can decide whether he punishes them or forgives them.
Sidath sir: ………………………………………………………………………
Asnah: ………………………………………………………………………
Sidath sir: ………………………………………………………………………
Lihini: ………………………………………………………………………
Sidath sir: ………………………………………………………………………
Pasan: ………………………………………………………………………
Sidath sir: ………………………………………………………………………
Maithreyi: ………………………………………………………………………
Sidath sir: ………………………………………………………………………

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3. Groupwork: Get into four or five groups.

1) Imagine that you are Arulnesan Sir. The students have invited
you to speak to them and their schoolmates on the educational
opportunities after the A/Levels. You have accepted the offer.
Select one of the following and find out about the opportunities
for students that are offered at these institutions:
(i) at state universities
(ii) at private institutes of education affiliated to foreign universities
(iii) at government technical colleges and colleges of technology
(iv) at an advanced technological institute
(v) at privately owned training centres and institutes

In order to find information, you can use the internet, make phone
calls to these institutes, ask your older brothers and sisters in school, ask
those who are already studying there, or visit one of these places if they are
close to your school.
2) Prepare in your groups and make a 5-10 minute presentation,
using the guidelines in Unit 6.
3) As your friends make their presentations, take down notes in
point form according to the following table. At the end of each
presentation, you can also ask questions from the other group
presenters in order to get more information to complete the
table:

Qualifications Courses available Other useful /

needed interesting information

4) Write an essay referring to at least THREE different types of

institutes based on your presentations, using the following
structure. Give your essay a suitable title.

153
 1 Introduction One paragraph

2 Qualifications needed 1-3 paragraphs

3 Courses available 1-3 paragraphs

4 Other useful / interesting information 1-3 paragraphs

5 Conclusion One paragraph

Reading 3

In this section, you will read a passage about university education.

Before Reading

1. In groups of five or six, brainstorm and write down what comes

into your mind when you hear the word “UNIVERSITY”. You can say
anything you like. After about 10 minutes, stop brainstorming, and
share with your class what you wrote down. Keep your list until the
end of the activity.

2. Discuss in your group and try to find out what these words mean.

undergraduates entitled to most deserving students

stiff competition preference inherent skills
reputation prestige sought after
to set aside biases intrinsic value
inferior superior aptitude

While Reading

Now let’s read the essay below. As you read, do the activities in the boxes
and the circles.

154
 University Education in Sri Lanka
There are many types of universities in Sri Lanka. The best known
ones are the state universities. Most state universities do not charge fees:
they teach most of their programmes free of charge to undergraduates.
When you enter a university as an undergraduate, you are also
entitled to all the facilities provided by the university either free of
charge, or at a heavily subsidized rate. These facilities include library use,
access to the internet and the use of computer labs, accommodation for
the most deserving students, sports, clubs
and student associations. At many university What is the example
canteens, food in the canteens is generally of a heavily subsidized
provided at about one-third the cost outside.
rate given in this
A recent development in some universities is
the opportunity to take part in international paragraph?
student exchange programmes.
As we all know, there is stiff competition to get into state universities.
Only a small percentage of qualified students get this opportunity, because
there is only a limited number of places. We also know that this is why we
need a high Z-score at the A-levels to enter a state university.

Department Department Faculty Faculty

Department Faculty University Faculty

Department Department Faculty

Chart 1 The academic structure of a state university

Let’s look at the academic structure of
a state university. Each university has several Do all universities
faculties. There are various departments in each have the same number
faculty. For example, in the Rajarata University of faculties? Do all
of Sri Lanka, the Faculty of Agriculture has four faculties have the
departments. The Faculty of Applied Sciences same number of
of the South Eastern University of Sri Lanka has departments?
three departments. There are 11 departments
155
 in the Faculty of Arts, University of Colombo. The Faculty of Medicine in
the University of Jaffna has 15 departments.
Each faculty offers a degree programme, such as a Bachelor of Science
degree, a Bachelor of Arts degree, an MBBS, a Bachelor of Engineering
degree, a Bachelor of Business Management degree and so on. Few people
know that “MBBS” is an initialism in Latin which means “Bachelor of
Medicine and Bachelor of Surgery”. Similarly, LLB, the Bachelor of Laws
degree, is also a Latin initialism.

The table below shows you some of the faculties and degree
programmes available in six state universities in Sri Lanka in 2017: the
University of Colombo (UoC), the University of Jaffna (UoJ), the University
of Peradeniya (UoP), the University of Ruhuna (UoR), the Eastern University
(EU) and the South Eastern University of Sri Lanka (SEUSL).

Bachelor of UoC UoJ UoP UoR EU SEUSL

Arts      
Science      
Business Management      
Medicine     -- --
Agriculture --     --
Engineering --  --  -- 
Technology   --  -- 
Dental Sciences -- ---  -- -- --
Healthcare Sciences -- --- -- --  --
Veterinary Medicine -- ---  -- -- --

Discuss this table with a friend. According to this table,

-Which degree programmes are available in all the universities?
-Which degree programmes are available in only four universities?
-Which three degree programmes are available in only one university?

156
 There are many subjects in each faculty related to the programme
of study. For example, in arts faculties in the state university system, you
can study subjects from the humanities and the social sciences. In fact, in
Find out the departments certain universities, the arts faculty is known
and the subjects as the Faculty of Humanities and the Social
available in medicine or Sciences. Here, you find a range of subjects such
engineering in a state as classical languages and literature; modern
university listed above. languages and literature; religious studies like
Buddhist, Christian, Hindu and Islamic studies;
history; political science; geography; sociology; What were your favourite
international studies; linguistics and so on. subjects at O/levels? Did
In Bachelor of Arts programmes, different you choose what you
universities offer a different range of subjects. liked to do for your A/
Levels?
When we select our Advanced Level subjects, we make our decision
based on several factors. One is our preference for certain subjects. There
are subjects we like more than others. Another is the inherent skills and
abilities we have identified in ourselves for certain subjects. These are
the subjects we have done well in, and/or your teachers have identified
Which subjects are your potential to study them. Thirdly, and
considered most perhaps most importantly, is the reputation
prestigious at A/Levels? and the prestige of certain subjects over
others. We know that there are subjects that
are considered more difficult, and only suitable for the best students. They
tend to be much sought after also because the professions associated with
these subjects are much admired and respected. As a result, some other
subjects are sometimes regarded as inferior.
However, it is important to set aside such biases when we select
our streams, and our subjects, because things like reputation and prestige
are not always based on the reality. All subjects have their own intrinsic
value. No subject is superior or inferior. All subjects offer us opportunities
to develop our knowledge and skills. They can also form the foundation
for various types of employment. So it is better not to force yourself to
do subjects that you are neither interested in, nor have an aptitude for,
because of prestige alone.

157
 After Reading
1. The first paragraph of this essay suggests that there are state
universities that also charge fees. Do you agree? How do you know?
2. What facilities are available to state university students free of charge,
according to the second paragraph?
3. Which paragraph tells us about the difficulties of getting into a state
university?
4. Transfer the information given in Paragraph 4 into this table:

Name of university Name of faculty Number of departments

5. Which paragraph suggests the importance of choosing the subjects

that are right for you, despite what other people think?
6. Groupwork: Below are study programmes available in Sri Lankan
state universities. In groups of five or six, read them and do the
activities below.

Arts: Social Science, Dental science

Agriculture Humanities,
including languages
Management

Engineering
Science: Natural Law
Science, Applied
Science, IT
Medicine
Veterinary
Fine arts Science

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 1) First, find out what the study programmes called in your mother
tongue.
2) Discuss with your friends and list the study programmes
according to the prestige that is generally given to them by
society, school, parents, and even you.

3) Now, list them according to your own preference. You must

do this alone. Once you finish, share your list with your group
members.
You can draw a table like this in your notebook to complete activities 2 and
3.
1) Highest to lowest Reasons for 1) 2) According Reasons for 2)
prestige according to to my
society preference
1st
2nd
3rd
4th
5th
6th
7th
8th
9th

4) Summarise the preferences and the reasons for preferences in

your group. You can use the following structures:
“Some of us prefer to study …… while some of us prefer ….. . ”
“Most of us like to study ….. Most of us don’t like to study …….”
“Only a few of us /only one of us like(s) /does not like to study …….”
“Reasons given by us are ……” “Some of us feel / think that …..”
“Most/none of us like to study …… because it is ………..”

5) Do you agree with the last sentence of this essay? Discuss in

your group, giving reasons. You may agree or disagree. After
discussing, present a summary of what you discussed in class.
The summary can be written in two columns, in point form.

159
 6) Remember the first “before reading” activity you did when you
brainstormed about the word UNIVERSITY? Read what you
wrote then. Have your ideas changed after reading the article?
Can you add more to your impressions now? Discuss with your
friends, and present to your class.
7) Find out more about university education and the programmes
you dream of following by visiting the websites of the national
universities given below. You can find out about faculties and
departments by going to the home page, and clicking on the link
that says “Academic”.

Eastern University of Sri Lanka: www.esn.ac.lk

Open University of Sri Lanka: www.ou.ac.lk
Rajarata University of Sri Lanka: www.rjt.ac.lk
Sabaragamuwa University of Sri Lanka: www.sab.ac.lk
South Eastern University of Sri Lanka: www.seu.ac.lk
University of Colombo: www.cmb.ac.lk
University of Jaffna: www.jfn.ac.lk
University of Kelaniya: www.kln.ac.lk
University of Moratuwa: www.mrt.ac.lk
University of Peradeniya: www.pdn.ac.lk
University of Ruhuna: www.ruh.ac.lk
University of Sri Jayawardenepura: www.sjp.ac.lk
University of the Visual and Performing Arts: www.vpa.ac.lk
Uva Wellassa University: www.uwu.ac.lk
Wayamba University of Sri Lanka: www.wyb.ac.lk
Grammar

Sentence Patterns: SVOC Sentences

So far, we have learnt about SV sentences (in Unit 2), SVC sentences (in Unit
3), SVO and SVOO sentences (in Unit 5). In this unit, we will learn about
the final type of sentence, the SVOC sentence.

The structure of a SVOC sentence is as follows:

Subject + Verb + Object + Complement

160
 In SVOC sentences, the complement follows the object. Here the
complement refers to or modifies the object, and thus we call it the Object
Complement. The object complement can either be a noun (N), a noun
phrase (NP), an adjective (A), or an adjective phrase (AP).
1. The family called their new puppy Tarzan. (N) (proper N)
2. Mahela Jayawardana and his wife named their daughter Sansa. (N)
(proper N)
3. The angry principal called the disobedient students hooligans. (N)
4. He considered himself a failed businessman. (NP)
5. The members elected her the president. (NP)
6. We painted the house yellow. (A)
7. The court found the accused guilty. (A)
8. I find your comments tactless. (A)
9. The mobile phone company offers some connections free of charge.
(AP)
10. The service organisation considered their coordinator absolutely
irreplaceable. (AP)

Grammar activity:
Identify all the grammatical elements in the sentences above by completing
the table below. Some are done for you.
Subject Verb Object Complement Complement
(N or NP) (A or AP)

1 The family called their new Kalu. --

puppy
2
3
4
5
6 The court found the accused -- guilty.
7
8
9 The service
organisation

161
 Once again, you will notice that SVOC sentences in which the complement
is a noun is quite rare; they tend to be proper nouns or plural nouns.

SVOC sentences are not very common in English, unlike SVC sentences that
you studied in Unit 1, for example. We often find SVOC in formal speech or
writing. Look at the examples below:

A: Formal speech B: Informal or colloquial speech

I find your comments tactless. You’re tactless!
I consider him a failed businessman. I think he’s a failed businessman.
I find you charming. I think you’re charming.

The utterances under A and B are similar in meaning. They only differ in
their levels of formality.

SVOC sentences also occur in specific instances of more commonly used

verbs like to make, to find, and to paint. However, note that to find and to
make are not used in their everyday sense of physically finding something
or making something, as in “I found the book I was looking for”, or “I made
a birthday card”. Instead, the two verbs are used in a more abstract sense
here.

To paint: We painted the classroom white. They painted the town red.
To find: I find your comment tactless. (the same meaning as I think, I
consider)
To make: The film made the actor famous. Hard work made him rich.

Activity: Identify the verbs that can be followed by an object complement:

to have, to offer, to declare, to sing, to pronounce

1. Groupwork: The principal in your school is very strict. He usually

scolds students harshly if he catches them breaking a school rule.
Now, in groups of five or six, Read the following situations.

i) You and your friends climbed the mango tree in the school garden
and ate all the ripe mangoes. Then, you picked all the unripe
mangoes and threw them at the primary school children when
they were going home. The small children’s parents complained,
and you and your friends got caught.
162
 ii) Two days ago, you and your friends secretly left school at 10.30
am without getting permission. You roamed around the shops
in town for two hours. Then you went into a small shop and had
some cool drinks, some biscuits, and some other things, and went
home. A teacher saw you creeping out of school. The mudalali of
the shop took pictures of you with his phone and sent them to
your principal. You were all easily identified.
iii) After the annual sports meet, you and your friends got into an
argument with some students of a different house. The argument
went out of control and it became a physical fight. One of your
friends got a broken nose and had to be taken to hospital. By the
next day, even the neighbouring schools had got to know about
this incident.
iv) You and your sweetheart always sit at the back of the class and
pass notes to each other. Then you started secretly bringing your
phones to class. You were secretly SMSing each other from under
the table when the teacher caught you. You were both taken to
the principal.
Imagine that you are the students as well as the principal in these situations,
and select the one that you like best. Discuss it in your groups, and practise
scolding each other like the strict principal, using the following language
structures. Each student in the group must play the role of the principal in
turn. The rest of the students must act like the wrongdoers.

As the principal scolds, the other students can give reasons in their defense.

Structures Vocabulary to scold

I consider you ……. terrible disgraceful

I also consider you ……… very badly-behaved

I think you are ……. irresponsible violent
a disgrace to the school
I find your actions ………
rascals thugs hooligans
a bunch of thugs
I am extremely ashamed of you.
I will suspend you for four weeks.

163
 Now, imagine you have done something very good and praiseworthy at
school. You have been invited to the Principal’s room with your teacher
in charge. Here, the principal makes a short speech of appreciation. Select
one of the following situations.

i) You are the captain of the debating team. You are an outstanding
debater and you also worked hard to train your team. You and
your team recently won second place at all-island debating
contest. Now you have been invited to the BMICH in Colombo to
receive medals from the Minister of Education.

ii) A child and mother were crossing the road in front of your school.
You were walking just behind them. Suddenly a bus came at great
speed. You pushed the child and mother away from its path by
throwing yourself at them. They were saved by inches. But in
the fall, you broke your wrist. Several teachers and students
witnessed what you did, and informed the principal.

iii) An essay you submitted for a competition titled “Controlling

the Dengue Menace at School” has come first in the province.
The provincial director of education has written to your
principal informing him/her of this. The letter also says that the
recommendations you make in your essay will be implemented
in all the schools in the area.

iv) Your school decides to start a home garden. The teacher-in-charge

invites Advanced Level students to participate in gardening as a
form of stress relief. It is not compulsory, and very few students
join. But you go regularly throughout the year and help with
planting, watering, weeding, and sweeping the home garden.
The teacher in charge notices your commitment and informs the
principal, and recommends that you are awarded a special prize
to recognize you at the school prize giving.

Select the situation you like best. Once again, imagine that you are the
principal, and use the following language structures to praise the student.
Again, you can develop this into a skit, with each student in your group
playing the role of the principal, teachers, and the student.

164
 Structures Vocabulary to praise
I consider you …. an asset to the school

I also consider you … an outstanding student

I think you are ………. admirable
talented
I find your actions…..
praiseworthy
exemplary

I am extremely proud of you.

I will organize a felicitation ceremony for you.

165
 8
EMPLOYMENT
Introduction

This is the final unit of your textbook. In this unit,you gain practice in
reading, writing, listening and speaking in the context of employment. You
will also learn vocabulary needed to face job interviews and communication
in the workplace in general. The activities in this unit encourage you to
engage in co-operative learning.

166
 Lesson Outcomes
In this unit, you will,
 read and understand job advertisements.
 fill basic application forms required for jobs.
 write covering letters for job applications.
 write effective résumés / CVs.
 face job interviews confidently.
 use English confidently in the workplace for verbal communication,
writing business letters, resumes and short reports.

Job Fair 2016, University of Colombo

(Image source: http://www.cmb.ac.lk/index.php/colombo-job-fair-2016/)

Reading
Reading the poem ‘The Employment Struggle’

Before Reading
1. In groups of five or six, do the following activities:
(i) List 10 different types of employment commonly found in Sri
Lanka. E. g. computer assistant, teacher, soldier
(ii) Discuss the advantages and disadvantages of self-employment.
(iii) Name two jobs that you would like to be engaged in, and explain
the reasons for your choice.

167
 (iv) Do your elders expect you to do the same job as theirs, or do they
have different expectations?
(v) Think of three difficulties people face in finding jobs.

2. In the table below, the definitions of the words that are listed are
jumbled. Match the words with their correct definitions.

1 Toil understanding and reaping the benefits of

one’s own talents and skills
2 To strive to make a great effort to achieve something
3 Self-actualization duties, commitments or responsibilities
4 Perseverance obeying the law
5 Law abiding hard work, also struggle
6 Obligations the act of continuing with an opinion or actions
in spite of difficulty

While Reading
1. Read this poem written by a Jamaican poet and answer the following
questions.
The Employment Struggle
By Erika Heslop Martin

The struggle,
The toil, the depression, the frustration,
striving towards self-actualization,
life can be so hard,
set goals,
work towards them,
obstacles in the way.
Go to school to get educated,
get educated to get hired,
get qualified, but there is no suitable job,
ideas come flushing,
start a business.
Hustle in the midst of the bustle,
business needs capital
business needs a push start.
168
 Apply for many jobs,
get called for many interviews,
too qualified you are,
employers can’t pay you,
under experienced you are,
employers pay you what they want.
Tired of being unemployed,
take the job with little or no pay,
they think you are competent,
but, they want to reduce their expense.
Question,
will you take contract work?
The employers ask.
You want the job, you need the job,
you need some money,
you have financial obligations,
you don’t want to steal,
you don’t want to kill,
you don’t want to sell your soul to the devil,
you just want to be a decent law-abiding citizen,
no idler, no bum,
so you say: sure,
contract work they call it,
you are now a temp,
you get paid until they say when,
there are no benefits,
just the raw pay,
and you are taxed just the same.
Your place is temporary,
so you just go with the flow.
Be punctual, be nice, dress professionally,
work hard; work late if you must,
misery, frustration a part of the struggle,
perseverance, hard work and determination,
creativity, innovation, enthusiasm,
one day you will be, out of the employment struggle!

169
 (i) Identify three words in the poem which suggest psychological
obstacles to finding jobs.
(ii) Explain with examples the following line “Business needs a push start”
as expressed in the poem.
(iii) Write the line which gives the idea of “self-employment” in the first
verse.
(iv) Name five actions or principles expected from an employee, as stated
in the poem.
(v) Does this poem end on an optimistic tone? How do you know?

After Reading
1. Write a short paragraph paraphrasing the poem. You can begin with
the following sentence:

“Finding a suitable employment is a struggle as we have certain expectations

and goals in our lives. ….”

Some guidelines on paraphrasing:

First, a definition:
Paraphrasing can be defined as “expressing the meaning of
something written or spoken using different words”. It involves taking a
set of facts or opinions from a written or spoken text and rewording it.
Summarising, on the other hand, means expressing in your own words the
key points (or the main argument) of the original passage. A summary is
necessarily shorter than a paraphrase.
Paraphrasing is useful when we need to express an idea in our own
words, and not necessarily in the original author’s words. Sometimes,
paraphrases are needed to simplify a text, and to make it clear. Follow these
steps to write a paraphrase:
 First read the original text, e.g. :- a poem, a newspaper article etc.
without taking down any notes. You should read it at least twice.
 Then, put the original text aside and write down what you remember.
 Now read the original text again by paying attention to keywords
(either circling, underlining, taking down notes in the margin etc.),
until you clearly understand its meaning. You may read it two or three
times.
170
 Try to guess the meaning of unfamiliar words by making use of the
words on either side of the text. Failing that, search for the meanings
of the unfamiliar words.
 Put the original text aside and carefully read what you have written.
 Then revise what you have written. Write all the main ideas in your
own words. When writing, do the following:
• Introduce the source, where available, in a single phrase. For
instance, “In the article titled ‘Towards a Democratic Sri Lanka’, De
Silva says that ...”
• Change the sentence patterns from the original text.
• Try to keep the paraphrased text about the same length of the
original text.
• Try to follow approximately the same tone (e.g. humorous, sad,
informal, or formal) as the original passage.
 Compare the paraphrased text with the original one: look closely to
see if the exact meaning is paraphrased.
2. Participate in a classroom debate about employment: self-employment
vs. temporary employment
Language Focus
Given below is a list of words, phrases and questions related to employment,
including self-employment. You can make use of them in your debate.

Apply for a job; Job

Shift work; Night shift; seekers; Search for an
Dead-end jobs; Well-paid employment; Candidates
jobs; Domestic workers; for the job; On contract
Part-time job; A good basis; Permanent jobs; The
team-player government sector

“Do you know anyone who is self-employed?”

“Why do you think some people don’t choose to be self-employed?
“Do you have any career plans yet?”
“Why don’t you start you own business?”

171
 Cost-of-living allowance;
Pay slip;
Unfair dismissal; Salary expectations;
Trade union action; Pension scheme/pension plan;
Difficult working conditions; Payday;
To be stuck behind a desk; Allowance;
Heavy workload; Redundancy pay;
Dealing with rude employers Retirement age;
All expenses paid

Some jobs allow people to work remotely.

My job is demanding.
I’m in charge of supervising the technical department.
Self-employment is boring.
I run my own business/ institute.
There is encouragement from the current government for university
students to become self-employed.
You could also get a promotion.

to fire; to quit a job; to resign; Maternity leave;

to go on strike; Casual leave;
to be hired; overtime; Annual leave;
meeting a deadline; job Study leave;
satisfaction Medical leave;

Reading

Reading advertisements

Before Reading

1. List three places where you can find employment opportunities and
advertisements.
2. Discuss the advantages and disadvantages of these sources.
3. Brainstorm or guess, and write down 10 words that you may find in
job advertisements.

172
 Reading

1. Scan the following job advertisements very quickly, and identify the
jobs that are advertised.

Advertisement 1

Advertisement 2

173
 Advertisement 3
Advertisement 4

Advertisement 5

174
Advertisement 6 Advertisement 7

Advertisement 8

175
 2. Draw a table like this in your notebook, or on a large piece of paper,
and include all the basic details of each advertisement.
Ad 1 Ad 1 Ad 1 Ad 1 ....... .......
Post
Advertiser
Place of work
Educational
qualifications
Professional
qualifications/
experience
Age required
Salary
Contact details
Other relevant
information

3. Write similar words for each of the following words that appear in the
advertisements.
Verbs Verbs Nouns Nouns
implement proficiency
forward position
demonstrate literacy
prioritize capacity
provide fluency
recruit categories
undergo resource
liaise disqualification
shortlist referee
canvass competence

4. Write 10 adjectives found in the advertisements that describe personal

qualities of candidates.
e.g. :- competent
176
5. Select five adjectives from your list and make sentences out of each
one to bring out their meaning.

After Reading
1. Get into groups of five or six. Select one member from your group.
Discuss which post suits him/her best and justify your choice.
2. Each group announces their decision and the justification to the class.

Applying for Jobs

Image source: http://bizenglish.adaderana.lk/commercial-bank-
declared-the-strongest-bank-in-sri-lanka/

Interviews

(i) Imagine you are Namal, a young school leaver. Namal has applied for a
post of Technical Assistant. He has been called for an interview. Fill the
blanks in the following dialogue between the interviewer and Namal
with appropriate details and phrases.

(ii) Discuss with your friends and make a list of requirements and
qualifications you need to have to face the interview for a technical
assistant.

177
 At an interview
Interviewer : So, you’ve applied for the post of technical assistant?
Namal : Yes, that’s right.
Interviewer: Tell us about you and your achievements.
Namal : .........................................................................................................................
.........................................................................................................................
.........................................................................................................................
Interviewer: Can you tell us why you applied for this job?
Namal : .........................................................................................................................
.........................................................................................................................
.........................................................................................................................
Interviewer: Do you know what your duties would be as a technical
assistant?
Namal : .........................................................................................................................
.........................................................................................................................
.........................................................................................................................
Interviewer: Yes, you mentioned almost all the duties and responsibilities
expected. Tell us, how you see yourself as a student?
Namal : .........................................................................................................................
.........................................................................................................................
.........................................................................................................................
Interviewer: Do you have any previous work experience, even as an intern
or as an apprentice at school?
Namal : .........................................................................................................................
.........................................................................................................................
.........................................................................................................................
Interviewer: Now, do you have any questions to ask us about this job?
Namal : .........................................................................................................................
.........................................................................................................................
.........................................................................................................................
Interviewer: Our salary is negotiable. However, it will depend on your
commitment. So what are your expectations in terms of a
salary?
178
Namal : .........................................................................................................................
.........................................................................................................................
.........................................................................................................................
Interviewer: We open at 9.00 and work from Monday to Saturday and
all our employees are expected to arrive at 8.30. We close
at 6.00 pm. You will be able to leave by 6.30.Thank you for
coming for the interview.
Namal : Thank you. When will I know if I have been successful?
Interviewer: We’ll give you a call by next Friday.

Application Forms

1. Given below is a list of words and expressions often used in application

forms, at interviews and in the office. Study them and answer the
questions given below.

advert punctuality
attest referee
certify resign
curriculum vitae résumé
customer care policy remuneration
dismissed to give / get the sack
efficient walk-in-interviews
fired with effect from
negotiable

(i) Underline the informal, colloquial words and expressions in the

list.

(ii) Select 10 of the words in this list. Make sentences for each one to
bring out their meaning.

2. In groups of four or five, read the five curricula vitae (CVs) and the
advertisement given below, and complete the following activities:

179
 (i) Discuss and order the CVs for the post advertised according to suit-
ability. Give reasons for your choices.
(ii) Announce this to your class.
(iii) Have a discussion with the other groups justifying your selection
and arguing and counter-arguing their order of preference.
Curriculum Vitae 1

photograph

Venoshi Bandara
1234, North Street
Chilaw
077-590490
[email protected]

SUMMARY OF QUALIFICATIONS
Exceptionally well organized and resourceful professional with more
than six years of experience; a solid academic background in accounting and
financial management; excellent analytical and problem solving skills; able to
handle multiple projects while producing high quality work in a fast-paced,
deadline-oriented environment.
EDUCATION
Bachelor of Science, Wayamba University
Major: Accounting; Minor: Computer Information Systems

PROFESSIONAL ACCOMPLISHMENTS
Accounting and Financial Management
 Developed and maintained accounting records for up to fifty bank
accounts
 Formulated monthly and year-end financial statements
 Generated various payroll records including state payroll reports, annual
tax reports

180
 Tested accuracy of account balances and prepared supporting
documentation for submission during a comprehensive three-year audit
of financial operations
 Formulated budgets for various projects
 Converted manual to computerized accounting systems for two
organizations
 Analysed and reprogrammed software to meet customer requirements
 Researched and corrected problems to assure effective operation of
newly computerized systems

WORK HISTORY

 Student Intern, Financial Accounting Development Programme, ABC

College, Borella (May 2012)
 Accounting Coordinator, Maharaja Organisation ( 2011)
 Bookkeeper, Ceylon Tobacco Company (2009-2011)

PROFESSIONAL AFFILIATION

Member, International Computer Association, Wayamba University Student

Association
COMPUTER SKILLS

 Proficient in MS Office (Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook), QuickBooks

 Basic Knowledge of MS Access, SQL, Visual Basic, C++

181
 Curriculum Vitae 2
Nuzrat Noor
43, Daham Street
Kandy
072-889900
[email protected]

OBJECTIVE: Internship or a Part-time Position in Marketing, Public Relations

or a related field utilizing excellent academic and communication skills
EDUCATION:
 Currently following a BSc in Business Administration with Marketing
Emphasis; University of Peradeniya
 Expected Graduation Date: June 2018
 GPA to date: 3.32/4.00
RELEVANT COURSEWORK
 Principles of Marketing Business Communication
 Internet Marketing Consumer Behaviour
 Public Relations Business Policy & Strategy
WORK
 Academic Tutor: History (2016 to present); ABC Private Institute,
Kandy
 Assisted university students in overcoming issues and successfully
mastering academic coursework
 Accounts Assistant, Imtiyaz Financial Group, Nuwara Eliya, 2014
 Researched story ideas, wrote articles and participated in the publication
of a weekly newsletter published by the university, 2015-2016
COMMUNITY SERVICE:

 Advertising Coordinator (part-time), The Canon (2016 to present)

 Editor, University Student Newspaper, University of Peradeniya
 Volunteer, Publicity Committee (2014- 2016), Public Library, Kandy
ADDED VALUE:
 Language Skills: Trilingual (English/Sinhala/Tamil)
 Computer Skills: MS Office (Word, Excel, PowerPoint), Photoshop
REFERENCES: Available Upon Request

182
Curriculum Vitae 3
Ratheesh Karunakaran
123, Main Street
Jaffna
[email protected]
EXPERIENCE:
Office Manager
National Painting Society, Vavuniya
June 2014 -Present
 Developed an improved, streamlined webpage for new users
 Assisted in all other office administrative duties
 Assisted in planning and execution of all society events
 Managed volunteers through tasks delegation and coordination
 Maintained office library including inventory and record keeping
Assistant Accountant
ABC College, Kadawatha
September 2011 - May 2012
 Input all data into registrar database
 Manually calculated salary
Achievements
 Received an award for outstanding work ethic in April 2012 from ABC
College
 Won the best performer award at the computer assistant competition
organised by Mirasa TV Corporation, 2011
Secondary Education
Vavuniya Central College, Vavuniya (1995-2007)
Science Stream (G.C.E A/L)
University Education
University of Moratuwa
Bachelor of Science in IT, Second Class Lower Division in IT Administration,
2011
Skills
 Ability to work with several operating systems, including Windows and
Linux
 Experience with HTML and JavaScript
 Ability to work in all three languages - English, Sinhala and Tamil –
fluently and confidently

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 Curriculum Vitae 4
Pavani Fonseka
No.77, Samagi Avenue
Panadura
[email protected]

Summary
Committed and motivated Office Assistant with exceptional customer
service and decision making skills, strong work ethic, professional demeanor
and great initiative, quick to learn new procedures, takes responsibility for
diverse projects.
Highlights
Typing and transcription Persevering
Microsoft word, Excel and PP Personable
Filing, faxing and mailing Flexible
Presentation skills Organised
Telephone skills Diligent
Reception area management Adventurous
Package deliveries Trustworthy
Experience
Office Assistant (2014 – present), One-to-One Organisation, Panadura
 Handling all incoming correspondence and packages
 Logging phone messages to computer system; emailing staff members
 Creating shipping labels; scheduling daily pickups
 Calling clients to schedule appointments; following up on visits
 Scheduling equipment management; ordering supplies
File clerk (2012-2013), One-to-One Organisation, Panadura
 Filed paper backup copies of research notes and letters
 Scanned historical magazines for easy retrieval
 Created computer backup for off-site storage
Telephone Interviewer (2010-2011), One-to-One Organisation, Panadura
 Checked on customer satisfaction
 Followed telephone scripts to obtain customer information

Education
Diploma in Management and Computer Designing, Second Class Lower
Division (2010), Institute of Management and Computer Designing,
Colombo 5

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Curriculum Vitae 5

Kevin Brohier
23, Frederick Street
Trincomalee
078- 4893421
[email protected]

PROFESSIONAL HIGHLIGHTS
 Extensive technical and management experience in information systems
technology with a solid academic background in computer information
systems and business administration
 Excellent communicator with strong leadership skills with the ability
to build cohesive, productive teams while fostering and encouraging
creativity and individual expression
 Experience in Operations Management, Project Management, Quality
Management & PC Operations, Software Development, Systems
Design, customer relations, technical support and troubleshooting

WORK EXPERIENCE
Supervisor, Financial Systems, Super Vehicles Ltd, Colombo 5 (2016 to
present)
Significant Accomplishments
 Supervised the maintenance and enhancement of financial systems to
ensure process integrity and system stability for user areas
 Managed a major software upgrade, significantly increasing efficiency
in the use of accounts and purchasing systems
 Converted contract and payee information from a third party system to
an internal automated system, resulting in approximately Rs.250, 000 in
annual revenue for the organization
 Developed a cohesive, productive work team of individuals from diverse
areas of the organization, utilizing strong interpersonal and leadership
skills to foster and encourage teamwork and cooperation among team
members and with user areas
 Implemented several internal process improvements that have resulted
in hundreds of time-saving hours annually
 Promoted to the post of Supervisor after 6 months on the contract basis

185
 Programmer/Analyst, Nawaloka Hospital, (2013 - 2016)
Significant Accomplishments
 Provided systems support and enhancements to user areas throughout the
hospital
 Developed and implemented an automated system for processing employee
timesheets, thus eliminating the need for handwritten timesheets
 Researched, designed and developed a new software application for
strategic planning and reporting
 Recognized as Information Systems Employee of the Year 2015 for the
high quality of customer service provided

Senior Computer Operator, Cultural Development Bank, Galgamuwa (2010

– 2012)
 Supervised shift operations and staff, trained employees, developed work
schedules and monitored work performance
 Operated IBM and Digital systems; identified and resolved problems to
assure smooth and efficient system operations

EDUCATION
 MBA with concentration on Management Information Systems, Sri
Jayewardenepura University (2015)
 Bachelor of Science, Adex College, Moratuwa, (Affiliated to Monash
University, Australia (2009)
Major: Computer Information Systems, Minor: Business Administration,
GPA: 3.00/4.00 GPA in major:
 Certificate in Computer Programming; Electronic Computer;
Programming Institute, Doorway Institute, Colombo 4 (2012)

TECHNICAL KNOWLEDGE AND SKILLS

 C, C++, Visual Basic, COBOL Windows 9x/200x/XP
 Advanced Microcomputer Applications UNIX/Linux
 Management & Design of Database Systems SQL
 Relational Database Management Microcomputer Graphics/Mapping
 MS Office (Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook, Access)

References are available upon request

Resumes adapted from https://resumegenius.com/resume-samples

186
 The Advertisement

Advertisement: http://www.cv.lk/ads-February/metric-vacancy-671760.aspx

3. Write your own curriculum vitae.

4. Given below is an advertisement and a specimen application form

for Grade III of Sri Lanka Courts Registrars Service taken from a
Government Gazette notification. Read the relevant information and
prepare an application form according to the guidelines given.
 

187
 Judicial Service Commission
Open Recruitment to fill Vacancies in Grade III
of Sri Lanka Courts Registrars Service - 2017

The Judicial Service Commission has decided to recruit those who possess
following qualifications to fill vacancies in the post of Registrar Grade III in
the Sri Lanka Courts Registrars Service based on the results of an interview.
Qualifications :
Applicants should be:
(i) attorneys-at-Law; or
(ii) graduates of a recognized University; or
(iii) persons possessing any other equivalent professional or educational
qualifications ;
(iv) should be not less than 20 years and not more than 30 years of age.

Preference will be given to those who possess experience in office

Management and Accounting Procedure.

02. The post carries a monthly salary scale of Rs. 41,580 -11x755 - 18
x1,030 - Rs. 68,425 (The initial salary step will be the (MN 7-2016)
3rd salary step (Rs. 43,090) in this salary scale. The salary will be
paid in accordance with Schedule II of P. A. Circular No. 03/2016 till
01.01.2020).

03. The applicants selected for recruitment after an interview will be

given appointments to Courts with vacancies in any part of the island
due to service exigency and apart from service exigency, requests
for transfers will not be considered for any reason till the end of due
period.

04. The specimen form of application for this post is published at the end
of this notification. According to said notification applications should
be prepared and submitted using a paper of 11 1/2” x 8 1/2” in size.
The applicants should prepare their applications strictly in accordance
with the specimen application form.

05. Applications from officers already engaged in service possessing

above qualifications should be submitted through their respective
Heads of Departments.

188
06. Applicants who have fulfilled above qualifications should submit
their applications under registered cover addressed to the “Secretary,
Judicial Service Commission Secretariat, Colombo 12” to reach on or
before 31.03.2017.
The envelope containing the application should be marked “Open
recruitment to Courts Registrar Grade III” on its top left hand corner.
Applications received after the closing date will be rejected.

07. Applications which do not conform to the requirements stipulated

in this notification will be rejected and such applicants will not be
notified.
08. Any questions with regard to the application and recruitment, the
decision of the Judicial Service Commission will be final.
09. The Judicial Service Commission may decide about the number of
vacancies to be filled by the interview.

PRADEEP JAYATHILAKE,
High Court Judge/Acting Secretary,
Judicial Service Commission.
Judicial Service Commission Secretariat,
Colombo 12,
09th February, 2017.

OPEN RECRUITMENT TO FILL VACANCIES

IN GRADE III OF THE SRI LANKA COURTS
REGISTRARS SERVICE - 2017

01. Name with initials (Mr./Mrs./Miss) : ...............................................................

02. Names denoted by initials : ...............................................................
03. (i) Date of Birth : ...............................................................
(ii) Age as at 31.03.2017 : ...............................................................
Years : ................... Months : ................... Days : ...................
04. (i) Permanent address :...............................................................
(ii) District : ...............................................................
05. National Identity Card Number : ...............................................................

189
 06. Telephone Numbers :
(i) Home : ...............................................................
(ii) Mobile : ...............................................................
07. Date of enrolment as an Attorney-at-Law : ........................................................
08. In case of a graduate applicant :
(i) Degree : ...............................................................
(ii) Date of a completing the degree : ...............................................................
(iii) University : ...............................................................
09. Any other equivalent educational or professional qualifications :
(i) University/Institution : ...............................................................
(ii) Qualifications: ...............................................................
(iii) Date of completing the qualifications: ........................................................
10. If employed at present :
(i) Designation and Grade : ...............................................................
(ii) Whether confirmed in the present post : ....................................................
(iii) Department and present station : ...............................................................
11. (i) Have you been convicted for any offence by a Court?
: ...............................................................
(ii) If so, give details : ...............................................................
I hereby declare that the above particulars furnished by me are true and
correct.
......................................................
Signature of the applicant
Date : ..............................................

Attestation of Applicant’s Signature

(Not applicable for applicants already in the Government Services)
I certify that the applicant Mr./Mrs./Miss ....................................................................
is known to me personally and that he/she placed his/her signature before
me on ..........................
......................................................
Signature of Attester
Date : ..............................................

190
(Applicant’s signature should be attested by a Principal of a Government
School or a Justice of Peace or a Commissioner of Oaths or an Attorney-at-
Law or a Notary Public or a Commissioned Officer in the three forces or a
permanent Government officer drawing a monthly consolidated salary of
not less than Rs. 47,615).

Recommendation of Head of the Department

I, hereby certify that Mr./Mrs./Miss ........................................................employed

in this ............................ possesses the required educational qualifications to
apply for the Grade III post in the Sri Lanka Courts Registrars Service and
that he/she can be released from the present post, if selected to the above
post and that he/she is not more than 30 years by the closing date that he/
she signed before me and that his/her application form is recommended
and forwarded.
......................................................
Signature of the Head of Department
Stamp : ..............................................
Date : ..............................................
02-969/3

Covering Letters
Read the five covering letters and answer the following questions.
1. Explain the meaning of the following words and phrases which appear
in the letters given. You may look up a dictionary.
 meticulous
 passion
 excellent
 rewarding
 resilience
 rewards
 all walks of life
2. Rewrite the following sentence, taken from the letter 2, in your own
words.
“Working at Commercial Bank has been very rewarding, and I would
appreciate the opportunity to become a permanent employee”.

191
 5. Which covering letter gives evidence of the candidate’s experience in
acquiring English language proficiency? Give the evidence.

6. Complete the following table according to the details given in the

covering letters. Fill in the appropriate headings in the first row as
well.

Advertised
in/ on
Dharani
Mendis
Aroma Food
City
Sunday
Times
Editor
C o m p u te r
Assistant
Seems
persevering

7. “A great way to stand out in your cover letter is to highlight a character

trait, an accomplishment, a really impressive skill that will quickly
show how you stand out among other applications”. According to this
statement, what, do you think, is the best covering letter of the four
given below? Write a short paragraph justifying your answer.

192
Letter 1

Dharani Karunanyake
“Jayasri”, Main Street
Matara
072-002233
[email protected]

20th September 2017

D. P. Kodikara
Director
PTO Company
Baker Street
Colombo 9

Dear Mr. Kodikara,

Application for the Post of Senior Editor

I am interested in the Senior Editor’s position at PTO Company, as

advertised in Ceylon Today. I am currently employed as Legal Advisor for
the Women Political Participation Movement (WPPM) in Matara. I believe
that the skills and experiences I have gained at this position make me an
ideal candidate for the post of Editor.

As the Legal Advisor, I have developed strong writing and editing skills.
For example, one of my main duties has been to prepare the WPPM’s
constitution and the related legal documents of the organisation. This duty
requires meticulous writing and editing skills, and an ability to convey
complex legal ideas clearly. The documents I have prepared have received
praise for the clarity of my writing.

I have also gained extensive experience in law and policy research. In

particular, through my work with lawyers of several local bodies, I have
become heavily involved in several legal reforms underway in the country.
I am always eager to learn more about state legislation, reading up on these
topics on my own time to become more knowledgeable. I would love to
bring this passion for policy and law to your company.

193
 I am confident that my experience as the Legal Advisor, particularly my
research and writing skills will qualify me for this post. I can provide you
with current samples of my work, if required.

I have enclosed my curriculum vitae. I look forward to meeting with you

and discussing my qualifications in more detail.

Sincerely,
Dharani Karunanyake
(Adapted from: https://www.thebalance.com/cover-letter-sample-for-a-resume-2060250)

Letter 2

23rd August 2017

General Manager
Commercial Bank
Head Office
Main Street
Colombo 1

Dear Ms. Mendis,

Application for Sales Associate

It is with great interest that I learned that the Commercial Bank will be
accepting applications for a permanent full-time Sales Associate in the
Pawning Department of the bank. I have been working as a computer
assistant on contract basis since November 2016 with you. I am interested
in staying on at Commercial Bank in a permanent position.

Working at Commercial Bank has been very rewarding, and I would

appreciate the opportunity to become a permanent employee. I feel that
my previous experience, and the commitment I have shown as a temporary
employee make me an excellent candidate for the position of Sales
Associate.

Please accept my CV for review and consideration.

194
Sincerely,

Methni Fernando
Computer Assistant (Temporary)
[email protected]
075 -9090671
(Adapted from: https://www.thebalance.com/job-transfer-request-letter-example-temp-to-
perm-2064098)

Letter 3

Akil Nazar
115, Raja Mawatha
Kantale
[email protected]
078-9090921

13th September 2017

Mr. Rajan Kodituwakku

Human Resource Director
Crunch Company Ltd
Rajagiriya

Dear Sir,

Application for the Logistics Graduate Training Scheme

I would like to apply for the logistics track of your graduate training scheme,
advertised on the prospects.ac.lk website. As requested, I enclose my CV
herewith.

I am in the final year of my B.A. (Honours) Degree in Geography at the

University of Sri Jayewardenepura. As I always aimed to pursue a career
in the business field, I have taken modules on the Geography of Business
and GIS modelling. My final-year dissertation is on “Changing Patterns in
Retail”. I have developed my analytical skills and ability to read, manage

195
 and present data in English. I have also become familiar with a range of
business intelligence sources.

As you can see from my CV I have experience in:

 Retail: moving from shelf stacker to checkout operator to team leader

in my two years with Aroma Food City. I contributed to the company
consistently by providing excellent customer service.
 Warehouse operations: picking and packing to meet targets over the
busy Sinhala and Tamil New Year period.

I have also:

 worked in and led teams at Aroma Food City on business projects.

 communicated with colleagues at all levels in retail and warehousing.
 solved problems as a team leader, while dealing with customer
complaints.
 worked flexibly, both early and late shifts and covered for absence,
sometimes at short notice.
 managed my time effectively and efficiently.

My second year semester in Australia (based on a student exchange

programme organised by the University Grant Commission of Sri Lanka)
exposed me to a different culture and improved my English language
skills. In addition, my voluntary work with young people has increased my
resilience and ability to mix with people from all walks of life.

I look forward to hearing from you.

Yours sincerely,

Akil Nazar

(Adaptedfrom:https://www.prospects.ac.uk/careers-advice/cvs-and-cover-letters/cover-letters/
sample-cover-letter)

196
Letter 4

13th September 2017

Mr. Ganesh Shivakumaran

CBA Travels Ltd.
Jambugasmulla Street
Anuradhapura

Dear Sir,

Application for the Position of Driver

Your recent advertisement in The Sunday Times for a driver drew my

attention as it appears to match my experience and abilities. I would also
like to state that I am very keen to work for a company like yours that
offers a competitive salary, comprehensive benefits, opportunities for
advancement and the rewards for service and commitment.

Currently I am employed as a driver at Gamini Travellers where I am

responsible for driving vehicles safely and on time to destinations, whilst
at the same time giving passengers or clients a helpful, courteous and a
professional customer service. I also have experience in picking up and
distributing goods, and organizing travel routes.

I can operate a vehicle safely during daylight traffic hours and at night
time. I possess a clean driving license with no violation records.

I have attached my curriculum vitae for your review and would like to thank
you in advance for taking the time to read my application. My referees will
confirm my positive attitude and strong work ethic.

I look forward to hearing from you soon.

Yours sincerely,

Kelum Silva
No.66
Main Street
Batticaloa
(Adapted from: https://www.dayjob.com/content/driver-cover-letter-1429.htm)
197
 Letter 5

14th August 2017

Crunchy Biscuits Private Ltd

Low Level Road
Kottawa

Dear Sir,

Application for the Post of Sales Representative

I am writing to you regarding the post of Sales Representative in your

company. I read the job description on your website, http://crunchy.
com, and I feel that my academic qualifications meet all the necessary
requirements.

I studied commerce subjects for the G.C.E. (Advanced Level) examination

at Mahinda College, Galle. I have acquired skills in Public Relations,
Advertising, Accounting and Marketing Product Development.

I would be pleased to have an opportunity to be interviewed by you. Please

find my enclosed curriculum vitae for your consideration.

I look forward to a favourable reply.

Yours sincerely,

Venura Gamage
No. 66
School Lane
Galle
Mobile : 071- 7333337

198
 Writing

6. Writing a cover letter and a response to a cover letter

Write a covering letter for one of the advertisements. You can follow the
format of the letters you have read in the previous activities.

When you write, you can follow the steps of writing described in the writing
activity in Unit 3. These steps are prewriting, drafting, getting feedback,
revising, and sharing.

Before writing

In groups of four or five, discuss the format of a formal letter in the previous
activities. Write down the main components of this format and discuss
what you’re going to say in the letter under each component.

Drafting: Now draft the letter individually.

Getting feedback: Read out your letters to your group. Identify and talk
about the good features of each letter. If you have any doubts, you can ask
your teacher.
Revising: Now go back to your draft letter and rewrite it, according to
what you discussed.

Sharing: Now exchange your letters and read all the letters of your group
members. Identify the best one, and present it to the class, describing why
you think it is the best. Finally, rewrite all your letters neatly and give them
to your teacher to be marked.

Extension: Exchange your best letter with another group, and write a
suitable response to it. You can follow the same steps as above.

A Mock Interview

In groups of five, have mock interviews to select the best for the above
employment advertisements. You can prepare for this:
- Interviewers must get ready with questions, an evaluation sheet with
evaluation criteria and so on.
199
 - Interviewees must be ready with their CVs, certificates to face the
interview.
- After the interview, the interviewers will write a summary of the
interview and letters to be written to candidates.

Language Focus:

You can make use of the questions and answers given below, as well as
from Namal’s interview above, for your mock interviews.

 “So can you tell us why you would like to have this job?”
 “Thank you for your application.” “I come from Jaffna/ Negombo.”
 “If the company/school offers me the job, I will be very willing to
take it.”
 “I have been at the technical institute / BOC Company for six years.”
 “If I call you after 5 o’clock, will you be at the office?”
 “All care should be taken when moving around the factory.”
 “What do you know about our company/factory/institute/
university?”
 “What do you know about the position you have applied for?”
 “What are your career goals as a school teacher/ banker/ bus
driver?”
 “Tell me about a time when you worked on a team-based project in
your school when a member was not doing his or her share of the
work. What did you do?”
 “Can you tell us about your professional goals?”
 “What qualities do you believe are most valuable for a team to
succeed?”
 “How do you think this job help you to achieve your personal
goals?”
 “What do you understand by the term “managerial skills”?
 “Describe the methods you may follow in convincing others to see
things your way.”
 “Tell me about a time when you were criticized by your team
leader, or your teacher. What did you do?”
 “I am a fast learner and I can work under pressure.”
 “I have prior experience in repairing vehicles/conducting tuition
classes for school leavers.”

200
 Interviewers are not
always very good!

Read this joke and

discuss the underlying
criticism it makes of
interviewers.

Let’s read some more jokes. What do they tell us about employment and
working life?

Two factory workers are talking.

The woman says, “I can make the boss give me the day off.”
The man replies, “And how would you do that?”
The woman says, “Just wait and see.”
She then hangs upside-down from the ceiling.
The boss comes in and says, “What are you doing?”
The woman replies, “I’m a light bulb.”
The boss then says, “You’ve been working so much that you’ve gone
crazy. I think you need to take the day off.”
The man starts to follow her and the boss says, “Where are you going?”
The man says, “I’m going home, too. I can’t work in the dark.”

201
202
 Listening Scripts

Unit 1: Listening 1

Interview with Jayanthi Kuru Utumpala

Interviewer: Hello Jayanthi, and welcome! Thank you very much for agreeing
to do this interview. I’m really happy to talk to you. Can you tell
me, when did you first start mountain climbing, and why did
you want to climb Mount Everest?

Jayanthi: I started climbing when I was very young - about 4 or 5 years

old - and I would climb all the trees in my garden in Dehiwela. I would
even climb the really tall coconut trees. I started mountain climbing when
I was a teenager. When I was about 23 years old, I did a one-month training
course on mountaineering, in India, which taught me everything I needed
to know about climbing big, tall mountains covered in snow.

I wanted to climb Mount Everest because it was my childhood dream to

climb the tallest mountain in the world. I also really love climbing mountains
very much, which is why I wanted to climb Mount Everest.

Interviewer: Um… So what did your family and friends say when you told
them about your plan?

Jayanthi: Actually my family and friends were very supportive when I told
them about my plans. Some friends were quite worried and scared, but
they only told me this after I got back from Everest.

Interviewer: What were the challenges you faced in this journey?

Jayanthi: There were many challenges during this journey that took two
months long. It was very cold - sometimes it would get as cold as minus 60
degrees Celsius. There were times when we could not remove our goggles
that we wear over our eyes, because the extreme cold can freeze our eyes
and there was a chance we could go blind. Sometimes, if you removed your
gloves, your fingertips can get so cold that they could freeze, leading to

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 frostbite. It was also very difficult to breathe, because the higher you climb
up, there was less oxygen in the air. At night time, we had to sleep inside our
tents. But this was also a challenge as it was so cold. It was like constantly
living inside a freezer.

Interviewer: What qualities or personality traits should one have to be an

‘achiever’ or accomplish something great?

Jayanthi: I believe that there are many qualities and personality traits that
are important to accomplish anything. One of them is patience. Sometimes
it takes many years of planning and preparation to achieve anything. For
Everest, the planning and preparation process took about 5 years. Another
important quality is perseverance. Sometimes things go wrong and don’t
go according to your plans. When this happens it is important to get back
up and try again, without giving up easily. It’s also very important to think
positive and believe in yourself in whatever you do.

Interviewer: Hmmm. What message would you like to give the young girls
and boys through this extraordinary achievement?

Jayanthi: My message is this. Don’t let anyone tell you that you cannot do
something because you are a boy or a girl. Sometimes society tells us that
as girls we should only do certain subjects or certain sports. Similarly, even
boys are told to only do some subjects and sports because they are boys.
But it is important for us to question these rules. Because sometimes these
rules only prevent us from being the best we can be -- because each of have
a very special skill and talent. So if you have a passion and a dream to do
something, then follow that dream and don’t stop until you get there.

Interviewer: Thank you Jayanthi. Thank you for talking to us.

Jayanthi: Thank you for inviting me.

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Unit 1: Listening 2

Song “We are the Champions”

I’ve paid my dues

time after time.
I’ve done my sentence
but committed no crime.
And bad mistakes --
I’ve made a few.
I’ve had my share of sand kicked in my face
but I’ve come through.
And I need just go on and on, and on, and on

Chorus: We are the champions, my friends,

and we’ll keep on fighting till the end.
We are the champions.
We are the champions.
No time for losers
‘cause we are the champions of the world.

1) I’ve taken my bows

and my curtain calls.
You brought me fame and fortune, and everything that
goes with it.
I thank you all.
But it’s been no bed of roses,
no pleasure cruise.
I consider it a challenge before the whole human race,
and I ain’t gonna lose.
And I need just go on and on, and on, and on

Chorus: We are the champions, my friends,

and we’ll keep on fighting till the end.
We are the champions.
We are the champions.
No time for losers
‘cause we are the champions of the world.
(Repeat chorus)
___________________________________________________________________________
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 Unit 6: Listening

The difference between the internet, the web, and ‘cyber’

Today I am going to tell you why the internet’ is not the same as the world
wide web. I will also be talking about the birth of the internet and the web.
Finally I will explain what is meant by ‘cyber’.

The internet is a vast or extensive network of computers connecting right

around the world that helps people to communicate with each other. These
interconnected networks make it possible for people in far away places
to connect. Computers use something called internet protocol suites
to function. The word protocol means the rules and regulations to be
followed. The internet is also called ‘the net’. The internet originated back
in the 1960’s in the United States of America.

On the other hand, the world wide web exists within the internet. It can
be considered a large part of it but it is not the same. You can think of the
internet as a foundation for the web. The web is a system through which
anyone can get information from the internet. Remember, I talked about
internet protocols? The web uses just one type called the “HTTP” protocol.
HTTP stands for Hypertext Transfer Protocol. The web is an information
sharing model that makes sharing information or finding information much
easier for people. Browsers are used to access the web. You may have heard
of Firefox, Google Chrome or Bing? These are all examples of browsers.
The web was invented by Tim Berners-Lee in 1989.

It is interesting to note that the web is also changing. The first generation
web was quite static and not so easy to use. On the other hand web 2.0
is much more interactive and has made it possible to not just access
information but also easily upload content. Social media like Facebook
function because of the move from web 1.0 to web 2.0.

So what about ‘Cyber’? What does that mean? While the internet and the
web represent the technical side of connecting and sharing, cyber is used
to describe the ‘human’ experiences taking place through the internet. This
includes the things that are shared, the change in how people do things
including buying and selling and even what people do for entertainment.

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So while it may seem that all these words mean the same thing, they don’t.
These three words are connected just like the internet but each has a
special meaning of its own.
__________________________________________________________________________________

Unit 7: Dialogue: After A-Levels.

Lihini: What are you going to do after A-Levels, Asnah?

Asnah: I want to get very good results and do a degree in business
management at Sri Jayawardenepura University. That is my
dream.
Pasan: But… erm… What if you don’t get very good results?
Asnah: Oh, I don’t know…. I haven’t really thought about it. I’m sure
my father will tell me to do the exam again. And, er… I probably
will. I might get lucky the second time. What about you, Pasan?
Pasan: Aiyo, I don’t know. I don’t… I -- I can’t think properly. I always
get a headache in this class. It’s so tiring. Why is Sidath Sir so
strict? He’s always shouting at us. It’s so tiring.
Maithreyi: Ah, I think he’s under a lot of pressure. You know, his poster
says that he has a 100 percent pass rate. So I guess he has to
make us pass. But anyway, you should have an idea about what
you want to do after A-Levels.
Pasan: Oh I have many ideas. I want to swim in the river every day. I
want to run away with that beautiful girl in the class who sits in
the back row. I want to cycle from Kirinda to Kankesanthurai,
and from Colombo to Batticaloa….
Asnah: Pasan, be serious!
Pasan: Okay. But you know, I really don’t have a clue. Like Asnah’s
father, my parents also want me to go to university. But I know
I won’t do that well. So I am at a loss, really. Ummm… what
about you, Maithreyi?
Maithreyi: Oh I also don’t think I’ll pass that well. I’m… I’m scared of my
results even before I do the exam. I know how much my brother
studied to get into medical faculty. And… and he’s still studying!
He says he will have to study even after he becomes a doctor, if
he wants to specialise. He wants to specialise in paediatrics.

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 Asnah and Pasan: Huh? What’s that? Peedi – what?
Maithreyi: Aiyo, don’t you know that even? It is to specialize in children’s
illnesses. Such doctors are called paediatricians.
Pasan: Oh really? Thank you, O Great Pundit Maithreyi, for educating
us.
Maithreyi: Aney just go men. You will thank me when you get married and
you have babies. You will know who to take them to, because of
me only. Hey Lihini, you’re very quiet? What’s wrong?
Lihini: Oh…. Nothing. Nothing.
Asnah: No, no, you look upset. Tell us what’s wrong.
Lihini: Er…. Actually, I’m really confused about what to do. Even if I’m
selected for campus, I… I don’t think I can go. As you know, my
father can’t work after his accident. My mother is looking after
all of us with the money from her stringhopper business.
Pasan: But I’m sure you will get a scholarship, Lihini. I’m sure.
Lihini: Aiyo, I’m not sure if I’ll be able to manage even with a
scholarship… And… and I feel very guilty about spending
another three years away from home. I won’t be there to look
after my father. Or help my mother.
Asnah: Don’t worry, Lihini, don’t worry. You’re the brightest among us.
I’m sure something will work out for you. Don’t worry.
Pasan: You know, I wish we could get some advice about what we can
do after A-Levels. We only know about going to campus. But--
but how many of us will actually get the chance?
Maithreyi:There is a teacher in our school. Last term he told us about what
we can do after A/Levels. Like the courses we can follow, after
A/Levels. Actually he might be able to advise us. I’ll ask him.
Asnah: Oh please ask him Maithi. Maybe he can organize a seminar for
all our schools. Even my parents will come.
Maithreyi: What a good idea! I will definitely ask Arulnesan sir. He’s very
kind and helpful.
Lihini: I’d like that too. [Gasp] Look at the time! The interval is almost
over. Let’s go back to class, before Sidath sir starts shouting at
us.
All: Let’s go!

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 Acknowledgements

 Ms Parvathi Nagasundaram for her guidance

 Deputy Commissioner EPD Ranjith Iluppitiya for his coordination
and patience
 Darshana Samaraweera, Chapa Welagedera, and students of the
DipTESL programme of the NIE for their excellent feedback
 Chathushka Amarasinghe, Champika Seneviratne, Roshani
Seneviratne, Kees Steegman, Sujeeva Sebastian Pereira, Perumal
Ganeshan, and Saku de Silva for contributing photographs
 Jayanthi Kuru-Utumpala, first Sri Lankan to summit Mount
Everest, for the interview
 Mihiri Jansz, Mahishi Ranaweera, Sabreena Niles, Irushi
Tennekoon, Thavishi Dharmawimala, Lihini Boteju, Hansaka
Wickramasinghe, and Oshanthaka Cabraal for lending their voices
for the audio recordings
 Samkathana Research Centre and Archive of the University of
Kelaniya for facilitating the audio recordings

Note: Grammar activities in Units 3, 4, 5 and 6 have been adapted

from Penny Ur’s Grammar Practice Activities: A Practical Guide for
Teachers, published by the Cambridge University Press

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 Audio Recordings: Listening and Reading texts in the textbook.

Length
Listening and Reading Texts
(minutes: seconds)

Unit 1 : Sri Lankan Achievers

1 Reading 1 : Everyday Hero 01:17
Listening 1 : Interview with Jayanthi
2 03:41
Kuru-Utumpala
3 Reading 2 : Ray Wijewardene 04:03
Listening 2 : Song “We are the Champions” by
4 03:01
Queen

Unit 2 : Living in Harmony

5 Reading 1 : Harmony is all about coexistence 03:13
Reading 2 : Poem “The Human Family” Maya
6 01:43
Angelou
7 Reading 3 : Jim and Mary 00:57

8 Reading 4 : Poem by Confucius 00:23

Unit 3 : Relationships
9 Reading 1 : Rahal 00:39

10 Reading 2 : What are relationships? 04:21

Unit 4 : English as a local and global

language
11 Reading 2 : Crazy English Plurals 02:01
Reading 1 : 10 Reasons why you should learn
12 02:59
English

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 Unit 5 : Crime and Social Responsibility
13 Reading 1 : Six news items

14 Reading 2 : Laws in different countries 05:50

15 Speaking : Joshua 00:43

Unit 6 : The Cyber World

16 Reading 1 : Writing emails 01:51

17 Reading 2 : An informal email 01:11

18 Reading 3 : The internet of things 01:31

Listening : Difference between the internet,
19 03:13
web and cyber
20 Reading 4 : Know your enemy 01:31

Unit 7 : Continuing Education

21 Reading 1 : Maradana College of Technology 01:15

22 Reading 2 : Susikaran Vinotha 02:47

23 Listening 1 : After A/Levels 04:14

24 Reading 3 : University Education in Sri Lanka 05:15

Unit 8 : Employment
25 Reading 1 : Poem “The Employment Struggle” 02:01

26 Reading 2 : Covering Letter 1 02:37

27 Reading 2 : Covering Letter 2 01:14

28 Reading 2 : Covering Letter 3 02:48

29 Reading 2 : Covering Letter 4 01:37

30 Reading 2 : Covering Letter 5 01:18

31 Reading 3 : Jokes 01:11

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