Unit

11 Applications for jobs or college

Part A

Objectives
By the end of this part of the unit you will be able to:
 discuss how you would apply for a job
 listen to advice when applying for a job
 talk about your plans for the future
 analyse your achievements
 draw up a CV for someone
 read some job advertisements
 read some letters of application for a job
 write your own CV
 write a letter of application for a job
 use for and since correctly
 complete a vocabulary network about jobs
 write a description of a job.

A11.1 Introduction: How to apply for a job

Work in a small group and discuss your answers to these questions.

1 Where can you find information about job vacancies?

2 What should you do if you want to apply for a job?
3 If you are a school leaver, what kinds of things can you include in your CV (Curriculum Vitae)
that an employer may be interested in knowing about?
4 What are the qualities and skills that most employers are looking for in a school leaver?

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 A11.2 Listening: What do employers expect?

1 Listen to the advice your teacher will give you about how to behave in an interview, then
put a tick ✓for the positive points or a cross ✗for the negative points of each of the following
statements.

Write them in your exercise book like this: 1 = ✓

1 You know what you want to do.

2 You are decisive.
3 You have realistic ideas about your future.
4 You speak very hesitantly.
5 You have found out about the organisation beforehand.
6 You are not interested in a training programme.
7 You show interest in the company.
8 You don’t want to know about prospects for the future.
9 You should give the impression that you know all about the company.
10 You will not want further training.
11 You must respect other employees.
12 You should not look down on older workers.
13 You should be ambitious and willing to work hard.
14 You should not get into debt.
15 You can wear what you like to the interview.

2 Listen to the passage again, then choose the best answer for each of the following:

1 According to the text, employers like job applicants to:

a have a career b have clear goals c be able to make decisions d know the employer’s mind
2 At a job interview, applicants should:
a try to impress the interviewer
b show interest in what the interviewer says
c know something about the organisation they are applying to
d talk about their training and long-term prospects with the organization
3 It is not a good idea to:
a respect older employees
b be ready, willing and able to learn new things
c have only minimum academic achievements
d think qualifications are more important than experience

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 4 Being ambitious is a good thing, as long as:
a you are friendly
b you are prosperous
c you are not too competitive
d you are extremely competitive
5 When you first get a job, it is a mistake:
a to borrow money
b not to borrow money
c to have a car or motorcycle|
d not to manage your money carefully

3 What do you think the author means by the following:

a ... this does not mean that the applicant should try to appear a ‘know-all’ at the interview.
b Many young people, when they first get a job, think that the world is at their feet.
c ... they often bite off more than they can chew in terms of financial obligations.
d ... it pays to dress conventionally and smartly.

4 Explain the meanings of the following words and expressions as they are used in the text.
Use a dictionary if you want.

a notions
b prospects
c crucial
d look down on
e bite off more than they can chew

5 Listen to the text again, then discuss the following questions.

1 Which of the suggestions given in the text do you agree with and which do you disagree with?
2 Do you think you will be able to follow this advice when you apply for or start a job?
Why / Whynot?
3 How could you get some information about an organisation you are applying to in order to ‘do
you homework’ before your job interview?
4 What clothes would you wear to a job interview so as to be ‘conventionally’ but smartly dressed?

A11.3 Speaking: Talk about the future

Work in your group to ask and answer questions about your plans for the future.
Use the question forms What, Where, Why and the future tenses.
Examples: I am staying on at school. (present continuous)
I’d like to go to college. (would like …)
I am going to go to college. (going to future)
I will visit my family. (Simple future)

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 Study the dialogue:

A - What are you going to do this weekend?

B - On Saturday I'm going to finish my assignment and then go out at night. On Sunday I'm playing
soccer in the morning and then having dinner at my parent's house. What about you?
A - I'm going to the mountains for the weekend. It should be a lot of fun!

A11.4 Speaking: Records of achievement

Make a list of your achievements, both academic and non-academic, both in school and outside
school. Now work in pairs to advise your partner about possible career choices based on your
lists.

A11.5 Listening: Drawing up a CV

Copy the following CV into your exercise book, then listen to your teacher before you complete it.

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 A11.6 Reading: Job advertisements

Soon many of you will be leaving school and looking for a job. at some stage in the job seeking
process, it is necessary to write a formal letter of application. Often the letter is written in
response to advertisements like those below, which have appeared in a newspaper.

1 Note the skills and attributes required in each advertisement.

2 List the adjectives of personality mentioned in the advertisements e.g. punctual, motivated.

1 SITUATIONS VACANT
A fast-growing motor company requires capable personnel as follows:
Warehouse clerk
Applicant should have completed Junior Secondary School, have a good command of English,
and a head for figures. Punctuality is important.
Receptionist
Applicants must speak English fluently, be motivated and must get on with customers easily.
Previous experience would be an advantage.
Messenger / cleaner
Experienced Grade 8 person required, strongly built.
Salary by negotiation. Very attractive salaries in all cases, with the usual fringe benefits.
Applications, in candidate’s own handwriting, stating age, qualifications, and experience to:

The Managing Director, PIO Motors (Ethiopia) Ltd,

P.O.Box 9571,
Addis Ababa

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 Complete the following sentences with words from the box.

self-motivated punctuality salary experience recruiting ability

1 The interviewer decides to employ the applicant because she showed her ___________ to work
independently.
2 The Managing Director particularly wants the candidate to be ___________ and to show that he or
she can work without constant supervision.
3 The candidate only seemed interested in the ___________ and not what he could bring to the job.
4 PIO Motors is ___________ for a number of new members of staff.
5 In any job, ___________ is important so make sure you arrive on time.
6 It always helps if you have some work ___________ before you apply for a job.

A11.7 Reading: Letters of application

1 read the following letters of application and discuss with your partner the strengths and
weaknesses of each and decide on whom you would ask for interview.
Example: I would choose this applicant because he has all the necessary qualifications.

P.O. Box 183

Addis Ababa

Hello Sir.

I read you job advert in the Ethiopian Herald and want to apply to be a clerical officer. I write good and
like meeting people, so would be a good asset for you company.

Hope to hear from you soon. You can ring me on my mobile.

Your friend,
Getachew Abebe

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2

P.O.Box 7659.
Addis Ababa.
6th June 20011.

The Personnel Manager,

Handiwear Leather Company,
P.O. Box 12347
Addis Ababa

Dear Sir,

I am writing to apply for the post of clerical o cer you have advertised in the ‘Ethiopian Herald’ of 4th
June.

I am a responsible person, and willing to work hard in the post. My father says that I deserve a good job
as I have worked hard at school and passed all my examinations with distinction in English and
Mathematics. I can type well, and have some experience with a computer. I also help with disabled
children in the local centre in my spare time.

I enclose details of my examination results and hope that you will consider me a suitable applicant for the
position. I look forward to hearing from you.

Yours faithfully,
Aziza Seif

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 P.O.Box 173
Addis Ababa.
6th June, 2001.

The Personnel Manager,

Handiwear Leather Company,
P.O. Box 12347
Addis Ababa

Dear Sir,

Application for the post of Clerical Officer

With reference to your advertisement in the ‘Ethiopian Herald’ of 4th June, I would like to apply for the
post of clerical officer.

I recently completed my course in Grade10 and passed the end of year examinations with distinctions in
English and Mathematics. Although I have no full-time work experience, the year I spent as editor of the
school magazine enabled me to acquire a number of useful clerical skills, which included using a
computer.

I feel confident that I could cope with the work of a busy office.

I enclose details of my educational qualifications and experience, together with the names and addresses
of two referees.

Yours faithfully,
Mohammed Mussa

2 Using comparative and superlative adjectives, work in pairs to make statements comparing the letters.
Example:
The second letter is better than the first letter because it has fewer spelling errors.
The third letter is the best because it has a good layout.

3 Discuss in your groups what kind of people you think the letter writers are, and use adjectives to
describe them.
Example: The writer of letter 1 is careless.

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 A11.8 Writing: A record of achievement (CV)

Mohammed provides the information he refers to in the first sentence of his last paragraph in the
form of a Record of Achievement or CV, or curriculum vitaea Latin expression literally meaning
‘course of life’. Study the example below; each item of information has its own heading. Full
sentences are not required. Two names of referees are usually required, preferably that of your
Principal and that of some other respected member of the community who knows you well. Always
ask them first if they consent to being a referee.

CURRICULUM VITAE

Name:Mohammed Musa
Date of birth: 10.10. 1998
Place of Birth: Addis Ababa
Education:
Primary: (2001 – 2007) Valley Primary School, Addis Ababa
Secondary: (2007 – 2011) Selassie Memorial High School, Addis Ababa
Part-time Work Experience:
2007 – present General assistant in Plaza supermarket
2005 – 2007 Volunteer helper, Lady Fatima’s School for the Blind (working to help blind pupils)
Interests / hobbies: Reading, music
Secretary of school Debating Society (2006 –7)
Assistant editor of school magazine (2007 – 8)
Sports / team membership: Basketball team 2008 – present
Captain of Junior Football team 2007
Other information: School science prize 2009
Currently doing evening classes in typing and book-keeping at Regent College, Addis Ababa
References: Ato Mustefa (Manager) The Plaza Supermarket, P.O.Box 517, Addis Ababa
Ato Ahmad (Principal) Selassie Memorial High School, Addis Ababa

1 Write your own CV along similar lines to the one above.

2 turn the notes from your CV into written sentences using forand sinceand make paragraphs giving more
details of some of the items.

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 A11.9 Writing: A letter of application

Using letter 3 in reading a11.7 write a similar letter of application for one of the jobs advertised in
reading a11.6.

A11.10 Language focus: Using for and since

We use for and since to say how long:

Jibril has been in Harar - for four days.
- since Monday.

We use for + a period of time (four days / two years etc.)

five years a long time four days an hour

For a week three weeks ten minutes a month two hours

We use since + the start/point of the time (Monday / 9 o'clock etc.)

Since Monday 9 o'clock 24 July December 2010 Wednesday I got up

Compare: Bontu has been in Gonder since January. (= from January to now)
Bontu has been in Gonder for six months. (not 'since six months')
I've known her since 1980. (= from 1980 to now)
I've known her for a long time. (not 'since a long time')

ago = before now:

e.g. Simbo started her new job two weeks ago. (= two weeks before now)
When did Beka go out?' 'Ten minutes ago.' (= ten minutes before now)
I had dinner an hour ago. (= an hour before now)
Life was very different a hundred years ago.

We use ago with the past simple (did/had/started etc.).

Compare ago and for:

When did she arrive in London?
She arrived in London four days ago.
How long has she been in London?
She has been in London for four days.

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 Exercise 1: Complete these sentences with since or for.
1. My aunt has lived in Australia ______15 years.
2. Nobody lives in those houses. They have been empty ____ many years.
3. Mrs Hire is in her office. She's been there ______7 o'clock.
4. The bus is late. We've been waiting ______20 minutes.

Exercise 2: Answer the following questions. Use the words in brackets ( ) + for or ago.

1. (four days) When did she arrive in Nekemte?

2. (four days) How long has she been in Asella?
3. (20 years) How long have they been married?
4. (20 years) When did they get married?
5. (ten minutes) When did Dori arrive?

In Grade 9 Unit 12 we looked at using for before a period of time, and since before a time when
something happened.

Examples: Meskerem has lived in Harar for 20 years.

She has lived in Harar since 1998

These two sentences mean that Meskerem has lived in Harar in the past – and still lives there.
Compare those sentences with this one:

Meskerem lived in Harar for 20 years.

Using the Simple Past tense in the third person means that she no longer lives there.
Look at this sentence: Is Kibrom still living in Dire Dawa – or has he left?

Kibrom has lived in Dire Dawa since 20005.

Not that we use sinceto refer to a particular time; we use forwhen referring to a period of time.

1 Listen and repeat these sentences as your teacher pronounces them.

2 Write forand sinceon separate pieces of paper. as your teacher reads out some sentences, hold up the
appropriate word.

3 Use for, since or agoto complete this passage, and the correct form of the verb in brackets.
Write the passage in your exercise book.

My father is a farmer. He _________ (farm) in the Tigray region _________ 20 years. He first
_________ (move) there with his parents many years _________ when he _________ (is) a child.
His father _________ _________ (die), so he _________ (work) to grow food _________ the rest of
the family. We children _________ (walk) to school _________ two hours every morning. The
school _________ (open) in 2003 and my brother _________ (be) at school there _________ four
years. He _________ (is) the first in our family to go there _________ it opened, and now my two
sisters _________ (attend) the same school as well.

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 A11.11 Increase your word power: A vocabulary network

Copy the following network into your book and complete it with words connected to jobs and
employment. add any other links about jobs to extend the spidergram as you wish, using collocations
and other linked lexical items.

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 A11.12 Writing: Description of a job

Interview someone you know at home (it could be your mother or father, another relative or a friend)
about their job. Find out about:

a their duties
b the qualifications required
c personal qualities necessary for the job
d the advantages and disadvantages of the job.

Then write a composition about the job to include these facts.

Part B

By the end of this part of this unit you will be able to:
 listen to advice about how to behave in an interview
 listen and answer some interview questions
 role-play an interview
 learn some sentence patterns involving adjectives
 take part in a group role-play about an interview
 write a guided essay
 improve your study skills
 hold mini-conversations
 use discourse markers to complete a story
 read a poem
 play a guessing game.

B11.1 Listening: Interview questions

1 Your teacher will give you a number of interview questions. Listen and answer them in your exercise
book.

2 Work in groups to compare your answers to the questions with those of other members of the group.

3 In your groups, draw up a list of ‘dos and don’ts’ for a candidate in an interview.

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 Examples: Speak clearly.

Be polite.

Look at the interviewer.

B11.2 Speaking: Role-play an interview

1 Look at the following expressions you can use to clarify or correct a statement you have

made during a discussion or an interview:

What I mean is …

What I meant was …

Let me put it another way …

Let me re-phrase what I just said.

The fact of the matter is …

Do you really mean that?

I’m afraid that just isn’t true.

2 Listen and note the pronunciation as your teacher says examples of these expressions.

3 Look at this list of extreme statements:

I don’t make grammar mistakes.

Students are lazy.

Girls should not apply for the same jobs as boys.

Working in a factory is boring.

I want to set up my own business.

Work in pairs to moderate these statements, using a correcting / clarifying phrase.

Example:

Student A: I don’t make grammar mistakes.

Student B: Do you really mean that?

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 Student A: Well, what I mean is I only make errors in writing and always correct them immediately

afterwards.

4 Look at these social expressions to re-state and make something more clear:

In other words …

So what you are saying is …

If I understand you correctly …

So you mean that …

Work in pairs to conduct an interview. One student is a journalist and the other an interviewee.

Using interview questions similar to those in Listening B11.1 and re-stating phrases from the list

above, role-play conversations between the two.

B11.3 Language focus: Sentence patterns with adjectives

1 We saw in Unit 9 A9.8 how we can use the-ing form or the to infinitive after certain verbs.
Example: I do not find it difficult to communicate with others.
1 Another kind of sentence pattern is to use adjectives with prepositions:
I am very good at English.

1 Choose a preposition from the box to complete the following sentences. Write the answers in

your exercise book.

about at by for from

1 They are excited _________ their trip to Addis Ababa next June.
2 Teddy Afro is famous _________ his pop music.
3 I must admit I was shocked _________ her behaviour at the party.
4 She’s rather worried _________ _________ her son’s studies.
5 I’m just hopeless _________ playing the guitar.
6 That house is different _________ the one I was looking for.
7 I’m upset _________ my exam grades.
8 She was annoyed with Tesfaye _________ ignoring their agreement.

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 2 Adjectives expressing feelings and reactions are always followed by the infinitive form of the
verb: disappointed, glad, happy, pleased, relieved, sad, surprised.
Examples:
 I was happy to help them.
 She will be delighted to see you.
This includes too + adjective:
 The water was too cold to swim in.
 Is your coffee too hot to drink?
The infinitive form is also used after adjective + enough:
 He was strong enough to lift the box.
 She is rich enough to buy two cars.

2 Complete the following sentences with one of the words from the box in the infinitive form.
Write them in your exercise book. Note there is more than one correct answer!

sad happy surprised annoyed angry pleased

1 We were __________ to see our parents at the concert.

2 The pupils were __________ to learn about their new timetable.
3 My mother was __________ to learn about the death of her sister.
4 My uncle was __________ to know that he was to become a chief.
5 My parents were __________ to find out about my brother smoking cannabis.
6 The farmer was __________ that the cattle had destroyed his crop of maize.

B11.4 Speaking: Job interviews

Decide on which job you would like to apply for in the advertisements in Reading A11.6.

Work in groups of eight: three students act as interviewers, and three as candidates, and twoas
observers.

1 The interviewers must prepare the questions.

2 The candidates re-read their notes from the interview questions in Listening, B11.1, and prepare

answers to possible questions, using the expressions in B11.2 to clarify and correct yourself

during the question and answer session.

3 The observers plan what they will look for in the interview, using their own notes from Listening
B11.1.

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 4 At the end of the interview, the observers give positive comments about the candidate, and point out
general areas to develop.

Example:

The questions were answered well, but everyone needs to speak more loudly.

5 Students then re-form into other groups and take up different roles for another interview.

B11.5 Language focus: More about adjectives

1 Look at these two sentences.

He is bored by the lesson.

He finds the lesson boring.

A very common way of forming adjectives is to use the present and past participles of verbs. There

are many examples of these, including interested, interesting, tired, tiring, excited, exciting, closed,

broken, amusing. As a rule the past participle (usually, but not always, ending in -ed) tells us how

someone feels about something, while the present participle ending in -ing tells us how something

makes us feel, so:

I’m excited at the prospect of another change – tells you how I feel;

The prospect of another change is exciting (for me) – tells you how the prospect makes me feel.

Here are some more pairs of similar adjectives:

disappointed–disappointing

depressed–depressing

shocked–shocking

frustrated–frustrating

astonished–astonishing

exhausted–exhausting.

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 2 Complete the following sentences with the correct word from the brackets.

1 I like being a nurse. It is very (satisfied / satisfying) to look after people who are ill.

2 We were glad to arrive after such a long and (tired / tiring) journey.

3 My boss was very (pleased / pleasing) with my work and increased my salary.

4 The children were (thrilled / thrilling) by their new pet.

5 The music was so (bored / boring), that Nishan fell asleep.

6 Please stop making that noise. It is very (annoyed / annoying).

7 Desta was (surprised / surprising) to get a letter from her brother in America.

8 We were very tired and (confused / confusing) after the long journey from London.

3 Look back at the job advertisements on page 195 and say what you feel about the jobs, using

adjectives with -ing or -ed.

Example: That job sounds boring. I would be bored by that job.

B11.6 Writing: A guided essay

1 You are going to write an essay entitled Who you know is more important than what you know.

Read the seven steps to write an essay in Unit 7, B7.6, again. Then work in groups to identify

topic sentences, paragraph headings and useful language patterns, as well as useful ideas and

vocabulary from this Unit to use in your essay.

2 Your teacher will write the ideas from the different groups on the board. Decide as a class

which ideas you think are the best and use these as a scaffold to support you in writing the first

draft of your essay in five paragraphs. Remember to include an introduction and conclusion.

3 Give your partner the first draft of your essay Who you know is more important that what you

know and ask your partner to correct it, looking especially at spelling, punctuation,

grammar, content, layout, etc. You can then make the suggested corrections and submit the

final draft to your teacher. When suggesting corrections use you own personal marking

scheme (Example: T = tense error; sp = spelling, etc.).

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 B 11.7 Study skills: Improve your skills

1 Look back at the Study Skills in Unit 9, B9.2. How well have you met the listening goal you
set yourself there?

2 Your teacher will divide the class into two groups. One group must brainstorm ways of
improving your speaking skills and the other group ways of improving your writing skills.

3 Now work in pairs, one from each group, to share your information and list the ideas.
Highlight with smiley faces those strategies which you personally use or would find useful.

4 Set yourself a writing and speaking goal for the last Unit and decide what strategies you are
going to use.

B11.8 Speaking: Discussion

Look back over your vocabulary lists and the social expressions list and choose a topic to

discuss in pairs. Using these lists, take it in turns to build mini-conversations.

Example:

Student A: Tell your partner a problem (for example, There are not enough girls in high school.)

Student B: Give a reason (for example, Yes, I agree with you.)

Student A: Give a reason (for example, One reason for this is because girls don’t pass the primary

school exam.)

Student B: Give the most important point from your opinion (for example, In my opinion, it is

because girls are needed at home.)

Student A: Give your most important point (for example, I think it is because many girls are told to

marry early.)

Student B: Give a solution (for example, I think boys should help in the home.)

Student A: Agree or disagree (for example, I don’t.

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 B11.9 Writing: Complete the story

1 Copy the following passage into your exercise book and complete it with words (discourse

markers) from the box. You may need to use them more than once.

although however but despite since as then so finally

The clever crow

One day a crow felt very thirsty. _______ he looked

everywhere for some water, he couldn’t find any.

_______he saw a water pot, which made him very

happy.

He flew down to the pot, hoping to have a long cool

drink, _______ he found there was only a little

water inside the pot. _______ this, that he stretched

out his neck as far as it would go, _______ he found

he could not reach the water _______ hard he tried.

_______he tried pushing the pot with his head, _______

he knew that the water would run out if

he could turn the pot _______ over. He pushed and

pushed at the pot, it was too heavy to move. _______

he realised that _______ he could not reach the water

by pushing it over, he must try another method.

He looked round and saw some pebbles lying

nearby. He discovered that if he dropped the

pebbles one by one into the pot, _______ the water

rose slowly up inside it. _______ the thirsty crow

could drink the water _______ he could now reach

it. _______ he sipped the water until he had drunk enough to quench his thirst.

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 B11.10 Reading: A poem

Read the poem below in your group.

Destiny

Have you ever once felt

as though you were on a road,

a road leading you somewhere

and yet … nowhere?

And at one point or another

felt like jumping off the road

but … to where?

So you clung onto the road,

pursued it, followed it,

because it was all you had;

Because even though your

destination was unknown,

At least you had a destination?

So often these days, I feel like this,

And although my destination is

unknown,

I trudge on, wearily, to the end.

Philippa Namutebi Barlow (From An Anthology of East African poetry, Longam, 1998)

Discuss the following questions with your group.

1 Why do you think the poem is called Destiny?

2 What kind of feeling does the poem give you – one of hope or one of resignation?

3 Do you think that your own actions can affect your future life?

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4 Do you consider yourself an optimist or a pessimist?

5 What are your own ambitions and how do you hope to achieve them?

B11.11 Fun with words: A guessing game

‘What’s my line?’ means ‘What’s my job?’ In this game you work in a group.
1 One member of the group is chosen to be the guesser.
2 The guesser must cover their ears and close their eyes or go away from the group for a minute
while the rest of the group choose a job for the guesser. It can be any job.
3 When the group has decided, the guesser comes back to the group and asks questions to find
out what the job is. The guesser can only ask 10 yes / no questions.
Example:
Do I work in a hospital? No.
Do I work in an office? Yes.
Do I have to wear a uniform? No. That’s three questions so far.etc.

Assessment

1 Writing

Your teacher will give you some notes made by a job interviewer describing a candidate.

Your task will be to turn the notes into sentences and paragraphs using suitable discourse

markers (although, however, but, despite, since, as).

2 Listening

Your teacher will ask you some interview questions for you to respond accordingly.

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 Revision Exercises
I. Read the following paragraphs and answer the questions that follow.

Paragraph 1

The potato, like other root crops, has an unearned reputation in some countries as an inferior food,
or a poor person's staple. While roots are the main ingredient of the diet of half a million people, the
potato's nutritive content of protein, fiber, minerals, and vitamins Bl, B2 and C hardly makes it inferior.
Medical researchers report that potatoes are even better than milk for malnourished children, who often
cannot digest milk. Potatoes provide a high-quality protein similar to that in dairy products. Unfortunately,
the potato is still out of reach of a poor person's budget in many developing countries such as Indonesia
and the Philippines.

_______1. According to this passage, why might potatoes be better than milk for children who are
improperly nourished?
A. Potatoes contain quite a bit of calcium.
B. Potatoes have more B vitamins than milk.
C. These children often cannot assimilate milk.
D. These children often cannot find a supply.
_______2. The potato ____________ .
A. does not deserve its bad reputation
B. is the main food for half a million people
C. is not available in many developing countries
D. can hardly be called nutritious
Paragraph 2

"Anting" is a noun that is entering the language because of ornithologists, or bird watchers. Anting
refers to an activity in which birds rub themselves with defence fluids or, sometimes, other bodily fluids of
ants. In the past scientists thought anting had no function and that it was a vice like smoking or drinking.
However, most ornithologists now think that birds use ant fluids to kill parasites. Among those ants that
birds favour are the Azteca ants, which produce formic acid, a repellent so effective that it will drive off
army ants. Birds often crash dive into Azteca nests and allow the insects to crawl all over their bodies, or
they grasp them in their beaks and rub them through their feathers. The birds get such relief from their
treatment that some appear to swoon and even lose their balance.

_______3. “Anting” ____________ .

A. is an activity unique to bird watchers
B. refers to the killing of Azteca ants by parasites
C. is a relatively new word in the English language
D. refers to the way ants defend themselves

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 _______4. Birds sometimes dive into Azteca ant nests because ____________ .
A. they lose their balance as they enter
B. they are trying to kill the ants
C. they are seeking relief from parasites
D. they are repelled by the Azteca ants

II: Answer the following questions based on the data given below.

Setting the Shutter Speed on the Higgins CS-12 Camera

The shutter is a mechanical device that opens and closes in front of the lens of the camera, allowing you to
control the amount of light that strikes the film. The shutter dial indicates shutter speeds in fractions of a
second (1000 = 1/1000th of a second; 500 = 1/500th of a second). Beginning with 1000, each shutter
speed gradation is approximately twice the preceding speed. The following chart serves as a general guide.

Brightness Shutter Speed (seconds)

Indoors 1/30 to 1/60
Outdoors 1/125 to 1/250
Bright beach sands—snow-covered landscape 1/500 to 1/1000

In order to choose the correct shutter speed, you must consider two main factors: the brightness of the
setting and the amount of movement in the subject.

For Indoor Photography:

In a normally lit room—1/30 of a second
In a brightly lit room—1/60 of a second

For Outdoor Photography:

Cloudy conditions—1/125 of a second
Sunny conditions—1/250 of a second
Extremely bright conditions—1/500or 1/1000 of a second

For Photography in Very Dark Settings:

1—The “1” stands for 1 second.
2—The “2” stands for 2 seconds.
B—The “B” is for long exposures. The shutter remains open for as long as the shutter button is held
down.

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 _______1. Which of the following words in the passage that means “break”?
A. control B. exposure C. landscape D. fractions
_______2. The purpose of a camera’s shutter is:
A. to scatter light. C. to include or exclude light.
B. to narrow a light beam. D. to separate light into wavelengths.
_______3. Generally, for indoor photography the shutter must
A. remain open longer. B. open more quickly. C. close quickly. D. open only partially.
_______4. The circled settings on the shutter dial represent
A. settings for outdoor photographs. C. settings when using a long lens.
B. exposures of one second or more. D. shutter speeds when using a flash unit.
_______5. For which of these subjects would a shutter speed of 125 be appropriate?
A. a performer on a school stage C. a girl with an umbrella on a rainy day
B. children playing on a beach D. a boy shooting baskets in a gym

III. Choose the best answer for the following questions from the given alternative.
_______1. A: “I __________ out now, Mum. Bye!”
B: “OK. Have a good time. What time __________ home?”
A. went / did you come C. go / will you come
B. am going / are you coming D. am going / did you come
_______2. He agreed _________ the job as soon as possible.
A. start B. starting C. to start D. starts
_______3. That lecturer _________ at the university since 1990.
A. teaches B. taught C. has taught D. is taught
_______4. Which one of the following sentences show terminated period of time.
A. We lived there for ten years. C. We have lived there for ten years.
B. We will live there for ten years. D. We had lived there for ten years.
_______5. Maya _____ got a camera. And she _____ have a car either.
A. haven’t / doesn’t B. hasn’t / doesn’t C. doesn’t / hasn’t D. haven’t / don’t
_______6. He agreed _________ the job as soon as possible.
A. start B. starting C. to start D. starts

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 IV. Read the following paragraphs and answer the questions that follow.

In the following passage there are blanks which are allotted with numbers. Above the passage are
given words against these numbers. One of these words fits in the blank appropriately. Find out the
appropriate option.

science systems upcoming inspired ability imbibes diverse futuristic

Nanotechnology is the 1_______________of ‘miniature’. It is the engineering of

working 2_______________at the molecular level. Due to advancement in technology area,
nanotechnology is the 3_______________field that interests many people. From the clothes and
sunglasses we wear to computer drives and even cleaning products, nanotechnology which is
4_______________by natural world, plays a big part in manufacturing many familiar products of
our daily use. It enhances our sunscreen’s 5_______________to reflect harmful ultra violet
radiation, armours our designer shades against unwanted scratches. It increases the
capacity of our computer gadgets for storage of data and photos for our use. Nanotechnology, very
broad in its size, 6_______________in itself diverse fields of sciences like surface science, organic
chemistry, molecular biology and semiconductor science etc. Similarly the research and
applications associated to it are also equally 7_______________. Realising its commercial viability,
the scientific institutions in India have started carrying out research and development work in this
filed. It is now fast becoming a powerful technology that aids the development of products
with 8_______________performance. The two major categories of nanotechnology are nano-scale
technology and molecular manufacturing. The former covers small structures and can be used for
introducing stronger, better medicines and faster computers and so on. Molecular manufacturing is
an attempt at building mechanical and chemical manufacturing systems that join molecules
together.

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