LOYOLA COLLEGE (AUTONOMOUS), CHENNAI – 600 034

U.G. DEGREE EXAMINATION – GENERAL ENGLISH

MD 9

FIRST SEMESTER – APRIL 2008

EL 1065 / 1061 – ESSENTIAL ENGLISH

 

 

 

Date : 22/04/2008         Dept. No.                                      Max.:100 Marks

Time : 1:00 – 4:00

 

I Answer the following questions:                                                              10marks.

Fill in the blank with appropriate preposition: The lifeboat made straight ——–the sinking

ship.  (1 mark)

Identify the conjunction in the following sentence: She must weep or she will die.[1 mark]

 

Write one sentence each for the following expressions: ‘neither of the…’ ‘One of the…………..’                                                                                 [2 marks]

Write the comparative and superlative degrees of comparison for the article ‘industrious’.                                                                                                                     [2 marks]

Change the sentence into active voice: Why was such a letter written by your brother?                                                                                                                          [1 marks]

Fill in the blanks with suitable articles: English is——language of —–people of England.

(2 marks)

Choose the correct verb from those in brackets: I —–English for five years. (Study, am studying, have been studying). [1 mark].

 

 II Read the following passage and answer the following questions:

The day started out just like any other.  My first class that was in Economics, with professor Ben.  I walked quietly into the classroom as usual and found a corner seat in the back row.  I always chose that corner seat to avoid the attention of the professors.  Well, I was extremely shy.  It made me very nervous an unhappy if the professor asked me any questions.  I read my lessons regularly but I never feel confident.  With a low self-image and equally low self-esteem, I had little self-confidence.  ‘I can’t ‘ was my characteristic way of reacting to any challenge.  I went crawling through my life like a worm until that day changed my life, so thoroughly and forever.

To my deep distress, the professor asked me to explain a point in the day’s lesson.  I had studied the lesson diligently and knew the answer, but I was so terrified of speaking in public.  With shaking knees, I stood up shifting nervously from one foot to another, beads of perspiration running down my face.  Finally I mumbled incoherently and slumped down.  I had not only handled the subject matter awkwardly but had made the entire class laugh.

As the class came to a close, the professor asked me to meet him.  ‘I wish to talk with you,’ he said.  Shaking in my shoes, I waited until all the students had left, then slipped into the professor’s room.  ‘You wanted to see me, sir?’ I asked.

‘Yes’ said the professor, ‘sit down’ He sat looking at me with real concern.  The silence deepened.  ‘What is the matter with you?’ he asked.  Then he continued, ‘you are doing well in the class.  You’ll probably get a first class.  But when I ask you a question, you appear terribly embarrassed, nervous, and scared.  What is the matter with you, son?’

‘I don’t know professor,’ I mumbled miserably; “ I Guess I’ve got an inferiority complex.”

‘Do you want to get over it and act like a man?’

I nodded.  ‘I’d give anything to get over it.  But I don’t know how.’

The professor smiled reassuringly. “You can get over it, son, by doing what I did to get over my inferiority feelings.’

‘You’? I exclaimed.  “You were the same way, I am?’

‘That’s why I noticed the same symptoms in you’, the professor said.

‘But how did you overcome the problem?’ I asked.

His answer was quietly given.  That has transformed me from a shy withdrawn little boy to a confident and successful person I am today.  The release from negative thought has been so joyful and wonderful that I have to tell others similarly affected that they too can do much better than they are doing now.

 

1. Give meanings for the underlined words. (1×10=10) marks
2. Answer the following questions in your own words. (5×2=10 marks)
3. a). why did the student always sit in the last bench?

b). Suggest a suitable title for the story.

2. How did the student react to any challenge? What does he compare himself with?
3. What were the feelings of the student when he the professor questioned him on the lesson?
4. What was the student’s problem? What advice do you think the professor gave him?
5. What do you understand by ‘inferiority complex.’? How do you overcome it?

 

1. Compare the values found in the above passage with the text “We are Equals” which deals with the student and the professor and write a paragraph in 10 sentences [5marks]                                   .

III Read the passage carefully and answer the questions:

     There once lived  an old lady, who lost her sight.  She wanted to be cured of her blindness.  She called in a doctor.

“I suppose I shall be able to cure your blindness” said the doctor, after examining her eyes.  “ I shall charge you thousand rupees for treatment.”

The old lady thought a while.  “ I shall pay you the fee,” she said, “only if my sight is completely restored.  I shall pay you nothing in case you fail to cure me.” The doctor agreed.

The doctor called at her house daily and carried on with his treatment.  When he saw lady’s furniture he was tempted to steal it.  Every day he took away some of her furniture.  He deliberately delayed the cure till he stole most of her furniture.

At last the doctor cured her blindness.  He asked for his fee.  “I won’t pay you the fee,” said the lady;” the cure is not complete.”

The doctor filed a suit against the lady.  The judge studied the case.  “Why have you refused to pay the doctor his fee?” the judge asked the lady.  “Because my sight has not been completely restored,” she replied.  “I cannot see all my furniture.”

The judge understood what had happened.  He passed verdict in favor of the old lady.  The doctor was not only to return the furniture, which he had taken from her house, but also to forfeit his fee.

1. Answer the following questions in your own words (5×1=5 marks)
2. What was the agreement between the old lady and the doctor?
3. Why did the doctor delay his treatment?
4. Why did the doctor go to court?
5. What was that had been passed in the court?
6. What is the moral of the story?
7. Give a suitable title for the story.
8. Make sentences with the following words (10 x1=10 marks)

a). Sight   b) cured  c) treatment  d) deliberately   e). Verdict.

f.) Forfeit   g) restored   h) delayed   i) refused   j) tempted.

 

 

 

 

 

IV Answer any two of the following questions in a paragraph in about 100 words each:

(2 x 5 =10 marks)

1. Write a short note on the topic ”The book you like the best.”
2. Write a short note on the topic “ Should boys learn to cook.”
3. Write a short note on the topic “ The best way of spending holidays.”

 

V Answer the following question in about 200 words:

My first day in Loyola College.                                            [15marks]

VI Write a letter to your friend about your plans for the summer vacation. (10 marks)

VII Write an essay on any one of the topics in about 200 words on the following                                                                                                                         [15 marks]

1. The effects of Advertisements on the public.
2. Spreading greenery for a healthy living.
3. My role model.
4. Your favorite hobbies.
5. The use and misuse of cell phones.

 

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