Improve your vocabulary by solving riddles

D. Vocabulary

I. Solve the following riddles: (Just for fun)

1. The man with whom you have to speak with your mouth wide open ............................
2. The man who checks your body and checks your pulse and purse ...........................
3. The man who is closer to your heart and treats you ................
4. The man who “hits the iron when it is hot” ............................
5. The man who is not happy with the proverb, “All that glitters is not gold.”................................

II. With the help of your teacher, refer to the dictionary and find the meanings of the following words. Before that, arrange the words in alphabetical order.

dentist, blacksmith, cardiologist, doctor, goldsmith, plumber,
lawyer, banker, priest

III. Fill in the columns below. Get guidance from your teacher and refer to the dictionary.

Specialist/professional   ----------------------- What he does
1. dentist                       -----------------------treats the teeth
2. doctor
3. cardiologist
4. blacksmith
5. goldsmith
6. lawyer
7. banker
8. priest
9. plumber

Improving vocabulary - Remembering new words

IV. Read the following story and identify the words with which you are not familiar. Find out how these words are used in this context.

The Cherry Tree
When George Washington was about six years old, he was presented with a small axe. Like most little boys, he was extremely fond of it. He went about cutting everything that came his way.

One day, as he was wandering about the garden, he happened to find a beautiful, young cherry tree. His father had planted this tree. Naturally he was very fond of it. George tried the edge of hisaxe on the bark of the tree. Ultimately the cherry died. Sometime after this, his father found out what had happened to his favourite tree. He came home in great anger and wanted to know who the guilty person was. But nobody could tell him anything about it. Just then George, with his little axe came into the room.

“George,” said his father, “do you know who killed my beautiful little cherry, yonder in the garden?”
This was a difficult question for George to answer. He was silent for a moment. But quickly recovering himself, he answered,

“I don’t want to hide the fact from you father. Sorry, I was the one who cut it with my new axe.”
The anger subsided. Taking the boy lovingly in his arms, George’s father said, “My son, you should not be afraid to tell the truth. Telling a lie is as sinful as cutting a 100 trees.”

E. Study Skills
One would get the following grammatical information if he refers to a standard dictionary.
1. the part of speech of a word
(whether it is a noun, verb, adjective, adverb, etc.)
2. If it is a noun whether it is countable [c] or uncountable [u]
3. If it is a verb, whether it is transitive [vt] or intransitive [vi]
4. The derivatives if any

Task: Write the dictionary entries for the following words. modern, oasis, provide, sleep, medicine, grow

Grammar Exercise - Subjcct Verb Object

F. Grammar
Look at the following sentences.
1. Trees/ preserve/ the soil.
        S         V           O
2. The neem trees / are grown/ in villages and towns.
             S                      V                  A
3. We/ have planted/ neem saplings/ in our school campus.
     S           V                  O                       A
4. Trees / give / us / shade.
       S        V   IO     DO
5. The villagers / call / the neem tree / their village pharmacy.
            S             V         O                       C
6. The neem trees / are / useful / in many ways.
            S                V       C             A
Note: A sentence is a group of words arranged in a specific order which makes complete sense. It comprises smaller units called elements. They are: Subject (S), Verb (V), Complement (C), Object (O) and Adjunct (A).
Subject : It denotes the person or thing about which something is said. It can be a noun, a pronoun, an infinitive, a gerund, a noun phrase or clause.
Verb : Write, read... are called transitive verbs. Trasitive verbs have objects. Sleep, come, go, become.... are called intransitive verbs. They have no objects. If the transitive verbs have two objects (answer to what and to whom) they are called ditransitive verbs.
Object : The object that answers the question ‘what’ is the DO. The object that answers the question ‘to whom’ is IO.
Complement : It completes the predicate of a sentence. It is an essential part. The subject complement describes or characterises the subject. The object complement describes or characterises the object.
Adjunct : It gives additional meaning. It answers to the question how (manner), when (time), where (place) etc.
Task 1 : Read the following anecdote. Identify the sentence patterns. Circle the number corresponding to the correct pattern of the sentence. The first one is done for you.
1. S V
2. S V O
3. S V A
4. S V O A
5. S V O A A
6. S V IO DO
7. S V A A
A penguin joke
1. A man and his wife were walking along a street. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7
2. They came across a penguin. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7
3. They were surprised. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7
4. They thought for a while. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7
5. They took it to the police station. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7
6. The policeman asked them to take it to the zoo. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7
7. The policeman was walking down the same street the next day. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7
8. He saw the couple again. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7
9. He saw the penguin in their hands. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7
10. They gave him the explanation. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7
11. “We took her to the zoo yesterday.” 1 2 3 4 5 6 7
12. “We take her to the Golden beach now.” 1 2 3 4 5 6 7
Task 2: Make sentences of your own using the sentence patterns SVC, SVO, SVA, SVOA, SVCA. Use the given picture to make sentences.

Reading the story and answering exercise - Learn English

 Read the following incomplete story. 

Once there was an old farmer. He was about to die. Before he died, he wanted to teach his three sons how to be successful farmers. So he called them to him and said, “My boys, before I die, I want you to know that there is a great treasure buried in our barren land. Promise that you will look for it when I am dead”
The sons promised. The farmer died. The sons started digging the land in search of the treasure. They laboured and toiled day and night. They dreamt that they would be getting boxes of gold coins, diamonds and jewels ......................................................................... .....................................................................................................
Task 1: Read the above passage once more. Try to predict how the story will end.
............................................................................
............................................................................
Task 2: Here are three guesses about the ending of the story.
Which guess do you think is the least likely ending?
Which do you think is the most likely ending?
1. They sold the land and became poor.
2. They found the treasure and became rich.
3. They had a good harvest. They became rich.

Improve your English by exercise - Listen the conversation and answer

Task 1: The teacher will read the following words. Listen carefully and repeat.

1. cakes / keIks /
2. dates / deIts /
3. Jane / dZeIn /
4. Joan / dZ@Un /
5. phone / f@Un /
6. mango / m{Ng@U /

Task 2: Your teacher will read the following pairs of words. Listen and repeat.

laid / leId / load / l@Ud /
sail / seIl / soul / s@Ul /
raid / reId / road / r@Ud /
cane / keIn / cone / k@Un/
lane / leIn / loan / l@Un /
bail / beIl / bowl / b@Ul /
paste / peIst / post / p@Ust /
gale / geIl / goal / g@Ul /
gate / geIt / goat / g@Ut /
rate / reIt / wrote /  r@Ut /

Task 3: Your teacher will read out five sets of words. In each set of three words, one word will be heard differently. Circle the corresponding number. The first one has been done for you.

a. 1  2  3
b. 1  2  3
c. 1  2  3
d. 1  2  3
e. 1  2  3

B. Speaking

I. The teacher will read a story. Listen carefully. (The teacher reads)

Task 1: Recall the story you have just heard. Narrate it to the class in your own words.

Task 2: Now, some students from the class can take roles and enact the first story from the Supplementary Reader. After they complete enacting, one student should come forward and narrate the story to the class.

Task 3: Narrate any story that you know to the class.

II. The teacher will read the following dialogue. Listen carefully.
(It is a telephone conversation between Ramya and the receptionist at the youth hostel, Pitchavaram.)

Ramya : Hello, I’d like to visit Pitchavaram on 15th August.
Receptionist : Would you like to have accommodation here?
Ramya : Yes.
Receptionist : Would you like a single room or a double room to be booked?
Ramya : I would rather have a double room booked. I would like to stay for two days. I would like to go boating in the lake in the mangrove forest there.
Receptionist : Which would you prefer, a rowing boat or a mechanised one?
Ramya : I’d prefer a rowing boat.
Receptionist : That’s fine. We’d arrange for the room and for boating.

Answer the following:
1. Which place would Ramya like to visit?
2. How long would she stay there?
3. Where would she like to go boating?
4. Which would she prefer, a rowing boat or a mechanised boat?
Task1: Take turns playing the roles of Ramya and the receptionist.
Task2: Look at the words/phrases in italics in the dialogue.
They are used to ask about or to express preference. Now, practise the dialogue in pairs. Then practise the dialogue, making use of the cues given.
Arul : What would you like to have, coffee or tea?
Abdul : I prefer tea to coffee.

Now, what would you like to have, apples or oranges?
................................................ buttermilk or tender coconut
................................................ chappathi or idli