Improve Your English – 254 [Archives:2004/774/Education]

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September 20 2004

Dr. Ramakanta Sahu
I. What to Say
Situations and expressions (70):
Marriage Anniversary (III)

Like any other anniversary, marriage anniversary is an occasion of remembrance. It entails the partners going down the memory lane and recounting the unforgettable pearls memory of their happy marital life.

– For my loving wife on our Anniversary. 'Love is all the little things that make a moment special and a life time happy'. On our Anniversary, as I'm thinking of the life I share with you, of the happiness it's brought us and the dreams we've seen come true, as I'm thinking of the many things we've shared, day in and day out, I know our life together is what love's all about. Happy Anniversary.
– Whenever you two come to mind, the thought is warm, special and kind.
– An Anniversary is more than a special day for celebrating another year of marriage It's also a day to think about every wonderful year that has been, and all the wonderful years yet to be.

II. How to Say it Correctly
Correct errors, if any, in the following sentences
1. There were no less than three thousand persons in the meeting.
2. You should open your book at twenty third page.
3. I am leaving for India on next Thursday.
4. Each and every student in the class passed the exam.
5. Little money that he had is finished already.

Suggested answers to last week's questions
1. A number of my friends feel that they are not properly paid for the work they do.
2. He has no issue; therefore he has adopted an orphan child.
3. How much is half a bottle of honey at this shop?
4. It is an admitted fact that Bushra is more intelligent than her sister Hanan.
5. He has not sung many songs after his last album was released.

III. Increase Your Word Power
(A) How to express it in one word
1. To become English in appearance, sound, character, etc.
2. Anxiety caused by considering the sad state of world affairs.
3. The state of lacking higher or finer feelings.
4. The branch of farming concerned with the keeping of animals.
5. To add short notes to explain certain parts of a book.

Suggested answers to last week's questions
1. Something that is like or that may be compared with something: analogue (n)
2. Person who wishes to overthrow all established governments: anarchist (n)
3. Something that is detested: anathema (n)
4. Plants that are both male and female: androgynous plants (n)
5. Machine for measuring the strength of wind: anemometer (n)

(B) Some useful terms, their origin and meaning
Give the source of origin and meaning of the following
1. synecdoche 2. synonym 3. syntax
4. tableau 5. tabloid

Suggested answers to last week's questions
1. spoonerism: So called after the Rev. W. A. Spooner (1844-1930), dean and warden of New College, Oxford. It consists of a transposition between the initial consonant sounds of two words; a practice to which Spooner was addicted. 'The queer old dean' for 'dear old queen' is a famous example of Spoonerism. Rev. Spooner is said to have addressed these valedictory words to an undergraduate pupil: 'You have tasted your worm, hissed my mystery lectures, and you must catch the first town drain.'
2. stanza (It. 'standing, stopping place'): A group of lines of verse. It is the unit of structure in a poem. A stanza pattern is determined by the number of lines, the number of feet in each line and the metrical and rhyming schemes.
3. strophe (Gk. 'turning'): It is a synonym for stanza, especially in the ode.
4. syllogism (Gk. 'reckoning together'): Deduction, from two propositions containing three terms of which one appears in both, of a conclusion that is true if they are true. A stock example is: 'All men are mortal; Greeks are men; so all Greeks are mortal.'
5. symposium (Gk. 'drinking together'): Collection of essays, etc. by several persons on a problem or subject.

(C ) Words commonly confused
Bring out differences in meaning of the following pairs of words
1. sceptre, spectre
2. facilitate, felicitate
3. aural, oral
4. edible, audible
5. diverse, divers

Suggested answers to last week's questions
1. vain (adj) (unimportant): He wasted his life in vain pleasures.
vane (n) (weather cock): The vane signaled the direction of the wind.
2. read (vt) (interpret mentally): I can read your thoughts.
reed (n) (part in a wind instrument that vibrates to produce sound): She moved her fingers elegantly on the harmonium reeds.
3. form (n) (shape; outward appearance): He has an impressive form.
farm (n) (area of land for growing crops): The farmer is resting in the farm-house.
4. temporal (adj) (existing in time): 'When' and 'while' are temporal conjunctions.
temporary (adj) (lasting for a short time): He managed to get a temporary employment during the summer holidays.
5. faction (n) (discontented group of persons within a party): The party has a number of factions in it.
fiction (n) (something imagined): Some facts are stranger than fiction.

(C) Idioms and phrases
Use the following idioms in illustrative sentences
1. keep one's chin up
2. off the mark
3. head over heels
4. drop into (someone's) lap
5. the jewel in the crown

Suggested answers to last week's questions
1. turn a deaf ear to (something) (to refuse to listen to): The government has turned a deaf ear to the employees' demand for a pay revision.
2. take sides (to support a particular person or group against another): When both of us argue, our parents refuse to take sides.
3. get carried away (to be so enthusiastic about something as to lose self-control): Don't be carried away by his deceitful words.
4. upto the mark (upto the normal standard): Your performance in the exam is quite upto the mark.
5. make a hash of (something) (to do something badly): I tried to paint the house myself, but I made a hash of it.

( ) Grammar and Composition
(A) Grammar
Combine the following pairs of sentences into complex sentences.
Remember: You can leave out the relative pronoun only when it refers to the object of the verb in the clause.
1. A woman spent fifteen minutes measuring the kitchen. She talked to the Priors. The woman
2. The woman drew up some plans. They were for a new kitchen. The plans
3. The Priors were interested in some units. They would cost $2,000. The units
4. A dishwasher was on special offer that month. It was not needed by the Priors. The dishwasher
5. The Priors signed a piece of paper. It entitled them to a discount of $200. The piece
6. The woman asked for a deposit. It was for $100. The deposit
7. The woman worked for a man. He would have been furious if she had not obtained the order. The man
8. Some people are not so strong-minded. They would probably place an order. People

Suggested answers to last week's questions
1. New York is more expensive than I had expected.
2. Several years ago, some one succeeded in flying across the Channel in a bicycle-powered aeroplane.
3. At the end of the meeting, they decided to have a conference in two week's time.
4. I was driving along the motorway when I saw a restaurant, so I stopped for eating something.
5. I'm sorry I'm so late for the party, but I couldn't understand the directions you gave me and I got lost.
6. You have to pay more; if you have excess baggage.
7. When he came back to England, he took up the job he had had before.

(B) Composition
Expand the central idea contained in the maxim
80: mercy is the
noblest form of revenge

Last week's topic:
79: Life is action, not contemplation
Life's success is measured not by the length, but by the quality of deeds, achievements or accomplishments. Man lives not by bread alone, but by his meaningful contributions towards the growth of the civilization or the improvement of the quality of life. This is made possible only through hard work and sincere efforts. Mere contemplation or day-dreaming does not help achieve anything concrete. Of course, it is useful and necessary to have a vision but more importantly there should be a concrete action plan to translate the dream into reality. Life is a journey and the journey of a thousand miles begins with a small step. As Samuel Johnson says “The business of life is to go forward.” One Indian saint said, “No words, but acts.” All the great achievements in the world have been possible by men of action, not by the lotus eaters or ivory tower dreamers. So let's stop sluggishness, futile brooding or meaningless contemplation and start issuing concrete action to rebuild our lives and shape the destinies of the future generations. The time has arrived and the moment is now.

V. Pearls from the Holy Quran
“For Allah is One God:
Glory be to Him:
(Far Exalted is He) above
Having a son. To Him
Belong all things in the heavens
And on Earth. And enough
Is Allah as a Disposcr of affairs.”
S4:A171

VI. Food for Thought
“A cheerful temper joined with innocence will make beauty attractive, knowledge delightful, and wit good-natured.”
)Addison
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