Writing Skills

TED Talks (5 Marks)

a) Watch the video carefully and answer the following questions in a few sentences each.

1) Who is the speaker and what is his/her background?

2) What is he/she talking about?

3) How is the topic important to us?

4) What is your opinion about the speaker and his/her chosen topic?

5) Do you agree with the speaker? Justify your answer.

External Video File (5 Marks)

b) Watch the video carefully and answer the following questions in a few sentences each.

1. How many speakers are there in the given video file?

2. What are they involved in?

3. How do you rate their language levels?

4. Have you ever happened to give a speech to an audience? If so, what was your experience like? If not, how do
you prepare yourself for a speech?

5. Why should one excel in all the four language skills: listening, speaking, reading, and writing? What role do they
play in one’s personal as well as professional life?

Listening Comprehension

I. Listen to the audio file and answer the following questions. (5 Marks)

Complete the table below. Write one word only for each answer.
 Time Perspectives
Time
Outlook Features & Consequences
Zone
Remember good times, e.g. birthdays.
Past Positive
Keep family records, photo albums, etc.
(1)
Focus on disappointments, failures, bad decisions.
……………..
Present Hedonistic Live for (2) …………….. ; seek sensation; avoid pain.
Life is governed by (3) …………….. , religious beliefs, social conditions. Life’s path
Fatalistic
can’t be changed.
(4)
Future Prefer work to play. Don’t give in to temptation.
……………..
Fatalistic Have a strong belief in life after death and importance of (5) …………….. in life.

Choose the correct letter, A, B or C.

Questions
6) We are all present hedonists
A) at school
B) at birth
C) while eating and drinking
7) American boys drop out of school at a higher rate than girls because
A) they need to be in control of the way they learn
B) they play video games instead of doing school work
C) they are not as intelligent as girls
8) Present-orientated children
A) do not realise present actions can have negative future effects
B) are unable to learn lessons from past mistakes
C) know what could happen if they do something bad, but do it anyway
9) If Americans had an extra day per week, they would spend it
A) working harder
B) building relationships
C) sharing family meals
10) Understanding how people think about time can help us
A) become more virtuous
B) work together better
C) identify careless or ambitious people