Communicative English Textbook

INTRODUCTION
COMMUNICATIVE
ENGLISH SKILLS
A course for first year students
Course writers Girma Megersa (MA)

Jeylan Aman (MA)
Editors Ephrem Tessema (MA)

Taye Geresu (MA)
Typesetting Begemidir Ketsela
Project facilitator SHNS, Adama University
© School of Humanities and Natural Sciences

Department of Humanities and Languages
Adama University
June 2010
COMMUNICATIVE ENGLISH SKILLS ADAMA UNIVERSITY

1
INTRODUCTION
INTRODUCTION TO COMMUNICATIVE
ENGLISH SKILLS
This course is primarily designed for first year regular students at Adama University. It is
intended to be offered simultaneously to all first year students during the first semester of
their first year. The course can also be offered, with necessary modifications, to students
in non-regular programs such as extension and summer in-service programs.
Basic Principles
The course is based on the following facts and principles, which we believe are worth
considering in a successful communicative English learning and teaching program.
1. English is a working language of the university, and it is a language of instruction and

research. English is, thus, a key language to success in the university’s academic and
scholarly endeavors.
2. Communication and interaction are essential in university life and in one's life in
general. Therefore, students should be exposed to communication and interaction
skills in their university life.
3. Language learning is a collaborative process. We expect our students to belong to a
community of cooperative learners. Students should be encouraged to appreciate
group learning and to benefit mutually from their community of learners.
4. Successful language learning is achieved through active engagement of learners in the
process by using their repertoires. Thus, students should not be discouraged from
participation in the process of learning by imposing on them unmanageable academic
demands or by overemphasizing correct responses which may inhibit their level of
engagement and eventually their level of learning.
5. We believe learning is predominantly the responsibility of the learner. Students
should be encouraged continuously to assume their roles and responsibilities
properly, and they should become the main actors in their learning. Furthermore, the
should be made aware that the role of the teacher is to guide his/her students and to
facilitate their learning; he/she is not there to take over the role of students or to teach
them everything they may or may not need.
Course Aims
The course aims to help you develop your ability to communicate through English in a
range of academic and non-academic contexts: reading critically; appreciating and
making the most use of academic, professional and scholarly materials; communicating
successfully and negotiating your own meanings; producing readable, up-to-standard
written materials applicable to multipurpose contexts; listening comfortably and
successfully and taking relevant notes from class lectures; and applying your knowledge
of English grammar and vocabulary appropriately in your spoken and written language.
Overall, the course is intended to develop not only your language skills but also your
confidence and abilities in your academic practices and endeavors.

2
INTRODUCTION
Course Objectives
The main objectives of the course are to:

 give you opportunities for practicing English in a variety of contexts.
 help you develop your language skills: listening, speaking, reading, and writing.
 help you develop your knowledge of grammar and vocabulary using discovery
techniques.
 familiarize you with various vocabulary learning strategies.
 enable you to use your English appropriately for your academic and non-
academic purposes.
 help you develop your thinking, and your creative, problem-solving skills.
 build up your social skills by helping you collaborate with your fellow classmates.
Organization of the Course
The course consists of four units. Each unit is comprised of six parts: Speaking, Reading,
Grammar, Vocabulary, Listening, and Writing, but not necessarily in this order. As much
as possible, these parts are linked thematically to the topic of the unit.
Speaking
This section contains different tasks intended to engage you in speaking. Of course, you
will also be speaking while doing tasks in other parts of the unit, for example, before and
after a reading passage.
Reading
In this section, you will read texts of varied topics, length and level, and you will do a
range of tasks aimed at getting you to practice various reading skills. These tasks will be
also accompanied by some speaking and writing activities.
Grammar
The Grammar part consists of two types of tasks: Language Awareness and Using
English. In the Language Awareness tasks, you will try to discover the forms, meanings
and uses of the grammar being targeted in the unit. In the Using English tasks, you are
required to use the target language (grammar) in a given context.
Vocabulary
There are mainly two types of vocabulary tasks: those in the Reading or Listening part
and those in the Vocabulary part. The former deal with some key vocabulary items taken
from the reading and/or listening text, and you will be asked to work out (guess) the
meanings of these vocabulary items from their contexts. The latter will help you to be

3
INTRODUCTION
aware of a given vocabulary learning strategy or technique and to experiment with that
strategy to develop your vocabulary knowledge.
Listening
As in speaking, you will, of course, be engaged in listening while you are doing other
tasks such as speaking, pre-reading and post-reading tasks and so on. This section,
however, gets you to focus on listening and practice different tasks intended to develop
your listening skills.
Writing
This part is usually the last part of the unit. It may contain controlled, or guided, or free
writing tasks. You will be asked to write on a topic related to the theme of the unit, and
you will have the chance to use the language and the ideas you have learned during the
unit. You may also have minor writing tasks elsewhere in other parts of the unit. These
are intended either to reinforce the language or the skills you learned in these parts or to
give you practice in using various skills of English holistically.
Methods of Assessment
In a communicative English course such as this, "silence is not a sign of modesty". In

fact, the course requires you to be an active participant in all its aspects throughout the
semester. We, therefore, believe that you should be assessed continuously for your
overall performance in all components of the course. This will be carried out as follows:
1. Continuous assessments (60%)

 Reading (10%)
 Speaking (10%
 Listening (10%)
 Writing (10%)
 Grammar (10%)
 Vocabulary (10%)
2. Final exam (40%)
VERY IMPORTANT!
DO NOT WRITE ANYTHING IN THIS MODULE! USE

YOUR EXERCISE BOOK OR A SEPARATE SHEET OF
PAPER FOR WRITING YOUR ANSWERS.

4
UNIT 1 CAMPUS
LIFE
UNIT ONE
CAMPUS LIFE
Dormitory Life vs. Family Life

5
UNIT 1 CAMPUS
LIFE
What You Need to Know About University Dorm Life
THEMES AND MATERIALS
Going away from home to a university is a new adjustment for you as a student. Starting
university life often means leaving family and friends and entering an unfamiliar
environment where you need to establish yourself afresh. At university, you need to be
more proactive in your studies, social life and your ability to manage on your own.
Usually, the biggest challenge or shock lies in getting adjusted to the new living
arrangements such as sharing bedrooms with others, and to the new learning teaching
methods such as lecture dominant styles.
This unit will provide you with opportunities to practice different language skills and
items by dealing with tasks related to adjustment to campus life such as introductions,
establishing and sustaining friendships, study skills, learning styles, and managing stress.
These are believed to have great influence on the success of first year university and
college students. Therefore, the tasks in this unit would serve you two purposes, like the
saying, ‘killing two birds with a stone’, goes: while you will learn the true nature of
campus life on the one hand, you will get your English language skills improved and your
vocabulary and grammar knowledge enriched, on the other hand.
UNIT OBJECTIVES
On completion of this unit, you should be able to:

 use English to express yourself about social and academic matters;
 introduce yourself and others in English;
 enrich your thinking and reflective skills;
 develop the skill of listening to and learning from lectures;
 build up the habit of learning from each other and sharing experiences through
debating, discussing and negotiating;
 apply the macro and micro reading skills in dealing with a given reading text;
 activate and use your prior knowledge and experience in dealing with all
language skills;
 compare things using correct English; and
 express your feelings, comparing and contrasting university and high school
experiences through writing letters, paragraphs or essays on a given topic.

6
UNIT 1 CAMPUS
LIFE
UNIT CONTENTS
Speaking
 Introducing yourself and others

 Debating or holding panel discussion
 Comparing things
 Participating in group and pair discussions
Reading
 Brainstorming
 Skimming and scanning for information
 Using context to work out word meanings
 Summarizing and reporting texts
 Analyzing texts
Vocabulary
 Building your word power
 Learning some campus vocabulary
Grammar
 Degrees of comparison
 Using degrees of comparison to compare campus and high school experiences,
dormitory and family lives, and different student services
Listening
 Brainstorming
 Listening for general information
 Listening for main ideas
 Listening for detail understanding
Writing
 Completing texts
 Writing a letter comparing university and school life

7
UNIT 1 CAMPUS
LIFE
PART ONE: SPEAKING
Overview
As a beginner of the course with a new instructor, new classmates, new teaching and
learning styles in a new learning environment, you will find this session so useful for ice-
breaking and for getting to know each other. In this part, you are going to practice how to
introduce yourself and others in English. You will also participate in pair and small group
discussions, and you will hold panel discussions with your class on issues related to your
success in university-life such as making friends, the importance of cultivating
friendship, accessing information, reflecting on learning habits and study skills.
Therefore, both the topics addressed in this part and the language practices you are
engaged in will be very important for you.
1. Getting to know Each Other

Task 1 – Getting Ready
Answer the following questions individually, and then compare your answers with those
of your partners.
1. When do we introduce ourselves or others?

2. Is it important to introduce oneself or others in communication? Why?
3. How do you introduce yourself and others in English?
4. What do you tell about yourself and ask others during introduction?
5. What do you know about formal and informal introduction?
One reason to learn English, in addition to academic purposes, is that you may meet new
people and communicate with them in English. If you want to meet people outside your
country, you need to learn English, in most cases. Today, people from different parts of
the world may use English to talk to you if you do not know their language. It doesn’t
matter if you are Japanese, a Bolivian or an Ethiopian. If a foreigner does not speak your
language, his/ her usual question is “Do you speak English?”
Introduction helps you to make the first impression on people and to pave ways for
further and positive relationship. When you introduce yourself in English, people can see
how good you’re English is and how well you introduce yourself in the language. So you
have to devote yourself to the tasks in this section in order to make your introduction as
good as possible.

8
UNIT 1 CAMPUS
LIFE
Task 2 – Self-introduction
1. Write down some sentences about yourself that you would like to tell your classmates
when you introduce yourself to them. Your sentences may include:
Your name ____________; the name of the school you studied at _____________;
the region and the town you came from ____________; your favorite food ________;
the TV/radio program you like most_____________; your hobbies ___________; etc
2. Work with a partner. Introduce yourself to your partner by using the personal
statements you have made above. You can do this, for example, in the following way.
St 1: Hello, my name is _______________. I studied in ______________ School,
which is found in ___________town of __________ region. I usually listen to
_________ radio programs and watch ___________ TV shows. In my spare
time, I usually like to ____________. I want to work hard to join _________
department by the next semester. Now, can you tell me about yourself?
St 2: Thank you. I’m glad that I learnt a lot about you. Now, let me introduce
myself and tell you a few things about myself (possibly using the structure
above).
3. Look at the following dialogues and try to identity the expressions that are used in
introducing oneself.
Dialogue 1: A: Excuse me, let me introduce myself, my name is Alamz Muleta.
B: How do you do, Almaz? My name is Asha Umer.
A: Are you a worker or a student?
B: I’m a student. How about you?
A: I’m a student, too. Sorry, I’ve got to go now. See you later.
B: See you.
Dialogue 2: A: Hello, my name is Haftom Kifle.
B: I’m glad to meet you. My name is Worku Haile.
A: I hope that you come here for learning, don’t you?
B: Yes, I do. How about you?
A: The same as you. Are you in the School of Technology?
B: No, I’m in the School of Business and Economics. And you?
A: Well, I’m in the School of Technology. Ok, goodbye Worku.

9
UNIT 1 CAMPUS
LIFE
B: Goodbye, Haftom
4. Once again, use the expressions used in the above sample conversations to introduce
yourself to other students.
Useful expressions for self-introduction
The following are common expressions which can be used to introduce yourself and to
respond to the person introducing himself/herself to you.
When introducing yourself to another person, you can say:

 Let me introduce myself. My name is ….
 May I introduce myself? My name is ….
 I would like to introduce myself. My name is ….
 It gives me a great pleasure to introduce myself. I’m ….
 Allow me to introduce myself. My name is ….
Informally, you can introduce yourself by saying:
 Hello, I’m ….
 Hi, my name is …
Responses to the person introducing himself/herself can be:
 How do you do?
 (I’m) glad to meet you.
 (I’m) pleased to meet you.
 It’s a pleasure to meet you.
 It’s nice to meet you.
 I’m delight to know you.
 How good to meet you.
 Hello
 Hi (Informal)

10
UNIT 1 CAMPUS
LIFE
Task 3 – Introducing Others
I. Look at the dialogues below and answer the questions that follow.
Dialogue1: Mulu: Gemeda, let me introduce you to Zenebe. He is my brother.

Gemeda: I’m very glad to meet you, Zenebe.
Zenebe: I’m very glad to meet you too, Gemeda.
Dialogue 2: Ahmed: Awol, this is Maftuha. She is my classmate.

Awol: How do you do, Maftuha.
Maftuha: How do you do, Awol.
Dialogue 3: Charles: Sara, I would like you to meet my fiancée Jessica.

Sara: Oh! I’m glad to meet you, Jessica
Jessica: I’m glad to meet you too, Sara.
Sara: I’ve to go now.
Charles: Okay, see you.
Sara: I hope to see Jessica some other times.
Jessica: Okay, I hope to see you too.
Dialogue 4: Almaz: Oh! Abebe, do you know Aster?

Abebe: I’m not sure.
Almaz: Well, she is my dorm mate. Aster, Abebe is from my hometown.
Abebe: Happy to meet you, Aster.
Aster: Me too.
Abebe: Oh, my instructor is going in. See you.
Almaz: See you, too.
a) How many people are involved in each of the above dialogues?

b) Who is introducing who?

11
UNIT 1 CAMPUS
LIFE
c) Who is being introduced to?
d) How do you think these dialogues differ from the ones you studied in Task
2, question 3 above?
1. Now work in a group of four. Take turns and introduce your partner to your group.
Try to use the expressions used in the above dialogues.
Useful expressions for introducing people
A: B (first name), this is C (name),

I want you to meet C
Do you know C?
Have you meet C before?
I don’t think you have meet C.
I don’t think you two know each other. Do you?
More formally, we may use expressions like:
Mr./Mrs./Dr/ + (family name)
I would like to introduce Mr./Mrs./Dr/ Captain/ (name) to you
I would like you to meet Mr./Mrs./Dr/ Captain/ (name) to you
This is Mr./Mrs./Dr/ Captain/ (name)
May I have the honor of introducing you to ____________?
Do you know _____________?
May I present you to _______________?
I have a great pleasure in introducing Mr./Mrs./Dr/captain/ ____________ to
you.
Have you ever met ____________ before?
Note: The greetings & responses when introducing others are similar to that of the self
introduction (Task 2)
II. Complete the following dialogues with appropriate expressions.
A) Ann: Mr Jack, I’d like you to meet Dr. John.

Mr Jack: ________________, Dr John?
Dr. John: How do you do?
Ann: Dr. John is a surgeon. He works in a famous hospital.
Mr Jack Oh, that is____________________.
B) Himanot : Excuse me, is this the library?

Tomas: ________________________________.
Himanot: Are you the librarian?
Tomas: _____________. I’m a student. __________________?
Himanot: I’m a new student. My name is Himanot Taye.
Tomas: Hi, ___________. ____________ Tomas, Adam.

12
UNIT 1 CAMPUS
LIFE
Himanot: This is Fenet Gemechu. She is also a new student.
Tomas: ________________ Fenet? I gotta go. Good bye.
Haimanot & Fenet: _____________.
C) Jim: Who is that man standing at the corner?

Charles: __________________________________.
Jim: Alan Steve, the famous writer? Is he your friend?
Charles: _______________. We are from the same town. Let me
introduce you to him.______________ my nephew, Jack.
Alan: _______________________________, Jack?
Jack: Fine, thanks.
Task 4 – Mixed Practice
I. Match the responses from column B to the openings under column A.
A
B
1. I’m sure I’ve seen you before?
2. How are you? a. How do you do?
3. My name is Peter, Brown. b. Yes, you look familiar too.
4. I don’t think we have met before, c. Fine, thanks and you?
Have we? d. Solomon; and yours?
5. Sorry, what did you say your e. Pleased to meet you.
name is? f. No. My name is Don Shields
6. How do you do?
II. Work in groups of three. Discuss and prepare a dialogue for the following
situations and then present it to the class.
a. Introduce your sister, Helen, to your classmate.

b. When you walk downtown in Adama with one of your dorm-mate, you find an
old friend from your hometown. Introduce them.
c. While you are going to a party with your girl/boyfriend, you meet your
classmates and you want to introduce your friend to them. Greet them, introduce
your friend to them and say goodbye to them.
III. The sentences in the following dialogue are not in the right order. Read the
dialogue carefully and reorder the sentences so as to create a meaningful
conversation.
1: Yes. It is a large university. I feel confused.

2: Thank you, I will surely be grateful.
3: Excuse me, are you looking for someone?
4: How do you do, Tigist? I’m Hirut.
5: Yes, for the SOBM dean.

13
UNIT 1 CAMPUS
LIFE
6: How do you do Hirut? Are you just entering our University?
7: I know. That is the way I felt when I first came here. Come along with me and
I will introduce you to the dean.
8: I will be glad to help you find him. My name is Tigist.
IV. Underline the correct word in each of the following sentences.

1. These are my dorm mates. They/His/Their/ names are Birhanu and
Firaol.
2. We live in dormitory. /Their/My/Our/We/ room number is 106.
3. That is our logic instructor. /Their/Her/My/ name is Selamawit.
4. Excuse me, what is /you/your/yours last name?
5. Please call /my/mine/I/me Cathy.
Remember, learning people’s name is part of the introduction. People may feel happy
when we show interest in learning their names, but we should be careful about how to ask
for their names. To ask someone’s name, we can say:
 Excuse me, can I ask/know your name, please?
 Pardon me, would you tell me your name, please?
 Excuse me, could I have your name, please?
 Excuse me, I wonder if you tell me your name?
 Would you mind telling me your name, please?
 Would you mind if I ask your name, please?
 What is your name, please? Etc...
b. Can you think of possible responses to the above questions? Take some
minutes and practice asking for and telling names in pairs.
Task 5 – Self–test
Now, we have come to the end of introduction section. Make sure that you can answer
the following questions with confidence before you go to the next session.
Can you introduce yourself in English properly?
Can you use appropriate English expressions in introductions?
Can you correctly introduce other people in English?
Can you properly and politely ask others’ name in English?
2. Establishing Friendship
The aim of this part is to help you explore the opportunities of using English language
while discussing issues related to establishing friendship in your campus life.
Task 6 – What Do You Think?

1. Discuss the following questions in small group.
a. How important do you think is friendship?

14
UNIT 1 CAMPUS
LIFE
b. In your opinion, what is the right time to have friends in one’s life?
c. Do you think establishing friendship with classmates, dorm mates and
others is such an important matter in a university life? Why?
d. How do you think we can make friends or establish a friendly relationship
with others?
e. Do you think setting limits to our friendship is important? Why?
2. Read the following paragraph. How do you feel about the value of having a friend?
With your partners, discuss your views on the questions that follow.
In today’s society, many experience loneliness. It affects people of all ages, and of
all races, social levels and needs. Have you ever been lonely? Are you lonely now?
Actually, at one time or another, we have all felt the need for companionship from
someone to lend us an ear and to offer us reassurance or possibility to listen to our
deep feelings and inner thoughts. In short, we have a need for someone who
understands us and who is responsive to our emotions.
a. Do you share the writer’s ideas? Why?

b. Do you expect to face problems of loneliness in your campus life?
c. What do you think you should do to avoid such problems?
Task 7 – Discussion: Friendship Quotations

1 Read the following friendship quotes and discuss with your partner what each means.
a. Two are better than one.
b. Friendship multiplies the good of life and divides the evil.
c. Friendship is a golden thread that ties the heart of the entire world.
d. A real friend is one who walks in when the rest of the world walks out.
e. You can make more friends in two months by becoming really interested in
other people than you can in two years by trying to get other people be
interested in you.
2 Can you add more proverbs related to friendship, possibly in your first language?
Explain what it means in English.
3 Read the following extracts about friendship and decide whether you agree or
disagree with their ideas. Give reasons for your answers.
a. “We all need true friends; in fact the quality of your life depends much on the
quality (not the quantity) of your friendships.” Don MacKay
b. “I have a high proportion of patients with anxieties, phobias, and depression who
could be described as lonely. There are connections between the severities of
depression and loneliness.” Dr. David Weeks, a neurophysiologist
c. “Our health may fail us; our material possessions may lose their value, but true
friendship grows stronger and flourishes with time. True friends are among the
most precious gifts you will ever have, and if allowed to grow, can produce a
positive influence on your life”. Don MacKay

15
UNIT 1 CAMPUS
LIFE
d. “Friends can be from anywhere in the world, of any race, religion, and gender or
any age.” Sanjeer Himachali
e. “We all know that in the world, at times families and relatives are not able to help
us the time when we actually need; it is during that time we need friends”. Sanjeer
Himachali.
Task 8 – Discussion: Building Friendship
1. Now that you are starting a new life in the university, you may find it necessary to
make friends here.
a. Why do you think you need to have a friend here? How do you make one?
b. To choose /make a true / good friend:
 What pre-conditions do you set?
 What precautions do you need to take?
 What efforts should you make to be a good friend?
 What do you expect of a friend to be good?
 How do you maintain your friendship?
2. Work with the whole class. Try to collect information from different sources on the
above questions. Be prepared. Sit in a circle and hold a panel discussion for about 15-
20 minutes.
3. Explain the positive and negative effects of having friends at a university in:
a. sharing information
b. managing time
c. preparing for exam (studying)
d. overcoming anxiety or stress
e. avoiding loneliness, etc.
3. Study Skills
University life is full of competition. To stay competent in the university, you need to
acquire various skills. One of the most important skills you need to develop as a
university student is your ability to study effectively. Although you may have already
developed some study skills in school, being at university poses some new and unique
challenges. In this session, you will use English language skills in dealing with tasks
related to study skills in your campus life.
Task 9 – Comparing and Contrasting School and University Studies
1. Following are combined characteristics of secondary school and tertiary level

studies. Read and sort them out under the topics ‘Secondary school study (SSS)’ and

16
UNIT 1 CAMPUS
LIFE
‘Tertiary level study (TLS)’ in the table that follows. Try to match related
characteristics to compare and contrast the study patterns at the two levels. Examples
are given for you. First work individually and then compare your answers with your
partner.
A. The timetable accounts for every hour of the school. (SSS)

B. For every one- hour lecture or tutorial, about two hours of private study will be
necessary. (TLS)
C. Lectures and tutorials take up part of the day. You must plan your own long and
short term timetables.
D. Two hours of school work requires about one hour of home work.
E. Teachers set and correct your homework frequently (daily, weekly)
F. Assignments are longer but less frequent. They may be set many weeks ahead.
G. Lecture groups may be large. It is up to you to approach your lecturer or tutor if
you are having difficulties.
H. You have daily interaction with teachers.
I. You may be given a reading list from which you select or you may have to search
for relevant materials in the library.
J. Teachers guide your reading. Set texts are prescribed from each subject.
K. You will have to identify and make notes on the main points in lectures and texts.
L. Wide reading is essential.
M. Teachers may provide outline notes and will indicate the most important ideas and
information.
N. Reading only the set texts is often enough for exam preparation.
O. In essays, you refer to the set texts, but need not acknowledge all the source of
your ideas and information.
P. You must acknowledge all your sources. To avoid plagiarism, you will need to
learn referencing skills (footnotes, included references, bibliographies).
Q. You learn a core of knowledge and reproduce it in your reports, essays and
examinations.
R. You need to memorize information, ask questions, examine evidence, and think
critically; i.e. you are expected to develop your powers of independent thinking.
Study patterns
No Secondary school study Tertiary level study

1 A C
2 D B
3
4
5
6
7
8
9 Q R

17
UNIT 1 CAMPUS
LIFE
2. Can you identify other points of comparison and contrast between secondary school
and tertiary levels studies?
3. From the study patterns above, you can see that you should not merely depend on
your high school study skills to be successful in your university studies.
a. What effective study skills do you need to develop to be competent at your

university studies? Compare your answer with your partners.
b. In a group of 4, discuss:
 the value of schedule (study timetable)
 when to study (before, after, both before and after a lecture)
 Where to study (at dormitory, classroom, space, library, etc.)
 how to study (surveying, questioning, reading, reciting & reviewing)
 who to study with (independently, in pair, in group …)
Task 10 – Reflecting on Study Habits (Skills)
1. Read the following extracts about learning and say whether you agree or disagree
with each statement, or if you are not sure. Give reasons for your opinion.
A. There is no “right” or “wrong” way to learn.

B. Two students of equal abilities may earn the same grades on a national or
international examination by using very different methods of learning and doing
very different things.
C. Everyone is different and for some students studying and being motivated to learn
comes naturally, while others need external influences.
D. No two people study the same way, and there is little doubt that what works for
one person may not work for another. However, there are some general
techniques that seem to produce good results.
E. Effective study skills must be practised in order for you to improve.
F. “Practice doesn’t make perfect; consistent practice makes perfect”. If you want to
be an achiever take this saying to heart.
G. Time is the most valuable resource a student has. It is also one of the most wasted
of resources. Do you dribble away your valuable time?
H. Avoiding study is the easiest thing in this world but a good deal of a student’s
success at any level depends on how much he/she studies effectively.
I. Working with someone else gives you different perspective on a course materials
and a lot can be accomplished by sharing skills and resources with others.
J. Working in groups /pairs would enable you practice teaching each other the
materials, brainstorm possible test questions, compare lecture notes, conduct
discussion on selected topics, quiz each other on factual materials, etc.
K. Everyone has high and low periods of attention and concentration. One is a
morning person and another a night. He/she should use his/her power time for
study and down time for routines such as laundry and household tasks.
2. Summarize orally what you have learned about study or learning habits from the
above statements.

18
UNIT 1 CAMPUS
LIFE
NB: A person’s method of learning is his/her learning style. The specific thing a learner
does to carry out any learning is called his/her learning strategy.
Task 11 – Reflecting on Your Own Learning Styles
Read the questions in the table below and rate the degree of your preference by assigning
the numbers 5, 4, 3, 2, or 1 to each box under the letters A, B, & C, which indicate
learning styles. Then identify your dominant learning style by adding up the values you
assigned to each learning style under each letter. Read the example given below the table.
Copy down the table of the example and work out your dominant learning style. Finally,
your teacher will tell you what the learning styles A, B & C stand for.
No When you: A B C
Spell Do you try to see the Do you sound out the Do you write the
word? word or use a word down to
1 phonetic approach? find if it feels
right?
Talk Do you dislike listening Do you enjoy Do you gesture
carefully for too long? Do listening and and use
you favor words such as impatient to talk? Do expressive
see, picture, and imagine? you use words such movements? Do
as hear, tune, and you use words
2 think? such as feel,
touch, and hold?
Concentrate Do you become distracted Do you become Do you become
by untidiness or distracted by sounds districted by
movement? or noise? activity around
3 you?
Meet someone Do you forget names but Do you forget faces Do you
again remember faces or but remember names remember best
remember where you or remember what what you did
4 met? you talked about? together?
Contact people Do you prefer direct, face Do you prefer the Do you talk with
on business - to –face personal telephone? them while
meeting? walking or
5 participating in
an activity?
Read Do you like descriptive Do you enjoy Do you prefer
scenes or pause to dialogue and action stories or
imagine the action? conversation or hear you are not a
6 the characters’ talk? keen reader?
Do something Do you like to see Do you prefer verbal Do you prefer to
new at work demonstration, diagrams, instructions or talking jump right in and
slides, or posters? about it with try it?
7 someone else?
Put something Do you look at the Do you ignore
together directions and the picture? the directions
and figure it out
8 as you go along?
Need help with Do you seek out pictures Do you call the help Do you keep
A computer or diagrams? desk? Ask a trying to do it or

19
UNIT 1 CAMPUS
LIFE
Application neighbor, or growl at try it on another
9 the computer? computer?
Total
Adapted from: Colin Rose (1987). Accelerate Learning
For example, student X has rated the first three points above as follows:
No When you: A B C
1 2 1 5
2 1 3 4
3 2 1 3
Total 5 5 1
2
What is the dominant learning style of student X, (A, B, or C)?
Note: Visual, Auditory or Kinesthetic are common learning styles. Can you identify
which of the above learning styles (A, B, C) refer to each of these learning styles?
Task 12 – Making the Most of Your Lectures
1. A lecture gives you an opportunity to find out how a lecturer makes sense of the
wealth of knowledge and research findings on a topic. A good lecturer will use the
lecture to give you an overview of the main themes, to develop your understandings
of the issues and to guide you on how to find out more about the subject through
further readings. What do you think is expected of you to learn best from a lecture?
2. Work in pairs. Following are important tips of activities that may help you make the
most of a lecture. But they are mixed up. Discuss in pairs to sort them into activities
before, during and after a lecture. Try to put all activities under each stage in order.
A. Form an opinion about the subject of the lecture.

B. Label and file your notes.
C. Prepare for lecture: find out what is in the books on the subject so that you are aware
of what you do not need to note in the lecturer.
D. Listen to make sense rather than to make notes.
E. Read your notes and fill in any gaps.
F. Make brief notes of essential points.
G. Set yourself questions and leave spaces to have these answered during the lecture.
H. Consider how the lecture changed or developed your opinions of the subject.
I. Listen for ‘sign posts’ about what is coming next or for summaries of key points.
J. Discuss the lecture with other people.
K. Listen for answers to questions you set in advance.
Before the lecture During the lecture After lecture

--- ---- --- --- I --- ---

20
UNIT 1 CAMPUS
LIFE
3. How much do you think the communicative English course would prepare you to
attend lectures, take notes, make notes and study in the courses you are taking during
your stay at university?
4. Try to apply the above procedures in listening to the lecture in the listening session
(Part 3).
PART TWO: READING
Overview
In this part you are going to read a short text about choosing a university and answer
some general and detail questions on the passage. You will practise analyzing a text and
completing a summary of the essence of a text. You will also learn how to find out the
meanings of new words by making use of contextual clues.
Task 13– Brainstorming
Answer the following questions briefly and discuss your answers with your partner.
1. How many universities are there in Ethiopia?

2. How many of these universities do you know?
3. How and why did you choose Adama University? What did you know about it?
4. How do you compare Adama University with other universities in the country?
5. Can you name universities having a technology faculty?
6. Which universities do the following pictures show?
Task 14 – Understanding Details
Read the questions below before reading the text that follows. Then read the text and
indicate whether each statement is true (T), or false (F), or if the information is not given
(NG), according to the passage. Give your answer by writing ‘T’ or ‘F’ or ‘NG'. Give
evidence from the text for each of your responses.
1. Chaltu is sure that she wants to go to Adama University.
2. Students at Adama University learn faster than those at Addis Ababa University.

21
UNIT 1 CAMPUS
LIFE
3. Students at Addis Ababa University come from more varied cultural backgrounds
than those at Adama University.
4. Chaltu is more interested in Adama University than Addis Ababa University
because she wants to graduate in civil engineering.
5. Addis Ababa has a low crime rate because it is the seat of the Federal Government.
6. Chaltu is forced to choose between Addis Ababa University and Adama University
because these are the only universities having the technology fields in the country.
C haltu is a high school student in Bale Zone of Oromia Regional State. For she
will complete preparatory level education at the end of this year, she has to make
up her mind very soon as to which university she wants to go to. She has some
information about several different universities in Ethiopia. But after carefully bearing all
of them in mind, she has opted between the two that she thinks are the best for her: Addis
Ababa University, a large and old university located in the country’s capital, and Adama
University, a model technical university of the country found in Adama town of Oromia
Region. Each has many advantages as well as several disadvantages.
Chaltu is seriously thinking of majoring in engineering and she is more interested in
Adama University because she has heard that it is a model and most known technical
university in the country. Of course, both Adama University and Addis Ababa University
have technology fields. However, compared to Adama University, Addis Ababa
University is one of the oldest and most famous universities, with its Technology Faculty
founded in1955 EC, and it has more highly qualified professionals specialized in teaching
fields of engineering than Adama University. Nevertheless, due to the paradigm-shifts it
has been making in the fields of technology, Adama University may provide Chaltu a
wider opportunity to join the technology field she is interested in, as compared to Addis
Ababa University.
Certainly, people with old experience told Chaltu that Addis Ababa University is much
larger and it currently admits more student population per year than Adama University. It
may also have better libraries, laboratories and other facilities than Adama University.
Undergraduate students at Addis Ababa University can select their fields of interest from
many different fields of study, while Adama University students are relatively limited to
less diversified choices.
However, there are more students in classes at Addis Ababa University than at Adama
University, and because of this, Adama University students can have more personal
contacts with their instructors, and classes are not as impersonal as the large lectures at
Addis Ababa University. Many educators believe that this helps students learn better than
students in overcrowded classes and that it helps compensate for expensive facilities that
would be required otherwise.
Located in a large urban setting (in the capital of the country), Addis Ababa University
may provide more wide-ranging cultural activities and entertainments for its students
than Adama University does. On the other hand, Adama University is situated in a
quieter, more peaceful and conducive learning environment than Addis Ababa
University, which is located in the heart and noisy part of the city. Moreover, the very
fact that there are relatively fewer recreation centers and entertainments such as movies
and theaters in Adama town would encourage serious students to study there. There are

22
UNIT 1 CAMPUS
LIFE
also ample reasons to claim that Adama is much safer than the capital, Addis Ababa, and
that it has a lower rate of crime.
In general, Chaltu has been considering these and other facts related to the two
universities before coming to the final decision as to which university to choose. Do you
appreciate Chaltu’s reasons? Did you think of any of these advantages when you chose
Adama University? Do you think this sort of prior knowledge about a university you join
would help you to perform better in your university education?
Task 15 –Text Analysis

Choose the best answer according to the reading text.
1. Which one is the best title for the passage?
A. Technical Universities B. Choosing a University
C. AU Versus AAU D. Cahltu’s Future Ambition
2. What is the main point of the 5th paragraph?

A. AAU entertains students more than AU.
B. Students find easier to study at AU than at AAU
C. Location advantages of AAU and AU
D. Adama town is quiter, more peaceful and much safer than AA.
3. What do the following pronouns refer to in the passage?
A. each (par. 1) B. it (par. 3) C. this (par. 4) D. there (par. 5)
Task 16 – Word Definition

Find the single word or phrase in paragraphs 1-5 which mean the following. Tell the
paragraph and line numbers of the word/ phrase.
1. Something interesting and enjoyable (n)
2. thinking in a careful, solemn way; not silly (adj.)
3. classes that are not involving all students’ feelings, etc. (adj)
4. provide something good to balance or reduce bad effect (v)
5. taking into account carefully (v)
6. argument (n)
7. a university offering courses involving applied and industrial sciences (n)
8. within a short time (adv)
9. trained in a particular field of study (adj)
10. complete chances (n)
11. decided on (v)
Task 17 – Writing a Summary of the Reading Text
Below is a summary of the reading passage above. Complete the table with the correct
information from the text.
No University Advantages Disadvantages
a. A model technical university a) New and less famous

23
UNIT 1 CAMPUS
LIFE
b. ……………………………………….. b) ……………………………………..
1 Adama c. ………………………………………. c) ……………………………………..
d. Located in a more quiet, peaceful, and d) may provide less cultural diversity
Safer town and easier to learn at (due to the town it is located in)
a. The oldest, largest and most famous in a) Does not pay special emphasis to
the country technology as AU does.
2 Addis Ababa b. ……………………………………….. b) ……………………………………..
c. ……………………………………….. c) ……………………………………..
d. ………………………………………. d) the city is sophisticated and difficult
e. Provides more cultural diversity and to learn in
entertainment
Task 18 –What Do You Think?
Discuss the following questions in pairs or small groups.
1. Do you think Chaltu is making the right decision at the right time? Why? Then, what
do you advise your juniors at grade 12?
2. Do you know when you are going to choose your field of specialization? What field
or department are you planning to major in? Why do you want to major in this area?
3. What do you think you should do in order to succeed in your field of interest?

24
UNIT 1 CAMPUS
LIFE
PART THREE: VOCABULARY
Overview
Campus life is a time to learn new ideas and expand your knowledge. As an entering
freshman, you will be experiencing many new things, and you will be meeting a variety
of people. Likewise, you will be hearing several new English words that you probably
have not heard before and that are frequently used in the campus. So, in this part, you will
practice some common campus vocabularies which will help you to get around easily and
to manage yourself as a new student.
Task 19– Learning Common Campus Vocabulary
Match the words or phrases below to the descriptions that follow. Write the words in the
blank spaces provided.
blue book academic probation major plagiarism registrar

freshman fifteen add/ drop minor course outline enrolment
prerequisite lecture office hours tutorial
transcript withdrawal proctor advisor
1. A faculty or school member who assists students in planning their college courses
and helps them determine their academic goals ____________________
2. A student goes on academic probation whenever he/she is not making good grades.
If the student does not improve his/her GPA, the school may have to dismiss him/her
for a year. ____________________________
3. At most schools, a student may add an additional course during the first ten days of
class and withdraw from a class through the sixth week of the semester. Check with
your school for more details. _____________________________
4. A blank booklet that many professors require for an essay test. It can be purchased at
bookstores on campus. ________________________
5. Weight gained during a student's freshman year. Stress, lack of exercise, and late
night binges can contribute to it.
6. Using someone's ideas or phrases as your own. Many colleges have a code of honor
that students have to sign saying that they will adhere to the rules and not plagiarize.
Make sure to use your own words when writing papers or taking essay tests. _______
7. Main person in charge of dormitory housing. Resident directors are usually not
undergraduate students. Resident advisors report to the RD. ____________________
8. School office that maintains student transcripts and keeps record of various student
accomplishments __________________________

25
UNIT 1 CAMPUS
LIFE
9. A document that shows a college student's classes, grades, and honors ___________
10. The small-group discussion segment of a class, usually one hour in length, that
allows for in-depth study beyond the lecture segment __________________________
11. Your instructor's/TA's time to meet with you about your courses or concerns. They
usually set up their office hours at the beginning of the term so that you know when
they are available to talk. Many TAs are willing to arrange appointments if you can't
make it to their pre-set office hours. _____________________________________
12. A subject area in which a student concentrates within an academic program, with its
own specific requirements for lower and upper division classes __________________
13. Optional program of study, outside the student's major, with its own specific
requirements for lower and upper division classes ____________________________
14. The instructional section of a class, usually two or more hours each week, led by a
faculty member ____________________________
15. This is when a student officially drops or quits from a university for a semester or a
year for adequate reasons after discussing the matter thoroughly with his/ her
academic advisor. _________________________________

26
UNIT 1 CAMPUS
LIFE
PART FOUR: GRAMMAR
Overview
In this part, you are going to activate your previous knowledge on how to compare and/
or contrast things, objects or people using degrees of comparison. Parallel to this, you
will practise comparing and contrasting things using coordinating and/or subordinating
conjunctions and sentence connectors as alternatives.
Task 20 – Brainstorming
Discuss the following questions with your partner.

1. How do you compare learning at university with learning at high school?
2. How do you see the difference between dormitory life and home life?
3. How do you compare café and non café students?
4. What specific language forms have you used in answering the above questions?
Task 21 – Language Awareness: Comparative Forms
Look at the following examples taken from the reading text about Chaltu (Part 2).
a) Adama has a lower crime rate than Addis Ababa.

b) Classes at AU are smaller than classes at AAU.
c) Some students learn faster at small school than at a large school.
d) Adama is more powerful than Addis Ababa.
e) Adama and Addis Ababa Universities are the best of all, for Chaltu.
1. Now find at least five similar sentences from the reading text.
There are two comparative forms depending on the length of the word and on the last
syllable.
Form 1: Adjective/adverb + -er + than
2. This form is used with the following types of adjectives and adverbs.
a. Adjectives that have one syllable.
E.g. Classes at AU are smaller than classes at AAU.

27
UNIT 1 CAMPUS
LIFE
b. Adjectives that have two syllables and end in –y.
E.g. High school subjects are easier than university courses.
c. Adjectives that have two syllables and end in -ble or -ple.
E.g. Arithmetic is simpler than Calculus.
d. Adverbs that have one syllable.
E.g. Some children learn a language faster than others.
Form 2: more + adjective /adverb + than
3. This form is used with the following types of adjectives and adverbs.
a. Adjectives that have two syllables and do not end in –y.
E.g. Adama is more peaceful than Addis Ababa.
b. Adjectives that have three or more syllables.
E.g. Hard science courses are often more difficult than the social science courses.
c. Adverbs that has two or more syllables.
E.g. Chaltu is considering AU more seriously than other universities.
Task 22 – Using Comparatives
1. Make 5 sentences of your own for each type of comparative adjectives or adverb in
Form 1.
2. Add up to 3 example sentences of your own for each type of comparative adjectives
or adverb in Form 2.
Note: Adjectives ending in -er, -ow, -some, and others like pleasant, quite, stupid,
common, serve, secure, polite, profound, remote, obscure and sincere can use both
comparative forms, with -er or more (Form 1 or 2 above).
E.g Clever – cleverer than /more clever than
Narrow – narrower than /more narrow than
Handsome – handsomer than /more handsome than
Quite – quieter than /more quiet than
Task 23 – Language Awareness: Comparison of Equality (Positive degree)

To compare two nouns or verbs that are equal or almost equal, we use the following
forms:
Form Meaning
as +{adjective/adverb}+ as
or just exactly; no noticeable difference
the same + noun + as
Nearly the same Almost; nearly; about; small difference
Read the following example sentences. Underline each comparative form of equality, and
write its meaning in the blank space after each sentence.

28
UNIT 1 CAMPUS
LIFE
a. AU and AAU have nearly the same distance from Chaltu’s home town. _________
b. I study as hard as my roommate (no difference). ____________________________
c. My English term paper is the same length as my civic paper. __________________
d. Our mathematics class is about the same size as our civic class. ________________
Task 24 – Using the Positive Degree
1. Work in pairs. Think of some major student service centers in your university and
compare two of them. One student asks a comparative question about the two centers
using ‘as + adjective + as’ with an appropriate adjective from the list below. The
other student answers the question using ‘about /almost/nearly + the same + (noun)’.
far from the dorms tall small wide

far from the lecture halls new big
close to the dorms old large
close to the lecture halls fast narrow
Example: The language lab / physics lab

Student 1: Is the language lab as old as the physics lab?
Student 2: Yes, they are about the same age.
1: the old dorms /the new dorms
2: dining hall 1/dining hall 2
3: the SOBM building /the SHN building
4: the staff lounge service /the student lounge service
5: the first floor classrooms /the basement classrooms, etc.
2. Work in pairs. One student complains about living in a dormitory. The other
student agrees and points out the relative advantages of living off-campus in an
apartment using the form:
not as + (adverb/adjective) + as
or
not as much /many + (noun) + as
Example 1: Noisy
Student 1: A dorm is noisy.
Student 2: That’s right. An apartment isn’t as noisy as a dorm.
Example 2: Isolated from the town.

Student 1: In a dorm, you are isolated from the town.

29
UNIT 1 CAMPUS
LIFE
Student 2: That’s right. In apartment, you aren’t as isolated from the town as you are
in a dorm.
a. A dorm is crowded.
b. In a dorm, there are more than 10 people sharing one bathroom.
c. A dorm is small.
d. Dormitory life is uncomfortable.
e. Dorm life is impersonal, etc.
(Add more points of argument of your own to make true complaints).
3. Work in pairs. One student complains about the disadvantage of living in an
apartment; the other student agrees and points out the relative advantage of living in a
dorm.
Example: Lonely
Student 1: Life in an apartment is lonely.
Student 2: You’re right. Dormitory life is not as lonely as an apartment life.
a. In apartment, chores take a lot of time.
b. An apartment is far from campus.
c. In an apartment, it is hard to make friends.
d. In an apartment, you spend a lot of money on furniture.
(Make more original complaints.)
4. So, what is your position? Do you prefer living in a dormitory or renting an
apartment? Why? Convince your friends about your preference.
Task 25 – Using Comparatives: Arguing about Home and Dormitory Life

Work in small groups. Compare and contrast family life with dormitory life. In your
group, list down as many advantages and/ or disadvantages of home life and dormitory
life as you can. Organize your points of argument in order of importance, from the most
important to the least important. Then, divide your group members into two: those who
support family life and those who argue for dormitory life. Finally, make a debate in front
of the class. Try to use comparing and contrasting words such as similarly, however, in
contrast, on the other hand and so on. The following format may help you to make your
notes.
In family life Comparing/contrasting In university life

word
- Parents take most of the However - The student should shoulder
responsibilities for the students’ all responsibilities for her/his
learning own learning
- -
Task 26 – Language Awareness: Superlative Forms
1. Look at the following examples and answer the questions that follow.

30
UNIT 1 CAMPUS
LIFE
A. Calculus is the hardest of all the courses we are taking this semester.
B. Chaltu’s roommate is the friendliest student in the dorm.
C. The first quiz is believed to be the simplest quiz of the course.
D. She is the fastest reader of all the students in the class.
a) What do you call the underlined forms in the above sentences?
b) What similarities and/ or differences can you identify between these structures in
terms of their construction, number of syllables, and suffixes?
Note: There are two superlative forms depending on the length of the adjective/adverb
and the last syllable.
Form 1: the + adjective /adverb + -est
2. We use this form with the following types of adjectives and adverbs.
a. Adjectives having 1 syllable (sentence 1a above)

b. Adjectives which have 2 syllable and end in-y. (Look at sentence 1b above.)
c. Adjectives which have 2 syllables and end in: -ple or –ble. (See sentence 1c
above.)
d. Adverbs that have 1 syllable (sentence 1d above).
Construct 3 sentences of your own for each example given under 1 above.
Form 2: The most + adjective/ most + adverb
3. We use this form with the following types of adjectives and adverbs.
a. Adjectives that have 2 syllables and do not end in-y.

E.g. The instructor gives the most detailed explanations on each point.
b. Adjective that have 3 or more syllables.
E.g. Engineering courses are the most difficult courses in college/ university
education.
c. Adverbs that have 2 or more syllables.
E.g. He is taking this course most seriously of all the students.
Can you construct at least 2 examples of your own for each type of examples above?
Note that at the end of superlative sentences, there are often expressions that identify the
group of people or things to which the one person or thing is being compared.
Examples:
a. The senior students’ dorm is the noisiest dorm at our university.

b. AAU is the oldest university in Ethiopia.

31
UNIT 1 CAMPUS
LIFE
c. He has the highest GPA of all the students.
d. She is the most interesting lecturer that we have this semester.
Task 27 – Using Comparatives and Superlatives

1. Construct sentences expressing the absolute quality of the following people or things,
using the information in the brackets.
Example: Omo National Park (size/Ethiopia)
The Omo National Park is the biggest park in Ethiopia.
a. Ayres Rock, Australia (big/rock/ world)…………………………………………
b. Amazon River (length/ river/ world) …………………………………………….
c. China (population/ country) ……………………………………………………...
d. Pluto (understanding/ planet in the solar system)………………………………...
e. Albert Einstein……………………………………………………………………
2. Work in pairs. Student 1 asks student 2 questions about his/her region using the
superlative form and the words below. Student 2 answers in complete sentences. Take
turns to ask and answer questions. Begin the questions with who or what.
Example:
Student1: What is the most beautiful town in your region?
Student 2: The most beautiful town in my region is __________________.
Big /small /expensive /populated town /village

long River
High Mountain in your region?
Popular food/sport/dance/crop/religion
Think of other adjectives. Think of other nouns.
3. Compare the three courses: Accounting, Marketing, and Business Administration

using the information in the following chart. Make two sentences for each comparing
parameters.
Comparing parameter Accounting Marketing Business Administration
1 pre requisite None Accounting Accounting, Economics,
& Economics Computer science, Organizations
Behavior, International Marketing
2 Number of students 40 30 25
3 required reading 2 text books 3 text books 5 text books 30 cases
25 cases
4 guest lecturer None 2 1

32
UNIT 1 CAMPUS
LIFE
5 writing home work 1 page of
exercises (for
each 14 weeks)
6 use of computer Almost none A lot Some
7 oral presentation None 2 4
8 group projects None 3 2
9 students’ participation Very little some a lot
10 emphasis on statistics None A lot Some
Examples:
a. Marketing has more prerequisites than Accounting.
b. Business Administration has the most prerequisites of the three.
c. Marking has fewer prerequisites than Business Administration.
d. Accounting has the fewest prerequisites of the three
Note: Comparatives and superlatives can also be used with nouns in addition to
adjectives and adverbs. The following table makes this clear.
Two nouns Three nouns
A larger quantity More + {non-count noun}/ The most + {non-count noun}/
or number {plural count noun} + than {plural count noun}
A less quantity Less + non-count noun + than The least + non count noun
or number Fewer + plural count noun + than The fewest + plural count noun
4. Work in small groups. Think of some students’ service centers like libraries,
laboratories, dormitories, dining halls, schools (faculties), workshops etc., in Adama
University. Go at least to two of these centers. By interviewing a concerned body
there, collect information on points like:
 when the center was established /built/ opened,
 number and/ or kinds of services it provides,
 number of hours it gives services in a day,
 number of students it accommodates at a time,
 where it is found- block number or rooms /stories,
 Number of works it has etc.
5. Summarize the information in a table and present to the class (using comparative &
superlative degrees and/ or discourse markers).
For example, groups exploring libraries can use this table.
No Main Library Technology Pedagogy & Humanities & natural
Library business library sciences library
1. Built in 19/20 __
2. Provides internet services, - - -
reading tables (for periodicals), - - -
study rooms; lend books on - - -
pockets; photocopy services on - - -
pay, etc.

33
UNIT 1 CAMPUS
LIFE
6. Post your chart/table somewhere in the class and invite students to make comparative
and superlative sentences using the information in your chart. Alternatively, you can
work in pairs. One student asks questions about the information in the chart, and the
other student answers using the structure.
Example:
Student 1: Does the main library give more services than other libraries?
Student 2: Yes, it does.
S1: Is the technology library the oldest of all?
S2: No, it isn’t.
7. Write a summary (individually) comparing the facilities your group worked on and
read it to the whole class.
8. Compare the systems of learning at high school and in university. How are they
different? In what ways are they the same? What are the advantages of each?
9. Note that we can also compare and/ or contrast things using different markers other
than the above forms. Identify which two things are being compared or contrasted in
the following sentences. Then note the markers used and state whether they are
markers of comparison or contrast.
Example: The difference between the attitude of females and that of male students
to the study of mathematics is noticeable at an early age.
a. A few years ago, computers were used only in business, in medicine, and in
scientific research, whereas these days they are common in almost all schools.
b. Young people are often extremely inquisitive and creative. By comparison, the
older one gets the less inclined one is to experiment with new ideas.
c. Male and female students are quite different to each other with regard to the age
at which they begin to develop an intellectual self-discipline.
d. Sport is an important subject at a comprehensive school. Likewise, sporting
activities should not be overlooked when a student is engaged in studying at
university.
e. While it is common knowledge that European students are quite radical on
campus, it is generally true that they work hard to complete their studies.
No Items being compared/contrasted Comparison/contrast markers Comparison

or contrast?
e. g The attitude of female students and The difference between … and …. Contrast
male students (to the study
mathematics)
1
2
3
4
5

34
UNIT 1 CAMPUS
LIFE
10. Compare and contrast the following topics using appropriate markers of comparison
and contrast.
a. The education system in your country with the education system in Britain.
b. The teaching style in university and that of high school.
c. Homogeneous ability classes and mixed ability classes.
d. Single sex classes and mixed sex classes.
e. Your hometown and Adama town.
PART FIVE: LISTENING
Overview
In this part, you are going to listen to a text about stress at university and answer some
general questions on the text. You will practice listening to lecture and taking notes,
developing notes and completing the summary of the listening text. You will also listen
for general and specific information, and you will transfer information from the listening
text to tables.

You are going to listen to a tape script about stress. Before you listen to the speaker on
the tape script, take time and discuss the following questions in a group of three or four
students.
1. What is stress?
2. What are the symptoms of stress?
3. How can stress be controlled or reduced?
4. Stress is a common feature of university life for many students and it is a particularly
important issue for new students to address. Do you agree with this idea? Why?
5. Many proverbs in English offer useful advice on how to avoid anxiety and stress and
feel more relaxed. Discuss what the following proverbs mean. Which ones do you
think you should sometimes say to yourself? And when?
 Tomorrow is another day!
 It’s never too late!
 The grass is always greener on the other side of the hill.

35
UNIT 1 CAMPUS
LIFE
 It’s no use crying over split milk!
 Two heads are better than one.
 A problem shared is a problem halved.
 Never underestimate yourself!
 Don’t cross that bridge until you come to it.
 Don’t make mountain out of a mole hill.
6. Do you know any proverbs in your first language that are related to avoiding stress?
Can you explain them in English?
7. List some points that you expect to hear in the listening lecture about stress.
Task 29 – Listening for General Information

Listen to the lecture and complete the following chart with basic details from the text.
Who is speaking? What? To whom? Where? Why?
Task 30 – Listening for Main Ideas

Refer to the lecture and answer the following questions.
1. At University, there is a need to be proactive in: (three things)
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
2. Starting university is often stressful for many reasons. Mention at least two
according to the lecture.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
3. Although stress at university is not often talked about, recent surveys revealed
university students to be under a lot of more stress than before. Write the two studies
mentioned in the lecture.
-----------------------------------------------and ---------------------------------------------------
4. Stressors may be positive, negative, physical or psychological. What examples are
given for each in the lecture?
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
5. People dramatically differ in the way they react to events that make them stressful.
List at least three factors bringing about these differences.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
6. Who first introduced the term ‘stress’ and when?
Task 31 – Listening for Details
1. Listen to the script again and, this time, complete the chart below.
General view of stress Sources of stress Factors affecting Ways of reducing stress

36
UNIT 1 CAMPUS
LIFE
reaction to stressors
-part of our life -personality -perception -predicting
- - - -
- - - -
2. Refer to the tape script and decide whether the following sentences are true, false or
not given according to the information from the lecture.
a. Many people remember university as the best days of their lives.
b. About six per cent of the students suggest that the best part of university
experiences is the freedom to live the way they want.
c. The source of stress for most university students is poor management of time.
d. It is possible to reduce stress but impossible to get rid of it.
e. Stresses are caused by external events alone.
f. What is relaxing for some people can be stressful for others.
g. It is not the actual situation but the belief and thought people hold about the
situation that causes them stress.
h. The less prediction we make at stressful situations, the more stressful we become.
i. Leaving problems to build up and explode at the last minute is more stressful than
doing it bit by bit overtime.
j. Building confidence by studying throughout the semester and avoiding cramming
the night before the exam minimizes test anxiety.
3. Answer the following questions according to the lecture.
I. The speaker believes university and stress
a. are two faces of a coin c. are opposite terms
b. are not often together d. are becoming cause and effect e. b and c
II. According to the research finding the speaker mentioned:

a. Stress at university is appraising frequently.
b. Most students consider going to university as a worthwhile experience.
c. Most students are happy with life at university.
d. University is associated with huge change and brings stress. e. All are correct
III. Stress is:
a. a failure to respond appropriately to emotional physical threats.
b. experienced by everybody regardless of age, and sex differences.
c. a normal part of life.
d. merely the characteristic of a university life e. all but d
IV. One of the following causes of the differences in the way people react to stressful
events is not mentioned in the lecture.
a. personality of an individual
b. expectation of an individual
c. the amount of responsibility an individual has
d. the amount of information an individual has
e. all are mentioned
V. Too much stress can cause

37
UNIT 1 CAMPUS
LIFE
a. physical problem b. psychological problem c. both
4. Listen to the lecture again and complete the gaps in the summary of the lecture below
with the correct word/phase you hear.
Stress is (1) ________ a part of a day to day life. All of us have (2) ________ of self-
doubt which is normal if it is not more than momentary (3) _______ form of stress can
act as a motivator to handle unfamiliar situation (4) _______ can be produced by a
number of events called stressor. (5) ________ can either be positive or negative.
Stressors alone may not be (6) _______. Rather, it is the way in which people (7)
_______ and react to stressors. People differ in this regard for a number of (8)
_______. It is important to (9) _________ how to respond to stressful events. This, will,
(10) _______ the impact that these experiences have on your life.
PART SIX: WRITING
Overview
In this part, you will be engaged in various writing tasks. First you will complete a model
letter with the given target structure (the structure you learned in this unit). Then, you
will write a similar letter of your own using the target language.
Task 32 – Completing Texts with Comparatives

1. In the following text, the writer wants to compare the full- time study (regular
program) with part-time study (extension/summer program) for undergraduate
college/university education program. Fill in the banks with the correct comparative
form of the adjective/adverb indicated in brackets. Do it individually first. Then
compare your answers with your friends.
Many undergraduates study full-time taking four or more courses each semester, but
others go to school part-time, taking just two or three courses while they work. Each
way of getting a diploma/ degree has both advantages and disadvantages.
Full-time study is, of course, _________ (expensive) than part- time study; however,
completing requirements for a degree in a full-time program is much _______ (fast)
than a part-time program. Part-time students don’t have as _________ (courses)
________ full-time students, but they don’t have as ________ (time) to study ______
full-time students either. Full-time students often have________ (simple) schedules
than part –time students, who often have to make _________ (complicated)
arrangements to fit in school, work, and home responsibilities. This frequently means
that they have to be ________ (organized) than full-time students that can often
concentrate _______(well) than part-time students for they don’t have ________
(different things) to think about. Because they almost always live on or near campus,

38
UNIT 1 CAMPUS
LIFE
full-time students can be _______ (active) in a college life than part-time students,
who often live _______ (far) away.
2. Imagine that Chaltu has joined Adama University as she had dreamt. At the end of
the first semester of her first year, she wrote a letter to her younger brother who is
attending grade 12 at her hometown. Fill in the blanks with the correct comparative
form of the adjective or adverb given in brackets to complete her letter. Then read the
letter to your partner. Your instructor may also ask you to read it to the class.
Dear Woyeso,
You wouldn’t believe how much my life has changed now that I’m at the university. I
can’t really say that it’s (easy) _________ or (difficult) ___________ my life at home
last year while I was going to high school. It’s just very different. My class schedule
is (complicated) ________ here ______ it was in high school. It’s different every day.
Sometimes my first class is at 9:00, and other days it’s not until 11:00. It’s hard to
remember what time and where I have class every day. Some classes here are (large)
_______ _________ our high school class, and others are (small) ___________.
For example, there are 120 students in the civics classes, but there are only 30 in my
Communicative English Skills class. We have to do a great deal of reading outside
class. Sometimes I have to read hundreds of pages a week for just one course and I’m
taking six courses! I’m planning to take a speed reading course to help me read (fast)
_______ so that I will be able to keep up. In lecture classes, I have to listen
(carefully) ________ and take (complete) _________ notes _______ I did in high
school because the instructors often discuss ideas that aren’t in the text book and we
are responsible for class material on exams. We don’t have home works to hand in
every day in most courses, but we have to write term papers that are much (long)
________ anything I wrote in high school. For a civics course, for instance, our final
paper can be as long as twenty typewritten pages.
In general, I think my classes here are (interesting) ________ and (challenging)
___________ our high school classes.
Life outside class is different too. My dorm room is much (big) ________my bed
room at home, but I have to share it with two other students, so it feels _________
(crowded). I often stay up (late) __________ and get up (late) _________ I used to do
at home because I don’t have early morning classes every day. And the cafeteria
food! Of course, it is poor but much (bad) _________ __________ I thought. You
cannot by any standards compare it to mummy’s cooking. I’m always glad when she
sends me some homemade cookies.
I was afraid at the beginning that I would be lonely here, but the students are
(friendly) _________ __________ I expected them to be. I have made a lot of new
friends and we often stay up half the night talking and studying.
I guess I could say that my life here is both (busy) _______ and (free) _______ than
when I was at home. I have to work (hard) _________, but I also have more freedom
and responsibility to make decisions myself. I can’t wait until you come here next year!

39
UNIT 1 CAMPUS
LIFE
Yours Sincerely,
Chaltu
Task 33 – Writing a Letter about Your University Experience
1. What do you learn from Chaltu’s letter about university life?

2. Write a similar letter to your friend at a high school comparing your feelings and
experiences when you started a new school and your major feelings, challenges and
experiences here in the university.

40
2 INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY
UNIT
UNIT TWO
INFORMATION
Learning About the Internet Microsoft ® Encarta ® 2006

UNIT
As we know, our world has been changing constantly. Some of these changes are natural,
ecological and evolutionary, while others are social, technological and revolutionary.
These changes have been shaping and reshaping our natural and social environments.
Among these changes, technological discoveries and innovations are considered
humanity’s fundamental achievements and breakthroughs that have revolutionized the
way we live and work.
In this unit, you will have the opportunity to practice various language skills by exploring
different topics related to technology with particular emphasis on information technology
(IT),
U N I which
T C OisNbelieved
T E N TtoS have direct bearings on advancement of the contemporary
world and the future of humanity.
Reading
UNIT OBJECTIVES
 Brainstorming
At the
 end of the
Jigsaw unit, you should be able to:
reading
 Summarizing and reporting
use your previous texts and experience while dealing with reading,
knowledge
listening, and
 Analyzing speaking materials;
texts
 develop your thinking and reflective skills;
 Using
developcontexts to worklearning
cooperative out wordskills:
meanings
discussing, negotiating, and sharing ideas
with fellow classmates;
Grammar
 skim a text and identify topics of its various sections;
 The
read,past simple andinterpret,
comprehend, present perfect
analyze,tenses
and summarize a reading material;
 Using
use context
presentclues to work
perfect out thechanges
to describe meaning of unfamiliar
happening words you meet in your
around
reading;
Vocabulary
 recognize and differentiate between use of the past simple and the present perfect
 Using
tenses your knowledge
and use of word formation
them appropriately in your speaking and writing;
 Using
use your
topicknowledge
relationshipsoftoword formation
learn new words and relationships to develop your
vocabulary knowledge;
Listening
 employ your previous knowledge, search for information and organize your
 Brainstorming
thoughts in order to argue for or against a proposed idea convincingly;
 use model paragraphs and develop bits of information into a coherent text; and
 Listening for general
interpret and describeinformation
main information in charts, graphs and tables.
 Listening for specific information
 Listening and note taking
 Writing a summary of the listening text
Speaking
 Participating in group and pair discussions
 Balloon debate: talking about inventions and inventors
 Arguing for or against a topic of your interest
Writing
 Writing a letter using the target structure
 Interpreting and describing a table
UNIT
PART ONE: READING
Overview
UNIT
In this part you are going to read one of the short texts about the Internet and answer
some general questions on the text. You will practice summarizing the gist or the overall
idea of the text you have read, and reporting it to others. You will also skim other texts to
identify their topics, read selected parts of the texts and analyze the relationship between
various words and ideas. Furthermore, you will learn how to figure out the meaning of
new vocabulary items by making use of their contextual clues.
Task 1- Brainstorming
1. You are going to read some short texts about the Internet. First look at the pictures
below and the words around them. With your partner, discuss what the pictures and
the words can tell you about the texts. Do not read the texts now. Be as specific as
you can and try to mention the details you expect to read about in the texts.
Electronic mail Intranet

Mailbox Censorship
Subscribe E-mail address
Computer network Internet access
Login Attachments
E-commerce Internet traffic
2. Work with your partner. Take turns to be "A" and "B". Ask each other the following
questions and share your ideas as follows:
Student A: Imagine that you do not know anything about the Internet. Ask your
partner as many questions as you can about the Internet using the
suggestions given. Add more questions of your own. Ask your partner:
 what the Internet is

 uses of the Internet
 what we need in order to use the Internet
 if the Internet can do us any harm
Student B: Imagine that you have taken a short training on basic computer skills and
you have some general information about the Internet. Using whatever
knowledge you have, try to help your partner to have some ideas about the
Internet by answering his/her questions. Do not worry if you cannot
answer any of them.
3. Now exchange your role. B asks the questions and A answers them. Be prepared to
show your discussion to your class.
UNIT
4. Discuss the following quotations about the Internet in your group. Explain what each
quotation means (what the person wants to mean in the quote). Be prepared to explain
it to your class.
a. If you cannot go to the best universities, the best universities will come to you.
(Anonymous)
b. Our networks aren't simple connections of cables and computers; they're
cooperative communities. (Clifford Stoll, U.S. astronomer and author)
c. The glory of the Internet is that it provides global presence, and it's the great
equalizer. (Laurie Tucker, U.S. business executive)
d. Most organizations now must compete in two marketplaces: a physical
(traditional) one and the emerging electronic one, mediated by the Internet.
(Walid Mougayar, U.S. author)
e. You're entering a non-existent universe. Consider the consequences.
(Clifford Stoll, U.S. astronomer and author)
Source: Microsoft ® Encarta ® 2006.
5. The following statement refers to one of the many arguments against the Internet, but
the words are not in the correct order. Work with your partner and put them in the
best order. Write out the statement.
unrestricted worries pornography, The people Internet many which carries
…………………………………………………………………………………………..
…………………………………………………………………………………………..
Task 2 – Jigsaw Reading

UNIT
You are going to read a short text about the Internet and do a jigsaw activity. Your
instructor will give you a letter (A, B, C, or D). If you are 'A', you will read text A. If you
are 'B', you will read text B, etc. One student will read ONE TEXT ONLY.
Text – A
Read the following questions first, and then read Text A below the questions to find the
answers. You will later report your answers to a group of students who have read a
different text. Do not attempt to understand everything in the text.
a. What is the Internet?

b. What is the difference between the Internet and an intranet?
c. How does the Internet differ from the traditional broadcasting media such as
radio and television?
d. How can we get access to the Internet? Who are the Internet service providers?
e. Using your answers to questions a-d and additional ideas from the text, write a
short summary of your text. Be ready to report it to other students.
I nternet is a computer-based global information system. The Internet is composed of

many interconnected computer networks. Each network may link tens, hundreds, or
even thousands of computers, enabling them to share information with one another
and to share computational resources such as powerful supercomputers and databases of
information. The Internet has made it possible for people all over the world to
communicate with one another effectively and inexpensively. Unlike traditional
broadcasting media, such as radio and television, the Internet does not have a centralized
distribution system. Instead, an individual who has Internet access can communicate
directly with anyone else on the Internet, make information available to others, find
information provided by others, or sell products with a minimum overhead cost.
Internet service providers (ISPs) provide Internet access to customers, usually for a

monthly fee. A customer who subscribes to an ISP’s service uses the ISP’s network to
access the Internet. Because ISPs offer their services to the general public, the networks
they operate are known as public access networks. In many countries, ISPs are private
companies; in countries where telephone service is a government-regulated monopoly,
the government often controls ISPs.
An organization that has many computers usually owns and operates a private network,

called an intranet, which connects all the computers within the organization. To provide
Internet service, the organization connects its intranet to the Internet. Unlike public
access networks, intranets are restricted to provide security. Only authorized computers at
the organization can connect to the intranet, and the organization restricts communication
between the intranet and the global Internet. This allows computers inside the
organization to exchange information but keep the information confidential and protected
from outsiders.
Text – B
UNIT
Read the following questions first, and then read Text B below the questions to find the
a. In what way is the Internet considered flexible?

b. How does the Internet’s flexibility increase its use?
c. Point out the major benefits that governments, companies, institutions,
and individuals gain from the Internet?
d. Using your answers to questions a-c and additional ideas from the text,
write a short summary of the text. Be ready to report it to other
students.
U se of the Internet has grown tremendously since its inception. The Internet’s

success arises from its flexibility. Instead of restricting component networks to a
particular manufacturer or particular type, Internet technology allows
interconnection of any kind of computer network. By virtue of this, no network is too
large or too small, too fast or too slow to be interconnected. Thus, the Internet includes
inexpensive networks that can only connect a few computers within a single room as well
as expensive networks that can span a continent and connect thousands of computers.
The Internet has brought new opportunities to governments, companies, educational

institutions, and individuals. Governments use the Internet for internal communication,
distribution of information, and automated tax processing. Companies use the Internet for
electronic commerce, also called e-commerce, including advertising, selling, buying,
distributing products, and providing customer service. In addition, they use the Internet
for business-to-business transactions, such as exchanging financial information and
accessing complex databases. Educational institutions, scientists and scholars use the
Internet to communicate with colleagues, to perform research, to deliver courses, lecture
notes and course materials to students, and to publish papers and articles. Many
individuals use the Internet for communication through electronic mail (e-mail),
entertainment, reading news, researching information, buying and selling goods and
services, paying bills, and banking.
Text – C
UNIT
Read the following questions first, and then read Text C below the questions to find the
a. What is an electronic mail (e-mail)?
b. What does an e-mail address consist of?
c. How does e-mail benefit its users?
d. What can e-mail now do that it could not do in its original form?
short summary of the text. Be ready to report it to other students.
E lectronic mail, or e-mail, is a widely used Internet application that enables

individuals or groups of individuals to quickly exchange messages, even if they
are separated by long distances. A user creates an e-mail message and specifies a
recipient using an e-mail address, which is a string consisting of the recipient’s login
name followed by an @ (at) sign and then a domain name. E-mail software transfers the
message across the Internet to the recipient’s computer, where it is placed in the specified
mailbox, a file on the hard drive. The recipient uses an e-mail application to view and
reply to the message, as well as to save or delete it. Because e-mail is a convenient and
inexpensive form of communication, it has dramatically improved personal and business
communications.
In its original form, e-mail could only be sent to recipients named by the sender, and only
text messages could be sent. E-mail has been extended in two ways, and is now a much
more powerful tool. Software has been invented that can automatically propagate to
multiple recipients a message sent to a single address. Known as a mail gateway or list
server, such software allows individuals to join or leave a mail list at any time. Such
software can be used to create lists of individuals who will receive announcements about
a product or service or to create online discussion groups. Of particular interest are
Network News discussion groups (newsgroups) that were originally part of the Usenet
network. Thousands of newsgroups exist, on an extremely wide range of subjects.
Messages to a newsgroup are not sent directly to each user. Instead, an ordered list is
disseminated to computers around the world that run news server software. Newsgroup
application software allows a user to obtain a copy of selected articles from a local news
server or to use e-mail to post a new message to the newsgroup.
E-mail software has also been extended to allow the transfer of non-text documents, such

as photographs and other images, executable computer programs, and prerecorded audio.
Such documents, appended to an e-mail message, are called attachments. The standard
used for encoding attachments is known as Multipurpose Internet Mail Extensions
(MIME). Because the Internet e-mail system only transfers printable text, MIME
software encodes each document using printable letters and digits before sending it and
then decodes the item when e-mail arrives. Most significantly, MIME allows a single
message to contain multiple items, enabling a sender to include a cover letter that
explains each of the attachments.
UNIT
Text – D
Read the following questions first, and then read Text D below the questions to find the
a. What are the challenges discussed in the text concerning the Internet?
b. Explain how the Internet traffic and highway traffic are similar?
c. What strategies have been already developed by researchers in order to
prevent Internet traffic jamming? What does the writer say is being done or
must be done in the future?
d. Why do governments want to control internet development and use? What
difficulties do they face to do so?
short summary of the text. Be ready to report it to other students.
S everal technical challenges must be overcome if the Internet is to continue growing

at the current phenomenal rate. The primary challenge is to create enough capacity
to accommodate increases in traffic. Internet traffic is increasing as more people
become Internet users and existing users send greater amounts of data. If the volume of
traffic increases faster than the capacity of the network increases, congestion will occur,
similar to the congestion that occurs when too many cars attempt to use a highway. To
avoid this, researchers have developed technologies, such as Dense Wave Division
Multiplexing (DWDM), that transfer more bits per second across an optical fiber. The
speed of routers and other packet-handling equipment must also increase to accommodate
growth. In the short term, researchers are developing faster electronic processors; in the
long term, new technologies will be required.
Other important questions concerning Internet growth relate to government controls,

especially taxation and censorship. Because the Internet has grown so rapidly,
governments have had little time to pass laws that control its deployment and use, impose
taxes on Internet commerce, or otherwise regulate content. Many Internet users in the
United States view censorship laws as violation on their constitutional right to free
speech. In 1996 the Congress of the United States passed the Communications Decency
Act, which made it a crime to transmit indecent material over the Internet. The act
resulted in an immediate outcry from users, industry experts, and civil liberties groups
opposed to such censorship. In 1997 the Supreme Court of the United States declared
the act unconstitutional because it violated First Amendment rights to free speech.
Increasing commercial use of the Internet has heightened security and privacy concerns.
With a credit or debit card, an Internet user can order almost anything from an Internet
site and have it delivered to their home or office. Companies doing business over the
Internet need sophisticated security measures to protect credit card, bank account, and
social security numbers from unauthorized access as they pass across the Internet. Any
organization that connects its intranet to the global Internet must carefully control the
UNIT
access point to ensure that outsiders cannot disrupt the organization’s internal networks
or gain unauthorized access to the organization’s computer systems and data.
Disruptions that could cause loss of life or that could be part of a coordinated terrorist

attack have also become an increasing concern. For example, using the Internet to attack
computer systems that control electric power grids, pipelines, water systems, or chemical
refineries could cause the systems to fail, and the resulting failures could lead to fatalities
and harm to the economy.
Source: Microsoft ® Encarta ® 2008.
Task 3 – Discussion
Pair work: Find a partner who has read the same text as you and discuss your answers.
Try to improve your answers and your summary sentences. Be ready to report
text to a group of students who have read a different text.
Group work: Now form a group of 4 students. All of you must have read a different text:
A, B, C, or D.
1. Tell the group what your text is generally about, and using your text summary
notes, describe it to them in more details.
2. Have you learned some new facts about the Internet from what your group
members have told you? Tell your group at least one piece of information you
have discovered from their reports.
3. Tell the group what facts about the Internet you have found personally
interesting.
Task 4 – Text Analysis
Now you must refer to all texts in order to do this task and subsequent tasks.
1. Below is a list of headings for the texts. In your group, choose the best heading for
each text. You should refer to all texts, but you should not read everything in the
texts.
a) Electronic Mail and Newsgroups

b) Internet Congestion
c) Network Names and Addresses
d) Uses of the Internet
e) The Internet and its provision
f) Flexibility of the Internet
g) Internet Access
h) The Future of the Internet
Text A: …………………………………… Text C: ………………………………….

Text B: ……………………………………. Text D: ………………………………….
UNIT
2. Refer to all texts. To what do the following words or phrases (written in bold in the
texts) refer?
a. they (Text A, par. 2) ………………………………………………………..

b. This (Text A, par. 3) ………………………………………………………..
c. this (Text B, par. 1) …………………………………………………………
d. they (Text B, par. 2) …………………………………………………………
e. they (Text C, par. 1) …………………………………………………………
f. it (Text C, par. 1) ……………………………………………………………
g. Such soft ware (Text C, par. 2) ……………………………………………..
h. this (Text D, par. 1) …………………………………………………………
i. such censorship (Text D, par. 2) ……………………………………………
j. they (Text D, par. 3) …………………………………………………………
Task 5 – Vocabulary Focus
1. Use context clues to find the single words in texts A and B which mean the
following. The first is done for you as an example.
a. Concentrated at a single place (Text A) = centralized

b. Make an advance payment (Text A) …………………….
c. Greatly; enormously (Text B) …………………………
d. Not available to the public (Text A) …………...................
e. Favorable conditions (Text B) ………………………...
f. Official; approved (Text A) …………………………...
g. Manage; control (Text A) …………………..................
h. The beginning of something (Text B) …………………
2. Now find the single words in texts C and D which mean the following. The context
should help you to find these words.
a. A computer program or software (Text C) ……………………….

b. Restriction; control; editing (Text D) ………..................................
c. Mechanically; no human intervention (Text C) ……………………………….
d. Overcrowding; too much information to transfer (Text D) ……………………..
e. Receiver; addressee (Text C) …………………………..
f. Illegal; unlawful; unconstitutional (Text D) …………….........................
g. Complicated; advanced; very up-to-date (Text D) ………….........................
h. Documents or files added on an E-mail message (Text C)
………………………
UNIT
PART TWO: GRAMMAR
Overview
This part is intended to enable you to revise the uses of the past simple and present
perfect tenses, recognize the differences between their uses, and avoid confusing them.
You will do tasks that combine both tenses in order for you to understand their uses
contextually. You will also do a task that gets you to use the present perfect to describe
changes.
Task 6 – Language Awareness
Here are sentences taken from the texts. With your partner do the following:
a. Look at the verb(s) underlined in the sentences below and sort the sentences into
two structures: Structure1 and Structure 2. It does not matter which structure
comes first.
b. Give each structure a grammatical name.
c. Discuss why the writer uses the structure in each sentence.
1. The Internet has made it possible for people all over the world to communicate with
one another effectively and inexpensively.
2. In 1996 the Congress of the United States passed the Communications Decency Act.
3. Use of the Internet has grown tremendously since its inception.
4. The Communications Decency Act made it a crime to transmit indecent material over
the Internet.
5. E-mail has been extended in two ways, and is now a much more powerful tool.
6. The act resulted in an immediate outcry from users, industry experts, and civil
liberties groups opposed to such censorship.
7. Software has been invented that can automatically propagate to multiple recipients a
message sent to a single address.
8. In 1997 the Supreme Court of the United States declared the act unconstitutional
because it violated First Amendment rights to free speech.
Now summarize your answers in this table.
Structure 1 Structure 2
Grammatical name Sentences Grammatical name of the Sentences
of the structure: (Use numbers): structure: (Use numbers):
UNIT
Now complete these generalizations about the two tenses.
1. We use the ………………………to relate past actions and situations to the present.
2. We use the……………………..to talk about short, quickly finished actions and
events in the past, or about longer actions and situations in the past.
Task 7 – Using the Tenses
criticize be prove allow

1. Work individually first and then with your partner. Read the paragraph below and fill
in the blanks in the sentences with a suitable verb from the box and using the correct
form of the verb - simple past or preset perfect.
The World Wide Web, an enormous collection of Internet addresses or

sites, _______mainly responsible for the increase in interest in the Internet in the 1990s.
Before the World Wide Web, the 'Net' ______comparable to an integrated collection of
computerized typewriters, but the introduction of the 'Web' in 1990 _________not only
text links to be made but also graphs, images, and even video. Because of the relative
freedom of access to information, the Internet _______often ________by the media as a
potentially hazardous tool in the hands of young computer users. This perception
________to be largely false, however, and the vast majority of users both young and old
get connected with the Internet for the dual purpose for which it was intended - discovery
and delight. (Adapted from '202 Useful Exercises for IELTS', 2000)
2. With your partner, read the text below and fill in the blanks in the sentences with the
correct present perfect form of the verb given in parentheses.
As we all know, our world is changing, and it is changing fast. Technology, especially
information and communication technology, ………. (play) a large part in these changes.
Advances in computer systems …………… (facilitate) advances in entertainment, in
medicine, in military capabilities, in the collection and dissemination of global news
reports, and in the management of organizations. Continually evolving computer
hardware and software …………… (allow) organizations to significantly change their
work process. New products and services ………… (develop), new products and
industries…………(emerge), old companies and industries………either ………(fail) or
they …………(restructure). Moreover, the technologies continue to converge in their
capabilities and applications. Communication systems are no longer distinguishable from
computer systems; educational systems look more like entertainment systems. With
information technology-based tools and systems, layers of management in most large
organizations ………… (remove) and with them many traditional career opportunities
……………(eliminate). Although these rapid technological advances……… (abandon)
many career opportunities, the good news is that they have created many others. Indeed,
throughout history, technological advancements have created new jobs, while eliminating
old ones.
(Adapted from Fundamentals of Information Technology, 2002)
UNIT
3. Imagine that you have a pen pal (a pen friend) from the USA. She thinks that Ethiopia
is the poorest nation in the world and a dangerous place to live in. As a citizen, you
do not want your country to have such an image, and you want to convince her that
Ethiopia is now changing tremendously. Using the present perfect tense, write a
letter to your friend describing the political, economical, and social changes that have
actually taken place in the country over the last couple of decades.
You may begin as follows (preferably, you can begin in your own way):
Dear Julia, I guess you have a much exaggerated impression of my country. Although
Ethiopia is still one of the poorest nations, she is, nonetheless, changing beyond your
imagination. Let me give you some examples of the dramatic changes that have been
taking place in the country recently. In the field of education, many new universities
have been set up, and the number of universities in the country has now grown, from
just 2 or 3 universities a decade ago, to over 20 universities at the moment, with more
universities expected in the near future. ……………………………………………….
……………………..
…………………………………………………………………………………………..
…………………………………………………………………………………………..
…………………………………………………………………………………………..
…………………………………………………………………………………………..
…………………………………………………………………………………………..
…………………………………………………………………………………………..
…………………………………………………………………………………………..
…………………………………………………………………………………………..
…………………………………………………………………………………………..
…………………………………………………………………………………………..
…………………………………………………………………………………………..
…………………………………………………………………………………………
……………………………………………………………………..
…………………………………………………………………………………………..
…………………………………………………………………………………………..
………………………………………………………………………………………….
…………………………………………………………………………………………..
…………………………………………………………………………………………..
…………………………………………………………………………………………..
…………………………………………………………………………………………..
………………………………………………………………………………………….
…………………………………………………………………………………………..
…………………………………………………………………………………………..
…………………………………………………………………………………………..
…………………………………………………………………………………………..
………………………………………………………………………………………….
…………………………………………………………………………………………..
UNIT
Grammar Tips
1. Many students confuse the use of present perfect tense with the use of the past simple tense.
The main difference between the two is:
The present prefect is mainly used to refer to:
 events or states which started in the past and are still occurring in the present.
E.g. Use of the Internet has grown tremendously since its inception. (It is still growing nowadays.)
 events or states which happened in the past, but which still have an effect on the present.
E.g. To avoid congestion, researchers have developed technologies, such as Dense Wave
Division Multiplexing (DWDM). (They developed technologies in the past and they are still
developing it.)
The past simple is used to refer to an event or action completed at a definite time in the past.
E.g. In the early 1990s, the Internet quickly expanded to include universities, companies, libraries, schools,
governments, individuals, and families. (That happened in the past – in the early 1990s.)
1 The context determines which tense the speaker uses. Adverbs act as 'cues'.
Past tense adverbs (time words) Present perfect adverbs

'this _____' from past to present
 this morning (the hours that have passed) up to now
 this week (the days that have passed) so far
 this year (the days that have passed) until now
 this decade (the days that have passed) to date
"last ____" experience

 last night ever
 yesterday never
 last week before
 last year
a date in the past duration

 Twenty years ago for ten years
 January 10, 1999 over the past ten years
 August 1960 since 2005/ever
 since 2005
 In 2009
recently completed
just/ recently/ already/ yet
UNIT
PART THREE: VOCABULARY
Overview
In this vocabulary part, you will practice two important vocabulary learning strategies -
word formation and grouping words based on their meaning relationships. While the
former gets you to experiment with your knowledge of parts of speech and different
grammatical forms of words, the latter helps you focus on meaning relationship of words
and group them together according to their meaning similarities. This helps you not only
to learn a group of meaning related words at a time but to recognize how these words are
similar in meaning and how they are also different.
Task 8 – Using Your Knowledge of Word Formation
1. Complete the table by filling in the missing part of speech (adjective, noun, verb, and
adverb). Present and past participles can be used. The shaded space means the form is
not possible. The first has been done for you as an example.
Adjective Noun Verb Adverb

International Internationals internationalize Internationally
globe/globalize
use/user
Exchangeable
Technically
Network
Correspond
Electronic
Government
Directly
Computerized
2. Now fill in the blanks in the following passage with suitable forms of the words from
the table above. (Not all words/forms are possible.)
Internet is an …….network. It is the network of networks. It is worldwide ……of

thousands of smaller computer networks and millions of commercial, …….and
personal computers. The Internet is like an electronic city with virtual libraries,
business offices, and art galleries and so on. The Internet offers roughly 30 million
people a way to …………..with one another, do research, learn stuff, and fool
around. Physicians use it to heal, journalists use it to report, activists use it to activate,
and everyday folks use it to do everyday things.
Most of the ………on the Internet don't exist simply to be part of the Internet. They
are actually the computers used every day by governments and their agencies,
universities, research organizations, corporations, libraries, and individuals. Because
UNIT
each computer is on the Internet, however, its ………can take advantage of some of
the information that is stored on many of the other computers. Each computer's users
can also ………message with the users of the other computers.
The computers on the Internet can talk to one another because they are …………;
they are connected in some way so that they can exchange information with one
another ………… On the Internet, the connections take many different forms. Some
computers are …………connected to others with wire or cables. Some are connected
through local and long-distance telephone lines, and some even use wireless satellite
communications to communicate with other computers on the Internet.
3. Choose ten of the words from the table above and write ten sentences with the words
you have chosen. Use the same part of speech as the word from the table.
Task 9 – ………………………………………………………………… (topic?)
1. As you can see, this vocabulary task is not given a topic. In order to give it a topic,
rearrange the letters of the group of words below into the correct order and discover
the topic of the task. Then write the topic of the task in the blank space provided.
Uisgn/Tcoip/Raltsipneshoi/ot/Lnare/Wdrso
2. A useful way of learning and remembering vocabulary items is to group them

according to their meaning relationships. One kind of meaning relationship is words
connected based on their topic relationships. The following words or phrases are all
connected with the general topic Information technology, but they can still be
grouped under 5 more specific topics related to information technology. Put them
under the topic they belong to more specifically. Some words or phrases may fit into
more than one category. You can ask people for help or access the Internet.
software keyboard computer

computer memory hardware data processing
central Processing Unit operating system network

Information Theory database information storage
internet information retrieval client
programming language Computer Science Information Science
webpage Information Superhighway connection
monitor server personal computer
computer program Artificial Intelligence mouse
Topic Words connected with

Computer
Applications and Systems
Operation
Information Storage
Networking/ Wide-area networks
UNIT
Theory and Research
Task 10 – Some Computer and IT Vocabulary
1. Work in a pair and study the meaning of the words or phrases in the box below.
Then use a suitable word or phrase to fill in the gaps in the following sentences. Use
the correct form of the word when necessary.
software word processor mouse icons back-up copy

computer-literate Internet print e-mail network
user-friendly save keyboard virus monitor
hardware
a) Your computer may stop working if there is not enough memory or if it has a
………………. Make sure you make a …………………………of your work on a
CD or memory stick.
b) I wrote a proposal on the computer yesterday. When I finished, I …………
out two copies – one for me and one for my adviser. Then, without any warning,
the computer switched off, and I lost the whole document because I forgot to
….....................it.
c) As well as the ………………..or the machines, we also need the ........................
or the programs needed to work the machines.
d) A ………………………..is a computer used to prepare documents or letters, or
the software that is used for this purpose.
e) More and more people are becoming ………………………….as many programs
and machines are so ……………………or easy to use.
f) Using the …....................., you can do a number of things by clicking on different
……………or pictures at the top of the screen.
g) These days, you can connect your computer to computers all over the world using
the ……………….. (a system that allows computers to connect using satellite and
telephone lines). People send each other …...................messages using this system
or ………………….
UNIT
PART FOUR: LISTENING
Overview
Elsewhere in this unit, you have seen how the Internet is useful to us. Like almost every
technology, the Internet is not, however, without disadvantages. In this part, you will
listen to a talk describing some negative impacts of the Internet. The talk is divided into
two parts. In the first part of the talk, you will listen for the gist (general idea) of the talk
and for more specific information. In the second part, you will listen and take notes of the
major ideas discussed by the speaker and complete a guided summary of the talk.
Discuss the following questions in your group based on your knowledge and thinking.
a. What are some of the disadvantages of the Internet?

b. Which ones do you think are more serious?
c. Do you think the disadvantages of the Internet outweigh or exceed its advantages?
d. Do you think these disadvantages can be minimized or overcome? If so, how?
e. Do you have any experience/know any story about the limitations of the Internet?
Tell it to your group members.
f. Report your ideas to the whole class through your group representative.
Task 12 – Listening for Main Ideas
The following topics refer to the four sections of the first part of the talk. They are not,
however, in the correct order. As you listen, put the topics in the same order as their
respective sections. Study the topics first and check if you understand them all.
a. Internet spreads hatred.

b. Internet distributes unreliable, unchecked information.
c. Internet enables piracy and sabotage.
d. Internet separates and isolates people.
Task 13 – Listening for Specific Information
Listen to the first part of the talk again. As you listen, complete the gaps in the summary
of the talk with a suitable word or phrase you hear.
According to the speaker, there are some long-term negative impacts of the Internet.
First, if people always depend on the Internet to interact, this situation can eventually
…………..people, making it difficult for them to interact freely in …………..interaction.
Secondly, the internet can foster a narrow field of contact by harnessing or tying together
people who ………..common interests and separating them from those whose interests
UNIT
are different. This condition will discourage ………...and understanding among people
who have different backgrounds. Because the majority of reporters are not …………..and
the Internet is largely…............. it can also distribute unchecked and unsubstantiated
information. Not only journalists but also Internet ………… can disseminate wrong
information. Furthermore, some Internet users may misuse this …………environment by
spreading bigotry and hatred, and, thus, attempting to make the world a worst place.
Finally, our computers and programs often suffer from mischievous…….and….....which
intrude into our security via the Internet.
Task 14 – Getting Ready (for Part 2)
1. The underlined words in the following sentences are used in the second part of the
talk. See if you understand their meaning from the text.
a. Producing false data is an academic fraud; it can dismiss you from your study.
b. In the era of the Internet, computerized companies may not require permanent
employees; they may hire only temporary workers or freelancers.
c. In the world of business, if you have a credit card, you can purchase goods and
services and pay for them later, often with interest.
d. Income inequality between the haves and the have-nots is rising sharply. The
haves lead a luxurious life, while the have-nots live a miserable life.
2. Do you think these sentences are true or false?
a. The Internet can cause job insecurity to many workers.

b. The development of the Internet may not affect traditional businesses.
c. Everybody is worried about uncontrolled pornography on the Internet.
d. Parents cannot do anything to restrict their children from Internet pornography.
e. Cheating is possible in traditional commerce, but not in electronic commerce.
3. Check your answers as you listen to the talk.
Task 15 – Listening and Note-taking
1. Now listen to the second part of the talk in which the speaker discusses more
shortcomings of the Internet. As you listen, take notes of the major shortcomings of
the Internet and complete the summary below. Study the summary first.
According to the speaker, the Internet can cause ……..........................................to

company staff as the virtual (computerized) corporation may gradually replace
………………………………………..by……………………………………………...
who……………………………………………………………………………………..
The Internet can also be a trouble to businesses by ………………………………This
occurs in many ways, but it often happens when people……………………………....
………………………………..This enables hackers and dishonest system
administrators to………………………………………………………………………...
UNIT
……………………………………………………..........................................................
Besides, the Internet………………………………………………This condition is
worrisome to many people especially to …………………..who are concerned about
their……………………………………………………………………………………..
. ……………………………………………………………………Finally, the Internet
divides people by favoring the haves over the have-nots. Those who are privileged to
use the Internet are more advantaged than those who are not. For example, they can
……………………………………………………,.…………….………………..
……………………,
…………………………………………………………………...........,
and………………………………………………………………………………………
2. Check your answers with your partner and then with your instructor.
Discuss these questions with your partner. Then report your ideas to your class.
1. Have you found anything interesting in the two talks? And anything surprising?
2. Is there anything you do not share with the speaker?
3. In your opinion, which of the problems of the Internet you heard in the talks is the
most dangerous? Which one is the least dangerous?
UNIT
PART FIVE: SPEAKING
Overview
In this part, you are going to debate on two issues in your group. You should then be an
active participant in the discussion. There are no correct answers in each case, but you
have to defend your decisions.
Task 17 – Balloon Debate
Below are 4 famous people linked with information and communication technologies:
Guglielmo Marconi
Alexander Graham Bell
Bill Gates
Samuel Morse
Hot-Air Balloons (Microsoft ® Encarta ® 2008)
1. Match each person with the picture, and write his name in the blank space.
…………………………. ……………………………
…………………………… ……………………………
UNIT
2. Imagine that these famous people are traveling around the world in a hot air balloon
in order to attract media publicity. After two weeks, however, there is a
BIG EMERGENCY! There is a problem with the balloon and it is going to go down
dangerously! The only solution is:
'One person must be thrown out of the balloon in order to save the other people.'
a. Do you agree or disagree with this solution? why? Why not?

b. If you agree with it, who should be thrown out of the balloon?
Think and decide! Then prepare your arguments for and against the proposed person. Try
to convince your group members about who should be thrown out and who shouldn't be.
Use the phrases for expressing agreement or disagreement given at the end of this part.
Here is the major achievement of each person:

Alexander Graham Bell: Best known for developing the telephone.
Samuel Morse: Best known for inventing the telegraph and the Morse Code.
Bill Gates: Chairman, chief software architect, and cofounder (with Paul Allen) of
Microsoft Corporation, the world’s leading Computer Software Company.
The company’s success made Gates one of the world’s richest people.
Guglielmo Marconi: An inventor of the radio-signaling system. He was the first to send
wireless signals across the ocean.
Task 18 – Now You are the Government
Assume that your group has become the government of your country. An election is near,
and you need to agree about your policies to give to the country. Once every week, you
debate within your government on four competing polices and agree to choose three and
reject one. This week, you have decided to deliberate on the following policies. You must
agree on three, put them in order of importance, and reject one policy. The most
important policy will be number 1. For example, if you decide 'Invest in IT' is most
important, write 1 in the 'rank' column. Here are the policies:
Policies Rank
Invest in information technology (IT)

Invest in education and open more universities
Borrow money from the World Bank
Lower taxes and raise salaries
Be aware! You must defend your decisions very convincingly. Otherwise, the people and
the opposition parties will challenge you and you may lose in the election! Be ready to
present your decision to the class.
UNIT
Useful words and phrases for spoken debate
Strong agreement
 You’re absolutely right!

 I completely/totally agree!
 I’m in total agreement.
 I agree entirely!
 That’s it!
 I couldn’t agree more!
Partial agreement
 I agree up to a point, but…

 By and large I agree, but…
 I more or less agree, but…
 I agree with you on the whole but…
 I’m not sure I agree with you.
Total disagreement
 I disagree entirely!
 I completely/totally disagree!
 I really can’ agree with you there.
 I don’t agree at all!
 That’s wrong!
Expressing your opinion and focusing on your ideas
I think…; As far as I’m concerned…; From what I can see…; In my opinion…;

Personally…; From my point of view…; In my view…; To my mind….
Words and phrases for expressing how likely, possible, or real a fact can be
possibly certainly undoubtedly no doubt

fortunately perhaps likely probably
unlikely definitely unquestionably clearly
unfortunately obviously undeniably arguably
without any doubt apparently supposedly quite wrongly
PART SIX: WRITING

UNIT
Overview
This writing part will engage you in two tasks. You will first study a model paragraph
and then, using the given notes, you will produce a paragraph similar to the model
paragraph. In the second task, you will study a table containing some statistical
information about Internet usage in six East African countries. Then you will interpret the
statistics and describe it by writing a summary of the core contents of the table.
Task 19 – Writing about Famous People
1. Study the notes in the box below about Alexander Graham Bell and the paragraph
developed from these notes.
Quick facts:
Name: Alexander Graham Bell
Citizenship: Scottish-born American
Date of birth: March 3, 1847
Date of death: August 2, 1922
Place of birth: Edinburgh, Scotland
Education: universities of Edinburgh, London
Known for: Inventing and spreading the telephone (mainly); Founding the
Bell Telephone Company; Teaching deaf students how to speak
Alexander Graham Bell was a Scottish-born American inventor. He was born on March
3, 1847 in Edinburgh, Scotland, and he was educated in universities of Edinburgh and
London. Bell was best known for his contribution to the invention and spread of the
telephone. He was also known for founding the Bell Telephone Company and for
teaching deaf students how to speak. He died on August 2, 1922.
2. Now use the facts in this box and write a similar paragraph about Bill Gates.
Quick facts:
Name: Bill Gates
Citizenship: American
Date of birth: 1955
Date of death: ……………………….
Place of birth: Seattle, Washington
Education: Harvard University , Cambridge, Massachusetts
Known for: Chief, cofounder of Microsoft, 1975, with Paul Allen; Current chairman,
Microsoft Corporation, leading computer software company in the world;
one of most influential figures, computer industry; one of rich people, world
Task 20 – Interpreting and Describing Table
1. Study this table carefully and answer the questions that follow it.
UNIT
INTERNET USAGE STATISTICS FOR SIX EAST AFRICAN COUNTRIES
Population Internet Users Internet Users User Growth % Users

Country
(2009 Est.) Dec/2000 June/2009 (2000-2009) in Africa
Djibouti 724,622 1,400 11,000 685.7 % 0.0 %
Eritrea 5,647,168 5,000 150,000 2,900.0 % 0.2 %
Ethiopia 85,237,338 10,000 360,000 3,500.0 % 0.5 %
Kenya 39,002,772 200,000 3,359,600 1,579.8 % 5.1 %
Somalia 9,832,017 200 98,000 48,900.0 % 0.1 %
Sudan 41,087,825 30,000 3,800,000 12,566.7 % 5.8 %
Adapted from: Internet World Stats - www.internetworldstats.com Copyright 2009, ©

Miniwatts Marketing Group.
a. What exactly does the table show?

b. Which country had the highest number of Internet users in 2000?
c. Which country had the lowest number of Internet users in 2000?
d. Which country has the highest user growth from 2000-2009?
e. Which country has the lowest user growth from 2000-2009?
f. Which countries are the leading Internet users in East Africa currently?
g. Where would you group Ethiopia?
h. What do you conclude about the Internet usage of the countries in the table?
2. Now use your answers and the table to write a short description of Internet usage of
the given countries.
………………………………………………………………………………………………
………………………………………………………………………………………………
………………………………………………………………………………………………
………………………………………………………………………………………………
………………………………………………………………………………………………
………………………………………………………………………………………………
………………………………………………………………………………………………
………………………………………………………………………………………………
………………………………………………………………………………………………
UNIT
………………………………………………………………………………………………
………………………………………………………………………………………………
UNIT 3 SUCCESS STORIES
UNIT THREE
SUCCESS STORIES
A ………………….. B.………………… C………………….. D…………………...

Fathers of the nations
E……………….. F…………………….. G………………….. H…………………….

Yes we can!
I………………….... J……………………… K…………………. L………………….
Overcoming early obstacles through education

What would you like to be in the future? What is success? Who do you call a successful
person? What makes people successful? What are the typical characteristics of successful
people? Are there successful people in your area? What did they do? In this unit we will
look at success stories of some people who have made a difference in their life and who
we may take as role models for our future life. We will also practice some language items
and skills related to storytelling.
UNIT OBJECTIVES
At the end of the unit, you should be able to:

 apply your previous knowledge and skills in doing reading, listening, speaking,
and writing tasks;
 build up your thinking and reflective skills;
 skim a text to identify main topics and ideas;
 read a text for details, interpreting and analyzing the materials;
 read a text and relate it to your personal life and experience;
 use context clues to work out the meaning of unfamiliar words you meet in your
reading and/or listening text;
 use the reading material as an opportunity to build your vocabulary knowledge;
 develop cooperative and collaborative learning skills: listening and/ or reading a
story, re-telling a story, discussing, and sharing ideas with fellow classmates;
 identify the differences between the active and passive voices, and direct and
indirect speeches and use them correctly in various contexts;
 use your knowledge of word groups and relations to expand your vocabulary
knowledge;
 acquire a variety of vocabulary learning strategies and/ or techniques and
progressively use English naturally;
 listen to a story with a purpose and identify its setting, structure, characters and
events and re-tell the story summarizing the central message;
 read a story, take its central message and re-tell it; discuss its moral values,
setting, structure and characters;
 create or organize your own true or imaginary story and narrate it to the class;
 listen to/ or read a part of a story and complete the rest with your own ideas;
 write stories using appropriate grammar and organization, and keeping paragraph
formats and layouts.
UNIT CONTENTS
Reading
 Brainstorming
 Reading for main ideas
 Analyzing texts
 Reading for details
 Inferences and deriving implications
 Summarizing
 Vocabulary focus
Grammar
 Language awareness: Passives and reported speech
 Using passives in descriptive writing; reported speech in various contexts
Vocabulary
 Vocabulary learning strategies
 Memory retention
 Using context
 Word formation
 Sense relations
 Keeping vocabulary records
 Spelling rules
Listening
 Listening for general and specific information
 Listening to and re-telling a story
Speaking
 Reading a story and re-telling
 Creating and narrating a story
Writing
 Filling in blank spaces with appropriate linking words
 Writing out a story from an outline
 Completing a story using your own ideas
PART ONE: READING
Overview
The reading part in this unit provides you plenty of opportunities to practice reading skills
and learn some language items in the context of success stories. The focus here will be on
how to read for gist, specific and detail information. You will also be using the language
of the text as a sample to narrate success stories of famous people you know.
Task1–Prediction
Look at the illustrations at the beginning of this unit and try to predict what the reading
passage will be exactly about. Who are the people in the illustrations? Write their name in
the blanks given. What are they known for?
Task 2 – Brainstorming
1. Before reading the text on the next page, discuss the following questions with a
partner and report your answers to the class.
a. What is success?
b. Look at these quotations or sayings. What do they mean? Do you agree with their
idea?
 “The only place where success comes before work is in the dictionary.”
(Vidal Sassoon, hairstylist)
 Success is failure turned inside out; failure is the high way to success.
c. What are common characteristics or qualities of successful people?
d. Do you think successful people are our role models? (Can we take them as
exemplary, adopt their qualities and become successful like them?) How?
e. Name as many successful people as you know, especially in your area. Why do
you say they are successful? What are the backgrounds of these people?
f. Do you have a dream making socio-economic or political contributions to your
people?
g. What do you think you should do to realize this dream?
h. Who do you seek advice from to be successful in your life? Do you seek advice
from your family or teachers on what you want to become in the future?
i. Have you ever heard of Professor Gabisa Ejeta?
What do you know about him?
2. Reorder the words in the mystery questions below.
a. family one be from be wealthy successful to a

necessarily born Should?
b. dream to you world contribute a your future part
Do the have to clear?
Task 3 – Reading for Main Ideas
Read the following questions. Then read the passage quickly and answer the questions.
1. What are the two types of prizes mentioned in the passage?

2. What are the two major contributions made by Prof. Gebisa?
3. According to the passage, what kinds of people can win the World Food Prize?
4. What are the two sorghum hybrids found by Prof. Gebisa?
5. List the names of the institutions Professor Gebisa learnt and/ or worked at.
E stablished in 1986 by Norman E. Borlaug, the World Food Prize is awarded

annually to individuals whose efforts significantly contribute to improving the
quality, quantity and availability of food in the world. Borlaug, who grew up on
an Iowa farm, won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1970 for his work to improve the world
food supply. Former senators Bob Dole and George McGovern are among those who
won such prizes for creating a program in several countries to help feed school children.
Dr. Monkombu Sambasivan Swaminathan from India received the first World Food Prize
in 1987 for spearheading the introduction of high-yielding wheat and rice varieties to
India’s farmers. Dr. Robert F. Chandler from US, and Dr. Verghese Kurien from India,
again, were the next Laureates of WFP in 1988 and 1999, respectively. An acclaimed
plant breeder and geneticist who was born and grew up in rural Ethiopia also won the
2009 World Food Prize for his major contributions in the production of sorghum, one of
the world's five principal grains.
Born in 1950, Gebisa Ejeta grew up in a one-room thatched hut with a mud floor, in a
rural village of Holoncomy in west-central Ethiopia. His mother’s deep belief in
education and her struggle to provide her son with access to local teachers and schools
provided the young Ejeta with the means to rise out of poverty and hardship. His mother
made arrangements for him to attend school in a neighboring town. Walking 20
kilometers every Sunday night to attend school during the week and then back home on
Friday, he rapidly ascended through eight grades and passed the national exam
qualifying him to enter high school. Ejeta’s high academic standing earned him
financial assistance and entrance to the secondary-level Jimma Agricultural and
Technical School, which had been established by Oklahoma State University under the
U.S. government’s Point Four Program. After graduating with distinction, Ejeta entered
Alemaya College (also established by OSU and supported by the U.S. Agency for
International Development) in eastern Ethiopia. There, he received his bachelor’s degree
in plant science in 1973.
In the same year, his college mentor introduced Ejeta to a renowned sorghum
researcher, Dr. John Axtell of Purdue University, who invited him to assist in collecting
sorghum species from around the country. Dr. Axtell was so impressed with Ejeta that
he invited him to become his graduate student at Purdue University. This invitation came
at a time when Ethiopia was about to enter a long period of political instability which
would keep Ejeta from returning to his home country for nearly 25 years. Ejeta entered
Purdue in 1974, and earned his Ph.D. in plant breeding and genetics in 1978. He later
became a faculty member at Purdue, where today he holds a distinguished professorship.
Upon completing his graduate degree, Dr. Ejeta accepted a position as a sorghum
researcher at the International Crop Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics
(ICRISAT) office in Sudan. During his time at ICRISAT, Dr. Ejeta developed the first
hybrid sorghum varieties for Africa, which were drought-tolerant and high-yielding.
His Hageen Dura-1, as the hybrid was named, was released in 1983 following field trials
in which the hybrids out-yielded traditional sorghum varieties by 50 to 100 percent. Its
superior grain qualities contributed to its rapid spread and wide acceptance by farmers,
who found that yields increased to more than 150 percent greater than local sorghum, far
surpassing the percentage gain in the trials. By 1999, one million acres of Hageen Dura-
1 had been harvested by hundreds of thousands of Sudanese farmers, and millions of
Sudanese had been fed with grain produced by Hageen Dura-1. Another drought-tolerant
sorghum hybrid, NAD-1, was developed for conditions in Niger by Dr. Ejeta and one of
his graduate students at Purdue University in 1992. This cultivar has had yields 4 or 5
times the national sorghum average. Using some of the drought-tolerant germplasm from
the hybrids in Niger and Sudan, Dr. Ejeta also developed elite sorghum inbred lines for
the U.S. sorghum hybrid industry. He has released over 70 parental lines for the U.S.
seed industry’s use in commercial sorghum hybrids in both their domestic and
international markets. Dr. Ejeta’s next breakthrough came in the 1990s, the culmination
of his research to conquer the greatest biological impediment to food production in
Africa – the deadly parasitic weed Striga, known commonly as witch weed, which
devastates yields of crops including maize, rice, pearl millet, sugarcane, and sorghum,
thus severely limiting food availability. A 2009 UN Environmental Programme report
estimated that Striga plagues 40% of arable savannah land and over 100 million people
in Africa.
The dissemination of the new sorghum varieties in Striga-endemic African countries was
initially facilitated in 1994 by Dr. Ejeta, working closely with World Vision International
and Sasakawa2000. Those organizations coordinated a pilot program with USAID
funding that distributed eight tons of seed to Eritrea, Ethiopia, Kenya, Mali,
Mozambique, Niger, Rwanda, Senegal, Somalia, Sudan, Tanzania, and Zimbabwe. The
yield increases from the improved Striga-resistant cultivars have been as much as four
times the yield of local varieties, even in the severe drought areas. In 2002-2003, Dr.
Ejeta introduced an integrated Striga management (ISM) package, again through a pilot
program funded by USAID, to deploy in Eritrea, Ethiopia, and Tanzania along with the
Striga-resistant sorghum varieties he and his colleagues had developed at Purdue. This
ISM package achieved further increased crop productivity through a synergistic
combination of weed resistance in the host plant, soil-fertility enhancement, and water
conservation. Dr. Ejeta’s dedication to helping poor farmers feed themselves and their
families and rise out of poverty propelled his work in leveraging the gains of his hybrid
breeding breakthrough. He urged the establishment of structures to monitor production,
processing, certification, and marketing of hybrid seed—and farmer-education programs
in the use of fertilizers, soil and water conservation, and other supportive crop
management practices.
Ejeta, who was inspired by his mother’s dream, received the World Food Prize on Oct. 15
in Des Moines, Iowa, from the World Food Prize Foundation. The award is considered
the Nobel Prize of agriculture. Ejeta was selected as a World Food Prize laureate for his
research leading to improved sorghum varieties in his native Ethiopia and other African
nations. Sorghum is a major food crop for more than 500 million people on the African
continent. It seems fitting that, for his relentless efforts, Professor Gebisa Ejeta has won
the 2009 World Food Prize, which makes him the second winner from Africa. On this
occasion, he received the $250, 000 which he promised to spend it on establishing
charitable organization that would make all Africans beneficiary at his home country.
Task 4 – Reading for Specific Information
1. Word Definition
Read paragraphs 2- 6 again and find a single word which means each of the following.
a. came up …………………
b. academic reputation …………………
c. well-known …………………
d. college counselor …………………
e. going beyond …………………
f. pandemic …………………
g. set up …………………
h. commitment to pay sacrifice …………………
i. boosted ………………….
j. get through ………………….
k. unremitting hard work ………………….
l. better-quality grain ………………….
2. Words and Phrases with Similar Meanings

Refer to the reading passage to find words or phrases having related meanings with the
following.
a. inexorable hard work (par. 7)…………………….
b. a highly praised (par. 1) …………………………
c. with difference (par. 2) ………………………….
d. hurriedly ascending (par. 2) ……………………..
e. setout (par. 5) …………………………………….
f. political unsteadiness (par. 3) ……………………
g. hindrance to (Par. 4) …………………………….
3. References
What do the following nouns or pronouns refer to in the passage?
a. such (par. 1) e. today (par. 3)
b. there (par. 2) f. this (par. 4)
c. him (par. 3) g. parental lines (par. 4)
d. which (par. 3) h. the award (par. 6)
4. Text Analysis
Match the following headings with their appropriate paragraphs of the text.
a. Entering Purdue University
b. Accepting a position as a sorghum researcher
c. Distribution of up-to-the-minute sorghum varieties
d. Establishing charitable organization
e. Findings of the geneticist
f. Ejeta’s childhood misery life
g. Oklahoma State University
h. Winners of WFP
i. UN Environmental Program report
j. Commitment to uplift the poor farmers
Paragraph 1 …………… Paragraph 2 ……………… Paragraph 3 …………

Paragraph 4 …………… Paragraph 5 ……………… Paragraph 6 …………
5. Gap Filling
Following is a summary of the reading passage. Refer to the passage and choose a
word from the box to fill in each gap. First, name the parts of speech of the missing
words.
where biodiversity Purdue University 1978

hybrid career varieties Alemaya
Oklahoma 1979 development 2009
later distinguished resources adoption
Gebisa Ejeta is a native of Ethiopia, ___1___ he received his early education including a
BSC in Plant Science from ___2__of Agriculture established in Ethiopia by ___3___
State University under the old Point Four program. He ___4___ studied Plant Genetics
and Breeding at ___5___ completing a PhD in __6___. Gebisa started his professional
__7___ as a Principal Plant Breeder at the International Crop Research Institute for the
Semi Arid Tropics (ICRISAT) in ___8___. He currently holds a position of ___9_____
Professor of Plant Breeding and Genetics and International Agriculture. Gebisa is
responsible for the ___11___ and spread of the first commercial sorghum __10___ in
sub-Saharan Africa. He has also developed, released and facilitated the __12___ and
spread in several countries of a number of sorghum __13___ and hybrids. He has studied
and promoted ____14____and advanced the effective exchange and use of crop
germplasm ___15___globally.
Task 5 – Reading for Inferences and Implications
Answer the following questions based on the reading passage.
1. For how many times was the World Food Prize awarded by 2009?
2. How many people have so far won this prize from Africa?
3. What initiated Norman E. Borlaug to establish the World Food Prize Award?
4. What educational award did Gebisa get when graduated from Jimma Agricultural
and Technical School?
5. Based on the efforts made by Dr. Ejeta’s mother, how do you explain the role of
parents in their children’s success?
6. Think of a successful individual you know and be prepared to narrate his/ her
success to the class.
PART TWO: GRAMMAR
Overview
We talk or write about different things using various voices or speeches based on what
we want to emphasize or just for the sake of varying the pace and focus of our
communication. In this session, you will practice using the passive voice in different
situations such as descriptive writing, and reported speech in news communication. You
will do some contextualized tasks, changing active voice to passive voice and direct
speech to reported speech or vice versa to help you master using them in grammatically
and meaningfully acceptable ways in your academic and daily communications.
Discuss the following questions in groups.
1. What is the difference between active and passive voices?

2. When do we use the passive voice instead of the active?
3. What changes are made when changing the active voice into the passive?
4. What is a descriptive writing? What sorts of adjectives are used in this writing?
Task 7–Using the Passive
1. Fill in the blank spaces with the correct passive form of the given verb. More than
one verb tense may be correct.
Harold Bruce is a popular rock musician. He known by

his funs and fellow musicians as “The lead,” perhaps because he
choose to play the lead guitar with a rock band, the
Kools, when he was just sixteen years old. He invites to join the
band a few months earlier, after one of the Kools heard him perform
in small club in his home town, a suburb of Chicago.
As a child, Harold encouraged to sing and play the guitar, but
he give negative formal music lessons because he came from a
large family that support solely by divorced mother. There was always music at
home, so Harold expose to both classical and popular music. He seemed to have a
natural musical talent and once, in his high school life, he offers a music scholar ship
at the University of Illinois. However, he decided to remain at home and joined a rock
band that form by his friends there. With this band, Harold began to write his
own songs, which eventually sing by other rock groups all over the Chicago area.
Since he became a member of The Kools, Harold’s song hear by a much large
audience. The Kools give concerts all over the US and often their concerts videotape
, so “The Lead” and his musical performances see and hear by a large number
of people. The Kools sometimes have as many as five different songs that play_ on
different radio stations at the same time.
2. Complete the following text with the correct form of the active or passive verbs given
in the box. One verb can be used more than once.
show arrive check board x-ray keep

take tell search give wait call
When you (1) ______ at an air port, you should go straight to the check-in desk
where your ticket and luggage (2) _____. You (3) ______ your hand luggage with
you but your suitcases (4) ______ to the plane on a conveyer belt.
You can now go to the departure lounge. If you are on an international flight, your
passport (5) ______ and then your bags (6) ______ by security cameras. Sometimes,
you (7) _______ a body search and your luggage (8) ______ by a security officer.
You (9) ________ in the departure lounge until your flight (10) ______ and you (11)
_______ which get number to go to.
Finally, you (12) ________ your plane and you (13) ________ to your seat by a flight
attendant.
3. Complete the following text with the correct active or passive form of verbs in the
box below.
know tour cause have tell

teach make come offer find
Helen Keller’s deafness and blindness (1) were caused by a severe illness when she
was a baby. Her parents (2) _______ what to do, and they (3) _______ it difficult to
control their growing daughter. One day, they (4) _______ about a brilliant young
teacher called Anne Sullivan. She (5) _______ to work with Helen and very firmly
and patiently, (6) _________ her that every object (7) _________ a name. Eventually,
Helen (8) _________ a place at university. After this she (9) _________ the world
helping people like herself. In 1962, the story of her life (10) ________ into a film,
The Miracle Worker.
4. Rewrite the following text using passive constructions where appropriate.
To get money from1 cash dispenser, you need to follow these steps. First, insert your
bankcard into the machine. Then, key in your personal number when the machine
asks you. Once you have done this, it will ask you to choose the service you require.
Make your choice by selecting from the list and by pressing the appropriate button.
For example, if you want to get some money, press one of the two keys which say
‘cash’. Then, the machine will ask you whether you require another service. Press the
‘no’ button if you don’t want anything else and take out your card when the machine
tells you to do so. Then, the transaction will be over.
Discuss the following questions in pairs.
1. What types of speeches do you know?

2. Discuss the differences between direct and reported speeches.
3. What changes do we make when we report a direct speech?
4. Take turns to make your own direct speech sentences and ask your partner to
change them into reported speech.
Task 9 – Changing Direct Speech to Reported Speech
1. Change the following direct speech sentences into reported speech. Study the
example.
Example: The reporter said, “Leaders are much worried about the world weather
change.”
The reporter said that leaders were much worried about the world weather change.
A. The newspaper announced, “Diplomats will answer questions about the meeting
at a press conference.”
_____________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________
B. The article stated, “The Cope Hagen summit was not a complete success.”
_____________________________________________________________________
C. The journalist reported, “There may be another summit next year.”
_____________________________________________________________________
D. The editor asked, “Did the leaders make any important decisions at the summit?”
_____________________________________________________________________
E. The network warns its reporter, “Don’t ask about controversial subjects.”
_____________________________________________________________________
F. The instructor said, “Your essay on the Internet disaster is quite interesting.”
_____________________________________________________________________
G. My friend said, “I went to Canada before two years, but I haven’t found job yet.”
_____________________________________________________________________
H. The engineer explained, “Communications satellites transmit broadcasts over long
distances.”
_____________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________
I. The government spokesman announced, “European leaders cannot expect any
major changes in arms policy this year.”
___________________________________________________________________________
2. Susan works as an assistant editor for a publisher. She is telling her friend Julia,
about a discussion she had with her boss, Kay. Fill in the blanks in the following
conversation by changing the direct speech given in the bracket into reported speech.
Make sure to change the verb forms, word order, and pronouns as necessary.
Julia: What happened? Did you talk to Kay about the

promotion?
Susan: First thing in the morning, I asked her (1) if I could
talk to her for a few minutes. (“Can I talk to you for a
few minutes?”) She answered: She answered (2)
______________ (“I’m very busy, but I’ll be able to see
you at 11:00”)
Julia: Oh, no! How did you get through the morning?
Susan: At first I wondered (3) ________________ (“Should I wait until another day
when she isn’t busy?”) Then I told myself (4) ____________ (“Don’t worry
about it.”) But I did worry. I didn’t know (5)__________ (“how am I going to
begin the conversation.”) I decided (6) ___________ (“I’m not going to ask
for a promotion directly.”) I couldn’t concentrate on my work at all. At 11:00,
Kay called me on office phone and said (7) _______(“I’m ready to see you.”)
Julia: Then what happened?
Susan: Well, she told me (8) __________ (“Sit down.”) And then she asked me
(9)_________ (“how are your current projects coming along?”) I answered
(10)_________ (“Everything’s going well.”) But I continued (“I feel little
bored with my job.”) I reminded her (“I have been working as an assistant
editor for five years.”)
Julia: Did she guess (11) _______________ (“what are you going to say next?”)
Susan: The funny thing is that she didn’t. She said (12) _____________ (“I hope you
aren’t thinking about leaving us.”) I assured her (13) ______________
(“I haven’t made any plans to leave and I’m happy working at Beacon
Publishers.”)
Julia: Did she mention the job opening for you then?
Susan: No she didn’t. It was very uncomfortable. She just answered (14) _______
(“I’m glad.”) and sat there. Finally, I decided to just jump in and I said
(15)_______________ (I’ve been wondering what the requirements and the
responsibilities for the opening as a full editor are.”)
Julia: Good for you!
Susan: Then things got better. She smiled and asked herself out loud
(16)_____________ (“Why didn’t I think of you before?”)
Julia: And then she offered you the job!
Susan: Wait a minute. It is not that easy. She gave me a job description. She told me
(17)__________ (“Look it over.”) and she added, (“Then, you have to make
formal application for the position.”)
Julia: Did you ask (18)_____________ (“How much money does the job pay?”)
Susan: It was said for the job position (19)__________________ (“The salary
depends on experience.”) The best part was the end when Kay said
(20)______________ (“I have been very pleased with your work and I think
you will be an excellent candidate for the position.”)
Julia: That sounds good to me. I’m sure that you will get it. Congratulations!
3. Work in small groups. As a reporter, ask at least five students about their opinions on
one of the following issues. Take notes of their opinions and report to a partner.
(Remember to use verbs like say, report, announce, predict, state)
a. campus life e. university lecturers
b. western films f. love in campus

c. sex before marriage g. future ambition
d. television viewing
4. Read a newspaper article from the last week’s edition. Using reported speech, talk in
pairs about the news events in the following topics. (Remember to use verbs like say,
report, announce, predict, state).
a. economy e. politics
b. sports f. arts/entertainment
c. the weather g. space/technology
d. the environment h. health/medicine
PART THREE: VOCABULRY
Overview
In this part you will be familiar with different vocabulary learning and retention strategies
such as using context, word formation, sense relations and keeping vocabulary
recordings. The session would provide you with a wide range of exercises. You are
advised to use this opportunity and devote your time to doing them all.
Vocabulary Learning Strategies
Task 10 – Using Contexts
1. The following sentences contain the nonsense word ‘uggy’. Identify which part of
speech ‘uggy’ refers to in each sentence. How could you know?
a. I couldn’t hear the film because the man next to me was eating his uggy so loudly.
b. There was a lot of snow on the road. Unfortunately, I uggied on some ice and
crushed it to a tree.
c. When the rain started, they went uggily back into the house.
d. After an uggy day at work, with meetings and phone calls all day, I was ready for
a quiet evening.
e. Can you guess which of the following real English words ‘uggy’ means in each of
the sentences above? hurriedly/ skidded/ hectic/ popcorn/
2. What part of speech is each of the underlined words in the paragraph below? For
each word, choose from the grammatical categories in the table that follows.
It is exceedingly difficult to ascertain precisely what is meant by the word ‘culture’.

The word is commonly used to refer to almost anything connected with a person’s
customary behavior when considered distinctive in form to that of a person from
another background. The problem is that this definition begs the question. Is it the
race that determines the difference in culture? Or is it nationhood? Certainly, there is
a noticeable cultural difference between citizens of various nations although they may
share membership of the same race.
noun verb adjective adverb articles

conjunctions pronouns gerund preposition
Note that an individual word in a language frequently acquires a meaning because of

its relationship with other words. Thus, finding out the part of speech of an unknown
word is one of the good clues that help you to guess its meaning from the context.
Task 11 – Using Word Formation

1. Write the different forms of the word act using the following suffixes.
-or -ion -ing -ive -ivities -ress

John is an act……. He is making an advert now. In fact he is very act……in his
entire everyday act………... His sister has also made the big times as an act…….. As
act……... is usually not a well paid job, we rarely find act……….or act……..in a
community. Do you like act………. films?
2. Complete the following chart with the appropriate form of the given part. Then
indicate which suffix in the table that follows you used where necessary.
Adjective Noun Noun Verb

Friendly Friend Invitation Invite
Music Achievement
Science Compete
Happy Discussion
Greed Organize
Danger Appear
Wonderful Exploration
-ance - ation -ion -ition -ment -ness -al -ful -tific -ly -ous -y
3. Complete the sentences that follow with the compound words from the box below.
Then identify what part of speech each compound word is and what it is formed from.
backlash breakthrough check-up downpour drawback outcome

output setback shake-up spin-off upkeep upshot
1. Government workers are anxiously waiting for the ________ of the pay negotiation.
2. While my sister takes care of the house, I am responsible for the _____________
of the garden.
3. Non-stick saucepans are ________ from technological advances in space research.
4. The factory has increased _____________________ by percent over the past years.
5. The government will face a ________ from pensioners if they cut the state pension.
6. Manchester United’s defeat was a serious _____________ to their chance of
winning the 2010 premier league cup.
7. He believes the main ___________ to living in Tokyo is the high cost of living.
8. The press photographers were caught in a sudden ____________ and got
completely drenched.
9. This drug represents a significant ___________________ in the fight against AIDS.
10. Two students were caught cheating on exams. The _______________ of it all was
that they were expelled from the university.
Remember that word formation means knowing how words are written, spoken and can
change their forms. A change in the shape of the word can bring about a change in its
meaning and its grammatical function or value. For example, the word ‘dissatisfaction’
has a common prefix denoting opposite (dis-), a common noun suffix (-ion) and is
derived from the verb ‘satisfy’. Therefore, to learn more vocabularies, you should know
about word formation.
Task 12 – Using Sense Relations

1. Synonyms: Words with Similar Meanings
A. Look at the following pairs of words and explain their relationship.
delicious/tasty describe/explain frequent/often allow/permit hurry/run

begin/commence imagine/contemplate reserved/self-controlled fate/chance
postpone/extend
B. Can you add to the list more similar pairs of your own?
C. Complete the following sentences with a word that has a similar meaning with the
underlined word. You may change the word class or its part of speech
(e.g. ‘improve’ (v) => progress (n)’.
a. It was an immense task, but its bulkiness only became apparent when we
started working on it.
b. Progress will be slow, but if we persist, things will ___________ improve.
c. You can’t count on her. She’s totally ____________.
d. You want an approximate figure? At a ___________ guess, I’d say, there
were about fifty.
e. Did he say how his job’s going? No, he didn’t ____________.
f. Drugs can treat most illnesses, but there are some ________ that are incurable.
g. He made a miraculous recovery, due to his _____________strength.
Note that synonymy is a kind of relation in which two or more words have similar or
nearly the same meaning. Many words in English appear very close in meaning to each
other. However, there are no words having exactly the same meaning. Two words may be
close in meaning and yet may not collocate with the same items. For example, strong /
powerful and begin/ start are synonyms. But while we can say ‘strong coffee,’ it would
be quite strange to say, ‘powerful coffee’. In the same way, we can say ‘begin to cry,’ but
not ‘begin the car’. In short, words are exactly synonymous only in very limited contexts.
2. Antonyms: Saying the Opposite

A. Compare the following sentences.
a. Some theories are plausible but others are implausible.
b. Some theories are plausible but others are ridiculous.
 Which words are used as antonyms in each of the sentences?
 Which one of the two sentences sounds better?
B. Antonyms can sometimes be formed with negative prefixes. Can you name
antonyms with the negative prefixes for the following words?
legal ……………... honest ……………. responsible ……………….correct ……………....

reversible ……………………… credible …...………………probable ………..……………
reliable ……………………. believable ………………………… possible ……..................
C. Rewrite the following sentences in the opposite meaning, using negatives and
antonyms, and making other necessary changes. The first two are done for you.
a. She is rich because she has got a lot of money.

 She is poor because she hasn’t got any money at all.
b. We had a lovely time in Venice. There weren’t many people there.

 We had a bad time in Venice. There were many people there.
c. John was a successful business man who achieved a lot in his life.
d. Our house is difficult to find. Everybody always gets lost.
e. I told you to go to work. Why are you in bed?
f. You must exercise your ankle. Try to move it as much as possible.
g. I must iron my shirt. I am going out tonight.
h. You need to come with me. I won’t go on my own.
i. I was in a hurry because I needed to go to the shops.
j. All of the students passed the exam, so their teacher was pleased.
D. Decide the part of speech and find two or three antonyms for the following words.
Word Part of speech Antonym(s)

Fake Adjective genuine, real, authentic
Like
Tiny
Happiness
Guilty
Safe
Admit
Sincere
Success
Mature
Encourage
Kind/ generous
Appear
Hatred
Remember, unlike synonyms, antonyms refer to relation of oppositeness. There can be

four principal kinds of oppositeness between pairs of words: complementary,
directionality, converse and antonym. Complementary opposites are those which
thoroughly show oppositeness and have no relativity. They are mutually exclusive.
Words like dead/ alive, male/ female, right/ wrong, etc. are good examples.
Directionality oppositeness shows direction. Examples of such kind are up/ down, to/
from, arrive/ depart, come/ go,… In converse or presupposing oppositeness, the
existence of one presupposes the presence of the other. They are also called reciprocal.
For instance, patient/ doctor, parent/ children, husband/ wife, teacher/ student, lend/
borrow, etc. are reciprocals.
The other type of oppositeness is gradable opposite which shows partial oppositeness.
That is, we do not see a sense of exclusiveness; rather, the variation is based on the level
and degree of that particular item. For example, hot/ cold, huge/ tiny; in between hot and
cold, we may have the degree ‘tepid,’ ‘warm’, ‘cool’ and the degrees that may come
between ‘huge’ and ‘tiny’ are ‘big’ and ‘small’.
E. Can you think of other types of opposite relations among words?

F. Write five examples for each of the four types of oppositeness indicated above.
3. Hyponyms: Words with Narrower Meanings
This is the relationship of inclusion in which words are organized in taxonomies in such a
way that the meaning of many words can be summarized under a general word.
A. In each group of meaningfully related words, which one includes the others?
a. banana, orange, lemons, grapes, pears, apples, fruits, melons

b. march, stride, walk, run, jog, stroll, pace, hike, sprint, dash
c. children, wife, family, husband, uncle, aunt, grand children, nephew, niece
d. educate, instruct, teach, coach, tutor, train, guide, lead, prepare, school, lecture
e. murder, assassinate, kill, slay, slaughter, butcher, massacre, execute,
exterminate
B. Use the dictionary to decide which form of the verbs in the following box
describes the way people speak when they:
a. are angry
b. are sad or in pain
c. don’t want to be heard
d. are having difficulty speaking
Ways of bellow growl mutter screech sigh

speaking snap stammer whine whisper yelp
C. Choose the verb that best describes the way each sentence below is spoken.
a. ‘Mum, it’s not fair! I haven’t had an ice-cream for ages!’ he whined/ whispered.
b. ‘I’m afraid it’s all too late,’ she muttered/ sighed.

c. ‘Stop talking and sit down!’ he bellowed/ growled.
d. ‘I hate you! I never want to see you again!’ she stammered/ screened.
e. ‘Get out of here and don’t come back!’ he growled/ sighed.
f. ‘Can you meet me after work?’ she sighed/ whispered.
g. ‘Could you p-possibly h-help me?’ he stammered/ growled.
h. ‘This is absolutely ridiculous. I’ve never seen such a farce,’ she mattered/
snapped under her breath.
i. ‘Oh! You are standing on my foot!’ he bellowed/ yelped.
j. ‘Just let me finish, will you?’ she snapped/ stammered.
4. Homonyms: Words with the Same Spelling but Different Meanings

A. Complete each pair of the sentences with the same word from the list in the table.
left train right wave date fair rose fan suit point sort car
1.
a. The sun ____________ brightly over our house this morning.
b. He is very romantic. He always gives his girlfriend a red _________whenever
they go on a date.
2. a. Look out of the window, Josie–here’s Daddy coming up the path! ____ to him!
b. With each huge __________, the boat was thrown about more and more and I
began to feel really sick.
3. a. Look, I have no idea what you are arguing about. What ___________ are you
trying to make?
b. He couldn’t speak the language, so he just used to _________at things in shops
when he was buying food.
4. a. Everyone has the ___________ to a fair trial.
b. Well done! You got all the answers ____________ in the test.
5. a. Gosh, you look smart! Is that a new __________ and tie you are wearing?
b. Well, I think you should buy the pale green dress.
6. a. See the man with blue eyes and _____________ hair! That is Jenny’s husband.
b. It is not _____________! You gave him more than me!
7. a. Dave is OK, but he is not really my ____________ of guy.
b. You’ll have to speak to him yourself. I can’t ______________out all your
problems for you.
8. a. Oh, look! Jamie Cullam’s on at the palladium. Can we get tickets? I’m a
real _____________ of his.
b. It is boiling hot. Could we switch the _______ on and get some cool air here?
9. a. She will be arriving on the 2.30 _______. Let’s go to the station and meet her.
b. You are a champion swimmer, are you? How many hours a week do you have
to ________________?
10. a. What is today’s ____________? ‘The second or third?’
b. I have got a _____________ tonight. I am going out with my boy friend.
5. Homophones/Homonyms: Words with the Same Pronunciation but Different
Meaning and Spelling
For example: /raud/ 1. Does this road lead to the town center?
2. My father rode his horse.
3. I rowed across the river by boat.
A. Write each word in the phonetic symbols in the correct spelling according to the
context of each sentence. Then fill in the blank space with the correct word.
1. /pi:s/ a. Do you have a _________ of information about the dangers of
climate change?
b. War and __________ are the two extremes of world events.
2. /flaua/ a. Our garden is full of _______________.
b. ______________ is used to make bread.
3. /seilz/ a. A ship has _____________ used for identifying wind direction.
b. We better buy clothes in _____________.
4. /sel/ a. Salespeople ______________ goods.
b. Prisoners live in a _______________.
5. /nju:/ a. If I ____________you, I would invite you on my wedding.
b. My neighbor recently bought a ____________ automobile.
B. Discuss whether there is communication gap between the following speakers. If
there is a gap, what do you think is the source of the problem?
1. Teacher: Why is Sunday the strongest day?
Student: Because all the other days are week days.
2. Patient: Doctor, I keep thinking I’m a billiard ball.
Doctor: So, you can be a professional player.
3. Customer: Waiter! What sort of soup is this?
Waiter: It’s bean soup sir.
Customer: I don’t care what it’s been. I want to know what it is now.
Note that in spoken communication, homonyms are very confusing, especially, if they
are in the same grammatical form or part of speech, unless the speaker clearly
contextualizes them.
In general, presenting words in lexical sets or groups mentioned above does not only
clarify the meaning of words but also enables us to retain or remember meanings of
words in the same group or set.
Task 13 – Keeping Vocabulary Records
Do you have the habit of recording unfamiliar words in a vocabulary note book? Discuss
with a partner how you record new vocabulary items. Which of the following do you use?
 translation parts of speech (verb, noun, etc.)
 meaning (using other words) pronunciation /transcription/
 an example sentence
E.g. hectic (adj) /‘hektik’/ = very busy
I had a hectic day at the office.
Note that it may be difficult to keep a record of all new words, but based on your need,
the frequency and the coverage of the words in your day-to-day communication, you
better develop the habit of keeping a diary of vocabulary and use it in your daily
communication; i.e., words you want to remember and use for your future needs. The
principle is select  record  use.
Promise yourself to keep a vocabulary record from now onwards. You will report the first
part of your records in the vocabulary session in the next unit.
Task 14 – Spelling Rules

1. Discuss the following questions as a whole class.
a. How did you learn to spell the English words you know?
b. Do you know how to spell all English words you know? Why?
c. Is there any guide that would help us to spell English words correctly?
d. What English spelling rules do you know?
2. Match the spelling rules on the left to the examples on the right of the table.
No Rule Example
1 Words ending with a consonant followed by an ‘e’ A enforce-enforceable, courage-
drop the ‘e’ before a suffix beginning with a courageous
vowel
2 Suffixes beginning with consonant keep the final B space-spacious
‘e’ when added to words
3 Words ending in ‘ee’ do not drop the ‘e’ before a C skill + -full = skillful
suffix
4 Words with 1 syllable and 1 vowel which end in a D color + -full = colorful
single consonant double the consonant before a
suffix beginning with a vowel
5 Words with 2 or 3 syllables ending with a single E convey + -ed = conveyed, play
vowel followed by a single consonant: if the stress + -er = player
is on the last syllable, double the last consonant
6 Words ending in ‘l’ after a single vowel (or two F ceiling/ conceit/ believe/ chief
separately pronounced vowels): double the ‘l’
7 Words ending in ‘y’ after a consonant: change the G marry + ed = married, busy +
‘y’ to ‘i’ before a suffix, except ‘-ing’ er = busier
8 When a ‘y’ comes after a vowel: do not change H infer + ed= inferred, omit +
the vowel ed = omitted
9 The vowel ‘I’ comes before ‘e’ except after ‘c’ I big + er = bigger
10 Words ending in ‘ce’ or ‘ge’: keep the ‘e’ before J travel- travelling, dial- dialling
suffixes beginning with ‘a’, ‘o’ or ‘u’
11 Words ending in ‘ce’: change the ‘e’ to ‘I’ before K Free- freeing, freed
‘ous’
12 When adding ‘full’ to a word: drop the second ‘l’ L Fine + er = finer, fit + ed =
fitted
13 When adding ‘ful’ to a word ending in ‘ll’: drop M Enlarge- enlargement/ mere-
the second ‘l’ merely/ involve-involvement
3. The above 13 rules can be further grouped under four headings. Can you identify the
groups? Work individually first and then discuss in pairs. You may use the following
table to summarize.
1 2 3 4
Category Rules for adding Rules for … Rules for ... Rules for …
suffixes
Rule
1, …………….
number 10, …, … ………...... …………..
4. Read the following words loudly and identify the silent letter in each of them.
listen column psalm great bomb scent pneumatic

ledge school knight grade should hymn psychology
island whistle wrist bread guess fame
Word (s) Silent letter (s) Word (s) Silent letter (s)
listen /t/
Overview
This part aims at engaging you in tasks of listening to stories, summarizing them and
retelling the overall message. This is to help you focus on your understanding of what
you have listened to and to challenge you to communicate what you have heard to others.
So, you will listen to two stories–one about success story of a person at old age and
another about an illiterate man and his educated son. The tasks demand you to listen with
purpose, taking relevant notes focusing on the events, settings, structures and characters
of the stories, and understanding the morals of the stories.
1. With your partner, discuss the sayings accompanying the pictures.
a. What do they mean to you?

b. Do you know a similar saying or proverb in English or in your first language?
Be wise with speed; a fool at forty is a fool indeed.
The person of wisdom is the person of years.
2. Discuss the following questions in your group.
a. What age do you think is an ‘old age’? Think of some old people you know.
 How old are they?
 What are they like?

 What do they do every day?
b. Which of the following activities or characteristics are typical of old people?
 finding it difficult to sleep . talking about the past

 liking routine . losing memory
 going to university . using the internet
 studying foreign languages . living in the center of a city
 going to church . watching TV
Task 16 – While Listening Activities
Now you are going to listen to a story about Mary Hobson, 77, gained her degree in
Russia in her sixties and a PhD at 74. A mother of four, she lives in southern London.
Listen to the story and, as you listen, answer the following questions.
1. Listen to the first section of the story and:

a. Identify which of the activities of exercise 2b above are parts of Hobson’s life?
b. Explain the title: ‘A Life in the Day’
2. Listen to the text again and answer the following questions.
a. In the text it is said that the ancient Greek Mary Hobson learn does not urge to
communicate but just to learn it?
b. How do you define ‘Marcus Aurelius’ mentioned in the text and how did it help Mary?
c. What does Mary work at for nothing? What does this imply about her life style?
d. How was her husband’s sickness described by him and his family? What did
Mary do about it?
e. Why was the 50 minutes session the only time Mary had when she wrote her 1 st novel?
f. Why did Mary’s Russian friends think she is mad?
g. What view did Mary have about TV viewing? Why?
h. How did Mary sleep? Why do you think she slept that way?
Task 17 – Post Listening
Answer the following questions based on what you have learnt from the listening text.
1. Are you impressed by Mary Hobson’s life?

2. Was Mary’s time of life good or bad? Why? How do you see your life time?
3. Have you decided to do something in your life time even when people may say
‘you can’t do this or that?’ Why?
4. Re-tell Mary Hobson’s story to your partner. Remember to use reported speech
in your narration.
Task 18 – Identifying the Moral of the Story; Retelling the Story
You are going to listen to a story about a man and his educated son. Listen to the story
carefully and do the following activities.
1. Answer the following questions briefly as you listen to the story.
a. Who are the characters of the story?

b. When and where did the story take place?
c. Discuss the structure of the story. Where did the conflict begin? How did it go
and where did it end?
2. Listen again. Which of the following sentences are true according to the moral of this
story?
a. Our expectation can create a self-fulfilling prophecy.

b. We often confuse intelligence with good judgment.
c. A person may have high intelligence but poor judgment.
d. Choose your advices carefully, but use your own judgment.
e. A person can, and will be successful with or without formal education if he/ she
has character, commitment, conviction and courage.
f. There are many walking encyclopedias that are living failures.
g. The first duty of a university is to teach wisdom, not trade, character, not
technicalities.
3. Think for a minute and re-tell the story to the class in your own words.
PART FIVE: SPEAKING

Overview
This part gets you to focus on and develop your story telling or narrating skills. Re-telling
a story is an activity that gets you to focus on an understanding of what you read, and it
challenges you to share what you have learned to others. Retelling can come in the form
of an oral presentation or a written assignment on featuring out the main components of
stories like: characters, setting, problem, events, solution, and theme. You will be
working in pairs and/or groups and you should be an active participant to contribute your
part to a successful discussion and presentation of your group.
Task 19 –Telling Stories
1. Discuss the following questions in groups.
a. Have you ever listened to or read a story in English?

b. Where did you use to listen to stories during your childhood?
c. What time of day was it, typically?
d. Who told you or read you stories?
e. How did you react to the stories?
f. Do you think listening to, reading and telling stories would aid learning English?
How?
2. Work in groups. As a class, you will be organized into three groups: A, B, and C.
Each group will read a different story. Group A reads story 1, B story 2, and C story
3. Do not read or look at a story other than yours. When you have read your story,
close the book and form a new group of three students each from the groups that have
read story 1, 2, and 3 to share the ideas of the stories. Then read the stories you have
not read and compare them with what you have heard from the other students.
Finally, return to your original (first) group and discuss the moral of each story.
STORY 1: ACRES OF DIAMOND
Hafiz was a farmer in Africa who was happy and content. He was happy
because he was content. He was content because he was happy. One day
a wise man came to him and told him about the glory of diamonds and
the power that goes with them. The wise man said, “If you had a
diamond, the size of your thumb; you could buy your own city. If you
had a diamond the size of your fist, you could probably own your own
country.” And then the wise man left.
That night, Hafiz couldn’t sleep. He was unhappy and he was discontented. He was
unhappy because he was discontented and discontented because he was unhappy.
The next morning Hafez made an arrangement to sell his farm, took care of his family,
and went off in search of diamonds. He looked all over Africa and couldn’t find any. He
looked all through Europe and couldn’t find any.
By the time he got to Spain, he was emotionally, physically, and financially depleted. He
was so disheartened that he committed suicide by throwing himself into the Barcelona
River.
Back home, the person who had bought his farm
was watering the camel at the stream that runs through properly.
Across the stream, the rays of the morning sun hit the stone and made
it sparkle like a rainbow. He thought the stone would look good in his
living room. He picked up the stone and put on his mantle piece. That
afternoon the wise man came and saw the stone sparkling. He asked,
“Is Hafize back?” The new owner said, “No, why do you ask?” The wise man said,
“Because that is a diamond. I recognize one when I see one.” The man said, “No, that is
just a stone I picked up from the stream. Come I will show you. There are many more.”
They went and picked some samples and sent them for analysis. Sure enough, the stones
were diamonds. They found that the farm was in deed covered with acres of diamonds.
(Shiv Khera, 2002: 3)
3. Discuss whether the following statements are the moral values of the above story.
1. When our attitude is right, we realize that we are all walking on acres and acres of
diamonds.
2. Opportunities are always under our feet. We don’t have to go anywhere. All we
need to do is to recognize.
3. The grass always looks greener on the other side.
4. While we are eyeing the grass on the other side, there are others who are eyeing
the grass on the other side. They would be happy to trade the place with us.
5. People who don’t know how to recognize an opportunity complain of noise when
it knocks.
6. Opportunity only knocks once. The next one may be better or worse, but never the
same one. That is why it is so crucial to make the right decision at the right time.
7. The right decision at the wrong time is a wrong decision.
8. Opportunities are easier recognized when they are leaving than when they are
coming.
4. Work with the whole class. Think of African people migrating to other countries, for
example our females to the Arab countries, and discuss the following questions.
a. Why do they prefer to go there?
b. What do they work there?
c. How hard do they work?
d. How much time do they work?
c. Do you personally believe they should migrate? Why?
d. Can we relate them to the major character in story 1? Why?
STORY 2: STRUGGLE
History has demonstrated that the most notable winners usually encountered heart-
breaking obstacles before they triumphed. They won because they refused to become
discouraged by their defeats. Trials in life, therefore, can be tragedies or triumphs,
depending on how we handle them. Triumphs don’t come without effort.
Once upon a time, a biology teacher was teaching his students how a caterpillar runs into
a butterfly. He told the students that in the next couple of hours, the butterfly would
struggle to come out of the cocoon, but no one should help the butterfly. Then he left.
The students were waiting and it happened. The butterfly struggled to get out of the
cocoon and against the advice of the teacher one of the students took pity on it and
decided to help the butterfly; so it didn’t have to struggle anymore. But shortly
afterwards, the butterfly died.
When the teacher returned, he was told what happened. He explained to the students that
it is a law of nature that the struggle to come out of cocoon actually helps develop and
strengthen the butterfly’s wings. By helping the butterfly, the boy had deprived the
butterfly of its struggle and the butterfly died.
( Shiv Khera, 2002:
51)
5. Discuss whether the following statements are the moral values of story 2.
a. What happened in this story also applies in the principles of our lives.
b. Nothing worthwhile in life comes without struggle.
c. Parents tend to hurt their beloved children as they don’t allow them to struggle to
get strong.
6. Think of the parenting system in Ethiopia and that in the western world. In western
countries, it is said that a family member has to be independent of his/ her family at
the age of 16 or 18 regardless of whether he/ she owns a business or not, or whether
he/she gets married or not. Compare this practice with the trend in Ethiopia. Which
one do you appreciate? Why?
STORY 3: LOOKING FOR SHORTCUTS
7. Before you read the third story, discuss the following questions in your group.
A. Have you heard of the saying: “There is no free lunch?”
B. What does it mean?
C. Which of the following explains it well?
a. You don’t get something for nothing.
b. You get what you put in.
c. If you don’t put more into your learning, you won’t get much out of it.
d. The easier way may actually be the tougher way.
Once there was a lark singing in the forest. A farmer came with a box full of worms. The
lark stopped him and asked, “What do you have in the box and where are you going?”
The farmer replied that he had worms and he was going to the market to trade them for
some feathers. The lark said, “I have many feathers. I will pluck one and give it to you
and that will save me looking for worms.”
The farmer gave worms to the lark and the lark plucked a feather and gave it in return.
The next day the same thing happened and the day after and on
and on until a day came that the lark has no more feathers.
Now, it could no longer fly to go hunting for worms. It started
looking ugly and stopped singing and very soon it died.
(Shiv Khera, 2002)
8. Discuss the following questions based on story 3 above.
a. How many characters are there in the story?
b. Why do you think nature offered the lark with many feathers?
c. Why did the lark want to buy worms instead of hunting by itself? Was it busy
doing other business?
d. Which of the following is the moral of this story?
-What the lark thought was an easy way to get food, but it turned out to be the
tougher way after all.
- Many times, we look for the easier way, which may end up being the tougher way.
9. React to the following questions in relation to the moral of story 3.

a. Discuss some shortcuts students make at schools, colleges or universities.
b. Think of copying assignments, cheating on exams, making unsafe sex, practicing
sex before marriage, etc. What are the consequences of these acts?
c. How do you overcome the academic demands and challenges that your instructors
pose you through class works, home works, assignments, tests, group and
individual projects? As a student, to what extent are you ready to accept these
demands and challenges?
d. Do you really welcome and devote yourself to these challenges, seeing them as
part of the efforts to make you more intelligent, knowledgeable, confident, and
successful in your academic and future career performances? Or,
e. Do you just look for shortcuts such as copying assignments and exams from
others as if you have more important mission while living here in the university?
10. Once again, re-read the stories above and discuss the following questions in pairs.
a. What is the dominant tense used in each story?

b. What connecting words are used in each of the stories?
c. Can you name the characters of each story?
d. Can you identify when and where each of the stories took place?
Notice: A useful skill in English is to be able to tell a story. Stories can be about
something that happened to you or to someone you know or read about. When you
tell a story, first of all, your story should be quite short. Try to keep it grammatically
simple as well, so that it is easy to follow. Make it easy for the listener to understand
by using sequencing and linking words that can be used to show reason, result,
contrasting information, and additional information, and words used to summarize the
story.
11. Discuss in groups and summarize the structure (beginning, middle and endings) of
the three stories above in the following table. The first one is done to you.
Middle
Story Beginning End
1 A wise man told a contented He sold his farm and He failed to find
farmer about the glory of set off to find diamonds and he
diamonds and the farmer diamonds. committed suicide.
became restless.
Note: The simplest building blocks of a good story are found in the Three Act Structure.
Separated by Plot Points, its Act 1 (Beginning), Act 2 (Middle), and Act 3 (End) refer not
to where in time in the story they lie but instead to the fundamental stages along the way.
 In the Beginning, you introduce the reader to the setting, the characters and the
situation (conflict) they find themselves in and their goal. Plot Point 1 is a
situation that drives the main character from their "normal" life toward some
different conflicting situation that the story is about.
 Great stories often begin at Plot Point 1, thrusting the main character right
into the thick of things, but they never really leave out Act 1, instead filling it in
with back story along the way.
 In the Middle, the story develops through a series of complications and obstacles,
each leading to a mini crisis. Though each of these crises are temporarily
resolved, the story leads inevitably to an ultimate crisis—the Climax. As the story
progresses, there is a rising and falling of tension with each crisis, but an overall
rising tension as we approach the Climax. The resolution of the Climax is Plot
Point 2.
 In the End, the Climax and the loose ends of the story are resolved during the
conclusion. Tension rapidly dissipates because it's nearly impossible to sustain a
reader's interest very long after the climax. Finish your story and get out.
12. Do the following individually and present to the whole class.
a. Read a story in English or in any other languages. Then, rehearse it in your own
English and tell the story to the class.
b. Think of an important incident in your life that you would like to tell the class
and be prepared to tell it as story.
Task 20 – Creating Stories

1. Think of an imaginary incident that could have happened to you but which actually
did not. Be prepared to tell your made-up story as if it truly happened to you.
2. Work in a group of 4. One student begins the story with one of the introductory
phrases given below. Then the next student, in a clock-wise turn-taking, must create
the second sentence, the third student must produce the third sentence and so on. It
goes on this way around the circle until the story is over. Remember that the story is
about a statement introduced by the first student, and all the other sentences follow
this plot line. When the story hits a dead end (gets boring), the next student should
think of a closing statement, and he/she may start a new story.
Introductory phrases for your story:
One day I woke up late for school….

One day I forgot to do my English homework…
One day I took a very difficult English test…
One day I met the most beautiful/handsome man/woman…
Once upon a time I fought with my best friend over….
One day I went to a party and drank a lot of wine and then…
One day I ate too much and I…
One day I bought a beautiful new…
PART SIX: WRITING

Overview
In this part, you are going to practice writing a story. The tasks you will be carrying out
here would enable you to produce, organize and present ideas using correct tenses and
proper linking words. You will also pay attention to formatting paragraphs by keeping
margins and splitting words properly at the end of the line. The tasks also include
completing a story by filling in the blank spaces with appropriate linking words, writing
out a story from an outline provided, and completing a story using your own ideas and
English.
Task 21 – Completing Stories
1. Complete the following story by filling out the blank spaces with the linking words
from the table that follows. Use each linking word once only.
There was once an emperor ________ lived in an enormous, golden palace in the middle
of the city. He had three beautiful daughters ________ unfortunately, no sons. He wanted
his daughters to get married ________ he died. He found them three wonderful princes
from royal families; ________, his daughters didn’t like them. They refused to marry the
princes; _______ the old emperor became very angry.
He said, ‘you must get married ________ you are sixteen years old’. The three daughters
became desperate and run away ________ the night to the nearby village and found work
on a farm. They decided to marry the poor, hardworking farmer’s sons _______ they
were working there. They marry the sons ________ they were sixteen.
before as soon as while during when but however so who
2. Use the outline in the table that follows and write a complete story about dogs.
Remember to use the right tenses and connecting words. The first and the last two
sentences of the story are given for you.
Do you know why dogs in Papua New Guinea always sniff each other’s tails when they
meet? Well, you’ll soon find it out.
Long, long ago all the dogs on the island came to the hilltop for a meeting. (Imagine and
describe all the different kinds of dogs which came to the meeting place.)
-the meeting place was a huge hall at the top of a hill. (Describe the sort of building they
imagine)
-before the dogs arrived, the place had been very, very quiet. (Describe what it sounded
like with more than 1000 dogs all moving around.)
-before they went into the great hall, all the dogs had to go and hang their tails up in a
special tail house. (Explain why the dogs could not enter the great hall with their tails
on)
-halfway through the meeting the dogs smelt something burning. They rushed for the
doors of the great hall and saw smoke billowing out of the tail house. (Finish the story in
any way you like.)
The Papua New Guinea ending is that the dogs rushed into the tail house and grabbed any
tail they could find in the smoke. From that day to this all dogs have wanted to find their
own tail, lost on the day of the great meeting!
3. Make a group three students and read your finished story to your partners. Is there
much difference among your stories? Discuss why this happened?
Task 22 – Producing Stories
1. Read the first five paragraphs of the story and do the questions that follow.
The Singing, Soaring Lark

There was once upon a time a man who was about to set out on a long journey, and on
parting he asked his three daughters what he should bring back with him for them.
Whereupon the eldest wished for pearls, the second wished for diamonds, but the third
said, dear father, I should like a singing, soaring lark. The father said, yes, if I can get it,
you shall have it, kissed all three, and set out.
Now when the time had come for him to be on his way home again, he had brought
pearls and diamonds for the two eldest, but he had sought everywhere in vain for a
singing, soaring lark for the youngest, and he was very unhappy about it, for she was his
favorite child. Then his road lay through a forest, and in the midst of it was a splendid
castle, and near the castle stood a tree, but quite on the top of the tree, he saw a singing,
soaring lark. ‘Aha, you come just at the right moment’, he said, quite delighted, and
called to his servant to climb up and catch the little creature.
But as he approached the tree, a lion leapt from beneath it shook himself, and roared till
the leaves on the trees trembled. ‘He who tries to steal my singing, soaring lark’, he
cried, ‘will I devour’. Then the man said, ‘I did not know that the bird belonged to you. I
will make amends for the wrong I have done and ransom myself with a large sum of
money, only spare my life’. The lion said, ‘nothing can save you, unless you will promise
to give me for my own what first meets you on your return home, and if you will do that, I
will grant you your life, and you shall have the bird for your daughter, into the bargain’.
But the man hesitated and said, ‘that might be my youngest daughter, she loves me best,
and always runs to meet me on my return home’.
The servant, however, was terrified and said, ‘why should your daughter be the very one
to meet you, it might as easily be a cat, or dog’. Then the man allowed himself to be
persuaded, took the singing, soaring lark, and promised to give the lion whatsoever
should first meet him on his return home.
When he reached home and entered his house, the first who met him was no other than
his youngest and dearest daughter, who came running up, kissed and embraced him, and
when she saw that he had brought with him a singing, soaring lark, she sat beside him
with joy. The father, however, could not rejoice, but began to weep, and said, my dearest
child, I have bought the little bird dear. In return for it, I have been obliged to promise
you to a savage lion, and when he has you he will tear you in pieces and devour you, and
he told her all, just as it had happened, and begged her not to go there, come what might.
2. Discuss the following questions in brief according to the story.
1. Did the opening sentence attract your attention? What atmosphere does it create?
2. Who are the characters in the story? How did the major character feel?
3. Which tenses were used in the story? Is direct speech used? What effects does it
have?
4. What was the major event of the story? What was the effect of this event?
5. In the story, was the major character facing choices? What decision did he make?
What could be the consequences of that decision?
3. Use the ideas your answers to question 5 (activity 2 above) and complete the story in
300-500 words as you imagine it would end. Give attention to the following:
 Plan your story carefully. Decide what happens next, think of the order of
events, and how the story ends;
 Decide how the main characters will react to the events in your story and choose
verbs, adjectives, and adverbs that would best describe their feelings and
actions;
 Use past tenses, linking words to order events, and direct speech to vary the
pace and focus in your story;
 Be careful in indenting a new paragraph or leaving one-line space between
paragraphs, keeping margins, and splitting words properly at the end of a line.
4. Present your story to your group and discuss the following questions:
a. In what ways are your ideas for the story similar or different?
b. What happened in the end? Which ending do you prefer most? Why?
5. Now your instructor will read to you the rest paragraphs of the story. Listen and
compare how much your ending of the story approached the original ending of the
story? Which ending did you like more, yours or the one you heard from your
instructor? Why?
6. Think of what happened to you or to a member of your family recently and write a
brief story in two or three paragraphs. Organize your ideas logically and pay attention
to your paragraph format, word choice, grammar, and punctuation, etc.
Note: The first and most important rule about splitting words at the end of a line is
DON'T. A writer should develop the ability to estimate how much space the word will
take so that if the word will not fit completely at the end of a line he/she can write it at
the beginning of the next line. Otherwise:
A. If breaking a word is inevitable make sure you put the hyphen after a complete
syllable: neg-li-gent.
B. For line splits in words ending in -ing, if the final root consonant is doubled before –
ing, put the hyphen between the consonants; in other cases hyphenate at the suffix
itself: e.g Dig-
ging
C. Remember the following ‘Never’ rules when breaking the words at the end of the line:
Never break up a one-syllable word.
Never hyphenate a word that already has a hyphen.
Never split a proper noun (any noun starting with a capital letter).
Never leave one or two letters on either line. However, you may use hyphen before the
inflexion for the past participle (e.g play-ed) with regular verbs, at the same time it is less
common for irregular verbs (e.g brok –en).
Never put the first or last letter of a word at the end or beginning of a line.
Never start the new line with two-letter suffixes.
Notice also how to keep margins or the general format of your paper. As a term paper
writing is a serious task that students will have to undertake while pursuing studies in
institutions of higher learning, it is very important that you familiarize yourself to how to
write a successful term paper. In order to present a quality term paper, you must pay
special attention to all aspects of academic writing skills including the format, topic,
style, source materials, grammar, mechanics, and so on.
UNIT 4 LEISURE AND ENTERTAINMENT
UNIT FOUR
LEISURE AND ENTERTAINMENT

Entertainment always turns soft when times turn tough. (Nick Cohn)
What do you like doing during your free time? Watching movies? Going to the theatres?
Playing games? Watching sport events? Sightseeing? Reading? Writing?... Entertainment
has a very crucial role to play in our personal and social life, and we are all engaged in
one form of entertainment or another in our day-to-day activities. In this unit, we will
explore various forms of entertainment and we will have the opportunity to meet and
practice the various language items and skills that are necessary in our interaction and
communication about entertainment.
UNIT OBJECTIVES
At the end of the unit, you should be able to:

 use your previous knowledge and experience while dealing with reading,
listening, speaking, and writing tasks;
 develop your thinking and reflective skills;
 develop cooperative and collaborative learning skills: discussing, negotiating,

arguing and sharing ideas with fellow classmates;
 skim a text to identify main topics and ideas;
 read a text for details, interpreting and analyzing the materials;
 read a text and relate it to your personal life and experience;
 use context clues to work out the meaning of unfamiliar words you meet in your
reading and listening;
 use the reading material as an opportunity to build your vocabulary knowledge;
 recognize the differences among the four types of conditional sentences and use
them appropriately in various contexts;
 use your knowledge of word groups and relations to expand your vocabulary
knowledge;
 acquire and use a range and variety of vocabularies associated with various forms
U N I TofCentertainment;
ONTENTS
 develop your awareness of word collocation and gradually use English naturally;
 listen to a talk or lecture with a purpose and take notes that are relevant to your
listening purpose;
Reading
 react to the listening talk by relating it to your personal experiences, feelings and
 Brainstorming
opinions;
 Reading
organizefor
your thoughts
main ideas in order to argue about a topic convincingly and logically
both in speaking and writing;
 Analyzing texts
present your thoughts and ideas to an audience confidently and competently; and
 summarize information
 Reading for details in graphs and tables and report the main features.
 Vocabulary focus
Grammar
 Language awareness: Conditional sentences
 Using English: using conditionals in various contexts
Vocabulary
 Vocabulary for spare time activities
 Vocabulary word groups
 Verbs and phrases to do with entertainment
 Collocation
Listening
 Listening and note-taking 1
 Listening and note-taking 2
Speaking
 Discussing and presenting a holiday plan
 Proposing and presenting a development plan
Writing
 Interpreting and describing a table
 Writing an argument for and against a motion
PART ONE: READING
Overview
The reading part provides you plenty of opportunities to practice your English in the
context of entertainment. The focus here will be on language to do with sports. You will
explore various sporting events which allow you to be familiar with and make use of a
variety of language used in contemporary sports.
1. Work with your partner(s) and discuss the following activities.
A. How do you define the terms ‘leisure’ and ‘entertainment’? What is the relationship
between leisure and entertainment?
B. To what extent do you think entertainment is necessary? What forms of
entertainments do you think are unnecessary? Spend a few minutes making a list of
as many entertainment options as you can. Which ones are your favorite forms of
entertainment? Share your list with your partner. Discuss your differences.
C. Spend two minutes writing down all of the different words you associate with the
word ‘entertainment’. Share your words with your partner(s) and talk about them.
Together, put the words into different categories.
D. How much time do people have to entertain themselves in Ethiopia? Is
entertainment expensive or cheap in Ethiopia? What forms of entertainments are
expensive? What are some less expensive options?
E. Match each entertainment on the left with the most appropriate word(s) on the right.
Children’s entertainment ___________________ Periodicals
Games _____________ Posters
Dancing ____________ Dramatic Arts
Music _____________ Computer
Outdoor recreation _______________ Public Holiday
Reading _______________ Nursery Rhymes
Movies and theater _________________ Ballet
Electronic home entertainment _______________ Organ
Community celebrations ___________________ Gardening
Advertising entertainment ___________________ Puzzle
2. You are going to read an article about sports. First work with your partner(s) and
discuss the following activities. Be ready to report some of your ideas to your class.
A. Think of five sports where you have to compete against an opponent and five
which you can do individually, and write them in the table.
Competitive Individual
1. Wrestling 1. Aerobics
B. What sports are the following people famous for? Why?

 Kenyans Russians Ethiopians
 Brazilians Chinese African-Americans
C. Work with your partner and make a list of advantages and disadvantages of sport.
Discuss each advantage and disadvantage. Then find another partner and compare
your list. Discuss your differences.
D. Read the following radio commentaries of five different sports. Can you identify
what sport is each one? What clues have you used?
a) And they’re coming into the straight, Cornichon leads from Pegasus who is being
closely challenged by River Island. River Island has moved into second place.
Cornichon’s still going well. They’re approaching the winning post. It’s going to
be a photo finish … Cornichon has beaten River Island, with Pegasus in the third
place. What a thrilling finish to this race! _______________________________
b) Johnson receives the ball in his own half, passes it to Mimosa. Mimosa dribbles
past two defenders and shoots. Oh! The goalkeeper knocks it behind for a corner
kick. The ball comes into the centre. The striker, Hughes, is in position and heads
the ball into the back of the net! What a goal! _____________________________
c) It’s deuce. Mintoff serves, Everett returns, but Mintoff’s at the net, and volleys
the ball deep. Everett runs and hits the ball cross-court, but Mintoff’s got it
covered and punches it down the line. Advantage Mintff, and match point. She
serves to her opponent’s back-hand, Everett struggles to get the ball back, but it
goes into the net. Game, set, and Match to Mintoff, 6─4, 6─2. _______________
d) There’s the bell for Round six and Manson’s straight back into the centre of the
ring. Buckley moves in slowly from his corner. Manson gets in a good punch,
he’s caught him on the chin and the Scot crumples to the canvas. The count starts,
Buckley’s trying to get up, 8, 9, 10 – he’s not up! It’s a knockout in Round 6.
Manson takes World Heavyweight title back to the States! __________________
e) The eighteenth hole is a par-three. Mallestro’s first shot put him on the green, just
two yards from the hole. Spink put his first in the lake, and has taken two shots to
get to the green. If Mallestro putts from here he’ll win. He strikes it well, the ball
trickles to the edge of the hole, and yes, it’s in. Mallestro wins the match and the
tournament. ___________________
From: New Headway (Advanced Student’s Book)
3. Look at the title of the article on the next page and the caption under it. Write some
notes of what the article might be about. Compare your answer with your partner
before you read the article.
4. Where do you think the article you are going to read is taken from? How do you
know?
a) A newspaper c) A careers guide
b) A brochure d) An academic article
Task 2 – Reading for Main Ideas
Now read the article quickly and check your answer for 3 and 4 above. The article is
adapted from New Headway English Course- Advanced Student’s Book.
S
port used to be like fresh fruit and vegetable. Football had its season, then it ended, and
you had to wait a while to get some more. Tennis was an explosion of Wimbledon at the
end of June, Flushing Meadow in September and the Australian Open in January, and that
was that. Now, just as you can get fresh strawberries all year round, there are major
championships for every sport taking place somewhere in the world all of the time.
Sport is ubiquitous. Sky TV has at least thirteen sports channels. Throughout the world
there is a proliferation of newspapers and magazines totally dedicated to sport. Sports
personalities have become cultural icons worshipped like movie-stars and sought after
by sponsors and advertisers alike. Where sport was once for fun and amateurs, it is now
the stuff of serious investment.
Of course, sport has always matter. But the point is that in the past sport knew its place.
Now it invades areas of life where previously it had no presence: fashion, showbiz,
business. It is a worldwide obsession.
What is it that makes sport so enjoyable for so many? First, we seriously believe that
sport is something we can all do, however badly or however well. Tens of thousands set
off on the London and New York Marathons. Amateur football matches take place all
over the world every weekend. Sport is a democratic activity. Second, sport stars are self-
made people. Sport is dominated by athletes from ordinary backgrounds. This is why it
is a classic means by which those from the poorest backgrounds can seek fame and
fortunes. Third, we enjoy watching sport because we like to see the supreme skill of those
who act like gladiators in the modern arena. There is the excitement of not knowing who
is going to win. No rock concert, no movie, no play can offer that kind of spontaneous
uncertainty. This gut-wrenching experience can be shared with a crowd of fifty round a
widescreen TV in a pub, or a thronging mass of 100,000 lives in a stadium.
Television has been absolutely crucial to the growing obsession with sport. It gives
increased numbers of people access to sporting events around the globe. With this,
certain sports have accumulated untold riches via advertising, sponsorship and fees.
Television changes sport completely, nearly always for the worse. We are saturated with
football nearly every night of the week with the same top clubs playing each other again
and again. TV companies dictate tennis players’ schedules. The most important matches
must take place at the time when most people are at home, even if this is late at night.
Only in this way are the highest advertising fees commanded.
The growing importance of sport is reflected in

the money that surrounds it. Sky TV’s sports
channels are worth over £1bn. It has even formed
a super club with baseball’s New York Yankees,
so that they can package themselves collectively.
The rise of sport has been accompanied by the
growing prominence of sports stars. They have
become public figures, hence in great demand for
TV commercials. For advertisers, they convey
glamour, success, credibility and authenticity. The
rise of the sports stars is mirrored by the rise of
sports companies such as Nike and Adidas. Along
with pop music, the Internet and multinational companies, sport is one of the key agents
of globalization.
‘Sport probably does more to unify nations than any politician has ever been capable of,’
so said Nelson Mandela. The only truly global occasions are the Olympics and the World
Cup, watched by thousands of millions across the world. These great sporting events
bring together players and athletes from different races like no other. Not only that, but
sport provides just about the only example of global democracy where the rich do not
dominate: on the contrary, Brazilians have long been supreme at football, the Kenyans at
middle-distance running and Black-Americans at boxing.
However, there are signs of disquiet in this vast, global industry. The sheer volume of
sport is reaching bursting point for all but the most besotted fan. In football, the president
of FIFA has suggested
staging the World Cup every
two years instead of four,
and overpaid tennis players
and golfers fly endlessly in
personal jets from one
meaningless tournament to
the next. Sport risks killing
itself through greed and
over-exposure. The danger
is that we will all become
satiated and disillusioned.
Task 3 – Text Analysis
1. Below are the paragraph headings of the article. Match them to their paragraph(s).
Write your answers in your exercise book.
Headings Paragraph(s)
a) Why this obsession with sport? _______________
b) The ultimate risk _______________
c) Sport as a big business _______________
d) Sport is everywhere _______________
e) Sport as a global unifier _______________
f) The role of television _______________
g) Sport is a year round activity _______________
2. To what do the following words or phrases refer in the passage?
a) …that kind of spontaneous uncertainty (par. 4) __________________________
b) With this…(par. 5) ________________________________________________
c) …this…(par. 5) ___________________________________________________
d) …they…(par.6) ___________________________________________________
e) …that…(par.7) ___________________________________________________
Task 4 – Reading for Details
1. Refer to the article and answer these questions.

a) In paragraph 1, what does the writer compare sport with? Why does he make this
comparison?
b) According to paragraph 2, how does sport in the past differ from sport nowadays?
c) Why doesn’t sport know its place any more?
d) What is the purpose of mentioning the London and New York Marathons in
paragraph 4?
e) In what ways are most sport stars like anyone else?
f) How has the TV changed sport? Has this change been beneficial or not, according
to the writer?
g) In paragraph 6, what examples are given to show the amount of money that
surrounds sport?
h) What is special about the Olympics and the World Cup?
i) Why does the writer mention Brazilians, Kenyans and Black Americans?
j) Does the writer seem to support the suggestion of the FIFA president to stage the
World Cup every two years?
2. Refer to the article and work out the meaning of the following sentences. What
clue(s) have helped you to work out the meaning of each sentence?
a) ‘Sport used to be like fresh fruit and vegetable.’ (Par. 1)
b) ‘…in the past sport knew its place.’ (par. 3)
c) ‘The sheer-volume of sport is reaching bursting point…’(par. 8)
d) ‘Sport risks killing itself through greed and over-exposure.’ (par. 8)
Discuss these questions with your partner. Be ready to report your views to the class.
a) Do you agree that our teenagers and adolescents are obsessed by sport?
b) Do you think there is too much sport on TV? Can you mention some of the TV
channels totally devoted to sport?
c) Do you agree or disagree with the writer that television has changed sport nearly
for the worse?
d) Do you think it is a good idea to stage the World Cup every two years?
e) Who do you think are more interested in sport, men or women? Why?
Task 6 – Vocabulary Focus

1. Use context clues to find the words or phrases in the article which mean the
following.
a. rapid increase (par. 2) ……………………………………………..

b. fascination; preoccupation (par. 3) ………………………………...
c. having a very powerful effects on the feelings (par. 4) ……………
d. extreme wealth (par. 5) …………………………………………….
e. lack of peace; unrest; uneasiness (par. 8)…………………………..
2. Work out the meaning of the following words or phrases (in bold in the article)
from their contextual clues.
a) ubiquitous ………………………………………………………………………..
b) cultural icons ……………………………………………………………………..
c) self-made people …………………………………………………………………
d) lives ………………………………………………………………………………
e) saturated ………………………………………………………………………….
f) public figures …………………………………………………………………….
3. The words in the box below are taken from the article. Use the correct form of the
words in the following sentences. There are more than one answer in some cases.
championship advertised sponsor prominence

worldwide supreme globe television
a) Decisions taken at the meeting were significant not only for the region but for the
___________________ economy.
b) Undoubtedly, our team will be the _________________________ of the year if it
maintains its present outstanding performance throughout the season.
c) The offense-minded Brazilians have proved their ___________________ over all other countries, with a
record of five World Cup titles so far.
d) Hundreds of thousands of fans in the United States travel to bowl games to watch
their favorite teams play, and most of these games are also __________________
live to large audiences.
e) African distance runners, particularly athletes from Ethiopia and Kenya, have
become _________________ figures in international track-and-field competition.
f) The Entertainment and Sports Programming Network (ESPN), a television sports
cable network with its headquarters in Bristol, has selected programming in more
than 120 countries ______________________.
g) _________________________ means a public announcement in a newspaper or
on the radio, television, or Internet promoting something such as a product or an
event in order to encourage people to buy or use it.
h) Some companies sponsor sporting events, while others give money to individuals
who wear the company's logo or motifs while performing. This has made
___________________a major source of financial income for many sportspersons
and sporting events.
4. Do you think the words in the box below are used in the article in favor of sport or
against sport? Refer to the article to explain your answer, and use the words in the
correct column to complete the table.
investment (par.2) supreme (par. 4, 7) disquiet (par.8)

obsession (par.3, 4) dictate (par. 5) overpaid (par. 8)
invade (par.3) saturated (par.5) endlessly (par.8) self-
made(par.4) globalization (par.6) over-exposure (par.8)
classic (par.4) democracy (par.7)
excitement (par.4) unify(par.7)
In favor of sport Against sport

Investment Dictate
PART TWO: GRAMMAR
Overview
We talk or write about different conditions and their results under certain circumstances.
In English, the sentences we use for this purpose are called conditional sentences or
simply conditionals. In this part, you will study the four types of conditional sentences,
and you will do a number of contextualized tasks aimed at enabling you to use
conditionals in grammatically and meaningfully acceptable ways.
Complete the chart with information that follows it.
Conditionals Used to express Structure (tense sequence) Time reference

Zero
Type 1
Type 2
Type 3
- a hypothetical or an unlikely condition and its probable result

- a possible condition and its probable result
- things that are always true/results that always follow an action
- a situation which is contrary to reality in the past
- present or future
- past
- if + present simple + modal verb + infinitive
- if + past simple + modal verb + infinitive
- if + present simple + present simple
- if + past perfect + perfect conditional (would have+ past participle)
Task 8 – Using Conditionals
1. Jara is going to leave for Hawasa and then he is going to travel around the South for a
couple of weeks with his friend. His mother is very worried! Read their conversation
and put the words from the box in the gaps. Then practice the dialogue in pairs.
will you do won’t do get lost will find

will ask won’t get will be get
Mother Oh, dear! I hope everything will be alright. You have never been away so far
and for so long!
Jara Don’t worry, Mum. I’ll be OK. I can look after myself. Anyway, I’ll be with
Abdu. We ………………………….anything stupid.
Mother But what ………………. if you run out of money?
Jara We ………………….a job, of course! We’ll also take care of our money.
Mother Oh, what about if you get lost?
Jara Mum! If we …....................., we ……………………..someone the way, but we
…………………………lost because we know where we’re going!
Mother Oh. All right. But what if …?
Now practice the dialogue in pairs.
2. Work with your partner and make similar dialogues about other things that Jara’s
mother is worried about. Use Conditional Sentences Type 1.
Oh dear! What Don’t worry Mum. I’ll …

will you do if you
get food
poisoning?
- get food poisoning - don’t like the food

- lose your Identity Card - don’t understand the language
- meet a girl who you fall in love with - don’t get on with Abdu
- are homesick - are robbed
Now practice your conversation. Be ready to role-play it to the class.
3. Jane is a daydreamer. She imagines what would happen if she won the lottery. Make
Conditional Sentences Type 2 based on her dreams. Use the cues given.
Example: If I played the lottery, I would have the chance to hit the jackpot.
a. I play the lottery/I have the chance to hit the jackpot

b. I hit the jackpot/I be rich
c. I be rich/my life change completely
d. I buy a lonely island/I find a nice one
e. I own a lonely island/I build a huge house by the beach.
f. I invite all my friends/I have a house by the beach.
g. I pick my friends up in my yacht/they want to spend their holidays on my island.
h. We have great parties/my friends come to my island.
i. We like to go shopping in a big city/we charter a helicopter.
j. But my friends' holidays be over/I feel very lonely on my lonely island.
4. Work in pairs. Imagine that you wanted to visit some parts of Ethiopia during your
short vacation, but you don’t really have enough time. Your partner asks you some
questions like “If you had time, where would you go and what would you like to do
there?” First make a list of five tourist attractions in Ethiopia you would like to go to.
Then answer your partner’s questions. When you have finished, it is your turn to ask
him/her similar questions. Use Conditional Sentences Type 2. For example:
A: If you had enough time, where would you go?

B: If I had enough time, I would go to Harar.
A: What would you like to do if you went to Harar?
B: If I went to Harar, I would like to see the hyena man and the Harari museum.
A: Where else would you like to go?
B: To Bale mountains
A: If you went there, what would you like to see?
B: I would see the Red Fox, Mountain Nyala and other mammals if I went there.
5. Imagine that your favorite football team has lost again! Discuss with your partner
what you think the team or the players should have done in order to win the game.
Use Conditional Sentences Type 3.
For example: The team wouldn’t have lost if the players had had a winning spirit.
If the defenders had been good, our team would have won the game.
6. After the game, some supporters of your team are also discussing what would have
been different. Complete the sentences based on what they say.
a. If the middle fielders (pass) ……………… the ball more correctly, our team (has)
………………… more chances to attack.
b. If the forward players (run) …………..faster, they (score) …………..more goals.
c. Their motivation (improve) …………………….if they (kick) ……………………
a goal during the first-half.
d. The fullbacks (prevent) ……………………………….one or the other goal if they
(mark) ………………………..their opponents.
e. If the goalie (jump) …………………..up, he (catch) ……………………..the ball.
f. If the referee (see) ……………………….the foul, he (award) ……………………
a penalty kick to our team.
g. Our team (be) ……………..in a better position if they (train) …………………….
harder the week before.
h. The game (become) ………………….. better if the trainer (send) ………………..
a substitute in during the second-half.
i. If it (be) …………….. a home game, our team (win) ………………….the match.
j. If our team (win) ………………….the match, they (move) ……………………
up in the league.
Task 9 – Mixed Conditional Sentences
1. Complete the conditional sentences below with the correct form of the verbs given in
parentheses. They are based on a story entitled ‘The Cat and the Mouse”.
The Cat and the Mouse – Part 1
a. Once upon a time the cat bit the mouse's tail off. “Give me back my tail,” said the
mouse. And the cat said, “Well, I (give) _______________ you back your tail if
you fetched me some milk. But that's impossible to do for a little mouse like you.”
b. The mouse, however, went to the cow and said, “The cat (only/ give)
________________ me back my tail if I fetch her some milk.”
c. And the cow said, “Well, I would give you milk if you (get) ________ me some
hay. But that's impossible to do for a little mouse like you.”
d. The mouse, however, went to the farmer and said, “The cat will only give me
back my tail if the cow (give) _______ me some milk. And the cow (only / give)
_______________ me milk if I get her some hay.”
e. And the farmer said, “Well, I would give you hay if you (bring) _________ me
some meat. But that's impossible to do for a little mouse like you.”
f. The mouse, however, went to the butcher. “The cat will only give me back my tail
if the cow (give) _______________me milk. And the cow will only give me milk
if she (get) _______ some hay. And the farmer (only / give) _________________
me hay if I get him some meat,” she said.
g. And the butcher said, “Well, I would give you meat if you (make) ____________
the baker bake me bread. But that's impossible to do for a little mouse like you.”
2. In the same way, complete these conditional sentences based on the second part of the
story.
The Cat and the Mouse – Part 2
a. The mouse, however, went to the baker. “The cat (only / give) _______________
me back my tail if I fetch her some milk. And the cow (give / not) ____________
me milk if I don't get her hay. And the farmer will only give me hay if the butcher
(have) _______________ some meat for him. And the butcher will not give me
meat if you (bake / not) _______________ him bread,” she said.
b. And the baker said, “Well, I (give) ______________ you bread if you promise
never to steal my corn or meal.”
c. The mouse promised not to steal, and so the baker gave the mouse bread; the
mouse gave the butcher bread. The butcher gave the mouse meat; the mouse gave
the farmer meat. The farmer gave the mouse hay; the mouse gave the cow hay.
The cow gave the mouse milk; the mouse gave the cat milk. And the cat gave the
mouse her tail back.
But imagine what would have happened otherwise:
d. If the mouse (promised / not) ____________________ never to steal corn or

meal, the baker (not/give) ______________________ the mouse bread.
e. If the baker (not / give) ___________________ the mouse bread, the butcher
(refuse) _______________________ to give her meat for the farmer.
f. If the butcher (refuse) ______________________ her any meat, the farmer
(not / be) ________________________ willing to give the mouse hay.
g. If the farmer (not / be) _______________ willing to give the mouse hay, the
mouse (not / receive) __________________________ milk from the cow.
h. If the mouse (not / receive) ____________________________ milk from the
cow, she (not / get) ____________________________ back her tail.
3. Put the verbs in brackets in their correct form and complete the conditional sentences.
Amy and Seth are having a row in a hotel. They are on their way to Addis.
Amy Ugh! This hotel is horrible. I wish we hadn’t come

here. I’ve never seen such a dirty hotel in my life! It
(1) …………………. (not be) so bad if the
bathroom was clean, but it’s filthy. I wouldn’t even
wash my socks in it.
Seth I know, but it was getting late, and we’d been
driving all day, and I wanted to stop. If we hadn’t,
we (2) ……………………… (not find) a hotel and
we’d still be driving. That would have been awful.
At least this is better than nothing.
Amy Well, I wish we (3) …………… (set off) earlier.
Then we would have arrived in Addis today, and we
(4) ………………(have) a whole day to go round
the galleries and museums. As it is, we won’t get
there till tomorrow lunch time, and we’ll only have a
few hours.
Seth I’d have liked to spend more time in Addis, too, but I
had to go to work this morning. If I (5)...................................................... (not
go), we’d have been staying in a top hotel in Addis now instead of this dump.
Amy I’d love to have seen a show, but we can’t, so that’s all there is to it. Anyway,
it is time we thought about getting something to eat. If it weren’t so late, I
(6) …………………… (suggest) going into town, but if we (7) …………(do),
we might not find anywhere. It’s quite late already.
Seth I wish you wouldn’t moan about everything. I wouldn’t mind, but you are so
indecisive. If it were left up to you, we (8) ………………… (never do)
anything or go anywhere.
Amy Ok, ok. I’m sorry. Let’s go.
Grammar Tips
Zero conditional
 Zero conditional sentences (If + present + present) express a situation that is always true or a result that
always follows an action. E.g. If you boil water, it evaporates.
 ‘If’ means ‘when’ or ‘whenever’.
If /when a hotel doesn’t sell its rooms, it loses money.
If/whenever I read too much, I get a headache.
Type 1 conditional sentences (real)

 Type 1 conditional sentences are based on fact in real time. They express a possible condition and
its probable result.
If we buy new players, we will have a winning team.
 ‘Will’ is not usually used in the if-clause (if clause).
If you will go to Awash National Park, you will see Mount Fentalle. (incorrect)
If you go to Awash National Park, you will see Mount Fentalle. (correct)
 There are several other links with meanings similar to ‘if’ that can introduce Type 1 conditional
sentences. Study the following examples.

Provided/providing (that) I have the time, I will give you a hand to fix it.
We will sign the contract as long as you guarantee prices for the next ten months.
Supposing you go to Axum, what will you do?
Unless you practice English regularly, you may not build up your vocabulary.
Should you need any further information, please contact our helpline.
You can borrow my bike on condition that you return it by five o’clock.
Type 2 conditional sentences (unlikely/improbable/imaginary)

 Type 2 conditional sentences are used to express an unlikely situation and its probable result. The
situation or condition is improbable, imaginary, or contrary to known facts. Study these examples:
If I were the president of our country, I would decrease taxation. (But it is not very likely that I will ever
be the president.)
If I were taller, I would join the police force. (In reality I am not, and never will be, tall enough to join the
police force.)
If you saw a ghost, what would you do? (I don’t believe in ghost, so I don’t think you will ever see one.)
 ‘Were’ is often used instead of ‘was’, especially when the style is formal. It is also commonly used
in the expression ‘If I were you …’ when giving advice.
If he were more honest, he would be a better leader.
If I were you, I would cook for myself rather than hiring a cook.
Notes: Both Type 1 and Type 2 conditionals refer to the present and future. The difference is about probability,
not time. First Conditionals are real and possible; second Conditionals express situations that will probably never
happen. By using a past verb form in Type 2, the speaker suggests that the situation is less probable, or
impossible or imaginary.
Type 3 conditional sentences (unreal or impossible)
 Type 3 conditionals express a situation which is contrary to reality in the past. This unreality is
shown by a tense shift ‘backwards’: past→ past perfect, would→ would have
If I had known his background, I would never have employed him. (I didn’t know his background and I
did employ him.)
PART THREE: VOCABULRY
Overview
In this part you will be familiar with two vocabulary learning strategies, namely,
vocabulary word groups and collocation. You will also have the chance to learn the
meanings of many vocabulary items used in various forms of entertainment, and you will
practice using these words in a natural and appropriate way.
Task 10 – Vocabulary for Spare Time Activities
Here are some people talking about their hobbies (spare time activities). Read each
description and guess what the hobby is, in each case.
A. I usually use color, but sometimes you get a better effect with black and white.
B. The great thing is you can do it when you like. I usually do it three or four times a
week – either early in the morning, or after school. I only go for about 25 minutes
but it really keeps me fit.
C. I joined a club because I wanted to get better, and I now play twice a week in the
evenings. It has helped me a lot and I have a much better memory for all the
different moves and strategies.
D. I try to practice everyday, but sometimes it is difficult because I don’t like to
disturb my neighbors too much. And one neighbor gets very angry if I play the
same thing over and over again.
E. It’s something I really enjoy doing during my spare time. Obviously, it also saves
me a lot of money; and in any case, I hate eating at restaurants because some of
them usually serve very bad food.
Task 11 – Vocabulary Word Groups
1. The words below are some of the most important used when talking about
entertainment. Study their meanings and group them under one of the headings in the
table below. Some words can be put into two groups.
conduct novelist concert museum

actor/actress exhibit painting exhibition
cinema playwright badminton stadium
opera audience perform rugby
applaud art gallery javelin composer
sculpture opera house referee theater
orchestra knitting concert hall play (a part)
carving play soccer goalie
zoo wrestling golf drawing
Headings Words related to
Entertainment people
Arts and crafts
Artistic events
Sporting events
Entertainment places
Entertainment verbs
2. Now choose from the table a word that best fits each of the following meanings.
a) Someone who is a writer of plays __________________

b) A group of people gathered to watch and listen to
a show, concert, movie, or speech __________________
c) An outdoor game played with a small ball and clubs __________________
d) A game similar to tennis with net and rackets __________________
e) The creation of a three-dimensional work of

art, especially by carving, modeling, or casting __________________
f) The act or process of making knitted items or fabric
by hand-held needles or by machine __________________
g) To clap hands as a sign of welcome, enjoyment,
appreciation, or approval __________________
h) To display something, especially a work of art,
in a public place such as a museum or gallery __________________
i) A dramatic work where music is a dominant part
of the performance __________________
j) An event where an individual musician or a group of
musicians performs in front of an audience __________________
k) A building where works of art are displayed __________________
l) Park displaying live animals in enclosures __________________
Task 12 – Verbs and Phrasal Verbs to Do with Entertainment
1. Match each entertainment verb with its meaning. Write the verbs in the blanks.
A) To act a) to create or produce a piece of music or writing __________

B) To direct b) to entertain people by dancing, singing, acting or
playing music ____________
C) To perform c) to perform the actions and say the words of a story. ______
D) To entertain d) to be the main person in a film, play, etc. ___________
E) To act out e) to perform in a film, play etc. ______________
F) To compose f) to keep a group of people interested or amused __________
G) To star g) to supervise the creative aspects of a movie, play, or TV
program ______________
H) To stage h) to organize a play, concert, exhibition, or similar event for
an audience ________________
2. Now do the same with the following verbs and phrasal verbs about sport.
A) To cheat a) to hit a ball with your head ______________
B) To draw b) to attempt to be first _____________
C) To knock out c) to be involved in an activity with other people __________
D) To head d) to run as fast as you can over a short distance ___________
E) To jog e) to equal the score in a contest sport; finish equal _________
F) To race f) to officially record the name of a player who has committed
an offense _________________
G) To sprint g) to try to take the ball from a player in the other team______
H) To book h) to move along at a slow, steady, jolting pace as a form
of exercise _______________
I) To take part i) (in boxing) to knock an opponent down for a count of ten,
thus winning the match ________________
J) To tackle j) to break the rules in order to win ________________
3. Now fill in the blanks in the following sentences with a suitable verb in 2 above.
Use the most appropriate tense of the verb.
a) Three Guinean players ………………….the ball into the back of the net one
after another and Guinea beat Ethiopia by 4 goals to 1.
b) Even though he is over sixty, he seems strong and energetic because he
exercises and ……………….to works every morning.
c) During his career as an athlete, Abebe Bikila …………………for years before
he retired due to an automobile accident that left him paralyzed below the waist.
d) He ……………over the finish line and won his opponent by a narrow victory.
e) Because he ………………….by taking steroids, he was banned from taking
part in any contest for two years.
f) He …………………twice, once for handling the ball in the penalty area and
once for …………….the goal keeper, so the referee had to send him off.
g) Manson wins the Heavyweight title by ……………………Buckley in Round 6.
h) The university sport team members have enjoyed …………………............in the
intercollegiate sports events although they have won only a medal.
i) The two teams ………………..1:1 in the semi-finals; they are going to meet for
a replay early March.
4. What do we call the place or playing area for each of the following sports? Choose
the right word for each sport from the list and complete the table that follows.
ring track and field pitch track court course stadium slopes pool
Name of sport Place Name of sport Place
Swimming Athletics
Football Boxing
Tennis Cricket
Volleyball Basketball
Motor racing Badminton
Wrestling Golf
Task 13 – Entertainment Collocations
A collocation is made up of two or more words that are commonly used together in
English. For example, in ‘heavy smoker’, the two words go together or collocate, while in
‘big smoker’ the two words do not go together. Good collocation ability helps you to
speak naturally and to use English in the way the native speakers of the language use it.
Collocations are common in general English and in English for specific purposes. There
are many types of collocation; in this task you will practice those which go with some
verbs related to various forms of entertainment.
1. Which one of the verbs given in each group goes with the expressions listed below?
A. take have break
a) ................ a holiday e) ................ a world record
b) ................ the ice f) ................ a bath
c) ................ a break g) ................ the rules
d) ................ a penalty h) ................ a look
B. keep save get
a) ………… a penalty e) ………… control
b) ………… the change f) ………… one’s strength
c) ………… started g) ………… drunk
d) ………… money h) ………… a diary
C. come miss do
a) ………… the shopping d) ………… the washing up
b) ………… first/second e) ………… the last show
c) ………… a goal f) ………… the cooking
D. watch go make see
a) ………… to the finals e) ………… overseas
b) ………… a film/a movie f) ………… progress
c) ………… an exhibition g) ………… an effort
d) ………… money h) ………… crazy/wild
E. find feel catch
a) ………… by surprise e) ………… someone’s attention
b) ………… nervous f) ………… a partner
c) ………… happiness g) ………… a fright
d) ………… at home h) ………… comfortable
2. Fill in the gaps with suitable verbs below. Use the correct form of each verb.
win take up break hold defeat lose

score join make keep catch play
a) Were many records …………………………….at the Olympics?

b) We've been . . . . . . . . . . . ..so many times; we deserve to be bottom of the
league!
c) Congratulations! How many points did you ……………………by?
d) You should ……………………….jogging. That would help you lose weight.
e) Who ………the world record for the 1000 meters at the moment? Is it a Kenyan
or an Ethiopian?
f) Last Friday evening we had a party but the people next-door neighbor
complained and said we ……………………..too much noise.
g) Whenever I meet people on a holiday I always promise to ……………in touch,
but I never do.
h) I didn’t really enjoy the holiday because I ……………..a cold on the second
day and spent most of the week sneezing and blowing my nose.
i) He ……………the winner with a beautiful free kick from just outside the
penalty area.
j) I wanted to improve my chess, so I ……………….a chess club.

Overview
This part aims to help you practice taking relevant notes from listening texts. You will
listen to two texts – one about traveling in Ethiopia and the other about entertaining
guests – and you will be taking notes as you listen, working on two tasks of different
nature. You will learn how to listen purposefully and selectively, focusing on relevant
information and taking notes that are to the point. You will also work on several other
related tasks.
Task 14 – Getting Ready (for Listening and Note-taking 1)
You are going to listen to a talk about a tour to Ethiopia. Before you listen, try to answer
the following questions from your experience. Work individually first and then share
your ideas with your partner.
1. What is tourism? How does it benefit a country like Ethiopia? How does it harm
it?
2. What are known tourist attractions in Ethiopia? Make as many lists of them as
you can.
 Where are these places found? (region & specific place)
 What makes them popular?
 Which one do you think is the most popular? Why?
3. Have you ever visited any of these tourist attractions? Be ready to describe it to
your partner.
4. Now discuss your answers with your partner.
5. Which of the places you have discussed above do you think will be mentioned in
the talk that you are going to hear?
Task 15 – Listening and Note-taking 1
1. You are going to listen to a talk about travel in Ethiopia. As you listen, take notes and
complete the table below with appropriate information from the talk. Copy the table
in your exercise book. Leave enough spaces for writing your notes. Study the table
and the given examples before you listen so as to understand how to do the task. If no
information is mentioned or cannot be inferred from the talk, leave the space as it is.
Main Tourist How to Adjectives used Where to Main attractions

Day(s) destinations(s) get to admire the stay to visit

there place(s)
Nat. Palace, the
Day 1 Marcato, other
places
Day 2 & in the

Day 3 campsite
Day 4 (most) popular

beautiful,
breathtaking,
spectacular
Day 5 Flying
Day 6 Mago National

Park & the
Mursi people
Day 7
Day 8
2. Work with your partner and compare your notes. Discuss your differences and try to
improve your notes.
3. Check your notes with your instructor.
4. Work in a small group and discuss these questions.
a) Do you think the tourists in the talk will have an unforgettable tour? Why?
b) What problems or challenges do you think they might face?
c) Which place do you think the tourists may enjoy most?
d) Which place do you think they may enjoy least?
e) If you were the organizer of this tour, would you make any change in the
schedule? What place(s) would you omit from the tour? What other place(s)
would you include? Why?
Task 16 – Getting Ready (for Listening and Note-taking 2)

Discuss these questions with your partner. Be ready to report your ideas to the class.
1. Have you ever been a guest in someone’ house? How did you feel? Why?
2. In your community, what code of conduct is needed when you are a guest visiting a
family or a place (e.g. in the way you dress, talk, eat, behave, or if you should bring
something with you)?
3. In your culture, what code of conduct is necessary if you are a host or hostess (if
you have a guest)?
4. Have you ever been a guest in someone’s house in a foreign country or in a
different culture? When? Explain what happened.
5. What would you do if you were invited to someone’s hose in a foreign country?
6. What kind of food is called Starter? Main course? Dessert? Give an example for
each.
Task 17 – Listening and Note-taking 2

1. Now you are going to listen to three people describing how they entertain guests in
their country. Sumie is from Japan, Rosa from Spain, and Leslie is from the United
States. Listen to each speaker and take notes under the following headings:
a) The kind of invitation, formal or in formal

b) The time of the day for invitation
c) The preparation that the host or hostess makes
d) What the guests may bring with them?
e) The food and drinks served (Do not worry of the correct spelling.)
A. Sumie
a) ………………………………………………………………………………
b) ………………………………………………………………………………
c) ………………………………………………………………………………
d) ………………………………………………………………………………
e) ………………………………………………………………………………
B. Rosa
a) ………………………………………………………………………………
b) ………………………………………………………………………………
c) ………………………………………………………………………………
d) ………………………………………………………………………………
e) ………………………………………………………………………………
C. Leslie
a) ………………………………………………………………………………
b) ………………………………………………………………………………
c) ………………………………………………………………………………
d) ………………………………………………………………………………
e) ………………………………………………………………………………
2. Compare the information in your notes with your partner. What similarities and
differences do you have?
3. Now check your answers (notes) with your instructor.
4. Work in a group of three students.
a) Assume that you are one of the three people above. Refer to your notes and
take turns to describe to your group how guests are entertained in your
country.
b) Which country has a more similar practice to how guests are usually
entertained in Ethiopia? What are some of the differences?
c) Which way of entertaining guests do you think is better? Why?
d) What do you like about the way guests are entertained in each country?
What do you dislike?
PART FIVE: SPEAKING
Overview
This part gets you to focus on and develop your negotiation and presentation skills. You
will work in a group and you should be an active participant in your group. You are
expected to employ your general knowledge and your thinking power in order to
contribute your part to a successful discussion and presentation of your group.
Task 18 – Discussing a Holiday Plan
1. You are going to work in a group of four students. Imagine that you are a family
planning to go on a holiday. Discuss your plan in your family. You should assume
one of the following roles in your family:
Student A: You are the father and you lead the discussion of the family. You enjoy
visiting places of natural beauty and which have cultural and religious
significance. So you want the family to go to the Sof Omar Caves.
Student B: You are the mother. You have seen the beautiful volcanic Crater Lake of
Wonchi over the TV and you have always dreamed about visiting it. The
opportunity has now come to see this wonderful site and its surrounding
tourist attractions! You only need to convince your family in order not to
miss it.
Student C: You are the daughter of the family. You have heard quite a lot about the
famous Sodere resort area. Some of your friends have been to the site
several times, and they always tease you for not being to the place even
once. Here comes your chance! You must advise your family strongly to
go to Sodere.
Student D: You are the son. You like big cities and towns. Convince the family to go
to Addis Ababa. Explain to them the various tourist destinations and most
interesting features of the city you have heard or read about.
First of all, as homework, you need to collect some useful information about the place
you are assigned to (e.g. about the Sof Omar Caves if you are Student A). Use your
information during your group discussion. Assume that no member of your group has
seen this place before.
Remember, the mother or the father cannot impose their interest on the others since each
member of the family has equal right and voice. So, each family member must defend
his/her interest, and it is only after a thorough discussion and argument that you come to
a consensus. You must discuss and make a decision! The father leads the discussion and
will report the family’s decision to the class.
2. Now report your decision, through your group leader (the father), to the class. Try to
explain how and why you have made this decision.
Task 19 – Proposing and Presenting a Site Development Plan
Work in groups. As homework, choose a place of natural beauty or natural resources in

Ethiopia that you think is not well developed as a tourist attraction site. Use the
information below to help you prepare a site development proposal or plan. Then present
your proposal to the class for five minutes.
Local people
(involvement,
benefits) Accommodations
(types &
availability)
Tourist Site
Environmental Development
protection Plan
(forests, culture
…) Infrastructure
(transport, water …)
Entertainment/Activit
y
(bars, sports, trips …)
Tips for your presentation
The following phrases and suggestions are useful when giving presentations.
 Introduce yourself and what you are going to talk about.

I’ m Abdu Hussein and I am a member of …
Today I’m going to talk about our proposal for developing …
First of all, I’d like to talk about how tourists get to …
Then I’ll talk about the location of … and its main attractions...
Finally, I’ll talk about accommodation …
 Present each point turn by turn mentioning its advantages and disadvantages.
The main advantage of this is that …. However, a disadvantage of this is that …
 If necessary, use visuals such as maps and charts to present your ideas.
This map/chart shows …
As you can see, there is/ are …
 Present your idea in a positive way.

This is an excellent opportunity for …
The benefits of this plan include …
 Summarize the main points and give your conclusion.

To summarize, we think that …
 Be prepared to answer questions about the proposal.

Does anyone have any question?
Would anyone like to ask a question?
That’s a good question. I think …
Advice Sheet for improving your speaking

The best way to improve your speaking skills is, of course, to speak in English as often as possible.
English teachers often suggest that there are a lot of opportunities to use spoken English. It is
important for you to make effective use of speaking practice opportunities. However, taking up these
opportunities requires certain ‘strategies’, which are worth trying and experimenting with.
1. Creating practice opportunities: strategies for speaking
The following activity will help you to consider all the possibilities/opportunities that exist around
you for practicing speaking English.
Follow these steps to complete the table below.

 In Column 1 list all the opportunities that you can think of for practicing speaking English.
These can be opportunities you have at present or opportunities that you might create in future.
Example: Speaking in English with a friend while having a walk.
Add up the number of opportunities listed.

 In Column 2 indicate whether you are taking advantage of the opportunities listed at the
moment. If yes, write 1. If no, write 0. Add up the points in this column.
 Finally in Column 3, multiply the number of opportunities (Column 1) by the number of points
(Column 2). Write down the result where it says ‘Grand Total’.
Column 1 Column 2 Column 3

List opportunities Now taking advantage? Multiply total Column 1 by total
Yes = 1, No = 0 Column 2

Total number of opportunities = Total points = Grand total =

Your results:
If you have 15 points or more – GREAT!

If you have 11-14 points – WELL DONE
If you have 7-10 points – OKAY
If you have 3-6 points – YOU’LL DO BETTER NEXT TIME
If you have 0-2 points – WHAT HAVE YOU BEEN DOING?!
2. Thinking about your results and taking action
If you are disappointed in your results on this activity, consider one of the following specific
actions (or better still, add to this list)
 Speak to your English instructor and to other course instructors IN ENGLISH!

Besides, find a friend who also wants to improve his or her English and have time
for tea or together - speaking English, of course.
 Speak in English with your classmates and dorm mates whenever you discuss
something or have conversations.
 If you live with an educated family, do not hesitate to speak English with them.
 Watch for notices of English activities on campus and join in whenever you can.
 Join an English drama group. Start out with a small part in a simple play if you feel
shy. You’ll be surprised how much fun acting can be!
 Find a friend or two and agree to speak English at certain regular times – e.g. after a
class together, at dinner every weekend, or walking in the campus or downtown after
dinner.
 Practice reading aloud - get someone to check your pronunciation and intonation, or
record yourself on tape and analyze your own speech.
 Try not to translate into and from your own language. This takes too much time and
will make you more hesitant.
 If you forget a word, do what native English speakers do all the time, and say things
that 'fill' the conversation. This is better than remaining completely silent. Try using
'um', or 'er', if you forget the word.
 It's important to build your confidence. If possible, use simple sentence structure that
you know is correct, so that you can concentrate on getting your message across.
 Try to experiment with the English you know. Apply words and phrases you know
to new situations. Native English speakers are more likely to correct you if you use
the wrong word than if you use the wrong grammar. Experimenting with vocabulary
is a really good way of getting feedback.
 Overall, practice where you can and when you can. Any practice is good - whether
you speak to someone who is a native English speaker or not.
PART SIX: WRITING
Overview
In this part, you are going to carry out two writing tasks intended to provide you with
practice on your writing skills. First, you will practice how to describe a table. The aim is
to help you practice summarizing information in visuals (tables, charts, graphs) and
reporting the main features. Next you will practice how to present an argument in writing.
You will first read a sample letter and study how you can organize and present your
argument in writing. You will then write a letter in favor or against a topic, introducing
and presenting your argument logically and coherently.
Task 20 – Describing a Table

Below the table is an incomplete report describing the information given in the table.
Complete it by inserting suitable information. For blank spaces labeled (i) ─ (iii), choose
the most appropriate sentence form the box that follows the paragraphs, and write the
sentence in the given space. For blanks numbered 1 ─ 10, use suitable information from
the chart and write it in the space given.
From:
Invision Power
Board © 2001-
2010
……………………………… (i)…………………………………………………………...
…………………………………………………………………………….. At a glance we
can see that the amount of free time varies considerably across the age groups and that
people spend more time pursuing different activities at different stages in their lives.
1 and old people watch the most TV, with the average teen spending 1200 hours on
this activity, and the average person over 70 spending 2 . These two numbers
are around double those for people of working age. ………………………………………
……………………………………… (ii)…………………………………………………..
Two activities decline as people age, namely, group exercise and socializing in large
groups. ……………………………………………………………………………………..
……………………………………… (iii)………………………………………………….
…………………………………………... A similar pattern can be seen in the latter –
time spent socializing in groups of more than 4 people – where teens and 20s spend the
most time, 3 , and people over 50 spend the least, 4 .
On the other hand, people in their 5 and 6 spend more time than
other age-groups exercising individually, at 200 hours per year; and people in their 30s
socialize in 7 more than younger or older people, which they do
for 300 hours a year.
a) The time spent in the former drops off significantly as people age, with teens
spending the most time, 450 hours a year, and people in their 60s and 70s spending
8 at all.
b) The table shows the number of hours people in different age groups in Someland
spend on different activities in their 9 .
c) Teens also spend more time than others at the 10 , which
accounts for 100 hours of their time in a year.
Task 21 – Writing an Argument for or Against a Motion

1. Many people in Ethiopia chew chat as an entertainment or pastime. Look at this
extract from an imaginary newspaper editorial, and read the letter to the editor.
‘CHAT IS NO different from beer or other alcoholic drinks in terms of its

health and other risks. And unlike alcoholic drinks, for certain conditions such
as reducing drunkenness and addiction to other drugs, chat has been proven
beneficial. In short, there is no real reason why chat shouldn’t be legalized.’
Legalize chat? We want to hear from YOU. Write a letter to the editor with
your opinions at: The Entertainer, PO Box 000, Adama, Ethiopia
Nati Tola
Adama University
PO Box 1888
The Editor Adama, Ethiopia
The Entertainer
PO Box 000
Adama, Ethiopia
Dear Editor
I am writing in response to your article on the legalization of ‘chat’. There has been
much debate about ‘chat’ in the papers recently, and I am very concerned about the
argument put forward in support of new, more liberal laws. I feel that legalization would
not only be the wrong decision to make, but a dangerous one.
One of the main arguments for legalization is related to health and to the claim that
‘chat’ chewing is beneficial to students. According to your article, ‘chat’ is no more
harmful than alcoholic drinks, and it is not a gateway to harder drugs and there is no
proof to support the argument that it is. You state that in some circumstances, such as
reducing drunkenness and addiction to other drugs, it can actually be beneficial. You
further state that ‘chat’ helps a student to stay awake when studying boring materials
and when listening to dull lessons. It is also claimed that ‘chat’ reduces the student’s
desire for food or drink which would distract him from his studies. Finally, the article
insists that it is a waste of time and money to try to control ‘chat’ while this money and
time
could be better spent on preventing ‘real’ drugs and heavy alcoholic drinks.
However, medical authorities have questioned whether any of these apparent

advantages are real and have argued that far from benefiting the user, ‘chat’
has a damaging effect on all who take it. Taking each of your arguments in
turn,first
firstofofall
allitithas
hasnotnotbeen
beenmedically
medicallyproven
provenwhether
whether‘chat’
‘chat’isismore
more ororless
lessofof
turn,
aahealth
healthriskriskthan
thanalcoholic
alcoholicdrinks.
drinks.Secondly,
Secondly,ititisisnot
nottrue
truethat
that‘chat’
‘chat’use
useisis
unrelated to other drugs. It is a well-known fact that many ‘chat’ chewers are also
unrelated to other drugs. It is a well-known fact that many ‘chat’ chewers are also
smokersofofcigarette
cigaretteoror‘sheesha’
‘sheesha’ororboth,
both,andandmany
manyhave
havethethehabit
habitofofgoing
goingoutoutfor
for
smokers
‘chabsi’ (a post-chewing drinking habit). Essentially all these drugs feed the same
‘chabsi’ (a post-chewing drinking habit). Essentially all these drugs feed the same
addiction.Thirdly,
Thirdly,I Iwouldwouldargue
arguethat
that‘chat’
‘chat’has
hasmuch
muchharm harmtotothe thehealth
healthandand
addiction.
mind of the student taker. For example, while it certainly reduces the student’s
mind of the student taker. For example, while it certainly reduces the student’s
appetite,this
appetite, thisleads
leadstotothe theappetite
appetitebeing
beingdestroyed
destroyedandandeventually
eventuallytotovarious
variousforms
forms
of malnutrition. ‘Chat’ does postpone fatigue, but the student studying, needs that
of malnutrition. ‘Chat’ does postpone fatigue, but the student studying, needs that
sleep if his mind is to work efficiently the next day. Furthermore, because the habit
sleep if his mind is to work efficiently the next day. Furthermore, because the habit
isishard
hardtotobreak
breakthe thestudent
studentchewer
chewerwillwilleventually
eventuallyfind
findhimself
himselfspending
spendingmanymany
hours just sitting around with fellow chewers, gossiping and wasting time when hehe
hours just sitting around with fellow chewers, gossiping and wasting time when
shouldbebestudying
studyingororininclass.
class.Finally,
Finally,controlling
controlling‘chat’
‘chat’isisnot
notaawaste
wasteofoftime
timeandand
should
money. Educating people and advising them not to buy and chew ‘chat’ ultimately
money. Educating people and advising them not to buy and chew ‘chat’ ultimately
savesmoney
moneyfor forthethehealth
healthand andother
othersocial
socialservices.
services.
saves
ToTo conclude,
conclude, there
there are
are many
many reasons
reasons why
why ‘chat’
‘chat’ should
should not
not bebe legalized.
legalized.
Legalizing a drug which is addictive and encourages the use of other drugs isisnot
Legalizing a drug which is addictive and encourages the use of other drugs not
onlyirresponsible
irresponsiblebut
butabsolutely
absolutelydangerous.
dangerous.
only
2. Now read a newspaper extract below and write a letter to the editor. The illustrations are
adapted from New Headway – Intermediate Student’s Book. Use the paragraph plan to help
you.
EVERY YEAR MILLIONS of people die worldwide from drinking-related illnesses and risks.
Despite awareness of health and many other risks, a large number of people are unable to control
their addiction. It’s high time we banned all advertisements of alcoholic drinks, extended no-
drinking policies to all public areas, and forced drinks companies to contribute to the healthcare
efforts and to the overall public welfare.
Do you agree with this editorial?

We would like to hear your view.
Write a letter to the editor at:
YOU ARE YOUR HEALTH
PO Box 000, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia
Paragraph 1: Introduction: State your reason for writing and your point of view.
Paragraph 2: Summarize the arguments you disagree with.
Paragraph 3: Discredit the arguments you disagree with and put forward the arguments you agree
with. Try to illustrate your arguments with examples.
Paragraph 4: Conclusion: Restate your opinion. Make sure you summarize the main ideas and give
a clear opinion in your conclusion.
Phrases and linking words for introducing your arguments
Sample phrases for introducing your arguments
Some people claim that…

It is claimed that…
It has been suggested that…
I would argue that…
I would like to argue that…
It could be argued that…
This is unacceptable because…
This does not address the issue of…
This contradicts…
This disregards the argument/issue/point that…
It is clear that…
It is obvious that…
Sample linking words/phrases
so that, in order to, because, due to, …

nevertheless, however, whereas, …
on the other hand, despite this, …
in of spite of this, therefore, thus, …
consequently, moreover, besides, furthermore, etc
END
OF
THE COURSE

Communicative English Textbook

Uploaded by

Document Information

Copyright

Available Formats

Share this document

Share or Embed Document

Sharing Options

Did you find this document useful?

Is this content inappropriate?

Copyright:

Available Formats

Communicative English Textbook

Uploaded by

Copyright:

Available Formats

INTRODUCTION

Course writers Girma Megersa (MA)

Editors Ephrem Tessema (MA)

Typesetting Begemidir Ketsela

Project facilitator SHNS, Adama University

© School of Humanities and Natural Sciences

COMMUNICATIVE ENGLISH SKILLS ADAMA UNIVERSITY

1. English is a working language of the university, and it is a language of instruction and

COMMUNICATIVE ENGLISH SKILLS ADAMA UNIVERSITY

The main objectives of the course are to:

Organization of the Course

COMMUNICATIVE ENGLISH SKILLS ADAMA UNIVERSITY

In a communicative English course such as this, "silence is not a sign of modesty". In

1. Continuous assessments (60%)

2. Final exam (40%)

DO NOT WRITE ANYTHING IN THIS MODULE! USE

COMMUNICATIVE ENGLISH SKILLS ADAMA UNIVERSITY

Dormitory Life vs. Family Life

COMMUNICATIVE ENGLISH SKILLS ADAMA UNIVERSITY

What You Need to Know About University Dorm Life

THEMES AND MATERIALS

On completion of this unit, you should be able to:

COMMUNICATIVE ENGLISH SKILLS ADAMA UNIVERSITY

 Introducing yourself and others

COMMUNICATIVE ENGLISH SKILLS ADAMA UNIVERSITY

PART ONE: SPEAKING

1. Getting to know Each Other

1. When do we introduce ourselves or others?

COMMUNICATIVE ENGLISH SKILLS ADAMA UNIVERSITY

COMMUNICATIVE ENGLISH SKILLS ADAMA UNIVERSITY

Useful expressions for self-introduction

When introducing yourself to another person, you can say:

Informally, you can introduce yourself by saying:

COMMUNICATIVE ENGLISH SKILLS ADAMA UNIVERSITY

Task 3 – Introducing Others

Dialogue1: Mulu: Gemeda, let me introduce you to Zenebe. He is my brother.

Dialogue 2: Ahmed: Awol, this is Maftuha. She is my classmate.

Dialogue 3: Charles: Sara, I would like you to meet my fiancée Jessica.

Dialogue 4: Almaz: Oh! Abebe, do you know Aster?

a) How many people are involved in each of the above dialogues?

COMMUNICATIVE ENGLISH SKILLS ADAMA UNIVERSITY

Useful expressions for introducing people

A: B (first name), this is C (name),

II. Complete the following dialogues with appropriate expressions.

A) Ann: Mr Jack, I’d like you to meet Dr. John.

B) Himanot : Excuse me, is this the library?

COMMUNICATIVE ENGLISH SKILLS ADAMA UNIVERSITY

C) Jim: Who is that man standing at the corner?

Task 4 – Mixed Practice

I. Match the responses from column B to the openings under column A.

a. Introduce your sister, Helen, to your classmate.

1: Yes. It is a large university. I feel confused.

COMMUNICATIVE ENGLISH SKILLS ADAMA UNIVERSITY

IV. Underline the correct word in each of the following sentences.

Task 6 – What Do You Think?

COMMUNICATIVE ENGLISH SKILLS ADAMA UNIVERSITY

a. Do you share the writer’s ideas? Why?

Task 7 – Discussion: Friendship Quotations

COMMUNICATIVE ENGLISH SKILLS ADAMA UNIVERSITY

Task 9 – Comparing and Contrasting School and University Studies

1. Following are combined characteristics of secondary school and tertiary level

COMMUNICATIVE ENGLISH SKILLS ADAMA UNIVERSITY

A. The timetable accounts for every hour of the school. (SSS)

No Secondary school study Tertiary level study