CERTIFICATE PROGRAMME IN FUNCTIONAL ENGLISH (CFE)

ASSIGNMENT (BEG-005: ENGLISH IN EDUCATION)

Course Code: CFE/TMA/2020-21

Max. Marks: 100

All questions are compulsory.

1 Read the passage carefully and then answer the questions that follow:

Death of the Dinosaurs

65 million years ago, dinosaurs suddenly became extinct, together with a large number
of other species. But why did it happen?

Many scientists believe that the cause was a large asteroid crashing into the Earth.
According to this theory, the asteroid threw huge amounts of dust and water vapour
into the atmosphere, blocking out the light of the sun, the vegetation died off, and the
dinosaurs starved to death.

Evidence for the theory came in 1992 when scientists in Mexico uncovered an
underground crater 175 kilometers wide, which turned out to be exactly 65 million
years old. The crater was probably caused by an asteroid 10 km in diameter hitting the
Earth at thousands of miles an hour, with the force of 70 million one-megaton bombs.

According to David Raup of the University of Chicago, this was just one of many such
cases. He says that asteroids have caused more than half of species extinctions since
life on Earth began 600 million years ago. If he’s right, it seems likely that Homo
sapiens will end its days in the same way.

NASA to the Rescue

As we can’t predict when a really big asteroid will arrive, is there really any point in
worrying about it? NASA thinks there is. It estimates that there are between 1,000
and 4,000 asteroids at least 1 kilometre in diameter which regularly cross Earth’s orbit.
If such an asteroid hits the Earth once every 300,000 years, this gives the average
person roughly a one in 4,000 chance of being around when it happens. A small risk,
maybe, but much bigger than the risk of dying in an air crash, which is one in 20,000.

NASA aims to set up new telescopes and spend the next 25 years working out which
large asteroids are likely to arrive within the next century or two. The idea is that once
they’ve identified an asteroid heading straight for us, they can move it out of the way
by hitting it with powerful nuclear bombs.

1a Why did the dinosaurs starve to death? 2

1b What is the evidence given by scientists to support that an asteroid caused mass
extinction of plant and animal life? 2
1c What does the author say will be the fate of human beings? Why? 2
1d NASA thinks that we should be concerned about being hit by an asteroid. Why? 2
1e What technology do you think would be used to prevent an asteroid from hitting the
earth? 2

6
1f Make sentences of your own with the following words/phrases from the passage: 6
i. extent ii. species iii. crashing iv. blocking out
v. homo sapiens vi. estimates

1g Find opposites of the following words from the passage. 4

i. suddenly ii. huge iii. crashing iv. arrive

1h Nasa has found a large asteroid that will hit the earth in a month’s time. Would you be
confident that it would be intercepted? Are you concerned about the debris that might
fall on earth and its repercussions? Express your feelings and say how you will protect
yourself and your family. 5

2 Pick out the sentences where the subject does not agree with the verb and correct
them. 10

i Politics play an important part in our lives.

ii Neither she nor her sister are to blame.
iii Dombey and Son is an interesting novel by Dickens.
iv During difficult times the poor suffers more than the rich.
v Renu and her friends has decided to study through the night.
vi Nobody has any objections about the new rules.
vii Either the accused or his cronies have the diamonds.
viii The committee have unanimously voted for the resolution.
ix A lot of milk have been wasted in preparing the new recipe.
x All the books by the author have been sold.

3 Fill in the blanks with appropriate modals given below. You may use these modals
more than once. 10

shouldn’t might would

needn’t should could

i It’s surprising that the teacher only scolded Rina, she have been
punished more severely for doing what she did.
ii Why didn’t you tell me that you were eating at your friend’s house, I
have cooked so much food.
iii You are silly to go to the deep end of the swimming pool, you
have drowned.
iv I have got up so early in the morning.
v You have shouted at him, he is really upset.
vi I have reached the party on time, nobody arrived for a long
time.
vii Why didn’t you come by the Metro. It have been easy for me
to pick you from the station.
viii You have taken shelter under a tree, you have been struck by
lightening.
ix You have borrowed my book without asking me.
x you mind passing the salt, please?

7
4 Read the following passage and make notes based on it. Give a title to the passage.
15
In today’s competitive environment what is vital for a child’s growth is self-esteem.
Examining the causes of aggression, bullying, withdrawal and failure we discover lack
of self-esteem to be the root of anti-social behavior. As parents and teachers we are
responsible for the mental development and confidence levels of a child. If a child is
constantly rebuked and told that he’s a failure, his self-worth hits rock bottom.
Unthinkingly we call our children “stupid”, “idiotic” and “irresponsible” and this has a
significant impact on their tender psyches. If we have a positive view of our children,
they are likely to feel the same about themselves. Help children feel good about
themselves, and think highly of themselves. Children will value themselves if their
parents value them.

Parents are the most influential role models children have. Whatever values and beliefs
we want our children to learn, those are the beliefs and values we have to live our lives
by. When you understand and accept yourself, it helps you understand and accept
others. As a parent or a teacher, you have a great influence over the self-esteem of
your child. For the first four or five years, parents are the most important contributors.
When children start school, teachers and friends become important. Once they reach
adolescence, peer groups play a greater role in steering a child’s self-esteem.

As Thomas D. Yarnell, a Clinical Psychologist says: “Self-esteem refers to how you

feel about yourself. It includes such things as your self-confidence, self-respect, your
independence and your self-reliance. All the ways you feel about yourself and your
abilities are wrapped up in the term self-esteem.”

Self-esteem has to be nurtured during infancy. If the infant feels well taken care of s/he
will feel that the world is a loving place and s/he is an important being.

One must avoid expecting too much or too little from children, criticizing, (especially
in front of people) not showing appreciation, calling children clumsy, thoughtless,
stupid or lazy, telling them that they are failures, overprotecting or neglecting them.

To improve their self-esteem, we must praise successes, show affection, show interest
in their activities, projects, or problems, we must tell children what to do instead of
what not to do.

5 You have finished school and you are yet to decide the course(s) you want to study at
the University. Have a dialogue with a school teacher who is trying to help you arrive
at a decision. Write in about 200 words. 20

6 Write an essay of about 250 words on any one of the following topics
20
• Real purpose of education
• Role and significance of Hobbies
• Quality of life amidst Pollution