COMSATS Institute of Information Technology Lahore

Terminal Examination – Fall2020

Course Title: English Comprehension and Composition Course Code: HUM100 Credit
Course Programme
st
Semester: 1 Batch: FA20 Section: Date:
Time Allowed: 3 hours Maximum Marks: 50
Student’s Name: Reg. No.
Important Instructions / Guidelines:
• Attempt all questions on a new MS word file in typed form carrying your name and roll number as
file name, too.
• The solved paper should be uploaded on the portal as soon as it is done before the time is over. No
additional time will be given to the students.
• Copy paste/plagiarism and matching answers would result is zero score.

Question 1 (CLO1/A3/PLO10)

(A) Read and answers the questions below. [Marks: 5+5+5=15]

I have seen countless articles describing numerous ways in which mobile phones are as harmful, the
internet is a waste of time and social media is nothing but an addiction. I beg to differ. We are always
taught that we should be thankful for our blessings. Then why is it that so many people out there are
deprecating the biggest blessing of all: technology? Technology is an integral part of our lives, whether
it’s present in the form of the internet, mobile phones, computers or social media platforms. You cannot
deny it. Technology transports you to wherever you need to go anytime of the day, through the small
screen of a smartphone and the larger one of a television, we get to know what is happening around the
world. All of this only goes to show how dependent we are on technology. Yet, I am not here to rant
about how we are all slaves to our phones, addicted to social media and glued to the computer screen; or
how we are being poisoned by the advancement of technology, and reminisce about the good old days,
free from the influence of technology. Thanks to technology, communication has reached great heights.
You always remain in touch with those you know, with time or distance being of no concern. The news of
an event that took place on the other side of the globe can reach you in mere minutes. In the past, if I
needed to send a message to a friend who was in another country, I would have to write out a letter with
the utmost care, rush to the post office, and still have to wait weeks for a reply. But now, I could simply
write an email or a message and send it without moving from my seat, and receive a reply too, in the
matter of minutes, if not seconds! The internet has opened up the entire world to us. Anything you wish to
know or see is right there at your fingertips. There is no doubt that this generation is more well-informed
about the world than ever before. We are aware of the conditions and events taking place all over the
world, thanks to the internet. Many kids turn to the internet for help, when they cannot understand, or
need extra information about things they are studying at school. From the life of Henry VIII to the height
of the tallest mountain — all of these questions can be answered within a second thought. And it is thanks
to that, and only that, of which you speak so disparagingly — computers, phones, and internet, and yes,
even social media. In my opinion, it is what is making a smarter generation. No one can deny the
overriding practicality of technology. Not a fan of cell phones, for they are nothing but an addictive trap?
Well, the next time you are out sightseeing, bring an easel, five paintbrushes, a dozen tubes of paint and a
hundred sheets. Oh wait, this is too much of a burden, you aren’t much of a painter and you find this
wholly impractical. If yes, your concerns are legitimate. That, my friend, is why technology brought us
phones with camera, enabling us to capture hundreds of special memories and carry them in our pocket.
When you think about technology in today’s world, video games are quick to pop up. Video games have
an entire host of negative perceptions surrounding them. But behind those overbearing perceptions, video
games, in their essence, are not something terrible. Not all video games are bloody and violent. Video
games require skill, and players learn to be quick, develop good hand-eye coordination, critical thinking
and problem-solving skills. Some video games give unusual knowledge, like how Vikings lived and
different wood and stone types. And playing video games doesn’t necessarily make people violent — in
fact, it helps to let off steam after a bad day. I fail to see why the entire perception of technology is
discredited simply because a few kids spend too much time playing video games. Technology has made
our lives infinitely easier, in so many ways that it’s just impossible to dismiss it completely. You could
take, for instance, the discovery of fire. It is a very dangerous thing, capable of harming and destroying
everything in its path, if left to its own devices. Yet the control of fire was also the turning point in human
evolution — a source of warmth, protection, improvement in hunting and a method for cooking food.
Surely, people got burnt when they went too close to a flame, but that did not mean that it wasn’t a
valuable discovery. Nearly, 1.3 million die annually in road accidents. Does that make any of us stop
using our cars, which we do on a daily basis? Of course not! Yet when somebody hears of the rare
occurrence of a cell phone exploding, it starts off a perpetual complaint that “cell phones are going to be
the end of us all”. In fact, there is a 0.00000053 percent chance of this happening to you. You are more
likely to get food poisoning, but I don’t see you complaining about food. Every single thing comes with
its disadvantages, but that doesn’t overshadow the advantages. Technology is, in the end, only a tool, and
like every tool, from a hammer to a butter knife, it will do that what it is guided to do by the user. It is
only as lethal as the next hammer - used to build something awesome, or to destroy. You have to take the
good with the bad, and when it comes to technology, there’s a whole lot of good.

(Published in Dawn, Young World, June 9th, 2019)

i. The writer has defended the invention of technology by comparing it analogously with the
discovery of the fire. Develop an analogy of such kind to defend your view of the advantages of
technology. (5)
ii. The writer has mentioned some of the advantages of playing video games. Provide with
counterarguments that highlight the disadvantages of the same. (5)
iii. Explain how the writer defends the invention of cell phones. (5)

(B) From a critical précis of the above passage. [10 Marks]

• Précis Covers the Progression of the Argument /04
• Concise Description of Important Points /04
• Writing Mechanics (Grammar, Sentence Structure, etc.) /02
Total Score /10

Q.2. Write a report to your sports teacher/instructor about any sports event that you have attended
at intermediate/college level. Also throw light on the positive and negative aspects of that event.

[Marks:10]
Question 3: Form an argumentative essay on the given topic. Also write an outline of your essay:

“Child labour as a deprivation of childhood.” Do you agree or not? [Marks: 15 = 3+12]

______________________________________________________________________________
QUESTION:1 (A)
(i) For example; We can take drugs as example.
Bio-medical engineers manufacture them for
the treatment of various diseases. But misuse of
them and over dosage can cause drug addiction
which can be fatal. So, the main purpose of
drugs is to cure diseases but it depends on the
user how he/she uses it. Same is the case with
technology, it depends on how it’s guided by the
user.
(ii) Today, video-games are one of the biggest
reasons behind the failure of our young
generation. Playing video-games makes the
person lazy. It has negative impacts on health.
You just sit on a seat whole day playing games
and there is zero motion. Our body requires
exercise and walk for proper blood circulation.
Moreover, so much hours on screen are
injurious for eye-sight. We see kids of age 5-10
wearing glasses that is because of so much
screen time. Another disadvantage of being so
 lost while playing games that you get
disconnected from the surroundings and your
human-to-human connection becomes weak
which destroys your social life badly. So, we
should prefer physical sports on these video
games.
(iii) The writer has defended the invention of cell-
phones very smartly by giving strong arguments
and logical reasons for their support. Firstly, he
tells numerous advantages of technology and
cell-phones that how our lives have become
easier because of it, how communication has
become faster, learning new things has become
so convenient and capturing the moments with
camera. Then he tells how are video-games
useful and what benefits they have and then in
the end he compares invention of mobile phone
analogously with other inventions to prove his
point that it depends on the user how he guides
the invention to work.
 (B)
Precis

In this paragraph, the author has written about the

benefits of mobile phones and technology and
defended its invention with strong arguments and
analogical examples, a complete reply to the articles
disparaging the invention of mobile phones.
Firstly, he makes all of us count the bounties of
technology including internet, mobile phones, computers
or social media platforms. He describes how technology
is making our lives easier than ever before. It has made
communication thousand times faster, we can send,
receive messages and news from every corner of the
World. The internet has information about every single
thing and you can search them up within seconds that is
why today’s generation is well-informed than all the
previous generations. The mobile phone has made it
convenient to capture hundreds of memories without
even struggling. Video-games develop critical thinking,
problem solving skills and makes us quick and precise.
 Compared with other inventions, building
analogical relations we get to know that it depends how
it is guided by the user to work. You have to take the
good with the bad, and when it comes to technology,
there’s a whole lot of good.

QUESTION:2
REPORT
Event title: Sports event at college
Time: 10:00 am – 1:00 pm
Date& Day: 1st March,2019. Saturday
Venue: Main Ground, Forman Christian College, Lahore.
It was Saturday 1st of the March 2019. It was the biggest
day of the year. Today was our Annual Sports Day. The
Chief guest was the Rector of FC College University,
James Tebbe.
Each student was excited as this was the time to enjoy
the college life beyond the studies. Everyone of us had
selected sports for ourselves and practiced for a month
to be fit and perfect for this big day. I chose volley ball
for myself.
The big games like cricket, football, volleyball were set in
the main ground while basket ball in the basketball court
and rest in small two grounds. Students were divided
into four groups A, B, C, D. All the students started to
compete with each other and the battle of winning and
losing was set up.
In the cricket, team C won the tournament. It was my
friend Hassan’s team. He was the captain of the team. I
felt very happy for him. In volleyball our team A won by
just one score. The competition was very intense. The
score was 11-10.
Then comes one the most interesting sports Football. In
the middle of the final match it started raining so all the
students went inside and enjoyed indoor games including
table tennis, badminton, ludo and snooker. All of my
friends spectated table tennis match excitingly. After the
rain Team B won the football tournament.
The external guests were very much impressed by the
performances of athletes. They really appreciated their
competitive attitude. Athletes out shined in relay race,
high jump and marathon.
All of us tried our best to meet the expectations of our
sports instructors who made this event possible. At the
end of day winners were awarded medals and
certificates for their performances by Rector and external
guests. It’s still the most memorable day of my life and
whenever i think of this day I feel so nostalgic.
Positive aspects of this event were; it created healthy
competitive atmosphere, good for health, extra-
curricular activity. There was only one negative aspect of
this event that students had to leave classes for their
practices. It caused some problems but I covered them in
a week.

QUESTION:3
 “Child labor as a deprivation of childhood”
Any sort of work that grabs away the potential, self-
respect and most importantly childhood is known as
child-labor. It is one of the biggest crime that is not
addressed usually. Child labor takes away the charm of
childhood, innocence, health and golden memories of
early life. Child labor really is a cause of deprivation of
childhood.
It takes away the charm of childhood. Children
are not allowed to do what they are supposed to at this
age. Child Labor involves engaging children to produce
goods or services for financial gain. It denies their right to
attend regular school and enjoy a happy childhood. It rips
their capacity in the bud to have a good future. It affects
the overall development of their physical and mental
faculties. When children are involved in full or part time
work they can not enjoy their lives like they can’t make
friends of their own age, they can’t play, they cannot try
to pursue their hobbies. They have to work day and night
for earning and financing their families.
Another cause of deprivation of childhood is that
child labor takes away their innocence. Every time they
are in the company of people who are younger than
them. They treat them in a very inhumane manner. They
don’t give respect to these children. They beat them,
scold them, curse them and disappointingly curse them.
All these things take away the innocence from them. A
famous proverb says “A man is known by the company
he keeps.” There is no fault by children but it is
responsibility of their elder ones and parents to provide
them with a good company. Being in this company they
make friends who don’t have any moral values so they
also become like them loosing their innocence.
Child labor also causes damage to their health
and body. It is unfair to a child to ask him to lift heavy
weights, work tirelessly the whole day and also give night
duty without sleeping properly. With time when their
routine is shattered their health starts decaying. They get
lean with time, their physical as well as mental health
gets damaged, their bones and muscles become weak
due to lifting heavy weights and over work and their
postures are destroyed.
All of us are blessed to have beautiful childhoods
and golden memories but these children have just dark
memories associated with their childhood and have
nothing to be happy about their childhood when they
grow up. All these things result in severe deprivation of
childhood and as a result they don’t become good
human beings for society either they become criminals or
drug addicts or else they take their lives by suiciding.
To end the child labor we as a society should get
up and raise our voices for these innocent children who
are forced to do work for their families. We should
demand government justice for these child laborers to
make a law in which every person who promotes child
labor should be given life imprisonment. Childhood is a
blessing and all the children should be given right to live
and enjoy it to the fullest, get education and become a
better human and to something big for the country.