[BA 1st Sem Question Papers, Dibrugarh University, 2012, English, General]
UNIT – I
1. Read the passage given below carefully and answer the questions that follow:
One common mistake that many people have made is this: they have thought that it would be a very good thing if everybody had exactly the same amount of money, no matter whether they worked hard or lived quite idly. They forget that very few people would work at all it if were not for the money their work brings them, and that without work there would be no money. And they have imagined that if all the money in the country were equally divided, everybody would be rich. Now that is a very great mistake, because there simply is not enough money to make everybody rich. If it were shared equally all round, everyone then would, on the basis of the calculations made in 1935, receive only about Rs. 65 a year. Today with a rise in the price level it might be Rs. 150 a year. That may be more then you receive now or it may be less, but would certainly not make you really rich. There is one final mistake that I should like to warn you against. Don’t ever imagine that there is anything to be ashamed of, or anything undignified, to grumble about in having to work hard for your living. If when you start work you can go into a job that suits you, so that you can really enjoy the work itself, so much the better: I hope that is what will happen. But if the work is not exactly the kind that you would choose, you must try to remember that you are helping to produce the things that other people need; you are ‘doing your bit’ and playing your part in the work of the world. You are like a wheel, even if it is only a very tiny wheel, in the great world-machinery of trade and industry that is always busily at work providing for the wants of hundreds of millions of people,…………. .
Questions:
- What is the common mistake that many people have made? 2
- Why do most people work? 1
- Is it right that if all the money in the world were equally divided, everybody would be rich? 1
- How much would each person get if all the money were equally shared among all, according to 1935 statistics? 1
- What should you do if the work is not exactly the kind that you would choose? 2
- What would be the title of the passage? 2
- To what object is man compared in the great world-machinery of trade and industry? 1
2. Make a précis of the following in about a third of its original length and add a suitable title to it: 10
One great defect of our civilization is that it does not know what to do with its knowledge. Science, as we have seen, has given us powers fit for the Gods, yet we use them like small children. For example, we do not know how to manage our machines. Machines were made to be man’s servants; yet he has grown so dependent on them that they are in a fair way to become his masters. Already most men spend most of their lives looking after and waiting upon machines. And the machines are very stern masters. They must be fed with coal, and given petrol to drink, and oil to wash with, and must be kept at the right temperature. And if they do not get their meals when they expect them, they grow sulky and refuse to work, or burst with rage, and blow up, and spread ruin and destruction all round them. So we have to wait upon them very attentively and do all that we can to keep them in a good temper. Already we find it difficult either to work or play without the machines, and a time may come when they will rule us altogether, just as we rule the animals.
UNIT – II
3. (a) Write a letter to a friend, telling him/her how you spent your summer vacation. 10
Or
Write a letter to the Superintendent of Police (Traffic) of your city informing him/her of the frequent traffic jams in your locality, and requesting him/her to take some necessary measures.
(b) Write an application to the Principal of Junior College, applying for the post of a Teacher In English, along with your CV. 10
Or
Write a formal letter to the Director of the NEIST, Jorhat, and asking permission for a group of students to visit the institution, you being the student convener.
UNIT – III
4. Answer any two of the following questions: 5x2=10
- What are the basic features of good ‘note-making’? How is it different from ‘note-taking’? 4+1=5
- What is a ‘memo’? What are its uses? 2+3=5
- You being the Branch Manager of a bank, write a memo to your office staff, directing them to be regular and punctual in their attendance. 5
UNIT – IV
5. Answer any one of the following: 10
- What is ‘report writing’? What are the qualities of a good report? 2+8=10
- Write a report on the Fresher’s Social Celebration, 2012 held in your college. (Use X for the name of your college.) 10
- Prepare a report on the road accident that took place between a truck and a private car, in which two of the car passengers died on the spot. 10
6. Answer any one of the following: 10
- What are the characteristics of a good paragraph? What are the basic steps involved in developing a paragraph? 5+5=10
- Write a paragraph from the outline given below:
Name of your favourite festival – why you like it – when it is held – how it is celebrated – its social importance – conclusion.
- Write a paragraph on the following topic: ‘A Rainy Day’ 10
UNIT – V
7. Answer any two of the following: 5x2=10
- Here is a chart which gives a comparative statement of the educational developments and facilities of job and income in 5 major cities in India:
City
|
Education
|
Job and Income
|
Hyderabad
|
94.6%
|
87.8%
|
Chennai
|
87.6%
|
90.9%
|
Chandigarh
|
81.4%
|
100%
|
Cuttack
|
68.1%
|
76.3%
|
Bengaluru
|
90.5%
|
96.3%
|
Write a few sentences on the basis of the information given in the chart. 5
- Answer the questions that follow collecting information from the graph given below:
World Population in Billions
Diagram
Questions:
- When was the world population highest? 1
- When was the population least? 1
- During which period did the greatest rise in population take place? 1
- When was the difference least? 1
- In the population scale rising or falling? 1
- Look at the given pie chart. It tells us about the nature of disease causing death in men/women from 30 to 59 years, in 2005, in India. Write a few sentences on the basis of information you collect from the chart: Estimated deaths by cause, 30 – 59 year, India, 2005. 5
- Look at the photograph given below and write a paragraph on it: 5
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