Edify II, the General English Textbook for II Semester B.B.A.

and all
Courses under the Faculty of Management is prepared by the Members of
the Bengaluru City University (BCU) Textbook Committee.

Copyrights: Bengaluru City University (BCU)

First Edition: 2025

1
 Foreword
In an era defined by the need for seamless communication and analytical skills,
this textbook, Edify II, for II Semester BBA students is designed to bridge the gap
between language learning and its practical application. Combining literature
with functional language components, it aims to nurture linguistic proficiency and
cultural and ethical understanding. This edition of the textbook delves into
universal themes that reflect profound human experiences. Alongside these
literary treasures, structured lessons in reading comprehension, vocabulary,
grammar, and writing provide essential tools for mastering communication skills.

This resource aspires to spark curiosity, build confidence, and foster an

appreciation for the transformative power of words. May this journey be one of
growth, discovery, and empowerment.

I applaud the efforts of the textbook committee in designing this textbook, which
incorporates exceptional literary selections and practical language-learning
topics.

Prof. Lingaraja Gandhi

Vice-Chancellor
Bengaluru City University
Bengaluru-560001

2
 Preface
Edify II is thoughtfully organised into two sections: Literature and Language.
Each section is interconnected, offering students a holistic approach to mastering
English while nurturing creativity, empathy, and analytical thinking.

The literary selections in this book serve as a window into diverse human
emotions, cultures, and values. These works encourage students to engage with
critical questions about human behaviour, ethics, and societal dynamics while
honing their analytical skills. The language component is tailored to develop core
linguistic competencies.

This focus aligns with the textbook’s overarching goal: to create informed,
thoughtful, and responsible individuals. This textbook is a guide to learning
English as a medium to explore and understand the world better. May it serve as
a stepping stone towards academic excellence and personal growth.

I congratulate the textbook committee members on preparing this textbook, which

features good literary selections and relevant language-learning topics.

Dr. Thandava Gowda T N

BOS Chairperson
Chairman, Department of Research and Studies in English
Bengaluru City University
Bengaluru-560001

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 MEMBERS OF THE BOARD OF STUDIES-ENGLISH (UG) (BCU)

Dr. Thandava Gowda T N Dr. Kavita Shastri

BOS Chairperson Associate Professor and Head
Chairman, Department of Research Department of English
and Studies in English Vijaya College, Jayanagar
Bengaluru City University Bengaluru-560011
Bengaluru-560001
Dr. P. Sartaj Khan Mrs. Leena Karanth
Associate Professor and Head Associate Professor and Head
Department of English Department of English
Al-Ameen Arts, Science and Bishop Cotton Women’s College
Commerce College Bengaluru-560027
Bengaluru-560027
Prof. Dr. R. V. Sheela Mrs. Ayesha Firdouse
Professor and Head Associate Professor
Department of English Department of English
MES College of Arts, Science and Vijaya College, Jayanagar
Commerce Bengaluru-560011
Malleswaram
Bengaluru-560003
Dr. Anita Rao Dr. Padmavathy K.
Associate Professor and Head Professor and Head
Department of English Department of English
GFGC, Channapatna Sindhi College
Ramanagara District Bengaluru-560024
Dr. Prasanna Udipikar Dr. Narasimharaju K.
Associate Professor and Head Associate Professor and Head
Department of English Department of English
V.V.N. Degree College Govt. R.C. College of Commerce and
Bengaluru-560004 Management
Bengaluru-560001

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 MEMBERS OF THE TEXTBOOK COMMITTEE
Dr. Manjula Veerappa Ms. Prabha T V
Chairperson Associate Professor and Head
Associate Professor Department of English
Department of English C.B. Bhandari Jain College
Vijaya College, Jayanagar Bangalore -560004.
Bangalore- 560011.

Dr. Prasanna Udipikar Mr. Shashidhar S

BOS Member Assistant Professor and Head
Associate Professor and Head Department of English
Department of English Acharya Institute of Graduate
V.V.N Degree College Studies, Soladevanahalli
Bengaluru-560004. Bangalore- 560107.

Ms. Kavitha Venugopal Ms. Yashodara Kuldeep

Associate Professor and Head Assistant Professor
Department of English Department of English
Sri Krishna Degree College Vijaya College, Jayanagar
Bengaluru-560085. Bangalore- 560011.

Mr. Dhareppa Konnur Ms. Elsy Leeba

Associate Professor and Head Assistant Professor
Department of English Department of English
Seshadripuram Evening College Indian Institute of Psychology and
Bengaluru-560020. Research
Bangalore-560095.

5
 Note to the Facilitator
Course Title -- L2 - GENERAL ENGLISH

Teaching Hours: 4 hours per week Course Credits: 3

Formative Assessment Marks: 20 Internal Assessment
Summative Assessment Marks: 80 Duration of Exam: 3 hours

Objectives:

 To cultivate an appreciation for various literary genres, including poetry, prose, and
short stories, while nurturing critical thinking and interpretative abilities.
 To inspire readers to explore universal themes such as perseverance, equality, love, and
societal values within the prescribed texts.
 To enhance comprehension skills through targeted reading activities and expand
vocabulary for effective communication.
 To build a solid understanding of grammar concepts like concord and reported speech,
enabling accurate and fluent use of English.
 To encourage analytical thinking and organized expression through interpretation and
paragraph writing exercises.

Outcomes:

 Learners will gain the ability to analyze literary texts critically, recognizing key themes,
messages, and stylistic elements.
 A greater understanding of social issues such as gender equality will broaden students'
perspectives on cultural and societal matters.
 Students will achieve improved reading comprehension and vocabulary, equipping
them to express ideas clearly and confidently in English.
 Mastery of grammar elements like concord and reported speech will empower learners
to construct grammatically correct sentences in both spoken and written
communication.
 By engaging with the textbook’s content, learners will strengthen their communication
skills, essential for academic, personal, and professional success.

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 English language serves as a bridge connecting individuals, communities, and nations
in today's interconnected world. This textbook has been thoughtfully designed to cater to the
diverse needs of students, equipping them with the tools to excel in communication, critical
thinking, and literary appreciation. The content encompasses a carefully curated selection of
literary texts, language skills, and practical applications to ensure a holistic learning experience.
The literary component introduces students to timeless and contemporary works such
as Next Please, Nine Gold Medals, The Broker, The Luncheon, Service of Love, and Mumbai’s
Models. These texts provide a spectrum of themes, ranging from human aspirations and
achievements to societal norms and relationships. Each work has been selected for its literary
merit and ability to spark meaningful discussions and introspection among students.
Aligned with the literary exploration is the focus on contemporary issues like Gender
Equality. This topic fosters awareness and critical engagement with one of the most pressing
challenges of our time, enabling students to develop a nuanced understanding of equality and
inclusion.
The language skills section is tailored to build a strong foundation in English
proficiency. Components such as Reading Comprehension, Vocabulary, Concord, Reported
Speech, Interpretation Skills, and Paragraph Writing are incorporated to enhance students’
abilities to comprehend, analyse, and articulate effectively. These skills are vital for academic
success and personal and professional growth in a globalised environment.
This textbook is designed to be interactive and student-centered. Each chapter includes
exercises, discussion prompts, and practical activities to encourage active participation and
deeper engagement with the material. We hope this textbook will inspire students to appreciate
the richness of the English language and literature, empower them with essential
communication skills, and prepare them to navigate the complexities of the modern world with
confidence and empathy.
The Committee extends its heartfelt gratitude to Dr Thandava Gowda T. N.,
Chairperson (UG/PG), Bengaluru City University, for his unwavering support and valuable
contributions to the development of this book. The Committee also sincerely thanks Prof.
Lingaraja Gandhi, the esteemed Vice-Chancellor of BCU, for his insightful guidance and
suggestions.

Dr. Manjula Veerappa

Chairperson Textbook Committee

7
 CONTENTS

LITERARY COMPONENTS

Poems Next Please: Philip Larken 9

Nine Gold Medals: David Roth 15
Short Stories The Broker: Ram Swaroop Kisan 21
The Luncheon: William Somerset Maugham 28
A Service of Love: O’Henry 35
Article Mumbai’s Models of Excellence: Stefan 48
and Thomke
Speech Gender Equality is Your Issue Too: Emma 62
Watson

LANGUAGE COMPONENTS

1 Reading Comprehension 71
2 Vocabulary 82
3 Concord 93
4 Reported Speech 99
5 Data Interpretation Skills 110
6 Paragraph Writing 123
Question Paper Pattern 130
Model Question Paper 131

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 NEXT, PLEASE
Philip Larkin
Pre-Reading:
 What do you think the poem ‘Next, Please’ will be about based on the
title?
 Does the phrase "Next, Please" remind you of any real-life situations
(e.g., waiting in a queue, expecting something new)?
 Why do people often look forward to the future instead of enjoying the
present?
 What does the phrase "good things come to those who wait" mean to
you?
 Do you think focusing too much on the future can cause disappointment?

About the Poet:

Philip Larkin (1922–1985) was an English poet, librarian, and novelist widely
regarded as one of the most important and influential British writers of the 20th
century. Known for his stark, sometimes bleak verse, Larkin's work explores
themes of mortality, love, loneliness, and the complexities of modern life. His
poetry is marked by a precise, unadorned style, often combining colloquial
language with a formal structure. Larkin’s most famous collections include The

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Less Deceived (1955), The Whitsun Weddings (1964), and High Windows (1974).
His poetry tends to focus on ordinary people and experiences, often revealing the
dissatisfaction and existential angst of modern life.

In addition to his poetry, Larkin worked as a librarian at the University of Hull

for most of his career, a job that allowed him to remain relatively isolated from
the literary establishment. While his reputation as a poet grew over time, his
personal life was often controversial, with his views on race, gender, and
sexuality stirring debate. Larkin’s poetry remains deeply admired for its
emotional resonance and clarity, capturing the essence of human experience in a
rapidly changing world.

**********
Always too eager for the future, we
Pick up bad habits of expectancy.
Something is always approaching; every day
Till then we say,

Watching from a bluff the tiny, clear

Sparkling armada of promises draw near.
How slow they are! And how much time they waste,
Refusing to make haste!

Yet still they leave us holding wretched stalks

Of disappointment, for, though nothing balks
Each big approach, leaning with brasswork prinked,
Each rope distinct,

Flagged, and the figurehead wit golden tits

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Arching our way, it never anchors; it's
No sooner present than it turns to past.
Right to the last

We think each one will heave to and unload

All good into our lives, all we are owed
For waiting so devoutly and so long.
But we are wrong:

Only one ship is seeking us, a black-

Sailed unfamiliar, towing at her back
A huge and birdless silence. In her wake
No waters breed or break.

Glossary:
Expectancy: Hopeful anticipation for something to happen.
Armada: A fleet of ships; here, a metaphor for promises.
Haste: Quickness; a lack of urgency in the approaching promises.
Balks: Stops or refuses to proceed.
Prinked: Embellished or decorated.
Flagged: Signalled or marked with a flag.
Figurehead: A symbolic or decorative leader; here, a false promise.
Heave to: To stop a ship; a metaphor for fulfilment that never comes.
Devoutly: With sincere or earnest commitment.
Birdless: Empty or barren, suggesting a lack of substance.
About the Poem:
Philip Larkin’s poem Next, Please, from his 1955 collection The Less
Deceived, uses an extended metaphor to critique humanity's tendency to nurture
unrealistic hopes and dreams. The poem compares the future to a fleet of dazzling
11
ships that never dock, symbolising the unfulfilled promises and expectations
people place in life. Ultimately, the poem underscores life's one certainty—
death—and cautions against relying on an imagined afterlife.
The ocean scene with ships and a high bluff serves as a metaphorical
backdrop rather than a literal setting. The poem emphasises the human habit of
prioritising future fantasies over the present moment, critiquing this “bad habit of
expectancy.” Through a bluntly pessimistic tone, Larkin invites readers to
confront their tendency to overlook the present in favour of unattainable dreams.
Time plays a central role as the poem illustrates the fleeting nature of life and the
futility of waiting for a perfect future. The analysis reveals the poem's existential
undertone, reminding readers of the inevitability of mortality and the importance
of living in the here and now.

I Answer the following questions in a phrase/ sentence:

1. The central metaphor used in the poem is __________.

2. The tone of the poem “Next, Please” is __________.
3. What is the fate of the ships described in the poem?
4. What does the “sparkling armada of promises” symbolise in the poem?
5. What does the phrase “Each rope distinct” most likely suggest?
a) The promise of success
b) The clarity of false expectations
c) The finality of death
d) The arrival of hope
6. What does the “black-sailed ship” represent in the poem?
a) A sense of loss and death
b) A new opportunity for happiness
c) The fulfilment of desires
d) A fleeting chance for joy

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 7. What does Larkin suggest about human expectations through the poem?
a) They are often realised
b) They lead to eternal satisfaction
c) They are often unfulfilled
d) They should be embraced without hesitation

II. Answer the following questions in about a page:

1. How does Philip Larkin use the metaphor of the ships to comment on
human expectations and desires in the poem "Next, Please"?
2. Discuss the significance of time in the poem "Next, Please".
3. How does Larkin address human tendencies to look forward to the future
rather than appreciating the present?
4. Analyze the meaning of the phrase "Only one ship is seeking us" in the
context of the poem.
5. What role does the setting of the poem play in conveying the poet’s
message?

III. Answer the following questions in about two pages:

1. In what ways does "Next, Please" reflect Philip Larkin’s broader poetic
concerns, such as the search for meaning, the inevitability of
disappointment, and the inevitability of death?
2. The poem is deeply pessimistic, focusing on the futility of human
expectation and hope. How does this reflect Larkin’s views on modern
life and existential anxiety?
3. In "Next, Please," Larkin critiques the human obsession with future
promises. Discuss.

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Suggested Reading/Viewing:
 “Aubade”-Philip Larkin
 “The Whitsun Weddings” - Philip Larkin
 “Church Going” - Philip Larkin
 "The Curious Case of Benjamin Button" (2008)
 "Inception" (2010)
 "Forrest Gump" (1994)

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 NINE GOLD MEDALS
David Roth
Pre-Reading:
 What do you think makes a true champion—winning or helping others?
 Have you ever witnessed or heard of an act of sportsmanship in real life?
How did it make you feel?
 Do you think competition should always be about winning, or should
teamwork and support be valued more?
 Have you ever participated in a sports event? How did it feel?
 What emotions do you think athletes experience when they fall behind in
a race?
 Can you think of times when helping others was more important than
winning?
About the Poet:

David Roth (born 1977/78) is an American journalist, essayist, podcast host, and
editor known for his work on sports, politics, and culture. He has contributed to
publications like Deadspin, The New Republic, SB Nation, and New York
Magazine. Roth was a senior editor for Deadspin until his resignation on October
31, 2019, over dissatisfaction with new management and the restriction to “stick
to sports” despite his popular political commentary.

15
Raised in Ridgewood, New Jersey, Roth became a lifelong fan of the New York
Mets. He attended Pomona College from 1996 to 2000, writing for the school
newspaper. Roth’s career began with editing content for Topps trading cards and
co-authoring The Wall Street Journal’s “Daily Fix” blog. He later joined SB
Nation in 2013 and Deadspin in 2017. At Deadspin, Roth also hosted Let’s
Remember Some Guys, a show centred on sports trading cards. Roth's essay
“Downward Spiral” was included in The Best American Sports Writing 2018.
After resigning from Deadspin, he continued freelance writing and editorials,
including commentary on Donald Trump. Roth also co-founded Defector Media
in 2020, following the staff's departure from Deadspin. He maintains a prominent
Twitter presence.

**********

The athletes had come from all over the country

To run for the gold, for the silver and bronze
Many weeks and months of training
All coming down to these games.

The spectators gathered around the old field

To cheer on all the young women and men
The final event of the day was approaching
Excitement grew high to begin.

The blocks were all lined up for those who would use them
The hundred-yard dash and the race to be run
These were nine resolved athletes in back of the starting line
Poised for the sound of the gun.

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The signal was given, the pistol exploded
And so did the runners all charging ahead
But the smallest among them, he stumbled and staggered
And fell to the asphalt instead.

He gave out a cry in frustration and anguish

His dreams and his efforts all dashed in the dirt
But as sure as I'm standing here telling this story
The same goes for what next occurred.

The eight other runners pulled up on their heels

The ones who had trained for so long to compete
One by one they all turned around and went back to help him
And brought the young boy to his feet.

Then all the nine runners joined hands and continued

The hundred-yard dash now reduced to a walk
And a banner above that said (Special Olympics)
Could not have been more on the mark.

That's how the race ended, with nine gold medals

They came to the finish line holding hands still
And a standing ovation and nine beaming faces
Said more than these words ever will.

Glossary:
Spectators: People who watch an event but do not participate in it.
Blocks: Starting blocks used by runners in a race to push off from at the start.
Resolved: Determined to do something.
17
Poised: Ready or prepared to act.
Pistol: A starting pistol used to signal the beginning of a race.
Stumbled: To trip or lose balance while running.
Staggered: To walk or move unsteadily.
Asphalt: A type of dark tarred surface used for roads.
Anguish: Extreme pain or distress.
Dashed: To destroy or ruin something.

About the Poem:

David Roth’s poem Nine Gold Medals highlights the values of empathy,
cooperation, and selflessness in the context of a sports event. It recounts a race
where nine athletes compete for medals after months of rigorous training.
However, when one runner stumbles and falls, the other eight athletes pause their
pursuit of victory to help him. Together, they walk hand-in-hand to the finish line,
transforming the race into a celebration of compassion rather than competition.
Their collective act of kindness earns them metaphorical "gold medals" and a
standing ovation, embodying the spirit of inclusion and humanity symbolized by
the Special Olympics.

I. Answer the following questions in one sentence:

1. What caused the nine athletes to stop running during the race?
2. What was the significance of the banner above the athletes as they
crossed the finish line?
3. What did the standing ovation symbolise in the poem?
4. What is the main theme of the poem Nine Gold Medals?

a) The importance of winning medals

b) The values of cooperation and empathy
c) The power of competition
d) The excitement of sports

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 5. What does the phrase “Special Olympics" in the poem refer to?

a) A competitive race
b) An event for athletes with special needs
c) A sports competition for only the fastest runners
d) A race for gold medals

6. What is implied by the "nine gold medals" in the poem?

a) A literal prize for winning the race

b) The value of sportsmanship and human kindness
c) The first-place prize
d) A symbol of victory over others

7. How did the other athletes react when one runner stumbled?

a) They continued running

b) They helped the runner get back up
c) They laughed at the runner
d) They ignored the fall and kept going

8. What emotion does the poet evoke when describing the runners’ actions?

a) Competition
b) Empathy and kindness
c) Anger
d) Frustration

II. Answer the following questions in about a page:

1. How does the poet describe the race's ending?

2. How does the poet present the importance of human values over
competition in the poem?
3. Discuss the significance of the actions of the other athletes when one
runner falls. What do their actions tell us about the spirit of the poem?
4. How does the title Nine Gold Medals reflect the poem's central message?

19
III. Answer the following questions in about two pages:

1. Explore the poem’s theme of empathy in greater detail. How does the
poet use the events of the race to convey this message?
2. Discuss the difference between sports as a competitive event and as an act
of cooperation and kindness, as seen in the poem.
3. How does the poem challenge traditional ideas of winning and success?

Suggested Reading/Viewing:
 “The Best Day of the Year” –Roth
 “The Baseball Poem” – Roth
 “Downward Spiral” – Roth
 “Chariots of Fire" (1981)
 "Rudy" (1993)
 "The Blind Side" (2009)
 "Chak De! India" (2007)
 "Lagaan" (2001)
 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dCVlRFWOjgE

20
 THE BROKER
RAM SWAROOP KISAN
Pre Reading:
 Have you ever come across middlemen or brokers in real life? What role
do they play in different professions?
 Do you think brokers help people, or do they take advantage of them?
Why?
 Why do people in vulnerable positions often rely on brokers?
 Can you think of industries where brokers control access to jobs, services,
or resources? (Examples: real estate, education, labour recruitment)

About the Author:

Ram Swaroop Kisan writes in Rajasthani and Hindi. His poems have been
translated into Hindi and other languages. His poems and stories in Hindi are
“Gaon ki Gali-Gali” and “Bapu and Other Stories”, respectively. Many of his
works have been aired on Akashvaani and Doordarshan. Ram Swaroop Kisan's
stories deeply resonate with readers by illuminating the struggles of the
underprivileged. His works inspire social awareness and provoke introspection,
establishing him as a significant voice in contemporary Indian literature.
He received the Choudhary Ranbir Singh Memorial Award in 1997. In 2019, he
was conferred with the Sahitya Academy Award for his Rajasthani work “Baarik
Bath”.

**********
I am a well- known broker in the cattle business. A load of lies on my head and
nectar on my tongue. I assist cattle traders in their deals, and as a result, those of
this area have a lot of regard for me. As soon as people spot me, they take me to
the tea shop and say, “Dhabewala, make tea for two.” Seeing me the owner of the

21
tea shop eagerly asks, “What’s on these days, Tansukh?” to show that he knows
me well. It’s a different matter that sometimes I am unable to place that man.

I keep moving from one cattle fair to another. What else does a cattle broker do?
Fairs are held somewhere or the other all the year round and they are the source
of my income. I have already told you, I tell a lot of lies. It quite suits my lips. I
can get the most useless cattle sold in broad daylight, or keep even a gem of an
animal tethered to its stake. It takes me no time to turn a pearl to a pebble or the
other way round. I know such tricks that the buyer mistakes the iron lying in front
of him to be gold. It’s not that I fool the buyer; I hoodwink the seller too. I cast
such a spell that the animal is unable to move from the tether. Some owners sit
through fairs, rubbing their eyes and yarning. To them I make buyers as scarce as
the new moon. My account can make the owner of a sterling she-calf, reared with
his own hands, feel that this animal is full of defects. He finds himself saying,
“How do you find such things, Tansukh? Is the wretched one worth anything at
all? I’ll reduce the price if you say so...” What I mean is that I do know how to
manipulate people. After all I am Tansukh, the broker.

I know well that mine is not a good job. All day one has to cheat the innocent. I
do realize that a lie is the lowest form of sin but I have to resort to it for the sake
of my livelihood. There is no other way I can earn my living. Neither land nor
property do I have. So, what else can I do? All I understand is “Commission”. I
know that the word “broker” evokes contempt, that a broker gets no respect in
society. But I’m helpless. And, I was not boasting of my cleverness earlier,
merely describing how skilled I am in my brutality.

This incident took place one summer evening. I had just returned home and was
lying on a charpai beside the entrance, to my house. I couldn’t get a wink of sleep
as some sparrows were creating a racket above my head. Just then I noticed
22
thatthe plaster on the ceiling had worn out and the peelings, flapping loosely,
seemedto be vying with one another to suddenly descend on me.

The decayed thatch of the roof was a reminder of approaching old age. The holes
made by the birds all over the ceiling spoke of the emptiness of my life. My mind
turned to taking account of how much I had lied and sinned, how many sick cattle
I had got sold in exchange for hard-earned money, and how many good ones for
next to nothing. How many, many sins had I committed for the sake of this
stomach which, ever after all that, was empty!

I was still thinking of the past when I was abruptly pulled back into the present
by a visitor. “Ram-ram, saa!” “Ram-ram, bhai!” I said. “You are Tansukh, aren’t
you?” “Yes”. “I need to buy a buffalo.” He said as he sat on the charpai, near my
feet. He was old – sixty or so. That he was a broken man was evident from his
face. It immediately struck me that here was a wonderful opportunity to wash off
my sins. I could do that by getting a good animal for this needy, troubled person.

He drank some water. “Did you hear what I said? “He began again. “Yes, I did.
Have you seen one that you want?” “Yes. If only you could get it settled...”
“Where is it?” “Actually, it’s just here. There is this Kashi Regar who lives in
your neighborhood.”
On hearing the name of Kashi, a poverty stricken house and an innocent face
flashed before my eyes. I saw his wife languishing with cancer, her infant children
staring into her face. Kashi had wanted to sell his buffalo to pay for his wife’s
medical care. He had often said to me, “Tansukh, get my animal sold, friend! My
wife’s treatment depends solely on this. The doctors have advised surgery and I
don’t have a single paisa with me. You are a broker. Just get this little bit done
for me! You can even take your commission, friend.”

23
Even that wasn’t too bad. But the name brought yet another picture to my mind,
that of Kashi’s sick buffalo. She had had four miscarriages. The Vet had treated
her, but he had warned that another miscarriage would surely kill her.

I was greatly distressed. I could not say a word, but just kept brooding. After a
long while the old man broke the silence. “So, what are you thinking? Have you
decided to overlook my request? “No. I haven’t. Did you say Kashi’s buffalo?”
“Yes. What makes you look so worried? Is there a defect in the animal? Don’t
get me into trouble. I’m a poor man. I need it for my son.” “For your son?” “Yes,
my son is sick. He was in hospital for two long years and was discharged just
yesterday. The doctor says that he should drink milk. So I thought I should buy a
buffalo. It would be a source of income for the family as well as nourishment for
the boy.” “Oh!” “Yes. Tansukh, please see that I am not ruined.
Don’t add to my woes.” I heaved a sigh and sat motionless.

The sky seemed to be whirling around me. My heart shuddered. Never had I been
trapped like this in my twenty long years as a broker. With a single stroke the old
man had invoked the punishment for my sins. There stood before me two hungry
figures with their arms stretched out, two diseased bodies breathing their last.

Who shall I not save? Who should I cheat, Kashi or the old man? There questions
stared at me, taunted me. What should I say to the old man – Yes or No? A Yes
would mean the murder of the old man while a No would mean the end of Kashi.
“Tansukhji, shall we go to Kashi’s house?” The old man said again. “I am not a
broker, you old man!” I heard myself shriek. “
Do whatever pleases you.”

I saw the old man rise with the support of his stick and hobble out on trembling
feet.
24
I sat alone on my charpai. Finally, I lay down again and looked at the roof as I
had done earlier. The sparrows were quarrelling, as always.
(Original title: “Dalal” Translated from Rajasthani by Shyam Mathur)

Glossary

Tethered: Rope or chain used to tie, especially an animal, to a post or other fixed
place, usually so that it can move freely within a small area.
Stake: A strong wooden or metal post with a point at one end, driven into the
ground to support a plant, form part of a fence, mark a boundary, etc.
Manipulate: Control or influence (a person or situation) cleverly or
unscrupulously.
Contempt: The feeling that a person or a thing is worthless or beneath
consideration
Languish: Lose or lack vitality; grow weak.; be forced to remain in
an unpleasant place or situation.
Charpai: Charpai in Hindi refers in English to a bedstead, bed, cot
Shriek: Utter a high-pitched piercing sound or words, especially as an expression
of terror, pain, or excitement.

About the Story

“The Broker” explores the moral dilemmas of Tansukh, a seasoned cattle broker
who thrives on deception to make a living. He proudly describes his ability to
manipulate buyers and sellers, convincing them of false realities to serve his own
interests. However, a chance encounter with an old man in need of a healthy
buffalo for his ailing son forces Tansukh to confront his conscience. The story
poignantly examines themes of morality, economic desperation, and the struggles
of the poor, leaving the reader with a deep sense of reflection on the consequences
of dishonesty and human suffering.

25
1. Answer the following questions in one or two sentences each:
1. Who was Tansukh?
2. Why did the people in his village highly regard Tansukh?
3. Tansukh was very good at ______.
4. Why couldn’t Tansukh get a wink of sleep?
5. Mention at least two reasons as to why the old man wanted to buy a buffalo.
6. Why was Kashi desperate to sell his buffalo?
7. Who were the two hungry figures stretching their hands towards Tansukh?
8. Tansukh wanted to save both Kashi Regar’s wife and the old man’s son.
(True/False)
9. What is the symbolism of sparrows quarrelling at the end of the story?
10. The decayed thatch of the roof reminded Tansukh of ______.
II. Answer the following questions in a page each:
1. How did Tansukh become a successful broker in his village?
2. Do you think Tansukh was happy being a broker?
3. What thoughts occupy Tansukh’s mind as he rests on his charpai?
4. Why had the old man come to Tansukh?
5. Analyse the character of Tansukh in the b backdrop of his struggle for livelihood
and the dehumanizing effect of poverty on him.
III. Answer the following questions in about two pages each:
1. Do you think Tansukh was a successful broker? Discuss.
2. How had the old man invoked punishment for Tansukh’s sins?
3. Imagine you are Tansukh and give a different ending to the story
4. Comment on the statement made by Tansukh at the end of the story, “I am not a
broker”.

26
Suggested Reading:

 “Private Games”: James Patterson

 “The Broker”: John Grisham

 "Kafan": Munshi Premchand

 "The Blue Umbrella": Ruskin Bond

27
 THE LUNCHEON
William Somerset Maugham
Pre-Reading:
 Have you ever been in a situation where someone took advantage of your
kindness or generosity?
 How do people use appearances or words to hide their true intentions?
 What do you think makes a story humorous? Can irony or sarcasm play a
role in humour?
 How does financial status influence relationships and social interactions?

About The Author:

William Somerset Maugham (1874–1965) is a distinguished British author. He

was born in Paris and spent his childhood in a French-speaking society. After his
father’s death, he returned to England at the age of 10. He studied at Heidelberg
and St. Thomas’s Hospital, London, and qualified as a doctor. But he preferred
writing to practising medicine. During his long career as a writer, Maugham
produced many novels, plays, and short stories. Some of his best novels include
‘Of Human Bondage’, ‘The Moon and Sixpence’, and ‘Cakes and Ale’. Maugham
has an amazing skill for revealing, with a few touches, a situation and the
essentials of a character, and his stories are told with clarity and an economy of
words, which are the marks of a supreme craftsman.

**********
28
I caught sight of her at the play and, in answer to her beckoning, I went over
during the interval and sat down beside her. It was long since I had last seen her
and if someone had not mentioned her name I hardly think I would have
recognised her. She addressed me brightly.
‘Well, it’s many years since we first met. How time does fly! We’re none of us
getting any younger. Do you remember the first time I saw you? You asked me to
luncheon.’
Did I remember?
It was twenty years ago and I was living in Paris. I had a tiny apartment in the
Latin quarter overlooking a cemetery and I was earning barely enough money to
keep the body and soul together. She had read a book of mine and had written to
me about it. I answered, thanking her, and presently I received from her another
letter saying that she was passing through Paris and would like to have a chat with
me; but her time was limited and the only free moment she had was on the
following Thursday; she was spending the morning at the Luxembourg and would
I give her a little luncheon at Foyot’s afterwards? Foyot’s is a restaurant at which
the French senators eat and it was so far beyond my means that I had never even
thought of going there. But I was flattered and I was too young to have learned to
say no to a woman. Few men, I may add, learn this until they are too old to make
it of any consequence to a woman what they say. I had eighty francs (gold francs)
to last me the rest of the month, and a modest luncheon should not cost more than
fifteen. If I cut out coffee for the next two weeks I could manage well enough.
I answered that I would meet my friend—by correspondence—at Foyot’s on
Thursday at half-past twelve. She was not so young as I expected and in
appearance imposing rather than attractive. She was, in fact, a woman of forty (a
charming age, but not one that excites a sudden and devastating passion at first
sight), and she gave me the impression of having more teeth, white and large and
even, than were necessary for any practical purpose. She was talkative but since
she seemed inclined to talk about me I was prepared to be an attentive listener.
29
I was startled when the bill of fare was brought for the prices were a great deal
higher than I had anticipated. But she reassured me.
‘I never eat anything for luncheon.’ She said.
‘Oh, don’t say that!’ I answered generously.
‘I never eat more than one thing. I think people eat far too much nowadays. A
little fish, perhaps. I wonder if they have any salmon.’
Well, it was early in the year for salmon and it was not on the bill of fare, but I
asked the waiter if there was any. Yes, a beautiful salmon had just come in, it was
the first they had had. I ordered it for my guest. The waiter asked her if she would
have something while it was being cooked.
‘No,’ she answered, ‘I never eat more than one thing. Unless you have a little
caviare. I never mind caviare.’
My heart sank a little. I knew I could not afford caviare but I could not very well
tell her that. I told the waiter by all means to bring caviare. For myself I chose the
cheapest dish on the menu and that was a mutton chop.
‘I think you are unwise to eat meat,’ she said. ‘I don’t know how you can expect
to work after eating heavy things like chops. I don’t believe in overloading my
stomach.’
Then came the question of drink. ‘I never drink anything for luncheon,’ she said.
‘Neither do I,’ I answered promptly.
‘Except white wine,’ she proceeded as though I had not spoken.
‘These French white wines are so light. They’re wonderful for the digestion.’
‘What would you like?’ I asked, hospitable still, but not exactly effusive.
She gave me a bright and amicable flash of her white teeth.
‘My doctor won’t let me drink anything but Champagne.’
I fancy I turned a trifle pale. I ordered half a bottle. I mentioned casually that my
doctor had absolutely forbidden me to drink Champagne.
‘What are you going to drink, then?’
‘Water.’
30
She ate the caviare and she ate the salmon. She talked gaily of art and literature
and music. But I wondered what the bill would come to. When my mutton chop
arrived, she took me quite seriously to task.
‘I see that you’re in the habit of eating a heavy luncheon. I’m sure it’s a mistake.
Why don’t you follow my example and just eat one thing? I’m sure you’d feel
ever so much better for it.’
‘I am only going to eat one thing,’ I said, as the waiter came again with the bill of
fare. She waved him aside with an airy gesture. ‘No, no, I never eat anything for
luncheon. Just a bite, I never want more than that, and I eat that more as an excuse
for conversation than anything else. I couldn’t possibly eat anything more—
unless they had some of those giant asparagus. I should be sorry to leave Paris
without having some of them.’ My heart sank. I had seen them in the shops and I
knew that they were horribly expensive. My mouth had often watered at the sight
of them. ‘Madame wants to know if you have any of those giant asparagus,’ I
asked the waiter. I tried with all my might to will him to say no. A happy smile
spread over his broad, priest-like face and he assured me that they had some so
large, so splendid, so tender, that it was a marvel. ‘I’m not in the least hungry,’
my guest sighed, ‘but if you insist, I don’t mind having some asparagus.’ I ordered
them. ‘Aren’t you going to have any?’ ‘No, I never eat asparagus.’ ‘I know there
are people who don’t like them. The fact is, you ruin your palate by all the meat
you eat.’ We waited for the asparagus to be cooked. Panic seized me: it was not a
question now how much money I should have left over for the rest of the month
but whether I had enough to pay the bill. It would be mortifying to find myself
ten francs short and be obliged to borrow from my guest. I could not bring myself
to do that. I knew exactly how much I had and if the bill came to me I made up
my mind that I would put my hand in my pocket and with a dramatic cry start up
and say it had been picked. Of course, it would be awkward if she had not money
enough either to pay the bill; then the only thing would be to leave my watch and
say I would come back and pay later. The asparagus appeared. They were
31
enormous, succulent, and appetizing. The smell of the melted butter tickled my
nostrils as the nostrils of Johovah were tickled by the burned offerings of the
virtuous Semites. I watched the abandoned woman thrust them down her throat
in large voluptuous mouthfuls, and, in my polite way, I discoursed on the
condition of the drama in the Balkans. At last she finished. ‘Coffee,’ I said... ‘Yes,
just an ice-cream and coffee,’ she answered. I was past caring now, so I ordered
coffee for myself and ice-cream and coffee for her. ‘You know, there’s one thing
I thoroughly believe in,’ she said, as she ate the ice-cream. ‘One should always
get up from a meal feeling one could eat a little more.’ ‘Are you still hungry?’ I
asked faintly. ‘Oh, no, I’m not hungry; you see, I don’t eat luncheon. I have a cup
of coffee in the morning and then dinner, but I never eat more than one thing for
luncheon. I was speaking for you.’ ‘Oh, I see!’
Then a terrible thing happened. While we were waiting for the coffee, the
headwaiter, with an ingratiating smile on his false face, came up to us bearing a
large basket full of huge peaches. They had the blush of an innocent girl; they had
the rich tone of an Italian landscape. But surely peaches were not in season then?
Lord knew what they cost. I knew too—a little later, for my guest, going on with
her conversation, absentmindedly took one. ‘You see, you’ve filled your stomach
with a lot of meat’ —my one miserable little chop— ‘and you can’t eat any more.
But I’ve just had a snack and I shall enjoy a peach.’ The bill came and when I
paid it I found that I had only enough for a quite inadequate tip. Her eyes rested
for an instant on the three francs I left for the waiter and I knew that she thought
me mean. But when I walked out of the restaurant I had the whole month before
me and not a penny in my pocket. ‘Follow my example,’ she said as we shook
hands, ‘and never eat more than one thing for luncheon.’ ‘I’ll do better than that,’
I retorted. ‘I’ll eat nothing for dinner tonight.’ ‘Humorist’, she cried gaily,
jumping into a cab. ‘You’re quite a humorist!’ But I have had my revenge at last.
I do not believe that I am a vindictive man, but when the immortal gods take a

32
hand in the matter it is pardonable to observe the result with complacency. Today
she weighs twenty-one stone.

Glossary
Luncheon: A formal or light midday meal
Latin Quarter: A historic area in Paris known for its artistic and intellectual life
Foyot’s: A high-end French restaurant where senators and affluent people dined
Flattered: Pleased due to someone’s admiration or praise
Gold francs: A currency used in France before the Euro, made of gold
Imposing: Grand and impressive in appearance
Bill of fare: A menu listing available dishes and their prices
Caviare: A delicacy made from the salted eggs of sturgeon fish
Amicable: Friendly and good-natured
Mortifying: Causing great embarrassment or shame
Succulent: Juicy and tender
Ingratiating: Trying to gain favour through flattery or pleasing behaviour
Vindictive: Having a strong desire for revenge
Complacency: A feeling of satisfaction, often without awareness of possible
trouble
Twenty-one stone: A unit of weight used in Britain, equivalent to 294 pounds or
133 kg

About The Story

The Luncheon is a humorous and satirical short story by W. Somerset Maugham.
It is a first-person narrative in which the author recounts an amusing and ironic
experience he had with a woman who invited him to lunch at an expensive
restaurant. The story explores themes of deception, social pretence, and the
consequences of youthful naivety.

33
 I. Answer the following questions in a sentence or two each:
1. Who is the narrator of "The Luncheon"?
2. What is the main setting of the story?
3. What was the narrator's profession?
4. How does the woman in the story persuade the narrator to take her to lunch?
5. What was the woman's initial request for the meal?
6. What did the woman actually order for her meal?
7. What does the narrator discover about the woman’s true circumstances at the end
of the story?
II. Answer the following questions in about a page each:
1. How does the woman’s behaviour and demands impact the narrator?
2. Discuss the use of irony in "The Luncheon."
3. How does this perspective enhance the reader's understanding of the narrator's
internal conflict and emotional turmoil?
4. Examine the theme of social class and pretence in the story.
III. Answer the following questions in about two pages each:
1. How does the author use the setting to symbolize the narrator's financial
constraints and social anxiety?
2. What does the story suggest about the impact of social class and economic status
on interpersonal relationships?
3. Analyse the techniques used to create a sense of suspense and humour.

Suggested Reading/Viewing
 “The Phantom Luncheon”: Saki
 “The Ant and the Grasshopper”: W. Somerset Maugham
 The Great Gatsby (2013)
 The Devil Wears Prada (2006)
 My Fair Lady (1964)

34
 A SERVICE OF LOVE

O’Henry

Pre-Reading:

 What sacrifices are people willing to make for love?

 Have you ever told a small lie to protect someone’s feelings?
 Share some examples of sacrifices you’ve seen or heard about in movies,
stories, or real life.
 Can you all think about your dream career or passion? And would you
pursue it without limits in all kinds of situations?

About The Author:

William Sydney Porter (1862 - 1910), better known by his pen name O’Henry,
was an American writer known primarily for his short stories. He also wrote
poetry and nonfiction. His short stories are known for their wit, wordplay, and
clever twist endings. He wrote nearly 600 stories about life in America.
Porter attended a school taught by his aunt, then clerked in his uncle’s drugstore.
In 1882, he went to Texas, where he worked on a ranch, in a general land office,
and later as a teller at the First National Bank in Austin. He began writing sketches
at about the time of his marriage to Athol Estes in 1887, and in 1894 he started a
humorous weekly, The Rolling Stone. Porter joined the Houston Post as a
reporter, columnist, and occasional cartoonist when that venture failed.

35
In February 1896, he was indicted for embezzlement of bank funds. Friends aided
his flight to Honduras. News of his wife’s fatal illness, however, took him back
to Austin, and lenient authorities did not press his case until after her death. When
convicted, Porter received the lightest sentence possible, and in 1898, he entered
the penitentiary at Columbus, Ohio; his sentence of five years was shortened to
three years and three months for good behaviour. As a night druggist in the prison
hospital, he could write to earn money for the support of his daughter Margaret.
His stories of adventure in the southwest U.S. and Central America were
immediately popular with magazine readers, and when he emerged from prison,
W.S. Porter had become O. Henry.
His works include "The Gift of the Magi," "The Duplicity of Hargraves," and
"The Ransom of Red Chief," as well as the novel Cabbages and Kings.

**********
When one loves one’s art no service seems too hard.
That is our premise. This story shall draw a conclusion from it, and show at the
same time that the premise is incorrect. That will be a new thing in logic, and a
feat in story-telling somewhat older than the Great Wall of China. Joe Larrabee
came out of the post-oak flats of the Middle West pulsing with a genius for
pictorial art. At six he drew a picture of the town pump with a prominent citizen
passing it hastily. This effort was framed and hung in the drug store window by
the side of the ear of corn with an uneven number of rows. At twenty he left for
New York with a flowing necktie and a capital tied up somewhat closer.
Delia Caruthers did things in six octaves so promisingly in a pine-tree village in
the South that her relatives chipped in enough in her chip bat for her to go ‘North
‘ and ‘finish’. They could not see her f—, but that is our story.
Joe and Delia met in an atelier where a number of art and music students had
gathered to discuss chiaroscuro, Wagner, music, Rembrandt’s works pictures,
Waldteufel, wall-paper, Chopin, and Oolong.
36
Joe and Delia became enamoured one of the other, or each of the other, as you
please, and in a short time were married --for (see above), when one loves one’s
Art no service seems too hard.
Mr. and Mrs. Larrabee began housekeeping in a flat. It was a lonesome flat-
something like the A sharp way down at the left-hand end of the keyboard. And
they were happy; for they had their Art, and they had each other. And my advice
to the rich young man would be--sell all thou hast, and give it to the poor--janitor
for the privilege of living in a flat with your Art and your Delia.
Flat- dwellers shall endorse my dictum that theirs is the only true happiness. If a
home is happy it cannot fit too close- let the dresser collapse and become a billiard
table; let the mantel turn to a rowing machine, the escritoire to a spare
bedchamber, the washstand to an upright piano; let the four walls come together,
if they will, so you and your Delia are between . But if home be the other kind,
let it be wide and long--enter you at the Golden Gate, hang your hat on Hatteras,
your Cape on Cape Hom, and go out by Labrador.
Joe was painting in the class of the great Magister--you know his fame .His fees
are high; his lessons are light-- his high –lights have brought him renown. Delia
was studying under Rosenstock--you know his repute as a disturber of the piano
keys.
They were mighty happy as long as their money lasted. So is every--but I will not
be cynical. Their aims were very clear and defined. Joe was to become capable
very soon of turning out pictures that old gentlemen with thin side-whiskers and
thick pocketbooks would sandbag one another in his studio for the privilege of
buying. Delia was to become familiar and then contemptuous with Music , so that
when she saw the orchestra seats and boxes unsold she could have sore throat and
lobster in a private dining-room and refuse to go on the stage.
But the best, in my opinion, was the home life in the little flat-- the ardent, voluble
chats after the day’s study; the cozy dinners and fresh, light breakfasts; the
interchange of ambitions--ambitions interwoven each with the other’s or else
37
inconsiderable--the mutual help and inspiration; and--overlook my artlessness--
stuffed olives and cheese sandwiches at 11 p.m.
But after a while Art flagged. It sometimes does, even if some switchman doesn’t
flag it. Everything going out and nothing coming in, as the vulgarians say. Money
was lacking to pay Mr. Magister and Herr Rosenstock their prices. When one
loves one’s Art no service seems too hard. So, Delia said she must give music
lessons to keep the chafing dish bubbling.
For two or three days she went out canvassing for pupils. One evening she came
home elated.
“Joe, dear,” she said, gleefully, “I’ve a pupil. And, oh, the loveliest people!
General--General A.B.Pinkney’s daughter--on Seventy-first Street. Such a
splendid house,-- Joe you ought to see the front door! Byzantine I think you would
call it. And inside! Oh, Joe, l never saw anything like it before.
“My pupil is his daughter Clementina. I dearly love her already. She's a delicate
thing-- dresses always in white; and the sweetest, simplest manners! Only
eighteen years old. I’m to give three lessons a week; and, just think, Joe! $5 a
lesson. I don’t mind it a bit; for when I get two or three more pupils, I can resume
my lessons with Herr Rosenstock. Now, smooth out that wrinkle between your
brows, dear, and let’s have a nice supper.”
“That’s all right for you, Dele,” said Joe, attacking a can of peas with a carving
knife and a hatchet, “but how about me? Do you think I’m going to let you hustle
for wages while I philander in the regions of high art? Not by the bones of
Benvenuto Cellini! I guess I can sell papers or lay cobblestones, and bring in a
dollar or two.”
Delia came and hung about his neck.
“Joe, dear, you are silly. You must keep on at your studies. It is not as if I had
quit my music and gone to work at something else. While I teach I learn. I am
always with my music. And we can live as happily as millionaires on $ 15 a week.
You mustn’t think of leaving Mr. Magister.”
38
“All right,” said Joe, reaching for the blue scalloped vegetable dish. “But I hate
for you to be giving lessons. It isn’t Art. But you’re a trump and a dear to do it.”
“When one loves one’s Art no service seems too hard,” said Delia.
“Magister praised the sky in that sketch I made in the park,” said Joe. “And Tinkle
gave me permission to hang two of them in his window. I may sell one if the right
kind of a moneyed idiot sees them.”
“I’m sure you will,” said Delia, sweetly. “And now let’s be thankful for General
Pinkney and this veal roast.”
During all of the next week the Larrabees had an early breakfast. Joe was
enthusiastic about some morning-effect sketches he was doing in Central Park,
and Delia packed him off breakfasted, coddled, praised, and kissed at seven
o’clock. Art is an engaging mistress. It was most times seven o’clock when he
returned in the evening.
At the end of the week Delia, sweetly proud but languid, triumphantly tossed
three five-dollar bills on the 8x10 ( inches) centre table of the 8x10 (feet) flat
parlour.
“Sometimes,” she said, a little wearily, “Clementina tires me. I’m afraid she
doesn’t practice enough, and I have to tell her the same things so often. And then
she always dresses entirely in white, and that does get monotonous. But General
Pinkney is the dearest old man! I wish you could know him, Joe. He comes in
sometimes when I am with Clementina at the piano--he is a widower, you know-
and stands there pulling his white goatee. ‘And how are the semiquavers and the
demi-semiquavers progressing?’ he always asks.
“I wish you could see the wainscoting in that drawing-room, Joe! And those
Astrakhan rug portieres, and Clementina has such a funny little cough. I hope she
is stronger than she looks. Oh, I really am getting attached to her, she is so gentle
and high bred. General Pinkney’s brother was once Minister to Bolivia.”
And then Joe, with the air of a Monte Cristo, drew forth a ten, a five, a two and a
one--all legal tender notes--and laid them beside Delia’s earnings.
39
“Sold that water colour of the obelisk to a man from Peoria,” he announced
overwhelmingly.
“Don’t joke with me,” said Delia, “not from Peoria!”
“All the way I wish you could see him, Dele. Fat man with a woollen muffler and
a quill toothpick. He saw the sketch in Tinkle’s windows and thought it was a
windmill at first. He was game, though, and bought it anyhow. He ordered
another--an oil sketch of the Lackawanna freight depot -- to take back with him.
Music lessons! Oh, I guess Art is still in it.”
“I’m so glad you’ve kept on,” said Delia heartily. “You’re bound to win, dear.
Thirty-three dollars! We never had so much to spend before. We’ll have oysters
to- night.”
“And filet mignon with champignons,” said Joe. “Where is the olive fork?”
On the next Saturday evening Joe reached home first. He spread his $ 18 on the
parlour table and washed what seemed to be a great deal of dark paint from his
hands.
Half an hour later Delia arrived, her right hand tied up in a shapeless bundle of
wraps and bandages.
“How is this?” asked Joe after the usual greetings. Delia laughed, but not very
joyously.
“Clementina,” she explained, “insisted upon a Welsh rabbit after her lesson. She
is such a queer girl. Welsh rabbits at five in the afternoon. The General was there.
You should have seen him run for the chafing dish, Joe, just as if there wasn’t a
servant in the house . I know Clementina isn’t in good health; she is so nervous.
In serving the rabbit she spilled a great lot of it, boiling hot, over my hand and
wrist. It hurt awfully, Joe. And the dear girl was so sorry! But Gen Pinkney!--
Joe, that old man nearly went distracted. He rushed downstairs and sent
somebody--they said the furnace man or somebody in the basement --out to a
drug store for some oil and things to bind it up with . It doesn’t hurt so much
now.”
40
“What’s this?” asked Joe, taking the hand tenderly and pulling at some white
strands beneath the bandages.
“It’s something soft.” said Delia, “that had oil on it. Oh, Joe, did you sell another
sketch?” She had seen the money on the table.
“Did I?” said Joe; “just ask the man from Peoria. He got his depot to-day, and he
isn’t sure but he thinks he wants another parkscape and a view on the Hudson.
What time this afternoon did you burn your hand, Dele?”
“Five o’clock, I think,” said Dele plaintively. “The iron--I mean the rabbit came
off the fire about that time. You ought to have seen General Pinkney, Joe, when-
-"
“Sit down here a moment, Dele,” said Joe. He drew her to the couch, sat beside
her and put his arm across her shoulders.
“What have you been doing for the last two weeks, Dele?” he asked.
She braved it for a moment or two with an eye full of love and stubbornness, and
murmured a phrase or two vaguely of General Pinkney; but at length down went
her head and out came the truth and tears.
“I couldn’t get any pupils,” she confessed. “And I couldn’t bear to have you give
up your lessons, and I got a place ironing shirts in that big Twenty-fourth street
laundry. And I think I did very well to make up both General Pinkney and
Clementina, don’t you, Joe? And when a girl in the laundry set down a hot iron
on my hand this afternoon, I was all the way home making up that story about the
Welsh rabbit. You’re not angry, are you, Joe? And if I hadn’t got the work, you
mightn’t have sold your sketches to that man from Peoria.”
“He wasn’t from Peoria,” said Joe, slowly.
“Well, it doesn’t matter where he was from. How clever you are, Joe-- and--kiss
me, Joe--and what made you ever suspect that I wasn’t giving music lessons to
Clementina?”
“I didn’t,” said Joe, “until to-night. And I wouldn’t have then, only I sent up this
cotton waste and oil from the engine-room this afternoon for a girl upstairs who
41
had her hand burned with a smoothing-iron. I’ve been firing the engine in that
laundry for the last two weeks.”
“And then you didn’t--”
“My purchaser from Peoria,” said Joe, “and General Pinkney are both creations
of the same art--but you wouldn’t call it either painting or music.”
And then they both laughed, and Joe began:
“When one loves one’s Art no service seems--"
But Delia stopped him with her hand on his lips. “No,” she said--"just ‘When one
loves.”’

Glossary:

Atelier: (French) A workshop or studio, especially of an artist or a designer.

Chiaroscuro: the treatment of light and shade in drawing and painting. enamour:
inspire with love or liking, charm, or delight.
Janitor: Doorkeeper, caretaker of the building.
Voluble: Speak vehemently, incessantly or fluently.
Chafing: Making or becoming sore or damaged by rubbing.
Philander: Flirt or have casual affairs with women, womanize.
Cape: Overcoat, gown.
Veal roast: Roast of calf’s flesh.
Coddled: Treat as an invalid, protect attentively.
Languid: Lacking vigour, idle, inert, apathetic.
Astrakhan: A city in Russia.
Portieres: (French) A certain hang over a door or doorway.
Filet mignon: A small tender piece of beef from the end of the undercut.
Escritoire: Writing table.
Wainscot: The panelled boards on the walls of an apartment.
John Peter Wagner (Wagner): U.S. baseball player. Wagner played principally
for the Pittsburg Pirates (1900-17) and coached the team from 1933 to 1951. The
42
right-handed hitter led the National League in batting average in eight seasons
(1900, 1903-04, 1906-09, 1911) and in stolen bases in five seasons. His total of
252 three-base hits remains a National League record. Nicknamed the “Flying
Dutchman” for his speed, Wagner is considered one of the greatest shortstops and
all-around players in baseball history.
Chopin, Frederic (Francois): orig. Fryderk Franciszek Szopen (born March 1,
1810, Elazowa Wola, near Warsaw, Duchy of Warsaw-died Oct. 17, 1849, Paris,
France) Polish-French composer. Born to middle–class French parents in Poland,
he published his first composition at age seven and began performing in
aristocratic salons at eight.
Waldteufel: Emile Waldteufel was a French pianist, conductor and composer of
dance and concert music.
Oolong: Oolong is a traditional semi-oxidized Chinese tea produced through a
process including withering the plant under strong sun and oxidation before
curling and twisting. Most Oolong teas, especially those of fine quality, involve
unique tea plant cultivars that are exclusively used for particular varieties.
Rosenstock: Jeff Rosenstock is an American musician and songwriter from Long
Island, United States.
Benvenuto Cellini: An Italian goldsmith, sculptor, draftsman, soldier, musician,
and artist who also wrote a famous autobiography and poetry. He was one of the
most important artists of Mannerism.
Monte Cristo: The Count of Monte Cristo (French: Le Comte de Monte-Cristo)
is an adventure novel by French author Alexander Dumas, completed in 1844.
Along with The Three Musketeers, it is one of the author’s more popular works.
Bolivia: A country in Central South America. Its varied terrain includes the
Andes Mountains, the Atacama Desert, and the Amazon Basin rainforest.
Filet mignon: A streak cut of beef taken from the smaller end of the tenderloin,
or Psoas major of the cow carcass, usually a steer or heifer. In French, this cut is
always called filet de beef, as filet mignon refers to pork tenderloin.
43
Champignon: Agaricus bisporus, a small, edible mushroom.
Welsh rabbit: Welsh rarebit or Welsh rabbit is a traditional Welsh dish made
with a savoury sauce of melted cheese and various other ingredients. It is served
hot, after being poured over slices of toasted bread. Alternatively, the hot cheese
sauce may be served in a chafing dish like a fondue, accompanied by sliced,
toasted bread.
Parkscape: Urban parks for all, seeking the creation of safe, bio-diverse, open
and shaded urban parks in the buffer zones of TMNP where the Park meets the
urban edge. Safety first.
Tinkle: Is a fortnightly magazine published mainly in India. Originally owned by
the Indian Book House, ACK Media acquired the Tinkle brand in 2007.
Obelisk: An obelisk is a tall, four-sided, narrow tapering monument which ends
in a pyramid-like shape or pyramidion at the top. They were originally called
lekhenu by their builders, the Ancient Egyptians.

About The Story

"A Service of Love" is a poignant and ironic tale about Joe and Delia Larrabee, a
young married couple deeply in love and striving to achieve their artistic dreams
in New York City. Their devotion to each other leads them to secretly take on
ordinary jobs, each pretending to be succeeding in their artistic pursuits to protect
the other from worry. This selfless deception highlights themes of love, sacrifice,
and the struggle between art and reality, showing how genuine affection often
leads people to prioritise their loved one’s happiness over their own aspirations.
The story’s ironic twist, where they discover they have both been making the
same sacrifice, adds warmth and humour, reinforcing the idea that true love is not
just about dreams but also about the quiet, everyday sacrifices made for one
another.

44
I. Answer the following questions in one or two sentences each:

1. How did Joe and Delia meet?

2. What common interests brought them together?

3. How did Joe Larrabee’s artistic talent first get recognised?

4. How did Delia Caruthers family support her?

5. Why did Joe and Delia get married quickly?

6. How does the narrator describe Joe and Delia’s flat?

7. Joe and Delia were studying under__________.

8. According to Delia Caruthers, what was the name of her first pupil? Whose
daughter was she?

9. How does Delia reassure Joe about giving music lessons?

10. At the end of the first week, how much money did both Joe and Delia
bring home, respectively?

11. What challenges does Delia face with her pupil, Clementina?

12. How did Joe discover that Delia wasn’t giving music lessons?

II. Answer the following questions in a page each:

1. Describe the early life of Joe and Delia and how they marry each other.

2. How do Joe and Delia Larrabee demonstrate their love for each other in ‘A
Service of Love’?

3. What role does art play in the lives of Joe and Delia Larrabee?

4. What problems do Joe and Delia face after some time, and how do they try
to solve them?

5. How did Delia burn her hand, and what story did she make up to explain
the injury?

45
6. How do Joe and Delia hiding the truth from each other reveal the strength
of their relationship?

7. How much did they earn in the first week of their job? And how did they
defend themselves by fabricating stories about their job?

8. What does the ending of the story reveal about Joe and Delia’s love for each
other?

9. What plan did they have for the night after both of them brought their salary
home?

10. What stories did both of them fabricate about their jobs?

III. Answer the following questions in about two pages each:

1. How did Delia and Joe confess? Was there any change in their love after
knowing that both had lied? Explain.

2. What did Delia Carruthers decide when they could not pay for their
training? Was she successful in seeking the intended job?

3. Explore the role of sacrifice in 'A Service of Love'.

4. Evaluate the Social and Economic Context of 'A Service of Love'

5. Bring out the significance of the title ‘A Service of Love’.

6. Why did Joe not sell his sketches to the man from Peoria? What was his
fabricated story, and why?

Suggested Reading/Viewing:

 “The Merchant of Venice”: William Shakespeare (simplified version by

Mary Lamb and Charles Lamb).

 “The Gift of the Magi”: O’Henry.

 “The Necklace”: – Guy de Maupassant

 “A Temporary Matter”: Jhumpa Lahiri

46
 “Love Across the Salt Desert” – Keki N. Daruwalla

 The Gift of Love: A Christmas Story (1983)

 La La Land (2016)

 The Notebook (2004)

47
 Mumbai’s Models of Service Excellence
Stefan Thomke
(From the Magazine ‘Harvard Business Review’ -November 2012)

Pre-Reading:
 What does "service excellence" mean to you?
 Have you ever had a bad customer service experience? What went wrong?
 Mumbai’s service industry is known for balancing efficiency and personal
touch. How do businesses achieve this?
 What role do culture, leadership, and innovation play in delivering high-
quality service?
 Eating homemade is like a warm hug for your soul. Discuss
 Which are the popular food delivery apps? How do they work?
About the Author

Stefan Thomke, an authority on the management of innovation, is the William

Barclay Harding Professor of Business Administration at Harvard Business
School. He has worked with firms on product, process, and technology
development, customer experience design, operational improvement,
organisational change, and innovation strategy. Professor Thomke is a frequent
conference speaker and advisor to global business leaders. He has taught and
chaired executive education programs on innovation, R&D management, product
& service development, and operations, both at Harvard Business School and in
48
company programs around the world. He chairs the General Management
Program (GMP) at HBS and has been a core faculty member of many executive
education programs, including the Advanced Management Program (AMP) and
the global Senior Executive Leadership Program (SELP) in Dubai, Mumbai, and
Shanghai. He also chairs the Managing Innovation executive education program,
which helps business leaders revamp their innovation systems for greater
competitive advantage. He was faculty chair of HBS executive education and
research in South Asia and has served on advisory and supervisory boards of start-
up and established companies. Previously, Thomke was faculty chair of the MBA
Required Curriculum and faculty co-chair of the doctoral program in Science,
Technology and Management. He is the recipient of many awards, including the
Apgar Award for Innovation in Teaching at HBS, a finalist for the Harvard
Business Review McKinsey Award, and author of the bestselling article in MIT
Sloan Management Review.

**********
In July 2005, Mumbai was battered by unusually heavy monsoon rains. In just 12
hours, more than 25 inches deluged India’s business capital. That, combined with
record high tides, wreaked widespread havoc, bringing the city to a virtual
standstill. As the water rose waist-high in many areas, people found themselves
stranded at railway stations, in trains, and on roads and sidewalks.
Among them were many of Mumbai’s dabbawalas, who deliver meals prepared
in customers’ homes to their offices and then return the empty dabbas (metal
lunchboxes) the same day. Nevertheless, on the second day of the flooding, even
before the city had limped back to life, the dabbawalas were back on the job,
wading through the water. They quickly became a symbol of gritty resilience.
The 5,000 or so dabbawalas in the city have an astounding service record. Every
working day they transport more than 130,000 lunchboxes throughout Mumbai,
the world’s fourth-most-populous city. That entails conducting upwards of
260,000 transactions in six hours each day, six days a week, 52 weeks a year
(minus holidays), but mistakes are extremely rare. Amazingly, the dabbawalas—
semiliterate workers who largely manage themselves—have achieved that level

49
of performance at very low cost, in an ecofriendly way, without the use of any IT
system or even cell phones.
The dabbawala service is legendary for its reliability. Since it was founded, in
1890, it has endured famines, wars, monsoons, Hindu-Muslim riots, and a series
of terrorist attacks. It has attracted worldwide attention and visits by Prince
Charles, Richard Branson, and employees of Federal Express, a company
renowned for its own mastery of logistics.
How can a poorly educated, decentralized workforce perform so beautifully in an
environment that can charitably be described as unpredictable and challenging?
The answers hold lessons not only for companies seeking to expand in emerging
markets but also for all developed-economy enterprises whose ranks are
dominated by unexceptional talent. Even firms that can afford to hire stars
typically depend on a cast of average people to support them. The dabbawalas’
success is proof that with the right system in place, ordinary workers can achieve
extraordinary results.
After hearing about the dabbawalas, I traveled to Mumbai to uncover what they
might teach us about managing a superior service organization. With the support
of Harvard Business School’s India Research Center (IRC), I reviewed the
literature on the dabbawalas, interviewed workers and supervisors in their
organization, and accompanied them during a typical delivery day. I analyzed
their operation and its inner workings.
The dabbawalas have an overall system whose basic pillars—organization,
management, process, and culture—are perfectly aligned and mutually
reinforcing. In the corporate world, it’s uncommon for managers to strive for that
kind of synergy. While most, if not all, pay attention to some of the pillars, only
a minority address all four. Culture, for example, often gets short shrift: Too few
managers seem to recognize that they should nurture their organizations as
communities—not just because they care about employees but because doing so
will maximize productivity and creativity and reduce risk. The takeaway:
Managers shouldn’t think of themselves merely as leaders or supervisors; they
also need to be architects who design and fine-tune systems that enable employees
to perform at optimal levels.
To understand how to accomplish that, let’s explore the ways in which each of
the dabbawalas’ pillars contributes to a system that is focused on achieving one
simple goal: on-time delivery.

50
Organization: A Clockwork Design
A key to the dabbawalas’ operations is the Mumbai Suburban Railway, one of the
most extensive, complex, and heavily used urban commuter lines in the world. Its
basic layout allows delivery people with bicycles and handcarts to travel short
distances between the stations and customers’ homes and offices.
It is partly the railway system that creates demand in the first place. Crowded
trains make carrying dabbas difficult, and office workers don’t regularly eat out—
because of the expense, a preference for home-cooked food, and the poor quality
of the few office cafeterias that exist. So office employees have their lunches
prepared at home and delivered by the dabbawalas after the morning rush hour.
On any given day, a dabba changes hands several times. In the morning a worker
picks it up from the customer’s home and takes it (along with other dabbas) to the
nearest train station, where it is sorted and put onto a wooden crate according to
its destination. It is then taken by train to the station closest to its destination.
There it is sorted again and assigned to another worker, who delivers it to the right
office before lunchtime. In the afternoon the process runs in reverse, and the
dabba is returned to the customer’s home.
To perform their work most efficiently, the dabbawalas have organized
themselves into roughly 200 units of about 25 people each. These small groups
have local autonomy. Such a flat organizational structure is perfectly suited to
providing a low-cost delivery service. (Dabbawala customers pay only about 400
or 500 rupees, or $7 to $9, a month.) There are other delivery services that charge
more and cater to local groups, but as far as I know, the dabbawalas have no
significant rivals at their price point and scale. Even though the service has been
in business for more than a hundred years, no one has been able to replicate it.
A regulatory mechanism.
The railway system sets the pace and rhythm of work. The daily schedule
determines when certain tasks need to be done and the amount of time allowed
for each. For instance, workers have 40 seconds to load the crates of dabbas onto
a train at major stations and just 20 seconds at interim stops.
Workers have 40 seconds to load the crates of dabbas onto a train at major stations
and just 20 seconds at interim stops.

The tight schedule helps synchronize everyone and imposes discipline in an

environment that might otherwise be chaotic. In addition, it provides clear

51
feedback when performance slips. If a worker is late dropping off his dabbas at a
station, his delinquency is immediately obvious to everyone, and alternative
arrangements then have to be made for transporting his dabbas on another train.
Problems can’t be swept under the rug and must be dealt with promptly.
Many service businesses lack a built-in mechanism like a railway. But they can
adopt a system that confers similar benefits. For example, many product
development teams set up a schedule in which they cycle repeatedly through the
design-build-test process, rather than doing each step once and waiting until late
in the game to perform testing. This allows them to get quick feedback on work
and find problems early. A comparable mechanism in manufacturing is takt time,
which involves matching the rate of demand with the rate of production to
synchronize the entire operation. (A takt time of one minute means that a widget
is produced every minute because there is demand for one widget a minute.) A
faster pace generates waste, and a slower one doesn’t meet demand. This rhythm
drives everything and exposes deviations from the norm.
Management: A Self-Organized Democracy
The dabbawalas essentially manage themselves with respect to hiring, logistics,
customer acquisition and retention, and conflict resolution. This helps them
operate efficiently and keep costs low and the quality of service high. All workers
contribute to a charitable trust that provides insurance and occasional financial
aid—for example, when a worker needs to replace a bicycle that’s been stolen or
is broken beyond repair.
Each dabbawala is an entrepreneur who is responsible for negotiating prices with
his own customers. However, governing committees set guidelines for prices,
which take into account factors such as the distance between a customer’s
residence and office and the distance between that office and the closest railway
station. Because dabbawalas own their relationships with customers and tend to
work in the same location for years, those relationships are generally long-term,
trusting ones. The dabbawalas within a group don’t have a monopoly over any
particular area; they’re encouraged to seek out new customers, even in a building
that is served by a colleague. However, once the relationship is established, no
other dabbawala is permitted to go after the same customer and “steal” him. The
dabbawalas take advantage of their more-relaxed afternoon schedule to interact
with customers to share information about upcoming changes, collect monthly
fees, and discuss any issues.
When someone wants to join a local dabbawala group, the group will assess
whether there’s enough demand to add another person. New hires are trained on

52
the job by the group. They learn to assist in all activities. After a probation period
of six months, they can buy into the business with a sum equal to 10 times their
expected monthly income. So, for example, if a new hire expects to make 7,000
rupees (about $126) a month at a particular unit, then he would need 70,000
rupees to become an equity partner who would share in the profits.
Workers with more than 10 years of experience serve as supervisors, or
muqaddams. Every group has one or more muqaddams, who supervise the
coding, sorting, and loading and unloading of dabbas and are responsible for
resolving disputes, overseeing collections, and troubleshooting. They also pick
up and deliver dabbas themselves. Members elect representatives from among the
muqaddams to serve on two managing committees that meet monthly to tackle
operational and organizational issues as well as problems that cannot be resolved
at the local level.
Process: Simplicity, Flexibility, and Rigor
For the dabbawalas, having the right process in place means more than simply
implementing efficient work flows. It also entails just about everything in the
organization, including the way information is managed, the use of built-in
buffers, and a strict adherence to standards.
Simple codes.
To convey information, the dabbawalas rely on a system of very basic symbols.
The lid of a dabba has three key markings on it. (See the exhibit “Cracking the
Dabba Code.”) The first is a large, bold number in the center, which indicates the
neighborhood where the dabba must be delivered. The second is a group of
characters on the edge of the lid: a number for the dabbawala who will make the
delivery, an alphabetical code (two or three letters) for the office building, and a
number indicating the floor. The third—a combination of color and shape, and in
some instances, a motif—indicates the station of origin. Customers supply small
bags for carrying their dabbas, and the variation in the bags’ shapes and colors
helps workers remember which dabba belongs to which customer.
Cracking the Dabba Code
Simple symbols tell the dabbawalas where each lunchbox needs to go.

53
 Number for the district the dabba is going to: Ballard Estate

Mark showing the originating station: Kurla

Code of the dabbawala at the destination station who will make the delivery

Code for the destination: Sant Building

First floor (The name of the customer may also be included here if multiple
deliveries go to the same floor)
The coding system contains just enough information for people to know where to
deliver the dabbas, but it doesn’t allow for full addresses. The dabbawalas, who
run the same route for years, don’t need all those details, and inserting them would
clutter the lid, slow the sorting process, and possibly lead to errors.
This insight is applicable in many other contexts. People operate in a visual world.
Whether you run an airline, hotels, or a university, how and what information is
conveyed can make a huge difference. Less is often more because it can reduce
confusion. Recognizing this, Delta Air Lines recently redesigned its boarding
passes to make them less cluttered and to highlight key information such as the
destination city. The simple coding system is crucial given the extremely tight
tolerances of airline operations.
Buffer capacity.
Even with an efficient coding system, workers still have a tiny margin of error for
certain tasks. The allotted time for picking up a dabba at a house, for example,
might be only 30 to 60 seconds, and any number of small delays could easily have
a cascading effect that slowed thousands of deliveries. So, to stay on schedule,
each group has two or three extra workers who fill in wherever they are needed,

54
and all members are cross-trained in different activities: collecting, sorting,
transporting, finance, and customer relations.
Marriott Hotels takes a similar approach. About half its employees are cross-
trained—so front-desk agents, for example, can quickly help guests with their
luggage if a bellhop isn’t available. The company claims that such cross-training
enabled its Cancun hotel to return to business quickly after Hurricane Wilma
swept through the region in 2005.
As Zeynep Ton points out in “Why ‘Good Jobs’ Are Good for Retailers” (HBR
January–February 2012), cross-training is one of the elements that allow
successful retailers such as QuikTrip convenience stores, Mercadona and Trader
Joe’s supermarkets, and Costco wholesale clubs to “not only invest heavily in
store employees but also have the lowest prices in their industries, solid financial
performance, and better customer service than their competitors.”
Many manufacturers, of course, rely on such built-in buffers, too. At Toyota, the
group and team leaders are also reserve workers, ready to fill in quickly for any
task or function.
The lesson: Especially in a highly variable environment, organizations can’t
always run as leanly as they might like. They need just enough extra capacity to
handle problems and emergencies but not so much that it bogs down the operation
and becomes wasteful overhead.
Rigorous adherence to processes and standards.
This minimizes variations that might throw a wrench into the works. The dabbas,
for instance, are all roughly the same size and cylindrical shape. To encourage
customers to conform, containers incur an additional fee when, say, they are so
large that they require special handling. Unusual containers that interfere with the
delivery operation are simply not accepted. This uniformity allows the dabbas to
be packed quickly onto crates, which are also a standard size so that they can be
efficiently loaded onto trains.
The dabbawalas strictly observe certain rules. For instance, they don’t eat until
they have completed all their deliveries. Workers are fined or fired for repeated
mistakes and negligence. Customers are also expected to abide by the process.
Those who are repeatedly late in having their dabbas ready for pickup and don’t
respond to warnings are dropped. The system empowers frontline workers to take
action—just as Toyota does in its manufacturing plants, where workers who spot
problems can pull an “andon cord” to halt a production line so that they can be
addressed immediately.

55
Of course, no process is bulletproof. Dealing with customers who are a few
minutes late preparing their dabbas is one thing; handling a citywide disruption
like a major traffic jam or a torrential monsoon is an entirely different matter.
Culture: A Strong Sense of Belonging
In “Rebuilding Companies as Communities” (HBR July–August 2009), Henry
Mintzberg laments “the depreciation in companies of community—people’s
sense of belonging to and caring for something larger than themselves.” He goes
on to connect the decline of community to the collapse of once-great corporations
and ethical failures like the subprime mortgage fiasco that sparked the Great
Recession. “Tellingly, some of the companies we admire most—Toyota, Semco
(Brazil), Mondragon (a Basque federation of cooperatives), Pixar, and so on—
typically have this strong sense of community,” Mintzberg writes. I couldn’t agree
more, and I offer the dabbawala system as another case in point.
Emotional bonds and a shared identity.
Dabbawalas, who range in age from 18 to 65, tend to remain in their groups for
their entire working lives. (There is no mandatory retirement age.) As a result
members of each team care deeply for one another. In one group that I observed,
an elderly worker who was no longer able to carry large loads of dabbas helped
in other ways and was paid the same salary as everybody else.
New workers are typically friends or relatives of existing members, and though
Mumbai is a melting pot of religions, ethnicities, and dialects, most dabbawalas
have the same culture, language, values, work ethic, diet, and religious beliefs.
Many come from the region around the city of Pune and can trace their roots back
to warriors who fought in the 17th century for Chhatrapati Shivaji, the founder of
the Maratha Empire in western India.
While on the job, the dabbawalas wear the same style of clothes and white Gandhi
caps, making them easy to identify. They are largely uneducated: Only 15% have
attended junior high school. A handful are women, who typically perform
administrative functions or special services (such as pickup or delivery at
irregular times) that command a higher fee.
Undoubtedly, their strong ties contribute to the dabbawalas’ extraordinary track
record. Research by scholars such as Amy Edmondson and Richard Hackman of
Harvard has shown that familiarity, bonds, and psychological safety lead to lower
error rates. (According to the National Transportation Safety Board, 73% of
commercial aviation accidents occur on flights with crews working together for
the first time.) And as Ed Catmull points out in “How Pixar Fosters Collective

56
Creativity” (HBR September 2008), such an environment is crucial to tapping the
creative potential of an organization and minimizing risks.
The dabbawalas’ homogeneity also plays a part. In an era when many companies
strive for diversity in their workforce, its downside—less alignment—often is
ignored. There are advantages to uniformity: It creates a strong identity and sets
boundaries that are necessary in a highly variable environment. That said, the
rules cannot be so rigid that they don’t allow for flexible responses to problems
that occur every day. It is all about balance.
A simple mission.
Of course, corporations typically have much more heterogeneous workforces. But
they can learn from the dabbawalas’ devotion to their simple mission: Delivering
food on time, every time. For the dabbawalas, that task is akin to delivering
medicine to the sick, and serving food is like serving God. That explains their
extreme dedication to their jobs during the floods of July 2005. In addition to
unifying the workforce, a straightforward mission can be connected to concrete
goals that workers can be measured against on a daily basis, making it much more
powerful than abstract, lofty objectives like “spread excellence everywhere” and
“always delight the customer.”
A Self-Reinforcing System
The individual pillars help explain certain aspects of the success of the
dabbawalas. But to truly understand how they do what they do, you must look at
the whole and consider the ways in which the pillars reinforce one another. Take
the coding system. It is simple and visual, which allows a semiliterate workforce
to sort dabbas quickly. That allows the use of a hub-and-spoke organization in
which railway stations serve as hubs and the need for centralized management is
minimal. This is an important lesson for executives who mistakenly think they
can alter just one pillar without taking into account the impact on the other three.

The dabbawalas show that with the right system, an organization doesn’t need
extraordinary talent to achieve extraordinary performance.

Consider what happened when companies like Microsoft and Hindustan Unilever
were interested in having advertising materials and product samples delivered
along with the dabbas. After conducting trial experiments, the dabbawalas found
that the extra time required to affix flyers or samples to the dabbas was too big a
disruption to their system, and the projects were tabled.

57
Over the years, the dabbawalas have received plenty of recommendations for
increasing their revenues or improving their operations. But the suggestions are
usually rejected after careful scrutiny reveals their impact. “Some business school
students suggested we use motorcycles instead of bicycles,” recalls Raghunath
Medge, the head of a dabbawala governing committee. “But then our people
would have to learn how to use them, get driver’s licenses, deal with the Regional
Transport Office [the department of motor vehicles], and costs would increase for
the customer.”

That’s not to say that the dabbawalas oppose change. They acknowledge they
must adapt to major trends sweeping India, such as the exploding numbers of
women entering the workforce. This shift will put a big crimp in their operations
because in India preparing lunches and packing them in dabbas has traditionally
been a woman’s domain. Consequently, the dabbawalas have started to
collaborate with small companies and canteens that provide freshly prepared
meals. At the same time, they have rebuffed any proposals for backward
integration—for example, setting up their own kitchens. The reason is simple:
They won’t allow themselves to be distracted from their core mission of
delivering dabbas on time.
Successful companies that have a strong central mission but find themselves in a
changing environment should take a similar path: They should articulate what
their core is, constantly experiment around it, and explore new opportunities but
be careful not to deviate too far. This is a lesson that the Lego Group learned the
hard way. When the company tried to grow aggressively in the mid-1990s, its
leaders encouraged their businesses to venture outside the company’s core play
systems. Operational complexity grew, costs got out of hand, and customers
became confused about Lego’s brand and values. After the group narrowly
avoided bankruptcy in 2004, a new management team created a successful
business model that carefully balanced growing through experimentation,
controlling operational complexity, and staying true to the core. The group has
reemerged as one of the most successful toymakers in the world. When
confronted with disappointing results, far too many companies mistakenly think
that the remedy is to conduct a purge of employees and recruit some stars. The
dabbawalas have shown that with the right system, an organization doesn’t need
extraordinary talent to achieve extraordinary performance. Leaders who see
themselves as system architects can obtain the same results.
But getting organization, management, process, and culture aligned and self-
reinforcing is one thing; maintaining that harmony is another. Dell, in its heyday,
58
had an exceptionally well-tuned operational model, but then the market changed,
and the company has yet to fully recover.
The dabbawalas, too, are facing challenges as their market undergoes a
transformation. But with judicious adjustments to their four pillars, they may
continue to achieve amazing results. And that’s a lesson managers of all
enterprises should take to heart.

Glossary
Andon cord: A cord that gets pulled to notify all the team members about defects
or problems found in any stage of the assembly line so that the entire production
stops to get them fixed
Battered: Hit or damaged repeatedly; severely affected by adverse conditions.
Buffer capacity: Extra resources or time built into a system to handle unexpected
challenges.
Cascading effect: A chain reaction where one event causes a series of related
events to occur.
Dabbawalla: One who carries a box (Dabba)
Deluged: Flooded with a large amount of water.
Heyday: The peak of popularity or success
Muqaddams: Supervisors or leaders in a traditional work structure.
Purge: Remove (a group of people considered undesirable) from an organization
or place in an abrupt or violent way.
Rebuff: Reject (someone or something) in an abrupt or ungracious manner
Resilience: An ability to recover from or adjust easily
Synergy: The interaction of elements that produces a greater effect than the sum
of their individual effects.
Takt time: The rate at which you must complete a product to meet customer
demand.
About the Text
The Mumbai dabbawala system stands as a remarkable example of efficiency,
discipline, and decentralized management, ensuring the accurate delivery of

59
 thousands of tiffin boxes each day. Functioning through a self-managed model,
small teams of dabbawalas coordinate seamlessly using a straightforward coding
system, Mumbai’s railway network, and strict time schedules. Their flat
organizational structure promotes a sense of ownership and accountability, while
strong cultural and community bonds enhance teamwork. This system
demonstrates how ordinary workers can achieve extraordinary efficiency without
relying on advanced technology, offering valuable insights into logistics, process
optimization, and decentralized decision-making.
I Answer the following questions in a phrase/ sentence.
1. When did the dabbawalas start their service in Mumbai?
2. How many dabbawalas are currently operating?
3. Do dabbawalas come from a literate background?
4. Name a few prominent personalities who have visited the dabbawalas.
5. what is a simple goal of dabbawalas?
6. What are the four pillars of Mumbai dabbawalas?
7. What was the takeaway mentioned by the author?
8. How much is paid to the dabbawalas approximately for their service?
9. What was the key to the dabbawala operations in Mumbai?
10. What is takt time?
11. Why do the dabbawalas have extra workers?
12. Who are muqaddams?
13. Give an example of an emotional bond between the dabbawalas.

II Answer the following questions in about a page.

1. What makes the dabbawala exceptional?
2. What makes the dabbawala successful?
3. How do the Mumbai dabbawalas work?
4. Why do office employees in Mumbai prefer dabbawalas?
5. Crack the Dabba Code. (What is the coding system of dabbawalas?)
6. What are the responsibilities of the managing committees?
7. Why are all the dabbawalas cross-trained?
60
8. Discuss the strict rules observed by the dabbawalas.
9. Why don’t the dabbawalas use bicycles?
10. The simple mission of the dabbawalas is “Delivering food on time, every time”.
Elaborate.
11. How did the dabbawalas serve during the floods of July 2005?

III Answer the following questions in about two pages.

1. “When the right system is in place, ordinary workers can achieve extraordinary
results”. Discuss
2. What are the challenges faced by the dabbawalas?
3. Discuss the success story of the dabbawalas.

Suggested Reading/Viewing:
 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KDD32skx-zM
 TEDxSSN - Dr. Pawan Agrawal - Mumbai Dabbawalas
 Mumbai Dabbawala on Success through Synergy | Ritesh Andre |
TEDxXIMEKochi

61
 Gender Equality is Your Issue Too

Emma Watson

(Speech by UN Women Goodwill Ambassador Emma Watson at a special event for the
HeForShe campaign, United Nations Headquarters, New York, 20 September 2014.)

Pre Reading:
 What does feminism mean to you? Do you think it is only about women’s
rights?
 Have you ever witnessed gender discrimination? How did it make you feel?
 Do you think men and boys should be involved in gender equality
discussions? Why or why not?
 How does gender inequality impact daily life in India? (e.g., in workplaces,
education, or families)
 How do Indian movements like "Beti Bachao Beti Padhao" relate to
HeForShe?
 How do gender roles differ in Western and Indian societies?

About the Speaker

Emma Watson is a British actress, activist, and humanitarian best known for her
role as Hermione Granger in the Harry Potter film series. Born on April 15, 1990,
62
in Paris, France, she gained international fame at a young age and later used her
platform to advocate for gender equality and women's rights. In 2014, she was
appointed a UN Women Goodwill Ambassador and launched the HeForShe
campaign, encouraging men to support feminism. Beyond activism, Watson has
pursued diverse acting roles in films like The Perks of Being a Wallflower (2012),
Beauty and the Beast (2017), and Little Women (2019). She is also a Brown
University graduate and has actively promoted sustainable fashion and ethical
consumerism. With her blend of intellect, talent, and advocacy, Watson continues
to inspire change across multiple fields.

**********
Today we are launching a campaign called “HeForShe.”

I am reaching out to you because I need your help. We want to end gender
inequality—and to do that we need everyone to be involved.

This is the first campaign of its kind at the UN: we want to try and galvanize as
many men and boys as possible to be advocates for gender equality. And we don’t
just want to talk about it, but make sure it is tangible.

I was appointed six months ago and the more I have spoken about feminism the
more I have realized that fighting for women’s rights has too often become
synonymous with man-hating. If there is one thing I know for certain, it is that
this has to stop.

For the record, feminism by definition is: “The belief that men and women should
have equal rights and opportunities. It is the theory of the political, economic and
social equality of the sexes.”

I started questioning gender-based assumptions when at eight I was confused at

being called “bossy,” because I wanted to direct the plays we would put on for
our parents—but the boys were not.

When at 14 I started being sexualized by certain elements of the press.

63
When at 15 my girlfriends started dropping out of their sports teams because they
didn’t want to appear “muscly.”

When at 18 my male friends were unable to express their feelings.

I decided I was a feminist and this seemed uncomplicated to me. But my recent
research has shown me that feminism has become an unpopular word.

Apparently I am among the ranks of women whose expressions are seen as too
strong, too aggressive, isolating, anti-men and, unattractive.

Why is the word such an uncomfortable one?

I am from Britain and think it is right that as a woman I am paid the same as my
male counterparts. I think it is right that I should be able to make decisions about
my own body. I think it is right that women be involved on my behalf in the
policies and decision-making of my country. I think it is right that socially I am
afforded the same respect as men. But sadly I can say that there is no one country
in the world where all women can expect to receive these rights.

No country in the world can yet say they have achieved gender equality.

These rights I consider to be human rights but I am one of the lucky ones. My life
is a sheer privilege because my parents didn’t love me less because I was born a
daughter. My school did not limit me because I was a girl. My mentors didn’t
assume I would go less far because I might give birth to a child one day. These
influencers were the gender equality ambassadors that made me who I am today.
They may not know it, but they are the inadvertent feminists who are changing
the world today. And we need more of those.

And if you still hate the word—it is not the word that is important but the idea
and the ambition behind it. Because not all women have been afforded the same
rights that I have. In fact, statistically, very few have been.

In 1995, Hilary Clinton made a famous speech in Beijing about women’s rights.
Sadly many of the things she wanted to change are still a reality today.

64
But what stood out for me the most was that only 30 per cent of her audience
were male. How can we affect change in the world when only half of it is invited
or feel welcome to participate in the conversation?

Men—I would like to take this opportunity to extend your formal invitation.
Gender equality is your issue too.

Because to date, I’ve seen my father’s role as a parent being valued less by society
despite my needing his presence as a child as much as my mother’s.

I’ve seen young men suffering from mental illness unable to ask for help for fear
it would make them look less “macho”—in fact in the UK suicide is the biggest
killer of men between 20-49 years of age; eclipsing road accidents, cancer and
coronary heart disease. I’ve seen men made fragile and insecure by a distorted
sense of what constitutes male success. Men don’t have the benefits of equality
either.

We don’t often talk about men being imprisoned by gender stereotypes but I can
see that that they are and that when they are free, things will change for women
as a natural consequence.

If men don’t have to be aggressive in order to be accepted women won’t feel

compelled to be submissive. If men don’t have to control, women won’t have to
be controlled.

Both men and women should feel free to be sensitive. Both men and women
should feel free to be strong… It is time that we all perceive gender on a spectrum
not as two opposing sets of ideals.

If we stop defining each other by what we are not and start defining ourselves by
what we are—we can all be freer and this is what HeForShe is about. It’s about
freedom.

I want men to take up this mantle. So their daughters, sisters and mothers can be
free from prejudice but also so that their sons have permission to be vulnerable
and human too—reclaim those parts of themselves they abandoned and in doing
so be a more true and complete version of themselves.

65
You might be thinking who is this Harry Potter girl? And what is she doing up on
stage at the UN. It’s a good question and trust me, I have been asking myself the
same thing. I don’t know if I am qualified to be here. All I know is that I care
about this problem. And I want to make it better.

And having seen what I’ve seen—and given the chance—I feel it is my duty to
say something. English Statesman Edmund Burke said: “All that is needed for the
forces of evil to triumph is for enough good men and women to do nothing.”

In my nervousness for this speech and in my moments of doubt I’ve told myself
firmly—if not me, who, if not now, when. If you have similar doubts when
opportunities are presented to you I hope those words might be helpful.

Because the reality is that if we do nothing it will take 75 years, or for me to be

nearly a hundred before women can expect to be paid the same as men for the
same work. 15.5 million girls will be married in the next 16 years as children.
And at current rates it won’t be until 2086 before all rural African girls will be
able to receive a secondary education.

If you believe in equality, you might be one of those inadvertent feminists I spoke
of earlier.

And for this I applaud you.

We are struggling for a uniting word but the good news is we have a uniting
movement. It is called HeForShe. I am inviting you to step forward, to be seen to
speak up, to be the "he" for "she". And to ask yourself if not me, who? If not now,
when?

Thank you.

Glossary
Feminism: The belief in and advocacy for gender equality in political, economic,
and social spheres.

66
Gender Equality: the state in which individuals of all genders have equal rights,
opportunities, and access to resources.
HeForShe: A United Nations campaign launched to encourage men and boys to
support gender equality actively.
Stereotype: A widely held but oversimplified belief or idea about a particular
group of people.
Patriarchy: A social system in which men hold primary power and dominate in
roles of leadership, authority, and privilege.
Empowerment: The process of giving individuals the confidence, rights, and
resources to control their own lives and make decisions.
Gender Roles: Social and cultural expectations about how individuals should
behave based on their gender.
Bias: A tendency to favour one person, group, or idea over another in an unfair
way.
Advocacy: Supporting or arguing for a particular cause or policy.
Inclusivity: The practice of ensuring that all individuals, regardless of gender,
race, or background, are included and valued.
Call to Action: A direct appeal to an audience to take specific steps or make
changes in response to an issue.
Intersectionality: The concept that different forms of discrimination (e.g.,
gender, race, class) intersect and overlap, affecting individuals in complex ways.
UN Women: The United Nations entity dedicated to gender equality and the
empowerment of women.

About the Speech

Emma Watson’s 2014 UN speech for the HeForShe campaign serves as a
powerful call to action, advocating for male involvement in the fight for gender
equality. She challenges misconceptions about feminism, defining it as equal
rights for all genders rather than female dominance while also addressing the
67
harmful effects of traditional gender roles on both men and women. Using
personal experiences, emotional appeals, and logical reasoning, Watson
effectively communicates the need for collective action. Her inclusive tone and
persuasive delivery make the speech impactful, urging individuals of all genders
to work towards eliminating gender-based discrimination.

I. Answer the following questions in a sentence or two each:

1. When and where did Emma Watson deliver her speech on gender equality?
2. What was the purpose of the HeForShe campaign?
3. How does Watson define feminism in her speech?
4. What personal experiences does Watson mention in her speech?
5. What criticism did the speech receive?
6. What is the overall tone of Watson’s speech?
7. How did the audience and media react to the speech?
II. Answer the following questions in about a page each:
1. How does Watson address gender stereotypes affect men?
2. Why does Watson emphasise male participation in gender equality?
3. Discuss the key themes of Emma Watson’s speech on gender equality.
4. How does Watson redefine feminism, and why is this redefinition
important?
5. Analyze the rhetorical strategies Watson uses to persuade her audience.
III. Answer the following questions in about two pages each:
1. Why does Watson stress the role of men in achieving gender equality? Do
you agree with her perspective?
2. What personal anecdotes does Watson use in her speech, and how do they
enhance her message?
3. What challenges does Watson identify in achieving gender equality?
4. How does Watson use emotional and logical appeals to engage her
audience?
68
 5. What are some criticisms of Watson’s speech, and how valid do you think
they are?
Suggested Reading /Viewing
 “Sultana’s Dream”: Rokeya Sakhawat Hossain
 “The Good Mother”: Mridula Koshy
 “An Unfinished Story”: O. Henry
 “We Should All Be Feminists”: Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie
 “The Gendered Brain”: Gina Rippon
 English Vinglish (2012)
 He Named Me Malala (2015)
 On the Basis of Sex (2018)
 Thappad (2020)

69
70
 READING COMPREHENSION

Read the Passages and Answer the Questions That Follow Them:
Passage 1
The rise of digital banking has transformed the financial sector, making
transactions faster, more convenient, and accessible to a wider range of people.
With a few clicks on a smartphone, customers can transfer funds, apply for loans,
and even invest in stocks. However, this growth in online banking has escalated
cybersecurity threats. Financial institutions invest heavily in securing digital
infrastructure, yet data breaches and fraud cases continue to affect millions
globally. According to recent reports, one of the major challenges facing digital
banks is ensuring customer trust while also adhering to complex regulatory
standards that vary across regions.

Digital banking’s evolution has improved customer experiences and reshaped

employment within the sector. Roles in customer service have shifted towards
technology-driven support, and demand has surged for professionals skilled in
data analytics, cybersecurity, and software development. Many traditional bank
branches are closing as customers increasingly prefer digital solutions.
Nevertheless, experts argue that maintaining a balance between human
interaction and digital convenience remains crucial, as certain customer segments
still value face-to-face banking.

1. What are the two major benefits of digital banking mentioned in the passage?
______________________________________________________________

2. What challenges does the financial sector face with the rise of digital banking?
______________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________

3. According to the passage, How has employment in the banking sector changed
due to digital banking?
_______________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________
4. Why do experts believe maintaining human interaction in banking is important?
_______________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________
5. Give one reason for the closing of traditional bank branches.

_______________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________
71
 Passage 2
Microfinance is a powerful tool for financial inclusion, offering small loans to
individuals who do not have access to traditional banking services. This concept
originated in the 1970s to empower people in low-income communities by
providing them with the capital needed to start small businesses or improve their
quality of life. Today, microfinance institutions operate worldwide, playing a
crucial role in poverty alleviation. These institutions extend credit to small-scale
entrepreneurs who may lack formal credit histories, collateral, or steady income,
making them ineligible for loans from mainstream banks.

Despite its benefits, microfinance is not without challenges. High interest rates
and stringent repayment schedules can place a burden on borrowers, especially if
their ventures fail to generate sufficient income. Critics argue that, in some cases,
microfinance may deepen debt rather than alleviate it. Others believe that with
the right support and financial literacy programs, microfinance can sustainably
uplift communities and drive economic growth. Ultimately, its success depends
on effective management, borrower education, and a supportive regulatory
framework.

Questions:
1. According to the passage, what is the primary purpose of microfinance?
_______________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________
2. Why can't many people in low-income communities access traditional banking
services?
_______________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________
3. What are some potential downsides of microfinance mentioned in the passage?
_______________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________
4. What factors are essential for the success of microfinance, as suggested by the
passage?
_______________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________
5. Explain how microfinance can help in poverty alleviation.

_______________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________

Passage 3
Read not to contradict and confute, believe and take for granted, or find talk and
discourse, but to weigh and consider. Some books are to be tasted, others to be
swallowed, and some few to be chewed and digested; that is, some books are to
72
be read only in parts; others to be read, but not curiously; and some few to be read
wholly, and with diligence and attention. Some books may also be read by the
deputy and extracts made of them by others, but that would be only in the less
important arguments, and the meaner sort of books; distilled books are like
common distilled waters, flashy things. Reading maketh a full man, conference
to ready man and writing an exact man. And therefore, if a man wrote little, he
had need have a good memory; if he had need have a present wit; and if he read
little, he had need have much cunning to seen to know that he doth not.

‘Histories make men wise, poets witty, the mathematics subtle, natural
philosophy deep, moral, language, logic and rhetoric able to contend.'

Questions:

1. What does the art of writing do to man's character?

a) It makes him a full-man
c) It makes him an exact man
b) It makes him a ready man
d) It makes him a good author

2. How should you read those books that are to be 'read wholly'?
a) By making extracts from them
b) They should be chewed and digested
c) They should be read in parts
d) They should be read with diligence and attention

3. If a man does not write much, what must he do?

a) Should have extracts made of them by others
b) A good memory
c) Must chew and digest the contents
d) A good reading and comprehension speed

4. What does 'some books are to be tested' mean?

a) To be read only in parts
b) To be read with diligence and attention
c) To be read, but not curiously
d) To be read just for fun

5. What should be the real object of reading?

a) To distil the contents
b) To understand author's views and their application in day-to-day life
c) To weigh and consider
d) Not to contradict and confute
73
6. What can be done with regard to the 'meaner' sort of books?
a) To be read but not to contradict and confute
b) To be read only in parts
c) They can be "read by deputy and extracts made of them by others.
d) To be read, but not curiously

7. If a man reads very little, what must he pretend?

a) He must pretend to have a good memory
b) He must pretend to know a lot
c) He must pretend not to have a good memory
d) He must pretend to be wise and witty

8. The word 'confute' in the passage means

a) to argue b) to refuse
c) to disapprove d) to doubt

9. Which of the following words suitably replaces the word 'confer' used in the
above passage?
a) differ b) disapprove
c) deliberate d) reject

10. What does the author mean by 'deputy' in this passage?

a) A subordinate b) A junior student
c) Acting for someone else d) A man of letters

11. Select an appropriate word that is nearly opposite in meaning to the word
'contend' used in the passage.
a) compete b) affirm
c) yield d) attempt

12. What is usually meant by 'conference'?

a) a gathering of people
b) a get-together
c) a meeting where conversation is important
d) a group of people assembled to hear a speaker

Passage 4

At one time in the history of India, most women knew very well how to bring up
their infants, and they lived a perfectly healthy life, free from diseases. The
overall standard of women and children in the country was much better than those
74
of other civilisations of that period. But ever since India was exposed to frequent
invasions by foreign nations, life became unsafe, property was unprotected, and
people were forced to congregate in towns in such a compact way that it led to
awful insanitation and diseases. The traditional knowledge of domestic and
personal health and hygiene was ignored. Women were confined indoors for fear
of insults, and a train of social and unhealthy dangers followed all around. It is a
problem how we now restore the original conditions of a healthy and happy life
in India. This is a socio-economic problem which needs to be given priority to
bring back the original culture and restore the welfare of women and children in
India.

Questions:

1. What was the main cause of the poor health conditions of women in India?
a) Women were confined indoors
b) Illiteracy among women
c) Frequent foreign invasions
d) Awful sanitation

2. What question has the writer posed before the readers?

a) How to check foreign invasion?
b) Why has the traditional knowledge been ignored?
c) What should be done for infants and women?
d) How can the original conditions of a healthy and happy life be
restored in India?

3. Why did life become unsafe and property unprotected?

a) Because of awful insanitation and diseases
b) Because the women were confined
c) Exposure to frequent foreign invasion
d) People were forced to congregate in to.

4. Why were the women confined indoors?

a) To improve sanitation and a healthy atmosphere
b) To keep them away from disease
c) Because of foreign invasions
d) None of these.

5. When were women leading a perfectly healthy life?

a) After being confined indoors
b) Before foreign invasions
c) After restoring the original conditions of a healthy and happy life
d) Cannot be determined from the passage
75
6. What does the word 'congregate' mean in the passage?
a) forced b) assemble
c) live d) settle

7. How are foreign invasions responsible for poor health conditions?

a) Foreigners maltreated the public
b) People were forced to congregate in towns in a compact way,
leading to insanitation
c) Foreigners brought in unhealthy ways of life
d) People were made to serve as labourers

8. Select from the answer choices the word that is nearly opposite in meaning to
'confine'.
a) forced b) directed
c) to keep out d) reject

Passage 5

Until very recently, it was universally believed that men are congenitally more
intelligent than women, even so enlightened a man as Spinoza decided against
votes for women on this ground. Among white men, it is held that white men are
by nature superior to black men; in Japan, on the contrary, it is thought that yellow
is the best colour. In Haiti, when they make statues of Christ and Satan, they make
Christ black and Satar white. Aristotle and Plato considered Greeks so innately
superior to barbarians that slavery was justified as long as the master was Greek
and the slave barbarian.

Questions:

1. In Haiti, people believe that

a) Christ was black
b) black was good
c) all black men were evil
d) all white men were evil

2. Aristotle and Plato supported slavery because they thought

a) Greeks to be superior to barbarians
b) the barbarians were hardworking
c) the barbarians to be superior to the Greeks
d) the barbarians had no other means to earn

3. Spinoza decided against votes for women because, according to him

76
a) they did not deserve to have votes
b) they were generally unintelligent
c) they were naturally less gifted with intelligence
d) they were not trustworthy

Passage 6

Nationalism, of course, is a curious phenomenon, which at a certain stage in a

country's history, gives life, growth and unity at the same time. It has a tendency
to oneness because one thinks of one's country as something different from the
rest of the world. One's perspective changes, continuously thinking of one's own
struggles and virtues and failing to conclude with other thoughts. The result is
that the same nationalism, which is the symbol of growth for people, becomes a
symbol of a cessation of that growth in the mind. nationalism, when it becomes
successful, sometimes goes on spreading in an aggressive way and becomes angry
internationally. Whatever line of thought you follow; you arrive at the conclusion
that some kind of balance must be found. Otherwise, something that was good
can turn into evil. Culture, which is essentially good, becomes not only static but
aggressive and breeds conflict and hatred when viewed from the wrong point of
view. How are you to find a balance, I don't know. Apart from the political and
economic problems of the age, perhaps this is the greatest problem today because
there is a tremendous search for something that it cannot find behind it. We turn
to economic theories because they have an undoubted importance. It is folly to
talk of culture or even of God when human beings starve and die. Before one can
talk about anything else, one must provide the normal essentials of life to human
beings. That is where economics comes in. Human beings today are not in the
mood to tolerate this suffering, starvation and inequality when they see that the
burden is not equally shared. Others profit while they only bear the burden.

Questions:

1.‘Others” is the last sentence before it.

a) other people b) other nations
c) other communities d) other neighbours

2. A suitable title for this passage can be

a) Nationalism breeds unity
b) Nationalism-a Road to world unity
c) Nationalism is not enough
d) Nationalism and national problems

3. Aggressive nationalism
77
a) breeds threat to international relations
b) leads to stunted growth
c) endangers national unity
d) isolates a country

4. The greatest problem in the middle of the passage refers to the question
a) how to mitigate hardship to human beings
b) how to contain the dangers of aggressive nationalism
c) how to share the economic burden of equality
d) how to curb international hatred

5. Negative national feelings can make a nation

a) selfish b) self-centred
c) indifferent d) dangerous

Passage 7

Two principles are involved in the controversy about the presence of foreign-
controlled media in the country: the free flow of ideas and images across national
borders and the need to safeguard the national interest and preserve cultural
autonomy. Both are valid but at loggerheads because each has been used to
promote less lofty goals. The first principle conforms to a moral imperative:
freedom of expression cannot rhyme with restrictions imposed by any
government. But the free flow rhetoric also clouds the fact that the powerful
Western, and especially American, media can and often present, subtly or
brazenly, news that promotes Western political ideological and strategic interests.
Besides, Western entertainment programmes present lifestyles and values that run
counter to the lifestyles and values cherished by traditional societies. All this
explains why so many Indian newspapers, magazines and news agencies have
sought protection from the courts to prevent foreign publications and news
agencies from operating in the country. Their arguments are weak on two counts.
As the bitter debate on new world information and communication order
demonstrated in the late seventies and early eighties, many of those who resent
Western "invasion" in the fields of information and culture are no great friends of
democracy. Secondly, the threat of such an "invasion" has been aired by those
media groups in developing countries that fear that their business interests will be
harmed if Western groups, equipped with large financial and technological
resources and superior management skills, are allowed to operate in the country
without let.

The fear is valid, but it goes against the grain of the economic reform programme.
The presence of foreign newspapers and television channels will increase
competition, which can only lead to the upgradation of dynamic Indian
78
newspapers and television channels, even while they drive the rest out of the
market. One way to strike a balance between the two antagonistic principles
would be to allow foreign media entry into the country, provided the Indian state
treats them on par with the domestic media on all fronts. On the import of
technology, for instance, foreign media cannot be allowed duty concessions
denied to their Indian counterparts. Foreign media will also have to face legal
consequences should they run foul of Indian laws. Why, for example, should the
BBC, Time magazine or The Economist get away with showing a map of Kashmir
which is at variance with the official Indian map? Why should they go scot-free
when they allow secessionists and terrorists to air their views without giving the
government the right to reply or when they depict sexually explicit scenes which
would otherwise not be cleared by the Censor Board? Since the government can
do precious little in the matter, especially about satellite broadcasts, what if it
should consider attaching the properties of the offending parties? Demands of this
kind are bound to be voiced unless New Delhi makes it clear to the foreign media
that they will have to respect Indian susceptibilities, especially where it concerns
the country's integrity and its culture. It may be able to derive some inspiration
from France's successful attempts in the recent GATT to protect its
cinematography industry.

Questions

1. Which of the following is one of the points weakening the argument to prevent
the entry of foreign media?
a) Such entry would be against traditional culture
b) The threat being voiced by those whose business will be harmed by such an
entry
c) The arguments being put forth are at loggerheads
d) The foreign media may not be treated on par with the domestic media
e) None of these

2. What will be the impact of increasing competition?

a) The domestic media will not be able to withstand it
b) The foreign media will not be allowed duty concessions on the import of
technology
c) It will improve Indian newspapers and television
d) The Indian newspapers and news agencies will seek protection from the court
e) None of these

3. A country has been cited as having succeeded in protecting which of the

following?
a) GATT b) News Agencies
c) Television d) Cultural traditions
79
4. Which of the following has been the major recommendation regarding the entry
of foreign media?
a) It should not be allowed
b) It should be welcomed without putting any restrictions
c) Allow entry treating them on par with domestic media
d) Allow entry provided they do not ask for duty concessions on
import of technology
e) None of these

5. In the controversy involving two principles regarding allowing foreign media,

which of the following is against its entry?
a) Free flow of ideas
b) Preserve culture '
c) Government restrictions
d) Security across national borders
e) Western ideology

6. According to the passage, which media, in particular, promotes Western

interests?
a) American
b) Foreign
c) French
d) Western
(e) None of these

7. Which of the following is the meaning of the phrase "without let", as used in
the passage?
a) with no difficulty
b) without confinement
c) with strings
d) without restrictions
e) a conducive environment

8. Why would the entry of foreign media harm local interests?

a) They are better equipped managerially and technologically
b) Our cultural heritage will be lost
c) Economic reform programmes will get a setback
d) Different sets of laws and rules were made applicable to foreign media
e) None of these
9. Which of the following is the meaning of the phrase "at variance", as used in
the passage?
a) discrepancy
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b) at large
c) in conformity
d) variable (e) differing

10. Which of the following seems to be the most likely purpose of writing this
passage?
a) To criticise foreign media
b) To highlight the exploitation by developed nations
c) To highlight the steps and caution to be taken about the entry of foreign media
d) To make the public aware of the technological and managerial superiority of
Western media
e) To prevent foreign media from entering our country

11. Which of the following is the meaning of the phrase "at loggerheads", as used
in the passage?
a) in league with
b) unimportant
c) out of place
d) unsuited to each other (e) opposite to each other

Choose the word that is most closely the opposite in meaning to the word
given in capitals taken from the passage.
12. COUNTER
a) similar b) downwards c) unresponsive d) upwards e) imitate

13. ANTAGONISTIC
a) counteract b) coincidental c) equal d) corresponding e) dependent

Choose the word or group of words that is most similar in meaning to the
word given in capitals taken from the passage.

14. SUSCEPTIBILITIES
a) norms b) weaknesses c) influences d) persuasions e) sensitivities

15. RHYME
a) mingle b) confirm c) recur with d) go with e) pattern

16. RHETORIC
a) rhyming words b) persuasive speaking c) dull monologue
d) tongue-in-cheek (e) double talk

81
 VOCABULARY
If you take a trip down memory lane, you will remember how English lessons
were never complete without reading, comprehension, and dictation sessions.
And most of these sessions were thoughtfully designed to build a strong
vocabulary. A strong vocabulary is an asset, a skill that stays with you throughout
your life. You can define vocabulary as “a set of words used in a specific
language”. It comprises all the words you understand when you read, write, or
listen to someone speak. Our vocabulary consists of all the words we know, feel,
or comprehend in the correct context. Hence, the more effort you put into
understanding the meaning of a word, the stronger your vocabulary grows.
PREFIXES and SUFFIXES
Prefixes and Suffixes are not words in themselves; they help form words. Affix
is a word used to describe prefixes and suffixes. Learning both of them is
necessary if you wish to expand your English vocabulary. Generally, both appear
at the beginning or end of the word.
A prefix is a letter or group of letters added to the beginning of a word to form a
different word.
Here are some examples of prefixes and their meanings:
Un- Means "not" and can be added to adjectives like "happy" to form "unhappy."
Inter- Means "between" and can be used in words like "international" and
"interchange."
Contra- Means "against" or "opposite" and can be used in words like "contradict"
and "contrast."
De- Means "down", "off", or "away from" and can be used in words like
"devalue" and "deactivate."
Dis- Means "not", "apart", or "away" and can be used in words like "disappear"
and "disagree."

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En- Means "put into" or "cover with" and can be used in words like "enclose"
and "entangle."
Mega- Means "very big" or "important" and can be used in words like
"megabyte" and "megaton."
Mid- Means "middle" and can be used in words like "midday" and "midnight."
Mis- Means "incorrectly" or "badly" and can be used in words like "misaligned"
and "mislead."
Non- Means "not" and can be used in words like "non-payment" and "non-
smoking". Many words can be formed by adding a prefix to a root word to get a
new word with a different meaning.
Fore- Means earlier or before, as in "foreclose" or "foresee"
Inter- Means between, as in "interact", "intermix", or "interface."
Pre- Means before, as in "pre-expose", "prejudge", or "pretest."
Sub- Means under or below, as in "subcontract" or "subdivide"
A suffix is a group of letters added to the end of a word to change its meaning,
word class, grammatical function, or tense. For example, the suffix "-ly" changes
the word "happy" into an adverb, "happily", which means "in a happy way".
Here are some examples of suffixes and their meanings:
-ment: Condition of, such as "argument", "endorsement", and "punishment"
-ness: State of being, such as "heaviness", "sadness", "rudeness", and "testiness"
-ship: Position held, such as "fellowship", "ownership", "kinship", and
"internship"
-ed: Past tense, such as when added to verbs like "walk", "clap", "smell", or
"paint"
Some other common suffixes include:
-tion, -er, -ism, -ant, -age, and -ery.
Suffixes can be added to root words such as nouns, verbs, adjectives, and adverbs
to change the part of speech of the root word. For example:

83
  The noun/verb ‘auction’ followed by the suffix –eer becomes a noun,
auctioneer.
 The verb ‘help’ followed by the suffix –er becomes a noun, helper.
 The verb ‘adapt’ followed by the suffix –able becomes an adjective,
adaptable.
Noun Suffixes: Given below are some suffixes that form noun forms of the given
words when added to them:
eer- Meaning: engaged in something, associated with something
Ex: auctioneer, volunteer, engineer, profiteer
er- Meaning: someone who performs an action
Ex: helper, teacher, preacher, dancer
ion- Meaning: the action or process of
Ex: celebration, opinion, decision, revision
ity- Meaning: the state or condition of
Ex: probability, equality, abnormality, civility
ment- Meaning: the action or result of
Ex: movement, retirement, abandonment, establishment
ness- Meaning: a state or quality
Ex: fondness, awareness, kindness, darkness
or- Meaning: a person who is something
Ex: distributor, investigator, translator, conductor
sion- Meaning: state or being
Ex: depression, confusion, tension, compulsion
ship- Meaning: position held
Ex: worship, ownership, courtship, internship
th- Meaning: state or quality
Ex: strength, depth, warmth

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Adjective Suffixes: Given below are some suffixes that form adjectives of the
given words when added to them:
able, -ible-Meaning: capable of being
Ex: preventable, adaptable, predictable, credible
al- Meaning: pertaining to/about
Ex: theatrical, natural, criminal, seasonal
ant -Meaning: inclined to or tending to
Ex: vigilant, defiant, brilliant, reliant
ary- Meaning: of or relating to
Ex: budgetary, planetary, military, honorary
ful- Meaning: full of or notable
Ex: grateful, beautiful, fantastic, fanciful
ic- Meaning: relating to
Ex: iconic, organic, heroic, poetic
ious, -ous-Meaning: having qualities of
Ex: gracious, cautious, humorous, fabulous
ive- Meaning: quality or nature of
Ex: creative, expensive, expressive, pensive
less- Meaning: without something
Ex: hopeless, faultless, fearless, restless
y- Meaning: made up of or characterised by
Ex: brainy, fruity, tasty, grouchy

Verb Suffixes: Given below are some suffixes that form verb forms of the given
words when added to them:
ed- Meaning: past-tense version of a verb
Ex: laughed, climbed, called, missed
en- Meaning: become

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 Ex: soften, fasten, lengthen, strengthen
er- Meaning: action or process, making an adjective comparative
Ex: faster, bigger, fuller, longer
ing- Meaning: verb form/present participle of an action
Ex: laughing, swimming, driving, writing
ize, -ise-Meaning: to cause or to become
Ex: memorialise, authorise, commercialise, advertise
Adverb Suffixes: Given below are some suffixes that form adverbial forms of
the given words when added to them:
ly- Meaning: in what manner something is being done
Ex: bravely, simply, honestly, gladly
ward- Meaning: in a specific direction
Ex: backward, wayward, awkward, afterwards
wise- Meaning: in relation to
Ex: clockwise, edgewise, lengthwise, otherwise

Exercises:

I. Add prefixes to suitable words in the brackets.

1. im- (mature, manage)

2. in- (divisible, arrange)

3. mis- (grace, lead)

4. non- (intelligence, renewable)

5. pre- (school, destroy)

II. Add suffixes to suitable words in the brackets

1. –est (beautiful, wild)
2. –ful (important, wonder)
3. –ible (sense, fool)
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4. –ily (happy hour)
5. –ing (swim, gratitude)
III. Use the suitable prefix to the words below to make its opposite word.
1. Sense
2. Happy
3. Wrap
4. Connect
5. Understand
IV. Use the prefix or suffix to the given word provided in the bracket in its
appropriate form.
1. You can’t just believe it. The plot was _____ (believable)
2. I saw her just a few days ago but still miss her. It looks like she just _______
(appeared)
3. I am sorry. I didn’t mean to hurt you. I must have ______ you. (Understood)
V. Fill in the blanks with the correct prefix from the list: dis-, over-, under-,
re-, ir-, un-, im-, il-
1. My desk is……………..…tidy. I need to clean it up.
2. It was…………..…fair of the teacher not to treat the students equally.
3. I do not think she will be……..………elected for another term.
4. It is considered……….…….polite to ask about somebody’s salary.
5. He is still…………….…employed. He has been looking for a job for months.
6. I did not like the meat. It was……………………cooked.
7. My father is……………..partial. He does not discriminate between his
children.
8. You should learn…………..….regular verbs by heart.
9. Janet is totally………………...reliable as a source of information.
10. He always acts in a/an…………….responsible manner when he loses his
temper.
11. Some students displayed………………proper behaviour during the activity.
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12. In some countries, a lot of people are………..……..literate.
13. I did not do well on the last test. I think I’ll have to ……………………take
it.
14. The fish is……………….cooked. It is burnt.
15. The Internet…………..……. ables people to do various activities online.
16. Nobody trusts her because she is……………………honest.
VI. Fill in the blanks with the right suffix for the words in brackets. Use the
suffixes given in the list. -al, -ic, -ment, -fy -ful, -ness, -able, -en, -ism,–ance, -
ity.
1. (Success)……………..people always set smart goals.
2. I go to a (fit)…………….centre twice a week.
3. This sofa is (comfort)……….. .
4. He could not go to work yesterday because of his (sick)………………. .
5. I do not advise you to talk to him about your problem. He is not
(help)………….
6. Reading is the best way to (broad)……………your knowledge.
7. Poor countries suffer from (unemploy)…………………. .
8. The weather is too cold in this area. I have to buy some (wool) ……..clothes.
9. (Equal)……………… is the belief that everyone should be equal.
10. We are looking for hard-working and (rely)……………………….
employees.
11. Could you (simple)………………… your instructions, please?
12. The belief that things will improve is called (optimist)……..…….., whereas
the belief that things will get worse is called (pessimist)…..…..
13. (Persevere)……… is considered one of the most essential qualities for
success in life.
14. The government has taken a (history)…………….decision.
15. The whole world is undergoing an (economy)……………..crisis.
Vocabulary For Digital Communication
88
Vocabulary for digital communication involves familiarising with terms,
expressions, and jargon commonly used in online interactions, professional email
correspondence, and social media platforms.
Email and Professional Communication
Attachment: A file sent with an email.
BCC (Blind Carbon Copy): Sending an email to multiple recipients without
revealing others.
CC (Carbon Copy): Sending an email copy to others for their reference.
Draft: An unsent version of an email.
Recipient: The person receiving the email.
Reply All: Responding to all recipients in an email thread.
Subject Line: The email's title or purpose.
Signature: A text block automatically appended to emails, often including the
sender's name and contact info.
Spam/Junk Mail: Unwanted or unsolicited emails.
Thread: A series of messages grouped by subject.
Social Media Terms
Hashtag (#): A keyword or phrase preceded by # used to categorise posts.
Trending: Topics or hashtags gaining popularity on social platforms.
Tagging: Mentioning someone in a post by linking their profile.
DM (Direct Message): A private message sent on social platforms.
Handle: A username on social platforms (e.g., @username).
Viral: Content that spreads rapidly online.
Repost/Retweet: Sharing someone else's content with or without adding your
comment.
Like/React: Expressing approval or emotion towards a post.
Follow/Unfollow: Subscribing to or unsubscribing from someone's updates.
Online Meetings and Virtual Platforms

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Mute/Unmute: Turning off/on the microphone during a virtual meeting.
Share Screen: Displaying your computer screen during a video call.
Breakout Room: Separate virtual spaces for smaller group discussions.
Host/Co-Host: The person managing a virtual meeting.
Waiting Room: A feature allowing the host to control participant entry.
Raise Hand: A virtual gesture to indicate a desire to speak.
Digital Tools and Collaboration
Cloud Storage: Online storage of files accessible from anywhere (e.g., Google
Drive).
Link/Hyperlink: A clickable element directing to a website or document.
Bookmark: Saving a webpage for future reference.
Collaboration Tools: Apps for teamwork, like Slack, Trello, or Microsoft
Teams.
Sync: Keeping files or data updated across devices.
E-Commerce Vocabulary
Cart: A virtual basket to hold items for purchase.
Checkout: The process of completing an online purchase.
Wishlist: A list of desired items saved for future reference.
Discount Code: A code providing price reductions.
Delivery Tracking: Monitoring the shipment status of an order.
Cybersecurity and Privacy
Password: A secret code to access accounts.
Encryption: Protecting data by converting it into a secure format.
Firewall: Security software that blocks unauthorised access.
Phishing: Fraudulent attempts to obtain sensitive information.
Two-Factor Authentication (2FA): Adding a second security step to logins.
Common Abbreviations and Acronyms
ASAP: As Soon As Possible.

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 BRB: Be Right Back.
FYI: For Your Information.
IMO/IMHO: In My Opinion/In My Humble Opinion.
LOL: Laughing Out Loud.
BTW: By The Way.
FAQ: Frequently Asked Questions.
Blogging and Content Creation
SEO (Search Engine Optimization): Improving content visibility in search
results.
Clickbait: Attention-grabbing headlines designed to entice clicks.
Blog Post: An article published on a blog.
Engagement: Interaction with content, such as likes, comments, and shares.
Algorithm: The set of rules platforms use to rank and display content.

Exercises:
Fill in the blanks with appropriate terms from the vocabulary list provided
above.
1. If you want to keep a webpage for future reference, you can __________ it.
2. Adding __________ provides a second layer of security to your online accounts.
3. The __________ line of an email should summarise its purpose.
4. A __________ allows you to mention someone in your social media post.
5. Always use a strong __________ to protect your online accounts.
6. __________ helps secure sensitive information by converting it into an
unreadable format.
7. Be wary of __________ emails that try to steal your personal information.
8. If you want to send an email to multiple people without revealing their email
addresses, use __________.
9. Before sending the final email, save it as a __________ to review later.

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10. Adding a __________ to your post can help categorise it and reach a wider
audience.
11. The video gained millions of views and became __________ overnight.
12. During a virtual meeting, you can __________ your microphone to avoid
background noise.
13. To present a document or presentation during a meeting, use the __________
feature.
14. The host divided participants into smaller groups using __________ rooms.
15. Add items to your __________ if you want to save them for future purchases.
16. To finalise your purchase, go to the __________ page and complete the payment.
17. Writing quality content with good __________ can improve your website’s
visibility in search results.
18. A __________ is an article or piece of writing published on a blog.
19. Social media __________ is measured by likes, comments, and shares on a post.
20. Platforms use __________ to determine which content appears on your feed.

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 CONCORD

Concord refers to the grammatical agreement between different parts of a

sentence, particularly in subject-verb and pronoun-antecedent relationships. It
ensures consistency in number, person, gender, and case within a sentence.

A verb must agree with its subject:

 In number
 In person

SINGULAR VERB PLURAL VERB

Is/am/are/was/has Are/were/have
Takes ‘s’ form: Takes root form:
Ex: She Ex: They
waits/writes wait/write
(Singular subject agrees with singular verb & plural subject agrees with
plural verb)

Rule 1: A plural verb is used when two or more subjects are combined by
‘and’.
1. She and her sister are identical.
2. Govind and Arun were friends.
3. Radha and Ramani have secured the same rank.

There are two exceptions in using and

• When two singular subjects refer to the same person or
thing a singular verb should be used.
1. A good Statesman and Scientist was Abdul Kalam. (Referring to one
Person)
2. My mother and guide has helped me. (Here mother is also the
guide referring to one person)

NOTE: In the first sentence article ‘A’ is used only once, denoting it as the same
person if the article is used behind each subject like:
A good Statesman and a good Scientist refer to two different people; hence, a
plural verb will be used.
 When two subjects represent one idea or concept, a singular verb should be
93
 used.
1. Idli and Chutney is a nutritious breakfast.
2. Time and tide waits for none.

Rule 2: Words such as ‘each’ or ‘every’ is used before two singular subjects
– singular verb should be used:
When two or more singular subjects are combined with or, nor, but, none,
neither nor, either, or a singular verb is used.
1. Every man and woman works hard to feed the family. Each bird and beast tries to

protect its young ones.

2. John or Abraham has to compromise.

3. Not only his friend but even his brother finds him selfish. Neither Suresh nor

Mahesh is at fault.
4. Either Malini or Sohan has the property in their names.

Rule 3: A singular collective noun (a crowd, a gang, a team, jury) takes a

singular verb.
 Class names or classified categories (Footwear, Crockery, Stationery) take
singular verbs.
 Names of branches of science or diseases (Mathematics, Physics, Ethics)
take singular verbs.
There are two exceptions
A dozen takes a plural verb since it denotes a plural number. There are a dozen
cups in the tray.
A dozen bananas are cheaper compared to one apple.

When applied to things (such as Scissors, Shoes, and Trousers) that are two
components always together, a pair of takes a singular verb.
However, if we omit a pair of and use the plural words, then it must agree with
the plural verb.
1. There is a pair of trousers in the cupboard.
94
2. There are scissors in the drawer.

3. His socks were torn and worn out.

In short, they take:

SINGULAR VERB PLURAL VERB

Much (quantity) Many (number)
Collective Noun A number of, several
Class names/ title of the book A dozen
One of / none/neither/ either Some of(number)/ half of
Each/ every/ anybody People/ cattle

Rule 4: Words like with, together with, along with, besides, as well as,
including, in addition to, etc. do not affect the number of the verb. If the
subject is singular, a singular verb is required; if plural, a plural verb.
1. The television, along with the cabinet, is to be sold.

2. Mrs Paul, with her son and daughter, is going to the theatre this evening.

3. Our chief competitor, as well as ourselves, is obliged to increase prices.

4. The decoration of the rooms, including the carpets and furniture, is most pleasing.

Rule 5: If the subject is made up of both singular and plural words connected
by or, nor, either... or; neither ... nor, not only ... but also, the verb agrees with
the nearer part of the subject.
1. Neither the prices nor the quality has changed.

2. Not only the headmaster but also the teachers are in favour of the expansion of

the school.
3. Not only the teachers but also the headmaster is in favour of the expansion of the

school.
4. Neither the salesmen nor the buyer is in favour of the system.

5. Neither the buyer nor the salesmen are in favour of the system.

Rule 6: If the subject consists of two singular words connected by or,

neither... nor, or either... or, the subject is singular and requires a singular verb.
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1. Neither our Accounts Department nor our Head Office has a record of the

transaction.
2. Either Sunita or Neetu has the swimming suit.

3. Either October or November is a good vacation month.

4. Neither the radio nor the television was in working order.

Rule 7: Plural verbs are required for many nouns that have no singular
form, such as proceeds, goods, ashes, remains, credentials, premises, etc.
1. The proceeds of the magic show are to be given to the fund for soldiers’

welfare.
2. The goods are being dispatched today by goods train.

Rule 8: When the group acts as a unit, the verb should be singular.
1. The committee has agreed to submit its report on Friday.

2. The Board of Directors meets once a month.

3. The firm is one of the most reputed in the country.

4. The majority has made its decision.

Rule 9: When the members of the group are thought of as acting separately,
the verb should be plural.
1. The team are arguing over who should be the captain (individual members in the
team are arguing)
2. The committee were not in agreement on the action to be taken.
3. The audience were cheering and laughing; even crying.
Rule 10: Company names may be either singular or plural, according to their
meaning. The plural form emphasizes the individual personnel making up
the company.
1. Mudra and Corporation have retained the goodwill of their customers.
2. The Oil Corporation is located at Nariman Point, Mumbai.

96
 Exercises

I. Fill in the blanks with the correct form of the verbs given in brackets.
1. Kamala and Vimala twins. (is/are)
2. John and Mary not come home (has/have)
3. Two and two four (make/makes)
4. Three –fourths of the house constructed (was/were)
5. Bread and butter_________a wholesome food (is/are).

II. Fill in the blanks with the correct form of the verbs given in brackets.
1. Everyone of the group participated in the activity. (has/ have)
2. Each child in the class written the composition. (has/have)
3. None but the brave given a medal (is/are)
4. Neither his mother nor his father the game (play/plays)
5. Neither parent _ proud of her achievements. (is/are).

III. Fill in the blanks with the correct form of the verbs given in brackets.
1. A bouquet of flowers been given to the elderly. (has/have)
2. A mob _ attacked the office. (has/have)
3. A new pair of shoes given to him as a gift. (is/are)
4. The trousers he has worn bought from the famous mall. (is/are)
5. The stationery very old in the office. (is/are).

IV. Fill in the blanks with the correct form of the verbs given in brackets.
1. Fifty grams of Tea forty rupees. (cost/costs)
2. Ten Thousand Rupees a lot of money. (is/are)
3. Thirty years a very long time. (is/are)
4. Ten tons a heavy load. (is/are)
5. Forty hours the regular work per week. (is/are)
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V. Underline the correct verb form in the following sentences:
1. The quality of the shoes is/are not good.
2. Neither of the applicants is/are fully qualified.
3. His knowledge of many languages was/were really remarkable.
4. Few men is/are able to do cooking.
5. Either of these students was/were allowed to write the exam.
6. The ‘Arabian Nights’ is/are still a favourite book among children.
7. People in our village do/does not have electricity.
8. Not only his writing but also his speech was/were confusing.
9. One of the girls in the class own/ owns this book.
10. Many of the flowers has/have no smell.

VI. Correct the following sentences:

1. The pen and the paper is on the desk.
2. Every one of the students have practiced very hard.
3. The skills of understanding personal communications is crucial to good business.
4. Not many people know the truth about the lifestyles of the rich and famous.
5. The number of people who are mobile phone owners rise every year.
6. It used to be thought that learning languages waste time.
7. She is taking the test twice because she believe it is best to have a trial run.
8. In the ‘50s, the comedy team of Abbott and Costello were world famous.
9. Every day there is another driver who lose his driving license due to speed.
10. Neither of the debates were successful.

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 REPORTED SPEECH

When we want to report or narrate what somebody has said, we can either quote the
exact words or talk about what was said without using the exact words. When one
quotes the speaker's words, the speech is in direct speech, and when one says what was
said by the speaker, the speech is in indirect speech/reported speech.
1. The teacher said, “Why are you late?”
2. The teacher asked why I was late.
Sentence 1 uses the exact words of the teacher, and hence, it is in direct speech,
whereas sentence 2 conveys the same message in the words of the narrator, and hence,
it is in Indirect/ Reported Speech.
Examples:
1. Direct speech: "I am going to the store," said John.
Indirect speech: John said that he was going to the store.
2. Direct speech: "Can you help me with this homework?" asked Sarah.
Indirect speech: Sarah asked if I could help her with her homework.
3. Direct speech: "I love eating pizza," exclaimed David.
Indirect speech: David exclaimed that he loved eating pizza.
4. Direct speech: "Don't forget to lock the door," reminded Mom.
Indirect speech: Mom reminded me not to forget to lock the door.
5. Direct speech: "Wow, that's a beautiful dress!" complimented Emily.
Indirect speech: Emily complimented that it was a beautiful dress.

Conventions to be followed when changing from direct to indirect speech:

Rule 1- Pronouns should be changed
a) First-person pronouns should be changed to the third person except when the speaker

is reporting his/her own words.

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 Direct: She said, “Prerana is my daughter”.
Reported: She said that Prerana is her daughter.
b) Second person pronoun is changed according to the object of the reporting verb.

Direct: She says to me, “You have done your best”

Reported: She said to me that I had done my best.
c) Third person pronoun is not changed.

Direct: She says, “He does not work hard.”

Reported: She said he does not work hard.
Change of Person:
DIRECT SPEECH REPORTED
SPEECH
I He/ She
Me Him/ Her
We They
My His/ Her
Mine His/ Hers
Our Their

Rule 2- Adjectives should be changed

Demonstrative adjectives such as this/that/these should be changed.
1. This used as a time expression becomes That.

Direct: She said, “She is coming this week”.

Reported: She said she was coming that week.
2. This and that used as adjectives usually change to The.

Direct: He said, “I bought this bike for my brother”.

Reported: He said he had bought the bike for his brother.
Rule 3- Expressions of Time and Place
Adverb and adverbial phrases of time change as follows:
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DIRECT SPEECH REPORTED SPEECH
Today That day
Ex- I said, “I will be buying a car I said I would be buying a car that
today”. day.
Yesterday The previous day/ The day before
Ex- I said, “I bought a car yesterday”. I said I had bought a car the previous
day
The day before yesterday Two days before
Ex- I said, “I bought a car day before I said I had bought a car two days
yesterday”. before.
Tomorrow The next day/ the following day
Ex- I said, “I will buy a car I said I would be buying a car the
tomorrow”. next day.
The day after tomorrow Two days later/ in two days’ time
Ex- I said, “I will buy a car the day I said I would buy a car two days
after tomorrow”. later.
Next week/Year The following week/year
Ex- I said, “I am planning to buy a car I said I was planning to buy a car the
next year”. following year.
Last week/year The previous week/year
Ex- He said, “It rained heavily last He said it had rained heavily the
week”. previous week.
A year ago A year before/ previous year
Ex- “A year ago I would do anything He said he would do anything to get
to get money” he said, money the previous year.

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Rule 4- Tense Should be Changed
Tense Direct Speech Reported Speech

Present Simple I like chocolate. He said (that) he liked

chocolate. (Simple Past)
Present Continuous I am living in She said (that) she was
California. living in California.
(Past Continuous)
Past Simple I bought a car. She said (that) she had
bought a car (Past
Perfect)
Past Continuous I was walking along the She said (that) she had
street. been walking along the
street. (Past Perfect
Continuous)
Present Perfect I haven't seen Gita He said (that) he hadn't
seen Gita. (Past Perfect)
Past Perfect* I had taken English She said (that) she had
lessons before taken English lessons
before. *
*Does not change
Rule 5- Change Modal Auxiliary:
Tense Direct Speech Reported Speech

Will I will go to the market She said (that) she would go to the
market.
would * I would love to go to She said (that) she would love to go
Paris to Paris.
Can I can swim He said (that) he could swim.
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 Could* I could have gone to the She said (that) she could have gone to
party, but I was busy the party, but she was busy.
Shall I shall try my best He said (that) he would try his best.
Should * You should study hard She said (that) I should study hard.
Might* It might rain tomorrow She said (that) it might rain the next
day.
Must I must go now She said (that) she must go then.
* does not change
Reporting Verbs
Reporting verbs are used in Indirect Speech to convey language functions like
offering, suggesting, and expressing sympathy.
Direct: “Shall I bring you some tea?” he asked.
Reported: He offered me some tea.
Direct: “Shall we meet at 2 pm?” she said.
Reported: She suggested meeting at 2 pm.
DIRECT SPEECH REPORTED SPEECH
Sorry/ Pardon Apologised.
“I am sorry”, she said. She apologised for her mistake.
Thank You Expressed gratitude/ Thanked.
He said, “Thank you.” He expressed gratitude/ He thanked
me.
Good morning/afternoon, etc. Greeted.
“Good morning, sir”, she said. She greeted the principal.
Congratulations Congratulated
“Congratulations!” I said. I congratulated her.
Yes/of course/ okay Agreed
“Okay! I will do it”, I said. I agreed to do it.

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 No/ Cannot/ not at all Disagreed/Denied She disagreed.
“No! I can’t do it”, she said.

Exceptions:
The tense of the Reported speech expressing the following does not change
1. Universal truth
“The earth moves around the Sun”, the Professor said.
The Professor said that the earth moves around the sun.
2. Habitual action
"I read books every day," she said.
She said that she read books every day.
3. Historical Event
"Columbus discovered America in 1492," the teacher said.
The teacher said that Columbus discovered America in 1492.
Rules for changing four types of sentences from direct speech to indirect speech
 Assertive sentences/statements
 Said is often changed to told if an object follows it.
 Said/told is followed by that.
 The tense of the verb and personal pronouns should change.
Examples:
1. "The sky is blue."
He said that the sky was blue.
2. "I love to read books."
She said that she loved to read books.
3. "We will go to the park tomorrow."
They said that they would go to the park the next day.
4. “I went to the market yesterday,” she said.
She said that she had gone to the market the previous day.
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 Interrogative sentences (Questions)
 Change said to asked /enquired.
 When an interrogative sentence begins with an interrogative pronoun (what, who,
which, whom, whose) or interrogative adverb (when, where, why, how) the indirect
speech is introduced by the same word with which the question in the direct speech
begins.
 When an interrogative sentence begins with an auxiliary verb (is, am, are, do, does,
did, may, etc.), indirect speech is introduced by if/ whether.
 The interrogative form of the sentence is changed into the statement form. A full stop
replaces the question mark.
 Negative and verbal abbreviations (shan’t, can’t, isn’t, etc.) appear in full in reported
speech (shall not, cannot, is not).
 The tense of the verb and the personal pronouns must be changed.
Examples:
1. "Are you going to the party?" she asked.
She asked if I was going to the party.
2. "Why are you late?" he inquired.
He inquired why I was late.
3. "What time is it?" she asked.
She asked what time it was.
4. "Have you finished your homework?" she asked.
She asked if I had finished my homework.
 Imperative sentences
 Said changes into requested, advised, ordered, asked, told, etc. Told generally
introduces an order or a command. Ask usually expresses a request.
 The verb of the direct speech is changed into infinitive form (to+ verb). In the
negative sentences, ‘not’ is put before the infinitive.

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 When the command or advice is negative, we can use forbade.
Examples:
1. "Please lend me your pen," she requested.
She requested me to lend her my pen.
2. "You should study hard for the exam," the teacher advised.
The teacher advised me to study hard for the exam.
3. "Don't forget to lock the door," she ordered.
She ordered me not to forget to lock the door.
4. "Don't make a noise," she said.
She told me not to make a noise.
 Exclamatory sentences
 Said must be replaced by ‘exclaimed’ followed by the words, with joy/sorrow/
surprise/shock/ pain, etc.
 Words such as What a, How, Alas, Bravo, Hurrah, and expressive of strong feelings
should be omitted.
 The actual words of the speaker are changed into statements. (Exclamatory becomes
Assertive)
Examples:
1. "Hurrah! I got the job!" she exclaimed.
She exclaimed joyfully that she had got the job.
2. "Bravo! You've done a fantastic job," the teacher exclaimed.
The teacher exclaimed that I had done a fantastic job.
3. "What a performance!" the audience cheered.
The audience cheered, praising the performance.
4. "Alas! I've lost my keys," she lamented.
She lamented that she had lost her keys.
Exercises:
I. Change the following sentences into reported speech:

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1. "I am hungry," said the child.
2. "Can you help me with this?" she asked.
3. "I love to read books," he stated.
4. "Don't forget to lock the door," she reminded.
5. "Wow, that's a beautiful dress!" she exclaimed.
6. "I'll be back soon," he promised.
7. "What time is it?" she inquired.
8. "I don't understand," he confessed.
9. "Let's go for a walk," she suggested.
10. "I'm so tired," he complained.
II. Change the following sentences into direct speech:
1. She said that she would be late.
2. He asked me if I had finished my homework.
3. They told us not to make noise.
4. She exclaimed that the movie was fantastic.
5. He complained that the food was too spicy.
6. She suggested that we should go for a picnic.
7. They inquired when the train would arrive.
8. He admitted that he had made a mistake.
9. She apologised for being rude.
10. They warned us about the danger of crossing the road.

III Change the following conversations into reported speech:

1. Ravi: “I am feeling tired. I have been working since morning."
Anil: "You should take some rest. Working too much is not good for your health."
Ravi: "I will take a break soon."
2. Teacher: "Students, you must submit your assignments by Friday. If you fail to do so,
you will lose marks."

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 Student: "Can we get an extension?"
Teacher: "No, the deadline is final."
3. Riya: "I have planned a surprise party for my brother. Please don't tell him."
Sanya: "That sounds exciting! When is the party?"
Riya: "It’s on Saturday evening at my house."

4. Manager: "We need to complete this project by next Monday. Everyone must work
extra hours if required."
Employee X: "Will we get additional incentives for extra work?"
Manager: "Yes, you will be compensated for the extra hours."
5. Doctor: "You should drink plenty of water and take this medicine twice a day.
Patient: "How many days should I take the medicine?"
Doctor: "For five days, and then come for a follow-up check-up."

IV Change the following conversations from Indirect to Direct Speech.

1. The tour guide told the tourists to stay together and follow his instructions. He warned
them that the forest was dense and it was easy to get lost. One of the tourists asked if
they would see any wild animals. The guide replied that they might spot some deer or
birds.

2. My mother advised me to eat healthy food and avoid junk food. She reminded me that
eating too many sweets could harm my teeth. I assured her that I would take care of
my diet.

3. The police officer warned the driver that he was exceeding the speed limit and needed
to slow down. The driver apologised and said that he was in a hurry. The officer told
him that rules must be followed for everyone’s safety.

4. The teacher told the students that they should revise the entire syllabus before the
exam. She reminded them that the question paper would be based on all the topics
covered in class. One student asked if they could get extra revision sessions. The
teacher said that she would arrange them if needed.

5. The shopkeeper told the customer that the product was currently out of stock but would
be available next week. The customer asked if he could pre-order it. The shopkeeper
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replied that he could leave his contact details, and they would inform him once the
stock arrived.

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 DATA INTERPRETATION
A picture often communicates more effectively and appealingly than a written
paragraph. Graphs present numerical facts visually, making them easy to understand
quickly and clearly. They are visual representations of collected data and offer a
simpler grasp of information than tables. This is especially useful for identifying
trends or making comparisons.

Graphs and charts come in various forms, such as pie charts, line graphs, bar graphs,
statistical tables, and scoreboards. The process of organizing and interpreting data to
derive meaningful insights is known as Data Interpretation. This skill is frequently
tested in competitive exams to assess one's ability to read and comprehend visual data
accurately. Additionally, it helps students improve their vocabulary, particularly in
using collocations and degrees of comparison.
How to Interpret?
 A paragraph is written keeping the facts and figures in mind.
 Compare the given data with the previous years’ and write the comparative
report by mentioning the data.
 While making a comparison, mention the year and data of that year with the
current year and data.
 Draw the conclusion by summing it up towards the end of the paragraph.

Some key terms for analysing a graph:

Visual data can be introduced by using one of the following phrases:
 According to the table/ graph/chart…
 The table/graph/chart shows…
 The table/graph/chart illustrates…
 Looking at the table/chart/graph, it can be seen that…
 The table/graph/chart provides information about…

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After introducing the visual data, you will be expected to describe the main
trends presented in the table, graph and/or chart. Below are different phrases
that you can use to define various trends:
To indicate an increase:
 a significant increase
 a considerable growth
 to increase dramatically
 to rise sharply
 to show an upward trend
 a significant increase
 a considerable growth
To indicate a decrease:
 a sharp fall
 a significant drop
 to decline sharply
 to show a downward trend
 to hit the lowest point
To indicate stability:
 a period of stability
 to remain stable
 to remain constant
To indicate Significant/Minor changes:
 significant
 substantial
 sharp
 marginal
Phrases to be used to talk about percentages and values being compared with
each other, both of which are common features of tables and charts:
Percentages
 a large/small percentage

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  an estimated percentage
 a significant percentage
 an average percentage
 the highest/lowest percentage
 a __% (per cent) increase/decrease
Comparisons:
 there are considerable differences
 to be slightly higher/lower than…
 to be significantly higher/lower than…
 two/three/four times higher/lower than…
 to remain the highest/lowest
 to be closely followed by…
A. Interpreting the given data:
Example: The following graph shows the number of books Basava and Emily
read over 5 days. Answer the questions set on it.

1. The graph shows the_________read by_______and_________ .

Ans: The graph shows the number of books read by Basava and Emily.

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2. On day 2,____________read more books than_____________.
Ans: On day 2, Emily read more books than Basava.
3. Until the fourth day, which student read books in an increasing order?
Ans: Basava
4. Name the day on which both the students read the same number of books.
Ans: Day 4
5. Name the days on which Emily read more books than Basava.
Ans: Day 2 and Day 5
6. Over a period of 5 days, who between the two had improved his/her reading
habits better?
Ans: Emily
Exercises:
1.The following bar chart shows a family's monthly spending in dollars in
the USA on three items in 2021. Answer the questions set on it.

1. The bar chart ___________ the monthly expenditure on food, gas and
clothing of a family living in the USA in 2021.
a) illustrates
b) shows
c) explains

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2. Overall, it can be seen that levels of expenditure ___________ over the
period.
a) increased
b) steadily
c) fluctuated
d) fell steeply
3. To begin, in January ____________ money was spent on food, at
approximately $500 per month.
a) the most
b) the least
c) the highest
4. Expenditure on gas followed ___________ the spending on food, falling at
first, then steadily increasing.
a) a very similar trend to
b) the same trend as
c) an opposite trend to
5. Clothing expenses, which at just over $200 accounted for the lowest spending
levels at the beginning of the period, _____________ over the time frame.
a) dramatic fluctuation
b) fluctuated dramatically
c) fluctuating dramatically
6. Expenditure on clothing ______________ in March, and then jumped to just
under $700 in the final month.
a) was markedly dropping
b) drop markedly
c) dropped markedly
7. In March, around $450 was spent on food, ________ just over $300 was spent
on gas and clothing.
a) however

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 b) whereas
c) in contrast
8. Spending on gas started at about $350 per month, falling in the following
month, and then increasing significantly __________ just under $600 in April.
a) to finish at
b) to finalise at
c) finished at
9. The money spent on clothing in April ________ the amount spent on food.
a) was more than half
b) was more than triple
c) was more than double
10. With the exception of _______________ in March, average spending
decreased slightly over the four months.
a) an increase
b) spending increased
c) increasing

1. Aaryan Event organisers have provided the expense sheet for organising
an event. Based on the graph, answer the questions.

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 1. Name the three components whose estimated and actual expenses are equal.
2. The actual expense for refreshments is _________ the estimated cost.
(a) higher than (b) lower than (c) equal to
3. The estimated cost of prizes is ___________ to the actual cost of decorations.
(a) higher (b) lower (c) equal
4. ____________ is the lowest actual cost spent in the entire event.
5. ____________ is the highest estimated cost of the event.

2. The following table shows the production of rice in different units for five
consecutive months in a year. Answer the questions set on it.
PRODUCTION UNITS
Month P Q R S T U
April 250 170 90 130 135 110
May 260 165 175 150 135 115
June 270 155 180 160 140 118
July 280 160 190 170 145 120
August 290 150 185 165 140 125

1. In which months does Unit Q contribute less to sugar production than Unit S?
2. Unit P shows ____________ in the production of rice over the months.
a) sudden increase
b) continuous increase
c) slow decrease
3. In the case of Unit T, in which of the following pairs of months was the rice
production equal?
a) April & May
b) June & July
c) July & August
3. In the month of May, Unit R has the highest rice production. True/False
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 5. Unit U has recorded the __________ production of rice in the month of April.
a) the lowest
b) Equal to unit T
c) the highest

4. The following table shows the batting scores of the batsmen in five
consecutive months in a year. Answer the questions set on it.
CRICKET SCOREBOARD
Player April May June July August
Virat Kohli 85 78 92 110 98
Rohit 95 105 102 88 120
Sharma
Shubman 75 80 88 70 85
Gill
KL Rahul 60 45 75 85 95
Hardik 50 65 72 80 60
Pandya
Suryakumar 40 60 70 95 110
Yadav

1. In which months did Rohit Sharma score more runs than Virat Kohli?
2. Virat Kohli shows __________ in his performance over the months.
a) sudden increase
b) continuous increase
c) gradual decline
3. In the case of KL Rahul, in which of the following pairs of months did he score
equal or nearly equal runs?
a) April & May
b) June & July
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c) July & August
4. In the month of July, Suryakumar Yadav had the highest score among all
players. True/False
5. Shubman Gill recorded __________ runs in April.
a) the lowest among all players
b) higher than KL Rahul
c) the same as Hardik Pandya
V. The following table shows the usage of water in a residential area. Answer
the questions set on it.

1. Which category of water usage has the highest consumption?

2. Water used for cooking is __________ than water used for drinking.
a) higher
b) lower
c) equal
3. In which of the following pairs of categories is the water usage equal or nearly
equal?
a) Washing Clothes & Cleaning
b) Cooking & Gardening
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c) Drinking & Cleaning
4. The percentage of water used for gardening is higher than that used for cooking.
True/False
5. Water usage for __________ is the second-highest in the given data.
a) Washing Clothes
b) Bathing
c) Cleaning

B. Interpreting the given data in a paragraph:

Sample
The line chart below shows the number of international students enrolled in
four different universities in Australia from 2000 to 2015. Summarize the
information by selecting and reporting the main features and make
comparisons where relevant.

The line chart illustrates the enrollment trends of international students at four
Australian universities—University A, University B, University C, and
University D—over a 15-year period from 2000 to 2015.

119
 Overall, the chart demonstrates a significant increase in the number of
international students at all four universities, with varying rates of growth.
University A experienced the most substantial rise in enrollment, while
University D saw the least.
Starting with University A, the number of international students grew
steadily from 2,000 in 2000 to 16,000 in 2015. The growth was particularly sharp
between 2005 and 2010 when the figures more than doubled from 5,000 to
12,000.
University B also saw a considerable increase, albeit at a slower pace.
Enrollment rose from 3,000 in 2000 to 9,000 in 2015. The growth was more
gradual compared to University A, with a notable rise occurring between 2005
and 2010.
In contrast, University C had a relatively modest increase. The number of
international students started at 1,000 in 2000 and reached 6,000 by 2015. While
the overall growth was less dramatic, there was a consistent upward trend
throughout the period.
University D exhibited the least growth among the four institutions. The
number of international students increased from 500 in 2000 to 3,000 in 2015.
The trend was steady, with no significant fluctuations.
In conclusion, all four universities saw an upward trend in the enrollment
of international students from 2000 to 2015. University A experienced the most
significant increase, while University D had the smallest growth in student
numbers. This suggests that Australian universities have become increasingly
popular destinations for international students over the period.
(https://ielts.idp.com/nepal/about/news-and-articles/article-line-graph-ielts-
band-9)

120
Exercises:
1.The pie chart below shows the consumption of fruits among a group of
students in a school. Summarize the information by selecting and reporting
the main features and make comparisons where relevant.

2. The following table shows the World’s tallest buildings. Write a paragraph
by selecting and reporting the main features and make comparisons where
relevant.

121
III Study the following pie chart and write a paragraph on the factors
affecting global warming.

IV In about 150 words, write about the histogram given below, which
illustrates the declining relevance of reading among the present generation.
Write a paragraph.

122
 PARAGRAPH WRITING

A paragraph is the full and logical development of a single idea. Paragraphs are
comprised of coherent sentences. A paragraph is a group of sentences organised
around a central topic. In fact, the cardinal rule of paragraph writing is to focus
on one idea. A well-written paragraph takes its readers on a clear path without
detours. A paragraph expresses a single idea.
Most paragraphs follow a three-part structure: introduction, body, and
conclusion. This structure is evident in various types of writing, including
narration, description, comparison, contrast, and analysis. Each section plays a
crucial role in conveying meaning to the reader.
A paragraph should consist of:
 Topic sentence
 Supporting sentence(s) (Body)
 Concluding sentence

Introduction: The opening section of a paragraph, which includes the topic

sentence and any necessary background information or transitions.
Body: The central part of the paragraph, where the main idea is developed using
facts, arguments, analysis, examples, and other supporting details.
Conclusion: The closing section reinforces the connection between the
paragraph’s discussion and its main idea.

A paragraph usually consists of five sentences: the topic sentence, three

supporting sentences, and a concluding sentence. A good paragraph must have
the following elements:
Unity: Unity in a paragraph begins with the topic sentence. Every paragraph has
one controlling idea expressed in its topic sentence, which is typically the first

123
sentence of the paragraph. A paragraph is unified around this main idea, with the
supporting sentences providing detail and discussion. All the sentences in a
paragraph are logically connected to the central idea. Irrelevant material violates
the principle of unity.
Order: Order refers to the way you organise your supporting sentences. Whether
you choose chronological order, order of importance, or another logical
presentation of detail, a good paragraph always has a definite organisation. In a
well-ordered paragraph, the reader follows along easily. Order helps the reader
grasp the meaning and avoids confusion.
Coherence: Coherence is the quality that makes writing understandable.
Sentences within a paragraph need to connect to each other and work together as
a whole. One of the best ways to achieve coherency is to use transition words.
These words bridge one sentence to the next. Transition words that show order
(first, second, third), spatial relationships (above, below) or logic (furthermore,
in addition, in fact) are to be used. Also, in writing a paragraph, using a consistent
verb tense and point of view are important ingredients for coherency.
Completeness: Completeness means a paragraph is well-developed. The
paragraph is complete if all sentences clearly and sufficiently support the main
idea. The paragraph is incomplete if there are not enough sentences or
information to prove your thesis. Usually, three supporting sentences, a topic
sentence, and a concluding sentence are needed for a paragraph to be complete.
The paragraph's concluding sentence or last sentence should summarise the main
idea by reinforcing the topic sentence.

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The following paragraph demonstrates this organisational pattern. Both the topic sentence
and concluding sentence (CAPITALIZED) guide the reader in understanding the
paragraph’s key message.
SCIENTISTS HAVE LEARNED TO SUPPLEMENT THE SENSE OF SIGHT IN
NUMEROUS WAYS. In front of the tiny pupil of the eye, they put, on Mount Palomar, a
great monocle 200 inches in diameter, and with it, see 2000 times farther into the depths
of space. Or they look through a small pair of lenses arranged as a microscope into a drop
of water or blood and magnify the living creatures by as much as 2000 diameters there,
many of which are among man’s most dangerous enemies. Or, if we want to see distant
happenings on Earth, they use some of the previously wasted electromagnetic waves to
carry television images, which they re-create as light by whipping tiny crystals on a screen
with electrons in a vacuum. Or they can bring happenings of long ago and far away as
coloured motion pictures by arranging silver atoms and colour-absorbing molecules to
force light waves into the patterns of original reality. Or if we want to see into the centre
of a steel casting or the chest of an injured child, they send the information on a beam of
penetrating short-wave X-rays and then convert it back into images we can see on a screen
or photograph. THUS, ALMOST EVERY TYPE OF ELECTROMAGNETIC
RADIATION YET DISCOVERED HAS BEEN USED TO EXTEND OUR SENSE OF
SIGHT IN SOME WAY.

George Harrison, “Faith and the Scientist”

Types of Paragraphs
The type of paragraph one writes depends on the purpose and context of the
content. Different types of paragraphs serve different functions, helping to
convey ideas clearly and effectively. Below are the four main types of paragraphs
commonly used in writing:

125
1. Expository Paragraph
Expository paragraphs are primarily used in nonfiction writing, including essays,
articles, and reports. Their purpose is to explain, inform, or clarify a particular
idea or topic. These paragraphs present facts, definitions, and explanations
without personal opinions. Each sentence builds on the main idea by providing
supporting details, examples, or evidence. Expository writing is structured
logically, ensuring clarity and coherence for the reader.
Example: Photosynthesis is a vital process that allows plants to produce their
own food. It occurs in the chloroplasts of plant cells, where sunlight, carbon
dioxide, and water are converted into glucose and oxygen. The process consists
of two main stages: the light-dependent reactions, which capture sunlight to
generate energy, and the Calvin cycle, which uses that energy to synthesise
glucose. This process sustains plant life and plays a crucial role in maintaining
the Earth’s oxygen levels and supporting the food chain. Without photosynthesis,
life on Earth would not be possible, as it provides the foundation for energy
transfer in most ecosystems.

2. Persuasive Paragraph
Similar in structure to expository paragraphs, persuasive paragraphs focus on
presenting and defending an argument. Instead of merely explaining facts, they
aim to convince the reader of a particular viewpoint. To justify their stance,
writers use reasoning, logic, and supporting evidence, such as statistics or expert
opinions. Persuasive paragraphs are commonly found in opinion pieces,
advertisements, and argumentative essays.
Example: Immigration is a driving force behind America's economic strength.
Despite ongoing debates about immigration, both legal and illegal, the reality is
that the United States thrives because of the skills, determination, and innovation
that immigrants bring. They fuel economic growth by providing businesses with
a dependable labour force and revitalising communities through

126
entrepreneurship, homeownership, and civic engagement. Cities and towns across
the nation flourish as immigrant families contribute to local economies, creating
jobs and boosting consumer spending. If the U.S. fails to embrace and support
immigrants, it risks falling behind other industrialised nations that actively recruit
skilled and unskilled workers to strengthen their economies. To remain a global
leader, America must continue to welcome and empower those who seek a better
future while helping build a stronger, more prosperous nation.

3. Narrative Paragraph
Narrative paragraphs are used to tell a story, describe an event, or recount an
experience. They are common in creative writing, personal essays, and literature.
These paragraphs provide a sequence of actions, often following a chronological
order. Each sentence contributes to the progression of the story, adding new
details, actions, or reactions. Strong narrative paragraphs engage readers by
creating a sense of movement and continuity.
Example: One North Carolina man found quite a surprise last year while fishing
in the Catawba River: a piranha. Jerry Melton, of Gastonia, reeled in a one-pound,
four-ounce fish with an unusual bite. Melton could not identify it, but a nearby
fisherman did. Melton, at first, could not believe he had caught a piranha. He said,
“That ain’t no piranha. They ain’t got piranha around here.” Melton was right:
the fish is native to South America, and North Carolina prohibits owning the fish
as a pet or introducing the species to local waterways. The sharp-toothed,
carnivorous fish likely found itself in the Catawba River when its illegal owner
released the fish after growing tired of it. Wildlife officials hope that the piranha
was the only one of its kind in the river, but locals are thinking twice before they
wade in the water.

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4. Descriptive Paragraph
Descriptive paragraphs focus on painting a vivid picture of a person, place, object,
or situation. Instead of advancing a story, they aim to immerse the reader by
appealing to the senses—sight, sound, touch, taste, and smell. Writers use precise
language, figurative expressions, and sensory details to enhance their
descriptions. Such paragraphs are frequently used in fiction, poetry, travel
writing, and personal reflections.
Example: Bangalore, often called the "Silicon Valley of India," is a vibrant city
that seamlessly blends tradition with modernity. Known for its pleasant climate,
lush green parks, and bustling streets, the city offers a dynamic mix of cultures,
cuisines, and lifestyles. From the historic charm of Bangalore Palace and Tipu
Sultan’s Summer Palace to the contemporary energy of MG Road and Electronic
City, every corner of Bangalore tells a story. The city's thriving IT industry has
attracted professionals from across the country, making it a melting pot of diverse
traditions and languages. Cubbon Park and Lalbagh Botanical Garden provide
serene escapes amid the urban hustle, while the lively cafés, breweries, and street
food stalls showcase its cosmopolitan spirit. Whether exploring the rich heritage,
enjoying the vibrant nightlife, or embracing its tech-driven progress, Bangalore
captivates every visitor with its unique blend of old and new.

The type of paragraph used depends on the nature of the writing. For example, a
research paper primarily consists of expository paragraphs, as its goal is to present
factual information. Conversely, a short story relies on a combination of narrative
and descriptive paragraphs to develop characters and settings. Understanding the
function of each paragraph type helps writers create more structured and engaging
content.

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 Tips to Develop a Paragraph
 Think of a specific topic
 Brainstorm and collect ideas
 Choose the topic sentence
 Put the ideas in order around the topic sentence
 Make the first and last sentences short and effective

Exercises:
Write a paragraph of about 100-150 words on the given topics.
Expository Paragraph (Explain or inform)
1. The importance of the Internet in education
2. Steps to prepare for a job interview
3. Causes and effects of global warming
Narrative Paragraph Topics (Tell a story or personal experience)
1. A memorable day from your childhood
2. A surprise that changed your life
3. A visit to a new place that fascinated you
Descriptive Paragraph (Describe using sensory details)
1. A bustling marketplace in your city
2. A peaceful evening by the beach
3. The aroma and flavours of your favourite meal
Persuasive Paragraph (Convince or argue a point)
1. The benefits of reading every day
2. Why everyone should recycle
3. The importance of voting in elections

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 QUESTION PAPER PATTERN

B.B.A. AND OTHER PROGRAMS COMING UNDER THE FACULTY

OF MANAGEMENT
GENERAL ENGLISH
II SEMESTER
Time: 3 Hours Marks :80

SECTION - A
(Literary Component – 50 marks)
I. Answer in two or three sentences. (ANY 5 out of 7 questions) 5x2=10

II. Answer in about a page each. (ANY 4 out of 5 questions) 4x5=20

III. Answer in about 2 pages. (ANY 2 out of 3 questions) 2x10=20

SECTION – B
(Language Component – 30 marks)

IV. Reading Comprehension 05 Marks

V. Concord 05 Marks

VI. Reported Speech 05 Marks

VII. Vocabulary 05 Marks

VIII. Interpretation Skills 05 Marks

IX. Paragraph Writing 05 Marks

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 MODEL QUESTION PAPER
B.B.A. AND OTHER PROGRAMS UNDER THE FACULTY OF
MANAGEMENT
GENERAL ENGLISH
II SEMESTER
Time: 3 Hours Marks:80
Instructions:
1. Answer all the questions.
2. Mention the question numbers correctly.
SECTION- A
(Literary Component)
I. Answer any FIVE of the following in a sentence or two: (5x2=10)
1. What does the poet mean by "bad habits of expectancy"?
2. What unexpected event happened during the race in “Nine Gold Medals”?
3. What is ironic about the woman’s claims of eating lightly in the story “The
Luncheon”?
4. Mention at least two reasons as to why the old man wanted to buy a buffalo.
5. How do Joe and Delia try to support each other?
6. Name a few prominent personalities who have visited the dabbawalas.
7. What campaign does Emma Watson promote in her speech?

II. Answer any FOUR in about a page each: (4x5=20)

1. How does Larkin portray human nature in the poem?
2. Explain the significance of the title ‘Nine Gold Medals’.
3. Analyze Tansukh's character in the context of his struggle for survival and the
dehumanizing impact of poverty on him.
4. How do the Mumbai dabbawalas work?
5. What are the key arguments presented in Gender Equality is Your Issue Too?

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 III. Answer any TWO in about two pages: (2x10=20)

1. Next, Please is a poem about unfulfilled expectations. Discuss with reference to

the poem.
2. Describe the relationship between Joe and Delia.
3. Discuss how Emma Watson presents gender equality as a shared responsibility.

SECTION – B
(Language Component)
IV Read the following passage and answer the questions that follow: (5)
Reading has been an essential part of human civilization for centuries.
From ancient manuscripts to modern digital books, reading helps people acquire
knowledge, develop imagination, and understand different perspectives. Books
allow individuals to explore new worlds, learn about history, and even escape
reality.
In today’s fast-paced world, however, the habit of reading is declining.
Many people prefer to watch videos or scroll through social media rather than
engage with a book. While digital media offers convenience, it often lacks the
depth and critical thinking required by reading. Studies suggest that individuals
who read regularly have better cognitive skills, improved vocabulary, and
enhanced concentration. Additionally, reading fiction has been linked to
increased empathy, as it allows readers to experience the emotions and struggles
of different characters.
Despite the rise of digital entertainment, libraries and bookstores continue
to thrive, proving that the love for books is still alive. Schools and colleges play
a crucial role in encouraging students to develop reading habits. Educators can
help students cultivate a lifelong passion for reading by promoting literature and
providing access to diverse books.

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1. What is the main purpose of the passage?
a) To explain why reading is no longer necessary
b) To compare books and social media
c) To highlight the importance of reading and its benefits
d) To discuss the history of writing
2. According to the passage, how does reading fiction benefit individuals?
a) It makes them better at math
b) It increases their empathy by allowing them to understand the characters'
emotions
c) It improves their athletic abilities
d) It helps them spend more time on social media
3. What challenge to reading habits is mentioned in the passage?
a) The high cost of books
b) The decline of libraries
c) The preference for digital entertainment over books
d) The difficulty of learning to read
4. According to the passage, what is one-way schools and colleges can
encourage reading?
a) By banning digital media
b) By forcing students to read a certain number of books
c) By promoting literature and providing access to diverse books
d) By making reading optional in education
5. Which of the following is NOT mentioned as a benefit of reading?
a) Improved cognitive skills
b) Enhanced concentration
c) Increased ability to multitask
d) Expanded vocabulary

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V Correct the following sentences: (5)
1. My friend and guide has always been there for me in difficult times.
2. The committee are divided on the issue of salary hikes.
3. Either the teachers or the principal have to address the students.
4. There was many reasons why he decided to leave the company.
5. The book, along with its illustrations, were praised by the critics.

VII Rewrite the given paragraph in reported speech: (5)

Rahul said, “I have completed my assignment on time.” His friend Meera asked,
“Did you check for any mistakes?” Rahul replied, “Yes, I reviewed it twice
before submitting it.” Meera advised, “It’s always good to proofread before
submission.”
VII a) Add a suitable prefix/suffix to the following words: (2)
a) act b) fortunate

b) Fill in the blanks with appropriate digital communication terms:

(2)
a) The process of storing data online instead of on a local device is known as
______ storage.
b) A video and audio meeting conducted over the internet is called a ______
conference.
c) Explain the difference between Spam and Phishing with suitable
examples. (1)

VIII The table below shows the performance of tennis players in five
consecutive tournaments. Answer the questions based on the given data.
(5)
Player Australian Open French Open Wimbledon US Open ATP Finals
Novak Djokovic 85 78 92 110 98
Rafael Nadal 95 105 102 88 120
Carlos Alcaraz 75 80 88 70 85
Daniil Medvedev 60 45 75 85 95
Jannik Sinner 50 65 72 80 60

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 Player Australian Open French Open Wimbledon US Open ATP Finals
Stefanos Tsitsipas 40 60 70 95 110

1. In which tournaments did Rafael Nadal score more points than Novak
Djokovic?
2. Novak Djokovic’s performance across the tournaments shows:
a) A sudden decline
b) A gradual improvement
c) Fluctuating results
3. Daniil Medvedev's scores were nearly equal in which of the following pairs
of tournaments?
a) Australian Open & French Open
b) Wimbledon & US Open
c) US Open & ATP Finals
4. In the US Open, Stefanos Tsitsipas had the highest score among all players.
True/False
5. Carlos Alcaraz recorded _______ points in the Australian Open.
a) The lowest among all players
b) Higher than Daniil Medvedev
c) The same as Jannik Sinner

OR
The pie chart given below shows the different causes of water pollution. Based
on the information, write a short paragraph explaining the main reasons for water
pollution and how they affect the environment.

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IX. Write a paragraph of about 100-150 words on any one the given topics:
(5)
a) A Challenge I Overcame
b) A Rainy Day in the City

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