Ways with words
A. Find the words from the text which mean the following.
a. a messenger or representative, especially one on a diplomatic mission : Envoy
b. the state or quality of being worthy of honor or respect : Dignity
c. harm done to someone in response to harm : Revenge
d. a person who holds extreme views in political or religious matters : Extremists
e. sympathetic pity and concern for the sufferings or misfortunes of others: Compassion
f. a person who is believed to speak for God: Prophet
g. the study of the nature of knowledge, reality and existence: Philosophy
h. the use of physical force so as to injure, abuse, damage or destroy: Violence
i. an unreasonable dislike of a particular group of people or things: Prejudice
B. Match the words on the left with their opposite meanings on the right.
a. honour —-------- disgrace
b. Innocent—------- guilty
c. brutality—---------kindness
d. forgiveness—----punishment
e. illiteracy —-------literacy
C. Using dictionary
Dictionary contains at least three forms of information about a word: pronunciation, word class and meaning.
Look at the following dictionary entry of the words ‘humanity’ and ‘humanize’ (Oxford
Advanced Learner’s Dictionary 9th edition):
humanity /hjuːˈmænəti/ noun1 [U] people in general: He was found guilty of crimes against
humanity. 2 [U] the state of being a person rather than a god, an animal or a machine: The story
was used to emphasize the humanity of Jesus. united by a sense of common humanity 3 [U] the
quality of being kind to people and animals by making sure that they do not suffer more than is
necessary; the quality of being humane: The judge was praised for his courage and humanity.
OPP inhumanity 4(the) humanities [pl.] the subjects of study that are about the way people think and behave, for example literature, language, history and philosophy: The college offers a
wide range of courses in the arts and humanities.
humanize (BrE also -ise) /ˈhjuːmənaɪz/ verb~sth to make sth more pleasant or suitable for people; to make sth more HUMANE: These measures are intended to humanize the prison system.
a. Study the dictionary entry above and answer these questions.
i. What is the headword in the first entry?
Ans: “Humanity” is the headword in the first entry.
ii. How many meanings of the word ‘humanity’ are given?
Ans: Four meanings of the word “humanity” are given.
iii. What do the abbreviations U, OPP, pl, and sth stand for?
Ans: U stands for Uncountable; OPP stands for Opposite word; pl stands for plural; and sth stands for something.
iv. What is the British English spelling of ‘humanize’?
Ans: The British English spelling of “humanize” is “humanise”
v. How is the word ‘humanize’ pronounced?
Ans: The word “humanize” is pronounced as /ˈhjuːmənaɪz/
vi. If we say Every person should have the sense of humanity, which meaning of ‘humanity’ is applied?
Ans: The third meaning of humanity is applied here that is “the quality of being humane”.
b. Arrange the following words in alphabetical order.
i. advance analysis amuse assure allergy attain aid anxiety acute agreement
Ans: acute advance agreement aid allergy amuse analysis anxiety assure attain.
ii. smoke small smart speaking smelling smoothly smuggler smashed smearing smallpox
Ans: small, smallpox, smart, smashed, smearing, smelling, smoke, smoothly, smuggler, speaking.
iii. terminal terminate terminology termite terms terrace terrible terribly territory terror
Ans: terminal terminate terminology termite terms terrace terrible terribly territory terror
c. Make a list of five new words from the reading text. Using a dictionary, write their meanings and use the words in sentences of your own.
Ignorance
1. ignorance /ˈɪɡnərəns/ n. [U] a lack of knowledge or information about something: Malala fought a long battle against prejudice and ignorance.
2. strategic /strəˈtiːdʒɪk/ adj. done as part of a plan that is meant to achieve a particular purpose or to gain an advantage : The cameras were set up at strategic points.
3. silenced /ˈsaɪlənsd/ v. [T] to make somebody/something stop speaking or making a noise: She silenced him with a glare.
4. simply /ˈsɪmpli/ adv. used to emphasize how easy or basic something is : Most internet users simply want information.
5. conservative /kənˈsɜːvətɪv/ adj. opposed to great or sudden social change; showing that you prefer traditional styles and values: Most of the Nepalese tend to be socially conservative.
Comprehension
Answer the following questions.
a. Why did the speaker receive thousands of good-wishes cards and gifts from all over the world?
Ans: The speaker received thousands of good-wishes cards and gifts from all over the world because she was injured and hospitalized after some Taliban shot her because of her advocacy to children’s education, particularly girl’s. People from all over the world prayed and sent good-wishes cards and gifts for her speedy recovery.
b. According to the speaker, what are hundreds of human rights activists and social workers struggling for?
Ans: According to the speaker, hundreds of human rights activists and social workers are struggling to achieve their goals of education, peace and equality. They are also speaking for ensurity of human rights.
c. What has she learnt from Gandhi?
Ans: She learnt the philosophy of non-violence from Gandhi.
d. In what sense is peace necessary for education?
Ans: Peace is necessary for education because in many parts of the world wars and conflicts have stopped children from going to their schools.
e. According to the speaker, what are the main problems faced by both men and women?
Ans: According to the speaker, poverty, ignorance, injustice, racism and the deprivation of basic rights are the main problems faced by both men and women.
f. What is Malala calling upon all governments?
Ans: Malala is calling upon all governments to ensure free compulsory education for every child all over the world and also too fight against terrorism and violence, to protect children
from brutality and harm.
g. What is the main message of this speech?
Ans: The main message of this speech is that education should be prioritized for everyone because it is solution to illiteracy, poverty, and terrorism.
Critical thinking
a. All children have the right to quality education. How can we ensure this right to every child? Discuss the role of the government and the parents to make sure that every child can attend school.
Ans: In Nepal, despite the fact that all children have the right to quality education, thousands of children do not get any kind of education. And those who get it somehow, many of them acquire nominal education lacking proper quality. We can ensure the right of education to every child if the government and private sectors collaborate to address and solve the root of this problem.
The major problems children do not get opportunity to receive quality education are: poverty and ignorance of parents, government’s indifference and lack of policies, failure of education system, commercialization of education, traditional and outdated teaching methods, unemployment, and many others. If these problems can be addressed from the concerned authority, it will ensure the right to quality education. The role of the government and the parents is significant to achieve this objective.
When the government and private sectors collaborate to generate jobs, it surely minimizes the poverty ratio. It ultimately helps people to invest in their children’s education. Besides, the government can reform the education system by making progressive plans and policies. More scholarships opportunities should be provided to the deserving students as well. Likewise, the commercialization of education should be stopped and teaching methods should be reformed according to the global requirement. To do this, the parents can play a greater role too. They can support the government to regulate the concerned plans and policies. Besides, they can arrange all the required provisions for their children and also prepare the necessary environment at home for children to study. They can also check and balance the educational activities of the school attended by their children. In this way, the right to quality education can be ensured to every child.
b. Do you think that there is still discrimination between sons and daughters in terms of providing education in our country? What strategies do you suggest to overcome such discrimination against girls?
Ans: Yes, there is still discrimination between sons and daughters in terms of providing education in our country. In fact, there is an extreme inequality in the literacy rate between men and women. Still, many parents feel reluctant to invest in their daughter’s education, thinking they will not get any return as she will go away after marrying. However, this discrimination is transformed somewhat in recent days. Now, many parents have understood the value of education for girls so they send their daughters to schools. However, they do not want to send them to good schools as they do to their sons. There are several instances where sons are sent to private educational institutions and daughters are sent to government schools. In some cases, daughters are made to contribute in household chores along with their studies in contrast to the sons. It shows that there are still discrimination existing between sons and daughters in terms of providing education in our country.
To overcome such discrimination against girls the following strategies can be employed:
i. Awareness regarding gender equality should be spread among the people.
ii. Government should provide grants for girl’s education.
iii. Privatization and commercialization of education should be stopped.
iv. Girls should be given more scholarship opportunities.
v. Government should frame laws against these discriminations.
c. A Chinese philosopher Confucius said, “If your plan is for one year, plant rice; if your plan is for ten years, plant trees; if your plan is for one hundred years, educate children.” What is the meaning of this saying? Elaborate this with examples.
Ans: Confucious rightly said that if our plan is for one year, we should plant rice; if our plan is for ten years, we should plant trees; or if our plan is for a hundred years, we should educate children. It simply means that if we plant rice, the profit we get from it helps us to earn a living for a year; if we plant trees, we can earn a living for ten years; but, if we educate our children we easily can earn a living for our entire life, that is for at most hundred years.
The given saying highlights the importance of education to human society. Education changes the entire social system and also the thoughts of people. If somebody wants return of an investment within a short term it is better to plant rice or trees because rice can be harvested within some months and trees can bear fruits for some years. People can soon enjoy the reward they get from this short term plan, however it does not take them to further progress. For long term progression, one should educate their children because it allows them to enjoy the rewards for 100 years. Also the future generation too are benefited from this till eternity.
Writing
a. Recall your school days. Write in three paragraphs of an event that you always remember.
Ans: I was 12 years old by then when this incident took place. It was the result day. We all were excited to see our result as we were going to be upgraded in grade 8. There were several queues made according to the grades for the purpose of distributing results. I was in the queue of my grade, somewhere in the middle. Finally, it was my turn. Mrs. Dahal handed me my marksheets after making sure all my dues were clear. She smiled at me and said, “good luck”to me. I was a little bit surprised to get “good luck” from her because all my friends were getting congratulations from her.
I thought I secured first position in the entire class after getting a queer wish from my class teacher. Without throwing a look at my marksheet, I ran away from there and stopped behind a bush of Arborvitae. I gazed at it now and nearly fainted. I failed in Math. Really? I was among the brilliant students in the class. But, I did not dare to go back to Mrs. Dahal and complain.
I reached my home with my teary eyes and feeble legs. My mother understood everything without my single word. She took me back to the school instantly and talked about my marks in Math with my class teacher. Indeed, it was a mistake. I was supposed to get 91 but somehow I got 19 instead. An impulse of life ran from my feet to the brain. Hurray! I secured first position. I will never forget this event in my life.
b. "Education empowers a person". Elaborate this statement giving examples of your personal experience.
Ans: Education increases our intelligence, skills, and knowledge and brings positive changes to our lives. It helps us lead disciplined lives and provides us with better-earning opportunities. A person becomes more self-aware of how much they can learn when they reach a certain level of education that makes them think about their future and how they can achieve their goals. It also helps develop critical thinking, build constructive and healthy relationships, acquire some life skills, and learning is great for our mental health. The greatest benefit of education is that it gives us a wider range of employment opportunities. It gives us the skills we need to find a job that not only pays well, but is also interesting and challenging. Indeed, with all these benefits, I can tell that education empowers a person in a real sense. I too have experienced this in my own life.
My father never went to college. I am the first from my family who got proper education. As I grew up, I realised my family has been struggling financially. I advised my father to start a business. With my suggestion, our family decided to rear chickens with a small investment. Within a year we progressed and began a bigger integrated farm. Now, my family is no longer in a financial crisis. It all happened because of me. I could help my father because I was educated and empowered.
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