English Skills 4

Approved by the Government of Nepal, Ministry of Education, Curriculum
Development Centre, Sanothimi Bhaktapur as an Additional Material

4

Editor Authors

Uday Sharma DR Silwal

R Poudel

Oasis Publication (P) Ltd.

English Skills Book - 4 1

4

Publisher
Oasis Publication Pvt. Ltd.
Anamnagar, Kathmandu
Phone: 01-4224004

Copyright
Publisher

Layout
Wonjala Desktop Team

Illustrator
Ram Krishna Thapa

Edition
First : 2070
Reprint : 2071
Reprint : 2072
Reprint : 2073
Reprint : 2074
Second : 2075 (Thoroughly revised)
Reprint : 2076

Printed in Nepal

2 English Skills Book - 4

Foreword

English Skills is a comprehensive skills development course in English
language specially designed for Nepalese students. It has a systematic skills
based approach to language teaching and learning with carefully worked out
lessons and tasks that lead up to clear communicative outcomes.

The authors believe that the development of all four skills of language, viz.
listening, speaking, reading and writing, requires a clear and explicit focus on
the actual process of communication as well as close integration of those skills
within a learning task. This is to ensure that the students use the information
and ideas from one skills activity while doing another while at the same time
develop awareness of the communication itself. This course has been crafted
with this core concept in mind.

Evidently, learner development is a vital feature of this entire course. Over the
ten stages of this comprehensive course, students are encouraged to develop
as independent and active learners of English. The authors stay confident that
the skills and habits that they learn through this course will amply prepare
them for their higher educational pursuits besides making them conscientious
learners for life.

The authors of this course also recognise the fact that students in the same class
often come from different socio-economic backgrounds and do not possess the
same abilities and experiences of life. Therefore, they are at different levels
in the same class. English Skills provides sufficient chances for students with
less knowledge, experience or language ability to build up their knowledge
through practice volume and repetition. At the same time, more proficient
students have the opportunity to expand on the same activity, extend it to
new directions or approach it through new angles. This is possible due to the
open-ended and multi-level nature of activities and tasks included in English
Skills.

In the end, results count. The success of the students will be deemed the success
of the course as well. The authors welcome any suggestions or feedback from
students, teachers, administrators and parents.

Happy teaching and learning!

English Skills Book - 4 3

4 English Skills Book - 4 4

Course structure

Units Speaking and Reading Vocabulary and Grammar Listening Pronunciation Writing
1. Meet the functions spelling
Reading about
People Introducing oneself Norbu and his Plurals Countable Number a and the in Writing about
Page 1 Congratulating family Crops and context one’s own family
someone uncountable
2. Friends nouns
Page 21
Describing possession Reading blogs Places around The present Listening about Pronouncing /f/ Writing about
3. Do You simple: be favourite sports and /v/ oneself and one’s
Have? Contextual posessions
vocabulary Subject Listening for details
Page 43 Describing possession Reading about Describing body pronouns and and checking facts Pronunciation /dʒ/ Descriptive
parts possessive and /j/ writing on animals
4. Sports with have Tom and Jerry adjectives and people
Page 62
Expressing ability Have for
possession

Can for ability

Expressing likes and Sports heroes: Sports and The present Listening about a The three different Compare and
dislikes Sandip games simple sportsperson and sounds of c contrast essay
Lamichhane, completing the missing
Asking wh-questions Bimal Gharti Adverbs of information
Magar, Mira Rai frequency

5. Food and Expressing wants Reading about Countries and Articles a/an Listening to an Some commonly Learning to write
Festivals Describing scenes festivals nationalities interview about Lhosar mispronounced an organized
Introducing oneself There is/ words paragraph
Page 84 Expressing quantities Varieties of meat There are
Talking about festivals Write a paragraph
6. Places Festivals and How many…? about festivals
Page 104 fairs How much…? Writing a friendly
letter describing
7. Music Giving directions Reading a story Naming places Prepositions Listening to a Words and a scene using
Page 123 of place conversation syllables the present
Describing an ongoing Adding -ing to and checking the continuous
actions verbs The present information Pronouncing –d
continuous and –ed Writing a
Subjects of biography
Talking about past Reading study The past Listening for specific
events biographies of simple (regular information
great musicians Different places verbs)
Telling time or rooms at Listening about time
home

Music-related
vocabulary

8. TV Describing ongoing Reading about a TV and TV The past Listening to a story and Pronouncing and Writing a guided
Page 143 actions in the past TV show shows continuous ordering the events differentiating story
A visit to Chitwan Sequence between /ʃ/ and /s/
Narrating a story linkers: first, The past Listening to a Writing rules for
Best sort of friend next, after that simple conversation and Pronouncing th different places
Sequencing events Reading rules for (irregular checking obligation and
the classroom Meaning of verbs) duties Writing an
English Skills Book - 4 9. Rules Asking for permission prohibition signs imaginative
Page 163 Using can and description about
Expressing prohibition must for ability, the future
10. Life in the and obligation obligation and
Future warning
Requesting politely
Page 176 Reading about life Describing words Will/be going Listening to a radio Short forms with
Warning people in the future to programme and will
Making checking specific facts
Expressing prediction comparatives and Adjectives
and future plans superlatives

Comparing things

5



1Lesson Meet the People

barley pasture snow leopard maize

tea shop tourist muddy puddle avalanche

Fun activity

1 Prepare a name card. Draw a smiley face at the
bottom of the card. Then show your name card to
everyone in class. Your friends will say Hi or Hello to
you.

English Skills Book - 4 1

2 Listen and sing.

We’re all back together.
We’re friends from before.
We’re ready to work
and learn some more.

It’s time to show
what we can do.
The holidays are over
for me and you!

Conversation
3 Listen and practise with your teacher. Then, share

about yourself in the class.

Miss Honey : Welcome to grade four. I’m your new teacher, Miss
Honey. I would like you all to tell me something about
yourself. Who’s first?

Madan : My name is Madan. I like reading and learning English.

Miss Honey : That’s great, Madan.

Arati : Hello, Miss Honey. I
am Arati. I love taking
photos and playing
games.

Miss Honey : Great!

Suman : Good morning, Miss
Honey. I’m Suman. I am ten and I love playing cricket
very much. I also love listening to stories and watch
films.

Miss Honey : Wow! I like telling stories. I will have a great time.

2 English Skills Book - 4

Speaking
4 Ask and answer about Miss Honey, Madan, Arati

and Suman.

What does Madan He likes reading.
like doing?
listening to music
playing cricket
telling stories

listening to stories

5 Now sit in pairs. Then, ask and answer questions
about each other.

Hello, I’m Ben.
What’s your name?

Hi Ben! I’m Kamal.
Where are you from?

I’m from Australia.
Where are you from?

I’m ten and I’m here I’m from Lalitpur.
with my parents. How old are you, Ben?

Nice to meet you, Ben.

Nice to meet you too.

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Listening 15 99 20 12 54 97 H
6 Here are some lottery tickets. Choose your ticket.

Then listen and check. Who is the winner? Three
people can win the lottery.

45 19 13 25 76 24 A

47 12 13 87 91 24 B
49 60 68 99 44 90 D

47 12 75 99 91 24 C

99 24 38 41 55 98 G

45 60 68 99 67 98 F
49 60 68 99 44 90 E

Congratulate the winner.
Congratulations!

4 English Skills Book - 4

Grammar

Nouns

A noun is a naming word.

Bag, pen and book are countable nouns. You can say how many
books or pens or bags. Only countable nouns can have singular and
plural forms.

Rice, water and juice are examples of uncountable nouns. We cannot
say how many rice or how many water. Uncountable nouns are always
singular in form.

7 Put the nouns in the correct boxes.

potato sheep cow house water
milk flour curry orange soil
air sand gold car bus
iron

Countable nouns Uncountable nouns

Spelling
8 Only countable nouns can have plural or singular

forms. We change some spellings to make plural.

English Skills Book - 4 5

9 Read, learn and complete the table.

Add s and write the plural Add es and write the plural
forms of the given nouns. forms of the given nouns
ending in o, s, ss, sh, ch or x,
flower flowers
computer computers box boxes
phone fox
rabbit glass
crow brush
parrot torch
buffalo
car church
marker bus
hero
cooker volcano
vegetable class
kangaroo
video

In the nouns ending in a In the nouns ending in a
consonant + y, remove y and vowel + y, just add s to form
add ies to form the plural. the plural.

baby babies key keys
city boy
lady toy
family day
diary monkey

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In the nouns ending in f or fe, But we also write:
remove f or fe and add ves to
form the plural. roof roofs
proof proofs
wife wives chef chefs
knife chief chiefs
thief cliff cliffs
half dwarf dwarfs
self

Some nouns have irregular Some nouns have the same
plurals. There is no fixed rule singular and plural forms.
here. Read and learn.
bison fish deer sheep
tooth teeth
Some sheep are grazing.
goose geese
A sheep is grazing.
man men

mouse mice

louse lice

ox oxen

child children

woman women

1100 Underline the correct option. 7

a. Mr. Pandey has two (watch, watches) on his arm.
b. Mays has three blue (dress, dresses).
c. The gardener cut down all the (tree, trees).
d. The fairy gave me three (wish, wishes).
e. My mother took all the (brush, brushes).
f. There are a lot of (class, classes) at our school.

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11 Complete the sentences by writing the singular of
the noun in the brackets.

a. I killed the ______________ that came to the cake. (flies)
b. I saw a ______________ in the tree. (monkeys)
c. Sona chased the ______________ from her room. (mice)
d. The ice cream had a ______________ on the top. (cherries)
e. The king had a ______________ (wives)
f. The ______________ was playing in the water. (geese)

12 Read the text below. Choose the correct words from
the box and write them in the blank spaces.

child children family families her
men man she woman women

I have a big family. There are lots of ____________ my mum, my
three older sisters, my two aunts and my grandma but just one
_______________ my
dad. My oldest sister is
married. She's got two
girls and two boys. That's
four ______________ !
My grandma is lovely.
________________ is
79 years old. We call
_____________ 'Naani
Aama'.

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Pronunciation
13 How to pronounce the s and es at the end of the

nouns. Read, listen and practise.

When you pronounce -s or -es at the end of the English word, you
need to be careful.

If the words, before -s, end If the words, before -s or -es,
in /p/, /t/, /k/, /f/, or /θ/, we end in /tʃ/, /s/, /ʃ/, /z/, or /dʒ/,
pronounce the -s as /s/. we pronounce the -es as /ɪz/.

rabbit rabbits buzz buzzes
cap caps bush bushes
roof roofs church churches
path paths box boxes
park parks judge judges

In case of the rest of the sounds, the final -s or -es is pronounced as
/z/.

pub pubs glove gloves
bag bags car cars
leopard leopards bow bows
call calls fly flies
drum drums
lion lions potato potatoes
song songs yeti yetis
breathe breathes emu emus

gorilla gorillas

English Skills Book - 4 9

Reading

14 Read and learn.

My name is Norbu and I’m ten years old. I’m
from Solu. It is a very famous place because
of Mt. Everest. Many tourists come here every
year.

I live here with my family. There are five members
in my family. My brother Tshering is thirteen
years old. My sister Pomzi is seven years old.
My father’s name is Phurbu and my mother’s
name is Karma Dolma. My grandmother lives
with my uncle’s family.

We are not rich. Our house is small and it isn’t a modern one. But it
keeps us warm in the winter.

My parents are farmers. We have a small field. We grow potatoes,
corn and millet there. We also grow barley and carrots. We don’t grow
rice. We buy rice and bring here on a mule or by plane.

We have a small shed next to our house. We keep our animals there.
We have some yaks, sheep and goats. My sister and I sometimes go
to look after the sheep and goats. Our father warns us, “Be careful! A
leopard might come.”

We have a small tea shop too. My mother makes salty tea for tourists.
Sometimes I help my mum there. I talk to the tourists in the shop. I
know how to speak English. I have learned English at school.

We don’t have a TV or a computer. But my father has a mobile phone.
I have seen a computer. Some tourists bring it with them.

You know! Things have not been easy all the time. When there was an
earthquake in 2015, we had a hard time. I was small. My brother was
just ten. We were in our tea shop. It was a Saturday. It was a holiday
at school. We had our lunch. Some tourists were also there. They

10 English Skills Book - 4

were sitting on a wooden
bench outside looking
at the Himalayas. It was
wonderful till that time.

Suddenly, the earth started
shaking. Then, there was
smoke in the mountain as
there were avalanches.
The snow was falling.
People started crying. Our
house fell apart. We all
were in the tea shop. Nothing happened to us. However, many people
died. It was a terrible experience.

That year and next, we did not have many tourists. Our tea shop was
our home. But now people are back to Everest. We often get tourists
here. My father is making a new house.

A new school is also being built in the village as our old school fell
away. I have heard they are bringing computers for us. I hope I will be
able to use computer soon.

Comprehension
15 Are the following statements true or false? Write.

a. Norbu has a younger sister.

b. Norbu’s brother is three years older than him.

c. His parents are farmers.

d. He does not know about mobile phones.

e. His grandmother lives with his family.

f. Norbu’s brother was ten in 2015.

g. Norbu and his brother were in school when the quake started.

English Skills Book - 4 11

16 Fill in the blanks with correct words from the text.

a. Norbu’s family has ____________ members
b. Norbu’s family has a ____________ shop.
c. When there was an earthquake it was a ____________ .
d. There was ____________ in the mountains as there were

____________ .
e. ____________ and ____________, there were not many tourists

in the Everest area.

17 Answer the following questions.

a. Where is Norbu from?
b. What’s the job of his parents?
c. What do they grow in their field?
d. Name the animals they keep in their shed.
e. How does Norbu help his family?
f. Where did Norbu’s family live after the earthquake?
g. Has Norbu seen a computer? Where did he see it?
h. What is an avalanche?

18 Complete the note about yourself. Put your photo or
draw your picture in the box. Then share it in the class.

I am __________________________________ .

I live in ________________________________ .

There are ______________ people in my family.

My father is a _______________________ (job).

I help my parents by _____________________ .

We had a terrible time like Norbu, when there was _____________ .

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Vocabulary
19 Look at the pictures and name the crops. Choose the

words from the box.

maize paddy millet barley wheat

sugarcane cotton buck wheat potatoes

20 Among the above mentioned crops, how many of
them are grown around your area? Write .

English Skills Book - 4 13

Speaking

Norbu meets tourists every day.
Norbu says, “It’s interesting to meet new people.”
He asks many questions to them. Some questions that he asks them
are:
What’s your name?
Where are you from?
How many members are there in your family?
What is your hobby?
What’s your favourite food?

21 Play a game.

Make information cards as shown below. Every student has to make
a card using a piece of paper. You can suppose yourself to be your
favourite star. You must have answers to all the questions given
above. Then, mix all your cards. You teacher will ask to pick the cards
randomly. Then, ask the questions given above to your friend to know
about him or her. Answer according to the information in the card.

Name : Sandeep Lamichhane
Address : Syangja district
Family Members : four (mother, father

and a brother)
Hobby : Playing Cricket
Favourite Food : Momo

14 English Skills Book - 4

Writing

Norbu shared about his bad times in the story you read earlier.
Here is Sheeya from Kathmandu. She is sharing what happened to
her on a particular day.

My Bad Day

Today was one of the worst days I have had
this year. First, I forgot my homework. Then, I
had trouble with my teacher. She scolded me
in the class. Everybody heard her scolding me.
I was really ashamed. Then during the break,
I slipped and fell into a muddy puddle. My
skirt was all dirty. I had to be in the class with
my dirty clothes. I came home after school. I
wanted to watch TV but my little sister and her
friends were at home. They were making a
loud noise. They also pushed me to play with
them. Today was really bad for me. I hope
tomorrow will be better.

22 Answer the following questions.

a. What is the topic of the paragraph?
b. Underline the topic sentence of the paragraph.
c. Underline the closing sentence of the paragraph.
d. How many bad things happen to the writer on that day?

English Skills Book - 4 15

23 Read and choose a topic sentence for each from the
box.

A well written paragraph always has a topic sentence. It generally
comes at the beginning of a paragraph. It includes the topic of the
paragraph and it gives an idea about what the paragraph will be
about. Thus a good topic sentence always has two parts: the topic
and the controlling idea.

Topic Sentences
• Football is one of the most popular games in the world.
• People should play games for many reasons.
• Cricket is very important to Nepal.
• Bimal Gharti Magar is a popular football player of Nepal.

Topic sentence:
.........................................................................................................
Many people know him. People knew about him when he scored
a goal against Indian in SAAF game. He is also famous because
he plays from many famous clubs in Europe. As he plays as the
captain and often makes goals, people remember him.

Topic sentence:
.........................................................................................................
It is played in almost every country in the world. It is played all
over world because it is easy. We need only a ball. It is fun to play
football. Beside, millions of people watch World Cup. No game like
football is played and watched in any country in the world.

16 English Skills Book - 4

Topic sentence:

.........................................................................................................

Many young people like this game. They go to watch the game and
they love to play as well. It is the one of most popular games in
Nepal. In addition, it has given most international cups. It is only the
game where Nepal has a chance to play in the World Cup. Thus, it
is very important for Nepal.

Topic sentence:

.........................................................................................................

First, it keeps us healthy. It is a good exercise and it helps us keep
fit. Secondly, it helps us make friends. It is easy to make friends
when we play with them. Thirdly, it teaches us about team work.
All the team players will be focused on winning and they help each
other. Thus, being sporty is always good.

24 Read, learn and write whether the topic sentences
are good or bad.

To write a good topic sentence, pay attention to the following:
Write what the topic is. Then, write what you think or feel about the
topic.
Uncle Shiva is the funniest person in our home.
Uncle Shiva is the subject and the funniest person is what you think
about the person.

Write facts or information about the topic.
Narayan Gopal was a famous Nepali singer.

Introduce what you will say in the body of the paragraph.
People should play games for many reasons.
(You can use several or a few or a lot of or a number instead of many.)

English Skills Book - 4 17

Mind the following carefully:
Do not say something that is already clear.
Pratap Das is a person. (Bad topic sentence)
Pratap Das is a good singer. (Good topic sentence)

Do not give too many details in the topic sentence.
My friend Biju is smart that he can solve maths problems quicker
than a calculator. (Bad topic sentence)
My friend Biju is a genius. (Good topic sentence)

Do not start the topic sentence with “This paragraph is about...” or “ I
will write about ...”
This paragraph is about Dashain. (Bad topic sentence)
Dashain is the best time of the year. (Good topic sentence)

Good or bad topic sentences?

a. I am going to write about my vacation. __________

b. We must learn English for several reasons. __________

c. Biratnagar is a city. __________

d. I never forget my last birthday. __________

e. I take milk, an egg, two loaves of bread and an apple for breakfast
to make it great. __________

f. Biratnagar is a great place to visit. __________

25 Supply correct topic sentence for the given paragraphs.

Topic sentence:

.........................................................................................................
Body sentences:
Daura Suruwal is simple and easy to wear. It has two parts: a kind of
vest and a pair of trousers. Earlier men used to wear it. These days,
people were it in special occasions like weddings and functions. It
makes people look great.

18 English Skills Book - 4

Topic sentence:

.........................................................................................................
Body sentences:
Superhero movies are entertaining. They teach us how to be good
people. They also have amazing effects. Moreover, everybody can
enjoy superhero movies. Thus, superhero movies like Spiderman
and Batman are my special movies.

Topic sentence:

.........................................................................................................
Body sentences:
My apartment is safe and clean. Our neighbours are friends. It is fun
to be with them. It is very close to my school. Thus, my apartment
is very good for me.

26 Look and brainstorm your idea.

Example forgot my note book teacher scolded /
got ashamed

My Bad Day during break, slipped skirt got dirty
into muddy puddle

wanted to watch tv small sister and her
friends disturbed

Now your brain
storming

My Bad Day

English Skills Book - 4 19

27 Look at the example and prepare an outline of the
paragraph using the ideas. Then, write a paragraph.

Outline
Topic : My Bad Day
Topic sentence : Yesterday was my worst day ever.
Body : 1. forgot notebook
teacher scolded - got ashamed
2. slipped into the muddy puddle
skirt got dirty
3. wanted to watch TV
baby sister’s friends disturbed badly
Closing : It was the worst day I ever had.

Your Outline
Topic : ______________________________________________

Topic sentence : ______________________________________

Body : ____________________________________________
____________________________________________
____________________________________________
____________________________________________
____________________________________________
____________________________________________

Closing : ____________________________________________

20 English Skills Book - 4

2Lesson Friends

dictionary give prizes Parents’ Day

full moon night medal microphone

Conversation
1 Sit in groups of four. Then, listen and practise.

Rohan : Come on. Let’s play football!
Mohan : Great! Let’s have two teams.

You and Ravi against Madan
and me.
Rohan : It’s cold now. Let’s put on
our jackets.
Mohan : Whose jacket is this? Is it yours, Ravi?
Ravi : Yes, it’s mine. Thanks. Is this one yours, Rohan? It’s blue.
Rohan : Yes, my jacket is blue.
Mohan : This one is mine. And this blue jacket is his. Here you are,
Madan.
Madan : Thank you brother.

English Skills Book - 4 21

Grammar

Talk about possession

When we talk about possession, we use possessive pronouns and
possessive adjectives. Besides, we use have or has. Sometimes,
we also use apostrophe -s (’s) to show possession.

For examples: It is my jacket.
It is Mohan’s jacket.

It’s mine. Mohan has a jacket.

Pronouns Objective Possessive Possessive
pronoun pronoun adjectives
Subjective mine
pronoun me ours my
us yours our
I you his your
we him hers his
you her theirs her
he them .... their
she it its
they
it

Possessive forms

We use’s (apostrophe -s) for singular nouns and names.

the girl’s bag Kamal’s pen

We use s’ for plural nouns ending in -s.

the students’ desks the teachers’ room

22 English Skills Book - 4

2 Compete the sentences with possessive adjectives.

a. My brother is thirteen years old. ____H_is____ name is Umesh.
b. My friend Maya is from Palpa. She’s _________ classmate. We
study in the same grade.
c. Aman and Khusi are nice people and _________ sister is nice,
too.
d. I like _________ new website. You’re very clever.
e. Shiva and I are in the same class. _________ class is 4B.
f. There is a dog at the corner of the street. _________ tail is very
long.
g. Mina is short but _________ brother is very tall.
h. You can write comments on _________ website. I love to read
comments on my writing.

3 Choose the best answer.

Once there were two sisters, Gita and Kabita. They often argued
about their possessions.

Gita : That's _______________ (my / mine) pen. Give it back! lt's
__________ (my / mine).

Kabita : No, it isn't __________ (your / yours). lt's __________ (my
/ mine) pen. I want it.

Gita : Mum, Kabita’s got my pen. She says it's __________ (her /
hers), but it isn't.

Meantime, mother came. She told them not to quarrel but they didn’t
listen to her.

English Skills Book - 4 23

Kabita : Give me that game. lt's __________ (my / mine).

Gita : No, it isn't. lt's my game. Mum, it's not __________ (her /
hers), is it?

Mother : Girls! Stop arguing at once.

Gita : __________ (my / mine) test paper is better than ________
(your / yours). I got 9 out of 10.

Kabita : I got 9 out of 10 too, and (my / mine) teacher wrote 'well
done' on it.

Gita : Actually, she's __________ (our / ours) teacher and she
wrote 'well done' on __________ (my / mine) too.

Then the __________ (girls' / girl’s) father came home. He was very
angry. He went upstairs and took all of the books and games out of
__________ (their / theirs) bedroom. The girls were very upset and
they promised not to argue ever again.

Speaking
4 What is your favourite possession? Talk.

Reena : What's your favourite possession?
Ritu : It's a story book. It's really cool!
Reena : Is it new?
Ritu : Yes, it is.
Reena : Does it have pictures?
Ritu : Yes, it has, it has wonderful
pictures.
Reena : Do you have the book, now?
Ritu : I don’t have it today. It is in the teacher's cupboard.

24 English Skills Book - 4

Listening
5 Listen to Milan and Muna. What are their favourite

sports?

football cricket

volleyball basketball

6 Listen again. Are the following statements true or
false? Say.

a. Milan and Muna are from Nepalgaunj.
b. They study in the same class.
c. They’re in the art club.
d. Milan’s favourite player is Messi.
e. Muna is in the dance club.
f. Muna’s favourite player is Sangina Vaidhya.

English Skills Book - 4 25

Reading
7 Read and learn.

www.bossnepal.com/madhublog

Hello, I’m Madhu. Welcome to my blog.

I’m ten years old and I’m from Mangal Bazaar, Lalitpur.
There are many famous palaces and temples here.

This is Krishna Temple in Patan. Unlike other
temples, it is made of stones only. There are
many pictures engraved on the walls. A great
festival takes place in this temple every year
on the day of Krishna Janmasthami. It is the
birthday of Lord Krishna.

This is the

palace area.

There are some

old palaces here. People say that

once kings lived in these palaces.

They are very famous because they

are beautiful.

There are

many pictures

on the walls. There are also beautiful wooden

carvings.

However, things have changed after the 2015
earthquake. Some of the beautiful temples
and palaces have been destroyed. People are
trying to rebuild them.

26 English Skills Book - 4

Delicious Dumplings

My favourite food is dal bhat. It means pulses and rice. I also like
momo. There are many momo shops in Mangal Bazaar. They serve
tasty momo with hot and spicy sauce.

My Best Friends

My best friends are Laxmi and Babita.
We’re in dance club together. It’s great
fun! Laxmi is my neighbour. She is really
nice. We’re in the same class at school.
She has long black hair. Babita lives in
Jawlakhel. She is very clever and smart.
She is very good at dancing.

My Favourite Singers

I love music very much. I love listening to
different types of songs. My favourite singers
are Aruna Lama and Nishan Bhattarai.
I like Aruna Lama’s Udi jaun bhane.

I saw Nishan Bhattarai on TV.
He has a very sweet voice.
He has been in the final of the
Nepal Idol - 2017. However,
he could not win the title. Buddha Lama won the
title.

I often listen to English
songs, too. I like the
song “Puff the Magic
Dragon” by Peter, Paul
and Mary. It is a great song for children. I
also listen to songs by Katy Perry, Justin
Bieber and Selena Gomez! Katy’s song “Roar” is really nice.

English Skills Book - 4 27

What a Book It Is!

We’re celebrating Children’s Week reading
fantastic stories! Fantastic Mr Fox is the most
fantastic book I have read.

Roald Dahl’s Fantastic Mr Fox is about a family
of foxes. There are four fox children and two
fox adults. Mr Fox has a very clever brain and
every night he makes sure the wind is blowing
towards him so he can go out and steal some
dinner from the three farmers called Boggis,
Bunce and Bean.

The three farmers are really mean and they try to catch the foxes
and they want to shoot them. I like this story because it’s exciting
and the foxes can dig faster than any other animals.

Most kids would love to read this book. I rate it 5 out of 5.

Comprehension
8 Join the two parts of sentences correctly.

a. Nishan Bhattarai is a great story.

b. Madhu lives in Jawalakhel.

c. Fantastic Mr Fox is pulses and rice.

d. Babita likes momo.

e. Dal bhat means a Nepali singer.

28 English Skills Book - 4

9 Are the following statements true or false? Write.

a. Krishna temple is near Madhu’s house. ()

b. The palaces are famous because they are old and about to fall. ( )

c. Laxmi has long black hair. ()

d. “Roar” is a song by Selena Gomez. ()

e. “Puff the Magic Dragon” is a song for children. ()

f. Road Dahl wrote Fantastic Mr Fox. ()

g. In the story, there are four farmers. ()

h. There are six members in Mr Fox’s family. ()

i. Madhu does not like the book Fantastic Mr Fox. ()

10 Answer the following questions.

a. Where does Madhu live?
b. Who are her best friends?
c. Why does Madhu like the momo in Mangal Bazaar?
d. Why are the palaces famous?
e. What happened to the temples and palaces during the quake?
f. What is Babita very good at?
h. Name the famous English singers Madhu likes.
i. How are the children celebrating Children’s Week?
j. Why does Madhu like Fantastic Mr Fox?

11 Discuss the following questions. 29

a. Who are your favourite singers?
b. Which is your favourite book?
c. Who is your favourtie character in your favourite book?

English Skills Book - 4

Speaking
12 Read and learn to debate.

Teacher : OK, we’re going to debate whether chatting on facebook is
good or bad for us. We’ll start with you, Krishna. Are you
for or against writing blog and chatting on facebook.

Krishna : Well, I think chatting on facebook is good. It is good for
making friends and learning English. I believe it helps us
relax, too.

Teacher : Great! Thank you! Now, your turn, Asha.
Asha : I’m against chatting on facebook. First, it takes much of

our time. Secondly, it is not natural as we talk face to face.
Expressing opinions in debate
Debating is a kind of discussion. We express our ideas and opinions
about something when we debate. Sometimes, we agree and
sometimes we disagree with something.
• When we agree, it’s for. When we disagree, it’s against.
• We must give reasons to agree or disagree.
• We must speak clearly and give our ideas in order (first, second,

third, etc.) when we debate.

30 English Skills Book - 4

13 Now, hold discussion on the following topics using
the given guidelines.

a. Homework is good or bad. b. Parent should send
children some money
Homework is Homework is bad instead of tiffin.
good

• helps to revise • homework is Money Tiffin

thing and be terrible, it does • Easy to • healthy to
carry eat
clear about the not give time to

ideas students • Can choose • no waste of

• helps students • it is waste of what they money

get good time like

grades • difficult to do • Makes • children may

• makes without a teacher children able have problem
to decide
students active or a guide to decide

Vocabulary

14 Select the word or phrase from the box and write it
just below the picture.

pinnacle of a temple
website palace
momo shop
statue

English Skills Book - 4 31

15 Read the clues below and solve the crossword puzzle.
The words are in Madhu’s blog.
1
2
3

4

5

6

7
8

ACROSS DOWN
3. a fire-breathing imaginary monster 1. momo
4. having good taste 2. liked more
5. someone who lives next door 4. damaged
6. excellent, great, wonderful 7. grown ups
8. make again

32 English Skills Book - 4

Grammar

be verb: simple present

Positive Negative Question
Am I ...?
I am / I’m.... I am not / I’m not... Are you...?
Is he ...?
You are / You’re... You are not / You aren’t.... Is she ...?
Is it ...?
He is / He’s.... He is not / He isn’t.... Are we ...?
Are they ...?
She is / She’s.... She is not / She isn’t....

It is / It’s.... It is not / It isn’t....

We are / We’re.... We are not / We aren’t....

They are / They’re.... They are not / They aren’t....

16 Complete the sentences. Use either positive or
negative forms of is, am or are.

a. You __a_r_e__ a student. 33
b. I ______ a pilot.
c. Rosan is a hardworking boy. He ______ lazy.
d. We are happy now. We ______ sad.
e. It ______ a football. It is not a basketball.
f. They ______ from France. They aren’t British.
g. Rakshashni is ugly. She ______ beautiful.
h. I ______ ten years old.
i. She ______ a pilot. She can’t fly an aeroplane.
j. A ball ______ square.
k. Balls ______ round.
l. Lemons ______ yellow.

English Skills Book - 4

m. Ripe bananas ______ yellow too.
n. A lemon ______ sweet. It ______ sour.
o. My pen ______ heavy. It ______ light.
p. This room ______ dark. It ______ bright.
q. My classmates ______ friendly. They help each other.

17 Complete the dialogue with is, am, are or their
negatives. Then, sit in pairs and practise the
conversation.

Muna : Hello, ______________ you a new student?
Jane : Yes, I ______________
Muna : ______________ you American?
Jane : No, I ______________. I ______________ from France.

Who ______________ you?
Muna : I ______________ Muna and these ______________ my

friends Hari and Karma. We ______________ in the school
basketball team.
Jane : Well, I ______________ also good at basketball.

34 English Skills Book - 4

18 Read about Khushi and then complete the sentences
using is, am, are or their negatives.

Khusi and her family are from a village in the Terai
in Nepal. Khusi is ten years old. Her sister’s name is
Bunu. Bunu is seven years old. Her brother Bipin is
three years old. Her father’s name is Munni Lal. Her
mother is Gopi. They call their grandmother ‘Aama’.
Khushi’s parents are farmers in the village and they
aren’t rich. Their house is small and it isn’t modern.
Khusi is a student in the village school. After school,
she helps her mother and father on the farm.

a. My name ___is___ Khushi.
b. I ______ ten years old.
c. We ______ from Nepal. We ______ from Japan.
d. My family ______ from a village.
e. My house ______ very modern. It ______ an old house.
f. My parents ______ farmers. They ______ teachers.

19 Choose the correct words from the box to complete the
sentences.

He’s They’re It’s are is We isn’t It’s

a. My parents live in Dhangadhi. _________ teachers.

b. Singha Durbar _________ in Lalitpur. ________ in Kathmandu.

c. Kamal _________ from Palpa. _________ a Palpali.

d. _________ ten o’clock! _________ are late.

e. Look at the time! Mona and Krish _________ late.

English Skills Book - 4 35

Speaking

20 Go to the front of the class and say three to four
sentences about yourself.

Hello. I’m Bikram. I’m ten
years old. My best friend’s
name is Kamal. We often
play together.

Hello. I’m Garima. I’m
nine years old. My best
friend is Prakriti. I love

to play with her.

Dictionary Skill
21 Read the words below. Put them in alphabetical order.

modern village winter friend favourite

______________________________________________________

pen pencil paper partner parents

______________________________________________________

school sport swim spell small

______________________________________________________

A dictionary is a book in which you can find the meanings of the words.
The words in a dictionary are kept in the alphabetical order.

22 Find the meaning of the given words. Use a dictionary.

dictionary partner modern
famous favourite sport

36 English Skills Book - 4

Pronunciation

23 Listen and repeat the words.

friend famous father farmer
family from five

village very vase love
have seven vest

24 Listen to the first sound of the words. Then, put
the words in the right box.

There are 26 letters in the English alphabet. Among them a, e, i, o, u
are the vowels. The rest are consonants.

However, there are 44 sounds in English. Among them 20 are vowel
sounds and 24 are consonant sounds.

Go to the last page to see the complete list.

first

vowel

Writing

Writing an Essay

Do you wear uniforms? Why should we wear uniforms?
Read the given paragraph and answer the questions below
it.

English Skills Book - 4 37

Should students wear uniforms?

Students should wear uniforms for
many reasons. If students wear
uniforms, parents can save money.
They won’t need to buy many clothes
for their children. Moreover, wearing
uniforms make children happy at
school. All the students will be
wearing similar clothes. They won’t
be paying attention to clothes. This
will help them to remain focused on
study as well. Likewise, uniforms
make everyone equal. All the rich
and the poor will sit together. That
helps them to be friendly with each
other. Thus, wearing uniform can be
the best part of the school.

What is the paragraph about? Underline the topic sentence.

______________________________________________________

Note the second main point in the body. Put ( ) around its details.

______________________________________________________

Underline the closing sentence.

______________________________________________________

Paragraph vs Essay

An essay is longer than a paragraph. Actually, an essay is written
in more than two paragraphs.

An essay tells more than a paragraph.

An essay has three parts: introduction, body paragraph(s) and
conclusion.

38 English Skills Book - 4

Compare the paragraph on page 38 and an essay below.

Should students wear uniforms?

Many students don’t want to wear school uniforms. However, there
are several reasons for wearing school uniforms.

Firstly, uniforms help parents save money. If children wear uniforms,
parents don’t need to buy different clothes for them. If they wear
different clothes to school, they will see their friends’ clothes and they
also want to have. Then parents have to buy new clothes. Uniforms
help them in such cases.

Secondly, uniforms help students to remain focused on the lessons. If
students wear different clothes, their attention will go to their friends’
clothes. They even start worrying about clothes. That hampers their
study. Uniforms end the need to care about clothes and help students
learn better.

Lastly, uniforms make the students same. Students can be rich or
poor. Uniforms bring them together and make everyone equal. This
will help them to make friends among classmates.

To conclude, uniforms has many benefits to students and parents.
Thus, wearing uniforms can be the best part of being at school.

Analysis of an essay

Introduction: What to write in the introduction of your essay.

Introduction of an essay has two things: introductory idea and
controlling idea(s) for the essay.

‘Many students don’t want to wear school uniforms.’ is the
introductory idea which includes the topic as well.

‘However, there are several reasons for wearing uniforms.’ is the
controlling idea of the essay. In the body of the essay, there will be
reasons for wearing uniforms.

English Skills Book - 4 39

In the body of an essay, controlling idea is explained. Body paragraph
can describe, give reasons or give examples. Each body paragraph
has a point. The first sentence is the main point and the following
sentences are supporting details. The last sentence will conclude the
paragraph

For example :
Main point 1: Uniforms help parents save money.

If children wear uniforms, parents don’t need to buy different clothes
for them. If they wear different clothes to school, they will see their
friends’ clothes and they also want to have. Then parents have to buy
new clothes. Uniforms help them in such cases.

Conclusion

A good essay ends with a good conclusion. In conclusion of an essay,
we can rewrite the controlling idea in another words. We can also
share a hope or summarize the essay. A conclusion of an essay also
can be written expressing our feelings, suggestions or predications
about the topic.

For example: (summary + feeling) Uniforms has many benefits to
students and parents. Thus, wearing uniforms can be the best part of
being at school.

Connectors

While writing an essay, we need to write more ideas. To connect these
ideas we need connectors. We need different types of connectors to
connect different ideas. Here are some examples:

To show order : First, Second, Third, Finally, Lastly

To add new ideas : Also, In addition, Moreover, Furthermore

To show time order : First, Then, Next, On Monday, Last day

To show reason : Because, due to

To show similarities : Likewise, Similarly

To show difference : In contrast, however, but

To show effect : Thus, Therefore

40 English Skills Book - 4

25 Look at the brainstorming. Then, prepare your own
brainstorming.

Example

Why do people religious reason Muslim and Brahmin
become vegetarian? people don’t eat pork.

Madwaris don’t eat meat.

love animals animal are friends

want to be healthy think meat has much fat
and want to avoid

Outline : Why do people become vegetarian?

Introduction
A vegetarian does not eat meat.
People become vegetarians for
different reasons.

Body
Main point 1: don’t eat meat due
to their religion
Supporting details: Muslim and
Brahmin people don’t eat pork,
Madwaris don’t eat meat

Main point 2: love animals
Supporting details: think animals are friends, they should not be killed

Main point 3: want to be healthier

English Skills Book - 4 41

Supporting details: think meat has a lot of fat and too much fat is
unhealthy.
Conclusion
Thus people become vegetarians to remain healthy due to religion or
love for animals. I think it is good to be a vegetarian.

26 Use the given outline and write an essay. Use your
notebook.

There will be the following parts:
• Topic
• Introduction
• Three body paragraphs
• Conclusion

27 Use the process of writing and write an essay on
“Why should we play games?”

Now your brain storming

42 English Skills Book - 4

3Lesson Do You Have ...?

lock moustache crystal ball earring

cartoon beard magic wand

What are your favourite things? Draw and colour them.

English Skills Book - 4 43

Conversation
1 Listen and practise.

Kirti : Hi Kushal, what’s that?
Kushal : It’s my box.
Kirti : What do you have in it?
Kushal : I have some wonderful

things here. I have a
magic wand. I also
have a crystal ball and
a magic ring.
Kirti : Why do you keep these?
Kushal : It’s because I want to be a magician like this one.
Kirti : Oh! Your magician has a thick beard. He looks strange.
Kushal : Yes, he is. That’s why I like him.

Discuss
What does Kushal have in the box?
Why does he like the magician?

2 Sit in pairs and hold a conversation. Use the clues
given in the box below.

What’s / that /
What / have / you / in it /
strange and scary pictures

a bag / some books
want to read
I like them

44 English Skills Book - 4