English Skills 7

Reading

22. Read and learn.

Vocation

-By Rabindranath Tagore

WHEN THE GONG sounds ten in the morning and
I walk to school by our lane,
Every day I meet the hawker crying,
‘Bangles, crystal bangles!’
There is nothing to hurry him on,
there is no road he must take,
no place he must go to,
no time when he must come home.
I wish I were a hawker, spending my
day in the road, crying,
‘Bangles, crystal bangles!’

When at four in the afternoon
I come back from the school,
I can see through the gate of that house
the gardener digging the ground.
He does what he likes with his spade,
he soils his clothes with dust,
nobody takes him to task if
he gets baked in the sun or gets wet.
I wish I were a gardener
digging away at the garden
with nobody to stop me from digging.

Just as it gets dark in the evening
and my mother sends me to bed,
I can see through my open window
the watchman walking up and down.
The lane is dark and lonely,

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and the street-lamp stands like a giant
with one red eye in its head.
The watchman swings his lantern
and walks with his shadow at his side,
and never once goes to bed in his life.
I wish I were a watchman
walking the streets all night,
chasing the shadows with my lantern.

Comprehension

23. Find the words or phrases from the poem that has similar
meaning.

a. a person who makes money by selling goods he carries with him
b. transparent glass
c. garden tool with a broad metal blade and long handle used for digging.
d. makes something dirty
e. scolds him
f. a person who is employed to guard a building or several buildings

during night

24. Answer the following questions.

a. How is the narrator’s life different from that of the hawker?
b. What does the narrator do? Why does the narrator wish to be a

hawker?
c. Who is the narrator talking about in the second stanza of the poem?
d. What happens if the narrator plays with soil? How do you know? Cite

instances from the poem?
e. What happens when the sun sets?

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f. What does the narrator compare the night watchman with?
g. Do you think the narrator wants to go to bed early? Why?
h. What three jobs are mentioned in the poem? Do you think the narrator

would take one of the profession by quitting his school?

Writing

25. The speaker in the poem mentions three professions. Would
you like to take up any of them? Why or why not? Write in
about 100 words.

26. Do you think the professions will be the same as we have
today or change over time? What profession would you take
up in future?

Grammar

Future Perfect

The future perfect is a verb tense used for actions that will be completed
before some other point in the future.

We form affirmative sentences with a subject + will + have + past participle.
We form negative sentences with a subject + will + not+ have + past
participle.

By this time next year, we will have finished the second term of grade 8.

They will have arrived home by the evening.

When we have to say some action will have continued till a certain point in
future emphasising the duration, we use the future perfect tense.

We form affirmative sentences with a subject + will + have + been + verb-
ing.

We form negative sentences with a subject + will + not+ have + been + verb-
ing.

What will you have been doing in ten years?

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Will you not have been doing a course in a university?
Here are the uses of these two tenses.

The future perfect tense The future perfect continuous tense

To say that a future action will be To emphasise the continuation of an

completed before another action or action that will be in progress up to

stated time in the future. a certain time in the future.

• Don’t worry about the paint, I • They will have been working on

will have done it by tomorrow the project for a week by Sunday.

evening. • By 2025, she will have been

• By the time you arrive here, I working for this company for 15

will have finished this project. years.

27. Complete the sentences with correct future tense of the verb
in the brackets. Sometimes more than one answer might be
correct.

Will human beings ever
go to Mars? I feel sure that
human _______________
(meet)thisgoal.Hereiswhat
I think _______________
(happen).

The International Space
Station ______________
(find) to make travel to Mars possible. At the same time that some astronauts
_______________(travel) to Mars while others _______________(work) in
the space station. By then scientists in the space station _______________
(find) ways to keep human healthy in space for a long time. By that time,
they _______________prepare _______________people for the long and
difficult trip to Mars and many nations _______________(join) together to
prepare for the first human travel to Mars.

By the time human land on Mars, robots _______________(be) there for many
years. By then, they _______________(give) us all the information we need

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about living on Mars. How _______________
(the first travellers, find) travellers life on
Mars? Eventually, we _______________(know)
the answer to the question. Future missions to
Mars _______________(give) us much more
information about this interesting planet.
In course of time, robots _______________
(put) special equipment in places all around
Mars. Human _______________(know) a lot
about the planet before they get there. Maybe the robots _______________
(discover) water on Mars by then. Sure by the time humans land on Mars,
we _______________(created a detailed map of the planet. Most likely
scientists _______________(discover) the ways to make air on Mars that
human can breathe in.

Soon, exploring distant planets will no longer be a dream. It _______________
(be) real. (You/be) _______________ one of the first people to travel to
Mars? How far do you think human _______________(travel) by 2040. What
planets (they/ visit) _______________? How (they/ get) there?

Writing

28. You just read what a writer thinks about Mars exploration. In the
same way, now write an essay predicting about your city.

Consider about development- population- environment- people’s
behaviours- new inventions and so on.

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16 Narrating a

sequence of events

Listening

1. Listen and sing.

From the Songs of Innocence
‘By William Blake

Piping down the valleys wild,
Piping songs of pleasant glee,
On a cloud I saw a child,
And he laughing said to me:

‘‘Pipe a song about a Lamb!’’
So I piped with merry cheer.
‘‘Piper, pipe that song again;’’
So I piped: he wept to hear.

‘‘Drop thy pipe, thy happy pipe;
Sing thy songs of happy cheer!’’
So I sang the same again,
While he wept with joy to hear.

‘‘Piper, sit thee down and write
In a book, that all may read.’’
So he vanish’d from my sight;
And I pluck’d a hollow reed,

And I made a rural pen,
And I stain’d the water clear,
And I wrote my happy songs
Every child may joy to hear.

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Comprehension

2. Find the words similar in meaning to the following.

a. happy b. happiness c. disappeared

d. pulled e. empty inside

3. Answer these questions.

a. What was the speaker doing when he saw a child?
b. What did the child ask the speaker to do first?
c. What does the speaker call himself/ herself?
d. What did the speaker use to write the song?
e. Why did the speaker write the song? What does he/she say?
f. What does ‘a rural pen’ stand for in the poem?

Conversation

4. Listen and practise.

A: Reena! How are you? Did you have a good holiday?
B: No. It was awful.
A: Why? What happened?
B: We stayed in a horrible hotel and Tina thought the locality was

dangerous at night, so we did not go out much in the evening.
A: What did you do during the day? Did you go sightseeing?
B: Yes, we visited all the famous places. But we argued a lot. Tina bought

very expensive souvenirs for all his family! I did not buy anything.
Do you think Reena is happy about her last holiday? Why?

5. Sit in pairs and talk about activities you did within the last
week. Here are some of the things you might have done.

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combed my hair washed clothes surfed the internet
brushed my teeth did some project work met with friends
tried some cooking worked on a computer visited grandparents
went temple exercised practised football
talked on the phone listened to music cleaned my room

Reading

6. Read and learn.

Personal Stories

A. ________________________________________________

Our house got collapsed
during the Gorkha
earthquake in 2015. It was
a terrible time. We had to
stay outside in a tent for
more than six months.
Then, we made a make-
shift house and lived
there.

When the aftershocks of the quake abated, our father decided to
construct a house at the same spot where our old house was. Actually,
our old house was pretty old. It was constructed by our great granddad,
a well-known pundit and astrologer, about seventy years ago. The
house was solid and saw at least four generations of people living in
it.

Most of the debris had been removed. The stones were put in a pile.
We needed to dig for base of the house. Since there weren’t enough
labourers available to get the work done, father asked us all to get
ready to work. It was a sunny Saturday afternoon. My father, along

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with two brothers and I, was taking out the foundation stones of the
old house one by one.

As we dug a couple of feet, my brother felt something made of iron. When
we unearthed the box, it was full of jewelleries—rings, necklaces and
bracelets.

“Gosh!”myfathersaid,“Isupposesomeonehidthesethingsintheground—
perhaps during a war!”

Then I said, “Maybe our great granddad had kept it for us. He was a great
soothsayer.Hemusthaveknownwhatwouldfallonusinthedaystocome.”

Anyway, the money we got from the jewelleries was enough to
construct our new house and we are living in it now.

B. ________________________________________________

I came home tired after a
day of work. I was attending
numerous meetings all day. I
was tired, hungry and looking
forward to spending a good
time with my family. I walked
into the house. Nothing seemed
to be in place.

My oldest daughter, Lily, was
watching TV. She was eating honey straight from the jar. She had all
her belongings thrown around her. My younger son, Suyog, was a
bigger mess. He was playing a remote control game and was hitting
the coffee table now and then. The things that were on the table were
all falling down. He had also spilled some orange juice and his clothes
looked as if they were dipped in dirt. The room was in total chaos. My
youngest daughter, Neha, was crying out loud because the dog had
eaten all her food. Nobody was consoling her or taking her care. She
was only two years then.

I wondered where my wife was. I was very annoyed by this mess. I
have always valued discipline and it made me furious and impatient
to see my kids in such a mess. I went running into the room to show

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all this to my wife. Then, I was shocked to see my wife writhing on the
floor. She had a severe stomachache.

C. ________________________________________________

As I was going outside, I was a little nervous because I was going to ride on
my dad’s motorcycle.
“Come on. Get up,” said my dad cheerfully.
“Okay,” I answered. But just as I was getting onto the seat, I burnt myself
on one of the pipes!
“Ow!” I yelled as I started to cry.
“Are you all right?” asked my
mum.
“No,” I answered.
“Come here,” said my mum.
“Let’s take a look at the burn. It’s
not so bad but I don’t think you
should go for a ride right now.”
I felt glad that my mum had said that.
“Aw, come on. It won’t hurt once we get going,” said my dad.
Then, he picked me up and set me on the seat of the motorcycle.
“Dad, I’m not sure I want to go!” I said.

“Nonsense. It’ll be fun,” said my dad. And we took off.

I have to admit that during the ride, I started to laugh. My burn hardly hurt
anymore. I wasn’t nervous and I had a great ride.

I’m really glad my dad convinced me to get on the motorcycle. If he hadn’t, I
probablyneverwouldhavegottenonitagain.Fromthatdayon,IknewIwould
never give up after I got hurt. I would just get back up and try it again.

D. ________________________________________________

My aunt, Minu, had a terrible experience last Saturday. You won’t
believe what happened! A thief burst into her house while she was
asleep. That night she was alone at home. She was just sleeping
peacefully when someone broke the glass in the sliding door!

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The sound woke her up. She heard the door open. Thus she
hurriedly reached for the phone by the bed and called the police.
She told the operator in
shaking voice that there was
an intruder in her home.

To save herself, she hid in
her bedroom closet while the
thief was sneaking around
her study room. Soon, she
heard sirens as the police
sped to her building. From
the crack in the closet door,
she saw the thief as he ran outside with her computer.

The police jumped out of their cars and followed the thief but
he managed to get away in a car that was waiting for him. The
police got back into their cars and drove after him. Later, we
came to know that the police caught the thief a few miles from
her building.

She felt really frightened by all this and called my dad to take her to
us. My father and I went to her house and brought her along with
us. She was upset and scared. It took her three days to get back to
normal.

Comprehension

7. Match the titles with the texts. Write letter in the boxes.

a. The theft
b. That’s how I learnt not to give up.
c. A man talks about a distressful day.
d. Treasure chest for building a house

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8. Are the following statements true or false? Write.

a. The family could not get labourers easily to manage the debris.
b. The new house has been built at the same spot where the old house was.
c. Mr Thapa wanted strict discipline at home.
d. Miss Thapa had fallen sick on that day.
e. The girl’s mother was willing to let her stay home after the burn.
f. Aunt Minu was alone that day.
g. Minu hid behind the kitchen door and looked at the thief.
h. The thief took her jewelleries and gold.
i. The police were able to catch the thief.

9. Read the texts C and D and complete the sentences.

a. After riding for some time, the girl started to ............................
b. The girl burnt her legs by ............................................
c. The girl has learnt not to ...............................in life.
d. Aunt Minu woke up after the ................................was broken.
e. The thief took .....................................from Mina’s home.
f. The thief escaped in a ........................................

10. Answer the following questions.

a. What day was it when the family was removing debris of the old house?
b. What was the profession of great grandfather?
c. How old was the house that got damaged during the quake?
d. What were the two opinions regarding the treasure chest?
e. What were the children doing when Mr Thapa came home?

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f. Why was he annoyed?
g. What had actually happened at Mr Thapa’s home?
h. What happened to the girl while going to go out on a bike?
i. What lesson did she learn form the event?
j. Why was Aunt scared?

Vocabulary

Phrasal verbs

A phrasal verb is a phrase which consists of a verb in combination with a
preposition or adverb or both. The meaning of a phrasal verb is different from
the meaning of its separate parts.

knock somebody putsomething take off tell somebody off

down on

11. Match the phrasal verbs with their meanings.

a. put something on ....... leave the ground to fly

b. take off ....... to leave a bus, train or aircraft

c. tell somebody off ....... go on to a bus, train or aircraft

d. knock somebody down ....... to cover a part of body with clothes

e. get off ....... to cause somebody fall by hitting them

f. get on ....... to speak to someone angrily because they
have done something wrong

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Idiomatic expressions

An idiomatic expression is a group of words in a fixed order that have
a particular meaning that is different from the meanings of each word
understood on its own.

in the blink of an eye pull someone’s leg bite the bullet

on a razor edge not have a leg to stand on bite somebody’s head off

12. Match the idiomatic expressions given above with their
meanings below and write them.

a. extremely quickly
b. to be brave in a difficult situation
c in a very uncertain and dangerous situation
d. to speak to someone in a quick, angry way for no good reason
e. to be in a situation where you cannot prove something
f. to try to persuade someone to believe something which is not true, as a

joke

13. Use the following phrases and idioms in sentences of your
own.

a. pull one’s leg: ........................................................................................................

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

b. get on: ........................................................................................................
...................................................................

c. on a razor edge: ........................................................................................................
...................................................................

d. get off: ........................................................................................................
...................................................................

e. take off: ........................................................................................................
...................................................................

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Grammar

The past simple and the past continuous

The past simple The past continuos

We use the past simple to talk about We use the past continuous to talk
things that happened in the past. We about an action that was in progress
usually say when they happened. We at a specific time in the past.
often use past time expressions:
I was playing tennis at six o’clock
We walked to school yesterday. yesterday.

She finished her homework an hour We weren’t sleeping at eleven last
ago. night.

She was not home yesterday. Was your dad working at eight?

I went to temple last It was raining when I went to temple.
morning.

We often use the past simple and the past continuous together, to talk about
something that happened while another action was in progress.
We use the past continuous for the longer action or the action that was in
progress. We use the past simple for the shorter action.
They were going home when we saw them. or It was snowing when I got
up this morning.
We often use when before the shorter action.
They were going home when we saw them. or When we saw them, they
were going home.
Similarly, we use while before the longer action.
We saw them while they were going to the market.
We also use while to talk about two actions in progress at the same time in
the past.
While I was doing my homework, my parents were watching TV.
If two shorter actions happened one after another we use when with the
first action.
When the door bell rang, Kabita answered it.

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14. Select while or when.

a. I was doing my homework when / while my father came home.
b. When / While we were watching TV, the lights went off.
c. When / While you were sleeping, Salina phoned.
d. Binod was walking home from school when / while he found five

hundred rupees in the street.
e. I was writing an e-mail to a friend when / while my parents came

back.
f. When / While I was talking to Sahara, Tej walked into the room.

15. Mona talks about her childhood memory. Complete the story
using past continuous form of the given verbs.

I have a special childhood
memory of a summer
evening when I was seven
or eight years old. My mum,
dad and my sisters .............
..........................(sit) in the
garden. The sun....................
...................(set) and the sky
...............................(turn) red
and golden. My sister .......................................(swing) on the garden swing
and my mother .......................................(rock) in her rocking chair. Our dog
.......................................(lie) on the grass. My father .......................................
(play) his guitar and .......................................(sing). Everyone ..........................
.............(listen) to him. He loved to sing and he had a wonderful voice. I felt
so happy and peaceful and secure. That night is one of my best memories.

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16. When our science teacher was asked about the funniest
moment of his life, he told us the following story. Complete
the story by using the past simple or the past continuous form
of the verbs in the brackets.

Ten years ago, my elder brother was studying
fine arts in Lalitkala Campus. He was taking
(take) part in young artists’ competition with
a big piece of sculpture. He called it “War”. I
............................. (not know) anything about
Modern Art then. To me, it ............................. (be) like a pile of old metal
objects.

Onthedayofthecompetition, mybrother.............................(decide)toputhis
piece of sculpture in a different place. He asked me and a friend to bring it and
he.............................(go)togetsomethingfromthecar.Unfortunately,whilewe
.............................(carry)thethingtoitsnewplace,I.............................(slip)and
.............................(lose)mybalance.WhenI.............................(get)up,allthemetal
pots and boxes ............................. (lie) all over the floor!

I was so shocked that I didn’t know what to do! Then, my friend had an idea.
“Why don’t we just put the things back? Who will know the difference?”

So, while the judges were looking at the other works of art, my friend and I
put everything back together again. We ............................. (put) everything
in a pile and decided that it ............................. (not look) that bad! We
............................. (put) the last piece at the top of the pile when the judges
.............................(arrive)togetherwithmybrother.Whenhe.............................
(see) the state of his work, his face became white with anger and I turned red

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with embarrassment! While

the judges .............................

(look) at his work, he

............................. (look)

at me with his burning

eyes! However, the things

changed. The judges really

............................. (love) his

work. Rather, I should say our

work. Actually, they thought

it to be so good that they ............................. (give) him the first prize!

Writing

Writing a memoir
A memoir is a collection of memories that someone writes about his or
her own life. Has anything made you feel very happy, sad, mad, excited,
hopeful, inspired or regretful? You can write about particular situations,
places or persons that make the moment important for you.

Parts of a short memoir
Paragraph 1: Introduction (Who-Where-When-What)
You set the scene here, mentioning who was involved, when it happened
and where it happened.
Paragraph 2-4: Main body
This part consists of two or more paragraphs. Here, you develop your story
with detailed description of the events in the order they happened.
Final paragraph: Conclusion
Thisparagraphincludesfinalcommentsorreactions.Asurprisingendingmakes
a long-lasting impression on the reader.

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Language in a memoir
While writing a memoir, you should normally use past tenses. Varieties of
adjectives and adverbs also make your story more attractive to the reader.
Therefore, you should try to use the words that have appeal to our senses.
The narrator of a memoir is always ‘I’ because it is about personal experiences,
feelings and opinions of the writer.
The events of a memoir are arranged in a sequence.You need to use connectors
or linking words to show the sequence of the events.
Linkingwordslike:atfirst,soon,suddenly,while,when,before,next,then,after
that, then or as help us to show the sequence of events in the story.

17. Fill in the blanks with appropriate connector from the box.

at first soon suddenly finally then as

An Encounter with Deer

I had never thought that
animals also have such love
and affection with each
other. Last year, in winter,
we were driving home in
our car. The weather was
a bit rough with some
drizzle.

................we were driving
down the winding mountain road, it started to snow. Soft white snowflakes
were falling lightly onto the road and it ........................became very slippery.
......................, a deer dashed out in front of the car and my father took a
sharp turn violently to avoid it. We heard a loud thump of our car and a
painful shriek of the deer. Anyway, dad managed to stop the car. We quickly

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jumped out of the car and ran to see if the deer was hurt.

We found it lying in the road. ..
..............................., we thought it
was dead. Then, the deer opened
its eyes and we realised that it
was alive. Meantime, we could
hear rustles from the bush. Some
of the deer were there peeping
through the bush. As the hurt
deer was lying on the road, a
couple of them came near and
smelt the nose and ears of the
hurt one. It looked as if they were whispering something. Then, it opened
its large soft brown eyes. As it looked at us, one of them gave a kick to
our car and one of the sidelights of our car got broken. ................, two of
the other deer escorted it slowly towards the bush. ................................, they
disappeared from our sight.

That day I realised that even animals have feeling, friendships and affections.
They can help each other when they are in problem. Thus, I would say never
undermine animals. They too have feelings.

18. Read the memoir “An Encounter with Deer” and note
descriptive details.

Sense of sight .........................................................................................................
................................................................................................................

Sense of sound .......................................................................................................
.................................................................................................................

Sense of smell .........................................................................................................
.................................................................................................................

Sense of touch ........................................................................................................
.................................................................................................................

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19. Use the given graphic organiser to brainstorm and write a
story of your own.

Title ..................................................................................
Introduction When did it happen? (Time):

Where did it happen? (Place):

Who were involved?.......................................................

Body paragraphs What happened ? (First event)
........................................................................................
How I felt / saw or what I was thinking about it ?
..........................................................................................
What happened? (Second event)
...........................................................................................
How I felt / saw or what I was thinking about it ?
..........................................................................................

Conclusion What happened? (Third event)
...........................................................................................
How I felt / saw or what I was thinking about it ?
Comment on the event / lesson learnt:
..........................................................................................

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Grammar

The past perfect

We use the past perfect to talk about an event that happened before another
event in the past. We use the past simple to describe the one that happened
second.
By the time I finished my work, the teacher had already left the room.

The past perfect is also used to describe an action that happened before a
specific time in the past.
They had stopped playing the game before 5.00 pm.

Time markers with the past perfect:
when, after, before, as soon as, until, just, already, by, by the time, etc.

Form:
had + past participle ( had left/ had stopped)

20. Complete the following with had or hadn’t.

a. When her daughter arrived home from a party, Mrs Shrestha asked her
if she ...................... thanked her hostess. She said, “No.” She further said,
“The girl in front of me thanked her and the lady said “Don’t mention
it” so I didn’t.”

b. Waiter: Here’s your tea, madam - it’s a special tea from Brazil.

Lady: Oh, I was wondering where you ............................ gone.

c. Son: Mum! Mum! Dad’s fallen over a cliff.

Mum: Is he okay?

Son: I don’t know. He .......................... stopped falling when I left.

d. Mohan: One day a beggar stopped me and said he ............................
had a bite for days.

Sohan: What did you do then?

Mohan: I bit him!

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Speaking

21. Sit in pairs and talk about your morning. Consider the
following questions.

a. When did you get up?
b. What did you eat?
c. What did you do?
d. Was there something interesting?
e. What did you have for breakfast?
f. Did you have any homework left for the morning?
g. How did you come to school?
h. When did you leave home for school?
i. What time did you arrive at school?
j. Did you see anything interesting on the way to school?

Listening

22. Shruti’s grandfather is telling her about his life. Listen to
the conversation between them and match his age with the
works he did in his life.

a. 76 years old had lived in Kathmandu for 50 years

b. 10 years old had married

c. 19 years old had given birth to
their first child

d. 27 years old had finished his 5th
grade

e. 32 years old had got his first job

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Reading

23. Read and learn.

Gai Jatra – The Festival of Turning Grief into Joy

I had woken up early this autumn morning and dressed up for the festival
of Gai Jatra. It was the month of September. Eight months ago, I had lost
my most favourite person. I had desperately waited for the day of Gai Jatra
as it celebrates the life of the departed ones. I wanted to worship the deity
of death, Yamaraj, for the soul of my grandmother on this festival.

I had been ready with my black and red traditional Newari attire when
my mother came to my room to check on me. She was surprised that I had

woken up and gotten ready without her help. She asked me to join the rest
of the family downstairs. As I moved my legs slowly to reach to the living
hall, I remembered one of the evenings I had spent with my granny two
years ago.

That perfect evening, my granny told me about the significance of Gai Jatra
while preparing rice pudding. She had told me that Gai Jatra is associated
with Yamaraj, the god of death. That it is mainly celebrated as a tribute to
the life of the dead one and to wish them a smooth journey after death. I
had asked her, “Granny, why is it Gai Jatra, and not any other animal”?
She explained, “Oh, that is because the cow is the most sacred animal and
it is believed that they can guide soul of the deceased to heaven”. She also
explained to me how the festival of procession of cows later associated
with humour during the Malla regime.

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ThateveningshehadalsotoldmeaboutthestoryofKingPratapMalla.Centuries
ago,whenKingPratapMallahadsuddenlylosthisson,itwastoughforhiswife
to cope with this loss. Seeing that the queen had been sad for a very long time,
the king was heartbroken and made various efforts to bring a smile to her face.
Unable to do so, he made a new plan. He declared the cow procession and that
whoever would be successful in bringing a smile to the queen’s face shall be
rewarded and honoured.Additionally, the king requested all the families who
had recently lost their loved ones to participate in this parade as well.

This plan of the king worked wonderfully because it made the queen
smile looking at the cow procession filled with dancers and comedians in

costumes. It was during this festivity that
the participants addressed and exposed
the social injustice and mocked the socially
prestigious. I was captivated by this story.
My grandmother slowly caressed my back
and told me, “That is when the queen
realised that just like her, there were many
families who had lost their loved ones,
however they were still continuing their
journey of life with grace.” Oh, what an amazing storyteller my granny was.

By the time I reached the living hall, I was surprisingly welcomed by my
cousins and aunts and uncles who had gathered at our house to walk in
the parade together. Suddenly, my younger brother Kiran came running to
the hall dressed up as a cow. All of us giggled and laughed looking at this
comedic costume. Once my parents were ready, all of our family members
stepped outside and joined the street-parade of Basantapur. We had
prepared a lot of food to distribute to the homeless and the needy people.
It took us two hours to go around the trail of the procession. There were so
many children just like me; some dressed up as cows and decorated with
red tika and garlands and some dressed in colourful traditional costumes.
I could also see a cow in front of the parade. There were adults who were
leading the parade singing traditional Nepali songs and dancing. Our
family walked the procession together with hundreds of other families
mourning the death of loved ones but at the same time moving forward as
it is a necessary process of life.

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Comprehension

24. Answer the following questions.

a. How did humourous sessions associate with the festival of Gai Jatra?
b. Why was the narrator desperately waiting for this festival?
c. What do you think the narrator felt during the street parade?
d. What do you think the queen realised when she saw all the participants

who had lost their loved ones in the cow procession?
e. How do you feel about the festival, Gai Jatra?

25. Make a group of four classmates and share with your group
members about your favourite festival or occasion. Tell them why
this festival is your favourite?

Writing

26. Describe one of the interesting events or celebrations you have
been involved in.

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17 Expressing
Surprise and
Dismay

Listening

1. Listen and sing. -By John Keats

Fairy Song

Shed no tear! O shed no tear!
The flower will bloom another year.
Weep no more! O, weep no more!
Young buds sleep in the root's white core.
Dry your eyes! Oh! dry your eyes!
For I was taught in Paradise
To ease my breast of melodies--
Shed no tear.

Overhead! Look overhead! English Skills Book - 7 327
Mong the blossoms white and red--
Look up, look up. I flutter now
On this flush pomegranate bough.
See me! 'tis this silvery bell
Ever cures the good man's ill.
Shed no tear! O, shed no tear!
The flowers will bloom another year.
Adieu, adieu--I fly, adieu,
I vanish in the heaven's blue--

Adieu, adieu!

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2. Discuss.

a. What does the poem talk about?
b. What does the speaker ask to do and why?
c. How many exclamatory words are used in the poem?

Conversation

3. Sit in pairs and practise.

Prashant : Hello.

Rajish : Hello, Prashant!
How are you?

Prashant : Hi Rajish. I’m
OK now. But I
had really a bad
morning today.

Rajish : What’s the
matter?

Prashant : I wanted to sleep till late morning today because I was working
on the science project till midnight. When I was lying on my bed,
I heard a big thud. A man had fallen off the rooftop of a three-
storeyed house. He was still wriggling on the road when a jeep
ran over his leg.

Rajish : Oh! How sad! Did he die?

Prashant : No, he didn’t. He was taken to hospital. While they were rushing
himtohospitalinanambulance,theambulancehitanothervehicle
and another man got injured. Both of them have been taken to Bir
Hospital. I had never seen such an accident before.

Rajish : Unbelievable!Andreallysad.ThatiswhyInevergototherooftop
to fly kites.

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4. Answer the following questions.

a. What did Prashant want to do?
b. How many people were injured?
c. How did the second man get injured?

Reading

5. Read and learn.

Shyam: Hey Kumar! I heard you got selected for U-19 national football
team.

Kumar: Yes, I did.

Shyam: Wow, man! That’s awesome!

Kumar: It is, isn't it? But I was practising real hard for that.

Shyam: So when are you leaving?

Kumar: I guess within a few days. We are starting our training camp
next week.

Shyam: Wow! That’s great!

After two days

Kabita: Hey Kumar! I heard your are joining the training camp next
week.

Kumar: Actually, I’m going tomorrow.

Kabita: Are you kidding? So soon?

Kumar: Yeah. I have a lot to deal with when I get there. I need to get
along with new colleagues and set my room some other stuff.

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Cell phone rings

Kumar: Hello!

Prabin: Hey, Kumar! Where have you been? I have been calling you
all day long.

Kumar: I’m sorry. I was out. I forgot my phone at home.

Prabin: You are unbelievable. We had plans for today.
Kumar:
I know. I’m sorry. I forgot to tell you that I would be busy today
Prabin: as I need to leave tomorrow early morning. In the evening too,
Kumar: I am a bit busy.
Prabin:
Kumar: What’s so important?
Prabin:
Kumar: I need to do some hair dressing.
Prabin:
Kumar: What? Your hair dressing is more important than our plans?

Prabin: Oh, Prabin! I need some time for myself, too.

Kumar: Hey Kumar. Did you hear it?
Prabin:
What happened?
Kumar:
Kabita: Shyam is leaving for Dubai on coming Sunday!

Really? I don’t believe it! He was with me two days ago. He
mentioned nothing!

Yeah! He’s moving on Sunday with his parents. He showed
me the tickets as well.

That’s fantastic! Will he visit the Burj Khalif?

He said, yea! His father has booked hotel rooms in the building
for two days.

Wow, man! That’s amazing!

Looks like a fairy tale! Wow! I am so happy for you people!

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Comprehension

6. Answer the following questions.

a. Kumar is a football lover.
b. Kumar is going to Dubai.
c. Shyam informed Kumar about his plan?
d. Shyam has a plan to visit Burj Khalif.
e. Kabita is sad for not being able to go to Dubai.

7. Answer the following questions.

a. What is Shyam selected for?
b. Whydidn’tKumarcommunicateaboutcancellationofplanwithPrabin?
c. Why is Kumar not able to meet in the evening?
d. Where is Shyam staying while in Dubai?
e. What is the proof that Shyam is going on a holiday with his parents?
f. Pick all the words or phrases used to express surprise and dismay!

Pronunciation

Expressing surprise, disappointment and dismay

8. Learn to say the following expressions correctly.

Why can’t you stay quiet! How surprising it is!
Fascinating! How terrible it is!
Oh, really, I did not know! Oh, no! I had never expected it to happen.
What a wonderful idea it is! That’s great!
It’s awful! How upsetting!
Oh my God! How amazing! You did it!

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Expressing surprises and dismay

Are you for real? I can’t believe it! Are your serious!
No way! Wow! That’s amazing!
Are you joking?! Oh my god! What a great art you made!
Unbelievable! Gosh! Oh, no!
Awesome! Oh, no! My goodness!
How amazing you are! My goodness! What a pity!
Incredible! What a pity! Oh, how bad!
You must be kidding! Oh, how bad!
Really!?

8. Sit in pairs or groups of three. Use the given words or expressions
and hold conversations in he following situations.

a. Your friend talks about a time when he/she met a superstar

(met/ spoke to him/her/ took a photo/ autograph)

b. Your friend talks about a handsome amount of money in lottery

c. You are talking on the phone with your friend about an accident during
the play in which you got your ankle twisted.

d. Talking about a terrible time at a party

e. One of your friends had a wonderful
vacation

f. Talk about the results day.

g. Your friend has painted a really
wonderful art.

h. You friend has been just moving your
things and you are annoyed.

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Writing

9. Compose a dialogue about an event you witnessed recently.
Include both good and bad situations. Also use the expressions
of surprise and dismay!

Grammar

The past simple and past perfect.

The past simple The past perfect
We use the past simple: We use the past perfect:

- to talk about an action that - to talk about an action that
happened at a specific time in the happened before an action that
past. We generally say when the happened in the past.
action happened.
Before I left home, I had locked all
The show finished at 8 o’clock. the doors.

10. Complete the sentences using either the past simple or the past
perfect form of the verbs in the brackets.

a. By the time we arrived (arrive) at the cinema, the film had already
started (already/ start).

b. They................................(already/sell)thathatwhenI...............................(reach)
the shop.

c. Richa............................(just/finish)breakfastwhenI............................(wake)up.
d. The students ............................ (decorate) the gate before the guest

............................ (arrive).
e. The bank ............................ (already/ close) when my father left his office.

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Listening

11. Listen to the story and find the sequence of the pictures.

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Reading

12. Read and learn.

On a certain day, when the Pandavas were out hunting in the forest, they
got a little thirsty and tired. At that time, a Brahman came running to them
and said, “Can you please help me? I lost some sacred grasses to a male
deer accidentally and the buck ran away into the forest with the grass.”

Yudhishthira asked
his brothers to go in
different directions to
search for the deer but
in vain. At some point,
they gathered, exhausted
and thirsty. Yudhishthira
asked Nakula to go and
look for water. After
looking for a while,
Nakula came to a pond.
As he was about to drink from the pond, a voice threatened, “Don’t drink
from this water before you answer my questions.” Nakula ignored it, drank
the water and fell dead.

When Nakula didn’t return, Yudhishthira sent Sahadeva to look for him.
As Sahadeva came near the pond. He too hastened to drink water. Then
a voice threatened, “Wait! Do not drink this water before answering my
questions.” Sahadeva said, “Let me quench my thirst first. Then I shall
answer your questions.” He drank and fell dead as his brother. Now
Yudhishthira sensed that the two brothers were in danger, and he asked
Bhima and Arjuna to look for them. However, both Kshatriyas suffered the
same fate of their brothers.

When even Bhima and Arjuna didn’t return, Yudhishthira went in search
of them. Eventually, he came to the pond and saw his brothers lying there,
dead. He asked the pond, “Water! Are you the culprit? Are you the one
who took my brothers’ lives? Take mine too!” A voice warned, “Stop! Do
not drink the water before answering my questions.” Yudhishthira asked,
“Who are you? Where are you? Show yourself.”

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A Yaksha appeared from the thin air, “This pond belongs to me. Your
brothers died because they drank its water before answering my questions.
Do you wish to suffer the same fate?” Yudhishthira said, “I do not wish to
take what does not belong to me. Ask me your questions, and I’ll answer
them as best as I can.”

Question: What is more important than the earth itself?

Yudhishthira: One’s mother.

Question: What is higher than heaven?

Yudhishthira: One’s father.

Question: What is swifter than the wind?

Yudhishthira: The mind.

Question: More numerous than the blades of grass?

Yudhishthira: The thoughts in the mind.

Question: What is the most praiseworthy thing of all?

Yudhishthira: Skill.

Question: The most valuable possession?

Yudhishthira: Knowledge.

Question: The greatest treasure?

Yudhishthira: Health.

Question: The greatest happiness?

Yudhishthira: Contentment.

Question: What must be renounced to make a man agreeable?

Yudhishthira: Pride.

Question: What must be renounced to make a man wealthy?

Yudhishthira: Desire.

Question: And what can be renounced without regret?

Yudhishthira: Anger.

Question: What is real knowledge?

Yudhishthira: The knowledge of god.

Question: What is mercy?

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Yudhishthira: When one desires the happiness of all creatures.

Question: What disease has no cure?

Yudhishthira: Covetousness.

Question: What is pride?

Yudhishthira: When a man thinks that he’s the one who is the doer of life.

Question: What is grief?

Yudhishthira: Only ignorance.

Question: How does a man become patient?

Yudhishthira: By subduing his senses.

Question: What is wickedness?

Yudhishthira: Speaking ill of others.

Question: And how do you find bliss in the next world?

Yudhishthira: By being virtuous in this one.

Question: What is truly amazing in this world?

Yudhishthira: The most amazing thing is, though humans are mortal,
everybody goes about their life as if they are going to be
here forever.

Question: Who is he, Yudhishthira, who has every kind of wealth?

Yudhishthira: Only he to whom joy and sorrow, fortune and misfortune,
past and future are all the same.

Yaksha: Yudhishthira, you are the wisest man in the world and the most
righteous one too. I grant you a boon. Ask me for the life of
any one of your brothers.

Yudhishthira: (after pondering for a while) Give me Nakula.

Yaksha: What?! I know Bhima is dearest to you among all your brothers.
You depend on Arjuna to win the war that’s coming. Yet,
you choose Nakula’s life over others. Why?

Yudhishthira: I have two mothers – Kunti and Madri. I, the son of Kunti,
am alive. Surely, a son of Madri should also live.

Yaksha: Ah! You are a great soul indeed. Yudhishthira! I will never look
upon another like you in all time. I grant you not just
Nakula’s life, but the life of all your brothers.

The Yaksha revived all the brothers.

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13. Answer the following questions.

a. Name the five Pandava brothers.
b. Who did Yudhisthira send first to look for water?
c. When did Yudhisthira sense that Nakula and Sahadev are in danger?
d. In what condition did Yudhisthira find his brothers?
e. What exactly did Yaksha want?
f. Was Yaksha happy with Yudhisthira’s response? How do you know?
g. Why did Yudhishthira choose Nakul?
h. How did the story end?

14. Match the following.

AB

a. sacred satisfaction

b. exhausted holy

c. quench lack of knowledge

d. contentment morally right or justifiable

e. covetousness satisfy by drinking

f. ignorance restored to life

g. righteous tired

h. revived show great desire to possess what’s not yours

15. Complete the table below. Adjectives

Nouns
skill
knowledge
health
contentment

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pride
anger
covetousness
ignorance
wickedness

Grammar

The past perfect continuous

We use the past perfect continuous:
• to give emphasis to the duration of an action that happened before an

action in the past.
I found my book last evening. I had been looking for it for days.
Before her mother came, she had been crying for hours.
• to describe a past action that happened for a certain period of time

having its impact on another past action or situation.

16. Considering the given clues and the example, write sentences
using the past perfect continuous.

Tej was out of breath. (he/ run)
He had been running.
a. People were sitting around the table with empty plates in front of them.
(they/ eat)
b. Her clothes were dirty. (What/ she/ do?)
c. Manita was completely tired. (she/ walk/ for seven hours)
d. I went to see the dentist yesterday. (I/ suffer/ from toothache for many
weeks)

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e. Jeevan’s eyes looked red. (he/ not sleep/ whole night)
f. The ground was wet. (it/ rain/ all night)
g. They reached the summit of the mountain at last. (how long/ they/ climb/

it?)

17. Complete the story with the past simple, the past continuous,
the past perfect or the past perfect continuous form of the
verbs in the brackets.

I live with my parents in downtown Kathmandu. My grandparents live
in the suburb, about an hour and a half’s drive from centre of the city. The
road to my grandparents’ home is not so busy.

It was in the last monsoon season when my father decided to go to visit
his parents. He ............................ (be) on his way to visit his parents. He
............................ (drive) for forty minutes when his car ............................
(break down). He ............................ (get) out of his car and ............................
(try) to find out what the problem was. No luck! He ............................ (not
know) much about cars. All he ............................ (know) was that his car
............................ (break down) in the middle of nowhere and then he
............................ (stand) in the rain, hoping that someone would help him.

He ............................ (wait) for more than an hour when a truck driver
............................ (offer) to drive him to his parents’ home. They
............................ (reach) there in about another forty minutes. My father
............................ (thank) the driver. When he reached my grandparents’
home, he ............................ (find) the door was locked. He couldn’t believe
how unlucky he was! Grandparents ............................ (come) to our home.
Then he ............................ (make) a call to my grandmother to discover
that they ............................ (come) to our place. My father was there again,
standing in the rain, waiting for someone to drive him back home. From
that time my father never goes to anybody’s home without making a call.

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Writing

Punctuation

19. The story has punctuation errors. Rewrite it by correcting the
errors.

jay was fed up of his increasing weight All the time he kept thinking of the ways
to reduce his weight

one day he went to a shopkeeper and said i have come to know about a book
that tells how to reduce weight. please, give me a copy of that book. the
shopkeeper said sir, the last copy of that book got sold just a few minutes back.
however i have another book that tells how to gain weight jay said what?! i
don't need that. I want to reduce weight, not increase it

The shopkeeper replied so what Just do the reverse of what is written in the
book

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18 Seeking
confirmation

Listening

1. Listen and sing.

The Mock Turtle’s Song

-By Lewis Carroll

"Will you walk a little faster?," said a whiting to a snail,
"There's a porpoise close behind us, and he's treading on my tail.
See how eagerly the lobsters and the turtles all advance!
They are waiting on the shingle—will you come and join the dance?

Will you, won't you, will you, won't you, will you join the dance?
Will you, won't you, will you, won't you, won't you join the dance?
"You can really have no notion how delightful it will be
When they take us up and throw us, with the lobsters, out to sea!"
But the snail replied "Too far, too far!" and gave a look askance—
Said he thanked the whiting kindly, but he would not join the dance.
Would not, could not, would not, could not, would not join the dance.
Would not, could not, would not, could not, could not join the dance.

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2. Complete the crossword puzzle using the animal names in
the song.

ACROSS

3. a mammal that lives in the sea, swims in groups and looks similar
to a dolphin but has a shorter rounder nose

4. a small creature with a soft wet body and a round shell, that moves
very slowly and often eats garden plants

5. ananimalwhichlivesinornearwaterandhasathickshellcovering
its body into which it can move its head and legs for protection

DOWN
1. a small black and silver sea fish, eaten as food

2. an animal which lives in the sea and has a long body covered with a
hard shell, two large claws and eight legs, or its flesh when used as
food

Discuss

What confirmation did he whiting seek from the snail?

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Conversation

3. Sit in groups of three and practise.

Madan: It’s a beautiful day!

Lalita: It’s lovely, isn’t it? Why
don’t we go to the park?

Madan: Yes, let’s do that, shall we?

Lalita: We could drive but let’s
walk, we need the exercise.

Madan: We do, don’t we? I’ll get
my things.

Lalita: Last time you forgot your
skate board.

Madan: I didn’t have it with me, did I? So I borrowed yours. Anyway, let’s
go.

While returning from the park

Lalita: That was great, wasn’t it? I feel very hungry now.

Madan: Me too. This place looks good.

Lalita: Yeah, we’ve been here before, haven’t we? It serves really nice
momo.

Madan: That’s right. Oh, I haven’t got my wallet. You couldn’t lend me some
money, could you?

Lalita: First a towel, then your wallet, you never remember anything.

Madan: Well, we’re friends, aren’t we? Let’s go inside.

Discuss

a. How was the day? Did they enjoy in the park?
b. What’s the problem with Madan?
c. Mark all the tag questions used in the conversation.

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Reading

4. Read and learn.

Pradeep and Puran were talking one day about their plan to visit the market.
Pradeep : Hi, Puran. You’re going shopping after school today, aren’t you?
Puran : Yes, Pradeep. I need to buy a

couple of things.
Pradeep : I was reading something

about clothes on the internet.
Most people don’t think
much about where their
clothes come from, do they?
Puran : No, I guess not. Where do
they come from?
Pradeep : Our clothes used to come
from small family-owned
farms where cotton or other
plants grew and where animals were raised for their meat and
for their skins that were made into leather.
Puran : That’s still the same, isn’t it?
Pradeep : No, actually, it’s not.Alot of clothes nowadays are made at least in
partfrompetroleum-basedproducts,likepolyesterandrayon.You
probably already knew that, didn’t you?
Puran : Yes, I suppose, I did, but I forgot. Besides, I prefer cotton clothes
because they’re more comfortable in hot weather.
Pradeep : Thesecondchangeconcerningwhereourclothescomefromisthat
these days most leather comes from large factory farms.
Puran : What’safactoryfarm?Afactoryisabuildingwithalotofmachines
to make things like mobile phones, isn’t it?
Pradeep : Yes, it is, but what’s happening is that animals are now raised in
hugeplaceslikefactories.Theyarenotallowedtoroamaroundlike

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they used to on a small farm. Often they are kept inside so that they
get fat faster and their flesh stays soft.
Puran : Wow! That doesn’t sound like much fun, does it?
Pradeep : No,itdoesn’t.That’swhyIalwayswearshoesandbeltsmadefrom
synthetic, petroleum-based materials.
Puran : I can get them in shops here, can’t I?
Pradeep : Yes,youcan.Justlookcarefullywheretheylistthematerialsthatthe
shoes and belts are made of.
Puran : You can’t come with me by any chance, can you?
Pradeep : Sure, I was wondering when you were going to ask!

Comprehension

5. Sit in groups of three and practise.

a. raise a type of artificial cloth
b. polyester easy
c. comfortable bring up
d. concerning describes products that are made from artificial
substances, often copying a natural product
e. roam about
f. confinement move about or travel
g. synthetic when a person or animal is kept somewhere,
usually by force

6. Answer the following questions.

a. Why is Puran going to the market?
b. Whatareourclothesgenerallymadeof?Notedownbothspeakers’ideasin

the dialogue.

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c. What is a factory farm?
d. Why are animals in a factory farm kept in confinement?
e. What kinds of clothes does Pradeep wear? Why? Does he oppose the

factory farms?
f. Is Pradeep going to help Puran?
g. What kind of clothes do you wear - cotton clothes, silk clothes, leather

clothes or petroleum-based clothes?

Pronunciation

Tag questions

7. Listen to how tag questions are pronounced. Does the
intonation rise or fall at the end?

a. They’re doing their homework, aren’t they?
b. It wasn’t my fault, was it?
c. Ram got what he wanted, didn’t he?
d. It won’t be hard to convince her, will it?
e. We can’t leave him alone, can we?
f. We’ve done our job, haven’t we?
g. You should apologise for what you have done, shouldn’t you?
h. We finish school at four o’clock, don’t we?
i. She doesn’t like me, does she?

8. Say the following tag questions with the correct intonation.

a. They play football on Sundays, don’t they?
b. She watches TV a lot, doesn’t she?
c. They are superstars, aren’t they?

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d. He never goes out with his dog, does he?
e. You have a car, don’t you?
f. Pappu can’t dance, can he?
g. They seldom come to our home, do they?
h. There are five birds in tree, aren’t there?

Grammar

Tag questions

Form

Tag questions have two parts: an auxiliary verb and a personal pronoun.
Tag questions are separated from the statement by a comma.

They were having a party, weren’t they?

She is reading English, isn’t she?
She works hard, doesn’t she?
He found a purse on the way to his home, didn’t he?
We have a nice house, don’t we?

Rules
- Negative statements have positive tags and positive statements have

negative tags.
He is not looking at you, is he?
It is a nice book, isn’t it?
- When there is an auxiliary verb in the statement, we use the same to form

a tag question.
He can’t see things at a distance, can he?
They are working in the field, aren’t they?

348 English Skills Book - 7 Approved by the Curriculum Development Centre, Sanothimi, Bhaktapur

The tag question for let’s is shall we?
Let’s do the exercise, shall we?
- The tag question for an imperative sentence is will you?
Don’t make noise, will you?
Listen to me carefully, will you?
- The question tag for I am is aren’t I?
I am a student, aren’t I?
When the subject of a statement is there is/ are, there was/ were, there will
be, etc., we use there in the tag question, not they or it.
There are forty students in our class, aren’t there?
There was an old temple in the middle of the square, wasn’t there?
- When the subject of the statement is this/ that or these/ those, we use it

or they in the tag question.
That’s Madan’s book, isn’t it?
These are your notebooks, aren’t they?
- When the subject of the statement is somebody, someone, everybody

and everyone, we use they and a plural verb in the tag question.
Everybody was there in the party, weren’t they?
Someone stole my notebook, didn’t they?
- When the subject of the statement is nobody or no one, we use they and

a positive plural verb in the tag question.
No one was ready with the work, were they?
- When the subject of the statement is nothing, everything or something,

we use it and a singular verb in the tag question.
Nothing looks beautiful, does it?
Everything is right, isn’t it?

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- When the subject of the statement is one, we use a singular verb and one
in the tag question.

One should do his or her duty properly, shouldn’t one?

Use

We use tag questions when we are not very sure about something and we
want to confirm it or when we want someone to agree with us about the
thing we said.
You live in Palpa, don’t you?
It’s a lovely day, isn’t it?

9. Add tag questions to the following.

a. I should apologise, shouldn’t I?
b. You haven’t finished your work yet, ..................................?
c. Let’s have something to eat, ..................................?
d. You always have lunch at one, ..................................?
e. He can’t drive, ..................................?
f. Someone told you about it, ..................................?
g. No one helped me, ..................................?
h. Stop copying others’ answers, ..................................?
i. I’m late, ..................................?
j. That’s her favourite book, ..................................?
k. Everybody was enjoying the party, ..................................?
l. There was nobody in the room, ..................................?
m. Nothing is difficult in this lesson, ..................................?
n. These boys never do their task properly, ..................................?
o. We never go to school, ..................................?
p. Pradeep works very hard, ..................................?
q. I don’t like doughnut, ..................................?

350 English Skills Book - 7 Approved by the Curriculum Development Centre, Sanothimi, Bhaktapur