Unit 11: EXPRESSING PREFERENCES

EXPRESSING PREFERENCES 

1. Vocabulary in use 

1. Supply the correct word from the box below after each definition. 

1. preoccupied or filled the mind of (someone) continually and to a troubling extent: obsessed 
2. the activity of looking at goods displayed in shop windows especially without intending to buy anything: windowed shopping  
3. very silly or unreasonable: ridiculous
4. a large belly: stomach 
5. changed or caused to change direction abruptly: swerved
6. hiding so as to wait in ambush for someone or something: lurking
7. having or showing offensive desire: evil
8. spoke with sudden involuntary pauses repeating the initial letters of words: stammered

2. Reading comprehension 

1. Read the extracts given below, and answer the questions that follow. 

1. “I’m not a girl…I mean I’m not a girl for the girl…I mean the friend I am going to meet.” 
1. Who said this and to whom?
   Anuja said this to her father
2. What does ‘the girl’ refer to?
   It refers to a particular girl i.e., Anuja's e-friend
3. What does ‘a girl’ refer to?
   It refers to a common girl, Anuja
2. “You see, I was right. There is no one here. The girl you chatted on the Internet must have been a fake.” 
1. Who said this and to whom?
   Anuja's father said this to Anuja
2. What does ‘you’ refer to?
   It refers to Anuja
3. What happened afterward?
   Anuja's e-friend didn't appear so they left for home.
3. “You mean... You mean she saw me and...” 
1. Who said this and to whom?
   Anuja‟s father said this to his friend Dhurva.
2. What does the speaker try to say?
   The speaker is trying to confirm if he was seen by his daughter's e-friend's mother.
3. What does ‘she’ refer to?
   She refers to Anuja's e-friend's mother.

3. Read the story again, and rearrange the events in the order in which they happened.

Correct Order

1. Anuja wants to meet her friend.
2. Anuja's father also goes with her.
3. Anuja reveals her secret to her father.
4. It was not easy to digest new information.
5. Her friend did not turn up.
6. Father tells his daughter not to wait for her friend for more than 10 minutes.
7. They returned without meeting her friend.
8. Instead of a boy of 13, there appeared a lecherous old man.

GRAMMAR 

2. Time for Grammar
1. Make as many sentences as possible from the table below.
1. Purna Laxmi doesn't like being dependent. 
2. Purna Laxmi doesn't like earning little money.
3. Purna Laxmi prefers working with an educated family.
4. Purna Laxmi likes spending time with kids.
5. Purna Laxmi would like to apply for the vacant post.
6. Purna Laxmi enjoys spending time with kids.

2. Fill in the blanks with ‘a’, ‘an’, or ‘the’ where necessary to complete the story.

Once there lived an Emperor, who was very fond of wearing new shoes. He had a set of new shoes for every hour. He used to go riding on his horse merely to show off his shoes. He told all, “I think the best way a man can spend money is by buying shoes!” People used to think him to be a bit ridiculous. 

One day he wished to get the most magnificent shoes with a remarkable quality. People had never heard of such a thing before. He called a cobbler and gave a large sum of gold coins from the royal treasury to buy the finest materials. A few days passed the cobbler did not turn up. Then, he sent the Prime Minister to examine the progress. After an hour, the Prime Minister came with an empty hand. The poor emperor could not believe that he had such a liar in his kingdom.

NOTES:

We use the indefinite article, a/an, with singular nouns when the listener/reader does not know exactly which one we are referring to:

Police are searching for a 14-year-old girl.

We also use it to show that the person or thing is one of a group:

She is a pupil at National High School.
Police have been looking for a 14-year-old girl who has been missing since Friday.

We do not use an indefinite article with plural nouns or un-count nouns:

She was wearing blue shoes. (plural noun)
She has short, blonde hair. (un-count noun)

We use a before a consonant sound and an before a vowel sound. 

The definite article the is the most frequent word in English. We use the definite article in front of a noun when we believe the listener/reader knows exactly what we are referring to:

• because there is only one:
  The Pope is visiting Nepal.
  The moon is very bright tonight.
  Who is the president of Nepal?
• Because there is only one in that context:
  We live in a small house next to the temple. (= the temple in our village)
  Dad, can I borrow the car? (= the car that belongs to our family)
  When we stayed at my grandmother’s house, we went to the river every day. (= the river near my grandmother’s house)
• Because we have already mentioned it:
  A young man got arrested when he tried to rob a jewelry shop in Butwal. The man used a heavy hammer to smash the windows in the shop.
• to say something about all the things referred to by a noun:
  The wolf is not really a dangerous animal. (= Wolves are not really dangerous animals.)
  The kangaroo is found only in Australia. (= Kangaroos are found only in Australia.)
  The heart pumps blood around the body. (= Hearts pump blood around bodies.)
• We use the definite article in this way to talk about musical instruments:
  Sita plays the piano really well.
  She is learning the guitar.
• to refer to a system or service:
  How long does it take on the airplane?
  I heard it on the radio.
  You should tell the teacher.