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HURRIED TRIP TO AVOID A BAD STAR

M. Lilla and C. Bishop Barry American geographers M. Lilla and C. Bishop Barry in their essay Hurried trip to avoid a Bad Star present an exploration of Karnali zone of western Nepal on foot for 15 months. This essay was published as a visit report in The National Geographic as Karnali, The road less World of Western Nepal in 1971. The writers in this essay describe the life account of Karnali zone people, their daily life, their tradition and culture, their lack of awareness about environmental preservation and Karnali zone’s economic dependency with the plain region of south Nepal. People living in this part are quite innocent and superstitious. Some of the people form these parts go to Terai regions to find the work and return home after several years. Unfortunately, most of the people lack education to understand the value of the forest. On account of this reason, deforestation has been on the increase. They feel that they are obliged to depend on the forest area to ...

FULL FATHOM FIVE THY FATHER LIES

William Shakespeare Fathom: bottom Thy: your Coral: मूँगा  Pearls: मोती Knell: ring as in announcing death Suffer a sea change: undergo a transformation Hark: listen Full Fathom Five Thy Father Lies is taken from Shakespeare's play The Tempest , Act 1, Scene 2. Here the spirit Ariel sings this song to Ferdinand , Prince of Naples , who mistakenly thinks that his father is drowned into the sea. Ariel is telling Ferdinand that his father lies thirty feet below the surface of the sea.  Ariel is a spirit who is a very comic and miraculous (being or having the character of a miracle) character. He flies up invisibly and plays melodious music and song. In the given poem, he gives sympathy to Ferdinand, who is very sad on the death of his father. The Spirit Ariel tries to make the death meaningful with his melodious description. The Spirit Ariel says that Ferdinand’s father has been drowned into the sea. His body has been lying 30 f...

THE LOVING MOTHER

A Story from the Island of Hokkaido, Japan. The Loving Mother  is a story that reveals the everlasting love of a mother to her baby even after her death. It particularly gives central focus around the mysterious arrival of a woman at the pharmacist’s usually at midnight. Mr Shoji Sakota was a pharmacist in the city of Sappora on Hokkaido Island in northern Japan . He runs his own drug store in the same building where he used to live. He used to live alone in the rear part of the building because his wife had died several years ago.  Shoji Sakota , the protagonist of this story undergoes an unseen fear when he received the frequent visit of a young woman at the same time almost every night.  One stormy winter night in 1964, Mr. Sakota was working in his drug store at about mid night. As it was the end of the fiscal / financial year, he was very busy with the profit, loss and the management of accounts of the whole year. At that time, there was a knock on the do...

FEAR

Though the story Fear is from the unit of the supernatural stories, it is not a supernatural story. In fact, it is a psychological story. It’s a thriller / suspenseful story based on human fear of a nervous man. This story also shows how a man behaves in a state of panic and nervousness. Armando Gonzalez is the major character of this story. According to this story, Armando entered a large bank in the Mexico City and gave the withdrawal slip and the passbook to the bank teller. The teller asked so many questions to him and she counted the money with load voice. Armando realized himself that he was for sure going to be known by everyone in the bank . He was a man who had to look after a big family of nine members including himself. However, he had a dream. It was a common dream to have a house of his own. With this aim, he had saved 50,132 pesos for the last twenty years. He went to the bank to withdraw 50,000 pesos because he had seen a house within that limit. The deal was fina...

The Lamentation of the Old Pensioner

William Butler YEATS (1865-1939) TITLE: The title of the poem, “The Lamentation of the Old Pensioner”, consists three content words, two nouns (“lamentation” and “Pensioner”), and an adjective, “old” that qualifies the second noun.“Lamentation” means mourning or wailing over the loss of some precious things, a privilege position or an advantage. The second noun used by the poet is “pensioner”. The poet could have used ‘man’ instead. But he didn't. It is remarkable. A pensioner is a senior citizen, who is provided with some (monetary) benefits for the services s/he has provided in her/his youth. It helps him/her to live in old age. SUMMARY: "The Lamentation of the Old Pensioner" is a philosophical poem composed by W.B. Yeats, a famous 20th century modern Irish poet. In the poem, the poet has proven that time is supreme and nothing can stand before time. The poet also suggests that everybody likes to be young and nobody wants to be old. But it is time that mak...

THE RECURRING DREAM

1. Do dream have any connection to our real life? Discuss your personal view. Also relate to the story. "The Recurring Dreams." 2. Write about a dream that you have seen recently. 3. Why do some people have recurring dreams? Give your opinion. 4. Why does Janet want to take Kim to her parent's farm for a few days? The Recurring Dream is a supernatural story. It is borrowed from England and is set in London. The main character is  Kimberly Clark . Her short name is  Kim . She is a young and beautiful woman of 25, and has many friends. She lives in London. She has a good job. Her life is normal except a problem which is related to a dream that is strange and recurring. The person and the place in her dream are completely unknown to her. Later she sees the dream almost every night. Kim’s dream always begins on a country road where she stands. She sees a lane with white fence and a hedge on each side. And at the end of the lane, on the top of the hill, she sees a ...

THE LOST DOLL

1. How were Carmen and Evangelina alike and different? Or In what ways Maria Del Carmen and         Evangelina alike? 2. Why did they name the new baby Evangelina? 3. Why did Roberto want to save Carmen's things?     Why Rosa did said that there was no reason to save Carmen's things? SUMMARY: The Lost Doll is the story laid on the background of South America.  Carmen  was the only child of  Roberto  and  Rosa Soto . She was beautiful, bright and loving child. However she was sick from the day of her birth. When she was four, she fell sick seriously and died. Her body was taken to the cemetery in the small wooden coffin. A few days after the funeral ceremony, Rosa gave away Carmen’s playthings and clothes to a priest of another village so that she couldn't see them time and again. She thought that she wouldn't have another child as she was told by the doctor that she wouldn't have any children at the time of Carmen’...

Sample Letter

July 19, 2014 Mr. Mohan Raj Sharma Principal Rammani Multiple Campus Tilottama-06, Manigram, Rupandehi Dear Mr. Sharma, I am interested in applying for the part time account teaching position recently advertised in The Kathmandu Post. The teaching skills I have developed from my past work experience and educational background support my candidacy for the announced position. As you can see from my resume, the internship I had with XYZ Bank, provided me an opportunity to gain practical experience with account maintenance. I have also worked as a secondary level teacher for the past two years, learning firsthand how to deliver effective education for students practically and theoretically. I have been formally recommended by management several times and have been rewarded with the title of "Employee of the Month" several times. I would like an opportunity to discuss your specific needs and my overall abilities regarding the announced position. You can contact me at...

THE HOUSE CALL

The House Call is a story from Germany that basically concentrates upon the mysterious arrival of the spirit of a young girl to make a call to the doctor for the treatment of her mother who was suffering from pneumonia for several days. Dr. Emil Braun , the protagonist of this story, is identified as the famous surgeon in his locality. The day after the Christmas of 1903, he was sitting alone in his dining room at about 9:30 p.m. He was quite tired even unable to take his evening meal due to hard surgery. He was preparing a report about his surgical works and putting his head down on the table and dozing. He suddenly woke up when he heard the doorbell. He heard a child talking about her sick mother with his wife Mrs. Braun. After sometime, he came to know that he had a patient to see. In fact it was a young girl who had come to call the doctor for her mother. He went to the door and in the semidarkness saw a little girl of perhaps six or seven who was wearing a cotton dress and sha...

TWO LONG-TERM PROBLEMS: TOO MANY PEOPLE, TOO FEW TREES

Moti NISSANI In the essay, "Two Long Term Problems: Too Many People, Too Few Trees" a noted scholar Moti Nissani discusses two inter related problems: overpopulation and deforestation . With their impact showing several consequences of the twin problems, the writer makes us aware about our duties to solve them and to save the bio-sphere for our future generation. The essay starts with the world’s scientists concern over the earth’s environment. It is becoming much polluted. The air, water, and soil, which are regarded to be the most important things for the existence of any living species, are becoming poisonous and many kinds of plants and animals have already disappeared. Moti Nissani brings the issue of 1500 world's scientists' The World's Scientists Warning to Humanity and the joint statement of U.S. National Academy and Royal Society of London regarding the condition of the present world. They are worried about the present condition of the world....

THE LAMENTATION OF THE OLD PENSIONER

William Butler YEATS (1865-1939) Although I shelter from the rain Under a broken tree My chair was nearest to the fire In every company That talked of love or politics Ere Time transfigured me. Though lads are making pikes again For some conspiracy, And crazy rascals rage their fill At human tyranny, My contemplations are of Time That has transfigured me. There's not a woman turns her face Upon a broken tree, And yet the beauties that I loved Are in my memory; I spit into the face of Time That has transfigured me. Notes & References ere: before (conj.) pike:  a weapon consisting of a pointed blade on the end of a long pole (n.) transfigure: completely transform into something else Summary on Youth and Age Life is a journey from womb to tomb. A person has to pass different phases of life throughout his life. A child of yesterday becomes a young man today, and will be called an old tomorrow. Eventually, s/he disapp...

CHAPTER 3: FRIENDSHIP

The Friendship Bond Mary Brown Parlee In The Friendship Bond , Mary talked about the research they conducted; she said over 40,000 readers express their opinions on what they looked for in close friendship. She said friendship is unlike marriage or ties that bind parents and children or something regulated by law. Mary mentioned trust and acceptance which are the most important elements in a successful friendship. She tells us that according to the psychologist, trust is very important because it allows people to be honest and to share important secret with one another. But Mary discovered that most friendship ends as a result of betrayed. Mary Brown Parlee's The Friendship Bond, is based on a report on the Psychology Today  friendship questionnaire, which was taken from a large number (40,000) of respondents. She presents the theories about friendship, that is, what social critics believe about friendship in the United States and how her own findings contradict with the...

Chapter 2 - MATTERS OF THE HEART

There are many kinds of love and each love depends on what we feel for another. Love can be either strong or weak. There could be love that you may have for your parents, children, pets, friends, relatives, or just about anyone , other than the love between two people. The love between two people of a couple may be different because we find more sacrifice, understanding  and honesty in it, the love among family members is driven by responsibility.  As It Was in the Beginning - E. Pauline Johnson The story  As It Was in the Beginning written by E. Pauline Johnson who is a member of the Cree tribe a Canadian Aboriginals is about Esther , a young Aboriginal woman who left her family to become educated and converted to Christianity. She has learned the white man's ways but is very homesick. She misses the more natural surroundings of her people. The story is important because it deals with very universal issues like homesickness, prejudice (preconception) , and love....