English for today Class Eight,Unit 8, News! News! News!
Unit Eight
News! News! News!
Learning outcomes
After we have studied this unit, we will be
able to
• ask and answer questions.
• participate in short dialogues and
conversations on familiar topics.
• read aloud texts with proper sounds, stress
and intonation.
• read and understand text materials.
• write answers to questions.
• write simple formal/informal letters.
• write simple CVs.
• write short paragraphs.
Lesson: 1 | News! News! News! (1)
Key words: whizz
master(v) compute computer-nerd passion monitor database claim website evidence
emigrate gifted
A. Look at the following
picture. Discuss with your partner what you see in it.
Computer whizz kid eyes
record books
A six-year-old boy from Bangladesh is hoping
to become the world's youngest computer expert.
Wasik Farhan-Roopkotha turned six in January
2012. He is hoping his skills will be recognised by Microsoft and Guinness
World Records.
Wasik started to show a talent for computers
since early childhood. Before the age of four, he mastered playing video games
and typing in Microsoft Word.
His mother Cynthia Farhan-Risha said, "I
knew he was very different since his birth. I couldn't believe my eyes when he
began computing as a seven-month-old child.
At his local primary school, Wasik was above
the average level. So his parents decided that he should be taught at home.
According to his mother, Wasik's English is
still limited. However, he has a few words to say in Bengali.
"I really enjoy playing on the computer
and learning new skills," Wasik told the BBC.
"My ambition is to be a computer expert
at a big computer firm in the future."
Wasik is a computer-nerd. But he still enjoys
mixing with other children, playing football and listening to music. However,
computers are his main passion.
Farhan-Risha hopes that Wasik will be
mentioned in Guinness World Records.
They have not yet listed anyone as the
youngest computer programmer in the world.
Guinness World Records said, "We do not
monitor such a record in our database at the moment. But Wasik's family is
welcome to make a claim on our website."(adapted from The Daily Star.)
Questions
1 What is the report about?
2 Do you find the story interesting? Why?
3 Wasik's mother says, "I knew he was
very different since his birth". Find two/three phrases/sentences that
support her statement.
4 What is Wasik's ambition?
5 Do you feel proud of Wasik? Why?
B. Complete the following
sentences with words/phrases form the box. There are more words than necessary.
as well as | therefore | by
the way | hence | however | anyway
Wasik is a British national (a)........... a
Bangladeshi citizen. He was born
in Bangladesh and then his parents emigrated
to the UK. He is a minor boy of six. But he is gifted with an extraordinary
talent. He was sent to the local primary school, (b)..........., he was above
the level of the average students.(c)..........., his parents decided that he
should be taught at home. He is fond of friends and music. But his main passion
is computer. He,(d)...........,
claims the recognition as the youngest
computer expert of the world. And (e)..........., the Guinness authority has
asked his family to make a formal claim.
C. A reporter came to
interview Wasik. Following is the interview. The questions are missing. Discuss
with your partner and write what they might be. Then act out in pairs. The
first one is done for you.
Reporter : Congrats, Wasik! Guinness
authority recognises you as the youngest computer expert of the world.
Question: How do you feel now?
Wasik
: Great! It's a great feeling. After all, it's a place in the Guinness
Record Book. I feel proud.
Reporter : ......................?
Wasik : I'll do my higher education in
computer science and start my own computer firm in future.
Reporter :
......................?
Wasik
: Although I'm a British citizen now, originally I'm from Bangladesh.
Reporter : We know, you like your
motherland......................?
Wasik
: To be frank, I love my country. And I often visit Bangladesh. Every
year we spend our summer in Bangladesh.
Lesson: 2 | News! News! News! (2)
Key words: bunk
off mass people objective bias broadcast refer editorial informative educative
B. Read the text and answer
the following questions.
'I eat rice every day. I play cricket. I
don't bunk off school, blah...blah... blah....' These are common events. They
happen every day or on some occasions.
Are these events news? Should they be
published in newspapers? The answer is a big 'NO'. Then what is news anyway?
What do we want to know from the medial 'When a dog bites a man that is not
news, but when a man bites a dog that is news,' says Charles Anderson Dana.
The first thing is that the news should be a
piece of information. Secondly, the information should be recent or new, and
hence it is 'news'. Thirdly, mass people should take interest in it. Fourthly,
it should be self-explained. That is, it should answer all the questions with
who, which, what, where, when, why and how Finally, it should be objective.
Recently, another aspect has been added: news is either printed or broadcast or
on the internet.
There are opinions that the term 'news' comes
from 'new'. Others say it is news because it comes from all directions: North,
East, West and South.
Questions
1 What features should news have?
2 What is the difference between news and an
event?
3 '.......it should be self-explanatory...'.
What does 'it' mean here?
4 What are the opinions about the term
'news'?
5 What must be there in the information in a
newspaper?
C. Pairwork. Find the
following words/phrases in italics in the text in B. Discuss with your partner
and try to guess their meaning from the context. Then look at the table below
and match the words with their meanings in the right column. First one is done
for you.
D. Work in pairs. Suppose,
a man in your locality really bites a dog. Imagine you are a reporter and you
interview the man. Share with your partner and write the dialogue. Then act
that out in pairs. Use the 'why, when, what, etc' questions.
E. Look at the following
comment.
The advertisement is the most truthful part
of a newspaper, —Thomas Jefferson Now make similar sentences from the following
substitution table.
F. Ask and answer with your
partner.
1 Do you read any newspaper/magazine?
2 When do you usually read it?
3 Which newspaper/magazine do you read?
4 What makes it different from other
newspapers/magazines?
5 Which news items do you like most ----
international affairs, sports, movie, culture, politics, etc?
6 Do you share your favourite news item/s
with your friend/s?
G. Write a paragraph on your habit of reading
newspapers. You can take your cues from the questions in section F.
Lesson: 3 | News! News! News! (3)
Key words: news
item headline overcome challenge vocational survive boutique forum
appreciation award atmosphere profession entrepreneur
A. Match the following
headlines with the given news items.
B. Read the passage and
answer the following questions.
With only 2,500 taka in her pocket, Rona
Begum began her small business. She also had a sewing machine from her sister.
She attended a six-month vocational training run by the Department of Youth
Development before that.
Rona's Utsab Tailors Training and Sales
Centre began in 1997.
Traditional items, block print works and
embroidery are done at her production house. "Despite serious trouble in
my personal life, I worked very hard to survive," said Rona.
Secretary of WBF, Sylhet.
1 Do you think the story is news? Why?
2 Where is Rona from? How can you be sure of
that?
3 Which fact in the story can be a clue that
Rona was educated?
4 What will you mention as the main factor
behind Rona's success?
5 Why could she not expand business earlier?
6 What has Rona started with partners?
7 What has happened to the atmosphere at
home?
C. Listen to the teacher/CD
carefully and tick the best answer.
U8, L3
C
Listening
text: 8
2 Her stall 'Utsab' got the second
award/medal/prize at the Meena Mela in Sylhet, organized by Dhaka Ladies Club
in 2006.
3 The Meena Mela in Sylhet was
sponsored/arranged/ organized by Dhaka Ladies Club.
4 In 2010 and 2011, Rona trained a group of
poor widows/women/workers in a training programme in Sylhet.
5 Jatiya Juba Padak was awarded in a fashion
show/function/workshop in Dhaka.
Lesson: 4 | Walk-in interview! Join the
winning team!
Key words: career
opportunity maximum negotiable curriculum vitae electronic media public opinion
public relations positive negative
U8, L4
A
Listening
text: 9
1 Newspaper, radio, TV, etc together are
called ...... ......
2 Newspaper belongs to ...... ......
3 The media can build up ...... ......
rapidly.
4 Social workers should use the media for
...... ......
5 ...... is seen as a positive use of
the media.
B. Discuss in groups and
give arguments in favour of or against the use of ads on TV.
C. Look at the following
advertisement and answer the following questions.
Job opportunity
Some healthy, young male and female are
needed for security work .
Education
: class 8 passed,
age
: 25 maximum,
experience
: not required,
salary
: negotiable.
Apply with handwritten CV, 1 copy photograph,
and certificate/s on or before 15 June 2015.
Manager,
ABC company Ltd.,
36/A/l Tejgaon, Dhaka.
Questions
1 Who is the employer ?
2 Can you type your CV to apply for the job ?
3 Who should you apply to ?
4 Can a candidate without any experience
apply ?
5 Can you imagine the size of the photograph
you should send with your application ?
6 When can the candidate know about his/her
salary ?
D. Suppose you are going to
apply for the job advertised in section C. Use the following model of a CV with
your own information. Add at least two more pieces of information.
Curriculum Vitae
1. Name :
2. Father's name :
3. Mother's name :
4. Mailing address :
5. Date of birth :
6. Nationality :
7. Educational qualifications:
8. Experience :
9. ............ :
10. ...... ....:
E. If a computer is
available at your school, compose the CV and display it in your classroom for
everyone.
Key words: evening
shift practically trainee instructor
A. Look at the following
picture. Where do you think it is? Discuss with your partner what you see in
it.
B. Read the news report.
Discuss with your partner and answer the following.
Rumi Akhter Rina, 13, is in class 8 at Prime
School in Chittagong. She dreams of becoming an electrical engineer.
A daughter of a day labourer, she has never
believed her dream would come true. She has never thought she could be an
electrical engineer.
But an opportunity came. She took part in a
six-month vocational training programme. And that raised her hopes high.
In the evening shift, she took training in
electrical and house wiring at the training centre. The centre is run by an NGO
in Bahaddarhat area of Chittagong city.
After the training, she can now install calling
bells, motor connections, tube lights, electric fans and so on.
The name of the project is "Vocational
Skills Training for Urban Working Children in Bangladesh". Under this
project, the NGO provides training to poor children in Chittagong. The United
Nations International Children's Emergency Fund or UNICEF is funding the
project.
The training shows how things can be done
practically. Lessons about safety measures are also given.
The instructors are always present during the
practical training sessions as part of safety measures.
Each trainee is given Tk 50 per day as a
tiffin allowance. (Adapted from The Daily Star)
Questions
1 What did Rumi Akhter dream?
2 Why did she never think she could be an
engineer?
3 Which organization is funding the training
project?
4 Every child has rights to education, rights
to safety, rights to food Mid nutrition, etc. Do you think the NGO tries to
ensure those rights for the trainees? How?
C. Have you heard of UNICEF
before? The basic information on Unicef is given below. Write a paragraph on
UNICEF using the information.
D. Look at Rumi Akhter's
application below.
15 June 2011
The Programme Director
Vocational Skills Training Project
30 Shantibagh
Bahaddarhat, Chittagong
Dear Sir
I am Rumi Akhter of class 8 at Prime School.
I like your vocational training course and want to take the training with the
next batch. So I am sending my CV along with this application.
I would request you to register my name as a
trainee of the evening batch. Thank you.
Yours sincerely
Rumi Akhter, Class 8, Roll No. 12
Prime School
Chittagong.
Now, suppose the same NGO
is going to run a Computer Training Project in your area. Write an application
as a trainee. Use an imaginary address of the NGO.
E. Rumi got an interview
letter from the director of Vocational Skills Training Project. She appeared on
the due date. Following is the interview. First act out the interview with a
partner with proper sounds, stress and intonation. Then read it silently and answer
the following questions.
Rumi : Good morning, sir.
Director: Good morning. Please
take your seat. What's your name, please?
Rumi : Thank you, sir. My name is
Rumi Akhter.
Director: Well Rumi, where are
you from?
Rumi : We are originally from
Potia in Chittagong district. But my family now lives in Bahadderhat.
Director: Your application says
you want to register with the evening batch. Can you just tell us why?
Rumi : I attend school on the day
shift. So I cannot take the training at the same time.
Director: So you don't want to
hamper your regular studies. That's good... By the way, what's your future
plan?
Rumi : Sir, I want to study
engineering in future.
Director: I hope your dream will
come true. You are taken with the evening batch. Good luck!
Rumi : Thank you, sir.
Director: You're welcome.
Questions
1 Where is Rumi Akther from?
2 Why does she want to register with the
evening batch?
3 What is her future plan?
4 What do you think about Rumi Akhter's
future plan?
F. Pairwork. Suppose, you
have been called for an interview with the Programme Director of the computer
training project. Discuss with your partner and write an imaginary dialogue
between you and the Director. (Take your cue from the model shown in section E
above).
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