MODEL SEMESTER END QUESTION PAPER

I B. Tech. I Semester Regular Examinations February, 2014

Course Code: 13HE 1101                                 Subject:  English: Reading and Writing skills 

Common to CSE/EEE/IT/Chemical Engineering Branches

Time: 3 hours                                                                                                 Max. Marks: 70

                                                            

MODEL PAPER

1.      Answer ONE QUESTION from each unit.

2.      Each question carries 14 marks.

3.      All parts of a question must be answered in one place, otherwise they will not be valued

                                                                               UNIT-I

1.      a)  Read the following passage and answer the following questions : (4X2 =  8Marks)(CO1)

           Culture is a very powerful in our lives. It determines many of the experiences we have and the meanings we give to them. But what exactly is culture? To the sociologist, culture is everything that we are socialized to do, think, use and make.  Much of what humans think and do is learned from the society they live in. Because humans live in groups and communicate with each other, they pass on what they know and believe to their children and to each other.

They pass on , for example ideas about what they believe is important or not important in life, what they see as normal and abnormal behavior; and what they believe to be right or wrong, All these ideas form the culture of the particular society they live in , and guide the behavior of the members of that society.

1.  What is culture from sociological perspective?
2.   How do people acquire their learning?
3.   Write synonyms of the words:  normal , particular
4.   Write antonyms of the words : communicate, believe   
   
   b)  Critically appreciate the following lines:      (CO 4)                                     (6 marks)

“The Lunatic, the lover and the poet have

In common, the power of imagination”

2.       a) Read the following passage and answer the following questions :(4X2 = 8 Marks) (CO 1)

Crowds are one example of what sociologists call collective behavior. Collective behavior is social behavior that is relatively unorganized, spontaneous, and unpredictable. It contrasts with institutional behavior, which occurs in a well-organized, rather predictable way. Institutional behavior is frequent and regular. Every week day, masses of people hurry to work. On every campus, groups of students walk to classes. These predictable patterns are controlled by social norms and are essential for social order. We could not survive without them. Collective behavior, however, is predictable and operates outside these norms. Fashion, public opinion, social movements, and revolutions are other examples of collective behavior.

1)      What is the contrast between institutional and collective behavior?

2)      Why we do need social norms? 
3)      Write synonyms of the words: collective, frequent 
4)      Write antonyms of the words:  unorganized, survive    

       b)  Critically appreciate the following lines:                  (6 marks) (CO 4)

        “thousands at His bidding speed

         and post over land ocean without rest;

        They also serve who serve who only stand and wait.”

UNIT - II

3. a) How  do parents treat their  boys and  girls ? What are the social expectations of parents from their children?                               (6 m) (CO 3)

   

                  b)  Correct the following:   (3M) (CO 5)

             

1.  I am reading the Hindu daily.

2.  I just completed reading this novel.

3.  Let us attend the  meeting and discuss about the issues.

4.  The students entered into the library for borrowing books.

5.  The committee has differed in their opinions.

6.  One of the fruits have become rotten.

             c) Write One-word substitutes for the following:  (3 m) (CO 2)

           

1. One who advocates peace in all circumstances.

2. One who loves books

3. One hates mankind

             d) Fill in the blanks with apt words.       (2 m) (CO 2)

           

1. It’s not ______ (fare/fair)to blame me for everything.

2. The airline’s symbol was painted on the aircraft’s ______ (tale/tail)

 4. a) Which two aspects of the freedom movement  does Kalam  highlight?    (6m) (CO 3)

     b) Correct the following:  (3m) (CO 5)

1. He is attending the classes regularly.

2.  I took my breakfast ten minutes ago. 

3.  He is standing besides her in the photograph.

4. The manager is angry at him.

5. One of the students were awarded the medal.

6. Politics as well as economics are social sciences.

c) Fill in the blanks with appropriate prefixes/suffixes. (4x ½ = 2 m) (CO2)

1.--- reverent: lacking the expected respect for official, important or holy things

2.----precedented: never having happened or existed in the past

3. All children want the ------ (approve) of their parents.

4. He died in a ---- (mystery) plane crash that no one ever discovered the cause of.

d) Fill in the blanks with apt phrasal verbs. (2 m) (CO2)

1. You can always count ____ (on/in/up)Martin to help you if you have problems.

2. He was so angry it took me half an hour to calm him _____ (out/up/down).

                                                            

UNIT-III

5. a) How does Wordsworth describe Lucy  in terms of nature. (8m) (CO 3)

    b)“Advertising is a very common feature of media.”Substantiate. (6m)   (CO3) 

                                 

                   

6. a) The sensationalism by media is unhealthy  (8m) (CO 3) 

   b) Describe a technical device of your choice (6m) (CO 3)                                                         

                                                              

UNIT-IV

7. a) Write about   the  lesson  you have  learnt from “A Special kind of Blessing”?  (8m) (CO5)

   b) Write about any programme you regularly watch on the TV.   (6m)       (CO 3)

                                                      

8. a) Write a letter  to the General Manager of a company asking for  more time to join 

         the job.(8m) (CO 5)

 

    b) Write a précis of the following passage: (CO 5)                                                  (6m)

When you smile a real smile, two things happen to your face: your lips move up towards your cheeks, and your cheeks themselves go up and gather in the skin around the eyes. And a real smile will usually only last for up to four seconds. False smiles are seen on the faces of politicians who have just lost an election, people who are pretending they’re pleased to see you, and door-to-door salesmen. False smiles usually appear slightly too eagerly or too late, and they tend to go on for too long. But if you really want to know if a smile is real or false, look at the eyes. In a false smile these don’t change – however much the person has practised smiling. Eyes are important in other ways, too. When you feel good, your pupils get larger; when you feel bad, they become small. Ancient Chinese traders always looked their customers straight in the eyes. If the pupils become big, the person was interested, and they could ask for more money.

UNIT - V

9. a) Write an essay on the topic, “Does migration to other planets solve the problem of

        overpopulation?”  (8m)     (CO 5) 

    

     b) Describe the series of dreams envisaged by  Martin Luther King Jr. (6m)    (CO 3, CO 4) 

10. a) Write  an  essay on the  topic, “The future of the society with robots.”   (8m) (CO 5)

       b) Make notes out of the following passage  (6m)   (CO 5)

At the recently concluded UN climate change talk in Durban, the world agreed to a new global climate change regime by 2020 to bring down emissions to save the planet. But cutting carbon emissions will be a tough task for India in the years to come as the country needs to balance its development trajectory with transition to a low carbon economy. Transition to a low carbon economy means huge investment in clean technology, switching from coal and oil to low-carbon fuels for power generation and transport. And the most important part of this low carbon growth will need changes in behaviour and lifestyle of the people. Manufacturers and retailers will also play an important role in selectively editing out products that lead to more carbon footprint while promoting energy efficient and energy conservation products to consumers.

India has to look for new ways to cut emissions and pay big-time for these. The transition to green energy calls for investing big-time in solar, biomass or off-shore wind energy but despite that India will still not be able to substantially reduce dependence on coal.

"India really needs to focus on how it will meet the power demand post 2020. It is a warning bell to start looking of low carbon power sources that reduce dependence on coal and oil," a senior environment ministry official said. "We know protests over nuclear energy and we cannot meet the power demand by only harnessing solar, wind and hydel energy. This means we will face acute power shortage in years to come," he said. The big question emerging out of the Durban outcome is whether India is rich enough to pay for the cost of transition to a low-carbon economy?