Exam practice

• a.hidden (“discovering some of our hidden talents”)
• b.hone (“to hone their skills”)
• c.exciting (“an exciting hobby”); interesting is also in the text
• d.passionate (“a passionate hobby”)
• e.therapeutic (“What could be more therapeutic?”)
• f.easel (a frame that holds a painting)

• a.ignite: to start burning; to start a feeling or an idea. A good science teacher can ignite a love of learning in her students.
• b.in-demand: wanted by many people. Nurses and software developers are in-demand all over the world.
• c.let off: to get rid of energy or strong feeling (let off steam); also to excuse someone from a punishment. After the exam we played football to let off steam. / The teacher let him off with a warning.
• d.a notch: a level or step (take it up a notch: make it better or stronger). Our choir took its singing up a notch for the final.
• e.passionate: having very strong feelings for something. My uncle is a passionate collector of old coins.
• f.refurbishing: repairing and decorating something to make it like new. They are refurbishing the old library before the new session.
• g.a blog: a website where someone writes regularly about a subject. My sister writes a blog about trekking routes in Nepal.
• h.hanging out: spending time in a relaxed way. On Saturdays we enjoy hanging out at the park near Ranipokhari.

Our own preferences (what we enjoy, alone or with friends, indoors or outdoors) and our culture: the text says the popularity of hobbies differs around the world because of individual preferences and cultural influences.

Reading is both fun and a way of improving yourself; there are many genres, so there is a book for everyone; it needs no special gear (a library or a download is enough); you can join a book club to meet people; and you can read anywhere.

They can simply put on music and dance in their living room, join a dance studio, or take online dancing courses.

Only paints and brushes from an art supply store (and something to paint on). You don’t need to be a great painter: start simple. You may use an easel, or paint murals on walls.

Photography helps you preserve memories and gives you beautiful pictures for your walls. It gets you out to places like parks, and it is easy to start: a phone and the basics of lighting, depth and exposure are enough.

Because of the freedom it gives: you can write about anything. A journal helps you handle stress, relax and get more done; a blog lets you share what you know and connect with like-minded people; and you can try a book or a poem.

It makes good use of free time, adds warm clothes (mittens, hats, scarves, blankets) to your winter wardrobe, gives you gifts for family and friends, exercises your hands and improves coordination, and can be done anywhere.

Yes, in most cases it does. First, a hobby gives hours of practice that nobody forces on you, and practice builds skill: a girl who draws every evening may later become an architect or a designer. Second, hobbies build qualities employers want: a team sport teaches cooperation, chess teaches planning, writing a blog teaches clear expression. Third, a hobby can open the door to a career: many photographers, chefs, mountain guides and software developers started by doing it for fun. Finally, a hobby keeps a working person healthy and calm, which helps them work better.
On the other hand, not every hobby has to become a job, and turning a hobby into work can take the joy out of it. So a hobby helps a career most when we choose one we truly enjoy and keep learning from it.

• a.A: Let’s fly to India this winter. The flight to Delhi is only about an hour and a half. B: Wow! That’s a great idea. I’d love to see the Taj Mahal. C: No, thanks. I hate flying; I’d rather go by bus.
• b.A: Let’s play cricket after school. B: Great idea! I love batting. C: No, thanks. I prefer football to cricket.
• c.A: Let’s ride a bike to Nagarkot on Saturday. B: Wow, I’m crazy about long rides! C: No, thanks. I don’t enjoy riding uphill.
• d.A: Let’s go to the stadium. Nepal is playing tonight. B: That’s a great idea. I love watching live matches. C: No, thanks. I can’t stand crowds; I’d rather watch it on TV.
• e.A: Let’s watch the premiere show of Pratigya. B: Wow! I’ve been waiting for it for weeks. C: No, thanks. I’d prefer to wait until the tickets are cheaper.
• f.A: Let’s go swimming. It’s so hot today. B: What a great idea! I adore swimming. C: No, thanks. I don’t like getting my hair wet.

• A teacher: I love seeing a student finally understand something. I don’t mind checking homework in the evening. I hate being interrupted while I explain.
• A scientist: I enjoy doing experiments more than writing reports. I don’t mind failing a hundred times before one works. I can’t stand people ignoring the evidence.
• A sweeper: I like starting work early, when the streets are quiet. I don’t mind working in the cold. I hate seeing people throw litter right after I have cleaned.
• A beautician: I prefer doing bridal makeup to cutting hair. I don’t mind working on festival days. I hate being rushed.
• A police officer: I like helping people in trouble. I don’t mind standing at a crossing all day. I hate being lied to.
• A businesswoman: I enjoy meeting new customers. I don’t mind working long hours. I can’t stand having my prices bargained down to nothing.
• A journalist: I prefer reporting from the field to sitting in the office. I don’t mind traveling to remote places. I hate having my stories changed without asking me.
• A singer: I love singing folk songs. I don’t mind practicing for hours. I hate being asked to sing when I have a cold.

• a.are fed
• b.are caught
• c.are often helped (We are often helped.)
• d.aren’t rented (are not rented)
• e.Is the laptop turned on first?
• f.I am followed (Every evening I am followed home.)
• g.is usually left
• h.being followed (by journalists)
• i.having my hair pulled
• j.having her notebooks checked
• k.being mocked

• a.The flowers are watered by the gardener every day.
• b.Foxes are seen in gardens at night. (by people is left out)
• c.Students are expected not to talk during examinations.
• d.This lake is formed by rivers of fresh water.
• e.Many domestic and foreign tourists are attracted by national parks.
• f.He is promised higher wages. (or Higher wages are promised to him.)
• g.Is Balgopal always beaten by Biraj?
• h.The secret is not known (to anybody). (Nobody becomes not … anybody: ✗ is known by nobody sounds odd.)
• i.The helpless are sure to be helped.
• j.A more effective vaccine for Covid-19 has to be discovered by scientists. (have to + verb → has to be + past participle)
• k.What is preferred to be eaten by them? (Correct for the exercise, but stiff; in real English the active is better here.)
• l.It is said that most people in the region are still illiterate. / Most people in the region are said to be still illiterate. (See Grammar II.)

Pick one or two real hobbies of yours. For each, say how you started, what you do, and what it has taught you; then connect those skills to a career. End with what you will do next.

My Hobbies and My Future
Everyone has something they do just for the joy of it. For me, it is two things: taking photos and writing about them. I did not know it when I started, but these hobbies may be showing me my future.
I started taking photos three years ago with my mother’s old phone. At first I took pictures of everything: our cat, the clouds over Bhaktapur, plates of momo. Slowly I learned that light matters more than the camera. Morning light on the Nyatapola looks warm and soft, while noon light makes hard shadows. I now wait for the right moment instead of pressing the button at once.
My second hobby grew out of the first. I began writing a few lines under each photo, about the people and places in it. Last year I started a small blog about the festivals of my town. Writing for strangers taught me to check my facts and to say things clearly.
These hobbies have given me skills I could use in a career. A photojournalist needs both a good eye and good writing, and that is the work I would most like to do. Even if I choose another job, the patience and care I have learned will help me.
For now, I will keep practicing. Hobbies, I have learned, are not just a way to pass the time; they are a way to find out who you are.

a. glint b. bough c. turret d. stair e. marvelous (British marvellous)

To reach the top and see the shining town more clearly: the branches are like a stair leading up to it, and the higher the speaker climbs, the more beautiful it looks. The speaker also wants to go higher than ever before.

The buildings of the distant town: a spire, a turret, a dome and pinnacles, all sparkling like white sea foam.

No. The speaker says, “Before, I have always had to stop”: they have climbed it before but never reached the top.

shining, gleam, glint, sparkling, bright, glittering, flash

The sky stands for the goal, the high place the speaker longs to reach, and for limitless possibilities. The earth stands for the starting point, where every climb begins. As the speaker rises, the sky comes close and the earth falls far below: the goal is nearer, and the start is left behind.

Mostly, yes. Determination keeps us going when things get hard, and most worthwhile goals are hard. A student who fails a test and studies harder for the next one, a farmer who replants after a flood, a climber who turns back once and tries again next season: each gets closer to the goal because they do not give up. Like the child in Climbing, who always had to stop before but is sure to reach the top today, we often succeed only on a later try.
But determination is not everything. We also need help, chances and good planning: a determined student without books or a teacher will struggle. And being determined is not the same as being stubborn: sometimes the wise thing is to change the plan. So determination opens many doors, but it works best with hard work, support and the sense to choose the right goal.

1 a. Reading, 2 f. Traveling, 3 g. Fishing, 4 b. Crafting, 5 h. Watching television, 6 c. Bird watching, 7 j. Collecting, 8 i. Listening to music, 9 d. Gardening, 10 e. Playing video games

a – iv (traveling gives memories that last a lifetime)
b – vi (for a challenge, try ice fishing)
c – i (craft websites and message boards offer inspiration)
d – ii (television has changed dramatically: on-demand viewing)
e – iii (birding draws people young and old)
f – vii (music brings people together)
g – v (video games get a bad rap, a bad name, but people love them)

There is no right order: it is your choice. For example: 1 traveling, 2 reading, 3 music, 4 gardening, 5 bird watching, 6 crafting, 7 collecting, 8 fishing, 9 video games, 10 watching television. Be ready to give a reason for your first and last: “I put traveling first because…”, “Television is last because I would rather do something than watch.”

• a.Puja hates being shouted at in the street. (shout at keeps its at)
• b.Jahagir can’t stand having his feet wiped by beggars. (The feet are his, so having + his feet + past participle.)
• c.Our class teacher detests being flattered by students.
• d.The headteacher likes having students’ homework checked by teachers. (The homework is checked, not the headteacher.)
• e.The actress does not mind being followed by journalists.
• f.Rebika prefers being written to rather than being talked to on the phone.

• a.Various sites store a lot of books online.
• b.They (the mechanics) repair computers with a warranty here.
• c.We rarely speak Chinese in our community. (or People rarely speak…)
• d.People (The police) think that the criminal has fled to another country.
• e.People believe that the film can spellbind the spectators. (Spellbind: hold someone’s attention completely, as if by magic.)
• f.People expect that the war is going to end soon.
• g.People suppose that she is married.
• h.I hate people keeping me waiting.
• i.She loves people praising her clothes.
• j.People do not use this road very often.
• k.Teachers never punish Ajima.
• l.Speeding causes many accidents.

VACANCY ANNOUNCEMENT
Shree Saraswati Secondary School
Suryabinayak-4, Bhaktapur
Date of publication: 5 Mangsir 2083

Our school invites applications from qualified Nepali citizens for the following post:

Post: Secondary Level English Teacher (Grades 9–12)

Number of posts: 1 (full time)

Qualification: Master’s degree in English or in English Education (M.Ed.) from a recognized university

Experience: at least two years of teaching English at secondary level

Other requirements: a valid teaching license for the secondary level; good spoken English; ability to use a computer and projector in class

Salary and facilities: as per the school’s rules; negotiable for the right candidate

How to apply: Send your CV, copies of your certificates and teaching license, and a recent passport-size photo to the school office or to [the school’s email address].

Deadline: within 15 days of this notice (by 20 Mangsir 2083)

Shortlisted candidates will be called for a written test, a demonstration class and an interview.
Contact: 01-66xxxxx (10 a.m. to 4 p.m., Sunday to Friday)

Headteacher

• a.For a long time, society saw women mainly as people who looked after children and the home. Only recently have they begun to enter paid work in large numbers. Although they are not yet fully equal to men, things are clearly better than before.
• b.During the 1920s, the researcher Elton Mayo studied how the conditions of a workplace affect how much people get done. His research, called the Hawthorne Studies after the electrical factory where it was carried out, found that small changes to the workplace, such as different lighting or a new arrangement of the room, could encourage workers to work harder.

• a.On her family’s roof in Dhulikhel.
• b.She learned to move slowly and to work in the early morning, when the bees are calm.
• c.About 40 kilograms a year.
• d.Patience, and about plants.
• e.It has made her want to study agriculture after the SEE.

• a.Honey is sold in the market by Sunita.
• b.Is cardamom grown here by the villagers?
• c.A sewing machine isn’t used by my grandmother.
• d.I hate being interrupted.
• e.Sujan loves having his drawings praised.
• f.It is said that bees can recognize human faces. / Bees are said to be able to recognize human faces.

a. prefers b. playing c. are sold d. being criticized e. having f. is said

• a.The final exam was a piece of cake.
• b.Please don’t spill the beans.
• c.That leather jacket costs an arm and a leg.
• d.My parents and I don’t see eye to eye about my future.
• e.It’s eleven o’clock; I’m going to hit the sack.

Title: The Hobby I Would Like to Start: Gardening

Introduction: what the hobby is, and why it attracts you (fresh vegetables, flowers, being outdoors after hours at a screen).

Body 1: how you will start: a few pots on the roof or balcony, easy plants (coriander, chili, marigold), what you need (soil, compost, seeds, water).

Body 2: what you hope to learn: patience, how plants grow, which insects help and which harm; perhaps sharing vegetables with neighbors.

Conclusion: how it might shape your future (an interest in agriculture or science), and a hope.