Work and Leisure

The unit opens with four pictures of how people spend their time. Two show work, two show leisure, time free from work, to rest or enjoy yourself.

Picture	What it shows	Why it matters
Farmers in a terraced field: a man ploughing with a pair of oxen, women bent over planting rice seedlings	farm work, the work that feeds the country	Farming is still the work of millions of Nepali families; without it there is no dal bhat on anyone’s plate.
A teacher talking to her class at their desks	teaching, work that passes on knowledge	Every other job, the doctor’s, the engineer’s, the farmer’s new methods, starts in a classroom.
A large indoor pool full of swimmers, with slides and balloons	recreation, play and exercise in free time	Swimming and play rest the mind and keep the body fit; people come back to work fresher.
Two hikers with rucksacks looking out over high mountains	travel and adventure in leisure time	Walking in nature lowers stress, and trekking brings visitors and jobs to Nepal’s hills.

What kind of text it is

Cabbage White is a short story, adapted from a collection of stories by Jake Allsop, a British writer of stories for learners of English. It is a comic story: it is told straight, but the joke builds up until a surprise at the end. Most of it is dialogue, people talking, so it is easy to act out (task E).

The story, part by part

1. Two children ask for work

Sarah, aged twelve, and her brother Jamie, eleven, stand on their toes to hand a card from their school to a tall man behind the counter of a farm. He frowns and makes a face: they look too small to be of any use. When he asks if they shouldn’t be at school, they explain that it is the holidays and they want to earn some money and help their parents. He says that farm work is tough, and he needs someone big and strong.

Sarah pleads: there must be some job for them on such a big farm.

2. The job

The man tests them. Do they know what a Cabbage White is? Sarah does: a pretty white butterfly that lays its eggs on cabbages, and the eggs hatch into caterpillars. Jamie shouts out what the caterpillars do: they eat the cabbage leaves. Are they afraid of caterpillars? Not at all, Sarah answers sharply.

So the man gives them the job: check every single cabbage and get rid of every caterpillar, by picking them off and collecting them. They ask politely whether they may use his pails, and what he will pay. He won’t say: he wants to see how they get on first, and promises that if he is happy with their work, they won’t be disappointed. Then he goes off to his greenhouse.

3. An impossible task

The cabbage patch is enormous. Jamie guesses there must be a million cabbages. Sarah says at least, and that with ten caterpillars on each, that makes a billion caterpillars. Jamie doubts her arithmetic but is wise enough not to argue.

They start on the first row. It is a hideous (horrible) job: the caterpillars wriggle as they are picked up, and the first row takes ages. Their pails are already so full that they can’t see the bottom. And all around them fly Cabbage White butterflies, which seem to mock them, as if saying: kill our caterpillars if you like; we can lay millions more eggs. The children become desperate: they feel the job can never be finished.

4. Sarah’s “brilliant” idea

Sarah swipes at a butterfly, misses, and watches it fly happily away. Then she has an idea, which the writer jokingly compares to Einstein discovering E = mc²: caterpillars come from eggs; eggs come from butterflies; so if they get rid of the butterflies, there will be no more eggs and no more caterpillars.

She pulls two bamboo poles out of the bean plants (two bean plants die), hands one to Jamie, and runs into the cabbages swinging hers at the butterflies. Jamie thinks it is a fine game and joins in. Butterflies in the air are hard to hit, but butterflies resting on cabbages are easy.

5. The battlefield

They fight on until they are completely worn out. The ground is covered with dead butterflies, and hardly any butterflies are left. But hardly any cabbages are left either: you can’t hit a butterfly on a cabbage without hitting the cabbage. The patch looks like a battlefield; not one cabbage is standing.

Without a word, they put down the poles and tiptoe out of the garden. The story ends with a joke in three lines: Jamie worries that the man knows their names; Sarah points out that he doesn’t know where they live; and together they say “Thank goodness.”

Words from the story

Word	Meaning here
tiptoe	to walk on the front of your feet, heels off the ground (here, to make themselves taller; at the end, to go out quietly)
frown	to pull your eyebrows together because you disapprove, or are thinking hard
make a face	to twist your face to show you don’t like something
plead	to ask for something seriously and with feeling
retort	to answer quickly and sharply
eliminate	to get rid of completely
pail	a bucket
open-mouthed	very surprised or shocked
dispute	to argue that something is wrong
hideous	very ugly or unpleasant
wriggle	to twist and turn the body with quick, small movements
mock	to laugh at someone in an unkind way
desperate	without hope, ready to try anything
gaily	in a cheerful, carefree way
exhausted	very tired

A. Match the words with their meanings

B. Words for ways of walking

Tiptoe is one of many verbs that say how someone walks. A good writer chooses the exact one instead of “walked”.

Word	How you walk	Example
sneak	quietly and secretly, so as not to be seen	The boys sneaked out of class while the teacher was writing on the board.
stroll	slowly and in a relaxed way, for pleasure	On Saturday evening we strolled round Bhaktapur’s Durbar Square.
lurch	with a sudden, jerky, uncontrolled movement, forward or to the side	The bus lurched as it hit the pothole.
stagger	unsteadily, almost falling, as if weak, hurt or carrying something heavy	The porter staggered up the last steps under his heavy load.
stride	with long, firm steps, sure of where you’re going	The captain strode onto the field.
stumble	catching your foot on something so that you almost fall	I stumbled on a loose stone in the dark.

C. Answer the questions

D. True, False or Not Given

A statement is True if the story says the same, False if it says the opposite, and Not Given if it doesn’t say either way.

English has short vowel sounds, long vowel sounds, and vowel combinations (also called diphthongs), where the sound glides from one vowel to another inside one syllable, as in my /maɪ/ or now /naʊ/. The spelling doesn’t tell you which: stood and bamboo are both spelled oo, but one is short and one is long. (All the sounds are in the chart at the end of the unit, under Vowel sounds.)

A. Four conversations

The task gives four short conversations in which someone asks to do something. Here are the four ways of asking, and what each answer means.

Asking	How polite	The answer given
Would you mind if I sat near the window?	very polite, to a stranger or a superior	Oh, well, alright. (yes, a little unwillingly)
Do you mind if I smoke here?	polite	I’m sorry, but this is a “No Smoking Zone”. (no)
Is it alright if I go out with my friends, mum?	friendly, to family and friends	OK, but don’t make it late. (yes, with a condition)
I wonder if I could possibly sit next to you.	very polite and careful	I am sorry, this seat has been booked for my friend. (no)

Others you know: Can I…? (friendly), Could I…? (more polite), May I…? (formal and polite).

Ways to grant permission: Sure. / Of course. / Go ahead. / Yes, please feel free. / Not at all (to Do you mind?). Ways to refuse it politely: I’m sorry, but… / I’d rather you didn’t, if you don’t mind. / I’m afraid not, because… Always give a reason when you refuse.

B. Ask and answer

C. Ask, answer and report

Student C’s job is to report what A asked and what B answered. Two patterns:

• Saloni asked for Nurgen’s permission to use his computer, and he granted it (or refused it).
• Saloni asked Nurgen if she could use his computer, and he said she could (or couldn’t).

These are reported questions, from Unit 2: if + statement order, and the tense one step back (can → could).

What modals do

Modal verbs (can, could, may, might, must, shall, should, will, would, and ought to) go before a main verb and add a meaning to it: ability, permission, possibility, advice, duty. You met their rules in earlier grades: the base verb after them (must go, not must to go or must goes), no -s (she can), and questions by turning them round (Can you…?).

Modal	Common uses	Example
can / could	ability; permission; a request	She can swim. Could you open the door, please?
may / might	possibility; may also for polite permission	It might rain. May I come in?
must	strong duty or need; being sure (deduction)	You must wear a helmet. He must be tired.
should	advice; what is expected or right	You should see a doctor.
would	polite requests and offers; refusing in the past (wouldn’t)	Would you like some tea?
had to	duty in the past (must has no past form)	We had to walk home.

How sure are you? must, might, can’t

When you don’t know something for certain but work it out from clues, you are making a deduction. Three modals show how sure you are:

How sure	About now	About the past
certain it is true	He must be tired.	He must have been tired.
possible	He may / might / could be tired.	He may / might / could have been tired.
certain it is not true	He can’t be tired.	He can’t have been tired.

About the past: modal + have + past participle (must have left, can’t have seen, might have forgotten). The opposite of must be is can’t be, not mustn’t be: mustn’t means something is not allowed.

A. The heron’s modals

The textbook tells an old fable in seven sentences, with seven verbs underlined. In it, a heron walks slowly and proudly along a riverbank. All he could see in the clear water was a little fish, which, he thought, might be a good breakfast. Then he noticed a much bigger fish swimming past, and told himself that a fine heron like him should not be satisfied with a tiny fish: he wouldn’t even open his beak for it while he may have a lovely dinner instead; he must catch the big one by a trick before it escapes. But both fish were smarter than the heron and swam off into the deep water, and in the end he had to make do with a tiny snail for breakfast. (The fable is very old: the French poet La Fontaine told it in the 1600s. Its lesson: if you are too choosy, you can end up with less.)

B. Choose the modal

C. must or can’t

A. Put Pabitra’s letter in order

Pabitra Nepali, of Bhanu-10, Tanahun, is applying to the headteacher of Shree Janajagriti Secondary School for the job of school accountant. The address, date, subject and greeting are in place, but the twelve sentences of the body are jumbled:

• a.I am a young girl of 20.
• b.After my SEE I worked as a finance staff for a year at Himalayan Investment Company Limited.
• c.I am writing to apply for the position of school accountant that was recently advertised in The Tanahun Post.
• d.Moreover, I possess good skills in handling a wide range of finance-related tasks.
• e.As an experienced finance staff, I have a proven record of successfully coordinating administrative and financial duties.
• f.I have enclosed copies of my relevant credentials required for the position.
• g.I also possess sound skills in spoken and written English besides the Nepali language.
• h.I look forward to working with your team.
• i.If I am appointed as the school accountant in your school, I will provide excellent service.
• j.I have a keen interest in working in an academic institution.
• k.I possess all the skills and qualifications that you are looking for.
• l.I am confident that I can be a valuable asset to your school.

How to write a job application

A job application letter (or cover letter) asks for a job and shows, in a short space, why you are the right person. It is a formal letter, laid out like the one in Unit 1:

1. Your address and the date.
2. The employer’s title and address: The Human Resources Manager, …
3. Subject: Application for the post of …
4. Dear Sir/Madam,
5. Opening paragraph: the post you are applying for and where you saw it advertised.
6. Middle paragraph(s): your qualifications (education), experience (jobs, with how long), and skills that match what the advertisement asks for. Take each requirement in the advertisement and show that you meet it.
7. Closing paragraph: what you can offer, the documents you have enclosed (a CV, certificates), that you are available for an interview, and a polite close: I look forward to hearing from you.
8. Yours faithfully, your name (and signature).

B. Apply for the advertised job

The advertisement in the task is a vacancy announcement from an electronics and home appliances company in Kathmandu, which needs a Marketing Manager, a Marketing Executive and an Accountant (three vacancies, salary negotiable). It asks for a bachelor’s degree in management, at least two years’ experience in the field (for the accountant: accounting and financial reporting, tax and VAT), computer skills (Word, Excel and accounting software), a good command of English and Nepali, and says that a two-wheeler driving license is an added advantage. Applicants send a CV and a scan of their citizenship certificate by email before the deadline.

Before you read

The pictures show a farmer ploughing a muddy field behind two buffaloes, and a woman praying, a dark shape against an orange sunset, her hands joined.

The poet and the poem

Rabindranath Tagore (1861–1941) was a poet, writer, musician and painter from Bengal, in British-ruled India. In 1913 he became the first person from outside Europe to win the Nobel Prize in Literature, mainly for Gitanjali (“Song Offerings”), a book of short poems that he translated himself from Bengali into English prose. He wrote the national anthems of both India and Bangladesh.

“Leave this chanting and singing” is poem 11 of Gitanjali. Like the whole book, it is written in free verse: long lines with no rhyme or regular rhythm, close to prose. It uses the old English of prayers (thou, thy, dost) to speak to a religious person, and turns their own way of speaking back on them.

The poem, part by part

Stanza 1: Open your eyes

The speaker tells a worshipper to stop chanting, singing hymns and counting prayer beads (telling of beads: tell here is the old meaning, to count). Whom are you worshipping, he asks, alone in a dark corner of a temple with all the doors shut? Open your eyes: your God is not in front of you.

The temple is described as lonely, dark and shut: everything that is cut off from the world and its light.

Stanza 2: Where God really is

God is out where the tiller (the farmer) is breaking up hard ground, and where the pathmaker is breaking stones to build a road. He is with them in sun and rain, and his clothes are covered in dust: he is shown as a labourer. So the speaker tells the worshipper to take off his holy mantle (the cloak of a priest or holy man) and come down, as God has, onto the dusty soil.

Stanza 3: Deliverance?

The worshipper may answer that he is seeking deliverance, to be freed from the world and its troubles. Where will you find that, asks the speaker? Our master himself has joyfully tied himself to creation with the bonds of creation: God is bound up with the world and with all of us forever. If God has not escaped from the world, there is no escape for us to look for.

Stanza 4: Meet him in work

Come out of your meditations, leave your flowers and incense. What harm is there if your clothes get torn and stained? Go and meet God, and stand beside him in toil (hard work) and in the sweat of your brow (forehead).

The poet’s devices:

• Imperatives throughout: Leave… Open… Put off… Come out… Meet him… The poem is a set of commands (see Grammar II).
• Rhetorical questions, which expect no answer: Whom dost thou worship…? Where is this deliverance to be found? What harm is there…?
• Contrast of darkness and closed doors with sun, rain and open fields.
• Personification: God is shown as a worker whose garment is covered with dust.
• Archaic (old) words: see below.

Old words: thou, thee, thy, thine, dost

Old English had two words for you: thou for one close person, and you for many people or to be polite. Thou survives in old prayers and poems.

Old form	Modern English	Example from the poem
thou	you (subject)	Whom dost thou worship? = Whom do you worship?
thee	you (object)	thy God is not before thee = in front of you
thy	your (before a consonant)	thy holy mantle = your holy mantle
thine	your (before a vowel); yours	Open thine eyes = Open your eyes
dost	do (with thou)	dost thou = do you
art	are (with thou)	who art thou? = who are you? (in Unit 5’s poem)

Words from the poem

Word	Meaning here
bead	a small ball of glass, wood or stone with a hole through it, threaded with others; prayer beads (a mala) are counted while praying
tiller, till	a farmer; to prepare and use land for crops
garment	a piece of clothing
mantle	a loose cloak; also a layer that covers something (a mantle of snow)
deliverance	being rescued or set free from danger, evil or pain
bond	something that ties or joins
incense	a substance that gives a sweet smell when burned (dhoop)
tattered	old and torn
stained	marked with dirt that is hard to remove
toil	hard, tiring work
brow	the forehead

A. Find the words

B. Modern equivalents

C. Answer the questions

D. Your opinion

The textbook’s listening task is a short talk about how many hours people work, and how much holiday they get, in different countries. CDC’s own recording is below: read the questions in B and C first, then listen, as many times as you need. After the answers, practice with a talk of our own that your browser reads aloud.

B and C. The textbook’s audio: answers

An imperative sentence tells someone to do something. It uses the base form of the verb, usually with no subject: Sit down. Open your book. The subject you is understood. Imperatives aren’t only orders: the same form makes a request, gives directions, an invitation, advice or a warning, and the situation and a few words (please, kindly, let’s, don’t) show which.

Function	Example	Clues
command	Put your hands up!	short, strong, said by someone in charge
order	Get out of here at once.	sharp; often at once, now
request	Kindly tell me where the bus park is.	please, kindly; asks a favor
direction	Go straight and take the first turn on your right.	how to get somewhere
instruction	Cook the rice on medium heat until it is tender.	steps for doing a task
invitation	Please join us on the tour.	asks someone to share something pleasant
advice	Wear warm clothes.	what is good for the listener
warning	Don’t feed the animals in the zoo!	danger or a rule; often negative
suggestion	Let’s go for a walk.	let’s: includes the speaker

Making them negative:

• Put don’t (or do not, more formal) before the verb: Turn left. → Don’t turn left.
• With please: Please open the door. → Please don’t open the door. (or Don’t open the door, please.)
• Let’s + verb → Let’s not + verb: Let’s play. → Let’s not play. (Don’t let’s play is also heard in British English.)
• Let him/her/them + verb → Don’t let him… : Let him tell a story. → Don’t let him tell a story.
• Never makes a strong negative: Never touch a fallen electric wire.

A. Match the sentences with their functions

B. Make them negative

A. A notice from Chitwan National Park

The textbook’s model is a notice of rules for visitors to Chitwan National Park, put up by the park office at Kasara under the Department of National Parks and Wildlife Conservation. Its six rules, in short:

1. Pay the entry fee at the gate (different for foreigners, visitors from SAARC countries, and Nepalis).
2. The park’s plants and animals are fully protected: don’t disturb them.
3. Don’t buy illegal animal or plant products: you could be prosecuted.
4. Respect the religious and cultural sites in and around the park.
5. Put litter in the bins and keep the park clean.
6. Don’t walk inside the park between sunset and sunrise.

Notice how it is written: who is giving the rules (the government office, at the top), a clear title, numbered rules, one rule each, and formal phrases that give orders politely but firmly: has to be paid, must not be disturbed, are required to, are strictly prohibited.

How to write rules and regulations

1. Heading: who makes the rules (the institution’s name and address), then a title: Rules and Regulations for Library Users.
2. Numbered rules, one idea each, short and clear, most important first.
3. Formal, impersonal language. Useful phrases:

• Visitors are (not) allowed to …
• … is strictly prohibited / forbidden.
• Users are required / expected to …
• Visitors must / must not …
• Mobile phones should be switched off.
• imperatives: Do not …, Keep …

4. A short closing line, if you like: Thank you for your cooperation., and who issued it (Library Management Committee).

B. Write rules for a library and a hospital

English has 20 vowel sounds: 12 monophthongs (single sounds; 7 short, 5 long) and 8 diphthongs (combinations that glide from one vowel to another). The symbols are those of a British dictionary; the long mark ː means the sound is held.

Kind	Sound	Common spellings	Examples
short	/ə/	a, e, o, u	alive, the, today, supply
short	/ɪ/	i	thin, sit, rich
short	/ʊ/	u, oo, ou	put, look, should
short	/e/	e, ea, ie	went, bread, friend
short	/ʌ/	u, o	fun, love, money
short	/æ/	a	cat, hand, fan
short	/ɒ/	o, a	rob, top, watch
long	/iː/	ee, ea	need, beat, team
long	/uː/	ew, oo, o	few, boot, lose
long	/ɜː/	ir, ur, or	third, turn, worse
long	/ɔː/	al, aw, or, our	talk, law, port, four
long	/ɑː/	a, al, ar	glass, half, car
diphthong	/eɪ/	ay, ea, ai	pay, great, maid
diphthong	/ɔɪ/	oi, oy	noise, toy, boy
diphthong	/aɪ/	i, y	fine, like, my
diphthong	/əʊ/	o, oa	no, stone, road
diphthong	/aʊ/	ou, ow	round, how, brown
diphthong	/ɪə/	eer, ear	beer, hear, steer
diphthong	/eə/	are, ere, ea, ai	care, there, bear, air
diphthong	/ʊə/	ur, ou	plural, tourist, sure

SEE-style practice on this unit. Try each one as in the exam, then open the answer.