Exam practice

1. First, pour fresh water into the kettle and get the tea leaves ready.
2. Then put the kettle on the stove and light the gas.
3. Next, let the water come to the boil.
4. After that, add the tea leaves (and sugar, if you like), turn the flame down and let the tea brew for two or three minutes.
5. Finally, pour the tea through a strainer into a cup, and serve it hot.

• a.She is using her phone while it is charging: perhaps chatting with friends, watching a video or playing a game.
• b.A phone used while charging gets hot, and heat wears out its battery faster. With a damaged cable, a wet hand or a cheap charger, there is also a small risk of an electric shock or a fire. The short cable also makes her sit bent over near the socket, which is bad for her neck and back.
• c.Use the charger that came with the phone (or a good, certified one); don’t use it in bed or under a pillow while charging; keep it away from water and heat; unplug it once it is charged; take breaks and hold the phone at eye level; and don’t use it while walking on a road.

• a.prolong – v
• b.essential – vii
• c.fading – i
• d.generate – ii
• e.gunk – iii
• f.render – iv
• g.notifications – vi

• a.False (we shouldn’t charge the battery to 100 percent)
• b.False (other gadgets such as laptops give off heat; keep them apart)
• c.True (studies have found more bacteria on phone screens than on toilet seats)
• d.True
• e.False (a smartphone wouldn’t be very useful without its apps)

Any three: staying connected with family and friends; getting work done; keeping up to date with important schedules; buying groceries or clothes online.

Because smartphones are essential to our lives, and proper care prolongs their lifespan and safeguards the important information stored in them.

Because cheap chargers can be unsafe: there have been cases of cheap chargers catching fire. The charger that came with the phone (or a good, certified one) is made to give the battery the right current safely.

By keeping them at room temperature and away from other devices, such as laptops, that generate heat; gadgets kept in a pile should be separated. (It also helps not to leave a phone in the sun or use it for long while it charges.)

By disinfecting it with an antimicrobial spray and wiping it with a soft cloth (sprayed on the cloth, not straight onto the phone).

At home we have a smartphone, a laptop, a television, a rice cooker and a solar lamp. I take care of them in simple ways. I charge my phone with its own charger and unplug it at about 80 percent, and I never leave it charging under my pillow. I keep the laptop on a table, not on the bed, so that air can flow under it and it doesn’t overheat. Once a week I clean the phone and the laptop’s keyboard with a soft cloth. My phone has a fingerprint lock, and I have turned off notifications from games. We switch off the TV at the wall at night, and during the monsoon we unplug it when there is lightning. Taking care of gadgets saves money, because they last longer.

• a.A: Could you tell me how to take a photo with this phone? B: Sure. First, open the camera app. Then point the phone at what you want to photograph, and tap the screen where you want it sharp. When you are ready, hold the phone still and tap the round white button. Finally, open the gallery to check the photo.
• b.A: How can I recharge my phone? B: First, plug the charger into the socket. Then connect the cable to the phone’s charging port. Next, switch on the socket. You’ll see a lightning sign on the battery icon. When it reaches about 80 percent, unplug it.
• c.A: Excuse me, how do I send an email? B: First, open your email app and tap Compose (or New). Then type the person’s email address in the To box, and a short subject. After that, write your message. Finally, check it and tap Send.
• d.A: Can you show me how to print a Word document? B: Of course. First, open the document. Then click File and choose Print (or press Ctrl + P). Next, choose the printer and the number of copies. Finally, click the Print button.
• e.A: How do I replace a light bulb? B: First, switch off the light at the switch and let the bulb cool down. Then stand on something steady. Next, push the old bulb up gently and turn it to take it out. After that, put in the new bulb of the same kind and turn it until it is firm. Finally, switch on the light to test it.
• f.A: How can I send a text? B: First, open the Messages app. Then tap the new message button and type the person’s name or number. Next, type your message in the box at the bottom. Finally, tap the send arrow.

Making a pizza is easy if you follow these steps. First, wash your hands. Second, put an apron on. Then knead the dough until it is smooth. Next, roll the dough into a flat, round base. After that, spread tomato sauce over the base. Then grate some cheese over it, and put your favorite toppings on, such as onion, tomato, capsicum or mushrooms. Next, bake the pizza in a hot oven for about fifteen minutes. After that, take it out and cut it into slices. Finally, serve it hot. Enjoy!

• a.She said (that) he worked in a bank. (works is also correct if he still works there)
• b.She told me (that) they had gone out the night before (or the previous night).
• c.She said (that) she was coming.
• d.She told me (that) she had been waiting for the bus when he arrived. (The past continuous moves back to the past perfect continuous; the clause when he arrived usually stays as it is.)
• e.She said (that) she had never been there before. (The past perfect doesn’t change.)
• f.She told me (that) she hadn’t gone (or had not gone) to the party.
• g.He asked me to help him (to) do his homework. (Here him is a third person, not the speaker.)
• h.The doctor advised the patient to take bed rest for a week.
• i.The commander ordered his soldiers to march further.

Choose a dish you have really helped to make, so that you know the steps. List the ingredients with amounts. Write the steps in order, each starting with a verb (wash, soak, mix, heat, pour, cover, serve), and add a tip at the end.

Chatamari (Newar rice crepe)
Serves 4 · Takes about 40 minutes

Ingredients

• 2 cups of rice flour
• about 1½ cups of water
• ½ teaspoon of salt
• 2 tablespoons of oil
• 150 g of minced chicken or buffalo meat
• 1 onion and 1 tomato, finely chopped
• 1 teaspoon of ginger-garlic paste, ½ teaspoon of cumin powder, a pinch of turmeric
• 4 eggs
• fresh coriander leaves and green chilies

Method

1. Mix the rice flour, the salt and the water into a smooth, runny batter, and leave it for 20 minutes.
2. Meanwhile, heat a tablespoon of oil in a pan and fry the onion until soft.
3. Add the meat, the ginger-garlic paste and the spices, and fry for 5–6 minutes until the meat is cooked. Stir in the tomato and set it aside.
4. Heat a flat pan over a medium flame and wipe it with a little oil.
5. Pour in a ladle of batter and spread it thin into a circle with the back of the ladle.
6. Spread a spoonful of the meat over it and break an egg on top.
7. Cover the pan and cook for 3–4 minutes, until the edge is crisp and the egg is set.
8. Sprinkle with coriander and chili, and serve hot.

Tip: chatamari is often called “Newari pizza”, but it is cooked on the stove, and it is crisp only at the edge.

1 – f. sunny
2 – b. partially cloudy (the sun partly behind a cloud)
3 – e. rainy
4 – a. cloudy
5 – c. snowy
6 – d. stormy (the lightning bolt means a thunderstorm)

• a.stations
• b.converter
• c.wrapped
• d.humidity
• e.weathercock (or weather vane)

• a.ii. through their physical senses (most people did; the first instruments existed, but regular measurements came later)
• b.i. digital
• c.iii. atmospheric pressure
• d.ii. galvanometer (it detects small electric currents)
• e.ii. anemometer

Where it is very cold: to measure temperatures below −35 °C, where a mercury thermometer becomes unreliable (mercury freezes at about −39 °C).

To measure atmospheric pressure, the pressure of the air. Its readings help forecast the weather: low or falling pressure usually means rainy, windy or cloudy weather, and high pressure fair weather.

The dry-and-wet-bulb hygrometer and the mechanical hygrometer.

1. A high wind speed shows that a storm is coming or blowing.
2. Knowing the wind speed helps people protect themselves from natural disasters: for example, fishermen, pilots and climbers can be warned of dangerous winds in time.

The text says the wind vane’s readings of the wind’s direction give a lot of information about the changes in the weather. (A barometer also shows change: its readings fall before bad weather and rise as it clears.)

It must be placed in an open place, away from any obstacle (trees, walls, buildings), so that the rain falls into it freely.

I usually check a weather app on my mother’s phone in the morning. It shows the temperature, the chance of rain and the wind for every hour. During the monsoon, we also listen to the weather report on the radio after the news, and my father reads the forecast in the newspaper. But my grandmother still looks at the sky: when the clouds gather over the hills to the west in the afternoon, she brings the washing in, and she is usually right! For big warnings, like heavy rain and floods, the government’s forecasters send alerts that are shared on TV and social media.

• a.He is a chef (a professional cook), probably presenting a cooking show on TV.
• b.It shows the steps of making chocolate chip cookies: mixing the ingredients, adding the chocolate chips, putting the dough on a tray, and baking.

• a.ii. at a family member’s home (his grandmother taught him almost 30 years ago, in her humble kitchen; he never went to cooking classes)
• b.i. He makes them by following a healthy recipe. (it is a low-fat, low-calorie, low-cholesterol dessert for the whole family)
• c.i. baking powder (he uses baking soda, with the sugars, flour, egg whites, low-fat butter, vanilla and a pinch of salt)
• d.iii. at 350 degrees (“don’t forget to preheat the oven to 350 degrees”: degrees Fahrenheit, about 175 °C)
• e.ii. Inexpensive Meals (next week’s show is about how to feed hungry teenagers on a budget, that is, cheaply)

Some answer keys give 315 degrees for d and Fun Cookies for Teenagers for e. Listen again: the chef says to preheat the oven to 350 degrees, and next week’s show is about feeding teenagers on a budget.

• a.preheat (to heat the oven before the food goes in)
• b.ingredients
• c.pinch (as much as you can hold between a finger and thumb)
• d.entire (all of it)

Switch is not needed. (In the recording: “before you switch the TV channel”.)

Yes, I sometimes watch cooking shows, mostly on weekends. I like them because they are relaxing and fun: the cooks talk while they work, and something delicious appears in half an hour. I have also learned useful things, like how to chop onions quickly and why you shouldn’t crowd a frying pan. Last month I tried a vegetable fried rice recipe from a show, and my family loved it. But I don’t watch them often, because many shows cook with expensive ingredients and ovens that most homes in Nepal don’t have. I prefer learning our own dishes from my mother.

• a.He told me not to use his camera. (Or: He forbade me to use his camera.)
• b.The doctor advised him to give up smoking. (him, her or me: the patient)
• c.The electrician warned me not to touch the wire. (Or: told me not to touch)
• d.The student asked the teacher to explain number four. (Or: requested the teacher to explain)
• e.She told Mrs. Shrestha not to worry about it.
• f.He told me to finish that job in an hour. (Or: ordered me to finish)
• g.Amrita requested me to help her. (Or: asked me to help her)

• a.had seen (past simple saw moves back to past perfect; the day before shows it is reported)
• b.she can’t stay there anymore (a present reporting verb: no backshift, but I still becomes she)
• c.the Earth revolves round the Sun (a universal truth stays in the present)
• d.he had done his homework (present perfect moves back to past perfect after said)
• e.ordered (a police officer giving an order; told is also correct)
• f.to spend (forbid + someone + to)
• g.to smoke (forbade already means told… not to)

Two Sides of the Screen: How Technology Has Changed Our Lives
By Jamuna Chaudhary, Dhangadhi

Twenty years ago, a call from a village in Bajura to a son working in Malaysia meant a long walk to a phone booth. Today, a grandmother there can see her son’s face on a video call from her own courtyard. Science and technology have changed our lives faster in these twenty years than in the hundred before. But has every change been for the better?

First of all, technology has brought great benefits. Mobile phones and the internet have reached almost every corner of Nepal. Farmers check market prices before selling their vegetables, students watch lessons online, and patients in remote villages can speak to doctors in city hospitals through telemedicine. Digital payments have made shopping and paying bills quick and safe. In medicine, new vaccines and better tests have saved millions of lives around the world.

On the other hand, the same technology has brought new problems. Many young people spend hours a day on social media, losing sleep and time for study and friends. Fake news spreads faster than the truth, and online fraud has cheated many people of their savings. Old phones and computers pile up as e-waste, often burned in the open. And machines that do people’s work may take away jobs.

In my view, science and technology are like fire: they can cook our food or burn our house. The tools themselves are neither good nor bad; it depends on how we use them. If we learn to use them wisely, check what we read and set limits on our screen time, the next twenty years can bring even more benefits than the last.

• a.True
• b.False (they are read every morning at a quarter to nine)
• c.True (its slatted sides let the air through but keep the sun off)
• d.False (it is in the corner of the playground, in the open)
• e.True (the club sent them to a scientist studying Karnali’s climate)

• a.Rizwan said that he was charging his phone then.
• b.The students told me that they had visited the weather station the day before.
• c.Mother told Kushal not to leave the laptop on the bed.
• d.Urmila asked (or requested) her brother to switch off the fan.
• e.The doctor advised me to clean my phone every week.

• a.told (told + the listener + to)
• b.to feed (forbid + someone + to)
• c.is (a present reporting verb: no backshift)
• d.travels (a universal truth stays in the present)

• a.the broken radio – T
• b.no object – I (peacefully says how)
• c.vegetables – T (on the roof says where)
• d.no object – I
• e.the eggs – T (boil can be both: compare d)

How to make black tea
First, pour a cup of fresh water into a kettle and put it on the stove. Then light the gas and let the water come to the boil. Next, add half a teaspoon of tea leaves and, if you like, a little sugar. After that, turn the flame down and let the tea brew for two or three minutes; don’t boil it too long, or it will turn bitter. Finally, pour the tea through a strainer into a cup and serve it hot, perhaps with a slice of lemon.

Gadgets: Friends or Masters?
By Basanta Yadav, Grade 9

My grandfather didn’t own a phone until he was sixty. I can’t remember a day without one. Gadgets have become part of our lives, and they can be wonderful friends. A phone lets me call my sister in Doha, find any fact in seconds and study with videos when I miss a lesson. A calculator saves time, and a torch on the phone helps during load-shedding.

But gadgets can also become our masters. Many of us check our phones the moment we wake up and scroll late into the night. Games and videos steal hours meant for homework and sleep, and families sit in the same room, each looking at a different screen.

A gadget should serve us, not rule us. If we turn off needless notifications, keep phones away at meals and bedtime, and use them with a purpose, they will remain good friends.