Exam practice

• 1.The National Human Rights Commission (NHRC), Nepal. It was set up in 2000 under the Human Rights Commission Act of 1997 (2053 BS), and the Interim Constitution of 2007 made it a constitutional body, as the Constitution of Nepal (2015) still does. It was established to protect and promote human rights in Nepal: it looks into complaints that someone’s rights have been violated, checks that the laws on human rights are followed, teaches people about their rights, and recommends to the government what it should do.
• 2.The South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC). It was founded in Dhaka in 1985 by seven countries of South Asia; Afghanistan joined in 2007, making eight members: Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, the Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan and Sri Lanka. Its secretariat (head office) is in Kathmandu. It was established so that the countries of South Asia could work together for faster economic growth, social progress and cultural development, and to help each other in trade, health, education and disasters.
• 3.The World Health Organization (WHO). It was founded on 7 April 1948 (the day we now mark as World Health Day) as an agency of the United Nations, with its headquarters in Geneva, Switzerland. It was established to improve health all over the world: it fights diseases, helps countries vaccinate their children, sets health standards and coordinates the world’s response to epidemics.

• a.ADB stands for the Asian Development Bank.
• b.Yes. Nepal is one of the bank’s founding members (it joined when the bank was set up in 1966), and ADB has an office in Kathmandu. It has lent Nepal money and given grants for roads, drinking water (the Melamchi water project), energy, schools and the Gautam Buddha International Airport in Bhairahawa, and it helped rebuild schools after the 2015 earthquake.

Across: 2. FORUM 3. STRATEGY 4. IMPLEMENTATION 6. CONSENSUS 7. CONFERENCE 8. PERSPECTIVE
Down: 1. COLLABORATION 3. SEMINAR 5. PROPOSAL
Some answer keys give symposium for 3 Down. But the word must come from the text, which has seminars, and the grid has seven squares: SEMINAR.

• a.dean (the chief executive officer of ADBI manages it under the direction of the ADB President; ADBI as a whole also fits)
• b.a strategic advantage
• c.intellectual input
• d.priority sectors and themes (together with an annual needs survey and inputs from policy makers and partners)
• e.national and regional

Some answer keys give extensive for e. But extensive goes with ADBI’s network; the think tanks it has close relations with are national and regional ones.

ADBI stands for the Asian Development Bank Institute.

It is supported by an independent Advisory Council, whose members serve for two years.

1. To identify effective development strategies.
2. To improve the capacity for sound development of the agencies and organizations doing development work in ADB’s developing member countries.

It runs them in-house (at the institute) and in ADB’s member countries, in collaboration with international, regional and national institutes and agencies.

They contribute to the development policy debate, and help to identify effective development strategies and improve the capacity for sound development in the region.

Policy dialogues, course-based training and e-learning.

Through multiple channels: the media, publications, its webpage and social media.

UNICEF (the United Nations Children’s Fund) works for children’s rights and well-being. In Nepal it supports vaccination, clean water and toilets in schools, nutrition for small children and mothers, and education, and it helps children after floods and earthquakes.
The World Food Programme (WFP) fights hunger. In Nepal it gives school children a midday meal in some of the poorest districts, helps the government to do the same, and brings food to people hit by disasters.
The World Bank lends money and gives grants to developing countries for development. In Nepal it has paid for roads, hydropower, schools, health services and rebuilding after the 2015 earthquake, and it gives the government advice on policy.

In each, one person asks about a thing’s use, and the other answers in the same pattern as the question: What’s it used for? → It’s used for + -ing. / What do we use it for? → We use it for + -ing. Repeating the question’s words makes the answer quick and correct.
A video recorder (a VCR) recorded TV programs on a cassette of magnetic tape, to watch later. From the 1980s to the 2000s many homes had one; today, programs are recorded on a hard disk or watched online whenever we like.

A watch is used for telling the time.
Scissors are used for cutting paper, cloth and hair.
A broom is used for sweeping the floor and the yard.
A hammer is used to hit nails into wood, or to break things.
A sickle is used to cut grass and to harvest crops such as rice and wheat.
A bucket is used for carrying and storing water.
A stapler is used to fasten sheets of paper together.
A frying pan is used for frying food, such as eggs, vegetables and sel roti.
A cupboard is used for keeping clothes, books and other things.
Scissors is a plural noun, so we say scissors are used; or a pair of scissors is used.

Match the grammar first: to and in order to need a base verb (drive, be); is for and is meant for need an -ing form (washing, cooking). Then match the meaning: things go with is for, people with to.

A rice cooker is for cooking rice. / A rice cooker is meant for cooking rice.
A washing machine is for washing clothes. / A washing machine is meant for washing clothes.
She’s got a driving license to drive a car. / She’s got a driving license in order to drive a car.
She’s got a driving license to drive a bus. / She’s got a driving license in order to drive a bus.
Mahanta took Maths to be an engineer. / Mahanta took Maths in order to be an engineer.
Mina went to university to be a lecturer. / Mina went to university in order to be a lecturer.
Mahanta took Maths in order to be a lecturer and Mina went to university to be an engineer are correct English too: a lecturer in maths or an engineer both need those studies.

• a.Although (contrast, before a clause: it rained)
• b.because of (reason, before a noun: the snowfall)
• c.In spite of (contrast, before a noun: all our efforts)
• d.so that (purpose, before a clause with could)
• e.to (purpose, before a base verb: see)
• f.for (what the envelope is for, before -ing). In everyday English we would also say I bought an envelope to send a letter.
• g.because (reason, before a clause: I was feeling unwell)
• h.in spite of (contrast, before a noun: the salary; despite also fits)
• i.because of (reason, before a noun: the noise)
• j.although (contrast, before a clause: there was a lot of noise)

Draw a box. Put the headline at the top in big letters, the picture in the middle, three or four features as short phrases with bullets, the offer in a bright corner, and the warranty at the bottom. Keep it under 60 words: an ad is read in seconds.

• a.GANIT PRO 300: Every sum, in a second! (Picture: a slim gray scientific calculator.) Features: 300 functions for school and college · solar and battery power · big, clear two-line screen · hard case · allowed in exam halls. Offer: 20% off for students in March, the exam month. Warranty: 2 years. Available at all good stationery shops.
• b.SAATHI X5: Your whole world, in your hand. (Picture: a phone with a mountain photo on its screen.) Features: 50-megapixel camera that shoots clearly at night · battery for 2 days · 128 GB of storage · fast charging in 30 minutes · Nepali keyboard. Offer: free earphones and a cover this Dashain. Warranty: 1 year on the phone, 6 months on the battery. Visit your nearest Saathi store today!
• c.SAMAYA SPORT: Time never stops. Neither do you. (Picture: a black sports watch on a runner’s wrist.) Features: waterproof to 50 meters · stopwatch and alarm · light for the dark · strong rubber strap · battery lasts 3 years. Offer: buy one, get a second strap free. Warranty: 2 years. Order now: call 01-5550000.

• a.We congratulate people when something good happens to them, especially something they worked for: passing an exam with good marks, winning a prize or a match, getting a new job or a promotion, being elected, a wedding, the birth of a baby, a new house, or a birthday.
• b.I was congratulated when I came first in the school’s quiz contest in Grade 7, when I passed my Grade 8 exams with an A+, and on my birthdays. My teacher also congratulated me when my drawing was chosen for the school magazine.

• a.impressive
• b.unbiased (a person who isn’t prejudiced against others sees their good points)
• c.standard
• d.endeavor (make every endeavor = try as hard as you can; British spelling endeavour)
• e.justifiably

Some answer keys give justifiable for e. But the gap comes before the adjective proud, so it needs the adverb: justifiably proud.

He lives in Changunarayan, Bhaktapur.

To congratulate Mrs Rai on her recent appointment as the Chief Editor of The Nepal Times.

Because it is a new position at the paper, so she has the chance to set the standard for future chief editors to follow.

He expects her to provide unbiased news stories and articles, to do a fine job, and to set a fine example for others to follow.

Because he offers his help: he tells her not to hesitate to call on him if he can be of any assistance to her.

They could be colleagues (perhaps he is a journalist too) or friends who know each other well. The letter is formal and polite, he calls her Mrs Rai, and he offers professional help, so they are more likely colleagues or acquaintances than close family.

Yes. Last year my cousin Tashi passed the entrance exam for nursing college in Kathmandu, after failing it once. She was living in Pokhara then, so I wrote her a short letter of congratulations and sent it with my uncle. I told her how proud we all were, especially because she had not given up after the first try, and I wished her luck with her studies. A month later she phoned me to say that she had pinned my letter above her desk. I felt very happy: a few kind words had meant a lot to her, and writing them had cost me only half an hour.

• a.They are probably a father and his daughter.
• b.The girl is probably asking her father to buy her something, perhaps things she needs for school, and he is worried about the cost.

• a.i. her school
• b.ii. pencil and eraser (they are in the kitchen drawer)
• c.iii. hi-tech
• d.ii. middle school (“I didn’t have any of that when I was in middle school”)
• e.ii. uses his calculator (his old one from college is still somewhere in the house)
• f.ii. going to play video games in the class (when she says free software can be downloaded, he jokes that she will play games in geometry class)
• g.iii. 99 dollars (with a $10 rebate)

Some answer keys mark iii for e. But the father offers his own calculator, from his college days, which is ii; the mother comes into the talk only at the end.

• a.For her demanding classes.
• b.The car. (Her father’s joke: no computer unless Mom lets her sell the car.)
• c.Clean up her room.
• d.Right now.
• e.Her mom. (She is waiting in the car.)

In the middle: Gadgets for my studies. Around it, four branches:

• Scientific calculator: for maths and science sums; checking answers; it is allowed in exams.
• Smartphone: dictionary and pronunciation; photos of notes on the board; a timer for study sessions; video lessons.
• Laptop: typing projects and reports; searching for information; online courses and practice tests.
• Earphones: listening practice in English; lessons without disturbing the family.

Telling friends: “I’d like to use a scientific calculator for my maths and science, because it saves time and it’s allowed in exams. I’d also use a smartphone as a dictionary and a timer, but I’d turn off games and social media while I study, or the phone would steal more time than it saves.”

• a.I couldn’t sleep despite being tired. / Despite being tired, I couldn’t sleep.
• b.Even though they have little money, they are living happily. / They are living happily even though they have little money.
• c.He went to the tap in order to bring a pail of water.
• d.I enjoyed the film, though the story was not very good. / Though the story was not very good, I enjoyed the film.
• e.In spite of living in the same colony, we hardly meet each other. / We hardly meet each other in spite of living in the same colony.
• f.I was not wet because I had an umbrella.
• g.I ate all the food although it was not very tasty. / Although it was not very tasty, I ate all the food.
• h.He went to the bank so that he could cash the cheque.

Congratulations, Sharmila!
Dear Sharmila Didi,
Our whole family was delighted to hear that you have been awarded a full scholarship to study medicine at the Institute of Medicine, Maharajgunj. We congratulate you on this wonderful achievement! We have watched you study by lamplight during load-shedding and help the younger children of our tole with their homework, and we know how hard you worked for this. You have made your parents, and all of us, very proud.
We wish you every success in your studies, and we look forward to the day you come back to our neighborhood as Dr Sharmila.
With warm wishes,
Kalpana and family
Thimi, Bhaktapur

HEARTIEST CONGRATULATIONS!
We extend our warmest congratulations to Mrs. Durga Thapa Magar on her election as the Mayor of Putalibazar Municipality, Syangja.
Her long service as a teacher, her work for the women’s cooperatives of our area and her honesty in public life have won the trust of the people. We are confident that, under her leadership, our municipality will have better roads, cleaner water, good schools and a fair, open office for every citizen.
We wish her good health and every success in her new responsibility.
Prabin Thapa Magar and family
Putalibazar-4, Syangja

A message for a newspaper is formal and public: use the person’s full name and title, the post and the municipality, the reason people trust them, a hope for what they will do, good wishes, and the senders’ names and address. Write in the third person (her election), or the second (your election), but not both.

• a.In 1963.
• b.Any two: they give first aid, collect blood for hospitals, bring food, tents and clean water to people hit by disasters.
• c.Volunteers, many of them young people.
• d.humanitarian

• a.so that (purpose, before a clause with could)
• b.because of (reason, before a noun)
• c.In spite of (contrast, before a noun)
• d.to (purpose, before a base verb)
• e.Although (contrast, before a clause)
• f.because (reason, before a clause)

• a.Januka studied hard in order to get a scholarship.
• b.The children swam in the river despite the cold. / Despite the cold, the children swam in the river. (Or despite its being very cold.)
• c.Nima saved money so that he could buy a bicycle.
• d.The bus was late because of the strike.

shelves, chiefs, lives, roofs, thieves, beliefs

CONGRATULATIONS, CHAMPIONS!
The students of Grade 9 warmly congratulate our school football team on winning the District Inter-School Football Championship on Saturday. You beat four strong teams and won the final 2–1 in the last minute, playing as one team to the end. Your hard work in the morning practices has brought pride to our whole school. We wish you every success at the provincial championship next month!
Students of Grade 9

UJYALO SOLAR LAMP: Light that costs nothing! (Picture: a lamp glowing on a study table at night.) Features: charges in 6 hours of sunshine · 12 hours of bright light · charges your phone too · light and strong, for home and trek. Offer: 15% off until Tihar. Warranty: 2 years on the lamp, 1 year on the battery. Ask at your nearest hardware shop.