Exam practice

The classrooms. In the first picture, the teacher is the center of the lesson: she reads from a book and writes on the blackboard, and the students copy. In the second, every student has a laptop, so they can look things up, type and learn at their own speed. Schools have changed a lot: many have started using computers, and teachers have been learning new ways to teach. But a blackboard needs no electricity and no internet, and in many schools in Nepal it is still the main tool.
The harvests. In the first picture, the farmers are cutting rice by hand with sickles; it is slow, tiring work that needs many people. In the second, one machine and one driver do the work of a hundred people in a fraction of the time. Machines have made farming faster, but they are expensive, they need fuel, and they can’t climb the narrow terraces of the hills, so in much of Nepal crops are still cut by hand.

• a.She is Anne Frank (1929–1945), a Jewish girl who lived in Amsterdam, in the Netherlands.
• b.Her diary. From 1942 to 1944, Anne and her family hid from the Nazis in a few secret rooms behind her father’s office, and she wrote about her life there: her fears, her quarrels, her hopes and her plans to become a writer. She died in a concentration camp at fifteen, but her father published her diary after the war. The Diary of a Young Girl is one of the most widely read books in the world, because it shows the horror of the Holocaust through the eyes of an ordinary, funny, honest teenager.

a. musings b. stiff (in stiff-backed) c. brooding (brood) d. throng e. resort (resort to) f. confide g. liable h. plunge (plunge right in) i. plunked (plunk) j. jot (jot down)
Some answer keys give plop for i. The text has plunked: Anne was “plunked down on the table as a birthday present for Margot”.

• a.listless: v. lethargic (tired, with no energy)
• b.adoring: iii. loving
• c.decree: i. announcement (an official one, an order)
• d.adorable: iv. attractive (lovable, charming)
• e.anxiety: vi. worry
• f.capitulation: vii. surrender
• g.solemn: ii. serious

Because she has never written anything before, and she thinks that later on neither she nor anyone else will be interested in the thoughts of a thirteen-year-old schoolgirl.

The reason that made her start it in the first place is that she doesn’t have a true friend she can confide in. She also feels like writing, and needs to get all kinds of things off her chest; the diary will be the friend she can tell them to.

Because, although she has a family, a home and about thirty friends, she has no one true friend to share her secrets with. With her friends she only has fun and talks about everyday things; they never get close enough to confide in each other.

Kitty is the diary itself. Anne wants the diary to be the friend she longs for, so she gives it a friend’s name and writes to it as if to a person.

Their father went to Holland first, in 1933, to start his new job, and their mother followed him in September. Meanwhile the two girls were sent to stay with their grandmother in Aachen. Then they went one at a time: Margot in December, and Anne in February, just in time for Margot’s birthday.

Because in May 1940 Germany had attacked the Netherlands, and the fighting had just ended there: there was nothing to celebrate.

Because Jews in Germany were suffering under Hitler’s anti-Jewish laws, and after the pogroms of 1938 (violent attacks on Jews) it was no longer safe. Her two uncles, her mother’s brothers, fled and found safety in North America.

• a.T. She describes a day when she sat at home, bored and listless, with her chin in her hands, wondering whether to stay in or go out: she was tired of being indoors, though in the end she stayed where she was.
• b.F. She doesn’t plan to let anyone read it, unless she finds a real friend.
• c.NG. The text names her mother but says nothing about her work.
• d.F. She left Germany at four, and went to a Montessori nursery school in Holland until she was six.
• e.F. It was the other way round: the family left Germany for Holland because life in Germany was dangerous for Jews.
• f.NG. The decrees kept Jews off the streets from 8 p.m. to 6 a.m.; nothing is said about roofs or the daytime.
• g.T. Her relatives in Germany were suffering under Hitler’s anti-Jewish laws.

A diary entry is written by a person about their own life, at the time it happens, so it shows us how they really lived: what they did each day, whom they met, what they ate, where they went, what they were allowed and not allowed to do, and, above all, how they felt about it. A textbook gives the big picture; a diary gives the small, true details. From Anne’s entry of 20 June 1942 alone, we learn that she went to a Jewish school, that her family celebrated birthdays with candles, that she had many friends but no one to confide in, and that the decrees forbade her to ride a tram or swim in a pool. We understand the lifestyle of a Jewish family under the German occupation from the inside, as no list of dates could show it.

Read both parts aloud. Stress the important words: How LONG has she WORKED…?, more than twenty-five YEARS, That’s a VERY long time. Then change the details and make your own: I’ve heard that our principal is retiring. How long has he taught at this school? He has taught here since 2001.

• a.How long has Sumit been doing his homework? He has been doing it for two hours.
• b.How long has Deepa been reading a novel? She has been reading it since last Monday.
• c.How long has Dhanu been waiting for a bus? He has been waiting for hours.
• d.How long has Siddhartha been watching a movie? He has been watching it since five o’clock.
• e.How long has Deepak lived (or been living) in Japan? He has lived there since 2010.
• f.How long has it been raining? It has been raining for a long time.
• g.How long has Sonali been painting the house? She has been painting it since this morning.
• h.How long has she gone without junk food? She hasn’t eaten any junk food for several months. (A negative usually takes the present perfect simple: hasn’t eaten.)
• i.How long has Raman been ploughing the field? He has been ploughing it since ten o’clock.
• j.How long has the telephone been ringing? It has been ringing for a few minutes.

Each verb is used once. Every sentence is about an activity that went on until now, or has just stopped and left a mark (wet roads, wet clothes, a tired face): which tense is that?

• a.have been playing (for over an hour: how long)
• b.have been watching (all afternoon)
• c.has just been raining (the wet road is its effect)
• d.have just been watering (the wet clothes are its effect)
• e.have been cleaning (for two hours: how long)
• f.have you been doing (the tired look is its effect)
• g.Have you been waiting long?

Some answer keys give have cleaned for e. But for two hours tells how long an activity has gone on, which needs the continuous: I have been cleaning the flat for two hours. (I have cleaned the flat would say it is finished, and wouldn’t take for two hours.)

• a.have you known (know is a state verb)
• b.have you been doing (all day; you look dirty now)
• c.has Charles visited (how many times: a count)
• d.has been learning (for hours, and still at it)
• e.have been watching (for two hours)
• f.has never eaten (never, up to now: experience)
• g.haven’t seen (recently: up to now)
• h.has been writing (all day); hasn’t finished (yet: the result)

Some answer keys give never eats for f. The task asks for a perfect tense, and never up to now is has never eaten. (My father never eats chocolates is also good English, but it is the present simple: a habit, not his whole life so far.)

Write every evening, not all seven days at the end of the week: a diary is written at the time. Each day, choose one incident that made you think (something unfair, funny, kind or surprising) and give your view of it. Keep each entry to five to eight sentences.

Sunday, 6 Mangsir 2083
Dear Diary, a new girl joined our class today. Her name is Shristi, and she has just moved here from Biratnagar. I sat next to her. She was too shy to speak at lunch, so I shared my chiura and aloo with her. I think a new student’s first day is the hardest day of the year, and we should all remember that.
Monday, 7 Mangsir
We had a surprise test in math today. I knew most of the answers, but I got muddled in the last question. My brother says marks don’t matter as much as understanding, but I still felt bad. Tomorrow I will ask our teacher to explain it again.
Tuesday, 8 Mangsir
Our class planted forty saplings on the slope behind the school. My arms are aching, but I felt proud when the last plant went in. I think every class should plant trees, not just read about landslides in our science book.
Wednesday, 9 Mangsir
The electricity went off all evening, so I did my homework by the light of a solar lamp. Grandmother told us how she studied by a kerosene lamp when she was young, and walked two hours to school. We complain too easily.
Thursday, 10 Mangsir
A boy in Grade 7 was teased on the bus because of his old shoes. Nobody stopped it, and neither did I. I have been thinking about it all evening. Next time, I will say something.
Friday, 11 Mangsir
Football practice after school! Our team has been practicing every day for two weeks for the inter-school tournament. Coach says we are improving. I scored one goal, and I can’t stop smiling.
Saturday, 12 Mangsir
I went back to school to water our saplings with Rizwan and Shristi. Thirty-eight of the forty are still alive. Shristi laughed a lot today: she isn’t shy any more. Keeping this diary has made me notice small things. I want to go on writing it.

• a.They are Rautes, an indigenous people of western Nepal, often called Nepal’s last nomads.
• b.The Rautes don’t live in one village: they move their camps from forest to forest every few weeks or months. They live by hunting monkeys and by carving wooden bowls and boxes, which they exchange for grain in the villages near their camp. They don’t farm, and they don’t send their children to school. Their numbers have fallen to only about 130 people who still travel.

Across: 2. NOMADIC 3. WIDESPREAD 6. PATRIARCHAL 7. EXTENSIVE 8. INDIGENOUS
Down: 1. COMMENDABLE 4. REMARKABLE 5. PROMINENT
Some answer keys give extending for 7 Across. The word in the text is extensive (extensive knowledge of the forest), which means far-reaching. If your book’s grid won’t fill, look at 2 and 3 Across: they belong one row lower, where their letters agree with 1 Down, as in the grid above.

• a.True. They are nomads: they never settle permanently, and move their camps from place to place.
• b.True. They live in the forests of western Nepal: the text names Karnali Province as their home.
• c.True. The men carve wooden utensils and trade them for grain.
• d.True. The writer calls it commendable and says humanity has a lot to learn from them.
• e.False. The community is patriarchal (men are at the top), though women lead the household and the camp’s daily work.

Some answer keys give False for a, because the Rautes never settle permanently. But the statement doesn’t say they settle for good: it says they move from place to place to make their settlements, which is exactly what nomads do.

That long ago they fled from the state, never returned, and made a different way of life in the jungle.

By crafting wooden products (bowls, boxes and other utensils) and trading them in the market for grain, by hunting monkeys, and by collecting food grains from the villages.

Until about the age of 10 to 14, they have no major household work: they play with natural objects and roam around the settlement. On special occasions they help to fetch water from the spring and carry small things when the camp moves.

Because it is the women’s job to search the jungle for medicinal herbs, firewood and vegetables, and to find spring water, so they come to know the forest and its ecosystem very well.

In some ways it is fair: each has an important share, the men hunting, carving and trading, the women running the household and knowing the forest, and the text says women have a more prominent role than men in the camp’s internal management. But in other ways it is not: the women carry most of the household work and the children, they may not travel with anyone but their husbands, and the roles are fixed by whether you are a man or a woman, not by choice. So I think it is a clear division, but not a fully equal one.

They hunt in groups of 8 to 30 young and middle-aged men, with nets, and never with guns or bows and arrows: a rare technique.

Saune Sankranti, Dashain, Tihar, Chaite Dashain and Maghe Sankranti.

Modern people can learn how to keep their own culture and identity in a fast-changing, globalizing world. The Rautes also show how to live simply and close to nature, taking from the forest only what they need, and how to live as a community that shares its work and its feasts.

Our culture and traditions shape almost every part of how we live. They decide what we eat (dal bhat every day, sel roti at Tihar, no beef in many Hindu homes), what we wear (a daura suruwal or a gunyu cholo on special days), how families are organized and who does which work, when we work and rest (the Rautes stop hunting and carving at festivals; many of us take long holidays at Dashain), how we greet and respect elders, and even where we live, as the Rautes’ nomadic tradition keeps them moving through the forest. Traditions give people a sense of belonging. But they can also hold people back, for example when they decide what a girl may or may not do. So a good tradition is one a community keeps by choice, and changes when it needs to.

• a.They represent Bhutan: the first is the flag of Bhutan, with the Druk, the Thunder Dragon, after which Bhutanese call their country Druk Yul, the Land of the Thunder Dragon. The second shows Bhutan’s national dress.
• b.The man wears a gho, a knee-length robe tied with a belt; the woman wears a kira, an ankle-length dress, with a short jacket called a tego.

• a.In 2008.
• b.Gross Domestic Product.
• c.In 2015.
• d.91% (and 43% are deeply or extensively happy).
• e.By the balance between people’s financial and mental values: money matters, but so does peace of mind.

The ranking is the World Happiness Report, published every March by Oxford University’s Wellbeing Research Centre with Gallup and the United Nations. It asks people in each country to rate their lives from 0 (the worst possible) to 10 (the best possible), and ranks countries by the average. Look up the latest report for this year’s rank, then discuss: Do you think the rank is fair? What makes people in Nepal happy, and what makes them unhappy? Should a country measure happiness, as well as money?

Have you ever been to Rara Lake? No, I haven’t, but I’d love to go.
Have you ever eaten yomari? Yes, I have. I’ve eaten it every Yomari Punhi since I was small.
Have you ever seen snow? Yes, I’ve seen it twice, in Kalinchok.

• a.Pawan has lived in Tanahun since he was born.
• b.Subin has been unemployed since last January.
• c.Subash has had a fever for the last few days.
• d.I have wanted to go to Lumbini since I was in grade five.
• e.My brother has been studying engineering for three years.
• f.I have been working in Bhanu Municipality since last year.
• g.My cousin has been in the army since he was eighteen.
• h.They have been waiting for the bus for half an hour.
• i.Krish has been doing his homework for two hours.
• j.Pramila has been going to dance classes for a month.

In a, has been living is also right. In b, c, d and g the verbs are states (be, have, want), so no -ing.

One paragraph for each clue. Use linking words (firstly, moreover, as a result, however, in conclusion). Give examples children in Nepal know: instant noodles, packet chips, fizzy drinks, chocolate, fried snacks from the shop by the school gate. About 250–300 words.

The Effects of Junk Food on Children
Junk food is food that is high in fat, sugar or salt but low in the things a growing body needs: protein, vitamins, minerals and fiber. Instant noodles, packets of chips, fizzy drinks, chocolates and fried snacks are common examples. These foods are cheap, tasty and quick, and more and more children in Nepal eat them every day, often in place of a proper meal.
There are several causes. Firstly, advertising on television and phones shows junk food as fun and modern, with bright colors, cartoons and free toys. Secondly, many children and parents don’t know how harmful it is. Moreover, busy parents find a packet of noodles easier than cooking, and the shops near every school sell little else.
The effects on health are serious. Too much sugar causes tooth decay. Too much fat and sugar, with too little exercise, leads to obesity, and over the years to high blood pressure, high cholesterol, diabetes and even heart attacks in adults. A child who skips meals for snacks may suffer headaches, tiredness and weakness.
Junk food also affects the family’s economy. A few packets a day cost more than they seem to, and when children fall ill, the family must pay for doctors and medicine, an extra burden for many households.
There are other effects too. A hungry, tired child finds it hard to concentrate, so school marks can suffer. Children who eat in front of screens spend less time playing outside and talking with their families.
In conclusion, junk food may be tasty, but it harms children’s health, their families’ budgets and their studies. Parents, schools and the government should work together: teach children about healthy food, keep junk food out of school canteens, and limit the advertising aimed at children. A plate of dal bhat with green vegetables, or a fruit from the market, is still the best snack.

• a.For thirty years.
• b.When her son was born.
• c.The old tin sheds have gone, and a new concrete building has been built.
• d.concrete

• a.has climbed (how many times)
• b.has been snowing (since the morning, and still going on)
• c.have you known (know is a state verb)
• d.has broken (a result we can see now)
• e.have been practicing (all afternoon, and they are tired now)

• a.Nisha has lived in Ilam since 2015.
• b.Bibek has been waiting for his friend for forty minutes.
• c.The children have been playing in the yard since lunch.

a. fare b. wait c. waste d. site

Wednesday, 15 Poush 2083
Dear Diary,
Today was full of surprises! In the morning assembly, our head teacher announced that our school has won the district science fair. Our water filter made from sand, charcoal and gravel came first! Pramila, Suraj and I have been working on it for two months, after school and even on Saturdays, so I could hardly believe it. Everyone clapped, and Suraj’s eyes filled with tears.
I think the best part was not the prize but the way our team worked together. When the first filter leaked, we didn’t give up; we tried four more designs.
Next month we will take it to the provincial fair in Dhulikhel. I am nervous already, but very happy.
Good night!
Sapana