Course: Compulsory English-II (5411)

Semester: Spring, 2022

ASSIGNMENT No. 2

Q.1   Read about ‘Compare and Contrast’ on pages 147-160. You should also have read about a brief comparison and contrast between aeroplane and helicopter given on Page 151. Each of the above answer should be in a paragraph shape and appropriate transition words should be used for showing the relationships of the cities.          Now, keeping in mind two Pakistani cities i.e., Swat and Abbottabad, answer the following questions:

         a)      How both of the cities are similar (provide a comparison between Swat and Abbottabad)?

Both are the district of KPK. Both are located in Pakistan. Both have mountains and hilly areas. Both have minimum temperature 2.4 C and maximum 28.6 C. Both have lot of tourist’s places.

         b)      How both of the cities are different (provide a contrast between Swat and Abbottabad)?

Abbottabad lies in Hazara Division KPK while Swat lies in Malakand Division KPK. Abbottabad founded in 1863 while Swat founded in Gandharan civilization. Abbottabad calling code is 0992 while Swat have 0946. Abbottabad is 4^th largest city in KPK while Swat is 15^th largest city in KPK. Swat is famous for Hindu Kush and Swat River while Abbottabad is famous for Nathiagali, Ayubia, Naran and Karakoram Highway.

Q.2   Read about ‘Academic Reading’ on Pages 183-185. Now briefly EXPLAIN the following phrases (in your own words) with appropriate examples:            

a)          Active reading

Active reading simply means learning something that is willing to understand and evaluate according to your needs.

b)          Passive reading

Passive reading is the point at which a reader does actually read the words however ingests close to nothing about what is composed.

c)          Inferring meaning

Infer implies arriving at a conclusion by reasoning from evidence; if the evidence is slight, the term comes close to surmise. From that remark, I inferred that they knew each other deduce often adds to infer the special implication of drawing a particular inference from a generalization.

Inference is using observation and background to reach a logical conclusion. You probably practice inference every day. For example, if you see someone eating a new food and he or she makes a face, then you infer he does not like it. Or if someone slams a door, you can infer that she is upset about something.

d)          Reading strategies

Reading strategies is the broad term used to describe the planned and explicit actions that help readers translate print to meaning. Strategies that improve decoding and reading comprehension skills benefit every student, but are essential for beginning readers, struggling readers, and English Language Learners. To improve students’ reading comprehension, teachers should introduce the seven cognitive strategies of effective readers: activating, inferring, monitoring-clarifying, questioning, searching-selecting, summarizing, and visualizing-organizing.

e)          Guessing meaning from context

Guessing from context technique is the technique to find the meaning of new word with the clues used in context. This technique is used to find the meaning of new word through the relationship of the words around with some clues that are provided in the context.

Q.3   Keeping in mind the pre-reading activities (Predicting meaning) given in the unit (Unit 6), look at the picture given on Page 202 carefully and WRITE down a paragraph of about 150 words predicting and guessing about the background of the picture.

The lowering of the flags ceremony at the Attari–Wagah border is a daily military practice that the security forces of India (Border Security Force, BSF) and Pakistan (Pakistan Rangers) have jointly followed since 1959. The drill is characterized by elaborate and rapid dance-like manoeuvres and raising legs as high as possible, which have been described as “colourful”. It is both a symbol of the two countries’ rivalry, and a display of brotherhood and cooperation between the two nations. This ceremony takes place every evening immediately before sunset at the Wagah-Attari border, which as part of the Grand Trunk Road was the only road link between these two countries before the opening of the Aman Setu in Kashmir in 1999. The ceremony starts with a blustering parade by the soldiers from both sides and ends up in the perfectly coordinated lowering of the two nations’ flags. It is called the Beating Retreat border ceremony on the international level. One infantryman stands at attention on each side of the gate. As the sun sets, the iron gates at the border are opened and the two flags are lowered simultaneously. The flags are folded and the ceremony ends with a retreat that involves a brusque handshake between soldiers from either side, followed by the closing of the gates again. The spectacle of the ceremony attracts many visitors from both sides of the border, as well as international tourists.      

Q.4   Read about ‘Implied Meaning and Making Inferences’ on Pages 217-228. Now READ the text below and infer the meaning of the underlined words by guessing from the context:                                                                                             

Q.5   Go to Exercise 7 ‘a Merchant and his Servant’ on Page 235 and carefully READ the situations given in the story. Based on your reading of the text, answer the following two questions:                                                                                  

a)          Why did the merchant allow the servant to go to Samara?

I was astonished to see him in Bagdad, for I had an appointment with him tonight in Samarra.

b)          What is the main idea or theme in the story?

There was a merchant in Bagdad who sent his servant to market to buy provisions and in a little while the servant came back, white and trembling, and said, Master, just now when I was in the marketplace I was jostled by a woman in the crowd and when I turned I saw it was Death that jostled me.  She looked at me and made a threatening gesture, now, lend me your horse, and I will ride away from this city and avoid my fate.  I will go to Samarra and there Death will not find me.  The merchant lent him his horse, and the servant mounted it, and he dug his spurs in its flanks and as fast as the horse could gallop he went.  Then the merchant went down to the marketplace and he saw me standing in the crowd and he came to me and said, why did you make a threating gesture to my servant when you saw him this morning?  That was not a threatening gesture, I said, it was only a start of surprise.  I was astonished to see him in Bagdad, for I had an appointment with him tonight in Samarra.

Q.6   Read about ‘Denotation and Connotation’ on Pages 249-260. Now ANSWER the following questions:                                                                                         

a)          Distinguish with examples between connotative and denotative meanings.

The terms “connotation” and “denotation” are sometimes wrongly interchanged because of their close resemblance in terms of sound pronunciation. Nevertheless, the two should be treated differently as they are used distinctively in philosophy, linguistics, and grammar.

Denotation is actually the word’s literal meaning. As such, it is regarded as a “dictionary definition.” Thus, when you look for the word “snake” in the dictionary, you’ll stumble upon its most denotative definition like any reptilian, long, tapering, and often venomous cylindrical animals found in temperate or in tropical areas that is characterized as being legless and scaly.

Connotation is very different because it pertains to the more loose associations to a particular word. It can also include the emotional input that is connected to a certain term or word. The connotative definition or description coexists with its denotative meaning. And so, when you are asked about the connotative meaning of the word “snake,” one of your best answers could be “danger.” Associating “evil” with snakes is also pretty acceptable. Another example is defining a “rose” denotatively as a type of red flower having petals while connotatively as a romantic symbol, or associating it with Valentine’s Day.

One more important characteristic of denotation is its limiting yet more descriptive nature. If you are asked to define what a chair is, you’ll most likely say that it is just your typical piece of furniture that usually has a back part for support when you try to fall back while sitting. It also has a base to sit on and four legs that support the furniture itself. This definition is often true to most cases when you are talking about a standard type of chair.

b)          Write down both connotative and denotative meanings for the following terms.

Q.7   You have read in detail about ‘Denotation’ and ‘Connotation’ in Unit 8. Now, analyze the following words and write down the possible connotative meanings of the following words:                                                                                        

Q.8   Which is your favourite English daily newspaper (out of Dawn, The News and The Nation) and why? Find out the last FOUR Sunday editions of your favourite newspaper and make a collection of the ‘interviews of personalities’ given in them. Now answer the following questions:                                                             

a)          What is interesting about these personalities?

1.          Owing to popular demand, he was requested to come back by the president of Pakistan Zia ul Haq to lead the team once again. At the age of 39, Khan led his team to Pakistan’s first and only One Day World Cup victory in 1992.

2.          In April 1996, Khan founded the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (“Movement for Justice”) political party and became its chairman. He was an elected parliamentarian of his native constituency Mianwali in the National Assembly from November 2002 to October 2007 and was again elected during the 11 May 2013, general elections.

3.          He was involved in a controversy for “non-stop partying” at London nightclubs such as Annabel’s and Tramp though he claims to have hated English pubs and never drank alcohol. He also gained notoriety in London gossip columns for romancing young Susannah Constantine, Lady Liza Campbell and the artist Emma Sergeant.

4.          In 1983, Imran Khan was also named the Wisden Cricketer of the Year. He also received the president’s Pride of Performance Award.

b)          What kinds of achievements have they made so far?

• Loans repaid by PTI govt in 22 months: RS 5000 Billion
• Amount borrowed from State Bank in 22 months: NIL
• Panagahs established by PTI govt in 22 months: 200+
• Rs 2 Billion allocated to transform PM house into a university.
• Effective diplomacy saved Pakistan from paying $1.2bn penalty in Karkey case
• Kartarpur corridor constructed and made operational within months.
• Modi exposed across the globe, Kashmir issues raised at international forums, India isolated.
• 10 billion tree Tsunami project praised across the globe and being replicated by other developed counties.
• Sehat Sahoolat card being provided to every family in KPK. Providing Insurance coverage worth 1 million per family annually.
• Rs 150 Billion+ distributed among the needy through the Ehsas Emergency Cash program.
• Funding provided for a number of DAM projects. Work on most has commenced and would be completed after PTI’s tenure finishes. Because a leader thinks of the next generation. Not the next election.
• Government paying utility bills for small business in an attempt to shoulder some of their expenses in times of Covid19.
• Current account deficit reduced to $3 Billion from $20 Billion within 22 months.
• State Bank’s reserves have increased from $9.7 Billion to $12.3 Billion in 22 months.
• 1.2 million families of Azad Kashmir to get Sehat Sahulat card with insurance coverage of Rs 1 million per family annually.
• Tax collection was increasing at a rate of 17% before Covid19 arrived. Hundreds of thousands of new filers had registered with the FBR.
• 7 million families will receive Sehat Sahulat Card in Punjab during the current year. 4.6 million families have already received it. All these families would have insurance coverage of Rs 1 million annually.
• After Covid19 arrived, Imran Khan was the first leader who raised voice for debt relief. He was mocked. People discussed his tracksuit for days. A few weeks later, Pakistan ended up securing $2.4 billion debt relief.
• “In Pakistan, the outlook has improved markedly since the 2018 general election victory of Imran Khan. In a short period, the country has seen notable improvements in business sentiment & macroeconomic policy-making.” -Financial Times
• Covid19: Cases per million around the world: 1,275 Cases per million in Pakistan: 901 Deaths per million around the world: 68.3 Deaths per million in Pakistan: 18