english_guid_2016.pdf |
improve your listening skills through this post! listen above audio files and answer the questions attached with the following document.
Prepared By: Mr. Iruthayaraj Sr. Communication Trainer T&P Cell
Listen three audio files and answer the question asked with the document bellow.
Prepared By: Mr. Iruthayaraj, T&P Cell
A simple way to express yourself more clearly and be more successful is to improve your vocabulary. If you’re a writer, learning and using new vocabulary will improve the dynamism of your work. Choosing which words to learn from the over one million words in English, however, can be a daunting task. We’ve done the legwork for you and selected five truly stunning words that will add vigor to your speech and writing. 1 Ephemeral adjective Lasting for a very short time My feelings about him were ephemeral; they left as quickly as they arrived. 2 Imbroglio noun (plural: imbroglios) An extremely confused, complicated, or embarrassing situation When the fully booked hotel allowed someone else with the same name to check into our room, it took several hours for us to maneuver the imbroglio. 3 Mellifluous adjective (Of a sound) pleasingly smooth and musical to hear Adele’s voice is mellifluous. 4 Nefarious adjective Flagrantly wicked or impious: evil Alan Rickman was famous among younger audiences for playing the nefarious Snape; older audiences will remember him as Hans Gruber from Die Hard. 5 Propinquity noun Nearness of blood: kinship Nearness in place or time: proximity Despite our propinquity, my sister and I don’t know each other very well. When you use these new words with people who don’t know them, turn the exchange into a mini–vocabulary lesson and show them the value of learning new words. You’re not being pretentious; you’re helping others to become more successful. Have you ever encountered a word and learned that it meant the opposite of what you remembered? If so, you may have come across a contronym. A contronym, often referred to as a Janus word or auto-antonym, is a word that evokes contradictory or reverse meanings depending on the context. Specifically, a contronym is a word with a homonym (another word with the same spelling but different meaning) that is also an antonym (a word with the opposite meaning). Generally, contronyms became contronyms in one of two ways: (1) different words with different etymologies converged into one word, or (2) one word acquired different and opposite meanings over time. Here are some contronyms that are commonly used as verbs in the English language: to buckle Definition 1: to fasten or secure with a buckle (i.e., a device with a frame, hinged pin, and movable tongue, designed to fasten together two loose ends of a belt or strap). Example 1: Our hiking instructors told us to buckle our backpacks to our bodies during rigorous climbs. Definition 2: to bend, warp, or collapse under pressure. Example 2: I felt my legs buckle as I hiked up the steep mountain with my heavy backpack. to cleave Definition 1: to join or adhere closely; cling. Example 1: The shy baby rabbit cleaved to his mother’s body. Definition 2: to split or divide, especially by cutting. Example 2: The hunter uses a Swiss Army knife to cleave the rabbit’s meat from the bone. to dust Definition 1: to remove dust. Example 1: My mother asked me to dust the window shades before the party. Definition 2: to sprinkle with soil or dust. Example 2: I watched my mother dust my birthday cake in a thin layer of white sugar. to enjoin Definition 1: to instruct, prescribe, or command. Example 1: For my sake, our family counselor enjoined my parents to communicate with each other after their divorce. Definition 2: to prohibit or forbid (especially via an injunction). Example 2: After my parents’ divorce, the court enjoined my abusive mother from contacting me and my father. to overlook Definition 1: to monitor or inspect. Example 1: Our teachers overlook our academic progress. Definition 2: to fail to notice or choose not to emphasize. Example 2: Because they are tired, my teachers often overlook the spelling errors in my homework. to peruse Definition 1: to skim or read without attention to detail. Example 1: My mind wanders when I peruse chemistry textbooks because I have no interest in science. Definition 2: to read or examine in detail. Example 2: To study for the final exam, I sit down in a quiet room to peruse my chemistry notes. to ravel Definition 1: to tangle. Example 1: When she is bored, my daughter ravels her hair into huge knots with her hands. Definition 2: to disentangle threads or fibers. Example 2: My daughter uses tweezers to ravel stubborn knots in her hair. to rent Definition 1: to sell or lease the use of a commodity. Example 1: The landlord rents her apartment in the city to a young couple. Definition 2: to buy the use of a commodity. Example 2: Depending on how much money you want to spend, you can rent a room or an entire apartment from the landlord. to sanction Definition 1: to permit or grant approval. Example 1: In some countries, the government sanctions the ownership of guns by private citizens. Definition 2: to condemn or penalize. Example 2: In some states, the government imposes sanctions on the ownership of guns by private citizens. to screen Definition 1: to protect or conceal. Example 1: Because he did not have a hat or umbrella, he used a newspaper to screen his face from the sun. Definition 2: to show or broadcast (a movie or TV show). Example 2: The local movie theater will screen the new horror movie tonight. The next time you run into a word that confuses you, keep in mind that seemingly simple words can have opposite or multiple implications, and that the meaning of a word depends on both its dictionary definition and the context in which it is used. Let’s face it: Sometimes the English language can be downright bizarre. The plural of ox is oxen while the plural of box is boxes, ‘rough’ rhymes with ‘gruff’ even though the two words only have two letters in common, and there are actually more than nine hundred exceptions to the infamous “‘i’ before ‘e’ except after ‘c’” rule. If you’re still not convinced that the English language is full of oddities and conundrums take a look at these five wacky sentences that are actually grammatically correct. 1. All the faith he had had had had no effect on the outcome of his life. Well, talk about lexical ambiguity. But as strange as this sentence might sound, it is actually grammatically correct. The sentence relies on a double use of the past perfect. The two instances of “had had” play different grammatical roles in the sentences—the first is a modifier while the second is the main verb of the sentence. 2. One morning I shot an elephant in my pajamas. How he got into my pajamas I’ll never know. This famous Groucho Marx joke takes advantage of the fact that the same sentence can often be interpreted in more than one way. The first sentence can be read in two distinct ways: A) The man shot an elephant while he was wearing his pajamas or B) The man shot an elephant that was wearing his pajamas. It’s unclear who is wearing the pajamas, the man or the elephant. Most people interpret the sentence the first way and are subsequently startled to read the second part of the joke. 3. The complex houses married and single soldiers and their families.This is what we call a garden path sentence. Though grammatically correct, the reader’s initial interpretation of the sentence may be confusing, at best. In other words, the sentence has taken the reader down a dead-end. Here, “complex” may be interpreted as an adjective and “houses” may be interpreted as a noun. Readers are immediately confused upon reading that the complex houses “married,” interpreting “married” as the verb. How can houses get married? In actuality, “complex” is the noun, “houses” is the verb, and “married” is the adjective. The sentence is trying to express the following: Single soldiers, as well as married soldiers and their families, reside in the complex. 4. The man the professor the student has studies Rome.This awkward but grammatically correct sentence is a product of what is known as center embedding. In English we can typically put one clause inside of another without any problem. We can take “the man studies Rome” and add a bunch of additional information between the noun and the verb. However, the more information that is added the harder it is to interpret the sentence. In this particular case the sentence conveys the following: The student has the professor who knows the man that studies ancient Rome. Each noun corresponds to a verb (the man studies, the student has). But because of the sentence’s style this is hard to decipher. Remember: just because a sentence is grammatically correct doesn’t mean it is acceptable stylistically. 5. Buffalo buffalo buffalo buffalo buffalo buffalo buffalo buffalo.No, your eyes are not playing tricks on you. You read that sentence right— it reads “buffalo” eight times. You see, “buffalo” is a noun that refers to a large, shaggy-manned North American bison, a city in upstate New York, and a verb that means, “to intimidate.” First devised by professor William J. Rapaport in 1972, this notorious sentence plays on reduced relative clauses, different part-of-speech readings of the same word, and center embedding. It’s also a pretty prime example of how homonyms (words that share spelling and pronunciation but have different meanings) can really confuse things. While it might be hard to parse the sentence is coherent. If you stare at it long enough the true meaning may even miraculously come to you: “Bison from Buffalo, New York, who are intimidated by other bison in their community, also happen to intimidate other bison in their community.” For further clarification you might also want check out English indie rock band Alt-J’s song “Buffalo,” which was famously inspired by this conundrum of a sentence and used in the soundtrack of the Oscar-nominated Silver Linings Playbook. So, in conclusion: English is weird. But in spite of its oddities it is also a strangely beautiful language. You can do all sorts of crazy things with it without breaking any rules. The bounds of proper English are virtually endless – test them in your writing today! By: A. MATHANGI DEVI, Communication Trainer, T &P Cell.
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AuthorMr. N.Sendil kumar Archives
March 2016
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