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HSC English First Paper English For Today - Unit 12 Lesson 2 The Greta Effect  The Greta Effect Greta Thunberg is an environmental activist. She was born in Stockholm, Sweden, in 2003. When she was eight, she started learning about climate change. The more she learned, the more baffled she became as to why so little was being done about it. At the age of 11, Greta became so sad about climate change that she temporarily stopped speaking! Greta has Asperger syndrome, a condition that affects how people socialise. But Greta views her condition as a positive, calling it her "superpower"! She says it helps her see the world in black and white, and that there are "no grey areas when it comes to climate change."  In August 2018, Greta decided to take action. Instead of going to school, she made a large sign that read 'Skolstrejk för Klimatet: SCHOOL STRIKE FOR CLIMATE', and calmly sat down outside the Swedish parliament. Her aim? To make politicians take notice and...

HSC English First Paper English For Today - Unit 12 Lesson 1 Environment and Nature Environment and Nature Water, water everywhere... Water, water, every where,  And all the boards did shrink;  Water, water, every where,   Nor any drop to drink.   Coleridge's poem, a ballad, narrates the harrowing sea-voyage of an old mariner who at one point of his journey didn't have any water to drink because of a curse. Not only the cursed mariner, we too know how important drinking water is in our life. We know we cannot survive without it. In fact, two-thirds of our body is made up of water. Not for nothing is it said that the other name of water is life. Is there a crisis in our time with regard to access to clean drinking water? The United Nations in a meeting on the eve of the new millennium identified the drinking water problem as one of the challenges for the future. Besides, we have worry in out the problem as ours is a land of rivers he we have plenty of rainfa...

HSC English First Paper English For Today - Unit 11 Lesson 3 Stories From Gaza Stories From Gaza Mahmud Bala'wi, Born 1995  Ash Shati' Camp   I want to write the most beautiful words about Gaza but I can't. I can't not see the poverty, siege and famine, especially when all Gaza city flooded into Al-Areesh and emptied it from all goods in two hours. I can't not see the deprivation in every house, the fear and the sickness.   What do you want me to say about Gaza? From when I became aware of it, I was sad about everything inside it. Especially the kids and even the adults, youth, women, girls, animals, stones and trees, everything in it is crying... I'm looking for nice words to say and I can't find them.   The sea is the only thing that helps me dream. When I stand on the shore I can imagine Cyprus, travel to Paris, fly to Rome, all while standing in the same spot. I go around the whole world and in the end I land on my bed in our house, in the middle o...

HSC English First Paper English For Today - Unit 11 Lesson 2 The Old Man at the Bridge  The Old Man at the Bridge by Earnest Hemingway An old man with steel rimmed spectacles and very dusty clothes sat by the side of the road. There was a pontoon bridge across the river and carts, trucks, and men, women and children were grossing it. The mule-drawn carts staggered up the steep bank from the bridge with soldiers helping push against the spokes of the wheels. The trucks ground up and away heading out of it all and the peasants plodded along in the ankle deep dust. But the old man sat there without moving He was too tired to go any farther. It was my business to cross the bridge, explore the bridgehead beyond and find out to what point the enemy had advanced. I did this and returned over the bridge. There were not so many carts now and very few people on foot, but the old man was still there. "Where do you come from?" I asked him, "From San Carlos," he said, and smiled...

HSC English First Paper English For Today - Unit 11 Lesson 1 Peace and Conflict  Situations of conflict Maya Angelou, an American poet, songwriter, playwright, film director and autobiographer was born in St. Louis, Missouri, on 4 April, 1928. She spent much of her childhood in Stamps, Arkansas, with her paternal grandmother. When she was eight, she became a victim of abuse by someone close to her mother. The experience left her traumatized, and for several years, she could not speak. In 1940. Angelou moved to San Francisco, and then to New York, where she began her literary Maya Angelou had a remarkable range of interests and careers. She was a dancer, a singer and an editor. In addition, she also acted on stage and in the film. But writing was what she enjoyed most. She was a popular poet praised for the way she incorporated social and political themes in her poems without compromising their poetic and stylistic qualities. She wrote her poems in a language that is known as the Bl...

HSC English First Paper English For Today - Unit 10 Lesson 5 Consumerism Consumerism We spend money for different reasons. We buy foods, clothes or everyday essentials, pay for different services, entertain people, travel to places, help others in need or invest in business and thus spend money every day. In fact, spending is a part of our life. Spending may make us happy or unhappy depending on how and why we spend. When we spend money on things that we need and within our limit, it is good. When it becomes a compulsive behaviour, it makes life stressful. Unnecessary spending or spending beyond one's means has some bad effects. For one thing, it may lead to financial ruin or debt, and for another, it may create unhappiness within families. People who overspend are never satisfied with what they have. They always rush for brands, fashion items, designer clothes etc. Over a period of time it becomes an addiction which may eventually create psychological problems. Nowadays consumer i...

HSC English First Paper English For Today - Unit 10 Lesson 4 Instant vacation : Getting there through meditation Meditation Training the mind can get us to a place of flow more quickly. Meditation is one way to exercise our mental muscles. There are many types of meditation, but they all have the same objective: calming the mind, observing our thoughts and emotions, and centering our focus on a single object. The basic practice involves sitting with a straight back and focusing on your breath. Anyone can do it, and you feel a difference after just one session. By fixing your attention on the air moving in and out of your nose, you can slow the torrent of thoughts and clear your mental horizons. The Archer's Secret The winner of the 1988 Olympic gold medal for archery was a seventeen-year-old woman from South Korea. When asked how she prepared, she replied that the most important part of her training was meditating for two hours each day. If we want to get better at reaching a state...

HSC English First Paper English For Today - Unit 10 Lesson 3  Food and Culture Syed Mujtaba Ali, was an acclaimed Bengali author, academic and linguist. He was a travel enthusiast and his travelogues are regarded as precious gems in our Bangla literature. At some point of time between the two World Wars, Syed Mujtaba Ali set out on a ship from India on a journey to Europe. Leaving Sri Lanka behind, he sailed across the Arabian Sea, then along the coast of Africa, before reaching the Suez Port. Syed Mujtaba Ali's time in Egypt was punctuated by a number of funny anecdotes, both about the people and the pyramids. The following excerpt is from Syed Mujtaba Ali's travelogue, Tales of a Voyager (Jolay Dangay) where he gives a charming and insightful description of Egyptian food and language. Nazes Afroz translated the following excerpt. Our Bengali meals consist of five flavours of food-bitter, savoury, hot, sour sides and desserts. The English eat only sweet and savoury preparation...

Read the following text and answer the questions A and B Unit-10: Lesson-2 Once upon a time, there was a strange man who was highly bothered to see others' happiness. His own personal interest was at any cost important to him. Neither was he a polite man, nor did he like other people to be polite to each other. In fact, he hated the courteous and polite people around him and thus he hated a few expressions like please, thank you, don't mention it etc. It troubled him a lot when people around were smiling to use these expressions. The man considered all these expressions extravagant. So, he took a mission to invent a device that would steal these polite words. He calculated two benefits from his efforts. One, people won't use these words and thus he would be relieved of his apathy to people's polite behavior and the second one was earning money by selling the words stolen by the machine to somebody else. He took great caution so that nobody would understand his secret pl...

HSC English First Paper English For Today - Unit 10 Lesson 1  Manners around the World  China Dining Sit where you are instructed to sit. Be graceful and polite when taking food with chopsticks. Don't make much noise when eating or drinking soup. Don't play with chopsticks or point at anyone with them. For a formal dinner wear formal dress. Gift Do present and receive things with both hands. Politely refusing a gift before accepting it is the norm in Chinese culture, so don't be discouraged when someone initially refuses your gift. White flowers are not good as gifts as they symbolise death. Greetings Shake hands softly as a firm handshake could be considered a sign of aggression. It may make your Chinese friends feel uncomfortable. Greet the most senior first and gradually others. Children are expected to greet you rather than you greeting the children. South Africa Dining Arrive on time. Wear casual clothes. Offer help to the hostess with the preparation of the meal and c...