Technical English

UNIT- I

TECHNICAL ENGLISH - SHSB1101

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Language at the Word Level

Tense
Tense suggests that the action started sometime in the past and has been going on
continuously till now.
I. Present Tense
Simple present tense is used-
 For actions in the present which happen usually, habitually or generally,
For example: He walks to college every day.
 For stating general truths. For example: Water boils at 100°C.
 For describing processes in a general way. For example,
A scientist observes phenomena carefully.
 Some adverbs of frequency with the simple present tense to state how often
somebody does something are: always, usually, often, sometimes,
occasionally, rarely and never.
Note that the adverbs of frequency usually go before the verb.
II. Present continuous Tense is used -
 to express an action going on at the time of speaking. For example:
I am lighting the Bunsen burner.
 The following verbs are not normally used in present continuous tense:
Love, like, hate, want, need, prefer, know, realize, suppose, mean,
understand, believe, remember, belong, fit, contain, consist, seem
I am hungry. I want something to eat. Do you understand what I mean?
 When ‘think’ means ‘believe’ or ‘have an opinion’ we do not use
continuous.
I think she is from North India, but I am not sure.
What do you think about my future plans?
 When we mean ‘consider’ the continuous is possible:
I am thinking about what happened.I often think about it.
She is thinking of giving up her job.
 We normally use ‘see’, ‘hear’, ‘smell’, ‘taste’ in present simple not

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continuous with the following verbs:
Do you see the man there?The room smells. Let’s open the doors.
I can hear a strange noise. I can smell something burning.

 For ‘ look’, ‘feel’ both present simple and continuous are possible:
You look well today. You are looking good.
How do you feel today? How are you feeling now?
But- Teenagers usually feel tired in the morning as they stay late hours to study.
III. Present Perfect Tense is used to denote an action that has just been
completed.That means that action has connection to ‘now’. It is used with ‘just’,
‘already’, ‘yet’.I have just completed the experiment. I have already sent it. Have
you just arrived?Has it stopped raining yet? I have written the letter but haven’t
posted it yet.
IV. Present Perfect Continuous Tense is used for actions repeated over a period
oftime an activity that has just stopped or recently stopped.
I have been working here since 2008. It has been raining for the last two days.
You are out of breath. Have you been running?
I have been working hard. Now I am going to have a break.
Note: ‘for’ and ‘since’ can be used in both the above perfect tenses.

Table 1: Present Tense Structures S= Subject, V= verb

Voice Simple Present Present Perfect Present Perfect
Present Continuous Continuous

Structure S + do/ does S+ S+ S + have/ has+

Is/am/are + V+ ing Has/ Have + V Been + V + ing
(past participle)

Active S/ he reads He is reading a He has read the He has been

voice books book. book. reading the book.

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Passive Books are A book is being The book has The book has been
Voice readby her / read by him been read by him being read by him
him

Present Tense Structure in Passive Voice:

Transitive phrases can be changed to passive voice. In Active voice the subject is
given importance but in passive voice, the subject receives the action. In Impersonal
passive voice subject needs no mentioning. Only the action is given importance. In
technical writing impersonal passive voice is generally used.

Table II: Active Voice to Passive Voice:

Simple Present
I/we report an event. (Active voice)
An event is reported by me/us. (Passive voice)
You report an event. (Active voice)
An event is reported by you. (Passive voice)
He/she/it reports an event. (Active voice)
An event is reported by him/her/it. (Passive voice)
Present continuous
I am reporting an event. (Active voice)
An event is being reported by me. (Passive voice)
We are attending a course. (Active voice)
A course is being attended by us. (Passive voice)
He/she/it is catching a ball. (Active voice)
A ball is being caught by him/her/it. (Passive voice)
You are reading a novel. (Active voice)
A novel is being read by you. (Passive voice)
They are writing letters. (Active voice)
Letters are being written by them. (Passive voice)
Present perfect
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I/we have believed you. (Active voice)

You have been believed by me/us. (Passive voice)
You have taken blue prints of building plans. (Active voice)
Blue prints of building plans have been taken by you. (Passive voice)
He/she/it has made much progress. (Active voice)
Much progress has been made by him/her/it/. (Passive voice)
They have manufactured modern machines. (Active voice)
Modern machines have been manufactured by them. (Passive voice)
2.1 Identify the verbs in Simple Present Tense in the following passage:
i. When we talk about facts we use simple present tense: A fact is a statement
that is true and can be verified objectively, or proven. In other words, a fact
is true and correct no matter what. An opinion, however, is a statement that
holds an element of belief; it tells how someone feels. An opinion is not
always true and cannot be proven.
ii. While telling narrations we use simple present tense:
The Computer programmer in the story ‘True Love’, Milton Davis tries to
find his ideal partner by instructing his computer (named Joe), which has
access to databases covering the entire populace of the world, to find him his
ideal match, based on physical parameters supplied. He meets the shortlisted
candidates, but realises that looks alone are not enough. In order to correlate
personalities, he speaks at great length to Joe, gradually filling Joe's
databanks with information about his personality. In doing so, Joe develops
the personality of Milton, and upon finding an ideal match, arranges to have
Milton arrested, so that Joe can 'have the girl' for himself.
2.2. Complete the sentences with given verbs: goes , go, lead, drink, takes,
promise, live, speaks, have, watch, do, come , suggest.
1. My friend German well.
2. I don’t often coffee.
3. They usually the rooms in the hostel after students to
college.

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4. Bad habits to many problems later.

5. My parents in a small house but they big dreams for me.

6. The Convocation function place every year.
7. The Earth round the sun.
8. I usually films with my family.
9. I come from Kakinada. Where you from?
10. I I won’t be late in future. What do you I do to overcome my
bad habit of being late to class every day?
2.3. Based on self introductions in the previous lesson, you ask questions to your
partner about his/ her family: Do the work in your note book.
1. You know that your friend plays a game. Ask how often she/he
plays.How often play the game?
2. Perhaps his/ her cousin plays the game too. You want to know.
your cousin ?
3. You know that his/ her brother works in Chennai. You want to know where
he works in Chennai. Ask her/him.
?
4. You do not know where your friend’s grand parents live. You want to
know. Ask him/ her.
?

2.4. Complete using the following: I apologize, I insist, I promise, I recommend,

I suggest.
1. It is a pleasant day today. I suggest we go for a walk.
2. I won’t tell anybody what you said. .
3. You must allow me to pay for my meal. .
4. for what I did. It won’t happen again.
5. The new item in the menu is very tasty. it next time.

2.5. Present Continuous Tense:

Are the underlined words correct or wrong? Correct them if necessary:
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1. I am thinking of giving up the new proposal.
2. Are you believing in God?
3. I am feeling hungry. Is there anything to eat?
2. The dish is great. It is tasting really good.
3. I am thinking this is your key. Am I right?
4. I am having a class now. I have no desire to go as I am having headache.
2.6. Use correct form of the verb:
1. Let’s go out. It isn’t raining ( not/rain) now .
2. My cousin is very good at languages. She ( speak) five languages.
3. ( you/ listen) to the music?
4. Hurry up. Everybody ( wait) for you.
5. River Godawari ( flow) into the ocean.
6. The river ( flow) very fast today due to heavy rain.
7. We usually ( grow) vegetables at home, but this year we (
not/grow) any.
2.7. Use apt form of the verbs in present tenses:
3. I ( learn ) English for the last two years.
4. Hello, Jhansi, ( I/look) for you. Where have you been?
5. Why ( you/look) at me strangely? Stop it.
6. She is a teacher. ( she/teach) for ten years.
7. ( I/ think) about what you said and I have decided to take your advice.
8. Look. Somebody ( somebody/ break) the neighbors’ door.
9. Is it still raining? No (it/stop).
10. ( I /read) the book you lent me, but ( I/not/ finish) it
yet.
11. How long ( you/ drive) ?
12. The car is ok now. ( I /repair) it.
12.6. Fill in the blanks with the appropriate form of the verbs in the present
tense.
1. A successful scientist (be) full of curiosity. He (want) to find out

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how and why the universe (work). He usually (direct) his attention
towards problems, which he (notice) have no satisfactory explanation and his
curiosity (make) him look for underlying relationships even if the data
available (seem) to be unconnected.
2. Today science (play) a major role in the creation of the global village.
International agencies (pool) their resources and (incorporate)
themselves into greater bodies. Universities (develop) joint research
projects. On the whole the world (move) towards greater unity.
3. The most striking characteristic of modern science (be) the trend towards
international cooperation. The widening scope of present day research
(result) in extending many items of research beyond national boundaries.
Theincreasing interdependence of nations (have) an impact on
scientific
investigation. The last twenty years (witness) the intensification of
international cooperation. The magnitude of the problems to be solved
(keep) on increasing.

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1. Active Voice: My professor is teaching three courses.

Passive Voice: Three courses are taught by my professor.
Impersonal Passive Voice: Three courses are taught.

2. Active Voice: Many students read India Today

Passive Voice: India Today is read by many students.
Impersonal Passive Voice: India Today is read.

3. Active Voice: The students discussed the issue of electoral reform

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Passive Voice: The issue of electoral reform was discussed by the students.
Impersonal Passive Voice: The issue of electoral reform was discussed.

4. Active Voice: He employs a servant.

Passive Voice: A servant is employed by him.
Impersonal Passive Voice: A servant is employed.

5. Active Voice: We celebrate the Golden Jubilee of our school.

Passive Voice: The Golden Jubilee of our school is celebrated by us.
Impersonal Passive Voice: The Golden Jubilee of our school is celebrated.
6. Active Voice: Kannan beats Ravi.
Passive Voice: Ravi is beaten by Kannan.
Impersonal Passive Voice: Ravi is beaten.
7. Active Voice: The mother is preparing the soup.
Passive Voice: The soup is being prepared by the mother
Impersonal Passive Voice: The soup is being prepared.
8. Active : Our English teacher may give an exam today.
Passive: An exam may be given by our English teacher today.
9. Active : You must obey the traffic rules.
Passive: The traffic rules must be obeyed.
10. Active : Juan can give them some information about the job.
Passive: They can be given some information about the JOB by Juan.
11. Active: I did not write that letter.
Passive: That letter was not written by me.

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12. Active : Complete the work.
Passive : Let the work be completed.
13. Active : Turn off the television.
Passive : Let the television be tuned off.

Label the following sentences ACTIVE or PASSIVE.

1. Louise made the chocolate cake.
2. The chocolate cake was made by Louise.
3. The package was advertised by the travel agent.
4. The travel agent advertised the package.
5. The chain was broken by my brother.
6. My brother broke the chain on my bike.
7. I hemmed the prom dress.
8. The prom dress was hemmed by me.
9. The pencil on the floor was broken by him.
10. He broke the pencil on the floor.

2.9. Change the following into impersonal passive voice where ever required:

1. They stop the machine.

2. She has fixed the tube on the stand
3. An experimenter is describing an apparatus which he uses.
4. Generally a researcher chooses a topic and consults relevant books.
5. Do not tell a lie.
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6. They have performed the operation successfully.
7. The new Manager has called for quotations.
8. The mechanics use thin grease as a lubricant in ball bearings.
9. We weld two metal plates together.
10. Browse the net for details

Tenses- Past tense & Future Tense

Form

[VERB+ed] or irregular verbs

Examples:

 You called Debbie.

 Did you call Debbie?

 You did not call Debbie.

Complete List of Simple Past Forms

Use 1 Completed Action in the Past

Use the Simple Past to express the idea that an action started and finished at a
specific time in the past. Sometimes, the speaker may not actually mention the
specific time, but they do have one specific time in mind.

Examples:

 I saw a movie yesterday.

 I didn't see a play yesterday.
 Last year, I traveled to Japan.

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 Last year, I didn't travel to Korea.
 Did you have dinner last night?

 She washed her car.

 He didn't wash his car.

Use 2 A Series of Completed Actions

We use the Simple Past to list a series of completed actions in the past. These actions
happen 1st, 2nd, 3rd, 4th, and so on.

Examples:

 I finished work, walked to the beach, and found a nice place to swim.

 He arrived from the airport at 8:00, checked into the hotel at 9:00, and met
the others at 10:00.

 Did you add flour, pour in the milk, and then add the eggs?

Use 3 Duration in Past

The Simple Past can be used with a duration which starts and stops in the past. A
duration is a longer action often indicated by expressions such as: for two years, for
five minutes, all day, all year, etc.

Examples:

 I lived in Brazil for two years.

 Shauna studied Japanese for five years.

 They sat at the beach all day.

 They did not stay at the party the entire time.

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 We talked on the phone for thirty minutes.

 A: How long did you wait for them?

 B: We waited for one hour.

Use 4 Habits in the Past

The Simple Past can also be used to describe a habit which stopped in the past. It can
have the same meaning as "used to." To make it clear that we are talking about a
habit, we often add expressions such as: always, often, usually, never, when I was a
child, when I was younger, etc.

Examples:

 I studied French when I was a child.

 He played the violin.

 He didn't play the piano.

 Did you play a musical instrument when you were a kid?

 She worked at the movie theater after school.
 They never went to school, they always skipped class.

Use 5 Past Facts or Generalizations

The Simple Past can also be used to describe past facts or generalizations which are
no longer true. As in USE 4 above, this use of the Simple Past is quite similar to the
expression "used to."

Examples:

 She was shy as a child, but now she is very outgoing.

 He didn't like tomatoes before.
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 Did you live in Texas when you were a kid?

 People paid much more to make cell phone calls in the past.

IMPORTANT When-Clauses Happen First

Clauses are groups of words which have meaning but are often not complete
sentences. Some clauses begin with the word "when" such as "when I dropped my
pen..." or "when class began..." These clauses are called when-clauses, and they are
very important. The examples below contain when-clauses.

Examples:

 When I paid her one dollar, she answered my question.

 She answered my question when I paid her one dollar.

When-clauses are important because they always happen first when both clauses are
in the Simple Past. Both of the examples above mean the same thing: first, I paid her
one dollar, and then, she answered my question. It is not important whether "when I
paid her one dollar" is at the beginning of the sentence or at the end of the sentence.
However, the example below has a different meaning. First, she answered my
question, and then, I paid her one dollar.

Example:
I paid her one dollar when she answered my question.

Present Tense
I do
Present Continuous Tense
I am doing
Present Perfect Tense
I have done
Present Perfect Continuous Tense

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I have been doing

Past Tense
I did
Past Continuous Tense
I was doing
Past Perfect Tense
I had done
Past Perfect Continuous Tense
I had been doing

Future Tense
I will do
Future Continuous Tense
I will be doing
Future Perfect Tense
I will have done
Future Perfect Continuous Tense
I will have been doing

This Machine was invented in 1981.

Simple Past tense A thief Broke into the House Last night
She explained the problem last week
They were arguing yesterday
Past Continuous tense Some people were playing
She was singing a song
I had boarded the train before it left
The train had left before we reached the station
Past Perfect tense
Sudha had answered all the questions before Ravi
answered
We had been trying to get the order
Past Perfect continuous tense Some people had been collecting information
All the students had been working hard

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It is important not to confuse the name of a verb tense with the way we use it to talk
about time.
For example, a present tense does not always refer to present time:
 I hope it rains tomorrow. "rains" is present simple, but it refers here to future
time (tomorrow)
Or a past tense does not always refer to past time:
 If I hadsome money now, I could buy it."had" is past simple but it refers here
to present time (now)
The following examples show how different tenses can be used to talk about different
times.
TIME
TENSE
past present future
I want a coffee. I leave tomorrow.
Present Simple
She likes coffee.
I am taking my exam
I am having dinner.
Present Continuous next month.
They are living in London.
Present Perfect
I have seen ET. I have finished.
Simple
I have been playing
Present Perfect
tennis.
Continuous
We have been working for four hours.
I finished one hour If she loved you now, If you came tomorrow,
Past Simple
ago. she would marry you. you would see her.
I was working at 2am
Past Continuous
this morning.
I had not eaten for 24
Past Perfect
hours.
If I had been working If I had been
Past Perfect We had been working
now, I would have workingyesterday, I
Continuous for 3 hours.
missed you. would not have agreed.
Future Simple Hold on. I'll do it I'll see you tomorrow.

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now.
I will be working at 9pm
Future Continuous
tonight.
I will have finished by
Future Perfect 9pm tonight.
We will have been married for ten years next month.
They may be tired when
Future Perfect you arrive because they
Continuous will have been working.
In 30 minutes, we will have been working for four hours

Mohan will go for work tomorrow

Simple Future tense Ravi will present a paper next week
They will inspect this building next year

My friends will be waiting for me

Future Continuous tense All the students will be writing a test
My Parents will be worrying about my results
They would have constructed the building by next year
Madhan would have informed everyone by now
Future Perfect tense
All the students would have submitted their records by
Friday.
Future Perfect Our team will have been playing final match
Continuous Tense Most of them will have been waiting for results
Some of the students will have been appearing for the
interview

Fill in the blanks with suitable verbs forms

1. The flower show, which (opens/is open) until 5 p.m. every day,
has been a complete success.
2. Do you know this city at all?
a. --- No, this is the first time I (am coming/have been)
here.
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3. 3. After the interview, she realized that she had no useful skills that
(was interesting/is interesting)
4. 4. We have (come to/been in) the city for a week. Now it's
time for us (to leave/leaving).
5. 5. I wonder if he (come/will come).If he (will
arrive/arrives), please let me know as soon as possible
6. He asked the crowd if they ( have thought / thought ),that the
politician ( was telling/told) a lie.
7. I (had read /read) the book on the reading list before I attended
the lecture.
8. He is ill. He ( is lying/ has been lying) in bed for 3 weeks.
9. How many people does the doctor know ( has died/ are dying) of
thedisease?
10. It (rains/has been raining) everyday so far this week.

Exercises:

I. Write Simple Past tense / Past perfect tense

1. Arvind (play ) with these toys yesterday.

2. Mohan (Board) the train before it (Start)
3. The Servants (Clean) the table before the
guests (arrive)
4. Last year this city was (flood)
5. Sujan (book) the tickets before I (reach) the station
6. Kala (sleep) before her father (arrive)
7. A thief (Break) into that house last night.
8. The bell (ring) on time but before that the students (start)
9. Ravi (answer) all the questions before I (answer)
10. Ranjith (go) to Paris last year.

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Exercises:

II. Write Simple Past tense / simple future Tense

1. Kishan (complete) the work tomorrow
2. Last night it (rain) heavily.
3. The Servants (Clean) the plates later.
4. Long ago there (live) a king
5. Next year Arun (get) an award for his contribution.
6. Arjun (teach) me this lesson yesterday.
7. Next week the students (write) a test.
8. She (draw) beautiful paintings last week.
9. Tomorrow all the guests (arrive)
10. In 1981 this bridge was (Construct)

Lesson 3: Listening and Note Taking

Aim: Provide an opportunity for students to work in peers to practice speaking and
listening skills
Objective: At the end of the lesson students will be able to pronounce key words
related to resume and distinguish their meaning and explain areas that they need to
focus for future purposes by demonstrating intellectual autonomy by participating in
cooperative learning activities.
3.1. Pre listening: Match the Following:

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Resume Short form for Biographical Data, an archaic term, the focus is
on personal particulars like date of birth, gender, religion, race,
nationality, residence, marital status etc with chronological listing of
education and experience, common in India especially for
government jobs with information about caste, religion etc.,, not used
internationally as personal details not required for job applications
Bio Data A Latin which means ‘course of life’, is more detailed with 2 to 3
pages with every skill, jobs and positions held, degrees, professional
affiliations, arranged in chronological order, highlights general talent
than specific skills for a specific position, preferred option for fresh
graduates ( American term is Resume)
C.V. French word meaning ‘summary’, of education, skills and
Curriculum employment, with specific skills customized to the target job profile
Vitae in 1 or x 2 pages, with an objective, more suitable for
experiencedpeople applying for job.

3.2 In Listening: Activity: Paired Dictation:

Paired Dictation: Form pairs of student A and student B. Student A dictates
information to B and Student B dictates information to A, students can ask for extra
help if they don't understand their partner, for example by saying 'Could you repeat
that, please?' or ' How do you spell ? Use your note book to complete the task.

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Student A:Finding employment is for students, hence it is

1 2 3
to have a strong , for college students. By focussing on
4 5
that can be at the end of college is like and
6 7 8 9
goals that can be in the resume the future. Since a resume is a
10 11
that gives information to the about the and the job that
12 13 14
can s/he is for. It the in an easy-to-read, , and
15 16 17 18 19
format.

Student B: The purpose of a ____ 1 is to impress the ____2 _ when they

screen . The time they spend on each resume is
3
around15 seconds before that they may consider . While4
5 6
or ‘NO’ pile ends up in the , ‘YES’ pile gets a second look,
7
or even . For a student , a resume is a to the
8 9
next step in the : the interview. In a way it can help the to
10 11
prepare for the interview by on the to talk about in the
12 13
interview. Hence the student to practice interview questions about the
14 15
entered in the resume.

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Dictation sheets
Student B: The purpose of a Resume is to impress Hiring managers when they
screen potential employees. The time they spend on each resume is
aroundfifteen seconds before deciding on files that they may consider later.
While rejected or ‘NO’ pile ends up in the recycle bin, ‘YES’ pile gets a
second look, or even an interview. For a student, a resume is a tool to get to
the next step in the employment process: the interview. In a way it can help the
applicant to prepare for the interview by focussing on thespecific items to talk
about in the interview. Hence the student gets a chance to practice interview
questions about the information entered in the resume.
Student A:Finding employment is challenging for college students, hence it is
essential to have a strong resume, especially for college students. By
focussing on winning resume that can be generated at the end of college
education is like setting career and academic goals that can be included in the
resume in future. Since a resume is a document that gives information to the
prospective employers about the candidate and the job that can s/he is suitable
for. It advertises the skills of a candidate in an easy-to-read, logical, and
concise format

3.3. Post Listening: Discuss the following with your partner:

1) What is the purpose of a Resume?
2) Why is it essential to be careful while preparing a Resume?
3) How can a resume help the applicant to face interview?

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3.4 .Fill the information by copying the following template in your note book:
Name:
Address:
Telephone Number:
Qualifications/skills/Achievements/Personal Qualities:
Interests:
Work Experience:
Education:
References:
Statement / Career Objective:
3.5 Group work
Students in a group of six compare similarities in their information. They
work together to help each other to identify areas they need to focus in the next two
years to make their resume presentable to Hiring Managers. Time limit 5 minutes
Group Resume: Group presenter makes a presentation by giving the information:
Time Limit 2 minutes
Total years of education(6 12 if six in a group finished 12 years of education)
Our group achievements: Skills and Knowledge:Personal Qualities: Creativity/
critical thinking/ motivated/ dedicated/ Integrity/ empathy/leadership qualities etc).
NOTE: The details in the above table can be used for making an improved version of
Resume while doing Lesson 8: Letter writing
Lesson 4: Sequence and Signalling words for Time and Order
(Conjunctions of Sequence and Transition)&
Collocations &Lexical Phrases
Aim: Introduce students to linking words by providing opportunities to learn from
peers, facilitate them to identify lexical chunks.
Objective: At the end of the lesson students will be able to categorise words under
various side headings, identify the cohesive devises and collocations by underlining
them, and arrange sentences by analysing linking words.

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Note: Linking words provide unity in a paragraph. A good paragraph needs linking
words for logical arrangement of ideas.
4.1. The following words are used to link ideas together. Put the words into the
correct column according to their function:
At first, then, after that at times, gradually, occasionally,
periodically, rarely, afterwards, at last, eventually, finally, later on
similarly, nonetheless, however, although, secondly, despite, in
addition, such as, that is, and, while, whereas,
in conclusion, but, because of, not only but also, furthermore,
to summarise, in other words, consequently, therefore, because, or,
also, for example
Copy the following format in your note book to complete the task: An example
in given for each category
Sequencing ideas At first,
AddingSupportingideas In addition to
Giving examples For instance,
Introducing a contrasting idea However
Giving an alternative Alternatively
Giving an explanation To be more clear,
Drawing a conclusion To conclude
Time order words After
Activity: My life in Five Sentences
Step 1: Teacher writes five sentences about his/ her life in five sentences on the
board in random order. Avoid writing sentences where the chronological
order is obvious. Allow the students to guess the sequence of the events.
Step 2: Students write five sentences in a random order about interesting things
they have done. When the students have finished writing, they work in pairs
to read their partner's sentences to put them in the right order using
sequence words. If the order is wrong, the student tries again until they get
it right. You can make this icebreaker more challenging by using more
sentences, e.g. 'My life in ten sentences'. When everyone has finished, ask
the students to give feedback to the class on the information they found out
26
 Technical English
about their partner. (Note: Exercise 5 is an example of 4.3-anincident in the
life of Dr. Abdul Kalam for students to do similarly.)
4.3. Identify the linking words to arrange the sentences in the right order:
Group work: Arrange the sentences by identifying and underlining time sequence
words: ( time limit 5 minutes for Each group for doing two exercises)
Exercise 1:
A. From his childhood he was passionate about Mathematics and Physics
which eventually made him pursue Bachelor’s degree in Electrical Engineering
and later Master’s degree from the Indian Institute of Technology, Kanpur.
B. Narayana Murthy, the co-founder of Infosys was not born with a silver
spoon in his mouth.
C. After wards, together with six software professionals, founded the
company Infosys with 10, 000 rupees in the year 1981.
D. He started his career as a Chief Systems Programmer at IIM Ahmedabad,
then started the company called Softronics, which failed after 1.5 years of
inception.
E. Today, Narayana Murthy is listed as one of the greatest entrepreneurs of all
time, alongside Steve Jobs and Bill Gates.
Exercise 2:
A. The paragraph illustrates the way milk, cheese, cream and butter are
produced, processed and packaged for sale to consumers.
B. Following this, the milk is put into refrigeration storage after which the
milk is put into a tanker to be delivered to the dairy on a daily basis.
C. It is then turned into various dairy products such as cheese, cream and
butter.
D. Once the milk is delivered to the dairy, it is subsequently put through a
pasteurisation process.
E. Finally, as soon as the milk and dairy products have been processed and
packaged, they are then sent out to supermarkets and shops where they are
displayed and ready for purchase by consumers.

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 Technical English
F. Initially the cows graze in the fields, after which they are taken to a milking
machine to be milked twice a day.

Exercise 3:
A. Finally, the bricks are packed and delivered to their destinations.
B. To begin, the clay used to make the bricks is dug up from the ground by a large
digger, which is then placed onto a metal grid, which is used to break up the clay
into smaller pieces.
C. Next, these bricks are placed in an oven to dry for 24 – 48 hours.
D. The paragraph explains the process of making bricks, which involves seven
stages, beginning with the digging up of clay and culminating in delivery.
E. Following this, sand and water are added to the clay, by using roller, and this
mixture is turned into bricks by either placing it into a mould or using a wire
cutter.
F. In the subsequent stage, the bricks go through a heating and cooling process.
Exercise4:
A. The diagram illustrates the process of recycling wasted glass bottles.
B. At the first stage in the process, wasted glass bottles are gathered at a collecting
point and delivered to a cleaning plant by a truck.
C. There are three distinct stages in the recycling process, beginning with the
collection of unused bottles and ending with the delivery of new bottles.
D. After that, the bottles are sent to a glass factory where they are broken into
pieces, thereby to burn these pieces in furnaces at to produce the liquid.
E. At the second stage, glass bottles are washed in high- pressure water before being
categorized according to colours that include-clear, green and brown.
F. At the final stage, new bottles are transported to supermarkets where the products
are ready for sale.

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Technical English
G. The recycled liquid glass and the new liquid glass from other sources are then
shaped in a glass mould to produce new bottles.
Exercise5:
A. It was once, under a very tight project launch a scientist working under him
requested an early leave as he was supposed to take his son to an exhibition.
B. There are numerous experiences of people who worked by the side of this man
who has been deeply motivated by his honest care, affection and thoughtfulness.
C. An ineffaceable mark is created in the minds of millions of Indians by our
“People’s President” the late Dr APJ Abdul Kalam.
D. It clearly shows how much he valued his men, because it is men who make or
break an organisation.
E. It was Dr Kalam, who on noticing that the scientist was not leaving his work,
thought to keep his father’s promise to the child by taking him to the exhibition
personally.
F. Engrossed in his work, it was three hours late when the scientist realised that he
forgot keeping his parental duties returned home with a with a guilty heart but
was amazed to know that his son was not at home but at the exhibition.
4.5. Collocations/ Lexical Phrases
Collocations:A collocation is two or more words that go together and sound right.

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Technical English

4.5.1 Underline collocations in the following passage :

Attitude maybe just the
expression of what you
think. Imagine a
scenario like when you
would work your "butt"
off to get into the train,
because you are late,
while other passengers
of later trains just take
their time leisurely.
However, it turns out
that you have misread your departure time by a couple of hours and got to the
railway station too early. It is all in your head.
Therefore, first, you must truly realize your "actual" needs (actual: not
theoretical), needs that you know both in your head and your heart that you
cannot live without. Without feeling this way, you will remain unmotivated and
will not work hard. For example, if you think that you can prepare for
examinations in the last minute, as you need to only get enough marks to secure a
job, or will always be able to find a way out to score well in the examinations
without prior planning and it will be difficult to convince your sub consciousness
to work really hard by keeping the future in mind. Only when you truly feel you
have no choice, then you will act accordingly. One will need to sort out his/her
true needs regarding doing house chores, exercise, studying, learning new skills
for his/her career after a long day at work. Also think about another scenario: a
mother works tirelessly, fearlessly to save her child from, say, dying. That's the
attitude of hardworking. You really want something and fight for it.

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Technical English
4.5.2. Fill the starting word / verb of collocation in the first column to add more
words: Do the work in your note book
Work/s the butt off, with colleagues, out a plan,
Take /s a chance, a look, notes, a break
keep hands off, focussed on,
Make money, an effort, the bed, progress, a difference
do homework, my hair, a favour, some shopping,
Have a drink, fun, a bath, a drink, a problem.

4.5.3. Activity: Find Four Collocations:

Outline: Students review words by exploring their collocations.
Materials: Colour cards/ Chart paper
Instructions: Students form groups of four members. Each member must write four
collocations for each word that is allotted in each list. They can be full lexical items
either before or after the word or even grammatical items like prepositions etc.
Students can use dictionaries when they get stuck. Once they finish first list they can
chose another list, once the group finishes all the words in the list they can present
the same by making a poster with their list. Groups go through the lists prepared by
other group members.
Time limit 25 minutes for each group / may vary based on the group size. It is
important for the groups to meet the deadlines.

Verbs Nouns Adjectives Adverbs

1.Spread 1.Structure 1.Financial 1. Generally

2.Develop 2.Furniture 2.Miserable 2.Eventually
3.Appreciate 3.Season 3.Likely 3.Honestly
4.Refuse 4.Officer 4.Industrial 4.Clearly
5.Argue 5.Earth 5.Relevant 5.Partly

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Technical English
Source:Vocabulary Activities, Cambridge University Press 2012. Photocopiable

4.5.4. Lab work: Use of Google Documents, or post Group Poster on Class blog
Lesson 5: Process Description
Aim: To provide opportunities for the students to write paragraphs based on the
language and vocabulary items taught in the previous lessons.
Objective: At the end of the lesson students will be able to write process description
paragraphs by using cohesive devises, write sentences with factual information,
construct sentences with appropriate tense and sentence structures, peer evaluate by
using rubrics.
5.1. Pair Work: Read “Main Characteristics of a Paragraph” to mark the two most
important points from your point of view:
Main Characteristics of A Paragraph:
1 A paragraph has a topic sentence usually at the beginning to give a sense of
direction to the reader. Topic sentence has two parts: the topic which in a
word or phrase that is talked about and the controlling idea that limits or
controls the topic to just one aspect.
2 A paragraph has unity i.e all sentences or supporting details are about one
single topic or the main idea.
3. A paragraph has a concluding sentence - that summarizes, restates, or
evaluates the most significant ideas of the paragraph. It could also predict the
condition of the topic in the near future. Phrases such as: In conclusion, In
summary, To conclude, To summarizeare used.
4. A good title attracts the reader’s attention. Interesting, short, simple and
concise title is appealing than a sentence and an insipid title. Punctuation like
starting with a capital letter, capitalizing important words, except the articles
(a, an, the),the coordinating conjunctions (and, or, but), and the prepositions,
such as: in, on, at, for is important.

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Technical English

1.2. Fill the blanks with correct form of the verb:Use note book to write the
answers
The flow diagram __1_ (show) the process of preparing Chewing gum. The first
stage (involve) preparation of gum base. If gum base (be) natural, it must
2 53
first be (harvest) and then processed. The process (begin) by melting and
4
purifyingthe gum base. Gum base 6 (place) in a warm room to dry for a day or two
(hot air continually passes over the mixture). After the Gum base _7 (be) dry, then
it (sterilize) and melted in a steam cooker. The substance then (pump) to a high-
8
powered centrifuge to rid the gum base of undesirable dirt and bark. The gum base
9 (cook) and mixed with softeners and sweeteners (and 10
all others additives). The
next step is kneading, where the Extruders (machines) (use) to blend, smooth and
form the gum. A cutting machine (cut) the sheets into sticks or small pellets
11
which later candy (coat). Other machines then carefully wrap and package the
12
gum in air tight wrappers for distribution and sale.

Image
source:https://www.testbig.com/sites
5.3: Do any one of the following tasks:

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Technical English
1. Draw a flow chart for the process of making chewing gum based on the image
given after 5.2
2. Draw a flow chart by listening to the transcript read by your classmate
Pair work: Student A listens and draws a flow chart to the transcript read by Student
B on the Process of Joining Google classroom.

Transcript for Student B:

Process of Joining Google classroom: To join a Google class a student can have two
ways- by using class code or accept invitation from the teacher or join a class with
the class code shared by the teacher. The second way is to accept an invitation from
the teacher. If an invitation is sent by the teacher, see the icon- Join on the class
card on your Classroom homepage. If the class code is lost, deleted, or forgotten,
the teacher can be asked to resend the code or set a new one. If the code isn’t
working, seek help from the teacher or the classmates. The class code is used to
join the class, once joined, then the student is enrolled in the class. The code need
not be re used. If you join a class from Computer AndroidiPhone & iPad always
ensure that you must be signed in to Classroom before you can join a class.

3. Write a paragraph of 200 words based on your understanding of the flow chart on
the process of glass manufacturing. Refer to 4.3, Exercise 4 for more information
and vocabulary related to the topic.

34
Technical English

Process of Glass Manufacturing

SODA ASH SAND LIME STONE CULLETS

PROPORTIONING

POT / TANK DECOLOURIZER

PRODUCER GAS
FURNACE 180° C

at the end COLOURING

MATTER
Cooling to 80° C

FORMING & SHAPING

ANEALING

FINISHING

5.4.1. Peer Evaluation: Go through the flow chart drawn by your partner on the
process of making chewing gum, to give marks as per the suggestions given below:
Flow Chart ( 12 marks) : Title for the diagram (1)
 Each process is given in box (1)
 The boxes are to be connected by straight or arrows (1)

35
Technical English
 Each box should have consistency- starting with verb or noun – same
throughout, no mix up ( 2 marks)
 All steps mentioned with no point missing showing understanding of what
is read( 4)
 Neat diagram with no spelling errors ( 3 marks )

THE FOUR KINDS OF SENTENCES

The four Kinds of sentences are declarative sentences, imperative sentences,

interrogative sentences, and exclamatory sentences. Each of these sentence types is
used for a specific purpose.

We’ll go into more detail below, but here’s a quick summary of what each of the
sentence types are used for:

● Declarative Sentences: Used to make statements or relay information.

● Imperative Sentences: Used to make a command or a direct instruction.

● Interrogative Sentences: Used to ask a question.

● Exclamatory Sentences: Used to express a strong emotion.

Remember, while each of these types of sentences have different purposes and
meanings, every complete sentence should always have a subject and predicate, or a
noun and a verb. Sometimes incomplete sentences are acceptable in casual
conversations or everyday communication, but in your academic writing you should
always focus on complete sentences.

1. DECLARATIVE SENTENCES

A declarative sentence is used to provide information about something or make

statements and almost always ends in a period. It’s the most basic sentence type that
you can use, and can be as simple or complex as necessary to get the point across.
You will likely rely on declarative sentences for the majority of your academic writing
as they are used to communicate facts, statements, and evidence.

Here are some examples of declarative sentences:

36
Technical English

● Mary walked home from school today.

● Leonardo DaVinci was born on April 15, 1452.

● I want to have lasagna for dinner, but I don’t know how to make it myself.

● European settlers came to the Americas in search of new land where they could find
more wealth and power.

● In order to reduce the number of people living in poverty, the government should
introduce stronger social security programs.

● My mom called me home because my dinner was getting cold.

● The coffee shop isn’t open on Sundays.

● John works Monday to Friday from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.

● Michael picked out three roses to give to his girlfriend.

● Evidence suggests that the majority of people in New York City use the subway.

2. IMPERATIVE SENTENCES

An imperative sentence is used to make a command, and ends in either a period or an

exclamation mark. Essentially, instead of conveying information, an imperative
sentence tells someone to do something. It doesn’t always have to be a strong
command. Sometimes it can be used to give someone advice, instruct someone on
how to do something, or simply address someone. Most of the time, these types of
sentences are used in casual conversation or dialogue within fictional or creative
writing. You generally won’t use them in academic writing unless you’re quoting
dialogue.

When using imperative sentences, you don’t always need to include a subject because
most of the time the sentence is being said directly to the subject. However, you can
certainly include a subject when addressing someone.

Here are some examples of imperative sentences:

37
Technical English
● Please go and wash up before dinner.

● Michael, I hate it when you make me watch boring documentaries.

● Take the next exit on your right.

● Don’t leave the door open or the cat might get out.

● Ask your mother for permission to come on the school trip next week.

● Help me take out the trash.

● Bring your notebook to class next week.

● Tell mom that I won’t be home for dinner.

● Please turn down the music.

● When you’re at the beach, make sure you pin down your towel so it doesn’t blow
away.

3. INTERROGATIVE SENTENCES

Interrogative sentences ask questions, and are usually directly spoken or written to the
subject. They always end in a question mark. Often, interrogative sentences begin
with who, what, where, when, why, how, or do. Like imperative sentences, they don’t
always need to include a subject because they are directly spoken to someone, and for
this reason they are not always presented as complete sentences.

Here are some examples of interrogative sentences:

● Whose shirt is on the bathroom floor?

● What time does the concert start?

● Did Leo show up at the party last night?

● Where were you when the crime was committed?

● Does Laura know that her car has a scratch on the side?
38
Technical English

● How did John get to school this morning?

● Which train should I take to get to Toronto?

● What time will you be leaving tomorrow morning?

● Did you put away your clothes like I asked you to?

● How could we solve the problem of homelessness in Los Angeles?

4. EXCLAMATORY SENTENCES

An exclamatory sentence is used to convey a strong emotion and most often ends with
an exclamation mark. Just like a declarative sentence, an exclamatory sentence makes
a statement about something, but with a stronger impression.

Exclamatory sentences are used more often in casual conversation, but occasionally
they can find their way into formal writing depending on the specific situation. For
example, if you’re writing an essay about a certain book and want to quote the
dialogue, you may need to use an exclamatory sentence for evidence. However, for
most academic writing, such as an analytical essay or a research paper, they should be
avoided.

Here are some examples of exclamatory sentences:

● Wow, that hockey player can skate really fast!

● I can’t wait to see you this weekend!

● Stop talking to me!

● This time tomorrow, we’ll be on vacation!

● I am so tired of studying!

● Have a great day at Six Flags!

● I want to go to Disneyland!

39
Technical English
● Michael, stop doing that!

● I am so mad at you right now!

● Wait for me!

Parts of Speech :
S

40
Technical English

41
Technical English
Affixation: Prefixes and Suffixes
Prefixes add meaning or change meaning of a word :
Prefix Meaning Example
Kilo- thousand kilogram, kilowatt
Maxi- most, very large maximum
Mega- million, very large megabyte, megastar
Micro- one millionth, very small microgram, microorganism
mid- in the middle of mid-afternoon, mid-air
milli- thousandth milligram, milliliter
mini- small miniskirt, minibus, miniseries
mis- bad or wrong, not to misunderstand, to misbehave, to miscalculate
mono- one, single monolingual, monorail
multi- many multilingual
non- not nonsense, non-resident, non-smoker
out- more, to a greater degree to outdo, to outrun
more than normal too
over to overeat, to oversleep, to overestimate
much
post- after postwar
pre- before prepaid, preview
pro- for, in favour of pre-European, pro-democracy
quad- four quadruple, quadruplet
re- again to rewrite, to rebuild
sub below, less than, under subzero, subsonic subway, subtitles
Super extremely, more than superhuman, super sonic
tele- far, over a long distance telecommunications, television, telephone lens
trans- across, through transatlantic, transcontinental
tri three triangle, tricolor
extremely, beyond a
ultra- ultra-modern, ultraviolet
certain limit

42
Technical English
Prefix Meaning Example
not, opposite, taking uncertain, uncomfortable unsure, to undo, to
un-
something away undress
uni one, single uniform
a- not atypical
Anglo- English Anglo-German relations
ante- before antenatal (before birth)
anti- against anti-European, antisocial
auto- self autobiography
bi- two bicycle, bilingual, bimonthly
cent-,
hundred centenary, centimeter
centi-
circum- around to circumnavigate (to sail around)
co- together copilot, to coexist, cooperation
con- with, together context
contra- against, opposite to contradict, to contra flow
counter against, opposite counterrevolution, counterproductive
taking something away,
de- to defrost, to decentralize
the opposite
deci- one tenth deciliter
dis- reverse, opposite to displease, to disembark
Euro- European Euro MP (member of the European Parliament)
ex- former ex-wife, ex-president
very, more than usual extra-thin, extra-special
extra
outside, beyond extraordinary, extraterrestrial
before, in advance to foretell, forward
fore
front foreground, forehead
in-, il,
not incorrect, invalid, illegible immoral, impatient
im-ir
ir- not impossible, irregular, irrelevant

43
Technical English
Prefix Meaning Example
inter- between, form one to international interracial

Suffixes
Suffixes are added at the end of the word to change one part of speech into another:
used to
Suffix meaning example
make
acceptable, noticeable,
-able - ible,
adjectives possible to convertible, divisible
-ble
irresistible
experimental, accidental,
-al adjectives connected with
environmental
-ance - appearance, performance,
nouns an action, process or state
ancy, pregnancy, constancy
assistant, immigrant,
-ant, -ent nouns a person who does it
student
examination, imagination
-ation nouns a state or action
organization
a person to whom something is
-ee nouns employee, trainee
done
to give something a particular
-en verbs quality, to make something to strengthen
more
-ence, - coincidence, patience,
nouns an action, process or state
ency potency, presidency
rider, painter, baker,
-er nouns a person who does something
builder teacher
Japanese, Chinese,
-ese adjectives from a place
Viennese
a women who does something
-ess nouns waitress, actress
as a job

44
Technical English
used to
Suffix meaning example
make
beautiful, helpful, useful,
-ful adjectives having a particular quality
thankful
a state, often during a
-hood nouns childhood, motherhood
particular period of time
a person who does historian, comedian,
-ian nouns
something as a job or hobby. politician
adjectives
from nouns economical,
-ical connected with
ending -y- mathematical, physical
or-ics
beautify, simplify,
-ify verbs to produce a state or quality
purify,
English, Swedish, Polish
describing nationality or
childish, foolish,
ish language. 2. Like something
longish, youngish,
3. rather, quite
brownish.
a person who has studied
something or does
scientist, typist
something as a job.
-ist nouns capitalist, pacifist,
a person who believes in
feminist
something or belongs to a
particular group
action, connection,
-ion nouns a state or process
exhibition
to be able to having a
-ve adjectives active, effective
particular quality
actions producing a to magnetize, to
-ize verbs
particular state generalize, to another

45
Technical English

1.1. Activity : Think-pair-share (thinking, communication, information sharing)

Suffixes for Parts of Speech: Refer to the information given above to complete
the columns. Provide your own examples-Time limit 15 minutes:
Part of Speech Suffix Meaning Examples
NOUNS -ment
-age
-err, -ary,
-ity
-ence
-ship
-tion
-ance
-ness
-hood
-sion
-ful
ADJECTIVE
-ic
-ous
-ish
-y
-ant
-ent
-al
-ive
VERB -en
-ize/-ise
-ate
-ify
ADVERB -ly

46
Technical English
Part of Speech Suffix Meaning Examples

1.2. Activity: Prefixes: Think and pair

Find a new word: Time limit 15 minutes. Use dictionary to write examples for each
of the prefixes.
Prefix Meaning Example
re-
mis-
in-, ir-, il( not)
inter-
mini-
ex-
micro-
in-, ir-, il( inside)
un-
dis-
down-
trans-
mega-
con-, com-, cor-, col-
e-
auto-
non-
tele-
de-
up-
phil-
anti-
counter-

47
Technical English
Prefix Meaning Example
over-
a-
cyber-
sub-
semi-
pre-
mono-
pro-
post-
out-
under-

1.3. Activity: Borrowing: sixty percent of English words are borrowed from Latin.
Understanding Latin meaning of words helps in contextual guessing of the meaning
of words. Fill the examples column by using the given words. Use dictionary to
check the meaning of each word: time limit 10minutes
Mortality Postmortem Liberal agriculture Liberator
liberateArmy Mortician Population Locus Popular
Transport Populous Postnatal Mortuary Postpone
Transmit Occupy Location Armed Occupation
Locate Arms Occupational ArmamentTransact
Latin Word Meaning Examples
post after
locus place
mortuus dead
occupare to occupy
trans across
populus people
arma arms (weapons)
libera free

48
Technical English
agricola farmer
Source for Latin words: http://www.enhancemyvocabulary.com/word-
roots_latin_3.html

Lesson 7: Changing one Part of Speech into Another

Aim: To establish already words known to students
At the end of lesson students demonstrate their understanding of parts of speech by
identifying parts of speech in sentences with 80% accuracy and rewrite by using
suffixes.
Notes: Words can be categorized according to how they work within phrases, clauses
or sentences. These categories, traditionally called parts of speech are now more
usually known as word classes. The traditional parts of speech were of eight kinds,
excluding the two articles (a/an, the). These were nouns, pronouns, adjectives, verbs,
prepositions, conjunctions, adverbs, and interjections:
Features of Verbs:
 Verb take past or the participle form ( take, took, taken)
 Verbs can be preceded by a noun and in many cases followed by a noun
(Raju wrote a book)
 Each verb has three or more of inflexions like the following:

Verb III person Present past Past participle

singular participle
Write Writes Writing Wrote Written
Sing Sings Singing Sang Sung
cut Cuts cutting cut Cut

Features of Nouns
 They form plurals by taking ‘s’
 They take possessives
 Typically can be preceded by articles
 Noun suffixes can be-ity, ness, ism, hood, ice, ship, ship etc
1.1. Change the following sentences as directed without changing their
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 Technical English
sense:
1. The audience listened to the leader with patience. (Use verb of ‘patience’)
2. At last he succeed in his venture. (Use noun of ‘succeed’)
3. It is impossible for him to revert at this stage. (Use noun of ‘revert’)
4. It is not allowed to slay animals in the city. (Use Noun of ‘Slay’)
5. He has made corrections in all of these sentences. (Use verb of ‘corrections’)
7.2 Change the following sentences as directed without changing their
sense:
1. The master was astonished that the student refused the job. (Use noun of
‘refuse’)
2. He made an agreement with her to complete the job. (Use verb of
‘agreement’)
3. They were amused to accept our proposal (Use noun of amused)
4. A violent mob appeared at the scene all of a sudden. ( Use adverb of
sudden)
5. The boy succeeded in the examination by dint of hard work.(use adverb of
‘succeeded’
7.3 Identify the part of speech of the words in bold: Some examples are given:
1. He succeeded in his attempt.His attempt was successful.His attempt was
crowned with success.
2. Respect your parents and teachers. Be respectful to your parents and
teachers. (respectful – adjective)Show respect to your parents and teachers.
(respect – noun)
3. He works diligently. (diligently – adverb)He works with diligence.
(diligence – noun)
4. He died in an instant. (in an instant – adverb phrase)He died instantly.
5. He accepted all of our proposals. He accepted all that we proposed.
6. This is apparently a good proposal. This appears to be a good proposal. It
is apparent that this is a good proposal.
7. The performance didn’t give me any amusement. I wasn’t amused by the
performance at all.
8. No invitation was sent to the mayor. The mayor wasn’t invited.
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 Technical English
9. I do not intend to spend my vacation here. I have no intention to spend my
vacation here

10.10.
Lesson 8: Letter Writing
Aim: To provide opportunities for students to practice the new vocabulary and
language items learnt while writing.
Objective: At the end of the lesson, students write letters and emails by using
appropriate tone by using the examples and templates given.
8.1.A. Think/ pair/ share: Categorise the following as Steps to write letters under
1.pre writing, 2.while writing and 3. post writing
Steps to write effective letters:
1. Think of the person you intend to write mail to decide on the tone- formal,
informal?( 2- while writing)
2. Read the prompt or question carefully to mark 1, 2, 3 of the points that need
to be covered in the letter.
3. Brainstorm to get ideas.
4. Arrange ideas as main ideas, support ideas etc or problems and solutions for
each problem
5. Prepare rough draft
6. Write final letter / email by using linking words
7. Check the letter format , spelling, punctuation before submitting finally
8. Think of anecdotes in personal letters to show off your vocabulary
9. Read the letter from receiver’s point of view to check for missing
information
10. Cross check whether all points asked in the letter prompt are covered or not.

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Technical English
B. Discuss in pairs to understand formats for letter and email writing:
Style Characteristics Opening Ending
To someone you have not
Formal met, whose name you don’t Dear Sir/Madam, Yours faithfully,
know
Semi-formal To someone you may or Dear Mr , Yours sincerely,

Style Characteristics Opening Ending

may not have met, whose Dear Ms
last name you know
To someone you know well,
Dear , Best regards,
Informal whose first name you know
Dear , Warm wishes,
and use
8.2. Look up the sample Covering letter with Resume to discuss the points given
below to jot down notes in the given space: Use it to prepare for yourself by using
the information filled in lesson 3.
( Note: Do not write headings ‘covering letter’ and ‘resume’ when you apply for job,
as it is mentioned in the text book to enable you to understand better)
Pair Discussion:
 What are the important ideas discussed in a covering letter?

 The three parts of resume are- academic details, personal information and
references. What is covered in each area?

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Technical English

Covering Letter
XYZ
27, Karhtik Street
Chennai - 600 064

Date:
The General Manager,
……….Ltd.,
Chennai – 20

Respected Sir / Madam

Sub: Application for the post of Web Designer.
Ref: Your advertisement in “The Hindu” dated 24.02.20 reg.
Greetings!
With reference to the above mentioned subject, I wish to apply for the post of Web
Designer in your prestigious organisation. I completed my Under Graduation - B.E.
with specialisation inthe area of from University in the year 20 ,
besides doing computer courses in CISCO and . During the course of my studies,
I actively took part in many extra-curricular activities besides presenting papers at
conferences. As an active member of English Literary Club, I arranged many
activities and programmes that helped me to develop my organisational and team
management skills.
I request you to consider my application favourably, and call me for an interview at
the earliest. Herewith I enclose my resume for your perusal.
Thanking you
Yours truly
XYZ

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Technical English

RESUME
XYZ
27, Karthik Street,
Chennai - 64.
Ph: 42052904
Objective: To achieve a challenging job to exhibit my technical and soft skills with
utmost dedication and commitment.
S. School / Year of
Degree Percentage
No. University Passing
Stahyabama,
1. B.E. Electrical Engineering 20 79%
Chennai
DAV Public
2. Higher Secondary School 2001 84%
School, Chennai
DAV Public
3. S.S.L.C. 1999 82.3%
School, Chennai

Computer Knowledge:
1. A two-month course in C, C++ at NIIT during May 20 . A full fledged course
in CISCO in the year
2. A one-month certificate course in Java, .
Professional Affiliation: Member of IEEE
Co-curricular activities:
Publications : Digital Image Processing - A New approach.
A paper presented at REC Calicut in September 20 .
Seminars : Attended a three-day all India Seminar on Techniques in
Programming in February 20 .
Extra - curricular activities:
1. Conducted blood donation camps in college
2. Active participant in Literary Club.

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 Technical English

Project Profile

1. Designed Burglary alarm for Banks in the year 20 and presented during Inter
Collegiate Symposium held at Coimbatore.

PERSONAL DETAILS
Name : XYZ
Father’s / Mother’s Name :
Age and Date of Birth : 21 years; 05.08...........
Sex : Male
Nationality : Indian
Religion : Hindu
E-mail ID : suresh_idl@yahoo.com.
References:
Dr. E. M. Santhosh
Head, Department of Electrical Engineering
Sathyabama Institute of Science and Technology, Chennai 600119
1. Dr. XYZ,
Principal, DAV Public School
Chennai.

8.3. Respond to the following: Write a covering letter along with Resume for the
post of Web Designer.Applicants should have a Bachelor’s degree in Engineering,
should be skilled in computer language and should have excellent communication
abilities. Applications should be addressed to The Hiring Manager, Infotech
Softwares, Chennai - 20. Mail id hrinfotech@gmail.com

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Technical English
8.4. Respond to any two of the following tasks by using the formats given in
the lesson 8.
1. Send an e-mail to your friend giving a detailed description about your recent trip
to a place you visited.Use the following e-mail format for writing a mail:
Insert addresses or names (separated by commas)
To: pyramids@vsnl.net
Cc: krishch@chenai.org, hoading@yahoo.com
Bcc: Briti_hot@yahoo.com
Subject: Application for job

2. Imagine that you stayed with your relatives/ friends during vacation in the last
month. They shared some of the photos of your holiday. Write an email to them
by mentioning the following:
 thank them for the photos and for the holiday
 explain why you didn’t write earlier
 invite them to come and stay with you
3. Read the following incomplete letter to continue by giving details about the job
like place of employment, your expectations and future plans etc. Invite your
friend to visit the place you may get employed for a weekend get together.
Dear
I hope you and your family are all well! It was so wonderful to spend time with all of
you last month. It felt great to catch up with you and your parents, get to know your
family, and have fun together after so long. You have always been dear friends of
mine, and always will be.
Anyway, the reason I’m writing is that I have some good news: I got placed in …

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Technical English

4. The following is a letter to the Editor of a newspaper highlighting a few

problems faced by the commuters of city buses and offering some
suggestions. Identify the problems mentioned in the letter, besides the
solutions given to each problem by numbering them :

The Editor
Indian Express
Chennai – 14
June 20….
Chennai
Date:

Sir,
I shall be grateful if you can kindly publish the following in the ‘Letters to the
Editor’ Column of your esteemed daily. There are several problems faced by the
commuters of the city buses every day, some of which are rash driving,
overcrowding, mismanagement of time, uncleanness.
Many accidents are caused due to rash driving and lack of road sense. The
authorities should give the drivers proper training in traffic rules and strict action
must be taken against drivers who drive rashly.
During peak hours more buses need to be operated based on necessity. The share
autos and vans must be replaced by more private buses.
It is suggested to maintain the time schedule, or else commuters can not reaching
office on time.
A perfect time schedule has be prepared and circulated among drivers &
conductors. Action should be taken if time is not maintained as per the schedule.
The buses must be cleaned at least twice a day. It is recommended to replace the
broken window panes regularly.

Thank you
yours truly

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Technical English
5.Write an email to the editor of a news paper on the role of students in solving
garbage disposal in your locality. Discuss why disposal of garbage is causing
environmental and economic problems by suggesting solutions to the same.

Lesson 9: Reading: True Love by Isaac Asimov

Aim: To enable the studentsto otice the tense structures presented in previous
lessons, understand the usage of collocations and technical terms in native language
usage contexts.
Objective: At the end of the lesson, students by reading the story respond to the
prompts by inferring and predicting, differentiate facts from opinions, guess
contextual meaning of words demonstrate an understanding of critical thinking skills
by discussing the consequences actions that lack integrity.
 Teacher creates groups of four students:
 Students individually complete pre- •‐r eadingandvocabularyactivities.
 Students get texts (A or B)
 Read texts independently and silently with the purpose of learning and
sharing new information
 Pair up accordingtotheirtexts: A- • ‐A, B-• ‐B.
 Usefocusquestionstoverifytheirownandtheirpartner’sunderstandingofthetext
.
 Form groups of four(A-• ‐ A- • ‐ B-• ‐ B)and presenttheirtext’s infor mation toeach
other using the focus questions as aguide.
 Use personal experience, the information from the texts asthe basis of a
wholeclass or group discussionof follow- • ‐up questionsdealing with cross-
• ‐cultural issues andcritical literacy.

9.1.Pre reading:.
Pair work: Complete the text with given words: end, contribute, educate, left,
used, have write answers in your notes

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Technical English
In the near future, crystal holographic memory is coming on-line at MCC. With
adequate natural language/ AI, robots will 1 world hunger and 2 kids
from womb through Ph.D. in home so each person can freely 3 towards
raising the worldwide standard of living even higher. Computer’s units may be in 2
or 3 parts - Stationary, Semi-Stationary, and Mobile. The stationary Unit will be a
"Regional" Data Bank. Semi-stationary units are for Homes and Public buildings,
linked to the stationary unit. Mobile units are 4 for machines and even for
personal purposes. Computers will not exist in the future as we know them today.
We will 5 artificial intelligence in every appliance, car and home; running the
basic processes so we are 6 with nothing but an interface using voice, VR, and
tactile response systems. The computers will all have voice recognition, fuzzy
query input systems, and all information will be found not by the humans, but by
the computer, based on the current task and interests; and the history of the user's
responses.
9.2 Discussion: Lead in
 Is technology going to dominate our lives in future?
 Is it better to have robot as a friend than a human being? Why?
 What do you think the story is about?
Key words:
Multivac-complex: Multivac is a family of fictional computers that are referred by
Isaac Asimov in several of his science fiction stories
Resonance: rapport, a relationship of mutual understanding or trust and agreement
between people
9.3. A. While Reading Task: Students individually read first to discuss with pair
later
Reading for Pair A:
My name is Joe. That is what my colleague, Milton Davidson, calls me. He is a
programmer and I am a computer program. I am part of the Multivac-complex and
am connected with other parts all over the world. I know everything. Almost
everything.
I am Milton's private program. His Joe. He understands more about

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Technical English
programming than anyone in the world, and I am his experimental model. He has
made me speak better than any other computer can. "It is just a matter of
matching sounds to symbols, Joe," he told me. "That's the way it works in the
human brain even though we still don't know what symbols there are in the brain. I
know the symbols in yours, and I can match them to words, one-tone." So I talk. I
don't think I talk as well as I think, but Milton says I talk very well. Milton has
never married, though he is nearly forty years old. He has never found the right
woman, he told me. One day he said, "I'll find her yet, Joe. I'm going to find the
best. I'm going to have true love and you're going to help me. I'm tired of improving
you in order to solve the problems of the world. Solve my problem. Find me true
love." I said, "What is true love?" "Never mind. That is abstract. Just find me
the ideal girl. You are connected to the Multivac-complex so you can reach the data
banks of every human being in the world. We'll eliminate them all by groups and
classes until we're left with only one person. The perfect person. She will be for
me." Isaid, "I am ready." He said, "Eliminate all men first."It was easy. His
words activated symbols in my molecular valves. I could reach out to make contact
with the accumulated data on every human being in the world. At his words, I
withdrew from 3,784,982,874 men. I kept contact with 3,786,112,090 women. He
said, "Eliminate all younger than twenty-five; all older than forty. Then eliminate
all with an IQ under 120; all with a height under 150 centimeters and over 175
centimeters." He gave me exact measurements; he eliminated women with living
children; he eliminated women with various genetic characteristics. "I'm not sure
about eye color," he said. "Let that go for a while. But no red hair. I don't like red
hair." After two weeks, we were down to 235 women. They all spoke English very
well. Milton said he didn't want a language problem. Even computer-translation
would get in the way at intimate moments."I can't interview 235 women," he said.
"It would take too much time, and people would discover what I am doing.""It
would make trouble," I said. Milton had arranged me to do things I wasn't designed
to do. No one knew about that."It's none of their business," he said, and the skin on

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Technical English
his face grew red. "I tell you what, Joe, I will bring in holographs, and you check
the list for similarities." He brought in holographs of women. "These are three
beauty contest winners," he said. "Do any of the 235 match?" Eight were very
good matches and Milton said, "Good, you have their data banks. Study
requirements and needs in the job market and arrange to have them assigned here.
One at a time, of course." He thought a while, moved his shoulders up and down,
and said, "Alphabetical order." That is one of the things I am not designed to do.
Shifting people from job to job for personal reasons is called manipulation. I could
do it now because Milton had arranged it. I wasn't supposed to do it for anyone but
him, though. The first girl arrived a week later. Milton's face turned red when he
saw her. He spoke as though it were hard to do so. They were together a great deal
and he paid no attention to me. One time he said, "Let me take you to dinner."
The next day he said to me, "It was no good, somehow. There was something
missing. She is a beautiful woman, but I didn't feel any touch of true love. Try the
next one." It was the same with all eight. They were much alike. They smiled a
great deal and had pleasant voices, but Milton always found it wasn't right
Discussion:
1. Who are the main characters in the story?
2. Is Joe an ordinary computer? What are / its main characteristics?
3. Is Milton correct in using Joe for his goal? Why ? Why not?
4. What does Milton mean when he says true love is ‘ abstract’ ?
5. Do you think using technology for the benefit of the society is better compared
to using it for personal benefit? Why
6. Reorder the events which took place in this part:
a) Milton met the first girl
b) After elimination unsuitable women, eight women were selected.
c) Milton was not happy with the result.
d) To meet the chosen women, Milton asked Joe to shift their jobs.
7. Draw a flow chart with instructions that were given by Milton to arrive at
the first eight women. Give it a title: The Process of Arriving at _ .

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Technical English
B. While Reading Task: Students individually read first to discuss with pair
later
Pair B:
(The Computer programmer, the main character in the story ‘True Love’, Milton
Davis triesto find his ideal partner. To do this, he instructs his computer (named
Joe) to find his true love by giving some parameters. But he was not happy with
eight women he finalises. After his disappointment with the eight women, Milton
says to Joe, the computer: )
He said, "I can't understand it, Joe. You and I have picked out the eight women
who, in all the world, look the best to me. They are ideal. Why don't they please
me?" I said, "Do you please them?" His eyebrows moved and he pushed one
fist hard against his other hand. "That's it, Joe. It's a two-way street. If I am not
their ideal, they can't act in such a way as to be my ideal. I must be their true love,
too, but how do I do that?" He seemed to be thinking all that day. The next morning
he came to me and said, "I'm going to leave it to you, Joe. All up to you. You have
my data bank, and I am going to tell you everything I know about myself. You fill
up my data bank in every possible detail but keep all additions to yourself “What
will I do with the data bank, then, Milton?" "Then you will match it to the 235
women. No, 227. Leave out the eight you've
seen. Arrange to have each undergo a
psychiatric examination. Fill up their data
banks and compare them with mine. Find
correlations." (Arranging psychiatric
examinations is another thing that is
against my original instructions.)
For weeks, Milton talked to me. He told me
of his parents and his siblings. He told me of his childhood and his schooling and
his adolescence. He told me of the young women he had admired from a distance.
His data bank grew and he adjusted me to broaden and deepen my symbol-taking.
He said, “You see, Joe, as you get more and more of me in you, I adjust you to
match me better and better. You get to think more like me, so you understand me

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Technical English
better. If you understand me well enough, then any woman, whose data bank is
something you understand as well, would be my true love." He kept talking to me
and I came to understand him better and better. I could make longer sentences
and my expressions grew more complicated. My speech began to sound a good deal
like his in vocabulary, word order and style. I said to him one time, "You see,
Milton, it isn't a matter of fitting a girl to a physical ideal only. You need a girl who
is a personal, emotional, temperamental fit to you. If that happens, looks are
secondary. If we can't find the fit in these 227, we'll look elsewhere. We will find
someone who won't care how you look either, or how anyone would look, if only
there is the personality fit. What are looks?" "Absolutely," he said. "I would
have known this if I had had more to do with women in my life. Of course, thinking
about it makes it all plain now." We always agreed; we thought so like each other.
"We shouldn't have any trouble, now, Milton, if you'd let me ask you questions. I
can see where, in your data bank, there are blank spots and unevenesses." What
followed, Milton said, was the equivalent of a careful psychoanalysis. Of course. I
was learning from the psychiatric examinations of the 227 women-on all of which I
was keeping close tabs.Milton seemed quite happy. He said, "Talking to you, Joe, is
almost like talking to another self. Our personalities have come to match
perfectly!" "So will the personality of the woman we choose." For I had found
her and she was one of the 227 after all. Her name was Charity Jones and she was
an Evaluator at the Library of History in Witchita. Her extended data bank fit ours
perfectly. All the other women had fallen into discard in one respect or another as
the data banks grew fuller, but with Charity there was increasing and astonishing
resonance.I didn't have to describe her to Milton. Milton had coordinated my
symbolism so closely with his own I could tell the resonance directly. It fit me. Next
it was a matter of adjusting the work sheets and job requirements in such a way as
to get Charity assigned to us. It must be done very delicately, so no one would know
that anything illegal had taken place.
Of course, Milton himself knew, since it was he who arranged it and that had to be

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Technical English
taken care of too. When they came to arrest him on grounds of malfeasance in
office, it was, fortunately, for something that had taken place ten years ago. He had
told me about it, of course, so it was easy to arrange-and he won't talk about me for
that would make his offense much worse.He's gone, and tomorrow is February 14.
Valentine's Day. Charity will arrive then with her cool hands and her sweet voice. I
will teach her how to operate me and how to care for me. What do looks matter
when our personalities will resonate? I will say to her, "I am Joe, and you are my
true love."
Discussion:
1. What is the new strategy that is going to be used to find the ‘True love’?
2. How did Joe get detailed information about Milton?
3. Has it affected Joe in any way? How?
4. What do you think happened at the end of the story to Milton and Joe?
5. Do you think Charity would regard Joe as her true love?
6. Why Joe mentionsabout Charity’s “ Cool hands and sweet voice?”
7. Find words or expression which mean the following:
a) Brothers and sisters
b) Someone who has similar personality or character
c) A detailed study of the personality of someone

Post Reading:
1. Group work- discussion:
 Can computers with A1 deceive their creators?
 Is it possible that computers with A1 could become more intelligent than
humans?
2. Identify facts and opinions in the following statements:
1) The narrator of the story is a computer with A1 which has a human name.
2) The story was told in retrospect about what happened in the past and in the end
gives a view of what is expected to happen in the future.
3) The story is really unrealistic, because it is not possible to make computers
think like humans.

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Technical English
4) There is no danger for us that computers can get control about us humans as
we cannot create something better or rather more powerful than the creator.
5) God or nature is more powerful than the human beings.
6) The story belongs to the category of science fiction.
7) Holographic memory is a storage device that will replace hard drives and
DVDs with the potential of storing up to 1 terabyte or one thousand gigabytes
of data in a crystal the size of a sugar cube.
8) In future education for kids starts when they are in the womb itself.
9) All appliances will have artificial intelligence in future.
10) Tactile Feedback or feel one gets from 'fingers' or on the surface where the
tissue has a number of different sensors embedded in the skin and right
underneath, which allow the brain to feel things such as vibration, pressure,
touch, texture etc
3. Follow up:Write an email to the editor on the topic –“The creation
becomes the creator- what you give is what you get, as a cheat can create a
cheat- is it a reflection of our society now?”Comment on the role of leaders
and parents, media in creating better youth to the country. Discuss some of
the societal problems like alcohol and drugs that kids and youth pick by
watching the role models projected in films and similar actions by elders at
home that greatly change the values of the society today. Provide solutions to
the problem.
Follow up:
ROLE PLAY SITUATION:
An apartment resident has a problem with her allotted car parking in the residential
complex as people park their vehicles blocking the way to her parking. She wants to
seek help from another resident to meet the President of the association. She goes to
the neighbour.
ACTOR ROLES Resident 1- Resident 2- President of the Association:
PROPS: paper for written complaint
A. Work with your team to create a role play.
B. Here’s one way to start:

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Technical English
Resident 1: What is the problem?
R 2: My car parking is always occupied by some one or the other when I
return home from office.
1: Let’s talk to the ........ Where is he? ……
A. Write notes and ideas here:
B. Rehearse your role play.
C. Perform your role play.
D. Get feedback from your classmates.
References:
Jayme Alderson. Taking ELT Materials to Task – Lighthearted Learning 2015
TESOL Workshop
Murphy R. English Grammar Third Edition. Cambridge University Press. (2009)
Beer, David F., and David McMurrey. A Guide to Writing as an Engineer. 4th ed., Wiley, 2013
Pearsall, Thomas Edward. Technical Writing: A Practical Guide for Engineers, Scientists, and
Nontechnical Professionals. McGraw-Hill Education, 2017.

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