Here is a story about Swami and his grandmother. After reading the excerpt, change it into a conversation between Swami and his Grandmother.
After the night meal with his head on his granny’s lap, nestling close to her, Swaminathan felt very snug and safe in the faint atmosphere of cardamom and cloves. ‘Oh, Granny !’ he cried ecstatically. ‘You don’t know what a great fellow Rajam is.’ He told her the story of the first enmity between Rajam and Mani and the subsequent friendship.
‘You know, he has a real police dress,’ said Swaminathan. ‘Is it? What does he want a police dress for?’ asked Granny.
‘His father is the Police Superintendent. He is the master of every policeman here.’ Granny was impressed. She said that it must be a tremendous office indeed. She then recounted the days when her husband, Swaminathan’s grandfather, was a powerful sub-magistrate, in which office he made the police force tremble before him and the fiercest dacoits of the place flee. Swaminathan waited impatiently for her to finish the story. But she went on, rambled, confused, mixed up various incidents that took place at different times. ‘That will do, Granny,’ he said ungraciously. ‘Let me tell you something about Rajam. Do you know how many marks he gets in arithmetic?’
‘He gets all the marks, does he, child?’ asked Granny.
‘No silly. He gets ninety marks out of one hundred.’
‘Good. But you must also try and get marks like him…. You know, Swami, your grandfather used to frighten the examiners with his answers sometimes. When he answered a question, he did it in a tenth of the time that others took to do it. And then, his answers would be so powerful that his teachers would give him two hundred marks sometimes.
‘Oh, enough, Granny ! You go on bothering about old unnecessary stories. Won’t you listen to Rajam?’
‘Yes, dear, yes.’
‘Granny, when Rajam was a small boy, he killed a tiger.’
Swaminathan started the story enthusiastically : Rajam’s father was camping in a forest. He had his son with him. Two tigers came upon them suddenly, one knocking down the father from behind. The other began chasing Rajam, who took shelter behind a bush and shot it dead with his gun.
‘Granny, are you asleep?’ Swaminathan asked at the end of the story.
Now read the dialogue and complete the conversation:
Swarni: You don’t know what a great fellow Raj am is! In the beginning I could not get along with him but now he is my good friend. And you know, he has a real police dress.
Grandmother: Is it? What does he want a police dress for?
Swarni: His father is the Police Superintendent. He is the master of every policeman here.
Grandmother: I think, it must be a tremendous office. Do you know, your grandfather was a powerful submagistrate and the Police Force trembled before him? Even the fiercest dacoits of the place fled.
Swarni: That will do, Granny. It’s so boring. Let me tell you something about Raj am. Do you know how many marks he gets in arithmetic?
Grandmother: He gets all the marks, doesn’t he, child?
| thought |
emotion |
possession |
perception (often used with can) |
measurement |
| |
|
|
|
|
| |
|
|
|
|
| |
|
|
|
|
| |
|
|
|
|
| |
|
|
|
|
Some verbs, like the ones mentioned above, are not normally used in the continuous (- ing) form. However, we do sometimes use such verbs in the continuous form. Look at the following examples.
1. “I can’t concentrate on my work because I’m thinking about that beautiful scene.”
2. “I think it is beautiful.”
- Which sentence expresses an activity in progress at the moment?
- Which sentence expresses a decided opinion?
(а) Mohan comes in wearing overalls and is covered in paint.
(i) _______________________________________
(ii) _______________________________________
(b) Ramesh comes in with a smile on his face. He is holding a trophy.
(i) _______________________________________
(ii) _______________________________________
(c) Monica returns home with lots of packets in her hands.
(i) _______________________________________
(ii) _______________________________________
(b) Sheela comes in with red eyes and a wet handkerchief.
(i) _______________________________________
(ii) _______________________________________
Study the following graph and the accompanying report.

Our study of the time spent by students at the computer and studying at home in three countries has revealed some interesting facts.
First, the majority of boys and girls in the age groups of 14-16 in these countries spend more time at the computer than studying at home. Children in these countries spend an average of20-30 hours per week in comparison to 10-15 hours of studying at home. The only exception is Burland where girls spend more time studying at home than at the computer.
Secondly it is evident that in all three countries, time spent at the computer is having a serious impact on the number of hours spent studying at home. In fact, the greater the number of hours spent at the computer, the fewer number of hours are being spent studying. For example, boys in Burland spend an average of 32 hours at the computer while they spend about 8 hours studying at home.