English is spoken as lingua franca among the people of many countries across the world. It has proved its credential as the premier language of a host of professional domains i.e. science, navigation, medical and law. With over 2 billion speakers of English, its knowledge refines the personality and reassures successes in various competitive examinations.

Choose the closest meaning of the words given in the capital letters -

1. CONVALESCE

(A) to recuperate (B) to report (C) to pollute

2. REGURGITATE

(A) to vomit (B) to honour (C) to want earnestly

3. COGITATE

(A) to recur (B) to gain (C) to meditate or think deeply about something

4. SHAM

(A) to shake (B) to blow (C) to feign, to simulate

5. EVANESCENT

(A) transient (B) rusted (C) dormant

6. SPECULATE

(A) to rely (B) to reflect (C) to labour hard

7. SPOLIATE

(A) to despoil, to ravage (B) to apply (C) to acquire

8. SCHISM

(A) breach (B) inferior (C) reputed

9. TEETER

(A) to educate (B) to shake (C) to devastate

10. QUAVER

(A) to tremble (B) to suggest (C) to employ

Answers: 1.A 2.A 3.C 4.C 5.A 6.B 7.A 8.A 9.B 10.A

Mastering the art ofwriting right

Writing is the most difficult genre in the literature of any language because it is permanent source of information and enlightenment for the readers. But writing something perfectly correct is not an easy task. It is an art the mastery of which calls for hard labour and consistent practices.

However, Ernest Hemingway, the famous US novelist, had once said, “We are all apprentices in a craft where no one ever becomes a master.” Yet we can achieve substantial degree of accuracy and flawlessness in the craft of writing if we earnestly take care of the following points of better writing strategies -

1. Put the draft aside for a day or two or at least, a few hours until it is very urgent. This break helps refine, filter and rewrite the draft perfectly and patiently.

2. Each paragraph must bear one main idea which makes the essay significant.

3. Use simple words until the write-ups belong to some specialized domains.

4. Write in the short sentences. However, the lengths of the sentences must vary across the paragraphs to avoid the monotony.

5. Avoid repetitions of ideas and words in the sentences and paragraphs. Remove redundant words and phrases.

6. Avoid using jargons and cliches. They make the write-ups insipid.

7. Make sentences concise and compact to give clarity to the expression avoid ambiguity.

8. Cross-checking the facts and figures also makes one of the essential parts of flawless rewriting.

9. Ensure double-checking the spellings and other grammatical mistakes, especially related to the correct usages of syntax, tense, preposition and punctuations.

10. Use preferably active voice and strong verbs.

11. Follow strictly a routine for writing which helps create an aura of writing.

12. Read more to write more. Reading is the foundation of writing so read a lot to write a lot.

Let us know these idioms and their usages

To ride high in the saddle –to be currently very successful which is seen in the behaviour and attitude (India has been riding high in the saddle after their unexpected victory in the last week’s Hockey championship.)

To make a splash –to attract a lot of attention because of the great achievement or the success (India has made a great splash when it achieved unbelievable successes in the domain of space and technology.)

To get the wrong end of the stick/ to get hold of the wrong end of the stick- to completely fail to understand the situation or someone’s point (The committee was assigned the responsibility of finding the reasons for the increasing poverty in the lower segments of the society but it got the wrong end of the stick.)

A double- edged sword –to have both a good and a bad side (The imposition of reformed income tax rates by the government is a double-edged sword. It will increase the revenue of the government but it will also reduce the disposable income of the people.)

The sword of damocles –if someone has the Sword of Damocles hanging over their head, it means they are in the condition in which very bad could happen to them at any time ( She has recently got a job in which there is a Sword of Damocles hanging over her head.)

Word of the week

Tergiversation –noun, the act of using the statements that are not the same in the meaning and so they cannot be true, lack of clarity, desertion of position or faith. Synonyms: ambiguity, equivocation, double entendre.

(The author is Principal, PM Shri School Jawahar Navodaya, Vidyalaya, Garhbanaili, Bihar)