Term End Examination - November 2013

Course

: ENG101

- English for Engineers - I

Class NBR

: 3219 / 3187 / 3189 / 3199 / 3200 / 3225

Time

Slot: G1

Max.Marks:100

Three Hours
Answer ALL Questions

1.

Rewrite the following passage identifying the faulty tenses.

[10]

According to legend, Santa Claus is a fat old man. He will visit every house on our
planet in about eight hours on one of the coldest nights of the year. Santa, as everybody
knows, stoped or a glass of milk and a cookie at each house along the route. He prefered
to work unnoticed, so he had worn a luminous red suit and will travel with a pack of
bell-jangling reindeer. For reasons that most people do not understand, this jolly old man
entering each house not by the front door but through the chimney (whether you had a
chimney or not). He customarily will gives generously to children in wealthy families,
and he usually reminds poorer children that it is the thought that counts. Santa Claus is
one of the earliest beliefs that parents tried to instil in their children. After this absurdity,
it was a wonder that any child ever believes in anything again.
2.

[10]

Rewrite the following passage identifying errors in subject verb agreement.

Family gatherings for events such as weddings, holidays, and going on vacation is
supposed to be happy occasions, but for many people, getting together with family
members cause tremendous stress. Everyone hope to share warm memories and for a
picture-perfect family event. Unfortunately, the reality may include an uncle who make
offensive remarks, a critical mother, or anger at a spouse who dont lift a finger to help.
Neither difficult relatives nor when things go wrong will necessarily ruins a big family
gathering, however. The trick are to plan for problems and being able to adapt. Family
members who is not flexible, not pleasant to be around or willing to do his part will
always be a problem for their relatives. However, people who tries to make a family
gathering a success, will usually either be able to enjoy the event or laugh about it later.

3.

Change the following passage into passive voice.

[5]

You can fool some people sometime, but not all people. Bear this in mind before you
plan to fool someone. On All Fools Day, unless you are very careful someone will
definitely make you a fool, especially if you have already made some people fools.
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4.

Change the following instructions into passive voice.

[5]

a) Loose the nuts on the wheel.

b) Pass the chrome wires easily through the metal pipe.
c) Let us discuss the result of the experiment.
d) Advertise the post in the daily news.
e) Calculate the rate of change of momentum
5.

Fill the blanks, conditionals.

[5]

a) If the syringe is not sterilized properly infection _______ (can) caused.

b) If I _______ (be) the commissioner, I would establish peace in the state.
c) If you had played games regularly, you _________(become) strong and healthy.
d) He will invite Tara if she _____ (be) free tomorrow.
e) If you practice regularly, you _______ (improve) your bowling.
6.

Answer the following questions bearing conditionals in mind.

[5]

a) What will you do if you see a blind man crossing the road?
b) Will you stay at home if it rains tomorrow?
c) Would she travel around the world if she had more money?
d) When they have a day off from work, will they go to the beach?
e) If you had not returned the books in the library, what will happen to you?
7.

[5]

Fill the blanks with appropriate words.

After the end of the Second World War, Japan wanted to become an industrial power.
The first step it took was to _____ a machine tool industry. It decided to be _____ and
not depend on developed industrial nations. This was ______ in the long term rather than
going in for the ______ advantage of importing machine tools. Similarly, India also
established a machine tool industry ______ after independence to foster its fledgling
industry.

8.

Fill the blanks with appropriate prepositions.

[5]

a) The two sisters shared the property _________ themselves.

b) He cuts the wire _________ the wire cutter.
c) The student has great capacity ________ learning his subject.
d) One must be true _______ ones word.
e) A modest man does not boast_______ his achievements.
9.

Rewrite the sentences effectively resolving the ambiguity.

[5]

a) The concert was ridiculously long; the soprano almost sang for an hour.
b) When peeled, the chef chops the onions and puts them in the soup.
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c) Fishing in the mountains is better than to swim at the beach.

d) While Fred and Johnny were fighting, he bruised his elbow.
e) Being a place of beauty, we wish to go to Ooty during vocation.
10.

Letter Writing:

[10]

An electronic gadget purchased by your department last month is not working properly.
Write a letter of complaint to the manufacturer who has given you a guarantee for one
year.
11.

Paragraph Writing:

[10]

a) Write a paragraph on the status of women in Modern India.

b) Does a social networking site spoil the growth of the younger generation?
12.

Rewrite the following email effectively.

[10]

From: [email protected]
Date: Wed, 17 Jan 2007 23:06:12 -0600 (CST)
Attachment:
Subject:
To: Neil Hoffman [email protected]
Hi neil:
iam JACK. Welcome to work on the [university] project, hope we can cooperate well
and make the project progress smoothly.
Please send back an email to confirm no matter you accept this task or not.
Our project is on quite a tight schedule. Attached is the first task for you. If you are
interested in working on this task, please CHECK AND CONFIRM with me whether
you can finish this on within two to three days with your best quality.
thanks.
Sam
13.

Analyze the following case study and write your observations in about 350 words.
I (JANE) was asked to work with a director and one of her high level computer
technicians. This technician was responsible for a major account significant to this
director. This technician had the ability to accomplish his work successfully, but it
seemed he was horrible at communication and customer support. These two areas of
deficit were greatly jeopardizing this major account, not to mention putting the
technicians continued employment in question.
The director, the technician, and I sat down for a meeting to see what could be done to
clarify the communication and customer service issues. The director spoke very clearly
about what she expected of the technician when he met with the clients and when he
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[15]

interacted with others (both clients and colleagues). The technician nodded in agreement
and said that he understood the gravity of the situation. He said he understood what he
was doing wrong and assured his director that he would "improve." After they were
finished discussing the communication and customer service issues, and the detailed
procedures the director had clarified for him, I asked the technician what his next steps
were going to be to improve his standing with the clients on this major account. He
looked at me and said, "I have no idea." The director looked dumbfounded; her mouth
was literally hanging open. She was without words. She believed she had been very
clear. She believed the technician had nodded in agreement to all of the well-thought out
plans she had presented, yet clearly now he didn't know what his next steps should be.
This was an example of an unsuccessful communication event.
I then asked the technician a series of questions and led him through the necessary steps,
in his mind, using his metaphors and word choices. We essentially created his game plan
in a manner that he could comprehend. We clarified expectations, created measures of
success, and established timeframes. With that now visually and firmly in his mind, he
was able to summarize his next steps. The technician left the meeting relieved. Over a
reasonable period of time, evidence indicated that this technician had indeed learned
some new communication skills and his customer relations had improved accordingly.
At the conclusion of the meeting with the technician, the Director and I spent thirty
minutes debriefing. We discussed different learning and management styles. She was
amazed at how her message which had been so clearly intended and what she thought
was so clearly sent, was not the message received or understood. This realization was a
profound one for her. She vowed to check for understanding more often and especially
when she interacted with this technician. She wanted him to succeed and had never seen
the role she had played in the breakdown of communication between them. She saw
how, as the person delivering a message, she had the responsibility to be sure the
message had been received and understood. In the case of the technician, she needed to
reframe her message in terms that made sense to him, ask him to summarize it back to
her, and then review his next steps, so both she and he would leave the communication
event with the same understanding. Although she had believed herself to be a skilled
communicator (and by many measures she was), she learned that from this event that she
had needed a new set of communication skills. She foresaw how she could also
generalize these new skills with other people and different situations. She had added
another strategy to her repertoire of positive communication skills, one that would help
her to be a better leader in the future.

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