FEG-01/

BEGF-101

Bachelor’s Degree Programme

(BDP)

ASSIGNMENT
2016-17
(For July 2016 and January 2017 Sessions)

FOUNDATION COURSE IN ENGLISH

(FEG-01/BEGF-101)

School of Humanities
Indira Gandhi National Open University
Maidan Garhi, New Delhi-110 068
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 FOUNDATION COURSE IN ENGLISH
(FEG-01/BEGF-101)

Programme: BDP/2016-17
Course Code: FEG-01/BEGF-101

Dear Student,

You are required to do one assignment for the Foundation Course in English. It is a Tutor
Marked Assignment (TMA) and carries 100 marks. It covers four blocks of the course.

Aims: The TMA is primarily concerned with assessing your proficiency in English. You
should not reproduce chunks of information from the passage(s) but effectively use the
skills of reading and writing that you may have acquired during the course of study to
compose your answers. These assignments aim to teach as well as to assess your
performance.

Guidelines: You will be required to answer the questions on reading comprehension,

vocabulary, grammar and composition. For the question on transcribing phonetically, you
may consult an appropriate dictionary.

As in day-to-day life, planning is important in attempting the assignment as well. Read the
assignment carefully; go through the units on which the questions are based; jot down some
points regarding each question and then re-arrange them in a logical order. In the essay-type
answer, pay attention to your introduction and conclusion. The introduction must tell you
how to interpret the given topic and how you propose to develop it. The conclusion must
summarize your views on the topic. You should write in your own handwriting.

Make sure that your answer:

a) is logical
b) is written in simple and correct English
c) does not exceed the number of words indicated in your questions
d) is written neatly and clearly.

Please remember that it is compulsory to submit your assignment before you can take
the Term End Examination. Also remember to keep a copy of your assignment with
you and to take a receipt from your Study Centre when you submit the assignment.

Last Date for Submission of Assignment:

For June Examination 31st March
For December Examination 30th September

Good Luck!

Note: Remember the submission of assignment is a precondition for appearing in the examination. If you
do not submit the assignment on time, you will not be allowed to appear in the examination.

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 Foundation Course in English (FEG-01/BEGF-101)
Assignment
Course Code: FEG-01/BEGF-101
Assignment Code: FEG-1/BEGF-101/TMA/2016-17
Max. Marks: 100
Answer all the questions

1 Read the following passage and answer the questions that follow:

After lunch, without waiting to get permission from their parents, the two boys set off to
explore the part of the beach which lay beyond the headland. They persuaded their young sister
to stay behind, saying the long walk would be too tiring for her. Once they had passed beyond
the headland, the beach stretched away endlessly in front of them. It was like discerning a new
world. And what exciting things there were to do! There were damp, dark caves to explore, in
each of which they half expected to come across animals sleeping there; there were
innumerable pools among the rocks, full of small fish and other sea-creatures; and, scattered
along the beach, there were all those strange, yet commonplace objects which are washed up
and left by the tide.

The afternoon passed quickly and the sun was already beginning to go down when the two boys
reluctantly decided to turn back and make their way homewards. Long before they reached
headland, however, they could see that the tide had come in so far that they were now cut off
from the other part of the beach. They looked at each other in dismay. It was useless to go on,
since clearly there was no way of getting beyond the headland. If, on the other hand they went
back the way they had just come, the tide would come in long before they reached the end of
the beach. Their only chance of escape was to find a way up the cliff, which in some places was
not very steep. At least they might be able to climb high enough to be out of reach of the waves,
which were coming closer all the time.

In less than ten minutes they found a narrow path which seemed to lead all the way to the cliff
top. But their troubles were not yet over. Halfway up, the path was blocked by a large rock,
which they could not climb over. The two boys at once began shouting at the top of their
voices, hoping that someone walking along the cliff top might hear them. They were both
surprised, however, when their father’s face appeared over the top of the rock. He told them not
to move until he came back. In a short while he reappeared with two policemen, one of whom
climbed down a rope which was lowered over the rock. The two boys were then pulled up to
safety. At the top of the cliff they found their anxious mother and, with her, their young sister.
She had told her parents where they had gone and thus saved them from spending a wet night
on the cliff.

1a Say whether the following statements are true or false: 2

a The boys knew the part of the beach which lay beyond the headland quite well.
b The boy’s father climbed down to rescue them.

1b Answer the following questions briefly, using your own words as far as possible.
a How did the two boys spend their time on the beach? 2
b Why did the two boys look at each other in dismay? 2
c How did their parents know where to look for the two boys. 2

1c Complete the following sentences. Your answers must be related to the ideas contained in the
passage. 2
a While the two boys were exploring the beach beyond the headland, the tide…
b “If we go back the way we’ve just come,” the two boys thought, “the tide…”

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1d Make sentences with the following words and phrases as they are used in the passage:
5
come across, innumerable, commonplace, reappeared, anxious

1e Make opposites of the following words from the passage: 5

tiring, exciting, damp, closer, narrow

2 Imagine that you were one of the boys trapped on the beach. Describe in not more than 200
words what you did from the time you were cut off by the tide until you finally reached the top
of the cliff. Use your own words as far as possible. 20

3 Write a paragraph in about 200 words choosing one of the topic sentences listed below: 20

Reading for pleasure is a hobby we are losing

A visit to a foreign country is always filled with surprises
I would like to donate parts of my body after my death

4 You and your friend are talking about what an ordinary citizen can do to save the environment.
Write a dialogue discussing this. Take about 10-15 turns. 20

5 Do as directed:

5a Complete the following passage by supplying a/an or the. 5

While I was walking along…………road…………other day, I happened to notice…………

small brown leather purse lying on ………… pavement. I picked it up and opened it to see if I
could find out …………owner’s name.

5b Fill in the blanks with the correct preposition: 5

Then one …………the men looked …………his watch, clapped his hands and said something
………… the others. Immediately they all went …………their desks and in the space
………… a few seconds, everyone was working busily.

5c Complete the following passage by supplying the correct linking word from those given in the
list. You can use a word more than once. You need not use every word. 5

and when while

that which but

…………Bill entered the gate of Mrs. Dunley’s house, he was surprised not to find her
working in her garden. She usually spent most afternoons there………… the weather was fine.
Bill went straight round to the back of the house, thinking ………… she might be in the
kitchen. The door was locked …………the curtains were drawn. Puzzled, he returned to the
front of the house ………… knocked on the door.

5d Change the following sentences into the passive voice: 5

i She invited him to her house yesterday.

ii Lincoln emancipated four million African slaves.
iii We propose to build a dam for irrigation purposes.
iv Alas! We shall hear her voice no more.
v India won the cricket match.