OU UG English Sem 2 Notes, syllabus & model paper
Osmania University Degree English
Semester II
Syllabus
&
Model Paper JUNE 2025
Previous Question Paper JUNE / JULY 2024
Answers:-
1.
a) old news- oxymoron
b) loves
c) did
d) Japanese
2.
a) could
b) motor+hotel
c) did
d)hyperbole
3.
a)
b) quickly
c) picture+element
d) Barking- Gerund (non finite verb)
4.a) simile
b) was watching
c) to understand
d) has
5
a) irregular pattern - oxymoron
b) been teaching
c)
d) don't
Unit 5 - Post-Reading
Decision-making
In life we are constantly making decisions. A person who makes timely and well-considered decisions is more successful than others. Some decisions are simple and straightforward while others are complex and their consequences are more risky. It is in the latter case that decision making skills come into play.
Here are some steps you can follow to be an effective decision-maker:
1. Create a constructive environment: To create a constructive environment for successful decision making, establish the objective, i.e., define what you want to achieve, agree on the process, involve the right people, allow opinions to be heard, make sure you're asking the right questions, and use creativity tools from the start.
2. Generate good alternatives: When you generate alternatives, you force yourself to di
deeper, and look at the problem from different angles. If you use the mindset, there must be other solutions out there, you're more likely to make the best decision possible. If you don't have reasonable alternatives, then there's really not much of a decision to makr!
3. Explore these alternatives: When you're satisfied that you have a good selection of realistic alternatives, then you'll need to evaluate the feasibility, risks, and implications of each choice.
4. Choose the best alternative: After you have evaluated the alternatives, the next step is to choose between them.
5. Check your decision: Look at the decision you're about to make dispassionately, to make sure that your process has been thorough, and to ensure that errors haven't crept into the decision-making process.
6. Communicate your decision, and take action: Once you've made your decision, it's important to explain it to the stakeholders. Explain why you chose the alternative you did. The more information you provide about risks and projected benefits, the more likely people are to support the decision.
Decisions based on insufficient information and analyses are likely to lead to trouble in the future. To overcome this, it is good to consider all perspectives and hear all opinions before coming to any conclusion. Once a decision is made, you should also have the courage to live with it or even be prepared to modify or change an earlier decision.
Unit 5 - Vocabulary
Oxymoron and Hyperbole
An oxymoron is a figure of speech that juxtaposes elements that appear to be contradictory. It combines words that have opposite meanings or which convey seemingly different senses.
She let out a quiet scream. (a 'scream' is not silent)
The design has an irregular pattern. ('pattern' implies some kind of regularity)
Writers often use oxymorons to highlight absurdities or to explain complicated feelings. There is usually some deeper truth behind an oxymoron. Oxymorons can also help writers create irony or introduce a playful tone.
EXERCISE
Underline the oxymorons in the sentences given below. Explain why the combination of words you have underlined is an oxymoron.
1. The room was filled with a deafening silence.
2. Five soldiers were wounded in friendly fire.
3. The clown was seriously funny.
4. I had to do it: I had no choice!
5. He was the most learned fool in the country.
6. You are clearly confused by the explanation.
7. This is old news.
8. Did you bring the original copy?
9. She is deeply superficial.
10. That dog is pretty ugly.
11. He is quite passive aggressive.
12. The tabloid printed an article on unpopular celebrities.
Hyperbole is a figure of speech in which exaggeration is used for emphasis or effect.
The suitcase weighed a ton.
She is as skinny as a toothpick.
Hyperbolic statements, such as the examples above, are not meant to be taken literally. Things are presented as being much greater or lesser, or much better or worse, than they really are, in order to produce a strong impression in the mind of the listener or reader. See, for example, how Dilip Chitre conveys to us the great age of the banyan tree that is being cut down, and its
connection to the land:
But the huge banyan tree stood like a problem
Whose roots lay deeper than all our lives
EXERCISE
Underline hyperbolic expressions in the sentences given below.
1. We had to wait forever for the bus.
2. I died of embarrassment.
3. What's for dinner? I'm starving!
4. I have a million things to do.
5. She's as slow as a turtle.
6. I could sleep for a year.
7. It was the most amazing sight ever.
8. I am so hungry I could eat a horse.
9. I can't live without him.
10. That lecture went on forever! I was bored to death.
11. I've told you a hundred times to wash the dishes.
12. This is the worst day of my life!
Unit 5
The Felling of the Banyan Tree
Dilip Chitre
My father told the tenants to leave
Who lived on the houses surrounding our house on the hill
One by one the structures were demolished
Only our own house remained and the trees
Trees are sacred my grandmother used to say
Felling them is a crime but he massacred them all
The sheoga, the oudumber, the neem were all cut down
But the huge banyan tree stood like a problem
Whose roots lay deeper than all our lives
My father ordered it to be removed
The banyan tree was three times as tall as our house
Its trunk had a circumference of fifty feet
Its scraggy aerial roots fell to the ground
From thirty feet or more so first they cut the branches
Sawing them off for seven days and the heap was huge
Insects and birds began to leave the tree
And then they came to its massive trunk
Fifty men with axes chopped and chopped
The great tree revealed its rings of two hundred years
We watched in terror and fascination this slaughter
As a raw mythology revealed to us its age
Soon afterwards we left Baroda for Bombay
Where there are no trees except the one
Which grows and seethes in one’s dreams, its aerial roots
Looking for the ground to strike.
Question:- The Felling of the Banyan Tree " reflects the harmony of the natural ecosystem. Discuss?
About the author
Dilip Chitre ( (1938–2009)
Dilip Purushottam Chitre born on 17 September, 1938 in Baroda, Gujarat. He is one of the best poets of post-independence India. He was a poet, translator, short story writer, painter & filmmaker."The Felling of the Banyan Tree" is taken from his book Traveling In A Cage in 1980. In 1951, at the age of 12, his family moved to Mumbai. He is a bilingual writer. He wrote both in English and Marathi.
His best-known work was the English translation of the devotional poems of the 17th century bhakti poet, Tukaram published as 'Says Tuka'. This translation received the Sahitya Akademi Award in 1994 and in the same year he also won Sahithya Akademi Award for his original work "Ekoon kavita".
About the poem
The autobiographical poem "The Felling of the Banyan Tree" is a free verse poem with 25 lines in total. Themes are uprootedness, unsettlement, alienation and destruction of ecosystem. Main theme of the poem is uprootedness, the idea of leaving a family home.
The poem is about the reminiscences of Dilip Chitre's childhood. He emphasises the balance of the natural ecosystem by lamenting the felling of huge trees.
The Banyan tree is a metaphor for his life. On the hillsides of Baroda, there were some tenant houses all around his ancestral house. His father told the tenants to vacate the houses so that he could demolish them. As a part of the demolition, he cut down all the trees, including the Sheoga (Dumbstick),Oudumber( Fig tree) , and Neem trees. Their house and a big banyan tree remained after the felling of trees. His grandmother used to say that she was scared, as felling trees was a crime and a bad omen. The Hindus worship trees such as Peepal, Tulasi, and Neem. The trees are sacred to them, and they have a great place in Hindu mythology. Nevertheless, his father butchered all of the trees and ordered the removal of the huge banyan tree with deeper roots, which stood as a challenge for the tree cutters.
The poet vividly describes the huge tree features, whose trunk has a fifty-foot circumference and long aerial roots almost touching the ground. Fifty men, with axes for seven days, first cut the branches. Insects and birds began to leave the big tree, which had been their house for several years. Then cutters chopped the massive trunk. The trunk's rings revealed its age to be 200 years old. The poet family watched this slaughter in terror. Then their family left for Bombay, where he didn't see any trees except in his dreams. The huge tree’s aerial roots were trying to find a place to settle down on the ground, which had turned into concrete buildings. The poet echoes for biodiversity and speaks out against deforestation.
Glossary
Tenant- A person who pays rent to a landowner in exchange for living on their property.
Demolished- (of a building) destroyed or knocked down.
sacred - holy
fell- to cut down.
massacre - to brutally kill.
circumference - the outer boundary of a circular shape
scraggly- badly grown, uneven.
massive - very large.
fascination- a very strong attraction.
slaughter- the killing of a large number of people or animals.
seethes- surges: moves about widly and roughly.
aerial roots - roots hanging down to earth from the tree branches.
For Video lesson in English click the 🔗
Unit 6
Post - Reading
Holistic Health
The concept of health as relating only to the physical body is questionable. The notion of holistic health which is a combination of physical, mental, social and spiritual well-being is more comprehensive. The inefficiency of any one of these components causes disease. A person who has physical strength but is socially aggressive is bound to misuse his/her physical power to oppress others. A powerful intellect may misuse intelligence in a similar manner. An unhealthy society makes individuals living in it diseased too. Unless every individual is consciously aware of the cosmic connection between all beings in the universe, there is no possibility of spiritual health, which complements the other components of holistic health.
Holistic health does not merely imply curing a malady but emphasises healing-not a superficial return to a healthy facade but a deep restoration to a completely healthy state. Holistic health is attained with physical, mental, social and spiritual discipline. Just like we are trained to coordinate our physical body after we are born, we need to consciously discipline the mind too. Similarly, social and spiritual discipline also needs to be practiced diligently. Moderation in our daily activities is an effective way to holistic health. This is because overindulgence is one of the reasons for severe health problems and illnesses.
A positive mental attitude is also conducive to holistic health. Mental blocks, phobias, panic attacks, addictions and such things are detrimental to holistic health. Influences of family, education, political, economic, religious and cultural norms are all either supportive or injurious to holistic health, depending on whether we perceive the influence as positive or negative. Thus, the key to holistic health lies within us.
Music has a powerful healing impact on the mind and body. It can therefore contribute to the achievement of holistic health. Creative visualisation, faith healing, etc., are also some of the strategies used for holistic health.
Unit 6
Vocabulary-Loan Words
Over the course of its evolution, the English language has borrowed words from more than 300 other cultures and languages that it came into contact with. A loan word is a word taken from a foreign language with little or no change. Listed below are a few examples.
Language ---Loanwords borrowed into English
Arabic
algebra, bazaar, giraffe, sheikh, sultan
Chinese languages
ginseng, kung fu, tea, tofu, typhoon
French
ballet, beef, café, champagne, salon
German
fest, hamburger, loafer, noodle, waltz
Indian languages
avatar, banyan, guru, jungle, nirvana
Italian
balcony, casino, opera, studio, violin
Japanese
karaoke, karate, samurai, soy, tsunami
Russian
cosmonaut, icon, pogrom, tsar/czar, vodka
Scandinavian languages
hug, husband, knife, saga, ski
Spanish
cannibal, guerrilla, guitar, macho, mosquito
Unit 6
How the Coronavirus Sparked a Wave of Innovation
Sreevas Sahasranamam
To read the full original text, click the link below.
https://theconversation.com/india-how-coronavirus-sparked-a-wave-of-innovation-135715
Sreevas Sahasranamam is a senior lecturer in entrepreneurship and innovation at the Hunter Centre for Entrepreneurship. He completed his Ph.D. from the Indian Institute of Management Kozhikode. He is a co-lead for the doctoral training centre in socially progressive innovation and entrepreneurship at Strathclyde and is also a member of the Global Entrepreneurship Monitor (GEM) UK team. He also regularly writes blogs for the World Economic Forum and was shortlisted for the Financial Times' McKinsey Bracken Bowen Prize in 2018.
About the text
This essay was published in Global edition of theconversation.com on April 30, 2020. It is about the innovations and start-ups by young Indian entrepreneurs to combat the challenges posed by the deadly coronavirus during the COVID-19 period. As India has skilled and trained engineers and entrepreneurs across the country, they responded quickly with their innovations to the problems posed by the COVID-19 pandemic.
The writer has discussed three concepts that sparked the innovation, i.e.,1) Robots, apps, and ventilators, 2) Connecting people. 3) Crowdsourcing ideas.
Asimov Robotics, a start-up based in Kerala, developed robots that can dispense medication in public places and carry food and medicines in hospitals. The Arogya Setu app was launched by the Indian government and uses GPS to inform people when they are at risk of exposure to COVID-19. Start-ups, including Klinic App and Practo, provided COVID tests at home and online consultations with doctors. Other start-ups developed apps like Droom, Marut Dronetech, and GoK-Kerala Direct, and in response to the shortage of ventilators, some start-ups such as Nocca Robotics and Aerobioys AgVa Healthcare developed low-cost portable ventilators.
In his conversation with entrepreneurs and innovators from India, the writer has recognised the triple helix model of innovation, which integrates universities, industries, and the government.
Universities, businesses, and the government have come together through the use of crowdsourced platforms. In an online hackathon, FICC and business worked together to create non-medical COVID-19 solutions. Within two days of its inception, the crowdsourcing website BreakCorona received 1,300 ideas and 180 product proposals.
According to the author, India must maintain and develop this entrepreneurial spirit in order to inspire the next generation to carry on the fight against COVID-19.
Unit 7
Portmanteau Words
A portmanteau is a new word formed by joining two (or multiple) words and combining their meanings. A portmanteau word fuses both the sounds of the original words and the meanings of its components. A few examples are given below.
advertorial =advertisement + editorial
biopic=biography + picture
blog=web + log
edutainment=education + entertainment
emoticon= emotion + icon
internet=international + network
malware= malicious + software
multiple + complex= multiplex
motel=motor + hotel
pixel= picture + element
romcom=romantic + comedy
smog=smoke + fog
EXERCISES
Use the portmanteau words listed above in sentences of your own.
Look up the meanings of each of the portmanteau words given below.
Figure out the original words from which each portmanteau was created.
Use each portmanteau in sentences of your own.
spork =spoon+ fork
hangry= hungry+ angry
infomercial=information+commercial
sitcom= situation+ comedy
frenemy=friend+enemy
guesstimate=guess+estimate
brunch=breakfast+lunch
listicle=list+article
breathalyser=breath+analyser
Identify the portmanteau words created from the combinations given below. Use each portmanteau in sentences of your own.
British + exit = Brexit
math + athlete= Mathlete
motorised + bicycle = Motorcycle
car + hijack = carjack
iPod + broadcast =podcast
jeans + leggings=jeggings
fourteen + night=fortnight
Oxford + Cambridge=Oxbridge
aviation + electronics=avionics
Unit 7-Post-Reading
Conflict Resolution
A conflict is a difference of opinion, a clash, quarrel, dispute or tension between one or more persons or groups of people. Incompatibility, divergent opinions, different behaviour patterns. and cultural or regional issues may cause conflicts. Conflicts are not always caused by external factors. There are two types of conflicts-intrapersonal and interpersonal.
Intrapersonal conflicts arise within the mind of an individual. A person who is at war with himself/herself is subject to intrapersonal conflict. For example, frustration or depression may be indicative of intrapersonal conflict. Other types of conflict also exist in this category, such as goal conflict or role conflict. Often the goals we set for ourselves result in conflicts because we cannot decide what the right way to achieve the goal is or whether the goal we have chosen is the best one for us. Also, many of us have to fulfil many different roles in the course of a single day in our lives. When we cannot transition smoothly from one role to the other, it creates internal conflict.
Interpersonal conflicts are those which take place between two or more individuals, groups, communities, nations, etc. In any relationship, be it personal or professional, conflicts are bound to arise. Not many people are good at resolving a conflict. However, most of us want harmonious relationships and smooth interpersonal interactions. We know that disagreements and conflicts are part of any dynamic organisation/relationship but we do not always know how to resolve them. Conflicts arise because people care about their jobs or the people they are related to, and want to produce good results or expect those who are related to do well. Conflict is not always negative. It should be encouraged when discussion and debate can
generate creative, innovative approaches to issues. Conflict is beneficial when the focus is on finding the best solution. However, conflict is unproductive when it fails to produce mutually satisfying solutions or when it becomes personal in nature.
When there is a conflict, the following strategies would help to resolve it.
Depersonalise the conflict. Do not fall into the trap of believing that the other person is deliberately trying to make a situation difficult.
When beginning to resolve differences or conflict, clearly state your desire to find a solution that will work for all involved.
Build on areas of agreement before you address areas of difference.
Remember to listen first and talk next. Ask open-ended questions to draw others out and to encourage them to express their views.
Try to arrive at a common goal around which everyone involved can focus, and agree to work through areas of disagreement. Discuss the reservations you have and talk with the
other person until you can agree on a course of action.
Search for understanding without implying criticism,
Focus on common ground issues and interests on both sides.
Identify specific behaviour patterns in concrete terms and explain the tangible outcomes they have, so that the other person can easily appreciate the nature of the difficulty.
Rely on facts instead of individual judgments or inferences. This will enable you to avoid giving feedback that becomes personal.
Set a goal in mind-the purpose for the meeting or discussion.
Unit 8
Post-Reading
Ethical Behavior
Ethics is a subject relating to contextual moral principles that control and influence one's behaviour and attitude. In other words, it is the knowledge of the difference between right and wrong. Knowing and acting on the difference between what is desired and what is desirable
living mindfully, balancing ends and means are all different aspects of ethics. Ethical behaviour prescribes aims and the methods of achieving these.
Ethics is a relative concept, because 'truth' depends on (1) the context, (2) the person, (3) the motive.
There are different branches of ethics such as: business ethics, medical ethics, bioethics, political ethics, academic ethics, social ethics, etc.
Ethics is a crucial base for personality development. It is the one subject that is most needed. It is synonymous with values. A person who lives by a set of clearly defined values or a positive value system is more likely to be ethical, whatever the challenges they face.
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