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प्रश्न
Read the following excerpt from a news story and answer the questions
given below the excerpt.
74 killed in Myanmar quake.
MAESAI (THAILAND). At least 7 4 people were killed in a strong earthquake that struck Myanmar, state media said on Friday, while a series of aftershocks have caused panic but only limited damage in Thailand and Laos. The death toll from Thursday's 6.8 magnitude tremor was expected to rise slightly in Myanmar after 225 homes and nine government buildings were destroyed. Over 100 people were injured, according to state television.
The quake sparked panic, but no major damage in other countries across southeast Asia has been reported. An aftershock of an estimated magnitude of 5.5 rattled Thailand on Friday but caused limited damage, although residents living in properties close to the epicentre were advised to leave their homes.
- Hindustan Times - March 26, 2011
1. Are all the verbs in the passage in passive voice? What do you infer from this?
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2. Underline the passive constructions in the passage and comment on why the
passive is more appropriate than the active in these.
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3. Rewrite the second paragraph, keeping all the verbs in active voice. Begin like
this ...... .
Authorities expect the death toll_____________
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4. Does the re-written paragraph read well or is it a little awkward? Give reasons
for your answer.
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उत्तर
1. No, all the verbs in passage are not in passive voice. Some are in the active voice. 1 infer from this that active voice is used when emphasis is on the subject. Passive voice is used when action is emphasised.
2. The passive constructions to be underlined in the above extracts are :
were killed
was expected
were destroyed
were injured
has been reported
were advised
The passive is more appropriate than the active as the doer or subject of the action is obvious or understood. Secondly, in these sentences, the action or result is more important. Therefore, passive construction is used.
3. Rewrite the second paragraph, keeping all the verbs in active voice. Begin like this …….
Authorities expect the death toll from Thursday’s 6.8 magnitude tremor would rise slightly in Myanmar after the earthquake had destroyed 225 homes and nine government buildings. According to state television the earthquake injured 100people.
4. It is a little awkward. The reason is that the sentences don’t look natural due to repetition of the words ‘the earthquake’ which is not important.
APPEARS IN
संबंधित प्रश्न
Complete the following sentences using the correct form or the verbs
given in brackets.
- It is a big college. More than a hundred teachers ________ (employ)
there. - __________ (somebody/ clean) the office yesterday?
- How much of our country's land area __________ (cover) by forest?
- The hostel gates ______ (lock} at 8.00 pm everyday.
- The parcel (send) a month ago and it ______ _(arrive) onlyyesterday.
- Where (these photographs/take}? In Mumbai? ____________ (you/ take} them, or somebody else?
• Did you use the same type of construction in your answers?
What are the two types of construction called?
- ____________________________________
- ____________________________________
When do we use the passive voice?
Example: Look at the following sentences:
a) My grandfather established this steel factory in 1940.
b) This steel factory was established in 1940 by my grandfather.
We use the passive voice when we are more interested in the action than the
person who does it or when we do not know the active subject .
Read the following sentences and, using the given clues, find out the reason for
the use of the passive construction as in the Example above.
1. He was killed in the World War II.
Clue: Who must have killed him? Is it obvious?
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2. The Bank was looted last night.
Clue: Have the police caught the culprits?
_______________________________
3. Sachin Tendulkar is looked upon as a sport icon.
Clue: Bywhom?
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4. This sort of road-side restaurants can be seen everywhere in this city.
Clue: How will you write it in active voice?
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5. When he arrived at the airport, he was arrested.
Clue: Rewrite the sentence in active voice. Is it a little awkward?
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6. Employer: On account of tight financial condition, bonus will not be paid this
year.
Clue: If it is some good news, what voice will the employer use?
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7. I got my hair cut.
Clue: Look at the construction using 1got1
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We must remember that all active constructions cannot/ should not be transformed Example: a) He is drinking water. Though sentence (b) is grammatically correct, we do not write or speak such a Hence it is necessary to keep in mind that the passive voice has certain legitimate |
Match the excerpts below with the text types given in the box.
Excerpts
1. The tea leaves are picked and left to dry in the sun.
2. 20 ml of the salt is taken in a test tube and heated over the flame of a Bunsen
burner.
3. Many villagers were adversely affected by the flash flood. It is estimated that
nearly half of the standing crop has been submerged in water.
|
Text Types a) Newspaper (and formal) report _______________ b) Description of processes __________________ c) Academic writings including reporting of scientific experiments ______________ |
What are the text types in which we can expect to find frequent use of the
passive?
As illustrated in India Today, September 1996, Ponniah Ramar, 34, an amiable individual from a Tamil Nadu village, claims to be able to convert a bucket of water into half a bucket of volatile fuel by adding a secret herb or so he says! Here is the illustration of the process of preparing the fuel. Write a report for the Junior Science Digest. You may use a combination of active and passive voice in your report, depending on what you wish to focus attention on.
MYSTERY FUEL
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Think back to when you were a small child. For each year, from the ages of five to ten, write a sentence in the simple past passive.
When I was five, I was called Bug Bunny by my sister.
When I was six, I wasn't allowed to ..... .
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Show your writing to your partner. Do you share any experience?
(Correct each other's work, as necessary').
An architect is speaking at a special meeting of the Town Council. She is presenting her proposals for improving one area of the town. Using the notes below, write down what she will say to the Town Council. You may start the report as given below.
"Firstly, the polluted slum settlements will be cleared and replaced with lowcost
housing ... "
Now Future
slum settlement/ people build low cost housing
sleeping on streets
six cinemas/ no theatre turn one cinema into a theatre
open sewers cover sewers
only one old primary setup/ establish two more
school (overcrowded) primary schools, and one
secondary school
no parks or open spaces create small parks between
low-cost housing blocks
Study the examples below:
Examples:
1. a) Mr. Akshay Pandey's car was damaged in an accident.
b) A mechanic repaired the car.
Usually in such situations, type 'b' sentences are rather uncommon. Instead,
the same idea would be expressed as
Mr. Pandey got his car repaired.
This means that Mr. Pandey arranged for a mechanic to repair his car. He did
not repair it himself. It can also be written thus:
Mr.Pandey had his car repaired.
Use the words in brackets to complete the following sentences. Use the
structure: 'have/ get something done'.
1. My neighbours ____________________ (their garden/ relay) at the moment.
2. I lost my identity card. I'll have to ______________ another (another/ make)
3. __________________-{you/ milk/ deliver) to your house every day, or do your go out and buy it?
4. A: Can I see the photographs you took during our school day function?
B: I'm afraid_______________________(not/ the film/ develop) yet.
5. Your suit is a little tight. Why don't you------------(a new one/ make)?
Match the items from A and B to make meaningful sentences. There is sometimes more than one sensible combination.
| A | B |
| 1. Who will be 2. She likes 3. They ought 4. They are going 5.She 6. ltwill 7. You will 8. He hates 9. What has 10. Has Sita |
a. be informed b. been done to stop it? c. been told? d. was given the money. e. to get hurt. f. have been done by them. g. asked to come to the party? h. being asked to parties. i. being looked at. j. to be punished for what they did. |
Rewrite the paragraph below by changing these sentences into the passive; include the agent only if necessary.
Last year Mckiney Company built two new apartment buildings in the city centre. Recently one of the buildings was damaged by an earthquake. The earthquake also destroyed the company offices in the other building. The owners of the apartments of the buildings will receive the insurance money to fix the damages. Nobody will lose the money paid for the apartments.
Two new apartment ___________Recently one of the buildings was damaged by an earthquake. The company offices in__________The insurance_______Money.
Shahin, a newspaper reporter, visited the World Book Fair at Pragati Maidan. Suddenly he saw a stall in flames. He jotted down a few notes in his notepad. Using the cues and your own ideas, write a newspaper report in the space provided. Use Active or Passive, depending on what you wish to focus on.
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-Pragati Maidan -controlled by noon |
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