- By the side of writing and speaking skill reading skill is also very important there are a number of nice passage to increase your skill.
1. Everybody desires success in life, but few attain it. One of the principal reasons for this failure is that many people dare not take risks. Life is not a bed of roses. It is full of troubles and difficulties. We have to overcome them if we are to succeed in life. So we should face them with courage. We may fail at first and suffer in consequence. But that should not make us give up in despair. We should instead regard the initial failures and sufferings as the price of ultimate success. We should think of the discoverers and explorers of lands and the sufferings they had to bear before success come to them. Where would we have got pearls from if divers had not ventured into the dangers under the sea? A general who is afraid of taking risks can never win any victory. Similarly, a person who dares not take risks cannot achieve success in the struggle of life. But we must not be rash or hasty. We should think well about the possibilities before we venture upon a thing. Hasty action is like taking a leap in the dark that generally ends in disaster.
2. Money cannot buy happiness. Money is a
must for our life. But it is not the thing that necessarily brings our
happiness. Happiness is fully a mental state. It is the name of a feeling. It
means contentment of the mind. He who is satisfied with what he gets and
content with his life is really happy. Happiness cannot be purchased with
money. Of course, money can help us but it cannot give us happiness. The
richest men of our society are not always the happiest men. The lead life full
of cares and anxieties. Very often they pass sleepless nights. On the contrary,
there are a large number of poor men who are very happy. Their life is not
burdened with cares and anxieties. They enjoy sound sleep at night. An honest
and virtuous man who is not rich enough does not suffer from the anguish of the
soul. His conscience does not torment him. Hence, money cannot ensure our
happiness. It is only moral and spiritual development that ensures happiness in
the life of a man.
3. An intellectual is one who is an
enlightened person. He has to give light to others who are in need of it. In
every society we find intellectuals such as philosophers, scientists, scholars,
writers and critics, and they, as enlightened men, have a great responsibility
towards society. In a society all cannot be intellectuals. If a times come when
all are intellectuals, it would be a blessed time indeed; but at present, at
any rate all are not intellectuals and those who are intellectuals have the
great responsibility of guiding others onto the right path. If today we have
our civilisation and culture, if we have order and security in life and in our
life is better than that of our primitive ancestors, it is because the
intellectuals, from time to time, have been guiding humanity on the path of facility
and amity. An intellectual should come out of his ivory tower and try to
elevate others to this level. This is the theme of Tennyson’s poem. “The palace
of Art.” An intellectual contemplates on the eternal laws of the universe to
explore the truth. The perception of the truth is almost the same as the
perception of beauty, and the duty of an intellectual is to see this truth or
beauty and to reveal it to others.
4. The aim of education is to make a man
fully equipped to be useful to be himself and to the society. It is to develop
the whole man – his body, mind and soul. Education aims at providing a child
with opportunities to bring out all the latent talents that it possesses. A
truly educated person should be self-reliant with regard to his personal needs.
He should be well-mannered, thoughtful, creative, kind, respectful, sympathetic
and co-operative. It is by cultivating these virtues that a human being becomes
the most signified creation of God. If at the distress and suffering of a
fellow human being, your love and sympathy or such other human beings are not
roused, if you do not feel anguish in your heart and you do not feel an urge to
try to alleviate the sufferings of other human beings, you have not been
properly educated. A good education should aim at developing not only the body
and the mind but also the soul. Strictly speaking, however, education is not
confined to schools, colleges and universities only. The family, the society
and the whole world at large educate us. What we learn by experience in our
practical life is no less important than what we learn from schools and
colleges formally. Education is a life-long process. It begins at birth and
ends only at death. We continue to learn as long as we live.
5. Socrates, the greatest philosopher, was
born of poor working class parents probably in the year 470 B.C. He had the
usual education of the boys in those days, learning music, science, philosophy
and gymnastics. He also studied the arts of public speaking and argument. As a
young man he served the army and fought in several battles with great courage.
When he left the army, some of his friends wanted him to go to politics. But he
refused to do, for he had another mission in life. This mission was to unmask
ignorance and encourage truth. Up and down the streets of Athens, in the market
places, in the house of the riches and the workshop of the poor, Socrates
carried on his search for truth. His method was to stop someone and begin to
question him. By these questions, he would show the other man how vague and
incomplete his ideas were. Then he would help him to build up his ideas on a
surer foundation.
6. Man has an inborn curiosity to see the
unseen and to know the unknown. One can do many things to fulfill one’s
indomitable desire. A person usually turns to find out the things surrounding
him. And thus he gathers experience throughout his life time leaving himself
unknown. But to know thyself is an abstract quest of something beyond the
material capacity. It is very difficult to understand our own selves. It may be
similar to self criticism. Knowing thyself is the best way to develop
personality. Therefore, importance of knowing thyself can never be denied.
7. Everybody wants success but not all
achieve it. One of the reasons is that there are men who do not try themselves,
but depend on others. But self interest is very important for work. If this
interest does not prompt us to do our own works for our own well, we cannot
expect to others to sacrifice their interest to bring that good to us.
Moreover, a works done for others is not generally done so well as a work done
by a person for himself. Besides, dependence on others destroys self-confidence
and doesn’t allow the faculties to develop. The result is that we fail in life.
8. Liberty does not descend upon people.
People must raise themselves to it. It is a fruit that must earned before it
can be enjoyed. That freedom means freedom only from foreign domination in an
out-worn idea. It is not merely the government that should be free, but people
themselves should be free and no freedom has any real value for the common man
or woman unless it also means freedom from want, freedom from disease, freedom
from ignorance. This is the main task which confronts us if we are to take our
rightful place in the modern world. We can’t hold the clock back and therefore,
it is we also must go forward at a double pace bending all our resources an all
our energies to great purpose
9. Children are the future hope of our
society. We should give them proper idea about right and wrong. As children
grow up, they look for someone who they can look upon as a friend and guide,
someone in his footsteps they can follow. They usually select that person from
the people that surround them. For that reason, we should be careful of what we
say and do. Through our distinct behaviour, each and every one of us may set up
an example for our next generation. We should keep in mind that children learn
from what they see and hear. If from childhood, they get proper notion of good
and bad, right and wrong, as adults they possess a strong moral character even
though they are exposed to many bad things of society.
10. “The
best part of every man’s education,” said Walter Scott, “Is that which he gives
to himself,” the education received at school or college is but a beginning and
is valuable, chiefly because it trains the mind and makes it accustomed to
continuous application and study. That which is put into us by others is always
far less than that which we acquire by our own efforts. Knowledge conquered by
labour becomes a possession- a properly entirely our own, our own active
efforts are essential things and no facilities, no books, no teachers, no
amount of persons learnt by rote will enable us to do without it.
11. Today
women are playing important role in all spheres of life. They are no longer
confined within the four walls of their parents or husbands house. They have
come out of their kitchens and are working hand in hand with men in all the
development programmes of the government. By receiving higher education they
are becoming, pilots, doctors, engineers, teachers, administrators etc. They have
been able to prove their worth. They are contributing much to the economy of
the country. Now it has come to the realization of the men that true
development of the country is never possible keeping half of the population
idle at home. So it needs no telling that women are playing a great role in the
socio-economic condition of our country. The reason of women’s participation in
various activities is for the gradual
realisation of the need for the financial independence. Most women work because
their income is needed to supplement their husband’s earnings in order to meet
the growing cost of living. The financial pressures of children’s education,
accommodation, and day-to-day expenses have become so high that many families
actually welcome the added income the women brings. In many cases, especially
among poorer sections of society it is the women who are main bread winners.
With their earning power, women have found greater respect in society and hence
greater role in decision making. There is of course still a long way to cross
before women are able to discover their full potentially in the job market.
Lack of security and specialized facilities such as day-care in addition to
deep-rooted male selfishness, have not been able to deter our women. As development
continues and society evolves, the number of women entering the workforce will
increase. For a developing country like Bangladesh, the only way to go forward
is progressing with women.
12. Various
kinds of nuclear weapons have been produced in the past few years by many
countries. This is a new and terrible development in the history of mankind.
Very few events can be more frightful than a nuclear war. In a nuclear war most
of the population will be exterminated. The few living things that survive will
be exposed to radiation or to electrical rays harmful to life. It has been said
by scientists that many new diseases will be caused by radiation. There will
also be an acute shortage of food, for all the crops and stores will be
poisoned by radiation. Most of the areas on nuclear war will be sick, hungry
and homeless. It might be better, perhaps, to be killed in a nuclear war than
to survive it. It would be better still for men to live in peace with one
another. If this can be achieved, there will be no nuclear war.
13. Digital
Bangladesh is now the most pronounced phrase in our country. The word ‘digital’
is the adjective for digit meaning number, which describes information, music
and image etc, that is recorded or broadcast using computer technology. As computer
technology works with ‘O’ and ‘1’ it is called so. It is not an easy task to
transform Bangladesh into a digitalised country. A number of problems stand in
the way. Ours is a poor country and most of the people are illiterate. In order
to digitalise the country we have to develop the infrastructure. Corruption is
the hardest nut to crack. Above all most people do not have clear idea of the
term. In short digitalisation means making all the utility services accessible
to the mass people through computer or internet to ensure accountability and
transparency.
14. One
fascinating benefit to travel to foreign places is learning how customs differs
from country to country. As a case in point, there are interesting cultural
variations among people in such matters as work, play and education. In the
united states, for example, most business and industries operate a forty-hour
week for their individual employees, although a large number of firms remain
open over hundred hours a week by making use of two or three groups of
different workers. For leisure time entertainment, Americans indulge in a great
range of sports (hunting, fishing, golf, baseball, football etc.) as well as
other social and recreational activities participated in by men and women
together. The custom of non-separation of the sexes is also the general rule in
American schools, from the first grade all the way through the university.
15. Democracy
is the system of government which allows freedom of speech, religious and
political opinion. It means fair equal treatment for the citizens without
social class division. In fact, in a democratic country people elect their
representatives who work for the people. Free and fair election is the
pre-condition for democracy. In a democratic country people enjoy the rights of
food, cloth, shelter, education, medical treatment and other facilities. People
are the source of power, that is, people possess the absolute power in a
democratic country. Abraham Lincoln, the great president of America, defines
democracy as “Government of the people, by the people for the people.” Ours is
a democratic country. We hope to stride ahead towards a brighter tomorrow. Only
people’s government is not sufficient for it. A corruption-free society, we
have to begin from the personal level; otherwise, democracy will be but crying
in the wilderness.
16. Most
men long for wealth. They think it brings happiness. But often wealth brings a
great deal of worries without much happiness. A millionaire is very wealthy man,
of course, but his great wealth is also a great responsibility. He may have
many large estates and factories. Estates and factories usually need a lot of
attention. There may be disputes between the millionaire and his workers over
one trouble after another. These disputes may lead to strikes. In this case the
millionaire may lose a lot of money or some gangsters may kidnap the
millionaire’s child and demand thousands of pounds to return the child safe and
sound. A very rich man in spite of his great wealth may not have an easy life.
He has many worries. These worries may be greater than the worries of a poor
man.
17. First
and foremost among the blessings of civilisation are order and safety. If today
I have a quarrel with another man, I do not get beaten merely because I am
physically weaker and he can knock me down. I go to law and the law will decide
as fairly as it can between the two of us. Thus in disputes between man and
man, right has taken the place of might. Moreover the law protects me from
robbery and violence. Nobody may come and break into my house, steal my goods
or run off with my children. Of course there are burglars but there very rare
and the law punishes them whenever it catches them. It is difficult for us to
realise how much this safety means. Without safety those higher activities of
mankind which make up civilisation could not go on. The inventor could not
invent, the scientist could not find out new results or the artist could not
make beautiful things without order and safety, the main aspect of civilisation.
They are as necessary to our civilisation as the air we breathe and we have
grown so used to them that we do not notice them any more than we notice the
air.
18. Climate
change is one of the most complex challenges of the century, affective all
countries. With the warming of the planet and changes in climatic patterns,
densely populated countries with long coastal belts, like ours, are most
vulnerable. Many people might face loss of life and property and become
climatic refugee as the sea level rises. These are the reasons why our Prime
Minister demanded a special climatic fund in the Commonwealth Conference.
Bangladesh will bear the brunt of effects of climatic change, especially, in
our endeavors to overcome poverty, attain economic growth and ensure health for
all. It is climatic change that threatens to undermine our achievements, erode
our hard-earned gains and seriously weaken our development initiatives in agriculture,
forestry, fisheries, and all other areas of economic and bio-diversity
activities related to income generation for reducing poverty.
19. Moral
degradation, a crucial problem of mankind, is seriously affecting the peaceful
and meaningful living of human beings. In the society morality is the main
source of heavenly qualities like love, affection, respect and appreciation for
others. It is moral values which ensure the establishment of social peace,
order and justice. It cannot be denied that morality is the best virtue of
mankind at any individual, social and global level. Without having morality a
fruitful, honest and durable democratic, socio-economic, administrative and
judicial system can never be dreamt of. Social ills and vices in most cases occur
due to human activities devoid of moral sense. So it is necessary to develop
moral awareness and conscience among the people irrespective of colour,
religion and nationality. By arranging seminars, symposia etc. in the society,
we can motivate and encourage the people of all strata to accelerate moral upliftment
from their respective families to social levels.
20. Newspaper
writing is quite different from other forms of writing like academic writing
and creative writing. Newspapers are read every day by a large number of people
from all sections of the society. Therefore, the language used in any newspaper
has to be factual and easy. Prospective writers for a newspaper must understand
that while reading a newspaper, a person would be annoyed if he or she has to
frequently look up dictionary. Also the reader is keen to know the actual
happening, the real story, not a news story made up by the reporter’s own
imagination. However, some forms of newspaper writing, namely features and
sub-editorials may differ from news stories in style and tone. Normally
full-time reporters do the difficult job of reporting. They gather the day’s
important news from different locations throughout the day and file the news
stories normally in the evening. These stories range from political news to
sports news and economic news: as well as diplomatic news or news of scientific
discoveries. As such, the language used in these items will not be the same.
Readers do not expect to see a similar language used in reporting a medical
discovery and another report on the country’s increasing crime situation.
21. The
children of the world are innocent, vulnerable and dependent. They are also curious,
active and full of hope. Their time should be one of joy and peace, of playing,
learning and growing. Their future should be shaped in harmony and
co-operation. Their lives should mature as they broaden their perspective and
gain new experiences. But for many children, the reality of childhood is
altogether different. Each day countless children around the world are exposed
to dangers that hamper their growth and development. They suffer immediately as
casualties of war and violence; as victims of racial discrimination, aggression
and foreign occupation, as refugees and displaced children, forced to abandon
their homes or as victims of neglect, cruelty and exploitation. Each day
millions of children suffer from scourges of poverty and economic crisis from
hunger and homelessness, from epidemics and illiteracy, from degradation of the
environment. They suffer from the problems of indebtedness and the risk of
sustainable growth in many developing countries. Each day 40,000 children die
from malnutrition and disease, from lack of clean water and inadequate
sanitation and from the effects of the drug problems.
22. What is education? It is much more than the
knowledge we find in books. If a man is truly educated, he will have shown how
to lead a happy and useful life and to be a good citizen of the country in
which he lives; even more than that a good citizen of the world. He will have
learnt how to behave towards other human beings. By coming in touch with the
active minds of his teachers and fellow students he will have discovered what
kind of mind he himself has; he will have become proud of what he knows to be right,
and ashamed of doing what he knows to be wrong. The cleverest man is not always
the best educated. A wise man is one who is able to think clearly, and then act
in such a way that the best results bellow. Knowledge is very useful, but
knowledge by itself does not make a man wise. We need a special kind of
education, which will train us to use our knowledge wisely. For example, there
has been a great increase in scientific knowledge during the present century
but the wisdom of man has not increased at the same rate. Wisdom guides us to
make the best use of our knowledge. Without wisdom, however much we know, we
remain foolish.
23. The
changing role of young people in the family contrasts vividly with the
experience of the growing numbers of elderly people who are becoming isolated
from their families. Studies of traditional societies show how old people are
respected for their wisdom and experience. By contrast, our society
increasingly sees the elderly as out of touch and in the way. Increased life
expectancy and better welfare and medical facilities have led to a large
increase in the number of old people. The increasing number of elderly people
will cause major problems for society in the easy part of the next century. A
smaller than ever proportion of the workforce will be struggling to support the
dependent population of both young and old. Many families now face the problem
of coping with elderly members. Inevitably these demands will be met with mixed
feelings. An old person may seem a nuisance if they are living with a family in
a relatively small house. Equally, the old person may deeply regret the loss of
independence that family brings. The popular view is that modern families no
longer offer the dependent elderly the care that they once did. However, some
studies show that families give immense amounts of assistance and support to
elderly relative. Much of the burden of this care falls on the wife.
Nevertheless, there are two complicating issues. First, many wives now return
to work when their children go to school. Their income is often essential to
the family economic. In this situation can the family afford to help and
elderly relative? Second, there are many old people with no relatives. Perhaps
a third of old people have no family members who can help them. In either of
these two cases, the burden of care for the elderly may have to fall on
society.
24. Patriotism
is a noble virtue. It inspires a man to do everything just and fair for the
well-being and betterment of the country. It is the quality that impels a man
to sacrifice his own interest, comfort, pleasure and even his life for the sake
of his country. Patriotic zeal makes a man dutiful, energetic and enthusiastic.
He obeys the law, pays taxes and thinks for the country. Patriotism teaches a
man fellow- feeling, fraternity and love and sympathy for the countrymen. A
patriot is also praised and honoured by his countrymen. An unpatriotic man, on
the other hand, is an ignoble person. He is self-centered. He engages all his
time in achieving his mean end. He causes harm to the country by his unyielding
and reckless activities. He is an enemy to the liberty and sovereignty of the
country. He feels no scruples to plot against the country. He gets his return
in the same way. He may have high titles, immense wealth, high social prestige
and noble birth. But despite his worldly achievements, he remains a worthless
person. His power and pelf fail to bring him any glory. Because during his life
time such a man is never honoured by anybody. Rather, he is despised because of
his perfidy. No minstrel ever sings for him. Such a man dies double death. During
his life time he possesses a dead soul and he remains completely forgotten by
the people. This is the first death. Then comes his natural demise. After
expiring, his body mixes with the vile dust from which it sprang. Nobody
remembers him or shows any honour to him. Nobody sheds tears for him. He sinks
into oblivion.
25. Most
of our students cannot write out their examination papers fairly. As they
cannot understand the questions properly, they often beat about the bush and
cram their answers with irrelevant and unnecessary details. Sometimes they also
fail to arrange their answer neatly, cleanly and systematically. Although the
teacher suggests that their answers should be brief and precise, they often
lengthen them unnecessarily. Where size does not matter at all., they have a
silly notion that the more they write the more they will get their marks. The
reality is just the opposite, their long answers become generally disgusting
and unsavoury. Such answers always earn unhappy marks. In order to get expected
marks, all you should do is to understands the questions well and answer them
just to the point. Don’t worry, if your answers are fairly short. You should
not play any tune that may sound discordant. Be sure your sentences make sense.
Above all, you need a neat presentation. To answer the short comprehension
questions, you should not copy anything blindly from the passage. Try to answer
the questions more or less in your own English. Frame your answers exactly in
the same tense and aspects as the questions are in. Don’t forget that short and
simple sentence, plain and clean English is not bad.
26. Happiness
is the symbol of satisfaction and gratification. Happiness lies at the root of
all splendid performances. However, everybody wishes to be happy on earth.
Happiness is a very relative matter. It’s state of mental condition that makes
a man satisfied with his income, findings and activities. However, happiness
can’t be perceived by adopting any kind of illegal policy that is harmful to
others. There is no denying fact that happiness is the vibration of our heart,
soul and mind that assists us to sleep a sound sleep with a romantic dream. One
soul may be satisfied with what he has and what he gets. If one hankers after
more, the anxiety to achieve more destroys one’s peace of mind. Some people of
the society are envious of others wealth. One can enjoy self-sufficiency but
utilizing what one has. The more one gets, the more one wants. But one has to
develop the mentality to be pleased with little. Happiness does not consist in
things but in thoughts of contentment. In the real sense of the term, no man
can get happiness without being honest and content. It is our interest to be
honest so that we may get happiness. All those who seem to be happy in the
world have just feel satisfied with their own self. Happiness makes everything
different. It makes everybody calm and quite.
27. The
secret of success in life lies in the proper use of time. Many of us are apt to
forget that every moment is precious. Life is short. Time is uncertain. We do
not know when we shall be called away from this world by death. During this
limited and uncertain period we have a lot of things to do. If we waste the
precious minutes of our life in idleness, we reduce the hours of work available
to us. We will suffer and success will be difficult to achieve. It is only by
utilizing every minute that we can hope to achieve success in our endeavour. Time
one lost is lost forever. Time and tide wait for none. The boy who is unmindful
to his lessons will realize his sorrow when he becomes a man. He will certainly
understand that he has lost his opportunity of making himself learned. The
young man who is afraid of work and idles away his time, is sure to find
himself in later years a burden to himself and to others. There are some people
who say that they have no time for reading books, or for otherwise improving
their body and mind. They only deceive themselves. If they are punctual and
industrious, they will find time for doing everything. The busiest man has in
fact, the greatest amount of leisure, because he does his work regularly and he
does not wait till tomorrow what he can do today. The life of the great
Iswarchandra Vidyasagar is an objective lesson to us. He achieved greatness in
life because he made the best use of his time. History tells us that men who
have left their footprints on the sands of time made proper use of their time.
Thank You