NEB Grade XII Compulsory English Note | Language Development | Unit 16 The Romance of a Busy Broker

Unit 16 

The Romance of a Busy Broker

Working with words

A. Match the following words with their definitions.

a. snappy- iii. irritable and inclined to speak sharply

b. discretion- vi. the ability to behave without causing embarrassment or attracting too much attention

c. radiant - vii. showing great happiness, love or health

d. irresolute- viii. not able to decide what to do

e. brusque- x. using very few words and sounding rude

f. fitful- ii. happening only for short periods

g. harlequin- ix. a humorous character in some traditional plays

h. lull- v. a quiet period between times of activity

i. janitress- i. a lady whose job is to take care of a building such as a school or a block of flats

j. speck - iv. a very small spot

B. Consult a dictionary or search over the internet and write definitions of the following terminologies used in the stock market.

a. Liquidity : owning things of value that can easily be exchanged for cash

b. IPO : the act of selling shares in a company for the first time

c. NEPSE: (the Nepal Stock Exchange) the only stock exchange of Nepal where you can buy and sell shares in the secondary market

d. index : a measurement of the value of a section of the stock market and is calculated from the prices of selected shares

e. portfolio : a collection of assets owned by an investor

f. dividend : a share of profits that a company pays out to its shareholders

g. turn over : a stock liquidity, calculated by dividing the total number of shares traded over a particular period by the number of shares outstanding during that period

h. margin : the amount of equity an investor has in their brokerage account / using money borrowed from a broker to purchase securities

C. Based on the pronunciation, find the odd word from the following groups.

a. sell, cell, see, set -see

b. stopped, laughed, saved, booked- saved

c. hare, mere, beer, here- hare

d. so, sew, sow, saw- saw

e. book, food, pool, tool- book

f. fan, jam, past, van-past

g. sell, cell, sale, said -sale

h. howl, bowl, fowl, growl- bowl 

i. learn, verb, turn, torn- torn

j. poor, sure, door, dog- dog

Comprehension

A. Write ‘T’ for true statements, ‘F’ for false ones or ‘NG’ if the information is not given in the text.

a. Harvey Maxwell was a stock broker.

True

b. He was not happy with his clerk, Pitcher.

Not Given

c. Miss Leslie had been married to Maxwell for a year.

False

d. Maxwell had hired a machine to work in his office.

Not Given

e. He had instructed Pitcher to get a new stenographer.

True

f. Miss Leslie was amazed by Maxwell’s propose.

True

g. She thought that he had probably gone.

False

h. She realized that he had been absent-minded due to his business.

True

B. Answer the following questions.

a. How did Maxwell enter his office?

Maxwell entered briskly entered with his young lady stenographer.

b. Describe the physical appearance of the young lady.

She was beautiful. Her hair always looked plain and simple. She did not wear chains or jewels. Her dress was gray and plain, but it fitted her very well. On her small black hat there was the gold-green wing of a bird.

c. What changes did Pitcher notice in the young lady?

Pitcher noticed a difference in her ways that morning. Instead of going straight to the room where she worked, she waited. She seemed not to know what to do. Once she went over to Maxwell’s table, near enough for him to see that she was there.

d. What was Pitcher’s reply to the young lady concerning a new stenographer?

Pitcher replied that Maxwell told him to get a new stenographer.

e. What proposal did Maxwell make with Miss Leslie?

Maxwell wanted Miss Leslie to be his wife.

f. How did she react to his proposal?

The secretary acted very strangely. At first she seemed lost in surprise. Then tears began to run from her eyes. And then she smiled through her tears, and one of her arms went around the broker’s neck.

Critical thinking

a. What message does the writer want to give by presenting Maxwell as an extremely absent-minded person?

Maxwell's business has put everything else out of his head. The writer portrays him as a machine. The speed of business grew faster, and Maxwell was lost in the world of finance – stocks, bonds, loans, shares and securities. He forgot that he told Pitcher to get another secretary. He even forgot he married Leslie, and purposed her. The author`s message is that people should spend more time together not only just working, because they can miss some very important events in their life.

b. Imagine you are Miss Leslie. Write how you were troubled emotionally when your own husband came to you and made a marriage proposal.

When I went to Maxwell's office, but he was lost in the world of finance. I came to know that he asked Pitcher to hire another secretary. But when Pitcher brought in a candidate, he dismissed the candidate and told Pitcher that he was losing his mind. He announced that he did not have any intention of hiring another secretary, as he was perfectly satisfied with my service. In the the middle of his busy day, he decided to propose marriage to me. At first, I was totally surprised. This pained me. Then tears flowed from my eyes. But, I controlled myself, and smiled at him. I then put my arms around his neck and told him that they had already gotten married the previous evening.

Grammar

Relative clause

B. Fill in the blanks with suitable relative pronouns: who, which, that, whom, whose, where, why, how, what or when.

a. There is a lady ……….wallet has been stolen.

whose

b. Do you know the man ……..sold these glasses?

who

c. The knife …………you cut the bread with is very sharp.

with which

d. Why do you blame him for everything ………goes wrong?

which

e. A cemetery is a place…………..dead bodies are buried.

where

f. This school is for those children……….mother tongue is not Nepali.

whose

g. I don’t know the name of the person……………I spoke over the telephone.

who

h. I came to Kathmandu on the day…………….the devastating earthquake took place.

when

i. In the application form she wrote…………..she needed a good payment.

what

j. The pilot explained ………….he made force landing on the road.

how

C. Join the following pairs of sentences using who, which, that, whose, whom, where, when or what.

a. The building was destroyed in the fire. It has now been rebuilt.

The building which was destroyed in the fire, has now been rebuilt.

b. A new cricket stadium is being made in Chitwan. It can accommodate one hundred thousand people.

The new cricket stadium which is being made in Chitwan can accomodate one hundred thousand people.

c. Shanghai is the most populated city in the world. I stayed there for five years.

Shanghai where I stayed for five years is the most populated city in the world.

d. This is the man. I gave some money to him this morning.

This is the man to whom I gave some money this morning.

e. Do know the man? His son was awarded in the school yesterday.

Do you know the man whose son was awarded in the school yesterday?

f. His step-mother was not very kind to him. He had been staying with her.

His step-mother with whom he had been staying was not very kind to him.

g. He can never forget Nakkhu Jail. He had spent 14 years there.

He can never forget Nakkhu Jail where he had spent 14 years.

h. He showed me his new tab. He had paid a hundred thousand rupees for it.

He showed me his new tab for which he had paid a hundred thousand rupees.

i. Nelson Mandela joined ANC in 1930s. He was a student then.

Nelson Mandela joined ANC in 1930s when he was a student.

j. She forgot to buy the things. Her mother had told to buy them.

She forgot to buy the things which her mother had told to buy.