Friday 28 October 2016

A Unique Experience to be Remembered…

a-unique-experience-to-be-remembered


It was an incident which I’ll call as a ‘unique experience’. In the year 2011, I used to work in an educational company, for them I need to travel haywire. The incident occurred in Bangalore & I, rather we belong from Kolkata. It was a cool and windy night as always in Bangalore. My friend and I had gone out after a long time, and were chatting for hours. We did not notice the time passing by, and soon it was close to ten in the night. We decided to take an auto rickshaw to go to our house, as allotted by our company.
It started raining, and we hurried to get into an auto rickshaw and reach our place. None of the auto rickshaws stopped for us, except one.

a-unique-experience-to-be-remembered-1

The driver asked us where we wanted to go and we told the place. Without saying anything about the fare, he said, “Please get in!” We thanked him and got in.
Since it was very cold, I asked the driver to stop at any small restaurant or a tea shop. We wanted to have a cup of hot tea. The driver stopped near a small restaurant.
We ordered tea and some food, and asked the driver to join us and have a cup of tea. The driver refused. I insisted, but he refused again politely.
My friend asked, “Will you not take tea from this shop or what?”
The driver replied, “No Sir, I don’t feel like having tea now.”
I asked again, “But, why? A cup of tea will do no harm.”
Smiling, the driver replied, “Thank you sir, but I’m sorry.”
My friend asked, “Are you against eating or drinking outside?”
The driver said, “No!”
I was really surprised at his behaviour and asked my friend not to compel him.
In 15 minutes, we reached our house. We paid the fare and the driver thanked us.
On an impulse, I stopped him, as I really wanted to ask him why he refused to drink tea with us at the restaurant. Did he see anything bad in us, or something?
He thought for a moment and replied, “Sir, my son passed away this noon in an accident. I don’t have enough money for his funeral. So I took a vow not to drink even water, until I earn enough money for my son’s funeral. That’s why I didn’t drink tea when you offered. Please don’t misunderstand me.” His son was in the teen and was expecting to be promoted to class 12.
We both were shattered and offered him more money for his son’s funeral.
He politely refused, “Thank you for your generosity sir. In one or two hours, if I get one or two more customers, I will earn the money I need.” And he left the place. May his son rest in peace!!!
We were amazed at his strength of character and integrity, and learnt a lesson out there. I don’t know my readers are willing to learn the same through that ‘unique experience’, Cheers!!!

a-unique-experience-to-be-remembered-2
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
‘This post is a part of Picks, an initiative for Bloggers by .’My City for Kids'

Wednesday 26 October 2016

Making Guesses is a Good Habit -

making-guesses-is-good-habit




Modal Verbs of Probability for New English Learners..
Listed below are examples and uses of modal verbs of probability. Modal verbs of probability are used to express an opinion of the speaker based on information that the speaker has. Example: He must be at work, it's 10 o'clock. In this case, the speaker is 100 % sure that the person is at work based on the speaker's knowledge that the person in question usually works at during the day.
Must 
Use 'must' plus the verb when you are 100% (or almost 100%) sure that something is the case. 
Present = must + verb (do)
They must be in Bangalore by now. They told me they were going last week.
Josh must think I'm crazy because I think grammar is easy!
Past = must have + past participle (done)
Tara is smiling. She must have done well on the test.
Alisha must have asked for some help on the test because she got an A.
Might / May
Use 'might' or 'may' to express an opinion that you think has a good possibility of being true.
Present = might / may + verb (do)
She might come this evening, but she also had some work to do.
Devendra may invite Jutika to the match. I know he really likes her.
Past = might / may + have + past participle (done)
Jayshree might have gone to Goa for her vacation. I think he wanted to practice Portugese this summer. 

Could

Use 'could' to express a possibility which is one of many. This form is not as strong as 'might' or 'may'. It is just one of a number of possibilities.
Present = could + verb (do)
Jannat could be at work, or she could be at home. I'm not sure.
We could hire that company or the other. It doesn't really matter. 

Past = could have + past participle (done)
Pratim could have arrived late. I know he missed the bus.
Alisha was tired. She could have stayed at home today, or she might have gone to work. 

Can't / Couldn't 

Use 'can't' to express an opinion that you are 100% sure is NOT true. We use 'must be' or 'must have been' if we're sure in a positive sense, but 'can't be' or 'can't have been / couldn't have been' if we are sure in a negative sense. Note that the past form remains 'can't have done' in British English, but changes to 'couldn't have done' in American English.
Present = Can't + verb (do)
You can't be serious! I'm not going to loan you Rupees /-1 million!
Pratim can't like that show. He doesn't enjoy comedy. 

Past = Can't / Couldn't + have + past participle (done)
They can't have worked until late because they were on time for the meeting.
She couldn't have believed that story. She knows he's a liar!


making-guesses-is-good-habit-1

Modal Verbs of Probability Quiz

Use must, might, may, could or can't plus the correct form of the verb. In some cases, there is more than one correct answer. Pay close to attention to time words in order to conjugate the modal verb of probability correctly.
  1. Where is Vishal? He __________ (be) at school. Classes begin at 8 and he's never late.
  2. She __________ (think) that it is a good idea. It's crazy!
  3. I'm absolutely sure! They __________ (arrive) yesterday. Tonmoy showed me his train ticket.
  4. Courses __________ (begin) the fifth of September, but I'm not really sure.
  5. Are you joking! Arjun __________ (go) to Delhi last week. He doesn't have enough money to go to Nepal. 
  6. They __________ (live) in New Delhi, or he __________ (be) in Mumbai. I know he likes big cities.
  7. The concert __________ (be) wonderful last night. Josh is a fantastic singer. You __________ (have) fun.
  8. Students __________ (get) sick and tired of grammar. I know it's kind of boring. 
  9. Lata __________ (be) looking for a job because she finished college last year.
  10. Debjani __________ (want) to get in touch with you. She's always asking about you when we talk. 
Answers
  1. must be - Vishal is never late.
  2. can't think - I think it's a crazy idea, so I'm sure.
  3. must have arrived - I'm absolutely sure they arrived yesterday because I saw the ticket.
  4. could begin - It's possible, but I really don't know.
  5. can't have gone / couldn't have gone - Arjun doesn't have money so it isn't possible in my opinion.
  6. could live / might live / could be / might be - I know he likes big cities, but I don't know for sure.
  7. must have been / must have had - Josh's a fantastic singer, so I'm sure you had a great time.
  8. must get - I'm a teacher. I know!
  9. must be / might be - It's logical that she's looking for a job.
  10. must want - I know that she thinks about you often. 

Happy Studying !!!

Wednesday 19 October 2016

Your Zodiac/Sun Sign May Have Changed — But Don't Panic!!!

your-zodiacsun-sign-may-have-changed



Hey there. Here at India, we invest a lot of meaning in the astrological sign we were born into — like, a lot a lot. Imagine our surprise (and okay, slight panic), when we got the bone-chilling news that NASA may have declared the date ranges by which we define the signs to be all wrong. Once we got over the initial shock, being the voracious stargazers that we are, we knew we needed to take a closer look.

In a blog post published back in January of this year, NASA reminded us that there are, in fact, 13 constellations in the original zodiac. It's just that 3,000 years ago, when they were drawing up a plan for the signs of the zodiac that would correspond with the months of year, the Babylonians already had a 12-month calendar — so they left poor Ophiuchus out. With that and the fact that the earth's axis no longer points in the same direction in mind, NASA explained that the signs as we know them have completely different date ranges now.

Here the "new" dates for all 13 signs:

Capricorn: January 21 - February 16

Aquarius: February 17 – March 11

Pisces: March 12 – April 18

Aries: April 19 – May 13

Taurus: May 14 – June 21

Gemini: June 22 – July 20

Cancer: July 21 – August 10

Leo: August 11 – September 16

Virgo: September 17 – October 30

Libra: October 31 – November 23

Scorpio: November 24 – November 29

Ophiuchus: November 30 – December 17

Sagittarius: December 18 – January 20

Now that you've caught your breath, here's a hard, painful truth: From the get-go, astrology was not intended as an exact science. And as NASA has shown, some of its most foundational values, like these very signs, can be challenged by astrology's hard-science counterpart, astronomy.

For those of you scrambling to know what to believe in anymore, it's completely up to you. Some astrologers add that the seasons play a role in determining the signs' dates, but it's really just a matter of whether you subscribe to the zodiac signs or their corresponding constellations.

Each person has a different relationship with their sign and horoscope — if they have one at all — so if you'd like this news from NASA to shatter your worldview, by all means, let it. But if you've already invested a fair share of personal meaning into the sign you've believed you were born under all along, that's fine, too.

Finally, it's important to keep in mind that this isn't the first time this has happened and it won't be the last — after all, in the next couple thousand years, the earth's axis will probably point in a slightly different direction all over again. Until then... start looking at your zodiac!!!