English For Today chapter 10: Dreams

Unit Ten

Dreams

After we have studied the unit, we will be able to

• listen for specific information
• participate in conversations and discussions
• understand and narrate problems
• take and give interviews
• complete a grid.

Printed page 123

Lesson 1: I Have a Dream

A . Read these texts and say what is common among them.

Hi, I’m Moitry Mutsuddi. My father is a freedom fighter and my mother is a teacher. They both dream for a golden Bangladesh and inspire me to do something significant, something positive for the country. Often I think what to do to fulfil their expectations in future. Finally I’ve decided to be a politician and work for my motherland. How is it?

Hello! I’m Mofakkhar Hasan. I live in a slum with my parents and sisters. I know how cruel poverty can be! My heart bleeds to see the poor, suffering people in my slum. After I have finished my education, I’ll be a social worker and fight against social injustice and poverty. ‘Change’ is the word I believe in to make Bangladesh a golden Bengal.

I’m Amitabho Kar. When I say to my friends that I would like to be a space traveller, they laugh. But I really want to be that. If people from other countries can conquer the moon, and roam in the space, why not we? To be honest, I visualise that one day I’m stepping on Mars from a space shuttle. Please wish me the best so that my dream comes true.

My name is Ruth Antara Chowdhury. I believe that a society cannot be enlightened without proper education. Education lights the candle in people’s heart. So I will be a teacher. Some people appreciate my decision but some people say teachers are not reverred properly nowaday. I tell them, I don’t care who tell what. I want to be a teacher because I’m brilliant. Teachers need to be creative and innovative.

B . Read the texts again and then work in pairs. Which person do you think is most like you and why? Write a similar text stating your own dream.

C . Read this interview between Sathi Begum, a successful student in JSC and a newspaper reporter, Animesh Roy. The interview is jumbled up. Read the text and then organise the conversation properly.

Printed page 124

Animesh : So you mean learning from each other?

Sathi : There is no magic behind my success. I just worked hard. I followed our teachers’ advice, ‘The more you read, the more you learn’. I’m grateful to my teachers and parents for guiding me properly.

Animesh : Well Swati, we are really so proud of you for your brilliant performance in the JSC exams. Please tell us how you could achieve this success.

Sathi : Ohh….and I’m grateful to my school and friends too.

Animesh : That’s great!

Sathi : In my school, we had a nice study group. Whenever we had any problem, we discussed it in our group first. We tried to help each other. And it always worked. Never forget, two heads are better than one.

Animesh : I understand why you are grateful to your school but would you explain how you are grateful to your friends, please?

Sathi : Exactly that!

Animesh : By the way, Swati, what are your dreams for the future?

Sathi : To keep up the success in next exams and make my dreams come true. I want to be a scientist. Since my childhood I've known that many people in Bangladesh are under arsenic threat. They are taking arsenic directly from their drinking water and indirectly from the crops and vegetables they eat. It's a kind of slow poisoning. People are helpless. They are suffering from many kinds of diseases. Therefore, I have a dream to carry out a research on how to get rid of this problem, using our own recourses and expertise.

Animesh : Wish you luck.

D . Now listen to the Audio and check whether your answer is correct.

Listening text 8

E . Work in pairs. Make questions for your partner to know about his/her dreams and take his/her interview.

Printed page 125

Lesson 2: What I Dream to Be

A . Work in groups. Read the following words. How are they related to dreams?

imagination, emotion, passion, obsessions, strong desire, colour, rosy, future, mind, brain, plan.

B . Work in groups, and discuss the following questions:

1. Do you consider dreams important for life? Why/Why not?
2. What do you dream at this moment as a student?
3. What, according to you is the dream of Bangladesh at present?
4. Give examples of some dreams that are commonly shared by Bangladesh as a nation.
5. Do you think the world has any common dream? What is that?

C . Listen to the Audio. Three persons are telling about their dreams. Take notes in the following grid to show what they plan to do and what they don’t want to do.

Listening text 9

Printed page 126

D . Listen to the texts again and check (√/X) the statements.

1. Masum Billah desires to study agriculture as his teacher suggests him to do that.
2. If Masum qualifies, he will get admitted to a university in his rural area.
3. Catherine’s mother died in a doctor’s hand.
4. If Catherine’s family had brought a trained nurse, her mother might have survived.
5. If Najmun Sultana came a few months ago, Nirmal could take admission to a foreign University.
6. If Nirmal’s dreams come true, his near and dear ones will be more conscious about their rights.

E . Now make sentences from the following substitution table.

F . Work in pairs and make sentences reflecting your own life using if clauses as in the table above.

G . Write a composition about an event in your life that has inspired you to have a dream. Then briefly describe the dream. Make predictions and possibilities.

Printed page 127

Lesson 3: They Had Dreams (Part-1)

A . Shanta was chatting with one of her foreign friends Jenny. Read the dialogue and tell what the subject of their conversation is.

Jenny : Shanta, what’s your dream for the future?

Shanta : To be a good human being first and then work for my country–no matter whether I become a social worker, an artist, or a professional.

Jenny : Wow! I really appreciate your thought! By the way, Shanta, does anyone inspire you in your dreams?

Shanta : Certainly. I'm always influenced by the great personalities in our country and abroad. Whenever I read the biography of great people, I try to understand how their dreams helped them to be what they have been.

Jenny : Would you please tell me about some of your favourite dreamers?

Shanta : Sure! Read the following texts to know about some dreamers in my country. They are my icons as well.

B . Read the text and complete the tasks C and D.

Pritilata Waddedar was born in Chattogram on 5 May 1911. She was a meritorious student at Dr Khastagir Government Girls' School in Chattogram and Eden College, Dhaka. She graduated in philosophy with distinction from Bethune College in Kolkata. In her college days, Pritilata was an activist in the anti-British movement. All through her life, she dreamt of two things: a society without gender discrimination, and her motherland free from British colonial rule.

So, she decided to fight against the British rule. Soon after, Pritilata became the head teacher of Nandankanon Aparna Charan School in Chattogram. Gradually, she involved herself in Surja Sen's armed

Printed page 128

resistance movement. Surja Sen was a famous anti-British movement organiser and revolutionary activist in Chattogram area at that time. In 1932, Surja Sen planned an attack on the Pahartali European Club. The club was well-known for its notorious sign at its entrance: Dogs and Indians not allowed. Surja Sen assigned Pritilata to lead a team of 10-12 men to attack the Club. The raid was successful but Pritilata, dressed as a man, failed to get out of the Club. She committed suicide by taking potassium cyanide to avoid arrest. She proved that women can work like men. She also proved that women too needed to be prepared to sacrifice their lives for freedom from the British colonial rule. Her dream finally came true. The British rule came to an end in 1947 though she couldn't see it during her lifetime.

Figure: Pahartali European Club

Labels: Pahartali European Club Description: A single-storey wooden building with a pitched roof and a veranda along its front, with trees behind it and a person standing at the right side of the building.

C . Read the words in Column A and match them with the meanings in Column B.

Printed page 129

D . Now answer the questions.

1. Where did Pritilata fight?
2. When did she fight?
3. Why did she fight?
4. What was Pritilata’s profession?
5. What do you learn from Pritilata’s life?

E . Now, make questions from the substitution table and match the answers. One is done for you.

Printed page 130