BUDDHIST AND PALI UNIVERSITY OF SRI LANKA

Bachelor of Arts (General) Degree

First Year First Semester Examination (Internal)
October 2021
ENGL 11013 (C) – Advanced Reading and Writing Skills
2 ½ hours

Answer three (03) questions only, selecting one from each part.
Note-
(Direct copying from other sources is strictly prohibited and if traced, the entire
question will be left unmarked.)

PART I

01. Read the following text and answer the questions set on it. (10 marks)
Much of today's business is conducted across international borders, and while the
majority of the global business community might share the use of English as a
common language, the nuances and expectations of business communication might
differ greatly from culture to culture. A lack of understanding of the cultural norms
and practices of our business acquaintances can result in unfair judgements,
misunderstandings and breakdowns in communication. Here are three basic areas of
differences in the business etiquette around the world that could help stand you in
good stead when you next find yourself working with someone from a different
culture.
Addressing someone
When discussing this topic in a training course, a German trainee and a British trainee
got into a hot debate about whether it was appropriate for someone with a doctorate
to use the corresponding title on their business card. The British trainee maintained

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that anyone who wasn't a medical doctor expecting to be addressed as 'Dr' was
disgustingly pompous and full of themselves. The German trainee, however, argued
that the hard work and years of education put into earning that PhD should give them
full rights to expect to be addressed as 'Dr'.
This stark difference in opinion over something that could be conceived as minor and
thus easily overlooked goes to show that we often attach meaning to even the most
mundane practices. When things that we are used to are done differently, it could
spark the strongest reactions in us. While many Continental Europeans and Latin
Americans prefer to be addressed with a title, for example Mr or Ms and their
surname when meeting someone in a business context for the first time, Americans,
and increasingly the British, now tend to prefer using their first names. The best thing
to do is to listen and observe how your conversation partner addresses you and, if you
are still unsure, do not be afraid to ask them how they would like to be addressed.

Smiling
A famous Russian proverb states that 'a smile without reason is a sign of idiocy' and a
so-called 'smile of respect' is seen as insincere and often regarded with suspicion in
Russia. Yet in countries like the United States, Australia and Britain, smiling is often
interpreted as a sign of openness, friendship and respect, and is frequently used to
break the ice.

In a piece of research done on smiles across cultures, the researchers found that
smiling individuals were considered more intelligent than non-smiling people in
countries such as Germany, Switzerland, China and Malaysia. However, in countries
like Russia, Japan, South Korea and Iran, pictures of smiling faces were rated as less
intelligent than the non-smiling ones. Meanwhile, in countries like India, Argentina
and the Maldives, smiling was associated with dishonesty.

Eye contact
An American or British person might be looking their client in the eye to show that
they are paying full attention to what is being said, but if that client is from Japan or
Korea, they might find the direct eye contact awkward or even disrespectful. In parts
of South America and Africa, prolonged eye contact could also be seen as challenging

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 authority. In the Middle East, eye contact across genders is considered inappropriate,
although eye contact within a gender could signify honesty and truthfulness.

Having an increased awareness of the possible differences in expectations and

behaviour can help us avoid cases of miscommunication, but it is vital that we also
remember that cultural stereotypes can be detrimental to building good business
relationships. Although national cultures could play a part in shaping the way we
behave and think, we are also largely influenced by the region we come from, the
communities we associate with, our age and gender, our corporate culture and our
individual experiences of the world. The knowledge of the potential differences
should therefore be something we keep at the back of our minds, rather than
something that we use to pigeonhole the individuals of an entire nation.

1) Write down the number of the correct answer. (05 marks)

a. The argument between the German trainee and British trainee was about
i. becoming a doctor.
ii. using the title of ‘Dr’ before the name.
iii. difficulty of becoming a doctor.

b. Smiling for no reason is a sign of foolishness in

i. Russia.
ii. America.
iii. India.

c. Direct eye contact is disrespectful in

i. America or Britain.
ii. South America and Africa.
iii. Korea or Japan.

d. Building good business relationships is affected by

i. cultural stereotypes.
ii. business relationships.
iii. national cultures.
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e. “Appropriate” in the text means,
i. whether it is suitable to use the title for business cards
ii. whether the title looks fine for business cards
iii.whether the person should use or not the title

2) Write down any business etiquette from the text. (01 marks)

3) What is the idea of the German trainee regarding the use of the address term,
‘Dr’? (02 marks)

4) How does eye contact differ according to the gender in the Middle East?
(02 marks)

OR
02. Read the extract from a short story and answer the questions set on it. (20 marks)

Angoori was the name of the very new wife of the very old servant of the neighbours
of my neighbours. One reason for her being new was that she was his second wife. In
Punjabi, they call a man who marries a second time duhaju. Etymologically, a man
who has entered a second life — a second life in marriage. The fact that Angoori was
in her first life in the marriage made her new. It was not even a year since she had
been given away as a bride, so she was still new.
Some five years ago, when Parbhati had gone home to perform the last rites of his
first wife, Angoori’s father had come forward and wrung dry his parna, the towel
hung over his shoulder. Now to tell you the truth, no man’s parna is drenched with
the tears shed for his wife. In fact, it is soaked in water during the last rituals. But if a
father comes forward and wrings the parna of the bereaved husband, he is saying: “I
give my daughter in place of the woman who has passed away. There is no need for
you to weep any more. See, I have dried your towel.” It is a simple rural custom
which replaces the old with the new.
This was how Parbhati was married to Angoori. But Angoori was too young and her
mother was bed-ridden with arthritis, so the ceremony of giving her away as a bride
was delayed. One by one, five years passed and the time came for Angoori to be given
away to Parbhati. He told his employers that either he would bring his wife to the city
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 or he would move back to the village. The employers were not willing to feed two
persons from their kitchen. But when Parbhati told them that Angoori would make her
own little kitchen by the servants’ quarters and cook her own food, they agreed to let
her stay. So Angoori came to the city.

1) Chose the correct answer. (05 marks)

a. What is not a reason for Angoori to be called the very new wife?
i. It is her first marriage
ii. Parbhati’ s second wife
iii. She is new to the village

b. Why was Angoori’s marriage delayed?

i. She was young.
ii. Father didn’t like it.
iii. Mother was ill.

c. Why did Angoori come to the city?

i. She thought she loved the city.
ii. She didn’t like the village.
iii. She thought to cook for themselves.

d. ‘Drenched’ means,
i. to cut into pieces.
ii. to give something to somebody.
iii. to make something wet.

e. ‘Bereaved’ is to
i. marrying for the second time.
ii. becoming sad.
iii. participating in a funeral.

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2) Briefly describe the characters of Parbhat and Angoori. (02 marks)
3) Explain the marriage custom presented in the story. What is your idea about it?
(03marks)

PART II

03. Write a summary of the following text. (20 marks)

In the 1950s, Central American commercial banana growers were facing the death of
their most lucrative product, the Gros Michel banana, known as Big Mike.

With its easily transported, thick-skinned and sweet-tasting fruit, the Gros Michel
banana plant dominated the plantations of Central America. United Fruit, the main
grower and exporter in South America at the time, mass-produced its bananas in the
most efficient way possible: it cloned shoots from the stems of plants instead of
growing plants from seeds, and cultivated them in densely packed fields.

The TR-1 strain of the fungus was resistant to crop sprays and travelled around on
boots or the tyres of trucks, slowly infecting plantations across the region. In an
attempt to escape the fungus, farmers abandoned infected fields, flooded them and
then replanted crops somewhere else, often cutting down rainforest to do so.
Their efforts failed. So, instead, they searched for a variety of banana that the fungus
didn’t affect. They found the Cavendish, as it was called, in the greenhouse of a
British duke. It wasn’t as well suited to shipping as the Gros Michel, but its bananas
tasted good enough to keep consumers happy. Most importantly, TR-1 didn’t seem to
affect it. In a few years, United Fruit had saved itself from bankruptcy by filling its
plantations with thousands of the new plants, copying the same monoculture growing
conditions Gros Michel had thrived in.
(233 words)

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 OR

04. Analyse one of the following advertisements. (20 marks)

A.

B.

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 PART III
05. Write a paragraph on any of the following topic areas. You may narrow down it to a
topic of a paragraph length. (20 marks)
a. Reading
b. Environment
c. Religion
OR
06. Write an article to a journal on any environmental issue. (500 words) (20 marks)

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