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Unit 7 (Madam Rides the Bus)

Mizoram and conversations

Write dialogues with stage directions and use question tags.

Mizoram. Mi means human beings and Zo means a hill, so Mizoram is the land of the hill-dwellers. Its capital is Aizawl. The Mizos' main festivals, Mim Kut, Chapchar Kut and Pawl Kut, follow the farming year, with feasting, singing and dancing.

Dances for everyone. Mizo dances are for the whole community to join, not shows on a stage. The Mizos love to sing as much as they love to dance. When a question asks which statements are not true, check each one against the passage word by word.

Speaking: Valli as a skit. Turn Part II of the story into dialogue. The book's adverbs tell you how to speak each line: Valli commandingly ('Stop the bus!'), haughtily, irritably ('I'm not a child'); the conductor smilingly, jokingly, mimicking her. Act it in groups of three.

Offering help. Polite offers: 'Is there anything I can do to help?' To accept: 'Oh, can you? That sounds wonderful.' To refuse kindly: 'Thank you, but I think I can manage.' And when you cannot help: 'I'm sorry, I'm using it right now. Maybe later.' 'That's okay. Thanks anyway.'

Question tags. A short question at the end of a sentence, to check or to invite agreement. A positive sentence takes a negative tag, and a negative one a positive tag:

  • 'It's cold today, isn't it?'
  • 'You have room heaters, don't you?'
  • 'Coal fires aren't very convenient, are they?'
Positive sentence, negative tag; negative sentence, positive tag.

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