How to pronounce 'The'

When ‘the’ comes before a word with vowel sound we pronounce it as ‘thee’

Examples:

The apple (thee apple),

The umbrella (thee umbrella)

We pronounce ‘the’ as ‘thuh’ when it is followed by a word with consonant sound.

Examples:

The clock (thuh clock)

The pen (thuh pen)

When we wish to place emphasis on a particular word we pronounce ‘the’ as ‘thee’ even if the word starts with consonant sound.

Example:

This is the (thee) book which I was searching for the past 2 weeks.

Sight words -1

These are the common sight words which a child needs to know while entering Primary 1

1. the
2. of
3. and
4. a
5. to
6. in
7. is
8. you
9. that
10. it
11. he
12. for
13. was
14. on
15. are
16. as
17. with
18. his
19. they
20. at
21. be
22. this
23. from
24. I
25. have
26. or
27. by
28. one
29. had
30. not
31. but
32. what
33. all
34. were
35. when
36. we
37. there
38. can
39. an
40. your
41. which
42. their
43. said
44. if
45. do
46. will
47. each
48. about
49. how
50. up

Library - The Most Interesting Place

The place where I love to go most of the times, is the library. It is quiet and comfortably airconditioned place, where I can borrow six great books.My daughters will always accompany me to the library.

I love to spend my weekends there with my children . we prefer books to television.
Books are my friends from childhood. I enjoy reading them.

Here in Singapore, many free workshops are conducted in the libraries. Generally I like to attend the english workshops.

They also conduct writing workshops with the help of which I got an idea to restart this blog. I know that I am at stage 1 but will try my best to key in my thoughts here.

GIVE THEM TIME

After 21 years of marriage, my wife wanted me to take another woman out to dinner and a

movie. She said I love you but I know this other woman loves you and would love to spend

some time with you.

The other woman that my wife wanted me to visit was my MOTHER, who has been a widow

for 19 years, but the demands of my work and my three children had made it possible to visit

her only occasionally.


That night I called to invite her to go out for dinner and a movie.


"What's wrong, are you well," she asked? My mother is the type of woman who suspects that

a late night call or a surprise invitation is a sign of bad news.


"I thought that it would be pleasant to be with you," I responded. "Just the two of us."


She thought about it for a moment, and then said, "I would like that very much."


That Friday after work, as I drove over to pick her up I was a bit nervous. When I arrived at her

house, I noticed that she, too, seemed to be nervous about our date. She waited in the door

with her coat on. She had curled her hair and was wearing the dress that she had worn to

celebrate her last wedding anniversary.



She smiled from a face that was as radiant as an angel's.



"I told my friends that I was going to go out with my son, and they were impressed, "she said,

as she got into the car. "They can't wait to hear about our meeting". We went to a restaurant

that, although not elegant, was very nice and cozy. My mother took my arm as if she were the

First Lady. After we sat down, I had to read the menu. Half way through the entries, I lifted my

eyes and saw Mom sitting there staring at me. A nostalgic smile was on her lips



"It was I who used to have to read the menu when you were small," she said.



"Then it's time that you relax and let me return the favor," I responded.



During the dinner, we had an agreeable conversation - nothing extraordinary, but catching up

on recent events of each other's life. We talked so much that we missed the movie.



As we arrived at her house later, she said, "I'll go out with you again, but only if you let me

invite you." I agreed.



"How was your dinner date?" asked my wife when I got home. "Very nice. Much more so

than I could have imagined," I answered.



A few days later, my mother died of a massive heart attack. It happened so suddenly that I did

to not get to do anything for her.



Some time later, I received an envelope with a copy of a restaurant receipt from the same

place mother and I had dined.



An attached note said: "I paid this bill in advance. I wasn't sure that I could be there; but

nevertheless, I paid for two plates - one for you and the other for your wife. You will never know

what that night meant for me. I love you, son."



At that moment, I understood the importance of saying in time: "I LOVE YOU!" and to give

our loved ones the time that they deserve. Nothing in life is more important than your family.

Give them the time they deserve, because these things cannot be put off till "some other

time."

VERY SHORT, MOST EFFECTIVE SPEECH

30 second Speech by Bryan Dyson (CEO of Coca Cola)

"Imagine life as a game in which you are juggling some five balls in the air.. You name them - Work, Family, Health, Friends and Spirit and you're keeping all of these in the Air.

You will soon understand that work is a rubber ball. If you drop it, it will bounce back.

But the other four Balls - Family, Health, Friends and Spirit - are made of glass. If you drop one of these; they will be irrevocably scuffed, marked, nicked, damaged or even shattered. They will never be the same. You must understand that and strive for it."

WORK EFFICIENTLY DURING OFFICE HOURS AND LEAVE ON TIME. GIVE THE REQUIRED TIME TO YOUR FAMILY, FRIENDS & HAVE PROPER REST.

BE NICE TO PEOPLE ON YOUR WAY UP

It was probably the April of 1974. Bangalore was getting warm and gulmohars were blooming at the IISc campus. I was the only girl in my postgraduate department and was staying at the ladies' hostel.. Other girls were pursuing research in different departments of Science.

I was looking forward to going abroad to complete a doctorate in computer science. I had been offered scholarships from Universities in the US ... I had not thought of taking up a job in India .

One day, while on the way to my hostel from our lecture-hall complex, I saw an advertisement on the notice board. It was a standard job-requirement notice from the famous automobile company Telco (now Tata Motors)... It stated that the company required young, bright engineers, hardworking and with an excellent academic background, etc.

At the bottom was a small line: 'Lady Candidates need not apply.'

I read it and was very upset. For the first time in my life I was up against gender discrimination.

Though I was not keen on taking up the job, I saw it as a challenge. I had done extremely well in academics, better than most of my male peers... Little did I know then that in real life academic excellence is not enough to be successful?

After reading th e notice I went fuming to my room. I decided to inform the topmost pe rson in Telco's management about the injustice the company was perpetrating. I got a postcard and started to write, but there was a problem: I did not know who headed Telco

I thought it must be one of the Tatas. I knew JRD Tata was the head of the Tata Group; I had seen his pictures in newspapers (actually, Sumant Moolgaokar was the company's chairman then) I took the card, addressed it to JRD and started writing. To this day I remember clearly what I wrote..

'The great Tatas have always been pioneers. They are the people who started the basic infrastructure industries in India , such as iron and steel, chemicals, textiles and locomotives they have cared for higher education in India since 1900 and they were responsible for the establishment of the Indian Institute of Science. Fortunately, I study there. But I am surprised how a company such as Telco is discriminating on the basis of gender.'

I posted the letter and forgot about it. Less than 10 days la ter, I received a telegram stating that I had to appear for an interview at Telco's Pune facility at the company's expense. I was taken aback by the telegram. My hostel mate told me I should use the opportunity to go to Pune free of cost and buy them the famous Pune saris for cheap! I collected Rs30 each from everyone who wanted a sari when I look back, I feel like laughing at the reasons for my going, but back then they seemed good enough to make the trip.

It was my first visit to Pune and I immediately fell in love with the city...

To this day it remains dear to me.. I feel as much at home in Pune as I do in Hubli, my hometown. The place changed my life in so many ways. As directed, I went to Telco's Pimpri office for the interview.

There were six people on the panel and I realized then that this was serious business.

'This is the girl who wrote to JRD,' I heard somebody whisper as soon as I entered the room. By then I knew for sure that I wo uld not get the job. The realization abolished all fear from my mind, so I was rather cool while the interview was being conducted.

Even before the interview started, I reckoned the panel was biased, so I told them, rather impolitely, 'I hope this is only a technical interview.'

They were taken aback by my rudeness, and even today I am ashamed about my attitude.
The panel asked me technical questions and I answered all of them.

Then an elderly gentleman with an affectionate voice told me, 'Do you know why we said lady candidates need not apply? The reason is that we have never employed any ladies on the shop floor. This is not a co-ed college; this is a factory. When it comes to academics, you are a first ranker throughout. We appreciate that, but people like you should work in research laboratories.

I was a young girl from small-town Hubli.. My world had been a limited place..

I did not know the ways of large corporate houses and their difficulties, so I answered, 'But you must start somewhere, other wise no woman will ever be able to work in your factories.

' Finally, after a long interview, I was told I had been successful. So this was what the future had in store for me. Never had I thought I would take up a job in Pune. I met a shy young man from Karnataka there, we became good friends and we got married.

It was only after joining Telco that I realized who JRD was: the uncrowned king of Indian industry. Now I was scared, but I did not get to meet him till I was transferred to Bombay . One day I had to show some reports to Mr Moolgaokar, our chairman, who we all knew as SM... I was in his office on the first floor of Bombay House (the Tata headquarters) when, suddenly JRD walked in. That was the first time I saw 'appro JRD'. Appro means 'our' in Gujarati. This was the affectionate term by which people at Bombay House called him.

I was feeling very nervous, remembering my postcard episode. SM introduced me nicely, 'Jeh (that's what his close assoc iates called him), this young woman is an engineer and that too a pos tgraduate.

She is the first woman to work on the Telco shop floor.' JRD looked at me. I was praying he would not ask me any questions about my interview (or the postcard that preceded it).

Thankfully, he didn't. Instead, he remarked. 'It is nice that girls are getting into engineering in our country. By the way, what is your name?'

'When I joined Telco I was Sudha Kulkarni, Sir,' I replied. 'Now I am Sudha Murthy.' He smiled and kindly smile and started a discussion with SM. As for me, I almost ran out of the room.

After that I used to see JRD on and off. He was the Tata Group chairman and I was merely an engineer. There was nothing that we had in common. I was in awe of him.

One day I was waiting for Murthy, my husband, to pick me up after office hours. To my surprise I saw JRD standing next to me. I did not know how to react. Yet again I started worrying about that postcard. Looking back, I realize JRD had forgotten about it. It must have been a small incident for him, but not so for me.

'Young lady, why are you here?' he asked. 'Office time is over.' I said, 'Sir, I'm waiting for my husband to come and pick me up.' JRD said, 'It is getting dark and there's no one in the corridor.

I'll wait with you till your husband comes.

' I was quite used to waiting for Murthy, but having JRD waiting alongside made me extremely uncomfortable.

I was nervous. Out of the corner of my eye I looked at him. He wore a simple white pant and shirt. He was old, yet his face was glowing. There wasn't any air of superiority about him. I was thinking, 'Look at this person. He is a chairman, a well-respected man in our country and he is waiting for the sake of an ordinary employee.'

Then I saw Murthy and I rushed out. JRD called and said, 'Young lady, tell your husband never to make his wife wait again.' In 1982 I had to resign from my job at Telco. I was reluctant to go, but I really did not have a choice... I was coming down the steps of Bombay House after wrapping up my final settlement when I saw JRD coming up. He was absorbed in thought. I wanted to say goodbye to him, so I stopped. He saw me and paused.

Gently, he said, 'So what are you doing, Mrs. Kulkarni?' (That was the way he always addressed me..) 'Sir, I am leaving Telco.'

'Where are you going?' he asked. 'Pune, Sir. My husband is starting a company called Infosys and I'm shifting to Pune.'

'Oh! And what will you do when you are successful.'

'Sir, I don't know whether we will be successful.' 'Never start with diffidence,' he advised me 'Always start with confidence. When you are successful you must give back to society. Society gives us so much; we must reciprocate. Wish you all the best.'

Then JRD continued walking up the stairs. I stood there for what seemed like a millennium. That was the last time I saw him alive.

Many years later I met Ratan Tata in the same Bombay House, occupying the chair JRD once did. I told him of my many sweet memories of working with Telco. Later, he wrote to me, 'It was nice hearing about Jeh from you. The sad part is that he's not alive to see you today.'

I consider JRD a great man because, despite being an extremely busy person, he valued one postcard written by a young girl seeking justice. He must have received thousands of letters everyday. He could have thrown mine away, but he didn't do that. He respected the intentions of that unknown girl, who had neither influence nor money, and gave her an opportunity in his company. He did not merely give her a job; he changed her life and mindset forever.

Close to 50 per cent of the students in today's engineering colleges are girls. And there are women on th e shop floor in many industry segments. I see these changes and I thi nk of JRD. If at all time stops and asks me what I want from life, I would say I wish JRD were alive today to see how the company we started has grown. He would have enjoyed it wholeheartedly.

My love and respect for the House of Tata remains undiminished by the passage of time. I always looked up to JRD. I saw him as a role model for his simplicity, his generosity, his kindness and the care he took of his employees. Those blue eyes always reminded me of the sky; they had the same vastness and magnificence. (Sudha Murthy is a widely published writer and chairperson of the Infosys Foundation involved in a number of social development initiatives. Infosys chairman Narayana Murthy is her husband.)


Article sourced from: Lasting Legacies (Tata Review- Special Commemorative Issue 2004), brought out by the house of Tatas to commemorate the 100th birth anniversary of JRD Tata on July 29,2004.

BE NICE TO PEOPLE ON YOUR WAY UP,FOR YOU NEVER KNOW, WHOM YOU WILL MEET, ON YOUR WAY DOWN.

HOW CLEVER R U!

Below are four ( 4 ) questions and a bonus question. You have to answer them instantly. You can't take your time, answer all of them immediately . OK?


Let's find out just how clever you really are....



Ready? GO!!! (scroll down)







First Question:

Your are participating in a race! You overtake the second person. What position are you in?

~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~






















Answer: If you answered that you are first, then you are
absolutely wrong! If you overtake the second person and you take his place, you are second!

Try not to screw up next time.
Now answer the second question,
but don't take as much time as you took for the first question, OK ?

Second Question:
If you overtake the last person, then you are...?
(scroll down)

























~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~




Answer: If you answered that you are second to last, then you are wrong again. Tell me, how can you overtake the LAST Person?


You're not very good at this, are you?





Third Question:
Very tricky arithmetic! Note: This must be done in your head only .
Do NOT use paper and pencil or a calculator. Try it.



Take 1000 and add 40 to it. Now add another 1000 . Now add 30 .
Add another 1000 . Now add 20 . Now add another 1000
Now add 10 . What is the total?


Scroll down for answer.....






























~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~


Did you get 5000 ?

The correct answer is actually 4100.



If you don't believe it, check it with a calculator!
Today is definitely not your day, is it?
Maybe you'll get the last question right.... Maybe.



Fourth Question:

Mary's father has five daughters: 1. Nana, 2. Nene, 3. Nini,
4. Nono. What is the name of the fifth daughter?


























~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~

Did you Answer Nunu?
NO! Of course it isn't.
Her name is Mary. Read the question again!



Okay, now the bonus round:

A mute person goes into a shop and wants to buy a toothbrush. By
imitating the action of brushing his teeth he successfully
expresses himself to the shopkeeper and the purchase is
done.
Next, a blind man comes into the shop who wants to buy a pair of
sunglasses; how does HE indicate what he wants?































~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~



He just has to open his mouth and ask...
It's really very simple.... Like you!