S5: English

Key Unit Competence: To use language learnt in the context of international
                                                trade.

Introductory activity

Picture observation and interpretation

After observing the picture above, answer the following questions:
1. What do you understand by the term international trade?
2. What problem does Rwanda face when carrying out international
     trade?
3. State the main modes of transportation in international trade.
4. Explain the importance of international trade in our country?
5. How can international trade reduce poverty in the developing
    countries?

3.1 Describing personal recent business activities

3.1.1 Learning activities: Reading and text analysis

Activity 1

Reading comprehension
Read the passage below and answer the questions that follow.

My recent business

My recent business started a few years ago, when second hand clothes were
in fashion in Rwanda. A busy mum and a loving wife, Ms. Mukamana went
shopping for fine second hand clothes. After a few hours of searching, she
came home tired and dissatisfied because everyone was struggling to pick
nice ones.

In 2016, the government of Rwanda increased the price of second hand
clothes, so many women found it difficult to find the right outfit. “I will help
them,” – thought Ms. Mukamana. With a very little money, no connections in
the fashion world and a community who laughed at her idea that it was not
truthful, she continued and decided to start up her own business.
Ms. Mukamana designed her own first collection of twenty clothing items,
bought suitable material and a sewing machine. Ms. Mukamana was a tailor
herself. Her sitting room turned into a workshop. When the collection was
ready, Ms. Mukamana took them to fashion shops.

Surprisingly, they bought the whole collection at once. When they asked her
about the name of her company, Ms. Mukamana looked at them, smiled and
said: “Made in Rwanda”. Today many people have fallen in love with products
from Ms. Mukamana. She has hired other tailors and expanded her business.
Other people have copied her and now clothes made in Rwanda are on high
demand across the country.

A. Comprehension questions
1. State three difficulties did Ms. Mukamana face when opening her own
      business?
2. What did Ms. Mukamana do in order to start her own business?
3. Explain special character traits helped Ms. Mukamana succeed in her own
    new profession?
4. Where did Ms. Mukamana start sewing her first collection?
5. Why did Ms. Mukamana decide to call her collection “Made in Rwanda?”
6. What did Ms. Mukamana do after getting know that her clothes were in
    high demand?
7. Suggest fact proves that “Made in Rwanda” is a successful company?

B. Vocabulary

Activity 2

Match the following words and phrases in column A with their meaning in
column B.

3.1.2 Application activities

Activity 1

Using given words construct complete and meaningful sentences.
1. fashion
2. second hand clothes
3. dissatisfied
4. truthful
5. fall in love

Activity 2

Writing skills
In not more than 350 words, discuss the ways that Rwanda has used to
satisfy its high population despite its small size.

3.2 Describing one’s business opportunities and business
       plans

3.2.1 Learning activities: Reading and text analysis

Activity 1

Reading comprehension
Read the following dialogue. Read it twice. Exchange roles for the second
reading.
Kayitesi and Kayitare are talking about opportunities and plans of their
business for the future.
Kayitesi: I want to become a businesswoman. I want to run a shop and fly to
Dubai to look for products.
Kayitare: Dubai! Is that not too far? Why do you not get your goods from
Kigali? It is usually men who travel so far. Is it appropriate to do things that
men do?
Kayitesi: In this era, we men and women, all need to work hard. We all have
to do our best to improve the economy.
Kayitare: Do you mean that we can all board planes and go abroad for trade
if we want to?
Kayitesi: Yes, of course, but also locally. We can do anything men can do.
The days of gender discrimination are over.
Kayitare: But would men not refuse to marry women who work like men?

Kayitesi: Only those who are conservative and backward. Most men would
like to marry a competent woman who can contribute to the family income.
Kayitare: And who is supposed to take care of the children, run home, and
cook?
Kayitesi: Do you know what? My mother works at the bank. Sometimes she
has to work late. We have a rule at home. We all help to tidy the house before
we leave for school or work in the morning. The person who gets home first
starts cooking supper. Sometimes it is one of us, sometimes it is my father.
Because he is a teacher, he sometimes gets home early. We have all learnt
to cook. My father is quite good! He knows some traditional recipes that are
delicious!
Kayitare: Wow! That sounds great. I would like to become a politician, but
I thought it would be impossible if I also wanted to get married and have
children. I could even become a senator!

A. Comprehension questions
1. What does Kayitesi intend to be when she has finished school?
2. What has Kayitesi realised about the economy of Rwanda?
3. Explain the reason to why Kayitare is hesitant about women travelling
     abroad?
4. What does Kayitare fear about being too independent?
5. Does a person have to go overseas to buy products for a business? Give
    reasons to support your answer

B. Reading comprehension and vocabulary

Activity 1

Read the passage about Kagabo and Karenzi and answer the questions that
follow:

Kagabo and Karenzi are 18-year-old twins, they got excited when their
parents agreed to let them choose suits that they could buy at the end of the
year to celebrate the accomplishment of their secondary studies. The only
problem was that they had to save enough money in seven months to buy
the suits, and pay the tailor.

Kagabo and Karenzi decided to go and look for suits at Kabatesi’s tailoring
shop. Kabatesi herself helped them find reasonably priced suits for 30,000Frw
each, an amount that they thought they could afford. “Remember,” said
Kabatesi, “You don’t have to buy the suits for another seven months. With
inflation, similar suits will probably cost about 5% more, which means
31,500Frw. When you’re ready, I will be here to help you!” “Now that we know
what we want, how can we possibly come up with 31,500Frw?” wondered
Mugabo.

Karenzi had an idea: “Let’s see where we stand and make a budget. Then
we can make savings to make sure we have 31,500 Frw after seven months.”
Kagabo and Karenzi got down to work and made a list of the money they
anticipated to receive and spend each month.

After realising that they had a lot of expenses and their income was very
little, they decided to ask for a loan from their parents. They thought they
would get the loan interest free, but their parents said they were willing to
lend them at an interest rate of 5% per month. Kagabo and Karenzi decided
to save by avoiding luxuries and buying only necessities. In the end, they
bought the suits without taking out any loans.

Comprehension questions
1. Explain the reason why Kagabo and Karenzi were firstly excited?
2. What lessons did they learn from this experience?
3. What is the importance of budgeting according to this story?
4. If you were either Kagabo or Karenzi which expenses would you remove
     from your daily life? Why?

Vocabulary

Activity 2

Match the following words from the story with their meanings:

3.2.2 Application activities: Writing skills

Activity 1

Summary writing
In short paragraph, summarise the work arrangements in Kayitesi’s home.

Activity 2

Composition writing
In not more than 350 words write a composition with the title “My Future
Business Plan.”

3.3 Describing future business activities

3.3.1 Learning activities: Reading and text analysis

Activity 1

Reading comprehension
Read the passage below and answer the questions related to it.

My Future business

I am Karamage, a senior five student. I like business, especially in the
domain of buying and selling goods. This is my future dream. My idea is very
comprehensive. I already have a small shop called “My Dreams”. Many of my
fellow students at school come to buy some small things, like pens, exercise
note books, sandwiches etc…..

I also lend out attractive things to students whom I trust can bring them back.
I want to make the shop much bigger and my idea is to make it the best in
Ruhango town. My big picture is to have branches in different parts of the
country and start buying many different goods that I realise are admired by
many people.

I am thinking of taking a loan to expand my shop but am still scared of how
to use the money. What if I make losses? Thieves can steal the money. I am
still confused. I need about two months to think and consult my brother who
has a business in Kigali.

Once I get all the information that I need, I will start implementing step by
step. I will invest some of the money from a loan in rearing pigs so that I
can’t risk all of it in one business. Of course, I will continue with my studies in
Accounting because this is option related to the business I am doing. I love
this Option of Accounting.

Accounting Option plays a vital role in running a business because it helps
you track income and expenditures, ensure statutory compliance, and
provide investors, management, and government with quantitative financial
information which can be used in making business decisions.

A. Comprehension questions
1. What kind of business does Karamage dream of?
2. Explain advantage does the speaker have that will help him become
successful in his business activities?
3. State challenges is he likely to meet in this kind of business?
4. Would you advise Karamage to get a loan for this business? Give three
reasons?
5. Why is Karamage studying what is related to his business?

B. Vocabulary

Activity 2

Choose the correct alternative for the statements given and write the answer
in your exercise book.
1. A small flat folding case made of e.g. leather, used for keeping paper
    money and credit cards:
a) Moneybags b) wally c) wallet

2. A person who buys and sells things for other people:
a) a beggar b) a burglar c) a broker

3. A small flat piece of metal used as money:
a) Coin b) monetarist c) copper

4. The money that an organization such as a bank lends and somebody
borrows is a
a) Load b) loaf c) loan

5. To receive money, property, etc. from somebody when they die:
a) Inhibit b) inherit c) inhabit

6. A piece of paper that shows how much money you have spent on
something:
a) Receipt b) recipe c) recite

7. A piece of paper that you can use for paying instead of using money:
a) Cheek b) cheque c) chess

8. A legal agreement by which a bank lends you money to buy a house:
a) Mortgage b) borrowing c) housing benefit

9. A strong metal box used for keeping valuable things, e.g. money or
    jewellery
a) Shell b) boxer c) safe

10. A person who has a lot of money, possessions, etc. is:
a) Wealthy b) healthy c) filthy

3.3.2 Application activities: Writing skills

Activity 1

Letter writing
Write a formal letter applying for a loan from the Bank for your business.

3.4 Language structure: Present perfect tense – Present
       perfect continuous tense – Adjectives

3.4.1 Present perfect tense

What is present perfect tense?

The present perfect tense is one of the common verb tenses in English, used to
show an action that happened in the past that is directly related to the present.

How do we make the Present Perfect tense?
The structure of the Present Perfect is:

The present perfect simple is have/has + past participle. The past participle often
ends in –ed for regular verbs (finished/decided etc.), but many verbs are irregular
(lost/done/written etc.).

For negative sentences we insert not between the auxiliary verb and the main
verb. We use present perfect tense:

When we talk or ask about something that began in the past and is still true or
important now, the results is still evident.

Example:
I have just eaten. (….so I am not hungry.)
How long have you known each other? (You still know each other)
• When we say ‘something has happened’, this is usually new information:

Example:
1. The road is closed. There’s been an accident. (= There has been …)
2. Police have arrested two men in connection with the robbery.
     We can use the present perfect with just, already and yet.

Examples:
Just = a short time ago:
1. ‘Are you hungry?’ ‘No, I have just had lunch.’
2. Hello. Have you just arrived?

Already = sooner than expected:

Examples:
1. ‘Don’t forget to pay the bill.’ ‘I have already paid it.’
2. ‘What time is Mark leaving?’ ‘He has already left.’
Yet = until now. We use yet to show that we are expecting
something to happen.

We use yet in questions and negative sentences:
1. Has it stopped raining yet?
2. I’ve written the email, but I haven’t sent it yet.

Compare gone (to) and been (to):
1. James is on holiday. He has gone to Italy. (= he is there now or on his way
there)
2. Amy is back home now. She has been to Italy. (= she has now come back)

Activity 1: Complete the sentences using the present perfect.
1. Sally is still here. ___________ (she / not / go) out.
2. I can’t find my bag ___________ (you / see / it) anywhere?
3. I can’t log on to the website ___________ (I / forget) my password.
4. I sent Joe an email this morning, but ___________ (he / not / reply).
5. Is the meeting still going on, or ___________ (it / finish)?
6. ___________ (the weather / change). It’s colder now.
7. ___________ (you / not / sign) the form. Could you sign it now, please?
8. Are your friends still here, or ___________ (they / go) home?
9. Paul doesn’t know what he’s going to do. ___________ (he / not / decide /
yet).
10. ‘Do you know where Julia is?’ ‘Yes, ___________ I ( just / see / her).

3.4.2 Present perfect continuous tense

How do we make the Present Perfect Continuous tense?
The structure of the Present Perfect Continuous tense is:

The first auxiliary (have) is conjugated in the Present Simple: have, has
The second auxiliary (be) is invariable in past participle form: been
The main verb is invariable in present participle form: -ing
For negative sentences we insert not after the first auxiliary verb.
We use the present perfect continuous tense:
To talk about something that began in the past and has continued to the present;
and to say how long an action is still happening.

Examples:
1. She has been studying English for eight years. (means she is still studying
    English)
2. How long have you been reading that book?
3. We have not been playing football.
We use the present perfect continuous in this way, especially with how long, for …
and since …. The activity is still happening.

Examples:
1. How long have you been learning English? (= you’re still learning
English)
2. Ben is watching TV. He’s been watching TV all day.
3. Where have you been? I’ve been looking for you for the last half hour.

Activity 3. Exercise Present Perfect Continuous Tense
1. I have _____________ my journey on Thursday. (begin)
2. She _____________ from Tokyo. (come)
3. We _____________ to play without our coach. (not/go)
4. He _____________ his whole teammates in the tournament. (lead)
5. The farmer _____________ the fertilizers due to lack of money. (not/
    spread)
6. He _____________ from his toes since 2 o’clock. (bleed)
7. You must _____________ your hair from that salon. (cut)
8. We _____________ this nonsense since 2017. (hear)
9. An athlete _____________ the race because of the wound. (quit)

10. _____________ you _____________ your son for his mistake? (forgive)
11. _____________ the Director _____________ the same actor in his 2nd
        movie? (cast)
12. The gold digger machine _____________ in this region for so long. (dig)
13. She _____________ his father’s hands tightly. (hold)
14. Amol _____________ the seeds in his farm due to the rain. (not/sow)
15. What _____________ you _____________ about the attendance in your
        college? (think)

3.4.3 Adjectives

What is an Adjective?
An adjective is a word that tells us more about a noun. It “describes” or
“modifies” a noun (The big dog was hungry). In these examples, the adjective
is in bold and the noun that it modifies is in italics.

An adjective often comes BEFORE a noun:
• a green car
• a dark sky
• an interesting story

And sometimes an adjective comes after a verb:
• My car is green.
• The sky became dark.
• His story seemed interesting.

But adjectives can also modify pronouns (She is beautiful). Look at these examples:
• They were empty.
• I thought it seemed strange.
• Those are not expensive.

Adjective Form
Some adjectives have particular endings, for example:
-able/-ible: washable, credible
-ish/-like: childish, childlike
-ful/-less: careful, careless
-ous: dangerous, harmonious
-y: dirty, pretty

Comparative, Superlative

Most adjectives can be comparative or superlative, for example:
big, bigger, biggest
good, better, best
beautiful, more beautiful, most beautiful

Activity 1: Read the given sentences below and circle the adjectives.
1. The fox is a sly animal.
2. The selfish giant didn’t allow the children to enter his garden.
3. The foolish dog barked at its reflection and lost its food.
4. The family didn’t have enough food for the winter.
5. The brave army marched through the streets.
6. I had no idea such a fantastic place existed.
7. The ship sustained heavy damage.
8. I have called Sam several times.
9. I haven’t seen Mr. Thomas for several days.
10. The soldier died a glorious death.
11. I had an eventful day.
12. King Solomon was a wise king.

3.5 End unit assessment

Activity 1

Put the verb into the present perfect simple or present perfect continuous.
1. Where have you been? __________ (you / play) tennis?
2. Look! __________ (somebody / break) that window.
3. You look tired. __________ (you / work) hard?
4. ‘ __________ (you / ever / work) in a factory?’ ‘No, never.’
5. Where’s Lisa? Where __________ (she / go)?
6. This is a very old book __________ (I / have) it since I was a child.
7. ‘Have you been busy?’ ‘No, __________ (I / watch) TV.’
8. My brother is an actor. __________ (he / appear) in several films.
9. ‘Sorry I’m late.’ ‘That’s all right __________ (I / not / wait) long.’
10. Are you ok? You look as if __________ (you / cry).
11. ‘Is it still raining?’ ‘No, __________ (it / stop).’
12. The children are tired now __________ (they / play) in the garden.
13. __________ (I / lose) my phone __________ (you / see) it?
14. __________ (I / read) the book you lent me, but-----------------------(I /
       not / finish) it yet. It’s really interesting.
15. __________ (I / read) the book you lent me, so you can have it back
       now.

Activity 2

Put in the correct word.
1. Sam drove------------------------along the narrow road. (careful /
    carefully)
2. I think you behaved very------------------ (selfish / selfishly)
3. The weather changed ---------------------- (sudden / suddenly)
4. There was a----------------------- change in the weather. (sudden /
     suddenly)
5. Liz fell and hurt herself really---------------------- (bad / badly)
6. I think I have flu. I feel ----------------------- (awful / awfully)
7. Tanya is---------------- upset about losing her job. (terrible / terribly)
8. I could sit in this chair all day. It’s very--------------------- (comfortable /
    comfortably)
9. I explained everything as--------------------- as I could. (clear / clearly)
10. Be careful on that ladder. It doesn’t look very------------------ (safe /
       safely)
11. Have a good trip and I hope you have a------------------- journey. (safe
        / safely)
12. I’m glad you had a good trip and got home -------------------------- (safe
      / safely)

Activity 3

Circle the answer that represents the adjective in each sentence.
1. The shy boy hid behind his mother’s skirt.
a. boy b. behind c. shy
2. Two black cats slept in the sunshine.
a. black b. cats c. sunshine
3. I opened the door to find a tattered envelope on the step.
a. door b. opened c. tattered
4. Please give me the red balloon before I leave.
a. balloon b. red c. before
5. Do you still have a bad cold?
a. bad b. still c. you
6. Please open the door to let that poor dog inside.
a. please b. dog c. poor
7. The baby was making sleepy noises and rubbing her eyes.
a. baby b. eyes c. sleepy

8. How many times have you been to the new restaurant?
a. new b. times c. you
9. She had very dark hair.
a. she b. dark c. very
10. Where did you buy that pretty skirt?
a. where b. skirt c. pretty

Activity 4

Formal letter writing
Imagine you are a loans officer in Bank of Kigali. You gave a person a loan
so that he can run his/her business and he has not paid back. Write a letter
of advice to him on how he can pay back the loan.