Notes for B.M.S. Food Adulteration Public health is now facing a major threat due to adulterated foods. Food items are being adulterated by mixing with various chemicals and sold to the consumers. A section o dishonest businessman is engaged in this illegal practice to make windfall profit. They are making food items attractive by using chemicals to draw consumers in big numbers. Consumers, out of their ignorance, are buying and eating these foods and thus inviting various diseases. Adulteration is not limited only foods served at hotels and restaurants. A wide range of essential commodities – such as fruits and vegetables are not left out of adulteration. Unscrupulous traders spray a kind of chemical on these perishable items to keep them fresh for a longer time. Innocent consumers are captive to these dishonest traders since they have no alternative but to buy these daily essentials. They suffer from various diseases after eating these items. Bangladesh Standard Testing Institute, a stage-run organization, has recently launched a drive across the country to stop adulteration of food. This organization has already identified some restaurants, which were selling adulterated foods and being run in unhygienic atmosphere. It imposed fine on them and in some cases, nabbed a good many restaurants owners involved in this illegal practice. But despite this drive, this social ill is yet to be removed. Health is wealth. One can’t think of any success in life with ill health. Unhealthy people are the main obstacle to making over all progress of a nation. Taking into account the dire consequence of food adulteration the government as well as different Socio-culture organizations should come forward to fight against food adulteration for making a happier nation. Traffic Education Traffic education mainly involves making the rules known and motivating each individual to follow the traffic rules and regulations. Traffic rules are meant to encourage a traffic flow which is as safe and smooth as possible. Breaking these rules result in an increased risk of crashes, or a more serious outcome. Enforcement of these rules is a police task. Road accidents can occur for a variety of reasons. Some of these reasons are under our control while others may be unavoidable. We should always do what we can to reduce the possibility of avoidable accidents by paying attention to the road, adjusting our speed for poor weather, and following road signs. Traffic education is equally important to all road users. All the participants of road are equally responsible for the traffic safety. The drivers and pedestrians should have adequate information regarding road uses. For instance, the driver should know that he must stop at a red traffic signal and pedestrian should know that he must not cross the road at red traffic signal. This is an example of basic traffic regulation. Some of the most common accidents can be avoided by teaching our drivers and pedestrians about the dire consequences that can result from even small mistakes. Every driver should take care to avoid common road violations. Driver’s education program shouldn’t simply teach the student how to drive a car, it should also teach the rules and regulations that enforce safety for all drivers. Consequently, obtaining driver license criteria should also be reviewed. Adequate knowledge of traffic rules and regulations should be ensured before issuing driving license. The driving school should teach about how to adjust speed for different conditions, how to distance oneself from other vehicles, and other fundamentals of driving. One person’s mistake may kill innocent people so traffic safety rules and regulations are to be strictly enforced by the traffic police. Road traffic accidents kill an estimated 1.3 million people and injure 50 million people per year globally, and global road fatalities are forecast to reach 1.9 million by 2020 (Commission for Global Road Safety, Make Roads Safe: A Decade of Action for Road Safety (London, Commission for Global Road Safety, 2009). This statistics reveals that road safety aspect is very crucial across the globe. Traffic education is one of the options that could be used as a tool to control the road accidents. Speech of March 7, 1971 The 7th March Speech of Sheikh Mujibur Rahman was a speech given by Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, a Bengali nationalist leader, on March 7, 1971 at the Ramna Race Course Maidan in Dhaka to a gathering of over two million people. He spoke at a time of increasing tensions between East Pakistan and the powerful political and military establishment of West Pakistan. The Bengali people were inspired to prepare for a potential war of independence, amid widespread reports of armed mobilization by West Pakistan. During the speech, Sheikh Mujib proclaimed, "Our struggle is for our freedom. Our struggle is for our independence" He also announced the civil disobedience movement in the province, calling for "every house to turn into a fortress". The speech started with this: "Today, I come to you with a heavy heart. You know everything and understand as well. We tried our best. But the streets of Dhaka, Chittagong, Khulna, Rajshahi and Rangpur have been dyed red with the blood of our brethren. People of Bangladesh today want freedom. They want to survive. They want to have their rights. What wrong did we do?". The extempore speech lasted about 19 minutes, with more than 1100 words. In this speech, Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujib mentioned a 4-point condition before joining the National Assembly meeting on 25th March. Sheikh Mujib also articulated several directives to the nation as part of civil disobedience movement. At the end, raising his fist, Sheikh Mujib cried out at the top of his voice: “OUR STRUGGLE THIS TIME IS A STRUGGLE FOR OUR FREEDOM, OUR STRUGGLE THIS TIME IS A STRUGGLE FOR OUR INDEPENDENCE. JOY BANGLA.” This historic address was a de facto declaration of Bangladesh’s independence. An Ideal Student “How can a child be taught to love beauty when it never sees beauty except in books?...... And how can it wish to improve its own surroundings when it has never seen anything better?” Mere study can’t make a student a complete student in this competitive world. Hence the circumference of the duties of a student has also increased to a great extent. Besides study, he/ she has to perform certain other ordeals which will crown him/ her with success. The word ‘ideal’ wants that a student must acquire such qualities as would attract any student to follow him. An ideal student is a student who is eager to know more till his last breath and act according to what he learns. He must be punctual, early rising, obedient to parents. He must be well – disciplined. He studies while it is time to study and plays while it is time to play and enjoys a sound mind in a sound body. He must behave with others in a polite way and he must be modest. He must show habitual respect to his teachers and other superiors. He must be co – operative with the students of the class. He should never be rude to the weak students. He should rather be always prepared to help him in their studies. An ideal student must be a good sportsman. Without playing he cannot enjoy a healthy life. An ideal student must be a patriot. He prepares himself to shoulder the responsibility of a nation in future. He can bring glory to the country. An ideal student is conscious of politics but does not take active part in politics or would not become the cat’s paw of the shrewd politicians. In short, his ideal would be plain living and high thinking. Adolescence Adolescence is the time between being a child and full adult, that is the period of time during which a person is biologically (physically) adult but emotionally (feelings) not at full maturity. Adolescence is the period that generally ranges between 12-18 years. During this period, the body reaches its maximum power in the use of its musculature. Adolescents experience a big change in every part of the body. Muscles, bones, glands, brain, and heart - all develop. Weight and height also increase. The proportion of growth and development between girls and boys is not same. Before 14 years girls grow more than boys but after 14 years boys surpass girls. The functional ability of circulatory system, respiratory system, digestive system etc increase. There comes a change in the voice of both boys and girls. Pubic hair grows at some parts of the body. In case of boys there is growth of beard and moustache and in case of girl's menstrual cycle start. Intelligence expands during this period and special interests along with increased mental power are experienced as a result of which power of memorizations, attention and reception increase. Bodily changes coupled with increased power of sense organs and sex organs bring a big effect of mind. Both the sexes become curious to each other, feeling of heroism, courage drive the mind of the adolescents. During this period the feeling of self-consciousness becomes strong, they become thoughtful, emotional, creative and imaginative. Social consciousness also increases in this period. Adolescents become alert about what goes an around the world. Adolescents have certain specific needs to be fulfilled in this phase. The needs are: i) needs of freedom and activity ii) needs of social adjustment iii) needs of self dependence iv) needs of ideals of life. The teachers, parents, guardians and elders in school, family, society should provide appropriate advice, guidance and supervision to the children so that above needs are satisfied to a large extent. Mobile Phone Science has brought the wide world into the palm of our hand and now we are running through the ages to reach the final frontier of life. The Pegasus of science is taking us to the final destination. Modern science has invented newer and newer miracles and one of them is Mobile Phone. Mobile phone is an important medium of communication and correspondence which helps intercommunication with the people in the shortest possible time. The use of mobile phone is more convenient than telephone call. The man who sends the message will have to pay the bill but the receiver can respond to the message without any payment. Especially businessmen and the service holders are much benefited through the use of mobile phone. It is useful for the doctors, businessmen and high officials. It is also useful for the people in shopping and supplying in valuable information in his house. But it is unfortunate that it has some negative aspects too. Sometimes, the criminals are using it to maintain their secrecy. By using the mobile phone, the terrorists and criminals carry out their evil designs and commit crimes without much difficulty. It causes some health hazard. Scientists believe that it causes brain tumors by its invisible and uncontrolled radio activity. Specially the pregnant women and children should not use it at all. In spite of this, there is no better alternative to mobile phone to make the latest civilization for communication and correspondence. Letters & E-mails from Board Questions 2017 & 2018 1. Write a letter to her describing your country. 21 October, 2021 37, Broken-Heart Lane Chittagong. Dear X, I am glad to receive your letter. I feel very much happy to see your interest in our country and her people. Let me introduce my country to your today. Bangladesh is constitutionally known as the People’s Republic of Bangladesh. It’s a democratic country of 1,47,570 square kilometers. It is bordered by India on the west, east and north, Myanmar on the east and the Bay of Bengal on the south. It won impendence in 1971 from Pakistan through a bloody war. Its geographical formation is worth-noting. It is a great delta like a green carpet. It has the longest sea-beach in the world. Such a plain and green earth is hardly seen in the world. The country has a tropical monsoon climate. Its economy mainly based on agriculture. Jute, rice, tea, tobacco and cotton are the man crops of the country. It has some world heritage site i.e. the Sundarbans, the Shat Gambuj Mosque of Bagerhat, the Cox’s Bazar, ect. Bangladesh is a riverine country. The Padma, the Meghna and the Jamuna are the main rivers here. It has a population of nearly 130 million. The majority of them are Muslims and the rest are Hindus, Buddhists and Christians. They live in peace and harmony with each other. Almost all the people speak Bangla, English is also widely used. The national dress for men is pajama and panjabi and sari for women. We have a cultural heritage of thousand years. That’s all for today. Please write me back. With best wishes. Your friend. / Y 2. Write a letter to your younger brother telling him of the bad effects of smoking and to give it up. 21 October, 2012 37, Broken-Heart Lane Chittagong. Dear Ayush, I received your letter of the 10th instant yesterday. I was glad to learn that you are taking necessary preparations for the ensuing S.S.C Examination. At the same time I was very sorry to know from mother’s letter that you have recently been addicted to smoking. Don’t you know how dreadful smoking is! It’s harmful as poison. There is a poison like nicotine in it which causes lungs cancer, bronchitis, heart disease etc. It ruins the vitality of life and hastens death. It can be said that smoking is as like as committing suicide. So, I would like to advise you to give up smoking in no time. I do believe you will follow my advice and give up altogether from the moment you receive this letter. I am coming home soon. I like to see you a studious boy aloof from all bad habits. Convey my regards to parents. With love and best wishes. Your loving sister, Aarushi 3. Write a letter to your younger brother not to spend too much time on social networking sites. 21 October, 2011 37, Broken-Heart Lane Chittagong. Dear Ayush, Take my affection. From father’s last letter, I have come to know that you are wasting much time on social networking sites. Its really harmful. Let me tell you something. Teenagers like you will easily get addicted when they spend exorbitant time on these sites. This may make teens become less concentrate on their studies. Thus, their academic results will be severely affected. What’s more, addiction to these sites may pose a threat to teenagers’ health as they keep looking at the screen of computers and phones for a long period of time. This may cause youngsters to be short-sighted and become fatigue easily, One of the potential dangers that youngsters would encounter is that they may be deceived by others intentionally. It is no doubt that news regarding friends on the Internet has been skyrocketing. As it is difficult to differentiate good people and the bad ones in the virtual world, teens may be deceived by others easily. Hope you will understand the danger and restrain yourself from this harmful habit. No more today. See you soon. Your loving brother, Ayon 4. Preparation for Examination. From : Arpa Chowdhury To : Arpon Chowdhury Sent : 14 April, 2014, at 9am. Subject : Preparation for Examination Dear Father, Dear father, How are you? I am fine. For a long time, I am missing your heart-anchoring mails. May be you are busy. I also haven’t found enough time to write you in time, as my First Year Final Examination is approaching very near. Don’t worry. I am taking a very systematic preparation for my First Year Final Examination. Already I have finished the careful thorough reading of all subjects. I have taken part in several model tests and the result is satisfactory. I am following a 24- hour personal routine from the beginning of this session. I am preparing personal notes. At the moment, I am in very good positions in Bangla, Maths and Science. Other subjects are also on the verge of making up. The subject I am worried about is English, because, beside the textual topics, I have to build up the skill of off-hand writing. At present I am working hard with all sections of this subject and hopeful to be well-prepared in time. The only thing remained now is to keep myself fit both physically and mentally. I take a balanced diet and regular physical exercise. No more today. Just pray for me. Give my regard to mother and love and affection for the younger. Your loving daughter, ‘X’ 5. Write an email to your friend congratulating him for getting first prize on debate competition. From : Ananta Jalil To : Jalanta Anil Sent : 14 April, 2014, at 9am. Subject : Congratulaions. Dear Arpa, Congratulation! This is a well-deserved success. Getting first prize in the debate competition is a dream to many and you have materialized that dream. A good achievement indeed, and this result, no doubt, will facilitate to a great extent the achievement of the goal of your life. I know how hard you prepared and that’s why you are really worthy of this result. Thanks to God as He has properly evaluated your labour. No labour goes in vain in this world of the fittest if there are sincerity and honesty in one’s efforts and you have proved this again. Thumbs up to you! Wish you a luminous and prosperous future. Tomorrow is yours. Do drop a line whenever you can. Congratulations again. Ever yours, ‘Moon’ 6. Write an email to your friend inviting him to join the picnic you are going to enjoy From : Ananta Jalil To : Jalanta Anil Sent : 14 April, 2021, at 9am. Subject : Invitation to join a picnic Dear Jalanta, Our annual examination is just over. You’ll be glad to know that we are going to have a picnic at the National Park at Rajendrapur on Friday next. All the students of our class will take part in it. Two of our senior teachers are likely to accompany us to act as guide. We shall start for the picnic spot from our school campus just at 8.a.m. I expect it would be a cheerful and enjoyable one. I’ll be very glad if you join us. My friends will also be happy to find you in our midst on this happy occasion. Your absence will make our whole merriment flaccid. Please arrive in time on the appointed day. Convey my best regards to your parents. With love and best wishes. Yours ever, Ananta 7. Thanking for Birthday Present. From : Ananta Jalil To : Jalanta Anil Sent : 14 April, 2014, at 9am. Subject : Thanking for Birthday Present. Dear Jalanta, At one time I thought that I would never be able to forgive you. Without your presence I would have to celebrate my birthday party, was just unbelievable to me. But later, I was convinced by the reasons shown of your absence. Frankly speaking, I was mainly convinced by the gift sent by you. I know there should be no ‘sorry’ and ‘thanks’ in friendship but your gift is so aesthetic and admirable that I can’t help saying ‘thanks’ to you. This beautiful watch, sent by you, now reminds me of you again and again. In fact, few days ago, I went to market to buy a watch and chose one but couldn’t buy that as that was very expensive. But what a coincidence! You have sent the same watch that I longed for. May be this is called friendship! In the party we missed you so much. Your presence could make the whole programme more enjoyable. Anyway, thanks again for making my dream come true. It will give me much pleasure if you kindly pay a visit to our house soon. Pay my best regard to your revered parents. Write me soon or may be I’ll not be able to forgive you this time. Take care! Ever yours, Ananta 8. To the Authority of a school to send you the admission procedure. From: Jalanta Anil To : Cc : Subject: For the details of admission procedure. Sir, I would like to state that my younger has bother has recently passed class 7 and wanted to get himself admitted in your renowned school. M.B. High School is one of the best schools in this city now. But we don’t know the admission procedure. So, it would be really helpful if you send the admission procedure and oblige thereby. Thanking you Jalanta Anil 9. Write an e-mail to your friend about scenic beauty of Bangladesh. From : Ananta Jalil To : Jalanta Anil Sent : 14 April, 2013, at 9am. Subject : Scenic beauty of Bangladesh Dear Jalanta, Hope this e-mail will find you hale and hearty. In your last e-mail you wanted to know about the natural beauty of Bangladesh. Here it goes. Bangladesh is a land of scenic beauties. Her green fields and fields overflowing with golden crops, the spotlessly blue and cloudy sky, her moonlit and pitch-dark night-all these present scenes of romantic charm and beauty. The chirping of the birds in the morning, the brilliant rays of the morning sun, the twilight of autumn and spring, the glow of the setting sun on the broad expanse of the sea and the river, the moon with her balmy flood of light and the innumerable twinkling starts in the night sky have made Bangladesh a land of romance and beauty. Each of her different natural regions has its special charm and beauty. There are a good many places in Bangladesh with uncommon scenic beauty which captivates the lovers of beauty. Cox’s Bazar, Kaptai, Sylhet and the Sundarbans, among others, are blessed with the most enchanting natural beauty. No more today. What about the natural beauty of your country? Please, let me know through the next e-mail. Ever yours, Ananta. Stories from Board Questions of 2017 & 2018 A Thirsty Crow It was the month of Chaitra. The day was very hot. There was scorching sun around. There was no water anywhere. One day a crow grew thirsty. It flew here and there in search of water, but in vain. So, it began to fly towards its nest. All the way it was looking for water. All the watery places that came into its sight were dry due to the extreme heat of summer sun. It went to a lake that was near its nest. To its utter dismay it found that the lake had also been dried up. It found no other way to satisfy its thirst. Losing heart when it returned to its nest, it saw a pitcher in a certain forest. Its heart leaped up in joy. It thought that it could again make its thirsty throat wet with the drops of water. At once the crow landed there. But fortune was playing tricks with it. It found that there was a little water inside the pitcher. The water was at the bottom. It was out of its reach. It tried again and again to turn the pitcher. But all his attempts were ended in smoke. It could not turn the pitcher so couldn’t drink water also. It gave up its hope of drinking water. Being disappointed, the crow prepared to go away. Suddenly it noticed a heap of pebbles near the pitcher. An idea came to its mind. It thought that if it could put the pebbles into the pitcher then the water might rise high and it could drink the water. It began to take the pebbles into its beak and dropped them inside the pitcher. As it put the pebbles, the water rose high and high. At length the water came to its reach. The crow drank its full and flew away with a happy mind. A FOOLISH CROW AND A CLVER FOX One day a crow stole a piece of meat from a butcher’s shop in the market. She flew away with it and sat on the branch of a tree. A fox was passing under the tree. As soon as he saw the crow with the meat in her beak, he felt greedy to have it. The fox was very clever. He hit upon a plan. At first he made some attempts to have the meat. But all his attempts went in vain. Then he thought for sometime. A treacherous smile blushed on his face. He found what he should do. He understood that he wouldn’t get the meat as long as the crow opened its mouth. So he decided to flatter the crow. He said to the crow, “Good morning, Mrs. Crow. I haven’t seen such a beautiful bird like you.” The foolish crow moved a little. Then the clever fox again opened his mouth to move the crow’s heart through flattery. He said, “How wonderfully God has created you! How beautiful your feathers are!” But the crow didn’t answer. Then the clever fox made his last attempts. He said, “ But alas! You too have some lacking in you. Everybody says that your voice is very harsh. Your voice is not as beautiful as you. It’s really a matter of pity.” The crow became very angry with the jackal. She didn’t understand what the real intention of the fox was. To prove that she had a soft and pleasing voice, she began to sing loudly. But alas! As she opened her lips to sing, the piece of meat fell off. The shrewd fox was waiting for this. He at once took it. He said, “I know there are less creations in this world as fool as you. Now continue to sing and I’m leaving.” Saying this he ran away. The crow could realize her foolishness. Frogs & the Naughty Boys Once there was an old pond in a village. A number of frogs lied there. One afternoon they were happily talking to and gossiping with each other. Some naughty boys were passing by the pond. They saw the frogs making sound. Some of the boys felt curious. They went near the pond. Then of the boys said to the other boys, “Let’s play a game. Let’s see who can hit the frogs.” Other boys felt interested. So they began to throw stones at the frogs. All of the frogs stopped making sound. These stones hurt some of the frogs. All the frogs at once went down into water. But the boys did not leave the place. They remained standing there with stone in their hands. They went on pelting the frogs with stones when they raised their heads above the water. Some of the frogs got badly injured. So an old frog raised his head out of the water and said to the boys, “Dear, boys, why are you throwing stone at us? What’s the wrong we have done with you?” “We’re playing,” said the boys, laughing. “I understand that,” said the old frog. “But the stones you throw hit and hurt us. What’s play to you is death to us.” The boys felt ashamed of their deeds and left the place. THE HONEST WOOD-CUTTER Once upon a time there lived a poor woodcutter and his wife. They had three children. The family lived in a little house near the forest. One Saturday the woodcutter got up early. He said: ''I will go to the forest at once. Many people will go to the market today. They will want to buy firewood to cook their food'' The woodcutter's wife said, ''Take some food with you. Then you will not be hungry. Be careful on your way.'' ''I will,'' said the woodcutter. The woodcutter walked as fast as he could to the forest. He began cutting wood as soon as he got there. But the head of his axe was loose. It fell into a lake nearby. The woodcutter jumped into the lake. He dived into the water. But he could not find his axe. He dived again and again. Soon he felt tired and cold. So he sat on the bank of the lake. The woodcutter was very sad. ''Oh! Oh! I shall have no wood to sell today,'' he said. ''Where shall i get the money to buy our food?'' Just then a lovely fairy came. She said, ''My good man, why are you crying?'' ''My axe fell into the water,'' said the woodcutter. ''I cannot cut wood to sell today. My children will have no food tonight.'' The fairy jumped into the lake. She came out with a golden axe. ''Is this your axe?'' she asked. ''Oh, no,'' said the woodcutter. ''My axe is not made of gold.'' The fairy jumped into the lake again. Soon she came out with a silver axe. ''Is this your axe?'' asked the fairy. ''Oh, no. That's not mine. My axe is only made of iron.'' The fairy jumped again into the water. Then she came back with an iron axe. ''Is this the one?'' she asked. The woodcutter jumped up for joy. He said, ''Yes, it is. That is my iron axe. Thank you, kind fairy, now, i will be able to cut wood.'' Then the fairy said, ''You are an honest man. You may have the gold and the silver axes too. You may sell them. The gold axe costs much. You will have plenty of money.'' On the way home the woodcutter met a rich merchant. When the merchant heard the woodcutter's tale, he ran to the pond and dropped his wooden axe in the river. "Woe is me!" he cried. The spirit appeared with a silver axe. "That one is mine!" the merchant said quickly. "You know it is not," said the spirit, and disappeared. The rich man's wooden ax stayed on the bottom of the deep pond. Honesty is the Best Policy Once a boy named Arif was coming home from his school on foot. Suddenly he noticed a money bag lying beside the road. He stopped and he thought for a while. He found nobody coming along the way. He took the bundle and carefully put it into his pocket. He looked to be nervous and shaky. So he looked around if anybody noticed him. He had a number of ideas in his mind to make of his money. He decided to buy some dress for him and thought of visiting a place of interest with his friends. He also planned to treat his friend with good food in a Chinese restaurant. This way he thought. He would spend twenty thousand taka for his own enjoyment. The rest of the amount he would give to his mother for the use of household necessities and other purpose. He came back home silently. He did not disclose the matter immediately to any of the members of his family. He bought some good dresses for him and spent money lavishly with his friends. This made his parents suspicious of him. They asked him where he had got the money to buy dresses and treat his friends. At first he tried to hide the fact, but when his parents grilled him with questions, he had to confess the truth. He told them how he got the money and about his plant of using them. At this, his parents became shocked and very angry at the same time. Both his parents scolded him and ordered to inform the matter to the police and hand over the money to them. “Honesty is the best policy” said his mother. “If you want to succeed in life you must be honest and hard working.” The boy agreed to do so and he promised to lead an honest life. An Ant and a Dove Once upon a time, an ant lived on the bank of a river. One day it suddenly slipped into water. All its efforts to come up failed. Luckily for the ant, a dove was sitting on a branch of the tree. She saw the ant in trouble and it once moved to action. Plucking a broad leaf from the tree, she flew to the ant and dropped the leaf just near it. The ant mounted the leaf and then drying its wings, flew away to safety. A few days later, the dove was caught in a bit danger. She was sitting on a tree-branch when an archer aimed at it. The dove thought of flying away but a hawk was hovering just overhead. So, death started her in the face. Luckily for the dove, the ant came there. Seeing the dove in danger, it stung the hunter on his right hand. So, the arrow went off but missing its aim. Instead, it hit the hawk and killed it. The dove was saved from the jaws of death. N:B: Some Stories from Board Questions of 2017 & 2018 are of imaginary type. You have to complete them of your own.