Facing Challenges

The first time you stand to speak in front of a hall, your hands shake and your mouth goes dry — and then you do it anyway. That is a challenge, and so is white-water rafting, learning a new language, or simply sitting an exam you're scared of. Some children seem born brave; the rest of us learn courage one frightening step at a time. This unit gives you the English to talk about facing those moments and coming out the other side.

The grammar that fits is modal verbs — should, shouldn't, must, mustn't — the little words we use to advise and warn someone facing a challenge. You'll also learn pronoun reference, the comprehension skill of working out what a small word like "this" or "it" points back to, and you'll write a narrative about a challenge that changed you.

Feel the poem's two-sided picture. The "little men" sit "content with where they are" — and the poet doesn't admire them; he pities them for "not knowing joys success can bring". Against them he sets the person who "dares to try". The whole poem then turns to you with a direct question — "Would you be one, who dares to try… or is that too much to ask?" — daring the reader personally. That's the technique to notice: a poem that points its finger at you is much harder to ignore than one that just describes. When you answer the comprehension, quote the exact lines; the examiner wants evidence, not a summary.

Try these questions: What does the poet call a blessed person? Who are the "little men" he criticises? What does it mean to "rise above the average life"? How does the last stanza make you feel about your own challenges?

Modal verbs are like a volume knob on how strongly you tell someone what to do. Turn it low and you get friendly advice — "you should drink warm water". Turn it high and you get a hard rule — "you must wear a helmet". The difference matters: advise a friend with "must" and you sound bossy; state a law with "should" and you sound too soft. Match the volume to the situation.

The negatives flip the meaning, and here's the catch worth remembering: shouldn't is gentle ("it's not a good idea") while mustn't is an absolute ban ("don't you dare"). "You shouldn't eat so much sugar" is a caring warning; "you mustn't smoke here" is a flat prohibition. Mixing them up changes how serious you sound.

When the exam gives you a sign to rewrite, treat it as gentle guidance and reach for should / should not: KEEP DRY → "You should keep it dry"; DO NOT DROP → "You should not drop it"; HANDLE WITH CARE → "You should handle it with care."

A pronoun is a little word standing in for a bigger one already mentioned, so it works like an arrow pointing backwards. When a passage says "it", "this", "they" or "them", it's pointing at a noun you've just read. The exam's favourite trick is to stop you on one of these words and ask: what does it point to? The answer is almost always the nearest sensible noun just before it.

Here's the reliable method. Find the pronoun, then read the sentence with the pronoun swapped out for a noun from just before — whichever noun makes the sentence still make sense is your answer. "Vandalism is mostly aimed at public property. It can also occur at individual level." Swap "it" for "vandalism" and the sentence works; swap it for "property" and it doesn't. So "it" = vandalism.

1. Find the line with the pronoun.
2. Look back one or two sentences.
3. Test each candidate noun in place of the pronoun — keep the one that fits.
4. Answer with a short noun phrase, never a whole sentence.