📝 Unit 5: Best Use Of Time
Time clauses · pie chart · apologies · time-management essay
Task 1 — Time clauses (5 marks)
(5 marks)
Underline the correct verb form in brackets.
(1) I (will call / call) you as soon as I (reach / will reach) home.
(2) By the time you (arrive / will arrive), lunch (was / will be) ready.
(3) Read while you (wait / will wait) for the bus.
(4) Finish your homework before you (watch / will watch) TV.
(5) When the bell (rings / will ring), we (leave / will leave) the class.
(1) I (will call / call) you as soon as I (reach / will reach) home.
(2) By the time you (arrive / will arrive), lunch (was / will be) ready.
(3) Read while you (wait / will wait) for the bus.
(4) Finish your homework before you (watch / will watch) TV.
(5) When the bell (rings / will ring), we (leave / will leave) the class.
(1) will call · reach
(2) arrive · will be
(3) wait
(4) watch
(5) rings · leave
5 marks.
(2) arrive · will be
(3) wait
(4) watch
(5) rings · leave
5 marks.
Task 2 — Match the time lost to who knows its value (5 marks)
(5 marks)
Match each on the left with the right column.
(1) one year
(2) one month
(3) one hour
(4) one minute
(5) one second
(a) two lovers waiting at a railway station
(b) a student who has failed a final exam
(c) an Olympic 100-m sprinter
(d) a mother whose baby was born prematurely
(e) a passenger who has missed the train
(1) one year
(2) one month
(3) one hour
(4) one minute
(5) one second
(a) two lovers waiting at a railway station
(b) a student who has failed a final exam
(c) an Olympic 100-m sprinter
(d) a mother whose baby was born prematurely
(e) a passenger who has missed the train
(1) b
(2) d
(3) a
(4) e
(5) c
5 marks.
(2) d
(3) a
(4) e
(5) c
5 marks.
Task 3 — Apology dialogue (5 marks)
(5 marks)
Complete the dialogue between Hassan and his teacher.
Teacher: Hassan, you are 30 minutes late!
Hassan : I'm very ........... sir. Our (1) ........... was delayed due to (2)
........... .
Teacher: This is the second time this week.
Hassan : I (3) ........... that it will not happen again, sir. I am ready to
take any (4) ........... you give me.
Teacher: Very well. From tomorrow, leave home (5) ........... earlier.
Teacher: Hassan, you are 30 minutes late!
Hassan : I'm very ........... sir. Our (1) ........... was delayed due to (2)
........... .
Teacher: This is the second time this week.
Hassan : I (3) ........... that it will not happen again, sir. I am ready to
take any (4) ........... you give me.
Teacher: Very well. From tomorrow, leave home (5) ........... earlier.
sorry / apologetic
(1) train
(2) a signal failure (any honest reason)
(3) promise
(4) punishment
(5) half an hour / 30 minutes
5 marks.
(1) train
(2) a signal failure (any honest reason)
(3) promise
(4) punishment
(5) half an hour / 30 minutes
5 marks.
Task 4 — Pie-chart description (5 marks)
(5 marks)
Complete each sentence using one of the required phrases:
'the highest percentage', 'the lowest percentage', 'equal amount', 'more time',
'less time'.
Pie values: Studying 34% · Sleeping 29% · Travelling 17% · Classes 8% ·
Eating 8% · Relaxing 4%.
(1) ........... goes to studying at 34%.
(2) ........... is spent on relaxing.
(3) Classes and eating share an ........... of time at 8% each.
(4) ........... is spent on sleeping than on travelling.
(5) ........... is spent on relaxing than on classes.
'the highest percentage', 'the lowest percentage', 'equal amount', 'more time',
'less time'.
Pie values: Studying 34% · Sleeping 29% · Travelling 17% · Classes 8% ·
Eating 8% · Relaxing 4%.
(1) ........... goes to studying at 34%.
(2) ........... is spent on relaxing.
(3) Classes and eating share an ........... of time at 8% each.
(4) ........... is spent on sleeping than on travelling.
(5) ........... is spent on relaxing than on classes.
(1) The highest percentage
(2) The lowest percentage
(3) equal amount
(4) More time
(5) Less time
5 marks.
(2) The lowest percentage
(3) equal amount
(4) More time
(5) Less time
5 marks.
Task 5 — Comprehension: a time-management story (5 marks)
(5 marks)
Read the passage and answer the questions.
Kavindi was the kind of student who always meant to start early but never
did. The morning of her O/L English paper, she sat at her desk with two
freshly opened past papers and one fresh cup of tea — and a notification
from her best friend. "Just five minutes," she promised herself, and tapped
the screen.
Three hours later, she looked up. The tea had gone cold; the papers had not
been touched. Her mother knocked. "Aren't you starting?" Kavindi nodded
bravely and reached for the past paper. Now, in three hours, she had to do
what should have taken eight.
That night, after the exam, she walked the long way home so her mother
wouldn't see her cry. She had not failed — but she knew, exactly, what nine As
felt like and what eight As felt like, and the difference, she realised, was
three wasted hours on a Monday morning.
(1) What was Kavindi planning to do on Monday morning?
(2) What distracted her?
(3) Write the sentence that shows she lost three hours.
(4) Why did Kavindi walk home the long way?
(5) Underline the correct title for this passage:
(a) The Tea That Cost Her Hours
(b) Kavindi's Mother
(c) Best Use of Time
Kavindi was the kind of student who always meant to start early but never
did. The morning of her O/L English paper, she sat at her desk with two
freshly opened past papers and one fresh cup of tea — and a notification
from her best friend. "Just five minutes," she promised herself, and tapped
the screen.
Three hours later, she looked up. The tea had gone cold; the papers had not
been touched. Her mother knocked. "Aren't you starting?" Kavindi nodded
bravely and reached for the past paper. Now, in three hours, she had to do
what should have taken eight.
That night, after the exam, she walked the long way home so her mother
wouldn't see her cry. She had not failed — but she knew, exactly, what nine As
felt like and what eight As felt like, and the difference, she realised, was
three wasted hours on a Monday morning.
(1) What was Kavindi planning to do on Monday morning?
(2) What distracted her?
(3) Write the sentence that shows she lost three hours.
(4) Why did Kavindi walk home the long way?
(5) Underline the correct title for this passage:
(a) The Tea That Cost Her Hours
(b) Kavindi's Mother
(c) Best Use of Time
(1) Sit her O/L English paper after practising on two past papers.
(2) A notification from her best friend on her phone.
(3) "Three hours later, she looked up. The tea had gone cold; the papers had not been touched."
(4) So her mother would not see her cry.
(5) (c) Best Use of Time (also acceptable: (a) The Tea That Cost Her Hours).
5 marks.
(2) A notification from her best friend on her phone.
(3) "Three hours later, she looked up. The tea had gone cold; the papers had not been touched."
(4) So her mother would not see her cry.
(5) (c) Best Use of Time (also acceptable: (a) The Tea That Cost Her Hours).
5 marks.
Task 6 — Notice: time-management workshop (40–50 words)
(5 marks)
Write a notice for the school noticeboard inviting Grade 11
students to a time-management workshop. Use 40–50 words.
students to a time-management workshop. Use 40–50 words.
CAREER GUIDANCE SOCIETY — TIME-MANAGEMENT WORKSHOP
Grade 11 students are warmly invited to a workshop titled '24 Hours, Smart
Use' on Friday, 18th March 2027 at 1.30 p.m. in the school library.
Resource Person: Mr. Janaka Rajapakse, Career Counsellor. Register with
Nimali Perera by 16th March.
— Secretary.
47 words. 5 marks.
Grade 11 students are warmly invited to a workshop titled '24 Hours, Smart
Use' on Friday, 18th March 2027 at 1.30 p.m. in the school library.
Resource Person: Mr. Janaka Rajapakse, Career Counsellor. Register with
Nimali Perera by 16th March.
— Secretary.
47 words. 5 marks.
Task 7 — Short paragraph (50–60 words)
(5 marks)
Write a paragraph on ONE of the following. Use about 50–60 words.
(a) The biggest time-waster in my day
(b) How I plan to study for the O/Ls
(c) A morning routine I keep
(a) The biggest time-waster in my day
(b) How I plan to study for the O/Ls
(c) A morning routine I keep
MODEL — How I plan to study for the O/Ls (60 words)
From January, I will follow a quiet four-hour daily plan: one hour of past
papers before school, two hours of revision after dinner, and one hour of
reading a non-textbook English book before bed. Sunday afternoons are
strictly free. No phone after 9 p.m. Eight months and three weeks of this,
and the trophy is mine.
5 marks.
From January, I will follow a quiet four-hour daily plan: one hour of past
papers before school, two hours of revision after dinner, and one hour of
reading a non-textbook English book before bed. Sunday afternoons are
strictly free. No phone after 9 p.m. Eight months and three weeks of this,
and the trophy is mine.
5 marks.
Task 8 — Pie chart / letter (~100 words, 10 marks)
(10 marks)
Answer (a) OR (b). Use about 100 words.
(a) Write a letter to a younger sibling who keeps losing time on social
media. Include: a saying about time · two practical tips · one personal
story · warm close.
(b) The pie chart shows how a Grade 11 student spends 24 hours on a school
day. Write a description.
Values: Studying 34% · Sleeping 29% · Travelling 17% · Classes 8% ·
Eating 8% · Relaxing 4%.
(a) Write a letter to a younger sibling who keeps losing time on social
media. Include: a saying about time · two practical tips · one personal
story · warm close.
(b) The pie chart shows how a Grade 11 student spends 24 hours on a school
day. Write a description.
Values: Studying 34% · Sleeping 29% · Travelling 17% · Classes 8% ·
Eating 8% · Relaxing 4%.
(b) MODEL — Pie chart description (108 words)
The pie chart shows how a Grade 11 student spends 24 hours on a school day.
The highest percentage of time — 34% — is spent on studying, closely
followed by 29% on sleeping. Travelling to and from school accounts for
17% of the day, more than three times the amount given to relaxing.
Classes and eating share an equal amount of time at 8% each. The lowest
percentage — just 4% — goes to relaxing.
In summary, the student spends almost two-thirds of the day either studying
or sleeping. There is worryingly little time for the personal relaxation a
teenager needs.
10 marks.
The pie chart shows how a Grade 11 student spends 24 hours on a school day.
The highest percentage of time — 34% — is spent on studying, closely
followed by 29% on sleeping. Travelling to and from school accounts for
17% of the day, more than three times the amount given to relaxing.
Classes and eating share an equal amount of time at 8% each. The lowest
percentage — just 4% — goes to relaxing.
In summary, the student spends almost two-thirds of the day either studying
or sleeping. There is worryingly little time for the personal relaxation a
teenager needs.
10 marks.
Task 9 — Article / speech (~200 words, 15 marks)
(15 marks)
Write on ONE of the following. Use about 200 words.
(a) An article: 'Best use of time — the secret of every successful student'.
(b) A speech on 'Why we should waste a little time every day'.
(c) An essay on 'Time is the most precious thing in life'.
(a) An article: 'Best use of time — the secret of every successful student'.
(b) A speech on 'Why we should waste a little time every day'.
(c) An essay on 'Time is the most precious thing in life'.
(a) MODEL — Best use of time (218 words)
'Time,' wrote William Penn, 'is what we want most, but what we use worst.'
Look around any Grade 11 classroom in Sri Lanka and the quote needs no
proof. Half of us have phones still warm from this morning's scrolling; the
other half have past papers still untouched in our bags.
The secret of every successful O/L student is not extra hours — we all get
the same 24 — but the careful use of them. Three habits separate the top
student from the average.
Firstly, they plan. Sunday evening, twenty minutes, pencil and notebook.
What is the goal this week? Which subject needs the most attention? They
write it down.
Secondly, they protect the morning. The first 90 minutes after waking are
golden for memory work. They do their hardest subject then, before any
phone has woken up beside them.
Thirdly, they rest deliberately. A 90-minute walk on Sunday afternoon is not
lost time; it is what makes Monday morning clear. Top students treat sleep
like a subject.
The student who masters time at sixteen will master her career at twenty-six.
The one who masters her phone at sixteen will be mastered by it forever.
Choose now.
15 marks.
'Time,' wrote William Penn, 'is what we want most, but what we use worst.'
Look around any Grade 11 classroom in Sri Lanka and the quote needs no
proof. Half of us have phones still warm from this morning's scrolling; the
other half have past papers still untouched in our bags.
The secret of every successful O/L student is not extra hours — we all get
the same 24 — but the careful use of them. Three habits separate the top
student from the average.
Firstly, they plan. Sunday evening, twenty minutes, pencil and notebook.
What is the goal this week? Which subject needs the most attention? They
write it down.
Secondly, they protect the morning. The first 90 minutes after waking are
golden for memory work. They do their hardest subject then, before any
phone has woken up beside them.
Thirdly, they rest deliberately. A 90-minute walk on Sunday afternoon is not
lost time; it is what makes Monday morning clear. Top students treat sleep
like a subject.
The student who masters time at sixteen will master her career at twenty-six.
The one who masters her phone at sixteen will be mastered by it forever.
Choose now.
15 marks.