Prof.

MRC, SET, Mohan Babu University 1

The War of the Worlds

Chapter Four

The Cylinder Opens

When I returned to the common the sun was setting. Scattered groups were hurrying
from the direction of Woking, and one or two persons were returning. The crowd
about the pit had increased, and stood out black against the lemon yellow of the sky—
a couple of hundred people, perhaps. There were raised voices, and some sort of
struggle appeared to be going on about the pit. Strange imaginings passed through my
mind. As I drew nearer I heard Stent's voice:

“Keep back! Keep back!”

A boy came running towards me.

“It's a-movin',” he said to me as he passed; “a-screwin' and a-screwin' out. I don't like
it. I'm a-goin' 'ome, I am.”

I went on to the crowd. There were really, I should think, two or three hundred people
elbowing and jostling one another, the one or two ladies there being by no means the
least active.

“He's fallen in the pit!” cried someone.

“Keep back!” said several.

The crowd swayed a little, and I elbowed my way through. Every one seemed greatly
excited. I heard a peculiar humming sound from the pit.

“I say!” said Ogilvy; “help keep these idiots back. We don't know what's in the
confounded thing, you know!”

I saw a young man, a shop assistant in Woking I believe he was, standing on the
cylinder and trying to scramble out of the hole again. The crowd had pushed him in.

The end of the cylinder was being screwed out from within. Nearly two feet of shining
screw projected. Somebody blundered against me, and I narrowly missed being
pitched onto the top of the screw. I turned, and as I did so the screw must have come
 Prof. MRC, SET, Mohan Babu University 2

out, for the lid of the cylinder fell upon the gravel with a ringing concussion. I stuck
my elbow into the person behind me, and turned my head towards the Thing again.
For a moment that circular cavity seemed perfectly black. I had the sunset in my eyes.

I think everyone expected to see a man emerge—possibly something a little unlike us

terrestrial men, but in all essentials a man. I know I did. But, looking, I presently saw
something stirring within the shadow: greyish billowy movements, one above another,
and then two luminous disks—like eyes. Then something resembling a little grey
snake, about the thickness of a walking stick, coiled up out of the writhing middle,
and wriggled in the air towards me—and then another.

A sudden chill came over me. There was a loud shriek from a woman behind. I half
turned, keeping my eyes fixed upon the cylinder still, from which other tentacles were
now projecting, and began pushing my way back from the edge of the pit. I saw
astonishment giving place to horror on the faces of the people about me. I heard
inarticulate exclamations on all sides. There was a general movement backwards. I
saw the shop man struggling still on the edge of the pit. I found myself alone, and saw
the people on the other side of the pit running off, Stent among them. I looked again at
the cylinder, and ungovernable terror gripped me. I stood petrified and staring.

A big greyish rounded bulk, the size, perhaps, of a bear, was rising slowly and
painfully out of the cylinder. As it bulged up and caught the light, it glistened like wet
leather.

Two large dark-coloured eyes were regarding me steadfastly. The mass that framed
them, the head of the thing, was rounded, and had, one might say, a face. There was a
mouth under the eyes, the lipless brim of which quivered and panted, and dropped
saliva. The whole creature heaved and pulsated convulsively. A lank tentacular
appendage gripped the edge of the cylinder, another swayed in the air.

Those who have never seen a living Martian can scarcely imagine the strange horror
of its appearance. The peculiar V-shaped mouth with its pointed upper lip, the absence
of brow ridges, the absence of a chin beneath the wedge like lower lip, the incessant
quivering of this mouth, the Gorgon groups of tentacles, the tumultuous breathing of
the lungs in a strange atmosphere, the evident heaviness and painfulness of movement
due to the greater gravitational energy of the earth—above all, the extraordinary
intensity of the immense eyes—were at once vital, intense, inhuman, crippled and
monstrous. There was something fungoid in the oily brown skin, something in the
clumsy deliberation of the tedious movements unspeakably nasty. Even at this first
encounter, this first glimpse, I was overcome with disgust and dread.
 Prof. MRC, SET, Mohan Babu University 3

Suddenly the monster vanished. It had toppled over the brim of the cylinder and fallen
into the pit, with a thud like the fall of a great mass of leather. I heard it give a
peculiar thick cry, and forthwith another of these creatures appeared darkly in the
deep shadow of the aperture.

I turned and, running madly, made for the first group of trees, perhaps a hundred yards
away; but I ran slantingly and stumbling, for I could not avert my face from these
things.

There, among some young pine trees and furze bushes, I stopped, panting, and waited
further developments. The common round the sand pits was dotted with people,
standing like myself in a half-fascinated terror, staring at these creatures, or rather at
the heaped gravel at the edge of the pit in which they lay. And then, with a renewed
horror, I saw a round, black object bobbing up and down on the edge of the pit. It was
the head of the shop man who had fallen in, but showing as a little black object
against the hot western sun. Now he got his shoulder and knee up, and again he
seemed to slip back until only his head was visible. Suddenly he vanished, and I could
have fancied a faint shriek had reached me. I had a momentary impulse to go back and
help him that my fears overruled.

Everything was then quite invisible, hidden by the deep pit and the heap of sand that
the fall of the cylinder had made. Anyone coming along the road from Chobham or
Woking would have been amazed at the sight—a dwindling multitude of perhaps a
hundred people or more standing in a great irregular circle, in ditches, behind bushes,
behind gates and hedges, saying little to one another and that in short, excited shouts,
and staring, staring hard at a few heaps of sand. The barrow of ginger beer stood, a
queer derelict, black against the burning sky, and in the sand pits was a row of
deserted vehicles with their horses feeding out of nosebags or pawing the ground.

- HG Wells
 CHANNELS OF COMMUNICATION NETWORKS
Organizations are often described in the way they dictate who may or may not communicate
with whom. The organizational structure of a workplace is the formally prescribed pattern of
inter-relationships existing between its various units. This structure influences in many ways the
various forms of communication in an organization. An organizational chart provides a graphic
representation of an organization’s structure and an outline of the planned, formal connections
between its various units. Information flows in an organization in three different directions –
upwards, downwards and sideways.

Upward Communication:
 Upward communication refers to the flow of information from lower levels to higher within
an organization.
 Messages containing information, requests, reports, proposals, and feedback
(suggestions/recommendations) will be communicated.
 For instances, Marketing manager submits the results of a recently conducted survey to the
vice president; a personnel officer of a company convey the information about the continued
absence of certain employee to the manager; an employee in the production division of an
industry expresses his grievances to his immediate superior. In all these above situations
communication flows upwards.

Downward Communication:
 Downward communication refers to the flow of information from the superiors to
subordinates.
 Messages containing information, instructions, directions, and orders will be communicated.
 Feedback on past performances also flows in a downward direction.
 For instances, When a company introduces a new policy or procedure; A sales manager
informs his team members about new products and its operational details. In all these above
situations communication flows downwards.

Some significant differences between upward and downward flow of communication are as
follows:
 Upward communication occurs far less frequently than downward communication.
 When people communicate upward, their conversations tend to be far shorter than in other
levels.
 The information transmitted in the upward flow of communication is generally inaccurate.
Employees have a tendency to highlight their accomplishments and downplay their mistakes.
 This tendency to purposely avoid communicating bad news to the superiors or simply the
natural reluctance of a person or group to convey bad news is known as the mum effect.

Horizontal Communication:
 Horizontal communication refers to the messages flow sideways.
 Communication takes place among the members of the same work group or laterally
equivalent personnel.
 Messages of this type are characterized by efforts at coordination or attempts to work
together.
 Horizontal communication plays a significant role in organizations where functions are
decentralized.
 Vertical communication flows among the parties at different organizational levels.
 Horizontal communication involves people at the same level.
 Messages flowing through horizontal channels of organizational communication save time
and facilitate cooperation.

Spiral or Diagonal Communication:

 Communication flows in a circular or diagonal direction.
 If the management circulates the copy of a new bonus and incentive scheme among all
employees, it is circular, diagonal, or spiral communication.
 Communication flows between persons who belong to different levels of hierarchy. They
need not have any direct reporting relationship.
 This is used generally to quicken the information flow, improve understanding and coordinate
efforts for the achievement of organizational objectives. Such a movement of information
flow is termed as diagonal communication.

INFORMAL COMMUNICATION – BEYOND THE ORGANIZATIONAL HIERARCHY

 Communication in organizations goes far beyond sending formal messages up, down, or
across the organizational hierarchy.
 To get a complete picture of organizational communication one must also pay attention to
informal communication.
 People communicate informally. They are not bound by their organizational positions.
 People transmit information to those with whom they come into contact.
 When anyone can tell anyone else anything informally, the result is a rapid flow of
information along what is commonly called the grapevine.
 Grapevine refers to the pathways along which unofficial information travels.
 Unofficial communication channels in an organization are referred to as grapevines.
 Formal organizational messages may take several days to reach their destination while
information travelling along the organizational grapevine flow rapidly.
 Informal communication crosses organizational boundaries and is open to everyone.
 Grapevines are not necessarily bad. In fact, informal communication makes work groups
more cohesive.
 It may also provide excellent opportunities to make social contacts that make life at work
more enjoyable.
 Grapevine is an inevitable fat of an organizational life.
 Messages which are baseless and unverifiable are known as rumours. Rumours are based on
speculation, someone’s overactive imagination, or wishful thinking, rather than on facts.

Grapevine Communication – Benefits, Limitations, And Guidelines

BENEFITS LIMITATIONS GUIDELINES
1. Less expensive than formal Fast spreading nature can To be used as a
channels cause damage to the supplementary channel only
organization
2. May give some If unverified, may cause Information to be verified for
information that you may troubles facts and also the source
find otherwise difficult to
collect through formal
channels.
3. An outlet for employees to May lead to Should not be ignored
share their anxieties, misunderstanding if
worries, and frustrations. incomplete
4. Used voluntarily by many May not be reliable as it is Employees using this channel
employees oral, and also nobody owns should not be threatened or
the responsibility for the encouraged too much.
information
5. Fastest means of
spreading information.

***
 MOHAN BABU UNIVERSITY
(Grammar)
ARTICLES

Articles are a type of determiner. They function like adjectives. They are of two kinds: definite and
indefinite.

Indefinite article (a/an):

 We use it before a singular noun. For example, a book, an apple, a scooter, an aeroplane, a
teacher, an advocate, etc. We use a before singular nouns beginning with consonant sounds. For
example, a bucket, a camel, a door, a kangaroo, a European, a one-time offer, a university, a
unique person, etc.
 We use an before singular nouns beginning with vowel sounds. For example, an application, an
envelope, an American, an urgency, an MLA, an honest man, an hour,an heir, etc.
 Even though some nouns in the examples given above are spelt with a vowel (European,
university, unique, etc.) we use the article a before them because they are pronounced with a
consonant sound. Similarly, nouns like MLA (em-el-ay) have the article an placed before them
because they are pronounced with a vowel sound.
 Words that begin with a silent h (honest, hour, heir, etc.) take the article an as the noun is
pronounced with the vowel sound following the silent h.

Definite article (the): It generally specifies a particular noun. It identifies a person, place or thing already
mentioned. For example,

 There is a book in the room. The book is on the table.

 There is some water in the glass. The water is hot.

Uses of definite article

We use definite articles before nouns that are unique, specific or have some distinction. For example,

 the Sun
 the Moon
 the Earth
 the Atlantic
 the Himalayas
 the Red Fort
 the Taj Mahal
 the North
 the South
 the British Museum etc.

KOTTE AYYAPPA Assist. Professor of English ANKIREDDY THIRUPAL REDDY Assist. Professor of English
 MOHAN BABU UNIVERSITY
(Grammar)
We use definite articles with the names of musical instruments. For example

 the keyboard
 the piano
 the violin
 the guitar etc.

The definite article is used with nouns representing their class. For example

 The lion is the king of the forest.

 The eagle is the king of the birds.

We also use the definite article with time expressions. For example

 The President will arrive in the morning.

 The Prime Minister will depart in the evening.

We use the in superlative expressions. For example

 the greatest
 the best
 the tallest
 the most etc.

We also use the definite article before ordinal numbers. For example

 Kalapana Chawla was the first Indian woman astronaut to enter space.

We use the with names of rivers seas specific or a chain of mountains a group of islands waterfalls etc.
For example

 the Godavari
 the Arabian Sea
 the Everest
 the Himalayas
 the Andamans
 the Niagara etc.

We use the with names of countries associated with words like Republic United etc. For example

 the United Arab Emirates

 the Republic of South Korea
 the United States of America etc.

KOTTE AYYAPPA Assist. Professor of English ANKIREDDY THIRUPAL REDDY Assist. Professor of English
 MOHAN BABU UNIVERSITY
(Grammar)
We use the with the names of holy books and famous books. For example

 the Paradise Lost

 the Odyssey
 the Bible
 the Koran
 the Bhagavad Gita
 the Guru Granth Sahib etc..

We also use the definite article with proper nouns qualified by an adjective. For example

 the immortal Shakespeare

 the great Ambedkar.

Omission of article

We do not use the definite article before common nouns representing the whole class. For example

 Man is mortal.
 Teachers are the source of all inspiration.

We omit the definite article with names of materials. For example

 Gold is valuable.
 Wool is light.

We do not use the definite article with abstract nouns. For example

 Sincerity leads to success.

 Honesty is a virtue.

We omit the definite article with names of languages. For example

 I speak Latin.
 Do you know English?

We omit the definite article with words denoting relations. For example

 Mummy is getting ready for office.

 My father is busy preparing breakfast.

KOTTE AYYAPPA Assist. Professor of English ANKIREDDY THIRUPAL REDDY Assist. Professor of English
 ENGLISH FOR PROFESSIONALS - I B.TECH STUDENTS OF MBU

VOCABULARY ( UNIT 1 & 2)

Idioms in the English language:

1. Act one’s age
Meaning- being mature and not childish
2. Age out of something
Meaning- no longer eligible for something
3. Young at heart
Meaning- having a youthful spirit
4. Over the hill
Meaning- Past one’s best, usually owing to age
5. A little bird told me
Meaning- when the source of the information is not to be revealed
6. As gentle as a lamb
Meaning- innocent and kind
7. Flog a dead horse
Meaning- to continue beyond any purpose
8. Big fish in a small pond
Meaning- achieving something significant within a restricted context
9. In black and white
Meaning- clearly written down
10. Black sheep
Meaning- somebody without a respectable character
11. Golden opportunity
Meaning- a favourable set of circumstances to do something
12. Green light
Meaning- Permission to begin something
13. Apple of somebody’s eye
Meaning- somebody who is loved a lot
14. Put all eggs in one basket
Meaning- devoting energy or resources to one thing
15. Bear fruit
Meaning- efforts resulting in success
16. Carrot and stick
Meaning- a reward countered by a threat
17. A dime’s worth
Meaning- negligible quantity
18. Bank on
Meaning- to rely on somebody/ something
19. Blank cheque
Meaning- unlimited freedom
20. Pick up the tab
Meaning- Paying the bill
21. to make both ends meet
Meaning- to work hard to survive
22. to be in hot water
meaning- to be in trouble
23. to turn a deaf ear
Meaning- not to listen to someone’s pleadings
24. By hook or by crook
Meaning- At any cost
25. To fight tooth and nail
Meaning- to fight with all your might
26. To be hand in glove with
Meaning- To be in cahoots with
27. Pay an arm and a leg.
Meaning- to pay too much money for something
28. At the drop of a hat
Meaning- willing to do it immediately, without hesitating
29. Just beating around the bush
 Meaning – Avoiding the main matter
30. Every cloud has a silver lining
Meaning- every difficult or sad situation has a comforting or more hopeful aspect

Most Common idioms and phrases for learning

31. Bell the cat

Meaning: To undertake a risky or dangerous task.
Example: Someone has to bell the cat and tell the commissioner that his own started the
violence
32. Call a spade a spade
Meaning: To speak the truth even if it’s unpleasant
Example: That dress made her look fat, let’s call a spade a spade before she goes out
wearing it and embarrasses herself.
33. Not your cup of tea
Meaning: If you say that someone or something is not your cup of tea, you mean that
they’re not the kind of person or thing you like.
Example: We couldn’t decide which movie to watch, so we ended up settling on a
comedy. Halfway through the movie, I concluded that its humor was not my cup of tea.
34. Cut no ice
Meaning: Fail to make an impact
Example: Your poetry cuts no ice with me.
35. Face the music
Meaning: Face the reality
Example: Shikha asked her husband to not run away from the problem and just face the
music once!
 36. To be in the doldrums
Meaning: To be in a low spirit
Example: When I got to know about the increasing cases of COVID-19 in my area, I
was in the 1doldrums.
37. To Bell the Cat
Meaning: To face a risk.
Example: He belled the cat when he was trying to escape the prison.
38. Turn a deaf ear
Meaning: To ignore what someone is saying.
Example: Whenever her mother complained of her excessive use of her mobile phone, Anu
turned a deaf ear.
39. Like a cakewalk
Meaning: So easy task.
Example: Everyone took hours to write the code but Adam did it like a cakewalk.
40. Lose your marbles
Meaning: To go insane.
Example: Our mailman has lost his marbles, every day he drops Mr. Smith’s mail on our
door.
41. Chip off the old block
Meaning: A person is similar in behaviour or actions to his parents.
Example: When grandmother saw her grandson collecting coins like her son used to do, she
knew he was a Chip off the old block.
42. Spill the beans
Meaning – Revealing the secret or hidden facts
For Example –
‘Have you heard that Mike is allergic to garlic? His mother just spilled the beans’
‘Promise me that you will not tell my secret to anyone, you will never spill the beans’
43. Pull someone’s leg
Meaning - To make fun of someone
For example –
‘Relax, I’m just pulling your leg!’
‘Stop pulling his leg, he is your brother’
44. Through thick and thin
Meaning - Being faithful and loyal in all the circumstances
For example –
‘The true friend supports you through thick and thin’
‘Family always stood through thick and thin’
45. Once in a blue moon
Meaning – An act that rarely happens
For example –
‘Once in a blue moon, I go to the mall. I prefer local markets only’
‘He comes to parties once in a blue moon’

46. Take it with a pinch of salt

Meaning - Not being very serious about something
For example –
‘Reporters mostly exaggerate the news so some news should be taken with a pinch of salt’
‘You can take the hard words of the people with a pinch of salt’
‘Politician stop taking bribes can happen only when pigs fly’
47. . To cost an arm and a leg
Meaning – something is very expensive
For example –
‘Some branded cosmetics can cost an arm and a leg as they are very highly priced’
Luxury cars can something cost an arm and a leg to people’
48. See eye to eye
Meaning - To accept or agree with each other’s opinion
For example –
‘My brother and I sometimes do not see eye to eye on certain matters’
‘You can see eye to eye with people who do not agree with your opinion’
49. A piece of cake
Meaning - Something very easy and simple to do or perform.
For example –
‘Trekking is not a piece of cake for kids. They need supervision’
‘With mock practice, an interview can be a piece of cake’
50. To cut corners
Meaning – to perform or do something fastest, easiest, or cheapest way.
For example –
‘Sometimes cab drivers try to cut corners to avoid the traffic’
‘One should not cut corners when the dreams are high’
51. Beat around the bush
Meaning – Avoiding the main matter
For example –
‘Beating around the bush does not always help, one must discuss the main point’
‘You should stop beating around the bush and discuss your career option with your parents’
52. Hit the sack
Meaning - Go to bed for sleep.
For example –
‘Children need to Hit the sack early to get up on time’
‘After a hectic day, anyone would like to Hit the sack’
53. A blessing in disguise
Meaning - Something seems to be bad at first but turned out to be good later
For example –
‘Work from home turned into a blessing a disguise for many as they could spend quality time
with their family’
‘In a pandemic, many people could get time for a workout which in turned a blessing in disguise’
54. Fit as a fiddle
Meaning: Being in good health
For example –
‘Eating healthy food can make you fit as a fiddle’
‘To become fit as a fiddle you need to avoid junk food’
55. Getting a taste of your own medicine
Meaning – when someone experiences the same harm as the caused to others
For example –
‘He made fun of others' baldness today he has lost all his hair. He got the taste of his own
medicine’
‘If you will think bad for others then you may get the same in return and can experience the taste
of your own medicine’
56. Straight from the horse’s mouth
Meaning – getting the information directly from the person’s mouth regarding who the news is.
For example –
‘I have got to know about his secret. Not from anyone else but directly from the person, from the
horse’s mouth’
‘I get the information from the right source, straight from the horse’s mouth’
57. Think outside the box
Meaning - Thinking creatively.
For example –
‘To develop a new idea, we have to think outside the box which means we need to try different
ways than the traditional ones’
‘To develop the vaccine for coronavirus, doctors have to think out of the box’
58. Action speaks louder than words
Meaning - What you do has a stronger effect than just talking about it.
For example –
‘Lot many times people just talk about good health but do not act. But action speaks louder than
words’
‘We should not just talk about helping others we must act. Action speaks louder than words’
59. What goes around comes around
Meaning - What you do to the world, the same will happen to you.
For example –
‘We must be good to others as someday we can come across people who would speak badly to
us. As says what goes around comes around’
‘A helping hand to someone can get us the help in the time we need it. As says what goes around
comes around’
60. Bite off more than you can chew
Meaning - Taking more responsibilities than one can manage.
For example –
‘Sometimes to please the manager, I accepted the excess work so I bite off more than I can
chew’

One Word Substitutes

1. Art related to ornate, good handwriting Calligraphy

2. Study of handwriting Graphology

3. Study of languages Philology

4. Study of collection of coins, tokens, paper money, etc. Numismatics

5. One who talks while sleeping Somniloquist

6. One who takes part in dialogue or conversation Interlocutor

7. One who walks in sleep Somnambulist

8. One who is capable of using both hands Ambidextrous

9. who knows a lot about good food and wine Connoisseur

10. Informal, less grammatically rigid language Colloquial

11. Talking around, a method of talking indirectly Circumlocution

12. Generous, forgiving talk Magniloquent

13. Expressive in the use of words Eloquent

14. High sounding pompous speech or writing Grandiloquent

15. Writing one's life story Biography

16. Writing one's own life story Autobiography

17. A speech to oneself, alone Soliloquy

18. One who eats only fruits Fruitarian

19. A backward look or a view into the past Retrospect

20. A forward look or a view into future Prospect

21. Examine one's motives or look inwards Introspect

22. Writing one's life story Biography

23. Writing one's own life story Autobiography

24. One who believes in the presence of God Theist

25. One who doesn't believe in the presence of God Atheist

26. Having a hole or an empty space inside hallow

27. Knock or push roughly against someone in a crowd to get more space Jostle

28. Move somewhere using short quick ftwisting movements wriggle

29. Small rounded stones often mixed with sand Pebble

30. loud and confused Pandemonium