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प्रश्न
I could hear the squeaking that heralded the evening arrival of the bats. I listened to the noises of the approaching night. Every day my hearing grew sharper. I was learning to filter out whatever I did not need to listen to, and giving no sign that I could hear everything that went on in the house.
I could not sleep. The air was heavy and still, the moon hidden behind thick banks of cloud. Lord Otori was sound asleep. I did not want to leave the house I'd come to love so much, but I seemed to be bringing nothing but trouble to it. Perhaps it would be better for everyone if I just vanished in the night. [5]
Now I heard the hiss of hot water as the bath was prepared, the clatter of dishes from the kitchen, the sliding sigh of the cook's knife, a dog barking two streets away, and the sounds of feet on the wooden bridges on the canals. I knew the sounds of the house, day and night, in the sunshine and under the rain. This evening I realized I was always listening for something more. I was waiting too. For what? [10]
I began to wonder if I could get out of the house without setting the dogs barking and arousing the guards. I started consciously listening to the dogs. Usually, I heard them bark on and off throughout the night, but I'd learned to distinguish their barks and to ignore them. I set my ears for them but heard nothing. Then I started listening for the guards: the sound of a foot on stone or a whispered conversation. Nothing. Sounds that should have been there been missing from the night's familiar web. [20]
Now I was wide-awake, straining my ears to hear. There came the slightest of sounds, hardly more than a tremor, between the window and the ground.
For a moment I thought it was the earth-shaking, as it so often did. Another tiny tremble followed, then another. Someone was climbing up the side of the house [25]
My first instinct was to yell out, but cunning took over. I rose from the mattress and crept silently to Lord Otori's side. I knelt beside him and whispered in his ear, "Lord Otori, someone is, outside." [30]
He woke instantly and then reached for the sword and knife that lay beside him. I gestured to the window. The faint tremor came again.
Lord Otori passed the knife to me and stepped to the wall. I moved to the other side of the window. We waited for the assassin to climb in.
Step by step he came up the wall, stealthy and unhurried as if he had all the time in the world. We waited for him with the same patience. [35]
He paused on the sill to take out the knife he planned to use on us and then stepped inside. Lord Otori took him in a stranglehold. The intruder wriggled backwards. I leaped at him, and the three of us fell into the garden like a flurry of fighting cats. [40]
The man fell first, across the stream, striking his head on a boulder. Lord Otori landed on his feet. My fall was broken by one of the shrubs. The intruder groaned, tried to rise, but slipped back into the water.
"Get a light," Lord Otori said.
I ran to the house, took a light that still burned in one of the candle stands and carried it back to the garden. [45]
The assassin had died without regaining consciousness. It turned out he had a poison pellet in his mouth and had crushed it as he tell. He was dressed in black, with no marking on his clothes. I held the light over him. There was nothing to tell us who he was. [50]
(i) Given below are four words and phrases. Find the words which have a similar meaning in the passage:
(1) Coming near
( 2 ) Disappeared suddenly
(3) Awakening from sleep
(4) Moved slowly and gradually
(ii) For each of the words given below, write a sentence of at least ten words using the same word unchanged in form, but with a different meaning from that which it carries in the passage:
(1) Bats ( line 1 )
( 2 ) Sign ( line 4 )
( 3 ) Banks ( line 6 )
( 4 ) Back ( line 43 )
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उत्तर
(i)
(1) Coming near - arrival
( 2 ) Disappeared suddenly - vanished
(3) Awakening from sleep - woke
(4) Moved slowly and gradually - crept
(ii)
(1) Bats: I am afraid of bats.
( 2 ) Sign: I will sign for him.
( 3 ) Banks: I work for a bank.
( 4 ) Back: Then he handed the wallet back to his wife.
APPEARS IN
संबंधित प्रश्न
Thinking about Language
Here are some sentences from the text. Say which of them tell you, that the author:
(a) was afraid of the snake, (b) was proud of his appearance, (c) had a sense of humour,
(d) was no longer afraid of the snake.
1. I was turned to stone.
2. I was no mere image cut in granite.
3. The arm was beginning to be drained of strength.
4. I tried in my imagination to write in bright letters outside my little heart the words, ‘O
God’.
5. I didn’t tremble. I didn’t cry out.
6. I looked into the mirror and smiled. It was an attractive smile.
7. I was suddenly a man of flesh and blood.
8. I was after all a bachelor, and a doctor too on top of it!
9. The fellow had such a sense of cleanliness…! The rascal could have taken it and used it
after washing it with soap and water.
10. Was it trying to make an important decision about growing a moustache or using eye
shadow and mascara or wearing a vermilion spot on its forehead?
Discuss in pair and answer question below in a short paragraph (30 − 40 words.
What was Jerome’s real intention when he offered to pack?
Thinking about Language
Match the words/phrases in Column A with their meanings in Column B.
| A | B |
| 1. slaving | (i) a quarrel or an argument |
| 2. cgaos | (ii) remove something from inside another thing using a sharp tool |
| 3. rummage | (iii) strange, mysterious. Difficult to explain |
| 4. scrape out | (iv) finish successfully, achieve |
| 5. stumble over, tumble into |
(v) search for something by moving things around hurriedly or carelessly |
| 6. accomplish | (vi) completer confusion and disorder |
| 7. uncanny | (vii) fall, or step awkwardly while waking |
| 8. (to have or get into) a | (viii) working hard |
Thinking about the Poem
What are the things the wind does in the first stanza?
Lushkoff is earning thirty five roubles a month. How is he obliged to Sergei for this?
Based on your reading of the story, answer the following question by choosing the correct option:
Mrs. Bramble was a proud woman because.
Read these sentences from the story.
1. We will go to the old man.
2. Iwillopenmyhands.
3. It will flyaway.
4. I will crush the butterfly.
The modal will is used to talk about a temporary event in progress at some
point in future.
Will is used to denote _________ time.
Did you know?
There are different constructions in English which can be used to refer to
future time.
1. Use of the simple present tense.
a. The IPL begins on 20th April.
b. If the newly introduced vaccine works, AIDS can be cured.
2. Use of shall/will
Will/shall is used to make a prediction about future events, in
advertisements, posters etc.
e.g. a. You will win the 1st prize.
b. The Nano car will be on the roads soon.
c. You shall lead a happy life.
3. Use of going to
Going to is normally used to refer to future events in two cases
(a) If there is a present indication of the future event.
e.g. India is going to emerge as a Super Power in 2020.
(b) to express intention
e.g. Smitha is going to marry Akshay.
4. Use of present continuous tense (be+ verb+ ing)
Present continuous tense is used to refer to future events that have been
already planned.
e.g. a. I'm meeting the Project Manger this evening.
b. I'm sorry I can't meet you tomorrow. I'm visiting my friend.
5. Use of be + about to + infinitive.
e.g. The train is about to leave.
6. Useofbe+to+v
e.g. Obama is to visit India in October.
Some are Purple and gold flecked grey
For she who has journeyed through life midway,
Whose hands have cherished , whose love has blest,
And cradled fair sons on her faithful breast,
And serves her household in fruitful pride,
And worship the gods at her husband's side.
Read the lines given above and answer the question that follow:
What fulfills the life of an Indian wife and mother?
Exceeding peace had made Ben Adhem bold,
And to the presence in the room he said,
"What writest thou?"..... The vision raised its head,
And with a look made of all sweet accord,
Answered, "The names of those who love the Lord."
Read the lines given above and answer the following question.
What did Abou Adhem ask the angel?
The athletes had come from all over the country
To run for the gold, for the silver and bronze
Many weeks and months of training
All coming down to these games.
The spectators gathered around the old field
To cheer on all the young women and men
The final event of the day was approaching
Excitement grew high to begin.
Read the lines given above and answer the following question:
What event is being referred to?
“Jane,” said the wheelwright, with an impressiveness of tone that greatly subdued his wife, “I read in the Bible sometimes, and find much said about little children. How the Savior rebuked the disciples who would not receive them; how he took them up in his arms, and blessed them; and how he said that ‘whosoever gave them even a cup of cold water should not go unrewarded.’ Now, it is a small thing for us to keep this poor motherless little one for a single night; to be kind to her for a single night; to make her life comfortable for a single night.”
The voice of the strong, rough man shook, and he turned his head away, so that the moisture in his eyes might not be seen. Mrs. Thompson did not answer, but a soft feeling crept into her heart.
“Look at her kindly, Jane; speak to her kindly,” said Joe. “Think of her dead mother, and the loneliness, the pain, the sorrow that must be on all her coming life.” The softness of his heart gave unwonted eloquence to his lips.
Read the extract given below and answer the question that follow.
Why does the author make the character repeat the phrase, ‘a single night’?
Beside him in the shoals as he lay waiting glimmered a blue gem. It was not a gem, though: it was sand—?worn glass that had been rolling about in the river for a long time. By chance, it was perforated right through—the neck of a bottle perhaps?—a blue bead. In the shrill noisy village above the ford, out of a mud house the same colour as the ground came a little girl, a thin starveling child dressed in an earth—?coloured rag. She had torn the rag in two to make skirt and sari. Sibia was eating the last of her meal, chupatti wrapped round a smear of green chilli and rancid butter; and she divided this also, to make
it seem more, and bit it, showing straight white teeth. With her ebony hair and great eyes, and her skin of oiled brown cream, she was a happy immature child—?woman about twelve years old. Bare foot, of course, and often goosey—?cold on a winter morning, and born to toil. In all her life, she had never owned anything but a rag. She had never owned even one anna—not a pice.
Why does the writer mention the blue bead at the same time that the crocodile is introduced?
Ans. The author mentions the blue bead at the same time that the crocodile is introduced to create suspense and a foreshadowing of the events’to happen.
Read the extract given below and answer the question that follow.
Describe the blue bead.
Margot stood alone. She was a very frail girl who looked as if she had been lost in the rain for years and the rain had washed out the blue from her eyes and the red from her mouth and the yellow from her hair. She was an old photograph dusted from an album, whitened away, and if she spoke at all her voice would be a ghost. Now she stood, separate, staring at the rain and the loud wet world beyond the huge glass. “What’re you looking at ?” said William. Margot said nothing. “Speak when you’re spoken to.” He gave her a shove. But she did not move; rather she let herself be moved only by him and nothing else. They edged away from her, they would not look at her. She felt them go away. And this was because she would play no games with them in the echoing tunnels of the underground city. If they tagged her and ran, she stood blinking after them and did not follow. When the class sang songs about happiness and life and games her lips barely moved. Only when they sang about the sun and the summer did her lips move as she watched the drenched windows.
Read the extract given below and answer the question that follow.
When did Margot react ?
Given below are four words and phrases. Find the words which have a similar meaning in the passage:
(1) Coming near
( 2 ) Disappeared suddenly
(3) Awakening from sleep
(4) Moved slowly and gradually
Answer the following question.
When was the bear tied up with a chain? Why?
On getting a gift of chappals, the beggar vanished in a minute. Why was he in such a hurry to leave?
How was Mahmoud, the cook, attached to the tiger cub?
What was the problem of the two shoppers? What were they going to try?
What do you think the talking fan was demanding?
Do you find the poem humorous? Read aloud lines which make you laugh.
Find pictures of the kinds of birds, insects and scenes mentioned in the poem.
Discuss the question in pairs before you write the answer.
Why did he serve the Lion for a long time?
Fill in the blank in the sentence below with the words or phrases from the box. (You may not know the meaning of all the words. Look such words up in a dictionary, or ask your teacher.)
I started early to be on time, but I was ______. There was a traffic jam!
How did the little-bandaged girl make the author much more thoughtful than he ever thought?
Multiple Choice Question:
How can we play the game of words?
Answer the following question:
Why was Rasheed upset?
What does this passage say about the speaker?
Read the extract given below and answer the questions that follow:
| Portia: The quality of mercy is not strained; It droppeth as the gentle rain from heaven Upon the place beneath : it is twice blessed : It blesseth him that gives and him that takes. Tis mightiest in the mightiest; it becomes The throned monarch better than his crown: |
- Where does this scene take place? Why Is Portia here? [2]
- To what is mercy compared in these lines? [2]
- Why does Portia call mercy ‘twice blessed’?
Explain the lines:
‘Tis mightiest in the mightiest: it becomes
the throned monarch better than his crown: [3] - Later in her speech Portia mentions a sceptre. What is a sceptre?
How, according to Portia, is mercy above the ‘sceptred sway’? [3]
Complete the following sentence by providing a reason:
In Act III, Scene II of the play, The Tempest, Stephano threatens to tie Trinculo to the next tree because ______.
Discuss the absence of human characters in the story, There Will Come Soft Rains. How does this absence contribute to the overall tone and message of the narrative? Answer in 200-250 words.
