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Why do you think Paul's mother was not satisfied with the yearly birthday gift of 1,000 pounds for five years.

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प्रश्न

Why do you think Paul's mother was not satisfied with the yearly birthday gift of 1,000 pounds for five years.

संक्षेप में उत्तर
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उत्तर

The incident defines a great deal of the character of Hester, Paul's mother. A beautiful woman though she was, who started with all advantages, had no luck. Thus, dissatisfied as she was for her husband not being able to fulfill her desires for a lavish lifestyle. She felt that her household and her children had been thrust upon her and should not love them. Thus, Paul did for her what his father could not do. He earned her money through his luck. He was desperate to prove it to her that he was worthy of it. So, he decided to give her mother his hard-earned 5,000 pounds discretely. Uncle Oscar and Paul brought up a scheme that they would give Hester 1000 pounds for five years on her birthday. However, as the mother was under debt, rather than trying to discover who was being generous towards her, she asked for the 5,000 pounds all in once to end her debt. It seems that Hester was not the one to learn from her lessons and so she returned to her lavish lifestyle not treading carefully and did not save anything for a rainy day. She was not a lady to be satisfied. She knew from the beginning that she and her husband had a little income and thus should have altered their lifestyle. However, she blamed it all on her husband for being unlucky and never loved or supported her family.

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अध्याय 1.3: The Rocking-horse Winner - Understanding the text [पृष्ठ ३५]

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एनसीईआरटी English Woven Words (Elective) Class 11
अध्याय 1.3 The Rocking-horse Winner
Understanding the text | Q 2 | पृष्ठ ३५

संबंधित प्रश्न

Read the passage given below and answer the questions that follow:

1. Air pollution is an issue which concerns us all alike. One can willingly choose or reject a food, a drink or a life comfort, but unfortunately there is little choice for the air we breathe. All, what is there in the air is inhaled by one and all living in those surroundings.

 2. Air pollutant is defined as a substance which is present while normally it is not there or present in an amount exceeding the normal concentrations. It could either be gaseous or a particulate matter. The important and harmful polluting gases are carbon monoxide, carbon dioxide, ozone and oxides of sulphur and nitrogen. The common particulate pollutants are the dusts of various inorganic or organic origins. Although we often talk of the outdoor air pollutions caused by industrial and vehicular exhausts, the indoor pollution may prove to be as or a more important cause of health problems.

 3. Recognition of air pollution is relatively recent. It is not uncommon to experience a feeling of 'suffocation' in a closed environment. It is often ascribed to the lack of oxygen. Fortunately, however, the composition of air is remarkably constant all over the world. There is about 79 per cent nitrogen and 21 per cent oxygen in the air − the other gases forming a very small fraction. It is true that carbon dioxide exhaled out of lungs may accumulate in a closed and over-crowded place. But such an increase is usually small and temporary unless the room is really air-tight. Exposure to poisonous gases such as carbon monoxide may occur in a closed room, heated by burning coal inside. This may also prove to be fatal.

 4. What is more common in a poorly ventilated home is a vague constellation of symptoms described as the sick-building syndrome. It is characterized by a general feeling of malaise, head-ache, dizziness and irritation of mucous membranes. It may also be accompanied by nausea, itching, aches, pains and depression. Sick building syndrome is getting commoner in big cities with the small houses, which are generally over-furnished. Some of the important pollutants whose indoor concentrations exceed those of the outdoors include gases such as carbon monoxide, carbon dioxide, oxides of nitrogen and organic substances like spores, formaldehydes, hydrocarbon aerosols and allergens. The sources are attributed to a variety of construction materials, insulations, furnishings, adhesives, cosmetics, house dusts, fungi and other indoor products.

 5. By-products of fuel combustion are important in houses with indoor kitchens. It is not only the brining of dried dung and fuelwood which is responsible, but also kerosene and liquid petroleum gas. Oxides of both nitrogen and sulphur are released from their combustion.

 6. Smoking of tobacco in the closed environment is an important source of indoor pollution. It may not be high quantitatively, but significantly hazardous for health. It is because of the fact that there are over 3000 chemical constituents in tobacco smoke, which have been identified. These are harmful for human health.

 7. Micro-organisms and allergens are of special significance in the causation and spread of diseases. Most of the infective illnesses may involve more persons of a family living in common indoor environment. These include viral and bacterial diseases like tuberculosis.

 8. Besides infections, allergic and hypersensitivity disorders are spreading fast. Although asthma is the most common form of respiratory allergic disorders, pneumonias are not uncommon, but more persistent and serious. These are attributed to exposures to allergens from various fungi, molds, hay and other organic materials. Indoor air ventilation systems, coolers, air-conditioners, dampness, decay, pet animals, production or handling of the causative items are responsible for these hypersensitivity − diseases.

 9. Obviously, the spectrum of pollution is very wide and our options are limited. Indoor pollution may be handled relatively easily by an individual. Moreover, the good work must start from one’s own house

(Extracted from the Tribune)

 (a) (i) What is an air pollutant? (1)

(ii) In what forms are the air pollutants present? (2)

(iii) Why do we feel suffocated in a closed environment? (1)

(iv) What is sick building syndrome? How is it increasing? (2)

(v) How is indoor smoking very hazardous? (1)

(vi) How can one overcome the dangers of indoor air pollution? (2)

(b) Find the words from the above passage which mean the same as the following: (3)

(i) giddiness (para 4)

(ii) constant (para 8)

(iii) humidity (para 8)


Answer any four of the following in 30 − 40 words each:

(a) "It is his karam, his destiny." What is Mukesh's family's attitude towards their situation?
(b) What were the terms of the indigo contract between the British landlords and the Indian peasants?
(c) How will 'keeping quiet' protect our environment?
(d) Which objects of nature does Keats mention as sources of joy in his poem, 'A Thing of Beauty'?
(e) Why did the Tiger King decide to get married?
(f) What was Sadao's father's dream for him? How did Sadao realise it?


Read the following passage and complete the activities given below :

A1 Find out :
Find from the passage the related words to the sea and write them.

ON FIERCE monsoon nights, about one and a quarter-mile off the Mumbai harbor, there have been occasions when 52-year-old Bikaji Ramchandra Dhuri is the only man on the sea. From the watchtower of the Prongs Reef Lighthouse, which is surrounded on all sides by the Arabian Sea, he has heard the sea rage like a possessed spirit – the darkness dispelled only by the beam of light flung across the waters from the tower he mans.

Dhuri is one of the last breeds of lighthouse keepers on the Indian coast, as a majority of the 182 lighthouses in the country are now unmanned. Built-in 1871, the Prongs Reef lighthouse was modeled on Scotland’s  Skerryvore Rocks Lighthouse and is located at a strategic spot on the western coast, marking the entrance to the busy Mumbai Harbour. It was meant to stem the number of shipwrecks off the harbor, which the lone Colaba lighthouse could not illumine on its own. “Even now, during nights, for fishing vessels without any gadgets, it’s the soft light from this tower which directs us to Mumbai,” says Vinayak Koli, a boatsman who helps ferry people and also goes on fishing expeditions.

Throughout the year, Dhuri lives in the lighthouse for 15 days at a stretch, when he is relieved by another keeper. In the monsoon, it becomes his home for three months. “We call it the Kalapana as we are alone in the middle of the sea for days, with basic supplies – and the revolving light that keeps the sea awake,” he says.

A2 Fill in the following information using words from the passage :
(i) The Prongs Reef lighthouse was modeled on _______.
(ii) Dhuri lives in the lighthouse for _______ at a stretch.
(iii) _______ is one of the last breeds of lighthouse keepers on the Indian coast.
(iv) The majority of the _______ lighthouses in the country are now unmanned.

A3 Read the words and find out the similar meaning words from the passage :
Violent Scattered Place of shelter for ships Shine light

A4
(i) “We call it Kalapani as we are alone in the middle of the sea for days”, he says. (Use ‘that’ and rewrite the sentence)
(ii) It was meant to stem the number of shipwrecks of the harbor.
(a) was it? (b) wasn’t it? (c) is it?
(Select the proper tag and rewrite the sentence)

A5 Personal Response
Imagine you have to spend a night in a lighthouse. Narrate your experience.

Guess the meaning of the following word:
Kyang
In which language are these word found? 


Briefly explain the following statement from the text.

Gangadharpant could not help comparing the country he knew with what he was witnessing around him.


Why did the author finally give up on his watch?


Considering that this is an excerpt from a lecture, how does the commentary provided by the speaker string the arguments together?


What are the cues that signal the presence of the peacock in the vicinity?


Comment on the symbols used in ‘A Munda Song’. What aspect of the tribal worldview do they reflect?


How do you respond to these lines?

Light, chill and yellow,

Bathes the serene

Foreheads of houses


There are intervals of silence in the interaction between the landlady and the prospective tenant. What are the reasons for this?


Study the Note to Aspects of the Novel given at the end. Discuss the features that mark the piece as a talk as distinguished from a critical essay.


Read the extract and state whether the following statement is true or false. Correct the false statement.

Growing in abundance is more important than the quality of the crop.


Find from the story one word for the following.

a small room just below a sloping roof - ...........


Think of one of your favourite stories. Fill in the following facts about the story. 

  • Name of the story:
  • Type of story:
  • Setting (time and place):
  • Important characters:
  • Theme/Plot:
  • Conflict/Dilemma:
  • Solution:
  • End:

Doctors who do special advanced study of specific parts of the body have special terms.

In your group try to match the specialist doctors with who / what they treat.

  Specialists   Who/What they treat
1. Dentist a. bone
2. Cardiologist b. brain/with spine
3. Ophthalmologist c. small kids
4. Orthopedic d. teeth
5. Pediatrician e. animals/birds
6. Neurologist f. eye
7. Veterinarian g. heart

Write in short about what your parents/guardians feel when they send you to school. 


Discuss with your teacher how/why are ‘stars’ given to a movie.


Go through the following web that highlights the essential qualities of a compere. Discuss with your partner the essential qualities and also the precautions that a compere should take while compering a program.

Precautions to be taken :

  1. __________________________
  2. __________________________
  3. __________________________
  4. __________________________

Show the three categories of volcanoes using the following tree diagram structure.


Explain the use of the following property in the development of the play.

Stick


The merchant ships brought spices and other treasures from India and other countries to Italy.


Add ten more words to the list on your own. Each of the component words must be meaningful.


Guess the meaning of the following from the context.

The meadow is wrapped in shadow.


Write a short note on the following:

Sujata’s offering


List the lines that begin with 'Here' or 'And here'.
Also, list the sentences or phrases that begin with ‘And there’.
These phrases and sentences tell us about things that appear one after the other as the carriage moves. Can we tell which ones are closer to the train and which ones are at a distance? How?


Complete the following diagram.


The story has a very heart-warming and touching end. Now try to change the end of the story to make it sound very funny.


Now try to add a contradictory word to the following:

  1. What a ______ mess you’ve got us into!
  2. It’s a ______ imitation of a diamond necklace.
  3. My trip to Matheran was a ______ holiday.
  4. With such heavy makeup, she looks ______ ugly.
  5. A ______ crowd gathered to see the magic show.

Note: Contrasting words that go together are examples of the language device called Oxymoron.


Listen carefully and guess how the sentence would end.

This step is broken. Please be ______.


Read the poem and answer the following.

Which strawberries are plump and juicy?


Choose a suitable heading for each announcement from those given below. 

(Change in School Hours, Cleanliness, Story-telling Competition, Lost and Found, Warning, Football Match)

1.

6 July 2015

        It has been observed by the Head Boy and Head Girl that certain classes do not clean up their classrooms before leaving. If any class is found untidy and littered after school, that class will be detained the next day after school hours up to 4 pm. Please take note of this.

2.

      Tomorrow, that is, on the 10th of July, the school will close an hour earlier, as the teachers have to attend an important P. T. A. meeting. So please inform your parents to arrange to pick you up at 2 pm instead of 3 pm.

3.

      On Sunday, 12th July 2015 there is a football match between classes VIII and IX, on the school ground. The match will begin at 9 am. All students are invited to come and cheer their favorite team. Please come on time, so that the players are not distracted.

4.

      The school has organized a Story-telling Competition for Classes V, VI, and VII from 21st to 25th of July. The competition will be held in the school hall at 10 in the morning. Children may select -

  1. A fable
  2. A folk-tale
  3. A fairy-tale
  4. A True Story
  5. A Funny Story

     Three prizes will be given for each category.

      The time limit is 3-5 minutes. Those who wish to participate may contact Mrs. Sanjana Mohite for other details. They must register their names with her before the 16th of July.

5.

      Construction work to extend the school building will start next week. All students are cautioned not to cross over the fence at the construction site. It is dangerous and may cause you injury.

Please stay away from that fence.

6.

        A cycle key with a blue key chain has been found on the ground. Whoever has lost it can contact the clerk Mrs. Neena Pinto and see if it belongs to him/her.

Find out how the following game is played.

Football 


Form a group of 4 or 5. Make a ‘storyboard’ for the story ‘Three Sacks of Rice’.
Arrange the story in the form of a sequence of pictures.
Decide what you will show in each picture; what words/lines you will write with each picture to explain what happens in it.
You can also add ‘speech balloons’ for the people in the pictures.


List the characters in the play.

Human characters 


Look at the photographs on textbook pages 19-20 carefully and imagine the following:

  • The colours, shape, size, actions, etc. of what you see in the picture.
  • The sound/sounds you may hear at the scene of the photograph.
  • How the different things, birds, animals, etc. in the picture feel to the touch.
  • The smell / smells you may smell at the scene of the picture.
  • The taste of what you see in the pictures.

In short, let your imagination include oil your five senses.

Now, write short descriptions of any 8-10 of your choice. 

Remember to make use of your senses (one or more!) when you describe a photograph. You will find the following words and phrases useful. You may also use other words you know.


What does the poet want to know from the goldfish? 


What is ‘e-mail’ or electronic mail?


Read the following line from the poem and answer the question that follow.

My heart will keep the courage of the quest And hope the road's last turn will be the best.

My heart will keep the courage of the quest,

And hope the road's last turn will be the best.

  1. What kind of quest does the poet seek here?
  2. What is the poet’s hope?

Identify the character or speaker.

He imprisoned the spirits in the bodies of large trees.


Give two reasons why Miranda was so concerned about Ferdinand.


Hamid’s granny scolded him for buying iron tongs. Then she understood that Hamid had bought it ______.


Read the poem aloud in pairs.


What are the two reasons the author gives for the plants moving towards grandfather?


Grandmother had wanted the peepul tree cut down because______.


Who is Muthu?


The boy was rather unsympathetic to his sister.


Where were the boys taken to?


Anbu got ______ fish this week.


Why did he grow crops?


The message was to gather on ______.


Why do we ask questions?


Choose the correct answer.


The king looked for a______.


Before going to bed that night, Chris gave his new teacher a ______.


What did Helen learn when the teacher put her hand into running water?


Write the related words as shown in the example.


Bertha was very good but very proud too.


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