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प्रश्न
Comment on the influence of English – the language and the way of life – on Indian life as reflected in the story. What is the narrator's attitude to English?
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उत्तर
When the English came to our land, they did not bring the industrialisation alone. They carried with themselves their culture, their religion and their language to our home. We, who had been ruled by the Slaves and the Moguls for centuries were now about to face yet another foreign dominance, which was to leave an impact on us that was to live for ever in the future. The biggest of all influences was the language English. Even after so many years of independence, we Indians are not able to pull ourselves out of this inferiority complex. They ruled our nation once and now even after so many decades, they rule our minds. We consider those inferior who do not know the English language. It is nothing but a language after all, why feel so proud about it when it is not even ours. Yes it is a global language and it is good to know foreign languages, however we must treat a language as language only and not as a status symbol.
This falsehood has been reflected very well in the story. The narrator, Shyama, showed how when Ranga returns from Bangalore, after completing his studies, the way people anticipated his return and the excitement on knowing that Ranga now knew English, “a priceless commodity”. They all wanted to see if there has been any change in Ranga after studying English in Bangalore. However, there was no change or little in Ranga's personality. He even did the traditional namaskar to Shyama by bowing down and touching his feet.
संबंधित प्रश्न
A1. (i) Two activities that mother was free to do:
(a)...........................................
(b)............................................
(ii)Two activities that children avoided doing because of television:
(a) .....................................
(b) ...................................
Oh yes, we know it keeps them still,
They don't climb out the window sill,
They never fight or kick or punch,
They leave you free to cook the lunch
And wash thedishes in the sink
But did you ever stop to think,
To wonder just exactly what
This does to your beloved tot?
It rots the sense in the head!
It kills imagination dead!
It clogs and clutters up the mind!
It makes a child so dull and blind
He can no longer understand
A fantasy, a fairyland!
His brain becomes as soft as cheese!
His power of thinking rust and freeze!
He cannot think - He only sees!
'All right!' you'll cry. 'All right!' you'll say,
'But if we take the set away,
What shall-we do to entertain
Our darling children? Please explain!'
We'll answer this by asking you,
'What used the darling ones to do?'
'How used they keep themselves contented
Before this monster was invented?'
Have you forgotten? Don't you know?
A2. According to the poem, why is excessive watching of TV harmful?
A3. His brain became as soft as cheese. The figure of speech is ..........because............
Read the extract and do the activities that follow:
The duke senior and his follower were sitting down to a meal one day when Orlando rushed out from among the trees, his sword in his hand. ‘Stop, and cat no more!’ he cried. The Duke and his friends asked him what he wanted.
‘Food,’ said Orlando. ‘I am almost dying of hunger’. They asked him to sit down and eat, but he would not do so. He told them that his old servant was in the woods, dying of hunger. ‘I will not eat a bite until he has been fed,’ Orlando said.
So the good Duke and his followers helped him to bring Adam to their hiding-place, and Orlando and the old man were fed and taken care of. When the Duke learned that Orlando was a son of his old friend sir Rowland de Boys, he welcomed him gladly to his forest court.
Orlando lived happily with the Duke and his friends, but he had not forgotten the lovely Rosalind. She was always in his thoughts andevery day he wrote poetry about her pinning it on the trees in the forest. ‘These trees shall be my books,’ he said, ‘so that everyone who looks in the forest will be able to read how sweet and good Rosalind is’.
Rosalind and Celia found some of these poems pinned on the trees. At first they were puzzled, wondering who could have written them; but one day Celia came in from a walk with the news that she had seen Orlando sleeping under a tree, and she and Rosalind guessed that he must be the poet. Rosalind was happy to think that Orlando had not forggoten her, because she loved him as much as he loved her.
A1. Complete - (2)
Complete the following sentences:
(i) Rosalind was happy to think _______
(ii) The Duke and his followers helped Orlando to bring _________
(iii) Orlando pinned the poems written about Rosalind on ______
(iv) When the Duke cam to know that Orlando was a son of his old friend, he _________
A2. Write a gist: (2)
Write a gist of the above given extract in about 50 words.
Briefly comment on:
The author’s meeting with Norbu.
|
The energy stored in coal and petroleum originally came to the earth from the sun. The bulk of the present-day supplies was laid down some 200 to 600 million years ago, when tropical conditions were widespread. Lush, swampy forests produced huge trees; warm coastal seas swarmed with microscopic forms of life. When these organisms died, much of their tissue was recycled as it is today — through scavenging and decay. But a significant amount of dead plant and animal material was covered with mud, which prevented complete decomposition. With the passage of time, layer upon layer of the fine sediment was deposited over the once-living material; the sheer weight turned the sediments to rock. Sandwiched between the layers, both coal and petroleum were produced and preserved under pressure. Coal was formed mostly of giant fern-like plants that have only small counterparts today. Coal may still be forming here and there on earth, but conditions are not right for the production of significant quantities. |
Number the points.
This short story revolves around a single important event. Discuss how the narrative is woven around this central fact.
Examine the communication channels in the story between Paul and his mother.
Why do you think the poet has used so many 'negatives' to make his statement?
Which are the lines in the poem that impressed you the most and why?
Study each of the following sentences and notice the balance between its parts. Pick out other sentences in the text that reflect this kind of balance
a. It is right that a false Latin quantity should excite a smile in the House of Commons; but it is wrong that a false English meaning should not excite a frown there.
b. Let the accent of words be watched, by all means, but let the meaning be watched more closely still, and fewer will do the work.
How do stories/biographies of such famous people help youngsters?
Make groups and discuss the following:
Name a few scientists/explorers/social reformers/inventors/discoverers, who spent most of their lives to find solutions to some major problems/setbacks, that mankind faced.
Everyone admired the statue of the Happy Prince.
Suppose you suffer from a long - term illness (one or two weeks), what should you do and what should you avoid? Fill up the table of Dos and Don’ts.
| Dos | Don’ts |
| (1) Go to a doctor for diagnosis | (1) Do not ____________ |
| (2) ____________ | (2) Do not avoid medication on time. |
| (3) Take a suitable diet | (3) Avoid ____________ |
| (4) ____________ | (4) Avoid physical stress and exertion. |
| (5) Rest in a properly ventilated room. | (5) Do not ____________ |
| (6) Have cheerful thoughts, courage, positive attitude | (6) Do not lose ______ and ______ |
Read the text and enlist the achievements and honours of Ramanujan, received in England.
Fill in the gap, choosing a word from the bracket to make an appropriate comparison.
(tall / quiet / humble / merry / busy / slippery / fast / sly / slow / big)
as ______ as a snail
Form groups and discuss the following statements, in the context of the extract.
‘If he is indeed wise, he does not bid you to enter the house of his wisdom, but rather leads you to the threshold of your own mind’ Kahlil Gibran.
Find a suitable object for each comparison.
State whether the following statement is True or False:
Lysander and Demetrius fall in love with Helena as a result of the love potion.
State whether the following statement is True or False:
Both Demetrius and Lysander fight for Hermia.
Show the three categories of volcanoes using the following tree diagram structure.
Answer the following question in one sentence.
What would he do if he had the power to do it?
Answer the following question in one sentence.
What should human beings do in order to make progress?
Have you seen how wheels move on different surfaces like sand, gravel, grass, or a proper road? What are the differences you see?
Draw word webs for the following.
Begin with the given word and go on writing as many other words associated with it, as you can.
Use these words to write other related words to form a word web.
What do the following events/actions tell us about the characters? Discuss.
Sir Ector asked Sir Kay to show him whether he could draw the sword out of the stone.
Rohan had finished ______ rounds of the tree before Mrs. Groover discovered him.
Which of the words and phrases in the poem will you use in a realistic description?
Put a tick mark against the ones you will use.
- little
- shining tail
- golden scale
- cheerful
- grin
- claws
- gently smiling
- jaws
Read the word. Write the words that combine to make it.
springtime
List all the pairs of antonyms you find in the passage.
Discuss, why it was considered as an adventurous and dangerous thing to travel in those days?
Have you ever seen a bird making its first-ever attempt to fly?
Based on your understanding of the poem, complete the following passage by the using the phrases given in the box.
| youth to old age | up or down the hill | to hurry nor move away | |
| high adventure | joyful | mourn | looking ahead |
The poet wants to live his life __________, willing to do something. He neither wants __________from his goal. He does not want to _______ the things he has lost, not hold back for fear of the future. He instead prefers to live his life with a whole and happy heart which cheerfully travels from __________. Therefore, it does not matter to him whether the path goes __________, rough or smooth, the journey will be __________. He will continue to seek what he wanted as a boy - new friendship, __________ and a crown (prize). His heart will remain courageous and pursue his desires. He hopes that every turn in his life's journey will be the best.
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Write the names of Hamid’s friends in column A and the toys they bought in column B
| A | B |
The wind hurried and passed through the ______
A sea turtle camouflages its nest by tossing sand on it to ______.
When did the garden become a happy place for the author?
Identify the sports and the sports personalities from the lesson and fill in the table.
| Sports | Name of the player & Field of sports | Awards |
 |
||
 |
||
 |
What does the phrase ‘presence of mind’ mean? Explain the phrase using Muthu’s action.
Read the lines and answer the question given below.
Faster than fairies, faster than witches,
Bridges and houses, hedges and ditches;
- What is faster than fairies and witches?
- Why does the poet mention ‘bridges and houses, hedges and ditches’? Where are the
Why does the child clamber and scramble?
How should one react to adversity?
Why did the girl reply haughtily?
What did Nilavan see through the window?
Match the following.
| cuckoo | blows |
| breeze | sings |
| river | swims |
| fish | flows |
Why did Santhosh forget to watch television or play video games?
How do we see the earthworm often?
What was the epidemic that broke out in the story?
The robot that sat on her shoulder was a______.
Who sews the cloth?
Choose the correct option from the given homophones.
The wind ______off the leaves.
The bird-catcher let the pigeon jump into the fire.
Akilan’s passion is to learn ______.
Name the character or speaker.
“Learn well, live well!”
Recite the poem 'A Voyage' with correct intonation.
What did the children buy with money they have?
How long did the competition take to reach the final?
Choose the correct one.
Elephant
Nithin had many ______toys.
What secrets did he learn about beasts?
What did he make out of it?
