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Complete the following sentence by providing a reason. Beethoven amputated the legs of his piano because ______. - English Literature

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प्रश्न

Complete the following sentence by providing a reason.

Beethoven amputated the legs of his piano because ______.

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उत्तर

Beethoven amputated the legs of his piano because he was deaf and got down on his knees so that he could feel the vibrations through the floor.

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संबंधित प्रश्‍न

Thinking about the Poem

What are the things the wind does in the first stanza?


Thinking about the Poem

What did Saint Peter ask the old lady for? What was the lady’s reaction?


Why does the author say that Iswaran seemed to more than make up for the absence of a TV in Mahendra’s living quarters?


What happens when the zip on his carry-on bag gives way?


Now rewrite the pair of sentences given below as one sentence.

He gave the little girl an apple. He took the computer apart.


Is it possible to make accurate guesses about the people you have never met? Read the poem, to see how conclusions can be drawn about people. 

Abandoned Farmhouse 
He was a big man, says the size of his shoes On a pile of broken dishes by the house; A tall man too, says the length of the bed In an upstairs room; and a good, God-fearing man, Says the Bible with a broken back On the floor below a window, bright with sun; But not a man for farming, say the fields Cluttered with boulders and a leaky barn. 
A woman lived with him, says the bedroom wall Papered with lilacs and the kitchen shelves Covered with oilcloth, and they had a child Says the sandbox made from a tractor tyre. Money was scarce, say the jars of plum preserves And canned tomatoes sealed in the cellar-hole, And the winters cold, say the rags in the window frames. It was lonely here, says the narrow country road. 
Something went wrong, says the empty house In the weed-choked yard. Stones in the fields Say he was not a farmer; the still-sealed jars In the cellar say she left in a nervous haste. And the child? Its toys are strewn in the yard Like branches after a storm - a rubber cow, a rusty tractor and a broken plow, a doll in overalls. Something went wrong, they say. Ted Kooser 


'Ordeal in the Ocean' is the story of Slava Kurilov, a Russian, who faced a remarkable trial in the water. Slava Kurilov tells his own story. Read on ....... 

When the liner had finally vanished over the horizon, I was absolutely alone in the stormy night sea. First I thought I had to swim one way, then another. It was not even midnight yet, and I had no hope at all of finding my way in this terrible night time ocean. I began to feel afraid. Waves of fear rolled through me, starting from my hands and feet, attacking my heart and then reaching through my neck to my head. Waves broke over me and water went into my snorkel. I realised I would not be able to last even half an hour in such a condition. 
I saw individual stars, but I could not distinguish the constellations they belonged to. Then dawn came and put out all my stars and I felt my solitude more keenly. The sky was grey at first, then blue-violet shades appeared. In a few minutes, the colours became brighter, with dark red strips cutting across the sky! 

The rising sun came up over the ocean. I was surrounded by large waves. The clouds turned pink and swept across the sky in all directions. It was a windy day. 
There was no land visible. I grew alarmed. Had I made a mistake in my calculations? Perhaps the current had carried me a long a way off the course during the night? 
An hour passed, perhaps two. "Landlll" I could not deny myself the pleasure of shouting the magic word aloud and of hearing my own voice. Perhaps it was my ghostly island of Siargao? I almost felt I had succeeded - now at least I had hope. 
The sun looked out for the last time, as if it was saying goodbye to me, and hid itself away again. In a few minutes the sky was filled with all the colours of a rainbow, the bright shades changing and merging as I watched. At first the clouds became deep red and then their edges turned bright orange. A little while afterwards, the clouds turned lilac and dark violet. Darkness fell swiftly. My second lonely night in the ocean began. The stars came out unnoticed. I changed course and headed for the south west. As it turned out, this was an unforgivable mistake. 
Evening was approaching. The ocean around me was full of life; large fish often leapt out of the water and big birds flew right above my head. I could see the island distinctly now. A line of dancing palms stretched the length of its shore. The sides of the mountain were covered in many different shades of green. 
An hour passed, perhaps more. It was extraordinarily quiet. Then suddenly to my horror, I discovered my island had noticeably begun to move north and was drifting further and further in that direction right before my eyes. Before I had worked out what was happening and could sharply change my course towards the north, the southern tip of the island had appeared in front of me and, beyond that, open ocean stretched to the very horizon. I was totally at the mercy of the current and realised to my alarm that it was slowly carrying me past the land. 
My third night in the ocean crept up unnoticed. This third night in the ocean was very dark, much darker than the two previous ones. I almost decided to die as I had no hope of seeing another dawn. I was suddenly aware of a quiet voice: "Swim to the sound of the breakers." 
Indeed, there had been a distant rumbling for some time, although I had paid no attention to it. Now, I started listening and I thought it sounded like the characteristic noise of jet aeroplanes constantly landing and taking off. The voice inside kept insisting that I should swim towards this thunder of waves. 

At last I obeyed. Again I heard an approaching rumble. What I suddenly saw at a distance of about 30 or 40 metres has imprinted itself on my memory forever. It was a gigantic wave with steep, very slowly falling crests. Never in my life had I seen such an enormous wave - it even seemed to be touching the sky. It moved very slowly and was fantastically beautiful. 
The wave did not break over me as I assumed it would. An irresistible force dragged me up its steep slope right to the very foot of the falling crest. Instinctively I clutched my mask snorkel and managed to take a deep breath. The crest started to break over me and pulled me under it. For a moment, I found myself in the air 

under the crest as ifin a cave. Then my body was in a swirling current of water; the inner power of the wave made me recover several times, twisting me in all directions before it subsided. 
I realised that I had to try to keep my body on the crest and I quickly took up a horizontal position. This time the wave quickly grabbed me and carried me at great speed for quite a long distance on its crest. 
I got up to the surface easily and swam in the direction the waves were heading. "Somewhere there, beyond the reef, there should be a lagoon," I hoped. 
Suddenly, I felt something hard under my feet. I could stand up to my chest in water! Around me I could see random currents of water, splashes of foam and phosphorescent spray, all swirling about. Before I fully came to my senses, another large wave approached and carried me some distance further. I was up to my waist in water when a new wave picked me up, taldng me several metres forward. Now the depth of the water was only up to my knees. I had enough time to take a few tentative steps, to catch my breath and look around. 
I surfaced at the foot of very tall palm trees. I left a trail of luminous water and my body glittered like some princess's ball-gown. Only now did I feel completely safe. The ocean was behind me .... 


Listen to the extract on Tigers read by teacher/ student which is given below , and as you listen, complete the summary given below. 

Save Tigers 
The price of human greed is being paid by yet another animal species the Tiger. Today the tiger population is getting depleted at an alarming rate. According to a recent survey, one tiger is being poached everyday. If the present state of affairs is allowed to continue, the next generation will not get to see the majestic animal even in the zoo. 
It is high time that action is taken to protect and conserve the tigers in order to maintain the ecological balance. Stringent laws against poachers must be enforced. It is over 40 years since the tigers became our national animal. As a result, the species was to be protected. Ironically, they are closer to extinction now than ever before. Children, scientists, conservationists, NGOs and institutions in India and world wide have put their heart and soul into trying to save the tiger. Yet there is little we all have been able to do. The responsibility and the power of protection lies with the government, specifically the forest department. 
Let us not forget that if we destroy nature, ultimately we will be destroyed ourselves. 
Tiger, an apex predator is an indicator of our ecosystem's health. Saving the tiger means we save the forest, since tiger cannot live in places where trees have vanished, and in turn secure food and water for all. 
Tigers are now an endangered species. Today there are about 5000 to 7,400 left in the world. Three types of tigers - The Bali, Javan and Caspian tigers have become extinct. The two reasons why tigers are endangered are: Habitat loss and illegal killing. 
Illegal Killing 
One of the most concerning threat to our national animal that needs to be recognised is poaching. Tigers are killed to make rugs and coats out of their skins. 
In many Asian cultures medicines made from tiger's body organs are believed to cure diseases. 

Habitat Loss
Forests where tigers live are cut by humans for farming, building houses and roads. This leads to tigers becoming homeless and without any food. Since other animals also die when forests are cut, it leads to tigers becoming weak and their ultimate death. 

Project Tiger 
Project Tiger is a wildlife conservation project initiated in India in 1972 to protect the Bengal Tigers. It was launched on April 1, 1973 and has become one of the most successful wild life conservation ventures. The project aims at Tiger conservation in specially constituted Tiger reserves representative of various bio geographical regions through out India. It strives to maintain a viable conservation based on tiger population in their natural environment. 
Project Tiger was Indira Gandhi's pet project. The main achievements of this project are excellent recovery of the habitat and consequent increase in the tiger population in the reserve areas, from a mere 268 in 7 reserves in 1972 to above one thousand in 28 reserves in 2006. 
Tigers being at the apex of the food chain can be considered as the indicator of the integrity of the ecosystem. They can be found in a wide range of habitats, from the evergreen and monsoon forests of the Inda-Malayan realm to the mixed coniferous - deciduous woodlands of the Far east Russia and the mangrove swamps of the Sundarbans, shared by India and Bangladesh. 
Tigers are mostly nocturnal but in the northern part of its range, the Siberian subspecies may also be active during the day at winter-time. All wild tigers live in Asia, others live in the humid jungles of Sumatra. The body length is 140 - 280 cm and the tail length is 60 to 95 cm. The upper part of the animal ranges from reddish orange to ochre and the under parts all whitish. The body has a series of black stripes of black to dark grey colour. 


Understanding the Connectors.

                        Connectors are joining words. They join any of the following:

1. One word with another tired but happy.
2. One phrase with the other ready to go and eager to start.
3. One clause with another I went home because I had finished my
work.
4. One sentence with another It was raining along heavily. So we took
along an umbrella.

It was a summer evening,
Old Kaspar's work was done,
And he before his cottage door
Was sitting in the sun,
And by him sported on the green
His little grandchild Wilhelmine.
She saw her brother Peterkin
Roll something large and round,
Which he beside the rivulet
In playing there had found;
He came to ask what he had found,
That was so large, and smooth, and round.

Read the lines given above and answer the question that follow.

Who was playing on the grass near Kasper?


Analyze the character of Luz Long.


So after that, dimly, dimly, she sensed it, she was different and they knew her difference and kept away. There was talk that her father and mother were taking her back to Earth next year; it seemed vital to her that they do so, though it would mean the loss of thousands of dollars to her family. And so, the children hated her for all these reasons of big and little consequence. They hated her pale snow face, her waiting silence, her thinness, and her possible future. “Get away 1” The boy gave her another push. “What’re you waiting for?”Then, for the first time, she turned and looked at him. And what she was waiting for was in her eyes. “Well, don’t wait around here !” cried the boy savagely. “You won’t see nothing!” Her lips moved. “Nothing 1” he cried. “It was all a joke, wasn’t it?” He turned to the other children. “Nothing’s happening today. Is it ?”

Read the extract given below and answer the question that follow.

What is the ‘it’ referred to by William?


They stood in the doorway of the underground for a moment until it was raining hard. Then they closed the door and heard the gigantic sound of the rain falling in tons and avalanches, everywhere and forever.

“Will it be seven more years?” “Yes. Seven.” Then one of them gave a little cry. “Margot!” “What?” “She’s still in the closet where we locked her.” “Margot.”

They stood as if someone had driven them, like so many stakes, into the floor. They looked at each other and then looked away. They glanced out at the world that was raining now and raining and raining steadily. They could not meet each other’s glances. Their faces were solemn and pale. They looked at their hands and feet, their faces down. “Margot.” One of the girls said, “Well.. .?” No one moved. “Go on,” whispered the girl. They walked slowly down the hall in the sound of the cold rain. They turned through the doorway to the room in the sound of the storm and thunder, lightning on their faces, blue and terrible. They walked over to the closet door slowly and stood by it. Behind the closed door was only silence. They unlocked the door, even more slowly, and let Margot out.

Read the extract given below and answer the question that follow.

What impression does one get of the life of people away from the Sun ?


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

One Sunday morning, which the animals assembled to receive their orders,
Napoleon announced that he had decided upon a new policy.
"From now onwards Animal Farm would engage in trade with the
neighboring farms: not, of course, for any commercial purpose, but
simply in order to obtain certain materials which were urgently necessary." 

(i) Why did the animals need 'certain materials'? What arrangement had Napolean made to engage in trade with the neighboring farms? 

(ii) Why did Napoleon's announcement make the animals uneasy? 

(iii) What did Squealer say to the animals to ease their doubts and fears?

(iv) Who was Mr. Whymper? What had the agreed to do? 
Why had he entered into this agreement with Napoleon? 

(v) There was a change in the attitude of humans towards Animal Farm.
Comment on this change. What were the signs and symptoms of this change?


The following sentence has two blanks. Fill in the blanks with appropriate forms of the word given in brackets.

The committee has_______ to make Jagdish captain of the team. The_________is likely toplease everyone. (decide)


The following sentence has two blanks. Fill in the blanks with appropriate forms of the word given in brackets.

Asking for_________ is as noble as willingness to________ . (forgive)


What did the beggar feel about the ladies of the household?


Why was Gopal barred entry to the palace? How did Gopal manage to get in? What was the king’s reaction to Gopal’s deed?


How was the bear punished when he attacked a beehive?


Why did the farmer bring a baby mongoose into the house?


Why did the other governors grow jealous of the shepherd?


What impressed the king when he spent a night in the cave?


Was he successful in saving the cat the second time?


Multiple Choice Question:
When does the kite look bright?


Multiple Choice Question:

What effect does blowing of winds and falling of raindrops create?


Who is the speaker in the poem?


The words given against the sentences below can be used both as nouns and verbs. Use them appropriately to fill in the blanks.

(i) You deserve a ________________________ on the back for your good performance. (pat)

(ii) The teacher _________________________ the child on the cheek to encourage her.


What is the significance of the title? To who or to what does it refer?


The words helper, companion, partner and accomplice have very similar meanings, but each word is typically used in certain phrases. Can you fill in the blanks below with the most commonly used words? A dictionary may help you.

the thief’s ……………


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

Bassanio: 
And, I beseech you,
Wrest once the law to your authority.
To do a great right, do a little wrong,
and curb this cruel devil of his will.

Portia: 
It must not be. There is no power in Venice
Can alter a decree established:
“I will be recorded for a precedent,

  1. Who is on trial?
    Why is this person on trial?     [3]
  2. Explain in your own words Bassanio’s request to portia in the given extract.
    What reason does he give for his request?    [3]
  3. How does Portia respond to Bassanio's request? What TWO reasons does she give for her response?   [3]
  4. Who does Bassanio refer to as ‘this cruel devil’? What is this person's response to Portia’s words in the given extract?   [3]
  5. How is the ‘cruel devil’ punished at the end of the trial?
    How fair, in your opinion, is this punishment? Justify your response.   [4]

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