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प्रश्न
What kind of relationship did Mrs. Croft share with her daughter Helen?
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उत्तर
The relationship of Mrs. Crost with that of her daughter did not seem to be that of love and affection. They shared a very practical life based on strong reasons and logic. She seemed to be a matter of fact person who didn't believe in getting emotional on stuff. She carried on her responsibilities for her mother as a mere schedule. Care and empathy were what lacked in her. She knew what were her mother's weaknesses. This is clear when she says: ‘She slips sometimes.’ The gap between their generations was visible when they differed on women wearing miniskirts on the streets. Helen was quite indifferently calm of the fact that Mrs. Croft was three years older than a century and needed constant assistance, supervision, and above all, love.
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संबंधित प्रश्न
Imagine that you are Santosh Yadav, or Maria Sharapova. You have been invited to speak at an All India Girls’ Athletic Meet, as chief guest. Prepare a short speech to motivate the girls to think and dream big and make an effort to fulfil their dreams, not allowing difficulties or defeat to discourage them. The following words and phrases may help you.
• self confident/confidence/sure of yourself
• self assured/assurance/belief in yourself
• morale/boost morale/raise morale
• giving somebody a boost/fillip/lift
• demoralising/unsure of yourself/insecure/lack confidence
Read the passage given below and answer the questions (a), (b) and (c) that follow :
(1) At the Literary Society’s meeting, Isola read out the letters written to her Granny Pheen, when she was but a little girl. They were from a very kind man – a complete stranger. Isola told us how these letters came to be written.
(2) When Granny Pheen was nine years old, her cat died. Heartbroken, sitting in the middle of the road, she was sobbing her heart out.
(3) A carriage, driving far too fast, came within a whisker of running her down. A very big man in a dark coat with a fur collar, jumped out, leaned over Pheen, and asked if he could help her. Granny Pheen said she was beyond help. Muffin, her cat, was dead.
(4) The man said, ‘Of course, Muffin’s not dead. You do know cats have nine lives, don’t you?’ When Pheen said yes, the man said, ‘Well, I happen to know your Muffin was only on her third life, so she has six lives left.’ Pheen asked how he knew. He said he always knew - cats would often appear in his mind and chat with him. Well, not in words, of course, but in pictures.
(5) He sat down on the road beside her and told her to keep still – very still. He would see if Muffin wanted to visit him. They sat in silence for several minutes, when suddenly the man grabbed Pheen’s hand.
(6) ‘Ah – yes! There she is! She’s being born this minute! In a mansion – in France. There’s a little boy petting her, he’s going to call her Solange. This Solange has great spirit, great verve – I can tell already! She is going to have a long, venturesome life.’
(7) Granny Pheen was so rapt by Muffin’s new fate that she stopped crying. The man said he would visit Solange every so often and find out how she was faring.
(8) He asked for Granny Pheen’s name and the name of the farm where she lived, got back into the carriage, and left.
(9) Absurd as all this sounds, Granny Pheen did receive eight long letters. Isola then read them out. They were all about Muffin’s life as the French cat − Solange. She was, apparently, something of a feline musketeer. She was no idle cat, lolling about on cushions, lapping up cream – she lived through one wild adventure after another – the only cat ever to be awarded the red rosette of the Legion of Honour.
(10) What a story this man had made up for Pheen – lively, witty, full of drama and suspense. We were enchanted, speechless at the reading. When it was over (and much applauded), I asked Isola if I could see the letters, and she handed them to me.
(11) The writer had signed his letters with a grand flourish :
VERY TRULY YOURS,
O.F. O’F. W.W.
It was highly possible that Isola had inherited eight letters written by Oscar Wilde, for who else could have had such a preposterous name as Oscar Fingal O’Flahertie Willis Wilde.
Adapted from : The Guernsey Literary & Potato Peel Pie Society – By Mary Ann Shaffer & Annie Barrows
(a) (i) Given below are four words and phrases. Find the words which have a similar meaning in the passage :[4]
(1) adventurous
(2) cat-like
(3) appreciated
(4) received something on someone’s death
(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 :[4]
(1) kind (line 2)
(2) mind (line 13)
(3) still (line 15)
(4) sounds (line 26)
(b) Answer the following questions in your own words as briefly as possible:
(i) Where did Isola get the letters from to read at the Literary Society’s meeting?[2]
(ii) Who consoled Granny Pheen when she was heart-broken? What did he say about Muffin’s lives?[2]
(iii) What did the man say when Granny Pheen asked him how he knew about cats’ lives?[2]
(iv) According to the man, what was Muffin’s new fate?[3]
(c) In not more than 100 words, summarise why the eight letters were a treasure to Granny Pheen. (Paragraphs 2 to 10). Failure to keep within the word limit will be penalised. You will be required to write the summary in the form of a connected passage in about 100 words.[8]
Does the poet use the literary devices in the poem?
What are the five words used in the poem to describe the role of a middle-aged woman?
Comment on the feminine elements in Naidu’s poetry.
Why does the bride have preference for yellow coloured bangles for her wedding morning?
The poet compares the flowers to the milky way. Is the comparison apt?
Why is the old man at the bridge?
What does the old man’s moral dilemma reveal in Hemingway’s short story, “The Old Man at the Bridge?
Fill in the blank with an appropriate word :
Sheila's grandmother found it difficult to climb __________ the steep staircase.
We are not allowed to play in the sun. We are not allowed to play in the rain.
You walk home from school one afternoon to find the door unlocked and on entering you are shocked to see the house in total disarray. You call out but get no answer. Describe in detail what you saw, the reason behind your house being in total disarray and how you found your family. Mention also how the experience ended and what impact it had on your life.
Fill in the blank with an appropriate word:
The old woman could not get ……… the shock.
Discuss the following statement in groups of four.
“The Emperor may rule over the territory he has conquered, but only the artist knows the way within.”
Notice the following sentence patterns.
I am the Poem of Earth, said the voice of the rain.
Rewrite the above sentences in prose.
You have not received your Roll Number card for the Class XII examination. Write a letter to the Registrar, Examination Branch, CBSE asking for it.
What is the poet’s feeling towards childhood?
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Discuss in pairs or in small groups
The Indian family system offers more security to the aged than what is found in the West.
Read the poem ‘The Road Not Taken’ by Robert Frost.
Your teacher will speak the word given below. Write against two new words that rhyme with it.
young ______ ______
Read the descriptions below of what the snake did and what the mongoose did. Arrange their actions in the proper order
| (i) ceased to struggle |
|
| (ii) tried to mesmerised the mongoose |
|
| (iii) coiled itself around the mongoose |
|
| (iv) struck the crow |
|
| (v) struck again and missed |
|
| (vi) struck on the side that the mongoose pretended to attack |
|
Re-word the line from the story:
Miss Beam was all that I had expected — middle-aged, full of authority.
Go to your college library or surf the internet for names of various mountaineers who have successfully climbed Mt. Everest. Write in your notebook about their struggles, the interesting anecdotes they have shared, their failures, and the message that we get from their lives. Submit them to your teacher.
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Write the poem ‘Cherry Tree’ in the form of a story.
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Imagine what must have happened after Mathilde’s friend discovered that the diamonds were real. Do you think she would return the necklace to Mathilde? Would that make Mathilde happy?
Say ‘WHY’?
The writer found his stay abroad very profitable.
Answer the following question :
Is the influence of foreign customs always beneficial?
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| Student 1 | Do you know, how many problems I have to face when I decide to go anywhere? |
| Student 2 | I can’t hear anything. |
| Student 3 | So, sad! You both can’t walk or hear but my problem is more serious than yours. You know, I can’t see this beautiful world. |
(Now continue in your notebook.)
Based on the reading of the poem, complete the web chart given below.


Write an article for the following.
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Draft Letter for the following.
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eg. A turtle as well as a tortoise belongs to the reptile family.
| Tortoise | Turtle |
| reptile family | reptile family |
| land animal | sea animal |
| has a long life | lives for many years |
| uses tiny feet to walk | uses flippers to swim |
| eats grass, weeds and flowers | eats insects and bugs |
Application form annual day participation.

______ do you go to school?
Discuss and write –
- Why do cats and dogs fight?
- Why do we walk across the road, not run?
- Why do people like ice-cream?
Find one word from the story that means
to be inquisitive c ______.
Look for words in the poem which sound like the words given below.
- are ______
- there ______
- flour ______
- where ______
- son ______
- threw ______
Find one story of bravery about a child. You can search for the story by talking to older people or watching a TV programme or from a film.
- Write down the story. Also, mention its source.
- Narrate the story to the class.
- Which story did you like the best? Write down your reasons.
The ______of robbers escaped.
How is school education in the village different from that in the city?
While waiting in the studio the narrator kept reading ______.
Why had Miss Meadows chosen 'A Lament' as the lesson that particular day?
Write an essay of about 200 word
A memorable journey
You have been given a small sum of money to buy a gift with for a friend. What gift would you choose (specify) and why would you choose this? Write a letter to your friend telling him/her about the gift and how it will benefit him/her.
Prepare a dialogue from the jumbled sentences:
- It will reach Nagpur at 7: 15 a.m.
- What is the departure time of the Vidarbha Express?
- When will it reach Nagpur?
- The departure time is 8:30 p.m.
What was the very first thing that the children noticed when it stopped raining on Venus in Ray Bradbury's story. 'All Summer in a Day'?
One cannot always get what one wants and sometimes it is for the best. Present your reflections on this statement.
You are the editor of your school magazine. You want to bring about awareness among the students on the topic -Noise Pollution: A threat to all life forms. Write an article in about 300 words based on the following points:
Causes of noise pollution - effects on humans - effects on other living creatures - measures to reduce noise pollution - role of authorities - conclusion.
What might success mean to the following people? Think about it and write.
A politician
Prepare an attractive tourist leaflet for your native place, in English as well as in your mother tongue.
Observe the tourist leaflets given and answer the following.


- Which places do these leaflets describe?
- What are the main points given in each leaflet?
- How can one reach Tadoba?
- Which is the best season to visit Tadoba? Why?
- List tourism-related words, e.g., tourist, booking etc.
Describe your dream vehicle in a few lines.
Use the following charts to prepare meaningful dialogues.
Use your ideas to fill in the blanks.

Despite being a half monster and half human, Caliban comes across as superior to Stephano and Trinculo. Justify the statement with supporting evidence from the Acts studied in 200-250 words.
