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Question
Answer the following question:
The Ghost was particularly angry with Washington and wished to frighten him
because…. ...................................................................(Complete the statement)
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Solution
(i) It was Washington who kept on removing the famous canterville blood stain by using his pinkerten Paragon detergent.
(ii) She has never insulted him and was pretty and gentle.
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RELATED QUESTIONS
Read the extract given below and answer briefly the questions that follow:
"I hadn't the shade of an idea, but at the time that didn't worry me in the least. You see, I had often been like that before...."
(i) Who is 'I' ? What did he not have an idea about?
(ii) Why was he not worried?
(iii) What had actually happened earlier to make things right for him?
How does the lesson, 'A Shady Plot' remind us that man has no right to invoke supernatural powers through Ouija boards, Tarot cards etc to solve his problems and that one should face life boldly and overcome difficulties using wit and intelligence. Write in 80−100 words.
Given below is a list of words related to ghosts and ghost stories with their jumbled up meanings against them. Match the words/expressions with their correct meanings:
| Apparition | a feeling of anticipation or anxiety over a future event |
| Poltergeist | a reanimated corpse that is believed to rise from the grave at night to suck the blood of sleeping people |
| Clairvoyance | a conjurer who expels evil spirits by conjuration |
| Crystal Ball | a spelling board device intended to communicate with and through the spirit world, obtaining answers to questions |
| Eerie | beyond the range of normal experience or scientific explanation |
| Medium | any of a set of 22 playing cards bearing allegorical representations, used for fortune telling |
| Transmigration | a supernatural appearance of a person or thing, a ghost, spectre or phantom |
| Psychic | so mysterious, strange or unexpected as to send a chill up the spine |
| Ouija Board | the supposed power to see objects or events that cannot be perceived by the senses |
| Exorcist | a person through whom the spirits of the dead are alleged to be able to contact the living |
| Premonition | a globe of quartz crystal in which images, believed to portend the future, are supposedly visible to fortune tellers |
| Paranormal | to pass into another body after death: going from one state of existence or place to another |
| Tarot Card | capable of extraordinary mental processes, such as extrasensory perception and mental telepathy |
| Vampire | German word, meaning "noisy ghost"-a troublesome spirit that announces its presence with unexplainable sounds and the creation of disorder |
The title of the story is A Shady Plot. The dictionary defines the words as:
shady adjective
Based on your reading of the story answer the following question by ticking the correct option.
John wants the ghost to disappear before his wife enters the room and waves his arms
at the ghost with something of the motion of a beginner when learning to swim. His
movement shows his ………………………
Answer the following question briefly.
How does the ghost undermine the narrator's faith in his ability to write ghost stories?
Answer the following question briefly.
Why is John's wife angry? What does she decide to do?
Answer the following question briefly.
Why does John wish himself to be dead?
Answer the following question briefly.
When confronted by Lavinia about his flirtations over the Ouija Board, John insists that 'the affair was quite above-board, I assure you, my love'. Bring out the pun in John's statement.
Answer the following question in detail:
After her reconciliation with her husband, John Hallock, Lavinia writes a letter to
her friend expressing how her relationship with him has almost been on the verge
of breaking and what has saved it. Write her a letter.
Answer the following question in detail:
John Hallock reflects upon his experience with Helen's ghost and in retrospect he finds it quite amusing. All the same he is relieved that he is no longer plagued by it. Ironically, the same ghost inspires his creativity and he writes a diary entry reflecting upon the comical aspect of his experience. Write his diary entry
Gladolia, the narrator's cook, is an African. The language she speaks is different from that of the others. This is known as Dialect. A dialect consists of words or phrases that reflect the regional variety of a language. An author often uses a dialect to make the dialogue more authentic. Initially, a dialogue may seem a little difficult to understand. However, as you continue reading, the language becomes more comprehensible.
Working in groups, write what Gladolia's words mean as shown.
| Column A | Column B |
| • Misto Hallock | • Mister Hallock |
| • de Missus | |
| • sho t'inks you's lost! | |
| • she done 'phone you dis mawnin' | |
| • fo' de lawd's sake | |
| • not to stop to argify now | |
| • I's gwine t' quit. | |
| • I don't like no hoodoos. | |
| • I'se done lef' dis place | |
| • I is |
Ghosts and haunting have fascinated the public for centuries. Although many doubt the existence of ghosts or other paranormal entities, many people dedicate their lives to searching and recording paranormal activity. Ghost tours, support groups and research societies, to name just a few, permeate our society and seek to answer questions about paranormal activity. Interview your friends, relatives and people in your neighbourhood about whether they believe in the existence of ghosts. Ask them to tell you of any specific experiences they might have had in this context. In your groups, identify the most fascinating anecdote you have gathered on the basis of your interactions. Narrate it to the class
Do you think a story has an atmosphere? Complete the following blanks to make
up your ghost story by choosing the correct options.
| A Ghost Story She opened the _________________ (secret door/ spaceship's hatch/ door of the cottage/ cemetery gate/ door of the castle/ cockpit) _________________ (brashly/ loudly/ silently/ stupidly/ fearfully/ joyously). Standing in front of her was a ________________ (terrifying/ handsome/ smelly/ anonymous/ tiny/ huge/ bossy) ___________ (policeman/ spy/ apparition/ witch/ prince/ wizard) with a _________________ (wand/ rose/ rod/ knife/ scythe/ coded message) in his/ her (its) _________________ (ghoulish/ bony/ beautiful/ fair/ manly/ gloved/ magical) hand. |
Answer the following question.
The Ghost was most angry with ….(Complete the statement by ticking the correct
option)
Write two striking qualities of the Ghost as revealed in this extract.
a) _____________________
b) _____________________
Answer the following question.
The Ghost did not wish to frighten Virginia because ….(Complete the statement)
Answer the following question:
In the story "Shady Plot", why did Helen appear in bits and pieces?
Comment on Elsie Brown’s writing style in the story, The Shady Plot.
