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Before You Read the Story Write Down the Answers to These Question - English - Communicative

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Question

Before you read the story write down the answers to these questions.
Which was the latest book that you read?
Who was the author?
Who were the main characters?
When did you read the book?
How long did you take to complete reading it?
What genre did it belong to?
Why would/wouldn't you recommend it?

One Line Answer
Short/Brief Note
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Solution

Do it yourself

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Writing and Grammar
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Chapter 1.5: Best Seller - Exercise [Page 43]

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CBSE English Communicative - Literature Reader [English] Class 9
Chapter 1.5 Best Seller
Exercise | Q 1 | Page 43

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Listen to the following conversation adapted from 'Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone' by J. K. Rowling. 
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Aunt Petunia : Wizard, indeed! 
Hany Potter : You knew? You knew I'm a - a wizard? 
Aunt Petunia : (shouting angrily) Knew! Knew! Of course we knew! How cold you not be, my dratted sister being what she was? Oh, she got a letter just like that and disappeared off to that - that school - and came home every holiday with her pockets full of frog-spawn, turning teacups into rats. I was the only one who saw her for what she was - a freak! But for my mother and father, oh no, it was Lily this and Lily that, they were proud of having a witch in the family! (Drawing a deep breath) Then she met that Potter at school and they left and got married and had you, and of course I knew you'd be just the same, just as strange, just as - as - abnormal - and then, if you please, she went and got herself blown up and we got landed with you!' 
Harry Potter : (Listens in shocked silence). Blown up? You told me they died in a car crash!' 
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Harry Potter : But why? What happened? 
Hagrid : (Anxiously) I never expected this. I had no idea, when Dumbledore told me there might be trouble gettin' hold of yeh, how much yeh didn't know. Ah, Hany, I don' know if I'm the right person to tell yeh - but someone's gotta -yeh can't go off to Hogwarts not knowin'. Well, it's best yeh know as much as I can tell yeh - mind, I can't tell yeh everthin', It's a great mystry, parts of it ... ' (Hagrid pauses for a moment. Sound of chair being dragged). It begins, I suppose, with - with a person called - but it's incredible yeh don't know his name, everyone in our world knows-' 
Harry Potter : Who ?
Hagrid : Well - I don't like sayin' the name if I Can help it . No one does .
Harry Potter : Why not ?
Hagrid : Gulpin' gargoyles, Harry, people are still scared. Blimey, this is difficult. See, there was this wizard who went ... bad. As bad as you could go. Worse than worse. His name was .... (Hagrid gulps but no word comes out). 
Harry Potter : Could you write it down ?
Hagrid : (in a whisper) Nah - can't spell it. All right - Voldemort. (shudders) Don't make me say it again. Anyway, this - this wizard, about twenty years ago now, started lookin' fer followers. Got 'em, too - some were afraid, some 
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5. Hagrid was reluctant to name _______ and called him _______
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Present perfect passive

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(b) From whose perspective or point of view is this description given? How does the use of the passive voice help maintain this?


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Expressions  D or s 
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X and Y are alike in that ______  
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Whereas X _________ , Y _____________  
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X ____ In contrast, Y ____  
X _____ However, Y _____  
X and Y both  

Here are the stories of the two boys. One student reads the story of Shravan Kumar and the second student reads the story of Narendra Kumar. After reading the story, each student completes bis or her half of the table in Question 3. 

SHRAVAN KUMAR 

His day begins when most other people's day ends. Thirteen-year old Shravan Kumar works in a tea shop on Delhi's Bahadur Shah Zafar Marg, where several newspaper offices are situated. His work begins around seven in the evening when he starts preparing samosas, coffee and tea. He carries them to several offices, does the dishes, and goes around collecting his money well into the night. Around six in the morning, when all the newspapers are despatched for distribution and the press employees return home, he prepares his food, takes a bath and goes to bed.

Shravan is an orphan who crune to Delhi from his village in search of work. His father kept a shop, but was tricked out of it by a deceitful uncle. Despair drove him to alcohol and grunbling, and he died of a stroke soon after. 

Shravan worked in a tea shop in his village for a while. "When I first began washing other people's cups and glasses", he recalls, "I used to feel very bad, I would cry." 
Shravan moved to the more lucrative environs of Delhi, where his elder brother Shatrughan had preceded him. Ajob in a shop selling ice was his first taste of big city life. His mother crune to visit him in Delhi, but she fell ill and died soon after. "That was two or three years ago. I don't remember exactly when," the little boy says. Soon, Shravan lost his first job. His employer still owes him Rs 500. 

Following a brief spell of unemployment and a short spell as an assistant at a car park, he joined the tea shop where he is presently employed. The ruthlessness and loneliness of the world has left him shattered. "I think I run all alone in this world," he says despondently. 

Of the Rs 300 that he earns every month, he deposits Rs 200 in the bank. His bank balance stands at Rs 2000, he says proudly. Survival is his immediate aim but there is a larger objective towards which Shravan is working. He intends to retrieve the land that was mortgaged by his father. Already Shravan and Shatrughan have paid back the loan of Rs 8000 - only the interest remains to be paid. 

Shravan was a dedicated lotte:ry buyer at one time; until he realized that it was adding nothing to his income. The cinema remains a favourite form of entertainment - he even wakes up early to see the noon show. "I have no friends here. Who keeps awake late at night and sleeps during the day? I miss my village. There, I used to play gully danda and marbles and I had a lot of friends. When I went to the village last year, I met them. They are still studying and playing games. I want to join them, but it is a question of survival for me." 

Sharvan's mother wanted him to own a big shop - "like the one his father had owned," he says wistfully. He dreams of fulfilling her wish. He dreams of getting back their mortgaged land, and returning to the village for good, "I like being in my village. I like the films and the glitter of Delhi, but I prefer the greene:ry, the trees, and the fields of my village." Maybe the grit and intelligence he has shown, alone and friendless, in facing a hostile world, will also win for him his heart's desire. 

NARENDRA KUMAR 

Narendra Kumar, a thirteen year old Kendriya Vidyalaya student, was interviewed by The Illustrated Weekly of India. Read what he says about himself. 

Interviewer : Hello, Narendra! 
Narendra : Hello! 
Interviewer : Congratulations! Narendra. I saw your photograph in the newspaper last week, when you won the Soviet Land Nehru Award for drawing and painting. Our readers are anxious to know more about you. 
Narendra : Thank you, Sir. I think I was just lucky to get the award. The competition is held every year in my school and a large number of students take part in it. 
Interviewer : That's good, very good. It's evident that your school encourages students to take part in various activities. 
Narendra : Oh yes. Our teachers -especially my Art teacher, Mr. V. Sinha - gives us a lot of encouragement. My parents have encouraged me a lot, too. 
Interviewer : When did you start painting? 
Narendra : When I was three, I was attending the Shishu Vihar Nursery School. My teacher gave me a picture of a big kite one day. The picture was beautiful and that very day I asked my father to buy me some crayons and drawing paper... Soon my room was full of crayons and paper! I kept drawing whenever I found time. I now have a mini art room of my own at home! 
Interviewer : That's great, really great! Do you want to become an artist when you grow up? 
Narendra : No. Drawing and painting are just hobbies, which give me a great deal of pleasure. I want to become a police officer when I grow up. That's the only thing I've ever wanted to be. 
Interviewer : Is that because your father is a police officer? 
Narendra : Yes, maybe. I've been watching my father and other policemen for a very long time. I suppose I want to be like him! 
Interviewer : Do you feel you have the qualities that a good police officer needs? 
Narendra : Yes, I think so. A good police officer needs to be physically fit and mentally alert. I'm trying my best to grow into a healthy young man. I'm a member of the local sports club. I play tennis in the evenings and I also swim regularly. 
Interviewer : How do you find time for all these activities? 
Narendra : Well, I suppose I'm busy the whole day. Immediately after school I like to paint or play. I study before dinner and usually get to bed at about 10 o'clock. 
Interviewer : Thank you, Narendra. It's been good talking to you. We wish you success. 
Narendra : It's been a pleasure


Allen of MES Indian school has been asked to interview the Minister for Environment and Forests about the world's first zero - carbon city. Here is an extract of the taped interview. Write a short report in the given space.

 

Allen : It’s remarkable! A city of fifty thousand people and no cars!
Minister : I agree with you. Masdar city in Abu Dhabi will be the world’s first zero- carbon city.
Allen : How will you achieve this?
Minister : Our city will soon run entirely on renewable energy, including solar panels to trap the abundant resources offered by the desert sun.
Allen : So, you will be a shining model for other Governments. Congratulations, Sir.
Minister : Thank you. We are investing in our future. You may wonder how people would go about the city, don’t you?
Allen : I have wondered about it, Sir.
Minister : Our futuristic city will have people moving about in automated pods.
Allen : It’s unbelievable. Forgive me if I find it so fantastic.
Minister : Our Government assures you that this unique city will be ready for people to settle in by 2015. It will have a light railway line, transport pods and no carbon footprints.
Allen : We need air conditioners, don’t we? It’s impossible to live without them here.
Minister : Masdar city will take full advantage of the sea breezes. The city will have a perimeter wall that will protect it from the hot air.
Allen : I wish other countries could plan their expansion in this way.
Minister : In addition to what I have mentioned earlier, the city will be protected from the noise of the nearby Abu Dhabi Airport.

Uae plans futuristic city
by Allen Kuwana

The Zero-Carbon City Project, initiated by the government of the United Arab Emirates, is a milestone in mankind’s efforts to save its planet from the ravages of climate change. The Minister for Environment and Forests, Abu Dhabi, assures our readers that __________________


Divide yourselves into groups and collect information on the use of computers from three students, each from classes VI, IX and XI. Compile and summarise your answers to the questions above in the following table 

Class  Name Girl/Boy                 Hours per week If you reduce your computer time , how will you spend your leisure time ? Why do you like to spend time at the computer ?
At the computer Studying at home Internet Leisure
               
               
               
               
               
               

A student from a lower class asks you to help her illustrate for her class, the use of different prepositions.

In groups of four, choose one of the following lists of prepositions and draw simple pictures to illustrate their meaning.

Time Place Movement
since on through
at in along
until behind across
for beside down
after above round

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