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Question
Briefly comment on:
The author’s meeting with Norbu.
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Solution
The author had almost lost hope and felt absolutely helpless as the town seemed so mundane with no pilgrims or visitors, despite it was the season of Kora. Only the locals were busy carrying their daily activities of playing pool or ladies washing their head in the icy water. It was all very disappointing for the author. Besides, now that Tsetan had also left, he wondered how will he be able to communicate with anyone in English. He was not prepared to complete the Kora on his own. He did not even know if the snow is cleared and had no body to answer him this simple question. The author was sitting in the café when a man walks up to him. Recognising the language in the book he is reading, he asks the author if he was English. The author reckoned that the man was not from the region as he wore a windcheater and metal-rimmed spectacles of a western style. The man told his name was Norbu and he worked in Beijing at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, in the Institute of Ethnic Literature. He as well had come to do the Kora. He had been writing academic papers about the Kailash Kora and its importance in various works of Buddhist literature for many years. They both were equally ill-equipped and were ideal companions for the expedition.
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Read the passage carefully.
1. I remember my childhood as being generally happy and can recall experiencing some of the most carefree times of my life. But I can also remember, even more vividly, moments of being deeply frightened. As a child, I was truly terrified of the dark and getting lost. These fears were very real and caused me some extremely uncomfortable moments.
2. Maybe it was the strange way things looked and sounded in my familiar room at night that scared me so much. There was never total darkness, but a street light or passing car lights made clothes hung over a chair take on the shape of an unknown beast. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw curtains move when there was no breeze. A tiny creak in the floor would sound a hundred times louder than in the daylight and my imagination would take over, creating burglars and monsters. Darkness always made me feel helpless. My heart would pound and I would lie very still so that 'the enemy' wouldn't discover me.
3. Another childhood fear of mine was that I would get lost, especially on the way home from school. Every morning, I got on the school bus right near my home ‒ that was no problem. After school, though, when all the buses were lined up along the curve, I was terrified that I would get on the wrong one and be taken to some unfamiliar neighbourhood. I would scan the bus for the faces of my friends, make sure that the bus driver was the same one that had been there in the morning, and even then ask the others over and over again to be sure I was in the right bus. On school or family trips to an amusement park or a museum, I wouldn't let the leaders out of my sight. And of course, I was never very adventurous when it came to taking walks or hikes because I would go only where I was sure I would never get lost.
4. Perhaps, one of the worst fears I had as a child was that of not being liked or accepted by others. First of all, I was quite shy. Secondly, I worried constantly about my looks, thinking people wouldn't like me because I was too fat or wore braces. I tried to wear 'the right clothes' and had intense arguments with my mother over the importance of wearing flats instead of saddled shoes to school. Being popular was very important to me then and the fear of not being liked was a powerful one.
5. One of the processes of evolving from a child to an adult is being able to recognise and overcome our fears. I have learnt that darkness does not have to take on a life of its own, that others can help me when I am lost and that friendliness and sincerity will encourage people to like me. Understanding the things that scared us as children helps to cope with our lives as adults.
(a) On the basis of your reading of the above passage, make notes using headings and subheadings. Use recognizable abbreviations wherever necessary.
(b) Make a summary of the passage in not more than 80 words using the notes made and also suggest a suitable title.
Answer any four of the following questions in 30 – 40 words each :
(a) After initial reluctance why did the lawyers tell Gandhiji that they were ready to follow him into jail?
(b) What is Mukesh's attitude towards the family business of making bangles?
(c) How does the poet show the futility of Aunt Jennifer's efforts?
(d) Stephen Spender in his poem, 'An Elementary School Classroom in a Slum' paints a dismal picture of poverty. Comment.
(e) Jackson went through the contents of Rev. McLeery's suitcase. Which object therein puzzled him sorely? What was his comment on that?
(f) How did the servants react when they realized that Dr. Sadao was going to save the life of an enemy?
Answer any four of the following in 30-40 words each:
(a) Why was the peddler amused at the idea of the world being a rattrap?
(b) Why did Gandhiji agree to a settlement of mere 25 percent?
(c) Aunt Jennifer's efforts to get rid of her fear proved to be futile. Comment.
(d) What does Stephen Spender want to be done for the children of the school in a slum?
(e) How did the ten-day-old baby (the future Tiger King) react to the prediction about his future made by the astrologers?
(f) Why was Dr. Sadao not sent abroad along with the troops?
We know that chimps are intelligent because
How does a black kite spread wildfire ?
What inference can you draw from the action of the female gorilla described in para 2 ?
Read the following extract carefully and complete the activities given below :
A1 Complete the following :
(i) Books were found on the _____________ and ____________.
(ii) The tales are described as ______________ and __________.
|
Have you forgotten? Don't you know?
We'll say it very loud and slow:
THEY ... USED ... TO ... READ! They'd READ and READ,
AND READ and READ, and then proceed
To READ some more. Great Scott! Gadzooks!
One-half of their lives was reading books!
The nursery shelves held books galore!
Books cluttered up the nursery floor!
And in the bedroom, by the bed,
More books were waiting to be read!
Such wondrous, fine, fantastic tales
Of dragons, gypsies, queens, and whales
And treasure isles, and distant shores
Where smugglers rowed with muffled oars,
And pirates wearing purple pants,
And sailing ships and elephants,
And cannibals crouching 'round the pot,
Stirring away at something hot.
(It smells so good, what can it be?
Good gracious, it's Penelope.)
|
Read the following extract and complete the activities given below :
A1 Compare the old and new house and complete the table :
| Points | Old House | New House |
| Surrounding | razzle-dazzle | – |
| Size of the house | – | big |
I was thirteen, the year we moved to the Cantonment at Allahabad. In stark contrast to the razzle-dazzle of the city’s commercial areas like Katra and Chowk, the Cantonment was a quiet, orderly place with broad tree-lined roads that still carried the names of long-dead Britishers. Our bungalow was on a sleepy by-lane called MacPherson Road. When we first saw it, my brothers and I were delighted. It was by far the biggest house we had ever lived in. The task of furnishing those huge, echoing rooms daunted mother.
“Is a slightly smaller house not available?” she asked father, “We do not have enough curtains for this place. And the furniture seems a little inadequate. Why did they have to plan the kitchen at such a distance from the dining-room? It is like doing a route march. And who is going to help me keep this place clean and dusted?”
Her misgivings and objections were undoubtedly valid. But, seeing our crestfallen faces, she sighed and gave in. We made extravagant promises to help in the household chores. Keep our rooms tidy. Put away our toys and books. She smiled with amused disbelief, her mind already working out how many meters of curtain-cloth would be needed and so on.
A2 Complete :
Complete the following list of objections that the mother had with the new house :
(i) Inadequate _______
(ii) Do not have _______
(iii) Kitchen at a distance from _______
(iv) A very big _______
A3 Personal response:
Do you agree with the objections raised by the mother? Explain.
Read the following passage carefully and complete the activities given below:
B.1) Order :
Rearrange the following sentences in proper order:
(i) Hanmant joined engineering.
(ii) Hanmant got his Diploma and secured a job in Philips.
(iii) Hanmant migrated to Pune when he was in class VI.
(iv) Hanmant took up a painting job to earn.
Hanmant Gaikwad was born in Koregaon in Satara district.
“My native place is Rahimatpur, around 10 km from Koregaon. My father was a clerk in the court and we lived in a small, rented house.”
Hanmant was a brilliant student especially good in mathematics. When he was in class six, the family shifted to Pune. They lived in Phugewadi near Dapodi in a tiny one-room house-10 by 10 feet. At this point, Hanmant realized the difference between himself and those who had money.
Hanmant was then studying at Modern High School. He needed one rupee to buy a bus ticket to and from the everyday. Even that was hard to come by.
Despite the hardships, Hanmant secured 88% in class 10. Hanmant completed his diploma and joined Philips as a trainee. But he wasn’t happy with the work he got there.
The natural choice for a diploma engineer is to go for a B.Tech. But engineering colleges charge hefty fees. At the time, the family’s only source of income was a teacher’s salary of Rs. 2,300 a month……….
And then I decided to also do some earning. “Khud Ka Kamana Chalu Kiya”.
Hanmant took up painting jobs and quickly discovered it was excellent business.
The young engineering student paid his own fees from the third year onwards. But his lifestyle remained frugal.
Life was getting better, but Hanmant had his sights set higher. In the final year of engineering, he was attracted to the writings of Swami Vivekananda.
“I felt Ki Kuch Alag Karna hai. What should I do, I did not know but in 1993 I formed an organization-Bharat Vikas Pratisthan.”
B.2) Complete :
|
Hardships faced by Hanmant Gaikwad |
B.3) Rewrite the following sentence choosing the appropriate word/s for the underlined word/s :
(i) His lifestyle remained frugal:
(a) simple
(b) meager
(c) extravagant
(ii) Despite hardships, Hanmant secured 88% in class X:
(a) In spite of
(b) Regarding
(c) Affected
(iii) Hanmant took up painting jobs:
(a) assumed
(b) to continue
(c) accepted
(iv) Hanmant had his sights set higher:
(a) looked ahead
(b) lofty ambitions
(c) looked above
B.4) Do as Directed
(i) Hanmant secured 88% in class X. ( Begin the sentence as-88%....................)
(ii) In the final year of engineering, he was attracted towards the writings of Swami Vivekananda. (Frame a ‘Wh-question’ to get the underlined part as the answer.)
B.5) “Today’s hardships lead to tomorrow’s success”-Justify.
Notice these expression in the text. Infer their meaning from the context.
cairn of rocks
Give reasons for the following statement.
The author thought that his positive thinking strategy worked well after all.
Discuss in groups of four.
The accounts of exotic places in legends and the reality.
What were the attempts made by the author to get his watch repaired?
'It is not an accident that the most discrimination literary criticism of Shelley's thought and work is by a distinguished scientist, Desmond King-Hele.' How does this statement bring out the meeting point of poetry and science?
What distinguishes the tribal imagination from the secular imagination?
What, according to the poet, are human beings out of tune with?
Personification is a figure of speech that attributes human qualities to inanimate things and abstract ideas. How has it been used in the poem?
What is the poetic technique used by the poet to convey the plaintive theme of the poem?
'He is free to play the flute all day as well-fed tigers and fat sheep drink from the same pond
with a full stomach for a common bond.'
What do the phrases 'play the flute all day' and 'a common bond' refer to?
Read the following statement and mark those that apply to you.
I make friends easily.
Read the extract 'Being Neighborly' and complete the following statement:
Jo swept a path around the garden for ________________.
Discuss in groups and share with one another.
The daily routine of your mother and father on working days.
Who gives medicine/treatment to sick animals and birds?
The tone of the poet is sarcastic. When he writes ‘All spaces are gridded filled with permutations of possibilities’ he intends to indicate the efforts made by the planner to exploit every available piece of land without any consideration of harming nature or violating attachments of people to places. Make pairs/groups and find out some more sarcastic lines having the same effect.
Read 'The City Planners' by Margaret Atwood.
Write a sentence each about three of your friends. Each time you should say what your friend cannot do, and yet, pay a compliment to your friend.
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 fox
Make a time table of your daily routine
- On a school day
- On a holiday, and
- During examinations.
Start at the time you normally get up and list your activities
hourly: 7 am to 8 am, and so on.
Form groups of five and discuss:
There are many things that seem small, minor, or insignificant to some people but the same may be the cause of great pain, suffering for others. Can you list such things? What can you do to provide help on those occasions?
Read the passage. Underline the new words. Guess their meaning from the context. Verify it from a good dictionary.
Prepare similar word chains using the following ideas.
size - big _______________.
From the play, find all the words that are related to the following:
knowledge and learning
Add other related words you know to the list.
Using the following points frame a character sketch of the narrator. Support each character trait with instances from the lesson.
- Diffident and timid
- Unusual behavior
- Ignorant about banking
- Nervous and careless
- Economical.
Write the characteristics of a good listener.
List the words or phrases related with computers or the Internet.
How did the Bodwells react, when a shoe was thrown into their house?
Look at the following expressions from the text. With the help of your teacher rewrite them in standard English. One has been done for you.
| 1. ‘Musta got away – whatt’d he like? | Must got away - what was he like?’ |
| 2. ‘Looky here, Joe | |
| 3. ‘No sign o’ nothing’ | |
| 4. ‘Back t’ the lines ye goodaam | |
| 5. ‘What was the idea of all them cops tarryhootin’ round the house last night. |
Female Olive Ridleys come ashore at night to lay eggs.
What made the trip a memorable one?
Is the brother boastful? What makes you think so?
How do we work?
Put the given time expressions in the correct columns.
| winter | morning | 2’ o clock | evening | 1947 |
| March | Sunday | 15th August | 4.30 PM | wedding day |
| in | at | on |
Vicky pleaded his father to buy a robot.
Identify the character or the speaker.
“Do not feel sad dear.”
The old man put _____ on the mouth of the gourd.
Moles bite and ______ the earth worms.
What are things that we can save? Why should we save them?
Where do the crocodiles save?
What makes him fall?
Who lived in the old house?
Name the animal and sound it makes.
Name the animal and sound it makes.
Why did Bala go to Chennai with his father?
Who are already awake?
Why did Nasruddin take someone else’s name each time he missed the target?
What does the poet want us to do at night?
What did Helen learn when the teacher put her hand into running water?
Did the girl buy a picture book?
Pick out word which mean the same as
stop doing something (para 1)
Form groups of four to six.
Discuss whether and how you can improve English spelling.
