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Question
Can you recall the word used for a cobra’s long sharp teeth? Where did you come across this word first?
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Solution
A cobra’s long teeth are called fangs. I first came across this word on National Geographic Channel.
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RELATED QUESTIONS
Bill Bryson says, “I am, in short, easily confused.” What examples has he given to justify this?
Look at the following sentences. They each have two clauses, or two parts each with their own subject and verb or verb phrase. Often, one part (italicised) tells us when or why something happened.
• I reached the market when most of the shops had closed. (Tells us when I reached.)
• When Rahul Dravid walked back towards the pavilion, everyone stood up. (Tells us when everyone stood up.)
• The telephone rang and Ganga picked it up. (Tells us what happened next.)
• Gunjan has been with us ever since the school began. (Tells us for how long he has been with us.)
I. Identify the two parts in the sentences below by underlining the part that gives us the information in brackets.
1. Where other girls wore traditional Indian dresses, Santosh preferred shorts.
(Contrasts her dress with that of others)
2. She left home and got herself enrolled in a school in Delhi. (Tells us what happened after the first action.)
3. She decided to fight the system when the right moment arrived. (Tells us when she was going to fight the system.)
4. Little Maria had not yet celebrated her tenth birthday when she was packed off to train in the United States. (Tells us when Maria was sent to the U.S.)
When we write informal letters (to a friend, or to a member of our family) we use this layout.
|
33 Bhagat Singh Road Dear Dad (body of the letter - in paragraphs) Yours affectionately |
The world's most famous female aviator, Amelia Earhart, disappeared in 1937, as she attempted to become the first woman to fly around the world with her navigator, Fred Noonan. She was last heard when she was around 100 miles from the tiny Pacific Howland Island on July 2, 1937.
Read the story of her 'Final Flight'.
On June 1, 1937 Amelia and her navigator Fred Noonan departed from Miami, Florida; bound for California. Their first destination was San Juan, Puerto Rico; from there, skirting the northeast edge of South America; and then on to Africa and the Red Sea.
The flight to Karachi was another first. No one had previously flown non-stop from the Red Sea to India before. From Karachi, the Electra flew to Calcutta on June 17 from there on, to Rangoon, Bangkok, Singapore and Bandoeng.
The monsoon prevented departure from Bandoeng for several days. Repairs were made on some of the 'long distance' instruments which had given trouble previously. During this time, Amelia became ill, and suffered from dysentery that lasted several days.
It was June 27 before Amelia and Noonan were able to leave Bandoeng for Port Darwin, Australia. At Darwin, the direction finder was repaired, and the parachutes were packed and shipped home as they would be of no value over the Pacific .
Amelia reached Lae in New Guinea on June 29. At this point they had flown 22,000 miles and there were 7,000 more to go over the Pacific. Amelia cabled her last commissioned article to the Herald Tribune. Photos show her looking very tired and ill during her time at Lac.
The U.S. Coast Guard cutter, Itasca had been standing off Howland Island for some day to act as a radio contact for Amelia Radio communications in the area were very poor as Itasca was overwhelmed with commercial radio traffic that the flight had generated .
Amelie left Lae at preciaely 00:00 hours Greenwich Mean Time on July 2 . It is believed that the Electra was loaded with 1,000 gallons of fuel , allowing for 20-21 hours of flying .
At 07:20 hours GMT Amelia provided a position report placing the Electra on course as some 20 miles southwest of the Nukumanu Islands . The last weather report Amelia was known to have received was before take-off . The head wind speed had increased by 10-12 mph, but it is not known if she ever received the report.
At 08:00 GMT Amelia made her last radio contact with Lae . she reported being on course for Howland Island at 12,000 feet . There is no real evidence as to the precise track of the aircraft after Nukumanu . No one saw or heard the plane fly over .
Several short transmissions were received by the Itasca with varying signal strengths but they were unable to get a fix on her location because they were too brief. At 19:30 GMT the following transmission was received from the Electra at maximum strength.
"KHAQQ calling Itasca. We must be on you but cannot see you ... gas is running low ... "
At 20: 14 GMT, the Itasca received the last voice transmission from Amelia giving positioning data. The Itasca continued to transmit on all frequencies until 21:30 hours GMT. They determined that Amelia must have died at sea and began to implement search procedures.
It has been determined that the plane went down some 35-100 miles off the coast of Howland Island. A life raft was stowed on board but no trace was ever found of the raft. Some experts felt that the empty fuel tanks could keep the plane afloat for a period of time.
President Roosevelt authorized a search party of 9 naval ships and 66 aircrafts at an estimated cost of over $4 million. On July 18, the search was abandoned by ships in the Howland area. George continued to seek help in the search, but by October he too abandoned all hope of finding them alive.
Amelia had been sending letters to George at stopovers all along her route quite regularly. These were published in the book 'Last Flight'. The book has a note from her to George ....
"Please know I am quite aware of the hazards ... I want to do it because I want to do it. Women must try to do things as men have tried. If they fail, their failure must be, but a challenge to others. "
Amelia created a number of aviation records :
o The first woman to fly across the Atlantic in 1928
o The second person to fly solo across the Atlantic in 1932
o The first person to fly solo from Hawaii to California in 1935 Guided by her publicist and husband, George Putnam, she made headlines in an era when aviation had gripped the public's imagination.
Some are meet for a maiden's wrist,
Silver and blue as the mountain mist,
Some are flushed like the buds that dream
On the tranquil brow of a woodland stream,
Some are aglow with the bloom that cleaves
To the limpid glory of new born leaves
Read the lines given above and answer the question that follow.
Mention the colours that are given or hinted at to describe the bangles.
Of the seven hundred villages dotting the map of India, in which the majority of India’s five hundred million live, flourish and die, Kritam was probably the tiniest, indicated on the district survey map by a microscopic dot, the map being meant more for the revenue official out to collect tax than for the guidance of the motorist, who in any case could not hope to reach it since it sprawled far from the highway at the end of a rough track furrowed up by the iron-hooped wheels of bullock carts. But its size did not prevent its giving itself the grandiose name Kritam, which meant in Tamil coronet or crown on the brow of the subcontinent. The village consisted of fewer than thirty houses, only one of them built from brick and cement and painted a brilliant yellow and blue all over with
gorgeous carvings of gods and gargoyles on its balustrade, it was known as the Big House. The other houses, distributed in four streets, were generally of bamboo thatch, straw, mud and other unspecified material. Muni’s was the last house in the fourth street, beyond which stretched the fields. In his prosperous days Muni had owned a flock of sheep and goats and sallied forth every morning driving the flock to the highway a couple of miles away.
Read the extract given below and answer the question that follow.
Where was Muni’s house located?
The boy looked up. He took his hands from his face and looked up at his teacher. The light from Mr. Oliver’s torch fell on the boy’s face, if you could call it a face. He had no eyes, ears, nose or mouth. It was just a round smooth head with a school cap on top of it.
And that’s where the story should end, as indeed it has for several people who have had similar experiences and dropped dead of inexplicable heart attacks. But for Mr. Oliver, it did not end there. The torch fell from his trembling hand. He turned and scrambled down the path, running blindly through the trees and calling for help. He was still running towards the school buildings when he saw a lantern swinging in the middle of the path. Mr. Oliver had never before been so pleased to see the night watchman. He stumbled up to the watchman, gasping for breath and speaking incoherently.
What is it, Sahib? Asked the watchman, has there been an accident? Why are you running?
I saw something, something horrible, a boy weeping in the forest and he had no face.
No face, Sahib?
No eyes, no nose, mouth, nothing.
Do you mean it was like this, Sahib? asked the watchman, and raised the lamp to his own face. The watchman had no eyes, no ears, no features at all, not even an eyebrow. The wind blew the lamp out and Mr. Oliver had his heart attack.
Read the extract given below and answer the question that follow.
What did the watchman ask Mr Oliver? ‘
I was in for a surprise. When the time came for the broad-jump trials, I was startled to see a tall boy hitting the pit at almost 26 feet on his practice leaps! He turned out to be a German named Luz Long. 1 was told that Hitler hoped to win the jump with him. I guessed that if Long won, it would add some new support to the Nazis’ “master race” (Aryan superiority) theory. After all, I am a Negro. Angr about Hitler’s ways, 1 determined to go out there and really show Der Fuhrer and his master race who was superior and who wasn’t. An angry athlete is an athlete who will make mistakes, as any coach will tell you. I was no exception. On the first of my three qualifying jumps, I leaped from several inches beyond the takeoff board for a foul. On the second jump, I fouled even worse. “Did I come 3,000 miles for this?” I thought bitterly. “To foul out of the trials and make a fool of myself ?” Walking a few yards from the pit, 1 kicked disgustedly at the dirt.
Read the extract given below and answer the question that follow.
I supposed that if Long won, it would add some new support to the Nazis’ Aryan- superiority theory. What did Jesse Owens want to show to Hitler?
Why does Portia disapprove of the County Palatine? Who would she rather marry?
Read the extract given below and answer the questions that follow:
"He was not accustomed to facing the entire class and speaking out aloud. He knew that he did not have a flair for making speeches. However, he had worked hard on his assignment and had written it from the depth of his heart." (India's Heroes-Anonymous!
(i) Who was 'he'? What evidence is there that he was not used to facing the entire class?
(ii) What was the assignment? How was our assignment different from the others?
(iii) Who was the first person to feature in 'his' assignment? What did 'he' say about him?
(iv) Who was the General Manager of the Taj Hotel ' What role did he play?
(v) What, according to this speaker, is the only true religion in the world? What human qualities have I been highlighted through 'his' speech?
Read the extract given below and answer the questions that follow :
Duke: You hear the team’d Bellario, what he writes:
And here, I take it, is the doctor come.
[Enter Portia, dressed like a Doctor of Laws]
Give me your hand. Come you from old Bellario”?
Portia: I did, my lord.
Duke: You are welcome : take your place.
Are you acquainted with the difference
That holds this present question in the court?
(i) Where is this scene set? Why was Portia there?
(ii) What reason had Bellario given for his absence? Whom had he sent in this stead?
(iii) Bellario's letter stated that he had taken some measures to prepare the 'young and learned doctor' to deal with the case. What were they?
(iv) What was the 'difference' between Shylock the Jew and Antonio the merchant that the Duke was unable to resolve?
(v) How does Portia succeed in saving Antonio? What does this reveal of her character?
The king forgave the bearded man. What did he do to show his forgiveness?
Answer the following question
Explain why no one seemed to be interested in talking about the hilsa-fish which Gopal had bought
How did the dog repay to his masters?
Explain three ways in which the dog helped his master.
What all facts Maya collected about Mr Nath?
The story ‘Taro’s Reward’ shows that Taro is thoughtful, hardworking and also wise. Read aloud the parts of story that show these qualities in Taro.
Multiple Choice Question:
How can a singer create beauty?
Sit in a circle so that you can see each other. Each one must talk to complete the following sentence in his own way. “What makes me very angry is …”. Remember to listen with respect and without comment to each person as he/she speaks.
Read the extract given below and answer the questions that follow:
| Portia: The quality of mercy is not strained; It droppeth as the gentle rain from heaven Upon the place beneath : it is twice blessed : It blesseth him that gives and him that takes. Tis mightiest in the mightiest; it becomes The throned monarch better than his crown: |
- Where does this scene take place? Why Is Portia here? [2]
- To what is mercy compared in these lines? [2]
- Why does Portia call mercy ‘twice blessed’?
Explain the lines:
‘Tis mightiest in the mightiest: it becomes
the throned monarch better than his crown: [3] - Later in her speech Portia mentions a sceptre. What is a sceptre?
How, according to Portia, is mercy above the ‘sceptred sway’? [3]
