English

Complete the following sentence by providing a reason. In the short story, Indigo, Aniruddha asked Sukhanram if there were ghosts in the bungalow because ______.

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Question

Complete the following sentence by providing a reason.

In the short story, Indigo, Aniruddha asked Sukhanram if there were ghosts in the bungalow because ______.

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Solution

In the short story, Indigo, Aniruddha asked Sukhanram if there were ghosts in the bungalow because the place was spooky and old dak bungalows had a reputation for being haunted.

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Form pairs - one student will read the text for 'Hockey', and the second student will read the text for 'Football'. 

Hockey 

The game was first played during the Olympics in the year 1908. At present, all the countries have hockey teams that participate in The World Cup, the Champion's Trophy and of course, the Olympics. Field hockey is the national sport of India and Pakistan. 
Hockey is one of the sports in which two teams play against each other by trying to manoeuvre a ball, or a hard, round, rubber or heavy plastic disc called a puck, into the opponents' net or goal, using a hockey stick. An official handle tape hockey ball is spherical, with a circumference of between 224 and 235 millimetres. It should weigh between 156 and 163 grams. It may be made of any material, but should be hard, smooth and white in colour.  Modern field hockey sticks are J-shaped and constructed of a composite of wood, glass fibre or carbon fibre (sometimes both) and have a curved hook at the playing end, a flat surface on the playing side and curved surface on the rear side. 
Now the game is played between two teams. Each team consists of 11 players including the goal keeper. In the beginning, the captains of both the teams toss for the choice of ends. The duration of the game is divided into two periods of thirty -five minutes each with a break in between. At half time the team will change their ends.
 
The hockey playground is rectangular in shape. It is 100 yards long and 60 yards wide. The longer boundary lines are called the side lines and the shorter ones are called goal lines. All lines are three inches wide throughout. At each end is a goal 2.14 m high and 3.66m wide and an approximately semi circular area 14.63m from the goal, known as the shooting circle or 'D' or penalty area. A spot 0.15m in diameter, called the penalty spot is placed inside the 'D'. 

The game starts when the umpire blows his whistle for the opening pass-back. The passback is made at the centre of the field to start the game (also after half- time and after each goal is scored). The ball, which may be pushed or hit, must not be directed over the centre line. All players of the opposing team must stand at least 5 yard from the ball and all players of both teams, other than the player making the pass-back must be in their own half of the field. 

There are two umpires to control the game and to administer the rules. These umpires are the sole judges of the game. The umpires are responsible for keeping time for the duration of the game.
 
Penalties -A free hit is awarded for any foul committed outside the penalty area or when the ball is hit out of the playing area. A penalty corner is awarded if, within the penalty area, a foul is committed or the ball is hit outside his goal-line. A penalty stroke is given when foul is intentionally committed in the circle. It is hit from the penalty spot with only the goal keeper defending the goalpost. 
 
Cards are shown for rough or dangerous play, misconduct or intentional offences. The umpire will issue an official warning to a player by showing the green card. Prior to that, the player would probably have been given a verbal caution. A yellow card means the player will be off the pitch for five minutes or more. A red card is given for more serious offences and sees the player leave the match for good. 
 
Each team is permitted to substitute any number of players during the game. A player who has been substituted may re-enter the field of play as a substitute for another player. The goal keeper is permitted to use pads, kickers, gauntlet, gloves and masks, body protection, elbow pads and headgear which is a full helmet incorporating fixed full face protection and cover for all of the head including back. 
 
Football
It is a team sport played between two teams of eleven players, each using a spherical ball which is a round, leather-covered, inflated rubber bladder 27-28 inches in circumference and 397 -454 grams in weight. 
The game is played within a clearly defined area on a rectangular grass or artificial turf with a goal in the centre of each of the short ends. The object of the game is to score by driving the ball into the opponent's goal. The goalkeepers are the only players allowed to use their hands or arms to propel the ball; the rest of the team usually use their feet to kick the ball into position, occasionally using their body or head to intercept a ball in midair. The only time the players are allowed to use their hands is in case of a throw in, when the ball has gone outside the side lines. The team that scores the most goals by the end of the match wins. If the score is tied at the end of the game, either a draw is declared or the game goes into extra-time and/ or a penalty shoot-out. 
 
In a typical game play, players attempt to create goal scoring opportunities through individual control of the ball, such as by dribbling, passing the ball to a team-mate, and by taking shots at the goal, which is guarded by the opposing goalkeeper. Opposing players may try to regain control of the ball by intercepting a pass or through tackling the opponent in possession of the ball; however, physical contact between opponents is restricted. Football is generally a free-flowing game, with play stopping only when the ball has left the field of play or when the play is stopped by the referee. 
 
Football takes place on a standard football field. All football fields, professional, college, and high school, are the same size and have the same basic markings. The length of the pitch for international adult matches is in the range of 100-110 m and the width is in the range of 64-75 m. 
 
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A standard adult football match consists of two periods of 45 minutes each, known as halves. Each half runs continuously, meaning that the clock is not stopped when the ball is out of play. There is usually a 15-minute half-time break between halves. The end of the match is known as full-time. Anytime during the match, a team can substitute upto three players maximum. 

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Handling the ball deliberately, pushing or tripping an opponent, or hitting a player from behind are examples of fouls, punishable by a direct free kick or penalty kick depending on where the offence occurred. Other fouls are punishable by an indirect free kick. 

The referee may punish a player's or substitute's misconduct by a caution (yellow card) or sending-off (red card). A player is given a yellow card is said to have been 'booked'. 
 
Penalty Cards 
• Yellow - Warning card for dangerous play. A second yellow card at the same game leads to a red card, and therefore to a sending-off. 
• Red - Serious misconduct resulting in ejection from the game. If a player has been sent off, no substitute can be brought in his place. 
 

What does he plant who plants a tree?
He plants, in sap and leaf and wood,
In love of home and loyalty
And far-cast thought of civic good____
His blessing on the neighbourhood,
Who in the hollow of his hand
Holds all the growth of all our land____
A nation's growth from sea to sea
Stirs in his heart who plants a tree.

Read the lines given above and answer the question that follow:

What is meant by a nation’s growth from sea to sea?


"My father lived at Blenheim then,
Yon little stream hard by;
They burnt his dwelling to the ground,
And he was forced to fly;
So with his wife and child he fled,
Nor had he where to rest his head.
"With fire and sword the country round
Was wasted far and wide,
And many a childing mother then,
And new-born baby died;
But things like that, you know, must be
At every famous victory;

Read the lines given above and answer the question that follow.

Explain the lines:
“With fire and sword the country round
Was wasted far and wide,’


"They say it was a shocking sight
After the field was won;
For many thousand bodies here
Lay rotting in the sun;
But things like that, you know, must be 
After a famous victory.
"Great praise the Duke of Marlbro'won,
And our good Prince Eugene."
"Why,'twas a very wicked thing!"
Said little Wilhelmine.

"Nay...nay...my little girl,"quoth he,
"It was a famous victory.
"And everybody praised the Duke
Who this great fight did win."
"But what good came of it at last?"
Quoth little Peterkin.
"Why that I cannot tell,"said he,
"But 'twas a famous victory."

Read the lines given above and answer the question that follow.

What is Wilheinien’s reaction to the description of the war?


Unleashing the goats from the drumstick tree, Muni started out, driving them ahead and uttering weird cries from time to time in order to urge them on. Me passed through the village with his head bowed in thought. He did not want to look at anyone or be accosted. A couple of cronies lounging in the temple corridor hailed him, but he ignored their call. They had known him in the days of affluence when he lorded over a flock of fleecy sheep, not the miserable grawky goats that he had today.

Read the extract given below and answer the question that follow.

Describe Muni’s prosperous times.


Unleashing the goats from the drumstick tree, Muni started out, driving them ahead and uttering weird cries from time to time in order to urge them on. Me passed through the village with his head bowed in thought. He did not want to look at anyone or be accosted. A couple of cronies lounging in the temple corridor hailed him, but he ignored their call. They had known him in the days of affluence when he lorded over a flock of fleecy sheep, not the miserable grawky goats that he had today.

Read the extract given below and answer the question that follow.

Did Muni know his age?


The horse was nearly life-size, moulded out of clay, baked, burnt, and brightly coloured, and reared its head proudly, prancing its forelegs in the air and flourishing its tail in a loop; beside the horse stood a warrior with scythelike mustachios, bulging eyes, and aquiline nose. The old image-makers believed in indicating a man of strength by bulging out his eyes and sharpening his moustache tips, and also decorated the man’s chest with beads which looked today like blobs of mud through the ravages of sun and wind and rain (when it came), but Muni would insist that he had known the beads to sparkle like the nine gems at one time in his life.

Read the extract given below and answer the question that follow.

Describe the horse.


Easton, with a little laugh, as if amused, was about to speak again when the other forestalled him. The glum-faced man had been watching the girl’s countenance with veiled glances from his keen, shrewd eyes.

“You’ll excuse me for speaking, miss, but, I see you’re acquainted with the marshall here. If you’ll ask him to speak a word for me when we get to the pen he’ll do it, and it’ll make things easier for me there. He’s taking me to Leavenworth prison. It’s seven years for counterfeiting.”

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Read the extract given below and answer the question that follow.

Easton states that, “Money has a way of taking wings unto itself, and you know it takes money to keep step with our crowd in Washington”. What does Mr. Easton mean by the idiom, “taking wings unto itself,” and what does this tell us about both Mr. Easton and Miss Fairchild’s former lives in Washington?


“You haven’t brought home that sick brat!” Anger and astonishment were in the tones of Mrs. Joe Thompson; her face was in a flame.

“I think women’s hearts are sometimes very hard,” said Joe. Usually Joe Thompson got out of his wife’s way, or kept rigidly silent and non-combative when she fired up on any subject; it was with some surprise, therefore, that she now encountered a firmly-set countenance and a resolute pair of eyes.

“Women’s hearts are not half so hard as men’s!”

Joe saw, by a quick intuition, that his resolute bearing h«d impressed his wife and he answered quickly, and with real indignation, “Be that as it may, every woman at the funeral turned her eyes steadily from the sick child’s face, and when the cart went off with her dead mother, hurried away, and left her alone in that old hut, with the sun not an hour in the sky.”

“Where were John and Kate?” asked Mrs. Thompson.

“Farmer Jones tossed John into his wagon, and drove off. Katie went home with Mrs. Ellis; but nobody wanted the poor sick one. ‘Send her to the poorhouse,’ was the cry.”

“Why didn’t you let her go, then. What did you bring her here for?”

“She can’t walk to the poorhouse,” said Joe; “somebody’s arms must carry her, and mine are strong enough for that task.”

Read the extract given below and answer the question that follow.

What was Mrs. Thompson’s reaction on seeing Maggie?


Mrs. Thompson did not reply, but presently turned towards the little chamber where her husband had deposited Maggie; and, pushing open the door, went quietly in. Joe did not follow; he saw that, her state had changed, and felt that it would be best to leave her alone with the child. So he went to his shop, which stood near the house, and worked until dusky evening released him from labor. A light shining through the little chamber windows was the first object that attracted Joe’s attention on turning towards the house: it was a good omen. The path led him by this windows and, when opposite, he could not help pausing to look in. It was now dark enough outside to screen him from observation. Maggie lay, a little raised on the pillow with the lamp shining full upon her face. Mrs. Thompson was sitting by the bed, talking to the child; but her back was towards the window, so that her countenance was not seen. From Maggie’s face, therefore, Joe must read the character of their intercourse. He saw that her eyes were intently fixed upon his wife; that now and then a few words came, as if in answers from her lips; that her expression was sad and tender; but he saw nothing of bitterness or pain. A deep-drawn breath was followed by one of relief, as a weight lifted itself from his heart.

Read the extract given below and answer the question that follow.

Why was Joe relieved?


After washing from his hands and face the dust and soil of work, Joe left the kitchen, and went to the little bedroom. A pair of large bright eyes looked up at him from the snowy bed; looked at him tenderly, gratefully, pleadingly. How his heart swelled in his bosom! With what a quicker motion came the heart-beats! Joe sat down, and now, for the first time, examining the thin free carefully under the lamp light, saw that it was an  attractive face, and full of a childish sweetness which suffering had not been able to obliterate.

“Your name is Maggie?” he said, as he sat down and took her soft little hand in his.
“Yes, sir.” Her voice struck a chord that quivered in a low strain of music.
“Have you been sick long?”
“Yes, sir.” What a sweet patience was in her tone!
“Has the doctor been to see you?”
“He used to come”
“But not lately?”
“No, sir.”

Read the extract given below and answer the questions that follow.

What does Maggie tell Joe?


Describe the stranger who came to the pet shop. What did he want?


Why did the narrator climb the trees?


What items of food did Golu take before leaving his home for the Limpopo river?


How did the mongoose prove his friendly nature?


Give a character sketch of the shepherd. What qualities pleased the king?


Fill in the blank in the sentence below with the words or phrases from the box. (You may not know the meaning of all the words. Look such words up in a dictionary, or ask your teacher.)

I started early to be on time, but I was ______. There was a traffic jam!


Answer the following question:

What abilities must an astronaut have, according to the journalist?


Answer the question.
What does he imagine about
The people with whom they live?


Who is the speaker in the poem Whatif? What is she worried about? Can you suggest ways to get rid of silly fears?


Study the following phrases and their meanings. Use them appropriately to complete the sentences that follow.

Nitin has always ……………. his uncle, who is a self-made man.


Which of the following statements is NOT true of Maggie?


Read the following extract from Maya Angelou’s poem, ‘When Great Trees Fall’ and answer the questions that follow:

When great trees fall
in forests,
small things recoil into silence,
their senses
eroded beyond fear.
  1. What effect does the falling of a ‘great tree’ have on the creatures of the forest?  [3]
  2. How does the death of a great soul affect the lives of those left behind in the immediate aftermath of their passing?  [3]
  3. What long-term effect does the death of a ‘great soul' have?  [3]
  4. What feeling is being expressed by the following lines/phrases?  [3]
    1. small things recoil into silence
    2. kind words/unsaid,
    3. Beand be/better. For they existed
  5. What is a ‘Great tree’ a metaphor for?  [4]
    What is the central message of Angelou’s poem, “When Great Trees Fall"?

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