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Question
Did the boys return the horse because they were conscience-stricken or because they were afraid?
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Solution
A model answer has been provided for students' reference.
It is strongly recommended that students prepare the answer on their own.
The most beautiful essence of this story is the fact that the boys were very innocent and meant no harm to anyone. They were just dreamy and wished to ride a horse. It pricked their conscience when they saw the clean heart of the farmer, John Byro, who didn't suspect them even for once for stealing the horse. They were not afraid but were guilt-stricken when they met a pure-hearted soul like John, who couldn't even think of people of their clan stealing, even after he said it was confirmed that the horse resembled his, just like twins. The children might have also been afraid of ruining the prestige and honor of their families.
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RELATED QUESTIONS
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.
What caused a blow to man’s ego ?
Read the following passage and complete the activities given below :
A1 Find out :
Find from the passage the related words to the sea and write them.

ON FIERCE monsoon nights, about one and a quarter-mile off the Mumbai harbor, there have been occasions when 52-year-old Bikaji Ramchandra Dhuri is the only man on the sea. From the watchtower of the Prongs Reef Lighthouse, which is surrounded on all sides by the Arabian Sea, he has heard the sea rage like a possessed spirit – the darkness dispelled only by the beam of light flung across the waters from the tower he mans.
Dhuri is one of the last breeds of lighthouse keepers on the Indian coast, as a majority of the 182 lighthouses in the country are now unmanned. Built-in 1871, the Prongs Reef lighthouse was modeled on Scotland’s Skerryvore Rocks Lighthouse and is located at a strategic spot on the western coast, marking the entrance to the busy Mumbai Harbour. It was meant to stem the number of shipwrecks off the harbor, which the lone Colaba lighthouse could not illumine on its own. “Even now, during nights, for fishing vessels without any gadgets, it’s the soft light from this tower which directs us to Mumbai,” says Vinayak Koli, a boatsman who helps ferry people and also goes on fishing expeditions.
Throughout the year, Dhuri lives in the lighthouse for 15 days at a stretch, when he is relieved by another keeper. In the monsoon, it becomes his home for three months. “We call it the Kalapana as we are alone in the middle of the sea for days, with basic supplies – and the revolving light that keeps the sea awake,” he says.
A2 Fill in the following information using words from the passage :
(i) The Prongs Reef lighthouse was modeled on _______.
(ii) Dhuri lives in the lighthouse for _______ at a stretch.
(iii) _______ is one of the last breeds of lighthouse keepers on the Indian coast.
(iv) The majority of the _______ lighthouses in the country are now unmanned.
| Violent | Scattered | Place of shelter for ships | Shine light |
A4
A5 Personal Response
Imagine you have to spend a night in a lighthouse. Narrate your experience.
List the steps taken by the captain
(i) to protect the ship when rough weather began.
(ii) to check the flooding of the water in the ship.
Number the points.
Look at the words given in the box below
|
snigger |
wriggle |
sneak |
squeak |
|
squawk |
titter |
pant |
chuckle |
|
giggle |
jeer |
chortle |
guffaw |
|
sigh |
sidle |
boo |
shriek |
|
scramble |
croak |
straggle |
plod |
|
gasp |
|
|
|
Now classify them according to their closeness in meaning to the words given below
|
A |
B |
C |
D |
E |
|
snigger |
wriggle |
squeak |
jeer |
sigh |
Why is the speaker’s childhood described as ‘a forgotten boredom’?
Comment on the contemporary concern that the poem echoes.
'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?
Say why the speaker of the poem wishes to be a -
gardener
‘But the peasant bowed and prayed to God ...........’ What could he have prayed for?
Read the story and choose the appropriate meaning.
Struggling artists ____________
Describe the following with the help of the story.
The rich young man
Find out the different processes by which fabrics are made. Find illustrations and write a few lines on each process.
The description of the character is given below. Identify the character from the play. Find some sentences which support your choice.
He is smart as well as brave.
Answer the following question in one sentence.
What examples of man’s progress have been given in the poem?
Hold a mock trial for the following offence. There should be a complainant, a defendant, and lawyers to argue the case on behalf of them. The whole class can vote to pass the judgment. On what occasions will you plead for justice? What punishment will you suggest? When will you plead for mercy?
A young man was injured in a road accident due to another man’s careless driving.
To whom is the poem addressed?
An activity:
Speak fast, think faster! Form groups of 4-6. Discuss each of the following topics. Then each person in the group should choose a topic and speak about it for one minute. Try to say as many sentences as you can in that time
What is not likely to happen or will never happen...
‘It won’t rain in the classroom... I won’t ever see a live dinosaur... The sun will never set in the east...’ etc.
List the various people and places mentioned in the passage. The places Milo visits and the people he meets have unusual names. Write the meanings of those names.
Try to write interesting time tables for imaginary people or creatures.
Talk about your strengths.
Think and answer:
Are the boys and girls happy that it is raining?
Prepare similar word chains using the following ideas.
| rain | drizzle | ______ | ______ | ______ |
| wind | breeze | ______ | ______ | ______ |
| sunshine | warm | ______ | ______ | ______ |
| waterbody | pool | ______ | ______ | ______ |
| size | big | ______ | ______ | ______ |
| size | small | ______ | ______ | ______ |
Read each invitation carefully, keeping in mind the list of eight questions given below. Note the answers in your notebook. Verify that the formal invitation ‘A’ covers all the eight points. Now see which of these eight points are covered in the other invitations ‘B’, ‘C’ and ‘D’. Put tickmarks against the points that are covered.
- A formal invitation
- An oral invitation
- A notice
- Another oral invitation
- Who is sending/giving the information?
- What is the programme?
- What is the name of the project?
- Who will inaugurate it?
- Who will preside over the function?
- What time will the function start?
- Where will it take place?
- How many names get mentioned in the invitation?
| Points | A | B | C | D |
| (1) | ✓ | |||
| (2) | ✓ | |||
| (3) | ✓ | |||
| (4) | ✓ | |||
| (5) | ✓ | |||
| (6) | ✓ | |||
| (7) | ✓ | |||
| (8) | 6 |
Write the following:
The sights mentioned in the third stanza.
Find and read other poems of R. L. Stevenson using the internet. Find other rhythmic poems about trains, in English, or other languages.
Gather more information about the following from your Science textbook, the internet, and other sources.
Gravitational force
Prepare a ‘PowerPoint’ presentation, using one slide for each of the above points. Present your review in a PPT format in the classroom.
Imagine you are one of the three brothers. Write in short what you did with the rice.
Write other meaningful words that begin/end with snowwhite.
Discuss the following in group.
Do people admit that they have bad habits?
What different names is ‘Rangoli’ known by in different regions?
Departure was delayed because of the author.
How did Zigzag communicate with the Krishnans?
Hamid thought that his grandma would be pleased if he bought______
What were the children doing beside the stone wall?
Read the line and answer the question.
I must go down to the sea again, to the lonely sea and the sky
Where does the poet want to go?
Neerja had a sour marriage due to______.
What did she sell to support her family?
Why did the girls snigger?
Why did the family move to Patna?
Read scene I of the play carefully and answer the question below.
Match the following.
| Sr.No. | CHARACTER | TRAIT |
| a. | Father Wolf | with a grey nose…feeds her four cubs |
| b. | Tabaqui | the big one from Waingunga River with a lame foot |
| c. | Mother Wolf | the chief of the Wolves |
| d. | Shere Khan | begs for meat and thanks for the meal/warns the wolves about the arrival of Shere Khan |
Whom did Vicky want to do all his work?
Recite the poem 'My Robot' with correct intonation.
Pick out the rhyming words from the poem and write.
| Mars | |
| time | |
| be |
Karate makes me brave and bold. Would you like to learn it?
Match the rhyming words.
| 1. | flow | know |
| 2. | grow | week |
| 3. | seek | blow |
Robinson named the boy______.
Choose the correct answer.

Circle and write the adverbs.
He laughed merrily ______.
What were the people excited about?
Meena went to ______ her father.
Humans give importance to save______.
In real the plate was made of ______.
Nithin's mom said that Bala's father is a ______ magician.
Work or play, let us______.
Keep moving though your progress is ______.
Choose the right word.
This famous tree is in ______.
Being a bachelor, the stranger had no patience with children.
