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Question
Examine the communication channels in the story between Paul and Bassett.
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Solution
The friendship of Paul and Bassett or to say more clearly their partnership was an affectionate relation between them. Bassett knew and understood what the rest failed to even notice. He brought all the news of racing horses to Paul and then the clairvoyant Paul will decide in his trance who was to be the winner.
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Life is a gift to be used every day,
Not to be smothered and hidden away,
It isn’t a thing to be stored in the chest
Where you gather your keepsakes and treasure your best;
It isn’t a joy to be sipped now and then
And promptly put back in a dark place again
Life is a gift that the humblest may boast of
And one that the humblest may well make the most of
Get out and live it each hour of the day,
Wear it and use it as much as you may,
Don’t keep it in niches and corners and grooves,
You’ll find that in service its beauty improves.
(1) What do we treasure in a chest?
(2) How does the poet went us to use the gift of life?
(3) Do you agree that life should be measured un deeds and not in years? Why?
(4) Which words in the poem mean the following :
(a) Kept from developing
(b) Hollow places in a wall
(5) Life is a gift to be used every day. [Name and explain the figure of speech]
How did Helen benefit when Dr. Graham Bell accompanied her to the World Fair?
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.
Answer the following in 200-250 words :
What are Helen's opinions about examinations?
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Comment on the indifference that meets Iona's attempts to share his grief with his fellow human beings.
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Discuss in pairs or in small groups
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“Discipline and a questioning spirit can coexist in an individual.”
Interpret these phrases in the context of the essay
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- At a crossroads
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The poem has a literal level and a figurative level. Why has the poet chosen 'tigers' and 'sheep' to convey his message?
Think and answer in your own words.
Which line proves that in our busy lives we do not even have a fraction of a second to enjoy nature’s beauty?
Discuss in your class.
Name some gadgets and appliances that we use in day-to-day life?
Answer the following question in short.
Why was Tenali Raman summoned to the court?
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Form groups and discuss the following statements, in the context of the extract.
‘If he is indeed wise, he does not bid you to enter the house of his wisdom, but rather leads you to the threshold of your own mind’ Kahlil Gibran.
Read the description of the Kabaddi match and do the following:
Describe, in your own words, the important events in the first half.
What is described in the poem?
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Answer the following question in one sentence.
What does the man who misses all the fun do?
List the various things that the Lethargarians do or want to do. Can you sum up all of it in one word or phrase?
Read the following sentence aloud. Write who said it and to whom.
“Would you lend me this, just this?”
Find out the following with the help of your teacher and the internet.
Seasonal Rains (monsoon) in India and other countries.
Form a group of four to six. As a group activity, write a conversation in which a person/a group of person thanks to someone.
Read: ‘The Open Window’ by H. H. Munro (Saki).
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Find the meaning of the following word.
delicious
List and say whether the following statement agrees with the passage or not.
You should always speak softly but clearly.
Find two examples of the following from the lesson.
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Find two examples of the following from the lesson.
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How did Helen overcome her handicaps?
Where is Rangoli usually drawn?
__________________was the chief of all spirits
‘ If only her son were there, it would have been a different kind of Eid’! What had happened to her son?
How did Hamid’s friends show that they enjoyed eating the sweets?
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According to the author the tendril was moving towards grandfather because it______.
Why did the girl scream?
Read the lines and answer the question given below.
Faster than fairies, faster than witches,
Bridges and houses, hedges and ditches;
- What is faster than fairies and witches?
- Why does the poet mention ‘bridges and houses, hedges and ditches’? Where are the
They went out through the broken windows.
What is our core?
Find the rhyming word from the poem.
Country - ______.
Jaswant managed to kill _________ Chinese soldiers.
Vicky’s father decided to change his son’s character.
Choose the odd one out.
Identify the character/speaker.
He bought a new fish tank.
Muthu collected ______ from every house.
If we didn’t have boundaries, we don’t need _______.
Nithin had many ______toys.
Write the word with same meaning.
tap- ______
What do you think birds say to each other in the morning?
Does the child in the poem like her nose? Why do you think so?
Now, read the following biographical extract on Sujatha Rangarajan, a Sciencefiction writer, and answer the questions that follow.
- Sujatha is the allonym of the Tamil author S. Rangarajan and it is this name that is recognised at once by the Tamil SciFi reading community. You might have seen the Tamil movie ‘Endiran’ where the robot Chitti exhibits extraordinary talents in an incredible manner. The robot could excel a human being in any act, beyond one’s imagination. Jeeno, a robotic dog which appeared in Sujatha’s science fiction novel “En Iniya Iyandhira” (My Dear Robot) formed the basis of Chitti’s character. Like Chitti, Jeeno was an allrounder who could cook, clean and fight. High-tech computer technology terms are used in the story. Jeeno, a pet robot, plays an important role throughout the story. As the story proceeds, it behaves and starts to think on its own like a human and instructs Nila, a human being, on how to proceed further in her crises.
- In the preface of ‘En Iniya Iyandhira’, the writer states the reason for his attraction to the genre: “Science gives us the wonderful freedom to analyse thousands and thousands of alternative possibilities. While using it, and while playing with its new games, a writer needs to be cautious only about one thing. The story should draw some parallels or association from the emotions and desires of the present humankind. Only then it becomes interesting. Jeeno, the robot dog, was intelligent. But the character became popular only because of the robot’s frequently displayed human tendencies.” It is no wonder that all his works echo these words and will remain etched in the minds of the readers who enjoy reading his novels to have a wonderful lifetime experience.
- It was Sujatha, who set the trend for sci-fi stories. He had tracked the origin from Mary Shelly’s Frankenstein to his short stories. He has written 50 sci-fi short stories and these were published in various Tamil magazines. His stories have inspired many readers to extend their reading to English sci-fi writers like Isaac Asimov. The themes were bold, even if there was a dependence on a very well-established characterization of English fiction. Sujatha opened up a new world to us with his writings on holograms, computers and works like ‘En Iniya Iyanthira’ inspire many to study computer science.
- He has been one of the greatest writers for more than four decades. He combined reasoning and science in his writings. Being a multifaceted hi-fi and sci-fi humanistic author, he expressed his views distinctively. He was the one who took Tamil novels to the next level. As an MIT alumnus and an engineer at BHEL, he was very good at technology. He could narrate sci-fi stories impressively. His readers always enjoyed reading all his detective and sci-fi novels which featured the most famous duo ‘Ganesh’ and ‘Vasanth’.
- Sujatha has played a crucial role as a playwright for various Tamil movies which have fascinated movie lovers. Hence, it is fathomable that the writer’s perspective of future India enthuses every reader and paves a new way to reading sci-fi stories in English.
A. Answer the following questions in a sentence or two.
- How was Jeeno different from other robots?
- What precaution should one take while writing Science fiction stories?
- What inspired Sujatha’s themes?
- Why were Sujatha’s sci-fi stories impressive?
B. Find words from the passage which mean the same as the following.
- difficult to believe (para 1)
- a style or category of art, music or literature (para 2)
- having many sides (para 4)
- capable of being understood (para 5)
