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Question
Explain the associations that the colour 'white' has in the story.
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Solution
White is the colour of light. However, the irony in the story The Lament is that it reflects the gloom portrayed in the story. In the beginning, to show the melancholy of Iona Potapov, the narrator says that he is so white that he looks like a phantom. His horse also appears quite white. Actually white is the colour of snow. And snow reflects despondency and lethargy of the season of winter and how the whole environment and atmosphere appears to be thrown into utter despair. The evening is setting in and everything seems so white and withered. The street lamps' light is also white, replacing the brighter rays. The whole setting, while laying stress on the white surroundings, project the solitude of the poor cab driver.
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Aunt Jennifer's tigers prance across a screen,
Bright topaz denizens of a world of green.
They do not fear the men beneath the tree;
They pace in sleek chivalric certainty.
(a) Why are the tigers called Aunt Jennifer's tigers?
(b) How are they described here?
(c) How are they different from Aunt Jennifer?
(d) What does the word, 'chivalric' mean?
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.
Talk to your partner about the following.
Have you known someone like the author’s grandmother? Do you feel the same sense of loss with regard to someone whom you have loved and lost?
The poet’s mother laughed at the snapshot. What did this laugh indicate?
Discuss the following statement in groups of two pairs, each pair in a group taking opposite points of view.
The methods of inquiry of history, science, and philosophy are similar.
The story is divided into pre-war and post-war times. What hardships do you think the girl underwent during these times?
Did the boys return the horse because they were conscience-stricken or because they were afraid?
'New Literature' is a misnomer for the wealth of the Indian Literary tradition. How does G. N. Devy explain this?
How does Forster use the analogy of Scheherazade to establish his point ?
What facet of political life does the behaviour of Ajamil illustrate?
Fill in the blank.
The author wanted to grow ______________.
Make sentence of your own using the following expression.
put up with:
Pick out some sentences from the lesson that convey a general truth.
The poet encourages her brother in the second part of the poem by telling him about the brighter side of life. Discuss with your partner and make a list of the expressions in the poem that mean encouragement.
- Brighter garden
- ________________
- ________________
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?
Honey-bees live an organized life like human beings. Discuss what work the following honey-bees do, as per the poem. Write it down in your own words, in your notebook.
- King/Emperor bee
- Magistrate bees
- Merchant bees
- Soldier bees
- Mason bees
- Civilian bees
- Porter bees
- Judge bee
Use the letters in the word MATHEMATICIAN to make 4 letters/5 letter and 6 or more letter words, within a time limit fixed by your teacher.
Say WHY. . . . . .
Ramanujan had to be hospitalized.
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 deer
Fill in the gap, choosing a word from the bracket to make an appropriate comparison.
as ______ as a worm
Suggest what you would do in the following situation:
You realise that you no longer want to pursue your studies in the stream you have selected.
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.
Do you know any poem or song about the moon in your own language? Sing it in the class.
Have you seen non-commercial advertisements - those that are not ‘selling’ anything but are only giving people useful information?
Choose any one of the seven States. Find more information about it and prepare a leaflet or brochure to invite people to visit it.
What question did Shalihotra ask Sushruta?
Form pairs. Complete the following table through discussions.
| Occupation | Necessary Qualities | Reasons |
| Student | ||
| Teacher | ||
| Housewife | ||
| Sportsman | ||
| Artist | ||
| Singer | ||
| Author | ||
| Umpire | ||
| Actor | ||
| Scientist |
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 may happen...
I may study... A bird may fly into the classroom. The Principal may call me... It may rain... A dog may chase a cat... A king may lose his kingdom... My friend may give me a storybook to read... Mother may make idlis today...’ etc.
Write an imaginary telephone conversation in which you invite your friend to the above function.
Find pairs of rhyming words from the poem.
The story has a very heart-warming and touching end. Now try to change the end of the story to make it sound very funny.
Find a word that has a similar meaning.
remove
Share a memorable trip from your life
Have you ever seen a bird making its first-ever attempt to fly?
Read the following line from the poem and answer the question that follow.
In the dim past, nor holding back in fear From what the future veils; but with a whole And happy heart, that pays its toll To Youth and Age, and travels on with cheer.
- What does the poet mean by the phrase ‘in the dim past’?
- Is the poet afraid of future?
- How can one travel on with cheer?
How did Miranda feel when her father raised the storm to destroy the ship?
Read the incident again and answer the following question.
Why were the other passengers in the flight gazing at the writer?
The taxi driver took away the narrator’s suitcase.
Raj did not buy______.
A tiny bird looked for a place to lay her eggs.
Complete the sentence given below with word/phrase.
The hole in the ground was filled______.
The poor farmer’s crop was______.
Work in pair, find answer for the question and share in the class.
Name the seasons mentioned in the poem?
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 |
Which place was the last stand of the Indian army?
Vicky pleaded his father to buy a robot.
Where is the key?
How does Raju help his mother?
What did they use as net?
What did the children buy with money they have?
We ______ yarn to make sarees.
Match the rhyming words.
| strokes | floor |
| shore | rush |
| brush | chokes |
Why did he rub the circle again and again?
Match the animals with their sounds.
 |
bray |
 |
croak |
 |
bark |
 |
hum |
 |
neigh |
 |
mew |
Where did the rabbit go?
Look at the following non-verbal representation. Based on your understanding and inference, write a paragraph on career trends in the next decade.
Match the following items from column-A with those column-B:
| Column 'A' | Column 'Non-Textual' |
| (a) Geoffrey Chaucer | (i) Trinidad |
| (b) Daniel Defoe | (ii) Wuthering Heights |
| (c) V.S. Naipaul | (iii) Robinson Crusoe |
| (d) Emile Bronte | (iv) The Canterbury Tales |
The branch of economics that deals with the allocation of resources.
- Microeconomics
- Macro economics
- Economics
- None of these
Being a bachelor, the stranger had no patience with children.
