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Question
Fill in the blank with appropriate word from the box and complete the statement suitably:
The fortress was ______and could not be conquered by the enemies.
Options
bequeath
antics
monarchise
impregnable
hollow
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Solution
The fortress was impregnable and could not be conquered by the enemies.
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| Activities | ||
| performer/player | spectator/audience | |
| e.g. | cricket | magician |
| a. | ||
| b. | ||
| c. | ||
| d. | ||
| e. | ||
Read the poem again and complete the summary using the words given in the box.
In the poem ‘Confessions of a Born Spectator,’ Ogden Nash talks about how people choose different sports in their lives or decide to become athletes. While admiring the talents of athletes and sportsmen, the poet (i)______he is glad that he is neither a sportsman nor an athlete. Children have different (ii)______and wish to play various games. Each child has in mind something in particular, but the narrator is (iii)______he is not one of the players. Though the narrator (iv) ______the talents of all athletes, he derives satisfaction from watching them, but does not wish to (v) ______places with them. He also sometimes regrets that (vi)______athletes play rough games without caring for the feelings of their sporting rivals. He feels that good sense and caution win over ego. The narrator wholeheartedly offers (vii) ______the modest (viii) ______of athletes. Ultimately the narrator is (ix)______that he himself is not an athlete.
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thanksgiving exchange glad confesses physiques zealous satisfied aims admires |
How does the poet establish the victory of common sense over ego?
Read the given lines and answer the questions that follow in a sentence or two.
With all my heart I do admire
Athletes who sweat for fun or hire
- Whom does the poet admire?
- For what reasons do the athletes sweat?
Complete the summary of the poem by filling in the blanks with the words given below.
The poet, in a relaxed state of mind, is sitting in a (1) ______. He reflects on how his mood brings (2) ______thoughts, which are inevitably followed by (3)______ones. He feels connected to all of nature, and senses an inherent joy in all (4)______. He has faith in the fact that all the primroses and periwinkles around him (5)______ the air they breathe. He feels that every bird in the grove moves with (6)______. As the twigs catch the breezy air, they do so with the same pleasure (7)______ all life on earth. This joy of nature seems to be heaven-sent. Nature’s holy plan is to offer joy and peace to all forms of life on earth. The poet’s pleasant train of thought slowly leads to the sad reflection of how mankind alone has wrought sorrow and (8)______ upon itself. He firmly believes that man is meant to spend his days blissfully taking part in the vitality and joy surrounding him in (9)______. He therefore concludes rhetorically, emphasizing that he has good reason to (10)______ the distress, man unnecessarily brings upon himself.
| creations | abundance | savour |
| pleasant | suffering | grove |
| lament | pervading | sorrowful |
| ecstasy |
What scene in nature gives you pleasure? Talk for a minute describing a natural scene that gave you a lot of joy. What did you see, hear, smell or feel, that gave you joy?
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Where can you encounter Macavity?
Read the poem once again and complete the summary using the words given in the box.
‘Macavity – The Mystery Cat’ is a humorous poem, where the poet T.S. Eliot describes the mysterious (a) _______of a shrewd vile cat. He commits a crime at every possible opportunity. He is an elusive master (b)______who leaves no evidence after he commits a crime. Even the Scotland Yard, the London (c) ______ agency is unable to arrest him. The Flying Squad is (d) ______ because every time they rush to the crime spot to seize Macavity, he is not there. He breaks the human law as well as the law of (e) ______. He baffles even a (f) ______ with his powers of levitation. Macavity appears tall and thin with (g)______ eyes. He is always preoccupied with some serious (h) ______. His coat is dusty and his (i)______are unkempt. Macavity is a (j) ______in the guise of a cat. He appears to be outwardly (k) ______ but his actions disprove it. Macavity loots the (l)______, ransacks the jewel-case, and breaks the (m)______glass but wonder of wonders he is not to be found anywhere there. He is always a mile away from the scene of crime, happily relaxing or doing difficult (n) ______ sums. He is clever at making up an (o) ______every time he plots a crime. All the notorious cats are nothing but the (p) ______Macavity, the Napoleon of Crime.
| larder | whiskers |
| respectable | criminal |
| devil | thought |
| sunken | division |
| agents | detective |
| alibi | desperate |
| fakir | qualities |
| gravity | greenhouse |
Read the given lines and answer the question that follow.
He sways his head from side to
side, with movements like a snake;
And when you think he’s half asleep,
he’s always wide awake…
- Explain the comparison made here.
- What does he pretend to do?
Read the given lines and answer the question that follow.
There never was a Cat of such deceitfulness and suavity.
- Which cat is being talked of here?
- How is he different from the rest?
Explain the following line with reference to the context.
And when you think he’s half asleep, he’s always wide awake
Identify the following personalities and their fields of achievement.
| Name | Field | |
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- Mention a remarkable achievement of any of these personalities.
- What quality do you admire the most in each of these achievers?
- What are the qualities that you may share with them?
- Name a few more popular personalities who have made our nation proud.
- ______.
- ______.
- ______.
- ______.
Which line is repeated in the poem? What is the effect created by this repetition?
In what way is every hillock similar to Everest?
Creative Activity
- Write eight words you associate with success.
- Use the words to write eight lines that mean success to you or how success makes you feel.
- Arrange your lines into a poem.
- Share your poem with the class and post a copy on the notice board.
Fill in the blanks using the words given in the box to complete the summary of the poem:
King Richard the Second, had surrendered to his (a)______cousin, Bollingbroke. He experienced deep distress at the horror of his circumstances. In that desperate situation, he speaks of (b)______, (c)______, (d)______and other things connected with death. He spoke of how people leave nothing behind and can call nothing their own, except for the small patch of (e)______, where they will be buried. King Richard yielded to dejection and talked of all the different ways in which defeated kings suffer how some had been deposed, (f)______in war, (g)______by their wives and so forth. He attributed this loss of lives to (h)______, who he personified as the jester who watches over the shoulder of every ruler, who mocks kings by allowing them to think their human flesh, was like (i)______brass. However, Death penetrates through the castle walls, silently and unnoticed like a sharp (j)______, thus bidding (k)______to him and all his pride forever. Finally, Richard appealed to his soldiers not to mock his mere flesh and blood by showing (l) ______and respect to him. He added that he too needed bread to live, felt want, tasted (m)______and needed (n)______. He concluded thus, urging his men not to call him a (o)______as he was only human, just like the rest of them.
| barren-earth | friends | graves | slain |
| rebellious | poisoned | worms | grief |
| impregnable | epitaphs | death | farewell |
| reverence | king | pin |
What hides within the crown and laughs at the king’s grandeur?
What are the various functions and objects given up by a defeated king?
Explain the following line with reference to the context in about 5 to 8 line:
All murdered – for within the hollow crown
That rounds the mortal temples of a king Keeps Death his court, …”
Read the poem once again carefully and identify the figure of speech that has been used in each of the following line from the poem:
“How can you say to me, I am a king?”
