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Question
Say what you feel about homework. (The words and phrases in the boxes may help you.) Do you think it is useful, even though you may not like it? Form pairs, and speak to each other.
For example:
You may say, “I am not fond of homework.”
Your partner may reply, “But my sister helps me with my lessons at home, and that gives a boost to my marks.”
(not) be fond of
(not) take to
(not) develop a liking for
(not) appeal to
(not) be keen on
(not) have a taste for
- support
- assist
- with the aid of
- help
- be a boon
- give a boost to
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Solution
A. I do not like homework.
B. But my sister helps me. Now, it gives a boost to my marks.
A. This idea doesn’t appeal to me. I am afraid it will be cheating.
B. No. It’s not cheating. My sister supports me by explaining the difficult points only.
A. I see. So, you slowly develop a liking for it yourself.
B. Exactly. I have taken to doing my homework very regularly.
A. Well, I will also try to develop a taste for it. Does the idea of having some help-books appeal to you?
B. Sure. They say it can be a boon if used properly.
A. I am keen on trying it soon.
B. Good. I am sure, you will soon take to doing your homework.
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Read the following story
There lived a wise old man in Purkul, Dehradun. The villagers looked up to him and approached him for all their problems. Three naughty boys Amar, Naveen and Praveen wanted to test the old man's wisdom. One fine morning they caught a butterfly while playing in the garden. Amar had the
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More complex Connectors
Read through the following text. Pay special attention to the underlined words. These help the reader to understand the relationship between sentences, or the parts of sentences, clearly.
Select as many appropriate words as possible from the list given below to replace the underlined words. Be careful not to change the basic meaning too much.
| to his amazement | even though |
| although | in actual fact |
| as a matter of fact | lastly |
| generally | usually |
| however | nevertheless |
| besides | to his surprise |
| asarule | all the same. |
Martin’s Picture
Margin wasn’t a very bright boy. Normally, he never came more than second from the bottom in any test. But, that morning in the art lesson, he had drawn a beautiful picture of a scarecrow in a field of yellow corn. To his astonishment, the drawing was the only one given full marks – ten out of ten – which made him for the first time in his life the best in the class! He had proudly pinned the picture up on the wall behind his desk, where it could be admired by all. It seemed though, that not everyone admired it. Some unknown member of the class had, in fact, taken a violent dislike to it.
During the lunch break, when the classroom had been deserted, the picture had been torn off the wall. Moreover, it had been trodden or stamped on. As if that wasn’t enough, the words ‘ROTTEN RUBBISH’ had been written on the back in big round letters. And finally, the paper was so creased that it looked as though it had been screwed up into a tight ball and perhaps thrown about the room.
“Who could have done it?” Martin wondered.
Now rewrite the text.
Martin’s picture
Martin wasn’t a very bright boy.
Usually,
Generally
As a rule, He never came more than second from the bottom in any test.
However,…. ______________________
Old Kaspar took it from the boy,
Who stood expectant by;
And then the old man shook his head,
And,with a natural sigh,
"Tis some poor fellow's skull," said he,
"Who fell in the great victory.
"I find them in the garden,
For there's many here about;
And often when I go to plough,
The ploughshare turns them out!
For many thousand men,"said he,
"Were slain in that great victory."
Read the lines given above and answer the question that follow.
Why does the poet use a skull?
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.
How had Muni lost the animals?
This woman had been despised, scoffed at, and angrily denounced by nearly every man, woman, and child in the village; but now, as the fact of, her death was passed from lip to lip, in subdued tones, pity took the place of anger, and sorrow of denunciation.
Neighbours went hastily to the old tumble-down hut, in which she had secured little more than a place of shelter from summer heats and winter cold: some with grave-clothes for a decent interment of the body; and some with food for the half-starving children, three in number. Of these, John, the oldest, a boy of twelve, was a stout lad, able to earn his living with any farmer. Kate, between ten and eleven, was bright, active girl, out of whom something clever might be made, if in good hands; but poor little Maggie, the youngest, was hopelessly diseased. Two years before a fall from a window had injured her spine, and she had not been able to leave her bed since, except when lifted in the arms of her mother.
“What is to be done with the children?” That was the chief question now. The dead mother would go underground, and be forever beyond all care or concern of the villagers. But the children must not be left to starve.
Read the extract given below and answer the question that follow.
What was a matter of concern now that the woman was dead?
Its a cruel thing to leave her so.”
“Then take her to the poorhouse: she’ll have to go there,” answered the blacksmith’s wife, springing away, and leaving Joe behind.
For a little while the man stood with a puzzled air; then he turned back, and went into the hovel again. Maggie with painful effort, had raised herself to an upright position and was sitting on the bed, straining her eyes upon the door out of which all had just departed, A vague terror had come into her thin white face.
“O, Mr. Thompson!” she cried out, catching her suspended breath, “don’t leave me here all alone!” ,
Though rough in exterior, Joe Thompson, the wheelwright, had a heart, and it was very tender in some places. He liked children, and was pleased to have them come to his shop, where sleds and wagons were made or mended for the village lads without a draft on their hoarded sixpences.
“No, dear,” he answered, in a kind voice, going to the bed, and stooping down over the child, “You she’n’t be left here alone.” Then he wrapped her with the gentleness almost of a woman, in the clean bedclothes which some neighbor had brought; and, lifting her in his strong arms, bore her out into the air and across the field that lay between the hovel and his home.
Read the extract given below and answer the question that follow.
Describe the feelings and plight of Maggie when she was left alone.
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 did Joe not follow Mr s Thompson? What had changed her?
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 did Joe notice about Maggie in the light of the lamp?
Abbu Khan said, “No more goats in my house ever again.” Then he changed his mind. Why?
Discuss the following topic in groups.
Why did the wise old bird say, “Chandni is the winner”?
What were the hermit’s answers to the three questions? Write each answer separately. Which answer do you like most, and why?
Narrate the story of the reptiles as told by Zai Whitaker in not more than 80 words.
Discuss the question in pairs before you write the answer.
Who did he choose next?
Multiple Choice Question:
The members of a family act ________
Multiple Choice Question:
What effect does blowing of winds and falling of raindrops create?
Answer the question.
What are the things normal people do that the poet talks about?
Give a synonym for ‘like’ in the context of the poem.
Complete the following sentence by providing a reason.
In the poem, Small Towns and the River, the dead are placed pointing west because ______.
