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Question
How did Kumudini react to her mother's death?
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Solution
The news of the death of Kumudini's mother was not directly given to her by the Principal of the school where she was studying at that time. She was told that she had to go home as her mother was sick. When Kumudini reached home she saw her mother dead. She felt helpless in this world . She was only 14 years old at that time. Her hands hung loose from her body. She also felt hungry but couldnot express it to anybody. She was afraid of appearing greedy.
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Maggu’s achievements are particularly noteworthy because – as is well known – academic institutions in India are less than sold on the idea of inclusive education. In fact, when Maggu lost her sight in class IV, her school (which she declines to name) expelled her while suggesting she attend a “blind school”. Though shocked, Maggu rejected the advice. “Attending a special school would have tarred me with a handicap forever, which was not how I saw my future. Therefore I did the rounds of other public schools with my father, a small – time merchant, explaining that my case was different Since I had vision till the age of ten,” she recalls.
Impressed by her persistence and ambition, Delhi’s Bluebells School not only admitted her but pulled out all the stops to support her in academics sporting events and also notched up a respectable 73 percent average in the class XII exam with the help of Braille, interactive textbooks and extra coaching.
The respectable average in her CBSE exam paved the way for admission into LSR where again she proved her mettle by winning medals in a slew of inter – collage events (100 200 and 400 metre sprints) high jump, long jump, javelin and discuss throw: resulting in her being declared ‘Athlete of the year’ 2003’ at a sports meet for 100 physically challenged athletes. And the cherry on the cake was the selection to the IBSA Games last year. “It was a tough regimen,” recalls Maggu. “I had to attend sports camps manage my studies and officiates as sports president. But I managed.”
Questions:
(1) What qualities of Maggu are highlighted in this passage?
(2) Why did Maggu refuse to attend a ‘blind school’?
(3) Quote the lines that show that Jyoti Maggu was good in academics as well as in sports.
(4) Use any two phrases in sentences of your own :
(a) To win laurels
(b) To pave the way
(c) To prove one’s mettle
(d) A tough regimen
(5)
(a) I did the rounds of other public schools with my father [Change the voice]
(b) though shocked Maggu rejected the advice [Rewrite as a simple sentence]
(6) Should the physically challenged be sent to special schools? Express your views.
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]
Read the extract given below and answer the questions that follow:
Far far from gusty waves these children's faces.
Like rootless weeds, the hair torn round their pallor;
The tall girl with her weighed-down head.
(a) Who are these children?
(b) Which figure of speech has been used in the first two lines?
(c) Why is the tall girl's head weighed down?
(d) What does the word, 'pallor' mean?
Answer any four of the following questions in 30 - 40 words each :
(a) What kind of gold did the people of Seemapuri look for in the garbage ? (Lost Spring)
(b) Why did Gandhi tell the court that he was involved in a 'conflict of duties' ?
(c) How do we get joy from life which is otherwise full of sorrows ? (A Thing of Beauty)
(d) For Aunt Jennifer, what do the tigers symbolise ?
(e) What made the chief astrologer place his finger on his nose ? (The Tiger King)
(f) On the seventh day after the American soldier was found by Dr. Sadao two things happened. Why did Hana feel scared of the second ?
Indian society has moved a long way from the way the marriage is arranged in the story. Discuss.
This play, written in the 1950s, is a humorous and satirical depiction of the status of the mother in the family.
What are the issues it raises?
Is drama a good medium for conveying a social message? Discuss.
How is colour highlighted in the poem and why? List all the words in the poem that suggest colour.
'There is no sophistry in my body' – this statement expresses the brutal frankness of the Hawk. Does the poet suggest something through this statement?
What facet of political life does the behaviour of Ajamil illustrate?
Read the extract and state whether the following statement is true or false. Correct the false statement.
Growing in abundance is more important than the quality of the crop.
Guess the types of hardships they must have faced in their childhood and youth.
Correct the following statement.
Sue and Johnsy were good neighbours.
State a type of drama each from any four periods of history.
Discuss the following questions after you have seen a presentation of the ‘ad’.
Will you love your brother or sister only if she’s fair?
Form groups and hold debates on the following topic. Make bulleted lists of points in favour of the topic (pros) and those against it (cons). (3-6 points each).
Boys cannot cook or do any housework.
Answer the following question in one sentence.
What examples of man’s progress have been given in the poem?
What did Mr. Gizare appreciate the most?
Write a short note on the following:
Sujata’s offering
Apart from class/school, where else are you likely to find a time table useful?
Write any three of the silly remarks made by the characters other than Alice. Write why you think the remark is silly.
Read the poem : ‘Where lies the land...’ by A. C. Clough.
Think and answer:
Is the poet talking about heavy rains in the rainy season or rain that has come after a long time?
Complete the following sentence with reference to the passage.
At the back rose the high peak of Mount Ida, from which _______________.
Identify one example of a main clause and one example of a dependent clause from the content below:
Troy was filled with the sight of leaping flames and the sound of shouting and the noise of weapons and the cries of weeping women. The sleeping Trojans sprang out of their beds, but they were taken by surprise. Their enemies were right inside their walls, and many of the Trojans were killed before they could put on their armour and seize their weapons.
A bright light lit up the night sky as palaces and houses, temples and towers, went up in flames. The Trojans fought as well as they could, but it was all in vain. Old King Priam was killed with all his brave sons. Hector’s wife and his old mother and sister were carried off as slaves by the conquerors. Their fate was in contrast to Helen’s when King Menelaus rushed through the city, looking for her, and found her in her palace. She hung her head in shame and sorrow as she faced her former husband. Her voice was choked with emotion and she could not speak. But Menelaus forgave her and she went back with him, for it was only Aphrodite who had turned her heart away from her home and her husband and her child.
When morning came, nothing was left of the proud, rich city that had resisted attack for ten years.
Answer in your own words.
What chores did the boys from 1000 CE and 1st Century CE, do on their farms/fields?
Complete the following phrases with the help of the poem.
- ______ music
- ______ rivers
- ______ breeze
- ______ lake
- ______ citron-trees
Read the story ‘Lord Emsworth and the Girl Friend’ by P. G. Wodehouse.
Who said the following, to whom, and when?
“O Holy Master, bless us with thy song !”
Rearrange the following in their proper order as in the poem. Write the serial number against each line:-
(a) The Ostad sang the Malkous Raga enchantingly.
(b) Akbar followed Tansen, dressed miserably.
(c) I request you to sing such a song that will I experience unmatched joy.
(d) Ostad was nowhere to be seen.
(e) O Divine Teacher, please gift us the joy of your song.
(f) One day, the singer sang Deepak Raga in the court.
(g) Akbar expressed his wish to meet the Teacher.
(h) He experienced heavenly delight.
(i) Tansen sings to please the earthly king but Ostad devotes his songs to God.
(j) She sang Raga Malhar, which had a cooling effect.
What did the husband want to do with the extra milk?
Describe the following with the help of the (The Twelve Months) story.
Springtime
What more difficulties would they have to face, if the roads are not cleared?
Find two examples of the following from the lesson.
An Exclamation
Read the following line from the poem and answer the question that follow.
Not hurrying to, nor turning from the goal; Not mourning for the things that disappear
- Why do you think the poet is not in a hurry?
- What should one not mourn for?
Prospero ordered Ariel to bring ____________ to his place.
What were the various sounds the brothers heard when they went downstairs?
Mention the things that the grandfather imagined.
Read the incident again and answer the following question.
When did the writer remember the fact that he had to buy something for Mr. Gilson?
Read the story again and write how these character reacted in these situation:
Just wait till zigzag settles down in this new home. Visu………….................………………
Aravind and Maya…….……………….
Mention at least two expressions which shows that Mrs. Krishnan was not willing to have Zigzag at home?
‘ If only her son were there, it would have been a different kind of Eid’! What had happened to her son?
Hamid’s granny scolded him for buying iron tongs. Then she understood that Hamid had bought it ______.
We should develop the ability to learn from______
- self
- others
- books
Read these lines and answer the question given below.
The laughter and beauty of women long dead;
Explain the meaning of the above line.
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?
Vasantha’s imagination run wild because ______.
Name some of the activities that the village children were doing on their vacation.
We don’t use _________ in the soil.
Which place was the last stand of the Indian army?
Arrange the pictures by using numbers.
Where is the key?
Circle the animals which are in the voyage.
How are we divided in real world?
Where were they going?
Do you think Ani will be a good leader? Why?
Nithin's mom said that Bala's father is a ______ magician.
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)
What should parents do to ensure the safety of children in cyber space?
