Advertisements
Advertisements
Question
The peacock is a colourful bird. How does the poem capture the various colours that its plumage displays?
Advertisements
Solution
An Asian bird, the peacock is one of the most colourful known birds. Its plumage is a myriad of colours. Sujata Bhatt has detailed the tail of numerous colours with such finesse that it is not hard to visualise the blue and golden of the peacock. In the very beginning when she tells the reader of the presence of a peacock in the vicinity she talks of the turquoise flashed in the peepal tree, a vibrant reflection of the turquoise colour, which is most dominating in its feathers, forms an image in the reader's mind. Even when the peacock makes a spectacle, the poet talks of its dark glowing eyes (in feathers), describing them “violet fringed with golden amber”. It creates vivid imagery of a widespread plumage of the peacock with all the vibrant colours reflecting the flamboyance.
APPEARS IN
RELATED QUESTIONS
Read the passage carefully.
1. I remember my childhood as being generally happy and can recall experiencing some of the most carefree times of my life. But I can also remember, even more vividly, moments of being deeply frightened. As a child, I was truly terrified of the dark and getting lost. These fears were very real and caused me some extremely uncomfortable moments.
2. Maybe it was the strange way things looked and sounded in my familiar room at night that scared me so much. There was never total darkness, but a street light or passing car lights made clothes hung over a chair take on the shape of an unknown beast. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw curtains move when there was no breeze. A tiny creak in the floor would sound a hundred times louder than in the daylight and my imagination would take over, creating burglars and monsters. Darkness always made me feel helpless. My heart would pound and I would lie very still so that 'the enemy' wouldn't discover me.
3. Another childhood fear of mine was that I would get lost, especially on the way home from school. Every morning, I got on the school bus right near my home ‒ that was no problem. After school, though, when all the buses were lined up along the curve, I was terrified that I would get on the wrong one and be taken to some unfamiliar neighbourhood. I would scan the bus for the faces of my friends, make sure that the bus driver was the same one that had been there in the morning, and even then ask the others over and over again to be sure I was in the right bus. On school or family trips to an amusement park or a museum, I wouldn't let the leaders out of my sight. And of course, I was never very adventurous when it came to taking walks or hikes because I would go only where I was sure I would never get lost.
4. Perhaps, one of the worst fears I had as a child was that of not being liked or accepted by others. First of all, I was quite shy. Secondly, I worried constantly about my looks, thinking people wouldn't like me because I was too fat or wore braces. I tried to wear 'the right clothes' and had intense arguments with my mother over the importance of wearing flats instead of saddled shoes to school. Being popular was very important to me then and the fear of not being liked was a powerful one.
5. One of the processes of evolving from a child to an adult is being able to recognise and overcome our fears. I have learnt that darkness does not have to take on a life of its own, that others can help me when I am lost and that friendliness and sincerity will encourage people to like me. Understanding the things that scared us as children helps to cope with our lives as adults.
(a) On the basis of your reading of the above passage, make notes using headings and subheadings. Use recognizable abbreviations wherever necessary.
(b) Make a summary of the passage in not more than 80 words using the notes made and also suggest a suitable title.
Read the passage given below and answer the questions that follow:
1. Air pollution is an issue which concerns us all alike. One can willingly choose or reject a food, a drink or a life comfort, but unfortunately there is little choice for the air we breathe. All, what is there in the air is inhaled by one and all living in those surroundings.
2. Air pollutant is defined as a substance which is present while normally it is not there or present in an amount exceeding the normal concentrations. It could either be gaseous or a particulate matter. The important and harmful polluting gases are carbon monoxide, carbon dioxide, ozone and oxides of sulphur and nitrogen. The common particulate pollutants are the dusts of various inorganic or organic origins. Although we often talk of the outdoor air pollutions caused by industrial and vehicular exhausts, the indoor pollution may prove to be as or a more important cause of health problems.
3. Recognition of air pollution is relatively recent. It is not uncommon to experience a feeling of 'suffocation' in a closed environment. It is often ascribed to the lack of oxygen. Fortunately, however, the composition of air is remarkably constant all over the world. There is about 79 per cent nitrogen and 21 per cent oxygen in the air − the other gases forming a very small fraction. It is true that carbon dioxide exhaled out of lungs may accumulate in a closed and over-crowded place. But such an increase is usually small and temporary unless the room is really air-tight. Exposure to poisonous gases such as carbon monoxide may occur in a closed room, heated by burning coal inside. This may also prove to be fatal.
4. What is more common in a poorly ventilated home is a vague constellation of symptoms described as the sick-building syndrome. It is characterized by a general feeling of malaise, head-ache, dizziness and irritation of mucous membranes. It may also be accompanied by nausea, itching, aches, pains and depression. Sick building syndrome is getting commoner in big cities with the small houses, which are generally over-furnished. Some of the important pollutants whose indoor concentrations exceed those of the outdoors include gases such as carbon monoxide, carbon dioxide, oxides of nitrogen and organic substances like spores, formaldehydes, hydrocarbon aerosols and allergens. The sources are attributed to a variety of construction materials, insulations, furnishings, adhesives, cosmetics, house dusts, fungi and other indoor products.
5. By-products of fuel combustion are important in houses with indoor kitchens. It is not only the brining of dried dung and fuelwood which is responsible, but also kerosene and liquid petroleum gas. Oxides of both nitrogen and sulphur are released from their combustion.
6. Smoking of tobacco in the closed environment is an important source of indoor pollution. It may not be high quantitatively, but significantly hazardous for health. It is because of the fact that there are over 3000 chemical constituents in tobacco smoke, which have been identified. These are harmful for human health.
7. Micro-organisms and allergens are of special significance in the causation and spread of diseases. Most of the infective illnesses may involve more persons of a family living in common indoor environment. These include viral and bacterial diseases like tuberculosis.
8. Besides infections, allergic and hypersensitivity disorders are spreading fast. Although asthma is the most common form of respiratory allergic disorders, pneumonias are not uncommon, but more persistent and serious. These are attributed to exposures to allergens from various fungi, molds, hay and other organic materials. Indoor air ventilation systems, coolers, air-conditioners, dampness, decay, pet animals, production or handling of the causative items are responsible for these hypersensitivity − diseases.
9. Obviously, the spectrum of pollution is very wide and our options are limited. Indoor pollution may be handled relatively easily by an individual. Moreover, the good work must start from one’s own house
(Extracted from the Tribune)
(a) (i) What is an air pollutant? (1)
(ii) In what forms are the air pollutants present? (2)
(iii) Why do we feel suffocated in a closed environment? (1)
(iv) What is sick building syndrome? How is it increasing? (2)
(v) How is indoor smoking very hazardous? (1)
(vi) How can one overcome the dangers of indoor air pollution? (2)
(b) Find the words from the above passage which mean the same as the following: (3)
(i) giddiness (para 4)
(ii) constant (para 8)
(iii) humidity (para 8)
Griffin failed not only as a son and a scientist, but also as a human being. Comment. (The Invisible Man)
Notice these expressions in the text. Infer their meaning from the context.
-
the thought was almost revolting
-
an expanse of pure white serenity
-
a turning-point
-
accepted her seclusion with resignation
-
a veritable bedlam of chirrupings
-
frivolous rebukes
-
the sagging skins of the dilapidated drum
Which language do you use to talk to elderly relatives in your family?
Briefly comment on:
The author’s meeting with Norbu.
Discuss the following statement in groups of two pairs, each pair in a group taking opposite points of view.
A single event may change the course of the history of a nation.
Is drama a good medium for conveying a social message? Discuss.
What does the phrase 'as if he were on needles' mean? Can you think of another phrase with a similar meaning substituting the word 'needless'?
'The author's treatment of the subject matter makes the readers identify themselves with the experience.' Comment on the statement.
How do the words in bold, in the lines below, illustrate the poet’s ability to convey criticism cryptically?
Our meddling intellect
Misshapes the beauteous forms of things:
We murder to dissect.
Fill in the blank.
“Hybrids need more _____________”, said Devu Handa.
Study the pictures below and note down the differences.
Think and answer in your own words in your notebook.
Why do you think God created worms? What is their ecological importance?
Find proof from the poem for the following.
The colour imagery in the poem.
Kite - flying in Gujarat, is a competitive sport - cum - festival.
Read the expression:
‘the blueprint of our past’s tomorrow’. Consider in a group why the poet has not mentioned ‘the present’. It is because of the planners who have possessed our ‘present’ in order to change ‘our past’ into the ‘future’ they desire. Go through the poem and write the lines which support this thought.
- The buildings are in alignment with the roads which meet at desired points.
- ____________________________________________
- ____________________________________________
- ____________________________________________
- ____________________________________________
- ____________________________________________.
Write 3 to 4 lines about the following in your own words.
'Sushruta Samhita'
Read the description of the Kabaddi match and do the following:
Note down the names of the players and say whether each one belongs to 9 A or 9 B.
Choose the correct alternative from the following -
From one star given to the movie, we conclude that - _______________.
Imagine you are the Crane. What actions and words of the Peacock would you not like? Write about it in short.
Form groups and discuss what must have happened to the handkerchief. Write the story in your own words.
India is famous for its handloom fabrics. Write the story of a handloom kurta in your own words.
There were some reasons why Theseus was initially against but later gave consent for the marriage of Helena with Lysander. Explain.
Write a useful ‘ad’ for the importance of games, drinking enough water, your own school.
Answer the following question in one sentence.
What examples of man’s progress have been given in the poem?
Find the meaning of ‘Charity begins at home’. Find other sayings which have a similar meaning.
Write the conditions that Portia put down to warn Shylock.
Draw word webs for the following.
Begin with the given word and go on writing as many other words associated with it, as you can.
Use these words to write other related words to form a word web.
Read the passage and answer the following:
Who is the main character in the story?
Prepare similar word chains using the following ideas.
size - big _______________.
Complete the following diagram.
Form groups of 4-5. Read the following sentences aloud. Using your imagination and with the help of group discussion, write other situations in which the sentences can be used.
- The outcome: disappointment and anger.
- The hour of battle had sounded
- What a chase!
- This was our chance, .........
Correct the following sentence and rewrite it.
The best shoes that Papa Panov had made were a pair of lady’s shoes.
Read the story ‘Lord Emsworth and the Girl Friend’ by P. G. Wodehouse.
Guess the meaning of the following word.
fruitless
Write what the following do, with the help of the poem.
ripples
Why did Prospero set Ferdinand a severe task to perform?
What was the grandfather wearing?
Who is wise according to you?
The narrator searched for three days to buy ceramic paint.
What do you think are the two most important lessons that the speaker mentions?
Take a stanza from the poem. Write it in the blanks and find the rhyme scheme.
| Lines from the poem | Rhyme scheme (a/b/c/d) |
Selvi asked, 'Did they come in an aeroplane?' because she______.
It ploughs soil before _________.
A country should have inner boundaries. Justify.
Who helped Jaswant in the battle against Chinese?
Write the rhyming word.
Bird - ______.
Identify the character or the speaker.
“Oh no! What shall I do now?”
Master trained Akilan on a ______.
What was his master’s advice?
Divide the following word.
butter
Why should we close the tap after using it?
Why did Bala go to Chennai with his father?
What did Nasruddin boast about?
Replace the bold word/words with a word from the quiver and re-write the sentence –
The teacher said something about his good handwriting. He felt very happy.
Name a few things that sink.
Are these sentence TRUE or FALSE
The poet says that stars will always shine at night.
Who was Nokomis?
