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Question
Identify instances of ironical comment in the story.
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Solution
It is ironical that despite being brutally beaten by Pappachi, Mammachi used to love him. She cried bitterly on his death. However, the fact is that Mammachi was not in love but was used to Pappachi and his beatings.
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RELATED QUESTIONS
A1. Choose two sentences that appropriately mention the theme of the passage :
(1) The extract deals with the writer’s concern over Chaitanya's handicap.
(2) The extract depicts the writer’s proud feelings towards her son’s achievement.
(3) The extract deals with how Chaitanya made the writer see positively towards life.
(4) The extract deals with how the writer helps Chaitanya to buy the bus ticket.
Early in 1997-98, when he returned from state-level inter-school sports, he had two prizes to his credit and a silver medal. He had won his laurels in athletic events and the silver medal in a running race.
When I saw the prizes and read the citation Chaitanya had received, I was stupefied, in total disbelief, then–hugged him, kissed him and cried unabashedly to my heart’s content. That day, I cried for the first time out of joy and a sense of being vindicated. Without practice, he had competed with approximately 1,800 children drawn from various schools all over the state. He was subsequently selected for the marathon race, but he could not participate due to a health problem. “Maybe next year, he would”, I assured myself. And I, as his proud mother, would proudly chronicle his future achievements and success to inspire other - mothers of the world.
Looking back at my own life, I feel that it is the spirit with which we can accept our life gracefully is what
matters ultimately; and it is love that nourishes us. All other things are unimportant. Chaitanya has made me look inwards. His handicap doesn’t disturb me any longer. He and I shall live with it and still be happy. The mental strength which he has given to me is inexhaustible.
One day, as both of us got onto a public transport bus, Chaitanya offered to buy the tickets for us.
“One full, one half ”, he said to the conductor beaming with joy.
Looking at him, I wondered whether he was really only a half? An incomplete person? Was I really full?
Complete in all respects? Why do then normal people feel that they are ‘full’ and others like Chaitanya are ‘half’ or incomplete? Chaitanya’s world is complete in itself, pure and innocent while our lives are full of deceit, jealousies, ill-feelings.
A2. Point out -
Point out two instances where you find Chaitanya's victory over his disability.
A3. Give reasons -
Chaitanya’s silver medal in a running race was very special for the writer, because :
(i) __________________
(ii) __________________
A4. Vocabulary -
Match the pairs of the words in column ‘A’ with their meanings in column ‘B’:
| Column ‘A’ | Column ‘B’ | ||
| (1) | stupefied | (a) | official statement about the special act of courage |
| (2) | chronicle | (b) | record events in the order they happened |
| (3) | vindicated | (c) | surprised or shocked |
| (4) | citation | (d) | justified |
A5. Personal response -
Explain, your views about the ill-treatment the special children receive in society.
A6. Grammar -
Rewrite the following sentences in the ways instructed :
(i) He had won his laurels in athletic events and the silver medal in a running race.
(Rewrite the sentence using ‘not only...but also’.)
(ii) When I saw the prizes, I was stupefied.
(Rewrite the sentence using ‘No sooner.... than’.)
How does a tree planter do civic good?
Why is the poet so much against watching television? Give two reasons.
What is the encaged bird fearful of ?
How is the theme of self-awareness shown in the poem “Caged Bird” by Maya Angelou?
It was roses, roses, all the way,
With myrtle mixed in my path like mad;
The house-roofs seemed to heave and sway,
The church-spires flamed, such flags they had,
A year ago on this very day.
Read the above lines and answer the question that follow.
“The house-tops seemed to heave and sway”. Explain
There's nobody on the house-tops now...
Just a palsied few at the windows set;
For the best of the sight is, all allow,
At the Shambles' Gate-or, better yet,
By the very scaffold's foot, I trow.
Read the above lines and answer the question that follow.
What is ‘scaffold’?
Thus I entered, and thus I go!
In triumphs, people have dropped down dead,
"Paid by the world, what dost thou owe
Me?"....God might question; now instead,
'Tis God shall repay: I am safer so.
Read the above lines and answer the question that follow.
Which line is a contrast to the welcome he had received.
What does the book of gold symbolize?
(A) It is such a wonderful opportunity that we must not miss it.
(B) It is too…………………………..
Fill in the blank with an appropriate word:
Air pollution is responsible for the spread ……… bronchitis.
Fill in the blank with an appropriate word:
He should not get ……… with such rudeness.
In your opinion, does Boori Ma, the main protagonist of the story A Real Durwan, deserve the life that she meets at the end of the story? Give reasons for your answer.
Break time (recess) at your school is only for a duration of fifteen minutes. Write a letter to your Principal requesting an extension in the break-time from fifteen minutes to half an hour. Give reasons for your request and explain in what way an extended break would make a difference to you as a student.
Read the following passage carefully and answer the questions that follow:
Lying in bed, Swami realized with a shudder that it was Monday morning. It looked as though only a moment ago, it had been the last period on Friday; already, Monday was here. He hoped that an earthquake would reduce the school building to dust but that my good building, Albert Mission School, had withstood similar prayers for over a hundred years now.
At nine o'clock, Swaminathan wailed, “I have a headache.”
His mother said, “Why don’t you go to school in a bullock cart?”
“So that I may be completely dead at the other end? Have you any idea what it means to be jolted in a cart?”
“Have you any important lessons today?”
“Important! Bah! That geography teacher has been teaching the same lesson for over a year now. And we have arithmetic, which means for a whole period we are going to be beaten by the teacher............ Important lessons!”
And Mother generously suggested that Swami might stay at home.
At 9:30, when he ought to have been lining up in the school prayer hall, Swami was lying on the bench in Mother’s room.
Father asked him, “Have you no school today?”
“Headache,” Swami replied,
“Nonsense! Dress up and go.”
“Headache.”
“Loaf about less on Sundays, and you will be without a headache on Monday.”
Swami knew how stubborn his father could be and changed his tactics.
“I can’t go so late to class.”
“I agree, but you’ll have to; it is your own fault. You should have asked me before deciding to stay away.”
“What will the teacher think if I go so late?”
“Tell him you had a headache, and so are late.”
“He will beat me if I say so.”
“Will he? Let us see. What is his name?”
“Mr. Samuel.”
“Does he beat the boys?”
“He is very violent, especially with boys who come late. Some days ago, a boy was made to stay on his knees for a whole period in a corner of the class because he came late, and after getting six cuts from the cane and having his ears twisted, I wouldn’t like to go late to Mr Samuel’s class.”
“If he is so violent, why not tell your headmaster about it?”
“They say that even the headmaster is afraid of him. He is such a violent man.”
And then Swami gave a lurid account of Samuel’s violence; how when he started caning, he would not stop till he saw blood on the boy’s hand, which he made the boy press to his forehead like a Vermillion marking. Swami hoped his father would be made to see that he couldn’t go to his class late. But his father’s behaviour took an unexpected turn. He became excited.
“What do these people mean by beating our children? They must be driven out of service. I will see…..”
The result was that he proposed to send Swami late to his class as a kind of challenge. He was also going to send a letter with Swami to the headmaster. No amount of protest from Swami was of any avail: Swami had to go to school.
By the time he was ready, his father had composed a long letter to the headmaster, put it in an envelope, and sealed it.
“What have you written, father?” Swaminathan asked apprehensively.
“Nothing for you. Give it to your headmaster and go to your class.”
Swami’s father did not know the truth—that, actually, Mr. Samuel was a very kind gentleman.
(a) Give the meaning of each of the following words as used in the passage. (3)
One-word answers or short phrases will be accepted.
- jolted
- stubborn
- avail
(b) Answer the following questions briefly in your own words:
- What did Swami wish for on a Monday morning? Why was his wish unlikely to be answered? (2)
- Which sentence tells us that Swami’s father was completely unsympathetic to his son’s headache? (2)
- In what way was Swami’s mother’s response different from his father’s? (2)
- Why did Swami give a colourful account of Mr. Samuel to his father? (2)
- In what way did Father’s behaviour take an unexpected turn? (2)
- What was Swami finally ordered to do by his father? (2)
(c)
(i) In not more than 60 words, describe how Swami tries to prove that Mr. Samuel is a violent man. (8)
(ii) Give a title to your summary in 3
(c). Give a reason to justify your choice. (2)
Read the extract given below and answer the questions that follow:
NEXT MORNING, I HAD AN IDEA. IT WAS nothing clear cut, merely speculative, But I considered it all the way to school. Then, after assembly, as soon as they were quiet I waded in. This might be a bit rough, I thought, but here goes.
“I am your teacher, and I think it right and proper that I should let you know something of my plans-for this class.”
(i) Who is ‘I’ in the above lines? Where is he? In what mood was he when he entered the class?
(ii) What did the narrator expect from his students at this moment?
(iii) Who entered soon after this? What did she do that made the narrator angry? What challenges did he give her?
(iv) What was the effect of the challenge on her? What plan did the narrator have in mind regarding the conduct of the young ladies? Whose help did he seek for this?
(v) What did the narrator expect from the boy? What was the reaction of the children when they heard the narrator’s expectations?
Narrate an incident from your own experience when you helped a friend who was in trouble. Explain what happened. What did you do to make the situation better ?
Have you heard any boatmen’s songs? What kind of emotions do these songs usually express?
Locate the lines in the text that support the title. 'The Ailing Planet'.
The words ‘grip’, ‘dawn’. ‘usher’, ‘coin’, ‘passport’ have a literal as well as a figurative meaning. Write pairs of sentences using each word in the literal as well as figurative sense.
Write a letter to the editor of a newspaper expressing your views on the deteriorating law and order situation in your city.
Based on the text enact your own version of the play. Work in pairs.
Look for these expressions in the story and guess the meaning from the context
|
brusquely |
attuned himself |
|
queer rhythmic frenzy |
wrenching |
|
flush of prosperity |
daze of bewilderment |
|
wide-eyed wonder and eager homage |
|
|
talking animatedly |
tremulous deliberation |
|
on terms of a perpetual feud |
'Failure had a tempo faster than success.'
The author's comment on crime and punishment.
Take help from the sources available on the internet and make a list of proverbs and quotations about ‘road’.
Multiple Choice Question:
Which phrase means the same as to ‘quarrel’?
Use the phrase in a sentence of your own, after finding out its meaning.
cheered along
What happened to the crow in the end?
Give reasons, for us being reluctant to make friends with some strangers, but being comfortable with some, even after meeting them for the first time.
Refer to a standard dictionary and find out the meaning of the following word:
Reported speech
Use the following points and write an appreciation of the poem:
- About the poem, poet, and title
- Theme
- Poetic style, language, poetic devices used in the poem
- Special features
- Message/values/morals in the poem
- Your opinion about the poem
Discuss with your partner on the following topic. Express your views and opinions in favour of and against the topic.
Should the 'Earn and Learn' concept be made mandatory for students?
- Read the first three paragraphs on Page 92. (From......... ‘One morning .............. up to ............ a discussion after hall)
- Re-read the same noting down only important points.
- Rewrite the important points in your own simple language, in your notebook.
- Make certain that your summary is less than half the length of the original passage.
Prepare a poster on the need for the conservation of the Great Indian Bustard.
Write what you think about the following thoughts and actions of Mathilde :
Mathilde returned the diamond necklace to her friend.
Write what you think about the following thoughts and actions of Mathilde :
Mathilde and her husband paid off the debt in ten years.
Discuss the following and write about the following in your own words in 5-6 lines.
Which events in the story (Part I and Part II) changed Mathilde’s life?
Think and write in your own words.
Why did the traveller choose the road less travelled? What attribute of the traveller does it bring out?
Write in your own words:-
Which two facts show that the poet is confident of overcoming his irrational feeling?
Say ‘WHY’?
The writer found his stay abroad very profitable.
Write about your own daydream in short.
Prepare an announcement for an occasion like the one mentioned.
Your friend is coming to your city/town to spend a week with you. He/she wants to visit some tourist places and enjoy the special food items of the place. Prepare a two-day itinerary for the visit.
| Day | Timing | Stopover | Stopover | Mode of Transport |
| Day 1 Sunday | 8.00 am | Market | Go shopping for | Auto |
| clothes/curios | ||||
| Day 2 Monday | ||||
Write a formal email to Mr. Sundar Pitchai CEO of Google, requesting him for an appointment to interview him.
Find example of alliteration and write them in the blank.
in a blaze of heat
with sunny smiles.
What will Glory say? Do you think you can help Glory by giving some ideas to Ravi?
| Glory |
You can write a story about the ______ and the ______. |
| Ravi | Great idea! Thank you! |
| Glory | ______ Ravi. |
Which do you think would be more fun — travelling by aeroplane or sailing on a ship? Write why you think so.
Animals are capable of empathy. Substantiate this statement with examples from the story as well as your own experiences.
What did he keep doing while on his rounds?
What used to be there in the place of that shop twenty years ago?
What was her first impression of America?
Why was Mary Kom named the ‘Queen of Boxing’ and ‘Magnificent Mary'?
Based on your understanding of the play, complete the Graphic Organiser (GO) suitably.
Why are photographs taken?
| e.g. to freeze our favourite moments | |
What was the only similarity between Leacock’s face and his photograph?
Develop the following hints into a paragraph.
Two kings - ruled neighboring kingdoms. King Arya - great warrior - looked after - subjects - very well - People loved him - looking - their safety and welfare - all his subjects - very happy - healthy life - King Vaishali on the other hand - very lazy man - spent his time - entertaining - dancing – ignoring - needs or developmental - people - His people - angry - never met them - never listened to their woes.
Powerful Sultan attacked - with his strong army - King Arya’s army - alert - ready - preparedness - enemy - more powerful - love for King even women and children - came to the war-front - fought - protected their King -a different story - King Vaishal - impending war - people started fleeing - King all by himself - not interested to protect - King - did nothing for their welfare.
King Vaishal - realized his foolishness - too late - defeated in the war and fled for his life - King Arya - defeated the Sultan - people to live in peace - King Arya - welfare of his people at heart at all times - subjects - returned his love - loyal and supportive - during testing times.
Summarizing is to briefly sum up the various points from the notes made from the below passage.
The Sherpas were nomadic people who first migrated from Tibet approximately 600 years ago, through the Nangpa La pass and settled in the Solukhumbu District, Nepal. These nomadic people then gradually moved westward along salt trade routes. During 14th century, Sherpa ancestors migrated from Kham. The group of people from the Kham region, east of Tibet, was called “Shyar Khamba”. The inhabitants of Shyar Khamba, were called Sherpa. Sherpa migrants travelled through Ü and Tsang, before crossing the Himalayas. According to Sherpa oral history, four groups migrated out of Solukhumbu at different times, giving rise to the four fundamental Sherpa clans: Minyagpa, Thimmi, Sertawa and Chawa. These four groups have since split into the more than 20 different clans that exist today.
Sherpas had little contact with the world beyond the mountains and they spoke their own language. AngDawa, a 76-year-old former mountaineer recalled “My first expedition was to Makalu [the world’s fifth highest mountain] with Sir Edmund Hillary’’. We were not allowed to go to the top. We wore leather boots that got really heavy when wet, and we only got a little salary, but we danced the Sherpa dance, and we were able to buy firewood and make campfires, and we spent a lot of the time dancing and singing and drinking. Today Sherpas get good pay and good equipment, but they don’t have good entertainment. My one regret is that I never got to the top of Everest. I got to the South Summit, but I never got a chance to go for the top.
The transformation began when the Sherpa Tenzing Norgay and the New Zealander Edmund Hillary scaled Everest in 1953. Edmund Hillary took efforts to build schools and health clinics to raise the living standards of the Sherpas. Thus life in Khumbu improved due to the efforts taken by Edmund Hillary and hence he was known as ‘Sherpa King’.
Sherpas working on the Everest generally tend to perish one by one, casualties of crevasse falls, avalanches, and altitude sickness. Some have simply disappeared on the mountain, never to be seen again. Apart from the bad seasons in 1922, 1970 and 2014 they do not die en masse. Sherpas carry the heaviest loads and pay the highest prices on the world’s tallest mountain. In some ways, Sherpas have benefited from the commercialization of the Everest more than any group, earning income from thousands of climbers and trekkers drawn to the mountain. While interest in climbing Everest grew gradually over the decades after the first ascent, it wasn’t until the 1990s that the economic motives of commercial guiding on Everest began. This leads to eclipse the amateur impetus of traditional mountaineering. Climbers looked after each other for the love of adventure and “the brotherhood of the rope” now are tending to mountain businesses. Sherpas have taken up jobs as guides to look after clients for a salary. Commercial guiding agencies promised any reasonably fit person a shot at Everest.
______ was Portia’s; faithful servant.
Find some examples of antithesis from your mother tongue and translate them into English.
