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Question
Imagine you are the hermit. Write briefly the incident of your meeting the king. Begin like this: One day I was digging in my garden. A man in ordinary clothes came to see me. I knew it was the king...
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Solution
One day I was digging in my garden. A man in ordinary clothes came to see me. I knew it was the king but still pretended to be unaware of his identity. He told me that he has come to me to get answers for his three questions. I greeted him and continued digging the ground. I was tired of digging the ground; the king noticed this and offered his help. I agreed and gave my spade to him.
After digging two beds in the ground the king repeated his questions, I ignored him again and rather asked him if he was tired and would like me to dig the ground. But he refused to do so and continued the task.
As the day ended, a man ran towards us, wounded. The king tended to his injuries, demonstrating compassion and humility. This act of kindness revealed to the king the answers he sought through his actions rather than words. When he finally pressed for a direct answer, I explained that his actions had already provided him with the wisdom he sought. The most important time is now, the most necessary person is the one you are with, and the most important business is to be good to them. This experience illustrated the essence of true wisdom and the value of living in the present and caring for those around us.
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Discuss in pair and answer question below in a short paragraph (30 − 40 words.
What did George and Harris offer to pack and why?
Irony is when we say one thing but mean another, usually the opposite of what we say. When someone makes a mistake and you say, Oh! That was clever!” that is irony. You’re saying ‘clever’ to mean ‘not clever’.
Expressions we often use in an ironic fashion are:
• Oh, wasn’t that clever!/Oh that was clever!
• You have been a great help, I must say!
• You’ve got yourself into a lovely mess, haven’t you?
• Oh, very funny!/How funny!
We use a slightly different tone of voice when we use these words ironically.
Read the play carefully and find the words and expressions Gerrard uses in an ironic way.
Then say what these expressions really mean. Two examples have been given below.
Write down three such expressions along with what they really mean.
| What the author says | What he means |
| Why, this is a surprise, Mr – er – |
He pretends that the intruder is a social visitor whom he is welcoming. In this way he hides his fear. |
| At last a sympathetic audience! | He pretends that the intruder wants to listen to him, whereas actually the intruder wants to find out information for his own use. |
Reviewing verb forms
"My father lived at Blenheim then,
Yon little stream hard by;
They burnt his dwelling to the ground,
And he was forced to fly;
So with his wife and child he fled,
Nor had he where to rest his head.
"With fire and sword the country round
Was wasted far and wide,
And many a childing mother then,
And new-born baby died;
But things like that, you know, must be
At every famous victory;
Read the lines given above and answer the question that follow.
Explain the lines:
“With fire and sword the country round
Was wasted far and wide,’
An old man with steel rimmed spectacles and very dusty clothes sat by the side of the road. There was a pontoon bridge across the river and carts, trucks, and men, women and children were crossing it. The mule-drawn carts staggered up the steep bank from the bridge with soldiers helping push against the spokes of the wheels. The trucks ground up and away heading out of it all and the peasants plodded along in the ankle deep dust. But the old man sat there without moving. He was too tired to go any farther.
Read the extract given below and answer the question that follow.
Who was sitting by the side of the road?
The horse was nearly life-size, moulded out of clay, baked, burnt, and brightly coloured, and reared its head proudly, prancing its forelegs in the air and flourishing its tail in a loop; beside the horse stood a warrior with scythelike mustachios, bulging eyes, and aquiline nose. The old image-makers believed in indicating a man of strength by bulging out his eyes and sharpening his moustache tips, and also decorated the man’s chest with beads which looked today like blobs of mud through the ravages of sun and wind and rain (when it came), but Muni would insist that he had known the beads to sparkle like the nine gems at one time in his life.
Read the extract given below and answer the question that follow.
Describe the horse.
How did the two baby birds get separated?
What did the second bird say to him?
Sketch the character of Ray in about 80 words. What qualities of Ray do you admire most?
Was the old woman’s gift to Vijay Singh eccentric? Why?
Answer the following question:
Why did the villagers want to drown Taro?
Multiple Choice Question:
Who is the poet of this poem?
In what respect was Miss Beam’s school different from others?
Talk to your partner and say whether the following statement is true or false.
Snakes cannot hear, but they can feel vibrations through the ground.
Answer the following question:
Why was the shop called ‘Lucky Shop’?
What trick did the shopkeeper play to tempt his customers to play the losing game?
Does the poet get scared at the thought of peeping through the window?
Why is the window dusty?
Study the following phrases and their meanings. Use them appropriately to complete the sentences that follow.
The police are …………… the matter thoroughly.
Why does Maya think Mr Nath is a crook? Who does she say the Sunday visitor is?
