In pairs, discuss the following aspects of the story, and then have a class discussion.
Here is a story about Swami and his grandmother. After reading the excerpt, change it into a conversation between Swami and his Grandmother.
After the night meal with his head on his granny’s lap, nestling close to her, Swaminathan felt very snug and safe in the faint atmosphere of cardamom and cloves. ‘Oh, Granny !’ he cried ecstatically. ‘You don’t know what a great fellow Rajam is.’ He told her the story of the first enmity between Rajam and Mani and the subsequent friendship.
‘You know, he has a real police dress,’ said Swaminathan. ‘Is it? What does he want a police dress for?’ asked Granny.
‘His father is the Police Superintendent. He is the master of every policeman here.’ Granny was impressed. She said that it must be a tremendous office indeed. She then recounted the days when her husband, Swaminathan’s grandfather, was a powerful sub-magistrate, in which office he made the police force tremble before him and the fiercest dacoits of the place flee. Swaminathan waited impatiently for her to finish the story. But she went on, rambled, confused, mixed up various incidents that took place at different times. ‘That will do, Granny,’ he said ungraciously. ‘Let me tell you something about Rajam. Do you know how many marks he gets in arithmetic?’
‘He gets all the marks, does he, child?’ asked Granny.
‘No silly. He gets ninety marks out of one hundred.’
‘Good. But you must also try and get marks like him…. You know, Swami, your grandfather used to frighten the examiners with his answers sometimes. When he answered a question, he did it in a tenth of the time that others took to do it. And then, his answers would be so powerful that his teachers would give him two hundred marks sometimes.
‘Oh, enough, Granny ! You go on bothering about old unnecessary stories. Won’t you listen to Rajam?’
‘Yes, dear, yes.’
‘Granny, when Rajam was a small boy, he killed a tiger.’
Swaminathan started the story enthusiastically : Rajam’s father was camping in a forest. He had his son with him. Two tigers came upon them suddenly, one knocking down the father from behind. The other began chasing Rajam, who took shelter behind a bush and shot it dead with his gun.
‘Granny, are you asleep?’ Swaminathan asked at the end of the story.
Now read the dialogue and complete the conversation:
Swarni: You don’t know what a great fellow Raj am is! In the beginning I could not get along with him but now he is my good friend. And you know, he has a real police dress.
Grandmother: Is it? What does he want a police dress for?
Swarni: His father is the Police Superintendent. He is the master of every policeman here.
Grandmother: I think, it must be a tremendous office. Do you know, your grandfather was a powerful submagistrate and the Police Force trembled before him? Even the fiercest dacoits of the place fled.
Swarni: That will do, Granny. It’s so boring. Let me tell you something about Raj am. Do you know how many marks he gets in arithmetic?
Grandmother: He gets all the marks, doesn’t he, child?
At first, Private Quelch was a hero in the eyes of his fellow soldiers. Support this observation with suitable examples from the story in about 100 words.
Answer the following question briefly.
How did John’s first meeting with Jessie’s father go? What did the author tell him?
Irony refers to the use of words to convey a meaning that is the opposite of their literal meaning. Working in pairs bring out the irony in the following:
(a) The title of the story, “The Best Seller”.
(b) Pescud’s claim, “When people in real life marry, they generally hunt up somebody in their own station. A fellow usually picks out a girl who went to the same high school and belonged to the same singing-society that he did.”
(c) The name Trevelyan.
The poem is full of images that come alive through skilful use of words. Describe
any two images that appeal to you the most, quoting the lines from the poem.
Answer the following question.
"If you got a tooth, you got a friend", what do you understand from the line?
Read the following extract and answer the questions that follow by choosing the
correct options.
I offered to take her in here for a day or two, but she seemed to think it might distress
you.
(a) The Bishop wanted to take Mere Grngoire in because _________.
(i) she was sick.
(ii) she had no money.
(iii) she was unable to pay the rent of her house.
(iv) she was a close friend of Persome.
(b) Persome would be distressed on Mere Gringoire's being taken in because
________
(i) she did not want to help anyone.
(ii) she felt that Mere Gringoire was taking undue advantage of the Bishop.
(iii) she was a self-centred person.
(iv) she would be put to a great deal of inconvenience.
Look at the verbs in the box and put them in the correct columns in the table that follows
|
believe wish see belong |
hate own regret measure |
know understand forget touch |
weigh prefer hear
|
smell find imagine
|
think cost remember
|
suppose like taste
|
| thought | emotion | possession | perception (often used with can) | measurement |
Some verbs, like the ones mentioned above, are not normally used in the continuous (- ing) form. However, we do sometimes use such verbs in the continuous form. Look at the following examples.
1. “I can’t concentrate on my work because I’m thinking about that beautiful scene.”
2. “I think it is beautiful.”
Working in groups of four, write a dialogue between
• A tiger behind bars and a man
• A man in a cage and a tiger.
Future Perfect and Future Continuous
Look at the following sentences.
Match words from the different columns to make reasonable predictions. Then write them down in the space below. One has been done as an example.
Look at the notes below. Then use the information to complete the paragraph by choosing a suitable word or phrase in each space. Do not add any new information. The first one has been done for you as an example.
Galapagos Islands
Visitors to these Pacific Islands – leave – unstamped – mail them – return home – picture post-cards – show up – since 1960s – self perpetuating post office probably set up – to get news from their family, friends – tradition persisted – post office – establish – 1950s – barrel – replace – many times – weather worn plaques remain.
Tradition has it that visitors to these Pacific Islands (a) leave unstamped, addressed postcards and letters in a barrel at Post Office Bay, to await pick up by other tourists who affix postage and (b) __________ when they return home. Picture post-cards (c) __________ in the barrel since the late 1960s, when tourists began visiting the Galapagos Islands. The self- perpetuating post office (d) __________by whalers in the late 1790s as a way to get news to and from friends and family. The tradition persisted even after a post office (e) __________on the island of Floreana in the 1950s. The barrel (f) __________ many times, but weather worn plaques, where sailors long ago and from far away carved their names, remain.
| (a) (i) leaving stamped (ii) leaves unstamped (iii) leave unstamped (iv) left unstamped |
(b) (i) mail them (ii) mails them (iii) mailed this (iv) mailing these |
(c) (i) show up (ii) shown up (iii) are show up (iv) have show up |
| (d) (i) is setting up (ii) was set up (iii) is set up (iv) has been set up |
(e) (i) is established (ii) is being established (iii) was established (iv) has been established |
(f) (i) replacing (ii) has been replaced (iii) is replaced (iv) was replaced |
Work in pairs. Tell your partner what you are not able to do now because of the fast-paced life.
e.g. I could play in the open ground but now I can’t.
I could visit my aunt on weekends but …………
Work in pain and complete the table of the supernatural theories and logical explanations as presented in 'The Mystery of Bermuda Triangle'.
Read an extract from the poem New Year Resolution
The priest asked "Son, any new resolution this year"
I said "Father, driving with the
helmet and in first gear",
"That's good, my son, but have you any more?"
"Sure, there are ten, but I shall keep only four".
The first will be never to wipe
the shoe behind my pant
The second will be to say without hesitation "I can't",
The third is to always keep the toothpaste cap on
It's something which I never did since I was born.
The fourth, never to look at your neighbour's hedge
It's that what has brought the envy and the wedge,
The fifth is easy and you can have a ball
Never take from Peter what you have to pay Paul.
The sixth is to hold my head high even under water
Learn simple things of life from the potter,
He moulds wonders out of his two hands
Leaving impression forever on the sands.
Try and compose a poem conveying your resolutions. Let the first stanza be the
same.
e.g.
The first will be never to yawn
in public be it noon, dusk or dawn.
The second .................. .
List some phrases and words that come to your mind, when you look at the picture given below
Passives in Headlines and Notices
Headlines.
Newspaper headlines are short and crisp. They often use the passive as it may
not be necessary to focus on the doer.
| Sales Tax Increased |
Expand the following headlines using passives as shown.
a) Oscar award for A.R. Rahman's Jai Ho
A.R. Rahman was awarded the Oscar for his song Jai Ho in the movie Slumdog
Millionaire.
(b) Son of business tycoon kidnapped
_____________________________________________
(c) Explosive found near Regal Cinema
_____________________________________________
Imagine you are a famous person. Write a brief report (maximum 80 words) of a day in your life. Use the passive voice where you think it is appropriate. An example of how you might start is given below.
I woke up at 7 am and was given tea. It was a lovely cool morning so I decided to walk to the film studio. Normally I am driven____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Sports Day at school is always great fun. Along with the excitement of the events, there is the added desire to know if your House has won the Sports Championship Cup!
Teacher/ student can read out the Sports Day commentary and fill in the House positions for each event - 1st, 2nd and 3rd. Then calculate the points to find out which House has won the Sports Championship Cup.
GOVERNMENT SENIOR SECONDARY SCHOOL, DANAPUR
ANNUAL ATHLETIC MEET
SCORECARD
| House | NEHRU | RAMAN | TAGORE | SHIVAJI | ||||
| Events | Position | Points | Position | Points | Position | Points | Position | Points |
| (Previous tally) | ||||||||
| March Past | ||||||||
| 800m (Boys) | ||||||||
| 1OOm (Girls) | ||||||||
| High jump (Boys) | ||||||||
| Javelin (Girls) | ||||||||
| House | NEHRU | RAMAN | TAGORE | SHIVAJI | ||||
| Events | Position | Points | Position | Points | Position | Points | Position | Points |
| Shot put (Boys) | ||||||||
| 400 relay (Girls) | ||||||||
| TOTAL | ||||||||
| RESULT | HOUSE |
| Champions | |
| 2nd | |
| 3rd | |
| 4th |
| SCORING (POINTS) | |||
| Event | 1st | 2nd | 3rd |
| March Past | 10 | x | x |
| Track and field | 10 | 5 | 3 |
| Relay | 15 | 10 | 5 |
Read the following sentences. Each sentence has four words underlined. Select one underlined word that is incorrect and write it in the space provided. The first one has been done as an example:
1. The statue of liberty is designed by Fedreric Auguste Barthold.
| is |
2. Is was completely in france in july 1884.
3. The statue was shipped to New York with 350 pieces.
4. She arrieved there on 17 june 1885.
5. The pieces were put together but the opening ceremony took place on 28 Oct 1886.
This description is taken from a well-known film. Can you guess which one?
A man in a red cape and blue tights is flying over a city. On his chest is the letter S. Below him a large crowd is pointing up at him.
Imagine a scene from a play, film or TV show you have seen.
Describe (a) where things and people are, and (b) any movement. Follow the example.
Show your description to your partner. Guess each other’s play or film.____________________________________________________________________________________________________
