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Question
This woman had been despised, scoffed at, and angrily denounced by nearly every man, woman, and child in the village; but now, as the fact of, her death was passed from lip to lip, in subdued tones, pity took the place of anger, and sorrow of denunciation.
Neighbours went hastily to the old tumble-down hut, in which she had secured little more than a place of shelter from summer heats and winter cold: some with grave-clothes for a decent interment of the body; and some with food for the half-starving children, three in number. Of these, John, the oldest, a boy of twelve, was a stout lad, able to earn his living with any farmer. Kate, between ten and eleven, was bright, active girl, out of whom something clever might be made, if in good hands; but poor little Maggie, the youngest, was hopelessly diseased. Two years before a fall from a window had injured her spine, and she had not been able to leave her bed since, except when lifted in the arms of her mother.
“What is to be done with the children?” That was the chief question now. The dead mother would go underground, and be forever beyond all care or concern of the villagers. But the children must not be left to starve.
Read the extract given below and answer the question that follow.
What did the neighbours do to help?
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Solution
The neighbours rushed to the dilapidated cottage of the woman to help. Some carried grave-clothes for a decent interment of the body; and some with food for the half-starving children, three in number.
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RELATED QUESTIONS
Expressions used to show fear
Can you find the expressions in the story that tell you that the author was frightened?
Read the story and complete the following sentences.
1. I was turned ______.
2. I sat there holding ______.
3. In the light of the lamp I sat there like ______.
Discuss in pair and answer question below in a short paragraph (30 − 40 words.
Why did Jerome have to reopen the packed bag?
Read the lines given in the boxes on the next page. They are in random order.
Now listen to the recording of the poem carefully. As you listen, number the
stanzas given in the boxes sequentially.
I am beautiful pearls, plucked from the
Crown of Ishtar by the daughter of Dawn
To embellish the gardens
I emerge from the heart of the Sea and
Soar with the breeze. When I see a field in
Need, I descend and embrace the flowers and
The trees in a million little ways
The voice of thunder declares my arrival :
The rainbow announces my departure.
I am like earthly life, which begins at
The feet of the mad elements and ends
Under the upraised wings of death
I am dotted silver threads dropped from heaven
By the gods. Nature then takes me to adorn
Her fields and valleys.
I touch gently at the windows with my
Soft fingers and my announcement is a
Welcome song. All can hear but only
The sensitive can understand
The field and the cloud are lovers
And between them I am a messenger of mercy.
I quench the thirst of the one,
I cure the ailment of the other.
I am the sigh of the sea, the laughter of the field;
The tears of heaven.
When I cry the hills laugh;
When I humble myself the flowers rejoice;
When I bow, all things are elated
So, with love-
Sighs from the deep sea of affection; Laughter
from the colourful field of the spirit; Tears from
the endless heaven of memories.
Notice how ideas are connected in the story.
Write what the following words you just used in 1.1 imply by choosing suitable options from the box.
- and:
- but:
- where:
- while:
- after:
- until:
- so :
connects similar actions, objects
denotes contrast
denotes time.
The words given above are called connectors. Connectors do not simply join sentences together; they also show how ideas are related.
There are many different ways of classifying connectors according to their meaning. We shall start with the ones you are already familiar with.
It was a summer evening,
Old Kaspar's work was done,
And he before his cottage door
Was sitting in the sun,
And by him sported on the green
His little grandchild Wilhelmine.
She saw her brother Peterkin
Roll something large and round,
Which he beside the rivulet
In playing there had found;
He came to ask what he had found,
That was so large, and smooth, and round.
Read the lines given above and answer the question that follow.
Who was Peterkin?
He looked at me very blankly and tiredly, and then said, having to share his worry with someone, “The cat will be all right, I am sure. There is no need to be unquiet about the cat. But the others. Now what do you think about the others?”
“Why they’ll probably come through it all right.”
“You think so?”
“Why not,” I said, watching the far bank where now there were no carts.
“But what will they do under the artillery when I was told to leave because of the artillery?”
“Did you leave the dove cage unlocked?” I asked.
“Yes.”
“Then they’ll fly.”
“Yes, certainly they’ll fly. But the others. It’s better not to think about the others,” he said.
Read the extract given below and answer the question that follow.
What does the old man worry about? Why?
The boy looked up. He took his hands from his face and looked up at his teacher. The light from Mr. Oliver’s torch fell on the boy’s face, if you could call it a face. He had no eyes, ears, nose or mouth. It was just a round smooth head with a school cap on top of it.
And that’s where the story should end, as indeed it has for several people who have had similar experiences and dropped dead of inexplicable heart attacks. But for Mr. Oliver, it did not end there. The torch fell from his trembling hand. He turned and scrambled down the path, running blindly through the trees and calling for help. He was still running towards the school buildings when he saw a lantern swinging in the middle of the path. Mr. Oliver had never before been so pleased to see the night watchman. He stumbled up to the watchman, gasping for breath and speaking incoherently.
What is it, Sahib? Asked the watchman, has there been an accident? Why are you running?
I saw something, something horrible, a boy weeping in the forest and he had no face.
No face, Sahib?
No eyes, no nose, mouth, nothing.
Do you mean it was like this, Sahib? asked the watchman, and raised the lamp to his own face. The watchman had no eyes, no ears, no features at all, not even an eyebrow. The wind blew the lamp out and Mr. Oliver had his heart attack.
Read the extract given below and answer the question that follow.
What was Mr Oliver’s reaction when he saw the faceless boy? Whom did he stumble into?
Do you think the atmosphere of Mr Purcell’s shop was cheerful or depressing? Give reasons for your answer.
- What happens if Raga Deepak is sung properly?
- Why did Tansen’s enemies want him to sing the Raga?
Look at these sentences.
1. “Too boring,” he said.
2. Cleaned his room, did his chores.
When we speak, we often leave out words that can easily be guessed. We do not do this when we write unless we are trying to write as we speak (as in the story).
So, if we were to write carefully, we would say:
- “Homework is too boring,” he said.
- He cleaned his room and did his chores.
