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Question
The athletes had come from all over the country
To run for the gold, for the silver and bronze
Many weeks and months of training
All coming down to these games.
The spectators gathered around the old field
To cheer on all the young women and men
The final event of the day was approaching
Excitement grew high to begin.
Read the lines given above and answer the following question:
Explain with reference to context.
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Solution
These lines are from the poem ‘Nine Gold Medals by David Roth. The poem sends the message that sports are not only about medals but also about learning the values of cooperation, sharing, competing and complementing. In this poem ‘Nine Gold Medals’, the poet, David Roth has presented the idea of empathy and how human values are as important as the spirit of competition. The poem presents the situation of a race, where the contestants leave aside their desire to win the medal to help a smaller and weaker contestant. They all go hand-in-hand to the finishing line.
Athletes from all over the world train hard to participate in this event. Winning a medal in the Olympics is the ultimate goal of every athlete of the world. However, the setting or the scene of this poem is that of ‘Special Olympics’. In these Olympics, differently-abled persons, who have some problem/s in a particular part of the body, participate in various sports events. The contestants put in a lot of preparation and practice. Everyone hopes to win a medal. The spectators are as excited as the contestants. They cheer and encourage the contestants. These two stanzas help to create the setting of the poem.
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RELATED QUESTIONS
Thinking about the Poem
Where was the snake before anyone saw it and chased it away? Where does the snake
disappear?
Read the newspaper clipping.
Listen to an interview between the police inspector in charge of the case, the housekeeper, Ms. Lakshmi and the watchman, Ram Singh. As you listen, note down the details of the burglar.
Inspector: Hello, madam. I am Inspector Maan Singh. I am in charge of the burglary
case which occurred in the flat of your employer, Mr. Ravikant. It must have
been a harrowing experience for you.
Lakshmi: Yes, it was a terrible experience. People like that should be locked up in a
prison.
Inspector: If you will cooperate with us, we will catch them in no time. Were you alone
in the apartment at that time?
Lakshmi: Yes, it was 11 :30 in the night and I was alone as my master and his wife had
left for Shimla.
Inspector: How do you think the burglar gained entry into the house?
Lakshmi: He might have come through the balcony and entered my room.
Inspector: Now tell me something about his physique. What about his build? How tall
was he?
Lakshmi: He was about 6 ft tall.
Inspector: What about his physique?
Lakshmi: He was not thin. He was well-built and rather plump.
Inspector: What about his dress? What was he wearing?
Lakshmi: I think his clothes were rather old and faded. He was wearing a black shirt
which was faded.
Inspector: Do you remember the colour of his trousers?
Lakshmi: They were of a dark shade -either black or blue.
Inspector: Can you tell me something about his face?
Lakshmi: Unfortunately no. When he entered my room I panicked. But then I
gathered courage and screamed and tried to run away. But I was a bit late.
He struck me with a staff and I really don't remember anything after that.
May be I was knocked out.
Later on, I came to know that he broke into the bedroom and ran off with the
jewellery. But Ram Singh, the watchman, who tried to catch him may be
able to describe him better.
Inspector: OK Lakshmi, thank you! If I need your help I will come again. You may have
to identify the burglar. Now, I will speak to Ram Singh.
Inspector to Ram Singh:
Ram Singh you were on duty and you tried to catch the burglar. You may be
able to give a good description of him. First, tell me about his hair.
Ram Singh: He had straight black hair.
Inspector: What about the shape of his face and his complexion?
Ram Singh: He had an oval face with grey eyes and I think he was dark complexioned.
Inspector: Did he wear spectacles?
Ram Singh: Yes, with a plastic frame and his nose was rather sharp.
Inspector: What else can you remember about him? What about his teeth and lips?
Ram Singh: His lips were quite thick.
Inspector: Is there anything else that you remember about him?
Ram Singh: When I heard some noise from inside, I ran in. I tried to stop the burglar and
we had a scuffie. During the struggle I noticed that he had six fingers on his
right hand. But he managed to run away and made good his escape on a
motorbike.
Inspector: Thank you Ram Singh. We will make sketches on the basis of your
description and nab him.
I wandered lonely as a Cloud
That floats on high o'er vales and Hills,
When all at once I saw a crowd,
A host, of golden Daffodils;
Beside the Lake, beneath the trees,
Fluttering and dancing in the breeze.
Read the lines given above and answer the question that follow.
Where were the daffodils and what where they doing ?
What made the ghost speechless? Why?
Word in the box given below indicates a large number of… For example, ‘a herd of cows’ refers to many cows. Complete the following phrase with a suitable word from the box.
a _________________ of flowers
Multiple Choice Question:
The members of a family act ________
Write True or False against the following statement.
Peter is an only child.
Choose a befitting adjective to describe the nature of squirrel.
Do you remember an anecdote or a story about a greedy or jealous person and the unhappy result of his/her action? Narrate the story to others in your class.
Here is one for you to read.
Seeing an old man planting a fig tree, the king asked why he was doing this. The man replied that he might live to eat the fruit, and, even if he did not, his son would enjoy the figs.
“Well,” said the king, “if you do live to eat the fruit of this tree, please let me know.” The man promised to do so, and sure enough, before too long, the tree grew and bore fruit.
Packing some fine figs in a basket, the old man set out for the palace to meet the king.
The king accepted the gift and gave orders that the old man’s basket be filled with gold.
Now, next door to the old man, there lived a greedy old man jealous of his neighbour’s good fortune. He also packed some figs in a basket and took them to the palace in the hope of getting gold.
The king, on learning the man’s motive, ordered him to stand in the compound and had him pelted with figs. The old man returned home and told his wife the sad story. She consoled him by saying, “You should be thankful that our neighbour did not grow coconuts.”
Read the following passage carefully and answer the questions that follow:
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That huge bell never stopped ringing. It got us out of bed, it summoned us for meals, it rang between class periods, it sent us unwillingly to bed. One morning it failed to ring, or rather, there was no bell to ring. Someone had removed it, and it wasn't found till late in the afternoon. What a glorious day! As there was no bell to rouse us, everyone got up late, and there was no morning PT. Some of us missed breakfast too. The teachers got confused and mixed up their classes. How could the school manage without it? Confusion reigned. Of course, no one owned up. It could have meant expulsion. Some suspicion fell on the Sports Captain because of our aversion to morning PT, but nothing could be proved. No one was very anxious to find the bell - we were quite happy without it - but it was finally discovered hanging from a branch of one of the trees. ‘It may have been Mr. Sharma,' surmised Brian. Mr. Sharma, our Maths teacher, was known to walk in his sleep. And sleepwalkers did funny things sometimes. ‘It could be Mool Chand himself,’ suggested Cyrus Satralkar. Mool Chand was the school chowkidar, who also had the job of banging the brass bell at appointed times. ‘Why would he throw it away?’ ‘He must be as fed up with ringing it as we are of hearing it.’ This was my theory. ‘Perhaps he wants a rise in salary.’ The identity of the culprit remained a mystery. Happily, the senior Hockey team went on a winning spree against all corners, and our month-end exits were restored. But soon there was another sensation. A girl was admitted to our class! The boys were scandalized. No girl had ever studied in our school before. We protested. ‘What’s the problem?’ asked Mr. Knight, our class master. ‘Haven’t you seen a girl before?’ ‘But - but. Sir ...’ Tata was our spokesman. ‘How will we concentrate on our studies?’ ‘When did you ever concentrate on your studies, Tata?’ ‘Are we going co-ed, sir?’ Adams wanted to know. ‘Not at all,’ said Mr. Knight. ‘This is a special case. She is the school accounts manager’s daughter, and he can’t afford the Girls school fees. So, I’m sure you’ll make her feel very welcome.’ The accountant was a popular man who also ran the school’s tuck shop and allowed most of us a certain amount of credit. All our objections faded away. At first, Sunita, our new entrant, was a bit of a distraction because, although she was very shy and demure, she had lovely curly hair, bright eyes, pink cheeks and a smile for everyone. All the boys were very polite and attentive to her and Brian in particular was always ready to help her. |
- For each word given below choose the correct meaning (as used in the passage) from the options provided: (3)
- summoned (line 1)
- totalled
- ordered
- requested
- shout
- aversion (line 10)
- hatred
- fear
- politeness
- creation
- restored (line 25)
- helped
- returned
- permit
- victory
- summoned (line 1)
- Answer the following questions briefly in your own words.
- Why did no one confess to having removed the missing bell? (1)
- Why did suspicion fall on the Sports Captain? (2)
- What made Brian think that it was Mr. Sharma? (2)
- Which sentence in the passage tells you that Mr. Knight thought poorly of Tata’s academic performance? (2)
- Why was the accountant a popular man? (2)
- In not more than 50 words describe the effects of the lost bell. (8)
