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Question
Oh yes, we know it keeps them still,
They don't climb out the window sill,
They never fight or kick or punch,
They leave you free to cook the lunch
And wash the dishes in the sink....
But did you ever stop to think,
To wonder just exactly what
This does to your beloved tot?
IT ROTS THE SENSE IN THE HEAD!
IT KILLS IMAGINATION DEAD!
IT CLOGS AND CLUTTERS UP THE MIND!
IT MAKES A CHILD SO DULL AND BLIND
HE CAN NO LONGER UNDERSTAND
A FANTASY, A FAIRYLAND!
HIS BRAIN BECOMES AS SOFT AS CHEESE!
HIS POWERS OF THINKING RUST AND FREEZE!
HE CANNOT THINK - HE ONLY SEES!
Read the lines given above and answer the question given below.
Explain with reference to context.
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Solution
These lines are taken from the poem TELEVISION, written by Roald Dahl, a British novelist, short story writer and a poet. It is taken from his collection ‘Revolting Rhymes’. It is a stinging satire on Television. In this poem Roald Dahl expresses concern over what the modem invention the television set has done to children. Fie points out that watching TV has become a craze in modem time. Children of today spend hours together in front of the ‘idiot box’. Roald Dahl is addressing all British parents and telling them that the most important thing one must learn while raising children is to keep them away from the television set. He also says that it is possible to come to a better solution to the problem by not installing a television set in their homes in the’ first place.
Dahl admits that he knows that television can be a convenient way to keep children occupied. While watching television, children never cause trouble or throw tantrums. As a result, their parents can go about doing their household chores without any interruption.
However, parents do not stop to consider what television might do to their children.
Lines 25-33 are written in capitals to emphasize that they carry the main message of the poem. This message is that watching too much television fills up.the minds of children with useless facts while at the same time destroying their ability to create or understand worlds of fantasy in their imagination. It takes away their ability to think and they can only keep staring at the television screen.
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Read this article about the great Indian Rhinoceros. [You will find the information useful for your group discussion in 5.]
The Indian Rhinoceros or the Great One-Horned Rhinoceros or the Asian Onehorned Rhinoceros (Rhinoceros unicomis) is a large mammal primarily found in north-eastern India, Nepal and parts of Bhutan. It is confined to the tall grasslands and forests in the foothills of the Himalayas.
The Indian Rhinoceros once ranged throughout the entire stretch of the Indo Gangetic Plain but excessive hunting reduced their natural habitat drastically.
Today, about 3,000 Indian Rhinos live in the wild, 1,800 of which are found in Assam alone. In 2008, more than 400 Indian Rhinos were sighted in Nepal's Chitwan National Park.
In size it is equal to that of the White Rhino in Africa; together they are the largest of all rhino species. The Great One-Horned Rhinoceros has a single horn; this is present in both males and females, but not on newborn young. In most adults, the horn reachee a length of about 25 centimetres, but has been recorded up to 57 .2 centimetres in length. The nasal hom curves backwards from the nose. The horn is naturally black.
This prehistoric-looking rhinoceros bas thick, silver-brown skin which becomes pinkish near the large skin folds that cover its body. The male develops thick neckfolds. It has very little body hair aside from eyelashes, ear-fringes and tail-brush.
These rhinos live in tall grasslands and riverine forests, but due to the loss of habitat, they have been forced towards cultivated land. They are mostly solitary creatures, with the exception of mothers and calves and breeding pairs, although they sometimes, congregate at bathing areas.
The Indian Rhinoceros makes a wide variety of vocalizations. At least ten distinct vocalizations have been identified: snorting, honking, bleating, roaring, squeak panting, moo-grunting, shrieking, groaning, rumbling and humphing. In addition to noises, the rhino also uses olfactory communication.
In aggregation, Indian Rhinos are often friendly. They will often greet each other by waving or bobbing their heads, mounting flanks, nuzzling noses, or licking. Rhinos will playfully spar, run around, and play with twigs in their mouth. Adult males are the primary instigators of fights. Fights between dominant males are the most common cause of rhino mortality. Indian rhinos have few natural enemies, except for tigers. Tigers sometimes kill unguarded calves, but adult rhinos are less vulnerable due to their size. Humans are the only other animal threat, hunting the rhinoceros primarily for sport or for the use of its horn. Indian Rhinos have been somewhat tamed and trained in circuses, but they remain dangerous and unpredictable animals.
In the nineteenth and early twentieth century, the Indian Rhinoceros was hunted relentlessly. Reports from the middle of the nineteenth century claim that some military officers in Assam individually shot more than 200 rhinos. In the early 1900s, officials became concerned at the rhinos' plummeting numbers. By 1908 in Kaziranga, one of the Rhinos' main ranges, the population had fallen to around 12 individuals. In 1910, all rhino hunting in India became prohibited.
The rhino has been a major success in conservation. Only 100 remained in the early 1900s; a century later, their population has increased to about 2500 again, but even so, the species is still endangered. The Indian rhino is illegally poached for its horn. Some cultures in East Asia believe that the hair has healing and potency powers and therefore is used for traditional Chinese medicine and other Oriental medicines.
The Indian and Nepalese Governments have taken major steps towards Indian Rhinoceros conservation with the help of the World Wildlife Fund (WWF). The Kaziranga National Park and Manas National Park in Assam, Pobitora Reserve Forest in Assam {having the highest Indian rhino density in the world), Orang National Park of Assam, Laokhowa Reserve Forest of Assam (having a very small population) and Royal Chitwan National Park in Nepal are homes to this endangered animal.
Understanding determiners.
Determiners are words that are used in front of nouns to indicate whether you are
referring to something specific or something of a particular type.
Singular nouns always need a determiner. In plural nouns, the determiner is
optional. Determiners may or may not be used with uncountable nouns depending
on context.
There are about 50 different determiners in the English language which include:
Articles: a, an, the
Possessives: my, your, our, their, his, hers, whose, etc.
Demonstratives: this, that these, those, which, etc.
Quantifiers: few, a few, many, much, each, every, some, any, etc.
Number: one, two, three, twenty, forty, etc.
Ordinals: first, second, last, next, etc.
Determiners are used
• to state the unit/ number of people, things or other nouns.
• to state possessives.
• to specify someone or something.
• to state how things or people are distributed.
• to state the difference between nouns.
Determiners can be classified under the following categories:
| EXAMPLES | ||
| MULTIPLIERS | double, twice, three times... | We want double portions. |
| FRACTIONS | half, a third, two fifths ..... | I drove at half speed. |
| INTENSIFIERS | What! Such! | Such impudence! |
| QUANTIFIERS | all, both, most | I like most people. |
| ARTICLES | a, an, the | Get a book from the shelf. |
| DEMONSTRATIVES | this, that, these, those, another, other | That tree is in another garden. |
| DISTRIBUTIVES | each, every, either, neither | I have a gift for each person. |
| POSSESSIVES | ||
| (i) PRONOMINAL | my, your, his, her, its, our, your, their | You can borrow Kim's video. |
| (ii) NOMINAL | Renata's, Adam's, People's ... | You can borrow my video. |
| INTERROGATIVES | What? Which? Whose? | Whose book is that? |
| QUANTIFIERS | some, any, no | I have no problem with them. |
| CARDINAL NUMBERS | one, two, three hundred ..... | Two heads are better than one. |
| ORDINAL NUMBERS | first, fewer, much, more, less, least ......... . | It was my first tennis match. |
| QUANTIFIERS | ||
| (i) SIMPLE | few, fewer, much, more, less, least ........... . |
I have few pals; Kim has more. |
| (ii) COMPOUND | a little, a lot of, a great deal of .... |
I have lots of time to spare. |
Read the comic strip based on. H.G. Wells' novells.
Answer the questions by ticking the correct option.
(a) The strange-looking man wanted ....
(i) the best room at the inn.
(ii} a room with a fire and a good lock.
(iii} a room with a good view.
(iv) a room where he could work quietly.
(b) Jimson was suspicious of the stranger because ...
(i} he did not answer Jimson's questions.
(ii} he did not want to talk about the weather.
(iii} he kept his back turned towards Jimson at all times.
(iv) he shouted atJimson when he entered his room.
(c) The people of the town gossiped about the stranger as ...
(i} he did not go out or talk to anyone in the town.
(ii} he had met with an accident and his face was bandaged.
(iii} he was new to the town and behaved rudely.
(iv) he stayed in his room and did not show his face to anyone.
(d) 'There was a rush of burglaries in the town. This means that ________
(i} there were many robberies in the town.
(ii) a few people in the town had seen a rob her.
(iii} the burglaries in the town were done in a rush.
(iv) the burglar was a rash and careless man.
(e) Although Jimson and Dr Cuss are suspicious of the strange guest, Mrs Hall tolerates him because ....
(i} she is not superstitious or ignorant.
(ii) she is sorry for the stranger who is bandaged.
(iii} the stranger is paying her a good amount of money for the room.
(iv} the stranger is polite and kind to Mrs Hall at all times.
(f) The stranger who was staying at the inn can be described as being ....
(I} violent
(ii} upright
(iii} dishonest
(iv) sensible
Answer the following question.
“There was a sudden and wonderful change in his soul”. What brought about the change in Soapy?
How did Mr Gessler found that the boot was not comfortable for author?
How did the king reach the rishi’s ashram? Why did the two birds behave with the king differently?
What trick did the mongoose apply to overpower and kill the cobra?
Fill in the blanks with the words given in the box.
| how, what, when, where, which |
"You should know ______ to talk and ______ to keep your mouth shut," the teacher advised Anil.
Play detectives with each other. Find a person in your class (or some other acquaintance) to speak to. Find out the answers to the questions given below. Be careful to ask your questions in a polite and inoffensive way. Do not force the person to answer you. Then allow the person to ask you the same questions.
- Name?
- What newspapers or magazines does the person read?
- How long has the person lived at the current address?
- What does she/he do during the day, i.e. the daily routine?
- What do neighbours and friends say about the person?
- Who are his/her visitors and what are his/her eating habits? (You can ask a few others about this.)
- What do you think about the person?
“So was I once myself a swinger of birches."
What mood of the poet is captured in the above lines taken from the poem, Birches?
