Question

Read the following passage and do the activities: 

B1. Complete the following table:  (2)

	Utterance	Who said	To whom
i.	Meena, did you know Rakesh has come first in his school?
ii.	Naturally, his father is a school teacher.

 

Meena is a good friend of mine. She is an LIC officer earning a good salary. But there was always something strange about her. She was forever unhappy. Whenever I met her, I would start to feel depressed. It was as though her gloom and cynicism had a way of spreading to others. She never had anything positive to say on any subject or about any person.            For instance, I might say to her, ‘Meena, did you know Rakesh has come first in his school?’            Meena’s immediate response would be to belittle the achievement. ‘Naturally, his father is a school teacher’, she would say.            If I said, ‘Meena, Shwetha is a very beautiful girl, isn’t she?’ Meena would be pessimistic. ‘When a pony is young, he looks handsome. It is age that matters. Wait for some time. Shwetha will be uglier than anyone you know.’            ‘Meena, it’s a beautiful day. Let’s go for a walk.’            ‘No, the sun is too hot and I get tired if I walk too much. Besides, who says walking is good for health? There’s no proof.’            That was Meena. She stayed alone in an apartment as her parents lived in Delhi. She was an only child and had the habit of complaining about anything and everything.

B2. Describe Meena’s character.  (2)

B3. Find from the passage the antonyms of:  (2)

1. bad × ______
2. never × ______
3. happy × ______
4. optimistic × ______

B4. Do as Directed:   (2)

1. Shwetha is a very beautiful girl. (Make it exclamatory.)
2. Meena is an LIC officer. (Frame a ‘Wh’ question to get the underlined part as an answer.)

B5. Personal Response:   (2)

If you have a friend like Meena, what would be your attitude towards her?

Answer 1

B1.

	Utterance	Who said	To whom
i.	Meena, did you know Rakesh has come first in his school?	The Writer	Meena
ii.	Naturally, his father is a school teacher.	Meena	The Writer

B2. Meena is always unhappy, gloomy and pessimistic. She never says anything positive about a subject or a person. She lives alone in an apartment and is the only child of her parents. She has a habit of complaining about everything.

B3.

1. bad × good
2. never × always
3. happy × unhappy
4. optimistic × pessimistic

B4. 

1. What a beautiful girl Shweta is!
2. What is Meena?

B5. If I have a friend like Meena, I would have accepted her as she is. Gently and without her realising it, I would point out her mistakes and guide her about what is right and wrong. I would make sure that my words never hurt her feelings. With patience and care, I would try to change her pessimistic outlook into a positive and optimistic approach towards life. Though it might take time, she would surely change.