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Question
Simple Past and Past Perfect
Complete this story by Julius Lester. Choose the correct forms of the words
given in the brackets.
Brer Rabbit (a) ________ (decidedI had decided) gardening was too much hard work. So he (b) ________ (had gone/went) back to his old ways of eating from everybody else’s garden. Earlier, he (c)________ (made/had made) a tour through the community to see what everybody (d)________ (had been/was) planting that summer and his eye (e) ________ (was/had been) caught by Brer Fox’s peanut patch.
That night Brer Rabbit (l) _______ (came/had come) down to the peanut patch. He climbed through the hole and WHOOSH ! Next thing he (m) _______ (had known/knew), he was hanging in the air upside down. There (n) ________ (wasn’t/hadn’t been) a thing he could do, so he made himself comfortable to catch a little sleep!
Answer the following questions based on the story you have read.
(a) What had Brer Rabbit found out?
(b) What did he do when the plants grew?
(c) How did he enter Brer Fox's peanut patch?
(d) Brer Fox had an idea of who was stealing from his patch. What did he do to trap
Brer Rabbit?
You must have used the simple past tense and past perfect tense in your
answer. Do you know most often, when you use the past perfect, you use it with
the (simple) past?
Study the sentences from the story and write whether (a) the action happened
before the action mentioned in the simple past tense, or (b) an action happened
after the action mentioned in the past perfect tense.
(e.g.) Brer Rabbit had decided _(a)_ gardening was _(b)_too much for him. So,
he went __ back to his old ways. Earlier, he had made __ a tour through
the community to see what everybody had been __ planting that summer
and his eye was __ caught by Brer Fox's peanut patch.
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Solution
(A) Brer Rabbit (a) had decided (decidedI had decided) gardening was too much hard work. So he (b) went (had gone/went) back to his old ways of eating from everybody else’s garden. Earlier, he (c) had made (made/had made) a tour through the community to see what everybody (d) had been (had been/was) planting that summer and his eye (e) had been (was/had been) caught by Brer Fox’s peanut patch.
That night Brer Rabbit (l) came (came/had come) down to the peanut patch. He climbed through the hole and WHOOSH ! Next thing he (m) knew (had known/knew), he was hanging in the air upside down. There (n) wasn't (wasn’t/hadn’t been) a thing he could do, so he made himself comfortable to catch a little sleep!
(B) Answer the following questions based on the story you have read. (ANSWER)
(a) Brer Rabbit had found out that gardening was too much hard work.
(b) He ate peanuts to his fill.
(c) He entered Brer Fox’s peanut patch through a small hole in the fence.
(d) Brer Fox inspected his fence and found a small hole on the north side. He tied a rope with a loop knot and put it inside the hole. If anybody stepped into it, the rope would grab his leg and hoist him up in the air.
(C) (a) decided / had decided This action takes place before the one given in (b) here.
(b) had gone / went — do —
(c) made / had made This action takes place before those given in (a), (b) above.
(d) had been / was — do —
(e) was / had been — do —
(f) had been / were Action in (f) takes place before the action in (g).
(g) decided / had decided — do —
(h) had eaten / ate This action takes place after the actions shown in (f) and (g) above.
(i) had / had had Action shown in (i) takes place before the action in (j)
(j) had found / found — do —
(k) stepped / had stepped The action shown in (k) takes place after the action given in (i) and (j).
(l) came / had come This action takes place after those given under (i), (j) and (k).
(m) had known / knew This action takes place after the actions under (k) and (l).
(n) wasn’t / hadn’t been This action also takes place after those given above.
Notes
Usually the action shown in Past Perfect Tense occurs before the action shown in Simple Past Tense occurs.
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RELATED QUESTIONS
Now, using the ideas given below, write a speech on 'The Role of Youth in Realising the Dreams of Dr. Kalam'. (Refer to CODER)
a) fighting for equal rights
b) fighting corruption
c) empowering the masses
d) looking for jobs within the country
e) active involvement in social issues
f) promoting national integration
g) equal participation of women in all fields
Now that you have enjoyed reading the story, answer the following question by choosing the correct option
The granddaughter found her grandmother in tears on her return as _____
Here are some direct quotations from the story. Identify the speaker and write what each quotation suggests about the speaker. You can use the adjectives given in the box and may also add your own.
| amiable, tender, gentle, sympathetic, understanding, determined, diligent, kind, concerned, systematic, wise, helpful, enthusiastic, selfish, cruel, humble, religious, prudent |
| Speaker | Quotation | Quality Highlighted | |
|
a. |
'Avva, is everything all right? Are you O.K.?' |
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| b. | 'At times, I used to regret not going to school, so I made sure that my children and grandchildren studied well.' |
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| c. | 'Avva, don't cry. What is the matter? Can I help you in anyway?' |
||
| d. | 'We are well-off, but what use is money when I cannot be independent.' | ||
| e. | 'I will keep Saraswati Pooja day during Dassara as the deadline.' | ||
| f. | 'For a good cause if you are determined you can overcome any obstacle.' | ||
| g. | I am touching the feet of a teacher not my granddaughter.' |
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.
Answer the following questions:
The poem has many examples of alliteration. List any five examples.
Answer the following question.
What is a 'refrain' in a poem? What effect does it create?
Answer the following question briefly.
Does the speaker seem happy about his decision?
In the sixth line of the first stanza, we read:
"... and sings a melancholy strain,..."
This "s" sound at the beginning of sings and strain has been repeated. Poets often do
this. Do you know why? Do you know what this "poetic repetition" is called? Can you
find other instances of this, in The Solitary Reaper?
If you could buy your dream house today what are some specific features you
would want for your house? Write them in the bubbles below.
The term irony refers to a discrepancy, or disagreement, of some sort. The
discrepancy can be between what someone says and what he or she really
means. on verbal irony. The discrepancy can be between a situation that one
would logically anticipate or that would seem appropriate and the situation that
actually develops or situational irony. The discrepancy can even be between the
facts known to a character and the facts known to us, the readers or audience or
dramatic irony.
Working in groups of four complete the following table. Find instances of irony from the play
and justify them.
| Extract | Justification |
| I believe you want to convert me; save my soul, don’t you call it? Well, it’s no good………. see? I don’t want any damned religion. ● ________________________________ ●_________________________________ |
Later, the convict says, “its a queer thing to ask, but-could you, would you bless me before I go.” ●______________________________ ●______________________________ |
| ● Why the devil do you leave the window unshuttered and the door unbarred so that anyone can come in? ’ ●__________________________________ ●__________________________________ |
If the door had been barred the convict couldn’t have entered the house. ______________________________ ●______________________________ |
| ● My mother gave them to me on………………………. on her death bed just after you were bom, and…………….. and she asked me to keep them in remembrance of her, so I would like to keep them. ● _______________________________ ● _______________________________ |
Later he hands the convict the candlesticks and tells him to start a new life. ● _________________________ ● __________________________ |
Choose the correct answer and fill in the blanks:
(a) Cars enable you to reach any place you want. ____________ , they pose parking problems in the cities.
(b) I prefer writing __________
(c) He fell ___________ the ladder.
(d) John, as well as his younger brothers, _________ going abroad for further studies.
(e) You’d better take a taxi. ___________ , you’ll arrive late.
(f) It’s not a very good job. _____________ it’s something to start with.
| (a) (i) However (ii) Although (iii) Despite (iv) So that |
(b) (i) on (ii) in (iii) by (iv) with |
| (c) (i) on (ii) out (iii) of (iv) off |
(d) (i) is (ii) are (iii) have (iv) been |
| (e) (i) However (ii) Consequently (iii) Furthermore (iv) Otherwise |
(f) (i) Besides (ii) Moreover (iii) On the other hand (iv) But |
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 …………
On a cold winter night you hear a loud shrieking noise at repeated intervals. What might have caused this?
Write down your ideas using the pattern below.
| it |
might could must |
have been |
the owl hooting a ghost____________ |
Discuss in groups.
- Have you heard a story, seen a film, or read about someone becoming invisible?
- Did he/she use his/her power for good or for evil?
Look at the text below. The sentences have been jumbled up. Write them in order out to produce a complete paragraph. The first sentence has been given to help you.
(a) To conclude, like many things in life it is up to the individual to use TV wisely, or to abuse it and become its slave.
(b) By contrast, those who attack TV state that it makes people lazy by doing everything for them.
(c) Television is here to stay.
(d) In other words, it stifles rather than stimulates the imagination.
(e) Defenders of TV say that it is a wonderful source of information about things we can never hope to see or do in person.
(f) Moreover, they say it makes topics interesting which would otherwise be boring and difficult in books. .
(g) However, is it a boon or a curse?
(h) In fact, it has become an indispensable part of our lives.
(a) Television is here to stay. ____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
(b) What helped you to put the sentence back in the correct order?
Complete the following information about yourself
SURVAYS ON THE USE OF COMPUTERS
| Age: | |
| Boy I Girl: | |
| Hours spent at the computer: | |
| Hours spent playing games and chatting on the internet: | |
| Hours spent surfing the Internet/ websites for learning: | |
| Hours spent per week studying at home: | |
| Hours spent for leisure activities: | |
| If you reduce your time spent on the computer, how would you spend the extra time? | |
| I like to spend my time on the computer because: |
Divide yourselves into groups and collect information on the use of computers from three students, each from classes VI, IX and XI. Compile and summarise your answers to the questions above in the following table
| Class | Name Girl/Boy | Hours per week | If you reduce your computer time , how will you spend your leisure time ? | Why do you like to spend time at the computer ? | |||
| At the computer | Studying at home | Internet | Leisure | ||||
Your school is playing a football / hockey match with the neighbouring school. You are the official commentator for the match. Give a running commentary on the last few breathtaking minutes of the match.
OR
In groups of four, give a running commentary of the whole match. Each student must become the commentator at some point of time. (Your commentary should not be for more than three minutes)
On the basis of your reading of the exctract on Chess , complete the following table with your partner .
| Figure | Name | Order of importance | Function | Significance |
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Edit the following magazine article about youth in sport.
The Great National Sports Talent Search (a) consist of workshops and tournaments arranged in (b) any different parts of (c) a country. The talent scouts’ aim (d) are to look out for local talent in the age range of eight to eighteen years. Thus, it would be far (e) wise if young sportswomen and men (f) were help so that they have plenty of time to develop their talent. Sports academies normally only (g) having students whose talents (h) is already recognized. If India does not invest in sports it can not hope to perform well at the International level.
| (a) (i) consisted (ii) consists (iii) is consisted (iv) has consisted |
(b) (i) much (ii) few (iii) little (iv) many |
(c) (i) the (ii) these (iii) an (iv) some |
(d) (i) is (ii) being (iii) has been (iv) been |
| (e) (i) wisest (ii) wiser (iii) as wise as (iv) too wise |
(f) (i) were helped (ii) were being helped (iii) are helped (iv) helped |
(g) (i) are having (ii) owning (iii) have (iv) has |
(h) (i) are (ii) has been (iii) are being (iv) have been |
