English

The Convict is the Product of the Society He Had Lived In, Both, in Terms of the Suffering that Led Him to Steal

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Question

The convict is the product of the society he had lived in, both, in terms of the
suffering that led him to steal a loaf of bread, as well as the painful sentence he
received as a punishment for his "crime". He was imprisoned for stealing money
to buy food for his sick wife. This filled him with despair, hopelessness,
bitterness and anger at the injustice of it all.
Conduct a debate in the class (in groups) on the following topic. Instructions for
conducting a debate and use of appropriate language are given in the unit “Children” of
the Main Course Book.
'Criminals are wicked and deserve punishment'

Answer in Brief
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Solution

Respected President and Dear Friends!
They say hate the sin and not the sinner. How did the convict in the story become a “convict”? He was a man like us once. He had a wife. Then suddenly, things changed for the worse. He was out of job. His wife fell ill. She was starving and dying. He stole for food, caught and sentenced to ten years in prison.

Sir, do we think the punishment he received justified his crime? He was not a seasoned criminal. He had no previous record of stealing. A poor man out of job and his wife ill and dying. What would he do? Let me ask it the other way round: What will we do in these circumstances?

The laws are to punish the guilty and not to punish the victims of circumstances, disease and poverty. The prisons are to reform the criminals. Sir, certainly, they are not the slaughter houses. They can’t be turned into little ‘hells’ where prisoners are fed on filth and tortured. I personally feel, and all of you will agree with me, that such a cruel punishment for such a petty offence only makes a person a hard-hearted criminal like the convict.

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Chapter 3.2: The Bishop's Candlesticks - Exercise [Page 127]

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CBSE English Literature Reader [English] Class 9
Chapter 3.2 The Bishop's Candlesticks
Exercise | Q 10 | Page 127

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 


Here is a story about Swami and his grandmother. After reading the excerpt, change it into a conversation between Swami and his Grandmother.
After the night meal with his head on his granny’s lap, nestling close to her, Swaminathan felt very snug and safe in the faint atmosphere of cardamom and cloves. ‘Oh, Granny !’ he cried ecstatically. ‘You don’t know what a great fellow Rajam is.’ He told her the story of the first enmity between Rajam and Mani and the subsequent friendship.

‘You know, he has a real police dress,’ said Swaminathan. ‘Is it? What does he want a police dress for?’ asked Granny.

‘His father is the Police Superintendent. He is the master of every policeman here.’ Granny was impressed. She said that it must be a tremendous office indeed. She then recounted the days when her husband, Swaminathan’s grandfather, was a powerful sub-magistrate, in which office he made the police force tremble before him and the fiercest dacoits of the place flee. Swaminathan waited impatiently for her to finish the story. But she went on, rambled, confused, mixed up various incidents that took place at different times. ‘That will do, Granny,’ he said ungraciously. ‘Let me tell you something about Rajam. Do you know how many marks he gets in arithmetic?’

‘He gets all the marks, does he, child?’ asked Granny.
‘No silly. He gets ninety marks out of one hundred.’
‘Good. But you must also try and get marks like him…. You know, Swami, your grandfather used to frighten the examiners with his answers sometimes. When he answered a question, he did it in a tenth of the time that others took to do it. And then, his answers would be so powerful that his teachers would give him two hundred marks sometimes.

‘Oh, enough, Granny ! You go on bothering about old unnecessary stories. Won’t you listen to Rajam?’
‘Yes, dear, yes.’
‘Granny, when Rajam was a small boy, he killed a tiger.’
Swaminathan started the story enthusiastically : Rajam’s father was camping in a forest. He had his son with him. Two tigers came upon them suddenly, one knocking down the father from behind. The other began chasing Rajam, who took shelter behind a bush and shot it dead with his gun.

‘Granny, are you asleep?’ Swaminathan asked at the end of the story.
Now read the dialogue and complete the conversation:
Swarni:
 You don’t know what a great fellow Raj am is! In the beginning I could not get along with him but now he is my good friend. And you know, he has a real police dress.
Grandmother: Is it? What does he want a police dress for?
Swarni: His father is the Police Super­intendent. He is the master of every policeman here.
Grandmother: I think, it must be a tremendous office. Do you know, your grandfather was a powerful sub­magistrate and the Police Force trembled before him? Even the fiercest dacoits of the place fled.
Swarni: That will do, Granny. It’s so boring. Let me tell you something about Raj am. Do you know how many marks he gets in arithmetic?
Grandmother: He gets all the marks, doesn’t he, child?


Given below are five qualities that Charles Hooper displayed during his struggle for survival.

Get into groups of four. Each team will choose one quality to talk about to the whole class for about one minute. But before you talk you have two minutes to think about it. You can make notes if you wish.


Answer the following question briefly:

 Describe Corporal Turnbull.


Based on your reading of the story, answer the following question by choosing
the correct option.
 The narrator says that John was "______ of the suff that heroes are not often lucky
enough to be made of." His tone is sarcastic because __________


Based on your reading of the story, answer the following question by choosing
the correct option.

“Bully”, said Pescud brightening at once.
He means to say that____


Answer the following question briefly.

What was John A. Pescud’s opinion about best sellers? Why?


Answer the following question.

Why did the poet go to the dentist? How could she have avoided it?


Imagine that a Social Worker comes to the abandoned farmhouse to find out what may have happened to the family. She makes the following observations in her note-pad 

Clues Conclusions
empty house  Have they left? Where could they have gone to? 
boulders in the field , leaky barn The owner might not have been a farmer. 
 sealed jars in the cellar  A woman lived there - family short of money left in a hurry 
toys scattered in the yard Something went wrong????? 

On the basis of these notes, the Social Worker presents the facts as she sees them to her Head of Department. Unfortunately, she spills ink on her report. Complete her report. 

When I reached the farmhouse , I saw that the house was empty , which ........ I wondered where they might have gone . .................. the owner was not a farmer , because of the boulders in the field and the leaky barn .............. the family was poor , because I saw several sealed jars in the cellar . Also ............ a woman lived there .  It was obvious she had left in a hurry . what was most touching was that the toys were scattered in the yard . 


The following is a time chart of Amelia's aviation record in her attempt to go around the world. Complete it with the missing dates and events. 

Date Event
1) June 1, 1937   
2)  Electra flew to Calcutta 
3) June 27   
4) Reached Lae in New Guinea.
5) Amelia left Lae. 
6) July 2 (7:20 hrs)   
7)  Amelia made her last radio contact. 
8) Last voice transmissions from Amelia 
9)   

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.

Soon as the peanuts (f) ________ (had been/were) ready, Brer Rabbit (g) ________ (decided/had decided) to make his acquaintance with them. Every night he (h) ________ (had eaten/ate) his fill and even started bringing his family. Brer Fox (i) _______ (had/had had) a good idea who was eating his peanuts, but he couldn’t catch him. He inspected his fence and finally (j) ________ (had found/found) a small hole on the north side. He tied a rope with a loop knot and put it inside the hole. If anybody (k) ________ (stepped/had stepped) in it, the rope would grab his leg and hoist him up in the air.

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.


“Living conditions have been improving….”

Key
——- Number of children in secondary school.
——- Number of people dying from malnutrition.
——- Number of homes with running water.
——- Number of women working outside the home.

Write a report on the changes in living conditions in Medland between 1950 and now. Suggest reasons for these changes. Use the present perfect continuous where necessary. You may wish to use the words in the vertical box above right.

(а) Over the years since 1950 the number of children in secondary schools has been increasing noticeably. This is possibly because the Government has been building more schools.
(b) The number of homes with running water has been rising sharply since 1985, whereas

During your discussions in groups, and in your individual written report, you will find the following language useful : 

                           GROUP DISCUSSION
                          When recommending       

I Propose
suggest
recommend
that.....

 

what about ?
why don't we.......

 

we could
think
consider......
about.........

                       WRITTEN REPORT
                    When recommending   

I

propose 
suggest
recommend
urge

that.....
I strongly recommend that ........
I urge the commision to .......
It is recommended
proposed
that....
My recommendation 
proposal 
is that......

 

When giving reasons

................. as ..............
................because .........
..............since ...............
My reason is that ....................

When giving reasons 

................. as ..............
................because .........
..............since ...............
My reason is that.......................
In view of the fact that..............

An astronaut is speaking to the Mission Control from her capsule, describing geographical features she can see on Earth. Decide which features she is talking about. Fill in the gaps in the astronaut’s description below. Use the names given in the box with the correct determiners (a, an, the). (The first two have been done for you):
“There is very little cloud cover at 

  1. The moment. I can see India right below me.
  2. The Andaman and Nicobar Islands are clearly visible, and of course there is
  3.  ______ to the south. I can see where
  4.  ______ flows into
  5. ______ A little higher are the glistening snows of
  6.  _______but I can’t see
  7.  _______itself. I can just make out
  8. _______ to the west. I’m passing over
  9. _______ right now. To the north, I can just see
  10. _______in the centre of the vast expanse of
  11. _______ In the far north, the ice of
  12. _______ is clearly visible.”

After the role play, the Chairman will put forward the final decision with reasons. 


First, you will hear a local radio programme, read out by teacher / student which is given below which will give you ideas for your own programme. First, listen without writing anything. 

Presenter 1: A very good day to all our listeners. This is your local radio station, Class IX Local Radio - bringing you up-to-the - minute news, current affairs, music, interviews, round-ups - and much much more. 
Presenter2: Yes, and in today's programme we have a special report from Ketaki Lahiri on "Safety at School". 
Presenter 1: Nikhil Gomes brings you his regular weekly review of "Beyond the Timetable", 
Presenter 2: And Leena invites you to "Meet the Teacher". 
Presenter 1: And lots more - jokes, news -you name it and we have it. We start with the round-up of School News by our roving correspondent - Anant Singh. Anant, over to you. 
Anant: Good morning, everybody! The highlight of this weeks' School News is that our school football team lost every single match it played in the YMCA football tournament at league level. The physical education teacher is so livid that he has threatened to make the school team practice on a doubletime schedule from tomorrow. So, friends, it's "wake-up" at 4 a.m for all footballers henceforth. 

In another school news, the tiny tots were taken on a visit to the zoo. Some, it is said, did not wish to return. One accompanying teacher, we are told, had a tough time convincing them that life outside is better! 

Class XII put on a one-act play "Examination Fever" which was written, directed and produced by them. The proceeds from this show are being sent to "Prathyasha" - an organisation that helps handicapped children. 
Look out next week for new faces around the school. A group of 20 students from Japan are arriving on a cultural exchange programme, We might even get one of them on our next edition ofThe Class IX Radio Show! 

Presenter 1: So ... Lots happening at school, it seems,-and lots more on your Local Radio. It's time for jokes now. Over to you, Hafeez and Aarohi. 
Aarohi: Waiter , Waiter , what's wrong with these eggs ?
Hafeez: I don't know. I only laid the table; 
Aarohi: Waiter, waiter, what's this fly doing in my soup? 
Hafeez: Breaststroke, I think, Sir, 
Teacher: I wish-you would pay a little more attention.
Pupil: I'm paying as little as I can. 
Teacher: You should have been here at 9 o'clock. 
Pupil: Why, what happened? 
Presenter 2: Thank you, Hafeez and Aarohi. And don't forget, listeners, to send in your jokes. Every original joke will win you a reward of RslO/- for each one played on your favourite radio programme - Class IX Local Radio - the station just for you. 
Presenter 1 : And now to your regular spot "Meet the Teacher", in which Leena interviews one of your favourite teachers to discover the real person "behind the chalk dust". 
So it's all yours, Leena. 
Leena: Thank you ! I'm delighted today to be able to interview the Head of the Science Department, Mr Chirag Sharma. Mr Sharma, what all our listeners are dying to know is - are you as strict at home as you are at school? 
Mr Sharma: (Laughs heartily). I don't have a bunch of forty naughty children at home. 
Leena: Did you ever get into trouble when you were at school? 
Mr Sharma : Have you ever thought about how I am able to catch you in your tricks? I was usually up to the same tricks at school! No, I'm afraid my teachers were not very happy with me. 
Leena: How good were you in your studies, Sir? 
Mr Sharma: Ah, that was my strong point. My work was always up-to-date and fairly good. I was naughty, but I was also keen to learn more. 
Leena: How do you spend your evenings and holidays, Sir? 
Mr Sharma: I like to spend time at home with my teenage children. We have common tastes in music. 
Leena: Any message for our listeners Sir? 
Mr Sharma: Yes. Fun and-play have their place in our lives. We must enjoy our play. At the same time, we must work with enthusiasm and sincerity. 
Leena: Thank you, sir !
Presenter 2 : Thank you Leena for that fascinating interview. I'm sure we all know, now what makes Mr Sharma 1tick1• And now it's time for a break. It's "advert time". 
"Buy two but pay for one!" 
Ruchita of VIIC has a fabulous offer. Two pencil boxes for the price of one. Pay Rs 5 / for the bargain. 
Lost - A Keltron calculator. Krishna of Class XIIA has offered a treat in the school canteen to the finder. 
Presenter 1: And now, a very serious subject. Ketaki has been researching the topic 'Safety at School'. She has come up with some very disturbing findings. This is the report. Ketaki? 
Ketaki: As I went around the senior school I was alarmed to find a number of broken electric sockets with exposed wires. Beware of this hidden danger, senior students. That brings me to another danger - this time in the primary block. The lid of the ground level water tank is broken. Till it is repaired, students are warned not to go anywhere near it. 
Presenter 2 : Well, time1s up boys and girls of Class IX Local Radio - bringing you news and entertainment of interest to you, in your school and locality. Until next week ... 


What comes next

Connectors are indicators or markers of what comes next in a text.

Look at these extracts from longer texts. Decide which marker/connector could be used in the blanks to indicate what comes next. e.g.

There are many good players in the cricket team: for instance, Tendulkar and Dhoni.

    1. There are two main types of elephant in the world: ___________ , the Indian and the African.
    2. He is good at swimming, tennis and hockey. ___________, he has also represented the school in cricket.
    3. Many environmentalists strongly object to the mill being built at Srutipur, ___________ the unemployed are very happy at the proposal.
    4. Her performance in the Olympics did not match our expectations. ___________, she hasn’t improved much in the recent past.
    5. In the field of research the computer, has proved immensely useful. ___________, it has become an indispensable tool for all kinds of scientific endeavour
    6. The import of petrol has been banned in the Midlands. ___________, the price of it has gone up.

Film/Book Review 

The aim of writing a film review is to judge a film or a book and inform the viewer / reader about it. The reviewer talks about the subject of the film / book being reviewed and how the film maker or director / author has handled the subject. At times the reviewer's aim is to arouse the interest of the viewer/ reader so that she / he wishes to see the film / read the book. Sometimes, the reviewer warns the viewer/ reader why she / he should not see or read a particular film / book. 

Write a review of a Harry Potter film / book or an episode of Malgudi Days that you have seen. 

You must include : 
• the name of the film / book 
• the cast / director/ writer 
• the important characters 
• a very brief outline of the film / book 
• why the film/ book was worth seeing or reading / not worth seeing or reading. 
Sources 
1) //en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bermuda-Triangle// 
2) /www.bermuda-triangle.org/
3) /www.bermudatrianglemystery.net./


Work in pairs. Put one pencil on a point on the map where you live, and put another pencil on any other point. Ask your partner to tell the direction for getting to your house.

Prepositions of time

after at before between
by during for from
on past since throughout
to towards until within

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