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Question
The Narrative Present
Notice the incomplete sentences in the following paragraphs. Here the writer is using incomplete sentences in the narration to make the incident more dramatic or immediate. Can you rewrite the paragraph in complete sentences?
(You can begin: The vet and I made a dash back to the car. Bruno was still floundering…)
(i) A dash back to car. Bruno still floundering about on his stumps, but clearly weakening rapidly; some vomiting, heavy breathing, with heaving flanks and gaping mouth. Hold him everybody! In goes the hypodermic – Bruno squeals – 10 c.c. of the antidote enters his system without a drop being wasted. Then minutes later: condition unchanged! Another 10 c.c. injected! Ten minutes later: breathing less stertorous – Bruno can move his arms and legs a little although he cannot stand yet. Thirty minutes later: Bruno gets up and has a great feed! He looks at us disdainfully, as much as to say, ‘What’s barium carbonate to a big black bear like me?’ Bruno is still eating.
(ii) In the paragraphs above from the story the verbs are in the present tense (eg. hold, goes, etc.). This gives the reader an impression of immediacy. The present tense is often used when we give a commentary on a game (cricket, football, etc.), or tell a story as if it is happening now. It is, therefore, called the narrative present. You will read more about the present tense in Unit 10
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Solution
The vet and I made a dash back to the car. Bruno was still floundering about on his stumps, but clearly he was weakening rapidly. There was some vomiting and heavy breathing. His flanks were heaving and his mouth was gaping. Everybody was asked to hold him. The hypodermic medicine went into Bruno, who squealed. 10 c.c. of anecdote entered his system without a drop being wasted. Even ten minutes later, the condition was unchanged. Another 10 c.c. was injected into him. Ten minutes later, his breathing became less stertorous. Bruno could move his arms and legs a little although he could not stand yet. Thirty minutes later, Bruno got up and had a great feed. He looked at us disdainfully, as much as to say, ‘What’s barium carbonate to a big black bear like me?’ Bruno was still eating.
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Notices
Read the following captions
. Change them into active (voice) and explain their meaning.
e.g. All credit cards accepted.
We accept credit cards.
Meaning: The organization accepts credit cards from customers for all their transactions.
1. Domestic help required
_______________________________________
2. All types of computer servicing undertaken.
_______________________________________
3. Using cell phones is not allowed (University Campus)
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4. Spoken English classes conducted.
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5. All Recharge Coupons sold here.
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Six humans trapped by happenstance
In black and bitter cold.
Each one possessed a stick of wood,
Or so the story's told.
Their dying fire in need of logs;
The first man held his back.
For on the faces around the fire,
He noticed one was black.
Read the lines given above and answer the question that follow:
What does the phrase ‘six humans’ signify?
"My father lived at Blenheim then,
Yon little stream hard by;
They burnt his dwelling to the ground,
And he was forced to fly;
So with his wife and child he fled,
Nor had he where to rest his head.
"With fire and sword the country round
Was wasted far and wide,
And many a childing mother then,
And new-born baby died;
But things like that, you know, must be
At every famous victory;
Read the lines given above and answer the question that follow.
What does Kasper’s attitude signify?
The angel wrote and vanished.
The next night, It came again with a great wakening light,
And show's the names whom love of God had blest,
And Lo! Bin Adhem's name led all the rest.
Read the lines given above and answer the following question.
Mention two other words used by the poet to refer to the angel.
The boy looked up. He took his hands from his face and looked up at his teacher. The light from Mr. Oliver’s torch fell on the boy’s face, if you could call it a face. He had no eyes, ears, nose or mouth. It was just a round smooth head with a school cap on top of it.
And that’s where the story should end, as indeed it has for several people who have had similar experiences and dropped dead of inexplicable heart attacks. But for Mr. Oliver, it did not end there. The torch fell from his trembling hand. He turned and scrambled down the path, running blindly through the trees and calling for help. He was still running towards the school buildings when he saw a lantern swinging in the middle of the path. Mr. Oliver had never before been so pleased to see the night watchman. He stumbled up to the watchman, gasping for breath and speaking incoherently.
What is it, Sahib? Asked the watchman, has there been an accident? Why are you running?
I saw something, something horrible, a boy weeping in the forest and he had no face.
No face, Sahib?
No eyes, no nose, mouth, nothing.
Do you mean it was like this, Sahib? asked the watchman, and raised the lamp to his own face. The watchman had no eyes, no ears, no features at all, not even an eyebrow. The wind blew the lamp out and Mr. Oliver had his heart attack.
Read the extract given below and answer the question that follow.
Why did Mr Oliver tell the boy that he should not be out at that hour?
After considering the matter, and talking it over with his wife, farmer Jones said that he would take John, and do well by him, now that his mother was out of the way; and Mrs. Ellis, who had been looking out for a bound girl, concluded that it would be charitable in her to make choice of Katy, even though she was too young to be of much use for several years.
“I could do much better, I know,” said Mrs. Ellis; “but as no one seems inclined to take her, I must act from a sense of duty expect to have trouble with the child; for she’s an undisciplined thing—used to having her own way.”
But no one said “I’ll take Maggie.” Pitying glances were cast on her wan and wasted form and thoughts were troubled on her account. Mothers brought cast-off garments and, removing her soiled and ragged clothes, dressed her in clean attire. The sad eyes and patient face of the little one touched many hearts, and even knocked at them for entrance. But none opened to take her in. Who wanted a bed-ridden child?
“Take her to the poorhouse,” said a rough man, of whom the question “What’s to be done with Maggie?” was asked. “Nobody’s going to be bothered with her.”
“The poorhouse is a sad place for a sick and helpless child,” answered one.
“For your child or mine,” said the other, lightly speaking; “but for tis brat it will prove a blessed change, she will be kept clean, have healthy food, and be doctored, which is more than can be said of her past condition.”
Read the extract given below and answer the question that follow.
Who took Katy? Why?
Read the extract given below and answer the questions that follow:
"He was not accustomed to facing the entire class and speaking out aloud. He knew that he did not have a flair for making speeches. However, he had worked hard on his assignment and had written it from the depth of his heart." (India's Heroes-Anonymous!
(i) Who was 'he'? What evidence is there that he was not used to facing the entire class?
(ii) What was the assignment? How was our assignment different from the others?
(iii) Who was the first person to feature in 'his' assignment? What did 'he' say about him?
(iv) Who was the General Manager of the Taj Hotel ' What role did he play?
(v) What, according to this speaker, is the only true religion in the world? What human qualities have I been highlighted through 'his' speech?
What material Mr Gessler used to make the boots?
The cook loved the bear like her own son. Justify.
How does the author define ‘sleep’?
Use the word ‘shade’ in a sentence of your own.
What makes the child comfortable the next time he sees the garden snake?
What must be the main motto of a rebel, in your opinion?
Add im- or in- to each of the following words and use them in place of the italicised words in the sentences given below.
| patient, proper, possible, sensitive, competent |
That’s not a proper remark to make under the circumstances.
Encircle the correct article.
Take (a/an/the) red one in (a/an/the) fruit bowl. You may take (a/an/the) orange also, if you like.
Read the following extract from William Wordsworth's poem, 'Daffodils' and answer the questions that follow:
|
When all at once I saw a crowd |
- Wordsworth uses the words, 'wondered' and 'lonely' to describe himself in the opening lines of the poem.
What mood do these words convey?
What let to a change in his mood? [3] - How does Wordsworth describe the sight that met his eyes?
Give a brief description of what the poet saw. [3] - To what does the poet compare this sight?
How is this comparison appropriate? [3] - What does the poet mean when he says, 'Ten thousand saw I at a glance'?
Find two other words in the given extract that create the impression of large numbers. [3] - What immediate effect did this sight have on Wordsworth?
How did it affect him in the long-term?
What does this poem tell us about Wordsworth's attitude to Nature? [4]
In the poem, The Darkling Thrush, the poet uses the words “evensong" and “carolling” to describe the thrush's song because ______.
