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Question
Thinking about the Poem
What does the poet say the wind god winnows?
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Solution
The poet says that the wind god winnows the weak crumbling houses, doors, rafters, wood, bodies, lives and hearts, and then crushes them all.
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Have you seen anybody winnow grain at home or in a paddy field? What is the word in your language for winnowing? What do people use for winnowing? (Give the words in your language, if you know them.)
What does he plant who plants a tree? a
He plants a friend of sun and sky;b
He plants the flag of breezes free;
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He plants a home to heaven anigh;
For song and mother-croon of bird
In hushed and happy twilight heard____
The treble of heaven's harmony_____
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The black man's face bespoke revenge
As the fire passed from his sight.
For all he saw in his stick of wood
Was a chance to spite the white.
The last man of this forlorn group
Did nought except for gain.
Giving only to those who gave
Was how he played the game.
Their logs held tight in death's still hands
Was proof of human sin.
They didn't die from the cold without
They died from the cold within.
Read the lines given above and answer the question that follow.
Why did the black man refuse to use his stick of wood?
"They say it was a shocking sight
After the field was won;
For many thousand bodies here
Lay rotting in the sun;
But things like that, you know, must be
After a famous victory.
"Great praise the Duke of Marlbro'won,
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"Why,'twas a very wicked thing!"
Said little Wilhelmine.
"Nay...nay...my little girl,"quoth he,
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"And everybody praised the Duke
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"But what good came of it at last?"
Quoth little Peterkin.
"Why that I cannot tell,"said he,
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Read the lines given above and answer the question that follow.
How do the skulls symbolize the theme in “The Battle of Blenheim”?
Its a cruel thing to leave her so.”
“Then take her to the poorhouse: she’ll have to go there,” answered the blacksmith’s wife, springing away, and leaving Joe behind.
For a little while the man stood with a puzzled air; then he turned back, and went into the hovel again. Maggie with painful effort, had raised herself to an upright position and was sitting on the bed, straining her eyes upon the door out of which all had just departed, A vague terror had come into her thin white face.
“O, Mr. Thompson!” she cried out, catching her suspended breath, “don’t leave me here all alone!” ,
Though rough in exterior, Joe Thompson, the wheelwright, had a heart, and it was very tender in some places. He liked children, and was pleased to have them come to his shop, where sleds and wagons were made or mended for the village lads without a draft on their hoarded sixpences.
“No, dear,” he answered, in a kind voice, going to the bed, and stooping down over the child, “You she’n’t be left here alone.” Then he wrapped her with the gentleness almost of a woman, in the clean bedclothes which some neighbor had brought; and, lifting her in his strong arms, bore her out into the air and across the field that lay between the hovel and his home.
Read the extract given below and answer the question that follow.
What did Maggie say to Mr Thompson? What do her words show?
It was the summer of 1936. The Olympic Games were being held in Berlin. Because Adolf Hitler childishly insisted that his performers were members of a “master race,” nationalistic feelings were at an all-time high.
I wasn’t too worried about all this. I’d trained, sweated and disciplined myself for six years, with the Games in mind. While I was going over on the boat, all I could think about was taking home one or two of those gold medals. I had my eyes especially on the running broad jump. A year before, as a sophomore at the Ohio State, I’d set the world’s record of 26 feet 8 1/4 inches. Nearly everyone expected me to win this event.
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Why were nationalistic feelings running high during the 1936 Berlin Olympics?
Margot stood alone. She was a very frail girl who looked as if she had been lost in the rain for years and the rain had washed out the blue from her eyes and the red from her mouth and the yellow from her hair. She was an old photograph dusted from an album, whitened away, and if she spoke at all her voice would be a ghost. Now she stood, separate, staring at the rain and the loud wet world beyond the huge glass. “What’re you looking at ?” said William. Margot said nothing. “Speak when you’re spoken to.” He gave her a shove. But she did not move; rather she let herself be moved only by him and nothing else. They edged away from her, they would not look at her. She felt them go away. And this was because she would play no games with them in the echoing tunnels of the underground city. If they tagged her and ran, she stood blinking after them and did not follow. When the class sang songs about happiness and life and games her lips barely moved. Only when they sang about the sun and the summer did her lips move as she watched the drenched windows.
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What did Margot look like?
What is De Levis going through at this point of time ? What light does it throw upon his character ? What change do we see in his character later in the play ? Give a reason to justiji; your answer.
Read the extract given below and answer the questions that follow:
It had no eyes ears, nose or mouth. It was just round smooth head - with a school cap on top of it And that's where the story should end.
But for Mr. Oliver, it did not end here.
The torch fell from his trembling hand. He turned and scrambled down the path, running blind. 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.
(i) Who was Mr. Oliver? Where did he encounter 'It?
(ii) Where did Mr. Oliver work? Why did Life magazine describe this place as the 'Eton of the East'?
(iii) Why had Mr. Oliver approached 'It' in the first place? What had lie mistaken it for?
(iv) 'Whal is lantern? Who was holding the lantern? Why did Mr. Oliver feel relieved at the sight of the lantern?
(v) Briefly describe the meeting between the lantern bearer and Mr. Oliver. State one reason why 'A Face in the Dark' could be considered a horror story. ?
From the first paragraph
(i) pick out two phrases which describe the desert as most people believe it is;
(ii) pick out two phrases which describe the dessert as specialists see it.
Which do you think is an apt description, and why?
Compare how the music teacher played the violin with that of Lalli’s.
Describe the change the cherry tree underwent after the kind old poured a pinch of ash over it.
What did the speaker do while hiding himself in the banyan tree branches?
Deserts have a very thin population. Why?
Multiple Choice Question:
What does the poem reveal about the speaker?
Look at the following phrases and their meanings. Use the phrase to fill in the blank in the sentence given below.
A fund has been _____________ for the soldiers’ families.
Your partner and you may now be able to answer the question.
From the way the child envies the hawker, the gardener, and the watchman, we can guess that there are many things the child has to do, or must not do. Make a list of the do’s and don’ts that the child doesn’t like. The first line is done for you.
| The child must come home at a fixed time. | The child must not get his clothes dirty in the dust. |
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|
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Now add to the list your own complaints about the things you have to do, or must not do.
The lane is dark and lonely because __________.
Now let us look at the uses of the word break. Match the word with its meanings below. Try to find out at least three other ways in which to use the word.
- The storm broke – could not speak; was too sad to speak
- Daybreak – this kind of weather ended
- His voice is beginning to break – it began or burst into activity
- Her voice broke and she cried – the beginning of daylight
- The heat wave broke – changing as he grows up
- Broke the bad news – end it by making the workers submit
- Break a strike – gently told someone the bad news
- (Find your own expression. Give its meaning here)
Referring closely to the short story, The Singing Lesson, show how the Headmistress’ summons to Miss Meadows eventually brings the latter out from cold despair to a realm of hope, love and joy.
