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Question
Visit a library:
Read more stories from Japan, China, and Korea.
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Solution
- Japanese Stories:
- What to Look For:
- Folktales: Momotaro (The Peach Boy), The Tale of the Bamboo Cutter, Urashima Taro.
- Authors: Ryunosuke Akutagawa (Rashomon and Other Stories), Haruki Murakami (Men Without Women).
- Themes: Honor, nature, and mythical creatures like foxes (kitsune) and raccoon dogs (tanuki).
- Example Story:
Momotaro (The Peach Boy) tells of a boy born from a peach who defeats demons with the help of animal companions. It highlights teamwork and courage.
- What to Look For:
- Chinese Stories:
- What to Look For:
- Folktales: The Legend of the White Snake, Journey to the West, The Cowherd and the Weaver Girl.
- Authors: Lu Xun (Diary of a Madman), Cao Xueqin (Dream of the Red Chamber).
- Themes: Loyalty, family, and supernatural beings like dragons and immortals.
- Example Story:
Journey to the West is a classic tale of a monk’s journey to retrieve sacred scriptures, accompanied by the Monkey King, Pigsy, and others. It teaches persistence and moral values.
- What to Look For:
- Korean Stories:
- What to Look For:
- Folktales: The Tale of Shim Cheong, The Goblin’s Club (Dokkaebi), The Legend of Hong Gil-dong.
- Authors: Hwang Sok-yong (Princess Bari), Kim Young-ha (I Have the Right to Destroy Myself).
- Themes: Resilience, filial piety, and encounters with mythical creatures like goblins (dokkaebi).
- Example Story:
The Tale of Shim Cheong tells of a daughter’s selflessness in sacrificing herself to save her blind father, later rewarded with a miraculous reunion. It reflects devotion and kindness.
- What to Look For:
How to Approach Your Library Visit:
- Ask the Librarian: Request recommendations for folktales or literature from Japan, China, and Korea.
- Check Specific Sections: Explore the mythology, world literature, or cultural studies sections.
- Note Key Features: Pay attention to recurring themes like family, honor, nature, and mythology.
- Borrow Books: Choose a mix of short stories, novels, or anthologies to get a broader understanding.
RELATED QUESTIONS
A1. True or False
State whether the following statements are true or false:
(1) The author's new house was situated at Bangalore.
(2) The writer was delighted because their new house, was the biggest they ever lived.
One of the advantages of growing up in an Army household was the frequency with which we moved. 'Postings' came with predictable regularity every three years. What was unpredictable and therefore exciting was the suspense. Where would we go this time? Ambala, Pune, Dehradun, Allahabad, Tejpur, Bangalore, Yo! ............ In my short span of thirteen years we had moved lock. stock and barrel eleven times!
Every move meant change. New journeys, new places, new schools, my new books, new uniforms, new friends and new houses. We lived in tents, bashas, Nissen huts, flats and bungalows. No matter what the shape and size of the dwelling, mother soon put her own special stamp on it and transformed it into a familiar place - our home - complete with bright yellow-curtains, coffee-brown carpet, assorted pictures, hanging ferns and potted palms - providing a comforting sense of continuity in our essentially nomadic life.
I was thirteen, the year we moved to the Cantonment at Allahabad. In stark contrast to the razzle-dazzle of the city's commercial areas like Katra and Chowk, the Cantonment was a quiet, orderly place with broad tree-lined roads that still carried the names of long-dead Britishers. Our bungalow was on a sleepy by-lane called MacPherson Road. When we first saw it, my brothers and I were delighted. It was by far the biggest house we had ever lived in. The task of furnishing those huge, echoing rooms daunted Mother.
A2. Complete
a. The broad tree-lined roads were named after.............................
b. Katra and Chowk are .............................
c. Mother was daunted with the task of................................. .
d. The suspense was exciting because the posting was.........................
A3. Personal response
What do you think are the problems faced by those who change households frequently.
B1. Select
Fill in the blanks choosing the correct alternatives from those given in the bracket:
(i) The author was inspired and motivated to read ............................................ by the time she was eleven.
[Shakespeare, Chaucer, G.B. Shaw]
(ii) Every lesson .......................... ......... took was spiced with half a dozen or more anecdotes.
[Mrs. Rowlands, Sister Monica, Mr. A.N. Patil]
(iii) The teachers helped the narrator to become ..................................... . .
[confident, happy, independent]
(iv) Mrs. Cynthia Nesamani and Sister Monica gave .......................................... to the narrator.
[freedom to do what he wanted, advice to do something, instructions to produce better results]
In a way, one of the greatest gifts any teacher can give a student, I think, is to inculcate a curiosity to learn.
I've been incredibly lucky to have at least one such teacher at every stage in my life. The first was Mrs. Rowlands who taught me in primary school. She taught me to read without ever pushing me. She made me want to read more by giving 'me some of the most interesting children's books available. And although I still love to go back to those books from time to time, it was only because of her that I was able to read Shakespeare by the time I was ten, and Chaucer a year later.
In later years, it was Mr. A.N. Patil, my Marathi and Hindi Teacher who made a huge impression on me. Every lesson he took, was spiced with half a dozen or more anecdotes from a wide variety of subjects: among them history, politics, religion and sociology. I was, and still am in awe of his knowledge, which despite rather desperate attempts, I doubt I'll ever be able to match.
There have also been other teachers who helped me to try to become independent: to think and act for myself using my own judgement, which to my mind has been just as, if not more important, than actually learning anything.
After all, it's much too easy to become a completely useless repository of facts and little else.
Two teachers whom I remember in particular are Mrs. Cynthia Nesamani and Sister Monica, both taught me in school. The former, by and large, gave me a free rein to do what I wanted to do. I, being one of those people who dislike instructions, she helped me to produce much better results than I'd have otherwise done.
B2.Complete
Read the extract and complete the following:
The teacher can
(i) .............
(ii) ..............
(iii )..............
(iv).................
B3. Similar word
Look at the following sentences arid pick the word having similar meaning to the given word and rewrite:
(i) Spiced His conversation is always with a lot of humour. (made interesting, garnished, flavoured)
(ii) Repository
The library should not merely be a ................ of books. (store-house, reservoir, tank)
(iii) Inculcate
It is the responsibility of the parents and teachers to .......values in the child's formative years. (imbibe, give, show)
(iv) Incredibly
I have been .. lucky to have at least one such teacher at every stage in my life. (importantly, unbelievably, beautifully)
B4. Language study
(i) There have also been other teachers. They have helped me to try to become
independent. (Combine using 'who')
(ii) It was only because of her that I was able-to read Shakespeare.
(Rewrite beginning with: If it was not for her, ).
B.5 Out motivators
Look at the following table and complete it by presenting your own views
| Personalities | Influence on your life |
| (i) Teachers | |
| (ii) Parents | |
| (iii) Relatives | |
| (iv) Friends |
Explain the following statement with reference to the context.
And it's by no means the small sacrifice the town will have to make.
Identify one example of a main clause and one example of a dependent clause from the content below:
Troy was filled with the sight of leaping flames and the sound of shouting and the noise of weapons and the cries of weeping women. The sleeping Trojans sprang out of their beds, but they were taken by surprise. Their enemies were right inside their walls, and many of the Trojans were killed before they could put on their armour and seize their weapons.
A bright light lit up the night sky as palaces and houses, temples and towers, went up in flames. The Trojans fought as well as they could, but it was all in vain. Old King Priam was killed with all his brave sons. Hector’s wife and his old mother and sister were carried off as slaves by the conquerors. Their fate was in contrast to Helen’s when King Menelaus rushed through the city, looking for her, and found her in her palace. She hung her head in shame and sorrow as she faced her former husband. Her voice was choked with emotion and she could not speak. But Menelaus forgave her and she went back with him, for it was only Aphrodite who had turned her heart away from her home and her husband and her child.
When morning came, nothing was left of the proud, rich city that had resisted attack for ten years.
Which of the words and phrases in the poem will you use in a realistic description?
Put a tick mark against the ones you will use.
- little
- shining tail
- golden scale
- cheerful
- grin
- claws
- gently smiling
- jaws
Why did Holena and her mother go out in the snow themselves?
‘My tongs are like a tiger among toys.’ It means ______
The hatchlings use a tiny egg-tooth to come out of the eggs.
When does the world become green?
How should teenagers guard against cyber crimes?
