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Question
What was the reason for the anxiety of Paul's mother as he grew older?
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Solution
As can be implied from the story, The Rocking-horse Winner, Paul was an autistic child who also suffered Oedipus-complex. The story pictures a very young Paul who is at the threshold of teenage and is very eager to fight the sounds that keep whispering in his house that “there must be more money He was desperate to bring happiness to his mother through money and desired to replace his father in her life. As Paul grew impatient and betted on racing horses to earn money by means of gambling. Hester realised that her son was indulging too much in horse racing and asked the gardener and her brother to keep him away from it. She realised how tensed Paul had grown. Yet she knew not that the worry that had been eating and consuming him up was of his mother. Eager to win, Paul lost and lost again. It was before Derby, he grew worried to earn for his mother and prove his luck to her. She was worried so much that she left the party in the middle to return to her son to see him safe and healthy. However, it was the last time she saw her son in senses.
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He asked. Boy, did he ask! First he asked me for a chance, then he asked nearly all the people he came across if they wanted to buy a telephone system from him. And his asking paid off. As he likes to put it, “Even a blind hog finds an acorn every once in a while.” That simply means that if you ask enough, eventually someone will say ‘yes’.
He cared. He cared about me and his customers. He discovered that when he cared more about taking care of his customers than he cared about taking care of himself, it wasn’t long before he didn’t have to worry about taking care of himself.
Most of all, Cowboy started every day as a winner! He hit the front door expecting something good to happen. He believed that things were going to go his way regardless of what happened. He had no expectation of failure, only an expectation of success. And I’ve found that when you expect success and take action on that expectation, you almost always get success.
Cowboy has made millions of dollars. He has also lost it all, only to get it all back again. In his life as in mine, it has been that once you know and practice the principles of success, they will work for you again and again.
He can also be an inspiration to you. He is proof that it’s not environment or education or technical skills and ability that make you success. He proves that it takes more: it takes the principles we so often overlook or take for granted. These are the principles of that Ya Gotta’s for success.
Question:
(1) What was the cowboy’s motto?
(2) What did the cowboy learn after he lost millions of dollars?
(3) Why did the cowboy firmly believe that asking would pay off?
(4) When you expect success and take action on that expectation you almost always succeed. [Name the part of speech of the underlined words]
(5)
(a) He cared about me and his customers. [Rewrite using ‘not only ……………….but also’’]
(b) Cowboy has made millions of dollars [Add a question tag]
(6) In what way is the cowboy a source of inspiration for you?
Answer any four of the following in 30–40 words each :
(a) Describe the irony in Saheb's name.
(b) Why was Gandhiji opposed to C.F. Andrews helping him in Champaran?
(c) Aunt Jennifer's efforts to get rid of her fear proved to be futile. Comment.
(d) What does Stephen Spender want to be done for the children of the school in a slum?
(e) When he was only ten days old, a prediction was made about the future of the Tiger King. What was ironic about it?
(f) What was his father's chief concern about Dr. Sadao?
Read the extract and do the following activities :
B1 Likes and dislikes :
(i) The child likes eating _______
(ii) The child dislikes eating _______
They won’t eat peas, don’t like your bread -
For something in it crunches;
They gag on fat, the gravy’s gross,
They won’t eat grapes in bunches.
Tomatoes, onions, peppers, fish
Garlic nor cottage cheese;
Oh, it’s a dish uncommon rare
That truly seems to please.
No red sauce may the ice cream have,
“It’s bleeding,” they will say;
And gravely hand it to their mum
To take it to clean away
But let us speak of chocolate cake,
It must be frosted o’er;
They’ll devour three full slabs,
And calmly ask for more.
Oh, I do so always love to eat
With picky little pests,
Whose parents joy to make them
The most undesirable guests!
B2 What message does the poem convey for children?
B3 Pick out two pairs of rhyming words from the poem.
Read the following passage carefully and do the given activities:
A.1) True or False:
Write the statements and state whether they are true or false:
(i) Those who choose to live well must help others.
(ii) If neighbors grow inferior corn, cross-pollination will steadily improve the quality.
(iii) The farmer grew award-winning corn.
(iv) The reporter discovered that the farmer didn’t share his seed corn with his neighbors.
There once was a farmer who grew award-winning corn. Each year he entered his corn in the state fair where it won a blue ribbon. One year a newspaper reporter interviewed him and learned something interesting about how he grew it. The reporter discovered that the farmer shared his sweet corn with his neighbors. “How can you afford to share your best seed corn with your neighbors when they are entering corn in competition with yours each year?” the reporter asked.
“Why sir”, said the farmer, “didn’t you know? The wind picks up pollen from the ripening corn and swirls it from field to field. If my neighbors grow inferior corn, cross-pollination will steadily degrade the quality of my corn. If I am to grow good corn, I must help my neighbors grow good corn.” He is very much aware of the connectedness of life. His corn cannot improve unless his neighbor's corn also improves. So it is with our lives. Those who choose to live in peace must help their neighbors to live in peace. Those who choose to live well must help others to live well, for the value of a life is measured by the lives it touches.
The lesson for each of us is this: if we are to grow good corn, we must help our neighbors grow good corn.
A.2) Consequences:
Write the consequences:
(i) The farmer shares the corn.
(ii) The farmer doesn’t share the corn.
A.3) Antonyms:
Find out the words opposite in meaning from the passage:
(i) superior x _______
(ii) lost x _______
(iii) improve x _______
(iv) inconstantly x _______
A.4) Language study:
(i) We must help our neighbors. (Replace the modal auxiliary showing advice).
(ii) The wind picks up pollen from ripening corn and swirls it field to field. (Use “not only…….. but also” and rewrite)
A.5) Personal Response:
What do you learn from the story? Suggest a suitable title.
What does “this circumstance” refer to?
Locate expressions in the text reflect the Indian idiom, for example, the pride of the generations of his ancestors.
Discuss the following in pairs or in groups of four:
'It is time to realise that unless we modify the established notion of literature as something written, we will silently witness the decline of various Indian oral traditions'
Discuss the following in pairs or in groups of four:
“Tribal arts are not specifically meant for sale.” Does this help or hamper their growth and preservation?
Why does the poet prefer to be a primitive Pagan rather than a member of civilised society?
You notice a sense of urgency in the poet's request – what is the reason for this?
Find evidence from the lesson and write in your own words.
We Indians are obsessed with foreign things.
Everyone admired the statue of the Happy Prince.
Discuss the activities carried out by a farmer.

Read other poems by Leigh Hunt, especially 'Abou Ben Adhem'.
Compare the messages in that poem with those in 'The Plate of Gold'. What do you observe?
Fibreglass kites led to creating power - driven aeroplanes.
Using points from the lesson, give the details of the following in a short paragraph.
International Kite Festival at Ahmedabad.
‘Never mind faded forests, Austin’. The word ‘faded’ means to become dim or faint. The word describes the forests that have become faint or dim in appearance. Now go through the poem again and complete the table.
| Describing word | Object | Explanation |
| 1. faded | forests | The forests have become faint or dim in appearance. |
| 2. silent | ||
| 3. unfading | ||
| 4. bright |
Behrman was a hard-hearted person.
Answer the following question in short.
What was Pundit Shahane’s claim as a scholar?
Find at least five other Akbar and Birbal stories and share them with your friends. Make a list of the stories collected by the entire class. Put your list in alphabetical order.
Visit a library:
This story is a fable. Find two more fables. Share them with your friends.
Draw a character sketch of Oberon as an enemy of his wife but a friend of the lovers.
Read the story and write about the following in short.
Kojo
Present any one of the speeches given above.
Visit a library:
Find more information/stories about scholars of the ancient world - Aryabhatta, Bhaskaracharya, Varahamihira, Charaka, Nagarjuna, Jeevaka.
Guess the meaning of the following from the context.
The garden still is alight with lilies.
What characteristics of Mr. Nobody do we learn about from this poem?
Write any three of the silly remarks made by the characters other than Alice. Write why you think the remark is silly.
We find the following in the script of a skit or play. Rearrange these steps in the proper order and write them down in the form of a flow chart.

Think of a play/skit which you have seen enacted on the stage and which has impressed you. Write the following details about it.
| Name of the play/skit: | ______________ |
| Important characters: | ______________ |
| Any famous actors/actresses: | ______________ |
| Theme: | ______________ |
| Climax: | ______________ |
| Ending: | ______________ |
| Use of lights and special effects if any: | ______________ |
| Use of background music and sound effects if any: | ______________ |
| Use of sets: | ______________ |
| The costumes, make up, etc. of the characters: | ______________ |
| How well the actors present the play and behave on the stage: | ______________ |
| Your own opinion about the play: | ______________ |
Present these points in the form of a review, and give it a suitable title.
These two passages are examples of a short introduction to works of art - a short review. They cover the following points:
- The creator
- The theme or subject matter
- Type of art
- Individual style
- Presentation techniques
- Its effect on viewers
- Message or interpretation
Compare the points with those you used for a book review and the review of a play. Present the comparison in the form of a chart.
| Book Review | Review of a play | Review of a painting |
Find from the Internet and write down.
In which century did William Shakespeare write his famous plays?
Correct the following sentence and rewrite it.
Papa Panov gave hot soup to the sweeper, milk to the young mother, and coffee to the beggars.
Gather more information about cold winters in Russia.
Note that we say 'its appetite', 'its manners' and not 'it’s appetite' or 'it’s manners’. It’s means 'It is' and its means 'belonging to it'.
What did Ahmad tell Kasim when he dug a channel and began to draw water?
Why do you think Mrs. Bodwell wanted to sell the house?
What did the bird suggest Chulong, in exchange for its freedom?
Few articles are missing in the given passage. Edit the passage given below by adding suitable articles where ever necessary.
My neighbourhood is very interesting place. My house is located in apartment building downtown near many stores and offices. There is small supermarket across street, where my family likes to go shopping. There is also post office and bank near our home. In our neighbourhood there is small, Green Park where my friends and I like to play on weekends and holidays. There is small pond near park and there are many ducks in park. We always have great time. In addition there is elementary school close to our home where my little brother studies in third grade. There are so many things to see and do in my neighbourhood that’s why I like it. It’s really great place.
Answer the following question in about 80-120 word.
If you were to live in the Complaining Street, how would you deal with the people who grumble?
What do Tamil Nadu folk dances and folk arts represent?
We should learn to ______questions.
- ask
- answer
- discard
What do you think are the two most important lessons that the speaker mentions?
Identify the speaker/character.
He'll have to be given artificial respiration and kept warm.
When did the garden become a happy place for the author?
Merlin was thrilled when the school arranged the trip because ______.
The girl was badly hurt.
It is used in the fisher’s _____.
What is Amar Jawan Jyoti?
They would rest on the tree.
Try your own.

What is the name of the girl?
Divide the following word.
butter
Recite the poem 'A Voyage' with correct intonation.
What did the grandfather announce?
Why did the king want a leader who knows to grow a plant?

Bihar people saved trees by______ painting.
Although Helen could not hear or see, what kind of girl was she?
Now, read the following passage on “Laughter Therapy” and answer the questions that follow.

- Laughing is an excellent way to reduce stress in our lives; it can help you to cope with and survive a stressful life. Laughter provides full-scale support for your muscles and unleashes a rush of stress-busting endorphins. Since our bodies cannot distinguish between real and fake laughter, anything that makes you giggle will have a positive impact.
- Laughter Therapy aims to get people laughing, in groups and individual sessions and can help reduce stress, make people and employees happier and more committed, as well as improve their interpersonal skills. This laughter comes from the body and not the mind.
- Laughter Yoga (Hasya yoga) is a practice involving prolonged voluntary laughter. It aims to get people laughing in groups. It is practiced in the early mornings in open-parks. It has been made popular as an exercise routine developed by Indian physician Madan Kataria, who writes about the practice in his 2002 book ‘Laugh for no reason'. Laughter Yoga is based on the belief that voluntary laughter provides the same physiological as well as psychological benefits as spontaneous laughter.
- Laughter yoga session may start with gentle warm-up techniques which include stretching, chanting, clapping, eye contact and body movements to help break down inhibitions and encourage a sense of playfulness. Moreover, laughter is the best medicine. Breathing exercises are used to prepare the lungs for laughter followed by a series of laughter exercises that combine a method of acting and visualization techniques. Twenty minutes of laughter is sufficient to augment physiological development.
- A handful of small-scale scientific studies have indicated that laughter yoga has some medically beneficial effects, including cardiovascular health and mood. This therapy has proved to be good for depressed patients. This laughter therapy also plays a crucial role in social bonding.
Answer the following.
a. How does laughter help one to cope with stress?
b. Which word in the text (para 2) means the same as ‘dedicated'?
c. Why do you think voluntary laughter provides the same physiological as well as psychological benefits as spontaneous laughter?
d. ‘Laughter is the best medicine’. Explain.
e. Given below is a set of activities. Which of these are followed in the ‘Laughter Yoga’ technique?
- sitting on the ground with legs crossed
- body movements
- clapping
- closed eyes
- breathing exercises
- chanting
- stretching of arms and legs
- bending backwards
- running/jogging
- eye contact
f. ‘Laughter therapy also plays a crucial role in social bonding’. How?
