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Question
Which of the following BEST captures the central idea of the short story, The Medicine Bag?
Options
Embracing one’s cultural roots.
Disrespect for the older generation.
The fruits of modernisation.
Peer pressure in adolescents..
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Solution
Embracing one’s cultural roots.
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Thinking about Poem
What finally kills the tree?
What is the significance of the title?
Pick out word from the text that mean the same as the following word or expression. (Look in the paragraph indicated.)
based on reason; sensible; reasonable : _________
Listen to the poem.
Oh, I wish I'd looked after me teeth,
And spotted the perils beneath.
All the toffees I chewed,
And the sweet sticky food,
Oh, I wish I'd looked after me teeth.
I wish I'd been that much more willin'
When I had more tooth there than fillin'
To pass up gobstoppers.
From respect to me choppers,
And to buy something else with me shillin'.
When I think of the lollies I licked,
And the liquorice all sorts I picked,
Sherbet dabs, big and little,
All that hard peanut brittle,
My conscience gets horribly pricked.
My mother, she told me no end.
'If you got a tooth, you got a friend.'
I was young then, and careless,
My toothbrush was hairless,
I never had much time to spend.
Oh, I showed them the toothpaste all right,
I flashed it about late at night,
But up-and-down brushin'
And pokin' and fussin'
Didn't seem worth time-I could bite!
If I'd known, I was paving the way
To cavities, caps and decay,
The murder of fillin's
Injections and drillin's,
I'd have thrown all me sherbet away.
So I lay in the old dentist's chair,
And I gaze up his nose in despair,
And his drill it do whine,
In these molars of mine.
"Two amalgum," he'll say, "for in there."
How I laughed at my mother's false teeth,
As they foamed in the waters beneath.
But now comes the reckonin'
It's me they are beckonin'
Oh, I wish I'd looked after me teeth.
About the Poet
Pam Ayres (1947- ) is a contemporary writer, a great entertainer who writes and performs
comic verse. She started writing poems and verses as a hobby and has appeared in every
major TV show in the U.K. She has published six books of poems, and cut seven record
albums including a collection of 50 best known poems.
Both, all, neither, none
Based on your reading of the passage, complete the statements using given connectors.
(a) The mother, father ______ thought ______ (and)
(b) They planned to walk to the woods ______ (which)
(c) They reached the place ______ in eighteen months (which)
(d) They eagerly unpacked their picnic basket ______ (but)
(e) It was ______, when the three tortoises arrived at the picnic place, (after)
(f) The mother tortoise ordered the baby to go home for the opener, saying ______ (that).
(g) ______ (but) was not willing at first.
(h) The mother and father promised to wait ______ (until)
(i) ______ they began to get very hungry, (after)
Dr. Wood, the capable general practitioner, has been requested to solve this case. He gathers information about the murder from the inmates or the house. The information is presented in two parts.
Parts A: Background story by Arthur Conan Doyle
Parts B: Conversation between Dr. Wood and Cecil Barker
Part A
Background Story
The village of Birlstone is a small and very ancient cluster of half-timbered cottages on the northern border of the county of Sussex. For centuries it had remained unchanged but its picturesque appearance has attracted well-to-do residents. A number of small shops have come into being to meet the wants of the increased population.
About half a mile from the town, standing in an old park famous for its huge beech trees, was the ancient Manor House, with its many gables and its small diamond paned windows. The only approach to the house was over a drawbridge, the chains and windlass of which had been rusted and broken. The family consisted of only two individuals - John Douglas and his wife. Douglas was cheery and genial to all and had acquired great popularity among the villagers. He appeared to have plenty of money. Thus, it came about that John Douglas had, within five years, won himself quite a reputation in Birlstone. His wife was a beautiful woman, tall, dark and slender, younger than her husband; a disparity which seemed in no way to mar the contentment of their family life. It was remarked sometimes, that the confidence between the two did not appear to be complete. There were signs sometimes of some nerve strain upon the part of Mrs. Douglas.
Cecil Barker, was a frequent and welcome visitor at Manor House, Barker was an easy going, free handed gentleman.
It was on Jan 6th at 11:45 that the alarm reached the small local police station that John Douglas had been murdered. Dr. Wood seemed to be unnerved and troubled.
Part B
Conversation between Dr. Wood and Cecil Barker
Dr. Wood : We will touch nothing until my superiors arrive. {He spoke in a hushed voice, stating at the dreadful head)
C.Barker : Nothing has been touched untilnow.
Dr. Wood : When did this happen?
C.Barker : It was just half-past eleven. I was sitting by the fire in my bedroom when I heard the gun shot. In thirty seconds I was in the room.
Dr. Wood : Wasthedooropen?
C.Barker : Yes, it was open. Poor Douglas was lying as you see him.
Dr. Wood : Did you see anyone?
C. Barker : No, I heard Mrs. Douglas coming down the stains behind me, and I rushed out 1 to prevent her from seeing this dreadful sight.
Dr. Wood : But I have heard that the drawbridge is kept up all night.
C. Barker : Yee,it was up until l lowered it.
Dr. Wood : Then how could any murderer have got away? It ls out of question! Mr Douglas must have shot himself.
C. Barker : That was our first idea. But see! The diamond paned window is open to its full extent.
Dr. Wood : I think someone stood there while trying to get out.
C. Barker : You mean that someone waded across the moat?
Dr. Wood : Exactly!
C. Barker : I agree with you.
Dr. Wood : But what I ask you ls, how did he even get into the house at all if the bridge was up?
C. Barker : Ah, that's the question.
Dr. Wood : At what time was the bridge raised?
C. Barker : It was nearly 6 O'clock.
Dr. Wood : Then it comes to this, if anyone came from outside -if they did-they must have got in across the bridge before six and had been in hiding ever since. The man was waiting. He shot him, when he got the chance.
Know all about Chess . Read and enjoy :
You now know a little about Koneru Humpychess player but do you know how to play chess? Let's know more about it:
Have you ever played chess? Did you know that chess is the oldest skill game in the world? But chess is more than just a. game of skill. It can tell you much about the way people lived in medieval times. If you look at the way a chess board is set up, then study the pieces and how they are used, you will realise that chess is a history of medieval times in miniature. The six different chess pieces on the board represent a cross section of medieval life with its many ceremonies grandeur ,and wars .
Chess was played many centuries ago in China, India, and Persia. No one really knows for sure in which country it originated. Then, in the eighth century, armies of Arabs known as Moors invaded Persia. The Moors learned chess from the Persians. When the Moors later invaded Spain, the soldiers brought the game of chess with them. Soon the Spanish were playing chess, too. From Spain, the popularity of chess quickly spread throughout all of Europe
Europeans gave chess pieces the names we know today; they probably had trouble pronouncing and spelling the Persian names, so they modernized them to reflect the way they lived. Today, the names certainly aren't modem but a thousand years ago they represented the very way in which both ordinary people and persons of rank lived their lives.
The pawns on the chess board represent serfs, or labourers. There are more of them than any other piece on the board, and often they are sacrificed to save the more valuable pieces. In medieval times, serfs were considered no more than the property of landowners, or chattels. Life was brutally hard for serfs during this era of history. They worked hard and died young. They were often left unprotected while wars raged around them. They could be traded, used as a diversion, or even sacrificed to allow the landowners to escape harm.
The castle piece on a chess board is the home, or the refuge, just as it was a home in medieval times. In Chess, each side has two castles, or rooks, as they are sometimes called.
The knight on a chess board represents the professional soldier of medieval times whose job it was to protect persons of rank, and there are two of them per side in a game of chess. Knights in a game of chess are more important than pawns, but less important than bishops, kings, or queens. Their purpose in the game of chess is to protect the more important pieces, and they can be sacrificed to save those pieces just as pawns can.
There is a bishop in the game of chess, who represents the church. The Church was a rich and mighty force in medieval times, and religion played a large part in every person's life. It is no wonder that a figure that represented the concept of religion found its way into the game. A bishop was the name for a priest in the Catholic church who had risen through the ranks to a more powerful position. In the game of chess, there are two bishops for each side.
The queen is the only piece on the board during a chess game that represents a woman, and she is the most powerful piece of the game.
The king is the tallest piece on the board, and is as well defended on the chessboard as in medieval life. In medieval times, the surrender of the king would mean the loss of the kingdom to invading armies and that could mean change for the worse. It was to everyone's advantage, from the lowest serf to the highest-ranking official, to keep the king safe from harm.. The king is the most important, but not the most powerful piece in chess. If you do not protect your king, you lose the game.
The next time you set up your chessboard and get ready 7 to play a friendly game or two, think of chess as a 6 history lesson. The pieces on the board represent a way 5 of life that is no more, and the real life dramas that occurred in medieval times are now only a game.
Abou Ben Adhem (may his tribe increase!)
Awoke one night from a deep dream of peace,
And saw, within the moonlight in his room,
Making it rich, and like a lily in bloom,
An angel writing in a book of gold:-
Read the lines given above and answer the following question.
Explain with reference to context.
He looked at me very blankly and tiredly, and then said, having to share his worry with someone, “The cat will be all right, I am sure. There is no need to be unquiet about the cat. But the others. Now what do you think about the others?”
“Why they’ll probably come through it all right.”
“You think so?”
“Why not,” I said, watching the far bank where now there were no carts.
“But what will they do under the artillery when I was told to leave because of the artillery?”
“Did you leave the dove cage unlocked?” I asked.
“Yes.”
“Then they’ll fly.”
“Yes, certainly they’ll fly. But the others. It’s better not to think about the others,” he said.
Read the extract given below and answer the question that follow.
Which animal is the old man least concerned about?
Answer the following question.
What is “the master call”? Why is it the most important signal for an elephant to learn?
Answer the following question.
Where was the tiger cub hiding when Grandfather found him?
Read the following.
A group of children in your class are going to live in a hostel.
•They have been asked to choose a person in the group to share a room with.
•They are asking each other questions to decide who they would like to share a room with. Ask one another questions about likes/dislikes/preferences/hobbies/personal characteristics.
Use the following questions and sentence openings.
(i) What do you enjoy doing after school?
I enjoy...
(ii) What do you like in general?
I like...
(iii) Do you play any game?
I don’t like...
(iv) Would you mind if I listened to music after dinner?
I wouldn’t...
(v) Will it be all right if I...?
It’s fine with me...
(vi) Is there anything you dislike, particularly? Well, I can’t share...
(vii) Do you like to attend parties?
Oh, I...
(viii) Would you say you are...?
I think...
During which time of the day would the hermit would leave the forest and go out?
Why did Abbu Khan laugh with joy?
What did the second bird say to him?
When did “the unfriendly face” of the visitor turn truly friendly?
Describe briefly to the class an improbable dream you have had.
Why did the talking fan’s chatter come to an end?
What does the poet refer to ‘meadow houses’?
Mark the right item:
“This, said the emperor, was to encourage all children to honour and obey their parents.”
‘This’ refers to ______
Multiple Choice Question:
What does the word ‘watch’ mean here?
Fill in the blank to name a different kind of intelligence. One has been done for you.
When I enjoy listening to people and solving their problems I use my interpersonal intelligence
When I enjoy telling a story or arguing, I use my ____________ intelligence.
The words given against the sentences below can be used both as nouns and verbs. Use them appropriately to fill in the blanks.
(i) He gave a ______________________ in answer to my question. (smile)
(ii) We also _______________________ to see him smile.
Find out the meaning of the following words by looking them up in the dictionary. Then use them in sentences of your own.
comical
Read the extract given below and answer the questions that follow:
|
All around the field spectators were gathered - Nine Gold Medals, David Roth |
- Where had the ‘young women and men’ come from? What had brought them together? [2]
- What was the last event of the day? How many athletes were participating in this event? [2]
- What happened to the youngest athlete halfway through the race? How did he deal with the situation? [3]
- Describe the manner in which the race ends. [3]
Read the following extract from Jesse Owens's short story, ‘My Greatest Olympic Prize’ and answer the question that follows:
| 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 eye especially on the running broad jump. |
- What does Owens mean by 'all this'? What games does he refer to? [3]
- What made Owens confident of winning a gold medal or two? [3]
-
What was the ‘surprise’ that Hitler had kept hidden from the world?
How did Owens feel when he came face to face with the ‘surprise’? [3] - Describe Owens’ performance in the broad jump trials.
What doubts filled his mind at this time? [3] - What makes Luz Long’s behaviour at the ‘Games’ truly remarkable in the context of the times?
Identify a theme that is common to the short story ‘My Greatest Olympic Prize and the poem ‘Nine Gold Medals’. [4]
