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Question
Write a character sketch of Nicola and Jacopo.
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Solution
Nicola was 13 and Jacopo only 12. They were brothers. They were tanned, had tangled hair and dark earnest eyes. Though they were just kids, they were serious about their work. They did hundreds of errands for the tourists. They were found doing brisk business shining shoes or selling wild berries. They had the skill to find seats in the theater for the tourists and also guide the tourists through many important sites of the city of Verona such as Juliet’s tomb. Jacopo was lively as a squirrel. Nicola’s smile was steady and engaging yet in their innocent faces, one could find seriousness far beyond their years. What struck one was the extreme willingness of both the boys to work. Under the scorching Sun, they hawked newspapers. When the narrator enquired what they did with the money they earned as they were not spending it on clothes or food or saving it for emigrating to America, Nicola colored but he did not reveal the secret family adversity. Both are gentlemen because they did not want anyone’s sympathy.
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Para 18
My first feelings were of relief–
relief that there were no more steps to
cut, no more ridges to traverse, and no
more humps to tantalize us with hopes
of success. I looked at Tenzing. In spite of
the balaclava helmet, goggles, and oxygen
mask – all encrusted with long icicles–that
concealed his face, there was no disguising
his grin of delight as he looked all around
him. We shook hands, and then Tenzing
threw his arm around my shoulders and
we thumped each other on the back until
we were almost breathless. It was 11.30
a.m. The ridge had taken us two and a
half hours, but it seemed like a lifetime
To the east was our giant
Describe the feelings of Edmund Hillary and Tenzing as they reached the top of the Summit. (Para 18)
Para 15
For a few moments, I lay regaining
my breath, and for the first time really
felt the fierce determination that nothing
now could stop us from reaching the top. I took
a firm stance on the ledge and signaled
to Tenzing to come on up. As I heaved
hard on the rope, Tenzing wriggled his
way up the crack, and finally collapsed at
the top like a giant fish when it has just
been hauled from the sea after a terrible
struggle.
Para 16
The ridge continued as before:
giant cornices on the right; steep rock
sloped on the left. The ridge curved away
to the right and we have no idea where the
top was. As I cut around the back of one
hump, another higher one would swing
into view. Time was passing and the ridge
seemed never-ending.
Para 17
Our original zest had now quite
gone, and it was turning more into a grim
struggle. I then realized that the ridge
ahead, instead of rising, now dropped
sharply away. I looked upwards to see a
narrow snow ridge running up to a snowy
summit. A few more whacks of the ice-ax
in the firm snow and we stood on top.
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| Across | Down |
| 1.You can watch programmes, matches and news on it | 1. You can sit around it |
| 4. You can lie on this and sleep | 2. You can put flowers in this |
| 6.You can sit on this and relax by yourself | 3. You can sit on this with two other people comfortably |
| 11.You can store all your books here | 5. You can do your writing work on this |
| 12.This can give you light when it is dark | 7. This can cover a small space and decorate the floor |
|
8. You can put all your clothes in here
|
|
|
9. You can look into this to see yourself |
|
|
10. You can sit on this, it has 3 legs. |
