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Question
Write a paragraph and give an appropriate title to it. Use the following points.
| Birds and Animals | Love and Affection |
| Loyal | Our Best Friends |
| Serve us | Protection and Security |
| Kindness, honesty, compassion | Do not hurt or destroy us |
| Loneliness Avoided | |
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Solution
Our Finest Friends: Birds and Animals
Birds and animals are as much a part of the ecosystem as human beings. They too have the right to enjoy nature’s gifts like us. As pets, they give us the love and affection we need to live a happy life. They are the source of comfort in times of distress. Their positive energy is hard to miss. For example, a dog devotes his life to serving his owner. He loves his owner unconditionally and strives to make his life better. His loyalty cannot be compared to anything else in the world. The happiness on his face when he sees his owner at the end of a long day is priceless. He becomes his owner’s best friend and builds his world around him. Animals are a joy to have as pets. They make our lives better in ways we can never imagine. They provide us with a sense of protection and security. They cheer us up and make us better individuals. Animals do not hurt us or threaten to destroy us. Therefore, it becomes our sole responsibility to be kind and compassionate towards animals.
We humans need to understand that a world without animals would not be worth living in. We will not just be lonely without them; we will, in fact, be lost.
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RELATED QUESTIONS
Read the passage given below and answer the questions (a), (b) and (c) that follow :
(1) At the Literary Society’s meeting, Isola read out the letters written to her Granny Pheen, when she was but a little girl. They were from a very kind man – a complete stranger. Isola told us how these letters came to be written.
(2) When Granny Pheen was nine years old, her cat died. Heartbroken, sitting in the middle of the road, she was sobbing her heart out.
(3) A carriage, driving far too fast, came within a whisker of running her down. A very big man in a dark coat with a fur collar, jumped out, leaned over Pheen, and asked if he could help her. Granny Pheen said she was beyond help. Muffin, her cat, was dead.
(4) The man said, ‘Of course, Muffin’s not dead. You do know cats have nine lives, don’t you?’ When Pheen said yes, the man said, ‘Well, I happen to know your Muffin was only on her third life, so she has six lives left.’ Pheen asked how he knew. He said he always knew - cats would often appear in his mind and chat with him. Well, not in words, of course, but in pictures.
(5) He sat down on the road beside her and told her to keep still – very still. He would see if Muffin wanted to visit him. They sat in silence for several minutes, when suddenly the man grabbed Pheen’s hand.
(6) ‘Ah – yes! There she is! She’s being born this minute! In a mansion – in France. There’s a little boy petting her, he’s going to call her Solange. This Solange has great spirit, great verve – I can tell already! She is going to have a long, venturesome life.’
(7) Granny Pheen was so rapt by Muffin’s new fate that she stopped crying. The man said he would visit Solange every so often and find out how she was faring.
(8) He asked for Granny Pheen’s name and the name of the farm where she lived, got back into the carriage, and left.
(9) Absurd as all this sounds, Granny Pheen did receive eight long letters. Isola then read them out. They were all about Muffin’s life as the French cat − Solange. She was, apparently, something of a feline musketeer. She was no idle cat, lolling about on cushions, lapping up cream – she lived through one wild adventure after another – the only cat ever to be awarded the red rosette of the Legion of Honour.
(10) What a story this man had made up for Pheen – lively, witty, full of drama and suspense. We were enchanted, speechless at the reading. When it was over (and much applauded), I asked Isola if I could see the letters, and she handed them to me.
(11) The writer had signed his letters with a grand flourish :
VERY TRULY YOURS,
O.F. O’F. W.W.
It was highly possible that Isola had inherited eight letters written by Oscar Wilde, for who else could have had such a preposterous name as Oscar Fingal O’Flahertie Willis Wilde.
Adapted from : The Guernsey Literary & Potato Peel Pie Society – By Mary Ann Shaffer & Annie Barrows
(a) (i) Given below are four words and phrases. Find the words which have a similar meaning in the passage :[4]
(1) adventurous
(2) cat-like
(3) appreciated
(4) received something on someone’s death
(ii) For each of the words given below, write a sentence of at least ten words using the same word unchanged in form, but with a different meaning from that which it carries in the passage :[4]
(1) kind (line 2)
(2) mind (line 13)
(3) still (line 15)
(4) sounds (line 26)
(b) Answer the following questions in your own words as briefly as possible:
(i) Where did Isola get the letters from to read at the Literary Society’s meeting?[2]
(ii) Who consoled Granny Pheen when she was heart-broken? What did he say about Muffin’s lives?[2]
(iii) What did the man say when Granny Pheen asked him how he knew about cats’ lives?[2]
(iv) According to the man, what was Muffin’s new fate?[3]
(c) In not more than 100 words, summarise why the eight letters were a treasure to Granny Pheen. (Paragraphs 2 to 10). Failure to keep within the word limit will be penalised. You will be required to write the summary in the form of a connected passage in about 100 words.[8]
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But longed for still and his
Tune is heard on the distant hill
For the caged bird sings of freedom.
Read the above lines and answer the question that follow.
What parallel can be drawn to the poet’s feelings and that of the caged bird?
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You are the captain of your college cricket team. You have your final match on Sunday. Your teammates are nervous. Prepare a speech motivating them to face the challenge courageously. (About 100 words)
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Anil is too fast a runner not to come first in the race. (Begin: Anil is so………….)
Read the following passage carefully and answer the questions that follow:
For some time Mother had greatly envied us our swimming, both in the daytime and at night, but as she pointed out when we suggested she join us, she was far too old for that sort of thing. Eventually, however, under constant pressure from us, Mother paid a visit into town and returned to the villa coyly bearing a mysterious parcel. Opening this she astonished us all by holding up an extraordinary shapeless garment of black cloth, covered from top to bottom with hundreds of frills and pleats and tucks.
‘Well, what do you think of it?’ Mother asked.
We stared at the odd garment and wondered what it was for.
‘What is it?’ asked Larry at length.
‘It’s a bathing-costume, of course,’ said Mother. “What on earth did you think it was?’ ‘It looks to me like a badly-skinned whale,’ said Larry, peering at it closely.
You can’t possibly wear that, Mother,’ said Margo, horrified, Shy, it looks as though it was made in nineteen-twenty.’
‘What are all those frills and things for?’ asked Larry with interest.
‘Decoration, of course,’ said Mother indignantly.
‘What a jolly idea! Don’t forget to shake the fish out of them when you come out of the water.’
‘Well, I like it, anyway,’ Mother said firmly, wrapping the monstrosity up again, ‘and I’m going to wear it.’
‘You’ll have to be careful you don’t get waterlogged, with all that cloth around you,’ said Leslie seriously.
‘Mother, it’s awful; you can’t wear it,’ said Margo. ‘Why on earth didn’t you get something more up to date?’
‘ When you get to my age, dear, you can’t go around in a two-piece bathing suit… you don’t have the figure for it.’
‘I’d love to know what sort of figure that was designed for,’ remarked Larry.
‘You really are hopeless, Mother,’ said Margo despairingly.
‘But I like it… and I’m not asking you to wear it,’ Mother pointed out angrily.
‘That’s right, you do what you want to do,’ agreed Larry; ‘don’t be put off. It’ll probably suit you very well if you can grow another three or four legs to go with it.’
Mother snorted indignantly and swept upstairs to try on her costume. Presently she called to us to come and see the effect, and we all trooped up to the bedroom. Roger the dog, was the first to enter, and on being greeted by this strange apparition clad in its voluminous black costume rippling with frills, he retreated hurriedly through the door, backward, barking ferociously. It was some time before we could persuade him that it really was Mother, and even then he kept giving her vaguely uncertain looks from the corner of his eye. However, in spite of all opposition, Mother stuck to her tent-like bathing- suit, and in the end we gave up.
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One word answers or short phrases will be accepted.
- peering
- ferociously
- immersion
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- Briefly describe her swimming costume.
- What did Larry think it was?
- Which sentence tells you that Margo thought it was old fashioned?
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- Why did mother think it was suitable?
(c)
(i) In not more than 60 words describe what happened after mother went upstairs to try on her costume.
(ii) Give a title to your summary in 3 (c) (i). Give a reason to justify your choice.
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2. A person who believes that war and violence are wrong and will not fight in a war: P...
3.A person who believes that nothing really exists: N...
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5. A person who follows generally accepted norms of behaviour: C...
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a citation |
an epitaph |
a glossary |
|
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parlour |
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lobby |
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| Name | |
| Father’s Name & Occupation | |
| Mother’s Name & Occupation | |
| Born on | |
| Nationality | |
| State | |
| City | |
| Education |
School : |
| College: | |
| Personal Life | |
| Siblings | |
| Achievements | |
| Awards | |
| Legacy | |
| Died on | |
| Place of Death |
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Line 2: Four adjectives that describe you.
Line 3: Son of / daughter of … brother of / sister of…
Line 4: Lover of three people, things or idea.
Line 5: Who feels (three sensations or emotion)
Line 6: Who needs (three things)
Line 7: Who gives (three things)
Line 8: Who fears (three things)
Line 9: Who would like to see (three persons or places)
Line 10: Who lives …
Line 11: Your last name.
|
Anne Friendly, kind, smart and obedient Daughter of Sam and Diana, sister of Jack Lover of pets, sports and reading Who feels cheerful, comfortable and excited Who needs education, peace and friends Who gives smiles, support and courage Who fears spiders, the dark and stray dogs Who would like to see Mt. Everest Lives in Cape Sara |
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