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प्रश्न
How did the air raids disrupt the Dutch public life?
उत्तर १
In Anne's account, we get a picture of the unforeseen misery unleashed upon the Dutch people due to the air raids. The common occurrences during that time were that of frightened women, trembling houses, raging epidemics and people relentlessly stalked by hunger. People would have to stand in line to buy vegetables and all kinds of goods, doctors could not visit their patients and automobiles were stolen. Burglaries and thefts had become quite common. Little children smashed windows of people's homes and stole whatever they could get their hands on. People did not dare to leave the house even for five minutes since they were liable to come back and find all their belongings gone. Newspapers were filled with reward notices for the return of stolen typewriters, Persian rugs, electric clocks, fabrics and so on. The electric clocks on street corners were dismantled, public phones stripped down to the last wire. Morale among the Dutch was low and everyone was going hungry. A week's food ration did not last for more than two days unless it was ersatz coffee. Men were shipped off to Germany, children were sick or undernourished and everyone wore their worn-out clothes and run-down shoes. Commodities were expensive even on the black market.
उत्तर २
In Anne’s account, we witness the misery of the Dutch people who endured the air raids. Trembling houses, raging epidemics, starving people and thefts became common place. Windows of houses were broken and everything which one could lay one’s hand on was stolen. Public properties such as electric clocks and phones on the streets were dismantled. The food which they stocked for a week did not last for more than two days. Hunger and disease forced people to turn to crime. While these conditions prevailed, men were separated from their families and forcefully shipped away like goods to Germany to fight in the war. There was widespread poverty.
संबंधित प्रश्न
Answer any four of the following questions in 30-40 words each:
(a) What did Franz wonder about when he entered the class that day?
(b) What shocking experience did Douglas have at YMCA pool?
(c) Why does Kamala Das compare her mother to 'a pale winter's moon'?
(d) What rich bountry has the heaven given us? (A Thing of Beauty)
(e) Why did the Maharaja have to pay a bill of three lakh rupees to the British jewellers?
(f) What problem did Roger Skunk face when he went to play with his friends. How did he solve it?
Although Paul's mother liked to be rich she did not approve of betting on horses.
Find from the lesson word/phrase that mean the following.
colours ______
Building a bridge needs careful planning. Think about what goes on before the actual construction begins.
- Proper planning
- ________________
- ________________
- ________________
- ________________
Johnsy was hopeful that she will live.
Read the lesson and name the following.
The Father of modern neurosurgery ______
Why do you think Mrs. Bodwell wanted to sell the house?
Which planet has rings around it?
Choose the correct picture for the passage.
There is a table under a tree. A man with a big hat and a hare with long ears are sitting. A young girl is sitting between them. There are many cups on the table. The girl has a cup in her hand, and the man has a pot in his hand. It seems like they are having tea. Yes, they are having tea at the tea party in Wonderland. The girl is Alice, and she is in Wonderland.
Now, read the following biographical extract on Sujatha Rangarajan, a Sciencefiction writer, and answer the questions that follow.
- Sujatha is the allonym of the Tamil author S. Rangarajan and it is this name that is recognised at once by the Tamil SciFi reading community. You might have seen the Tamil movie ‘Endiran’ where the robot Chitti exhibits extraordinary talents in an incredible manner. The robot could excel a human being in any act, beyond one’s imagination. Jeeno, a robotic dog which appeared in Sujatha’s science fiction novel “En Iniya Iyandhira” (My Dear Robot) formed the basis of Chitti’s character. Like Chitti, Jeeno was an allrounder who could cook, clean and fight. High-tech computer technology terms are used in the story. Jeeno, a pet robot, plays an important role throughout the story. As the story proceeds, it behaves and starts to think on its own like a human and instructs Nila, a human being, on how to proceed further in her crises.
- In the preface of ‘En Iniya Iyandhira’, the writer states the reason for his attraction to the genre: “Science gives us the wonderful freedom to analyse thousands and thousands of alternative possibilities. While using it, and while playing with its new games, a writer needs to be cautious only about one thing. The story should draw some parallels or association from the emotions and desires of the present humankind. Only then it becomes interesting. Jeeno, the robot dog, was intelligent. But the character became popular only because of the robot’s frequently displayed human tendencies.” It is no wonder that all his works echo these words and will remain etched in the minds of the readers who enjoy reading his novels to have a wonderful lifetime experience.
- It was Sujatha, who set the trend for sci-fi stories. He had tracked the origin from Mary Shelly’s Frankenstein to his short stories. He has written 50 sci-fi short stories and these were published in various Tamil magazines. His stories have inspired many readers to extend their reading to English sci-fi writers like Isaac Asimov. The themes were bold, even if there was a dependence on a very well-established characterization of English fiction. Sujatha opened up a new world to us with his writings on holograms, computers and works like ‘En Iniya Iyanthira’ inspire many to study computer science.
- He has been one of the greatest writers for more than four decades. He combined reasoning and science in his writings. Being a multifaceted hi-fi and sci-fi humanistic author, he expressed his views distinctively. He was the one who took Tamil novels to the next level. As an MIT alumnus and an engineer at BHEL, he was very good at technology. He could narrate sci-fi stories impressively. His readers always enjoyed reading all his detective and sci-fi novels which featured the most famous duo ‘Ganesh’ and ‘Vasanth’.
- Sujatha has played a crucial role as a playwright for various Tamil movies which have fascinated movie lovers. Hence, it is fathomable that the writer’s perspective of future India enthuses every reader and paves a new way to reading sci-fi stories in English.
A. Answer the following questions in a sentence or two.
- How was Jeeno different from other robots?
- What precaution should one take while writing Science fiction stories?
- What inspired Sujatha’s themes?
- Why were Sujatha’s sci-fi stories impressive?
B. Find words from the passage which mean the same as the following.
- difficult to believe (para 1)
- a style or category of art, music or literature (para 2)
- having many sides (para 4)
- capable of being understood (para 5)
