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प्रश्न
How has Prashant, a teenager, been able to help the people of his village?
उत्तर
Prashant helped the people of his village by first getting a grip over himself because he was initially shocked on witnessing the after effects of the cyclone. He decided to step in as the leader of his village. He organized a group of youths and elders to jointly pressurize the merchant to given rice for the people living in the shelter. He was successful in this task. His next task was to organize a team of youth volunteers to clean the shelter and to tend to the wounds of the people who had been injured because of the cyclone.
Prashant also brought a number of orphaned children together and constructed a polythene shelter for them. While women were mobilized to look after them, the men secured food and other essentials for the shelter. When he realised that the women were becoming too grief-stricken, he persuaded them to start working in the food-for-work programme, which was initiated by an NGO. He also organized sports events for children.
APPEARS IN
संबंधित प्रश्न
Thinking about the Text
Answer these question.
You’ll soon stop being smart.”
(i) Who says this?
(ii) Why does the speaker say it?
(iii) What according to the speaker will stop Gerrard from being smart?
Irony is when we say one thing but mean another, usually the opposite of what we say. When someone makes a mistake and you say, Oh! That was clever!” that is irony. You’re saying ‘clever’ to mean ‘not clever’.
Expressions we often use in an ironic fashion are:
• Oh, wasn’t that clever!/Oh that was clever!
• You have been a great help, I must say!
• You’ve got yourself into a lovely mess, haven’t you?
• Oh, very funny!/How funny!
We use a slightly different tone of voice when we use these words ironically.
Read the play carefully and find the words and expressions Gerrard uses in an ironic way.
Then say what these expressions really mean. Two examples have been given below.
Write down three such expressions along with what they really mean.
| What the author says | What he means |
| Why, this is a surprise, Mr – er – |
He pretends that the intruder is a social visitor whom he is welcoming. In this way he hides his fear. |
| At last a sympathetic audience! | He pretends that the intruder wants to listen to him, whereas actually the intruder wants to find out information for his own use. |
Thinking about the Poem
How many common features can you find in stanza 2? Pick out the words.
How does the poet imagine her to be, after death? Does he think of her as a person living in a very happy state (a ‘heaven’)? Or does he see her now as a part of nature? In which lines of the poem do you find your answer?
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.
The athletes had come from all over the country
To run for the gold, for the silver and bronze
Many weeks and months of training
All coming down to these games.
The spectators gathered around the old field
To cheer on all the young women and men
The final event of the day was approaching
Excitement grew high to begin.
Read the lines given above and answer the following question:
What event is being referred to?
Margot stood apart from these children who could never remember a time when there wasn’t rain and rain and rain. They were all nine years old, and if there had been a day, seven years ago, when the sun came out for an hour and showed its face to the stunned world, they could not recall. Sometimes, at night, she heard them stir, in remembrance, and she knew they were dreaming and remembering an old or a yellow crayon or a coin large enough to buy the world with. She knew they thought they remembered a warmness, like a blushing in the face, in the body, in the arms and legs and trembling hands. But then they always awoke to the tatting drum, the endless shaking down of clear bead necklaces upon the roof, the walk, the gardens, the forests, and their dreams were gone. All day yesterday they had read in class about the sun. About how like a lemon it was, and how hot. And they had written small stories or essays or poems about it:
I think the snn is a flower,
That blooms for just one hour.
Read the extract given below and answer the question that follow.
Why are the other children unable to remember the sun?
Answer the following question.
What did the bear eat? There were two things he was not allowed to do. What were they?
Notice how in a comic book, there are no speech marks when characters talk. Instead what they say is put in a speech ‘bubble’. However, if we wish to repeat or ‘report’ what they say, we must put it into reported speech.
Change the following sentences in the story to reported speech. The first one has been done for you.
I accept the challenge, Your Majesty. Gopal told the king_____________________
Narrate the tale of two birds in your own words.
What was the farmer’s comment on his wife’s fears?
Why did Akbar ask Tansen to join his court?
In what way is Pambupatti different from any other village?
Why do we make swings on trees?
Complete the following sentence
It is mysterious because ______
Why does the poet say, “I hope it doesn’t matter”?
Why did the author order so many pairs of boots? Did he really need them?
Study the following phrases and their meanings. Use them appropriately to complete the sentences that follow.
If you want to go out, I will ………….. the children for you.
Complete the following sentence by providing a reason:
In Act III, Scene II of the play, The Tempest, Stephano threatens to tie Trinculo to the next tree because ______.
Read the following extract from Maya Angelou’s poem, ‘When Great Trees Fall’ and answer the questions that follow:
| When great trees fall in forests, small things recoil into silence, their senses eroded beyond fear. |
- What effect does the falling of a ‘great tree’ have on the creatures of the forest? [3]
- How does the death of a great soul affect the lives of those left behind in the immediate aftermath of their passing? [3]
- What long-term effect does the death of a ‘great soul' have? [3]
- What feeling is being expressed by the following lines/phrases? [3]
- small things recoil into silence
- kind words/unsaid,
- Beand be/better. For they existed
- What is a ‘Great tree’ a metaphor for? [4]
What is the central message of Angelou’s poem, “When Great Trees Fall"?
