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प्रश्न
What is the significance of the title?
उत्तर
The title ‘The Accidental Tourist’ signifies the accidental nature of Bill Bryson who was a frequent flyer. He travelled a lot to all parts of the world. However, he always managed to cause some kind of an accident on the way in the aeroplane. Once he leaned over to tie his shoelace at the same moment when someone in the seat ahead of him threw his seat back into full recline. That was when he found himself pinned helplessly in the ‘crash position’. He had to claw at the leg of the man sitting next to him in order to get himself freed. On another occasion, he knocked a soft drink onto the lap of a lady sting beside him. The flight attendant cleaned her up and brought him a replacement drink. He knocked it onto the woman again, who of course was very angry and annoyed. On yet another occasion, his lips, gum, mouth, chin, tongue, and teeth were covered with navy blue ink as he had been chewing on the end of his pen that had leaked. He realized this quite late. Not only in the plane, but he was also prone to accidents otherwise. He always forgot his room number and went to the hotel desk again and again to enquire about it. He was so prone to accidents that when the food was delivered on planes, his wife asked their children to take the lids off the food for him. When travelling alone, he did not eat, drink or lean over to tie his shoelaces. Thus, he travelled a lot for his living and was accident-prone, hence justifying the title of the story.
APPEARS IN
संबंधित प्रश्न
Thinking about the Poem
How does the poet speak to the wind — in anger or with humour? You must also have
seen or heard of the wind “crumbling lives”. What is your response to this? Is it like the
poet’s?
Sometimes we see something beautiful and striking, and we remember it for a
long time afterwards. Can you recollect this ever happening to you? If so, what
was it? What do you remember about it now? Are the details of what you saw or
the feelings you experienced at that time fresh in your mind? Think for a few
minutes, then share your thoughts with the class.
Bangle sellers are we who bear
Our shining loads to the temple fair...
Who will buy these delicate, bright
Rainbow-tinted circles of light?
Lustrous tokens of radiant lives,
For happy daughters and happy wives.
Read the lines given above and answer the question that follow.
What is the tone in this stanza? Quote.
Such wondrous, fine, fantastic tales
Of dragons, gypsies, queens, and whales
And treasure isles, and distant shores
Where smugglers rowed with muffled oars,
And pirates wearing purple pants,
And sailing ships and elephants,
And cannibals crouching 'round the pot,
Stirring away at something hot.
(It smells so good , what can it be?
Good gracious, it's Penelope.)
The younger ones had Beatrix Potter
With Mr.Tod,the dirty rotter,
And Squirrel Nutkin,Pigling Bland,
And Mrs.Tiggy-Winkle and-
Just How The Camel Got His Hump,
And How the Monkey Lost His Rump,
And Mr. Toad, and bless my soul,
There's Mr.Rat and Mr. Mole-
Oh, books, what books they used to know,
Those children living long ago!
Read the lines given above and answer the question given below.
Which animal characters does Dahl mention?’
For oft, when on my couch I lie
In vacant or in pensive mood,
They flash upon that inward eye
Which is the bliss of solitude;
And then my heart with pleasure fills,
And dances with the daffodils.
Read the lines given above and answer the question that follow.
What does he mean by the ‘inward eye’?
The boy looked up. He took his hands from his face and looked up at his teacher. The light from Mr. Oliver’s torch fell on the boy’s face, if you could call it a face. He had no eyes, ears, nose or mouth. It was just a round smooth head with a school cap on top of it.
And that’s where the story should end, as indeed it has for several people who have had similar experiences and dropped dead of inexplicable heart attacks. But for Mr. Oliver, it did not end there. The torch fell from his trembling hand. He turned and scrambled down the path, running blindly through the trees and calling for help. He was still running towards the school buildings when he saw a lantern swinging in the middle of the path. Mr. Oliver had never before been so pleased to see the night watchman. He stumbled up to the watchman, gasping for breath and speaking incoherently.
What is it, Sahib? Asked the watchman, has there been an accident? Why are you running?
I saw something, something horrible, a boy weeping in the forest and he had no face.
No face, Sahib?
No eyes, no nose, mouth, nothing.
Do you mean it was like this, Sahib? asked the watchman, and raised the lamp to his own face. The watchman had no eyes, no ears, no features at all, not even an eyebrow. The wind blew the lamp out and Mr. Oliver had his heart attack.
Read the extract given below and answer the question that follow.
What was strange about the watchman? What happened to Mr Oliver when the watchman raised the lantern to show his face?
Suddenly all the tension seemed to ebb out of my body as the truth of what he said hit me. Confidently, I drew a line a full foot in back of the board and proceeded to jump from there. I qualified with almost a foot to spare.
That night I walked over to Luz Long’s room in the Olympic village to thank him. I knew that if it hadn’t been for him I probably wouldn’t be jumping in the finals the following day. We sat in his quarters and talked for two hours—about track and field, ourselves, the world situation, a dozen other things.
When I finally got up to leave, we both knew that a real friendship had been formed. Luz would go out to the field the next day trying to beat me if he could. But I knew that he wanted me to do my best—even if that meant my winning.
Read the extract given below and answer the question that follow.
How did the rivalry of Owens and Long end?
Why the king changed his clothes and left behind his bodyguards and horse before meeting the hermit?
How did the daimios reward the kind farmer?
How did Mr Gessler found that the boot was not comfortable for author?
Before fire brigades were set out, how people tried to put out fire.
How was Timothy’s companionship with the puppy?
Why was all the ‘mystery’ spoilt?
Why does the poet say, “I hope it doesn’t matter”?
Discuss the question in pairs before you write the answer.
Who did he first choose as his master? Why did he leave that master?
Discuss the question in pairs before you write the answer.
Who did he choose next?
Multiple Choice Question:
A family is made of the people who ________
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 working with numbers and solving maths problems, I use my ________ intelligence.
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]
The short story 'The Little Match Girl' can be called a fairy tale because ______.
