Balbharati solutions for My English Coursebook 9 Standard Maharashtra State Board chapter 3.2 - The Fall of Troy [Latest edition]

Do you know stories from any epics or mythological poems?

Who is your favourite mythological character?

What do you like about that character?

Who is your favourite warrior?

If you could visit a place in the ancient world or the mythological world, which place would you choose? Which event would you like to see? 

Form groups of eight. The group leader prepares slips of paper for each of the seven points given below and distributes them among the others. The group sits in a circle, taking their seats according to the number on the slip they have. Then each one completes the sentence on his/her slip without sharing it with the others. The group leader collects the slips and reads all the sentences aloud as one continuous passage. Does the story make sense? The group then works on the story to make it more meaningful and interesting.

1. Once there was a ______________.
2. Who lived in a ______________.
3. He/She ate _________________.
4. She/He went _________________.
5. There she/he saw _________________.
6. She/He was _________________.
7. That is why _________________.

This game may be played again, changing the groups, to form new stories.

How did the location of Troy help it to grow into a very rich/ prosperous city?

How were the Trojans protected during wartime?

What was the cause of the ten-year-old war between the Greeks and Trojans?

Who were the brave heroes on either side who were killed in the war?

Read the story and ‘retell’ it in your mother tongue. When you ‘retell’ a story, you tell it using your style and not translate it word by word. (Part I)

Find the antonym of the following from the passage.

Barren × ......

Find the antonym of the following from the passage.

Offended × ______

Find the antonym of the following from the passage.

Cowardly × ______

Find the antonym of the following from the passage.

Peace × ______

Find the antonym of the following from the passage.

Surrender × ______

Find the antonym of the following from the passage.

Exposed × ______

Find the antonym of the following from the passage.

Defenceless × ______

Correct the following sentence using facts from the passage.

Troy traded in cattle and grass, with other cities.

Correct the following sentence using facts from the passage.

During the war, Trojans jumped over the fort gates to fight the enemy.

Correct the following sentence using facts from the passage.

Helen eloped with Menelaus.

Correct the following sentence using facts from the passage.

The Greek armies and heroes always defeated the Trojans.

Correct the following sentence using facts from the passage.

Both the enemies were eager to continue fighting.

Correct the following sentence using facts from the passage.

Troy was attacked because it was a strong, rich city

State the counter-action for the following actions.

From either of our two Indian epics, find out which battle/war lasted the longest? Write down its cause, the enemy armies, its heroes, its duration, and the final outcome.

1. Cause _________________.
2. The enemy armie _________________.
3. Heroes _________________.
4. Duration _________________.
5. Final outcome _________________.

Underline the subject in the following sentence:

Paris had brought her to Troy.

Underline the subject in the following sentence:

The Greeks waited to take revenge on Troy.

Underline the subject in the following sentence:

The Greek armies sailed to Troy.

Underline the subject in the following sentence:

The Trojans, too, fought hard.

Underline the subject in the following sentence:

The fighting went on.

Here, we see that the ‘-ing’ form of the verb ‘fight’ is used as a subject in ‘The fighting went on’. It does the work of a noun. When the ‘-ing’ form of a verb is used as a noun, it is known as a gerund or verbal noun. Read the following examples of gerunds:

• Gardening is an art.
• Cooking is a science.
• I enjoy reading poems.
• I like reading more than writing.

Rewrite the above sentences using other appropriate gerunds in place of the ones given here.

How did Odysseus plan to defeat the Trojans?

What was the reason for Troy to rejoice and celebrate?

Was it enough to use the wooden horse to hide?

What was done to make the Trojans take it inside the city?

Was the big wooden horse really an offering to the god of the sea?

How did the cunning Greek explain the presence of such a large wooden horse?

What reckless/ thoughtless step did the Trojan’s take?

How did the Greek ships remain hidden from Troy?

What did the Greek soldiers hidden in the wooden horse do after nighfall?

What distressing sounds and sights could be witnessed at Troy, that fateful night?

What was the destiny of the royal family of Troy and that of Helen?

Find and write the Greek and Trojan names used in the story (Part I and II).

List all the words related to ‘war’ from both parts of the story.

Note the following construction carefully and then use them to express your ideas:

A horse big enough to hold men inside it.

______ enough to ______.

Note the following construction carefully and then use them to express your ideas:

The Greeks were tired of the long war.

______ tired of ______.

Note the following construction carefully and then use them to express your ideas:

They are afraid of the long voyage home, too.

______ afraid of______ .

Note the following construction carefully and then use them to express your ideas:

They made it too big to go inside your city.

______ too ______ to ______.

Note the following construction carefully and then use them to express your ideas:

They were so excited that they paid no attention to his words.

______ so ______ that ______.

Put the following events in the order in which they took place. Number them accordingly.

Form pairs. Imagine you are a pair of Trojans and you have come to know about Odysseus’s plan. Make a counter plan to defeat the Greeks. Write down your plan as you would explain it to your fellow Trojans.

Refer to the Language Study pages and read the following entries:

1. word
2. phrase
3. clause
4. sentence.

A phrase is a meaningful group of words. Read the following phrases:

• The wise Odysseus
• A great horse of wood
• A skilful engineer
• The greatest heroes
• The secret of opening and shutting the entrance
• On the seashore outside the walls
• In the darkness
• Watching for the return of the fleet
• Part of their strong wall

Write three phrases on your own.

A phrase is a meaningful group of words. Read the following phrases:

• The wise Odysseus
• A great horse of wood
• A skilful engineer
• The greatest heroes
• The secret of opening and shutting the entrance
• On the seashore outside the walls
• In the darkness
• Watching for the return of the fleet
• Part of their strong wall

All the above phrases are parts of sentences; they do not form a complete sentence by themselves. A sentence expresses a complete idea. You know that it has a subject and a predicate. A sentence has at least one finite verb in it. Read the following examples:

• The tents had been burnt.
• The shore was deserted.
• The Greek ships had all gone.

Write three sentences using your own ideas.

Identify one example of a main clause and one example of a dependent clause from page 74.