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Question
Answer the following question briefly.
What was John A. Pescud’s opinion about best sellers? Why?
Solution
John A. Pescud didn’t hold a very high opinion about best sellers. The fiction writers are not consistent with their scenes and characters. They are far removed from reality. Their account is highly unreal, exaggerated and romantic. Sometimes the American hero falls in love with a royal princess from Europe. He follows her to her father’s kingdom. But in real life people choose life- partners belonging to their own status.
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RELATED QUESTIONS
Irony refers to the use of words to convey a meaning that is the opposite of their literal meaning. Working in pairs bring out the irony in the following:
(a) The title of the story, “The Best Seller”.
(b) Pescud’s claim, “When people in real life marry, they generally hunt up somebody in their own station. A fellow usually picks out a girl who went to the same high school and belonged to the same singing-society that he did.”
(c) The name Trevelyan.
List common dilemmas that teenagers face involving the choice of one or more “roads”. Give examples of “roads” that you must travel (e.g. facing peer pressure, choosing friends, observing rules laid down by school and parents, acting on your own values).
Suppose you are on a ship, far out into sea. Something happens, and you find yourself in the water. The ship continues on its journey. Discuss the following with your partner and share your views with the class
• How long do you think you can stay alive in the water?
• How will you know which way to swim?
• What dangers will you face?
Present Perfect Continuous
“What have you been doing?”
Imagine what people have been doing or what are the things that have been happening.
| Ashok comes in wearing white shorts, a T-shirt and carrying a racquet. He is sweating. | ||
| I think | he has been playing | tennis |
| I imagine | badminton | |
| Perhaps | badminton | |
(a) Write three similar quiz questions on a piece of paper as part of homework.
(b) Pairwork: Swap questions with your partner. Write the answers to your partner’s questions and return them to be marked by your partner.
Working in groups of four, write a dialogue between
• A tiger behind bars and a man
• A man in a cage and a tiger.
While you were away on holiday, your house was burgled. Write a letter to
your friend to tell him or her about it.
Use the underlined expressions in Column A above to help you. Include ...
1. how the burglar could have got in,
2. how he knew you had gone away, and
3. what you could have done to prevent the burglary.
Listen to the following conversation adapted from 'Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone' by J. K. Rowling.
While your teacher reads the excerpt, complete the following statements.
Aunt Petunia : Wizard, indeed!
Hany Potter : You knew? You knew I'm a - a wizard?
Aunt Petunia : (shouting angrily) Knew! Knew! Of course we knew! How cold you not be, my dratted sister being what she was? Oh, she got a letter just like that and disappeared off to that - that school - and came home every holiday with her pockets full of frog-spawn, turning teacups into rats. I was the only one who saw her for what she was - a freak! But for my mother and father, oh no, it was Lily this and Lily that, they were proud of having a witch in the family! (Drawing a deep breath) Then she met that Potter at school and they left and got married and had you, and of course I knew you'd be just the same, just as strange, just as - as - abnormal - and then, if you please, she went and got herself blown up and we got landed with you!'
Harry Potter : (Listens in shocked silence). Blown up? You told me they died in a car crash!'
Hagrid : (Angrily) CAR CRASH! (Jumping to his feet) How could a car crash kill Lily an' James Potter? It's an outrage! A scandal! Harry Potter not knowin' his own story when every kid in our world knows his name!'
Harry Potter : But why? What happened?
Hagrid : (Anxiously) I never expected this. I had no idea, when Dumbledore told me there might be trouble gettin' hold of yeh, how much yeh didn't know. Ah, Hany, I don' know if I'm the right person to tell yeh - but someone's gotta -yeh can't go off to Hogwarts not knowin'. Well, it's best yeh know as much as I can tell yeh - mind, I can't tell yeh everthin', It's a great mystry, parts of it ... ' (Hagrid pauses for a moment. Sound of chair being dragged). It begins, I suppose, with - with a person called - but it's incredible yeh don't know his name, everyone in our world knows-'
Harry Potter : Who ?
Hagrid : Well - I don't like sayin' the name if I Can help it . No one does .
Harry Potter : Why not ?
Hagrid : Gulpin' gargoyles, Harry, people are still scared. Blimey, this is difficult. See, there was this wizard who went ... bad. As bad as you could go. Worse than worse. His name was .... (Hagrid gulps but no word comes out).
Harry Potter : Could you write it down ?
Hagrid : (in a whisper) Nah - can't spell it. All right - Voldemort. (shudders) Don't make me say it again. Anyway, this - this wizard, about twenty years ago now, started lookin' fer followers. Got 'em, too - some were afraid, some
just wanted a bit o' his power, "cause he was gettin' himself power, all right. Dark days, Harry. Didn't know who to trust, didn't dare get friendly with strange wizards or witches .. Terrible things happened. He was takin' over.' Course, some stood up to him - an' he killed" em. Horribly. One o' the only safe places left was Hogwarts. Reckon Dumbledore's the only one You-Know-Who was afraid of. Didn't dare try takin' the school, not jus' then, anyway. Now, yer mum an' dad were as good a witch an' wizard as I ever knew. Head Boy an' Girl at Hogwarts in their day! Suppose the myst'ry is why You-Know-Who never tried to get 'em on his side before ... probably knew they were too close to Dumbledore to want anythin' to do with the Dark Side. Maybe thought he could persuade 'em .. maybe he just wanted 'em outta the way. All anyone knows is, he turned up in the village where you was all living, on Hallowe'en ten years ago. You was just a year old. He came toyer house an' - an'-' (Blows nose with a sound like a foghorn). Soriy. But it's that sad - knew yer mum an' dad, an' nicer people yeh couldn't find - anyway"You-Know-Who" killed 'em. An' then - an' this is the real myst'ry of the thing - he tried to kill you, too. Wanted to make a clean job of it, I suppose, or maybe he just liked killin' by then. But he couldn't do it. Never wondered how you got that mark on yer forehead? That was no ordinary cut. That's what yeh get when a powerful, evil curse touches yeh - took care of yer mum an' dad an' yer house, even - but it didn't work on you, an' that's why yer famous, Harry. No one ever lived after he decided to kill' em, no one except you, an' he'd killed some o' the best witches an' wizards of the age - the McKinnons, the Bones, the Prewetts an' your parents Harry.
1. Aunt Petunia did not like her sister and brother-in-law as ____________
2. Harry's mother had met his father at _______________
3. Harry had been told that his parents had ___________This was not the truth as ____________
4. The name of the Wizard who killed Harry Potter's parents was __________
5. Hagrid was reluctant to name _______ and called him _______
6. Harry got the scar on his forehead when _________
Look at the notes below. Then use the information to complete the paragraph by choosing a suitable word or phrase in each space.
Bishnois – always – nature worshippers – 1730 A.D. – Maharja Abhay Singh’s men – fell – khejri trees – Amrita Devi – hug a tree – protested – insisted – to cut her head first – men obliged – Amrita – a legend.
Bishnois have (a) ____________. In 1730 A.D. Maharaja Abhay Singh’s (b) ____________ fell Khajri trees. Amrita Devi, a true Bishnoi, (c) ____________ and expressed (d) ____________. She insisted that if they wanted to cut the tree (e) ____________. The unrelenting men of the Maharaja obliged her and the (f) ____________.
| (a) (i) always been regarded as nature worshippers (ii) always been called as nature worshippers (iii) always knew nature worshippers (iv) always done nature worshippers |
(b) (i) men coming to (ii) men started (iii) men began to (iv) men came to |
(c) (i) hug a tree (ii) hugging a tree (iii) hugged a tree (iv) hugs a tree |
| (d) (i) his protest (ii) her protest (iii) their protest (iv) protesting |
(e) (i) they may cut her head first (ii) they would have to cut her head first (iii) they can cut her head first (iv) they should cut her head first |
(f) (i) woman became a legend (ii) woman becomes a legend (iii) women became a legend (iv) woman read a legend |
Fill in the blanks with suitable prepositions.
(a) The magician made the girl disappear ___________ my own eyes.
(b) He climbed _________ the ladder.
(c) There is a super market _____ our house.
(d) The train was late _________ 3 hrs.
