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Question
Explain the associations that the colour 'white' has in the story.
Solution
White is the colour of light. However, the irony in the story The Lament is that it reflects the gloom portrayed in the story. In the beginning, to show the melancholy of Iona Potapov, the narrator says that he is so white that he looks like a phantom. His horse also appears quite white. Actually white is the colour of snow. And snow reflects despondency and lethargy of the season of winter and how the whole environment and atmosphere appears to be thrown into utter despair. The evening is setting in and everything seems so white and withered. The street lamps' light is also white, replacing the brighter rays. The whole setting, while laying stress on the white surroundings, project the solitude of the poor cab driver.
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RELATED QUESTIONS
Read the following extract carefully and complete the activities given below :
A1 Complete the following :
(i) Books were found on the _____________ and ____________.
(ii) The tales are described as ______________ and __________.
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Have you forgotten? Don't you know?
We'll say it very loud and slow:
THEY ... USED ... TO ... READ! They'd READ and READ,
AND READ and READ, and then proceed
To READ some more. Great Scott! Gadzooks!
One-half of their lives was reading books!
The nursery shelves held books galore!
Books cluttered up the nursery floor!
And in the bedroom, by the bed,
More books were waiting to be read!
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.)
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Briefly comment on:
Tsetan’s support to the author during the journey.
'Have you come back?' said the woman.'I thought that no one had come back.'
Does this statement give some clue about the story? If yes, what is it?
Explain the line:
Within a week it sickened to a raging fever and its pulse went up to a hundred and fifty in the shade.
Think, choose and fill up the labels with what a 'sunrise' symbolizes.
(jewellery / art / hope / birth / anger / newopportunities / good manners / inspiration / new achievements / happiness / misery / bright moments / new aims / money / new surprises)
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Find from the story one word for the following.
the highest-ranking official who commands a ship ______
Make groups and discuss the following:
Name a few scientists/explorers/social reformers/inventors/discoverers, who spent most of their lives to find solutions to some major problems/setbacks, that mankind faced.
'Uttarayana' starts from Makar Sankranti onwards.
Prepare an Acrostic from the word ‘Leisure’. The words should be related to what one likes to do in free time.
L______
E______
I______
S______
U______
Reading stories
E______
Akbar thought he was greater than God.
Fill in the gap, choosing a word from the bracket to make an appropriate comparison.
(tall / quiet / humble / merry / busy / slippery / fast / sly / slow / big)
as ______ as an elephant
Imagine you are the Crane. What actions and words of the Peacock would you not like? Write about it in short.
Find sentences from the play related to the given points.
Loyalty in Irish Nationalism:
- Maybe Sergeant you’ll be on the side of the country yet.
- ____________________________
- ____________________________
- ____________________________
Write a short note on the following:
Veterinary Science in Ancient India.
Write the conditions that Portia put down to warn Shylock.
Visit a library:
Read stories about Gautama Buddha. Relate one story in the class.
We find the following in the script of a skit or play. Rearrange these steps in the proper order and write them down in the form of a flow chart.
Did Gopal Bhand have a field?
Read the word. Write the words that combine to make it.
snowwhite
Read the highlighted words. They are adverbs.
- I was pulling hard.
- They ran away.
- Later, I was taken to the city.
- I went very carefully.
- They were greatly pleased.
Hamid’s friends are ______
What kind of a life do you want to lead in this world?
Read the sentences and number them in correct order.
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1. He wished to have Gopal with him. |
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2. Salim felt that it should come from within. |
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| 3. He thought he wouldn’t be able to finish it. | |
| 4. The old man worked tirelessly on the sculpture. | |
| 5. He realized that Gopal must learn to carve the finer details. | |
| 6. He had a strong wish to finish it in time. | |
| 7. Over days, he felt very weak. |
Read the line and answer the question.
And the wheel’s kick and the winds song and the white sail’s shaking
What according to the poet are the pleasures of sailing?
Why do we need trees? List four reasons that Grandfather gives.
What is a sol? How many sols make a year?
What was the truth finally learned by Chris?
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)
Pick out word which mean the same as
not protected (para 2)
Read the passage given below:
| 1. | Very often, we do not take the first step towards a good cause because we say to ourselves, "The task is so big. What can I do alone?" So nothing gets done. There is much talk about environmental protection, air pollution and saving our forests. Do we really care? If we do, here are a few things we can do to make our surroundings more pleasant. |
| 2. | It is good to adopt a two-uses-attitude! By putting an article to a second use, we are giving it a longer lease of life and using up less raw material from nature. One of the worst things we do is abuse of paper. The clean sides of envelopes can be used to write small notes, lists and reminders around the house. The more paper we use, the more trees will have to be cut down. For the same reason, we should avoid the use of paper napkins or paper plates. Cloth napkins are just as good, for they can be washed and used over and over again. |
| 3. | Another area which needs the most urgent attention is effective garbage disposal. People who are conscious about it follow rules and laws strictly. As a result, their neighbourhoods are clean and beautiful Similarly, each one of us can contribute to a cleaner environment. All kitchen waste should be collected separately. Those of you who have green fingers can turn this into valuable manure. Dig a pit and put the kitchen waste into it. When the pit is a little over half full, cover it up with mud. Let nature do the rest. Within three or six months, we will have a good garden manure. It can also be done as a community project by digging a large pit in the colony. Do take help of all the members, for nothing succeeds like co-operation |
| 4. | A lot of people don't care about the environment because they don't understand the adverse effect that society has on it. It is important to convince people to care about the environment. The first step would be to convince people to change by providing simple alternative solutions and ways of doing things. Theintemet is a powerful tool and a group on social media of like-minded people can be formed. People can share environmental stories and issues, as well as pool in solutions and alternatives to educate one another. With the current state that our planet is in, it is imperative that people actively care about the environment and most importantly to act now. |
Based on your understanding of the passage, answer any Eight questions from the nine given below:
- Why don't we take the first step towards a good cause?
- What is a two-uses-attitude?
- What can we do to avoid the abuse of paper? (any two points)
- What is the result of an effective way of a garbage disposal?
- What procedure can one adopt for kitchen waste?
- How can making of garden manure be done as community project?
- How long does it take to make good garden manure?
- Select a suitable word from the passage which means - being concerned or interested. (Paragraph 3)
- Pick out the word from the passage which means - completely necessary? (Paragraph 4)
