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Question
What do you notice about the beginning and the ending of the poem?
Solution
The poem begins on a very melancholic note. The laburnum is described as standing silent and still. There is no sign of movement. The leaves of the tree have started turning yellow and the seeds have already fallen. It indicates the season of autumn.
At the end of the poem, the laburnum is left silent once again. This time the silence brings in a note of emptiness in the poem after all the commotion that the goldfinch causes. When she leaves the tree, ‘the laburnum subsides to empty’.
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RELATED QUESTIONS
A1. Choose two sentences that appropriately mention the theme of the passage :
(1) The extract deals with the writer’s concern over Chaitanya's handicap.
(2) The extract depicts the writer’s proud feelings towards her son’s achievement.
(3) The extract deals with how Chaitanya made the writer see positively towards life.
(4) The extract deals with how the writer helps Chaitanya to buy the bus ticket.
Early in 1997-98, when he returned from state-level inter-school sports, he had two prizes to his credit and a silver medal. He had won his laurels in athletic events and the silver medal in a running race.
When I saw the prizes and read the citation Chaitanya had received, I was stupefied, in total disbelief, then–hugged him, kissed him and cried unabashedly to my heart’s content. That day, I cried for the first time out of joy and a sense of being vindicated. Without practice, he had competed with approximately 1,800 children drawn from various schools all over the state. He was subsequently selected for the marathon race, but he could not participate due to a health problem. “Maybe next year, he would”, I assured myself. And I, as his proud mother, would proudly chronicle his future achievements and success to inspire other - mothers of the world.
Looking back at my own life, I feel that it is the spirit with which we can accept our life gracefully is what
matters ultimately; and it is love that nourishes us. All other things are unimportant. Chaitanya has made me look inwards. His handicap doesn’t disturb me any longer. He and I shall live with it and still be happy. The mental strength which he has given to me is inexhaustible.
One day, as both of us got onto a public transport bus, Chaitanya offered to buy the tickets for us.
“One full, one half ”, he said to the conductor beaming with joy.
Looking at him, I wondered whether he was really only a half? An incomplete person? Was I really full?
Complete in all respects? Why do then normal people feel that they are ‘full’ and others like Chaitanya are ‘half’ or incomplete? Chaitanya’s world is complete in itself, pure and innocent while our lives are full of deceit, jealousies, ill-feelings.
A2. Point out -
Point out two instances where you find Chaitanya's victory over his disability.
A3. Give reasons -
Chaitanya’s silver medal in a running race was very special for the writer, because :
(i) __________________
(ii) __________________
A4. Vocabulary -
Match the pairs of the words in column ‘A’ with their meanings in column ‘B’:
| Column ‘A’ | Column ‘B’ | ||
| (1) | stupefied | (a) | official statement about the special act of courage |
| (2) | chronicle | (b) | record events in the order they happened |
| (3) | vindicated | (c) | surprised or shocked |
| (4) | citation | (d) | justified |
A5. Personal response -
Explain, your views about the ill-treatment the special children receive in society.
A6. Grammar -
Rewrite the following sentences in the ways instructed :
(i) He had won his laurels in athletic events and the silver medal in a running race.
(Rewrite the sentence using ‘not only...but also’.)
(ii) When I saw the prizes, I was stupefied.
(Rewrite the sentence using ‘No sooner.... than’.)
Can it be argued that this is an anti- war poem?
What thought makes him feel safer?
Who won the race and how? Explain in about 50 words.
How did the last event turn out to be special?
How does the story “A Horse and Two Goats” develop the idea of the need to interact with people who have vastly different identities from your own?
Describe the picture of India given by the author.
How does Ray Bradbury develop the mood in “All Summer in a Day”?
What is the theme of all summer in a day by Ray Bradbury?
Dreams
I have never worn a more ill-fitting suit. (End: …………..ever worn.)
(i) What do you understand by the terms `outsider art’ and `art brut’ or `raw art’?
(ii) Who was the “untutored genius who created a paradise” and what is the nature of his contribution to art?
Find out about experiments in recycling that help in environmental conservation.
Discuss with your partners
The manner you adopt when you talk about a teacher to other teachers.
How did Kalpana Chawla meet her end? When did this tragedy in space take place?
1. Given below is a page from a dictionary. Look at it carefully an
(i) find a word which means the same as ghastly. Write down the word and its two meanings.
(ii) find a word meaning a part of the school year.
(iii) find a word that means examination.
2. Now make lists of
(i) all the words on the page (plus any more that you can think of) that begin with terr-
(ii) five words that may follow the last word on the page, that.
(iii) write down your own meaning of the word thank. Then write down the meaning given in the dictionary.
Look at the sentences given below. Find out which one is correct. If the sentence is wrong give reasons.
Discuss with your partner and describe the atmosphere in the woods when Peter Crouch didn’t knock before entering Mrs. Adis’s house.
The reason was -
- _________________________
- _________________________
- _________________________
Narrate in your own words a similar based on text to the class.
Given in a mixed order below are some good human attributes of the family. Pick out from the box and write it against the line that reflects it.
He believed, his daughter was still alive, after three years.
Discuss the following and write about the following in your own words in 5-6 lines.
What would you do, if something like this happens to you?
Think and write in your own words.
Why did the traveller choose the road less travelled? What attribute of the traveller does it bring out?
Think and write in your own words.
If you were in the traveller’s place, which road would you choose? Justify your choice.
Why should one learn to tackle one's problems by one’s own self?
Add ‘–er’ or ‘–r’ to the doing words below to make new words.
| stiff | |
| fight | |
| juggle | |
| speak | |
| write | |
| strange | |
| dance | |
| ride | |
| use | |
| joke |
What brought agony to the girls during the music lessons?
What does the title of the story convey?
Write in a few lines, about an experience of your own where you scored in your exams much more than you hoped for. What did that experience teach you?
Write points and counter points on the following topic:
You must memorise the rules of grammar
Use the following charts to prepare meaningful dialogues.
Use your ideas to fill in the blanks.
