Ch-1 Letter to God

Oral Comprehension Check Page 5

Question 1. What did Lencho hope for?
Answer: Lencho hoped for a good rain as it was much needed for a good harvest.
Question 2. Why did Lencho say the raindrops were like ‘new coins?’
Answer: Lencho compared the raindrops with new coins because they were promising
him a good harvest resulting in more prosperity.
Question 3. How did the rain change? What happened to Lencho’s fields?
Answer: The rain changed into hailstones as a strong wind began to blow, and huge
hailstones began to fall along with the rain. All the crops in Lencho’s field got destroyed
because of the weather conditions.
Question 4. What were Lencho’s feelings when the hail stopped?
Answer: Lencho was filled with grief after the hail stopped as everything was ruined and
there was nothing that he could feed his family with. He could see a bleak future for him
and his family.
Question 5. Who or what did Lencho have faith in? What did he do?
Answer: Lencho had firm faith in God. He believed ‘that God sees everything’, even
what is deep in one’s conscience and help everyone in one’s problems. He wrote a letter
to God demanding him a hundred pesos to sow his field again.
Question 6. Who reads the letter?
Answer: Postmaster read the letter.
Question 7. What did the postmaster do after reading a letter?
Answer: The postmaster laughed when he read Lencho’s letter but soon he became
serious and was moved by the writer’s faith in God. He didn’t want to shake Lencho’s
faith. So, he decided to collect, money and send it to Lencho on behalf of God.
Question 8. Was Lencho surprised to find a letter for him with money in it?
Answer: Lencho was not surprised to find a letter with money from God as he believed
that God would help him.
Question 9. What made Lencho angry?
Answer: There were only seventy pesos in the envelope whereas Lencho had
demanded a hundred pesos. The difference in the amount made him angry.
Thinking about the Text (Page 7,8)
Question 1. Who does Lencho have complete faith in? Which sentences in the story tell
you this?
Answer: Lencho has complete faith in God as he is instructed that God knows
everything and helps us in our problems. There are few sentences which show this But
in the hearts of all who lived in that solitary house in the middle of the valley, there was a
single hope help from God. All through the night, Lencho thought only of his one hope:
the help of God, whose eyes, as he had been instructed, see everything, even what is
deep in one’s conscience. “God”, he wrote, “if you don’t help me, my family and I will go
hungry this year”. He wrote ‘To God’ on the envelope, put the letter inside and still
troubled, went to town. God could not have made a mistake, nor could he have denied
Lencho what he had requested.
Question 2. Why does the postmaster send money to Lencho? Why does he sign the
letter God?
Answer: The postmaster sends money to Lencho in order to keep Lencho’s faith in God
alive and firm as he was completely moved by it. When postmaster reads the letter of
Lencho to God, he becomes serious and does not want to shake his faith and decides to
answer the letter. He gathers money with the help of his post office employees and
friends on behalf of God and signs the letter ‘God’ so that Lencho’s faith does not get
shaken.
Question 3. Did Lencho try to find out who had sent the money to him? Why or why not?
Answer: Lencho did not try to find out who had sent the money to him because he never
suspected the presence of God and had complete faith in God. He could not believe
that it could be – anybody else other than him who would send him the money. His faith
in God was so strong that he believed that he had sent money to him for his help in his
problem.
Question 4. Who does Lencho think has taken the rest of the money? What is the irony
in the situation? (Remember that the irony of a situation is an unexpected aspect of it.
An ironic situation is strange or amusing because it is the opposite of what is expected).
Answer: Lencho thinks that the post office employees have taken the rest of the money
as he had demanded a hundred pesos from God and in the letter, there was only
seventy pesos, and God cannot make such a mistake. So, he assumes that they have
stolen the money. The irony in this situation is that Lencho suspects those people who
helped him in his problem and tried to keep his faith alive in God.
Question 5. Are there people like Lencho in the real world? What kind of a person would
you say he is? You may select appropriate words from the box to answer the
question.
Answer: It is almost impossible to find a person like Lencho as he is an unquestioning
and naive kind of person. He is not stupid if he doesn’t know who has sent him money or
a letter will reach God without any address. It is Lencho’s faith in God. In real world,
people are selfish and greedy and Lencho is totally lovable and different.
Question 6. There are two kinds of conflict in the story between humans and nature and
between humans themselves. How are these conflicts illustrated?
Answer: Conflict between Humans and Nature: The conflict between humans and
nature is illustrated by the destruction of Lencho’s crop by the hailstorm as Lencho was
expecting a good rain to have good harvest as that was the only hope he had for his
earning. He worked so hard to feed his family, but nature turned violent and destroyed
everything. Conflict between Humans and Humans: The story also illustrated another
conflict, between humans themselves as the postmaster along with his friends and
staff sent Lencho money that Lencho demanded from God although they didn’t know
Lencho. Lencho blamed them for taking away some amount of money. He called them
“a bunch of crooks”. This shows that man does not have faith in other man, thereby
giving rise to this conflict.
Pm-1.1 Dust of Snow
Thinking about the Poem (Page 14)
Question 1. What is a “dust of snow”? What does the poet say has changed his mood?
How has the poet’s mood changed?
Answer: The ‘dust of snow’ means the fine particles or flakes of snow. The sudden
shower in the form of the dust of snow changed the poet’s mood. The poet’s mood
changed from sad to happy. He felt refreshed and wanted to enjoy the rest of the day.
Question 2. How does Frost present nature in this poem? The following
Question s may help you to think of an answer. What are the birds that are usually
named in poems? Do you think crow is often mentioned in poems? What images come
to your mind when you think of a crow? Again, what is ‘a hemlock tree’? Why doesn’t the
poet write about more ‘beautiful’ tree such as a maple, or an oak, or a pine? What do the
‘crow’ and ‘hemlock’ represent-joy or sorrow? What does the dust of snow that the crow
shakes off a hemlock tree stand for?
Answer: Frost presents nature in a very different manner in the poem, Generally, poets
take the birds and trees which are known for their beauty and good qualities like
peacock, parrot, cuckoo, mynah and trees full of beautiful flowers and fruits, etc. But
here Frost has taken a totally different approach. He chose a crow, which is not often
used in poems. Crow is black in colour with very harsh voice and is believed to be a
symbol of bad omen. Thinking of a crow brings very depressing and sorrowful pictures to
our mind. A hemlock tree is poisonous plant with small white flowers. The poet, Robert
Frost, didn’t choose to use an oak, maple or pine tree. Instead, he chose the hemlock
tree and left all the beautiful trees present in the world. Actually, he did so to present his
mood and feelings. The crow and hemlock tree represent sorrow and depression felt by
the poet in this materialistic world. The dust of snow is the symbol of natural joy and
energy. The dust of snow that the crow shakes off a hemlock tree means passing
through the sad and depressing moments the poet is entering into the time full of joy
and optimism.
Question 3. Have there been times when you felt depressed or hopeless? Have you
experienced a similar moment that changed your mood that day?
Answer: There have been innumerable times when I too have felt depressed and
hopeless. Sometimes, such moments were aroused by other people’s behaviour and
attitude and sometimes due to my own conduct. On one occasion when I was very
upset. I went out for a walk. While walking in the park, I saw a girl playing with a puppy,
embracing and feeding him. This little joy that they shared changed my mood and I felt
very happy for the rest of the day. I also joined the two and played with them.
Pm-1.2 Fire and Ice
Thinking about the Poem (Page 15)
Question 1. There are many ideas about how the world will ‘end’. Do you think the world
will end some day? Have you ever thought what would happen if the Sun got so hot that
it ‘bursts’ or grows colder and colder?
Answer: There are definitely many ideas about how the world will ‘end’. I do believe that
the world will end someday as anything that has a beginning will have an end. This
stands true for the world also, if the Sun got so hot that it burst, the whole of the Earth
would perish immediately as no part of the Earth can bear the heat of that intensity. But
if the Sun grew colder and colder, everything would come to an end as without sunlight,
life will end.
Question 2. For Frost, what do ‘fire’ and ‘ice’ stand for? Here are some ideas.
Answer: ‘Fire’ stands for greed, avarice, lust, conflict and fury. ‘Ice’ stands for cruelty,
intolerance, rigidity, insensitivity, coldness, indifference and hatred.
Question 3. What is the rhyme scheme of the poem? How does it help in bringing out
the contrasting ideas in the poem?
Answer: The rhyme scheme of the poem is- a b a a b c b c b This rhyme scheme helps in
bringing out the contrasting ideas of ‘fire’ and ‘ice’ presented in the poem. The poet
mentions that both fire and ice are probable ends of this world. He talks about how fire
represents desire and can therefore be a cause of the end of the world. Frost also
mentions ice in between to symbolise that the coldness and indifference towards one
another will be enough to end the world. In the second stanza, he says that he knows of
enough hate in the world to be sure that even destruction through ice. would be
sufficient to bring about the end of the world.
Sp-1 A Triumph of Surgery
Read and Find Out
(Page 1)
Question 1. Why is Mrs Pumphrey worried about Tricki?
Answer: Mrs Pumphrey is worried about Tricki because he is unwell. He has refused to
eat food and had bouts of vomiting. She feels that he is suffering from a serious health
issue such as malnutrition.
Question 2. What does she do to help him? Is she wise in this?
Answer: Mrs Pumphrey starts giving him extra snacks like malt, cod-liver oil and
Horlicks, apart from his main meals, to improve his condition. She also continues to
satisfy his sweet tooth with cream cakes and chocolates. She does not give him any
exercise, considering his listlessness as well. She is not wise in doing so because
overfeeding Tricki is worsening his conditions instead of improving it. It has made him
very fat and lazy.
Question 3. Who does ‘I’ refer to in this story?
Answer: ‘I’ refers to the narrator, Mr James Herriot, a veterinary doctor.
Page 3
Question 4. Is the narrator as rich as Tricki’s mistress?
Answer: No, the narrator is not as rich as Tricki’s mistress, Mrs Pumphery. We can say
so because the narrator seems fascinated by how lavishly Mrs Pumphrey spends on the
well-being and maintenance of her pet. He is unusually surprised by the enriching items
she sends for Tricki, as he cannot afford them for himself.
Question 5. How does he treat the dog?
Answer: James Herriot treats Tricki just like he would treat an overweight and lazy dog,
which Tricki is. He cuts down his food intake and keeps him under strict observation for
the initial days at hospital. He gradually increases Tricki’s food and sets him free for
physical activities to improve his health.
Question 6. Why is he tempted to keep Tricki on as a permanent guest?
Answer: Mr Herriot is tempted to keep Tricki on as a permanent guest because of the
good food and wine he is enjoying in Tricki’s name. He does not want to lose the
luxurious inflow of fresh eggs, wine and brandy.
Question 7. Why does Mrs Pumphrey think the dog’s recovery is ‘a triumph of surgery’?
Answer: Mrs Pumphrey thinks that Tricki’s recovery is a triumph of surgery because his
illness was very serious. She was of the opinion that there were very few chances of
Tricki to improve, and he needed immediate medical attention. Thus, his revival without
any medicinal treatment was a great achievement, according to her.
Think About It (Page 6)
Question 1. What kind of a person do you think the narrator, a veterinary surgeon, is?
Would you say he is tactful as well as full of common sense?
Answer: The narrator, a veterinary surgeon, is a capable and wise doctor. He handles
Tricki properly which shows that he is sincere about his profession. He does not operate
upon the dog unnecessarily and cures him by altering his diet and activities. He is a
tactful person as he knew exactly how to convince Mrs Pumphrey to hospitalise Tricki
for a surgery. His decision to inform Mrs Pumphrey to collect Tricki supports his
sensibilities even though he was tempted to keep Tricki as a permanent guest.
Question 2. Do you think Tricki was happy to go home? What do you think will happen
now?
Answer: Tricki was happy to go back home as he really loved his mistress and the
comfort of his lavish life. He didn’t have any friends at home like in the hospital, but he
seemed equally excited at the sight of Mrs Pumphrey. I think that Mrs Pumphrey will now
be careful about Tricki’s diet and health. She may also give him exercise daily as
prescribed by the vet earlier.
Question 3. Do you think it is a real-life episode or mere fiction? Or is it a mixture of
both?
Answer: The story seems to be a mixture of both. It may be possible for rich persons to
overfeed their pets due to love. It is not unusual for them to maintain a vast wardrobe for
them either. But it is unlikely for a veterinary doctor to go out of the way and lie to save
an animal. It is also unusual for anyone to consume food which is given in the name of a
pet’s health.
Ch-2 Nelson Mandela: Long Walk to
Freedom
Oral Comprehension Check Page 18,19
Question 1. Where did the ceremonies take place? Can you name any public buildings
in India that are made of sandstones?
Answer: The ceremonies took place in the campus of the Union Building of Pretoria,
which were attended by dignitaries and leaders of many nations. In India, Rashtrapati
Bhavan and Red Fort are buildings made of red sandstone.
Question 2. Can you say how 10th May is an ‘autumn day’ in South Africa?
Answer: As South Africa is in the Southern Hemisphere, may falls in the autumn
season. Thus, 10th May is an ‘autumn day’.
Question 3. At the beginning of his speech, Mandela mentions “an extraordinary human
disaster”. What does he mean by this? What is the “glorious human achievement” he
speaks of at the end?
Answer: By ‘an extraordinary human disaster’ Mandela means to state the practice of
apartheid in South Africa. During this there was a racial segregation based on colour
and the blacks suffered a lot. They were not allowed to demand freedom or any right.
Mandela himself did spend many years on infamous ‘Robben Island’ as a prisoner
where he was beaten mercilessly. He considered it as great glorious human
achievement that a black person became the President of a country where the blacks
were not even considered human beings and were treated badly.
Question 4. What does Mandela thank the international leaders for?
Answer: Mandela felt very privileged to welcome the international leaders at the
swearing – in ceremony because not too long ago, the South Africans were considered
outlaws. He thus thanks all of them for having come to witness the historical ceremony.
This was a gesture of international recognition to a newly born free democratic nation,
and it could be considered as a common victory for justice, peace and human dignity.
Question 5. What ideals does Nelson Mandela set for the future of South Africa?
Answer: Nelson Mandela set the ideals of liberating people from bondage of poverty,
deprivation and suffering. He also set the ideal for a society where there would be no
discrimination based on gender or racial origins. Page 21
Question 1. What did the military generals do? How did their attitude change and why?
Answer: The highest military generals of South African defence force saluted Mandela
and pledged their loyalty which was of great significance as during apartheid era they
would have arrested him. The change in their attitude was because of struggle and
sacrifices put in by many heroes of South Africa. This struggle not only ensured the
freedom of a nation struggling with apartheid but brought a change in mindsets of many.
He believed that love can also be taught, and human being is naturally inclined towards
love rather than hate.
Question 2. Why were two national anthems sung?
Answer: One the auspicious occasion of the inauguration two national anthems: one by
the Whites and the other by the Blacks symbolising the equality of the Blacks and the
Whites were sung.
Question 3. How does Mandela describe the systems of government in his country (i) in
the first decade, and (ii) in the final decade, of the twentieth century?
Answer: (i) In the first decade of the century, the whites erected a system of racial
domination against the blacks, thus creating the basis of one of the harshest and most
inhumane societies the world had ever known. (ii) In the final decade of the 20th
century, the. previous system had been overturned and replaced by one which
recognised rights and freedom of all people regardless of colour of their skin.
Question 4. What does courage mean to Mandela?
Answer: For Mandela courage does not mean the absence of fear but a victory over fear.
According to him brave men need not be fearless but should be able to conquer fear.
Question 5. Which does Mandela think is natural, to love or to hate?
Answer: For Mandela, love comes more naturally to the human heart than hate. Page 4
Question 1. What “twin obligations” does Mandela mention?
Answer: Mandela mentions that every man has twin obligations. The first is to his
family, parents, wife and children; the second obligation is to his people, his community
and his country.
Question 2. What did being free mean to Mandela as a boy, and as a student? How
does he contrast these “transitory freedoms” with “the basic and honourable
freedoms”?
Answer: Like any other kid, for Mandela freedom meant to make merry and enjoy the
blissful life. Once one becomes an adult, antics of childhood looks like transitory
because most of the childish activities are wasteful from an adult’s perspective. Once
you are adult, you must earn a livelihood to bring the bacon home. Its only then when
you get an honourable existence in the family and in the society.
Question 3. Does Mandela think the oppressor is free? Why/why not?
Answer: Mandela does not think that the oppressor is free because according to him an
oppressor is a victim of hatred who is behind the bars of prejudice and narrow
mindedness. He realises that both the oppressor and the oppressed are robbed of their
humanity and peace.
Thinking about the Text (Page 24)
Question 1. Why did such many international leaders attend the inauguration? What
did it signify the triumph of?
Answer: To be the part of the inauguration, international leaders showed a gesture of
solidarity from international community to the idea of end of apartheid. It was the
significance of the victory of good over evil and triumph of a tolerant society without any
discrimination.
Question 2. What does Mandela mean when he says he is “simply the sum of all those
African patriots”, who had gone before him?
Answer: By saying that he is simply the sum of all those African patriots, Mandela wants
to pay his tribute to all the people who have sacrificed their lives for the sake of
freedom. He says that he is grateful to those who had gone before him because those
heroes of past had paved the path of co-operation and unity for him. Therefore, he could
try to come to power to bring equality for his people with their support.
Question 3. Would you agree that the “depths of oppression” create “heights of
character”? How does Mandela illustrate this? Can you add your own examples to this
argument?
Answer: I agree with the statement that depths of oppression create heights of
character. Nelson Mandela illustrates this by giving examples of great heroes of South
Africa like Oliver Tambo, Walter Sisulu and others who were inspired to sacrifice their
lives in the long freedom struggle. India is full of such examples, during our freedom
struggle there was a galaxy of leaders of great characters and the oppression of British
rule created and encouraged people of noble characters like Mahatma Gandhi, Lala
Lajpat Rai, JL Nehru, Chandra Shekhar Ajad, Sardar Bhagat Singh and many more. If we
compare them with the quality of political leaders India is having today, then Nelson
Mandela seems to be absolutely right.
Question 4. How did Mandela’s understanding of freedom change with age and
experience?
Answer: With age and experience, Mandela understood the real meaning of freedom.
As a young boy, he thought that he was born free and believed that as long as he obeyed
his father and abided by the customs of his tribe, he was free in every possible manner.
As he grew older, freedom to raise a family and freedom to earn livelihood started
dominating his thoughts. Gradually he realised that he was selfish during his boyhood.
He slowly understood that it was not just his freedom that was being curtailed, but the
freedom of all blacks. It was the freedom from fear and prejudice. Age and experience
widened his perspective of freedom.
Question 5. How did Mandela’s ‘hunger for freedom’ change his life?
Answer: Mandela realised in his youth that it was not just his freedom that was being
curtailed, but the freedom of all blacks. This changed the fearful man to a fearless rebel.
He sacrificed the comforts of a settled family life to fight for a greater cause. He joined
the African National Congress, and this changed him from a frightened young man into
a bold one who fought against racial prejudice.
Pm-2 Tiger in the Zoo
Thinking about the Poem (Page 30)
Question 1. Read the poem again and work in pairs or groups to do the following tasks.
1. Find the words that describe the movements and actions of the tiger in the cage and
in the wild. Arrange them in two columns.
2. Find the words that describe the two places and arrange them in two columns. Now
try to share ideas about how the poet uses words and images to contrast the two
situations.
Answer 1:
In the Cage In the Wild
Stalks, few steps of his cage, Quiet rage Lurking in shadow, sliding through long
Locked in concrete cell, Stalking-the grass, snarling around houses, baring his
length of his cage Ignoring visitors. He white fangs, his claws, Terrorising the
hears the last voice Stares at the brilliant village.
stars.
Answer 2:
Cage Wild
Few steps of his cage, Shadow, Long grass, Water
Locked, Concrete cell, hole, Plump deer,
Behind bars, Visitors, Houses at jungle’s edge,
Patrolling cars Village
Question 2. Notice the use of a word repeated in lines such as these 1. On pads of
velvet quiet, In his quiet rage. 2. And stares with his brilliant eyes at the brilliant stars.
What do you think is the effect of this repetition?
Answer: This repetition is a poetic device used by the poet in order to increase the
intensity of the tiger’s rage and his helpless silence. ‘Velvet quiet’ refers to the quiet
velvet pads of the tiger, which cannot run or leap. They can only walk around the limited
space in the cage. The use of ‘quiet rage’ symbolises the anger and ferocity that is
building up inside the tiger as it wants to run out into the forest and attack a deer, but
the rage is quiet because he is locked in the cage and is helpless. The repetition of
‘quiet’ has, thus, brought immense beauty to the poem. Similarly, the use of ‘brilliant’
for the tiger’s eyes as well as the stars also brings out the magnificence of these lines.
The tiger stares at the brilliant stars with his brilliant eyes dreaming about how beautiful
his life could be in the forest. The repetition thus, gives a wonderful effect to the poem.
Question 3. Read the following two poems one about a tiger and the other about a
panther. Then discuss: Are zoos necessary for the protection or conservation of some
species of animals? Are they useful for educating the public? Are there alternatives to
zoos?
Answer: Several species of animals are on the verge of extinction. Even tigers and lions
are not safe in the forest due to poaching that is done for trade, etc. Zoos are, thus,
necessary for the protection or conservation of these species. Zoos are safe and can
also be used to educate the public about the importance of wild animals and their role
in maintaining the ecological ‘balance. Wildlife sanctuaries, reserves and national parks
are some alternatives to zoos. These not only help in the protection and conservation of
these species but also provide them with a natural habitat.
Sp-2 The Thief’s Story
Read and Find Out
Page 8
Question 1. Who does ‘I’ refer to in this story?
Answer: I refers to Hari Singh, the narrator of the story who is a 15-year-old experienced
thief.
Question 2. What is he “a fairly successful hand” at?
Answer: He is a fairly successful hand at stealing. He is an experienced thief. He is so
clean and swift in his work that he robs people without being caught.
Question 3. What does he get from Anil in return for his work?
Answer: In return of Hari Singh’s work, Anil gives him food and a place to live in. Page 10
Question 4. How does the thief think Anil will react to the theft?
Answer: According to Hari, Anil would be sad not because of the loss of money but
because of the loss of trust he had in Hari.
Question 5. What does he say about the different reactions of people when they are
robbed?
Answer: Hari’s experience at theft had made him aware of differences in reactions of
people when they’re robbed. According to him, a greedy man shows fear; the rich, anger
and a poor man, acceptance.
Question 6. Does Anil realise that he has been robbed?
Answer: Yes, Anil realised that he had been robbed, as he gave a fifty rupee note to Hari
which was still damp due to the night’s rain. Think About It (Page 13)
Question 1. What are Hari Singh’s reactions at the prospect of receiving an education?
Do they change overtime? (Hint: compare, for example, the thought: ‘I knew that once I
could write like an educated man there would be no limit to what I could achieve’ with
these later thoughts: ‘Whole sentences, I knew, could one day bring me more than a few
hundred rupees. It was a simple matter to steal and sometimes just as simple to be
caught. But to be a really big man, a clever and respected man, was something else.’)
What makes him return to Anil?
Answer: Hari was very happy and grateful when he learned to write his name. He was
very excited when Anil promised to teach him to write whole sentences as well. He
knew that being an educated man will add to his abilities, and he could achieve
anything. But when he left Anil’s house, he realised that stealing was simply a crime to
indulge himself but being educated was an entirely different thing. He knew the respect,
reputation and possibilities that would come to him once he was educated. And so, his
urge to receive education compelled him to return to Anil.
Question 2. Why does Anil not hand the thief over to the police? Do you think most
people would have done so? In what ways is Anil different from such employers?
Answer: Unlike others, Anil does not handover Hari to the police on theft charges. He
knew about the theft, but he did not thrash him nor even mentioned it in front of Hari.
He was glad that Hari had realised his mistake and the importance of education in life.
Anil wanted Hari to become a literate man and lead a respectful life. He is different from
other such employers because he is very understanding. Hari’s return gave him the
hope of a change in him.
Ch-3 Two Stories About Flying
I. His First Flight
Thinking about the Text (Page 36)
Question 1. Why was the young seagull afraid to fly? Do you think all young birds are
afraid to make their first flight, or are some birds timider than others? Do you think a
human baby also f inds it a challenge to take its first step?
Answer: The young seagull was afraid to fly because it was his first flight, and he feared
of falling and hurting himself. He thought that his wings would not support him while
flying. Yes, it is natural that doing something for the first time is a bit challenging and
fearful. All birds must be afraid to make their first flight. Similarly, a human baby is also
afraid of taking the first step and find it challenging when he learns to crawl or stand up
without support.’
Question 2. “The sight of the food maddened him.” What does this suggest? What
compelled the young seagull to finally fly?
Answer: The young seagull was very hungry. It was this hunger that ultimately
compelled it to fly. Its hunger intensified when it saw its mother tearing at a piece of fish
that lay at her feet. It cried to her, begging her to get some food. When its mother came
towards it with food in her beak, it screamed with joy and anticipation. However, she
stopped midway. It wondered why she did not come nearer. Not being able to resist or
controfits hunger any longer, it dived at the food in its mother’s beak. At that moment,
his hunger overpowered his fear of the great expanse of sea beneath the cliff. Finally,
this plunge was followed by the natural reaction of its body, i.e. to fly.
Question 3. They were beckoning to him, calling shrilly.” Why did the seagull’s father
and mother threaten him and cajole him to fly?
Answer: Seagull’s parents had tried everything, but he was reluctant to fly due to fear of
falling. He looked at his brothers and sister but wouldn’t make any efforts. Thats why the
whole family had left him alone and threatened and cajoled him to come but every
effort went in vain.
Question 4. Have you ever had a similar experience, where your parents encouraged
you to do something that you were too scared to try? Discuss this in pairs or groups.
Answer: (Suggested Answer) Yes, I had a similar experience while leaning to ride a
bicycle in class VI. In my initial attempts, I fell down every time and developed a fear of
cycling which was difficult to overcome. No amount of provoking and cajoling could let
me try it again, but my father encouraged me to overcome the fear and helped me as he
was adamant on my learning cycling. He took me on a mound near village and made me
sit and asked me to put my hands on the handle and feet on the paddle. It sped down
and I enjoyed it without fear which developed my confidence. Thus, I overcame my fear
of cycling and started riding a cycle after a few practice
Question 5. In the case of a bird flying, it seems a natural act, and a foregone
conclusion that it should succeed. In the examples you have given in Answer to the
previous question, was your success guaranteed, or was it important for you to try,
regardless of a possibility of failure?
Answer: We face some problems in the initial stage while learning new skill. Due to the
fear of failure, we hesitate to perform a task or to do something new. In case of the
seagull his parents cajoled him to fly. In the example I have given in the answer of
previous question, I was cajoled by my father to learn cycling. So, at that stage, I was to
learn cycling as it was very important for me to overcome my fear. Yes, my success was
guaranteed because if someone is determined to do something then success is
assured. Moreover, as said, practice, makes a man perfect.
II. The Black Aeroplane
Thinking about the Text (Page 40)
Question 1. “I’ll take the risk”. What is the risk? Why does the narrator take it?
Answer: A huge storm was brewing up and the author was keen to reach his home to
spend his holiday with his family. So, he decided to fly through the storm as he did not
want to miss the chance to meet his family at breakfast. Thus, he took the risk even
when the visibility was almost zero in the storm.
Question 2. Describe the narrator’s experience as he flew the aeroplane into the storm.
Answer: As the pilot (author) entered the storm, his plane started jumping and twisting.
He could not see anything outside the plane as it was black. When he looked at
compass and other instruments they had stopped to function due to storm. It was a
terrible and fearsome experience for him. The fuel tank was almost empty, and he could
not fly more than ten minutes. Then he saw another black aeroplane by his side and the
pilot of the plane signalled him to follow. It was a surprise for the narrator as the other
black plane was having no light. He followed him without any choice and landed safely
on the runway.
Question 3. Why does the narrator say, “I landed and was not sorry to walk away from
the old Dakota…”?
Answer: Seagull’s parents had tried everything, but he was reluctant to fly due to fear of
falling down. He looked at his brothers and sister but wouldn’t make any efforts. Thats
why the whole family had left him alone and threatened and cajoled him to come but
every effort went in vain.
Question 4. What made the woman in the Control Centre look at the narrator strangely?
Answer: The woman in the Control Centre looked at the narrator strangely because the
narrator asked him about the black aeroplane and she saw no one except the narrators
in the sky during the storm. Even the radar showed only the narrator’s plane that night in
the sky.
Question 5. Who do you think helped the narrator to reach safely? Discuss this among
yourselves and give reasons for your answer.
Answer: It is very difficult to say about the unknown pilot who helped the narrator. But
probably it was the narrator himself that helped him to overcome the fear in the storm
as no other plane was seen in the radar except the narrator’s Dakota plane. In that
fearsome situation, he might have been hallucinating. He himself was a good pilot and
brave enough who helped himself land safely.
Pm-3.1 How to Tell Wild Animals
Thinking about the Poem (Page 45)
Question 1. Does ‘Dyin’ really rhyme with ‘lion’? Can you say it in such a way that it
does?
Answer: No, ‘Dyin’ does not rhyme with ‘lion’. If we change the pronunciation of lion by
speaking it as ‘lying’ then it may rhyme with the word ‘dyin’.
Question 2. How does the poet suggest that you identify the lion and the tiger? When
can you do so according to him?
Answer: A lion is a large and tawny beast. A Bengal Tiger has black stripes on its yellow
coat. A lion roars when it falls upon its prey, while a tiger attacks silently. We can identify
the two while roaming in the jungle.
Question 3. Do you think the words ‘lept’ and ‘lep’ in the third stanza are spelt
correctly? Why does the poet spell them like this?
Answer: The words ‘lept’ and ‘lep’ are not spelt correctly. The poet has spelt them like
this in order to maintain the rhythm of the poem. The correct spelling of the words, ‘lept’
is leapt and ‘lep’ is leap. The poet has intentionally spelt them incorrectly to create a
sense of humour.
Question 4. Do you know what a ‘bearhug’ is? It’s a friendly and strong hug-such as
bears are thought to give, as they attack you! Again, hyenas are thought to laugh and
crocodiles to weep (‘crocodile tears’) as they swallow their victims. Are there similar
expressions and popular ideas about wild animals in your own language (s)?
Answer: A bearhug is when the bear hugs his prey tightly with both hands and presses
him to death. There are indeed similar expressions and popular ideas about wild
animals in every language. For example, in Hindi, we say ‘Magarmach Ke Aasu Aana’
(Crocodile tears) ‘Hathi Ke Daant Dikhane Ke Aur, Khane Ke Aur’, ‘Ab pachtaye hot kya
jab chidiya chug gai khet’, ‘Girgit ke tarah rang badalna’.
Question 5. Look at the line ‘A novice might nonplus.” How would you write this
‘correctly’? Why is the poet’s ‘incorrect’ line better in the poem?
Answer: The line “A novice might nonplus” can be written correctly as “A novice might
be nonplussed”. However, the poet’s incorrect line is better in the poem as it maintains
the rhyme scheme of the poem. By writing it incorrectly, ‘nonplus’ rhymes with ‘thus’.
Question 6. Can you find other examples of poets taking liberties with language, either
in English or in your own language? Can you find examples of humorous poems in your
own language (s)?
Answer: One can find plenty of examples in poetry where poets take liberties with
language. This is called ‘poetic licence’. Poets take such liberties in order to create
proper rhyming and rhythm. For example, in the following lines the word ‘prest’ is used
instead of ‘pressed’ so that it may rhyme with ‘breast’. A tree whose hungry mouth is
prest Against the earth’s sweat flowing breast
Question 7. Much of the humour in the poem arises from the way language is used.
Although the ideas are funny as well. If there are particular lines in the poem that you
especially like, share these lines with the class, speaking briefly about what it is about
the ideas or the language that you like or find funny.
Answer: The way the poet has used language and ideas in the poem is indeed
humorous. The lines from the poem that appears to be funny are “A noble wild beast
greets you”. The idea that a wild beast is going to welcome you is quite funny. The
language in the line, “He’ll only lep and lep again” is also very humorous. The concept of
‘lep’ from the word ‘leopard’ generates humour.
Pm-3.1 The Ball Poem
Thinking about the poem
In pairs, attempt the following questions
Question 1. Why does the poet say, “I would not intrude on him”? Why doesn’t he offer
him money to buy another ball?
Answer: The poet says, “I would not intrude on him” because he does not want to
intervene in the natural process of learning. He wants the boy to learn the meaning of
loss on his own. He also doesn’t offer him money to buy another ball because that
would be worthless. He wants the boy to learn the lesson of responsibility.
Question 2. “ …. staring down All his young days into the harbour where His ball
went….” Do you think the boy has had the ball for a long time? Is it linked to the
memories of days when he played with it?
Answer: Yes, the boy has had the ball for a long time. When it bounced into the water,
all his memories of the days of childhood flashed in front of him. This led to a realisation
that those moments would not come back, just like the ball. He can buy new balls and
can similarly create new moments, but those that are gone would not return.
Question 3. What does “in the world of possessions” mean?
Answer: “In the world of possessions” means that the world is full of materialistic
things. Here everything and every action is made to possess something, whether it is the
possession of land, property, money, or any other thing. The poet suggests that losing a
ball, which is a very small thing, would make the boy understand what it is like to lose
something that one possessed
Question 4. Do you think the boy has lost anything earlier? Pick out the Words that
suggest the answer.
Answer: No, it seems that the boy had’not lost anything earlier. The words that suggest
so are ‘He senses first responsibility in a world of possessions’.
Question 5. What does the poet say the boy is learning from the loss of the ball? Try to
explain this in your own words.
Answer: The poet says that the boy is learning to cope up with the loss of the ball. He is
experiencing grief and learning to grow up in this world of possessions. He learns that
there are so many things in life that are lost and cannot be brought back. He is sensing
his first responsibility as he has lost the ball. The boy will learn how to stand up and
leave the losses behind as he would have understood the true meaning and nature of
loss.
Sp-3 The Midnight Visitor
Read and Find Out
(Page 14)
Question 1. How is Ausable different from other secret agents?
Answer: Ausable is different from other secret agents in more ways than one. He has a
small room in the musty corridor of a gloomy French hotel. It was on the sixth and top
floor and it was scarcely the setting for a romantic adventure. He was extremely fat. In
spite of living in Paris for over twenty years, he spoke French and German with difficulty
and had an American accent. Instead of getting messages passed secretly to him by
beautiful girls, he got only a routine telephone call making an appointment. In these
ways, he was different from the conventional notion of a secret agent. He dealt with Max
by inventing some stories and convincing Max to act on them, so that he could get rid of
Max permanently.
Question 2. Who is Fowler and what is his first authentic thrill of the day?
Answer: Fowler is a writer, and he had come to meet Ausable. His first authentic thrill of
the day came when he saw a man in Ausable’s room pointing a pistol towards Ausable
and himself.
Question 3. How has Max got in?
Answer: Max had got into the room using a passkey or master key.
Question 4. How does Ausable say he got in?
Answer: Ausable said that he thought Max had got into the room through the balcony.
He said that it was the second time in a month that somebody had got into his room this
way.
Think About It (Page 18)
Question 1. ‘Ausable did not fit any description of a secret agent Fowler had ever read.”
What do secret agents in books and films look like, in your opinion? Discuss in groups or
in class some stories or movies featuring spies, detectives and secret agents, and
compare their appearance with that of Ausable in this story. (You may mention
characters from fiction in languages other than English. In English fiction you may have
come across Sherlock Holmes, Hercule Poirot, or Miss Marple. Have you watched any
movies featuring James Bond?)
Answer: Secret agents in fiction are projected like ideal men, ‘Tall dark and handsome’.
They are usually well-built and keep beautiful women for company. They would smoke a
pipe (like Sherlock Holmes) or a cigar and execute death-defying stunts (like James
Bond). Movies based on James Bond show hi-tech gadgets which assist the detective in
countering villains. However, there are some exceptions to this appearance of a secret
agent also. A character named Feluda was created by Satyajit Ray, the famous Bengali
filmmaker. Feluda was a tall athletic figure who relied on his superb analytical ability
and observation skill.
Question 2. How does Ausable manage to make Max believe that there is a balcony
attached to his room? Look back at his detailed description of it. What makes it a
convincing story?
Answer: Ausable creates a detailed description of how his office was part a bigger
apartment and how the next room had a direct connection with a balcony. His
statement that. somebody else also broke into his office through that balcony earlier
made it a convincing story. Ausable’s ability to think quickly and calmly in a situation of
panic makes it convincing.
Question 3. Looking back at the story, when do you think Ausable thought up his plan
for getting rid of Max? Do you think he had worked out his plan in detail right from the
beginning? Or did he make up a plan taking advantage of events as they happened?
Answer: No, I don’t think that he had worked out his plan in detail earlier. He took
advantage of events as they happened. Ausable made up a story of the balcony outside
the room and as there was a knock at the door, he said that it would be the police. All
these made Max desperate. He became restless and without seeing below, jumped out
of the window.
Ch-4 From the diary of Anne Frank
Read and find out
Question 3. What makes writing in a diary a strange experience for Anne Frank?
Answer: Writing in a diary was a strange experience for Anne Frank as she never had a
diary and it was a gift on her 13th birthday. She considered it her best friend on which
she relied the most and with whom she shared all her ups and downs.
Question 4. Why does Anne want to keep a diary?
Answer: Anne always feels lonely and distressed so to get off all the burden and pain
she wants to keep a diary in which she finds a true friend as she has hardly any friends
whom she could confide in.
Question 5. Why did Anne think she could confide more in her diary than in people.
Answer: Anne felt that paper had more patience than people to listen to her plight. So, it
was easier for her to write all kind of thoughts which she had in her mind. Her personal
diary was not meant for anyone else to read.
Question 6. Why does Anne provide a brief sketch of her life?
Answer: By providing the brief sketch of her life, Anne wants to give an overview of her
family, relatives and her age. This helps the reader to develop a connection with the
author.
Question 7. What tells you that Anne loved her grandmother?
Answer: Anne lived with her grandmother for some time while her parents settled down
in Holland. She was very close to her grandmother. She writes in her diary. “No one
knows how often I think of her and still love her”. On her 13th birthday by lightening up
one candle for Grandmother she shows her love for her.
Question 8. Why was Mr Keesing annoyed with Anne? What did he ask her to do?
Answer: Mr Keesing was annoyed with Anne because she was very talkative. He
punished her by giving her extra homework to write essays to keep her silent and the
topics always related to her nature.
Question 9. How did Anne justify her being a chatterbox in her essay?
Answer: Anne justified her being a chatterbox in her essay by explaining that it is due to
her mother who was also very talkative, and nobody could do anything about their
inherited traits.
Question 10. Do you think Mr Keesing was a strict teacher?
Answer: No, Mr Keesing was not a bad or strict teacher because a teacher did
something for the welfare of his students. Any teacher would be annoyed if children
keep on talking in the class. Secondly, if he had been strict, he would not have laughed
at Anne’s funny arguments.
Answer: What made Mr Keesing allow Anne to talk in class?
Answer: Anne’s last essay in the form of a poem showed Mr Keesing the lighter side of a
naughty child. It helped bridge the generation gap between the teacher and the student.
Thinking about the Text (Page 54)
Question 1. Was Anne right when she Said that the world would not be interested in the
musings of a 13-year-old girl?
Answer: Yes, Anne was right when she said so because most of the people don’t want
to give importance to a child’s perspective toward the world because they are too
immature for the world. But Anne Frank has become one of the most discussed of all
holocaust victims. Her ‘diary’ has been translated into many language
Question 2. There are some examples of diary or journal entries in the ‘Before You Read’
section. Compare these with what Anne writes in her diary. What language was the diary
originally written in? In what way is Anne’s diary different?
Answer: Anne’s diary was entirely different from most of the examples given before the
text. It was somewhere closer to the memoir in which the name of Raj Kapoor has been
mentioned. It was originally written in Dutch. It has informal tone which exudes the
careful nature of a teenager.
Question 3. Why does Anne need to give a brief sketch about her family? Does she treat
‘Kitty’ as an insider or an outsider?
Answer: Anne gave an introduction of her family in the ‘diary’ because it was hard to
make other realise that a 13-year-old teenager could write about her loneliness. Kitty
was an ‘outsider’ which was gifted by her parents on her 13th birthday, but she
considered it her best friend and treated it as an insider.
Question 4. How does Anne feel about her father, her grandmother, Mrs Kuperus and Mr
Keesing? What do these tell you about her?
Answer: Anne has fond of memories of her father, grandmother, Mrs Kuperus and Mr
Keesing, who have left indelible impressions on her mind and affected her life a lot. The
way she represents all of them in her diary reveals that Anne was very good at
understanding people and at developing interpersonal relations.
Question 5. What does Anne write in her first essay?
Answer: Mr Keesing asked her to write an essay on the topic ‘A Chatterbox’ as
punishment. In the essay: she accepted the drawbacks of being talkative but argued
that it was in her genes as her mother was also very talkative. It was difficult to give up
the habit and it was also a student’s trait. Even Mr Keesing laughed at the argument she
had given.
Question 6. Anne says teachers are most unpredictable. Is Mr Keesing unpredictable?
Answer: Anne took perfect example of Mr Keesing as an unpredictable teacher because
Mr Keesing seemed to be indifferent towards Annes’ behaviour. Earlier he laughed but
later he allowed Anne to talk in the class post reading her essays.
Question 7. What do these statements tell you about Anne Frank as a person? 1. We
don’t seem to be able to get any closer and that’s the problem. Maybe it’s my fault that
we don’t confide in each other. 2. I don’t want, to jot; down the facts in this diary the way
most people would, but I want the diary to be my friend. 3. Margot went to Holland in
December, and I followed in February, when I was plunked down on the table as a
birthday present for Margot. 4. If you ask me, there are so many dummies that about a
quarter of the class should be kept back, but teachers are the most unpredictable
creatures on Earth. 5. Anyone could ramble on and leave big spaces between the
words, but the trick was to come up with convincing arguments to prove the necessity of
talking. Answers: 1.A. Anne is reserved. 2.A. She is self-confident and inventive. 3.A.
She is humorous as well. 4.A. Anne is intelligent. 5.A. She has a sense of propriety and
convincing attitude.
Pm-4 Amanda
Thinking about the Poem (Page 62)
Question 1. How old do you think Amanda is? How do you know this?
Answer: Amanda is about a 9–10-year-old school going girl. She is being scolded for
things typical for that age. Her parents are trying to inculcate in her good manners and
etiquettes. Amanda is very innocent and immature.
Question 2. Who do you think is speaking to her?
Answer: One of her parents is speaking to her. Most probably it is her mother. In a
traditional household mother is held responsible for the conduct of child. In this case
also, the range of instructions suggests that the speaker is Amanda’s mother.
Question 3. Why are stanzas 2, 4 and 6 given in parenthesis?
Answer: Stanzas 2, 4 and 6 are given in parenthesis because they reflect the inner
thoughts of Amanda. They can be taken as the reaction of the child for the instructions
given in stanzas 1, 3 and 5. Here, there is an alternate sequence of scolding of the
mother, and corresponding reaction to it given by the child. Also, parenthesis is used
here to make the reading of ‘the poem friendly
Question 4. Who is the speaker in stanzas 2, 4 and 6? Do you think this speaker is
listening to the speaker in stanzas 1, 3, 5 and 7?
Answer: Speaker of the stanzas 2, 4 and 6 is the child, Amanda. No, she is not paying
any attention to the speaker of stanzas 1, 3 and 5 as she is lost in a world of her own.
Her imagination provides her an escape from her sorry reality.
Question 5. What could Amanda do if she were a mermaid?
Answer: Amanda wishes to be a mermaid so she could carelessly move along on a
languid emerald sea. She just wishes to be carried away by the green sea waves slowly
and gradually. Amanda longs for a place where she is all by herself as her happiness is
not dependant on any other human being. Hence, she desires to be a mermaid because
for a child, mermaid is a symbol of freedom and wonder.
Question 6. Is Amanda an orphan? Why does she say so?
Answer: No, Amanda is not an orphan, though she wishes to be one. She is so much
stressed with the continuous nagging of her parents that she imagines herself to be
better without them. The mere presence of her parents around her depresses her.
Amanda is a little girl who seeks ‘golden’ silence and ‘sweet’ freedom. She wishes to
roam around streets and draw patterns with her bare feet. Indeed, it is horribly
depressing that Amanda expects being an orphan.
Question 7. Do you know the story of Rapunzel? Why does she want to be Rapunzel?
Answer: Story of Rapunzel – Rapunzel’s story revolves around her life on a tower
Rapunzel was made to live on a high tower by a witch. She eventually got used to living
there. She was happy and satisfied with her life. Rapunzel had very long golden hair,
using which the witch used to pay her a visit. The fate of Rapunzel took a turn when one
day a prince came to meet her using her hair. The witch had punished both of them by
separating them. Finally, they met after a couple of years only to be united forever this
time. Amanda Wishes to live like Rapunzel on a high tower away from everyone. She
seeks peace and harmony. That is the reason Amanda wishes to be like Rapunzel.
However, she also makes a point that in order to avoid being disturbed she would never
let her hair down for anyone to climb to her. She needs no one to make her life happy.
Question 8. What does the girl yearn for? What does this poem tell you about Amanda?
Answer: A girl like Amanda yearns for freedom and space for herself. She is incapable
to fulfil the expectations of her parents. Amanda is no less than a symbol for all the
children who face similar fate irrespective of class, colour or nationality. Traditional
societies demand a certain type of behaviour from the individuals and the training to
produce such begins at a very young age. Parents ignore the innocence and
understanding level of their children and thereby the young ends up killing their
imagination and thoughts.
Question 9. Read the last stanza. Do you think Amanda is sulking and is moody?
Answer: No, Amanda is neither sulking nor moody. She is simply not interested enough
in the nagging business of her parents. Amanda cares more about her imagination and
thought process over the manners her parents are trying to inculcate into her.
Sp-4 A Question of Trust
Read and Find Out
(Page 20)
Question 1. What does Horace Danby like to collect?
Answer: Horace Danby likes to collect rare and expensive books.
Question 2. Why does he steal every year?
Answer: He stole every year so that he could buy the rare and expensive books that he
loved to collect. Each year he planned carefully so as to steal enough to last twelve
months. Page 22
Question 3. Who is speaking to Horace Danby?
Answer: A lady standing in the doorway is speaking to Horace Danby. She was young
and pretty and was dressed in red. She said she had come just in time, or else her family
would have been robbed by Horace. Thus, she pretended to be one of the members of
the family living at Shotover Grange.
Question 4. Who is the real culprit in the story?
Answer: The real culprit in the story is the woman who pretended to be a member of the
family living at Shotover Grange. She tricked Horace Danby into believing her and
cleverly took away all the jewels that were kept in the safe. Think About It (Page 25)
Question 1. Did you begin to suspect, before the end of the story, that the lady was not
the person Horace Danby took her to be? If so, at what point did you realise this, and
how?
Answer: Yes, we begin to suspect before the end of the story that the lady was not the
person Horace Danby took her to be. She was unusually calm on seeing Horace. This
seemed strange. When she did not call the police and instead asked Horace to take out
all the jewels from the safe, even if it meant breaking it open, it seems suspicious.
Moreover, it seemed highly unlikely that she would forget the number combination to
open the safe. Therefore, it was evident, before the story ended, that the lady was not
the person Horace had taken her to be.
Question 2. What are the subtle ways in which the lady manages to deceive Horace
Danby into thinking she is the lady of the house? Why doesn’t Horace suspect that
something is wrong?
Answer: Her confident walk, her familiarity with the dog Sherry, her act of touching up
her make up and the ease with which she picks a cigarette from the right place are
enough to deceive anybody. Horace was too frightened to think properly, so he didn’t
suspect anything.
Question 3. “Horace Danby was good and respectable – but not completely honest”.
Why do you think this description is apt for Horace? Why can’t he be categorised as a
typical thief?
Answer: Horace’s habits were not typical of a thief. He was fond of books. He used to
steal only once in a year, so he was never stealing more than his needs. However, an act
of theft is still a crime, no matter how well a thief behaves, so this description is apt for
Horace. He can’t be categorised as a typical thief because he is not a regular offender
like other thieves.
Question 4. Horace Danby was a meticulous planner but still he faltered. Where did he
go wrong and why?
Answer: Horace Danby failed to get enough information about the real occupants of the
house. He seems to be too occupied with collecting information about the house map,
wiring and location of valuable items. Although he was smart enough to know the dog’s
actual name, he overlooked getting information about the occupants of the house.
When he landed in trouble with the appearance of the young lady, his clever mind gave
way to carelessness, leading him to open the safe without wearing gloves.
Ch-5 Glimpses of India
Part I A Baker from Goa
Page 86
Oral Comprehension Check
Question 1. What are the elders in Goa nostalgic about?
Answer: The elders in Goa are nostalgic about the good old Portuguese days and their
love of bread and loaves. The writer says that the eaters of loaves have left but the
makers still exist.
Question 2. Is bread-making still popular in Goa? How do you know?
Answer: Yes, bread making is still popular in Goa. This is very clear from the narrator’s
statement that the eaters have gone away leaving the makers behind. There are mixers,
moulders and the ones who bake the loaves. The time-tested furnaces still exist there.
Question 3. What is the baker called?
Answer: The baker is called a pader in Goa.
Question 4. When would the baker come every day? Why did the children run to meet
him?
Answer: The baker would come twice a day—once early in the morning and the second
time when he returned after selling his stuff. The children would run to meet him as they
wanted to have bread-bangles. Page 87
Question 1. Match the following. What is a must
1. as marriage gifts? – cakes and bolinhas
2. for a party or a feast? – sweet bread called bol
3. for a daughter’s engagement? – bread
4. for Christmas? – sandwiches
Answer:
1. as marriage gifts – sweet bread called bol
2. for a party or a feast – bread
3. for a daughter’s engagement – sandwiches
4. for Christmas – cakes and bolinhas
Question 2. What did the bakers wear:
1. In the Portuguese days
2. When the author was young
Answer: 1. The bakers were usually dressed up in a peculiar dress called kabai. It was a
single piece long frock reaching down to the knees. 2. During his childhood days, the
author saw the bakers wearing a shirt and trousers which were shorter than full length
ones and longer than half pants.
Question 3. Who invites the comment – “he is dressed like a pader” Why?
Answer: Any person who is wearing a half pant which reaches just below the knees
invites this comment. This is because the baker, known as a pader, used to dress like
that.
Question 4. Where were the monthly accounts of the baker recorded?
Answer: Monthly accounts of the baker were recorded on some wall in the house with a
pencil.
Question 5. What does a ‘jackfruit-like appearance’ mean?
Answer: It means having a plump physique, like a jackfruit.
Thinking about the Text (Page 88)
Question 1. Which of these statements are correct?
1. The pader was an important person in the village in old times.
2. Paders still exist in Goan villages.
3. The paders went away with the Portuguese.
4. The paders continue to wear a single-piece long frock.
5. Bread and cakes were an integral part of Goan life in the old days.
6. Traditional bread-baking is still a very profitable business.
7. Paders and their families starve in the present times.
Answer:
1. Correct
2. Correct
3. Incorrect
4. Incorrect
5. Correct
6. Correct
7. Incorrect
Question 2. Is bread an important part of Goan life? How do you know this?
Answer: Yes, bread is an important part of Goan life. It is needed for marriage gifts,
parties and feasts. Bread is also needed by a mother for preparing sandwiches during
her daughter’s engagement. Thus, it is necessary to have breads for every occasion,
because of which the presence of a baker’s furnace in the village is very important
Question 3. Tick the right answer. What is the tone of the author when he says the
following?
1. The thud and the jingle of the traditional baker ‘s bamboo can still be heard in some
places, (nostalgic, hopeful, sad)
2. Maybe the father is not alive, but the son still carries on the family profession,
(nostalgic, hopeful, sad)
3. I still recall the typical fragrance of those loaves, (nostalgic, hopeful, naughty)
4. The tiger never brushed his teeth. Hot tea could wash and clean up everything so
nicely, after all. (naughty, angry, funny)
5. Cakes and bolinhas are a must for Christmas as well as other festivals, (sad, hopeful,
matter of fact)
6. The baker and his family never starved. They always looked happy and prosperous,
(matter of fact, hopeful, sad)
Answer:
1. Nostalgic
2. Hopeful
3. Nostalgic
4. Funny
5. Matter of fact
6. Matter of fact
Part II Coorg
Thinking about the Text (Page 92)
Question 1. Where is Coorg?
Answer: Coorg or Kodagu is the smallest district of Karnataka. It is situated midway
between Mysore and the coastal town of Mangalore.
Question 2. What is the story about the Kodavu people’s descent?
Answer: The fiercely independent people of Coorg are descendants of Greeks or Arabs.
A section of Alexander’s army moved South along the coast and settled here only when
they were unable to return to their country. These people married among the locals. This
is the story about the descent of Kodavu people.
Question 3. What are some of the things you now know about?
1. the people of Coorg?
2. the main crop of Coorg?
3. the sports it offers to a tourist?
4. the animals you are likely to see in Coorg?
5. its distance from Bangalore and how to get there?
Answer:
1. They are fiercely independent people and have descended from the Greeks or the
Arabs.
2. Coffee is the main crop of Coorg.
3. It mostly offers adventure sports which include river rafting, canoeing, rappelling,
rock climbing and mountain biking.
4. The animals likely to be seen in Coorg are macaques, Malabar squirrel, langurs,
slender loris, elephants etc.
5. By road, it is around 250 – 260 kilometres from Bangalore.
Question 4. Here are six sentences with some words in italics. Find phrases from the
text that have the same meaning. (Look in the paragraphs indicated)
1. During monsoons it rains so heavily that tourists do not visit Coorg. (Para 2)
2. Some people say that Alexander’s army moved south along the coast and settled
there. (Para 3)
3. The Coorg people are always ready to tell stories of their son’s and father’s valour.
(Para 4)
4. Even people who normally lead an easy and slow life get smitten by the high energy
adventure sports of Coorg. (Para 6)
5. The theory of the Arab origin is supported by the long coat with embroidered waist
belt they wear. (Para 3)
6. Macaques, Malabar squirrels observe you carefully from the tree canopy. (Para 7)
Answer:
1. to keep visitors away
2. As one story goes
3. are more than willing to recount
4. The most laidback individuals become converts to
5. draws support from
6. keep a watchful eye

Part III Tea from Assam (DO IN TB)

Pm-5 The Trees
Thinking about the Poem (Page 100,101)
Question 1.
1. Find, in the first stanza, three things that cannot happen in a treeless forest.
2. What picture do these words create in your mind: “…. sun bury its feet in shadow….1′?
What could the poet mean by the sun’s ‘feet’?
Answer:
1. The three things that cannot happen in a treeless forest are – the sitting of a bird on
trees, the hiding of insects and the sun burying its feet in the shadow of the forest.
2. The sun’s ‘feet’ refers to the rays of the sun that fall on the earth. When there is no
shadow on the ground, because there are no trees, the rays fall directly on the ground.
In a forest with trees, the shadow hides the sun rays, and it seems that the sun is
burying its feet in the shadow that fall from the trees.
Question 2.
1. Where are the trees in the poem? What do their roots, their leaves and their twigs do?
2. What does the poet compare their branches to?
Answer:
1. In the poem, the trees are trapped in the poet’s house. Their roots work all night to
disengage themselves from the cracks in the veranda floor. The leaves try very hard to
move towards the glass and put a lot of pressure on it so that it breaks, while the small
twigs get stiff with exertion.
2. The poet compares the branches to newly discharged patients of a hospital. The large
branches of the trees become cramped due to the roof above them, and when they get
free, they rush stumblingly to the outside world. While doing so, they look half-shocked
like the patients, who wait for a long time to get out of the hospital.
Question 3.
1. How does the poet describe the moon: (a) at the beginning of the third stanza, and (b)
at its end? What causes this change?
2. What happens to the house when the trees move out of it?
3. Why do you think the poet does not mention “the departure of the forest from the
house” in her letters? (Could it be that we are often silent about important happenings
that are so unexpected that they embarrass us? Think about this again when you answer
the next set of
Question s.)
Answer:
1. At the beginning of the third stanza, the poet says that the full moon is shining in the
open sky in the fresh night. At the end of the stanza, she describes that the moon breaks
into pieces like a broken mirror and shines on the heads of the tallest oak trees. As the
trees move outside, they cover some of the shine of the moon and it can be seen only in
parts. This is why, it seems that the moon has broken into pieces.
2. When the trees move out of the house, the glasses break and the whispers of the
trees vanish, leaving the house silent.
3. The poet hardly mentions about “the departure of the forest from the house” in her
letters because it is humans, who did not care for nature in the first place. So, maybe,
the poet now thinks that nobody would be interested in knowing about the efforts that
the trees are making to set themselves free. If other men cared about the trees, they
would not have destroyed them. It seems that this whole beauty of trees moving back to
forests can be seen and felt only by the poet.
Question 4. Now that you have read the poem in detail, we can begin to ask what the
poem might mean. Here are two suggestions. Can you think of others?
1. Does the poem present a conflict between man and nature? Compare it with A Tiger
in the Zoo. Is the poet suggesting that plants and trees, used for ‘interior decoration’ in
cities while forests are cut down, are ‘imprisoned1, and need to ‘break out’?
2. On the other hand, Adrienne Rich has been known to use trees as a metaphor for
human beings: this is a recurrent image in her poetry. What new meanings emerge from
the poem if you take its trees to be symbolic of this particular meaning?
Answer: Since a poem can have different meaning for different readers and the poet
can mean two different things using the same imagery, both these meanings can be
justified in. context of the poem:
1. Yes, the poem presents a conflict between man and nature. Man has always caused
much harm to nature, without realizing that it is a harm to humanity. Humans cut down
forests for forest goods, which has destroyed a lot of natural beauty. By keeping trees
inside walls and denying them their natural home, they are denying them their freedom.
That is why, the trees want to move out. Similarly, in the poem A Tiger in the Zoo, the
poet shows that animals feel bounded by cages, and they want to get free and run wild
in the open.
2. If trees have been used as a metaphor for human beings, then the poem would mean
that like the trees, humans too want to break free of the boundaries that life puts on
them. Modern life with all kinds of physical comfort has also brought a lot of moral
downfalls. Our lives have become busy, and we have become selfish and greedy. Man
would also want to enjoy the beauty of nature and go out in the open and be free, just
like trees.
Sp-5 Footprints Without Feet
Read and Find Out
(Page 26)
Question 1. How did the invisible man first become visible?
Answer: The invisible man (Griffin) first became visible after he slipped into a big
London store for keeping warm and overslept there while wearing some clothes taken
from the store. The clothes made him visible to the shop assistants when the shop
opened in the morning. To escape from them, he had to shed all his clothes to become
invisible again.
Question 2. Why was he wandering the streets?
Answer: Though he was a brilliant scientist, he was a lawless person. His landlord
disliked him and wanted to evict Griffin. In revenge, he set fire to the house. To escape,
he removed his clothes, becoming invisible. Thus, he became homeless and was
wandering the streets of London.
Page 28
Question 1. Why does Mrs Hall find the scientist eccentric?
Answer: Mrs Hall found the scientist eccentric because of his strange appearance and
also, when she tried to be friendly with him, he rebuffed her by saying that he had come
there for solitude and did not wish to be disturbed in his work.
Question 2. What curious episode occurs in the study?
Answer: Very early one morning, a clergyman and his wife were awakened by noises
coming from their study. Then they heard the sound of coins being taken from the desk
there. However, when they entered the study, they did not find anybody there, which
was curious.
Question 3. What other extraordinary things happen at the inn?
Answer: At the inn, Mrs Hall and her husband went into the scientist’s room on finding
its door open. However, he was not seen in the room, but Mrs Hall heard a sniff and the
hat on the bedpost leapt up and dashed into her face. Then the bedroom chair sprang
into the air and pushed them both out of the room. This made Mrs Hall think that her
furniture was haunted.
Think About It (Page 31)
Question 1. “Griffin was rather a lawless person.” Comment.
Answer: Griffin was not bothered if he had harmed anybody in the fulfilment of what he
wanted. He set his landlord’s house on fire because the landlord tried to make him
leave. Then his robberies at shops and later in the village indicate that he was a lawless
person. When he encountered the landlady of the inn, he threw a chair at her and her
husband. Lawless persons like Griffin never think about the safety and well-being of
others. They are only concerned about themselves.
Question 2. How would you assess Griffin as a scientist?
Answer: Griffin is a brilliant scientist, as he discovers how to make himself invisible. But
he seems to enjoy the feeling of power which he gets out of his invisibility. The power to
hurt anybody without getting noticed can give sadistic pleasure to some people. A true
scientist should make discoveries for the larger benefit of society, not just for his own
benefit.
Ch-6 Mijbil the Otter
Oral Comprehension Check Page 106
Question 1. What ‘experiment’ did Maxwell think Camusfearna would be suitable for?
Answer: The writer had gone to Southern Iraq in the year 1956. He took a fancy to the
idea that instead of keeping a dog as a pet, he would go for an otter. Camusfearna was
surrounded by water, so it would be an eminently suitable spot for this experiment.
Question 2. Why does he go to Basra? How long does he wait there, and why?
Answer: The writer went to Basra to collect and answer his mail from Europe. He had to
wait there for 5 days as his mail did not arrive.
Question 3. How does he get the otter? Does he like it? Pick out the words that tell you
this.
Answer: His friend bought the otter for him and sent it to the place where he was
staying. The author liked it. This is seen in “The second night Mijbil came on to my bed in
the small hours and remained asleep in the crook of my knees….” “I made a body-belt
for him…”.
Question 4. Why was the otter named ‘Maxwell’s otter’?
Answer: The otter was named by zoologists as Lutrogale Perspicillata Maxwelli. Hence,
it was called Maxwell’s otter in short.
Question 5. Tick the right answer. In the beginning, the otter was
1. aloof and indifferent
2. friendly
3. hostile
Answer: What happened when Maxwell took Mijbil to the bathroom? What did it do two
days after that?
In the beginning, the otter was aloof and indifferent.
Question 6. What happened when Maxwell took Mijbil to the bathroom? What did it do
two days after that?
Answer: When the author first took Mijbil to the bathroom, the otter first went wild with
joy in the water. He plunged and rolled in it. He jumped up and down the length of the
bathtub. He made enough slosh and splash. After two days, the otter suddenly
disappeared and went to the bathroom to play in the water and opened the tap on his
own.
Page 108
Question 1. How was Mijbil transported to England?
Answer: Mijbil was packed in a box as the airlines had directed the author. As British
airlines did not allow pets on board the author had to book a ticket on a different airline
from Iraq to Paris and then Paris to London.
Question 2. What did Mij do to the box?
Answer: The box was lined with a metal sheet. Mij didn’t feel comfortable in the box and
tried to escape. In his attempt to escape, Mij tore into the metal lining of the box and in
the process hurt himself.
Question 3. Why did Maxwell put the otter back in the box? How do you think he felt
when he did this?
Answer: As there was no other way to carry Mij to London, Maxwell put in the box again.
He must have felt pity on the way the otter hurt himself. Moreover, he must be worried
as well.
Question 4. Why does Maxwell say the airhostess was “the very queen of her kind”?
Answer: The airhostess was very sympathetic after listening to Maxwell’s story. She
understood how he might be feeling and then gave him permission to take the otter out
of the box. Due to all this, Maxwell referred her as “the very queen of her kind”.
Question 5. What happened when the box was opened?
Answer: As soon as the box was opened, Mij ran out. Then it ran all over the place
scaring all the passengers. It created a chaos and most of the people in the plane got
scared.
Page 110
Question 1. What game had Mij invented?
Answer: Mij invented a game of playing with the ball in a unique way. One of the
author’s suitcases was damaged and had a slope on the top part. Mij would put the ball
on the high end and run to catch it as it slid to the lower end.
Question 2. What are ‘compulsive habits? What does Maxwell say are the compulsive
habits of 1. school children 2. Mij?
Answer: Compulsive habits are usually strange act or behaviour which a person does
without clear reason. For example, a cricket player may put on his right shoes first as he
believes it would bring him good luck or a kid jumping over a fence, instead of going
through the passageway. Usually, compulsive behaviour of children is full of childhood
mischief and those of adults are of incorrigible type. 1. As per this story, children must
place their feet squarely on the centre of each paving block; must touch every seventh
upright of the iron railings or pass to the outside of every second lamp post. 2. Mijbil
while on its way to home would jump over the boundary wall railing and run at full speed
throughout its length.
Question 3. What group of animals do otters belong to?
Answer: Otters belong to a comparatively small group of animals called Mustelines.
The other animals of this group are badger, mongoose, weasel, stoat, mink and others.
Question 4. What guesses did the Londoners make about what Mij was?
Answer: As otters are not found in England, so Londoners made the wildest possible
guesses about Mij. Their guesses ranged from a baby seal, a squirrel, a hippo to a
brontosaurus.
Thinking about the Text (Page 110, 111)
Question 1. What things does Mij do which tell you that he is an intelligent, friendly and
fun-loving animal who needs love?
Answer: Mij invented his own game out of ping-pong ball and a worn-down suitcase. He
loved water, and once he understood that on opening the tap water came out of it, he
would get into the tub and played with water. He had gradually formed a special
attachment with Maxwell. It grew desperate when Maxwell left it in a box and wanted to
come out as soon as possible.
Question 2. What are some of the things we come to know about otters from this text?
Answer: Otters belong to a comparatively small group of animals called Mustelines,
shared by badger, mongoose, weasel, stoat, mink and others. They are found in large
numbers in marshes. Arabs keep them as pets and tame them. Otters love to spread
water and splash in it. Maxwell’s otter was of a race previously. unknown to science and
was at length named by zoologists Lutrogale Perspicillata Maxwelli.
Question 3. Why is Mij’s species now known to the world as Maxwell’s otter?
Answer: Maxwell’s otter was of a race previously unknown to science and was at length
named by zoologists Lutrogale Perspicillata Maxwelli, hence, it is known as Maxwell’s
otter in short.
Question 4. Maxwell in the story speaks for the otter, Mij. He tells us what the otter feels
and thinks on different occasions. Given below are some things the otter does.
Complete the column on the right to say what Maxwell says about what Mij feels and
thinks.
Answer:
What Mij Does How Mij Feels or Thinks
Plunges, rolls in the water and makes the He thinks it is a hippo and is very happy.
water splosh and splash
Screws the tap in the wrong way He chitters with irritation and
disappointment.
Nuzzles Maxwell’s face and neck in the He feels much comfort and content after
aeroplane its distressed chitter.
Question 5. Read the story and find the sentences where Maxwell describes his pet
otter. Then choose and arrange your sentences to illustrate those statements below that
you think are true. Maxwell’s description
1. makes Mij seem almost human, like a small boy.
2. shows that he is often irritated with what Mij does.
3. shows that he is often surprised by what Mij does.
4. of Mij’s antics is comical.
5. shows that he observes the antics of Mij very carefully.
6. shows that he thinks Mij is a very ordinary otter.
7. shows that he thinks the otter is very unusual.
Answer: 1. True 2. False 3. True 4. True 5. True 6. False 7. True
Pm-6 Fog
Thinking about the Poem (Page 115)
Question 1.
1. What does Sandburg think the fog is like?
2. How does the fog come?
3. What does ‘it’ in the third line refer to?
4. Does the poet actually say that the fog is like a cat? Find three things that tell us that
the fog is like a cat. say that the fog is like a cat? Find three things that tell us that the fog
is like a cat.
Answer:
1. Sandburg thinks that the fog is like a cat.
2. The fog comes silently like a cat on its small feet.
3. ‘It’ refers to fog.
4. The poet does not actually say that the fog is like a cat, but he uses the metaphor of
cat for comparison.
Three things that tell us that the fog is like a cat are:
• It comes silently like a cat on its small feet.
• It looks over like a cat.
• It sits on its haunches like a cat.
Question 2. You know that a metaphor compares two things by transferring a feature of
one thing to the other.
1. Find metaphors for the following words and complete the table below. Also try to say
how they are alike. The first is done for you.
Storm Tiger Pounces over the fields, growls
Train Snake Long rope-like body
Fire Sun Symbol of power
School Temple Teaches moral values, virtues
Home Shelter Safety, warmth
2. Think about a storm. Try to visualise the force of the storm, hear the storm, feel the
power of the storm and the sudden calm that happens afterwards. Write a poem about
the storm comparing it with an animal.
Answer:
It growls like a lion in the sky,
Claws of wind and flashing eye.
It hunts with thunder, wild and wide,
Tearing trees with ruthless pride.
Then, breathless still, it slips away—
A silent cat at break of day.
Question 3. Does this poem have a rhyme scheme? Poetry that does not have an
obvious rhythm or rhyme is called ‘free verse’.
Answer: This poem does not have a rhyme scheme as the sentences do not end with
like sounds. There is no pattern of similarity in the sounds of the ending words of any of
the sentences, therefore the poem is written in free verse.
Sp-6 The Making of a Scientist
Read and Find Out
(Page 32)
Question 1. How did a book become a turning point in Richard Ebright’s life?
Answer: The book ‘The Travels of Monarch X’ opened the world of science for Richard.
After reading it he became interested in tracking the migration of butterflies. This
interest led to his other projects and experiments. Finally, he became a great scientist.
Question 2. How did his mother help him?
Answer: Richard’s mother proved to be a great help. She took him on trips and bought
scientific equipment for him. She spent all her time in setting up challenges for him.
This helped him to learn a lot. She presented him the book ‘The Travels of Monarch X’.
The book changes Richard’s life forever.
Page 34
Question 1. What lesson does Ebright learn when he does not win anything at a science
fair?
Answer: Ebright exhibited slides of frog tissues at a science fair. He did not get any
prize. He learnt an important lesson that science is not just about display. It is about
projects and experiments. He began conducting experiments from that day onwards.
Question 2. What experiments and projects does he do then undertake?
Answer: He undertook many projects and experiments. He worked on viceroy
butterflies to show that they copied monarch butterflies. He studied bright spots on the
monarch pupa and discovered a new hormone. Also, he found out how cells read their
DNA.
Question 3. What are the qualities that go into the making of a scientist?
Answer: There are three essential qualities that make a scientist. The first is a first-rate
mind. Next is the presence of curiosity. Last but not the least, it is the will to do the best
and win.
Think About It (Page 38)
Question 1. How can one become a scientist, an economist, a historian …? Does it
simply involve reading many books on the subject? Does it involve observing, thinking
and doing experiments?
Answer: Reading many books on a subject is not enough. One must develop the skill of
observation and thinking. Experiments need to be done. One needs to have curiosity to
explore and find new things. Above all, one must work hard and not get upset by failures.
Question 2. You must have read about cells and DNA in your science books. Discuss
Richard Ebright’s work in the light of what you have studied. If you get an opportunity to
work like Richard Ebright on projects and experiments, which field would you like to
work on and why?
Answer: DNA carry the blueprint of life and heredity. They pass information from one
generation to the other. If I get an opportunity to work like Richard Ebright, I will choose
to study about diseases. By studying the DNA, I may find ways and means to cure many
illnesses.
Ch-7 Madam Rides the Bus
Oral Comprehension Check Page 119
Question 1. What was Valli’s favourite pastime?
Answer: Valli’s favourite pastime was standing in the front doorway of her house and
looking at the street outside.
Question 2. What was the source of unending joy for Valli? What was her strongest
desire?
Answer: The sight of the bus that travelled between her village and the nearest town,
filled each time with a new set of passengers, was a source of unending joy for Valli. Her
strongest desire was to ride the bus.
Question 3. What did Valli find out about the bus journey? How did she find these
details?
Answer: Valli found out that the bus journey to the town took 45 minutes and the one-
way fare costed 30 paisa. She listened carefully to the conversations between her
neighbours and people who regularly used the bus and asked a few discreet
Question s here and there. This way she picked up various small details about the bus
journey.
Question 4. What do you think Valli was planning to do?
Answer: Valli was planning to go to the town and then return back by the same bus. The
fare was 30 paise one way and the ride took forty-five minutes. In this way, she planned
that she would be back by 2:45 pm if she took the bus at 1:00 pm.
Page 122
Question 1. Why does the conductor call Valli ‘madam’?
Answer: The conductor called Valli ‘madam’ because she behaved like a woman. She
declined his help and was very quick in her answers to the conductor’s
Question s. This made the conductor call him madam.
Question 2. Why does Valli stand up on the seat? (or) What does she see now?
Answer: Valli wanted to look outside the bus. She found her view blocked by the canvas
blind that covered the lower part of the window. In order to have a better view she stood
up on the seat and peered over the blind. She saw a canal, palm trees, grassland,
mountains, green fields and the sky.
Question 3. What does Valli tell the elderly man when he calls her a child?
Answer: Valli replied that there was nobody in the bus who was a child. She told her
that she had paid her fare of 30 paise like
Question 4. Why didn’t Valli want to make friends with the elderly woman?
Answer: Valli did not wanted to make friends with the elderly woman because she
looked quite repulsive. She had big earholes and was wearing ugly earrings. Apart from
this, she was chewing betel, and her mouth was also filled with betel juice.
Page 125
Question 1. How did Valli save money for her first journey? Was it easy for her?
Answer: Valli had very painstakingly saved every stray coin that came her way by
resisting every temptation to buy peppermints, toys, balloons, etc. It had been very
difficult for her. Even at the village fair she resisted the temptation to be on the merry-
go-round. Thus, she had been able to save sixty paise for her first bus journey.
Question 2. What did Valli see on her way that made her laugh?
Answer: Valli saw a young cow, tail high in the air running very fast right in the middle of
the road in front of the bus. The driver sounded his horn again and again so that the cow
moves away. But the more he honked, the more frightened the animal became and
faster it galloped. This all seemed very funny to Valli, and she laughed and laughed till
there were tears in her eyes.
Question 3. Why didn’t she get off the bus at the bus station?
Answer: Valli had planned that she only wanted to ride on the bus. She would spend
thirty paise on her fare, go to the town and then come back by the same bus before her
mother woke up. She didn’t 1 time or money to go to see the town.
Question 4. Why didn’t Valli want to go to the stall have a drink? What does this tell you
about her?
Answer: Valli had saved only sixty paise for the trip. She didn’t want to waste any money
on the as she had to come back by the same bus at any cost. So, when the conductor
suggested her to get down and have a drink she refused. He offers to bring one for her,
but she still refused. This I that she was a well-mannered girl.
Thinking about the Text (Page 127)
Question 1. What was Valli’s deepest desire? Find the words and phrases in the story
that tell you this.
Answer: Valli’s deepest desire was to go on a bus ride. The words and phrases in the
story that tell this are ‘source of unending joy’, ‘stare wistfully’, and ‘kindle in her
longings, dreams and hopes’.
Question 2. How did Valli plan her bus ride? What did she find out about the bus, and
how did she save up the fare?
Answer: Over many days and months, Valli listened carefully to conversations between
her neighbours and people who regularly used the bus and asked a few discreet
questions here and there. She came to know that the town was six miles from her
village, the bus fare was thirty paise and the bus trip took forty-five minutes. She also
thought that if she stayed in the bus and came back by the same bus it would only cost
her sixty paise. She painstaking saved each and every penny she got, resisting all
temptation to buy peppermints, toys, etc and even a ride on the merry-go-round at the
village annual fair to save sixty paise. It was a secret trip which she had planned without
the knowledge of her parents.
Question 3. What kind of person is Valli? To answer this question, pick out the following
sentences from the text and fill in the blanks. The words you fill in are the clues to your
answer.
Answer: Valli was a confident girl who did not think that her age was a limitation to her
travelling alone to the town. She considered herself a grown up and acted like one.
Question 4. Why does the conductor refer to Valli as ‘Madam’?
Answer: The conductor called Valli ‘Madam’ as she behaved like a grown up and did not
think that she was a child. She also refused his help and told him that she can manage
on her own.
Question 5. Find the lines in the text which tell you that Valli was enjoying her ride on
the bus.
Answer: Valli thoroughly enjoyed her ride in the bus. The following lines from the text tell
us about it. She saw so many things on her way-a canal, palm trees, grasslands, distant
mountains. “Oh! it was all so wonderful,” that’s what she felt. “Sometimes the bus
seemed on the point of gobbling up another vehicle that was coming towards them or a
pedestrian crossing the road. Somehow it passed smoothly, leaving all obstacles
behind and then she saw a cow running very fast, in front of the bus. This all seemed
very funny to Valli, and she laughed and laughed till tears flowed from her eyes.”
Question 6. Why does Valli refuse to look out of the window on her way back?
Answer: Valli refused to look out of the window on her way back as she saw the dead
body of the cow who was running towards the bus when she was going to town. This
made her sad and frightened.
Question 7. What does Valli means when she says… “I was just agreeing with you what
you said about things happening without our knowledge”.
Answer: While making this statement, Valli was trying to hide the fact about her bus
ride. She was also feeling elated at making a successful attempt at her plan.
Question 8. The author describes the things that Valli sees from an 8-year old’s point of
view. Can you find evidence from the text for his statement?
Answer: Yes, for example, when the author says, ‘she was fascinated by the bus’s and
‘watching the bus fill with a new set of people each time was a source of unending joy
for her’. When the author describes the bus, he stresses on the colour and look of the
new bus ‘like silver’ because a child is attracted towards colour. ‘The seats were soft
and luxurious’. The description that the author gives when Valli looked outside are also
typical of an 8-year-old. ‘The blue sky’ and ‘acres and acres of green field’, show the
enthusiasm a child. A cow running in front of the bus fascinated the child whereas the
sight of dead cow brought tears in her eyes and she refused to look outside the window
on her return journey. This ‘also describes the behaviour of an 8-year-old child aptly.’
Pm-7 The Tale of Custard the Dragon
Thinking about the poem (132)
Question 1. Who are the characters in this poem? List them with their pet names.
Answer: The characters in this poem are Belinda, a little girl, and her pets: a little black
kitten, a little grey mouse, a little yellow dog, a little pet dragon and a pirate.
Characters Pet name
Kitten Ink
Mouse Blink
Dog Mustard
Dragon Custard
Question 2. Why did Custard cry for a nice safe cage? Why is the dragon called
“cowardly dragon”?
Answer: Custard cried for a nice safe cage because it was a coward and was scared
very easily. It is called “cowardly dragon” because everyone else in the house is very
brave while the dragon is the only one, who fears a lot and looks for a nice safe cage for
himself. Belinda is as brave as a barrel full of bears, Ink and Blink can chase lions and
Mustard is as brave as an angry tiger.
Question 3. “Belinda tickled him, she tickled him unmerciful…” Why?
Answer: Tickling always works on people, who are a little softer. So, Belinda tickled the
dragon unmerciful as it worked a lot on him. Despite being a dragon, a tickling could
disturb him, and this showed his cowardice on which everyone laughed.
Question 4. The poet has employed many poetic devices in the poem. For example,
“Clashed his tail like iron in a dungeon” – the poetic device here is a simile. Can you,
with your partner, list some more such poetic devices used in the poem?
Answer: In the poem, ‘The tale of Custard, the Dragon’, the poet has used a lot of poetic
devices. Following are the devices used 1. Simile: mouth like a fireplace 2. Repetition:
the repetitive use of the word ‘little’ in stanza 1.
Question 5. Read stanza three again to know how the poet describes the appearance of
the dragon.
Answer: Do it yourself.
Question 6. Can you find out the rhyme scheme of two or three stanzas of the poem?
Answer: The rhyme scheme of the poem is ‘aabb’.
Question 7. Writers use words to give us a picture or image without actually saying what
they mean. Can you trace some images used in the poem?
Answer: Writers always use such phrases and words that do not tell us directly about
what they mean but always gives us an indication of the meaning. Such words or
phrases are used to trigger our own imagination in painting the picture that they mean.
Use of such images in the poem is the following: ‘mouth like a fireplace’, ‘chimney for a
nose’, ‘brave as a barrel full of bears’, ‘brave as a tiger in a rage’, ‘went at the pirate like a
robin at a worm’, etc.
Question 8. Do you find ‘The Tale of Custard the Dragon’ to be a serious or a light-
hearted poem? Give reasons to support your answer.
Answer: ‘The Tale of Custard the Dragon’ is a very light and funny poem meant to be
enjoyed by everyone. The way the poem has been written with a fix rhyme scheme,
makes it very easy and enjoyable to read. The poet has even used wrong spelling to
maintain the rhyme scheme. The features of Belinda and her pets described in the
poem make it quite funny. Belinda’s bravery has been compared to a barrel full of bears,
a liquid substance. All the tiny creatures such as the kitten and the mouse have been
shown so brave that they can scare a lion and the dog’s bravery is like a tiger’s rage. The
biggest of them all, the dragon is the only one, who has been shown as a coward and
soft being, who looks for a cage for himself, which is very ironic, hence making the poem
funny.
Question 9. This poem, in ballad form, tells a story. Have you come across any such
modern song or lyric that tells a story? If you know one, tell it to the class. Collect such
songs as a project.
Answer: Do it yourself
Sp-7 The Necklace
Read and Find Out
(Page 39)
Question 1. What kind of a person is Mme Loisel and why is she always unhappy?
Answer: Mme Loisel is young, pretty, ordinary but discontented woman. She is of a
humble background but dreams of riches and comforts. She is proud of her beauty and
wants to be admired. Her meagre resources are not enough to satisfy her expensive
cravings making her angry all the time.
Question 2. What kind of a person is her husband?
Answer: Her husband M Loisel, is an ordinary and average young man. A mere clerk by
profession, he is still contented with his job. Also, he is a caring man as he is excited to
show the dinner invitation to his wife. Page 41
Question 3. What fresh problem now disturbs Mme Loisel?
Answer: After spending a fortune on a beautiful dress, Mme Loisel is faced with yet
another disaster. She frets over the fact that she does not have a beautiful jewel to go
with her dress. So, she asks her husband to pass on the invitation to someone else.
Question 4. How is the problem solved?
Answer: Matilda Loisel’s husband, M. Loisel, comes to her rescue. First, he suggests
her to wear fresh flowers. Matilda just mocked at the idea. Then, he advises her to
borrow some jewels from her rich friend, Mme Forestier. Thus, the problem is solved as
Mme Forestier lends her a beautiful diamond necklace. Page 42
Question 5. What do Mr and Mme Loisel do next?
Answer: The Loisels leave no stone unturned. M. Loisel goes back and searches to the
lost necklace. Then, he goes to the police and to the cab offices. Also, they put out an
advertisement in the newspapers and offer a reward to anyone who finds the necklace.
But all their efforts go in vain.
Question 6. How do they replace the necklace?
Answer: After all other efforts fail, Loisel’s decide to buy a new identical necklace to
replace the lost one. Mr. Loisel pooled in eighteen thousand francs of his inheritance
and borrowed the rest. Then the couple managed to buy the new necklace for thirty-six
thousand francs and returned it to the rightful owner.
Think About It (Page 46)
Question 1. The course of the Loisel’s life changed due to the necklace. Comment.
Answer: It takes Loisels a decade to pay back the money they borrowed to buy the
necklace. And it changed everything for them. They had to move to the poorest quarters
of the city. With no maids or assistance, Matilda had to cook, clean, mend, sew, bargain
with the grocer and butcher to save every sou just for mere survival. The husband had to
work in the evening and night to pay their debt. In this way, the course of the Loisel’s life
changed due to the necklace.
Question 2. What was the cause of Matilda’s ruin? How could she have avoided it?
Answer: Matilda’s pride and her materialistic aspirations coupled with her dishonesty
pave the way for her ruin. She could have avoided it by learning to accept her current
situation and being content with what she had.
Question 3. What would have happened to Matilda if she had confessed to her friend
that she had lost her necklace?
Answer: Truth and honesty would have saved Matilda from her doom. If only she has
been courageous enough to confess to her friend the truth of the necklace, she would
have come to know that it was a fake one that cost a mere five hundred francs. She
would not have Spent her husband’s entire inheritance and borrowed eighteen
thousand francs to pay for its replacement. In fact, she would have saved herself and
her husband from ten long years of crushing poverty, misery and back breaking labour
Question 4. If you were caught in a situation like this, how would you have dealt with it?
Answer: Foremost of all, I would have done my best not to become a victim of my own
pride and aspirations. If, I was caught in such a situation, I would have let the truth out
and then face the consequences. Honesty would have been the way out for me.
Ch-8 The Sermon at Benares
Thinking about the Text (Page 135)
Question 1. When her son dies, Kisa Gotami goes from house to house? What does she
ask for? Does she get it? Why not?
Answer: After the death of her only son, Kisa Gotami was overcome with grief. She
carried the dead body of her son in her arms and went from door to door asking for
medicine to cure her child, but nobody could provide any medicine. For there is no such
medicine available which can bring a dead person back to life.
Question 2. Kisa Gotami again goes from house to house after she speaks with the
Buddha. What does she ask for? Does she get it? Why not?
Answer: Gautama Buddha asks Kisa to bring a handful of mustard seeds from a house
where death had never knocked at the door. Kisa Gotami went from door to door but
couldn’t find a single house where death had not taken a beloved away. She could not
get it as death is inevitable and anyone who is born is bound to die one day.
Question 3. What does Kisa Gotami understand the second time that she failed to
understand the first time? Was this what Buddha wanted her to understand?
Answer: After failing to procure a handful of mustard seeds from a house where death
had never knocked at the door, she sat down by the roadside feeling helpless. She saw
the lights of the city that flickered and were extinguished. At last, it was darkness
everywhere. She realised that death was common to all, and she was being selfish in
her grief. Yes, this is what Buddha wanted her to understand, that everyone who is born
must die one day.
Question 4. Why do you think Kisa Gotami understood this only the second time? In
what way did Buddha change her understanding?
Answer: Earlier, she could see only her grief. When she went from door to door the
second time, she understood that everyone was dealing the with the loss of a beloved
one. There was not a single house in the town, where death had not taken a father, a
mother, a sister, a brother, son or a daughter. Everyone, at some point or the other, have
experienced the death of their loved ones. Gautama Buddha helped her to understand
all this, as he told her to bring a handful of mustard seeds from a house where death
had never knocked at the door. This way she got aware that death is common to all
human beings.
Question 5. How do you usually understand the idea of selfishness? Do you agree with
Kisa Gotami that she was being selfish in her grief?
Answer: A selfish person is one who only thinks about himself or herself, and to some
extent Kisa Gotami was being selfish because we are humans and it is natural for us to
die. We do not easily accept the death of our loved ones. Same has happened with Kisa
Gotami. As it was her only child, she did not want him to die finally went to Buddha to
ask for help.
Pm-8 For Anne Gregory
Thinking about the Poem (page 141)
Question 1. What does the young man mean by “great honey-coloured /Ramparts at
your ear?” Why does he say that young men are “thrown into despair” by them?
Answer: The young man in the poem praises the great honey-coloured hair of Anne.
Anne’s hair has been called rampart, meaning a wall. It is called so because they act as
a wall, as they prevent young men from looking beyond those yellow hair and into her
soul. Her hair is so attractive that young men cannot look at anything else. Anne’s yellow
hair are so pretty that young men hopelessly fall in love with her. She is so pretty that
everyone wants her, which cannot happen; hence, they are thrown into despair.
Question 2. What colour is the young woman’s hair? What does she say she can change
it td? Why would she want to do so?
Answer: Anne s hair is yellow, like the colour of honey. She says that she can change it
to black, brown or carrot; she means that she can change it to any colour she wants.
Anne says so to show that outer beauty is changeable and not permanent or real. She
wants young men to look in her soul and love her for her inner beauty. In order to do so,
she needs to show them the superficiality of her external beauty.
Question 3. Objects have qualities which make them desirable to others. Can you think
of some objects (a car, a phone, a dress…) and say what qualities make one object more
desirable than another? Imagine you were trying to sell an object: what qualities would
you emphasise?
Answer: People desire objects because of their qualities that suit their need. The things
we consume, goods we use such as a car, a phone, a dress etc. physical qualities
matter the most. Before buying anything, it is always considered that the object is
durable and looks pretty. If I were to sell a dress, I would select the one that is very
appealing to the eye and comfortable for the body. Then I would emphasise on the
durability of the dress so that the customer feels that he/she is spending his/her money
at the right place and in the right thing.
Question 4. What about people? Do we love others because we like their qualities,
whether physical or mental? Or is it possible to love someone “for themselves alone”?
Are some people ‘more lovable’ than others? Discuss this question in pairs or in groups’,
considering points like the following.
1. A parent or caregiver’s love for a newborn baby, for a mentally or physically
challenged child, for a clever child or a prodigy
2. The public’s love for a film star, a sportsperson, a politician, or a social worker
3. Your love for a friend, or brother or sister
4. Your love for a pet, and the pet’s love for you.
Answer: We often begin to love people because of their qualities—like kindness,
intelligence, or beauty—but deep love can go beyond that. For example, a parent loves a
newborn or a disabled child not because of any special traits, but simply because the
child is theirs. Public love for celebrities is usually based on talent or image and can
fade over time. Love for friends or siblings might start with shared interests or
personality but can grow into something deeper and more unconditional. Even love for
pets shows that love doesn’t always depend on qualities—sometimes it's just about
emotional connection. So, while some people may seem more lovable due to their
traits, real love can be about loving someone for who they are, not just what they offer.
Question 5. You have perhaps concluded that people are not objects to be valued for
their qualities or riches rather than for themselves. But elsewhere Yeats asks the
Question: How can we separate the dancer from the dance? Is it possible to separate
‘the person himself or herself’ from how the person looks, sounds, walks and so on?
Think of how you or a friend or member of your family has changed over the years. Has
your relationship also changed? In what way?
Answer: It’s difficult to separate a person from how they look, sound, or move, because
these things are part of how we experience and connect with them. Over time, as
people change physically or in personality, relationships often shift too. For example, a
friend who was once shy may grow more confident, and that can deepen your bond. So
while we try to value people for who they are inside, their outward expressions are still a
part of that identity.
Sp-8 Bholi
Read and Find Out
(Page 54)
Question 1. Why is Bholi’s father worried about her?
Answer: Bholi was not like other children. She fell off a cot as a child due to which her
brain was slightly damaged. She learnt to speak very late and used to stammer. Her face
and whole body were covered with pockmarks. Thus, her father was worried about her
marriage prospects.
Question 2. For what unusual reason is Bholi sent to school?
Answer: As Ramlal was a government official and the Tehsildar had asked Ramlal to
send his daughters to the new school in his village, Bholi was sent to school just to
satisfy the Tehsildar. As Randal’s wife felt that sending girls to school affected their
marriage prospects adversely, she did not want to send any of her daughters to school.
However, Bholi, with her pock-marked face and dull brain would not be possible to get
married anyway, so Bholi’s parents decided to send her to school to satisfy the
Tehsildar. Page 55
Question 1. Does Bholi enjoy her first day at school?
Answer: Bholi was afraid at first. She even wept when the teacher asked her name. She
just sat in a corner. But the beautiful pictures on the classroom wall attracted her. The
gentle, kind and loving manner of her teacher made her comfortable. She was looking
forward to her new life by the time the first day ended. Thus, although initially she did
not enjoy it, but by the time she went home she had liked school.
Question 2. Does she find her teacher to be different from the people at home?
Answer: Bholi had been a neglected child at home. She was never bathed nor her
clothes washed. She was criticised and everyone made fun of her. But she found her
teacher to be entirely different. Her teacher did not make fun of her ugliness or her
stammering. She encouraged her tenderly. Her affection deeply touched Bholi’s heart.
Page 58
Question 1. Why do Bholi’s parents accept Bishamber’s marriage proposal?
Answer: Bholi’s parents accepted Bishamber’s marriage proposal as he was a well-to-
do grocer and had not asked for any dowry.
Question 2. Why does the marriage not take place?
Answer: At the time of marriage, Bishamber asked for a dowry of five thousand rupees
because he saw Bholi’s pock-marked face. Ramlal had no choice but to pay. But Bholi
refused to marry the greedy man. She asserted her rights and dignity. Thus, the marriage
party was turned away. Think About It (Page 62)
Question 1. Bholi had many apprehensions about going to school. What made her feel
that she was going to a better place than her home?
Answer: The day she was going to school forced her parents to dress her nicely. She
was bathed and her hair was properly done. Until then she was not being taken care of.
The special treatment she received made her feel that she was going to a better place.
Question 2. How did Bholi’s teacher play an important role in changing the course of
her life?
Answer: Bholi stammered and was just a bundle of nerves when she attended school in
the beginning. Her teacher treated her kindly and encouraged her to have confidence
and be bold. She taught her to read and write and made her an independent girl who
was aware of her rights. Thus, she changed her life.
Question 3. Why did Bholi at first agree to an unequal match? Why did she later reject
the marriage. What does this say about her?
Answer: Bholi agreed to the match at first to fulfil her parents’ wishes. Later on, she
rejected the marriage when the bridegroom asked for dowry. This tells us that Bholi was
not a timid – and dumb girl. She was aware of her rights. She also knew how to fight for
her own dignity and feared no one.
Question 4. Bholi’s real name is Sulekha. We are told this right at the beginning. But
only in the last but one paragraph of the story is Bholi called Sulekha again. Why do you
think she is called Sulekha at that point in the story?
Answer: The word Bholi means a simpleton. Throughout the story she had been a
simpleton who hardly expressed her opinion on any matter. The word Sulekha means ‘a
person with a beautiful sense of letters’. In this story this word has a larger meaning of
being a literate, intelligent and mature individual. After her education, Bholi has really
changed to Sulekha and her assertion at the time of her marriage is her announcement
to the world that she is no more a Bholi but is a Sulekha.
Ch-9 The Proposal
Thinking about the Play (Page 157)
Question 1. What does Chubukov at first suspect that Lomov has come for? Is he
sincere when he later says, ‘And I’ve always loved you, my angel, as if you were my own
son”? Find reasons for your answer from the play.
Answer: At first Chubukov suspected that Lomov had come to borrow money as he was
in his evening dress. He was not sincere when he told Lomov that he had always loved
him and that he was like his own son, because he had decided to not give any money to
Lomov. It was only when Lomov asked for his daughter’s hand in marriage that his
attitude changed and he rushed out to call his daughter, Natalya.
Question 2. Chubukov says of Natalya: “……. as if she won’t consent! She’s in love;
egad, she’s like a lovesick cat……” Would you agree? Find reasons for your answer.
Answer: Yes, Natalya is in love. This is clear by the way she behaves when she gets to
know that Lomov came to propose to her. She starts weeping and asks her father to
bring Lomov at once.
Question 3. 1. Find all the words and expressions in the play that the characters use to
speak about each other, and the accusations and insults they hurl at each other. (For
example, Lomov in the end calls Chubukov an intriguer; but earlier, Chubukov has
himself called Lomov a “malicious, double-faced intriguer.” Again, Lomov begins by
describing Natalya as “an excellent housekeeper, not bad-looking, well-educated.”) 2.
Then think of five adjectives or adjectival expressions of your own to describe each
character in the play. 3. Can you now imagine what these characters will quarrel about
next?
Answer: The words and expressions that have been used to describe each other by
various characters of the play are Chubukov: intriguer, grabber, old rat Natalya: a
lovesick cat, an excellent housekeeper, not bad looking’ well-educated. Lomov: a good
neighbour, impudent, pettifogger, malicious, double-faced intriguer, rascal, blind hen,
turnip ghost, a villain, scare crow, stuffed sausage, etc.
Sp-9 The Book that saved the Earth
Read and find out
(Page 63)
Question 1. Why was the twentieth century called the ‘Era of the book’?
Answer: There were books for everything, from anteaters to Zulus. Books taught people
what to do, how to do, when to do and why to do. They explained, educated, directed
and decorated. No wonder that it was called the eta of books.
Question 2. Who tried to invade the Earth in the twenty first century?
Answer: Martians tried to invade the Earth in the twenty first century. Page 65
Question 3. What guesses are made by Think-Tank about the books found on Earth?
Answer: Think-Tank first guesses them to be sandwiches. Then he calls them
communication devices. After that he thinks them to be some kind of eye
communication devices that have to be devices watched. Think About It (Page 74)
Question 1. Noodle avoids offending Think-Tank but at the same time he corrects his
mistakes. How does he manage to do that?
Answer: Noodle avoids offending Think-Tank while correcting his mistakes by
presenting his own thoughts but referring to them as being of no particular importance.
Whenever he had to say something contrary to what Think-Tank said, he would do this.
In this way he would correct Think-Tank’s errors without making Think-Tank feel that he
was being corrected.
Question 2. If you were in Noodle’s place, how would you handle Think-Tank’s
mistakes?
Answer: If I were in his place, I would do the same. I would politely and gently suggest
the corrections.
Question 3. Do you think books are being replaced by the electronic media? Can we do
away with books altogether?
Answer: Yes, these days online reading has replaced traditional books to a large extent.
Internet, Facebook, twitter etc. have decreased interest in reading. But the truth is that
books cannot be totally replaced. Books can never go out of life although they may exist
in a different form.
Question 4. Why are books referred to as a man’s best companion? Which is your
favourite book and why? Write a paragraph about that book.
Answer: A book is a man’s best companion because it is always there. It never leaves us
alone. It is there with us even when everyone else is gone. Books ‘guide us, instruct us,
make us laugh, inform us, inspire us and are always true to us. My favourite book is
Peter Pan. It is a fairy tale. I love the character of Peter. He lives in fantasies. He is a child
who never wants to grow up and he never does’ He enjoys thrills and adventures and
even takes the kids from Earth on a merry adventure. The book inspires as it snows that
one can remain a child at heart forever. The sense of wonder, innocence, purity and joy
and a ‘capacity to dream can stay in the human heart forever.’