Subject: English Class: 2nd Year Name: _______________
Unit Four: Truck Art
Glossary
adorn _____________________ esteem ____________________ magnate __________________
afford _____________________ execute ___________________ make a living _____________
alteration _________________ exterior ___________________ masterpiece _______________
apogee ____________________ eye-catching ______________ motif _____________________
applique __________________ flamboyant _______________ mural ____________________
artefact ___________________ fringe _____________________ painstaking _______________
background _______________ gazelle ____________________ portrait ___________________
booming __________________ glaring ____________________ prosperity ________________
carpenter _________________ guild _____________________ recall _____________________
carve _____________________ hand down to _____________ reckon ____________________
chassis ___________________ haul ______________________ sacred ____________________
competitive _______________ hover around _____________ savings ___________________
continuation ______________ illiterate __________________ solidarity _________________
convince __________________ illustration ________________ spiff up ___________________
dangle ____________________ incorporate _______________ subsequent _______________
dazzling __________________ indestructibility ___________ supplant __________________
decoration ________________ inscription ________________ tinkling ___________________
elaborate _________________ intricately _________________ transience ________________
emblem __________________ inventiveness _____________ unfading __________________
embrace __________________ jostle _____________________ unusual __________________
embroider ________________ kaleidoscope ______________ upholsterer _______________
enormous ________________ landscape _________________ versatility _________________
equivalent ________________ lavishly ___________________ wrought __________________
Important MCQS from the Unit
1. The author of the unit ‘Truck Art’ is Rachel Redford.
2. Today’s truckers are successors of many generations of traders who transported goods by
camel caravans along routes from coasts of Pakistan inland to Central Asia.
3. The camel decorations identified the traders’ various ethnic groups.
4. Karachi, a port city of more than 14 million people, is said to employ over 50,000 people
in small family-run paint workshops.
5. This labour-intensive operation usually takes 6 to 10 weeks.
6. The taj helps to protect our loads from the eyes of the police.
7. The decorations are seen as a continuation of the court decoration of the Mughal
emperors.
8. Some owners deck their trucks like brides. The bell chains tied to the mudguards
symbolizes the tinkling of a bride’s payals.
9. Smithsonian Folklife Festival took place in the summer of 2002.
10. Camel-bone inlay is emblem of Sindh province, while stainless-steel peacock
appliques are popular both in Sindh and the Punjab.
11. Karachi is the country’s principal center for truck decoration.
12. Vauxhall stopped production of the Bedford trucks in the early Nineties. Japanese
imports like Hino and Nissam supplanted them.
Reading Comprehension (pg. 38)
Q1. Explain the connection which the writer makes between the camel
caravans of past and modern decorations of trucks.
Ans. The writer traces back the history of the decorated trucks of the modern day to
the camel caravans of ancient times. She writes that camels in a caravan were
historically dressed up in a particularly way. This ancient tradition marked the ethnical
identity of each caravan. Similar to this, trucks are decorated with vibrant colours and
diverse patterns of design to indicate the ethnicity of its driver. For instance, if a truck
has been painted with portraits of Shahid Afridi and Bab-e-Khyber, or there are verses
in Pashto written on the truck, this confirms that its driver hails from Peshawar.
Q2. Which point is the writer illustrating when she gives examples of the
decorations on trucks from Peshawar and Rawalpindi?
Ans. While giving examples of varying decorations on trucks from Peshawar and
Rawalpindi, the writer is illustrating the point that these differences in designs and
decorations on trucks reveal significant details about the whereabouts and the ethnical
identity of their drivers. Moreover, she also writes that such kinds of decorations
demonstrate the legacy and heritage that has passed down to the truck drivers from
the ancient camel caravans.
Q3. Which part is the writer illustrating in the lesson ‘Truck Art’ by giving
examples of the specialists’ work?
Ans. The writer compares the modern-day Pakistani truck workshops with medieval
guilds or associations of artisans. The point is to illustrate that decorating a truck is a
lengthy, delicate, and multistep task. This painstaking work involves several specialists;
such as an electrician, a metal worker, a carpenter, an upholsterer, and master painter,
each required to carry out a different kind of job.
Q4. Why do truckers spend so much money on decorating their trucks?
Ans. According to the author, there are three major reasons why truckers spend lavishly
on having their trucks decorated. Firstly, it may be a gesture of expressing thanks and
paying tribute to Allah Almighty for prosperity in the business. Secondly, it could be a
trick and publicity stunt to get more and more customers. Last but not the least, it
might be a way to survive in the competitive market where each trucker tries to outdo
all the other rival truckers.
Q5. Briefly describe how truck art developed from the 1940s to the 1970s.
Ans. The story of stepwise evolution of truck art from the 1940s to the 1970s is both
interesting and significant. Initially, during the 1940s, when the transport industry
began to spread, various companies developed their own painted trademarks in order
to distinguish themselves from the other companies. This marked the beginning of
competition and growth of truck art industry. After the independence, truck art became
a symbol of patriotism and national solidarity. One company took the geographical
outlines of Pakistan for its logo.
The 1950s saw a rapid shift in the truck art. Haji Hussain, who had previously painted
palaces in Gujrat, put an end to imitations of motifs from the camel caravans and ox-
carts of the olden times. He started painting trucks with floral borders. In the 1960s,
the transport industry flourished significantly, owing to Pakistan’s economic boom. As
the owners’ wealth increased during the `60s and the `70s and they started competing
for business, truck decorations became more and more elaborate. Soon, companies
began using the British-built Bedford trucks with their seven-foot panelled sides—
reason being their durability and capacity for carrying more load with ease.
Q6. Why are truck drivers ‘nostalgic’ about the old Bedford trucks?
Ans. Truck drivers are mostly nostalgic about the old Bedford trucks for the reason that
Vauxhall stopped producing them since the early Nineties. Around that time, Japanese
imports like Hino and Nissan supplanted Bedford completely and they became
exceedingly rare.
Q7. Explain how truck art at the present time can be seen as having reached
‘some kind of apogee’?
Ans. To assert that truck art at the present time has reached some kind of apogee would
not be a false statement. Actually, it has a ring of truth to it. Firstly, truck artists show
great inventiveness and creativity in outlining a suitable design. Next, they show
meticulous observation and skill in its execution. The attention to detail looks superb.
Lastly, they paint it with brilliant colours. All this gives the truck a divine appearance,
making it a true apogee.
Vocabulary and Grammar (pg. 41)
B. Complete these sentences with an opposite of the verb in BOLD.
1. Although we missed our train to the airport, we still managed to catch our plane.
2. We didn’t spend much money. In fact, we managed to save a lot of it.
3. The train arrives at the station at 4 and it departs 10 minutes later.
4. After he had emptied the bottle, he filled it with water.
5. “Can you lend me Rs. 100?” – “No way! The last time you borrowed money from me,
you never gave it back!”
6. The principal doesn’t allow smoking at school. In fact, he forbids everything that is
bad for our health.
7. “Did he confess to stealing your money?” – “No, he denied everything.”
8. In summer, the sun rises at about 5 o’clock and doesn’t set until after nine in the
evening.
9. There are some things you can do in private that you should never do in public.
10. He didn’t pass his exam. In fact, he failed with a very low score.
11. Our teacher rewarded all the good students but decided to punish all the bad ones.
12. Although I sent the letter on Monday, she didn’t receive it until Friday.
13. At the end of the long, dim tunnel we could see a bright, shining light.
[Link] you are attacked on the street, there are several ways you can defend yourself.
15. It was only a temporary job until I could find something more permanent.
16. The thief said he was innocent, but the judge decided he was guilty.
17. Half of the students were present, but the other half were absent.
18. Attendance at class is compulsory, but the afternoon social programmes are
voluntary.
19. There have been a few major accidents on this road, but fortunately the injuries
have been minor.
20. I prefer strong to weak coffee.
C. Read each word below. Match it to its clue, and then write each word on the line
next to its clue.
1. someone who lives in an urban area _____________
2. to bring back to life _____________
3. relating to the Stone Age _____________
4. a feeling of friendship and brotherhood _____________
5. to cut off the head _____________
6. love of country _____________
7. same name _____________
8. a person who codified to treat disease of gums and teeth ______________
9. consisting of two parts ______________
10. someone who has suffered a misfortune _____________
11. happening every November _____________
12. liked or admired by many people _____________
13. having four feet _____________
14. joining or bring joined _____________