Mother's Day

Mother’s Day

                                                          By J. B. Priestley

Analysis : 

·      The play ‘Mother's Day’ written by J. B. Priestley unwinds a beautiful story on the struggles and sacrifices of parents esp. mothers.

·      The play beautifully and impactfully helps the youngsters imbibe the values like care, concern, empathy, compassion, respect for mothers and not take them for granted.

·      It is an account of a mother, Mrs. Annie Pearson who is determined to get back her due respect, recognition and acknowledgement in her house and tries to change the thinking and the behaviour of her husband and two children.

·      The readers are motivated to learn their mistakes and develop the sensitivity and sensibility to understand the sufferings and struggles of mothers at hands of family members. Eventually they will draw the message that everyone deserves due respect and mothers shouldn’t be taken for granted.

·      The story does a comparative study of Mrs. Annie Pearson and Mrs. Fitzgerald as the two different personalities. The swapping of their personalities makes the story interesting and thrilling.

·      The story explores the theme of togetherness, need for respect, tolerance, patience and understanding for each and every member equally among the family.

·      The story conveys the message that all family members are equally important and mothers also have their needs and emotions. They should be respected and their sacrifices should be acknowledged by sharing workload and solving the problems together.

 

Summary / Synopsis

The play begins with two friends having a candid conversation between Mrs Fitzgerald and Mrs Pearson at the latter’s house. Mrs. Annie Pearson and Mrs. Fitzgerald are next door neighbours. But they are two poles apart in their attitude and demeanour. Annie is pleasant and nervous looking woman in her forties. Fitzgerald is older and heavier with a strong and confident personality. Annie has a soft voice whereas Mrs. Fitzgerald has a deep and strong voice.

Mrs. Fitzgerald is a fortune-teller. She has learnt this art from the East. She reads Annie's fortune and advises Annie to be strict and become the 'boss' in her family. Sadly, Mrs. Annie Pearson is not treated properly by her family and has been reduced to the status of an unpaid domestic servant who does all the work at home without even being requested for it and being thanked. Mrs. Fitzgerald gets angry at the way Annie is treated like a servant by her family.

One day, Mrs. Fitzgerald suggests that they both should temporarily exchange their personalities by using a magic spell that she had learnt in the East. She takes Annie's hand and speaks some magic words. A transformation takes place and the personality of Mrs. Fitzgerald enters into the body of Annie and the vice-versa.

Annie is scared but Mrs. Fitzgerald assures her that the change is reversible. Mrs. Fitzgerald, now in the body of Annie, stays at Annie's house and sends Annie (in her body) to her own house where she can relax.

Doris, the daughter of Mrs. Annie Pearson, a beautiful girl of 20 years enters the house. She gets shocked at seeing her mother smoking and playing cards alone. Doris asks about her yellow dress but her mother does not respond. She asks for tea and her mother rudely tells her to iron her dress herself and make tea if she wants to. Doris gets angry, but gets a good scolding from her mother. Then, Annie makes fun of Doris' boyfriend, Charlie Spence, for having projecting teeth and being stupid. This behaviour infuriates Doris and she leaves the room crying.

Cyril, Annie's son, enters the house and asks for tea in a demanding tone and angry manner but the mother doesn’t respond. Cyril asks her if everything is alright with her. She replies that she has never felt better in her life. Annie tells him that she has not bothered to get the tea ready as she wanted a change. Cyril tells that he is short of time so she should get the tea ready immediately. He again gets angry when the mother responds in negative to his enquiry about whether she has got his clothes ready. He asks his mother what if all family members talked to her like she was talking that day. Annie coldly replies that all three of them always talked to her like that, so what was wrong with her talking in the same tone. She adds that she has become a member of the Union so that she gets what she deserves.

Doris appears on the scene wearing a shoulder wrap. Annie remarks sarcastically about her dress. An argument starts between the two. Doris comments that if she was looking awful, it was due to her mother only, who made her cry. When, Annie enquires if any strong beer was left, both Doris and Cyril are filled with horror and shock at their mother's behaviour. Doris thinks that she got hit on her head by something. She says that the manner in which their mother spoke hurt her the most and made her cry. Both the siblings start giggling at the thought of what will happen if their mother keeps behaving in this weird manner in front of their father.

Annie remarks that it was high time and Annie tells them that it is actually her children's and her husband's behaviour that bothered her the most. They always came, asked for something and went without bothering to know whether she wanted to go out or how she was feeling. She always does her best to keep everybody happy but all three of them were not bothered about her happiness and needs.

Annie also remarks that while the three of them do a job of eight hours a day with two days off at the weekend, she goes on working seven days round the clock. She warns them that she will also take off on weekends.

Doris is really worried about what will happen if her mother takes a holiday on weekends. However, Annie assures Doris that she would do some work on Saturday and Sunday only when she is requested for it and thanked for whatever she does. She may go out for weekends as she is fed up of staying in the house for years. None of them has ever bothered to take her out.

Now, her husband, Mr. George Pearson of 50 years enters the house. He considers himself as a very important person and gets annoyed to find his wife sipping beer. He tells her that he does not want any tea as he has to go to the club for supper. His wife tells him that she has not prepared any tea anyway. At this, George gets annoyed.

Annie makes fun of him, saying that he is not respected in the club and the people at the bar in the club call him 'Pompy-ompy Pearson' due to his self-important behaviour. George cannot believe but confirms the truth from his son, Cyril. Annie tells her son that sometimes it does people good to have their feelings hurt.

Then, Mrs. Fitzgerald (actually Mrs. Annie Pearson) enters and finds Doris in tears. Her family continues to get a scolding in front of Mrs. Fitzgerald. Mrs. Annie Pearson (actually Mrs. Fitzgerald) informs her that she was putting everyone in their place. When Mr. Pearson shouts at his wife, she threatens to slap his big, fat silly face.

The real Mrs. Annie Pearson (now Mrs. Fitzgerald) wants everyone to leave as she wants to talk in private with Annie (the real Mrs. Fitzgerald). She tells Mrs. Fitzgerald that it is enough. Let them change back and get into their true selves. Mrs. Fitzgerald again speaks some magic words and they revert to their own selves. Mrs. Fitzgerald says that she enjoyed every moment in her changed personality. Mrs. Fitzgerald wants Annie not to be soft on her family but to remain firm.

Annie says that she will be able to manage her husband and children now. Mrs. Fitzgerald warns her not to give any apology or explanation, otherwise they will again start treating her indifferently. She must wear a tough look and talk to them rudely if she wants them to behave in the right manner.

For a change, when Annie smiles, her family members smile back and feel very relaxed. As they had cancelled going out, Annie feels that they all as a family should play a game of rummy. She wants to have a talk with George, her husband and asks her children to prepare supper for the family for which they readily agree. The play ends on a happy note where the children and husband are willing to do whatever she suggests.

Message

The play makes the children realise the worth of sacrifice and struggles of parents especially the mothers for the children. The story gives a message to all family members that they must understand the need to strengthen the family bonding by sharing workload and solving problems together, accepting all the members of the family, without any complaints or stereotypes and nourishing a sense of belongingness, tolerance and mutual love.

Character Sketch of Mrs. Fitzgerald :

Mrs. Fitzgerald is Mrs. Annie Pearson's neighbour. She is a fortune teller. She is quite strong-willed, confident and has deep and strong voice. She is older and heavier in comparison to Annie and has a strong and dominating personality. She smokes and drinks. She has a deep voice with an Irish tone. She knows magic and helps Mrs. Annie Pearson swap her personality with her own to reform the spoilt members of Mrs. Annie Pearson's family.

Character Sketch of Mrs. Annie Pearson :

Mrs. Annie Pearson is a pleasant but nervous type of woman whose excessive love and care has spoilt her two children and husband who fail to understand her struggle and sacrifices. Annie is in her forties and wears a tense expression on her face. She speaks in a light soft tone with a local touch. She works hard to take care of her family but she is taken for granted. She is not respected, requested nor thanked by her family for her tireless work.

Important Question Answers

Q1. How did Mrs. Fitzgerald utilise her husband's posting in the East?

Ans. Mrs. Fitzgerald's husband was posted in the East (British colonies in Asia) for twelve years. She utilised her time there by learning fortune-telling and how to use magic spells to exchange personalities. She used this knowledge in temporarily exchanging her strong personality with the weak personality of Mrs. Annie Pearson to resolve her problem and deal with her family. Mrs. Fitzgerald interchanged her personality with that of Annie and treated Annie's family to a taste of their own medicine in order to change their behaviour towards Mrs. Pearson.

Q2. What advice did Mrs. Fitzgerald give to Annie?

Ans. Mrs. Fitzgerald was very bold and dominating in nature; she knew how to control the family members. So, Mrs. Fitzgerald felt that it was time for Annie to set her family right and teach them a lesson. Mrs. Fitzgerald advised her to put her foot down and be the 'boss' in her family.

Q3. What reply did Annie give when Mrs. Fitzgerald asked her to put her foot down?

Ans. To this, Annie says that it was easier said than done. Even though her family was thoughtless and selfish, they didn't mean to be. Moreover, she was very fond of them and hated to create any kind of quarrels in the family. She was hesitant to follow the advice and lacked confidence.

The Address

The Address
                                                                                   By Marga Minco

Analysis : 

The story ‘Address’ written by Marga Minco is a beautiful account in the life of a daughter during war in Holland (now Netherlands). It is a story of human predicament that follows war.

It is an account of a daughter who is determined to bring her mother’s possessions back to her house and tries twice to get the things back.

This beautiful story depicts a daughter-mother relation and the pain of losing one’s relations especially mother.

The story narrates small acts of determination, courage, greed, selfishness and innocence that define human character full of strengths and weaknesses.

The story explores the passage of time, memory, and the enduring impact of loss after death of the protagonist’s mother. This shift in time is one of the themes highlighting the transience of life and the inevitable changes that occur in the protagonist’s life during and after war.

The story conveys the message that relations are more important and things remain ‘things’ if they don’t breathe emotions and don’t have warmth of relations after the link with the person is snapped.

Summary / Synopsis

The story ‘The Address’ is about a girl who wants the things belonging to her late mother back. She decided to go to Mrs. Dorling who lived at Number 46, Marconi Street. When the protagonist reaches, she received a cold reception at the hands of Mrs. Dorling who first refused to recognise her. First, the protagonist thought that she made a mistake and had come at the wrong address. But, then she recognised her mother’s green cardigan with faded buttons which Mrs Dorling was wearing. Mrs Dorling accepted that she knew her mother and said that she had thought everyone in her family was dead during war. Mrs. Dorling refused to let the protagonist come inside and talk to her. She disappointed her telling her to come some other time. 

The protagonist decided to go back to the train station. She didn't pay much attention to the surrounding places on her way to the station as she didn't want to confront the memories from past and be emotionally weak. On the train she suddenly remembered how and when she met Mrs. Dorling in her house for the first time. 

When the daughter felt that certain things were missing from house, her mother told her about Mrs. Dorling, an acquaintance of hers. Mrs. Dorling was a woman with broad back. During first half of the war, Mrs. Dorling would visit their house and take away their possessions with her as she didn’t want the precious things to get lost if they ever had to leave the place due to war conditions. The mother couldn't refuse rather she was concerned about the difficulty and the risk Mrs. Dorling was taking in carrying those things in a heavy suitcase during war. When the daughter asked if she lived far away, her mother told her the address of Mrs. Dorling, which she remembered very well. Long after the war was over, the narrator didn't think of collecting her mother's possessions as she wasn't mentally and emotionally ready to face those things which would remind her of her mother and make her sad. After some time things became better and the daughter became curious about her mother's possessions.

While the protagonist was returning from Mrs. Dorling's house empty handed, she remembered the woman and her address clearly, hence, she decided to go to Mrs. Dorling’s home again and try one more time to get the belongings back. 

On her second visit when she rang the bell, Mrs. Dorling’s daughter opened the door. She let her in and asked her to wait in the living room  till her mother came back. When they were crossing the passage, the protagonist noticed their Hanukkah candle stand that they had never used because it had been unmanageable. When she reached the living room, she was horrified as she saw all her mother’s things that were arranged in a tasteless manner. She also noticed the burn mark in the woollen table cloth. The furniture was ugly and the room had a muggy smell. It made her disinterested and she wanted to leave the place. The daughter offered her a cup of tea. When the girl was talking about antiques and plates that they have used very frequently, the protagonist mentioned that when the things are around, people don't value them and hardly notice small details about them. She told her that she must have not noticed that the cutlery they were using was of silver. When the girl was showing her the silver forks and spoons that actually belonged to the protagonist, she stood up and decided to leave the place immediately.

The dismal look of these priceless possessions broke her heart. This made her walk out of the house. She decided not to visit the place again as it brought back memories of the past and hence, she decided to forget the address. Now, these possessions no more bear the mark of her mother's gentle touch and caring attitude. The things after being separated from her mother and her house lost their value. As they were kept tastelessly in strange surroundings, they didn't remind her of her mother. If these things are kept badly in her small rented house, they will lose their worth. Hence, she decided to forget the things which would help her forget the address.

Theme

The story intricately weaves together themes of time, memory, nostalgia, and the complex emotions associated with the loss of her mother and her possessions. It serves as a poignant memory of the protagonist's and her mother’s life together and after mother's death.

Character Sketch of Mrs. Dorling

Mrs. Dorling was an old acquaintance of Mrs. S., mother of the protagonist. She has been described in the chapter as a cunning, selfish and greedy woman. During war she used to visit her house and take away her precious things such as antiques, silver wares, vases, etc. She herself justified her action saying that she would keep them safe with her as during war her house was not a safe place. But, her intentions were exposed when she was reluctant to return the belongings, and she didn't even allow the protagonist enter her house. Poverty of her house had made the woman stingy and greedy.

Important Question Answers

Q1. 'The Address' is a story of human predicament that follows war. Comment.

Ans. The story 'The Address' is a story of human predicament which was the result of war. In this story all the people suffered hugely due to war. The war had caused tremendous change in the lives of the people of Holland. 

Mrs. S., the mother of the protagonist lost her life due to war. The narrator suffered a huge emotional loss as she had to live a lonely and sorrowful life in absence of her mother. She lost priceless possessions from her house and she had to struggle a lot to find and see those belongings. Finally, she had to leave the things which were priceless memory of her mother. 

Therefore, the story discusses how war brought big change in the life of the protagonist and her mother, and many other people in some or the other way. It shows how war changes the people and their life and even kills the emotions of love, sympathy and humanity making the people cruel, selfish and unconcerned. Mrs. Dorling is an example of such cases.

Packing

Packing

                                               By Jerome K. Jerome

Analysis:

·       The story ‘Packing’ is an extract from the novel ‘Three Men in a Boat’ written by Jerome Klapka Jerome, a noted English novelist.

·        The novel ‘Three Men in a Boat’ is a beautiful narration of interesting and humorous anecdotes, adventures and experiences in the lives of the narrator and his two friends. It is written in form of a comic travelogue.

·        The chapter ‘Packing’ is a humorous account of how the narrator, Jerome and his two friends, George and Harris did the packing at the onset of their boat trip. Montemorency’s contribution to the packing is another humorous episode.

·        The story is full of humour, the description is vivid and the narration is so lively and amazing that it establishes the author as a master of pen portraits. 

   Summary  /  Synopsis

§   The narrator, Jerome, the narrator, felt pride on his packing skills. Three friends decided to go on a boat trip as they felt they are sick. He offered to do packing. George and Harris, his friends seemed to be happy with that. They relaxed by lighting a cigar and pipe respectively that the narrator would do the packing.

§  But the narrator had intended that George and Harris would run here and there following his instructions. And he would boss them. When they relaxed, he was irritated. People’s relaxed attitude even after seeing the other slaving irritates him the most. He couldn’t sit still and see others working. He would enjoy getting up and overseeing others working.

§  The narrator started packing. After much exercise and hard work he finished packing. At the end Harris told him that he had forgotten to pack the boots. He opened the bag and packed the boots but as he was going to close the bag, a thought troubled him whether he had packed his toothbrush or not. The idea of packing his toothbrush always haunts him and it doesn’t let him sleep peacefully he can't use anyone's toothbrush nor the hotel one.

§  He searched for toothbrush, turned everything out. He found brushes of George and Harris more than eighteen times but, he couldn’t find his own. Finally, he found his toothbrush inside a boot. He repacked the things once more and closed the bag.

§  Soon, George asked if he had packed soap. But the narrator said, he didn’t care if it is packed or not. However, he realised that he had packed his spectacles. So he reopened the bag, took out his spectacles and packed the bag finally.

§  Then, George and Harris undertook to do the rest of packing intending to show the narrator how packing should be done. They offered to pack the hampers. The narrator thought with the exception of George, Harris is the worst packer. They made a pile of plates, cups, kettles, bottles, pies, cakes, tomatoes, etc. They started with breaking a cup. Harris put the strawberry jam over a tomato and squashed it.

§  The narrator sat on the edge of the table and observed them making them nervous. They stepped on things out of nervousness. Then, they put the things behind and didn’t find what they wanted to pack them. They packed the pies at the bottom and squashed them after putting heavy things on them.

§  George trod on the butter and got it off from his slipper. Then, they tried to put it in the kettle. It won’t go and what was in wouldn’t come out. They at last got it and put it down on a chair. Harris sat on it. It stuck to him. Then, they went looking for it all over the room. Finally, George found it at the back of Harris and packed it in the teapot.

§  The narrator’s dog, Montmorency’s ambition in life was to get in the way and be a nuisance. He felt that his day was not wasted if he had made people mad. His aim was to get somebody stumble over him and be cursed. Montmorency sat on things when they were to be packed. He put his leg into the jam. He played with the lemons as they are rats and killed/crushed three of them.

§  Finally, they finished packing  at 12: 50 at night. Harris said that he didn’t care if anything is found broken. Then, they decided to sleep and wake up at 6:30 am.

 

The Element of Humour

The way George and Harris took narrator’s offer to pack and spread themselves in a relaxed posture is absolutely hillarous.

The narrator’s anxiety over forgetting his toothbrush for any trip is quite funny.

All the nuisance and mess created by Montmorency during the packing is amazingly humorous.

The butter episode is incredibly hilarious as no one would have ever seen ‘two men do more things with butter’ than George and Harris did with it during their packing. In the words of George it was the ‘most extraordinary thing’ we have ever heard or seen.

Important Question answers

Q1. How many characters are there in the chapter. Write a small paragraph on each of them. Include Montmoreny as well.

Ans. There are three main characters in the story - the narrator, Jerome K. Jerome, and his two friends - George and Harris and his dog, Montemorency.

Jerome K. Jerome, the narrator is a proud, boastful, over confident, anxious person. He boasted about his packing skill that's why his friends left all the packing over his shoulders. However he little better and more organised than his friends in terms of planning and packing. The narrator’s anxiety over forgetting his toothbrush and getting late for the trip proves him as a nervous and over anxious person that's why his doctor friend suggested him to on a boat trip thinking that it would bring him peace.

George and Harris are lazy, vain and little bit foolish especially in terms of their packing skills. The way they took narrator’s offer to pack and spread themselves in a relaxed posture is absolutely hilarous and shows their laziness and unwillingness to work. The mess they created while packing shows their foolishness and lack of skill, smartness and common sense. On the top of it they boasted about their packing skill and gave the challenge that they would do packing in a better way. However, they failed in completing the challenge as they created a great mess and broke few things while packing.

The narrator’s dog, Montmorency is active, noisy and destructive animal. His main ambition in life is to get in everyone's way and work and be a nuisance to people around. He felt that his day was not wasted if he had made people mad. His aim was to get somebody stumble over him and be cursed. Montmorency sat on things when they were to be packed and played with things to destroy them. All the nuisance and mess created by Montmorency adds humour to the story.

Q2. How many times did the narrator have to pack and repack the bag? Describe. 

Ans. The narrator had to do packing three times. First, he finished the entire packing but he had to open it to pack boots. Before closing the bag he thought to check whether he had packed his toothbrush or not. After he found his toothbrush and packed the bag second time, he had open it again as by mistake he had packed his spectacles n the bag. He took them out and packed the bag third time. 

Important Question Answers Beehive

Important Question Answers 

Class 9 Beehive

Q1. Describe the characteristics of the old School? How did it influence Margie? 

Ans. Old kind of school was a special building where all the children go and study together. The students of same age used to sit together in a room and learn same subjects or things. They were taught by a real teacher who was human who used to teach, ask questions and give them home work. 

Yes, Margie was influenced greatly with the old school. Being lonely in her school she was thinking of old school and wished to study there and have fun being together with other students of her age.

Q2. Will future schools be completely devoid of humans and human values? Give reasoned answer.

Ans. I don’t think so that future schools will be devoid of human touch and human values as technology also needs to be programmed, maintained and corrected by human and in want of human values education will lose its meaning. (Other points may be added according to personal opinions.)

Q3. What does the last two lines in the poem 'The Road not taken' convey? Does the poet regret his choice or accept it?

Ans. In the last two lines poem’s theme is conveyed that our decision can make greater impact in our life so we should take our decisions wisely. The poet tells that his choice of second road which was a different and difficult choice made his life different from the life of common and ordinary people. The poet doesn’t certainly regret his choice. He accepts his choice and is confident of his decision that it will bring a substantial difference in his life.

Q4. Who helped Evelyn Glennie to continue with music? What did he do and say?

Ans. Evelyn’s potential was noticed by the master percussionist, Ron Forbes who encouraged her to pursue music. He asked her to feel music through her body parts especially lower body instead of hearing it through her ears. He trained her by tuning two large drums to different notes. This way, Evelyn could sense various sounds and vibrations through different parts of her body.

Q5. Write a brief bio sketch of Evelyn mentioning her achievements.

Ans. Evelyn Glennie lived in Scotland. When she was eight years old, her mother noticed her deafness. She was discouraged by all but her potential was noticed by the master percussionist, Ron Forbes who encouraged Evelyn to feel music through her body parts.

Evelyn pursued her passion to become a big musician. She got admission in the Royal Academy of Music, London and scored the highest marks in the history of the academy. Evelyn evolved into a multi – percussionist and attained mastery over almost a thousand musical instruments. In 1991, she won the Royal Philharmonic Society’s prestigious ‘Soloist of the Year’ Award.

Evelyn gives free concerts for hospitals, prisons and schools. Her story is an inspiration for the differently abled and the young learners.

Q6. Write a brief bio sketch of Bismillah Khan in around 120 words.

Ans. Born in a well known family of great shehnai players, Bismillah took to music early in life. Bismillah started practising shehnai at the banks of river Ganga. He got his big musical break to play shehnai on the opening of All India Radio in Lucknow in 1938. He was the first Indian to play Raag Kaafi from Red Fort in Delhi on 15 August, 1947. He also performed at the Lincoln Hall, USA. He also perfomed in Montreal, Cannes Art Festival and Osaka Trade Fair. An auditorium inTehran was named after him. He composed music for two films, Gunj Uthi Shehnai being one of them. Padma shri, Padma Bhushan and Padma Vibhushan and Bharat Ratna was conferred on him.

Q7. How is shehnai different from a Pungi?

Ans. Shehnai was improvisation on Pungi by a barber in the royal court of king Aurangzeb. The stem of Shehnai was longer and broader than Pungi with seven holes on it. Sound of Pungi was shrill and harsh while that of shehnai was soft and melodious.

Q8. Why did Bismillah Khan refuse to start a shehnai school in USA?

Ans. Once, a student of Bismillah Khan offered him to start and head a shehnai school in USA. He declined it saying that he can’t leave Benaras. When the student said that he would recreate Benaras in USA, Bismillah wanted to know how he would transport river Ganga, there implying that it was impossible for him to leave Banaras as the river Ganga has always been a great source of inspiration behind his music.   

Q9. What should we do to make friends with the wind?

Ans. We need to make ourselves stronger if we wish to be friend of wind. We must build strong homes with firm doors and windows. We should also practise to make our bodies and hearts stronger and not complain about harsh winds of difficulties in life so that our strong will power and determination would never be defeated and weakened by any force.

Q10. What do the last four lines of the poem 'Wind' mean to you?

Ans. A very significant message is hidden in the last four lines that strong people are not affected by adversities but the weak are. Through these lines, the poet inspires us to be strong, firm and determined so that we may face all the hardships or obstacles in the life to come. He tells us that the wind can only extinguish the weak fires but intensifies the stronger ones. In the same way, people who do not fight against the challenges coming in their lives, they have to face the failure. On the other hand, those who stay determined and make sincere efforts to meet their goals, come out to be successful.

Q11. What does the poet like to do when it rains? Which memories does the poet recall on a rainy day?

Ans. The poet, Coates Kinney finds it a blessing to lie on his bed in his small cottage chamber keeping his head on the pillow as he enjoys the musical patter of the rain. Every rain drop falling on his roof produces a tinkling sound and brings many beautiful memories to him.

On a rainy day the poet fondly remembers his childhood and his mother who makes him and his siblings sleep. While making them sleep she looks at the poet's face lovingly. This loving gesture and action of his mother is the fondest memory from the poet's childhood.

Q12. Write a short note on relationship between Kezia and her father.

Ans. Kezia is scared and nervous in the morning to face her father. She always wants to avoid her father as she is scared of him. Whenever Kezia stammers out of nervousness, her father scolds her and asks her to speak properly but Kezia becomes even more nervous, consequently, stammers and fumbles more badly. Thinking about him was like thinking about a giant. She used to cry often and wonder why God has made fathers. But, towards the end she realised that her father gets tired due to work and that there is no one to look after him.. She was happy to acknowledge that her father had a big heart. And, she was no more scared of her father.

Q13. Why did father punish Kezia? Was it justified? What does this incident tell about Kezia’s father?

Ans. Father punished Kezia harshly as he got furious on her for tearing his important speech. No. the incident wasn’t justified. Young children must be dealt and approached gently and lovingly as love and affection cast a positive influence on young minds and their tender hearts. Their hearts can be touched in a better way and they can change for better with loving treatment and nice behaviour. Kezia’s father was too much busy with his work and too tired to pay attention to the expectations of a growing child and special needs of his sensitive child.

Q14. How does Kezia begin to see her father as a human being who needs her sympathy?

Ans. When Kezia, being alone in house, had got scared of a nightmare, her father comforted her and made her sleep lovingly on his bed. But, he slept before Kezia could and this made her think that his father is a normal human being who needs love and nobody was there to take care of him. She felt sympathetic towards her father and started understanding him.  

Q15. Why does the world remember Einstein as a ‘world citizen’?

Ans. Einstein led a life devoted to scientific developments and advancements and for this purpose he broke the boundaries of nations and cities. He left his country as it was not liberal and conducive to creative and free learning. As a scientist he worked in Switzerland and USA. After Hiroshima Nagasaki tragedy he was utterly shaken and wrote a public missive to United Nations proposing for the formation of world government. Later he became active in politics campaigning against arms build up and their use. He also campaigned for world peace and democracy. Though he was born in Germany, he never limited himself to his country. When he died, he was considered to be a visionary and world citizen.

Q16. What role did the science teacher of A P J Abdul Kalam play in his life and education?

Ans. A P J Abdul Kalam's science teacher, Subramaniam Ayer tried his best to remove racial and religious discrimination in his contemporary society. He wanted to teach that Kalam has to stay firm and determined to fight against social and religious inequality. He taught by acting himself against it and inviting him, a muslim boy to dine in his own house. He told that education is the only way to remove this social evil. That's why he suggested Kalam to go to a big city for higher studies and be at par with people from various religious backgrounds and bring religious harmony across the nation.

Q17. What does the poet mean by ‘A slumber did my spirit seal’? 

Ans. Through this opening line the poet, William Wordsworth means to say that a slumber which refers to the sudden death of Lucy came as a shock to the poet. The grief of losing his beloved made him numb and unable to feel anything. It seems to him as if a deep sleep had closed off his spirit and, shut his mind and heart and that’s why he was unable to perceive any emotion or human fears.

Q18. What does the poet want to convey through the line "No men are foreign"?

Ans. Through the line "No men are foreign" the poet urges the entire humanity to live in peace and harmony and bridge the difference based on religion, culture or nationality strengthening solidarity and fraternity across the globe. This line reflects the central idea of the poem that all are equal and same in our features, needs and works and we should live as the brothers, the children of same God. Throughout the poem the poet highlights the theme of universal brotherhood and world peace. Very beautifully he tells the mankind that we can win others with love and not by war.

Q19. What lesson do you learn from the chapter 'If I were You'? How does the character of Gerrard influence you?

Ans.  The chapter 'If I were You' brings out the message that we should keep our calm and use our presence of mind which would help us come out of the gravest problems or difficulties the way Gerrard has done. The story teaches us not to lose hope, calmness and composite nature even in adverse times. 

Gerrard is smart, clever and witty enough to influence anyone. It is the clever Gerrard who has the last laugh when he fools the Intruder into believing that he, too, is running from the police. He manages to divert his attention and lock him into his cupboard. Through the character of Gerrard the play teaches us that intelligence and presence of mind can help us come out of even the trickiest of situations. Patience, composure and positivity can help us come out of any crisis. 

Q20. Compare and contrast the atmosphere in and around the Baudhnath shrine with the Pashupatinath temple.

Ans. The atmosphere in and around the Baudhnath shrine is completely different from that of the Pashupatinath temple. There is an atmosphere of ‘febrile confusion’ in the Pashupatinath Temple. Priests, hawkers, devotees, tourists, cows, monkeys, pigeons and dogs roam through the ground in the temple. There are so many worshippers that some people trying to get the priest’s attention are elbowed aside by others pushing their way to the front. At the main gate, some saffron-clad Westerners struggle for permission to enter but the policeman didn’t allow as they are not ‘Hindus’. A fight breaks out between two monkeys. One chases the other and one jumps onto a shivalinga, then runs screaming around the temple. At the Baudhnath stupa, the Buddhist shrine of Kathmandu, there is, in contrast, a sense of stillness and quietness. Small shops stand on its outer edge of the stupa. Unlike Pasupatinath temple, there are no crowds and no hue and cry. This stupa is a haven of quietness in spite of the busy streets around, and which is a complete contrast to the atmosphere at the Pashupatinath Temple.

How to solve Integrated Grammar

Integrated Grammar Practice

Points to remember : 

1. Read the entire passage carefully and with complete attention.

2. Try to understand what the passage talks about (idea/theme)

3. Try to find out out which tense should be used/which time is being discussed.

4. Fill in the gaps using all the grammar correctly related to pronoun, determiners,                tenses, conjunctions, prepositions, non finite verbs, etc.

5. Take care of subject verb conjugation identifying the subject as singular or                         plural.

Gap Filling / Sentence Completion Exercises

Exercise 1

1. You ................... (receive) your results by next month. 

2. They ................ (reach) the airport in two hours.

3. Priya ................ (clean) the room by the time I reach home.

4. Last year we ........... (be) in France. 

5. Do you ............ (hail) from New Zealand?

6. I ................ (make) a cheese cake at the moment.

7. Wait a moment! let me ............ (carry) this box for you.

8. The postman ............... (deliver) the letter by Wednesday.

9. .................. they ...............(leave) when I reach there?

10. Haven't you .............. (have) a cup of tea yet?

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Exercise 2

1. Buying a home is one of the .......... important financial decisions we take.

2. We enjoyed the movie, you ............ been there.

3. ............... I go out? Asked her son.

4. Remember, every day is a new chance to ......... everything right.

5. ............... of elder people's pulse rate is less than 2 beats per second.

6. One's friends ........... have a great influence on what a person does.

Exercise 3

1. .............. (Few/The few) persons can keep a secret.

2. .......... (A few/Few) words spoken in earnest will convince him.

3. ............ (The few/few) friends he has all are honest.

4. It is ............ (a/the) one-rupee note.

5. ..... (The/A) dinner we had at the Tourist Hotel was very nice.

6. I went to ...... (a/the) hospital to see my uncle.

7. Honest men speak ....... (a/the) truth.

8. Copper is............. (a/an) useful metal.

Exercise 4

1. They ......... (build) a new power station at the moment.

2. I ........... (visit) my grandfather in the nursing home every Friday.

3. My favourite country is Canada. I ......... (be) there four times.

4. The grass is wet because it ......... (rain) all day long.

5. Who ............ (invent) the washing machine?

6. Somebody ............ (steal) my sunglasses from my room last week.

7. If I had gone to University, I ....... (study) Physics.

8. After he finished his exams, he ............ (go) on a foreign tour.

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Exercise 5 

Music therapy  a) ................ (use) music to b) ............... (improve) the patient's health. Doctors c) ........... (use) it with individuals of all ages. It d) ............. (help) in curing a variety of medical problems such as substance abuse and aging. It e) ............ (use) to improve learning and it also f) ............ (reduce) stress.

Exercise 6

I (a).............. (run) for a bus when I (b)............ (hit) my foot on something on the pavement and (c) ............. (fall) over. I tried to get up but could not (d)............. (move). I had a terrible pain in my left foot. I (e) ............. (sprain) my ankle very badly. I (f) ............ (limp) when some passersby (g)............. (notice) me.

Exercise 7

My brother (a) .............. (ride) motorcycles for ten years. Yesterday for the first time, he (b) ............. (meet) with an accident. Now he (c) ............. (be) in hospital. The doctor (d) ................... (say) that he (e) ............ (discharge) from the hospital tomorrow.

Exercise 8

1. The owner of the house is selling ............ (a few/the little) pieces of furniture.

2. Go to ............... (The/That) doctor and get the medicines.

3. My sister is ............. (an/the) architect.

4. It's ................ (a/the) public holiday today, so nothing is open.

5. This is ............ (the/a) best book of Elementary Chemistry.

6. Do you have ............. (some/any) idea what he is upto.

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Exercise 9

1. The family doesn’t feel like going ______ outing this season.

2. He insisted ______ my going there.

3. Credit $ 4000 _______ my  account.

4. Reena is junior  ______ Rohan.

5. He divided the money _______ his four children.

6. He emphasises _________ the necessity of arriving early.

7. The monitor was entrusted _______an important task.

8. I agree _____ you but not _______ what you wrote in this letter.

9. My father felt irritated _________ my irresponsible behaviour.

10.  He is ______ his death bed, there is little hope of his recovery.

Exercise 10

1. One of my friends ............ gone to France. 

2. Each of the boys ............ given a present.

3. Neither of the contestants ........... able to win a decisive victory.

4. Oil and water ............ not mix.

5. He and I ............ at Oxford together. 

6. Slow and steady............ the race. 

7. Neither Rohit nor Rahul  .......... any right to the property.

8. No Prize or medal ............. given to the boy though he stood first in the                            examination.

9. Either Maya or Anisha ......... responsible for this.

10. There is general belief that the students ............ write long answers get                           more marks.

Answers:

Exercise 1

1. shall have received 

2. will be reaching

3. will have cleaned 

4. were

5. hail

6. am making

7. carry

8. will have delivered

9. will, have left

10. had

Exercise 2

1. Most

2. Should have

3. May

4. Get

5. Most

6. may

Exercise 3

1. Few

2. A few

3. The few

4. A

5. The

6. The

7. The

8. A

Exercise 4

1. are building

2. visit

3. has been raining

4. have been

5. invented

6. stole

7. would have studied 

8. would go

Exercise 5

1. Uses

2. Improve 

3. Use

4. Helps

5. Is used

6. Reduces

Exercise 6

1. Was running 

2. Hit

3. Fell

4. Move

5. Sprained

6. Was limping

7. Noticed

Exercise 7

1. Has been riding

2. Met

3. Is

4. Says

5. Will be discharged

Exercise 8

1. A few

2. The

3. An

4. A

5. The

6. Any

Exercise 9

1. on

2. on

3. To

4. To

5. among 

6. Over

7. With

8. With, to

9. At

10. on

Exercise 10

1. has

2. was

3. was

4. do

5. were

6. wins

7. has

8. was

9. is

10. who