What kind of a 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.
Valli was a confident girl that her age was a limitation to her travelling alone to the town. She considered herself a grown up and acted like one.
Why didn’t Valli want to make friends with the elderly woman?
Have you made a journey that was unforgettable in some way? What made it memorable?
Are you concerned about traffic and road safety? What are your concerns? How would you make road travel safer and more enjoyable?
Have you ever planned something entirely on your own, without taking grown- ups into your confidence? What did you plan, and how? Did you carry out your plan?
The author describes the things that Valli sees from an eight-year-old’s point of view. Can you find evidence from the text for this statement?
Why does the conductor call Valli ‘madam’?
Why does Valli stand up on the seat? What does she see now?
How did Valli save up money for her first journey? Was it easy for her?
What was a source of unending joy for Valli? What was her strongest desire?
How did Valli plan her bus ride? What did she find out about the bus, and how did she save up the fare?
Where in the classroom does Wanda sit and why?
What ‘experiment’ did Maxwell think Camusfearna would be suitable for?
What did Lencho hope for?
When her son dies, Kisa Gotami goes from house to house. What does she ask for? Does she get it? Why not?
Where did the ceremonies take place ? Can you name any public buildings in India that are made of sandstones?
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.
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 more timid than others? Do you think a human baby also finds it a challenge to take its first steps?
Do you keep a diary? Given below under ‘A’ are some terms we use to describe a written record of personal experience. Can you match them with their descriptions under ‘B’? (You may
look up the terms in a dictionary if you wish.)
A B
(i) Journal – A book with a separate space or page for each day, in which you write down your and feelings or what has happened on that day
(ii) Diary – A full record of a journey, a period of time, or an event, written every day
(iii) Log – A record of a person’s own life and experiences (usually, a famous person)
(iv) Memoir(s) – A written record of events with times and dates, usually official
Where does Wanda live? What kind of a place do you think it is?
Why does he go to Basra? How long does he wait there, and why?
Why do you think Kisa Gotami understood this only the second time? In what way did the Buddha change her understanding?
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”?
Why were two national anthems sung?
The Narrative Voice Here are two other sentences from the story. Can you say whose point of view the italicised words express?
1. But on Wednesday, Peggy and Maddie, who sat down in front with other children who got good marks and who didn’t track in a whole lot of mud, did notice that Wanda wasn’t there.
2. Wanda Petronski. Most of the children in room thirteen didn’t have names like that. They had names easy to say, like Thomas, Smith or Allen.
There are different names in different parts of the world for storms, depending on their nature. Can you match the names in the box with their descriptions below, and fill in the blanks? You may use a dictionary to help you.
gale, whirlwind, cyclone, hurricane, tornado, typhoon
1. A violent tropical storm in which strong winds move in a circle: __ __ c __ __ __ __
2. An extremely strong wind : __ a __ __
3. A violent tropical storm with very strong winds : __ __ p __ __ __ __
4. A violent storm whose centre is a cloud in the shape of a funnel: __ __ __ n __ __ __
5. A violent storm with very strong winds, especially in the western Atlantic Ocean: __ __ r __ __ __ __ __ __
6. A very strong wind that moves very fast in a spinning movement and causes a lot of damage: __ __ __ __ l __ __ __ _
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?
Was Lencho surprised to find a letter for him with money in it?
What does courage mean to Mandela?
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.
You must have noticed that when we report someone’s exact words, we have to make some changes in the sentence structure. In the following sentences fill in the blanks to list the changes that have occurred in the above pairs of sentences. One has been done for you. Questions.
1.To report a question, we use the reporting verb asked (as in sentence set 1).
2.To report a declaration, we use the reporting verb
3.The adverb of place here changes to _____
4.When the verb in the direct speech is in the present tense, the verb in reported speech is in the tense (as in sentence set 3).
5.If the Verb in direct speech is in the present continuous tense, the verb in reported speech changes to ____ tense. For example, ____ changes to was getting.
6.When the sentence in direct speech contains a word denoting respect, we add the adverb ____ in the reporting clause (as in sentence set 1)
7.The pronouns I, me, our and mine, which are used in the first person in direct speech, change to third person pronouns to such as _____ or ____ in reported speech.