Look at these examples from the text, and say whether the modifiers (in italics) are nouns, proper nouns, or adjective plus noun.
(i) An otter fixation (iv) The London streets
(ii) The iron railings (v) soft velvet fur
(iii) The Tigris marshes (vi) A four-footed soccer player
(i) Noun
(ii) Noun
(iii) Proper noun
(iv) Proper noun
(v) Adjective plus noun
(vi) Adjective plus noun
What made Mr Keesing allow Anne to talk in class?
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.
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.
greedy naive stupid ungrateful
selfish comical unquestioning
Why didn’t Valli want to make friends with the elderly woman?
Did Lencho try to find out who had sent the money to him? Why/Why not?
What ideals does Nelson Mandela set for the future of South Africa?
Anne says teachers are most unpredictable. Is Mr Keesing unpredictable? How?
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?
Was Lencho surprised to find a letter for him with money in it?
Do you think Mr Keesing was a strict teacher?
Match the sentences in Column A with the meanings of ‘hope’ in Column B.
A | B |
---|---|
1. Will you get the subjects you want to study in college? I hope so | – a feeling that something good will probably happen |
2. I hope you don’t mind my saying this, but I don’t like the way you are arguing. | – thinking that this would happen (It may or may not have happened.) |
3. This discovery will give new hope to HIV/AIDS sufferers | – stopped believing that this good thing would happen |
4. We were hoping against hope that the judges would not notice our mistakes. | – wanting something to happen (and thinking it quite possible) |
5. I called early in the hope of speaking to her before she went to school. | – showing concern that what you say should not offend or disturb the other person: a way of being polite |
6. Just when everybody had given up hope, the fishermen came back, seven days after the cyclone. | – wishing for something to happen, although this is very unlikely |
What was Valli’s favourite pastime?
Why did Anne think she could confide more in her diary than in people?
Was Anne right when she said that the world would not be interested in the musings of a thirteen-year-old girl?
Why did Lencho say the raindrops were like ‘new coins’?
What does Anne write in her first essay?
What was Valli’s deepest desire? Find the words and phrases in the story that tell you this.
(i) 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, doublefaced intriguer.” Again, Lomov begins by describing Natalya as “an excellent housekeeper, not bad-looking, well-educated.”)
(ii) Then think of five adjectives or adjectival expressions of your own to describe each character in the play.
(iii) Can you now imagine what these characters will quarrel about next?
Who does Lencho have complete faith in? Which sentences in the story tell you this?
What ideals does Nelson Mandela set for the future of South Africa?