Important Extracts

  10-11-22: Thursday

Ans. Our Government has two options: (1) to control the fast growing population (2) to make poverty the country’s permanent feature. 

If population is not controlled, it would bring so many other problems associated with it. It is truly said that the over-population is the mother of many other problems, like unemployment, rise in prices, increasing crime-rate, traffic-jams on the roads, long queues everywhere, crowd in markets, crowd in class-rooms, need for more houses, etc. No single problem quoted above may be dissociated from over-population.

  Over-population is the cause of poverty also. If maximum people of a country remain unemployed, they will not be able to educate their children properly. In this way, poverty will find a permanent place in the huts of the poor section of society.

(C)Important Passages (Textual) for Comprehensions

Passage 1

  ONE cannot recall any movement in world history which has gripped the imagination of the entire human race so completely and so rapidly as the Green Movement which started nearly twenty-five years ago. In 1972 the world’s first nationwide Green party was founded in New Zealand. Since then, the movement has not looked back.

Q1.What is Green Movement?

 Ans. Making the earth green but growing more and more trees is called the Green Movement.

 Q2. What special thing did this movement do in world history?

Ans. It caught the attention of the entire human race very quickly.

Q3. Where was the Green party first founded?

 Ans . In New Zealand.

Q4.  Write the synonym of the word ‘gripped’.

Ans. ‘caught’

Q1. Name the title of the lesson and its writer.

Ans. The title of the lesson is: The Ailing Planet: the Green Movement’s Role and its writer is Nani Palkhivala

Passage 2

 We have shifted — one hopes, irrevocably — from the mechanistic view to a holistic and ecological view of the world. It is a shift in human perceptions as revolutionary as that introduced by Copernicus who taught mankind in the sixteenth century that the earth and the other planets revolved round the sun. For the first time in human history, there is a growing worldwide consciousness that the earth itself is a living organism — an enormous being of which we are parts. It has its own metabolic needs and vital processes which need to be respected and preserved.

  Q1. What was the mechanical view about the earth in the past?

   Ans. It was to view the earth as a dead planet that is to be used to fulfil human needs without paying attention to preserve its treasures.

Q2. What ‘shift’ has occurred now in our views towards the earth?

   Ans. The shift in our outlook to view the earth as a living organism, that has its own metabolism and vital processes that need to be respected and preserved.

Q3.What did Copernicus teach mankind in the 16^th century?

 Ans. He taught mankind that the earth and the other planets revolved round the earth.

 Q4. Which word in the passage has the following synonym ‘ changed ‘

 Ans. ‘Shifted’

Passage 3

 12-11-22: Friday

Passage 3

In the zoo at Lusaka, Zambia, there is a cage where the notice reads, ‘The world’s most dangerous animal’. Inside the cage there is no animal but a mirror where you see yourself. Thanks to the efforts of a number of agencies in different countries, a new awareness has now dawned upon the most dangerous animal in the world. He has realised the wisdom of shifting from a system based on domination to one based on partnership.

Q1. What is notice placed at a cage in the zoo?

Ans. It reads ‘The world’s most dangerous animal’.

Q2. What does the notice refer to?

Ans. It refers to Man, as the world’s most dangerous animal.Q3. Q3.Why is Man called the world’ most dangerous animal? Ans. Man considers being the ‘owner’ of the earth and the boss of all the creatures found on it. It does not hesitate to do cruelty on any creature and destroy anything that belongs to the earth.

Q4. What new awareness has dawned upon the most dangerous animal of the world?

Ans. He has realised that he is not the owner and the boss of the earth. He is a partner with millions of other creatures and vegetation on the earth.

 Q5. Use ‘dawned upon’ in your own sentence.

 Ans. Suddenly an idea has dawned upon me.

Passage 4.

Article 48A of the Constitution of India provides that “the State shall endeavour to protect and improve the environment and to safeguard the forests and wildlife of the country”. But what causes endless anguish is the fact that laws are never respected nor enforced in India. (For instance, the Constitution says that casteism, untouchability and bonded labour shall be abolished, but they flourish shamelessly even after forty-four years of the operation of the Constitution.) A recent report of our Parliament’s Estimates Committee has highlighted the near catastrophic depletion of India’s forests over the last four decades. India, according to reliable data, is losing its forests at the rate of 3.7 million acres a year. Large areas, officially designated as forest land, “are already virtually treeless”. The actual loss of forests is estimated to be about eight times the rate indicated by government statistics.

 Q1. What does the article 48 A of the Constitution of India say?

Ans. It says that “the State shall endeavour (try) to protect and improve the environment and to safeguard the forests and wildlife of the country.”

 Q2. What causes anguish to the writer regarding the laws?

Ans. It is the fact that the laws are neither respected nor are they enforced in India.

Q3. What social evils does the writer talk about in this passage?

Ans. The writer talks about casteism, untouchablility and bonded labour and these are still present in our society.

Q4. What does the recent report of our Parliament’s Estimates Committee say?

Ans. It says that India is losing forests at the alarming speed of 3.7 million acres a year. The actual loss is about eight times the rate indicated by the government.

 13-11-22: Saturday

(C) Some Important Passages for Comprehension

Passage 1

“My dear Taplow, I have given you exactly what you deserve. No less; and certainly no more.” Do you know sir, I think he may have marked me down, rather than up, for taking extra work. I mean, the man’s hardly human. (He breaks off quickly.) Sorry, sir. Have I gone too far?

Q1. Name the lesson and its writer.

Ans. The lesson is The Browning Version by Terence Rattigan

Q2. Who is the speaker and whom is he speaking to?

Ans. The speaker is Tallow. He is speaking to Frank, a young teacher.

Q3. Who is referred to as ‘Sir’ in the above passage?

Ans. The word ‘Sir’ is referred to Frank, Tallow’s young teacher.

Q4. What is Tallow doing by speaking the quoted words in the passage?

Ans. He is mimicking his teacher Crocker Harris.

Passage 2

Anyway, the Crock isn’t a sadist. That’s what I’m saying. He wouldn’t be so frightening if he were — because at least it would show he had some feelings. But he hasn’t. He’s all shrivelled up inside like a nut and he seems to hate people to like him. It’s funny, that. I don’t know any other master who doesn’t like being liked —

Q1. Who is a sadist?

Ans. The person who takes pleasure out of others’ sufferings or troubles is called a sadist.

Q2. About whom the person is speaking and to whom?

Ans. The person is speaking about Crocker Harris, a teacher. He is speaking to Frank, a young teacher.

Q3. Who is the speaker in the above passage?

Ans. Tallow, a student is the speaker in the above passage.

Q4. What does the speaker mean by saying that ‘he’ is “all shriveled up inside like a nut…”?

Ans. He means to say that his teacher has no emotions.

Q5. What is meaning of ‘shrivelled’?

Ans. Wrinkled

Passage 3    TAPLOW: No, sir. I’m not. In form the other day he made one of his classical jokes. Of course nobody laughed because nobody understood it, myself included. Still, I knew he’d meant it as funny, so I laughed. Out of ordinary common politeness, and feeling a bit sorry for him for having made a poor joke. Now I can’t remember what the joke was, but suppose I make it. Now you laugh, sir.

Q1. Who is ‘he’ in the above passage?

Ans. The pronoun ‘he’ stands for Crocker Harris.

Q2 Who had cracked the joke?

Ans. Crocker Harris

Q3. Why did not the students laugh?

Ans. They did not laugh because they did not understand it.

Q4. Why did Tallow laugh?

Ans. He laughed to please his teacher. He showed common politeness.

Q5. Why did Taplow feel sorry? Ans. He felt sorry for the joke was the poor one, lacking in humour.

 

14-11-22: Sunday

Lesson 6: Birth by  (from Snapshot)

(A)     Short Answer-type Questions

Q1. Write something about Andrew Manson.

Ans. Andrew Manson is a young doctor who is an assistant o Dr. Edward Page. He has recently started his medical practice. He is in love with a girl whose name is Christine. Recently he has a quarrel with her on some issue. So he is sad.

Q2.Why did Joe Morgan waiting anxiously for Andrew Manson?

Ans. Joe Morgan, was waiting for Andrew Manson anxiously because wife was about to deliver a child. She was expecting that child after a long span of time of their married life.   As he saw the doctor coming, his face expressed relief..

Q3. What did Andrew notice on reaching his own house? What did he do then?

Ans. Andrew was lost in his own affair till then, so he had to come out of that. He saw that Joe Morgan was waiting for him. His wife needed medical service for the delivery of her child. He brought his bag from inside and set out with Joe to reach the address: Number 12, Blaine Terrace.

Q4. Why was Andrew Manson sad and upset?

Ans. The writer says that Andrew usually remained active and sharp-minded, but at that time, he felt dull and listless (lacking in energy and enthusiasm). He had a quarrel with his beloved at Cardiff station on some point. So he was feeling tired and upset.

Q5. Describe the bed-room in which Dr. Andrew Manson entered?

Ans.  Andrew went in by means of a narrow stair which led him to a small bed-room. It was clean but somewhat poorly furnished and lit by an oil lamp.

 Q6. Who were the two women waiting near the bed of the patient in the story ‘Birth’?

Ans. Two women were waiting beside Susan Morgan’s bed. One was her mother. She was of about seventy years, tall and gray-haired woman. The second woman was the midwife of that village.

Q7. Who was Christine? What might have been the reason of her quarrel with Dr. Andrew Manson?

Ans. Christine was Dr. Andrew Manson’s beloved. She had a quarrel with him at the Cardiff railway station. Some doubt about their love relationship might have been the cause of the quarrel between them.

 15-11-22: Monday

Q8. What did the old woman tell the doctor about chloroform? What did the doctor say to her?

Ans. The old woman requested Dr. Andrew Manson not to give chloroform to Susan as it might harm the child. He assured the old woman that the anesthetic (substance that makes you not to feel any pain) would not do harm to the mother and the child.

Q9. Why was the doctor shocked to see the newborn child as it took birth? What was his state of mind then?

Ans. A shiver (a sensation/a kind of shaking) of horror passed over Dr. Andrew as he gazed at the still baby. He He was not able to decide as to whom he should try to save, the child or the mother, who was in a desperate (hopeless) condition.

Q11. Describe how the child looked when the dictor picked it from under the bed.

Ans.   The texture (quality) of the skin was very lovely, smooth and tender. The head of the child lay lolled (hung down) on the thin neck. The limbs of the child seemed boneless.

Q10. How was Andrew Manson able to save the child’s life? What was his last treatment?

Ans. First of all, the doctor immersed (wetted) the child in hot and cold water alternately. Then he rubbed the child’s body with a rough towel. After that, he pressed the child’s chest with his hands and released pressure. He did it repeatedly. In this process, the child’s regained his breath.

Q11. How did Andrew Manson feel after saving the child?

Ans. Andrew felt a great relief when he was able to regain breath into the child’s body. He thanked God for his grace. He was extremely happy at his successful attempt of saving a stillborn child. Though he was tired, yet he forgot all. He was proud of himself at that time.

(A)     Long Answer-type Questions

Q1. About whom did Dr. Andrew Manson think about while he was waiting for the delivery of a child in Joe Morgan’s house? How those thoughts disturbing his mind?

Ans. The episode he had watched at the railway station still disturbed his mind horribly. Then he thought about Bramwell, who was foolishly devoted to the woman who deceived him sordidly (in a dirty manner). He thought of another person, Edward Page, who was stuck to his quarrelsome wife, Blowen.  He also thought of Denny, who was living unhappily away from his wife. He reached the conclusion that all of these three marriages were utter failures. It made him wince (dismal, miserable) in his present state. But soon, he comes out of this negative thinking and hope for the best in his relationship with Christine.

16-11-22 Tuesday:

Q2. “I have done something; oh, God! I’ve done something real at least.” Why does Andrew say this? What does it mean?

Ans. It was a very difficult situation in front of Dr. Andrew Manson when he saw that a still born child was born to Susan Morgan. First he dipped the child several times lukewarm and coldwater alternately. Then he rubbed the child’s shin with a rough towel. Finally he used an old method of bringing breath back. He started pressing the child’s chest till it regained breath.

The following words came out of his mouth: “I have done something; oh, God! I’ve done something real at least.” The words show that he was proud of what did at Joe’s house. He was able to keep his promise to Susan’s mother. He also thanked God for His blessings and Grace!

Q3. There lies a great difference between textbook medicine and the world of practising physician.” Discuss.

Ans. Real-life-situations teach us a great deal. Theoretical knowledge fails sometimes to solve the real-life problems. Same thing has happened in this story ‘Birth’.

Dr. Manson was faced with the same type of problem. Joe Morgan’s wife gave birth to a still-child. In his medical science, he had no way to save the child. But he knew some treatment that he acquired from his experience. Firstly, he dipped the child into lukewarm and cold water alternately. He did so again and again. But he was not successful in that method. Then he remembered about a typical method of reviving breath. He rubbed the child with a rough towel. Then he applied pressure on the child’s chest and released it. In this process, the child regained breath. He was extremely happy.

Thus, we may conclude that there is a difference between text book knowledge and the world of practicing physician.

17-11-22: Wednesday:

Lesson 5: MOTHER’S DAY BY J. B. Priestley (from Snapshot)

(A)          Short Answer-type Questions

Q1. What is the position/status of Mrs. Pearson in her family? What issue does the writer raise in this play?

Ans. Mrs. Pearson is very polite and caring to her children and husband. She does all domestic work in the family. But nobody in the family respects her. The writer has raised this in this one act play.

Q2. What does Mrs. Fitzgerald want to do to give Mrs. Pearson her due place in her family? What does she advise her to do?

Ans. Mrs. Fitzgerald advises her friend, Mrs. Pearson not to be so much lenient or soft on her children. She should be harsh on them. Otherwise they would do emotional torture on her. She also advises Mrs. Pearson to change her personality with her to discipline her family.

Q3. Why does Mrs. Fitzgerald take the help of magic? What does she do?

Ans. Mrs. Pearson was not able to be harsh on the members of her family. So Mrs. Fitzgerald has to take the help of magic. She holds Mrs. Pearson’s both the hands into hers. Then she utters some magic words to enable their personalities to get interchanged.

Q4. How does Mrs. Pearson behave after her personality is changed?

Ans. She behaves like Mrs. Fitzgerald and becomes harsh on the members of her family. She smokes in the manner Mrs. Fitzgerald does.

Q5. Who is Doris? What changes does she notice in her mother? How does she react?

Ans. Doris is Mrs. Pearson’s daughter. She is a pretty girl of more than twenty. She noticed that her mother was playing cards and smoking a cigarette. She asked her mother for tea and ironing her dress. But she got rude remarks from her mother.

Q6. What did Doris want to do from her mother? What else did she demand from her?

Ans. Doris wanted to get her yellow dress ironed by her mother. She also asked her if the tea was ready. But Mrs. Pearson refused in a very odd manner to do so and advised her daughter to do her work herself.

Q7.Who is Cyril? What does he want from Mrs. Pearson to do for him?

Ans. Cyril is Mrs. Pearson’s son. His mother had promised to him to put his things out. On reaching home, he asks his mother if she has set his things right. But she tells him that she does not remember anything.

18-11-22: Thursday

Q8. Who is Charlie Spencer? What does Mrs. Pearson say about him?

Ans. He is Doris’s friend, whom Mrs. Pearson hates. She calls him buck-teeth and half-witted boy.

Q9.Why did Mrs. Pearson threatens to hit Doris with something?

Ans. Doris continued commenting on her mother. She asked her if she had fallen down of if she had hit herself with something on the head. Then Mrs. Pearson threatens to hit her.

Q10. What did Pearson say to her husband, which hurt and made him angry?

Ans.  Mrs. Pearson told her husband that the members of his club made fun of him and laughed at his back by calling him ‘Pompy-ompy’. It made her husband feel hurt and angry.

Q11.What final advice did Mrs. Fitzgerald give to Mrs. Pearson?

Ans. Mrs. Fitzgerald noticed that the members of Mrs. Pearson’s family had started behaving properly. Then she advised her to continue to be harsh on them.

Q12. How do Doris, Cyril and George feel when Mrs. Pearson smiles at them at last? How do they respond when she tells them to prepare supper?

Ans. Finally, Mrs. Pearson smiles at Cyril, Doris and her husband. They also feel happy and relaxed at that. She tells her children to prepare supper. They also agree to do so without protest.

Q13. What reason does Mrs. Pearson give to Cyril for not preparing tea for him?

Ans. Cyril keeps on asking for the reason as to why she has not prepared tea for him. Mrs. Pearson tells her son that she wants some change in her monotonous (dull) life and so, she has not prepared tea for him.

Q14. What did Mrs. Pearson comment on Doris’ dress?

Ans. Mrs. Pearson commented on her dress by saying that she looked terrible in her dress. She also said that she would never dress up like that or show her face like that even for Charlie Spence.

Q15. What conditions does Mrs. Pearson put to Doris and Cyril when they request her to do some work on Saturdays and Sundays?

Ans. She tells them that she might do some work like making a bed or two and some cooking also. But that will be done on conditions. They will have to request for it nicely and thank her for everything she does for them, for which she has generally been mocked at (laughed at).

19-11-22: Friday

Q1. Describe the character of Mrs. Pearson.

Ans. Mrs. Pearson has beenshown as a mother, who is maltreated by her husband as well as her children Doris and Cyril. She is very submissive (obedient) and caring for her family. She does every chore (odd job) in the house. She prepares meals, tea and even irons the clothes. Even then, she is not getting her due respect from her family members. Sometimes she thinks to revolt against all that, but she is timid (coward) enough to do so. She does not want to spoil the peaceful atmosphere of her home.

She remains in the four walls of her house waiting anxiously for their arrival. It is her friend, Mrs. Fitzgerald, who comes to her rescue. She changes her personality with that of her and sets everything right. She also advises her to remain harsh on her family members.

20-11-22: Saturday

Q2. Describe the character sketch of Mrs. Fitzgerald.

Ans. Mrs. Fitzgerald is Mrs. Pearson’s neighbor and friend. She is not gentle and meek like her friend Mrs. Pearson. She is harsh in tone when she needs to show her strength and attitude. She is well awakened to her rights and position in her family as well as in society. She knows magic also. She tells Mrs. Pearson’s fortune also. She knows how to deal with people who try to disregard (ignore) her. She is a true friend of Mrs. Pearson. She is full of sympathy for those who are being exploited by others.

She changes her personality with that of her friend, Mrs. Pearson and sets them right. She advises her that she must remain harsh on her husband and children; otherwise they would take her for granted.

21-11-22: Sunday

Q3. Describe the difference or contrast between Mrs. Pearson and Mrs. Fitzgerald.

Ans. There is no exaggeration (overstatement) if we say that Mrs. Pearson and Mrs. Fitzgerald are poles apart in their personality. Mrs. Fitzgerald is very strong while the other, Mrs. Pearson, is meek and gentle. Mrs. Fitzgerald is well awakened to her rights and Mrs. Pearson is not. Sometimes, she thinks of being strong and scolds the members of her family for their being rude and ungrateful to her, but she does not want to spoil the peaceful atmosphere of the house. So she tolerates even the misbehavior of her husband and children. She does not enjoy her life.

On the other hand, Mrs. Fitzgerald enjoys life fully. She has strong decision-making power. But Mrs. Pearson has no such decision making power. Thus we see a lot of difference between these two characters.