Pranshu's English Classroom (CBSE)

Summary: Life is a Game Life is a Game is an inspiring, encouraging poem with advice on how to lead life with an active and positive attitude. The speaker says that life is like a game and like a game, there is a wonderful prize waiting to be won if you play it right. Life is about compromising and helping each other out. It is also about small wins and losses. Very often, there are many battles that need to be fought. But all those who sincerely put in efforts—regardless of whether there is money or fame to be won—will definitely win. At this point, the speaker asks the readers whether they are living life with the right attitude. The next stanza is a series of questions about the reader’s attitude to life. The speaker asks the reader whether they become weak and whine when they fail to win in the manner they think they deserve. He asks the readers whether they make fun or discourage someone who can do and does something better than you. These are clearly very negative approaches to l...

Summary: A Race to Remember Jesse Owens is an African American athlete on his way to compete at the 1936 Berlin Olympics. Owens had a difficult time training to be an athlete. In school and college, he had athletics training in addition to jobs he had to work to support his family and pay the fees. The Berlin Olympics was the result of his hard work. Germany, at the time, was ruled by the violent Nazi party. They believed that they were the ‘master race’—people superior to all others. They believed that the Jews and Blacks were no better than animals and treated them badly. They wanted to prove that they were the ‘Master race’ at the 1936 Olympics. As an African American, Jesse Owens had been treated unequally all his life. He wondered whether it was right to participate in a tournament conducted by a country where millions were being mistreated. Many other countries wondered the same thing and considered boycotting the Olympics. In the end, Nazis decided to allow Jews from other count...

Summary: The Regimental Myna The Regimental Myna is a story about the relationship between a soldier and his pet bird. The narrator’s grandfather is a British soldier working in India. Keeping pets is the only entertainment for his regiment, the soldiers who are stuck in the barracks at Meerut. Grandfather has a pet myna which he names Dickens. The myna is a favourite with everybody at the barracks. Dicky and Grandfather are almost like parent and child. Dicky takes his meals only from Grandfather and hardly ever leaves his side. Dicky is never caged and is present at every parade and function that the soldiers attend. One day, there is to be a General’s inspection and the Colonel commands that Dicky be caged. Dicky is locked up in a storeroom but he escapes when an orderly opens the storeroom door to get something. He flies immediately to the parade and lands on the General’s helmet. The General is shocked and when he takes off the helmet, he sees that Dicky has expelled his breakfast...

Class - XI [Hornbill] Unit - 8: Silk Road by Nick Middleton Glossary Loaves – bread shaped and baked in one piece which is usually sliced before being eatenKora – meditation performed by Buddhist believers Ducking Back – going inside and then coming out Size me up – to look at someone attentively Clambered – move or climb in an awkward way Drokba – Shepherd Gazelles – an African or Asian mammal with large eyes that moves quickly and hoofs Nibbling – take a small bite from Arid – having little or no rain Pastures – land covered with grass Frown – to disapprove of something Bounding – jump; hop; bounce Wild ass – an animal who have ears shorter than a horse and smaller in size Herd – a large group of animal Galloping – progressing in an uncontrollable manner En masse – in a group Manoeuvres – military exercises Plumes – Trails Billowed – filled with air; swelled out Wilderness – wasteland Solitary – private Flocks – a group of birds Evasive – slippery Veering – to change direction sudd...

 [Hornbill] Unit - 8: Father to Son by Elizabeth Jennings Glossary 1. Grief -  sorrow, sadness 2. Prodigal - spending money freely 3. Sown - here, the father’s act of giving birth to his son  4. Longing - desiring something Overview of the Poem The poem "Father to Son" is written by Elizabeth Jennings. It portrays the sorrow of a father who feels distant from his son. As the son grows older and becomes absorbed in his own life, the father grows bitter over the generational gap and the increasing separation between them. He expresses that he no longer understands his son and that there is a lack of communication. The father wishes their relationship to return to how it was when his son was a child. Despite his efforts to repair the bond, it seems hopeless, and they continue to drift apart. Summary The poem expresses the father’s anguish as he reflects on the strained relationship with his now-grown son. Despite having lived under the same roof for years, he adm...