Raintree 6 Malala Yousafzai

 Summary: Malala Yousafzai

Malala begins her speech by thanking the Nobel Committee for her precious award.

She thanks everyone for their support and for the letters and cards she receives.

She thanks her parents for their support and patience. Malala thanks her teachers

for inspiring her to believe in herself and to be brave.

Malala is proud to be the first Pashtun, the first Pakistani, and the youngest person

to receive Nobel Peace Prize. Malala also says that she is honoured to share the prize

with Kailash Satyarthi. She expresses her admiration for Kailash Satyarthi as she

congratulates him for working for children’s rights for nearly three decades.

She then makes a joke saying she is the first recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize who

still fights with her younger brothers.

She tells the audience that she had been named after Malalai of Maiwand, who was

like the Joan of Arc in Pashtun. The name Malala originally meant ‘grief-stricken’ but

her grandfather addressed her as Malala ‘the happiest girl in the world’ in order to

add some happiness to it.

Malala then says that the award is not only for her but also belongs to children who

have been forgotten and want education. She dedicates her award to the children

who want peace and all those who are voiceless but dream of change.

Malala is aware of the fact that people call her by different names. Some call her as

the girl who fought for her rights. Some call her the Nobel Laureate but to her

brothers, she still remains the annoying and bossy sister.

She then talks about her childhood. Malala says that the Swat Valley, which was

otherwise known for its beauty and acclaimed as a famous tourist spot, soon

changed into a place of terrorism. When she was just ten years old, more than four

hundred schools were destroyed and along with it their beautiful dreams were also

changed into nightmares. She tells the audience that she and her friends had always

had a thirst for education. The girls in her school, she says, are eager and enthusiastic

about learning new things. They are dedicated to learning. They want to make their

parents proud by excelling in their studies.

She said that at this point she had two options; she could either remain silent and

wait to be killed or she could raise her voice against the wrongs that had been done

and risk her life and even die. She chose the second option and decided to speak up.

Malala thought that it was better to speak up and then be killed. Thus, she decided

to speak up for the right to education that every child should enjoy. She then goes on

to say that though the terrorists tried to attack her and her friends, they did not

succeed in destroying their hopes and dreams.

UNIT 6 MALALA YOUSAFZAI

Warm Up

Suggested answer (Accept any logical answer).

 …things that you will learn about. And when you read, you can travel to different places and

different times in your mind. You can experience and learn more about the lives of people around the

world when you read. Also, with a better education comes better jobs and these jobs will help you

travel the world.

Embedded Questions 1

● Malala is proud to be the first Pashtun, the first Pakistani, and the youngest person to receive Nobel

Peace Prize.

● Free Response

Embedded Questions 2

● She wishes for the forgotten children to get an education, for the frightened children, she wishes

peace and for the voiceless children, she wants change.

Embedded Questions 3

● Malala loved learning and discovering new things. She and her friends longed to learn and grow.

Apart from this, she also lived in one of the most beautiful places on Earth and was surrounded by

the wonders of nature.

● Free Response

Embedded Questions 4

● She did not give up. She decided to speak up.

● She means that they have kept on speaking up for themselves and standing up for their rights,

despite the danger. And as they kept doing it, more and more people around the world started

listening and now their stories are known around the world.

Comprehension

A. 1. The precious award in Malala’s speech refers to the Nobel Peace Prize that she received.

2. Malala thanks her teachers for inspiring her to believe in herself and to be brave.

3. Malala says that she is honoured to share the prize with Kailash Satyarthi . She expresses her

admiration for Kailash Satyarthi as she congratulates him for working for children’s rights for

nearly three decades.

4. Malala thought that it was better to speak up and then be killed. Thus, she decided to speak up for

the right to education that every child should enjoy.

5. Malala says that though the terrorists tried to attack her and her friends they did not succeed in

destroying their hopes and dreams.

B. 1. a. Yes, Malala is patriotic. She says that she is proud to receive the Nobel Prize as the first Pashtun

and the first Pakistani to receive the award.

 b. She has a sense of humour, because while speaking about receiving the prize she also says that

she is the first recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize who still fights with her younger brothers.

2. a. By ‘thirst of education’, Malala refers to the desire for knowledge shared by her and her friends.

 b. The girls in Malala’s school are eager and enthusiastic about learning new things. They are

dedicated to learning. They want to make their parents proud by excelling in their studies.

C. 1. Malala had been named after Malalai of Maiwand, who was like the Joan of Arc in Pashtun. The

name Malala originally meant ‘grief-stricken’ but her grandfather addressed her as Malala ‘the

happiest girl in the world’ in order to add some happiness to it.

2. Malala, in her acceptance speech, says that the award is not only for her but also belongs to

children who have been forgotten and want education. She dedicates it to the children who want

peace and all those who are voiceless but dream of change.

3. Malala is aware of the fact that people call her by different names. Some call her as the girl who

fought for her rights. Some call her the Nobel Laureate but to her brothers, she still remains the

annoying and bossy sister.

4. Malala says that the Swat Valley, which was otherwise known for its beauty and acclaimed as a

famous tourist spot, soon changed into a place of terrorism. When she was just ten years old, more

than four hundred schools were destroyed and along with it their beautiful dreams were also

changed into nightmares.

5. Malala had two options; she could either remain silent and wait to be killed or she could raise her

voice against the wrongs that had been done and risk her life and even die. She chose the second

option and decided to speak up.

D. Suggested answer (Accept any logical answer).

 Malala must have felt sad because she was staying away from home and her friends for so long.

However, she must have felt happy as well, thinking that their efforts did not go to waste. It is a proud

moment for her to see that her ideas remain undefeated. As a teenager she must have missed doing

all the fun activities that she once enjoyed doing, especially learning new things. It is possible that

she was anxious about her friends back in the Swat Valley and remembered the time that they spent

together.

Grammar

A. 3. The audience clapped. intransitive verb.

4. I can’t find my bag! transitive verb.

5. The students left the classroom. transitive verb.

6. The water cooled quickly. intransitive verb.

7. Rain is falling on the rood. transitive verb.

8. The boy hit the ball. transitive verb.

B. 1. a deer 2. football 3. a noise 4. paw 5. an email 6. Hyderabad

Vocabulary

1. all four corners of the world. 2. equal rights 3. raise our voice 4. made us proud

5. stand up for

Listening

Listening Text

 People like to ask me why education is important especially for girls. My answer is always the same. As

I said last year at the United Nations, “One child, one teacher, one pen and one book can change the

world.” Today, in half of the world, we see rapid progress and development. However, there are countries

where millions still suffer from the very old problems of hunger, poverty, injustice and conflicts.

 Indeed, we are reminded in 2014 that a century has passed since the beginning of the First World

War, but we still have not learnt all of the lessons that arose from the loss of those millions of lives a

hundred years ago.

 Today, I dedicate the Nobel Prize money to the Malala Fund, to help give girls everywhere a quality

education and call on leaders to help girls. The first place this funding will go is where my heart is, to

build schools in Pakistan—especially in my home of Swat and Shangla.

 In my own village, there is still no secondary school for girls. I want to build one, so my friends can get

an education and the opportunity it brings to fulfil their dreams.

 That is where I will begin, but it is not where I will stop. I will continue this fight until I see every child

in school. I feel much stronger after the attack that I endured, because I know, no one can stop me, or

stop us, because now we are millions, standing up together.

Answers:

1. People continue to ask Malala about the importance of education especially for girls.

2. Malala mentions the First World War because she feels that since then people have not really

learnt a lesson even though there was a loss of millions of lives.

3. Malala says that she will donate the money to the Malala Fund in order to help girls everywhere

receive a quality education and call on leaders to help girls.

4. She wants to build a school in her home of Swat and Shangla.

5. She wants to build a school here because there is still no secondary school for girls here.

Writing

Suggested answer (Accept any logical answer).

 It gives me great pleasure to announce that our team has received the Best Mural Painting Award

2017 at the Inter-School Art Festival. We competed at the state level against thirty schools in the city.

I want to take the opportunity to express my sincere thanks to all the teachers and our respected

principal who guided and supported us. This would not have been possible without their inspiring

guidance. I want to congratulate each and every member of my team who has contributed to the

best of their ability and helped us win this award. Despite having classes till two o’ clock, the members

of the team did not complain against staying back. Their untiring efforts have been inspirational.

Personally, I have learnt from all of them the value of patience and co-operation. Thank you for

your suggestions and your criticisms!. There were times when we could not chalk out our plans or

execute them properly, but I am glad that we did not give up and persevered to finally win this.

We are encouraged by the support and love that we have received. We are looking forward to the

competition at the national level which will be held next month. I promise and take responsibility

as the President of the Art Society to improve our work. We also hope to win several other awards in

the other categories next time. I appreciate the endeavours of the students who participated in the

competition but could not win an award. To them I would like to say that there is always a next time.

Thank you.

MALALA YOUSAFZAI

A. Answer in brief.

1. How did Malala’s near and dear ones extend their support to her?

 Ans: Malala was ever thankful to her parents for their unconditional love. Her father allowed her

to pursue her dreams without discouraging her. Her mother inspired her to be patient and speak

the truth always. Her teachers too were of great support and inspired her to believe in herself and

be brave.

2. What was Malala proud of?

 Ans: Malala was very proud of the fact that she was the first Pashtun, the first Pakistani and the

youngest person to receive the Nobel Peace Prize. She also felt greatly honoured to receive the

prize along with Kailash Satyarthi, an Indian who had been a champion for children’s rights for a

long time.

B. Answer in detail.

1. How did Malala get her name?

 Ans: Malala was named after the inspirational Malalai of Maiwand who was considered equal to

the French Joan of Arc who led the French armies against the English in the Hundred Years War.

Her grandfather liked the name Malala but it also meant ‘grief stricken ‘ or ‘sad’. So in order to

make the word sound positive, her grandfather would always call her Malala – the happiest girl

in the world. Malala felt she was indeed the happiest girl as she took pleasure in fighting for the

betterment of the society and was looking forward to a beautiful future.

2. Who does Malala share her awards with? Why?

 Ans: Malala’s struggle to help the children who were deprived of basic necessities of life including

education, even at the risk of her life, won her the award at such a young age. She belonged to a

village which was torn by terrorism and education was becoming a far-fetched dream especially

for girls. Malala got educated against all odds and wanted other children too to get educated.

Hence she wanted to share the award she received with those forgotten, voiceless children who

wanted education, who wanted peace and who wanted change.

C. Read the given lines and answer the questions that follow:

1. Thank you for the letters and cards that I still receive from all around the world.

 a. Why did Malala receive cards from around the world?

 b. Why was she chosen for the award?

 c. How does she feel about the encouragement she gets?

 Ans: a. The Nobel Peace Prize was conferred upon Malala. People from far and wide sent her

congratulatory messages for that achievement.

 b. She was chosen for the award because at a young age she had risked her life and

worked for the betterment of the children in a country which was torn by terrorism and

unrest.

 c. She is ever thankful to everyone who is helping her to make her dreams come true.

2. I have found that people describe me in many different ways.

 a. How do people describe Malala?

 b. What do her brothers call her?

 c. Why do they call her so?

 Ans: a. Some people call her the girl who fought for her rights while others call her a Nobel

Laureate.

 b. Her brothers call her an ‘annoying bossy sister’.

 c. Free response. Suggested answer: They call her so probably because she gets her way

with them.

D. Answer in brief. (Think and answer)

Why did Malala call herself stubborn?

 Ans: When the Taliban were destroying schools and stopped girls from attending schools, Malala

wanted to fight against this. She almost lost her life as an activist but rose like a phoenix and did not

want to give up until every child got quality education and women had equal rights and peace in

every corner of the world.

E. Answer in detail. (Think and answer)

What do you understand about the life Malala led as a child? How were her friends a support to her?

 Ans: Education meant everything for Malala. She considered that as one of the blessings of

life. As a child Malala loved to learn new things and in her paradise home she along with her

friends would look forward to spending time in the classroom where they thought their future

lay. Malala loved wearing neat and tidy uniform and dream about her future. But all her dreams

were shattered as her paradise home became a place of terrorism. Malala’s world suddenly

changed. Her priorities too changed. At a tender age of ten she took the bold decision of facing

the terrorist group who went about destroying schools. She made her friends equally bold. They

fought together. They are with her even today and their voices are being heard everywhere in

the world.