Book : First Flight
Ø Lencho was a farmer, his house was the only house in the valley and on top of a hill.
Ø Lencho's fields needed rain for a good harvest.
Ø He looked expectantly at the sky and it did rain at last .
Ø The drops of rain were like the coins for him, which would help him reap a good harvest and earn some money for his family.
Ø But his happiness was short lived as very large hailstones began to fall after the rain and destroyed his crop.
Ø There was a single hope -help from God, On the following Sunday ,he wrote a letter to God.
Ø He needed a hundred pesos to sow his fields again and to live until the new crop came.
Ø He wrote 'To God ' on the envelope and put the letter into the mail box.
Ø The postman laughed heartily and took it to the postmaster ,the postmaster laughed too but soon he became serious.
Ø He decided to reply the letter and help Lencho, as he did not want Lencho to lose faith in God.
Ø Postmaster could collect seventy pesos only, from his employees and he himself also contributed a part of his salary.
Ø He put the money in an envelope and posted it to Lencho.
Ø Lencho was happy but not at all surprised when he received the money because he had an unbroken faith in God .
Ø His happiness turned into anger as there were only seventy pesos instead of hundred pesos .
Ø Lencho could never believe that God could ever deceive him .
Ø So, he wrote another letter to God reminding him that he received only 70 pesos sent by him
Ø He asked God not to send the rest of 30 pesos through the mail as the post office employees were a ' bunch of crooks.
1. Whom did Lencho write a letter? What did he ask for and why?
2. What were Lencho's feelings when he found the letter with money in it? What did he do after opening it?
3. Why does the postmaster send money to Lencho? Why does he sign the letter 'God'?
4. What are the raindrops compared to and why?
5. Who does Lencho think has taken the rest of the money? Describe the ironical ending of the story?
CHAPTER 2 : NELSON MANDELA : LONG WALK TO FREEDOM by Nelson Rolihlahla Mandela
Ø The inauguration ceremony of the first non-racial government was held in the Union Buildings in Pretoria.
Ø Politicians and dignitaries from more than 140 countries attended the ceremony.
Ø Nelson Mandela was then sworn-in as the President of Republic of South Africa.
Ø For decades South Africa had been the seat of white supremacy .The blacks were considered as outlaws.
Ø Their victory over “apartheid” was a common victory for justice, peace and freedom. Ø Nelson Mandela was overwhelmed with a sense of history.
Ø The society based on racial discrimination was the harshest and the most inhuman society in the world.
Ø The decades of oppression and exploitation of the blacks produced- heroes like Tambo's, Sisulu and others in South Africa.
Ø Mandela learned the meaning of courage which does not mean absence of fear rather it means victory over fear.
Ø Every man has twin responsibilities / obligations - towards his family and for his people and country.
Ø If any black tried to live like a free human being, he was punished and isolated from his family and community.
Ø Mandela realised that not only he but his brothers and sisters were deprived of freedom.
Ø His desire for the freedom and dignity of his people made him a rebel. He realised that freedom is indivisible.
1. What did Nelson Mandela pledge when he was sworn-in as President?
2. What is the greatest wealth of a country according to Nelson Mandela?
3. What are the two obligations every man has in life?
4. What according to Mandela is “true freedom”?
5.
Why did Nelson Mandela feel that both the oppressor and
the oppressed are robbed of their humanity and
hence both of them must be liberated?
Ø The author Liam O'flaherty displays the importance of family and friends in overcoming the fears in our life through the story of a young Seagull who was unable to take his first flight.
Ø A family of seagulls had mother, father, three sons and a daughter.
Ø The youngest son was fearful to take his first flight as he believed his small Wings would not support him, also he was afraid of the height of the Cliff from the Sea.
Ø The parents cajoled him and kept him hungry to let him learn a lesson.
Ø When the young Seagull couldn't take the Hunger and heat anymore the mother Seagull brought a piece of fish near him.
Ø The young Seagull tried to grab the piece from his mother's mouth. In doing so he reached the edge of the Cliff and fell from there as the mother Seagull moved away from the edge.
Ø
Initially fear hovered
him but soon he flapped
his wings and soared and finally landed on the green sea taking
his first flight. The whole family rejoiced and cackled.
1 Why did the baby seagull not take his first flight?
2 Describe how the baby seagull took his first flight.
Ø The narrator Frederick Forsyth was flying his Dakota from France to England to meet his family in holidays and enjoy a good English breakfast with his family.
Ø When he flew at night the sky was clear and as instructed by Paris control he turned 12 degrees West.
Ø When he was about 150 kilometres away from Paris his saw the approaching storm.
Ø He took the risk and flew into it. The compass and other instruments stopped working.
Ø The plane tossed and twisted in the air and he couldn't contact Paris control. Suddenly a black aeroplane appeared without lights on its wings.
Ø The pilot waved him and signalled to follow him. It was strange that he flew for halfn hour even when he had fuel left only for five or ten minutes.
Ø Suddenly he saw the Runway and landed safely. He wanted to thank the pilot of the black aeroplane but was shocked to see no one there.
Ø He went to the control room to enquire about him but found that no other aeroplane except his was there in the sky that night. He was awestruck at the miracle.
1 Why did the narrator take the
risk to go through the storm? 2
What miracle happened with the narrator?
Ø Anne Frank was a 13 year old Jewish girl who wrote a diary while her family was hiding in Amsterdam from the Naziz who were incurring atrocities during World War II.
Ø Anne wrote the diary to overcome loneliness in her life. She named it Kitty.
Ø She couldn't confide in anyone and felt that paper has more patience. Also she thought nobody would be interested in the diary as she was a small girl.
Ø Anne adored her father. She had an elder sister Margot and they lived in Frankfurt before they migrated to Holland for refuge. Her mother stayed behind with her grandmother.
Ø She had sweet memories of Mrs. Kuperus at Montessori School. Her grandmother fell ill in 1941 and died in 1942. This broke her.
Ø Anne considered teachers to be the most unpredictable creatures on earth. She had good relationship with all teachers except Mr Keesing who punished her several times for talking too much during the lessons.
Ø She wrote an essay on A Chatterbox as punishment, saying that talking was a student's trait and she inherited it from her mother. Again as punishment she wrote an essay on An Incorrigible Chatterbox. Then she wrote an essay on Quack Quack Quack said Mistress Chatterbox.
Ø Her friend Sanne helped her write it in verse. It said that father Duck beat the three ducklings as they quacked too much and made them deaf.
Ø Mr Keesing took the joke in the right way and didn't bother Anne for talking thereafter and didn't give her any extra homework.
Q.1 Why did Anne think of writing a diary?
Q.2 What joke did Anne play with the help of her friend on Mr. Keesing?
Ø The Portuguese in Goa were lovers of bread.
Ø Those eaters of bread have now gone but its makers still exist.
Ø During the childhood days of the narrator, a baker used to be their friend, companion and guide.
Ø The baker came twice a day- once in the morning and again while returning home after finishing his selling.
Ø The jingling thud of the baker’s bamboo woke up the sleeping children. Ø The loaves were delivered to the servants of the house.
Ø The children would peep into the baker’s basket for the bread bangles. Ø The children would eat bread with hot tea.
Ø The marriages were incomplete without the popular bol bread.
Ø Bolinhas was a must during Christmas and all other festivals.
Ø The bakers wore a particular knee length frock known as kabai.
Ø Baking was a profitable profession. Bakers had a plump physique testifying to this. Ø The bakers collected their bills at the end of the month
1. How is a baker important to the Goan people?
Ø Coorg or Kodagu, the smallest district of Karnataka, is a heavenly place.
Ø The best season to visit it is from September to March.
Ø The people living there are probably the descendants of Arabs or Greeks.
Ø Their culture is apparent in their martial traditions, marriages and religious rites.
Ø The Kodavus wear a long, black, embroidered coat called Kuppia.
Ø The Coorg Regiment is one of the most decorated regiments in the Indian Army.
Ø Kodavus are the only people in India permitted to carry firearms without a license.
Ø The river Kaveri begins from the hills and forests of Coorg.
Ø A variety of plants, birds and animals can be seen there.
Ø The place offers a number of adventure sports for the tourists.
Ø The Tibetan monks are amongst many surprises that can be seen there
III. TEA FROM ASSAM by: Arup Kumar Dutta
Ø Pranjol and Rajvir were visiting Assam by train.
Ø Rajvir was busy looking at the beautiful scenery outside the train.
Ø It was green everywhere as far as the eye could see.
Ø The soft green paddy bushes gave way to tea bushes.
Ø Assam has the largest concentration of tea plantation in the world.
Ø The Chinese are said to have discovered tea.
Ø There is also an Indian legend saying that Bodhidharma discovered tea.
Ø From China, tea came to the European countries and then to Asian countries.
Ø Pranjol’s father managed Dhekiabari, a tea garden.
Ø There were many tea pluckers around the tea bushes.
Ø The best tea is obtained between May to July.
1. What are the various legends about the origin of tea?
2. What glimpses of India have been presented in the lesson? Which one do you like the most?
Chapter 8 Mijbil the Otter
1. Gavin Maxwell lived in Camusfearna, Scotland, and felt very lonely after his dog Jonnie died.
2. In early 1956, he decided to get an otter as a pet to fill the loneliness.
3. His friend suggested getting an otter from the Tigris marshes in Iraq, where otters were common.
4. Maxwell travelled to Basra, Iraq, to find an otter and collect his mail.
5. After several days of waiting, Maxwell received his mail and an otter brought by his friend.
6. Maxwell named the otter Mijbil, and at first, Mijbil was shy and kept his distance.
7. Mijbil was covered in mud, and it took Maxwell a month to clean him completely.
8. Gradually, Mijbil became comfortable and playful, showing a love for water and splashing around.
9. One day, Mijbil managed to turn on the bathroom tap by himself, showing his intelligence.
10. Mijbil enjoyed playing with toys, like a rubber ball and marbles, showing his curiosity and playful nature.
11. Maxwell faced the challenge of transporting Mijbil to England, as the British airline did not allow animals.
Maxwell booked a flight to Paris and then to London, but Mijbil injured himself trying to escape from the box.
13. On the plane, Mijbil escaped and caused chaos among the passengers, who mistook him for a rat.
14. A kind air hostess helped Maxwell calm Mijbil, allowing him to sit on Maxwell’s knee for the rest of the flight.
15. In London, Mijbil stayed with Maxwell for a month, inventing games and developing habits.
16. Mijbil loved playing with a ping-pong ball and running along a wall near a school, amusing the children and staff.
Many Londoners did not recognize Mijbil and guessed he was different animals, like a baby seal or a hippo.
18. Maxwell found these moments of confusion amusing and enjoyed his time with Mijbil.
19. The story shows the joy and challenges of owning a pet, highlighting the bond between Maxwell and Mijbil.
20. It also emphasises the playful and curious nature of otters, making them interesting and unique pets.
CHAPTER 9 : MADAM RIDES
THE BUS by Vallikannan
Ø The story is about an eight year old girl named Valliammai. She was very curious to know about things.
Ø Her favourite pastime was to stand at the front doorway of her house and see what was happening in the street outside.
Ø She would watch the bus that passed every hour from her village to the nearest town.
Ø She developed a desire to ride the bus. This became her deepest desire.
Ø Valli found out the details of the bus journey by listening carefully to the conversations between her neighbours and regular bus users.
Ø She came to know that the town was just six miles from her village and the fare for the bus journey was thirty paise one way. The trip took 45 minutes.
Ø Valli planned her visit to the town. She saved sixty paise for the fare. Finally, one day she took the one o’clock bus to the town.
Ø Valli was very happy to have got into the bus.
Ø On the way to the town, Valli saw a cow running right in front of the bus. She clapped as the cow kept on running towards the bus despite the continuous honking by the driver.
Ø Valli did not get off the bus when it reached the town. She also declined the offer of a cold drink by the conductor.
Ø On the return journey, she saw the same cow lying dead by the roadside. This unpleasant sight made her very sad.
Ø The bus reached the village at three forty. She ran straight for her home after getting down the bus.Her mother did not come to know about her journey.
2. “And even when we do know about something we often can't understand it completely, can we?” Elaborate with reference to the chapter Madam Rides the Bus.
CHAPTER 10 : THE SERMON AT BENARES by Betty Renshaw
Ø This lesson tells about the life of Gautam Buddha, who was born in a royal family as Siddhartha.
Ø Once he saw a funeral procession and monk begging for the alms.
Ø These sights moved him a lot and he decided to become a monk and started moving in search of enlightenment.
Ø He started meditation under a peepal tree and after seven days he got enlightenment and he became known as the Buddha ( the awakened or enlightened)
Ø The Buddha preached his first sermon at Benares. Once a woman named Kisa Gotami asked the Buddha to give her a medicine to bring her dead son to life.
Ø The Buddha told her to bring him a handful of mustard seeds from a house where no one had died.
Ø Kisa Gotami could not get the seeds as she did not find anyone who had not lost his family member.
Ø She thought that she was really selfish in her grief. Death was common to all. Yet there lay a path. That led man to immortality if he surrendered all selfishness.
Ø The Buddha told her that human life was brief and painful. All depart from life.
Ø He who is off the lamentation and grief shall have peace of mind. One who has overcome sorrow will be free from sorrow and be blessed.
2. What had happened to Kisa Gotami’s son? Why couldn’t she get a handful of mustard seeds from any house?
3. According to Gautam Buddha, how can one become free from the grief of death and decay?
CHAPTER 11: THE PROPOSAL by Anton Chekov
Ø Lomov ,Chubukov’s neighbour asks for Chubulov’s daughter, Natalya’s hand in marriage, Chubukov gets filled with excitement .
Ø Lomov is a 35 year- old gentleman who suffers from palpitations, gets upset very easily and doesn’t sleep well. According to him, Natalya is average-looking and a good housekeeper.
Ø While talking about his property, Lomov somehow mentions about Oxen Meadows which earlier was a disputed property but is now his. Natalya believes that Oxen Meadows belong to her family. Both of them enter into a heated discussion.
Ø Chubukov unintentionally reveals that Lomov had come with a marriage proposal for Natalya which surprises Natalya and she immediately regrets sending him out.
Ø When Lomov returns, they enter into another argument involving their dogs. Everyone gets hyper and Lomov finally falls due to his palpitations.
Ø It is only when Lomov moves a little bit, they feed him some water and Chubukov forcefully hands over Natalya’s hands to him, gives his blessings and asks them to kiss.
Ø Lomov, still not fully conscious doesn’t understand what is going on. When he finally comes to his senses, he expresses his excitement and kisses Natalya’s hands.
Ø Natalya, being childish as she is, once again, starts quarrelling on another issue.
1. Justify the title of the drama “The Proposal”.
2. Describe how does Natalya react before and after knowing the real purpose of Lomov’s visit. Does she act sensibly?
3. Besides Oxen Meadows, what is the other important cause of quarrel between Lomov and Natalya?
POETRY SECTION
Poem
1 –
DUST OF SNOW by Robert Frost
Ø On a winter day the poet was standing under the snow covered hemlock tree which is poisonous.
Ø A crow sat and shook the branch of the tree and the dust of snow fell on the poet.
Ø However, this simple small beautiful act of nature had a very comforting and relaxing effect on him where earlier his mood was sad gloomy and despairing.
Ø The falling of the snow made him realise that the whole day has not been wasted.
Ø
Ø Theme –Nature healing and helping with negative human emotions . Hope is one of the themes in this poem. Lastly, the poem gives the message that small natural incidents in life can change our attitude from negative to positive.
Poetic Devices- Alliteration-'saved some' sound of 's' 'Has given my heart ' sound of 'ha' Rhyme scheme- abab
1. What does the poet Rober Frost want to convey through the poem “Dust of Snow”?
2. How has the poet observed 'nature' in the poem “Dust of Snow”?
3. “And saved some part of a day I had rued”. Explain
4. Small things in life make significant changes in our lives. Elaborate with reference to the poem.
Ø The poet felt that the world of ours would come to an end, but he was not sure how.
Ø He came to the conclusion on the basis of what people said regarding the ending of the world.
Ø Two highly contrasting but powerful elements of nature-fire and ice would end the world.
Ø In the 1st stanza, the poet agreed with those who believed that the fire would cause the end of the world. Fire stands for strong, unlimited, uncontrolled desires of humans (of greed, power, and money) which would end the world.
Ø The 2nd element ice stands for -hatred, indifference, cold reasoning, intolerance which would end the world.
Ø The poet himself had experienced enough hate born out of desire. If the world survived after being destroyed by unlimited desire, it would be destroyed the 2nd time by hatred, indifference and intolerance.
Ø Theme – the theme of the poem is the old age question, whether the world would end in fire or ice. The opinion is divided; some think natural element of fire would destroy the world. Some think ice would destroy the world.
Ø Rhyme scheme - abaa ,bcbcb
Ø Assonance- long sound of 'O' in 'I hold with those who favour fire'
Ø Alliteration- sound of 'f ' in 'I hold with those who favour fire'
Ø Imagery- 'some say the world will end in fire' 'To say that for destruction ice,is also great '
Ø Symbolism - FIRE symbolises strong, unlimited, uncontrolled human desire of greed, power etc ICE symbolises hatred, indifference, cold reasoning, intolerance.
Ø Anaphora – 'some say the world will end in fire, some say in ice.'
Ø Personification- Fire and Ice have been personified
Ø
Enjambment
– 'From what I've tasted of desire I hold with those who favour fire .'
1.
What do you think would be enough to destroy the world? Can fire and ice
contribute to it, How?2. What is the underlying idea of
the poem -Fire and Ice?
3. How will the world end twice?
Ø The tiger is enraged and stalked inside the cage.
Ø The tiger gets fed up of visitors during the day and the noise of patrolling cars during the night.
Ø He hopefully looks at the bright stars with this bright eyes yearning for freedom.
Ø In his Natural Habitat the tiger is Fearless and lurks to hunt his prey.
Ø In his natural habitat he snarls and terrorizes the people baring his white fangs.
Ø Freedom is life.
Ø Metaphor : pads of velvet
Ø Personification : 'he' used for Tiger
Ø Repetition : velvet quiet, quiet rage, brilliant eyes, brilliant stars
Ø Alliteration : behind bars
Ø Rhyme Scheme : abcb in first, second, third and fifth stanza.
1. How does the tiger feel inside the concrete cell of the zoo?
2. Describe the tiger in his natural habitat.
Ø The poet has described the grief of a boy who lost his ball and sensed that worldly possessions can't be there forever.
Ø You need to learn the epistemology of loss.
Ø Even after losing your most priced possessions you have to learn to stand up, to be strong and get on with life to survive.
In the poem the boy lost his ball in the harbour and wept as he had sweet memories clinging to it.
Ø He could buy a new ball but it was not worth anything as he couldn't buy the memories associated with his old ball.
Ø He realised his responsibility and understood that in the world you will lose your loved ones and possessions but no one will buy them back for you.
Ø
The boy then learnt the epistemology of loss and
to strongly stand up and survive in life bearing the pain of the loss.
Ø Style : blank verse
Ø Symbolism : ball symbolises the priced possessions, things and people
Ø Repetition : balls balls
Ø Alliteration : use of sound ‘b’
Ø Personification : ball is merrily bouncing
Ø Anaphora : use of repeated words in two or more lines what is the boy… what… what, merrily bouncing, merrily over
1. Why does the boy cry over the loss of his ball?
2. What lesson of life does the boy learn through the act of losing his ball?
Poem 5 -- AMANDA by Robin KleinØ She is forbidden from eating a chocolate that she has.
Ø But all the time, the little girl Amanda keeps dreaming of a life of freedom in the open. She dreams of mermaids in the sea, of roaming barefoot in the dusty street and of the golden-haired Rapunzel who lived alone in a high tower.
Ø She takes no note of what is being said to her.
Ø Then she is rebuked for being moody and sulking all the time.
Ø Every child feels that he/she is controlled and instructed not to do one thing or another.
Ø Children have certain habits. Their parents teach them to mend those habits. These are for their benefits.
Ø Children have these habits because they want freedom. They want to feel comfortable at home.
Ø Amanda is a small girl and has certain unwanted habits.
Ø She is politely asked to mend those habits. But she seems to live in her own world as she is moody.
Ø The poem is in conversation tone.
Ø Alliteration : Stop that slouching and sit up straight, I thought I told you to clean your shoes, Stop that sulking at once, Amanda!
Ø Allusion: Mermaid – To be free and contained in their own. (Taken from fairy tales) Rapunzel. Who lived happily alone on a tower for a long time. (Part of German fairy tale)
Ø Metaphors: Orphan – Who don’t have nagging parents above their head as Amanda’s., Languid, emerald sea – languid and emerald type qualities are assigned to sea. Silence is golden. Freedom is sweet
Ø Rhyme Scheme: aaba ccc aada eee aafa ggg aaha
1. What does Amanda yearn for?
2. Why does Amanda wish to be a mermaid, an orphan and Rapunzel?
Ø The tale of custard the dragon is a ballad. It is a humorous poem about a cowardly dragon named custard.
Ø Custard is a pet of Belinda, a little girl who lives in a little white house with her pets.
Ø She had a black kitten named ink, a grey mouse named blink, a yellow dog mustard and a cowardly dragon custard.
Ø The poet says that all of them are very brave except the dragon. Others were described as brave and are compared with animals like bear, tiger or lion but the dragon is very timid.
Ø The poet describes the dragon having big sharp teeth and spikes on top, mouth like fireplace, nose like chimney and toes sharp as daggers.
Ø But one night they are surprised by the entry of a pirate in the house who had pistols in both hands, was holding dagger (sharp knife) in his teeth, had a black beard and one wooden leg. All of them get frightened and start hiding here and there. But to everyone’s surprise, the dragon not only tackles him but also swallowed him up.
Ø As all of them are saved by custard, Belinda hugged him, Mustard licked him and Ink and Blink danced around him.
Ø Again they start saying that they are more brave and could have handled the situation in a much better way.
Ø Here the poet has tried to say that sometimes a timid person is the actual hero in the toughest situations of life. Rhyming Scheme and imagery/tone : The rhyming scheme of stanzas1-12 is aabb and the rhyming scheme of stanza-13 is aabbcc. The imagery shows lots of action and commotion. The tone is humorous and mocking.
Poetic Devices
Ø Simile : Mouth like fireplace, -Belinda was as brave as a barrel full of bears, -Snorting like an engine
Ø Alliteration :- and he held in his teeth, -Beard was black
Ø Repetition: -Suddenly, suddenly they heard, -She cried Help! Help!
Ø Oxymoron: Use of two words with opposite meaning” pet dragon”
Ø Poetic License: The spellings have been changed to create a musical effect. (Realio,trulio,winda)
Ø Onomatopoeia: Usage of sound words to create dramatic effect.(giggled, weeck,meowch)
Ø Transferred epithet: When an adjective usually used to describe one thing is transferred to another. (Terrified yelp)
1. Describe all the characters of the poem.
2. The dragon Custard was a coward. Isn’t it true? Explain.
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