How did Valli plan her bus ride? What did she find out about the bus, and how did she save up the fare?
Valli listened carefully to conversations between her neighbours over many days and months and the bus regularly used by those people and a few discreet questions were asked. The town was six miles away from village, the thirty paise was bus fare.She also thought that if she stayed in the bus and came back by the same bus it would only cost her sixty paise. Each and every penny got saved by her, resisted all temptation to buy mints, toys, etc and even a ride on the merry-go-round at the village annual fair so as to save sixty paise. The secret trip was planned by her without the knowledge of her parents.
Why didn’t Valli want to make friends with the elderly woman?
Have you made a journey that was unforgettable in some way? What made it memorable?
Are you concerned about traffic and road safety? What are your concerns? How would you make road travel safer and more enjoyable?
Have you ever planned something entirely on your own, without taking grown- ups into your confidence? What did you plan, and how? Did you carry out your plan?
The author describes the things that Valli sees from an eight-year-old’s point of view. Can you find evidence from the text for this statement?
Why does the conductor call Valli ‘madam’?
Why does Valli stand up on the seat? What does she see now?
How did Valli save up money for her first journey? Was it easy for her?
What kind of a person is Valli? To answer this question, pick out the following sentences from the text and fill in the blanks. The words you fill in are the clues to your answer.
What was a source of unending joy for Valli? What was her strongest desire?
Where in the classroom does Wanda sit and why?
What ‘experiment’ did Maxwell think Camusfearna would be suitable for?
What did Lencho hope for?
When her son dies, Kisa Gotami goes from house to house. What does she ask for? Does she get it? Why not?
Where did the ceremonies take place ? Can you name any public buildings in India that are made of sandstones?
What does Chubukov at first suspect that Lomov has come for? Is he sincere when he later says “And I’ve always loved you, my angel, as if you were my own son”? Find reasons for your answer from the play.
Why was the young seagull afraid to fly? Do you think all young birds are afraid to make their first flight, or are some birds more timid than others? Do you think a human baby also finds it a challenge to take its first steps?
Do you keep a diary? Given below under ‘A’ are some terms we use to describe a written record of personal experience. Can you match them with their descriptions under ‘B’? (You may
look up the terms in a dictionary if you wish.)
A B
(i) Journal – A book with a separate space or page for each day, in which you write down your and feelings or what has happened on that day
(ii) Diary – A full record of a journey, a period of time, or an event, written every day
(iii) Log – A record of a person’s own life and experiences (usually, a famous person)
(iv) Memoir(s) – A written record of events with times and dates, usually official
Where does Wanda live? What kind of a place do you think it is?
Why does he go to Basra? How long does he wait there, and why?
Describe the narrator’s experience as he flew the aeroplane into the storm.
Who does Lencho think has taken the rest of the money? What is the irony in the situation? (Remember that the irony of a situation is an unexpected aspect of it. An ironic situation is strange or amusing because it is the opposite of what is expected.)
What does courage mean to Mandela?
“I’ll take the risk”. What is the risk? Why does the narrator take it?
Why didn’t Maddie ask Peggie to stop teasing Wanda? What was she afraid of?
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?
Did Lencho try to find out who had sent the money to him? Why/Why not?
Why does the narrator say, “I landed and was not sorry to walk away from the old Dakota…”?
Match, the italicised phrases in Column A with the phrase nearest meaning in Column B.
(Hint: First look for the sentence in the text in which the phrase in column A occurs.)
A | B |
---|---|
1. I was not unmindful of the fact | (i) had not forgotten; was aware of the fact (ii) was not careful about the fact (iii) forgot or was not aware of the fact |
2. when my comrades and I were pushed to our limits | (i) pushed by the guards to the wall (ii) took more than our share of beatings (iii) felt that we could not endure the suffering any longer |
3. to reassure me and keep me going | (i) make me go on walking (ii) help me continue to live in hope in this very difficult situation (iii) make me remain without complaining |
4. the basic and honourable freedoms of…earning my keep,… | (i) earning enough money to live on (ii) keeping what I earned (iii) getting a good salary |
There are different names in different parts of the world for storms, depending on their nature. Can you match the names in the box with their descriptions below, and fill in the blanks? You may use a dictionary to help you.
gale, whirlwind, cyclone, hurricane, tornado, typhoon
1. A violent tropical storm in which strong winds move in a circle: __ __ c __ __ __ __
2. An extremely strong wind : __ a __ __
3. A violent tropical storm with very strong winds : __ __ p __ __ __ __
4. A violent storm whose centre is a cloud in the shape of a funnel: __ __ __ n __ __ __
5. A violent storm with very strong winds, especially in the western Atlantic Ocean: __ __ r __ __ __ __ __ __
6. A very strong wind that moves very fast in a spinning movement and causes a lot of damage: __ __ __ __ l __ __ __ _