What “twin obligations” does Mandela mention?
According to Mandela, there are twin obligations for everyone.
1)The first is to his family, parents, wife and children.
2)The second obligation is to his people, community and country.
What ideals does Nelson Mandela set for the future of South Africa?
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?
What does courage mean to Mandela?
What does Mandela thank the international leaders for ?
Would you agree that the “depths of oppression” create “heights of character”? How does Mandela illustrate this? Can you add your own examples to this argument ?
Why were two national anthems sung?
Does Mandela think the oppressor is free? Why/why not?
Why did such a large number of international leaders attend the inauguration ? What did it signify the triumph of?
What did being free mean to Mandela as a boy, and as a student ? How does he contrast these “transitory freedoms” with “the basic and honourable freedoms”?
Which does Mandela think is natural, to love or to hate?
Where in the classroom does Wanda sit and why?
What was Valli’s favourite pastime?
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?
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?
What was a source of unending joy for Valli? What was her strongest desire?
You must have noticed that when we report someone’s exact words, we have to make some changes in the sentence structure. In the following sentences fill in the blanks to list the changes that have occurred in the above pairs of sentences. One has been done for you. Questions.
1.To report a question, we use the reporting verb asked (as in sentence set 1).
2.To report a declaration, we use the reporting verb
3.The adverb of place here changes to _____
4.When the verb in the direct speech is in the present tense, the verb in reported speech is in the tense (as in sentence set 3).
5.If the Verb in direct speech is in the present continuous tense, the verb in reported speech changes to ____ tense. For example, ____ changes to was getting.
6.When the sentence in direct speech contains a word denoting respect, we add the adverb ____ in the reporting clause (as in sentence set 1)
7.The pronouns I, me, our and mine, which are used in the first person in direct speech, change to third person pronouns to such as _____ or ____ in reported speech.
What was Valli’s deepest desire? Find the words and phrases in the story that tell you this.
Why does the conductor refer to Valli as ‘madam’?
Why does Valli refuse to look out of the window on her way back?
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.
“The sight of the food maddened him.” What does this suggest? What compelled the young seagull to finally fly?
What did Valli find out about the bus journey? How did she find out these details?
Did Lencho try to find out who had sent the money to him? Why/Why not?
Why does the postmaster send money to Lencho? Why does he sign the letter ‘God’?
Kisa Gotami again goes from house to house after she speaks with the Buddha. What does she ask for, the second time around? Does she get it? Why not?