Maharashtra board 8th Std English Balbharati Solutions Unit 1

Maharashtra board 8th std English Balbharati Solutions Unit 1

Unit 1

1.1 A Time To Believe 

Textbook Questions and Answers

Warming Up:

Think, choose and fill up the labels with what a ‘sunrise’ symbolizes.

(jewellery / art / hope / birth / anger / new opportunities / good manners / inspiration/ new achievements / happiness / misery / bright moments / new aims / money / newsurprises)

An acrostic is a poem or a write up in which the first letter of each line forms a word, when it is read vertically. Complete the acrostics of BELIEVE and FAITH.

Rearrange the letters to make meaningful words, occurring in the poem.

• clearmis
• sowmid
• tabyue
• madres
• laveu
• downre

Answer:

• miracles
• wisdom
• beauty
• dreams
• value
• wonder

Write words from the poem that describe the following.

• sky – stardust sky
• heart – nurturing heart
• hand – aging hand
• beginning – new beginning

2. Say WHY. . . . .

the sky has a magical quality.

The sky has a magical quality because it has scurrying clouds, twinkling stars and a beautiful moon.

even an aging hand has beauty.

because it can teach us how to love.

we should believe that we are strong and courageous.

We should believe that we are | strong and courageous so that we can recover after we have gone through difficulties and shocks, and return to our normal lives again.

3. Make a list of any six things that the poet wants us to accept as true.

 Answer:

The poet wants us to accept as  true the following things :

• that we have the strength and ( courage to get back to normal after a setback
• that we are never alone
• that life is a gift we must cherish
• that there are wonderful surprises in store for us
• that all our hopes and dreams are within reach
• that great things will happen if we have belief in life and in ourselves

5. Read the lines below.

(A) ‘To believe is to see angels dancing among the clouds’.

 The above line contain a human characteristic ‘dancing’ given to something

non – human, ‘angels’. The Figure of Speech used in the line is called‘Personification’.

‘To believe is to know that

Everyday is a new beginning’.

To believe is to know ………. life is a gift

Lines in poetry, such as the above, state a general truth and can be used as sayings or

quotes etc. They contain the Figure of Speech called Epigram.

Epigram closely resembles a proverb.

Find from the poem three other examples of Epigram.

(i) ‘To believe is to find the strength and courage that lies within us.’

(ii) ‘To believe is to know we are never alone, that life is a gift.’

(iii) ‘To believe is to know that wonderful surprises are just waiting to happen.’

(These lines state a general truth.)

6. Divide the class into 5 groups. Each group can prepare a decorative chart / poster using an epigrammatic lines from the poem. You may use calligraphy / painting / or Paint programme on a computer. (With permission, put up these charts in your school.)

Complete the following:

One should know and trust _______.

One should know and trust that every day is a new beginning, that miracles happen and dreams really do come true.

The two supernatural references in the second stanza _______.

The two supernatural references in the second stanza are to angels and to the man in the moon.

Find out an example of Personification from the extract.

‘To believe is to see angels dancing among the clouds.’

 (Here, the angels have been given the human quality of ‘dancing’.)

Pick out examples of Alliteration from the extract.

(i) …. and the wisdom of the man in the moon’. (Repetition of the sound of the letter ‘m’.)

(ii) For it is through their teachings, we learn to love. (Repetition of the sound of the letters ‘t’ and T.)

Pick out an example of Repetition from the extract.

The words ‘To believe is to ….’ are repeated at the beginning of each stanza. This provides emphasis to the message in the poem and gives rhythm to the stanzas.

Complete the following:

The two qualities that are needed to recover after a shocking event are _________.

strength and courage.

The poet advises everybody to ______.

have a positive attitude.

Explain why ….

…. we should believe that we are strong and courageous,

We should believe that we are strong and courageous so that we can recover after we have gone through difficulties and shocks, and return to our normal lives again.

Rearrange the letters to form meaningful words occurring in the extract.

• gearuoc – courage
• rissupser – surprises
• gnehtrts – strength
• irehchs – cherish

Write word from the extract that describe the following :

surprises

wonderful surprises

Pick out an example of Metaphor from the extract.

‘That life is a gift.’ Life is implicitly compared to a gift.

Pick out an example of Repetition from the extract.

The words ‘To believe is to ….’ are repeated at the beginning of each stanza. This provides emphasis to the message in the poem and gives rhythm to the stanzas.

Analysis/Appreciation Of The Poem ‘A Time To Believe’

Poem and poet: ‘A Time to Believe’ by B.J. Morbitzer.

Theme: To believe in ourselves and to have a positive and optimistic attitude towards life.

Tone: Serious and inspirational.

Structure and stanzas: 4 lines in each stanza, except in the last stanza, which has 5 lines.

Rhyme and Rhythm: No rhyme scheme; the poem is written in free verse.

Language and Imagery: The language is simple and direct. The only instances of Imagery are of ‘angels dancing among the clouds’ and the ‘stardust sky’.

Figures of Speech: Personification, Epigram, Repetition, Metaphor.

 1.2 Dick Whittington and his Cat 

 Textbook Questions and Answers

Warming Up:

1. Discuss the follow in groups and write the answers:

Name the world famous personalities, who reached great heights despite of humble circumstances.

Dr. A.P.J. Abdul Abraham

Lincoln Kalam

Charlie Chaplin

Kalpana Chawla

Guess the types of hardships they must have faced in their childhood and youth.

poverty

 lack of support

 social disapproval

 lack of opportunities

 What strong qualities possessed by them, could have helped them achieve success and fame, all over?

• strong will power
• optimism
• sincerity
• hard work

How do stories / biographies of such famous people help youngsters?

• They help youngsters to look at life positively.
• They inspire the youth.
• They help them find answers to questions.
• They prove that we can do many seemingly impossible things if we really wish to.

Syllable: A syllable is a unit of pronunciation that has one ‘owe1 sound and may or may not have consonant sounds before I after it.

 Examples of words having:

 One syllable: a, I, see, at, on, man, with, thread

 Two syllables: mother, seated, giraffe, parrot, active, happy

Three syllables: happiness, wonderful, animal, surprising, adventure, ignorance.

More than three syllables: consequently, encouragement, responsibility, identifying, encyclopedic

Write the numcs of any 5 of your classmates and list how many syllables each name has.

Jal: 1 syllable

Remo: 2 syllables

Saira: 2 syllables

Shailaja : 3 syllables

Mandakini: 4 syllables

Ali: 2 syllables

 Arrange the following set of words in alphabetical order in your notebook.

ship, small, successful, scoldings, stone, saving, someone, stood, streets, still, screamed, sot, seemed, saint, share.

Answers

 saint, sat, saving, scoldings, screamed, seemed, share, ship, small, someone, still, stone, stood, streets, successful.

Remove the Affixes (Prefix and Suffix) and write the Root-word.

1. successful – success
2. immediately – immediate
3. retrace – trace
4. mouser – mouse
5. unfriendly – friendly
6. fallen – fall
7. unkind – kind
8. wooden – wood
9. luckily – luck
10. belonging – belong

Find from the story’ one word for the following.

a small room just below a sloping roof

attic

a very narrow passage between buildings

alley

the highest – ranking officer in the Municipality of a city/town.

Mayor

the highest ranking official who commands a ship.

Captain

any animal that catches mice

mouser

a low constant sound made by cats

Purr

Make sentences of your own using the following expressions.

overcome:

We must learn to overcome any difilcultics we come across.

put up with:

We had to put up wilhi the noisy behaviour of our neighbours son.

bargain:

People In India love to bargain with hawkers.

Think and answer:

What decision taken by Dick changed his fortune?

On hearing the church bells send out a message to him, Dick decided to retrace his steps and go back to Mr. Fitzwarren’s house instead of running away. This decision changed Dick’s fortune.

What message does this story bring j out for youngsters?

The message that this story brings out for youngsters is that we must S not run away from difficulties but face > them bravely.

Break the words below into syllables us shown in the first one.

belonging : be – long – ing

morning : mor – ning

unfriendly : un – friend – ly

citizen : ci – ti – zen

anything : an – y – thing

message : mess – age

difficulty : di – ffi – cul- ty

mayor : ma – yor

captain : cap – tain

elected : e – lec – ted

 Degrees of Comparison of Adjectives.

Read the sentences.

(i) Yatin is strong.

(ii) Amit is stronger than Yatin.

(iii) Pruvin is the strongest of all.

In sentence (i) the Adjective ‘strong’ is in its simple form. It is called Positive Degree.

In sentence (ii) the Adjective stronger’ refers to a higher degree, when there is a comparison of two nouns. It is called Comparative Degree. (-er is

added to the basic Adjective)

In sentence (iii) the adjective ‘strongest’ refers to the highest degree of comparison of one with more than two nouns. It is called Superlative

Degree. (-est is added to the basic Adjective)

Complete the table of degrees of comparison.

Positive  Compa­rative  Super­lative

(1) great – greater – greatest

(2) famous  – more famous  – most famous

(3) easy – easier – easiest

(4) bad – worse – worst

(5) poor  – poorer  – poorest

(6) lazy –  lazier  – laziest

(7) little – less – least

(8) worthy – worthier – worthiest

(9) popular  – more popular – most popular

Complete the following :

Dick lived in a ______.

small village in the south of England

_____ treated Dick unkindly.

Many of the villagers

The innocent belief ________.

that the streets of London were paved with gold made Dick decide to go to London

The carter asked Dick _______.

if he was running away from home

Describe the hardships that Dick I faced on arriving in London.

Dick arrived in London just before ; nightfall. He had no place to sleep, and he finally slept in the corner of a narrow lane. The following morning, Dick woke ( up feeling cold, miserable and hungry. He j begged for food, but people shouted at him | and hit him angrily on his head. He finally collapsed and lay there, too weak to look further for food.

He thought people might treat him more kindly if he were rich. (Identify the modal auxiliary and state its function.)

might-indicates possibility

All he could see were dirty streets and lots of unfriendly people.

(Rewrite using ‘nothing’.)

He could see nothing but dirty streets and lots of unfriendly people.

When Dick begged for food, people shouted at him and beat him. Do you think this is right?

of course it is not right. We ; should have sympathy when people beg for something, not get angry with them. They must be having a strong reason for begging, of course, if they are lazy, do not work and then beg, it is wrong. Even then, we must not beat them or shout at them.

Complete the following:

Mr. Fitzwarren favoured Dick by ______.

ordering the cook to take him into the kitchen, feed him and then find some work for him

Dick had to face two difficulties in Mr. Fitzwarren’s house. They were:

(i) the attic where he slept was overrun by rats and mice, preventing him from sleeping.

(ii) the cook was bad-tempered and shouted and screamed at Dick, scolding him and hitting him with a wooden spoon even when he was working as hard as he could.

The cat proved to be very useful because _____.

it chased away all the rats and mice, allowing Dick to sleep peacefully

Dick had fallen in front of a house belonging to a rich merchant. (Rewrite using the simple past tense of the underlined verb.)

Dick fell in front of a house belonging to a rich merchant.

Dick was able to sleep peacefully.

(Rewrite using the verb ‘slept’.)

Dick slept peacefully.

Personal Response:

What do Mr. Fitzwarren’s actions tell us about him?

Mr. Fitzwarren’s actions tell us that he was a kind-hearted and just man.

He did not abuse Dick or hit him as the others had done. He offered Dick a home and a living in return for helping the cook with all the pots and pans in the kitchen.

I can put up with a few scoldings from the cook.

Dick

No, it must be his.

Mr. Fitzwarren

Only my cat.

Dick

Let me put something in for him.

Alice

Fill in the blanks:

Dick walked as far as ________.

Holloway

The first of November is _______.

All Saints’ Day

Dick went back to _____.

Mr. Fitzwarren’s house

Mr. Fitzwarren was sending a ship to the _____ to trade.

African coast

’“Explain in your own words what inspired Dick to return to Mr. Fitzwarren’s home.

When Dick sat down on a stone to rest, he heard the church bells ringing. As he listened, it seemed that they were ringing a message for him, telling him that he should go back home, and calling him the Mayor of London.

According to you, did Dick do the right thing by running away from Mr. Fitzwarren’s house because of the cook?

No, I don’t think that Dick did the right thing. Mr. Fitzwarren was a good man, and Dick was making a decent living. He should have tried to win the cook over and solve his difficulties. If he had run away, he may not have got another job and may have had to beg. Nothing is gained by running away from problems; we must face them and solve them.

Write whether the following statements are True or False:

Dick was happy to send his cat on the ship.

False

The cat caught plenty of mice and rats.

True

The king was rude to the captain.

False

The queen knew all about cats.

False

Pick out two adverbs ending in ‘-ly’ from the passage, and write the adjectives in them.

Adverbs-immediately, normally, Adjectives in them-immediate, normal

Do you think that all the animals are 1 important to the environment?

Yes, all the animals are certainly j important to the environment. They all have their own place and own duties. ; For example, hawks and eagles control the population of mice, rats and snakes. Lions and tigers keep the number of deer, buffaloes and other such animals in check, j Every animal is important in its own way.

Write the following sentences in the correct order of occurrence in the passage:

Dick was knighted by the king and became Sir Richard Whittington.

Dick was elected the Mayor of London.

The king paid ten times the sum for the cat.

“I would give great wealth to own this animal,” said the queen.

Answer:

“I would give great wealth to own this animal,” said the queen.

The king paid ten times the sum for the cat.

Dick was elected the Mayor of London.

Dick was knighted by the king and became Sir Richard Whittington.

Give reasons:

The queen was afraid of the cat.

The queen was afraid of the cat because she had seen how fiercely it had attacked the rats and the mice.

How much did the king pay for the cat?

The king paid ten times the sum for the cat that he had paid for the whole cargo from Mr. Fitzwarren’s ship.

Pick out the verbs from the following sentences and state their tense :

The captain showed Mr. Fitzwarren the gold and jewels he had brought from Barbary.

Mr. Fitzwarren then paid him all: the money he had received for the cat.

Answers

showed – simple past tense; had brought – past perfect tense

paid – simple past tense; had received – past perfect tense

What message does this story bring j out for youngsters?

The message that this story brings out for youngsters is that we must S not run away from difficulties but face > them bravely.

Pick out two compound words from the lesson.

Two compound words : household, nightfall

Use the adverb ’immediately’ in your own sentence :

The teacher immediately asked the tired girl to sit down.

Find out four hidden words from : the given word : (Each word should have at least 3 letters.)

successful

successful : success, self, fuel, fuse

Use the following word and its homophone in two separate sentences :ate

The little boy ate the cake very quickly,

He was eight years old when he got a new cycle.

Underline the adjectives from the following sentence :

He was not only famous, but he was popular too, for he always helped the poor ; with his money.

He was not only famous, but he was popular too, for he always helped the poor with his money.

Pick out the conjunction in the following sentence :

Dick work up cold, miserable and very hungry.

and

Punctuate :

alas yes came the reply the country is suffering from a plague of rats and mice

“Alas, yes!” came the reply. “The country is suffering from a plague of rats and mice.”

Pick out the direct and indirect objects:

He gave me a hundred rupee note.

Direct object – a hundred-rupee note

Indirect object – me

Use the following word as a noun and a verb in two separate sentences :

sleep

We should get at least 8 hours of sleep daily, (noun)

I sleep at 10 pm daily, (verb)

 1.3 The Pilgrim 

Textbook Questions and Answers

Make groups and discuss the following using the given points:

What fatal dangers/problems did mankind face centuries ago, but are no longer a threat today?

(Points : wild animals – lack of food – certain diseases – climate etc.)

Name a few scientists/explorers/ social reformers / inventors / discoverers, who spent most of their lives to find solutions to some major problems/ setbacks that mankind faced.

(Points : Alexander Fleming, Edison, Ronald Ross, Christopher Columbus, Wright brothers, Raja Ram Mohan Roy, Galileo, Marie Curie, Savitribai Phule, Babasaheb Ambedkar, etc.)

Did they themselves suffer from those problems/setbacks?

(Points : most did not)

What inspired them to spend the best part of their lives to research and share their findings?

(Points : a passion for well-being of ! mankind – personal goals and aims – interest in the subject – curiosity – the urge to improve society and help others – etc.)

2. Read and understand the following poetic devices:

(A) If two or more words in the same line convey the some meaning, the Figure of Speech in thut line is called Tautology.

For example: It brought joy and cheer.

They groaned with aches and pains.

(B) ‘Poets often change the proper grammatical order of words in the ¡inc of a poem, in order to make the lines rhyme or to emphasize upon something. The Figure of Speech in such lines is called inersion’ or Anastrophe.’

For example: Up came the sun. Down the hill, it flowed.

(C) When a question is asked in order to create a dramatic effect and not to get an answer, in a line of the poem, the Figure of Speech used is called

Interrogation / Rhetorical Questions:

For example: What is this life, if full of care?

When can their glory fade?

The entire poem is metaphorical (Implied comparison).

Match the words in Column A with what they imply in Column B.

(1) pilgrim – a dutiful man

(2) journey – life

(3) evening or close of day – old age

(4) chasm, deep and wide – threat to life

(5) building a bridge – solving a problem /getting rid of a threat to life

(6) pitfall – trap

(7) close of day – death

Answer in your own words.

Why did the old man have no need to build the bridge, across the chasm?

The old pilgrim had already crossed the chasm and would never pass that way again. Hence, the old man had no need to build the bridge across the chasm.

What explanation did he give to the fellow- pilgrim for his thoughtful deed?

The old man said that though he had already crossed the chasm, there was a fair-haired youth who was about to pass that way. The old man was experienced and was not afraid of the chasm. However, the young man was inexperienced and the chasm could prove to be a pitfall for him.

He too had to cross it at twilight, and the old man was building a bridge to help this youth.

What message does the poem convey to all of us?

The message that the poem conveys to us is that we must be generous ) and unselfish and think of others. We must try to help others who are not as experienced as we are.

Note the rhyming words in the first stanza:

way – gray I wide-side- tide / dim -him.

Poet has used a deliberate pattern of lines that rhyme with other lines in the poem or

the stanza. This pattern can be identified by giving the rhyming pairs of words the

same letter of the alphabet.

For example: l stanza of this poem has the pattern AABCCBB

So, AABCCBB is called the Rhyme Scheme of the 1stanza of the poem

‘The Pilgrim’.

Answer:

(i) the 2nd stanza : ddaabb

(ii) the 3rd stanza: eeaaffcc

Now write the Rhyme Scheme of the 2stanza and 3 stanza

Remember that a line in the 2d or stanza may rhyme with lines in P’ stanza,

too. You may use the sanie letter of the alphabet as used in the 1 stanza.

Answer:

(i) Came at evening, cold and gray. To a chasm, deep and vast and wide.

(The correct prose order Is: Came on a cold and gray evening to a deep and wide and vast chasm.)

(ii) To the fair-haired youth. may a pitfall be.

(The correct prose order is : To the fair-haired youth, It may be a pitfall.)

 Find two lines from the poem that j contain the figure of speech ‘Inversion’.

(i) Came at evening, cold and gray, To a chasm, deep and vast and wide.

(The correct prose order is : Came on j a cold and gray evening to a deep and wide and vast chasm.)

(ii) To the fair-haired youth, may a pitfall be.

(The correct prose order is : To the fair-haired youth, it may be a pitfall.)

Pick out one line each that contains the following figures of speech:

(Note: Refer to the next page for the explanation.)

Tautology:

To a chasm, deep and vast and wide.

The words vast and wide have similar meaning.

Personification:

A pilgrim, going a lone highway.

The highway is given the human quality of being lonely.

Interrogation:

Why waste your time in building here?

A question is asked to emphasize an idea.

Imagine that you are the fellow – pilgrim and you wish to share your experience of the incident in the poem. Write a short article about it for a magazine / journal. Also convey what change it has brought in our life.

Although he had already crossed the chasm, the pilgrim ________.

paused and built a bridge across the waters.

The old pilgrim built the bridge to to __________.

help the Inexperienced youth who was following on the same path.

The fellow pilgrim was puzzled.

The old pilgrim had already crossed the chasm and would never pass that way again. Yet, he was building a bridge across the chasm. The fellow pilgrim could not understand the reason for this and was hence puzzled.

What/Who could be the third pilgrim?

The third pilgrim could be a young, inexperienced youth.

Analysis/Appreciation Of A Poem

(1) Poem and poet: ‘The Pilgrim’ by Will Allan Dromgoole

(2) Theme: Those who have faced the difficulties of life successfully and are experienced must be unselfish and help those who are inexperienced and may face difficulties.

(3) Tone: Serious.

(4) Structure and stanzas: Stanzas of unequal length; 1st stanza – 7 lines; 2nd stanza – 6 lines; 3rd stanza – 8 lines;

(5) Rhyme and Rhythm: 1st stanza – AABCCBB; 2nd stanza – ddaabb; 3rd stanza – eeaaffcc

(6) Language and Imagery: The narrative is direct with some archaic language used; there is a strong underlying message. The descriptions are vivid.

(7) Figures of Speech: Inversion, Tautology, Personification, Interrogation.

Writing Skills:

“Imagine that you are the fellow-pilgrim and you wish to share your experience of the incident in the poem. Write a short j article about it for a magazine/journal.

Also convey what change it has brought in your life.

The Turning Point

There are certain incidents in one’s life which have an impact on a person and prove to be a turning point in their lives. Let me narrate the incident which shook me awake.

I was on a hike in some hilly places when I had to cross a deep ravine which had a gushing river flowing through it. I managed to cross without any difficulty to my surprise, an old man ahead of me also crossed it nimbly. As I was about to continue on my way, I saw the old man turn back and build a rough bridge across the water. It took a lot of effort and I stood by wondering. Finally, I asked him, “Sir, it is late evening and you Eire not likely to cross this way again. Why are you building a bridge now?”

The old man’s answer floored me. “You confused child,” he said with a smile. “I have completed my journey – true. But behind me is a young boy who is inexperienced.

He will soon reach this chasm, and he may have difficulty in crossing it. I am building this bridge to help him.”

I stood still, amazed at the generosity and unselfishness of the old man, who was putting in the time and effort to help someone he did not even know. He was building a bridge that he would never ever cross.

This incident left an indelible mark on my mind. Since that time, I always try to help others even though it may not be beneficial to me in any way. However, it gives me something immeasurable – peace and happiness. Try it out, won’t you? (indelible – permanent; unfading)

 1.4 Revathi’s Musical Plants

 Textbook Questions and Answers

Warming Up

1. Discuss in groups and share your answers with the class:

Can you name the famous musician in Emperor Akbar’s court, who could perform miracles, when he sang different Ragas?

Tansen

What miracles could he perform with his music?

It is said that Tansen could create rain and fire just through his music. If he sang the Raga Deepak, the area around ; him would catch fire. If he sang Megha ; Malhar, it would begin to rain. If he sang an evening raga during daytime, the sunlight i would diminish and it would look like it j was dusk already.

What impact does music have on ! human beings?

Music can make human beings happy, sad, nostalgic, mournful, etc. It can soothe them when they are stressed. It can also convey a lot of emotions like love, anger, etc. that may not be conveyed easily through words.

Do you think that music can have an impact on animals, birds and even | plants?

Yes, definitely. It has already been proved by Jagdish Chandra Bose that plants respond to music. It is said that cows give more milk if they listen to good music. Our folklore is full of instances of snakes swaying to the music played by snake charmers.

2. Affirmative and Negative sentences:

Read the sentences below and spot the difference in their framing:

1. (a) I could not complete the work.

(b) I failed to complete the work.

2. (a) There is no sense in what you say.

(b) There is hardly any sense in what you say.

3. (a) He said he wouldn’t go.

(b) He refused to go.

You will observe that sentences marked (a) and (b) convey the same meaning. But in all sentences marked (a) there are negative words (no, not, wouldn’t) whereas the ones marked (b) do not have them.

Negative words are those that convey a negative meaning.

For example: never, no, neither, nor, not, cannot, don’t, isn’t, nothing etc.

If a sentence contains Negative words, it is called a Negative Sentence.

If a sentence does not contain any Negative word, it is called Affirmative sentence.

Note: While interchanging Negative and Affirmative sentence, the meaning and tense must not change.

You must use Negative words in the sentence, while transforming from Affirmative to Negative.

You may use words like hardly I fail to I refuse / reject / avoid / prohibit / without / ban etc., while changing Negative sentences to Affirmative.

Say whether the following sentences are Affirmative or Negative ones:

We must avoid hurting others.

Affirmative

She didn’t offer me any help.

Negative

Never give up hope.

Negative

You must keep away from bad company.

Affirmative

There is nothing in the bag.

Negative

Entry is prohibited, without permission.

Affirmative

1. Read the story and complete the following:

At first, Revathi’s plants did not look normal and healthy because of _______.

they had pale green leaves and their growth was stunted due to insufficient sunlight.

When Revathi played her favourite raga, the plants began to move because _____.

they liked the music she was playing.

Revathi’s grief knew no bounds because _________.

she could not find her pot of balsam plants.

Revathi was confident of proving her ownership of her pot of plants because________.

she knew that her plants loved music and would respond to her favorite raga. They would bend their stems towards her, proving that they were hers.

Revathi won the prize for the ‘Best Plant’ because of ______.

her plants were the best looking and the healthiest.

2. Answer in your own words:

What did Revathi discover about her balsam plants?

Revathi discovered that her balsam plants were not only taller and healthier than the other balsam plants, but they had started flowering earlier too. The flowers were big and brightly coloured, and one of the plants had an unusual kind of flower. She also discovered that while the plants liked her favourite tune, they did not like the tune with a quick rhythm.

Why did Revathi decide to keep her new knowledge ‘a secret’?

Revathi decided to keep her new knowledge a secret perhaps because she felt that it was something only between her and her beloved plants, whom she considered her friends. or perhaps she felt that nobody would believe her if she mentioned that her plants were music lovers.

How did the plants respond when Revathi played her favourite tune?

When Revathi played her favourite tune on her violin, the plants all bent their stems towards her even though there was no breeze.

How did the plants react to the fast rhythmic music?

When Revathi played a tune with a quick rhythm, the plants turned away from her as though they did not like what she was playing.

How did Revathi prove to the organisers of the competition that the plants truly belonged to her?

When Revathi played her favourite tune, the plants bent their stems towards her as though they wanted to touch her in their happiness. This convinced the organisers that the plants were hers.

What helped Revathi to claim her plants her belief in magic or the belief in her convictions? Explain your choice.

Her belief in her convictions helped Revathi to claim her plants. She was sure that her plants were music lovers and would respond to her favourite raga as they had done before. There was no magic involved. It was a fact.

 An ord chain consists of words of a certain category that begin with the letter, that the previous word has ended with.

Complete the word chain adding Four Nouns from the text.

Music → courtyard → ………

Answer:

music → courtyard → days → surprise → evening → grief.

Add the appropriate Prefix to make the following words opposite in meaning.

continue

possible

certain

definite

believe

important

place

known

regular

Answer:

Discontinue

Impossible

Uncertain

Indefinite

Disbelieve

Unimportant

Displace/Misplace

Unknown

Irregular

 Use the following expressions to make sentences of your own:

make up one’s mind

make up one’s mind – One should think carefully before one makes up one’s mind about anything important.

struck as odd

struck as odd: My friend’s continuous laughter on seeing her marks struck me as odd.

knew no bounds

knew no bounds: My joy knew no bounds when I saw the little puppy on my bed.

flash across one’s mind

Flash across one’s mind: When Sonam saw the tears in Dia’s eyes, it flashed across her mind that there was some problem.

to surmise

to surmise: When the teacher saw Naomi crying, she surmised that she had failed ¡n the test.

not to deter

not to deter: The loss of a leg did not deter Sudha Chandran from dancing.

4. Imagine there is a ‘Best Plant’ Competition in the locality /colony where you live. Frame a Notice about the same, in the form of an attracti’e poster.

Cover the following points.

Name of the organisation.

Name of the Contest.

Day, Date, Venue.

Who can participate.

Prizes.

Contact details for further enquiry.

5. Types of sentences:

Study the following sentences.

Set (A)

Revathi was a student of music.

The flowers were big and brightly coloured; indeed.

They were requested to believe her.

All the above sentences are statements or assertions, and called Assertie or Declarative sentences.

Set (B)

Wasn’t Revathi a student of music?

How can we doubt her?

Do plants have ears?

The above sentences in Set (B) are Questions. They are called Interrogatie sentences.

Set (C)

Please believe me.

Let us rutch the fun.

Sit straight.

Excuse me.

In Set (C) the sentences are either requests, appeals, commands, suggestions etc. Such sentences are called Imperative Sentences.

Set (D)

How big and bright the flowers were!

What a surprise!

Ah, what beautiful music that is!

Set (D) has sentences that express strong feelings. They are called Exclamatory Sentences

State the kinds of the following sentences:

How happily she played the violin!

They all bent towards her.

Don’t play that quick tune.

She kept the knowledge a secret.

How can plants enjoy music?

How proudly did Revathi carry home her prize!

What could have token my plants?

The organisers were not convinced.

6. Make the following Negative using the negative words given:

There were a few potted plants in the courtyard. (not many)

There were not many potted plants in the courtyard.

They looked healthier than the other plants. (not as healthy as)

The other plants did not look as healthy as these plants.

She refused to share her secret. (would not)

She would not share her secret.

She went around asking everyone about her plants. (No one / did not)

She did not omit anyone when she went around asking about her plants.

Make the following Affirmative using the words given:

There was no breeze. (hardly)

There was hardly any breeze.

Their ridicule did not deter her. (failed to)

Their ridicule failed to deter her.

Her mother knew nothing about it. (denied)

Her mother denied knowing anything about it.

She did not give up. (refuse to)

She refused to give up.

Imagine that Revathi’s father is abroad on business and she wishes to convey the news of her prize-winning plants. Draft un email for the above subject.

Hi Dad,

How are you? How is your trip? Have you done a lot of sightseeing the past weekend? Please don’t forget to send some pics. I wish we could all have been in Paris with you.

I have some excellent news for you. Do you know those potted balsam plants in the corner of our courtyard? Well, I took one pot and gave it a lot of love and care. And guess what! It won the first prize in the ‘Best Plant’ contest in our colony!

But more important than that, Dad, is the fact that I have discovered that my plants love music, especially my favourite raga, Mohanam. They bend towards me when

I play that raga on my violin, and move I away when I play some music with a quick rhythm. No, it is not my imagination; I proved it to the organisers of the contest, and they have praised me for my discovery.I They will certainly talk to you about it when you come back.

Dad, I want to prove my discovery to you too. Please come back soon. Rest everything is fine. Lots of hugs and kisses from all of us.

Revathi.

Fill in the blanks:

The instrument Revathi played was the _____.

violin

Revathi’s favourite raga was ______.

Mohanam

One day, she saw that there was a pot of ______ plants near the wall.

balsam

Revathi decided to participate in the ______ contest to be held in her colony.

Best Plant

Use the expression ‘to surmise’ to make a sentence of your own :

When the teacher saw Naomi crying, she surmised that she had failed the test.

Pick out the conjunctions in the following sentences:

Her mother said she knew nothing either about the pot or the plants.

either…or

The flowers were big and brightly coloured and one of the plants had an unusual kind of flower.

and, and.

Complete the table and write who said the given words and to whom:

The Words Who said To whom

(1) Do plants have ears? The organisers Revathi

(2) I know my plants. Revathi The organisers

Give reasons:

What shock did Revathi receive on prize distribution day?

On prize distribution day, Revathi saw her lost pot of plants on a bench, with the name of a distant neighbour of hers as the competitor. She got a shock when she saw this.

Explain how Revathi planned to convince the organisers that the plants were hers.

Revathi knew that her plants were music lovers. She planned to play : the violin and show the organizers how her plants responded to her music and bent their stems towards her. This would convince them that the plants were hers.

The organisers refused to believe that Revathi’s plants were music lovers.

The organisers said that plants did not have ears like ours to listen to music. They had never heard of plants enjoying music. Hence, they refused to believe that Revathi’s plants were music lovers.

Punctuate the sentence:

they asked her do plants have ears like ours to enjoy your music

They asked her, “Do plants have ears like ours to enjoy your music”.

Personal Response:

What would have been your reaction if you had been in Revathi’s place, and seen someone else’s name on your pot of plants? What would you have done?

I would have been furious. I would have gone up to the person whose name was on my plants and shouted at her and tried to make her admit her theft. I would also have complained loudly to the organisers, hoping to shame her into admitting her guilt.

Rewrite the following sentences in the correct order of occurrence in the passage:

The organisers were stunned.

The neighbour accepted that she had stolen Revathi’s plants.

Revathi started playing her favourite raga.

Everyone applauded Revathi.

Answer:

Revathi started playing her favourite raga.

The organisers were stunned.

Everyone applauded Revathi.

The neighbour accepted that she had stolen Revathi’s plants.

No one suspected that the neighbour had stolen the plants.

The neighbour was a regular participant In the competition. Hence, no one suspected that she had stolen the plants.

What is the happy end?

In the end, the neighbour admitted  that she had stolen the plants, and that the plants were actually Revathi’s. The plants got the first prize. Everyone applauded Revathi’s discovery. Thus, the end of the story is a happy one.

Write the noun forms of the following words :

dejected

favourite

applauded

submitted

Answer:

dejection

favour/ favouritism

applause

submission

Write the adjective forms of the following words:

argument

forgot

responding

proudly

Answer:

argumentative

forgettable/forgetful

responsive

proud

Underline the adverbs in the following sentence:

She felt very dejected but was determined to win her plants back.

She felt very dejected but was I determined to win her plants back.

Underline the conjunctions in the following sentence :

The authorities decided that Revathi’s plants deserved the first prize as they were the best-looking and healthy.

Answer:

The authorities decided that Revathi’s plants deserved the first prize as they were the best-looking and healthy.

Personal Response:

What helped Revathi to claim her plants-her belief in magic or her belief in her convictions? Explain your choice.

Her belief in her convictions helped Revathi to claim her plants. She was sure that her plants were music lovers and would respond to her favourite raga as they had done before. There was no magic involved. It was a fact.

Grammar

Say whether the following sentences are Assertive, Interrogative, Imperative or Exclamatory:

How happily she played the violin!

Exclamatory

They all bent towards her.

Assertive

Don’t play that quick tune.

Imperative

She kept the knowledge a secret.

Assertive

How can plants enjoy music?

Interrogative

How proudly did Revathi carry home her prize!

Exclamatory

Who could have taken my plants?

Interrogative

The organisers were not convinced.

Assertive

Do as directed:

Prepare a word register of about 4 words from the lesson for ‘music’.

Music – rhythm, tune, violin, raga

Use the phrase ‘pulled up’ in your own sentence :

The watchman was pulled up for sleeping when he was on duty.

Spot the error and correct the sentence :That evening, all her friends was going to the prize distribution ceremony.

That evening, all her friends were going to the prize distribution ceremony.

Find out four hidden words from the given word : (Each word should have at least 3 letters.) displayed

displayed: display, play, plea, leap

Make a pair of sentences to show the difference between two meanings of the following word (homographs) : stem

(i) The stem of a plant holds it up to sunlight

(ii) “All your health problems stem from poor eating habits,” said the doctor to Roshan.

Underline the adverbs in the following sentence :

They were slowly moving their stems, bending slightly towards her.

They were slowly moving their stems, bending slightly towards her.

Pick out the prepositions in the following sentence :

She had been busy inside the house and had not been to the courtyard.

She had been busy inside the house and had not been to the courtyard.

Rewrite using the verb form of the underlined word :

She kept her knowledge a secret.

She kept what she knew a secret.

Rewrite using the word ‘normally’ in the sentence:

Plants need light for normal growth.

Plants need light to grow normally.

She saw all her plants turn away from her as though they did not like what she was playing.

(Rewrite as an affirmative sentence.)

She saw all her plants turn away from her as though they disliked what she was playing.