Summary & Question-answers of The Chapter:5-Quality with the concerned video

Quality Summary In English

Soul of the Chapter 

Gessler Brothers and the Art of Boot Making
The author had known the shoemaker for many years because he used to make boots for his father. Mr Gessler was the shoemaker who lived with his elder brother in their shop in London. The shop didn’t have any signs apart from the name of the Gessler Brothers. He used to make boots only on orders. Once the author questioned Mr Gessler if it wasn’t awful to make those shoes perfectly fitting into the feet they were meant for. The man answered with a heavy German accent that it is an art.

Mr Gessler will be engrossed in his boot making art most of the time and won’t talk much with his customers. He strongly admired every piece of material he used to work with. The boots made by Gessler brothers were of supreme quality and lasted very long. But on one occasion the author had a different experience. He complained about it to Mr Gessler. To this the old man promised that he will repair the shoe and if couldn’t he will return the money to the author.

Nir Gessler’s Grief and the Hard Times is his life

On one occasion while placing an order for a shoe, the author was a bit absent-minded. He was wearing a pair of boots bought in an emergency from a large shop. Mr Gessler looked carefully and pressed at a point where the left boot wasn’t comfortable. With a sad face he commented that it hurts the customers but still the big firms don’t have any self-respect. They lure customers with their advertisements and not with their works. Because of this Mr Gessler was losing on business. The author has heard such things for the first time from Mr Gessler he felt bad and ordered many pairs of boots instantly. After several months he went to their shop again, but this time he mistook Mr Gessler for his elder brother. After a while he realised his mistake and learnt that the elder brother had passed away. He again ordered many pair of shoes and soon after that he left for abroad. After coming back, he went to his favourite boot shop again. This time Mr Gessler looked more aged this time, only a year had passed but from his face it appeared as though he has covered a journey of a decade.

The Artist’s End but with a Bitter Truth

Mr Gessler failed to recognise the author. The author as usual placed his orders and this time the boots were better than ever. The author one evening went personally to thank Mr Gessler for such a splendid work. But the name plate was missing from the shop. He found an Englishman inside. The man informed him that Mr Gessler had passed away and they have taken up the shop. The man further added that Mr Gessler died of starvation.

The man used to make all the boots himself, he never allowed anyone else to touch them. He used the finest quality leather and worked hard day and night to complete the orders in time. He made the best boots in London with the finest leather yet he lost it to competition. Everything that he earned went on paying rent for the shop and on buying leathers. He skipped his meals working for hours for each pair of boots.

Page No: 78
Working with the Text
Answer the following questions.

1. What was the author’s opinion about Mr Gessler as a bootmaker?

Ans: According to the author, Mr. Gessler was the best shoemaker in the city. He made only what was ordered and what he made never failed to fit. The boot made by him yet seems mysterious and wonderful. He was the perfect artist in this job.

2. Why did the author visit the shop so infrequently?

Ans: The boots made by Mr. Gessler lasted terribly longer than the usual like having something beyond temporary. Therefore, the author visited the shop so infrequently.

3. What was the effect on Mr Gessler of the author’s remark about a certain pair of boots?

Ans: On author’s remark about a certain pair of boots, Mr Gessler surprisingly looked at him for a time to withdraw or qualify his statement. After that, he asked the author to get the pair back and if he could do nothing of them, he would take them off his bill.

4. What was Mr Gessler’s complaint against “big firms”?

Ans: Mr Gessler’s complaint against “big firms” that they didn’t have self respect. They got their business by advertisement not by work. Every year, the sale of Mr Gessler is getting down because of them and soon he will be left with no job.

5. Why did the author order so many pairs of boots? Did he really need them?

Ans: The author got shocked and filled with sorrow when he knew about the death of Mr Gessler’s elder brother. In order to help him, he ordered so many pairs of boots. No, he did’t really need them.

Working with Language
I. Study the following phrases and their meanings. Use them appropriately to complete the sentences that follow.
look after: take care of
look down on: disapprove or regard as inferior
look in (on someone): make a short visit
look into: investigate
look out: be careful
look up: improve
look up to: admire
(i) After a very long spell of heat, the weather is …… at last.
(ii) We have no right to ……. people who do small jobs.
(iii) Nitin has always ……… his uncle, who is a self-made man.
(iv) The police are …….. the matter thoroughly.
(v) If you want to go out, I will ……. the children for you.
(vi) I promise to …… on your brother when I visit Lucknow next.
(vi) …… when you are crossing the main road.

Ans: (i) After a very long spell of heat, the weather is looking up at last.
(ii) We have no right to look down on people who do small jobs.
(iii) Nitin has always looked up to his uncle, who is a self-made man.
(iv) The police are looking into the matter thoroughly.
(v) If you want to go out, I will look after the children for you.
(vi) I promise to look in on your brother when I visit Lucknow next.
(vii) Look out when you are crossing the main road.

Summary & Question-answers of The Poem:4-The Last Bargain with the concerned video

Summary of The Last Bargain Poem

“The Last Bargain” by Rabindranath  Tagore is a sixteen line poem composed in blank verse conveying a strong message well needed for the materialistic world that no power, money or lust can make us happy. Simplicity and innocence are the most supreme of all.

The poem “The Last Bargain” opens with the speaker walking on the stone paved road and asking out to hire him. The first one who wants to hire him was a king. He came in his chariot and held out his hand to the speaker telling him that he wants to hire him with his power. However, the king’s power counted for nothing and he leaves the place in his chariot.

During the midday, there was an old man with a bag of gold. The speaker wandered along a twisted lane comprising of houses with shut doors. The old man tells the speaker that he would hire him with his money. He measured the gold coins which he carried in his bag but the speaker rejects all his money. The speaker turns away all the money because money will soon be spent and money cannot buy us everlasting happiness.

In the evening, the garden fences were full of flowers. A fair maid comes out and tells the speaker that she would hire him with a smiling face. But her smile faded away and she melted into tears and returns into the dark leaving the speaker alone.

Finally, the bargain is struck by a child who hires the speaker with nothing. While the sun was glowing on the sands and the sea waves lashed along the shores, a child was seen playing with shells. The child raised his head and smiled as if he already knew the speaker. The bargain of the child makes the speaker a free man. Therefore, power, money or lust could not free the speaker but power of innocence had the ability to break away his bondage. The child had the power to enslave him.

Page No 75:

Question 1:

Who is the speaker in the poem?

Answer:

The speaker in the poem is a man who is looking for work.

Question 2:

“The king, sword in hand” suggests

(i) wealth

(ii) power

(iii) more power than wealth

Mark the appropriate item in the context of stanza 1.

Answer:

“The king, sword in hand” suggests power.

Question 3:

The old man offered the speaker a lot of money.

Why did he turn down the offer?

Answer:

The old man offered the speaker a lot of money. However, he turned it down because he realised that money cannot give him what he actually desires. He had not till then realised that what he actually desired was happiness. When the old man was counting the gold coins, the speaker realised that once the money was finished or the work the old man wanted to hire him for was done, he would again be out of work. More than that, he would be bound in this bargain. It did not satisfy him and therefore, he turned it down.

Question 4:

Find in the poem, lines that match the following. Read both one after another.

(i) I have nothing to give you

Except goodwill and cheer.

(ii) Her happiness was no more

Than sorrow in disguise.

(iii) The king’s might was not worth much.

Answer:

(i) ‘I hire you with nothing.’

(ii) ‘Her smile paled and melted into tears’.

(iii) ‘But his power counted for naught’.

Question 5:

How did the speaker feel after talking to the child on the beach?

Answer:

The speaker felt free after talking to the child on the beach. The child was playing with shells and he ‘hired’ the speaker for nothing. This showed that he did not want any work from the speaker. In turn, he offered to give him nothing but happiness and cheer. This bargain brought him what he could not find with the king, old man, or the fair maid. This was because power, money, and beauty all go away, but happiness is something that stays and does not cost anything either. Happiness is the true asset of any human being. Power, money, and beauty cannot buy everlasting happiness.So the speaker was not bound with the child by any terms or conditions. Hence, he felt free after striking that bargain with the child.

Summary & Question-answers of The Poem:4-Amanda with the concerned video

Summary  of  the Poem Amanda

The Poem Amanda by ROBIN KLEIN depicts a child’s feelings about the restrictions his parents put on him/her. Children feel their parents don’t let them do many things they want to do.  

In the poem there is a girl named Amanda who feels her mom nags her too much. The mother scolds Amanda for biting her nails, hunching her shoulders, and not sitting straight. Amanda does not like it.  

On the contrary Amanda lives in her dream world. In her fantasy she feels like a mermaid swimming freely and joyously in the light green sea.  

The mother drags Amanda out of her dream by asking whether she has completed her homework or not. She also asks her whether she has tidied her room; she tells her to clean and shine her shoes.  

Amanda has another reverie in which she herself finds as an orphan roaming freely, barefoot in golden silence and uninterrupted freedom.  

Her reverie is broken by the mother’s nagging complaints. The mother instructs Amanda not to eat chocolates because of her acnes and pimples. She also scolds her for not looking at her when she is talking to her.  

Amanda is enjoying another dream; she fantasizes herself as Rapunzel living peacefully in her tower; she feels she will never let down her hair from the tower.  

Her mother again reprimands her for sulking and being moody. And the mother feels others will think that she is always pestering her.  

Summary  of Poem Amanda

Poem Amanda by ROBIN KLEIN depicts a child’s feelings about the restrictions his parents put on him/her. Children feel their parents don’t let them do many things they want to do.  

In the poem there is a girl named Amanda who feels her mom nags her too much. The mother scolds Amanda for biting her nails, hunching her shoulders, and not sitting straight. Amanda does not like it.  

On the contrary Amanda lives in her dream world. In her fantasy she feels like a mermaid swimming freely and joyously in the light green sea.  

The mother drags Amanda out of her dream by asking whether she has completed her homework or not. She also asks her whether she has tidied her room; she tells her to clean and polish her shoes.  

Amanda has another reverie in which she herself as an orphan roaming freely, barefoot in golden silence and uninterrupted freedom.  

Her reverie is broken by the mother’s nagging complaints. The mother instructs Amanda not to eat chocolates because of her acnes and pimples. She also scolds her for not looking at her when she is talking to her.  

Amanda is enjoying another dream; she fantasizes herself as Rapunzel living peacefully in her tower; she feels she will never let down her hair from the tower.  

Her mother again reprimands her for sulking and being moody. And the mother feels others will think that she is always pestering her.

1. How old do you think Amanda is? How do you know this?

Ans: Amnada is about 9−10 years old. She is school going girl. The things that her mother scolds her for are all typical instructions given to a 9 or 10 year old girl.

2. Who do you think is speaking to her?

Ans: Her mother is speaking to her.

3. Why are Stanzas 2, 4 and 6 given in parenthesis?

Ans: Stanzas 2, 4 and 6 are given in parenthesis because they are the thoughts of the child in between the instructions that she is being given by her mother, which are given in stanzas 1, 3 and 5. The scolding by the mother and the child’s thoughts are placed in alternate stanzas by the poet.

4. Who is the speaker in stanzas 2, 4 and 6? Do you think this speaker is listening to the speaker in stanzas 1, 3, 5 and 7?

Ans: In stanzas 2, 4 and 6, the speaker is the child, Amanda. No, she is not listening to her mother who is the speaker in stanzas 1, 3 and 5.She is lost in her own dreams and doesn’t listen to what is being said to her.

5. What could Amanda do if she were a mermaid?

Ans: If Amanda were a mermaid, she would drift slowly on a languid emerald sea. She would be the sole inhabitant of the relaxed green sea and would move slowly on it.

6. Is Amanda an orphan? Why does she say so?

Ans: No, Amanda is not an orphan. She says so because she wants to be alone. She wants to roam around in the street alone and pattern dust with her bare feet. She finds silence ‘golden’ and freedom ‘sweet’. It is for this reason that she calls herself an orphan.

7. Do you know the story of Rapunzel? Why does she want to be Rapunzel?

Ans: She wants to be Rapunzel because she wants to live alone. Rapunzel lived alone in a tall tower and had long beautiful hair. She was held captive by her grandmother, who came up the tower by climbing her long hair. The girl also wants to live alone in a tower as she would not have to care about anything as life in a tower would be tranquil, peaceful and rare. However, she also decided that she would never throw down her hair for anyone to come up as she wanted to live alone always.

8. What does the girl yearn for? What does this poem tell you about Amanda?

Ans: The girl yearns for a life of freedom. The poem tells us that she is an imaginative girl who is constantly nagged by her unimaginative parent.

9. Read the last stanza. Do you think Amanda is sulking and is moody?

Ans: No, Amanda is neither sulking, nor is she moody. She simply longs for her freedom. She wants to go out and play where she likes.

Summary & Question-answers of The Chapter:4-The Happy Prince with the concerned video

The Happy Prince Summary In English

Statue of the Happy Prince
There stood the statue of the Happy Prince on a tall column in the city. He was gilded all over. He had thin leaves of fine gold. He had two bright sapphires for eyes. A large ruby glowed on his sword hilt.

A little swallow sits on the statue
A little swallow came and sat on the statue. He decided to spend the night on it. But as he was going to sleep, a large drop of water fell on him. The swallow was amazed. There was no cloud, yet it rained. The second drop of water made the swallow decide to fly off. The third drop of water made him look at the statue. It was weeping.

The statue speaks out

The statue spoke to the swallow. It said that when it was alive, it did not know what tears were. His courtiers called him a Happy Prince. Now he sat very high. He saw the miseries of the city.

The swallow is sent to help a woman
The Happy Prince told the swallow that there lived a woman far away. She was a seamstress. She was embroidering flowers on the satin gown of the Queen’s maid of honour. The maid was to wear it at the next Court ball. In the bed, there lay her sick little boy. He was suffering from fever. The Happy Prince asked the swallow to pick the ruby from his sword hilt. He should give that to the woman.

The swallow helps the woman

First the swallow said that his friends had gone to Egypt. He was awaited in Egypt. But the happy Prince requested him to stay one night. The swallow agreed. He picked up the ruby and flew to the woman’s house. He put the ruby near the woman’s thimble. He also fanned the boy’s forehead. The boy felt a bit better. He sank into a deep slumber.

The swallow is asked again to help a play-wright

The swallow flew back to the Happy Prince. He felt warmer though it was cold. The Happy Prince told him that it was because he had done a good act. The swallow wanted to fly to Egypt. But the Happy Prince told him to stay there one more night. He told the swallow that he saw a playwright in a little room. He was trying to finish a play for the Director of the Theatre. But he was too cold to write. He was hungry also. He asked the swallow to pluck one sapphire from his eye and give that to the playwright.

The swallow returns to the Happy Prince
The playwright saw the sapphire. He was happy. Now he hoped to finish the play. The swallow went to the Happy Prince. He told him that he had come to bid him goodbye. But the Happy Prince asked him to stay one more night.

The swallow is sent to help the matchgirl

The Happy Prince told the swallow that there was a little matchgirl in the square below. All her matches had fallen in the gutter. Her father would beat her if she didn’t bring home some money. She was crying. He asked the swallow to pluck out the sapphire from his other eye and give that to her. The swallow flew with the sapphire. He put the sapphire into the little girl’s hand.

The swallow decides to live with the Happy Prince
The swallow flew back to the Happy Prince. He told the Prince that he would stay with him as he had gone blind. The Happy Prince asked him to fly over the city and tell him what he saw. He also told the swallow that the most marvellous thing was human suffering. And human misery was the greatest mystery.

The swallow reports what he sees

The swallow flew over the city. He saw hungry children. He also saw many poor people. The Happy Prince asked him to take leaf after leaf of the fine gold over his body and give it to them. The poor now laughed and the children played.

Winter sets in
Then there came the snow and then frost. Everything looked white. The poor little swallow grew colder and colder. But he didn’t leave the Happy Prince. However, he could no longer keep himself alive. He at last knew that he was going to die. The swallow asked the Prince to let him kiss his hand. The Prince told him that he was happy & he was going to Egypt. So he told him to kiss him on the lips. But the swallow told him that he was not going to Egypt. He was going to the house of Death. And he fell down dead.

The statue breaks and is melted
At that moment there appeared a crack in-side the statue. The heart of the Happy Prince broke into two. The dead swallow lay at its feet. The next morning the Mayor and the Town Councillors came that way. They looked at the statue. They declared that the Happy Prince was no longer beautiful. So he was no longer useful. Then they melted the statue in a furnace. But the broken heart didn’t melt. It was thrown away.

God asks for two most precious things

God asked one of His Angels to bring Him the two most precious things in the city. The Angel brought Him the leaden heart of the Happy Prince and the dead bird. God told that in the garden of Paradise the little bird would sing forever. The Happy Prince would praise Him forever.

Think About It

Question 1.
Why do the courtiers call the prince ‘the Happy Prince’ ? Is he really happy ? What does he see all around him ?
Or
Why do the courtiers call the prince “The Happy Prince” ? Is he really happy ? Why/why not ? (CBSE)
Answer.
‘The Happy Prince’ was a beautiful statue. The courtiers called him happy because there was no sorrow in the palace. But he is not happy at all. He sees misery of the people around him. This makes him sad. He wants to do something for them to make them happy.

Question 2.
Why does the Happy Prince send a ruby for the seamstress ? What does the swallow do in the seamstress’ house ?
Answer.
The seamstress’ little baby is ill. The baby wants oranges. But the seamstress has no money. The Happy Prince sends a ruby to help her.

Question 3.
For whom does the prince send the sapphires and why ? (CBSE)
Answer.
The Prince sends a sapphire for the young playwright. He has to finish a play for the Director of the Theatre. But he can’t do so. There is no fire in his grate. He is hungry also. He has fainted due to it. He also sends a sapphire for the match girl. All her matches had fallen in the gutter.

Question 4.
What does the swallow see when it flies over the city ? (CBSE)
Answer.
The swallow flew over the city. He saw the rich making merry in their beautiful houses. There were beggars sitting at the gates. He saw the white faces of the hungry children. He also saw the watchman asking two hungry boys to run off.

Question 5.
Why did the swallow not leave the prince and go to Egypt ?
Or
Why did the swallow not go to Egypt ? (CBSE)
Answer.
The swallow did what the Happy Prince had told him to do. He took out the sapphires from the statue of the Prince. He went blind due to this. So he couldn’t see. The swallow did not leave the Prince in his blindness. So he did not go to Egypt.

Question 6.
What are the precious things mentioned in the story ? Why are they precious ? (CBSE)
Answer.
These two precious things are: the heart of the Happy Prince and the dead swallow. They are precious because they have understood the misery of the people. They have also helped them. They sacrifice themselves for the sake of other people. To help others is the most precious thing in the world.

Summary & Question-answers of The Poem:4-Chivvy with the concerned video

Chivvy Summary In English

The poem ‘Chivvy’ is a catalogue of various do’s and don’ts that the grown-ups dictate to young children. The adults constantly give a list of instructions to the children about how to sit, how to talk, how to eat and so on.

The poem, however, indicates a passage of time when the young child has grown up and is incapable of taking a decision on his own. The same adults, then, chide the grown up child for not being able to think independently.

Page No: 70
Working with the Poem
1. Discuss these questions in small groups before you answer them.
(i) When is a grown-up likely to say this?
Don’t talk with your mouth full.
(ii) When are you likely to be told this?
Say thank you.
(iii) When do you think an adult would say this?
No one thinks you are funny.

Ans: (i) A grown-up is likely to say this when children start talking in between the meal in their mouth.
(ii) We are likely to be told to say thank you when someone helps us or gives us something.
(iii) When children act weird or do something funny to gain the attention, the adult would say no one thinks you are funny.

2. The last two lines of the poem are not prohibitions or instructions. What is the adult now asking the child to do? Do you think the poet is suggesting that this is unreasonable? Why?

Ans: In the last two lines, adult is now asking the child to make up his own mind and take decision himself to be independent which is unreasonable because earlier the adult did not allow the child to take any decision by himself and he was always taking decision for the child. But now, he is asking him to take his own decision which is surely unreasonable.

3. Why do you think grown-ups say the kind of things mentioned in the poem? Is it important that they teach children good manners, and how to behave in public?

Ans: The grown-ups say such kind of things to their children in order to teach them good manners. They want their children to be responsible citizens and behave good in public. Yes, it is important to teach the children all these things so that they  may learn good manners and  behave in the society & at home with their elders and youngsters. Our elders are our teachers and we can learn a lot from their experience.

4. If you had to make some rules for grown-ups to follow, what would you say? Make at least five such rules. Arrange the lines as in a poem.

Ans: I would make rules like:
Don’t abuse anyone.
Respect the elders and youngsters also.
Time will be allowed for playing.
Keep the neighbour clean.
Don’t smoke or spit.
Allow time for watching T.V.
No physical punishments.

Summary & Question-answers of The Chapter:4-Bepin Choudhury's Lapse of Memory with the concerned video

Bepin Choudhury’s Lapse of Memory – Summary

Bepin Choudhury’s Lapse of Memory is full of suspense. In this story, Bepin Choudhury believes that he has never been to Ranchi but others say that he had been there. It is a well knit story written by Satyajit Ray.

Summary

Every Monday, Bepin Choudhury used to come to the New Market to buy books. His favourite items were crime stories, ghost stories and thrillers. He lived alone. He had not many friends. One day Bepin Babu found in the market that someone was observing him. It was a round faced man. The man saw him and smiled. But Bepin Babu could not recognise him. He reminded Bepin Babu that once he had been to Ranchi in 1958. The man had arranged a car for him to take him to the Hudroo Falls. His name was Parimal Ghose.

But Bepin’s memory played a trick on him. He was sure that he had never been to Ranchi. Parimal was surprised. He gave several instances in his support. Bepin, he said, had fallen down in Hudroo and got a cut on his knee. He had brought him iodine. He had fixed up a car for him to get to Netarhat.

There was one Dinesh Mukerji also in whose bungalow Bepin Babu had stayed. Bepin always carried a book bag at his sight seeing trips. But nothing could revise Bepin’s memory. He said that he was in Kanpur in 1958. Parimal told that Bepin had no children and his wife had died 10 years ago. The same year his brother died in Ranchi mental hospital. But Bepin could not recollect any such event.

Bepin believed that he had an excellent memory. He was working daily in his office and doing a responsible job. He wondered how Parimal knew all intimate details about his wife’s death, and his brother’s insanity. But at the same time, he was sure that he was not in Ranchi but at his friend Haridas Bagchi’s house in Kanpur during the Pujas. He could write to Haridas to confirm his visit, but Haridas had already left for Japan. He found an inch-long cut mark on his knee, but he couldn’t recall when and where he had got the cut.

Then Bepin decided to go to Dinesh Mukerji’s house to confirm Parimal’s claim. But he dropped the idea lest Dinesh should think he had gone mad. He soon forgot all about Parmial and went to sleep.

Next day Bepin rang up Dinesh who confirmed him that he was there in Ranchi. He felt that he had lost his memory.

After Bepin Babu look lunch, Chuni Babu came to see him. He was his school-mate. He wondered how he had forgotten his visit to Ranchi. He hadn’t suffered any injury in the head.

Chuni Babu had been to his school and was requesting him for a job. When Chuni Babu asked him what his last job was, Bepin told correctly that his (Chuni’s) last job was in a travel agency. Chuni recalled that he himself had fixed up Bepin’s railway booking in Ranchi and gone to station to see him off. He left him without requesting for a job.

Now Bepin Babu became serious about this matter. He consulted a young physician Paresh Chanda. Paresh suggested a plan. Bepin should go to Ranchi once again and might get back his lost memory. Bepin left for Ranchi the same evening.

At Ranchi Bepin Babu realised that he had never been there before. He didn’t recognise any building or bazaar. He left for Hundroo falls. There two Gujrati gentlemen found Bepin lying unconscious beside a rock. Bepin Babu returned to Calcutta. He received a letter, urgent and confidential. The letter was from Chuni lal. He said he was down on luck. But he had written a novel which might bring him fortune.

Bepin’s memory suddenly came back. He told Dr Chanda that he had pain in the hip from a fall in Ranchi. He asked the doctor to prescribe some painkiller.

Summary & Question-and-answers of The Chapter:4-From the Diary of Anne Frank with the concerned video

From the Diary of Anne Frank Summary In English

Anne’s feelings about diary
Anne writes her diary. She feels that doing so is a strange experience for one like her. It is so because she has not written anything earlier. Secondly, no one would be interested in reading something written by her as she is a small girl.

Writes a diary
One day Anne felt a bit depressed. She felt that paper had more patience than people. She was wondering whether to stay in or go out. Finally, she stayed in and thought. She felt that she won’t let anyone read her ‘diary’ unless she found a real friend. So she wrote it.

Writing about her family

She wrote that she was not completely alone in the world. But she had loving parents and a sixteen-year-old sister. She had about thirty people around her, she could call friends. Then she had a family, aunts and a good home. But she had had no true friend. She thought of having a good time when she was with friends. But she could not get closer. She admitted it her fault that she didn’t confide in each other. Since they were not liable to change, she started writing a diary. She made it her friend.

Diary named as ‘Kitty’—brief sketch of life

She wanted the diary to be her friend. So she named it as her friend Kitty. She wrote a brief sketch of her life, though she disliked doing so. So, she wrote it. She wrote that her father married her twenty-five year old mother at the age of thirty-six. Her sister Margot was bom in Frankfurt in Germany in 1926. She was born on 12 June 1929. Her father emigrated to Holland in 1933. Her mother Edith Hollander Frank went with her father to Holland. But she and her sister were sent to Aachen to stay with their grandmother. Then they went to Holland.

Anne’s school

There she was sent to a Montessori nursery school. She stayed there until she was six. In the sixth class her teacher was Mrs. Kuperus, the headmistress. Both had tears when they bade farewell.

Reasons for not writing the Diary
In the summer of 1941 her grandma fell ill. She had to be operated upon. She died in January 1942. She thought of her greatly and she loved her still. They celebrated Anne’s birthday in 1942. The four of them were doing well till 20 June 1942. Then Anne wrote her diary again. It was like this.

About class affairs
It was the day of the declaration of results. Everyone in her class was in tension. The reason was who would go to the next class and who would not. They had bets with other boys on who would pass and who would not. She found the teachers as the most unpredictable creatures on the earth. She was not worried about her girl-friends and herself. She was sure to make that. But she was not sure about Maths. They could wait and told each other not to lose heart.

Mr. Keesing gives extra work as punishment

She went along her teachers pretty well. Mr. Keesing was a dull person who taught them Maths. He was always annoyed with her as she talked much. He gave her as a punishment, extra homework. It was in the form of an essay on ‘A Chatterbox’. She was unable to understand what she could write about it. She put a slip of it on her school bag. It was to remind herself to write later.

Does the homework given extra
In the evening, she had done her homework. She began thinking of the subject of the essay. She thought to write good points of arguing to prove the necessity of talking. Then she had an idea. She then wrote the three pages to her satisfaction. She wrote that talking was a feature of a student. Her mother also used to talk much. She inherited this trait from her mother. She tried to keep quiet.

Homework as punishment given again

Mr. Keesing read it and laughed. Then he gave her another essay as she didn’t stop talking. She was to write it on ‘An Incorrigible ’ Chatterbox’. She wrote it and it satisfied Mr. Keesing. She did not talk for two lessons. But she started speaking again in the third lesson. He again asked her to write an essay. It was : ‘Quack, Quack, Quack, Said Mistress , Chatterbox’. The class too roared into laughter hearing it. She also laughed. She wanted to write something original now. Her friend Sanne was good at poetry. She helped her to write the essay in verse.

Anne’s poem a joke on Mr. Keesing himself
Anne had finished her poem. It was about a mother duck and a father swan with three baby ducklings. The three ducklings were bitten to death by the father. It was because they quacked too much. Luckily, Mr. Keesing took the joke the right way. Mr. Keesing had played a joke on her. But she had had it on him. He ready the poem to the class adding his own comments. Since then she had been allowed to talk. She hadn’t even been given extra homework. Mr. Keesing continued making jokes .

ORAL COMPREHENSION CHECK

(Page 51)

Question 1.
What makes writing in a diary a strange experience for Anne Frank ?
Answer:
Two reasons make writing in a diary a strange experience. One, she has never written anything before. Second, perhaps no one will be interested in the thoughts of a thirteen- year-old school girl.

Question 2.
Why does Anne want to keep a diary ? (CBSE 2012)
Answer:
Anne wants to keep a diary because she had hardly any friends to confide in. Secondly, she can’t talk about day-to-day happenings. In keeping a diary she would do so.

Question 3.
Why did Anne think she could confide more in her diary than in people ?
Answer:
Anne thought so because she doesn’t have a true friend to confide in. She treats the diary not to use it the way most people use. But she would treat it as her best friend. Then diary would be closer than any friend.

ORAL COMPREHENSION CHECK
(Page 51)

Question 1.
Why does Anne provide a brief sketch of her life ?
Answer:
Anne provides a brief sketch of her life. She feels that no one would understand her stories in her diary if she did not write about her life.

Question 2.
What tells you that Annq loved her grandmother ?
Answer:
She loved her grandmother. It was because her parents went to Holland leaving her with her grandmother in Aachen. Her sister Margot also lived with her. Then she lived with her till she was six.

ORAL COMPREHENSION CHECK
(Page 54)

Question 1.
Why was Mr. Keesing annoyed with Anne ? What did he ask her to do ? (CBSE 2012)
Answer:
Mr. Keesing taught Mathematics to the author’s class. He was annoyed with Anne. It was because she talked so much. He warned her several times. But she couldn’t stop talking. She continued talking. He even gave her extra homework. But she still talked and talked.

After several warnings he gave her an essay on the subject ‘A Chatterbox’.

Question 2.
How did Anne justify her being a chatterbox in her essay ?
Answer:
In her essay she justified so by stating that talking was a student’s trait. She would do her best to cure herself of the habit. Her mother talked as much as she did if not more. Nothing could be done about inherited traits.

Question 3.
Do you think Mr. Keesing was a strict teacher ? (CBSE 2012)
Answer:
Mr. Keesing was not a strict teacher. In fact, he was a jovial kind of teacher. He was interested more that students should be taught practically.

Question 4.
What made Mr. Keesing allow Anne to talk in class ?
Answer:
Mr. Keesing allowed Anne to talk in the class after the joke Anne had played on him. He took Anne’s joke in right spirit. He read the poem to the class adding his own comments. He read it to several classes as well.

THINKING ABOUT THE TEXT
(Page 54)

Question 1.
Was Anne right when she said that the world would not be interested in the musings of a thirteen-year-old girl ?
Answer:
Yes, Anne was right in saying so. It was because the world usually is interested in reading things of great men. They may be politicians, statesmen or heavyweights in other fields of life.

Question 2.
There are some examples of diary or journal entries in the ‘Before You Read’ section. Compare these with what Anne writes in her diary. What language was the diary originally written in ? In what way is Anne’s diary different ?
Answer:
Anne mixes her diary writing with a few things of journals or memoirs. She uses her own genre of writing her diary. Her diary was written originally in Dutch language. It is different as it doesn’t follow the appropriate format. It is a mix of a journal, memoir, diary and log.

Question 3.
Why does Anne need to give a brief sketch about her family ? Does she treat ‘Kitty’ as an insider or an outsider ?
Answer:
Anne needs to give a brief sketch about her family. Without it no one will be interested in reading a diary of a small girl. She treats ‘Kitty’ as diary as an insider only.

Question 4.
How does Anne feel about her father, her grandmother, Mrs. Kuperus and Mr. Keesing ? What do these tell you about her ?
Answer:
Anne looks at her parents ‘adorable’. She is all love for her grandmother. She feels equally for her headmistress Mrs. Kuperus. She was in tears when Mrs. Kuperus was bidden farewell. She also loves her teacher Mr. Keesing though she calls him ‘old fogey’. These tell that she is an affectionate girl.

Question 5.
What does Anne write in her first essay ?
Answer:
Anne writes in her first essay that talking is a student’s trait. She would do her best to keep talking under control. Her mother also talked much. She had inherited this trait from her mother. Not much can be done about inherited traits.

Question 6.
Anne says teachers are most unpredictable. Is Mr. Keesing unpredictable ? How ? (CBSE 2012)
Answer:
Mr. Keesing is unpredictable. He gives and gives homework to Anne as a punishment. She does it as rightly as she can. She hopes that after the last essay, Mr. Keesing would give her homework again. But instead he allows Anne to talk in the class. He also doesn’t give her homework again.

Question 7.
What do these statements tell you about Anne Frank as a person ?

1. We don’t seem to be able to get any closer, and that’s the problem. Maybe it’s my fault that we don’t confide in each other.
2. I don’t want to jot down the facts in this diary the way most people would, but I want the diary to be my friend.
3. Margot went to Holland in December, and I followed in February, when f was plunked down on the table as a birthday present for Margot.
4. If you ask me, there are so many dummies that about a quarter of the class should be kept back, but teachers are the most unpredictable creatures on earth.
5. Anyone could ramble on and leave big spaces between the words, but the trick was to come up with convincing arguments to prove the necessity of talking.

Answer:

1. Anne is reserved
2. She is self-confident and inventive
3. She is humorous also.
4. She is intelligent
5. She has a sense of propriety and convincingness.

Summary & Question- answers of The Chapter:4-The Ashes that Made Trees Bloom with the concerned video

Summary

I

In the 19th century Japan there lived an old couple. Their only companion was a little pet dog named Muko. They loved it as if it were their baby. They gave it pieces of fish and boiled rice to eat. Muko also loved its noble master.

The old man was rice farmer. He worked hard with his spade from morning till sunset. Muko followed him everyday to the field. It did not attack the white heron bird which used to kill corn worms. The farmer was kind to all the living creatures.

One day the dog came running to its master. It took him to some place behind. The old man followed Muko to the place, where it began to scratch. The old man used his hoe to dig the earth. He found a lot of gold there. The old couple became rich. They bought land, hosted a party to their friends and gave it's generously to their poor neighbours.

In the same village there lived a wicked old man and his wife. They were unkind to all dogs. When they heard of their neighbour’s good luck, they called Muko to their garden and offered it fish. They hoped that Muko would find treasure for them also. But Muko refused to eat any fish. The dog took them to a pine tree in the garden. The greedy old fool danced with joy. He began to dig. But he found only a dead cat in the pit. In a fit of anger he beat Muko to death.

The owners of Muko mourned for their pet. They put flowers and water on its tomb. That night the spirit of Muko appeared to the old farmer in a dream. It asked him to cut down the pine tree over its graves, make a mortar for rice pastry and a mill for his bean sauce. Soon the old farmer made a hollow place in the tree trunk. He with his wife made a hammer of wood for pounding rice. They baked the pastry and suddenly the whole mass changed into gold coins.

The jealous old neighbour noticed bean sauce turning into gold. The old couple were rich again. So the neighbours also did the same. But their pastry and sauce turned into worms. They destroyed the mill borrowed from the old couple and burnt it.

II

The good old man had another dream. The spirit of their pet dog told him to take the ashes of the mill and spread it on the withered pine trees. He assured him that they would bloom again.

The old man brought some ashes of mill. He spread a pinch of it on the cherry tree. The tree was covered with blossoms. The greedy wicked couple gathered the remaining ashes of the wooden mill.

The wealthy landlord of the village was to pass by that road. According to the custom all the people had to shut up their high windows. Nobody was allowed to look down on lordship. They also knelt upon their hands and knees until the procession passed by. A tall man marched ahead asking the people to get down on their knees.

But the good old man didn’t kneel down. Instead of it he scattered a bit of ashes over the withered cherry tree. Suddenly it burst into blossom. The landlord got out to see the wonder. He thanked the man, offered him presents and also invited him to the castle.When the greedy neighbour heard of it, he also took the magic ashes to the highway. He waited until the landlord’s train came along, and instead of kneeling down like the crowd, he climbed a withered cherry tree. When the landlord was directly under him, he threw handful of ashes over him. But the tree showed no change. The dust rather blew into the nose and eyes of his lordship. The man who was escorting the lord dragged the greedy man from the tree and threw him into the ditch. He also beat him soundly. The greedy man thus died in the mud. The kind owner of Muko lived happily to a green old age.

Page No: 60
Comprehension Check
1. Why did the neighbours kill the dog?

Ans: The neighbours when heard about the good luck brought by the dog to the couple coaxed the dog into their garden in hope that he would find treasure for them. They dragged him out of doors and the dog scratched and pawed the ground under a pine tree. When on digging the ground, they saw that there was nothing but a dead kitten, they became furious at the dog. They beat him to death and then flung him into the hole.

2. Mark the right item.
(i) The old farmer and his wife loved the dog
(a) because it helped them in their day-to-day work.
(b) as if it was their own baby.
(c) as they were kind to all living beings.
(ii) When the old couple became rich, they
(a) gave the dog better food.
(b) invited their greedy neighbours to a feast.
(c) lived comfortably and were generous towards their poor neighbours.
(iii) The greedy couple borrowed the mill and the mortar to make
(a) rice pastry and bean sauce.
(b) magic ash to win rewards.
(c) a pile of gold.

Ans: (i) – (b) The old farmer and his wife loved the dog as if it was their own baby.
(ii) – (c) When the old couple became rich, they lived comfortably and were generous towards their poor neighbours.
(iii) – (c) The greedy couple borrowed the mill and the mortar to make a pile of gold. 

Page No: 63
Working with the Text
Answer the following questions.
1. The old farmer is a kind person. What evidence of his kindness do you find in the first two paragraphs?

Ans: The old farmer was a kind person. He and his wife had a pet dog named Muko, as his baby. Having no children, they loved it as though it were a baby. They fed him fish from their own chopsticks and all the boiled rice he wanted. He was patient and kind to everything that had life and often turned up a sod on purpose to give food to the birds.

2. What did the dog do to lead the farmer to the hidden gold?

Ans: The dog came running to the farmer and kept on whining and running to and fro till the farmer followed him. The dog began a lively scratching. Thinking it was possibly a buried bone or fish, the farmer struck his hoe in the earth and found the hidden gold.

3. (i) How did the spirit of the dog help the farmer first?
(ii) How did it help him next?

Ans: (i) The spirit of the dog asked the farmer in his dream to cut down the pine tree over his grave and make a mortar for rice pastry and a mill for bean sauce.
(ii) The spirit of the dog informed the farmer in his dream that his wicked neighbours had burnt the hand-mill. He advised him to take the ashes of the mill and sprinkle them on the withered trees and they would bloom again.

Page No: 64
4. Why did the daimio reward the farmer but punish his neighbour for the same act?

Ans: The farmer had the magical ashes. He made the old withered cherry tree blossom once again by sprinkling the ashes. So, the daimio rewarded the farmer for this. When his greedy neighbour heard about it, he took the ashes and when daimio was passing on the highway, he threw a handful of ashes over the tree. The tree did not blossom and wind blew the fine dust in the noses and eyes of the daimio and his wife. That is why his neighbour punished for the same act.

Summary & Question-and-answers of The Chapter:4- A Truly Beautiful Mind with the concerned video

Summary

A Truly Beautiful Mind

Albert Einstein was born on 14th March in 1879, in the German city of Ulm. Till the age of two and half years, he could not speak and when he started speaking, he spoke every word twice. His playmates considered him to be boring and his mother thought that he was crazy because of the abnormally large size of his head. At school, his head master regarded him as stupid and good for nothing. But he proved them all wrong.At the age of 6, at the insistence of his mother, he learned to play the violin. He became a gifted violinist. At the age of 15, his family shifted to Munich. He did not feel comfortable with the strict discipline at the school and left it. On completing his schooling, he joined the University at Zurich because the atmosphere there was more liberal and accepted new ideas and concepts. He showed more interest in Physics and Mathematics. He met a fellow student, Mileva Maric at the University. She was equally intelligent and clever. Later on, they married and had 2 sons but unfortunately their marriage did not survive and were divorced in 1919.

After completing his education, Albert worked as a technical expert in the patent office at Bern. Here, he worked secretly on his idea on relativity. In 1915, he published his paper on special theory of relativity, followed by the world-famous equation E = mc2.In 1915, he published his paper on General Theory of Relativity, which gave an absolutely new definition to concept of gravity. This theory made him a famous figure. In 1919, during the solar eclipse, his theory came out to be accurate and revolutionized physics. In 1933, he emigrated to USA as Nazis had come to power in Germany. He did not want his finding and research to be used for destruction. In 1938, when Germany discovered the principle of Nuclear Fission, he was the first person to write to the American President about the dangers of the atomic bombs.In 1945, when America dropped the Atomic Bombs on Nagasaki and Hiroshima, he was deeply hurt and wrote to the United Nations for the formation of a world government to prevent

recurrence of such destruction.

He spent his later days in politics advocating world peace and democracy. He died at the age of 76 in the year 1955.

Thinking about the Text

(Page 50)

Question 3.
Explain what the reasons for the following are:

1. Einstein leaving the school in Munich for good.
2. Einstein wanting to study in Switzerland rather than in Munich.
3. Einstein seeing in Mileva an ally.
4. What do these tell you about Einstein?

Answers:

1. Einstein left the school in Munich because he did not like the discipline of the school. He hated the school’s regimentation and often clashed with teachers.
2. Albert’s parents moved to Milan and left their son with relatives. After prolonged discussion, Einstein got his wish to continue his education in German – speaking Switzerland. Actually, it was more liberal than Munich.
3. Einstein saw in Mileva Marie an ally against the “Philistines”—those people in his family and at the university with whom he was constantly at odds. He found that she was a “clever creature”.
4. These tell that Einstein was a genius and had the capabilities to achieve his targets. Moreover, he had his own view of life. He liked freedom too much.

Question 4.
What did Einstein call his desk drawer at the patent office? Why?
Answer:
Einstein called his desk drawer at the patent office the “bureau of theoretical physics”. Einstein was actually developing his own ideas in secret and his drawer had all the evidences which could reveal the secret.

Question 5.
Why did Einstein write a letter to Franklin Roosevelt?
Answer:
With the emergence of Nazis in Germany,
Einstein emigrated to the United States. It was the fact that the Nazis had the ability to develop the atomic bomb. It could destroy the whole world. 

6.How did Einstein react to the bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki?
Answer:
The atomic bomb devastated the Japanese cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. He was deeply shaken by the extent of the destruction and wrote a public missive to the United Nations.

Question 7.

Why does the world remember Einstein as a ‘world citizen’?
Answer:
The world remembers Einstein as a ‘world citizen’ because he believed in universal peace. When there was the rat race for becoming atomic power, he was worried about the aftermaths of the bomb. He was really a world citizen who was concerned with humanity.

Question 8.

Here are some facts from Einstein’s life. Arrange them in chronological order.

[ ] Einstein publishes his special theory of relativity.
[ ] He is awarded the Nobel Prize in Physics.
[ ] Einstein writes a letter to U.S. President, Franklin D. Roosevelt, and warns against Germany’s building of an atomic bomb.
[ ] Einstein attends a high school in Munich.
[ ] Einstein’s family moves to Milan.
[ ] Einstein is bom in the German city of Ulm.
[ ] Einstein joins a University in Zurich, where he meets Mileva.
[ ] Einstein dies.
[ ] He provides a new interpretation of gravity.
[ ] Tired of the school’s regimentation, Einstein withdraws from school.
[ ] He works in a patent office as a technical expert.
[ ] When Hitler comes to power, Einstein leaves Germany for the United States.

Answers:

[1] Einstein is bom in the German city of Ulm.
[2] Einstein attends a high school in Munich.
[3] Einstein’s family moves to Milan.
[4] Tired of the school’s regimentation, Einstein withdraws from school.
[5] Einstein joins a University in Zurich where he meets Mileva.
[6] He works in a patent office as a technical expert.
[7] Einstein publishes his special theory of relativity.
[8] He provides a new interpretation of gravitation.
[9] He is awarded the Nobel Prize in Physics.
[10] When Hitler comes to power, Einstein leaves Germany for the United States.
[11] Einstein writes a letter to U.S. President, Franklin D. Roosevelt and warns against Germany’s building of an atomic bomb.
[12] Einstein dies.

Thinking about language
(Page 51)

Question 1.
Here are some sentences from the story.
Choose the word from the brackets which can be substituted for the italicised words in the sentences.

1. A few years later, the marriage faltered, (failed, broke, became weak)
2. Einstein was constantly at odds with people at the university, (on bad terms, in disagreement, unhappy)
3. The newspapers proclaimed his work as “a scientific revolution”, (declared, praised, showed)
4. Einstein got ever more involved in politics, agitating for an end to the arms build up. (campaigning, fighting, supporting)
5. At the age of 15, Einstein felt so stifled that he left the school for good. (permanently, for his benefit, for a short time)
6. Five years later, the discovery of nuclear fission in Berlin had American physicists in an uproar, (in a state of commotion, full of criticism, in a desperate state)
7. Science wasn’t the only thing that appealed to the dashing young man with the walrus moustache, (interested, challenged, worried)

Answers:

1. failed
2. in disagreement
3. declared
4. campaigning
5. permanently
6. in a state of commotion
7. interested.

Question 2.
Study the following sentences:

• Einstein became a gifted amateur violinist, maintaining this skill throughout his life.
• Letters survive in which they put their affection into words, mixing science with tenderness.

The parts in italics in the above sentences begin with ing verbs, and are called participial phrases. Participial phrases say something more about the person or thing talked about or the idea expressed by the sentence as a whole. For example:

—Einstein became a gifted amateur violinist. He maintained this skill throughout his life.

Complete the sentences below by filling in the blanks with suitable participial clauses. The information that has to be used in the phrases is provided as a sentence in brackets.

1. ……………. the firefighters finally put out the fire. (They worked round the clock.)
2. She watched the sunset above the mountain, ……………. (She noticed the colours blending softly into one another.)
3. The excited horse pawed the ground rapidly, ……………. (While it neighed continually.)
4. ……………. ,I found myself in Bangalore, instead of Benaras. (I had taken the wrong train.)
5. ……………., I was desperate to get to the bathroom. (I had not bathed for two days)
6. The stone steps, ……………. needed to be replaced. (They were worn down).
7. The actor received hundreds of letters from his fans, ……………. (They asked him to send them his photograph.)

Answers:

1. Working round the clock the firefighters finally put out the fire.
2. Noticing the colours blending softly into one another she watched the sunset above the mountain.
3. Neighing continually the excited horse pawed the ground rapidly.
4. Having taken the wrong train I found myself in Bangalore instead of Benaras.
5. Having not bathed for two days I was desperate to get to the bathroom.
6. The stone steps being worn down needed to be replaced.
7. The actor received hundreds of letters from his fans asking him to send them his photograph.

Writing newspaper reports
(Page 53)

Here are some notes which you could use to write a report.

21 August 2005—original handwritten manuscript of Albert Einstein unearthed— by student Rowdy Boeynik in the Univer¬sity of Netherlands—Boeynik researching papers—papers belonging to an old friend of Einstein—fingerprints of Einstein on these papers—16 page document dated 1924—Einstein’s work on this last the¬ory—behaviour of atoms at low temper¬ature—now known as the Bose-Einstein condensation—the manuscript to be kept at Leyden University where Einstein got the Nobel Prize.

Question 1.

Write a report which has four paragraphs,
one each on :

• what was unearthed.
• who unearthed it and when.
• what the document contained.
• where it will be kept.

Your report could begin like this:
Answers:
Student Unearths Einstein Manuscript 21 August 2005. An original handwritten Albert Einstein manuscript has been un-earthed at a University of Netherlands.

A student named Rowdy Boeynik was researching on the papers belonging to his old companion Einstein.

The document contained papers of Ein-stein’s work on the last theory—Behav¬iour of Atoms at Low Temperature. Now¬adays it is known as the Bose-Einstein Condensation.

The manuscript will be kept at Leyden University where Einstein got the Nobel Prize.

Summary & Question-answers of The Chapter:5-Footprints without Feet with the concerned video

Footprints without Feet Summary

The story is about a scientist named Griffin. He had been discovering ways which could make a man invisible and finally swallowed certain rare drugs that made him invisible. He was first noticed by two boys in staircase of a house where they could just see his footsteps and started following it. They follow it until the footsteps are fainter and cannot be seen. First, as he is feeling cold he enters a mall for some warmth. After the stores shut down, he decides to wear some warm clothes and eat something.

He first unboxes a few clothes and wears them. Then from the kitchen of a restaurant, he eats cold meat and some coffee. Later he goes to a grocery store and eats sweets and drinks wine. He then falls asleep on a pile of quilts. He then wakes up in the morning when some of the store assistants had seen him and started chasing him. He quickly threw away all the clothes he was wearing and became invisible again. Then he started roaming around again without any clothes in the cold winters of London.

He then decides to steal clothes from a theatre company as he knew he would get something there to cover his face as well. He then steals bandages for his face, dark glasses, false nose and a hat for covering himself.

He then hits the shopkeeper and steals all his money. Soon he realizes that London is too crowded to live like this and decides that he would go to a remote village. He books two rooms at an inn at the Iping village.

He reaches there and it is strange for the people of Iping that a stranger with such a weird appearance has come to stay at an inn during the winter season. Once his money is over, he steals from people and also hits the landlord and his wife when they try to check his room in his absence. Then the village constable is asked for help but before that Mrs. Hall, the wife of the landlord asks him questions regarding who he is and what he did to her furniture.

This makes him really furious and he decides to show her who he really is. The people then see a headless man and Mr. Jaffers, the constable also finds out that he would have to arrest a man who does not have a head. They are unable to catch Griffin as he removes all his clothes and becomes invisible. He even knocks out Jaffers as he tries to catch him.

Read & Find Out

(Page 26) 

Question 1.
How did the invisible man first become visible?
Answer:
The invisible man (Griffin) first became visible after he slipped into a big London store for keeping warm and overslept there while wearing some clothes taken from the store. The clothes made him visible to the shop assistants when the shop opened in the morning. To escape from them, he had to shed all his clothes to become invisible again.

Question 2.
Why was he wandering the streets?
Answer:
Though he was a brilliant scientist, he was a lawless person. His landlord disliked him and wanted to evict Griffin. In revenge, he set fire to the house. To escape, he removed his clothes, becoming invisible. Thus he became homeless and was wandering the streets of London.

Page 28
Question 1.
Why does Mrs Hall find the scientist eccentric?
Answer:
Mrs Hall found the scientist eccentric
because of his strange appearance and also, when she tried to be friendly with him, he rebuffed her by saying that he had come there for solitude and did not wish to be disturbed in his work.

Question 2.

What curious episode occurs in the study?
Answer:
Very early one morning, a clergyman and his wife were awakened by noises coming from their study. Then they heard the sound of coins being taken from the desk there. However, when they entered the study, they did not find anybody there, that was curious.

Question 3.

What other extraordinary things happen at the inn?
Answer:
At the inn, Mrs Hall and her husband went into the scientist’s room on finding its door open. However, he was not seen in the room, but Mrs Hall heard a sniff and the hat on the bedpost leapt up and dashed into her face. Then the bedroom chair sprang into the air and pushed them both out of the room. This made Mrs Hall think that her furniture was haunted.

Think About It
(Page 31)

Question 1.
“Griffin was rather a lawless person.” Comment.
Answer:
Griffin was not bothered if he had harmed anybody in the fulfilment of what he wanted. He set his landlord’s house on fire because the landlord tried to make him leave. Then his robberies at shops and later in the village indicate that he was a lawless person. When he encountered the landlady of the inn, he threw a chair at her and her husband. Lawless persons like Griffin never think about the safety and well-being of others. They are only concerned about themselves.

Question 2.
How would you assess Griffin as a scientist?
Answer:
Griffin is a brilliant scientist, as he discovers how to make himself invisible. But he seems to enjoy the feeling of power which he gets out of his invisibility. The power to hurt anybody without getting noticed can give sadistic pleasure to some people. A true scientist should make discoveries for the larger benefit of society, not just for his own benefit.

Talk About It

(Page 31)
Question 1.
Would you like to become invisible? What advantages and disadvantages do you foresee, if you did?
Answer:
It can be an exciting idea for most people. Like two facets of a coin, invisibility can have many advantages and disadvantages. For a child, invisibility may mean a licence for all kinds of pranks without getting caught. Like a Hindi movie, invisibility can help you beat all the villains black and blue and get rid of them. Once you become invisible, nobody would notice you. Within no time, the sadness of isolation will take over the excitement of being invisible. You will have no friend. You will tend to behave like the eccentric scientist in this story.

Question 2.

Are there forces around us that are invisible, for example, magnetism? Are there aspects of matter that are ‘invisible1 or not visible to the naked eye? What would the world be like if you could see such forces or such aspects of matter? ‘
Answer:
Magnetic forces and electrostatic forces are examples of invisible forces. The atoms and molecules in a matter are so small that they are not visible to the naked eye. Similarly, heat energy is invisible. Similarly, sound is invisible to us. While the idea of seeing invisible things can be very exciting, their visibility would create too many problems. For example, if we are able to see all the sound around us, that would be too irritating for us.

Question 3.

What makes glass or water transparent (what is the scientific explanation for this)? Do you think it would be scientifically possible for a man to become invisible, or transparent? (Keep in mind that writers of science fiction have often turned out to be prophetic in their imagination)
Answer:
The fact that light can pass through glass or water makes them transparent. When light falls on an object, the reflected light from that object makes it visible to us. If some device can be made which can prevent reflection of light from the human body, the human body can be made invisible.

Summary & Question-answers of The Chapter:4-In the Kingdom of Fools with the concerned video

In The Kingdom of Fools Summary In English

The kingdom of fools
In the kingdom of fools the king and the minister were idiots. They ordered all things to be reversed. They decided to change night into day and day into night. They ordered people to do day’s work in night and sleep in the day. Anyone not obeying was to be punished with death. So people out of fear did ’ as they were asked to do. This delighted the king and the minister.

A guru and disciple see the city
Once a guru and his disciple arrived in the city. They found everyone asleep during the r day. No activity was observed. It amazed them. They wandered till evening. Then the people woke up. They started doing their nightly businesses. Now the two were hungry. They bought some food items. The price of everything was same, a single duddu. This surprised and delighted them. The guru realized that it was really a kingdom of fools.

Guru leaves the city but disciple remains behind

The guru decided to leave the city of fools. He asked his disciple also to leave the place. But the disciple didn’t want to do so for cheap food. The guru advised the disciple that nothing could be predicted of fools. But the disciple didn’t care. He remained behind. Time passed on. The disciple ate to his fill. As a result he became very fat.

A thief breaks into a rich merchant’s house

One day a thief broke into a rich merchant’s house. He was taking out the stolen things. Just then the wall of the old house fell on his head. He was killed instantly. The brother of the thief complained to the king about his death. He blamed the owner of the house for his brother’s death.

The owner is summoned

The king heard the accused. He accused him of killing the thief. But the owner said that he was innocent. He said that the person who built the wall was responsible. He didn’t make the good wall. The king decided to summon the bricklayer.

The king summons the bricklayer
The king asked the bricklayer if he had built the wall. He accused him of killing the thief. Before the king could order his death, the bricklayer pleaded innocence. He told the king that he could not concentrate while building the wall. A dancing girl moved in the street. So she was responsible for it.

The dancing girl is summoned

The king charged the dancing girl of killing the thief. The dancing girl said that the goldsmith was responsible for it. She had given some gold to him. He had to make some jewellery for her. He was lazy. He did not make the jewellery early. So she had to walk up and down the street. So it was the goldsmith’s fault.

The goldsmith and his plea
The king now ordered to summon the goldsmith. The goldsmith replied that there was a wedding in the rich man’s house. He had to make jewellery for him. So he could not finish the jewellery of the dancing girl in time.

The rich man is summoned before the king
The king declared the rich man to be the murderer. He was also the owner of that house. But he said that his father had ordered the jewellery. The king consulted his minister. He decided that the owner be punished in his father’s place. The king asked for a new stake to be made ready for the owner to die. But the owner was very thin. He could not be executed. The king was worried about it. Then he ordered to search a man who was fit for the stake. He should be executed.

The disciple is in trouble

The disciple was found fit for the stake. He was brought to the place of execution. The disciple now remembered his wise guru’s words. He prayed to his guru. The guru had magic powers to see the past and the future. He saw everything. He arrived at once to save his disciple. He told his disciple something in a low voice. The disciple understood this.

The guru’s trick to save his disciple
The guru and the disciple now started fighting. The guru wanted to die first. The king asked the guru why he wanted to die. The guru told the king in his ears that their city was unique. This was the stake of god of justice. The stake was new. It was never used earlier on crimirfals. Whoever died on it first, would be born a king. Whoever died next, would be born as a minister.

The king decides to die
The king thought over the whole case. He didn’t want to lose the kingdom even in his next birth also. So he talked to his minister. The king said that they would go on stake themselves. Thus they would be reborn as king and minister again. The king and minister went secretly to the prison. They released the guru and the disciple. They put themselves in their places. So they were taken to the stake guru and disciple become the king and the minister

The dead bodies of the king and the minister were taken down. The people mourned their deaths. They discussed the future of the kingdom. Suddenly some people thought of the guru and the disciple. They’ were secretly leaving the city. People saw them. They requested them to be their new king and the minister. But they put one condition. It was to change all the old laws. So they changed the laws.

Page No: 27 Think About It
1. What are the two strange things the guru and his disciple find in the Kingdom of Fools?

Ans: The two strange things that the guru and his disciple observe in the kingdom of fools are:
▸ Everyone sleeps during the day and carries out his work at night
▸ The cost to purchase anything from the market was the same, one duddu (one rupee).
Whether it was a measure of rice or a bunch of banana it cost the same.

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2. Why does the disciple decide to stay in the Kingdom of Fools? Is it a good idea?

Ans: The disciple decided to stay in the Kingdom of Fools because he was delighted that everything cost a single duddu and everything was very cheap. All that he wanted was good and very cheap food. According to the Guru, staying there was not a good idea as they were all fools and so he felt this situation would not last long and was not sure about what they would do in the future.

3. Name all the people who are tried in the king’s court, and give the reasons for their trial.

Ans: Following people were tried in the king’s court:
▸ The merchant whose house was burgled: Because his house wall was weak and it fell upon the burgular and killed him
▸ The bricklayer who built the wall: Because he built a wall which was weak and which collapsed killing the burglar
▸ The dancing girl: Because she distracted the bricklayer with her jingling anklets by walking up and down the road where bricklayer was laying the wall
▸ The goldsmith: Because he didn’t complete the dancing girl’s order on time and so she had to go to the goldsmith a dozen times.
▸ The merchant whose house was burgled (second time): because his father persuaded the goldsmith to finish his order first thereby delaying the dancing girl’s order. Since the merchant’s father died, the merchant had to be executed in his father’s place
▸ The disciple: Because the merchant was too thin to be executed by the newly made stake and a fat man was required to fit the stake. The disciple was very fat, hence he was caught.

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4. Who is the real culprit according to the king? Why does he escape punishment?

Ans: The real culprit according to the king is the merchant because although his old father was the real murderer he was dead and someone had to be punished in his place. He escapes the punishment because he is too thin to be properly executed on the stake.

5. What are the Guru’s words of wisdom? When does the disciple remember them?’

Ans: The guru’s words of wisdom were that it was the city of fools. He advised the disciple to leave the city because he would not know what they would do next. The disciple remembered this when he was going to be executed.

6. How does the guru mange to save his disciple’s life?

Ans: The guru tries to confuse the king by expressing his desire to be killed first. Then to further confuse the king he tells the story of becoming the king in the next incarnation. Apparently it may sound like a case of pure lie to save your dear one’s life. But if we go deeper consciously or unconsciously the sage is trying to save everybody’s life in the kingdom. Ultimately he is able to pull everybody out of the misery of living in the kingdom of fools.

Summary & Question-answers of The Chapter:3-The Desert with the concerned video

The Desert Summary in English

Many people hold the opinion that a desert is nothing more than an endless stretch of land. Furthermore, people have this impression of deserts that they are dry, thin, waterless, hot, and without shelter. So, people hold a negative opinion about deserts.

In contrast to general opinion, deserts are beautiful places on Earth. Furthermore, deserts are home to a variety of plants and animals. It is certainly a rare precious sight where desert bloom exists as rainfall takes place.

No difference exists between the desert and tropical land. Deserts are filled with hills or mountains but not necessarily a flat land.  An oasis is similar to a green island that one can find in the middle of the desert.

Deserts may consist of green plants and trees. Such plants and trees certainly provide comfort and shelter. Furthermore, deserts can also consist of springs.

A desert is a hot region but it also can be a cold region like Ladakh. Sand dimes are mounds comprising of a heap of sand that tend to move and shift endlessly at the time of strong winds.

Very few plants are able to survive on the shifting mounds of deserts. Living things that are desert-adapted are able to deal with the scarcity of water. Such animals are able to survive because they require less water for survival.

Camel is a desert animal that is known as the ship of the desert. This animal can survive without water for days. Camels drink plenty of water at one time.

Camels also sweat very little and can bear high body temperature. This is because; the bodies of camels are different from our bodies. We, unlike camels, have to sweat to keep our bodies cool and maintain the appropriate temperature.

Smaller desert animals hide in underground burrows. This allows them to escape the extreme desert temperature. Furthermore, these animals get water as per their requirement from plants and the moisture of meats.

Desert plants like cactus are able to store water, thanks to their thick stems. Such plants lack deep roots. Hence, they absorb rainwater because they are close to the surface.

Variation of temperature and dryness are distinct features of deserts. The moisture of the humid climate is missing in the desert.  Due to the lack of this blanket, desert lands heat up rapidly as well as cool off rapidly at night.

Desert is certainly a gift of nature to everyone. As such, its importance is the same as that of other gifts of nature like forest and ocean. Most noteworthy, one must not detest deserts but rather should consider them as a blessing of nature.

Comprehension Check (Page 16)

Question 1:
From the first paragraph
(i) pick out two phrases which describe the desert as most people believe it is;
(ii) Pick out two phrases which describe the desert as specialists see it.
Which do you think is an apt description, and why?
Answer:
(i) an endless stretch of sand; water less and without shelter.
(ii) a beautiful place; the home of a variety of people, animals and plants Description (ii) is apt. Human experience tells us so.

Comprehension Check (Page 19)

Question 1:
A camel can do without water for days together. What is the reason given in the text?
Answer:
The reason is that the camel sweats very little. It can therefore retain the water it drinks for a long period of time.

Question 2:
How do the smaller desert animals fulfill their need for water?
Answer:
The smaller desert animals spend the day in the underground burrows to escape the heat. Some of them eat other animals and get the water they need from the moisture in the meat. Others eat plants and get the water they need from plant juices.