Summary & Question-answers of The Poem:4- Where do all the Teachers Go ? with the concerned video

Summary

For young kids, a teacher is an extraordinary special person.

It is difficult for a small child to accept that a teacher is also any common man or woman living around him. The child wonders and questions if teachers also behave like other people, If they also do all the work or things, other people do? Like do they live in houses, do they wear pyjamas (clothes), wash socks or watch T.V? Do they also have parents and children to live with? All these questions bother a child’s mind and out of curiosity, one day the child decides to follow his teachers to keep a check  and to write a poem about them  so that the teachers read that poem to their students.It shows the cuteness, purity, curiosity and dilemma a young mind has for his teachers. It also shows their expectations.

Answer these questions.

(i) Why does the poet want to know where the teachers go at four o’clock

A. The poet wants to know this because he has a curiosity to know if his teachers are also ordinary human bein

(ii) What are the things normal people do that the poet talks about

A. The  things done by normal people are: wearing clothes,wasting time,losing religious books,stealing chocolates,having parents and children,washing clothes,watching TV set.

(iii) What does he imagine abou

(a) where teachers live

(b) what they do at home

(c) the people with whom they live

(d) their activities when they were children in school

A.He imagines if the teachers live in house

He imagines if they also wash their clothes and watch TV at home

He imagines if they also have parents and children to live with them

He imagines if they also did mischiefs and were punished

(iv) Why does the poet wonder if teachers also do things that other people do

A.He wonders because his tender mind considers teacher as a superbeing or God like creatur

(v) How does the poet plan to find out? What will he do once he finds out

A. The poet plans to find out whether teachers are ordinary human beings by spying or following them on their way home after school hours.Once he finds out, he will write a poe

2. What do you think these phrases from the poem mean

(i) punished in the corner (ii) leave their green

A.(i) punished in the corner means to get punishment after doing a mischi

(ii) leave their greens means to not to eat green vegetables?

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

The Summit Within- Summary

The Summit Within begins with the author expressing how he felt as he stood at the summit of Everest. Despite the physical exhaustion, the serene view made him feel multiple emotions, the dominant of which was humility. He believes that a man who has been to the mountains is never the same before. He further talked about climbing the summit of the mind once he had climbed the summit of Everest. As soon as he got rid of his physical exhaustion, his mind started wondering as to why people climb mountains. Most people would simply say, “Because it is there” but the author had a more personal answer to the question. He had always been fascinated by the mountains and would get miserable on being away from them. He mentions how the obstacles in climbing a mountain are physical. A climb to a summit means endurance, persistence and will power. He talks about another question that is, “Why Everest?”, simply because it’s the highest and mightiest. No wonder how difficult the passage is upwards, the sense of fulfillment, excitement, joy and satisfaction while standing on the top of the summit is incomparable. The experience is other-worldly. He says that there is no perfect answer to the question as to why he climbed Everest. He compared it to why people breathe. He explains how fellow climbers help each other in fulfilling this conquest. Famous climbers have left records of help without which they would have given up. Standing on the summit makes you realise that the struggle was worthwhile. The view motivates you to rise above your current situations. It provides a means for communion with God. On the highest peak, he explains how you bow down and make your submission to the god you worship. The group had left pictures and relics of the gods they believed in. He then continues talking about the other summit, the summit within which is harder to climb. But any climb, regardless of physical or spiritual, holds the capacity to change you completely. He expresses that having successfully climbed the Everest has given him the strength to face life’s problems and that climbing a summit, internal or that of a mountain, is a worthwhile experience.

Working With the Text (Page 81)

Question 1:
Answer the following questions.
(i) What are the three qualities that played a major role in the author’s climb?
Answer:
The three qualities that ensured the success of the author were ‘endurance, persistence and will power’.

(ii) Why is adventure, which is risky, also pleasurable?
Answer:
Mountain climbing is a great adventure but is also risky. It is a great challenge and a doing challenging job is in itself pleasurable. It gives immense joy to the doers.

(iii) What was it about Mount Everest that the author found irresistible?

Answer:
Mount Everest attracted the author because it is the highest, the mightiest and has defied many previous attempts. It takes the last ounce of one’s energy.

(iv) One does not do it (climb a high peak) for fame alone. What does one do it for, really?
Answer:
Conquering summit is a great physical achievement. But more than that, it gives the climber the emotional and spiritual satisfaction. It satisfies man’s eternal love for adventure.
(v) “He becomes conscious in a special manner of his own smallness in this large universe”. This awareness defines an emotion mentioned in the first paragraph. Which is the emotion?
Answer:
That emotion is ‘humility’.

(vi) What were the ‘symbols of reverence’ left by members of the team on Everest?

Answer:
The author left on Everest a picture of Guru Nanak. Rawat left a picture of Goddess Durga. Phu Durgi left a relic of the Buddha. Edmund Hillary, being a Christian, buried a Cross under the rock. All these were symbols of reverence for God.

(vii) What according to the writer, did his experience as an Everester teach him?
Answer:
The experience of having conquered Mount Everest changed him completely. It made him realise his own smallness.

Summary & Question-answers of The Chapter:5-A Different Kind of School with the concerned video

A Different Kind of School Summary

The narrator had heard a lot of good things about Miss Beam and her school. Miss Beam was known for using simple teaching methods in a perfect way.

The narrator visited the school. He posed some questions to the teacher. She told him that she taught nothing special but simple calculations and writing.The boys and girls were taught how to do things independently without any help.Few things were read to them.Interesting talks were held to raise their interest.The main objective and aim of the school was to make students more thoughtful and responsible citizens.

The narrator went to the school gardens which were beautifully maintained.There, he noticed a poor little girl being helped by a boy.He also saw a girl with a crutch.He thought the one was blind and the other was lame. But Miss Beam explained that the school observes one blind, one lame, one deaf, one injured and one dumb day for every child in a term. These activities make the children more thoughtful and concerned.

On the blind day eyes were bandaged of one child and other children helped the blind throughout the day.This game became a great learning for both the blind and their helpers.Thereafter, Miss Beam took the narrator to one of the bandaged girls. The girl shared her feelings and learning with him. She related how she felt scared of being hit at every moment and this feeling was the most painful one. After this experience the narrator realized that he had also developed a concerned attitude towards the disabled. He told Miss Beam that he was sorry to leave her school. She felt happy to know that the system in her school was good and her teaching style and way of imparting values was marvellous.

 Answer the following questions:

1. Why do you think the writer visited Miss Beam’s school ?

Ans: The writer visited Miss Beam’s school because he had heard a great deal about the school.

2. What was the ‘game’ that every child in the school had to play ?

Ans: The ‘game’ that every child in the school had to play was that each term every child had one blind day, one lame day, one deaf day, one injured day and one dumb day

3. “Each term every child has one blind day, one lame day…” Complete the line. Which day was the hardest? Why was it the hardest? 

Ans: “Each term every child has one blind day, one lame day, one deaf day, one injured day and one dumb day.” The dumb day was the hardest because the children’s mouths could not be bandaged, so they really had to exercise their will power to remain silent.

4. What was the purpose of these special days ?

Ans: The purpose of these special days was to teach the children thoughtfulness – kindness to others, and how to be responsible citizens. These days make the children appreciate and understand misfortune by making them share in the misfortune of others.

Speech on Independence Day

On this propitious day, I – C.M. Singh– the principal of this school would want to extend special thanks to our hon’ble chief guest and the parents of our students for their warm presence and joining us in the celebration. But before we kick start the celebration, please allow me to say a few words to address the occasion.

Students, I want you to know that this freedom is hard won by our great freedom fighters when they had not only shed their blood, but also sacrificed their lives and family. So we should value this freedom to the utmost and never take it for granted. We celebrate this day because it was a historic moment for all the Indians, but amidst all this celebration there is something that ought to be done first and foremost, i.e. paying homage to our great freedom fighters, such as Mahatma Gandhi, Shaheed Bhagat Singh, Subhash Chandra Bose, Dr. Rajendra Prasad, Dadabhai Naoroji, Lal Bahadur Shastri, Lala Lajpat Rai, Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel, including a lot more.

These were illustrious personalities who were known for their great sense of fortitude, perseverance, patience, courage and what not. It is on the basis of their sheer mental strength that they could withstand the stormy time period of our Independence Day struggle. If we weren’t blessed with such great personalities, winning back our country’s freedom would have been a far cry for sure. They experienced humiliation, physical as well as mental torture at the hands of the Britishers, but still they did not buzz and continued to oppose both the foreign British policy as well as their rule.

Thus, it is extremely important not to overlook the struggling period of those times which our predecessors had to put up with and rather value this freedom and think critically in what way we can make the best use of this freedom and make our country proud globally. We should consider ourselves fortunate enough to have been born in the free, independent nation when we can give wings to our imagination and all our desires; when we are not subjugated to the despotic, tyrannical rule of the Britishers.

However, we have responsibilities to shoulder and further work for the betterment of our nation. We are still in a progressive stage and are not counted amongst the category of developed nations. So we have a far way to go and let us vow not to let go waste the sacrifices of our forefathers. We have to realize the dreams of our ancestors of making India a developed nation which is free from corruption and all the social evils. Let us cultivate a vision for our motherland and work towards realizing that vision where everyone has equal opportunities; where our women can feel safe and where no child is deprived of at least basic education.

Let us work towards a better tomorrow; this is all I have to say.

Thank you so much everyone!

Summary & Question-answers of The Chapter:4-The Old Clock Shop with the concerned video

The Old-Clock Shop Summary

It was Christmas eve and was closing time for shops.  An old-clock shop owner, Ray was still working on a clock. Two men, one in his twenties and one in his fifties entered Ray’s shop. Ray gave them a notepad and a pencil telling them that he was deaf and dumb through his sign language. Ray noticed that the man had a gun in his pocket. He thought that he had come to his shop to rob him. Understanding their  dire need of money, Ray told the old man that he exchanged good sum of money with people against their watches or wall clocks. He did this for goodwill and not in want of earning interest or security against the things.

That old man showed his old wrist watch to Ray and Ray in return offered him a fifty dollar note. Both of them knew in their hearts that the watch was not of that high a price.But this made the man happy as he got money without hurting Ray and Ray also escaped from being hurt. Before leaving, the old man wrote to Ray that he would be back soon to get his watch.

The story concluded peacefully, giving a sweet and simple message of  “Peace on earth and goodwill towards all”.

Page No 14:

Question 1:

What made Ray think the visitor was not really a shopper?

Answer:

Ray saw two men, one in his twenties, the other closer to fifty, enter his shop. The younger one remained at the door. The older man approached the counter with no sign of friendliness in his eyes. On paying attention, Ray noticed the shape of a gun and a restless hand in the man’s right coat packet. This made Ray think that the visitor was not really a shopper.

Question 2:

Why do you think he had come to the shop?

Answer:

The man was down on his luck and had come to rob Ray’s shop.

Question 3:

How did Ray communicate with him?

Answer:

Ray was old and deaf. He communicated with the man with the help of a pencil and a notepad.

Question 4:

What do you think the man said to his friend who waited at the door?

Answer:

There was a look of surprise on the older man’s face when he came to know that Ray was deaf. He would have passed on this information to his younger friend standing at the door. Also, he might have discussed with him what they needed to do next.

Question 5:

Ray was not a pawnbroker. Why then did he lend money to people in exchange for their old watches and clocks?

Answer:

Ray was not a pawnbroker, but at the same time he could not say no to the needy people who placed their old watches or clocks before him for anything they could get. Therefore, he lent them money.

Question 6:

“The watch was nothing special and yet had great powers.” In what sense did it have ‘great powers’?

Answer:

The watch was nothing special, but it had great powers because it was something to exchange, a way out of a bad situation. It saved the two men from doing something they would later be sorry for.

Question 7:

Do you think the man would ever come back to pick up the watch?

Answer:

Yes, the man would come back to pick up the watch. He himself said that he would be back to pick it up as soon as he could. It was not necessary for him to say so, but he did. Therefore, we can say that he would be true to his word.

Question 8:

When did “the unfriendly face” of the visitor turn truly friendly?

Answer:

The “unfriendly face” of the visitor turned truly friendly when Ray offered him a way out by accepting the old watch for fifty dollars. Both knew that the watch was not worth that much.

Summary & Question-answers of The Chapter:4- A Question of Trust with the concerned video

 

A Question of Trust Summary

The story is about a 50 year old man who makes locks and lives with his housekeeper. He is a good citizen but not an honest one as he commits a robbery every year. He plans his robberies in such a way that the money he gets from there lasts him for at least an year and he is able to buy rare and expensive books with it. He buys these books because he is really fond of collecting rare and expensive books. He plans to commit a robbery at a grange named Shotover Grange. He takes all the information about the house like where the family had gone, how many servants were there in the house, what was the name of the dog, the wiring in the house, the safe in the house and even information like how much worth of jewels were there in the safe. The real twist in the story comes when he reaches the grange to commit a robbery and a woman claiming to be the owner’s wife enters. She gives him an option that she will forget that she had seen him if he opens the safe for her as she has forgotten the code of the safe and has to go to a party. He does not realize that he is opening the safe for another thief and that she is not the actual owner of the house. He leaves happily thinking that he is safe but doesn’t realize the fact that he had opened the safe for someone else that too without wearing his gloves. 3 days later a police officer comes and arrests him saying that his fingerprints had been found at the shotover grange. He then realizes that he had been fooled by a lady who was herself a thief and from the same background as his. He is sent to the jail and becomes an assistant librarian. He feels angry whenever someone talks about honour among thieves as he had been cheated by one from his own community.Q1) What does Horace Danby like to collect?

Ans) Horace Danby likes to collect old, expensive and rare books.

Q2) Why does he steal every year?

Ans) He used to steal every year in a very systematic and planned manner. He used to steal enough to last him for 12 months and so that he could buy the rare and expensive books that he used to like through a secret agent.

Q3) Who is speaking to Horace Danby?

Ans) There was a woman standing in the doorway who was speaking to Horace Danby. She was a young, beautiful lady and was dressed in red colour. She was pretending to be one of the family members.

 Q4)Who is the real culprit in the story?

Ans) The real culprit in the story is the woman who pretended to be a family member of the family living at the grange. She cleverly acted as a family member and made Horace believe that she wanted him to open the safe just because she had forgotten the passcode. Horace believed her and opened the safe and gave her all the jewels that were inside the safe and later, she took away all the jewels.

 Q5) Did you begin to suspect, before the end of the story, that the lady was not the person Horace Danby took her to be? If so, at what point did you realise this, and how?

Ans) Yes, one does begin to suspect that the woman is not who she claims to be. She was unusually calm on seeing Horace near the locker. Then she doesn’t even call the police and also asks him to open the locker for her even if it means breaking it open as she had forgotten the code of the safe. It is very unusual that someone forgets the passcode to their own locker.

 Q6) What are the subtle ways in which the lady manages to deceive Horace Danby into thinking she is the lady of the house? Why doesn’t Horace suspect that something is wrong?

Ans) The way she walks up to the doorway, starts talking to him, arranges the ornaments in their right place and picks up the silver cigarette box with so much confidence can make anyone believe that she is the lady of the house. Apart from that, Horace had become nervous and frightened when he saw the woman in the doorway and due to that he could not think properly.

 Q7) Horace Danby was a meticulous planner but still he faltered. Where did he go wrong and why?

Ans) The place where he went wrong was that he did not gather enough information about the real occupants of the house. He gathered all the information about the tracks, wirings, gardens, servants and even the dog’s name but he still forgot to overlook the identities of the house owners. He even took out the information of the valuables inside the safe. Once he got into a problem, he could not even think properly and carelessly opened the safe and touched many things in the room without wearing his gloves.

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

Beauty Poem Summary

The poet is trying to say in this poem that beauty is in everything. All the small things we do or the environment around us, everything has beauty in it. Everything has its own importance. All things are beautiful in their own unique way. Sunlight has its own beauty. Beauty can be seen in the growing corns, people who are working and dancing for getting good harvest. Beauty is not only seen but can also be heard or felt. For instance, when night falls, wind blows slowly, the sound of rainfall, or when a singer sings. They all give pleasure to the mind and make it feel happy.Beauty is not just outside, it is within. Beautiful is the self. Our good deeds, happy thoughts please everyone are all beautiful.Our dreams are also beautiful as they give us reason to advance and work with zeal. Beauty is in your style of work, the way you take rest and sleep.Beauty is everywhere. It is in attitude, the way we look at things. Actually everything is beautiful in its own unique manner, the need is to feel it.

 Page No: 55

Working with Poem

1. The poet says, “Beauty is heard in …”

Can you hear beauty? Add a sound that you think is beautiful to the sounds the poet thinks are beautiful.

The poet, Shelley, said:

Heard melodies are sweet,

But those unheard are sweeter.

What do you think this means? Have you ever ‘heard’ a song in your head, long after the song was sung or played?

Ans:

The chirping of birds is also beautiful.

The poet says that when we hear melodies, we find it sweet but after hearing those melodies when we imagine about melodies i.e., unheard melodies we found it sweeter than the original melody itself.

Yes, sometimes I heard long after the song was sung or played.

2. Read the first and second stanzas of the poem again. Note the following phrases.

corn growing, people working or dancing, wind sighing, rain falling, a singer chanting

These could be written as

• corn that is growing

• people who are working or dancing

Can you rewrite the other phrases like this? Why do you think the poet uses the shorter phrases?

Ans: wind that is sighing

rain that is falling

a singer who is chanting

The poet uses the shorter phrases to enhance its beauty. it.

Summary & Question-answers of The Chapter:4- An Indian American Woman in Space: Kalpana Chawla with the concerned video

An Indian American Woman in Space: Kalpana Chawla Summary

As a child, Kalpana never dreamt of space travel. It was not sufficient for her to graduate from an engineering college. After graduating as an aeronautical engineer from Punjab Engineering College, she went for a master’s degree to the United States, in spite of her father’s opposition. Later, she  did her P.hD in the subject. She had the pride of being the first India born American woman Astronaut to blast off from Florida and be a part of the successful space mission. Kalpana was born in Karnal, Haryana but was a naturalised U.S Citizen. She married a flight instructor - Jean Pierre Harrison. Apart from being an astronaut, she was also trained to fly single and multi engine land airplanes, single seaplanes and gliders. She was a certified flight instructor. After qualifying as  a pilot, she decided to apply to NASA’S SPACE SHUTTLE PROGRAM and was selected for training as an Astronaut. She was an extraordinary woman who thought differently and was an enthusiastic  and optimistic. Her first space mission was 16 days long. During this time, she travelled 10.45 million kilometres in 252 orbits.The crew had seven members and they conducted 80 experiments. They also checked if  food could be grown in space, how stronger metals and faster computer chips could be created. The news of Columbia disaster made everyone grief stricken. A shock wave was spread everywhere. A journalist called her a heroine. She had enormous potential and wide information - encyclopaedic knowledge of each subject. Her achievements were actually marvellous. She created history and became an inspiration for everyone. Her life is a testimony that dreams can get success. The only thing we need to make them a reality is courage and vision.

 Answer the following:

1. Where was Kalpana Chawla born? Why is she called an Indian – American?

A- She was born at Karnal in Haryana. She is called an Indian American because she was an Indian by birth and later became a citizen of the United States by marriage.

 2. When and why did she go to the U.S.? Who did she marry?

A- After completing her graduation she went to U.S for a master’s degree. She married to a flight instructor - Jean-Pierre Harrison. 

 3. How did she become an astronaut? What gave her the idea that she could be an astronaut?

A- By doing her degree in aeronautical engineering from Punjab Engineering College,Chandigarh, P.h.d in aerospace engineering from States, she became an astronaut. Her success as a pilot gave her idea that she can be an astronaut.

 4. What abilities must an astronaut have, according to the journalist?

A- According to the journalist, one must have thorough, encyclopaedic knowledge of every subject to be an astronaut.

 5. Describe Kalpana Chawla’s first mission in space.

A- Kalpana’s first space mission in the space shuttle, Columbia, was about 16 days long. During this time she went around the earth 252 times covering 10.45 million kilometres! The crew included a Japanese and a Ukranian astronaut. The crew performed experiments.They pollinated plants to check food growth in space and conducted tests for making stronger metals and faster computer chips — all for a price tag of about 56 million dollars.

 6. What does Kalpana Chawla say about pursuing a dream? Do you agree with her that success is possible.

A-She says that every dream can be a success.The only thing that one needs to pursue it is courage and vision.Yes, I completely agree with this.