Table of Contents

1. Where The Mind is Without Fear (RabindranathTagore) ................................................ 2

2. River came home (Aditi Rao) ....................................................................................... 10
3. Felling of Banyan Tree by Dilip Chitre .......................................................................... 10
4. Rain, Rain, Go Away by Isaac Asimov ......................................................................... 13
5. The Road Not Taken by Robert Frost .......................................................................... 14
6. A Tale of Two Cities by Charles Dickens...................................................................... 19
7. Ozymandias by Percy Bysshe Shelley ......................................................................... 20
8. Gorillas in the mist by Dian Fossey .............................................................................. 23
9. Ode on the death of a favourite cat by Thomas Gray ................................................... 23
10. Elder brother by Munshi Premchand ......................................................................... 25
11. The Rime of the Ancient Mariner by Samuel Taylor Coleridge .................................. 28
12. The Six Napoleons by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle ......................................................... 39
13. The Commentator by Gareth Owen .......................................................................... 41
14. The Gift of the Magi by O. Henry .............................................................................. 41
15. The Last Wolf by Mary TallMountain ......................................................................... 44
16. A Short Walk in the Hindu Rush by Eric Newby ........................................................ 45
17. Refugee Blues by W. H. Auden ................................................................................ 45
18. A Lesson on a Tortoise by D. H. Lawrence ............................................................... 45
19. The Tragedy of Julius Caesar by William Shakespeare ............................................ 45

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1. Where The Mind is Without Fear (Rabindranath Tagore)

Summary
The poet talks about a freedom which needs to be achieved within the human mind and soul. He
talks about a condition where “the mind is without fear and the head is held high” The poet wants to
say that freedom can be achieved if one is fearless in the pursuit of his goal and dream. The poet
talks about a condition where one is ready to explore the world of knowledge without any hesitation
and fear of customs and tradition. The poet elaborates that when one is ready to work hard in
achieving perfection at what he is doing- and when a man is free of age old superstitions which
defy his logic and reason then one is in the path of achieving freedom

1)
(i) The words ‘mind is without fear’ mean that one does not have any fear of oppression or
compulsion. The poet is talking about the minds of the people of his country. He says so
because his country was under the subjugation of the British, who perpetrated all sorts of
oppression on his countrymen.
(ii) The words ‘the head is held high’ mean to have self-respect. The head is bowed down
because of exploitation and oppression of the Indians by the British. It needs to be held high
with pride and dignity which characterized the Indians before India was reduced to the
status of a subjugated nation.
(iii) By the words ‘Where knowledge is free’, the poet wants to say that in his country everyone
should have the freedom to acquire knowledge without any restriction. The restrictions
imposed on the spread of knowledge include the prejudices based on wealth, caste and
religion. Further, the British imposed restrictions on the basis of the ruler (the British) and
the ruled (the Indians). They curbed the freedom of speech and expression by putting
restrictions on the Press.
(iv) Due to the restrictions imposed on the spread of knowledge, people remained glued to their
outdated customs and traditions and could not think rationally.
(v) A sonnet is a poem of fourteen lines divided into an octave (the first eight lines) and a sestet
(the last six lines). The octave presents an idea, raises an argument, makes a proposition or
poses a problem, whereas the sestet gives a solution to the problem posed by the octave.
The poem ‘Where the Mind is Without Fear’ comprises an octave, in which the poet talks
about the wonderful qualities his countrymen must achieve to make their country free and
heaven like. Since this poem is only a part of the complete song in his Nobel Prize winning
work, Gitanjali, we can say that this poem is a part of the complete sonnet.
2)
(i) According to the poet, the narrow domestic walls or divisions based on caste, class,
colour, religion, creed, region and superstitions break up the world into fragments or
mutually exclusive compartments.
(ii) The narrow domestic walls refer to narrow local divisions created by prejudices like
caste, colour, creed, region and religion. They are called ‘narrow’ by the poet because
they are based on age old customs and traditions and not on the basis of rational
thinking.
(iii) The narrow domestic walls can harm the nation by creating divisions among people and
thereby, undermining the unity and integrity of the nation.
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 (iv) The poet wants to say that his countrymen should be able to express themselves
truthfully without any fear. He feels so because his countrymen at that time did not have
freedom of expression as various restrictions were imposed on the freedom of speech
and the Press by the British.
(v) Examples of alliteration are: (a) Where the world (b) Where words
(vi) The poet shows that he has a religious outlook by praying to God to let his country
awake to a blissful heaven of freedom.

3)
(i) ‘Tireless striving’ means to work hard without getting tired to achieve perfection. The
poet wants his countrymen to achieve the highest goals, i.e., freedom at all levels —
political, religious, spiritual, moral and intellectual.
(ii) (ii) Reasoning allows a person to have clarity of thoughts without being restricted by
narrow domestic walls such as caste, colour, creed, religion, region and superstitions.
That is why it has been compared to a clear stream which is free of all impurities.
(iii) (iii) ‘Dreary desert sand of dead habit’ is a metaphor. Through this metaphor the poet
wants to say that his countrymen should work for perfection in everything and should not
be led astray from their goal in the dry desert of dead habits, i.e., in a place where
outdated customs and traditions are followed.
(iv) According to the poet, the hurdles in achieving perfection include the outdated customs
and traditions based on irrational thinking rather than sound reasoning and scientific
thought.
(v) The figure of speech in the third line of the given extract is a ‘metaphor’. For explanation
refer to answer (iii) above.
(vi) This poem by Rabindranath Tagore is taken from his original volume called Naibedya,
which bears the title ‘Prarthana’, i.e., prayer. In this poem, the poet prays to a universal
father figure, i.e., God to let his country awake to a blissful heaven of freedom. Thus, the
poem is a song of prayer.

4)
(i) ‘Thee’ refers to God.
(ii) The mind of the poet’s countrymen is to be led forward to the ‘heaven of freedom’, i.e.,
to an ideal state where there is total freedom at all levels — political, religious, spiritual,
moral and intellectual.
(iii) The phrase ‘Heaven of freedom’ means an ideal state, where the poet wants the
Almighty to lead his countrymen to. The three qualities required to be able to attain the
heaven of freedom include:
a) There is no oppression and people can hold their heads high in self-respect.
b) There are no prejudices based on caste, colour, creed, religion, region and
superstitions.
c) People should work tirelessly to attain perfection in everything by following scientific
thought and rational thinking, without being led to follow obsolete traditions and
customs.
(iv) ‘Father’ in the above extract is a reference for God. He will awake the country by leading
the poet’s countrymen to a heavenly state where there are all kinds of freedom and

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 where they can hold their heads high in self-respect, without any fear of oppression or
compulsion.
(v) The poet prays for his country to attain all kinds of freedom — political, religious,
spiritual, moral and intellectual. And only then it will attain the blissful heaven of
freedom, an ideal state where his countrymen would be able to hold their heads high in
self-respect, will not have a blurred vision based on prejudices and work tirelessly to
attain perfection in every sphere of life.

What is the heaven of freedom? How far has the idea of ‘Heaven of freedom’ been materialized in
the modern world?
The “heaven of freedom” to the poet is a condition where one can persue knowledge, and work
towards one vision without the fear of societal pressures and superstitions. In the modern world
,the world has become smaller, connectivity has increased but still there is war, oppression,
fanaticism, racism and discrimination which prevents an individual to persue ones dream. The
heaven of freedom is still a distant dream even after so many years of independence.

Short Answer Type

A. Read the first four lines of the poem and answer the questions.
1. What does the poet mean by ‘the head is held high’?

A. 1. The” head is held high” means one is confident about oneself, about his goals and dreams
and no anount of superstitions and pressures of the society can repress his spirit and pride in
himself.

2. Explain what does the poet mean by ‘where knowledge is free’?

A. 2. ”Knowledge is free” means that a world where knowledge is not restricted on the basis of
class, gender, caste and race. The world of knowledge can be explored by anyone irrespective of
the strata of society he belonged to, and irrespective of any other differences.

“Where the mind is without fear” −− What type of mental condition is required to attain
ideal freedom as dreamt of by Rabindranath ?

The poet talks about a freedom which needs to be achieved within the human mind and soul. He
talks about a condition where “the mind is without fear and the head is held high” The poet wants to
say that freedom can be achieved if one is fearless in the pursuit of his goal and dream. The poet
talks about a condition where one is ready to explore the world of knowledge without any hesitation
and fear of customs and tradition. The poet elaborates that when one is ready to work hard in
achieving perfection at what he is doing- and when a man is free of age old superstitions which
defy his logic and reason then one is in the path of achieving freedom

What is the heaven of freedom? How far has the idea of ‘Heaven of freedom’ been
materialized in the modern world?

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Ans- The “heaven of freedom” to the poet is a condition where one can pursue knowledge, and
work towards one vision without the fear of societal pressures and superstitions. In the modern
world ,the world has become smaller, connectivity has increased but still there is war, oppression,
fanaticism, racism and discrimination which prevents an individual to pursue ones dream. The
heaven of freedom is still a distant dream even after so many years of independence.

Short Answer Type

A. Read the first four lines of the poem and answer the questions.

1. What does the poet mean by ‘the head is held high’?

A. 1. “The head is held high” means one is confident about oneself, about his goals and dreams
and no anoint of superstitions and pressures of the society can repress his spirit and pride in
himself.

2. Explain what does the poet mean by ‘where knowledge is free’?

A. 2. ”Knowledge is free” means that a world where knowledge is not restricted on the basis of
class, gender, caste and race. The world of knowledge can be explored by anyone irrespective of
the strata of society he belonged to, and irrespective of any other differences.

3. What are narrow domestic walls?

A. 3. By ”Narrow domestic walls” the poet means the wall of discrimination on the basis of caste,
creed and colour which restricts a person in his pursuit of knowledge and excellence.

B. Read the next four lines and answer the following questions.

1. Find out the line expressing, ‘Endless efforts are made to achieve the best quality.’

B. 1. The meaning is expressed in “Where tireless striving stretches its arms towards protection”

2. What do you understand by ‘clear stream of reason?’

B. 2. The poet asks for a world where one’s reason, logic and decisions are clear and not clouded
by age old superstitions and prejudices.

3. What is the ‘dead habit’ according to the poet?

B. 3. ”Dead habit” are those habits of superstitions and prejudices which are prohibitive and
restrictive in achieving the freedom of the mind.

C. Read the last four lines and answer the following questions.

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1. What does the poet mean by ‘ever widening thought and action’?

C. 1 By ”ever widening thought and action” the poet means the expression of thoughts, birth of
new ideas and creations and a relentless persuit of excellence through hard work.

2. Describe any two traits of character the poet wants to inculcate in his countrymen.

C. 2. The poet wants his countrymen to be fearless and confident to pursue their excellence.

3. What does the poet mean by let my country awake?

C. 3. He also wants them to be laborious and put in endless effort to achieve the best in their work

4. What are the freedoms that R.N. Tagore mentions in the poem?

C. 4. The poet talks about his country being awakened to the path of glory where his countrymen
explores knowledge, expresses innovation in thoughts, gives birth to new ideas and directs endless
effort and action.

Important Brief Questions with Answers

Q. When was Rabindranath Tagore born?

Answer: Poet Rabindranath Tagore was born in 7 May 1861.

Q. Where was Rabindranath Tagore born?

Answer: Rabindranath Tagore was born in Tagore was born in the Jorasanko mansion in Kolkata,
India.

Q. What is Rabindranath Tagore’s father’s name?

Answer: Debendranath Tagore is the father of Rabindranath Tagore. He was a very learned person
with wide range of study.

Q. When did Tagore’s family get progressed?

Answer: During the reign of Hussein Shah (1493–1519), the Tagore family became well-known.

Q. What is the original family title of Tagore family?

Answer: Banerjee is the original family title of Tagore family.

Q. Who was the poetic inspiration (muse) of child Rabi?

Answer: Poet Bihari Lal was his muse when he was a child.

Q. What is significant about Tagore’s Nobel winning?

Answer: He is the first non-European to win the prize.

Q. When did Rabindranath Tagore achieve ‘Nobel Prize’?

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Answer: He was awarded ‘Nobel Prize’ in 1913.

Q. For which piece of writing was Tagore awarded the ‘Nobel Prize’?
Answer: For writing ‘Song Offerings’, he was awarded the prestigious ‘Nobel Prize In Literature’.
He translated it from his original ‘Gitanjali’.

Q. Who had written the preface of the ‘Song Offerings’?

Answer: Irish poet W. B. Yeats had written the preface.

Q. Who had translated the short stories of Rabindranath Tagore?

Answer: Irish poet W. B. Yeats had translated the short stories of Rabindranath Tagore.

Q. When did Tagore write his first poem?

Answer: Tagore wrote his first poem when he was just eight.

Q. How many national anthems did Tagore write?

Answer: He had composed and tuned three national anthems: India, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka.

Q. What is pseudonym of Tagore?

Answer: Bhanu Singha is the pseudonym of Rabindranath Tagore. Using this name, he wrote a
few Padavali (old verse).

Q. What is Rabindranath Tagore’s mother’s name?

Answer: Sharada Devi is the mother of Rabindranath Tagore.

Q. To whom was ‘Gitanjali’ dedicated?

Answer: ‘Gitanjali’ was dedicated to William Rothenstein.

Q. Who is William Rothenstein?

Answer: Sir William Rothenstein was an English painter and printmaker. He was a draftsman and
writer on art as well.

Q. When was William Rothenstein born and did he die?

Answer: He was born at 29 January in 1872 and died at 14 February in 1945.

Q. Where did William Rothenstein born?

Answer: William Rothenstein was born into a German-Jewish family in Bradford, West Yorkshire.

Q. Who had written ‘Men and Memories’?

Answer: William Rothenstein wrote ‘Men and Memories’.

Q. When was ‘Where the mind is without fear’ composed?

Answer: This poem was most likely composed in 1900. It appeared in the volume Naivedya, poem
named “Parthona”

Q. What does Tagore demand by this poem?

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Answer: He gave a graphic independent India. He wants not only the freedom of land but also
demand intellectual India.

Q. Which university was founded by Rabindranath Tagore?

Answer: Rabindranath Tagore established ‘Visvabharati’.

Q. Who had published English ‘Gitanjali’?

Answer: Indian Society, London, had published the English ‘Gitanjali’.

Q. What is the meaning of Gitanjali?

Answer: Gitanjali is the composition of two words. ‘Gita’ means song and ‘anjali’ means ‘offering’.
So, Gitanjali means ‘Song Offerings’.

Q. What types of poem does Gitanjali contain?

Answer: All poems are highly devotional. It praises the freedom of humanity.

Q. Which American president did use the two lines from Gitanjali-35?
Answer: President Barack Obama used the first two lines while he joined New Delhi Session.

Q. What types of images does Gitanjali-35 picture?

Answer: It tells the story of free thinking and dynamic nation.

Q. What type of religion did Tagore follow?

Answer: He was the believer of Brahmo.

Q. What is Brahmo belief?

Answer: Brahma belief is the update version Hinduism. They believe in one God. So, they are
theist.

Q. Who is the founder of Brahmo belief?

Answer: Raja Ram Mohan Roy was the founder of modern Brahmo Society.

Q. In which year did Rabindranath Tagore surrender the knighthood as a protest against
Jallianwallabagh massacre?
Answer: In 1919, Tagore refused the knighthood.

Q. Which great scientist was the friend of Tagore?

Answer: Albert Einstein was the friend of Tagore. He was very much fond of his poetry.

Q. Which science fictionist was the friend of Tagore?

Answer: H. G. Wells was the friend of Tagore. Tagore and H.G. Wells met in Geneva in early June,
1930.

Q. When did Tagore meet Einstein?

Answer: Tagore went to outskirt home Albert Einstein in Berlin on July 14, 1930. They talked about
science and Indian tradition.

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Q. Which English imagist poet was the friend of Tagore?
Answer: Imagist poet Ezra Pound was the friend of Tagore.

Q. When did Ezra Pound meet Tagore?

Answer: Ezra Pound for the first met Tagore in ‘Tagore Evening’ hosted by William Rothenstein,
July 7, 1912.

Q. Which Irish poet was the friend of Tagore?

Answer: Irish poet William Butler Yeats was the friend of Tagore.

Q. When did Yeats meet Tagore?

Answer: On Tagore’s third visit to Britain, he met Yeats on 7 July 1912.
Q. Who said about manuscript of Gitanjali: ‘if someone were to say he could improve this piece of
writing, that person did not understand literature’.
Answer: William Butler Yeats said so in a party.

Q. Which magazine was edited by Rabindranath Tagore?

Answer: Rabindranath Tagore used to edit ‘Bangadarshan’.

Q. What is the main motif of the portion of Gitanjali-35?

Answer: It is a direction given by Rabindranath Tagore. He gave a way to create free India.

Q. What is the meaning of ‘domestic wall’?

Answer: ‘Domestic wall’ means the borders of the countries.

Q. Which mystic folk song influenced Tagore?

Answer: He was much influenced by the mystic songs of Lalon Shah.

Q. Who introduced Tagore with the songs of Lalon Shah?

Answer: Gagan Harkara (peon) introduced him with the songs of Lalon Shah.

Q. Who was Gagan?

Answer: Gagan was a Postman at Shelaidaha Post office in Kumarkhali. He was a disciple of Lalon
Shah. He was a baul poet as well. He was generally known as Gagan Harkara.

Q. Who had composed ‘Ami Kothay Pabo Tare’?

Answer: Baul poet Gagan Harkara composed the song.

Q. What is story between Tagore and Gagan Harkara?

Answer: Gagan told Tagore about Lalon Shah.

Q. Why is Gagan Harkara important for Tagore’s career?

Answer: By the help of Gagan Harkara Tagore knew about Lalon’s mysticism. This is a gate way of
his career. And later many poems of Tagore were influenced by the mysticism of Lalon Shah.

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Q. Who is the wife of Tagore?
Answer: Mrinalini Devi was the wife of Tagore.

Q. When did Tagore die?

Answer: He died on 7 august in 1941. He became 80 when he died. He died in Kolkata.

Q. How many wishes does Tagore long in the “Song Offerings-35”?

Answer: Tagore longs seven wishes in the “Song Offerings-35” for his country.
Q. What is the first prayer of Tagore?
Answer: The first prayer of the poet is that his country should not fear anything and live their lives
with dignity.
Q. What is the meaning of ‘Father’ in the poem?
Answer: Here ‘Father’ means ‘Father in Heaven’ or ‘God’.

2. River came home (Aditi Rao)

3. Felling of Banyan Tree by Dilip Chitre

My father told the tenants to leave

Who lived on the houses surrounding our house on the hill
One by one the structures were demolished
Only our own house remained and the trees
Trees are sacred my grandmother used to say
Felling them is a crime but he massacred them all
The sheoga, the oudumber, the neem were all cut down
But the huge banyan tree stood like a problem
Whose roots lay deeper than all our lives
My father ordered it to be removed
The banyan tree was three times as tall as our house
Its trunk had a circumference of fifty feet
Its scraggy aerial roots fell to the ground
From thirty feet or more so first they cut the branches
Sawing them off for seven days and the heap was huge
Insects and birds began to leave the tree
And then they came to its massive trunk
Fifty men with axes chopped and chopped
The great tree revealed its rings of two hundred years
We watched in terror and fascination this slaughter
As a raw mythology revealed to us its age
Soon afterwards we left Baroda for Bombay
Where there are no trees except the one
Which grows and seethes in one’s dreams, its aerial roots
Looking for the ground to strike

Understanding the Poem

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1. Identify the lines that reveal the critical tone of the poet towards the felling of the tree.

Answer
There are many expressions in the poem that reveal the critical tone of the poet towards the felling
of the tree:
“Its scraggy aerial roots fell to the ground”
“Sawing them off for seven days and the heap was huge”
“Insects and birds began to leave the tree”
“Fifty men with axes chopped and chopped”
“We watched in terror and fascination this slaughter”

2. Identify the words that help you understand the nature of the poet's father.

Answer
There are such words in the poem that help one understand the nature of the poet's father.
The father was a much practical man. Probably because the whole family was moving to Baroda,
the father got all the trees removed and the surrounding property demolished. He was not an
emotional man but a man of actions.
“the structures were demolished”
“but he massacred them all”
“My father ordered it to be removed”

3. 'Trees are sacred my grandmother used to say'– what does the poet imply by this line?

Answer
There are many legends surrounding the sheoga, the oudumber, the neem and most of all the
banyan tree. These are considered mythologically relevant and holy in Hinduism. Old folk who are
deeply religious consider it sin to cut down these trees as they are to be worshipped according to
the Holy Scriptures. They even say that if one brings neem or peepal down by felling them they are
cursed with ill fate. There are plenty of stories in our mythology that fear and plague our society
with as many superstitions as possible. Thus, the poet is merely trying to convey the fears and
religious beliefs of old folk like his granny.

4. No trees except the one which grows and seethes in one's dreams'– why is the phrase 'grows
and seethes' used?

Answer
In the climax of the poem, the poet with his family moved to Baroda. There, the poet sees banyan
tree. The memory of the banyan tree in his own garden rushes to him. And now that the tree in
reality is dead, for his father brought it down, the poet carries its memories in his faded dreams.
The poet personifies the banyan tree by saying that this tree is the one that grows in one's dreams,
i.e., in poet's dreams. There in the dreams, the tree seethes, i.e., boils. It is to be considered for
why the poet has used the second term. Is it possible that the tree is in anguish, because it was
brought down, and thus it boils in anger while it grows in the poet's dreams though dead in reality.

5. How does the banyan tree stand out as different from other trees? What details of the tree does
the poet highlight in the poem?
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Answer
In Bhagvad Geeta, Krishna said, “Of all the trees I am Banyan Tree”. Banyan is considered to be
the most pious tree in Hindu mythology. It is believed that Buddha renounced under the banyan
tree in Bodh Gaya. There are many more such stories that this tree encompasses in its age old
aerial roots that fall to the ground mysteriously. The poet is impressed by its huge figure as he
says, “the great tree revealed its rings of two hundred years”. The physical description of the
banyan carves an image of an enigma. The tree's aerial roots dangling from above to reach out to
the ground. They are the proof of all the years and decades the tree has lived. It is a tough tree and
it takes more that usual effort to bring it down. And when it happens, all watched it fall in terror and
fascination, the slaughter of the age old banyan tree. It fees as if a raw mythology was revealed it
age to the poet and his folk.

6. What does the reference to raw mythology imply?

Answer
The Banyan tree is a mythological one, and when his grandmother calls it along with the other
trees to be sacred. A religious sentiment is brought out in not just the poet but the reader as well.
When the tree is slaughtered on the orders of the poet's father, a mystery is revealed. First the
scraggy aerial roots were brought down unleashing age old trunk that had a circumference of fifty
feet. It was a tree that had witnessed ages and held all the knowledge knotted inside. When it was
brought down it felt as if all the mythology was revealed to the poet. The darkness and the
concealed, the enlightenment it has secreted away since so long. The reasons and the answers to
all the logics all was beheld by the tree and now was slaughtered.

7. 'Whose roots lay deeper than our lives' – what aspect of human behaviour does this line reflect?

Answer
A banyan tree's life cycle is a unique one, it grows as an epiphyte. It may live for more than 200
years or even 400-450 years. In contrast an average human life is of 70-80 years. It is clearly
visible that one banyan alone may survive generations of humans. Banyan has strangled roots
knotted in its trunk that grow for centuries. It transcends human life and rolls and grows with the
knowledge that it witnesses all the while. The poet has subtly juxtaposed a human life to that of a
banyan. For all its mythical hugeness that makes it an enigma a human is thrown into utter
bewilderment and surprise for all the knowledge that it secrets away inside its vast trunk, which
grows with its aerial roots that grow to reach the ground. They resemble the lives that it has lived
again and again witnessing all the human lives that descended and perished with time standing tall
and erect.

8. Comment on the contemporary concern that the poem echoes.

Answer
Poet is concerned about the pace with which the traditions are changing and are affected by
modern notions. The value attached to the trees in earlier times is not of concern to people living in
modern society. The old cultural values are breaking free giving way to western science and
studies. The religious values that were inculcated in a child from her/his childhood are payed no

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heed. Life is busy and is consuming not just our time and space but our lifestyle. The moral values
our tradition was raised on are now treated as bygones. The poet wonders at the change our
society is undergoing and has written the poem on it.

4. Rain, Rain, Go Away by Isaac Asimov

1 Analysis of Rain, Rain, Go Away by Isaac Asimov

2 About the Author Isaac Asimov was born in 1920 in the Soviet Union. He came to the U.S. when
he was 3. He was a writer of science fiction/fantasy. He died in 1992.

3 Rain, Rain, Go Away Rain, rain, go away, Come again another day, All the children want to play,
Rain, rain, go away. What does this story have to do with the popular children’s song?

4 The Genre Rain, Rain, Go Away is a science fiction story. Science fiction includes unrealistic
elements (for example, characters being made of sugar). It is a story that includes realistic
concepts as well (such as nosy neighbors, amusement park, etc.) to make the fantastic events
seem more believable.

5 The Wright family represents the stereotypical all-American family: – Mrs. Wright = homemaker,
nosy neighbor – Mr. Wright = works, watches the game, ignores his wife’s gossip – Tommie =
plays baseball (America’s pastime)

6 The name Wright is also significant in that Asimov is suggesting that Americans are always
“right” (or, at least, they think they are). George Wright’s comment that the Sakkaro boy playing
baseball is “like Chinese water torture” is especially significant: he is saying that a “non-American”
attempting to play baseball (America’s game) is torturous for him to have to hear (This is vindicated
when Mr. Wright “glanced with distaste at the television” when “Schoendienst was at bat.”).
Tommie’s unwillingness (?) to play with him shows the future’s lack of acceptance (or at least
hesitance) as well.

7 The Sakkaros are an enigmatic family. They represent a family from a foreign country; people
Americans do not understand and therefore judge. Also, the name Sakkaro is a play on the word
saccharine which means sugar. Although they are an anomaly, they are described as “sweet,”
“pleasant,” and “handsome.” Asimov is suggesting that no matter how sweet people (“non-
Americans”) are, if we (Americans) do not understand them, it doesn’t matter…

8 The Sakkaro’s obsession with the weather is symbolic of people from other countries/who are
“different” being concerned with (dangerous) things they cannot control… …such as the “climate”
of American society (in other words, how American’s feel about them and treat them.).

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9 The Sakkaro’s refusal to eat anything “American” (like a hamburger or hot dog) represents their
uncertainty about (unwillingness to?) acclimating into American society. At the same time, the
Wright’s disgust at the Sakkaro’s “sweet tooth” simply represents America’s disapproval of new
people.

10 The two families finally get together and go to an amusement park (this can be seen as an “all
American” thing to do): the Wrights feel perfectly comfortable while the Sakkaros are on edge. It is
fun and comfortable for the Wrights, and unusual for the Sakkaros: Mrs. Wright used her “mother’s
psychology” because it would be “easier for her to go along with it.” Then Mrs. Wright says, “I
suppose they’ve never been to a place like this before and they’ll need time to adjust to the
novelty.” It represents American society. At the sight of one cloud, the Sakkaros want to go home
(to safety), and the Wrights scoff at this.

11 Finally, the Sakkaros dissolve in the rain because they were made of sugar (sweet and fragile)
just before they get into their house (ironically). The rain is not something the Wrights worry about.
(Think about T.W.U.!) The rain = the difficulties of fitting into American society; it is the “climate” of
American society.) There is another IRONY here: rain = water = cleanliness, purity, life (all living
things need it to survive) but it kills the Sakkaros. The conclusion = the theme of the story: Isaac
Asimov is suggesting that it is difficult (Americans make it so) for “non-Americans” to be
comfortable in American society. But…

12 Discussion Question: Did the Sakkaros melt (fail to thrive/survive; die) because they didn’t try
to acclimate themselves into American society? Or because the Wrights (the Americans, if you will)
refused to accept them for who they were? And, did the Wrights mean well? Whose fault is it?

5. The Road Not Taken by Robert Frost

'The Road Not Taken' by Robert Frost is a well-known poem about the journey of life. This lesson will
cover a brief summary of the poem, analyze its major theme, and test your knowledge with a quick quiz.

Poem Summary
Have you ever found yourself caught between a rock and a hard place, trying to make a difficult
decision? Maybe you've had to choose between two equally desirable things, like following a career
path to become an astronaut or a doctor. You may have considered the different paths of study or
activity each choice would lead you down. We've all been faced with challenging decisions in our lives,
and sometimes the difficulty of making those decisions arises from the fear of not knowing if what we
choose is right, or what will happen as a result of our choice.
Well, the famous American poet, Robert Frost, once wrote a poem that describes this feeling exactly.
'The Road Not Taken', first published in 1916, is perhaps Frost's most famous poem. The final lines in
particular, 'Two roads diverged in a yellow wood and I - I took the one less traveled by, and that has
made all the difference', are often quoted and referred to as inspirational words that challenge us to
overcome obstacles in life.
The poem describes someone standing at a fork, or turning point, in a road in the woods, trying to
decide which path he's going to take. He looks down one road as far as he can see, and after thinking
for another minute, decides to take the other one because it looks like nobody's been that way yet, and
he's curious about where it leads.
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He thinks maybe he might come back another day and try out the other path but he has a feeling that
the road he's chosen will lead him to new places and discoveries, and he probably won't be back. He
thinks wistfully about that road, the road not taken, and where he might have wound up if he'd gone that
way instead. Part of him regrets his decision, but he also realizes that the things he's seen and the
places he's gone because of the direction he chose has made him who he is.
The Poem's Theme
'The Road Not Taken' is more than a poem about someone trying to decide which road he's going to take on
a stroll through the woods. It's actually a poem about the journey of life. The two roads diverged in a
yellow wood symbolize a person's life. The narrator's choice about which road to take represents the
different decisions we sometimes have to make and how those decisions will affect the future. Think of the
expression, 'down the road', that we often use to describe something that might happen months or even
years from now, and you'll see how Frost is making the connection between life and traveling.
Frost captures the uncertainty about making decisions and our natural desire to know what will happen as a
result of the decisions we make in the first stanza of the poem:
'Two roads diverged in a yellow wood
And sorry I could not travel both
And be one traveler, long I stood
And looked down one as far as I could
To where it bent in the undergrowth'
Here, Frost uses the bend in the road as a metaphor for what the narrator wishes he could see but ultimately
can't make out in the undergrowth. The narrator eventually decides to take the other road because it really
doesn't matter; whichever path he chooses, he has no way of knowing where he's going to end up.
The only difference between the two roads is that the one the narrator chooses in the second stanza is
'grassy and wanted wear'; in other words, it doesn't look like anyone's taken it before or in a long time. At
this point in the poem, Frost tries to encourage readers to overcome the fear of the unknown: someone has
to be the first person to try a new thing. Just think about what has happened when men and women have
boldly gone where no men and women have gone before. Without that kind of determination, Christopher
Columbus wouldn't have 'discovered' America, and Neil Armstrong wouldn't have walked on the moon.

The poet while travelling on foot in the woods reaches a junction where two roads diverge and he
has to choose one among them He stands there for long. Then he decides to choose the road,
which was grassy and needed ‘to wear’. He feels this choice will make all the difference to his
future life. He decides to try the other road, some other time, knowing fully well that he will not get a
chance to go back to it. Later he wishes that he had taken the other road. This is the irony of life,
we cannot travel on all the available roads, no matter howsoever we may wish to.
The poet feels that after ages from now he would be looking at this decision with a ‘sigh’. He would
tell that since he had taken the road less travelled, it made all the difference.
Thus the poet speaks of the basic problems of making the right choice. Many alternatives are
available at the time of choice but man has to select one. It is only the future that will reveal,
whether the decision is wrong or not. After taking decisions we cannot undo them, we can only
regret them. Even if we wish, we cannot start all over again.

Stanzas Explanation

• Stanza 1: On the road of life, the speaker arrives at a point where he must decide which of two
equally appealing choices is the better one. He examines one choice as best he can, but the future
prevents him from seeing where it leads.

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• Stanza 2: The speaker selects the road that appears at first glance to be less worn and therefore
less traveled. This selection suggests that he has an independent spirit and does not wish to follow
the crowd. After a moment, he concludes that both roads are about equally worn.

• Stanza 3: Leaves cover both roads equally. No one on this morning has yet taken either road, for
the leaves lie undisturbed. The speaker remains committed to his decision to take the road he had
previously selected, saying that he will save the other road for another day. He observes, however,
that he probably will never pass this way again and thus will never have an opportunity to take the
other road.

• Stanza 4: In years to come, the speaker says, he will be telling others about the choice he made.
While doing so, he will sigh either with relief that he made the right choice or with regret that he
made the wrong choice. Whether right or wrong, the choice will have had a significant impact on
his life.

Terms and Meanings from the Poem

• Diverged – separated
• Undergrowth - a dense growth of shrubs and other plants
• Lay – put
7. On the basis of your understanding of the poem, answer the following questions by ticking the
correct choice.

(a) In the poem, a traveler comes to a fork in the road and needs to decide which way to go to
continue his journey. Figuratively the choice of the road denotes ______________________.
(i) the tough choices people make the road of life
(ii) the time wasted on deciding what to do
(iii) life is like a forest
(iv) one must travel a lot to realize his dreams

Answer

(i) the tough choices people make the road of life

(b) The poet writes, 'Two roads diverged in a yellow wood.' The word diverged means
_______________.
(i) appeared
(ii) curved
(iii) branched off
(iv) continued on

Answer

(iii) branched off

(c) The tone of the speaker in the first stanza is that of ______________.
(i) excitement
(ii) anger
(iii) hesitation and thoughtfulness
(iv) sorrow

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Answer

(iii) hesitation and thoughtfulness

8. Answer the following questions briefly.

(i) Describe the two roads that the author finds.

Answer

One road was a beaten track. Many people had walked on it. It was lost in the small shrubs. The
other road was grassy and unspoiled.

(ii) Which road does the speaker choose?

Answer

The poet chose the road that was less travelled because it had the better claim. It was grassy and not
many people had used it.

(iii) Which road would you choose? Why?

Answer

I will chose the less travelled road because I want to judge myself test myself and check my
capability. I like adventure and would want to explore new facts. I am always enthusiastic for
venturing into something absolutely new, uncommon and unknown to the rest of the world.

(iv) Does the speaker seem happy about his decision?

Answer

There is a certain ambiguity here. The speaker seems happy and satisfied when he says - “And
that has made all the difference.” However, the sigh just before this makes us question his
happiness.

(v) The poet says “I took the one less travelled by, And that has made all the difference.” What is
‘the difference’ that the poet mentions?

Answer

When the poet came to the cross roads, he had a choice. He could take the road travelled by many or he
could take the road less travelled. He decided to take the road less travelled knowing fully well that once
the choice was made, it was permanent and there was no turning back. That 'choice' he had made,
according to him, has changed his life. It may have brought him success, happiness and fulfillment. The
choice that he made at that time affected his future. That choice made all the difference to his life.

9. Find the rhyme scheme of the poem.

Answer

The rhyme scheme of Poem is a b a a b

Page No: 67
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 10. Fill in the blanks to complete the following paragraph that deals with the theme of the poem.
Use the words given in the box below:

decision sorry foresee choices

pleasant direction fork trail

rewarding chance wonder both

The poem “The Road Not Taken” by Robert Frost is about the ___________that one makes in life.
It tells about a man who comes to a ______________in the road he is travelling upon. He feels
____________that he cannot travel ________paths as he must choose one. Frost uses this fork in
the road to represent a point in the man’s life where he has to choose the ____________he wishes
to take in life. As he thinks about his __________he looks down one path as far as he can see
trying to ________________ what life will be like if he walks that path. He then gazes at the other
_________and decides the outcome of going down that path would be just as ___________. At
this point he concludes that the trail that has been less travelled on would be more _________
when he reaches the end of it. The man then decides that he will save the other path for another
day, even though he knows that one path leads to another and that he won’t get a _____________
to go back. The man then says that he will be telling this story with a “sigh” someday in the future
suggesting that he will ________what life would have been like if he had chosen the more walked
path even though the path he chose has made all the difference.

Answer

The poem “The Road Not Taken” by Robert Frost is about the choices that one makes in life. It
tells about a man who comes to a fork in the road he is travelling upon. He feels sorry that he
cannot travel both paths as he must choose one. Frost uses this fork in the road to represent a
point in the man’s life where he has to choose the direction he wishes to take in life. As he thinks
about his decision he looks down one path as far as he can see trying to foresee what life will be
like if he walks that path. He then gazes at the other trail and decides the outcome of going down
that path would be just aspleasant. At this point he concludes that the trail that has been less
travelled on would be more rewarding when he reaches the end of it. The man then decides that
he will save the other path for another day, even though he knows that one path leads to another
and that he won’t get a chance to go back. The man then says that he will be telling this story with
a “sigh” someday in the future suggesting that he will wonder what life would have been like if he
had chosen the more walked path even though the path he chose has made all the difference.

11. Roads are fascinating as metaphors for life, change, journeys, partings, adventure, etc.
or simply as roads. This is probably why they, and all their attendant images, have
permeated art, literature and song. In the poem, Frost uses the fork in the road as a
metaphor for the choices we make in life. Thus the roads are, in fact, two alternative ways of
life. What other nouns could be used to represent life?

 River
 ________________
 ________________
 ________________
 ________________
Answer

Stage
Flowers
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Colours
Dream
Journey

13. 'The Road Not Taken' is a biographical poem. Therefore, some personal biographical
information is relevant to the deeper understanding of the poem we have read. Go to
www.encarta.com and complete the following worksheet about Robert Frost.

a) What "momentous decision" was made by Frost in 1912?

b) How old was he when took this decision?

c) Why was it so difficult to make this decision? Think and give more than one reason.

d) Was the "road" Frost had taken easy "to travel"?

e) Do you think he wrote "The Road Not Taken" before sailing from the USA to England or after?
Can you quote a line or two from the poem that can support your answer?

f) Do you think Frost finally became popular in America as a poet?

Answer

a) In 1912 Frost sailed with his family to Great Britain. This decision is considered as "momentous
decision" made by Robert Frost. Before this, Frost was a failing New Hampshire farmer as well as
a part-time poet. This was the year when Frost give up farming and started his career as poet. The
family moved to Great Britain, where Frost met many other poets and successfully set his career
on the path to immortality.

b) Robert Frost was 42 when this poem published. However, we cannot assume that this poem is
actually autobiographical. Frost created his speaker for the poem to speak on his behalf. We can
guess the age of the speaker based on the evidence given in the poem. The only clue we have to
the speaker’s age are the words “ages and ages hence.” This implies that he will be considering
the effects of his decision far down the road years into the future. So we would expect him to be a
relatively young man at the time of the decision.

c) He was going to another country where he had no contact. Also, he give up his traditional
occupation. If he fails in his poetic career then it is very hard for him to survive. Therefore, the
decision was so difficult.

d) The poem didn't make it clear whether the road was difficult or not. We have only knew about
the condition of the road is that it “was grassy and wanted wear.” That just means that it was not a
frequently traveled road; it doesn’t tell us how difficult it was.

e) The poem is written after sailing from the USA to England. We can understood through his line
"...and that has made all the difference" which means Frost had traveled the road which changed
his life.

f) Yes, Frost finally became popular in America as a poet.

6. A Tale of Two Cities by Charles Dickens

Summary

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Defarge greets the shoemaker. He lets in more light into the room. He asks the man if he is going
to finish the shoes. The man doesn’t know. Jarvis Lorry comes forward, and Defarge asks the man
to show Lorry the shoe. The man tells Lorry it is a lady’s walking shoe. When Defarge tells him to
state his name as the person who made it, the man replies, “Number 105, North Tower.”

Lorry asks if he is a shoemaker by trade. The man says no. He learned it. He taught himself. Lorry
then calls him Mr. Manette and asks if he remembers him. He asks if he remembers Mr. Defarge
as his former servant. Mr. Manette has brief recognition on his face, but it dims almost immediately.
Miss Manette moves closer, feeling compassion for him. The man resumes his work. Defarge and
Lorry move to the side. Defarge asks Lorry if he has identified him positively as Mr. Manette. Lorry
says yes.

Mr. Manette finally notices the woman standing next to him. He asks if she is the jailer’s daughter.
She says no. Lorry and Defarge move closer, worried he might harm her. He caresses her hair. He
said she laid her head on his shoulder. She had been afraid of him going, but he hadn’t been.
When they brought him to prison, they found something that he begged to keep. It couldn’t help
him escape physically, only mentally. He asks if she is the woman he is speaking about. Miss
Manette begs Lorry and Defarge not to interfere. Mr. Manette realizes she couldn’t be that woman.
She is too young. He asks Miss Manette her name. She promises to tell him at another time, as
well as reveal her parentage. However, now is not the time or place. She asks him to kiss her. She
tells him to weep for any familiar memory she sparks in him. She has come to take him away, and
his suffering is over. She tells him her mother is dead, and that her mother kept from her the fact
that her father was alive to spare her pain. He embraces her, then gradually falls to the floor in
exhaustion.

She asks if they can prepare for their departure. Lorry asks if Mr. Manette is fit for a journey. She
believes it is better than letting him stay. Defarge agrees with her. Miss Manette wants to stay with
him. They are reluctant to leave her alone. However, much needs to be prepared, and there is little
time to do it. Lorry goes to hire a carriage, and Defarge gets the papers.

At nightfall, they prepare to leave. Mr. Manette seems confused by his surroundings, since he
expects to still be at the prison. He doesn’t remember coming here. They ride until they encounter
some soldiers asking to see their papers. Defarge shows them, and they are allowed to proceed.

7. Ozymandias by Percy Bysshe Shelley

Page No: 107

2. Write a letter to your friend about the sight you saw and your
impression of it.
Answer
Dear Friend,
Hey, I am writing to you to describe something very interesting.
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The other day I was going through ‘Literature Reader’ where I
saw a picture of a sculpture of two legs and a beheaded face
lying on the floor in the desert. The impression of the same, on
me, was very horrifying because it seemed to talk of a very
powerful ruler who was no longer alive. Who might have
guessed that years after his death…
XXX
4. Answer the following questions by ticking the correct
options.
(a) The poem is set in
____________________________________________
i. the wilderness
ii. an ancient land
iii. a palace
iv. a desert
Answers
iv. a desert
(b) The expression on the face of the statue is one of ____________________ i. admiration ii.
anger iii. despair iv. contempt Answer iv. contempt (c) This poem throws light on the
_________________ nature of Ozymandias. i. cruel ii. arrogant iii. boastful iv. aggressive Answer
iii. boastful (d) The sculptor was able to understand Ozymandias' ___________________ i. words
ii. expression iii. feelings iv. ambition Answer ii. expression (e) The tone of the poem is
________________________________________ i. mocking ii. nostalgic iii. gloomy iv. gloating
Answer iv. gloating Page No: 108 5. Answer the following questions briefly. (a)"The hand that
mocked them, and the heart that fed." Whose hand and heart has the poet referred to in this line?
Answer The hand is the sculptor's hand who made the statue and the heart of the King
Ozymandias which fed on the passions of his people. (b) "My name is Ozymandias, king of kings:"
Why does Ozymandias refer to himself as King of Kings? What quality of the king is revealed
through this statement. Answer Ozymandias is the mighty king who has defeated almost all the
kings and their empires around him. He is proud of his glory and power. So, he calls himself ‘King
of Kings’. This statement shows that the king must be very proud of his achievements. He is a real
snob. (c) "Look on my works, ye Mighty, and despair!" Who is Ozymandias referring to when he
speaks of ye Mighty? Why should they despair?

Answer Ozymandias refers to all the other rulers to come after his reign. They should despair,
because according to him, they can’t surpass his glory and power. (d) Bring out the irony in the
poem. Answer Ozymandias was very powerful ruler. No ruler in that time withstand against him. He
was all high and mighty king. But now, his statue is present in broken pieces and has mixed with
the dust and sand. Here is irony. (e) 'Nothing beside remains.' What does the narrator mean when
he says these words? Answer When the narrator says these words, he emphasises on the fact that
human life is time bound. The power and popularity of the ruler descended with the descent of the
ruler. Nothing is immortal and immutable in this world. (f) What is your impression of Ozymandias
as a king? Answer Ozymandias was a great powerful king as he had defeated almost every king in
his empire. His achievements could be seen throughout the empire. But his boastful nature, his
arrogance, and his nature of showing others down make him a weak person. (g) What message is
conveyed through this poem? Answer Through this poem a very important message is conveyed

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that time is all powerful. No king or his power can defeat time. All the achievement, in the end,
leads to grave as nothing lives in the world forever. So, the pride and the showcase of power are
useless. The greatness of a man is known by his good deeds. Page No: 109 6. Identify and rewrite
the lines from the poem spoken by the narrator, the traveler and Ozymandias: The Narrator:
___________________________________________________ _____
___________________________________________________ _____
___________________________________________________ _____ The Traveller:
___________________________________________________ _____
___________________________________________________ _____
___________________________________________________ _____ Ozymandias:
___________________________________________________ _____
___________________________________________________ _____
___________________________________________________ _____

Answer The Narrator: The narrator starts the poem with the introduction as to how the traveller had
narrated his trip to the ancient land. The Traveler: Two huge yet without the upper part of the body
sculptures stood in the desert. Near them lay a shattered face, which had a frown and a wrinkled
expression on his face. The face also held a hostile expression of cold command. The expression
could be read very well on these lifeless things because of the sculptor’s artistry. On the pedestal
appeared the words of the king himself. It read that his name was Ozymandias, king of kings, who
commanded the forthcoming rulers to look up to him, and be saddened by the fact that they can
never beat the glory he had achieved. Ozymandias: I am Ozymandias, king of all kings: look upon
my work and be despaired by my might, which you can never surpass. Page No: 110 8. Complete
the table listing the poetic devices used by Shelley in Ozymandias.
Poetic Device Lines from the poem
Alliteration ...and sneer of cold command
Synecdoche (substitution of a part to stand
for the whole, or the whole to stand for a the hand that mock'd them
part)

Answer
Poetic Device Lines from the poem
Alliteration ...and sneer of cold command
Synecdoche (substitution of a part to stand
for the whole, or the whole to stand for a the hand that mock'd them
part)
Repitition King of Kings
Personification the hand that mocked them

9. Imagine that Ozymandias comes back to life and as he sees the condition of his statue,
realisation dawns on him and he pens his thoughts in a diary. As Ozymandias, make this diary

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entry in about 150 words. You could begin like this: I thought I was the mightiest of all but... Answer
Dear Diary, Traversing over the desert, I was dumbfounded with great shock when I discovered
that my statue was lying broken, without head and body, in an eroded state. Imagine my reaction. I
had considered myself above all, I was the greatest, the mightiest, and I believed that the coming
generations would worship or pay respect to my statue. The condition of my statue pained me. All
my achievements, my confidence in my power was razed to the ground. There were sands and
loneliness around. No one seemed to remember my greatness. May be I was wrong. I should have
devoted my life to the welfare, looked after my people with compassion and care, maybe then the
fate of my statue would have been different. Ozymandias. 10. 'Ozymandias' and 'Not Marble, nor
the Gilded Monuments' are on Time. Compare the two sonnets in terms of the way in which Time is
treated by the poets. Write your answer in about 150 words. Answer In both the sonnets,
‘Ozymandias’ and ‘Not Marble Not the Gilded Monuments’ time is presented in different way by the
poets. In ‘Ozymandias’, Percy Byshhe Shelley presents time more powerful than the most of the
powerful king. On the other hand, in ‘Not Marble Not the Gilded Monuments’, Shakespeare present
time as powerful but not as powerful and long lasting as his words for his friends. In ‘Ozymandias’ it
is seen that even a great king is forgotten in the course of time if his deeds are bad. But if you love
someone more than anything else in the world, as mention in ‘Not Marble Not the Gilded
Monuments’, your love for that person lives forever. In such case, one doesn’t need to make a
statue to make the memory live forever. Time can be won only by love not by hate.

8. Gorillas in the mist by Dian Fossey

Gorillas in the Mist Worksheet

1. Who is this movie about?

2. Why are many hesitant for Dian to go do this research?
3. What is the political situation going on in the Congo upon Dian’s arrival?
4. How long was it before Dian sees any gorillas?
5. What is the gorillas’ reaction when they 1st see Dian?
6. Where does Dian move her search to after being stopped by civil war?
7. What did the “Batwa” think of Dian?
8. Was the trip with the photographer successful?
9. How does Dian cut a deal to stop poachers?
10. How long before research students were sent to learn about Dian’s research?
11. Do you think that having to deal with poachers is part of doing natural observation? Why or why not?
12. What type of tactics does Dian use to discourage poachers?
13. What parts of a gorilla do poachers usually take?
14. What effect does the long-term natural observation seem to have on the researchers?
15. Do you think it was necessary for Dian to make so many enemies? Why or why not?
16. What was Dian Fossey’s fate?
17. Do you think her research, through natural observation was successful? Why or why not?

9. Ode on the death of a favourite cat by Thomas Gray

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Ode on the Death of a Favorite Cat

Thomas Gray Ode on the Death of a Favorite Cat answers

1. D
2. E
3. B
4. B
5. C
6. B
7. A
8. D
9. A
10. A
11. D
12. C
13. B
14. B
The poem is by Thomas Gray. (1716-1771)

1. D. The lines describe a china bowl filled with water in which goldfish are swimming. It is probably
blue and white porcelain.
2. E. The word order in this stanza is inverted. The series of nouns in lines 8–11 are all the direct objects
of the verb “saw” (line 12). The subject of the sentence is “she” (line 12), that is, the cat, Selima. The cat
is looking at her reflection in the water of the goldfish tub.
3. B. In this context, the word “tortoise” refers to tortoise shell, the hard, variegated material used to
make combs or eyeglass frames. Tortoise shell, in its mottled yellow and brown colors, is like a tabby
cat.
4. B. Because the poem denotes the purring as “applause” (line 12), the cat is celebrating
her own appearance, which is reflected in the water of the bowl.
5. C. To answer this question, you must look at the whole sentence, which goes on to say,
“but . . . two . . . forms were seen to glide.” This construction with the conjunction “but”
makes it clear that “had stared” is a subjunctive verb, not an indicative past perfect tense.
In this context, “still” has the meaning of “yet,” “even now.”
6. B. The use of the verb “glide” to describe the motion of goldfish is not unusual. To describe
motion of the water of a goldfish bowl, even a very large one, as “tide” is elevated
diction. So is to speak of goldfish as “genii” or their scales as a “scaly armor” or their
color as a “Tyrian hue.” This inflated diction to describe ordinary things exemplifies the
poem’s mock-heroic language.
7. A. The hapless (unlucky) nymph is the cat, Selima, who is about to drown.
8. D. There is a semicolon after “saw” in line 19. That sentence is complete. In lines 20–22,
the subject and verb of the sentence are “She stretched,” and the objects of the verb are
“whisker” and “claw.”
9. A. If they are decorations (B), the verbs “came” and “stirred” make no sense. Tom and
Susan are servants in the house (C). Nereids are watery gods, but dolphins are not (E).
They are inhabitants of water (D), but that does not explain the line. In classical myth, dolphins
or nereids may be the rescuers of drowning men, as in the myth of Arion. Notice
that this question can be answered by the process of elimination and by common sense. It
is easier, of course, for the student with some familiarity with Greek myth. Because no
mythical rescuers come to her aid, Selima will drown.
10. A. Selima gets no supernatural or human help from Tom or Susan. The use of adjective
“cruel” for Tom followed by the remark about a “favorite” suggests that the servants resent
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the cat.
11. D. The metaphor of the six stanzas compares the cat with an epic heroine. She is demure,
pensive, fair, with eyes of emerald, a hapless nymph, a presumptuous maid who meets her
fate when the gods fail to intervene to save her. The goldfish may be like epic heroes,
because they do wear armor, but the metaphor is not developed through stanzas 1–6.
12. C. The improving advice of the last stanza cannot be taken seriously, though the death of
the cat is ingeniously turned into a lesson for beautiful women. Nonetheless, the primary
intention of stanza 7 is not moral instruction. This is a comic poem, well aware of the incongruity
of this high moral tone set against the accidental death of a cat. The poem takes
the death of the cat too seriously to be serious.
13. B. The terms “informal,” “understated,” and “impressionistic” are not at all suitable.
Though there is irony in the poem, mock-heroic is the better choice. The mock-heroic
style uses an elevated language to treat a trivial subject in an apparently serious manner.
14. B. Although iambic pentameter is the most common meter in English poetry, this poem
uses only iambic trimeter and tetrameter. In each stanza, lines 1, 2, 4, and 5 are iambic
tetrameter (four feet), while lines 3 and 6 are iambic trimeter (three feet).

10. Elder brother by Munshi Premchand

1. What are the things that Munna liked to do?

Ans. Munna liked to play marbles, fly kites, play volleyball and kabaddi, drawing pictures of animals
and birds.

2. What did Bhaiya do all day?

Ans. Bhaiya reads books all the day.

3. Why was Munna not happy with the timetable that Bhaiya made for him?
Ans. Munna was not happy with the timetable that Bhaiya made for him because there was no time
to play for it.

4. How do you think Munna when his brother was so strict with him? Why was Bhaiya so strict with
him?

Ans. Munna became sad and began to cry. When his brother was strict with him. Bhaiya was strict
with him because it was his duty to care that Munna would not waste his time. He wanted Munna to
study hard.

5. Whose character do you like more – Munna’s or Bhaiya’s? Why?

Ans. I like Bhaiya’s character more than Munna’s. It appears Bhaiya was a bookworm. Still he did
not pass his classes. But in fact, Bhaiya had more qualities than Munna. He felt that Munna was
his responsibility. He was strict with Munna because he loved him. Because he was not good at
studies, but he had more experience.
Page 25 of 46
6. After the reading the letter, answer the following questions.

(a) Who has written the letter?

Ans. Pratap has written the letter.

(b) To whom has the letter been written?

Ans. The letter has been written to his mother.

(c) Where is the writer of the letter?

Ans. The writer of the letter is Krishna Boy’s Hostel in Kolkata.

(d) What is the name of his hostel?

Ans. The letter was written on 10th July 2000.

7. Read the following passage and answer the questions that follow:

Oliver was a nine-year-old boy. He lived with other homeless boys in an orphanage. He was pale
and thin as were the other boys living there. This was because they had to work hard but were
never given enough to eat. The owner of the orphanage, Mr Bumble, was a cruel man and he ill-
treated the boys. The boys were always hungry It was true that they were given three meals a day
but each meal consisted only of a bowl of watery soup. They were almost starving. So it was
decided by them to ask the master for more soup. But who would bell the cat? Finally, the task fell
to Oliver. When all the boys had assembled in the cold stone hall for their evening meal, the soup
was served. It soon disappeared. The boys whispered to one another and one boy pushed Oliver a
little. Oliver, making a brave effort, stood up, walked up to the master with his bowl and spoon in
his hand, and said tremblingly, “Please sir, I want some more.”

(a) Why did Oliver live in the orphanage?

Ans. Oliver lived in the orphanage because he was a homeless boy.

(b) Who was Mr. Bumble?

Ans. Mr. Bumble was the owner of the orphanage.

(c) What meal were the boys given?

Ans. The boys were only given of watery soup.

(d) What did Oliver say to Mr. Bumble?

Page 26 of 46
Ans. Oliver said to Mr. Bumble. “Please Sir, I want some more.”

(e) The boys were given three meals a day. Then why were the always hungry?

(i) Because the soup they were given was never enough.

(ii) Because they worked very hard all day long.’

(iii) Because the older boys drank up their soup.

Ans. (i) Because the soup they were given was never enough

8. Find the words from the passage that mean the same as

(i) very hungry (para 2)

Ans. starving.

(ii) to vanish (para 3)

Ans. disappeared.

9. All the boys assembled in the cold stone hall. Here the word assembled means.

(i) moved away

(ii) collected

(iii) worked together

Ans. (ii) collected.

10. From the word ‘assembled remove the last two letters. Add one letter to make a word which
means a time at the school when the whole school gathers.

Ans. Assembly.

11. Give a suitable title to the passage.

Ans. Title: Hungry Boy.

12. Complete the following sentences using the correct form of teach or learn.

(a) Will you ____ me chess?

Page 27 of 46
Ans. Teach.

(b) Mr. Sharma ____ class VIII.

Ans. Teaches.

(c) The students have _____ about ‘road safety’.

Ans. Learned.

(d) My sister has _____ me how to ride a horse.

Ans. Taught.

(e) I have ___ some of the customs of India.

Ans. Learned.

(f) I ____ how to cycle when I was just four years old.

Ans. Learned.

11. The Rime of the Ancient Mariner by Samuel Taylor Coleridge

Page No: 111

1.1. Look at the picture carefully and answer the questions given below:

What can you see in the picture? Does the man look happy? Give reasons for your answer.

Answer
There is a distressed man standing in the company of a few other men, who seem to be on board a
ship. The man, definitely, doesn't look happy. He seems to be deep in sorrow, because his neck is
hung low and his hand slapped on his forehead.
1.2. Why does he have the bird hanging around his neck?
Page 28 of 46
Answer
The bird hanging around his neck might symbolize the memory of his committing a terrible error.
1.3. Have you heard of the expression- 'having an albatross
around your neck'? What do you think it means? Does it mean:
a. Something that you can always be proud of
b. Something that you have to do because you have no choice
c. Something that is with you all the time as a reminder that
you have done something wrong?

Answer
c. Something that is with you all the time as a reminder that you have done something wrong.
1.4. What is an albatross?
Answer
An albatross is a large sea-bird with a wing span of about 4m. Page No: 115
4. Here are some of the archaic words used in the poem; can you match them with the words used
in Modern English Language that mean the same? The first one has been done for you as an
example:

Stoppeth- Stopped
Thy entered
Wherefore why
Stopp'st you
Thou lunatic
May'st at once
Quoth fainting fit
Loon has
Eftsoons can't you
Dropt stopping
Hath church
Spake enemy
Kirk yes
Paced see
Foe call
Aye trouble
Ken looking
Swound your
Hollo said
Plague dropped
Look'st spoke

Answer

Stoppeth- Stopped
Thy your
Wherefore why
Page 29 of 46
Stopp'st stopping
Thou you
May'st can't you
Quoth said
Loon lunatic
Eftsoons at once
Dropt dropped
Hath has
Spake spoke
Kirk church
Paced entered
Foe enemy
Aye yes
Ken see
Swound fainting fit
Hollo call
Plague trouble
Look'st looking

5.Using the words given above rewrite Part 1 of the poem in your own words. The first stanza has
been done as an example:
It is an ancient Mariner,
And he stoppeth one of three.
'By thy long grey beard and glittering eye,
Now wherefore stopp'st thou me?
An old sailor stopped one of the three people passing by, who asked: "Old man, with your long
grey beard and glittering eye, why are you stopping me?"

Answer
An old sailor stopped one of the three people passing by, who asked: "Old man, with your long
grey beard and glittering eye, why are you stopping me? The bridegroom's doors are open and I
am one of the next family members. The guests have arrived, the feast is set. Can't you hear the
merriment?"
The sailor held him with his skinny hand and said: "There was a ship." The wedding guest,
disgustingly said, "Let go of me, you lunatic person," and dropped his hand.
However, the sailor captivated his attention with his glittering eye; the wedding guest stood still. He
was all ears to the old
sailor, just like a three years old child, because now the >—
mariner had his will. ^

The wedding guest was left with no choice but to listen to the ancient sailor. Thus began the
narration of the ancient mariner. "There was a loud cheer on board, and the harbor has clear, for
the sun to rise above the church, the hill, the lighthouse.

Page 30 of 46
The sun came up upon the left and shone bright all day, and set on the right, going down the sea.
The sun rose higher and higher everyday till it touched the mast on noon."
The Wedding Guest beat his breast in impatience because he could hear the loud musical
instrument being played.
The bride had started walking down the hall. She was as red as the rose. Before her went a merry
procession of singers and musicians.

The wedding guest didn't have a choice but to hear. Thus continued the mariner: "Then came the
storm, severe and strong. The storm overtook them, and chased the ship southwards.
The cruel torturous ways of the storm is described here. The storm blew harsh, yelled and chased
them towards south. The ship's steer hung low.
They witnessed both mist and snow. The weather became wondrous cold with ice everywhere as
bright and clear as emerald.
The floating ice and steep sides of the ice-bergs formed a dismayed sheen, that is, a smooth bright
surface of ice.
There was ice all around them. The ice cracked, growled, roared and howled, like noises of a
person in a fainting fit.
Then, the albatross arrived through the fog. It was hailed in God's name, as a Christian soul.
It ate the food it had never eaten and flew round the ship. Then, a miracle occurred, when the ice
cracked and the helmsman could steer the ship through the ice.
Throughout their journey down south, the albatross followed them, and everyday, came for food or
play, at the call of the mariners. The nights turned to become "glimmered" like "the white
moonshine."
Part 1 of the poem concludes with the ancient mariner possessing an ill omen about the albatross.
This part of the narration gave the ancient mariner a troubled look. When asked the reason for the
same by the wedding guest, the mariner let it out and revealed the terrible truth that he shot the
albatross.
6. Answer the following by choosing the right option from those given below:
(a) The Ancient Mariner stopped one of the three wedding
guests because
i. he wanted to attend the wedding with him
ii. he wanted him to sit with him
iii. he wanted him to listen to his story
iv. he wanted to stop him from going to the wedding

Answer

iii. he wanted him to listen to his story.

(b) The wedding guest remarked that he was 'next of kin' which
means that
i. he was a close relation of the bridegroom
ii. he was a close relation of the bride
iii. he was next in line to get married
iv. he had to stand next to the bridegroom during the wedding

Page 31 of 46
Answer

i. he was a close relation of the bridegroom

(c) 'He cannot choose but hear1 means
i. the mariner was forced to hear the story of the wedding guest
ii. the wedding guest was forced to hear the story of the
mariner
iii. the mariner had the choice of not listening to the story of the
wedding guest
iv. the wedding guest had the choice of not listening to the story
of the mariner

Answer
ii. the wedding guest was forced to hear the story of the mariner
(d) 'The sun came up upon the left, /Out of the sea came he
;'This line tells us that the ship
i. was moving in the northern direction
ii. was moving eastwards
iii. was moving in the western direction
iv. was moving towards the south

Answer

iv. was moving towards the south

(e) The Wedding-Guest beat his breast because
i. he could hear the sound of the bassoon
ii. he was forced to listen to the Mariner's tale when he wanted
to attend the wedding
iii. the sound of the bassoon meant that the bride had arrived
and the wedding ceremony was about to begin and he could
not attend it.
iv. the sound of the bassoon announced the arrival of the bride
and the start of the wedding ceremony

Answer
iii. the sound of the bassoon meant that the bride had arrived and the wedding ceremony was
about to begin and he could not attend it.
(f) The storm blast has been described as being tyrannous
because
i. it was so fierce that it frightened the sailors
ii. it took complete control of the ship
iii. the storm was very powerful
iv. the sailors were at its mercy

Answer

Page 32 of 46
iv. the sailors were at its mercy
(g) The sailors felt depressed on reaching the land of mist and
snow because
i. there was no sign of any living creature
ii. they felt they would die in that cold weather
iii. they were surrounded by icebergs and there seemed to be
no sign of life
iv. everything was grey in colour and they felt very cold
Answer
iii. they were surrounded by icebergs and there seemed to be no sign of life
(h) The sailors were happy to see the albatross because

i. it was the first sign of life and therefore gave them hope that
they might survive
ii. it split the icebergs around the ship and helped the ship move
forward.
iii. it was a messenger from God and it lifted the fog and mist.
iv. it gave them hope of survival by splitting the icebergs.

Answer
ii. it split the icebergs around the ship and helped the ship move forward.
(i) The two things that happened after the arrival of the
albatross were
i. the icebergs split and the albatross became friendly with the
sailors
ii. the icebergs split and a strong breeze started blowing
iii. the ship was pushed out of the land of mist and the ice
melted.
iv. the albatross started playing with the mariners and ate the
food they offered.

Answer
ii. the icebergs split and a strong breeze started blowing
(j) 'It perched for vespers nine' means
i. the ship stopped sailing at nine o'clock every day
ii. the albatross would appear at a fixed time everyday.
iii. the albatross would sit on the sail or the mast everyday
iv. the albatross was a holy creature

Answer

ii. the albatross would appear at a fixed time every day.

(k) 'God save thee, ancient Mariner, /From the fiends that
plague thee thus!- Why look'st thou so?' means
i. the mariner wanted to know why the wedding guest was
looking so tormented

Page 33 of 46
ii. the wedding guest wanted to know why the mariner was
looking so tormented
iii. the wedding guest wanted to know whether some creatures
were troubling the ancient mariner
iv. the ancient mariner wanted to know whether something was
troubling the wedding guest

Answer
ii. the wedding guest wanted to know why the mariner was looking so tormented

Page No: 118

7. Answer the following questions briefly
(a) How did the ancient mariner stop the wedding guest?
Answer
The ancient mariner held the wedding guest with his skinny hand, and forced him into listening to
him, capturing his attention with his glittering eyes. His gaze was so strong and intense, that even
though the wedding guest did not want to listen to the story, he was forced to, much against his
will.
(b) Was the wedding guest happy to be stopped? Give reasons
for your answer.

Answer
No, the wedding guest was not happy because he was forcibly detained by the ancient mariner
whareas he being a close relative of the bridegroom, was expected to reach there well in time. The
guests had already arrived there. The feast was set. The loud sound of bassoon could be heard.

(c) Describe the ancient mariner.

Answer

The ancient mariner looks lik a lunatic with his grey long beard
with glittering eyes, His hands were rough and skinny and he had a mesmerising gaze. The
mariner was badly ridden with a sense of guilt and remorse after the wanton act of killing the
Albatross.He is cursed to be haunted indefinitely by his dead shipmates, and to be compelled to tell
the tale of his downfall at
random times.
(d) How does the mariner describe the movement of the ship
as it sails away from the land?

Answer

The mariner described the movement of the ship as it sailed

away from the land in a very animated and interesting way. His description was so realistic that the
wedding guest was mesmerised. As the ship moved southward, the weather was pleasant. But
soon the weather started changing for the worst.
First, a storm broke. It later turned to mist and snow, due to
which their ship was stuck in ice.

Page 34 of 46
(e) What kind of weather did the sailors enjoy at the beginning
of their journey? How has it been expressed in the poem?
Answer
The weather was pleasant and sunny at the beginning of the
journey.
The sun came as if appearing from the innards of the sea. The sun was bright day after day during
the initial phase of the
journey.
(f) How did the sailors reach the land of mist and snow?
Answer
The sailor started their journey happily. But after a very short
spell of smooth journey a very turbulent and violent sea-storm
rose. The storm was so powerful that it completely overtook the ship and drove the ship to the
extreme South. In this way,
the sailors reached the land of mist and snow.

(g) How does the mariner express the fact that the ship was
completely surrounded by icebergs? Answer
The words "the ice was here, the ice was there, the ice was all
around," gives us the picture of the ship surrounded, or rather,
caught completely by the icebergs.

(h) How do we know that the albatross was not afraid of the
humans? Why did the sailors hail it in God's name? Answer
Albatross didn't fear humans because it followed the mariners
day and night and ate and played with them as well. The sailors
hailed it in God's name because it was a messenger from God
which lifted the fog and mist.

(i) What was the terrible deed done by the Mariner? Why do
you think he did it? Answer
The terrible deed done by the Mariner was that he shot the
albatross. I think he did it because he considered its presence to be a bad omen.

8. There are a number of literary device used in the poem.

Some of them have been listed below. Choose the right ones and write them down in the table as
shown in the example. In each of the cases explain what they mean.

Simile, metaphor, alliteration, personification, hyperbole,

repetition
The Wedding-Guest Simile; the wedding guest
1. stood still, And listens like was completely under the
a three years' child: control of the mariner
Below the kirk, below the
2.
hill,
Page 35 of 46
 Below the lighthouse top
The sun came up upon
3. the left,
Out of the sea came he
The bride hath paced into the hall,
4.
Red as a rose is she
And now the storm-blast came,
5.
and he was tyrannous and strong:
With sloping masts and dipping prow, As who
pursued with yell and blow
6.
Still treads the shadow of
his foe
The ice was here, the ice was there,
7.
The ice was all around
Answer
The Wedding-Guest stood still, And listens like a Simile; the wedding guest was completely under the
1.
three years' child: control of the mariner
Below the kirk, below the
2. hill, Alliteration; the alphabet 'b' is repeated several times
Below the lighthouse top
The sun came up upon
3. the left, Personification; the sun is personified as someone
Out of the sea came he
The bride hath paced into the hall,
4. Simile; the bride is compared to a red rose
Red as a rose is she

And now the storm-blast came, Hyperbole; the extremity of brutality of the storm is
5.
and he was tyrannous and strong: portrayed.

With sloping masts and dipping prow, As who

pursued with yell and blow Personification; 'of his foe'
6.
Still treads the shadow of implies reference to the image as an individual
his foe
Repetition; the word 'ice' is repeated several times in
The ice was here, the ice was there,
7. the
The ice was all around
reference.

Page No: 121

11. Answer the following questions briefly

(a) In which direction did the ship start moving? How can you
say?

Answer
The ship started moving northwards. This can be said because the line in the poem says: "the sun
now rose upon the right."
(b) Why does the mariner say that 'no sweet bird did follow'?
Answer
The mariner says that no sweet bird did follow with reference to the albatross which followed them
a few days back, and now is dead.
(c) How did the other mariners behave towards the Ancient
Mariner at first? How many times did they change their mind
about the Ancient Mariner? What does this tell us about their
character?

Page 36 of 46
Answer
The other mariners rebuked him at first to have killed the albatross. However, they changed their
mind immediately after that to praise the ancient mariner who killed the bird which brought in fog
and mist. This shows how confused the mariners were, to set up a fixed notion about the ancient
sailor.
(d) How did the sailing conditions change after the ship had
moved out of the land of mist and snow? What or who did the
mariners blame for this change?

Answer
The sailing condition changed for the worst after the ship had moved out of the land of mist and
snow. Their ship was stuck in the silent sea. The breeze dropped down, making the sails drop
down as well. The ship came to a standstill. The mariners blamed the ancient mariner for this
change because he had killed the albatross which brought the breeze.
(e) What is indicated by the line 'The bloody sun, at noon,/Right
up above the mast did stand,/No bigger than the moon'?

Answer
This line indicates the excessive heat of the sun, which shone above the mast at noon. The word
'bloody' shows how unwelcome the sun was.
(f) How does the mariner describe the fact that they were
completely motionless in the middle of the sea?

Answer
The stanza "Day after day, day after day,/We stuck, nor breath nor motion/As idle as a painted
ship/Upon a painted ocean," portrays a still picture of the sea and the ship.
(g) What is the irony in the ninth stanza? Explain it in your own
words.

Answer
The ship was surrounded by the water on all sides. The sailors were in the middle of so much
water but they did not have single drop of water to drink. The water of the ocean is salty, thus
inappropriate for the sailors to quench their thirst.
(h) What is the narrator trying to convey through the description
of the situation in the tenth and eleventh stanza?

Answer
In these stanzas, the narrator tries to convey the standstill
description of the ocean and the ship. Everything rot because
of the motionless sea. Animals from deep within the ocean had
come out of their places and crawled in the slimy sea.
At night, the 'death-fires' seemed to dance near them. The
narrator refers to the sea water as the witch's oil. Just like a
witch's oil has many shades and keeps boiling, the sea water
also had 'green, blue and white' colours. However, this was
due to the different coloured creatures crawling in the sea.

Page 37 of 46
(i) What or who did the mariners feel was responsible for their
suffering?

Answer

The mariners feel the absence of the albatross is the reason

for their suffering. Thus, they blame the ancient mariner for killing the albatross.

(j) Describe the condition of the mariners as expressed in the

thirteenth stanza. Answer
The mariners were feeling thirsty but they didn't have water to
quench their thirst. Their tongue had become completely dry at the root. They couldn't speak
because they felt if their throats were chocked with soot.
(k) Why did the mariners hang the albatross around the neck of the Ancient Mariner?

Answer
The mariners hung the albatross around the neck of the Ancient Mariner as a cursed reminder, so
that the thought could plague him for the rest of his life.

Page No: 122

12. Like part one, the second part also has a number of literary devices. List them out in the same
way as you had done in question number seven and explain them.

Answer

Out of the sea came he, Personification of the sun.

Nor dim nor red, like God's own head, Simile

The furrow followed free, alliteration
Water, water, everywhere, And all the boards did shrink;
Water, water, everywhere, repetition
Nor any drop to drink.

As idle as a painted ship Upon a painted ocean, simile, hyperbole

13. What is the rhyme scheme of the poem?

Answer
In most of the stanzas of four lines the rhyme scheme is abcb. In the stanzas of six lines the rhyme
scheme is ababcb.
14. Find examples of the use of interesting sounds from the poem and explain their effect on the
reader.

Page 38 of 46
1. The ice Coleridge uses onomatopoeic words which use harsh 'ck' sounds to
'cracked make the ice sound brutal. He also gives the ice animal sounds to give
and the impression it has come alive and
growled and is attacking the ship
roared and
howled'

Answer

1. The ice 'cracked and Coleridge uses which onomatopoeic words and roared and
growled, howled' use harsh 'ck' sounds to make the ice sound brutal. He
Coleridge uses also gives the ice
onomatopoeic words which animal sounds to give the impression it has come alive and is
and roared and howled' attacking the ship
The fair breeze Cnomatopoeic words which give a
blew, the white foam flew, smooth picture of the breeze blowing.
O Christ! This word exclaims the terror and the
horror with which the miserable
condition of the sailors is expressed.

12. The Six Napoleons by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle

Summary-
 Inspector Lestrade is back yet again.
 He is chilling at Baker Street and he is distracted.
 Lestrade has a case that seems really stupid and weird, but it's bothering him.
 Holmes tells him to spill it.
 Lestrade tells us that a guy named Morse Hudson, who ran the 1890s version of Pier One, had
someone smash a bust of Napoleon in his shop and run off.
 Lestrade at first thought that this was "hooliganism."
 But then a man named Mr. Barnicot had the same thing happen to him. He used to be the
proud owner of two discount busts of Napoleon bought from Morse Hudson.
 But some person recently broke in to Barnicot's home and office and broke his Napoleon busts.
 Tragic.
 All three Napoleon busts were made from the same mould.
 Lestrade is wondering if some crazy person has some sort of Napoleon obsession.
 Dr. Watson helpfully notes that there are lots of mental disorders, so who knows.
 Thanks for that tip, Watson.
 Holmes finds this all shifty, and says to keep him updated since seemingly dumb cases often
turn out to be major ones.
 The next morning Holmes barges in on Watson and shows him a telegram from Lestrade telling
them to come to an address.
 They do so and find a dead body.
 The dead body is outside the house of journalist Horace Harker, who had his Napoleon bust
stolen last night.
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 Holmes and Watson go to talk to the upset Harker. Harker is partially upset because he is too
upset to write, and his newspaper will miss out on his eyewitness inside scoop.
 Harker gives them a quick run-down of events and notes that he bought his Napoleon bust from
the Harding Brothers store and not Morse Hudson. Shop rivalry.
 The dynamic duo goes back outside to chat with Lestrade.
 There's no identification on the body, but he was carrying a picture of a man that Watson
describes as "ape-like."
 Historical Context Lesson! This description of Watson's is important since it echoes a lot of
eugenics rhetoric that was pretty popular in the 1890s. Eugenics is a type of "race science" that
basically classed non-white people as evolutionarily "lower" than white people. If you want to
read up more on eugenics in this period, you can check out Beppo's "Character Analysis," as
well as the them "Foreignness and 'the Other.'"
 The cops have also found a smashed Napoleon bust nearby under a street-lamp.
 Holmes theorizes that this person is breaking these busts for a deliberate purpose and not just
to satisfy a Napoleon vendetta or something.
 Watson and Holmes leave to go talk to the people at the Harding Brothers' shop and at Morse
Hudson's shop.
 Morse is able to identify the man in the photograph found on the dead body as Beppo, an
Italian workman who did stuff like carving and framing at Gelder and Co.
 Then Holmes and Watson head to Gelder and Co., which is where the Napoleon busts were
made originally.
 Beppo's former boss at Gelder and Co. tells about what a punk he was and how he got
arrested on the job after fleeing the cops. Beppo had knifed another Italian in the street.
 He was a good worker until that incident though.
 The ex-boss also gives Holmes more info on the Napoleon busts. There were six total made
from the same mold.
 Later Holmes and Watson see a hilarious account in the newspaper about a homicidal nut with
a Napoleon complex running around London.
 They go back to the Harding Brothers shop and find out who owns the other two Napoleon
busts.
 Holmes contacts both men.
 Lestrade comes back and fills them in on his day's work. Lestrade found out the identity of the
dead body: Pietro Venucci. He's an Italian with mafia connections.
 Lestrade wants to go hunt for Beppo in the Italian Quarter but Holmes says they can let Beppo
come to them.
 So Lestrade, Holmes, and Watson go stake-out the house of Josiah Brown.
 Eventually Beppo shows up to steal Josiah's Napoleon bust.
 Beppo is caught and arrested.
 Beppo smashes the bust before he's caught, depriving Josiah of some nice decoration in his
home.
 Then Bepo is hauled off to jail, and Lestrade goes back to Baker Street with the dynamic duo.
 A Mr. Sandeford comes by to sell Holmes his Napoleon bust.
 He can't figure why Holmes is willing to pay so much for it, but Holmes convinces him it's cool
and shoves him out the door.
 Then Holmes breaks the statue open and reveals a black pearl hidden inside.
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 Holmes explains that this is a famous pearl that was stolen years ago. Holmes couldn't solve
the case until now.
 Pietro had a sister, Lucretia, who stole the pearl. He doesn't know if Beppo was in on the scam
or if he robbed Pietro, but Beppo hid the pearl in one of the Napoleon busts as the plaster was
drying. But then he was arrested and had to wait until he got out of jail to find the pearl.

13. The Commentator by Gareth Owen

Summary:
 It' about this boy that's a commentator and his name is Danny Markey he just does what a
normal commentator do.
 A commentator is like when somebody just says what people are doing in rugby for example it's
a goal and he is going he passed the ball, but Danny commentator for soccer.

14. The Gift of the Magi by O. Henry

Summary
In “The Gift of the Magi,” Della is determined to give her husband a Christmas gift. In order to
afford the fob for her husband's watch, she sells her long, beautiful hair, only to learn that he has
sold his beloved watch to buy her a set of combs.
“The Gift of the Magi” summary key points:

 Della Young decides to sell her beautiful hair to buy a watch fob for her husband’s beloved
watch.
 When Jim comes home, he is saddened and surprised to see Della’s beautiful hair missing. He
offers her his gift: bejeweled combs that she no longer needs.
 Della offers her gift to Jim. He looks at her and admits that he has sold his watch to buy her the
combs.
 The two are overcome with love as they realize they have sacrificed their most prized
possessions for one another.

EXERCISE QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS

Answer the following questions, each in about 40-50 words:

Q.1. How much did Della save for Christmas? What did it show?
Ans: Della saved $ 1.87 (one dollar and eighty seven cents) for Christmas. She had collected this
amount cent by cent. It showed that she was a careful girl, who did not spend much. It should the
strength of her character. She was preparing herself for the future.

Q.2. Why did Della take pride in the beauty of her hair?(or) what was Della’s hair likes and what do
you think she felt about it?
Ans: Della took pride in her hair because “It fell about her like a stream of brown waterfall. It
reached below her knee.” It was like a dress or skirt to her. It means that her hair was very long,

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think, silken, and shiny. I think she felt like a princess when she stood before others in her shiny
hair.

Q.3. Why and how did Della sell her hair? Did she do well?
Ans: Della sold her beautiful brown hair at a shop for twenty dollars. She wanted to buy a gold
chain for Jim as a Christmas gift. She should have discussed the matter with Jim first. But her
action showed that she could sacrifice her dearest possessions for Jim—even his life.

Q.4. Why did Jim sell this gold watch? Did he do well?
Ans: Jim sold his watch to buy special combs for Della as a Christmas gift. He did this in a hurry.
He should have consulted Della before doing this. But it also showed that for Della he could
sacrifice his best things_ his life even.

Q.5. Why did Jim and Della want to present the gifts?
Ans: The wanted to present the Christmas gifts to make each other specially happy.They loved
each other very dearly. So Della bought the gold chain and Jim bought the special combs. But they
never thought of giving less expensive and commoner gifts to fees easy as well.

Q.6. Why did Della feel sad on losing her hair?

Ans: Della felt sad on losing her hair because it was the most beautiful part of her person (body). It
was long, brown, thick and silky that everyone liked. But more than anyone, Jim liked it most. Della
feared that without it he may not like her so much.

Q.7. Why did Jim not welcome Della when she stepped in?

Ans: Jim did not welcome her when she entered the house because he found Della'shair missing.
He was in the habit of looking at Della's hair with great pleasure. But this time he could not enjoy
the lovely sight. He found to his disappointment that her beauty was less than earlier.

Q.8. What did Jim bring out from his coat? Describe the scene as well as you can.

Ans: Jim brought out something tied in paper from inside his coat. He threw it on the table. When
Della opened the packet, she found special combs for her “hair.” This was the best symbol (sign) of
his love for her. But it was also a reminder to her that she had lost the most beautiful part of her
personality, at least for several years.

Q.9. How beautiful was the gold watch chain? Would you have liked to own it?

Ans: The gold chain was simple, but made of pure and rich material. It was extremely lovely as a
love present. I would have liked to own it. But with the gold chain should have been like flowers
without the plant.

Q.10. What was the wisdom on Jim’s part to sell his most valuable thing?

Ans: Perhaps there was no wisdom on Jim’s part to sell his most valuable thing, that is, his gold
watch. He was almost made in his passion of love for Della. He did not talk with or consult Della

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before selling it. But love is almost always blind. Very few people keep their senses in order when
they are in deep love.

Answer the following questions, each in about 40-50 words:

Q.1. How did the Magi want to celebrate their Christmas. (or ) Who were the first people to give
Christmas gifts?

Ans: The Magi were the three wise men from the East who brought gifts to Jesus Christ. This way
these wise men also celebrated Christmas. The Magi were very wise because they made Jesus
happy through the gifts. They were the first people who gave Christmas gifts to the baby Jesus.

Q.2. How much attached to each other were Della and Jim in the story?

Ans: Della and Jim did everything in their power to please each other. Della sold her hair for twenty
dollars only. She bought the gold chain for Jim’s watch. Jim sold his gold watch to buy special
combs for Della.

Q.3. Why did Jim and Della sell their beautiful and valuable things?
Ans: They sold their most beautiful things to please each other. They wanted to show that they
could lose their all for each other’s joy and satisfaction. They were trying to show that they could
even die for love.

Q.4. Describe the story in our words.

Ans: Della and Jim were lovers. Della sold her hair to buy a gold chain for Jim’s watch. Jim sold his
watch to buy special combs for Della’s hair. Della’s gift of gold chain was useless for Jim and Jim’s
gift of the combs was useless for Della, yet they loved each other.

Q.5. What is the moral of the story?

Ans: The moral is that we should not become too emotional in love. We should act wisely in all
matters of life. In any case, we should not overreach ourselves (do more than we are able to do).
The acts of Della in selling her hair and of Jim in selling his gold watch were highly emotional.
Lovers should use their minds more than their hearts.

1) How essential is the setting of the story? Could the story have taken place at another time?
I like the setting and think it is important. The amount of money Della had and how she sold her
hair wouldn't work in 400 B.C or in modern times.
2) How do the sacrifices of Jim and Della compare to each other?
Ultimately, Della's hair will grow back. Jim, however, sold a family heirloom which can not exactly
be replaced. I believe that Jim has more entitlement to crying over his loss than Della does,
especially since Jim doesn't actually care if Della's hair is short, and Della rarely leaves the house.
3) Do you think that Jim and Della appreciated their gifts?
Jim and Della clearly appreciated their gifts, although neither were usable. It was the thought that
counted, because both of them had to get rid of their most prized possessions in order to give the
other person a gift.

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4) Would the personalities of Jim and Della change if they were better off financially?
If you think about the stereotypes of rich people, yes. Having everything you want at your fingertips
can definitely impact their personalities. Jim and Della are kept humbled by being poor and having
only each other.
5) Why do you think the story compares Jim and Della to the Magi?
The true value of a gift lies in the sacrifice involved in it. The Magi gave their most valuable
possessions to Jesus, who was a sacrificial gift himself. Both the characters in this story and the
biblical Magi gave their most precious belongings for the benefit of somebody else.
6) How important do you think appearances are?
Judgements, in general, are based mostly on appearance. First impressions especially. As such, I
hold appearances to be of relative importance.
7) What is your most prized possession?
My stuffed giraffe, Lovey that my dad bought me after he came home from eight months
deployment in the navy.
8) How would you react to losing your prized possession?
It depends on the circumstance. If giving my most prized possession to someone meant making
them happy, I would feel far better than if the possession was stolen or destroyed.
9) If you were Jim or Della, how would you feel about the gift you received?
I would feel a little upset, because my husband had sold the object I bought the gift for. I still would
feel grateful, because I would know he cared.
10) Would you prefer to be financially secure, or emotionally content?
I would prefer to be emotionally content because money can't buy happiness.

15. The Last Wolf by Mary TallMountain

The title of the poem “The Last Wolf” makes me think that the poem might be about a werwolf that
is the last one alive or is the only one around in the country or the state. The meaning of the poem
might be how people used to believe that wolves or wear wolves used to exist. They might be
thinking that how wolves are really dangerous and how they kill. Maybe the humans of the town
killed all the wolves but one got away and he was angry about it and wanted revenge.

In the line where it says “Passing the flicking red and green of traffic signals” made me think that
the wolf has killed all the people in the town and now is after the last person, he goes past the
empty road where the lights turn red and green. No one is probably alive as the wolf may had killed
them all.

The kind of words they use is strange and a lot of the words are what we use in our daily life. some
of them starting with alliteration such as “steep smashed” gave me the idea of everything is ruined
and the wolf is running down the steep ruined hill. Not a lot of alliteration was there. Not much
simile was used in this poem. some words rhymed such as ‘loping gait’ and ‘deadly night’

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The poem was interesting a little but not much. I got confused in some places and some words I
didn’t understand. I thought a lot about what the poem was about and what was the story about it. I
think I was very different compared to the other 180 poems on the website. This poem was a bit
weird in its own ways and on its own ways. It was strange the way how they used words to show
and express what happened then. They told me how people were scared in the form of poems. It
made me image of what happened to the people and I could picture in my mind of the scene… I
think it was a complex poem to analyze.

16. A Short Walk in the Hindu Kush by Eric Newby

17. Refugee Blues by W. H. Auden

18. A Lesson on a Tortoise by D. H. Lawrence
19. The Tragedy of Julius Caesar by William Shakespeare

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