English Class Vii PDF

Sunbeam
Textbook For Class - VII
State Institute of Educational Research and Training, Udaipur (Rajasthan)
Publisher
Rajasthan State Textbook Board, Jaipur (Rajasthan)

All Rights Reserved
First Edition: 2012
Printer :
Paper Used in :
Published By :
Publisher : Rajasthan State
Textbook Board
2-2 A, Jhalana Dungri,
Jaipur
Preface
Language is more than a means of communication. It is an expression of the manner in

which we think and the way we see the world. Language learning should ensure learners
are able to speak and write the language and use it in a constructive way. Learning takes
place by making connections, analysing and adding new knowledge to old knowledge,
using the language children speak to complement the learning of a new language.
Most learners have little exposure to English and limited opportunities to use it in their daily
lives. So it is important to provide an environment in which they get opportunities through a
variety of forms and themes to use English in day-to-day situations. The Syllabus revision in
the state of Rajasthan, guided by the principles of the National Curriculum Framework -
2005, is based on this approach. The new syllabus for English language learning and the
Sunbeam series of textbooks attempt to link life experiences of the learners with classroom
processes. The books follow the approach of proceeding from the familiar to the unfamiliar,
the texts, activities and tasks moving from the simple to the more complex.
The Units for class VII are arranged in a way that helps the learners move forward from the
language base established over the past six years. The materials, themes and tasks
(vocabulary, language items, besides reading and writing, listening and speaking) set
learning-while-doing goals for the learners. The activities encourage independent language
use and thinking, helped by the learners' own language. The emphasis on group work is
seen to promote interaction in the class, dialogue, discussion and cooperative learning.
The textbook sees classroom teaching and assessment as one, through activities and
tasks, moving away from the one-time written examination to continuous and
comprehensive evaluation.
Any new venture will be fruitful and effective only when its users provide feedback to
improve the materials and processes. Suggestions from all sections, particularly from
learners, teachers and parents, will be of great value to improve the textbook in future.
Director
State Institute of Educational
Research and Training
Udaipur (Rajasthan)
(i)
Textbook
Development
Team
Convenor : Dr. Poornima Sharma, Deputy Director, SIERT.
Coordinator : Pradeep Paneri, Lecturer, SIERT and Gauri Sharma, ICICI

Foundation Representative in Unit for Teacher Education, SIERT.
Editorial Team : Alethea D'Rozario, Consultant, ICICI Foundation and Ramanujam

Meganathan, Assistant Professor NCERT.
Members : Ami Rathore, Assistant Professor, CTE, Dabok.

Anil Thomas, Lecturer, Govt. Sr. Sec. School, Bapawarkala, Kota.
Aruna Dhawan, Lecturer, SIERT, Udaipur.
Damodar Prasad Kabra, Retired Principal, Chittorgarh.
Gurmeet Singh, DIET, Ganganagar.
Gajendra Kumar Sharma, Lecturer, Govt. Sr. Sec. School, Hindon City.
Jyotsna Pandey, Lecturer, SIERT, Udaipur.
Madhu Ojha, Lecturer, SIERT, Udaipur.
Meenakshi Mehra, Lecturer, SIERT, Udaipur.
Prakash Acharaya, Lecturer, Govt. Sr. Sec. School, Badi Sadri.
Rajiv Mishra, Lecturer, Govt. Sr. Sec. School, Barod, Kota.
Satyanarayan Sharma, Lecturer, Govt. Sr. Sec. School, Badi, Dholpur.
Satyendra Mandela, Lecturer, DIET, Shahpura, Bhilwara.
Shiv Mridul, Retired Lecturer, Chittorgarh.
Sushma Ahari, Lecturer, SIERT, Udaipur.
Vandana Galundia, Lecturer, SIERT, Udaipur.
Manuscript Composition : Mohd. Zamir, Rajkumar Anchalia, Gopal Singh Balla, Sanjeev
Bhatnagar, Raksha Nagar, Kapil and Shivraj Yadav.
Layout Designers : Dr. Jagdish Kumawat, Lecturer, SIERT, Udaipur.

Ravindra Dahima, Lecturer, SIERT, Udaipur.
Mohd. Akram Choudhary, Udaipur.
Illustrators : Chhotulal, Udaipur.

Dr. Jagdish Kumawat, Lecturer, SIERT, Udaipur.
(ii)
Acknowledgements
The State Institute of Educational Research and Training is grateful to Prof. Jacob Tharu, formerly
from The English and Foreign Languages University (EFLU), Hyderabad and member of the
Rajasthan Government State Steering Committee on School and Teacher Education Reform, and to
Ms. Shyamala Kumaradas formerly from EFLU, Hyderabad; Prof. Grace Jacob, University of Pune for
their review and valuable suggestions on the manuscript and Nita Berry, Independent Consultant,
New Delhi and Mr. K.C. Malu, former Director, SIERT, Udaipur for editing of the textbook.
The Institute expresses special thanks to Dr. Ranjana Arora, Associate Professor, NCERT; Prof.
Jayaseelan, Emeritus Fellow, EFLU, Hyderabad; Nasiruddin Khan, formerly Associate Professor,
Department of Languages, NCERT, New Delhi and Dr. R. P. Saxena, formerly Associate Professor,
RIE, Bhopal for their inputs in the development of the syllabus.
It is also appreciative of the continual guidance and inputs from Dr. Sudhanshu Joshi, Senior Vice
President and Head – ICICI Foundation, Centre for Elementary Education and Dr. Anju Saigal, Vice
President, ICICI Foundation, Centre for Elementary Education throughout the syllabus development,
textbook writing process, design and conduct of the field testing.
For permission to reproduce copyright material in this book SIERT, Rajasthan would like to thank the
following: National Book Trust for the story 'A Parcel for the Postman'; Prime Publication for 'A Trip to
Mount Abu'; Delhi Bureau of Textbooks 2005 for 'Father Dear Father'; NCERT for 'The Strange
Wrestling Match', 'The Desert', 'The Wonderful Words' and 'Four Wise Men; Vohra Publishers
distributors for 'Reshaping the Destiny'; The Hindu Paper for 'Story for a Dog Lover'; cicmanipur.nic.in
for the poem 'Play Safe'; Department for Transport, 'Think!' Campaign, U.K. for the poem 'The Boy
Who Didn't Stop, Look and Listen' and Indian Driving School for the road signs used in ‘Play Safe'.
Every effort has been made to trace all copyright holders. We apologise for any omissions, and would
be grateful to acknowledge them as soon as they can be traced.
SIERT would also like to thank Aruna Dhawan, Meenakshi Mehra, Vandana Galundia (SIERT Faculty)
and Arvind Sharma, Mohammad Umar, Sunil Sharma, Vartika Singh (ICICI Foundation) for their
support in the field testing of the textbooks.
This work has been undertaken within the Rajasthan School and Teacher Education Reform
Programme, a collaborative partnership between the Department of School & Sanskrit Education,
Government of Rajasthan and ICICI Foundation For Inclusive Growth.
(iii)
CONTENTS
LESSON NO. NAME PAGE NUMBERS
1. What Are Grandmothers For? 1-3

2. Father, Dear Father 4-8
3. A Trip To Mount Abu: Some Excerpts From Parul's Diary 9-15
Teacher’s Page – I 16
4. Seventeen Camels 17-24
5. The Brave Little Kite 25-29
6. The Desert 30-33
Teacher’s Page – II 34
7. Reshaping Destiny 35-41
8. The Wonderful Words 42-44
9. The Dove And The Serpent 45-50
Teacher’s Page – III 51
10. Four Wise Men 52-59
11. Play Safe 60-64
12. The Empty House 65-72
Teacher’s Page – IV 73
13. A Parcel For The Postmaster 74-82
14. A Strange Wrestling Match 83-91
15. Peace : I'd Like To Teach The World To Sing 92-94
Teacher’s Page – V 95
Passages for Listening Activities 96-100
(iv)
1 WHAT ARE GRANDMOTHERS FOR?
· How many people are there in your family? How many brothers and sisters do you have?
· Do you remember how your grandmother put you to sleep? Share your experiences of
having watched your grandmother putting a younger brother / sister to sleep.
· Grandmothers tell so many nice stories. Share with your friends some of these stories in
your own language.
Read the poem below about the memories we have of our grandmothers.
Grandmothers are for stories
about things of long ago.
Grandmothers are for caring
about all the things you know...
Grandmothers are for rocking you

and singing you to sleep,
Grandmothers are for giving you
nice memories to keep...
Grandmothers are for knowing

all the things you're dreaming of...
But, most importantly of all,
grandmothers are for love.
~ Unknown
caring: thoughtful and
concerned
rocking: moving
gently backwards and
forwards or from side
to side
nice: enjoyable,
pleasant
memories: things you

remember later
dreaming: thinking of
something you hope
to do or achieve
1
WHAT ARE GRANDMOTHERS FOR? 1
Understanding the text…
1. List all the things a grandmother does, based on your understanding of the poem.
A grandmother tells stories ……………..
Working with Words…
2. Read the poem again. Rhyming words have the end sounds of words the same like
'say' and 'day'. Notice the rhyming words are generally at the end of lines. Look at
the last words of the lines in the poem and write down the rhyming words. Write 6
pairs of rhyming words of your own.
3. Using words that repeat the end sounds helps to highlight something or some action.
We often come across this in poems. This poem has six such words that highlight
what grandmothers do. Find them.
4. Divide the class into two groups. One group decides on an action word ending in 'ing'
like 'running'. The group sends one of their group members to act the action in front
of the class. No words can be spoken, only actions are allowed. The other group can
have 3 guesses to say the correct action word. If they guess correctly, they get a
point and that group has to enact an action word. If they are unable to guess the
word correctly, the other team has another chance.
Listening and Speaking…
5. Here is a poem about home. Your teacher will read out the poem for you. Listen to it
and discuss the ideas in the poem.
2
1 WHAT ARE GRANDMOTHERS FOR?
6. Your teacher will read out the words below. Listen and then repeat after your
teacher. You may say the words many times till you feel comfortable saying them -
stories ago
long you
rocking know
sock most
song post
for rose
of phone
got bone
Writing…
7. Write a few (8) lines about your family members like your little brother / sister and
grandparents that bring love, care and safety to your family. You can write in your
mother tongue and then write the lines in English.
Project Work…
8. In our country, senior citizens have special benefits. A senior citizen is a person
living in India above the age of 60. Find out what these benefits are from elders in
your neighbourhood and write them down. You can work in groups over one week.
3
2 FATHER, DEAR FATHER
· Do you feel sometimes that your elders have not understood your viewpoint?
· Share some of your experiences with your friends.
Sometimes, we feel that the adults in our family do not understand us and they make us do
what they think is right. Here is a letter written by a boy to his father about what he
thinks of his education, and the kind of education he is really interested in.
Dear Papa,
This is in answer to your letter about my disappointing behaviour. Yes, my first rank slipped to
the second. You advise that I should think before answering the papers. Yes, the important
word 'think' did make me wonder about several things, and here are some results of those
reflections.
Father, we've never really been close enough for me to talk freely to you, and I can't really say
you've been my friend, philosopher, guide, etc. Yet, I would like you to know my thoughts.
They are very important to me.
disappointing You are highly educated and you look after the family very well. But in
behaviour: performance your departmental store, do you apply Pythagoras' Theorem or
which was not as good
Newton's Law of Gravity? For that matter, does your doctor friend or
as expected
your lawyer brother?
reflections: deep Papa, grandfather always speaks of a happy, untroubled and beautiful
thoughts
childhood, of days spent in plucking mangoes and guavas from their
philosopher: orchards, of picnics on the banks of the river where the men cooked
someone who studies
and tries to explain
the meaning of life,
knowledge or beliefs
Pythagoras' Theorem,
Newton's Law of
Gravity: both
discoveries that form
the basis for modern
science and
mathematics theory
orchards: a place
where fruit trees are
grown
4
mouth-watering food, of playing marbles and gilli-danda. From his memories, it seems, studies
were subjects along with living and memories, experiencing. Father, is he telling lies? Or is it
possible that the world has turned upside-down in just about seventy years?
Papa, grandmother cannot read or write properly. Yet, she is so happy with her pots and pans,
her flowers and garden, and her holy books. On the other hand, mother, who has studied a lot,
is always worried and tense. Do you think being able to read and write makes us restless, afraid
and dissatisfied?
Oh Papa, last week, my rose plant almost died! Some insects that destroy plants ate all the
leaves. I asked my Biology teacher what I should do to save it. She said, "Go and ask the man
who keeps gardening things. He'll tell you." We learn about pesticides but we do not know how
to use them!
Really, Papa, it doesn't matter to me why the apple does not fall upwards;
nor do I care about what Archimedes did. What matters to me is that my tense: not relaxed
rose plants remain healthy. When the lights go out in my house, I should
dissatisfied: not
know how to do something about it. I should know how to make a desk for satisfied
myself with my carpenter's tools.
pesticides: chemicals
Papa, I once asked grandmother how she got to be so wise. Do you for killing insects
know what she said? 'By living and experiencing.' And she laughed as Archimedes: an early
though I had asked her something which was so obvious. discoverer and inventor
whose discoveries
Are we actually living, Papa? Or is life just by-passing us as we bury and inventions are
ourselves in books? What I am frightened about is that if I were to meet still used in modern
Newton face to face, I would fail to recognise him, I'm so busy learning science
about him! You know, just like that boy, Vinu, in that award winning film. obvious: clear
He continuously repeats - "The hibiscus is red" - a hundred times, but in by-passing: going
his book he colours it yellow. Are we missing out on real life? past, skipping
hibiscus: a red flower
Still my dearest Papa, I shall keep your advice in mind and try not to lose commonly known as
any quarterly marks. 'shoe flower'
heavy heart: sad
As always, heart, condition of
feeling sad
Your ever-obedient son,
arteries: tubes
carrying blood from
Rahul the heart
P.S: Your eyes will not see this pained letter, my father. This was only to lighten my heavy heart.
It is not all arteries and muscle, you know. It feels too!
~Adapted from the story in SCERT Delhi textbook.
5
FATHER, DEAR FATHER 2

1. Having read Rahul's letter to his father, attempt the following questions –
a. Why did Rahul feel that life was by-passing them?
b. The boy has written this letter as a response to his father's letter. What do you think
his father had written in his letter?
c. In what ways is the boy's grandmother different from his mother?
d. What does the boy really want to learn about? Try to describe what kind of education
he wants for himself.
e. In his letter, how does the boy describe his grandfather's childhood?
f. The boy fears that if he met Newton face to face, he would not be able to recognise
him. Why? Write the sentence from the lesson that has the answer.
g. In the letter, the boy has a different opinion from his father. Do you think it is
acceptable? Why? Why not?

2. Complete the following sentences using suitable words / phrases given below –
reflections, telling lies, upside-down,
repeats, advice, disappointed
a. Neha was extremely _____________ that inspite of painting so well, she could not
win a prize.
b. Rachna __________________ what her mother says as she is learning to speak.
c. They turned the room _________ after they had finished playing.
d. Wise people share their __________ through books and speeches.
e. Nobody believed Amit because of his habit of ______________ .
f. The ___________ of elders is often useful.
3. Now make sentences of your own, using the above words.
Interacting with Language…

Read the following sentences from the lesson –
a. Are we actually living, Papa?
b. Do you apply Pythagoras' Theorem or Newton's Law of Gravity?
c. Are we missing out on the real meaning of life?
Notice how all these questions begin with verbs – are, do, are…
6
4. Now make yes / no questions for the given statements. The first one has been done
for you –
a. No, my sister's husband travels a lot.
Does your sister travel a lot?
b. Yes, the President and his wife have arrived.
Have the President and his wife arrived?
c. No, Rahul plays football.
d. Yes, all children in the state should go to school.
e. Yes, everybody in the office is working late today.
f. No, you called me today.
g. Yes, you were playing the fool with me.
h. No, you know the problem.
i. Yes, I have done my best.
j. No, the children are playing.
We notice that -
· Most yes / no questions begin with a verb.
· To construct questions, we put a helping verb, like 'is' or 'are', etc. before the
Subject.
· If there is no helping or Auxiliary Verb, we put do / does / did before the
subject and use the infinitive (without ‘to’).
Look at the following sentences –
What is the matter with your rose plants? (information about something)
When will the lights go out in your house? (time of something happening)
Where are you going? (about a place or position)
Which book do you like? (about one or a few things)
Who thinks that living and experiencing is important? (about someone)
Whose pencil is this? (about possession)
Why must you go home now? (for a reason)
How will you complete your work in time? (the way in which something is done)
(In all the above examples, the underlined words in the questions are used to get some
particular information about something or someone. )
7
FATHER, DEAR FATHER 2
5. Some statements are given below. You have to form questions from these
statements, using the words in the brackets. Remember to use the correct
punctuation.
Example: Mother has lots of responsibilities and is always worried and tense. (why)
Why is mother always worried and tense?
a. Meera is angry that I did not call her. (why)

b. I went to Ahmedabad in the summer holidays. (when)
c. This is my letter. (whose)
d. Jhanvi likes to play gilli-danda. (what)
e. Srikanth wrote this letter yesterday. (when)
f. Grandmother was at peace with her pots and pans, her flowers and garden. (who)
g. I like malai kulfi. (which)
h. We use pesticides in the right quantity and at the right time. (how)
Listening…
6. Your teacher will read out a poem for you. Listen to it carefully and enjoy it.
Speaking…
7. Why do parents usually insist on children studying hard? Is what adults say always
wrong? Discuss with your friend your hopes and dreams for yourself in life.
Writing…
8. Describe in detail your school life and your likes and dislikes in studies. Remember to
collect all your thoughts together, organise them carefully and draft them into
paragraphs. Now read through what you have written and edit it.
8
3 A TRIP TO MOUNT ABU:
SOME EXCERPTS FROM PARUL'S DIARY
· Do you have a diary? Do you make an entry in your diary every day?
· What do you write in your diary?
· Why do people write a diary?
A diary is a record of personal experiences written day after day over a period of time.
You can use a diary to note down things you plan to do immediately or in the future. Here
are some entries from Parul's diary -
11 June, 2011
Today, after dinner, we all excitedly decided to go to Mount Abu, the only hill station in Rajasthan,
for a tour. Nikhil had to find out about the place, particularly the weather conditions there, as
Mother would not like to go when it was very cold.
12 June, 2011
We were watching TV when Nikhil informed us that Mount Abu is 490 kilometres from Jaipur. It is
well linked by bus and train. From Abu Road we would have to travel by bus. The weather is
pleasant from February to June and September to December.
Next we finalised the dates of our tour – 15 to 17 June, 2011 being the most suitable. Pallavi had
the responsibility of booking the bus and train tickets, and Surbhi of booking two rooms. The
other arrangements were left to Nikhil.
excerpts: a short
piece of writing that is
taken from a longer
piece
pleasant: nice, lovely
9
A TRIP TO MOUNT ABU 3
13 June, 2011
We were busy till late at night, packing and preparing snacks to carry along with us.
14 June, 2011
We left for the railway station, took our seats in the train, and were told by Mother to watch over
our luggage. We had a fun-filled journey.
15 June, 2011
We were greeted by John, the hotel taxi driver at the Abu Road Railway Station gate, who put our
baggage in the taxi. I sat by the driver. We journeyed through a winding road; the climb is
marked by sharp turns and pretty scenery, with trees and small streams.
John informed us that the people of Mount Abu speak Hindi, Gujarati and also English as it is a
popular tourist place.
We were given our room numbers when we reached the hotel. We got ready and the hotel guide,
Hamid was waiting at the Reception to take us to Sunset Point which was very crowded. He
found us a place from where we could have a good view of the setting sun. The sun looks like an
orange ball hanging in the sky, before it finally sets. It was indeed a breathtaking view.
Our second spot was Nakki Lake, which is the centre of Mount Abu and is set between hills. It is
said to have been dug out by the fingernails of the gods. This is the only man-made lake in India
which is 1200 metres above sea level. Instruments used for digging the lake have been found
th
here. A park and the 14 century Raghunath Temple stand on the bank of the river.
Surbhi, Nikhil and I enjoyed a boat ride. I went horse riding as well, not realising that it is not easy
to ride a horse. We were all very tired and hungry when we reached the hotel. After dinner,
everybody soon fell sleep.
16 June, 2011
It was a bright morning. After breakfast, Hamid asked John to take us to the Museum and Art
Gallery, a twenty-minute drive from our hotel. This is located at Raj
th th
Bhavan, and has a collection of 8 and 12 century AD objects, bronze
breathtaking: very
beautiful and brass carvings, statues, etc. We left for Gaumukh after spending
more than an hour and a half in the Art Gallery.
bronze: hard brown
metal A metalled road from Nakki Lake took us to Gaumukh, which is quite
close. First, there is an upward climb for Gaumukh, followed by a sudden
brass carvings:
decorative objects downward slope. At the bottom is an old tank, which is supplied water
made by cutting from a cowhead-shaped spout, which is why it is called 'Gaumukh'.
shapes in yellow metal Before returning to the hotel, we went to Guru Shikar. The peak is 5,650
spout: continuous feet above sea level and 400 feet higher than any other peak in Abu. The
strong stream of water view from the top is very impressive. By now, everybody was feeling tired,
so we returned to our hotel, and fell asleep after dinner.
10
3 A TRIP TO MOUNT ABU
17 June, 2011
Today was the last day of our trip. Hamid took us to some beautifully laid parks and gardens like
Ashok Vatika, Gandhi Park, Saitan Singh Park and terraced gardens, which are spread
throughout the hilly paradise.
At Nakki Lake, Hamid told us about the Nun and Toad Rocks. The rock looks like a toad, hence
the name Toad Rock.
On reaching Nakki Lake, we enjoyed shopping for gifts for our friends. We
had plenty to choose from - dresses, leather goods, decorative pieces, terraced: land on the
jewellery, toys and many such items. Two hours later, Hamid reminded side of a hill divided
us that it was time to start back for the hotel. into step-like layers
paradise: perfect place,
We thanked John and Hamid at the hotel for their invaluable services and
place with everything
for making our trip an unforgettable one. one might want
We checked out at 5 a.m. early the next day to catch a bus to Abu checked out: left
Road, and from there we took a train at 3 o'clock for Jaipur. And of course,
all the way we couldn't stop talking about the beauty of Mount Abu.
~ Adapted from Visit Rajasthan Pictorial Travel Book

1. Answer the following questions –
a. Why did Mother want to know about the weather at Mount Abu?
b. How far is Mount Abu from Jaipur?
c. What is the weather of Mount Abu like in the month of December?
d. What work was given to Surbhi?
e. When was the luggage packed?
f. What did Mother ask the children to do?
g. What is the belief about Nakki Lake?
h. Where did Parul and her family do their shopping?
i. Who are Hamid and John? Why does the narrator talk about them often?
2. Choose the correct answer from the brackets to complete the sentences –
a. The man was standing at the gate ___________________ . ( to hire a taxi / to
welcome the guests)
b. The road to Mount Abu ____________________. ( is straight / has sharp turns)
11
c. At Sunset Point, people witness ________________. ( the rising of the sun / the
setting of the sun)
d. Raghunath Temple is situated____________ ( on the bank / in the middle) of the
Nakki River.
e. Parul rode _________________. (a horse / a boat)
3. Match the words given in column A with their meanings given in column B –
Column A Column B
snacks have a position of being in charge of

excitedly connected
responsibility natural things like hills, trees and lakes that
you see in a place
man-made beautiful
tourist refreshments
scenery artificial
breathtaking very happily
linked traveller
4. Fill in the missing letters and complete the words –

a. pr_p_ ring
b. sn_cks
c. l_ggag_
d. sc_ne
e. inv_l _abl_
f. r_cks
g j_well_ry

5. Complete the following sentences, choosing the correct Prepositions from those
given below. The first one has been done for you.
12
for, at, above, about, over, by, from, near, behind, into,
to, on, under, in, up, across, through, against
a. She earns her living by selling books.

b. I was waiting ________ the bus stop.
c. The hotel is on the main road __________ the airport.
d. She said something __________ leaving town.
e. I heard a strange noise coming from the room _______ us.
f. We live about five miles ________ Udaipur.
g. The film starts _________ 8 o'clock.
h. The book needs to be returned ______ next Friday.
i. The cat jumped _________ the box.
j. Someone has left a message _________ Vicky.
k. Don't lean __________ the tree.
l. Ratan jumped __________ the pond.
m. We went __________ the forest to reach home.
n. He hid __________ the wall.
o. Students sit __________ the tree during lunch time.
p. There is a bridge __________ the river near Rampura.
q. He was going __________ the market when I met him.
r. The frog sat __________ the rock.
s. Seema ran __________ the steps very quickly.
6. Notice how the Prepositions work as position words. Read the following passage and
fill in the blanks with suitable Prepositions –
th st
Every year, our school has winter holidays _________ 24 ______ 31 December.
During this break, the school organises an educational tour _________ the students.
Last year, we went to Chittorgarh. Our Principal and five other members __________ the
staff went with us. We were thirty students _________ the tour.
We went there ________ the Chetak Express. First, we went to see Vijay Stambh,
Kirtistambh, Rana Kumba Palace, the Museum, Kalika Mata Temple and other places. We
stopped ________ Chittor _____ 2 days and visited all the important places _______ tourist
interest. On the second day, our Principal allowed us to go out _______ shopping but
advised us to be back _______sunset. We returned ____ 5 o'clock in the evening, and the
next day we returned home.
13
· Prepositions are short words that generally stand in front of Nouns.
· A Preposition usually shows the relationship in time, in place or logically of the

word / phrase it introduces to the rest of the sentence.
· 'On, in, at, since, for, ago, before, to, past, to/till/until, by' show time.
· 'In, at, on, by, next, to, beside, under, below, over, above, across, through, to, into,
towards, onto, from' show place (position and direction).
· 'From, of, by, on, in, out of, by, at, about' are other logical Prepositions.
7. Listen carefully to the text read out by your teacher on the city of Udaipur. As you
listen, complete the following table of information about the city. You may ask the
teacher to read out the text two or more times.
Udaipur, the City of Lakes
a. Situated among the Aravali Hills
b. Altitude _________metres.
Summer Winter
Maximum Minimum Maximum Minimum
c. Temperatures ________ ________ ________ ________
d. Rainfall _______ cms.
e. The best season to visit it is in __________________________________________.
f. Udaipur is an all season destination because ______________________________
_________________________________________________________________.
g. Best places to visit i. ___________________ (mention any three)
ii. ___________________
iii. ___________________
8. Information about a place is important for visiting the place. The information should
include location, landscape (hill, desert, plain, seashore), temperature, rainfall,
seasons, places and monuments, etc. With your friend, talk about the place where
you live or any other place that you know well, making sure that you cover all the
points of information listed above.
14
Writing…
9. Write a paragraph about the place that you discussed with your friend. Draw a
picture of one or two important buildings / places there.
10. Write a diary entry describing your experiences of a place you visited recently. You
may talk about the following points –
· names of places you visited; how far the place is from your home; how to reach
there; transportation; with whom you visited the place
· language spoken; type of food eaten; duration of stay; places of interest
· climate; best season to visit the place
· places and things you liked during the visit
Project Work…
11. Having read about Mount Abu, listened to the information about Udaipur and spoken
to your friend about your own place, you can understand the importance of places,
monuments, scenery and climate for tourists.
Working in groups of five, choose a place you would like to collect information on and
write about. Share the work amongst yourselves, start collecting information from
different sources and write the drafts carefully. Now edit the same and write the
final draft. Use pictures, draw illustrations and talk to people to make the project
interesting. You may need to collect information about the following –
· Physical features: location, area, temperature, rainfall; best seasons, how to reach
(give the map), animals seen, landscape, etc.
· Economic features: major products, businesses
· Transport: rail, road, air and other transport facilities to reach the place; transport
used in the area
· People and their dresses: the various communities living in the place; their dress;
food; famous people; languages spoken
· Monuments and buildings: monuments found in the area and their historical
importance; any interesting stories connected with the area etc.
15
Teacher’s Page I
THEMES Lessons - 1, 2, 3
Extended Family Members POEM: What Are Grandmothers For?
Family Relationships / School LETTER: (Personal) Father, Dear Father
Travel and Tourism / Family Vacation DIARY ENTRIES: A Trip To Mount Abu
These lessons are about the family and how important it is for all of us. We all remember the stories our
grandmother told or loris she sang to us. We also remember the advice given by our father. And can you forget
how you enjoyed going to the mela with your family? The students should enjoy reading about these family
experiences that are so familiar to them.
WARM - UP ACTIVITIES: Encourage the students to share their family experiences. If they feel shy,
tell them about your own experiences. Or sing a lori you remember. Then
ask the questions given at the beginning of each lesson. They will help to
guide the students through the lessons.
READING TIME: A good way to start is to read the poem and letter to the whole class. The
students can then read the texts silently. They can also take turns reading
each diary entry aloud. They should read the texts two or three times
before answering the comprehension questions.
LISTENING AND SPEAKING: Read out the other poems to the students. They can listen and point out the
ideas and feelings in these poems. Encourage them to talk about their own
feelings. They should also be able to give details after listening to an
informative text. Let them practise their pronunciation as well.
BUILDING VOCABULARY: Let the students pick out rhyming words used in poems and words that fit
into different contexts. Ask them to construct their own sentences with
these words. You can give them practice in using words explained in the
margins and words they don't know through activities like matching word
meanings and filling in the blanks.
LANGUAGE ITEMS/GRAMMAR: The students must be given enough practice with Questions with Yes/No
Answers (Questions beginning with the Verb or helping Verb Did you go
out? Can you talk now?), Wh- Questions (why, when, what, which, who,
whom and how) and Prepositions. They should also revise Punctuation.
You can make similar exercises for them to practise. Also, give them a
subject and let them work in pairs, one asking questions and the other
responding.
WRITING SKILLS: Here again, practice is important. Get students to write about different
people and describe them. They could also write about why they like or
dislike school. Making daily diary entries is another activity they should
practise. But keep the vocabulary the students know in mind when you set
these tasks.
STUDY SKILLS/PROJECT WORK: Students should learn to observe their surroundings, people and places.
They can collect more information by talking to their elders or other learned
people. You should help them in noting down this information in an
organised way. This will help them link what they learn with their daily life.
IDEAS FOR EVALUATION: Any assessment you make is to let the students know how they are
learning and what they are learning. You could use more exercises to
assess them. Observe them carefully and keep a record of each student.
Let them bring out a wall newspaper in groups of 4-5 so everyone can
contribute. This will help in assessing what they have learnt.
16
4 SEVENTEEN CAMELS
Here are some fractions and their images. Can you match the words in column A with
their pictures in column B?
COLUMN A COLUMN B
Half 1
2
One third 1
3
One fourth 1
4
One fifth 1
5
One sixth 1
6
One seventh 1
7
One eighth 1
8
One ninth 1
9
Now tell your friend which one is bigger, 1/2 or 1/9?
17
SEVENTEEN CAMELS 4
Here is a story in which three brothers have a problem in dividing seventeen camels among
themselves. Enjoy reading the story, and see what happens.
Once there was a man who owned seventeen camels. He was very proud of them. One day, he
called his three sons and said, “I am too old to look after my camels. So I shall divide my
seventeen camels amongst the three of you. My eldest son will get half the camels, my second
son will get one-third and my youngest son will get one-ninth. Now take the camels and look after
them.”
The youngest son said, “If I divide seventeen by nine, the answer is one and eight-ninths.” The
second son said, “One-third of seventeen is five and two-thirds.” The eldest son said, “Half of
seventeen is eight and a half. So I shall take nine camels!”
“Then I should get six,” said the second son. The youngest son said, “I
want two whole camels.”
owned: kept,
possessed The three brothers had an argument amongst themselves. Their father
owned: kept, possessed was angry and said, “All of you are greedy and want more than your
trader: a person who share, I cannot allow this! You must look for someone who can help you!”
trader: a person
buys and sellswho
things
buys and sells things The three sons took the seventeen camels and walked down the road in
offered
offereda agood
good price:
price: search of a man who could help them. They first met a trader. The trader
named
nameda areasonable
reasonable
amount offered a good price for the camels and asked them to share the
amountofofmoney
money
money amongst themselves. The three brothers were not willing to sell
the camels.
18
4 SEVENTEEN CAMELS
They then met a butcher in his shop. He said, “I will solve your problem. I can cut your camels
exactly into half, two-thirds and eight-ninths.”
The brothers did not like this idea either. On their way down the road, they met a little boy and a
girl returning home from school. They saw the camels and exclaimed, “Seventeen camels!”
The brothers told them the whole story and asked if they could help them. The little boy and the
girl said, “This is a very easy problem. We'll solve it for you.”
The boy went and stood near the seventeen camels. “Pretend that I am a camel too. Now, how
many camels are there altogether?”
“Eighteen,” the brothers answered.
“Right,” the girl said. “What is half of eighteen?”
“Nine,” replied the eldest.
“So take away your nine camels,” said the boy. “Now what is one third of eighteen?”
“Six!” said the second. “That's my share!”
“Correct!” said the girl. “Now what is one-ninth of eighteen?”
“Two!” shouted the youngest joyfully. “ I've got two whole camels.”
butcher: a person
Thus the eldest brother could own nine camels, the second six and the who sells meat
youngest two.
“But what about the pretended camel?” the youngest asked. exactly: accurately,
not more and not
“Oh! Now I'm a boy again,” replied the boy. “I don't need to be a camel less than
anymore!”
pretended: imagined
The three brothers were very happy. They took the little boy and girl with
them to meet their father. Of course, none walked; each of them rode
a camel.
~ Adapted from the story ‘Seventeen Camels’

1. Choose the correct answer from the given options, marking it with a (P). Read the
story again whenever needed :
a. The man owned __________ camels.
i. sixteen
ii. seventeen
iii. eighteen
iv. nineteen
19
SEVENTEEN CAMELS 4
b. The man divided the camels among __________
i. three of his sons.
ii. three of his daughters.
iii. three of his brothers.
iv. three of his sisters.
c. The sons took the camels and walked down the road in search of a __________
i. man who could show them a path.
ii. man who could give them camels.
iii. man who could divide the camels among the three.
iv. man who could buy the camels.
d. Who said this? “I don't need to be a camel anymore!”

i. The trader who offered a price for the camels.
ii. The man who owned the camels.
iii. The boy who solved the problem.
iv. The butcher who wanted to solve the problem.
2 Say whether the following statements are True [T] or False [F] –
a. The second son of the man would get half of the camels. [ ]
b. Three brothers were willing to sell the camels. [ ]
c. The problem was very difficult for the little boy and girl. [ ]
d. The youngest son shouted joyfully as he got two camels. [ ]
e. All of them walked while going to meet their father. [ ]
3. Answer the following questions on the story you have just read –
a. What did the eldest son say when the man divided the camels?
b. How many camels did the youngest son want?
c. What did the trader offer to the three brothers?
d. Why did the brothers not like the butcher's idea?
e. How did the little boy and girl solve the problem?
f. Do you think the three brothers were happy in the end?
If yes, say why. If no, say why not.
20
4 SEVENTEEN CAMELS

Look at the words given below –
agree - disagree
exact - exactly
In the first example, 'agree' is the root word and 'dis', the prefix is added to the
beginning of the root word. It forms a new word, 'disagree'. In the second example,
'exact' is the root word and 'ly' the suffix is added to the end of the word. It forms a
new word, 'exactly'.
4. Keeping in mind the examples of prefix and suffix above, find the correct prefix /
suffix for the root words to form new words, in the table below. The first example
has been done for you.
Prefix / Suffix Root word New word
un- weak weakness
-ly behave
mis- courage
dis- faith
-ness use
-ful man
super- friend
-less kind

Many words in English can be used both as Nouns and Verbs. Look at the examples
below –
She won two gold medals at the Interstate Meet. (Noun)
I meet her in school every day. (Verb)
5. Write sentences using each of the words given below as a Noun and a Verb –
visit, break, race, change, place, play, sleep, drink, say
21
SEVENTEEN CAMELS 4
Read the sentences given below –
a. The youngest son said, ”I want two whole camels.”

b. The youngest son said that he wanted two whole camels.
c. Sheela said to her mother,“ I want a pink dress for my birthday.”
d. Sheela told her mother that she wanted a pink dress for her birthday.
Notice that in sentences 'a', and 'c' the actual words spoken by the speaker are
written. But in sentences 'b', and 'd' this is not the case. Here the words actually
used by the speaker are reported. This is called Reported Speech. Did you notice
the differences between sentences 'a' and 'b'? What are they?
6. Now rewrite the following sentences in Reported Speech –

a. He said to me, “I don't believe you.”
b. He said, “I have passed the examination.”
c. The teacher said, “I am going to give you a surprise test now.”
d. Ranu said to Raj, “This is the house I wish to buy.”
e. Swati said to her Sports Trainer, “I will not be able to attend the football training camp
this year.”
f. Sumit said to Meeta, “I will look after your dog.”
g. Rahim said to his father, “Papa! I need some pocket money.”
Look at the sentence below –
My eldest son will get half the camels.

We see that the Future Time is expressed by adding 'will' to the Main Verb after the
Subject. It tells about an action that is going to happen.
If we want to express the negative form of the Future Time, we simply add 'not'
between 'will' and the Main Verb.
Example: My eldest son will not get half the camels.
7. Complete the paragraph using the correct form of Verbs in the brackets to show
Future Time –
22
4 SEVENTEEN CAMELS
Example: The old man (divide) ____________ his camels among his three sons.
The old man will divide his camels among his three sons.
I (travel) ____________ to Maharashtra. I (take) ____________ a train to Mumbai and

then a bus to Pune. It (be) ____________ great. I (write) ____________ to you later and
(give) ____________ you all the details of the trip. I (enjoy) ____________ the food on
the train. I (visit) ____________ Shobana and Shahrukh after meeting my cousins. I
(see) ____________ you on my return.
8. In pairs, take turns and say these tongue-twisters to each other.
a. Peter Piper picked a peck of pickled pepper.
If Peter Piper picked a peck of pickled pepper,
Where's the peck of pickled pepper Peter Piper picked?
b. Betty bought some bitter butter.
So, Betty bought some better butter
To make the bitter butter better.
9. Here are sets of pairs. Can you read them aloud?
a. bit-bet; did-dead; hid-head; lid-led; miss-mess; pin-pen; tin-ten; win-when.
b. cot-cut; dog-dug; gone-gun; hot-hut; pop-pup; rob-rub; lock-luck.
10. Here is a list of words. Say these words aloud and mark an X on the letter which is
not pronounced or silent.
walked could whole knife
calm wrap half answered
wrong talk fasten listen
Wednesday sign island knee
23
SEVENTEEN CAMELS 4
Writing…
11. The picture below shows a desert scene. Write a page, describing the scene.
You can use the following words –

desert, camels, hump, hot, sand, cactus, man , turban, rope
Project Work…
12. Write a review of a T V show. You may take about three to four weeks to complete
this project. Keep the following points in mind –
· Watch a TV show / serial that interests you.
· Make short notes on it.
· Write a summary.
· Include the following in the review: the title, the director's name, the theme of the
show, a summary of the show, your opinion of the show.
24
5 THE BRAVE LITTLE KITE
· Have you ever flown kites?
· Is it difficult to fly a kite?
· Do you make your own kites or do you buy them from the shops?
· Talk to your friend about your first kite-flying experience, or watching the kites being
flown by others.
Read the poem about the little kite who tries to fly for the first time.
'How The Little Kite Learned To Fly’

'I never can do it,' the little kite said,
As he looked at the others high over his head;
'I know I should fall if I tried to fly.'
'Try,' said the big kite, 'only try!
Or I fear you will never learn at all.'
But the little kite said, 'I'm afraid I'll fall.'
25
THE BRAVE LITTLE KITE 5
The big kite nodded, 'Ah well, goodbye;

'I'm off,' and he rose towards the tranquil sky.
Then the little kite's paper stirred at the sight,
And trembling he shook himself free for flight.
First whirling and frightened, then braver grown,

Up, up he rose through the air alone.
Till the big kite, looking down could see
nodded: moved head
up and down or from The little one rising steadily.
side to side
tranquil: peaceful Then how the little kite thrilled with pride,
stirred: encouraged, And he sailed with the big kite side by side!
moved
While far below he could see the ground,
trembling: shaking
slightly And the boys like small dots moving around.
whirling: moving
quickly round and They rested high in the quiet air,
round
And only the birds and clouds were there.
steadily: little by little
'Oh, how happy I am!' the little kite cried;
thrilled: felt happy 'And all because I was brave, and I tried.'
sailed: flew, moved ~ Unknown
smoothly
Understanding the poem…

1. Read the poem with your friend again and choose the correct answer –
a. The big kite flew away because………………….
i. he was impatient.
ii. he wanted to encourage the little kite.
iii. he was foolish.
iv. he was courageous.
26
b. The little kite was……………

i. inspired.
ii. frightened.
iii. sitting quiet.
iv. foolish.
c. 'Or I fear you will never learn to fly,' said…………..

i. the poet.
ii. the big kite.
iii. the other kites of the sky.
iv. the little kite.
d. The big kite looked down and saw…………….

i. the little kite trembling.
ii. the little kite whirling.
iii. the little kite rising up steadily.
iv. the little kite being taken away by a boy.
e. The little kite owed his success to ……..

i. the big kite.
ii. his repeated trials.
iii. the wind.
iv. other kites.
2. Answer the following questions with your friend. You may refer to the poem again –
a. Who asked the little kite to fly?
b. What was the little kite afraid of?
c. What warning did the big kite give to the little kite?
d. Why did the little kite's paper stir?
e. When was the little kite thrilled?
f. How did the boys look to the little kite from the sky?
g. Explain these lines in your own words:
'Then how the little kite thrilled with pride,
And he sailed with the big kite side by side!'
27
THE BRAVE LITTLE KITE 5

3. Make a list of all the rhyming words in the poem.
Read the first stanza again. Notice the sounds of the last words of each line there.
What are they? The sounds of the last word of the first and second lines, and the
third and fourth lines are the same.
'I never can do it,' the little kite said, a
As he looked at the others high over his head; a
'I know I should fall if I tried to fly.' b
'Try,' said the big kite, 'only try!' b
The Rhyme Scheme for these four lines is aa bb. Each new set of rhyming words gets a
different letter of the alphabet.
4. Can you now mark the Rhyme Scheme of the whole poem, based on the sounds of the
last word in each line – aa, bb, cc, dd, ee, …?
Reading, Listening, Speaking and Writing…
5. Listen carefully to your teacher read out the following words –

head fear said afraid
read rear air maid
meadow near fair laid
lead tear pair paid
dead dear stair raid
6. In pairs, read out this poem–
This is a story about four people: Everybody, Somebody, Anybody and Nobody.
There was an important job to be done and Everybody was asked to do it.
Everybody was sure that Somebody would do it.
Anybody could have done it, but Nobody did. Somebody got angry because it was
Everybody's job.
Everybody knew that Anybody could do it, but Nobody realised that Somebody wouldn't do it.
And Everybody blamed Somebody because Nobody did what Anybody could have done.
~ shortened simplified version of Charles Osgood's 'A Poem About Responsibility’

28
7. a. Discuss with your friend:

· the ideas of the poem
· what you think should be done in such cases as given in the poem?
b. Write a paragraph on the ideas in the poem.
c. Give the poem a name.
8. What are the things that can fly in the sky? Discuss with your friend.
Imagine you are a bird in the sky. What do you see when you look up?
What do you see when you look down? Write a paragraph.
9. Make a colourful kite and write the process of making kites in your notebook.
Remember to first write about the things you need to make a kite, and then the
method you used to make it. A kite-making competition can be conducted in school.
Project Work…
10. This is a short-term (one week) group project. In groups of four, learn and collect
information about the famous Kite Festivals of Rajasthan and other parts of our
country. Find out names and types of kite competitions held during this festival.
Also, contact and interview kite makers in their shops / stalls. Each group will write
the collected information with pictures or illustrations on a chart paper. The groups
will then display their chart papers and kites on the school notice board.
29
6 THE DESERT
· In groups of four, make a list of things you see in a desert.
· What is life in a desert like?
· How is a desert formed? Exchange the ideas of each group with a whole class
discussion.
Now let's read the following description about the desert.
Those of us who live in regions covered with forests and surrounded by hills may find it difficult to
imagine what a desert is really like. The popular belief is that it is an endless stretch of sand
where no rain falls and, therefore, no vegetation grows. It is dry, hot, waterless and without
shelter. But this is not entirely correct. For those who have studied it, the desert can be a
beautiful place. It is the home of a variety of people, animals and plants that have learnt to live
under very hot and dry conditions.
True, the ground is not
always hidden by a
cover of grass, plants
or trees as it is in other
climates. But whenever
it rains, which is rare,
desert flower buds
open up, and the sight
can be as rewarding
as that of any tropical
garden.
A desert is not always
a flat, unchanging,
useless area of dry
sand. It may have
mountains and hills. It
may have an oasis,
big or small. An oasis
oasis: a place with is like a green island in the middle of a desert where a spring or well gives
water and plants in a plants and trees a better chance to grow. A desert may be hot like Thar or
desert cold like Ladakh. But, generally speaking, if a place has little or no water
and vegetation, people usually call it a desert.
sand dunes: hills of
Some deserts are almost totally without water. In such places, strong
sand formed by the
wind winds raise huge amounts of sand and deposit them as heaps. These
are called 'sand dunes', and they can shift and move endlessly across
the desert. Few plants can survive in such dry, shifting sands.
30
6 THE DESERT
All living things need water in order to survive. The few plants and animals that live in deserts
have developed the ability to require less water than most plants and animals. The camel,
popularly known as the 'ship of the desert' can drink a lot of water at one time. Camels can do
without water for days together. The reason is that they sweat very little. We sweat because we
must keep our body temperature constant. When it gets hot, our sweat cools the body. Camels
can stand high body temperatures. They don't need to sweat and can, therefore, store the water
they drink for long periods of time.
The smaller desert animals do not drink water. They stay in underground tunnels during the hot
day and come out only at night to eat. Some of them eat other animals and get the water they
need from the moisture in the meat. Others eat plants and seeds, and get the water they need
from plant juices.
Desert plants also change themselves according to the life they lead. Cactus plants store water
in their thick stems. Their roots lie close to the surface of the ground and quickly take in the tiny
drops of water from the light rains that occasionally fall.
The major feature of all deserts is, of course, dryness and differences of temperature. In hot and
wet climates, the moisture in the air acts like a blanket and protects the earth's surface from the
hot rays of the sun. The absence of this blanket in desert lands causes
the deserts to heat up rapidly during the day and to cool down rapidly
at night. moisture: wetness,
tiny water drops
Deserts are an important part of nature's great plan. They are there like
rapidly: quickly
the thick forests and the deep oceans. Just because they are hot and dry,
one should not look upon them as useless parts of the earth.
~ Adapted from An Alien Hand, VII

1. In pairs, answer the following questions based on your reading of the passage. You
may refer to the text again.
a. What is the difference between a forest and a desert?
b. Who considers a desert to be a beautiful place?
c. When can a desert look like a tropical garden?
d. What is an oasis?
e. Why do 'sand dunes' shift?
f. Why does a camel not need water for days together?
g. Why are deserts hot during the days and cold during the nights?
31
THE DESERT 6

2. Match the given phrases / words in column A with their meaning in column B.
A B
an endless stretch of sand not visible because the grass is thick
waterless and without shelter piles, mounds
an oasis nothing but sand all around
hidden by a cover of grass a blanket
moisture fertile place with water and plants in a desert
'ship of the desert' no water and no shade
a covering that wraps a name given to the camel
heaps wetness

Read the following sentences –
i. A camel drinks a lot of water at one time.
ii. A camel can drink a lot of water at one time.
What is the difference? The first one is a fact, and the second one tells about the capability of
the camel to drink water. 'Can' is used to express capability.
3. Now change the following sentences using 'can' –
a. Few plants survive on such dry, shifting sands.
b. Camels do without water for days together.
c. The desert is a beautiful place.
d. Some smaller desert animals get the water they need from plant juices.
e. My grandfather walks three miles daily.
f. Suresh speaks five languages.
g. Sharmila works on the computer for hours.
h. Desert plants change themselves according to the life they lead.
4. Rearrange the following words to make meaningful sentences. The first one has been
done for you. Put in the right punctuation marks –
was / it / story / interesting / an / what / !/

What an interesting story it was!
a. was / shirt / what / a / nice /! / it /
b. was / surprising / a / it / what / event / ! /
32
6 THE DESERT
c. a / piece / what / news / good / ! / it / of / was /

d. your / strange / behaviour / how / ! / was /
e. it / fantastic / a / drawing / what / ! / was /
f. sight / the / flowers / what / ! / a / are / beautiful /
g. is / ! / the / blessing / really / a / camel /
h. really / is / ! / hot / it / today /
'What an interesting story it was!' is an Exclamatory Sentence. Notice the exclamation mark a the
end of the sentence. This can also be said as a statement like this - It was an interesting story.
5. Now change the rearranged sentences above into statements.
Listening…
6. Here is a plan of the Camel Safari from Jaisalmer to Jodhpur. Your teacher will read
it out for you. Listen to the plan and complete the table below –
Days Events Breakfast Lunch Night stay
First day Jaisalmer

Second day On the way to the village Bhoo
Third day
Fourth day
Fifth day
Speaking…
7. Imagine that you are lost in the desert. Think of what could happen and how you
would feel. Now make a story, keeping these words in mind–
hot sun, waterless, thirsty, strong winds, storm, stinging sands, turban, oasis…
Tell your story to your friend.
Writing…
8. You have read a description about the desert and listened to the Camel Safari plan in
a desert area. The description has told you all about the landscape, plants, animals
and humans living in the desert. It has also given you information about the climatic
conditions, advantages and disadvantages of living there. Read the description again
with your friend. Now discuss the landscape, plants, life, and other features of the
place you live in. Then write a paragraph about your place.
33
Teacher’s Page II
THEMES Lessons - 4, 5,6

Imagination FOLKTALE: Seventeen Camels (Problem solving)
Adventure POEM: The Brave Little Kite (Trying new things)
Nature ARTICLE: The Desert (Appreciating a place)
These lessons help students in different ways. The folktale, where a father asks his sons to divide his camels
among themselves, encourages students to look for ways to solve problems. The poem about the kite that is
inspired to fly high gives them the courage to try new things. The article about people, animals and plants adapting
to life in the desert teaches them to look at the positive side of everything.
WARM - UP ACTIVITIES: The questions at the beginning of each lesson introduce the students to
their content. They also encourage them to discuss things and try to look
for answers to problems. You should allow them enough time to solve 2 or
3 problems and discuss why these questions are posed. But set a time
limit for the activity.
READING TIME: Encourage the students to read one or two paragraphs in pairs. Let them
check the main ideas and details in the text. Whether they read silently or
aloud, they should be able to talk about what they have read and
understood. Encourage them to read the text several times. This helps
them to locate information, choose the correct details and write things in
their own words.
LISTENING AND SPEAKING: Students must learn to listen to sounds and repeat them correctly. These
include short and long vowel sounds, two combined sounds (diphthongs-
fear) and words with silent letters (chalk). Give them time to practise and
understand what they hear. They should also be able to pick out the main
ideas, discuss them and narrate a story using key words. Tongue twisters
can help because they play with sounds. You could also give them more
practice with sounds by using other vowel sounds like 'a' in 'pant' and 'part'.
BUILDING VOCABULARY: The focus here is on using prefixes (un-familiar) and suffixes (mad-ness)
to form words. Students should also understand the meaning of phrases
and words used in specific contexts. The poem introduces a new idea
rhyming of words. Give students practice in looking for such rhyming
patterns in other poems.
LANGUAGE ITEMS/GRAMMAR: The students can practise these items in all the lessons as well as in their
daily lives. They include words that can be used as both Nouns and Verbs
(meet, look, fall and need), reporting what others say and talking in the
Future Tense. Students should also learn how to use helping Verbs like
'can' (to show one is capable of doing things), and understand how an
Exclamatory Sentence is different from a statement (by seeing the order of
words).
WRITING SKILLS: Students should be able to tabulate information, write a TV review,
describe the main ideas about something(like the landscape of a place),
and give a proper title for a written text. You can give them tasks that
combine such forms of writing with the grammar they have learnt.
STUDY SKILLS/PROJECT WORK: The students should be able to study a topic and collect data on it.
Encourage them to interview people to get information about things (for
example, a local festival) and help them to organise the data. You can
conduct sessions for sharing and discussing ideas (brainstorming) to
improve their vocabulary and speaking skills to help them in their project
work.
IDEAS FOR EVALUATION: It is important to assess how students arrange words to make meaningful
sentences. This would include looking at punctuation, exclamatory
sentences, statements, 'can' to express possibility, simple future time, etc.
You could ask them to write a paragraph on organising a kite festival or
narrate a future event. Give them more practice with similar exercises on
different subjects.
34
7 RESHAPING DESTINY
· As you walk on your way to school, you find a small purse with five
five-hundred rupee notes in it. The owner's name and address are written in
the purse. What would you do? Would you return the purse or not?
Here is a story of a man who found himself in such a situation. Read the story with your
friend and find out what he did.
Once there was a woodcutter. He had a small family - his wife and two daughters, Kanu and
Manu. He sent his daughters to school. He used to say, “I could not study, but I want my
daughters to study and have a good future.”
The woodcutter's ambition
was great but not his luck, for
he never had enough money
for his family. However hard
he tried, he was hardly able
to make ends meet. At times,
he felt very unhappy but he
never gave up hope.
Though he was poor, he had
a heart of gold. One day, a
sadhu came to his house.
The woodcutter gave the
sadhu food to eat. The sadhu
blessed him and said, "I am
pleased with you, but I
cannot change your destiny.
You will never have any money, and you will die in poverty, no matter
how hard you try. If you become rich, you'll have a short life.” ambition: a strong
One day, when the woodcutter was returning from the forest with a load of desire to achieve
wood on his head, he found a big wooden box. It was full of gold coins. something
There was so much money in it that he could live in comfort without destiny: a person's
working for the rest of his life. He was overjoyed to see the money. The future which he or she
very moment when he was thinking about becoming rich with the wealth has no control over
in the wooden box, he recalled what the sadhu had told him. All his joy of poverty: the situation
finding the gold disappeared. He left the box and walked away. of being poor
Hardly had he walked a few steps ahead than he thought that the box overjoyed: very happy
would be of no use to anyone, as it was lying hidden in the forest. If he
35
RESHAPING DESTINY 7
took it, he could do so much with it, even if he had to die soon afterwards! So he went back, left
the wood in the forest, picked up the box and carried it home.
On his way, he met the grocer of his village. The grocer asked, "What is in the box? Did you not
bring any wood today?" The woodcutter replied, "The box is full of gold coins. I found it in the
forest. As I had to carry it, I left the wood in the forest." The grocer laughed loudly. What the
woodcutter said was just not possible!
The woodcutter was very confused. He did not understand what made the grocer laugh that way.
So he left hurriedly.
Now, it so happened that whoever met him on his way, asked him the same question, and they all
found his reply funny. None of them believed him.
When he reached home with the box, his wife asked him about it. He told
grocer: someone who
her the whole story and about his plan of using the money for their family.
sells food and other
goods for the home His wife said that they should not use the gold coins for themselves as the
money did not belong to them. So they kept the box in the corner of their
occupation: job, room. The family never gave in to the attraction of easy money.
profession The woodcutter did not give up his occupation. He earned his money by
comforts: things that cutting wood and selling it in the market as usual. Over the years, his
make life easier and hard work paid off. He became rich and enjoyed all the comforts in life.
more pleasant His daughters had a good education and got good jobs. It was a surprise
for all of them that the sadhu's forecast had not come true. The
forecast: to tell the woodcutter lived a long, happy and healthy life. As for the gold coins in
future the box, he spent the money on those who needed it in the village.
~ Adapted from Tannu Books (Children Book Division)
36
7 RESHAPING DESTINY

1. With your understanding of the story of the woodcutter, state whether the
following statements are True (T) or False (F) against each statement –
a. The woodcutter was a rich man at the beginning of the story.
b. He had three sons and one daughter.
c. The sadhu said that the woodcutter would become a rich man one day.
d. The grocer did not believe that the box was full of gold coins.
e. The woodcutter spent the gold coins on his family.
f. The woodcutter kept the wood on the wooden box and carried it home.
g. The woodcutter succeeded in getting his daughters educated.
h. The sadhu's forecast proved wrong.
2. Complete the following statements based on the reading of the story –

a. The woodcutter could not study because ..................................................................
.................................................................................................................................
b. The sadhu told the woodcutter that...........................................................................
.................................................................................................................................
c. The woodcutter found a box full of gold coins, but he became sad because...............
.................................................................................................................................
d. The woodcutter decided to pick up the box because..................................................
.................................................................................................................................
e. On his way back home, the woodcutter was surprised as the grocer and...................
.................................................................................................................................
f. None believed his story because...............................................................................
.................................................................................................................................
g. The woodcutter became rich by ................................................................................
.................................................................................................................................
h. The woodcutter spent the gold coins on....................................................................
.................................................................................................................................
37
RESHAPING DESTINY 7
3. Answer the following questions with reasons –

a. Did the sadhu's forecast come true?
b. Do you believe that sadhus can foretell anybody's future?

4. You have come across the following words in the story of the woodcutter. Consult a
dictionary and discuss the meaning of these words with your friend. Also use them in
the sentences below the box.
occupation, attraction, possible, confused, disappeared,

destiny, comfort, ambition, loudly, unhappy
a. One of my neighbours always speaks .........................................................

b. It is not...................................................... that Rahul won the match so easily.
c. My friend was........................................ when he was blamed for the noise in the
class.
d. The woodcutter thought it was his.............................. to die shortly after he became
rich.
e. The green hills of Mount Abu hold an.................................... for all, especially
tourists.
f. We must choose our........................................ according to our interests.
g. The strange object ........................................ within seconds.
h. My sister's ........................................ is to become a pilot.
i. I was........................................ when the headmaster punished me yesterday.
j. The woodcutter wanted his family to live a life of ........................................
You have come across the following groups of words when you read the story –
heart of gold make ends meet
5. What do they mean? Ask your friend or teacher. Do they mean something more than
the individual words in them? Can you now find the equivalents of these words in
your language?
If someone tells you, “You have a heart of gold,” will you feel happy or sad?
38
7 RESHAPING DESTINY
Look at the groups of words underlined in the sentences below –

a. Her mother said, “You are the apple of my eye.”
b. He has lost all his harvest to rains. He is leading a hand to mouth life now.
c. My brother has broken my father's favourite old clock. He is in hot water.
d. Rahul cried when his pet dog kicked the bucket.
The underlined words are called 'idioms'. They are groups of words with a special meaning,
which is not the same as that of the individual words in them.
6. Now use the idioms above in your own sentences. Also find some more idioms in
English and compare them with the ones in your mother tongue.

7. The following paragraph summarises the first half of the story of the woodcutter.
Discuss the main points of the story with your friend, and fill in the blanks with
suitable Prepositions to complete the paragraph.
One day, when the woodcutter was returning............the forest.............a load of wood
.............his head, he found a big wooden box filled ............. gold coins. There was so
much money.............it that he could live in comfort without working for the rest ............. his
life. The very moment he was thinking about becoming rich.............the wealth.............the
wooden box, he recalled the sadhu's forecast and all his joy.............finding the gold
disappeared.
Look at the sentences below –
Geeta can see Geeta in the mirror.
Geeta can see herself in the mirror.
In the first sentence we see that the Subject (doer of the action) and the Object
(receiver of the action) is the same person. The second sentence uses the word 'herself'
instead of 'Geeta'. Words like herself, himself, itself, yourself, yourselves, ourselves,
myself, themselves, etc. are called Reflexive Pronouns.
8. Rewrite the following sentences using suitable Reflexive Pronouns in place of the
underlined words –
a. Rohit hid Rohit behind the almirah.
b. Annu has hurt Annu.
c. Paresh is talking to Paresh.
39
RESHAPING DESTINY 7
d. The dog licked the dog with its tongue.
e. I was angry with me for not completing my homework.
f. We scratched us in the rose bushes.
g. Did you do the homework by you?
h. The children covered the books with brown paper by them.
9. Fill in the blanks with suitable Reflexive Pronouns –
a. Usha did the homework .................................. .
b. Somu and Raju collected the paintings .................................. .
c. I did all the gardening .................................. .
d. They wrote the poems by .................................. .
e. You should speak for .................................. .
f. The kitten defended.................................. .
g. The girl was sitting by .................................. at the bridge.
h. I had two boxes of chocolates. I kept one for .................................. and gave the other to
my sister.
i. Don't play with the knife. You can cut .................................. .
j. Kangna burnt .................................. when she was cooking food.
· Reflexive Pronouns are used when the Subject and Object are the same. (I hurt
myself.)
· They are used as the Object of a Preposition when the Subject and Object are the
same. (She did it by herself.)
10. Your teacher will read out a story to you. Listen to the story once and when s/he reads
it the second time, rearrange the sentences in order to construct the complete story.
a. The monkey drove it away with the fan.
b. One day, the king was fast asleep and the monkey was fanning him.
c. The fly flew away.
d. Suddenly, a fly came and sat on the king's nose.
e. The monkey was allowed to enter the king's palace, whenever he liked.
f. But the king got hurt and broke his nose.
g. The foolish monkey picked up a stick and hit the fly with it.
40
7 RESHAPING DESTINY
h. The fly kept coming back on the king's nose again and again.
i. Once, a king had a monkey as a pet.
11. With your friend, take turns to tell each other the story.
Writing…
12. What do you think of the woodcutter's life? Do you believe people can be like him?
The story has been told by someone and it is like a biography. A biography is the life
story of a person written by somebody who knows the person, and the events of his/
her life.
13. Try and write a short biography of someone near and dear to you - like your mother,
father, grandmother, grandfather or an elder in your village or town. Talk to the
person who you are writing about and collect all the information that you need. Use
the clues given in the box.
· Date and place of birth
· Childhood, likes, dislikes, schooling
· Mischief done during childhood
· Growing up as a teenage boy or girl
· What is the person doing now?
· Feelings of the person now: achievements and failures in life
Write the story in the past tense. First collect information and make notes before
writing. Divide into paragraphs and write a first draft. Edit the draft and then finalise it.
Project Work…
14. You have read the story of the woodcutter and have written a short biography of
somebody dear to you. You might be interested in reading a biography or
autobiography of someone who has done something that you think is great. Choose a
person (living or late) and find his biography or autobiography. Take a week to read it.
Having read the story, write a review of the same in about two or three pages.
Remember to give details of the book (title, total number of pages, price and
publisher's details) and a summary of the book. Don't forget to include your own
views about the book.
41
8 THE WONDERFUL WORDS
· Imagine there is no language in the world. What would happen?
· How would we communicate?
· Most human beings speak at least one language. The words we speak bring out
our thoughts. Can you speak without thinking? Try to do so.
Read this poem, which tells you about the importance of the words we speak.
Never let a thought shrivel and die

For want of a way to say it,
For English is a wonderful game
And all of you can play it.
All that you do is match the words

To the brightest thoughts in your head
So that they come out clear and true
And handsomely groomed and fed–
For many of the loveliest things
Have never yet been said.
Words are the food and dress of thought,

They give it its body and swing,
And everyone's longing today to hear
Some fresh and beautiful thing.
shrivel and die: dry
up and be lost
But only words can free a thought
longing: waiting
From its prison behind your eyes.
prison: jail, (here)
mind Maybe your mind is holding now
marvellous: A marvellous new surprise!
wonderful, perfect
~ Mary O'Neill
42
8 THE WONDERFUL WORDS

1. Read the poem again with your friend and discuss the following questions –
a. What will happen if we do not express our thoughts?
b. Why have many of the loveliest things never yet been said?
c. How will words come out clear and true?
d. The poet compares two things in this line: 'Words are the food and dress of thought'.
Which two things are they? State whether this is an example of a Simile or a
Metaphor.
· Simile is a comparison between two objects using a word or comparison

such as 'like', 'as', or 'than'. (He fought like a lion.)
· Metaphor is a way of describing something by referring to it as

something different and suggesting that it has similar qualities to that
thing. (He was a lion.)
e. What 'prison' is the poet referring to?

2. In groups of four, discuss the following lines and their meaning –
a. "All that you do is match the words
To the brightest thoughts in your head…"
b. "For many of the loveliest things
Have never yet been said."
c. "And everyone's longing today to hear
Some fresh and beautiful thing."
d. "But only words can free a thought
From its prison behind your eyes."
e. “Words are the food and dress of thought,
They give it its body and swing…”
3. Here is another poem about words and their power. In pairs, take turns and read the
poem aloud.
43
THE WONDERFUL WORDS 8
Words Never Die

A word can never be recalled,
It remains forever said,
As long as there is memory,
No word is ever dead.
Now careless words once spoken,
Can bring grief to heart,
And often time in memory,
These words can never depart.
To make the world a sadder,
Or a happier place each day,
Is within the power of each of us,
By just the thing we say.
Since words live forever,
It's up to you and me,
To see that what we say each day,
Makes the world a better place to be.
~ Unknown
4. Divide the class into four groups and discuss the ideas of the poem with your group,
and then present it to the other groups.
Some words have two or three consonant sounds coming together. When this happens, the
sounds all join together and are not spoken separately; for example - sh as in shoe or shr as in
shrivel.
5. Listen to your teacher read the words below –
shrivel thought play
brightest that clear
true they place
groomed things clever
dress throw close
fresh thousand clap
free teeth children
from thumb chair
prison think catch
surprise thanks match
Writing…
6. Now each group will write the summary of the poem in ten sentences on a chart paper
and display it in the class.
44
9 THE DOVE AND THE SERPENT
· You must have listened to folktales told by your mother, father or grandmother.
· Where do these folktales come from? They have been told to children, generation after
generation.
· Who first started them? Were they written down or told orally?
· Find out from the elders in your family and from your neighbourhood.
· Share a folktale you know with your friend.
Now, enjoy this folktale from Rajasthan.

A harmless little dove had made her nest in a big peepal tree, and every year she laid her eggs
there. But in a hole in the trunk of that tree, there lived a cruel black serpent, and just when the
young ones were growing wings, he would eat them up. The dove would request him to leave
her little children alone and the serpent would say, "I promise never again to touch your children.
Do not leave this nest; the next time you hatch your eggs, I shall guard the little ones from all
danger.” And the dove believed him. So every year, the cunning serpent fooled her.
Finally, the dove decided to leave that nest. She chose a tree far away from her earlier home.
Soon, in the new nest, she laid five little pearly eggs. After some time, the egg shells cracked
open and out came five rose-coloured little doves. The bird's joy knew no bounds. Soon, the
little doves were growing wings when there came the heartless serpent
again. He crept up the branches angrily and peeped into the nest.
Spitting poison, he saw the dove sitting there, singing to her dear little spitting poison:
ones. The dove stopped thunderstruck. This was worse than dying a forcing out words
thousand deaths. She looked at him, eyes glazed with fear, as he expressing hate
spoke: "You came here quietly, but you fool, can anyone ever run away thunderstruck:
from death? Where will you hide yourself now? The children are rosy shocked,
and fat. What a feast!” dumbfounded
The snake was afraid of doing any wrong on an Amavas Monday, and so dying a thousand
deaths: an
he slid down the tree saying, "Tomorrow, you will not be able to save your expression of great
children." The snake then hid in a hole in the tree trunk. fear
The dove sat in her nest and tears silently trickled down her face. Just eyes glazed with fear:
then, a crow flew down there to rest. Seeing the dove weeping, he went glassy eyes, an
expression to show
up to her and asked, "What is the matter, sister? Is there anything I could extreme fear
do for you?”
Amavas: moonless
The dove sobbed loudly and told him her story. The crow was touched and
decided to help her. "Don't weep," he said. “Trust me, this serpent will die
45
THE DOVE AND THE SERPENT 9
tomorrow with a little cleverness on our part. Listen to my plan carefully.”

The crow's words made the dove feel better and she asked him what the plan was. He said,
"Invite the mongoose to dinner today. He has only to see the serpent and he will cut him
to pieces."
Quickly wiping away her tears, and leaving her children in the care of the crow, the dove flew out
to look for the mongoose. She found him sitting just
in front of his hole. The dove said, "Brother, I shall
worship the sun today. Please come with me to my
home for dinner."
The mongoose happily accepted the invitation and
both of them left together. The dove prepared
many tasty dishes for the feast and served them to
the mongoose and the crow. The mongoose said,
"Sister, if I can be of any help to you, at anytime,
please do let me know."
Hearing these words, the dove wept and said, “My
brother, I am in great trouble. No one but you can
help me." Then she told him the story of her misery
and asked him to help her. "Save my children!" she
begged. “My children and I shall always bless you."
The mongoose replied, "There is nothing more
powerful in this world than a blessing. Even if there
are a thousand serpents, they shall not touch a tiny
feather of your children's wings." The dove went to
sleep feeling that she and her children were safe.
With the first rays of sunlight, the serpent climbed
up the tree to the nest. As he raised his hooded
head and hissed loudly, the mongoose jumped on him and held him so tight by the neck that his
hungry eyes stuck out. In a moment, he had been thrown down to the earth. The mongoose
quickly ran down the tree, and when the serpent tried to climb up the tree again, he held on to his
tail tightly. He pulled him down and beat him till his back was broken.
Then, gnashing his teeth he cried, "Instead of fighting a dove and her
gnashing his teeth: young ones, fight with me!" And he cut the serpent into bits, and very
an action of grinding soon an army of ants swarmed over him.
teeth together to The dove thanked the mongoose saying, "I shall not be able to repay your
express anger
kindness even in a hundred lives." And then, every year the dove laid
swarmed: moved pearly eggs and hatched rosy little doves, and no serpent disturbed her.
together in large Every year, she invited her brothers, the crow and the mongoose, to
numbers dinner and served them thirty-two special dishes.
~ Adapted from a Rajasthani folktale
retold by Kamini Dinesh
46

1. State whether these sentences are true or false. Write T for True and F for
False in the star given against the sentences –
a. The dove and the serpent lived in the same tree.
b. The dove and the serpent were best friends.
c. The serpent was very kind and helpful to the dove.
d. The crow suggested a solution to get rid of the serpent.
e. The young ones were very happy to see the serpent.
f. The mongoose killed the serpent.

2. Now, answer the questions given below on the basis of the text -
a. Where did the dove build her nest?
b. Who lived there in the same tree?
c. What did the serpent do to the young ones?
d. What did the serpent say on the day of Amavas?
e. Why did the crow come to that tree?
f. Whom did the dove invite to her house?
g. What happened when the serpent tried to climb up the tree the next day?
h. What happened to the serpent finally?

3. Fill in the blanks, using suitable words from the box below –
dread, escape, enjoyed, set off, gleamed, affection, lullabies

a. Animals feed their young ones with great ............................ .
b. Panna Dhai put Udai Singh in the cradle and began to sing …......……… .
c. Subhash was hungry, so he went home quickly and ........................... the dinner,
cooked by his wife.
d. No one can............................. death. We have to accept it.
e. The traveller was filled with........................ at the sight of the fierce tiger in the forest.
f. As the first rays of sun .................................. across the earth, the
farmer....................... to work in his field.
47
4. Put a tick mark ( ) on the appropriate meaning of the underlined word –
a. My brother rang me up and said that he has been selected by the Indian Civil Service and
has become an I.A.S. Officer. On hearing the news, my joy knew no bounds.
i. had no limits
ii. could not be described
iii. could not be stopped
iv. could not be imagined
b. My son broke the window pane of Mrs. Bhatia's house while playing cricket. She came to
us to complain, spitting poison.
i. passing through a window
ii. spraying poison
iii. showing wild and violent anger
iv. spitting saliva
c. When Animesh saw the beauty of Latika, he remained thunderstruck.

i. he could not move
ii. he was stunned
iii. he could not talk
iv. he was surprised
d. A dog pounced upon a hare and caught its tail; it was worse than dying a thousand
deaths.
i. feeling extreme fear
ii. dying a thousand times
iii. a thousand lives
iv. death of a thousand people
e. Suddenly the lamb came across the wolf, who was ready to spring and kill. At that
moment, the lamb looked at the wolf, eyes glazed with fear as he growled.
i. remained wide open
ii. looking lifeless
iii. flashing a sign of anger
iv. glassy eyes with fright
48
f. Gnashing his teeth he cried, "Instead of fighting a dove and her young ones, fight with me
if you dare!"
i. showing extreme anger
ii. showing one's teeth
iii. biting one's teeth
iv. showing his joy

5. Fill in the blanks with an appropriate word from the box, with your friend. There will
be 3 words left after you have finished.
give, pick up, play, hand, complete, go,

bring, reach, sing, laugh, have, finish
a. The students were asked to .................... their assignments by the fifth of the month.
b. Walking along the road, Rajani bent to.............................. a ten rupee note lying on
the ground.
c. He sent his son to ................... some stationery from the market.
d. In the evening at 5 o'clock, we decided to ............................... a game of cricket.
e. When I stood up to .......................... my presentation, the power had gone off.
f. Mr. Jonathan refused to............................ over charge to me before Monday.
g. It was likely to rain, so I walked fast to ……………..home quickly.
h. Monisha stepped onto the road from her house. She stopped for a while
to.................................. a look around.
i. It was getting dark in the evening, so Krishna decided to.................. his work quickly.
6. Look at these sentences –
a. I am afraid I have wronged you.
b. There is nothing more powerful in this world than a blessing.
c. My young ones are very small and helpless.
In the above sentences is, are and am are the present forms of 'be'.
a. The snake was afraid of doing any wrong on "Amavas" Monday.

b. The children were plump and rose-coloured.
49
Notice that was and were are the past forms of 'be'. Now, complete the paragraph using
the correct form of 'be'.
Last year, Anil and his friends .................................... studying in a village school upto Class X
level. After passing their Secondary School Examination, they came to the city school and now
they .................................... in the same school all together. On his first day, Anil introduced
himself like this, “I .................... Anil from a little village called Kathumar. It .............................. a
small village on the bank of the River Chambal.” Further, he added that he ......................... not
able to continue his education in such a small village as there .................................... no Higher
Educational Institutions in it.
7. Here is a conversation between the dove and her friend, the mongoose. Read in pairs,
taking on the roles of the dove and the mongoose respectively. Complete the
sentences by adding your own words –
Dove : Brother mongoose, I am fasting today. Would you mind dining in my
house?
Mongoose : No, not at all. I am ready. But, why are you looking so ......................... ?
Dove : Brother, a wicked snake causes me trouble. He wants to eat my
..................................... and has eaten four young ones last month.
Mongoose : Don't worry. Just tell me, where does he ............................. now ?
Dove : He lives in the trunk of this ........................... .
Mongoose : Then let him come. I shall ........................ . Anyhow, he is not going to
.......................... anymore after tomorrow.
Dove : Thank you, brother.
Mongoose : My pleasure.
Writing…
8. The mongoose comes back to his hole on the day he killed the snake. He is both happy
and sad. He is happy because he killed the snake and has helped the dove live in
peace. Yet he is sad that he had to kill another animal, the snake. He writes down his
feelings in his diary. Help him write the entry in his diary.
9. Do you see many animals in your neighbourhood? Observe one such animal for a week–
take notes on how it moves, eats, makes sounds etc. Now write two pages describing
the animal and its way of living. Draw a picture of the animal, too.
50
III Teacher’s Page

Society Beliefs FOLKTALE: (Rajasthani) Reshaping Destiny
Language POEM: The Wonderful Words
derful Words
Peace and Harmonious Living FOLKTALE: (Rajasthani)The Dove And The Serpent
These lessons help students to discover the hidden meanings of what they read and to question their superstitious
beliefs (folktale), to enjoy the beauty of the language in expressing one's thoughts, (poem) and to learn to live
peacefully and harmoniously with one another (folktale).
WARM - UP ACTIVITIES: Ask the students questions that help them to think and understand the spirit
(feelings) of the text. Conduct group discussions to give them practice in
talking and expressing themselves.
READING TIME: Help the students understand what they read in all the reading activities
reading aloud, reading silently, reading individually, in pairs or in groups.
When you read a text, read it with expression and pause at the correct
places. Students will then understand how important expression and pauses
are in understanding a text. Encourage them to pick out interesting phrases
and idiomatic use of the language.
LISTENING AND SPEAKING: The students should be able to listen to a story, poem or dialogue,
understand it (aural comprehension), present the main ideas, and then
narrate it fluently. Let them practise talking by role playing and participating in
group discussions and dialogues. They should also practise how to
pronounce words with combined consonant sounds, like swing, climb
(consonant clusters).
BUILDING VOCABULARY: Encourage the students to use phrases to make the language more colourful
while talking (idiomatic language: stared dumbstruck for looked on
speechlessly). This helps them to understand the language better and
improve their vocabulary. Guide them to use the correct words that fit the
context and encourage them to present ideas and explain meanings in their
own words.
LANGUAGE ITEMS/GRAMMAR: Apart from revising Prepositions, let the students practise the correct use of
different forms of Verbs, Reflexive Pronouns, Infinitives, and different forms
of 'be'.You can conduct simple Cloze exercises to help them learn.
WRITING SKILLS: The focus here is on writing biographies and summarising texts (giving short
answers). Let the students practise writing jumbled sentences in the correct
order, making diary entries and writing essays describing their
neighbourhood. Encourage them to talk to elders to get information to
include in their essays. If possible, try and get some reading material and
pictures to help them in their writing.
STUDY SKILLS/PROJECT WORK: Since the focus is on biography writing, the project work could also be
reading and reviewing a biography. You can make the necessary
arrangements to get the reading material, guide them in noting the main
points, help them to express what they like or dislike, and also help them in
writing the review.
IDEAS FOR EVALUATION: There is a lot of scope to assess how far the students have progressed in
listening and speaking. You can also assess how much they understand and
how fluently they speak through aural comprehension exercises. You could
have them listen to an incident like a fire or theft and then have them
individually narrate the incident or describe the process of putting out the fire
or describe how the police caught the thief. But in assessing students, give
them enough time to respond. This will help you to find out what problems
each student faces so that you can help them out individually.
51
10 FOUR WISE MEN
· Do you like riddles? Tell your friend a riddle and see if he or she can solve it.
· Here is a riddle for you to read -
Thirty–two white horses
On a red hill
Here they go, there they go,
Yet they stand still.
What is it? Try and guess.
Here is an interesting play. Divide the class into groups of six (one as king, one each as
wise men, and one as a merchant; the dialogue of the two sentries can be read out by the
students who play the role of the merchant or the king). Read the play in groups first.
Then pick out one character each from the groups and ask the chosen students to act the
play out for the class.
Characters
- THE KING OF UJJAIN
- FOUR YOUNG MEN NAMED RAM DATT,
SHIV DATT, HAR DATT AND DEV DATT
- A MERCHANT
- TWO SENTRIES
[Four young men named Ram Datt, Shiv Datt, Har Datt and Dev Datt are walking on the road
to Ujjain, looking for jobs. They are about a kilometre away from the city, which they can
see clearly.]
RAM DATT : We've come a long way from home, but haven't yet been
able to get any jobs.
jobs: work,
employment HAR DATT : How long have we been travelling?
exactly: accurately, SHIV DATT : For more than a week, I think.
not more or less
RAM DATT : For ten days exactly. If we could have an interview with the
King of Ujjain, I am sure he would give us jobs.
52
10 FOUR WISE MEN
DEV DATT : All of us think so and that's why we are going to Ujjain.
HAR DATT : It is not easy to get an interview with the King of Ujjain. We'll have to plan
carefully.
SHIV DATT : Look, a camel has gone this way. Let's study the tracks it has made.
[The four of them go along the road, and as they go, they study the tracks made by the camel.]
RAM DATT : I've found one special thing about this camel.
SHIV DATT : I've found one, too.
HAR DATT : So have I.
DEV DATT : I have found something about it which, I think, none of you has found.
HAR DATT : As soon as we find a big shady tree by the roadside, let's sit down and talk
about the things we've found about the camel. But here comes a man
running! Who can he be?
SHIV DATT : He looks like a merchant.
RAM DATT : Yes, he is a merchant. I think he has lost his camel. shady: out of the
sun, sheltered from
[The merchant stops near the four men and greets them.] the sun
MERCHANT : Gentlemen, I've lost my camel. Have you seen it? merchant: trader,
RAM DATT : Is it lame? businessman
MERCHANT : Yes, it is.

53
FOUR WISE MEN 10
SHIV DATT : Is it blind in the right eye?

MERCHANT : Yes, yes, it's a one-eyed camel.
HAR DATT : Its tail is short, isn't it?
MERCHANT : You're quite right. It has a short tail. You gentlemen have noticed everything
about it. I hope………
DEV DATT : Wait a minute. Isn't it suffering from a pain in the stomach?
MERCHANT : You seem to be a vet. The poor animal has been suffering from a pain in the
stomach for two weeks. I'm prepared to pay your fees if you treat it. Will you
please tell me where it is?
RAM DATT : We don't know where it is.
MERCHANT : Has none of you seen it?
RAM DATT : No, we knew all about it from the tracks it made on the road.
MERCHANT : I don't believe you. You are thieves! You found my camel and sold it to
someone. I'm going to complain to the King.
DEV DATT : Please yourself, sir. If the King wants us, please come back and let us know.
[Pointing to a banyan tree by the roadside in the distance.] You will find us
sitting under that banyan tree.
MERCHANT : I don't trust you. I must take you with me to the king.
ALL FOUR : All right. Let's go to the King.
[The four men follow the merchant to the King. At the gate, the merchant says something to one
of the sentries, who takes him to the King. The sentry and the merchant bow to the King.]
SENTRY : Your Highness, this man is a merchant of Ujjain. He has come to make a
complaint against the men who have taken away his camel.
[Bows again, and the merchant also bows.]
KING : Where are the men who have taken away your camel?
MERCHANT : They are at the gate, Your Highness.
KING : [to the sentry] Bring them in.
[The sentry bows and goes out. He comes back with the four men and all
vet: veterinary five of them bow to the King.]
surgeon or doctor of KING : [to the sentry] You may go. [the sentry bows and
animals goes out.]
trust: have faith in,
believe KING : [to the merchant ] How do you know that these men
have taken away your camel?
bows: bends down as
a sign of respect MERCHANT : Your Highness, they know everything about it and yet
they say they haven't seen it. [to the four men] Is
that right?
54
10 FOUR WISE MEN
RAM DATT : Your Highness, each of us has found out one special thing about the
merchant's camel, but none of us has seen it. I found that it was lame.
KING : How did you find this out?
RAM DATT : Your Highness, I studied the tracks which it had made on the road and saw
that there were prints of only three feet.
KING : [to Shiv Datt] What did you find out about the camel?
SHIV DATT : Your Highness, I found that it was blind in the right eye.
KING : How did you find that out?
SHIV DATT : I saw that it had eaten the leaves of the trees only on the left side of the road,
and so I knew that it was blind in the right eye.
KING : Excellent! [to Har Datt] What did you find out?
HAR DATT : Your Highness, I found out that it had a short tail.
KING : How did you know that it had a short tail?
HAR DATT : I saw a few very small drops of blood in the track, and I
knew that they came from mosquito bites. The
mosquitoes could not have bitten the animal so much
if it had a long tail to brush them away. reasoning: way of
thinking.
KING : That's very good reasoning. [turning to Dev Datt]
What did you find out about the merchant's camel?
55
FOUR WISE MEN 10
DEV DATT : I saw that the prints of the camel's forefeet were deep and clear and the
prints of the good hind foot were very light. From this I knew that the camel
drew up its hind legs because it had a pain in the stomach.
KING : Very good! [turning to the merchant] I'm satisfied that these four gentlemen
have not seen your camel. They are very wise men. You may go and look
for your animal. [The merchant bows and goes out.]
KING : [to the four men] Gentlemen, I'm pleased with you.
forefeet: front legs You are wise men indeed. I would like to
make you my advisors. What do you say to
hind: back, rear that?
advisors: people who
guide and direct ALL FOUR : We're at your service, Your Highness!
someone on what
needs to be done
~ Adapted from Read for Pleasure II, NCERT 1980

1. Attempt the following questions based on your reading of the play –
a. Why did Ram Datt expect the King of Ujjain to give jobs to the three young men
and himself?
b. Why did they want to make a careful plan?
c. What special quality did the four wise men possess that made it possible for them to
find out special things about the camel?
d. Why did the merchant not believe the wise men?
e. Mention the qualities of the King of Ujjain after reading the play.
f. How did Shiv Datt know that the camel was blind in his right eye?

2. Read the play carefully once again and write words or phrases connected to
'distance' and 'time' under them respectively. One example of each has been done
for you as examples. Add two words each of your own.
'distance' 'time'
long (way) long (period of time)

……………… ………………
56
10 FOUR WISE MEN

'yet' and 'still'
Here is a sentence from the lesson. Let's read it –

We've come a long way from home but haven't yet been able to get any jobs.
In the above sentence, yet is used for replying in the negative to a question like this –
Have you been able to get any jobs?

No, we haven't been able to get any jobs yet.
No, we still haven't been able to get any jobs. (We know that they have been looking for
jobs for a long time but haven't got any.)
3. Reply to these questions in the negative in the two ways shown -
a. Has she arrived yet ?
b. Have they seen it yet ?
c. Is the shop open yet ?
d. Has school begun yet ?
e. Have the workmen cut down that tree yet ?
f. Have they scored a goal yet ?
g. Have you read that book yet ?
h. Have you been paid yet ?
i. Have we finished the exercise yet ?
j. Has she replied to your letter yet ?
Read the following sentences from the play –

Look, a camel has gone this way. Let us study the tracks it has made.
4. In the above sentence, the Present Perfect Tense is used. Discuss what the sentence
means with your friend. When did the action take place?
5. Fill in the blanks with the Present Perfect form of the verb given in the brackets at
the end of the sentences.
a. Would you like to read this book? I ...................................it. (read)
b. He is lying on the road. He ...................................with an accident. (meet)
c. He cannot go any further. A tree................................... across the road. (fall)
57
FOUR WISE MEN 10
d. If you ............................................... the work, you may go. (do)
e. I don't want to see the film. I .......................................... it before. (see)
f. I must go back. I ................................... to bring money with me. (forget)
g. I ................................... you in the past and I will not tell you again. (tell)
h. He knows this town. He ................................... here before. (be)
There are some Adverbs, such as ever, just and already, used to show Present Perfect
Tense. Let's look at some examples –
Ever
Have you ever been to Jaipur ?
This is the best sweet that I have ever tasted.
Just
We have just finished our work.
I am laughing because someone has just told me a funny story.
Already
We have already done two exercises within ten minutes.
I don't want that book, thank you. I have already read it.
Why are you asking me again? I have already told you that I don't know.
I have already finished the work.
6. Complete the sentences by using 'already' and the Present Perfect Tense of the
verbs given in the brackets at the end of the sentences –
a. She................................... three exercises so quickly. (do)
b. You are too late. He ................................... (go)
c. I ................................................... you that the answer is 'no'. (tell)
d. He ............................................ two races and I think that he is going to win the next
race too. (win)
e. When are you going to write the letter? I ................................... (write).
f. May I have another cake? Good gracious! You ................................... five. (have)
7. Here is a dialogue between a brother, Govind, and his sister, Priyanka. Read the
dialogue out in pairs –
58
10 FOUR WISE MEN
Priyanka : Govind, you silly boy! Why don't you finish your work on time?
Govind : Ho! Mind your own business. Who are you to advise me? You're always
blaming me for everything.
Priyanka : You're always misplacing things.
Govind : Why should I keep things in order?
Priyanka : I can never find anything that I need, that's why. Where have you kept
the knife?
Govind : Try calling out, “Knife, knife.” It'll come running to you.
Priyanka : Don’t be funny! Where is it? I need it now. So tell me where it is.
Govind : If I knew, wouldn't I tell you? I don't know where it is. I used it some
time back.
Priyanka : There it is! I've found it. I wish you weren't so careless. You should put
things back after you use them.
Govind : My dear sister, if everything's always in the right place, this would be a
museum and not a home. Right?
Priyanka : And now you are making fun of me! Just wait till Mother comes
back home.
Govind : How you keep complaining! Bye. (running away…)
Writing…
8. Why do you think the four wise men found a job in the King's court? Can you list the
qualities of the four wise men, with your friend? Now, write a paragraph about the
characteristics of the four wise men in the play.
59
11 PLAY SAFE
· What do you think this picture is saying? Discuss it with

your friends.
· Make a list of things you should do to avoid meeting with
Now read the poem below and remember to practise all it says.
an accident on the road.
Now read the poem below and remember to practise all it says.
All of us get playtime

At home or in school,
Early in the morning
noon: shortened form Or late at noon.
of afternoon
But remember these rules
To be safe while you play,
Repeat them to yourself
Every single day.
60
11 PLAY SAFE
(Chorus)
Don't play football
In the traffic.
Don't fly kites

In parking sites.
Don't play cricket

Among the cars.
Don't chase balls

Through crowded malls.
Remember these rules chorus: said all

together
And be safe while you play,
Say them to yourself sites: areas or places
Day after day. crowded malls: full /
packed shopping
To stay safe, there's just one way - centres
Find a park in which to play!
~ Unknown

1. Read the poem again and discuss what it says with your friend.
a. Which stanzas in the poem tell you what to do and which tell you what not to do?
b. What are the four things the poet tells us not to do? Why?
c. Which is the best place for children to play, according to the poem?
d. Do you think the title of the poem is suitable? Why?

2. List four pairs of rhyming words from the poem. Add two more rhyming words to
each pair.
3. On the next two pages there are some traffic signs which we see at different places in
India. Identify the signs from the word list given on page 63, and write the correct
words in the box below the sign. Two examples are given.
61
PLAY SAFE 11
62
11 PLAY SAFE
Advance direction sign Re-assurance sign
cycle crossing cattle pedestrians prohibited
pedestrian crossing crossroad no parking narrow bridge hospital
cycle prohibited stop school no stopping or standing
63
PLAY SAFE 11
3. Find out what is meant by the “advance direction sign” and “re-assurance sign”.
Reading and Speaking…
4. Read the following poem with your friend and discuss the ideas in it.
SAFETY FIRST
Up the street I look to see
If any traffic is near to me.
Down the road I look as well
And listen for a horn or bell.
There's something coming, wait a bit,

If I run out, I may be hit.
But now the road is really clear -
No cars or motor bus is near.
I run across the road so wide,
Hurrah! I'm safe on the other side.
~ Unknown
Reading and Writing…
5. Read this poem silently by yourself. Then design a poster for 'Road Safety', warning
children about the dangers of the road. You may read the poem again and get
some ideas.
The Boy Who Didn't Stop, Look and Listen
Before his leg was bent backwards,
He loved to play football all day;
But the boy didn't cross in a safe place
Where he could see cars come his way.
He then didn't stop, look and listen,

A car hit him at quite a pace;
And now he cannot play football
'Cause his leg broke in more than one place.
~ Department for Transport, 'Think!' Campaign, U.K.
64
12 THE EMPTY HOUSE
· Have you ever been alone in your house at night? Were you scared?
· Share your feelings with your friend, if you have been in such a situation.
· Tell your friend what you would do if you were to stay alone in a house for the whole
night.
It was raining heavily. A man was travelling on a lonely road. His car broke down. He
saw an empty house. Did he look for shelter? Read this story to find out.
It had rained hard all day. And now, miles from anywhere, the car had broken down.
There was not a house to be seen. I was tired and hungry and did not want to spend the
night in the car. But I could not go far looking for shelter, with the rain coming down like this.
What was I to do?
I turned off the headlights and looked around for a light. I saw a small light, not very far from
the road. Leaving the car, I walked carefully towards the light. I saw it
came from one window of a large house - it looked like a farmhouse.
headlights: large
I knocked twice on the door, but no one answered. I turned the handle lights in front of a car
slowly, and the door opened.
Going in, I called out, “Is anyone there?”
There was no answer. Seeing a thin line of light under one of the doors, I opened it into an
empty dining room. The table was set for a meal for two. In the middle of the table was an oil
lamp, and at one end a chair had been knocked over on the floor.
65
THE EMPTY HOUSE 12
Two people had sat down to a meal when something had happened, and they left in such a
hurry that they didn't even pick up a knocked over chair.
I went back to the door and again I shouted, "Is anyone there?" But no one answered. So,
taking the lamp upstairs, I looked into all the bedrooms. But no one was there in that great big
house. And yet, I had a feeling that someone was watching me from somewhere.
Cold, hungry, and a little frightened, I came back to the dining room. I sat down to eat.
Warmed by the food and a glass or two of the juice, I felt better.
"Perhaps someone was ill, and the people who live here had to leave suddenly," I thought.
"They will be back in the morning."
It was now late, and I was becoming sleepy. I remembered that in one of the bedrooms I had
seen a made-up bed. Taking the lamp with me, I again made my way up the stairs. There was
still no sound except for that of my own footsteps, but once more I felt that unseen eyes were
watching me. Once I thought I heard someone following me, just beyond the light of the lamp.
“Don't be foolish," I told myself firmly. "There are always noises in an empty house at night."
And even when I turned the corner and saw something white waving for a moment in front of
me, I refused to be frightened. "A curtain blowing in the wind," I said, and walked on. But I was
happy when I found the room with the bed, and had shut the door firmly behind me. Putting out
the lamp, I lay down and was asleep soon.
I woke up with an uncomfortable feeling that there was someone - or something - in the room.
I listened for a moment without moving. There was a sound near the window. Then silence.
I remembered the movements I had heard behind me on the stairs earlier, and the white thing
I had seen for a moment at the end of an empty passage. Was that really a curtain blowing in
the wind or was it…?
At that moment the sound came again. Someone knocked his foot against a piece of furniture,
and a deep voice said, “Oh!”
Another voice answered, “Shh! Be quiet, you fool. You'll wake him." These voices did not
belong to a ghost.
I was about to call, "Who's there?" when the first voice went on, "He's asleep. Anyway, he saw
nothing. He'll do no harm." After a moment or two, the footsteps moved away, and I heard the
door close quietly.
As I lay there thinking about what I had heard, a different kind of fear took hold of me. What
hadn't I seen? What harm could I do that these men feared? Their voices had sounded rough
and hard. What was going on in this strange silent house, which seemed so empty and was
not? Whatever it was, I decided that the sooner I got away from the place, the better.
Very quietly, I got out of bed, put on my clothes, and went to the door. By
this time, daylight was beginning to come in through the windows, and
frightened: scared, I felt my way towards the top of the stairs. Carefully and quietly, I went
feeling fear down the dark stairs towards the front door.
except: apart from, There was a light shining under the door of the dining room. The door
other than was not quite shut, and I could hear voices inside. Holding my breath,
I stood close to the door and listened.
66
12 THE EMPTY HOUSE
They were the same voices that I had heard in the bedroom. "I tell you, it's not safe, Fred. If we
let him go, he might go straight to the police."
“Why should he, George? He's seen nothing wrong. As far as he knows, it might just be an
empty house with the people gone away on holiday.”
"I tell you, it's not safe. We don't want to have the police looking around."
"Well, what do you want to do about him?"
"Get rid of him!" And he made a sound which frightened me.
I decided it was time to go. I ran down the road towards where I had left the car. In a very short
time, I had found what was wrong with the car, and was on my way towards the nearest town -
and the police.
When I arrived half an hour later, with three policemen, we found the two handcuffs: metal rings
thieves still in the dining room. The handcuffs were on them before they put round prisoners’
knew what was happening. In a shed at the back of the house, the wrists to stop them
police found furs and other things which they had stolen during the past from running away
month. The police told me that the owners of the house were on holiday. furs: valuable animal
"I told you!" said George, as he and Fred were put into the waiting police hair used for clothing
car. "I knew it wasn't safe to let him go."
~Adapted from the short story 'The Empty House' by Frank Candlin
67
THE EMPTY HOUSE 12

1. Based on your reading of the story, complete the following flowchart in the boxes
from events given below –
· It was raining very heavily

and the narrator was driving
his car. His car broke down.
· It was an empty dining-

room. But the table was set
for a meal for two persons.
Two people must have
been there.
· The two thieves were

caught by the police.
68
12 THE EMPTY HOUSE
· Next morning, as he got out of the house, he heard a voice saying, “I tell you, it's not safe to
let him go...” He went straight to the police.
· It was an empty dining room. But the table was set for a meal for two persons. Two
people must have been there.
· The two thieves were caught by the police.
· It was raining very heavily and the narrator was driving his car. His car broke down.
· He called out, “Is anyone there?” On seeing a thin light under one of the doors, he opened
the room.
· He entered the room and shouted again, “Is anyone there?” No one answered. He
thought that he needn't go hungry and ate the meal.
· He felt sleepy and went upstairs to the bedroom. He fell asleep immediately. He heard
some murmuring, “Shh! Be quiet, you fool. You will wake him.”
· There was darkness everywhere and seeing a house nearby, he knocked again and
again, but no one answered.
You have come across the following sentence in the story –
I turned off the headlights and looked around for a light.

Notice the phrase 'turn off' which means 'switch off'. This is called a Phrasal Verb
because it consists of more than one word i.e. a base Verb and a Preposition or
Adverb. A Phrasal Verb may have a different meaning from the root word. Now take
a look at the following Phrasal Verbs with the root word 'turn' and their meanings
turn on = i. to start (Don't turn on the fan; I'm feeling cold.)
ii. to attack (After remaining quiet for quite a while, the dog
suddenly turned on the child.)
turn down = i. to adjust something (Please turn down the volume of the
television.)
ii. to reject (His request was turned down by the leader.)
turn out = i. to be present at an event (A large number of people turned out to

watch the Elephant Festival this year.)
ii. to produce something (The turn out of the company was one
million bikes last year.)
69
THE EMPTY HOUSE 12
2. Here are some more Phrasal Verbs with the root 'turn'. Column 'A' has the Phrasal
Verbs and column 'B' has their meanings. Match each Phrasal Verb with its correct
meaning. Then make meaningful sentences of your own using the Phrasal Verbs –
'A' 'B'
a. turn around to stop operation; to lose interest
b. turn over to arrive; to happen unexpectedly
c. turn up to think about; to transfer something to some one
d. turn off rotate; improve, make better
· Sometimes the meaning of a Phrasal Verb is very similar to the base Verb, and the
adverb or preposition just emphasises the meaning of the base verb, e.g. stand up,
wake up, hurry up, sit down, lie down and send off.
· On other occasions, the Adverb adds the idea of completing the action of the verb,
e.g. drink up (finish your drink), eat up (finish eating).
3. Now find the meanings of the following Phrasal Verbs and use them in your own
sentences –
call on, call off, call out, call in, call for, call away
Working with Language…

Read the following lines–
As I lay there thinking about what I had heard, a different kind of fear took hold of
me. What hadn't I seen? What harm could I do that these men feared? Their
voices had sounded rough and hard.
Look at the words in bold print. Which action do they refer to? There are two actions in
the first sentence: the first one is 'I lay there' and the second action is 'I had heard'.
One action, the first one is said in the Past Perfect (had heard) and the action which took
place after (the second action) is said in the Past Tense (lay). The Past Perfect is
generally used to describe an action before an action in the Past. Look at the following
examples–
a. When I reached the playground, the match had already started.
b. He ran to the bus stand, but the bus had already gone.
c. When I went to meet him, he had already left.
d. He had arrived there, before I did.

70
12 THE EMPTY HOUSE
Take a look at the following passage –
Two people had sat down to a meal, and then something had happened. They had got
up suddenly - so suddenly that one of them had knocked over his chair and had not
stopped to pick it up. And all this had happened not long before; the food on the
table was still fresh and the lamp was still full of oil.
· All the actions expressed in Past Perfect tense happened before an

action in the past.
4. Fill the blanks with the appropriate form of words from the box below –
had heard, remembered, had closed, suffered, had left, bought, ran,
had already gone, thought, had already left, reached, had seen, found,
had fled, caught, had asked
a. When I ____________ the classroom, the last bell _______________ .

b. Sheela ______________ the station, but the train ________________.
c. Govind's business __________ a heavy loss when his toy shop _____________.
d. The Police _____________ no one. The criminals _____________ the scene.
e. I ___________ the book which my teacher ___________ me to read.
f. I _____________ that in one of the bedrooms I _____________ a made-up bed.
g. I _____________ about the movements I _____________ in the empty passage.
h. I _____________ down the road towards where I _____________ the car.
Look at the underlined words in the following sentences. These words tell us about the
manner of actions. Do you know what we call these words?
He was extremely frightened.
I turned the handle slowly, and the door opened.
5. Fill in the blanks in the sentences below with Adverbs from the box –
dimly, seriously, shortly, quietly, slowly, wisely, carefully, firmly
a. Leaving the car, I walked ______________ towards the light.

b. “Don't be foolish,” I told myself ______________ .
c. Both the persons went on walking ______________ with their luggage.
71
THE EMPTY HOUSE 12
d. A light from the window shone ______________ .
e. The footsteps moved away and I heard the door close ____________.
f. I arrived ______________ with three policemen.
g. One morning, one of the boys fell ______________ ill.
h. “I knew it wasn't safe to let him go,” said George ______________.
· We use Adverbs of Manner to show how or in what manner the action was done.
· These words include nearly all those Adverbs which are formed from Adjectives and
end in 'ly'.
Speaking and Listening…
7. Your teacher will now read out a very short story to you. Listen to it carefully and
answer the following questions. You may ask your teacher to read out the story again
and then answer the questions.
a. Who invited his friend to his house?
b. What did he do with the tennis ball?
c. Did the dog swim in the water or walk on it?
d. Did the dog bring the ball back to his master? Yes / No.
e. Why was the friend amazed?
Writing…
8. Imagine you are the man who drove the car and stayed in the empty house. The
thieves have now been arrested and brought to the police station. The police officer
in the station asks you to write a complaint against the two men, describing whatever
happened the night before. Write a report of the event for the police in about a
page. Read the story again and discuss with your friend before writing it. Remember
to write the place and date at the top, after giving a headline (title) to your report.
72
IV Teacher’s Page

Imagination PLAY:Four Wise Men (Observation & Reasoning)
Road Safety POEM: Play Safe (Safe playing / Avoid accidents)
Adventure SHORT STORY: The Empty House-Thriller- Bravery, quick thinking
These lessons help the students to reach conclusions about things after observing and studying them critically
(play), to be brave with quick thinking (short story), and to be conscious of their duties as citizens by not playing on
roads to avoid accidents (poem).
WARM - UP ACTIVITIES: The students are introduced to the texts by solving a riddle, discussing a
message conveyed through a picture, listing things to do to avoid road accidents
and sharing feelings and fears about darkness and being left alone.
READING TIME: By now, the students should be able to understand stories, poems and other
texts by picking up clues from the words and illustrations. Plays are easier to
follow because they are in the form of a dialogue. Ask them to read the poem
several times so that they can enjoy the feel of the words. Repeating the words
also helps them understand their meaning. At this stage, you should focus more
on how fluently they read, using pauses and expressions to convey the meaning.
LISTENING AND SPEAKING: Again, speaking with expression is what is important in the dialogue between a
brother and sister. In the case of a poem or story, they should be able to catch the
main points and other details by listening carefully. They should also be fluent
enough in speaking to present these ideas, express their opinions and form word
pictures. Give them enough practise to fine-tune their two-way communication.
BUILDING VOCABULARY: The focus in vocabulary should be on talking and communicating in daily life.
They should be able to recognise road signs and become familiar with words that
show distance and time. Ensure that they practise phrasal verbs, which are
combinations of root verbs and prepositions or adverbs, that change the
meaning of the word when used together. Ask them to note down such examples
whenever they come across them. They should also learn to appreciate riddles
in English and their own language.
LANGUAGE ITEMS/GRAMMAR: Give more importance to the grammar structures of daily interactions (extended
form of communication). These include using 'yet' and 'still' to answer a question
in the negative; using adverbs like 'ever', 'just' and 'already' to show present
perfect tense; past tense and past perfect tense. Adverbs should also be revised.
Construct exercises, such as writing or speaking about a particular subject, to
give them more practise.
WRITING SKILLS: Get the students to write character sketches that describe everything about a
person physical attributes, nature and behaviour, and then let them role play the
character. Reporting about an incident, registering a complaint or designing a
poster are other good writing tasks. They should also be able to list things,
compare things and complete a flow chart.
STUDY SKILLS/PROJECT WORK:This is a good time to get the students to build their own personal dictionaries.
They can collect as many new words as possible, giving the meanings in English
and their own language.
IDEAS FOR EVALUATION: These lessons have a range of activities and contexts that you can use as a base
to assess all competencies. You can cover both formative and summative
assessment. But keep in mind the structures and vocabulary the students know.
Use additional exercises similar to those in the section heads to track and record
individual progress. You could give a set of pictures showing a person entering a
house on a dark night and seeing different things. The students could respond
individually, narrating what they see in the pictures, after which they can draw a
flowchart telling the story they have narrated. 73
13 A PARCEL FOR THE POSTMASTER
· Have you ever received a parcel by post? Do you know the steps involved in getting a parcel
ready to post? Share this with your friends.
· What are the things to remember when you write an address on an envelope, a letter or a
postcard?
Given below is an excerpt from a story about a parcel that arrived by post one day, in the
beautiful valley of Kulu. Read and find out all about it.
Dak Babu had first come to Panarsa on transfer, many years ago. He had liked it so much that he
stayed on. The town he came from was noisy and crowded and he was never really happy in that
hustle-bustle. In Panarsa, there was perfect peace. Moreover, Panarsa had trees whose tops
touched the sky. It had green fields, and gardens
full of flowers and fruit. The air was pure and the
Beas river's crystal clear water flowed merrily
along; but, above all, the people of the valley were
simple and honest. Dak Babu lost his heart to
Panarsa, and settled down there happily.
One day, Dak Babu received a parcel. It didn't
have his name on it. Where the address should
have been, there was just one line - For the Dak
Babu of Panarsa in Kulu.
The parcel was from Delhi. The sender's name
and address were clearly written in a corner. Dak
Babu adjusted his thick, round spectacles and
looked carefully at it. The sender appeared to be a
Suresh Kumar of New Delhi, from a place called
'Alaknanda'. Dak Babu
e x a m i n e d t h e pa r c e l
hustle-bustle: a lot of closely, wondering who this
noisy activity Suresh might be. He didn't
crystal clear: know anyone by the name
completely of Suresh in Delhi. If he
transparent like glass had known him, wouldn't
or crystal Suresh have addressed
lost his heart: loved the parcel to him by name?
something very much
Dak Babu sat there trying
puzzle: something to solve the puzzle. He even picked up the parcel a few times to guess its
you cannot weight. It seemed quite heavy, which surprised him. What on earth did
understand
it contain?
74
The post office of Panarsa was a small one, as in any mountain village. Apart from Dak Babu, it
had only one other postman. His name was Keshav, and at this particular moment, he was
sleeping in his chair. There was no one else in the post office.
There couldn't have been a greater difference between the
two men. Keshav was as tall and fat as Dak Babu was
small and thin. And, he was bone-lazy too. Once he sat
down, there was no moving him. Though half Dak Babu's
age, he wasn't even half as active. He would sleep
wherever he sat down.
Dak Babu, as we have seen, was already troubled by the
arrival of the parcel. When he saw Keshav sleeping yet
again, he lost his temper. "Oy, Keshav!" he shouted.
The package was wrapped in cloth. When this was cut, a
cardboard box was seen. On opening this, Keshav stepped
back, startled.
Dak Babu's eyes were on Keshav. Why did he look so
taken aback? "What is it?" Dak Babu asked. "Is there a
snake or a scorpion inside that you should look so
stunned!"
Keshav kept staring at the open box, eyes popping out of his
head. He tried to say something, but the words seemed to stick
in his throat. Finally he managed to say, "D…d…dak Ba-ba-
ba-bu…"
Somewhat troubled, Dak Babu got up and asked, "Why, what on earth is the matter?" and quickly
walked upto the frightened-looking Keshav. When he looked into the box himself, he too was
dumbfounded. The box did not contain a snake or a scorpion. What it did have, was a small flat
round stone.
Placing the stone on his desk, Dak Babu peered inside the
box again. There was a piece of paper there – a letter. He
took it in with one quick look. It was
signed 'Suresh'. The handwriting
appeared to be that of a child. bone lazy: not willing
Dak Babu stared at it, confused. to work or take part in
Then, pulling himself together he any activity that
began to read, needed effort
'Dak Babu Saheb, taken aback:

surprised, speechless
Namaskar. I know that this parcel with
its stone will surprise you. It might stunned: shocked
even alarm you…' dumbfounded:
At this point, Dak Babu looked up and shocked, stunned
said angrily to no one in particular, alarm: frighten
"You brat! I was surprised of course.
But, what about Keshav, the
75
A PARCEL FOR THE POSTMASTER 13
postman? Your parcel nearly gave him a heart

attack!" Having got this off his chest, Dak Babu
turned to the letter again.
'My name, too, will be unfamiliar. You'll wonder
who this Suresh is who sent a stone in a parcel.
So, let me introduce myself first, then I'll tell you
what I want…'
Dak Babu was confused. Whoever heard of such
a request! He said to himself, "Suppose it's a
joke?" As the thought crossed his mind, Dak
Babu put the letter on the
table and placed the stone
brat: unpleasant on it like a paperweight.
child, little horror
"This naughty boy wants
unfamiliar: unknown, to make a fool of me!"
strange
Just then, a noise outside
joke: something that startled him. Balram, a
makes people laugh boy of eleven or twelve,
who was a neighbour of
startled: suddenly
his, was standing in the
frightened
front yard.
~ Adapted from Dhronvir Kohli's story

'A Parcel for the Postmaster',
translated by Shama Chowdhury

1. Put the sentences below in the correct order, as given in the story above. Rewrite
them in your notebook.
a. The only other person in the post office was Keshav, another postman, who was
lazily dozing off in a chair, and Dak Babu woke him up.
b. There was a note from Suresh in a childish handwriting, introducing himself and
saying that he had a request.
c. He liked the place so much that he settled down there happily.
d. Keshav opened the parcel, and when he saw what was inside, he was most startled;
Dak Babu couldn't understand why and asked him if there was a snake or scorpion in it!
76
e. It was sent by someone called Suresh Kumar, who was unknown to Dak Babu.
f. Just then, he heard some noise outside, and when he looked out he saw Balram, the
little boy, in the yard.
g. Dak Babu was annoyed, and thought that some little mischievous boy was trying to
make a fool of him.
h. Dak Babu went across to look inside the box and found a small, flat stone in it.
i. Dak Babu was disturbed and wondered what the parcel contained.
j. One day, he was very surprised to receive a parcel from Alaknanda in Delhi.
k. Dak Babu was sent to Panarsa on transfer.
2. The story is not complete. What do you think happened after Dak Babu saw Balram
in the yard?
a. Discuss with your partner how you think the story ends.
b. How would you react if you opened a parcel and found a small stone in it? Would you
be perplexed and dumbfounded, or just surprised?
c. Why do you think Keshav was so frightened, dumbfounded and perplexed? Discuss
this with your friends.

3. Circle one word / phrase from the words given in the brackets with the same
meaning as the underlined words in the sentences given below. The word may be
found in the story above.
A. Most people don't like the noisy activity of the city. (hustle-bustle, rattle-battle,
whistle)
b. They slightly changed their plan to suit the new requirement. (confused, moved,
adjusted)
c. Suresh looked carefully into the dark to find his missing cat. (pierced, peered,
locked up)
d. The difference between the two brothers was unbelievable. (compare, contrast,
similarity)
e. My grandmother would sleep lightly for twenty minutes every afternoon. (doze,
wake up, lie down)
f. It was shown in the class register that he had not attended school for the past two
weeks. (revealed, released, repeated),
77
g. Keshav was shocked to see the contents of the parcel. (reported,
dumbfounded, happy)
h. Mother was upset because I had not eaten my lunch. (troubled, settling,
setting up)
4. Some words are used together to give a certain meaning. It helps to create a picture
in the mind. Match the words in the two columns to create such word pictures.
a. crystal sharp
b. ice lazy
c. stone blue
d. razor clear
e. ruby past
f. sky cold
g. bone red
h. distant hard

5. Look at the sentences below carefully and note the differences –
Manish plays. (Verb)
Manish is playing. (Verb Phrase)
Vanita is at home. (Noun)

Vanita's father is at home. (Noun Phrase)
a lazy man (Adjective)

a bone-lazy man (Adjective Phrase)
He stared long. (Adverb)

He stared very long. (Adverb Phrase)
in the box (Preposition)

in front of the bus (Prepositional Phrase)
78
6. Now write in brackets what the underlined phrases or words are (Noun, Verb,
Adjective, Adverb, Prepositional) –
a. He had liked it so much. ( )
b. He settled down in Panarsa very happily. ( )
c. 'The Dak Babu of Panarsa in Kulu', was the address on top of the parcel. ( )
d. At this particular moment he was dozing in his chair. ( )
e. He was bone-lazy too. ( )
f. Balram lived next to Dak Babu. ( )
g. He too was dumbfounded. ( )
h. Then pulling himself together, he began to read very loudly. ( )
§ A Phrase takes the same place as the word it replaces in the sentence.
§ It does not have a Subject or Predicate, and cannot make a statement by

itself.
§ The Head of a Phrase is the word in the Phrase that tells us what type of
Phrase it is.
§ As Phrases may be used in the place of the different Parts of Speech

(Noun, Verb, Adjective, Adverb, Preposition), the types of Phrases also are
related to them and do the same work. So, we have Noun, Verb, Adjective,
Adverb and Prepositional Phrases.
7. Here is the process of making a chapatti. Fill in the blanks with a suitable Passive
form of the Verb given in the brackets, and then compare it with your friend.
Chapatti is a common food in many parts of India. It is easy to make. First, wheat flour
________ (take) and water _____________ (add) to it. Next, the wheat flour
______________ (knead) till it becomes dough. Now the dough is ready. Then, the
tawa ___________ (put) on the stove and __________ (heat). And then, the dough
______________ (make) into small balls and __________ (roll) into even round shapes
and ________________ (place) on the tawa. Next, it __________ (turn) upside down
and ___________ (allow) to puff up on the tawa. Finally, the chapatti ____________
(take) off the tawa and _____________ (serve) with vegetables, dal, etc.
79
Look at the underlined words in the following sentences carefully–

I sat down to eat.
He began to feel very nervous.
Notice 'to + Verb'. This is called the Infinitive form of the Verb.
8. Now fill in the last column with the Verb Infinitive from the box –
to read, to leave, to play, to solve, to go, to stick,
to post, to tremble, to visit
Subject Verb To Infinitive

Example: He began to tremble.
a. She wants ______________ the puzzle.
b. I forgot ______________ the letter.
c. The people had ______________.
d. He decided ______________ the museum.
e. We would like ______________.
f. I decided ______________.
g. Subhash likes ______________.
h. Mother tried ______________ the torn pages.
9. Listen to the instructions your teacher will give you about getting a parcel
ready to post. You can note them down as you listen.
10. You have heard the instructions your teacher has read out to you about getting a
parcel ready for posting. Recall the instructions and tell your friend.
Writing…
11. You are Dak Babu. You are confused and curious to know who sent you the parcel.
Make your diary entries describing the events of the day.
Read the following letter written by Surendra Shekhawat to the post master of his
area about the problem of irregular delivery of mail in his area –
80
Surendra Shekhawat
House No. 36, Gandhi Nagar
Naka Madar
Ajmer District - 305 007
Rajasthan
5 November, 2011
The Postmaster
Sub Post Office
Gandhi Nagar, Naka Madar
Ajmer District 305 007
Rajasthan
Dear Sir,
Subject: Delivery of mail in our area
This is to inform you that the delivery of letters, parcels and any other postal items is not
made regularly in our area by the appointed postman on duty.
Many of my letters have not reached me at all. On checking with my neighbours, I found
out that they had the same complaints. In fact, last week Mr. Patel received a telegram
informing him of a relative's death, who had died almost a month ago. You will agree
that this is terrible and that something needs to be done urgently to improve the service.
We would like some strong action to be taken against the person for not carrying out his
duties sincerely.
Thanking you.
Yours faithfully,
Surendra Shekhawat
12. You are the Postmaster. Write a reply to Surendra Babu, ensuring him that the
postman of the area will now visit the area every day. Explain that some registered
letters could not be delivered as the houses were found locked.
13. Do you know that the Government of India has enacted a law known as the Right to
Information Act (RTI) in the year 2005? Under this act, every Indian citizen has
the right to know any information regarding the actions and functioning of public
offices. Find out from elders, teachers, your local panchayat president, members
of the panchayat or municipality how one can file an RTI application.
81
SAMPLE RTI APPLICATION FORM

To
The Public Information Officer,
________________________
________________________
PIN: ____________________
Sir,
Subject: Request for Information under Right to Information Act, 2005.
I, Sri / Smt /Ms. __________________________________________________________
Son/ Daughter/ wife of Shri/ Smt/ Ms. __________________________________________
resident of ______________________________________________________________,
telephone number (with STD Code) ____- _____________________ and/or mobile
number: ______________________________ wish to seek information as under ---------------
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
I hereby inform that the following formalities have been completed by me:
1. That I have deposited the requisite fee of Rs. _____/- by way of (Cash / banker cheque /
Draft / Postal Order/ others) _______________ favouring _____________________
dated ________________.
2. I need the photocopy of the documents and I had deposited the cost of the photocopy of
Rs. ____/- for _____ (number of pages) or
3. I had deposited a sum of Rs. _____/- for the charges of the CD. (strike out whichever is not
applicable)
4. That I belong to Category of Below Poverty Line (BPL): Yes / No
(strike whichever is not applicable). If yes, I am attaching the valid photocopy of the
certificate. Yes / No
5. That I am a 'Citizen' of India and I am asking for the information as a 'Citizen'.
6. I assure you that I shall not allow/ cause to use/ pass/share/display/ or circulate the
information received in any case and under any circumstances, with any person or in any
manner which would be detrimental to the Unity and Sovereignty or against the interest of
India.
Signature of the Applicant
Dated:
Developing Study Skills…

14. Pick out the words you have come across for the first time from the lesson. Write them
down in a rough column and arrange them in alphabetical order. Look up the dictionary or
discuss their meanings with your friend or teacher. Write the meanings in English. Also
write the word you would use in your language / Hindi on the side.
82
14 A STRANGE WRESTLING MATCH
· Have you ever seen a wrestling match or heard of one?
· What happens in a wrestling match?
· Tell your friend about wrestling and wrestlers.
Here is an interesting story about Vijay Singh and how he outsmarted a giant.
There was once a wrestler called Vijay Singh - a tall man with broad shoulders and muscular
arms. Vijay Singh, people said, was a born wrestler and could beat all other wrestlers in
the world.
This pahalwan had one weakness, boasting, which often got him into uncomfortable situations.
One day, he was sitting in the marketplace and drinking glasses of milk, surrounded by several
young men. He suddenly expressed a wish to meet a strong giant and teach him a lesson.
"If you walk alone at night through the Troubled Desert, you are sure to meet giants," one of his
admirers said. “Travellers have been robbed and killed. Would you really want to go there?"
Vijay Singh wondered why he had to boast. "Yes, I have heard of the Troubled Desert," he said.
"I think it's just a fairy tale."
"Oh no!" said one of his admirers. "It's true. This place is ten miles to the west, on the road to
Jaisalmer. The landmark is an ugly, black rock that looks like the head of a camel. Beyond that
there is nothing but sand and giants."
Almost the whole village went that evening to see Vijay Singh off. An old woman came forward
and put a small packet in his hands, and Vijay Singh started walking into the red sunset of
the desert.
A few miles before he could reach, he remembered the strange old woman's packet. He found
nothing but a lump of salt and an egg.
As Vijay Singh stepped into the Troubled Desert, he heard a voice calling him and telling him that
he was his friend Natwar. At once, Vijay Singh realised it was a giant. He called back, “Where
are you, my dear Natwar? It's dark and I cannot see you. Come here and
show me the way.” Like all good wrestlers, Vijay Singh wanted to size up
his enemy. wrestler: someone
who fights another as
Soon the giant appeared at his side. Vijay Singh looked into his face and a sport
declared, "You are just a plain, lying giant. Anyway, now I don't have to
walk all night. I was wanting to meet you." The giant was surprised. Here muscular: strong,
was this creature claiming he wanted to meet a giant. well-built
"Really, I don't know why you wanted to meet me!" the giant said. boasting: talking
impossibly big things
"That proves," said Vijay Singh in a bored voice, "that you are a stupid of oneself, showing off
giant. The least a giant can do is to read a man's thoughts. However, a
useless giant like you is better than no giant. I am tired of wrestling with admires: fans
men. I want to fight a giant."
83
A STRANGE WRESTLING MATCH 14
The giant was speechless. He tried to look Vijay Singh in the eye. "Really!" he said. "You don't
appear all that strong to me."
"Appearances can be misleading," Vijay Singh said. "Take your own case. You claim to be
Natwar, though actually you are a weak giant. If you doubt my strength, let me display it to you."
Vijay Singh picked up a piece of rock from the sand and offered it to the giant. "Take this and
squeeze it hard,” he said. “It is filled with liquid. See if I am wrong." While the giant tried to
squeeze the rock, first with one hand, then with both, Vijay Singh quietly took out the egg from
his pocket.
He grabbed the rock from the giant and placed it between both hands and squeezed. At once,
yellow yolk oozed from around his fingers and the crackling of the egg-shell created the
impression of the rock being crushed. The giant
was so surprised that he did not see Vijay Singh
cleaning his hands with sand nor throwing away
the tell-tale shell. Vijay Singh picked up another
piece of rock and gave it to the giant. Silently, the
giant took it, felt it and stared at it. Vijay Singh put
his hand into his pocket to take out the lump of salt.
The giant protested that it was only a stone and
that it was too dark to see.
"Never heard of a giant who can't see in the dark!"
remarked Vijay Singh. "That stone which you hold
in your hand contains salt. Crumble it!" Again, the
giant tried unsuccessfully to crush the stone.
Doubting his powers, he handed over the stone to
Vijay Singh.
"What's the use of wrestling with a weakling whom
I can floor in a minute?" So saying, Vijay Singh
effortlessly crumbled the lump of salt and let the
stone drop in the darkness. He held out his
hand and commanded the giant to taste the
powdered stone.
Completely believing in the pahalwan's
extraordinary strength, the giant did as he was told. This man could easily defeat him in a
wrestling bout in the dark, but possibly he could be tricked in other ways.
Humbly, the giant requested Vijay Singh to rest for the night at his house
oozed: slow flowing and leave the next day.
of a liquid in small
amounts Now overjoyed, Vijay Singh replied, "I cannot refuse your kindness, but
tomorrow you will go with me as my prisoner. I must display the trophy of
impression: feeling my victory to my people!" The giant bowed in agreement, but silently
protested: strongly vowed to kill Vijay Singh in the night. He led him to his house in the cave.
disagreed
The giant fed him with dry fruit and a lot of milk, and later led him to a very
bolsters: long pillow- comfortable bed to sleep on, complete with pillows and bolsters.
like objects
But Vijay Singh lay awake, listening to the snores of the giant. In the
middle of the night, he slipped out of his bed. He placed a bolster in the
84
centre of the bed, throwing a blanket over it to make it

look exactly like a sleeping man. Having done this, he
sat quietly, watching in a dark corner.
Just before dawn, the giant came towards the bed,
armed with a lathi. He brought the lathi down on what
he thought was Vijay Singh's head. Not hearing even
a cry, he was pleased that he had killed his enemy.
To make doubly sure, he struck the bolster six times
more. Satisfied, he returned to his sofa and covering
his head, went back to sleep. Vijay Singh too climbed
back silently into bed. After some time, he groaned as
if sickened, threw back his coverlet and sat up.
Disturbed by the noise, the giant peeped and was
shocked to see the strong man stretching and
yawning. “Friend giant, there are insects in your
cave,” said Vijay Singh. “The sweetest sleep I've had
in years - and there comes this
insect to trouble me! I distinctly
counted seven flappings of its dawn: beginning of
wings." The giant was frightened. the day
Those seven blows would
groaned: made a low
have reduced any other man sound
to paste. “There is no safety near a horrible wrestler like this!” he thought,
and ran away from the cave, leaving behind all his stolen wealth. shocked: surprised
and upset
It took several camels from the village to move the property Vijay Singh
had got. He returned much of it to the rightful owners. He went especially flappings: beatings,
to the old woman, thanked her for her invaluable gift, and asked for her waving strongly
granddaughter's hand in marriage. reduced: made less
From then on, Vijay Singh was more careful about boasting. It is said that in size
no traveller was ever troubled in the desert again.
~ Adapted from the abridged Rajasthani folktale by Indira David

1. Answer the following questions based on the story of Vijay Singh –
a. Why was it said that Vijay Singh was a born wrestler?
b. Why did Vijay Singh say, “I think it's just a fairy tale.”?
c. Why did the whole village go to see Vijay Singh off?
d. Who was Natwar?
e. Vijay Singh wanted to size up his enemy. What do you think he wanted to do?
85
f. Why was the giant taken aback?
g. Why did Vijay Singh say, “Appearances can be misleading.”?
h. What did Vijay Singh squeeze? A rock or an egg? How did he squeeze it?
i. Why was the giant surprised?
j. Where did Vijay Singh get the salt from?
k. Why did the giant invite Vijay Singh to his house?
l. How did Vijay Singh outsmart the giant?
m. Why did the giant feel, “There is no safety near a horrible wrestler like this!”?
n. 'From then on, Vijay Singh was more careful about boasting.' Why?
2. Read the story again with your friend and rearrange the sentences given in the box
to complete the story below -
Vijay Singh was a born wrestler and he was boasting about himself. One day his friends
asked him to prove his power.
i. Vijay Singh played some tricks with the egg and salt which the old woman had
given him when he started out from the village. He made the monster believe that
he had crushed the rock into pieces.
ii. Vijay Singh was a born wrestler and he was boasting about himself. One day his
friends asked him to prove his power.
iii. As he entered the desert, someone named Natwar called him. Vijay found that it
was the monster.
iv. While sleeping, Vijay Singh arranged the pillow to look like a man and came out to
watch what the monster was doing. The monster got up and hit the pillow seven
times and believed that Vijay Singh was dead.
v. The monster was very scared and left the place. Vijay Singh returned to the
village with all the monster's loot.
vi. Vijay Singh came back and slept on the bed. Next morning, he got up and told the
monster that someone had beaten him and shook him up.
vii. He asked the monster to crush the rock. The monster accepted his defeat and
invited Vijay Singh to be his guest. He planned to kill Vijay Singh while he slept.
viii. They asked him to go into the troubled desert in the night. He agreed to walk into
the desert and meet the monster. The whole village came to bid farewell to Vijay
Singh. An old woman gave him a packet.
86

You have come across the following words in the story –
surprised overjoyed stunned
What do these words mean? They express feelings or emotions.
3. Can you tell your friend some words that express our feelings and emotions?
Here are some more words that you have come across in the story of the monster.
They express many feelings. Pick out the words that mean the same as the word
from the box below and write them in the blanks. The first one has been done for
you. You may use the dictionary.
speechless
amazed
surprised
shocked
astonished
overjoyed annoyed
humbly longing
87
stunned excited wanting respectfully

thrilled upset elated moan
very happy angered wishing very much cry out
irritated desiring modestly craving
spellbound whimper displeased growl

Relative Clauses
Read the following sentence from the story –

Almost the entire village turned up that evening to bid farewell to Vijay Singh, who was
ready to set out west.
Who does the word 'who' refer to? It refers to Vijay Singh. Notice the clause ' who was
ready to set out west.' It has a subject 'who' and main verb 'was', but the meaning is
incomplete, if written alone. This is a Relative Clause.
Let's read some more sentences of this kind –

a. A lawyer is a person who practises law.
b. A movie producer who controls the budget decides how the money will be spent.
c. An agriculturist is a person who cultivates crops in his fields.
d. My brother, who is a good chef, works in a five-star hotel in Jaipur.
e. My friend, who is an agriculturist, grows two crops a year.
f. My sister Sheela, who is a politician, is the Chairperson of the Municipal Council.
The above sentences can be written as two separate sentences like the following -
a. A (Any) lawyer is a person. S/He practises law.
b. A movie producer decides how the money will be spent. S/He controls the
budget.
c. An agriculturist is a person. S/he cultivates crops in his / her fields.
88
d. My brother works in a five-star hotel in Jaipur. He is a good chef.
e. My friend is an agriculturist. S/He grows two crops a year.
f. Sheela is my sister. She is the Chairperson of the Municipal Council.
What is the difference between the sentences a, b, c and d, e, f?
Do you know the identity of the persons you are talking about in the sentences a, b, c? In these
sentences the Relative Clause (who is a good chef, who controls the budget) explains or
defines the identity of the person. So this is called a Defining Clause.
In sentences d, e and f the speaker knows the identity of the person, but gives
additional information about the person the speaker is talking about. This is called Non-
Defining Clause.
Defining Relative Clauses explain or identify the person that you are talking about.
A lawyer is a person. S/He practises law. A lawyer is a person who practises law.
A movie producer who controls the budget

decides how money will be spent
Non-Defining Relative Clauses give further information about someone.
Sheela is my sister. She is the Chairperson My sister Sheela, who is a politician, is the
of the Municipal Council. Chairperson of the Municipal Council.
My brother, who is a good chef, works in a

five-star hotel in Jaipur.
4. Now say whether the following sentences have Defining or Non-Defining Clause by
marking (D) or (ND) –
a. A media specialist is the person who studies all aspects of communication. ( )
b. A movie critic is the person who writes the movie reviews. ( )
c. Atul Ram, who is a media specialist, works for the Doordarshan. ( )
d. Mohana, who is a movie critic, wrote the review of the movie. ( )
e. An editor of a newspaper is a person who takes care of all news items ( )
published in the newspaper.
f. Mr. Surender Singh, who is the Editor of Mid Day News, writes the Editorial ( )
of the newspaper.
g. I have a neighbour who comes from Gujarat. ( )
89
h. Vijay Singh was a tall man who had muscular arms and was a born wrestler. ( )
i. He went especially to thank the old woman who gave him the invaluable gifts. ( )
In groups of four read the following sentences–
a. "If you walk alone at night through the Troubled Desert, you are sure to meet giants,"
one of his admirers said.
b. "Never heard of a giant who can't see in the dark!" remarked Vijay Singh.
c. “Friend, there are insects in your cave,” said Vijay Singh.
d. Humbly, the giant said, "Friend, rest in my house and you can leave tomorrow."
e. Vijay Singh said to the giant, “See if I am wrong.”
When we report the above sentences, they can be written in the following way -
a. One of his admirers advised that if he walked alone at night through the Troubled
Desert, he was sure to meet giants.
b. Vijay Singh remarked that he had never heard of a giant who couldn't see in
the dark.
c. Vijay Singh told the giant that there were insects in his cave.
d. The giant humbly requested Vijay Singh to rest in his house and leave the
next day.
e. Vijay Singh asked the giant to see if he was wrong.
Notice the changes when a direct statement is reported in Indirect Speech.
Example: the word 'said' has changed to 'advised', 'remarked', 'told', requested'
and 'asked'.
5. Now, change the following sentences into Indirect Speech -

a. One of his admirers said, “Beyond that there is nothing but sand and giants.”
b. Vijay Singh said, “Where are you, my dear Natwar?”
c. Vijay Singh looked into his face and said, “You are just a plain, lying giant.”
d. He said to the giant, “I want to fight a giant.”
e. She said to them, “You should do whatever you like.”
f. They said to him, “Will you call the army here?”
g. Asha said to the shopkeeper, “How much money will you charge for the uniform?”
h. The teacher said, “Ajay, do your homework regularly.”
90
6. Imagine you are Vijay Singh. You have now come back to your village and everyone
accepts you as a hero. You would like to tell your friend the truth and how you
cheated the giant. Describe the events in an informal manner.
Writing…
7. The news of Vijay Singh's brave act of defeating the giant spread to many villages
and media persons. Preet Kumar is a reporter for the newspaper, The Desert Times.
He would like to report the thrilling event in his newspaper. He has started writing
the report. Help him complete his report.
THE
DESERT TIMES
Wrestler Vijay Singh defeats the giant of the desert
Jaisalmer, November, 2: Wrestler Vijay Singh from the village of Palampur fought the dreaded
giant and chased him away from a desert near Jaisalmer. The giant had been robbing people
who passed through the desert.
91
15 PEACE : I'D LIKE TO TEACH THE WORLD TO SING
Peace begins with saying sorry;
Peace begins with not hurting others;
Peace begins with honesty and trust;
Peace begins with me!
~ Halley Hall
Here are some more beautiful thoughts in this poem. See if you can sing it along with
your friends.
I'd like to build the world a home
And furnish it with love,
Grow apple trees and honey bees
And snow-white turtle doves.
I'd like to teach the world to sing
In perfect harmony,
I'd like to hold it in my arms
And keep it company.
I'd like to see the world for once
All standing hand in hand,
And hear them echo through the hills
Ah, peace throughout the land.
(That’s the song I hear)
I'd like to teach the world to sing
(That the world sings today)
furnish: provide, equip
In perfect harmony,
turtle doves: birds like
pigeons used to I'd like to teach the world to sing
represent love
In perfect harmony.
perfect: complete
I'd like to build the world a home
harmony: a situation
in which people work And furnish it with love,
well with each other
Grow apple trees and honey bees
echo: repeat, resound
And snow-white turtle doves.
~ The New Seekers
92
15 I'D LIKE TO TEACH THE WORLD TO SING
1. Read the poem once again and then answer the questions -
a. What kind of home does the poet want to build?
b. What would the poet like to teach the world?
c. How would the poet like to see the world?
d. How would the poet want to furnish the world?
e. Why do you think the first four lines are repeated as the last four lines of the song?
f. "I'd like to see the world for once all standing hand in hand." Discuss the meaning of
this line with your friend.

2. Strong word images are one of the things that make a poem beautiful and easily
understood. This poem has many such examples of this device. Below are some of
them. After reading the poem once again, match the two sides. The first one has
been done for you.
a. home white
b. song no war
c. turtle doves honey
d. peace love
e. all standing hand in hand harmony
f. snow love, peace
g. bees brotherhood
3. Read out this poem to your friend and ask him / her to read it out to you.
Last Night I had the Strangest Dream

Last night I had the strangest dream
I'd ever dreamed before,
I dreamed the world had all agreed
To put an end to war.
93
I'D LIKE TO TEACH THE WORLD TO SING 15
I dreamed I saw a mighty room
Filled with women and men,
And the paper they were signing said
They'd never fight again.
And when the paper was all signed

And a million copies made,
They all joined hands and bowed their heads
And grateful pray'rs were prayed.
And the people in the streets below

Were dancing 'round and 'round,
While swords and guns and uniforms
Were scattered on the ground.
Last night I had the strangest dream

I'd ever dreamed before,
I dreamed the world had all agreed
To put an end to war.
~ Ed McCurdy
4. Discuss the ideas of the poem with your friend. Try and write the poem in
your language.
5. Your teacher will read out the words given below. Listen carefully and then read
them out aloud.
teach bees
peace trees
reach keep
dream see
heat greet
seat meet
lead feet
read need
6. Discuss the following saying by Gandhiji with your friends - “There is no way to peace.
Peace is the way.”
Writing…
7. Now write about 150 words, describing your thoughts on Gandhiji's saying.
94
V Teacher’s Page

Neighbourhood/Post Office SHORT STORY:A Parcel For The Postmaster (Civic Facilities)
Sports and Imagination FOLKTALE: (Rajasthani) A Strange Wrestling Match(Cleverness)
Peace and Harmony POEM: Peace:I'd Like To Teach The World To Sing (Peace, Love)
These lessons are about things that students are familiar with the local post office, a wrestling match, and living in
harmony. Each lesson conveys a message : how a parcel with an incomplete address is delivered, using your wits
to defeat your opponent, and peace and love for everyone.
WARM - UP ACTIVITIES: The focus here is on skills needed in daily life like what all needs to be
done to post a parcel or letter / postcard, the basics of a sport like
wrestling, and living in brotherhood and love.
READING TIME: By now the students should be so familiar with reading that they enjoy it.
Ensure that they practise the finer aspects of using language to express
their thoughts or describe something. They should be able to sequence
events in a story properly to make it coherent and fluent. Also let them
practise silent reading and reading aloud with expression, speed and
understanding.
LISTENING AND SPEAKING: The students should be able to listen to instructions and follow them, like
getting a parcel ready for posting; or listen to a report of an event and
then be able to narrate the details in their own words; or listen to a poem
and discuss its main ideas and features. They should also be able to
discuss questions they are asked and recall messages. You can give
them practice exercises keeping these learning points in mind. Also
focus on pronouncing 'ee' and 'ea' as long vowel sounds of 'e'.
BUILDING VOCABULARY: The focus should be on students' expressing themselves clearly and
using suitable words to convey feelings, describe situations and create
word images. They should also be able to use words of the same word
family (collocation). Give more exercises like those in the lesson to help
them gain confidence in speaking and expressing themselves better.
LANGUAGE ITEMS/GRAMMAR: Give students opportunities to extend Nouns, Verbs, Adjectives,

Adverbs and Prepositions into Phrases in a sentence. Help them to
brush up their understanding and use of Defining and Non-Defining
Clauses and revise Passive Verb forms. Other areas to focus on to
increase their involvement are Reporting Verbs and the 'to' Infinitive.
You can use dialogues, letters, reports and story-telling, both written
and oral, to give them practice.
WRITING SKILLS: Diary entries, formal letters, RTI applications, newspaper reports and
descriptive paragraphs giving personal thoughts about a message or
concept are good exercises for improving the writing skills of the
students. More exercises like those in the lesson but about different
situations and subjects will also help them to communicate more
confidently in writing.
STUDY SKILLS/PROJECT WORK: Let the students practise consulting a dictionary to find out the part of:
speech, word meanings and possible combinations that may be used
with it. Encourage them to also keep building up their own dictionaries.
IDEAS FOR EVALUATION: A good way to assess the writing skills of students is to set up a class
postbox and get them to write and post formal letters. Making them
prepare wall newspapers in groups would also give you the opportunity
to record the progress of individual students.
95

English Class Vii PDF

Încărcat de

Informații document

Titlu original

Drepturi de autor

Formate disponibile

Partajați acest document

Partajați sau inserați document

Opțiuni de partajare

Vi se pare util acest document?

Este necorespunzător acest conținut?

Drepturi de autor:

Formate disponibile

English Class Vii PDF

Încărcat de

Drepturi de autor:

Formate disponibile

Sunbeam

Textbook For Class - VII

State Institute of Educational Research and Training, Udaipur (Rajasthan)

Rajasthan State Textbook Board, Jaipur (Rajasthan)

Language is more than a means of communication. It is an expression of the manner in

Convenor : Dr. Poornima Sharma, Deputy Director, SIERT.

Coordinator : Pradeep Paneri, Lecturer, SIERT and Gauri Sharma, ICICI

Editorial Team : Alethea D'Rozario, Consultant, ICICI Foundation and Ramanujam

Members : Ami Rathore, Assistant Professor, CTE, Dabok.

Layout Designers : Dr. Jagdish Kumawat, Lecturer, SIERT, Udaipur.

Illustrators : Chhotulal, Udaipur.

1. What Are Grandmothers For? 1-3

Grandmothers are for rocking you

Grandmothers are for knowing

memories: things you

Understanding the text…

A grandmother tells stories ……………..

Working with Words…

pairs of rhyming words of your own.

what grandmothers do. Find them.

word correctly, the other team has another chance.

Listening and Speaking…

and discuss the ideas in the poem.

mother tongue and then write the lines in English.

~Adapted from the story in SCERT Delhi textbook.

Understanding the text…

Working with Words…

Interacting with Language…

Look at the following sentences –

a. Meera is angry that I did not call her. (why)

pleasant: nice, lovely

Understanding the text…

Working with Words…

snacks have a position of being in charge of

4. Fill in the missing letters and complete the words –

Interacting with Language…

a. She earns her living by selling books.

· Prepositions are short words that generally stand in front of Nouns.

· A Preposition usually shows the relationship in time, in place or logically of the

Listening and Speaking…

Now tell your friend which one is bigger, 1/2 or 1/9?

Understanding the text…

d. Who said this? “I don't need to be a camel anymore!”

Working with Words…

Interacting with Language…

She won two gold medals at the Interstate Meet. (Noun)

I meet her in school every day. (Verb)

Read the sentences given below –

a. The youngest son said, ”I want two whole camels.”

6. Now rewrite the following sentences in Reported Speech –

My eldest son will get half the camels.

Example: My eldest son will not get half the camels.

I (travel) ____________ to Maharashtra. I (take) ____________ a train to Mumbai and

Listening and Speaking…

8. In pairs, take turns and say these tongue-twisters to each other.

a. Peter Piper picked a peck of pickled pepper.

If Peter Piper picked a peck of pickled pepper,

Where's the peck of pickled pepper Peter Piper picked?

b. Betty bought some bitter butter.

So, Betty bought some better butter

To make the bitter butter better.

9. Here are sets of pairs. Can you read them aloud?

a. bit-bet; did-dead; hid-head; lid-led; miss-mess; pin-pen; tin-ten; win-when.

I (travel) to Maharashtra. I (take) a train to Mumbai and