Book : First Flight
CHAPTER 1: A LETTER TO GOD By G.L.Fuentes
Lencho was a farmer, his house was the only house in the valley and on top of a hill.
Lencho's fields needed rain for a good harvest.
He looked expectantly at the sky and it did rain at last .
The drops of rain were like the coins for him, which would help him reap a good harvest and earn some
money for his family.
But his happiness was short lived as very large hailstones began to fall after the rain and destroyed his crop.
There was a single hope -help from God, On the following Sunday ,he wrote a letter to God.
He needed a hundred pesos to sow his fields again and to live until the new crop came.
He wrote 'To God ' on the envelope and put the letter into the mail box.
The postman laughed heartily and took it to the postmaster ,the postmaster laughed too but soon he became
serious.
He decided to reply the letter and help Lencho, as he did not want Lencho to lose faith in God.
Postmaster could collect seventy pesos only, from his employees and he himself also contributed a part of
his salary.
He put the money in an envelope and posted it to Lencho.
Lencho was happy but not at all surprised when he received the money because he had an unbroken faith in
God .
His happiness turned into anger as there were only seventy pesos instead of hundred pesos .
Lencho could never believe that God could ever deceive him .
So, he wrote another letter to God reminding him that he received only 70 pesos sent by him
He asked God not to send the rest of 30 pesos through the mail as the post office employees were a ' bunch
of crooks.
1. Whom did Lencho write a letter? What did he ask for and why?
2. What were Lencho's feelings when he found the letter with money in it? What did he do after opening it?
3. Why does the postmaster send money to Lencho? Why does he sign the letter 'God'?
4. What are the raindrops compared to and why?
5. Who does Lencho think has taken the rest of the money? Describe the ironical ending of the story?
CHAPTER 2 : NELSON MANDELA : LONG WALK TO FREEDOM by Nelson Rolihlahla Mandela
The inauguration ceremony of the first non-racial government was held in the Union Buildings in Pretoria.
Politicians and dignitaries from more than 140 countries attended the ceremony.
Nelson Mandela was then sworn-in as the President of Republic of South Africa.
For decades South Africa had been the seat of white supremacy .The blacks were considered as outlaws.
Their victory over “apartheid” was a common victory for justice, peace and freedom.
Nelson Mandela was overwhelmed with a sense of history.
The society based on racial discrimination was the harshest and the most inhuman society in the world.
The decades of oppression and exploitation of the blacks produced- heroes like Tambo's, Sisulu and others
in South Africa.
Mandela learned the meaning of courage which does not mean absence of fear rather it means victory over
fear.
Every man has twin responsibilities / obligations - towards his family and for his people and country.
If any black tried to live like a free human being, he was punished and isolated from his family and
community.
Mandela realised that not only he but his brothers and sisters were deprived of freedom.
His desire for the freedom and dignity of his people made him a rebel. He realised that freedom is
indivisible.
1. What did Nelson Mandela pledge when he was sworn-in as President?
2. What is the greatest wealth of a country according to Nelson Mandela?
3. What are the two obligations every man has in life?
4. What according to Mandela is “true freedom”?
5. Why did Nelson Mandela feel that both the oppressor and the oppressed are robbed of their humanity and
hence both of them must be liberated?
CHAPTER 3 : TWO STORIES ABOUT FLYING
PART I : HIS FIRST FLIGHT
The author Liam O'flaherty displays the importance of family and friends in overcoming the fears in our life
through the story of a young Seagull who was unable to take his first flight.
A family of seagulls had mother, father, three sons and a daughter.
The youngest son was fearful to take his first flight as he believed his small Wings would not support him,
also he was afraid of the height of the Cliff from the Sea.
The parents cajoled him and kept him hungry to let him learn a lesson.
When the young Seagull couldn't take the Hunger and heat anymore the mother Seagull brought a piece of
fish near him.
The young Seagull tried to grab the piece from his mother's mouth. In doing so he reached the edge of the
Cliff and fell from there as the mother Seagull moved away from the edge.
Initially fear hovered him but soon he flapped his wings and soared and finally landed on the green sea
taking his first flight. The whole family rejoiced and cackled.
1 Why did the baby seagull not take his first flight?
2 Describe how the baby seagull took his first flight.
PART II: THE BLACK AEROPLANE
The narrator Frederick Forsyth was flying his Dakota from France to England to meet his family in holidays
and enjoy a good English breakfast with his family.
When he flew at night the sky was clear and as instructed by Paris control he turned 12 degrees West.
When he was about 150 kilometres away from Paris his saw the approaching storm.
He took the risk and flew into it. The compass and other instruments stopped working.
The plane tossed and twisted in the air and he couldn't contact Paris control. Suddenly a black aeroplane
appeared without lights on its wings.
The pilot waved him and signalled to follow him. It was strange that he flew for halfn hour even when he
had fuel left only for five or ten minutes.
Suddenly he saw the Runway and landed safely. He wanted to thank the pilot of the black aeroplane but was
shocked to see no one there.
He went to the control room to enquire about him but found that no other aeroplane except his was there in
the sky that night. He was awestruck at the miracle.
1 Why did the narrator take the risk to go through the storm?
2 What miracle happened with the narrator?
CHAPTER 4 FROM THE DIARY OF ANNE FRANK
Anne Frank was a 13 year old Jewish girl who wrote a diary while her family was hiding in Amsterdam
from the Naziz who were incurring atrocities during World War II.
Anne wrote the diary to overcome loneliness in her life. She named it Kitty.
She couldn't confide in anyone and felt that paper has more patience. Also she thought nobody would be
interested in the diary as she was a small girl.
Anne adored her father. She had an elder sister Margot and they lived in Frankfurt before they migrated to
Holland for refuge. Her mother stayed behind with her grandmother.
She had sweet memories of Mrs. Kuperus at Montessori School. Her grandmother fell ill in 1941 and died
in 1942. This broke her.
Anne considered teachers to be the most unpredictable creatures on earth. She had good relationship with
all teachers except Mr Keesing who punished her several times for talking too much during the lessons.
She wrote an essay on A Chatterbox as punishment, saying that talking was a student's trait and she
inherited it from her mother. Again as punishment she wrote an essay on An Incorrigible Chatterbox. Then
she wrote an essay on Quack Quack Quack said Mistress Chatterbox.
Her friend Sanne helped her write it in verse. It said that father Duck beat the three ducklings as they
quacked too much and made them deaf.
Mr Keesing took the joke in the right way and didn't bother Anne for talking thereafter and didn't give her
any extra homework.
Q.1 Why did Anne think of writing a diary?
Q.2 What joke did Anne play with the help of her friend on Mr. Keesing?
CHAPTER 5 - THE HUNDRED DRESSES – Part I by El Bsor Ester
Wanda, a quiet girl, did not talk with others too much.
She lived at Boggins; Height and belonged to a poor family.
She wore the same blue dress everyday.
Peggy and Maddie were good friends and teased Wanda everyday asking her how many dresses she had.
There was a drawing competition for every boy and girl in the class.
Everybody expected Peggy to win.
There were a hundred sketches of dresses beautifully drawn by Wanda in the classroom.
Miss Mason announced the winner-jack Beggles won among the boys and Wanda among the girls.
Wanda was absent but everybody clapped for her.
Peggy and Maddie identified the blue and the green dress once spoken by Wanda. Everybody in the class
clapped for Wanda’s great quality of drawing.
1 Why did Peggy and Maddie make fun of Wanda?
2 The story is about teasing. It also criticizes ragging and racism indirectly. How does it affect you?
CHAPTER 6 - THE HUNDRED DRESSES PART-II by El Bsor Ester
Miss Mason gave the shocking news that Wanda and her family had decided to settle in a big city to avoid
humiliation.
Maddie was very upset and felt herself coward as she never stopped Peggy from making fun of Wanda.
Every student felt sorry for Wanda.
Maddie and Peggy went to find Wanda at her house at Boggins heights.
They could not meet her as she had already left the place with her family.
Peggy tried to defend her behaviour but Maddie was not happy for all of that.
Peggy and Maddie wrote a letter to Wanda telling her she had won the contest.
After a very long time Wanda wrote a letter to Miss Mason telling her that she missed her old school and
her teacher and wanted to gift special drawing to Peggy and Maddie, a green dress and a blue one
respectively.
Both Peggy and Maddie found their faces in the green and blue dresses respectively.
Maddie felt sorry for her behaviour and promised herself not to be a silent spectator anymore ever if she
was to lose her close friend.
Peggy consoled her by saying that Wanda liked them.
1. What impression do you form of Wanda on the basis of the lesson the hundred dresses?
2. How did Maddie feel after listening to the note from Wanda’s father? What did she want to do?
CHAPTER 7 – GLIMPSES OF INDIA
I. A BAKER FROM GOA by Lucio Rodrigues
The Portuguese in Goa were lovers of bread.
Those eaters of bread have now gone but its makers still exist.
During the childhood days of the narrator, a baker used to be their friend, companion and guide.
The baker came twice a day- once in the morning and again while returning home after finishing his selling.
The jingling thud of the baker’s bamboo woke up the sleeping children.
The loaves were delivered to the servants of the house.
The children would peep into the baker’s basket for the bread bangles.
The children would eat bread with hot tea.
The marriages were incomplete without the popular bol bread.
Bolinhas was a must during Christmas and all other festivals.
The bakers wore a particular knee length frock known as kabai.
Baking was a profitable profession. Bakers had a plump physique testifying to this.
The bakers collected their bills at the end of the month
1. How is a baker important to the Goan people?
II. COORG by: Lokesh Abrol
Coorg or Kodagu, the smallest district of Karnataka, is a heavenly place.
The best season to visit it is from September to March.
The people living there are probably the descendants of Arabs or Greeks.
Their culture is apparent in their martial traditions, marriages and religious rites.
The Kodavus wear a long, black, embroidered coat called Kuppia.
The Coorg Regiment is one of the most decorated regiments in the Indian Army.
Kodavus are the only people in India permitted to carry firearms without a license.
The river Kaveri begins from the hills and forests of Coorg.
A variety of plants, birds and animals can be seen there.
The place offers a number of adventure sports for the tourists.
The Tibetan monks are amongst many surprises that can be seen there
1. What is the story about the Kodavu’s people’s descent?
III. TEA FROM ASSAM by: Arup Kumar Dutta
Pranjol and Rajvir were visiting Assam by train.
Rajvir was busy looking at the beautiful scenery outside the train.
It was green everywhere as far as the eye could see.
The soft green paddy bushes gave way to tea bushes.
Assam has the largest concentration of tea plantation in the world.
The Chinese are said to have discovered tea.
There is also an Indian legend saying that Bodhidharma discovered tea.
From China, tea came to the European countries and then to Asian countries.
Pranjol’s father managed Dhekiabari, a tea garden.
There were many tea pluckers around the tea bushes.
The best tea is obtained between May to July.
1. What are the various legends about the origin of tea?
2. What glimpses of India have been presented in the lesson? Which one do you like the most?
Chapter 8 (DELETED) Mijbil the Otter
CHAPTER 9 : MADAM RIDES THE BUS by Vallikannan
The story is about an eight year old girl named Valliammai. She was very curious to know about things.
Her favourite pastime was to stand at the front doorway of her house and see what was happening in the
street outside.
She would watch the bus that passed every hour from her village to the nearest town.
She developed a desire to ride the bus. This became her deepest desire.
Valli found out the details of the bus journey by listening carefully to the conversations between her
neighbours and regular bus users.
She came to know that the town was just six miles from her village and the fare for the bus journey was
thirty paise one way. The trip took 45 minutes.
Valli planned her visit to the town. She saved sixty paise for the fare. Finally, one day she took the one
o’clock bus to the town.
Valli was very happy to have got into the bus.
On the way to the town, Valli saw a cow running right in front of the bus. She clapped as the cow kept on
running towards the bus despite the continuous honking by the driver.
Valli did not get off the bus when it reached the town. She also declined the offer of a cold drink by the
conductor.
On the return journey, she saw the same cow lying dead by the roadside. This unpleasant sight made her
very sad.
The bus reached the village at three forty. She ran straight for her home after getting down the bus.Her
mother did not come to know about her journey.
1. Why does the conductor call Valli “madam”?
2. “And even when we do know about something we often can't understand it completely, can we?” Elaborate
with reference to the chapter Madam Rides the Bus.
CHAPTER 10 : THE SERMON AT BENARES by Betty Renshaw
This lesson tells about the life of Gautam Buddha, who was born in a royal family as Siddhartha.
Once he saw a funeral procession and monk begging for the alms.
These sights moved him a lot and he decided to become a monk and started moving in search of enlighten-
ment.
He started meditation under a peepal tree and after seven days he got enlightenment and he became known
as the Buddha ( the awakened or enlightened)
The Buddha preached his first sermon at Benares. Once a woman named Kisa Gotami asked the Buddha to
give her a medicine to bring her dead son to life.
The Buddha told her to bring him a handful of mustard seeds from a house where no one had died.
Kisa Gotami could not get the seeds as she did not find anyone who had not lost his family member.
She thought that she was really selfish in her grief. Death was common to all. Yet there lay a path. That led
man to immortality if he surrendered all selfishness.
The Buddha told her that human life was brief and painful. All depart from life.
He who is off the lamentation and grief shall have peace of mind. One who has overcome sorrow will be
free from sorrow and be blessed.
1. How did Gautam Buddha make Kisa Gotmi understand the common truth of life that “Death is common to all”?
2. What had happened to Kisa Gotami’s son? Why couldn’t she get a handful of mustard seeds from any house?
3. According to Gautam Buddha, how can one become free from the grief of death and decay?
CHAPTER 11: THE PROPOSAL by Anton Chekov
Lomov ,Chubukov’s neighbour asks for Chubulov’s daughter, Natalya’s hand in marriage, Chubukov gets
filled with excitement .
Lomov is a 35 year- old gentleman who suffers from palpitations, gets upset very easily and doesn’t sleep
well. According to him, Natalya is average-looking and a good housekeeper.
While talking about his property, Lomov somehow mentions about Oxen Meadows which earlier was a
disputed property but is now his. Natalya believes that Oxen Meadows belong to her family. Both of them
enter into a heated discussion.
Chubukov unintentionally reveals that Lomov had come with a marriage proposal for Natalya which sur-
prises Natalya and she immediately regrets sending him out.
When Lomov returns, they enter into another argument involving their dogs. Everyone gets hyper and Lo-
mov finally falls due to his palpitations.
It is only when Lomov moves a little bit, they feed him some water and Chubukov forcefully hands over
Natalya’s hands to him, gives his blessings and asks them to kiss.
Lomov, still not fully conscious doesn’t understand what is going on. When he finally comes to his senses,
he expresses his excitement and kisses Natalya’s hands.
Natalya, being childish as she is, once again, starts quarrelling on another issue.
1. Justify the title of the drama “The Proposal”.
2. Describe how does Natalya react before and after knowing the real purpose of Lomov’s visit. Does she act sensi-
bly?
3. Besides Oxen Meadows, what is the other important cause of quarrel between Lomov and Natalya?
POETRY SECTION
Poem 1 – DUST OF SNOW by Robert Frost
On a winter day the poet was standing under the snow covered hemlock tree which is poisonous.
A crow sat and shook the branch of the tree and the dust of snow fell on the poet.
However, this simple small beautiful act of nature had a very comforting and relaxing effect on him where
earlier his mood was sad gloomy and despairing.
The falling of the snow made him realise that the whole day has not been wasted.
Theme –Nature healing and helping with negative human emotions . Hope is one of the themes in this poem.
Lastly, the poem gives the message that small natural incidents in life can change our attitude from negative
to positive.
Poetic Devices- Alliteration-'saved some' sound of 's' 'Has given my heart ' sound of 'ha'
Rhyme scheme- abab
1. What does the poet Rober Frost want to convey through the poem “Dust of Snow”?
2. How has the poet observed 'nature' in the poem “Dust of Snow”?
3. “And saved some part of a day I had rued”. Explain
4. Small things in life make significant changes in our lives. Elaborate with reference to the poem.
Poem 2 -- FIRE AND ICE by Robert Frost
The poet felt that the world of ours would come to an end, but he was not sure how.
He came to the conclusion on the basis of what people said regarding the ending of the world.
Two highly contrasting but powerful elements of nature-fire and ice would end the world.
In the 1st stanza, the poet agreed with those who believed that the fire would cause the end of the world. Fire
stands for strong, unlimited, uncontrolled desires of humans (of greed, power, and money) which would end
the world.
The 2nd element ice stands for -hatred, indifference, cold reasoning, intolerance which would end the world.
The poet himself had experienced enough hate born out of desire. If the world survived after being
destroyed by unlimited desire, it would be destroyed the 2nd time by hatred, indifference and intolerance.
Theme – the theme of the poem is the old age question, whether the world would end in fire or ice. The
opinion is divided; some think natural element of fire would destroy the world. Some think ice would
destroy the world.
Rhyme scheme - abaa ,bcbcb
Assonance- long sound of 'O' in 'I hold with those who favour fire'
Alliteration- sound of 'f ' in 'I hold with those who favour fire'
Imagery- 'some say the world will end in fire' 'To say that for destruction ice,is also great '
Symbolism - FIRE symbolises strong, unlimited, uncontrolled human desire of greed, power etc
ICE symbolises hatred, indifference, cold reasoning, intolerance.
Anaphora – 'some say the world will end in fire, some say in ice.'
Personification- Fire and Ice have been personified
Enjambment – 'From what I've tasted of desire I hold with those who favour fire .'
1. What do you think would be enough to destroy the world? Can fire and ice contribute to it, How?
2. What is the underlying idea of the poem -Fire and Ice?
3. -How will the world end twice?
Poem 3-- A TIGER IN THE ZOO by Leslie Norris
The poet has depicted the mental condition of a caged tiger and compared the life of a tiger in the zoo and
in its Natural Habitat.
The tiger is enraged and stalked inside the cage.
The tiger gets fed up of visitors during the day and the noise of patrolling cars during the night.
He hopefully looks at the bright stars with this bright eyes yearning for freedom.
In his Natural Habitat the tiger is Fearless and lurks to hunt his prey.
In his natural habitat he snarls and terrorizes the people baring his white fangs.
Freedom is life.
Metaphor : pads of velvet
Personification : 'he' used for Tiger
Repetition : velvet quiet, quiet rage, brilliant eyes, brilliant stars
Alliteration : behind bars
Rhyme Scheme : abcb in first, second, third and fifth stanza.
1. How does the tiger feel inside the concrete cell of the zoo?
2. Describe the tiger in his natural habitat.
Poem 4-- THE BALL POEM by John Berryman
The poet has described the grief of a boy who lost his ball and sensed that worldly possessions can't be there
forever.
You need to learn the epistemology of loss.
Even after losing your most priced possessions you have to learn to stand up, to be strong and get on with
life to survive.
In the poem the boy lost his ball in the harbour and wept as he had sweet memories clinging to it.
He could buy a new ball but it was not worth anything as he couldn't buy the memories associated with his
old ball.
He realised his responsibility and understood that in the world you will lose your loved ones and
possessions but no one will buy them back for you.
The boy then learnt the epistemology of loss and to strongly stand up and survive in life bearing the pain of
the loss.
Style : blank verse
Symbolism : ball symbolises the priced possessions, things and people
Repetition : balls balls
Alliteration : use of sound ‘b’
Personification : ball is merrily bouncing
Anaphora : use of repeated words in two or more lines
what is the boy… what… what, merrily bouncing, merrily over
1. Why does the boy cry over the loss of his ball?
2. What lesson of life does the boy learn through the act of losing his ball?
Poem 5 -- AMANDA by Robin Klein
This poem depicts the state of a little girl’s mind who is constantly instructed about do’s and don’ts by her
elders.
She is told not to hunch her shoulders and to sit up straight. She is told to finish her homework and tidy her
room.
She is forbidden from eating a chocolate that she has.
But all the time, the little girl Amanda keeps dreaming of a life of freedom in the open. She dreams of
mermaids in the sea, of roaming barefoot in the dusty street and of the golden-haired Rapunzel who lived
alone in a high tower.
She takes no note of what is being said to her.
Then she is rebuked for being moody and sulking all the time.
Every child feels that he/she is controlled and instructed not to do one thing or another.
Children have certain habits. Their parents teach them to mend those habits. These are for their benefits.
Children have these habits because they want freedom. They want to feel comfortable at home.
Amanda is a small girl and has certain unwanted habits.
She is politely asked to mend those habits. But she seems to live in her own world as she is moody.
The poem is in conversation tone.
Alliteration : Stop that slouching and sit up straight, I thought I told you to clean your shoes, Stop that
sulking at once, Amanda!
Allusion: Mermaid – To be free and contained in their own. (Taken from fairy tales) Rapunzel. Who lived
happily alone on a tower for a long time. (Part of German fairy tale)
Metaphors: Orphan – Who don’t have nagging parents above their head as Amanda’s., Languid, emerald
sea – languid and emerald type qualities are assigned to sea. Silence is golden. Freedom is sweet
Rhyme Scheme: aaba ccc aada eee aafa ggg aaha
1. What does Amanda yearn for?
2. Why does Amanda wish to be a mermaid, an orphan and Rapunzel?
Poem 6 -- ANIMALS by Walt Whitman
The poet praises animals for being better than human beings and for possessing all such qualities that
humans lack or have forgotten.
He has described his will to become an animal because he thinks animals are far better than human beings.
Human beings are greedy and full of jealousy against each other. But animals are calm and self contained.
The animals are happy with what they have. They never complain about miseries and sorrows.
On the other hand human beings complain about their miseries. They give more importance to the rich and
strong people, stay restless because of their wrongdoings and run behind the luxurious things of this world.
Animals are honest about their relations and don’t give importance to a particular class. They live a life
which is full of honesty and less of greed and jealousy.
The poem has uniform personification.
Repetition : stand and look at them long and long, They do not swea…., Not one is dissatisfied……….
Alliteration : They do not make me sick, I wonder where they get those tokens
Rhyme Scheme: There is no rhyme. The poem is in free verse
1. Why does the poet wish to live with animals?
2. The poet in the poem Animals laments the loss of certain values on part of human beings, where as animals
seem to have retained them and are self-contained. Analyse the cause of degeneration of values in today’s
hard times.
3. Mention three things which humans do and animals don’t.
Poem 7 -- The Tale of Custard the Dragon by Ogden Nash
The tale of custard the dragon is a ballad. It is a humorous poem about a cowardly dragon named custard.
Custard is a pet of Belinda, a little girl who lives in a little white house with her pets.
She had a black kitten named ink, a grey mouse named blink, a yellow dog mustard and a cowardly dragon
custard.
The poet says that all of them are very brave except the dragon. Others were described as brave and are
compared with animals like bear, tiger or lion but the dragon is very timid.
The poet describes the dragon having big sharp teeth and spikes on top, mouth like fireplace, nose like
chimney and toes sharp as daggers.
But one night they are surprised by the entry of a pirate in the house who had pistols in both hands, was
holding dagger (sharp knife) in his teeth, had a black beard and one wooden leg. All of them get frightened
and start hiding here and there. But to everyone’s surprise, the dragon not only tackles him but also
swallowed him up.
As all of them are saved by custard, Belinda hugged him, Mustard licked him and Ink and Blink danced
around him.
Again they start saying that they are more brave and could have handled the situation in a much better way.
Here the poet has tried to say that sometimes a timid person is the actual hero in the toughest situations of
life.
Rhyming Scheme and imagery/tone : The rhyming scheme of stanzas1-12 is aabb and the rhyming scheme of
stanza-13 is aabbcc. The imagery shows lots of action and commotion. The tone is humorous and mocking.
Poetic Devices
Simile : Mouth like fireplace, -Belinda was as brave as a barrel full of bears, -Snorting like an engine
Alliteration :- and he held in his teeth, -Beard was black
Repetition: -Suddenly, suddenly they heard, -She cried Help! Help!
Oxymoron: Use of two words with opposite meaning” pet dragon”
Poetic License: The spellings have been changed to create a musical effect. (Realio,trulio,winda)
Onomatopoeia: Usage of sound words to create dramatic effect.(giggled, weeck,meowch)
Transferred epithet: When an adjective usually used to describe one thing is transferred to another.
(Terrified yelp)
1. Describe all the characters of the poem.
2. The dragon Custard was a coward. Isn’t it true? Explain.
How to Tell Wild Animals
The Trees DELETED
Fog
For Anne Gregory
FOOTPRINTS WITHOUT FEET
CHAPTER -1 A TRIUMPH OF SURGERY By James Herriot
James Herriot stops his car and sees the poor health of Mrs Pumphrey’s dog, Tricki.
He advises Mrs Pumphrey to put Tricki on a strict diet and make him exercise daily.
Mrs Pumphrey continues to overfeed Tricki, which worsens his condition.
She calls Herriot for help on noticing Tricki’s deteriorating health.
Herriot decides to hospitalise Tricki for a fortnight to treat him.
Tricki’s hospitalisation left Mrs Pumphrey and the helpers at home in tears.
Tricki was kept on a strict diet in the hospital. His diet was increased according to the improvements he
showed.
Mrs Pumphrey’s anxiousness about Tricki’s health went away on learning that Tricki was convalescing
satisfactorily.
She started to send eggs, wine and brandy for Tricki to enrich his blood and improve his health.
These items were instead enjoyed by James Herriot and his partner.
Tricki was transformed from a weak fat dog to a hard-muscled and agile one.
James Herriot calls Mrs Pumphrey to come and take Tricki home
1. “Herriot is dutiful doctor who cared for other’s emotions more than his personal interests.” Prove the statement.
2. Do you think there are also parents like Mrs Pumphery? Give reasons for your answer.
CHAPTER -2 THE THIEF STORY By Ruskin Bond
Anil was 25 years old writer but a very careless person. He was struggling to write for earning money to run
his life.
One day Anil befriends Hari. Anil promised Hari that he would teach him how to write, add numbers and
how to cook tasty food. Now both were living together happily.
One day Hari saw Anil keeping a bundle of notes under the mattress.
That night Hari stole the bundle of notes and ran away from there for the railway station to board a train to
Lucknow. But, he missed it. Suddenly it started raining and Hari Singh was completely wet.
There was a conflict in his mind. He did not want to betray the faith of Anil.. He felt guiltier as he had
cheated an innocent person.
Hari Singh had a change of heart. He decided to return to Anil and keep the money under the pillow.
The next morning, Anil offered Hari Singh Rs. 50 and told him he would now be paid regularly
He realized that the note was still wet from the rain last night. Hari got to know that Anil had come to know
about his misdeed but there was no sadness, anger or guilt in his mind.
Moral : Human values and relations are important in life and such values can change a person too.
The Thief by Ruskin Bond, is based on the theme of friendship, betrayal, aspirations, connection, trust,
guilt, change, kindness, loyalty, revenge and honesty.
1. Love, human sympathy and education can transform even a thief. Anil brings such a change in Hari Singh.
How?
2. How did Hari Singh come into contact with Anil? Hari Singh breached Anil’s trust in him .Why did Anil not
only forgive him but also promised to pay him regularly?
CHAPTER 3 : FOOTPRINTS WITHOUT FEET by H G Wells
The story is about a scientist named Griffin who had discovered a rare drug that made him invisible.
One day two boys noticed the footprints of someone (Griffin) and followed those until those became invisi-
ble.
First, Griffins entered a mall, wore some warm clothes and ate cold meat and drank some coffee.
Later he went to a grocery store but in the morning when some of the store assistants had seen him, he
quickly threw away all the clothes he was wearing and became invisible again.
He then decided to steal clothes from a theatre company and stole bandages for his face, dark glasses, false
nose and a hat for covering himself.
He then hit the shopkeeper and stole all his money. Soon he realized that London is too crowded to live like
this, he came to stay at an inn at the Iping village.
There he stole money from people and also hit the landlord and his wife Mrs and Mr Hall.
Then the village constable Mr Jaffers was asked for help. Mr. Jaffers. The constable also found out that he
would have to arrest a man who did not have a head.
They were unable to catch Griffin as he removed all his clothes and became invisible. He even knocked out
Jaffers as he tried to catch him.
1. What extra ordinary things happened at the inn?
2. Griffins was not a true scientist as he misused his scientific discovery. Substantiate by giving two incidents
from the story.
3. What makes you think that Griffin was a lawless person?
4. Discoveries of science can be used for welfare as well as for destruction. How is this applicable to Griffin’s
scientific discovery?
CHAPTER 6 – THE MAKING OF A SCIENTIST by Robert W. Peterson
At the age of 22, Richard. H. Ebright excited the world of science with a new theory on cells
Richards scientific career started with butterflies, he collected butterflies when he was in Kindergarten.
His mother encouraged his interest in learning, took him on trips, bought telescopes, microscopes, cameras
and other equipments.
His father died very young and his mother became his only companion and motivator.
By the time Richard was in the 2nd grade, he had collected 25 species of butterflies found around his
hometown.
His mother gifted him a children's book called The Travels of Monarch X.
The book described how Monarch butterflies migrated to Central America and opened the world of science
for Richard Ebright.
Ebright raised a flock of butterflies in his basement .He sent tagged butterflies to Dr Urquhart, the writer of
the book .
In the 7th grade, he entered the County Science Fair and lost .
He wrote to Dr Urquhart for new ideas and received many suggestions for experiments.
The next year, his science fair project was to test the theory that Viceroy butterflies copied Monarch
butterflies. The project was placed 1st in the Zoology division and the 3rd overall in the County Science Fair.
In his 2nd year in high school, Richard Ebright discovered an unknown insect hormone.
He and his friend showed that tiny gold spots on butterflies produced a hormone that was necessary for the
butterfly's full development.
This project won Ebright 1st place in the county fair and an entry into the International Science and
Engineering Fair.
He grew cells from a monarch butterfly's wing in a culture, was able to identify the hormone’s chemical
structure, showed how the cell can 'read' the blueprint of its DNA .
Richard graduated from Harvard with highest honours, 2nd in his class of 1,516.
His other interests-was a champion debater, good canoeist, and an expert photographer.
Richard had a great admiration for his social studies teacher, Richard .A. Weiherer, who opened his mind to
new ideas.
He was competitive but not in a bad sense. He wanted to be the best.
The Travels Monarch X opened the world of science to him and he never lost his scientific curiosity after
that.
Main ingredients in making of a scientist our curiosity, first-rate mind and will to win for the right reasons.
1. Explain the importance of mother in a child's life with reference to the chapter' The Making of a Scientist’
and your own ideas.
2. Who were the important people in Richard Ebright's life and why?
3. What are the essential qualities for becoming a scientist?
CHAPTER-5 THE NECKLACE by Guy De Maupassant
Matilda, an ordinary woman, unhappy with her monotonous simple life, dreams of grandeur all the time.
M. Loisel, Matilda’s husband, is satisfied with what he has. He is also happy being a clerk.
Loisels get invited to a ball at the Minister of Public Instruction’s place.
Loisel thinks that his wife would be happy to know about the invitation to the ball.
Matilda is displeased and refused to go as she does not have a dress to wear to the ball. Her husband offers to buy her a dress for four hundred francs.
Matilda buy a good dress but is still unhappy as she has no jewel to complement the beautiful dress.
Her husband suggests borrowing jewels from her friend, Mme Forestier.
Mme Forestier lends Matilda a diamond necklace.
Matilda becomes a celebrity at the ball party as everyone admires her beauty.
Unfortunately, the couple discovers the necklace is lost as they reach home.
M Loisel contacts the police, cab offices, advertises to award the finder of the necklace but to no avail.
They decide to buy a new necklace to replace it.
M Loisel collects 18000 francs and they borrow eighteen thousand more to pay for the necklace.
The couple spends ten years to pay back the debt, working day and night and suffering from dire poverty.
Ten years of poverty and misery render them old and weary.
M Loisel meets Mme Forestier one day and narrates the story of the necklace.
Mme Forestier informs her necklace was worth just five hundred Francs. The story focuses that one should
be content and satisfied with their belongings and not crave for expensive items that are not within their
economical capabilities. Extreme desire for lavish items leads to unhappiness and loss of peace of mind.
1. What did Matilda often dream of?
2. Describe Mme Loisel’s success at the ball.
3. What was the cause of Matilda’s ruin? How could she avoid it?
4. Extreme desire for lavish items leads to unhappiness and loss of peace of mind. Elucidate it with refer-
ence to the story’ The Necklace’.
CHAPTER 7 THE HACK DRIVER (By Sinclair Lewis)
The narrator completed his graduation in law and joined a big firm as a junior assistant clerk. He was given
the dirty and dangerous job of serving summons.
He gets an opportunity to go to a village to serve summons.
A helpful Hack Driver at the station offers to take him in his cart and find Lutkins. The driver takes him to
all the places where Lutkins could be found but fails to find him.
He shows him the village and describes the country life.
They don’t find Lutkins but the lawyer is very happy to find such a good companion. They visit Lutkins
house where they meet his mother who chases them away. The lawyer ends up paying for the driver for six
hours.
He returns to the city where his chief is angry at his failure. The chief sends him back next day with a man
who knows Lutkins. The lawyer shows him the helpful hack driver.
His companion tells him that the hack driver is Oliver Lutkins. The lawyer feels embarrassed to serve
summons to the cheerful Oliver.
1. Why does the hack driver offer to ask about Oliver Lutkins?
2. In life, people who really trust others are sometimes made to look foolish. One should not be too trusting.
Describe how Oliver Lutkins made a fool of the young lawyer.
CHAPTER- 8 BHOLI by K. A. Abbbas
The story is about a little girl named Sulekha who was called ‘Bholi’ for being as simpleton.
Her father Ramlal was always worried about her as she stammered and had pockmarks on her face.
One day, at the request of the Tehsildar of their village Ramlal agreed to send Bholi to school.
In the school, Bholi met a teacher who was very kind and polite to her. She encouraged her to study and
speak with confidence. This filled hope in Bholi.
Years passed and Bholi’s parents decided to marry her to a lame old man who was a widower but was rich
and had not demanded any dowry.
On the wedding day, the groom demanded dowry of Rs.5000 as Bholi had pock marks on her face.
Bholi could not bear all this and refused to marry a greedy old man. People accused her of being shameless.
The marriage ceremony ended without Bholi getting married.
Her father was surrounded by grief as now no one would marry her and what would she do in future.
To this, she replied that she would take care of her parents when they grew old and would teach in her
school. Her teacher, who was quietly watching all this, felt proud of her decision.
The major theme of the story Bholi is the impact of family on children. Bholi is a little girl who fails to develop self-confidence because of her parents’ attitude towards her. The story hints at why family support.
and emotional security are essential for proper development of a child. Also, disabled children must be giv-
en encouragement, love and, education like their normal counterparts.
1. Why was Ramlal worried about his daughter Bholi and not about his other children?
2. How does Bholi’s teacher play an important role in changing Bholi’s course of life?
3. How significant is the education,that Bholi received, to her life and decisions?
Chapter 3 The Midnight Visitor
Chapter 4. A question of Trust DELETED
Chapter 10. The Book that Saved the Earth
GRAMMAR
DETERMINERS
Definition of Determiners - Determiners are those words that are prefixed before nouns to determine their mean-
ing. They can be divided into the following types:
1) Articles- a, an, the
2) Demonstratives- this, that, these, those
3) Possessives- my, your, our, his, her, its, their
4) Indefinite Adjectives- some, any, much, many, little, few, less
5) Others- all, each, every, both, neither, either, other, another, enough, most, several, one, two, etc.
1. ARTICLES (TYPE OF DETERMINER)
(1) The Definite Article (The)
"The" is called the definite article. It defines its noun as something specific (e.g., something previously mentioned
or known, something unique, something being identified by the speaker).
This is the lake.
(This is a previously specified lake, i.e., one already known to the readers.)
(2) The Indefinite Article (A, An)
"A" and "an" are called the indefinite articles. They define their noun as something unspecific (e.g., something
generic, something mentioned for the first time).
This is a lake.
(This is a previously unspecified lake.)
Important points to remember
i. The spelling of the word following the determiner is not important only the sound is important. Few
words given below start with vowel letters but do not have vowel sounds. So the determiner ‘a’ is at-
tached to them. For example: A union, A one rupee coin, etc
ii. There are a few words that start with consonant letters but have vowel sounds. They are preceded by the
determiner ‘an’. For example: an honest man, an honour.
2. Demonstratives (This, that, These, Those)
Note that demonstrative determiners can also be used as demonstrative pronouns. When they are used as
determiners they are followed by the nouns they modify. Compare:
This is my camera. (Demonstrative used as a pronoun, subject of the verb is)
This camera is mine. (Demonstrative used as a determiner modifying the noun camera.)
The demonstrative determiners are used to talk about persons or things that have already been mentioned.
This and These refer to the things that are near and can be seen. ‘That‘ and ‘Those‘ are used to refer to the
things that are at a distance but can be seen.
1. We lived in this house for four years.
2. I like this school.
This’ and ‘that’ are used for singular nouns and ‘these’ and ‘those’ for plural nouns.
1. Can you lift that box?
2. Would you like to buy those books?
3. Possessives (My, our, your, his, her, its, their)
The possessives are used to show possession.
Possessive determiners are different from possessive pronouns - mine, his, hers, yours, ours, theirs.
Possessive pronouns can stand alone and are not followed by nouns.
Possessive determiners, on the other hand, are followed by nouns.
Compare
This is my house. (my is a possessive determiner. It is followed by the noun house which it modifies)
Is that car yours? (yours is a possessive pronoun. It is not followed by a noun.)
4. Ordinals: first, second, next, last, etc.
The ordinals show what position something has in a series:
1. He is the first boy who has joined this school.
2. I shall meet him the next week.
3. He is the last man to help you.
5. Cardinals: one, two, three, hundred, etc.
Cardinals are ordinary numbers like one, two, three, etc. They show how many of something there are:
There were only ten boys in the class.
She lived for eighty years.
He has two daughters.
6. Quantifiers: much, some, several, a lot of, both, all, etc.
The quantifiers refer to the quantity of things or amount of something.
All children enjoyed the show.
They didn’t make much progress.
There was little water in the jug.
7. Distributives: each, every, either, neither.
Distributive determiners refer to each single member of a group.
1. Each is used when we talk about the members of a group individually and every when we make a general state-
ment. Both are followed by a singular countable noun:
1.He met each guest.
2. The minister visited every flood-affected area.
Either is used to talk about two things, but usually indicates that only one of the two is involved.
1. Either of the two girls should come here.
2. Neither is the negative of either:
Neither member came to attend the meeting.
3. Either can also mean
People stood in either side (both sides) of the road.
4.Neither is followed by a singular noun.
NARRATION: DIRECT & INDIRECT SPEECH
General Rules:
We remove inverted commas in Indirect speech.
We remove comma(,) used after the Reporting Verb.
No change in the Tense of Reporting Verb. If there is an object after Reporting Verb, change ‘said to’ into ‘told’.
Tenses, Pronouns and words denoting nearness of time or position are changed.
Rule-1 : If Reporting Verb is in Present or Future Tense, Tense of Reported Speech is not changed-
He says, “Hari is not well.”
He says that Hari is not well.
Rule-2 : If Reporting Verb is in Past Tense, Tense of Reported Speech is changed in corresponding past tense.
Tense of the Verb in Direct speech Tense of the Verb in Indirect speech
V1/V1 + (s/es)
Does/do + not + V1
Is/are/am + V1 (ing)
Has/have + V3
Has/have + been + V1 (ing)
V2
Did + not + V1
Was/were + V1(ing)
Will/shall/can/may +V1
Must/would/should/ought(to)/dare(to) +V1
V2
Did not + V1
Was/were + V1 (ing)
Had + V3
Had + been + V1 (ing)
Had + V3
Had + not + V3
Had + been + V1(ing)
Would/should/could/might + V1
Must/would/should/ought(to)/dare(to) +V1
*IF the sentence of Reporting speech is Universal Truth, Habitual actions, or Historical fact or any Proverb, the
Tense of Reported Speech does not change though the Reporting Verb may be in the Past Tense.
My father said, “The Sun rises in the east.”
My father said that the sun rises in the east.
RULES FOR CHANGING PRONOUNS
RULES FOR CHANGING Adverbs of time and place
Ago => before Now => then Tonight => that night
Come => go This =>that Today => That day
Here => there These => those Yet => Still
Tomorrow => the next day / the following day
Yesterday => the previous day / the day before
Yesterday morning => the previous morning / the morning before
RULES OF CHANGING QUESTIONS (Interrogative Sentences)
-Reporting Verb ‘said to’ is changed to ‘asked’ or ‘enquired’ and ‘say to’ into ‘ask’.
‘that’ conjunction is not used.
-Interrogative Sentences is changed into Assertive Sentence. Sign of Interrogation (?) is removed and full Stop (.) is
used in its place .
He said to me, “Where is she?”
He asked me where she was.
-Pronoun, Verb and other words of Reported Speech are changed according to the rules of the Assertive Sentence.
If there is an auxiliary verb (is, am, are, was, were, do, does, did, shall, will, has, have, had, can/may) in the begin-
ning of the Reported Speech, connective word ‘if’ or ‘whether’ is used.
Hari said to me, “Are you reading a book?”
Hari asked me if I was reading a book.
TENSES
Past Present Future
SIMPLE An action that ended in
the past.
An action that is
habitual or repeated.
A plan for an action in
the future
Formula Painted Paints/Paint Will paint.
Person Nominative or
Subjective form
Objective Form Reflexive form Possessive form
First
Person
I
We
Me
Us
Myself
Ourselves
my, mine
our, ours
Second
Person
You You Yourself/yourselves Your, yours
Third
Person
He
She
It
Word clue He painted yesterday She paints every weekend. She will paint tomorrow.
CONTI
NUOUS
(be)+ (verb) +
ing.
An action that was
happening(past
continuous) when
another action
finished
(simple past).
An action is inthe
process of
happening now.
An action that will
happen inthe future for
a length of time.
Will be painting
Formula Was/were painting Am/are/is painting
Word clue I was painting
when I saw the
accident.
She is painting now. They will be painting
whenyouarrive
tomorrow.
PERFECT
(have)+ (verb)3
An action that
finished before
another action
or time inthe past.
An action that
happened at an unsaid
time inthe past.
An action that will finish
before another action or
time in the future.
Formula Had painted. Have/haspainted Will have painted
Word clue We hadpaintedthe
house beforethe
rain
started.
She has painted many
portraits.
He will have painted the
bedroom before his
daughter comes home.
PERFECT
CONTINUOU
S
(have)+
been +
ing(verb)+
ing
An actionthat
happened over timein
the pastbeforeanother
action.
An action that happens
over time, starting in
thepast and continuing
into the present.
An action that happens
over time in the future
beforeanother action.
Formula Had been painting Have/has been painting Will have been pain ting
Word clue She had been
painting for a while
when she started
classes.
Ihave beenpainting
landscapessince I
started sc hool.
We will have been
painting for several
hours before we can
see how it looks.
SUBJECT VERB AGREEMENT
1. If the subject is singular the verb must be singular too.
Eg 1: She writes neatly. Eg 2 : I sing in the evening.
2. If the subject is plural the verb must be plural
Eg : They play with agility.
3. When the subject of the sentence is composed of two or more nouns or pronouns then use a plural verb.
Eg : The director and actors work hard to put up a good show.
4. When there is one subject and more than one verb, the verbs throughout the sentence must agree with
a. the subject.
Eg : The management is strict and is thinking of making some changes in the rulebook.
5. When a phrase comes between the subject and verb, the verb still agrees with the subject not with the noun
or pronoun in the phrase following the subject of the sentences.
Eg : The student with all the copies is allowed to enter the class.
6. When two or more singular nouns or pronouns are connected by ‘or’ or ‘nor’ use a singular verb.
Eg : The manager or the assistant manager approves the bill.
7. When a compound subject contains both a singular and plural noun joined by ‘or’ or ‘nor’ the verb should
agree with the subject that is closest to the verb.
Eg : The trainer or the officers write the report.
The officers or the trainer writes the report.
8. The following words and phrases require singular verb: each, everyone, each one, either, neither,
everybody, anyone, anybody, no body, somebody, someone, no one.
Eg : Each of the runners was given the kit.
Neither of you was exempted.
9. Uncountable nouns take a singular verb.
Eg : The information was disseminated by the researchers.
The research is essential for upgradation.
10. Some countable nouns such as earnings, goods, odds, surroundings, proceeds, contents and valuable only
have plural form and take plural verb.
Eg : The goods in godown are expensive.
The earnings need to be mentioned in the form.
11. In sentences beginning with there the verb agrees with what follows the verb.
Eg : There are many factors affecting the rise in temperature.
There is little to do in this field.
12. Collective nouns are considered singular and take singular verb. example group, committee, family and
class but if the focus is on individuals in the group then the verb will be plural. This is rare.
Eg : The group does the work everyday.
The team leaves at five in the morning.
MODAL AUXILIARIES
Modal are those auxiliary or helping verbs that are used to express the mode or manner of the actions indicated by
the main verbs. They express modes such as certainty, possibility, willingness, obligation, necessity, ability. Here
are some characteristics of modal verbs:
1. They never change their form. You can't add "s", "ed", "ing"...
2. They are always followed by an infinitive without "to" (e. i. the bare infinitive.)
Here is a list of modals with examples:
Modal Verb Expressing Example
1. Must Strong obligation You must stop when the traffic lights turn red.
Logical conclusion / Certainty He must be very tired. He's been working all day long.
2. Must not Prohibition You must not smoke in the hospital.
3. Can Ability I can swim.
Permission Can I use your phone please?
Possibility Smoking can cause cancer.
4. Could Ability in the past When I was young, I could run fast.
Polite permission/request Excuse me, could I just say something?
Possibility Accident could be avoided.
5. May Permission May I use your phone please?
Blessings May God bless you with a long life!
Possibility, Probability There are heavy clouds in the sky. It may rain today!
6. Might Guessing He might be sleeping at this time.
Lesser possibility, probability I might go on a holiday to Australia next year.
7. Need not Lack of necessity/absence I need not buy tomatoes. There are plenty of tomatoes in
of obligation the fridge.
8. Should/ Obligation I should / ought to see a doctor. I have a terrible headache.
ought to Advice You should / ought to revise your lessons
Logical conclusion He should / ought to be very tired. He's been working all day long.
10. Will Order You will do it just now.
Threat You will be punished.
Determination They/we will work hard to win the match.
11. Would Habitual action I would listen to music all day long.
Willingness I would work hard to come up to your expectations.
18
LETTER WRITING
Example 1 : Write a letter to the editor of a local daily urging him to print your article on unhygienic conditions in
your society. You are Aakash residing at A-407, Gokuldham society, Jaipur.
A-407
Gokuldham Society
Jaipur
10 Sept. 2020
The Editor
Dainik Bhaskar
Jaipur
Subject - Unhygienic Conditions
Sir
Through the columns of your esteemed newspaper I, Aakash residing at A-407, Gokuldham society, Jaipur want you
to print my article on Unhygienic Conditions in my society.
I want to draw your attention towards the unhygienic conditions in my society. For past 10 -12 days sweepers have
not been coming to our society. This has resulted into heaps of garbage that have gathered here and there in the
whole society and have become breeding grounds of flies and mosquitoes owing to several diseases. The drains are
overflowing with dirty water and the filthy smell has filled the air. It is causing inconvenience to everybody to move
around in the society for daily activities, the children are unable to play outside, the windows cannot be opened due
to the foul smell even the vendors have stopped coming to our society. The sweepers should be sent by concerned office as soon as possible to evade the problem.
I hope after reading this article the governmental authorities will be awakened and take the necessary steps as soon as
possible.
Thank you.
Yours sincerely
Aakash
