A CAPSULE FOR PLUS ONE ENGLISH PUBLIC EXAM

UNIT 1 GLIMPSES OF GREATNESS  : 25% QUESTIONS FOR PUBLIC EXAM ( 20 SCORE)

Abe’s First Speech : It is the story of the first speech done by Abraham Lincoln, the greatest of American Statesmen. His Friend Dennis Hanks inspired him to make his first public speech. IMPORTANT THINGS TO  STUDY  FOR EXAM: We should have perseverance and will power to achieve greatness in our life. Success never comes easily. We have to face lot of failures and hurdles for achieving success. Everybody in this world has some potential in them. Some people take the initiative. But some don’t do that. The main reasons may be  a) Lack of opportunities, b) Lack of confidence c) Lack of Support d) lack of proper guidance.

HIS FIRST FLIGHT:  It is written by Liam O’ Flaherty.  It is the story of a seagull who is afraid to fly. His parents tried their best. His siblings have already made their first flight, but he couldn’t. They all tried to motivate him, but the young seagull couldn’t fly. His condition became pathetic without food. Finally maddened by hunger, he succeeded with the support of his mother.

IMPORTANT THINGS TO STUDY FOR EXAM : For review:  Write the summary above. As second paragraph …..This story is highly inspiring and motivating. The writer has used simple words to narrate the story. This makes it easy to understand.The author employs a number of beautiful expressions to make the story interesting. The descriptions are so vivid and lively.  The writer brings out the life’s problems through the image of seagull. It is readable and enjoyable. There is a flow for the narration. As third paragraph……. This story relates the importance of independence and self confidence. It also brings out the idea of a good family life with the involvement of its members. The action of his mother was little cruel. But it can be justified. They were trying to teach him to make his first flight. The young seagull thus learns the lessons adjustment. His parents were teaching him how to face the challenges of life. The author conveys to the readers the need for self -confidence and self- reliance. We also have to face this kind of harsh realities in our life. We should not lose hope and courage. We should try our best

I WIL FLY : “I Will Fly” is a title given to a speech by Dr. APJ Abdul Kalam.  He begins his speech on the topic “ I am born with Wings” . He expresses the hope that the youth of today need not fear about their future. He is also inaugurating a programme called “Sasthrayaan” which means the ‘propagation of Science’.  Its mission was to help the empowerment of the two thousand families of the village. His inaugural speech was to a mixed audience of 5000 students and their family members. The topic was “Science Empowers the Nation’. After the speech hundreds of hands were raised for asking questions. The question asked by a teenager from a remote village was really inspiring. The boy was nervous and he expressed his wish to become a marine engineer. But he was afraid of asking questions to teachers, friends. Dr. Abdul Kalam congratulated the boy for his question. It was really a valuable question. Abdul Kalam recited a poem in response to is question. “I am born with potential. I am born with goodness and trust. I am born with ideas and dreams. I am born with greatness. I am born with confidence. I am born with wings. O, I am not meant for crawling, I have wings, I will fly, I will fly”. (By heart these lines). He was very much inspired by these lines. Dr.Kalam told him that his question stands for all fearful people. The speaker in the poem says that he has abilities, ideas, dreams and confidence. He has wings too. So he won’t crawl. He will fly higher and higher. After this Kalam advised him to be unique. Imitating others will not make us unique. Kalam told them to be unique is a great challenge. They must work hard until they reach their goal.

QUEST FOR A THEORY OF EVERYTHING by Kitty Gail Ferguson is the story of a living legend who has overcome his physical disabilities. He made science understandable even to ordinary people. He is a Cambridge genius who faced the challenges and the mortal disease with his will power and determination . Stephen Hawking was born on January 8^th 1942, in Oxford, England. At the age of 21, he was diagnosed with Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis. At that time he was a student of cosmology at the University of Cambridge. It was really a shocking news for Hawking and his family. But he was not completely down with pessimistic thoughts. One of them was his love with Jane Wild. He had met her before he was diagnosed with ALS. Finally he married her in 1965. We can say that his disease helped him to become the famous scientist. Once he said, “I was bored with life before my illness”. His reputation as ‘a genius’ , ‘another Einstein’ began in his Cambridge days. He started writing a book about the Universe in 1980. Before completing that book, he had to undergo atracheotomy operation. After this operation he lost his vocal sound. Now he continues his work with the help of a computer programme called Equalizer. This helped him to select words from the screen. In 1988, he published his book “A Brief History of Time”. In spite of his crippling disease, he has become the the supernova of world physics.

POEM: IF : The poem “If” is a didactic poem written by Rudyard Kipling.The central theme of the poem is that success comes from self-control and true sense of value of things.  This poem gives good instructions for leading a successful life. It is written in the form of advice given to a son by his father. The poet who is the narrator gives instructions to his son. He hopes that his son will live making good relationship with others. The poet emphasizes the view that a man must be humble, patient, rational, truthful, dependable and persevering. The father tells his son to hold his head while others lose theirs. Although others doubt him, he should trust himself. The son should be always patient. Others may hate him, but he should not hate those who hate him. The young man must not be a slave of his dreams. He should treat both triumph and disaster as imposters. People may misinterpret the truth. But he should control himself. He must not be deceived to think when others say that triumph or disaster as final.He should be optimistic too. He should keep talking with the crowds and walking with kings, but should not lose the common people. He should be a person approachable for all. Above all he should forgive people. If he can do all these things, the Earth and everything will be his own. He will also be a man. TONE AND MOOD: The tone of the poem centers on human qualities. The poet make the tone so emotional as to advise his child. He employs second person narration. He speaks directly to him. The poem is in good rhyme scheme. It has good sound effects and fine imagery. The mood is one of joy and optimism. The language used is so simple. There are lot of symbols and figures of speech especially personification .Eg.   Dreams as masters who can control our lives. Thus dreams assume a human role.  Success is personified as triumph : Failure is personified as disaster: ‘Will’ is personified as a person who encourages us to succeed in life. Metaphor is used Eg. Unforgiving minute refers to time that waits for no man. ‘Worn out tools’ represent the feeling of ‘total tiredness. Symbols are also used widely. Knaves represent scoundrels, liars or common men. Crowds stand for common people. King represents for important people.  This poem also talks about conditional fulfillment using ‘if’ clause.

 UNIT 2 WORDS AND DEEDS                     AND THEN GANDHI CAME

“And Then Gandhi Came “ is an extract from Nehru’s “The Discovery of India”. In this lesson, he writes about the timely arrival of Gandhiji to Indian politics.  Nehru describes the troubles and difficulties India had to suffer during the “Second World war”. The war brought more troubles than any relief. People were more disappointed. Many people lost their jobs. It was really a critical period. It was at this time, Gandhiji came to Indian politics. It was like a powerful current of fresh air. It pierced the darkness. He encouraged them to act with courage. Gandhiji was an ordinary man. He was not a superman to do the miracles on all a sudden. But he exhorted people to stop their exploitation. He wanted to avoid poverty and misery from the lives of Indians. His teaching instilled fearlessness and truth. He himself showed an example ‘Abhaya’ which means absence of fear. Gandhiji raised his strong voice against all this evils. Nehru says that truth is the close companion of fearlessness. Gandhiji taught them the essential nature of truth. Though he could not make a total change, a change of attitude was visible among people. There was a psychological reaction from people. They raised their voice against the British humiliation. Gandhiji stood as a symbol of uncompromising truth. At this time Gandhiji remembers the two-fold action of Gandhiji. First it was directed against British rule then against all kinds of social evils like untouchability, class- division etc. Gandhiji sent volunteers into Inidan villages. These messengers could liberate people from their shyness. He dreamt of an ideal India free from the curse of untouchability and intoxicating drinks and drugs. Nehru says that Gandhi was proud of his Hindu inheritance. He wanted to give Hinduism a universal attire which will treat all religions alike. Indian culture according to him is a fusion of all. His personality was like a magnet which attracted many persons. He concludes the lesson with a compliment on Gandhi that he attracted even his opponents and many neutrals for a great cause.

                                                                                THE PRICE OF FLOWERS

“The Price of Flowers” is a story written by P.K Mukhopadhyay. This story portrays the life of a young poor girl named Alice Margaret Clifford(Maggie) who was far away from her brother Frank who lives far away in India. Gupta was an Indian living in London. Once he met Alice in a vegetarian restaurant. She was also called Maggie . She was working as typist in a nearby office. Her mother made cakes to sell them on Saturdays. She was from a poor family. She wanted to know if Gupta was an Indian. Her brother Frank had gone to India as he was a soldier in the military service. Gupta once went to Maggie’s house to meet her mother. Her mother was anxious to know about India because she had heard that India was a dangerous place to live in. She believed that most of the Indians had the rare power to see a person living in a distant land by gazing at a crystal ring. Maggie and her mother wanted him to look into the crystal ring and say how Frank was. Gupta told them that he did not possess such a power. One day Gupta received news that Maggie’ s mother was not well. He went to their house immediately. Maggie wanted him to gaze into the crystal and say whether Frank was safe. Gupta took the ring and told a lie that Frank was safe. Maggie’s mother was happy and soon became well. Later Gupta was shocked to learn that Frank had died in the war. Gupta felt very sad. Then in the morning of his last day in London, Maggie came to see him. At that time he was packing up things. She gave him a shilling to buy flowers and place them on her brother’s grave in Punjab.

DEATH THE LEVELLER:  It is a powerful poem by James Shirely. This poem reminds us that death is a force that haunts all human beings.It appeals to the reader to contemplate over their actions.  Death levels everyone. He treats all alike. In the opening lines of the first stanza, the poet reminds us that the glories of war and triumph are offset by death. Both the Kings and peasants are reduced to dust. Thus death serves as a great leveler. The rhyme scheme is set in the pattern of A-B-A-B-C-C-D-D. This pattern creates a rhythm. It gives more depth to the poem. Figure of speech: Personification: Death is personified here. Icy hand is a metaphor.  Sceptre and crown stand for royalty(Metonymy):  Victor-victim bleeds – (Oxymoron). Shirely reminds the readers that we are all mortals and we should perform good deeds in our life. I agree with the poet that it is only our good deeds that will remain for ever.

The glories of blood and state……against fate.: These are the opening lines of the poem “Death the Leveller”. The momentary nature of man’s achievement is the theme of the poem. This idea is very common. There is nothing striking about it. Everybody knows it. But the poet makes it more vivid. There is no weapon to stop death. So we must be humble to accept the rality of life.

Only the actions of the just smell sweet and blossom in the dust: The main idea in the poem is that glory and pride of men end up in grave. Death is a great leveler. The weak and the strong, the rich and the poor all must surrender to death. Every earthly achievement is short-lived. They are like shadows. People will remember only our good deeds and just actions. They are like flowers. By good smell, the poet means good thoughts.

UNIT III  BEYOND THE HORIZON    SUNRISE ON THE HILLS :  This is a beautiful poem written by H W Longfellow. It is nature poem. Here the poet gives his experiences at the sight of the risinig sun. The poem reveals nature’s sweetest picture. He considers nature as a reliever of pain to every soul. He perceives the beauty of a pleasant morning from the hills. It was a time when the sun was making its returning march after a long slumber. He sees the brightened woods and the gales kissing the sun-clad vales.The poem abounds in visual imagery and kinesthetic imagery. Images like glowing rich valley, brightened woods, veil of cloud, darkened river flow, etc present before us the beauty of the dawn. Rhymes like ‘wide arch and rreturning march’ , ‘soft gales and sunclad vales’, ‘bathed in light and wooded height’ make the lyric really sweet. These images really remain in our heart for ever. The rhymes, the assonances, the alliterations really add to the beauty of the poem. There are many sounds in the poem and they play an effective role to feel the situation. Some of such sounds are (auditory images) dashing of the distant waters, blasting of the dark pine, the noisy bittern, the music of the village bell, the merry shout of their wild horn and the sudden shooting up of the sun. Thus this poem is really an appeal to everyone to enjoy the beauty of nature. Like the great  English poet of nature William Wordsworth , Longfellow also is a worshipper of nature. Both believe in nature’s soothing qualities. The message of the poem clearly shows this. We can enjoy peace and comfort at the lap of Nature.

                                                                                 THE TRIP OF LE HORLA

“The Trip of Le Horla” is a short horror story written by French writer Guy de Maupassant.  It is a thrilling and exciting story of an adventurous balloon journey from Belgium.On a fine morning,  Captain Jovis, Lietuenant Mallet, Mr. Etierine, Mr.Paul Bessand and the narrator took off in a balloon.They enjoyed the panoramic view of Paris city. For them, the earth looked like a coloured map. They thought that they were in a wonder world. When they started their journey, it was dark on the earth and they were in the light. They thought that nothing was more amusing and interesting than the travelling in a hot air balloon. They enjoyed their life inside. Soon they could feel a current of warm air, the balloon expanded and lost control. The balloon started rising. They had an impression that they were alone in space with the moon. For them the moon looked like another balloon travelling opposite to them. The barometer showed two thousand meters and then two thousand three hundred and fifty. Then the balloon stopped. It started its journey back to earth. Captain Jovis was getting ready for a favourable landing. But they knew well that it was totally out of their control. Finally it touched the earth. The balloon struggled madly like a wounded beast. The peasants around wondered at the sight of this balloon. The cows looked wondrously at the five men and the massive balloon. But the peasants helped them reach the station at Heyst. From there they took the train to Paris.

                                                                      THE SACRED TURTLES OF KADAVU

“The Sacred Turtles of Kadavu” is a kind of  travel experience. Here the travel takes the readers to the island of Fiji. They come to understand about a strange ritual on a Figian island. The ritual is connected to a story from a village in Kadavu. There the women chant to call turtles. Long ago in the the lovely village of Namuana, , an island of Fiji, lived a beautiful Princess Tinaicoboga. She was the wife of the chief.  The chief and his wife had one daughter Raudalice. Raudalice often joined her mother for fishing. One day they stayed so close to shore for fishing. They were so engrossed in fishing that they didn’t notice the stealthy approach of the fishermen from the village of Nabukelevu. The fishermen came close and jumped out of their canoe. Tinaicoboga and her daughter Raudalice cried  aloud to make them free. But they were so cruel that they laughed at them. But the Gods were not pleased with the fishermen’s greed and cruelty. Suddenly they sent a huge storm and tossed the canoe. At this time they did not notice what was happening to the two women. Later they saw those two women had been turned into two giant sea turtles.  Then the sea became calm. The fishermen ran from there with fright. The Figians still believe that Tinaicoboga and Raudalice live in the waters of that bay. Even today the women from Namuana village are dressed in mournig clothes to chant the song for their beloved turtles. They think that the giant turtles would rise to the surface of the bright blue waters.

UNIT 4     BRAVING THE HAZARDS        DISASTERS AND DISASTER MANAGEMENT IN INDIA

Disasters are a global scenario. It is really a challenge for all humanity. Nowadays, disasters have increased both in frequency and intensity. They cause great loss of lives and property. We can see that countries with lower human development are more vulnerable. India, China and Bangladesh are most affected by floods. However drought is the most deadliest of all disasters.

India is vulnerable to disasters mainly due to its geographical location and geological formation. The long coast lines of India, the perennial rivers in the north, snow-clad peaks, etc. lead to disasters. India is affected by different kinds of disasters like landslides, floods, droughts, earthquakes, heatwaves, hailstorms, cyclones and even man-made disasters like riots and gas-leaks. Disasters cause wide-spread damage, destruction and death. They damage life-line support systems, namely communication, power supply, water supply, etc. Commercial and economic activities are badly affected. Death is sometimes caused by the destruction of buildings. Safe and secure buildings should be constructed. Building cods should be strictly implemented. Sate government plays a major role in disaster management. The Central Government also plays a facilitating role. Rehabilitation of victims is done through proper coordination among various departments. Rescue teams should learn special skills and attitudes. Besides they should be well equipped with the latest technologies.

                                                                          THE SERANG OF RANAGANJI.

The story “The Serang of Ranaganji” by Dr.A.J Cronin is about a sea voyage from Liverpool to Calcutta. It takes place during the British rule in India. It tells how the author and the hero of the story manage a potential calamity silently and bravely. The story begins with a fashionable lady’s remark about a native seaman. He was an ugly man with short legs and a large head. He was the boatswain of the ship, ‘Ranaganji’. They spoke of him as a comic creature. A.J Cronin, the physician of the ship overheard this remark. The ship was crowded with tourists and most of them were accompanied by their wives and families. When the ship landed at Port Said, the tourists went out for shopping.

On the following morning, Serang appeared with two lascars. They were obviously sick. Cronin diagnosed that they were suffering from small pox. Cronin reported the matter to the Captain. He advised the doctor to keep it a secret. He requested the doctor to arrange an isolated area for the patients. The serang helped to make a shelter on the deck.  Within an hour he built a large canvas shelter. Another man showed signs of small pox. At that time the serang Hasan helped the doctor without showing any fear. The next day six or seven men came with signs of small pox. Again Hasan took much care to treat them.  Serang sat watchful when one of the victims was in a coma state. Serang  was really from Punjab. His parents had wandered to South India. It was at that time he took a seafaring life. He had no place on shore and remained unmarried. He had no saving. Cronin expressed his wish that he should be paid extra for this extra service.  But he was not interested. He was happy with what he had. When two of their patients died, Hasan himself sewed their shrouds, read aloud a short passage from the Ramayana and threw their bodies overboard. In the end when most of them showed signs of health, there appeared three sores in the arms of Hasan. The voyage came to an end. As Hasan was trying to unload the baggage, that lady’s voice was heard again. She was surprised to see that dirty creature. She asked Cronin where he had kept that dirty creature during the whole voyage. At this question Cronin agreed that it was in a cage that he had kept him, but all the animals were outside the cage.

                                                                            THE WRECK OF THE TITANIC

The poem, “The Wreck of the Titanic” written by Benjamin Peck Keith is about the world’s greatest tragedies at sea. On April 14^th 1942, the Titanic with two hundred and one hundred passengers and crew collided with an ice berg and sank into the depths of Atlantic Ocean. The poem also brings out some heroic acts of courage and heroism.  The poem begins with the smooth commencement of the voyage. She, like a poem of iron and steel left Southampton. Thousands of people on the shore watched the largest and the most luxurious ship on her maiden voyage. Everybody in the ship was feeling safe and nobody smelt death. The ship was hailed as the last work of man. At this time nobody knew that the ghostly white mountain of ice was looming ominous.  Everyone soon learned that the great Titanic struck the towering mountain and was sinking. The remaining stanzas describe the attitude of Captain Smith, the Commander of the ship and his crew. He exhorted the crew to be patriotic. He helped the women and children get into the life boats. The band played the hymn ‘Nearer My God to Thee’. And they all went down into the sea. The poet compares this incident to the patriotic incidents of Trafalgar, Alamo, Waterloo, the Light Brigade and the brave deed of Jim Bludso. This poem has great relevance even today. It gives insights about crisis management, patriotism and chivalry. This poem is written in simple and lucid language.

UNIT 5                                                                   GOOSEBERRIES

Anton Checkhov’s story “Gooseberries” presents two brothers of entirely different nature. They are Ivan Ivanitch and Nicholai Ivanitch. The elder Ivan was a veterinary surgeon. The younger Nicholai was a government servant. Ivan was happy with the kind life he was leading. But Nicholai always dreamt of a peaceful life in the country. He would always dream of eating out in the open air and of sleeping in the sun. When the story begins we can see Ivan about to tell a story of his brother to his friend Bourkin. At that time, the rain began to fall and the two men went to their friend Alliokhin’s estate. There they saw Aliokhin ner a winnowing machine. He was tall and stout and looked like a professor. Aliokhin was happy to see his friends and he invited them to his house. At the house, Ivan and Bourkin were received by a chambermaid named Pelagueya. The maid gave them towels and soap and all the three took bath in the bathing shed. At this time Ivan began to tell the story of is brother Nicholai. In their childhood daythey spent their days ‘running wild in th country’. After their father’s death, their life became more difficult. Their father’s estate was sold to pay debts. Though Nicholai had a good job, he was not satisfied with the job. His ambition was to own a country estate. Then he married a rich widow not because he loved her, but to buy a big estate. After the death of  the widow, Nicholai bought an estate where he planted twenty gooseberry bushes. Once Ivan paid a visit to his brother’s estate. He was no longer poor. He saw Nicholai as a real land owner. He gave gallons of vodka to the peasants on holidays. Nicholai gave a delicious dinner for his brother. He served gooseberries after the meal. For Ivan, they tasted ‘sour and unripe’, but Nicholai ate them commenting that they were delicious.Ivan feels guilt that he too has been content without realizing the fact that behind every idle satisfaction, there exists the poverty and suffering of the poor. The story ends with Ivan’s request to Aliokhin to do good things in life.  Bourkin and Aliokhin found the story uninteresting. If the story was about ‘elegant people’ and ‘lovely women’, they would have been happier.

                                                                                              TO SLEEP.

William Wordsworth’s poem “To sleep” reflects a common experience of human beings. He says how important it is to have a sound sleep for getting mental and physical well-being. In the opening lines of the poem Wordsworth describes the futility of his attempts to have a sound sleep.

The poet is lying down, unable to sleep for three continuous nights. He thought of a fock of sheep passing by, recollected the sound of rain and the murmuring of bees and thought of the smooth fields, the white sheets of water and the pure blue sky. Yet he couldn’t make a good sleep. Soon he was compelled to hear the song of small birds from his orchard trees and the sad cry of the first cuckoo.But he was unable to sleep.  In the end Wordsworth calls upon the goddess of sleep to come over him. Without sound sleep, how can the morning appear cheerful and glorious?He is praying to sleep to bless him. He addresses the sleep as the barrier between the day and day. He acknowledges that sleep is the mother of fresh thoughts and joyful health. The poet has used several poetic devices like alliteration,metonymy and numerous imageries. The white sheets of paper possess a kind of purity that shines with peace.The image of pure sky helps us to think of Eternal peace. The ‘melancholy cry of’ of the cuckoo is symbolic of faithlessness, a broken home. This poem is really a sonnet  of 14 lines with the rhyme scheme abba,cds,dcd.

                                                                              GOING OUT FOR A WALK

In the esaay ”Going out for a walk” , Max Beerbohm challenges that walking is a productive mental exercise. He justifies his comment from his own experience.  He says  the negative aspects of walking especially if one is accompanied by a talkative companion.  Beerbohm begins his essay with a statement that he has never gone out for a walk without any reason. He says that he is lucky enough to live in London. He says that London is a busy place and so noone would call him for a walk. But his friends compel him to walk whenever he is out of London. If someone forces him to walk, he says his brain would be down. He tells the story of a man who took him for a walk. At this time he experienced that his friend was reading every sign board. The author says that one can think logically only when he reaches back to his house. At the end of the essay, he admits the fact that he got the idea for his essay on walking. He says that he is never against walking as an exercise. But he keeps his dislike for those who walk “just to walk”.

UNIT 6  LEAPS AND BOUNDS                             THE CYBER SPACE

The lesson “Cyber Space” by Esther Dyson deals with the wonderful world of cyber space. The writer talks about the attitudes of the present generation that likes new frontiers to explore. Human mind always tries to explore new fields of knowledge and cyber space is one among them. In olden days, only some people knew what cyber space was. Now it has become known even to children. The author compares cyber space to a real estate world. Anyone can own a space here according to his choice. Some places are more suitable for children. In real estate too we have parking area, shopping malls, red light zones, school area and playgrounds for children. That means people can choose where to go and what to see. Nobody controls us from outside but we control ourselves. There are e mail services, entertainment services and there are community groups. They are like shops in a real estate as restaurants or play grounds. Author Esther Dyson clearly says that cyber space liberates us from power structures and authority. It allows total freedom for the communities of any size to love it or leave it.  In short the writer agrees that cyber space is all about individual choice and individual responsibility. It has to grow further. There are no perfect answers or solution anywhere.

                                                                                       IS SOCIETY DEAD

In this humorous essay the author Andrew Sullivan discusses the  ‘i-Pod generation’ of today. He says that our generation is totally disconnected from the society around them. He depicts the picture of such impersonal and isolated world of human beings. The author talks about his experience when he was in New York. He talks about the ‘i-Pod people ‘ with little white wires on their body. They are lost in the magic world of music.The author explains how their own life is trapped in the world. More and more youngsters are becoming addicted to sophisticated electronic gadgets like ‘i-Pods’. Sullivan uses several examples and  evidences to support his argument. He sees New York city as a silent city. People walk through the streets in their Mp3 cocoon. They are confined into their little world. He says that such people miss the fun of making friends. The author concludes his article citing an incident from his life. Once he forgot to take his ‘i-Pod”. At that time he noticed the people around him. He found fun with the rhythms of people. He could hear the sound of air planes and the opinion of taxi drivers. He learned the most important lesson that the outside world has a sound track of its own.

                                                                                    CONCEPTUAL FRUIT

“Conceptual Fruit” is a good short story which tells the story of Greta, a mentally challenged girl of sixteen. The writer Thaisa Frank talks about the advantages of technology to help such differently- able people. In this story the author writes about a family and the daughter who has difficulties to understand and do things. We can see the efforts of a caring father who tries to make life comfortable for his daughter.He helps her to make sense of the world around her with the help of technology. Her father shows her a site which allows her to create a house of her own. He creates a street called ‘Greta’s street’ and a house called ‘Greta’s house’. She wants a bowl in every room and to fill them with peaches. He tells her to click the bowl. Then the word ‘peach’ appeared. But she prefers to have real fruits. Her father then tells her that the word is symbolic of fruits. But she fails to accept it without being angry. Really she doesn’t like to live in the make-believe world. Thus we understand the fact that even a mentally challenged girl prefers to have everything real.  Finally she leaves the unreal world of computer and leaves it. The story ends with an optimistic outlook. The loving father hopes for a better tomorrow for his differently- abled daughter.

IMPORTANT QUESTIONS FROM SOURCE BOOK:

1. List four uses of cyber space in your life as a student

2. Do you think that the government should control cyber space to check the miscreants in it? Write FOUR points to make your argument.

3. Prepare a letter to the editor of a newspaper on the need for studying technology and its impact on society.

4. Prepare a short speech on the role of parents in supporting the differently- abled children.

5. Write a paragraph on the relationship between Greta and her father.

6. Do you think the title “Conceptual Fruit” adequateuly reflect the theme of the story? Write your response using  a) In my view …………….b) I believe…………………

7. Happiness is described as an “ overwhelming power”in the story “Gooseberries”. How far do you agree to this? Give reasons.

8. Prepare FOUR questions you would ask Ivan Ivanitch and possible answers when you saw him after his visit from his brother.

9. Describe a walk you took recently with your friends.

10. What would you do ..Give answers using   ‘Would rather structure’.

a. You are rushing to office. It is already late. Suddenly you realize that you have forgotten an important file.

b) You are tired by your present job.

c) Your friend was misunderstood and punished by the teacher.

10. You are asked to lead a tour programme. What are the steps to be followed in arranging a tour programme? List them.

11. She speaks good English. Which parts of speech does the underlined word belong to?

12. She had a good look at the robbers. What is the contextual meaning of the word good?

13. He is good …..cooking (Fill in the blanks with suitable preposition)

14. What is the superlative degree of good?

15. Make a sentence using ‘good’ as an expression of surprise.

16. Why is the expression ‘I will Fly’ repeated in the last part of the poem? What does the author want to express through it?

17. Write a critical appreciation of the poem “Death the Leveller”.

18. Attempt a character sketch of Hasan.

19. Write a travel report of the journey to Figian island of Namuana.