Joy of Knowledge

23. “ ‘My dreams at that time were rather confused’, he admitted. Before my condition was diagnosed, I had been very bored with life. There did not seem to be anything worth doing. But shortly I came out of hospital, I dreamt that I was going to be executed” a) Identify the speaker? b) What times were his dreams rather confused at? c) I was going to be executed   (Use a single word for the underlined words) d) What drastic change came over Hawking after the diagnosis of the disease? e) What trait of Hawking’s character do you detect here? 24. “To her, this dishevelled graduate student seemed terribly intelligent, eccentric and rather arrogant. But he was interesting and she liked his wit. a) Who is referred to here as ‘her’? b) Who is the disheveled graduate student described in this excerpt? c) Write the meaning of the word ‘dishevelled’.      d) Write one of the qualities of her. 25. “In 1965, at the age of twenty-three, Hawki...

LIVE TV REPORT OF LE HORLA Now I am standing very close to La Villette, the place where Le Horla is about to take off. About 300 people are standing here to witness the starting of this wonderful event. Captain Jovis and the other travelers are ready for the ride. First Lieutenant Mallet jumps aboard. Mr. Mallet is followed by three more persons, including Mr.Guy de Maupassant. W ell, La Horla the balloon is also ready for the ride with the command of Mr. Joliet. The rope has been cut. Oh! The moment the rope is cut, the balloon starts flying upward. Vow!What a spectacular scene! The multicoloured balloon has its take off now with a team of courageous men headed by Captain Jovis. The balloon is moving in a moderate speed as you can see in the visuals. From LaVillette,, with Cameraman Jean Davis, Juliet Le Paris TV, Paris. DEATH THE LEVELLER BY JAMES SHIRLEY: AN APPRECIATION “Death the Leveller” is a powerful poem by James Shirley which reminds us that death is a force that ...

LIVE TV REPORT OF LE HORLA Now I am standing very close to La Villette, the place where Le Horla is about to take off. About 300 people are standing here to witness the starting of this wonderful event. Captain Jovis and the other travelers are ready for the ride. First Lieutenant Mallet jumps aboard. Mr. Mallet is followed by three more persons, including Mr.Guy de Maupassant. W ell, La Horla the balloon is also ready for the ride with the command of Mr. Joliet. The rope has been cut. Oh! The moment the rope is cut, the balloon starts flying upward. Vow!What a spectacular scene! The multicoloured balloon has its take off now with a team of courageous men headed by Captain Jovis. The balloon is moving in a moderate speed as you can see in the visuals. From LaVillette,, with Cameraman Jean Davis, Juliet Le Paris TV, Paris. DEATH THE LEVELLER BY JAMES SHIRLEY: AN APPRECIATION “Death the Leveller” is a powerful poem by James Shirley which reminds us that death is a force that ...

 AND THEN GANDHI CAME      Jawaharlal Nehru writes about the timely arrival of Gandhiji to Indian politics in his book “The Discovery of india”. He  emphasizes  the dynamic leadership of Gandhi. He describes Gandhiji as a beam of light that removed the darkness.  Nehru thus makes the right  assessment  of Gandhiji. When the First World War came to an end people expected peace, relief and progress. But it brought repressive rule and martial law. People felt that they were being humiliated. Large numbers of people became unemployed. People were in great confusion. They did not know how to free  India  from poverty and misery. It was at this critical period that Gandhiji came. It was like a powerful current of fresh air. It pierced the darkness that surrounded the people and he taught the lessons of fearlessness and non-violence. Gandhiji was an ordinary man. He was one among us. He exhorted the people to st...

ABE’S FIRST SPEECH Abraham Lincoln is one of the greatest of American Statesmen. He is known for his celebrated speeches. This lesson is the story of his first speech as a little boy. One day Little Abe and his companion Dennis Hanks attended a political meeting. Both boys were unhappy with the views of the speaker. Dennis told Abe that he could make a better speech than the campaign orator. Then Abe decided to stand on a dry goods box and delivered a speech. That speech attracted the attention of the crowd and won him great applause. Here Abe’s friend Dennis encouraged him and it helped him to get confidence. We can see everybody has some potential in them. The reasons why some people are unable to showcase them are because of 1. Lack of opportunity 2. Lack of confidence 3. Lack of training in public speaking 4. Lack of encouragement from friends 5. Lack of reading habits Q1. Do you think greatness as an innate trait? Is it acquired by the successful or thrust upon them?...