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INDEX
S.NO CONTENT PAGE NO.

BEEHIVE – LESSON
1 THE FUN THEY HAD
2 THE SOUND OF MUSIC – EVELYN
GLENNIE
THE SOUND OF MUSIC – BISMILLAH
KHAN
3 THE LITTLE GIRL
4 THE TRULY BEAUTIFUL MIND
5 THE SNAKE AND THE MIRROR
6 MY CHILDHOOD
7 PACKING
8 REACH FOR THE TOP – PART 1
REACH FOR THE TOP – PART 2
9 THE BOND OF LOVE
10 KATHMANDU
11 IF I WERE YOU
BEEHIVE – POETRY
1 THE REOAD NOT TAKEN
2 WIND
3 RAIN ON THE ROOF
4 THE LAKE ISLE OF INNISFRE
5 A LEGEND OF NORTHLAND
6 NO MEN ARE FOREIGN
7 THE DUCK AND THE KANGAROO
8 ON KILLING A TREE
9 THE SNAKE TRYING
10 A SLUMBER DID MY SPRIT SEAL
S.NO CONTENT PAGE NO
MOMENTS – SUPPLEMENTARY READER
1 THE LOST CHILD
2 THE ADVENTURES OF TOTO
3 ISWARAN THE STORYTELLER
4 IN THE KINGDOM OF FOOLS
5 THE HAPPY PRINCE
6 WEATHERING THE STORM IN ERSAMA
7 THE LAST LEAF
8 A HOUSE IS NOT A HOME
9 THE ACCIDENTAL TOURIST
10 THE BEGGAR
GRAMMAR
1. TENSES
2 MODALS
3 VOICE
4 SUBJECT VERB AGREEMENT
5 REPORTED SPEECH
6 DETERMINERS
7 PREPOSITION
8. PASSAGE COMPREHENSION
SCAN ME TO KNOW
WORD – MEANINGS
(BEEHIVE – PROSE) LESSON – 1

THE FUN THEY HAD
KEY POINTS:
 In the year 2157 the thirteen-year-old Tommy finds an old book.
 In the year 2157 the thirteen-year-old Tommy finds an old book.
 Margie, who is eleven, find it strange that the words on paper do not
move after having been read.
 Nowadays they only read stories on the computer screen.
 The book is about school centuries ago.
 Margie is very surprised that in the past pupils had a person as a teacher
and that all children of the same age learnt the same thing and went to a
school house with other children.
 Margie wants to read more of the book but first she has to learn with her
machine teacher whose level is too advanced for her and she thinks
school in those days was much better than today.
Summary:
The story opens with Margie writing in her diary about an old book that
Tommy had found. Margie was reminded of her grandfather who had once
talked about his grandfather who went to an actual school where the students
were taught by human teachers.
However, Margie and Tommy lived in the future world,in the year 2157 where
education was completely computerized. They did not go to schools. Instead,
they had a special study room where a computer taught them. The computer
teacher w programmed and adjusted according to the needs of each child.
Now and then the computer teacher developed faults which were fixed by a
County Inspector.
Both Tommy and Margie wondered at the book found by Tommy in his attic.
They wondered at it as they read books on the screen of their computer
teacher. Margie felt that the computer teacher was boring; she disliked the
mechanical teaching and learning. She also wondered how much fun it would
be studying in a school. Studying in a fun way, with other children and that too
from a human teacher.
THE SOUND OF MUSIC – PART 1
EVELYN GLENNIE
KEY POINTS
 Evelyn Glennie was 8, when first time her hearing disability was noticed
by her mother.
 At the age of 11, her disability was discovered at school.
 Wants to do career in Music, her teachers discouraged her.
 Fortunately she met Ron Forbes, the percussionist, who identified her
potential & supported in achieving her goal.
 He trained Evelyn to sense the music through different parts of our body.
 Suddenly she was excited to feel the vibrations in every part of her body.
 Evelyn followed him like an obedient student and in the meantime she
had learnt to open her body & mind to sounds and vibrations.
 After this, she never looked back.
 Evelyn joined the famous Royal Academy of Music, worked hard with
strong determination. Suddenly she got to top.
 In 1991, she bagged the Royal Philharmonic Society’s prestigious “Soloist
of the Year Award”
 She toured round the world for her concerts with a very hectic schedule
and became a kind of workaholic.
 Apart from this, she gives free concerts in prison & hospitals.
 Evelyn soon became shining super star & inspiration for not only the
disabled ones but for all.
 She achieved more than most people twice her age.
 Evelyn has earned great name in Orchestra.
 She has inspired those who are handicapped & made them believe that if
Evelyn could do that, why not they.
Summary
Evelyn Glennie is a multi – percussionist. She has attained mastery over
almost a thousand musical instruments despite being hearing – impaired. She
learnt to feel music through the body instead of hearing it through the ears.
When Evelyn was eleven years old, it was discovered that she had lost her
hearing power due to nerve damage. The specialist advised that she wear
hearing aids and be sent to a school for the deaf. On the contrary, Evelyn was
determined to lead a normal life and follow her interest in music. Although
she was discouraged by her teachers, her potential was noticed by master
percussionist, Ron Forbes. He guided Evelyn to feel music some other way
than to hear it through her ears. This worked well for Evelyn and she realized
that she could sense different sounds through different parts of her body.
Once she had overcome this hurdle, Evelyn began her career in music. She got
admission in the Royal Academy of Music, London and scored the highest
marks in the history of the academy. Evelyn says that hard work and
dedication towards her goal helped her achieve success. Evelyn gives solo
performances and even gives free concerts for hospitals and schools. In the
year 1991, she won the Royal Philharmonic Society’s prestigious ‘Soloist of the
Year’ Award. Evelyn’s story is an inspiration for the differently abled who are
motivated to fulfil their dreams like she did.

THE SOUND OF MUSIC – PART 2
BISMILLAH KHAN
KEY POINTS
 Shehnai replaced pungi which had a shrill unpleasant sound.
 Pungi’s tonal quality was improved by a nai (barbar) of sah (emperor
Aurnangeb); hence it was named as shehnai.
 Ustad Bismillah Khan is a Shehnai Maestro.
 Bismillah khan took to music early in life when he was 3 years old in the
company of his maternal uncle.
 he used to sing ‘ Chiata’ in Bihariji temple and practicing shehnai in
Vishnu temple and Mangala Maiya temple of Varanasi.
 His life is a source of simplicity and communal harmony.
 Bismillah khan got his big break with the opening of All India Radio in
Lucknow in 1938.
 He also played shehnai on 15 August, 1947 from Red fort in presence of
Pandit Nehru.
 Bismillah khan gave many memorable performance both in India and
abroad.
 He also gave music in two movies ‘Gunj Uthi shehnai’ and ‘Sanadhi
Apanna”.
 He was so fond of his motherland India, Benaras and the holy Ganga that
he refused an offer to be the Head of Shehnai school in USA.
 In 2001, Ustad Bismillah khan was awarded India’s highest civilian
avard, the Bharat Ratna.
SUMMARY
This lesson is an effort to understand Indian classical musicians and
instruments especially the origin of shehnai and Shehnai maestro Ustad
Bismillah Khan. Shehnai replaced pungi which had an unpleasant sound.
Pungi’s tonal quality was improved by a nai (barbar) of sah (emperor
Aurnangeb); hence it was named as shehnai.
The lesson beautifully deals with the early life of Bismillah khan in Dumraon
in Bihar. His grandfather was a shehnai-nawaz of the bhojpur king’s court.
Bismillah khan took to music early in life when he was 3 years old in the
company of his maternal uncle.
His life is a source of simplicity and communal harmony from the very
beginning when he used to sing ‘ Chiata’ in Bihariji temple and practicing
shehnai in Vishnu temple and Mangala Maiya temple of Varanasi. Bismillah
khan got his big break with the opening of All India Radio in Lucknow in 1938.
He also played shehnai on 15 August, 1947 from Red fort in presence of Pandit
Nehru.
Bismillah khan gave many memorable performances both in India and abroad
where he was honoured with so many awards. He also gave music in two
movies ‘Gunj Uthi shehnai’ and ‘Sanadhi Apanna”. He was so fond of his
motherland India, Benaras and the holy Ganga that he refused an offer to be
the Head of Shehnai school in USA. In 2001, Ustad Bismillah khan was
awarded India’s highest civilian avard, the Bharat Ratna. In the end, his life is a
perfect example of the rich, cultural heritage of India, one that effortlessly
accepts that a devout Muslim like him can very naturally play the shehnai at
the Kashi Vishwanath Temple.

THE LITTLE GIRL
 Kezia is a little girl, growing in her loving grandma’s care.
 Kezia has formal relations with mother and father. She is afraid of her
strict father so she stammered while talking to him. She thought him to
be giant-sized.
 On Sundays, Grandma sent her to spend time with parents but Kezia
found her father lay down on the sofa to relax and mother busy in
reading.
 One day grandma, suggested her to prepare a gift for father’s birthday.
 Kezia prepared a pincushion with a beautiful yellow silk cloth. For that,
she needed scrap to fill it.
 She took some papers from father’s room and store them up to stuff
them in the pincushion. It was the father’s important speech for the Port
Authority.
 When Kezia was questioned, she admitted her act. Father beat Kezia with
a ruler and she cried bitterly. She clung to grandma who consoled her.
 Next door neighbour Mr. Macdonald plays with his children in the
evening. After watching him, Kezia concludes that all fathers are not like
hers.
 One day, her mother got admitted to the hospital, she was alone at home
under the care of the cook. Old nightmare haunted her – a butcher with a
knife in his hand. She was too much afraid of it.
 Father came to her room hugged her, carried her to his room to comfort
her.
 She realized that he was not so bad, but he was too busy to express his
love. That night, she felt that her father had a big heart.
Summary
‘The Little Girl’ is the story of a little girl, Kezia who misunderstood her
father’s strictness and usually remained scared of him. She kept a distance
from him, whenever he would be at home. She considered him to be as big as a
giant. She would often get nervous and stutter while talking to him. She longed
for his love and affection like her neighbour Mr Macdonald.
Once she was kept indoors as she was affected by cold. Her grandmother
suggested that she make a gift for her father’s birthday next week. They
decided that Kezia would make a pincushion for him. Kezia made a beautiful
pin-cushion; but she accidentally made a mistake. She filled it with bits of
paper that she got by tearing her father’s important speech. She was punished
for that. This incident further estranged Kezia from her father.
She would often look at the neighbours, the Macdonalds playing joyously in
their lawn. Mr. Macdonald was such a good father and played so lovingly with
his children. She wondered he might be a different sort of father.
Once her mother fell ill and was hospitalized. She was left alone at home under
the care of the cook. At night she had a nightmare and woke up screaming. She
found her father standing by her bedside. He picked her up and took her to her
room. He tucked her up in his bed and soon fell asleep. Kezia felt secure lying
near her father. She realized that her father was not as big as a giant. She felt
the beating of her father’s loving large heart. Finally, she realized her father
was very loving and had a generous heart.

A TRULY BEAUTIFUL MIND
KEY POINTS:
 Albert Einstein was one of the greatest scientists in the world.
 This lesson throws a light on his life and his works in the field of science
and world politics. the lie was born on March 14, 1879, in the German
city of Ulm.
 He was a normal looking child. But he had some deficiencies as a child.
 He began to speak very late and when he spoke he repeated every word
twice.
 His playmates made fun of him. His parents were not even so careful
about him.
 But from his childhood, he had a big interest in science. He was good at
studies.
 He always got good marks but he did not like the strict discipline of the
school. So, he left the school for good.
 He agreed to study in Switzerland which has a liberal atinosphere. There
he got interested in a fellow student Mileva Mark. Later he married her.
 He worked on different scientific theories.
 He was awarded the Nobel Prize for Physics in 1921. He was showered
with honours and invitations from all over the world.
 When America dropped atom bombs over Hiroshima and Nagasaki he
was deeply shaken. He proposed for the formation of the world
government.
 He worked for the development of peace and democracy in the work
until he died in 1955. He is remembered even today as a ‘world’s citizen.
Summary
Albert Einstein was born on 14th March in 1879, in the German city of Ulm.
Till the age of two and a half years, he could not speak and when he started
speaking, he spoke every word twice.
His playmates considered him to be boring and his mother thought that he
was crazy because of the abnormally large size of his head. At school, his
headmaster regarded him as stupid and good for nothing.
But he proved them all wrong. At the age of 6, at the insistence of his mother,
he learned to play the violin. He became a gifted violinist. At the age of 15, his
family moved to Munich. He did not feel comfortable with the strict discipline
at the school and left it.
On completing his schooling, he joined the University at Zurich because the
atmosphere there was more liberal, and accepted new ideas and concepts. He
showed more interest in Physics and Mathematics.
He met a fellow student, Mileva Maric at the University. She was equally
intelligent and clever. Later on, they married and had 2 sons but
unfortunately, their marriage did not survive, and were divorced in 1919.
After completing his education, Albert worked as a technical expert in the
patent office at Bern. Here, he worked secretly on his idea of relativity.
In 1915, he published his paper on the special theory of relativity, followed by

the world-famous equation E = mc2.In 1915, he published his paper on
General Theory of Relativity, which gave an absolutely new definition to the
concept of gravity. This theory made him a famous figure.
In 1919, during the solar eclipse, his theory came out to be accurate and
revolutionized physics. In 1933, he emigrated to the USA as Nazis had come to
power in Germany. He did not want his finding and research to be used for
destruction.
In 1938, when Germany discovered the principle of Nuclear Fission, he was
the first person to write to the American President about the dangers of the
atomic bombs. In 1945, when America dropped the Atomic Bombs on
Nagasaki and Hiroshima, he was deeply hurt and wrote to the United Nations
for the formation of a world government to prevent the recurrence of such
destruction.
He spent his later days in politics advocating world peace and democracy. He
died at the age of 76 in the year 1955.

THE SNAKE AND THE MIRROR
KEY POINTS:
 This is an interesting story. It is about a doctor’s encounter with a snake.
 The doctor lived in a small rented room full of rats.
 One night, he was reading a book. A kerosene lamp was burning on the
table.
 There was also a large Mirror on the table.
 Suddenly something fell on the back of the chair. He turned to see what it
was.
 He froze with fear when he saw that it was a big snake.
 The snake then coiled itself around the doctor’s left arm. The doctor
prayed to God.
 Then the snake looked into the mirror on the table.
 Luckily, the snake liked its own image in the mirror.
 It wanted to have a closer look at its image.
 So it uncoiled itself from the arm and came on the table.
 The doctor at once got and ran out of the room.
 He spent the night at the house of one of his friends.
 The next morning he came back to his room.
 He was shocked to find that during the night some thief had taken away
everything from his room.
Summary
It is a story of a homeopathic doctor’s encounter with a snake. The doctor
lived in a small rented room which was an outhouse. It had two windows and
a tiled roof. The tiles were supported by gables which rested on the beam and
there was no electricity supply to the room. The place was infested with rats.
One hot summer night, the doctor took his meals at the restaurant and
returned home. He lighted the kerosene lamp, took off his coat and shirt and
opened the two windows. He settled on the chair and took out a medical book
to read. There was a large mirror on the table on which stood a lamp. Since it
was too hot to sleep, and he had nothing better to do, he sat down in front of
the mirror, admiring himself, planning to improve his appearance as he was
an eligible bachelor. Gradually, his thoughts shifted from self-admiration to
planning his future marriage. He thought that he would marry a rich doctor
having a good practice and that he would choose a fat lady as his wife so that
she would not be able to run and catch him.
He was so engrossed in his day dreaming that he did not give much
importance to the sudden silence. The rats had stopped scampering and there
was a sound of something falling behind him. But he was slow to react. By the
time he turned around to have a look, a snake had wriggled over the back of
the chair and landed on his shoulders. It coiled around his left arm, above the
elbow. It was a dangerous cobra and its hood spread out, hardly three inches
from his face.The doctor sat there like a stone statue, afraid to move, lest the
snake may strike. He thought of various medicines he had and if any was good
enough to save him if the snake did bite him.
In this moment of fear of death, (he realized the presence of God). God had
punished him for being too proud and arrogant. He realized that he was but a
mere human, a poor man, nothing to boast about.
The moment he accepted his true worth, the snake crawled off and sat on the
table in front of the mirror.The doctor got up silently and rushed out of the
door. Next morning when he returned, all his belongings had been robbed but
for his dirty vest which was too dirty even for the thief.

MY CHILDHOOD
KEY POINTS:
 In this chapter. Prof. A.P.J. Abdul Kalam tells us about his childhood. He
was born in the town of Rameswaram.
 His father’s name was Jainulabdeen and his mother’s name was
Ashiamma. Kalam’s father was neither educated nor rich. Yet he was
wise and generous. His mother was also very kind.
 A number of outsiders daily ate with their family. Abdul Kalam had three
brothers and one sister. They lived in their ancestral house in Mosque
Street in Rameswaram. It was a large pucca house.
 His father avoided all luxuries. However, the house had all things of daily
necessities.
 Abdul Kalam was eight years old when the Second World War broke out.
Suddenly, there was a great demand for tamarind seeds. He would collect
those seeds and sell them in the market.
 He got one anna (about six paise) for a day’s collection. It was a good
amount in those days.
 His cousin, Samsuddin distributed papers in Rameswaram. He needed a
helping hand and employed Abdul Kalam.
 Kalam still remembers the pride that he felt on earning his own money
for the first time.
 Abdul Kalam was greatly influenced by his parents. He learnt honesty
and self-discipline from his father.
 He inherited goodness and kindness from his mother. He had three close
friends in his child nod. They were Ramanadha Sastry, Aravindan and
Sivaprakasan.
 All these boys belonged to orthodox Hindu Brahmin families. As children,
they never felt any religious differences among themselves.
 During the annual Shri Sita Rama Kalyanam ceremony. Kalam’s family
arranged boats for carrying idols of the Lord.
 At bey time, his father and grandmother told the children stories from
the Ramayana.
 Once when Abdul Kalam was in the fifth standard, a new teacher came.
Abdul Kalam was sitting with his close friend Ramanadha Sastry in the
first row.
 The new teacher could not tolerate a Muslim boy sitting with a Hindu
priests son lic asked Abdul Kann to sit on the back bench.
 Both Abdul Kalam and Ramanadha Sastry became sad Later. Sastry’s
father rebuked the teacher and he realised his mistake.
 Abdul Kalam’s science teacher Sivasubramania Ayyyer was a high caste
Brahmin. But he did not believe in social and religious barriers.
 One day, he invited Abdul Kalam to his home for a meal. ayer’s wife was
very conservative.
 She refused to serve a Muslim boy in her kitchen. But ayyyer served
Abdul Kalam with his own hands and sat down beside him to eat his
meal.
 After meals, his teacher invited him again for dinner the next week.
When Kalam went to his teacher’s house the next week, his wife took him
inside her kitchen and served him food with her own hands.
 Then the Second World War was over and India’s freedom was
imminent. The whole country was filled with a mood of joy.
 Abdul Kalam asked his father’s permission to go and study at
Ramanathapuram. His father gladly allowed him to go.
SUMMARY:
My Childhood” is an extract taken from the biography of APJ Abdul Kalam -
‘Wings of Fire’. He was a great scientist and also the 14th President of India.
He was born in a middle - class Muslim family in 1931 in the island town of
Rameswaram, Tamil Nadu.
In his childhood he was greatly influenced by his parents, his teachers and his
friends. His father, Jainulabdeen, was not highly educated but he was a
generous and kind person. He was not rich but provided a secure childhood to
Abdul and his siblings. Abdul inherited honesty and self-discipline from his
father and faith in goodness and deep kindness from his mother.
Kalam earned his first wages by working as a helping hand to his cousin,
Samsuddin, who distributed newspapers in Rameswaram.
In his childhood he had three close friends- Ramanadha Sastry,Aravindam and

Sivaprakash. Once when he was in fifth standard, a new teacher asked him not
to sit in the front row along with the high caste Brahmin boys.
Abdul found Ramanadha Sastry weeping as he went to the last row. This made
a lasting impression on Abdul.
Abdul was also greatly influenced by his science teacher, Sivasubramania Iyer.
He learnt the lesson of breaking social barriers from him. Iyer invited him to
his home for a meal. His wife refused to serve food to a Muslim boy in her pure
kitchen.
Iyer served him with his own hands and sat down beside him to eat his meal.
He convinced his wife to serve meal with her own hands and thus was
successful in changing her conservative attitude.
For higher education, Abdul Kalam sought permission from his father to leave
Rameswaram and study at the district headquarters in Ramanathapuram. His
father said that Abdul had to go a long way in life just like a seagull bird which
flies long distances.
He calmed down APJ’s reluctant mother by quoting Kahlil Gibran’s poem ‘Your
children’. He said that her children could not be dominated by her because
they had their own thoughts. They did not belong to her but were a result of
life’s desire for itself. He asked her to give them freedom to fulfil their
thoughts.
PACKING
KEY POINTS:
 The author and his friends decided to go on holiday. The author thought
he was an expert in packing.
 He told his friends, George and Harris that he would do the packing. They
at once agreed to his suggestion.
 George put on a pipe and sat in an easy chair. Harris put his legs on a
table and lit a cigar. The author had not intended this.
 He was unhappy with himself for having offered to pack. He had thought
that Harris and George would pack and he would boss over them.
 When he worked and the people around him relaxed, he was greatly
irritated. At the same time, he could not sit still and see others working.
 He enjoyed getting up and supervising their work.
 The narrator started packing. It seemed a longer job than he had thought
it was going to be. At last, he finished packing.
 But Harris told him that he had not packed the boots. He opened the bag
and packed the boots in.
 Then when he was going to close it, an idea came to him. He was not sure
whether he had packed his toothbrush.
 So he unpacked the bag and took everything out but could not find the
toothbrush. Then he shook everything one by one.
 At last, he found his toothbrush in a boot. He repacked once more. Now
George asked him if he had packed the soap.
 He decided not to do the packing again. But he found that he had packed
his tobacco pouch in it. So he reopened the bag and repacked it.
 Then he was able to complete the packing at 10.05 p.m.
 George and Hat are said that they were not satisfied with the packing
done by the author.
 So they decided to do it themselves. But they created chaos while
packing things.
 They started packing with breaking a cup. Then Harris packed the
strawberry jam on top of a tomato and squashed it.
 George trod on the butter. They put things and could not find them when
they wanted them.
 They packed the pies at the bottom and put heavy things on top and
smashed the pies.
 Harris found butter sticking to the sole of George’s slipper. He got the
butter off the slipper and put it on a chair.
 Harris sat on the butter and it stuck to him. They started looking for it all
over the room.
 Then suddenly George saw it on the back of Harris. When they finally
found it, they packed it in the teapot.
 Their dog increased the confusion. He thought lemons to be rats and
chased them. He put his leg in the jam and spoiled it.
 At last, the packing has completed the packing at 12.50 and the three
friends went to sleep with the intention of getting up early the next
morning.
Summary
The narrator of the story, Jerome, was proud of his packing skills. He was
supposed to go on a trip with his friends George and Harris. He told them to
leave the whole matter of packing to himself, to which they readily agreed.
George sat on the easy chair and Harris cocked his legs on the table and
watched Jerome do the packing. But this wasn’t what Jerome wanted. When he
said that he wanted to do all the packing himself, what he meant was that he
was willing to be in charge of everything and direct his friends to work
efficiently under his supervision.
He was really pissed at them for just sitting about watching him work. It was
uncomfortable for Jerome to just sit idle and see another person work alone.
His energetic nature made him want to get up and superintend.
When Jerome packed the bag, Harris pointed out that Jerome had forgotten to
pack the boots. So, he had to open the bag again and pack his boots in and just
as he was going to close it, he doubted if he had packed his toothbrush.
Whenever he would be about to travel, he would get nightmares of forgetting
to pack his toothbrush. Then he would wake up and go on to hunt for it.
Then, in the morning, he would pack it before he used it and then he had to
unpack again to get it and would repack, forgetting to put the toothbrush in
again. Then, he had to rush upstairs to fetch it. He always ends up carrying the
toothbrush wrapped up in his pocket-handkerchief.
As usual, Jerome had to search the whole bag. He found George’s and Harris’s
toothbrushes eighteen times over but he couldn’t find his own toothbrush. At
last, he found it inside a boot and he had to repack once more.
After he was done, George asked him if the soap was in but Jerome was so
exhausted that he just didn’t seem to care. But after he strapped the bag again,
he noticed that he had packed his spectacles inside and he had to open the bag
again.
Finally, he finished packing at 10:05 pm and now George and Harris decided
to pack the food hampers.
George and Harris started by showing that they were better than Jerome at
packing. Jerome was excited to see how they would proceed. As he
anticipated, they started with breaking a cup.
Then, Harris accidentally squashed a tomato by placing strawberry jam on top
of it and then he had to pick out the tomato with a teaspoon. Moreover, George
stepped on the butter. Now it was Jerome’s turn to sit back and watch them
which irritated them.
They stepped on things, put things behind them, and then they were unable to
find them when they needed them. They put the pie at the bottom and put
heavy things on top of it, which ended up ruining the pies. They poured salt all
over the place and did wonders with the butter.
George got the butter stuck to his slippers. After he got it off his slippers, they
attempted to put it in the kettle but it wouldn’t go in. Then they put it down on
a chair but Harris sat on it and the butter stuck to his back. Then they went
around looking for it. After a lot of searching, George discovered that it was at
the back of Harris the whole time and finally they packed it in the teapot.
And then their pet dog, Montmorency, came into the scene only to add to the
commotion. Montmorency was a naughty dog whose aim in life was to create
hurdles and get scolded. It was only when he was screamed at that he felt that
his day had not been wasted.
So, just when things were ready to be packed, he came into the room and sat
on them. Whenever Harris or George extended their hand for anything,
Montmorency made it a point that they reached for his nose. He put his leg
into the jam, disorganized the teaspoons and hampered the lemons.
After uncountable obstacles and tremendous efforts, finally, the packing was
done at 12:50 and Harris sat on the hamper hoping that nothing was broken.
George consoled himself and Harris by saying that if anything was found
broken then it would be because it was already broken.
They all were ready for bed and decided to wake up at half past six. George
was already asleep by then. So, George and Jerome placed the bath where he
could tumble into getting up in the morning and went to bed themselves.
SANTHOSH YADAV
KEY POINTS :
 Santosh Yadav has been portrayed as a firm-willed, decisive, courageous,
adventurous girl endowed with a rational mind and physical and mental
toughness.
 Born in a small village of Haryana, Santosh Yadav had an independent
temperament right from the beginning and wished to live life on her own
terms.
 She knew full well that her conservative family would pressurize her to
adhere to the traditional way of life. But at the same time she was aware
that if she chose a correct and a rational path, she would be able to
change others and win their support.
 Santosh Yadav had the courage to oppose what she considered to be
wrong. When her parents insisted that she should get married on turning
sixteen, she put her foot down and made it clear that her first priority
was getting educated.
 Determined as she was, she got herself enrolled in a school in Delhi.
 When the parents threatened that they would not pay her school fees,
she told them that she would work part-time to pay for her education.
 Her parents had to finally relent before her determination.
 Later on, her iron will, physical endurance and mental toughness helped
her to first join Maharani College Jaipur and then Nehru Institute of
Mountaineering at Uttarkashi.
 Her hard work and determination, mental strength and physical fitness
equipped her for undertaking the dangerous journey to reach Mt.
Everest, the ‘top of the world’ successfully, not once, but twice.
 Santosh Yadav’s humanitarian attitude and team-spirit came to the fore
during her expedition when she helped her fellow climbers. Her concern
for the environment was evident when she brought down as much as
500 kilograms of garbage from the Himalayas.
 All these qualities and amazing achievements helped Santosh earn one of
the nation’s top awards, Padmashri.
 She is a motivation for young men and women in the world.
Summary
Santosh Yadav was born to wealthy landowners in Joniya was village of
Rohtak district in Haryana. She was the youngest child, a sister to five elder
brothers. Due to the traditions, she was forced to study in the village school.
Since childhood, she was opposed to the customs, preferred wearing shorts in
opposition to the traditional dresses like salwar kameez.
At the age of sixteen, like other girls in the village, she was forced to get
married but she resisted and insisted upon getting educated before getting
married. She took admission in a school in Delhi but her parents refused to
support her. She accepted it and decided to work part - time to fund her
schooling fee. Finally, her parents agreed to support her. Her father accepted
her desire to get higher education.
After high school, Santosh joined the Maharani college at Jaipur and lived at
the Kasturba hostel. There she saw the villagers climb the Aravalli hills and
was curious to know what was at the other side of the hills. She joined a group
of mountaineers there and hence, undertook her first climbing expedition.
Within four years, in 1992, she climbed Mount Everest. Her qualities of
determination, physical and mental strength impressed her seniors. Her
fellow climbers appreciated her concern for others and willingness to work in
a team. She saved the life of a fellow climber named Mohan Singh by sharing
her oxygen cylinder with him. She joined an Indo - Nepalese woman
expedition and climbed Everest twice, thus becoming the first woman in the
world to climb the peak twice.
Santosh cannot describe the immense feeling of happiness and pride when she
was on top of the world. As she hoisted the Indian flag, she felt proud to be an
Indian. Being an environmentalist, she brought down five hundred kilograms
of garbage from the himalayas
MARIA SHARAPOVA
KEY POINTS :
 Maria Sharapova was born in Siberia, Russia, in 1987. She led a charge of
Russian players who came to achieve great success in the women’s game.
 She has brought her own brand of glamour to tennis by designing her
own unique tennis outfits.
 At the 2007 US Open, she wore a dress with over 600 crystals sewn into
it.
 She got her first tennis racket when she was four from the father of
Grand Slam winner Yevgeny Kafelnikov.
 At the age of six, she attended a tennis clinic in Moscow run by Martina
Navratilova, who recognized her talent and recommended that she
should go to the USA to study at a famous tennis academy in Florida.
 She moved to the USA with her father in 1994. Neither of them could
speak English. They had very little money and went to the tennis
academy by bicycle every day.
 She turned professional in 2001 and a year later became the youngest
girl ever to reach the junior final at Wimbledon.
 She won her first Grand Slam title at Wimbledon when she was 17. She is
one of several top players who are known for loud on-court grunting. She
has been the world’s highest-paid sportswoman and the women’s
number one several times.
SUMMARY :
The chapter briefly narrates the life and career of Maria Sharapova, one of the
world’s best-known tennis stars. Maria’s father brought her to the U.S. to be
trained in tennis when she was barely nine. Her mother Yelena could not
accompany her due to Visa restrictions. In the U.S. she missed her mother
badly but she knew that the sacrifice was an inevitable part of her big
aspirations.
Apart from the pangs of separation from the mother, the child also suffered
harassment from her inconsiderate fellow trainees, who were older in age. At
the training academy, Maria would go to bed at 8 p.m as she was very young.
Her fellow trainees would return at 11 p.m. and to bully her, would wake her
up and make her tidy the room. Instead of getting frustrated at this treatment,
Maria saw its positive side and drew mental strength from this humiliation.
This mental toughness gradually became a trait of her personality that helped
her both as a person and as a sportswoman. It proved to be instrumental in
helping her to reach the zenith of glory in the world of tennis. She bagged the
women’s singles crown at Wimbledon in 2004 and became the number one
tennis player in the world.
Hard work, dedication, and mental courage paved the way to success for
Sharapova. Imbued with patriotic sentiments, she feels proud to be a Russian.
Though grateful to the U.S. for bringing out the best in her, she would like to
represent her own country Russia at the Olympics.
Although Maria is fond of fashion, singing, and dancing, she focuses all her
attention on tennis. She considers tennis as both a business and a sport, which
has poured riches in her life. However, her main aim is to shine as a tennis
player. It is this aspiration that constantly governs her mind and motivates her
for ceaseless efforts.

THE BOND OF LOVE
KEY POINTS:
 The bond of love is a story of emotional bonding between a woman and a
bear.
 The author's wife had a pet bear called Bruno. She loved him deeply.
 She put a coloured ribbon around his neck and she cooked a variety of
dishes for him.
 He also performed many playful tricks which give pleasure to be here
they enjoyed each other's company.
 When beard grow up he was dangerous for the children in the house.
 The author decided to send him to the zoo and his departure was very
painful for the author's wife.
 Finally, she asked her husband to visit Baba in the zoo. They both felt
relieved on meeting and they spent many hours together.
 When the zoo was going to be closed they were asked to go back home.
 She denied and asked the superintendent to give him back to her. And
she was successful in this.
 Thus we can say that this is a very mutual story.
Summary
In the story, the narrator highlights the emotional bond shared by his wife and
their pet bear Bruno. He got the baby bear in an accident and presented it to
his wife. She named the bear ‘Bruno’ and treated it like a baby. The bear was
fed milk with a bottle and later it started eating different food items. He
enjoyed eating and drinking everything and anything. Bruno was attached to
everyone including their tenant’s children and their pet Alsatian dogs. It
would play, run around the house and even sleep in their bed.
One day, accidentally, it ate a poison - Barium carbonate which had been kept
in the library to kill mice and rats. Bruno was under a fit of paralysis and was
taken to a veterinary doctor. He was injected twice and finally, revived. After a
while, Bruno resumed eating normally. In another incident, he drank a gallon
of old engine oil which the narrator had kept to fight a termite attack. This did
not have any ill - effect on Bruno.
As days passed, Bruno grew bigger but remained as sweet and playful. The
narrator’s wife changed his name to ‘Baba’ which was a Hindustani word for ‘a
small boy’. He had learned a few tricks too. When commanded ‘Baba, wrestle’
or ‘Baba, box’, he would tackle and overpower the person. When ordered
‘Baba, hold gun’ he would point a stick at the person. When asked ‘Baba,
where’s baby?’ he would take out the piece of wood and would cradle it
affectionately like a baby. As he was big now, he had to be chained because he
could harm the tenant’s children.
The narrator, his son and their friends advised the narrator’s wife to send
Baba to a zoo as he was too big to be kept as a pet. She gave in and finally, after
taking consent from the zoo incharge, they packed Baba in a cage and sent him
to the zoo at Mysore. Everyone missed him but felt relieved as it was not
comfortable to keep him at home. The narrator’s wife missed Baba immensely.
She cried and worried about him. She wrote letters to the zoo incharge to ask
about Baba’s well - being. They replied that Baba was fine but did not eat and
remained sad much like her. She would ask her friends visiting Mysore to visit
Baba. Everyone said that he was sad and appeared thin. After three months
had passed, the narrator’s wife convinced him to take her to meet Baba.
Everyone had predicted that the bear would not recognize her but she had
not even reached the cage when Baba recognised her. He stood on his two
paws and was delighted to see her. She petted Baba and fed him his favourite
food. She spent three hours there until the visiting hours ended and left teary -
eyed.
She requested the zoo incharge to allow them to take Baba back for which
they had to take permission from the Superintendent in Bangalore. As they got
the required permission, Baba was put in a cage, the cage kept on top of their
car and Baba was brought back home.
They got a special island made for Baba to live on. It was surrounded by a
deep dry pit. Baba was provided with his belongings, a box to sleep in, straw
to keep him warm, his stick and piece of wood to play with.
The narrator’s wife would visit Baba on the island by swinging on a rope tied
to a mango tree. She would make the big bear sit in her lap for hours and
would pat him affectionately.
KATHMANDU
KEY POINTS :
 On his way from China to India via Tibet, Vikram Seth, the narrator,
reached Kathmandu in Nepal.
 This extract describes his visit to the two famous temples there – the
Hindu temple of Pashupatinath and the Bodh temple, the Boudhanath
stupa.
 After having a good sleep, Vikram Seth sets out with his companions to
visit the Pashupatinath temple where the entry of non-Hindus is banned.
 A ‘feverish chaotic’ activity goes on inside and around the temple. People
jostle with each other trying to get the priest’s attention; a royal princess
appears in the temple; some Westerners claiming to be Hindus try to
seek entry into the temple; two monkeys chase each other.
 Priests, devotees, hawkers, dogs, pigeons, tourists -all get together to add
to the confusion. He sees a cremation taking place on the banks of the
Bagmati river, some women washing clothes and children bathing in it.
 The river is being polluted as wilted flowers and old offerings are thrown
into it.
 In contrast to the noisy activity in the Hindu temple, Seth finds peace,
quietness, and serenity at the Boudhanath stupa.
 Though there are shops of Tibetan migrants around the stupa, there are
no crowds in the stupa itself. It stands out as a safe haven for quietness
amidst busy streets.
 Describing Kathmandu, Seth chooses the adjectives vivid, mercenary and
religious. He finds its narrow and busy streets as very noisy, and radios,
traffic car horns, bicycle bells, cows – all contribute to the din.
 Though Vikram Seth wishes to prolong his journey back home,
exhaustion and homesickness prompt him to buy an air- ticket to reach
Delhi.
 A flute seller in a corner of the square near the hotel with an unassuming
style and a casual approach draws the writer’s attention.
 Mesmerized by the music of the flute, he is reminded of the different
kinds of flutes and thinks about their uniqueness as well as their
universality.
 He remarks that flute has a place in almost every culture, though with a
variation in form and kind of music produced.
 The music of the flute leaves a deep imprint on his mind and he carries it
with him when he returns home.
Summary
In this chapter, the writer Vikram Seth describes his visit to Kathmandu, the
capital of Nepal. He visited two temples there - one was the Pashupatinath
temple which is a pilgrimage for the Hindus and the other was the Baudhnath
temple which is a holy place for the Buddhists.
At the Pashupatinath temple, entry was restricted to Hindus. There was a lot
of chaos with priests, tourists, pilgrims and animals flocking the place. The
holy river Bagmati which flows near the temple was being polluted by
washerwomen who were washing clothes in it, children who were bathing in
it and residents who were throwing dry, withered flowers in it. Small shrines
protruded on to the stone platform and it was said that when the platform
would emerge completely, then the goddess would emerge out of it and end
the Kaliyug. The scene at the Baudhnath temple was opposite to that at the
Pashupatinath temple. It was a huge white coloured dome surrounded by an
outer road. The place was quiet and calm. There was a Tibetan market outside
the temple where Tibetan refugees were selling bags, garments and jewellery.
Kathmandu has a variety of things to offer. It has religious sanctity, it is a

business hub and a tourist destination. There are shops selling postcards,
antiques, chocolates, imported cosmetics, camera film rolls and utensils. A
variety of sounds could be heard in the streets. The music blaring out of the
radios, honking of the car horns, ringing of the bicycle bells, moo sounds of the
cows as they obstructed the motorcycles passing by and the screaming
vendors selling their wares. Vikram ate a marzipan bar, a corn on the cob
roasted on charcoal fire and garnished with lemon juice, salt and chili powder
and drank coca cola to digest it. He bought some love story comics and a
Reader’s Digest too.
On his way back to Delhi, he considered going by an adventurous route. It
would be a bus or train journey till Patna, then a boat ride up the Ganga river
till Allahabad. It would be followed by a boat journey on the Yamuna river to
Delhi. As he was tired, he chucked the idea and took a direct flight from
Kathmandu to New Delhi the next day.
Outside his hotel, he saw a flute seller. He held a pole out of which many flutes
popped out like the thorns on a porcupine’s body. The man stood quietly and
would take out a different flute, play it for a couple of minutes and replace it
with another one. Once in a while he would sell one of them mindlessly. He
played the flute meditatively. He was unlike other hawkers who screamed to
sell their wares. The writer got attracted to the music of the flute. Flutes are
played in many regions of the world and they vary in appearance, names and
the music that they produce. The sound of a flute resembles human voice as it
is played by exhaling the breadth and its music also pauses when a person
inhales a breadth.

IF I WERE YOU
KEY POINTS :
 This play is the story of an intruder. He breaks into a lonely house.
 A man named Gerrard lives there. He is a playwright.
 The intruder is a criminal. He has killed a policeman and is now on the
run.
 This man has some physical resemblance to Gerrard.
 His plan is to kill Gerrard and live there under his name.
 But Gerrard is smarter than the criminal.
 He tells the intruder that he has also killed someone and the police are
after him.
 He offers to take the intruder in his car to safety.
 He opens a door and tells the intruder that it goes to the garage.
 As soon as the intruder enters, Gerard locks the door.
 In fact it is not the way to a garage but the door of a cupboard.
 Then he phones the police to come and arrest the intruder.
Summary
Gerrard was a playwright. He had to leave his house to deliver props for a
rehearsal. Just then, an intruder entered his home. He was carrying a gun. He
wanted to kill Gerrard and live on his identity. The intruder had committed a
murder and was wanted by the police. So, he thought of stealing Gerrard’s
identity so that he could live peacefully. He wanted to know details about
Gerrard before killing him so that he could imitate him well.
Gerrard said that he was a crook too and that if the intruder stole his identity,
even then he would be chased by the police. He had killed someone and the
police had evidence against him. He further added that he was carrying false
moustaches and other props so that he could disguise himself and hide from
the police. He sensed that the police could raid his house that night. He had
positioned an accomplice on the road to warn him of danger.
Gerrard fooled the intruder to believe him by saying that if the intruder felt
that Gerrard was lying, he could kill him. As the phone rang, Gerrard said that
it was time to leave. When the intruder did not believe Gerrard, he asked him
to peep out through the door of the garage and see the police for himself. In
fact, the door was that of a cupboard. As the intruder bent forward, Gerrard
pushed him inside the cupboard and locked it. Then he called the sergeant as
he would hand over the intruder to the police.
POEM - 1
THE ROAD NOT TAKEN
KEY POINTS :
 The poet was standing at a place where two roads/ paths ‘diverged in a
yellow wood’.
 He was sorry that he couldn’t travel both at the same time.
 He looked down one as far as he could till it bent away in the
undergrowth.
 The other road was just as fair and perhaps presented a better claim.
 The second road was grassy, less frequented by travellers and ‘wanted
wear’.
 The poet had to make a choice and he resolved the dilemma.
 He chose the second road and `kept the first for another day’.
 The poet had a doubt that he would never get a chance to travel on the
first road again.
 The choice had been made and it made all the difference in his life.
 It was very difficult to say whether the choice was right or wrong on the
spur of the moment
 But the poet neither seems to be very happy nor very sad with his choice
and leaves the end open to the readers and their choices.
SUMMARY
The poet talks about two roads in the poem, in fact, the two roads are two
alternative ways of life. Robert frost wants to tell that the choice we make in
our lives has a far-reaching result. The poem presents a dilemma that every
man faces in his life. One day while walking in a wooded area full of trees with
yellow leaves, the poet comes to a fork in the place and he has to decide which
road he should take. He stands there for long and starts debating over the
choice.
He looks at the first road as far as he can see, till it bends in the undergrowth.
It seemed to have been travelled by many people. Then he looked at the
second road. It was grassy and wanted wear means less travelled. The poet is
tempted to walk on it. He keeps on thinking for a long time and comes to the
conclusion that he cannot walk on both. That is the irony of life. We cannot
travel all the available roads no matter how much we may wish to.
However, he decides to take the second path with the intention of walking on
the first any other day in the future. At the same time, he knows that the
chances of his returning that way are very less. He also knows the manner in
which one path leads on to the other. Finally, the poet started moving on the
second road. Then the poem shifts to the last stanza and the poet become
completely philosophical and talk as if he has travelled for a long era and looks
back at the choices that he made in life and their consequences.
Now he feels that life has been completely different. He feels that his life has
been very different from the common people because he has always been
tempted to take the path not generally followed by others. Here he advises
doing something different also. It shows the poet as an adventurous man
ready to take risks in life which everyone should be like.
Literary Devices
1. Rhyme Scheme: abaab
2. Symbolism: two roads which represents two or more choices in our life
3. Anaphora: ‘and’ repeated at the beginning of lines 2, 3 and 4
4. Alliteration: Wanted Wear ‘w’ sound is repeating
i) ‘first for’ – ‘f’ sound is repeating
ii) ‘though, that’- ‘th’ sound is repeating
5. Repetition: ‘Ages’ is repeated. ‘Two roads diverged in a wood’- this
sentence is repeated in stanzas 1 and 4.
Poem – 2
Wind
KEY POINTS:
 In this poem, the poet describes the action of the wind.
 It breaks the shutters of the windows, throws down the books on the
shelf and demolishes frail houses.
 But it has no effect on strong houses.
 It blows out weak fires. But it makes strong fires roar.
 The poet conveys the idea that nobody cares for the weak.
 The poet advises the weak ones to make themselves strong.
SUMMARY:
The first part of the poem describes the action of the wind. The poet asks the
wind to come softly. He requests the wind not to break the shutters of the
windows, not to scatter the papers and throw down the books on the shelf.
But the wind throws down the books and tears the pages of the books. The
poet says that the wind pokes fun at weaklings. It brings down frail houses,
crumbling doors, rafters, and even weak hearth. The wind crushes everything
that is weak.
The poet advises us to be strong. Only then can we save ourselves against the
wind. We should build strong homes with firm doors. Our bodies and hearts
should also be strong. It is the way of the world to kick the weak and to be
friends with the strong. The wind blows out the weak fires but makes the
strong fires roar and flourish. Thus the poem conveys the idea that nobody
cares for the weak. Even the wind is on the side of the strong people.
Literary devices in the poem
Rhyme scheme - The entire poem is written in free verse. There is no rhyme
scheme in the poem.
The literary devices used are as follows –
1. Anaphora - When a word is repeated at the start of two or more consecutive
lines, it is the device of Anaphora.
Lines 2, 3, 4 begin with ‘don’t’.
Lines 6, 7, 8 begin with ‘you’.
2. Personification – wind has been personified. When the poet says ‘you are’,
he is referring to wind as ‘you’ that means he is treating wind as a person.
3. Repetition - ‘crumbling’ is repeated many times to lay emphasis. The poet

wants to say that the wind crushes everything that is weak. That is why he
repeats the word crumbling.
4. Alliteration - the repetition of a consonant sound in close connection. ‘wind

winnows’.
‘won’t want’
5. Symbolism - Symbolism means that the thing refers to some other thing.
wind is a symbol. It refers to the challenges in life. He is using wind as a
symbol for the adversities in our life.
Poem - 3
Rain on the Roof
KEY POINTS:
About the Poet
William Butler Yeats (13 June 1865 – 28 January 1939) was an Irish poet and
one of the foremost figures of 20th century literature.
In December 1923, Yeats was awarded the Nobel Prize in literature, for his
always inspiring poetry, which is a highly artistic and gives expression to the
spirit of a whole nation.
Yeats is generally considered as one of the twentieth century’s popular
English poets. He was a symbolic poet because he used allusive imagery and
symbolic structures throughout his career. Yeats chose words and assembled
them brilliantly in his poetry. In addition to a particular meaning, they suggest
other abstract thoughts that seem more significant. Yeats died at a hotel in
France.
Central idea of the Poem

This poem reflects on the tranquillity of life. In fact, living in a cottage is quite
different from fast and hectic life. We can enjoy nature when there is peace of
mind. But real peace is impossible in a city. We can find it in a solitary place
only.
Theme of the Poem

The poet says that he is going to Innisfree (an island in Ireland) to build a
small, simple hut. He will have nine bean-rows and a honeybee hive. He wants
to live alone in peace with nature. He has desire to enjoy the slow pace of
country side living.
At last, the poet speaks that every night he hears the lake water lapping
against the shore. Even though he lives in a city with the crowded roads, he is
drawn to the rural sounds of Innisfree. The poet is attracted to the sounds
made by the rustling trees. Of course, he has desire to keep himself aloof from
the bustling sound of buses for sometime.
Literary Devices in the poem
Rhyme scheme of the poem: abcbdefe
Stanza 1
1. Alliteration: The repetition of a consonant sound in two or more
consecutive words.
‘Humid Hover’ - ‘h’ sound is repeating.
‘starry spheres’ - ‘s’ should is repeating.
‘press pillow’ - ‘p’ sound is repeating.
‘lie listening’ - ‘l’ sound is repeating.
2. Onomatopoeia: The use of sound words to create a dramatic effect and
auditory imagery.
‘Patter’ is the use of sound word. It is the sound made by the rain drops falling
on the roof top.
3. Personification: Treating a non – living thing as a living being.

darkness has been personified when he says that it is sad.
4. Transferred Epithet: The use of an adjective with a noun when it refers to

another noun.
In ‘melancholy darkness’, the darkness is not melancholy, but it refers to the
sad people.
Stanza 2
consecutive words.
‘busy being’ - ‘b’ sound is repeating
‘their thread’ - ‘th’ sound is repeating
‘rain roof’ - ‘r’ sound is repeating
auditory imagery.
‘tinkle’, ‘patter’ – sounds made by the raindrops
3. Personification: Treating a non – living thing as a living being.
recollection is personified when he says that they weave dreams.
4. Transferred Epithet: The use of an adjective with a noun when it refers to
another noun.
‘dreamy fancies’ – it does not mean that the fancies are dreamy but refers to
the people who have dreams.
Stanza 3
consecutive words.
‘memory my mother’ - ‘m’ sound is repeating
‘Darling dreamers’ - ‘d’ sound is repeating
auditory imagery.
‘patter’ – sound of raindrops falling on the shingles of the roof.
Poem-4
The Lake Isle of Innisfree
KEY POINTS:
About the Poet
William Butler Yeats (13 June 1865 – 28 January 1939) was an Irish poet and
one of the foremost figures of 20th century literature.
In December 1923, Yeats was awarded the Nobel Prize in literature, for his
always inspiring poetry, which is a highly artistic and gives expression to the
spirit of a whole nation.
Yeats is generally considered as one of the twentieth century’s popular

English poets. He was a symbolic poet because he used allusive imagery and
symbolic structures throughout his career. Yeats chose words and assembled
them brilliantly in his poetry. In addition to a particular meaning, they suggest
other abstract thoughts that seem more significant. Yeats died at a hotel in
France.
Central idea of the Poem

This poem reflects on the tranquillity of life. In fact, living in a cottage is quite
different from fast and hectic life. We can enjoy nature when there is peace of
mind. But real peace is impossible in a city. We can find it in a solitary place
only.
Theme of the Poem

The poet says that he is going to Innisfree (an island in Ireland) to build a
small, simple hut. He will have nine bean-rows and a honeybee hive. He wants
to live alone in peace with nature. He has desire to enjoy the slow pace of
country side living.
At last, the poet speaks that every night he hears the lake water lapping
against the shore. Even though he lives in a city with the crowded roads, he is
drawn to the rural sounds of Innisfree. The poet is attracted to the sounds
made by the rustling trees. Of course, he has desire to keep himself aloof from
the bustling sound of buses for sometime.
Summary
The poet is reminded of his past, his boyhood, when he visited the peaceful
Lake Isle of Innisfree. He wants to go there and says that he will live there all
alone. He wants to build a small cabin with clay and wattles. He would grow
beans and get a honeybee hive for honey to survive on.
The poet describes the peaceful natural surroundings of the lake. He says that
the scene of the cloudy mornings, the shining stars, the glowing Sun and birds
flying in the sky give him peace. He feels relaxed to hear the pleasant sound of
the cricket’s song.
The poet feels the urgency to go to the lake Isle of Innisfree. In the depth of his
heart, he can hear the sound of the lake waters hitting the shore. It is as if the
lake is calling him. He hears the sound everywhere – either on the crowded
roads or the grey – coloured pavements of the city in which he lives. This
indicates that he wants to escape from the artificial life of the city into the
peaceful surroundings of nature.
1. Rhyme Scheme: abab
2. Alliteration: The repetition of a consonant sound in two or more closely
placed words is called alliteration. The instances of alliteration in the poem
are –
a. ‘hive’, ‘honey bee’ - ‘h’ sound is repeated;
b. ‘lake’, ‘lapping’, ‘low’ - ‘l’ sound is repeated
3. Repetition: ‘I will arise and go now’ is repeated in stanza 1 and 3
4. Personification: morning is personified
5. Metaphor: clouds are compared to veils

Poem - 5
A Legend of the Northland
KEY POINTS:
About the Poetess
Phoebe Cary (Sept. 4, 1824 – July 31, 1871) was an American poetess, and the
younger sister of Alice Cary. These sisters co-published poems in 1849, and
then each went to publish volumes of their own.
Cary occasionally attended school. She often had to work at home and hence
was largely self-educated. Her mother died in 1835, and two years later her
father married again.
Phoebe died of hepatitis and was buried in New York. After the death of both
sisters, a joint anthology of their poems was also completed.
Central Idea of the Poem
This poem puts forth the idea that we should not be selfish and always help
the needy. A selfish person has no satisfaction in life.
Theme of the Poem
The Northland is a very cold region covered with snow. Its closeness to the
north pole gives this place a cold weather with very few hours of sunlight. The
poetess has written that here the hours of day are few and nights are long in
winter. The people are unable to spend the whole night sleeping. The poetess
doesn’t believe in the authenticity of the story yet she is tempted to share the
story.
Once Saint Peter was on his usual round of travelling and preaching people.
He felt hungry. He chanced upon an old cottage where a little woman was
making cakes. Saint Peter went near the woman and asked for some cakes to
eat.
The little woman started to bake a small cake for him. After the cake was done,
she found it too big to be given for free. So she decided to bake an even
smaller cake. This went on and on till she made a wafer for Saint Peter. She
even kept that wafer with herself instead of giving it to Saint Peter because
she was too greedy to part with a single morsel of food.
After Saint Peter’s curse the little woman went up through the chimney and
turned into a woodpecker. Her whole body turned to coal black because of
going up through the chimney.
Her red cap turned to the red scarlet of the woodpecker. After that people see
her in the forest where she lives by boring and boring the dry wood in search
of food.
Summary
The poem is a legend about an old lady who angered Saint Peter because of
her greed. The story goes’ on like this. One day, Saint Peter was preaching
around the world and reached the door of a cottage where this woman lived.
She was making cakes and baking them on a hearth. St. Peter was fainting with
hunger. He asked the lady to give him a piece of cake. The cake that she was
baking then appeared to be too big, so she did not give him that and instead,
she baked another smaller one. That also appeared to be big so she did not
give him that also. The second time she baked yet another smaller cake but
found it too big to give away. In the third attempt, she took an extremely little
scrap of dough and rolled it flat. She had it as thin as a wafer but was unable to
part with that also. This angered St. Peter a lot. He said that she was not fit to
live in human form and enjoy food and warmth. He cursed her and
transformed her into a woodpecker bird who had to bore in hard, dry wood to
get its scanty food. She can be seen in the trees all day boring and boring for
food.
Literary Devices in the poem
1. Rhyme Scheme: abcb
2. Alliteration: is the repetition of a consonant sound in two or more close
words.
Stanza 1 - that, they, them through - ‘th’ sound is repeating
Stanza 2 - they, the - ‘th’ sound is repeating
look, like - ‘l’ sound is repeating
funny, furry - ‘f’ sound is repeating
Stanza 3 - they, them- ‘th’ sound is repeating
yet, you - ‘‘y sound is repeating’
learn, lesson - ‘l’ sound is repeating
tell, tale, to - ‘t’ sound is repeating
Stanza 5 - woman, was – ‘w’ sound is repeating
Them, the, hearth - ‘th’ sound is repeating
Stanza 6 - faint, fasting - ‘f’ sound is repeating
Stanza 8 - still, smaller - ‘s’ sound is repeating
Stanza 9 - took, tiny -‘t’ sound is repeating
Stanza 10 - seem, small - ‘s’ sound is repeating
Stanza 13 - build, birds - ‘b’ sound is repeating
by, boring, boring – ‘b’ sound is repeating
3. Repetition: any word or sentence is repeated to lay emphasis on it.

Stanza 1 - ‘away’ word is repeated
Stanza 9 – ‘rolled’ word is repeated
Stanza 13, 16 – ‘boring’ word is repeated
4. Enjambment: running lines of poetry from one to the next without using
any kind of punctuation to indicate a stop
Stanza 1 - line 3 and 4
Stanza 2 - Line 1 and 2; line 3 and 4
Stanza 3 - Line 3 and 4
Stanza 4 - Line 1 and 2; 3 and 4
Stanza 10 - Line 1, 2 and 3
Stanza 11 - Line1 and 2
5. Simile: Comparison using ‘as’ or ‘like’
Stanza 2 – ‘the children look like bear’s cubs’. Children compared to bear’s
cubs
Stanza 9 – ‘baked it thin as a wafer’. Cake is compared to a wafer.
Stanza 15 – ‘clothes were burned black as a coal’. The colour of the burned
clothes is compared to that of coal.
Poem - 6
No Men Are Foreign
KEY POINTS :
About the Poet
James Flaconer Kirkup (23 April, 1918—10 May, 2009) was a prolific English
poet, translator and writer. He wrote more than 30 books, including
autobiography, novels and plays.
Kirkup was bom and brought up in South Shields. He educated at South
Shields Secondary School and Durham University. He wrote his first book of
poetry, ‘The Drowned Sailor at the Downs’ which was published in 1947. He
was the first resident university poet in the United Kingdom.

In the poem ‘No Men are Foreign’, the poet tells us not to distinguish people
on the basis of their appearance, religion, region, etc. People of the whole
world are brothers. All people are bom, wear clothes, eat food and at last die
and buried in the same earth. All of us have same kinds of body parts. But it is
we who defile the earth by hating and fighting with each other.
Theme of the Poem

The Poem ‘No Men are Foreign’ is about all human beings. The poet tells us
that all human beings on earth are brothers and are the same. He tells us that
all of us need sun, air, water and clothes to cover the same kind of body. All
walk on the same kind of land. All are fed by the harvest and after death, all
are buried in the same land. We do the same work. All of us on earth sleep and
wake up, love and want to be loved. It is the human beings who hate others.
We defile the earth and we all live on by hating and fighting with one another.
It is we who pollute the air that we all breathe to serve our purpose and
without taking into consideration its bad impact on other people.
Summary
The poem ‘No Men Are Foreign’ begins and ends with the same line-
‘Remember no men are strange, no countries foreign’ as the poet wants to
emphasize on the fact that all the people living on this Earth are the same and
that we have created distinctions by erecting borders and fences, different
languages, etc. While we are alive, we walk on the same Earth and upon our
death, we will lie in our graves in the same earth. He draws another similarity
that we all enjoy good food during peace and starve during war and in winter
time. We all have similar hands which we use to do a lot of hard work. All of us
have eyes which remain open when we are awake and close when we are
asleep. He reminds the reader that whenever we hate someone, we cheat and
hate ourselves. Also, when we pick up weapons against someone, we pollute
the Earth and make it impure with the huge mounds of dead bodies strewn on
it.
Literary Devices
1. Rhyme Scheme - The entire poem is written in free verse. There is no
rhyme scheme in the poem.
The literary devices used are as follows –
2. Alliteration: The repetition of a consonant sound in two or more closely
placed words is called alliteration. The instances of alliteration in the poem
are -
a) Stanza 1 - Body, breathes ‘b’ sound is repeated
b) Stanza 2 – war’s, winter ‘w’ sound is repeated
3. Metaphor
a) Stanza 1 - Uniform refers to the military of different countries
b) Stanza 2 – wars time is compared to the winter season
4. Repetition: It is used in the entire poem.
a) ‘Remember’ word is repeated 5 times in this poem.
b) ‘Remember, no men are strange, no countries foreign’ is repeated in
stanza 1 and stanza 5
5. Enjambment - running lines of poetry from one line to the next without
using any kind of punctuation to indicate a stop. Instances of enjambment in
the poem are as follows-
a) Stanza 1 – line 2, 3 and 4
b) Stanza 2 – line 3 and 3
c) Stanza 3 – line 1, 2, and 3
d) Stanza 4 – line 1 and 2
e) Stanza 5 – Line 2 and 3
POEM -7
THE DUCK AND THE KANGAROO
Summary
The poem gives an account of a conversation between a duck and a kangaroo.
The duck praises the kangaroo for its ability to hop and visit places. The duck
finds the pond boring as it has to stay there forever. The duck requests the
kangaroo to make it sit on its back and go on a trip to places like the Dee, and
the Jelly Bo Lee, crossing lands and seas. It promises that it would remain
quiet and would only quack. The kangaroo replies that it will have to think
over it because the duck’s wet and cold feet may give it body pains - the
disease of rheumatism.
The duck says that it has made arrangements for the kangaroo’s safety. It had
got four pairs of worsted socks which fitted the web - shaped feet well.
Additionally, it would wear a cloak to save itself from the cold weather and
would smoke one cigar a day too. The duck loves the kangaroo and so, wants
to take precautions for its well - being. The kangaroo agrees to take the duck
on a trip. It asks the duck to sit firmly and not to move.
The duck sits on the kangaroo’s back. The kangaroo starts with a hop and they
take three trips around the world. Both of them enjoy each other’s company.
Literary devices
1. Rhyme scheme
Stanza 1 - ababccaa
Stanza 2 - ababccbb
Stanza 3, 4, 5 - ababccdd
2. Alliteration - The repetition of a consonant sound at the start of two or
more closely placed words.
a) Good gracious- ‘g’
b) how you hop - ‘h’
c) sit quite still, and say - ‘s’
d) But to balance- ‘b’
e) dear duck - ‘d’
f) whole world - ‘w’
3. Anaphora- When the same word is used at the start of 2 or more
consecutive lines.
Instances of anaphora in the poem are as follows -
a) And to keep out the cold I’ve bought a cloak,
And every day a cigar I’ll smoke,
b) And they hopped the whole world three times round;
And who so happy — O who,
Both the pairs of sentences begin with ‘and’.
4. Refrain- the use of a musical rhyming sentence throughout the poem. “Said
the duck to the kangaroo” has been repeated to lay stress on the request made
by the duck to the kangaroo.
5. Enjambment - When the same sentence continues in two or more lines.
Instances of enjambment in the poem are as follows -
a) “And I bought four pairs of worsted socks
Which fit my web-feet neatly.”
b) “All to follow my own dear true
Love of a Kangaroo!”

Poem - 8
On Killing a Tree
KEY POINTS:
About the Poet
Gieve Patel is a famous Indian poet and playwright. Patel is also a practicing
doctor. He was bom in Mumbai in 1940. He completed all his education from
Mumbai. His first collection of poetry was entitled poems and was launched by
Nisim Ezekiel in 1966. How Do You Withstand, Body and Mirrored Mirroring
are some of his famous collections. He also wrote famous plays like—Princes,
Savaska and Mr. Behram. He conducted a poetry workshop in Rishi Valley
school for more than a decade. He also edited a collection of poetry which was
published in 2006.

In this poem, there is a beautiful ironic statement written by the poet about
‘Killing’ a tree. Actually, he means its opposite. He taunts how trees are to be
‘killed’ but they mustn’t. He further says that a tree is hard to kill with the
knife. The tree takes years to grow from the earth. He says that to ‘kill’ a tree,
its roots must be pulled out entirely from the soil. This poem also conveys a
message that the trees are our lifeline. So they must not be killed. He instructs
how a tree is ‘killed’. He gives out the message that trees are something pious
and like human beings. He conveys that the tree is very deep rooted and
cannot be wiped out easily. He indicates and compares it with the evil which
also deep rooted in the surroundings and cannot be uprooted so easily
without changing the environment.
Theme of the Poem

The poet considers the tree as a living organism. According to poet, it has the
right to live like any other creatures. But the man is killing it with utmost
cruelty and callousness. This poem indirectly gives out a strong idea that trees
are our lifeline. So they mustn’t be killed. The poet instructs how a tree is
‘killed’. But actually he means its opposite. It implies that a person shall be a
murderer if he ‘kills’ it this way.
He says that a knife will not do harm to a tree. At last poet conveys that if the
tree is killed, it must be uprooted completely. On stating this the poet taunts
the people cutting the trees. The message in the end is that trees are
something pious and like human beings. They are precious so they must not
be cut. The poet also conveys that the tree is deep rooted and cannot be
removed easily. He compared it with the evils which he thinks are deep rooted
and cannot be removed easily.
Summary
“On Killing a Tree” is a sensitive poem. The poet persuades the reader not to
destroy trees and equates it with “killing” a human being. He says that a plant
takes sunlight, water, air and nutrients from the soil to gradually become a
huge tree. It develops a strong trunk and gets numerous leaves.
Merely cutting the trunk of the tree does not kill it. When a tree is cut, the sap
flows out just like a wounded man bleeds. Once the wound heals, new
branches and tiny leaves grow from there which grow into trees.
In order to destroy a tree, it has to be uprooted. The roots which are white in
colour and are damp due to the moisture that they get from the soil are hidden
in a pit in the Earth. These roots are the most sensitive part of the tree as they
bind it to the earth. In order to kill the tree, these roots have to be detached
from the soil.
Once the roots are detached, the tree starts dying, It withers, dries up with the
action of heat and wind, twists, hardens and finally, dies.

Literary Devices
1. No rhyme scheme is there in the poem. It is written in free verse. There is
no rhyme or rhythm.
2. Enjambment: When one sentence continues into two or more lines.
Not a simple jab of the knife
Will do it. It has grown
Slowly consuming the earth
Rising out of it, feeding
Upon its crust, absorbing
Years of sunlight, air, water,
And out of its leprous hide
Sprouting leaves.
The most sensitive, hidden
For years inside the earth.
3. Metaphor: indirect comparison
Leprous hide - the uneven colour of the surface of the trunk of a tree is
compared to the skin of a person suffering from leprosy.
Bleeding bark - the sap coming out of tree where it is cut is compared to the
bleeding from the wound in a human’s body.
4. Alliteration: repetition of a consonant sound in 2 or more closely places
words.
Bleeding bark - ‘b’ sound
White and wet - ‘w’ sound
5. Repetition: a word or sentence is repeated to lay emphasis on it.
‘Pulled out’ is repeated
Poem - 9
The Snake Trying
KEY POINTS:
About the Poet
William Wrightson Ross (June 14, 1894-August 26, 1966) was born in
Peterborough, Ontario. He studied geophysics at the University of Toronto. He
served with the Canadian Expeditionary’ Force in World War I as a private in
the signal corps.
Ross’s earliest works are written in free verse. Some of the works written by
him are: Anthology of Canadian Verse, Experiment 1923-29 and Shapes and
Sounds.

In the poem ‘The Snake Trying’, the poet tries to say that all snakes are not
poisonous. Some of them are quite harmless. It is foolish to kill a snake as soon
as we see it. Even if a snake is poisonous, it will do us no harm if it doesn’t see
any danger from us. A snake always bites in self protection only. Otherwise, it
is as harmless as any other creature. But sadly human beings always try to kill
a snake as soon as they see it.
Theme of the Poem

In the poem ‘The Snake Trying’ in the first stanza the poet describes how a
snake is trying to get away from a man who is chasing him with a stick. The
movement of snake is graceful and elegant. The way it curves in the water is
quite remarkable to look at. The snake does not stick to one straight path to
get out of the reach of the man, but wends its way in and out of that path as it
is travelling along the water. In the second stanza the poet entreats the man
with the stick to let the snake escape. It will hide into the reeds without
hurting even children. It will hide into the green slim reeds.
Summary
In this poem, a harmless green - coloured snake tries to save itself from being
hit by a person who is chasing it with a stick to kill it. The poet says that the
snake is harmless even to children. People fear snakes and when they see one,
they try to kill it with a stick. The snake tries to save itself and hides behind
the green - coloured bushes of marshy plants growing in the water. It hides in
the ripples of the water body in order to save itself. The snake disappears
behind the marshy plants.
Literary devices
1. Rhyme scheme is absent. The poem is written in free verse.
2. Transferred epithet: the adjective used with a noun refers to a noun other
than the one with which it is used.
Pursuing stick - pursuing refers to the person who is holding the stick and not
the stick itself.
3. Alliteration: the repetition of a consonant sound in 2 or more consecutive
words.
He is harmless - ‘h
Poem - 10
A Slumber Did My Spirit Seal
KEY POINTS:
About the Poet
William Wordsworth (April 7,1770—April 23,1850) was bom in
Cockermouth, Cumbria, England. Wordsworth attended Hawkshead Grammar
School, where his love for poetry was firmly established and, it is believed that
he made his attempts at verse. His mother died when he was eight. While he
was at Hawkshead, his father died leaving him and his four siblings orphans.
After Hawkshead, Wordsworth studied at St. John’s College in Cambridge and
before his final semester, he set out on a walking tour of Europe, an
experience that influenced both his poetry and his political sensibilities.
While touring Europe, Wordsworth came into contact with the French
Revolution. This experience as well as a subsequent period living in France,
brought about Wordsworth’s interest and sympathy for the life, troubles, and
speech of the ‘common man’. These issues proved to be of the utmost
importance to Wordsworth’s work. Wordsworth’s earliest poetry was
published in 1793 in the collections An Evening Walk and Descriptive
Sketches. He published the famous Lyrical Ballads in 1798. His most famous
work The Prelude is considered to be the crowning achievement of English
romanticism.

In the poem ‘A Slumber Did My Spirit Seal’ the 1A Slumber Did My Spirit Seal
the poet tells us that one whom we love very much when leaves us, our life
comes to a standstill for some period of time. But it is undeniably true that
anything can happen with anybody. In the poem, the poet’s beloved was a
young and beautiful woman. Once she was full of life and vigour. But now she
is trapped beneath the surface of the earth and revolves along with it. Thus,
the poet gives an eternal message of life.
Theme of the Poem

The poem ‘A Slumber Did My Spirit Seal’ is about the death of a loved one and
poet’s feeling about his beloved when he thinks about her death. The poet
describes his imagination about his beloved after death. This poem is a kind of
elegy. In this poem, the poet seems to be immortalizing her death by saying
that she had no human fears. Now earthly years were no longer a matter of
concern for her because they cannot make her older now.
In the second stanza he is describing her dead body. She is not able to perform
any of the physical movement or activity now. In the last two lines the poet
describes that she is now under the surface of the earth revolving along with it
on its path. He tells us that like other stones, rocks and trees she also revolves
with the earth now.
Summary
The poet admits that he was in a sort of a deep sleep because he did not fear
the harsh reality of life. He had taken life for granted and had never thought
that one day death could separate him from his beloved Lucy. For him she was
like an immortal goddess who was unaffected by age and mortality.
As she is dead, she lies motionless. She cannot hear or see. She has been
buried in the earth and rotates along with the Earth. One day she will get
assimilated with the trees, rocks and stones that are a part of the earth.
Literary devices
1. Rhyme scheme - abab cdcd
2. Alliteration - The repetition of a consonant sound at the start of two or more
consecutive words is called alliteration. The instances of alliteration are as
follows -
‘Spirit sealed’, ‘rolled round’
3. Enjambment - when a sentence continues into two or more lines ending
without any punctuation marks, it is called Enjambment. The instances of
enjambment are as follows -
“She seemed a thing that could not feel
The touch of earthly years.”
“Rolled round in earth’s diurnal course
With rocks and stones and trees.”
MOMENTS – LESSON -1
THE LOST CHILD
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SUMMARY:
It was the season of spring. The people of the village came out of their houses,
in colourful attire and walked towards the fair. A child along with his parents
was going to the fair and was very excited and happy. He was attracted to the
stalls of toys and sweets. Though, his father got angry but his mother pacified
him and diverted his attention towards other things. The child moved forward
but once again lagged behind because his eyes were caught by one thing or the
other every now and then.
As they moved forward, the child wanted the various things on the stalls. His
mouth watered seeing sweets decorated with gold and silver leaves. He
wanted his favourite burfi but knowing that his parents would refuse on the
ground that he was greedy, he walked ahead. Then he saw beautiful garlands
of gulmohur but didn’t ask for it, then he saw balloons but he knew very well
that his parents would deny due to the fact that he was too old to play with
balloons, so he walked away.
Then he saw a snake charmer and a roundabout swing. As he stopped to ask
his parents for permission to enjoy the swing, to his astonishment, there was
no reply. Neither his father nor his mother was there. Now the child realized
that he was lost. He ran here and there but could not find them. The place was
overcrowded. He got terrified but suddenly a kind hearted man took him up in
his arms and consoled the bitterly weeping child. He asked if he would like to
have a joyride but the child sobbed “I want my father, I want my mother.” The
man offered him sweets, balloons and garland but the child kept sobbing “I
want my father, I want my mother.”
THE ADVENTURES OF TOTO
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The writer’s grandfather liked to collect animals and had a zoo at home. Once
he bought a monkey named Toto from a tonga driver for a sum of five rupees.
Toto was kept secretly as the grandmother disliked animals. Toto was very
mischievous. When the writer and his grandfather hid Toto in a cupboard, and
tied him to a hook, he broke the hook and caused havoc in the room. The next
day, when he was kept in the servants room along with other animals, he did
not let them sleep all night.
As grandfather had to go to Saharanpur for work, he decided to take the
monkey along with him. He carried Toto in a strong bag made of canvas and
closed the zip nicely so that Toto could not escape. Toto made unsuccessful
attempts to get out of the bag, which made the back jump and roll. This
aroused the curiosity of fellow passengers at the railway station. At the
Saharanpur railway station, when grandfather was getting his ticket checked,
Toto peeked out of the bag and smiled at the ticket collector. As the ticket
collector declared that it was a dog, grandfather had to buy a ticket for 3
rupees, much to his annoyance.
When toto was accepted by grandmother, it was given a place in the stable
along with the donkey- Nana. Toto did not get along with nana as well.
Toto enjoyed taking bath in warm water during the winter season. One day, he
almost boiled himself when he jumped into a kettle of boiling water.
One afternoon, Toto ate the family meal of pulao. He threw the empty dish
from the tree and it broke it into several pieces.
Toto’s mischiefs grew by the day and grandfather realized that they could not
keep him at home. Finally, he found the same tonga driver and sold Toto back
to him for a sum of three rupees
ISWARAN THE STORY TELLER
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KEY POINTS
 The story was narrated to Ganesh by Mahendra.

 Mahendra was bachelor, junior supervisor in a construction firm.
 His job was to keep an eye on different construction sites.
 Mahendra always had his asset, his cook, Ishwaran with him.
 Ishwaran had amazing capacity to produce vegetable and
cookingingredients any where.
 Ishwaran would read popular Tamil thriller stories.
 His own description was greatly influenced by the Tamil author.
 He weaved endless stories and played a roll of TV in Mahendra's living
quarters.
 He weaved a tale of a tusker, which destroyed everything on the way and
how he made him collapsed in the end with help of a small cane and
karate .
 Ishwaran linked the auspicious full moon night to a story of female ghost
holding a foetus.
 Mahendra rebuked him for explaining such baseless stories.
 He thought that was only a figment of imagination and nothing else.
 One night Mahendra heard a low moan near his window. He put it as a
cat but sound became louder and louder.
 Mahendra saw a cloudy figure holding a bundle.
 It affected him very much that he could not sleep properly.
 Next morning Ishwaran greeted him and told about the last
night's experience.
 At last Mahendra resolved to leave the place the very next day, handed
in his paper.
SUMMARY
Mahendra a bachelor was a junior supervisor in a firm, his job was to keep an
eye on the activities at the construction sites he had to keep moving from
place to place but he adjusted himself to all conditions, his cook, Iswaran
followed him everywhere Iswaran did all the household chores and chatted
with him at night, he weaved endless stories and anecdotes on varied
subjects he was greatly influenced by Tamil authors.
Everyday Iswaran recounted some story packed with adventure horror and
suspense and Mahendra enjoyed listening to it Iswaran recounted the
incident of the up rooted tree and the tusker who had gone mad in suspense,
one day Iswaran narrated story of the ghost of a woman, holding a foetus in
its arms, seen around on a full moon night.
Mahendra interrupted and said that there was no ghosts or spirits he
explained that it was only a figment of Imagination and nothing else. On a full
moon night Mahendra heard some sound near his window he saw a dark
cloudy figure holding a bundle Mahendra was terror stricken.He could not
sleep properly. The next day Mahendra resolved to leave the haunted place.
IN THE KINGDOM OF FOOLS
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KEY POINTS
 The king and the minister were idiots.

 They changed the day into night and the night into day.
 Any body who violated the rule would be punished.
 The king and the minister were delighted at the success of their project.
SUMMARY
A guru and his disciple visit that kingdom.They are surprised to find the whole
kingdom asleep during the day.Later on they come to know that it was the
instruction given by the king.The guru being a wise man decides to leave the
place as he realises the danger of staying in tne kingdom of fools.
Guru leaves the city but disciple remains behind. the guruadviced the disciple
that nothing could be predicted of fools but he did not care.On day a thief
broke into a rich merchant’s house.he died as the old wall fell
on him,brother of theif complained toking about the death.The owner
was summoned.he accused the brick layer for the murder.the bricklayer
accused the dancing girl .but the dancinggirl accused the gold
smith andthen gold smith accused a richman.the richman was summoned
before the king.he himself was the owner of the house.The king ordered that
the owner must be punished and he asked for a new stake to be made ready
for the owner to die. but it did not fit to him so he ordered to search a man
who was fit for the stake.Disciple was caught by the soldiers because he was
fat enough to fit in the stake.
THE HAPPY PRINCE
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KEY POINTS
 The Happy prince was a statue. He was placed on a high column in the
square of the city. But after his death sapphires for his eyes. His body
was covered with leaves of fine gold. A large and rare ruby was set on the
hilt of his sword.
 Swallows had flown away to the warm and pleasant land of Egypt. But
one small swallow was left behind. He was late but he had made up his
mind up his mind to fly and join his friends who were waiting for him.
 All day long he flew and arrived at the city. He decided to spend his night
between the feet of the Happy Prince.
 Drops of water fell on him. He looked up. The sky was clear. But the Prince
was weeping. The bird asked him why he was weeping.
 The Prince said he was a seamstress in her poor house. Face was thin
and her fingers were picked was needle. She was embroidering flowers
on a rich woman’s gown. Her son lay on a bed. He was sick and thirsty.
 He asked to the bird to pluck the ruby off his sword and carry it to the
poor woman.
 The bird agreed. He picked the ruby and flew to the poor woman. When
he return he was happy because he had done a good deep.
 The next day the swallow visited the monuments in the city. The happy
prince had seen a young playwright trying to finish writing a play. The
young man was cold and hungry, he had no firewood to keep himself
warm.
 He asked him to pluck one of the sapphires and carry it to the young
man. So that he could buy firewood and food.
 The bird agreed and carry out his order.
 A little match girl in the crying in square below. She had accidentally let
her matches fall in the gutter. She was crying because she feared her
father would beat her unless she went back home with some money.
 The prince asked the bird to pluck his other eye too and give the
sapphires to the little poor girl. The bird refused to obey the Prince
because he did not want to make the Prince blind in both the eyes.
 The bird did what he was told to do. The girl was had to get a surprise.
 The Prince was blind. The swallow did not to leave this kind-hearted
Prince. Prince decided never to leave him through it was getting colder
and colder.
 The Prince asked the bird to fly over the great city and to tell him what
he has seen.
 Reports of the sufferings of the poor and starving children. The prince
orders the swallow to peel off leaves of gold that covered his body and
take them to the poor.
 Now snow had began to fall and the bird was left with no strength. He
knew his end was near. He flew to the prince and told him that it was
time for him to bid final good-bye.
 He kissed the Prince and fell down dead at his feet. The leaden heart of
the Prince broke into two.
 Next morning the mayor of the city came to the square. He said it looked
no better than a beggar.
 He also saw a dead bird lying at its feet. He ordered to pull down the
statue.
 So the statue of the happy prince was pulled down. They melted it in a
furnace. It was a curios that the broken heart of the happy prince did not
melt.
 God asked one of his angles to bring him two of the most precious things
in the city. The angel brought him the broken heart and the dead bird.
 God said that he had chosen the right things. He said that the swallow
and the prince would ever live happily in paradise.
SUMMARY
The story is an allegory. It brings out the importance of charity. We learn that
love and sacrifice can endear us to God. The prince in the story is no living
prince. He is the statue of a dead prince decorated with gold leaves and
precious stones. He is known as the Happy Prince because there is a smile on
his lips. But the smile gradually gives way to tears. The Happy Prince cannot
help crying over the scenes of misery in the houses of the poor. He decides to
help them with his gold leaves and costly stones. The little swallow acts as his
messenger, and he gives away all his wealth.
The Swallow was on his way back to his homeland when the prince had
detained him to help the poor. He still wished to go back but now it was too
late. The intense cold killed him. Thus the little swallow lost his life in helping
the poor. His death broke the prince’s heart. So the swallow and the prince
perished for a noble cause. But their death was not the end. It made
them immortal. That is why the angel selected the dead swallow and the
lifeless heart of the prince as the noblest things on earth. The story teaches a
very useful and very true lesson. We learn that God loves those who love their
fellow human beings.
WEATHERING THE STORM IN ERSAMA
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Summary
Prashant was a young boy of nineteen years of age. He belonged to Kalikuda, a
village in the coastal state of Odisha. He had lost his mother seven years ago.
On 27 October 1999, when he was visiting a friend in Ersama, a super cyclone
hit the area. There was large scale devastation. The gushy winds and rains
continued for two days. They remained on the rooftop of the house and
survived on the tender coconuts from the coconut trees that had fallen on the
roof. As the rain stopped, Prashant left for his home as he feared the worst for
his family. He took a stick to help him find the road. At times, he had to swim
through the flood waters.
On the way he met two friends and their uncle and the group moved together.
They came across dead bodies of human beings and animals which floated
with the current. As they crossed villages, not even a single house could be
seen. Prashant’s house was shattered too and he saw the belongings hanging
on the branches of the trees. He wept as he felt that he had lost his beloved. He
went to the Red cross shelter in search of his family. There Prashant met his
maternal grandmother. She was elated to see him alive as they had not
expected that he would have survived the storm.
Prashant saw a crowd of 2500 people at the shelter. Many had lost their
families in the disaster. They were grief stricken as the catastrophe had
snatched everything. For the last 2 days they had survived on coconuts but
they were running out of stock.
Prashant took control of the situation. He formed a group with some elders
and young people. They forced the merchant to give them the stock of rice and
were successful. After 4 days the crowd ate a meal. Then the group of
volunteers cleaned the shelter and tended to the injured people. Prashant
engaged the widows to work in the NGO named “Food for work”. He engaged
the children by arranging sports matches for them. The volunteers managed
to set up foster families comprising of the widows, orphaned children and lone
men who would form a family and support each other. Like this Prashant
overcame his grief and learnt to smile even in the face of adversities.
THE LAST LEAF
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KEY POINTS:
 Two friends Sue and Johnsy live together in a rented appartment.

 Johnsy contracts pneumonia and loses her desire to live.
 She announces that she would die when the last leaf fell off the ivy
creeper that could be seen from the room’s window.
 When the last leaf falls off, their neighbour, Mr Behrman goes out in the
storm to paint one. This gives hope to Johnsy.
 On the other hand, Mr Behrman contracts pneumonia and dies.

Summary
Sue and Johnsy were two young artists. They lived together in a small flat. It
was situated on the third storey of an old house.
Johnsy caught pneumonia

Johnsy fell seriously ill in November. She had pneumonia. Sue was worried.
She sent for the doctor. But the doctor told Sue that Johnsy had lost the will to
live. Medicines will not help her.
Sue comforted her

Sue tried her best to make Johnsy to take interest in things around her. She
talked about clothes and fashions. Sue brought her drawing-board into
Johnsy’s room and started painting. She also whistled while painting.
Johnsy’s strange fancy

Johnsy looked at an ivy creeper outside on the wall. It was shedding its leaves
because it was autumn. Johnsy was counting backwards from twelve onwards.
Sue asked what it was all about. Johnsy told her that she would die with the
falling of the last leaf. It would happen in three days. Sue called it nonsense.
She also told her that she would be all right soon. But it had no effect on
Johnsy.
Sue met Behrman

Behrman was an old painter. He lived on the ground floor. He was sixty-years
old. He had a dream that one day he would paint a masterpiece. But he had no
success so far. Sue told Behrman about Johnsy’s strange fancy. Both he and
Sue went to Johnsy’s room. Johnsy was sleeping. They saw that the ivy creeper
had only one leaf left on it. It was raining. It seemed that the last leaf would fall
any time.
Johnsy saw the last leaf

Johnsy awoke from her sleep. She looked out of the window. She looked at the
last leaf. She asked Sue to look at it. It was green and healthy. Johnsy looked at
the leaf every hour. But it didn’t fall even in the stormy evening. This revived a
will to live in Johnsy.
Johnsy accused herself

Johnsy accused herself. She called Sue. She admitted before her that she had
been a bad girl. She told Sue that she was very wicked. The last leaf had shown
her that. Now she felt that it was a sin to want to die. She then asked for a
mirror. She had lots of hot soup also.
Sue told Johnsy of Behrman

Next morning Sue told Johnsy about Behrman. Behrman was ill for only two
days. The guard found him on his bed. His clothes and shoes were wet. He was
shivering in the stormy night. Hfe had painted the last leaf on the wall in that
night. He had caught pneumonia and died. Sue asked her if she hadn’t
wondered why the leaf had not fluttered. She told her that the last leaf was
Behrman’s masterpiece. He painted it the night the last leaf fell.
A HOUSE IS NOT A HOME
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KEY POINTS
 After passing the junior high school, the author joins a new high school.
He feels isolated in his new school.
 He misses his old school, teaches and friends who encourage him to take
part in the new school activities and make new friends.
 His house catches fire and he and his mother run out to the neighbors to
call the fire department.
 His mother runs back home and brings the metal box and again runs
back home to bring pictures, documents and letters of his father.
 Fire department arrives and a fire man rescues her. The narrator hugs
his mother lovingly.
 He loses everything in the fire so they go to the grandparent’s house to
spend night.
SUMMARY
This is a real incident of a teenager Zan Gaudioso. The narrator in this story is
a teenager who finds it difficult to make new friends and adjust to a new place.
He feels lonely and expressed. After junior high school, the narrator joined the
high school. He felt at a loss and lonely among new teachers and students. He
missed his old school and old friends.
One day his house caught fire. The whole house was burnt .Nothing was
left he lost his cat also. The narrator went to his grandparent’s house with his
mother. Next day, the narrator had to go to school wearing the previous day’s
dress and borrowed shoes. He had lost everything in the fire. He felt
embarrassed .The news of fire soon spread in the school. Everyone felt
concern for the narrator they wanted to help him. They gave him all kinds of
clothes, books and school supplies. Their selfless love and concern touched his
heart .Soon he had many friends.
The narrator still missed his pet cat. It was missing. After months when
he and his friends watching his house rebuilt, a lady came with his cat. She
brought happiness back to the narrator. Now the feeling of loss and tragedy
had gone. He was grateful to life, his new friends and the kind lady. He
regained interest in life.
THE ACCIDENTAL TOURIST
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Summary
In “The Accidental Tourist” the writer narrates the incidences where he acts
strangely. On various air trips, he spills drinks on co - passengers. Its as if his
arms work on their own, move towards the tray and knock - off the glass
without his directions. He would be unable to get the air miles because either
he could not present his card or the clerk refused to give him the points. Once
while opening his bag to get the card, he threw all the articles on the floor.
Things flew here and there and there was complete chaos.
Also, on another trip, the ink from his pen smeared his mouth, teeth, gums
and chin. His face turned blue and would remain like that for a couple of days.
Once he bend forward to tie his shoelace when the front seat went into a
recline position and his head got stuck there. Whenever he ate a meal, the
dining table was a complete mess and it appeared as if an earthquake had
struck the place. His family was accustomed to it and when they got their
meal, they would get alert to prevent being victims of the spillovers.
While travelling alone, he would not eat, drink or bend forward. He would
even keep his hands under him to avoid mishaps. He never managed to get the
air miles and would not travel free of cost to Bali but that was good in a way.
He could not remain without food on such a long flight.

THE BEGGAR
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Summary
‘The beggar’ is the story of a beggar named Lushkoff. While begging, he met an
advocate, Sergei who gave him work. Sergei asked him to cut wood at his
house. He asked the cook to show him the shed where wood was kept. The
beggar was too weak and was under the influence of alcohol. He could barely
stand on his feet. Still the cook, Olga told Sergei that the wood had been
chopped. Sergei was glad that the man worked and paid him 50 copecks for
chopping the wood. He asked him to come on the first day of every month for
it. Sometimes he asked him to shovel the snow or to set the wood in the shed
or to dust the rugs. He would pay between 20 to 40 copecks and once, gave his
old trousers to him too.
When Sergei shifted his house, he employed the beggar to help in transporting
the articles. The beggar had changed as he was sober that day and Sergei felt
satisfied that his efforts had paid in reforming a drunkard. As he could read
and write, Sergei asked his name, offered him better work and shook hands
with him. After that day, Lushkoff the beggar was never seen.
After two years, Sergei was buying a ticket outside a theatre and spotted
Lushkoff. Lushkoff was well dressed and was buying a ticket of the gallery
area. Sergei was glad to see him and called him. Lushkoff was now working as
a notary and earned 35 Roubles a month. He thanked Sergei for helping him
out of the pit, for his kindness. Lushkoff told Sergei that it was not for him but
for his cook, Olga that he was a changed man. She would scold him, cry for him
and chopped the wood for him. Her behaviour transformed Lushkoff. With
this, he went to the theatre.
TENSES
Tenses play a crucial role in the English language. It denotes the time an action
takes place, whether sometime in the past, in the present or will take some
time in the future.
12 Types of Tenses
The table below gives a glimpse of the way tenses are used:
Past Present Future
Simple Played (verb+ed) Plays (verb+s) will/shall play

(will/shall+verb)
Perfect had played has/have played will/shall have

(had+past (has/have+past played(will/shall+past
participle) participle) participle)
Continuous was/were is/am/are will/shall be

playing(was/were playing(is/am/are+ playing(will/shall
+verb+ing) verb+ing) be+verb+ing)
Perfect had been playing has/have been will/shall have been

Continuous (had playing(has/have playing(will/shall have
been+verb+ing) been+verb+ing) been+verb+ing)
PAST TENSE
1) Simple Past Tense-
Indicates an action took place before the present moment and that has no real
connection with the present time.
For example, "He danced in the function." (The action took place in the past, is
finished and is completely unrelated to the present)
"He flew to London yesterday."
Note
a. The verb 'flew' is an irregular verb which does not take 'ed' in the past tense
like regular verbs.
b. The form of Simple Past Tense is - verb + ed
2) Past Perfect Tense-
Indicates an action in the past that had been completed before another time or
event in the past.
For example, "He had exercised before it started to rain."
"He had slept before I came back from the market."
Note
a. The form of Past Perfect Tense is- had + verb (past participle form or the
3rd form of the verb)
3) Past Continuous Tense-
Indicates an action going on at some time in the past or an action in the past
that is longer in duration than another action in the past.
For example, "It was getting darker."
"The light went out while theywere reading."
Note
a. The form of Past Continuous Tense is- was/were + verb + ing
4) Past Perfect Continuous Tense-
Indicates an action in the past that took place before another time or event in
the past and continued during the second event/time point in the past.
For example, "At that time, he had been writing a novel for two months."
"He had been exercising when I called."
Note
a. The form of Past Perfect Continuous Tense is- had + been + verb + ing
PRESENT TENSE
1) Simple Present Tense-
Indicates an action that is generally true or habitual. That is, it took place in
the past , continue to take place in the present, and will take place in the
future. This tense is used to denote
-a habitual action- for instance, "He walk to school."
-general truths- for instance, "The sun rises in the east", "Honesty is the best
policy."
-a future event that is part of a fixed timetable- for instance, "The match starts
at 9 o' clock."
Note
a. The form of Simple Present Tense is- verb (infinitive without 'to' and
agreeable with the subject)
2) Present Perfect Tense-
Indicates an action that has been completed sometime before the present
moment, with a result that affects the present situation.
For example, "He has finished the work."
"He has slept."
Note
a. The form of Present Perfect Tense is- has/have + verb (past participle form
or 3rd form of the verb)
3) Present Continuous Tense-
Indicates an action that is taking place at the moment of speaking.
For example, "She is walking."
"I am studying."
Note
a. the form of Present Continuous Tense is- is/am/are + verb + ing
4) Present Perfect Continuous Tense-
Indicates an action that started in the past and is continuing at the present
time.
For example, "He has been sleeping for an hour."
Note
a. The form of Present Perfect Continuous Tense is- has/have + been + verb +
ing
FUTURE TENSE
1) Simple Future Tense-
Indicates an action that will take place after the present time and that has no
real connection with the present time.
For example, "She will visit her ailing grandmother soon."
"He will walk home."
Note
a. the form of Simple Future Tense is- will/shall + verb
2) Future Perfect Tense-
Indicates an action in the future that will have been completed before another
time or event in the future.
For example, "By the time we arrive, he will have studied."
Note
a. The form of Future Perfect Tense is- will/shall have + verb(past participle
form or 3rd form of the verb)
3) Future Continuous Tense-
Indicates an action in the future that is longer in duration than another action
in the future.
For example, "He will be walking when it starts to rain."
Note
a. The form of Future Continuous Tense is-will/shall be + verb + ing
4) Future Perfect Continuous Tense-
Indicates an action in the future that will have been continuing until another
time or event in the future.
For example, "He will have been exercising an hour at 2:00."
Note
a. The form of Future Perfect Continuous Tense is- will/shall have been + verb
+ ing
PRACTICE EXERCISE:
Q1. Choose the correct verb from those in brackets:

a. The earth _____ round the sun. (move, moves, moved)
b. My friends _____ the film yesterday. (see, saw, have seen)
c. It started to rain while we _____ tennis. (are playing, had played, were
playing)
d. I _____ English for five years. (have been studying, study, am studying)
e. The train _____ before we reach the station. (arrives, will have arrived, had
arrived)
f. Don't disturb me. I _____ my work. (do, did, am doing)
g. Fortune _____ the brave. (is favouring, will favour, favours)
h. I _____ the letter before you arrived. (had written, wrote, will write)
i. He _____ us next week. (will have met, will have been meeting, will be
meeting)
j. Perhaps we _____ Delhi next month. (visit, will visit, visited)
ANSWERS:
a. moves b. saw c. were playing
d. have been studying e. will have arrived f. am doing
g. favours h. had written i. will be meeting
j. will visit
II.Choose the correct option-

Q1. I __________ working all afternoon and have just finished the assignment.
A. have been B. had been
C. shall be D. am
Q2. Rohan __________ the movie before he read the review.
A.watches B.have watched
C had watched D.was watching
Q3. He __________ in the States but he still does not have a command over the
English language.
A.have been living B.has been living
C.have lived D.living
Q4. By the next month, we shall __________ the project.
A.has completed B.completing
C.completed D.have completed
Q5. Every boy and girl __________ in the class today.
A.are present B.is present
C.have present D.had present
Q6. He __________ daily for a year now.
A.exercises B.was exercising
C.has been exercising D.have been exercising
Q7. I __________ this book since morning.
A. had been reading B. has been reading
C have had read D. shall be reading
Q8. Which tense is used to express general truths and facts?
A. Present continuous tense B. Present perfect tense
C. Past perfect tense D. Present tense
Q9. According to the prevailing rate, two dozen __________ rupees one hundred.
A. costs B. cost
C. costing D. costed
Q10. Identify the tense used in the following sentence. “When I reached the
bookstore, all the copies had already been sold.”
A Past perfect tense B Past tense
C Present perfect tense D Present tense
CHECK YOUR ANSWERS HERE
Q.
Answer Q. No. Answer
No.
1 B 6 C
2 C 7 A
3 B 8 D
4 D 9 B
5 B 10 A
MODALS
EXERCISE : Fill in the blanks with the appropriate form of the modals.
Question 1.
(a) You ………………………. to love your siblings.
(b) I ………………………. to talk to you.
(c) You ………………………. lose your cool over petty matters.
(d) He ………………………. speak politely.
(e) Children ………………………. avoid eating junk food.
(f) You ………………………. carry an umbrella when going out in the Sun.
(g) She ………………………. have distributed the sweets.
(h) They ………………………. complete their work by noon.
(i) Get off the bus carefully lest you ………………………. fall.
(j) You ………………………. show yourself to a doctor urgently.
Answer:
(a) ought (b) need (c) must not
(d) should (e) must/should (f) must/ought to
(g) must/should (h) will (i) should
(j) need to/must
Question 2.
Manish : I (a) ……………………… do practice of wrestling every day

Rashid : But you (b) ……………………… not overexert yourself so much.
Manish : I (c) ……………………… win the competition at any cost.
Rashid : You (d) ……………………… remember that our health takes priority over
other things.
Mohan : Oh yes! You (e) ……………………… worry. I am careful about my health.
Answer:
(a) must (b) should (c) have to
(d) must ought to (e) need not
3. VOICE
 The active voice describes a sentence where the subject performs the
action stated by the verb.
 In Passive voice sentences, the subject is acted upon by the verb.
Use of Active and Passive voice

It is a transitive verb which shows whether the subject is the doer or some
action is done to it.
Example- Aarti cooked food.
In this sentence, Aarti is the subject and she is the doer of the action (cooked
food). This sentence is an active voice
The passive voice of this sentence will be –
Food was cooked by Aarti.
Here, the subject is food which was an object in the active voice. Here the
action is done by someone (Aarti).
Rules for changing the voice of a sentence
 In converting the active into a passive voice, the object of the sentence
becomes the subject of the verb.
 The verb used with the object is changed into past participle.
 According to the tense, the form of the verb changes.
How to change the active voice into passive voice in the pronoun?
The subject case will be converted into an objective case as follows
How to change tense from active to passive voice?
Tense Active Passive
Simple Present He cooks the food. The food is cooked by him.
The food was cooked by

Simple past He cooked the food.
him.
She will do the The homework will be

Simple future
homework. done by her.
The letter is being written

Present progressive She is writing the letter.
by her.
She was writing the A letter was being written

Past Progressive
letter. by her.
They have completed The work has been

Present perfect
the work. completed by them.
He had been helped by

Past perfect They had helped him.
them.
I will have written the The letter will have been

Future perfect
letter. written by me.
PRACTICE EXERCISE:
Look at the flow chart given below and complete the passage.
Given below is a procedure for cooking rice in the rice cooker.
The electric cooker is brought and (a) ………………………. Then one cup of rice
(b) ……………………… . Two cups of water (c) ……………………… . The rice is put in
the cooker and the cooker (d) ……………………… . The indicator (e)
………………………. for twenty minutes when the rice is cooked and ready to be
eaten.
Answer:
(a) its inner plate and lid are kept ready (b) is washed in clean water
(c) are added to it (d) is switched on
(e) is pressed down and left
4. SUBJECT –VERB AGREEMENT:

What is Subject-Verb Agreement?
A simple subject-verb agreement definition implies that the subject of the

sentence and the verb of the sentence must be in agreement in number.
Subject-Verb Agreement Rules
RULE 1: When two subjects are joined by ‘and’, the verb is plural.
For example: My friend and his mother are in town.
RULE 2: When two singular nouns joined by ‘and’ refer to the same person or
thing, the verb is singular.
For example: The captain and coach of the team has been sacked.
In case these were two different individuals, two articles need to be used: The
captain and the coach of the team have been sacked.
RULE 3: Indefinite pronouns (everyone, each one, someone, somebody, no

one, nobody, anyone, anybody etc.) are always singular.
For example: Everyone is selfish.
We do not use 'are' in this sentence.
This rule does not apply to: few, many, several, both, all, some.
RULE 4: When the percentage or a part of something is mentioned with plural

meaning the plural verb is used.
For example: 40 of every 100 children are malnourished.
RULE 5: When the subjects joined by ‘either or’ or ‘neither nor’ are of different
persons, the verb will agree in person and number with the noun nearest to it.
For example: Neither you nor your dogs know how to behave.
Either of the books is fine for MAT preparation.

Always remember that, when either and neither are used as pronouns, they
are treated as singular and always take the singular verb.
RULE 6: If connectives/appositives like along with, together with, as well as,
accompanied by etc. are used to combine two subjects, the verb agrees with
the subject mentioned first.
For example: Mr. Ram, accompanied by his wife Sita and his brother, was
banished to the forest.
RULE 7: A number of/ the number or
‘A number of (some countable noun)’ is always plural. ‘The number of (some

countable noun)’ is always singular.
For example: A number of students are going on the trip.
RULE 8: The singular verb form is usually used for units of measurement or
time.
For example: Five gallons of oil was required to get the engine running.
RULE 9: When any of ‘few, many, several, both, all, some’ is used with a
countable noun, the verb is plural.
For example: Some men are needed for the battle.
RULE 10: When any of ‘few, many, several, both, all, some’ is used with an
uncountable noun, the verb is singular.
For example: Some milk is spoilt.
Subject-Verb agreement is essential to make sure that a sentence is

grammatically correct. Thus, the above ten basic rules can help you to master
subject-verb agreement.
PRACTICE EXERCISES:
Question 1.
I sit by Kemmerich’s side. He ………………………. (sink) rapidly. Around us

………………………. (be) great commotion. A hospital train ……………………….
(arrive) and the wounded who ………………………. (be) fit to be moved are being
selected. The doctor ………………………., (pass) by Kemmerich’s bed without
once looking at him. Kemmerich ………………………. (raise) himself on the
pillows with his elbows.
Answer:
A.is sinking B. is C.has arrived
D. are E. passes F.raises
Question 2.
Supply a verb in the blanks in agreement with its subject.
(a) No news ……………………. good news.
(b) The girl and the boy ……………………. disappeared.
(c) One-third of the town ……………………. flooded.
(d) “The Three Idiots” ……………………. directed by Raju Hirani.
(e) Bhagwan Das, the writer, and the poet, ……………………. passed away.
(f) Saffron, white and green ……………………. the colours of the Indian flag.
(g) Chicken and cheese ……………………. my favourite breakfast.
(h) The crew ……………………. forced to get off the plane.
(i) The ship, with its crew, ……………………. not traceable.
(j) Nobody agreed. There ……………………. many objections to the proposal.

Answer:
(a) is (b) have/had (c) was
(d) is (e) has (f) are
(g) is (h) was/were (i) was
(j) were
5. REPORTED SPEECH
Reporting of the words of a speaker in one’s own words is called Narration.
There are two ways of reporting what people say:
Direct Speech and Indirect Speech.
Direct Speech: The actual words of the speaker using quotation marks are
called Direct Speech.
Indirect Speech. When we convey the speaker’s words in our own words it
becomes Indirect Speech. It is the reporting of speakers’ words, using a saying
or asking verbs.
In indirect, verbs giving or asking for instructing are often used with a to-
infinitive construction. Verbs expressing intention may also be followed by a
to-infinitive.
There are basically four types of sentences in which we can convert direct
speech into Indirect speech.
1. Assertive Sentences (Statements)

2. Interrogative Sentences (Questions)
3. Imperative Sentences (Commands and Requests)
4. Exclamatory Sentences (Strong Feelings)
To convert a Direct speech into an Indirect speech, we have to make some
necessary changes.
Change 1. Remove the commas and inverted commas. Use any conjunction.
Change 2. In Reported Speech, there are some words which show nearness,
but they are always converted into words which show distance.
They are as follows:
Nearness Distance
here Becomes There
now Becomes Then
this Becomes That
these Becomes Those
today Becomes that day
tonight Becomes that night
yesterday Becomes the previous day
last night Becomes the previous night
last week Becomes the previous week
tomorrow Becomes the following day
next week becomes the following week
ago becomes Before

thus becomes So
hence becomes Thence
come becomes Go
Note. ‘Come’ is changed into ‘go’ only in that case when any word showing
nearness is given with it.
Change 3. Change of Person. There are three types of Person in English

language which are as follows:
Nominative Possessive Accusative
I my me
1. First-person
we our us
2. Second
You Your You
Person
He his him
she her her
3. Third Person
they their them
it its it
Change 4. If the reporting verb is in Present or in Future Tense, there is no

change in the tense of the Reported Speech. If the reporting verb is in Past
Tense, there is always a change in the tense of the Reported Speech, which is
as follows:
1. Present Indefinite is changed into Past Indefinite

2. Present Continuous is changed into Past Continuous
3. Present Perfect is changed into Past Perfect
4. Present Perfect Continuous is changed into Past Perfect Continuous
5. Past Indefinite is changed into Past Perfect
6. Past Continuous is changed into Past Perfect Continuous
7. Past Perfect and Past Perfect Continuous remain unchanged
8.
In case of Future Tense, there are only four words which are changed, i.e.
will Becomes would
shall Becomes should
may Becomes might
can Becomes could
Changes based on the types of sentences.

1. Assertive Sentences (Statements)
Change No. 1. Remove the commas and inverted commas. Use

conjunction ‘that’.
Change No. 2. Change the reporting verb ‘say into tell’, ‘says into tell’,
‘said into told’, if the reporting object is given in the sentence. But do not
change the reporting verb if the reporting object is not given in the
sentence.
Change No. 3. ‘Said to’ can be changed into told, replied, informed, stated,
added, remarked, asserted, assured, reminded, complained, and
reported, according to the meaning.
Change No. 4. Always remove “to’ from the reporting speech, e.g.
 He said to me, “I cannot help you in this matter.”
He told me that he could not help me in that matter.
 He said, “My sister’s marriage comes off next month.”
He said that his sister’s marriage would come off the following month.
2. Interrogative Sentences (Questions)
Change No. 1. Change the reporting verb ‘said ‘or ‘said to’into‘ asked’ or
‘inquired of’. In case of a single question, change it into ‘asked’ but in case of
more than one question, change it into “inquired of’.
Change No. 2. Use conjunction ‘if’ or ‘whether’ if the reported speech starts
with a helping verb. But do not use any conjunction if the reported speech
starts with an interrogative word.
Change No. 3. Change the Interrogative sense into an Assertive sense.
Change No. 4. Remove ‘?’ question mark and use ‘ . ‘full stop, e.g.
 She said to her servant, “Is tea ready for me?”

She asked her servant if tea was ready for her.
 She asked me, “Who teaches you English?”
She asked me who taught me English.
3. Imperative Sentences (Commands and Requests)
Change No. 1. Change the reporting verb‘said’ or ‘said to’ into ordered,
commanded, requested, advised, warned, forbade, suggested, encouraged,
persuaded, begged, etc. according to the sense.
Change No. 2. Remove the commas and inverted commas, use conjunction ‘to’.
Change No. 3. Change the Imperative sense into Infinitive sense.
Change No. 4. Remove ‘do not and use ‘not to’ in case of Negative Imperative
sentences, e.g.
 The teacher said to me, “Stand up on the bench.”.

The teacher ordered me to stand up on the bench.
 The General said to the soldiers, “March forward and attack the foe.”
The General ordered the soldiers to march forward and attack the foe.
 The gardener said to the boys, “Do not pluck the flowers.”
The gardener forbade the boys from plucking the flowers.
4. Exclamatory Sentences (Strong Feelings)

Change No. 1. Change the reporting verb ‘said’ or ‘said to’ into “exclaimed with
joy’ or ‘exclaimed with sorrow’, ‘cry out, “pray’, etc., according to the sense, i.e.
 Exclaimed with joy–in case of Aha! Ha! Hurrah!

 Exclaimed with sorrow–in case of Ah! Alas!
 Exclaimed with surprise–in case of Oh! What! How!
 Exclaimed with regret–in case of Sorry!
 Exclaimed with contempt–in case of Pooh! Pshaw!
 Applauded with saying–in case of Bravo! Hear!
Change No. 2. Use very or great by removing what or how.
Change No. 3. Use conjunction ‘that.
Change No. 4. Remove exclamatory word and exclamation sign ‘!’ The student
must select the verb best suited to the sense or context, e.g.
 They said, “Hurrah! We have won the match.”

They exclaimed with joy that they had won the match.
 She said, “Alas! I have lost my bridal ring.”
She exclaimed with sorrow that she had lost her bridal ring.
 She said, “How charming the scenery is!”
She exclaimed with surprise that it was a very charming scenery.

PRACTICE EXERCISE:
I.CHOOSE THE RIGHT ANSWER:

Q1. Jacob said, “Have you read this book?”
A. Jacob asked me if I have read this book.
B. Jacob asked me if I had read that book.
C. Jacob asked me if I would read this book.
D. Jacob asked me if I had been reading this book.

Q2. She said to him, “It is good to see you!”
A. She exclaimed that it was good to see him.
B. She exclaimed that she was happy to see him.
C. She exclaimed that it is good to see him.
D. She exclaimed that it was good to see me.

Q3. He said, “How much is left to do?”
A. He asked how much had been left to do.
B. He asked how much had been left to be done.
C. He asked how much was left to be done.
D. He asked how much was still left.
Q4. Maria said, “Please lend me a pen.”
A. Maria ordered me to lend a pen.
B. Maria begged me to lend her a pen.
C. Maria asked if I could lend her pen.
D. Maria requested me to lend her a pen.

Q5. The landlord said, “You should leave if you can not pay the rent.”
A. The landlord asks me to leave if I didn’t pay the rent.
B. The landlord warned me to leave if I couldn’t pay the rent.
C. The landlord asked me to leave if I would not be paying the rent.
D. The landlord asked me to leave or pay the rent.

Q6. Daniel said, “Where have you been?”
A. Daniel asked me where I had been.
B. Daniel told me where I should have been.
C. Daniel told me where I was.
D. Daniel said that I had not been there.

Q7. The lawyer said, “The law always believes in the evidence.”
A. The lawyer said that the law always believed in the evidence.
B. The lawyer said that the law should always believe in the evidence.
C. The lawyer said that the law always believes in the evidence.
D. The lawyer said that the law has always believed in the evidence.

Q8. Ranjan said, “You can not park here!”
A. Rajan said that I may not park here.
B. Ranjan said to me that I was unable to park there.
C. Ranajn exclaimed that I couldn’t park there.
D. Ranjan forbade me to park there.

Q9. Julia said, “I can not attend your wedding.”
A. Julia said that she might not attend our wedding.
B. Julia said that she could not attend our wedding.
C. Julia said that she can not attend our wedding.
D. Julia said that she wished she could attend our wedding.

Q10. Harish said, “Will you accompany me there?”
A. Harish asked me if I would accompany him there.
B. Harish asked if I could accompany him there.
C. Harish enquired whether I will accompany him there.
D. Harish said to me that I accompany him there.
S.NO ANS. S.NO ANS.
1 B 6 A
2 A 7 C
3 C 8 C
4 D 9 B
5 B 10 A
II. READ THE DIALOGUE AND COMPLETE THE SENTENCE:

Mother: Why are you looking so worried?
Daughter: My exams are approaching.
Mother: When will they start?
Daughter: Next month, Mother.
Mother asked her daughter (a) …………………… The daughter replied that (b)
…………………… Mother further asked (c) …………………… The daughter told her
mother that they would start in the following month.
Answer:
(a) why she was looking very worried
(b) her exams were approaching.
(c) when they would start.
DETERMINERS
Definition of Determiners - Determiners are those words that are prefixed

before nouns to determine their meaning.
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.
List of Determiners
a, an, all, another, any, both, certain, each,
either, enough, every, few, half, last, least, less,
little, many, more, most, much, neither, next, no,
other, own, plenty, same, several, some, such,
that, those, this, these, the, whole, a few, a little, all, another, any, both, each,
either, enough, every
few, fewer, less, little, many, more, mot, much
neither, no, other, several, some
PRACTICE EXERCISE:
Fill in the blanks using suitable determiners.
Bon Appetit – With Flowers
Flowers are not only beautiful and fragrant, they are often also edible. Indians
have always relished eating flowers and (a) …………………………… (some/one) of
the delicacies of Bengali cuisine is fritters made of pumpkin flowers. (b)
…………………………… (one/another) flower widely eaten in the north-east is the
banana flower which is made into a number of dishes.
Today, eating flowers is catching on in a big way. Apart from the cauliflower
and broccoli, there are (c) …………………………… (various/some) other edible
flowers too. In (d) …………………………… (any/some) western countries,
crystallized flowers are used as decoration for cakes and puddings. Lavender
flowers have (e) …………………………… (much/many) uses. They are used for
making lavender water as well as in custards and ice creams.
(f) …………………………… (many/any) herbs like rosemary, thyme, and basil are
used for garnishing and flavor.
Answer:
(a) one (b) Another (c) various
(d) some (e) many (f) Many
PREPOSITIONS
1. A preposition may be defined as a word or group of words (e.g. at, in, out of,
etc.) used before a noun, pronoun, gerund, etc. to show its relation with
another word in a sentence.
For example:
 They came here at 5 p.m.

 He was born in 1980.
 She went out of the room.
These prepositions relate to time, place, position, direction, means, etc.
Three Groups of Prepositions:

a. Prepositions of place, position and direction.
b. Prepositions of time.
c. Prepositions for other relationships.
SOME COMMON PREPOSITIONS
PLACE POSITION DIRECTION TIME OTHER

on
above beyond
opposite
across by after except
out (of)
along down before as
outside
among from at like
over
at in by about
around
away from in front of for with
through
behind inside during without
to
below into from by
towards
beside near in for
under
between off
up
Although prepositions are hard to generalize with separate rules, there is one
simple rule about them. And, unlike most rules, this rule has no exceptions.
Rule:
They are always followed by a "noun", never followed by a verb.
By "noun" we include:
 Noun (dog, money, love)

 Proper Noun (name) (London, Mary)
 Pronoun (you, him, us)
 Noun Group (my first car)
 Gerund (swimming)
EG: The pen is on the table.
Henry is looking for you.
PRACTISE EXERCISE:
I.Complete the passage given below using suitable prepositions.
Earthquake Hits India, a 6.8 Magnitude Registered
New Delhi, India, March 29: A severe earthquake struck a seismic hot zone (a)
………………………. India’s Himalayan foothills today, toppling houses, causing
landslides and killing at least 87 people. It was the strongest earthquake (b)
………………………. this century with a magnitude (c) ………………………. 6.8 and
lasting nearly 40 seconds, India’s Seismological Department said. The
epicentre was a remote area (d) ………………………. the Kumaon hills (e)
………………………. the state (f) ………………………. Uttaranchal, 185 miles
northeast (g) ………………………. New Delhi alongside India’s border with China.
Police said scores of people were injured and the number (h) ……………………….
victims was likely to rise.
Answer:
 (a) in (b) of (c) of (d) in

 (e) in (f) of (g) of (h) of
PASSAGE COMPREHENSION
Q.1Read the following passage and answer the questions that follow :
Heavy rain in Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan and Uttarakhand since Friday

claimed 27 lives, even as rivers continued to be in spate in Bihar. Fifteen
deaths were reported in Madhya Pradesh since Friday evening as the Met
department predicted more showers and sounded heavy downpour alert for
some districts on Sunday. Three Indian Air Force aircraft dropped food
packets and medicines and flooded areas of Rewa district, Collector Rahul
Jain said. Seven people, including a woman and four minors, were killed and
three others were injured when a house collapsed in Rahatgarh area of
Sagar district on Saturday.
Two people, including an old woman, were also killed and seven others
were injured when a newly constructed building collapsed due to
incessant rains at Maihar in Satna district. A jeep carrying two persons
was swept away in the swollen Betwa river as it attempted to cross a
bridge in Raisen district. Three bodies were recovered from a nullah on
Saturday in Chhattarpur district. The victims were travelling in a car
that was washed away off a bridge on the flooded nullah on Friday.
In Rajasthan, five people were killed when their house collapsed in
Phool Baroda village in Baran district due to incessant rains since
Saturday morning that created a flood like situation in several parts of
the state. Several people are feared stranded in Chabra, Chipabarode,
Kawai, Harnavadashahaji areas as the Parvan, Parwati, Ujjad and other
rivers are overflowing after the rains.
Seven members of a family were killed when their hose was razed to
the ground by huge boulders that rolled down the hill following a
cloudburst in Pauri district of Uttrakhand on Saturday. The Army was
called in to the flood affected areas of Saran district as senior officials
also rushed to the spot. At least 24 people were airlifted in Baran
district and nearby areas. Several villages remained inundated after
water entered buildings, houses and a private power plant in Baran.
i. How many lives have been lost in heavy rain?
ii. What happened in Satna district?
iii. Who was the collector of Rewa district?
iv. Why was a jeep swept away?
v. In which district does Phool Baroda village lie?
vi. How many people died in Rahatgarh area?
vii. Which rivers are overflowing after rains?
viii. Who rescued the lives of people in Baran district?
Q.2. Read the following passage and answer the questions that follow.
One more Olympics has gone by. A total of 974 medals were won
by 87 countries; 54 countries won at least one Gold. The U.S flew
home with the best medal tally of all time for that country with 121
medals. Notwithstanding the individual brilliance and the face-saving
medals of P.V.Sindhu and Sakshi Malik, India's performance is the
poorest among all big countries.
The discourse on this is an unhappy one: there has been a lot of hand-
wringing, blame on the Sports Ministry and sports administrators,
complaints about lack of facilities, grumbles about corruption being
the villain, and so on. India says the same things, once in four years,
during and after every Olympics. It should instead look for simple
lessons, develop a strategy to win medals and execute it diligently.
No, I don't believe that India should be planning for the Olympics
scheduled eight or twelve years from now. While long-term thinking
is good, any leader will tell you that it is too slow. We should aim to
win a lot more medals in Tokyo in 2020. But how?
The final medals tally by country tells all sorts of stories. The top 22
countries
— those with a double —digit medals tally with a minimum of three
gold medals — took home a total of 702 medals, or 72 per cent of all
medals. The top ten suggests that only the established West (the U.S.,
Great Britain, Germany, France, Italy and Australia) along with
Russia, Japan and SJuth Korea will continue to dominate. The
emergence of China is explained as "you know the Chinese can dictate
anything, so they are not comparable." It is often implied that wealth
and size are the reasons for the success of these countries. They have
the facilities and programmes in place. They are bound to win. So
goes the argument and acceptance.
This logic should be probed further. Olympics medals are won by
people between the ages of 15 to 29, with a few exceptions on either
side of this age band. I looked at the number of medal wins in relation
to the population in the age group 15 to 29 in each country, for which
data is available. This was juxtaposed with medals won, to calculate
the numbers of medals won per lakh of population in this age group.
The story changes dramatically.
(a) What was the result of Olympics?
(b) How can India stand at the strong position in Olympics?
(c) How do the other countries dominate in Olympics?
(d) What are the short comings for the poor position in Olympics?
(e) Identify the word which means the same as 'a plan of action'(Para2)
(i) discourse (ii) wringing

(iii) complain (iv) strategy
(f) Identify the word which means the same as 'carry out'.(Para2)
(i) strategy (ii) execute

(iii) grumbles (iv) diligently
(g) Identify the word which means the same as 'suggested'.(Para3)
(ii) implied (ii) established

(iii) dominate (iv) explained
(h) Identify the word which means the same as
'investigated'.(Para4)
(i) exception (ii) juxtaposed
(iii) calculate (iv) probed

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INDEX

S.NO CONTENT PAGE NO.

(BEEHIVE – PROSE) LESSON – 1

(BEEHIVE – PROSE) LESSON – 2

(BEEHIVE – PROSE) LESSON – 3

(BEEHIVE – PROSE) LESSON – 4

In 1915, he published his paper on the special theory of relativity, followed by

(BEEHIVE – PROSE) LESSON – 5

(BEEHIVE – PROSE) LESSON – 6

In his childhood he had three close friends- Ramanadha Sastry,Aravindam and

(BEEHIVE – PROSE) LESSON – 9

Kathmandu has a variety of things to offer. It has religious sanctity, it is a

(BEEHIVE – PROSE) LESSON – 11

 But it has no effect on strong houses.

 It blows out weak fires. But it makes strong fires roar.

3. Repetition - ‘crumbling’ is repeated many times to lay emphasis. The poet

4. Alliteration - the repetition of a consonant sound in close connection. ‘wind

Central idea of the Poem

Theme of the Poem

Literary Devices in the poem

Rhyme scheme of the poem: abcbdefe

3. Personification: Treating a non – living thing as a living being.

4. Transferred Epithet: The use of an adjective with a noun when it refers to

Yeats is generally considered as one of the twentieth century’s popular

Central idea of the Poem

Theme of the Poem

3. Repetition: any word or sentence is repeated to lay emphasis on it.

Central Idea of the Poem

Theme of the Poem

Central Idea of the Poem

Theme of the Poem

The Snake Trying

Central Idea of the Poem

Theme of the Poem

A Slumber Did My Spirit Seal

Central Idea of the Poem

Theme of the Poem

 The story was narrated to Ganesh by Mahendra.

 The king and the minister were idiots.

 Two friends Sue and Johnsy live together in a rented appartment.

Johnsy caught pneumonia

Sue comforted her

Johnsy’s strange fancy

Sue met Behrman

Johnsy saw the last leaf

Johnsy accused herself

Sue told Johnsy of Behrman

MOMENTS – LESSON -10

Simple Played (verb+ed) Plays (verb+s) will/shall play

Perfect had played has/have played will/shall have

Continuous was/were is/am/are will/shall be

Perfect had been playing has/have been will/shall have been

Q1. Choose the correct verb from those in brackets:

b. My friends _____ the film yesterday. (see, saw, have seen)

f. Don't disturb me. I _____ my work. (do, did, am doing)

g. Fortune _____ the brave. (is favouring, will favour, favours)

j. Perhaps we _____ Delhi next month. (visit, will visit, visited)

a. moves b. saw c. were playing

d. have been studying e. will have arrived f. am doing

g. favours h. had written i. will be meeting