Gujarat Board GSEB Class 11 English Textbook Solutions Hornbill Chapter 1 The Portrait of a Lady Textbook Exercise Important Questions and Answers, Notes Pdf.
Gujarat Board Textbook Solutions Class 11 English Hornbill Chapter 1 The Portrait of a Lady
GSEB Class 11 English The Portrait of a Lady Text Book Questions and Answers
Understanding the Text
Mention:
Question 1.
The three phases of the author’s relationship with his grandmother before he left the country to study abroad.
Answer:
The relationship of the author with his grandmother can be categorised in three phases. Namely: in the village, in the city and while he underwent music lessons.
In the village, since he was young, she took care of all his requirements, beginning with waking
him up early morning she got him ready for school. After providing him breakfast she escorted him to the school which was attached to the village temple. While the author studied she sat in the temple reading her scriptures. After school she brought him back home but on the way she fed the village dogs with the leftover stale chapatis.
The second phase deals with their relationship In the city where the author has joined an English school. She has now discontinued to escort him to the school as he goes to the school in a motor-bus. She is unable to help him in his studies also.
Learning music at school forms to be the third phase of their relationship. The knowledge of his learning music shocks her. According to her music is meant for people belonging to the lower category such as beggars and harlots. Time has now come where she rarely spoke to the author.
Question 2.
Three reasons why the author’s grandmother was disturbed when he started going to the city school.
Answer:
Going to the city affected her routine of being of some help to the author. His going to the school in a motor-bus and she not being able to accompany him disturbed her. As time passed they saw less of each other. On returning from the school one day she learned from the author that he was taught several laws based on science. This made her unhappy as she could not help him with his lessons.
The fact that nothing about God was taught in the school disturbed her more. The most shocking aspect was the teaching of music in the school. According to her music was meant for the people belonging to lower categories such as beggars and prostitutes and not the gentlefolk. Though she said nothing her silence clearly displayed disapproval. After this incident occurred she rarely spoke to the author.
Question 3.
Three ways in which the author’s grandmother spent her days after he grew up.
Answer:
The author’s parents were comfortably settled in the city and they sent for him. This was the turning point in the relationship between him and his grandmother. In the village she used to feed the dogs. But now since there were no dogs in the city she took to feeding the sparrows in the courtyard with crumbs of bread. When the author went to the university, he was given a room for himself. Their friendship was snapped.
But she accepted being alone without any questions. She rarely left her spinning wheel and reciting of prayers. Feedings of sparrows was the happiest half hour of her day. Hundreds of little birds collected around her creating a lot of noise. Some of them perched on her legs the others on her shoulders. Some even sat on her head. But she never chased them away. When she was alone her fingers were always busy with her rosary and lips moved in prayers.
Question 4.
The odd way in which the author’s grandmother behaved just before she died.
Answer:
In the evening of the first day of his arrival grandmother began to behave in a very strange way. She gathered the women of her neighbourhood, got hold of an old drum and playing on it she began to sing, in spite of people telling her not to overstrain. For the first time the author noticed that she did not pray.
Next morning she was taken ill. Though the doctor announced that it was a mild fever, she told that her end was near. She did not waste her time talking to anyone. She lay peacefully in her bed praying and telling her beads. Even before they could say something her lips stopped moving and the rosary fell from her lifeless fingers. A peaceful paleness spread over her face. They knew that she was dead.
Question 5.
The way in which the sparrows expressed their sorrow when the author’s grandmother died.
Answer:
In the city, grandmother had taken to feed the sparrows. Hundreds of little birds collected around her. Some perched on her legs while others on her shoulders. Some even sat on her head. This used to be the happiest half an hour of the day for her. When grandmother died and was to be taken to the crematory thousands of sparrows sat scattered on the floor. There was no chirruping.
The author and others felt sorry for the birds. His mother fetched some bread for them. Breaking it into little crumbs she threw them to the sparrows. But the sparrows took no notice of the bread. When grandmother’s dead body was carried away, the sparrows flew away quietly. In this way the sparrows expressed their sorrow.
Talking about the Text
Talk to your partner about the following:
Question 1.
The author’s grandmother was a religious person. What are the different ways in which we come to know this?
Answer:
The author’s grandmother was a pious lady in the real sense of the word. Her lips always moved in prayers which were inaudible and one of her hands was always found telling the beads of her rosary. She never ceased reading the scriptures. She always advocated that children should be taught scriptures and about the existence of God. She was distressed when she came to know that no such education was imparted in the author’s English school.
Another sign of being religious is also witnessed when she feeds the dogs and the sparrows. Prediction about her own end being near also denotes her pious nature. She refuses to talk to anyone and busies herself in consistant meditation. The obvious fact was that she did not stop praying and telling her beads till the end of her life.
Question 2.
Describe the changing relationship between the author and his grandmother. Did their feelings for each other change?
Answer:
The relationship between the author and his grandmother never underwent any changes in spite of the changes in circumstances. During their stay in the village she proved to be his best companion. She woke him up in the morning. After giving him bath she got him ready for school. She never left him while he was at school. She sat there till the school got over and then took him back home. When his parents had settled in the city they (author’s parents) called them over. The author now joined the English school.
Being concerned she asked him about the studies. When she knew that there was no teaching of scriptures, she was distressed. The distance between them grew up but their love for each other continued to remain the same. The author’s going abroad for further studies also had not reduced their love for each other. She hardly talked to him, but this also did not affect their affection for each other. When he came back after five ye,ars she took him into her arms. Though physically they were away, at heart they were very close.
Question 3.
Would you agree that the author’s grandmother was a person strong in character? If yes, give instances that show this.
Answer:
The author’s grandmother possessed a very firm nature. She was a women of determination. She possessed set beliefs. She did not deter from her faith. She practised certain religious values without caring for the views or criticism of others. One could always see her lips moving in prayers. She was always telling the beads of her rosary. She never deterred from practising a set routine whether it was in the village or city. In the village she fed the dogs and in the city she fed the sparrows. When the author went abroad for further studies she was in complete control of her emotions. Even at the time of departure she was saying her prayers and telling the beads of the rosary.
Question 4.
Have you known someone like the author’s grandmother? Do you feel the same sense of loss with regard to someone whom you have loved and lost?
Answer:
Yes, I have known my grandfather, who loved me deeply and looked after me. He had
served in the army before he retired as a colonel 20 years ago. When I was a school going kid, he was still active and smart. He was fond of walking, jogging and playing outdoor games. He inspired us to get up early in the morning. He believed that a healthy mind lives in a healthy body. He used to give us good physical exercises followed by milk and nourishing food and then asked us to study for a while before going to school.
In the afternoon, he would enquire what we had been taught at the school. He would help us in our home task and supervise our reading, writing and doing sums. He was gentle but firm. He laid stress on good habits and character building. He passed away when I had gone abroad for higher studies. I miss him a lot. A sense of loss fills me whenever I see his portrait on the wall. But his cheerful looks remind me to take heart and fight the struggle of life.
Thinking about Language
Question 1.
Which language do you think the author and his grandmother used while talking to each other?
Answer:
The author’s grandmother was not much educated. So, I think the author and his grandmother used to talk in their mother tongue-in this case Punjabi.
Question 2.
Which language do you use to talk to elderly relatives in your family?
Answer:
My elderly relatives are well-versed in English and Gujarati, I feel at home greeting them in English but like to converse with them freely in Gujarati.
Question 3.
How would you say ‘a dilapidated drum’ in your language?
Answer:
The expression used in our language for a ‘dilapidated drum’ is ‘Junu-fatelu dhol’.
Question 4.
Can you think of a song or a poem in your language that talks of homecoming?
Answer:
Working with Words
Question 1.
Notice the following uses of the word ‘tell’ in the text:
1. Her fingers were busy telling the beads of her rosary.
2. I would tell her English words and little things of Western science and learning.
3. At her age one could never tell.
4. She told us that her end was near.
Given below are four different senses of the word ‘tell’. Match the meanings to the uses listed above :
A. make something known to someone in spoken or written words
B. count while reciting
C. be sure
D. give information to somebody
Answer:
1 → B, 2 → D, 3 → C, 4 → A
Question 2.
Notice the different senses of the word ‘ take ’:
1. to take to something: to begin to do something as a habit
2. to take til: to suddenly become ill
Locate these phrases in the text and notice the way they are used.
Answer:
In the text, these phrases are used as under:
1. She took to feeding sparrows in the courtyard of our city house.
2. The next morning she was taken ill.
Question 3.
The word ‘hobble’ means to walk with difficulty because the legs and feet are in bad condition.
Select the words in the box below that also refer to a manner of walking :
Answer:
The words referring to a manner of walking are: shuffle, stride, waddle, swagger, trudge, slog.
Noticing Form
Notice the form of the verbs italicised in these sentences:
1. My grandmother was an old woman. She had been old and wrinkled for the twenty years that I had known her. People said that she had once been young and pretty and had even had a husband, but that was hard to believe.
2. When we both had finished we would walk back together.
3. When I came back she would ask me what the teacher had taught me.
4. It was the first time since I had known her that she did not pray.
5. The sun was setting and had lit her room and verandah with a golden light.
These are examples of the past perfect forms of verbs. When we recount things in the distant past we use this form.
Other Examples for Practice
Notice the form of verbs highlighted In these sentences:
1. We understood the poem only when the teacher had explained It twice.
2. When the rain came, they had already reached their hotel.
3. We had worked together on that project for six months before she left me.
4. It was the first time since I had lived there that it began to snow.
5. The full moon was In the sky and had scattered its soft fight all around.
Things to Do
Talk with your family members about elderly people who you have been intimately connected with and who are not there with you now. Write a short description of someone you liked a lot.
Answer:
My Grandmother
I lost my grandmother when I was twelve, but I still recollect her. She loved me affectionately and I liked her a great deal. She was quite old then, but she could move about with ease. I was her constant companion during her visits to temple, market, garden or to the houses of friends and relatives. Other members of the family would taunt me as granny’s watch dog. She was my shield.
I ran to her arms when my father or mother would get angry or thrash me; I miss the bedtime stories she used to tell me. Those highly fanciful stories were full of deeds of bravery or adventure and end on a note a success. They inspired me to do noble deeds in fife. She was equally careful about my health and studies. She would make me drink milk and eat fruit to maintain a sound physique. She was good at drawing and helped me in writing alphabets.
She also gave ready-made solutions to all my problems. She would bless me whenever I got success in any field-studies, sports, song, poetic recitation, poster making or fancy dress competition. Sometimes I miss her a lot.
GSEB Class 12 English The Portrait of a Lady Additional Important Questions and Answers
1. Questions-Answers (Textual)
Question 1.
How long had the narrator known his grandmother – old and wrinkled? What did people say? How did the narrator react?
Answer:
The narrator had known his grandmother – old and wrinkled for the last twenty years. She was terribly old. Perhaps she could not have looked older. People said that she had once been young and pretty. They said that she even had a husband. The narrator found it hard to believe.
Question 2.
How did the narrator’s grandfather appear in the portrait?
Answer:
The narrator’s grandfather looked very old. He had a long white beard. His clothes were loose fitting. He wore a big turban. He looked too old to have a wife or children. He looked at least a hundred years old. He could have only lots and lots of grandchildren.
Question 3.
The narrator’s grandmother ‘could never have been pretty, but she was always beautiful’.
Explain the Importance of the statement.
Answer:
She was terribly old to appear pretty. Her face was a criss-cross of wrinkles. She was short, fat and slightly bent. She didn’t create any physical appeal or attraction. However, In her spotless white dress and grey hair she was a picture of serenity, peace, sobriety and beauty.
Question 4.
The narrator’s grandmother looked like the ‘winter landscape in the mountains’. Comment.
Answer:
The grandmother was always dressed in spotless white. She had silvery hair. Her white locks spread untidily over her pale and wrinkled face. She looked like an expanse of pure white Serenity. The stretch of snow over the mountains looks equally white and peaceful. So her silvery locks and white dress made her look like the winter landscape in the mountains.
Question 5.
How did the narrator and his grandmother become good friends?
Answer:
During his childhood, the narrator stayed with his grandmother in the village. She was his constant companion. She looked after him. She used to wake him up. She got him ready for school in the morning. She would give him breakfast. She went to school with him.
Question 6.
Describe how the grandmother spent her time while the narrator sat inside the village school.
Answer:
The grandmother went to the school with the narrator. The school was attached to the temple. The narrator would learn alphabet and morning prayer at school. The grandmother would sit inside the temple. There she would read holy books. Thus, she spent her time before they came back together.
Question 7.
The grandmother was a kind-hearted woman. Give examples in support of your answer.
Answer:
Grandmother had a kind heart. She loved her grandson. She loved even birds and animals. In the village, she fed the street dogs. In the city, she would feed the sparrows.
Question 8.
“That was a turning point in our friendship.” What was the turning point?
Answer:
The turning point in their friendship came when they shifted to the city. Now the narrator went to an English school in a bus. Grandmother could no longer accompany him to school. Although they shared the same room, they saw less of each other.
Question 9.
How did grandmother react to the narrator’s receiving education in English school?
Answer:
She did not , believe in the things they taught at the English school. She hated Western Science and learning. She was pained to know that there was no teaching of God and the scriptures there.
Question 10.
Why was the narrator’s grandmother so much allergic to music?
OR
Why was the grandmother disturbed when she came to know that music lessons were being given at school?
Answer:
She considered that music had lewd associations. It was not meant for decent people and gentlefolk. It was actually the monopoly of prostitutes and beggars.
Question 11.
When was the common link of friendship between the narrator and his grandmother finally snapped?
Answer:
The narrator went to the university. Now he was given a room of his own. This separated the narrator from his grandmother. The common link of their friendship was thus finally broken.
Question 12.
How did the grandmother see the narrator off at the railway station?
Answer:
She was not at all sentimental. She kept silent and didn’t show her emotions. Her lips moved in prayer and her fingers were busy telling the beads of her rosary. She only kissed the narrator’s forehead. He cherished the moist imprint as perhaps the last sign-of physical contact between them.
Question 13.
Why didn’t the grandmother pray in the evening on the day narrator came back home?
Answer:
There was a strange change in her behaviour. She was over-excited. She celebrated the arrival of her grandson. She collected all the women of the neighbourhood. For hours she continued singing and beating the drum. She had to be persuaded to stop to avoid overstraining. Perhaps it was the first time that she didn’t pray.
Question 14.
How did the grandmother die?
Answer:
The grandmother realised that her end was near. She continued praying. Her fingers were busy in telling the beads of her rosary. She lay peacefully in bed. She did not talk to anyone. After sometime, her lips stopped moving. The rosary fell down from her fingers. She died peacefully.
Question 15.
How did the sparrows show that they had not come for the bread?
OR
How did the sparrows pay their last homage to the grandmother?
Answer:
The grandmother lay dead. Thousands of sparrows came there. They did not Chirrup. They paid their last homage to the old lady silently. She used to feed them regularly. The narrator’s mother threw some crumbs of bread to them. They took no notice of them. As soon as the grandmother’s corpse was carried off, they flew away quietly.
Question 16.
Describe the friendship ‘between Khushwant Singh and his grandmother.
Answer:
Khushwant Singh’s grandmother was closely involved in bringing him up when the author lived with her in the village during his early life. She used to wake him up early in the morning. While bathing and dressing him, she sang her prayers. She hoped that the young boy Would learn it by heart. She then gave him breakfast-a stale chapati with butter and sugar.
Then they would go together to the temple school. While the author learnt his lesson, the grandmother would read holy books. They returned home together. A turning point came in their friendship when his parents called them to city. Although they shared a room, she could not help him much. She hated music, science and western education. The common link of their friendship was gradually snapped.
Question 17.
What image of the grandmother emerges from ‘The Portrait of a Lady’?
Answer:
Khushwant Singh’s grandmother has been portrayed as a very old lady. She was short-statured, fat and slightly bent. Her face was wrinkled and she was always dressed in spotless white clothes. She was a deeply religious lady. Her lips were always moving in a silent prayer. She was always telling the beads of her rosary. She went to the temple and read the scriptures. The grandmother was a kind lady. She used to feed dogs in the village. In the city she took to feeding the sparrows.
She had great affection for her grandson. She looked after him in the village. She could not adjust herself to the western way of life, science and English education. She hated music and was distressed to know that there was no teaching about God and holy books at Khushwant’s new English school. On the whole, she was a nice, kind-hearted and religious lady.
Reading Comprehension (Textual)
Read the following passages and select the most appropriate options as answers to the questions given below them:
Question 1.
My grandmother, like everybody’s grandmother, was an old woman. She had been old and wrinkled for the twenty years that I had known her. People said that she had once been young and pretty and had even had a husband, but that was hard to believe. My grandfather’s portrait hung above the mantelpiece in the drawing-room. He wore a big turban and loose-fitung clothes. His long. whitebeard covered the best part of his chest and he looked at least a hundred years old. He did not look the sort of person who would have a wife or children. He looked as If he could only have lots and lots of grandchildren.
Questions:
1. What, according to the writer, was hard to believe?
A. That his grandmother had once been young and pretty.
B. That she even had a husband.
C. That she had been old and wrinkled for twenty years.
D. Both ‘A and B’
Answer:
D. Both ‘A and B’
2. The portrait hanging above the mantelpiece in the drawing room suggested that ……………..
A. he was very Impressive.
B. he had died long ago.
C. he liked photographs very much.
D. None of these three
Answer:
B. he had died long ago.
3. The appearance of the writer’s grandfather in the portrait revealed that …………..
A. he used to wear fashionable clothes.
B. he was a very rich man.
C. he was at least a hundred years old.
D. he looked quite young and energetic.
Answer:
C. he was at least a hundred years old.
4. In the portrait, the writer’s grandfather looked ………………….
A. as if he might not have a wife or children.
B. as if he could have lots and lots of children.
C. as if he had never been old.
D. Both A’ and ‘B’
Answer:
D. Both A’ and ‘B’
Question 2.
My grandmother always went to school with me because the school was attached to the temple. The priest taught us the alphabet and the morning prayer. While the children sat in rows on either side of the verandah singing the alphabet or the prayer in a chorus, my grandmother sat inside reading the scriptures. When we had both finished, we would walk back together. This time the village dogs would meet us at the temple door. They followed us to our home growling and fighting with each other for the chapatis we threw to them.
Questions:
1. What made the writer’s grandmother accompany him to his school?
A. Because she wanted her grandson to reach his school safely.
B. Because the temple, she used to visit, was attached to the school.
C. Because there was nobody else to do that Job.
D. Because no vehicle was available to carry him to school.
Answer:
B. Because the temple, she used to visit, was attached to the school.
2. The children learnt alphabets by………………
A. writing them too often.
B. cramming them out.
C. singing them.
D. telling them to other students.
Answer:
C. singing them.
3. ‘We had both finished.’ What does ‘both’ stand for?
A. For the writer, his studies and for the grand-mother, reading the scriptures.
B Learning alphabets and saying prayers.
C. Teaching of the priest and learning of the students.
D. None of these three
Answer:
A. For the writer, his studies and for the grand-mother, reading the scriptures.
4. The dogs growled and fought for…………………..
A. their territory.
B. snatching a bone from each other.
C. the chapatis the writer and his grandmother threw to them.
D. All of these three
Answer:
C. the chapatis the writer and his grandmother threw to them.
Question 3.
As the years rolled by we saw less of each other. For some time she continued to wake me up and get me ready for school. When I came back she would ask me what the teacher had taught me. I would tell her English words and little things of western science and learning, the law of gravity, Archimedes’ Principle, the world being round, etc. This made her unhappy. She could not help me with my lessons.
She did not believe in the things they taught at the English school and was distressed that there was no teaching about God and the scriptures. One day I announced that we were being given music lessons. She was very disturbed. To her music had lewd associations. It was the monopoly of harlots and beggars and not meant for gentlefolk. She said nothing but her silence meant disapproval. She rarely talked to me after that.
Questions:
1. What made the grandmother unhappy?
A. The repentance that she was illiterate.
B. That she had to stay away from her grandson when he was at school.
C. That she could not help her grandson with his lessons.
D. That her grandson had to do a lot of homework everyday.
Answer:
C. That she could not help her grandson with his lessons.
2. What distressed the grandmother regarding her grandson’s studies ?
A. That he was very poor at studies.
B. That his teachers did not teach up to the mark.
C. That there was no teaching about God and the scriptures in his syllabus.
D. That her grandson did not believe in God.
Answer:
C. That there was no teaching about God and the scriptures in his syllabus.
3. To the grandmother, music…
A. should be a compulsory subject at school.
B. turned children vicious.
C. had indecent connections.
D. should be discarded from the syllabus.
Answer:
C. had indecent connections.
4. The grandmother had almost stopped talking with the writer ………………..
A. since the writer told him that he learnt music at school.
B. since she started regarding scriptures.
C. since the writer stopped reporting to her the school activities.
D. None of these three.
Answer:
A. since the writer told him that he learnt music at school.
Question 4.
We lifted her off the bed and, as is customary, laid her on the ground and covered her with a red shroud. After a few hours of mourning, we left her alone to make arrangements for her funeral. In the evening we went to her room with a crude stretcher to take her to be cremated. The sun was setting and had lit her room and verandah with a blaze of golden light. We stopped half-way in the courtyard.
All over the verandah and in her room right up to where she lay dead and stiff wrapped in the red shroud, thousands of sparrows sat scattered on the floor. There was no chirruping. We felt sorry for the birds and my mother fetched some bread for them. She broke it into little crumbs, the way my grandmother used to, and threw it to them. The- sparrows took no notice of the bread. When we carried my grandmother’s corpse off, they flew away quietly. Next morning the sweeper swept the bread crumbs into the dustbin.
Questions :
1. ……………. was customary.
A. Laying a dead body on the ground
B. Covering a dead body with a red shroud
C. Lifting a dead body off the bed
D. Both A’ and ‘B’
Answer:
D. Both A’ and ‘B’
2. What was the time when the grandmother was to be taken for cremation ?
A. Sunrise
B. Afternoon
C. Sunset
D. Dusk
Answer:
C. Sunset
3. What of the sparrows was indicating that they were greatly sorry on the grandmother’s death?
A. Their presence at the place.
B. Their not chirruping.
C. Their no demand for food.
D. All of these three
Answer:
B. Their not chirruping.
4. ‘Next morning the sweeper swept the bread crumbs into the dustbin.’ This sentence suggests that ………………….
A. the sweeper was regular at his work in the morning.
B. the sparrows had not eaten even a single crumb of the bread.
C. the sparrows had not turned up the previous evening.
D. the sparrows did not want to eat something offered by somebody, other than the grandmother.
Answer:
B. the sparrows had not eaten even a single crumb of the bread.
Grammar
Vocabulary
Fill in the blanks choosing the correct words given in the brackets and write the answers only:
Question 1.
(feeding, turning-point, used to, courtyard, comfortably, Although, sent for, longer)
When my parents were ……….1…… settled in the city, they .……..2……. us. That was a ………..3…… in our friendship. …….4……. we shared the same room, my grandmother no …….5…….. came to school with me. I ………6……… go to an English school in a motor bus. There were no dogs in the streets and she took to ………7……. sparrows in the ……….8 …………. of our city house.
Answer:
1. comfortably
2. sent for
3. turning-point
4. Although
5. longer
6. used to
7. feeding
8. courtyard
Question 2.
(rosary, ignored, suspect, knew, lifeless, protested, pallor, peacefully)
We ………..1……….. But she ………..2………… our protests. She lay …………..3……….. in bed praying and telling her ( beads. Even before we could …………4…….., her lips stopped moving and the ………..5…….. fell from her …………6………. fingers. A peaceful ……….7………. spread on her face and we …………8…………. that she was dead.
Answer:
1. protested
2. ignored
3. peacefully
4. suspect
5. rosary
6. lifeless
7. pallor
8. knew
Rectification of Errors
Rectify the errors in the following passages:
Question 1.
My grandfather’s portrait hangs above the mantelpiece over the drawing room. He wore a bigger turban and loose-fitting clothes. His long, white beard covered the good part of his chest.
Answer:
| Error | Correction |
| hangs | hung |
| over | in |
| bigger | big |
| good | best |
Question 2.
As we shared the same room, my grandmother no longer comes to school with me. I used to go to an English school in a motor-bus. There were no dogs in the streets and she takes to feeding sparrows in the courtyard over our city house.
Answer:
| As | Although |
| comes | came |
| takes | took |
| over | of |
Question 3.
I listened therefore I loved her voice but never bothered to learn it. Then she would fetch my wood slate where she had already washed and plastered with yellow chalk, a tiny earthly ink-pot and a red pen, tie them all in a bundle.
Answer:
| therefore | because |
| wood | wooden |
| where | which |
| earthly | earthen |
4. She was so terribly older that she could not have grew older and had stayed at the same age over twenty years. She could never have been prettier; but she was always beautiful.
Answer:
| older | old |
| grew | grown |
| over | for |
| prettier | pretty |
5. This made her unhappy. She could not help me on my lessons. She did not believed in the things they teach at the English school and was distressed that there was no teaching about God and scriptures. One day I announced that we were being given musical lessons.
Answer:
| on | with |
| believed | believe |
| teach | taught |
| musical | music |
Question 6.
I would be away until five years, and at her age one could never tell. But my grandmother could. She was not even sentimentalist. She came to left me at the railway station but did not talk and show any emotion.
Answer:
| until | for |
| sentimentalist | sentimental |
| left | leave |
| and | or |
Replacing Phrases – Idioms
Choose the correct meanings of the phrases/idioms and rewrite the sentences:
1. Since he had sprain in his left leg, he was hobbling about the room, (loitering about, limping about, shifting about)
2. As he was suspended just for no reason, he had revolting thoughts, (wanted to take revenge, needed help, unpleasant thinking)
3. As his end was near, he could not speak too much, (problem was serious, near death, issue came to close)
4. Mansi had severe chest-pain, so we sent for a doctor immediately. (called, consulted, visited)
5. His job having lost, he took to drinking. (left, started, got into the habit of)
Answer:
1. Since he had sprain in his left leg, he was limping about the room.
2. As he was suspended just for no reason, he had unpleasant thinking.
3. As he was near death, he could not speak too much.
4. Mansi had severe chest-pain, so we called a doctor immediately.
5. His job having lost, he got into the habit of drinking.
Punctuations
Punctuate the following passages:
Question 1.
No we were certain she had always been as ‘ we had known her old so terribly old that
she could not have grown older and had stayed at the same age for twenty years
Answer:
No, we were certain she had always been as we had known her. Old, so terribly old that she could not have grown older, and had stayed at the same age for twenty years.
Question 2.
As the years rolled by we saw less of each other for some time she continued to wake me up and get me ready for school when I caihe back she would ask me what the teacher had taught me
Answer:
As the years rolled by, we saw less to each other. For some time, she continued to wake me up and get me ready for school. When I came back, she would ask me what the teacher had taught me.
Indirect Narration
Turn the following dialogues into Indirect form of narration:
Question 1.
“I am able to say that you were greatly preoccupied when you got up this morning,” said Watson.
“Excellent!” said Holmes. “How could you possibly know that?”
“Because you are usually a very tidy man and yet you have forgotten to shave.”
Answer:
Watson told Holmes confidently that he was able to say that he was greatly preoccupied when he got up that morning. Holmes admired his guessing and asked him how he could possibly know that. Watson explained that because he was usually a very tidy man and yet he had forgotten to shave.
Question 2.
“What do you mean, Holmes?”
“Well, my dear fellow, I fear your deductions have not been so happy as I should have wished.”
“You mean that I was mistaken.”
“Just a little that way.”
Answer:
Watson asked Holmes what he meant. Then addressing Watson as ‘his dear fellow’ Holmes told hesitatingly that his deductions had not been that much happy as he should have wished. Watson asked Holmes doubtfully if he meant that he was mistaken. Holmes comforted Watson telling that it was just a little that way.
Question 3.
Natalia : Pardon the interruption. You said ‘my meadows’ – but are they yours ?
Lomov : Yes, they belong to me.
Natalia : What nonsense ! The meadows belong to us not to you.
Answer:
Natalia begged pardon for interrupting and asked Lomov to confirm that he said ‘his meadows’-but whether they were really his. Lomov told emphatically that they belongs to him. Natalia exclaimed annoyingly that it was really nonsense and stated forcefully that the meadows belonged to them and not to him.
Transformation of Sentences
Rewrite the following sentences as directed:
Question 1.
His long, white beard covered the best part of his chest. (Change into Complex.)
Answer:
His beard, which was long and white covered the best part of his chest.
Question 2.
She often told us of the games she used to play. (Change the Voice.)
Answer:
We were often told by her of the games she used to play.
Question 3.
Her face was a criss-cross of wrinkles running from everywhere to everywhere.
(Change into Compound.)
Answer:
Her face was a criss-cross of wrinkles and these wrinkles ran from everywhere to everywhere.
Question 4.
Her lips moved in prayer, her mind was lost in prayer. (Use ‘not only ……. but also’.)
Answer:
Not only did her lips move in prayer but her mind was also lost in prayer.
Question 5.
After five years I came back home and was met by her at the station. (Change into Simple.)
Answer:
On my coming back home after five years I was met by her on the station.
Question 6.
Even on the first day of my arrival, her happiest moments were with her sparrows. (Change into Positive Degree.)
Answer:
Even on the first day of my arrival no ‘ other moments for her were as happy as the moments with the sparrows.
Question 7.
She did not pray. (Change into Affirmative.)
Answer:
She remained without praying.
Question 8.
She told us that her end was near. (Change into Negative.)
Answer:
She told us that her end was not far.
Question 9.
In the evening we went to her room with a crude stretcher to take her to be cremated. (Use ‘cremate’ as Noun.)
Answer:
In the evening we went to her room with a crude stretcher to take her for cremation.
Question 10.
When we carried my grandmother’s corpse off, the birds flew away. (Use ‘no sooner … than’.)
Answer:
No sooner did we carry my grandmother’s corpse off than the birds flew away.
The Portrait of a Lady Summary in English
The Portrait of a Lady Introduction:
Khushwant Singh (2 Feb. 1915-20 March, 2014) was an Indian novelist raised in Delhi. He was a student of law but had a passion for literature. He became a journalist and edited The Illustrated Weekly, The National Herald and The Hindustan Times. ‘Train to Pakistan’, Delhi: A Novel (1990), ‘The Company of Women’ (1999), ‘Truth, Love and Little Malice’ (2002), ‘The Good, The Bad and The Ridiculous’ (2003) arte some of his famous novels.
In this lesson he has drawn the pen portrait of his grandmother.
The Portrait of a Lady Summary:
The author has painted a pen portrait of his grandmother. He presents her as a tender, loving and deeply religious old lady. Her face was wrinkled and her hair was white as snow. She had a little stoop in her back and recited her prayers with the help of her rosary all the time. Grandfather’s portrait was hung on the wall. He appeared too old. Khushwant Singh’s parents had gone to live in the city. He lived with his grandmother in the village. She would get him ready for school, feed him with chapatis. The school was attached to the temple. The children recited the alphabet. His grandmother was engaged in reading the holy scriptures. On their way back they would feed the street dogs with stale chapatis.
When Khushwant’s parents called them to the city he had to adopt a new life in the city. This was a turning point in their relationship. Though they lived in the same room she was unable to help him. She was sorry that he was learning music in the school. She felt that music was not for gentlefolks. When he went to the university, their relationship was snapped completely. Throughout the day she spun the wheel.
During the afternoon she took to feeding the sparrows with bread crumbs. Later he went abroad for further studies. When he came back after five years, he was welcomed by her at The railway station. That evening there was a change in her attitude. Gathering the women of the neighborhood she played on the drum and sang.
Next day her health detiriorated. She continued praying while telling her rosary. It was then that her rosary fell from her hands and she died. The sparrows had gathered in the courtyard. They did not chirp. Khushwant Singh’s mother gave them crumbs of bread. But they did not eat them. When grandmother’s body was taken for cremation, the sparrows flew away. The next morning the crumbs of bread were swept away by the servant.