Chapter 4
Q.1. Infer the meanings of the following expressions. The first has been done for you as an example.
(a) to feel the breath of war: there were indications that war was going to start soon
(b) appalling hunger and cold:________________________ ________________________________________________.
(c) start of the siege:________________________________ ________________________________________________.
(d) blockade grams: _________________________________ ________________________________________________.
Q.2. List the words from the passage which are related to the war, for example ‘bombardment’. ____________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________
Q.3. Answer the following questions:
(a) Who were the captives as stated in the above passage? ________________________________________________ ________________________________________________
(b) Why did the people under siege welcome the bad weather conditions? ________________________________________________ ________________________________________________
(c) What were the fears in the mind of the people? ________________________________________________ ________________________________________________
(d) Have the people lost hope or reconciled to the existing situation? ________________________________________________ ________________________________________________
Q.4. Tick the correct answer
‘…when it was still possible to buy food without ration cards in ordinary shops and canteens were no more than a distant memory.’ It means:
(a) There was hope of getting ration soon.
(b) Citizens under siege had to show their ration cards for buying food.
(c) There were shops and canteen for buying food for the people under siege.
(d) The possibility of buying the food without a ration card as in the past, was no more than a memory now.
Q.1. The above passage is written in the English that was prevalent in the eighteenth century. Find some words and phrases from the text which seem different as compared to the English language usage at present. List them and find an appropriate substitute for each. Look at the example given below:
Q.2. Answer the following questions:
(a) What is being talked about in the first paragraph of Daniel Defoe’s journal? _________________________________________________ _________________________________________________ _________________________________________________ _________________________________________________
(b) How was news about important events circulated during those days? _________________________________________________ _________________________________________________ _________________________________________________ _________________________________________________
(c) Why did the rumour about the plague die off? _________________________________________________ _________________________________________________ _________________________________________________ _________________________________________________
(d) How was the news about the plague confirmed? _________________________________________________ _________________________________________________ _________________________________________________ _________________________________________________
Q.3. Tick the correct answer.
‘… the weekly bill of mortality’ means:
(a) The weekly payment of dues
(b) The weekly news about the deaths
(c) The statement about the hospital expenditure issued every week
(d) The list which was issued weekly, of persons who died due to plague
1. Choose a word or expression that completes each of the following sentences. One has been done for you.
(a) I can’t tell you the plan because I don’t know about it . (him her it them)
(b) One should learn to defend_____________against bullies. (herself itself himself oneself
(c) The girls____________were helping you were probably Rahul’s friends. (which who that they)
(d) These dresses belong to you. I am sure they are_________. (yours your yours’ theirs)
(e) The fire caused serious___________to the group of houses. (damage damages injuries injury)
(f) The board was________________plans for the tournament. (concerned to concern about concerned at concerned with)
1. Refer to the lesson ‘From the diary of Anne Frank’ in your Class X textbook. There are some idiomatic expressions in the text. For example:
(a) Our entire class is quaking in its boots. Quake in (one’s) boot: to tremble with fear or nervousness
(b) Until then we keep telling each other not to lose heart. Not to lose one’s heart: not to lose hope or not to feel demoralised
Now, look at the idiomatic expressions given below. Use a dictionary to find out the meanings. Make sentences using the expressions.
all’s fair in love and war icing on the cake
call the shots chalk and cheese
raining cats and dogs breaking the ice
2. Fill in the blanks using the contracted forms of the verbs. One has been done for you.
This is a beautiful flower. Is not it? Isn’t it?
(a) You should not eat so much. You________eat so much.
(b) They have written the story. ________written the story.
(c) Let us go watch a movie. _______go watch a movie.
(d) He did not play tennis. He__________play tennis.
(e) I could not find my friend in the crowd. I _________find my friend in the crowd.
(f) Here is your bag. __________your bag.
(g) I would guide him. __________guide him.
(h) They are not rich. They____________ rich.
3. Fill in the blanks with the phrasal verbs given below. Change the tense of the verbs wherever required. (breakdown, find out, look for, go out, check out)
Suhasini wanted to__________________with her mother to the book shop. Her mother came back home very late. She said that her car__________________on the way back. She had to __________________a mechanic. She_________________several apps for roadside assistance but then_________________ that her internet was not working.
1. Read this quote from Max Müller. There are errors in the text. Find out the errors and write the correct word in the space provided
“If I was asked under what sky the human mind ___________ has most fully developed some for its choicest gifts, ___________
has most deeply pondered on the greatest problems ___________
of life, and has find solutions of some of them which ___________
well deserve the attention even of them who have___________ studied Plato and Kant, I should pointed to India.
And if I were to ask me from what literature ___________ we who has been nurtured almost exclusively ___________ on the thoughts of Greeks and Romans, and of the Semitic race, the Jewish, may draw the corrective which is most want in order to make our inner life more perfect, ___________ more comprehensive, more universal, in fact most truly human a life… ___________ again I should point to India.”
1 . Listen to the following YouTube link on ‘The Siege of Leningrad’ and make notes in the first box. Then write a narrative account of it in the second box.
___________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________
1. The following poem is taken from The Diary of Lena Mukhina.
(a) Ask your teacher to recite the poem. Listen to the poem attentively and identify the qualities mentioned.
(b) Discuss these qualities with your partner.
(c) Think of a person who has some of these qualities and talk about them to your partner. You can highlight the incidents and actions of the person that reflect these qualities.
1. Work in groups of four. Find out about ‘The Bengal famine of 1943’. It was a major famine in the Bengal province in India during World War II. Collect information on the following points on The Bengal famine of 1943 for the project:
(a) Affected area(s)
(b) Reasons of famine
(c) Relief measures
(d) Pictures, films, etc.
Prepare a poster using pictures and highlighting the information you have collected. Give a title of your choice to the poster and display it in the class.