Ch. 1 The Fun They Had
PASSAGE 1
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Margie even wrote
about it that night in her diary. On the page headed 17 May 2157, she wrote,
‘Today Tommy found a real book!’ It was a very old
book. Margie’s grandfather once said that when he was a little boy his
grandfather told him that there was a time when all stories were printed on
paper. They turned the
pages, which were yellow and crinkly, and it was awfully funny to read words
that stood still instead of moving the way they were supposed to – on a
screen, you know. And then when they turned back to the page before, it had
the same words on it that it had had when they read it the first time.
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Questions : (i) What did Margie
write in her diary? (ii) Name the writer
of the lesson. (iii) What book has
been referred to here? (iv) Who turned the
pages of the book? (v) What seemed
awfully funny? Answer
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PASSAGE 2
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Margie was scornful. ‘School? What’s there to write about
school? I hate school.’ Margie always hated school, but now she hated it more than
ever. The mechanical teacher had been giving her test after test in geography
and she had been doing worse and worse until her mother had shaken her head
sorrowfully and sent for the County Inspector.
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Questions : (i) Name the writer
of the story ‘The Fun They Had’. (ii) What was
Margie’s opinion about school? (iii) What had been
doing her mechanical teacher? (iv) How did Margie perform in her tests? (v) Why was the County Inspector sent for? Answer
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PASSAGE 3
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He was a round little man with a red face and a whole box of
tools with dials and wires. He smiled at Margie and gave her an apple, then
took the teacher apart. Margie had hoped he wouldn’t know how to put it
together again, but he knew how all right, and, after an hour or so, there it
was again, large and black and ugly, with a big screen on which all the
lessons were shown and the questions were asked. That wasn’t so bad. The part
Margie hated most was the slot where she had to put homework and test papers.
She always had to write them out in a punch code they made her learn when she
was six years old, and the mechanical teacher calculated the mark in no
time.
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Questions : (i) Name the chapter
and its writer. (ii) Who is ‘he’ in
the first line ? (iii) Why did
Margie’s mother send for him ? (iv) What did the
inspector repair ? (v) Describe the appearance of Margie’s mechanical teacher. Answer
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PASSAGE 4
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The Inspector had smiled after he was finished and patted
Margie’s head. He said to her mother, ‘It’s not the little girl’s fault, Mrs
Jones. I think the geography sector was geared a little too quickly. Those
things happen sometimes. I’ve slowed it up to an average ten year level.
Actually, the overall pattern of her progress is quite satisfactory.’ And he
patted Margie’s head again.
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Questions : (i) Which Inspector
has been referred to in these lines ? (ii) What had the
Inspector done ? (iii) Who was Mrs.
Jones ? (iv) The Inspector
did a thing twice. What was it ? (v) Which word in the passage means ‘the way in which something happens’ ? Answer
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PASSAGE 5
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"Margie
went into the schoolroom. It was right next to her bedroom, and the
mechanical teacher was on and waiting for her. It was always on at the same
time every day except Saturday and Sunday, because her mother said little
girls learned better if they learned at regular hours."
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Questions:
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PASSAGE 6
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"The
flashing screen said: ‘Today’s arithmetic lesson is on the addition of proper
fractions. Please insert yesterday’s homework in the proper slot.’ Margie did
so with a sigh. She was thinking about the old schools they had when her
grandfather’s grandfather was a little boy."
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Questions:
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Ch. 2 The Sound of Music
Part-I Evelyn Glennie
PASSAGE 1
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Evelyn Glennie’s loss of hearing had been gradual. Her mother
remembers noticing something was wrong when the eight-year-old Evelyn was
waiting to play the piano. ‘They called her name and she didn’t move. I
suddenly realised she hadn’t heard,’ says Isabel Glennie. For quite a while
Evelyn managed to conceal her growing deafness from friends and teachers. But
by the time she was eleven her marks had deteriorated and her headmistress
urged her parents to take her to a specialist. It was then discovered that
her hearing was severely impaired as a result of gradual nerve damage. They
were advised that she should be fitted with hearing aids. |
Questions : (i) At what age was Evelyn’s deafness first noticed?
(ii) Why was her name called out? (iii) What was
Evelyn’s response when her name was called? (iv) When was her
deafness confirmed? (v) From whom did
she try to conceal her deafness? (v) From whom did she try to conceal her deafness? Answer
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PASSAGE 2
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But Evelyn was not going to give up. She was determined to
lead a normal life and pursue her interest in music. One day she noticed a
girl playing a xylophone and decided that she wanted to play it too. Most of
the teachers discouraged her but percussionist Ron Forbes spotted her
potential. He began by tuning two large drums to different notes. ‘Don’t
listen through your ears,’ he would say, ‘try to sense it some other way.’ Says
Evelyn, ‘Suddenly I realised I could feel the higher drum from the waist up
and the lower one from the waist down.’ Forbes repeated the exercise, and
soon Evelyn discovered that she could sense certain notes in different parts
of her body. ‘I had learnt to open my mind and body to sounds and
vibrations.’ The rest was sheer determination and hard work.
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Questions : (i) What had
happened to Evelyn? (ii) What was she
determined to do? (iii) Who was Ron
Forbes? (iv) What did he
inspire Evelyn for? (v) How did he ask Evelyn to hear music? Answer
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PASSAGE 3
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Not surprisingly, Evelyn delights her audiences. In 1991 she
was presented with the Royal Philharmonic Society’s prestigious Soloist of
the Year Award. Says master percussionist James Blades, ‘God may have taken
her hearing but he has given her back something extraordinary. What we hear,
she feels–far more deeply than any of us. That is why she expresses music so
beautifully.’
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Questions : (i) How do Evelyn’s
audiences feel? (ii) What award did
she win in 1991? (iii) Who was James
Blades? (iv) How does Evelyn perceive what others hear? (v) How does she express her music? Answer
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PASSAGE 4
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"As for
music, she explains, ‘It pours in through every part of my body. It tingles
in the skin, my cheekbones and even in my hair.’ When she plays the
xylophone, she can feel the sound passing up the stick into her fingertips.
By leaning against the drums, she can feel the resonances flowing into her
body."
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Questions:
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Ch. 2 The Sound of Music
Part-II Bismillah Khan
PASSAGE 1
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Emperor
Aurangzeb banned the playing of a musical instrument called pungi in the
royal residence for it had a shrill unpleasant sound. Pungi became the
generic name for reeded noisemakers. Few had thought that it would one day be
revived. A barber of a family of professional musicians, who had access to
the royal palace, decided to improve the tonal quality of the pungi. He chose
a pipe with a natural hollow stem that was longer and broader than the pungi,
and made seven holes on the body of the pipe. When he played on it, closing
and opening some of these holes, soft and melodious sounds were produced. He
played the instrument before royalty and everyone was impressed. The
instrument so different from the pungi had to be given a new name. As the
story goes, since it was first played in the Shah’s chambers and was played
by a ‘nai’ (the barber), the instrument was named the ‘Shehnai’ |
Questions : (i) Why did
Aurangzeb ban the playing of pungi? (ii) Which family
did the barber belong? (iii) What did the
barber decide to do? (iv) Where did the
barber play the new instrument the first time? (v) What name was given to this new instrument? Answer
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PASSAGE 2
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The sound of the Shehnai began to be considered auspicious.
And for this reason it is still played in temples and is an indispensable
component of any North Indian wedding. In the past, Shehnai was part of the
naubat or traditional ensemble of nine instruments found at royal courts.
Till recently it was used only in temples and weddings. The credit for
bringing this instrument onto the classical stage goes to Ustad Bismillah
Khan.
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Questions : (i) How was the
sound of the Shehnai considered? (ii) On which
occasions was the Shehnai played? (iii) What was the
Shehnai a part of? (iv) What change did
Bismillah Khan give to ‘Shehnai’? (v) Name the lesson. Answer
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PASSAGE 3
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Born on 21 March, 1916, Bismillah belongs to a well-known
family of musicians from Bihar. His grand father, Rasool Bux Khan was the
Shehnai-nawaz of the Bhojpur king’s court. His father, Paigambar Bux, and
other paternal ancestors were also great Shehnai players.
|
Questions : (i) When was
Bismillah Khan born? (ii) Which family
did Bismillah Khan belong to? (iii) What was the
name of his grandfather? (iv) What was his
grandfather’s profession? (v) Name Bismillah Khan’s father. Answer
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PASSAGE 4
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"When
India gained independence on 15 August 1947, Bismillah Khan became the first
Indian to greet the nation with his shehnai. He poured his heart out into
Raag Kafi from the Red Fort to an audience which included Mahatma Gandhi and
Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru, who later gave his famous ‘Tryst with Destiny’
speech."
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Questions:
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Ch. 3: The Little Girl
PASSAGE
1
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"To the little girl
he was a figure to be feared and avoided. Every morning before going to work
he came into her room and gave her a casual kiss, to which she responded with
‘Goodbye, Father’. And oh, the glad sense of relief when she heard the
sound of the carriage growing fainter and fainter down the long road!" |
Questions: 1. Who
is the "figure to be feared" for the little girl? 2. What
was the father's morning routine before leaving for work? 3. Why
did the little girl feel a "sense of relief"? 4. Find
a word in the passage that means "done without much thought or
effort; informal". 5. Give
the antonym of the word 'feared'. |
PASSAGE
2
|
"On Sunday afternoons Grandmother sent her down to the drawing-room to have a
‘nice talk with Father and Mother’. But the little girl always found Mother
reading and Father stretched out on the sofa, his handkerchief on his face,
his feet on one of the best cushions, sleeping soundly and snoring." |
Questions: 1. Why
did Grandmother send the little girl to the drawing-room on Sundays? 2. What
did the little girl usually find her mother doing? 3. Describe
how the father used to rest on the sofa. 4. What
is the meaning of the phrase 'sleeping soundly'? 5. Find
a word from the passage which means "breathing heavily and noisily
during sleep". |
PASSAGE
3
|
"Lying in the dark room she watched the
evening light make a sad little pattern on the floor. Then Father came into
the room with a ruler in his hands. ‘I am going to whip you for this,’ he
said. ‘Oh, no, no!’ she screamed, hiding under the bedclothes." |
Questions: 1. Why
did the father come into Kezia's room with a ruler? 2. Where
did the little girl try to hide herself? 3. What
did Kezia scream when she saw her father? 4. Find
a word in the passage that means "to hit or punish with a
stick/strap". 5. Give
an antonym for the word 'sad' from the passage context. |
PASSAGE 4
|
"But the
same old nightmare came — the butcher with a knife and a rope, who came
nearer and nearer with that dreadful smile, while she could not move, could
only stand still, crying out, ‘Grandma! Grandma!’ She woke shivering to see
Father beside her bed, a candle in his hand. ‘What’s the matter?’ he
said."
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Questions:
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Ch. 4: A Truly Beautiful Mind
PASSAGE
1
|
"Albert Einstein was a notoriously late
talker. His mother thought he was a freak, because to her, his head seemed
much too large. At the age of two-and-a-half, Einstein still wasn’t talking.
When he finally did learn to speak, he uttered everything twice." |
Questions: 1. What
did Einstein's mother think of him and why? 2. Up
to what age did Einstein not start speaking? 3. What
peculiar habit did Einstein have when he finally learned to speak? 4. Find
a word in the passage that means "well-known for something bad or
negative". 5. Give
the synonym of the word 'uttered'. |
PASSAGE
2
|
"A headmaster once told his father that what
Einstein chose as a profession wouldn’t matter, because ‘he’ll never make a
success at anything.’ Einstein began learning to play the violin at the age
of six, because his mother wanted him to; he later became a gifted amateur
violinist." |
Questions: 1. What
was the headmaster's opinion about Einstein's future success? 2. Why
did Einstein start learning to play the violin? 3. At
what age did he start learning the violin? 4. What
does the word 'amateur' mean in this passage? 5. Find
a word from the passage which is an antonym of 'failure'. |
PASSAGE
3
|
"In 1905, one of his famous papers was Einstein’s Special Theory of Relativity, according to
which time and distance are not absolute. Indeed, two perfectly accurate
clocks will not continue to show the same time if they come together again
after a journey." |
Questions: 1. In
which year did Einstein publish his Special Theory of Relativity? 2. According
to this theory, which two dimensions are not absolute? 3. What
example is given to prove that time is not absolute? 4. Find
a word from the passage which means "completely correct and
precise". 5. Give
the antonym of the word 'absolute' based on the text. |
PASSAGE 4
|
"While
Einstein was solving the most difficult problems in physics, his private life
was unraveling. Albert had wanted to marry Mileva Maric right after finishing
his studies, but his mother was against it. She thought Mileva, who was three
years older than her son, was too old for him. She was also bothered by
Mileva’s intelligence."
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Questions:
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Ch. 5: The Snake and the Mirror
PASSAGE
1
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"I went to my room. I closed the door and struck
a match to light the kerosene lamp on the table. The house was not
electrified; it was a small rented room. I had just
set up medical practice and my earnings were meagre. I had about sixty rupees
in my suitcase. Along with some shirts and dhotis, I also possessed one
solitary black coat which I was then wearing." |
Questions: 1. Why
did the narrator have to light a kerosene lamp? 2. What
do the words "earnings were meagre" tell us about the doctor's
financial condition? 3. What
were the total contents or assets inside his suitcase? 4. Find
a word from the passage which means "single, or the only one of its
kind". 5. Give
the antonym of the word 'meagre'. |
PASSAGE
2
|
"I went back into the room and sat down on
the chair. I took off my black coat, white shirt and not-so-white vest and
hung them up. I opened the two windows in the room. It was an outer room with
one wall facing the open yard. It had a tiled roof with long gables that
rested on the beam over the wall. There was a regular traffic of rats to and
from the beam." |
Questions: 1. What
did the doctor do with his clothes after entering the room? 2. Describe
the structure and layout of the doctor's rented room. 3. What
does the narrator mean by "a regular traffic of rats"? 4. Find
a word from the passage which means "the triangular upper part of a
wall at the end of a ridged roof". 5. Give
a synonym for the word 'regular' as used in this context. |
Ch. 6: My Childhood
PASSAGE
1
|
"I was born into a middle-class Tamil family
in the island town of Rameswaram in the erstwhile Madras State. My father,
Jainulabdeen, had neither much formal education nor much wealth; despite
these disadvantages, he possessed great innate wisdom and a true generosity
of spirit." |
Questions: 1. Where
was the narrator born? 2. What
were the two limitations or disadvantages of the narrator's father? 3. What
positive qualities did Jainulabdeen possess? 4. Find
a word from the passage which means "former or in the past". 5. What
is the meaning of the word 'innate'? |
PASSAGE
2
|
"The first inherent characteristic I
inherited was honesty and self-discipline from my father; from my mother, I
inherited faith in goodness and deep kindness. Every child is born, with some
inherited characteristics, into a specific socio-economic and emotional
environment." |
Questions: 1. What
qualities did Kalam inherit from his father? 2. What
did Kalam inherit from his mother? 3. Into
what kind of environment is every child born, according to the passage? 4. Find
a word from the passage which means "received from one's parents or
ancestors". 5. Give
a synonym for the word 'specific'. |
PASSAGE
3
|
"When I asked my
father for permission to leave Rameswaram and study at the district
headquarters in Ramanathapuram, he told me as if thinking aloud: ‘Abul ! I
know you have to go away to grow. Does the seagull not fly across the sun,
alone and without a nest?’" |
Questions: 1. Why
did Kalam want to leave Rameswaram? 2. Where
did Kalam plan to go for his higher studies? 3. What
analogy or example of a bird did the father give to support Kalam's
departure? 4. Find
a word from the passage which means "the act of allowing someone to
do something". 5. What
does the word 'grow' mean metaphorically in this context? |
PASSAGE
4
|
"On the whole, the
small society of Rameswaram was very rigid in terms of the segregation of
different social groups. However, my science teacher Sivasubramania Iyer,
though an orthodox Brahmin with a very conservative wife, was something of a
rebel. He did his best to break social barriers so that people from varying
backgrounds could mingle easily." |
Questions: 1. How
was the small society of Rameswaram described at the beginning of the
passage? 2. Who
was Sivasubramania Iyer and how was he different from his wife? 3. What
did the science teacher do to improve society? 4. Find
a word from the passage which means "the action or state of setting
someone or something apart from others" (separation). 5. What
is the meaning of the word 'mingle' in this context? |
Ch. 7: Reach for the Top Part I: Santosh Yadav
PASSAGE
1
|
"The girl was given the name Santosh, which
means contentment. But Santosh was not always content with her place in a
traditional way of life. She began living life on her own terms from the
start. Where other girls wore traditional Indian dresses, Santosh preferred
shorts." |
Questions: 1. What
is the literal meaning of the name 'Santosh'? 2. Was
Santosh satisfied with the traditional way of life? 3. How
did Santosh's clothing preference differ from other girls? 4. Find
a word in the passage that means "satisfaction or happiness". 5. Write
the antonym of 'traditional'. |
PASSAGE
2
|
"A marriage as early as that was the last
thing on her mind. She threatened her parents that she would never marry if
she did not get a proper education. She left home and got herself enrolled in
a school in Delhi." |
Questions: 1. What
pressure did Santosh face from her parents at an early age? 2. What
threat did she give to her parents? 3. What
step did she take to secure her education? 4. Find
a word from the passage which means "officially registered or
joined". 5. What
is the meaning of the phrase 'the last thing on her mind'? |
Part
II: Maria Sharapova
PASSAGE
3
|
"That toughness runs through Maria even
today. It was the key to her winning the women’s singles crown at Wimbledon
in 2004 and to her meteoric rise to the world number one slot the following
year. While her tennis excellence is unquestioned, her straight talking
answers clear all doubts." |
Questions: 1. What
quality has been a constant feature of Maria's personality? 2. Which
major title did Maria win in the year 2004? 3. What
achievement did she secure in 2005? 4. Find
a word in the passage which means "very rapid, fast, or sudden". 5. Give
an antonym for 'excellence'. |
PASSAGE 4
|
"Instead of letting that depress me, I
became more quietly determined and mentally tough. I learnt how to take care
of myself. I never thought of quitting because I knew what I wanted. When you
have nothing, it makes you very hungry and determined... I would have put up
with much more humiliation and insults than that to steadfastly pursue my
dream."
|
Questions: 1. How
did Maria react to the difficult and lonely circumstances she faced during
her training? 2. Why
did the thought of quitting or leaving her training never come to Maria's
mind? 3. According
to Maria, what happens to a person's mindset when they start with
"nothing"? 4. Find
a word from the passage which means "to accept or endure an
unpleasant situation" (Phrasal verb). 5.
Give a synonym for the word 'steadfastly'
as used in the passage. |
Ch. 8: Kathmandu PASSAGE
1
|
"At the Pashupatinath temple there is an atmosphere of febrile confusion.
Priests, hawkers, devotees, tourists, cows, monkeys, pigeons and dogs roam
through the ground. We offer a few flowers. There are so many worshippers
that some people trying to get the priest’s attention are elbowed
aside." |
Questions: 1. Describe
the general atmosphere at the Pashupatinath temple. 2. List
any four living beings mentioned that roam the temple grounds. 3. What
happens to some worshippers who try to get the priest's attention? 4. Find
a word from the passage which means "feverish, chaotic, or full of
nervous energy". 5. What
is the meaning of the phrase 'elbowed aside'? |
PASSAGE
2
|
"By contrast, the Baudhnath stupa, the
Buddhist shrine of Kathmandu, has a sense of
stillness. Its immense white dome is ringed by a road. Small shops stand on
its outer edge. Many of these are owned by Tibetan immigrants; felt bags,
Tibetan prints and silver jewellery can be bought here." |
Questions: 1. How
is the atmosphere at Baudhnath stupa different from Pashupatinath temple? 2. What
structure rings the immense white dome of the stupa? 3. Who
owns most of the small shops around the stupa? 4. Find
a word from the passage which means "a holy place or a place of
worship". 5. Give
the antonym of the word 'immense'. |
PASSAGE 3
|
"I
consider what route I should take back home. If I were propelled by
enthusiasm for travel per se, I would go by bus and train to Patna, then sail
up the Ganges past Benaras to Allahabad... but I am too exhausted and
homesick. Today is the last day of August. Home is the direction."
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Questions:
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Ch. 8: If I Were You PASSAGE
1
|
"INTRUDER: You live here alone? Well, do
you? GERRARD: I’m sorry. I thought you were telling me, not asking me. A
quirk of your voice, perhaps? INTRUDER: (with emphasis) Do you live here
alone? GERRARD: And if I don’t answer?" |
Questions: 1. What
critical information is the Intruder trying to extract from Gerrard? 2. How
does Gerrard initially react to the Intruder's tone? 3. What
does the word 'emphasis' tell us about the Intruder's behavior? 4. Find
a word from the passage which means "a strange or peculiar habit of
behavior/mannerism". 5. Give
a synonym for the word 'alone'. |
PASSAGE
2
|
"INTRUDER: I’ll tell you plenty. You think
you’re smart, but I’m smarter. I’ve got brains and I use them. That’s how
I’ve got where I have. GERRARD: And where precisely have you got? It didn’t
require a great brain to break into my little cottage." |
Questions: 1. Why
does the Intruder consider himself superior to Gerrard? 2. How
does Gerrard mock or taunt the Intruder's claim of having "brains"? 3. Where
does this conversation take place? 4. Find
a word from the passage which means "exactly or accurately". 5. Give
the antonym of 'smart' based on general vocabulary. |
PASSAGE
3
|
"GERRARD: Your past is a little unsettled.
INTRUDER: I’ve got a job to do. My job is to step into your shoes. GERRARD:
And that job is to take over my identity, I believe? INTRUDER: Yes, I am
going to live as Charles Gerrit Gerrard!" |
Questions: 1. What
does the Intruder mean by the phrase "step into your shoes"? 2. What
is the final plan of the Intruder regarding Gerrard? 3. What
is Gerrard's full name as revealed in this passage? 4. What
is the meaning of the word 'identity' in this context? 5. Find
a word from the passage which is an antonym of 'settled'. |
PASSAGE
4
|
"GERRARD: This is
your big surprise. I said you wouldn’t kill me, and I was right. Why do you
think I am here today and gone tomorrow, never see tradespeople? You say my
habits would suit you. You are a crook. Do you think I am a Sunday-school
teacher?" |
Questions: 1. What
reason does Gerrard give for his mysterious, "here today and gone
tomorrow" lifestyle? 2. Why
does Gerrard call himself something other than a ordinary person or a
"Sunday-school teacher"? 3. How
does Gerrard turn the Intruder's own observations against him? 4. Find
a word from the passage which means "merchants, shopkeepers, or local
delivery men". 5. Give
a synonym for the word 'crook'. |