All The World Her Stage
I. Answer the following questions and share your responses with your partner:
1.Who was usually
a playing companion for Sai in her childhood?
Answer:Usually, a playing companion for Sai in her childhood was her
grandfather Sir R.P.Paranj pe.
2.Who was
affectionately called Appa?
Answer:Sir R.P.Paranj pe was affectionately called Appa. He was Sai’s
grandfather.
3.When was the
grandfather very much impressed by Sai’s ability?
Answer:One day her grandfather asked her to tell him a story. Sai told him a
story which was replete with dragons, princess, talking parrots and hidden
gold. When her grandfather came to know that Sai had made up the story herself,
he was greatly impressed with her creative ability.
4.What was Sai’s
first published book?
Answer:Sai’s first published book was ‘Mulancha Mera’, a book of fairy tales
which means ‘my dream child’ or ‘ my favourite child’.
5.“Sai Froze”.
When did this happen?
Answer:One day, Sai stepped on a book by mistake as she entered the library.
Her grandfather ordered her to stop right there. Sai got scared. She stood
there without moving.
II. Answer the following questions and share your responses with your partner:
1.How would Sai
draw the attention of her playmates while they made fun of her?
Answer:Sai was a fat girl. Her friends made fun of her saying that she could
not run. She was not active and would make their team weak. But, she drew the
attention of her playmates by telling them interesting stories and making them
enact the roles as she directed.
2.What fascinated
Sai as a child?
Answer:Sai was greatly fascinated by ‘doll’s wedding’, a traditional game
played by Maharashtrian girls.
3.Why is the word
‘mother’ given within the inverted commas in the sixteenth and seventeenth
paragraphs?
Answer:‘Mother’ here refers to the little girl Sai. She was role-playing the
character of a bride’s mother in a marriage of dolls celebrated like a real
wedding.
III. Some statements are given below. Some are true and some are false. The tick of ‘T’ or ‘F’. Also, indicate in the box the paragraph number in which you can find your answer.
1. Sai looked very athletic — False
2. Sai used to tell fantastic stories to her friends — True
3. Even as a child, Sai had published a book— True
4. Her grandfather did not take it seriously when she stepped on a book — False
5. Paranjpye was a senior wrangler — True
6. One of the Maharashtrian Children’s game is “marriage of doll’s” — True
7. Sai told a story to her grandfather — True
8. Sai learned to regard books with respect — True
IV. Some important events in the story are given in a jumbled order. Put them in the order in which they are given in the text.
1.Sai’s drawing
the attention of the playmates.
Answer:The usual sight of grandpa and Sai playing together.
2.A grandfather
telling her to treat books with respect.
Answer:Sai’s telling a story to her grandfather.
3.The usual sight
of grandpa and sai playing together.
Answer:A grandfather telling her to treat books with respect.
4.The wedding of
dolls.
Answer:Sai’s drawing the attention of the
5.Sai’s telling a
story to her grandfather.
Answer:The wedding of dolls.
V. Read and discuss your responses with your partner. Then write:
1.Describe how
grandfather and Sai enjoyed each other’s company.
Answer:The grandfather and Sai enjoyed each other’s company as playmates and
friends. Both of them skipping, walking, talking, joking etc. While they were
walking grandfather asked some simple mathematical questions and also related
fables to her. But Sai naturally preferred the fairy tales.
2.Why was
grandfather very much impressed by Sai’s story?
Answer:Once while walking, Sai told a fairy tale full of fun with dragons,
princess, talking parrots and hidden gold. The complete story was her
imagination. Such a Little girl she made the story by herself. So grandfather
was impressed by Sai’s story.
3.What do you
think was the great achievement of Sai as a child?
Answer:When Sai was eight years old, she had published her first book of fairy
tales called ‘Mulancha Mera’. This was the great achievement of Sai as a child.
4.Describe the
incident in the library.
Answer:All the members of the Paranjpye family had great respect for books. One
day Sai stepped on a book by mistake as she rushed into the library. Her
grandfather became very angry. He ordered her to stop right there. He said that
she had done a great mistake.
She had kicked knowledge. He told her to ask forgiveness of the book. Sai bent meekly and asked forgiveness of the book with folded hands. She received the same kind of punishment when he discovered any dog-eared book. Sai learnt to treat books with great respect.
5.How was Sai
able to win over her friends?
Answer:Sai was a little plump. She was not very active physically. So, her
playmates used to make fun of her. They did not allow her to play with them.
Sai used to sit by the sidelines and watch them play. A brilliant idea came to
her one day. She called out to them and said she would tell them a story and
involve them in a lovely game. All her friends gathered around her. Sai cast a
spell of magic. They listened to the fantastic story. They also took roles and
acted as she directed. In this way, she was able to win over her friends.
6.What surprise
awaited Sai one day as she came back from school?
Answer:One day Sai complained to her mother saying that she never let her have
any fun. Her mother said that she would give Sai a surprise she would never
forget. When Sai came back from school on that day, the whole house looked like
a marriage hall.
Sai was dressed like a bride’s mother. The bridegroom came on a real horse. The bride was brought to the hall in the midst of religious chantings. Sai played the role of the bride’s mother and wedding of the dolls was celebrated.
VI. Write a paragraph on each of the following topics. Do it in pairs. Prepare first, and final drafts. Then compare them with those of your partner.
1.Sai’s talents
even as a child.
Answer:Even as a child Sai was a very talented girl. After listening to the
stories of her grandfather she had developed a liking for fairy tales. One day
she asked her grandfather to tell her a story. But, he refused, instead, he
asked her to tell him a story. She made up a fairy tale and told her
grandfather.
Thus, she developed her creative talents. When she was only eight years old, she published her first book of fairy tales – called ‘Mulancha Mera’ (My favorite child). She used to tell fantastic stories to her friends and they were mesmerized by her fairy tales. She even directed them in the dramatization of her stories.
2.Lessons she
learned from her grandfather.
Answer:Sai learnt many things from her grandfather. He was a famous
educationist and mathematician. He used to tell her stories and make her solve
simple mathematical problems.
He encouraged her creativity. By the time she was eight years old she could publish her first book of fairy tales. Sai’s love for books also grew with her. She learnt from her grandfather to love and respect books.
3.The incident of
the wedding of dolls.
Answer:Sai was greatly fascinated by the “marriage of dolls”. It is a
traditional game played by Maharashtrian girls. Once, she complained to her
mother that she was not having any kind of fun. Her mother gave a surprise to
her on that day. When she returned from school, her house looked like a
marriage hall.
Her mother dressed Sai as the mother of a bride. The bridegroom arrived on a real horse. The doll of a bride was brought with the religious chanting of mantras. Jaggery and Poha were distributed among the children. The marriage of dolls was celebrated with all pomp and glory.
VII. Fill in the blanks with the most appropriate words chosen from, among
the ones given in brackets.
Sai was fond
of telling stories. Her grand-father was impressed by this talent of
hers. Though she was not good at sports, she used to entertain friends
with her flights of fancy. Even as a child she had published a
book of fairy tales.
[impressed, good, published, fond, flights, tales, entertain]
VIII. Some terms that describe people are given below. Classify them under ‘desirable: and ‘not so desirable’ categories. You may consult a good dictionary’ to help you doing this.
complaining, creative, imaginative, short tempered, lazy, spirited, social, glum, jovial, innovative, lethargic, double-tongued, lax. jealous creative
|
e.g desirable |
not so desirable |
|
imaginative, spirited |
Complaining, jealous |
|
social, jovial |
short tempered, |
|
innovative,creative |
lethargic, double- tongued, lax, glum |
IX. Give the
negative forms of these words using a prefix. Change the article if necessary.
(short, fast, dim, beginning, young)
An old man appeared on the stage walking slowly at the end of the play, just before the close of the show.Soon, the audience stood up as the lights were switched on. In that bright light, they could see the director, a tad man with an imposing figure
|
1. a familiar sight — an unfamiliar sight |
Task 1. Read the following piece of news and answer the questions.
Jahangir Khan,
the legendary squash-player from Pakistan is considered to be greatest player
in the history of Squash. He won the World Open six times, and the British open
a record ten times. Between 1981 and 1986, he won 555 matches consecutively.
This was not only the longest winning streak in squash history, but also one of
the longest unbeaten runs by any athlete if any top-level professional sports.
Questions.
1. Who is Jahangir Khan ?
Jahangir Khan is the legendary Squash- player.
2. Which country does he belong to?
He belongs to Pakistan
3. Which game is he known for?
He is considered to be the greatest player in the history of Squash.
4. How many times did he win the World
Open?
He won the World Open ten times.
5. Which Open did he win ten times?
The British Open, ten times
6. What was Jahangir’s achievement
be-tween 1981- 1986 ?
Jahangir won 555 matches consecutively between 1981-1986.
Task 2. Compare the given sets of nouns
in pairs. Use the adjectives given in the box. Two are done for you
Note : You have got to add appropriate article in some cases,
1. Aluminium is cheaper than gold
2. Gold is not as cheap as aluminium
3. Masala Puri is more spicy than white rice.
4. White rice is not as spicy as Masaia puri
5. Elephant is bigger than mouse
6. Mouse is not as big as an elephant.
7. Ice is cooler than water.
8. 8. water is not as cool as an ice.
9. Mt. Everest is taller than Chamundi hills.
10. Chamundi hills is not as tall as Mt. Everest.
Task3. Complete the following sentences using the given adjectives or their comparative / superlative form :
1. great — Who, according to you. is the greatest living poet of India?
2. useful — Iron is the most useful of all met also.
3. useful — Iron is more useful than any other j metal.
4. dry — Rajastan is the driest part of India.
5. good — Health is always better than wealth.
6. good — Honesty is the best policy
7. sharp — Your knife is not so sharp as mine.
8. tall — Ramesh is as tall as his father
9. old — My sister is three years older than me.
10. heavy — May I help you? Your bag is heavy
Task 4. Describe the peacock in about ten sentences using the words given below.
(bird, national,
beautiful, body blue, golden eyes, long green feathers, dance, blue eyes,
eatsgerms, worms, tender shoots of plants, live close to villages)
The peacock is our national bird . It is very beautiful. Its body is covered by
long green feathers. It has blue eyes. It eats germs, worms and tender shoots
of plants. It lives close to villages. It dances before rain. The male peacock
dances. Its dance is most attractive. Its blue body is nice to see.
Task 5. Given below is a picture and some sentences
describing it. Correct the description and rewrite the sentences so that they
match the pictures.
At the market, I saw an old woman sitting in a chair. She was selling eggs She
was wearing shirt and trousers. It was raining. At the road-side, I saw woman
sitting on the foot path. She was selling pots. She was wearing a saree. It was
sunny day.
1.What was a
familiar sight to the residents of Pune?
Answer:A plump little girl of about six. or seven, skipping along with an
elderly gentleman was a familiar sight to the residents of Pune.
2.What was Sai’s
grandfather?
Answer:Sai’s grandfather Sir R.P. Paranjpye, was a famous educationist and
mathematician.
3.What did Appa
tell Sai during their walks?
Answer:Appa put simple mathematical questions to her and told her a number of
fables such as fairy tales, Arabian Nights and Birbal’s stories.
4.What kind of a
story did Sai tell her grandfather?
Answer:Sai told him a fairy tale which was full of dragons, princess, talking
parrots and hidden gold. She herself had made it up.
5.How did Appa
punish Sai for stepping on a book?
Answer:Appa ordered her to ask forgiveness of the book.
6.Four alternatives are given for each of the following questions/ incomplete statements. Choose the most appropriate one.
1.Sai Paranjpye
is a famous theatre personality from
A) Pune
B) Mumbai
C) Calcutta
D) Ahmedabad
Answer:A) Pune
2.A traditional
same played by Maharashtrian sirls is
A) chanting of mantras
B) sharing of gud and poha
C) storytelling
D) doll’s wedding
Answer:D) doll’s wedding
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