How I taught my grandmother to read Chapter 1 Class 9 English communicative questions and answers

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1 How I taught my grandmother to read Chapter 1 Class 9 English communicative questions and answers How I taught my grandmother to read English Communicative Chapter 1 Text book questions and answers 4. (Refer text book page number 6) (a) The grandmother could relate to the central character of Kashi Yatre as (i) both were old and uneducated (ii) both had granddaughters who read to them (iii) both had a strong desire to visit Kashi (iv) both were determined to learn to read Answer: (iii) (b) Why did the women at the temple discuss the latest episode of Kashi Yatre? (i) to pass their time (ii) the writer, Triveni, was very popular (iii) they could relate with the protagonist of the serial (iv) women have a habit of discussing serials Answer: (iii) (c) The granddaughter found her grandmother in tears on her return as.. (i) the grandmother had been unable to read the story Kashi Yatre on her own (ii) the grandmother had felt lonely (iii) the grandmother wanted to accompany her granddaughter (iv) she was sad she could not visit Kashi Answer: (i) (d) Why did the grandmother touch her granddaughter s feet? (i) As a mark of respect to her teacher

2 (ii) It was custom in their family (iii) Girls should be respected (iv) She had read the story of Kashi Yatre to her Answer: (i) 5. Answer the following questions briefly. (a) What made Triveni a popular writer? Answer: She was a great writer whose style of writing was easy to read and convincing. Her stories were very interesting and dealt with complex psychological problems that ordinary people face in their lives. (b) Why did the grandmother depend on her granddaughter to know the story? Answer: The grandmother could not read or write so she had to depend on her granddaughter to know the story. Every week when the weekly Karmaveera arrived, she would read out latest chapter from the novel Kashi Yatre to her grandmother. The grandmother never went to school and got married at a young age and hence didn t receive an opportunity to learn. (c) Pick out two sentences which state that the grandmother was desperate to know what happened in the story. Answer: Many times I rubbed my hands over the pages wishing that they could understand what was written. I even thought of going to the village and asking you to read for me. (d) Could the grandmother succeed in accomplishing her desire to read? How? Answer: Yes. The grandmother succeeded in accomplishing her desire to read. She was a wonderful student who did an amazing amount of homework. She would read, repeat, write and recite. She worked harder than others and set the Saraswati Pooja day as the deadline for achieving her goal. She believed that age was no bar for learning. (e) Which of the following traits would be relevant to the character of the narrator s grandmother? (i) determined (ii) selfish (iii) emotional (iv) mean Give reasons for your choice

3 Answer: determined and emotional Determined: The fact that she decided to learn to read at the age of sixty-two shows her determination. She was a wonderful student and worked hard to achieve her desire to read. Her age or other responsibilities did not prevent her from learning to read. She was willing to work harder than others and she did so. She also set Saraswati Pooja Day during Dassara as the deadline for achieving her goal. All of these show her determination. Emotional: She was emotional too. She was in tears when her granddaughter returned home after the marriage because she had no one to read out to her the latest episode of the novel Kashi Yatre. She was too embarrassed to ask the help of others. 6. Here are some direct quotations from the story. Identify the speaker and the write what each quotation suggests about the speaker. You can choose the adjectives given in the box and you may also add your own. Amiable, tender, gentle, sympathetic, understanding, determined, diligent, kind, concerned, systematic, wise, helpful, enthusiastic, selfish, cruel, humble, religious, prudent Speaker Quotation Quality Highlighted a Granddaughter Avva, is everything all right? Are you ok? b. Grandmother c. Granddaughter d. Grandmother e. Grandmother f. Grandmother g. Grandmother At times, I used to regret not going to school, so I made sure that my children and grandchildren studied well Avva, don t cry. What is the matter? Can I help you in any way? We are well-off, but what use is money when I cannot be independent. I will keep Saraswati Pooja day during Dassara as the deadline. For a good cause if you are determined you can overcome any obstacle I am touching the feet of a teacher not my granddaughter Gentle, sympathetic, kind, concerned Determined, wise, prudent Tender, gentle, helpful Concerned Determined, diligent, enthusiastic, systematic Determined, systematic, wise, enthusiastic, prudent Humble, religious 9. You are the grandmother. How did you feel when your granddaughter gave you the novel Kashi Yatre? Write your feelings in your diary. Answer 18 th October 20xx, Monday 9 pm I will not forget this day. It will live in my memory for as long as I live. Today my granddaughter gifted me a copy of my favourite story Kashi Yatre and I could read it. I can t express my happiness and gratitude in words. I had always wanted to read but never got an opportunity until I asked my granddaughter to teach me to read and write. I wish I had asked her earlier. She is a fantastic teacher and taught me with great patience and affection. I feel so independent now. I can now read all that I want. I wouldn t have achieved this sense of independence without my kind granddaughter s help. I touched her feet today to express my respect and gratitude for her and I am sure it was the right thing to do. 10. Refer text book pages 10 and 11.

4 Dialogue completion Swami: No, granny. You are so silly. He gets ninety out of hundred marks. Grandmother: You must also try to get good marks like him. Do you know? Your grandfather sometimes frightened the examiners with his questions. He could answer a question in a tenth of the time that others took to do it. And because his answers were so powerful, sometimes his teachers would give him two hundred marks. Swami: Enough, granny. Why do you bother about old unnecessary things? Don t you want to hear about Rajam? Granny: Yes, dear, yes. Swami: Do you know granny? Rajam killed a tiger when he was a small boy. His father was camping in a forest and he had Rajam with him. Suddenly they were attacked by two tigers. One tiger knocked his father down from behind and the other started chasing Rajam. He is a brave and clever boy. He hid himself behind a bush and shot the tiger dead with his gun. Are you sleeping, Granny? Exam oriented questions and answers You are the neighbour of the grandmother in this story and you saw the grandmother touching the feet of the granddaughter on the day of Saraswati Pooja. Write a letter to your friend sharing your feelings about the incident. Dear Janaki How are you doing? I hope you all celebrated Dassara with great fervour. We had a great time here. By the way, do you remember my neighbour Krishnakka? She has just learned to read and write. Her grandmother taught her and on the day of Saraswati Pooja I saw Krishnakka touching the feet of her granddaughter. I was startled. In all my life, I had never seen an elder touching the feet of a youngster but now I understand why Krishnakka wanted to touch the feet of her twelve-year old granddaughter. She may be younger but she taught her grandmother to read, so it was appropriate for Krishnakka to show her respect for her teacher by touching her feet. After all, our culture insists that parents and teachers should be respected. We are all happy for Krishnakka and want to learn like her. Yours affectionately Madhavi Road not Taken Class 9 English

5 Communicative Questions and Answers Road not taken by Robert Frost Summary The poem Road Not Taken is about the choices we make in our lives. The poet sees two roads diverging in a wood and he can t decide which one he should take. The poet leaves the first road and takes the other knowing well that he will not get a chance to return to the first road again. That decision, of course, made all the difference in his life. The choices that we make in our life are like roads. They go in various directions and take us along with them. In most cases it is not possible to come back and make a different choice because one road always leads to another road. In the poem the poet chooses the second road because it appears grassy and wants wear. This decision also indicates the poet s eagerness to take the less trodden path. Glossary Diverge when roads diverge they go in separate directions Yellow wood in autumn, leaves turn yellow giving woods a yellow appearance Undergrowth bushes and small trees and plants Trodden past participle form of tread; to tread is to walk on Pre-reading activity 3. Have you made choices that are acceptable and less risky or have you followed the beaten track? Why? Answer? There have been at a least a few occasions in my life when I made risky choices. I faced opposition from my parents whenever they felt that I was taking unwanted risks. On all those occasions, however, I stood my ground because I knew that I was making the right choices. Also, I was ready to face the consequences. On most other occasions, however, I preferred to follow the beaten track. While making choices the most important thing for me is to follow my instincts. I weigh all the pros and cons and proceed only if I am convinced that I am making the right choice. 7. (a) In the poem, a traveler comes to a fork in the road and needs to decide which way to go to continue his journey. Figuratively the choice of the road denotes. (i) the tough choices people make the road of life (ii) the time wasted on deciding what to do (iii) life is like a forest (iv) one must travel a lot to realize his dreams

6 Answer: (i) (b) The poet writes, Two roads diverged in a yellow wood. The word diverged means (i) appeared (ii) curved (iii) branched off (iv) continued on Answer: (iii) (c) The tone of the speaker in the first stanza is that of.. (i) excitement (ii) anger (iii) hesitation and thoughtfulness (iv) sorrow Answer: (iii) 8. Answer the following questions briefly. (i) Describe the two roads that the author comes across. Answer: The author came across two roads diverging in a yellow wood. Both roads looked appealing but he chose the second one because that looked grassy and less traveled by. The first one went deep into the forest and disappeared in the undergrowth. Obviously a lot of people had taken the first road but few chose the second. (ii) Which road does the speaker choose? Why? Answer: The speaker was in a dilemma as to which road he should choose. He looked at both roads and then chose the second road because it appeared grassy and wanted wear. It was obvious that few people had taken the road. The speaker s decision to take the less trodden path also shows his readiness to take risks in life. (iii) Which road would you choose? Why? Answer: I prefer going off the beaten track so I too will take the second road. I am adventurous and do not mind taking risks in life. While I understand the perils involved in this I am confident of my ability to overcome the obstacles in my way. (iv) Does the speaker seem happy about his decision? Answer: The speaker seems neither happy nor unhappy about his decision. While making a decision,

7 it is not possible to decide whether it is right or wrong. After making a decision it takes ages and ages before we can say with certitude that we made the right or wrong decision. In the poem, the speaker merely states that his decision to take the less traveled road made all the difference in his life. (v) The poet says I took the one less traveled by, And that has made all the difference. What is the difference that the poet mentions? Answer: The difference is that the poet chose a road that few people would take. The road which the poet took wanted wear. Obviously few people had taken it because it was risky and adventurous. If the poet had taken the first road that most people took he too would have achieved, name, fame, wealth and security like them. Instead the poet chose the less trodden path and that probably made his life more adventurous and less secure. More questions and answers 1. What does the expression Yellow wood mean? Answer: In autumn the leaves turn yellow and give the wood a yellow appearance. 2. What does the expression long I stood mean? Answer: It shows the poet s dilemma his confusion and inability to make a decision 3. What is the mood of the poet in the poem? Answer: The poet is thoughtful and pensive. 4. What does the expression in leaves no step had trodden black? Answer: It shows that nobody had walked on those leaves and grass and crushed them. 5. What is the doubt of the poet? Answer: The poet doubts whether he will be able to come back to the first road because one road always leads to another road and it is nearly impossible to return to the first road after traveling far along the first road. 6. The poet looked down one as far as he could because Answer: He was trying to see where that road led 6. Bring out the symbolism in the poem the Road Not Taken. Answer: The road is merely a metaphor for the choices we make. Just like the road, the choices we make determine the direction of our life. Most people take the beaten path because it is less risky. The adventurous few, like the poet, will go off the beaten track. They are aware of the risks involved in this decision but they want to do something different with their lives. While making a decision it is not possible to find out whether it is right or wrong. Only after several years can we say with

8 certainty whether the decision was right or wrong. Words that describe people Class 9 English communicative When we talk about people we often describe their qualities. Here are the most common words used to describe people. Unassuming Unassuming means modest, easygoing, simple, natural or unostentatious. Despite her wealth and fame, she has an unassuming personality. Domineering (adjective) Domineering means tyrannical, arrogant or dogmatic. He was a domineering man who allowed no one to overrule him. Antonyms: submissive, subservient, timid, shy Laborious (adjective) The word laborious doesn t necessarily describe people. It is used to refer to tasks that require a lot of time and effort. Climbing the hill was a laborious task. Workaholic A workaholic is a person who works very hard and finds it difficult to stop working. You don t have to be a workaholic to be successful. Authoritative Authoritative means commanding, arrogant, dictatorial, dogmatic or tyrannical. He was a small man but there was an authoritative tone in his voice. Kind-hearted A kind-hearted person is kind and compassionate. My landlady is a kind-hearted woman with a great sense of humour.

9 Diligent Diligent means industrious, hardworking, zealous, active or persistent He is a diligent worker and deserves a promotion. Sagacious Sagacious means wise, shrewd, astute, intelligent, prudent, smart or clever. The professor was a sagacious man. Egoist An egoist is a self-centered person. An egoist believes that everyone is motivated by self-interest. Thoughtful Thoughtful means contemplative, reflective, wistful, meditative or introspective. When I last met her she was quiet and thoughtful. Raj is a thoughtful child. Tiresome Tiresome means boring, monotonous, tedious, uninteresting or drab. Your cheap jokes are getting tiresome. Sympathetic Sympathetic means compassionate, understanding, humane, benevolent and kindly. She was a sympathetic teacher whom every student liked. Tireless Tireless means industrious, devoted, resolute, staunch, steady, determined or persevering The winner of the marathon was a tireless runner. Irresponsible Irresponsible means careless, indifferent, immature, imprudent, thoughtless She was an irresponsible mother.