|
Answer: (a)
(iv) top of a hill (b) (iv) all of the above (c) (i) rain (d) (iv) as he was
hoping for a shower of rain (e) (ii) drizzle Read
the following extract carefully and answer the questions that follow. “Now we’re really going to get
some water, woman.” The woman who was preparing supper, replied, “Yes, God
willing”. The older boys were working in the field, while the smaller ones were
playing near the house until the woman called to them all, “Come for dinner”.
It was during the meal that, just as Lencho had predicted, big drops of rain
began to fall. In the northeast, huge mountains of clouds could be seen
approaching. The air was fresh and sweet. The man went out for no other reason
than to have the pleasure of feeling the rain on his body, and when he returned
he exclaimed, ‘‘These aren’t raindrops falling from the sky, they are
new coins. The big drops are ten-cent pieces and the little ones are fives.’’
(a)
While the family was at dinner ………… (i) big drops of rain fell (ii)
somebody knocked on the door (iii) the weather became harsh (iv) the smaller
ones started playing (b)
Lencho compared the raindrops to ……… (i) ripe corn (ii) new coins (iii)
old coins (iv) dotted flowers (c)
Lencho was very satisfied to see the rain pouring as he wanted ……… (i) to dance in the rain (ii) to
play in the rain (iii) his crops to be watered (iv) to have the pleasure of
feeling the rain on his body. (d)
Lencho called the big raindrops ………… (i) one cent coins (ii) five cents
coins (iii) ten cents coins (iv) fifteen cents coins (e)
The word ‘prediction’ here means …………
(i) correct information (ii) correct condition (iii)
correct forecast (iv) correct comparison Answer: (a)
(i) big drops of rain fell (b) (ii) new coins (c) (iii) his crops to be watered (d) (iii) ten cents coins
(e) (iii) correct forecast Read
the following extract carefully and answer the questions that follow. With a satisfied expression, he
regarded the field of ripe corn with its flowers, draped in a curtain of rain.
But suddenly a strong wind began to blow and along with the rain very large
hailstones began to fall. These truly did resemble new silver coins. The boys,
exposing themselves to the rain, ran out to collect the frozen pearls. (a)
Lencho appeared satisfied to see ………… (i) the ripe cornfields (ii) large
hailstones (iii) the much-needed rain (iv) the strong wind blowing (b)
Lencho had prayed to God for …………… (i) a monsoon (ii) cents (iii)
strong winds (iv) hailstones (c)
Things changed suddenly …………… (i) as they were hailstones all
around (ii) when a strong wind began to blow (iii) it destroyed his crops completely
(iv) all of the above (d)
Here frozen pearls signify ………… (i) new coins (ii) 10 cents coins (iii) 5 cents coins (iv)
hailstones (e)
‘Draped in a curtain of rain’ means ………… (i) cover with a curtain (ii)becoming completely wet (iii) hanging rain (iv)
arranging in folds Answer: (a)
(iii) the much-needed rain (b) (i) a monsoon (c) (iv) all of the above (d) (iv) hailstones
(e) (ii) becoming completely wet Read the following extract carefully and answer the questions that
follow. That night was a sorrowful one. “All our work, for nothing.” ‘‘There’s no one who
can help us.” “We’ll all go hungry this year”. But in the hearts of all who
lived in that solitary house in the middle of the valley, there was a single
hope: help from God. “Don’t be so upset, even though this seems like a
total loss. Remember, no one dies of hunger.” “That’s what they say: no one
dies of hunger.” All through the night, Lencho thought only of his one hope:
the help of God, whose eyes, as he had been instructed, see everything, even
what is deep in one’s conscience. Lencho was an ox of a man, working like an
animal in the fields, but still, he knew how to write. The following Sunday, at
daybreak, he began to write a letter which he himself would carry to town and
place in the mail. It was nothing less than a letter to God. (a) The night was very sorrowful for the family as ………. (i) nobody had any dinner
(ii) this year all the corn was destroyed (iii) the fields were full of snow
(iv) all the flowers were gone (b) All through the night Lencho assured himself that …………
(i) no one dies of hunger
because God sees everything (ii) we will go hungry this year (iii) he is strong
as an ox (iv) no one will help him (c) The following Sunday Lencho planned to …………
(i) write a letter to God
personally (ii) write a letter to his family (iii) visit his family in town
(iv) purchase corn from the town
(d) ‘Ox of a man’ is a ………… (figure of speech) and means ………
(i) simile: power (ii)
personification: strong (iii) alliteration: power (iv) metaphor: strong
(e) Lencho’s only hope was ………… from God.
(i) aid (ii) advice (iii)
guidance (iv) a letter Answer: (a)
(ii) this year all the corn was destroyed
(b) (i) no one dies of
hunger because God sees everything
(c) (i) write a letter to
God personally
(d) (iv) metaphor: strong
(e) (i) aid
|
Read the following extract carefully and answer the questions that
follow.
‘‘It’s really getting bad now,’’ exclaimed the man. “I hope it
passes quickly.” It did not pass quickly. For an hour the hail rained on
the house, the garden, the hillside, the cornfield, on the whole
valley. The field was white as if covered with salt. Not a leaf
remained on the trees. The corn was totally destroyed. The flowers were
gone from the plants. Lencho’s soul was filled with sadness. When
the storm had passed, he stood in the middle of the field and said to
his sons, “A plague of locusts would have left more than this. The hail
has left nothing. This year we will have no corn.’’
(a) What changes took place when the hailstorm did not pass off
quickly?
(b) What did Lencho tell his sons after the storm?
|
|
|
Answer: (a)
When the hailstorm continued, the field was white as if covered with salt.
The trees were left leafless, the corn was completely destroyed and the
flowers were gone.
(b) After the storm
Lencho said to his sons that a plague of locusts would have left behind more
corn than the storm and that they would have no corn that year. Read the following extract carefully and answer the questions that
follow.
“God,” he wrote, “if you don’t help me, my family
and I will go hungry this year. I need a hundred pesos in order to sow my
field again and to live until the crop comes, because of the
hailstorm....” He wrote ‘To God’ on the envelope, put the letter inside
and, still troubled, went to town. At the post office, he placed a stamp
on the letter and dropped it into the mailbox. (a) What were the contents of the letter?
(b) What did Lencho do, at the post office? Answer: (a)
The contents indicated that if God did not help him, he and his family would
starve. He requested God for 100 pesos to sow a new crop and live over the
year.
(b) At the post office,
Lencho addressed the letter to God, fixed a stamp on it and dropped it in the
mail. Read the following extract carefully and answer the questions that
follow.
One of the employees, who was a postman and also
helped at the post office, went to his boss laughing heartily and showed him
the letter to God. Never in his career as a postman had he known that address.
The postmaster — a fat, amiable fellow — also broke out laughing, but almost
immediately he turned serious and, tapping the letter on his desk, commented,
“What faith! I wish I had the faith of the man who wrote this letter. Starting
up a correspondence with God!”
(a) What was the reaction of the postman to the letter?
(b) What was the postmaster’s reaction to the letter? Answer: (a) The postman
laughed heartily on seeing the letter and took it to his boss. He had never
known such an address in his entire career.
(b) The fat and amiable
postmaster at first laughed at the letter. Then, he became serious,
contemplating on the faith of the letter writer. Read the following extract carefully and answer the questions that
follow.
So, in order not to shake the writer’s faith in
God, the postmaster came up with an idea: answer the letter. But when he opened
it, it was evident that to answer it he needed something more than goodwill,
ink and paper. But he stuck to his resolution: he asked for money from his
employees, he himself gave part of his salary, and several friends of his were
obliged to give something ‘for an act of charity.' It was impossible for
him to gather together the hundred pesos, so he was able to send the farmer
only a little more than half. He put the money in an envelope addressed to
Lencho and with it a letter containing only a single word as a signature: God.
(a) What resolution did the postmaster make? How was it honoured?
(b) How far did the postmaster succeed in his attempt? Answer: (a) The postmaster
resolved not to shake the writer’s faith in God. He honoured the request
by giving a part of his salary and collecting donations from other
employees for this act of charity.
(b) The postmaster
succeeded in collecting a little over half the amount. He could collect 70
pesos for Lencho. Read the following extract carefully and answer the questions that
follow.
The following Sunday Lencho came a bit earlier
than usual to ask if there was a letter for him. It was the postman
himself who handed the letter to him while the postmaster, experiencing
the contentment of a man who has performed a good deed, looked on from his
office.
Lencho showed not the slightest surprise on seeing the money; such was his
confidence — but he became angry when he counted the money. God could not
have made a mistake, nor could he have denied Lencho what he had
requested. (a) What happened the following Sunday?
(b) What were Lencho’s reactions? Answer: (a) The following
Sunday, Lencho came early to the post office and enquired about a letter.
The postmaster handed him the letter and sat in his office to see
Lencho’s reactions.
(b) On receiving the letter
Lencho did not show the slightest surprise. He was so confident. But after
counting the money, he became angry. Read the following
extract carefully and answer the questions that follow.
Immediately, Lencho went up to the window to ask for
paper and ink. On the public writing table, he started to write, with much
wrinkling of his brow, caused by the effort he had to make to express his
ideas. When he finished, he went to the window to buy a stamp which he licked
and then affixed to the envelope with a blow of his fist. The moment the
letter fell into the mailbox the postmaster went to open it. It said:
“God: Of the money that I asked ....for, only seventy pesos reached me. Send me
the rest, since I need it very much. But don’t send it to me through
the mail because the post office employees are a bunch of crooks. Lencho.”
(a) What did Lencho do with the paper and ink?
(b) What request did he make in the letter?
Answer: (a) With the paper
and ink that he asked for, Lencho, wrinkling his brows, wrote another
letter to God.
(b) Lencho acknowledged
receipt of seventy pesos only. He also requested God to send
the remainder, but not through the post office as the employees there were
a bunch of crooks. Read the following
extract carefully and answer the questions that follow.
Lencho was an ox of a man,
working like an animal in the fields, but still he knew how to write. The
following Sunday, at daybreak, he began to write a letter which he himself
would carry to town and place in the mail. It was nothing less than a letter to
God. “God,” he wrote, “If you don’t help me, my family and I will go hungry
this year.”
(a) What kind of a person was Lencho?
(b) Why did he write a letter to God?
(c) Pick out the phrase from the passage which means the same as hard working.
(d) What did he write in his letter? Answer: (a) Lencho was a hardworking person.
(b) He wrote a letter to God for financial help.
(c) Ox of a man, working like an animal in the field.
(d) He pleaded that if God did not help him his family would go hungry. Read the following
extract carefully and answer the questions that follow.
It said: “God! Of the money
that I asked for, only seventy pesos reached me. Send me the rest, since I need
it very much. But don’t send it to me through the mail, because the post office
employees are a bunch of crooks. Lencho.”
(a) Who wrote the letter and why?
(b) Why was the postmaster eager to open the mailbox?
(c) What complaint did Lencho have?
(d) Where, according to Lencho, had the balance money gone? Answer: (a) Lencho wrote a letter to God to complain about the post
office employees.
(b) He wanted to know the reactions of Lencho. So, he was eager to open the
mailbox.
(c) Lencho complained that he did not receive the full amount of money he requested
for only seventy pesos reached him.
(d) According to Lencho, the remaining thirty pesos were stolen by the post
office employees and God could not make such a mistake. Q: Where was ‘the house’
located? Answer: The house was located on the top of a low hill. Q: Why do you think it is called ‘the house’ and not ‘a house’? Answer: It is called ‘the house’ because it is the only house on the top of the
hill. Q: Why did Lencho keep
gazing at the sky? Answer: Lencho knew that his fields needed water immediately. He was
eagerly waiting for the rain, therefore he gazed at the sky. Q: How did Lencho feel when
it started raining? Answer: Lencho was excited when he came out of his house to have the
pleasure of feeling the rain on his body. He compared the raindrops with coins,
as he knew that a good rain would mean a good crop and a good crop would mean a
lot of money.
Q: What was the effect of the rain on the crops? Answer: The rain brought with it destruction. There was a hailstorm for
about an hour and it covered the field. The corn was totally destroyed. Q: Lencho had only ‘one
hope’. What was it? Answer: Lencho was a God-fearing man and had a firm faith in the
benevolence of God, who he thought would certainly help him. God was his only
hope. Q: “Now we’re really going
to get some water, woman.” Is Lencho sure that it is going to rain? Give a
reason for your answer. Answer: Lencho was sure that it was going to rain because he kept
watching the sky throughout the day. Through his experience, he knew that the
clouds would certainly bring rain. Q: What are the raindrops
compared to and why? Answer: Raindrops are compared to coins. He compares big raindrops to
ten-cent coins and smaller ones to five-cent coins. He knew that the raindrops
would certainly be helpful in giving him a rich harvest. Naturally, it would make
him get more money. Q: Did the letter reach
God? Why did the postmaster send a reply to Lencho? Answer: The letter did not reach God but it certainly reached the
postmaster who was a God-fearing and kind-hearted man. He decided to send a
reply to Lencho as he was moved by the firm faith of a farmer in God, and he
did not want to disappoint him. Lencho describes the post
office employees as ‘a bunch of crooks’.
Q: Were they ‘a bunch of crooks’? Answer: The post office employees were really very good people who tried
to help a poor farmer. They were not a bunch of crooks.
Q: How would you describe them? Answer: They can be described as kind-hearted, generous, helpful and
God-fearing men. Q: Describe the character
of Lencho in the light of his faith and attitude towards God and man. Do you
have faith in God like Lencho? Do you think he should have been grateful to the
post office employees? Answer: Lencho was a hardworking farmer who had immense faith in God. He
had such immense faith in the existence and helpfulness of God that he
started communicating with him. He wrote a letter to God requesting him to send
him one hundred pesos. When he received seventy pesos, he was not surprised at
all. He even doubted the integrity of the post office employees who, he thought,
had stolen his thirty pesos. He was a poor judge of human nature. His attitude
towards man was negative. He could not think of help from a man. Yes, I also
have faith in God but not blind faith. I will never start writing a letter to
God like Lencho. Lencho should have been grateful to the post office employees
who had helped him. But he cannot be criticised as he had faith in God and not
in mankind. Q: Lencho called the post
office employees ‘a bunch of crooks’. What does it show about his attitude
towards men? Does he lack the value of humility, appreciation and gratefulness? Elaborate. Answer: Lencho called the post office
employees a bunch of crooks as he thought that they had stolen his money sent
by God. He was not correct in his assessment of the employees. It shows that he
had a negative attitude towards mankind. He was not a fair judge of men’s
nature. He lacked the value of humility, appreciation and gratefulness. He hurt
the feelings of the post office employees unintentionally. He was a simple man
who had immense faith in God but could not think of any help from men. His
anger and attitude towards them show that he did not have any faith in men. He
did not credit the post office employees for their help out of ignorance but he
should not have called them a bunch of crooks. Q: What kind of people were
the post office employees? What values are reflected in their character? What
do you like about the gesture of the postmaster? Answer: The post office employees were very generous, kind and helpful
people.
When they received the letter for God from Lencho, they were impressed with his
faith in God although initially, they made fun of it. They did not want to hurt
his feelings and shake his faith in God. They decided to help him by sending
him money.
It was a noble gesture on their part. All of them contributed by giving a share
of their salaries. It shows their kindness and generosity. They could have told
Lencho the truth about God but their sensitivity stopped them from doing so.
They did not want to hurt his feelings. They had sympathy and compassion for Lencho. The
postmaster’s generosity, sensitivity, initiative and his noble gesture make
him a good human being in the eyes of the readers.
|
|
0 comments:
Post a Comment