NCERT Solutions for Class 10 English First Flight Chapter 1 A Letter to God

 

THE SHIKSHA _{Akash kumar}

               Chapter 1 A Letter to God

 Chapter 1 A Letter to God                 English Class – 10^th                    

Oral Comprehension Check Page 5

Question 1.What did Lencho hope for?
Answer-:Lencho hoped for a good rain as it was much needed for a good harvest.

 

Question 2.Why did Lencho say the raindrops were like ‘new coins’?
Answer:-Lencho compared the raindrops with new coins because they were promising him a good harvest resulting in more prosperity.

 

Question 3.How did the rain change? What happened to Lencho’s fields?
Answer:-The rain changed into hailstones as a strong wind began to blow and huge hailstones began to fall alongwith the rain. All the crops in Lencho’s field got destroyed because of the weather conditions.

 

Question 4.What were Lencho’s feelings when the hail stopped?
Answer:-Lencho was filled with grief after the hail stopped as everything was ruined and there was nothing that he could feed his family with. He could see a bleak future for him and his family.

 

                                                                              Page 6

Question 5.Who or what did Lencho have faith in? What did he do?
Answer:-Lencho had firm faith in God. He believed ‘ that God sees everything, even what is deep in one’s conscience and help everyone in one’s problems. He wrote a letter to God demanding him a hundred pesos to sow his field again.

 

Question 6.Who read the letter?
Answer:-Postmaster read the letter.

 

Question 7.What did the postmaster do after reading a letter?
Answer:-The postmaster laughed when he read Lencho’s letter but soon he became serious and was moved by the writer’s faith in God. He didn’t want to shake Lencho’s faith. So, he decided to collect ,money and send it to Lencho on behalf of God.

 

Page 7

Question 8.Was Lencho surprised to find a letter for him with money in it?
Answer:-Lencho was not surprised to find a letter with money from God as he believed that God will help him. 

Question 9.What made Lencho angry?

Answer:-There were only seventy pesos in the envelope whereas Lencho had demanded a hundred pesos. The difference in the amount made him angry.

 

                                                           Thinking about the Text  (Page 7,8)

Question 1.Who does Lencho have complete faith in? Which sentences in the story tell you this?
Answer:-Lencho has complete faith in God as he is instructed that God knows everything and helps us in our problems. There are few sentences which show this 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.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.

“God”, he wrote, “if you don’t help me, my family and I will go hungry this year”.He wrote ‘To God’ on the envelope, put the letter inside and still troubled, went to town.God could not have made a mistake, nor could he have denied Lencho what he had requested.

Question 2.Why does the postmaster send money to Lencho? Why does he sign the letter God?
Answer:-The postmaster sends money to Lencho in order to keep
Lencho’s faith in God alive and firm as he was completely moved by it.
When postmaster reads the letter of Lencho to God, he becomes serious and does not want to shake his faith and decides to answer the letter. He gathers money with the help of his post office employees and friends on behalf of God and signs the letter ‘God’ so that Lencho’s faith does not get shaken.

Question 3.Did Lencho try to find out who had sent the money to him? Why or why not?
Answer:-Lencho did not try to find out who had sent the money to him because he never suspected the presence of God and had complete faith in God. He could not believe that it could be – anybody else other than him who would send him the money.
His faith in God was so strong that he believed that he had sent money to him for his help in his problem.

Question 4.Who does Lencho think has taken the rest of the money? What is the irony in the situation? (Remember that the irony of a situation is an unexpected aspect of it. An ironic situation is strange or amusing because it is the opposite of what is expected).
Answer:-Lencho thinks that the post office employees have taken the rest of the money as he had demanded a hundred pesos from God and in the letter there was only seventy pesos and God cannot make such a mistake. So, he assumes that they have stolen the money.
The irony in this situation is that Lencho suspects those people who helped him in his problem and tried to keep his faith alive in God. 

Question 5.Are there people like Lencho in the real world? What kind of a person would you say he is? You may select appropriate words from the box to answer the question.

Greedy

Naive

Stupid

Ungrateful

Selfish

Comical

Unquestioning

Answer:-It is almost impossible to find a person like Lencho as he is an unquestioning and naive kind of person. He is not stupid if he doesn’t know who has sent him money or a letter will reach God without any address. It is Lencho’s faith in God. In real world, people are selfish and greedy and Lencho is totally lovable and different.

 

Question 6.There are two kinds of conflict in the story between humans and nature and between humans themselves. How are these conflicts illustrated?
Answer:-Conflict between Humans and Nature: The conflict between humans and nature is illustrated by the destruction of Lencho’s crop by the hailstorm as Lencho was expecting a good rain to have good harvest as that was the only hope he had for his earning. He worked so hard to feed his family, but nature turned violent and destroyed everything.
Conflict between Humans and Humans: The story also illustrated another conflict, between humans themselves as the postmaster alongwith his friends and staff sent Lencho money that Lencho demanded from God although they didn’t know Lencho. Lencho blamed them for taking away some amount of money.He called them “a bunch of crook”. This shows that man does not have faith in other man, thereby giving rise to this conflict.

 

Direct and Indirect speech ( Definition + Rules )

 

The Shiksha Classes ( Akash Kumar ) 

Direct And Indirect Speech Rules

                                 What is Direct & Indirect Speech?

Direct speech - reporting the message of the speaker in exact words as spoken by him.

 

Direct speech example: Rama said “He is busy now.”

 

Indirect speech: reporting the message of the speaker in our own words.

 

Indirect speech example: Rama said that he was very busy then.

         

                                Rules For Direct And Indirect Speech 

Rules for converting Direct into Indirect speech- 

To change a sentence of direct speech into indirect speech there are various factors that are considered such as reporting verbs, modals, time, place, pronoun, tense, etc. we will take up all the factors one by one.

 

Rule 1 - Direct To Indirect Speech Conversion - Reporting Verb

1.       When The reporting verb of direct speech is in past tense then all the present tenses are changed to corresponding past tense in indirect speech.

Direct to indirect speech example:

Direct : she said, “I am happy.”

Indirect : She said (that) she was happy.

2.       In indirect speech tenses do not change if the words used within the quotes („‟) talk of a habitual action or universal truth.

Direct to indirect speech example:

Direct: He said, „we cannot live without air‟.

Indirect: He said that we cannot live without air.

3.       The tenses of direct speech do not change if the reporting verb is in future tense or present tense.

Direct to indirect speech example:

Direct: She says/will say, “She is going.”

Indirect: She says/will say she is going.

 

Rule 2 - Direct Speech to Indirect Speech conversion - Present Tense

1. Present Perfect Changes to Past Perfect.

Direct to indirect speech example:

Direct: "I have been to Boston”, She told me.

Indirect: She told me that she had been to Boston.

 

2. Present Continuous Changes to Past Continuous

Direct to indirect speech example:

Direct: “I am playing the guitar”, She explained.

Indirect: She explained that she was playing the guitar.

3. Present Perfect Changes to Past Perfect

Direct to indirect speech example:

Direct: He said, “She has finished her homework.”

Indirect: He said that she had finished her homework.

4. Simple Present Changes to Simple Past

Direct to indirect speech example:

Direct: “I am unwell", she said.

Indirect: She said that she was unwell.

 

Rule 3 - Direct Speech to Indirect Speech conversion - Past Tense & Future Tense

1. Simple Past Changes to Past Perfect

Direct to indirect speech example:

Direct: She said, “Pragya arrived on Sunday.”

Indirect: She said that Pragya had arrived on Sunday.

2. Past Continuous Changes to Past Perfect Continuous

Direct to indirect speech example

Direct: "We were playing basketball", they told me.

Indirect: They told me that they had been playing basketball.

3. Future Changes to Present Conditional

Direct to indirect speech example

Direct: She said, "I will be in Scotland tomorrow."

Indirect: She said that she would be in Scotland the next day.

4. Future Continuous Changes to Conditional Continuous

Direct to indirect speech example

Direct: He said, “I'll be disposing the old computer next Tuesday.”

Indirect: He said that he would be disposing the old computer next Tuesday.

Rule 4 - Direct Speech to Indirect Speech Conversion - Interrogative Sentences

1.No conjunction is used, if a sentence in direct speech begins with a question (what/where/when) as the "question-word" itself acts as a joining clause.

Direct to indirect speech example

Direct: “Where do you live?” asked the boy.

Indirect: The boy enquired where I lived.

2.If a direct speech sentence begins with auxiliary verb/helping verb, the joining clause should be if or whether.

Direct to indirect speech example

Direct: She said, “Will you come for the party”?

Indirect: She asked whether we would come for the party.

3. Reporting verbs such as „said/ said to‟ changes to enquired, asked, or demanded.

Direct to indirect speech example Direct:

He said to me, “What are you wearing”?

Indirect: He asked me what I was wearing.

Rule 5 - Direct Speech to Indirect Speech Conversion - Changes in Modals While changing direct speech to indirect speech the modals used in the sentences changes like:

1. Can becomes Could

2. May becomes Might

3. Must becomes had to /Would have to

Check the examples: 

Direct : She said, „She can dance‟.

·  Indirect: She said that she could dance.

·  Direct: She said, „I may buy a dress‟.

·  Indirect: She said that she might buy a dress.

·  Direct: Rama said, „I must complete the assignment‟.

·  Indirect: Rama said that he had to complete the assignment.

4. There are Modals that do not change like (Could,Would,Should, Might,         

    Oughtto) 

Direct: She said, „I should clean the house‟

·  Indirect: She said that she should clean the house.

 Rule 6 - Direct Speech to Indirect Speech Conversion - Pronoun

1. The first person in the direct speech changes as per the subject of the speech.

Direct speech to indirect speech example

Direct: He said, “I am in class Twelfth.”

Indirect: He says that he was in class Twelfth.

2. The second person of direct speech changes as per the object of reporting speech.

Direct speech to indirect speech example

Direct: She says to them, "You have done your work.”

Indirect: She tells them that they have done their work.

3. The third person of direct speech doesn't change.

Direct speech to indirect speech example

Direct: He says, "She dances well.”

Indirect: He says that she dances well.

Rule 7 - Direct Speech to Indirect Speech Conversion - Request, Command, Wish,

    Exclamation

1. Indirect Speech is supported by some verbs like requested, ordered, suggested and advised. Forbid-forbade is used for the negative sentences. Therefore, the imperative mood in direct speech changes into the Infinitive in indirect speech.

Direct: She said to her „Please complete it‟.

Indirect: She requested her to complete it.

Direct: Hamid said to Ramid, „Sit down‟.

Indirect: Hamid ordered Ramid to sit down.

2.In Exclamatory sentences that express (grief, sorrow, happiness, applaud) Interjections are removed and the sentence is changed to an assertive sentence.

Direct: She said, „Alas! I am undone‟.

Indirect: She exclaimed sadly that she was broke.

Rule 7 - Direct Speech to Indirect Speech Conversion - Punctuations

1. In direct speech the words actually spoken should be in („‟) quotes and always begin with a capital letter.

Example: She said, “I am the Best.”

2. Full stop, Comma, exclamation or question mark, are placed inside the closing inverted commas.

Example: They asked, “Can we sing with you?”

3. If direct speech comes after the information about who is speaking, comma is used to introduce the speech, placed before the first inverted comma.

Direct speech example: He shouted, “Shut up!”

 

Direct speech example: “Thinking back,” he said, “she didn't expect to win.” (Comma

is used to separate the two direct speeches and no capital letter to begin the second sentence).

 

Rule 7 - Direct Speech to Indirect Speech Conversion - Change of Time

1. In direct speeches, the words that express nearness in time or place are changed to    

    words that express distance in indirect speech. Such as : 

·Now becomes then

· Here becomes there

·Ago becomes before

·Thus becomes so

·Today becomes that day

·Tomorrow becomes the next day

·This becomes that

·Yesterday becomes the day before

·These becomes those

·Hither becomes thither

·Come becomes go

·Hence becomes thence

·Next week Or month becomes following week/month

 Examples:

Direct: He said, „His girlfriend came yesterday.‟

Indirect: He said that his girlfriend had come the day before.

2.The time expression does not change if the reporting verb is in present     tense  or future tense.

Examples:

Direct: He says/will say, "My girlfriend came yesterday."

Indirect: He says/will say that his girlfriend had come yesterday.

Rules for converting Indirect Speech into Direct Speech

The following rules should be followed while converting an indirect speech to direct speech:

1.Use the reporting verb such as (say, said to) in its correct tense.

2.Put a comma before the statement and the first letter of the statement should be in capital letter.

3. Insert question mark, quotation marks, exclamation mark and full stop, based                  on the mood of the sentence.

4. Remove the conjunctions like (that, to, if or whether) wherever necessary.

5. Where the reporting verb is in past tense in indirect, change it to present tense in the direct speech.

6.Change the past perfect tense either into present perfect tense or past tense as

    necessary.

Check the examples: 

·Indirect: She asked whether she was coming to the prom night.

·  Direct: She said to her, “Are you coming to the prom night?”

·  Indirect: The girl said that she was happy with her result.

·  Direct: The girl said.‟I am happy with my result”

A Triumph of Surgery ( lesson-1. short -story)

 A Triumph of Surgery

                                    Short Story - Lesson .1                                          Class- 10th  

Tricki, a small dog, is pampered and overfed by his rich mistress. He falls seriously ill and his mistress consults a veterinary surgeon. Does he perform an operation? Does the dog recover?

                                          READ AND FIND OUT

                   • Why is Mrs Pumphrey worried about Tricki?

                   • What does she do to help him? Is she wise in this?

                   • Who does ‘I’ refer to in this story? 

I was really worried about Tricki this time. I had pulled up my car when I saw him in the street with his mistress and I was shocked at his appearance. He had become hugely fat, like a bloated sausage with a leg at each corner. His eyes, bloodshot and rheumy, stared straight ahead and his tongue lolled from his jaws. 

             Mrs Pumphrey hastened to explain, “He was so listless, Mr Herriot. He seemed to have no energy. I thought he must be suffering from malnutrition, so I have been giving him some little extras between meals to build him up, some malt and cod-liver oil and a bowl of Horlicks at night to make him sleep — nothing much really.” 

      “And did you cut down on the sweet things as I told you?”

      “Oh, I did for a bit, but he seemed to be so weak I had to relent. He does love cream cakes and chocolates so. I can’t bear to refuse him.”

         I looked down again at the little dog. That was the trouble. Tricki’s only fault was greed. He had never been known to refuse food; he would tackle a meal at any hour of the day or night. And I wondered about all the things Mrs Pumphrey hadn’t mentioned.

         “Are you giving him plenty of exercise?”

         “Well, he has his little walks with me as you can see, but Hodgkin, the gardener, has been down with lumbago, so there has been no ring-throwing lately.

           I tried to sound severe: “Now I really mean this. If you don’t cut his food right down and give him more exercise he is going to be really ill. You must harden your heart and keep him on a very strict diet.” 

           Mrs Pumphrey wrung her hands. “Oh I will, Mr Herriot. I’m sure you are right, but it is so difficult, so very difficult.” She set off, head down, along the road, as if determined to put the new regime into practice immediately. 

            I watched their progress with growing concern. Tricki was tottering along in his little tweed coat; he had a whole wardrobe of these coats — for the cold weather and a raincoat for the wet days. He struggled on, drooping in his harness. I thought it wouldn’t be long before I heard from Mrs Pumphrey.               The expected call came within a few days. Mrs Pumphrey was distraught. Tricki would eat nothing. Refused even his favourite dishes; and besides, he had bouts of vomiting. He spent all his time lying on a rug, panting. Didn’t want to go for walks, didn’t want to do anything. 

              I had made my plans in advance. The only way was to get Tricki out of the house for a period. I suggested that he be hospitalised for about a fortnight to be kept under observation. 

              The poor lady almost swooned. She was sure he would pine and die if he did not see her every day. 

               But I took a firm line. Tricki was very ill and this was the only way to save him; in fact, I thought it best to take him without delay and,

               followed by Mrs Pumphrey’s wailings, I marched out to the car carrying the little dog wrapped in a blanket. 

               The entire staff was roused and maids rushed in and out bringing his day bed, his night bed, favourite cushions, toys and rubber rings, breakfast bowl, lunch bowl, supper bowl. Realising that my car would never hold all the stuff, I started to drive away. As I moved off, Mrs Pumphrey, with a despairing cry, threw an armful of the little coats through the window. I looked in the mirror before I turned the corner of the drive; everybody was in tears.

              Out on the road, I glanced down at the pathetic little animal gasping on the seat by my side. I patted the head and Tricki made a brave effort to wag his tail. “Poor old lad,” I said. “You haven’t a kick in you but I think I know a cure for you.” 

               READ AND FIND OUT 

               • Is the narrator as rich as Tricki’s mistress? 

               • How does he treat the dog? 

               • Why is he tempted to keep Tricki on as a permanent guest?

               • Why does Mrs Pumphrey think the dog’s recovery is “a triumph of surgery”?

                      At the surgery, the household dogs surged round me. Tricki looked down at the noisy pack with dull eyes and, when put down, lay motionless on the carpet. The other dogs, after sniffing round him for a few seconds, decided he was an uninteresting object and ignored him. 

                    I made up a bed for him in a warm loose box next to the one where the other dogs slept. For two days I kept an eye on him, giving him no food but plenty of water. At the end of the second day he started to show some interest in his surroundings and on the third he began to whimper when he heard the dogs in the yard. 

                    When I opened the door, Tricki trotted out and was immediately engulfed by Joe, the greyhound, and his friends. After rolling him over and thoroughly inspecting him, the dogs moved off down the garden. Tricki followed them, rolling slightly with his surplus fat.

                     Later that day, I was present at feeding time. I watched while Tristan slopped the food into the bowls. There was the usual headlong rush followed by the sounds of high-speed eating; every dog knew that if he fell behind the others he was liable to have some competition for the last part of his meal.

                    When they had finished, Tricki took a walk round the shining bowls, licking casually inside one or two of them. Next day, an extra bowl was put out for him and I was pleased to see him jostling his way towards it. 

                     From then on, his progress was rapid. He had no medicinal treatment of any kind but all day he ran about with the dogs, joining in their friendly scrimmages. He discovered the joys of being bowled over, tramped on and squashed every few minutes. He became an accepted member of the gang, an unlikely, silky little object among the shaggy crew, fighting like a tiger for his share at mealtimes and hunting rats in the old henhouse at night. He had never had such a time in his life.

                     All the while, Mrs Pumphrey hovered anxiously in the background, ringing a dozen times a day for the latest bulletins. I dodged the questions about whether his cushions were being turned regularly or his correct coat worn according to the weather; but I was able to tell her that the little fellow was out of danger and convalescing rapidly. 

                     The word ‘convalescing’ seemed to do something to Mrs Pumphrey. She started to bring round fresh eggs, two dozen at a time, to build up Tricki’s strength. For a happy period my partners and I had two eggs each for breakfast, but when the bottles of wine began to arrive, the real possibilities of the situation began to dawn on the household. 

                     It was to enrich Tricki’s blood. Lunch became a ceremonial occasion with two glasses of wine before and several during the meal.

                    We could hardly believe it when the brandy came to put a final edge on Tricki’s constitution. For a few nights the fine spirit was rolled around, inhaled and reverently drunk. 

                    They were days of deep content, starting well with the extra egg in the morning, improved and sustained by the midday wine and finishing luxuriously round the fire with the brandy.

                     It was a temptation to keep Tricki on as a permanent guest, but I knew Mrs Pumphrey was suffering and after a fortnight, felt compelled to phone and tell her that the little dog had recovered and was awaiting collection. 

                    Within minutes, about thirty feet of gleaming black metal drew up outside the surgery. The chauffeur opened the door and I could just make out the figure of Mrs Pumphrey almost lost in the interior. Her hands were tightly clasped in front of her; her lips trembled. “Oh, Mr Herriot, do tell me the truth. Is he really better?” 

                  “Yes, he’s fine. There’s no need for you to get out of the car — I’ll go and fetch him.” 

                     I walked through the house into the garden. A mass of dogs was hurtling round and round the lawn and in their midst, ears flapping, tail waving, was the little golden figure of Tricki. In two weeks he had been transformed into a lithe, hard-muscled animal; he was keeping up well with the pack, stretching out in great bounds, his chest almost brushing the ground.

                     I carried him back along the passage to the front of the house. The chauffeur was still holding the car door open and when Tricki saw his mistress he took off from my arms in a tremendous leap and sailed into Mrs Pumphrey’s lap. She gave a startled “Ooh!” And then had to defend herself as he swarmed over her, licking her face and barking. 

                     During the excitement, I helped the chauffeur to bring out the beds, toys, cushions, coats and bowls, none of which had been used. As the car moved away, Mrs Pumphrey leaned out of the window. Tears shone in her eyes. Her lips trembled.

                   “Oh, Mr Herriot,” she cried, “how can I ever thank you? This is a triumph of surgery!”                                                                                                      

                                                                                                                            JAMES HERRIOT  

                       GLOSSARY

                        sausage: finely minced meat stuffed into long cylindrical cases and divided into small    

                                       lengths by twisting or tying 

                        rheumy: a watery discharge from a mucous membrane especially of the nose or eyes                                listless: lacking energy and enthusiasm

                        lumbago: muscular pain in the lower part of the back (lumbar region)

                         regime: prescribed course of exercise and diet 

                        distraught: extremely worried

                         surgery: a place where a doctor, a dentist or a veterinary surgeon treats patients                                         scrimmage: rough or confused struggle

                         convalescing: recovering from an illness

                         lithe: flexible

Thinking about it:

1.What kind of a person do you think the narrator, a veterinary surgeon, is? Would you say he is tactful as well as full of common sense? 

2. Do you think Tricki was happy to go home? What do you think will happen now? 

3. Do you think this is a real-life episode, or mere fiction? Or is it a mixture of both? 

Talk about it :

1. This episode describes the silly behaviour of a rich woman who is foolishly indulgent, perhaps         because she is lonely. Do you think such people are merely silly, or can their actions cause harm to     others?

 2. Do you think there are also parents like Mrs Pumphrey? 

3. What would you have done if you were: (i) a member of the staff in Mrs Pumphrey’s household, (ii)      a neighbour? What would your life have been like, in general?

 4. What would you have done if you were in the narrator’s place? 

• ‘Rikki Tikki Tawi’ by Rudyard Kipling 

• Dog Stories by James Herriot

 • ‘A Zoo in My Luggage’ by Gerald Durrell 

• ‘A Tiger Comes to Town’ by R.K. Narayan