SCST 2020 Book 0459

WORK BOOK CUM
QUESTION BANK WITH ANSWERS
ENGLISH
CLASS - XI
Compiled by :
Dr. Bhagabat Nath, M.A., Ph.D.

Retd. Reader in English
KKS Womens’ College, Balasore
SCHEDULED TRIBE & SCHEDULED CASTE

DEVELOPMENT DEPARTMENT
GOVERNMENT OF ODISHA
Prepared by
SCHEDULED CASTES & SCHEDULED TRIBES
RESEARCH AND TRAINING INSTITUTE
BHUBANESWAR – 751OO3
2020
CONTENTS
SUBJECT PAGE NO.
 English (1st Year) Syllabus 1
 Question Pattern of CHSE 2
 Summary 3-16
 Unit - I 17
 Comprehension Questions from PROSE 17-24
 Answer Keys (Prose) 25-28
 Unit - II 29
 Comprehension Questions from POETRY 29-37
 Answer Keys (Poetry) 38-40
 Unit - III 41
 Comprehension Questions from STORY 41-46
 Answer Keys (Story) 47-48
 Unit - IV 49
 Comprehension Questions from BIOGRAPHY 49-55
 Answer Keys (Biography) 56-59
 Unit - V 60
 Writing Skills and Grammar 60-89
 Annual +2 First Year Examination Question Papers (Set - I) 90-93
 Answer Keys 94-96
 Annual +2 First Year Examination Question Papers (Set - II) 97-100
 Annual +2 First Year Examination Question Papers (Set - III) 105-108
Class - XI English
ENGLISH (1st Year) Syllabus

PROSE
i. Standing Up for Yourself Yevgeny Yevtushenko
ii. The Legend behind a Legend Hariharan Balakrishnan
iii. The Golden Touch Nathaniel Hawthorne
iv. In London In Minus Fours Louis Fischer
v. The Cancer Fight, from Hiroshima to Houston Ritsuko Komaki
POETRY
i. Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening Robert Frost
ii. Oft, in the Stilly Night Thomas Moore
iii. The Inchcape Rock Robert Southey
iv. To My True Friend Elizabeth Pinard
v. Fishing Gopa Ranjan Mishra
STORY
i. Three Questions Leo Tolstoy
ii. After Twenty Years O. Henry
iii. The Open Window Saki
PLAY
i. The One and only Houdini Robert Lado
BIOGRAPHY
i. Childhood Jawaharlal Nehru
ii. Marriage Dr. Rajendra Prasad
BOOK 3 (WRITING SKILLS)
I. Writing a Paragraph
II. Developing Ideas into Paragraphs
III. Writing Personal Letters and Notes
IV. Writing Applications, Official Letters and Business letters
V. Writing Telegrams, E-mails, Personal Advertisements and Short Notices
VI. Using Graphics
VII. Developing a Story
BOOK 4 (GRAMMAR)
I. Countable and Uncountable Nouns
II. Tense Patterns
III. Modal Verbs
IV. Prepositions
V. The Imperatives
VI Translation
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English Class - XI
QUESTION PATTERN OF CHSE
Full Mark : 100 Time : 3 Hrs.
Paper -I (To be evaluated at the College level)
Prose (5 questions to be answered, each carrying 2 marks) 10 marks
Poems (5 questions to be answered each carrying 2 marks) 10 marks
Non detailed Texts (2 questions to be answered carrying 5 marks each) 10 marks
Vocabulary skills 5 marks
Information Transfer (verbal information to non-verbal Forms) 5 marks
Reordering/sequencing sentences 5 marks
Dictionary skills (2 marks on using a dictionary, 3 marks meanings of a word) 5 marks
Cohesive Devices 5 marks
Letter Writing (personal/official/commercial: Word limit: 150) 10 marks
Description of object/event /process (Word limit: 150) 10 marks
Slogan/telegram/caption writing (Word limit: 10) 5 marks
Grammar in context 10 marks
Translation/story-developing 10 marks
Total: 100 Marks
***
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SUMMARY
PROSE
STANDING UP FOR YOURSELF

Yevgeny Yevtushenko
Yevtushenko's "Standing Up For Yourself" is about a Russian boy. The boy is afraid of a mischievous
boy of his age in his street. He tries to overcome his fear. He masters the art of self-defense to get rid of his
fear. It seems that the story is narrated by the boy when he grows up.
A young boy was living alone in an empty flat. He had been left alone by his parents. He had no
decent schooling. He picked up odd habits like using foul words, smoking, spitting and being ready to fight
from the street. He learnt to be fearless. There was a boy in his street named Red who was a terror for the
boys of the street. He could stop any boy and demanded money from him. If any one resisted, he and his
mates beat him up hard. The young boy was afraid of Red. He wrote a poem on Red to chide him.
People in the street were amused and learnt the poem. One morning on his way to school he was face to
face with Red and his mates. Red mocked at him for writing the poem and struck his head with a knuckle-
duster. He fell down streaming with blood and fainted. He remained bedridden for several days. When he
recovered a little, he went out. As he saw Red again, he was frightened and ran away. However, he made
up his mind to overcome his fear for Red. He trained himself with parallel bars and weights to grow
stronger. He exchanged a week's ration card for a textbook on ju-jitsu, a Japanese art of wrestling which
gave the weak an advantage over the strong. He practised at home with two other boys for three weeks.
Then he went out to face Red. Red was playing at cards with his mates on the lawn. Before Red could pull
out his knuckle duster, he punched Red hard. Red howled in pain and rolled on the ground. The narrator
caught Red's wrist and squeezed slowly, the knuckle-duster dropped and Red fell down sobbing in pain.
He defeated not only Red but also his fear for the strong.
THE LEGEND BEHIND A LEGEND

Hariharan Balakrishnan
"The Legend behind a Legend" is a newspaper article published in the Literary Page of the Hindu,
22 Jan 2006. It is written by a columnist Hariharan Balakrishnan.
A legend is a story about a very famous person. People are called legends if they have been unusually
successful in their own fields of work. The two legends mentioned in the topic are Mr. Saroj Raj Choudhury
and his pet tigress Khairi. The writer visits Saroj Raj Choudhury twice to have direct contact with him and
his pet tigress. He writes to Choudhury for a visit to him and gets an invitation from him to visit them.
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English Class - XI
When the writer reached Khairi-Jashipur at 4.00 a.m. on the appointed day, he was escorted by a
Forest Guard to the guest house of Mr. Choudhury. He took rest there for an hour. The grunt of a tiger just
outside the door woke him up. He was terror-struck. A bearer came to the room and told that Khairi was
outside the door, making friendly enquiries about the new guest in the house. He went to Mr. Choudhury's
house after breakfast.
Saroj Raj Chaudhury was a frail man in his fifties, slightly balding on the top. He was playing with his pet
bear Jambu. He narrated the story of Khairi to the writer. On October 5, 1974, Kharia tribals of Similipal
brought a two-month old tiger cub to him. It was a female cub, famished and confused. She was giving angry
snarls and scratching anyone who came near her with her claws. Mr. Chaudhury was a veteran forester. He
knew how to handle a hungry, angry cub. He imitated the sounds of a mother-tigress. Within minutes she was
calm. Mr. Chaudhury told the writer an interesting incident relating to Khairi.
One day, when Khairi was much younger, a baby krait entered his house. The krait is one of the most
poisonous snakes. Khairi was curious to know more about this strange new creature. Every time the krait got
too close to Khairi, Mr. Chaudhury pulled it back by its tail. This went on for some time. At some point, when
he was a little unmindful the krait turned round and bit him. He immediately tied a tourniquet above that and
got the poison out. Still some of the poison got into his blood stream and as a result, he became a permanent
patient of hypo-glycaemia.
The next morning Mr. Chaudhury along with the writer started early for the inspection of the Tiger
Reserve area in a jeep. During their travel the writer gathered some information about Mr. Chaudhury. His
mother had given a gun to him on his eighth birthday. As a young man, he shot wildlife for pleasure. But he
realised that there is greater happiness in conserving beautiful animals that do no harm man. Mr.
Chaudhury was an authority on the tiger and Director of Project Tiger in India. He has introduced the Tiger
Tracing Method of tiger census where the pugmarks of each animal with distinctive measurements and
characteristics are carefully recorded. They camped for the night at a guest house in the jungle. The
writer spent the night on a magnificent machan. During his stay with Mr. Chaudhury, the writer came to
know a lot about the pets. He saw a mongoose, a pangolin, wild cat twins, a country dog and a blind
Hyena. Each had a name.
He paid a second visit to Mr. Choudhury three months after his first visit. Saroj was gracious enough to
welcome him once again. He found an eight-foot long young python as a new addition. He spent only a
couple of hours with Mr. Choudhury as Choudhury had to leave for New Delhi for an important meeting.
That was the last time he had met the legend behind a legend. In just over three months, Khairi died. Saroj Raj
Chaudhury did not live much longer.
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THE GOLDEN TOUCH

Nathaniel Hawthorne
Hawthorne, a famous American writer, narrates the misery of a legendary king who suffered for his
greed for gold in his story 'The Golden Touch'.
Long ago there lived a very rich king called Midas who believed that nothing was more precious than
gold. When a mysterious stranger offered to grant King Midas a wish, the king without any hesitation wished
that all he touched would turn into gold. To his delight, his wish was granted and he soon set about transforming
his ordinary palace into a place of golden beauty. The beautiful flowers in his garden turned into gold. The king
grew hungry and thin, because each time he tried to eat, he found that his meal had turned to gold. When his
beloved daughter Marigold turned into a golden statue with his touch, Midas learnt that what seemed at first
a blessing could also become a curse. In despair, Midas looked about him. Suddenly he saw the stranger that
had visited him the day before. Midas repented of his wish for the golden touch. The stranger advised him to
take a dip in the river nearby and sprinkle water on anything he wished to change back again. When Midas
looked up again, the stranger had vanished. The king ran at once to the river, washed himself and was relieved
of his 'golden touch' which had made his life miserable.
IN LONDON IN MINUS FOURS

Louis Fischer
Louis Fischer (1896 - 1970) is an outstanding American writer, columnist, and analyst of world affairs.
He occupies a unique place among Gandhiji's admirers in the West. He has closely studied the life and
teachings of Mahatma Gandhi in his biography Gandhi: His Life and Message for the World. "In London in
Minus Fours" is the title of Chapter 18 of this book.
In August, 1931, Gandhi travelled with his son and entourage from Bombay to London as India's
emissary to the second Round Table Conference. He stayed in London through the end of the year. He often
walked through slums where the local kids called him Uncle Gandhi. A reporter asked him about his dress.
Gandhi said, "You people wear plus-fours, mine are minus-fours." He was comfortable in London and wore
his loincloth wherever he went even to the Buckingham Palace to meet the King and Queen. Churchill
refused to see him. He enjoyed himself everywhere. He had talks with Lord Irwin, Prime Minister David
Lloyd George, the Archbishop of Canterbury, Field Marshal Smuts, Bernard Shaw, and scores of others. He
went down into the country near Reading to pay his respects to Colonel Maddock who had performed the
appendectomy on him in Poona jail. He also addressed several public meetings. He always tried to explain
what he meant by the independence of India - the complete freedom of India from the British rule. Everywhere
he made friends by his charm, frankness, humanity, and accessibility. He made friends even among those he
hurt. He visited Lancashire where his agitation for khadi and against foreign cloth had caused unemployment.
At a meeting of the textile millworkers he got popular support for his khadi movement. He hoped that his talks
to people in England might result in softening the British spirit. The Round Table Conference failed as the
political leaders of England did not like to give up their position in India.
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THE CANCER FIGHT, FROM HIROSHIMA TO HOUSTON

Ritsuko Komaki
During the final stages of the World War II in 1945, two atomic bombs were dropped on the cities of
Hiroshima and Nagasaki in Japan. Little Boy was dropped on Hiroshima on 6 August 1945, followed by the
Fat Man over Nagasaki on 9 August. The two cities were devastated. Radiation-related ailments have
caused havoc in Japan for years. This essay relates Hiroshima to Houston as Dr. Ritsuko Komaki, a
Japanese scientist, moves from Japan to the USA for her research on the treatment of cancer.
Dr. Ritsuko Komaki is the Program Director of Thoracic Radiation Oncology at The University of
Texas M. D. Anderson Cancer Center in Houston, USA. She is one of the world's leading researchers and
advocates of proton radiation beam therapy, the safest and most effective therapy available. In 1945, she
was living with her family near Osaka when the atomic bomb exploded on her native Hiroshima. The family
returned to the devastated city when she was four. Komaki grew up to witness the long-term effects of
radiation causing the deaths of about half her relatives, including her father. When her close friend Sadako
Sasaki died of radiation-related leukemia, Komaki vowed to become a cancer doctor. Her mission in life is
to educate younger people to live healthy lives and achieve their goal to help others. Proton therapy as a
form of radiation aims at ionizing protons onto a target tumor to destroy its cancerous cells. It is more
effective than photon therapy. In photon therapy, the dosage is big enough to kill the cancerous cells, but
some radiation also hits the healthy cells around the tumor. To minimize the damage to healthy tissues proton
beams are shaped to match the specific tumor and aimed to strike it precisely. Proton therapy is more effective
than photon therapy which is recommended for localized cancer. But Proton therapy is successful
against many of the 130 known forms of cancer. A recent study led by Komaki and her husband Dr. James
Cox shows that proton therapy used with chemotherapy for the treatment of lung cancer causes significantly
less damage to surrounding healthy cells than other forms of radiation.
When she entered medical school in Hiroshima, Komaki learnt that surgery was the only viable cancer
cure. But in the 1970s, while doing her externship, internship, residency and fellowship in Milwaukee, she
began to learn that localized radiation treatment is less harmful than chemotherapy. In 1985, she and Cox
went to Columbia Presbyterian Medical Center in New York to work with Dr. Eric Hall who was a leading
international authority on the effects of the atomic bomb on humans. In 1988, she began to put her years of
research to work at UT M. D. Anderson, Houston. Komaki and Cox visited Loma Linda and set up a Proton
Therapy Center at UT M. D. Anderson in 2006 offering a complete range of proton treatments. Today,
Komaki and her colleagues treat thoracic malignancies. In the Proton Therapy Center with Dr. Andrew Lee
as medical director, 75 to 80 patients get treatment daily. Komaki believes that proton therapy is extremely
important to the future of cancer care.
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POETRY
STOPPING BY WOODS ON A SNOWY EVENING

Robert Frost
Robert Lee Frost (1874 - 1963) is one of the most popular and critically respected American poets.
He is highly regarded for his realistic depictions of rural life and his command of American colloquial speech.
His poetry reveals a keen interest in the varying beauties of nature and the apparently small but deeply
meaningful joys and sorrows of ordinary men and women. "Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening" was a
favourite poem of Jawaharlal Nehru.
On a dark winter evening, the narrator stops his horse to watch the snow falling in the woods. At first he
worries that the owner of the property will be upset by his presence. But it occurs to him that the owner will
not be able to see him as he lives in a nearby village. Therefore, he feels that he is free to enjoy the beauty of
the falling snow in the woods. The horse is confused by his master's behaviour - stopping by a lonely place
far away from any farmhouse, beside a frozen lake in the darkest evening of the year - and shakes his harness
bells impatiently. The horse perhaps wants to know if his master has stopped there by mistake. The place is
desolate. The only other sound besides the tinkling of the horse's bell is of the soft wind and the snowfall.
Although he is tempted to stay longer to watch the snow falling in the woods, even though his horse has lost
his patience, he has "promises to keep," obligations that he cannot ignore even if he wants to. He remembers
his duties and the long distance he has to travel before he can rest for the night. After some time, the narrator
leaves the place unwillingly and continues on his way.
OFT, IN THE STILLY NIGHT

Thomas Moore
Thomas Moore (1779 - 1852) is an Irish poet, satirist, composer, and political propagandist. "Oft, In
the Stilly Night" (1819), also known as "The Light of Other Days", was an immensely popular poem during
the nineteenth century and continued to be widely known and sung during the first decades of the twentieth.
Thomas Moore canvasses memories of past and links them to the present in this poem. It is a poem of
nostalgia for the past.
Very often in the quietness of the night before the poet has fallen asleep, sweet and sad memories of the
past haunt him. He remembers the smiles, the tears, the words of love of his boyhood days. He cherishes the
memory of the near and dear ones who are no more with him. When he remembers that his intimate friends
have departed from his life like leaves falling off the trees in winter, he feels desolate. He feels as if he is the
lone survivor of a party walking down a dark and deserted banquet-hall when his loved ones have left. Thus
he is often engulfed with memories, both sweet and sad, before he falls asleep.
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THE INCHCAPE ROCK

Robert Southey
Robert Southey's "The Inchcape Rock" was published in 1802. It is a literary ballad, a poem that tells
a story with a moral. The 'Inchcape Rock' is a perilous reef off the east coast of Scotland near the mouth of the
river Tay. The rock was a few inches above the surface of the sea in low tide and was completely covered by
the sea in high tide or when the sea was rough. Many ships had been wrecked on the 'lnchcape rock'.
The Abbot of Aberbrothok, a kind hearted priest, placed a bell upon this rock with the help of a buoy to
warn the sailors. The bell could be heard loudly and clearly during a storm so that the sailors could know the
location of the fatal Inchcape rock and move their ships away from it.
One day, a pirate called Sir Ralph the Rover, while walking along the deck of his ship, came across the
Inchcape bell. He was a wicked person and his pleasure was in wickedness. He was also jealous of the
Abbot of Aberbrothok. He rowed in a boat to the Inchcape rock and cut the bell from the buoy. The bell
sank with a gurgling sound. He was pleased that no one would bless the Abbot any longer.
Once when Sir Ralph was returning home with the loot he had plundered, his ship was engulfed by a
thick fog. He was completely at a loss. It was so dark that they could not see the land. He tried to encourage
his sailors by saying that the moon would soon appear and that they would be able to see. From the sound of
the waves breaking, one of the sailors said that they were near the shore. He wished that they could hear the
Inchcape bell and be warned of the danger ahead.
The ship was soon wrecked on the rock. Sir Ralph cursed himself as the ship was sinking beneath
the tide. As he was dying, Ralph felt that he could hear a dreadful sound; as if the Devil was ringing his death
knell at the bottom of the sea with the very bell that he had sunk.
FISHING
Gopa Ranjan Mishra
Poetry is, first of all, for enjoyment. The musical qualities as well as the rhythm of a poem are its
foremost attractions. Many poems also tell a story to enchant us. "Fishing" is such a poem with both the
qualities - music and charm.
One day the narrator went out for fishing with his fishing rod, line and bait. As he was confident of a
good catch, he asked the members of his family to wait for him and assured them that they would have fish-
fry at night for dinner. Though none of them uttered a word on his face, he could sense their soft laughter at his
back as if they were mocking at him. He quietly accepted the challenge and ran to the nearby pond with his
fishing-tackle and a can. Three hours passed. Luck did not seem to smile on him. He could not catch a single
fish. Feeling desperate, he prayed for a fish. Before long he noticed the float sinking and rising again. He pulled
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the string without delay and caught a one-foot long fish. He was very much excited and ran round the place
in joy. But as he looked at the fish, he felt as if the fish seemed to beg to let it back into the water. He thought
of his three hours' toil, appetizing flavour of the fried fish and also some mocking face if he went back home
without the fish. The agony of the fish weighed more heavily on him. He did not care for anything. As the sun
was sinking behind the hill, a strange feeling of joy filled his heart. He let the fish go.
TO MY TRUE FRIEND
Elizabeth Pinard
Friendship is a relationship between two persons who hold mutual affection for each other. The value
of friendship lies in a person's desire to do what is best for the friend, showing mutual understanding, emotional
support, and compassion. Friendship is also marked by enjoyment of each other's company, trust in each
other and positive reciprocity. "To My True Friend" of Elizabeth Pinard shows how the poet cherishes the
memories of her friend.
The poet has found a friend in their first meeting. She prays that their friendship should last for ever.
Whenever she passes through a bad time her friend's sweet smile is encouraging for her. The friend has never
been critical of her, understands her sorrow, and always inspires her to hope for better days to come. She
depends on the friend for advice and encouragement whenever she is at a loss. The friend has helped her to
learn how to love herself and be confident of her own abilities. In the company of her friend she has felt how
good life is.
Their friendship has passed through many ups and downs. There were times when they had differed
from each other, and there were times when both of them had cried in sorrow but their friendship has survived.
Circumstances have compelled them to remain far away from each other. But she has treasured the memory
of her friend's smile which is a source of inspiration for her. She values their friendship as most precious and
hopes that it will last till their last day.
In praise of her friend she says that the friend is extra-special to her, the only true friend, and her
'Guardian Angel'. Their friendship is one-in-a-million. She urges her friend to have a lasting bond of friendship
and enjoy its pure bliss. Finally, she says that she loves the friend and will always continue to do so.
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STORY
THREE QUESTIONS
Leo Tolstoy
"Three Questions" of the Russian author Leo Tolstoy (1828 -1910) deals with three questions that
occurred to a certain king. The thought came to a certain king that he would never fail if he knew three things:
(i) the right time to begin everything, (ii) the right people to listen to, (iii) the most important thing to do. The
learned men of his kingdom attempted to answer the king's questions, but they all came up with different answers.
The king was not satisfied with their answers. He decided to ask a hermit who was known for his wisdom.
As the hermit received only the common folk, the king put on simple clothes, dismounted from his
horse far away from the hermitage and left his guards behind to see the hermit. The hermit was digging the
ground in front of his hut when the king arrived. He greeted the king and went on digging. The king went up to
him and asked his questions, the hermit listened to the king but did not say anything. The king offered to dig
for him for a while. After he had dug two beds, the king stopped and asked his questions again. Before the
hermit could answer, a man emerged from the woods. He was bleeding from a serious wound in the stomach.
The king attended to him, and they stayed the night in the hermit's hut. The next morning as the king woke up, he
found the stranger looking at him. The man confessed that he had come to kill the king as the king had executed
his brother and seized his property. The guards recognized him and wounded him in the stomach. He was moved
by the king's kindness to him and pledged allegiance to the king. The king was glad to win over an enemy.
The king went up to the hermit who was sowing seeds in the bed. He wanted to know the answers to
his questions from the hermit. The hermit responded that he had already answered the questions. He said:
(i) The most important time is 'now'. The present is the only time over which we have power. (ii) The most
important person is whoever we are with. (iii) The most important thing is to do good to the person we are with.
AFTER TWENTY YEARS

O' Henry
William Sydney Porter (1862 - 1910), known by his pen name O' Henry, is an American writer.
His short stories are known for their wit, word play, warm characterization and surprise. In "After Twenty
Years", O' Henry intends to show - 'Devotion to duty triumphs over personal relationship'. The story depicts
the irony and pathos of life in a subtle and dramatic manner.
Bob and Jimmy Wells were two friends. They were born and brought up in New York together. When
Bob was eighteen and Jimmy was twenty, they parted ways in order to build their career. Jimmy stayed in
New York. Bob went to the West. Before parting they had dinner at Brady's restaurant at 10 O' clock one
night and agreed that they would meet there again exactly twenty years from that date and time. After twenty
years on the appointed day, Bob reached the meeting place first and waited in the doorway of a darkened
hardware store for his friend to turn up.
In the mean time a policeman was walking along the street twirling his club. He was on his beat casting
his watchful eyes on the lonely street. He remembered what his boss had said about a criminal that morning.
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The criminal was notorious for printing counterfeit notes. He took a look at the reconstructed photograph of
the criminal: 'a pale face, square-jaws, deep and dark eyes and a little white scar near the right eyebrow'. He
stopped by Bob.
Bob told the policeman that he was waiting there for his friend. He came to know from the policeman
that the restaurant had been demolished five years ago. Bob struck a match and lit his cigar and they started
talking. Bob told the policeman about his career and how he had become rich in the West and how he wished
that Jimmy too had done well. He wished to wait for Jimmy for half an hour. He hoped that if Jimmy was alive,
he would be there by that time. The policeman wished him luck and continued on his beat.
Bob smoked his cigar and waited. It was drizzling. Twenty minutes later, a man walked up to Bob, and
called him by his name. The two friends then continued walking and chatting. While they reached the lighted
area near a drug store, both of them stopped and looked at each other. Bob suddenly realized that the person
he had been talking to was not his friend Jimmy. He said, "You're not Jimmy Wells." The other man informed
Bob that he had been under arrest for the past ten minutes. The stranger then passed a note to Bob. The note
was from Jimmy Wells, the policeman. Jimmy had written to Bob that he had come to the appointed place at
the given time. When Bob lit the cigar, he saw in his friend's face the face of a wanted criminal. He could not
arrest his friend himself and had sent someone else to arrest Bob.
THE OPEN WINDOW

Saki
Hector Hugh Munro , better known by his pen name Saki, is an eminent English novelist and short story
writer. His stories depict human behaviour in interesting and playful situations and are remarkable for
gentle humor and sparkling wit. In "The Open Window" Saki narrates how a young girl befools the
adults with her pranks.
A man named Framton Nuttel suffers from nervous disorder. He visits the Sappleton family to spend
some time away from home. He arrives at the Sappelton's when his sister's friend Mrs. Sappelton is away.
Her niece Vera answers the door. When Vera finds out that Mr. Nuttel knows nothing about her Aunt, she
lies to him about a "tragedy" that struck the family one year ago. While waiting to meet Mrs. Sappleton, Vera
tells Mr. Nuttel that three years ago exactly on that day, her uncle (Mr. Sappleton), Mrs. Sappleton's two
younger brothers, and the family dog went for shooting. They never came back. While crossing the moor to
their favorite snipe-shooting ground they were engulfed in a treacherous piece of bog. Their bodies could
never be recovered. Vera tells Mr. Nuttel that her aunt leaves a window open because she still believes that
one day they will come back home through the window as they used to do.
Framton is relieved when Mrs. Sappleton bustles into the room making apologies for being late. She
tells him that her husband and brothers are expected to return at any moment. He thinks that Mrs. Sappleton
has gone crazy and feels sorry for her. Suddenly, Mrs. Sappleton brightens as she tells him that they have
returned. He turns to Vera but she is staring out through the open window with horror in her eyes. He looks
at the window and finds in the deepening twilight three figures walking across the lawn towards the window.
A tired brown spaniel is close at their heels. He grabs his stick and hat, and rushes out of the room as if he has
seen ghosts. Mrs. Sappleton doesn't understand his strange behaviour, but Vera replies that he is deadly afraid
of dogs. Not only has Vera tricked Mr. Nuttel but also she has befooled her aunt. Thus, "Romance at short
notice is Vera's specialty.
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BIOGRAPHY
CHILDHOOD
Jawaharlal Nehru
Jawaharlal Nehru (1889 -1964), a great freedom fighter and statesman is the first Prime Minister of
independent India (1947-64). In this biographical account, Nehru writes about his feelings for the English
rulers and the common English men.
During his childhood Nehru often listened to his cousins talking about the insulting conduct of the
English towards the Indians. His cousins felt that no Indian should tolerate such misconduct and fight it out.
They discussed cases of clashes between the English and the Indians. When an Englishman killed an Indian,
he was set free by the English jury. In railway trains, compartments were reserved for Europeans. Even when
an Englishman entered an unreserved compartment, he did not allow any Indian to travel in it. Benches and
chairs were also reserved for Europeans in parks and other public places. Nehru was angry with the English
who misbehaved in this manner. He was glad whenever an Indian hit back. One of his cousins who was the
strong man of the family often picked a quarrel with a white man Such quarrels took place especially
during railway journeys. However, he had no ill will against any individual Englishman. He rather admired
the English.
Friends came to visit Nehru's father in the evenings. He would relax with them. The house echoed with
his laughter. His laughter became famous in Allahabad. Sometimes Nehru would peep into the room behind
a curtain. If he was caught, he would be taken into the room and made to sit for a while on his father's knee.
He had often seen his father and his friends drink whisky. Once he saw him drinking claret or some other red
wine. He was frightened. He ran to his mother to tell her that his father was drinking blood. He greatly
admired his father. His father was a model of strength, courage and cleverness to him. He hoped to be like his
father. But he was afraid of his father for his bad temper. He looked terrible then and Nehru shivered with fear.
But Motilal had a strong sense of humour and an iron will. He could control himself as he grew older.
When he was five or six, Nehru faced his father's anger. One day he found two fountain pens on his
father's office table and picked up one of them for himself. When a search was made for the lost pen, he was
so afraid that he could not confess his guilt. The pen as well as the culprit was discovered and his father gave
him a sound thrashing. Nehru rushed to his mother. For several days, creams and ointments were applied to
his aching and quivering little body. He was still full of admiration for his father though a little afraid. However,
he had no fear for his mother because she would forgive everything he did. As he spent more time with his
mother, she seemed nearer to him and he used to confide in her. She was short in stature and he soon grew
almost as tall as she was and felt more of an equal with her. He admired her beauty and loved her amazingly
small and beautiful hands and feet.
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Class - XI English
Munshi Mubarak Ali was one of Nehru's childhood confidants. The munshi came from a well-to-do
family of Badaun. The Revolt of 1857 had ruined the family. He was gentle and patient with everybody.
Nehru always came to him whenever he was unhappy or in trouble. He listened to stories from The Arabian
Nights or the accounts of the happenings in 1857 and 58. "Munshiji" died when Nehru was grown up and he
treasures his memory lovingly. Nehru also listened to stories from the old Hindu mythology, from the epics,
The Ramayana and The Mahabharata from his mother and aunt. His aunt, the widow of Pandit Nand Lal, was
learned in the old Indian books and had a never-ending supply of these tales.
During his childhood Nehru did not have a clear idea of religion. His father and his older cousins treated
religion lightly. He enjoyed ceremonies and religious offerings performed by the women of the family. Sometimes
he went with his mother or aunt to the Ganges for a dip and visited temples in Allahabad or in Benares or went
to see a sanyasi reputed to be very holy. All this left little impression on his mind. However, he tried to imitate
the casual attitude of the grown-up men of the family to some extent. Several Hindu and Kasmiri festivals
were observed in his family. On the Holi they sprayed water on each other. On the Diwali, all the houses
were lit up with thousands of dim lights in earthen cups. On the Janmashtami the birth of Krishna in prison was
celebrated at the midnight hour in the temple. During the Dasehra and Ram Lila tableaux and processions
reenacted the old story of Ramachandra and his conquest of Lanka. Children went to see the Mohurrum
processions with their silken alums and their sorrowful celebration of the tragic story of Hasan and Husain in
distant Arabia. During the two Id days he would go to Munshiji's house and consume sweet vermicelli and
other dainties. His family also observed smaller Hindu festivals like Rakshabandhan, Bhayya duj and some
special Kashmiris celebrations like the Naoroz, the New Year's Day, according to the Samvat calendar when
all wore new clothes, and the young people of the house got small sums of money as tips.
MARRIAGE
Dr. Rajendra Prasad
Rajendra Prasad (3 December 1884 - 28 February 1963) was one of the architects of the Indian
Republic. He was the first President of independent India. "MARRIAGE" is an excerpt from the autobiography
of Dr. Rajendra Prasad.
Marriage of Rajendra Prasad was arranged when he was in the fifth standard and was thirteen. The
bride's father and his younger brother visited their house. They put some questions to the groom and approved
of the match. They sent clothes, utensils and cash present of Rs. 2,000 after a few days as the Tilak. His father
was not keen on the cash present, but as the bride's party insisted, he had to accept it. Two thousand rupees
then was considered to be a fairly good sum. It was a custom that if the present for the Tilak is greater, the
pomp and show in the marriage procession must be greater and the customary offering of ornaments for the
bride must be costlier. Although their financial position was not very sound at that time due to expenses on
deaths in the family, loss of income from the zamindari owing to famine and rising expenses on children's
education and lawsuits, his father decided to make the marriage a grand affair in order to maintain the prestige
of the family.
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English Class - XI
Those days there was a custom of elaborate marriage processions with horses and elephants. They
could arrange only one elephant and a few horses for the wedding as it was an exceptionally auspicious
day and there were many marriages on that day. The marriage was to be held in Dalan-Chapra in Ballia
district, 40 miles from Zeradei. It was a two-day journey. Besides one elephant and a few horses the party
had several palkies. His brother was riding a horse. His father and other relatives were in palkies and he
was in a special palki. Riding in a palki was no fun for him with the sun and the hot winds. In the evening,
they camped in a village on the bank of the Sarju and rested for the night. The next morning they crossed
the river. The luggage, the palkies, the horses, and the bullock carts were transported on boats while the
elephant was made to swim across. But the elephant would not go forward and turned back. The mahout
returned with his elephant. His father was unhappy because his own marriage procession had scores of
elephants but he could not arrange a single tusker for his son. In the evening his wish was fulfilled. When we
were nearing the bride's place they could hire a few elephants returning from another wedding. They
reached the bride's place at 11 in the night.
The bride's party was worried because of the delay in their arrival. They were a bit disappointed as the
marriage procession was not to their expectation in pomp and show. But their spirits revived when they saw
the ornaments, dresses, sweets and other presents for the bride.
The wedding party arrived late in the night. The bridegroom had fallen asleep in the palki. It was quite
a job for his people to wake him up. He managed to keep his eyes open through the pre-nuptial ceremonies.
The wedding took place the same night. He neither understood the importance of the marriage nor felt its
responsibility. It was like a doll's marriage for him. He did whatever the Pandit or the women of the house told
him to do during the ceremony. He could hardly understand what was going on. He only knew that someone
would come into their house as his wife. They stayed in the bride's house for two days and then returned
home. The bride did not accompany them to their home immediately. A year later his wife came into their
house following a ceremony known as Duragman.
The custom of purdah was strictly observed then in his family. His brother's wife could talk only to the
two maidservants she had brought with her. She had a room to herself and she never came even into the
verandah. No one was permitted to enter the courtyard except the cook and the tender aged boy servants.
The cook had to give a loud warning before he could walk across the courtyard to the kitchen. If he required
anything, a maidservant got it for him. When his sister-in-law wanted to go for her bath, everyone was cleared
out of the courtyard. Two maid-servants would carry bed sheets as curtains on either side of her when she
walked to the bath. She would pull on her veil even when Rajendra Prasad's mother, aunt or sister entered
her room. No maid-servant of Zeradei could go to her room. Except for once or twice as a boy, Rajendra
Prasad had never seen her face. His wife followed the same practice in Zeradei, but after a long time, the
rules were relaxed.
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Class - XI English
PLAY
THE ONE AND ONLY HOUDINI

Robert Lado
Harry Houdini (March 24, 1874 - October 31, 1926) was an American stunt performer, noted for his
sensational escape acts. The real name of Houdini is Ehrich Weiss. He was born in Appleton, Wisconsin, in
1874. His father was a poor priest. He went to work at an early age. At the same time, he became interested
in magic. He became famous for his magic tricks. But his performance did not appear to be a trick. He had
amazing control over his body. While working for a locksmith, he learnt how to open handcuffs with small
picks. He also learnt about magic by reading about Robert-Houdini, the famous French magician. Finally,
he decided to quit his job and became a professional magician under the name of Harry Houdini.
His wife Bessie is also a magician. After she married Houdini, they performed in many theatres. She
dropped out after Houdini became famous for his escapes from handcuffs and jails throughout the country
and in Europe and helped him. Once, after Houdini had been handcuffed to the bars in a jail cell, she kissed
him good luck and passed a lock pick from her mouth to his. Several minutes later, Houdini surprised his
jailers by walking into their office.
Houdini first attracted notice as "Harry Handcuff Houdini" on a tour of Europe, where he sensationally
challenged different police forces to try to keep him locked up. Dr. Robert Lado gives an account of one of
Houdini's escapes in this play. The scene of the play is set by the swimming pool at New York's Shelton Hotel
and the time was August 5, 1926.
Houdini got inside an iron box and the cover was soldered. The box was airtight. There was a telephone
and an alarm bell with batteries inside the box so that Houdini might call for help. The box was to be lowered
underwater into the Swimming Pool. People gathered around the pool. Houdini could go without air for over
an hour. The doctors checked his blood pressure and pulse rate and found both normal. They were worried
because there would be enough oxygen inside the sealed box for an average man to take fifty breaths. But
Houdini said that he knew how to breathe easily and save the oxygen Doctors doubted that he would be able
live without air for more than fifteen minutes. They feared that he would pass out before he could signal for
help. Houdini appeared wearing a black swimming suit. He was smiling. He seemed sure of himself. He
thanked the spectators and said that a man could live only three minutes without air and he was going to prove
it wrong. He entered the box. The iron cover was put in its place. The cover was sealed. The box was
lowered into the pool. Joseph Rinn, the official timekeeper, started the clock. He was to call out the time
every five minutes for the first hour. After that, if Houdini was still in the box, he would call out each minute.
While the performance was going on, the reporter was narrating Houdini's feats.
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English Class - XI
Houdini's underwater box escapes are famous. In such a performance, he is handcuffed and chained
and put in a wooden box which is shut with nails. After that the box is dropped underwater. Minutes later
Houdini swims to the surface. Though he uses tricks in this act, he has lock picks and other special tools
hidden on him or in the box. He has great body control. He can control his chest muscles also. Before he
is bound into a straitjacket, he fills his chest with air. Later, when he relaxes, he can move around inside the
jacket. Others have tried the same trick but failed. He could also make his stomach muscles almost as
hard as steel to withstand the fists of big, strong men.
After thirty minutes of the performance, there was trouble. One of the swimmers standing on the box
lost his balance. He fell into water. The other swimmers fell down too. The box had bobbed up above the
water level. Collins called out to Houdini. Houdini responded. Though his voice sounded faint, Collins said
that he was all right. Houdini has trained himself in controlling his breath. He learnt a lot about holding his
breath while doing his underwater escapes. However, Houdini always trained long and hard before giving
a show.
After forty five minutes people were worried about Houdini's well-being. Doctors seemed afraid.
Dr. McConnell said that if he was awake in the box, he must be suffering from extreme exhaustion. As fifty
minutes passed, some of reporters were rushing for the phones making their stories that Houdini was able to
go without air for over an hour. As fifty-five minutes passed, a group of doctors approached James Collins,
Houdini's assistant and asked him to pull Houdini out when the sixty minutes were up. But Collins did not
agree. A doctor asked Collins to tell Houdini that he had passed an hour. Collins told Houdini that he had
just passed an hour and the doctors were urging him to pull him out. Houdini told him to wait.
Rinn was calling out each minute. The Doctor exclaimed that Houdini was an amazing man. People
were whispering to one another around the pool. When Houdini passed the hour mark, some of the crowd
seemed to relax but Houdini was far from being safe. After one hour and thirteen minutes Collins had a call
from Houdini. Houdini said that the box had got a leak, but there was no danger.
After one hour and thirty minutes Houdini called Collins to get him up. The box was raised above water
and opened. Dr. McConnell checked Houdini's pulse and blood pressure and found them very low. But
Houdini said that he felt a little dizzy which would pass after an hour of exercise. The Reporter congratulated
Houdini and asked how he did the trick.
Houdini said that it was no trick. He just took a series of deep breaths before the lid was soldered.
He made very few body movements inside the box and took short breaths. The Reporter exclaimed that
Houdini was a fantastic man.
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Class - XI English
Unit - I
Comprehension Questions from PROSE

1. Read the passage carefully and answer the questions that follow:
The ruler of our street ... was a boy of about sixteen who was nicknamed Red.
Red was big and broad-shouldered beyond his years.
Red walked masterfully up and down our street, legs wide and with a slightly rolling gait,
like a seaman on his deck.
From under his cap, its peak always at the back of his head, his forelock tumbled down in a
fiery cascade, and, out of his round pock-marked face, green eyes, like a cat's, sparkled
with scorn for everything and everyone. Two or three lieutenants in peaked caps back to
front like Red's, tripped at his heels.
Red could stop any boy and say impressively the one word 'money'. His lieutenants would
turn out the boy's pockets, and if he resisted they beat him up hard.
Everyone was afraid of Red. So was I. I knew he carried a heavy metal knuckle-duster in his pocket.
Questions :
(a) What made Red look older than he really was?
(b) How did he roam in the streets?
(c) How did Red look?
(d) How did Red rule the street?
(e) How did he extract money from other boys?
2. Read the following extract from the prescribed text and answer the questions
that follow:
I wanted to conquer my fear of Red. So I wrote a poem about him. This was my first piece
of journalism in verse. By the next day, the whole street knew it by heart and exulted with
triumphant hatred.
One morning on my way to school, I suddenly came upon Red and his lieutenants. His eyes
seemed to bore through me. "Ah, the poet", he drawled, smiling crookedly. "So you write
verses. Do they rhyme?"
Red's hand darted into his pocket and came out armed with its knuckle-duster; it flashed
like lightning and struck my head. I fell down streaming with blood and lost consciousness.
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English Class - XI
This was my first remuneration as a poet. I spent several days in bed. When I went out, with
my head still bandaged, I again saw Red. I struggled with myself but lost and took to my
heels. At home, I rolled on my bed, biting my pillow and pounding it in shame and impotent
fury at my cowardice. I made up my mind to vanquish it at whatever cost.
Questions :
(a) What did the narrator did to overcome his fear of Red?
(b) How did the people in the street respond to the poem?
(c) How did Red react to the narrator's poem?
(d) What was the result of the narrator's first encounter with Red?
(e) What was the narrator's reaction when he met Red again?
I went into training with parallel bars and weights. After every session, I would feel my
muscles they were getting bigger, but slowly. Then I remembered something I had read in a
book about a miraculous Japanese method of wrestling which gave an advantage to the weak
over the strong. I exchanged a week's ration card for a textbook on ju-jitsu.
For three weeks, I stayed at home, practising with two other boys. Then I went out.
Red was sitting on the lawn in our yard, playing vingt-et-un with his lieutenants. He was
absorbed in the game.
Fear was still deep in me, urging me to go back. But I went up to the players and kicked and
scattered the cards.
He got up slowly ? You looking for more ?? he asked menacingly.
As before, his hand dived into his pocket for the knuckle-duster. But I made a quick jabbing
movement and Red, howling with pain, rolled on the ground. Bewildered, he got up and
came at me swinging his head furiously from side to side like a maddened bull.
I caught his wrist and squeezed slowly, as I had read in the book, until the knuckle-duster
dropped from his limp fingers. Nursing his hand, Red fell down again. He was sobbing and
smearing the tears over his pock-marked face with his grubby fist.
Questions:
(a) How did the narrator train himself to grow stronger?
(b) What is ju-jitsu?
(c) How did he get a textbook on ju-jitsu?
(d) Where did the final encounter take place? What was Red doing then?
(e) How did the narrator defeat Red?
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Class - XI English
THE LEGEND BEHIND A LEGEND

Here is the first story that emerged from this very unusual man between sips of coffee: "As
you will see, I have different species of wild animals in this house. They all came in at
different stages of their lives. I have debunked the theory that they cannot co-exist unless
they are together from infancy. One thing I wanted to experiment with was the reaction of
a young tiger to a snake. One day, when Khairi was much younger, we found a baby krait in
the house. As you know, krait is one of the most poisonous snakes. I was noting Khairi's
reaction to its presence. Khairi was curious to know more about this strange new creature.
Every time the krait got too close to Khairi, I would pull it back by its tail. This went on for
some time. At some point, I must have been a little unmindful. It turned round and bit me. I
immediately tied a tourniquet above that and got the poison out. I saw the doctor as soon as
possible. Luckily it was a baby. Still, some of the poison got into my blood stream and as a
result, I am now a permanent patient of hypo-glycaemia."
Questions:
(a) What theory did Mr. Chaudhury prove wrong? How did he prove it?
(b) What was the first story about?
(c) Why did Mr. Chaudhury allow Khairi to come near a krait?
(d) What was Khairi's reaction to the presence of the krait?
(e) How did the experiment affect him?
By the time he finished this astonishing story, Jambu took a fancy to me and climbed behind
to give me his bear hug. A stern 'no' from Saroj was enough to dissuade him from this
expression of fondness. As the day progressed, between our conversations and the
intermittent crackle on the VHF wireless set by which he was giving instructions to his
men in the forests, I got to know a veritable joint family that was living inside the compound
- a mongoose, a pangolin, wild cat twins, a country dog and a blind Hyena. Each had a name.
Questions
(a) What did the bear try to do with the writer?
(b) What prevented the bear from doing so?
(c) How did Mr. Chaudhury give instructions to his men in the forests?
(d) Who were the pet animals of Mr. Chaudhury?
(e) What was his relationship with different animals?
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English Class - XI
Khairi's story started on October 5, 1974 when 12 Kharia tribals of Similipal brought a
two-month old tiger cub to Saroj Raj Chaudhury, an officer of the Indian Forest Service.
Saroj noticed that it was a female - famished and confused. His first experience of what
was to become his passion in life was angry snarls and scratching claws. But, the veteran
forester and instinctive lover of wildlife knew how to handle a hungry, angry cub. He imitated
the sounds of a mother-tigress. 'Within minutes, her confidence was firmly anchored in the
fostering human,' is how he recalled those first few minutes between the legends.
Early next morning, Saroj started for his inspection of the Tiger Reserve area. I tagged
along in the jeep that snaked through narrow road in the woods amidst lush foliage. "My
mother gave me a gun for my eighth birthday. As a young man, I shot wildlife with abandon.
But soon, I realised that there is greater happiness in conserving these beautiful animals
that do no wanton harm to man" is one of the things he told me about his life during that
long travel.
Questions
(a) How and when did Mr. Chaudhury come across Khairi?
(b) In what condition did he find it?
(c) How did he manage the hungry and confused cub?
(d) How did he treat wild life in his young age?
(e) What did say about his change of attitude towards wild life to the author?
THE GOLDEN TOUCH
Suddenly, the earliest sunbeam of the rising sun shone through the window and up to the
ceiling above. It seemed to reflect its golden light towards him. Looking at the sheet on his
bed, Midas was astonished to find that it had become cloth of gold. The Golden Touch had
truly come to him, with the first sunbeam.
King Midas got out of bed in excitement. He touched one of the legs of the bed as he did so
- and it immediately became a golden pillar. He pulled the curtain at the window, and at
once it became golden, too. He put on his clothes, and found himself dressed in golden
cloth.
He took up his spectacles and put them on - and he found he could see nothing at all. The
glasses had turned into gold and he could not see through them. He took them off again.
'Never mind', he thought to himself. 'The Golden Touch is worth more than a pair of spectacles,
and Marygold will be able to read to me'.
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Class - XI English
King Midas went downstairs and into the garden. He noticed that even the brass handle of
the door became gold as soon as he turned it. Then he went among the rose-trees that had
always been his pride and joy in the past.
When he went in to breakfast that morning, he felt more hungry than usual. While he was
waiting for his eggs to be ready, little Marygold came in crying bitterly.
'Look, father!' she cried, holding out a golden rose. 'I went to pick you some rose and they
are yellow and hard, and their sweet scent is gone'.
'Never mind, my dear', said her father. 'They are worth much more like that. Sit down and eat
your breakfast'.
Questions:
(a) When did the king discover that his desire for the golden touch had been fulfilled?
(b) What did King Midas do in his first excitement? What was the result?
(c) Why was the king not sad when his spectacles turned into gold?
(d) What was Marygold's complaint about the roses?
(e) How did the king console his daughter?
The stranger looked seriously at King Midas.
'You are wiser than you were', he said. 'Your heart is still flesh and blood. You know truly
that the common things of life, which are within everyone's reach, are more valuable than
riches. Tell me, do you want to keep the Golden Touch?'
'No, it is hateful to me now', said Midas, passionately. A fly settled on the king's nose and
immediately fell to the floor, a small scrap of gold. Midas shuddered.
'Then go down to the end of your garden', said the stranger, 'and wash yourself in the water
of the river there. Then bring some of the same water and sprinkle it over anything that you
wish to change back again. If you do this, truly and sincerely, you can set right again the
results of your greed of gold'.
King Midas bowed his head. When he looked up again, the stranger had vanished.
The king ran at once to the river. Without waiting to take off his clothes, he dived in. In the
coolness of the water, he felt at once that a weight had been lifted from his heart and body.
He came out of the river. He was free of the Golden Touch! He put out his hand and touched
a wild rose on the river's bank, and he found with thankfulness that it remained the same
sweet flower. Taking up a water pot, he quickly filled it with river water and took it back to
the palace.
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English Class - XI
I expect the servants thought it very strange to see their royal master carrying a water pot;
but that water was more precious to Midas than an ocean of gold.
The king went straight to the golden figure of little Marygold. As he sprinkled the water on
her, the rosy colour came back to her cheeks. She began to sneeze and shake the water from
her golden hair.
'Oh, father! See how wet I am - and my dress was clean this morning!' she said.
Questions:
(a) 'You are wiser than you were' - why did the stranger say so?
(b) Why did Midas shudder?
(c) What did the stranger advise the king to get rid of the golden touch?
(d) How did the king get back his daughter?
(e) Is the story a tragic or comic one? Give your reasons.
9. Read the following extract from the prescribed text and answer the questions that follow:
In London from September 12th to December 5th, he stayed, most of the time, at Kingsley
Hall, an East Settlement House, as guest of Muriel Lester, who had visited him in 1926.
Mornings he took walks through the nearby slum areas, and men and women on the way to
work would smile at him and he engaged them in conversation and later came to their
homes. Children called him "Uncle Gandhi" and sidled up to him and held his hand. One
mischief-loving youngster called out, "Hey, Gandhi, where's your trousers"? The Mahatma
had a good laugh.
He was a wonderful newspaper copy, and journalists buzzed around him incessantly. One
reporter questioned Gandhi about his dress. "You people," he replied, "wear plus-fours,
mine are minus-fours." When he was invited to tea in Buckingham Palace with King George
V and Queen Mary, all England was agog over what he would wear. He wore the usual loincloth,
sandals, a shawl, and his dangling dollar watch. Subsequently someone asked Gandhi whether
he had enough on. "The King," he replied, "had enough on for both of us."
Questions:
(a) Where did Gandhi stay in London?
(b) How did Gandhi spend his mornings in London?
(c) How did children treat Gandhi in the slum areas?
(d) What was Gandhi's reply to the reporter's question about his dress?
(e) What did Gandhi wear for tea at the Buckingham Palace with King George V and
Queen Mary?
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Class - XI English
Everywhere he made friends by his charm, frankness, humanity, and accessibility. He even
walked into the lion's den in Lancashire where his agitation for khadi and against foreign
cloth had caused painful unemployment. At a meeting of the textile millworkers, one man
said, "I am one of the unemployed, but if I was in India I would say the same thing that Mr.
Gandhi is saying," A delightful photograph taken outside the Greenfield Mill at Darwen
shows Gandhi wrapped in white homespun from neck to knee, for it was cold, and squeezed
in among cheering, applauding women, one of whom, to his embarrassment, is holding his
hand. He made friends even among those he hurt.
"I found that my work lies outside the Conference," he told a London audience. 'This is the
real Round Table Conference… The seed which is being sown now may result in softening
the British spirit and in preventing the brutalization of human beings."
Mahadev Desai's diaries show that the Mahatma often got to bed at 2A.M., awoke at 3.45
A.M. for prayers, wrote letters and read papers, rested again from 5 to 6, and had no respite
from then till the next morning at 1 or 2 A.M. Small wonder that he occasionally slept at
sessions of the Conference. He did not give it his best.
Questions:
(a) Which qualities in Gandhi turned his opponents to friends?
(b) Why did Gandhi go to Lancashire?
(c) How did Gandhi look in his photograph taken outside the Greenfield Mill at Darwen?
(d) What was Gandhi's work in London outside the Round Table Conference?
(e) What was Gandhi's routine in London?
THE CANCER FIGHT,
FROM HIROSHIMA TO HOUSTON
Dr. Ritsuko Komaki was living with her family near Osaka when the atomic bomb exploded
on her native Hiroshima in 1945. But the family returned to the devastated city when she
was four, and Komaki grew up a witness to the long-term effects, which likely contributed
heavily to the deaths of about half her relatives, including her father. Like many Japanese,
she developed both a fascination with and fear of radiation. When her close friend Sadako
Sasaki died at age 11 of radiation-related leukemia, Komaki vowed to become a cancer doctor.
Today, Dr. Komaki has learned how to apply radiation creatively and no longer fears it;
instead, as clinical section chief and Program Director of Thoracic Radiation Oncology at
The University of Texas M. D. Anderson Cancer Center in Houston, she uses it in increasingly
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English Class - XI
sophisticated ways to fight cancer. She is one of the world's leading researchers and advocates
of proton radiation beam therapy, an emerging treatment that many oncologists consider
the safest and most effective available. And according to Komaki, her work is much better
done in the context of a university program than at private institutions.
Questions:
(a) When did the atomic bomb explode on Hiroshima?
(b) What loss did Komaki suffer due atomic explosion in Hiroshima?
(c) When did Komaki vow to become a cancer doctor?
(d) Where does Komaki work?
(e) What is proton radiation beam therapy?
Proton therapy, like other forms of radiation, aims ionizing particles (in this case, protons)
onto a target tumor to damage and ultimately destroy its cancerous cells. But proton beams
are much more localized and powerful than the X-rays used in more established radiation
therapies. In the latter, the dosage is big enough to kill the cancerous cells, but some radiation
also hits the healthy cells around the tumor. This can cause such side effects as pneumonitis,
esophagitis and bone marrow toxicity, or lead to the growth of secondary cancers.
To reduce damage to healthy tissues by a scattered dose of low radiation, the oncologist
requires sharply delineated radiation, and proton beams are shaped to almost perfectly
match the specific tumor and aimed to strike it precisely. Collateral damage is thus minimal,
making it feasible to hit the cancer with much bigger doses. In addition, photons (X-rays)
release up to 90 percent of their cancer-fighting energy as they penetrate the skin, and lose
30 percent of it by the time they reach the tumor, meaning their overall effectiveness is
reduced by 40 percent; they also exit out the rear of the tumor to further damage healthy
tissues behind it. By controlling the speed with which it is shot into the body, the proton
beam is calibrated to be at 30 percent of its maximum efficacy near the skin level while
gathering full strength when it actually reaches the tumor and it barely exits the body at all.
Questions:
(a) What is proton therapy?
(b) What are the damaging side effects of photon therapy (X-Ray)?
(c) What are the advantages of proton therapy over photon therapy?
(d) How is photon therapy (X-Ray) harmful?
(e) How is proton therapy more effective?
24
Class - XI English
Unit - I
ANSWER KEYS (PROSE)
1. (a) … his big and broad-shoulders .
(b) … walked masterfully up and down our street with a slightly rolling gait like a seaman
on his deck.
(c) … had round pock-marked face … green eyes, like a cat's, … eyes sparkled with
scorn for everything and everyone.
(d) … walked masterfully up and down the street with his followers … his green eyes
shone with scorn for everything and everyone… he carried a heavy metal knuckle-
duster in his pocket … collected money by force.
(e) … stopped any boy and say impressively 'money'… his mates turned out the boy's
pockets… if he resisted they beat him up.
2. (a) …. wrote a poem about Red.
(b) … got the poem by heart and enjoyed it.
(c) … Red sneered at the narrator, "Ah, the poet"… he smiled crookedly and said, "So
you write verses. Do they rhyme?"
(d) … Red struck the narrator's head with his knuckle-duster … he fell down bleeding
from his wound and lost consciousness
(e) … lost courage and took to his heels … at home he rolled on his bed, bit his pillow
and pounded it in shame and impotent fury at his cowardice ... he made up his mind to
vanquish his fear at any cost
3. (a) … with parallel bars and weights.
(b) … a Japanese method of wrestling which gave the weak an advantage over the strong.
(c) … exchanged a week's ration card for it.
(d) … on the lawn in their yard … Red was playing at cards with his mates.
(e) … he punched Red before Red could pull out his pocket for the knuckle-duster …
Red rolled on the ground howling with pain… he got up and came at the narrator
furiously ... the narrator caught his wrist and squeezed it slowly … the knuckle-duster
dropped from his limp fingers … Red fell down again sobbing.
25
English Class - XI
The Legend behind a Legend

4. (a) … wild animals cannot co-exist unless they are together from infancy … he had put
them together in his house bringing them in at different stages of their lives.
(b) … Khairi meeting a poisonous krait.
(c) … because he wanted to experiment with the reaction of Khairi to a snake.
(d) … Khairi was curious about the krait.
(e) … the snake bit him … he suffered from hypo-glycaemia.
5. (a) … tried to give him a hug.
(b) … A stern `no' from Mr. Chaudhury.
(c) … by his VHF wireless set.
(d) … a bear, a mongoose, a pangolin, wild cat twins, a country dog and a blind Hyena
besides Khairi.
(e) … the animals belong to his family… he gave each pet a name.
6. (a) … on October 5, 1974, 12 Kharia tribals of Similipal brought a two-month old Khairi
to him.
(b) … very hungry and disturbed and snarling angrily and scratching with claws
(c) … imitated the sounds of a mother-tigress and tamed her.
(d) … shot wildlife recklessly.
(e) … he realised that there is greater happiness in conserving beautiful wild animals that
do no wanton harm to man.
THE GOLDEN TOUCH
7. (a) … when the earliest sunbeam of the rising sun shone through the window and up to
the ceiling of the palace … the sheet on his bed became cloth of gold.
(b) … touched one of the legs of the bed …pulled the curtain at the window … put on his
clothes … all these changed into gold.
(c) … he thought that the Golden Touch was worth more than a pair of spectacles …
consoled himself that Marygold would read to him.
(d) … the roses were yellow and hard, and their sweet scent was gone.
(e) … they are worth much more than the ordinary roses.
26
Class - XI English
8. (a) … because the stranger felt that King Midas truly knew that the common things of
life are more valuable than riches.
(b) … because he was terrified to see that a fly that sat on his nose turned into a scrap
of gold.
(c) … to wash himself in the water of the river at the end of his garden and sprinkle some
water over anything that he wished to change back to life again.
(d) … he sprinkled the water of the river on the golden figure of little Marygold and
brought her back to life.
(e) … a comic one … the king got back what he really loved.

9. (a) … at Kingsley Hall, an East Settlement House, as guest of Muriel Lester.
(b) … took walks through the nearby slum areas … engaged men and women in
conversation while they were on their way to work and as they came back home.
(c) … called him "Uncle Gandhi" … came to him and held his hand.
(d) … "You people wear plus-fours, mine are minus-fours."
(e) … his usual loincloth, sandals, a shawl, and his dangling dollar watch.
10. (a) … his charm, frankness, humanity, and accessibility.
(b) … his agitation for khadi and against foreign cloth had caused unemployment in
Lancashire ... so he visited the textile mill workers in Lancashire to win their
hearts.
(c) … Gandhi was wrapped in a white homespun cloth from neck to knee moving among
cheering, applauding women.
(d) … to talk to important and common people outside the Conference … to sow the
seeds of good will to soften the British spirit and in preventing the brutalization of
human beings in India.
(e) … Mahatma awoke at 3.45 A.M. for prayers, wrote letters and read papers, rested
again from 5 to 6, and remains busy till 1 or 2 A.M.
27
English Class - XI
THE CANCER FIGHT,

FROM HIROSHIMA TO HOUSTON
11. (a) … in 1945.
(b) … about half of her relatives including her father died.
(c) … when her close friend Sadako Sasaki died of radiation-related leukemia at the age
of 11.
(d) … as clinical section chief and Program Director of Thoracic Radiation Oncology at
The University of Texas M. D. Anderson Cancer Center in Houston.
(e) … an emerging treatment for cancer ... the safest and most effective available treatment.
12. (a) … a form of radiation that aims at ionizing proton particles to a target tumor to destroy
its cancerous cells).
(b) … pneumonitis, esophagitis and bone marrow toxicity, secondary cancers.
(c) … Collateral damage is thus minimal as proton beams are shaped to almost perfectly
match the specific tumor and aimed to strike it precisely.
(d) … the dosage is big enough to kill the cancerous cells, but some radiation also hits
the healthy cells around the tumor and damage them … photons (X-rays) release up
to 90 percent of their cancer-fighting energy as they penetrate the skin, and lose 30
percent of it by the time they reach the tumor
(e) … proton beam is calibrated to be at 30 percent of its maximum efficacy near the
skin level … it gathers full strength when it actually reaches the tumor and it barely
exits the body at all.
28
Class - XI English
Unit - II
Comprehension Questions from POETRY

1. Read the following extract from the text and answer the questions that follow :
My little horse must think it queer
To stop without a farm house near
Between the woods and frozen lake
The darkest evening of the year.
He gives his harness bells a shake

To ask if there is some mistake.
The only other sound's the sweep
Of easy wind and downy flake.
The woods are lovely, dark and deep.

But I have promises to keep,
And miles to go before I sleep,
And miles to go before I sleep.
Questions :
(a) Where and when did the horseman stop his journey ?
(b) Why does the horse give his harness bells a shake ?
(c) What is 'the only other sound' that fills the atmosphere?
(d) How does the poet describe the woods ?
(e) What has he to do before he falls asleep ?
29
English Class - XI
2. Read the following extract from the text and answer the questions that follow:
When I remember all
The friends, so link'd together,
I've seen around me fall,
Like leaves in wintry weather;
I feel like one
Who treads alone
Some banquet-hall deserted,
Whose lights are fled,
Whose garlands dead,
And all but he departed!
Thus, in the stilly night,
Ere slumber's chain has bound me,
Sad memory brings the light
Of other days around me.
Questions :
(a) Explain, "The friends so linked together I've seen around me fall".
(b) How does the poet express the death of his friends?
(c) How does the poet feel in the absence of his friends?
(d) Why does he feel like one who treads alone?
(e) When do sad memories come to the poet?
30
Class - XI English
THE INCHCAPE ROCK

3. Read the following extract from the prescribed text and answer the questions that
follow :
The buoy of the Inchcape Bell was seen

A darker speck on the ocean green;
Sir Ralph the Rover walked his deck,
And he fixed his eye on the darker speck.
He felt the cheering power of spring;

It made him whistle, it made him sing;
His heart was mirthful to excess.
But the Rover's mirth was wickedness.
His eye was on the Inchcape float;

Quoth he, 'My men, put out the boat,
And row me to the Inchcape Rock,
And I'll plague the Abbot of Aberbrothok'
The boat is lowered, the boatmen row,

And to the Inchcape Rock they go;
Sir Ralph bent over from the boat,
And he cut the Bell from the Inchcape float.
Down sunk the Bell with a gurgling sound;

The bubbles rose and burst around;
Quoth Sir Ralph, 'The next who comes to the Rock
Won't bless the Abbot of Aberbrothok.'
Questions :
(a) How did the buoy of the Inchcape Bell look?
(b) What was effect of 'the cheering power of spring' on Ralph?
(c) What did Ralph tell his men to do when saw the Inchcape buoy?
(d) What act of wickedness did Sir Ralph do?
(e) Why did he do the wicked act?
31
English Class - XI
follow :
Sir Ralph the Rover sailed away,

He scoured the seas for many a day;
And now grown rich with plundered store
He steers his course for Scotland's shore.
So thick a haze o'erspreads the sky

They cannot see the sun on high;
The wind hath blown gale all day,
At evening it hath died away
On the deck the Rover takes his stand.

So dark it is they see no land.
Quoth Sir Ralph, 'It will be lighter soon,
For there is the dawn of the rising moon.'
'Canst hear', said one 'the breakers roar?

For methinks we should be near the shore'
'Now where we are I cannot tell,
But I wish I could hear the Inchape Bell'.
Questions :
(a) How did Sir Ralph the Rover become rich ?
(b) Why can't the mariners see the sun ?
(c) Why can't Ralph see the land ?
(d) Why does a mariner hope that land is near ?
(e) What does the mariner wish to hear ?
32
Class - XI English
follow:
They hear no sound; the swell is strong;

Though the wind hath fallen they drift along,
Till the vessel strikes with a shivering shock-

'Oh Christ! it is the Inchcape Rock'.
Sir Ralph the Rover tore his hair,

He cursed himself in his despair;
The waves rush in on every side;
The ship is sinking beneath the tide.
But even in his dying fear
One dreadful sound could the Rover hear,

A sound as if with the Inchcape Bell
The Devil below was ringing his knell.
Questions :
(a) Why couldn't they hear any sound ?
(b) What did the ship strike ?
(c) How did Sir Ralph react when his ship was sinking ?
(d) What dreadful sound did the Rover seem to hear?
(e) What did he imagine when he heard the dreadful sound ?
33
English Class - XI
FISHING
follow :
Like a seasoned angler sure of his feat
With fishing rod and line, and bait

I said, "You all, wait for me
Fish-fry tonight our dinner will be."
Though none of them did say a word

On my face, yet I heard
Some chuckles sure at my back

I told myself, "Let me come back."
To the nearby pond I straightaway ran

With fishing-tackle, and of course, a can;
The minutes passed and the hours dragged

It seemed no luck that day I had.
Questions :
(a) How did the speaker prepare himself for fishing?
(b) What did he declare to his family?
(c) What kind of response did he sense from the members of the family?
(d) What was his initial experience of catching fish?
(e) What does the expression 'a seasoned angler' mean?
34
Class - XI English
follow :
And lo, the float sank, rose again

And popped its head to tell me then
"This is just the time, you man,
To catch a fish if you can."
Without delay I pulled the string

And what a catch did it bring!
A one-foot fish, bright and fair
That wriggled and wriggled in the air.
At this my joy knew no bound

I ran excited round and round,
But with a gasping mouth and wistful look
It seemed to say, "Please unhook
Me and let me go again
To my home, my watery den."
I did think of my three hours' labour

And the spicy fish-fry flavour
Back home some mocking face would stare
For nothing, however, I did care.
As the sun was sinking behind the hill

A strange feeling my heart did fill
In the evening's crimson glow
With greater joy, I let it go.
Questions :
(a) How did the angler know the right time to catch the fish ?
(b) What was the fish like ?
(c) What did the fish seem to tell the angler ?
(d) When did the angler hook the fish ?
(e) What did the angler do with the fish ?
35
English Class - XI
TO MY TRUE FRIEND
follow :
The day I met you

I found a friend -
And a friendship that
I pray will never end.
Your smile - so sweet

And so bright -
Kept me going
When day was as dark as night.
You never ever judged me,

You understood my sorrow.
Then you told me it needn't be that way
And gave me the hope of a better tomorrow.
You were always there for me,

I knew I could count on you.
You gave me advice and encouragement
Whenever I didn't know what to do.
You helped me learn to love myself

You made life seem so good.
You said I can do anything I put my mind to
And suddenly I knew I could.
Questions :
(a) What does the poet pray for?
(b) How did the friend encourage the poet?
(c) How did the friend reassure her?
(d) Why did the poet trust her friend?
(e) How did the friend inspire self-confidence in the poet?
36
Class - XI English
follow :
There were times when we didn't see eye to eye

And there were days when both of us cried.
But even so we made it through:
Our friendship hasn't yet died.
Circumstances have pulled us apart,

We are separated by many miles.
Truly, the only thing that keeps me going
Is my treasured memory of your smile.
This friendship we share

Is so precious to me,
I hope it grows and flourishes
And lasts unto infinity.
You are so extra-special to me

And so this to you I really must tell:
You are my one true friend,
My Guardian Angel.
Our friendship is one-in-a-million

So let's hold on to it and each other.
We cannot let this chance of pure bliss fly away
For there will never be another.
I love you.
I will always love you.
Questions :
(a) What adverse moment has their friendship pass through?
(b) What keeps the poet going though they are not together?
(c) How does the poet value her friendship?
(d) Why does she call her friend extra-special?
(e) What is the poet's final wish ?
37
English Class - XI
Unit - II
ANSWER KEYS (POETRY)

1. (a) … at a lonely place between the woods and frozen lake … during the darkest evening
of the year
(b) … perhaps it was impatient … perhaps it could not understand his master's intentions
of stopping at a lonely place in the snowy evening
(c) … soft wind along with falling snow flakes sweeping the woods
(d) … lovely, dark and deep
(e) …the responsibilities he has

2. (a) … poet has seen his close friends dropped down dead
(b) … friends dropped down dead like leaves falling off the trees in winter
(c) … lonely and sad like a person wandering in a deserted dark banquet-hall
(d) … because all his loved ones are either gone or dead
(e) … in the stillness of the night before he is lost in deep sleep
THE INCHCAPE ROCK
3. (a) … like a dark spot on the green ocean
(b) … made him whistle and sing mirthfully … his heart was filled with extreme mirth ...
he felt like doing something evil
(c) … to put the boat out and row him to the Inchcape Rock so that he would injure the
fame of the Abbot
(d) …cut the Bell from the Inchcape boat and let it sink with a gurgling sound
(e) … because no one would bless the Abbot of Aberbrothok
38
Class - XI English
4. (a) … by plundering the ships in the high seas
(b) … because the sky was covered with thick haze
(c) … the evening was very dark
(d) … because he thought that he could hear waves breaking on the sea shore
(e) … ringing of the Inchape Bell
5. (a) … because the there was a strong tide
(b) … the ship struck with the Inchcape Rock with a shivering shock
(c) … tore his hair in despair and cursed himself
(d) … the ringing sound of the Inchcape Bell
(e) … as if the Devil was ringing his death knell with the Inchcape Bell in hell
FISHING
6. (a) … collected his fishing rod, line, bait and a can
(b) … he asked his people to wait for him and assured them that they would have fish-fry
for dinner that night
(c) … he sensed that people were quietly laughing at his back as if they were silently
mocking at his skill in fishing
(d) … he waited for minutes and hours but luck did not smile on him … he could not
catch any fish
(e) … an experienced fisherman who catches fish with an angling rod and line
7. (a) … when the float sank and rose again and popped its head above water
(b) … fish was one-foot long with bright and fair scales
(c) … unhook it and let it go to its den under water
(d) … when the sun was setting
(e) … let it go into water
39
English Class - XI
TO MY TRUE FRIEND
8. (a) … a never-ending friendship

(b) … inspired her with a bright and sweet smile when she passed through difficult times
(c) … by assuring her with the hope of a better tomorrow
(d) … because her friend gave her advice and encouragement whenever she didn't know
what to do
(e) … by helping her to learn to love herself and her life … making her confident by
saying that she could do anything she decided
9. (a) … some hostile moments when they didn't see eye to eye with each other … some sad
moments when both of them cried
(b) … the smiles of the friend the poet has treasured in the memory
(c) … their friendship is precious and
(d) … because she is her true friend and her Guardian Angel
(e) … that she should enjoy the pure bliss of friendship forever
40
Class - XI English
Unit - III
Comprehension Questions from STORY
THREE QUESTIONS
1. Read the following extract from the prescribed text and answer the questions, each
in about 70 words:
The hermit lived in a wood which he never quitted, and he received none but common folk.
So the King put on simple clothes, and before reaching the hermit's cell dismounted from
his horse, and, leaving his body-guard behind, went on alone.
When the King approached, the hermit was digging the ground in front of his hut. Seeing
the King, he greeted him and went on digging. The hermit was frail and weak, and each time
he stuck his spade into the ground and turned a little earth, he breathed heavily.
The King went up to him and said: "I have come to you, wise hermit, to ask you to answer
three questions: How can I learn to do the right thing at the right time? Who are the people
I most need, and to whom should I, therefore, pay more attention than to the rest? And, what
affairs are the most important, and need my first attention?"
The hermit listened to the King, but answered nothing. He just spat on his hand and
recommenced digging.
"You are tired," said the King, "let me take the spade and work awhile for you."
"Thanks!" said the hermit, and, giving the spade to the King, he sat down on the ground.
When he had dug two beds, the King stopped and repeated his questions. The hermit again
gave no answer, but rose, stretched out his hand for the spade, and said:
"Now rest awhile-and let me work a bit."
But the King did not give him the spade, and continued to dig. One hour passed, and another.
The sun began to sink behind the trees, and the King at last stuck the spade into the ground,
and said:
"I came to you, wise man, for an answer to my questions. If you can give me none, tell me
so, and I will return home."
Questions :
(a) How did the King meet the hermit?
(b) Describe meeting of the King and the hermit.
41
English Class - XI
in about 70 words:
"Forgive me!" said the bearded man in a weak voice, when he saw that the King was awake
and was looking at him.
"I do not know you, and have nothing to forgive you for," said the King.
"You do not know me, but I know you. I am that enemy of yours who swore to revenge
himself on you, because you executed his brother and seized his property. I knew you had
gone alone to see the hermit, and I resolved to kill you on your way back. But the day passed
and you did not return. So I came out from my ambush to find you, and I came upon your
bodyguard, and they recognized me, and wounded me. I escaped from them, but should have
bled to death had you not dressed my wound. I wished to kill you, and you have saved my
life. Now, if I live, and if you wish it, I will serve you as your most faithful slave, and will bid
my sons do the same. Forgive me!"
The King was very glad to have made peace with his enemy so easily, and to have gained him
for a friend, and he not only forgave him, but said he would send his servants and his own
physician to attend him, and promised to restore his property.
Questions :
(a) Why did the wounded person wish to kill the King? How did he plan to do it?
(b) How did the King make peace with the wounded person?
AFTER TWENTY YEARS

in about 70 words:
"Twenty years ago to-night," said the man, "I dined here at 'Big Joe' Brady's with Jimmy
Wells, my best chum, and the finest chap in the world. He and I were raised here in New
York, just like two brothers, together. I was eighteen and Jimmy was twenty. The next morning
I was to start for the West to make my fortune. You couldn't have dragged Jimmy out of
New York; he thought it was the only place on earth. Well, we agreed that night that we
would meet here again exactly twenty years from that date and time, no matter what our
conditions might be or from what distance we might have to come. We figured that in
twenty years each of us ought to have our destiny worked out and our fortunes made, whatever
they were going to be."
42
Class - XI English
"It sounds pretty interesting," said the policeman. "Rather a long time between meets, though,
it seems to me. Haven't you heard from your friend since you left?"
"Well, yes, for a time we corresponded," said the other. "But after a year or two we lost
track of each other. You see, the West is a pretty big proposition, and I kept hustling around
over it pretty lively. But I know Jimmy will meet me here if he's alive, for he always was the
truest, staunchest old chap in the world. He'll never forget. I came a thousand miles to stand
in this door to-night, and it's worth it if my old partner turns up."
The waiting man pulled out a handsome watch, the lids of it set with small diamonds.
"Three minutes to ten," he announced. "It was exactly ten o'clock when we parted here at the
restaurant door."
Questions :
(a) What was the appointment made between two friends twenty years before?
(b) What information about the friends do you gather from their conversation?
in about 70 words :
"Twenty years ago to-night," said the man, "I dined here at 'Big Joe' Brady's with Jimmy
Wells, my best chum, and the finest chap in the world. He and I were raised here in New
York, just like two brothers, together. I was eighteen and Jimmy was twenty. The next morning
I was to start for the West to make my fortune. You couldn't have dragged Jimmy out of
New York; he thought it was the only place on earth. Well, we agreed that night that we
would meet here again exactly twenty years from that date and time, no matter what our
conditions might be or from what distance we might have to come. We figured that in
twenty years each of us ought to have our destiny worked out and our fortunes made, whatever
they were going to be."
"It sounds pretty interesting," said the policeman. "Rather a long time between meets, though,
it seems to me. Haven't you heard from your friend since you left?"
"Well, yes, for a time we corresponded," said the other. "But after a year or two we lost
track of each other. You see, the West is a pretty big proposition, and I kept hustling around
over it pretty lively. But I know Jimmy will meet me here if he's alive, for he always was the
truest, staunchest old chap in the world. He'll never forget. I came a thousand miles to stand
in this door to-night, and it's worth it if my old partner turns up."
43
English Class - XI
The waiting man pulled out a handsome watch, the lids of it set with small diamonds.
"Three minutes to ten," he announced. "It was exactly ten o'clock when we parted here at the
restaurant door."
"Did pretty well out West, didn't you?" asked the policeman.
"You bet! I hope Jimmy has done half as well. He was a kind of plodder, though, good fellow
as he was. I've had to compete with some of the sharpest wits going to get my pile. A man
gets in a groove in New York. It takes the West to put a razor-edge on him."
The policeman twirled his club and took a step or two.
"I'll be on my way. Hope your friend comes around all right. Going to call time on him
sharp?"
"I should say not!" said the other. "I'll give him half an hour at least. If Jimmy is alive on earth
he'll be here by that time. So long, officer."
"Good-night, sir," said the policeman, passing on along his beat, trying doors as he went.
Questions :
(a) What was the appointment made between two friends twenty years before?
(b) What information about the friends do you gather from their conversation?
in about 70 words:
At the corner stood a drug store, brilliant with electric lights. When they came into this
glare each of them turned simultaneously to gaze upon the other's face.
The man from the West stopped suddenly and released his arm.
"You're not Jimmy Wells," he snapped. "Twenty years is a long time, but not long enough to
change a man's nose from a Roman to a pug."
"It sometimes changes a good man into a bad one," said the tall man. "You've been under
arrest for ten minutes, 'Silky' Bob. Chicago thinks you may have dropped over our way and
wires us she wants to have a chat with you. Going quietly, are you? That's sensible. Now,
before we go on to the station here's a note I was asked to hand you. You may read it here at
the window. It's from Patrolman Wells."
44
Class - XI English
The man from the West unfolded the little piece of paper handed him. His hand was steady
when he began to read, but it trembled a little by the time he had finished. The note was
rather short.
Bob: I was at the appointed place on time. When you struck the match to light your cigar
I saw it was the face of the man wanted in Chicago. Somehow I couldn't do it myself, so
I went around and got a plain clothes man to do the job.
Questions :
(a) When did Bob realise that the tall man he had met was not Jimmy Wells ?
(b) What information did Bob get from the note?
THE OPEN WINDOW

in about 70 words:
"I hope Vera has been amusing you?" she said.
"She has been very interesting," said Framton.
"I hope you don't mind the open window," said Mrs. Sappleton briskly; "my husband and
brothers will be home directly from shooting, and they always come in this way. They've
been out for snipe in the marshes today, so they'll make a fine mess over my poor carpets.
So like you men folk, isn't it?"
She rattled on cheerfully about the shooting and the scarcity of birds, and the prospects for
duck in the winter. To Framton it was all purely horrible. He made a desperate but only
partially successful effort to turn the talk on to a less ghastly topic, he was conscious that
his hostess was giving him only a fragment of her attention, and her eyes were constantly
straying past him to the open window and the lawn beyond. It was certainly an unfortunate
coincidence that he should have paid his visit on this tragic anniversary.
Questions :
(a) What did Mrs. Sappleton say about her husband and brothers to Mr. Nuttel?
(b) How did Mr. Nuttel react to her?
45
English Class - XI
in about 70 words:
Framton shivered slightly and turned towards the niece with a look intended to convey
sympathetic comprehension. The child was staring out through the open window1 with a
dazed horror in her eyes. In chill shock of nameless fear, Framton swung round in his seat
and looked in the same direction.
In the deepening twilight three figures were walking across the lawn towards the window,
they all carried guns under their arms, and one of them was additionally burdened with a
white coat hung over his shoulders. A tired brown spaniel kept close at their heels..I
Noiselessly they neared the house, and then a hoarse young voice chanted out of th dusk: "I
said, Bertie, why do you bound?"
Framton grabbed wildly at his stick and hat; the hail door, the gravel drive, and the front gate
were dimly noted stages in his headlong retreat. A cyclist coming along the road had to run
into the hedge to avoid imminent collision.
"Here we are, my dear," said the bearer of the white mackintosh, coming in through the
window, "fairly muddy, but most of it's dry. Who was that who bolted out as we came up?"
"A most extraordinary man, a Mr. Nuttel," said Mrs. Sappleton; "could only talk about his
illnesses, and dashed off without a word of good-bye or apology when yo arrived. One
would think he had seen a ghost."
I expect it was the spaniel," said the niece calmly; "he told me he had a horror of dogs. He
was once hunted into a cemetery somewhere on the banks of the Ganges by a pack of pariah
dogs, and had to spend the night in a newly dug grave with the creatures snarling and grinning
and foaming just above him. Enough to make anyone lose their nerve."
Romance at short notice was her speciality.
Questions :
(a) Why did Mr. Nuttel leave Mrs. Sappleton's house in a hurry?
(b) How did Vera explain the cause of Nuttel's sudden disappearance?
46
Class - XI English
Unit - III
ANSWER KEYS (STORY)
THREE QUESTIONS
1. (a) … hermit lived in a wood … he never left his place … nor he received any one but
common folk … the King put on simple clothes … dismounted from his horse a little
distance away from the hermit's cell … left his body-guard behind and went on alone
to meet the hermit
(b) … when the King approached, the hermit was digging the ground in front of his hut …
The King went up to him asked his three questions: How he can learn to do the right
thing at the right time … the people he needs most … what affairs are the most
important for his first attention … hermit listened to the King, answered nothing and
recommenced digging … king helped the hermit by digging earth till sunset … king
repeated his questions
2. (a) …the King had executed his brother and seized his property … He had noticed the
king walking alone to the hermit's cottage… he hid himself in the trees … carried a
knife to kill the king on his way back
(b) … the wounded person was moved by the king's kindness to him … he was repentant
… he begged the king's forgiveness… confessed that he swore to take revenge on the
king for his brother's execution and the loss of his property … He promised to serve
the King as a faithful slave … the King was glad to have made peace with his enemy
AFTER TWENTY YEARS
3. (a) … they would meet each other at 'Big Joe' Brady's restaurant exactly twenty years
from that date and time, no matter what their conditions might be or from what distance
they might have to come.
(b) … the man from the West and Jimmy Wells were good friends … were brought up in
New York together just like two brothers … When he was eighteen and Jimmy was
twenty they parted … he went to the West in search of fortune …. Jimmy stayed in
New York… They wrote to each other for a year or two and then they lost track of
each other ... they would meet each other at 10 o'clock that night.
47
English Class - XI
4. (a) … they would meet each other at 'Big Joe' Brady's restaurant exactly twenty years
from that date and time, no matter what their conditions might be or from what distance
they might have to come.
(b) … the man from the West and Jimmy Wells were good friends … were brought up in
New York together just like two brothers … when he was eighteen and Jimmy was
twenty they parted … he went to the West to earn his fortune …. Jimmy stayed in
New York… they wrote to each other for a year or two and then they lost track of each
other… the man was busy in the west ... he had to compete with clever people to
become rich… Jimmy was honest … he was doing hard labour to earn his living
5. (a) … as they came near a drug store lit brilliantly with electric lights, they turned to
look at each other's face … The man from the West stopped suddenly … said that the
person was not Jimmy Wells
(b) … Jimmy Wells met Bob at the appointed place on time … he saw Bob's face of the
man when he struck the match to light his cigar … Wells realized that Bob was a
wanted criminal in Chicago … so, he got Bob arrested by a policeman in plain clothes
THE OPEN WINDOW

6. (a) … her husband and brothers have been out for hunting in the marshes that day … the
will be coming back home directly from shooting in the marshes … will be home
directly from shooting … they always come by the window
(b) … it was all purely horrible for Nuttel … he made a desperate effort to turn the talk
on to a less ghastly topic … he was conscious that his hostess was giving him only a
fragment of her attention … her eyes were constantly straying past him to the open
window and the lawn beyond. … he felt sorry for visiting her on the tragic anniversary
7. (a) … Mr. Nuttel believed that Mrs. Sappleton's husband and her brothers were dead …
when he saw three figures followed by a dog was coming noiselessly towards the
house he shivered in fear … When he heard "I said, Bertie, why do you bound?", he
was out of his wits … he felt that ghosts are coming … so he left the house in a hurry
(b) … Vera said that the cause was their spaniel … he had a horror of dogs … a pack of
pariah dogs once hunted him into a cemetery somewhere on the banks of the Ganges
… he had to spend the night in a newly dug grave with the dogs snarling and grinning
at him
48
Class - XI English
Unit - IV
Comprehension Questions from BIOGRAPHY
CHILDHOOD
1. Read through the following extract from the prescribed text and answer the questions,
each in about 70 words :
My childhood was thus a sheltered and uneventful one. I listened to the grown-up talk of my
cousins without always understanding all of it. Often this talk related to the overbearing
character and insulting manners of the English people, as well as Eurasians, towards Indians,
and how it was the duty of every Indian to stand up to this and not to tolerate it. Instances of
conflicts between the rulers and the ruled were common and were fully discussed. It was a
notorious fact that whenever an Englishman killed an Indian he was acquitted by a jury of
his own countrymen. In railway trains compartments were reserved for Europeans and
however crowded the train might be - and they used to be terribly crowded - no Indian was
allowed to travel in them, even though they were empty. Even an unreserved compartment
would be taken possession of by an Englishman and he would not allow any Indian to enter
it. Benches and chairs were also reserved for Europeans in public parks and other places. I
was filled with resentment against the alien rulers of my country who misbehaved in this
manner, and whenever an Indian hit back I was glad. Not infrequently one of my cousins or
one of their friends became personally involved in these individual encounters and then of
course we all got very excited over it. One of the cousins was the strong man of the family
and he loved to pick a quarrel with an Englishman, or more frequently with Eurasians, who,
perhaps to show off their oneness with the ruling race, were often even more offensive than
the English official or merchant. Such quarrels took place especially during railway journeys.
Questions :
(a) Why did Nehru resent the behaviour of Englishmen in general in India ?
(b) How did Nehru's cousins treat the English ?
In the evenings usually many friends came to visit father and he would relax after the tension
of the day and the house would resound with his tremendous laughter. His laugh became
famous in Allahabad. Sometimes I would peep at him and his friends from behind a curtain
trying to make out what these great big people said to each other. If I was caught in the act
I would be dragged out and, rather frightened, made to sit for a while on father's knee. Once
I saw him drinking claret or some other red wine. Whisky I knew. I had often seen him and
his friends drink it. But the new red stuff filled me with horror and I rushed to my mother to
tell her that father was drinking blood.
49
English Class - XI
I admired father tremendously. He seemed to me the embodiment of strength and courage
and cleverness, far above all the other men I saw, and I treasured the hope that when I grew
up I would be rather like him. But much as I admired him and loved him I feared him also. I
had seen him losing his temper at servants and others and he seemed to me terrible then and
I shivered with fright, mixed sometimes with resentment, at the treatment of a servant. His
temper was indeed an awful thing and even in after years I do not think I ever came across
anything to match it in its own line. But, fortunately, he had a strong sense of humour also
and an iron will, and he could control himself as a rule. As he grew older this power of
control grew and it was very rare for him to indulge in anything like his old temper.
Questions :
(a) How did Nehru's father spend his evenings in Allahabad ?
(b) How does Nehru express his admiration for his father ?
each in about 70 words:
One of my earliest recollections is of this temper, for I was the victim of it. I must have
been about five or six then. I noticed one day two fountain-pens on his office table and I
looked at them with greed. I argued with myself that father could not require both at the
same time and so I helped myself to one of them. Later I found that a mighty search was
being made for the lost pen and I grew frightened at what I had done, but I did not confess.
The pen was discovered and my guilt proclaimed to the world. Father was very angry and he
gave me a tremendous thrashing. Almost blind with pain and mortification at my disgrace I
rushed to mother, and for several days various creams and ointments were applied to my
aching and quivering little body.
I do not remember bearing any ill-will towards my father because of this punishment. I
think I must have felt that it was a just punishment, though perhaps overdone. But though my
admiration and affection for him remained as strong as ever, fear formed a part of them.
Not so with my mother. I had no fear of her, for I knew that she would condone everything
I did, and, because of her excessive and indiscriminating love for me, I tried to dominate over
her a little. I saw much more of her than I did of father and she seemed nearer to me and I would
confide in her when I would not dream of doing so to father. She was petite and short of
stature and soon I was almost as tall as she was and felt more of an equal with her. I admired
her beauty and loved her amazingly small and beautiful hands and feet. She belonged to a
fresher stock from Kashmir and her people had only left the homeland two generations back.
Questions :
(a) Narrate briefly how Nehru became a victim of his father's temper.
(b) What impression of Nehru's mother do you get from the passage?
50
Class - XI English
Another of my early confidants was a munshi of my father's, Munshi Mubarak Ali. He came
from a well-to-do family of Badaun. The Revolt of 1857 had ruined the family and the
English troops had partly exterminated it. This affliction had made him gentle and forbearing
with everybody, especially with children, and for me he was a sure haven of refuge whenever
I was unhappy or in trouble. With his fine grey beard he seemed to my young eyes very
ancient and full of old-time lore, and I used to snuggle up to him and listen, wide-eyed, by
the hour to his innumerable stories - old tales from The Arabian Nights or other sources, or
accounts of the happenings in 1857 and 58. It was many years later, when I was grown up,
hat "Munshiji" died, and the memory of him still remains with me as a dear and precious
possession.
There were other stories also that I listened to, stories from the old Hindu mythology, from
the epics, the Ramayana and the Mahabharata, that my mother and aunt used to tell us. My
aunt, the widow of Pandit Nand Lal, was learned in the old Indian books and had an
inexhaustible supply of these tales, and my knowledge of Indian mythology and folklore
became quite considerable.
Questions :
(a) How does Nehru cherish the memory of Mubarak Ali ?
(b) How did Nehru acquire the knowledge of Indian folklore and mythology during his
childhood?
Of religion I had very hazy notions. Father and my older cousins treated the question
humorously and refused to take it seriously. The women of the family indulged in various
ceremonies and pujas from time to time and I rather enjoyed them, though I tried to imitate
to some extent the casual attitude of the grown-up men of the family. Sometimes I
accompanied my mother or aunt to the Ganges for a dip, sometimes we visited temples in
Allahabad itself or in Benares or elsewhere, or went to see a sanyäsi reputed to be very
holy. But all this left little impression on my mind.
51
English Class - XI
Then there were the great festival days-the Höli, when all over the city there was a spirit of
revelry and we could squirt water at each other; the Divali, the festival of light, when all the
houses were lit up with thousands of dim lights in earthen cups; the Janmashtami to celebrate
the birth in prison of Krishna at the midnight hour (but it was very difficult for us to keep
awake till then); the Dasehra and Ram Lila when tableaux and processions reenacted the old
story of Ramachandra and his conquest of Lanka and vast crowds assembled to see them.
Questions :
(a) How does Nehru recall the religious atmosphere in his home during his childhood ?
(b) How did Nehru family observe various festivals when he was a child ?
But more than all these festivals I was interested in one annual event in which I played the
central part-the celebration of the anniversary of my birth. This was a day of great excitement
for me. Early in the morning I was weighed in a huge balance against some bagfuls of wheat
and other articles which were then distributed to the poor; and then I arrayed myself in new
clothes and received presents, and later in the day there was a party. I felt the hero of the
occasion. My chief grievance was that my birthday came so rarely. Indeed I tried to start an
agitation for more frequent birthdays. I did not realize then that a time would come when
birthdays would become unpleasant reminders of advancing age.
Sometimes the whole family journeyed to a distant town to attend a marriage, either of a
cousin of mine or of some more distant relation or friend. Those were exciting journeys
for us, children, for all rules were relaxed during these marriage festivities and we had the
free run of the place. Numerous families usually lived crowded together in the shädi-khânâ,
the marriage house, where the party stayed, and there were many boys and girls and children.
On these occasions I could not complain of loneliness and we had our heart's fill of play
and mischief, with an occasional scolding from our elders.
Questions :
(a) How did Nehru enjoy his birthdays during his childhood? What was his grievance
against this occasion?
(b) How did Nehru enjoy himself when his family visited relatives living in distant towns
to take part in wedding ceremonies?
52
Class - XI English
Indian marriages, both among the rich and the poor, have had their full share of condemnation
as wasteful and extravagant display. They deserve all this. Even apart from the waste, it is
most painful to see the vulgar display which has no artistic or aesthetic value of any kind.
(Needless to say there are exceptions.) For all this the really guilty people are the middle
classes. The poor are also extravagant, even at the cost of burdensome debts, but it is the
height of absurdity to say, as some people do, that their poverty is due to their social customs.
It is often forgotten that the life of the poor is terribly dull and monotonous, and an
occasional marriage celebration, bringing with it some feasting and singing, comes to them
as an oasis in a desert of soulless toil, a refuge from domesticity and the prosaic business
of life. Who would be cruel enough to deny this consolation to them, who have such few
occasions for laughter? Stop waste by all means, lessen the extravagance (big and foolish
words to use for the little show that the poor put up in their poverty!), but do not make their
life more drab and cheerless than it is.
So also for the middle classes. Waste and extravagance apart these marriages are big social
reunions where distant relations and old friends meet after long intervals. India is a big
country and it is not easy for friends to meet, and for many to meet together at the same
time is still more difficult. Hence the popularity of the marriage celebrations.
Questions :
(a) … Why is he sympathetic to the poor with regard to their extravagant wedding
ceremonies ?
(b) How does Nehru view customs of Indian marriages ?
Kashmiris have had one advantage over many others in India, especially in the north. They
have never had any purdah, or seclusion of women, among themselves. Finding this custom
prevailing in the Indian plains, when they came down, they adopted it, but only partly and in
so far as their relations with others and non-Kashmiris were concerned. That was considered
then in northern India, where most of the Kashmiris stayed, an inevitable sign of social
status. But among themselves they stuck to the free social life of men and women, and
every Kashmiri had the free entrée into any Kashmiri house. In Kashmiri feasts and
53
English Class - XI
ceremonies men and women met together and sat together, though often the women would
sit in one bunch. Boys and girls used to meet on a more or less equal footing. They did not,
of course, have the freedom of the modern West.
So passed my early years. Sometimes, as was inevitable in a large family, there were family
squabbles. When these happened to assume unusual proportions, they reached my father's
ears and he was angry and seemed to think that all such happenings were due to the folly of
women. I did not understand what exactly had happened but I saw that something was very
wrong, as people seemed to speak in a peculiarly disagreeable way or to avoid each other. I
felt very unhappy. Father's intervention, when it took place, shook us all up.
Questions :
(a) How does Nehru focuss on the status of Kasmiri women in the society ?
(b) How does Nehru describe the life in a joint family ?
We had a custom of taking out elaborate marriage processions with horses and elephants.
The day of my marriage being an exceptionally auspicious day and there being many marriages
on that day, horses and elephants were in great demand and so we were able to procure only
one elephant and a few horses.
The marriage was to be held in Dalan-Chapra in Ballia district, 40 miles from Zeradei. This
meant two days' journey. The party being big and there being only one elephant and a few
horses, many palkies were pressed into service. My brother came riding on a sturdy horse,
my father and other relatives in palkies and I in a special palki. The bridegroom's palki was
a funny affair. Made of silver, it was a very heavy burden for the bearers. Open at the top, it
had a canopy to protect the rider from the hot June sun. The wind blew up the canopy,
turning it into a sort of balloon and made the progress of the bearers difficult. What with
the sun and the hot winds, riding in a palki was no fun.
Questions :
(a) Why couldn't the writer's father arrange enough elephants and horses for the wedding
procession?
(b) How does the author describe his marriage party?

54
Class - XI English
Details of the ceremonies I do not recollect. When a child, I used to join my sister in the
game of dolls' marriages. To me, my own marriage was not much different. I neither
understood the importance of the marriage nor felt its responsibility. I had had no hand in
settling the match. I went through the ceremonies like an automaton, doing whatever the
Pandit or the women of the house told me to do. I could hardly understand what had happened.
All that I knew was that someone would come into my house as my wife just as my brother's
wife had come.
After the marriage is over, sometimes the bride does not accompany the groom to his
home immediately. Some time later, another small party goes to fetch the girl. This
ceremony is known as Duragman. This was so in my case. We returned home after two
days' stay in the bride's house. Duragman was performed a year later when my wife came
into our house.
Questions :
(a) What are the author's remarks on his marriage ?
(b) How does the author describe the ritual of Duragman ?
MARRIAGE
I was perhaps in the fifth standard and was thirteen when my marriage was arranged. I had
gone to Zeradei for the summer holidays. The bride's father, a Mukhtiar in Arrah, and his
younger brother, a lawyer in Ballia, who had come to our village, visited our house to see
me. My father sent for me. The visitors put me some questions and after a while I retired.
They were satisfied and signified their approval of the match. After a few days, the Tilak
(the symbol of betrothal) was received, and, according to custom, clothes, utensils and a
cash present of Rs. 2,000. My father was not keen on the cash present, but since the bride's
party insisted on it, he accepted it.
Two thousand rupees then was considered to be a fairly good sum. The greater the present
on the occasion of betrothal, the greater must be the pomp and show in the marriage
procession and the costlier the customary offering of ornaments, etc., for the bride.
Questions :
(a) How was the author's marriage finalised?
(b) What idea of the ritual of Tilak do you get from the passage?
55
English Class - XI
Unit - IV
ANSWER KEYS (BIOGRAPHY)
CHILDHOOD
1. (a) During his childhood Nehru had heard of instances of conflicts between the rulers
and the ruled ... whenever an Englishman killed an Indian he was acquitted by a jury of
his own countrymen ... In railway trains, compartments were reserved for them … no
Indian was allowed to travel in those even though they were empty … Even they entered
an unreserved compartment and did not allow any Indian to enter it … Benches and
chairs were reserved for them in public parks and other places … Nehru resented the
alien rulers
(b) … one of his cousins or one of their friends became personally involved in individual
encounters with the English … one of his cousins, a strong man of the family, loved
to pick a quarrel with an Englishman, or more frequently with Eurasians… such
quarrels took place especially during railway journeys.
2. (a) … many friends visited Nehru's father … he would relax after the tension of the day
with friends … the house would resound with his roaring laughter… often he and his
friends drank whisky … once Nehru had seen him drinking claret or some other red
wine … he rushed to his mother to tell her that father was drinking blood
(b) … admired his father greatly … father seemed to him as the picture of strength,
courage and cleverness … Nehru hoped to be like him when he grew up ... admired
him … loved him … feared him for losing his temper at servants and others ... as he
grew older he could control his temper … he had a strong sense of humour and also
an iron will … Nehru had high regards for his father
3. (a) … Nehru was about five or six … he saw two fountain-pens on his father's office
table… he took one of them for himself … when the lost pen was searched, he
grew frightened and did not confess… the pen was found out ... his father was very
angry and gave him a good thrashing … in pain and fear he rushed to mother… for
several days creams and ointments were applied to his aching and shivering little
body … however, his admiration and affection for his father remained as strong as ever
(b) … she had excessive and indiscriminating love for Nehru … she condoned everything
he did … … she was short in stature … she was beautiful … she had amazingly
small and beautiful hands and feet… she belonged to a fresher group of migrants
from Kashmir
56
Class - XI English
4. (a) … Munshi Mubarak Ali was his father's munshi … Mubarak Ali came from a well-
to-do family of Badaun ... his family was ruined during the Revolt of 1857 by the
English troops … he was gentle and forbearing with everybody, especially with children
… he was a sure haven of refuge for Nehru whenever he was unhappy or in trouble…
he used to listen to stories from The Arabian Nights or accounts of the happenings in
1857 and 58 from Ali … Nehru cherishes his memory as a dear and precious
possession
(b) … listened to stories from the old Hindu mythology, from the epics, The Ramayana
and The Mahabharata from his mother and aunt ... his aunt, the widow of Pandit Nand
Lal, was learned in the old Indian books and had an inexhaustible supply of these tales
… he owes to them for his knowledge of Indian mythology and folklore
5. (a) ... his father and his older cousins treated the question of religion lightly… he enjoyed
ceremonies and pujas performed by the women of the family … sometimes he went
with his mother or aunt to the Ganges for a dip … sometimes with them he visited
temples in Allahabad or in Benares or went to see a sanyasi reputed to be very holy …
all this left little impression on his mind.… however he tried to imitate the casual
attitude of the grown-up men of the family to some extent
(b) … on the Holi they sprayed water on each other … on the Diwali, the festival of
light, all the houses were lit up with thousands of dim lights in earthen cups … on the
Janmashtami the birth of Krishna in prison was celebrated at the midnight hour …
during the Dasehra and Ram Lila tableaux and processions reenacted the old story of
Ramachandra and his conquest of Lanka …
6. (a) … his birthday was a day of great excitement for Nehru… early in the morning he was
weighed in a huge balance against some bagfuls of wheat and other articles which
were then distributed to the poor … he was dressed in new clothes … received presents
… later in the day there was a party… he was the hero of the occasion ... he complained
that his birthday came so rarely)
(b) … journeys to a distant town to attend marriage ceremonies were very much exciting
for the children of the family … all rules were relaxed for them … Nehru enjoyed the
company of other children in the family and had his heart's fill of play and mischief)
57
English Class - XI
7. (a) … the life of the poor is terribly dull and monotonous … an occasional marriage
celebration with some feasting and singing comes to them as an oasis in a desert of
soulless toil … it is a refuge from domesticity and the prosaic business of life…. It
is an occasion of laughter for them)
(b) … Indian marriages were wasteful and extravagant …. there was vulgar display of
vanity which had neither artistic nor aesthetic value of any kind … the middle class
were the most guilty of this … some people suffered from poverty due to their social
customs)
8. (a) … Kashmiri women have never had any purdah … there is no seclusion of women ...
when they came down from the Kasmir valley to the Indian plains, they adopted purdah
which was a sign of social status there … but they used it with non-Kashmiris ...
among themselves they stuck to the free social life of men and women … in Kashmiri
feasts and ceremonies men and women met together and sat together, though often
the women would sit in one bunch. … boys and girls used to meet on a more or less
equal footing…
(b) … family quarrels are inevitable in a large family … sometimes in unusual proportions
… his father got angry and seemed to think that all such happenings were due to the
folly of women ... his father's intervention shook them all up.
9. (a) … according to the custom elaborate marriage processions were taken out with horses
and elephants .. day of the writer's marriage was an exceptionally auspicious day …
there were many marriages on that day … horses and elephants were in great demand
… so they were unable to procure enough elephants and horses for the wedding
procession … had to manage with one elephant and a few horses.
(b) ... the party was big … his brother was riding a sturdy horse … his father and other
relatives were in palkies … he was in a special palki … his palki was made of silver
… it was open at the top … it had a canopy to protect the rider from the hot June sun
… in the evening, they camped in a village on the bank of the Sarju … they rested for
the night … the next morning they started crossing the river ... the luggage, the palkies,
the horses, and the bullock carts were transported on boats
58
Class - XI English
10. (a) … his marriage was a family affair … he had had no hand in settling the match ... it
was like the game of dolls' marriage ... he neither understood the importance of the
marriage nor felt its responsibility … during the ceremony he did whatever the Pandit
or the women of the house told him to do … all that he knew was that someone would
come into their house as his wife just as his brother's wife had come
(b) … the bride does not accompany the groom to his home immediately after the marriage
is over … another small party goes to fetch the girl later... this ceremony is known as
Duragman … Duragman was performed a year later … writer's wife came into their
house.
MARRIAGE
11. (a) … the writer was thirteen when his marriage was arranged ... during summer holidays
the bride's father, a Mukhtiar in Arrah, and his younger brother, a lawyer in Ballia,
visited their house … they asked him some questions … were satisfied and approved
of the match
(b) … Tilak is betrothal or the engagement ceremony … as a custom a token gift of

clothes, utensils and cash is given to the bridegroom … the writer got two thousand
rupees … pomp and show in the marriage procession, and costlier gifts and ornaments
for the bride depended on the cash present received as Tilak …
59
English Class - XI
Unit - V
WRITING SKILLS AND GRAMMAR
1. VOCABULARY SKILLS
Building the vocabulary increases confidence in speaking and writing. The study material in this
section will help the students to build their vocabulary. Let's study the use of 'suffixes' and 'prefixes'
to learn new words.
SUFFIXES
A suffix is simply an ending that is added to a base word to form a new word. For example, the
verb read can be made into the noun reader by adding the suffix -er; read can be made into the
adjective readable by adding the suffix -able.
A key thing to know about a suffix is whether it starts with a vowel or a consonant.
Study the suffixes beginning with a vowel
Suffixes Examples
-er, -or farmer, collector
-en mistaken, hidden
ish foolish, thinnish
-ation limitation, reservation
-ing firing, sitting
Study the suffixes beginning with a consonant
Suffixes Examples
-ful hopeful, plentiful
-less useless, tasteless
-ly bravely, frankly -
-ment movement, agreement
-ness darkness, happiness
Have you marked the pattern? When a vowel suffix is added, fire becomes firing (dropping the e)
and sit becomes sitting (doubling the letter t). When a consonant suffix is added, the base word
doesn't change. If you can handle suffixes, you can avoid spelling mistakes.
Exercise 1
Identify the consonant and the vowel suffixes in the following words:
Hopeless, notable, statement, calculation, spiteful, reservation, lately, latest, extremely, expensive
[Answer: consonant - -less, -ment, -ful, -ly, -ly; vowel - -able, -tion, -tion, -est, -ive]
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Class - XI English
Exercise 2
Add suffixes to the following to make new words. Remember to drop the e when adding a vowel
suffix. (Note that y is regarded as a vowel suffix, so laze + y = lazy)
excite+ing -------------, arrive+al -------------, blame+less -------------,
spice+y -------------, waste+ful -------------, care+ing -------------,
place+ed -------------, place+ment -------------, Swede+ish -------------,
create+ion -------------
[Ans.: exciting, arrival, blameless, spicy, wasteful, caring, placed, placement,
Swedish, creation]
Exercise 3 Link the verbs with their suffix to form new words.
a) interest -ing
b) noise -y
c) breath -less
d) popular -ity
e) drop -let
[Ans.: a. interesting, b noisy , c. breathless, d. popularity, e. droplet]
Exercise 4 Link the verbs with their correct suffix to form NOUNS and write them down.
a) IMAGINE 1. -er
b) WEAK 2. -sion
c) TEACH 3. -ation
d) INFECT 4. -ness
e) DECIDE 5. - ion
[Ans.: a) imagination, b) weakness, c) teacher, d) infection, e) decision]
Exercise 5 Link the verbs with their correct suffix to form NOUNS and write them down.
a) ARGUE 1. -ance
b) ASSIST 2. -ment
c) REFUSE 3. -ence
d) OCCUR 4. -ance
e) RESIST 5. -al
[Ans.: a. argument, b assistance, c. refusal, d. occurrence, e. resistance]
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English Class - XI
PREFIXES
A prefix is a word-part placed in front of a base word. A prefix usually changes the meaning of
the base word. Example: The prefix un added to the word happy makes a new word unhappy
with a new meaning. The prefix un means not, so it changes the meaning of the word happy to
not happy.
The two most common prefixes are un and re. These two prefixes are the most useful for beginners
Un means not (unhappy = not happy) or the opposite of (as in untie). Re means again
(redo = do again) or back (as in repay).
The spelling of the base word never changes. Simply add the prefix to the beginning of the base
word, as in the word unhappy. Look at these other words where double letters occur:
il + logical = illogical
im + mature = immature
il + legal = illegal
A prefix is usually added directly to the base word, but sometimes a hyphen is needed.
Examples:
un-American, pre-1980, ex-president (ex meaning former), self-respect, ultra-ambitious,

anti-intellectual, co-worker
PREFIXES like DIS/IN/IM/IR/UN/IL/MIS are used to give an opposite/negative meaning to a word.
Examples : Dis +honest = Dishonest
Exercise 1
Identify the prefixes in the following words: unnoticeable, illiteracy, immoral, dissatisfy,
irreconcilable, misspell, irregular, irrelevant
[Ans.: un, il, im, dis, ir, mis, i, ir]
Exercise 2
Make new words by adding prefixes to the following words :
possible , loyal, complete, replaceable, effective, popular, fortune, different, kind, agree
[Ans. : impossible, disloyal, incomplete, irreplaceable, ineffective, unpopular, misfortune,

indifferent, unkind, disagree]
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Class - XI English
Exercise 3
Add prefixes to the following to make new words.
ab + normal ………………., ante + chamber ……………….,
anti + piracy ………………., arch + rival ……………….,
bi + annual ………………., be + friend ……………….,
circum + navigate ………………., de + motivate ……………….,
dys + function ………………., equi+distant ……………….,
extra+ordinary ……………….., fore + head ………………..,
hydro + electric ……………….., infra + structure ………………..,
macro + economics ……………….., mal + treatment ………………..
[Ans. : abnormal, antechamber, antipiracy, archrival, biannual, befriend, circumnavigate,
demotivate, dysfunction, equidistant, extraordinary, forehead, hydroelectric,
infrastructure, macro economics, maltreatment]
Exercise 4 Identify the prefixes in the following words:
megaphone .......…………. minibus .......………….
monorail .......…………. multicolor .......………….
neoclassical .......…………. nonexistent .......………….
omnipresent .......…………. overambitious .......………….
post-independent .......…………. pre-independent .......………….
retell .......…………. retroactive .......………….
stepmother .......…………. supermarket .......………….
tricycle .......…………. ultraviolate .......………….
undercook .......…………. vice-president .......………….
[Ans.: mega, mini, mono, multi, neo, omni, over, post, pre, re, retro, step, super, tri, ultra,
under, vice]
Exercise 5 Link the words with their suffixes to form new words.
demi circle
hemi exist
semi sphere
co god
[Ans.: demigod, hemisphere, semicircle, coexist]
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English Class - XI
Vocabulary Skills are tested on the unseen passages. Let's read through some
passages not related to the prescribed texts and drill vocabulary skills.
Example
Most shopping begins at the shop window. It is infuriating to see a bargain there, and then be told
when you have gone in the shop that they have made a mistake. They are very sorry, but the price
ticket is wrong. The goods are not for sale at that price. Angry customers are apt to think that they
are entitled to have the goods at the price marked. After all, they feel, that is the understanding on
which they have been tempted into the shop. If the price is not as marked, they have been brought
in on false pretences. There is no doubt that under pricing in the window does cause a lot of hard
feelings when the shopkeeper refuses to honour his own price ticket. Many shops, to keep the
customer's goodwill, will in fact let the goods go at the price marked. But the courts have said
that the customer cannot hold the shopkeeper to the price on the ticket. A shopkeeper is not
obliged to sell goods at Rs.10.OO just because he marks them Rs.1O.OO in the window. He is
perfectly entitled to say that the correct price is Rs.1 5.00 and that he will not sell them for any
less. He can even say that the goods were put in the window by mistake, and are not for sale at all.
His display is, so far as the law is concerned, nothing more than an indication to possible customers
of the kind of goods he has in stock.
Questions:
(a) Find out the words in the passage which have the following meanings :
(i) filling one with anger
(ii) something offered, sold or bought cheap
(iii) make-beliefs,
(iv) put on show
(v) suggestion
(b) Make sentences with the following expressions:
no doubt, not for sale, so far as
[Ans.: (a) i. infuriating, ii. bargain, iii. pretences iv. display, v. indication]
Exercise : 1
Read through the passage given below and find the words in the passage which mean the following:
(i) A piece of work planned to achieve an aim
(ii) a way of solving a problem
(iii) at once
(iv) a strong feeling of excitement
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Class - XI English
Positive thinking in the workplace is extremely important. It is a mental attitude that expects
good and constructive results. The managers of the business world must have positive thinking
because when they find that work goes beyond expectation, they should look at it from a
different perspective - one that concentrates on solutions rather than problems, in order to
have the desired result.
However, it does not deny the existence of negative results or things beyond one's control.
When a project does not go in the desired direction, a positive thinking person concentrates
on solutions instead of the problem. But a person with negative thought has a natural tendency
to point fingers at others when things do not go right. He tends to whine and complain instead
of starting to work on a solution immediately. Positive thinkers live up to the challenge of the
problem and commit themselves to seeking a solution to the problem. They do not dwell in
unproductive activities.
What we think affects how we behave. When our thinking is positive, our attitude is positive and
we transfer a feeling of energy and enthusiasm to those around us. People feel good towards us
and are more willing to help us. It is, therefore, important for to have positive thoughts. Positive
thinkers know that when things go bad or unexpected result occurs, it is only momentary. That
positive result is achievable.
[Ans: i. project, ii. solution, iii. immediately, iv. enthusiasm]
Exercise : 2
Read through the passage given below and find the words in the passage which mean the following:
mix, mobility, process of building towns and cities, progress, chances, variety,
It is a fact that cities are where the middle classes grow, where people from different parts of the
world mingle together, and where social mobility for the lower social groups is most possible.
Ubanisation in most countries is closely associated with development. Cities provide opportunities
for nonagricultural employment and a sufficient population mass to make a diversity of services,
including education.
[Ans: mingle, urbanization, development, opportunities, diversity]
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English Class - XI
2. INFORMATION TRANSFER
(Converting verbal information into non-verbal form)
Information presented through words is often converted into tables, diagrams, graphs, charts,
etc. to present data visually. It saves the labour of reading. Let us examine a few examples to
understand the information transfer.
Example :
Milk is a wholesome food. It contains all important nutrients for the growth and development of
a living body. It consists of nutrients like carbohydrate, fat, protein, vitamin & minerals and
water. In 100 ml. of milk, the percentage of water is the highest, i.e. 87.2%. The percentage of
Vitamins and minerals is the lowest, i.e. 0.7%. The percentage of fat and proteins is 3.8 % and
3.5% respectively. Carbohydrate, which supplies instant energy, constitutes only 4.8%.
Let's convert the data in the paragraph into a table.
Contents in 100 ml. of milk
SI. No. Name of the Nutrient Amount in %

1 carbohydrate 4.8 %
2 fat 3.8%
3 protein 3.5%
4 vitamins & minerals 0.7%
5 water 87.2 %
Exercise : Covert the following information into a table:

The average weight of children at school is lowest in Nagaland at 32 kilograms, while in Maharastra,
the average weight of 36 kilograms is the highest. In Punjab and Odisha, the average weight of
school children is 35 kilograms and 33 kilograms respectively. In West Bengal the average
weight is 34.
Ans. : Average Weight of Children at School in Indian States
SI. No. Name of the State Weight in KG

1 Maharastra 36
2 Nagaland 32
3 Odisha 33
4 Punjab 35
5 West Bengal 34
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Class - XI English
PIE CHARTS
Pie charts are useful to compare different parts of a whole amount. A pie chart is a circular chart
in which the circle is divided into sectors. Each sector visually represents an item in a data set to
match the amount of the item as a percentage or fraction of the total data set. Let's see how data
presented in a paragraph is converted into a pie chart.
Example : Draw a pie-chart on the following information:
A family spends 45% of its monthly income on food, 18% on fuel, and 15% on the1 education of
children, 12% on savings and 10 % on entertainment. The family spends the maximum on food
and the minimum on entertainment. The expenditure on fuel is more than that of the education of
children. As a result, they are unable to save enough money for future.
Pie chart on Monthly Expenditure of a Family
Exercise : Draw a pie chart on the data given below:

A survey on the people engaged in various sectors of India reveal that the majority of people
(40%) were daily labourers in 2012-13. The number of people engaged in industry (15%) was
slightly higher than those engaged in agriculture (20%). The number of people depending on
jobs both in the public and private service sector is limited to 25% of the population. The rest do
nothing and depend on others for their living.
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English Class - XI
Ans.: People working in various Sectors in India
Diagrams
A diagram is representation of information in a geometric figure. Read the following paragraph
on the Rise in Consumer Price Index in 2012:
RISE IN CONSUMER PRICE INDEX
The Consumer Price index (CPI) of the first six months of 2012 shows a rising trend. It rises to
1.2% in April and reaches 5% in September. There is a steady rise and it has never been on the
decline in any month. The CPI was 1.20% in April, 2.00% in May, 2.60% in June, 3.20% in July,
4.10% in August and 5.00% in September. It indicates that the consumers might have been in
distress due to rise in prices of commodities and services.
Note how the data in the diagram is presented in the following Bar Diagram which represents
rise in Consumer Price index in the first six months of 2011:
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Class - XI English
Exercise : Represent the following information in a bar diagram:

India exported the highest amount of cement, i.e.9000 tonnes in the year 2009 but it was the
lowest in 2006. The amount of cement exported in 2006 was 3000 tonnes. In 2007, it was 5000
tonnes and in 2008 the export increased to 6000 tonnes. It is evident that the export of cement by
India is on the increase every year.
Ans.: Export of Cement in India
Line Graph
The title of the line graph tells us what the graph is about. The horizontal label across the bottom
shows numerical data and the vertical label along the side shows the time span etc. The points or
dots on the graph show us the facts. The lines connecting the point give estimates of the values
between the points.
Study the following paragraph that shows the increase in weight of a young man named Ansuman
during the first six months of 2012:
Ansuman's Weight in kilograms for 5 Months
Ansuman's weight was 49 kg. in January, 54 kg. in February, 61kg. in March, 69 kg in April, 73
kg. in May and 75 kg. in June 2012. It shows a rising graph. There has been an increase of 2
kilograms only in the last two months. This seems very unusual. The increase in weight does no
seem to be under control and might be causing a lot of worries to Ansuman.
Let's represent the information in the paragraph in a line graph.
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English Class - XI
Exercise: Represent the information in the following paragraph in a line graph:

It is heartening that the number of road accidents has been decreasing in the twin city of
Bhubaneswar and Cuttack in recent months due to lockdown for COVID-19 that started in March,
2020. A survey of the number of road accidents reveals that in January 60 , in February 70, in
March 40, in April 10, in May 5 cases of accidents occurred. The number of casualties has
substantially declined.
Road Accidents in Bhubaneswar and Cuttack January to May , 2020
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Class - XI English
3. REODERING / SEQUENCING SENTENCES

Texts contain sentences of a variety of lengths in order to keep the reader engaged. It is important
that the sentences within a paragraph should fit together in order to make sense. A logical
progression of thought is necessary to make the text coherent. The first sentence is usually the
topic sentence and that all the sentences should seek to develop a key point summed up by the
topic sentence.
Let's go through the following paragraph:
Soon the moon rose out of the sea. We hired a boat and started towards the Wvekananda
Rock at about 7 o'clock. We had a nice time there. The sky and the sea seemed to meet together
in the distant horizon. The weather was fine at Kanyakumari.
The paragraph hardly makes any sense. It can make sense if it is arranged logically. The sentences
are put in the correct sequence below to make the text coherent:
The weather was fine at Kanyakumari. The sky and the sea seemed to meet together in the
distant horizon. We hired a boat and started towards the Vivekananda Rock at about 7 o'clock.
Soon the moon rose out of the sea. We had a nice time there.
Exercise 1: Rewrite the passage below putting the sentences in the correct sequence:
She searched for such a house in vain. Buddha asked her to bring him a handful of mustard
seed from a house where none had ever died. Buddha asked her not to grieve, because death
is inevitable. She came to Buddha. Once, a woman lost her only child. She prayed him to
restore the dead child to life. She was overwhelmed with sorrow. Buddha was moved by her
great sorrow.
[Answer keys: Once a woman ... She was overwhelmed ... She came to ... She prayed him to
restore the dead child to life. Buddha was moved ... Buddha asked her ... She searched….
Buddha asked her ...]
Exercise 2: Rewrite the passage below putting the sentences in the correct sequence:
Firstly, medicines may help smokers quit smoking and keep them from starting again. Finally,
a combination of these methods increases success rates. Secondly, nicotine supplements can
help. There are several strategies for treating nicotine withdrawal. Thirdly, short-term use of
aritidepressants may help a smoker.
[Answer Keys: There are several strategies ... Firstly, medicines may help ... Secondly,
nicotine Thirdly, short-term ... Finally, …]
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English Class - XI
4. DICTIONARY SKILLS
(2 marks on using a dictionary, 3 marks meanings of a word)
Dictionary Reference Skills of the candidates are tested as they are asked (i) to arrange words according
to the dictionary order, (ii) to match the meanings of words with their corresponding sentences.
(i) While arranging the words as they appear in a dictionary, we have to follow the alphabetical order.
Example : wood-cutter, honey, fishermen, shock, dummy
The words are arranged as : dummy, honey, fishermen, shock, wood-cutter
Exercise 1 : Arrange the following words as they appear in a dictionary:touch, set, place, forest, tiger
[Ans. : forest, place, set, tiger, touch]
Exercise 2 : shock, village, roar, pain, attack
[Ans.: attack, pain, roar, shock, village]
(ii) A popular dictionary gives the following meanings for the word 'figure'. Match each meaning
with its corresponding sentence.
Meanings: Sentences:
(a) a well-known or important person i. Women don't figure much in his novels.
(b) the shape of the human body ii. Biju Patnaik was an important political figure.
(c) to be included in something iii. She has got a slim figure.
[Answer key: (a) - ii., (b) - iii., (c) - i.]
Exercise 1 : A dictionary gives the following meanings for the word 'leave'. Match each meaning
with its corresponding sentence given below :
(a) To go away from (i) She did not take our leave and went away.
(b) Absence from work (iii) It is time for us to leave this place.
(c) Permission (ii) She went to her village on leave.
Exercise - 2 : A dictionary gives the following meanings for the word 'treat'. Match each meaning
with its corresponding sentence given below:
(a) an entertainment (i) The lecturer treated his subject thoroughly.
(b) to consider (ii) The party was a great treat for her.
(c) to deal with (iii) Don’t treat me as a child
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Class - XI English
5. COHESIVE DEVICES
Cohesive devices or linking words are called 'text organizers'. They join
 clauses within the sentence
 ideas across sentences and paragraphs
Linking words can be used for the following purposes:
 Sequencing ideas - firstly, finally, the following.
 For giving example - for example, for instance.
 For Adding information - and, apart from, besides, in addition, moreover, too.
 Contrasting ideas - but, while, unlike, in practice.
 Summarizing - in short, to conclude, in summary, in conclusion.
 Giving a reason - because, since, owing to, as.
 Giving a result - therefore, as a result, so.
 For giving opinions - in my view, in my opinion.
Exercise : Fill in the blanks by choosing the most appropriate connectives from the alternatives
given in brackets.
1. She is intelligent she is beautiful. (so, and, as a result)
2. He was indifferent to his friends' needs , nobody likes him. (but, consequently, still)
3. She didn't work hard. , she came out first in the Test. (yet, besides, for)
4. I rarely watch T.V. most programmes are terrible. (because, therefore, further)
5. Ramesh first called on his friend. He went to the station to receive his uncle.
(then, till, by that time)
6. Trees help us in many ways. , they provides us with oxygen. (in other words, for
example, further)
7. The party didn't go well . , it was a disaster. (likewise, moreover, in other words)
[Ans. : and, consequently, yet, because, then, for example, in other words]
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English Class - XI
6. LETTER WRITING
PERSONAL LETTERS
A personal letter is a type of letter which provides communication between a small number
of people, usually two. They are written for a wide variety of personal interests like collecting
information, thanksgiving, congratulating, inviting etc.
Personal Letter Writing Format
A Personal Letter has six parts, excluding the address on the envelope. Let's take note of
these six parts.
(a) The address of the sender :
(b) Date : The date is written below the sender's address.
(c) The Salutation : While writing to a friend, address him by his nick name - Dear Pintu. While
writing to parents / brother / sister / a very intimate friend, write "My dear father / My dear
Mom / My dear Raju." Put a comma after the salutation.
(d) The body of the letter:
This is the most important part of the letter. A good personal letter must be simple, pleasant,
informal and conversational. A lot of news and small details which appeal to the addressee
must be included. The tone should be conversational. The number of paragraphs may vary
depending on the ideas one wants to express.
(e) The Subscription : The most common form of closing a personal letter is:
For friends - Yours sincerely, Yours intimately, Yours bosom, etc.
For parents and seniors - Yours affectionately, yours lovingly, etc.
Put a comma after the subscription.
(f) The Signature:
A personal letter does not need a full signature. Only the nickname by which you are known
to the addressee should be used like 'Bunty'.
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Class - XI English
SAMPLE PERSONAL LETTER
Invite your friend who lives in New Delhi to spend a few days with you at your home in
Bhubaneswar.
6F, 1130
Sector - 6, CDA
Cuttack- 753014
9 June 2011
Dear Sonu,
I was indeed delighted to receive your letter yesterday. I am glad to know that you have been
selected for admission to +3 Degree (Chemistry) at the Delhi University. You must be free for a
few days before your classes start.
I would like to invite you to come to Odisha at your earliest possible convenience and
spend a few days with us at Cuttack. My parents will be very much glad to have you with us.
If you plan your visit for about a week, we can go round some interesting places. We will
pay our homage to Lord Jagannath at Puri and visit the magnificent Sun Temple at Konark. We
will have a sightseeing tour of Bhubaneswar, visit the Buddhist monuments at Dhauli and cruise
in Chilka in a moonlit night. We will enjoy places of scenic beauty like Zoological and Botanical
Parks at Nandankanan, Crocodile breeding centre at Bhitarkanika and mountain falls in Keonjhar
which are also not very far from us.
I am eagerly waiting for your visit.
With best wishes,
Yours intimately,
Mayank
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English Class - XI
Exercise 1
You spent a few days in your friend's house. After you have come back, write a letter to
your friend thanking him for his kind treatment. Fill in the blanks to complete the letter.
_______________________
_______________________
_______________________
(Address of the sender)
_______________________ (date)
Dear __________________,
I reached here __________________ (time). The journey was comfortable. I am really

thankful to you, uncle, aunty and Gudu for the nice treatment you all extended to me during my
stay with you.
I can never forget the love and affection of aunty. She is so warm-hearted and cooks such
delicious food! Our trip to Puri and Konark will remain a memorable experience. I must thank
uncle for arranging a comfortable journey and stay at Puri. I can never forget the exciting dip at
the sea.
Best wishes.
Yours ____________,
_________________
Exercise 2 : You are staying away from your home. Write a letter to your mother enquiring about
her health.
Exercise 3: Write a letter to your younger brother advising him to do yoga exercises regularly.
Exercise 4 : Your friend has been selected to represent the state cricket team. Write a letter him
congratulating him on his success.
Exercise 5 : Your college is arranging a study tour to South India and you have to deposit five
thousand rupees for it. Write a letter to your father requesting him to send the money.
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Class - XI English
OFFICIAL LETTERS / APPLICATION
A letter written to an official is, in most cases, about some problem that the letter writer is
facing. Such letters generally have three parts: introduction, information and conclusion. The
problem is briefly stated in the first part. It is then elaborated and substantiated in the second
part. A specific request for a solution to the problem is made in the concluding part.
Layout of an official letter
From _______________________ (Date)
_______________________
_______________________
_______________________ (Sender's name and address)
To
The _______________________
_______________________
_______________________ (Recipient)
Sub.: _______________________
Sir,
I have to draw your kind attention to the fact that _______________________ (why you
are writing)
I/We, therefore, request you to _______________________ (your request)
Yours faithfully,
_______________________ (signature)
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English Class - XI
Example : There are frequent unscheduled power-cuts in your locality which seriously affects
your preparation for CHSE examinations. Write a letter to the Section Officer, Electricals, of
your locality requesting him to check these unscheduled power-cuts.
From
Sudhansu Das Bhubaneswar
C /23 Basanti Colony, 03.03.2019
To
The Section Officer, CESU
Ward 6, Nayapalli
Bhubaneswar
Sub: Frequent unscheduled power-cuts
Sir,
I bring to your kind notice the frequent unscheduled power-cuts in Ward 6, Nayapalli. The
unscheduled power-cuts in our section are seriously affecting our studies as we are preparing
for the Annual Examinations of the CHSE, Odisha. The examinations starts on March 5 and shall
continue till March 30.
I, therefore, request you to kindly take necessary steps for uninterrupted power supply in
the interests of the plus two examinees of the area.
Yours faithfully,
Manas Pani
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Class - XI English
Exercise1: Write a letter to the Postmaster in charge of your Sub-post office complaining that
a money order sent by you a month ago has not been delivered to your father. Fill in the blanks to
complete the letter.
From _________________(Date)
_________________
_________________
_________________ (Sender's name and address)
To
The _________________
____________________
____________________ (Recipient)
Sub.: ____________________
Sir,
I remitted a money order for Rs. ____________________ (amount in figures)

____________________ (amount in words) only to my father from your post office on
____________________ (date) . The Receipt No. is ____________________ . I regret to
inform you that though a whole month has passed, my father has not received the M.O.
I, therefore, request you to kindly enquire into the matter and trace the M.O without further
delay.
Yours faithfully
____________________ (signature)
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English Class - XI
Exercise 2 : Write a letter to the Sarapanch of your Pachayat complaining about the poor
condition of roads in your Ward. Fill in the blanks to complete the letter.
From ____________________ (Date)
____________________
____________________
____________________ (Sender's name and address)
To
The ____________________
_______________________
_______________________ (Recipient)
Sub.: _______________________
Sir,
With due respect we, the residents Ward No.- of the _______________________
(Name of the village) bring to your notice the miserable condition of the roads in our Ward. The
main road from _______________________ (place) to _______________________ (place)
is in a deplorable condition. It is full of potholes. It is difficult to walk along this road. Particularly,
children face a lot of problems while going to school. It has become extreme unsafe for vehicles.
The condition of the road might worsen during the rainy season.
We, therefore, request you to take necessary steps to repair the roads before the rains and
oblige.
Yours faithfully,
_______________________ (signature)
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Class - XI English
Exercise 3: Write an application to the Principal of your college to arrange remedial classes in
English for your class.
Exercise 4: Write an application to the Sarapanch of your Panchayat complaining that your
grandfather has not received his Old Age Pension for the month though the due date is over.
Exercise 5: Write an application to the principal of your college requesting him to exempt you
from appearing at the Test Examination as the examination coincides with the inter-college cricket
match in which you are representing your college.
BUSINESS LETTERS
Writing letters for business purposes has come down in the present age. Use of cell phones,
SMS, e-mails has minimized the role of letters in the business world. However, letters are still in
use for keeping records.
Making an Inquiry: Business letters of enquiry are written when the need for more information
about a product or service is felt. This type of business letter requests for brochures/catalogues
on the product.
Sales Letters: Sales Letters are used to introduce new products to new customers and past clients.
Replying to an Inquiry: Replying to inquiries is one of the most important business letters that
one writes. It lends to excellent business prospects.
Terms and Conditions: Customers should be informed the terms and conditions for payment
of a product or service
Letters of Acknowledgment: Letters of acknowledgment are often requested for legal purposes.
These letters are also referred to as letters of receipt and are usually formal and short.
Placing an Order: This kind of business letters should make sure that the order placement is
clear so that you receive exactly what you order.
Making a Claim: A claim is made against unsatisfactory work. This sort of business letters
provide a strong example of a claim letter and includes important phrases to express dissatisfaction
and future expectations when making a claim.
Adjusting a Claim: This type of business letters address the specific concerns of the unsatisfied
customers to retain them as future customers.
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English Class - XI
LAY OUT OF A BUSINESS LETTER
1. Letterhead (sender's address)
Tel. Fax
(e mail)
2.
(Recipient's address )
3. Ref. :
4. Date
5. Salutation: Dear Sir or Madam,
6. (Opening which says why you are writing)
7. (The main message, which gives the details)
8. (The conclusion )
9. Complimentary ending & signature
Yours faithfully,
10. Typed signature, position and title:
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Class - XI English
Example 1
A Departmental Store wants to purchase a large stock of notebooks for its newly opened Stationery
section. Draft a letter inviting quotations.
Letterhead (sender's address)
Tel. Fax
(e mail)
Ref. :
Date
Dear Sirs,
We intend to purchase large stocks of notebooks for our newly opened Stationery section
in our Departmental Store at , and invite you to submit your
most competitive quotation.
If your prices and terms are favourable, and your note-books are of a high standard, we shall
consider giving you a five year contract for the supply of notebooks. Please send your quotation,
carriage paid, within a week.
Yours faithfully,
(signature)
(Typed signature, position and title)
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English Class - XI
Example 2
An interior decorator of a construction company was attracted to a new kind of vitrified tiles
for flooring exhibited in a Trade Fair. Draft a letter to enquiry about size, colour, design and
price of tiles.
Letterhead (sender's address)
Tel. Fax
(e mail)
Ref. :
Date
Dear Sirs,
During the recent Balijatra Fair at Cuttäck, I saw some samples of your new granite tiles for
flooring. I would like to use them for the interiors I am designing for a new housing complex.
Please give me the following information:
(1) In what sizes, colour and designs can you supply the tiles? (2)Are the tiles likely to be
affected by rising moisture? (3) Is any special processing of the under-flooring required?
I shall be most grateful if you could send me answers to these questions by the next week.
Please include a price list and details of delivery.
Yours faithfully,
(signature)
(Typed signature, position and title)
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7. DESCRIPTION OF OBJECT/EVENT /PROCESS

(Word limit: 150)
Description of an object
While describing an object, all the distinguishing features of it are to be noted. No description is
complete without mentioning the significant features of the object. Go through the description
of a Five Hundred Rupee Note given below and note how essential details of the note are written:
A Five Hundred Rupee Note
A 500 rupee note issued by the RBI is legal tender. It has Mahatma Gandhi's portrait and the
emblem Ashok Pillar and Red Fort on it. On the top Reserve Bank of India in English and Hindi
is written. Rs. 500 is written in English and Hindi. A thread runs through the note and 'Bharat'
'RBI' and '500' are written on it. The line appears broken but it is actually complete. There is a
white space to one side of the note. It has a hidden picture of Mahatma Gandhi in it. Signature of
the Governor is there on the center. On the right hand bottom the number of the note appears.
Excercise I: Describe a cell phone using the following outlines:
an electronic device - makes telephone calls - a SIM card - IMEI number - a rechargeable battery
- keypad or touch screens - users make calls, send text messages - play music and take photos.
Exercise 2: Describe a Pressure Cooker using the following outlines:
a common utensil - made up of aluminum - available in different sizes ana snapes - a lid - safety
valve - a handle - whistle - a rubber gasket - grids and separators - used to cook rice and curry -
reduces the monotony of a kitchen.
Exercise 3.: Describe a laptop using the following outlines:
A personal computer for mobile use - integrates components of a desktop computer - a display
monitor - a keyboard - a touchpad and speakers powered by mains electricity via an AC adapter -
used in places where a desktop PC cannot be used - instant access to various information, personal
and work files - easy Internet and local network connectivity.
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English Class - XI
Description of an Event
While describing an event all relevant details of the event are to be noted. Let's go through the
description of a road accident given below:
A Road Accident
It was a Sunday. Fifty tiny tots, smartly dressed in blue and white, waved good bye to their parents.
The bus began to roll towards their dream destination, the Nandankanan, Bhubaneswar. They were
on a picnic to Nandankanan. It was on the National High way at Gopalpur that the bus rammed
into a speeding truck. The front part of the bus was completely smashed and the driver was
unconscious. It was around nine in the morning. A roar of loud wailing rose up. The busy vehicular
traffic came to a dead stop. Hundreds of people rushed to rescue them. The children were
somehow pulled out of the bus through the efforts of the public. All the fifty children had bruises
and injuries. Before long, the PCR van reached there. Ambulance vans came rushing to the spot.
The injured children and the driver were sent to the SCB Medical College, Cuttack. The driver's
condition was critical. Anxious parents rushed to the hospital. According to hospital sources
there was nothing to worry about the children. The government has instructed the hospital
authorities to take all possible care for the treatment of children.
Exercise 1: Write a paragraph narrating the celebration of your birthday.
Exercise 2: Write a paragraph narrating the most important event of your life.
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8. SLOGAN/TELEGRAM/CAPTION WRITING
(Word limit: 10)
Writing a Slogan
Slogans help brand building and are self-marketing in themselves. Slogans must have catchwords
and phrases that inspire, capture and generate trust, be simple yet meaningful. Nike's slogan "Just
do it" has an attitude about it.
Read the examples of some famous slogans.
COVID-19 : Stay Home; Stay Fit
Visa Card : It's everywhere you want to be.
Wikipedia : the Free Encyclopedia.
Philips : Let's Make Things Better.
Gillette : The best a man can get.
Pepsi Cola : Pepsi's Got Your Taste For Life!
Exercise 1 Write a slogan on Blood donation
[Example : Every drop counts. Give blood today!]
Exercise 2 Write a slogan on good environment.
[Example : Save Earth. We Have Nowhere Else To Go!]
Exercise 3 Write a slogan on saving trees
[Example : He Who Plants a Tree Loves Others Beside Himself!]
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English Class - XI
9. STORY WRITING
A short story is a work of fiction. It is usually written in prose, often in narrative format. All
stories are imaginative. Stories are usually written in past tense and belong to an imaginary world.
Graphic details and a bit of suspense make the stories interesting. Use of direct speech, where
necessary, lends dramatic effect to the story.
Example : Complete the following story:
A certain person had four sons who were perpetually quarreling among themselves. He was
vexed as he failed to heal their disputes by his advice. He was determined to teach them the evils
of disunion. One day he asked them to his side and said, "Bring a bundle of sticks to me." _____
Sample answer:
Unity is Strength
A certain person had four sons who were always quarreling among themselves. He was sad.
He planned to teach them the evils of disunion. One day he asked them to his side and said, "Bring
a bundle of sticks to me." When they had done so, he placed the bundle into the hands of each of
them in succession and said, "Break it into pieces." They tried with all their strength but could not
break it. He next opened the bundle and separated the sticks. He asked each of his sons to take a
stick and break it, which they broke easily. He then said, "My sons, unite to assist each other,
you will be like this bundle, your enemies cannot harm you. If you are divided among yourselves,
you will be broken as easily as these sticks." The sons realized their folly and promised to
remain united.
Exercise: Complete the following story:
Bobby was only an eight years old when she heard Mommy and Daddy talking about her little
brother, Bubu. He was very sick and they had done everything they could afford to save his life. It
was only a very expensive surgery, which could save him. His poor parents were unable to afford
it. She heard Daddy say it with a whispered desperation, "Only a miracle can save him now." ___
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10. Grammar in context

Writing and speaking in English as a non-native speaker has its own set of problems.
Grammatical errors come in many forms and can easily confuse and obscure meaning. Some
common grammatical errors are most importantly with subject-verb agreement, tenses,
prepositions, articles and modals.
Examples:
i. Cocks crows in the morning to tell to rise. (subject-verb agreement: crow)
ii. One of the stories are interesting. (subject-verb agreement: is)
iii. I came here today. (tense error: have come)
iv. There is no cure of common cold. (prepositional error: for)
v. Water is an elixir of life. / Water is an useful thing. (article error: the/a)
vi. We can obey the traffic rules. (use of modals: must)
Excercise1: Rewrite the following passage correcting all the grammatical mistakes in it:
When COVID-19 pandemic broke out, the government lockdown was impose. The migrant
workers, who were live away from home, suffer a worst. Jyoti's father who had been worked in
Delhi lost his job. He also have got a leg injury. Fifteen-year-old Jyoti carried her injure father
from Delhi to Darbhanga in Bihar by her bicycle. It took her ten day to reach at their village.
[Answer key: was impose - imposed, were live - lived, suffer - suffered, a worst - the
worst, had been worked - had been working, have got-had got, injure - injured, by - on,
day - days, reach at their village - reach their village]
Exercise 2: Rewrite the following passage correcting all the grammatical errors in it:
A group of visitor reached the sea beach at Gopalpur. They were simply baffle by the beauty of
the beach. The sun was go down the western horizon then. One of the visitor exclaimed, "What a
excellent scene!" She said that the tiny red crabs look wonderful. Her friend said that they
could not disturb the crabs. Someone said, "Can you tell me what do they call this fish?" The
fisherman said, "This fish known as star fish." He said that he has a lot of them in his boat.
[Answer key : visitor - visitors, were baffle - were baffled, was go - was going, One of the
visitor - One of the visitors, a excellent - an excellent, look -looked, could- should, do
they call - they call, known - is known, has a lot of - had a lot of]
Excercise3: Rewrite the following passage correcting all the grammatical errors in it:
Shreyas and Shriya were sibling. They were playing in their garden in a Sunday. They heard a sound
come from a bush. They went near the bush and was see a puppy there. It was cry in pain. Shriya said
that it is a cute puppy. Shreyas said, "If we shall not take it home, it may die." Shriya picked the puppy
on and carry it home. Their mother said, "Where you found it?" and feeds it with milk.
[Answer key : sibling - siblings, in a Sunday - on a Sunday, come from - coming from, was
see - saw, was cry - was crying, shall not - do not, puppy on - puppy up, carry - carried,
you found - did you find, feeds - fed]
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English Class - XI
SET - 1
ANNUAL +2 FIRST YEAR EXAMINATION
English (Science)
Full Marks : 100 Time : 3 hours
Answer all questions.
The figures in the right-hand margin indicate marks.
In 41, I was living alone in an empty flat in a quiet Moscow street …
My parents were divorced and my father was somewhere in Kazakhstan with his new wife
and their two children. I seldom received letters from him.
My mother was at the front. She had given up her work as a geologist to become a singer
and was giving concerts for the troops.
My education was left to the street. The street taught me to swear, smoke, spit elegantly
through my teeth, and to keep my fists at the ready - a habit which I have to this day.
The street taught me not to be afraid of anything or anyone - this is another habit I have kept.
I realized that what mattered in the struggle for life was to overcome my fear of those who
were stronger.
Questions: [2x5=10]
(a) Why does the narrator have an unhappy childhood ?
(b) What was his relationship with his father ?
(c) How did his mother earn her living ?
(d) What were the two habits that remained with him all his life ?
(e) What lesson did the narrator learn from the street ?
Whose woods these are I think I know.

His house is in the village though;
He will not see me stopping here
To watch his woods fill up with snow.
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Class - XI English
My little horse must think it queer

To stop without a farm house near
Between the woods and frozen lake
The darkest evening of the year.
He gives his harness bells a shake
To ask if there is some mistake.
The only other sound's the sweep
Of easy wind and downy flake.
Questions : [2x5=10]
(a) Where does the rider stop ?
(b) Why does he stop ?
(c) Where is the owner of the wood ?
(d) Why does the horse give his harness bells a shake ?
(e) What is 'the only other sound' that fills the atmosphere ?
It once occurred to a certain king, that if he always knew the right time to begin everything;
if he knew who were the right people to listen to, and whom to avoid; and, above all, if he
always knew what was the most important thing to do, he would never fail in anything he
might undertake.
And this thought having occurred to him, he had it proclaimed throughout his kingdom that
he would give a great reward to anyone who would teach him what was the right time for
every action, and who were the most necessary people, and how he might know what was
the most important thing to do.
And learned men came to the King, but they all answered his questions differently.
In reply to the first question, some said that to know the right time for every action, one
must draw up in advance, a table of days, months and years, and must live strictly according
to it. Only thus, said they, could everything be done at its proper time. Others declared that
it was impossible to decide beforehand the right time for every action; but that, not letting
oneself be absorbed in idle pastimes, one should always attend to all that was going on, and
then do what was most needful. Others, again, said that however attentive the King might be
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English Class - XI
to what was going on, it was impossible for one man to decide correctly the right time for
every action, but that he should have a Council of wise men, who would help him to fix the
proper time for everything.
But then again others said there were some things which could not wait to be laid before a
Council, but about which one had at once to decide whether to undertake them or not. But
in order to decide that, one must know beforehand what was going to happen. It is only
magicians who know that; and, therefore, in order to know the right time for every action,
one must consult magicians.
Equally various were the answers to the second question. Some said, the people the King
most needed were his councillors; others, the priests; others, the doctors; while some said
the warriors were the most necessary.
To the third question, as to what was the most important occupation: some replied that the
most important thing in the world was science. Others said it was skill in warfare; and
others, again, that it was religious worship.
All the answers being different, the King agreed with none of them, and gave the reward to
none. But still wishing to find the right answers to his questions, he decided to consult a
hermit, widely renowned for his wisdom.
Questions: [5x2=10]
(a) What were the three questions that occurred to the king ? What did he do to get the answers
to his questions ?
(b) What answers did the wise men give to the King's questions ?
4. Dry air consists of 78.08% Nitrogen, 20.95% Oxygen, 0.93% Argon, 0.04% Carbon Dioxide
and other gases. This is the standard composition of dry air by volume. Prepare a table
using this information. [10]
5. A dictionary gives the following meanings for the word 'sound'. Match each meaning with
its corresponding sentence given below : [10]
Meanings:
(a) vibrations that travel through the air
(b) noise that can be heard
(c) stable condition
(d) to seem good, interesting, strange
(e) to make a noise
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Class - XI English
Sentences:
(i) He enjoys sound health.
(ii) Light travels faster than sound.
(iii) We could hear the sound of a bell ringing.
(iv) If the alarm sounds, leave the building immediately.
(v) Your job sounds really interesting.
6. You are Muskan from Bhadrak. Your friend Abhilipsa of Cuttack has qualified in NEET
(UG) examinations to get a seat in the medical college of her choice. Write a letter to your
friend congratulating her on her success. [15]
7. Describe the process of withdrawing money from the ATM counter. [15]
8. Rearrange the scrambled sentences in their logical order. [10]
(a) "It'll take you only two minutes."
(b) One day, his housekeeper told him that she was going to visit her sister.
(c) "Boil an egg for dinner while I'm away", she said.
(d) When she returned she found Newton looking at an egg in his hand while his watch was
boiling in the pan.
(e) Sir Isaac Newton was a very absent-minded scientist.
9. Rewrite the passage correcting all the grammatical errors in it: [10]
COVID-19 is a disease cause by a type of coronavirus. The new coronavirus is spreads primarily
through droplets of saliva or discharge by the nose. The virus can cause a range of symptom.
Symptoms of the disease is fever, cough, sore throat and headache. We should be careful of
a infected person's coughs or sneezes. We should wear masks to avoiding infection. We
should clean our hand frequently by soap and water. If we will stay home, we can be safe.
10. Develop the outlines given below into a story. [10]
a wise monk lived in a village - villagers came to him with their problems for his advice -
their problems were the same every time - the monk was bored … one day he told them a
joke - everyone laughed - after a couple of minutes, he told them the same joke - only a few
of them smiled - when he told the same joke for the third time no one laughed - monk said,
"Don't always cry about the same problem."
***
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English Class - XI
SET - 1
ANNSWER KEYS
1. Hints :
a) … because he was separated from his parents
b) … father never cared for him … seldom wrote letters to him
c) … by giving concerts to the soldiers
d) … to keep his fists at the ready … not to be afraid of anything or anyone
e) … what matters in the struggle for life is to overcome fear of those who are stronger
2. Hints :
(a) … by some woods, away from any farmhouse near a frozen lake
(b) … to enjoy the snowfall in the woods
(c) … he is living far away in his village
(d) … perhaps it was impatient … perhaps it could not understand his master's intentions
(e) … soft wind and snowfall
3. (a) … what is the right time for every action ? … who are the most necessary people ?
… what is the most important thing to do ? … he made a proclamation throughout his
kingdom that he would give a great reward to anyone who would answer his questions
(b) … answers were different for each question … for right time some said the king
must draw up a time table in advance … some said that he should always attend to all
that was going on, … some others said he should have a Council of wise men to fix
the proper time for everything ... some others said he must consult magicians
.... to his second question some said that the king needed his councillors the most,
others said the priests or the doctors; while some others said the warriors were the
most necessary
… to his third question the answers were various like science … the skill in warfare…
religious worship
4. Standard Composition of Dry Air
Sl. No. Gas % by volume
1 Nitrogen 78.08
2 Oxygen 20.95
3 Argon 0.93
4 Carbon Dioxide and other gases 0.04
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Class - XI English
5. (a) - (ii) (b) - (iii)
(c) - (i) (d) - (v)
(e) - (iv)
6. Januganj
Bhadrak -756100
July 10, 2019
Dear Abhilipsa,
My happiness knew no bounds when I got to know that you have qualified for a seat in
MBBS course and achieved your dream. I congratulate you on your success.
The result has proved that hard work, determination and perseverance bring good results.
You were so laborious and passionate about medical studies. I was always very confident that you
would come out with flying colours.
Hope to see you soon. Please be encouraged and continue your hard work. Your future is
very bright. My parents and elder sister have sent lots of love and heartiest congratulations.
With lots of love and best wishes.
Yours lovingly,
Muskan
7. The steps to be followed for withdrawing money from the ATM machine using the Debit
Card are as below:
Step 1: Insert the Debit Card in the ATM machine.
Step 2: Select Language from the language options appearing on the screen.
Step 3: Enter 4-Digit ATM Pin.
Step 4: Select the Withdrawal Option.
Step 5: Select the Type of Account.
Step 6: Enter the withdrawal amount.
Step 7: Collect the Cash.
Step 8: Take the printed receipt.
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English Class - XI
8. Answer key : e-b-c-a-d
(e) Sir Isaac Newton was a very absent-minded scientist.
(b) One day, his housekeeper told him that she was going to visit her sister.
(c) "Boil an egg for dinner while I'm away", she said.
(a) "It'll take you only two minutes."
(d) When she returned she found Newton looking at an egg in his hand while his watch
was boiling in the pan.
9. COVID-19 is a disease caused by a type of coronavirus. The new coronavirus spreads

primarily through droplets of saliva or discharge from the nose. The virus can cause a
range of symptoms. Symptoms of the disease are fever, cough, sore throat and headache.
We should be careful of an infected person's coughs or sneezes. We should wear masks to
avoid infection. We should clean our hands frequently with soap and water. If we stay
home, we can be safe.
10. There was a wise monk in a village. People of the village used to come to him with their
problems. They sought his advice to solve their problems. The monk was bored as their
problems were the same every time. One day the monk told them a joke and everyone
roared in laughter. After a couple of minutes, he told them the same joke and only a few of
them smiled. When he told the same joke for the third time no one laughed. The wise monk
smiled and said, "You can't laugh at the same joke over and over. So, don't always cry about
the same problem."
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Class - XI English
SET -2
English (Science)
Khairi made the entire forest where she lived famous. She was not a bandit queen but
Khairi, the tigress of Jashipur. It was exactly 25 years ago when I spent two days and two
nights with Khairi and the menagerie of Saroj and Nihar, I had read a small news item in
The Statesman about the latest exploits of a domesticated tigress in the Similipal forests
of Odisha.
Suddenly, it struck me that this was happening in my own State. I thought, "why not
attempt to experience it myself?" I spoke to N.S. Ayyangar, a senior journalist in
Berhampur, and a few other elders. I was told that Khairi was under the care of a rather
gruff and tough man called Saroj Raj Chaudhury who brooked no nonsense and suffered
no fools.
I got his address and wrote asking if I could visit him. For good measure, I referred to
a few itinerant articles I had written for Indian magazines. It was a shot in the dark and
I did not really expect to hear from him. But, to my utter delight, I got a letter within a
week inviting me to Khairi-Jashipur, giving precise instructions about how to reach
there. Mr. Chaudhury also asked me to let him know in advance how and when I was
reaching.
Questions: [2x5=10]
(a) Who was Khairi?
(b) How did the writer come to know about Khairi first ?
(c) Who was the foster father of Khairi ?
(d) What did the writer learn about Saroj Raj Chaudhury as a person ?
(e) How did the writer meet Mr. Chaudhury ?

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English Class - XI
Oft, in the stilly night,
Ere slumber's chain has bound me,
Fond memory brings the light
Of other days around me;
The smiles, the tears,
Of boyhood's years,
The words of love then spoken;
The eyes that shone,
Now dimm'd and gone,
The cheerful hearts now broken!
(a) When do the fond memories occur to the poet?
(b) What does "other days" mean?
(c) What are the fond memories?
(d) How does he recall his friends?
(e) How does the poet feel in the absence of his friends?
3. Read through the following extract from the prescribed text and answer the questions, each
in about 70 words:
The policeman on the beat moved up the avenue impressively. The impressiveness was
habitual and not for show, for spectators were few. The time was barely 10 o'clock at night,
but chilly gusts of wind with a taste of rain in them had well nigh de-peopled the streets.
Trying doors as he went, twirling his club with many intricate and artful movements, turning
now and then to cast his watchful eye adown the pacific thoroughfare, the officer, with his
stalwart form and slight swagger, made a fine picture of a guardian of the peace. The vicinity
was one that kept early hours. Now and then you might see the lights of a cigar store or of
an all-night lunch counter; but the majority of the doors belonged to business places that
had long since been closed.
When about midway of a certain block the policeman suddenly slowed his walk. In the
doorway of a darkened hardware store a man leaned, with an unlighted cigar in his mouth.
As the policeman walked up to him the man spoke up quickly.
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Class - XI English
"It's all right, officer," he said, reassuringly. "I'm just waiting for a friend. It's an appointment
made twenty years ago. Sounds a little funny to you, doesn't it? Well, I'll explain if you'd
like to make certain it's all straight. About that long ago there used to be a restaurant where
this store stands-'Big Joe' Brady's restaurant."
"Until five years ago," said the policeman. "It was torn down then."
The man in the doorway struck a match and lit his cigar. The light showed a pale, square-
jawed face with keen eyes, and a little white scar near his right eyebrow. His scarf pin was
a large diamond, oddly set.
(a) How did the policeman perform his duties?
(b) Describe the meeting of the stranger with the policeman.
4. While publishing a book, a certain publisher spent 20% of the printed price on printing,
25% on paper, 30% on royalty, 15% on binding and the rest 10% was for his profit and
other expenses. Prepare a pie chart using this information. [10]
5. A dictionary gives the following meanings for the word 'face'. Match each meaning with its
corresponding sentence given below : [10]
Meanings:
(a) front of the head including eyes, nose, and mouth
(b) respect or honour
(c) to accept something unpleasant
(d) to deal with a difficult situation
(e) to be opposite of something
Sentences:
(i) He refuses to face the truth that he has become poor.
(ii) The balcony faced towards the sea.
(iii) She greeted me with a smile on her face.
(iv) India faces major financial problems due to Covid -19.
(v) He tried to save his face by saying "sorry".
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English Class - XI
6. You are Ansuman Pradhan of Baripada and you have passed B.Sc. You have seen an
advertisement for the post of a Research Assistant in a pharmaceutical company in The
Times of India dated 2 January 2020. Draft an application for the job along with your
complete bio-data. [15]
7. Describe your cell phone. [15]
(a) He finally found a jar of water in a garden.
(b) He kept flying around, looking for some water.
(c) A crow was extremely thirsty.
(d) He drank water to his heart's content and flew away.
(e) It was a hot summer afternoon.
We all likes funny short stories. This stories are very interesting. Many people spend some
times everyday with reading funny stories. This is a best way to cheer up the child in us.
Short stories with morals is always helpful for kids and adults. So, we should not miss a
opportunity of listening short stories. Children should be encourage to read story books.
They can get lots of informations and entertainment from them.
10. Develop the outlines given below into a story. [10]
Four naughty friends - no mind in studies - planned to skip their internal test by lying - They
said to the professor : "We had been to a wedding last night - On our way back, a tire of the
car burst - had to push the car all the way back home - can't write the exam" - the professor
knew they were cheating - gave them to write a simple test - which tire of the car burst :
a) Front left b) Front right c) Rear left d) Rear right - no two answers were the same.
***
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Class - XI English
SET - 2
ANNSWER KEYS
1. Hints :
(a) … a domesticated tigress in the menagerie of Nihar and Saroj Raj Choudhury
(b) … 25 years ago he spent two days and two nights with Khairi and the menagerie of
Saroj and Nihar
(c) … Saroj Raj Choudhury
(d) … a gruff and tough man who brooked no nonsense and suffered no fools
(e) … the writer got his address from friends and wrote to him … on his direction the
writer reached Mr. Chaudhury
2. Hints :
(a) … before he falls asleep
(b) … the boyhood days
(c) … the smiles, the tears, and the words of love
(d) … the bright eyes of his near and dear ones are no longer shining
(e) … the poet feels very sad and heartbroken
3. (a) … The policeman, a guardian of the peace, was on his beat at 10 o'clock at night …
the street was empty due to chilly gusts of wind with a taste of rain … he moved up
the avenue impressively ... he was trying closed doors as he went … he was twirling
his club with many intricate and artful movements … he had his watchful eye on
every thoroughfare.
(b) … In the doorway of a darkened hardware store the policeman saw a man with an
unlighted cigar in his mouth … as he walked up to him the man said that he was just
waiting for a friend … he had an appointment with his friend twenty years ago … they
were to meet at 'Big Joe' Brady's restaurant ... the policeman said that it was torn
down five years ago … The man struck a match and lit his cigar
101
English Class - XI
4. Expenditure incurred in the preparation of a book
5. (a) - (iii) (b) - (v) (c) - (i) (d) - (iv) (e) - (ii)
6. Sample Answer:
From
Ansuman Pradhan
14, College Road
Baripada - 757001
Date : 5 January 2020
To
The H R Manager
Cadila Pharma
Gandhi Marg, Ahmedabad - 382210
Sub: Application for the post of Research Assistant
Sir,
With reference to the advertisement published in the esteemed daily The Times of India on
May 20, 2020, I intend to apply for the post of Research Assistant in your esteemed organisation.
I have passed B.Sc. from North Odisha University, Baripada, Odisha in 2019. I am hard working,
honest and punctual. I assure you that I shall work with full devotion and sincerity.
I enclose my bio-data for your kind verification.
In anticipation of an early response.
Yours sincerely,
Ansuman Pradhan
102
Class - XI English
BIO - DATA
Name : Ansuman Pradhan
Father's Name : Sri Himansu Pradhan
Date of Birth : 22 January, 1998
Contact No. and email id : 9350298679, ansuman.pradhan@gmail.com
Marital Status : Unmarried
Educational Qualification : B.Sc. (Chemistry Hons.) in 2018 with 75% Marks
Computer Education : Working knowledge in Microsoft Office
Languages Known : Odia, Hindi and English
References : 1. Prof. A.K. Das, Head, Chemistry Dept., MPC College, Baripada
2. Sri Umesh C Majhi, Assistant Professor, MPC College, Baripada
Declaration
I solemnly declare that the above information is true to the best of my knowledge.
Ansuman Pradhan
7. Sample answer
I'm currently using Samsung Galaxy J1 (4G) dual sim smart phone. The phone comes with
a 4.50-inch touch screen display. It is powered by a 1.3GHz quad-core processor. It has an
internal memory of 32 GB and exhibits camera clarity of 5 Megapixels. It sports a
2-megapixel camera on the front for selfies. It runs Android and is powered by a 2050mAh
removable battery. My phone is updated with the latest applications, videos, and movies
that hold my interest. It also has a number of instant messaging and social networking sites
that keeps me occupied and amused throughout the day.
8. Answer key :
(e) It was a hot summer afternoon.
(c) A crow was extremely thirsty.
(b) He kept flying around, looking for some water.
(a) He finally found a jar of water in a garden.
(d) He drank water to his heart's content and flew away.
103
English Class - XI
9. We all like funny short stories. These stories are very interesting. Many people spend
some time everyday on reading funny stories. This is the best way to cheer up the child in
us. Short stories with morals are always helpful for kids. So, they should not miss an
opportunity of listening to short stories. They should be encouraged to read story books.
They can get lots of information and entertainment from them.
10. Sample answer :
There were four naughty friends. They had no mind in studies. Once they planned to skip
their internal test by lying to their professor. They went to the professor and said, "We had
been to a wedding last night. On our way back, a tire of the car burst. We had to push the car
all the way back home as we didn't have a spare tire. So, we are not in a position to write the
exam. The professor asked them to take a very simple test. He asked the students to sit in
separate classrooms. The examination paper had only one question for a total of 20 marks.
The question was:
Which tire of the car burst :

a) Front left
b) Front right
c) Rear left
d) Rear right
No two students had the same answer. They were allowed another date for the test.
***
104
Class - XI English
SET - 3
English (Science)
Long ago, there lived a very rich man called Midas. Besides being rich, he was a king, and he
had a little daughter called Marygold.
King Midas loved gold more than anything else in the world. He liked being a king, chiefly
because he loved his golden crown. He loved his daughter dearly too, and the more he loved
her, the more gold he wanted for her sake.
When King Midas saw the golden light of the sun at evening, he wished it could turn everything
into real gold. When Marygold came to him with a bunch of sweet yellow flowers, he would
say, "If they were as golden as they look, they would be worth picking!" Even the roses in his
garden did not please him any more - the largest and sweetest and most beautiful roses ever
seen - because they were not made of gold. And although the king was very fond of music in
his youth, the only music he loved now was the sound of gold coins, one against another.
At last, King Midas could not bear to touch anything that was not gold. He used to go down
to a secret room under his palace where he kept his precious store. He would let himself in
and count his gold pieces. He would hold the bars of gold, and admire his gold cups and
plates, until he could hardly bear to leave them.
Now in those days a great many wonderful things used to happen just as they do today. One
morning King Midas was in his treasure-room when he noticed that the sun was shining
into the room more brightly than usual. Not only that, but a stranger stood there, smiling at
him in the light of the sunbeam.
Questions: [2x5=10]
(a) Who was Midas? Why did he want more gold ?
(b) What did he wish when saw the golden light of the evening sun ?
(c) Why didn't he like the roses of his garden ?
(d) How did he spend his time in his 'treasure-room' ?
(e) Where and how did he see the stranger ?
105
English Class - XI
No stir in the air, no stir in the sea,
The ship was still as she could be,
Her sails from heaven received no motion,
Her keel was steady in the ocean.
Without either sign or sound of their shock

The waves flowed over the Inchcape Rock;
So little they rose, so little they fell,
They did not move the Inchcape Bell.
The Abbot of Aberbrothok

Had placed that bell on the Inchcape Rock;
On a buoy in the storm it floated and swung,
And over the waves its warning rung.
When the Rock was hid by the surge's swell,

The mariners heard the warning bell;
And then they knew the perilous Rock,
And blessed the Abbot of Aberbrothok.
(a) How does the poet describe the Inchcape Rock ?
(b) Was the Inchcape Rock dangerous ? Give your reasons.
(c) Why did the Abbot place a bell on the Inchcape Rock ?
(d) When did the Inchcape bell ring ?
(e) Why did mariners bless the Abbot ?
3. Read through the following extract from the prescribed text and answer the questions, each
in about 70 words:
"Out through that window, three years ago to a day, her husband and her two young brothers
went off for their day's shooting. They never came back. In crossing the moor to their
favorite snipe-shooting ground they were all three engulfed in a treacherous piece of bog.
It had been that dreadful wet summer, you know, and places that were safe in other years
gave way suddenly without warning. Their bodies were never recovered. That was the dreadful
part of it." Here the child's voice lost its self-possessed note and became falteringly human.
106
Class - XI English
"Poor aunt always thinks that they will come back someday, they and the little brown spaniel
that was lost with them, and walk in at that window just as they used to do. That is why the
window is kept open every evening till it is quite dusk. Poor dear aunt, she has often told me
how they went out, her husband with his white waterproof coat over his arm, and Ronnie,
her youngest brother, singing 'Bertie, why do you bound?' as he always did to tease her,
because she said it got on her nerves. Do you know, sometimes on still, quiet evenings like
this, I almost get a creepy feeling that they will all walk in through that window-"
Questions: [5x2=10]
(a) What tragedy occurred in Sappleton family ?
(b) Why did poor aunt keep the window open ?
4. Prepare a pie chart using the following information : [10]
A science student has scored 80 marks in English, 60 in MIL (O), 90 in Physics, 90 in

Chemistry, 100 in Mathematics and 85 in Biology in the Annual Higher Secondary
Examination. Prepare a Bar Diagram using this information.
5. A dictionary gives the following meanings for the word 'book'. Match each meaning with its
corresponding sentence given below : [10]
Meanings:
(a) a set of printed pages bound in a cover
(b) a section of a long book
(c) the written records of money
(d) to reserve a seat
(e) to officially charge someone for a crime
Sentences:
(i) The police booked the boy for eve teasing.
(ii) He has booked a seat on the evening flight to New Delhi.
(iii) R L Stevenson has written a book named Treasure Island.
(iv) The accountant balances his books at the end of the month.
(v) Milton's Paradise Lost has ten books.
107
English Class - XI
6. You are Sahil Sahoo, Secretary of Netaji Youth Club, Motigunj, Balasore. Write a letter to
Globe Enterprises, New Delhi, a leading firm dealing in sports goods, placing orders for
the supply of cricket bats, balls, kits for your club. You may ask for a discount on the
catalogue prices. [15]
7. Describe the Independence Day celebration in your college. [15]
(a) One day he thought of collecting all the eggs to become rich.
(b) There was no egg and he quickly realized his foolish mistake.
(c) He got enough money by selling the egg to support his family.
(d) He killed the goose and cut its stomach open for all its golden eggs.
(e) A farmer had a goose that laid one golden egg every day.
One day, two cat saw a piece of cake and started fighting with it. A monkey saw this as a
opportunity to cheat the cats. He offer to help them divide the cake. He divided the cake by
two parts but shook his head saying that they are unequal. He took a bite out of one part
but still finds them unequal. He continued doing so since there is no more cake left. The
poor little cats were disappoint. When two persons will quarrel, a third person finds a
chance to gain.
10. Develop the following outlines into a story : [10]
A king had three daughters - he decided to divide his kingdom among his daughters and
retire - he wanted to know how much his daughters loved him - the first said that she loved
her father more than her own life - the second said that she loved her father more than
everything in the world - The youngest daughter said that she loved him according to her
bond - king was angry - divided his kingdom between his first two daughters.
108
Class - XI English
SET - 3
ANNSWER KEYS
1. Hints :
(a) … a rich king … loved gold more than anything else in the world … he loved his little
daughter Marygold dearly … he wanted more gold for her
(b) … he wished the golden light of the sun to turn everything it touched into real gold
(c) … because they were not made of gold ... even the largest and sweetest and most
beautiful roses in his garden did not please him
(d) … by counting his gold pieces … holding the bars of gold, … admiring his gold cups
and plates
(e) … in his treasure-room … the stranger was standing there smiling at him in the light
of the sunbeam
2. Hints :
(a) … was slightly below the water of the sea … when the sea was calm, waves passed
gently over the Rock … when the sea was rough, it remained buried under the waves
(b) … yes … ships were wrecked on it when the sea was rough and it lay buried under the
waves
(c) … to warn the mariners about the presence of the Inchcape Rock
(d) … during a storm when the sea was rough
(e) … because he placed the Inchcape Bell to warn the sailors about the presence of the
hidden rock
3. (a) … three years ago poor aunt's husband, her two young brothers and their dog went off
for shooting ... They never came back. In crossing the moor to their favorite snipe-
shooting ground they were all three caught in a treacherous piece of bog … Their
bodies were never recovered.
(b) … poor aunt always thought that her husband, her two young brothers and their dog
would come back someday … they would walk in through the window just as they
always did … That is why …
109
English Class - XI
4. Diagram for Annual Higher Secondary Examination Marks
5. (a) - (iii) (b) - (v)

(c) - (iv) (d) - (ii)
(e) - (i)
6. Answer:
Netaji Youth Club
Motigunj, Balasore - 7610001
1 March 2020
Messrs Globe Enterprises
F-4, Greater Kailash-II
New Delhi
Sub: Order for Sports Goods
Dear Sirs,
We are placing orders for the following sports goods with your firm:
110
Class - XI English
Name of the Items Pieces Needed

1. Willow bats 25
2. Wicket keeping pads 8
3. Batting pads 25
4. Match ball (red) 20
5. Match ball (white) 20
6. Batting gloves 35
7. Wicket keeping gloves 10
8. Tennis balls 36
9. Practice net 03
10. Stumps 30
Please do mention the time required to effect delivery and the terms of payment. I
hope you will facilitate business by quoting the lowest possible rates. I am confident that
you will patronise us by giving some discount also. Please mention the rates of discount on
the catalogue prices.
Yours faithfully
Sahil Sahoo,
Secretary
7. Sample answer
India's Independence Day, is celebrated every year on the 15th of August. This day
commemorates the independence and the end of the colonial rule of the British, achieved
in 1947. It is celebrated throughout the country with the ceremonial hoisting of the national
flag and the distribution of sweets. Public cultural programs take place in all of the capitals
of the Indian states. The Independence Day celebrated in our college this year with much
pomp. Around the flag post a beautiful flower decoration was designed by us. Our principal
hoisted the national flag at 8 O'clock in the morning. We sang the national anthem in
chorus. Our principal highlighted the glorious contributions of the freedom fighters of our
country. He asked us to take a pledge to keep up the honour of our nation. Sweets were
distributed among us.
111
English Class - XI
8. Answer key :
(e) A farmer had a goose that laid one golden egg every day.
(c) He got enough money by selling the egg to support his family.
(a) One day he thought of collecting all the eggs to become rich.
(d) He killed the goose and cut its stomach open for all its golden eggs.
(b) There was no egg and he quickly realized his foolish mistake.
9. One day, two cats saw a piece of cake and started fighting for it. A monkey saw this as an
opportunity to cheat the cats. He offered to help them divide the cake. He divided the cake
into two parts but shook his head saying that they were unequal. He took a bite out of one
part but still found them unequal. He continued doing so until there is no more cake left.
The poor little cats were disappointed. When two persons quarrel, a third person finds a
chance to gain.
10. A certain king had three daughters. The king decided to divide his kingdom among his
daughters and retire. Before dividing the kingdom he wanted to know how much his daughters
loved him. The first daughter said that she loved her father more than her own life. The
second daughter said that she loved her father more than everything in the world. The
youngest daughter said that she loved him according to her bond, neither more nor less.
She meant that she loved her father as a daughter should. The king was angry and dismissed
her. He divided his kingdom between his first two daughters.
112

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WORK BOOK CUM

QUESTION BANK WITH ANSWERS

Dr. Bhagabat Nath, M.A., Ph.D.

SCHEDULED TRIBE & SCHEDULED CASTE

SUBJECT PAGE NO.

 English (1st Year) Syllabus 1

 Question Pattern of CHSE 2

ENGLISH (1st Year) Syllabus

QUESTION PATTERN OF CHSE

Full Mark : 100 Time : 3 Hrs.

Paper -I (To be evaluated at the College level)

Prose (5 questions to be answered, each carrying 2 marks) 10 marks

Poems (5 questions to be answered each carrying 2 marks) 10 marks

Non detailed Texts (2 questions to be answered carrying 5 marks each) 10 marks

Vocabulary skills 5 marks

Information Transfer (verbal information to non-verbal Forms) 5 marks

Reordering/sequencing sentences 5 marks

Dictionary skills (2 marks on using a dictionary, 3 marks meanings of a word) 5 marks

Cohesive Devices 5 marks

Letter Writing (personal/official/commercial: Word limit: 150) 10 marks

Description of object/event /process (Word limit: 150) 10 marks

Slogan/telegram/caption writing (Word limit: 10) 5 marks

Grammar in context 10 marks

Total: 100 Marks

STANDING UP FOR YOURSELF

THE LEGEND BEHIND A LEGEND

THE GOLDEN TOUCH

IN LONDON IN MINUS FOURS

THE CANCER FIGHT, FROM HIROSHIMA TO HOUSTON

STOPPING BY WOODS ON A SNOWY EVENING

OFT, IN THE STILLY NIGHT

THE INCHCAPE ROCK

AFTER TWENTY YEARS

THE OPEN WINDOW

THE ONE AND ONLY HOUDINI

STANDING UP FOR YOURSELF

THE LEGEND BEHIND A LEGEND

The Legend behind a Legend

IN LONDON IN MINUS FOURS

(d) … "You people wear plus-fours, mine are minus-fours."

10. (a) … his charm, frankness, humanity, and accessibility.

THE CANCER FIGHT,

(b) … about half of her relatives including her father died.

(b) … pneumonitis, esophagitis and bone marrow toxicity, secondary cancers.

STOPPING BY WOODS ON A SNOWY EVENING

He gives his harness bells a shake

The woods are lovely, dark and deep.

(d) How does the poet describe the woods ?

(e) What has he to do before he falls asleep ?

OFT, IN THE STILLY NIGHT

When I remember all

The friends, so link'd together,

I've seen around me fall,

Like leaves in wintry weather;

I feel like one

Who treads alone

Some banquet-hall deserted,

Whose lights are fled,

Whose garlands dead,