English with Brajendra

  In this poem, the poet describes how the visit of a goldfinch changes the Laburnum tree. It is a beautiful poem in which the poet has used the laburnum tree and goldfinches as a symbol of life and its fluctuations. Here, the poet describes how the visit of a goldfinch changes the laburnum tree.The goldfinch transforms the tree and makes it come alive as the chicks of the bird starts to rustle and chirp on seeing her. Once she leaves the tree, it becomes quiet and still again.  The tree symbolizes the pattern of life in general. Life is preceded and followed by (flanked by) silence and emptiness. It also hints at the symbiotic relationship between the living beings. 

  C] Long Answer Type Questions Answer the following questions in not more than 150 words each: 1. Sketch the character of the narrator. Answer- Introduction- The narrator was a 37 year old businessman. He was a daring adventurer. He was smart , strong and an ideal family man. An Ambitious Adventurer- He was so ambitious that he planned to sail around the world following the famous voyager Captain James Cook. He was aware of the risks of his ambition nevertheless he set on it. It shows that he was a daring adventurer.  Smart and Courageous- He was not only ambitious but also smart enough to make proper preparations and planning before the journey. He had his ship built by the professionals and tested it in the roughest of weathers and waters.  He saved himself and his family out of the dangerous sea storm. It shows that he was very courageous.  A Family Man - He loved his family so much that he took them along in his round the world voyage. His wife , Mary stood besi...

A Photograph    The poem deals with the theme of the sad memory of loss of our dear ones. It shows  the changing nature of human life. Human life slips from childhood into youth and thence into old age followed by the inevitable death. A photograph reminds the poetess of her dear mother who has died 12 years ago. It shows her 12 years old mother as a young girl flanked by her two cousins, smiling with the background of sea. The first stanza of the poem tells about the poetess looking at the cardboard photograph of her mother with her younger cousins Betty and dolly. They look smiling and enjoying their Sunday beach holiday. The poetess marks the transience of their feet which are being washed by the sea water which is still the same. The second stanza shows the poetess remembering her mother at 32 or 42 when she would laugh at this photograph and miss her old good days of beach holiday and the cousins. She misses her mother's laughter. However she has come to terms with t...

  Lesson 1 : The Portrait of a Lady  Points for Summary: The grandmother  The portrait of the grandfather  At village  In the city  The university  Abroad  Homecoming and death  The writer's grandfather looked too old , at least a hundred years old. He was wearing a turban and loose-fitting clothes. He had a long  white beard.He looked a serious and ascetic type of person who could have no wife and children. It used to be the happiest half hour of the day for the grandmother when she used to feed the crumbs of bread to the hundreds of birds in her courtyard in the afternoon. The birds used to surround her from all sides and some of them sat on her legs and shoulders. She enjoyed it a lot. The narrator and the grandmother became good friends living together after his parents moved to the city. She used to look after him and tried to teach him the religious prayers while getting him ready for school. He loved her very much. The grandmother...

 Central Idea Even small things can change the mood and make a person happy. A crow shook down some particles of snow from a hemlock tree upon the sad poet . This small incident changed his mood and saved the rest part of his day from being waste.

  A Legend of the Northland [A] Comprehension Read the stanzas carefully and answer the questions based on them. 1. Once when the good ...... you know. 1. Good Saint Peter lived in the world , in the cold region of the Northland to be more precise , in ancient times. 2. He walked about the world to preach. 3. He preached. 4. 'Know' rhymes with below. 2. And being faint..... a single one. 1. Fasting made the Saint weak. 2. It was evening. 3. The saint asked the woman to give him a cake.  4. No , he didn't ask for the whole store of cakes. He asked for a single cake only. 3. Then she took .... part with that . 1. She took a tiny scrap of dough then. 2. She rolled and rolled it to make it flat . 3. She baked a cake which looked as a thin wafer . 4. No , she didn't give the wafer to the saint. 4 . And he said ...... keep you warm . 1. Here ' you ' refers to the woman. 2. The woman is too selfish. 3. She should not dwell in a human form. 4. The rhyming words are form...

  Lesson 4 .The Lake Isle Of Innisfree ( Poem ) [A] Comprehension Read the stanzas carefully and answer the questions based on them. 1. I will arise........and bee-loud glade. 1. The poet will arise to go to the lake isle of Innisfree. 2. He wants to build a small cabin there. 3. He will have nine bean-rows and a hive of honey bees for food. 4. ' Honeybee ' rhymes with Innisfree. 2. And I shall have...... linnet's wings. 1. 'I' refers to the poet , W. B. Yeats. 2. Peace comes there, dropping slow. 3. Midnight is all a glimmer, and noon a purple glow there. 4. The evening is full of the pleasant sounds of linnet's wings. 3. I shall arise ..... and deep heart's core . 1. The poet hears day and night the lake water lapping with low sounds by the shore. 2. While thinking of going to Innisfree , the poet is standing on a roadway or the grey pavements. 3. The poet wants to go to Innisfree for always. 4. The rhyming words are day and grey , shore and core. [B] Cent...

  Lesson 5 . The Snake and the Mirror [ A ] Comprehension Read the following passage and give the answers to the questions given below. It was a hot summer …… was then wearing . 1.The narrator opened the door on returning home after having his meal at a restaurant. 2. Besides the narrator , rats were there in the room. 3.The narrator took out his box of matches and lighted the kerosene lamp on the table for light. 4. The narrator's belongings were sixty rupees in his suitcase along with some shirts and dhotis and one solitary black coat which he was then wearing. 2. I went back into ….. and neat . 1.The book that the doctor opened was titled ' Materia Medica '. 2.Besides the book the table had  the lamp and a large mirror and a small comb lying on it. 3. The narrator was a great admirer of beauty and he believed in making himself look handsome. 4.He ran the comb through his hair and adjusted the parting so that it looked straight and neat. 3. I didn't jump …….. in the f...

  Lesson 4 . A Truly Beautiful Mind  [ A ] Comprehension Read the following passage and give the answers to the questions given below. 1. Albert Einstein was born....... much too large. 1. Einstein was born on 14 March 1879 in the German city of Ulm . 2. No . In his infancy he didn't show that he was going to be great.  3. Her mother thought that he was a freak . 4. Sign =Indication ; Seemed = Appeared . 2. But Albert Einstein..... school for good . 1. No . Albert was not a bad pupil. 2. Einstein’s family had moved to Munich when he was 15 months old.  3. He scored good marks in almost every subject . 4. Einstein hated the school’s regimentation . As a result he finally left the school for good at the age of fifteen. 3. The previous year, Albert's ...... than Munich. 1.Before moving to Milan, Albert’s parents had   left Albert with relatives. 2. Einstein wished to continue his education in German-speaking Switzerland, in a city which was more liberal than Munich...

  Poetry Lesson 3 . The Village Song Read the following stanza and answer the questions that follow. 1.Honey child …………. forth to wed you. 1.Write the title of the poem from which the above stanza has been taken. Write the name of its poet. Answer . The above stanza has been taken from the poem The Village Song composed by Sarojani Naidu. 2. Who is leaving the mother and why ? Answer. The daughter is leaving the mother to go to the wild forest. 3. Who fed the golden grain ? Answer. The mother fed the golden grain. 2. Mother mine…….calling me: O listen. 1.Same . 2.Where is the daughter going ? Answer. The daughter is going to the wild forest. 3.Where are Champa buds blowing ? Answer. Champa buds are blowing on the champa boughs in the wild forest. 4. What do you mean by river-isles ? Answer. ' River isles ' means the small islands formed in a river . 3. Honey child ……. are you going? 1.According to mother , how is the world? Answer. According to mother, the world is full of plea...

  Supplementary Reader Lesson 2 :  The Judgement Seat Of Vikramaditya [A] Short answer type questions on the text. Q1 : Who was Vikramaditya? Why was he famous for? Ans : Vikramaditya was the king of Ujjain. He was famous for his justice and wisdom.   Q2 : What do we definitely know about Vikramaditya? Ans : The only one thing that we definitely know about Vikramaditya is that he was a lover of justice and learning.   Q3 : Why did the guilty tremble before Vikramaditya? Ans : The guilty trembled before Vikramaditya because they knew that his eyes would look straight into their guilt and he would punish them.   Q4 : What happened to the palace and the fort of Vikramaditya after his death? Ans : After the death of Vikramaditya his palace and fort were ruined with passage of time. The ruins were covered with grass and dust.   Q5 : What did the village boys find in pasture-land one day ? Ans : The village-boys used to go to a nearby pasture ...