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Sunday, 7 October 2018

Practice Time : The Jamun Tree

Read the extract, read the activity and do all the activities.
A1. The events in the extract have been arranged in a jumbled way. Rearrange them in a proper sequence.

1. At night the gardener gave the man some rice and dal to eat.
2. All the bystanders came forward to lend a hand in removing the man from under the tree.
3. A Superintendent stopped the bystanders from removing the tree.
4. A man lay crushed under a tree.
Ans : 4,2,3,1
OR
A1. State whether the following statements are true or false. Correct the false statements.
1. The tree had fallen in the lawn of the Agricultural Department. False Correct: The tree had fallen in the lawn of the Industries Department.
2. The people in the industries Department agreed to remove the tree. False Correct : The people in the industries Department fumed.
3. In the evening the matter was referred to the Horticultural Department. True
4. The jurisdiction of the Agricultural Department is limited to foodgrains and agriculture. True
At lunch time a big crowd had gathered round the man who lay crushed under the tree. There were as many suggestions as there were tongues. Some enterprising clerks from among the crowd decided to take the matter in hand without waiting for orders from the high – ups. They were about to get down to the job when the Superintendent came running, a file in hand.
“We can’t remove the tree ourselves,” he said waving the file. “The issue in hand concerns a tree which comes under the purview of the Agriculture Department and rightly so. I’ll mark the file urgent and send it to the Agriculture Department. As soon as orders are received from there, I’ll have the tree removed.”
Next day a reply came from the Agriculture Department. The tree, it said, had fallen in the lawn of the Industries Department. And so, it was entirely up to the Industries Department whether to remove the tree or let it remain where it was.
The people in the Industries Department fumed. They wrote back that the responsibility for removing the tree squarely rested on the shoulders of the Agriculture Department. The Industries Department was very clear in its mind. Removing the tree was none of its concern.
The second day the file kept moving from table to table. The reply came in the evening – the matter was being referred to the Horticulture Department. The tree, the Agriculture Dept. Pointed out, was a fruit – bearing tree. The jurisdiction of the Agriculture Department did not extend beyond food grains and agriculture. The jamun tree, it emphasized, was a fruit tree and hence it came under the jurisdiction of the Horticulture Department.
At night the gardener gave the man some rice and dal to eat. The police had by now moved in to prevent the people from taking the law into own hands and shifting the tree from its place. A constable took pity on the man and allowed him to be fed.
A2 Complete the statement:
'There were as many suggestions as there were tongues.' This statement implies that........
Ans: This statement implies that all the people who gathered round the man under the tree suggested plans to bring out the man. Everyone has its own suggestion. They pitied the man and talked about the pros and cons of their plans.
A3. Draw and complete the flowchart about pushing the responsibility of removing the fallen tree to save the man under it.



A4 Find the meanings of following words:
A. Onlookers - bystanders B. Very angry -fumed C. stressed - emphasized D. to stop doing something - to prevent
A5. Suggest the immediate action to take to remove tree and save man.
A6. Do as directed.
1. As soon as orders are from there, I’ll have the tree removed. (Rewrite using ‘No sooner….. than’)
No sooner are orders from there than I’ll have thhe tree removed.
2. Removing the tree was none of its concern. (Rewrite using infinitive form the underlined word.)
To remove the tree was none of its concern.

Saturday, 6 October 2018

Practice Time : Schooling on the Streets


Read the extract, read the activity and do all the activities:

A1: Complete the statements choosing the appropriate words from the extract.
1. The Door Step school is established in Mumbai in……..
2. The Door Step school expanded to ……… in 1993.
3. The school has reached over …….. children.
4. In the school the language of instruction is………
Ans: 1. 1988 2. Pune 3. 50000 4. Marathi

Established in Mumbai in 1988 responding to a massive need for literacy in the slums, the Door Step School builds its program to address three major needs: school enrolment, education for those not in school and retention to help those in school thrive and stay in school. Expanding to Pune in 1993, the Door Step School has impacted over 50,000 children.
The Door Step School is truly a school at one’s doorstep. The organization sets up a classroom in a particular area and gathers children there for learning. The team goes there every day and conducts regular classes. This particularly helps those who can’t send their children to school due to distance and time issues. The programmes are tailor made for the groups that they serve. In Pune, the language of instruction is Marathi. When asked why English was not introduced to the children, Rajani replies thoughtfully, “We are not against any language. Our experience tells us that a child can pick up his mother tongue or the regional language quickly. One must understand that these are students with no educational background. They are what we can call first generation learners. Most of the municipal schools in the city are Marathi medium. So while enrolling them in the mainstream school, it’s essential that they know good Marathi. Also, when they come to us, they can hardly read and write in the language that they speak and hear, learning a foreign language is far more difficult. The other factor is the dropout rate. Keeping all this in mind, we think that children must read and write in their own language till the time they are with us.”
In Pune, the main focus of the Door Step School is educating on construction sites. “We conducted a survey and found that lots of young children move into the city with or without their families to work on construction sites. Earning the daily bread is a challenge and education thus remains a distant dream. We try and reach out to such children and as a result, today, we are operating on over distant dream. We try and reach out to such children and as a result, today, we are operating on over 100 construction sites in the city. However, there are several challenges. The opening as well as the closure of the sites is not in our hands. When the site is completed, the labour moves out and so does the child. This results in a high dropout rate.
A2: Give Reason : English was not introduced to the children.
A child can pick up his mother tongue quickly. The children were hardly able to read and write their mother tongue. Learning a foreign language like English is far more difficult for them. So English was not introduced to the children.
A3: Find out the challenges the Door Step School face in educating children.
The challenges the Door Step School face in educating children are as follows – The children are from not educational background. They do not stick to one place as they move when the construction site is completed.
A4: Give one word for the following expressions
a. Leave school before the course is finished - dropout
b. The action of keeping something rather than losing it -retention
c. Made for a particular person or purpose - tailor-made
d. To follow the progress and development of someone - track

A5: Education always opens doors for a brighter future. Give examples to support the statement.
Education enables us to live a better life. It helps us get skills required to lead life. Education opens many career options for us. Famous personalities like Dr A.P.J Kalam, Dr Ambedkar and Indira Gandhi reached to great height.
A6: Grammar:
1. It’s essential that they know good Marathi.(Choose and rewrite the Simple Sentence from the given alternatives)
a. It being essential they know good Marathi.
b. Knowing good Marathi is essential for them.
c. They know good Marathi and it is essential.
d. Essentially they know good Marathi.
2. The opening as well as the closure of the sites is not in our hands.(Rewrite using ‘neither…nor’)
Neither the opening nor the closure of the sites is in our hands.



Rapid Reading : The Joy Of Learning



1) Complete the statement:
The narrator was the worst nightmare for every teacher in the school because she disrupted each class.
2) Describe the personality of Mr. Kaplan, in two or three sentences.
Mr. Kaplan was young and handsome with blue eyes and blond hair.He seemed to be a carefree. He was dressed in Calvin Klein jeans and V-neck sweater.He kept talking in the class and hold the attention of the students.
3) Choose the statements which show the narrator's previous view about learning.
1. There could be joy in learning.
2. School is not about learning and joy.
3 She did not believe that learning could be about her, the learner.
4. Learning history is mystery.
4) State true or false about the activities done in Mr. Kaplan's class.
1. The students lay down on the floor and imagined they were slaves. True
2. They pretended to cross the high seas on ships.True
3. They skipped the class of Mr Kaplan.False
4. They pretended to fight the Civil War and sign the Declaration of Independence.True
5) Describe the method of Mr. Kaplan’s teaching.
Mr Kaplan adopted the method of active participation of students in learning. He sidelined the boring and tedious textbooks.He arranged different activities in the class to make students realize real experience of learning.
6) Complete the statements
1. The school management wanted to fire Mr. Kaplan becausehe did not stick to the curriculum.
2. The narrator opposed the idea of firing Mr. Kaplan because he was the best teacher in then school.
3. The principal warned the students that they would be suspended for walking out of the school in support of Mr Kaplan.
4. There were tears in Mr. Kaplan's eyes becausehe was moved by the affection of students and parents