Class 6 - English - New Learning to Communicate - Workbook - Chapter 4 - The Dignity of Work Page 50

Grammar in Use

Writing practice

Did you know that ants were on earth much before human beings? The first man lived on earth less than a million years ago; the first ant appeared perhaps thirty million years ago! But ants have not evolved much since then. And they are not likely to change for another million years. If you look carefully at a colony or nest of ants, you will notice hundreds of ants of different sizes and shapes doing different kinds of jobs.

Here is a table giving you information about three different kinds of ants in a colony. Use the information to write a paragraph on each kind of ant.

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Class 6 - English - New Learning to Communicate - Workbook - Chapter 4 - The Dignity of Work Page 49

Grammar in Use

Writing practice

Did you know that ants were on earth much before human beings? The first man lived on earth less than a million years ago; the first ant appeared perhaps thirty million years ago! But ants have not evolved much since then. And they are not likely to change for another million years. If you look carefully at a colony or nest of ants, you will notice hundreds of ants of different sizes and shapes doing different kinds of jobs.

Here is a table giving you information about three different kinds of ants in a colony. Use the information to write a paragraph on each kind of ant.

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Class 6 - English - New Learning to Communicate - Workbook - Chapter 4 - The Dignity of Work Page 48

Grammar in Use

Vocabulary

Find the words from the screen below, which may be used in place of those in bold in the sentences below. The first one has been done for you.

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Grammar in Use 

Punctuation and Vocabulary 

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Grammar in Use

Writing Task: Punctuation

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Grammar in Use

Simple Past

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Grammar in Use

Present Perfect vs Simple Past

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Grammar in Use

Present Perfect vs Simple Past

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Grammar in Use

Prepositions

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 Grammar in Use

Prepositions

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 Grammar in Use

Prepositions

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Telephone Conversation by Wole Soyinka - Chapter 04 - Woven Words - Elective English - Class XI NCERT

Poem Text

The price seemed reasonable, location
Indifferent. The landlady swore she lived
Off premises. Nothing remained
But self-confession. ‘Madam,’ I warned,
‘I hate a wasted journey—I am African.’
Silence. Silenced transmission of
Pressurised good-breeding. Voice, when it came,
Lipstick coated, long gold-rolled
Cigarette-holder pipped. Caught I was, foully.
‘HOW DARK ?’... I had not misheard... ‘ARE YOU LIGHT
OR VERY DARK ?’ Button B. Button A. Stench
Of rancid breath of public hide-and-speak.
Red booth. Red pillar-box. Red double-tiered
Omnibus squelching tar. It was real! Shamed
By ill-mannered silence, surrender
Pushed dumbfounded to beg simplification.
Considerate she was, varying the emphasis—
‘ARE YOU DARK? OR VERY LIGHT?’ Revelation came.
‘You mean—like plain or milk chocolate?’
Her assent was clinical, crushing in its light
Impersonality. Rapidly, wave-length adjusted,
I chose. ‘West African sepia’—and as afterthought,
“down in my passport.” Silence for spectroscopic
Flight of fancy, till truthfulness changed her accent
Hard on the mouthpiece. ‘WHAT’S THAT?’ conceding
‘DON’T KNOW WHAT THAT IS.’ ‘Like brunette.’
‘THAT’S DARK, ISN’T IT?’ ‘Not altogether.
Facially, I am brunette, but madam, you should see
The rest of me. Palm of my hand, soles of my feet
Are a peroxide blonde. Friction, caused—
Foolishly madam—by sitting down, has turned
My bottom raven black—One moment madam!’—sensing
Her receiver rearing on the thunderclap
About my ears—‘Madam,’ I pleaded, ‘wouldn’t you rather
See for yourself ?’

 

Word Meaning

Notice these expressions in the poem and guess their meaning from the context:

rancid breath	squelching tar
spectroscopic flight of fancy
rearing on the thunderclap	brunette
peroxide blonde	clinical assent
raven black

• rancid breath: Rancid means a matter which is offensive or disagreeable. Thus, the voice in which the lady speaks to the poet is under an immensely nasty or insulting breath.
• squelching tar: The verb squelch means to strike or press with crushing force. Thus, the expression used here is that of a huge amount of compressed tar, the dark coloured product obtained after distillation of coal or wood, expressing the complexion of the poet. 
• spectroscopic flight of fancy: The word spectroscopy originated from the concept of dispersion of visible light into seven different colours. Thus, the word explains the dispersed flow of thoughts of the lady after talking to the erudite poet. Her fancies of a “dark” man gained wings and attained new levels of interpretations when she had to submit to the fact that she knew lesser than the person on the other side of the line.
• rearing on the thunderclap: A thunderclap refers to something resembling the sudden occurrence of a thunder, as in loudness or unexpectedness. 
• brunette: Brunette here refers to dark hair and, often, dark eyes and dark or olive skin.
• peroxide blonde: This expression refers to a harsh or unnaturally bleached palm and sole of feet rather than a natural fair complexion. Peroxide is a chemical which is used as a bleaching agent. 
• clinical assent: The voice of the lady in the poem seemed clinical while assenting to the poet's revelation. It refers to the concerned voice based on a vivid and actual observation of the poet, giving in to the situation after a lot of thought and inspection.
• raven black: Here, raven black is a metaphorical expression to describe the intensity of the colour black. Raven is supposedly a very large, dark complexioned bird of the crow family. This metaphor is usually used to describe dark-skinned people. 

UNDERSTANDING THE POEM

1. State the central issue in the poem.
   
   ANSWER:
   
   The central issue dwells around the ironical fact that when a person is in search of shelter, the questions being asked are based on his skin colour and not the usual queries exchanged like that of the rent, the amenities provided and other basic requirements in an apartment. The landlady is shown to have possessed a very shallow racist behaviour in the poem and ironically, the poet is shown to be sorry for something which he was born with. Discrepancies between what appears to be and what really is create a sense of verbal irony that helps the poem display the ridiculousness of racism.
2. There are intervals of silence in the interaction between the landlady and the prospective tenant. What are the reasons for this?
   
   ANSWER:
   
   There are intervals of silence in the interaction between the landlady and the prospective tenant. The main reason behind this was the fact that the landlady felt inferior in the face of the poet and realised her lack of knowledge as compared to the erudite intellect of the poet. The sudden silences are prominent in the poem emphasizing the impact of the African’s race being revealed to the landlady. The ignorance of the landlady is also portrayed with humour on a very subtle level.
3. How is colour highlighted in the poem and why? List all the words in the poem that suggest colour.
   
   ANSWER:
   
   The various colours highlighted in the poem exemplify the difference between the landlady and the poet, based on the skin-colour of both. The use of the colour red is magnified to explain the various things which are red in colour like the telephone booth, the double-tiered bus and the pillar-box. It explains the colour of the dark-skinned poet who was not fair-complexioned like the landlady on the other side of the line. The expression 'gold-rolled' shows the elite class to which the 'fair-skinned' people are said to belong.
   
   Various colours which are used in the poem are: Red, Black, Gold, milk chocolate, brunette and blonde.
4. Which are the lines in the poem that impressed you the most and why?
   
   ANSWER:
   
   'West African Sepia' is the phrase which impressed me the most. This phrase seems to be a befitting reply to the ignorant white woman. This phrase in the poem projects humour on a very subtle level where the poet, when asked again and again, about his color, turns to reply like a person with a high level of intellect. Through these words Soyinka tries to emphasise on the fact that it is wrong to judge a person's level of wisdom and knowledge based on his color.
5. You know what ‘hide-and-seek’ is. What would ‘hide-and-speak’ mean?
   
   ANSWER:
   
   The expression 'hide-and-speak' here expresses the taboo of the dark-skinned people being inferior to those who claim themselves to be 'fair-skinned' and thus, more learned, sophisticated, civilised and superior.
6. Certain words in the poem are in capital letters — why?
   
   ANSWER:
   
   Certain words in the poem which are in capital letters are: “HOW DARK?', 'ARE YOU LIGHT?', 'OR VERY DARK?', ' OR VERY LIGHT?'
   These words exemplify the purpose of the poem which is to showcase the racist mentality of the fair-skinned. When a landlady talks to a tenant, the only matter of concern should be whether the person is suitable for staying with respect to his behaviour, financial position, etc. and not on his skin colour. These capital letters magnify the fact that it is more important for the landlady to know how dark-skinned the person on the other side of the phone is, rather than how erudite or intellectual or well-behaved he might be.
7. Why do you think that the poet has chosen the title ‘Telephone Conversation’? If you were to suggest another title for the poem, what would it be?
   
   ANSWER:
   
   'Different- are We?' could be another suggestion for the title of the poem.
   However, the poet has chosen a very appropriate title for the poem - 'Telephonic Conversation'. It refers very aptly to the shallow racism being projected by the conversation between the landlady who is 'white' and the poet who is 'dark'. The telephone symbolises the gap between the two ends of the line, the impossibility for both the ends to meet.
8. The power of poetry lies in suggestion and understatement. Discuss this with reference to the poem.
   
   ANSWER:
   
   Understatement means to state or represent less strongly or strikingly than the facts would bear out. Thus, it is a very well known fact that it is very understating to decide one's status or level of knowledge based on his/her color. The play of words between the landlady and the poet clearly proves that a man's color and region has nothing to do with the levels of education he has attained and the power of wisdom he possesses. The questions posed by the landlady became a mockery at her own level of intellect. Thus, the poem very strongly suggests that the question of civilisation does not rest on own's color. Soyinka humorously uses sarcasm as he says 'Shamed/By ill mannered silence" when it is obvious that is the woman who is the ill mannered of the two.

Chapter 04-The Adventure of the Three Garridebs - Arthur Conan Doyle

Class Notes - English - XI - Elective - Woven Words - Chapter:04

UNDERSTANDING THE TEXT

1. What clues did Sherlock Holmes work upon to get at the fact that the story of the three Garridebs was a ruse?
   
   
   

   Sherlock Holmes noticed that the gentleman who was paying visit to him and his friend Watson under the name of John Garrideb was not what he purported to be because there were discrepancies in his statements as well as appearance. John Garrideb’s claim that he was new to London was not true because the dress that he was wearing was British and that too a worn out one. John’s accent also hinted that he was staying in London for quite some time. Moreover John’s story about Alexander Hamilton Garrideb of Chicago fell flat when he claimed that he knew Dr. Lysander Starr of Topeka very well, a bait cleverly placed by Holmes. Sherlock Holmes also noticed that the advertisement shown to him by John Garrideb apparently placed by Howard Garrideb contained words which were mainly used in USA, proving that it was none other than John Garrideb himself who placed the advertisement. 
   
   All the above mentioned discrepancies proved that the story of three Garridebs was a ruse.
2. What was John Garrideb’s objective in inventing the story of Alexander Hamilton Garrideb and his legacy?
   
   
   John Garrideb's objective was to gain entry into the house of Nathan Garrideb. He wanted to enter the house because before Nathan Garrideb the house was rented to Presbury, the American criminal, who was running a racket of counterfeit British notes and currencies in a secret  basement in the house of Nathan Garrideb. John and Presbury being friends back then worked in tandem and knew about each others' secrets. When John shot Presbury dead he wanted to lay his hands on the counterfeit notes printing machine and currencies lying hidden in the basement of the house where Nathan Garrideb lived. But Nathan Garrideb proved a hindrance in his planning for he hardly left his dwellings. This led John Garrideb to invent the story of Hamilton Garrideb and his legacy. Nathan Garrideb almost fell in the trap except the fact that he got over enthusiastic and involved Holmes in the hunt of the third Garrideb.
3. Why didn't John Garrideb like the idea of including Holmes in the hunt for the third Garrideb?
   
   
   John Garrideb didn't like the idea of including Holmes in the hunt for the third Garrideb because he feared that his fictitious story of three Garridebs might get busted. His worst fears came true at the end, because Holmes noticed all the discrepancies in his statements and pinned down John Garrideb while he was entering the basement of Nathan Garrideb's house to take away the counterfeit currencies.
4. Who was Roger Presbury and how was John Garrideb connected with him?
   
   
   Roger Presbury was an American criminal who was living in Britain and was involved in counterfeit currency business. He was shot by John Garrideb over cards in a night club on the Waterloo Road in January, 1895. Sherlock found out that his appearance matched with the appearance of Waldron, the previous tenant of the lodging in which now Nathan Garrideb lived. Presbury aka Waldron had hidden a note printing press in his basement and John Garrideb knew about it. It was this printing press that John Garrideb was after and carved out the whole plan to acquire it.
5. How did Holmes guess that John Garrideb would go to 136, Little Ryder Street? Did he expect to find what he ultimately did before he went there?
   
   
   
   Once it became clear to Holmes that John Garrideb wants to send Nathan Garrideb away for a while, he sensed that there must be something at 136, Little Ryder Street that was of immense importance to John, Holmes expected John Garrideb to show up.Meanwhile Holmes and his friend Watson ensured that John did not suspect that they have any inkling of his plans of sending Nathan Garrideb away. Holmes and Watson did put the man at ease by clearing it to him that they were least interested in any matter and won his confidence by showing that they were just to help him in discovering another Garrideb. Expecting John they arrived and hid themselves in the house at 136, Little Ryder Street and did catch John Garrideb..

APPRECIATION

1. Examine the structure of the short story ‘Adventure of the Three Garridebs’ with the help of this framework

• The narrator of the story
• Introduction of the topic of the story
• Introduction of the main characters in the plot
• Development of the plot
• Climax
• Resolution of the mystery.

The introduction of the story: The story opens with a faint reflection of the climax. Watson, the narrator, does not give the climax entirely. However, he does tell the reader how the experience will be in the end.

Introduction of the topic of the story: The narrator does not hit the nail on the head, he rather lets the reader explore the story as the situation unfolds itself. However, Watson does not make the reader wait for too long.

Introduction of the main characters in the plot: Watson, the narrator takes the hold of the narration in the very beginning introducing the reader to the story. However we get to know him only once he introduces the reader to him. And it is when Holmes addresses Watson, we come to know the name of the narrator. For it is a first person narrative, we have to wait and move as the narrator describes all the events.

Development of the plot: In the beginning, Holmes is talking about a person with a particular surname and that there is a need to find a person with the surname. Then he tells Watson to wait for the person who has assigned the task to the detective as Holmes wants the person in question himself to explain the situation to his friend. Then arrives, John Garrideb of Kansas, who explains the reason for why is there a need of another surname. And it is made clear for why Nathan approached Holmes for the task as it was John who approached Nathan for the same reason. And then further the story unfolds and with it is the truth explored.

Climax: The climax is built as the series of events are described. There are clues laid for the reader to guess, yet the narrator does not give away the resolution. The reader guesses the possibilities. Ultimately a stage comes where the story reaches its height when Holmes is sure of the identity of the suspect and is sure of evil intentions and yet his motives are not clear. It is all to be discovered by the reader as he/she advances to the final tragedy.

Resolution of the mystery: The resolution unleashes a comical tragedy. The reader is surprised and feels funny as well, thanks to the witty detective that leads the case. A faint reflection of the emotions that the reader might go in the ending were already given in the beginning, yet the resolution was unknown. It is not just the tragedy revealed but along with it is revealed the other side of the main character Sherlock Holmes and his friendship with Dr. Watson. There is more than expected revealed. The digressions of Holmes are justified in the end as well. It was a mystery resolved in the end.

2. Examine the subtle humour in the narration of the story that lightens the gravity of the subject matter.
   
   
   The story's wittiest character is the detective Sherlock Holmes whose digressions are most funny. How in the middle of a sensitive interrogation he points out to the suspect that he appears to be a English, though the suspect exclaims that he is an American. In the beginning when Holmes is explaining the case to Watson, he remarks that there is a chance to make money with this case as if it is they and not the Garridebs who will be given the inheritance of Alexander Garrideb. The most interesting part is the style with which Holmes talks or discusses any information. Even while explaining a serious matter he adapts a casual style. For example, again while in the beginning Holmes is explaining the case to Watson, he did not give away the people already involved in the case. However, he tells that Nathan is already taken in as Watson comes across his name in the directory. He did not even tell the name of the mastermind John Garrideb until Mrs. Hudson approached with the card signed by Garrideb. There are many such instances that make the mystery light-hearted and the reader is not burned by it.