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CLASS TEST- 9

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1. Read the passage given below and answer the questions that follow: 1. Food, clothing and shelter are the basic human needs. However, there are many who barely manage to acquire the first two necessities but the third remains beyond their reach. A large section of the population therefore lives and sleeps at public places, like roads, pavements and streets under unhygienic conditions and is categorized as the ‘homeless population’. 2. Homelessness is a growing phenomenon worldwide and is a major challenge faced by India today. People from rural areas are moving to the cities and towns to find employment, or to escape calamities like floods, famine and drought. 3. Rural poverty is the most fundamental reason for the great migration to the city. The poor people are not in a position to pay for housing, food, child care, health care, and education. The vast majority of these men and women are farmers and farm labourers who in their villages lack resources and opportun...
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The Beggar

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Summary An advocate, Sergei, encounters a ragged beggar, who claims to be a teacher fired unjustly from his job. Sergei, however, remembers that he saw the same man the other day, when he claimed to be an impoverished student. The beggar, Lushkoff breaks down and admits that he is a simply a drunk without work. Segei offers him a job chopping wood, which he reluctantly accepts. Olga, the cook, takes Lushkoff and shows him the wood stack. After that, Luskoff returns frequently to do odd jobs, and eventually Sergei sets him up with a clerical position. Two years later, Sergei sees the Lushkoff at the theatre. He prides himself for having saved Lushkoff from a life of drunkenness, but Luskoff reveals that it was Olga who saved him. Comprehension Questions 1. How did Sergei recognise the beggar? Sergei looked at the beggar. His face appeared familiar to him. He tried to recollect where he had seen him. Suddenly, his eyes fell on the beggar’s shoes. One shoe was high a...
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A Slumber Did My Spirit Seal

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Summary It is a poem about the death of a loved one of the poet. The poet says that his soul has been sealed by the deep sleep of a person whom he loved very much. But when he thinks that she has become a part and parcel of nature, this gives him some relief and peace. Explanation In this poem, the poet seems to be immortalizing her death by saying that she had no human fears. Now earthly years were no longer a matter of concern for her because they cannot make her older now. In the second stanza he is describing her dead body. She is not able to perform any of the physical movement or activity now. In the last two lines the poet describes that she is now under the surface of the earth revolving along with it on its path. He tells us that like other stones, rocks and trees, she also revolves with the earth now. Comprehension Questions 1. What does ‘a slumber’ refer to? A slumber refers to the deep sleep. 2. What did the slumber do to the poet’s spirit? The slu...
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Reported Speech

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Q.1 Rewrite the following sentences in reported speech. (a) I don't speak Italian," she said. She said that she didn't speak Italian. (b) Does she know Robert?" he wanted to know. He wanted to know if she knew Robert. (c) Don't try this at home," the stuntman told the audience. The stuntman advised the audience not to try that at home. (d) The policeman said to the boy, “Where do you live?” The policeman asked the boy where he lived. (e) Please give me something to eat. I am hungry,” the old man said to them. The old man requested them to give him something to eat and said that he was hungry. Q.2 Rewrite the following sentences in direct speech. (a) My friend asked me if I had ever been to London. My friend said to me, “Have you ever been to London?” (b) The bank officer asked him to fill in an application form now.  The bank officer said to him, “Please fill in an application form then.” (c) He told us that they had been playing f...
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Clauses

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Q.1 Fill in the following blanks choosing the most appropriate option from the ones given below. Write the answers in your answer sheet against the correct blank numbers.  1. We came upon a ramshackle building (a) ____housed a fine gallery. We discovered a beautiful beach (b) _____ walking around the area. Most importantly, we got to know the local people (c) _____ warmth and hospitality touched our hearts. It was a visit (d) _____ we will never forget. (a) (i) who                  (ii) that                  (iii) but                          (iv) yet (b) (i) because            (ii) so                    (iii) while                       (iv) which (c) (i) when    ...
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The Passive Voice

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Q 1 Fill in the blanks by choosing the most appropriate options from the ones given below. Write the answer in your answer sheet against the correct blanks. 1. The doorbell (a) _______by Param at 9 p.m. He informed Mrs. Saran that her letter (b) _____ hand delivered to Mr. Tarun, by him, as per her wishes. A thoroughly drenched Param (c) ________several times during their short conversation. Mrs. Saran suddenly realised that the man (d) ________ in rain for quite some time and gestured him inside her hall. (a)  i. were rung    ii. was rung             iii. were being rung        iv. had rung (b)  i. was been    ii. will have been     iii. is being                      iv. had been (c)  i. sneezed      ii. sneeze                  iii. was sneezed  ...
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An Accidental Tourist

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Summary Bill Bryson was a frequent air traveller. He finds himself always uneasy during his air travels. In this lesson the author describes some of his experiences during these travels. He says that once he was going to England with his family. He had a carry-on bag with him. The trouble started at the airport when he tried hard to open the zip of the bag to pull out his frequent flyer program card but it would not open. He pulled it harder and it broke. All the things in the bag were ejected like a fluttery cascade over an area about the size of a tennis court. Then he describes another experience. Once while seated in an aeroplane, he leaned over to tie a shoelace. Just at the moment someone in the seat ahead of him threw his seat back into full recline and he found himself pinned helplessly in the crash position. It was only by clawing the leg of the man sitting next to him that he managed to get himself freed. On another occasion he knocked a soft drink onto the la...
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