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STD VI (2015-16) II Semester English-text Assignment
Unit 3, 4, 6 (Govt. bk) L- 7, 8, 9, 10, 11 and Poem The Fountain (written) (Gulmohar)
Ex. I Choose the correct option:
1. The narrator told Feluda about the conversation he had overheard because
a) it was his habit to share everything with Feluda.
b) Feluda had asked him to share everything he heard.
c) it did not seem like an ordinary conversation.
2. Rajen Babu had taken Tinkori Babu as a paying guest because
a) Rajen Babu needed money.
b) Rajen Babu did not want to be alone.
c) a friend had asked Rajen Babu to do so.
3. Ghoshal was a suspect because
a) he collected antiques.
b) he was a crook.
c) he might have a motive for sending the letter.
4. Rajen Babu and his son Prabeer had not seen each other
a) from the time Prabeer was very young.
b) from the time Prabeer had returned to Darjeeling.
c) from the time Rajen Babu had caught him stealing money.
5. The mysterious visitor Rajen Babu had one night was
a) the masked man. b) Dr Mitra. c) Feluda.
6. Tinkori Babu informed the police about the masked man because
a) he felt that Rajen Babu needed protection.
b) he wanted to give the impression of being innocent.
c) he was doubtful about Feludas skills as an investigator.
7. Tinkori Babus habit of smoking cheroot was an important detail because
a) it showed what kind of man he was.
b) it provided a clear clue.
c) Rajen Babu had no objection to it.
8. Tinkori Babu had come to Darjeeling in order
a) to take revenge on Rajen Babu.
b) to re-start his friendship with Rajen Babu.
c) to take a break from his life in Calcutta.
9. The villagers built a huge park for the deer so that
a) there would be more room in the village for their children to play.
b) the animals would be safe from the kings arrows.
c) the king could hunt deer easily in one place.
10. The leaders of the two herds followed their deer into the park because they
a) had to take care of them.
b) wanted to share the fresh grass and cool water there.
c) were curious about what would happen there.
11. The king ordered that the two golden deer were not to be harmed because
a) they were kings.
b) their golden beauty was very special.
c) they begged him not to harm them.
12. It was decided that the deer should take turns to die because
a) it would make hunting easy for the kings men.
b) it would be brave for the deer to sacrifice themselves.
c) it would stop a lot of other being killed or wounded.
13. What was the difference in the way the two herd leaders responded to the does request?
a) Brighter than the Sun was strict but fair; Brighter Still was much less strict.
b) Brighter still was partial to the doe; Brighter than the Sun treated everyone equally.
c) Brighter than the Sun showed a strong sense of justice; Brighter Still showed the quality of mercy.
14. The king gave their lives to both Brighter Still and the doe because
a) he was deeply moved by Brighter Stills mercy and sacrifice.

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b) killing Brighter Still would go against his earlier order granting him safety.
c) he was upset be seeing an act of sacrifice for the first time.
15. People who hunt birds or animals illegally are called a) poachers b) hunters c) killers
16. A place where a particular type of animal is normally found
a) shelter b) habitat c) barren land
17. Villages near the borders of the reserves are known as
a) fringe villages b) dry villages c) forest
18. Areas which are protected and managed in order to preserve the animals living in them
a) nature reserves b) natural reserves c) national reserves
19. Someone whose job, in the past, was to walk around a village shouting important news and announcements
a) village announcer b) village-crier c) village dictator
Ex. II Meanings:
1. Slunk away
a) slipped away without being noticed
2. Palmyra
b) a type of palm
3. Hauling
c) pulling with a lot of effort
4. Motionless
d) without any movement
5. Coming to his senses
e) becoming normal and aware of his surroundings once again
6. Interrupted himself
f) stopped speaking
7. For no reason
g) without any cause for doing so
8. Subdue
h) gain control over tame
9. Eventually
i) in the end
10. Trumpeted
j) made a loud sound, as an elephant does
11. Charged
k) rushed forward (to attack)
12. To communicate
l) to make known
13. Offering
m) something given as a gift to a god or a spirit
14. Amiable
n) friendly and good natured
15. Special weakness
o) special liking
16. Cheroot
p) a kind of cigar
17. Antiques
q) old and very valuable things
18. Curious
r) rare and unusual things which are small in size-people often collect them
19. Crook
s) a dishonest person who cheats others
20. Motive
t) a reason for doing something
21. Pale and haggard
u) unusually white and tired due to worry and lack of sleep
22. Streak
v) a long mark
23. Horrendous
w) extremely unpleasant and shocking
24. Gasp
x) a quick hard breath showing sudden fear or surprise
25. Mournfully
y) sadly
26. Amber
z) a golden-brown colour
27. Thickets
a) several trees or bushes growing close together
28. Panic
b) be filled with great fear
29. To flee
c) to run away from danger
30. Beneath his dignity
d) too low for his position
Ex.III. Who said to whom:
1. I need my son in the fields.
A. Totarams father said to the rest of the people.
2. School must be better than staying at home or looking after cows.
A. Totaram thought to himself.
3. Give me your letter, Mother, and Ill try to read it to you.
A. Totaram said to his mother.
4. Tota, run home! This is the talk of grown-up people.
A. Father said to Totaram.
5. All that you have to do is to make a thumb mark her and I will lend you the fifty rupees you need.
A. The strange man said to Totarams father.
6. Lets rest a minute here.

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A.
7.
A.
8.
A.
9.
A.
10.
A.
11.
A.
12.
A.
13.
A.
14.
A.
15.
A.
16.
A.
17.
A.
18.

The old man said to his granddaughter.

Yes, that trees been there forever.
The girl said to her grandfather.
What happened then?
The girl asked her grandfather.
All right then lets go home.
Grandfather said to the girl.
Have you a reason to suspect anyone?
Feluda asked Rajen Babu.
I dont trust him at all. He pretends to be interested in art and antiques.
Tinkori Babu had told Feluda.
Rajen Babu doesnt know that his son is in town.
Tinkori Babu said to Feluda.
Did you go out last night? Your jackets got a streak of mud on it.
Feluda said to Dr Mitra.
It bent over me... it was horrible...
Rajen Babu said to Feluda and Topshe.
Friend, our herds are being torn apart by pain and despair.
Brighter Still said to Brighter than the Sun.
What are you doing here? You were granted safety!
King Brahmadutta said these words to Brighter Still.
I am really pleased with the park and shall hunt here often.
The king said to the men.
Today it is my turn to die. I am pregnant. Please let me miss my turn now. After my child is born, I will
offer myself.
A. A doe said to the leader.
19. Your Majesty, I am simply taking a pregnant does turn.
A. The King of the deer said to King Brahmadutta.
20. No. This system of drawing lots is fair and just. How can you ask another deer to die in your place? So
please go an take your turn.
A. The leader said to the doe.
Ex.IV. Question/Answers:
1.How much litre of water is there on our planet ?
A. There are 1,260,000,000,000,000,000,000 litres of water on our planet.
2. Why is drinking water scarce on our planet?
A. Drinking water is scarce on our planet because less than one-half of 1 per cent of earths water is drinkable.
3. What is desalination?
A. The process of removing salt from sea-water so that people can use it is desalination.
4. What method of making sea-water in practice since the times of the ancient Greeks?
A. Since the times of the ancient Greeks, they used to heat the water until it turned to steam. The steam would rise
and the salt is left behind. The steam will be cooled back and then the drinkable water is collected.
5. Why could the method of desalination not be practised on a larger scale?
A. The method of desalination could not be practised on a larger scale because this method needed so much fuel
and this method is very costly.
6. What job did Davids parents want to leave for him?
A. Davids parents were going out. They wanted David to fill up the water tank, bringing water from the
nearby river.
7. Was David ready to do the job assigned by his father? What reason did he produce?
A. No, David was not ready to do the job assigned by his father. He produced the reason that he had to go to the
pasture to help Pete with the animals.
8. Explain the meaning of the sentence Youll be in hot water.
A. The meaning of Youll be in hot water means You will be in trouble.

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9. Why were David and his family members proud of their house?
A. David and his family members were proud of their house because they had built the house themselves.
10. Did they face water problem? What did they do to resolve it?
A. Since some part of the newly built house were incomplete, they had not dug a well for water. They had to bring
the water from nearby river.
11. What made David sigh to think of all the other things hed prefer to do that cool, beautiful morning?(Detail)
A. David was compelled to fill in the water tank/barrel by his parents. Actually he had planned to do many things
that cool beautiful morning. But now he would not be able to do the things (activities) of his preference. So, he
sighed.
12. Which characters have been mentioned in the story so far?
A So far four characters are mentioned in the story. They are David, his parents (father and mother) and Pete.
13 Which characters have spoken in the story?
Davids mother, his father and David himself have spoken in the story.
14. Who do you think Pete is?
A Pete must be a hired man , we can guess so because he has also helped David and his parents to build Davids
house.
15 What do you think Pete might be doing?
A Pete might be grazing sheep/ cattle in the pasture. He had also helped to build the house.
16 Who was Pete? What was his job? (Detail)
A Pete was a hired man. His job was to help David and his parents in their house hold work. Usually he took the
sheep of the family to pasture for grazing.
17. Why was it important to fill the water barrel just then and not postpone it till Monday?
A Monday was their washing day and David could not postpone the work of filling the barrel on Monday.
18. What would be fun as David thought?
A To surprise his parents by filling up the water barrel entirely full would be fun for David. He would not have to
carry water for days and days as the barrel was full.
19. Pick out two sentences from the paragraph giving David the impression that the water barrel was full.
A. By filling up the water barrel entirely full would be fun.
20. What made David yell Whoopee!?
A. When David saw the black shadow of his own head close to his face, he felt that the barrel was full to the brim
as the tedious job was over. David was mad with joy and yelled out Whoopee!.
21.What did David do to see the point from where the smoke was coming out?
A. David climbed to the top rail of the fence and shaded his eyes to see the point from where the smoke was
coming out.
22. What efforts did David and Pete together make to put out the fire? (detail)
A. David brought a long piece of hose from the barn. 2) Pete screwed one end to the barrel and took the other to
the cellar . 3) He started spaying water and the fire was put out.
23. What thought struck Davids mind when he saw the water in the barrel sinking lower and lower? (Detail)
A. When David saw the water in the barrel sinking lower and lower, he thought what if the water in the barrel ran
out before the fire was extinguished. He also thought to run for more water, but he would not like to leave Pete
alone.
24. What do you mean by the words, That was close, David! spoken by Pete?
A. That was close, David! These words mean that the fire was already extinguished and the house was safe
now. In other words, they (Pete and David) had only just managed to avoid a dangerous or embarrassing situation.
25. What surprised Pete?
A. Pete was surprised that he could have enough water to put out the fire. He wondered how the barrel was full.
26. What compliments did Pete give to David? Why?
A. If there was not enough water to put out the fire, Pete and David could not have been able to do anything and the
house could have been burnt down. So he congratulated David for filling up the barrel to its full and saving the
house from burning down.
27. Why did Buddha allow his disciple to get a new robe?

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A. When the disciple asked Buddha if he could get a new robe, Buddha made sure that the old robe could not be
used any longer.
28. What use did the disciple do of his old robe?
A. The disciple used his old robe as his new bed spread.
29. What use did the disciple do with his old bedspread?
A. The disciple used his old bedspread as his new window curtain.
30. What did the disciple do with his old curtain?
A. The disciple used his old curtain to handle hot utensils in the kitchen.
31. What were the old rags of the cloth used by the disciple?
A. The old rags of the cloth were used as wicks by the disciple.
32. What is the message of this story of Lord Buddha and his disciple?
A. This story of Lord Buddha and his disciple conveys the message that even after the original use of the things,
they can be reused in different ways so many times.
33. What is Karni Mata?
A. Karni Mata is an incarnation of the Goddess Durga.
34. What did once Karni Mata ask Yama?
A. Karni Mata asked Yama to reincarnate the son of a grieving storyteller.
35. Who according to a legend, are the members of the Depavat family?(Detail)
A. According to a legend, all storytellers members of the Charan caste are reincarnated as rats in Karni Matas
temple. When they die as rats, they are once more reincarnated as the members of the Depavats family. They are all
Karni Matas descendants.
36. What is the contribution of Depavats families towards the Karni Mata temple? (Detail)
A. There are 513 Depavats families. Most of them work as devotees at the temple in shifts based on the lunar
cycle. Some families live in the temple permanently. They take care of the rats and sweep the floor of excrement
and food crumbs.
37. What are the Kabbas fed?
A. The Kabbas are fed with grains, milk and coconut shells from large metal bowls.
38. What are the temple laws for the safety of the rats?
A. According to the temple laws, if one of the rats is accidentally killed, it must be replaced with a rat made of
silver or gold.
39. What did Totaram and his friend hear from behind the circle of grown men?
A. Totaram and Bala heard that a school teacher had come there and was starting a school in their village. She
had come to their homes requesting parents to send their children to school.
40. Why was Totaram relieved when his father decided not to send him to school?
A. Totaram was relieved, because he was afraid of this place, as he had never been to a school before and did
not know what went on inside.
41. What did Totarams teacher call his writing? Why did she term it so?
A. Tracks of birds Totaram couldnt write well as he had joined the class some days later and it took him a
long time to learn to write well. His untidy writing resembled fowl-scratch.
42. What did Totaram see when he peeped through the bamboo sticks?
A Peeping through the bamboo sticks, Totaram saw children seated on the floor in rows and learning from a
board on which the teacher was writing with a white stick.
43.How did Totarams mother come to know that he was attending school?
A. Totarams mother came to know that he was attending school when he offered to read the letter for her.
44. How did the money-lender attempt to cheat Totarams father? What stopped him? (Detail)
A. The money-lender had produced a document on which was written that he was lending one hundred rupees
at an interest of five rupees per month. He had told Totarams father that it said he was being lent fifty
rupees at an interest of two rupees per month. Totaram spilling the truth about the contents of the document
stopped him.
45. At the end, Totarams father says, school is not such a bad thing after all. What does he mean by this and
what brought about a change in his attitude? (Detail)
A. Totarams father realised that his sons education had helped him from getting cheated. He understood that
education was essential and this brought about a change in his attitude towards school.
46. What did Velappanikkar see outside his hut one morning?

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A. A giant rogue elephant had knocked down a small house and chased away several farmers who ran
splashing into the paddy fields. Their oxen were running too with ploughs behind them.
47.What was unusual about Velappanikkars decision not to tame the elephant?
A. Velappanikkars fear that this elephant could not be tamed was strange because he was the best elephant
trainer in the kingdom who could tame any elephant.
48. What according to Grandfather was a rogue elephant?
A. An untamed elephant which attacked people for no reason, such as this one did, was a rogue elephant, and
was very dangerous and impossible to tame.
49. How did Ariyaatthai manage to find the place the elephant could come to?
A. Ariyaatthai walked till she reached a small pond and found the footprints of an elephant among others.
50. How did Grandfather complete the story by the hill?
A. Velappanikkar passed away that night and Ariyaathai died of grief and the elephant was left waiting for
Ariyaatthai.
51.What was Tinkori Babus weakness?
A. Tinkori Babus weakness was his habit of smoking cheroot.
52.What did the letter that came to Rajen Babu say?
A. The letter said Be prepared to pay for your sins.
53.Why did Rajen Babu say that he didnt suspect any one?
A. Rajen Babu said that he didnt suspect any one because he didnt remember hurting anyone.
54. Why was Dr. Mitra a suspect?
A. Dr . Mitra was a suspect because he was in need of money and wanted Rajen Babu to fall sick. Sending a
letter like this would make him ill.
55. What did Ghoshal do for a living?
A. Ghosal was a dealer in arts and antiquities.
56.Why was Brahmadutta not a wise king? (Detail)
A. Brahmadutta was not a wise king because his only interest was hunting. He recklessly shot arrows
everywhere and also took the farmers away from their fields during harvest time to help him hunt.
57.Would you say the deer were foolish? If yes, why would you say so?
A. The deer started occupying the park without considering the harm coming their way. That makes them
foolish.
58.Describe the two leaders of the herds of deer. (Detail)
A. 1) The two leaders of the herds were the most beautiful animals.
2) One was the colour of gold, so bright that it hurt to look at him and was called Brighter than the Sun.
3) The other looked even brighter and was called Brighter Still.
59. What did the King Brahmadutta find in the new park? (Detail)
A. 1) As the king walked in the park, he saw deer peeping out of the bushes.
2) Then, he saw a magnificent stag. It looked bright and golden.
3) Soon, another stag walked into his view. His silver antlers gleamed in the sun and his amber eyes glowed.
The fire of his golden body lit up the park.
60. How did Brighter Still save the creatures of his land? (Detail)
A. 1) When the king promised to spare the lives of Brighter Still and the doe, the deer took this opportunity to ask
King Brahmadutta to spare the lives of the other living creatures as well, to which the king agreed.
61.When and where did the narrator Shekar Dattatri see his first tiger?
A. The narrator saw his first tiger in Kanha Tiger Reserve in Madhya Pradesh when he was 19 years old.
62. How did the tiger and the narrator react to each others sudden appearance?
A. The sudden encounter caught each other initially by surprise. The tiger sat there looking at the narrator and the
mahout with curiosity while the narrator looked at the tiger anxiously.
63. What do poachers do with the tigers they poach? Who buys things from them and why?
A. Poachers sell the tiger parts to traditional medicine makers and also collectors.
64. At one time, tens of thousands of tigers used to roam in Indias forests but now they are confined to national
parks and sanctuaries. Can we blame anyone for this?
A. We are to blame for the reduced number of tigers in the wild. We allowed them to be poached and also acquired
invaded their habitat for our use.

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65. Are there places in India where tigers are protected well? Which places are they?
A. Yes, The national reserve forests in India such as Kaziranga in Assam, Corbett in Uttarakhand, and Nagarahole
in Karnataka have very successful tiger conservation programmes.
66. What are foot patrols? Why are they important? (Detail)
A. 1) Foot patrols are forest guards who patrol forests on foot checking for human intruders, snares and traps.
2) Foot patrols can help find intrusions by being closer to where the intrusions/traps may be.