Unseen Passage 3: Robert Falcon Scott and his men (bbc compacta class 6th Module 1 worksheet-1).

Q. Read the following passage carefully:

(1) In 1912 the British explorer Captain Robert Falcon Scott and his men were caught in a snowstorm and died while returning to their base camp after reaching the South Pole. Their tent, buried under snow, was discovered the following year by Sir Ernest Shackleton. Scott was found holding in his dead hand an unfurnished letter addressed to his author~friend, James Barrie. After describing the fierce snowstrom and the approaching death, Scott wrote that he and his colleagues were spending the time singing songs and pleasant conversation. Below these lines he had written in bold letters one word- COURAGE. When he returned to England, Shackleton handed over the letter to Sir James Barrie, who read it and kept it in a box.

(2) A few years later, Sir james developed some defect in his right hand because of which he could not hold a pen. The author lost all hope of ever being able to write again. One day, in a pensive mood, he took out Scott's letter and read it again. It lifted his spirits, and set him thinking. If scott and his men could remain cheerful in the face of certain death, could he not learn to face adversity bravely? He picked up his pen and began practising writing with his left hand. In a few weeks he could write perfectly well with it.

                        Questions
 (I) On the basis of reading of above passage, complete the sentences as briefly as possible. Write the answers in space provided.
(a) Robert Falcon Scott and his men were killed when..............
(b) Sir Ernest Shackleton discovered ...........
(c) Just before his death, scott ..............
(d) The atmosphere in the scott's tent just before  the snowstorm was one of ............ and .............. .
(e) James felt sad and hopeless because ........ .
(f) The lesson Scott's letter taught James was ............. .
(g) "...and set him thinking" (para 2). What thought came to Sir James's mind? 

(II) Find words from the passage which mean the opposite of the following from the lines indicated.
(a) gentle (Paragraph 1)
(b) happy (Paragraph 2)

                       Answers
(I)
(a)  they were returning to their base camp after reaching the south pole. (para 1 line 1)
(b) captain Robert Falcon Scott and his men's tent buried under snow. (para 1 line 2)
(c) found an unfurnished letter addressed to his author friend, james Barrie. (para 1 line 3)
(d) pleasant and joyful. (para 1 singing songs  and pleasant conversation)
(e) he was not able to write again. (para 2 line 2)
(f) To face adversity bravely. (para 2 line 5)
(g) Thought came to Sir james mind was that if scott and his men could remain cheerful in the face of certain death, could he too not learn to face adversity bravely. (para 2 line7)

(II)
(a) fierce
(b) pensive

Success comes to those who will and dare.

 Q.  You are Madhu/Madhav, a student of class VIII. You feel really inspired after reading about great talented people like Adam Ezra, Cohen, etc. You realize that ‘Success comes to those who will and Dare’. Taking hints from the unit ‘Enterprise’, along with your own ideas, write a speech to be deliver by you on the same topic in about 150 words. [SA1 2016-17 Class VIII DAV BOARD]

A.     SUCCESS COMES TO THOSE WHO WILL AND DARE

Respected Principal, My worthy teachers and dear friends. Today I stand before you to express my views on the topic ‘Success comes to those who will and Dare’.

All want to be successful in their life. Success is a journey and not a destination. Success means to achieve the goal of our life. It is rightly said that, “Hard work is the key to success” . Nothing can be gained without hard work. To get success in life, one has to takes risks. We have to face all the challenges of our life very boldly; we should learn from our failures. We should have a positive attitude towards our life. Only then we can achieve our goal. History shows that all the freedom fighters, leaders had worked  very hard to achieve their aim. So, we can say that nothing can be achieved if we do not dare and will. To reach the ladder of success, we should have a strong willpower, determination and dareness.

Thankyou! 

Q. Only those who dare to fail greatly can ever achieve greatly. Taking ideas from the unit ‘Enterprise’ along with your own ideas, write a speech to be delivered in the morning assembly of your school on the topic ‘Success comes to those who will and dare’. You are Radha/Rishabh of class VIII. (Word limit: 100-120 words) [D.A.V Board March 2021]

Q. Many start-ups began during the pandemie but only a few succeeded. Others failed due to lack of determination and consistent hard work. This proves that no endeavour can be successful without hard work, determination and perseverance. Taking ideas from the Unit-Enterprise, write a speech on the topic, ‘Success comes to those, who never give up’. (Word limit: 100-120) (Sample paper 2022)

Q. Ups and downs are a part and parcel of life. But maintaining an indomitable spirit in the face of such circumstances helps one achieve success. Taking ideas from the unit- Enterprise- of English Reader along with your own ideas write a speech on the topic- Success Comes to Those Who Will And Dare.                                         (100-120 words)

Unseen Passage 2: Sophie Germain (bbc compacta class 6th Self access module Q.8.)

Q.  Read the following passage carefully.

(1) Sophie Germain was a mathematical genius who lived between 1776 and 1831. She was born in France. Her father, Ambroze Franscois, was a silk merchant. He and her mother, Marie Germain, were intellectuals who were active in the French Revolution.

(2) At the time, in France, daughters of wealthy people were given private tution, in reading and writing, but not maths, which they were never expected to use. Only boys went to school.

(3) Sophie spent a lot of time in her father's library, reading. There she came across a story about Archimedes, an ancient scientist, who was killed by the Romans because he was so engrossed in working out a math problem that he didn't notice their arrival. What was it about mathematics that could have so captivated a man's mind? Sophie wondered. To find out, she began to read books on mathematics.

(4) Her interest frightened her parents. They worried that it was harmful for a female to be engrossed in such a subject and tried to discourage her by putting out the fire when they went to bed, and taking away all the candles in her room to prevent her from reading after bedtime. Sophie didn't argue with parents, but she did hide candles away, and, after her parents were sound asleep, she would get up, wrap herself in a blanket, and, work on math problems in candlelight. One morning, her parents discovered their daughter's secret. She had fallen asleep at her desk. It had been so cold that the ink in her bottle had frozen!

(5) Realising that she wasn't going to give up, her parent reluctantly agreed to allow her to study on her own. However, they did not actively help by hiring tutors, and kept hoping that she would outgrow her interest. Finally, understanding that this would never happen, her mother secretly provided Sophie with financial support to study maths. 

[Dr. T. V. Padma (The Hindu)]

                             Questions

(I) On the basis of your reading of the passage, complete the following sentences as briefly as possible. Write the answers in the space provided. 

(a) During Sophie's time, French daughters were not allowed to study maths because .... .
(b) Sophie's interest in mathematics frightened her parents because .............. .
(c) Two things Sophie's parents did to prevent her from reading after bedtime were: (i)......... and (ii) ......... .
(d) However, Sophie managed to continue to work on mathematics by: (i) .......... and (ii) ....... .
(e) Sophie's parents discovered her secret one day when ............. .
(f) Sophie's parents finally agreed to allow her to study mathematics because ................ .
(g) '.... this would never happen.' Here 'this' refers to ........... .
(h) Sophie's mother eventually helped her to study mathematics by .......... .

(II) Find words from passage which mean the same as the following from the paragraphs indicated. Write the answers in the space provided.
(a) Well educated persons (paragraph 1)
(b) charmed; attracted (paragraph 3)

                          Answers
(I) 
(a) they were never expected to use it. (para 2)
(b) they worried that it was harmful for a female to be engrossed in such a subject. (para 4) 
(c) (i) putting out the fire when they went to bed.
  (ii) taking away all the candles from her room. (para 4)
(d) (i) by hiding candles 
       (ii) by wrapping herself in a blanket.(para 4)
(e) she had fallen asleep at her desk (para 4)
(f) she wasn't going to give up (para 5)
(g) outgrow her interest (para 5)
(h) secretly providing financial help to her (para 5)

(II)
(a) Intellectuals
(b) captivated

Tradition Against Modernity

 Q. You are Somya/Somesh. You feel disturbed to see the modern youngsters going away from age old traditions and forgetting the basic moral values. You decide to deliver a speech in the morning assembly of your school highlighting your views on ‘Tradition against Modernity’. Taking ideas from the Unit ‘Changing Times’ and using your own ideas, write a speech in about 100-150 words.

A.        TRADITION AGAINST MODERNITY

Respected Principal, My worthy teachers and dear friends. Today I stand before you to express my views on the topic ‘Tradition Against Modernity’.

Science has brought tremendous changes in the world. With the passage of time, the society is changing and its behaviour is also changing with a great pace(mean speed). It is changing from a traditional society to a modern one. People are adopting the western culture and are blindly adapting their fashion trends. These days the young generation is crazy for western styles. They are forgetting their traditions and are going for a funky styles like wearing short dresses, tatooing their bodies etc. They feel that their culture is worthless. It is good to change but we should not cross our limits. Modernity means to have a broad outlook towards our lives. Thus, it becomes the duty of every people to save his culture and traditions so that we can leave a strong nation for the future generation.

Thank you!