English course questions

English Policeman

Q1) what are the main duties that the policeman performs for the ordinary London people.

Ans:the main duties the policeman performs include helping people to cross the busy road, giving people directions and helping them identify the correct bus.

Q2) does the policeman only do his duty or does he do more by taking a personal interest in his work? Give two examples.

Ans: the policeman does more than his mere duty as is seen by the fact that if people are aged or in firm , he even carries them across the road and if asked about buses he not only gives directions but also helps people catch the correct bus by whistling and pointing it out.

Q3) what picture of London city emerges from the details in the text?

Ans: in the text, London city is seen as large and crowded, full of traffic and buses, with foreigners and tourists. There is an impression of chaos and in the mid st of that chaos the policeman provide a stable helpfulness.

Q4) why does the author say that the English policeman is above corruption? What is demonstrated by the behaviour of the policeman and Indian .

Ans: when the Indian tries to bribe the English policeman to let him go, the policeman refuses to take the bribe, while offering the Indian his freedom if he promises good behaviour. Thus the English policeman is seen to be above corruption.

Q5) From the text form an estimate of the English policeman's character

Ans: The English policeman in the text seems to be a person who is in variably polite and helpful. Going out of his way to help those who need his assistance . He is also seen to be honest and dutiful,doing his work with cheerful dignity at all times.

Difficult days

Q1) the child narrator is surprised when she begins to attend a high school in a neighboring town.

What are the occurrences that cause her to be surprised ?

Ans:The child was used to her village, so she found the school in town surprising with its size, the number of children and the cloths they wore.

Q2) there are many instances in the story when the child narrator feels humiliated and is treated unfairly by the people around her. Enumerate some of these occasions?

Ans:The narrator feels humiliated when the warden sister comments on the way in which the children eat and grow fat at the hostel while they live in poverty and hunger at home. She also feels humiliated when the Harigan children are asked are asked to stand up in front of the entire school or college.

Q3) in the text, the speaker gives a few examples of the humiliation suffered by her during her childhood and youth. What caused this humiliation- poverty or caste? Give reasons for your answer?

Ans:The reason the narrator feels embarrassed is primarily because of the fact that on each occasion her caste is referred to by the warden, class teacher or the lecturer. She is also bothered by the fact that each time they are singled out as poor and of a lower caste.

Q4) Why do you think the speaker does not take her mother’s advice. And pretend to be from another caste? What kind of a person do you think the speaker is?

Ans: The narrator prefers to be honest and speak the truth about her caste as she does not believe she is polluting and one by sitting next to them. she also demonstrates through the narration that she believes in her own worth , so then saying that she belongs to another caste is not an option for her.

Q5) What is the only way by which the speaker is able to gain self- respect as well as some respect from others?

Ans:By studying well and excelling at her studies, the narrator gains some measures of self respect and the respect of the community especially as she is asked to help those students who are not so good at their studies.

On films

Q1) Early cinema audiences appear to have enjoyed watching still pictures and listening to lectures about the human body and travel. Can you think of two reasons why this would have held them spellbound?

Ans:a) The lectures were given by experts

b) The lectures were supported by projected images which they had never seen before.

Q2) why was the claim that new technology could produce moving pictures laughed off as a cock-bull story.

Ans: The claim was that new technology could produce moving pictures laughed off as cock-bull story because people simply disbelieved that still pictures could be made to move.

Q3) List some of the reasons why you think people queued up to watch the earliest moving pictures.

Ans:

a)  They enjoyed the new technology

b)  They enjoyed the adventure stories with cliff hanging endings.

c)   There was very little alternative entertainment available at that time.

d)  They were curious to see stories set in another culture.

Q4) what does the term “ talk of the town “ means ?

Ans: The term “ talk of the town “ means the subject of much discussion in town .

Q5) movies were shown in weekly episodes. They always ended with someone seconds away from death. Why do you think film makers chose to end episodes in this manner?

Ans: The film makers chose to end episodes in this manner because they wanted to encourage the audience to come back the following week to watch the next episode.

Q6) Why was the showing of Krishna leela a breakthrough?

Ans: The showing of Krishna Leela was a breakthrough because it was a film made in India and based on Indian tales.

Q7) List three differences between early movies heroes and the main character we see in Indian films.

Ans:

Early movies	Recent movies
Used to dress properly	Heroes do not dress properly
Had less attitude	Show more attitude
Classic hair style	Swag hair style

All the world's a stage

Q1) list the seven ages of men with actions which Shakespeare believed were characteristics of the seven ages.

Ans:

1) Infants = crying, being sick

2) school boy = complaining as he goes to school.

3) lover = singing sad song to his mistress .

4) soldier = risking his own life just to name for himself.

5) judge = speaking well, passing wise judgment based on experiences.

6) old man = speaking in a high pitched tone.

7) second childhood = behaving like a small child again as he approaches death.

Q2) List at least four different roles that you have been.

Ans:

1) son 2) brother 3) friend 4) student

Q3) Give suggestions to improve school life so that school children do not whine when they go to school, nor struggle under the weight of their “ satchels “

Ans:

1) Students should get less homework.

2) students should be given more choices about school subjects.

3) teachers should make lessons more interesting

4) there should not be so many test in school.

5) there should be more field trips.

Q4) why do you think Shakespeare uses the word bubble to someone's reputation?

Ans: Shakespeare uses the word bubble because reputation is as temporary as bubble.

Q5) From the evidence of the last two lines, what do you think Shakespeare believes happens tp people at the end of their lives.

Ans: Shakespeare thinks that people become nothing after death. They lose everything, they are congregated to oblivion which is very powerful word.

Global warming

Q1) what is global warming ?

Ans: Global warming is the increase of earth's average surface temperature due to effect of green houses gases such as carbon dioxide, emission from burning fossil fuels or from deforestation, which trap heat that would otherwise escape from earth's atmosphere..

Q2) What causes global warming?

Ans: Global warming is caused by build up of gases in the atmosphere such as CO₂ and methane, which form a sort of blanket over the earth trapping the heat that would normally escape the atmosphere.

Q3) Why do you think the heating up of the earth's surface is called “ green Houses” effect.

Ans: The temperature near the surface of the earth is increasing because gases such as methane and carbon dioxide are forming a blanket in the atmosphere through which the earth's heat cannot escape.

Q4) Give three reasons why USA is so much CO₂.

Ans:

1) they burn fossil fuels for energy

2) much energy is used for transportation across the vast country.

3) they still use old and inefficient energy.

Q5) Name two cleaner sources of energy than oil and gas.

Ans: Cleaner sources are wind power and solar power.

Q6) How can ordinary people become more “ energy efficient” ? List four ways in which we can use less energy in our homes.

Ans:

1) switch off gadgets when not in use.

2) use energy efficient light bulbs.

3) wash clothes at a lower temperature.

4) use less hot water in bath and showers.

The indiscreet animal dealer

Q1) why do you think that successful dealers are in Durrell's word “ utterly” lacking in morals.

Ans: successful dealers will stop at nothing while buying or selling endangered animals.

Q2) Which “ quibble” did the dealer dismiss ?

Ans: the dealers dismissed the quibble over whether or not the dealer's mother was still alive.

Q3) why do you think no custom officer would know the difference between a bear and a panda that had been dyed black.

Ans: custom officer are not wildlife experts, therefore they would not be able to differentiate between a bear and a pnda that was painted black.

Q4) which two phases suggest the dealer's friendly feeling towards the writer?

Ans: my dear Gerry, the first name stage.

Left is right

Q1) list three ways in which human being's preference for one hand over the other is 'strange' .

Ans:

- both hands look alike

- most people prefer using their right hands.

- left handedness has survived despite the taboos and difficulties for left handers.

Q2) why are there twice as many left handers per thousand of population in the west that in Asia?

Ans: In Asia, many left handed children are still forced to use their right hands. This practice has largely ceased in the west.

Q3) Since it is now proven that there is nothing harmful about being left handed, what can families, schools and manufactures do ?

Ans: 1) families can learn to accept left handed children and not to discourage them from using their left hands.

2) schools can provide special equipments for left handed pupils such as scissors and pencil sharpeners made just for them.

3) manufactures can make products that are easier for left handed people to use.

Q4) Give three examples to explain why left handers have to say “ excuse me” a lot. Are they really clumsy or is there some other explanation.

Ans: 1) left handers and right handers often bump into each other in the street because both tend to dodge in the same direction to avoid colliding .

2) left handers pickup wrong cup of coffee at the dinner table, the one nearest to their left hand.

3) they sometimes nudge fellow diners with their elbows while drinking.

Q5) lWould you say that this passage is overall serious and humorous ? Explain.

Ans: this passage is overall serious, it outlines some of the major misconception about left handedness and the discrimination that left handed people encounter in their daily life. The author seems annoyed and upset about the prejudices against left handedness that are wide spread in societies across the world.