Unit-5 | Class 12 English | Language Development | All Exercises

 Unit-5
Education

Full Exercise of A Story of My Childhood│Language Development │Class 12 English

Working with words

A. Match the words in column with their meanings in column.

a. expectantly - vi. in a way that shows you are hoping for something, especially something good or exciting

b. beckon - viii. to give signal to somebody to move nearer or to follow you

c. grapple - v. to try hard to find a solution to a problem

d. texture - ii. the way food or drink tastes or feels in your mouth

e. cobbled - vii. having a surface that is made of small round stones

f. flimsy - iv. thin and easily torn

g. attire - i. clothes, especially fine or formal ones

h. marvelous - ix. extremely good; wonderful

i. dynamics - iii. the science of the forces involved in movement

B. Use a dictionary and find the meanings of the following words related to people’s life stories.

hagiography : a biography that lavishly praises the person

psychobiography: comprehensive examination of a person's whole life span utilising historical, behavioral, and anthropological techniques in a sociocultural context

pathography : such biography where sadness, sickness, failure, and the like are highlighted

chronicle : a chronological account of events in writing

obituary: the publication of an article about the life and accomplishments of someone in a newspaper shortly after their death.

character sketch :written summary of a person's traits, characteristics, and so on.

profile : descriptive writing that informs the reader about someone or something

memoir : a documented narrative of someone's life, a location, or an event.

Comprehension

A. Put the following events in the life of Abdul Kalam in a chronological order.

The following answer is the correct chronological order:

a. Abdul Kalam attended an elementary school at Rameswaram.

b. One day Abdul Kalam’s teacher visited them to share his pride and pleasure about his performance.

c. They celebrated happiness with poli.

d. A new teacher in the school forbade Abdul Kalam to sit together with his Bramhin friend.

e. Many students did not understand well of Sivasubramania Iyer’s lecture.

f. He then took the students to the seashore for a practical class.

g. Abdul Kalam was determined that he would make a future study about flight and flight systems.

B. Answer the following questions.

a. What were the causes of Abdul Kalam’s happiness?

Abdul Kalam was happy because his mathematics teacher came to his house to discuss his results where he was praised for his good results in Math's exam.

b. Which two places did Abdul Kalam visit before going to school?

Abdul Kalam paid a visit to his Arabic tutoring class and his math teacher's home before going to school.

c. What did he like about mathematics?

All he liked about mathematics were the numbers, their rules, and how they might be used in different ways.

d. Why was the new teacher unhappy?

The new teacher was unhappy because a Hindu and a Muslim student were sitting together. It shows that discrimination between religions was still prevalent.

e. Why did Abdul Kalam have to split with his intimate friend?

The school at Rameswaram only offered courses up to the secondary level, thus Abdul Kalam and his close friend were forced to part ways since further education was only available in the surrounding larger cities.

f. What was the topic of Sivasubramania Iyer’s class?

The topic of Sivasubramania Iyer class was on demonstrating how birds fly. 

g. How was the teacher’s reaction when the students told him that they did not understand his lecture?

Teacher was neither irritated nor furious with them when they reported that they didn't understand his lecture.

h. Why did Sivasubramania Iyer take his students to the seashore?

Sivasubramania Iyer takes his students to the seashore because he wanted to demonstrate the mechanism of bird flight to the students.

Critical Thinking

a. APJ Abdul Kalam became a renowned aerospace scientist in his later life. Do you find any association of his childhood days in shaping his career? Explain with specific instances from the text.

APJ (Avul Pakir Jainulabdeeni) Abdul Kalam is a well-known aerospace scientist of India. He became a famous aerospace scientist because he was inspired and motivated by the explanation of the flight dynamics of birds practically given by his teacher Sivasubramania lyer in his school. There is the great associations of his childhood days in shaping his career. He was a keen student of mathematics and always scored full marks in it. He also scored full marks in Science in his study time. Beside this he would take extra classes of mathematics at his teacher's home. He kept himself always busy in solving complex number problems. The most impressing thing to him was the practical lecture of his teacher Sivasubramania lyer. He, along with his friends, was taken to the seashore of Rameswaram to have a practical demonstration on flight dynamics of the birds. The real teaching of his teacher had left him an influential remarks. He learnt how birds could fly using their wings and tails in a proper balance. When he learnt flight systems of the birds he was: determined to study flight dynamics and following every steps suggested by his teacher, and hence he became an aerospace scientist.

b. Kalam mentions an instance of discrimination against him in his school life. What picture of society does he want to depict by mentioning the incident? Discuss.

In his memoir, he mentions a sad event of religious discrimination in his school. His new teacher showed his discriminating behaviour when he saw a Muslim boy (Abdul) and a Hindu boy (Rameswaram) sitting together in a same bench in the classroom. Rameswaram Sastry was an intimate friend of him belonging to Hindu community. Abdul was ignorant about the religious discrimination between Hindu and Muslim. During the time, there was extreme religious discrimination between Hindu and Muslim. The behaviour of the new teacher was a true picture of the then society. He could not digest the friendship between a Hindu boy and a Muslim boy, so he for baded Abdul to sit close to his Brahmin friend, Abdul was totally upset by this behaviour. By this incident. Abdul wants to show the picture of the society that was parted between two sects Hindu and Muslim. Few people denied such divisions, but most of the people, including educated people believed in partition.

Writing

Write a short autobiography featuring your childhood life using the following guidelines.

I was born in a small village of north-western part of Makawanpur district. I'm from a middle class family. There are five members in my family including me. First of my respected Father who is farmer, then my lovely mother who is simply a house wife. Other members are my eldest brother and a younger sister and both of them are studying too.

Since I'm a student, my daily routine focuses on studying and classes. I usually wake up at 6:00 am and do my daily routines like brushing my teeth, taking a shower and getting ready for class. After which I check my notes and revise for the day. My classes usually used to start by 8:00 am and ends by 1:00 pm. I used to attend classes regularly. After classes, I hang out with my friends for a while and go back home. I reach home and then usually take a nap till 4:30 pm. After taking a nap, I go out and play. I usually come back by 6 and have a bath. After which I get ready to study and by 9:00. I go to the bed.

I used to play a lot with my siblings. I vividly remember the games we used to play. Especially, in the evenings, we used to go out in the park with our sports equipment. Each day we played different games, for example, football on one day and cricket on the other. These memories of playing in the park are very dear to me. Most importantly, I remember this instance very clearly when we went out for a picnic with my family. We paid a visit to the zoo and had an incredible day. My mother packed delectable dishes which we ate in the zoo. My father took so many photos that day. When I look at these pictures, the memory is so clear, it seems like it happened just yesterday. Thus, my childhood memories are very dear to me and make me smile when I feel low.

Grammar

Connectives

A. Study the following sentences and underline the connectives.

a. Although she spoke very fast, I understood what she meant to say.

b. In spite of her hard labour, she failed her exam.

c. Though he had all the required qualifications, he did not get the job.

d. Despite having all the qualifications, he did not get the job.

B. Join the following pairs of sentences twice, using although/ though/ even though and despite/ in spite of as in the example.

Example: Nepali people have limited income. They are very happy.

i. Although Nepali people have limited income, they are happy.

ii. Nepali people are happy in spite of their limited income.

a. He is a millionaire. He lives in a simple house.

i) Although he is a millionaire, he lives in a simple house. 

ii) In spite of being a millionaire, he lives in a simple house. 

b. The weather was extremely bad. The pilot landed the plane safely. 

i) Even though the weather was extremely bad, the pilot landed the plane safely. 

ii) Despite the extremely bad weather, the pilot landed the plane safely. 

c. We study in the same college. We hardly see each other. 

i) Although we study in the same college, we hardly see each other. 

ii) Despite studying in the same college, we hardly see each other.

d. It rained heavily. We enjoyed our holiday. 

i) Although it rained heavily, we enjoyed our holiday. 

ii) In spite of the heavy rain, we enjoyed our holiday. 

e. I had an umbrella. I got wet in the rain. 

i) Although I had an umbrella, I got wet in the rain. 

ii) In spite of having an umbrella, I got wet in the rain. 

f. I was really tired. I could not sleep for a moment. 

i) Even though I was really tired, I could not sleep for a moment. 

ii. In spite of the tiredness, I could not sleep for a moment. 

g. She has a very good accent in English. She failed the interview with the newsreader. 

i) Although she has a very good accent in English, she failed the interview of a newsreader. 

ii) In spite of a very good accent in English, she failed the interview of a newsreader. 

h. Lhasa has extremely cold weather in winter. Millions of tourists go there in January. 

i) Although Lhasa has extremely cold weather in winter, millions of tourists go there in January. 

ii) Despite extremely cold weather, millions of tourists go to Lhasa in January. 

i. He was badly injured in the first round of the boxing match. He was victorious in the third round. 

i) Although he was badly injured in the first round of the boxing match, he was victorious in the third round. 

ii) In spite of his injury in the first round of the boxing match, he was victorious in the third round.

C. Complete each sentence in an appropriate way. 

a. He passed the exam although he did not study well. 

b. She climbed the mountain in spite of the bad weather. 

c. He didn't give any alms to the beggars even though he was rich. 

d. In spite of his poor eyesight, he could read the newspaper. 

e. She never goes to the party though she is very sociable.

f. He couldn't get pass marks in spite of his ten attempts. 

g. He refused to eat anything despite his hunger. 

h. He could not score good grades in the SEE exams in spite of his hard efforts. 

i. She accepted the job although the company didn't pay her much. 

j. Even though we had planned everything carefully, our mission failed.