9th std Preparatory Notes

Preparatory Notes

Read the extracts given below and answer the questions that follow. 

1. I saw the determination on her face. Yet I laughed at her.

a. When did the grandmother come to speak to her granddaughter

about her determination?

(at night , after dinner , while they were sleeping in the open terrace)

b. What was the grandmother determined to do?

( to learn the Kannada alphabet and be able to read a novel on her

own)

c. Why did the narrator laugh at her?

(She was astounded that her grandmother wanted to learn at the age

of 62, with grey hair, wrinkled hands and lots of kitchen work.)

2. My grandmother called me to the pooja place and made me sit on

a stool... Then she did something unusual.

a. What pooja is being referred to ?

(The pooja of the Dassara festival)

b. Why was the narrator made to sit on a stool?

(The grandmother made the narrator sit on the stool to show her

respect towards her teacher (the narrator) who had taught her to

read.)

c. What unusual thing did the grandmother do?

( After giving the narrator a gift , the grandmother touched her

granddaughter’s feet.)

3. By mid- April neighbours saw a daily struggle in front of Marcy’s house

a. Whom did the neighbours see struggling in front of Marcy’s house ?

( The neighbour’s saw Duke, the dog making lots of efforts to make

his master learn to walk gradually.)

b. What were they trying to achieve?

(Duke, the dog was trying and encouraging his master to learn to

walk again after an accident.)

c. How was their pattern of progress?

(The pair set themselves daily goals. With the dog’s help, Chuck

moved from taking a few step forward in the room to reaching the

front porch and then out on the sidewalk.)

4. When two fellows stare at each other day in , day out, and one can’t

move and the other can’t talk, boredom sets in.

a. Who are two fellows?

(Chuck Hooper who lay in his bed and Duke.)

b. What happened to the fellow who could not move?

(Chuck met with a car accident that paralysed the left side of his

body. Despite exercises, Chuck did not make much progress.)

c. Who took the initiative to get them out of the boredom?

(After days of sitting still, Duke went upto Chuck and poked his

pointed nose under chuck’s elbow and nudged and needled him.

This he kept repeating till he got a reaction from Chuck.)

5. By thirty hills I hurry down,

Or slip between the ridges,

By twenty thorpes, a little town,

And half a hundred bridges.

a. How does the brook flow through the hills?

(The brook hurries down the hills.)

b. What is its destination?

(the brimming river)

c. How many hills, villages and bridges come its way?

(thirty hills, twenty villages and fifty bridges)

6. And both that morning equally lay

In leaves no step had trodden black.

Oh, I kept the first for another day!

a. What did the poet keep for another day?

(The poet kept travelling on the first road for another day.)

b. How were the two similar?

(In the morning both the paths are covered with leaves that had not


been trampled upon because no one had travelled on the roads.)

c. Which did the poet choose?

(The poet chose the path which was grassy because no one had

travelled on it.)

7. Perhaps the plaintive numbers flow

For old, unhappy, far-off things,

And battles long ago:

Or is it some more humble lay,

Familiar matter of today?

a. What does the phrase –‘plaintive numbers mean?

(sad songs)

b. What are the things that the singer could be singing about?

(some unhappy events in the past, important battles, death or illness

of a loved one or everyday events.)

c. What does the term familiar matter refer to?

(It refers to something that the singer is sad about at that present time.

It could be some sorrow that has befallen her, loss of someone or

some pain that she is feeling.)

8. A chieftain to the highlands bound,

Cries,”Boatman , do not tarry!

And I’ll give thee a silver pound

To row us o’er the ferry!”

a. Where was the chieftain going and with whom?

(The chieftain was eloping with his lady love- Lord Ullin’s daughter to

the highlands.)

b. Why did he ask the boatman to hurry ?

(Lord Ullin’s men were pursuing them and if they found them , the

chieftain would be killed.)

c. What did he promise to give the boatman?

(He promised to give the boatman a silver pound)

9. “The choice of a frame is not so easy when you have such a

delightful pastel to place in it.’

a. Whom does the speaker refer to as a ‘delightful pastel’?

(Juliette refers to Jeanne as a delightful pastel.)

b. What does the word ‘ frame’ symbolize?


(The word ‘ frame’ symbolizes a house.)

c. What was the speaker’s purpose behind doing so?

(Juliette was desperate to sell her villa because she had placed a ‘for

sale’ sign a month ago and there had been no takers. She was

resorting to flattery so that Jeanne and Gaston would buy the villa.)

10. ‘Here is my card. Good-bye ,Madame. Oh, by the way, you will be

kind enough to leave tomorrow morning, won’t you?’ a. Who is addressing whom?

(Gaston addresses Juliette , the owner of the villa which he and his

wife had come to see and buy.)

b. What had the speaker done?

(He had done an underhand deal and sold Juliette’s villa to Mrs. Al

Smith impersonating as the owner of the villa.)

c. Why did he want the person to leave the following morning?

(He had taken a cheque dated for that day from Mrs. Al Smith and

agreed to vacate the villa the following day. So, he asked Juliette to

vacate it the following morning.)

B. Answer the following in 30-40 words 

1. Why was the grandmother interested in the story of ‘Kashi Yatre’?

(Like the protagonist, grandmother also had not gone to Kashi and

desired to do so. Hence, she identified with the novel’s protagonist.

The writer’s stories dealt with problems in the lives of ordinary people

so they were always very interesting.)

2. What kind of problems did Chuck’s decision to begin working pose

for the company?

(Chuck was determined to make a comeback and had decided to

start with working for an hour daily. The company found it difficult to

tell him that he could not handle his old job of a salesman because

he was unable to move about and would work only for an hour a

day.)

3. What does the poet in the poem –‘The Road not Taken’ hope to be

doing in future ?

(He hopes that in future when he looks back at this time in his life he

will say that he came across two roads and had to make a choice

between the two. He chose the path that was less travelled and that

has made a difference. He will not regret his decision.)

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4. Why are the lines –‘for men may come and men may go’- repeated

in the poem.

(to emphasize that the brook goes on forever whereas men are

mortal beings.)

5. To what does the poet compare the song of the reaper?

(The poet compares the song of the reaper to the nightingale that

sings to bands of travellers resting in deserts.

He also compares it to the cuckoo that sings during spring time. The

song and voice of the reaper surpasses that of the nightingale and

the cuckoo.)

6 Give two characteristics of the boatman who ferries the couple

across the sea.

(The boatman is courageous; secondly he doesn’t care for money

and he feels sorry for the young girl. He is also a man who keeps his

word. He risks his life to ferry the two lovers to the other side.)

7. How does Juliette feel about the non-sale of her Villa though she had

put up the board of ‘Villa For Sale’ about a month ago?

(Juliette feels that she was a real fool when she bought it. For the first

week she was annoyed when she passed by the Villa. The

neighbours looked at her strangely. She feels miserable over its non- sale. She is desperate to sell it more so when four people almost

bought it in the past two weeks. But the deal didn’t materialise. She is

ready to sell it at a low price of a hundred thousand francs.)

8. Why was Gaston not interested in buying a villa?

(Gaston’s wife Jeanne wanted to buy a villa for her parents. But,

Gaston tells Jeanne that her parents and her sister’s children would

occupy it for the whole year and they would spend only a month in it.

He tells her that he isn’t so fond of her family to buy a villa for them

and live with them.)

C. Answer the following in 80-100 words 

1. How has the poet compared the movement of the brook with the

lives of humans?

(The brook has been personified and it describes its journey to its

ultimate destination – the river. The path of the brook is winding , at

times the flow is smooth and sometimes it has to move over hurdles,

suggesting that in life’s journey is not all smooth we too meet with

hurdles. The curves and turns are symbolic of the decisions and

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changes that have to be made.

In the first part of the poem, the brook seems more energetic and

lively . The poet has used words such as-‘ hurry down, bubble,

chatter, wind about,... In the latter part the brook quietens down

which the poet indicates by the use of words – ‘slip, slide, glance,

murmur, linger,...etc.This is symbolic of youth and old age in

humans.)

2. How does the poet, in the poem – ‘The Solitary Reaper’- indicate that

the song of the nightingale was enchanting?

(The poet was passing through the area when he heard the song of

the reaper. He stood motionless and listened. The sound filled the

deep valley. The poet says that the voice of the reaper was more

enchanting than that of the nightingale in the deserts and the cuckoo

during springtime in the Hebrides. The song of the reaper had such a

profound effect on him that the music remained with him for a long

time after he could not hear it anymore.)

3. Write a character sketch of Chuck Hooper.

(Chuck was a happy-go-lucky man who had everything going for

him. He had a job, a loving wife, a comfortable home with a dog he

loved and the opportunity to play in the football team. But the

accident brings out the real depth of his character. He is able to

shake off his initial despair and gloom with a lot of nudging from the

Duke, the dog, He also has the sensitivity to appreciate the dog’s

efforts to help him and uses his faith as a guiding light to pull himself

out of his depression he appears to be a determined, persevering

young man who is not afraid to stretch his limits to be able to walk

again. He appears to be extremely focussed in the way he sets his

goals with regard to the distance he wants to cover everyday. He is

able to achieve his goal with a great deal of painstaking effort. His

hardworking nature and independence is apparent in the way he

comes back to work and is promoted due to the excellent work that

he puts in inspite of the various obstacles in his life. He stands out as a

hero and a role model for every one of us.)

4. ‘For a good cause if you are determined you can overcome any

obstacle.’ Explain this with reference to the grandmother in the lesson

– ‘How I taught my grandmother to Read’

(The grandmother was a happy and contented woman who was

totally involved in meeting the needs of her children and

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grandchildren. Though she had never been to school, she knew the

value of education and therefore made sure that all her children

were well-educated. When she realised that a lack of literacy made

her a dependent and helpless she was determined to do all she

could to fill this blank in her life. She was determined to be able to

read and write and become independent.

She was not in the least embarrassed to share her feelings with her

granddaughter and ask for help. She was very hard working and was

able to achieve what she set out to do within the deadline she had

set for herself. We also see that she was not self-conscious and did

not feel embarrassed to bow down and touch her granddaughter’s

feet. She was humble enough to respect her teacher who had taught

her to read and write at the age of 62. She was a wise and

introspective woman who understood the value of education.)

5. What suggestion does the maid give Juliette to get over the hard

times that she is facing?

(The maid has understood from Juliette’s conversation that she

(Juliette) is facing hard times. She suggests Juliette work as a cook in

the film centre for 100 francs a day. She says that the work is for eight

days and she would get 800 francs. The work is easy since all Juliette

will have to do is peel potatoes and make omelettes. Moreover,

according to her Juliette has a good chance of doing the job as she

has a comical face and looks good with her hair slicked back.)

6. Give your opinion about the character of Gaston.

(Gaston is a well-mannered and suave crook who is also a confirmed

opportunist. He doesn’t have any scruples about posing as the owner

of the house and conducting a conversation with Mrs Al Smith. He has

no remorse whatsoever about cheating Juliette out of the sale of the

house and earning a hundred thousand francs from it. He is also

mean-minded in his attitude towards his wife’s family. He makes a

hundred thousand francs without spending a single penny. He is

clever, materialistic and an opportunist who believes in making

money by hook or by crook.)

D. Answer the following in about 150 words.

1. How do the boys go about deciding what to take on the trip?

(It is Harris who initially takes charge of deciding the things to be

taken on the trip. Each of them compiles a list but the list is discarded

and torn. J remarks that they have a small boat which will not

support all the items listed. They cannot take a larger boat for the

river would not support the large boat.

They decide to list the things they can’t do without rather than listing

what they think they want.

They decide to take a small set of clothes, planning to wash them in

the river. George decides that they must take a rug and a toothbrush

each. The decide to take a lamp, some soap, , a brush, a comb , a

basin, some shaving tackle and couple of big towels for bathing. He

also impressed upon them to take undergarments, socks,

handkerchiefs, leather boots and boating shoes.)

2. What difficulties do the boys face as they embark on their train

journey ?

(When the three friends stood outside waiting for the cab to take

them to the train station, a group of boys gathered around them and

teased them for the clothes they were wearing and the luggage they

were carrying. They remarked that Harris could be the bridegroom or

they could be going to a funeral. Since they were carrying so many

pieces of luggage , the group of boys wondered if the three friends

were embarking on a long journey to Africa or across the Atlantic.

When they reached the Waterloo station , they do not know from

which platform the train departed. The porter who took their luggage thought that the train departed

from platform 2,whereas another porter whom they had met earlier

was of the opinion that it was platform 1. The station master was sure

of the departure of the train from the local. They finally gave half-a- crown to the engine driver and begged him to take the train to

Kingston