blazesolutions

Read And Respond 1. What is special about the friendship between Antonio and Felix?           Antonio Cruz and Felix Vargas were both 17. They were so together in friendship that they felt like brothers. They had known each other from childhood. They grew up in the same building on the Lower East Side of Manhattan. 2. How did they work to achieve their dream?          They both had a dream – becoming a light-weight champion of the world. Whenever they got a chance they exercised, sometimes at the Boy’s Club and sometimes at the gym. They would run every day morning, wearing sweat shirts and short towels around their necks. They had a collection of Fight magazines. They also kept the torn tickets of all the boxing matches they had gone to see. They also had some clippings of their own. 3. What was the wall rising between them?             They both had a dream – becoming a light-weight champion of the world. They both practised hard. They were told that they were to meet each other in t

Think And Write 1. Why does the poet say that there is something that doesn’t love, a wall?          The poet says that there is something that does not love the wall because nobody sees or hears anybody breaking the wall. But every spring season, the poet finds the wall is broken. So it is obvious that there is something that does not love a wall and wants to see it broken. It is this ‘something’ that makes the ground under the wall swell causing the stones of the wall to fall down on to either side. 2. Why does the poet meet his neighbour beyond the hill at spring?        The poet meets his neighbour beyond the hill at spring so that they can fix one day and walk along the wall to mend it by picking up the fallen stones and fixing them back. 3. How does the poet and his neighbour mend the gaps in the wall?        The poet and his neighbour mend the gaps in the wall by walking along the wall on either side and picking up the fallen stones and placing them back on the wall in an effort

TEXTUAL QUESTIONS 1. What is a‘horegallu’? What is its purpose?       A horegallu is a stone bench. It helps tired persons to sit down and rest for sometime so that they can regain their energy. 2. What are the special memories the author associates with ‘horegallu’?         The special memories the author associates with ‘horegallu’ are about her grandfather sitting on the horegallu talking with villagers who work in the nearby fields. Her grandfather was a retired school teacher and he would sit on the horegallu under the banyan tree in the village. The tired villagers would come and sit on the stone bench and talk to her grandfather. When she felt tired after playing she would also sit near her grandfather listening to the conversations he was having with the villagers resting there. 3. How does the grandfather refresh the travellers?       The grandfather refreshed the travellers just by listening to them. The villagers would talk of their troubles to him and he would listen. This

Textual Questions 1. Why are women compared to matchboxes?       They are compared to matchboxes because like matchboxes they too contain enough gun powder to make a hundred Lankas burn. But they sit around meek and innocent in the kitchen, in the pantry, in the bedroom, in fact in any place. 2. What makes Nomita furious?        Ajit’s habit of reading letters addressed to her makes her furious. Sometimes he does not even show her the letters. She tried many things to stop him from that habit. She showed anger, took offence, tried to shame him and used sarcasm. Nothing worked. He just laughs it away. 3. What is the suspicion in Nomita’s mind?         The suspicion in Nomita’s mid is that Ajit does not give her all the letters that are addressed to her. 4. What is called an ‘ugly habit’? Why?         The habit of Ajit opening and reading the letters addressed to Nomita is called the ugly habit. He says that he does it because he wanted to make sure that someone does not send her love le

                GOOSEBERRIES                                            - Anton Checkov 1. What purpose does the first sentence serve? The first sentence serves as a suitable introduction to a story which itself talks about a sad and gloomy situation. It looks like rain but it does not come. Happiness is like the rain here. It looks like happiness but it is not there! 2. Can you guess what story Ivan was about to tell Bourkin? The story is of two brothers who pursue happiness in their own ways. 3. How do you feel when it rains? I feel sad and gloomy when it rains. I prefer sunshine to rain. 4. Describe Aliokhin’s appearance. Aliokhin was about 40, tall and stout. He had long hair. He looked more like a professor or a painter than a farmer. At the time we see him first he was wearing a grimy white short and rope belt, and pants instead of trousers. His boots were covered with mud and straw. His nose and eyes were black with dust. 5. Why couldn’t Aliokhin bathe regularly despite having a

            CRIME AND PUNISHMENT                                         - R K Narayan Read And Respond 1. Why did the boy try to fool the teacher by repeating his mistake?         The boy tried to fool the teacher by repeating his mistake because he did not want to continue with his studies. He was interested in playing and not studying. 2. Why did the parents give the boy intensive coaching in Mathematics?        The parents gave the boy intensive coaching in Mathematics because they wanted him to score 50 in Mathematics and thus get a double promotion to the first form. 3. How does the teacher react when the boy repeated the mistake several times?        The teacher slapped the boy hard on his cheek when he repeated the mistake several times. 4. What is the boy’s response when the teacher slapped him on his cheek?        The boy gazed at the teacher for a moment and started crying. 5. Why does the teacher ask the boy not to tell the incident to his mother?       The teacher asks the

              THE TRIP OF LE HORLA Textual Questions and Answers 1. What is special about the sentences in the telegram?            The sentences are not grammatical. The message is conveyed through short phrases.   2. What does the author compare the balloon to?            The balloon is compared to a cake made of yellow cloth. 3. What is the other thought that occurs to every mind?            The other thought that occurs to every mind is a baby in the womb that is nourished through the umbilical cord until its birth. 4. Express the attitude of the spectators and passengers towards the sport of ballooning.             Some spectators think that the balloon will come down before reaching its destination. They also criticise several other things about the balloon. But the passengers are happy and excited about what they are going to do and they are optimistic about their success. 5. What is the established custom mentioned here?           Dining in the canteen of the gas-works by the p

              SUNRISE ON THE HILLS                                    - H W Longfellow Activity -1 (Read and Respond) 1. Look at the expressions ‘heaven’s wide arch and ‘returning march’. What does the poet describe here? What else does it remind you of?              The poet describes here the sky and the return of the sun in the morning. It reminds me of a king returning after a long absence or even my own returning to life in the morning after the night’s sleep. 2. Comment on the expression of ‘soft gales’ .               This is the poetic way of describing the early morning breeze. 3. What makes the glory of the clouds fade?                The rising sun makes the glory of the clouds fade. The mist melts away and the glory fades. 4. What are the clouds compared to?                  They are compared to the army defeated in battle, ready to flee from the conqueror. 5. What picture of the valley is unveiled?                The valley is rich. The water that flows in the river gets d

      A THREE WHEELED REVOLUTION Read And Respond 1. Which incident shows that Irfan had a problem solving skill?            Once Irfan was travelling in a rickshaw and in the middle of the journey he was very thirsty. He asked the rickshaw puller if he had any water. He said he did not have because it was expensive to get bottles of water and stack them. Immediately he thought there was a market for selling water bottles in the rickshaws. This incident shows Irfan had a problem-solving skill. 2. Why does Irfan think that entrepreneurship is in his blood?            Irfan thinks that entrepreneurship is in his blood because he had an interest in business from a very early age. He was enterprising since his childhood. During the stock market scam on 1992, his father and his friends lost a lot of money. Irfan helped them to recover their losses and even make profits. 3. What encouraged Irfan to open his own portfolio management firm?              During the stock market scam in 1992, his