I. Study the sentences given below.
(a) They looked like black mountains.
(b) Inside the clouds, everything was suddenly black.
(c) In the black clouds near me, I saw another aeroplane.
(d) The strange black aeroplane was there.
The word ‘black’ in sentences (a) and (c) refers to the very darkest colour. But in (b) and (d) (here) it means without light/with no light.
‘Black’ has a variety of meanings in different contexts. For example:
(a) ‘I prefer black tea’ means ‘I prefer tea without milk’.
(b) ‘With increasing pollution the future of the world is black’ means ‘With increasing pollution the future of the world is very depressing/ without hope’.

Now, try to guess the meanings of the word ‘black’ in the sentences given below. Check the meanings in the dictionary and find out whether you have guessed right.

Go and have a bath; your hands and face are absolutely black.___

The taxi-driver gave Ratan a black look as he crossed the road when the traffic light was green.

The bombardment of Hiroshima is one of the blackest crimes against humanity._

Very few people enjoy Harold Pinter’s black comedy.__

Sometimes shopkeepers store essential goods to create false scarcity and then sell these in black._

Villagers had beaten the criminal black and blue.______________

Answer

1. The ‘black’ in this sentence means that the face and hands are dark with dust
2. It indicates a look of anger.
3. It refers to the most cruel crime against humanity.
4. It refers to the comedy filled with horror.
5. It refers to the selling of goods at a unofficial prices.
6. It shows the excessive beating by the villagers.