What did the postmaster do then?
At first, the postmaster and the postman broke out in laugh. But, at the same moment the postmaster was impressed by Lencho’s faith in the God. He wished that he could also keep that much faith in God. The postmaster decided to help Lencho. He asked his colleagues to contribute some money and he himself gave a part of his salary.
Who does Lencho have complete faith in? Which sentences in the story tell you this?
Why does the postmaster send money to Lencho? Why does he sign the letter ‘God’?
Did Lencho try to find out who had sent the money to him? Why/Why not?
Who does Lencho think has taken the rest of the money? What is the irony in the situation? (Remember that the irony of a situation is an unexpected aspect of it. An ironic situation is strange or amusing because it is the opposite of what is expected.)
Are there people like Lencho in the real world? What kind of a person would you say he is? You may select appropriate words from the box to answer the question.
greedy naive stupid ungrateful
selfish comical unquestioning
There are two kinds of conflict in the story: between humans and nature, and between humans themselves. How are these conflicts illustrated?
Look at the following sentence from the story.
Suddenly a strong wind began to blow and along with the rain very large hailstones began to fall.
‘Hailstones’ are small balls of ice that fall like rain. A storm in which hailstones fall is a ‘hailstorm’. You know that a storm is bad weather with strong winds, rain, thunder and lightning.
There are different names in different parts of the world for storms, depending on their nature. Can you match the names in the box with their descriptions below, and fill in the blanks? You may use a dictionary to help you.
gale, whirlwind, cyclone, hurricane, tornado, typhoon
A violent tropical storm in which strong winds move in a circle: __ __ c __ __ __ __
2. An extremely strong wind : __ a __ __
3. A violent tropical storm with very strong winds : __ __ p __ __ __ __
4. A violent storm whose centre is a cloud in the shape of a funnel: __ __ __ n __ __ __ 5. A violent storm with very strong winds, especially in the western Atlantic Ocean: __ __ r __ __ __ __ __ __
6. A very strong wind that moves very fast in a spinning movement and causes a lot of damage: __ __ __ __ l __ __ __ __
Notice how the word ‘hope’ is used in these sentences from the story: (a) I hope it (the hailstorm) passes quickly. (b) There was a single hope: help from God. In the first example, ‘hope’ is a verb which means you wish for something to happen. In the second example it is a noun meaning a chance for something to happen.
Match the sentences in Column A with the meanings of ‘hope’ in Column B
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1.Will you get the subjects you want to study in college? I hope so. 2. I hope you don’t mind my saying this, but I don’t like the way you are arguing. 3. This discovery will give new hope to HIV/AIDS sufferers. 4. We were hoping against hope that the judges would not notice our mistakes. 5. I called early in the hope of speaking to her before she went to school. 6. Just when everybody had given up hope, the fishermen came back, seven days after the cyclone. |
-a feeling that something good will probably happen – thinking that this would happen (It may or may not have happened.) – stopped believing that this good thing would happen – wanting something to happen (and thinking it quite possible) – showing concern that what you say should not offend or disturb the other person: a way of being polite – wishing for something to happen, although this is very unlikely |
Join the sentences given below using who, whom, whose, which, as suggested.
1. I often go to Mumbai. Mumbai is the commercial capital of India. (which)
2. My mother is going to host a TV show on cooking. She cooks very well. (who)
3.These sportspersons are going to meet the President. Their performance has been excellent. (whose)
4. Lencho prayed to God. His eyes see into our minds. (whose)
5. This man cheated me. I trusted him. (whom)
We know that sentences with words such as no, not or nothing show the absence of something, or contradict something. For example:
(a) This year we will have no corn. (Corn will be absent)
(b) The hail has left nothing. (Absence of a crop)
(c) These aren’t raindrops falling from the sky, they are new coins. (Contradicts the common idea of what the drops of water falling from the sky are)
But sometims negative words are used just to emphasise an idea. Look at these sentences from the story:
(d) Lencho…had done nothing else but see the sky towards the northeast. (He had done only this)
(e) The man went out for no other reason than to have the pleasure of feeling the rain on his body. (He had only this reason)
(f) Lencho showed not the slightest surprise on seeing the money. (He showed no surprise at all)
Now look back at example (c). Notice that the contradiction in fact serves to emphasise the value or usefulness of the rain to the farmer.
Find sentences in the story with negative words, which express the following ideas emphatically.
1. The trees lost all their leaves.
______________________________________
2. The letter was addressed to God himself.
______________________________________
3. The postman saw this address for the first time in his career.
________________________________________________________
Mock Test Series
