Deep Water;NCERT Solutions and Summary for Class 12

                               Deep Water

                                             -William Douglas

Text:

Image Courtesy:NCERT;Ncert Books by Supercop

Please tap on the image once to get a more sharper and legible copy of the book.

Summary:

'Deep Water' by William Orville Douglas is actually an extract from his book 'Of Men and Mountain'.In this brief extract,he tells about his fear of water and how he conquered it by determination and willpower.

The narrator had an aversion to water since he was a child.As a small boy,when he was 3 or 4 years old,he would visit the beaches in California with his father.The waves would knock him down and sweep over him.This scared him of the might of the huge waves.Eventually,this let the fear for water get instilled in his mind.

However,when he was ten or eleven years old,he again decided to learn to swim.There was a pool at YMCA(Young Men's Christian Association)

which gave him an opportunity to learn swimming again.However,very soon he was a victim of a misadventure.

One day,he went to the pool,when nobody was around.The place was silent and the narrator was a bit nervous regarding the water.He was sitting on the side of the pool when suddenly,somebody pushed him.He was already frightened by then but remembered not to be out of his wits.On his way down to the water,he decided that he would take a large leap which will make him come back to the surface.Then,he would paddle to the edge of the pool.However,those 9 feets seemed like an infinite distance.Before even touching the bottom of the pool,it seemed like his lungs would burst.However,he still managed to summon all his strength and made a great spring upwards.He thought that he would Bob to the surface like a cork but he came up slowly.

When he came to the surface of the water,all around him was water which had a dirty yellow tinge to it.He panicked and tried bringing his legs up but failed miserably.Again,he started to go down.He was again sinking into the pool.He was again planning to spring up to the surface of the pool but his body didn't allowed it.After around 3 such unsuccessful attempts,he felt tired and slowly closed his eyes.It felt as if the curtain of life fell.

Next,when his eyes opened,he was lying beside the pool.Several hours later,he walked home.For many days,a haunting fear was in his heart which made him wobbly in the knees and sick in his stomach.After this incident,he never went back to the pool and avoided water whenever he could.

A few years down the line,when he came to know about the water of Cascades,he wanted to get into them.However,the terror from the incident in the pool would revisit him.This fear also ruined his trips and deprived him from the fun of canoeing,boating and swimming.He even tried multiple times to overcome this fear but always in vain.

Finally,one October,he hired an instructor and asked him to teach him swimming.He went to a pool and started to practise swimming 5 days a week.By continuous practice and sheer determination,he shed his fear.Next,for weeks,the instructor would hold him near the side of a pool and had him kick with his legs.He also tried swimming in the pool and had him kick with his legs.He also tried swimming in the pool alone sometimes to check if his fear has finally vanished and found that some part of it would still return.All the way of two miles,he covered by swimming himself and all alone.He eventually conquered his fear.

The narrator learnt a very significant lesson from his hydrophobia.He faced his fear from water in a humorous manner by challenging the fear on his face.It was only a baseless fear which was instilled in his mind.He had experienced both terror and the feeling of overcoming it.During this wonderful journey of conquering his fear,he realised that death is actually peaceful but the fear associated with it is actually horrifying.At last,feeling of overcoming his fear made his mind free and relaxed.

Difficult Words:

1)Treacherous:(Here)Presenting hidden or                                      unpredictable dangers.

2)Hydrophobia:The fear from water.

3)Subdued:(Here)Restrained.

4)Aversion:Dislike.

5)Paddled:To move through water using legs.

6)Bob:A quick,short movement up and down.

7)Cork:A buoyant light brown substance.

8)Tinge:A trace of a colour.

9)Flailed:Moving, swinging or beating wildly.

10)Throbbed:Beat or sound with a strong                                      regular rhythm.

11)Limp:To walk with difficulty.

12)Oblivion:The state of being unaware of what                       is happening around one.

13)Wobbly:Tending to move unsteadily from                            side to side.

14)Slack:Not held tightly in position.

15)Vestiges:Trace or remnant of something.

16)Canoeing:The act of driving a canoe.

About Author:

William Orville Douglas was an American jurist and politician who served as associate justice of the Supreme Court of the USA.He was born on October 16,1898 and died on January 19,1980.He was known for his outspoken progressive views.He was also an ardent advocate of environmentalism.

NCERT Questions:

A) Understanding the Text.

1)Douglas has very illustratively described the sense of panic that gripped over him as he drowned.He has described the entire incident in such a vivid manner that one could actually visualize the whole thing.He describes how he landed in sitting position,swallowed water and went at once to the bottom.On his way down,he planned that when his feet would hit the floor of the pool,he would take a great leap which would make him bounce back to the pool's surface.He described fearfully how those nine feet felt more like nine feet.And instead of bouncing back to the water surface,he came up slowly.This incident left a lasting mark on his mind.

2)Douglas badly wanted to get rid of his fear of water.He was very determined to do so and thus he even hired an instructor for it.He went to the pool and started practicing swimming for 5 days a week.Everytime,he went to the pool and beneath it,he would experience some part of the terror he had experienced in his last unfortunate incident at the pool.

3)The narrator as an adult has recounted a childhood experience of terror as he wanted to convey to his readers how he faced the fears he had as a child.The narrator has learnt a very valuable experience from this fear of water.He has now learnt from this that it is not actually the fear of drowning buut the fear associated with it was more troubling.After this,his will to live grew intensely and he felt relaxed.

B)Talking about the Text.

1)Earlier,I used to be scared of spiders.I had read somewhere that they were dangerous and poisonous.A fear had got instilled in my mind that they can kill humans.However,with the passage of time,that fear has vanished.

📍📍📍

Disclaimer:

No part of this publication may be reproduced,stored in a retrieval system of transmitted,in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical,photocopying,recording or otherwise without the prior permission of the publisher.

#Hey!This is an in-depth piece of genuine writing by EduRankers' team.There may be some inadvertent typing mistakes.Please report and we will definitely get back to you.Ask your queries in the comments section.Keep hustling!

Links:

🛑NCERT Solutions for The Last Lesson

🛑NCERT Solutions for Lost Spring:Stories of Stolen Childhood

🛑NCERT Solutions for An Elementary School Classroom in a Slum

🛑NCERT Solutions for Keeping Quiet

🛑Follow us on Instagram 📷

🛑Join us on Telegram📨

Keeping Quiet;NCERT Solutions and Summary for Class 12

                               Keeping Quiet

                                                -Pablo Neruda

Text:

Image Courtesy:NCERT;Ncert Books by Supercop

Please tap on the image once to get a more sharper and legible copy of the book.

Summary:

The poem "Keeping Quiet" written by Pablo Neruda discusses the need of maintaing peace and silence.He stresses upon being quiet and harmless to the humans,animals and environment.He suggests that in order to maintain peace and harmony.According to the poet,he thinks that we need to stop and introspect our deeds and ourselves!

Stanza-1(Now....so much):

In this stanza of the poem,the poet asks the entire mankind or humanity to count from twelve to one.Twelve being the number of hours shown in a clock.He wants everyone to stop and calm down.The poet urges everyone to stop and calm down.He requests his fellow beings not to speak any language as sometimes languages become barriers in our way to peace.So,he asks people not to speak.He also requests various nations not to move their 'arms' which means not to wage battles against each other.So,basically the poet is demanding peace from all of us.

Stanza-2(It would....hurt hands.):

The poet says that it would be a rare situation where there will be no engines working.Here,he wants to convey that he thinks it would be a different moment altogether if everything comes to a standstill.He expects that if such a situation arises,then it would be really interesting.For instance,the fisherman would stop chasing the whales.The workers would stop who collect salt 

and whose hands are hurt.Here,the poet requests everyone to stop and see what they have gained or lost.He wants everyone to stop and see what they have gained or lost.He wants his readers to introspect their position and understand all their moves.

Stanza-3(Those who....truck with death):

He asks everyone to stop all the activities which are damaging the environment.Today,most of the humans are participating in various unfair practices which eventually causes irreparable loss to the environment.He asks people not to involve in wars and battles as there is no benefit of achieving triumph in which eventually nobody is left behind.The poet is of the opinion that it wars and environmental hazard will eventually and life on earth.He urges the people around him to adopt a new approach towards life.An approach we would promote peace and harmony.

Stanza-4(If we were.... ourselves with death):

Here, the poet clarifies that by asking his readers 'to stop',he doesn't want his readers to become non-active persons or idle individuals.He simply means that one should stop and introspect his/her deeds.The poet doesn't want anybody to perish because of his/her greed.According to him,most of the humans want to achieve most of the things before death because they fear death.Everybody on this planet is living a life in which one wants to continually achieve.The poet says that it is the time to stop and see what has been achieved and should be enjoyed.This will help us skip the sadness which has become so prominent in our lives.The sadness of not enjoying what we have gained is one of the greatest drawbacks of mankind.

Stanza-5(Perhaps the Earth....I will go):

Now,the poet suggests that we humans should learn from lessons from the Earth.During the winters,everything freezes and becomes lifeless.But,when season changes and its the onset of spring season,everything present in nature such as the trees,birds,rivers etc gets life.So,here,the poet by giving the example of nature wants to say that all the humans should stop and judge their deeds.They can try and make their life better with calmness.Finally,he ends up by saying that now he will count upto twelve so that we all may become quiet.After saying this he says,"I will go."He says so as he has conveyed his message to the people and wants them to be left alone to think about it and work in the direction of peace.

Difficult Words:

1)Exotic: Different and Unknown.

2)To have no truck with:Avoid dealing or being associated with it.

3)Green Wars:The war against the environment.

About Author:

Pablo Neruda is the pen name of Ricardo Eliécer Neftali Reyes Basoalto who was a Chilean

 poet-diplomat.He was one of the few politicians who won the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1971.He became famous as a poet since he was 13 years old and wrote in myraid styles.

Poetic Devices:

1)Assonance:Use of vowel sounds 'o' and 'e' in                            the lines "Now we will count to                                 twelve,not move our arms so                                   much."

2)Anaphora:Two consecutive lines starting with                        the word 'Let's'.

3)Alliteration:'We would'-'W' sound is repeated.

4)Repetition:Use of word 'war'.

5)Enjambment:And for once could perhaps a                                  huge silence...of threatening                                    oursleves with death.

NCERT Questions:

A)Think it out.

1)If we count upto twelve and keep still,it will give us some time to analyse our deeds.It will allow us some moments to think about the result of our activities.People,binded by greed,are involved in wars and are also damaging the environment to satisfy their needs.Unfortunately,all of this is taking us towards our end.So,we need to think in order to achieve peace and harmony.

2)No,the poet doesn't advocate total inactivity and death.He clarifies this in the poem that he wants everyone to stop for a while in order to analyse their activities and their consequences.He wants humans not to support war and damage to the environment.

3)The poet has referred to the 'sadness' which is a result of our one's own actions and deeds.The poet is of the opinion that we all are in a hurry to achieve various tasks in our life.However, sometimes this hurry becomes fatal.Without analysing our deeds,we keep working,which eventually lands us in trouble.

4)The poet has taken the example of Earth to prove that there can be life under apparent stillness.The Earth never gets inactive.We experience the change in seasons which brings myraid changes with it.In winters,things come to a standstill as waterbodies freeze and the trees shed their leaves.But,as soon as the spring season comes,it brings with it various pleasant changes.Some of the changes,such as lovely flowers,flowing rivers gives a new life to nature.So,the poet wants us to remain calm but that shouldn't mean it will bring total inactivity and stillness.

📍📍📍

Disclaimer:

No part of this publication may be reproduced,stored in a retrieval system of transmitted,in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical,photocopying,recording or otherwise without the prior permission of the publisher.

#Hey!This is an in-depth piece of genuine writing by EduRankers' team.There may be some inadvertent typing mistakes.Please report and we will definitely get back to you.Ask your queries in the comments section.Keep hustling!

Links:

🛑NCERT Solutions for My Mother at Sixty-Six

🛑NCERT Solutions for An Elementary School Classroom in a Slum

🛑NCERT Solutions for Lost Spring:Stories of Stolen Childhood

🛑NCERT Solutions for The Last Lesson

🛑Follow us on Instagram 📷

🛑Join us on Telegram📨

An Elementary School Classroom in a Slum;NCERT Solutions and Summary for Class 12

  An Elementary School Classroom in a Slum

                                                 -Stephen Spender

Text:

Image Courtesy:NCERT;Ncert Books by Supercop

Please tap on the image once to get a more sharper and legible copy of the book.

Summary:

This poem by Stephen Spender gives a lucid description of a school classroom in a slum and the children in the class.The faces of the children were gloomy and their appearance  shows they are unwanted.They have diseased bodies inherited from their parents and are victims of poverty.

Stanza-1:

In the first stanza,the poet describes the children who study in an elementary school setup in a slum.The poet is of the opinion that the faces of the children are dull and without any energy.He even compares them to the unwanted weed.The children are also untidy as they haven't combed their hair.He also describes some of them individually.He describes a tall girl who seems to be burdened by poverty.Her head is bent because of tiredness and shame.Then,he moves to another boy who is so weak and thin that he compared him to a sheet of paper.The boy's eyes reflects greed and he wants to achieve everything.He moves on to a boy who is physically disabled.The poet considers him to be unlucky as he had inherited a disease from his father instead of any kind of amenities.However,at the back of the class,in a dark area he could make out a boy.The boy's eyes were bright and full of dreams.He was not paying attention to the class.It seemed as if he was interested in playing with the squirrels.

Stanaza-2:

In this stanza,the poet has described the school 

and its surroundings.He at first describes the walls of the school and calls them like the colour of sour cream.This indicates that the walls are not clean and have not been painted recently.The walls are covered with various charts,maps and illustrations which must have been donated by various people.There is a picture of Shakespeare on the wall and his head seemed like a Sun rising at the horizon and semi-circular like a dome shape.There is a picture of the popular Tyrolese valley which not only has vibrant flowers but also dotted with churches.There is also an image of a map.But for these children,all these are quite irrelevant as it is quite different from what it is illustrated there as they live in a slum only.Their future is full of darkness and is compared to a narrow street which means there is no wide scope of development for these children.Their poverty has ensured that these children are kept away from the light of wisdom and education.

Stanza-3:

In this stanza,the poet describes various hardships within which these children grow.These slum-dwelling students feel that every other person is their enemy.For them,even Shakespeare is an evil man.They don't find the map to be a good thing.They were never loved by anyone which has eventually made them to steal from others.Their life in small homes and they have started to adjust to it.These are malnourished kids and are so thin that one could easily see their bones inside.Their spectacles look like stones which have been repaired with pieces of glasses sticking out of them.The poet tries to explain that these kids have to face so many hardships and adeversities in their lives.As these slums keep getting bigger,these will be eventually be led to the destruction of the future of these children.

Stanza-4:

The poet says the government should take notice of the problems being faced by those kids.He urges the government to change the life of these kids and make the world map a reality for them.There is an urgent need to break the restrictions which are put on them because of the lack of resources.The poet wants the authorities and the general public to help these students in achieving their dreams.The poet represents this as something like that they will be taken away from fog to the azure sky.This means that these kids will be taken away from the darkness of their present time to a bright future.He wants the students to get exposure to sands and all the beauty of nature.In his opinion,this will result in their progress and they will be able to paint a bright future for themselves.

Difficult Words:

1)Gusty:Having or showing gusto.

2)Pallor:An unhealthy pale appearance.

3)Gnarled:Knobbly, rough, and twisted,                                    especially with age.

4)Cramped:Uncomfortably small or restricted.

5)Slag:Criticize in an abusive and insulting                         manner.

6)Blot:A dark mark or stain made by ink, paint,                 dirt,etc.

7)Tyrolese:Relating Austrian state of Tyrol.

8)Azure:Bright blue in colour like a cloudless                       sky.

About Author:

Sir Stephen Harold Spender CBE was an English poet,novelist and essayist whose works are concentrated on themes of social injustice and class struggle.He was appointed Poet Laureate Consultant in Poetry to the United States Library of Congress in 1965.

Poetic Devices:

1)Simile:Children are compared with rootless                      weed.

2)Metaphor:Boy is compared with paper as he                          is thin.

3)Repetition:Use of far to stress on the distance.

4)Assonance:Repetition of vowel sound ‘e’ in"Belled Flower" and "Tyrolese Valley".

5)Allusion:Reference to well-known person or                        place in "Shakespeare" and "Tyrolese                      Valley".

6)Anaphora:Use of repeated words in two                                  consecutive lines "Run azure And                            Run naked".

NCERT Questions:

A)Think it Out.

1)a)ii)has her head bent with same.

b)ii)thin,hungry and weak.

c)i)The boy has an inherited disability.

d)i)Full of hope in the future.

e)iii)Are wasters.

2)By the phrase,the colour of "sour cream",the poet means pale and dull.The poet used this expression to signify that the walls in the classroom are old.Moreover,they are also not freshly painted.The walls of the classroom also shows the bigger picture of how these schools have not got much resources at their disposal.

3)The various pictures on the wall are not similar to the world of these slum dwelling children because they have never got adequate facilities and education.They have always seen crime happening around them.That is why it is said in the poem that for these children Shakespeare is a wicked man.It is just irrelevant to him.Not only this,their world is the dirty slum area in which they live which is continuously expanding. Hence, the world maps which never show slums and the beautiful valley which is never seen and is out of reach of such children are in total contrast to what they see as their world.The poet has taken the poverty angle to such an extent where where he has criminalized poverty.

4)The poet advoctes for a better future for the children in the schools of the slums.He thinks that everyone must get equal chance to grow in his/her life.He urges the authorities and the general public to visit them and see their plight.He requests them through his poem to take them various beautiful places.He thinks that such acts will eventually motivate them more and compel them to study more.

📍📍📍

Disclaimer:

No part of this publication may be reproduced,stored in a retrieval system of transmitted,in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical,photocopying,recording or otherwise without the prior permission of the publisher.

#Hey!This is an in-depth piece of genuine writing by EduRankers' team.There may be some inadvertent typing mistakes.Please report and we will definitely get back to you.Ask your queries in the comments section.Keep hustling!

Links:

🛑NCERT Solutions for The Last Lesson

🛑NCERT Solutions for Lost Spring

🛑NCERT Solutions for My Mother at Sixty-Six

🛑NCERT Solutions for The Third Level

🛑Follow us on Instagram 📷

🛑Join us on Telegram📨

Footprints without Foot;NCERT Solutions and Summary for Class 10

                    Footprints without Feet

                                                     -H.G. Wells    

Text:

Image Courtesy:NCERT;Ncert Books by Supercop

Please tap on the image once to get a more sharper and legible copy of the book.

Summary:

"Footprints without Feet" by H.G. Wells is a story revolving around a scientist who had become invisible and his life after that.

Griffin was a brilliant scientist.He had carried out an experiment which could make the human body invisible.But,he was a lawless and short-tempered person.When his landlord tried to eject him,he set fire to the house and got away naked.In this process,he had become invisible.Also,a homeless wanderer.But his troubles were yet to be ended.

It was winter season in London and he was trembling every now and then.Finally,he found shelter in a garments shop.He fitted himself out with the warm clothes in the store.He also treated himself with a meal from the restaurant.Finally,he slept on a pile of quilts.However, trouble followed him here too.

Next morning,when he was awaking,the storekeepers and his assistants were already arriving.He panicked and began to run.In order to stay ahead of the assistants,he finally had to part ways with his clothes.Again,he was completely exposed to chill air of January.

He again went to a shop where costumes are made for dramatists and finds a nice set of clothes and a length of dangling bandages which helped him to conceal his invisible body.

He decided to move away from London and travelled to the village of Iping.He resided there in Mrs.Hall's inn after paying her in advance.His arrival during the Winter season was a strange happening.

He,then,resorts to stealing money from the clergyman's house.He,then,paid money to Mrs.Hall which mad everyone suspicious that the scientist has definitely something to do with the theft at the clergyman's house.

A little later that morning,Mr.Hall and Mrs.Hall decided to investigate the scientist room as they found it to be open that day.After going inside,they found that the bedsheet was cold which meant that the scientist was up for some time now.The clothes and the bandages he wore were also lying on the bed.Then,things started to go wrong and chaos ensued.

The hat which was near the bedpost leapt up and dashed itself on to the face of Mrs.Hall.Then,the bedroom chair became alive by throwing itself at Mrs.Hall and charging her straight at the legs.The chair eventually pushed them out of the room and slammed the door behind them.

The village constable was sent for secretely.In the meantime,Mrs.Hall went to the scientist and started questioning her in an angry manner.The eccentric scientist was raged at this and opened all his bandages to astonish everyone near him.

Mr.Jaffers,the village constable,arrived at the scene to find to his astonishment that he had to arrest an invisible man.He was obviously struggling to get hold of the man.People found themselves hit by blows which were coming out of nowhere.Griffin had shaken himself free and nobody knew where to catch him.

Difficult Words:

1)Imprints:A mark or outline made by pressing something on to a softer substance.

2)Footmark:A footprint.

3)Wide-brimmed:Having a wide brim.

4)Quilts:A fabric made up of multiple layers of textile.

5)Side-whiskers:Whiskers and sideburns on a man's face.

6)Wagging:(Here)To signify suspicion.

7)Solitude:The state of being alone.

8)Clergyman:A male priest especially a Christian one.

9)Eccentric:Unconventional and slightly strange.

10)Sniff:The act or sound of sniffing.

11)Chimney:A vertical channel or pipe which helps to release smoke from a house or building.

12)Housekeeping:The money used for sustaining a house.

13)Springing:Move or jump suddenly or rapidly upwards or forwards.

14)Slam:Shut forcefully and loudly.

About Author:

Herbert George Wells(21 September 1866 – 13 August 1946) was an English writer. Prolific in many genres, he wrote dozens of novels, short stories, and works of social commentary, history, satire, biography and autobiography.His work also included two books on recreational war games.Wells is now best remembered for his science fiction novels and is often called the "father of science fiction".

NCERT Questions:

A)Think about It.

1)Yes,it is true that Griffin was a lawless person.When his landlord tried to eject him,he sets fire to his landlord's house.He robbed a theatrical shop in London and even knocked down the shopkeeper at the shop.Later,in the village of Iping,he robbed the clergyman of his housekeeping money.He also hits the villagers in Iping when his identity was revealed including the police constable Mr.Jaffers.These are some of the instances which show how Griffin was a lawless and notorious person.

2)Griffin was a brilliant scientist though.His capabilities can be easily recognised by the fact that he successfully found a method to make the human body invisible.He was quite great in his field where he had done exemplary work.But,his greatness is reduced by the fact that he was a lawless individual.

B)Talk about It.

1)Yes,I would like to be invisible for sometime but never for a prolonged time.There are various advantages and disadvantages of becoming invisible.One can go to various places undetected and roam around freely without any restrictions.Maybe we can also do a little mischief.But,the disadvantages are also at par.

One cannot interact with others in an effective manner.This will basically cut himself out in the long term.

2)There are various things and forces around us which are invisible.Yes,there are many other aspects of nature which exist but are not visible to us.For example,there is attractive force called gravity which keeps us bound with the Earth.

I think that the world will be a more exciting place to live in if we can see those forces.

3)In water,the electrons are arranged in such a way that instead of reflecting or absorbing the light,they let it pass through the fluid.

Hence,water is transparent.With the innovations in science and technology,the day is not far when scientists will find out a way to make objects invisible.

📍📍📍

Disclaimer:

No part of this publication may be reproduced,stored in a retrieval system of transmitted,in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical,photocopying,recording or otherwise without the prior permission of the publisher.

#Hey!This is an in-depth piece of genuine writing by EduRankers' team.There may be some inadvertent typing mistakes.Please report and we will definitely get back to you.Ask your queries in the comments section.Keep hustling!

Links:

🛑NCERT Solutions for The Triumph of a Surgery

🛑NCERT Solutions for The Theif's Story

🛑NCERT Solutions for A Long Walk to Freedom

🛑NCERT Solutions for His First Flight

🛑Follow us on Instagram 📷

🛑Join us on Telegram📨

Lost Spring:Stories of Stolen Childhood;NCERT Solutions and Summary for Class 12

       Lost Spring:Stories of Stolen Childhood

                                                     -Anees Jung

Text:

Image Courtesy:NCERT;Ncert Books by Supercop

Please tap on the image once to get a more sharper and legible copy of the book.

Summary:

The lesson 'Lost Spring' by Anees Jung deals at length with the interactions with childern from the underprivileged backgrounds.She simply describes their aspiring dreams and the poor conditions in which they live in.The accounts of these children are quite touching and provokes your thoughts.The author has described two of her encounters in the lesson and her interaction with them.Through these interactions,she highlights the plight of the street children.

The first encounter is with a boy named Saheb-e-Alam who is a rag picker.He had migrated from Bangladesh in 1971 and lives in Seemapuri in Delhi.These children look for 'valuables' in the garbage-things like coin or torn shoes which are as precious as 'Gold' for them.They could barely manage some food for themselves and other basic things like identity,education,shoes and sports are their unfulfilled dreams.Their parents were also into the same job.

However,one day he noticed Alam holding the steel can and going towards a milk booth.The author found that he had got a job at a tea stall nearby.Alam was happy he would get a eight hundred rupees a month and all his meals.The writer noticed that Saheb had lost his freedom of being his own master which he enjoyed as a rag picker.

The second boy named Mukesh who actually belonged to a family of bangle makers in Firozabad.The boy had a dream of becoming a car mechanic.On the other hand,his family was engaged in bangle-making.However,they were harmed physically during the process and they hardly earned any money from him.Many of them lose their eyesight because of it.

However,none of his family members dared to dreamt of doing something else due to the police and middleman.The elders of the family were content,that they have been able to built a house for themselves.Mukesh,on the other hand,wanted to be a car mechanic.He couldn't dream any further because all he has seen his life are cars.His viewpoint had been restricted to Firozabad only.

Difficult Words:

1)Ragpickers:A person who collects and sells                              rags.

2)Hums:(Here)To tell something in a low voice.

3)Gatekeeper:An attendent employed to control                           who goes through a gate.

4)Canister:A round or cylindrical container used                     to store food items.

5)Mirage:An optical illusion caused by                                  atmospherical conditions.

6)Looms:Appear as a vague form.

7)Furnaces:An enclosed structure in which                               material can be heated to a very                             high temperature.

8)Dingy:Gloomy and drab.

9)Slog:Work hard over a period of time.

10)Hovels:A small squalid or simply                                        constructed dwelling.

11)Primeval:Strongly instictive and unreasoning.

12)Shack:A type of small hand-constructed hat.

13)Scrounging:Seek to obtain at the expense                                  others.

14)Karam:An action or thing that someone does.

15)Lineage:Direct descent from an ancestor.

16)Unkempt:Having an untidy or dishevelled                               appearance.

17)Shanty:A small crudely built shack.

18)Drab:Drearily dull.

19)Sanctity:The state or quality of being holy.

20)Mind-Numbing:So extreme or intense as to                                     prevent normal thought.

21)Soldering:A process by which 2 or more                                 metals are joined.

22)Glibly:In a way that is confident.

23)Squatters:A person who unlawfully occupies                         an unhabitated land.

About Author:

Annes Jung (Born 1944) is an Indian author, journalist and columnist for newspapers in India and abroad.Shewas actually born in Rourkela,Odisha.However,her origin is from an aristocratic family in Hyderabad.She has done her masters from the University of Michigan.

NCERT Questions:

A)Understanding the Text.

1)There are various reasons which force the people living in villages migrate to cities.The primary reason is for the search of better opportunities,a better life and educational prospects.Chlidren in the cities can also be grew in a better manner.

2)Yes,I completely agree that the promises made to poor children are rarely fulfilled.In the story,the narrator asked a ragpicker boy named Saheb if he would attend a school which she would open.She had no serious intention to open a school but the boy thought it to be true.Later,he even asked the narrator if she would be soon ready with her school which signifies that he was hopeful of getting into a school.This just illustrates the bigger picture of how nobody listens to the poor people and only make hollow promises are made to them.

3)The writer,according to her,the bangle makers of Firozabad are poverty-stricken.They are burdened by the fact that the caste in which they are born demands them to continue with the profession of bangle-making.Further on,the society has formed a harsh circle around them.The moneylenders,middleman,policemen,

lawkeepers,officers and politician altogether form a barrier around them and tie them in the grip of poverty which they are unable to escape.

B)Talking about the Text.

1)Mukesh belonged to a family of bangle-makers but has dared to dream and wanted to become a motor mechanic.He wanted to drive cars too.He took the initial step by aspiring to do something different.In my opinion,Mukesh can certainly realise his dream with determination,hardwork and confidence in himself.

2)There are numerous health-hazards of working in the glass bangles industry.The poor bangle makers in Firozabad work in unhealthy conditions.The furnaces have very high temperatures and no ventilation.Hence,they are prone to ailments like lung cancer.While polishing the bangles,the dust from the bangles harms their vision and they are always at the risk of losing their eyesight.They remain in dark for long period of times and are unable to see during the daytime.

3)To force a child to work is a crime.This is down in order to prevent exploitation of children.Children lose their childhood in the process.They are also excluded from getting educated.And because of the hazardous environment at those workplaces,these children start suffering from various ailments at an young age.Their parents also overlook these setbacks as they need money for their survival.

•The government needs to be proactive and take all the necessary measures to check child labour.Unless the law is enforced strictly,these children will have their life at stake.

📍📍📍

Disclaimer:

No part of this publication may be reproduced,stored in a retrieval system of transmitted,in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical,photocopying,recording or otherwise without the prior permission of the publisher.

#Hey!This is an in-depth piece of genuine writing by EduRankers' team.There may be some inadvertent typing mistakes.Please report and we will definitely get back to you.Ask your queries in the comments section.Keep hustling!

Links:

🛑NCERT Solutions for The Last Lesson

🛑NCERT Solutions for My Mother at Sixty-Six

🛑NCERT Solutions for The Third Level

🛑Books for Class 12

🛑Follow us on Instagram 📷

🛑Join us on Telegram📨

The Third Level;NCERT Solutions and Summary for Class 12

                             The Third Level

                                               -Jack Finney

Text:

Image Courtesy:NCERT;Ncert Books by Supercop

Please tap on the image once to get a more sharper and legible copy of the book.

Summary:

"The Third Level" by Jack Finney is about the harsh realities of war.War has irreversible consequences which often renders people in an insecure situation not only socio-economically but also mentally.It also briefly revolves around the modern-day problems and how common man tends to escape reality by various means and starts hallucinating.

The story is primarily about a strange thing experienced by a young man named Charley.In New York,there was a subway famously called as "Grand Central Station". Actually,there were two levels in the station whereas the narrator claimed recurringly that once he had stepped on to the third level.

When he talked to one of his psychiatrist friends,he told him that he was unhappy.He explained to the narrator that he was unhappy.He explained the narrator that the contemporary world is full of insecurities,worry and fear of the unknown which makes hand hallucinate.

But the author was not at all agreed.For instance,he gave a counter-argument that his hobby of collecting stamps was also a kind of refuge from the reality.His grandmother also used to collect stamps but during his time everything was fine.

Then,he narrates his experience briefly.Charley was pretty certain that he had  experienced time-travel and reached a point of time somewhere between the 1890s.As soon as he realised where he was,he immediately decided to buy two tickets to Galesburg,Illionis.However,he failed in doing so as the currency used at that point of time was different.

He was so influenced by the idea of the third level.He withdrew all his savings and got them converted even if it meant bearing losses.But,when he went  looking for the third level again,he could not find it.

All this worried his wife Louisa,the narrator's wife,took him to a psychiatrist and told him about her husband's outlandish behaviour.He advised her that in modern times due to difficulties,sometimes we tend to take refuge from reality.After this whole episoode,the narrator went to his stamp collection.

After some days,Sam Weiner,the narrator's friend,disappeared,mysteriously.At the same time,one day while going through his stamp collection,he found a first-day cover,he had never seen earlier.When a new stamp is issued,stamp collectors buy some and use them to mail envelopes to themselves on the very first D-Day of sale.The postmark proves the date and the envelope is called a first-day cover.Those envelopes are never opened as only a blank paper is put inside those envelopes.

His curiousity aroused as he had never seen this first-cover before in his collection.He opened it and was shocked to find a note inside the envelope.After going through the contents of the note,he found that it was actually a letter from Sam.It was that friend who had gone missing.

In the note,he told the narrator that he had successfully reached the third level in the Grand Central Station.He also advised that the narrator that he and his wife must keep looking for it.The letter was signed Sam.After some checkings,he figured out that Sam had got his money exchanged for eight-hundred dollars worth of old-style currency.The narrator assumed that Sam must have setup his business related to fodder and grains he always wanted.The narrator also shocks us all of us by the fact that actually Sam was his psychiatrist.

Difficult Words:

1)Stack:An arranged pile of objects.

2)Walking down:An involuntarily occuring dream                              while a person is awake.

3)Wander:Walk aimlessly.

4)Refuge:The state of being safe or sheltered                       from.

5)Blocks:A large number of something.

6)Garbardine:A smooth,durable,twill-toven                                    worsted or cotton-cloth.

7)Suburban:Residential.

8)Arched:Curved.

9)Bumping:Knock or run into someone.

10)Vest:A garment worn on the upper part of                      the body.

11)Snapped:Break suddenly and completely.

12)Locomotive:A powered railway vehicle used                               for pulling trains.

13)Clerk:Administrator.

14)Psychiatrist:A medical practitioner                                               specialising in curing mental                                   illness.

15)Straw Hat:A wide-brimmed hat woven out of                         straw.

16)Open-Flame Gaslights:Lights emitting light                                                    by burning fuels.

17)Spittoons:A metal or earthernware pot used                           for spitting into.

18)Derby Hat:A hard-felt hat with a rounded                                  crown.

19)Sideburns:Facial hair grown on the sides of                            the face.

20)Handlebar Moustaches:A moustache with                                                      particularly lengthy                                                    and upwardly curved                                                  extremities.

21)Lapels:The part on each side of a coat which                     is folded back.

22)Skin:(Here)Defraud somebody.

23)Feed and grain:Fodder and grains.

24)Locomotive:An engine used to pull a big                                     vehicle.

About Author:

Walter Braden 'Jack' Finney(1911-1995) was an American author.His best-known works are science fiction and thrillers.He is known for his non-conformist views and his experimentation with different genres.

NCERT Questions:

A)Reading with Insight.

1)Yes,I think that the third level was a medium of escape for Charley.Life of humans in the modern era has become hectic and is fraught with fears,worries,insecurities et cetera.Man has no other way but to confront them.These harsh realities has often compelled people to hallucinate and hover in a separate world of their own.From the story,we can understand that Charley's economic condition  was also not great.He wanted to escape into a world of virtual reality which provided him a 'temporary refuge from reality'.

2)The way Charley came across Sam's letter is mysterious.Among his oldest first-day covers,he found an envelope.The envelope containing the letter bore the address of his grandfather.The letter bore the date July 18,1894.The postmark showed the picture of American President Garfield.Generally,first day covers have blank paper in them.But,this one contained a letter.Tbe letter was addressed to his wife and the narrator.It was written by Sam who had informed him that he has already been in the third level for a good while now.Sam also encouraged the couple to keep looking for the 3rd level.However,in reality the letter never existed and was a product of Charley's imagination.

3)It is quite accurate that in this era of 

hyper-competition,our life is full of worry,fear and depressing as well as negative thoughts.However,we can overcome these anxieties and mental hurdles by getting oursleves involved in some productive or useful work.We can also enjoy ourselves by going out with friends and family.This helps us to maintain a work-life balance as well as ensuring that we are rejuvenated.We can also do simple things like listening to music and binge on our favourite shows or web-series.Spending some time alone can also dramatically uplift our moods and help us to get rid of stress and boredom.

4)Yes,we can certainly spot various instances in the story where their is an intersection of time and space.Firstly,the first two levels of Grand Central Station were located in the present time while the third level existed in the 1890s.Secondly,Charley and his wife Louisa live in the present time yet he rushes to get old currency to buy 2 tickets to go to Galesburg in the year 1894.The newspaper named 'The World' dated June 11,1894 also overlaps with Charley's real time world and existence.Lastly,the letter that was mailed to Charley's grandfather on 18th July,1894 highlights the intersection of space and time.This was an intersection of space and time.This was an intersection as the sender and the receiver belong to the present times.

5)The fact "Fact is stranger than Fiction" is quite accurate in the context.Sometimes,a thing which people would already have deemed as useless and illogical becomes a huge success.Before Wright Brothers invented the aeroplane,nobody in the entire mankind had ever imagined that even a human could fly.Nobody ever thought that they could communicate between long distances before the invention of telephone.All this rightly points out that fantasies of one point of time which seem illogical may turn out to be revolutionary breakthroughs th next moment.

6)There are various ways to keep the past alive.Philately obviously is a way to keep our past alive besides collecting old coins, historical artefacts,books and manuscripts.These things helps us to delve and visit the past when we wnat to.Besides these,we can also keep our past alive by keeping our good culture and traditions alive.Humans are gifted with the power to switch and move between different points of time at the same instant.This human tendency enables one to plan for the future in the present while reaping the benefits of the past.

7)In 'Adventure' by Jayant Narlikar,the narrator explained that many worlds exist simultaneously though they appear to be separated by time.He explained that the other world functioned and prospered with the world we are aware of.In the 3rd Level by Jack Finney,the author wanders into a level in the railway station back in 1894 in the present age.It is either true or just a hallucination of his thoughts.

📍📍📍

Disclaimer:

No part of this publication may be reproduced,stored in a retrieval system of transmitted,in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical,photocopying,recording or otherwise without the prior permission of the publisher.

#Hey!This is an in-depth piece of genuine writing by EduRankers' team.There may be some inadvertent typing mistakes.Please report and we will definitely get back to you.Ask your queries in the comments section.Keep hustling!

Links:

🛑NCERT Solutions for The Last Lesson

🛑NCERT Solutions for My Mother at Sixty-Six

🛑Books for Class 12

🛑Literary Devices used in English

🛑Follow us on Instagram 📷

🛑Join us on Telegram📨

 

From the Diary of Anne Frank;NCERT Solutions and Summary for Class 10

                From the Diary of Anne Frank

                                                     -Anne Frank

Text:

Image Courtesy:NCERT;Ncert Books by Supercop

Please tap on the image once to get a more sharper and legible copy of the book.

Summary:

"From the Diary of Anne Frank" authored by Anne Frank herself is actually some chronicles in her diary.She was from a Jewish family and had to hide in Amsterdam during the 

World War-II.She was given this diary on her 13th birthday.The diary provided people with a naive description of a Jew's life during Hitler's rule in Germany which also made one of the most famous Holocaust victims ever.

The story starts with Anne telling her diary that writing in a diary is very strange experience for her.She thinks that nobody would be interested in the musings of a small girl.She also feels that by writing by a diary,she would be able to get all kinds of things off my chest.

She thinks that "Paper has more patience than people."She could easily vent out all her feelings and she won't be judged by anybody.She then jots down that actually she has not got a real friend.She admits that perhaps it is her problem that she doesn't confide in each other.She wants her diary to be her friend and she would call this friend "Kitty".

She tells that nobody would understand her entries in the diary unless if she doesn't give a brief sketch of her life.She tells how she has got the most adorable father who didn't marry her mother until she was twenty-five.Her sister Margot was born in Frankfurt in 1926 and she was born on 12th June,1929.They lived in Frankfurt until she was 4.

She also describes some important moments from her life until now.In the sixth form,at the end of the year,Mrs.Kuperus, and she herself were both in tears as they were separated.In the summer of 1941,her grandma fell ill and had to be operated.She passed away in January,1942 and she still loves her a lot.

Then,she came to the present date i.e. 20th June,1942.Here comes her first diary entry.

She tells how her entire class is nervous about who are the one who would be promoted to the next form.Half of their class are betting that who would be promoted to tbe next grade and who would be not promoted.She and her benchmate G.N. cannot stop laughing at these.Her only fear is "Maths".

She then also describes one of her teachers named Mr.Keesing who teaches maths and is annoyed with her.He had warned her many times not to talk in his class.After this,he even assigned her an extra homework to write an essay on "A Chatterbox".That evening after completing her other task,she wrote 3 pages for this.She argued that talking is a student's trait.She also wrote that she could reduce it but cannot eliminate it altogether.She also argued via her essay that she cannot do much about it as it was an inherited trait of her mother.

Eventually,after assigning some more essays,finally Mr.Keesing allowed her to talk.Moreover,he has started to make jokes now.

Difficult Words:

1)Musings:A period of reflection or thought.

2)Stiff-backed:(Here)Hard Cover.

3)Emigrated:To leave one's own country in order                        to settle permanently in another.

4)Staked:To bet.

5)Outbursts:A sudden release of strong                                      emotion.

6)Ramble:To talk or write at length in a                                    confused or inconsequential way

7)Incorrigible:Not able to be changed or                                        reformed.

8)Holocaust:The mass murder of Jewish people                        under the German Nazi regime                                during the period 1941–45.

9)Typhus:Typhus is a disease caused by                                 rickettsia or orientia bacteria.

About Author:

Annelies Marie Frank (12 June 1929-February 1945) was a German-Dutch diarist of Jewish heritage. One of the most discussed Jewish victims of the Holocaust, she gained fame posthumously with the 1947 publication of The Diary of a Young Girl.

NCERT Questions:

A)Thinking about the Text.

1)Yes,Anne was right when she said that the world would not be interested in the musings of a thirteen-year old girl because nobody knew her.She was yet to become popular.

2)Anne's diary was not very specifically aimed to write it in a specific manner.It didn't follow any specific format.It was a just some diary entries from a young girl and her life.Today,her diary has transformed into an important form of historical literature in where it has shown the pitiful way Jews lived in the reign of the Nazis.

•Anne's diary was initially written in Dutch which was later translated into many languages.

3)Anne felt the need to give a brief sketch of her life to the diary to make it understandable for anyone who reads it.She wanted the reader to feel at ease while going through the diary.

•Anne had named her diary as Kitty.For her,her diary,'Kitty' is her friend with whom she could share all her secrets.She indeed treated 'Kitty' as an insider.Her diary was her friend with whom it was lot more personal.

4)Anne has tried to explain the feelings for some people in her diary before writing any entry.Anne felt that her father,Otto Frank, was the most adorable father she had ever seen.She loved her grandmother very much and after her death,thought a lot about her.Anne was also very attached in the sixth form ,Mrs.Kuperus,and cried on separation from her.She felt that,Mr.Keesing was very strict and an 

old-fashioned person.

•Anne's attachment towards the people around her shows that she was very lovable.She tried to find the best in a person.

5)In the first essay,assigned by Mr.Keesing,she tells and discusses about talking and the reasons behind her talkative nature.She justified her talkative nature by putting forward some points such as how talking is any student's trait.She could at best reduce it but cannot eliminate it.She also wrote that as this trait of talking is inherited from her mother and she cannot help this.

6)Mr.Keesing is unpredictable certainly.Initially,he gave Anne unusual punishments such as writing an essay on her talkative nature but finally pardons her altogether.He accepts her talkative nature and allowed her to talk.And surprisingly,he didn't assign her any more task.

7)i)Anne was reserved and was not able to make friends.She doesn't confide easily in anyone.

ii)Anne wanted to be different and be original She wanted to vent out her feelings in her diary rather than jotting them down facts.

iii)Anne has a good sense of humour in her narrative.

iv)Anne is a bit sort of judgemental about others.

v)Anne knew how to put forward arguments convincingly and in a better way.

📍📍📍

Disclaimer:

No part of this publication may be reproduced,stored in a retrieval system of transmitted,in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical,photocopying,recording or otherwise without the prior permission of the publisher.

#Hey!This is an in-depth piece of genuine writing by EduRankers' team.There may be some inadvertent typing mistakes.Please report and we will definitely get back to you.Ask your queries in the comments section.Keep hustling!

Links:

🛑NCERT Solutions for Long Walk to Freedom

🛑NCERT Solutions for A Tiger in the Zoo

🛑NCERT Solutions for A Thief's Story

🛑NCERT Solutions for Black Aeroplane

🛑Follow us on Instagram📷

🛑Join us on Telegram📨