Class-8 English Reader (Special), Lesson-7 Nothing You Can’t Do / M.P. Board

Lesson-7

Nothing You Can’t Do

Glossary

Shiver -  to shake slightly from fear, cold or excitement 

Unnoticed -  not seen or noticed

Stump -  the part that is left after the main part has been cut

Sever -  cut something off something

Extreme -  very great in degree

Critical -  serious, dangerous

Disability -  a physical or mental condition that means you cannot use a part of your body

Gripping -  exciting or interesting

Realize -  become aware

Revealing -  giving you interesting information that you didn't know before

Choking -  to be unable to breathe

Meekly -  quietly, gently

Contrary -  opposite in nature

Obvious -  easy to see or understand

Fascination -  strong feeling of interest

Aisle -  a passage between two rows of seats

Conquer -  to overcome, to defeat

Compensate -  to make up for

Confidence -  belief in others or in oneself

Spectator -  a person who is watching an event

Attempt -  to make an effort, try to do something

Word Power

(A) Write the words given below against their correct meanings. Find out the correct meaning with the help of a dictionary:

Shiver,  unnoticed,  extreme,  critical,  realize,  meekly,  contrary,  obvious,  conquer,  compensate,  confidence,  spectator

1.    Quietly, gently (Meekly)

2.     makeup for (Compensate)

3.     become aware (Realize)      

4.     not seen or noticed (Unnoticed)

5.     easy to see or understand, clear (Obvious) 

6.     to shake slightly (Shiver)

7.     believe in others or in oneself (confidence)

8.     a person who is watching an event (spectator)

9.     Serious, dangerous (critical)

10.   to defeat  (conquer)

11.   very great in degree (Extreme)

12.   opposite in nature (contrary)

(B) You already know that there are five senses.  certain words are related with the sense of sight.  Example: stare, look

 Similarly, there are words related to sense of hearing.

 Example: loud, booming

 Some words describe different ways of touching.

 Example:  grab, press

 Moreover, there are words that describe how things smell.

 Example:  stinking, aromatic

 Finally, there are words that describe the four common tastes.

 Some such words are given in the block below:

Quiet,  salty,  scented,  noisy,  sweet,  observe,  pat,  glare,  tender,  perfumed,  fragrant,  caress, bitter,  gaze,  silent,  sour,  smelly, grasp, glance, noiseless

sight	hearing	touch	smell	taste
observe	Quiet	pat	scented	salty
glare	noisy	tender	perfumed	sweet
gaze	silent	caress	fragrant	bitter
glance	noiseless	grasp	smelly	sour

Comprehension

  (A) Rearrange the following sentences in the correct order of the story:

1.    Shared boarded the train to Delhi one November evening.

2.    Sharad’s seat was in a compartment occupied by young disabled athletes.

3.    Sharad was thrown out of a moving train and his right arm was cut off.

4.    Sharad hid his severed arm with a shawl after the accident.

5.    Manjeet introduced him to his friends.

6.    They did not sleep that night.

7.    The train ride gave confidence to Sharad.

(B)  Answer the following questions:

Q1.     How did Sharad become disabled?

Ans- Sharad became disabled when a train flung him out after a jerk and the carriage wheel severed his right arm above the elbow.

Q2.     Why did he constantly hide his disability?

Ans- He constantly hid his disability because he did not want people to notice his disability.

Q3.     Why did Sharad not meet the eyes of his travel-mates when he settled down in his seat?

Ans- Sharad was too shy to meet the eyes of his travel-mates fearful lest someone noticed his disability.

Q4.     Who introduced Sharad to the other students?

Ans- Manjeet introduced Sharad to other students.

Q5.     What was the name of the girl who had the ‘face of an angel’?

Ans-  The name of the girl who had the ‘face of an angel’ as Angel.

Q6.     What disability did Kumar have?

Ans- Kumar had sightless eyes.

Q7.     What is Abilympics?

Ans- Abilympics is the Olympics for disabled persons.

Q8.     When and where were the first International Abilympics held?

Ans- The First International Abilympics was held in Tokyo in 1981.

Q9.     What brought a change in Sharad’s view of his disability?

Ans- The journey in train with children who were going to participate in Abilympics changes Sharad’s view of disability.

Q10.  Sharad’s travel-mates were going to Delhi to participate in the Abilympics. From the clues given in the text, can you guess what year was it?

Ans- Sharad’s travel-mates were going to Delhi to participate in the Abilympics. Abilympics took place in New Delhi in 2003.

Q11.  Which of the following words does not relate to the character of Sharad? Nervous, timid, shy, fearful, cheerful, meek

Ans- The word ‘Cheerful’ does not relate to the character of Sharad.

Q12.  Which one of the following words does not relate to the character of Sharad’s travel-mates: confident, cheerful, pleasant, selfish, lively, encouraging?

Ans- The word ‘Selfish’ does not relate to the character of Sharad’s travel-mates.

Q13.  Given below is a layout of the compartment where Sharad sat along with Angel, Manjeet, Shahida, Kumar and Vikas. From the clues given in the text, assign each child the correct seat. Sharad’s seat is done for you.

X					Window
X			Sharad		Window

    Ans-

X		Vikas	Angel	Kumarswany	Window
X		Shahida	Sharad	Manjeet	Window

Q14.  Which sentence in the lesson tells us that the season was winter when Sharad travelled to Delhi.

Ans- ‘It was a cool November evening and I was thankful that the shawl on my shoulder would go unnoticed’. This sentence in the lesson tells us that the season was winter when Sharad travelled to Delhi.

Let’s Learn

     ‘Will’ as Modal Auxiliary is used for different purposes-

1.    We use I’ll or I will when we decide to do something at the time of speaking;

Oh; I haven’t shut the window. I’ll go and shut it.

Did you talk to Mona? Sorry, I forgot, I’ll talk to her on phone now.

2.    We often use will in these situations also:

·        Offering to do something; e.g. I’ll help you carry those books.

·        Asking somebody to do something (Will you?); e.g. Will you lock the cupboard please?

3.    We also use ‘will’ for-

·        Promising to do something; e.g. I’ll return the book on Friday.

     Given below are the exercises based on the use of ‘Will’ for Promising something’

New year Resolution

The New Year has much more to offer than mere celebration. Some people make resolutions on the New Year eve. Usually these resolutions are of two types:

      (a) Wishes, that people make to be fulfilled in the New Year.

      (b) Quitting some bad habits in the New Year.

1. Given below are some bands on which New Year Resolutions are written. Read each one of them carefully. If you think it is about a wish, then write ‘a’ in the bracket. If the resolution is about quitting undesirable habit, then write ‘b’ in the bracket.

I will stop eating chocolates. (b)

I will stand first in class. (a)

I will become the highest goal scorer of the football club. (a)

I will never tell a lie again. (b)

I will win the school dance competition. (a)

I will never fall asleep in class. (b)

2. The bands give above belong to the following people. From the clues given below, write the names of the person in the band.

1. Priyank plays football.

2. Asif is very fond of chocolates.

3. Mohini dances well.

4. Jayant has failed in the quarterly examination.

5. Mandeep watches late night shows on TV.

6. Salma is in the habit of telling lies.

I will stop eating chocolates. (Asif)

I will stand first in class. (Jayant)

I will become the highest goal scorer of the football club. (Priyank)

I will never tell a lie again. (Salma)

I will win the school dance competition. (Mohini)

I will never fall asleep in class. (Salma)

3. Some similar sentences are given below. Frame resolutions related to each sentence as given in the previous exercise.

(i)           Abhishek does not do his homework in time.

I will do my homework daily.

(ii)          Javed has lost the Chess Championship.

I will win the Chess Championship.

(iii)        Suman sings sweetly.

Suman will practice singling daily for two hours.

(iv)        I drink tea a lot.

I will stop drinking tea.

(v)          Ruchi is very fond of ice-cream.

I will not eat ice-cream.

(vi)        Neha wastes her time in gossip.

Neha will stop participating in gossip.

(vii)       Manoj quarrels with his sister.

Manoj will not quarrel with his sister.

(viii)     Tina has broken her leg.

Tina will learn to cope with her prosthetic leg.

Let’s Talk

Read this article from a newspaper:

THE LITTLE WONDER NEW DELHI, 4, 2003: The new rising star of Indian chess Amar Jyoti participated in the 6th International Abilympics. She brought with her bag loads of trophies and certificates which she had won at chess championship. Jyoti won five titles for children below ten years. Now people are saying that in a few years she may become the youngest world chess champion. “I played well”, said Jyoti when asked about her success. She said her coach Mr. Sharma had coached her well. She was also happy that that Didi, her elder sister, was there to give her support. She said she played 15 games in seven days, won eight, drew three and lost four. Perhaps she could have done even better with more practice. When asked what she wanted to be when she grew up, Jyoti said, without thinking for a moment. “A Chess Grandmaster”.

Role-play: Work in pairs. One pupil will be the newspaper reporter and then other will be Amar Jyoti. Complete the question and answer in the interview.

Reporter: Where was the Chess Championship held?  

Jyoti: It was held in New Delhi.

Reporter: How many titles did she win?

Jyoti: I won five titles for children below 10 years.

Reporter: Is there anybody who has helped?

Jyoti: Yes, my coach Mr. Sharma and my Didi helped me.

Reporter: Did you draw or lose any game?

Jyoti: I drew three and lost four games.

Reporter: What do you want to be when you grow up?

Jyoti: A Chess Grandmaster.

Let's Read

Read these announcements from a school notice-board:

  

NOTICE BOARD
	Inter-School Hockey Match The following students have been selected for the school hockey team. 1. Lalit Sen 2. Aslam Khan 3. Jaydeep 4. Surinder Singh 5. Pawan Sharma 6. Vinod Pandey 7. Mohd Sameer 8. Radha Raman 9. George Jacob 10. Parvinder Singh 11. Santosh Kumar				This Weeks’ Notice 1. The drinking water taps are being repaired. Hence, water will not be available until the end of the week. So, students should bring their own water bottles. 2. All those participating in the annual day celebrations please be prepared for a late rehearsal on Friday. Do make sure your parents know about it.
					Lost! Has anyone found my General Science book? Please return it to me. Tara Chand Class VIII A
	Mrs. Sarita Joshi will be retiring in December this year. A farewell party will be held in her honour in the main auditorium on 15th Dec. at 3.00 p.m.
	Could anyone who finds my bag, please return it to me? It is black and dark red with initials ‘AK’ on it.              Amit Khanna VIII B		Lecture on Abilympics Mrs. Mohini Giri, chairperson, Guide of service, New Delhi will speak on 18th Dec. at 4.00 pm on Abilympics.

  Now answer these questions:

Q1.   How many students are selected in the school Hockey team?

Ans- Eleven students are selected in the school Hockey team.

Q2.   Who is Mrs. Mohini Giri?

Ans- Mrs. Mohini Giri is the Chairperson, Guide of Service, New Delhi.

Q3.   Which teacher is going to retire?

Ans- Mrs. Sarita Joshi is going to retire.

Q4.   What is the problem which the school is facing this week?

Ans- The school is facing the problem of lack of water due to repair of water taps.

Q5.   Look at ‘This weeks’ notice’. What trouble might have taken place on an earlier occasion?

Ans- Looking at the notice we can say that school had faced the trouble of leaking or malfunctioning water taps on an earlier occasion.

 Let’s Write

Given below is the personal information about one of your friend.

      1.    Name – Mohit Sharma

      2.    Date of birth – July 6, 2002

      3.    Place of birth – Bhopal

      4.    Address – HIG-63, North TT Nagar, Bhopal

      5.    Father’s Name – Mr. Asit Sinha

      6.    Mother’s Name- Mrs. Anjali Sinha

      7.    Height – 149 cm.

      8.    Weight- 40 kg

      9.    General appearance- Fair, slim, active, cheerful, friendly

      10.  Likes- Company of friends, Judo

      11.  Dislikes – People who cheat others

      12.  Ambition- Wants to become a chartered accountant

Keeping in mind the above information, write a paragraph:
My friend Mohit Sinha was born on July 6, 2002 at Bhopal. He lives with his parents. Mr. Amit Sinha and Mrs. Anjali Sinha at HIG-63, North TT Nagar, Bhopal. He is a fair, slim, active, cheerful and friendly boy with height 149 cm and weight 40 kg. He likes the company of friends and Judo and he dislikes the people who cheat. His ambition is to become a chartered accountant.

  

Let’s do it

Pictures of some famous personalities with certain disabilities are given below.

Collect more information about them and share it with your friends.

Sudha Chandran

Sudha Chandran. Sudha Chandran is an Indian film and television actress and an accomplished Bharatanatyam dancer. In 1981, she hurt her leg in a road accident near Tiruchirapalli, Tamil Nadu while coming back from Madras with her parents. However, she subsequently became an established Bharatnatyam dancer.

Helen Keller

Helen Adams Keller (June 27, 1880 – June 1, 1968) was an American author, political activist, and lecturer. She was the first deaf-blind person to earn a Bachelor of Arts degree. she campaigned for women's suffrage, labor rights, socialism, antimilitarism, and other similar causes.

Stephen Hawking

Stephen William Hawking (8 January 1942 – 14 March 2018) was an English theoretical physicist, cosmologist, and author. Hawking had a rare early-onset slow-progressing form of motor neuron disease, a fatal neurodegenerative disease that results in the death of motor neurons in the brain and spinal cord, which gradually paralysed him over decades.

He was director of research at the Centre for Theoretical Cosmology at the University of Cambridge at the time of his death.

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