CBSE Class 10 English Reading, Writing, Grammar and Literature Assignment Set 16

Answer: He slammed on his brakes, and the taxi skidded and stopped just inches away from the other car.

Teacher's Note:
1. Reading questions should be answered from the passage in a complete sentence.
2. Use the key details: brakes, skid and the narrow miss.

Answer: He compared them to garbage trucks, which run around full of garbage and dump it on others.

Teacher's Note:
1. The driver used a metaphor to explain why some people behave badly.
2. In the passage, the 'garbage' stands for negative feelings.

Answer: negative feelings such as anger and disappointment that some people carry and pass on to others.

Teacher's Note:
1. The word is used figuratively and not in its literal sense.
2. The context in the third paragraph makes the meaning clear.

Answer: (a) jumped. 'Hopped in' means got in quickly.

Teacher's Note:
1. 'Hopped in' here means got in quickly.
2. Choose the option closest to the sense used in the passage.

Answer: (b) shouting. Yelling means shouting loudly.

Teacher's Note:
1. Yelling means shouting loudly in anger.
2. The other options do not suggest a loud voice.

Answer: (c) destroyed. To ruin something is to spoil or destroy it.

Teacher's Note:
1. Ruined means spoiled or damaged badly.
2. Constructed, made and built are all its opposites in meaning.

Answer: skidded

Teacher's Note:
1. The word is used for the movement of the taxi after the brakes were applied.
2. Check the first paragraph carefully for the word.

Answer: disappointment

Teacher's Note:
1. The word appears in the sentence describing people who are like garbage trucks.
2. Notice the three feelings listed: garbage, anger and disappointment.

Answer:

B-34, Kirti Apartments
Dwarka, New Delhi
12 July 20XX

The Editor
The Daily Chronicle
New Delhi

Subject: Stench from uncleared garbage near Kirti Apartments, Dwarka

Sir/Madam

Through the columns of your newspaper, I wish to draw the attention of the municipal authorities to the unbearable stench coming from the heaps of garbage lying near our residential colony.

The garbage has not been removed for over ten days. It is rotting in the open, attracting stray animals, flies and mosquitoes, and the foul smell makes it difficult for residents to keep their windows open. The risk of diseases such as dengue and cholera is rising, and children and senior citizens are the worst affected.

I request the authorities to clear the garbage immediately, place covered bins nearby and ensure regular collection. I also appeal to residents to dispose of waste properly.

Thanking you
Yours faithfully
Uma Sharma

Teacher's Note:
1. A formal letter needs the sender's address, date, the editor's address, subject line, salutation, body and subscription in the correct order.
2. Keep the body to three short paragraphs: the problem, its effects and the request for action.

Answer: (a) are : is
(b) form : forms
(c) an : a
(d) at : in
(e) make : made
(f) but : and
(g) attract : attracts
(h) tourist : tourists

Teacher's Note:
1. Check subject-verb agreement, articles, prepositions, conjunctions and plurals line by line.
2. A correct answer gives both the incorrect word and the corrected word.

Answer: (a) so
(b) none
(c) with
(d) at

Teacher's Note:
1. The 'so ... that' pattern shows result, and 'none' fits the negative result.
2. The verb 'look at' and the phrase 'play with' take these prepositions.

Answer: (a) The poet's mood changed because a crow shook down some dust of snow from a hemlock tree on to him.
(b) In the end the poet felt cheerful and relieved.
(c) The poet was regretting the day because he was sad and the day seemed to be wasted.
(d) He means that the happy moment turned a bad day into a part of the day that was worth keeping.

Teacher's Note:
1. The poem 'Dust of Snow' shows how a small natural event can change a person's mood.
2. Answer each part in a complete sentence.

Answer: (a) Some people say that the world will end in fire.
(b) Others say that it will end in ice.
(c) The poet has tasted desire (and hatred).
(d) The poet supports those who say that the world will end in fire.

Teacher's Note:
1. Fire stands for desire and ice for hatred.
2. Both can destroy the world, which is the central idea of the poem 'Fire and Ice'.

Answer: The playing of the two anthems at Mandela's inauguration symbolised the end of apartheid and the coming together of the black and white communities of South Africa as one nation.

Teacher's Note:
1. The ceremony marked the triumph of a new democratic South Africa.
2. The two anthems showed that the country would no longer be divided by race.

Answer: Lencho was a hard-working farmer who lived in a small house in a valley, with a deep faith in God. He was simple and innocent, and he wrote to God for help when his crop was destroyed by hail.

Teacher's Note:
1. Lencho's hard work and faith are the main points of his character.
2. His innocence and his trust in God are highlighted throughout the story.

Answer: Anne writes about being a chatterbox. She argues that talking is a woman's trait and that she cannot cure her habit, since she has inherited it from her mother, who talks just as much.

Teacher's Note:
1. The essay was written as a punishment given by the maths teacher Mr Keesing.
2. Anne's humorous reasoning won over the teacher in the end.

Answer: The dust of snow is the small shower of snow that a crow shakes down from a hemlock tree on to the poet. It falls on him and changes his mood from sad to cheerful.

Teacher's Note:
1. The crow and the hemlock tree are traditional symbols of sorrow and gloom.
2. The small incident, however, brings joy to the poet.

Answer: The poem tells us that both desire (fire) and hatred (ice) can destroy the world. We should keep our passions and hatred under control to avoid destruction.

Teacher's Note:
1. The poet uses fire and ice as symbols of human emotions.
2. Hatred is described as equally destructive as desire.

Answer: At the surgery, Tricki was kept on a plain, simple diet, was not overfed, and was allowed to mix and play with other dogs. He soon recovered his health and spirit.

Teacher's Note:
1. Tricki had been made ill by his owner's over-indulgence.
2. He recovered because of the doctor's sensible treatment.

Answer: Mandela says that the oppressor and the oppressed are both robbed of their humanity. Mandela felt that his own freedom was meaningless as long as others were not free. The oppressor too is a prisoner of hatred, prejudice and narrow-mindedness. Hence freedom for everyone must include both: the black and the white. True freedom is the freedom to live with respect for the freedom of others. Therefore, he fought for the freedom of all South Africans.

Teacher's Note:
1. Mandela's idea of freedom included the liberation of the oppressor as well.
2. A reasoned answer should include the point that both groups are affected.

Answer: Lencho, a farmer, wrote a letter to God asking for a hundred pesos to sow his fields again after hail destroyed his crop. The postmaster and the employees were moved and collected money for him. They could collect only seventy pesos. Lencho was angry when he found only seventy pesos in the envelope, and he asked God to send the rest of the money directly because he suspected the post office employees of stealing it. The irony is that the people who helped him were called thieves.

Teacher's Note:
1. The irony lies in the gap between what Lencho believes and what really happened.
2. His faith in God was so strong that he distrusted human beings.

Answer: Mrs Pumphrey was an affectionate but foolish woman who overfed her Pekingese, Tricki Woo, until he became very ill. Dr Herriot put him on a strict diet at the surgery and allowed him to play with other dogs. Tricki recovered and became healthy and lively. Mrs Pumphrey was very happy to see him well again and thought that the doctor had performed a great surgery. She called it a triumph of surgery, although Herriot had only changed his diet.

Teacher's Note:
1. The phrase is humorous because no operation was actually performed.
2. It also shows how overfeeding was the real cause of the illness.

Answer: Dr Herriot suggested that Tricki should be kept at the surgery for a few days. He said that the dog was suffering from overfeeding and a lack of exercise. At the surgery, he would be put on a strict diet, would have exercise and company of other dogs, and would recover his health. The doctor made this suggestion because he realised that Mrs Pumphrey's pampering was making the dog ill.

Teacher's Note:
1. The doctor's remedy was simple diet and exercise.
2. He could not tell Mrs Pumphrey directly that she was at fault.