Maharashtra Board Class 10 English Kumarbharti Unit Two Chapter 2.3 Connecting the Dots PDF Download

2.3 Connecting The Dots

Warming Up!

1. (A) Connect the dots to get what means a lot to you.

The word is _______________.

(B) With your benchmate, use the letters given above to make a word register of 'computers'. Set a time-limit of 5 minutes and compare your list with that of other classmates.

2. You are quite familiar with computer, especially the personal computer. Form pairs and make a list of famous computer manufacturing companies. One is given to you.

(a) Apple

(b) _______________

(c) _______________

(d) _______________

3. Complete the web by filling the various benefits of computers.

Benefits of Computers - (web diagram with four empty boxes connected to central circle)

4. (A) Expand the following into their full forms.

(a) that's

(b) didn't

(c) here's

(d) can't

(e) I've

(B) Write the shortened forms of the following.

(a) You have

(b) I would

(c) It is

(d) You are

(e) He will

(f) I had

(g) will not

(h) shall not

(i) are not

(j) need not

(k) must not

(l) ought not

Teacher's Note

Connecting the dots means linking things together to understand them better. For example, when you study Hindi and English together, you learn how languages are similar.

Exam Trick

Remember: Connect the dots = Join things together to see the big picture. Just like joining dots in a drawing, you join ideas in life!

Points to Remember

Connecting dots means linking past events with future success.
You cannot see how things connect when looking forward in life.
You can only understand connections when you look back at your past.
Every small thing you learn can help you later in surprising ways.
Trust your gut feeling and follow your curiosity.

Connecting The Dots

Today I want to tell you three stories from my life. That's it. Just three stories. The first story is about connecting the dots. I dropped out of Reed College after the first 6 months, but then stayed around as a drop-in for another 18 months before I really quit. Looking back, it was one of the best decisions I ever made. I could stop taking the required classes that didn't interest me, and begin dropping in on the ones that looked interesting.

I didn't have a dorm room, so I slept on the floor in friends' rooms. I returned Coke bottles for the 5 cent deposits to buy food with, and I would walk seven miles across town every Sunday night to get one good meal a week at the Hare Krishna temple. I loved it. And much of what I stumbled into by following my curiosity and intuition turned out to be priceless later on. Here's one example: Reed College offered perhaps the best calligraphy instruction in the country. Because I had to take a calligraphy class, I learned about serif and san serif typefaces, about what makes great typography great.

Ten years later, when we were designing the first Macintosh computer, it all came back to me. And we designed it all into the Mac. If I had never dropped in on that course in college the Mac would have never had multiple typefaces or for that matter even proportionally spaced fonts.

And since Windows just copied Mac, it's likely no personal computer would have them. Of course it was impossible to connect the dots looking forward when I was in college. But it was very clear looking backwards 10 years later.

You can't connect the dots looking forward; you can only connect them looking backwards. So you have to trust that the dots will somehow connect in your future. You have to trust in some things - your gut, destiny, life, karma, whatever. This approach has never let me down, and it has made all the difference in my life.

My second story is about love and loss. I found what I loved to do early in life. Woz (Steve Wozniak) and I started Apple when I was 20. In 10 years Apple had grown from just the two of us in a garage into a $2 billion company. And then I got fired. It was devastating.

But something slowly began to dawn on me - I still loved what I did. And so I decided to start over. The heaviness of being successful was replaced by the lightness of being a beginner again. It freed me to enter one of the most creative periods of my life. During the next five years, I started a company Next, another company named Pixar, and fell in love with an amazing woman who would become my wife. Pixar is now the world's most successful animation studio, Apple bought next. I returned to Apple and the technology we developed at Next is at the heart of Apple's current renaissance. And Laurene and I have a wonderful family together.

Sometimes life hits you in the head with a brick. Don't lose faith. The only way to do great work is to love what you do. If you haven't found it yet, keep looking. Don't settle.

My third story is about death.

About a year ago I was diagnosed with cancer. My doctor advised me to go home and get my affairs in order, which is doctor's code for 'prepare to die'. I lived with that diagnosis all day. Later that evening I had a biopsy. It turned out to be a very rare form of pancreatic cancer that is curable with surgery. I had the surgery and I'm fine now.

This was the closest I've been to facing death, and I hope its the closest I get for a few more decades. Having lived through it, I can now say this to you: Your time is limited, so don't waste it living someone else's life.

Don't be trapped by dogma - which is living with the results of other people's thinking. Don't let the noise of other's opinions drown out your own inner voice.

And most important, have the courage to follow your heart and intuition. They somehow already know what you truly want to become.

When I was young, there was an amazing publication called The Whole Earth Catalogue. In the final issue, on the back cover they put a photograph of an early morning country road. Beneath it were the words: Stay Hungry, Stay Foolish. It was their farewell message as they signed off. I have always wished that for myself. And now, as you graduate to begin anew, I wish that for you. Stay Hungry, Stay Foolish.

- Steve Jobs

Teacher's Note

Steve Jobs learned calligraphy in college, and 10 years later it helped him design beautiful computers. In India, many children learn arts and crafts in school that help them later in their jobs.

Exam Trick

Remember: The first story = Calligraphy helped make beautiful Mac computers. What you learn today will help you tomorrow in ways you cannot imagine!

Points to Remember

Steve Jobs dropped out of college but kept learning things that interested him.
He learned calligraphy because it was offered, not because he knew it would help him later.
Ten years later, the calligraphy helped him design better computer fonts.
You cannot see how past learning connects to future success at the time.
Trust your curiosity and keep learning new things.

This is a preview of the first 3 pages. To get the complete book, click below.