CBSE Class 12 English Last Lesson Worksheet Set F

Question. How was the scene in the school, on the morning of the last lesson, different from that on other days?
OR
How was M. Hamel’s class different the day Franz went late to school?
Answer : Generally, there would be a great bustle, closing and shutting of desks, lessons repeated loudly in unison, rapping of the teachers’ ruler on the table, all of which could be heard out in the street. But that everything was quite different. There was no noise. All were in their seats, Franz walked in late and M. Hamel let him calmly. He then noticed that his sir was dressed in his best clothes and there were the elders of the village seated in the class. It was a bit later the Franz realised why the day was different. It was their Last French lesson.

Question. How does M. Hamel pay a tribute to the French language?
OR
What did M. Hamel tell them about the French language? What did he ask them to do and why?
Answer : M. Hamel went on to talk about French language. He told that it was the most beautiful language of the world. It was the clearest and the most logical of all languages. He asked the people to guard it among themselves and never forget it. As long as people ‘hold fast to their language, they have the key to freedom’.

Question. One order from Berlin changed the scenerio of the school. Comment.
Answer :The order from Berlin led to the announcement that French would not be taught anymore, and instead, German would be taught by a new master. This was to be their last French lesson. The class was quiet as it was a Sunday morning with no hustle and bustle. The teacher, M. Hamel was patient and calm but inwardly emotional. He was in his special dress. The sad villagers were sitting on the last benches like the other students and the teacher explained the lesson very patiently.

Question.  “What a thunderclap these words were to me!” Which were the words that shocked and surprised little Franz?
Answer : M. Hamel said, “My children, this is the last French lesson. I shall give you. The order has come from Berlin to teach only German in the Schools of Alsace and Lorraine. The new master will come tomorrow. This is your last French lesson. I want you to be attentive”. These words of his teacher were a thunderclap for Franz.

Question. Who did M. Hamel blame for the neglect of learning on the part of boys like Franz?
Answer : M. Hamel blamed the parents for the neglect of learning of French language as they engaged the boys in farm work. He also blamed himself to some extent as he too assigned the work of gardening to boys like Franz. He also gave them a holiday whenever he wanted to go fishing.

Question. “This is your last French lesson.” How did Franz react to this declaration of M. Hamel?
OR
How did Franz react to the declaration that it was their last French lesson?
Answer : The announcement made by M. Hamel left a great impact not only on Franz but all the other citizens. Franz was shocked to hear that M. Hamel was leaving and that it was his last lesson. He realised that he would not be able to read and speak his own mother tongue and regretted his lack of interest and carelessness.

Question. How did M. Hamel say farewell to his students and the people of the town?
Answer : M. Hamel looked very pale and tall when he stood up in his chair. All the students were quiet. The village people—old Hauser, the former Mayor, the former postmaster and several others were present in the school room. The teacher told the villagers that French was the most beautiful language in the world. He ended the lesson by writing Vive La France on the blackboard. He made a gesture with his hand to indicate that the school is dismissed and students could go home.

Question. Why had the bulletin board become a centre of attention during the last two years?
Answer : For the past two years, the news of lost battles, the draft and the orders of the commanding officer were displayed on the bulletin board. People thronged the bulletin board to read all this information. This was the reason why it had become a centre of attention.

Question. What was tempting Franz to keep away from school ‘that morning’?
Answer : Franz was supposed to learn participles as part of his schoolwork, which he had not done. Therefore he was afraid of being scolded by M. Hamel. Also he wanted to spend the day outdoors as it was warm and bright. The sight of the chirping birds and the Prussian soldiers drilling appealed to him more than the rules of participles.

Question. What was unusual about M. Hamel’s dress and behaviour on the day of his last French lesson?
Answer : Whenever Franz arrived late, he was met by an angry teacher. This time however, he was astounded when he was welcomed by a kind and polite M. Hamel. This was quite contrary to his nature. Moreover, he was dressed in his best clothes, a beautiful green coat, frilled shirt and an embroidered black silk cap, which he wore only on inspection and prize days.

Question. Why had M. Hamel put on his fine Sunday clothes? Why were the old men of the village sitting there in the back of the classroom?
OR
Who occupied the back benches in the class room on the day of the last lesson? Why?
Answer : The back benches were occupied by the people of the village. Old Hansar, who had on his three Cornered hat, the former Mayor, the former post master and several other elders.
They had come to express their respect and regard for M. Hamel and sorrow that he had to leave from their midst.

Question. How did Franz perform when his turn came to recite? How did M. Hamel react?
Answer : Franz’s name was called and he was asked to recite. Despite his best efforts, he got mixed up on the first words. He stood there holding on to his desk. His heart beat fast. And he did not dare to look up. M. Hamel told him in a polite tone that he would not scold him as he was not the only one who neglected learning French. Many others in Alsace shared his fate because of procrastination. He said that every one had a great dial to reproach themselves with.

Question. “We’ve all a great deal to reproach ourselves with.” Why did M. Hamel blame the parents and himself too for not showing due attention and care to the learning of French?
Answer : M. Hamel did not hold Franz responsible for neglecting the learning of French. Most people of Alsace only pretended to be Frenchmen. But they could neither speak nor write their own language. The parents were not anxious to have them learn. They preferred to put children on a farm or at the mills to earn a little more money. He even held himself responsible as he often sent his students to water his flowers instead of learning their lessons. He also used to give a holiday whenever he wanted to go fishing.

Question. What does M. Hamel say about French language? What did he urge upon his students and villagers to do?
Answer : M. Hamel talked at length about the French language. He considered French to be the most beautiful language in the world. It was the clearest and most logical language too. He urged his students to guard it among themselves and reminded them never to forget it.

Question. How does M. Hamel prove to be an ideal teacher?
Answer : M. Hamel brings home the message of importance of love of mother tongue and patriotism. He explains things well and asks students to continue learning French even when he is gone. Hence he proves to be an ideal teacher.

Question. How was M. Hamel dressed differently that day? Why?
Answer : M. Hamel wore a green coat, frilled shirt and black silk cap to the class. He announced that it was their last lesson in French and that German will be taught in the school in the future. He was proud of being French and was upset by occupation of Alsace by Germans. He was very attached to the town, the school and its people.

Question: Notice these expressions in the text. Infer their meanings from the context.
Answer :
- in great dread of - fearful in anticipation of something
- counted on - to rely or trust on somebody/something
- thumbed at the edges - worn or soiled edges caused byfrequent handling
- in unison - something happening or being done at thesame time
- a great bustle - an excited (and often noisy) activity ora rapid, active commotion
-reproach ourselves with - to express disapproval,criticism, or disappointment

Question: What was Franz expected to be prepared with for school that day?
Answer : That day, Franz was expected to be prepared with the lesson on participles.

Question: What did Franz notice that was unusual about the school that day?
Answer : That day, Franz noticed the absence of the routine commotion caused by the opening and closing of desks, repeating of lessons in unison and rapping of the teacher's ruler on the table. The usual hustle-bustle was replaced by a strange stillness that was the characteristic of a school on a "Sunday morning."

Question: What had been put up on the bulletin-board?
Answer : The bulletin-board notified the general public about an order from Berlin. It stated that only German was to be taught to students in the schools of Alsace and Lorraine.

Question: What changes did the order from Berlin cause in school that day?
Answer : The order from Berlin brought all the routine hustle-bustle of the school life to a stand- still. The teacher, M. Hamel, became more sympathetic to his students and taught his lessons with more patience. The students became more attentive in their classes. The villagers, who were sitting at the usually empty back benches and had come to show their respect and gratitude to M. Hamel, regretted not going to school more than they did. The order also brought about a great change in the feelings of the people towards their country and their native language. There was a general sadness about not being able to utilise the opportunities of learning French when it was easily accessible.

Question: How did Franz's feelings about M. Hamel and school change?
Answer : Franz was shocked when M. Hamel told the students about the order from Berlin and that it was their last French lesson. He forgot about his teacher's ruler and crankiness. He developed a fondness for M. Hamel at the troubling idea of being separated from him forever. He understood the pain and agony his teacher was undergoing. And, he became more sympathetic towards his teacher.
His school too, now, carried a different meaning. His books and lessons seemed old friends whom he couldn't give up. He realised with pain how much French meant to him and regretted not being attentive in his classes earlier. Suddenly, he felt that the 'difficult concepts' had never actually been difficult. Understanding the texttalking about the textworkin :

Question: The people in this story suddenly realize how precious their language is to them. What shows you this? Why does this happen?
Answer : The crowd surrounding the bulletin-board, the presence of the villagers in the class, the silence in place of the routine hustle and bustle of the school, the emotions that gripped M. Hamel and Franz, representing that of the teacher and the student community respectively, were all indicators of the realisation of the importance of their language to them. In the story, M. Hamel says that people realise the importance of somebody or something in their lives very often when it is lost to them. Similarly, it was the order from Berlin that made people realise the importance of their language for them.

Question: "When a people are enslaved, as long as they hold fast to their language it is as if they had the key to their prison." Can you think of examples in history where a conquered people had their language taken away from them or had a language imposed on them?
Answer : Some examples of the native language taken away from its people and/or imposition of the language
of the conqueror are:
(a) Portuguese becoming the lingua franca of Angola.
(b) English imposed on the various Celtic peoples.
(c) Spanish imposed on the Basques and the Catalans.
(d) Turkish imposed on the Kurds.
(A few examples have been provided for students' reference. It is strongly recommended that students develop the answer on their own.)

Question: English is a language that contains words from many other languages. This inclusiveness is one of the reasons it is now a world language, for example:
petite - French
kindergarten - German
capital - Latin
democracy - Greek
bazaar - Hindi
Find out the origin of the following words.
Tycoon, tulip, logo, bandicoot, barbecue, veranda, robot, zero, ski, trek
Answer :
tycoon - Japanese
tulip - French
logo – Greek
bandicoot - Telugu
barbecue - Spanish
veranda - Hindi
robot - Czech
zero - Italian
ski - Norwegian
trek – Dutch.

Question: Franz thinks, "Will they make them sing in German, even the pigeons?" What could this mean?
(There could be more than one answer.)
Answer : Language is inherent to culture and identity. The authority of human beings is restricted only to false boundaries that can be controlled. Nature and other things cannot be governed by some superficial laws of the wilful people. By taking the reference of making the pigeons learn German, the author is pointing to this very constraint.
(or)
This sentence could possibly mean that however hard the authorities try to embed German language in the culture of Alsace and Lorraine, the natural status of French, for them, will remain unchanged. French flows in the air and the entire place is imbued with its effect. Even though they train students in German, the basic mode of communication would remain unchanged like the cooing of the pigeons.
(Two model answers have been provided for students' reference. It is strongly recommended that students prepare the answer on their own.)

Question: What happens to a linguistic minority in a state? How do you think they can keep their language alive?
For example:
Punjabis in Bangalore
Tamilians in Mumbai
Kannadigas in Delhi
Gujaratis in Kolkata
Answer : A linguistic minority in a state does not have as much liberty to exercise linguistic skills as the natives of the state. They initially try to learn the jargons in order to cope with the day-to-day life activities and finally begin to understand the native language with regular interaction. At the workplace and educational organisations, English or the link language helps a lot to cope up with the work and learning process. But, when it comes to understanding the basic norms of the society, in order to socialize, one does face a sort of linguistic barrier during communication. To keep their language alive, the linguistic minorities can form small communities where they can celebrate their festivals as per their traditions. Moreover, they can continue to speak their native language at their homes in order to make their children learn the language. People must, even, try to visit their native places at regular intervals in order to stay close to their roots.
(A model answer has been provided for students' reference. It is strongly recommended that students prepare the answer on their own.)

Question: Is it possible to carry pride in one's language too far?
Do you know what 'linguistic chauvinism' means?
Answer : Yes, it is possible to carry pride in one's language too far if one is fond of one's own language at the cost of others. Indifference towards other languages is not healthy for any democracy like India. When the sense of belonging to one's own language crosses the thin line between 'pride' and 'proud', it becomes linguistic chauvinism. If people feel good about their languages and traditions, they must have tolerance for other languages too. Everybody has the right to follow the religion as well as speak the language as per his/her desire. In fact, it is disparaging to distort the names of communities, for example, Bongs for Bengalis, Gujju for Gujratis, etc.
(This question is to be answered on the basis of students' own understanding and experience. However, a model answer has been provided for students' reference)
Working with words noticing form :

Question:
Read this sentence.
M. Hamel had said that he would question us on participles.
In the sentence above, the verb form “had said” in the first part is used to indicate an “earlier past.” The whole story is narrated in the past. M. Hamel's “saying” happened earlier than the events in this story.
This form of the verb is called the past perfect.
Pick out five sentences from the story with this form of verb and say why this form has been used.
Answer : In the following sentences, two activities of past, occurring at two different points of time in the past, are indicated. The one that happens earlier takes the “had” + past form of verb (V3), while the one that follows it takes the simple past form of verb (V2).

(A model answer has been provided for students' reference. It is strongly recommended that students prepare the answer on their own.)

Question: Notice the underlined words in these sentences and tick the option that best explains their meanings.
(a) “What a thunderclap these words were to me!”
The words were
(i) loud and clear.
(ii) startling and unexpected.
(iii) pleasant and welcome.
(b) “When a people are enslaved, as long as they hold fast to their language it is as if they had the key to their prison.”
It is as if they have the key to the prison as long as they
(i) do not lose their language.
(ii) are attached to their language.
(iii) quickly learn the conqueror's language.
(c) Don't go so fast, you will get to your school in plenty of time.
You will get to your school
(i) very late.
(ii) too early.
(iii) early enough.
(d) I never saw him look so tall.
M. Hamel
(a) had grown physically taller.
(b) seemed very confident.
(c) stood on the chair.
Answer :
(a) (ii) startling and unexpected.
(b) (ii) are attached to their language.
(c) (iii) early enough.
(d) (b) seemed very confident.

Question:
Find out about the following (You may go to the internet, interview people, consult reference books or visit a library.)
(a) Linguistic human rights
(b) Constitutional guarantees for linguistic minorities in India
Answer :
(This question is to be answered on the basis of students' own understanding and the research done by them. It is strongly recommended that students prepare the answer on their own.)

Question: Write a notice for your school bulletin board. Your notice could be an announcement of a forthcoming event, or a requirement to be fulfilled, or a rule to be followed.
Answer :
FUTURE VISION PUBLIC SCHOOL,
Delhi NOTICE
July 25, 2012
SPORTS DAY
The school has decided to celebrate its Annual Sports Day on 25 July 2012. All those interested to participate in the various sports activities are requested to give their names to their respective class teachers latest by 6 July 2012 in t he following format.
Name:
Class & Section:
Activity 1:
Activity 2:
Activity 3:
A copy of the list of sports activities has been sent to your class teacher. Please note that no student is allowed to pa reticulate in more than three sports activities.
Rahul Sinha
Head Boy

(A model answer has been provided for students' reference. It is strongly recommended that students prepare the answer on their own.)

Question: Given below is a survey form. Talk to at least five of your classmates and fill in the information you get in the form.

Answer : (This question is to be answered on the basis of students' own understanding and experience. It is strongly recommended that students prepare the answer on their own.)

Question:
Write a paragraph of about 100 words arguing for or against having to study three languages at school.
Answer :
For Knowledge of additional language gives an edge - makes a person more competitive in today's fast paced world - better employment opportunities with fluency in a foreign language - multi-national companies send professionals for on-site projects to other countries - delegates from other countries coming to interact with people of our country - can work as translators, interpreters or tourist guides, etc. - preservation of culture and tradition through native language.

Against
Students are already burdened with two languages - no need for a third language - no natural inclination for foreign language - foreign language not of much use in daily life and gradually gets forgotten - should not be forced on people who do not need it - can be taught only to those who demand for it - time and effort should not be wasted on something of no clear use.
(Pointers have been provided for students' reference. It is strongly recommended that students prepare the answer on their own.)

Question: Have you ever changed your opinion about someone or something that you had earlier liked or disliked?
Narrate what led you to change your mind.
Answer :
Directions: Think about something that you hated earlier but hate no more. It may be anything - eating a
particular vegetable, studying a subject, going to a particular place. Or, you may think about a person whom you did not like earlier but your opinion about that person has changed now. It might be because of some misunderstanding or so. After you make your choice, recollect the reason for your dislike. Recollect what happened that made you change your opinion about the thing or person. Think about how it helped you look at things or events or people in different perspective. Write about it in a paragraph form. You may end it by talking about the learning experience or how it enriched your perspective or broadened your scope of thinking.
(Directions have been provided for students' benefit. It is strongly recommended that students prepare the answer on their own.)