ENGLISH 01 : Deepika.com Special News

ENGLISH 01

Dear Friends,
A warm welcome to all our dear students who are going to appear for the SSLC examination, March 2022.We all know very well that we are moving through a pandemic situation. You students as well as parents are scared about our present situation. In this circumstance, we are here to help you face the exam courageously and to make you confident enough to write the answers very well.

As you know, our English examination is out of 80 marks. It consists of textual passages, poetry based questions, an unknown passage and related questions, textual based discourses, data interpretation and grammar elements. The possible textual discourses are Conversation, Letter, writing, Diary entry, Narrative, Speech, News report, Write up, Character sketch, Profile, Notice, Thoughts of a particular character and Questionnaire.

Though the focus area suggested by the educational department this year are Adventures in a banyan tree, Snake and the mirror, Lines written in early spring, Project tiger, Best investment I ever made, Ballad of father Gilligan, Danger of a single story, Scholarship jacket, Mother to son, we should be well equipped with other textual lessons too.

*Usually the first question is based on a textual passage. A paragraph will be given based on one of the lessons. You have to answer the comprehensive questions related to the given passage.

*Likewise, one or two stanzas of a poem will be given and you should answer the questions that follow.

*The third question mainly will be to write an Appreciation of a poem. The lines of the poem will be given.

*The next question is from an unknown passage. You should read the passage carefully and answer the questions that follow.

*Next we can expect a narrative or a write up of 8 marks

*The Common discourses that carry 5 marks are Conversation, Diary entry, Notice and Questionnaire.

*Letter writing, Speech, News report, Character sketch and Profile carry 6 marks.

*A data interpretation follows next that carries one mark each.

Various language elements:

*Dialogue completion
*Reported speech
*Phrasal verbs
*Editing
*Supply the missing words

UNIT 01 - Glimpses of Green

A) Adventures in a Banyan Tree

1. Let us start with our first lesson, ‘Adventures in a Banyan Tree’. The story is written by the famous Indian writer Ruskin Bond. The whole story is closely related to a banyan tree.

The boy in the story spends his leisure time in the Banyan tree. There he made friendship with a squirrel. He narrates the fight scene he witnessed between a mongoose and a cobra to his grandfather. The other characters we meet in the story are a myna, a crow and a white rat.

Possible discourses:

• Conversation between the boy and his grandfather
• Diary entry of the boy on the day he witnessed the fight between the mongoose and the cobra.
• Letter writing - The boy writes a letter to one of his friends on the day he made friendship with the squirrel.
• Character sketch of the boy / the grandfather.
• Profile - Ruskin bond.

B) Lines Written in Early Spring

2. Next, a poem ‘Lines Written in Early Spring' written by the famous romantic poet William Wordsworth.

This is a beautiful nature poem. The speaker of the poem is the poet himself. He is excited by the beauty of nature. The poet is in a relaxed mood. He finds happiness in the beauty and harmony of nature. Suddenly he becomes sad. He is sad when he thinks about 'what man has made of man'. The rhyme scheme of the poem is ab ab. The poetic devices like hyperbole, personification and alliteration are used in the poem.

C) The Snake and the Mirror

3. The last lesson of the first unit is, ‘The Snake and the Mirror’ written by the famous Malayalam writer Vaikom Muhammad Basheer.

The homeopath is an interesting character in the story 'The Snake and the Mirror' written by Vaikom Muhammad Basheer. He was living in a small rented room. His earnings were meagre. He was an admirer of beauty. He wanted to marry a fat lady.

One night he was reading a book. Suddenly something fell on the back of the chair. It was a big snake and he was frozen with fear. He sat like a stone image. He felt the presence of God. There was a large mirror on the table. Suddenly the snake moved towards the mirror. At once the doctor ran away from the house.

Possible discourses are:

• Character sketch of the homeopath
• The diary entry of the homeopath on the day when the snake fell on him.
• Conversation between the homeopath and one of his friends.
• Letter writing -Homeopath writes a letter to his friend about the unforgettable incident he had in his life.
• Profile of Vaikom Muhammad Basheer.

UNIT 02 - The Frames

A) Project Tiger

‘Project Tiger’ describes Satyajit Ray’s experience with the tiger while shooting one of his films. He needs a tiger for his film Goopy Gyne Bagha Byne. He meets Mr Thorat, the ringmaster of Bharat circus. The shooting was at Notum Gram. And Mr Thorat came with two tigers.

But when the door of the cage was opened, the tiger sprang out of its cage and started to jump around. After sometime the tiger calmed down and Ray took the necessary shots. Unfortunately, the camera failed to work and Ray has to shoot the scene once again.

Ray chose a bamboo grove in a village called Boral. Mr Thorat came with the tiger again. At this time the tiger acted somehow as Ray expected. The camera also worked properly and Ray could shoot the scene.

B) My Sister's Shoes

The story ‘My Sister’s Shoes’ is revolving around the character Ali. Ali and Zahra belong to a very poor family. In the story, Ali lost his sister Zahra's shoes. He requested Zahra to keep this as a secret because Ali knows the poor condition of the family. They are not capable to buy new shoes. This incident shows that at this small age he was a very sensible boy. Besides all, he is a caring and compassionate brother.

Possible discourses:

• Character sketch of Ali.
• Conversation between Ali and Zahra on the day Ali loses the shoes.
• Profile of Majid Majidi.

C) ‘Blowin’ in the Wind

‘Blowin’ in the Wind’ is a poem written by the famous Bob Dylan in the year 1962. It is believed to be a protest song which raises a series of rhetorical questions about aspects such as peace,war and freedom. The author believes that the answers to the questions are existent, but no one dares to find them.The poetic devices used in the poem are refrain, alliteration, assonance, imageries and metaphor.

Possible discourses are:

• Critical appreciation of the poem.
• Profile of Bob Dylan.

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