U1 [A] The snake and the mirror. Answer the following questions,Vocabulary,Grammar

              

COMPREHENSION

I. Answer the following questions.

1.The doctor heard a sound coming from           above three times. What was it?     

A.The doctor heard a sound coming from

   above three times. The sound was the

   hissing of snake moving under the roof.

   But the doctor thought it was the

   movement of rats.

2.Why did the doctor sit like a stone?

A.The doctor sat like a stone image holding

    his breath without a slight movement

    because the snake's head with the spread

    hood was hardly three or four inches

    from his face. He feared

    greatly that, if he moved, the snake would

    bite him.

3.What made the doctor forget his fears and

    have a sense of relief?

A.The doctor sat like a stone in fear of the

    snake's bite. But unknowingly he thought

    of the medicine he had to take if he was

    bitten by the snake. Then he realised that

    there were no medicines in the room to

    relieve him from the danger of the snake's

    bite. When he realised the thing he felt

    that he was poor, foolish and stupid.

    Those thoughts made the doctor forget his

    fears and have a sense of relief.

4.Did the snake admire its beauty? Yes or

   no? Pick the lines from the passage in

   support of your answer.

A.Yes, the snake admired its beauty looking

    into the mirror. The following lines

    support that the snake admired its beauty

    looking into the mirror. 

   (a) The snake unwound itself from my arm

         and slowly slithered into my lap.

   (b) From there it crept onto the table and

         moved towards the mirror.

   (c) Perhaps it wanted to enjoy its reflection

         at closer quarters.

   When we logically think we can say that

   the snake would have more surprised at its

   own reflection rather than admired its

   own beauty.

5.Why did the doctor want to marry a

   woman doctor? What kind of woman

   doctor would he like to marry?

A.He wanted to marry a woman doctor who

    had plenty of money and a good medical

    practice because he hoped that he would

    get out of his financial troubles by

    marrying such a woman doctor. He also

    hoped that the woman doctor had to be

    fat because he wanted that she should not

    be able to run after him and catch him if

    he made some silly mistake and needed to

    run away.

6.In those days, I was a great admirer of

   beauty. Do you think looks are more

   important than skills and behavior? Why?

A.I don't think so. One's looks are temporary

   whereas one's skills and behaviour bring

   him/her fame and make him/her great.

   One's success depends upon one's skills

   and behaviour. One's beauty doesn't make

   him/her successful.

7.What did the doctor think about the snake

    when it looked into the mirror?

A.When the snake began looking at its

   reflection, the doctor thought whether the

   snake was admiring its own beauty and

   was trying to make an important decision

   about growing a moustache or using eye

   shadow and mascara or wearing a

   vermilion spot on its forehead. He also

   thought whether it was male or female. He

   finally thought that the snake wanted to

   enjoy its reflection. All the thoughts of the

   doctor were humorous and imaginary.

8.Why did the doctor run to his friend's

   house? Did the snake want to harm

  doctor? Why or why not?

A.The doctor ran to his friend's house

   because of his fear. Moreover he needed a

   bath, clothes, shelter and consolation.

  The snake did not want to harm the doctor

   because its attention was diverted towards

   its reflection when it looked into the

   mirror. It did not even follow the doctor

   when he ran out of the room.

II. Here is a list of sentences from the story. Tick (✔) the sentences that tell you that the doctor was afraid of the snake.

VOCABULARY 

I. Tick ( the correct meaning of the words underlined below.

1. The house was not electrified.

  a. There was no electricity in the house.

  b. The house was not away from the

       electricity board.

  c. The house was not lit

       up.

2. The earnings were meagre.

    a. very high   b. very small   c. nil

3. I also possessed one solitary black coat.

    a. single   b. unique   c. expensive

4. I made another earth-shaking decision.

    a. valuable   b. dangerous   c. important

5. The room was surrounded by darkness.

    a. full of   b. covered   c. encircled

6.Some thief had removed most of my

   things..

   a. damaged   b. destroyed   c. stolen

II. Read the following sentence from the text and notice the underlined word.

   Suddenly there came a dull thud as if a

   rubber tube had fallen to the ground.

   'Thud' means to fall with a low dull sound.

   Here is a list of words related to                 sounds. Say what these words mean.         Refer to a dictionary.

III. Use the linkers given in the box to complete the story. A linker may be used more than once.

     A young doctor lived in a village. The doctor told his friends an interesting story about himself and a cobra. It was a hot summer night.________ (1)________he opened the door, he heard a sound________(2)________was well known to him. He and rats shared the same room. There was no electricity in the house,_____ (3) _______he took out a box of matches and lit a kerosene lamp. He took off his clothes and lay down ________(4)________he could not sleep. He got up from the bed and started reading a story-book. Near the table there was a mirror,________(5)________tempted him to look into at himself. He was unmarried________(6)________he was particular about his handsomeness. He wanted to marry a woman doctor________(7)________had plenty of money and should be fat.________(8)________

he was having such thoughts, suddenly he felt________(9)________a rubber tube had fallen to the ground________(10)________a snake landed on his shoulder. At that time the only thing he could do was to pray to God.The snake would bite him at any moment________(11)________suddenly it turned its head and started admiring its beauty in the mirror. The doctor was thus saved.

GRAMMAR

I. Read the following sentences from the story.

   We found we had little to carry. Some thief

    had removed most of my things. In the

    above two sentences, the first one is in the

    simple past (found, had) and the second

is in the past perfect tense (had removed).

    As you can see, the action which occurred

    earlier, is expressed in the past perfect

    tense, whereas the action which occurred

    later, is expressed in the simple past tense.

   Here are a few more examples.

   1. Sujatha had arrived at the station before

       the train came.

   2. The doctor arrived after the patient had

       died.

   3. I bought the ticket as soon as I boarded

       the bus.

         When two actions occur nearly                   simultaneously in the past, both are                 expressed in the simple past tense.

   Now combine the following pairs of             sentences using the past perfect and the     simple past.

        (use after, before or when as linkers)

   The first one has been done for you.

1. I brushed my teeth. I took my breakfast.

A. After I had brushed my teeth, I took my           breakfast. (Or)

     I had brushed my teeth before I took my         breakfast. 

2. She started to go to market. It rained                heavily.

A. After she had started to go to market, it

     rained heavily. (Or)

     She had started to go to market before it

     rained heavily.

3.He completed his homework. He went to

   bed. 

A. After he had completed his

   homework, he went to bed. (Or)

   He had completed his homework before he

   went to bed. 

4. I finished my dinner. Then

    my father came.

A. After I had finished my dinner, my father

    came. (Or) 

    I had finished my dinner before my father

    came. 

5. I fell seriously ill. I met my family doctor.

A. After I had fallen seriously ill, I met my

    family doctor. (Or) 

    I had fallen seriously ill before I met my

    family doctor.

6. I locked the door. I went out to meet my

    friend at a restaurant.

A. After I had locked the door, I went out to

    meet my friend at a restaurant. (Or). 

    I had locked the door before I went out to

    meet my friend at a restaurant.

II. Phrasal Verbs

Look at the following phrasal verbs and their meanings.

1.take out - to remove something from                                  inside

2. set up - to arrange for something to                                 happen / to start

3. take off -  to remove

4. lie down - to take rest

5. take time off - to take some time for                                             something

6. look into - to observe keenly

7. look at - to have a look at something

8. get up - to wake up.

9. change into - to turn into

10. leave behind - to leave something as a token of memory or gift

       As you can see, a phrasal verb is a unit of a verb and one or more particles / a preposition. It cannot be understood on the basis of the meanings of the individual parts in isolation, but rather it must be taken as a whole.

Use the above phrasal verbs in the blanks. Make necessary changes in the verb

forms.

Venkata Rao was a rich man. He wanted to____(1)____some business in the town. So he____(2)____a lot of money from the bank. On an auspiciousday he started his medical business, which prospered by leaps and bounds. He became so busy that he could not____(3)____for any rest. He used to____(4)

very early in the morning and go to his office. In the afternoon he would____(5)____

his shirt and____(6)____on his couch in the office.After a nap he would put on his shirt.

They he would____(7)____the mirror and___(8)____himself admiringly.

Anyhow he____(9)____some fame in the town even when he went abroad.Everybody believed that he____(10)____a new man