Chapter 1 The Last Lesson Solutions
Question - 11 : - Is it possible to carry pride in one’s language too far? Do you know what ‘linguistic chauvinism’ means?
Answer - 11 : -
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.
Question - 12 : - English is a language that contains words from many other languages. This inclusiveness is one of the reasons it is now a world language,
Answer - 12 : -
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 - 13 : - Notice the underlined words in these sentences and tick the option that best explains their meanings.
Answer - 13 : -
(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 - 14 : - Read this sentence.
M. Hamel had said that he would question us on participles.
Answer - 14 : -
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).
| Sentences in past perfect form | Reason/ Explanation |
| I had counted on the commotion to get to my desk without being seen; but, of course, that day everything had to be as quiet as Sunday morning. | The protagonist decided to depend on the commotion to sneak into the classroom before he encountered the quietness at the school. |
| Not till then, when I had got a little over my fright, did I see that our teacher had on his beautiful green coat … prize days. | Getting over the fright happened before he noticed his teacher’s green coat. |
| …Hauser had brought an old primer, thumbed at the edge, and he held it open on his knees with his great spectacles lying across the pages. | Of the two actions, Hauser’s bringing of the old primer happened before he held it open on his knees. |
| It was because they were sorry, too, that they had not gone to school more. | The feeling of regret comes after they realise they did not go to school more than what they did. |
| My books, that had seemed such a nuisance … were old friends now that I couldn’t give up. | The books were a nuisance earlier. It is only later that the protagonist talked about them in a different light. |
Answer - 15 : -
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.
Question - 16 : - 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 - 16 : - 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.