Unit-6 : Solutions of Questions on Page Number : 209
NCERT Solutions for Class 10 English Main Course Book (MCB) Chapter 24
Q1 : What are the narrow domestic walls being referred to?
Answer :
The “domestic walls” in the poem refer to the petty social divisions prevailing in the society such as caste, creed, religion region, etc.
Q2 : Why are they ‘narrow’?
Answer :
The poet calls the “domestic walls” narrow as they are making the society stagnant and incapable for progress and revolutionary idea are unable to proliferate through these walls. Thus, it is capturing the society in old and obsolete customs, stopping it from evolving.
Q3 : How / when does the ‘clear stream of reason’ lose its way?
Answer :
The clear stream of reason loses its way when old customs and traditions shackle the society and people’s thoughts from reaching “the depth of truth”.
Q4 : What is the poet’s appeal?
Answer :
The poet appeals to God to bestow humans with reason and that all the boundaries constraining the progress of mankind to be dissolved. He wishes for an ideal society which would lead people’s minds into ever-widening thoughts and action. He prays to God to lead humans into a heaven where they may experience the purest form of freedom, unconstrained growth of this race and, just as said before, where people have freedom to think and their actions may be reasonable.
Q5 : ‘Despite these disadvantages, he possessed great innate wisdom and a true generosity of spirit’. The expression ‘these disadvantages’ here refers to
(a) lack of formal education and riches
(b) middle class social status and a small town
(c) lack of comforts and luxuries
Answer :
(a) lack of formal education and riches
Q6 : Kalam’s childhood was
(a) secure
(b) insecure
(c) austere
Answer :
(a) secure
Q7 : ‘That forced my cousin Samsuddin’… ‘That’ here refers to
(a) world War II
(b) increase in the demand of tamarind seeds
(c) withdrawal of train halt at Rameshwaram station
Answer :
(c) withdrawal of train halt at Rameshwaram station
Q8 : Samsuddin was forced to seek a helping hand because
(a) the Second World War had begun
(b) the train now halted at Rameshwaram station
(c) newspapers thrown from the moving train had to be collected
Answer :
(c) newspapers thrown from the moving train had to be collected
Q9 : Kalam continues to be proud of the money he had earned during the time of World
War-II because
(a) his cousin Samsuddin had helped him earn it
(b) it was the first wages he had earned
(c) he was able to supplement his father’s income
Answer :
(b) it was the first wages he had earned
Q10 : Kalam owes his honesty and self-discipline to his
(a) brothers
(b) father
(c) mother
Answer :
(b) father
Q11 : As children Kalam and his friends did not have any
(a) religious differences
(b) right upbringing
(c) realization that they were different in any way
Answer :
(a) religious differences
Q12 : Paragraph 5 shows that Kalam’s mother and grandmother had
(a) great scholarship and wisdom
(b) excellent ability to tell stories of historic importance
(c) all embracing outlook on religion and communities
Answer :
(c) all embracing outlook on religion and communities
Q13 : ‘As the new teacher saw it’ (Paragraph 6). Which of the following best explains the meaning of this expression?
(a) as our new teacher understood it
(b) as our new teacher wanted it
(c) as our new teacher was asked to ensure
Answer :
(b) as our new teacher wanted it
Q14 : Lakshmana Sastry made the newly appointed teacher realize that
(a) it was wrong on his part to discriminate on the basis of religion
(b) it was wrong to separate two great friends
(c) it was wrong to impose one’s own ideas on others
Answer :
(a) it was wrong on his part to discriminate on the basis of religion
Q15 : Kalam’s science teacher Sivasubramania was something of a rebel in the sense that
(a) he used to spend hours with his students
(b) he used to defy his wife
(c) he encouraged people of different communities and castes to mix up freely
Answer :
(c) he encouraged people of different communities and castes to mix up freely
Q16 : The science teacher’s wife’s behaviour during Kalam’s second visit to their home showed that
(a) she had understood and adopted her husband’s outlook on the oneness of mankind
(b) she wanted to repent for her earlier mistake
(c) she had purified her kitchen ritually
Answer :
(a) she had understood and adopted her husband’s outlook on the oneness of mankind
Q17 : Father gave Kalam the example of the seagull to
(a) encourage him to be adventurous and fearless
(b) encourage him to study the science of flying
(c) encourage him to be creative and imaginative
Answer :
(a) encourage him to be adventurous and fearless
Q18 : “Once you decide to change the system, such problems have to be confronted.”
Which problems are referred to here?
(a) keeping kitchens ritually pure
(b) discrimination and boycott on the basis of one’s faith
(c) differences in the way people of different communities live
Answer :
(b) discrimination and boycott on the basis of one’s faith
Q19 : Complete the following sentences.
a. An example of the generosity and kindness of Kalam’s parents is
____________________________________________________
b. Kalam feels he had a very secure childhood because____________________
c. The suspension of train halt at Rameshwaram station proved to be a blessing in disguise for Kalam because_______________________________
d. Kalam continues to feel proud about the money he had earned in childhood by picking up bundles of newspaper because______________________________
e. Some traits and values Kalam and his siblings inherited from their parents were_____________________________
f. The salient feature of Kalam’s relationship with his three childhood friends was that_____________________________
g. Two unique examples of communal harmony and brotherhood of mankind are________________________________
h. The nation should be wary of people like the grade V teacher of the narrator because___________________________
i. However, the country needs more and more people like Kalam’s Science teacher Sivasubramania and Kalam’s mother and grandmother because__________________
j. Kalam’s second visit to his science teacher’s house surprised him because ___________________________________________________________
Answer :
a. That despite their not too good financial conditions they used to feed far more outsiders with them than all the members of their own family put together.
b. His father used to cater to all the necessities in terms of food, medicine and clothes.
c. Samsuddin, Kalam’s cousin who distributed the newspapers needed a helping hand to collect the bundles, as now, due to the halt, the newspapers were bundled and thrown out from the moving train on the Rameswaram Road between Rameswaram and Dhanuskodi. So, Kalam got a chance to help his cousin and earn his first wages for the first time.
d. It was the first time ever in his life that he had earned wages on his own.
e. Kalam and his siblings inherited honesty and self-discipline from their father; from their mother, they inherited faith in goodness and deep kindness.
f. Though his friends were from orthodox Hindu Brahmin families, as children, none of them ever felt any difference amongst themselves because of their religious differences and upbringing.
g. (i) During the annual Shri Sita Rama Kalyanam ceremony, Kalam’s family, despite being followers of Islam, used to arrange boats with a special platform for carrying idols of the Lord from the temple to the marriage site. Not just this, his mother and grandmother used to tell stories from events from not just life of Prophet but also from the Ramayana (epic of Hindus).
(ii) In fifth grade Kalam and his dear friend Ramanadha Sastry were separated by a new teacher, on the basis of religious differences; both Kalam and his Sastry told their respective parents about the incident. Lakshmana Sastry, who was the highest priest in Rameswaram temple, summoned the teacher and told the teacher not to fill nubile minds of children with the dirt of communalism and made him apologise for his act.
h. Such people who spread the dirt of communalism in the society. And in this case when the person in question is an educator he should be severely punished so that he doesn’t pollute young minds with such petty issues and shackle their intellectual growth and jeopardise their progress.
i. They are faithful to mankind and propound secularity. They are truly religious as they teach children to be honest and self-disciplined and to have faith in goodness and deep kindness. They fight the bad elements of the society who are hindrance in co-existence.
j. This time the wife of his teacher herself served food to Kalam in the kitchen.
Q20 : For reasons I have never been able to understand, a sudden demand for tamarind seeds erupted in the market.
(a) came up
(b) blew up
(c) ended
Answer :
(b) came up
Q21 : My brother-in-law Jallaluddin would tell me stories about the War which I would later attempt to trace in the headlines in Dinamani.
(a) draw
(b) locate
(c) copy
Answer :
(b) locate
Q22 : The first casualty came in the form of the suspension of the train halt at Rameswaram station.
(a) target
(b) something destroyed as an indirect result of a particular event or circumstances
(c) victim
Answer :
(c) victim
Q23 : My cousin Samsuddin, was looking for a helping hand to catch the bundles and, as if naturally, I filled the slot.
(a) was found suitable for the purpose
(b) applied for the job
(c) was rejected
Answer :
(a) was found suitable for the purpose
Q24 : The new teacher could not stomach a Hindu priest’s son sitting with a Muslim boy.
(a) tolerate
(b) dislike
(c) face
Answer :
(a) tolerate
Q25 : He looked utterly downcast as I shifted to my seat in the last row.
(a) happy
(b) angry
(c) dejected
Answer :
(c) dejected
Q26 : Sivasubramania Iyer was not perturbed, nor did he get angry with his wife
(a) relaxed
(b) agitated
(c) panicky
Answer :
(b) agitated
Q27 : Then the Second World War was over and India’s freedom was imminent.
(a) at hand
(b) well-known
(c) distant
Answer :
(a) at hand
Q28 : Phrases
Match the phrases in Column A with their meanings in Column B
|
Column A |
Column B |
| Break out | to try to find somebody or something |
| To look for | as a rule or in general taking all relevant factors into account |
| To take over | start suddenly and strongly |
| To go into | to obtain or assume control of something, or gain control of something from somebody else |
| On the whole | to begin a job or career in a particular area of activity |
Answer :
|
Column A |
Column B |
| Break out | start suddenly and strongly |
| To look for | to try to find somebody or something |
| To take over | to obtain or assume control of something, or gain control of something from somebody else |
| To go into | to begin a job or career in a particular area of activity |
| On the whole | as a rule or in general taking all relevant factors into account |
Q29 : Why is national integration important for a country like India?
Answer :
Indian population comprises various races, religions, cultures and language groups. Thus, due to this cultural diversity, national integration becomes the prime objective. In order to establish peace and stability and ensure progress, people from different societies must be brought together into one single nation with a national consciousness.
Q30 : What are the aims of national integration?
Answer :
National integration aims at improving socio-cultural relations, reducing economic inequalities and strengthening unity and solidarity.
Q31 : What are the forces that challenge national integration?
Answer :
Regionalism, communalism, religious fanaticism, linguistic difference and now terrorism are the main forces that are a threat to national integration. For a citizen, country always comes first.
Q32 : What are the steps that we should take to strengthen the nation and its unity?
Answer :
Various detrimental elements are present in our society jeopardising national integration. These must be curbed for co-existence. High regional aspirations that may break the country into multiple small states should be controlled. Communalism shall be dealt with, in order to avoid clashes between various communities. No community should be placed above the nation. Lingual preferences should be peacefully dealt with so that no excessive bias or favour for any one language brings about agitation in the country. Religious fanaticism is another dangerous force that often leads to violence, not only in India, but all over the world. India is a secular country, but that hasn’t solved all problems and it is time to do so now.
Q33 : How can we bind the people of the country and create an emotional bond?
Answer :
A common driving force must be identified to create an emotional bond between the people of the country. Common ideas and values must be shared. Constitution, territorial continuity, art, literature, music, national festivals, national flag, national anthem, sports and, let us not forget, Bollywood-these are the vital aspects that may be exploited to promote national integration. Educational and economic grass root development may foster national integration. Education is a good medium to inculcate national integration since childhood.
Q34 : How can we attain internal freedom for the people of the country?
Answer :
Internal freedom means a mind free of selfish ego and aware of basic values and humanity in general; a conscience always awakened and strong, and love and true spirit in the core of heart. Such a free mind remains open to other cultures, religions and languages and will easily accept different people of the country. Exercise of power and authority may be successful temporarily, but fails in the long run. A free mind remains open to other cultures, religions and languages and will easily accept different people of the country.
Q35 : Read the passage carefully and familiarize yourself with the new words used in the passage by working out their meanings. Match the words in column A with their meanings in column B.
|
Column A |
Column B |
| Foster | The act of accepting someone as a part of a group |
| Pernicious | Excessive enthusiasm for an extreme political or religious cause |
| Integration | Encourage the development of |
| Fanaticism | Agreement and support resulting from shared interests, feelings or opinions |
| Solidarity | Having a harmful effect |
Answer :
|
Column A |
Column B |
| Foster | Encourage the development of |
| Pernicious | Having a harmful effect |
| Integration | The act of accepting someone as a part of a group |
| Fanaticism | Excessive enthusiasm for an extreme political or religious cause |
| Solidarity | Agreement and support resulting from shared interests, feelings or opinions |