Unit 5: Education Solution
(A Story of My Childhood)

Working with words

A. Match the words in column ‘A’ with their meanings in column ‘B’.

a. expectantly

in a way that shows you are hoping for something, especially something good or exciting

b. beckon

to give signal to somebody to move nearer or to follow you

c. grapple

to try hard to find a solution to a problem

d. texture

the way food or drink tastes or feels in your mouth

e. cobbled

having a surface that is made of small round stones

f. flimsy

thin and easily torn

g. attire

clothes, especially fine or formal ones

h. marvelous

extremely good; wonderful

i. dynamics

the science of the forces involved in movement

B. An autobiography is a story of a person’s life, written by himself/herself. Use a dictionary and find the meanings of the following words related to people’s life stories.

Hagiography:
The documentation of the lives of saints.

Psychobiography:
A biographical examination focusing on psychological factors, such as childhood traumas and unconscious motives.

Pathography:
The exploration of an individual’s life or a community’s history in relation to the impact of a specific disease or psychological disorder.

Chronicle:
A factual written record of significant or historical events presented in the order of their occurrence.

Obituary:
An announcement of a death, often found in newspapers, typically containing a brief biography of the deceased person.

Character sketch:
A concise written portrayal of a person’s qualities.

Profile:
A brief article providing a description of a person or organization.

Memoir:
A historical account or biography written based on personal knowledge.

Comprehension

A. Put the following events in the life of Abdul Kalam in a chronological order.

c. Abdul Kalam attended an elementary school at Rameswaram.
f. One day Abdul Kalam’s teacher visited them to share his pride and pleasure about his performance.
a. They celebrated happiness with poli.
g. A new teacher in the school forbade Abdul Kalam to sit together with his Bramhin friend.
e. Many students did not understand well of Sivasubramania Iyer’s lecture.
d. He then took the students to the seashore for a practical class.
b. Abdul Kalam was determined that he would make a future study about flight and flight systems.

Answer the following questions.

a. What were the causes of Abdul Kalam’s happiness? 

Ans.: The causes of Abdul Kalam’s happiness were:

i. He scored outstanding marks in his subjects.

ii. His teacher instead of going home came to inform him about his marks at his home.

b.Which two places did Abdul Kalam visit before going to school? 

Ans: The two places Abdul Kalam visited before going to school were: Arabic tuition class where he learnt the Koran and the house of Mathematics teachers.

c. What did he like about Mathematics? 

Ans.: He liked to learn about numbers and their rules and patterns. He enjoyed going to Mathematics class and grappling with number problems.

d. Why was the new teacher unhappy? 

Ans: The new teacher was unhappy when he saw a Muslim boy sitting together with a Hindu boy.

e.Why did Abdul Kalam have to split with his intimate friend? 

Ans.: The new teacher was unhappy when he saw a Hindu boy sitting together with a Muslim

boy and he created a division. As a result, Abdul had to split with his best friend.

f.What was the topic of Sivasubramania lyer’s class? 

Ans.: The topic of Sivasubramania lyer’s class was how birds fly.

g.How was the teacher’s reaction when the students told him that they did not understand his lecture ? 

Ans.: The teacher was not upset when students told him that they did not understand his lecture. He rather came up with a wonderful surprise and took students to the seashore in the evening for a practical demonstration of his lecture.

h.Why did Sivasubramani Iyer take his students to the seashore? 

Ans.: Sivasubramania Iyer took his students to the seashore because the students did not understand his theoretical lecture on how birds fly. So, he wanted to give a practical demonstration of birds flying in the group in the seashore.

Critical thinking

a.APJ Abdul Kalam became a renowned aerospace scientist in his later life. Do you find any association of his childhood days in shaping his career? Explain with specific instances from the text.

Ans.: APJ Abdul Kalam was a bright and talented student since his childhood. The events of his childhood had in fact shaped the future of Abdul Kalam to become a renowned aerospace engineer. In his childhood, when he was in 5th standard, one of his teachers named Sivasubramanian Iyer was teaching about how birds fly. When the students did not understand about the bird’s flight in the class, then the teachers decided on a practical and live demonstration in a seashore. He then took the students to a seashore that evening and pointed out the birds that were flying in formations of ten or twenty numbers. So, Abdul Kalam observed the marvellous flight formations they made. The teacher easily explained the concept of flight dynamics in birds and made students understood everything.

That evening, Abdul did not merely understand how a bird flies but it impacted upon him much deeper that he felt like the bird’s flight entered into him and created a special feeling. He was so interested that he was really excited to predict his future studies in subjects related to flights and related contents. So, in this way, the events of Abdul Kalam’s life and the teachings from his teacher shaped the future of Abdul Kalam.

b.Kalam mentions an instance of discrimination against him in his school life. What picture of society does he want to depict by mentioning the incident? Discuss.

Ans.: Ramanadhan and Abdul Kalam used to sit next to each other in class. Once it so happened that a new teacher joined their school. As soon as he entered the class, he saw from their attire that Ramanadhan was a Brahmin and that he was a Muslim. These were divisions

they had never thought of earlier but the teacher was not happy that a Hindu and a Muslim boy were sitting together. He made Kalam get up and go sit elsewhere. He was shocked and heartbroken. Kalam remembers crying because he had been made to give up his seat next to my best friend.

He wants to depict the pictures of contemporary society where there was inequality among the members of religious background. People had different views and thoughts of other religious people. Kalam wants to depict that there used to be a society where the children were treated differently on the basis of religion and they were not allowed to sit together if they were from different religious backgrounds. This depicts the narrow-minded the then society of Abdul Kalam’s time.

WRITING

Write a short autobiography featuring your childhood life using the following guidelines. 

Date and place of birth

Daily life 

Family background

School life 

Special event of childhood days, etc.

Ans.:

My name is Ramita Yadav and I was born in Sarlahi district on 24h Baisakh, 2055 BS. I am the first child and only child of my parents. My father’s name is Rajendra Yadav and he is a businessman by profession. My mother’s name is Shridevi Mahato and she is a teacher by profession. We have a two-storied house in the Sarlahi district. When I was a child. I used to wake up late in the morning at around 8 am. Then, I used to take a shower and play with my doggy.

At around 9 am, I used to have my breakfast and get ready for school. My father used to drop me at school. My mother used to pick up me when my school was over. After returning from school, I used to change my uniform and do my homework. After that, I used to drink some juice and watch television. We usually had our dinner at 8 pm. My mom used to tell some fairy tales after our dinner and I finally used to go to bed by 10 pm.

I used to study in Janta English Boarding School in Sarlahi that was about 2 km away from my home. At present, I consider my school life as the best time of my life. Furthermore, it is the time where I made many friends. I used to enjoy it a lot during my school time. I used to play different games. I was interested in drawings too and I used to draw beautiful pictures different things. My parents and my teachers used to be very happy looking at my drawing Above all, I used to cherish the moment most when I used to play hid and seek with my friends in the hay pile kept nearby our fields.

The special days and events of my childhood used to be very special. The moments I used to cut cake and open new gift items given by my relatives and friends used to be very special. I also fondly remember the moments filled with joy while wearing new clothes during the birthday.

Grammar

A. Study the following sentences and underline the connectives.

a. Although she spoke very fast, I understood what she meant to say.

b. In spite of her hard labour, she failed her exam.

c. Though he had all the required qualifications, he did not get the job.

d. Despite having all the qualifications, he did not get the job.

B. Join the following pairs of sentences twice, using although/though/even though and despite/in spite of as in the example.

a. He is a millionaire. He lives in a simple house.

– Although he is a millionaire, he lives in a simple house.
– Despite of being a millionaire, he lives in a simple house.

b. The weather was extremely bad. The pilot landed the plane safely.

– In spite of extremely bad weather, the pilot landed the plane safely.
– Although the weather was extremely bad, the pilot landed the plane safely.

c. We study in the same college. We hardly see each other.

– Despite studying in the same college, we hardly see each other.
– Although we study in the same college, we hardly see each other.

d. It rained heavily. We enjoyed our holiday.

– Although it rained heavily, we enjoyed our holiday.
– In spite of the heavy rain, we enjoyed our holiday.

e. I had an umbrella. I got wet in the rain.

– Despite having an umbrella, I got wet in the rain.
– Although I had an umbrella, I got wet in the rain.

f. I was really tired. I could not sleep for a moment.

– Although I was really tired, I could not sleep for a moment.
– I couldn’t sleep despite being very tired.

g. She has a very good accent in English. She failed the interview of a newsreader.

– Despite having a very good accent in English, she failed the interview of a newsreader.
– Although she has a very good accent in English, she failed the interview of a newsreader.

h. Lhasa has extremely cold weather in winter. Millions of tourists go there in January.

– Millions of tourists go to Lhasa in January, even though it has extremely cold weather in winter.
– Despite having extremely cold weather in winter, millions of tourists go to Lhasa in January.

i. He was badly injured in the first round of the boxing match. He was victorious in the third round.

– In spite of being badly injured in the first round of the boxing match, he was victorious in the third round.
– Although he was badly injured in the first round of the boxing match, he was victorious in the third round.

C. Complete each sentence in an appropriate way.

a. He passed the exam although he hadn’t prepared well.

b. She climbed the mountain in spite of her leg injury.

c. He did not give any alms to the beggars even though he earned a lot.

d. In spite of his poor eyesight, he is conducting online courses.

e She does not go to parties, though she is very sociable.

f. He could not pass the test, in spite of his ten attempts.

g. He refused to eat anything despite having an appetite.

h. He could not score goods grades in the SEE exams in spite of his hard with private coaching.

i. She accepted the job although she couldn’t meet her salary expectation.

j. Even though we had planned everything carefully, we could not complete our mission.