Std XI English 1st Chapter exercise

                        1.Being Neighbourly
                                 Exercise

A1. i) Jo’s decision to make friends with the lonely boy next door proves to be good one. Elaborate. You may begin with ‘Jo was a bold, friendly and warm person---------

Answer:- Jo was a bold, friendly and warm person. She knew that the next door boy Laurie was lonely and wanted to enjoy the fun with the persons of his age. So she had taken appropriate steps and met the lonely boy. She changed the life of the boy and he became neighbourly with others.

ii) Read the extract ‘Being Neighborly’ and complete the following statements:

a) To Jo the fine house seemed like a kind of enchanted palace, full of splendors and delights which no one enjoyed.

b) Jo swept a path around the garden forBeth to walk in when the sun came out and her broken limbs dolls needed air.

c) Jo entered the old stone house carryingblanc – mange surrounded by a garland of green leaves ant the scarlet flowers.

d) In order to tide the room, Jo needed to place the objects in a right place.

iii) Bring out the contrast between the two houses with the help of the following points.

House of March   
House of Laurence

1) Old, brown house                    
a) Stately stone mansion 

   

2) Robbed of the vines                 
b) Well-kept grounds

3) Children played all around      
c) Lonely and lifeless – no children playing

4) Loving and friendlier              
d) No motherly face smiled at the window

A2. The traits of the characters you meet in the extract are jumbled. Sort them out and write them in the appropriate columns.

(Shy, bold, guff, friendly, withdrawn, perceptive, empathetic, playful, lonely, happy, gentlemanly, frank, mature, dull, sharp, adventurous)

Jo	Laurie	Grandpa
bold	shy	guff
friendly	perceptive	withdrawn
playful	lonely	emphatic
happy	gentlemanly	dull
adventurous	frank
sharp	mature

A3.(i) Write down in your own words the way Laurie confirmed the names of the March sisters.

Answer:- Laurie described the rosy girl as Beth who stayed at home most of the time and sometimes went out with a little basket. He recognized the pretty girl as Meg while the curly – haired one as Amy. In this way Laurie confirmed the names of the March sisters.

(ii) Give a brief account of the interaction between Grandpa and Jo.

Answer:- Jo expressed her thoughts about Grandpa that he had kind eyes, tremendous will but he was not as handsome as her grandfather. She did not know that Laurie’s Grandpa was hearing her words. Grandpa thanked her hearing her expressions about him. She blushed and felt uncomfortable about what she had said about Grandpa. But Grandpa accepted her remarks and made her comfortable with soft words. He enquired about her presence with his grandson Laurie. She claimed that he needed to become friendlier with neighbours so he would never remain alone. Grandpa accepted her thinking.

A4. (i) Find proverbs, maxims and Idioms related to ‘friendship’.

(a) For example: Birds of a feather flock together.

(b) A friend in need is a friend indeed.

(c) A friend in court is better than a penny in purse.

(d) Isn’t it pleasure to receive a friend from afar?

(e) A friend to everybody is a friend to nobody.

(ii) The extract deals with the atmosphere of two homes. Collect the words associated with-

(a) Home:- Old, brown house, bare and shabby, Stately stone mansion, big coach house, enchanted place, as dull as tombs etc.

(b) Library:- A fellow can’t live on books, lined with books, distracting little cabinets full of coins and curiosities, sleepy hollow chairs, queer tables, bronzes, open fireplace etc.

(c) Garden:- Groves, lawns, robbed of the vines, low hedge etc.

A5. Change into indirect speech.

(a) “Do you like your school?” asked the boy.

     “Don’t go to school; I’m a business man – girl. I mean,” answered Jo.

Answer:- The boy wanted to know whether she (Jo) liked school. To which , Jo answered rather emphatically that she did not go to school. She further added that she was a businessman, jovially corrected the gender.

(b) Jo flourished her broom as she called out….. “How do you do? Are you sack?”

Laurie opened the window and croaked out as hoarsely as a raven………

“Better, thank you. I’ ve had a bad cold and been shut up a week.

Answer:- Jo flourished her broom as she called how he (Laurie) was. She further inquired whether he was sick. Laurie opened the window and croaked out as hoarsely as a raven and giving thanks he confirmed her that he was feeling better. He further added he had been suffering from cold and had been shut himself up a week.

(c) “The pretty one is Meg and the curly – haired is Amy, I believe?” – Laurie.

“How did you find that out” –Jo

Answer:-Laurie confirmed that the pretty one was Meg and the curly – haired was Amy.

Jo (surprisingly) asked (him) how he had found that out.

(d) “I’m not afraid of anything,” returning Jo, with a toss of the head.

“I don’t believe you are!” exclaimed the boy.

Answer:- Returning Jo, with a toss of the head assured that she was not afraid of anything.

The boy exclaimed that he didn’t believe she was afraid of anything.