6

Comprehension Check - I

 Question:

1.       What did Mr. Petronski's letter say?

2.       is Miss Mason angry with the class, or is she unhappy and upset?

3.       How does Maddie feel after listening to the note from Wanda's father?

4.       What does Maddie want to do?

Answer:

1.       While all the students were looking at the drawing made by Wanda, Miss Mason received a letter from Mr. Pertronski's. The letter said that Wanda and Jake would not come to school anymore as they were shifting away to a big city. He showed his anger by saying that, nobody would ask them why they had funny names because there were plenty of funny names in the new city.

2.       After reading the letter from Wanda's father Miss Mason was unhappy and upset. She was disturbed by the behavior of students towards Wanda. She was sure that none of the boys and girls would do such a thing deliberately. Though she didn't back the students for the ill-treatment of child just because of her name, dresses and house.

3.       After listening to the note from Wanda's father, Maddie felt very sick and guilty in the bottom of her stomach. She wasn't able concentrate as she tried to prepare for her lessons. She had not enjoyed listening to Peggy ask Wanda how many dresses she had in her closet.

4.       Maddie wanted to find Wanda. She wanted to tell Wanda that she had won the contest and them though t that she was smart and her dresses were beautiful. Also she wanted to tell her that she didn't want to hurt her feelings.

Comprehension Check -  II

Question:

1.       What excuses does Peggy think up for her behavior? Why?

2.       What are Maddie's thoughts as they go to Boggins Heights?

3.       Why does Wanda's house remind Maddie of Wanda's blue dress?

4.       What does Maddie think hard about? What important decision does she come to?

Answer:

1.       Peggy said that she never called Wanda a foreigner or made fun of her name, which made her pretty satisfied. She also said that she never though t Wanda had even the sense to know that they were making fun of her. She thought of Wanda as a dumb girl. Peggie made such excuses because she realized her mistake of thinking that Wanda was not smart enough to understand her insult.

2.       Maddie was relieved that peggie had the same though t of going to find Wanda. All the way down to Boggin Heights she was feeling bad about Wanda. She wanted to tell her sorry for making fun of her but did not get a chance to say sorry to Wanda.

3.       When Maddie and Peggie reached Wanda's house, they saw a little yard it was shabby but clean. It reminded them of Wanda's blue dress she wore to school. It was old, faded but used to be neat and clean. Similarly her house was small and makeshift but clean. Therefore, it reminded Maddie of Wanda's blue dress.

4.       Maddie was deeply hurt about what they did to Wanda. She thinks about not letting injustice happen to anyone. She makes vow that she would protest if anybody misbehaves with anybody. She won't be a mute spectator the way she did earlier even if it would cost it her friendship with Peggie.

Comprehension Check -  III

 Question:

1.       What did the girls write to Wanda?

2.       Did they get a reply? Who was more anxious for a reply, Peggy or Maddie? How do you know?

3.       How did the girls know that Wanda liked them even though they had teased her?

Answer:

1.       Maddie and Peggie wanted to tell Wanda that they were sorry. But instead girls wrote a friendly letter to Wanda telling her that she had won the contest. They also wrote how pretty her drawings were. They asked her if she liked the place where she was living and if she liked her new teacher. They ended up with just writing a friendly Jitter. They signed it with lots of X's for love.

2.       No, they did not get a reply. Maddie was more anxious for a reply as she thought a lot about it. She would put herself to sleep making speeches about Wanda and defending her from great crowds of girls who were trying to tease her. Before Wanda could press her lips together r in a tight line, which she did before Answering, Maddie would cry out and ask everybody to stop and then, everybody would feel ashamed the way she felt. On the other hand, Peggy had begun to forget about the whole affair. This shows that Maddie was more anxious for a reply than Peggy.

3.       One day Miss Mason received a letter from Wanda. She had asked how everyone and room thirteen was. In her letter she had asked Miss Mason to Miss Mason to give the green dress with red trimming to Peggy and the blue one to Maddie. Maddie placed that dress in her room and looked at the drawing very carefully. She realized that the dress had a face and a head, which looked like her own self. She rushed to Peggy to see her drawing it also had head and face that looked just like Peggy. That is why the girls knew that Wanda liked them even though they had teased her.

Thinking about the Text

 Question:

1.       Why do you think Wanda's family moved to a different city? Do you think life there was going to be different for their family?

2.       Maddie thought her silence was as bad as Peggy's teasing. Was she right?

3.       Peggy says, "I never thought she had the sense to know we were making fun of her anyway. I though t she was too dumb. And gee, look how she can draw!" What led Peggy to believe that Wanda was dumb? Did she change her opinion later?

4.       What import decision did Maddie make? Why did she have to think hard to do so?

5.       Why do you think Wanda gave Maddie and Peggy the drawings of the dresses? Why are they surprised?

6.       Do you think Wanda really thought the girls were teasing her? Why or Why not?

Answer:

1.       Wanda's family moved to different city because her father felt bad about the bad behavior of other girls towards Wanda at her school and the way they all teased her about her dresses.

2.       Maddie was guilty that she did not raise her voice when Peggie teased Wanda for her blue dress. Her silence was as bad as Peggy's teasing. She unintentionally encouraged Peggie to tease her. Mad die was afraid to say anything because she did not want to lose Peggy's friendship. Moreover, Maddie was poor h herself. She feared that everybody would make fun of her too.

3.       Peggy believed that Wanda was not smart enough to understand Wanda was poor but she always replied that she had a hundred dresses. Everybody used to laugh at her because they were aware of the fact that she had only one dress. Still she kept on giving the same Answer. Wanda described the dresses she said she had. That is why Peggy though t Wanda was dumb. When all the students saw the hundred dresses she used to talk about, Peggie's opinions about Wanda had changed. She saw the drawings and wash highly impressed by their beauty. She realized that Wanda was a very good artist.

4.       The important decision that Maddie made was that from now she would never stand by and say nothing again. If she ever heard anybody picking on someone because they were funny-looking or because they had strange names, she would speak up. This time she did not even mind losing Peggy's friendship over it. She knew she could not make things right with Wanda as she did not even get a chance to say her sorry.

She was unhappy that she could not find Wanda at her home. She could not sleep that night and kept on thinking about Wanda, her faded blue dress, and the little house she lived in. She was feeling guilty of not having said anything when everybody else was teasing Wanda. It was her guilt that made her think very hard and arrive at the important decision.

5.       Wanda never disliked Maddie and Peggie. Maddie and Peggy made fun of her hundred dresses as she lied constantly about her hundred dresses. They were surprised because they always made fun of her dresses and teased her, but she had gifted them with those beautiful designs.

6.       Wanda may or may not have though t that the girls were teasing her. But it was confirmed that they had hurt her feelings beyond limits. Their making fun and asking about dresses and shoes were the different issues that started to disturb her mind. She was alone and had no friends so that both could oppose or say something. Seeing the students in great number she adopted the rule, "Silence is golden." But the students surpassed all the limits. Not to speak of this, she belonged to a p our Polish family. She could do nothing in the majority. She was meditating every action of the students. Peggy considered her as a dumb but it was not so. She was a very sensitive girl having all the qualities of head, heart and soul.

Thinking about Language

Question me:

Here are thirty adjectives describing human qualities. Discuss them with your partner and put them in the two word webs (given below) according to whether you think they show positive or negative qualities. You can consult a dictionary I if you are not sure of the meanings of some of the words. You may also add to the list the positive or negative 'pair' of a given word.

Answer me:

·        Positive: creative, kind, cheerful, friendly, determined, talented, sensitive, compassionate, generous, placid, zealous, courteous, zealous, intrepid, contented

·        Negative : lonely,  haughty,  miserable,  insipid,  arrogant, sarcastic, complacent, timid,  cruel, stolid, proud, vain, though tless, unforgiving, introverted

Question II:

What adjectives can we use to describe Peggy, Wanda and Maddie? You can choose adjectives from the list above. You can also add some of your own.

1.       Peggy         

2.       Wanda                

3.       Maddie               

Answer II:

1.       Peggy:

2.       Wanda:

3.       Maddie:

sarcastic, cheerfuty, vein, fashionable, proud, stolid and contented.

sensitive, placid, kind, timid, introverted, generous, talented, lonely and creative. friendly, determined, cheerful, kind, timid, sensitive and miserable.

Question III:

1.       Find the sentences in the story with the following phrasal verbs.

I lined up    thought up   took off       stood by

2.       Look up these phrasal verbs in a dictionary to find out if they can be used in some other way. (Look at the entries for line, think, take and stand in the dictionary.) Find out what other prepositio ns can go with these verbs. What does each of these phrasal verbs mean?

3.       Use at least five such phrasal verbs in sentences of your own.

Answer III:

1.

>       lined up: And she thought of the glowing picture those hundred dresses made - all lined up

in the classroom.

>       though t up: Peggy, who had thought up this game, and Maddie, her inseparable friend, were always the last to leave.

>       took off - Miss Mason took off her glasses, blew on them and wiped them on her soft white

handkerchief.

>       stood by - She had stood by silently, and that was just as bad as what Peggy had done.

2.

>       Line with

>       Stand down

>       Think of

>       Stand at ease:

>       Take on

In accordance with resign from on office

Having a practical opinion stand with rest

Become very upset

3. Five phrasal verbs in sentences:

>       Full of         This pond is full of fish.

>       Known to    He is known to me.

>       Abide by     We should abide by the traffic rules.

>       Listen to      listen to what your teachers say.

>       Avail of       He availed of the chance.

Question IV:

Colors are used to describe feelings, moods and emotions. Match the following 'color expressions' with a suggested paraphrase.

(I) the Monday morning blues - feel embarrassed/angry /ashamed (ii) go red in the face            - feel very sick, as if about to vomit

(iii)    Look green  - sadness or depression after a weekend of fun

(iv)    The red carpet       - the sign or permission to begin an action

(v)     Blue-blooded        - a sign of surrender or acceptance of defeat; a wish to stop fighting

(vi)    A green belt - in an unlawful act; while doing something wrong

(vii)   A blackguard        - a photographic print of building plans; a detailed plan or scheme

(viii)  A grey area - land around a town or city where construction is prohibited by law

(ix)    A white flag - an area of a subject or a situation where matters are not very clear

(x)     A blueprint - a dishonest person with no sense of right or wrong

(xi)    Red-handed - a special welcome

(xii)   The green light      - of noble birth or from a royal family

Answer IV:

(I) the Monday morning blues - sadness or depression after a weekend of fun (ii) go red in the face - feel embarrassed/a angry/Asha med blues

(iii)    look green   - feel very sick, as if about to vomit

(iv)    The red carpet       - a special welcome

(v)     Blue-blooded        - of noble birth or from a royal family

(vi)    A green belt - land around a town or city where construction is prohibited by law

(vii)   A blackguard        - a dishonest person with no sense of right or wrong

(viii)  A grey area - an area of a subject or a situation where matters are not very clear

(ix)    A white flag

(x)     A blueprint

(xi)    Red-handed

(xii)   The green light

Question:

- A sign of surrender or acceptance of defeat; a wish to stop fighting

- A photographic print of building plans; a detailed plan or scheme

- In an unlawful l act; while doing something wrong

- The sign or permission to begin an action

Speaking

The story of Wand a Petronski presents many characters engaged in many kinds of behavior (teasing, playing, and sitting in class ...). Form groups. Choose an episode or episodes from the story. Assign roles to each member of the group from that episode, and try to act i t out like a play, using the words in the story.

Answer:

This is an activity, so do this under your teacher's guidance.

Writing

 Question:

1.       Look again at the letter which Wanda's father writes to Miss Mason, Wanda’s teacher. Mr. Petron ski is not quite aware how to write a formal letter in English. Can you rewrite it more appropriately? Discuss the following with your partner before you do so.

The format of a formal letter: How to begin the letter and how to end it; the language of the letter needs to be formal. (Avoid informal words like "holler" and fragments like "No more ask why funny name.") Write complete sentences.

2.       Are you interested in drawing and painting? Ritu Kumar, one of India's best known dress designers, has no formal training in designing. She started by sketching ideas for her own dresses, and getting them stitched by a tailor. Ritu's friends liked her dresses so much that they asked her to design clothes for them, and even paid her for it!

Imagine you are going to make a career out of your hobby. What sort of things will you need to learn? Write a paragraph or two on this topic after consulting an expert or doing reference work on your chosen area.

3.       Rewrite a part of the story as if Wanda is telling us her own story.

Answer :

1. There are two types of letters: Informal Letters and Formal Letters. The formal letters generally divided into seven parts as follows:

>       Address

>       Date

>       Salutation

>       Subject

>       Body

>       Complimentary close

>       Signature

Jan Patronski 's letter can write in following way:

Polish Avenue Borac's Nestle Great Britain

10th April, 2019 Dear/Respected Teacher,

I am much ashamed to inform you that the etiquettes, manners, behavior and treatment in

Your school has fallen to lowest web and the students hurt the feelings of other students because of their poverty, unfamiliarity and silence. When your students teased and troubled my daughter Wanda Petronski beyond limits and she went on crying at house, I had to move away to some other city.

There would be none to make fun of her because of her dress or unfamiliar name. There would be several unfamiliar and difficult names to say. She would not be facing any trouble there. In the best interest of my ward I have initiated the right step lest she should develop an inferiority complex.

With due respect for all. Yours truly

Jan Petronski

2.       Generally we can have various types of hobbies such as reading, writing, stamp-collecting, clay­ modelling and so on. When we are making a career out of our hobby, we will need a careful thought and determination, its implications, resources, articles need, advice and other requisites need from time to time.

In order to make gardening as our career, we must know the following facts:

>       Proper knowledge of trees, plants and their types.

>       Proper knowledge of soil, manure and watering facilities.

>       Knowledge about plants up-keep and growth.

>       Knowledge about cropping the seeds, plants and trees, etc.

>       Market knowledge.

>       Time for getting growth.

>       Losses and benefits.

>       Availability of resources.

3.       I was a Polish girl and was admitted in an American School. I accompanied American students but I had no friend. There were most of the students making fun of my dresses, shoes and even my name also. They teased me so much that I had to request my father for my education at some other school. I participant ted in dress designing and send hundred dresses. Even after getting awarded in dress competition, I had lost all nerves for school and the student just because of taunting. They had hurt my feelings beyond limits. We moved to another city and my father informed about school students. Later on, I received a letter from Peggy and Maddie. They showed their deepest concern for me and felt sorry for their behavior. They even pledged that all would be fine in the school. I was too angry to Answer their letter. Even the medal and the dress were left there in school.

After sometime, I wrote a letter showing my feelings for my old class-mates, school and my teachers. I appreciated that there had occurred a change among the students. They had turned nice. I sent my Christmas greetings for all. In addition to this, I offered all my dresses for school. Even the blue and the green dresses were given to Maddie and Peggy. I love them all but I won't be able to see them again.

Wanda Petronski

Thinking about the Poem

Question 1:

Notice the use of the word 'turn' in the first line, "I think I could turn and live with animals ...” What is the poet turning from?

Answer 1:

The poet is turning away from living with other humans as he finds them difficult and artificial. He would rather live with animals that are self-sufficient and non-complaining.

Question 2:

Mention three things that humans do and animals don't.

Answer 2:

The poet has drawn three comparisons between humans and animals.

) -                Humans work hard to make a living and they grumble and sulk about the amount of work they have to do to survive. Animals, on the other hand, do not whine about their condition.

>       Humans lie awake at night and cry for the wrong deeds they have done. Animals do not weep

For anything they do and sleep peacefully.

) -                Finally, humans keep discussing about their duties to God. However, animals do not have any god and they live and survive without any prayers or fasts.

Question 3:

Do humans kneel to other humans who lived thousands of years ago? Discuss this in groups.

Answer 3:

Yes, humans kneel to other humans who lived thousands of years ago. They worship their ancestors, fore fathers and pray by kneeling in front of their portraits. They hold religious sermons and ceremonies in their memory.

Question 4:

What are the 'tokens' that the poet says he may have dropped long ago, and which the animals have kept for him? Discuss this in class. (Hint: Whitman belongs to the Roman tic tradition that includes Rousseau and Wordsworth, which holds that civilization has made humans false to their own true nature. What could be the basic aspects of our nature as living beings that humans choose to ignore or deny?)

Answer 4:

The token that the poet says he might have dropped long ago, and which the animals have kept for him, is his true nature as a human being. While human beings came close to development, they slowly moved away from their true nature. The values and instincts that humans had and the purity with which they lived and helped each other have been left behind somewhere. As they got near civilization, they chose to leave the qualities of sympathy, honesty, generosity, joy, pleasure, decorum, and sharing. They took to evils such as greed, egoism, need to conquer everything, and other such inhuman features. Animals have carried forward the real instincts and characteristics, which the poet looks at and tries to remember where he had inattentively lost his true nature.

Chapter 6: The Hundred Dresses-II

The lesson begins with all the students of Room no. 13 having a look at the superb and amazing drawings of Wanda Petronski. Only then, a note is received by Miss Mason from Wanda's father informing that both his children will not attend the school as they are moving to a big city where no one would judge them by their names. Miss Mason was left stunned and she showed her displeasure to the class. Maddie was affected by this letter of Wanda's father. She immediately developed a push for apologizing to Wanda. Peggy and Maddie, the two best friends rush to Boggins Heights with a hope that the family had not left the place. But to their disappointment, there was no one in and around the house. Maddie lost her sleep thinking that she had been a coward as she couldn't stand up to oppose the wrong. She decided that she'll never let anyone taunt someone like that again. That weekend Peggy and Maddie decided to write a letter to Wanda that was initially meant to say sorry but then they ended up writing a just a friendly note asking her how was the new place. Weeks passed by and there was no reply until one day near Christmas, Miss Mason conveyed that she had got a letter from Wanda. In which she had written that she misses everyone and conveyed her plan of gifting one dress each to Maddie and Peggy because she has a whole new lot of hundred dresses piled up in her new house. Both of them were happy to accept it and later realized that she had drawn their faces along with the dresses. Thus, both of them understood that Wanda liked them.

Chapter 6: Poem: Animals

The poem, "Animals" by Walt Whitman is a contrast between animals and humans.

In his poem, he shows how animals are better than humans as they are more compassionate than humans. He says that animals also have feelings just like humans; but, their way of expressing themselves is far better than humans.

He says that humans have lost the factual significance of life in the speedy life while animals still enjoy the right attractiveness of life and nature. He says that animals are tranquil and self-reliant. They are happy with the resources they have. They do not condemn what they have like humans. He says that the humans have lost their wisdom while running after the material goods.

He says that he would be happy being an animal than a human. He also said that he enjoyed the company of animals as compared to that of humans. He wants to change into an animal to be able to know what helps animals set up their daily life etc.