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Chapter 1.5 Mrs. Adis

Textbook Questions and Answers

(i) Share your opinions/feelings about a stranger who has a villainous look/ appearance.

Question 1.
The feeling of a person when he commits a mistake are –
Answer:

1. He tries to justify it
2. He tries to hide it
3. He tries to get sympathy
4. He becomes offensive as offence is the best form of defense
5. He pretends to be innocent

Question (ii)
The person who makes a mistake or commits a crime should be punished because –
Answer:

1. He should not repeat his mistake.
2. He can misunderstand forgiveness as weakness.
3. The punishment can reform his character as he may feel ashamed and repentant.
4. The punishment will be an example to others not to commit such crimes.
5. The punishment may save him from being a hardcore anti social.

(A1)

Question (i)
Describe the atmosphere in the woods when Peter Crouch was heading towards Mrs. Adis’s house. It was –
Answer:
(a) A dark moonless night.
(b) A night without even a twilight and the only light seen was the light from the stars far away on the black sky.
(c) A soundless, windless, clear night where only the sound of the dogs barking and a man’s own footsteps could be heard.

Question (ii)
Peter Crouch didn’t knock before entering Mrs. Adis’s house, because –
Answer:

• he was in trouble.
• he did not want anybody to know that he had entered the house.
• he knew he had shot a man.

Question (iii)
Find the reasons that forced Peter to shoot down a person
Answer:
The reasons that forced peter to shoot down a person were:

• The keepers spotted him
• He was scared that the keepers would arrest him for hunting the rabbits
• He knew that it was too dark a night for the keepers to recognize him

Question (iv)
Mrs. Adis didn’t hand over Peter Crouch to the keepers because –
Answer:

1. She knew he was a good friend of her son Tom
2. She believed that Peter would never have harmed Tom knowingly because of their friendship
3. Probably she thought Tom would not have liked his friend to be arrested because of his mother and anyway her dead son would not come back even if Peter was arrested.

(A2)

Question 1.
The writer has used a phrase ‘Thudding Heart’ which means pounding, or beating of heart, Do you know ‘Thud’ is an onomatopoeic word which means a heavy sound made by an object falling to the ground. Discuss with your partner and make a list of Onomatopoeic words that you find in the text.

1. …………..
2. ………….
3. ………….

Answer:

1. Crackling
2. Rustling
3. Dragging

(A3)

Question 1.
‘She went to one of the kitchen drawers’.
Look at the sentence carefully. The underlined word tells us that she went (some time ago) to a particular place (at one of the kitchen drawers). Now write what you did ‘yesterday’ and what your friend did ‘yesterday’. Complete the table.
Answer:

(A4)

Question 1.
Imagine your friend/younger brother or sister has committed a grave mistake that has resulted in a great loss to the college property or to your family. He/she seeks your advice to come out of the situation/problem. Write a dialogue between you and your friend/brother/sister who describes the entire situation and seeks help from you. Take help of the following points.

• Introduction
• Confessing the mistake
• Seeking help
• Your advice/suggestion
• Concluding part

Answer:
Saikat: Hi buddy ! How are you? Didn’t see you yesterday, Kunal. Where were you?
Eunal: I was playing football. In fact, I was also looking out for you after the game, but couldn’t find you.
Saikat: Kunal, in fact I need to talk to you about something serious.
Kunal: Serious? What’s it? You Look worried too! Tell me. Let’s see whether we can solve the problem together.
Saikat: I had borrowed a book from the library and I lost it. Somebody picked it up from my bag. I should have been more careful about a library-book. I can’t even tell my mummy about it, she’ll scold me for being careless. I really don’t know what to do. At present I don’t have enough money to buy the book and return it to the library, confessing my mistake.
Kunal: But you have no choice. You must inform the librarian and let him decide what step should be taken. You also should tell aunty what actually has happened. I’m sure, aunty will help you come out of this problem. Truth has no alternative. The mistake has happened may be unknowingly. But you must not hide it from your mother. If required, I will come to your place to talk to aunty. But first, come with me. Let’s write a letter to our librarian with a copy to the principal.
Saikat: You always come out with reasonable solutions. I will do as you have told me. It sounds quite logical. Why don’t you come home so that I get confidence to talk to mummy.
Kunal: I will have to inform my mother too. Otherwise she will be worried. But, our first job is to write the letter.
Saikat: Ok. Thank you so much.
Kunal: It will be my pleasure if I can help you solve your problem.

(A5)

Question 1.
The best punishment is ‘forgiveness’. Discuss the sentence in the light of the text you have read. You can make use of following points.

1. Forgiveness provides opportunity to change the behaviour.
2. Forgiveness leads to repentance.
3. A person may commit a mistake / crime impulsively or under the force of strong emotions.
4.  ……………………………………………….
5. …………………………………………………

Answer:
Forgiveness

No one is perfect in this world as the saying goes, “To err is human, to forgive divine”. Committing mistake is not a crime. Understanding that the mistake has been committed is more important than moving towards the path of changing behaviour. In fact, identifying the mistake, recognizing it as a mistake is necessary for a person to reform. And if we can be successful in helping a person to reform his / her character by granting forgiveness, it also helps us to come out of a sense of guilt.

He / She has fallen down, we can be the facilitators for him / her to get up and start afresh. Moreover, revenge can never wipe out crime but it can definitely increase hostility. Forgiveness also helps us to come out of a feeling of guilt. But a hardcore criminal who harms innocent people knowingly and intentionally, should not be spared just by forgiveness.

Important Questions and Answers

Question 1.
The writer describes Mrs. Adis as –
Answer:

1. A small woman
2. A woman of not more than forty two years
3. A thin woman with a brown hard face
4. Having dried skin on the face that caused wrinkles

Question 2.
Mrs. Adis asks Peter Crouch whether he has had quarrel with the keepers. This shows that –
Answer:

1. She was extremely intelligent
2. She was quite observant
3. She was alert and quick in thinking

Question 3.
“That was the keepers”… make trouble” (Refer textbook page 47)
List some characteristics of Mrs. Adis based on the incident of the passage.
Answer:

1. Helpful
2. Kind
3. Matter-of-Fact
4. Loved her son very dearly
5. Practical

Question 4.
Viider guessed that Crouch has taken refuge in Mrs. Adis’ house because –
Answer:
Vildar must have guessed the nearby places where it was possible for Crouch to hide. Crouch thought that Vilder’s guess was correct since he had come to the right place. Crouch also felt that the keepers had followed him to reach the exact destination.

Question 5.
“There’s been a row”- the row took place because –
Answer:
A man was trying to hunt rabbits and the keepers could hear the noise of it. The man thought they did not see him because of the darkness, the man probably had seen them. So, he ran away as the keepers had scared him.

Question 6.
Mrs. Adis unlocked the door because –
Answer:
She wanted Crouch to leave her place safely as Crouch was a good friend of her son Tom. She wanted to respect the friendship of her dead son. Crouch was the killer of her son but punishing him could not get her son Tom back.

Question 7.
Then silently, each ‘wrung’ the mother by the hand and went away. Guess the meaning, ‘wrung’ here.
Answer:
‘Wrung’ here means holding the mothers hand tightly to give her assurance of their co-operation.

Question 8.
Find the difference between : shivering and trembling
Answer:
Shivering and trembling do have similar meanings but there is difference in their usage sometimes. For Example, we generally do not say that “He was trembling in cold” we use ‘Shivering’ in such a sentence. But we usually use the expression “The leaves tremble (and not ‘shiver’) in the breeze.

Comprehension

Read the extract and complete the activities given below.

Global Understanding:

Question 1.
Arrange the events according to their occurrence in the passage :
(i) Peter did not knock because he did not want anybody to hear.
(ii) Peter could see Mrs. Adis lend over the fire, taking some pot or kettle off it.
(iii) Peter wanted to stay in Mrs. Adis’s house for sometime.
(iv) Mrs. Adis kept the kettle at the side of the fire as it boiled over.
Answer:
(ii) Peter could see Mrs. Adis lend over the fire, taking some pot or kettle off it.
(i) Peter did not knock because he did not want anybody to hear.
(iv) Mrs. Adis kept the kettle at the side of the fire as it boiled over.
(iii) Peter wanted to stay in Mrs. Adis’s house for sometime.

Question 2.
Complete the table.
Answer:

Question 3.
Whatever Mrs. Adis’s justifications in favour of Peter?
Answer:
Mrs. Adis wanted to justify to the keepers that even if Peter had killed Tom, he must have done it unknowingly as they were good friends. But she did not want to face the killer of her son and wanted him to leave silently.

Complex Factual

Question 1.
How did Peter Crouch confess to Mrs. Adis.
Answer:
Peter Crouch accepted to Mrs. Adis that he had shot a man and did not know whether that man was dead. He confessed that he had not knocked at Mrs. Adis’s door as he did not want anybody to know that he was there. The keepers were chasing him.

Question 2.
Why didn’t the man speak for a moment?
Answer:
The man was surprised that Mrs. Adis was helping him so much in spite of knowing very well that he was hiding from the keepers. She figured out the route for him to escape so that, the keepers could not see him. She even paid him the train fare to go to London as he did not have any money. He was speechless for a moment since he was trying to guess the reason for her kindness towards him.

Inference / Interpretation / Analysis

Question 1.
“I didn’t want anybody to hear”
This sentence implied –
Answer:
1. Peter entered Mrs. Adis’s house without knocking because he did not want anybody to hear the knock and find out his whereabouts.
2. Peter was running away from the keepers as he had shot a man. He wanted to take shelter at Mrs, Adis’s place for sometime and would escape at a convenient time.

Question 2.
Point out two instances when the man felt that Mrs. Adis was an intelligent lady.
Answer:
1. Mrs. Adis told the man to leave her house immediately after the keepers had crossed the house and she also instructed him to take the opposite direction so that the keepers would not be able to see him.
2. Mrs. Adis wanted the man to leave her house before Tom came back as she was expecting Tom to bring one of his friends. She wanted to arrow a situation when tom might suspect something wrong after seeing that man at her place.

Question 3.
Explain why Peter went out silently without talking to Mrs. Adis.
Answer:
Peter knew that he had committed a glare crime of killing his friend Tom, he might have done it unknowingly but he could feel the loss of Mrs. Adis. Tom was her only son and Peter, being his friend, knew about their attachment. He was repentant and could understand that he had no word to console Mrs. Adis who, in spite of losing her son, saved him. So he went out silently without disturbing Mrs. Adis.

Personal Response

Question 1.
What characteristics of Mrs. Adis, form the passage, do you admire the most? Justify your answer.
Answer:
I appreciate the calmness of Mrs. Adis the most in a difficult situation when a criminal was standing in front of her, she did not lose her cool and maintained her patience. She was obviously disturbed by Peter’s presence lent did not take any hasty decision.

Question 2.
Explain whether you support Mrs. Adis of saving a criminal from the keepers.
Answer:
Yes, I support Mrs. Adis because she has saved the man from the keeper just for the sake of her love towards her son Tom. She has also felt that the man has not committed a grave crime and can be given a chance to save himself. I respect a mother’s love and sentiment for her child’s friend.

Question 3.
What according to you, Mrs. Adis should have ideally done? Explain your answer.
Answer:
I think Mrs. Adis had taken the right decision of allowing Peter to go. She, being the mother of Tom who had been shot dead by Peter, could have ideally handled over the culprit in the hands of the keepers. But that would not have brought back Tom to her. So, she decided to give Peter a chance to reform as Tom probably would have done and she wanted to respect her son’s sentiment at that moment.

Language Study:

Question (i)
He changed his mind and went to the door. (Remove ‘and’)
Answer:
Changing his mind he went to the door.

Question (ii)
He could see Mrs. Adis stooping over the fire. (Replace the modal auxiliary with ‘be able to)
Answer:
He was able to see Mrs. Adis stooping over the fire.

Question (iii)
That was the keepers. (Use past perfect tense and rewrite)
Answer:
That had been the keepers.

Question (iv)
He was roused by the sound of footsteps on the road. (Begin with ‘The sound…’ and rewrite)
Answer:
The sound of footsteps on the road roused him.

Question (v)
The only thing he could possibly do.
Answer:
He could not possibly do anything else, (or) Nothing else he could possibly do. (Make negative)

Question (vi)
She did not come in.
Answer:
She had not come in. (Use past perfect tense)

Vocabulary

Question 1.
Give adjective forms of the following :

1. silence
2. quarrel
3. trouble
4. moment

Answer:

1. silent
2. quarrelsome
3. troublesome
4. momentary

Question 2.
Give the meaning of the word ‘Fare’ as a noun and as a verb. Make two sentences of your own to show the word having two different meanings.
1. Fare (Noun): Price
We cannot afford the air fare to go abroad.
2. Fare (Verb) : Progress
Sushant fared well in Mathematics.

Question 3.
Give antonyms

1. better
2. heavy
3. dead
4. glad

Answer:

1. worse
2. light
3. alive
4. sad/depressed

Glossary:

1. gleam – shine brightly
2. twilight – soft glowing light from the sky
3. distinct – clear
4. knell – sound of a bell especially for death or funeral
5. sourly – in an unfriendly way
6. sobbing – crying
7. tremble and shiver – tremble in fear/shiver in cold
8. leaden – heavy / weighty
9. thudding – pounding / dull sound
10. have a row (Phr) – to fight with someone
11. sparing – refraining from harming
12. despair – hopelessness
13. bolted – locked
14. reckon – believe
15. wrung – held something tightly
16. doze – sleep tightly
17. roused – awakened
18. on the threshold (Phr) – at the beginning of something / very close to something
19. Sussex – a county in the south of England
20. tongue of land – a long stretch of land branching out from the mainroad
21. hammer-woods – wood (forest)- described as ‘hammer’ because in the past, iron used to be made using timber and water
22. hammerponds – ponds
23. pricks of fire – stars
24. Delmonden – name of a village close at hand: very near
25. cinder Wood – name of wood
26. beseechingly – appealingly
27. huddled down – shrink oneself
28. Cansiron – name of a town where there is a railway station
29. unwilling shrug – to reluctantly raise shoulders slightly
30. momentary – for a brief period of time
31. dulling – not interesting or exciting
32. Scotney Castle – (a fort) name of a castle
33. refuge – shelter
34. tongue tied – speechlessmade off ran away
35. sacked – dismissed