Chapter 1.5 The New Dress Solutions

BalbhartiYuvakbharati English 12th DigestChapter 1.5 The New Dress Notes, Textbook Exercise Important Questions and Answers.

Maharashtra State Board Class 12 English Yuvakbharati Solutions Chapter 1.5 The New Dress

12th English Digest Chapter 1.5 The New Dress Textbook Questions and Answers

(b) We should not judge ourselves from the comments we receive from others.
(Agree – we should have self-esteem – trust our judgement – do not have to seek approval from others – people may be envious, etc.)

(c) A fashionable and costly dress makes you look rich, intelligent and beautiful.
(Disagree – the dress must suit the wearer – should be worn with confidence – wearer should have good posture – accessories should be well-matched, etc.)

(d) We should choose a dress according to the fashion rather than our choice.
(Disagree – if we choose according to fashion, may not be comfortable – the fashion may not suit us-we may feel self-conscious – hence choose a dress according to our choice.)

(A1)

Question (i)
There are a few other characters mentioned in this extract. Discuss the way their reactions help us to understand the inferiority complex of Mabel.
Answer:
Mabel told Robert Haydon that she felt like some dowdy, decrepit, horribly dingy old fly. She said it to reassure herself and appear detached and witty, and to show that she did not feel in the least out of anything.

Robert Haydon probably replied something to praise her, which Mabel felt was just politeness, and that he was being insincere. Though she was constantly looking for approval from others, she always felt suspicious when someone actually praised her, or said something in her favour. This shows that she has no self-esteem and a very big inferiority complex.

(A2)

Question (i)
Pick out the sentence/s from the extract which describe the ambience of the party at Mrs. Dalloway’s place.
Answer:
1. If she had been dressed like Rose Shaw, in lovely, clinging green with a ruffle of swansdown.
2. For she would not join Charles Burt and Rose Shaw, chattering like magpies and perhaps laughing at her by the fireplace.

Question (ii)
Mabel is thinking too much about her dress. Pick out two sentences supporting the above statement.
Answer:
1. It seemed to her that the yellow dress was a penance which she had deserved.
2. Then Mrs Holman was off, thinking her the most dried-up, unsympathetic twig she had ever met, absurdly dressed, too, and would tell every one about Mabel’s fantastic appearance.

Question (iii)
Critically analyze Mabel’s weak economic conditions in the past as one of the reasons that led her to choose the old-fashioned dress.
Answer:
Mabel did not belong to a rich family. She was one of a family of ten. They always had to be careful about their expenses, always counting the pennies. Her mother had to carry big cans the linoleum on the stairs was worn off, and there was always some minor domestic tragedy taking place.

Even when they went to seaside resorts, they stayed at lodges which never faced the sea directly, but at an odd angle, so that they had to squint to see the sea. Maybe indirectly she was still fighting with her weak economic conditions of the past, and this had made her choose the old-fashioned dress or it could have been some memories of the past that made her do it.

Question (iv)
The cause of Miss Mabel’s disappointment is not only her poor background in the past but her too much bookishness also Substantiate.
Answer:
To a certain extent this is true. She keeps thinking about the depressing lines she has read written by Shakespeare; she also keeps thinking of the story of the fly and the saucer, and how she is a fly and the others are dragonflies, butterflies and beautiful insects. Probably her over-active imagination, which led to her continuous disappointment with various things, was also due to extensive reading.

Question (v)
Do you appreciate Mabel’s tendency of deciding her own value from the comments given by others? Explain your views.
Answer:
No, I don’t. We all have our own likes and dislikes; we should wear what we like and behave in the manner we think is appropriate. We should not depend on the approval and comments of others to decide our value and worth. This is done only by those who have no confidence in themselves and no self-esteem.

(A3)

Question (i)
Write the synonyms for the word ‘dress’ by filling appropriate letters in the blanks. One is done for you.
Answer:
(a) a t t i r e
(b) g a r b
(c) c o s t u m e
(d) g a r m e n t
(e) o u t f i t
(f) a p p a r e l

Question (ii)
Conchology means the scientific study or collection of mollusc shells. Find out the meanings of:
1. Etymology
2. Archaeology
Answer:
1. Etymology – the study of the origin and history of words.
2. Archaeology – the scientific study of material remains (such as tools, pottery, jewelry, stone walls, and monuments) of past human life and activities.

(A4)

(i) Use the correct tense form of the verbs given in the brackets and rewrite the sentences.

Question (a)
She ………………….. (take/takes/took/had taken) that old fashion book of her mother a few months back.
Answer:
She had taken that book of her mother a few months back.

Question (b)
She ……………… (pecking/pecks/pecked) at her left shoulder for quite some time.
Answer:
She pecked at her left shoulder for quite some time.

Question (c)
One human should (done /doing/be doing) this for another always.
Answer:
One human should be doing this for another always.

Question (d)
All this (will be/is/have been) destroyed in a few years.
Answer:
All this will be destroyed in a few years.

Question (e)
She (feels/felt/will be feeling) like a dressmaker’s dummy standing there.
Answer:
She felt like a dressmaker’s dummy standing there.

(ii) Do as directed:

Question (a)
Lata will sing tonight. (Make it less certain.)
Answer:
Lata may sing tonight.

Question (b)
You should wear your uniform. (Show ability.)
Answer:
You can wear your uniform.

Question (c)
Sandeep may study to clear the examination. (Make it obligatory/compulsory.)
Answer:
Sandeep must study to clear the examination.

Question (d)
I can do it. (Make a sentence seeking permission.)
Answer:
May I do it?

(iii)

Question (a)
Frame three rules for the students of your college. (Non-textual grammar)
Answer:
1. Students must wear identity cards in the college premises.
2. Students must not loiter near the college gate.
3. Every student must have at least 75% attendance in every subject.

Question (b)
Frame three sentences giving advice to your younger brother.
Answer:
1. You should make a timetable for revision at least a month before the exams.
2. You should not eat junk food.
3. You should visit your dentist at least once every six months.

Question (iv)
Fill-in the blanks with appropriate modal auxiliaries according to the situation given in the following sentences:
Answer:
(a) Take an umbrella. It might rain later.
(b) People must not walk on the grass.
(c) May I ask you a question?
(d) The signal has turned red. You must wait.
(e) I am going to the library. I could find my friend there.

(A5)

Question (i)
Virginia Woolf has created many characters other than Miss Mabel with great skill. Write a character sketch of any one of them.
Answer:
One of the guests at Mrs. Dalloway’s party was Charles Burt. Mabel was impressed by him and longing for some praise from him. However, he was a malicious person, with no heart, no fundamental kindness and only a superficial appearance of friendliness. He liked to poke fun at people and see their reactions. He probably also liked to gossip about people and discuss them behind their backs, but his opinion made a great difference to Mabel.

Question (ii)
‘Clothes mean nothing until someone lives in them.’ Expand the idea in your own words.
Answer:
Clothes mean nothing until someone lives in them These are the words of Marc Jacobs, a fashion designer. It means that clothes gain importance and character only when someone is wearing them. The first impression that people have of a person is not only through the clothes that one is wearing but the way one is wearing those clothes.

The style a person adopts tells people a lot about his/her personality and character. The best and most expensive clothes can be unimpressive if the wearer does not carry himself/herself well. On the contrary, the simplest of clothes can look good and impressive if the wearer has good posture, self-confidence and self-esteem.

Hence, when we are buying clothes, we must not only be sure that they will suit us but that we will be comfortable in them and able to carry them well. So, we must choose clothes that make us feel good about ourselves, confident and happy.

(A6)

Read the extract and complete the activities given below:

A1. Global Understanding: