Unit 9
Reprint 2025-26
You have read 'The Proposal', a one act play. It is a farce. The play is set in only one location, the drawing room of Chubukov's house. All three characters in the play are quarrelsome people and they quarrel over petty issues.
Lomov and Natalya start with the issue like a piece of land that is situated at the border between the two neighbors' properties. The discussion turns into a quarrel and the marriage proposal is forgotten. They shout at each other. They are again dragged into an argument over the superiority of each other's dogs. So, they drag their ancestors in their foolish quarrel. They again abuse each other and call names.
Facial expressions are non-verbal communications. These expressions play an important role in a play. They are powerful communication tools. The human face is extremely expressive. It is able to convey countless emotions without saying a word. Expressions tell us the mood of the characters in the play. Some facial expressions are given below. The facial expressions are for happiness, sadness, anger, surprise, fear, and disgust. Look at the facial expressions and write which emotion do they express.
Look at the facial expressions below and identify which emotion each one represents:
Some verbs are given below. Write their nouns and adverb forms in the space provided.
Some children are taken to a health clinic for a regular checkup. Rewrite the sentences they speak in reported speech. (Use complain, say, tell, ask, inquire, mention, etc., wherever necessary.)
Ashish: I feel sleepy all the time.
Ashish that he .
Neha: I get pain in my legs when I run.
Neha that she .
Sonal: I'm fine.
Sonal that she .
Ritu: I had fever last week.
Ritu that she .
Akash: Why do I always cough?
Akash why .
Rehman: Should I walk everyday to keep myself fit?
Rehman whether .
Sumi: Oh, thank you, Doctor. Now I know the reason for my constant stomach-ache.
Sumi that .
Join the parts of the sentences given below and write meaningful sentences.
(a) by giving ultimate/individual can transform everything/expression to /the inner determination of an/the infinite potential of human being
(b) down many a time/but keep rising/that you may go/the Sun teaches us
(c) but how much love/much we give/we put into giving/it's not how
(d) fit for human habitation/would mould the world/the citizens of tomorrow/into a globe
(e) you must hear/to be a great leader /and pains of people/the unspoken joys
You have read a play by Anton Chekov. Given below is a story by the same author. Listen and enjoy the recorded story or someone may read it aloud to you. Then answer the questions that follow.
Vanka
(Vanka Zhukov, a nine-year old boy, was made an assistant to Alyakhin, the Shoemaker. He didn't go to bed on Christmas Eve. When everyone in the shop had gone to Church, he began to write on a crumpled sheet of paper. "Dear Grandfather Konstantin, he wrote", I'm writing a letter to you. I wish you a Merry Christmas and all good things from the Lord God. I've no father and mother, and you are all I have left.")
(a) Vanka went to bed early on Christmas Eve as___________.
(b) Why, of all people, did he write a letter to his grandfather?
(c) How was his grandfather a very lovable person?
(d) Vanka was beaten _______________ times.
(e) Vanka was beaten because _______________.
A communicative task is given below. Practice in pairs or groups.
Task I (Discussing, giving opinions, agreeing, and disagreeing) Role Play
Smita: Well! What do you think about violence on television?
Romila: If you ask me, there is too much violence on television. Children should not be exposed to it.
Smita: I don't agree with you. Why do you say so?
Romila: It's not wise to expose children to a lot of fighting, shooting, stabbing, and killing.
Smita: But children find it thrilling.
Romila: No, they don't. On the contrary it brutalises them and makes them insensitive. They look upon violence and killing as common place incidents.
Smita: But the young people now-a-days are quite violent.
Romila: Precisely. It is the influence of television. Wouldn't it be better if through television we give them the message of peace and togetherness.
Pair or Group Work
Discuss with your friends the following topics — people going abroad for studies, building a dispensary in place of a playground, sports cannot be a profession, or any topic that is of interest to you and your friends.
Letters in the olden times were carried by mail coaches driven by horses. How are they carried today? List the types of letters sent by different means of transport.
You have listened to the story of Vanka. Try writing an e-mail to your grandfather describing your life. Have you ever felt as bad as Vanka did? What did you do to feel happy again?
You have read 'A Letter to God' in your textbook First Flight. Lencho wrote a letter to God expressing his desire. Did it reach God? Do you think Vanka's letter reached his grandfather? What is the correct way to address a letter?
Suppose Vanka and Lencho meet. Create an interesting dialogue between the two. What encouraged them to write letters to God and grandfather?
Suppose you were asked to find a groom or a bride for a member of your family. What characteristics would you look for in them? Make a list.
You can also talk to them to know what they think their partner must possess.
Silent Letter: H
Some words have silent letters that are not pronounced. The letter 'H' is silent in words like:
Tongue Twister
How much wood would a woodchuck chuck if a woodchuck could chuck wood?
Idiom
Bury the hatchet — to stop conflict and make peace