Irish Stew by the riverside - Starburst - Class 7 - English

Where did the three friends decide to spend the night?

George decided to make the Irish stew in order to:
a. use up all the left-over food in their hamper.
b. Show how well he could cook.
c. show what a slap-up dinner was like.

Describe the role played by each of the participants in the making of the stew.

According to the narrator, why did Montmorency come back with a dead water rat?
a. he wanted to spoil the stew.
b. he really wanted to help.
c. He knew that water rat is the main ingredient in the stew.

I forgot the other ingredients, but I know nothing was wasted. What does this sentence mean? Name some of the ingredients that went into the stew.

Harris said that he thought it would be all right, mixed up with the other things, and that every little thing helped.

What is Harris referring to?
a. adding the remaining potatoes without peeling
b. putting in the pie and other edible odds and ends
c. adding Montomorency’s water rat to the stew

Describe the narrator. What kind of a person do you think he is?

Do you think he and Harris made very good assistants to George? Why/Why not?

Would you call the three men adventurous? Support your opinion with examples from the story.

“We began cheerfully, one might almost say skittishly, but our light-heartedness was gone by the time the first potato was finished.”

1. What task were the speaker and his companions undertaking?

2. How did their mood change over time as they worked on the task?

3. What was the reason for the change in mood?

Given below are idiomatic expressions related to food. Place them in the appropriate blanks. Make the necessary changes.

1.    When his mistake was caught he had to ........................ and apologize to the people present there.
2.    “Mountain climbing? Well, it’s not ........................ . I’ve a fear of heights,” she said.
3.    When it comes to making excuses I think Arvind ........................ . No one can do it better than him.
4.    One of the gangsters was arrested and interrogated. He ........................ after some coaxing and a few threats.
5.    It was unfortunate that we could not find a team leader ........................ .
6.    Papiha makes a good leader. In difficult circumstances too she is ................................... . Nothing can make her tense.

Complete these sentences with the appropriate conjunction from the box.

1.    The crowd began to lose interest and moved off, ........................ the man continued with his show.
2.    Pamela has her dance examination next week. ........................ she is going to practice every morning.
3.    I did not call you yesterday ........................ you were very busy.
4.    Harris and the speaker did not know how to peel potatoes ........................ were they interested in learning.
5.    They were considered a better team ........................ they lost the match.

Match the sentence halves and join them with the correct conjunctions.

Write about  your experiences of working with your friends with the help of these guidelines. Try to make your write-up humorous and your characters rounded with both strengths and weaknesses.

The phrase as cool as a cucumber means to be very calm, with no worries. Someone who is not affected by pressure. Write an incident involving a person who is always as cool as a cucumber and remained so during the moments of a minor crisis.
-      Get into pairs. Discuss who would you like to write about. If there is no real person in your knowledge then you could imagine one.
-      Jot down what qualities you would give him or her.
-      Briefly describe the incident wherein the person faced difficulties or challenges.
        Remember this part would be like a narrative.
-      Not down how the person behaved during the crisis and what the responses of the others were.
-      You might make a mind map to jot your points.
-      Once your notes are ready, write your individual drafts.
-      Edit your draft and prepare your revised write-up.