Fight, Manju, Fight! - English Access Coursebook - Class 8 - English

Select words from below and place them in column B of the table that follows so that they express the ‘opposite’ idea of the statements in column A.

• pacifying

• unravel

• malformed

• ornate

• melancholic

• anguish

It is important to learn and know the participle forms of irregular verbs. In the table below, fill in the blanks with the appropriate form of the verbs.

In each of the pair of sentences given below. (a) describes a situation. Complete each sentence in (b) based on the situation described in (a), using the correct form of the verb given in brackets.

Example:

a. I woke up in the middle of the night, missing my mother very badly.

b. When I woke up, I realized that I had been dreaming (dream) about my mother.

1. a. I was waiting at a bus stop to be picked up by my friend. I waited from fifteen minutes. My friend phoned to say that his car wouldn’t start and so he could not pick me up.
   b. When my friend called, I __________________ (wait) for fifteen minutes at the bus stop.

2. a. Ranesh worked for five years in a bank. Then he decided to start his own business.

   b. When Ranesh decided to start his own business he __________________ (work) for five years in a bank.

3. a. We were in the train for fifteen hours. We were exhausted when we reached our destination.
   b. By the time we reached our destination, we __________________ (travel) for fifteen hours and we were exhausted.

4. a. The political leader was speaking to a group of college students. He had only spoken for about ten minutes and a disturbance broke out in the auditorium.

   b. The political leader __________________ (speak) for about ten minutes when a disturbance broke out in the auditorium.

5. a. The cricket match began. The match went on for about an hour and then it began to rain.
   b. The cricket match __________________ (go) on for about an hour when it began to rain.

Fill in the blanks in the following sentences with either the present perfect continuous, the past continuous or the past perfect continuous forms of the given verbs.

1. John __________________ (Swim) when I entered the pool. ‘I __________________ (swim) since breakfast,’ he said. I couldn’t believe that he __________________ (swim) for over three hours.

2. My father __________________ (worry) about his job for two weeks now. Yesterday he __________________ (talk) to someone on the phone at midnight. Later he told me that he __________________ (discuss) his problem with his boss for over three hours.

3. Rohan __________________ (study) in this school for the last two years. He ____________ (study) in another school when I met him three years ago and advised him to change schools. He __________________ (not do) well in his studies ever since he had joined the other school.

In the blank after each of the following sentences, write Y if you think the semi-colon is correctly used and N if it is not.

1. Andrew is a clever boy; he is going to Thailand during the summer vacation. ...................

2. We rushed into the house; because it began to rain heavily. ..........................

3. I try to avoid burgers and fries; I don’t like fast food very much. .........................

4. The thief stole out TV; two laptops; some money; and my mother’s jewellery. ....................

5. He can’t play cricket; on the other hand he’s a good swimmer. ........................

Place commas and semi-colons in the appropriate places in each of the sentences given below, if you think they are required.

1. It has become very cloudy but I don’t think it will rain today.

2. I don’t read much I prefer watching a movie.

3. As he had been extremely unruly and rude his father cancelled his pocket money for the month.

4. Please get me some bread milk butter and cheese from the corner shop fruit vegetables and spices from the market some pens writing pads and ink from your uncle’s stationery shop and today’s newspapers from the newsstand downstairs.

Write a description within 250 words of a person you know – or have read about – who overcame challenges in his (or her) life. You may include the following details in your description and add anything else you consider relevant.

• Who the person is/was

• his (or her) occupation in life

• details of the challenges faced by this person: physical disability – learning difficulties – financial problems – loss of a loved one-closure of a business

• how this person met and overcame these challenges

• the qualities of character that made this possible

• lessons you have learned from this person’s life

By the end of the story, Manju experiences a feeling of:
a. sadness and dejection
b. renewed self-confidence
c. indifference to her fate

Her attitude at the end of the story was the result of:
a. Her strong and determined character
b. the support she receives from her mother
c. a combination of (a) and (b)

Manjula’s father does not encourage her skill for painting because:
a. He doesn’t like artists
b. He doesn’t believe in Manjula’s talents
c. He lacks the money to support her talent

Fill in the blanks in the following sentences with details from the story.
a. Though Manju’s __________________ and __________________ were both deformed, she
was confident she could learn to be a good __________________.
b. She knew that her physical handicap would not be a problem but the ___________ of the material she needed could be.
c. On her __________________ birthday, Manju received gifts from her family:
From her mother: ______________________________________________________
From her father: ______________________________________________________
From her brother: ______________________________________________________
d. Manju decided to give up painting when she overheard her father tell her mother that
Manju should learn something more useful, like __________________ or __________________.
e. Manju decided finally that, like Rich Belanger, she should take her mother’s advice and __________________.

Manjula helped her mother take down the steel trunk. Mrs Parelkar opened it but then shut it again. She turned to Manju decisively. ‘Manju, I would like to talk to you. I … .’
‘Mother, please,’ interrupted the girl, her dark eyes burning. ‘Don’t …’
‘But, Manju …’
‘Please, Mother! Please!’

a. What did Manju’s mother go on to tell Manju?
b. How did Manju react?
c. Describe the circumstances that caused Manju to change her mind and decide to resume painting.

She swallowed dryly, something inside her twisting painfully. She knew the pain. She was used to it. What was the ‘pain’ experienced by Manju, and why was she ‘used to it’?

After dinner, when the children were in bed, Mrs Parelkar spoke to her husband about Manjula’s paintings. Manjula did not understand why her father’s voice was raised. He never raised it in front of her mother.

a. What did Manju’s father tell her mother? Do you think his point of view was justified?
b. In the extract Manju appears surprised to hear her father’s raised voice. At more than one point elsewhere in the story, there are suggestions from the author that Manju’s father was not as unsympathetic a person as his behaviour here might seem to suggest. Locate these hints and offer your own opinion of him.
c. Contrast the attitudes of Manju’s father and mother towards Manju and her ambition. With which of these two characters does your sympathy lie?

What is your opinion of Manjula

a. as a daughter?
b. as a physically challenged young girl?

Place the adjectives given below in the correct columns in the table that follows, according to the traits of character and personality displayed by the three characters.
Note:
i. You may need to consult your dictionary for the meaning of some of the adjectives.
ii. You may use the same adjectives in more than one column if you consider it necessary.
iii. These adjectives will help you in answering some of the questions above.