Nor bought too long a day.

1. What did not bring too long a day?

2. Why was the day never too long for the poet?

3. Do you think this line indicate that the poet possibly finds his day long now? Why?

It was a childish ignorance.

1. What does ‘it’ refer to?

2. Why does the poet refer to it as ‘childish’?

3. Is the poet still as ignorant as he was as a child?

To know that I’m farther off from heaven.

1. Why did the poet feel closer to heaven earlier?

2. Why does the poet feel farther off from heaven now?

3. How does the knowledge of being away affect the poet?

What does the poet remember about the house where he was born?

Why does the poet say that the ‘sun came peeping in’?

Why does the poet wish the night had borne his breath away?

What surrounded the poet’s house?

How did the poet’s spirits fly when he was young?

What did the child in the poem think when he used the swing?

What was the poet’s opinion about the trees?

Which lines from the poem prove that the poet was happier as a young boy?

What is the mood of the poem—nostalgic, resigned, peaceful or sad? Explain your view?

The poet cherishes his childhood memories of nature, Read these descriptions. Which objects in nature do they refer to in the poem?
a. Symbols of beauty and happiness.
b. Messengers of joyous freedom.
c. Tall and lofty, reaching up to the sky and hence to God.

Punctuate and rewrite these sentences. Use capitals where necessary.

1. The president and the secretary of the company will give a speech in front of the president pranab Mukherjee

2. Is professor Iqbal in the institute of management today

3. When we went to the united states of america we visited the times square in new york and then went to Washington

4. At 626 malabar hills you will find a pet shop

5. Iram used the gps to find 45 western avenue

6. The constitution of india was adopted by the constituent assembly on 26 november 1949

7. The armys mission is to protect indias borders and her people

Note the position of the adjectives in these phrases. Explain the meaning of each phrase.

1. The hard-working editor’s daughter/the editor’s hard-working daughter

2. The well ventilated room of the hotel/the room of the well-ventilated hotel

3. The actor’s wonderful acting/the wonderful actor’s acting

Choose the correct options and write a, b or c on the blanks.

1. I remember the ______________ house.
   a. small pretty yellow                     b. yellow small pretty                     c. pretty small yellow

2. The pond had ______________ water.
   a. clear sparking spring                  b. sparkling clear spring                                 c. spring clear sparkling

3. The tree was _____________
   a. young, tall and shapely.            b. shapely, tall and young.            c. tall, young and shapely.

4. We went to a _____________ cottage.
   a. Quaint wooden English             b. English quaint wooden             c. quaint English wooden

5. The birds were _____________
   a. swift, small and migratory        b. migratory, small and swift.      c. small, migratory and swift

Rearrange the words and adjectives in the correct order and rewrite these sentences.

1. The within oyster was black pearl huge gleaming an exotic

2. Mughal fantastic this fort is five hundred years old

3. Brow beautiful Buddy is a patchy black-eyed spaniel lovely

4. Had a big octagonal antique the hotel room brass mirror

5. Fuel-efficient buses in large the children went to the park blue to

6. Flower beds the designed five gardener beautifully heart-shaped

You have read a poem in which the poet remembers things and incidents from his childhood. Each of us has such memories of our childhood. Which is the memory of your childhood that you treasure the most? Write about the incident. Remember to
-      describe the incident/moment/object/person clearly.
-      mention how old you were and where the incident occurred.
-      mention why you cannot forget the incident.
-      talk about the effect that the incident had on you.

        You could write about
-      a new school you went to.
-      a family function you attended.
-      the first storybook you read by yourself.
-      a vacation you thoroughly enjoyed.

I cannot remember my mother
But when in the early autumn morning .
the smell of shiuli flowers floats in the air
the scent of the morning service in the temple
comes to me as the scent of my mother.

1. How do lines 2 to 5 contradict the first line?

2. Why do you think the poet associates shiuli flowers with his mother?

3. What do shiuli flowers and the scent of morning service in the temple tell us about the character of the poet's mother?