Telangana SCERT TS 8th Class English Study Material Pdf Unit 7A Bonsai Life Part 1 Textbook Questions and Answers.
TS 8th Class English Guide Unit 7A Bonsai Life Part 1
PRE-READING (Motivation/Picture Interaction):
Observe the pictures and discuss the questions that follow.
Question 1.
Who are these people? What do you know about them?
Answer :
The people in the pictures are i) Savitribhai Phule ii) Sarojini Naidu iii) Mother Teresa, iv) Sania Mirza v) Sunita Williams vi) Lata Mangeshkar.
Savitribhai Phule played an important role in improving women’s rights in India during British rule. Sarojini Naidu is known as the Nightingale of India. She was an Indian independence activist and poet. Mother Teresa was a social reformer. Sania Mirza is an Indian professional tennis player who is currently ranked No. 1 in the women’s doubles rankings. Sunitha Williams is an American astronaut. She holds the records for total space walks by a woman and melt most spacewalk time for a woman. Lata Mangeshkar is an Indian playback singer, and ccasional music composer. The other pictures include – (1) A girl acting as a doctor. The doctor helps in curing diseases. (2) A girl acting as a teacher. The teacher imparts knowledge to students. (3) A girl displaying a Karate pose. Karate is used for self defence (4) A girl acting as an advocate. The advocate gives us legal help.
Question 2.
What makes a woman to become empowered ?
Answer :
Education makes a woman become empowered.
Oral Discourse :
Debate – Education leads to Empowerment of Women.
Answer :
Education leads to Empowerment of Women
Respected chairperson, honourable judges, teachers and friends.
It’s my privilege to stand before you to speak for the motion. I’m sure you all will agree with me when I present my opinions before you.
I now recollect the words of Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru – “If you educate a man you educate an individual, however, if you educate a woman, you educate a whole family. Women empowerment means that mother India is empowered.” I am sure that you agree with me. Women constitute almost half of the population in the world. How can we imagine this world without 50% literacy rate?
Researches say that India is poised to emerge as one of the most developed nations by 2020, more literate, knowledgeable and economical at the forefront. No doubt, women will play a vital role in contributing to the nation’s development. Women power is crucial to the economic growth of any country. In India, however, this is yet to meet the requirements, despite reforms.
In India, women’s education increased after the country got independence in 1947. The government has taken various measures to provide education to all Indian women. As a result, women’s literacy rate has grown over the six decades and the growth of female literacy, in fact, has been higher than that of male literacy rate. While in 2001 only 54.10% of Indian women were literate, by the end of 2011,65.46% of female population become literate. The growth of female literacy rate is 11.30% as compared to 6.29% of that of male literacy rate.
Women education in India plays a very important role in the overall development of the country. It helps not only in the development of half of the human resources, but also in improving the quality of life at home and outside. Educated women not only tend to promote education to their children but also provide better guidance to their children. Moreover, educated women can have better economic stability and freedom.
Thus, I very strongly say that education leads to women empowerment which is essential for the development of any country.
Thank you.
Comprehension :
I. Tick (✓) the statements that are true.
1. The narrator receives letters very frequently. (✓)
2. The letter brought the news of the narrator’s sister and brother-in-law’s arrival. (✓)
3. The narrator’s husband was very happy to hear the news of the visitors. (✓)
4. Akkayya was not interested to continue her studies. (✘)
5. The narrator’s husband likes the traditional food of Andhra Pradesh. (✓)
II. Answer the following questions.
Question 1.
“The moment I see letters….. can’t contain my excitement.” Why does the narrator get excited?
Answer :
The narrator gets excited because she loves to receive letters from some place or the other everyday. She feels as if she is face to face with her near and dear ones. She feels as if they are speaking affectionately to her, while reading a letter. As soon as she sees a letter, she feels that the exhaustion of her office work vanishes and her heart grows light. The very sight of letters gives her the energy and enthusiasm.
Question 2.
What change did the narrator observe in her father’s attitude towards education over a decade?
Answer :
The narrator’s father was of the opinion that there was no use of education for a girl and it was enough if a girl was able to keep the washerman’s accounts. Later he changed his attitude with the times. He did not even hesitate to send his daughter, the narrator to college for higher education.
Question 3.
Why was Akkayya determined to send her daughter to college?
Answer :
Akkayya was determined to send her daughter to college because she did not want her daughter to lead a dependent life like her. She was of the opinion that a woman without proper education would have to live under her husband’s thumb, like a scorpion under a slipper. She was vexed with that sort of life and didn’t want her daughter to be so.
Question 4.
In what way is the narrator more fortunate than her sister?
Answer :
The narrator is more fortunate than her sister because she studied well. She had a job like a man. She was earning very well. She didn’t have to beg anyone for anything. She was able to lead a dignified life unlike her sister who was dependent for everything on her husband.
Question 5.
Can one be independent without a job or earning? Justify your answer.
Answer :
One can never be independent without a job or earning. The person who earns need not depend on others for his / her needs. He / she can enjoy the freedom of life.
Additional Questions :
Question 1.
When and why was the narrator a little apprehensive ?
Answer :
The narrator was a little apprehensive when she was about to read the letter received from her sister. She believed that nobody would bother to write letters, when things were fine. She felt that it might contain some bad news.
Question 2.
“I too was driven by the same desire”…. what does “I” refer ? What was the desire?
Answer :
“I” refers to the narrator. The desire of the narrator was to put her education to good use and achieve something in her life. She wanted to lead an independent life doing a job with good earning.
Question 3.
What makes a woman lead an independent life in your view, after reading this lesson?
Answer :
Higher education makes a woman lead an independent life.
Bonsai Life (Part – 1) Summary in English
The narrator of the story was a well educated woman and an employee. On her returning home from office she was excited to looking at the letters waiting for her. The letter informed her that her elder sister would be visiting the narrator shortly. The elder sister was not much educated. She settled in a village with her husband. The elder sister brought many provisions. The narrator felt very happy.
The elder sister seemed to have been happy with her village life. She asked the narrator how she was able to manage the work in the office as well as the work at home. Further she appreciated her sister for having been well educated and earning money like a man. She praised the narrator’s independent life. She realised that a woman could lead a happy life when she had her own earnings. She even determined to send her daughter to college for higher education. She did not want her daughter to lead a dependent life as she did.
Glossary :
1. exhaustion (n) : extreme tiredness
Usage: He felt ill from exhaustion of working late hours in the office.
2. vanish (v) : disappear
3. mutter (v) : a complaint made privately
4. savour (n) : enjoy eating
5. sumptuous (adj) : grand
Usage: We shouldn’t lead sumptuous life because things will never be flexible.
6. dignified (adj) : deserving respect
7. elated (adj) : very happy, excited
8. wretched (adj) : very unhappy, miserable
9. uphill (adj) : sloping upwards, a difficult job
Additional Meanings
10. humming : making persistent ‘hum’ sound
11. enthusiasm : zeal, passionate interest
12. apprehensive : worried that something bad will happen
13. hesitate : doubt
14. accustomed : habituated or usual
15. console : solace, comfort
16. instantly : immediately
17. decade : ten years
18. achieve : get
19. hesitantly : holdback in doubt
20. giving it up : leaving
21. touchwood : a belief that if you touch wood you don’t lose your luck and remain lucky