UNIT 15: TALKING ABOUT THE PAST (III) | COMPULSORY ENGLISH GRADE 10

Following is a solution guide of the fifteenth unit of Compulsory English for Class 10 students of Nepal SEE appearing students. All answers are correct. However, answer to following questions and language questions, they may vary from person to person. So, the thought written over here might not be what the reader has perceived. So, we highly recommend to use this as a guide only.

Poem: Past and Present

1. Vocabular in use

i. Find the rhyming words for the following words from the poem.

a) born - morn
b) sun - soon
c) day - away
d) set - yet
e) swing - wing
f) high - sky
g) joy - boy



ii. Fill in the blank spaces with the appropriate form of the words in the bold face from the poem.

a) The tree on which the poet's brother used to set the laburnum is still there.

b) The sun used to peep in the poet's house in the morning through the little window of the house.

c) The poet used to think the air must rush as fresh to swallows on the wings.

d) The poet used to think the slender tops of the trees might touch the sky.

e) The poet said that his spirit used to fly in feathers then but now it's so heavy.



iii. Match the words in column A with their meanings in column B.

Column A Column B
peep to look quickly and secretly at something
violets a small plant with purple or white flowers with a sweet smell that appear in spring
lily a large white or brightly coloured flower with petals that curl back from the centre
laburnum a small tree with hanging bunches of yellow flowers 
slender thin or narrow
spirit the part of a person that include their mind, feeling and character
lilac a bush or small tree with purple or white flowers with a sweet smell that grow closely together in the shape of a cone



2. Reading comprehension


i. Read the poem again, and answer these questions.

a. Whose composed this poem?
- Thomas Hood

b. What is the poem about?
- comparison of the author's childhood place then and now

c. What does the poet remember in the first stanza?
- house and the morning

d. What does he wish in the first stanza?
- his death

e. What does he remember in the second stanza?
- purity of trees, flowers, and his late brother

f. How does the poet describe his childhood in the third stanza?
- The poet used to fly like a bird with light wings and enjoyed the fresh air by playing swing. In this way, the poet expresses his childhood in exciting way in the third stanza.

g. Was the poet really close to the heaven when he was a child? Why does he think so?
- The poet thinks himself close to the heaven when he was a child because he was really happy with his life and had no disappointments.


ii. Fill in the gaps with the suitable words or phrases from the box.

  1. born
  2. in the morning
  3. childhood
  4. brother
  5. resent
  6. swing
  7. spirit
  8. cool
  9. fir
  10. slender
  11. joy


C. Follow-up activity


Compare your present life with your childhood. Make notes of the main differences, and present it to the class.
  1. When I was small, I used to play in the big open playgrounds but,  now I am busy playing online games.
  2. When I was in class one, I used to be a middle bencher, but now I am a first bencher.
  3. When I was a child, I used to enjoy spending my full vacation in the village, but now I d o not like the thought of going out on holidays, either.
  4. When I was a small boy, I was cute, but now I am average looking.
  5. When I was an ignorant child, I used to easily believe anyone but now I rarely trust anyone.


Grammar

A. Engage yourself

1. Look at the following sets of pictures of the same place. Mark and share the differences you have noticed.
  1. 30 years ago, the place was less crowded, open, and green. But now, it is clustered, noisy, and polluted.
  2. Children used to play in the open playgrounds but now, there are no children playing in the open.
  3. There were trees in the place earlier but now, there are no trees in the place.
  4. There were scattered houses in the place but now there are a lot of houses and buildings very close to each other.
  5. 30 years ago, the place used to be a village but now it has turned into a town.


B. Time for grammar

1. Discuss the table below with your friends, and match the activities in column A to the activities in column B.
  1. I used to play with a doll. - Now I play volleyball.
  2. I sued to sing nursery rhymes. - Now I sing modern songs.
  3. I used to sleep with my mom. - Now I sleep alone.
  4. I used to drink a lot of milk. - Now I drink coffee.
  5. I used to have food that my parents prepared. - Now I prepare meals by myself.
  6. I used to listen to birds chirping. - Now I listen to music.
  7. I didn't use to wear school uniform. - Now I put on school uniform.
  8. I didn't use to tell stories. - Now I write stories myself.


About the Textbook

Name: ENGLISH Class 10
Publisher: Government of Nepal, Ministry of Education, Curriculum Development Centre, Sanothimi, Bhaktapur
ISBN: 978-9937-601-35-1
Printed at: Janak Education Materials Centre Ltd. Sanothimi, Bhaktapur