Chapter 9: The Bond of Love

Thinking about the text

Question I:
Given in the box are some headings. Find the relevant paragraphs in the text to match the headings.

An Orphaned Cub; Bruno’s Food-chart; An Accidental Case of Poisoning; Playful Baba; Pain of Separation; Joy of Reunion; A Request to the Zoo; An Island in the Courtyard.

Answer:

Question II:
Answer the following questions.

1. “I got him for her by accident.”

1. Who says this?
2. Who do ‘him’ and ‘her’ refer to?
3. What is the incident referred to here?

Answer:

1. The author says this.
2. ‘Him’ refers to the baby bear and ‘her’ refers to the author’s wife.
3. The incident refers to the catching of the baby bear.

2. “He stood on his head in delight.”

1. Who does ‘he’ refer to?
2. Why was he delighted?

Answer:

1. ‘He’ refers to the baby bear.
2. ‘He’ was delighted to see the author’s wife after a long time.

3. “We all missed him greatly: but in a sense we were relieved.”

1. Who does ‘we all’ stand for?
2. Who did they miss?
3. Why did they nevertheless feel relieved?

Answer:

1. The author, his wife and son.
2. They missed the baby bear.
3. They felt relieved because it was getting difficult to keep the baby bear at home.

Question III:
Answer the following questions in 30 to 40 words each.

1. On two occasions Bruno ate/drank something that should not be eaten/ drunk. What happened to him on these occasions?

Answer:

Bruno ate Barium Carbonate which was put to kill the rats and mice. Paralysis set in to the extent that he could not stand on his feet. Once he drank one gallon of old engine oil. But it had no ill effects whatever.

2. Was Bruno a loving and playful pet? Why, then, did he have to be sent away?

Answer:

Yes, Bruno was a loving and playful pet. But he was mischievous also. The bear became very attached to the narrator’s two Alsatian dogs and the children of the tenants. Bruno had grown many times the size he was when he came. Now her name was changed to Baba. Now he was getting too big to be kept at home. So he was sent to a zoo.

3. How was the problem of what to do with Bruno finally solved?

Answer:

Bruno was not feeling happy after getting separated from the narrator’s family. He was getting weak everyday. The narrator’s wife went to Mysore to meet Bruno. Bruno. After seeing his pitiful condition she decided to get Bruno back home. The narrator and his wife made special arrangement for Bumo and created all facility for him. At last Bruno was got back home in a small cage.

Thinking about language

Question I:

1. Find these words in the lesson.

They all have ie or ei in them.

Answer:

Field; ingredients; height; mischievous; friends; eighty-seven; relieved; piece.

2. Now here are some more words. Complete them with ei or ie. Consult a dictionary if necessary.

(There is a popular rule of spelling: ‘i’ before ‘e’ except after ‘c’. Check if this rule is true by looking at the words above.)

Answer:

believe; receive; weird; leisure; seize; weight; reign; feign; grief; pierce This rule is applicable only in the case of ‘believe’ ‘grief’ and ‘pierce’ words. The other words have ei instead of ie.

Question II:

Here are some words with silent letters. Learn their spelling. Your teacher will dictate these words to you. Write them down and underline the silent letters.

Answer:

For self-attempt at class level.

The silent letters are underline as under:

Question III:
How to look at an Index

1. You have read about the French Revolution and you want to know more about the Third Estate in the context of the French Revolution. You can refer to the index of the book Living World History by T. Walter Wallbank and Arnold Schrier:

French-Algerian War, 696
French and Indian War, 370, 401
French Revolution, 393, 404-405, 408, 427, 489
Freud (froid), Sigmund [1856-1939], 479, illus. 477
Frobisher (frŌ’bish cr), Martin [1535-1594], 321,338
Third Coalition, 415
Third Communist International See Comintern
Third Estate (France), 404, 405
Third Reform Bill, 454
Third Reich (rîH), 641, 643, 652, 653

On which pages in this book will you find information about the French Revolution and the Third Estate?

Answer:

French Revolution, 393, 404-405, 408, 427,489

Third Estate (France), 404-405

2. To know what ‘Food Security’ and ‘Minimum Support Price’ mean in the context of the economic growth of a country you can go to the subject index given below from Poverty and Famines— An Essay on Entitlement and Deprivation by Amartya Sen. Under which heading in the index are you likely to find these topics?

Answer:

Famine relief, 43,57,87-8,96-8,116-17, 131-2.

3. Given below is a portion of an Index page from the book French’s Index of Differential Diagnosis, edited by F. Dudley Hart M.D., F.R.C.P.

Study the entries and find out whether the following topics are discussed in the book.

1. bronchitis due to cigarette smoking
2. heart failure due to bronchitis
3. bronchitis in children

Answer:

1. Yes, page 223 under Bronchitis, acute, causing.
2. Heart failure due to … page 82.
3. Yes, page 178.

Note. The portions as answers to the above are shown in bold letters.

Question IV:

1. The Narrative Present

Notice the incomplete sentences in the following paragraphs. Here the writer is using incomplete sentences in the narration to make the incident more dramatic or immediate. Can you rewrite the paragraph in complete sentences?
(You can begin : The vet and I made a dash back to the car. Bruno was still floundering…)

(i)

A dash back to the car. Bruno still floundering about on his stumps, but clearly weakening rapidly, some vomiting, heavy breathing, with heaving flanks and gaping mouth.
Hold him, everybody! In goes the hypodermic—Bruno squeals — 10 c.c. of the antidote enters his system without a drop being wasted. Ten minutes later: condition unchanged! Another 10 c.c injected! Ten minutes later: breathing less stertorous — Bruno can move his arms and legs a little although he cannot stand yet. Thirty minutes later: Bruno gets up and has a great feed! He looks at us disdainfully, as much as to say, ‘What’s barium carbonate to a big black bear like me?’ Bruno is still eating.

Answer:

(i) The vet and I made a dash back to the car. Bruno was still floundering about his stumps. He was also weakening rapidly. He was vomiting and breathing heavily. His flank was heaving and he had gaping mouth. The vet told everyone to hold him. He injected 10 c.c. of the antidote into his body. Not even a single drop was wasted. His condition did not change even after ten minutes. Another 10 c.c. of the antidote was injected. After ten minutes his breathing got less stertorous. Bruno could move his arms and legs a little. However, he could not stand. After thirty minutes, he got up and had a great feed. He looked at the vet and others disdainfully. He seemed to be saying, “What barium, carbonate to a big black bear like him?” He was still eating.

(ii)

In the paragraphs above from the story the verbs are in the present tense (e.g. hold, goes, etc.). This gives the reader an impression of immediacy. The present tense is often used when we give a commentary on a game (cricket, football, etc.), or tell a story as if it is happening now. It is, therefore, called the narrative present.

Answer:

(ii) For Self-attempt.

2. Find the adverbs in the passage below. (You’ve read about adverbs in unit 1)

We thought that everything was over when suddenly a black sloth-bear came out panting in the hot sun. Now I will not shoot a sloth-bear wantonly but, unfortunately for the poor beast, one of my companions did not feel that way about it, and promptly shot the bear on the spot.

Answer:

suddenly, wantonly, unfortunately, promptly.

(i)

Complete the following sentences, using a suitable adverb ending in ‘—ly’.

(a) Rana does her homework …………..

(b) It rains ………….. in Mumbai in June.

(c) He does his work …………..

(d) The dog serves his master …………..

Answer:

(a) carefully

(b) heavily

(c) diligently

(d) faithfully.

(ii)

Choose the most suitable adverbs or adverbial phrases and complete the following sentences:

(a) We should get down from a moving train, (never, sometimes, often)

(b) I was in need of support after my poor performance, (badly, occasionally, sometimes)

(c) Rita met with an accident. The doctor examined her (suddenly, seriously, immediately)

Answer:

(a) never

(b) badly

(c) immediately.

3. Take down the following scrambled version of a story, that your teacher will dictate to you, with appropriate punctuation marks. Then, read the scrambled story carefully and try to rewrite it rearranging the incidents.

Answer:

It was a cold winter’s day and an ant was bringing out some grains of com from her home. She had gathered the com in summer. She wanted to dry them. A grasshopper, who was very hungry, saw her and said, “I am dying of hunger. When did you get the corn?” “I collected it in summer,” said the ant. “What were you doing in summer? Why did you not store some com?” The grasshopper replied, “I was too busy.”

“What were you doing?” asked the ant again. “I was singing all day,” answered the grasshopper. “If you sang all summer,” said the ant, “you can dance all winter.”

Speaking

‘Animals also feel the pleasure of love and the pain of separation’.
Make a presentation by giving examples from your own experience.

Answer:

For self-attempt.

Writing

Question 1:

Pets have unique care and handling requirements and should only be kept by those with the commitment to understand and meet their needs. Give your argument in support of or against this statement.

Answer:

In favour of the Motion, Pets play a significant role in the life of its owner. They become the members of the family. Animals do have emotions and sentiments. They play the role of a father, a mother and a brother/sister. They need to be tackled properly and utmost care. I am of the opinion that pets give us happiness and assist us in regaining confidence in the trying circumstances. These pets need proper care and love. Those who fulfil their requirements become the most fortunate people because they get true friends. It’s very difficult to get a worthy and honest friend in this commercial world. But animals reciprocate love and take care of the entire family. I strongly say that animals should be treated amiably and amicably.

Question 2:

There is an on-going debate whether snake charmers should continue in their profession. You can get some idea about the debate from the newspaper clipping (The Hindu, 16 June 2004) given below. Read it, discuss in pairs or groups, and write either for or against the profession of snake charmers.

Report comes in support of snake charmers

Answer:

For self-attempt.