6. Change these sentences changing them from the active voice to
the passive voice or vice versa. One has been done for you.
a. My tailor made this suit for the farewell party.
................................................................................................................
b. The doctor sees the patients once a week.
.................................................................................................................
c. My grandfather reads the newspaper thoroughly every morning.
................................................................................................................
d. Our goods are transported to the market by a van.
.................................................................................................................
e. A prestigious award was won by the young singer last week.
................................................................................................................
Transforming Exclamatory Sentences into Assertive/Declarative
Sentences. Study this example.
How I wish I could dance like you!
I really wish I were able to dance like you.
7. Change the exclamatory sentences to assertive sentences or vice
versa.
a. Oh, what a gruesome tragedy!
.................................................................................................................
b. How beautiful this painting is!
.................................................................................................................
c. I wish I never made friends with this person.
.................................................................................................................
d. We often think of our grandparents.
Transforming Interrogative Sentences into Assertive Sentences
Study these examples.
Can you ever live without rice?
You can never live without rice.
Who can stop her from shouting?
No one can stop her from shouting.
8. Change the interrogative sentences to assertive sentences or vice
versa.
a. How can he catch sh without the bait?
...............................................................................................................
b. Who can face the ball when Tom bowls?
...............................................................................................................
51 New Spark English Reader Class 7
c. These children cannot be kept quiet.
.................................................................................................................
d. I couldn’t face her when she came here.
.................................................................................................................
Speaking
Say how you will deal with a bully like John Reed should you come across one.
Would your response be different from Jane’s? Share your views in class. Also,
pay attention to what your classmates have to say.
Writing
Write an essay on how childhood is presented in this extract from Jane Eyre
in contrast to how it should be?
Listening and Writing Scan Here
Audio Script
Listen to the audio and answer the following questions.
1. Deepawali is called the festival of ........................ .
a. light b. food
2. The rst day in known as the day of ........................ .
a. dogs b. Crows
3. The second day is known as the day of ........................ .
a. dogs b. crows
4. .........................falls on the third day.
a. Saraswati Pooja b. Laxmi Pooja
5. Name few birds of Nepal.
6. Describe Laxmi Pooja in brief.
7. Name the games played on Laxmi Pooja.
52 New Spark English Reader Class 7
Lesson The Open Window
6
Scan Here
Do you like reading or listening to stories?
Audio Script
Read to Understand
Read this story and nd out the nuances of good storytelling
“My aunt will be down presently, Mr Nuttel,” said a very self-possessed young
lady of fteen; “in the meantime you must try and put up with me.”
Framton Nuttle endeavoured to say the correct something which should duly
atter the niece of the moment without unduly discounting the aunt that was to
come. Privately he doubted more than ever whether these formal visits on a
succession of total strangers would do much towards helping the nerve cure
which he was supposed to be undergoing.
53 New Spark English Reader Class 7
“I know how it will be,” his sister had said when he was preparing to migrate to
this rural retreat; “you will bury yourself down there and not speak to a living soul,
and your nerves will be worse than ever from moping. I shall just give you letters
of introduction to all the people I know there. Some of them, as far as I can
remember, were quite nice.”
Framton wondered whether Mrs Sappleton, the lady to whom he was presenting
one of the letters of introduction, came into the nice division.
“Do you know many of the people round here?” asked the niece, when she
judged that they had had sufcient silent communion.
“Hardly a soul,” said Framton. “My sister was staying here, at the rectory, you
know, some four years ago, and she gave me letters of introduction to some of
the people here.”
He made the last statement in a tone of distinct regret. “Then you know
practically nothing about my aunt?” pursued the self-possessed young lady.
“Only her name and address,” admitted the caller. He was wondering whether
Mrs Sappleton was in the married or widowed state. An undenable something
about the room seemed to suggest masculine habitation.
“Her great tragedy happened just three years ago,” said the child, “that would be
since your sister’s time.”
“Her tragedy?” asked Framton; somehow in this restful country, spot tragedies
seemed out of place.
“You may wonder why we keep that window wide open on an October
afternoon,”
said the niece, indicating a large French window that opened on to a lawn.
“It is quite warm for the time of the year,” said Framton; “but has that window got
anything to do with the tragedy?”
“Out through that window, three years ago to a day, her husband and her two
young brothers went off for their day’s shooting. They never came back. In
crossing the moor to their favourite snipe-shooting ground they were all three
engulfed in a treacherous piece of bog. It had been that dreadful wet summer,
you know, and places that were safe in other years gave way suddenly without
warning.
54 New Spark English Reader Class 7
Their bodies were never recovered. That was the dreadful part of it.” Here the
child’s voice lost its self-possessed note and became falteringly human. “Poor
aunt always thinks that they will come back someday; they and the little brown
spaniel that was lost with them, and walk in at that window just as they used to
do. That is why the window is kept open every evening till it is quite dark. Poor
dear aunt, she has often told me how they went out, her husband with his white
waterproof coat over his arm, and Ronnie, her youngest brother,
singing—“Bertie, why do you bound?” as he always did to tease her, because
she said it got on her nerves. Do you know, sometimes on still, quiet evenings
like this, I almost get a creepy feeling that they will all walk in through that
window—”
She broke off with a little shudder. It was a relief to Framton when the aunt
bustled into the room with a whirl of apologies for being late in making her
appearance.
“I hope Vera has been amusing you?” she said.
“She has been very interesting,” said Framton.
“I hope you don’t mind the open window,” said Mrs Sappleton briskly; “my
husband and brothers will be home directly from shooting, and they always
come in this way.
They’ve been out for snipe in the marshes today, so they’ll make a ne mess
over my poor carpets. So like you menfolk, isn’t it?”
She rattled on cheerfully about the shooting, about the scarcity of birds, and the
prospects of duck in the winter. To Framton it was all purely horrible. He made a
desperate but only partially successful effort to turn the talk on to a less ghastly
topic; he was conscious that his hostess was giving him only a fragment of her
attention, and her eyes were constantly straying past him to the open window
and the lawn beyond. It was certainly an unfortunate coincidence that he should
have paid his visit on this tragic anniversary.
“The doctors agree in ordering me complete rest, an absence of mental
excitement, and avoidance of anything in the nature of violent physical
exercise,” announced Framton, who laboured under the tolerably widespread
delusion that total strangers and chance acquaintances are hungry for the least
detail of one’s ailments and inrmities, their cause and cure. “On the matter of
diet they are not so much in agreement,” he continued.
55 New Spark English Reader Class 7
‘No?’said Mrs Sappleton in a voice which only replaced a yawn at the last
moment. Then she suddenly brightened into alert attention—but not to what
Framton was saying.
“Here they are at last!” she cried. “Just in time for tea, and don’t they look as if
they were muddy up to the eyes?”
Framton shivered slightly and turned towards the niece with a look intended to
convey sympathetic comprehension. The child was staring out through the open
window with a dazed horror in her eyes. In a chill shock of nameless fear Framton
swung round in his seat and looked in the same direction.
In the deepening twilight three gures were walking across the lawn towards the
window; they all carried guns under their arms, and one of them was additionally
burdened with a white coat hung over his shoulders. A tired brown spaniel kept
close at their heels. Noiselessly they neared the house, and then a hoarse young
voice chanted out of the dusk: “I said, Bertie, why do you bound?”
Framton grabbed wildly at his stick and hat; the hall door, the gravel drive, and
the front gate were dimly noted stages in his headlong retreat. A cyclist coming
along the road had to run into the hedge to avoid imminent collision.
“Here we are, my dear,” said the bearer of the white mackintosh, coming in
through the window, “fairly muddy, but most of it’s dry. Who was that who bolted
out as we came up?” “A most extraordinary man, a Mr Nuttel,'”said Mrs
Sappleton; “could only talk about his illnesses, and dashed off without a word of
goodbye or apology when you
arrived. One would think he had
seen a ghost.”
“I expect it was the spaniel,'”said the
niece calmly; “he told me he had a
horror of dogs. He was once hunted
into a cemetery somewhere on the
banks of the Ganges by a pack of
pariah dogs, and had to spend the
night in a newly dug grave with the
creatures snarling and grinning and
foaming just above him. Enough to
make anyone lose their nerve.”
Romance at short notice was her
speciality.
56 New Spark English Reader Class 7
Word Meaning
retreat : a peaceful and private place where you can go in order to
rest
moping : feeling bored or unhappy and showing no interest in doing
anything
communion : communication with someone without using words
rectory : a house that the rector (a priest) of a church lives in
moor : a large area of open uncultivated land, typically covered
with heather (a plant with small purple or white ower)
snipe : a bird with a long thin beak that lives mainly in wet areas
treacherous : very dangerous
creepy : unpleasant in way that makes you feel nervous or frightend
delusion : an idea or belief that is not sure
inrmity : bad health
headlong : very quickly and without looking where you are going
imminent : likely or certain to happen very soon
mackintosh : a coat that stops you from getting wet in the rain
pariah dogs : stray dogs
romance : a fantastic or unreal account or explanation
EXERC I S E
Read and Write
1. Rapid re.
a. The child was staring out through the ............... .
(i) open window (ii) open door
b. Framton shivered slightly and turned towards the ............... .
(i) niece (ii) nephew
2. Read the lines and answer the questions that follow.
“Here they are at last!” she cried. “Just in time for tea and don’t they
look as if they were muddy up to the eyes?”
57 New Spark English Reader Class 7
a. Who is the speaker? Who are ‘they’ being referred to here?
b. Why were ‘they’ so muddy? Was the speaker happy to see them?
c. How did the person to whom the speaker was talking, react? What
is your opinion of this person?
3. Answer the following questions.
a. How had Framton Nuttle chanced to come to Mrs Sappleton’s
house? Did the visit turn out to be what he had expected?
b. Who was the young lady who entertained Framton Nuttel at Mrs
Sappleton’s house? Why do you think the writer repeatedly describes
her as ‘self-possessed’?
c. What did the young lady tell Framton about the open window?
d. Why was Framton convinced of the truth of the story about the open
window?
e. What did Mrs Sappleton tell Framton about the open window?
f. If you were Framton Nuttel, would you trust every word Vera said?
Say why?
Vocabulary
4. Fill in the blanks with sial, rial, tial, cial.
a. controver .................. b. consequen .................. c. territo ..............
d. terrest .................. e. inuen .................. f. judi ...............
g. spa .................. h. ministe ................... i. facto ...............
Grammar Zone
Kinds of Clauses
A clause is a group of words which has a subject and a verb. It may or may
not stand alone as a sentence.
A clause can be of two kinds: the main clause or the independent clause and
the subordinate clause or the dependent clause.
Both the main clause and the subordinate clause have nite verbs.
58 New Spark English Reader Class 7
Read these sentences.
Mary had a little lamb whose eece was white as snow.
(Here, the main clause Mary had a little lamb has the nite verb had whereas
the subordinate clause whose eece was white as snow has the nite verb
was.)
Types of Subordinate Clauses
The subordinate clause can be of three types: (noun clause, adjective clause
and adverb clause)
Noun Clauses
Read these sentences.
Rajiv aimed to collect ten thousand stamps.
Rajiv aimed that he would collect ten thousand stamps.
The group of words to collect ten thousand stamps is a phrase.
The group of words that he would collect ten thousand stamps is a noun
clause. A noun clause answers the question who(m) or what.
Adjective Clause
Read these sentences.
The students of Class 3 haven’t had their tests yet.
The students, who are in Class 3, haven’t had their tests yet.
The group of words of Class 3 is a phrase.
The group of words who are in Class 3 is an adjective clause.
An adjective clause answers the question which or what kind of.
Adverb Clause
Read these sentences.
The birds came looking for worms at daybreak.
The birds came looking for worms when the day broke.
The group of words at daybreak is an adverb phrase.
The group of words when the day broke is an adverb clause.
An adverb clause answers questions such as when, where, why or under
what conditions.
59 New Spark English Reader Class 7
What turns a phrase into a clause?
The presence of a subject and a nite verb makes a group of words a clause.
5. Circle the group of words in each sentence that forms a
subordinate clause. Also, identify the type of subordinate clause.
One has been done for you. .a..d..v..e..r.b...c..l.a..u...s..e.
a. Where there is a will, there is a way.
b. Bring the food to the table before it gets cold. ........................
c. Find out what she knows about this place. ........................
d. Everyone knows who the best dancer in our class is. ........................
e. The book that is lying on the table is Harsha's. ........................
f. If you know her already, go greet her. .......................
g. I went for the concert because I am a huge fan
of the singer. ........................
h. People who live in Lumle are always prepared for
the rain. ........................
6. Complete these sentences with clauses.
a. Whenever mother gets angry, ........................................................... .
b. If only she had told me, ..................................................................... .
c. Although he is an excellent doctor, .................................................... .
d. They cut the mangoes so that ........................................................... .
e. ..........................................................where that noise is coming from.
f. Tell the students that .......................................................................... .
g. ....................................................................so that we can see better.
h. That she is a great teacher is something .......................................... .
Speaking
If you were Framton Nuttel, would you trust every word vera said? Say.
Writing
Write a report for a local newspaper on a road accident that occurred in your
town.
60 New Spark English Reader Class 7
Marie Curie
Read the passage. Then answer the questions. (you can also listen to
the audio)
Marie Curie was born in Poland in 1867. She was the youngest of ve children.
She had a brother and three older sisters. Her father was a professor. When
Marie graduated from high school she won a gold
medal because she had been such a good student.
She and her sister did private tutoring to earn
money. Her sister invited her to come to Paris to live
and begin her studies, At the Sorbonne the
university, she chose to study mathematics and
physics and she was awarded a scholarship and
was able to study further to get a master’s degree in
mathematics. She would also later receive a
doctorate in physics. She met Pierre Curie and they
married in 1895, Pierre and Marie began
experimenting and discovered two new radioactive
elements. She named one of them polonium and
the other they named radium. They worked four years preparing a very small
quantity of radium in order to prove there really was such an element. In 1903
Pierre and Marie along with Henri Becquerel received the Nobel Prize in physics
for their discovery of radioactivity. In 1911 she was again awarded the Nobel
Prize for discovery of the two new elements polonium and radium. The Curies
had two daughters, Irene and Eve. Madame Curie made two trips to America to
receive a gram of radium each time. In 1923 the French government gave her a
pension of 40,000 francs a year in recognition of her Iifetime of work in France.
During World War I, Marie worked to develop x-rays. She became ill and died
from all her years of exposure to radium. Today doctors identify the disease as
leukemia. After Marie’s death her daughter Irene received the Nobel Prize for
their work in atomic reserch. Many people have beneted from the discoveries
made by Pierre and Marie Curie. The radiation which burned their skin as they
worked with it, eventually came to be used to kill cancer cells in patients
suffering from the disease. Scan Here .
Answer the questions.
1. What is the main idea of the whole passage? Audio Script
2. Underline the most important information in each paragraph.
3. Briey summarize Marie Curie’s work.
61 New Spark English Reader Class 7
WORKSHEET-3
1. Tick (ü) the correct words.
a. A breakfast room adjoined the ................................. .
(i) drawing room (ii) bed room
b. Framton shivered slightly and turned towards the .......................... .
(i) niece (ii) nephew
c. John Reed was a school boy of ................................. .
(i) seventeen years old (ii) fourteen years old
2. Read the lines and answer the questions that follow.
“You have no business to take our books; you are dependent, mama
says; you have no money; your father left you none; you ought to bet
and not to live here with gentlemen’s children like us and eat the same
meals we do and wear clothes at our mama’s expense. Now, I’ll teach
you to rummage my bookshelves: for they are mine; all the house
belongs to me or will do in a few years. Go and stand by the door, out
of the way of the mirror and the windows.”
a. What book had Jane taken to read? Why did she like the book?
..........................................................................................................
b. Who is the speaker of the quoted lines? Why does he ask Jane to
stand out of the way of the mirror and the windows?
..........................................................................................................
c. How would the speaker treat Jane generally?
..........................................................................................................
3. Answer the following questions.
a. Why was Jane afraid of John Reed?
b. How had Framton Nuttle chanced to come to Mrs Sappleton’s
house? Did the visit turn out to be what he had expected?
c. Who was the young lady who entertained Framton Nuttel at Mrs
Sappleton’s house? Why do you think the writer repeatedly
describes her as ‘self-possessed’?
d. Why did Jane dislike long walks?
62 New Spark English Reader Class 7
4. Match the following with their meanings.
a. a routine hot spot (i) a most pleasing or beautiful sight
b. pack your gear (ii) things that happen which are puzzling
c. set course for (ii) something you have to taste
d. feast for the eyes (iv) a place that many tourists normally like
to visit
e. peak season (v) most suitable time when a place is
selected as a holiday destination
by the most number of persons
f. makes for an ultimate (vi) sail towards the shore diving holiday
g. is a must-try (vii) pack all you need for your holiday
including sports’ equipment
h. a carry-home item (viii) something you’d like to take home as a
souvenir of your trip
i. bafing mysteries (ix) the best place to go to on holiday if you
want to go scuba diving
j. head to the mainland (x) decide the route to be taken
5. Complete these sentences with clauses.
a. Whenever mother gets angry, ......................................................... .
b. If only she had told me, ................................................................... .
c. Although he is an excellent doctor, .................................................. .
d. They cut the mangoes so that ......................................................... .
e. .........................................................where that noise is coming from.
f. Tell the students that ..........................................................................
. g. ....................................................................so that we can see better.
63 New Spark English Reader Class 7
6. Change the interrogative sentences to assertive sentences or vice
versa.
a. How can he catch sh without the bait?
................................................................................................................
b. Who can face the ball when Tom bowls?
................................................................................................................
c. These children cannot be kept quiet.
.................................................................................................................
d. I couldn’t face her when she came here.
.................................................................................................................
7. Match the words with their meanings.
a. appetiser the chef ranking next to the head chef
b. savoury a layer of food put on top of other food
c. topping a small dish of food which is served before the
main course
d. creamer salty or spicy food
e. doggy bag dry milk powder added to whiten coffee
f. sous-chef a bag or box containing leftover food from your
order
8. Fill in the blanks with sial, rial, tial, cial.
a. controver .................. b. consequen ..................
c. territo .................. d. terrest ..................
e. inuen .................. f. judi ..................
g. spa .................. h. ministe ...................
64 New Spark English Reader Class 7
Lesson A Mother’s Struggle
7
Freedom is something all living beings thirst for. Look at the following
situations. What is the freedom that each of the following would want to
have?
a. a tree, trapped in a tree guard which it has outgrown
b. a parrot in a cage, being used for telling the future of passers-by
Read to Understand
Harriet Beecher Stowe, a teacher in 19th century America, wrote a
remarkable antislavery novel called Uncle Tom's Cabin. In this novel, Eliza
works for Mrs Shelby, whose husband is a plantation owner. Mr Shelby, the
plantation owner, nds himself deeply in debt to a slave trader named Haley,
and decides to sell Eliza’s child, Harry, to him. Freedom is such a valuable
thing that the mother, ready to go to any lengths to preserve it for her child,
tries to escape with him the night before he is to be taken from her. Read on
to nd out how successful she is.
It is impossible to think of a human creature more wholly unhappy than Eliza,
when she turned her footsteps from Uncle Tom’s cabin. Her husband’s
suffering and danger, and the danger of her child, all blended in her mind,
with the risk she was running in leaving the only home she had ever known,
and cutting loose from the protection of a friend whom she loved and
respected. Then, there was the parting from every familiar object—the place
where she had grown up, the trees under which she had played, the groves
where she had walked many an evening in happier days by the side of her
young husband.
But, stronger than all was maternal love, which had been turned into frenzy
by the approach of a fearful danger. Her boy was old enough to have walked
by her side, but now the bare thought of putting him out of her arms made
65 New Spark English Reader Class 7
her shudder, and she Scan Here
strained him to her breast
with a powerful grasp as
she went rapidly forward. Audio Script
The frosty ground
creaked beneath her feet,
and she trembled at the
sound; every quaking leaf
and uttering shadow
sent the blood backward
to her heart and
quickened her footsteps.
She wondered within
herself at the strength
that seemed to have
come to her: she felt the
weight of her boy as if it
had been a feather, while from her pale lips burst forth the prayer to a Friend
above, “Lord, help! Lord, save me!” At rst, the novelty and alarm kept the child
awake. His mother assured him that if he were only still she would certainly save
him. He clung quietly round her
neck, only asking, as he found himself sinking to sleep, “Mother, I don’t need to
keep awake, do I?”
“No, my darling, sleep, if you want to.”
“But, Mother, if I do sleep, you won’t let him get me?”
“No! May God help me!” said his mother, with a paler cheek and a brighter light in
her large dark eyes.
“You’re sure, aren’t you, Mother?”
“Yes, sure!” said the mother, in a voice that startled herself; for it seemed to her to
come from a spirit within, that was no part of her. The boy dropped his little weary
head on her shoulder, and was soon asleep. It seemed to her as if strength
poured into her in electric streams, from every gentle touch and movement of the
sleeping, conding child.
The boundaries of the farm, the grove, the woods, passed by her dizzily as she
walked on. And still she went, leaving one familiar object after another, not
slowing till reddening daylight found her many a long mile from all traces of any
familiar objects upon the open highway.
66 New Spark English Reader Class 7
Eliza had often been, with her mistress, to visit some connections in the little
village of T—, not far from the Ohio river, and knew the road well. To go there, to
escape across the Ohio river, were the rst hurried outlines of her plan of escape.
Beyond that, she could only hope in God.
When horses and vehicles began to move along the highway, she became
aware that her quick pace and distracted air might attract suspicion. She,
therefore, put the boy on the ground and, adjusting her dress and bonnet, she
walked on at as rapid a pace as she thought consistent with the preservation of
appearances. In her little bundle, she had provided a store of cakes and apples
which she used as ways of quickening the speed of the child, rolling the apple
some yards before them, when the boy would run with all his might after it. And
this trick, often repeated, carried them over many a half-mile.
After a while, they came to a thick patch of woodland, through which murmured a
clear brook. As the child complained of hunger and thirst, she climbed over the
fence with him; and, sitting down behind a large rock which concealed them from
the road, she gave him a breakfast out of her little package. The boy wondered
and grieved that she could not eat. When, putting his arms round her neck, he
tried to push some of his cake into her mouth, it seemed to her that the rising in
her throat would choke her.
“No, no, Harry darling! Mother can’t eat till you are safe! We must go on till we
come to the river!” And she hurried again onto the road.
Eliza stopped at noon at a neat farmhouse, to rest, and buy some dinner for her
child and herself.
An hour before sunset, she entered the village of T—, by the Ohio river, weary
and footsore, but still strong in heart. Her rst glance was at the river, which lay
between her and liberty on the other side.
It was now early spring and the river was swollen and turbulent. Great cakes of
oating ice were swinging heavily to-and-fro in the turbid waters. Eliza stood for
a moment, thinking about this unfavourable aspect of things, which would
prevent the usual ferry-boat from running, and then turned into a small public
house on the bank to make a few inquiries.
The hostess, who was busy in getting the evening meal ready, stopped, with a
fork in her hand, as Eliza’s sweet and sorrowful voice arrested her.
67 New Spark English Reader Class 7
“What is it?” she said.
“Isn’t there any ferry or boat that takes people over to B—, now?” she said.
“No, indeed!” said the woman, “The boats have stopped running.”
Eliza’s look of dismay and disappointment struck the woman, and she said,
inquiringly, “Anybody sick? You seem very anxious!”
“I’ve got a child that’s very ill,” said Eliza. “I never heard of it till last night, and I’ve
walked quite a bit today, in the hope of getting into the ferry.”
“Well, now, that’s unlucky,” said the woman, whose motherly sympathies were
much aroused. “I’m really concerned for you.”
“Well, take him into this room,” said the woman, opening a small bedroom where
stood a comfortable bed. Eliza laid the weary boy upon it, and held his hands in
hers till he was fast asleep. For her, there was no rest. As a re in her bones, the
thought of the pursuer urged her on; and she gazed with longing eyes on the
sullen waters that lay between her and liberty.
About three quarters of an hour after Eliza had laid her child to sleep in the village
public house, the pursuers came riding into the same place. Eliza was standing
by the window, looking out in another direction, when Sam’s quick eye caught a
glimpse of her. Haley and Andy were two yards behind.
A thousand lives seemed to be concentrated in that one moment for Eliza. Her
room opened by a side door to the river. She caught her child, and sprang down
the steps towards it. The trader caught a full glimpse of her just as she was
disappearing down the bank; and, throwing himself from his horse and calling
loudly on Sam and Andy, he was after her like a hound after a deer. In that dizzy
moment, her feet seemed to her to scarcely touch the ground, and a moment
brought her to the water’s edge.
Right on behind they came; and, nerved with strength such as God gives only to
the desperate, with one wild cry and ying leap she vaulted over the turbid
current by the shore, on to the raft of ice beyond. It was a desperate leap in
madness.
The huge green fragment of ice on which she alighted cracked and creaked as
her weight came on it, but she stayed there not a moment. With wild cries and
desperate energy, she leaped to another and still another cake,
stumbling—leaping — slipping— springing upwards again! Her shoes were
68 New Spark English Reader Class 7
gone — her stockings cut from her
feet—while blood marked every step; but she saw nothing, felt nothing, till
dimly, as in a dream, she saw the Ohio side ...
Word Meaning
frenzy : a state of great emotion or activity that is not under control
ferry-boat : a boat that carries people, vehicles, or goods across a river
public house : pub, a place where alcohol and food are served
sullen : bad-tempered
consistent : acting or done in the same way over time
conceal : prevent from being known
EXERC I S E
Read and Write
1. Complete the sentences given below.
a. Eliza’s husband is suffering ................................................................
................................................................................................................
b. Eliza’s boy was old .............................................................................
.................................................................................................................
c. When horses and vehicles ..................................................................
.................................................................................................................
69 New Spark English Reader Class 7
2. Answer the following questions.
a. Eliza seems desperate to leave the house, but also worried about
leaving it. Why?
b. What was her rst hurried outline of escape?
c. When she reaches the village of T–and looks at the river, what is
she thinking about?
d. What makes her disappointed and dismayed?
e. What prompts Eliza to suddenly pick up her son and rush towards
the frozen river?
Vocabulary
3. Write out the spellings of the following words using the sufxes
provided.
a. rely + ance = ........................ b. haze + y = ........................
c. love + able = ........................ d. propose + all = ........................
e. sane + ity = ........................ f. simple + ify = ........................
g. virtue + ous = ........................ h. endure + ance = ........................
i. arrive + al = ........................ j. move + able = ........................
k. beauty + ify = ........................ l. diverse + ity = ........................
m. revive + al = ........................ n. fame +ous = ........................
o. nature + al = ........................ p. deny + al = ........................
q. enter + ance = ........................ r. ample + ify = ........................
s. size + able = ........................ t. culture + al = ........................
u. pure +ity = ........................
Grammar Zone
PREPOSITIONS
4. There is one word missing from each group of words. Add the correct
word to make each group of words a meaningful sentence.
70 New Spark English Reader Class 7
a. I kept my bag the table.
............................................................................................................... .
b. He is playing his friends.
............................................................................................................... .
c. My mother stood the gate.
............................................................................................................... .
Do you notice that these groups of words do not make complete sense
in the absence of the words you just included?
These words are prepositions and very important to the meaning of a sentence.
A preposition is always placed before a noun or pronoun, or a noun equivalent.
Sometimes a preposition is put together with another word or words in a phrase
or a sentence.
Such expressions are used as prepositions and are called compound
prepositions.
according to by means of except for
5. Fill in the blanks with compound prepositions from the boxes.
in front of with regard to instead of on behalf of with a view to
because of
a. I’m sorry. I can’t dance ..............................so many people.
b. This colour doesn’t suit you. Take some other gown .............this one.
c. .............. everyone present here, I extend Mr Roy a hearty welcome.
d. I couldn’t come ..............................my fever.
e. ..............................the fee, kindly go to the school ofce.
Speaking
‘Fortune favours the brave’ is a proverb which you may have heard. What
qualities of Eliza enables her to make good her escape with her son? Discuss in
pairs.
Writing
It is Mother’s Day and Eliza’s son, recalls how his mother had risked everything,
ten year ago, to save him from becoming a slave. He records in his diary, the
happenings of that unforgettable day and his admiration for and gratitude to, his
mother. Write his diary entry.
71 New Spark English Reader Class 7
Listening and Writing
Listen to the audio and answer the following questions. Scan Here
1. What is this telephonic conversation about?
2. “We would like to go to Pokhara”, said........................ .
a. Binod b. Binita Audio Script
3. Here a holiday is being planned for which occassion?
4. Pokhara is a ........................place and full of ........................ .
a. expensive, natural beauty b. fantastic, natural beauty
5. “ Travailing by plane is a little bit expensive but safe and fast.”
Give your opinion.
6. What do you think is more reliable? Give reasons.
i. Book a ticket from travel agency.
ii. Booking ticket from the internet.
Fill in the blanks with suitable prepositions:-
1. She was won ............................. 1910.
2. He did not listen ............................. my advice.
3. She has been weeping ............................. morning.
4. The letter was written ............................. me............................. a pen.
5. They came back ............................. ten days.
72 New Spark English Reader Class 7
Lesson The Bangle Sellers
8
Scan Here
When do women like to wear new bangles?
........................................................................................................................
Read to Understand Audio Script
This poem revolves around bangles, which is an important ornament for
‘embellishment of women in Indian society’. In the poem, the bangle
sellers are at the temple fair and they shout out to the people passing by
to have a look at their bangles.
Bangle sellers are we who bear
Our shining loads to the temple fair...
Who will buy these delicate, bright
Rainbow-tinted circles of light?
Lustrous tokens of radiant lives,
For happy daughters and happy wives.
Some are met for a maiden’s wrist,
Silver and blue as the mountain mist,
Some are ushed like the buds that dream
On the tranquil brow of a woodland stream,
Some are aglowed with the bloom that cleaves
To the limpid glory of new born leaves
Some are like elds of sunlit corn,
Meet for a bride on her bridal morn,
Some, like the ame of her marriage re,
Or, rich with the hue of her heart’s desire,
Tinkling, luminous, tender, and clear,
Like her bridal laughter and bridal tear.
73 New Spark English Reader Class 7
Some are purple and gold ecked grey
For she who has journeyed through life midway,
Whose hands have cherished, whose love has blest,
And cradled fair sons on her faithful breast,
And serves her household in fruitful pride,
And worships the gods at her husband’s side.
Word Meaning
lustrous : shining
tokens : signs of
radiant : joyful
meet : suitable
maiden : unmarried girl
ushed : a rosy glow
tranquil : peaceful
aglow : lit up
bloom : ower
cleaves : sticks to
limpid : transparent
ame : brightly coloured
luminous : reecting light
cherished : cared for tenderly
EXERC I S E
Read and Write
1. Rapid re.
a. .................... are tokens of delight for happy daughters and happy
wives.
(i) Sarees (ii) Bangles
b. The phrases bridal laughter and bridal tears suggest, the emotional
feelings of a .................... .
(i) bridegroom (ii) bride
74 New Spark English Reader Class 7
2. Answer the following questions.
a. How do the bangles sellers describe their bangles?
b. Study the pattern of the rhyme scheme. Write down the rhyming
words and the rhyme scheme of the poem.
c. Some are purple and gold ecked grey. For she who has journeyed
through life midway. Explain the lines given above.
d. Why are bangles termed as “lustrous tokens of radiant lives”?
Vocabulary
3. Match the following words with their meanings.
a. a routine hot spot (i) a most pleasing or beautiful sight
b. pack your gear (ii) things that happen which are puzzling
c. set course for (iii) something you have to taste
d. feast for the eyes (iv) a place that many tourists normally like to
visit
e. peak season (v) most suitable time when a place is selected
as a holiday destination by the most number
of persons
f. makes for an ultimate (vi) sail towards the shore diving holiday
g. is a must-try (vii) pack all you need for your holiday including
sports’ equipment
h. a carry-home item (viii) something you’d like to take home as a
souvenir of your trip
I. baffling mysteries (ix) the best place to go to on holiday if you
want to go scuba diving
j. head to the mainland (x) decide the route to be taken
Grammar Zone
Phrasal verbs
A phrasal verb is a phrase. It consists of a verb and a preposition or an adverb
both. However, the meaning of a phrasal verb is different from the meaning of its
individual words.
Read these sentences with the phrasal verbs in blue. Learn their meanings
given in brackets.
After the trauma, he seems to have blanked out everything about his
life. (erased from memory)
Look up the meanings of these words in your dictionary. (to nd or
search for)
75 New Spark English Reader Class 7
I have to read up on the topic before I begin work on the
project. (learn some details about)
No one can make up for the damage done. (take the place of
something that has been lost or damaged)
4. Complete this conversation between two players with phrasal
verbs. Use the verbs in brackets as your clues. You may have to
change their form.
Jack: He is the captain of the team. Why hasn’t he
..............................(turn) yet?
Rahul: I don’t know. I have been .............................. him
.............................. (call) all morning. But there’s been no
response.
Jack: Send someone to ..............................(gure) what’s up
with him.
Rahul: I believe his at is ..............................(lock).
Jack: I can’t believe it. Could there be an emergency? Only last
evening, I saw him .............................. (run).
Rahul: Shall I go and ..............................(look) at his sister’s
place?
Jack: Do something, Rahul. ..............................(hurry)!
5. Fill in the blanks with phrasal verbs from the boxes.
rubbed off match up to mess around call up stopped by
a. His house was on my way to the dentist, so I ............................ .
b. Amit, it’s so nice to see you come on time! Arjun's punctuality has
............................ on you!
c. Raman is a good accountant, but he can never ............................
Lalit.
d. Please don’t ............................ ; I am serious.
e. ............................the men and get them to work.
Speaking
Have a discussion in the class on the Parijat and Jhamak Kumari Ghimire of
Nepal.
Writing
Describe the scene at a village outdoor market. Or write a composition
entitled: “At a Village Fair”
76 New Spark English Reader Class 7
Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. (1929-1968)
Read the passage and answer the questions that follow.
(you can also listen to the audio)
Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. was a tireless worker for African
American equality. He was not in favour of using violence to
gain equality. He used peaceful methods such as boycotts
and protest marches to achieve his goals. A boycott
involves refusing to buy or use a product or service.
During the 1950s Dr. King was the pastor of the Dexter
Avenue Baptist Church. He organized a boycott of the bus
system in Montgomery, Alabama. When Rosa Park, an
African-American woman, refused to move to the back of a bus, she was
arrested. Dr. King and others boycotted the bus line in protest. Because of this
protest, the law that forced African Americans to sit in a separate section of a
bus was changed.
Dr. King continued to organize protests and marches across the country. He
formed the Southern Christian Leadership Conference in 1957 to organize
people in their work for equality. He led the March on Washington in 1963 and
made his famous “I Have a Dream” speech at the Lincoln Memorial. Then he
led the Freedom March in Alabama to support African American voter
registration. In 1964 Dr. King became the youngest man to ever win the Nobel
Peace prize. He received this honour because of his nonviolent work to help
bring equality to African Americans. Dr. King was assassinated in 1968, but
his life inspired many people to continue the ght for African American equality.
Questions
1. Why was the life and work of Dr. King important to all people in the
united States?
2. What does the phrase “ equality for everyone” mean to you?
3. In his famous “I Have a Dream” speech Dr. King told of his dream
that all people would have equal rights. What is your “dream” for
the future? Scan Here
Audio Script
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WORKSHEET-4
1. Rapid re.
a. .................... are tokens of delight for happy daughters and happy
wives.
(i) Sarees (ii) Bangles
b. The phrases bridal laughter and bridal tears suggest. The emotional
feelings of a .................... .
(i) bridegroom (ii) bride
2. Complete the sentences given below.
a. Eliza’s husband is suffering ..................................................................
.................................................................................................................
b. Eliza’s boy was old ................................................................................
.................................................................................................................
c. When horses and vehicles ....................................................................
.................................................................................................................
3. Answer the following questions.
a. How do you think her family can help her?
b. ‘Let me oat across the sky. Till I can rest again’. Explain these lines.
c. When she reaches the village of T– and looks at the river, what is
she thinking about?
d. What makes her disappointed and dismayed?
e. What effect did the loss of his popularity, and the attention recieved
by Nagarajan, have on Rajappa?
78 New Spark English Reader Class 7
4. Report these sentences.
a. Bhawna said, ‘I want to go out to play.’
................................................................................................................
b. My teacher said, ‘Call the lab assistant immediately.’
.................................................................................................................
c. Kanika said, ‘I’m happy with my score.
.................................................................................................................
d. My grandmother said to the greengrocer, ‘Give me half a kilo of
tomatoes.’
................................................................................................................
5. Write out the spellings of the following words using the sufxes
provided.
a. rely + ance = ........................ b. haze + y = ........................
c. love + able = ........................ d. propose + all = ........................
e. sane + ity = ........................ f. simple + ify = ........................
g. virtue + ous = ........................ h. endure + ance = ........................
i. arrive + al = ........................ j. move + able= ........................
k. beauty + ify = ........................ l. diverse + ity = ........................
m. revive + al = ........................ n. fame +ous= ........................
o. nature + al = ........................ p. deny + al= ........................
q. enter + ance = ........................ r. ample + ify = ........................
s. size + able = ........................ t. culture + al = ........................
u. pure +ity = ........................
79 New Spark English Reader Class 7
6. Answer the following questions using the following : I can/can’t; I
will be able/won’t be able; I could/could’t. Write complete
sentences.
a. Can you ride a motorbike?
.................................................................................................................
b. Could you write a composition when you were three?
.................................................................................................................
c. Will you be able to drive a car when you are thirteen?
.................................................................................................................
d. Will you be able to wait for a few minutes for lunch?
.................................................................................................................
e. Can’t you stop talking and listen to me also?
.................................................................................................................
f. Could you walk and talk when you were two?
.................................................................................................................
g. Will you be able to prepare yourself for the quiz in one evening?
.................................................................................................................
h. Can you ensure that you do some exercise everyday?
.................................................................................................................
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Lesson His First Flight
9
Write any four words which are important for you to overcome your fear.
Read to Understand
This story by the Irish novelist and short story writer Liam O’ Flaherty is
about a little seagull who is afraid to take his rst ight with his brothers and
sister. He is left behind on the ledge of a high rock by his parents. Twenty-
four hours later, the little seagull is famished but still afraid to make the move.
Find out how his mother nally lures him into stretching himself.
Scan Here
The young seagull was alone on his
ledge. His two brothers and his
sister had already own away the
day before. He had been afraid to y Audio Script
with them. Somehow when he had
taken a little run forward to the brink
of the ledge and attempted to ap
his wings, he became afraid. The
great expanse of sea stretched
down beneath, and it was such a
long way down—miles down. He
felt certain that his wings would
never support him, so he bent his
head and ran away back to the little
hole under the ledge where he slept
at night. Even when each of his
brothers and his little sister, whose
wings were far shorter than his own,
ran to the brink, apped their wings, and ew away, he failed to muster up
courage to take that plunge which appeared to him so desperate. His father and
mother had come around calling to him shrilly, scolding him, threatening to let
him starve on his ledge unless he ew away. But for the life of him he could not
move.
81 New Spark English Reader Class 7
That was twenty-four hours ago. Since then nobody had come near him. The day
before, all day long, he had watched his parents flying about with his brothers and
sister, perfecting them in the art of flight, teaching them how to skim the waves
and how to dive for fish. He had, in fact, seen his older brother catch his first
herring and devourit, standing on a rock, while his parents circled around raising
a proud cackle. And all the morning the whole family had walked about on the big
plateau midway down the opposite cliff, laughing at his cowardice. The sun was
now ascending the sky, blazing warmly on his ledge that faced south. He felt the
heat because he had not eaten since the previous nightfall. Then he had found a
dried piece of mackerel's tail at the far end of his ledge. Now there was not a
single scrap of food left. He had searched every inch, rooting among the rough,
dirt-caked straw nest where he and his brothers and sister had been hatched. He
even gnawed at the dried pieces of eggshell. It was like eating part of himself. He
had then trotted back and forth from one end of the ledge to the other, his long
grey legs stepping daintily, trying to find some means of reaching his parents
without having to fly. But on each side of him the ledge ended in a sheer fall of
precipice, with the sea beneath. And between him and his parents there was a
deep, wide crack. Surely he could reach them without flying if he could only move
northwards along the cliff face? But then on what could he walk?
There was no ledge, and he was not a fly. And above him he could see nothing.
The precipice was sheer, and the top of it was perhaps farther away than the sea
beneath him. He stepped slowly out to the brink of the ledge, and, standing on
one leg with the other leg hidden under his wing, he closed one eye, then the
other, and pretended to be falling asleep. Still they took no notice of him. He saw
his two brothers and his sister lying on the plateau dozing, with their heads sunk
into their necks. His father was preening the feathers on his white back. Only his
mother was looking at him. She was standing on a little high hump on the plateau,
her white breast thrust forward. Now and again she tore at a piece of fish that lay
at her feet, and then scraped each side of her beak on the rock. The sight of the
food maddened him. How he loved to tear food that way, scraping his beak now
and again to whet it! He uttered a low cackle. His mother cackled, too, and looked
over at him. “Ga, ga, ga,” he cried, begging her to bring him over some food.
“Gawl-ool-ah,” she screamed back mockingly. But he kept callig plaintively, and
after a minute or so he uttered a joyful scream. His mother had picked up a piece
of the fish and was flying across to him with it.
82 New Spark English Reader Class 7
He leaned out eagerly, tapping the rock with his feet, trying to get nearer to her as
she ew across. But when she was just opposite him, abreast of the ledge, she
halted, her legs hanging limp, her wings motionless, the piece of sh in her beak
almost within reach of his beak.
He waited a moment in surprise, wondering why she did not come nearer, and
then maddened by hunger, he dived at the sh. With a loud scream he fell
outwards and downwards into space. His mother had swooped upwards. As he
passed beneath her, he heard the swish of her wings. Then a monstrous terror
seized him and his heart stood still. He could hear nothing. But it only lasted a
moment. The next moment he felt his wings spread outwards. The wind rushed
against his breast feathers, then under his stomach and against his wings. He
could feel the tips of his wings cutting through the air. He was not falling headlong
now. He was soaring gradually downwards and outwards. He was no longer
afraid. He just felt a bit dizzy. Then he apped his wings once and he soared
upwards. He uttered a joyous scream and apped them again. He soared higher.
He raised his breast and banked against the wind. Ga, ga, ga. Ga, ga, ga. Gawl-
ool-ah. His mother swooped past him, her wings making a loud noise. He
answered her with another scream. Then his father ew over him screaming.
Then he saw his two brothers
and sister ying around him,
soaring and diving. Then he
completely forgot that he had
not always been able to y, and
commenced himself to dive
and soar, shrieking shrilly. He
was near the sea now, ying
straight over it, facing out over
the ocean. He saw a vast green
sea beneath him, with little
ridges moving over it, and he
turned his beak sideways and
crowed amusedly. His parents
and his brothers and sister had
landed on this green oor in
front of him. They were
83 New Spark English Reader Class 7
His legs sank into it. He screamed with fright and attempted to rise again,
apping his wings. But he was tired and weak with hunger and he could not rise,
exhausted by the strange exercise. His feet sank into the green sea, and then his
belly touched it and he sank no farther. He was oating on it. And around him his
family was screaming, praising him, and their beaks were offering him scraps of
dog-sh. He had made his rst ight, exercise. His feet sank into the green sea,
and then his belly touched it and he sank no farther. He was oating on it. And
around him his family was screaming, praising him, and their beaks were offering
him scraps of dog-sh. He had made his rst ight.
Word Meaning
seagull : a common grey and white seabird
ledge : a narrow surface that continues out from the side of
expanse a cliff, wall or other surface
muster up : a large area of land, water or sky
: make an effort to produce a particular feeling or
skim the waves
herring reaction from within oneself
devour : almost touching the waves
cackle : a long thin silver sea sh
mackerel : to eat something very fast
daintily : (of a bird) a loud, unpleasant, clucking cry
precipice : a sea sh with esh that contains a lot of natural oil
preening : in a delicate and graceful manner
: a very steep high cliff
whet : cleaning and arranging feathers with the beak or
mockingly
plaintively tongue
abreast : (here) make the beak sharper
commenced : in an unkind or rude manner
: in a sad manner
: facing or moving in the same direction
: began
EXERC I S E
Read and Write
1. Rapid re.
a. The young seagull was alone on his .............................. .
(i) home (ii) ledge
b. The young seagull had been afraid to y with his .............................. .
(i) two brothers and sister (ii) parents
84 New Spark English Reader Class 7
2. Complete the lines given below.
a. The young seagull was overcome by aversion when .........................
............................................................................................................
b. Mother seagull taunted the young seagull with the sh because
........................................................................................................... .
...........................................................................................................
c. The young seagull forgot his fear of ying because .......................... .
d. The young seagull was thrilled when he realised
............................................................................................................. .
3. Read the lines and answer the questions that follow.
His mother swooped past him, her wings making a loud noise. He
answered her with another scream. Then his father ew over him
screaming. Then he saw his two brothers and sister ying around him,
soaring and diving.
a. Where was the young seagull?
b. How did the family show their appreciation for the young seagull?
c. What did the young seagull see now? What did he do? What was
the result?
4. Answer the following questions.
a. Why was the young seagull afraid to y?
b. What did the parents do to make the young seagull take his rst
ight with his siblings? Did their efforts have the desired outcome?
c. What had the young seagull seen his parents and siblings do the
whole day? How do you think he must have felt?
d. Why was the condition of the young seagull desperate after twenty-
four hours?
e. How did the family react to the desperate condition the young
seagull was in? Why do you think they reacted in this manner?
85 New Spark English Reader Class 7
Vocabulary
5. Match the idioms in column A with their meanings in column B.
A B
a. a bolt from the blue settle or put right
b. make a clean breast of to be frank
c. have an axe to grind reveal a secret, often by
mistake
d. let the cat out of the bag a complete surprise
e. see eye to eye (with someone) to have a personal end
f. call a spade a spade to agree with someone
g. cheek by jowl to confess one’s mistakes
h. iron out close together
Grammar Zone
Pronouns Personal Possessive Demonstrative
Personal Pronouns Pronouns Pronouns Pronouns
Subject Pronouns Object First person: This, these: used
First person: I, we Pronouns mine, ours for people and
things close to us
Second person: you First person: Second Person: also used to
Third person: he, she, me, us yours introduce people:
This is Rita.
they, it Second person: Third Person: That and those:
for people
Remember: My friends you his, hers, its, and things
at some distance
and I play football every Third Person: theirs away.
evening. him, her, them,
it
Always put yourself
after everyone else.
86 New Spark English Reader Class 7
REMEMBER PRONOUNS ARE NOT FOLLOWED BY NOUNS
Exception:
When taking an oath:I, King Arthur, solemnly promise to look after my
knights. I, Maria Mani, solemnly promise to speak the truth and
nothing but the truth.
When being dramatic:I, Neena, promise to return your pen to you the
minute my work is done.
6. Fill in the blanks with the most appropriate pronouns. You can
have different options and yet be right. Read each sentences and
understand each situation before you fill in the blanks.
a. Mom, ....................... is Gopi. ....................... studies in Class XII.
And ....................... are her twin brothers, Akash and Anuj.
....................... are in my section this year. ....................... are using
the same school bus this year.
b. The information ................................ gave you yesterday was not
quite correct........................ told you that Section VIII A was playing a
football match against Section VIII B.
c. My friend, Tarini is my age, but ....................... is much taller than
....................... am
Reexive Pronouns
First Person: myself, ourselves: I worked out the crossword myself.
‘Myself’ refers back to ‘I’
Second Person: yourself, yourselves: You must go to the market yourself.
Third Person: herself, itself, themselves: The children dressed themselves.
Emphatic Pronouns have the same form, but are used to show emphasis:
I made the sandwich myself. We painted our house ourselves.
7. Read each sentence carefully. Underline and identify the reexive
pronouns, R, and emphatic pronouns, E.
a. Don’t tell us how to do the sums. We shall do them ourselves.
b. They really did the sums themselves.
87 New Spark English Reader Class 7
c. They enjoyed themselves at the party.
d. I, myself told you that I couldn’t attend your party.
e. The children were told to behave themselves.
Indenite Pronouns refer to people or things the identity of
whom/which is not known:
anybody, anyone, anything, everyone, everything, nobody, no one,
nothing, somebody, someone, something
anybody, anyone, anything cannot be used in negative statements:
Anyone can’t come here. Anything can’t be left here.
8. Fill in the blanks with the correct Indenite Pronouns.
a. .......................(Someone/No one) has left a mobile phone on the
dining table.
b. Is there .......................(nothing/anything) left on the table?
c. .......................(Nothing/Everything) has been eaten. All the dishes
are empty.
d. .......................(Everybody/Somebody) has gone. I think we can clear
up now.
f. Has .......................(anybody/everybody) seen my hand bag?
Speaking
Say how you felt when you had to do something difcult for the rst time.
Were you nervous to try it out? Share with the class how you felt.
Writing
You have been chosen as an extra player for the school cricket team for an
important match to be played against a rival school. Half an hour after the
commencement of the match, the best batsman of your team sprains his leg
and is unable to play. The coach calls you and asks you to take his place.
Write a descriptive account stating what you felt and how you did your best
to prove your worth.
88 New Spark English Reader Class 7
Listening and Writing
Listen to the audio and answer the following questions.
1. How many stages are there in the repairing of a bicycle puncture?
2. Carefully inspect the tyre for the cause of ........................ .
a. puncture b. brakes
3. You should repair the tube using a ........................patch kit
a. bicycle b. bike Scan Here
4. Where should the inated tube be dipped?
5. What is the step to cheek for a leak?
6. Find the synonym of these words. Audio Script
a. inated b. puncture
c. dubble d. repair
7. Change the following sentences into the direct speech.
a. He asked me if I would accompany him.
b. The stranger asked Alice where she lived.
c. He said that the earth moves round the sun.
d. Abdul said that he had seen that picture.
e. I asked Mary if she would lend me a pencil.
8. Change the following sentences into the indirect speech.
a. Ram said ‘I am very busy now.’
b. He said, ‘I have passed the examination.’
c. He said, ‘The horse died in the night.’
d. The policeman said to us, ‘where are you going?’
e. He said to his friend, ‘You are alright, aren’t you
89 New Spark English Reader Class 7
Lesson Woman Work
10
Scan Here
How do you help your mother at home?
Audio Script
Read to Understand
‘Woman Work’ is a very domestic poem depicting the typical routine life
of a woman who performs her daily chores effectively and then yearns for
a fantastic break amidst the elements of nature to give her strength and
comfort.
I’ve got the children to tend
The clothes to mend
The oor to mop
The food to shop
Then the chicken to fry
The baby to dry
I got company to feed
The garden to weed
I’ve got shirts to press
The tots to dress
The cane to be cut
I gotta clean up this hut
90 New Spark English Reader Class 7
Then see about the sick
And the cotton to pick.
Shine on me, sunshine
Rain on me, rain
Fall softly, dewdrops
And cool my brow again.
Storm, blow me from here
With your ercest wind
Let me oat across the sky
Til I can rest again.
Fall gently, snowakes
Cover me with white
Cold icy kisses and
Let me rest tonight.
Sun, rain, curving sky
Mountain, oceans, leaf and stone
Star shine, moon glow
You’re all that I can call my own.
Word Meaning
weed : (used as a verb) remove weeds
brow : forehead
tend : regularly behave in a particular way
mind : a person’s ability to think and reason
91 New Spark English Reader Class 7
EXERC I S E
Read and Write
1. Rapid re.
a. The poetess feels extremely ........................... after doing her house
-hold chores.
(i) happy (ii) tired
b. The poetess says she has to look after........................... at home.
(i) children (ii) food
c. ........................... can give delight to the poetess.
(i) Family (ii) Nature
2. Read the lines and answer the questions that follow.
I’ve got the children to tend
The clothes to mend
The oor to mop
The food to shop
Then the chicken to fry
The baby to dry
I got company to feed
The garden to weed
a. The woman who speaks these lines makes a list of all the work she
has to do. What are these jobs?
b. Who wants to escape somewhere as to give calmness to her
nerves?
3. Answer the following questions.
a. Explain how the narrator presents her thoughts and feelings about a
woman and her work.
b. Is the narrator of the poem a contented and fullled homemaker?
Give reasons for your answer.
c. How do you think her family can help her?
d. ‘Let me oat across the sky. Till I can rest again’. Explain these lines.
92 New Spark English Reader Class 7
Vocabulary
4. Fill in the blanks with hyphenated adjectives from the boxes.
cooling-off, labour-saving, high-rise, all inclusive,
high-handed, all-rounder
a. My father loves gardens and bungalows. He can’t stand ....................
.........................buildings.
b. Madhav is smart and intelligent, but we didn’t vote for him because
we didn’t want a captain with a ............................................. attitude.
c. Both my parents work. They have very little time in the morning. That
is why we have many ............................................. gadgets at home.
d. He is an ............................................. . He is also good as the team
captain and boosts the morale of the team whenever needed.
e. We were looking for an.............................................trip to Rajasthan.
f. You have a three week ............................................. period to cancel
the agreement.
Grammar Zone
Direct Speech
Let’s recall how we change a sentence from direct speech to indirect or
reported speech.
Study this example
Direct Speech Reported Speech
‘Where do you live?’ asked the old man. The old man asked where the boy lived.
‘I live in Pratap Nagar,’ the boy answered. He replied that he lived in Pratap Nagar.
When we report the exact words of a speaker, we put them within speech
marks or quotation marks. We use single inverted commas when we write in
British English. We use double inverted commas when we write in American
English.
93 New Spark English Reader Class 7
single inverted commas ‘. . .’ double inverted commas “ . . . ”
Make sure that you end a sentence in direct speech placing the punctuation
mark before the closing inverted comma.
Use a full stop if the speaker’s words make a statement.
Use a question mark if the speaker’s words ask a question.
Use an exclamation mark if the speaker’s words express a strong
feeling such as surprise, joy or sadness.
Read these sentences from the story.
Direct Speech
The man took a look at his shoes and said, ‘I don’t need one now, may
be not for another two days.’
The boy said, ‘Can I ask you something?’
Note that the full stop and the question mark are placed before the closing
inverted comma in each sentence.
Change in Tense
There is a change in tense in reported speech when the reporting verb is in
the past tense.
Direct Speech Reported Speech
simple present tense simple past tense
present continuous tense past continuous tense
past perfect tense
simple past tense past perfect continuous tense
past continuous tense past perfect tense
present perfect tense should/would/could/might
shall/will/can/may
94 New Spark English Reader Class 7
Now, study this example.
She tole me, ‘We lived in New York before moving to Nepal.’
She told me that they had lived in New York before moving to Nepal.
Here, the verb in direct speech (lived) is in the simple past tense. It
changes to the past perfect tense (had lived) in reported speech.
Change in Pronoun and in Expressions of Time and place
There is also change in pronoun and in expressions of time and place
in reported speech.
Ritika said to us, ‘I submitted my homework yesterday.’
Ritika told us that she had submitted her homework the previous day.
If the direct speech has a yes or a no question, we report it with if or
whether.
Manish asked Saumya, ‘Can you skate?’
Manish asked Saumya if she could skate.
5. Report these sentences.
a. Bhawna said, ‘I want to go out to play.’
.................................................................................................................
b. My teacher said, ‘Call the lab assistant immediately.’
.................................................................................................................
c. Kanika said, ‘I’m happy with my score.
.................................................................................................................
d. My grandmother said to the greengrocer, ‘Give me half a kilo of
tomatoes.’
.................................................................................................................
95 New Spark English Reader Class 7
Project work
Construct a good story based on the following outlines, and give a
suitable title.
Three men pass through a forest;
Find a bag of gold; agree to divide it;
They are hungry and thirsty;
One of them goes to the market to buy food;
The remaining two plot to kill him;
The man in the market poisons the food;
Writing
A paragraph consists of sentences which are connected to each other
under one common theme.
Every sentence in a paragraph works to present an important piece
of information or idea about the theme.
We usually use interesting linking words to connect sentences in a
paragraph.
There is no particular length suggested for a paragraph. However,
short paragraphs appeal to readers.
Long paragraphs are usually found in classics
Write a paragraph on this topic: Role of women in society.
96 New Spark English Reader Class 7
Nelson Mandela
Read the passage and answer the questions that follow.
(you can also listen to the audio)
Nelson Mandela was born on the 18th July,
1918 in Mvezo, South Africa.
Rolihlahla is his birth name. Nelson was a
nickname given to him by his teacher in
school. He went to Fort Hare University and
the University of Witwatersrand, where he
studied law. Nelson wanted all the people in
South Africa to be treated equally and have
equal rights. He planned to bomb certain buildings, but only the buildings. He
wanted to make sure that no one would get hurt. In 1962 he was arrested. He
spent 27 years in prison. In 1990 Nelson was released. He was the president of
south Africa from 1994 to 1999. .
Scan Here
Questions
1. What year was Nelson Mandela born? Audio Script
a. 1920 b. 1918
c. 1915 d. 1925
2. What is Nelson’s birth name? _________________________
3. What did Nelson study at university? ________________________
4. What year was Nelson arrested?
a. 1952 b. 1972
c. 1962 d. 1982
5. How many years did Nelson spend in prison?
a. 20 years b. 27 years
c. 30 years d. 17 years
6. What year did Nelson become the president of South Africa?
a. 1994 b. 1984
c. 1990 d. 1999
97 New Spark English Reader Class 7
WORKSHEET-5
1. Tick (ü) the correct words.
a. .............................. can give delight to the poetess.
(i) Family (ii) Nature
b. The poetess says she has to look after.............................at home
(i) children (ii) food
c. The young seagull was alone on his .............................. .
(i) home (ii) ledge
d. The young seagull had been afraid to y with his ............................. .
(i) two brothers and sister (ii) parents
2. Read the lines and answer the questions that follow.
His mother swooped past him, her wings making a loud noise. He
answered her with an other scream. Then his father ew over him
screaming. Then he saw his two brothers and sister ying around him,
soaring and diving.
a. Where was the young seagull?
............................................................................................................
b. How did the family show their appreciation for the young seagull?
............................................................................................................
c. What did the young seagull see now? What did he do? What was
the result?
............................................................................................................
3. Read the lines and answer the questions that follow.
I’ve got the children to tend
The clothes to mend
The oor to mop
The food to shop
Then the chicken to fry
The baby to dry
I got company to feed
The garden to weed
98 New Spark English Reader Class 7
a. The woman who speaks these lines makes a list of all the work she
has to do. What are these jobs?
b. Who wants to escape somewhere as to give calmness to her
nerves?
4. Answer the following questions.
a. How do you think her family can help her?
b. Why was the young seagull afraid to y?
c. What did the parents do to make the young seagull take his rst
ight with his siblings? Did their efforts have the desired outcome?
d. Pick a new examples from the story that show the boy’s persistence.
5. Complete the lines given below.
a. The young seagull was overcome by aversion when ........................ .
b. Mother seagull taunted the young seagull with the sh because
................................................................................................................
c. The young seagull forgot his fear of ying because .......................... .
d. The young seagull was thrilled when he realised .............................. .
6. Match the idioms in column A with their meanings in column B.
AB
a. a bolt from the blue settle or put right
b. make a clean breast of to be frank
c. have an axe to grind reveal a secret, often by
mistake
d. let the cat out of the bag a complete surprise
e. see eye to eye (with someone) to have a personal end
f. call a spade a spade to agree with someone
g. cheek by jowl to confess one’s mistakes
h. iron out close together
7. Fill in the blanks with too or enough.
a. The police did not have ............................. evidence to build a case
against the thief.
b. We were ............................. late to board the train.
c. The lm was not impressive ............................ . Its plot had
............................. many loopholes.
99 New Spark English Reader Class 7
d. The news was.............................sensitive to be printed on the rst
page.
e. Krishal had worked sincerely .............................to be considered for
the promotion.
8. Join each pair of sentences using too or enough.
a. Hem is unwell. He cannot participate in the race.
................................................................................................................
b. The accused will be acquitted. The lawyer has the evidence to prove
him innocent.
................................................................................................................
c. It is raining heavily. We cannot go out.
................................................................................................................
d. The sum is easy. You can solve it.
.................................................................................................................
e. The medicine is effective. It will cure the patient.
.................................................................................................................
9. Read the words in the box. Fill in the blanks matching the words
with their meanings.
hypochondriac bourgeois kleptomaniac
somnambulist jingoist fastidious
a. someone who has a compulsive desire to steal things ......................
b. an aggressive patriot ......................
c. someone who worries a lot about his or her health ......................
d. a person who cares a lot about accuracy and detail ......................
e. a member of the middle class ......................
f. a person who walks in his or her sleep .....................
10. Fill in the blanks with the most appropriate pronouns. You can
have different options and yet be right. Read each sentences and
understand each situation before you fill in the blanks.
a. Mom, ....................... is Gopi. ....................... studies in Class XII.
And .......................are her twin brothers, Akash and Anuj. ................
are in my section this year...................... are using the same school
bus this year.
b. The information ..................................... gave you yesterday was not
quite correct. ....................... told you that Section VIII A was playing
a football match against Section VIII B.
c. My friend, Tarini is my age, but ....................... is much taller than
....................... am
100 New Spark English Reader Class 7
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