13. Ghosts on the Verandah 127-135
13. Ghosts on the Verandah 127-135 - WBBSE - Class 7 - ইংরেজি
Lesson: 13
Ghosts on the Verandah
Ruskin Bond
Let's start:
Ruskin Bond (1934 —) is an Indian author of British descent. In 1992, he received the Sahitya Akademi Award for his short story collection, Our Trees Still Grow in Dehra. His famous works include Room On the Roof, A Flight of Pigeons, Angry River, The Blue Umbrella. The present text is an edited version of his short story Ghosts on the Verandah.
Let's share: 🗣️
- Have you ever seen an old house?
- Do you believe that ghosts can be found in old houses?
- Do you believe in spirits and charms?
Unit I
Let's read: 📖
Anil's mother's memory was stored with an incredible amount of folklore, and she would sometimes astonish us with her stories of spirits and mischievous ghosts.
One evening, when Anil's father was out of town, and Kamal and I had been invited to stay the night at Anil's upper-storey flat in the bazaar, his mother began to tell us about the various types of ghosts she had known. Mulia, the maid--servant, having just taken a bath, came out on the verandah, with her hair loose.
"My girl, you ought not to leave your hair loose like that,” said Anil's mother. "It is better to tie a knot in it."
"But I have not oiled it yet,” said Mulia.
"Never mind, but you should not leave your hair loose towards sunset. There are spirits called Jinns who are attracted by long hair and pretty black eyes like yours. They may be tempted to carry you away!"
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"How dreadful!” exclaimed Mulia, hurriedly tying a knot in her hair, and going indoors to be on the safe side.
Kamal, Anil and I sat on a string cot, facing Anil's mother, who sat on another cot. She was not much older than thirty-two, and had often been mistaken for Anil's elder sister.
"Sometimes," she said.
"There was a Mathematics teacher in our locality, whose pupils were about the same age as you. One of the boys was very good at his lessons. One day, while he sat at his desk in a corner of the classroom, the teacher asked him to fetch a book from the cupboard which stood at the far end of the room. The boy, who felt lazy that morning, didn't move from his seat. He merely stretched out his hand, took the book from the cupboard, and handed it to the teacher. Everyone was astonished, because the boy's arm had stretched about four yards before touching the book! They realised that he was a Jinn; that was the reason for his being so good at games and exercises which required great agility."
"Well, I wish I was a Jinn,”said Anil. “Especially for volleyball matches."
Anil's mother then told us about Munjia, a mischievous ghost who lives in lonely peepul trees. When a Munjia is annoyed, he rushes out from his tree and upsets tongas, bullock-carts and cycles. Even a bus is known to have been upset by a Munjia.
"If you are passing beneath a peepul tree at night,” warned Anil's mother, “be careful not to yawn without covering your mouth or snapping your fingers in front of it. If you don't remember to do that, the Munjia will jump down your throat and completely ruin your digestion!"
Word Nest 📝
incredible: unbelievable; folklore: the traditional stories of a country or community; fetch: bring; yards: an unit of distance. 1 yard is approximately 3 feet.; agility: ability to move quickly and easily
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Let's do : ✍️
Activity 1
Complete the following table with information from the text:
| Statement | Reason |
|---|---|
| (a) The author went to stay at Anil's house | |
| (b) Anil's mother told them ghost stories | |
| (c) The boy in the classroom could stretch | |
| his hands four yards | |
| (d) Anil wished to be a Jinn |
Activity 2
Answer the following questions:
(a) What attracts a Jinn? (b) List the activities of an annoyed Munjia. (c) Why must one be careful while yawning under a peepul tree at night? (d) How did the boy in the class show that he was a Jinn?
Activity 3
Fill in the blanks by choosing appropriate words from the box given below. You may need to change the form of the words:
incredible, fetch, cupboard, agility
(a) Since she is a gymnast, she has great ______________. (b) Tuhin ______________ a bucket of water. (c) Your story is ______________. (d) The utensils are kept inside a ______________.
Activity 4
Complete the following comparisons by correctly choosing the word from the box given below:
cold, hot, black, proud, brave, green, heavy, gentle, firm, busy
(a) as ______________ as coal
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(b) as ______________ as a lion (c) as ______________ as a bee (d) as ______________ as a lamb (e) as ______________ as a peacock (f) as ______________ as grass (g) as ______________ as a rock (h) as ______________ as lead (i) as ______________ as ice (j) as ______________ as fire
Activity 5
Rewrite the following sentences using the adverbs given in brackets in the appropriate place:
(a) This exercise is easy. (too) (b) The train is fast. (fairly) (c) The bottle is full. (quite) (d) We won the match. (nearly) (e) We are late, let us hurry. (rather) (f) She has come in. (just) (g) He makes a mistake. (never) (h) I get up early in the morning. (always) (i) I am sorry. (very) (j) He was intelligent to solve the problem. (enough)
Unit II
Let's continue : 📚
In an attempt to change the subject, Kamal mentioned that a friend of his had found a snake in his bed one morning.
"Did he kill it?" asked Anil's mother anxiously.
"No, it slipped away,” said Kamal.
"Good," she said. "It is lucky if you see a snake early in the morning."
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-----.
"It won't bite you if you let it alone,” she said.
By eleven o'clock, after we had finished our dinner and heard a few more ghost stories – including one about Anil's grandmother, whose spirit paid the family a visit – Kamal and I were most reluctant to leave the company on the verandah and retire to the room which had been set apart for us. It did not make us feel any better to be told by Anil's mother that we should recite certain magical verses to keep away the more mischievous spirits. We tried one, which went -
Bhoot, prêt, pisach, dana Chhoo mantar, sab nikal jana...
which, roughly translated, means –
Ghosts, spirits, goblins, sprites, Away you fly, don't come tonight...
"Are you all right?" asked Anil. "Wouldn't you like to sleep in our part of the house? It might be safer. Mulia will help us to carry the beds across!"
"We're quite all right," protested Kamal and I, refusing to admit we were nervous; but we were hustled along to the other side of the flat as though a band of ghosts was conspiring against us. Anil's mother had been absent during all this
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activity but suddenly we heard her screaming from the direction of the room we had just left.
"Rusty and Kamal have disappeared!” she cried. “Their beds have gone, too!"
And then, when she came out on the verandah and saw us dashing about in our pyjamas, she gave another scream and collapsed on a cot.
After that, we didn't allow Anil's mother to tell us ghost stories at night.
Word Nest 📝
reluctant: unwilling; eerie: strange or unnatural; pale: whitish; conspiring: secretly planning with other people to do something evil or harmful
Let's do: ✍️
Activity 6
Complete the following sentences with information from the text:
(a) Anil's mother thought that seeing a snake ______________. (b) Kamal and the author did not want to go to their room because ______________. (c) When Anil's mother saw the boys rushing about, she ______________. (d) Kamal sang softly because ______________.
Activity 7
Answer the following questions:
(a) Why did Anil and Mulia appear “pale and anxious"? (b) What did Anil's mother think when she saw the room empty? (c) What was the effect of Kamal's singing on the author? (d) Do you think Anil's mother believed in ghosts? Give a reason for your answer.
Activity 8
Fill in the blanks with suitable modals:
(a) I ______________ speak English. (b) We eat so that we ______________ live.
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(c) You ______________ go now. (d) ______________ you have good luck! (e) We ______________ be rewarded. (f) I ______________ not surrender. (g) You ______________ be able to do it in no time. (h) We ______________ help the poor. (i) I ______________ never tell lies. (j) Tomorrow we ______________ have a holiday.
Activity 9
Fill in the blanks with the correct tense of the verb given in brackets:
(a) She ran so fast that I ______________ (can) not overtake her. (b) I thought I ______________ (see) you yesterday. (c) He helps his neighbours more than he ______________ (help) his family. (d) When I saw her, I ______________ (speak) to her. (e) The more he learned, the more he ______________ (want)to learn. (f) There was a rumour that he ______________ (die) in the accident. (g) We thought that she ______________ (will) succeed. (h) I shall nurse her that she ______________ (may) recover. (i) I left the place as soon as I ______________ (hear) the news. (j) Honesty ______________ (be) the best policy.
Activity 10
Fill in the blanks by choosing the correct verb given in brackets:
(a) All that glitters ______________ (is/are) not gold. (b) The great poet and novelist ______________ (is/are) dead.
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(c) Each of the boys ______________ (was/were) given a prize. (d) Salim as well as his friend ______________ (is/are) honest. (e) Time and tide ______________ (wait/waits) for none. (f) Neither of the girls ______________ (has/have) brought her book. (g) None but the brave ______________ (deserve/deserves) the fair. (h) Three-fourths of the meal ______________ (was/were) eaten. (i) Either you or he ______________ (has/have) done it. (j) Slow and steady ______________ (win/wins) the race.
Activity 11
Fill in the gaps in the following table with appropriate forms of adjectives:
| POSITIVE | COMPARATIVE | SUPERLATIVE |
|---|---|---|
| good | darker | |
| mildest | ||
| wise | harder | |
| soft | ||
| high | brighter | |
| least | ||
| beautiful | worst | |
| more intelligent | ||
| serious | lesser | |
| swiftest |
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Activity 12
Pick out the adjectives from the following sentences and write their degree:
a. Which is the best book? b. December is colder than other months. c. He is my eldest brother. d. Nothing moves as fast as light. e. Success is sweeter than failure.
Let's talk : 💬
What type of stories do you like? Discuss in groups and tell the class.
Let's do : ✍️
Activity 13
Write a story in which you and your two friends are forced to spend a night in an old, desolate building far away from home.
Activity 14
Write a paragraph on a magic show. Use the following points:
- Place
- the atmosphere
- dress of the magician
- tricks that he performed
- how you liked the show
- did you feel interested in performing magic by yourself
- conclusion.
Let's work together : 🤝
Make a list of superstitious practices that you see in your society. Write a few sentences about the harmfulness of superstitious practices.
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CONTENT MANAGER