question_answer

Answer any four of the following questions:

(a) Why did the writer think those boots bought from big firm were "ill-omened"?

(b) (i) What trees does Mr. Wonka mention ? Which tree does he say lives the longest?

(ii) How long does this tree live? Where can you find it?

(c) How is fire created? What was the man's first experience of fire?

(d) What did the dog do to lead the farmer to the hidden gold?

(e) What was the author's opinion about Mr. Gessler as a boot-maker?

(f) The poet's mother asks him not to be afraid of the garden snake. Why?

Answer:

(a) Seeing those boots, Mr. Gessler for the first time informed the writer about the hardships of his trade and the hard times he was going through. Finding Mr. Gessler in pain, the writer called those boots, bought from the big firm, ?ill-omened? ones.

(b) (i) The trees mentioned by Mr. Wonka were the Douglas fir, the Oak and the Cedar. He said that the tree named Bristlecone pine, lives the longest.

(ii) This tree is over 4000 years old. It is found on the slopes of Wheeler Peak in Nevada, U.S.A.

(c) When oxygen is combined with carbon and hydrogen, fire is created, i.e., it is the result of a chemical reaction. Man?s first experience of fire must have been volcanoes and lightning.

(d) The dog led the old farmer to a place and started scratching the place. The old farmer thought that the dog was looking for a buried bone or a bit of fish, but when he struck his hoe in the earth, he found a pile of gold with the help of the dog.

(e) The author?s opinion about Mr. Gessler as a boot-maker was that he was a devoted boot-maker who always took his profession as an art. He used to make good and lasting boots, but wasn?t able to compete with the fast paced modern world. All these factors made the author call Mr. Gessler a perfect artist.

(f) The poet?s mother says so because the poet saw a snake in the garden. Seeing it he ran away in fear. His mother knew that the garden snakes were not harmful. They were good and harmless. So, she asks the poet not to be afraid of snakes.