UNIT – 6
PROSE
TRUE HEIGHT
1.) Talk about the points raised in these questions. Write them down in your notebook. Discuss the answers with your partner.
a.) Which was the competition that Michael Stone participated in at the age of 17?
Answer: Michael Stone had participated in National Junior Olympics at the age of 17.
b.) What was the height at which the pole was set for vaulting?
Answer: The height of the pole set for vaulting was at 17 feet.
c.) What was Michael Stone’s best personal record in pole vaulting?
Answer: Michael Stone’s best personal record in pole vaulting was 16 feet 9 inches.
d.) What kind of stories did Michael’s mother read to him when he was growing up?
Answer: Michael’s mother read him numerous stories about flying when he was growing.
e.) Who monitored Michael’s training?
Answer: Michael’s training was closely monitored by his coach, trainer and father.
f.) When did Michael’s mother ask him to take deep breaths?
Answer: Michael’s mother asked him to take deep breaths when he felt tensed, anxious or even scared.
g.) “He was sure the crowd did too.” Explain the meaning of this statement.
Answer: The crowd was sure shot of Michael’s victory.
2.) Answer the following questions in two or three sentences each. Discuss the answers with your partner. Write them down in your note book.
a.) Why is ‘pole vaulting’ referred to as a glamour event?
Answer: The sportsman combines the grace of a gymnast with the strength of a body builder and this is why is referred to as a glamour event.
b.) What kind of dream did Michael have repeatedly?
Answer: Michael always had dream of flying and his mother’s excitement and passion for detail made Michael’s dreams full of colour and beauty.
c.) What sort of a man was Bert Stone?
Answer: Unlike Michael’s mother, his father was realist. He believed in hard work and sweat.
d.) When did Michael realise that it was time for his final jump to win the National Junior Olympics medal?
Answer: As Michael lay on his back and heard the crowd groan, he knew the other vaulter had missed his final jump. He knew it was time for his final jump.
e.) Why do you think he remembered his mother just before his final jump?
Answer: Before his final jump, Michael was tensed and anxious. He remembered his mother because at such times, his mother would always tell him to take deep breathes and relax.
f.) “With all the media attention and hearty congratulations, Michael’s life would never be the same.” Why?
Answer: With the winning of National Junior Olympics, Michael had not only set a new world record but also he had increased his personal best by 9 ½ inches.
3.) In groups, discuss the answers to the following questions and then write the answers in 5 or 6 sentences.
a.) Explain the training programme Michael Stone underwent to emerge the winner in the National Junior Olympics.
Answer: Michael worked very hard since the young age of 14. He began a very careful and regimented weightlifting programme. He worked out every day with weights and did running work on alternate days. His programme was closely monitored by his coach, trainer and father.
Describe in your words the sense of jubilation Michael felt on winning the pole-vault event in the National Junior Olympics.
Answer: When Michael won National Junior Olympics he imagined the smile on his mother’s face and hear his dad’s laughter. What he didn’t know was that his dad was hugging his wife and crying harder than Milfred had ever seen before, shedding tears of pride. It was then he was gathered by people hugging and congratulating him on his greatest achievement.
4.) There are some jumbled words and phrases given below. Write them in the correct order to make sentences.
a.) at the National Junior Olympics / he faced today / the Astro turf / was as hot as / he sat on / the competition
Answer: The Astro turf he sat on was as hot as he faced today at the National Junior Olympics.
b.) the golden-lined wheat fields / passing by / he would always / as he raced down / outrun the locomotive
Answer: He would always outrun the locomotive passing by as he raced down the golden lined wheat fields.
5.) Read the given extracts and answer the questions that follow. Work with your partner to do this.
a.) “Then out of nowhere, and from the deepest depths of his soul, he imagined his mother.”
– Who is the “he” referred to here?
Answer: “He” is referred to Michael Stone.
– Why did he think of his mother?
Answer: He was anxious and nervous, so he thought of his mother.
– How did it help him?
Answer: His mother’s advice of taking deep breathes and relaxing made him won the National Junior Olympics and set a new record.
b.) “As he began sprinting down the runway, something felt wonderfully different, yet familiar.”
– Who began sprinting down the runway?
Answer: Michael Stone began sprinting down the runway.
– Why was he doing that?
Answer: He was doing so to practice and be the best version of himself, so that he could win the National Junior Olympics.
– What felt wonderfully different, yet familiar?
Answer: The road felt something wonderfully different yet familiar which he had dreamt of.
6.) Fill in the blanks choosing suitable words given in brackets :
[take-off, soaring, flying, breath, slow motion]
When Michael Stone took a deep breath it happened. He began to fly. His take-off was effortless. Michael Stone was now flying, just like in his childhood dreams. But this was real. Everything was in slow motion. Michael was soaring with the majesty of an eagle.
7.) Work with your partner and do these exercises.
(Use a good dictionary to find the meanings)
Circle the odd one out :
i.) hammer ii. discus iii. javelin iv. shot
i.) bat ii. stick iii. club iv. pole
i.) scorer ii. bowler iii. fielder iv. Keeper
Read to your partner the phrases given below. They are jumbled. Reorder them to make a sentence. Write down the sentence and punctuate it.
Answer: A shuttle-cock is made of 16 feathers of identical length usually of duck or goose and tucked into a rounded cork base, glued and bound together with a string.
Word Order
1.) Put the given adjectives in the proper order and write this story in your notebook. Add necessary punctuation marks.
Begin like this One fine day, a long time ago, a beautiful little girl in a red coat was walking through a dark forest with a big bag of red, wonderful apples to see her old grandmother. Under a tall green tree, she saw a big, bad wolf with long white teeth.
2.) Put the words in the correct order and continue the story.
“good little girl morning.” / said big the bad wolf / “going you where are / that with bag heavy / day this fine on?” / “going to see my grandmother” / girl the said little/ “lives small she in house a new the supermarket near”
Answer: “Good morning, little girl.” “Where are you going with that heavy bag on this find day?” said the big bad wolf. The little girl said,” Going to see my grandmother, she lives in the small house near the new supermarket.”
3.) Put adjectives from the box to complite the story.
[new friendly stupid little red dark]
“OK” said the wolf in a friendly voice, but thought, “I’ll eat her up on her way back.” The little girl was not stupid. She thought, “I will not walk back through this dark forest at all. I will drive back with my uncle in his newred _car.”
Exercise :
1.) Insert a comparative or a superlative :
a.) My new car is faster than my old car. (fast)
b.) My mother and her sisters are all shorter than their children. (short)
c.) I think Arathi is the most intelligent person in our class. (intelligent)
d.) Let’s meet in the library. It’s more quiet/ quieter than all the other rooms. (quiet)
e.) My bedroom is the coldest room in the house. (cold)
2.) Compare each pair of things in the box. Write two sentences for each pair. The adjectives are given to help you.
the sun and the moon ; dogs and cats ; the Sahara and the Thar deserts ; train travel and air travel
(Adjectives : bright, cold, friendly, hot, cheap, intelligent, small, fast)
Eg : The sun is brighter than the moon.
The moon is smaller than the sun.
1.) The cats are more friendly than the dogs.
1.) The dogs are more intelligent than the cats.
2.) The Sahara desert is hotter than the Thar desert
2.) The Thar desert is smaller than the Sahara desert.
3.) The air travel is faster than the train travel.
3.) The train travel is cheaper than the air travel.
2.) Use the clues and make sentences with as …… as.
a.) Nayana /shy / Srujan
Answer: Nayan is as shy as Srujan.
b.) Her feet / cold / ice
Answer: Her feet are as cold as ice.
c.) Anudeep / intelligent /Anurag
Answer: Anudeep is as intelligent as Anurag.
3.) A newspaper headline is given below, but its words are jumbled. Ask your partner how to make a meaningful headline from this jumble.
golden – quit – Vault’s – to – 2 years – Pole – girl – in
Answer: 2 years girl to quit in Vault’s golden Pole.
Writing :
Imagine you are Michael Stone. After you win the pole vaulting event in the National Junior Olympics you make a diary entry of your experience on that day. Make this entry in 50 – 60 words.
Answer: I was on cloud nine when I won the National Junior Olympics. The feeling I had is beyond words. I was sure of my achievement but never thought that it would be so huge. I set a new record and that made everyone around me feel proud about me. I felt so amazing when everyone came and hugged and congratulated me. I was showered with so much of love and respect.
Tell your partner what words go in the blanks in the following passage. Write down the words.
Look at the picture on page 60, What is the athlete doing?
Is he jumping? No. Actually it is called vaulting, not jumping. How is an athlete able to vault so high? He uses a pole. He lifts himself up in the air with the help of the pole. This kind of athletic event is called Pole Vault. In pole vault an athlete can vault 17 to 18 feet.
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