Working with the Text
Answer the following questions.
Question 1:
What was the author’s opinion about Mr Gessler as a bootmaker?
Solution:
The author was very impressed with Mr Gessler. He liked the boots made only on order and those boots perfectly fitted the customers. Their boots had the best materials and lasted long. He found the work mysterious and wonderful.
Question 2:
Why did the author visit the shop so infrequently?
Solution:
The author visited the shop so infrequently because the boots made by Gessler brothers lasted too long.
Question 3:
What was the effect on Mr Gessler of the author’s remark about a certain pair of boots?
Solution:
Mr (Sessler at first found the remark unbelievable. He argued that the author might have got them wet. He was shocked. He told the author that he will either repair them or adjust the money in his bills.
Question 4:
What was Mr Gessler’s complaint against ‘big farms’?
Solution:
Mr Gessler complained that the big firms didn’t value the money of the customers. They were capturing the markets from advertisements and not from the quality of their work. He was mostly out of work because of those firms and day by day the volume was getting reduced.
Question 5:
Why did the author order so many pairs of boots? Did he really need them?
Solution:
The author felt bad for Mr Gessler who was really talented and made great boots. He ordered so many pairs to help the bootmaker. No, he didn’t really need them.
Working with Language
Question 1:
Study the following phrases and their
meanings. Use them appropriately to complete
the sentences that follow.
look after : take care of
look down : disapprove or regard as
on inferior
look in : make a short visit
(on someone)
look into : investigate
look out : be careful
look up : improve
look up to : admire
- After a very long spell of heat, the weather is ………….. at last.
- We have no right to …………. people who do small jobs.
- Nitin has always ……………. his uncle, who is a self-made man.
- The police are …………… the matter thoroughly.
- If you want to go out, I will ………….. the children for you.
- I promise to ………….. on your brother when I visit Lucknow next.
- ……………. when you are crossing the main road.
Solution:
- looking up
- look down
- looked up
- looking into
- look after
- look in
- Look out
Question 2:
Read the following sets of words loudly and clearly.
cot – coat
cost – coast
tossed – toast
got – goat
rot – rote
blot – bloat
knot – note
Solution:
Do it yourself.
Question 3:
Each of the following words contains the sound ‘sh’ (as in shine) in the beginning or in the middle or at the end. First speak out all the words clearly. Then arrange the words in three
groups in the table.
sheep trash marsh fashion
anxious shriek shore fish
portion ashes sure nation
shoe pushing polish moustache
Solution:
Initial Medial Final
Sheep Fashion Trash
Shriek Portion Marsh
Shore Ashes Anxious
Sure Nation Fish
Shoe Pushing Polish
Moustache
Question 4:
In each of the following words ‘ch’ represents the same consonant sound as in ‘chair’. The words on the left have this sound initially. Those on the right have it finally. Speak each word clearly.
choose bench
child march
cheese peach
chair wretch
charming research
Underline the letters representing this sound in each of the following words.
(i) Feature (iv) Reaching Riches
(ii) Archery (v) Nature Batch
(iii) Picture (vi) Matches Church
Solution:
- Feature
- Archery
- Picture
- Reaching
- Nature
- Matches
- Riches
- Batch
- Church
Speaking
Question 1:
Do you think Mr Gessler was a failure as a bootmaker or as a competitive businessman?
Solution:
Mr Gessler was successful as a bootmaker because his customers were immensely satisfied with the boot he made.
This perfectly fit them and lasted long. Yes, he was a failure as a competitive businessman.
He didn’t have money like the big firms so couldn’t invest on advertisements. He lost his business to them. He took time in delivering the boots because he made them alone. He lost his customers because of the delay in delivery.
He worked hard, striving for long hours. Whatever, he earned went on paying the rent for his shop and for buying leathers. He spent days of great penury.
Question 2:
What is the significance of the title? To who or to what does it refer?
Solution:
The title refers to the great quality boots Mr Gessler made. It is an ideal title for the lesson. It refers to the business practices followed these days where no one cares about quality.
For Mr Gessler, quality was of optimum significance. He worked for long hours, didn’t allow anyone else to touch his boots. He lost on business, was spending days in poverty still the man didn’t compromise on quality.
Question 3:
- Notice the way Mr Gessler speaks English. His
English is influenced by his mother tongue. He speaks English with an accent. - When Mr Gessler speaks, p, t, k, sound like b,d,g. Can you say these words as Mr Gessler would say them?
It comes and never stops. Does it bother me? Not at all. Ask my brother, please.
Solution:
Mr Gessler used to speak English with a German accent. His English sounded funny and a bit difficult to understand.
Mr Gessler would have spoken these lines as. Id comes and never sdobs. Does Id bodder me? Nod ad all. Ask my brodher blease.
Question 4:
Speak to five adults in your neighbourhood. Ask them the following questions (in any language they are comfortable in). Then come back and share your findings with the class.
- Do they buy their provisions packed in plastic packets at a big store or loose, from a smaller store near their house?
- Where do they buy their footwear? Do they buy branded footwear or footwear made locally? What reasons do they have for their preference?
- Do they buy readymade clothes or buy cloth and get their clothes stitched by a tailor? Which do they think is better?
Solution:
- Yes, they prefer buying their provisions loose from the smaller stores near their house.
- They buy footwear for daily purpose from local shops. For office and part purpose they prefer buying it from branded shops.
They don’t like spending too much on their regular footwear. So, they buy it from local shops.
For office and party they want to look good and want the footwear to last long and comfortable. So, they are fine spending on it. - They do the both. At times they buy readymade clothes and at times get them stitched from the tailor. They find it easy to buy readymade clothes. They get the latest fashion and it saves time as well.
Question 5:
Look at the picture.
leaving the country. One student repeats Ajit’s statements. The other gives a reason for not agreeing with Ajit. The sentence openings given below should be used.
- If I leave this country, I’ll miss ………….
- There are some things which you can get only here, for example ………….
- There are some special days I’ll miss, particularly ………….
- Most of all I’ll miss ………………. because …………..
- I think it’s impossible for me to leave my country because …………..
- How can you leave your own country except when …………… ?
- Depends on one’s intention. I can’t leave for good because ……………..
- Maybe for a couple of years ……………..
Solution:
Ajit: I have decided to go abroad for higher studies
Anisa: Have you? I don’t think I’ll ever do that. I love my country.
If I leave this country, I’ll miss my friends and family. I will also miss the food.
There are some things which you can get only here, for example the food, snacks and the care and concern of people around.
There are some special days I’ll miss, particularly the festivals, birthdays and my parents anniversary.
Most of all I’ll miss my sister because we have been very close to each other and I share all my secrets with her. ‘
I think it’s impossible for me to leave my country because I love my country and family too much and can’t go too far from them.
How can you leave your own country except when there is an emergency?
Depends on one’s intention. I can’t leave for good because I want to celebrate all my special moments with my close ones.
May be for a couple of years I think it should be fine.
Writing
Question 1:
Based on the following points write a story.
- Your aunt has gone to her mother’s house.
- Your uncle does his cooking.
- He is absent-minded.
- He puts vegetables on stove.
- He begins to clean his bicycle outside.
- The neighbour calls out saying something is burning.
- Your uncle rushes to the kitchen.
- To save vegetables, he puts some oil in them.
- Unfortunately, it’s machine oil, not cooking oil.
- What do you think happens to the vegetables?
Solution:
Begin like this Last month my aunt decided to visit her parents. They live in some other city. In absence of my aunt my uncle had to do all the cooking. He is very forgetful and absent-minded. One day he puts vegetable on stove for cooking and at the same time he goes out to clean his bicycle.
My uncle got involved in cleaning his bicycle so much that he completely forgot about the vegetables he had kept on the stove. One of his neighbour came to his place hurriedly telling about some burning smell coming from his kitchen. My uncle remembered about the vegetables he had kept on stove for cooking.
He rushed to the kitchen and to save them from getting burnt he poured some oil over them immediately. Only at the time of eating he realised it was not cooking oil but machine oil. The vegetables were completely spoiled, my uncle had to throw them away.
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