Holiday Homework English Coaching Ayan Sir

I. Read the passage given below.

1. My first tryst with Shakespeare several years ago was an enforced one. The Merchant of
Venice was a prescribed book in class 9 when I was atschool. I had read the wonderful Lamb’s
Talesfrom Shakespeare and considered myself an authority on the stories. I did not think it
necessary to read the antiquated language or trudge through several seemingly abstruse
paragraphs to get to the main point. To spend a whole year to decipher a play when I had
understood the story in a few pages seemed to be a sheer waste of time. Yet, somewhere along
the way, I was drawn into the world of The Merchant of Venice, their portly argosies, the
signors and rich burghers and the news on the Rialto. The language yielded its riches slowly, the
characters became well drawn, more rounded and the impassioned speeches of Shylock and
Portia stirred up a flurry of unexamined questions. Since then, I have read several other plays,
have seen a couple of theatrical performances and watched young Leonardo Di Caprio in a
modern Romeo and Juliet film. Shakespeare has been around.

2. Shakespeare has shaped the writing and storytelling in the English language like no other
writer has. He liberally borrowed, bent and brought new words into the English language from
addiction, bump critic to worthless and zany. The phrases that he coined roll off our tongues as
over-used adages - All that glitters is not gold (The Merchant of Venice), Jealousy is a green-
eyed monster (Othello), and the perennial ‘All is well that ends well’. He has influenced several
writers and been quoted by many of them. One of my favourite authors P.G. Wodehouse had
the odd Shakespearean phrase popping up in whacky situations like the ‘milk of human
kindness’ sloshing inside someone or references to Banquo and Macbeth explained to Bertie by
the estimable Jeeves who knew his Shakespeare. The plays have been translated into most
languages, including several regional Indian bhashas. They have lent themselves to film
adaptations, including the Vishal Bharadwaj’s Maqbool (Macbeth) and Omkara (Othello).

3. The tragedies and comedies of Shakespeare cover every possible theme, and idea—love,
greed, jealousy, racism, friendship, mistaken identities, murder, mutiny, politics, feminism and
revenge. Like a any other celebrity, he has been the subject of speculation and controversy.
There have been several conspiracy theories afloat on the ‘real’ authorship of the plays,
including a recent claim by a professor in Sicily that Shakespeare was actually Italian. Despite
everything, Shakespeare’s appeal is universal, the stories transcend language and nationalities.
However, more than 400 years after Shakespeare’s birth, I can’t help wondering if anyone will
read his works in the days to come.

4. The average attention span in front of a television channel is about 4 seconds before flicking
on the remote to move to another. It is perfectly acceptable to massacre the rules of grammar
and syntax b4 u cn say ‘why dis kolaveri di?’ When you can tell a whole story in 140 characters,
reading 14 sentences can be a chore. Who will have the desire or patience to dredge up the
treasures that lie within?

5. Shakespeare’s works have proved to be sturdy, unshakable through the centuries, moving
with the times, lending themselves to newer forms. I hope they don’t get relegated to a few
diehard literature students or musty libraries. Who knows, we might yet have a different form
of Shakespeare that will appeal to the GenNext, a form that will induce them to approach an
original play with a sense of anticipation, of beginning a quest to understand and appreciate a
good story, well told. Nothing of him that does fade, But doth suffer a sea-change Into
something rich and strange.

Based on your understanding of the passage, answer the questions given below.

i. Choose the most appropriate statement to complete the sentence. The author had
considered himself an authority on Shakespeare _____. (a) after reading Lamb’s Tales from
Shakespeare

(b) after reading the prescribed book for class 9

(c) after finding no use for antiquated languages

(d) after mastering the abstruse paragraphs to get to the main point

ii. According to the author, what drew him into reading Shakespeare’s ‘The merchant of
Venice’?

iii. According to the author, state two ways by which Shakespeare has enriched the language.

iv. Select the antonym for the word ‘zany’ in para 2 of the text.

(a) conventional (b) conversational (c) contemptible (d) condemnable

v. Based on your understanding of the text, what accounts for the tremendous popularity of
Shakespeare in our times?

vi. What are some commonalities that Shakespeare shares with celebrities of today?

vii. What are the speculations that the author makes about Shakespeare’s works?

viii. Below are given the reasons why Shakespeare’s popularity as an author might decline.
Select the reason that is not relevant to the context.

(a) The rules of grammar are being mutilated currently in both the spoken and written form of
the language

(b) Attention spans are curtailed and reading complete sentences is unlikely

(c) The televised editions of Shakespeare are far more appealing

(d) No one will have the desire and patience to dredge up the treasure of Shakespeare’s
content in the coming days.

ix. The author visualises a newer version of Shakespeare’s works by the GenNext. What is that
likely to be?
(a) A form to induce them to approach the plays in a new light.

(b) A form that will make them realise that nothing new is totally new. (c) A different form of
Shakespeare that will appeal to GenNext.

(d) A form for diehard literature students.

x. Suggest a suitable title for the passage.

(a) Shakespeare then and Now

(b) Shakespeare of the Future

(c) Shakespeare a Man for All Ages

(d) Shakespeare’s Literary Appeal is Ageless and Evolutionary.

Q. Read the following dialogue between a mother and her son. Complete the
paragraph that follows by filling in the gaps appropriately.

Marie: Did you see my new umbrella? Isn’t it fine?

Tony: Yes, it is! Did you buy it from the mall?
Marie: No, your father has brought it for me.

Marie asked her son Tony (a) …………… and she wanted to know whether it was a fine one.
Tony agreed and asked his mother (b) …………… His mother replied in the negative and
added that (c) ……………

Q. Read the following dialogue between Garima and Karan. Complete the paragraph
that follows by filling in the gaps appropriately.

Garima: So, after a decade in the industry, are you truly ‘satisfied’?
Karan: I love the film industry. It has its flaws though.
Garima: What do you mean by this statement?
Karan: We are a bunch of competitive, ambitious, sometimes petty people. But the passion
cements us together.

Garima asked Karan if after a decade in the industry (a) _________. Karan told her (b) _________
although it had its flaws. Garima then enquired (c) _________. Karan explained that they were
a bunch of competitive, ambitious, sometimes petty people but the passion cemented them
together.

Q. Choose the correct options to fill in the blanks to complete the narration of
Patty’s conversation with Charlie.

Charlie: Dear Santa, here is a list if what I want.

Patty: How do you suppose Santa Claus can afford to give away all those toys?
Charlie: Promotion! Don’t kid yourself……Everything these days is promotion! I will bet if
the truth were brought about, you will find that he’s being financed by some big eastern
chain!

While making the list of what Charlie wanted from Santa Claus, he asked Patty how …..(A)…..
all those toys. She said that …..(B)….. and that it was possible as Santa …..(C)….. big eastern
chain.

(A) (a) Santa Claus could afford to give away

(b) will give away
(c) gave away
(d) giving away

(B) (a) everything these days were promotion

(b) everything these days was promotion
(c) everything those days was promotion
(d) everything these days was going to be promotion

(C) (a) was financing by some big eastern chain

(b) had been financed by some big eastern chain
(c) was being financed by some big eastern chain
(d) will be financed by some big eastern chain

Q. Fill in the blanks with the appropriate verbs in agreement with its subject.

(a) A dog …………………………… a faithful animal.

(b) Neither my parents nor relatives ……………………………present yesterdayat the party.

(c) Each of the boys …………………………… honest.

(d) The entire class as well as the principal, ……………………………agreedtotheproposal.

(e) Neither Rasipa nor Reeta …………………………… present.

(f) His briefcase and wallet …………………………… been lost.

(g) Politics …………………………… his bread and butter.

(h) The committee …………………………… issued its report.

(i) Three parts of the business …………………………… left for me to do.

(j) Either he or I …………………………… mistaken.

Q. Complete the following sentences using the most appropriate formof theverbgiven in the
brackets.

The world …………1………….. (be) online. Everyone ………………2…………. (use) computers and
internet for business and pleasure. There is growing concern about the effects this has on
children. Nowadays children ………………3……………(spend) a lot of time online
……………4………….. (play) games, ………5……………. (chat) with their friends and
……………6………….. (watch) videos. Priceless childhood hours …………7……………….. (spend)
sitting indoors opposite a computer screen instead of playing outdoors. Some people believe
that children should ………………8…………. (allow) to spend time online. In their opinion, the
hours spend on the computers are actually very good for them. Their logic is simple.
Nowadays computer skills are absolutely essential for success in the workplace. Therefore,
the time they spend on the computer ……………9……………. (be) actually helping them to gain
the skills they …………10…………. (need) to become productive adults.

Q. Write a letter to the editor of a National daily expressing your concern about the irreparable
harm we are doing to the existence of the earth with the advancement of Technologies.