EVENTS CONVENT HIGH SCHOOL
07/09/2021 CLASS-12 SESSION2021-22
ENGLISH (CHAPTER-3)
FLAMINGO
THE LAST LESSON
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Text Book Questions and Answers
Notice these expressions in the text. Infer their meaning from the context
(i) in great dread of
(ii) counted on
(iii) thumbed at the edges
(iv) in unison
(v) a great hustle
(vi) reproach ourselves with
Answer:
(i) in great dread of: a feeling of great fear about something that might or will happen in future (for instance here—scolding by his teacher).
(ii) counted on : to trust somebody to do something or to be sure that something will happen.
(iii) thumbed at the edges : to touch something with your thumb or thumbs, for instance here the edges of the old primer.
(iv) in unison : to do or say something at the same time (here repeating the lesson at the same time).
(v) a great bustle : extremely busy and noisy activity, (for instance here tumult before opening of the school).
(vi) reproach ourselves with : to blame or criticise somebody for something that they have done or not done, because you are disappointed in them.
The Last Lesson Think as you read (Page 7)
Question :
1. What was Franz expected to be prepared with for school that day ?
2. What did Franz notice that was unusual about the school that day ?
3. What had been put up on the bulletin-board ?
Answer:
1. Franz was expected to be prepared with lesson on participles because his teacher M. Hamel had said that he would ask them questions about it.
2. Usually there used to be a great hustle and bustle and noise. But that day Franz noticed that it was all so still, calm and quiet.
3. It was put up on the bulletin-board by Germans that only German could be taught in the schools of Alsace and Lorraine in France.
The Last Lesson Think as you read (Page 8)
Question 1.What changes did the order from Berlin cause in school that day ?
Answer :
The order from Berlin was that only German language would be taught in the schools of Aslace and Lorraine in France. These two districts had passed into Prussian hands. It was the last day of the French teacher M. Hamel in the school. French will no more be taught in the school. So M. Hamel was leaving the school next day. M. Hamel had put on his fine Sunday clothes. The old men of the village were sitting there in the back of the room. It was their way of thanking M. Hamel for his forty years of faithful service. The children now taught the French language and the books written in that language as old friends.
Question 2.How did Franz’s feelings about M. Hamel and school change ?
Answer:
Franz felt sorry for not learning his lessons in French any more. His books that had seemed such a nuisance a short while ago, which he found so heavy to carry seemed to him old friends now that he could not give up. Franz’s feelings about his French teacher M. Hamel also were changed. The idea that he was going away, that he (Franz) should never see him again, made Franz forget all about his teacher’s ruler and how cranky or slightly eccentric he was.
The Last Lesson Understanding the text
Question 1.The people in this story suddenly realise how precious their language is to them. What shows you this ? Why does this happen ?
Answer:
In the Franco-Prussian War (1870-1871), France was defeated by Prussia led by Bismarck. In this story the French districts of Alsace and Lorraine had been passed in Prussian hands. There was an order from Berlin that only German would be taught in the schools of Alsace and Lorraine.
When the French master M. Hamel announced that it was their last French lesson and he was leaving, these words came as a peal of thunder. Franz and others felt sorry for not learning their lessons in French.
His books like French grammar and history of the saints which seemed a nuisance, a short while ago, looked like old friends now that he could not give up. The old men of the village sitting there in the back of the room had felt sorry about it. The people realised that they must protect the French language – the most beautiful language of the world, the clearest and most logical. The feeling that they would be deprived of learning French made them suddenly realise that how precious their language was to them.
Question 2.Franz thinks, “Will they make them sing in German, even the pigeons”? What could this mean ? (There could be more than one answer).
Answer:
The order from Berlin that only German language would be taught in the schools of Alsace and Lorraine in France had a severe reaction from the people. Though they could not express their grudge openly, yet even little boy Franz felt, “Will they make them sing in German, even the pigeons” ? When they were having a lesson in writing, there was pindrop silence.
Once some beetles flew in; but nobody paid any attention to them, not even the littlest ones, who worked right on tracing their fish-hooks, as if that was French too. Then on the roof the pigeons cooled very low and little Franz thought that would they make them sing in German, even the pigeons.It shows that though the human beings could be forced to learn a language which is not their own language, yet the birds are free from such pressures. They cannot be forced to sing in a particular way. That way birds are more free than the helpless human beings.
The Last Lesson Talking about the text
Question 1.“When the people are enslaved, as long as they hold fast to their language it is as if they had the key to their prison.” Can you think of examples in history where a conquered people had their language taken away from them or had a language imposed on them ?
Answer:
When the people of a particular place or of a country are forced to be under a foreign rule, they are deprived of the freedom they can enjoy otherwise. If the language of the conquerers is imposed on them or they are forced to ignore or not to learn their own language, they feel enslaved or as if “they had the key to their prison”. There are various examples in history where the conquered people had their language taken away from them or had a language imposed on them.
For instance, India was under the British rule and its states like Pondicherry and Goa were under French and Portugal rule. Consequently, English, French and Portuguese were imposed on the people. British rulers felt that if the education system was changed to produce clerks in India, who could write and speak English, it would be easy to manage the day-to-day affairs.Even after so many years after freedom from the British rule, English is still a link language. That explains the widespread use of English in the countries like Australia or Canada and some African countries like South Africa.
Question 2.What happens to a linguistic minority in a state ? How do you think they can keep their language alive ?
For example :
Punjabis in Bangalore,
Tamillians in Mumbai,
Kannadigas in Delhi,
Gujaratis in Kolkata.
Answer:
India is a vast country where so many languages are spoken. Even in some states, more than one vernacular language is spoken. Each and every individual, in a free country, has a fundamental right to speak or write one’s language or mother tongue. But the problem arises when there is a linguistic minority in a state of a country or when the people of a particular country live in other countries.
In such cases, the major problem is how the people can keep their language alive. For example, how Punjabis living in Bangalore or Tamilians living in Mumbai or Kannadigas living in Delhi or Gujaratis living in Kolkata can keep their mother languages alive. They can do so by teaching their children their mother tongue or at least speaking to their children in their mother tongues as far as possible.
Question 3.Is it possible to carry pride in one’s language too far ? Do you know what “linguistic chauvinism” means ?
Answer:
One is deeply attached with one’s mother tongue as one is attached with one’s mother. But it is not possible in this global world to confine oneself to his or her mother tongue only. So, it is not possible to carry pride in one’s language too far. Chauvinism is an aggressive and unreasonable belief that our own country or our own language is better than all others.So, ‘linguistic chauvinism’ means that one’s own language is better than all others. Our mother tongue is usually and mostly spoken in our own region or area.
As such we can’t communicate with most of the people if we don’t learn other languages in addition to our own mother tongue. Under British rule, a large number of Indians had to learn how to write and speak in English. Our knowledge of English opened doors to know many modern concepts, which was not possible otherwise.
In the present times, there are many more BPO’s or call centres in India than in countries like China and Russia, who confined to Chinese and Russian. Not only in most parts of the world, the knowledge of English has been beneficial for Indians to communicate outside as well as in their own country. Thus in the present times, it is not possible to carry pride in one’s language too far.
The Last Lesson Working with words
Question 1.English is a language that contains words from many other languages. This inclusiveness is one of the reasons it is now a world language. For example:
petite – French
kindergarten – German
capital – Latin
democracy – Greek
bazaar – Hindi
Find out the origins of the following words
tycoon – barbecue – zero
tulip – veranda – ski
logo – robot – trek
bandicoot
Answer: The origin of the following words is as under :
(i) tycoon : Origin Japanese, ‘great lord’.
(ii) tulip : Origin French, ‘tulipe’.
(iii) logo : Origin Greek ‘logos’ meaning ‘word’.
(iv) bandicoot : Origin from a word in Indian lanugage, meaning ‘pig-rat’,
(v) barbecue : Origin Spanish ‘barbacoa’ meaning ‘wooden frame’.
(vi) veranda : Origin Portugese ‘varanda’ meaning ‘railing’.
(vii) robot : Origin Czech ‘robota’ meaning ‘forced labour’.
viii) zero : Origin Arabic, ‘cipher’
(ix) ski : Origin Norwegian.
(x) trek : Origin South African Dutch ‘trekken’ meaning ‘to pull, travel’.
