CLASS-VII (English)

ND
22 OCTOBER 2021 to 11TH NOVEMBER 2021

TOPICS: LITERATURE: 1.Expert Detectives

2. Dad and the Cat and the Tree
GRAMMAR: 3. Tenses
4. Voice

LITERATURE: Expert Detectives

Expert Detectives

Maya , a girl of 10, and her brother Nishad, a boy of 7,  were very curious about one Mr.Nath who had been
living at Shankar House for over an year and was their mother's patient. He was a very lonely and thin man and
looked starved. Maya was of the opinion that he was a criminal on the run and had lots of money stacked
somewhere in his room while Nishad, on the other hand, was considering the possibility of him being just a
poor, friendless soul who had no proper means to sustain himself. However, one thing that both agreed on was
that there was something peculiar and strange about Mr. Nath. One day while playing one of their marbles went
into Mr. Nath's room and to extract it the children went there. For once, they had a look at Mr. Nath and since
began debating about him and his possible profession. Maya interpreted the burn marks on his face to be caused
by a fire started by the police to turn him out of his house. Nishad thought it to be too far-fetched though he did
not have much in defence of  the man. On the Monday after their mamma's birthday, as Maya had to spend the
day with a school friend, Nishad went to Mr. Nath's room alone and offered him a chocolate bar considering his
emaciated state. When he later told of his encounter with the man to Maya, she was disappointed that she
missed it but wanted to know more about whatever else her brother had found out. Nishad had had a talk with
Ramesh, who carried food from the restaurant to the strange man's room, and found out that every Sunday a
talkative tall, fair, stout and bespectacled man came to visit Mr. Nath. He also found out that Mr. Nath though
did not care what food was brought to him, tipped Ramesh well. Maya interpreted it all as a great conspiracy
and saw the bespectacled man as an accomplice to Mr. Nath, visiting him to give part of the money they had
looted together. Nishad wondered at his sister's imagination and thought Mr. Nath quite ordinary. Maya rejected
Nishad's idea further adding that many criminals are usually ordinary looking. The next day their school was to
reopen after the summer holidays but, because of incessant rain they enjoyed another holiday. Maya took a
paper and decided to jot down the developments in the mystery of Mr. Nath's identity. She shared it with her
brother and talked about various points like many being scared of Mr. Nath, his not receiving any mail ever, his
unfriendly nature, having just one friend-a possible accomplice and so on. Nishad countered Maya at various
points but was constantly put down by her who just wanted to prove that Mr. Nath was a criminal. Nishad did
not like this attitude and asked Maya to stop always referring to the man as a criminal. Maya pointed out the
futility of all their snooping if it was not so but Nishad said that it was not necessary for the man to be a
criminal for him to want to know about him. He stormed out of the room saying that he would become the
lonely man's friend. Maya noticed his adamant take on the matter and that her theory had had no effect on him.

Vocabulary:
*crook: a bad character
*on the run: trying to escape
*stashed: hidden
*starving: dying of hunger
*scars: spots
*shoot out: firing
*set on fire: burn
*gaunt: very thin
*retorted: replied
*alias: an alternate name
*occurred to me: came to my mind
*bribing: greasing the palm
* glared: looked angrily
*oaf: fool

TB questions pg no: 93(2 and 3) to be discussed and written in the literature notebook.
TB pg 93, 94 (working with language-1, 2, 3) to be discussed and done in the TB itself.

Read the given extracts and answer the questions that follow: ASSIGNMENT

1. “He must have lots of money hidden somewhere, maybe in that trunk in his room. It’s probably full of
silver and gold and jewels and….”
a) Where is the given extract taken from?
b) Who is the author of the story? To whom is she speaking?
c) Where are the millions of rupees imagined to be hidden?

2. ”Almost every Sunday, he carries two lunches to Mr Nath’s room and the same man is with him each
time. He’s tall, fair, stout and wears spectacles.”
a) Who carries two lunches to whose room?
b) Who is the speaker of the given lines and to whom is he speaking?

Understanding & analysis:

What information was Nishad able to get from Ramesh?

Poem: Dad and The Cat And The Tree

This morning the family found a cat stuck in their tree. The tree was not very firm. In fact it was unsteady.
On the other hand, it was tall. Mum, Dad and the child looked at the cat. The problem was how to get the cat
down.
Dad offered to do it. He asked everyone to leave the matter to him. Mum was worried. She asked him to be
careful and not to fall. But Dad ridiculed Mum’s fear. He said that he had been a great climber. To rescue
the cat was a child’s play for him.
Dad got a ladder. However, the ladder slipped and Dad fell down in the flower bed. This could not
discourage him. He said he had the plan B. Mum again warned him but in vain. This time Dad swung
himself up on a branch. The branch broke. Dad fell on the ground hitting himself hard this time. Mum was
restless. She asked him to stop lest he should break his neck. Dad would not listen. He was determined to try
plan C.
He climbed high on the garden wall. From there he jumped on the tree. He was on the crook of the tree right
on the cat. The cat sprang to the ground with a yell. It seemed quite pleased and comfortable. Sadly,
however, Dad is now stuck up in the tree.

Oral Questions:
1. Name the poet of the poem.
2. What happened to the cat in the morning?
 3 . What type of a man was Dad?

Vocabulary
stuck- trapped
for goodness sake- in the name of God
ladder- staircase
shed- storehouse
brushing off- shaking off
winking- raising and dropping one eyelid quickly
crook- bend
smirking- smiling in an irritatingly smug, conceited or silly way

Discuss the poetic devices- alliteration & simile

C.W. - Textual Questions1, 3, 6 to be discussed and done in the Lit. NB.
Pg. No 110-Q No.2, 5, 7, 8 (to be marked in the book after discussion.)

Extra questions
1. What is your opinion about Dad after going through the poem?
(You may use…eager to help, boastful, over confident etc. justifying yourself)
2. Why was Mum afraid?

GRAMMAR: Tenses

 Explanation-Simple Present, Present Continuous

Grammar Plus -Ex: B
 Explanation-Present Perfect and Present Perfect Progressive Tense
Grammar Plus-Ex: C, D, E&F (H.W)
 Explanation: Simple Past, Past Progressive and Past Perfect
Grammar Plus: Ex: G, H, I (H.W)
 Explanation: Talking About the Future
Grammar Plus-Ex: J

GRAMMAR: Voice

 Explanation- Active and Passive

 Explanation-Statements and Interrogatives

Grammar Plus-Ex: A (No. 6 OMIT), B (11, 12 OMIT) and F.