English X - Chapter No.9 - Questions-Answers and Text Book Exercise

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A NATION'S STRENGTH (POEM)
Questions-Answers and Text Book Exercise

A. Questions / Answers:
Q.1: Who wrote the poem “A Nation’s Strength”
A. The poem “A Nation’s Strength” has been written by “Ralph Waldo Emerson”.
Q.2: What do you know about the poet?
A. Ralph Waldo Emerson (1903-1882)  was born in Boston (USA). He was an essayist, a poet and a philosopher. His philosophy is everlasting, because it arose from a desire to make all things new, to seize life freshly, experience it first hand and use it to build beyond the old.

Q.3: What kind of people can lift the nation or their country to the sky?
A. Brave men who dare while other fly, men who work while other sleep, men who for truth and honor's sake stand fast and suffer long. In brief, men of character can lift their country or the nation to the sky.

Q.4: What is a nation's strength"? OR What makes a nation great and strong?
Ans: A nation's strength is not gold or wealth. A nation's strength depends only on its people. However, those people must be men of character. They must be brave, honest, hardworking, truthful and men of principles. Only such people can make their nation great and strong.

Q.5: What is the message of the poem "A Nation's Strength"? 
Ans: The message of the poem A Nation's Strength is that a nation is strong only by its people. These people should be brave, daring, hardworking, determined and patient. Such people build a nation's pillar deep and lift the nation to the sky.

Q.6: Write five sentences on "Character"?
Ans: Character:

1. Character means moral qualities which constitute personal or national individuality. 
2. A nation’s strength rest upon the character of its people, because the character is a mirror of our deeds.
3. Men of character achieve greatness for their nation through sacrifices and honest deeds. 
4. They build their nation on foundation of lasting virtue. So character is a parameter which can be used to measure the depth of a man’s personality. 
5. “When wealth is lost, nothing is lost. When health is lost, something is lost. When Character is lost, everything is lost.

B. Words / Meanings:
1. To suffer long: to face hardships for a long time.
2. To fly: to run away from.
3. A nation's pillars: columns; here it means foundations at tasting virtue.
4. Lift them to the sky: make their nation famous.

C. Idioms 1. With Heart and Soul : All one’s energies and interest.
Example:
It's no use having an employee who does not put heart and soul in his work.
Exercise:
1. That teacher is very popular because she uses all her energy and takes great interest in her work.  (Substitute the idiom)
That teacher is very popular because she works with heart and soul.

D. Non-textual Exercise:
Telling the time:

Comprehension:
Latif has breakfast at seven o'clock and lunch at one o'clock, but he has a snack at about ten o'clock. At half-past four he has tea. His favourite TV programme is at twenty-past nine. The news is much easier, at twenty-five minutes to six. There is another good programme at a quarter to ten. The transmission ends at midnight.

Exercise: 
(a) Answer the question on the above passage.
1. At what time does Latif have breakfast?
Ans: Latif has breakfast at seven o'clock.

2. When does he have lunch?
Ans: He has lunch at one o'clock

3. In between, he has a cup of tea. At what time?
Ans: In, between, he has a snack at ten o'clock.

4. At what time does he have his afternoon tea?
Ans: He has his afternoon tea at half-past four.

5. When is his favourite TV programme?
Ans: His favourite TV programme is at twenty-past nine.

6. At what time is the news?
Ans: The news is much easier, at twenty-five minutes to six.

7. There is another good programme later. At what time?
Ans: There is another good programme at a quarter to ten.

8. When does the transmission end?
Ans:  The transmission ends at midnight.

(b) Make the answer from Column B with the question from Column A.

COLUMN 'A'	COLUMN 'B'
1. When is Latif's breakfast time?	It's at seven o'clock
2. When is his tea time?	It's at half-past four
3. When is his favourite TV programme?	It's at is at twenty-past nine
4. When is the other good programme ?	It's at  quarter to ten
5. When is the TV news	It's twenty-five minutes to six
6. When is the closing time	It's at at midnight