Ways with Words
A. Match the words with their meanings.
a. Exhausted
➜ Tired
b. Apparent
➜ Clear or obvious
c. Vista
➜ A view or vision
d. Undulating
➜ Moving in a smooth, wave-like pattern
e. Destined
➜ Predetermined or certain to happen
f. Stuffy
➜ Suffocating or lacking fresh air
g. Restrain
➜ To prevent, control, or hinder
B. Write the meaning and word class of the following words. Then use them in sentences of your own.
1. Implore
Word class: Verb
Meaning: To beg someone earnestly or desperately to do something.
Sentence:
I respectfully implore you to help us.
2. Despair
Word class: Noun
Meaning: The complete loss or absence of hope.
Sentence:
A few positive words can turn despair into hope.
3. Beseech
Word class: Verb
Meaning: To ask someone urgently and earnestly to do something.
Sentence:
I will fall at his feet and beseech him to help me.
4. Eloquent
Word class: Adjective
Meaning: Able to express ideas or feelings clearly and effectively.
Sentence:
He made an eloquent plea for peace.
5. Whirl
Word class: Noun
Meaning: A state of confusion or rapid movement.
Sentence:
My mind was in a whirl after hearing the unexpected news.
6. Egoism
Word class: Noun
Meaning: Excessive concern with oneself and one’s own interests.
Sentence:
His egoism prevented him from loving anyone except himself.
7. Agony
Word class: Noun
Meaning: Extreme physical or mental suffering.
Sentence:
She screamed in agony as pain spread through her shoulder.
8. Delirious
Word class: Adjective
Meaning: In a state of wild excitement, confusion, or ecstasy.
Sentence:
The patient became confused and delirious because of the high fever.
9. Delusive
Word class: Adjective
Meaning: Giving a false or misleading impression.
Sentence:
His promises created delusive hopes among the villagers.
10. Compensate
Word class: Verb
Meaning: To reduce or balance the negative effect of a loss, weakness, or disadvantage.
Sentence:
His enthusiasm compensates for his lack of experience.
11. Mortgage
Word class: Noun
Meaning: A legal agreement in which property is used as security for a loan.
Sentence:
She did not have enough money to pay the mortgage.
12. Brood
Word class: Noun
Meaning: A family or group of young children or animals.
Sentence:
He grew up among a lively brood of brothers and sisters.
13. Prelude
Word class: Noun
Meaning: An action or event that serves as an introduction to something more important.
Sentence:
A ceasefire was agreed upon as a prelude to full peace negotiations.
D. Choose the correct word.
a. Sarita was __________ to hear about the earthquake.
(shocking/shocked)
Answer: Shocked
Complete sentence:
Sarita was shocked to hear about the earthquake.
b. I think rainy days in winter are __________.
(depressing/depressed)
Answer: Depressing
Complete sentence:
I think rainy days in winter are depressing.
c. The football match was very __________. I enjoyed it.
(exciting/excited)
Answer: Exciting
Complete sentence:
The football match was very exciting. I enjoyed it.
d. The meals at Delight Café are __________.
(satisfying/satisfied)
Answer: Satisfying
Complete sentence:
The meals at Delight Café are satisfying.
e. I have got nothing to do. I am __________.
(boring/bored)
Answer: Bored
Complete sentence:
I have got nothing to do. I am bored.
f. Tanka is very good at telling funny stories. He can be very __________.
(amusing/amused)
Answer: Amusing
Complete sentence:
Tanka is very good at telling funny stories. He can be very amusing.
g. The teacher’s explanation was __________. Most of the students did not understand it.
(confusing/confused)
Answer: Confusing
Complete sentence:
The teacher’s explanation was confusing. Most of the students did not understand it.
h. He is such a __________ person. He never wants to go out.
(boring/bored)
Answer: Boring
Complete sentence:
He is such a boring person. He never wants to go out.
i. I will be __________ if she does well in her test.
(surprising/surprised)
Answer: Surprised
Complete sentence:
I will be surprised if she does well in her test.
j. Are you __________ in politics?
(interesting/interested)
Answer: Interested
Complete sentence:
Are you interested in politics?
E. Write the correct form of the adjective in the blanks.
a.
They frustrate me, but they do not bore me. I never get bored when I study grammar.
b.
If teachers want to interest the students, they must use interesting materials.
c.
Certain stories interest almost everybody. For example, most students are interested in fairy tales.
d.
Certain things frighten me, but I never get frightened when I speak English.
e.
If I get a good grade, that excites me. If I get more than ninety percent, I am really excited.
Understanding the Text
Answer the following questions.
a. Who was Nellie? What did she use to dream of?
Answer:
Nellie was the young and beautiful daughter of a landowner and general. She used to dream of getting married and living with her future husband.
b. What was she doing with the looking glass?
Answer:
She was staring into the looking glass with exhausted and half-closed eyes.
c. Why did she go to the doctor on a winter night?
Answer:
She went to the doctor on a winter night because her husband was seriously ill and needed immediate medical treatment.
d. What was Stepan Lukitch doing when she reached his bedroom?
Answer:
Stepan Lukitch was lying in bed when Nellie reached his bedroom.
e. Why was the doctor not ready to go and see her husband?
Answer:
The doctor was not ready to visit her husband because he was exhausted and ill after treating typhus patients continuously for the previous three days.
f. Why did Stepan Lukitch suggest that Nellie go to the Zemstvo doctor?
Answer:
Stepan Lukitch suggested that Nellie go to the Zemstvo doctor because he was too ill and exhausted to treat her husband, who needed immediate medical attention.
g. Nellie said, “Come, perform that heroic deed! Have pity on us!” What act of pity was she requesting?
Answer:
She was requesting the doctor to come to her house and treat her seriously ill husband.
h. When Nellie said, “I must have fallen asleep,” what did she mean?
Answer:
She meant that the events she had just experienced were only a dream or fantasy. She woke up and realised that she had fallen asleep while looking into the mirror.
i. What is the main theme of the story?
Answer:
The main themes of the story are love, marriage, imagination, fear, suffering, devotion, loneliness, hope, responsibility, and the difference between fantasy and reality.
Critical Thinking
a. “The looking glass” is used as a symbol in the story. What does it symbolise?
Answer:
In the story “The Looking Glass,” the mirror symbolises Nellie’s dreams, desires, and habit of escaping from reality into imagination.
At the beginning of the story, Nellie looks dreamily into the mirror and imagines her future husband. She strongly desires to get married and live a happy romantic life. However, the mirror does not show only happiness. It also reveals the possible pain, fear, responsibility, illness, and suffering that may accompany married life.
The looking glass therefore acts as a bridge between reality and imagination. Through it, Nellie sees an imagined future in which her husband becomes seriously ill and she desperately searches for medical help.
The mirror also symbolises self-reflection. It forces Nellie to confront the realities hidden behind her romantic dreams. Thus, the looking glass represents fantasy, desire, self-examination, and the uncertain future.
b. Chekhov uses an elegant transition from reality to imagination and back to reality in the story. Discuss its relevance to the lives of young people.
Answer:
Anton Chekhov’s short story “The Looking Glass” is relevant to young people because it presents the difference between imagination and reality.
Young people often have strong dreams about love, marriage, success, wealth, and happiness. Like Nellie, they may imagine the future in an ideal and romantic way without considering the responsibilities, difficulties, and suffering that may accompany it.
In her imagination, Nellie becomes like a distressed princess, while her unnamed husband appears like a suffering prince. This gives the story the quality of a fairy tale. However, her dream gradually becomes frightening. Her imagined married life includes illness, fear, desperation, and emotional suffering.
The story shows that young people sometimes dramatise life and romanticise experiences such as love and suffering. Films, books, television programmes, and social media can encourage them to create unrealistic expectations about relationships and the future.
Chekhov moves smoothly from reality to imagination and then back to reality. Nellie first looks into the mirror, enters an imagined future, experiences fear and suffering, and finally wakes up. This transition reminds readers that fantasies may be attractive, but real life includes duties, sacrifices, and challenges.
However, imagination is not limited to young people. People of all ages can become influenced by unrealistic dreams, exaggerated media stories, and emotional fantasies. Therefore, the story encourages everyone to balance dreams with practical thinking and an understanding of reality.
Grammar
B. Match the expressions with their functions.
a.
A: What do you want to take?
B: I will have tea, please.
Function: Deciding
b.
A: Are you free this evening?
B: No, I am going to meet my uncle.
Function: Expressing a prior plan
c.
The day will be lovely tomorrow.
Function: Predicting a future action
d.
There is no cloud in the sky. It is going to be a lovely day.
Function: Predicting with present evidence
e.
Do not worry. I will not tell anyone.
Function: Promising
f.
I will take you to the movies if you like.
Function: Offering
g.
I will tell your parents what you did.
Function: Threatening
C. Choose the correct answer.
a.
A: Are you busy this evening?
B: Yes, I __________ to the movies.
(will go/am going to)
Answer: Am going to
Complete sentence:
Yes, I am going to the movies.
b.
A: Where are you going for a holiday this summer?
B: I am not sure yet. Maybe I __________ to Ilam.
(will go/am going to)
Answer: Will go
Complete sentence:
I am not sure yet. Maybe I will go to Ilam.
c. I think you __________ this movie.
(will like/are going to like)
Answer: Will like
Complete sentence:
I think you will like this movie.
d. I cannot join you at the party. I __________ away for two weeks.
(will be/am going to be)
Answer: Am going to be
Complete sentence:
I cannot join you at the party. I am going to be away for two weeks.
e. This exercise looks really difficult. I __________ you.
(will help/am going to help)
Answer: Will help
Complete sentence:
This exercise looks really difficult. I will help you.
f.
A: Hello. Can I speak to Sima, please?
B: Just a minute. I __________ her.
(will get/am going to get)
Answer: Will get
Complete sentence:
Just a minute. I will get her.
g. Perhaps she __________ the examination.
(will pass/is going to pass)
Answer: Will pass
Complete sentence:
Perhaps she will pass the examination.
h.
“I have not got my phone.”
“That is all right. I __________ you mine.”
(will lend/am going to lend)
Answer: Will lend
Complete sentence:
“That is all right. I will lend you mine.”
D. Complete the sentences using will or be going to with the verbs given in brackets.
a.
Hari: Did you call Bina?
Prem: Oh, I forgot. I __________ her now.
(call)
Answer: Will call
Complete sentence:
Oh, I forgot. I will call her now.
b.
Sunita: Have you got a ticket for the play?
Hema: Yes, I __________ it on Saturday.
(watch)
Answer: Am going to watch
Complete sentence:
Yes, I am going to watch it on Saturday.
c.
“The alarm is ringing. It is making an awful noise.”
“Okay, I __________ it off.”
(switch)
Answer: Will switch
Complete sentence:
“Okay, I will switch it off.”
d. Do you think they __________ the presents we bought for them?
(like)
Answer: Will like
Complete sentence:
Do you think they will like the presents we bought for them?
e.
“Lok is starting university tomorrow.”
“What __________?”
(he/study)
Answer: Is he going to study
Complete sentence:
“What is he going to study?”
f. If I meet him, I __________ him the news.
(tell)
Answer: Will tell
Complete sentence:
If I meet him, I will tell him the news.
g. The phone is ringing. I __________ it.
(answer)
Answer: Will answer
Complete sentence:
The phone is ringing. I will answer it.
h. If you do not stop bullying her, I __________ the teacher.
(tell)
Answer: Will tell
Complete sentence:
If you do not stop bullying her, I will tell the teacher.
Discussion
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