3.

Sayonara
Comprehension
A. 1. Charles and Anne Lindbergh were on a trip to the Far East in 1931 in their private plane.
Whilst passing through China, their plane got damaged and they had to travel to Japan by
boat, travel across Japan by train and then by ship to the United States.
2. The author speaks of many different words for goodbye, beginning with Good-bye itself;
the others being Farewell, Auf Wiedersehen, Au revoir, Adios and Sayonara. The author
loves Sayonara for its meaning—‘Since it must be so’ —an acceptance of the fact that life
is like this: we have to part. Sayonara neither says too much nor too little. The word stands
for a simple acceptance of fact, that it is an unspoken good-bye along with a pressure of
the hand, with all emotions piled up behind the word Sayonara.
3. At one of the stations they leaned out to buy some tea. The vendor poured the tea out of
his big tin into a little brown clay teapot, small like a child’s toy, with a saucer for a lid and
an inverted cup on top. They called out for two, so he ran after them with another teapot
swinging from its wire handle and pushed it in through their window.
4. A Japanese family had boarded the train. They had a little baby dressed in woollens, which
they held up to say ‘Sayonara’. The mother and the nurse (or older sister) were dressed in
kimonos, the father was wearing a Western business suit, and the two little girls were in green
challis suits with Irish-lace collars. The girls had made themselves comfortable by kicking off
their shoes, in the Japanese fashion and were squatting on their feet on the blue plush seats.
5. When the boat pulled out of the dock at Yokohama, the crowd of Japanese leaning over
the rails of the decks shot out twirling strands of serpentine across to those they had left
behind on the shore—a rain of bright fireworks. One end of these coloured paper ribbons
was held in the hands of those on the deck, the other, by those on shore, until a brilliant
multi-coloured paper web was spun between the ship and the shore. Interlacing back and
forth across the gap, this paper made up a finely woven band—a tissue intricately patterned
and rich in texture which held together for a few more seconds those remaining and those
departing. As the gap widened the ribbons snapped, the ends twirling off into the water.
6. Farewell is a father’s good-bye. It says, ‘Go out in the world and do well my son’. It is an
encouragement; at the same time it cautions (warns). It is hope and faith, with no impact
(influence) on parting as it says nothing about it.
Good-bye is a prayer, a cry that keeps echoing. It is a mother’s goodbye, saying I will
watch you, I will be with you. God will be with you, God will protect you. It says too
much.
7. There was the clatter of wooden clogs along the station platform; kimonos fluttering as
the women moved on, some with babies on their backs, whilst the men carried four or
five small bundles tied up in different coloured furoshiki; the old women walking with
their sticks, wearing enormous roof like hats of straw that hid their brown faces, and a
man shouting his wares to sell.
B. 1. a. ‘We’ are Charles and Anne Lindbergh. They were on a trip from the North to the
Orient.
b. They were on board the boat because their plane was damaged so they had to travel
to Japan by boat. Their plan was to cross Japan by train and then sail by ship to the
 United States.
c. Above all the noise and din, there was one voice, clean, sharp, one cry ‘Sayonara’
whichcaught the narrator’s attention.
d. The narrator describes this word as one voice, clean, sharp, and distinct, one cry
‘Sayonara’. She was able to catch it because it was the one word of Japanese she
understood.
2. a. The ‘twirling strands of serpentine’ are the twisting threads which because of their
gentle movement appeared to be like snakes slithering smoothly in the space between
the dock and the ship.
b. The twirling strands were the last connection of touch between those remaining behind
and departing, before the gap widened with the boat pulling out, the strands became
taut and snapped, breaking the last connection of touch with a final moving away.
c. The twirling bright coloured strands were thrown by those on the deck to those on
the shore. The strands, held by both sides, continued to be a connection between those
remaining and those departing. As the boat sailed away, the distance between the dock
and ship widened, the ribbons strained and broke, floating away with the unfinished
ends of sentences. It was the last connection of touch and now only ‘Sayonara’ could
bridge the gap.
d. After the ribbons had snapped off, the final bridge of connection that could fill the gap
was ‘Sayonara’. The literal translation of Sayonara is, ‘Since it must be so’, and this
was an inevitable parting happening.
3. a. According to the narrator, Sayonara is the most beautiful word for parting because it
neither says too much nor too little; it is a simple acceptance of the fact that life has its
limits, parting is a part of it. All emotions are held within the word but it says nothing;
it is unspoken only expressed by the pressure of the hand, ‘Sayonara’.
b. Both Auf Wiedersehen’s and Au revoirs act as sedatives (tranquilisers) as they say, ‘Till
we meet again’; with this as a brave front, they postpone the immediate pain of parting.
c. Farewell is a father’s good-bye. It says, ‘Go out in the world and do well my son’. It is
an encouragement; at the same time it cautions (warns) one. It is hope and faith, with
no impact (influence) on parting as it says nothing about it.
d. In my language I say, ‘Namaste’. It is a salutation and valediction, usually spoken
palms pressed together, palms touching and fingers pointing upwards, with thumbs
close to the chest. It is a Sanskrit word which means ‘I bow to you’.

C. 1. The narrator is not only very observant but also very expressive in her observations. One
learns about the culture, fashion of clothes and the way of parting, saying goodbye.
At the station: i. The description of the Japanese; ii. The tea vendor; iii. The family that
boards the train.
The scene at the dock, as the boat was pulling out.
Her love for the Japanese goodbye ‘Sayonara’, its meaning and significance.
2. Encourage learners to find the meaning of the goodbye in their mother tongue.
3. As an observer: her observations were very minute, looking at the
a. descriptions she has given of the local people (i. the family, ii. the tea vendor’s agility to
sell his second cup of tea, iii. the people on the platform saying, ‘Sayonara’)
b. Sayonara:
 i. Her sensitive sense of hearing; she caught the word, ‘Sayonara’
ii. The elaborate description of goodbye at the dock
iii. The sensitive and emotional interpretation of the goodbye, ‘Sayonara’
iv. Her sentiments
v. The comparisons with the other goodbyes of other cultures

4.ZOOS
Comprehension
A. 1. There are two purposes that zoos serve: firstly, a large number of superintendents and
keepers are employed; secondly, the people with a low degree of intelligence are busy
gaping at the animals on a Sunday afternoon.
2. A schoolboy is able to observe a lion snoring in the cage or a few monkeys fighting over
peanuts. More observations are that the stripes of a tiger run in a certain way and the
hyenas and polecats smell terrible. Yes, I agree with the narrator because one can never
understand animal behavior when they are kept in captivity or No, I do not agree with
the narrator.
3. A biologist is not able to carry out any studies in a zoo because he is unable to find out
anything about the insides of an animal from a distance. Besides, he is not allowed to try
any germs and specifics on them for testing nor is he allowed to vivisect them.
4. To gain any educational and scientific value, the animal is best observed in his natural
habitat and not in the artificial zoo enclosure; this is bound to misguide the observer; or in
a laboratory where the scientist has a close proximity for observation and study.
5. The study of an animal’s liver may be used to understand the anatomy, physiology and
pathology, of man, and as necessary aids in devising and manufacturing many remedial
agents, or in testing those that have already been created. No scientific study can be
carried out in the zoo because the animal is too far away at a distance; it is neither possible
for a scientist to try his germs and specifics upon them nor is he allowed to vivisect them.
6. Some cruelties and indignities heaped on the animals in the zoos are a tiger in a cage, a
forest monkey climbing sadly up a baked stump or an eagle chained to its roost, a seal
robbed of its Arctic ice, a hippopotamus of its soft wallow, the buffalo of its open range,
the lion of its kingship, and the birds of their air. The animals are deprived of their
natural habitat and environment.
7. Some instances of sarcasm from the text:
i. a horde of superintendents employed in the zoo
ii. the least intelligent minority are busy gaping at
iii. learned anything valuable or important by watching a mangy lion snoring away in its
cage or a family of monkeys fighting for peanuts
iv. the stripes of a certain sort of tiger run one and the stripes of another sort some other way
B. 1. a. The speaker is talking about zoos.
b. The speaker mentions that the zoos are of no education value. The value that zoos
offer is the same as that of a firemen’s parade or displays of sky-rockets. They truly
offer nothing but amusements.
 c. In return, it is the public’s taxes that get wasted for these idle and witless form of
amusement.
d. A schoolboy is able to observe a lion snoring in the cage or a few monkeys fighting over
peanuts. More observations bring out the stripes of a tiger run in a certain way and
that hyenas and polecats smell terrible. This is not valuable, important or educational
to the schoolboy.
2. a. The speaker has never been able to find out how the zoos have contributed towards
educational value to the schoolboy.
b. So many firemen’s parades or displays of sky-rockets are mentioned as examples of idle
and witless amusement.
c. The narrator expresses his disapproval of the public money through taxes being wasted
on amusement that is neither intelligent nor of any worth being idle and unintelligent/
stupid amusement.
d. The taxpayers pay hundreds of thousands of dollars a year as tax, part of which
includes the maintenance of zoos for giving this ordinary and dull knowledge.
3. a. The speaker refers to a thorough study of the lower animals’ livers to help understand
the anatomy, physiology and also in particular the pathology, of man. These studies are
necessary in helping develop and manufacture many curing agents, and also in further tests.
b. A biologist has to try his germs and specifics upon the animals and has to vivisect
them. He has to observe their habits, instincts and the way their minds work to be able
to understand the human species as a comparison. For this, the animals in the zoo are
not only behind bars but also too far in distance for him to study anything about their
internal organs; thus, he can only turn to the usual guinea pigs and street dogs.
c. The biologist is not allowed to access the zoo animals to study their livers, or vivisect
them for close observation and conclusions.
d. When zoo animals die their carcass are stuffed and placed in the museum. The
biologist does not get an opportunity for any gainful and worthwhile information as
contribution towards his study or research.
4. a. The speaker is referring to the futility of a schoolboy learning anything valuable or
important by watching animals caged in a zoo.
b. The spectacle the speaker mentions is of a schoolboy watching a mangy old lion
snoring away in its cage, or a family of monkeys fighting for peanuts.
c. The speaker thinks that any useful instruction is impossible from caged animals,
because for any useful instruction/information the animals must be free in a state of
natural environment and in their natural habitats, so their normal habits and behaviour
can be observed.
d. No, I am of the opinion they do not get any value. OR Yes, I still think they get some
idea of the animals because they are alive and moving about..)
 5. a. The speaker has just said that he would be present to rejoice and be ready to shoot the
whole zoo faculty, if anyone makes such a suggestion.
b. The speaker would be happy to celebrate the shooting of the whole zoo faculty and
mainly the zoo animals set free from their cages.
c. The speaker wants to shoot the whole zoo faculty because the time has come to free the
animals of the zoo from their cages and the zoo faculty are their jailors.
d. Hopeful and happy on the supposition that one day the prisoners (animals) will be set
free of their cages (zoo). And the zoo faculty will be shot to be done away with.
C. 1. Learners are free to express their opinions; there will be pros and cons for this chapter.
Allow free flow of discussion as each one tries to put forward his/her view point.
2. Bare facts the narrator has mentioned to reinforce his argument.
i. the less intelligent people may come to gape at the animals
ii. They are not educational; comparison with firemen’s parades and sky-rocket displays
iii. Schoolboys watch a lion snoring, monkeys fighting over peanuts, foul smelling hyenas
and polecats but no valuable knowledge gained
iv. No scientific discovery can be made from a distance
v. insignificant information about animals having twins or teeth plugged with zinc,
alligator down with locomotor ataxia
vi. A biologist does not get the opportunity to research
vii. A dead animal from the cage is stuffed and put in museums
viii. People who like to watch these frivolous activities of caged animals should be
handled differently and not at the expense of the taxpayers
ix. Caging animals is depriving them of their natural instincts and habitat.

6. The Eyes Have It

Comprehension
A. 1. The girl was given detailed instructions as to where to keep her things, when not to lean out of
windows, and how to avoid speaking to strangers. The girl boarded the train at Rohana.
2. The narrator explains that he was unable to see the girl because he was totally blind at the
time, his eyes being sensitive only to light and darkness.
From the manner her footwear slapped against her heels he knew she wore slippers.
3. According to the narrator, the best time to visit Mussoorie is October, because the hills are
covered with wild dahlias, the sun is delicious, and at night one can sit in front of a log fire
and drink a little brandy. Most of the tourists will have gone by then, and the roads are quiet
and almost deserted. He was able to describe this to her, based on his memories.
4. The narrator asked her where she was going. In her reply, she also told him her aunt was
meeting her at Saharanpur station. He describes Mussoorie to her in October, the best
time to visit. Not able to get her to describe what it is like outside of the window, he
describes it himself. Later, he makes a very general remark saying that she has an
interesting face. In reply, she says she has been often told by people that she has a pretty
 face. She remarks that he is a gallant man. In a short while the train arrives at Saharanpur
station and it is time for her to leave.
5. The narrator asked his new fellow passenger whether the girl kept her hair long or short.
He had already made a shot in the dark by saying that she had an interesting face, and in
her reaction to that she told him many people said she was pretty. Next he wondered about
her hair, whether she wore her hair in a bun, or if it was plaited; perhaps it was hanging
loose over her shoulders, or if she preferred it cut very short.
6. The new fellow passenger told him that he noticed her eyes not her hair, and that she
had beautiful eyes but they were of no use to her; She was completely blind. When he
said, ‘Didn’t you notice?’ this information came as a complete surprise to the narrator.
B. 1. a. They are probably the parents of the young girl who has boarded the train.
b. The girl walked into the compartment to take her seat and he knew she wore slippers
from the way they slapped against her heels.
c. He asked her if she was going all the way to Dehra.
d. The speaker liked the sound of her voice and even the sound of her slippers.
2. a. The girl who has just entered the compartment is being talked about here.
b. The speaker is conscious and concerned about his blindness because he does not want
the girl to know that he is blind.
c. The girl told him that she was getting off at Saharanpur. Her aunt was meeting her there.
d. The speaker says that he better not get too familiar because Aunts are usually
formidable creatures.
3. a. All the time the boy had kept a steady conversation and a constant flow of the view
seen through the window. Right now, the boy had complimented her on having an
interesting face.
b. She said that she was thankful for the short journey, as she could not bear to sit in a
train for more than two or three hours.
c. The speaker wanted her to stay for the rest of the journey if only to listen to her
talking because her voice for him held the sparkle of a mountain stream.
d. There was the shouting of the porters and vendors and, above this, a high-pitched
female voice near the carriage door; that voice, he felt, must have belonged to the
girl’s aunt.
4. a. A man entered the compartment. He broke the speaker’s reverie.
b. The man said that he was not as attractive a travelling companion as the person who
had just left.
c. The speaker asked the new passenger if he could tell him whether the girl kept her hair
long or short.
d. The reply the speaker got from the man was that he does not remember, but it was her
eyes he noticed, not her hair. Her eyes were beautiful but they were of no use to her
because she was completely blind. He even asked the speaker if he had not observed it.
C. 1. The title of the story is very apt; the two main characters, the boy and the girl, are both
blind. As the story unfolds it is clear to the reader that both are putting in their best
efforts to look and sound normal in order to hide their blindness from the other. Both
are successful in their attempts without realising that the other is also blind. The journey
for the girl comes to an end and she gets off the train. Neither is aware of the
other’s blindness. It is the new passenger who boards the train, and in answer to the boy’s
 question, informs him that the girl had beautiful eyes but they were of no use to her as she
was completely blind. It took a man with vision to see that the girl was blind.
2. The flow of the conversation between the boy and the girl clearly brings out the irony:
i. the girl enters the compartment and sits down unaware of the presence of the boy. The
girl says she didn’t know anyone else was there. In reply, the boy says he didn’t see her
but heard her come in.
ii. Speaking of Mussoorie the boy speaks from memory and personal experience to
impress the girl he could not see.
iii. Even talking about the scene outside seen through the train window, she passes the
question back to the boy who keenly listens for the train in motion and speaks of the
train standing still whilst the trees appear to be moving (from memory).
iv. Talking of animals the boy again answers from memory and general information.
v. The remark about the interesting face was again a very general statement; the reply is
also an echo of what others have told the girl. The girl speaks of liking only short
journeys. Neither realises that the other is blind and the short journey is over. The
speaker receives a jolt from the words of the man who enters the compartment and
tells him about the girl’s eyes being of no use to her, because she was completely
blind. It is ironic too, that it took a man with vision to see that the girl was blind.

7. The Village Blacksmith

Comprehension
A. 1. He looks strong, having strong arms and muscles with large powerful hands.
2. His brow is wet with honest sweat,
He earns what he can
Week in, week out, from morn till night

Each morning sees some task begin, each evening sees it close.

3. Hearing—You can hear his bellows blow, hear him swing his heavy sledge, With measured
beat and slow, Like a sexton ringing the village bell,
4. The blacksmith’s swinging of his sledge is compared to a sexton ringing the village bell.
5. On Sundays, the blacksmith goes to church; there he is very happy to hear his daughter
singing in the village choir. Her voice reminds him of his wife singing in Paradise, and he
wipes his tears when he thinks of his wife resting in her grave.
6. The learners must express choice with a logical reason.
Suggest: Be the iron, as it allows any shape or form to suit the situation. This is an
opportunity to grow, adjust to the need of the hour, be versatile in nature and personal
behaviour. You can choose to be what you want to be as you achieve what you want in life.
7. The persona thanks the blacksmith because he has learnt the lesson of life with its trials,
toils and difficulties; one learns to face hardships, even as one pursues good deeds and
thoughts. We are makers of our own fate, and each day we shape our future and life with
our own efforts.
B. 1. a. The blacksmith is the described in the above lines.
b. This means that the blacksmith, being an honest man, does not shy away with guilt and
can look anyone in the face or meet his eye.
c. The blacksmith has long, black hair; his face has turned brown; the sweat of honesty is on
his brow; and he earns through honest work. He works hard for his living, being an
honest man in his work, he does not have to shy away with guilt.
d. The words brow wet with honest sweat, earns whate’er he can, looks the world in the face.
2. a. He goes to church on Sundays.
b. He is happy to hear the melodious voice of his daughter when she sings, at the same
time her voice sounds so like her mother’s, his wife, that he reflects on the past
memories of his wife (nostalgic). He is sitting amongst his sons.

c. Her voice reminds him of his wife singing in Paradise; at the same time he wipes his
tears when he thinks of her resting in her grave.
d. The blacksmith is a religious man; he goes to church on Sundays with his daughter and
sons. He is happy to hear his daughter sing in the village choir. Having lost his wife, he often
imagines her singing in Paradise and is sad when he thinks of her resting in her grave.
3. a. She is his wife. He imagines her singing in Paradise.
b. His daughter’s voice sounds like her mother’s as she sings in the village choir. This
reminds him of his wife.
c. When he thinks of his wife resting in her grave, he sheds a tear in grief.
d. He is emotional and sentimental; he loves his wife, thinks of her frequently, especially in
church, when he hears his daughter sing in the choir, and misses his wife so much that
he silently cries for her.
4. a. “Toiling,—rejoicing,—sorrowing, onward through life he goes.” He persists, beginning a
new task and completing it by the evening, accomplishing something every day to end
his day with a good night’s rest.
b. His persistence at work, regardless of any hardship, and the accomplishment of
something every day, makes it a good rest for the night, with his mind at peace.
c. The church service “makes his heart rejoice,”; the sound of his daughter’s singing makes
him happy but reminds him of his wife’s voice, “Singing in Paradise,” her death, and the
“grave,” which cause him to shed a tear because of the loss of his wife.
d. He begins a new task in the morning and completes it by evening; the hard work of
doing this contributes to a good rest at night.
5. a. The blacksmith is the worthy friend.
b. The hardships and trials one has to face in life to achieve anything, is like the burning
forge of life, like iron goes through fire to be beaten into the desired shape.
c. The lesson learnt is that hard and honest work pays, and one must be persistent to
achieve a goal at the end of the day or in life.
d. Nothing is gained without an attempt to complete the task, however hard, or achieve a
goal; the satisfaction of this leads to a peaceful, satisfactory sleep at night.
C. 1. Longfellow’s message is: No one but you have to create your own future. Life is not easy, to
gain or earn one must be willing to put in sweat, hard work and go through the joy or tears.
Your life and future is always in the process of formation; therefore, one should try and do
things which are favorable, happy, and beautiful. The blacksmith has iron to work on and we
 have our future to create and work on. Yes, it is still relevant today in our life.
2. The images are created through words like:
i. brow wet with honest sweat
ii. week in week out, from morn till night hear his bellows blow
iii. toiling – rejoicing – sorrowing
iv. flaming forge of life, Our fortunes must be wrought;
v. on its sounding anvil-shaped
vi. each burning deed and thought.

3. The blacksmith begins his morning with a new task and works till night at his forge, week in
and week out. He works hard at his forge beating the iron till the desired work/shape is
achieved. At the end of the day he sleeps well-satisfied with his honest work done. He is
a man honest and sincere to his work.