8th class unit 1 study material

      Class - VIII

UNIT – 1

FAMILY

SECTION – 1

A) Write a few words about your family and explain why you feel your family a special place for you ?

B) Write a few words about the advantages of Joint family and small family

Advantages of Joint Family

Advantages of Small Family

2. Read the following excerpt from the lesson “ The Tattered Blanket ” and answer the following questions :

When he arrived unexpectedly at his home in the countryside in his office car and got

down at the gate, his mother, who was lying in an armchair on the veranda, made a futile

attempt to get up. ‘Kamala, there is somebody at the gate,’ she said, ‘somebody is in a car.’

Kamala, her eldest daughter, a widow, who was sitting huddled up on the thinna on the veranda, her head and ears covered with a thin bath towel, got up reluctantly, walked slowly

to the gate and screwing up her eyes peered into the darkness.

She saw a bald, fat, middle-aged man walking in through the gate.

‘Oh, Gopi!’ She said in her grating voice. ‘Why this sudden unexpected visit?’

1. Who was lying in the armchair ?

2. Where did she sit ?

3. Who was sitting on a thinna ?

4. What was she covered with ?

5. Who came in the car ? How was she ?

3. Read the following excerpt from the lesson “ The Tattered Blanket ” .

She saw a bald, fat, middle-aged man walking in through the gate.

‘Oh, Gopi!’ She said in her grating voice. ‘Why this sudden unexpected visit?’

‘Kamala, who is it?’ Her mother asked loudly from the veranda.

‘Gopi,’ the man said. ‘There was a meeting in Thiruvananthapuram. I just dropped in on

my way back.’

‘Who? Kamala, who is it?’ There was note of alarm in Amma’s voice.

‘Amma, why are you so scared?’ Kamala, Gopi’s eldest sister, asked her a little

awkwardly. ‘As if you are seeing Gopi for the first time!’

‘Amma, it’s me, Gopi,’ he said again.

He bent down and brought his face close to her wrinkled cheeks. ‘Amma, it’s me.’

‘Gopi? Kamala, I can’t believe it! Has his school closed for vacation?’

‘Amma is often like this these days. She doesn’t recognize anybody,’ Gopi’s sister

explained. ‘But sometimes her memory is quite sharp. Then she asks me if you have sent

any letter. I tell her everything is fine with you, Vimala and the kids. What is the point of

telling her that you haven’t written for a year? Poor thing! I wouldn’t dream of making her

unhappy.’

Imagine that you were kamala and express your personal feelings in the form of a diary entry

‘I got a promotion last year. After that I am always on my toes. And there are tours

quite often. I don’t get any time to write letters.’

‘Why don’t you ask Vimala to write, or doesn’t she get any time too?’

‘What are you mumbling over there?’ Amma said loudly.

‘I heard somebody coming in a car. Who is it?’

‘I told you, it’s Gopi.’

‘But Gopi is in Delhi, isn’t he?’

‘Yes, Amma, it’s me. I’ve come from Delhi.’

‘Who did Gopi marry?’ Amma said, suddenly lowering her voice. ‘I mean, what’s his

wife’s name?’

‘Don’t say you’ve forgotten her name too. Don’t you remember, Vimala, District

Collector Nambiar’s eldest daughter?’ Gopi’s sister said.

‘Oh, I forgot the name. Was there a letter from Gopi today?’

‘There was. He writes every day.’

‘I’m terribly upset if I don’t get a letter from him every day.’

‘He knows it. That’s why he writes every day.’

‘Look at the way she talks,’ Gopi’s sister turned to him. ‘Just as I told you. You know

nothing about what’s going on here, do you?’

‘Who is that?’ Amma said again. ‘Who is that in a car?’

‘It’s me,’ Gopi said. ‘I had to come to Thiruvananthapuram. I thought I should drop in

to see you, Amma.’

Amma couldn't hear anything. If you were in the place of Amma how do you feel . Write a letter to your friend.

Do you love your mother if so why do you love your mother and what are the qualities you love in your mother.

Read the following excerpt from the poem “ My Mother ” and answer the following questions that follow.

I cannot remember my mother,

only sometime in the midst of my play

a tune seems to hover over my playthings,

the tune of some song that she used

to hum while rocking my cradle.

I cannot remember my mother,

but when in the early autumn morning

the smell of the shiuli flowers floats in the air,

the scent of the morning service in the temple

comes to me as the scent of my mother.

1. What happens in the autumn ? Which reminds the poet of his mother ?

2. What do you think the poet's mother did with the shiuli flowers ?

3. When did the poet's mother hum the song ?

4. What is the poet doing when reminds his mother ?

5. Why do you think the poet does not remember his mother ?

Home work : Collect some of the childhood memories of your father and mother and write them in the place provided. Compare those of yours with them and what is the difference that you found :

Read the following excerpt from the lesson “ Letter to a Friend ” and answer the following questions :

Now I am working at Microsoft, a software company, Hyderabad, as a Computer

Programmer. I am married and we have a child. My wife works at Dell, Hyderabad as a

System Analyst. You know the city life is quite busy. We start in the morning; leave our

child at the baby care centre and come back in the evening with faded faces. We hardly find

time to sit together. How disgusting! We work with computers, think like computers and

live like computers. We have forgotten our family.

1. What is the writer ?

2. What is the writer's wife ?

3. What is their daily routine ?

4.How do they work ?

5. What do they forget ?

Read the following excerpt from the lesson “ Letter to a Friend ”.

How happy we were in our school! We used to sit in the same row, did all the work

together and took part in the events. I remember how Padmanabhaiah Sir, our class teacher,

appreciated us when we got the first prize in District Science Fair. I remember we went on

a picnic to Koil Sagar. There we went boating. Our tour to Srisailam was memorable. Still

I remember the green hills full of trees that almost touched the sky! I remember the roaring

of the Krishna River at the dam. There is nothing here! I wonder at my child‘s silence. He

always sits in front of the computer and plays games, never caring for anyone.

I remember the happy moments when our uncle visited us. He brought toys and fruit

for us. Our aunt brought me a new dress for Dasara. How we enjoyed Depavali! Still I

hear the sound of crackers, I can see the rockets flying into the sky making the night full of

light! Where are those days? My child doesn’t know his uncle or aunt. For him, uncle and

neighbour are the same.

Remember your childhood memories and write any one of the incident that you feel is really memorable

Vocabulary

I. Fill in the blanks with the most appropriate words from the box.

Remember, the box has some extra words.

irritation huddled awkwardly futile vacation reluctantly exasperatedly mumbling

1. All my attempts to make him happy proved ___________.

2. It was very cold. So, I ___________ in a corner.

3. Forced by her parents, Sita _______________ took the diploma course.

4. What are you ____________________? I can’t hear you.

5. The news that he was denied promotion caused _______________ to him.

II. Tick the words that are similar in meaning ( contextual meaning) to the underlined words.

1. His mother made a futile attempt to get up.

a. barren b. limited c. useless d. empty

2. It’s all tattered now.

a. spoiled b. old c. dirty d. torn

3. There is a cold mist in the mornings.

a. ice b. snow c. fog d. win

4. It’s just like a ball of knotted yarn.

a. very small b. rounded tightly c. joined d. tied.

5. I can’t make both ends meet with my salary.

a. earn a lot of money b. spend a lot of money

c. earn just enough money d. give all that one has

Grammar

Phrase

A phrase is a group of words that stand together as a single unit, typically as part of a clause or a sentence. A phrase does not contain a subject and verb and, consequently, cannot convey a complete thought.

For example : He is laughing at the joker.

A phrase functions as a noun, verb, adverb, adjective or preposition in a sentence. The function of a phrase depends on its construction (words it contains). On the basis of their functions and constructions, phrases are divided into various types i.e. noun phrase, verb phrase, adverb phrase, adjective phrase, appositive phrase, infinite phrase, participle phrase and gerund phrase.

Noun Phrase

A noun phrase consists of a noun and other related words (usually modifiers and determiners) which modify the noun. It functions like a noun in a sentence.

A noun phrase consists of a noun as the head word and other words (usually modifiers and determiners) which come after or before the noun. The whole phrase works as a noun in a sentence.

Noun Phrase = noun + modifiers (the modifiers can be after or before noun)

Examples :

He is wearing a nice red shirt. (as noun/object)
She brought a glass full of water. (as noun/object)
The boy with brown hair is laughing. (as noun/subject)
A man on the roof was shouting. (as noun/subject)

A sentence can also contain more noun phrases.

For example : The girl with blue eyes bought a beautiful chair.

Complete the sentences with noun phrases using the words given in brackets.

1. I bought _______________________________ (beautiful/a/umbrella/red).

2. We saw ___________ in the zoo. (baby/a/elephants/of/couple).

3. Our grand father lives in ______________ (big/house/a/stone-built).

4. Ramya has __________________ (nice/a/sari/silk).

Noun Phrase Apposition

The placement side-by-side of two coordinate elements (usually noun phrases), the second of which serves to identify or rename the first. Adjective: appositional.

Rewrite the following sentences using Noun Phrase in Apposition.

1. Mahesh is my elder brother. He lives in Delhi.

Mahesh, ____________________, lives in Delhi.

2. Sarojini Naidu is popularly known as the Nightingale of India. She wrote many

poems in English.

Sarojini Naidu, _____________, wrote many poems in English.

3. Rabindranath Tagore is called Gurudev. He was awarded the Nobel Prize for

literature in 1913.

Rabindranath Tagore, ________________, was awarded the Nobel Prize for

literature in 1913.

4. Mount Everest is the highest peak in the world. It is located in Nepal

Mount Everest, ______________, is located in Nepal.