8th Standard, English FL, PROSE – 3
BEFORE THE MATCH
I. Comprehension
A. Answer the following questions in a sentence or two each:
1. Name the teams that are to play the cricket match in the lesson.
Answer: Young Men’s Union (YMU) and the Malgudi Cricket Club (MCC) are the teams that are to play the cricket match in the lesson.
2. Who were the prominent players in the MCC team?
Answer: Rajam, Mani and Swaminathan are the prominent players in the MCC (Malgudi Cricket Club).
3. Who was the “Tate” of the team? Why was he called so?
Answer: Swaminathan was the “Tate” of the team. Because he was the prominent fast bowler of the team. He named so after the famous England fast bowler ‘Maurice Tate’.
4. Why could Swami not attend the practice in the evenings?
Answer: Swami could not attend the practice in the evenings because every evening there is Drill Class, Scouting, some other compulsory period.
5. What was Swami’s excuse for exempting him from drill for a week?
Answer: Swami’s excuse to exempt him from the evening drill class for a week was that he was unwell and delirious, claiming he needed a medical certificate so he could attend his cricket practice instead.
6. What did Swami request the doctor to give him?
Answer: Swami requested the doctor to give him a medical certificate. He wanted this certificate to state that he was unwell or suffering from delirium so he could be excused from evening drill and scouting classes to practice for his cricket match.
B. Read the extracts given below and answer the questions that follow:
1. “There was only one who caused him the deepest anxiety day and night.’’
a. Who caused Rajam the deepest anxiety?
Answer: Swaminathan caused Rajam the deepest anxiety.
b. Why was this so?
Answer: Because Swami could not attend the practice in the evenings, there is Drill Class, Scouting, some other compulsory period.
2. “Just seven days before the match, Swaminathan realized that his evenings were more precious than ever.”
a. What is the match referred to here?
Answer: The Cricket match between Young Men’s Union (YMU) and the Malgudi Cricket Club (MCC) referred to here.
b. Why were the evenings more precious than ever?
Answer: Because there is a seven days left for the practice for the match. Every evening is important to Swaminathan to practice and win the match.
3. “But contrary to the custom, he had not taken off his coat and cap.”
a. Why did Swami not take off his coat and cap?
Answer: Swami did not take off his coat and cap because he wanted to avoid the drill class and rush to his cricket practice for the Malgudi Cricket Club (MCC) match.
b. What happened soon after?
Answer: Swami, asked why he was still dressed that way, and angrily ordered him to take them off. Swami then lied that he was unwell and had been told not to attend drill.
4. “Well, I could do it. But is there anything wrong with you?”
a. Who is speaking to Swami in these lines?
Answer: Doctor is speaking to Swami in these lines.
b. Was there anything really wrong with Swami?
No. There is nothing wrong with Swami. He was completely healthy and only pretending to be sick for his match practice.
c. What is the real purpose of Swami’s visit?
Answer: The real purpose of Swami’s visit is to get a medical certificate to skip his evening classes. He needs free time to practice for an upcoming cricket match.
5. “I can’t give you the certificate. But I shall talk to your Headmaster about you and request him to let you off after four-thirty.”
a. Why does the doctor refuse to give a certificate?
Answer: The doctor refuses to give Swami a medical certificate because Swami is in perfect health and issuing a false certificate would be illegal and unethical.
b. What does he offer to do instead?
Answer: The doctor offered Swami that he shall talk to his headmaster about him and request him to let Swami off after 4.30 PM instead of giving fake medical certificate.
c. Do you think the doctor was kind to Swami?
Answer: Yes, the doctor was kind to Swami, showing kindness through understanding Swami’s trick, offered Swami that he shall talk to his headmaster about him and request him to let Swami off after 4.30 PM
C. Answer the following questions in about six or eight sentences each:
1. How did Swami manage to get the permission of the drill master?
Answer: Swami managed to get permission from the drill master.
Swami did not take off his coat and cap because he wanted to avoid the drill class and rush to his cricket practice. Swami, asked why he was still dressed that way, and angrily ordered him to take them off. Swami then lied that he was unwell and had been told not to attend drill. This answer made drill master furious and master tell him to just get away.
2. What was Swami’s plan to get exemption from drill for a week?
Answer: Swami’s plan to get an exemption from the evening drill class for a week was to visit a doctor, pretend he was sick, and ask for an official medical certificate.
Swami planned to trick a doctor by claiming he suffered from “delirium” so he could get proof to show his school. He went to the doctor early in the morning and begged for a note to skip the drill so he could attend cricket practice instead.
3. How did the doctor promise to help Swami?
Answer: The doctor looked Swaminathan under the eye, examined his tongue, tapped his chest, and declared him to be in the pink of health, and told him he would do well to stick to his drill if he wanted to get rid of delirium. Swaminathan again explained to him how important it was for him to have his evenings free. But the doctor said: “It is all very well. But I should be prosecuted if I gave you any such certificate.”
The doctor caught on that Swami was lying and laughed at his misuse of the word delirium. Instead of writing a fake note, the kind doctor promised to talk to the headmaster directly. That is how the doctor promise to help Swami.
II. Speaking Activity
A. Imagine that the doctor meets Swami’s Headmaster and convinces him to let off Swami after 4:30 p.m.
B. Now form groups of four and think of dialogues for this situation.
Try to give different endings.
C. Develop a script play, using the different parts in the story and enact it before the class.
Example: A paragraph outline:
Complete the following paragraphs with the help of the clues given below:
1. There lived a king by name Krishna and queen Radha lived in a very big palace with hundreds of servants and soldiers. Both the King and the queen were fond of honey. They built a separate storeroom to store a few tins of honey. The king appointed twelve guards to keep watch round the clock.
2. One of the guards wanted to eat some of the royal honey. So he made a secret entry to the Store house of honey and stole a few tins of honey. The queen came to know of the theft in the palace and demanded her beloved husband to punish the thief.
3. In the morning, the next day, the king summoned all the guards at once and ordered them to stand in a line. The king devised a plan to identify the guard who had stolen the honey. He told them in a polite tone that he noticed a pinch of honey on the beard of one of the guards. As soon as the king uttered these words, one of the guards lifted up his hand to wipe his beard. The king observed this act and he told the guard that he was the culprit. Thus the king was able to detect the thief without any investigation.
Key words: palace, soldiers, fond of, store house, to eat, demanded, summoned, devised, noticed, investigation, keep watch, honey, stole, thief, stand, detect, lifted up, observed, identify.
Linkers: who, and, so, as soon as, thus.
