Ans. Lencho had complete faith in God.
The sentences in the story which tell us of this are,
1. “But in the hearts of all who lived in that solitary house in the middle of the valley, there was a single hope: help from God.”
2. “All through the night, Lencho thought only of his one hope: the help of God, whose eyes, as he had been instructed, see everything, even what is deep in one’s conscience.”
3.“It was nothing less than a letter to God.”
4. “The following Sunday Lencho came a bit earlier than usual to ask if there was a letter for him.”
5. “Lencho showed not the slightest surprise on seeing the money; such was his confidence — but he became angry when he counted the money. God could not have made a mistake, nor could he have denied Lencho what he had requested.”

Ans. The postmaster was quite moved by seeing the faith of Lencho in God. He even wished that he had such faith. So he decided that such faith should not break. That is why when he arranged the money for Lencho and kept it in an envelope, he signed it God, so that Lencho believes that the money he got is sent from God.

Ans. No, Lencho didn’t try to find out who had actually sent the money to him. Such was his faith in god that he was very confident of God helping him. So when he received the money, he was quite sure that it was sent to him by God.

Ans. Lencho thought that the rest of money was taken by the post office staffs.
The irony in this is that it were the post office staffs, and specially the post master, who actually had arranged the money for him. And Lencho ignorantly blamed them to have cheated him.

Ans. There should be very few people, if any, in the real world like Lencho.
The best suited word for him in the box is “naïve”. His personality is marked by showing unaffected simplicity and lack of worldly experience.

Ans. The conflict between humans and nature is shown in the story by the incidence when Lencho and his family are so happy with the advent of rain. But then suddenly their happiness disappears as the rain turns into a hail storm and all their crop is destroyed. This shows that humans may wish something to happen, but they are nothing but the puppets in the hand of nature. We can just wish that Nature remains friendly to us and have to accept to whatever comes our way.
The second conflict that is shown between humans themselves is marked by the incidence when Lencho complains to God that the post office staffs cheated him with the money He sent him. Now this shows that though he was so naïve in his approach and had a tremendous faith in God, he didn’t trust his fellow humans.

Ans. It was the occasion of freedom of South Africa from apartheid. It was the first time in the country’s history to have a black president after three centuries of white rule. So, international leaders from over 140 countries had gathered to pay respect.
This signified the triumph of humanity over racism.

Ans. The fight for this freedom was being fought for a long time, even before Mandela came into picture. But the patriots who fought this great battle were no more to see this day. That’s why; Mandela humbly says that this day is the outcome of all those efforts. Since he was there to envision the great day, and be a proud part of it, he says that he is simply the sum (result or outcome) of all those African patriots.

Ans. Yes, we agree that the “depth of oppression” creates “heights of character”. Mandela gives the example of great personalities like Oliver Tambos, the Walter Sisulus, the Chief Luthulis, the Yusuf Dadoos, the Bram Fischers, the Robert Sobukwes to put his point and then he illustrates it by giving the example of South Africa as a land of minerals and gems. But he says that all minerals and diamonds are found underneath the soil. By this he means to say that the rocks have to be oppressed by the soil to become minerals and diamonds.

Ans. Mandela talks of three stages in his life. The first one being his childhood, when freedom to him meant running freely in the fields near his mother’s hut; swimming freely in the clear stream that ran through his village; roasting meals freely under the stars and riding the broad backs of slow-moving bulls freely. As long as he obeyed his father and abided by the customs of his tribe, he was not troubled by the laws of man or God.
It was only when he became young enough to think, and be mature as a student, he realised that the freedom of his boyhood was only an illusion. He was actually not free politically, economically or legally to do anything. This brought about in him, a hunger for freedom. But at this stage he thought only about the freedom for himself.
Then, in his hunt for personal freedom he finally realised that it was not only him who was bound by the social system of apartheid, but the people around him were also tied in the same chains. The freedom of all blacks was curtailed. His desire of personal freedom then changed into the hunger of freedom for everyone.

Ans. The hunger for freedom of his people to live their lives with dignity and self-respect changed Mandela’s life so much that he transformed from a frightened young man into a bold one; from someone who drove a law-abiding attorney to a criminal; from a family-loving husband into a man without a home and from a life-loving man to a someone who lived like a monk.
In an attempt to serve his people, Mandela also found that he was prevented from fulfilling his obligations as a son, a brother, a father and a husband.

Ans. The young seagull was not confident enough for his wings to support his flight. So it feared of falling down and hurting himself in an attempt to fly.
Yes, the condition is the same for all young birds. But they overcome this fear by their self confidence. And yes, even for a human baby, the first steps are always a challenge. It takes a lot of courage and curiosity to be confident of your timid legs to support the balance.

Ans. The seagull was hungry for a long time and was and so the mere sight of food, made his hunger even more uncontrollable. The young seagull’s mother knew that he could fly only if he tried. The biggest fear in him was to take the first step. So she tried to invoke him in order to make him jump over the brink.
We all have to eat to live. So the fright of the young seagull of hurting himself became too timid in front of his hunger and he could not just comprehend his steps towards the brink. It was when he was falling down his natural instincts made his wings flap subconsciously and he saw that he could fly. It was just a sudden reaction towards danger. Just for example if we touch a hot object unknowingly, we simply draw back our hand quickly, even without thinking anything. It’s in our natural instincts to work towards our safety. Similarly, the seagull started flapping his wings when he started to fall down and feared death. But once this happened, he became certain about his capabilities and grew enough self confidence to fly consciously.

Ans. The young seagull’s parents were concerned about him. They knew that they could not feed him forever, but he had to learn himself to fly and hunt for food. Specially, in seagull family, the children always fly away from their parents to make their own living. And since the young seagull was too afraid to fly, they tried all tactics to make him try for it. They beckoned him, then cajoled, even threatened him following the carrot and stick policy.

Ans. The best example to this can be the first time we start riding a bicycle. We are just too afraid of falling. But once we get going there is no looking back. Perhaps in most of our cases it’s our parents who taught us to ride. They initially give support from behind and then slowly without letting us know, left us for a go.

Ans. It’s always important to try on something. The possibility of success is always there if we keep learning from our mistakes and have enough self confidence. This is perhaps not only in one example like riding a bicycle but in every aspect of our life to grow independent. Learning is important and the most difficult part in any venture is to take the initiative. We fear failure so much that many times it prevents us from trying. But we must remember that great deeds are done only by people who take chances and it’s their self confidence which keeps them trying regardless of the possibilities of failure.

Ans. The risk was to fly through the storm. The narrator was on his way home, in his Dakota, when he suddenly saw huge storm clouds. He didn’t have sufficient fuel to fly around them to the north or south, so he had only two options with him. Either go back to Paris or fly through the storm, risking his life. But the narrator was going home after a long time and so the crave for delicious home food and the urge for meeting his loved ones made him taking the risk to fly through the storm.
A strong storm can be very dangerous, specially, for a small aeroplane like Dakota.

Ans. The plane twisted and turned in the storm. The instrument panel was not working. The narrator was not sure about his location and direction. This must have been a fearsome experience.
Then the narrator saw a black aeroplane flying besides his plane. The pilot of another plane waved and asked him to follow him. He proved out to be like an angel to the narrator, as following this unknown plane, he could come out of the storm.

Ans. Dakota is a very old model of personal aeroplanes. And on the airport, it would have been similar to parking an old, tattered bicycle among a queue of modern motor bikes. People don’t feel elated while commuting by them. So more often than not, a pilot coming out of an old Dakota always feels sorry for having to fly such an old and rickety model.
But in this story as the pilot weathered the storm and landed safely so he was more than happy to come out from the old Dakota.

Ans. The woman there was quite sure that there was only one plane in the vicinity of the control centre which was the narrator’s Dakota. She had confirmed it on the radar, so when the narrator asked her about the other aeroplane, she looked at the narrator disbelievingly.

Ans. The story is ended leaving the readers to guess who the helper was. This could be the narrator’s self belief or confidence with which he dared to enter the storm. Since the radar showed no signs of any other plane to be present there then, it is sure that no plane was there in reality. The author was so eager to reach home that he dared to challenge the storm. But when his compass and radio stopped working, his mind would have brought about an illusion of this black aeroplane in front of him. This kept his hopes alive and let his faith in the decision to enter the storm still correct.
This illusion theory can be given some validity by the way in which the narrator describes the black aeroplane. We don’t normally see a black aeroplane, and that too the narrator could see it among black clouds. Then it was flying without lights on its wings. And normally, with the speed aeroplanes fly, it is hardly possible for two planes to come so close thst the narrator could see the other pilot’s face.

Ans. No, Anne was proved to be wrong, as this original Dutch work has been translated into many languages and became one of the world’s most widely read books. There have also been several films, television and theatrical productions, and even an opera, based on her diary's contents.

Ans. Anne wrote the typical diary entries. The one entry that is given is dated 20th June, 1942 in which she describes about the anxiety of her classmates when their results are about to be published. She also 'tells her diary's about the comical incidences which took place in her Maths class involving her.
The original language in which the diary was written was Dutch.
Anne's diary is different in the aspect that she recalls some incidences from past which didn't happen on 20th June, 1942. Normally, one entry in a diary reads the incidents that happened on that particular day. But this can be understood from the fact that the diary's entries started from 12th June, 1942. So, the incidences previous to this date had to be recalled; specially, when the context was that Anne is afraid of her result in Maths. Another different aspect of her diary is marked by the fact that Anne doesn't consider her diary as a dead object, but she makes it her friend and names it as Kitty.

Ans. Kitty was a new true friend for Anne. She says that she never shared her personal life with any of her friends, but since, with Kitty, there was this relief that she didn't understand her words, she confided with her. So, she starts with giving a brief sketch about her family.
She obviously treats Kitty as an insider. This can be concluded by the fact that she never had any true friend before, to share her feelings. But she does this with Kitty.

Ans. Anne felt that her father was the most adorable man she had ever seen. Her grandmother too, was very close to her and after her death; Anne still remembered and loved her. She even dedicated her birthday that year to her grandma.
Mrs. Kuperus was her teacher in sixth form and the headmistress. She was even so close to her as she says at the time of leaving the school, both, Mrs. Kuperus and she was in tears.
Mr. Keesing was her Maths teacher, but he was a little annoyed with her because she kept talking in his classes and was finally forced to give her extra homework. But he too, finally had to change his attitude, at her great wit.
All this tells us that Anne was a very adorable girl. She was loved by everyone. She even had a very good rapport with all her teachers, which means that she was quite intelligent and was a good student.

Ans. Anne was assigned to write three pages on the topic "chatterbox", as punishment for keep talking in her Maths class. She could have easily rambled on keeping big gaps between words to finish off that assignment, but she was quite witty and decided to come up with convincing arguments to prove the necessity of talking.
In her essay, she argued that talking is a student’s trait but then she would do her best to keep it under control. She also tried to convey that that it was impossible for her to fully cure herself of the habit because her mother talked as much as she did, if not more; and there’s not much one can do about inherited traits.

Ans. Mr. Keesing was surely very unpredictable because at one instance he was too annoyed at her and the other, he laughed his heart out at her arguments. Then after giving her the second assignment for she still kept talking, he suddenly didn't say anything for two whole lessons. But he again got too annoyed in his third lesson and gave her another assignment.
It was finally Anne's wit which made him change his attitude towards her talking in the class.

(i) "We don’t seem to be able to get any closer, and that’s the problem. Maybe it’s my fault that we don’t confide in each other."
Ans. This line indicates that Anne was a bit conservative about her feelings and possessions. (She certainly was not an introvert as she was called a chatterbox.) But then she doesn't blame it to anyone else, but takes it as her own fault to not confide with anyone. This shows the strong character she possessed.

(ii) "I don’t want to jot down the facts in this diary the way most people would, but I want the diary to be my friend."
Ans. She was quite innovative in the way her approach. This was also proved when she was given her first punishment to write an essay on chatterbox. Instead of rambling, she chose to argue why she needed to talk.
The above line also suggests that she felt lonely in the absence of a true friend. A little girl, just into her teens, didn't have a close friend; must have been sad. She even missed her grandma. So finally chose to write a diary.

(iii) "Margot went to Holland in December, and I followed in February, when I was plunked down on the table as a birthday present for Margot."
Ans. This line somewhere seems to give a feeling that Anne wanted to be in Germany. The way she uses the words like ‘plunked down’ and calls herself as just a birthday present for her sister, it seems she had in her, this curbed feeling of discontent for not spending a good time in her native land. Though in her early teens, this diary entry has incidences suggesting that she was a very confident and independent girl. She didn’t like other’s opinion forced on her. And that may also be a cause why she never had a true friend in her life.

(iv) "If you ask me, there are so many dummies that about a quarter of the class should be kept back, but teachers are the most unpredictable creatures on earth."
Ans. This line shows a proud aspect of Anne's character. And may give a clue why she lacked a true friend. Sure, there always are all types of students in any class, but Anne had this feeling of superiority over them. In fact it’s very common in all human beings, and she was no different. We have our own ego which prevents us from making everyone our friend.
The latter half of the sentence shows the childish nature of a little kid. When it comes to results, we never tend to be sure of our teachers, specially, when somebody is annoyed from us.

(v) "Anyone could ramble on and leave big spaces between the words, but the trick was to come up with convincing arguments to prove the necessity of talking."
Ans. This was just too witty and a perfect example of 'never let go' attitude. The essay was a punishment for Anne and she was supposed to take it seriously; not to repeat her mistake again. But she handled it very confidently, and in the other way round, what most students would have done. She still argued that why was it so necessary for her to talk?
This shows that how she was, so different from others and so innovative. She also didn’t like to change herself according to others’ wishes.

Ans. Wanda was natively a Polish girl. So her last name sounded very strange to other American students. It’s something similar to what we feel, when we hear a Chinese or Japanese name. So, the other girls made fun of her. And moreover since she was poor, she wore the same simple blue dress everyday to school. So other girls also teased her by asking how many dresses she had? But when she boldly used her fancy to say that she had a hundred of them, others got another point to make fun by asking her to describe about those dresses and her shoes in her closet because they always knew that what she boasted of was surely not true.

Ans. Nobody likes being teased about their appearance or name. So for a little girl like Wanda, it would have been very hurting as well. She started ignoring everyone. Solitude spread all around her and she started sitting in the corner seat where there was most scuffling of feet, most roars of laughter when anything funny was said, and most mud and dirt on the floor, just to avoid others.
Wanda always knew that others were making fun of her. So she tried to boldly face everyone and then ignored these pranks by talking about her possession of the hundred dresses. This was nothing other than her fancy. We should not forget that she was still a little girl. So she too would have wished to have many dresses. But she was well aware of her family’s financial situations. She had matured a lot in that early age itself.

Ans. Maddie was poor herself. So she never liked Peggy, teasing Wanda, in the manner she did. But she was afraid that if she intervened or tried to stop Peggy, she might become the new target for Peggy and the girls.
She was quite different from Peggy, because she was not in favour of teasing Wanda. But Peggy never accepted her mistake, giving some vague arguments in support of her behavior towards Wanda.
But yes, Peggy’s friendship was very important to Maddie because Peggy was her best friend and the best liked girl in the whole room. Moreover, she even wore Peggy’s old dresses.
The lines which tell us this include -
(i) She wished Peggy would stop teasing Wanda Petronski.
(ii) She wished she had the nerve to write Peggy a note, because she knew she never would have the courage to speak right out to Peggy, to say, “Hey, Peg, let’s stop asking Wanda how many dresses she has.”
(iii) Peggy might ask her where she got the dress that she had on, and Maddie would have to say it was one of Peggy’s old ones that Maddie’s mother had tried to disguise with new trimmings so no one in Room Thirteen would recognise it.
(iv) She was Peggy’s best friend, and Peggy was the best-liked girl in the whole room.

Ans. Miss Mason was very happy and proud of Wanda. She found each of her designs very different and beautiful.
Even the children admired those drawings from Wanda. We can say this because they applauded at the announcement of the winner. They gasped with admiration and the boys whistled at them. Even someone like Peggy admitted that Wanda’s drawings were far better than her own.

Ans. Wanda’s father was very perturbed by the fact that his children were the topic of fun for other students, as their named sound funny to others. He was even more angry with the school management which did nothing to stop that. So it became unbearable for him to see his daughter slowly being clutched into solitude and he decided to move to a bigger city with his family.
Wanda came from a poor family and their life could not change anyway by moving into a different city. The only thing was that a bigger city would have more population and more people like them with ‘funny’ names. People there would be so busy with their work that they would hardly notice anyone’s name.

Ans. Maddie was very much correct with her guilt. It’s a common saying that it’s a bigger crime to be a mook spectator to crime. It’s the moral duty of everyone to stop any kind of injustice.

Ans. Peggy thought of Wanda as dumb because whenever she and other girls asked her about her possessions, she said a certain lie and then tried to ignore everything.
Peggy did change her opinion about Wanda after she saw her excellent drawing. She was astonished at her talent and admitted that Wanda was far better an artist than her.

Ans. The important decision was to stand against any injustice thereafter, whatever result she might have to bear as a consequence. She thought so hard to do so because she feared that trying to protest against making fun of Wanda would make her the next victim to all those teasing. Then Peggy was her best friend too and she didn’t want to loose her friendship. So it was difficult to ask her to stop doing something.

Ans. Although after such bad treatment, Wanda never kept any malice against the girls who teased her. And it was mostly Peggy who asked her about her dresses. Maddie being Peg’s best friend always supported her. So, when she actually made those drawings she did that with Peggy and Maddie in mind. So she dedicated it to them.
Peggy and Wanda were surprised because they never expected any gifts from Wanda after all that fun they made of her.

Ans. Wanda was always aware that the girls were teasing her. Otherwise she wouldn’t have felt so lonely in school. She could not trust anybody as a friend. And then if she knew nothing then even her father would not have come to know about all these incidences and finally decide to move to a different city.

Ans: i , ii, v

Ans: Yes, bread is an important part of Goan life. Marriage gifts are meaningless without the sweet bread known as the bol, just as a party or a feast loses its charm without bread. Not enough can be said to show how important a baker can be for a
village. The lady of the house must prepare
sandwiches on the occasion of her daughter’s
engagement. Cakes and bolinhas are a must for
Christmas as well as other festivals. Thus, the
presence of the baker’s furnace in the village is
absolutely essential.

Ans: i - nostalgic, ii - hopeful, iii - nostalgic, iv - naughty, v - matter-of-fact, vi - matter-of-fact

Ans: Coorg, or Kodagu, the smallest district of
karnataka, is located midway between Mysore and the coastal town of Mangalore .

Ans: The fiercely independent people of Coorg are possibly of Greek or Arabic descent. As one story goes, a part of Alexander’s army moved south along the coast and settled here when return became impractical. These people married amongst the
locals and their culture is apparent in the martial
traditions, marriage and religious rites, which are
distinct from the Hindu mainstream. The theory of
Arab origin draws support from the long, black coat
with an embroidered waist-belt worn by the Kodavus.
Known as kuppia, it resembles the kuffia worn by
the Arabs and the Kurds.

Ans: i - Kodavus are brave and fiercely independent people. They are possibly descendent of Greek or Arabic.
ii - Coffee
iii -River rafting, canoeing, rappelling, rock climbing and mountain biking.
iv - Birds, bees and butterflies , Macaques, Malabar squirrels, langurs and slender loris, tree canopy and wild elephants.
v - By Road: There are two routes to Coorg from Bangalore. Both are almost the same distance (around 250-260 km). The route via Mysore is the most frequented one. The other route is via Neelamangal, Kunigal,Chanrayanapatna.

Ans: i - During the monsoons, it pours enough to keep many visitors away.
ii - As one story goes, a part of Alexander’s army moved south along the coast and settled here when return became impractical.
iii - Coorgi homes have a tradition of hospitality, and they are more than willing to recount numerous
tales of valour related to their sons and fathers.
iv - The most laidback individuals become converts
to the life of high-energy adventure with river rafting, canoeing, rappelling, rock climbing and mountain biking.
v - The theory of Arab origin draws support
from the long, black coat with an embroidered waist-belt worn by the Kodavus.
vi - Macaques, Malabar squirrels, langurs and slender loris keep a watchful eye from the tree canopy.