Chapter 5 Life and Love
Class 11 English
Exercise
Anton Chekhov
Ways With Words
A. Match the words with their meanings.
a. exhausted – tired
b. apparent – clear
c. vista – vision
d. undulating – wavy
e. destined – predetermined
f. stuffy – suffocating, airless
g. restrain – prevent, hinder
B. Write the meaning and word class of the following words.
Then use them in sentences of your own.
1. implore (verb): beg someone earnestly or desperately to
do something.
➜ I regretfully and respectfully implore you to help us.
2. despair (noun): the complete loss or absence of hop
➜ A few positive words can turn despair into hope.
3. beseech (verb): ask (someone) urgently and fervently to
do something
➜ I will fall at his feet and beseech him.
4. eloquent (adjective): able to express a feeling
➜ He made an eloquent plea for peace.
5. whirl (noun): a state of confusion
➜ My head is starting to whirl.
6. egoism (noun): the fact of being excessively conceited in
oneself
➜ His egoism stopped him from loving anyone but himself.
7. agony (noun): extreme physical or mental suffering
➜ She screamed again in agony as pain seared through her
shoulder.
8. delirious (adjective): in a state of wild excitement or
ecstasy
➜ The patient may be somewhat confused and delirious.
9. delusive (adjective): giving a false or misleading
impression
➜ They were only coquetting a little with us, or bent on
kindling delusive hopes.
10.compensate (verb): reduce the bad effect of loss
➜ His enthusiasm compensates for his lack of skill.
11. mortgage (noun): convey a property to a creditor as
security on a loan
➜ She didn’t have enough money to pay the mortgage.
12.brood (noun): a large family of children
➜ He grew up among a lively brood of brothers and sisters.
13.prelude (noun): an action or event serving as an
introduction to something more important
➜ A
ceasefire had been agreed as a prelude to full peace negotiations.
D. Choose the correct word.
a. Sarita was shocking/shocked to hear about earthquake.
b. I think that rainy days in winter are
depressing/depressed.
c. The football match was very exciting/excited. I enjoyed
it.
d. The meals at Delight Café are satisfying/satisfied.
e. I’ve got nothing to do. I’m boring/bored.
f. Tanka is very good at telling funny stories. He can be
very amusing/amused.
g. The teacher’s explanation was confusing/confused. Most of
the students didn’t understand it.
h. He is such a boring/bored person. He never wants to go
out.
i. I will be surprising/surprised if she does well in her
test.
j. Are you interesting/interested in politics?
E. Write the correct form of the adjective in the blanks as
in the example.
a. They frustrate me but they don’t 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. And if I get more
than ninety percent, I am really excited. Comprehension
Answer these questions.
a. Who was Nellie? What did she use to dream of?
Answer: Nellie was the daughter of a landowner and general,
a young and pretty girl. She used to dream of getting married.
b. What was she doing with the looking glass? Answer: She
was staring into the looking glass with exhausted, half-closed eyes.
c. Why did she go to the doctor on one winter night?
Answer: She went to the doctor one night because her husband
was ill.
d. What was Stepan Lukitch doing when she reached his
bedroom?
Answer: Stepan Lukitch was lying on his bed when she reached
his bedroom.
e. Why was the doctor not ready to go to see her husband?
Answer: The doctor was not ready to go to see her husband
because the doctor was exhausted and ill himself seeing the typhus patients for
the last three days.
f. Why did Stepan Lukitch suggest Nellie to go to the
Zemstvo doctor?
Answer: Stepan Lukitch suggested Nellie to go to the Zemstvo
doctor because he was ill himself and Nellie needed immediate treatment.
g. Nellie said, “Come, perform that heroic deed! Have pity
on us!” What was that pity to be done? Answer: The pity to be done was to treat
Nellie’s husband.
h. When Nellie said, “I must have fallen asleep.” What does
it mean?
Answer: It means that Nellie stopped, was awakened and was
ready for facing the realities of life.
i. What is the main theme of the story?
Answer: The main theme of the story is devotion, loneliness,
escape, fear, love, dedication, hope, defeat and independence.
Critical Thinking
a. “The looking glass (mirror)” is used as a symbol in the
story. What does it symbolise?
Answer: In “Looking Glass,” the mirror symbolizes Nellie’s
central character traits: her longing to be married and her habit of escaping
her dull life into her elaborate fantasies. Protagonist Nellie is introduced
dreamily gazing into her handheld mirror before falling asleep and seeing her
“destined one” as clearly as if she were awake.
b. Chekhov employs the magic trick in the story, using a
very elegant transition from reality to imagination to reality sequence.
Discuss its relevance to life of young people.
Answer: Anton Chekhov’s short story “The Looking Glass”
might be relevant to the life of young people due to its fairy-tale quality.
It’s as if Nellie turns herself into a distressed princess; her husband becomes
a kind of afflicted prince charming. It’s interesting that her husband doesn’t
have a name. The lack of a name connects to other fairy tales for young readers
in which the male love interest is never given a clear name. In Cinderella, for
instance, the prince has no name.
Apart from a connection to fairy tales intended for young
people, it could be argued that Chekov’s short story underscores the ways in
which young people tend to dramatize life. It’s not uncommon for books, movies,
and TV shows to portray young people as histrionic, overemotional, and
hyperbolic. Nellie might represent the ways in which young people tend to
glamorize love, suffering, and other things that might not be so enchanting in
reality. Since some young people are fortunate enough to have not had to
personally experience devastating hardship, they might be more inclined to
invent their own. If their imagined scene grows too scary, they can, like
Nellie, wake up, and it’ll be done with.
When discussing the relevance of “The Looking to Glass” to young people, it might be insightful to note that all people, whatever their age, tend to be susceptible to fantasy, exaggeration, and flights of fancy. There are probably just as many overdramatic books, movies, and TV shows for adults as there are for young people. Furthermore, the sensational, slanted nature of social media and news outlets suggests that adults travel back and forth between reality and fantasy more often than they might like to admit.
Grammar
B. Match the
expressions with their functions.
a. A: What do you want to take?
B: I’ll have tea, please.
➜
Deciding
b. A: Are you free this evening?
B: No, I’m going to meet my uncle.
➜ Expressing a prior plan
c. The day will be lovely tomorrow.
➜ Predicting a future action
d. There is no cloud in the sky.
It’s going to be a lovely day.
➜ Predicting with evidence
e. Don’t worry.
I won’t tell anyone.
➜ Promising
f. I’ll take you to the movies if you like.
➜ Offering
g. I’ll tell your parents what you did.
➜ Threatening
C. Choose the correct answer.
a. A: Are you busy this evening?
B: Yes, I am going to the movies. (will go/am
going to)
b. A: Where are you going for holiday this summer?
B: Not sure yet. Maybe I will go to Ilam. (will go/am
going to)
c. I think you will like this movie. (will /are going
to)
d. I can’t join you at the party, I am going to be
away for two weeks. (will /am going to)
e. This exercise looks really hard. I will help you.
(will/am going to)
f. A: Hello. Can I speak to Sima, please?
B: Just a minute. I will get her. (will/am going to)
g. Perhaps she will pass the exam. (will/is going to)
h. ‘I haven’t got my phone.’ ‘That’s OK. I will lend
you mine.’ (will/am going to)
D. Complete the sentences using will or be going to with the
verbs.
a. Hari: Did you call Bina? Prem: Oh, I forgot. I will
call her now. (call)
b. Sunita: Have you got a ticket for the play? Hema: Yes, I
am going to watch it on Saturday. (watch)
c. ‘The alarm is ringing. It’s making an awful noise.’ ‘OK,
I will switch it off.’ (switch)
d. Do you think they will like the the presents we
got for them? (like)
e. ‘Lok is starting university tomorrow.’ ‘What is he going
to study?’ (he/study)
f. If I meet him, I will tell him the news. (tell)
g. The phone is ringing. I will answer it. (answer)
h. If you don’t stop bullying her, I will tell the teacher. (tell)
