Class 9 English Lesson 9

Read the following quotations and discuss what you think they mean.

👉 Answer –
Similarly, “Any time is a good time to start a company” simply means that there is no set time to start a company and that the beginning of any new venture or task is likely going to be difficult for us. However, when we start the work with careful planning, time can work wonders and we can accomplish the work ultimately. If we wait for the ideal moment, we will have to wait our entire lives. So, regardless of our age, we can start our own business if we do our research and learn about the market.
“We work to earn our leisure,” we put in a lot of effort and do what we can to eventually get the enjoyment of leisure. We cannot enjoy leisure without first working. We can have a simple and enjoyable time later if we work hard and wisely now.
Much like the proverb, “Work hard in silence, let your success be your noise.” According to this assertion, we should first put the action into practice rather than just discussing it. People won’t perceive us as capable beings if we only talk and lack initiative. Therefore, we must labor diligently in silence, and success will eventually make noise.

 Reading I

Look at the following picture and answer these questions.

a. What do you think the two insects are doing?

👉 Answer – In my view, while looking at the picture, the two insects are chatting, dancing and enjoying themselves with each other.

b. What do you think happens to them when winter comes?

👉 Answer – When winter comes, I think life would be difficult and they will go to winter sleep.

The Ant and the Grasshopper

Short Summary

Then the ant gives him her classic answer: “What were you doing in summer time?”
“Saving your presence, I sang, I sang all day, all night.”
“You sang. Why, then go and dance.”
I could not help thinking of this fable when the other day I saw George Ramsay lunching by himself in a restaurant.

The Ramsays were perfectly respectable people and there was every reason to suppose that Tom Ramsay would have a useful and honourable career.

Once or twice he fell to Tom’s promises of amendment and gave him considerable sums in order that he might make a fresh start.

On these Tom bought a motor-car and some very nice jewellery.

When circumstances forced George to realise that his brother would never settle down and he washed his hands of him, Tom, without a qualm, began to blackmail him.

The man Tom had cheated, a man called Cronshaw, was vindictive.

I have never seen him in such a rage as when he heard that Tom and Cronshaw had gone off together to Monte Carlo the moment they cashed the cheque.

A. Choose appropriate words from the box below to replace the colored words in the given sentences.

a. If your talent combines with diligence, you can excel in your field.

👉 Answer – industry

b. The dessert menu has a lot of delicious temptations.

👉 Answer – enticements

c. The house passed the bill without listening to the public objections.

👉 Answer – expostulations

d. Knowledge of the ill effects of tobacco has led to modifications in smoking behaviour.

👉 Answer – amendments

e. Without any regret, Yule started spending his father’s inheritance.

👉 Answer – qualm

f. Mr. Smith read a humorous story which matched his real life.

👉 Answer – obliged

B. Put the following sentences from the story in the correct order.

👉 Answer –

h. The Ramsays were perfectly respectable people.

b. Tom left his wife and his office.

c. When his money was spent, he borrowed it from friends and spent it on luxuries.

d. George continued to pay for his brother’s expenses.

g. Tom promised to make a fresh start.

e. Tom bought a motor-car and some very nice jewellery.

i. Tom never settled down.

a. Tom began to blackmail his brother for money.

f. Tom took the help of Cronshaw to cheat his brother, and left for Monte Carlo.

C. Answer the following questions.

a. Why is Tom described as the ‘black sheep’ of the Ramsay family?

👉 Answer – (‘Black sheep’ refers to a member of a family or group who is a disgrace or problematic to it.) Tom is described as the ‘black sheep’ of the Ramsay family because he thought of himself and enjoyed only, didn’t work at all and gave a lot of trouble to other members of the Ramsay family.

b. What was a respectable profession for Tom?

👉 Answer – Going on to business was a respectable profession for Tom.

c. Why was George Ramsay staring into space?

👉 Answer – George Ramsay was staring into space because he was in deep gloom and looked as though the burden of the whole world sat on his shoulders.

d. Why did Tom leave his work and wife?

👉 Answer – Tom left his work and wife because he didn’t like to work and wanted to enjoy himself.

e. How did Tom manage his life when he ran out of money in the beginning?

👉 Answer – Tom managed his life by borrowing with friends when he ran out of money in the beginning.

f. How did Cronshaw and Tom cheat George?

👉 Answer – Cronshaw accused Tom as a scoundrel and was ready to take to the court. Knowing this, George paid five hundred pounds settle the affair. Later, he came to know that this was all planning of Cronshaw and his brother Tom. In this way, Cronshaw and Tom cheated on Geroge.

g. What made George realise that his brother would never settle down?

👉 Answer – George gave money to his brother Tom to make a fresh start, bought a motor car and some very nice jewellery. This made George realize that his brother would never settle down.

h. What is the moral of the story ‘The Ant and Grasshopper’?

👉 Answer – The moral of the story “The Ant and Grasshopper” given here in our text is “One slays, another pays.”

D. Read the story again and write a brief summary.

👉 The story of the ant and the grasshopper was told to the speaker as a young child. The grasshopper would always sing and lay around while the ant used to gather food for the winter. When he ran into George Ramsay the other day, staring into the void, he recalled this fable. The Ramsays were honourable individuals. Tom Ramsay, the brother of George Ramsay, was easy-going rather than laborious. He started a business but abandoned it because he found it uninteresting. He also left his wife, two kids, and two dogs and began living freely. When he didn’t have money, he borrowed from friends, and George kept assisting him with the hope that he would launch a new business. However, Tom misused the money. Eventually, George realised his brother would never settle down and stopped helping him. The story ends by comparing the lives of the ant (George) and the grasshopper (Tom), leaving readers to reflect on justice and irony.

E. How do you characterize yourself, as the ant or the grasshopper? Rank yourself on the scale.

👉 Industrious Ant – After reading the story, I characterize myself more as the ant. I am a hardworking student in Grade 9. I don’t earn money but depend on what my parents earn. My parents spend a large part of their income on my education, and I understand their dedication. I also work hard in my studies. However, sometimes I spend a little extra money when my friends invite me out. Because of that, I would give myself 8 points on the given scale.

Grammar I

B. Fill in the gaps with the correct form of have, get or make.

a. Did they make you give a speech on behalf of the group?

b. Instead of buying a new car, why don’t you have the old one fixed?

c. I will have my hair cut tomorrow morning.

d. The teacher got every one of us to write an essay yesterday.

e. Ms Shrestha usually has her hair dried at the hairdresser’s.

f. My mum always makes me clean my room on Saturdays.

g. I got my landlord to fix the broken windowpane this morning.

h. Suman had all the Maths problems solved by the teacher.

C. Rewrite the sentences with have, get or make.

a. She will ask her sister to light the lamp.

👉 She will get her sister to light the lamp.

b. I am going to ask the dentist to fill my teeth.

👉 I am having the dentist fill my teeth.

c. Will you ask the barber to cut your hair?

👉 Will you get the barber to cut your hair?

d. I can’t design my house myself. So I am going to ask an architect to do it.

👉 I am making an architect design my house.

e. The girl asked her mechanic to repair her moped.

👉 The girl made her mechanic repair her moped.

f. The landlady asks the gardener to cut the grass.

👉 The landlady gets the gardener to cut the grass.

D. Choose the best alternatives and complete the sentences.

a. Mina got Shambhu to carry her suitcase.

b. Rita had Ankit wash her clothes.

c. They got me to dance at my brother’s wedding.

d. Kumari was made turn on the television.

e. Barsha got new books bought her last week.

f. Upendra got Mukesh to watch his house.

g. My father is very kind. He never makes us do heavy work.

h. The film was very humorous. It made us all laugh throughout the film.

i. His hair was too long. So he had it cut yesterday.

j. The manager made his secretary attend the conference.

k. Mathew made the mechanic overhaul his car.

l. Smith had Jacque fetch a pail of water.

m. My maths teacher asked us to remember all the theorems. In other words, we were made remember all the theorems.

Writing I

A. Study the chart below and answer the following questions.

a. What kind of chart is this?

👉 (Do yourself)

b. What data does it represent?

👉 The data represents the number of students present in the months September, October, November, and December.

C. Interpret the bar chart above using appropriate verbs. Make comparisons where applicable.

👉 The chart represents the average daily attendance of the students for the given four months. The x-axis represents the months and the y-axis represents the number of students. According to the chart, 24, 27, 21, and 16 students attended in the months of September, October, November, and December respectively. This shows that the highest number of students attended in October. On the other hand, the attendance was the least in December. Overall, the attendance trend rose at first but then gradually declined.

Reading II

a. What do you see in the picture?

👉 In the given picture, we can see horses drinking water, squirrel-like animals searching for food, a river, forest, and flowers. Overall, the picture shows us the beauty of nature.

b. How is human life different from the lives of animals?

👉 Humans are too busy in life. They don’t have time to admire nature’s beauty, whereas animals enjoy and live freely in the natural environment.

 Leisure (Poem)

Short Summary

A. Match the words with their meanings.

a. stare — iv. to look at somebody or something for a long time

b. beneath — v. under somebody or something

c. woods — i. an area of trees

d. enrich — ii. to improve the quality of something

e. glance — iii. to look quickly at somebody or something

B. Answer the following questions.

a. Why is our life so miserable, according to the poet?

👉 According to the poet, our life is so miserable because we don’t have time to enjoy nature’s beauty.

b. What do sheep and cows do in nature?

👉 Sheep and cows graze and stand freely in nature.

c. What do squirrels do in the woods?

👉 Squirrels hide their food (nuts) in the woods.

d. What magic does Beauty perform?

👉 Beauty performs the magic of dancing gracefully.

e. What is human life like, if observed carefully?

👉 If observed carefully, human life is poor and full of care due to constant busyness.

C. How do you spend your leisure time? Write a short paragraph.

👉 I usually spend my leisure time gardening flowers. In front of my house, there is a small garden where I have planted different flowers. I visit them in the morning and evening, but only for a short time because I have other responsibilities too. So, whenever I have leisure time, I spend it mostly in gardening. I water the plants and pluck out weeds. The blooming flowers make my house look beautiful. That’s why I love gardening in my free time.

Grammar II

B. Change the following sentences into passive voice.

C. Fill in the blanks with the correct passive form of the verbs in the brackets.

Ans(only):

1. believed

2. will be visited

3. was constructed

4. is not completely finished

5. will be completed

6. can be booked

7. were bought

8. is financed

9. are given

10. will be invited

Writing II

Write an essay about ‘Work and Leisure’ in approximately 200 words.

👉