The Caucus Race
by Lewis Carroll
Quick answers:
1. Match the following:
=
|
A |
B |
|---|---|
|
a .Narrator |
i. introduces the Caucus-race. [d] |
|
b.Alice |
ii. flies during the race. [f] |
|
c. Lory |
iii. is the first one to get tired during the race. [g] |
|
d. Dodo |
iv. introduces the play and the characters. [a] |
|
e. Mouse |
v. Begins a boring tale. [e] |
|
f. Canary |
vi. hands out prizes. [b] |
|
g. Lizard |
vii. quarrels about her age. [c] |
Reference to context:
2. "Mouse: William the Conqueror was the first Norman King of England . . . "
a) What does Mouse start telling the group?
= The mouse starts telling the group a dry boring story of William the Conqueror.
b) What does he mean by a dry story?
= He means to say that it was an old story of William the Conqueror or who died centuries ago.
c) Does the group like the story? What do they say?
= The group does not like the story at all. Alice was confused about the fact that how William the Conqueror would make them dry. The mouse also asked that how an old dry story could make them dry.
3. "Dodo: See! Everybody has won. Everybody must get a prize."
a) What is going on? What has everybody won in?
= A Caucus-race is going on. Everybody has won in that race as they all got dried.
b) How has everybody won? Why isn't there just one winner?
= Everybody has won as they dried themselves in the Caucus-race.
There is not just one winner because they all were successful in the race. They all got dried by running in the race.
c) What prize does everybody get?
= Everybody gets candies as their prize. Alice got a thimble.
4. Why did Alice need the golden key?
= Alice needed the golden key to open the door.
Read, reflect and write:
4. Where do you think White Rabbit was going?
= I think the White rabbit had got some bad or sad news, so he was going to that place hurriedly. And as he was going to his hole, we can say that the incident had taken place in that hole.
5. Write what happens before Alice and her new friends swim to the shore.
= After reaching the hallway of the rabbit-hole, Alice drank the liquid of the bottle and she became too small. Then she ate the cake and she became tall to the roof. She became sad and started crying. She shed gallons of tears that made a large pool. All the animals began to collect around her in the pool.
6. What safety rule does Alice keep in mind before drinking the liquid in the bottle? List three other safety rules you would observe before
(or while) eating or drinking something.
(or while) eating or drinking something.
= Alice just made it sure that the bottle was not of poison. As there was not the label of 'poison'.
Three other safety rules I would observe before(or while) eating or drinking something are -
i) The food should not be stale or rotten.
ii) I should wash my hands properly before and after eating.
iii) The food should not be uncovered street food.
Word Meanings:
Caucus Race: a race in which a group of people participate;
lory: a kind of bird;
dodo: a kind of bird, now extinct(no longer alive);
canary: a kind of bird;
three-legged: with three legs;
black currant: a kind of fruit;
gallons: (here) a lot;
politicians: people who work in the government;
clockwise: the direction in which clock hands move;
anticlockwise: opposite of clockwise;
zigzag: a line that goes sharply up and down;
out of breath: breathing very quickly;
double up: to bend over;
bumping into: walking into;
smugly: looking and sounding pleased with oneself;