Making a Difference (Mulberry English Course Book)
MAKING CONNECTIONS
Quick answers
1. Use the clues given below to trace the events of Miti and Mahendra's day and complete the flow chart.
a. Miti and Mahendra are not excited about food.
b. Their parents ask Miti and Mahendra if they have been quarrelling.
c. Their mother tells them a story.
d. The children tell their parents why they are dejected.
e. Miti and Mahendra attend a science club meeting at school.
f. Miti and Mahendra walk home together.
= e. ➡ f. ➡ a. ➡ b. ➡ d. ➡ c.
2. Put a tick (✔) against the sentences that are true and cross (🗙) against those that are false.
a. Miti and Mahendra usually quarrelled on the way home from school. [✔]
b. The beach was covered with dying jellyfish. [🗙]
c. Miti and Mahendra cared about the environment. [✔]
d. Mahendra was fond of ice candy. [✔]
Reference to context
3. "When they passed the ice candy man, Mahendra did not run to him even though he had the money he earned from washing his father's scooter. Their bags seemed heavier today; the road home seemed longer."
a. Where were Miti and Mahendra going?
= Miti and Mahendra were going home from school.
b. Which word in the lines above is an antonym of 'spent'?
= The word 'earned' in the lines above is an antonym of 'spent'.
c. Why do you think their bags seemed heavier and the road seemed longer?
= I think their bags seemed heavier and the road seemed longer because they were walking with a heavier heart. They were upset to know about the fact of the damage of our environment already done by people in the science club meeting at their school.
4. "One morning a man was walking down a bench. The bench was covered with dying starfish."
a. Why was the bench covered with dying starfish?
= The beach was covered with dying starfish because the previous night, the tide had been especially strong. So, thousands of starfish had been washed up on the shore. The fish were washed up too far up for them to make it back into the water by themselves.
b. What did the man see the boy doing? Why did he tell him to stop?
= The man saw that the boy was throwing the starfish back into the ocean as fast as he could. The boy was out of breathe, and it was obvious that he had been at this task for a while.
He told him to stop because there were thousands of starfish. They were washed up all over the beach as far as he could see. There were no way he could make any sort of difference.
c. Who had told Mother this story?
= Her father/father-in-law told Mother this story.
Read, reflect and write
5. Why were Miti and Mahendra unhappy as they returned from school?
= Miti and Mahendra were unhappy as they returned from school. They had a science club meeting to discuss their environment that day at school. They learnt that people were polluting their environment and destroying their beautiful planet. Their teacher asked them to think of something they could each do, to protect the planet. Though they had thought and thought, it seemed like too much damage was being done and noting the do would ever make a difference.
6. What did the children's mother want to teach them through the story that she narrated?
= They children's mother wanted to teach them positivity through the story that she narrated. We can not give up hope at any cost. A small ray of hope can bring massive change for the whole world. Like the boy in the story could not save all the starfish. But he saved at least few of them. It is better to do something than doing nothing.
7. Why do you think Mahendra suddenly felt hungry at the end of the story?
= I think Mahendra got courage from the story and suddenly felt hungry at the end of the story. All the fear and negativity went away from his mind. This made him relaxed and he felt hungry.
8. If you were Miti or Mahendra, what would you do to make a difference to the environment?
= If I were Miti or Mahindra, I simple went on planting trees every alternate week and took good care of them. We all the know the benefits of planting trees. Only trees can heal the huge damage already done to our environment.